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HISTOBT 
 
 NEW BOSTON, 
 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
 
 COMPILED AND WRITTEN 
 
 BY ELLIOTT C. COGSWELL, 
 
 PASTOR OP THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, NEW BOSTON, N. H. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 PRESS OF GEO. C. RAND & AVERY, 3 CORNHILL. 
 
 1864. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1804, 
 
 BY E. C. COGSWELL, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of New Hampshire. 
 
 
4715 
 
 mio 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 In all the arrangements for the Centennial, the publication 
 of a historic volume was a controlling consideration ; and the 
 subjects assigned for discussion were selected with a view to 
 this object ; so that the subsequent volume might bear the im- 
 press of many minds, rather than of one, and thus become the 
 product of New Boston intellects and hearts. Still, it was fore- 
 seen, that the articles furnished must be subjected to the care- 
 ful revision of one responsible person, and be arranged in their . 
 appropriate order ; while man}' subjects, untouched by others, v 
 must necessarily be developed by him ; and the great burden 
 of collecting incidents and facts, which would be of permanent 
 interest, and serve to unfold the character and habits of by- 
 gone generations, could well devolve upon no other. Accord- 
 ingly, at a meeting held the evening of July 4, 1863, at the 
 parsonage of the Presbyterian Church, by the returned sons of 
 New Boston, Dr. Thomas H. Cochran was appointed Chair- 
 man, and Robert B. Wason, Secretary, when " on motion, it 
 was unanimously resolved that a history of New Boston, our 
 native town, be published, embracing, among other materials, 
 the transactions of the Centennial Celebration this day held." 
 
 " On motion, it was resolved, that, in order to defray the 
 expenses of such publication, the amount necessary be raised 
 by joint-stock subscription, and that the respective subscribers 
 be assessed, from time to time, upon the amount of their sub- 
 scriptions, in the proportion, which the amount necessary to be 
 raised bears to the aggregate sum subscribed/ ' 
 
" On motion, resolved, that the Rev. E. 0. Cogswell be and 
 he is hereby constituted the committee to gather and compile 
 the materials, and prepare said history for publication, and to 
 take the sole charge of such publication, and that he have full 
 power to designate such assistants as he may choose, and assess 
 the subscribers, from time to time, in such sums as may be 
 needed." 
 
 Elbridge Wason, Robert Boyd Wason, Thomas H. Cochran, 
 Joseph T. Bradford,. Clark B. Cochrane, Gerry W. Cochrane, 
 and Josiah W. Fairfield became responsible for the work in 
 subscriptions of one hundred dollars each. Exhausted by 
 efforts preparatory to the Centennial, we had no heart to under- 
 take the task ; but yielding to the solicitations of the gentle- 
 men whose wish, thus expressed, we could not well refuse, we 
 entered upon our labor with many misgivings. The task has 
 been performed ; how well, others will determine. 
 
 Our work possesses some features of originality. That it has 
 imperfections, we frankly admit ; but our aim has been to make 
 it readable and truthful. Errors in date will undoubtedly 
 appear, for they are unavoidable in a work of this kind. It 
 has cost us much labor ; but it has been bestowed without 
 hope of praise, or expectation of reward ; to us it has been a 
 labor of love. Amid unusual parochial duties, the preparation 
 of this work has proved too much for our strength, and quite 
 incapacitated us for physical or intellectual effort for the last 
 three months ; and this must be some apology for some defects 
 that may appear in the work. 
 
 The embellishments in our work have been furnished at our 
 earnest solicitations ; while some, through modesty, have with 
 great reluctance allowed their portraits to appear ; but our aim 
 has been to obtain representatives of the dead and the living for 
 the benefit of the future ; the same has been true in regard to 
 views of residences. The expense of embellishments has been 
 borne by those who furnished them. 
 
We cannot forbear to express our gratitude to the highly 
 esteemed gentlemen, concerned in the immediate publication 
 of this work, for their confidence, patience, and cheerful co- 
 operation, especially to Mr. Elbridge Wason, whose hospitable 
 mansion has been opened to us and greatly enjoyed in our in- 
 valid state, a portion of the time during which this work was 
 passing through the press. 
 
 Often amid bodily anguish have we exclaimed, " Oh, that our 
 words were now written ! Oh, that they were printed in a 
 book!" That desire is now gratified. May Almighty God 
 bless the book to the sons and daughters of New Boston ; to 
 those that are afar off, and to them that are near. 
 
 Our thanks are due to Mr. Harry Bixby, who, having just 
 returned from Europe, kindly proffered his aid at a time when 
 we could do but little, and had reluctantly come to the conclu- 
 sion that our work, though passing through the press, must be 
 suspended until health was recovered. His aid lightened a 
 burden we had not strength to carry, and enhanced our appre- 
 ciation of him as a gentleman and scholar, whose simplicity of 
 manners and integrity of heart, combined with a scholarship 
 enriched by foreign travel and study, eminently qualify him to 
 be a successful teacher in modern languages, to which he in- 
 tends to devote himself. 
 
 Our thanks are also due to the friends in our beloved con- 
 gregation, who decreed that we should appear among the 
 " worthies," and generously bore the expense of our litho- 
 graph. 
 
 E. C. C. 
 
 New Boston, New Hampshire, 
 
 July 1, 1864. 
 
EMBELLISHMENTS. 
 
 Rev. E. P. Bradford . . Frontispiece. 
 
 Rev. E. C. Cogswell 9 
 
 Hon. C. B. Cochrane 25 
 
 Josiah W. Fairfield, Esq. ... 95 
 Residence of Rev. E. P. Brad- 
 ford 123 
 
 Presbyterian Meeting House, 128 
 Mrs. Mary M. Bradford .... 131 
 Residence of J. T. Bradford . . 133 
 
 Rev. Edward Buxton 137 
 
 Rev. John Atwood 143 
 
 Baptist Meeting House— -Town 
 House 144 
 
 James Crombie, Esq 
 
 Rev. J. A. Goodhue 
 
 Perley Dodge, Esq 
 
 Rev. William Clark .... 
 Dr. Thomas H. Cochran . . 
 Residence of Sidney Hills 
 View of Joe English .... 
 
 153 
 163 
 199 
 269 
 275 
 300 
 304 
 
 Residence of Elbridge Wason, 312 
 
 Rev. Hiram Wason 319 
 
 Residence of Hon. G. W. Coch- 
 rane 331 
 
 Hon. Gerry W. Cochrane .... 333 
 
 Joseph Cochran, Jr., Esq. . . . 306 
 
 Dea. S. L. Cristy 371 
 
 Clark Crombie 374 
 
 Daniel D. Crombie 375 
 
 Albert D. Crombie 377 
 
 Elbridge Wason 390 
 
 Residence of Geo. A. Wason . . 391 
 
 Residence of T. R. Cochran . . 392 
 
 Residence of Israel Dodge . . 393 
 
 Amos Dodge, Esq 394 
 
 Residence of Amos Dodge, Esq. 395 
 
 Capt. John Lamson 421 
 
 Residence of Dea. Samuel Dane, 423 
 
 Amos W. Tewksbury, Esq. . . . 426 
 
 Dr. Samuel Gregg 442 
 
 Residence of Solomon Dodge. . 457 
 Map. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Centennial Proceedings. 
 
 Preliminary Measures 9 
 
 Committee Appointed 9 
 
 The Day 12 
 
 Procession 12 
 
 Exercises 13 
 
 J. W. Fairfield's Remarks 20 
 
 Historical Address. 
 
 Introduction 25 
 
 Preparatory Events 36 
 
 The Grant 40 
 
 The Settlement 43 
 
 The Incorporation 47 
 
 Churches and Church Edifices ... 50 
 
 Grantees and Grant, Addition 
 
 and Masonian Charter 61 
 
 Poem, by W. E. Cochran 75 
 
 Response of Josiah W. Fairfield, 
 
 Esq 95 
 
 Ecclesiastical History. 
 
 Provisions of the Grant 103 
 
 First Meeting-House 104 
 
 Second Meeting-House 106 
 
 Rev. Solomon Moor 109 
 
 Rev. Ephraim P. Bradford 117 
 
 Other Pastors 133 
 
 Response of Rev. Edward Bux- 
 ton 137 
 
 History of the Baptist Church . . 143 
 
 Ministerial Fund. 
 
 Its Origin 147 
 
 How Appropriated 
 
 Its Loss 
 
 Response of Jas. Crombie, Esq. . . . 153 
 
 Schools. 
 
 First Appropriations 157 
 
 Divisions into Districts 
 
 Response of Rev. Joseph A. Good- 
 hue 163 
 
 School-Teachers, Choristers, Mu- 
 sic Teachers 169 
 
 Response of William W. Colburn 173 
 
 Page. 
 
 Response of Gerry W. Hazelton 179 
 Response of William P. Cochran, 
 
 Esq 185 
 
 Response of Dr. Charles Coch- 
 ran 195 
 
 Response of Perley Dodge, Esq. 199 
 
 Sketches of Lawyers 201 
 
 Response of Dr. James H. Crom- 
 bie 207 
 
 Sketches of Physicians 212 
 
 History of Mills 217 
 
 Casualties, Bills of Mortality, 
 
 Grave- Yards, Pounds, Roads 227 
 Response of Lorenzo Fairbanks, 
 
 Esq 241 
 
 Letters 247 
 
 Town Officers 255 
 
 Graduates 261 
 
 Roll of Honor, — and Tribute to 
 the Absent Soldiers — 
 
 Names of Soldiers 265 
 
 Response of Rev. William Clark 269 
 Response of Dr. Thomas H. Coch- 
 ran 275 
 
 Business and Interesting Locali- 
 ties 299 
 
 Poem, by Mrs. S. T. Wason 309 
 
 Response of Rev. Hiram Wason.. 319 
 
 Sabbath Schools 325 
 
 Response of Hon. G. W. Cochrane 331 
 Response of Rev. J. A. Goodhue. . 343 
 Biographical and Geneological 
 Sketches. 
 
 Thomas Smith 349 
 
 Deacon John Smith 349 
 
 Deacon Thomas Smith 350 
 
 William McNeil 352 
 
 John Blair 352 
 
 Dea. James Person 352 
 
 Hugh Gregg 353 
 
 Andrew Walker 355 
 
 Dea. Jesse Cristy 355 
 
Page. 
 Biographical and Geneological 
 Sketches (continued). 
 
 Dea. Thomas Cochran 356 
 
 John Cochran 358 
 
 Peter Cochran 360 
 
 Capt. George Cristy i . . 361 
 
 John McMillen 362 
 
 Daniel McMillen 362 
 
 Nathaniel Cochran 363 
 
 John Cochran, Esq 364 
 
 James Cochran 365 
 
 Elijah Cochran 365 
 
 Joseph Cochran, Jr., Esq 366 
 
 Abraham Cochran 368 
 
 John McLaughlen 369 
 
 William Clark, Esq 369 
 
 Dea. Eobert Clark 370 
 
 John Clark 371 
 
 Eebecca Clark — Moses Cristy. . . 371 
 
 Ninian Clark 372 
 
 Ninian Clark, Esq 372 
 
 James Crombie 374 
 
 John Crombie 375 
 
 Lemuel Harden 377 
 
 Samuel Harden 378 
 
 Benjamin Dodge 379 
 
 Andrew Beard 380 
 
 William Kelso 383 
 
 John McAllister 386 
 
 Dea. Eobert White 387 
 
 Willsons 387 
 
 Dea. William McNeil 388 
 
 Dea. Eobert Patterson 390 
 
 Dea. Eobert Wason 390 
 
 Dea. Archibald McHillen 391 
 
 Dea. Thomas Cochran 392 
 
 Lieut. Solomon Dodge 393 
 
 Dea. Solomon Dodge 394 
 
 Luther Eichards 395 
 
 John Dodge 396 
 
 Isaac Peabody 397 
 
 Ephraim Colburn 399 
 
 Page, 
 
 Capt. Benjamin Buxton 401 
 
 Eobert Parkinson 404 
 
 John Goodhue 407 
 
 Capt. Matthew Fairfield 409 
 
 John Fairfield, Esq 409 
 
 John Cochran, Esq 409 
 
 Alexander McCollom 411 
 
 ' Eobert Campbell 412 
 
 Thomas Campbell 414 
 
 Josiah Warren 415 
 
 James Caldwell, Esq 417 
 
 Dea. William Moor 418 
 
 Capt. Joseph Lamson 419 
 
 Daniel Dane 421 
 
 Dea. Samuel Dane 422 
 
 Eobert Hogg 423 
 
 Abner Hogg 424 
 
 Amos W. Tewksbury 426 
 
 David Starrett 427 
 
 John Lamson 430 
 
 Dea. Marshall Adams 431 
 
 John Whipple .' 432 
 
 Jacob Hooper 434 
 
 Livermore Langdell 435 
 
 Zechariah Morgan 436 
 
 Capt. Joseph Andrews 436 
 
 Dea. Issachar Andrews 438 
 
 Maurice Lynch 438 
 
 Eobert Livingston 439 
 
 Capt. Gerry Whiting 440 
 
 William Woodbury 441 
 
 Samuel Gregg, Esq 442 
 
 Daniel Dodge 443 
 
 Joshua Jones 444 
 
 Capt. Ephraim Jones 445 
 
 Thomas Otis 445 
 
 Jeremiah S. Cochran, M. D 446 
 
 Eev. Samuel Clark 447 
 
 Eev. Samuel Wallace Clark 450 
 
 Fakms and Farming 454 
 
 Census for 1756 460 
 
 Census for 1860 462 
 
J&ffuffirtf'sA'efi. 
 
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 &$, &0-4tfkM&s 
 
CENTENNIAL PROCEEDINGS. 
 
 As early as the day of the State Fast, in April, 1862, a meet- 
 ing at the Presbyterian church, at the close of public worship, 
 was held to consider the propriety of taking some notice of the 
 one hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of 
 New Boston. This meeting was attended by persons from all 
 parts of the town, and the sentiment was unanimously express- 
 ed that the town ought to celebrate the occasion. Measures 
 were adopted for calling a legal meeting as soon as practicable. 
 Such a meeting was called, and it was voted to celebrate the 
 event, but not to appropriate money to defray the expenses ; 
 this last decision was reached through the influence of a few, 
 and it was understood that a vote to appropriate money would be 
 unavailing ; therefore, the subject was dropped, and no further 
 action was taken until the early part of the autumn, when the 
 citizens were invited to meet at the Town Hall, to choose an 
 Executive Committee to make all necessary arrangements for 
 the observance of the centennial. Rev. E. C. Cogswell was 
 called to the chair, and Warren R. Cochrane was appointed 
 Secretary ; and the following gentlemen were appointed an Exec- 
 utive Committee, viz. : E. C. Cogswell, R. B. Cochrane, N. 
 C. Crombie, S. L. Christy, Daniel Campbell, John Lamson, 
 Solomon Dodge, Luther Colbum, John Dodge, John Atwood, 
 and subsequently David Gregg was added. 
 
 This Committee appointed Warren R. Cochrane their Secre- 
 tary, and resolved to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary gf 
 the incorporation of the town of New Boston on the fourth day 
 of July, 1863, with an historical address, and other appropriate 
 services. The Hon. Clark B. Cochrane was unanimously in- 
 
10 
 
 vited to deliver the address, and following is his letter of ac- 
 ceptance : — 
 
 Albany, October 14, 1862. 
 My Dear Sir : — 
 
 Your favor, announcing that the Centennial Executive Committee had 
 " unanimously chosen " me to deliver the historical address usual on such oc- 
 casion, and had " voted to celebrate July 4, 1863," came to hand in due course 
 of mail. In answer, I hasten to say, I accept the invitation, and -will attempt 
 the duty assigned. 
 
 Be kind enough to make to the Committee my grateful acknowledgments 
 for this flattering expression of their kind remembrance, and accept for your- 
 self the assurance of my affection and esteem. 
 
 CLAKK B. COCHRANE. 
 To W. E. Cochrane, 
 
 Sec. Com. 
 
 The following circular was ordered to be printed and sent to 
 absentees : — 
 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 New Boston, the place of your nativity, was incorporated about a hundred 
 years ago, and it is thought best to take special notice of its hundredth an- 
 niversary. The Old Folks at home, therefore, , send greetings to the 
 Young Folks abroad, and desire to meet them in general assembly for high 
 consultation at " the Old Homestead," 
 
 ON THE FOURTH DAY OF JULY, EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND SIXTY-THREE. 
 
 They would thus call home their sons and daughters to revive recollections 
 of the past, and to collect such facts respecting the early inhabitants as will 
 otherwise soon be beyond recovery. 
 
 You, therefore, are urgently requested to be present on that day, and to 
 bring with you a heart in sympathy with the occasion, when an Historical Ad- 
 dress will be delivered by the Hon. Clark B. Cochrane, of New York, and 
 such other services will be had as will become the day. 
 
 Yours, respectfully, 
 
 E. C. COGSWELL, SOLOMON DODGE, 
 
 E. B. COCHRANE, LUTHER COLBURN, 
 
 N. C. CROMBIE, JOHN DODGE, 
 
 S. L. CHRISTY, JOHN ATWOOD, 
 
 DANIEL CAMPBELL, DAVID GREGG, 
 
 JOHN LAMSON, Executive Committee. 
 • New Boston, N. H., October 21, 1862. 
 
 The Chairman and the Secretary were authorized to make 
 all necessary arrangements for the intellectual entertainment, 
 
11 
 
 to which duty great labor was devoted ; appointments were 
 made and subjects assigned adapted to unfold the history and 
 character of the early settlers of the town, while no pains were 
 spared in searching for materials to assist some of the writers, 
 and to form a complete history. Several meetings of the Com- 
 mittee were held in the spring of 1863, to perfect arrangements, 
 and subdivided itself as follows : E. C. Cogswell, John Atwood, 
 and W. R. Cochrane were to provide for the intellectual exer- 
 cises, including singing and instrumental music ; Luther Col- 
 burn, David Gregg, Daniel Campbell, and S. L. Christy, to ar- 
 range for dinner ; N. C. Crombie, John Lamson, and Solomon 
 Dodge to erect pavilion, tables, and seats ; R. B. Cochrane and 
 John Dodge to obtain requisite funds to defray expenses. 
 
 The following appeared in the Farmers'' Cabinet some weeks 
 before the fourth, from the pen of Mrs. Wason, which 
 awakened no little interest : — 
 
 INVITATION TO NEW BOSTON 
 CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, JULY4, 1863. 
 
 Dear " Cabinet," thy ceaseless rounds 
 
 The last half hundred years, 
 Has told us oft our Saviour's love, 
 
 And oft of change and tears ; 
 Dear, old, tried friend, a mission new- 
 New Boston's sons would give to you. 
 
 They'd bid you seek the Prairie Homes 
 
 Far towards the setting sun, 
 And rouse the wanderers dwelling there, 
 
 And call them, every one, 
 To our Centennial, that's to be 
 July the fourth, in sixty-three. ' 
 
 They'd bid you go with lightning speed 
 
 To California's strand, 
 That's lured the stray ones from our hills 
 
 To wash her golden sand, 
 And tell them treasures lost and found 
 At our Centennial will abound. 
 
 Go o'er Virginia's battle-fields 
 With slow and solemn tread, 
 And see the rank grass springing there 
 
12 
 
 Above her sleeping dead ; 
 And tell, oh, tell our loyal sons 
 We'll greet them when their mission's done- 
 Go with soft and gentle whisper, 
 
 To Louisiana's shore, 
 And tell the loved ones gathered there 
 
 We miss them more and more ; 
 There'll be a sadness in our joys, 
 Because of absent soldier boys. 
 
 Go to every nook, and corner, 
 
 Throughout our wide-spread land, 
 And tell our sons, and daughters too, 
 
 We'd take them by the hand, 
 And have a day of jubilee 
 For old Scotch-Irish ancestry. 
 
 During* the night preceding the fourth, a delightful rain re- 
 freshed the thirsty earth, and cooled the heated atmosphere. 
 The fourth was ushered in with the roar of cannon and ringing 
 of bells, and proved to be just such a day as was desired. A 
 beautiful banner, with no star lost, nor stripe erased, received 
 the preceding day, the gift of General W. S. Cochran, of Rock- 
 land, Me., was unfurled to the breeze, and at nine o'clock, 
 agreeably to previous arrangements, a procession was formed at 
 the Town Hall, under the direction of Chief Marshal George 
 A. Wason, and his Aids Thomas R. Cochran, Samuel M. 
 Christy, Ira A. Gage, Alfred M. Campbell, James B. Whipple, 
 Butler T. Hills, and Charles F. Dodge ; and, preceded by the 
 New Boston Cornet Band, marched to the Presbyterian meet- 
 ing-house. Here a platform had been erected front of the 
 church, and seats on the beautiful green ; but, as great reluc- 
 tance to speaking in the open air was expressed, it was resolved 
 to enter the church, and that large edifice was filled to its ut- 
 most capacity, while hundreds lingered at the doors and win- 
 dows, and other hundreds, unable to hear, went away. When 
 the crowd was composed the Marshal announced the presiding 
 officers to be, Rev. B. C. Cogswell, President; Waterman Burr, 
 Esq., Dea. Samuel Dane, Rev. John Atwood, Hon. R. B. Coch- 
 rane, and John Dodge, Vice-Presidents ; and the following- 
 original hymn, by Mrs. Wason, was sung by a large choir, in 
 
13 
 
 which were several aged people, (Mrs. Hannah Farley being 
 seventy-eight years old), under the direction of Mr. Jesse Beard, 
 a veteran school-teacher and singing-master, now seventy-four 
 years old, assisted by Mr. A. P. Brigham : — 
 
 CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Our fathers'. God, to Thee, 
 Enthroned in majesty, 
 
 We humbly bow, 
 To thank Thee that this day 
 Recalls our childhood's way, 
 Brings loved ones, far away, 
 
 To meet us now. 
 
 We'll lay aside our creeds, 
 And will our fathers' deeds 
 
 Commemorate ; 
 With marshaled hosts' array, 
 And music's grand display, 
 Our anniversary day 
 
 We'll celebrate. 
 
 'Twas our departed sires, 
 Who kindled here the fires 
 
 Of peaceful homes ; 
 Circle of noble men, 
 Let each, with tongue and pen, 
 Proclaim their praise again, 
 
 Where'er he roams. 
 
 Virtues like theirs, appear 
 More bright, as year by year 
 
 We glide along ; 
 Such be our earthly store — 
 Then on the " shining shore " 
 We'll join them gone before, 
 
 In endless song. 
 
 The 107th Psalm was read, from a Bible brought with him 
 from the old World more than a hundred years ago by Wm. 
 Kelso, and prayer offered by Rev. Edward Buxton, of Webster, 
 followed with music by the band. The President then wel- 
 comed those who had returned, in the following brief address : 
 
14 
 
 Sons and Daughters. of New Boston: — 
 
 In behalf of the Committee of Arrangements for celebrating this, the one 
 hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of this town, I extend to you a 
 cordial welcome. Many of you have been long absent from the firesides of 
 your childhood, and have found homes elsewhere. As we have watched your 
 paths, and seen you transfer from the old homestead the love you once cher- 
 ished, to the new homes you have chosen, we have rejoiced to know that you 
 have carried with you a fond remembrance of your birthplace, and have not 
 allowed the burning patriotism of your fathers to be less ardent in your own 
 bosoms, nor their all-controlling religious sentiments to be less influential over 
 your lives. We have seen, with great satisfaction, that other communities have 
 welcomed you to their inheritances, and have had no occasion to regret the 
 confidence they have reposed in you. Justly proud of our sons and daughters 
 whom we have sent forth, we have called you back to your ancestral homes, 
 that we may pronounce God's blessings upon you, and incite you to endeavors 
 to show that whatever community receives a son or daughter of New Boston, 
 receives a blessing from the Lord. 
 
 With this day in view, we have been led to contemplate the men that 
 cleared these hills and reared these dwellings. Heroic men, and not less he- 
 roic women, the grandparents of your parents, rise up before us to say that 
 theirs was a rough inheritance which they received to impart to their children. 
 The Smiths, the Blairs, the Fersons, the Cochranes, the McAllisters, the Clarks, 
 the Crombies, the Campbells, the Warrens, the McNeils, were men that 
 walked before God with great uprightness, and the pathway of those men 
 shines brighter and brighter. The virtues of such men this day will unfold 
 and serve to perpetuate the remembrance of them. In the joy we have felt 
 at the unfoldings of noble elements of character in generations gone before, 
 we have invited you to participate. And you have done well in heeding our 
 summons. And we bid you welcome to the scenes of this day ; we welcome 
 you to the green hills your childhood roamed ; we bid you welcome to hearths 
 on which the fire goes not out, and to our social enjoyments ; we bid you wel- 
 come to the graves of your sires, where the cold slab records the names of 
 those who, though dead, yet live ; and may God Almighty bless you and us, 
 and by the discipline of time prepare us for the richer inheritance above. 
 
 In the accomplishment of the object sought by this occasion, we have called 
 to our aid not a few of those qualified in head and heart for the pleasant ser- 
 vice. Upon one we have imposed the task of rescuing from the gulf of obliv- 
 ion the facts and incidents of the early history of this town. To this labor 
 he has brought the energies of a vigorous intellect, and the ardor of an affec- 
 tionate heart, who, we are happy to believe, will convince you that the race 
 of New Boston has deteriorated neither in stature of body nor breadth and 
 vigor of intellect. Therefore, with great pleasure, I introduce to you the 
 Hon. Clark B. Cochrane. 
 
 Mr. Cochrane was listened to for the space of nearly two 
 
15 
 
 hours, with intense satisfaction, and the following hymn, by- 
 Mrs. Wason, was sung by the choir : — 
 
 OUR CENTURY PLANT. 
 
 Our century plant is in blossom to-day ; 
 Its thousand leaves fragrant with scenes passed away ; 
 'Twas a slip from the hardy old storm-beaten tree 
 That grew in the Highlands, 'way over the sea. 
 
 "lis a bonnie Scotch native, Americanized, 
 Retaining some traits the Scotch covenanters prized ; 
 It grows rank in the soil where the red man roamed, 
 O'er the graves of their hunters 'tis watching alone. 
 
 Its ancestral arms were emblazoned on high, 
 When the fires of Smithfield glared red on the sky, 
 When Claverhouse's bloodhounds dragged out. .frorn each den 
 Of Scotia's bleak mountains, her Protestant men. 
 
 A root was transplanted from Argyleshire's dale, 
 To blossom but once in old Erin's green vale ; 
 Transplanted again to America's shore, 
 'Twill blossom and flourish till time is no more. 
 
 And where are the fathers who planted our flower, 
 And watched o'er its growth in its infancy's hour ? 
 They 're sleeping in quiet beneath our blue sky ; 
 Their names are immortal, they never may die. 
 
 After music by the band, Rev. Thomas Savage, pastor of the 
 Presbyterian church in Bedford for thirty-seven years, whose 
 face it was pleasant for many to see, and voice to hear, as the 
 friend and associate of Rev. Mr. Bradford, made a brief and 
 pertinent address, by request of the President : after which a 
 recess was taken for dinner. About five hundred being seated 
 at the tables, the divine blessing was invoked by the Rev. Isaac 
 Willey, for the last twenty-five years of Goffstown, and an asso- 
 ciate of Bradford. Before leaving the tables, the following song 
 was suns; : — 
 
16 
 
 SONG. 
 Aie, " Auld Lang Syne." 
 
 We come from northern snow-draped homes, 
 
 From western forest shade, 
 From mast and mead, and sea-girt shore, 
 And sunny everglade. 
 
 For Auld Lang Syne, dear friends, 
 
 For Auld Lang Syne ; 
 
 Up to the old ancestral hills, 
 
 For Auld Lang Syne. 
 
 New Boston ! now to celebrate 
 
 Thy birthday we are come, 
 Nor need we here to ask " what cheer," 
 The shout is, " welcome home ! " 
 
 For Auld Lang Syne, dear friends, 
 
 For Auld Lang Syne ; 
 Glad greetings we exchange this day, 
 For Auld Lang Syne. 
 
 We've been where flows life's busy tide, 
 
 With beauty, wit, and grace, , 
 Yet e'er our throbbing hearts have yearned 
 For thee, far dearer place. 
 
 For Auld Lang Syne, dear friends, 
 
 For Auld Lang Syne ; 
 The very music of our lives 
 Is Auld Lang Syne. 
 
 We thank thee, Father, for the love 
 And care which thou hast given ; 
 For friends who meet as here at home, 
 And those who wait in heaven. 
 
 For Auld Lang Syne, dear friends, 
 
 For Auld Lang Syne ; 
 Our hearts with one affection beat, 
 For Auld Lang Syne. 
 
 For all, accept our humble praise, 
 
 Still bless us with thy love, 
 That we may all united be 
 Within thy home above. 
 
 For Auld Lang Syne, dear friends, 
 
 For Auld Lang Syne ; 
 We'll keep this union in our hearts, 
 For Auld Lang Syne. 
 
17 
 
 After brief addresses from several gentlemen, the following 
 was sung, and the guests retired from the tables : — 
 
 WELCOME OF THE FATHERS. 
 
 Hear ye not the soft, low whispers, 
 
 Breathing upward from the ground ? 
 'Tis the voices of the fathers, 
 
 Wafting their sweet welcome round. 
 
 Welcome to these tents so goodly, 
 
 Planted by our toilsome care ; 
 Welcome to this breath of heaven, 
 
 Soul-refreshing, native ah. 
 
 At our coming none said welcome ; 
 
 All was lonely, drear, and wild ; 
 In the midst we built our altar, 
 
 Soon an Eden round us smiled. 
 
 Homes we sowed along the valley ; 
 
 Leai'ning's dews we bade distil ; 
 And the church, with wing o'ershadowing, 
 
 Hovered on the highest hill. 
 
 Slowly up the pathway climbing, 
 
 Heaven grew nearer, and more sweet, 
 And a glory filled the temple, 
 
 Opening to receive our feet. 
 
 Inward peace and outward trials, — 
 
 We accepted both with praise : 
 With our blessings take our counsel ; 
 
 Children, keep the good old ways. 
 
 Having reassembled in the church, the choir sang the follow- 
 ing, by Mrs. Wason : — 
 
 OUR EARLY FRIENDS. 
 
 Our childhood's friends have met once more 
 
 This side the shadowy land ; 
 With cordial, earnest, youthful love, 
 
 We'll grasp each proffered hand. 
 
 Each dear remembered face we see, 
 Wakes memory's slumbering chain ; 
 3 
 
18 
 
 Bids us tread back the lapse of years, 
 And we are young again. 
 
 "lis here our homes of long ago 
 
 Yet lift each humble head ; 
 The brown moss creeps o'er ancient walls 
 
 That echo strangers' tread. 
 
 The gray-haired sire is laid aside, 
 
 And she who loved us best ; 
 Naught but the archangel's trump shall break 
 
 Their peaceful, quiet rest. 
 
 Here Moor and Bradford fed their flocks, 
 
 With earnest, Christian trust ; 
 Breathed out their lives among our hills, 
 
 And mingle now with dust. 
 
 Our hearts grow tender yet at sound 
 
 Of Bradford's cherished name, 
 Whose noble form sleeps now with those 
 
 Whose souls to bless he came. 
 
 And she who walked beside his path, 
 
 With patient, gentle love, 
 Is waiting yet the summons, " Take 
 
 Thy starry crown above." 
 
 The everlasting hills remain 
 
 Unchanged by time's decay ; 
 Their towering cliffs point heavenward, 
 
 As in our childhood's day. 
 
 Warren R. Cochrane pronounced a spirited poem, and was 
 followed, in response to various sentiments, by exceedingly 
 interesting addresses from Josiah W. Fairfield, Esq., Perley 
 Dodge, Esq., Dr. James H. Crombie, William Colburn,*L B., 
 and Dr. Thomas H. Cochran, all of which, together with oth- 
 ers for which there was not time, will appear in the following 
 pages. After music by the band, and the singing by the choir 
 of the following hymn by Mrs. Wason, the exercises of the day 
 were closed amid the rejoicings of a nation over the victory at 
 Gettysburg, and the fall of Vicksburg : — 
 
19 
 
 OUE FATHERS. 
 
 Our fathers' God, who dwell'st on high, 
 Beyond the star-gem'd, azure sky, 
 Behold what wondrous change appeal's, — 
 The harvest of a hundred years. 
 
 A hardy band of pioneers 
 Hewed down the mighty forests here, 
 And reared their church amid the wilds 
 Where now the ripening harvest smiles. 
 
 Along these hills and valleys green 
 Their schools of learning soon were seen, 
 Whose worth will gild our country's page 
 With living light in every age. 
 
 Those noble-hearted sires are gone, 
 Their memories sweet will yet flow on, 
 Their stern, deep-toned religious faith 
 Outlives the mighty conqueror, Death. 
 
 Our fathers' God, oh ! grant that we, 
 Scions of noble ancestry, 
 May imitate their virtues rare, 
 And write our names in lines as fair. 
 
 The Fourth of July occurred on Saturday, and, as those who 
 had come to the old homestead would naturally desire to re- 
 main over the Sabbath, appropriate arrangements had been 
 made for continuing the services through the fifth ; and, though 
 the rain fell abundantly, a good congregation convened in the 
 morning. The services began with invocation and reading the 
 78th Psalm, by Rev. Mr. Russell, of the Baptist church, and 
 the singing a part of the 148th Psalm, P. M., by the choir ; 
 after which prayer was offered by Rev. William Clark, of Am- 
 herst, and the 78th Psalm, C. M., first part, was sung, and Hon. 
 Gerry Whiting Cochrane, of Boston, member of Governor 
 Andrew's council, made an exceedingly impressive address on 
 the religious character of the early settlers, followed by delight- 
 ful reminiscences of Rev. Mr. Bradford, by Rev. Mr. Buxton. 
 After singing the Doxology, the morning services closed with 
 the benediction by Rev. Mr. Buxton. 
 
20 
 
 It had been arranged that the Sabbath Schools should be ad- 
 dressed in the afternoon, and the services were appropriate to 
 that object. Accordingly, though the storm continued, the 
 house was well filled, and after singing by the schools, and 
 prayer by Rev. Royal Parkinson, of Vermont, Rev. J. A. Good- 
 hue made an interesting address on the advantages of rural 
 homes to the young, and was followed by pertinent addresses 
 from Rev. Messrs. Clark and Buxton ; and after them J. W. 
 Fairfield, Esq., spoke of contentment with our lot as being a 
 great source of happiness. The substance of his remarks we 
 here give : — 
 
 There were some things with which we ought not to be content, but 
 should try to rid ourselves of them. Every new generation ought to strive 
 to surpass the preceding in intelligence, enterprise, and thrift ; in deeds of be" 
 nevolence, and excellence of moral character. With imperfections and evils 
 which can. be remedied we are never to be content ; but, we are often discon- 
 tented with what is for our highest interest to retain. I have been a superin- 
 tendent of a Sabbath school thirty years, and have been brought much into 
 contact with children, and have observed that they are apt to become dissat- 
 isfied with the Sabbath school, and leave ; but the result is always painful: 
 They forsake the sanctuary, aud trample upon the law of the Sabbath. Then 
 they yield to temptations to dissipation, become assimilated to vicious com- 
 panions, and soon are utterly ruined. Sometimes children become dissatisfied 
 with the restraints of home, and break loose from them, and the same painful 
 results are reached. 
 
 Grown-up people become dissatisfied with their homes and neighbors, 
 sell out, and seek new ones, but are seldom at rest afterwards, for the 
 reason that they cai'ry themselves — the real cause of their discontent — 
 with them. If they could leave themselves behind, there might be some 
 chance of improvement; but, taking with them their moral characters, 
 modes of thought, habits, and tastes, they only change the place, while they 
 keep the pain. To improve their happiness, they must rectify themselves* 
 and then discontent will cease. So men become dissatisfied with the gospel. 
 Dr. Lord said, some years since, that the gospel had proved a failure. But it 
 is not so ; there never was a time when the gospel was a greater power for 
 good than now ; nor when' its advocates wielded it with greater success. 
 Some people become dissatisfied with it when it insists upon a holy life ; when 
 it demands justice and benevolence ; and at first refuse to pay anything for 
 it, then to hear it at all, — not because the gospel has changed, but because 
 its demands exceed what they are willing to yield ; because it condemns their 
 principles and conduct, and exposes the turpitude of their hearts, and the 
 wrongness of their lives. They charge the blame of all this to the change in 
 the gospel, or its wrong interpretation, when the fault lies within themselves. 
 
21 
 
 They allowed the fire that ought always to burn on the altar of the heart, to 
 become extinguished, and the light that was once in them to become darkness ; 
 and how great that darkness is, may be seen by the fact that they neglect the 
 gospel with its ordinances, and refuse to aid in sustaining the worship of 
 the sanctuary ; and thus, in respect to them, the gospel does prove a failure ? 
 it fails to make them just, benevolent, and useful to others, and lovely in the 
 sight of God. If there ever comes upon New England a fearful night of 
 moral darkness and woe, it will be when the people are unwilling to have the 
 practical doctrines of godliness pressed home upon their conscience, and refuse 
 to put their hands deep into their pockets for the support of the institutions 
 of religion. The greatest calamity that ever befell any community was the 
 conviction that the gospel was worth nothing, and the corresponding neglect 
 of it. Woe to my native town when she comes lightly to esteem the Sabbath 
 and the sanctuary, and to look upon the minister of the gospel with suspicion, 
 and his messages as of no weighty importance. Then, the glory of the town 
 that boasts of an ancestry distinguished for their appreciation of the institu- 
 tions of religion, will have departed, and the names of godly men and women 
 will be disgraced by children and grandchildren who hallow not the Sabbath 
 nor enter the sanctuary ; but who bear about with them the evidences of self- 
 ruin. Here, now, and probably for the last time, and just upon the close of 
 this great feast and commingling of hearts, with the teachings of the past 
 and spirits of the venerated fathers around us, we, who have returned to enjoy 
 this blessed pentecost, lift up our voices, and bear our testimony to the value 
 of the gospel, and warn you who remain of the danger and fearful calamity 
 which will inevitably come upon you if you prize not the institutions of reli- 
 gion. If you neglect them, you neglect your own souls ; if you reject the 
 teachings of the gospel, you do your own souls a fearful injury, and entail 
 upon other generations inconceivable misery. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Goodhue made remarks suggested by the inquiry, 
 Where will be our home a hundred years hence ? The chil- 
 dren then sung " A Hundred Years to Come," and the services 
 were closed with prayer and benediction by Rev. Mr. Goodhue, 
 after a few farewell words from the President to the great num- 
 bers who had so cheerfully responded to the invitation to visit 
 the homes of their earlier days. 
 
 All the exercises of the Sabbath were highly appropriate, 
 and all the utterances of the day were words fitly spoken ; were 
 " apples of gold in pictures of silver." Several of the addresses 
 will appear in the ensuing pages, and will serve to keep alive 
 the remembrance of the day. When the services were ended, 
 all lingered long, as unwilling to leave a scene so fraught with 
 interest. Many kind wishes were expressed, and tender adieus 
 
22 
 
 uttered, all saying, " It has been good to be here." During 
 the two days, great quiet and the utmost order prevailed, and 
 nothing occurred to detract from the enjoyment of the occasion ; 
 but it will be remembered ever as the richest feast of reason 
 and flow of soul which a lifetime is permitted to enjoy. 
 
HON. CLARK B. COCHRANE. 
 
 Mr. Cochrane was born in 1813, the son of Mr. John Coch- 
 rane, who resided on the north declivity of Joe English, where 
 his youth was spent in labor upon the farm, and attendance at 
 the district school. He commenced fitting for college in 1832, 
 at Atkinson Academy, under John Kelly, Esq., and completed 
 his preparation at Francestown Academy, under Mr. B. F. 
 Wallace, and at Nashua, under Mr. Crosby, having read Latin 
 one or two terms with Mr. Edward Buxton. He entered Union 
 College in 1835, and graduated in 1839. He was admitted to 
 the bar in 1841, and commenced the practice of law at Amster- 
 dam, N. Y., removing in 1851 to Schenectady, and thence in 
 
 1855 to Albany, where he now resides. In 1844, he repre- 
 sented in the State Legislature, Montgomery County, and in 
 
 1856 was elected to represent in the United States Congress, 
 the counties of Schenectady, Schoharie, Montgomery, and Ful- 
 ton, and was reelected in 1858. Mr. Cochrane was married in 
 1839 to Miss Rebecca Wheeler, of New York, and has one 
 daughter, Mary Frances. By his legal skill, Mr. Cochrane has 
 gained an enviable position among honorable competitors, and 
 is widely known as a Christian gentleman, with a heart and 
 hand for every good object. In politics he is a Republican, 
 embracing the cause of the 'Union with an undivided heart. 
 In selecting one to prepare and deliver the historical address 
 on the Centennial occasion, Mr. Cochrane seemed in all respects 
 fitted for the duty, and the rich feast which he prepared for 
 that day is now spread for the reader. 
 
- 
 
 <^^/^^y^^^>1^?^^s 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 There is a sentiment in the human heart answering to the 
 summons which brings us to this feast of memory. We gather 
 at this centre of interest and friendship, from distant homes 
 and varied lines of life, in obedience to a common instinct of 
 our nature. Attachment to the place of birth, the scenes of 
 childhood, the home of kindred, and the burial-grounds of our 
 fathers, springs from an affection inherent in our humanity. 
 As the exhausted tides, by an irresistible law of nature, roll 
 back to their ocean home, so through their deepest channels 
 the warm and wearied currents of the sonl return to the asso- 
 ciations, the play-grounds, the companions, of early years. 
 When the patriarch Joseph, looking to the promised exodus, 
 though wearing the second honors of Egypt, gave his brethren 
 " commandment concerning his bones," he did but express a 
 desire instinctive and common to mankind under all conditions 
 and in every age. 
 
 " Breathes there the man with soul so dead, 
 Who never to himself has said, 
 
 This is my own, my native land ! 
 Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned, 
 As home his footsteps he hath turned, 
 
 From wandering on a foreign strand ! " 
 
 Yon, who have continued to occupy the old domain, and in- 
 herit the paternal soil, have never felt, and therefore cannot 
 appreciate, the power of those ties which link the heart of the 
 emigrant to the home of his youth. It is recorded of Abraham, 
 as a test of eminent faith, that when the command came, " Get 
 thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy 
 father's house," he " departed, as the Lord had spoken." It is 
 the wanderer whose dreams are of the u fireside afar." 'Tis 
 
 4 
 
26 
 
 in the land of strangers, remote from former friends, away from 
 all that had been loved and left behind, in the distant pursuits 
 of fortune or fame, and amid the perplexities of trade, the 
 exhaustion of mind, the disappointments, toils, and tumults of 
 hurried life, that our thoughts dwell in the past and our weary 
 spirits pant for the green fields of youth and the spring-time 
 of life. 
 
 With us, from whom the bloom and blessings of young ex- 
 istence have long since departed, the memory of its scenes, the 
 attachments it formed, the places it loved, and the objects it ' 
 cherished, retain a freshness and power which years and ab- 
 sence serve only to increase. 
 
 " Time but the impression deeper makes, 
 As streams their channels deeper wear." 
 
 As the dreary winds and falling leaves of autumn force a 
 sigh for the balmy air and vernal glories of the opening year, 
 so the weariness and burdens of ripening age drive our thoughts 
 back to the sunny season of youth and hope, when, exempt from 
 cares and sheltered by a mother's love, the present had no sor- 
 rows, and, to the eye of young ambition, the future no clouds. 
 
 " Who has not felt how growing use endears 
 The fond remembrance of our former years ; 
 Who has not sighed, when doomed to leave at last 
 The hopes of youth, the habits of the past, 
 The thousand ties and interests that impart 
 A second nature to the human heart, 
 And wreathing round it close, like tendrils climb, 
 Blooming with age and sanctified by time." 
 
 The present is an opportunity long wished for, — at length 
 enjoyed. We are here for no purpose of gain or ambition, to 
 inaugurate' no enterprise which might hold out to the greedy 
 eye of capital promised returns of wealth and power ; we come 
 to contend for none of those glittering but delusive prizes 
 which tempt the feet of this world's votaries to the arena of 
 discord and strife. Far different is our mission. Ours is a 
 pilgrimage of the heart, an errand of friendship, the presenta- 
 tion of a united social offering to the homes and the days of 
 " lang syne." The selfish passions of the soul are left behind, 
 
27 
 
 and all its nobler impulses, all its kindlier sensibilities, are 
 called into highest activity. 
 
 It would be difficult to imagine an occasion which, for us, 
 could possess greater interest. 
 
 New Boston, our native town, the home we loved and left, 
 has made a banquet for her absent children, and we are here. 
 Driving along the distant avenues and dusty ways of life, we 
 heard the mother's call, and we have hurried home to partake 
 of her hospitality, and receive her grateful welcome. 
 
 Fellow-townsmen, neighbors, kinsmen, friends, we thank you 
 for this public expression of your kind remembrance, — for this 
 most generous greeting, this grand and affectionate reception, 
 — for this " feast of reason and flow of soul." The table which 
 you have with so much liberality spread before us is wanting 
 in no luxury which may tempt the social appetite. Decked 
 and perfumed with the choicest flowers of memory, sparkling 
 with nectar which the gods yield only to the lips of earliest 
 and truest friendships, and twined with evergreens connecting 
 the present with a cherished past, we approach it as the one 
 entertainment, the crowning festival of our lives. 
 
 After long years of separation and varied vicissitudes, we 
 meet again at the place from whence we went out. We parted 
 as friends, as friends we meet ; we left in the bloom of life and 
 hope, we return faded by time and worn by cares. Our several 
 ways have led us in widely divergent lines. Our lots have been 
 cast in places remote from you and from each other. But 
 neither absence nor distance, prosperity nor adversity, suc- 
 cesses nor disappointments, have served to wean our hearts 
 from the friends and firesides we left behind, nor make us 
 forget the woods and the streams, the hills and the valleys, the 
 rocks and the glens, with which we communed when life was 
 new. From the western prairies, from the shores of the great 
 lakes, from the valley of the Hudson, from the commercial me- 
 tropolis of the continent, from the cities and villages of the 
 Atlantic seaboard, from the manufacturing towns and along 
 the rivers and among the mountains of our own New England, 
 animated with one spirit and impelled by a single impulse, 
 we have hastened to join this reunion of kindred hearts, and 
 here, at the common source of our several life-streams, once 
 
28 
 
 more drink together at the pure fountains of childhood, and 
 renew our strength for what remains of life's battle amid the 
 bracing air and among the bracing friends of our rocky home. 
 
 The circumstances under which we are reassembled are 
 peculiarly happy in their combination, and are such as can 
 rarely occur in the history of any local community. The day, 
 the year, the preparation, the gathering, the scene, all unite in 
 crowding within the limits of a few passing hours the highest 
 social pleasures, the most hallowed recollections of a lifetime. 
 
 It is, indeed, a genial and joyous occasion ; a grateful halt- 
 ing-place by the wayside of life ; a green spot, to which we 
 gladly turn aside from the heated and bustling ways over which 
 we are driven along, to pass a brief season in fraternal saluta- 
 tions, in happy greetings, in pleasant and cheerful intercourse ; to 
 meet old friends, and revive former friendships ; to recall the 
 innocent sports, the delightful scenes, the genial memories of 
 early years ; to inquire of you and each other how it has fared 
 with us during these many years of separation ; what joys, 
 what sorrows, what successes, what reverses, what lights, and 
 what shadows have checkered life. 
 
 As the present is a time for gladness, so also it is a time for 
 retrospect and gratitude, as well. We rejoice at the multiplied 
 evidences of your prosperity ; that the ancient character of the 
 old town for industry, enterprise, hospitality, and intelligence 
 has sustained no detriment at your hands. If you have re- 
 ceived from us a less revenue of honor and credit than you 
 had reason to expect, you cannot justly reproach us with 
 having brought upon the names we bear, or the lineage we 
 claim, the taint of disgrace or dishonor. Between you who 
 have remained and us 1 who have returned let there be the full 
 flow of fraternal fellowship and generous gratulations, chas- 
 tened by a grateful sense that whatever of good fortune has 
 attended either, is due to that benignant Being, who " tempers 
 the winds to the shorn lamb," and who, of all true, good, and 
 right living, is at once " the friend, inspirer," guardian, and 
 reward." 
 
 Since coming among you, we have not failed to make the 
 most of time and opportunity; we have lived youth over again. 
 Leaving age and cares, we have gone back into the past. We 
 
29 
 
 have revelled in a full harvest of familiar scenes and ani- 
 mating recollections. 
 
 The earth and air are fragrant with childhood memories. 
 The noise of rural industry, the lowing of herds, the murmur 
 of streams, the hum of bees, the varied song of birds, the 
 drum of the partridge, and the voice of the whippoorwill, sounds, 
 which, mingled with life's earliest dreams, have been again 
 heard among our native hills. We have stood and gazed up- 
 ward, once more, full in the face of old Joe English, whose 
 stately form and solemn features impressed our infant thoughts, 
 and whose rugged ascent and airy summit first tempted the 
 ambitious adventures of our boyhood. We have again followed 
 the famous Piscataquog, still winding its resolute way through 
 the heart of the old township, reminding us, at every turn, of 
 " home and friends and that sweet time " when, boys together, 
 we listened to its music, bathed in its waters, and played along 
 its banks. Nor have we forgotten the Meeting House Common 
 or the sandy slope in front of the Hall, where, on training- 
 days, the New Boston Artillery, now an institution of the past, 
 with measured tread, martial airs, and nodding plume's, was 
 accustomed to parade, taking captive our eager hearts and 
 stirring our young spirits to envy and admiration. We have 
 again labored up the sides of the old "hill pastures," on 
 every square rod of which, when boys at home, we had brushed 
 the dew with our bare and battered feet, and amid whose end- 
 less perplexities of heap and hollow, rock, stub, thistle, bush, 
 brake, and fern, in hunting the cattle, or attempting to head off 
 some antic horse or provoking steer, our young tempers had 
 been subjected to sorest trial. We have been to the school- 
 house to see once more the oft-remembered grounds, where, 
 with merry voices, we had so often gamed and frolicked, when 
 " playful children just let loose from school ;"— to the gray 
 church-yard, through whose solemn gateway, during these long- 
 years of absence, have been borne, one after another, the 
 remains of those whom, in life, we had known and loved, to 
 mingle with the kindred dust of three generations of our fore- 
 fathers ; — have gazed upon the same sky which bent over us 
 in infancy, still floating the summer clouds, in whose fleeting- 
 shadows, emblems of human life and glory, we accept in age 
 
30 
 
 the lessons rejected in youth. Have mused where once we 
 played, light of heart, beside the " story-telling glens and 
 founts and brooks." Have looked out upon the same grand 
 old woods ; — upon the fields smiling in the same variegated 
 garniture ; — upon 
 
 " The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wild wood, t 
 And every loved spot that our infancy knew." 
 
 " The wide-spreading pond and the mill that stood by it, 
 The bridge and the rock where the cataract fell, 
 The cot of our father, the dairy-house nigh it, 
 And e'en the rude bucket that hung in the well." 
 
 Turning from " all the landscape smiling near," familiar 
 objects still remain, to which distance lends enchantment. 
 
 Within the ample circle marked by the horizon — the grand 
 and diversified panorama, the first upon which we lifted our 
 eyes — there's no feature we do not recognize ; not a picture, 
 not a group we do not recall ; familiar friends, old acquaint- 
 ances all. Yonder, unchanged by time, the Uncannoonucs, 
 sisters of one birth, still lifting their graceful forms to the 
 clouds, stand as when we first beheld them, the same faithful 
 sentinels at the gates of the morning. From the stormy north 
 old Kearsearge, guarding the approaches to the enchanted 
 regions of the White Hills, heaves as of old his huge and gran- 
 ite shoulders high in air. Towards the quarter whence Com- 
 eth the summer shower, the same lofty pile still arrests the 
 eye, as when, driving our father's team afield, we saw the thun- 
 der-cloud break and recoil from the assault upon his forked 
 summit. Standing out against the evening sky is seen the 
 same mellow outline of hills behind which, when we were 
 young, the sun, as now, went down to rest, drawing after him 
 the same unfading curtains of purple and gold ; while away in 
 the hazy distance beyond grand Monadnock towering upward 
 in silent and solitary grandeur, bares, as of yore, his un- 
 daunted and imperial head to the bolting artillery of the skies. 
 To the south, the green slopes and Wooded ridges of Mount 
 Vernon, the plains of- Amherst, the pine forests of Merrimack, 
 now as formerly, sleep in peaceful repose, and, blending with 
 the less distinct landscape beyond, form a picture of rare and 
 
31 
 
 quiet beauty as it stretches outward and onward towards the 
 sea. 
 
 " Oh, nature, how in every charm supreme, 
 Whose votaries feast on raptures ever new, 
 Oh, for the voice and fire of Seraphim, 
 To sing thy glories with devotion due." 
 
 Such are the external scenes and surroundings from which 
 the sons and daughters of New Boston drew their early inspi- 
 4 ration, and under the influences of which were shaped and 
 tempered the elements of their growth and character. Nature 
 rarely fails to impress something of her own features upon 
 the children whom she nourishes upon her bosom. 
 
 Where the earth rises to meet the heavens ; where cataracts 
 foam and the waters leap ; where, above the herds that graze 
 and the fields that bloom in the valleys below, the eagle wheels 
 to his home in the cliffs, 'tis there, other conditions being 
 equal, that the soul most surely " looks up through nature to 
 nature's God;" — that the seeds of liberty and virtue take read- 
 iest and firmest root, and the abodes of men are safest from 
 violence and plunder. 
 
 " Nature, we owe thee much if we have felt 
 Aught of the firm resolve or wish sublime, 
 
 • 'Tis that Ave drank from thee the heavenly draught, 
 And gave thy moral image to the world." 
 
 Peculiarly gratifying as are the circumstances under which 
 we meet ; though fraught with so much of traditional interest 
 and social inspiration, the occasion is not free from suggestions 
 of sadness. Of those, who have gone out from among you 
 within the memory of the present generation, a part only have 
 returned. Some who had hoped to mingle in our festivities 
 have been providentially prevented. Others, whose address 
 was unknown or uncertain, have failed of notice. Many, very 
 ' many, have passed beyond the call of earthly friendships. As 
 well among us who left as you who remained, death has done 
 its inevitable work. Since last we met, who of us all has not 
 lost a friend ? Of all the family circles to which we claim kin- 
 dred, what one has remained unbroken ? Some have passed 
 away in the bright morning of hope and promise ; others have 
 
32 
 
 fallen in the strength and noon of life and labor. In the case 
 of a few, the silver cord has remained unloosed until the eye 
 became dim and the grasshopper a burden. 
 
 How few of the fathers and mothers who bowed at these 
 altars, and worshiped in this mountain, when we were young, 
 are here to greet us to-day ! 
 
 It is not our purpose to obtrude upon the pleasures of this 
 festive season, the memory of private griefs or individual sor- 
 row, of which we have all had our allotted share, or say aught , 
 that might open those heart-wounds over which time has passed 
 his kind and healing hand. But there is one bereavement in 
 which we all equally share, all sorrowing for the loss of one in 
 whom, while living, we found a common friend and father, 
 which forces itself upon our attention, and claims from the 
 passing hour a tribute of filial recognition. To this our social 
 jubilee the charm of his presence is wanting. We miss his 
 genial smile, the cordial grasp of his hand, his words of affec- 
 tionate welcome, his parental benediction. Assembled to mark 
 an era and commemorate so much that is local and interest- 
 ing in our history as a community, it is impossible not to recur 
 to the name of one whose memory, fragrant with a thousand 
 grateful recollections, looks out upon us from every whispering 
 tree and ancient pathway like a living presence, reminding us 
 of the plastic and moulding genius, that seized upon the ele- 
 ments of youthful character and gave them the touch and 
 tone of virtuous manhood and womanly grace, evolving fresh 
 vigor as the years have waned. For a period of forty years, 
 embracing two-fifths of the century now closing, he moved 
 among his people, their acknowledged head, teacher, and guide ; 
 a living exemplar of whatever is pure and excellent in moral 
 and Christian living. To advance your social prosperity, your 
 educational interests, and secure the present and eternal well- 
 being of yourselves and your children, was the unselfish bur- 
 den of his heart, the labor of his life. Faithful to every duty, 
 public and private, failing in attention to no class or condition, 
 with a wise reference to the great truth in the economy of 
 growth, that upon the seed-time depends the future harvest, 
 he took especial interest in the training and education of the 
 young. How vididly do we recall his periodical visitations to 
 
33 
 
 the district schools, regularly occurring at the beginning and 
 again at the close of each term ! They were the events of our 
 school-day years. With what anxious carefulness of prepara- 
 tion, with what lively emotions of anticipated pleasure, we 
 awaited his coming. The young eyes turning, in spite of 
 rules, a sly glance through the window, lighted up with new 
 animation as they saw his approach ; expectation stood on 
 tiptoe as the well-known knock was heard at the door, and the 
 whole school rose to welcome, with the affectionate homage of 
 their obeisance, the advent of a recognized benefactor and 
 friend. No merited praise was withheld, and criticism, when 
 required, was administered with wisdom and charity. He 
 brought a kind word for all, — assurance of reward for the dil- 
 igent, encouragement for the backward, hope for the timid, a 
 sure return of happiness for the good, and to the young aspir- 
 ings of those of brightest promise, though clad in homeliest 
 garb, were held up the attractive awards of future eminence 
 and success. The performance of his parochial duties was 
 without partiality. In visiting the homes of the more afflu- 
 ent, he passed not by the dwellings of the poor. In both he 
 was equally at home, and equally welcome. His words, always 
 fitly spoken, were as " apples of gold in pictures of silver," and 
 " as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies." When the 
 ear heard him, then it blessed him ; and when the eye saw him, 
 it gave witness to him. 
 
 Unto him men gave ear, and waited and kept silence at his 
 counsel. They waited for him as for the rain, and they opened 
 their mouth wide as for the latter rain. 
 
 In the house of gladness his presence and chastened vivacity 
 served but to heighten every innocent pleasure, and to the 
 house of sickness and mourning he hastened to bear, from his 
 Master, precious words of mercy and consolation, — words 
 which few knew so well how to administer. 
 
 " At church, with meek and unaffected grace, 
 His looks adorned the venerable place ; 
 Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway, 
 And fools who came to scoff, remained to pray." 
 
 Possessed of a mind richly endowed by nature and cultivation, 
 of conversational powers of rarest fascination, added to a pres- 
 
34 
 
 ence, at once agreeable and commanding, he took rank from 
 the first among the most gifted and intellectual of his contem- 
 poraries. Though eminently qualified for success in situations 
 affording broader range for intellectual activity and display, he 
 was content to complete the measure of his life and ministry 
 in the less ambitious field to which he was first called, and, at 
 last, be laid to rest among the people to whom his youthful 
 strength and his earliest and only vows were given. 
 
 Venerable man ! " None knew him but to love him, none 
 named him but to praise." And, so long as the Christian faith 
 shall preserve this tabernacle, and here maintain an altar, the 
 name of Ephraim Putnam Bradford shall live in the affection- 
 ate memory of men. 
 
 We have met, fellow-townsmen, for an historic as well as 
 social purpose ; to chronicle events while we glean in the 
 field of recollection ; to pause in the rapid round of years, 
 review the past, and make a record ; to witness the closing 
 scenes of a dying century, and raise a monument, and trace 
 upon it a brief inscription to its memory. Though the range 
 of immediate inquiry is narrow -and special, the task of its ex- 
 amination which we propose to ourselves on this occasion, is 
 not devoid of general interest. The records of states and na- 
 tions are made up from local and partial annals. From out 
 just such materials as the threads and fragments, which the 
 people of New Boston this day " rescue from the common de- 
 cay," the historic muse weaves with cunning hand the varie- 
 gated web of the ages. 
 
 The events connected with the first settlement of New Bos- 
 ton, about the year 1733, and its incorporation thirty years later 
 by the provincial government of New Hampshire, carry us back 
 to an age in which the great thought of separate nationality 
 had not been conceived, and far into the colonial period of 
 American history, to a time when our judges sat in the ermine 
 of Westminster Hall, and governors and magistrates ruled by 
 commissions from the crown ; when men were yet strong who 
 had triumphed with Marlborough at Blenheim and B-amiilies, 
 and our martial ancestors celebrated in scarlet uniforms the 
 imperishable anniversaries in the calendar of British glory; 
 to a period before the French empire in America had been dis- 
 
35 
 
 solved in the shock of battle on the plains of Abraham, or the 
 brave Scottish clans who welcomed Charles Edward to the 
 Highlands had seen the last hope of the house of Stewart 
 perish on the field of Culloden. 
 
 Men and generations pass away, but society and the race 
 continue, and the cause of human progress and civilization, 
 events and their logic, march steadily forward. Youth is re- 
 newed at the grave of age, and over the ruins of universal 
 death new and better forms of life perpetually spring. 
 
 Our origin as a community is involved in no obscurity. It 
 is traceable in plain history, not in uncertain fable. In nation- 
 ality, it was Scotch ; in Christianity, Protestant ; in theology, 
 Calvinistic ; in sect, Presbyterian . We trace the well-marked 
 line of descent and emigration backward, first to Londonderry, 
 New Hampshire ; thence to the counties of Londonderry and 
 Antrim, in the north of Ireland ; and from thence to Argyle- 
 shire and Ayrshire, its source, in the west of Scotland. 
 
 Than ours, few communities can claim a worthier genealogy, 
 or trace a nobler ancestral record. Though compelled to force 
 subsistence from a reluctant soil, though inhabiting a land en- 
 circled by wintry seas, piled with mountains, roaring with tor- 
 rents and wrapt in storms, the Scottish race have achieved 
 results and attained a rank which have challenged the respect 
 and admiration of the world. From external fortune was 
 fashioned the interior character, and both were of iron. Emerg- 
 ing in advance of most of the countries of Europe, from out 
 the barbarism of the middle ages, Scotland has continued for 
 more than seven centuries an historic and civilizing power 
 among the nations of the earth. Like her national " thistle," 
 blooming for her friends and bristling to her enemies, in every 
 period of her history, she has been true to her motto, — 
 
 " Nemo me impune lacessit." 
 
 As the " ever-green pine " of Clan Alpine, moored in the " rift- 
 ed rock proof to the tempest shock," she still abides in immortal 
 youth, with eye undimmed and strength unabated, bearing 
 " length of days in her right hand, and in her left hand riches 
 and honor." In literature, science, and philosophy, notwith- 
 standing her comparatively small population, the array of brill- 
 
36 
 
 iant names she has given to the world is excelled by no country, 
 ancient or modern. 
 
 From the Tweed to the Orkneys, and from the frith of Tay 
 to Loch Shiel, there is no rood of ground which the pen of her 
 gifted sons has not made classical. The yearly pilgrimages 
 made by poets, scholars, and tourists to the various objects of 
 natural grandeur and beauty with which Scotland abounds, are 
 but the homage which taste and learning annually pay to the 
 genius of Burns, of Scott, of Wilson and of Macaulay, who, in 
 deathless song and matchless prose, have invested the estuaries 
 and lochs, the mountains and glens, the banks and braes, the 
 " heathy moors and winding vales " of our fatherland, with life 
 and enchantment. Katrine and Loch-Lomond, Benvenue and 
 Benan, the " Sweeping Nith " and " Bonny Doon," glowing 
 afar in the attractions of romance, will carry down to remotest 
 time the names which have made them immortal. 
 
 The rigors of climate, the severities of labor, the protracted 
 conflicts to which they have been subjected, and through which 
 as well as over which they have triumphed, joined to native 
 force of intellect and a stern Christian faith, have given charac- 
 ter to the Scotch, and enabled them to exhibit, in every condi- 
 tion and under all vicissitudes of fortune, those combined quali- 
 ties of valor, energy, intelligence, constancy, and self-command 
 which create success and exempt nations and individuals alike 
 from the possibilities of failure. It need, therefore, excite no 
 surprise that the inhospitable shores, the bleak mountains, the 
 rocky soil, and the rugged primeval forests of New England 
 had no terrors for and presented no obstacles to our hardy 
 ancestors. They came to their work of settlement and empire 
 with fearless hearts and resolute hands, trusting alone in the 
 favor of Heaven and their own strong arms for success. 
 
 Upon the death of Elizabeth, in 1603, James the First of 
 England and Sixth of Scotland succeeded to the British throne. 
 During the early period of his reign, he directed his attention 
 to the improvement and reformation of Ireland. The cruel 
 and barbarous customs, which had prevailed among the aborigi- 
 nal inhabitants, were abolished, and the English laws, with 
 courts for their administration, were substituted in their stead. 
 Upon the suppression of a revolt, which had been raised 
 
37 
 
 against his authority, the insurrectionary district, embracing 
 the province of Ulster, by attainder of the rebel chiefs, reverted 
 to the Crown. Liberal grants of the forfeited lands were 
 made to companies formed in London, in aid of the royal 
 scheme of securing the permanent pacification of the insurgent 
 district by the introduction of emigrants from England and 
 Scotland. Under the encouraging auspices of the Crown, the 
 process of colonization went rapidly forward. Industry and 
 the arts went with the colonists. The effect produced by the 
 introduction of the new element among the native material 
 soon vindicated the wisdom of the enterprise. Violence and 
 crime diminished, and the country began at once to assume the 
 appearance of comparative order and civilization. The rebel- 
 lion had left the ancient city of Derry in ruins. With a view 
 to its reconstruction, the site upon which it had stood, together 
 with six thousand acres of adjacent lands, were granted to the 
 city of London in its corporate capacity, whence the old city 
 and county of Derry received the name of Londonderry. Emi- 
 grants from Scotland, companies of whom began to arrive as 
 early as 1612, settled in the counties of Londonderry and 
 Antrim, which thus became for a long and eventful period the 
 home of our ancestors. During the three following reigns, and 
 including the period of the commonwealth, the colonists in Ire- 
 land continued to receive, from time to time, large accessions 
 to their numbers from among their kindred and countrymen 
 from England and Scotland. So that, at the commencement 
 of the memorable struggle of 1688, which resulted in the com- 
 plete dethronement of James the Second, and his final expul- 
 sion from the British islands, the Protestants of Ulster had 
 become, not indeed numerically, but by reason of superior 
 energy, skill, and intelligence, the dominant and controlling 
 class in the north of Ireland. Throughout that renowned con- 
 test of arms, their zeal, endurance, and intrepidity have never 
 been surpassed. To their long and heroic defence of London- 
 derry, by which the French and Irish army was for months 
 baffled and delayed, and before which it finally rolled back 
 over the line of its advance, broken and demoralized, the cause 
 of freedom and Christian civilization is in no small degree in- 
 debted for the success of that most auspicious and happy of 
 
38 
 
 revolutions which brought William of Orange and Mary to the 
 throne. 
 
 Subsequent to this event, and a little less than thirty years 
 thereafter, one hundred and twenty families of Scotch descent, 
 from the counties before mentioned, among whom were many 
 who had witnessed and some who had participated in the 
 memorable siege, prompted chiefly by the hope of securing a 
 larger measure of civil and religious liberty, prepared to bid a 
 final adieu to the old world, and try their fortune in the new. 
 
 They left the shores of Ireland in five ships, and arrived 
 at Boston August 4, 1718. Sixteen of these families, having 
 obtained from the authorities of Massachusetts leave to locate 
 upon any of the unappropriated lands under the jurisdiction 
 of that province, a township of twelve miles square, proceeded, 
 during the autumn, to Casco Bay, with the design of settling 
 in the neighborhood of what is now Portland ; if, upon view, a 
 satisfactory location should be found. The expedition proved 
 unsuccessful. After passing, in the harbor of Falmouth, a 
 winter of unusual severity, through which they were subjected 
 to extreme suffering, both from cold and hunger, they started 
 upon their return on the first opening of spring, and, coasting 
 westward, entered the mouth of the Merrimack, and ascending 
 it to the head of navigation, landed at Haverhill, then a fron- 
 tier town, on the second of April, 1719. At this place flat- 
 tering representations were made to them of a tract of country 
 lying but a few miles northerly, to which, by reason of the 
 abundance and variety' of nuts found there, had been given the 
 name of Nuffield. Thither the impatient adventurers, without 
 delay, bent their weary but still resolute steps, and on the 
 eleventh of April rested upon the soil of our then future Lon- 
 donderry. It was the time of spring. Nature, throughout all 
 her myriad arteries, was throbbing with the tides of returning 
 life. The wild grass was springing in the narrow glades and 
 along the margin of the streams ; the forests of sturdy growth, 
 swelling with preparation, were just ready to burst into ver- 
 dure ; and every living thing, that had a voice, joined in a 
 general chorus of welcome to the vernal year. It was the 
 season of hope, and the scene was one of gladness. Here the 
 little company of emigrants, weak in numbers but strong in 
 
39 
 
 spirit, at once determined to locate their grant and build their 
 homes. Committing themselves and their infant enterprise to 
 the keeping of that Being in whom they reverently trusted, 
 they went to the work assigned them with a faith that never 
 faltered, and with hands that never tired. 
 
 Had the acquisition of fame been the end at which they 
 aimed, their aspirations must have been fully satisfied could 
 they have seen the distinguished position they were destined to 
 occupy in the domain of history. But such was not the ambi- 
 tion which led them on. 
 
 " Not as the conqueror comes, 
 
 They, the true-hearted, came ; 
 Not with the roll of the stirring drums 
 And the trumpet that sings of fame. 
 
 Not as the flying come, 
 
 In silence, and in fear : 
 They shook the depths of the forest gloom 
 
 With their hymns of lofty cheer. 
 
 What sought they thus afar ? 
 
 Bright jewels of the mine ? 
 The wealth of seas ? the spoils of war ? 
 
 They sought a faith's pure shrine. 
 
 Ay, call it holy ground, — 
 
 The soil where first they trod ! 
 They have left unstained what there they found, — 
 
 Freedom to worship God." 
 
 Then and there were laid the foundations of a community 
 which was destined to act a most important and distinguished 
 part in the future settlement, growth, and triumphs of New 
 Hampshire. Prosperity attended this colony from the begin- 
 ing. The tomahawk and torch of the savage, by which so many 
 neighboring settlements had been surprised and desolated, 
 came not near its borders. The pestilence, which had wasted 
 so many colonies, averted its breath from this. For nearly or 
 quite a half century, accessions were almost yearly made to its 
 strength and numbers from the ranks of newly-arrived emi- 
 grants of like faith and blood. The history of this community, 
 
40 
 
 from its inception, was one of uninterrupted growth and suc- 
 cess. It proved a fountain from which, as well as into which, 
 streams of emigration flowed. It is estimated that there are 
 now living more than twenty-five thousand persons, some of 
 whom are to be found in almost every town of New England, 
 and not a few beyond its borders, who derived their origin from 
 this people. Windham and Londonderry, Vt. ; Cherry Valley, 
 N. Y. ; Windham, N. H. ; Acworth, Chester, Manchester, Bed- 
 ford, New Boston, Antrim, Peterborough, Francestown, Goffs- 
 town, Henniker, and Deering were first settled, all of them 
 largely, and several of them, including New Boston, almost en- 
 tirely, by emigrants from Londonderry. Of New Boston it may 
 be said, more emphatically than of any other town, she was' the 
 child of Londonderry. 
 
 Many other settlements received early and important acces- 
 sions from the same source, and, notwithstanding these heavy 
 drafts upon her population, the mother township numbered 
 within her own borders, in 1775, two thousand five hundred 
 and ninety souls. 
 
 Having thus briefly traced the history of the colony by whose 
 sturdy sons and sterling daughters our own town was founded 
 and its character and institutions formed, it only remains to be 
 added, that no community within the limits of New Hampshire 
 has exerted a wider or happier influence in shaping the destinies 
 and advancing the honor of the State, than Londonderry. 
 
 Throughout the struggle of the Revolution no town displayed 
 greater unanimity, constancy, and zeal for the patriot cause, or 
 made larger contributions of men and means to secure its suc- 
 cess. Thornton, Stark, Reid, Gregg, and McCleary are of the 
 men she gave to the cause and the country, — names which 
 have shed imperishable lustre upon the annals of the States, and 
 abide forever in the gratitude of a free people. 
 
 THE GEANT. 
 
 New Boston was granted, January 14, 1736, by " the Great 
 and General Court or Assembly, for His Majesty's province of 
 Massachusetts Bay," to John Simpson and fifty-two others, in- 
 habitants of Boston. The name New Boston, which was sug- 
 
41 
 
 gested from the residence of the grantees, was first applied to 
 the township by the proprietors on the 16th of April, 1751, in a 
 call for a meeting, as follows : " The proprietors of a township 
 granted to John Simpson and others, and lying on the branches 
 of Piscataquog river, known by the name of New Boston, are 
 hereby notified," &c. 
 
 The proprietors held tieir first meeting April 21, 1736, 
 " at the house of Luke Vardy," Boston. 
 
 In the records of their proceedings from 1736 to 1751, the 
 township is variously designated, sometimes as " the township 
 granted to John Simpson and others ; " sometimes as " the 
 township lying on the branches of the Piscataquog river, 
 bounded on two of the Narraganset towns, viz., No. 3 and No. 
 5 " (Amherst and Bedford) ; and again as " the new township 
 lying on the south and middle branches of the Piscataquog 
 river." 
 
 The grant was of " a township in the unappropriated lands 
 of the province, of the contents of six miles square, with one 
 thousand acres added for ponds," and two rods in each hundred 
 " for unevenness of surface and swagg of chain." In pursuance 
 of authority contained in the act, the grant was located in Feb- 
 ruary, 1736 (new style), by a survey made by Jeremiah Cum- 
 mings, surveyor, and Zacheus Lovewell and James Cummings, 
 chainmen, appointed and sworn for that purpose, and as thus 
 located, the grant was confirmed the 20th of the following 
 March. 
 
 For a part of the distance on two sides, the survey bounded 
 the township by Amherst and Bedford, then known as the 
 Narraganset towns, Nos. 3 and 5. The rest of the way the 
 line was run through " province lands " by courses and monu- 
 ments. The lines then established remain the present bounda- 
 ries of the town. 
 
 In 1746, an event occurred which occasioned no inconsidera- 
 ble alarm, not only to the proprietor! of New Boston, but on 
 the part of land-o*\ r ners throughout the province as well, who 
 held their grants under the government of Massachusetts. The 
 claim put forth by the Masons to the soil of New Hampshire, 
 and from time to time pressed with great pertinacity and 
 various success, had long been a prolific source of litigation and 
 
42 
 
 embarrassment. Doubts, which had thus been cast upon the 
 tenure by which the lands were held, had necessarily tended to 
 retard the growth and settlement of the towns. In the year 
 last mentioned, John Tufton Mason, the heir of Capt. John 
 Mason, the original grantee of the province, for the considera- 
 tion of 1,500 pounds, sold and conveyed his title to Mark H. 
 Wentworth, Theodore Atkinson, Johu Wentworth (son of Ben- 
 ning Wentworth, then governor), and nine others, residents of 
 Portsmouth. These twelve persons were afterward known as 
 the " Masonian proprietors." The high standing of these gen- 
 tlemen, their intimate relations to the royal government, and 
 the uncertainty which at first prevailed in reference to their 
 purposes, greatly excited and disturbed the public mind. These 
 apprehensions, however, were soon dispelled. 
 
 The course taken by the Masonian proprietors allayed all 
 serious disquietude, and was at once liberal and enlightened. 
 They proceeded immediately to release their claims to all towns 
 previously granted by Massachusetts, east of the Merrimack, 
 and a few years later quitclaimed all similar grants west of 
 that river. 
 
 The union of New Hampshire with Massachusetts, having 
 been dissolved five years before (1741), their title to the unap- 
 propriated lands was acknowledged, and of these lands grants 
 were made upon just and reasonable terms. Thus was rapidly 
 and fortunately settled the long and vexed controversy, and the 
 title of the grantees to their grants, and the settlers to their 
 homes, became finally and satisfactorily quieted. 
 
 In May, 1751, the New Boston proprietors appointed a com- 
 mittee, consisting of John Hill, Robert Boyce, and James Hal- 
 sey, to confer with the Masonion proprietors in reference to 
 their " claims if any they made to the township." In August 
 of the same year, Col. Joseph Blanchard was appointed a com- 
 mittee with power on the part of claimants. The two commit- 
 tees met at Dunstable, at the residence of Col. Blanchard, and 
 such proceedings were had and concluded, that afterward, and 
 in December following (1751), the Masonian proprietors con- 
 veyed to the proprietors of New Boston the original township, 
 and in addition thereto, by the same conveyance, made a further 
 grant of six square miles, being an oblong 1 tract four miles long 
 
43 
 
 by one mile and a half wide, extending from north to south along 
 the west bounds of the original township, and down to the Salem- 
 Canada or Lyndeborough line. In the subsequent proceedings 
 of the proprietors, this new grant was referred to as the " new 
 addition," or " new additional land," and became known in the 
 local history of the times as the " New Boston addition." From 
 this addition, and a part of Society land, Francestown was 
 erected and incorporated in 1772, thus reducing New Boston 
 to its original boundaries. 
 
 It was made one of the conditions of the original grant, that 
 the town should be laid out "' into sixty-three equal shares, one 
 of which to be for the first settled minister, one for the minis- 
 try, and one for the schools." This would give to each share 
 or lot about four hundred acres. Though, for greater con- 
 venience, the Massachusetts grant was divided into lots of 150 
 acres each, and the new addition into lots of 100 acres, the 
 condition imposed and accepted was faithfully fulfilled, and 
 the required quantity of land set apart and sacredly devoted to 
 each of the objects specified. 
 
 In this connection let it be remembered, once for all, that 
 whenever and wherever the pioneers of New England went to 
 open up the forests and cast in their lot, they carried with them, 
 as the grand agencies in the work of settlement and civilization, 
 the Christian church and the common school. These instru- 
 mentalities lose none of their importance by change of condition 
 or lapse of time. They are continuing and unalterable necessi- 
 ties. And here and now, as the last sands of a century fall and 
 disappear, and speaking for the first and doubtless for the last 
 time to the people among whom we were reared and for whom 
 affectionate memories have been retained, we pause to declare, 
 as the result of our deepest convictions, that neither yourselves 
 nor those who shall come after you have any sure promise for 
 the life that now is, or the life which is to come, except as you 
 and they shall value and cherish these twin institutions of grace 
 and knowledge left by our fathers in solemn charge. 
 
 THE SETTLEMENT. 
 
 In meagre and imperfect notices of New Boston which we 
 find in various gazetteers to which, access has been had, and 
 
44 
 
 which are little more than mere copies of each other, and 
 traceable doubtless to the same original source of information, 
 it is said that the first settlement was begun about the year 
 1733. The statement rests upon no sufficient authority. It is 
 possible that some adventurer in quest of game, or for purposes 
 of exploration, may have found his way here, and erected within 
 the limits of the township a temporary cabin, as early, as the 
 year indicated, but it is believed that no permanent settlement 
 was begun until several years later. In 1741, New Hampshire 
 was separated finally from Massachusetts, and became an inde- 
 pendent province. Benning Wentworth was appointed gov- 
 ernor, which office he continued to hold until 1767, when he 
 was succeeded by his nephew John Wentworth. Upon the 
 organization of the new government in 1741, the New Boston 
 proprietors appointed a committee " to wait upon the govern- 
 ment and acquaint them that we are the proprietors of the land 
 by virtue of a grant from Massachusetts, that we are going on 
 to settle the same, and have expended already, by way of pro- 
 moting settlements and improvements, over two thousand 
 pounds." From this general statement it would appear that at 
 this date some " small beginnings" had been made, but these 
 are believed to have been very inconsiderable. 
 
 The enterprise was one of hardships and difficulty. The 
 forest growths were dense and heavy, the surface broken and 
 hilly, the soil rocky and stern. Surveys and allotments had 
 to be made, roads opened, bridges thrown across the streams, 
 and provisions and materials brought long distances by tedious 
 stages over rough and unworked ways ; and notwithstanding 
 the proprietors, besides direct donations of land and grants of 
 special privileges, had expended, from time to time, very con- 
 siderable sums of money in aid of general improvements, and 
 with a view of securing an early settlement, for several years, 
 the progress made seems to have been slow and doubtful. It 
 was not until as late as 1750 that such substantial beginnings 
 had been made as insured the complete success of the enter- 
 prise. At this period the tide of Scotch-Irish mind and muscle 
 from Londonderry began to set in, and from thence the growth 
 of New Boston went steadily and rapidly forward, until the 
 townNreached its maturity in 1820. The first census of the 
 
45 
 
 settlement was taken under the authority of the proprietors in 
 1756, and is the earliest reliable record to be found. Septem- 
 ber 24, 1754, the proprietors met at the " Royal Exchange 
 tavern in King street" (now State), Boston, "kept by Capt. 
 Robert Stone," and appointed Col. John Hill and Robert Jen- 
 kins a committee, with directions " to view the settlements 
 at New Boston township, and make report of the same to the 
 proprietors." 
 
 In the summer of 1756, the committee visited the " settle- 
 ments," and on the 11th of November of the same year, sub- 
 mitted their repart to the proprietors at a meeting called " to 
 receive the^eport of the committee who have been up to view 
 the settlements in said town, and to dispose of such forfeited 
 rights as the proprietors shall think proper." By this report it 
 appears there were at the time of its date (Sept. 25, 1756), 
 within the limits of the township, 59 persons, namely, 26 men, 
 11 women, 9 boys, and 13 girls. There were 215 acres of land 
 cleared, 82 houses completed, 6 frames not enclosed, 2 camp 
 houses and one barn, one saw-mill, and " one grain-mill and 
 dam complete." Two men had " gone to the war," one man 
 was sick, one male child and two female children had been 
 born in the town. The following, as well as we have been able 
 to ascertain, are the names of the 26 men, and which are be- 
 lieved to. be nearly or quite accurate. Thomas Smith, John 
 Smith, Samuel Smith, James Ferson, John Blair, William 
 Blair, Thomas Cochran, James Cochran, Abraham Cochran, 
 Robert Cochran, Samuel Cochran, William McNeil, John Burns, 
 Andrew Walker, Robert Walker, Isaac Walker, James Hunter, 
 John McAlister, George Christie, Thomas Wilson, James Wil- 
 son, James Caldwell, William Gray, Allen Moore, William 
 Moore, and Robert Boyce. The Clarks, the McLaughlins, the 
 McMillens, the Livingstons, the McCollums, the Greggs, the 
 Kelsos, the Campbells, and the Dodges came soon after. 
 
 Eleven years later (1767), by order of Governor Wen tworth, 
 the selectmen of the various towns within his jurisdiction were 
 required to make and return, during the year, a census of their 
 respective towns. "The census made in pursuance of this author- 
 ity was the first general and complete one taken of the province, 
 and contains many curious and valuable statistics. The returns 
 
46 
 
 for New Boston showed the following particulars : unmarried 
 men, between the ages of 16 and 60, 25 ; married men, be- 
 tween the same ages, 41 ; boys, 16 and under, 92 ; men, 60 
 and above, 6; females, unmarried, 80 — married, 47; male 
 slaves, 1 ; female slaves, 2 ; widows, 3 : total population, 296. 
 Who 44 of these adult males were, may be seen by reference to 
 the list of names appended to the call, presented to the Rev. 
 Solomon Moor, August 25 of the same year. It is an inter- 
 esting fact, that of the 41 male heads of families in town, nearly 
 all must have united in the call. 
 
 At this period (1767), there were thirty-one towns in the 
 province represented in the house of representative* which con- 
 sisted of thirty-one members, and held its sessions at Ports- 
 mouth, the seat of the royal government. 
 
 A third census was taken at the beginning of the Revolution 
 in 1775. It was made after the retirement of the royal govern- 
 ment, and under the direction of the provisional convention 
 assembled at Exeter in the spring of that year. This census 
 was also general, extending throughout the province, and was 
 intended, in addition to securing a correct enumeration of the 
 inhabitants, to obtain more accurate information with.reference 
 to the temper and defensive resources of the towns. The result 
 for this town was thus given : males under 16, 164 ; males, 
 from 16 to 50, not in the army, 98 ; males over 50, 27 ; per- 
 sons in the army, 20 ; females of all ages, 256 ; negroes and 
 slaves for life, 4 : total population, 569. It is gratifying to find 
 that New Boston was not behind her sister towns in effective 
 aid to the patriot cause, having furnished, during the first weeks 
 of the war, more than one-sixth of her male population, between 
 the ages of 16 and 50, as recruits to the army. 
 
 In 1790, the number of inhabitants in the town had increas- 
 ed to 1,202 j in 1800 to 1,491 ; in 1810 it was 1,619, and in 
 1820 it reached 1,686. At this period the town attained its 
 greatest population, if not to its highest condition of prosperity. 
 There were within its limits 16 school districts, 14 school- 
 houses, 1 tavern, 3 stores, 25 saw-mills, 6 grain-mills, 2 cloth- 
 ing-mills, 2 carding-mills, 1 bark-mill, and 2 tanneries. In the 
 number of saw-mills, New Boston, at that time, exceeded any 
 other town in the State. The river valley and the neighborhood 
 
47 
 
 of the lesser streams abounded with pines of clear and lofty 
 growth, and the lumbering business early became an important 
 interest, and was largely and profitably prosecuted for many 
 years. 
 
 THE INCORPORATION. 
 
 The town was incorporated by the government of New 
 Hampshire February 18, 1763. By the charter, which bears 
 the sign manual and additions of " Benning Wentworth, Esq., 
 Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of New 
 Hampshire," and "Attested," "Theodore Atkinson, Jun., 
 Sec," " John Goffe, Esq.," was appointed and directed to call 
 the first town meeting. The meeting was required to be held 
 within twenty days after the date of the charter ; the time, 
 place, and objects of the meeting to be specified in the notice. 
 The charter contained the further provision that from and after 
 the first election, " the annual meeting of said town for choice 
 of officers and the management of its affairs, should be held 
 within said town on the first Monday of March in each year." 
 From that day to this, " March meeting " has remained one of 
 the " institutions " of New Boston. In pursuance of the author- 
 ity delegated, Col. Goffe proceeded at once to execute the duty 
 assigned. The call specified as objects of the meeting : 1st. " To 
 choose all their town officers for the year ensuing as the law 
 directs. 2d. To see what money the town will raise to defray 
 the charge of the town and pay for preaching to the inhabitants 
 for the year ensuing." The meeting was held, in pursuance of 
 the notice, March 10 (1763), at the house of Deacon Thomas 
 Cochran, about a mile easterly of the present business centre of 
 the town. Deacon Cochran was the great-grandfather of your 
 worthy townsman, William C. Cochran, was one of the first set- 
 tlers, and took a leading and useful part in the early affairs of 
 the town and of the church. The ample homestead, which he 
 founded and left, has continued in the possession of his de- 
 scendants to the present time. 
 
 The record of this first town meeting is as follows : — 
 
 " Moderator, Thomas Cochran. 
 
 " Voted, Alexander McCollum, Town Clerk. 
 
48 
 
 " Voted, There shall be five selectmen : Thomas Cochran, James McFerson, 
 Nathaniel Cochran, John McAllister, John Carson, Selectmen. 
 
 " Voted, Thomas Wilson, Constable. 
 
 " Voted, Matthew Caldwell, John Smith, James Wilson, George Christy; 
 Thomas Brown, Surveyors of Highways. 
 
 " Voted, Abraham Cochran, Samuel Nickles, Tithing Men. 
 
 " Voted, William Gray, John Burns, Hog Reeves. 
 
 " Voted, John Carson, James Hunter, Deer Keepers. 
 
 " Voted, John Cochran, Invoice Man, or Commissioner of Assessments. 
 
 " Voted, That a pound shall be built by the corn mill, and that Deacon 
 Thomas Cochran shall be Pound Master. 
 
 " Voted, Matthew Caldwell, James Wilson, Accountants to examine accounts 
 of Selectmen. 
 
 " Voted, To raise 100 pounds to defray charges for present year and for 
 preaching." 
 
 It will be seen that several of the offices filled at this election 
 had become, in the new condition of the people, entirely use- 
 less. The fact that these time-honored places of dignity were 
 not suffered to remain vacant furnishes an amusing as well as 
 forcible illustration of the power of ancient forms and old insti- 
 tutions to which the minds of men have long been accustomed. 
 The next year the number of selectmen was reduced to three, 
 which has since remained unchanged. The two succeeding 
 " March meetings " — those of 1764 and 1765 — 'were held at 
 the house of John McLaughlin. That of 1766 was held in the 
 " meeting-house." This occurred on the 3d of March, and was 
 the first annual town meeting convened in that building, and 
 indicates about the time of its completion. From this time for- 
 ward, for a period of nearly three quarters of a century, the an- 
 nual and business meetings of the town continued to be held 
 within its walls, and until the venerable old edifice, hallowed 
 by so many interesting and sacred associations, yielded at last 
 to the innovations of time, and disappeared, from its place. 
 Those who are curious to learn what became of the quaint old 
 pile, and to know the ample timbers and honest materials, of 
 which it was composed, will find the objects of their inquiries 
 artfully disguised under the outward seeming of a modern town- 
 house. 
 
 In this connection it may not be uninteresting to know some- 
 thing of" John Goffe, Esq.," the person who as already stated 
 
49 
 
 appeared here in February, 1763, to aid in organizing the town. 
 His life was an eventful one, and viewed at this distance pos- 
 sesses much of romantic interest. He commenced life as a 
 hunter, and located in Derryfield, at or near the junction of the 
 Cohos brook with the Merrimack river. Later in life he remov- 
 ed to Bedford, in whose soil his ashes now rest in honor. In 
 favor with the Wentworths, he was early advanced to places of 
 public trust. Of deep religious convictions, he was accustomed, 
 for want of a licensed ministry, to lead assemblies of the people 
 in public worship. In 174(3, he was sent in command of a com- 
 pany of militia to the frontier, against the Indians. As lieutenant 
 colonel commanding a detachment of the New Hampshire regi- 
 ment, he was at Ticonderoga. At the opening of the campaign 
 of 1757, and in August of the same year, he was present at the 
 surrender of Fort William Henry to the French. Promoted to 
 the rank of colonel, at the head of eight hundred men, he join- 
 ed the campaign which resulted in the conquest of Canada, in 
 1760. In 1767, he represented Amherst and Bedford in gen- 
 eral court. In 1768, was made colonel of the old ninth regiment 
 of New Hampshire militia. He was the first judge of probate 
 of the county of Hillsborough, which office he held from 1771 
 to 1776. Brave, genial, and capable, he was largely trusted and 
 universally beloved. At the breaking out of the Revolution, he 
 had become too infirm to take the field, but casting his martial 
 mantle on his son, who wore it not unworthily, he gave his 
 heart and his pen to the cause of his country. Long and hon- 
 orably associated with the more prominent and stirring events 
 in the early history of the towns bordering on our own, the 
 addition of a passing word to the record of his fame was not 
 deemed unbecoming the occasion. 
 
 During the revolutionary period, if we may judge from the 
 character of her representative men, New Boston was neither 
 indifferent nor unfaithful to the cause of independence. In the 
 first provincial congress, as it was called, which met at Exeter, 
 in May, 1775, and over which Matthew Thornton presided, the 
 town was represented by Thomas Wilson. The second con- 
 gress, which met in December of the same year, resolved itself 
 into two bodies, a council and house of representatives, the first 
 council being chosen by and from the representative body, and 
 ~ ? 
 
50 
 
 afterwards both branches were elected by the people. The 
 government thus instituted continued during the war, and until 
 superseded by the permanent government of New Hampshire, 
 in 1784. The house consisted of eighty-nine members, of 
 which the county of Hillsborough was entitled to seventeen. 
 To this branch of the legislature, New Boston and Francestown 
 united in sending one representative. In 1776, Capt. Benjamin 
 Dodge, of New Boston, was chosen. In 1777 and 1778, Archi- 
 bald McMillen, of New Boston. For the two following sessions, 
 William Starrett, of Francestown. In 1780, James Caldwell, 
 of New Boston. In a delegated convention which assembled at 
 Concord, in September, 1779, to consider the state of the cur- 
 rency, then an absorbing question, William Livingston sat as 
 representative for the town. It is a matter for congratulation 
 that, on this occasion of historic interest and review, New 
 Boston may recall with just pride, and after the lapse of more 
 than four-fifths of a century, the character of the men whom 
 she honored and trusted in those years of public anxiety and 
 peril. 
 
 CHURCHES AND CHURCH EDIFICES. 
 
 The Presbyterian church and society was the first and for a 
 long period the only religious organization in town. This organ- 
 ization is known to have been as early as 1768, and there can be 
 little doubt it was formed some years earlier. The first settled 
 minister was the Rev. Solomon Moor. Mr. Moor was born in 
 Newtown, Limavady, Ireland, in 1736 ; graduated at the Univer- 
 sity of Glasgow, 1758 ; was licensed to preach by the presbytery 
 of Londonderry, Ireland, July 26, 1762 ; ordained a " min- 
 ister at large " in 1766, and soon after sailed for America, and 
 arrived at Halifax in October of the same year. Making but a 
 brief stay at the latter place, he proceeded to Boston, where he 
 delivered his first sermon in America, from the pulpit of the 
 Rev. Mr. Moorhead. The following Sabbath he preached for 
 the Rev. Mr. McGregore, at Londonderry West Parish, and in 
 February, 1767, came to New Boston with letters of commen- 
 dation from the Rev. William Davidson, pastor of the first 
 church in Londonderry. Cordially and gratefully welcomed 
 by the people, he at once commenced among them the work of 
 
51 
 
 the ministry, and on the 25th of August following, received a 
 unanimous call to become their pastor. Continuing his labors, 
 he held the call under advisement nearly a year, and until July 
 1, 1768,* when he gave in his acceptance, and the relation of 
 pastor and people was solemnized by his public installation on 
 the 6th of September following. 
 
 The relation thus formed continued unbroken until his death, 
 which occurred May 28, 1803, at the age of sixty-seven. His 
 ministry proved a useful and acceptable one, and embraced a 
 period of thirty-six years. In 1770, Mr. Moor was married to 
 Ann Davidson, daughter of Rev. William Davidson, before 
 mentioned. This estimable lady, whose memory is associated 
 with whatever is grateful in social and Christian charities, found 
 favor in the eyes of the people with whom she had come to cast 
 in her responsible lot, and retained it to the close of life. She 
 survived her husband many years, and widely and respectfully ' 
 known to old and young as " Madam Moor," lingered among 
 us until within the present generation, receiving from all who 
 approached her the affectionate homage due to her station and 
 virtues. As, at the end of a long summer day, the sun retires 
 slowly and calmly to rest through the mild glories of evening, 
 so, full of years of right living, closes the life of the aged good. 
 
 At the time of Mr. Moor's settlement, he boarded in the fam- 
 ily of Mr. Robert White, who lived on the crown of the hill a 
 few rods northeasterly of where Abraham Wason now resides. 
 In this connection the town records have this entry : — 
 
 " August 15, 1768, Province of New Hampshire. 
 
 " At a legal meeting of the inhabitants of New Boston : 
 "Voted, Thomas Cochran, Moderator. 
 
 " Voted, Robert White provide entertainment for ministers at the instalment 
 of the Rev. Mr. Moor, and bring in his charge to the town." 
 
 The earlier records of the corporate meetings of the town, 
 both annual and special, abound in entries of kindred charac- 
 ter, touching the affairs of the church, showing that for many 
 years the business of the town and temporalities of the church 
 were equally regarded as matters of the same general and com- 
 mon concern. That there was anything improper in the union, 
 
52 
 
 seems not to have been suggested. Those interested in the 
 town were not less interested in the church. The supporters 
 of the one included the supporters of the other, — woven to- 
 gether in harmony, and apparently without seam, by those of 
 one faith and mind, the two grew and expanded as associated 
 interests, without rent or discord. In all this there was no 
 offence to conscience, nor disregard of the voluntary principle, 
 so long as there were none to be aggrieved, and all continued 
 of the same mind. In the process of time, as other religious el- 
 ements were introduced, and a sister church of different denom- 
 inational faith came to be organized, the practice alluded to 
 yielded to the changed relations of the people. In connection 
 with the pulpit of the Presbyterian society,. it remains only to 
 be added, that in May, 1805, Mr. Bradford, whose life has al- 
 ready passed into history, commenced his public labors as a 
 • candidate, and on the 26th of February, 1806, was ordained 
 and installed as the successor of Mr. Moor. 
 
 The Baptist church and society was organized in November, 
 1799, and in 1804 took the name of " The Calvinistic Baptist 
 Church in New Boston." Its first house of worship was erected 
 in 1805, in the westerly part of the town, a distance of about 
 three miles from the lower village, where its present church 
 edifice is located. The first settled minister was the Rev. Isaiah 
 Stone. He commenced his labors with the church in 1801, and 
 on the 8th of January, 1806, was installed as its pastor. His 
 installation, as will be seen, was the same year, and a few weeks 
 earlier, than that of Mr. Bradford. He continued his pastoral 
 relations until 1824, and was succeeded by your distinguished 
 townsman, the Rev. John Atwood, afterwards and for many 
 years honorably occupied with the duties of public life in the 
 department of politics. 
 
 It would seem to have been the intention of the proprietors 
 of New Boston at an early period to build up a centre of trade 
 and population on "the plains" in the northeasterly quarter 
 of the township. The reasons which induced this contemplated 
 enterprise are now only conjectural. Whatever they may have 
 been, the plan of erecting a meeting-house and group of dwell- 
 ings in that neighborhood was actually undertaken and partially 
 executed as early as 1740. We find the subject of completing 
 
53 
 
 the meeting-house specified as one of the objects of a meeting 
 of the proprietors, called for the 15th of May, 1751, and after 
 an interval of more than ten years. The uncompleted struc- 
 ture, however, was never finished, or used as a place of wor- 
 ship. It was soon found that a location so remote from the 
 geographical centre of the town was unfavorable to the settle- 
 ment of the whole grant, and the enterprise was abandoned. 
 Of this attempted settlement little more is known. Whether 
 the buildings, some sixty in number, were left to decay upon 
 the spot where they were hastily thrown together, or were con- 
 sumed by fire, or partially removed for use elsewhere, or what 
 were the motives which originally prompted the undertaking, 
 other than to save a possible forfeiture, by forcing a technical 
 compliance with the three years' limitation of the grant, are 
 questions to which no satisfactory answers can be made, and in 
 reference to which no certain trace or reliable tradition remains. 
 
 The first church edifice built in town, used as a place of pub- 
 lic worship, was the one to which allusion has been made in a 
 previous connection, and known, since the erection of the new 
 structure in 1823, as the " old meeting-house." It stood on 
 the northern slope of the hill, and overlooking the river valley, 
 a few rods south and above the burying-ground. It was built 
 by Ebenezer Beard, under contract with the proprietors, by 
 whom the plans and specifications were furnished. It was 
 begun as early as 1764, and completed in July or August, 1767, 
 and about the time the call to Mr. Moor bears date. 
 
 The commencement of the work was greatly delayed in con- 
 sequence of difficulty or indecision with reference to the ques- 
 tion of location. Becoming satisfied, from the report of the 
 committee of visitation in 1756, that the " settlements " would 
 prove a success, the proprietors proceeded immediately to ap- 
 point a committee, with instructions " to fix on a place in or 
 near the centre of the town, for the public worship of God ; 
 and also for a public burying-place, as they shall think most 
 suitable, for the whole community." 
 
 The only record left to us of the action of this committee, is 
 comprehended in the brief entry : " Fixed on lot 81." This 
 lot embraced Buxton Hill, an eminence on the north side of the 
 river, corresponding to that on the south, upon which the site 
 
54 
 
 was aftewards located, and is supposed to have been the place 
 selected. No action appears to have been taken on the report 
 of this committee, if indeed any formal report was ever sub- 
 mitted, and the question still remained an open one. In 1762, 
 a more successful effort was made. The proprietors, for the 
 convenience of the inhabitants, and in order to secure greater 
 facilities for general consultation and interchange of views, held 
 a meeting at the house of Thomas Cochran ; and, subsequently, 
 at Dunstable, September 14, 1762, appointed a new committee, 
 consisting of Matthew Patten, John Chamberlain, and Samuel 
 Patten, with directions " to select a spot for a meeting-house, in 
 the most convenient place, to build a meeting-house or place 
 of public worship thereon, and report as soon as possible." At 
 this meeting, Allen Moore, George Christy, John McAlister, 
 James Hunter, Thomas Wilson, Thomas Cochran, and James 
 Caldwell, residents of the town, are named as having been 
 present, and participating in its proceedings. In July follow- 
 ing (1763), the committee, having unanimously agreed upon a 
 location, submitted their conclusions in writing, in which they 
 state that " they had visited several places, and heard the rea- 
 sonings of the proprietors and inhabitants of said town, and do 
 report to the proprietors that the lot No. 79, in the second di- 
 vision, and near the centre of the lot on the south side of the 
 Piscataquog river, south of a red oak tree marked with the let- 
 ter C, near the grave of a child buried there, is the most proper 
 place or spot to build a meeting-house on in town, according to 
 our judgment." 
 
 The report was at once adopted, and the question of location 
 settled accordingly ; and, in September, the same committee 
 were further authorized to enter into contract, on behalf of the 
 proprietors, with " some suitable person, for building the meet- 
 ing-house already voted, as soon as may be." Thus, after re- 
 peated delays and disappointments, more or less inseparable 
 from all new beginnings, the settlers were now able to look for- 
 ward to a speedy realization of what from the first they had 
 steadily sought and devoutly wished, an appropriate house of 
 public worship, and a settled ministry. 
 
 That portion of the present graveyard, first used as a burial- 
 ground, was set apart for that purpose about the date at which 
 
55 
 
 the church site was fixed upon. The southerly bounds were 
 run so as to include the new-made grave mentioned in the com- 
 mittee's report, thus making it the first within the sacred in- 
 closure. Whose was next, is not known or now ascertainable. 
 The earliest inscription is that on the stone erected to the 
 memory of the first town clerk, Mr. Alexander McCollum, and 
 t)ears date in 1768. 
 
 As connected with our own early history, and principally 
 because it is our own, how interesting and suggestive is the 
 allusion to that first little grave. The emotions excited are 
 mingled with pleasurable sadness as well as awakened inquiry. 
 Whence this child, its name, its age, its parentage, was not 
 stated, and is not known. Its story and its remains rest in a 
 common silence, to be revealed together at the last. Though 
 the tenant be nameless, the tenement has a history which will 
 be read with interest by generations coming after us. 
 
 The " red oak marked with the letter C," as a monument 
 of location, stood where the old south gate of the yard was 
 situated, and the raised sod which was " near " points the spot, 
 in the bosom of that ample slope, where now "heaves the 
 earth in many a mouldering heap," first disturbed to sepulchre 
 our dead. The site for the burial-place was well chosen ; com- 
 manding a view of both villages, the river, and the prospect 
 beyond, and capable of indefinite extension, it possesses rare 
 natural advantages for the uses to which it has been conse- 
 crated. Within our recollection, it has been much enlarged 
 and improved, and with a growth of ornamental trees spread- 
 ing their green drapery over the bare surface, and the naked 
 marble, and bringing with them the melody of birds, and all 
 the grateful and varied charms of the grove, it would become 
 the most delightful, as it is now the most sacred, feature of 
 the town. 
 
 The early records of the township disclose an isolated in- 
 stance relating to the legal modes formerly observed in making 
 delivery of lands, which deserves mention. In 1756, certain 
 lots were forfeited by the action of the proprietors, for failure 
 on the part of purchasers, to fulfil the conditions of their sev- 
 eral agreements. At a meeting of the proprietors, William 
 McNeil and Thomas Cochran, Jr., of New Boston, and William 
 
56 
 
 ■Gibson, of Litchfield, were constituted a committee to make 
 delivery, by " turf and twidge," of the forfeited lands, to 
 Thomas Cochran, Sr., acting for the proprietors. This an- 
 cient ceremony was actually gone through with, and has this 
 explanation : In the transfer of real property under the feudal 
 laws of Great Britain, investiture of title, or livery of seizen, 
 as it was called, was made by the parties going upon the land, 
 and the feoffer (grantor), delivering to the feoffee (grantee), 
 " the ring of the door, or turf, or twig of the land," in the 
 name of the whole. This mode of delivery has long since 
 gone into disuse ; the simple delivery of the deed, or convey- 
 ance, being all that is necessary in order to invest the title. 
 
 In attemping within the limits imposed by the proprieties of 
 the occasion, a historical sketch of the township, little more 
 could be done than to present a mere outline of principal 
 events, and afford here and there an occasional glance into its 
 interior life. To me personally, the task, though undertaken 
 with some disadvantages, has been a pleasant one, and I only 
 regret that it has not been better and more thorougly per- 
 formed. For the honor done me by the generous assignment 
 of this duty, my warmest thanks are due, and these are given. 
 
 The point of interest with us, as with you, has been the 
 early settlers, the events they shaped, the ends at which they 
 aimed, the obstacles overcome, and the results they accom- 
 plished. To these fathers of the town, we owe a deep debt of 
 gratitude, and it was fitting that we should recognize it, in this 
 united and public manner. They were, indeed, men of no or- 
 dinary rnoulcl ; men, in whom was united that relative measure 
 of faith and works, of purpose and action, by which victories, 
 whether of war or peace, are compelled. While profoundly 
 acknowledging a superintending providence to which all hu- 
 man instrumentalities were .subordinate, they recognized in the 
 right and resolute use of their own powers, the appointed 
 means for carrying forward the enterprises, and securing the 
 purposes of life. With such, success depends upon no other 
 conditions ; against such, no fancied lions hold the way ; with 
 such, there can be no failure ; failure itself is victory. If such 
 were our fathers, our mothers were not less equal to the de- 
 mands of the situation. These, content with their rugged lot, 
 
57 
 
 shared the cares and toils of their husbands, and, in the spirit 
 of true female heroism, met and overcame the numberless 
 privations and severities which pertained to life in the new 
 settlements. Superior to every trial, and armed for any ex- 
 tremes of fortune, they present in their lives, noble models for 
 the imitation of American mothers. Like the virtuous woman 
 of the sacred proverb, whose price is estimated above rubies, — 
 They sought wool and flax, and worked willingly with their 
 hands. 
 
 They rose also while it was yet night, and gave meat to their 
 households, and a portion to their maidens. 
 
 They laid their hands to the spindle, and their hands held 
 the distaff. 
 
 They stretched out their hands to the * poor, and reached 
 forth their hands to the needy. 
 
 They were not afraid of the snow for their households, 
 " knowing their households were clothed with the scarlet cloth 
 of their weaving." 
 
 They made fine linen and sold it. Strength and honor were 
 their clothing. 
 
 They opened their mouths with wisdom, and in their tongues 
 was the law of kindness. 
 
 They looked well to the ways of their households, and ate 
 not the bread of idleness ; and their children, as we do this 
 day, rose up and called them blessed. 
 
 Said the settlers in their invitation to Mr. Moor, " From a 
 very small, in a few years, we are increased to a considerable 
 number, and the wilderness by God's kind influences, in many 
 places amongst us, has become a beautiful field, affording us a 
 comfortable maintenance." While this is the language of 
 humble dependence, it is also the language of appropriate con- 
 gratulation, of conscious success, and Christian self-reliance. 
 In scarcely more than a quarter of a century from the time 
 the first clearing was opened to the sun, individuals had united 
 into families, and families into neighborhoods, and neighbor- 
 hoods into a stable and flourishing community. The triumphs 
 of associated industry and enterprise were visible on every 
 hand, and their extent and achievement attested the qualities 
 of the race from which the fathers and mothers of New Boston 
 
58 
 
 sprung. Flocks grazed in abundant pastures, the orchard 
 bloomed in its season, the red clover scented the summer air, 
 fields of yellow grain nodded in the harvest winds, the wren, 
 sweet bird of rural peace, from her perch by the farm-house, 
 welcomed the dawn with joyous song ; and the robin, following 
 the abodes of cultivated life, poured forth her evening carol to 
 the setting sun. With these evidences of prosperity and con- 
 tentment, came the " New England Sabbath," with its calm 
 stillness, its faithful lessons, and sacred solemnities, proclaim- 
 ing the presence of a devout colony, already rejoicing in the 
 more precious institutions of a Christian civilization, and look- 
 ing forward to a posterity to whom they might safely commit 
 the keeping of their faith and their inheritance. 
 
 Did time permit, it would be alike pleasant and instructive 
 to enter upon a brief review of the scenes of toil and activity, 
 as well as some of the more stirring events of local and public 
 interest, which attended the growth and development of this 
 people, but we may not trespass farther upon your generous 
 forbearance. 
 
 This centennial occasion, with its pleasures and duties, has- 
 tens to a conclusion, and in a few brief hours, will be num- 
 bered among the events of the past. Soon we shall again sep- 
 arate, and in our allotted j)laces and various callings, resume 
 the journey and burdens of life, and, while all which we shall 
 accomplish in what remains of mortal activity will be less than 
 a unit in the grand summary of events which shall complete 
 the measure of the coming century, the transactions of to- 
 day, it may be reasonably hoped, will live on and live after us. 
 The history we indite as a tribute of gratitude to the past, we 
 leave as an offering to the future. Though the gift be unpre- 
 tending, it will be eagerly accepted, and gratefully cherished 
 by every true son of the soil, whatever fortunes betide him, 
 and wherever he may make his later home. 
 
 Time, measured by the changes wrought upon us and ours, 
 is remorseless and fleeting. Individuals die and are forgotten, 
 and brevity and mutability are written upon all that is outward 
 and personal in human life. On the world's broad stage, both 
 the scenes and actors are constantly shifting, but upon the 
 great drama the curtain never falls. What though, amid the 
 
59 
 
 revolution of the centuries, generations come and go, and 
 peace and war follow each other, in protracted alternation ; 
 what though continents are now calm and now convulsed, and 
 the armies of light and darkness seem to wage uncertain con- 
 flict; what though storms assail the noblest fabrics of social 
 wisdom, and at times comes " the winter of our discontent," 
 in which the greenest leafage of our moral summer may fade 
 and fall, — the race, with all its transcendent interests and 
 hopes, untouched in its life and unity, shall remain firm in its 
 destiny, and the cause of truth, working out a full and free 
 civilization, will move steadily onward, however thrones may 
 crumble and empires perish, until the nations of mankind, 
 perfected through discipline and trial, shall pass at length into 
 the tranquil glories of the promised millennium. 
 
GRANTEES AND GRANT 
 
 Iii 1735, John Simpson, John Carnes, James Halsey, John Ty- 
 ler, John Steel, Daniel Goffe, Charles Coffin, Ebenezer Bridge, 
 Daniel Pecker, William Lee, Henry Howell, Job Lewis, Thomas 
 Bulfinch, John Indicott, John Erving, James Day, Andrew Lane, 
 Byfield Lyde, John Hill, John Spooner, John Read, Samuel 
 Tyler, John Boydell, John Homans, John Williams, Jr., Joshua 
 Henshaw, Jr., Benjamin Clark, Jacob Hurd, James Townsend, 
 William Salter, Thomas Downs, Zachariah Johonnett, Daniel 
 Loring, John Crocker, William Speakman, Thomas Greene, 
 Gilbert Warner, John Larrabee, John Green, Rufus Greene, 
 Thomas Foster, John Arbuthnott, James Goold, Joseph Green, 
 Isaac Walker, Robert Jenkins, Benjamin Bagnald, Richard 
 Checkley, John Mavericke, Joshua Thomas, and Thomas Han- 
 cock, became petitioners " to the Great and General Court or 
 Assembly of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, in New Eng- 
 land, for a grant of six miles square for a township." 
 
 On what they based their claim for such a grant, does not 
 appear from any record before us, and the petition itself is not 
 at hand, but it is probable that the grant of this town is con- 
 nected with one of the most remarkable events in the history 
 of New England. It will be remembered that in 1690 the 
 Province of Massachusetts undertook an expedition, under the 
 command of Sir William Phipps, in the conquest of Canada, for 
 the purpose of securing the Colonies against the frequent in- 
 cursions of the Indians, at the instigation of their French allies. 
 That expedition proved painfully disastrous. The Treasury of 
 Massachusetts becoming impoverished by this expedition, bills 
 of credit to pay the soldiers, and to defray other expenses, were 
 issued, which soon depreciated so far as to become nearly 
 worthless, and the soldiers who had received them laid claims 
 
62 
 
 for further remuneration. Hence, many petitions were pre- 
 sented to the General Court of Massachusetts, of those " who 
 were in the expedition to Canada in the yea?- 1690, and the de- 
 scendents of such of them as are dead, praying for a Grant of 
 Land for a township, in consideration of their ancestors' suffer- 
 ings in the said expedition.'" And many grants of land were 
 made, under the general name of " Canada," with the name of 
 the town prefixed to which the grantees belonged, or such 
 grants were located so as to be bounded in such a manner, as 
 in some way to indicate then relation to that event. Thus the 
 grant for New Boston was doubtless given to men in Boston 
 who had suffered in that ill-fated expedition, or their descend- 
 ants. 
 
 On the petition of John Simpson and others, the following 
 action was taken, as attested by Thaddeus Mason, Dept. Secre- 
 tary : — 
 
 At a Great and General Court or Assembly for his Majesty's Province, 
 of Massachusetts Bay, in New England, began and held in Boston upon 
 Wednesday, the 28th of May, 1735, and continued by several adjournments 
 to Wednesday, the 19th of November following. 
 
 In the House of Representatives, Dec. 3, 1735, in answer to the petition 
 of John Simpson and others, — 
 
 Voted, That the prayer of the Petition be granted, and that .... 
 together with such as shall be joined by the Honorable Board, be a Commit- 
 tee at the charge of the Petitioners to lay out a Township of the contents of 
 six miles square, at the place petitioned for, or some other suitable place ; 
 and that they return a platt thereof to this Court within twelve months for 
 confirmation, and for the more effectual bringing forward the settlement of 
 the said new Town. 
 
 Ordered, That the said Town be laid out into sixty-three equal shares, one of 
 which to be for the first settled minister, one for the ministry, and one for the 
 schools, and that on each of the other sixty shares the petitioners do, within 
 three years from the confirmation of the platt, have settled one good family, 
 who shall have a house built on his house-lot of eighteen feet square, and 
 seven feet stud, at the least, and finished ; that each right or grant have six 
 acres of land brought to and ploughed, or brought to English grass, and fitted 
 for mowing ; that they settle a learned and Orthodox minister, and build and 
 finish a convenient Meeting House for the publick worship of God. And the 
 said committee are hereby directed to take bond of each settler of forty 
 Pounds for his faithful complying with and performing the conditions of set- 
 tlement, and in case any of the said settlers fail of performing the aforesaid 
 conditions, then his or their right, share, or interest in said Town, to revert to 
 
63 
 
 and be at the disposition of the Province ; and that the said Committee be, 
 and hereby are iinpowered to sue out the Bonds and recover the possession 
 of the forfeited Lotts (if any be) at the expiration of the three years, and 
 to grant them over to other persons that will comply with the conditions 
 within one year next after the said grant ; and the Bonds to be made and 
 given to the said Committee and their successors in the said Grant. 
 Sent up for concurrence. 
 
 J. QULNCY, Chairman. 
 
 In Council, Jan. 14, 1735. 
 Read and concurred. 
 
 J. WILLARD, Secretary. 
 Consented to. 
 
 BELCHER. 
 A true copy ; examined by 
 
 THAD. MASON, Dept. Sec'y. 
 
 In the House of Representatives, Jan. 16, 1735. 
 
 Ordered, That Capt. William Collings, and Mr. Ebenezer Parker, with 
 
 such as shall be joined by the Honourable Board, be a Committee to take a 
 
 platt of the within Township, and effectual care the same be brought forward 
 
 to all intents and purposes, agreeable to the conditions of the Grant. 
 
 Sent up for concurrence. 
 
 J. QULNCY, Speaker. 
 
 In Council, Jan. 16, 1735. 
 Read and concurred, and William Dudley, Esq., is joined in the affair. 
 
 THAD. MASON, Dept. Sc'y. 
 
 A true copv : examined bv 
 
 THAD. MASON, Dept. Sec'y. 
 
 Agreeably to these acts, the committee appointed Jeremiah 
 Cummings surveyor, to lay out the township, with Zacheus 
 Lovewell and James Cummings for chainmen. He performed 
 the task, and submitted his report, accompanied by a rude 
 map of the township, denoting its boundary lines, rivers, and 
 Joe English or Eldost Hill. Here follows the report : — 
 
 I, the subscriber, together with Zacheus Lovewell and James Cummings, 
 have laid out, pursuant to the Grant of the General Court to Mr. John Simj> 
 son and other Petitioners with him for a Township in the unappropriated 
 Lands of the Province, of the contents of six miles square, with a thousand 
 acres added for ponds that lye within the s d Township, and have bounded it 
 thus : Beginning at a Beach tree, one of the Corners of the Narragansit town, 
 No. 5, and in the north line of y e Narragansit, No. 3, from thence running 
 
64 
 
 two degrees South of the west by y c s a Narragansit Town No. 3, four miles 
 and three-quarters to the northeast corner of the s a Township, from thence 
 the same course one mile and one hundred and twenty rods to a Burch tree 
 marked, thence the line turns and runs North two degrees to the west by 
 Province Land six miles and forty-two rods to a white pine tree marked, 
 from thence the hue turns and Runs East two Degrees north by Province 
 Lands six miles and forty-two Rods to a White Oak tree marked, from thence 
 we run South two degrees east Partly by Province Lands and partly by the 
 Narragansit town afore s a No. 5 to the beach tree the first mentioned bound, 
 with two rods in each hundred added for uneavenness of Land and Swagg 
 of Chain. 
 
 Which said Lands Lye on the west side Merrimack river on the Branches 
 
 of Piscataquog river. 
 
 JEREMIAH CUMMINGS, Surveyor. 
 
 February The 12th, 1735. 
 
 Middlesex ss., Dunstable, Jan. 28th, 1735. 
 Jeremiah Cummings as Surveyor, and Zacheus Lovewell and James 
 Cummings as Chainmen, personally appearing before me y e Subscriber, one of 
 his Majesty's Justices of the peace for the County of Mid 1 , made Oath that 
 in Surveying and measuring a Township granted by the General Court to Mr. 
 John Simpson and others, they would deal truly and faithfully in their Respec- 
 tive trusts. 
 
 ELEAZER TYNG. 
 
 In the House of Representatives, March 19, 1735, this report 
 was read, and it was, — 
 
 Voted, That a platt containing six miles square of Land laid out by Jere- 
 miah Cummings, Surveyor, and two Chainmen on Oath, to satisfy the Grant 
 aforesaid, Lying adjoining to the Naragansit Towns No. three and No. 5, and 
 on province Lands, with an allowance of one thousand acres of Land for 
 ponds Lying within the said Platt was presented for allowance. Read and 
 ordered that y e platt be allowed, and y e Land therein delineated and described 
 be and hereby are Confirmed to the said John Simpson and the other Gran- 
 tees mentioned in said petition passed y e last sitting of the Court, their Heirs 
 and assigns, respectively, forever, provided the platt exceeds not the quantity 
 of six miles square, and one thousand acres of Land, an allowance for Ponds 
 within the Tract, and does not interfere with any other or former Grant, pro- 
 vided also the Petitioners, their Heirs or assignes Comply with y e Conditions 
 of the Grant. 
 
 Sent up for concurrence. 
 
 J. QULNCY, Speaker. 
 
 In Council, March 20, 1 735. 
 Read and concurred. 
 
 SIMON FROST, Dept. Sec'y. 
 Consented to. 
 
 J. BELCHER. 
 
65 
 
 By an additional act, Mr. John Simpson was " impowered 
 to call the first meeting," and thus the way was clearly opened 
 for the unembarrassed action of the Proprietors, and their first 
 meeting was held at the house of Mr. Luke Vardy, in Boston, 
 April 21, 1736, and among the first acts of that meeting was a 
 vote instructing their committee, Daniel Pecker, Andrew Lane, 
 John Hill, John Indicott, and James Halsey, " to build a saw- 
 mill on some convenient stream, for the use of the proprietors 
 in said township." 
 
 It will be seen by the foregoing that New Boston was granted 
 March 12, 1735, while all authorities affirm that it was granted 
 January 14, 1736. The solution is this : — In the old style the 
 year commenced March 25, and by calculating backward it will 
 be found that March 12, 1735, in the old style, was March, 1736, 
 in the new style, it being borne in mind that the new-style cal- 
 endar was introduced into England in the year 1752. And 
 thus the grant bears date March 12, 1735, old style ; it is also 
 true, according to the new style, that it was granted Jan. 14, 
 1736. 
 
 In the report of the Surveyor, the name of Zacheus Lovewell 
 appears as one of the chainmen. This was, we apprehend, the 
 same Zacheus Lovewell who afterward commanded one of the 
 New Hampshire regiments in the French and Indian war, and 
 who, as colonel commanding, was at the taking of Ticonderoga 
 and Crown Point, a son, as Belknap affirms, but a younger 
 brother, as other authorities say, of the hero of Fryeburgh or 
 Piquawket, Capt. John Lovewell, who fell in 1725. 
 
 MASONIAN HEIRS AND NEW ADDITION. 
 
 In 1620 the King of England, James I, constituted a Coun- 
 cil, consisting of forty noblemen, knights, and gentlemen, by 
 the name of " The Council established at Plymouth, in the 
 county of Devon, for the planting, ruling, and governing of New 
 England in America." The territory under their jurisdiction 
 extended from the fortieth to the forty-eighth degree of north- 
 ern latitude. This patent, or charter, was the foundation of 
 all grants subsequently made of the country of New England. 
 Great confusion prevailed in the transaction of the business of 
 
66 
 
 this Council. Two of the most active members were Sir Ferdi- 
 nando Gorges and Capt. John Mason. Gorges' had been an 
 officer in the navy of Queen Elizabeth, and associated much 
 with Sir Walter Raleigh, and partook of his adventurous spirit. 
 Mason was a merchant of London, but became a sea-officer, and 
 governor of Newfoundland. Mason, acquiring great influence 
 in the Council, procured a grant of all the land from the river 
 Naumkeag, now Salem, round Cape Ann, to the river Merri- 
 mack, and up each of those rivers to the farthest head thereof, 
 then to cross over from the head of the one to the head of the 
 other. The next year another grant was made to Gorges and 
 Mason jointly, of all the lands between the rivers Merrimack 
 and Sagaclehock, extending back to the great lakes and river 
 of Canada, which tract was called Laconia. And, in 1629, 
 Capt. Mason procured a new patent for the land, " from the 
 middle of Piscataqua River, and up the same to the farthest 
 head thereof, and from thence northwestward until sixty miles 
 from the mouth of the harbor were finished ; also through 
 Merrimack River, to the farthest head thereof, and so forward 
 up into the land westward, until sixty miles were finished ; and 
 from thence to cross over land to the end of the sixty miles, ac- 
 counted from Piscataqua River ; together with all islands with- 
 in five leagues of the coast." This tract of land was called 
 New Hampshire. At length, in 1635, Capt. John Mason died, 
 and a great revolution transpired in England. The tract of 
 land known as New Hampshire came under the protection and 
 government of Massachusetts, and though claims to it were 
 often preferred, and much litigation was had, these claims were 
 resisted until John Tufton Mason, a great-grandson of Capt. 
 John Mason, conveyed, in 1746, his interest to lands in New 
 Hampshire, " for the sum of fifteen hundred pounds currency " 
 to Theodore Atkinson, M. H. Wentworth, and thirteen others. 
 This transaction occasioned great consternation among those 
 who had settled within the limits of this Masonian grant, be- 
 cause these men were in power, and it was seen that it would 
 be hard to resist their claim. But these gentlemen took no 
 unreasonable advantage of their position, but were governed by 
 the most liberal principles. Accordingly, in 1751, after a com- 
 mittee of the proprietors of New Boston had expressed to the 
 
67 
 
 purchasers a desire to compromise the matter with them, the 
 following are the records of the Proprietors : — 
 
 Province of New Hampshire. 
 
 At a meeting of the Proprietors of the Lands purchased of John Tufton 
 Mason, Esq.. in New Hampshire, held at Portsmouth, on Monday, the tenth 
 day of June, One Thousand Seven hundred and fifty-one. 
 
 Whereas the said Proprietors have been informed that there is a Tract of 
 Land, within the Claim of said Proprietors, called New Boston, and claimed 
 by a Number of Gentlemen under the Government of the Massachusetts 
 Bay ; and whereas it is suggested that those claimers are disposed to come to 
 an Accommodation and Agreement with the said Proprietors, on such Terms 
 as may be agreeable to both Parties ; 
 
 Therefore, Voted that Joseph Blanchard, Esq., is hereby authorized and 
 fully impowered to agree and Compound all Claims and Demands, Differ- 
 ences, Disputes, and Controversies, whatsoever, made, being and subsisting 
 between the said Proprietors and the Claimers of said Tract of Land under 
 the said Government, as fully and amply to all Intents and Purposes as said 
 Proprietors themselves could, or might do personally, and in case he shall see 
 cause to grant and Convey the said Land or any Part thereof to any others, 
 on such terms as he shall judge best for the Interest, of this Propriety. 
 
 Copy of Record Examined 
 
 By GEORGE JAFFREY, Propr Clerk. 
 
 The foregoing action of the Masonian Heirs was in response 
 to the action of the Proprietors of New Boston, May 15, 1751, 
 when it was 
 
 Voted, The Question be put whether this Propriety would choose a Com- 
 mittee to make application to the Proprietors of Mason's claim to know upon 
 what condition they will grant us their rights ; and that John Hill, Robert 
 Boyers, Esq., and James Halsey, the standing Committee, be empowered to 
 settle with them on the best Terms they can, if they think proper, and they 
 be desired to offer this vote to each Proprietor for their approbation. 
 
 This vote was approved, and the Committee held a confer- 
 ence with Col. John Blanchard, which resulted in the following 
 charter from the purchasers of Mason's claims to the Proprie- 
 tors of New Boston, by which their former grant from the Mas- 
 sachusetts Bay was confirmed, and no small part of what is now 
 Francestown was added ; and this extension of their limits 
 westward was ever afterward designated as the " New Addition," 
 and continued a part of New Boston until the incorporation of 
 Francestown, June 8, 1772. 
 
68 
 
 Province of New Hampshire. 
 
 Pursuant to the power and authority granted and vested in me by the pro- 
 prietors of land purchased of John Tufton Mason, Esq., in the Province of 
 New Hampshire, by their vote, passed at their meeting held at Portsmouth, in 
 said Province, the tenth day of June, 1752. 
 
 I do, by these presents, on the terms and conditions hereafter expressed, 
 give and grant all the right, title, property, and possession of the proprietors 
 aforesaid, unto Job Lewis, Henry Howel, John Steel, Thomas Bullfinch, Rob- 
 ert Jenkins, John Spooner, Benjamin Bagnall, Samuel Tyley's heirs, James 
 Townsend's heirs, Isaac Walker, Joseph Wright, Eleazer Boyd, Daniel Pecker, 
 William Dudley's heirs, Robert Boyes, Thomas Smith, Thomas Cochran, Pat- 
 rick Douglas, John Homans, James Day, James Caldwell, Gilbert Warner, 
 Richard Checkley's heirs, James Wilson, Jonathan Clark, William Speak- 
 man's heirs, Benjamin Clark's heirs, John Erwin, William White, John Hill, 
 Esq., John Taylor, John McCallester, Edward Durant's heirs, William Bant, 
 John Maverick, Rufus Green, James Halsey, Daniel Loring's heirs, Joseph 
 Green, James Hunter, Thomas Wilson, of, in, and to that tract of land or 
 township called New Boston, in the Province of New Hampshire aforesaid, of 
 the contents of six miles broad and seven miles long, bounded thus : Begin- 
 ning at a beech-tree the southeast corner, and from thence north by the needle, 
 two degrees westward, six miles, or until it comes unto the northwest corner, 
 formerly made under the Massachusetts grant, for the northeast corner of said 
 tract, and from thence west by the needle two degrees to the southward, and 
 from the first bounds mentioned, the southeast corner aforesaid, west by the 
 needle two degrees southward, six miles, or until it meet with Salem Canada 
 fine (so called), and turning and running north by the needle two degrees 
 westward, two miles, or until it come to the most northeasterly corner of 
 Salem Canada township as formerly laid out, then turning and running west 
 as aforesaid, two degrees southerly so far, and extending the north line of the 
 premises likewise westward, until a line parallel with the east line will include 
 the contents of seven miles long and six miles broad, as aforesaid. To have 
 and to hold, to them, their heirs and assigns forever, excepting as aforesaid, 
 on the following terms, conditions, and limitations (that is to say) that as the 
 greatest part of the tract aforesaid has heretofore been divided into sixty- 
 three shares, now, therefore, that there be reserved for the grantors, their 
 heirs and assigns forever, out of the lands already divided, nine shares or 
 sixty-third parts, as followeth, viz. : The home lots number four, number 
 twenty-five, numbers thirty-three, nine, twenty-eight, five, twenty-nine 
 eighteen, and ten, with the several lots annexed to the same, as in the sched- 
 ule hereafter ; also so much of the common land, or undivided, to be laid out 
 in that part of the said tract, near the great meadows, as shall be equal to 
 one-half part of a share, reserved as aforesaid, which half share is appropri- 
 ated to Joseph Blanchard, Jr., with the same proportion of the common land, 
 each in that part formerly within the bounds called New Boston, exclusive and 
 excepting five hundred acres hereby granted and appropriated to the grantees, 
 
69 
 
 to be by them disposed of for encouragement for building and supporting 
 mills in said township ; also reserving unto the grantors, their heirs and as- 
 signs, after the five hundred acres aforesaid is laid out and completed in the 
 common, one-fourth part for quantity and quality of the lands by this grant 
 added within the bounds of that called New Boston, as formerly laid out ; 
 the said grantors' parts to be divided, lotted, and coupled together, and drawn 
 for with the grantees, according to the number of shares as before reserved, 
 so as for the grantors to have one full quarter-part as aforesaid ; said work to 
 be finished within twelve months from this date, at the charge of the grantees 
 only. Also, that the grantors' right in three of the shares laid out, as afore- 
 said, be and hereby is granted and appropropiated, free of all charge, one for 
 the first settled minister, one for the ministry, and one for the school there 
 forever, as they are set down in the schedule hereafter. 
 
 That the aforesaid reservations for the grantors, and as well for Joseph 
 Blanchard, Jr., be free from all duties, charges, taxes, or expenses whatsoever, 
 until improved by the owner or owners, or some holding under them. 
 
 That all the lots in said township be subject to have all necessary roads or 
 highways laid through them as there shall be necessary occasion for, free from 
 all charge of purchasing the same. 
 
 That the grantees, on their parts, make forty-five settlements in said town- 
 ship, in the following manner, viz. : Each to have a house built of one room, 
 at least of sixteen feet square, fitted and finished for comfoi-table dwelling in, 
 and three acres cleared, inclosed, and fitted for mowing and tillage, on each 
 of the forty-five shares, at or before the first day of August, 1754, and within 
 one year afterwards, a family or some person inhabiting there on each settle- 
 ment, and to continue residency there for three years then next, and within 
 that term to fit four acres more each for mowing or tillage, as aforesaid. 
 
 That the grantees build a meeting-house there, in four years from this date. 
 
 That the grantees, at their own expense, make the settlement aforesaid, and 
 within six months from this date ascertain the particular grantees whom they 
 shall determine to make settlement and inhabit there, as aforesaid, and certify 
 the same under their clerk's hand in the grantors' clerk's office ; and in case 
 any of the grantees be delinquent, who shall be enjoined the settlement as 
 aforesaid, on any part of duty enjoined by this grant, on such share hereafter 
 ascertained, the whole share or right of such delinquent shall be and hereby 
 is granted to such of the grantees who shall comply on their parts ; provided 
 they fulfil such delinquent's duty in two years after each period next coming 
 that such duty should have been done ; and on their neglect, then all such 
 delinquent's right or shares to revert to the grantors, their heirs and assigns, 
 free and clear from all future charges thereon. 
 
 That the grantees hold, under the conditions herein, the several lots of up- 
 land and meadow already laid out in said township, as set forth in the sched- 
 ule annexed, and the future divisions to be ascertained by and according to 
 the Massachusetts grant to them or their vendors. 
 
 That one home lot (so called), viz., number sixty, be set and relinquished 
 unto John and Jonathan Simpson's assignee, Joseph Wright; always provided, 
 
70 
 
 and on this condition only, that he build, clear, inclose, and settle a family on 
 said lot, according to the periods and several articles of duty enjoined and 
 specified for one of the forty-five rights aforesaid ; and this settlement to be 
 over and above the said forty-five ; and in case of failure or neglect of any 
 part of the said duty, the said lot number sixty to revert to the grantees and 
 grantors in common, to be apportioned with the other common lands ; also, 
 provided the said Wright, or his assigns, pay the proportionable part of charge 
 for that lot, in carrying forward the settlement. 
 
 That the grantees, or their assigns, at any public meeting called for that 
 purpose by a majority of votes of the interest present, grant and assess such 
 further sum or sums of money as they shall think necessary for completing 
 and carrying forward the settlement aforesaid, from time to time, and all other 
 necessary charges, until the same shall be incorporated. And any of the 
 grantees who shall refuse and neglect making payment of their respective 
 sums and taxes for the space of three months next after such tax or assess- 
 ment shall be granted and made, that then so much of said delinquent's right, 
 respectively, shall and may be sold, as will pay the tax or taxes, and all 
 charges arising thereon, by a committee to be appointed by the grantees for 
 that purpose. 
 
 That all white pine trees fit for masting His Majesty's royal navy, growing 
 on said tract of land, be and hereby are granted to His Majesty, his heirs and 
 successors, forever ; and, as a further condition of this grant, that the grantees 
 herein mentioned, within three months from the date hereof, signify their 
 consent and acceptance, as well as their fulfilment and conformity to the 
 whole of the conditions herein specified, by countersigning these premises 
 with their hands and seals, and, on failure thereof, to receive no benefit by the 
 aforewritten grant ; always provided there be no Indian war within any of 
 the terms and limitations aforesaid, for doing the duty conditioned in this 
 grant ; and in case that should happen, the same time to be allowed for the 
 respective duties, matters, and things as aforesaid, after such impediment shall 
 be removed. 
 
 To all which premises, Joseph Blanchard, agent for and in behalf of the 
 said grantors, on the one part, and the grantees on the other part, have here- 
 unto interchangeably set their hands and seals, this twenty-fourth day of 
 December, 1752. 
 
 Signed and sealed. 
 
 JOSEPH BLANCHARD, in behalf of grantors, 
 . . . and grantees. 
 
 This charter was accompanied by a " schedule of the Lotts 
 as they now stand granted ; the Home lotts were laid out for 
 fifty acres of the best Land and qualified for poor Land with a 
 larger Quantity ; the second Division contained two lotts for 
 each share of one hundred and fifty-three acres each — as re- 
 turned by Robert Boyes, Esq., authorized by the grantees for 
 that purpose." 
 
71 
 
 The addition to the old limits of New Boston began at the 
 northwest corner of present limits, and ran parallel with the 
 northern line, west about two miles and a half, thence nearly 
 south, parallel with the west line of present limits about three 
 miles and a half, and thence by Lyndeborough, to the west line 
 of present limits, near Mr. William Parker's farm, making a 
 parallelogram two and a half miles from east to west, and 
 three and a half miles from north to south. In the southwest 
 corner of this tract was located a farm for the grantors, con- 
 taining four hundred acres ; in the southeast corner was another 
 lot laid out for the grantors, " of four hundred and thirty acres, 
 with allowance for what part of the Haunted Pond it takes in ; " 
 and in the centre Col. Joseph Blanchard's farm was located, 
 containing three hundred acres. The remaining portion was 
 divided into fifty-one lots. This division was made in " 1753, 
 by order of Eobert Boyes, Esq., Comitee, for Matthew Patten, 
 Serveyor." The dimensions as given above may seem too large 
 for the " New Addition," but they correspond to the plan re- 
 ferred to above. 
 
WARREN R. COCHRANE. 
 
 Mr. Cochrane is the son of Hon. Robert B. Cochrane, born 
 August 25, 1835. He fitted for college chiefly atFrancestown, 
 under Sylvapus Hayward, now pastor of the Congregational 
 Church in Dumbarton ; and graduated from Dartmouth in the 
 class of 1859. Mr. Cochrane was appointed tutor in Dart- 
 mouth College in 1861, and subsequently elected for another 
 year, but was compelled to relinquish his relation to the col- 
 lege on account of ill health, which at present, requires free- 
 dom from severe mental application. His many friends sadly 
 deplore his physical indisposition to enter some field of Chris- 
 tian activity, for which he is so well fitted, both by discipline 
 of intellect and grace of heart. 
 
 Mr. Cochrane consented, with great reluctance, to deliver a 
 poem on the occasion of the Centennial ; but the plaudits of 
 the assembly assured him of their high appreciation of it, and 
 the reader will find no less pleasure in its perusal. 
 
 10 
 
P E M 
 
 Who does not feel as year by year departs, 
 As one by one our loved companions fall, 
 
 That stronger sympathies should bind our hearts, 
 And larger fields our memories recall ? 
 
 Who has not felt that age to age should bear 
 Its friendly gifts, its pledges of regard, 
 
 Wrought in the forms of eloquence and prayer, 
 Traced in the lyrics of the humble bard ? 
 
 Who has not felt that the historic pen 
 
 Had grown too partial to the suns of fame, 
 
 As though kings could be something more than men ; 
 And humble souls be left without a name ? 
 
 Have not the humblest minds, the wisest sages, 
 
 A like ambition to be linked at last 
 With all of fame that lights the future ages, 
 
 And all of glory that adorns the past ? 
 
 Do we not come to-day with some such feeling, 
 Such hope of blessing, and of being blessed, 
 
 Here at the altar-place together kneeling, 
 The gray old century our only guest ? 
 
 The war-horse is worn when the battle is won, 
 The limbs are weak when the race is run ; 
 And every power of arm or mind 
 By man directed or man designed 
 Is wasted in a single day, — 
 Begins, develops, and dies away, 
 
76 
 
 As philosophical people say. 
 Then can it be strange that a muse like mine, 
 A stranger to the original time, • 
 
 Unwinged by genius, unfixed by wine, 
 And miinvoked in a single line, 
 Somewhat weary and weak appears 
 In a backward flight of a hundred years ? 
 Can it be thought that the jaded thing 
 "Would then be able to charm or sing 
 Without a draft from the nectared spring, — 
 Some needed rest from a flight so far, 
 Where the homes of its lost companions are ; 
 In the crumbling halls of the dreamy past 
 Where the joyous shout, or the trumpet-blast, 
 Where the songs "of peace or the cannon's roar 
 Are heard no more — are heard no more ? 
 
 Then let us pause — since pause we will — 
 
 In the rough old church on the top of the hill, 
 
 And standing where our fathers trod, 
 
 Offer, like them, our prayer to God, — 
 
 Our praise to God that we, to-day, 
 
 Have a house of prayer and a heart to pray, — 
 
 Our praise, that He who ever hears 
 
 Has blest our fathers' prayers and tears 
 
 Through the changing scenes of a hundred years ! 
 
 Next let us honor them who came, 
 
 To feed devotion's holy flame, 
 
 To hear God's voice, and learn his will, 
 
 In the rough old church on the top of the hill. 
 
 Hard by the spot where they sung and prayed, 
 
 One by one have their graves been made, 
 
 And their names like those of every age, 
 
 Are fading away on memory's page. 
 
 But their deeds are written in larger lines, 
 
 In the towering elms, and the mossy shrines ; 
 
 In the fruitful fields and the " meadows gay," 
 
 On the hills where the flocks of their children stray, 
 
 In the laws they established and we obey ; 
 
77 
 
 And the sires are seen in the sons to-day ! 
 
 'Tis a heritage rich to be owned as heirs 
 
 Of sires like them and lives like theirs ; 
 
 And a sacred duty here to-day, — 
 
 And year by year till we pass away, — 
 
 To name, to love, to honor those 
 
 Whose prayers in God's first temples rose ; 
 
 Whose strength these grassy slopes have cleared, 
 
 Whose hands these ancient piles have reared, 
 
 Whose places are remembered still 
 
 In the rough old church on the top of the hill. 
 
 The men we praise were godly men, 
 
 Who lived in Christian honor then, 
 
 With humble heart and poor array, 
 
 Walking the strait and narrow way, 
 
 Content if God his grace bestowed, 
 
 And hope illumed the stormy road. 
 
 No shallow pride inspired their breast, 
 
 No summer dream, no earthly rest ; 
 
 But, earnest, thoughtful, much in prayer, 
 
 They toiled as faith directed where. 
 
 Faith was to them a living power, 
 
 No tinsel robes to them were known ; 
 They plucked the fruit, and not the flower, 
 
 They lived for heaven — and heaven alone. 
 Each Sabbath morn the preacher's call, 
 Was heard and answered by them all, 
 With simple garb, and manners grave, 
 As if each had a soul to save. 
 And oh ! if we could come like them, — 
 
 With none to scoff, evade, condemn, 
 
 All eager to the house of prayer, 
 
 All earnest in devotion there, 
 
 How quickly would the prospect stir, 
 
 Each dull and thoughtless worshipper ! 
 
 How gladly would we linger still, 
 
 In the rough old church on the top of the hill ! 
 
 And a quaint and a queer old church was that, 
 
78 
 
 Where the gray-haired sires of our fathers sat ; 
 
 With its framework strong, and its fashion old, 
 
 It was cushionless, carpetless, clean and cold ; 
 
 While carelessly hung the huge sounding-board, 
 
 That, when the preacher whispered, roared ; 
 
 And when he roared, it thundered so, 
 
 It shook the very walls below ! 
 
 Assisted thus, he could not lose, 
 
 His hearers in those huge old pews, 
 
 In which a regiment might snoose, 
 
 Or Eoman holiday be kept, 
 
 When Eome was all the world, — except 
 
 The ashes that in Sparta slept. 
 
 The men we praise were men of nerve : 
 They would not bend, or yield, or swerve 
 From duty's narrow path to gain 
 The applauses of the weak and vain. » 
 Theirs was a higher, larger plan, — 
 To honor God, to ennoble man ; 
 And mark their lives, whoever would, 
 This double aim was understood. 
 They were a bold and fearless race ; 
 They bearded danger to the face, 
 Thirst, hunger, cold, and beasts of prey, 
 And savage men more fierce than they, 
 And war's grim garments rolled in blood, 
 The fire, the famine, and the flood : 
 Still to their God and country true, 
 They bore the fiery banner through. 
 In every rise and every fall, 
 They owned alike the great and small, 
 Cared for their own and then for all. 
 First to the few, to whom we owe 
 Our highest duty here below, 
 Then to the world was freely given, 
 But first and last and all to Heaven. 
 And so in fortune's smile or frown. 
 In rural haunt or crowded town, 
 
79 
 
 Whatc'cr we think or ieel or do, 
 
 Still is it best, and still 'tis true, 
 
 Our noblest work, where'er we roam, 
 
 Begins, like charity, at home. 
 
 'Tis true that theirs were humble lives, 
 
 Secluded homes and godly wives ; 
 
 Yet humblest, happiest, sterling pleasure 
 
 Is not gay and gilded treasure ; 
 
 'Tis a spirit deep and holy, 
 
 Dwelling with the meek and lowly ; 
 
 'Tis a calm and quiet feeling, 
 
 Duty-bought, and love revealing ; 
 
 'Tis a blessed flame that glows 
 
 In hearts like theirs and homes like those 
 
 Where wants are few, where creeds embrace 
 
 The Bible and the altar place ; 
 
 And human hearts have never found 
 
 Serener peace or holier ground. 
 
 Nor fail we ever to repeat, 
 
 Religion and retirement sweet, 
 
 In loving life-long league allied, — 
 
 With her whom both have sanctified, 
 
 Make all of home that home endears, 
 
 And all of earthly hope that cheers, 
 
 Or human life except its tears. 
 
 The gravelled walk all shaded o'er, 
 
 The chiselled step, the gilded door, 
 
 The stately hall, the cushioned chair, 
 
 And flowers nursed in foreign air, 
 
 And gay and festive music there, 
 
 Where fortune smiles, and fashion brings 
 
 Her host of unremembered things, 
 
 From Afric's sand, or ocean's foam — 
 
 This is not home, this is not home ! 
 
 But the willing hand and the ready art, 
 
 A smile when we meet and a tear when we part, 
 
 From an angel's eye, but a woman's heart, — 
 
 Tbat soul winch stands in human form 
 
80 
 
 'Mid the chills of life's winter serene and warm, 
 
 Like an island of peace in an ocean of storm, 
 
 Cheering the way when our prospects die, 
 
 When the lightnings flash in the darkened sky, 
 
 Or peacefully, quietly, earnest to share 
 
 In the daily toil and the evening prayer ; — 
 
 Kindness and charity, cheerful and free 
 
 As the soul of a Christian should ever be ; 
 
 Haste to forgive, and a heart to endure 
 
 The failings which tenderness cannot cure, 
 
 Or the fault of a friend, though neglected and poor : — 
 
 Joy in receiving what mercy bestowed, 
 
 Patience in bearing the heaviest load, 
 
 Though dark be the prospect, though thorny the road, 
 
 Though faded each dream that a transport gave, 
 
 When hope wreathed her flowers round our path to the grave 
 
 This, — in luxury's gilded dome, 
 
 Or the poor man's cottage — this is home ! 
 
 Such homes as this were dotted o'er 
 
 These stately hills of yellow prime ; 
 And added to each humble store 
 Was the open heart and the open door, 
 
 In the days of the olden time. 
 
 I'm afraid we cling to each little dime 
 Of the much which God is giving us now, 
 With a fiercer grasp, though its worth be small, 
 Than they who opened the way to it all ; — 
 
 And I long, like the traveller of wintry brow 
 
 After sixty years, as he comes to climb . 
 These hills where his feet were wont to tread 
 With the hopes that are blighted, the friends that are dead, 
 For the cordial welcome that met him of yore, 
 For the open heart and the open door 
 
 Of the days of the olden time ! 
 
 The men we praise were men of toil ; 
 
 They chose, they cleared, they tilled the soil ; 
 
 And on each spot, thus tilled and cleared, 
 
81 
 
 A rough, rude, humble cot was reared, 
 Nestling the towering hills between, 
 Hid under leafy folds of green, 
 Near nature's heart at rest, as though 
 The hand parental left it so, 
 As if in slumber soft and low. 
 From these our stately homes have grown, 
 Homes that we boast to call our own — 
 Fields, orchards, houses, — all that please 
 The lovers of taste, or the lovers of ease. 
 Labor then was lord in the land ; 
 The sun-burned brow and the toil-worn hand 
 Were the freeman's boast and the lover's pride ; 
 The poor man's comfort and hope and guide 
 Were the strength that was full, and the arm that was tried. 
 And even the women, though women of wealth, 
 For the sake of beauty and vigor and health, 
 For the sake of those who in sadness or mirth 
 Bear the dearest names that are spoken on earth, — 
 By choice or necessity — no matter which — 
 Taking the distaff, or taking the stitch, 
 Spinning all day by the open door, 
 Weaving the very clothes they wore, 
 Riding the horse through the field of corn 
 In the jocund hours of the early morn, 
 Driving at twilight the waiting cows, 
 With the arms full loaded with hemlock boughs 
 To be traced in a broom ere the coming day 
 From its eastern chambers should dance away ; 
 Were always working at useful things, 
 As though time had value, as well as wings ; 
 Bright, vigorous, fair, and strong, 
 It is not strange that their lives were long. 
 But oh ! how changed is the modern taste ! — 
 To work in the field is to be disgraced ; — 
 Distaff, spinning-wheel, and loom, 
 Sweeping with a hemlock broom, — 
 Or any at all, — is an awful doom ! 
 11 
 
82 
 
 Healthy life in the open air, 
 
 Roaming free as the breezes there, 
 
 Health-stamped lips by nature minted, 
 
 Tinted cheeks — by nature tinted — 
 
 Suit not ladies' taste, they say, — 
 
 Will not serve the world to-day ; 
 
 Paint supplies an easier way ! 
 
 Fashion now bears absolute sway ; 
 
 First ambition, hope and dream . 
 
 Now is not to be, but seem; 
 
 Dress becomes the chiefest art, 
 
 Fills the head and fills the heart ; — 
 
 At home, at church, in every station, 
 
 'Tis the theme of conversation. 
 
 Thus many a modern belle, I know, 
 
 Lives for nothing at all but show, 
 
 Twenty, thirty years, or so, 
 
 Half-alive in heated rooms, 
 
 Carbon acids and perfumes ; 
 
 Dragging life's journey wearily through, 
 
 Time hangs heavy on idle hands, — 
 
 Always longing for something new ; 
 
 Being happy with nothing to do 
 
 Is " out of the ring," as the matter stands ; 
 
 And the pale, weak daughter of fashion and ease. 
 
 Who presides in the parlor as nice as you please, - 
 
 Who ponders over some love-sick book, 
 
 While her mother remains in the kitchen to cook, 
 
 Whose jewelled hands are as softly white 
 
 As the dancing foam, or the starry light ; 
 
 All spiritless, passionless, colorless, frail 
 
 As the trembling leaf in the maddened gale, — 
 
 She is not what her mothers were, 
 
 And they are mysteries to her ! 
 
 But much to be pitied as she may be, — 
 
 And more to be pitied I think is he 
 
 Who plods the life-journey with such as she, — 
 
 Yet she merits not pity or scorn like him 
 
 Who bears the name that his sires have borne 
 
83 
 
 With the fire at the altar-place grown dim, 
 
 And the name of its honors shorn. 
 I pity the son of illustrious sires, 
 
 Too weak, too degraded to bear their proud name, 
 In whom the last spark of their genius expires 
 
 In the foul breath of luxury, riot, and shame. 
 And while this cannot be spoken of us, 
 
 I know there is need of unwearying care ; 
 We are all in the way to be ruined thus, 
 
 And some of us doubtless, are almost there, 
 And if these hills may justly plead 
 
 Some freedom from the common curse, 
 'Tis of the sires and not the seed, — 
 
 Tfieir honor that we are not worse. 
 Howe'er the unwelcome prospect dims 
 
 Throughout the land each patriot eye, 
 Its youth are wild with modern whims — 
 
 They ask not either whence or why, 
 But follow, like shadows, each dreamer that shine, 
 And, shadow-like, grow as their leader declines. 
 They linger at theatres, billiards, and chess, 
 Take pride in soft hands and extravagant dress, 
 Instead of the manly toil which bore 
 The laurel and palm in the days of yore. 
 Too proud to work on their native ground, 
 They must fathom the ocean of sight and sound ; 
 Teach, speculate, peddle, roam, — 
 Anything rather than work at home ! 
 And so they are gone to the shop or store, 
 They are digging after the golden ore, 
 They have got into office, and live at ease, 
 They are spreading sails in the distant seas, 
 They are editing papers, or telling lies, 
 In the shape of lawyers, or doctors wise ; 
 They are making candy and cordials and pills, 
 Equally good for a thousand ills ; 
 Pectoral, sarsaparilla, and schnaps, 
 Bitters, and ointment, — and money perhaps, — 
 Anything paying well fits like a charm, — 
 
84 
 
 Anything rather than work on a farm ! 
 
 They, too, bow down at the fashion shrine. 
 
 In their father's earnings dress and shine ; 
 
 They play politician and lover and sage, 
 
 They flirt, sentimentalize, swagger, and rage ; — 
 
 Equal adorers of Bacchus and Mars, 
 
 They indulge in choice brandies and puff good cigars, 
 
 Enveloped in smoke, like a war-ship at bay, 
 
 While their gloved fingers brush the white ashes away ! 
 
 And so Avhile the money comes free when they say, 
 
 Each stripling smoker walks forth with delight ; 
 He is surely a pillar of cloud by day, 
 
 And a pillar of fire by night. 
 He is large, important, conceited, and bold ; 
 Though boyish in years, he is learned and old ; 
 Is charmed to real frenzy while cutting a dash, 
 With scented ringlets and trim moustache, 
 With rings and other observable trash, 
 And runs upon credit when he can't upon cash ! 
 The homely virtues, the simple truth 
 Which reigned in the bosom of age and youth 
 In the peerless days of our fathers' prime 
 Are now, they tell us, behind the time. 
 And the young man tickled with jewels of gold, 
 Makes his morals fit to the popular mould ; 
 While with accents smacking of foreign clime, 
 And an eye that whispers of secret crime, 
 He swells along with a sickening pride, 
 Like a Neptune girt in his foamy tide ! 
 He adores the menagerie, circus, and race, 
 Thinks less of his fate than he does of his face ; 
 Visits each popular place of resort, 
 Learns the pet words of flattery, joke, and retort, 
 Worships fast horses, and talks quite well 
 In the nauseous slang of the drinking cell, 
 Or the oath-burdened dialect spoken in hell ! 
 
 Oh ! give me the rough, worn palm of the man 
 Who dares to do with his might what he can, 
 
85 
 
 Who shuns fast ways and unprincipled friends, 
 
 And stands like a rock where the current descends! 
 
 Who strives to live by the good old rules 
 
 In a day of do-nothings and jockeys and fools ; 
 
 Who honors the home where his childhood was passed, 
 
 And clings to the dear old spot to the last! 
 
 Some turn from their homes as necessity calls them, 
 
 With a tear in the eye that looks back as it goes ; 
 And some with real rapture as time disenthralls them 
 ' Prom the bonds which paternal affection bestows. 
 With a smile for the one and a sigh for the other, 
 
 We bless them, though feeling alone and bereft, 
 Not doubting that each will come back as a brother, 
 
 And years will make dearer the homes they have left. 
 And we would not detract from the praise that is due them 
 
 As the tear-drop again fills the eye that returns 
 Where the few that are cherished in memory knew them, 
 
 And the altar of friendship still faithfully burns ! 
 While I honor the man who comes back with his laurel 
 
 All blooming and fresh on the time-wrinkled brow, 
 From the scenes of debate or of national quarrel, 
 
 To blend with his kindred who follow the plough, 
 I cherish, I love the true hero who lingers 
 
 Life-long at the tomb where his fathers lie ; 
 While the time-god is writing with skeleton fingers 
 
 Each scene on the heart as it fades from the eye. 
 I love the ambition which hovers the nighest 
 
 To the fount whence our earliest pleasures flow, 
 Whose flight, like the lark's is the surest and highest, 
 
 While its home is unseen in the valley below ! 
 
 Labor then being lord in the land, 
 Everything had to be done by hand — 
 Weaving, knitting, sewing-machines, 
 Planting, reaping, mowing-machines, 
 The engine steaming o'er land and sea 
 Were among the dreams of the things to be. 
 Or perhaps they saw as the patriot sees 
 That luxury thrives on things like these ; 
 
86 
 
 That idleness, indolence, pomp, and ease 
 
 Are the fruits that follow beyond control 
 
 As sure as the leaven will Work through the whole, 
 
 Or the needle point to its chosen pole, 
 
 While the gathered harvest in every clime 
 
 Is traced in blood from the morn of time. 
 
 Even church-going then was a work to be done ; 
 
 Eoads there were few and vehicles none ; — 
 
 Five or six miles over paths like those 
 
 Where the wild beast roams or the hunter goes, 
 
 Barefoot all, with shoes in store, 
 
 Put on ere they entered the sacred door ; 
 
 Sermons full two hours long, 
 
 The full proportion of sacred song ; 
 
 Prayers that asked at a single birth 
 
 For all of heaven and all of earth ; — 
 
 Home by the light of the setting sun, — 
 
 Church-going then was a work to be done. 
 
 But now if we ride in our dainty sleigh 
 
 Some two or three miles on the Sabbath day ; 
 
 If a little heat or cold we bear, 
 
 If clothes out of fashion we sometimes wear ; 
 
 If we sleep like a pulseless thing of art 
 
 While a half-hour sermon is read to the heart, 
 
 We think we are meriting sovereign grace, 
 
 And running with patience the Christian race ! 
 
 Women made bare the head like men, 
 
 As they entered the " holy of holies " then, — 
 
 I would such an era might come again ; — 
 
 But not if the things which are yet to be, 
 
 Follow fashion's late decree, 
 
 And the delicate gear be ingeniously spread 
 
 Some feet in the rear of the wearer's head. 
 
 How oft have we pitied some spirited miss 
 
 Who thought she must wear what other folks wore, 
 As she dragged through the wind such a streamer as this, 
 
 While her head was as bare as they made it of yore ! 
 'Tis amazing, what a wonderful size 
 
 These objects of woman's affection attain ; 
 
87 
 
 What wonderful figures for curious eyes, — 
 
 Airy, feathery, flowery, vain ; — 
 So that not a meeting-house in the land 
 
 Would hold all the bonnets as now arranged, 
 Were the frail, silky monsters untouched by the hand, 
 And the thing with the nicest precision planned, — 
 
 And hence the old custom is properly changed. 
 Besides, 'twere the greatest of crimes I know, 
 
 To have our ornaments out of view, 
 So that pride have nothing at all to show, 
 
 And fancy nothing to do ! 
 The men we praise were men of fun, 
 
 Fat, laughter-loving, hale, and strong, 
 They loved the angle and the gun, 
 
 The story and the song. 
 In toil or danger, good or ill, 
 Jocose, facetious, happy still, 
 With humble recompense content, 
 Rejoicing on their way they went. 
 Priest, layman, all agreed to take 
 "A little wine for the stomach's sake," 
 And a little more for the sake of that ; — 
 Some hours " ayont the twal " they sat, 
 And " pouzle " and cider went freely down 
 In the early days of the good old town ! 
 And often now is the story told, 
 How the glass went round to the young and old, 
 And the social circles of every craft 
 Grew merry over a stronger draught. 
 I>ut though some tares have flourished with the wheat, 
 
 Gathered and garnered through each varied year ; 
 Though pride and fashion, folly and deceit 
 
 Each grown to huge dimensions now appear ; 
 Though simple manners, unpretending dress, 
 
 The healthful habits and the humble fare 
 Of those whose memory to-day we bless, 
 
 If lingering yet, are unobserved and rare ; 
 Contrasted still, the present and the past, 
 
 Some nobler traits continue to arise ; 
 
And while each age seems better than the last, 
 
 Fame's proudest meed and learning's richest prize, 
 Truth's greatest victories, and freedom's too, 
 
 And forms of government of old unknown, — 
 Science and art to God and nature true, 
 
 Brighten all ages, and adorn our own ! 
 For the shade of America's latest light, — 
 
 The era to which we are bidding adieu, — 
 Is better than cycles of Aztec might, 
 Or a thousand years of Peru ! 
 Chains that bound the mind are broken, 
 Words that chafed the tyrant spoken, 
 Bright examples wake and nerve us, 
 Powers of nature come and serve us. 
 Full of knowledge and full of skill, 
 Man moves on in his dignity still, 
 Ruling the elements at his will ; 
 Floating far up 'mid the silvery clouds, 
 O'er the moon's white pillow and vapory shrouds ; 
 Bidding the waters turn the wheel 
 Which moves o'er their bosom the iron keel ; 
 Reading the news in his cushioned car, 
 Flying away like a flying star, 
 Leaving a trail of steam-cloud there, 
 Like a comet's tail in the midnight air ! 
 Oftentimes as the setting sun 
 Views some deed of glory done, 
 Something new in the busy world, 
 Freighted ship on the breakers hurled, 
 Rise or fall in the price of gold, , 
 
 Tide of battle backward rolled ; 
 Popular vote in a distant State, 
 Awful accident, trying fate ; 
 Proclamation in every corps, 
 Call for a hundred thousand more, 
 The man of traffic in every grade, 
 Turning away from the haunts of trade, 
 To the rural home where his idols are, 
 Jumps from his seat in the flying car, 
 
89 
 
 Whispers a word to the magic-wire — 
 Victory, glory, murder, fire ! 
 Something lost in the hurried way, 
 Business plans for the coming day ; 
 Laughs to himself while the lightning goes 
 Telling the news like a thing that knows ! 
 Dashes back to his vacant chair, 
 Just in season, nothing to spare, 
 On they go, darting o'er valley and stream, 
 Like the living forms of a summer dream ! 
 
 Thus are we now ; the hunting-grounds 
 
 The rocks and rivers, woods and mounds, 
 
 Are changed and changing. Save some spot 
 
 Where rude tradition says they fought, 
 
 Save some few names which cling to-day, 
 
 To hills and falls, to creek and bay, 
 
 A hundred years have wiped away 
 
 Each vestige of that kingly race 
 
 Whose tragic aim and end embrace, 
 
 In blazing home and bloody vow, 
 
 All that is written of them now ; 
 
 Whose children, step by step, are pressed, 
 
 Weak, weary, wasted, to the west. 
 
 Here 'mid these hills, thus gorgeously arrayed 
 
 By patient toil and unremitted care, 
 The forest waved with its unbroken shade, 
 
 The dark-eyed maiden tossed her jetty hair, 
 The hunter roamed in unoffended pride, 
 
 The arrow whistled through the quiet air, 
 The wigwam nestled by the river side, 
 
 The smoke curled heavenward through the narrow 
 glade, 
 
 The trees grew, flourished, withered, and decayed ; 
 And so the red man's children grew and died, 
 Brave, noble, free, untaught and undismayed! 
 
 But climb with me to-day yon towering height 
 
 Which first is tinted with the morning light, 
 12 
 
90 
 
 Or nearer still where Moor's devoted mind 
 From life-long labors left the world behind ; 
 Or yonder hill where Bradford's classic eye 
 Drank the charmed loveliness of earth and sky, 
 And oh ! what change on every side appears 
 Wrought in this period of a hundred years ! 
 See the broad fields in summer verdure dressed, 
 The happy flocks within the shade at rest ; 
 The neat, white cottages along the hills ; 
 The grassy meadows and the busy mills ; 
 The laughter-loving brook and singing bird ; 
 The loud steam-whistle in the distance heard, 
 The modest school-house hi each valley seen, 
 With happy children sporting on the green ; 
 The church, our country's shield, preserver, friend, 
 Where Christian people in devotion bend, 
 Its sweet-toned bell whose distant-echoing tongue 
 Rolls where the war-whoop of the savage rung ; 
 The northern peaks in cloudy robe unrent, 
 Southward the scene in distant azure blent ; 
 The setting sun of other climes a guest, 
 In golden glory deck the shining west, 
 While lingering rays in tender sweetness play 
 Round the green summits as they fade away, — 
 And sweetest, tenderest, longest, it is said, 
 O'er the white chambers of our sainted dead ! 
 And oh ! when autumn drapes in harvest hues 
 This scene of loveliness which fancy views, 
 And art divine its blended colors weaves, 
 Like rainbows dropped upon the blushing leaves, 
 How sweetly changed is every field of green, — 
 June gray and chastened in September seen, 
 Mild summer lingering in the autumn breath, 
 With all of beauty that is sweet in death ! 
 
 And is it strange that the old Indian sires, 
 
 Loving the beautiful much as we, 
 Had here their counsels and their altar-fires, 
 
 Back in the ages when they wandered free ? 
 Can it be true that such a clime of beauty, 
 
91 
 
 Scenes which outshine the eloquence of art, 
 Have reared no martyrs of reform or duty, 
 No names that thrill the universal heart ? 
 
 Shall it be said that no poetic fires, 
 No light of genius ever sparkled here, 
 
 Where all that pleases, elevates, inspires, 
 
 Fills the charmed eye and trembles on the ear 
 
 No — never thus. Though not in golden lines 
 Our names are written, or our glory shines ; 
 Though on each field where many a patriot bled, 
 It was not ours to lead but to be led ; 
 Though from these hills no star of science rose, 
 Shone o'er the world and unabated glows. 
 Still where yon shrine each sacred trust inurns, 
 Where, unmolested, dust to dust returns, 
 Where noble hearts have conquered inward wrong, 
 Where tears of tenderness fall fast and long, 
 Where hope repeats her undissembled prayer, — 
 There are our princes and our heroes there ! 
 Pilgrims and warriors may not come to tread 
 With reverent feet above each narrow bed, 
 Nor pride and wealth their dainty watches keep 
 Where the " rude fathers of our hamlet " sleep ; 
 But human laurels never did nor could 
 Fix the soul's nature as its highest good ; 
 Fame's coveted rewards are gained too late 
 To make us eloquent or make us great ; 
 Though what we do may shine in common eyes, 
 'Tis what we are that makes us truly wise. 
 
 We know but little of our greatest men, 
 Knights of the sword and masters of the pen : 
 Uncalled by fate, to milder calls they bow, 
 Perhaps, like Burns, to follow at the plough. 
 Nor worthy less, though in that silent land 
 Where all untitled, unexalted stand, 
 No towering monument or gilded bust 
 Pays its false honors to the nameless dust. 
 
92 
 
 So, white we see by memory's clouded sun 
 The words and deeds of each departed one, 
 No human eye can look within the veil, 
 See where they really stand, or where they fail ; 
 See the true eloquence whose smothered fire 
 Awoke not human praise, or human ire, — 
 The humble Pitt, the unaspiring Pope 
 Whose ashes sleep in yonder grassy slope ! 
 But while the past its inspiration stirs, 
 While trembling age to joyous youth recurs, 
 While noble deeds revive the sinking breast, — 
 By hope deserted, or by grief depressed, — 
 Oh ! may we think what heroes suffered thus, 
 What happy homes have been prepared for us, 
 What sacred rights by noble sires we gain, — 
 Ours to enjoy and ours to maintain ! 
 Fired by the past, let every soul prepare 
 For noble principles to do or dare, — 
 True, like our sires where'er the conflict be, 
 As justly glorious, and as nobly free ! 
 Let patient Hope her triumph ne'er resign, 
 Let constant Faith through constant virtue shine, 
 And sacred Truth her saving power impart 
 To every sentiment and every heart ! 
 
 So if dark be oar path through the waves we are 
 tossed on, 
 
 Or honor and peace the reward of our care, 
 We never may blush for the hills of New Boston, 
 
 Or the homes of our kindred that wait for us there ! 
 And so if our pilot should ever be lost on 
 
 The fathomless ocean of grief and despair, 
 Cur hearts will turn back to the hills of New Boston, 
 
 And the homes of our kindred that wait for us there ! 
 And oh ! when Death scatters his chill and his frost on 
 
 The brow of each son who was nurtured in prayer, 
 May our friends bear us back to the hills of New 
 Boston 
 
 And the graves of our kindred that wait for us there ! 
 
JOSIAH W. FAIRFIELD, ESQ. 
 
 He was the son of John Fairfield, Esq., born August, 1803 ; 
 fitted for college at Andover Academy, Mass., and graduated 
 from Dartmouth College in 1825. He taught an academy at 
 Chesterfield parts of two years, having for his pupil the late 
 Governor Haile. In 1827 he went to Hudson, N. Y., and be- 
 came principal of the academy in that city, which position he 
 retained five years, studying law meantime with the celebrated 
 Elisha Williams, and began to practice in 1832. Mr. Fairfield 
 has been largely interested in railroad enterprises, holding im- 
 portant positions in them, while the cause of education has 
 always found in him a friend, and all righteous reforms a cor- 
 dial advocate. He was a member of the last General Assembly 
 (N. S.), and is largely known as a philanthropic, Christian 
 gentleman. 
 
 April, 1829, Esquire Fairfield married Laura, the second 
 daughter of Hon. Asa Britton, of Chesterfield, N. H., by whom 
 he has two sons living. The eldest, George B., is with his 
 father, and William B. is a lawyer at St. Charles, Iowa. Both 
 sons are married. Mr. Fairfield buried a daughter in 1852, 
 and, February, 1864, he was called to part with his wife. She 
 was an estimable, Christian lady, and died full of faith, hope, 
 and joy. After giving many precious directions, she bade each 
 of her friends " good-by," then folded her hands across her 
 breast, and said, " Now I am ready, all ready," and expired im- 
 mediately. The end of a devout Christian is peace. 
 
J.HBuF ford's Litti, 
 
 <^^<-^^<^^\ 
 
BESPONSE OF JOSIAH ¥. EAIBEIELD, ESQ. 
 
 New Boston. — Pleasant traditions and memories are cherished by absent sons and 
 daughters. 
 
 Mr. President : — 
 
 No man can relate his recollections and pleasant memories 
 of any place or people, without speaking more or less of him- 
 self. He is, as iEneas says of his history, necessarily a part of 
 what he recites. This constant reference to one's self becomes 
 insufferable egotism, unless the hearers perceive the necessity, 
 and throw a broad mantle of charity over the sinning speaker. 
 
 That mantle is required on this occasion, and the speaker 
 only hopes it will be long and broad enough to cover a multi- 
 tude of sins. 
 
 We all know that the early settlers of this country Avere a 
 peculiar people, and none were more so than the Scotch immi- 
 grants who found their homes in this town and county. They 
 were Presbyterians of the original Covenanters type, but greatly 
 modified and improved by two transplantings, first from Scot- 
 land to Ireland, and then to the forests of the New World. 
 There is no race more tenacious of their original elements of 
 character than the Scotch ; and, through all their persecutions, 
 changes, removals, and improvements, they retained their rec- 
 ollection of wrongs, and cherished their likes and dislikes, as 
 an inheritance never to be broken or alienated. 
 
 The Puritan was one of their dislikes. Our Presbyterians, 
 on arriving at their new homes, found themselves surrounded 
 by the Puritans, a people equally as fond of liberty, and rigid 
 in their notions as themselves ; still they disliked them, and 
 there was a rank jealousy between them. The Independents, 
 under Cromwell, had crushed the fond hopes of supremacy 
 which the Presbyterians had nearly attained in England, and i.t 
 
96 
 
 was a work of time to reestablish a feeling of trust and confi- 
 dence. This jealousy manifested itself early in the settlement 
 of this town. The earliest tradition that I remember of this 
 people, had relation to this. The Scotch would at first suffer 
 no intermarrying with the Puritans ; and, if their daughters 
 were as fair and beautiful then as when I first knew them, no 
 wonder that the Puritan young men felt themselves shut out 
 of Paradise. Be that as it may, the tradition is, that it was no 
 uncommon thing for the Scotchman to find at his door a rag- 
 ged pedler, mounted on some miserable nag, with saddle-bags, 
 filled with potatoes on one side and a huge jug of buttermilk in 
 the other, and crying his wares, with affected blarney, " Butter- 
 milk and peraties ! buttermilk and peraties ! Paddy, will you 
 buy ? " If the pedler got off with an unbroken head, of course 
 he was a lucky fellow, and continued his insulting raid. This 
 was retaliated, of course, and the Puritan would be called up 
 at all hours in the night, and called out at all hours in the day, 
 by a sorry pedler, crying through his nose, in true Roundhead 
 style, " Pumpkins and molasses ! pumpkins and molasses ! 
 Barebones, will you buy ? " Hence, the names of " Paddy " 
 and " Pumpkin " became common in their mutual salutations. 
 But these animosities soon died out, and the Puritan settlers 
 became Presbyterians, and the Presbyterian made pumpkin-pies. 
 The Rev. Mr. Moor, or " Priest Moor," as he was called, be- 
 came the pastor of this people, and a genuine, noble man he 
 was, if we may judge by the reverence and affection with which 
 his name was mentioned long after his death, and during my 
 boyhood. Many anecdotes of his faithfulness and impartiality 
 were current among the people, within my recollection. I will 
 relate but one. Priest Moor was afflicted — as we think most 
 pastors of those days must have been, when sermons were two 
 hours long — by the increasing disposition of his hearers to nod 
 during his preaching. He bore it heroically till he saw one or 
 more of his elders falling into the same sin. He could endure 
 it no longer, and, calling up the elder, he remonstrated with 
 him, but without success ; then he rebuked him sharply, and 
 the elder retorted by telling Mr. Moor to look after his own 
 family. This greatly disturbed the good man. The minister's 
 pew then, as now, was the worst pew in the church, and gen- 
 
v>: 
 
 erally was under the side of the high pulpit, out of sight of the 
 preacher. On the Sabbath following- this retort of the elder, 
 the priest discovered some one nodding, and immediately 
 thought of the elder's retort, and his family ; so, stepping down 
 to the broad stair of his pulpit, he looked over the railing, and 
 discovered Mrs. Moor " fast asleep." " Nanny Moor, Nanny 
 Moor," he cried ; but she heard not. He repeated the call, 
 and, some one nudging her, she waked, and looked up at the 
 indignant face of her husband, while he called out, " Nanny 
 Moor, what did I marry you for ? Tell me that. Was it for 
 your riches ? Na ! na ! Was it for your beauty ? Na ! na ! 
 Was it for your vartue ? Yes ! yes ! an' fath, it seems that you 
 have but very little of that ! " * This was hardly sincere on 
 the part of the Dominie, as Mrs. Moor was reputed to be a 
 beautiful woman in her day, and he knew it. 
 
 But it is time to come to my own personal recollections of 
 the people of this town. I think of them as a people exhibit- 
 ing many of the peculiarities of their origin and religion ; a 
 people such as~I have never seen elsewhere. No other rural 
 population that I have ever become acquainted with has so im- 
 pressed my mind as a model population, worthy of all imitation. 
 The old and middle-aged men of my earliest recollection were 
 a grand old race ; grand in their physical proportions, grand 
 in their religion and moral habits ; grand in their harmony 
 with each other ; and grand in their free, open, generous hos- 
 pitality. I can see, in my vision, two generations of men, 
 measuring in height from five feet ten inches to six feet four 
 inches, and with strong, robust frames in proportion. There 
 were giants in those days. In one family, where I labored one 
 season of my youth, was the grand old patriarch of ninety 
 years, standing six feet four inches in height, and gathering 
 around him on festive occasions, four sons of nearly equal size, 
 and two daughters fit to be queens among women. If I could 
 breathe among the dry bones of yonder sacred cemetery, and 
 call up before you the men and women that I am thinking of, — 
 
 * The reader will observe that this is given as a tradition, current in the 
 writer's youth ; and it may have had its origin in a much earlier day, and a 
 remote region ; yet it serves to picture to us " the priest and the people " at 
 this period. — Editor. 
 13 
 
98 
 
 the Clarks, the Crombies, the Cochrans, the Campbells, the 
 Dodges, Moors, McNeils, Pattersons, Warrens, and many more, 
 their equals, and, to crown all, that prince of pastors, Rev. Mr. 
 Bradford, standing in the midst of his people, — I am sure that 
 this assemblage would bow in admiration, and, as one man, ad- 
 mit that such a shepherd and such a flock could nowhere else 
 be found on this continent. I have said that they were grand 
 in their religion, and in their moral and social intercourse. In 
 the days I speak of, nearly the whole adult population belonged 
 to the church, and nearly every child was baptized. The divis- 
 ions of later years had not then broken their solid ranks. In 
 their solemn assemblies, in their social gatherings, in their pub- 
 lic and festive turnouts, they acted together, always with dig- 
 nity and sobriety. Yet they were never bigoted or intolerant. 
 If they had any idol, it was Mr. Bradford, their minister ; and 
 no man ever deserved the love and homage of his people more 
 than he. Everybody, young and old, loved him ; and he loved 
 everybody, old and young. With such admiration, and such a 
 people, there seemed no difficulty that could not be healed, and 
 no division that could not be closed. They acted together with 
 the same dignity in their public affairs. There seemed no am- 
 bition for office, — no electioneering for distinction. Modest 
 merit was ever most likely to be exalted. I remember the first 
 town-meeting that we boys were permitted to attend, probably 
 in March, of 1812 or 1813. The people assembled on that oc- 
 casion in the old church, and took their pews as orderly and 
 quietly as upon the Sabbath. Mr. Bradford went into the pul- 
 pit, and opened the meeting with "prayer. The selectmen took 
 the deacons' seat, and called the meeting to business. A mod- 
 erator was first to be elected, and some one came to our pew, 
 and whispered to my father. He immediately rose up, and said, 
 "Boys, we must go out." We followed him out, with sad 
 hearts, shut out from seeing what we came to see, and we knew 
 not why. We begged for a reason, and he told us that the whis- 
 perer had informed him that he was the republican candidate 
 for moderator, and must retire. In due time he was informed 
 of his election, when we returned to the church, and saw the 
 same thing repeated in every balloting of the day. We may 
 smile at the simplicity and modesty of such a people ; we may 
 boast of the wondrous progress we have made in advance of 
 
99 
 
 that simplicity ; we may have seen the descendants of that people, 
 electioneering and voting for themselves ; but let us remember 
 that our boasted progress has culminated in the harvest of cor- 
 ruption, treason, and rebellion, which the nation is now reaping. 
 
 The patriarchs of the town were peace-makers ; litigation 
 was scarcely known among them ; a resort to legal tribunals 
 was a violation of public opinion ; no lawyer ever resided here, 
 and had one attempted it, he would have starved, if he had 
 leaned on the law for his bread. Lawyers grew fat in all the 
 neighboring towns, but this was the abode of peace, not of liti- 
 gation. I remember that, in later years, one uneasy, unlucky 
 wight, after resisting all offers of compromise, prosecuted his 
 neighbor, in due form of law, and so great was the excitement, 
 that almost the entire population turned out as defendants. 
 The poor plaintiff was crushed under the pressure of numbers, 
 and the verdict of the community was, " served him right ! " 
 There were, undoubedly, troubles, disputes, and trespasses 
 among neighbors ; and there were, I presume, the usual local 
 magistrates in the town, but I never saw nor heard of a justice 
 court, or a jury trial, until after I had grown to manhood, and 
 had removed to other scenes. Conciliation was first aimed at, 
 and, if that failed, then arbitration or compromise, or the friend- 
 ly offices of neighbors, uniformly succeeded in healing the 
 worst feuds and most troublesome animosities. 
 
 It might be supposed that a population, such as I have de- 
 scribed, would repress with a strong hand the natural and or- 
 dinary love of social mirth, frolic, and amusement. The dispo- 
 sition to taboo the joyous and mirthful exhibitions of our na- 
 tures, I suspect, belonged more to the Puritan than to the Scotch 
 character. Be that as it may, I know there was no restraint 
 among this people against any enjoyment, pleasure, or amuse- 
 ment, which innocence might sanction, or virtue approve. We 
 had our dances, and such dances ! none of your new, patent, 
 improved cotillions, quadrilles, and waltzes ; but jigs, and long- 
 reels, and short reels, and square reels, and Hie Betty Martin ! 
 and then we had our sleigh-rides, apple-parings, corn-huskings, 
 and all manner of sports, such as were approved and partici- 
 pated in by "the old folks at home." Our mothers always 
 knew that " we were out." We were at home by ten o'clock, 
 sound, hearty, and happy. There is no young life so innocent, 
 
 LofC. 
 
100 
 
 so full of joy, no pleasures so full of vigor and benefit, as the 
 life and pleasures of the young people of a moral and religious 
 farming community. Cultivate and refine us as much as you 
 will, — give us the overflowing cup of the gay, fashionable world 
 to the fill, — still, when we grow old, and look back for a time 
 of unalloyed enjoyment, those only find it who have luxuriated 
 in the untainted social life of the sons and daughters of such a 
 laboring population. The dissipated ballroom, the drinking 
 and gambling saloons, and all kindred resorts for pleasure, leave 
 a sting in the memory that neither time nor eternity can heal. 
 The old folks, too, were not without their social enjoyments. 
 They had their tea-parties and dinner-parties, their winter 
 evening sociables, with the fruit and wine of their orchards, 
 and the nuts of their forests. The men, especially the younger 
 men, as the custom was, had their social assemblies and so- 
 cial drinks, and sometimes, though rarely, there were com- 
 plaints of excess and disorder. But, to the praise of our 
 fathers it may be said, that they loved and maintained order 
 and sobriety. It was a deep disgrace to be suspected of intem- 
 perance. There was not in the town, what we now call a rum- 
 hole, or gambling-shop. I remember but two men who were 
 called drunkards, and never saw but one of those. All gam- 
 bling was prohibited by the sternest repression, and many now 
 recollect how thoroughly the one suspected rendezvous was 
 cleansed out by the wise strategy of the town officers. All 
 licentiousness was pursued with deep disgrace, and was scarcely 
 heard of. Judge Lynch once held his court here, and an 
 offending citizen, convicted on sight, was put upon a rail, and 
 carried outside the limits of the town, and warned never to re- 
 turn, under a penalty which he dared not incur. But the 
 crowning evidence in favor of our fathers, was the fact that 
 real poverty was scarcely known in the town. There might 
 have been one or two helpless invalids supported as paupers, 
 but it was the pride of every neighborhood to feed, clothe, and 
 comfort their own poor. How many precious memories cluster 
 around those ministering angels, our mothers and sisters, as we 
 see them, in our backward vision, visiting the sick, comforting 
 the afflicted, supplying the wants of the poor, and giving to the 
 widow and orphan the blessed assurance of being preserved 
 from the deep mortification of becoming town paupers. How 
 
101 
 
 rich the legacy of these recollections ! How proud may we be 
 to-day of such a legacy ! 
 
 But the happiest memories, and most delightful associations, 
 are those suggested by the occasion. We, who have wandered 
 from our native soil, and spent more or less of our lives among 
 strangers, have come home to celebrate the one hundredth 
 birthday of our venerable homestead. We come, not like the 
 prodigal, because we have been starving on husks, nor because 
 we have squandered our patrimony in riotous living, but be- 
 cause our fathers and our brethren have invited us to come, 
 and because the dear recollections of our old home, of the dear 
 companions of our childhood and youth, of the many happy 
 hours, days, and years we have spent here, all combined, have 
 drawn us with cords, laying hold of our hearts, and whose 
 strength neither time nor distance has weakened. And we are 
 met, on our return, not by the older brothers, grumbling and 
 begrudging the fatted calf, but are welcomed by them to a 
 feast of fat things. We rejoice together with you ; we gather up 
 the precious memories of the past and hallow them ; we call 
 up the many and manly virtues of our fathers, and pay to them 
 the tribute of our most hearty admiration. From the depths 
 of our hearts spring up the bright pictures of the departed dead, 
 whom we seem to hear say to us, " Children, do ye abide in 
 the principles and virtues of your fathers ? " What is our 
 answer ? Standing here, the representatives of that race ; stand- 
 ing here over their graves ; standing here upon the birthday 
 of the town, and the birthday of our nation, what do we say ? 
 Are we their legitimate children, or do we belie our origin ? 
 Shall our fathers, looking down upon the scenes of this noble 
 life, disown us, and our mother cast us off? No! no! A 
 thousand times, no ! We are not bastards ! We come here 
 to-day to testify our love for our home and our ancestors. If 
 we have erred and strayed, we have come back to confess our 
 wanderings ; if we have neglected or forgotten their counsels, 
 we will now recall and adopt them into our lives ; if we have 
 dishonored their graves, we will rebuild their sepulchres ; if we 
 have forsaken their God, we will destroy our idols, and come 
 back to the altar where they worshipped. We lift up a stand- 
 ard here to-day, and pledge our loyalty to our fathers, to our 
 country, and our God. 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 
 
 In the grant of the town by the " Great and General Court," 
 of Massachusetts Bay, it is provided that the proprietors, with- 
 in three years from the date of the grant, " shall settle a Learned 
 and Orthodox minister, and build and finish a convenient meet- 
 mg-house for the public worship of God. And for the encour- 
 agement of some godly man to settle in the township, they 
 further provide that one sixty-third part of the township shall 
 be given him in his right at his settlement, and another sixty- 
 third part shall be set apart in perpetuity towards his annual 
 support." 
 
 Agreeably to these provisions, a meeting-house was erected 
 by the proprietors, in the northeast part of the town, around 
 which clustered sixty dwelling-houses, each eighteen feet square, 
 together with a saw and grain mill. The proprietors agreed, 
 March 30, 1738 (old style), with "Joseph Fitch, of Bedford, 
 millwright, and Zachariah Emery, of Acton, husbandman, and 
 Samuel Fellows, of Chelmsford, housewright, all in the county 
 of Middlesex," " to erect a Meeting-House of the following di- 
 mensions, viz. : Forty-five feet long, and thirty-five feet wide, 
 and twenty-two feet between the cell (sill) and plate, to frame 
 a Tower or steple at one end thereof, ten foot square, and forty 
 foot high," and to finish the house " in a good, workmanlike 
 manner, on or before the fifteenth day of November, which will 
 be the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and forty ; " 
 for which they agree to pay " four hundred and nine pounds, in 
 Bills of Credit of the old tennor." The proprietors, in a peti- 
 tion to the general court of Massachusetts Bay, on " the last 
 Wednesday of May, 1740," say that they " have erected a 
 house for the public worship of God, sixty dwelling-houses, a 
 saw-mill, cleared woods, and been at other charges, in the whole 
 amounting to upwards of three thousand pounds." Yet, it 
 
104 
 
 would appear that the meeting-house was never finished inside, 
 the contractors failing to fulfil their engagement ; nor is it cer- 
 tain that meetings for the worship of God were ever held in it. 
 It seems pretty evident that soon after the erection and comple- 
 tion of the exterior of the house, it was consumed by fire, 
 together with many of the dwelling-houses in its vicinity. 
 There is a tradition that the fire was set by Indians, then in the 
 region ; but it is most reasonable to conclude that, during the 
 summer of 1740, the fire was accidentally conveyed to it by 
 clearing the lands in the neighborhood. But its history is in- 
 volved in mystery ; there is no record relating to it, beyond the 
 fact of its erection and partial completion ; and ,a like mystery 
 shrouds the fate of a village of some sixty houses. And why 
 this spot should be selected for a village and a meeting-house, 
 being near the line of Goffstown, does not clearly appear. A 
 meeting-house here would not accommodate the town, and this, 
 it is presumed, the proprietors discovered, and the house was 
 never rebuilt, and nothing was done respecting another for ten 
 or twelve years. Yet it is believed that occasional preaching- 
 was enjoyed during this period, and the inhabitants occasionally 
 returned to the towns whence they had come to partake of the 
 sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The settlers expressed a 
 strong desire for public worship in the latter part of 1757 ; but 
 the proprietors informed them that " Preaching could not begin 
 until May, 1758," and the settlers were desired " to aid in the 
 salary." The number of inhabitants in town, September 25, 
 1756, was only fifty-nine ; twenty-six men, eleven women, nine 
 boys, and thirteen girls. November 11, 1756, at a meeting in 
 Boston, the proprietors " voted John Hill, Esq., James Halsey, 
 and Robert Jenkins be a committee to fix on a proper place, in 
 or near the centre of the town, for the public worship of God, 
 and also for a public Burying-Place, as they shall think most 
 suitable for the whole community; (fixed on Lot No. 81.") 
 Lot No. 81, it is thought, must have included a part of " Bux- 
 ton Hill," and that on the western part of that hill it was pro- 
 posed to erect the second meeting-house. But this location did 
 not satisfy the settlers ; for November 28, 1758, Thomas Cochran 
 is authorized " to convene the settlers, and select a proper place 
 near the centre of the town (old limits) for a house of worship 
 
105 
 
 and burying-ground ; (supposed to be about Lot 79.") But 
 there was not the desired unanimity among the settlers, and, 
 August 30, 31, 1759, a committee of the proprietors held a 
 conference at Chelmsford, with Messrs. Cochran, McAllister, 
 Ferson, Walker, and Carson, respecting "raising money to pay 
 for past preaching and the erection of a meeting-house, but no 
 decisive action was taken. During the summer of 1760, the 
 Rev. Mr. Burbeen preached several Sabbaths ; also the Rev. 
 Mr. Brown, for whose services compensation was made by the 
 proprietors. April 20, 1762, a committee of the proprietors 
 met Robert Boyes, Esq., James Caldwell, and John McAllister, 
 at Dunstable, and there it was voted " to build a meeting-house 
 on or near Lot 79, fifty feet long, and forty feet wide, with all 
 convenient speed." June 9, of the same year, the proprietors 
 met at New Boston, and, after voting to pay twenty-one dollars 
 for past preaching, also voted again to build a meeting-house. 
 Still the contention continued as to location ; and, September 
 14, 1762, at Dunstable, it was " voted unanimously that Ma- 
 thew Patten, Esq., Capt. John Chamberlin, and Samuel Patten, 
 or any two of them, be desired and impowered to fix a spot in 
 the most convenient place in said New Boston, to build a Meet- 
 ing-House, or place for public worship thereon, at the cost of 
 the Proprietors, and are desired to report as soon as possible. 
 And the subscribers being present at the above vote, signified 
 our consent of said vote, and oblige ourselves to abide by the 
 determination of said committee, or any two of them, as wit- 
 ness our hands for selves and constituence." This was signed 
 by James Halsey, for himself and twelve others, for whom he 
 was authorized to act ; John Hill, Robert Jenkins, Robert 
 Boyes, Thomas Cochran, James Caldwell, for self and six oth- 
 ers ; William Moor, John McAllister, George Cristy, James 
 Hunter, Thomas Wilson, and Allen Moor. 
 
 The following is the report of the committee : — 
 
 To the Proprietors of New Boston : — 
 
 Gentlemen: — Pursuant to the vote and desire at the meeting held at 
 Dunstable, in the Province of New Hampshire, the 14th of Sept., 1762, — 
 
 We, the subscribers, have attended the business therein mentioned, at said 
 meeting, desiring us to choose a proper place to build a meeting-house in New 
 Boston ; we viewed the place or premises, heard the reasonings of the Propri- 
 14 
 
106 
 
 etors and inhabitants of said town, and do report to the said Propriety, that the 
 Lot No. 79, in the second Division, and near the centre of said Lot, on the 
 south side of Piscataqnog Eiver, south of a Red Oak tree, marked with letter 
 C, near the grave of a child buried there, is the most proper place or spot to 
 build a Meeting-house on in town, according to our judgment. 
 
 MATTHEW PATTEN,) 
 JOHN CHAMBERLIN, V- Committee. 
 SAMUEL PATTEN, ) 
 Witness our hand, July 24, 1763. 
 
 This report was accepted by the proprietors, at a meeting held 
 at Dunstable, September 28, 1763, at which "were present 
 James Halsey, John Hill, Esq., Robert Jenkins, Robert Boyes, 
 Esq., Thomas Corkrin, Col. Joseph Williams, Esq., John McAl- 
 lister, Allen Moor, William Moor, Robert Clark, George Christy, 
 Abraham Corkrin, and James Hunter." At their meeting in 
 Dunstable, April 24, 1764, it was also voted by the proprie- 
 tors, " That the Committee already appointed for building said 
 meeting-house be desired to agree with some suitable person 
 for building said house as soon as may be." That committee 
 was the " standing committee " of the proprietors, consisting of 
 James Halsey, John Hill, Robert Boyes, Thomas Cochran, and 
 James Caldwell. At the same time this committee were author- 
 ized to sell any unappropriated lands belonging to the proprie- 
 tors, " either in the old town or in the new addition, of lands 
 for building the Meeting-house " ; while direct taxes were as- 
 sessed " on each proprietor's right or rights," for the same 
 purpose. 
 
 It would seem that this committee contracted with Ebenezer 
 Beard to build the house, as September 30, 1766, at a meeting 
 of proprietors at Dunstable, " at the house of Thomas Harrod, 
 taverner," it was voted, "That John Hill, Esq., and Robert 
 Jenkins, be a committee to treat with and agree with Mr. 
 Ebenezer Beard, about the building and finishing the meeting- 
 house and settling his accounts so far as is already done, and 
 pass receipts with said Beard, as to what he has already done 
 to the meeting-house, and what he has already received to- 
 wards it." And the same committee were instructed, in the 
 following April, again to settle with him. There seems to 
 have been much delay in completing his contract, and the 
 
107 
 
 proprietors, becoming impatient, instructed Thomas Cochran 
 and James Caldwell to hire workmen to finish the meeting- 
 house, provided Beard did not finish said house by the first of 
 July next (1767). It is, however, intimated that Beard was not 
 to finish the whole of the interior of the house, — only the 
 lower story, with the pulpit, and seats for the singers. It would 
 seem that Beard completed his contract since the proprietors 
 voted, September 15, 1767, " to give Ebenezer Beard one hun- 
 dred acres of land in'the New Addition above what they had 
 contracted to give, since said Beard complained that he had a 
 hard bargain." And this was confirmed September 6, 1768, and 
 Thomas Cochran was authorized to give him a deed of said 
 one hundred acres of land, " when it shall appear to said 
 Thomas Cochran, that Ebenezer Beard has finished his work, 
 according to his agreement, on the meeting-house." Lot No. 
 16 in " New Addition," was selected, and Mr. Beard was set- 
 tled with and paid in full, agreeably to contract ; and the pro- 
 prietors " resign their interest in the gallery to the inhabitants 
 of the town, provided they will join with the resident propri- 
 etors in finishing the gallery and the meeting-house to the sat- 
 isfaction of said residents." And, after assigning to each orig- 
 inal proprietor one-half of a pew on the ground floor, the pro- 
 prietors seem to leave the meeting-house to be finished and 
 cared for by the town. And it will be observed that this brings 
 us into the year 1768, twenty-eight years since the erection of 
 the first meeting-house on " the Plains," in the northeast part 
 of the town. Meantime, the town has received its charter of 
 Incorporation from " George the Third, by the grace of God, 
 of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the 
 Faith, etc., through his "trusty and well-beloved BenningWent- 
 worth, Esq., our Governor and Commander-in-Chief, and of 
 our Council for said Province of New Hampshire ; " and the 
 inhabitants have greatly increased and improved in their ma- 
 terial interests and comforts. Nor have they been indifferent 
 respecting a house of worship and the stated ministrations of 
 the word. ' But they have earnestly sought for a habitation for 
 their God, and longed for his courts. They have had such 
 preaching in their private houses as they could obtain, and 
 have thanked God and taken courage during the long period 
 
108 
 
 of "hope deferred." Thus the Eev. Mr. Hancock preached 
 for them some weeks in 1762, and every year more or less of 
 money was raised and appropriated for preaching, and various 
 attempts were made to obtain some one to break to them the 
 bread of life. October 3, 1763, the town voted " that Nathan- 
 iel Cochran make application in behalf of the town at a meet- 
 ing of ministers at Hollis for some preaching." March 4, 
 1765, the town voted " to have Eev. Mr. Huston preach five 
 or six Sabbath days." Other ministers were heard at different 
 times with great satisfaction. And thus piety was kept alive, 
 and the children were brought to the altar of baptism, and the 
 Sabbath was kept holy, and their longing desires for the gospel 
 were, in a measure, gratified. But how great the joy felt at 
 the sight of a meeting-house on their own soil and within their 
 own limits, it is now difficult for us to conceive. It is said 
 that not a few wept for joy of it, and a day for thanksgiving 
 to God was observed by the town when their temple could 
 be used for worship, and much prayer was offered that He 
 would enable them to secure the settlement of a minister 
 among them. They lingered long about the courts of the 
 Lord's house, counting the dust and the stones and the wood 
 s acred. It was an imposing structure for those days. It was 
 " fifty feet long and forty feet wide and twenty-two feet stud," 
 with a front door five feet wide towards the south, another 
 towards the west, and another towards the east, while the pul- 
 pit was on the north side, with square pews all around by the 
 walls of the house, with a broad alley in the centre, and square 
 pews on either side, and an alley between them and the pews 
 on the sides, while the pulpit was of ample dimensions and im- 
 posing height, with its mysterious sounding-board above, and the 
 minister's pew on the west side of the pulpit, close by the stairs 
 which led to it. The singers' seats were on a large scale on the 
 south side of the house in the gallery, though, until they were 
 finished, the town voted " to give the teached singers two seats 
 on the west side of the broad alley." Thus in 1768 the meet- 
 ing-house was so far finished as to be considered a comfortable 
 and appropriate house for worship, though, it was not entirely 
 completed until as late as 1786. Yet the house began to be 
 used for worship as early as 1767, the year in which the 
 Rev. Solomon Moor began his labors. 
 
109 
 
 REV. SOLOMON MOOR. 
 
 He was born in Newtown, Limavady, in Ireland, 1736, the 
 same year the Grant of New Boston was obtained. He grad- 
 uated at the University of Glasgow in 1758, and was licensed 
 to preach by the Presbytery of Londonderry, Ireland, July 26, 
 1762, and was ordained in 1766 as a minister at large. This 
 was done with a view of coming to America to labor wherever 
 in the providence of God a field of usefulness might be opened. 
 Accordingly he sailed for Halifax, where he arrived in October, 
 1766. After remaining there a few weeks, he proceeded to Bos- 
 tonj Massachusetts, and preached for the first time in America 
 in that city, in the pulpit of Rev. Mr. Moorhead. The next 
 Sabbath he preached at Londonderry for the Rev. Mr. Mc- 
 Gregor; and February, 1767, he came to New Boston, to which 
 place he was recommended by letters of commendation from 
 Rev. William Davidson, the pastor of the First Church in Lon- 
 donderry. It should be remembered that a large proportion 
 of the first settlers of New Boston came from Londonderry, and 
 they naturally maintained much intercourse with the churches 
 whence they came, and enjoyed the sympathy and paternal care 
 of the pastors. It is evident that they had solicited the aid of 
 Rev. Mr. Davidson in obtaining a minister. Hence Mr. Moor 
 was encouraged to visit New Boston, and spend at least a few 
 months with the scattered population of that town. And Mr. 
 Moor seemed adapted to that people, both by birth and educa- 
 tion. He had no prejudices to overcome, but gained ready ac- 
 cess to their confidence ; and with great unanimity the inhabi- 
 tants presented him the following call, August 25, 1767 : "We, 
 the inhabitants of the town of New Boston, as sensible of the 
 repeated instances of the goodness of our kind Benefactor, par- 
 ticularly in smiling upon our new settlement so that from a 
 very small, in a few years are increased to a considerable num- 
 ber, and the wilderness, by God's kind influences, is in many 
 places amongst us become a fruitful field, affording us a com- 
 fortable sustenance ; we acknowledge that we are not proprietors 
 of our estates in the sight of God, but stewards, and therefore 
 they are to be improved for his honor, the spreading and estab- 
 lishment of his interest; and being destitute of a fixed pastor, 
 
110 
 
 and having longing and earnest inclinations to have one 
 established amongst us, that we may have the gospel 
 mysteries unfolded and ordinances administered amongst 
 us, the appointed means in God's house below, that we 
 and our seed may be disciplined and trained up for his 
 house in glory above ; as the kind providence of God has 
 opened such a door by, sir, your coming amongst us, we are 
 led cheerfully to embrace the happy opportunity, being well 
 assured, reverend sir, by unexceptional credentials as to your 
 ministerial abilities to preach the gospel, and likewise as to 
 your exemplary life, which gives force to what is preached, as 
 also the suitableness and agreeableness of what you preach to 
 our capacities, we, earnestly imploring direction from the Be- 
 ing that alone can effectually direct us in such a weighty and 
 soul-concerning matter, we, with hearts full of well-guided affec- 
 tion, do, in the most hearty manner, invite, call, and intreat you, 
 the Rev. Solomon Moor, to undertake the office of a pastor 
 amongst us, and the charge of our souls forced upon your ac- 
 cepting this our call, as we hope the Lord will move and incline 
 you so to do, we in a most solemn manner promise you all du- 
 tiful respect, encouragement, and obedience in the Lord ; 
 further, as the laborer is worthy of his hire, and he that serves 
 at the altar should live by it, as we have nothing but what we 
 have received, we are willing to improve part of our portions 
 in this life that we may be made partakers of everlasting por- 
 tion in the life to come, by the blessing of God, under your 
 ministry, and for your encouragement and temporal reward, 
 we promise you yearly forty pounds sterling per annum for the 
 first five years after your instalment, and after that the addi- 
 tion of five pounds more sterling. August the 25, 1767. Sub- 
 scribed by John Smith, Matthew Caldwell, William Caldwell, 
 Jesse Christy, Thomas Cochran, James Ferson, Alexander Mc- 
 Collom, William Clark, James Cochran, William Gray, Abra- 
 ham Cochran, James Wilson, George Cristy, Alexander Wil- 
 son, James Hunter, Alexander Graham, Samuel McAllister, 
 Thomas McColom, Ninian Clark, Peter Cochran, Reuben Smith, 
 Hardry Ferson, John Blair, John Cochran, Jr., Thomas Coch- 
 ran, Jr., Allen Moor, William McNeil, Jr., Thomas Quigely, 
 William Kelsey, John Cochran, William Boyes, Paul Ferson, 
 
Ill 
 
 James Ferson, Jr., Thomas Wilson, William Blair, John Mc- 
 Allister, Anamias McAllister, Archabald McAllister, Robert 
 White, John Burns, Robert Livingston, Nathaniel Cochran, 
 William Livingston, John Gordon." 
 
 The call thus given to Mr. Moor by individuals was subse- 
 quently adopted and confirmed by a vote of the town at a legal 
 meeting. But, though this was given Aug. 25, 1767, it was not 
 accepted until July 1, 1768, although he had been with this 
 people more than six months before the call was given. Rea- 
 sons for so long a delay is hinted at by those who think that 
 love is omnipotent in controlling men's decisions. Tradition 
 has it that Mr. Moor would not agree to settle here until he 
 could gain the consent of a fair lady to share with him the pri- 
 vations and hardships incident to a settlement in what was then 
 called, in Londonderry, "The Woods." It will be remembered 
 that Mr. Moor spent some months at Londonderry before com- 
 ing to New Boston, and there the softer passions were fanned 
 into a flame by the charming graces of Miss Ann Davidson, 
 daughter of Rev. William Davidson. She was not indifferent 
 to his solicitations, but desired that a different field might be 
 presented to him, more in accordance with her ambition and 
 cultivated manners. She had been educated at Schenectady, 
 N. Y., and Boston, Mass., and had been reared in an intelligent 
 community ; for Londonderry was " no mean city." She had 
 already sent out several colonies, and raised up not a few 
 " mighty men of valor," and men wise to expound the " law of 
 the Lord," and to frame constitutions for states and the nation. 
 A nd it is not strange that Miss Davidson, who was much young- 
 er than he, refused at first to " go with the man." But Mr. 
 Moor believed in " the perseverance " of good men, and re- 
 newed and redoubled his efforts to win the hand of one 
 whose lofty bearing and noble spirit promised to make him a 
 happy man, amid " the difficulties of the way ; " and Mr. 
 Robert White, afterwards Deacon, with whom he had boarded 
 since his arrival, proposed that Deacon Thomas Cochran go to 
 Londonderry, to confer with the " damsel," and carry a " clus- 
 ter of the grapes of Eschol," and magnify the goodliness of the 
 land to which they desired her to come. At length, in the 
 month of June, 1768, Thomas Cochran and his " blessed wife 
 
112 
 
 Jenny, saddled their asses," and tracked their way to " Derry 
 Town," on the important mission of aiding their minister to ob- 
 tain a wife, and visiting their friends. They accomplished their 
 object, and Mr. Moor, having thereby " conquered prejudices," 
 with a joyful heart " undertook the cure of souls " in New Bos- 
 ton. The people had their hearts set upon Mr. Moor's remain- 
 ing with them, and did all in their power to prepare the way. 
 In drawing the ministry lots, no one chanced to be very near 
 the centre of the town. Lot 61, in the western part of the 
 town, was a ministry lot, which the town voted to exchange for 
 lot 53, which had been drawn for a school lot, and this last was 
 in the southern part of the town, more than two miles from 
 the meeting-house. It was here, in the neighborhood of several 
 very early settlements, that they proposed their pastor should 
 have his dwelling, and towards the clearing of which, and the 
 erection of buildings, they promised material aid. The town 
 had been a little impatient under his long delay to answer then" 
 call, as is evident from the following vote,- taken in connection 
 with what had before transpired : — " March 7, 1768, Voted, 
 Thomas Cochran, James Ferson, Thomas Quigely, Daniel Mc- 
 Millen, and William Clark, committee to treat with Rev. Solo- 
 mon Moor, in regard to his settling in New Boston ; and in case 
 the said Moor will not. stay, to provide preaching some other 
 way for the present year." But August 15, 1768, the town 
 " Voted, that Eobert White provide entertainment for ministers 
 at the instalment of Rev. Mr. Moor, and bring in his charge to 
 the town," and Mr. Moor was installed Sept. 6, 1768, as the 
 minister of the town, with prospects of permanent usefulness. 
 The occasion was one of great interest. Ample provisions were 
 made for the entertainment of strangers. The clay at first 
 promised to be unpropitious ; but at length the threatening 
 clouds passed away, and every path was trod by the multitude 
 that sought to witness the installation of the first minister in 
 New Boston. It is believed that the Rev. David McGregor, of 
 Londonderry, preached the installing sermon, and the Rev. 
 William Davidson gave the charge to the pastor. 
 
li: 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 There are no records to show the time of the gathering of the 
 Presbyterian Church. It is generally believed, however, that 
 it was organized the same day the Rev. Mr. Moor was installed, 
 Sept. 6, 1768 ; though there are reasons to suppose that it had 
 an earlier origin. Thomas Cochran and Archibald McMillen 
 are called " Deacons " prior to Mr. Moor's installation, in the 
 records of the Proprietors, while there is no reason to believe 
 that they had been Deacons in any church before coming to 
 this town. Mr. Farmer, the well-known statistician, gave 1768 
 as the origin of the church, and the Rev. Dr. Whiton, of Antrim, 
 concurs with him. But we think neither of them had access to 
 the records to which we have alluded, and that they fixed on 
 that date because no positive record could be found, and that 
 date must be sufficiently late to render it certain that the 
 church did at that time exist. But it is hardly to be credited 
 that a people so religious and so highly prizing the ordinances 
 of religion as the first settlers of New Boston, while they were 
 having more or less of preaching every year, should neglect to or- 
 ganize themselves into a church, or that such excellent pastors 
 as those of the churches of Londonderry, and other towns, who 
 had sent their members into this new settlement, should neglect 
 to gather them within the enclosure of church relations, for a 
 period of twenty-eight years. It is known that ministers of the 
 towns whence the settlers came, were accustomed to perform 
 more or less of labor in this town gratuitously every year, thus 
 caring for the scattered members of their flocks. Hence, we 
 are of the opinion that the church in New Boston was organized 
 much earlier than 1768, though the precise • time cannot be 
 known. The session of the church in 1768 was thus consti- 
 tuted : Mr. Moor, Pastor; Thomas Cochran, James Ferson, 
 John Smith, Archibald McMillen, Jesse Christie, and Robert 
 White, Deacons. Thus, strengthened by the cooperation and 
 counsels of good men, in the session and in the church, Mr. 
 Moor girded himself for the labor of converting the wilderness 
 into a fruitful field. And, to aid him still further in his work, 
 he led to the hymeneal altar, July 16, 1770, Miss Ann David- 
 son, of Londonderry, then only twenty years old. The bride's 
 
 15 
 
114 
 
 father performed the marriage service, ami Mr. Moor and his 
 wife accompanied by a large number of her friends, started for 
 New Boston, each riding a spirited steed, and were met on the 
 way by large numbers of their parishioners, who gave them a 
 cordial greeting, and escorted them to their new home, where 
 old men and women, young men and maidens were assembled 
 for a most generous "house-warming." The excitement was 
 intense at their arrival, and strong arms of loving Scotch women 
 bore their minister's wife from the saddle to her chamber, and 
 from thence, in the same manner, she descended to the reception- 
 room. Ample provision was made for a joyous festival, and 
 the swift hours of evening but too soon fled amid scenes deemed 
 appropriate to the event. 
 
 During the war of the Revolution, many patriots distrusted 
 the loyalty of Mr. Moor to their cause, and were less cordial 
 toward him and his wife, but there was no serious interruption 
 in his relation to the people. In due time that prejudice passed 
 away ; and, amid efforts to advance the cause of education, 
 to promote peace between contending parties and angry indi- 
 viduals, he successfully preached the gospel and blessed the 
 people. He introduced large numbers to the ordinances of 
 baptism and the supper, though the church enjoyed no special 
 revivals during his ministry. Mr. Moor was Calvanistic in his 
 doctrinal views and teachings, though not of the most rigid sort. 
 He has been charged with being an Armenian by not a few in 
 later years ; but we think without any good reason. Mr. Moor 
 was a man of great moderation, and yet greater charity. He 
 lived in times very different from the present, and was lax in 
 discipline, and allowed some practices which would not now be 
 tolerated. But there seems to be no reliable evidence that he 
 had any sympathy with Armenianism. He was always in cor- 
 dial sympathy with his ministerial brethren, and always wel- 
 comed to their pulpits by their people, while his own church 
 and people cherished for him profound respect . He lived and 
 died greatly beloved by his flock. His death occurred May 28, 
 1803, aged 67, after a ministry of thirty-four years and four 
 months. His death was occasioned by a severe cold, which ter- 
 minated in congestion of the lungs. He was fully sensible of 
 death's approach, and spoke freely of his departure to those 
 
115 
 
 who saw him, expressing great attachment to his people, and 
 deep anxiety for them, as they were now to be left as sheep with- 
 out a shepherd. After cxorting them to strive to perpetuate 
 peace, and cultivate mutal forbearance, he seems to have 
 been able to trust them in the hands of his Master, saying, 
 " The Lord will keep you, and give you. another pastor more 
 faithful than I have been." Thus the good man blessed his 
 household and his people, and fell asleep, a rich smile long rest- 
 ing upon his countenance. His funeral was attended at the 
 meeting-house, May 31, by a large concourse of people from 
 all parts of the town, and from neighboring communities, 
 when a solemn and affecting discourse was delivered by the 
 Rev. Dr. William Morrison, of Londonderry, from the text, Job 
 xxx. 23, " For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and 
 to the house appointed for all living." 
 
 Mrs. Moor survived her husband many years, living where 
 he died, with some of her children and grandchildren about 
 her, making herself useful to them and others. She retained 
 her faculties to the last, fond of society, indulging in sprightly 
 conversation and occasional repartees. She had been a faithful 
 wife, looking well to her household, and putting her hand to the 
 distaff. She died Nov. 22, 1842, aged 96 years, more than 
 thirty-eight years after the death of her husband, in a good old 
 age, greatly lamented by a large circle of kindred and friends. 
 Her husband praised her while he lived, and his successor in 
 the ministry praised her when she was dead. To her cordial 
 sympathy and encouragment Mr. Bradford acknowledged him- 
 self greatly indebted. She became to him a mother, and loved 
 and prayed for him until the last, never omitting an opportu- 
 nity to cheer him when despondent, or to minister to his comfort, 
 or contribute to his usefulness. And her kindness never failed 
 to be appreciated by the great heart of that man of God. To 
 the dignity, intelligence, and Christian deportment of Mrs. 
 Moor may be traced in no small degree the excellences which 
 characterized the generation of women who were brought 
 within the range of her influence, and which are not wanting 
 in their successors. 
 
 The children of Mr. Moor were : Mary, born Aug. 27, 1771 ; 
 Witter Davidson, born May 16, 1773 ; Frances, born April 22. 
 
116 
 
 1775 ; Ann, born March 8, 1778 ; John, born Oct. 17, 1782 ; 
 and Elizabeth Cummings, born Sept. 30, 1784. 
 
 Mary married Samuel Cochran, of Londonderry, and at her 
 death left three children, Frances, Nancy, and Solomon. 
 
 Witter was killed by the falling of a tree when a child. 
 
 Frances married Capt. John Smith, of Goffstown, for many 
 years a distinguished school-teacher, and subsequently a mer- 
 chant. Mrs. Smith died May 7, 1807, and he Nov. 11, 1851, 
 their children being, Alfred, who married Elizabeth Howard, of 
 Temple, and lives in Goffstown, having eight children ; Alfred ; 
 xinn Elizabeth ; John Witter ; Abby Frances, Nancy Moor ; 
 Jane Harris ; and Solomon Moor, now in the first New Hamp- 
 shire Battery. 
 
 Witter, son of Frances, died young. So also Solomon Moor 
 and Nancy Moor, and Frances Moor became the wife of Dea. 
 Joseph Hadley, of Goffstown. 
 
 Ann, daughter of Rev. S. Moor, died unmarried, Nov. 23, 
 1859, aged 81. 
 
 John, son of Rev. S. Moor, married Mehitable Ray, of Mount 
 Vernon, and their children are, Solomon, living in Washington, 
 D. C. ; James Ray, living in Amherst ; Sabrina Ray, who became 
 the wife of Daniel Campbell, Esq.; Frances Smith, who became 
 the wife of Alfred E. Cochran, and soon died ; John Hamilton, 
 living in Washington, D. C; Eliza Ann, who became the wife 
 of Samuel Leach, her children being Emily Frances, Samuel 
 Mitchell, Sarah Danforth, Sabrina Campbell, James Ray, Mehit- 
 able Mead, and Solomon Moor. 
 
 Mehitable Ray, daughter of John Moor, became the wife of 
 Frank Mead, and lives in Littleton, Mass. 
 
 Nancy, John Moor's daughter, married Dalton Clark, and 
 lives in Davenport, Iowa. 
 
 George Rodney, son of John Moor, lives in Manchester. 
 
 Mr. John Moor's second wife was Mrs. Martha Morrison, 
 daughter of David Sprague, of Bedford, and their children are 
 Frances and Ellen. Mr. Moor died Oct. 28, 1862, aged 80. . 
 
 Elizabeth Cummings was married by Rev. Mr. Bradford to 
 James McCurdy, March, 1813, and lives in New Boston ; her 
 children, being Solomon Moor ; Witter Smith, living in Law- 
 rence, Kansas ; John, now in California ; James, now on the 
 homestead ; Jesse, in Quitman, Miss., and Ann Elizabeth. 
 
117 
 
 REV. EPHRAIM PUTNAM BRADFORD. 
 
 After the death of Mr. Moor, the pulpit was gratuitously 
 supplied in favor of the widow of the late pastor, for several 
 months, by clergymen in the vicinity. Among those who are 
 remembered to have given a Sabbath each, are Goodridge of 
 Lyndeborough, Burnap of Merrimac, Barnard of Amherst, 
 Morrison of Londonderry, Miles of Temple, Bruce of Mount 
 Vernon, Bradford of Francestown, Paige of Hancock, Clark of 
 Greenfield, Dunbar of Peterborough, Fullerton of Antrim, 
 Morril of Goffstown, Moore of Milford, Beede of Wilton, Brown 
 of Londonderry, Dana of Newburyport, Sleigh of Dcering, and 
 Clay ford of Weare. 
 
 The town, at a legal meeting Aug. 18, 1803, appointed Dea. 
 William McNeil, Jacob Hooper, and Ninian Clark a committee 
 to supply the pulpit " after the ministers have supplied their 
 tours." It would seem that in the early part of 1804 the Rev. 
 Mr. Harris supplied the pulpit for a time, and the town voted 
 him a call, May 27, 1804, which he did not accept, having 
 engaged to preach at Windham for a certain number of months. 
 But the hope of obtaining him was not abandoned. Accord- 
 ingly, in July of this year, the town instructed their committee 
 to hire Mr. Harris for two months. He seems to have given 
 satisfaction to a majority, and a call was voted him with a salary 
 of $ 400, Sept. 3 ; and in December the time was voted for his 
 ordination, he having accepted the call. Seven ministers were 
 invited by the town to constitute a council to ordain him, 
 consisting of Harris of Dunbarton, Bradford, Bruce, Barnard, 
 Miles, Colly, and Morrison. Dec. 13, 1804, at a legal meeting, 
 it was " Voted, that the Hon. Council meet at Mr. John Good- 
 hue's Tuesday next, at ten of the clock, forenoon, and that this 
 meeting stand adjourned to that time." The council met, but 
 great opposition to the settlement of Mr. Harris manifested 
 itself, and it was deemed inexpedient to ordain him. Mr. 
 Harris was an estimable man, but was thought by an influen- 
 tial minority to be inadequate to the demands of the people. 
 Perhaps his doctrinal views seemed too rigid, — especially did 
 his rejection of the " half-way covenant " offend some who 
 would otherwise have been favorably disposed to his settlement. 
 
118 
 
 Mr. Harris subsequently settled in Windham, and proved him- 
 self a faithful and successful minister of Christ. 
 
 At the annual meeting of the town, March 18, 1805, Capt. 
 Ephraim Jones, Lieut. Samuel Gregg, and Robert Clark, were 
 appointed a committee to supply the pulpit ; and they invited 
 Ephraim P. Bradford to preach as a caudidate for settlement. 
 He was the son of Capt. John Bradford of Milford, afterwards 
 of Hancock, a member of the Baptist church, but of enlarged 
 and liberal sentiments, availing himself of every occasion to 
 partake of the Lord's Supper, whenever his son administered 
 the ordinance. Mr. Bradford fitted for College at Amherst and 
 Andover, Mass., and graduated at Harvard University in 1803, 
 with a high reputation for scholarship. He had Pay son and 
 several others for his classmates, who in subsequent years 
 attained great eminence. After teaching for a time, he studied 
 theology with the justly celebrated Dr. Lathrop of West Spring- 
 field, Mass., and having been licensed to preach hi 1804, at 
 West Springfield, he came to Xew Boston in the latter part of 
 May, 1805. He seems to have made a favorable impression at 
 his coming; and Aug. 21, 1805,. the town instructed their 
 committee " to hire Mr. Bradford two months longer as a cau- 
 didate." Nov. 11, 1805, the town voted to give him a call to 
 settle with them, pledging him a salary of four hundred dollars 
 per annum, " and four hundred dollars as settlement." Capt. 
 Ephraim Jones, Maj. Crombie, Dr. Luke Lincoln, Robert Clark, 
 and Capt. John Cochran, were appointed to prepare and present 
 
 the following call : — 
 
 i 
 
 We. the Congregation of New Boston, being on sufficient grounds well 
 satisfied with the ministerial qualifications of you, Mr. Ephraim P. Bradford, 
 and having good hopes from our past experience of your labors, that your 
 ministrations in the gospel will be profitable to our spiritual interests, do 
 earnestly call and desire you to undertake the pastoral office in said Congre- 
 gation, promising you in the discharge of your duty all proper support, 
 encouragement, and obedience in the Lord. 
 
 And, that you may be free from worldly cares and avocations, we hereby 
 promise and engage to pay you the sum of four hundred dollars, in regular 
 annual payments, during the time of your being and continuing the regular 
 Pastor of this Church, reserving to the use of the town all ministerial rights 
 and privileges. And should it please God that you should settle among us, 
 for your further encouragement, we hereby promise, engage, and oblige 
 
119 
 
 ourselves to pay you the sum of four hundred dollars as a donation or settling 
 money, the one-half to be paid to you in three months after you' shall have 
 taken the pastoral office in said Congregation ; the other in nine months as 
 aforesaid. 
 
 In testimony whereof, we have respectively subscribed our names in behalf 
 of the town of New Boston, this twenty-seventh day of November, 1805. 
 
 EPHRAIM JONES, 1 n .„ , 7 y7 
 
 ROBERT CLARK, Committee chosen by the 
 
 WILLIAM CROMBIE, L Congregation oj New 
 LUKE LINCOLN, | Boston to sign and pre- 
 
 JOHN CROMBIE, Jr., J sent me caiL 
 
 At the same time the call was voted, the town appointed a 
 day for fasting and prayer, with reference to the settlement of 
 Mr. Bradford. And, what may seem not a little strange to us, 
 agreeably to an article in their warrant, the town " Voted Dea. 
 William McNeil, Robert Patterson, Jr., Robert Campbell, 
 Thomas Cochran, Robert Clark, James Ferson, Capt. John 
 Cochran, Thomas Smith, Jr., and Geary Whiting, be Deacons 
 in the Presbyterian Church of Christ in this town." It would 
 seem that several of these men did not consent to be " quali- 
 fied." The church meantime was not indifferent nor inactive. 
 At a meeting of the church, held Jan. 14, 1805, Daniel Dane 
 was chosen Moderator, and Robert Clark, Church Clerk ; and 
 a committee, consisting of Ninian Clark, Daniel Dane, and 
 Josiah Warren, were appointed " to examine the old records 
 respecting the church-standing," and to report at an adjourned 
 meeting. But this committee reported that no records of the 
 church could be found, nor have any been found to this day. 
 The church voted, " to stand upon the same footing they for- 
 merly have ; " " that the Clerk make a record of the then 
 existing members ; " and a day for fasting and prayer " be 
 appointed before the town present their call to Mr. Ephraim P. 
 Bradford." 
 
 The following is a catalogue of the existing members of the Church in the 
 town of New Boston, the 28th October, 1805 : Madam Moor, Dea. Jesse Cristy, 
 Dea. Robert White, his wife Mary White, Dea. Wm. McNeil, Rachel McNeil 
 Allen Moor, James Willson, Mary Willson, James Crombie, Jane Crombie,Wm. 
 Clark, Ninian Clark, John Cochran, Elizabeth Cochran, Peter Cochran, Mary 
 Cochran, James Caldwell, Martha Caldwell, Robert Patterson, Margaret Patter- 
 son, Robert Patterson, Jr., Susanna Patterson, Daniel Dane, Sarah Dane, Isaac 
 
120 
 
 Peabody, Mary Peabody, Kobert Campbell, Elizabeth Campbell, Wm. Kelso, 
 Agnes Kelso, Daniel Kelso, Mary Kelso, James Ferson, Mary Ferson, Josiah 
 Warren, Jane Warren, Wm. Campbell, Ann Campbell, James Willson, Jr., 
 Jennet Willson, James Gregg, Jennet Gregg, Jacob Hooper, James Cochran, 
 Elizabeth Cochran, John Henery, Mrs. Heneiy, John Livingston, Wm. Baird, 
 Jane Baird, James Cairns, Mary Cairns, Thomas Smith, Jr., Esther Smith, 
 Robert Boyd, Mary Boyd, John Gordon, Jennet Gordon, Samuel Stickney, 
 Mrs. Stickney, Thomas Mullet, Mrs. Mullet, Isaac Peabody, Jr., Mary Pea- 
 body, Robert Cochran, Sarah Cochran, James McMillen, Mrs. McMillen, 
 Alexander McCollom, Mary McCollom, Elijah Cochran, Jemima Cochran, 
 Samuel Gregg, Mrs. Gregg, Joseph Cochran, Margarett Cochran, Geary 
 Whiting, Nabby Whiting, Thomas Cochran, Margaret Cochran, Robert 
 Clark, Annis Clark, John Cochran, Jr., Frances Cochran, Robert Crombie, 
 Mary Crombie, Thomas Moor, Mary Ann Moor, Robert Cristy, Mrs. Sarah 
 Cristy, widow Ann Smith, widow Jennet Cochran, widow Lydia Dodge, 
 widow McLaughlin, widow Mary McMillen, widow Alexander, widow Joanna 
 Dodge, widow Mary Hogg, Christiana Donovan, Hannah Ferson, Lydia Pat- 
 terson, old widow Beard, Rebeccah Cristy, Gizza McNeil, Samuel Abbot, 
 Joseph Leach, Jr., Mary Leach, Wm. Clark, Jr., Abagail Clark, Mary Liv- 
 ingston. 
 
 At a meeting of the church, Jan. 13, 1806, it was " Voted, 
 to take the yeas and nays on the subject whether the church 
 thought it expedient that Mr. Bradford should answer his call 
 in the affirmative or in the negative," when thirty-two voted in 
 the affirmative, and two in the negative. The two who voted 
 against Mr. Bradford were Daniel Dane and Jacob* Hooper, 
 having some fears of his orthodoxy ; but they soon became his 
 most faithful friends. At the same meeting it was " Yoted, 
 that if Mr. Bradford should settle over this Church, that he 
 would settle agreeably to the Presbyterian order." And the 
 town, Feb. 10, 1806, agreeably to an article in their warrant, 
 " Yoted, to acquiesce with the Church in settling Mr. Bradford 
 in the Presbyterian mode." The way being thus prepared, Mr. 
 Bradford submitted the following reply to the call of the town, 
 bearing date Nov. 27, 1805, but not delivered until Feb. 10, 
 1806 : — 
 
 Brethren, — 
 
 I now proceed to communicate to you, the church and congregation of 
 New Boston, my answer to the call presented by you to me to settle with you 
 as your religious instructor. The connection which you have invited me to 
 form with you is highly important. I have deliberated long and seriously upon 
 the subject, have consulted the opinions and taken the advice of as many 
 
121 
 
 of the people in the town as my other duties would allow me to see, on the 
 subject. I have not neglected to ask the direction of Him who is the Father 
 of light, and without whose guidance we should be miserable indeed. It can 
 be of no service, to you or myself, to remain any longer in susjiense on this 
 interesting subject. With the expression of my gratitude for the favorable 
 opinion you have manifested of me, I do accept your call to settle with you, 
 as your religious instructor. In forming this determination, I have not been 
 unmindful of the responsibility I now take upon myself. On this occasion I 
 cannot avoid looking forward to the solemn hour when I must answer to the 
 Judge of the quick and deal, for the manner in which I perform the duties 
 which will devolve on me. You, likewise, my brethren, must be answerable 
 for the manner in which you shall perform your duty as hearers. I am willing 
 to live with you as a brother, to participate and rejoice with you in prosperity, 
 and to suffer with you in adversity. You will extend your charity to my 
 imperfections, knowing that I am, like yourselves, a frail creature. In forming 
 your opinion of my professional performances, you will consider my inexpe- 
 rience in my profession ; should it please God to continue my life and health, 
 I hope through his assistance to perform the duties of my profession better 
 than I can be expected to do at present. 
 
 My fervent prayer to God is that you may be built up in the most holy 
 faith ; that you may long experience how good and how pleasant a thing it is 
 for brethren to dwell together in unity ; and that you may finally be reunited, 
 through the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, in those mansions of happiness and 
 rest which He has gone to prepare for all those that love his appearing. 
 
 EPHRAIM P. BRADFORD. 
 
 Upon the reception of this favorable response, the town 
 " Voted, to have the ordination the last Wednesday [the 26th] 
 of February instant," and appointed Capt. Ephraim Jones, Dea. 
 Robert Clark, and Lt. Samuel Gregg a committee " to notify 
 the Presbytery, and provide for the same." At the same time 
 it was " Voted, to have six Congregational ministers to join the 
 Presbytery as Council ; " and Mr. Bradford chose one and the 
 town one alternately. And the ministers thus chosen were, 
 Harris of Dunbarton, Barnard of Amherst, Bradford of Fran- 
 cestown, Bruce of Mount Vernon, Moor of Milford, and Miles 
 of Temple, " to act as Council with the Presbytery." And 
 then, with a big heart, the town " Voted, to give all the neigh- 
 boring ministers an invitation to attend, and the Selectmen to 
 notify them." Maj. William Crombie, Dr. Luke Lincoln, and 
 James Willson, Esq., were appointed " a committee to arrange 
 and marshal the day ; " and Alexander McCollom, Capt. Rob- 
 ert Christy, Daniel Clark, Capt. John Cochran, and Win. Clark 
 
 16 
 
122 
 
 were " to prop the galleries, and keep the doors shut, and keep 
 order in the house ; " while Wm. B. Dodge, Capt. Kobert "War- 
 ren, and Nathan Marden were required " to superintend the 
 singers, and provide for the same." 
 
 All this was characteristic of the men of New Boston fifty 
 . years ago. They had souls, and, if they undertook a thing, 
 they accomplished it manfully. They attached a value to " a 
 good name," and resolved that their posterity should never rise 
 up and call them mean men. The men of later days who con- 
 tend that the town has no right to do anything for religion and 
 the morals of the people, but to repudiate its financial indebt- 
 edness to the church, have no sentiment in common with the 
 men of fifty or a hundred years ago. They consult to break 
 down churches and the ministry, while the fathers saw that the 
 highest interest of the community required that the sanctuary 
 and the ministry should be liberally sustained. Therefore the 
 occasion of the settlement of a minister inspired them to devise 
 liberally and to execute magnanimously. Nothing was wanting 
 on the part of the town to render the ordination of their chosen 
 pastor impressive and profitable. And the 26th of February 
 was cherished by that generation as the most delightful in all 
 their lives. The assembly was large, and the services were 
 worthy the men and the occasion. The Rev. Jesse Appleton 
 of Hampton, pastor of a Congregational church, afterwards 
 president of Bowdoin College, preached the sermon, from 
 1 Cor. i. 20 : " Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and 
 that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the 
 same judgment." Why Dr. Appleton was chosen by Mr. Brad- 
 ford to preach the sermon, may be seen in the fact that Dr. 
 Appleton was a native of New Ipswich, studied theology with 
 the Rev. Dr. Lathrop, married the daughter of the Hon. Robert 
 Means, of Amherst, and was fast rising in the public estimation 
 as a preacher of the gospel, being the next year inaugurated 
 president of Bowdoin College. 
 
 The hand of fellowship was given by the Rev. Mr. McGregor, 
 of Bedford ; and the charge to the pastor by the Rev. William 
 Morrison, of Londonderry. Characteristically, the church, 
 after giving thanks to these gentlemen for their services in the 
 
123 
 
 ordination, requested copies of the sermon, fellowship, and 
 charge, for publication; and the town, at a legal* meeting, 
 chose a committee to superintend the printing, and to give a 
 copy to every family in the town. Accordingly the sermon and 
 charge were printed and circulated at the expense of the town. 
 
 It is not quite apparent who all the elders of the church 
 were at Mr. Bradford's ordination. The records from 1805 to 
 1826 are very incomplete and unsatisfactory. When the 
 church voted, in 1805, that the clerk should make a catalogue 
 of the names of members, he was also instructed " to record 
 the old Deacons first ; " and these seem to have been Jesse 
 Cristy and Robert White. And the young deacons we may sup- 
 pose to have been those chosen by the town Nov. 11, 1805, only 
 a part of whom ever served. There is no record to show that 
 any were ever consecrated to the holy office by any appropriate 
 religious ceremony ; yet it is remembered by some aged persons 
 to have been done. Nine years after Mr. Bradford's ordination 
 the elders were Robert Patterson, Jr., Wm. McNeil, Thomas 
 Cochran, Thomas Smith, Joseph Cochran, Robert Crombie, and 
 Robert Clark. As several of these were not chosen by the town 
 in 1805, it is reasonable to suppose that the church disregarded 
 the action of the town, and chose their own deacons, as there is 
 no evidence that the town ever afterwards interfered with the 
 officers of the church. At first the Presbyterianism of the 
 church seems of a doubtful character, — a mixture of Presby- 
 terianism and Congregationalism. Gradually it became more 
 distinctive, though never rigid. 
 
 To prepare himself more effectually to labor for the good of 
 his people, Mr. Bradford purchased a small farm upon one of 
 the loftiest hills in New Boston, now known as " Bradford's 
 Hill," whence he could survey vast regions of country, and, 
 witness such glorious risings and settings of the sun as are 
 seen from but few localities. Here he provided a home, and, 
 Sept. 1, 1806, married Miss Mary Manning, daughter of Dea. 
 Ephraim Barker, of Amherst, with whom he lived here nearly 
 forty years, greatly given to hospitality, with a growing family, 
 loving his people, and greatly beloved by them. His labors 
 were highly profitable to his people, and the church received 
 additions from time to time. No considerable revival seems to 
 
124 
 
 have been enjoyed until some nine years after his ordination,, 
 when some forty persons were added to the church ; in 1826, 
 some twenty or thirty were added, and in 1831 and 1835 a 
 wide-spread religious interest existed, when nearly a hundred 
 persons were received to the church. But while his labors 
 were greatly blessed to the salvation of his flock, Mr. Bradford, 
 like other good men, had his trials. His salary proved insuffi- 
 cient for the support of his family and the extension of hospi- 
 tality to the many claimants. In 1819, the town increased his 
 salary to six hundred dollars. In some instances he was re- 
 lieved by generous donations of money from his people, and 
 thus he was able to turn away from more tempting fields and 
 larger salaries often tendered him. His people considered him 
 a poor financier because he did not grow rich on his salary, and 
 were pleased to think he was careless about his pecuniary mat- 
 ters. Most people would have deemed this a defect. But the 
 people of New Boston looked upon it as a great excellence, 
 and enjoyed repeating anecdotes respecting his habits of care- 
 lessness, and frequently took great pleasure in relieving his 
 embarrassments. We have reason to believe most of these 
 anecdotes are apocryphal. Mr. Bradford was a man of great 
 good sense ; he understood human nature far better than most 
 men, and he had been reared to habits of economy on a farm 
 during his minority. He may sometimes have been forgetful 
 and seemingly oblivious in some financial matters. But we 
 doubt if many men to whom he preached could, with his 
 income, rear so large a family as Mr. Bradford's, and so effect- 
 ually, and maintain such a reputation for generous hospitality, 
 without embarrassments equal or greater than he realized. The 
 minister who, in such a location as New Boston, could live, — 
 could keep soul and body together, — and feed, clothe, and ed- 
 ucate a family of ten children, and keep such a " free tavern " 
 as his people would think ought to be kept, on a salary of six 
 hundred dollars a year, must have been the greatest financier 
 the world ever saw. All anecdotes told with such good nature 
 of his obliviousness to worldly interests, strangely conflict with 
 the fearful burden that often well-nigh crushed that generous 
 heart, and cast down that lofty mind. The people saw a shin- 
 ing face, but saw not the corroding cares and dispiriting fore- 
 
125 
 
 bodings which were within, and which no man of his sensibili- 
 ties could avoid. He endured without complaint, and kept up 
 appearances of competence and satisfaction, that his people 
 might enjoy the pleasure of believing that their minister was 
 well cared for, and their reputation was safe ; while his noble 
 wife bore her full share of sacrifice and labor, and by prudence 
 and skill contrived to perpetuate the barrel of meal and the 
 cruse of oil. 
 
 One of the most interesting events in Mr. Bradford's history 
 occurred in the year 1823. The meeting-house, built in 1767 
 and 1768, had " waxed old." It stood in a bleak place, and 
 was never furnished with means of warming. In 1769, the 
 town built a " session-house," near the meeting-house. This 
 was a small building, of one room, furnished with a large fire- 
 place ; and here in cold weather many resorted to warm them- 
 selves at the close of the morning services, and from that 
 glowing fire coals were removed to the foot-stoves which ren- 
 dered their stay in the tireless meeting-house endurable to the 
 female portion of the congregation. Not a few went further 
 than the session-house, to Capt. John McLaughlen's tavern, 
 where they warmed the inner as well as the outer man, and 
 often lingered longer than became devout worshippers — longer 
 than the proprieties of the sanctuary justified. And good Mr. 
 Moor often complained that they could spend two hours at John 
 McLaughlen's easier than one under his preaching. And, 
 though Mr. Bradford was less annoyed, because of changes that 
 had taken place, yet with all the hallowed associations cluster- 
 ing around the old house, he looked forward with lively interest 
 to the time when a new temple on an improved plan should be 
 reared for the honor of Christ. The town refusing to build a 
 meeting-house, individuals undertook the enterprise. Agreea- 
 bly to a call of Joseph Cochran, Jr., at the request of others, a 
 meeting was convened at the meeting-house, October 24, 1822. 
 The call for this meeting thus sets forth the necessity of the 
 movement : — 
 
 " The undersigned is desired to give public notice that a number of respect- 
 able citizens in this town have taken into serious consideration the very 
 inconvenient situation of the Presbyterian meeting-house, the rapid decay of 
 the house itself, and the inexpediency of expending a sum in repairing it, 
 
126 
 
 which would make it comfortable and decent as a place of public worship, 
 even for a few years ; that while they are convinced that extravagant expense 
 in the erection and support of an earthly sanctuary would be neither pleasing 
 to God nor useful to the cause of religion, they are no less convinced that it 
 is their duty to contribute to the building of a house for divine worship which 
 may embrace the advantages of commodious situation, decency of appearance, 
 and protection from the inclemency of the seasons." 
 
 This meeting was large and harmonious. " Mr. Bradford 
 delivered a discourse," says the record, " suited to the occa- 
 sion ; " and then it was organized by the choice of Rev. B. P. 
 Bradford, Moderator, and Robert Wason, Scribe. Here it was 
 " Voted, unanimously, to build a meeting-house ; " and Capt. 
 John Cochran, John Crombie, Samuel Gregg, Esq., John Fair- 
 field, Esq., Dea. Thomas Smith, Moses Cristy, Samuel Dodge, 
 Esq., Dea. Thomas Cochran, Dea. Robert Clark, and Robert 
 Wason, were appointed a committee " to look out a suitable 
 piece of ground to set it on, and to make some estimate of the 
 probable expense." " The following persons agreed to become 
 undertakers in building a new meeting-house, viz : Robert 
 Wason, Andrew Beard, James Sloan, James Cochran, 3d, John 
 Linch, William Clark, Peter McNeil, Joseph Cochran, Jr., 
 Joseph Leach, John Dalton, Thomas Smith, John Cochran, Jr., 
 John Crombie, Luther Richards, John Fairfield, Samuel Dodge, 
 Jonathan Marden, Peter Cochran, Jr., Moses Cristy, John 
 Lamson, Thomas Campbell, Francis Peabody, Asa Lamson, 
 Robert Clark, John Gage, Clark Crombie, James Moor, Joseph 
 Cochran, Nathan Merrill, Hiram Perkins, Jacob Hooper, Jr., 
 Greenough Marden, Francis Lynch." 
 
 These gentlemen organized themselves into an association to 
 be known as " Proprietors for building a new Presbyterian 
 Meeting-house in New Boston." Dea. Robert Wason was 
 chosen Moderator ; Joseph Cochran, Jr., Clerk ; and Dea. Rob- 
 ert Clark, Treasurer. Being a joint stock company, they voted 
 that it should consist of one hundred shares, and each share 
 should be entitled to one vote. John Crombie, Samuel Dodge, 
 Esq., and Thomas Campbell were appointed a committee to 
 present plans for the house ; and John Crombie, Dea. Thomas 
 Smith, Jacob Hooper, Jr., Capt. John Cochran, and Dea. Rob- 
 ert Wason were appointed a committee to purchase a building 
 
127 
 
 lot, and take the deed. After examining several lots, and 
 receiving many propositions, the committee purchased two 
 acres of land of Mr. Ammi Dodge, for $420. The plan pre- 
 sented by the committee and adopted, was as follows as to 
 dimensions, viz : — " The body of the House to be 60 feet 
 square, with a projection of 5|- feet by 36 ; the Post of the 
 house to be 30 feet long." Jacob Hooper, Jr., Samuel Dodge, 
 Esq., and Lt. John Lamson were appointed a committee " to 
 superintend the stone work, the procuring the Lime and Mason 
 work ; " while John Crombie, Dea. Robert Wason, and Joseph 
 Cochran, Jr. were the committee "to superintend the building 
 of the House." Mr. John Leach was employed by the commit- 
 tee to build the House for the proprietors. 
 
 The meetings of the proprietors were held in the hall of Mr. 
 James Sloan, and were characterized for great harmony and 
 dignity, and the work was urged forward with great earnest- 
 ness, and the frame was raised in June, 1823, men being 
 boarded at the expense of the proprietors ; and one barrel of 
 West India rum, three gallons of brandy, and a half-box of 
 lemons being provided for the occasion ; but it was wisely 
 " Voted, that Dea. Robert Clark, Capt. John Cochran, and 
 Luther Richards be a committee to superintend the spirit on 
 raising days, and that no persons be treated but Proprietors and 
 Raisers ; " while an efficient committee were authorized " to 
 keep the Common round the meeting-house clear of boys and 
 spectators." The frame was raised without any serious acci- 
 dent, and the structure was completed by the first of the 
 following December, to the entire satisfaction of the proprietors, 
 as appears from the following vote, passed Dec. 22, 1823 : — 
 " Voted unanimously, that the Superintending Committee com- 
 municate to Mr. John Leach the thanks of the Proprietors of 
 the new Presbyterian Meeting-house, for the manly deportment 
 and gentlemanly manner in which he and the young men 
 employed by him have treated them while employed in building 
 and finishing said house ; and to Mr. Leach for the elegance, 
 taste, and good workmanship manner in which he has finished 
 the same." No wonder the proprietors were treated respect- 
 fully by the workmen, and that the work was well done ; for 
 the committee who superintended the work and the proprietors 
 
128 
 
 were noble, princely men. They treated the workmen gentle- 
 manly ; they knew when the work was done well, and were 
 willing to give an honorable compensation. They had large 
 hearts, — did things on a generous scale ; and when their house 
 was finished they " saw that it was good," and it did not repent 
 them that they had reared a temple for God's worship, which 
 was surpassed by no other similar structure in the State for 
 symmetry of proportion, elegance of finish, and liberal expend- 
 iture. The house to-day, after the lapse of forty years, without 
 change and without repair, is a grand monument to the great 
 and good men that reared it, and proves that no mean race 
 inhabited these hills and worshipped at these altars. On the 
 4th of December, 1823, the pews were sold, after reserving one 
 for the minister's family and three for the poor, for the sum of 
 $6,721.75 ; more than enough to defray all the expenses of the 
 house. Out of the surplus, $300 were appropriated towards 
 the purchase of a bell, and the remainder was devoted to the 
 procuring " communion tables and other articles necessary for 
 the same." Thus the anticipations of the proprietors were 
 more than realized. One hundred and three pews were sold ; 
 the greatest sum paid for one pew was $154, by Mr. John 
 Crombie ; and the lowest, $20, it being in the gallery. 
 
 At a meeting of proprietors, Oct. 13, 1823, it was voted that 
 the Rev. E. P. Bradford preach the sermon of dedication ; and 
 Nov. 15, it was voted that the meeting-house be dedicated Dec. 
 25 ; and Joseph Cochran, Jr., Dr. John Dalton, Dea. E. 
 TVason, Col. Samuel Dane, and Lt. John Lainson were appointed 
 " Marshals of the day," and all neighboring clergymen and 
 churches were invited to be present. The day came, with its 
 blue sky above and its snow carpet beneath. The house was 
 crowded to its utmost capacity, and Mr. Bradford preached one 
 of his most glowing discourses from the text, 2 Chron. vi. 41 : 
 " Now therefore arise, Lord God, into thy resting-place, thou 
 and the ark of thy strength ; let thy priests, Lord God, be 
 clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness." 
 And the congregation dispersed, not weeping that their second 
 temple was inferior to their first, but rejoicing in its far greater 
 glory. 
 
 It is not a little singular that, after suffering so much from 
 

 i-n 
 
 *£?(M -'"'"' '.fjut. 1 , ■'-t: 
 
 |' ; 'V;;^v" 
 
 Bufforfi [.ilhu^rapliv liu 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN MEETING HOUSE. 
 
129 
 
 the cold in the old house, they should fail to warm the new ; 
 yet no means were provided until 1835. 
 
 The congregation had taken leave of the old house with 
 appropriate services, Mr. Bradford preaching an affecting ser- 
 mon from text, Matt. iv. 20 : " Our fathers worshipped in this 
 mountain." 
 
 In 1839, the town refused to assess and collect the taxes of 
 those who desired to pay the salary of Mr. Bradford, as had 
 been done since his settlement. But a society was organized, 
 March 21, 1839, consisting of one hundred and sixteen mem- 
 bers. The salary was at once assumed by the society, and 
 cheerfully and promptly paid ; and the pastor had a fresh 
 evidence of the strength of the attachment of his people, and 
 he " thanked God and took courage." Subsequent years 
 passed amid evident tokens of Divine favor. The congregation 
 was large, and the church was composed of liberal-minded 
 persons, not captious and fault-finding, but willing that their 
 minister should give utterance to what he believed to be the 
 teachings of God's Word. Mr. Bradford was a decided Whig, 
 while a majority of his hearers belonged to the Republican 
 party. And though warm discussions often took place between 
 him and them, no alienation of feeling was suffered, and no 
 disaffection was occasioned by his being repeatedly chosen Mod- 
 erator at the annual meetings of the town, nor by his election 
 to other important offices. 
 
 In 1826, the elders of the church were Robert Patterson, 
 Thomas Cochran, Joseph Cochran, Robert Crombie, Isaac Pea- 
 body, Robert Wason, Peter McNeil, Elzaphan Dodge, Marshall 
 Adams. 
 
 In 1850, the elders were Thomas Cochran, Thomas Smith, 
 Samuel Dane, Abraham Cochran, S. L. Cristy, and Marshall 
 Adams. 
 
 To the last year of Mr. Bradford's ministry, his health was 
 firm. Sickness interrupted his public services not more than 
 five or six Sabbaths for a period of thirty-nine years. During 
 the last year of his life, he was admonished by a sickness in the 
 early part of it, that his days might soon be numbered. " His 
 last illness was short, a severe cold, terminating in croup," of 
 which he died Dec. 14, 1845, being almost seventy years old, 
 
 17 
 
130 
 
 after a ministry of nearly forty years, his birth being Dec. 27, 
 1776, and his ordination Feb. 26, 1806. 
 
 "After Mr. Bradford's settlement in the ministry," says the 
 Rev. Dr. Whitoii> " he rose rapidly into distinction. Few men 
 in the State were equally acceptable in the desk. In the con- 
 troversy relative to Dartmouth College, from 1815 to 1819, he 
 was one of a committee of three, appointed by the legislature 
 to investigate its condition. A vacancy occurring in the pres- 
 idency of the college, his was among the names before the 
 public as candidates for the office." 
 
 The publications of Mr. Bradford are few ; an address before 
 the Handellian Musical Society ; an Election Sermon before the 
 Legislature of the State ; a Discourse before the People of Fran- 
 cestown, commemorative of the character of Rev. Moses 
 Bradford, and a Sermon at the funeral of Rev. Dr. Harris, of 
 Dunbarton." 
 
 Mr. Bradford had a commanding person, a rich voice, com- 
 bined with a high order of intellect and great suavity of man- 
 ners. He had the faculty of making people feel ivell, and to 
 believe that he highly esteemed them. And this love for them 
 begat love towards himself. Every crumb of bread was sweet, 
 wherever eaten, and every home and every locality was pleas- 
 ant and attractive. And thus he was welcomed at every door 
 by gladdened hearts ; not that some spirits never chafed and 
 found fault, and became alienated, but to an unusual degree he 
 bound all reasonable men to his heart, and met their highest 
 conceptions of ministerial and Christian excellence. 
 
 Mr. Bradford was a fine classical scholar ; he read much, and 
 in conversation drew from rich stores, which a retentive mem- 
 ory always commanded. His fund of wit and anecdotes, and 
 elegant historic and classic allusions, seemed never exhausted. 
 Able readily to read character and motives, he seemed always 
 prepared for all occasions, and to meet all persons, knowing 
 how to order his conversation aright. With a heart always 
 expanding with the mountain ah' he inhaled, watching from his 
 " tent door" the ever-varying aspects of nature, and brought 
 into Contact with gigantic minds within the circle of his min- 
 isterial exchanges, we may well believe his expositions of Scrip- 
 ture were rich and varied : and that few men have ever excel- 
 
J.Ouffori's Uth. 
 
 J(M J3^ac^^z^ 
 
131 
 
 led him in pulpit services. Eev. Dr. Aiken, once pastor of the 
 Congregational Church in Amherst, and later pastor of Park 
 Street Church, Boston, remarks, " Mr. Bradford was literally 
 one of nature's noblemen ; of princely person, with a sonorous, 
 commanding voice, exceedingly fluent and accurate in speech, 
 modelled somewhat after Johnson's style ; so richly gifted in 
 mind and heart, that, with little preparation for his Sabbath 
 services, he stood among the first preachers in the State. I 
 have often thought that, if Ephraim P. Bradford had given his 
 mind thoroughly to the study and delivery of sermons, he 
 might have stood, in the ministry of this country, where Robert 
 Hall stands in that of England." 
 
 It is not strange that the people of New Boston became proud 
 of their minister, since he gave character to them, and dis- 
 tinction to the whole town. Had the providence of God cast 
 his lot amid incentives to intellectual greatness, he would 
 doubtless have shone as one of the great lights in the galaxy of 
 great men in the church. As it was, he made his mark, and 
 blessed a generation and more, who grew up under his min- 
 istry, by inspiring in them a laudable ambition to excel in vari- 
 ous departments of activity. 
 
 Mr. Bradford was greatly aided in his ministry by her who 
 still survives him as his widow, at the venerable age of seventy- 
 eight years. It not unfrequently transpires that a minister's 
 success is as much attributable to the good sense and holy in- 
 fluence of his wife, as to his own endeavors, though the, credit 
 may never be given her. Mrs. Bradford had twelve children, 
 ten of whom survived their father, two dying in childhood of 
 spotted fever, during the prevalence of that disease in New 
 Boston, 1814. Always limited in her resources, she made what 
 she had to contribute to the comfort of the household, while she 
 arranged for generous hospitality. She relieved her husband of 
 all care for the interior of the house, and of much anxiety for 
 that which was without. His comfort and usefulness were 
 always first consulted, and by her good sense and sound judg- 
 ment she was able to safely counsel and encourage the heart of 
 her husband. " Many daughters have done virtuously," but 
 Mrs. Bradford excelled not a few, in her calm and dignified 
 deportment ; in her patient endurance of hardship ; in her care 
 
132 
 
 fulness for her household, and the happiness and success of her 
 husband as a minister of Christ. " The heart of her husband 
 did safely trust in her, and he did often praise her." And her 
 children now " rise up and call her blessed." With such a 
 wife, Mr. Bradford could not fail to be happy in his home ; and 
 it was here, as well as among his people, that he found incen- 
 tives to piety, and consecration to his Master's service. Relig- 
 iously inclined from his early youth, his life was eminently free 
 from defects ; his piety was cheerful, yet humble and consistent. 
 And, as years multiplied, there was evident maturing for his 
 heavenly rest ; and, when the summons was heard, he bowed 
 his head and gave up the ghost, leaning on the Staff, leaving 
 behind him precious recollections and influences that are yet 
 blessing the church and the world. 
 
 In the southern and highest part of the cemetery overlooking 
 the congregation of the d.ead, many of whom he followed to their 
 resting-place during his protracted ministry, an affectionate 
 people buried their beloved pastor, and reared a beautiful mar- 
 ble monument bearing the following inscription : — 
 
 In memory of Rev. Ephraim Putnam Bradford, born December 27, 1776. 
 Graduated at Harvard College, 1803. Ordained February 26, 1806. Died 
 December 14, 1845, aged 69. Pastor of the First Presbyterian Society, New 
 Boston, 40 years. 
 
 Piissimus, doctissimus, fortissimus et lamentissi?nns, in populorum suorum 
 amoribus semper vivit. 
 
 Erected" by subscription of individuals, as a token of respect to their late 
 beloved pastor. 
 
 Mr. Bradford's children are : James Barker, born July 6, 
 1807, and died of spotted fever, April 20, 1814 ; Sarah Putnam, 
 born Feb. 9, 1809, and died of spotted fever, May 19, 1814 ; 
 William Symonds, born Oct. 2, 1810 ; Anstis Whiting, born 
 June 8, 1812; Ephraim Putnam, born Feb. 7, 1814; John, 
 born October, 1815 ; Mary Means, born May 18, 1817 ; Robert 
 Clark, born April 25, 1819, and died at Milwaukee, Wis., March 
 20, 1852, and was buried at Detroit, Mich. ; James Barker, 
 born April 2, 1822 ; Joseph Town, born March 5, 1824 ; Ann 
 Barker, born Sept. 20, 1826 ; Henry Dalton, born Oct. 5, 1829, 
 and died at Detroit, Mich., Jan. 18, 1848, aged 18. 
 
133 
 
 William Symonds early enlisted in the United States army, 
 served through the Florida and Mexican wars, and rose to the 
 rank of a first lieutenant, and was breveted for gallant conduct 
 in Mexico, being the first to raise the American flag on the 
 battlements of Cero Gordo. Becoming disabled, the Thirty-fifth 
 Congress settled a pension for life upon him, for meritorious ser- 
 vices. He spent some years in the hospital at Harodsburg, 
 Ky., and died at Louisville, June, 1863, aged nearly 53 years. 
 His remains lie by the side of his venerated father. 
 
 Anstis Whiting became the wife of Waterman Burr, Esq., a 
 successful merchant of New Boston ; and their children are 
 Bphraim Bradford and Emma Lowe, having buried three in 
 early childhood. John is married, and resides in Milwaukee, 
 Wisconsin, connected with his brothers' in an extensive mercan- 
 tile business. 
 
 Mary Means became the wife of Robert Cochran, Esq., Oct. 
 17, 1844, and they live in Gallatin, Mississippi, having two 
 children, Henry Bradford and Letitia Clark. 
 
 James B. and Joseph T. are both married, and reside in 
 Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
 
 Surrounded by her sons, and with her daughter, Ann Barker, 
 Mrs. Bradford, is passing her old age amid comforts, enjoying 
 christian acquaintances, waiting cheerfully her appointed time, 
 having always the prayers of the people for whom she and her 
 husband so many years labored in the Lord. Mrs. Bradford 
 was born Oct. 9, 1785 ; being 78 years old in October, 1863. 
 
 In March, 1846, following the death of Mr. Bradford, which 
 transpired December 14, 1845, the services of Rev. E. M. Kel- 
 logg were secured, and he received a unanimous call from the 
 church and congregation, May 5, 1846, with a salary of six 
 hundred dollars. This call was accepted, and Mr. Kellogg was 
 installed pastor June 25, 1846, and was dismissed in April, 
 1852. 
 
 Soon after the dismissal of Mr. Kellogg, the Rev. Alanson 
 Rawson was employed, and received a call to settle. The call 
 was accepted, but subsequently declined because of ill health, 
 though he supplied the pulpit about two years. 
 
 In June, 1855, Rev. E. C. Cogswell, the present pastor, 
 
134 
 
 commenced his labors here, and was installed by the London- 
 derry presbytery October 30, 1855. 
 
 The church numbers one hundred and sis communicants, 
 and the eldership consists of Samuel Dane, Marshall Adams, 
 Sumner L. Cristy, and John N. Dodge. A precious work of 
 grace has been silently progressing in the congregation to the 
 present time, May, 1864, since the Centennial, in July, 1863, 
 which it is believed will greatly encourage and strengthen the 
 church in which have been reared so many excellent men and 
 women, not only to bless the town, but to strengthen other 
 churches. 
 
EEY. EDWAED BUXTON. 
 
 He was son of Capt. Benjamin Buxton. He was born Aug. 
 17, 1803, and was educated with pious care at home and in 
 the district school. Having great desire for knowledge, he 
 became an excellent English scholar, and made no ordinary 
 progress in the classics, with little aid from any teacher. He 
 studied medicine with Dr. John Dalton, of New Boston, Dr. 
 James Crombie, of Francestown, and Dr. Edmund Buxton, of 
 Warren, Me., and taught many schools, district and select. 
 
 At length he felt constrained to turn his attention to the 
 study of theology, and placed himself under the instruction of 
 Rev. Samuel W. Clark, of Greenland, and was ordained as an 
 evangelist, April 19, 1836, and installed pastor of the Second 
 Congregational Church of Boscawen, in that part of the town 
 now known as Webster, December 13, 1837 ; the pastoral 
 charge of which he still retains. 
 
 Mr. Buxton married Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Asa McFar- 
 land, D. D., of Concord, June 12, 1838. Mrs. B. died Sept. 
 11, 1812, leaving two children : Elizabeth M., who was born 
 April 2, 1830, graduated at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, 
 and is a christian lady and a successful teacher; and Edward, 
 who was born May 25, 1811, and died Dec. 6, 1814, evincing 
 much evidence of piety, even at that early age. 
 
 Mr. Buxton married Lois, daughter of Jacob Jewett,Esq., of 
 Gilford, Sept. 27, 1813, for his second wife, and they have an 
 adopted son, Edward B., born Nov. 2, 1845, giving promise of 
 usefulness as a christian. Few pastors have been more suc- 
 cessful, or commanded more the respect and affection of their 
 flocks, than Mr. Buxton ; though his estimate of himself is 
 very humble, and perhaps will be pained by even this truthful 
 assertion. 
 
 Mr. Buxton was present on the Centennial occasion, and 
 added much to the interest of it. 
 
*W\ vf 
 
 IHBufTorO-'s Ufa 
 
 -t/Vi> /1a£A*]/( ^^^- -W 
 
RESPONSE OF REV. EDWARD BUXTON. 
 
 Rev. Ephraim P. Bradford, — whose mantle, if dropped, few would dare take. 
 
 Mr. President, — 
 
 To equal the theme on which I am expected briefly to speak, 
 would require for my feeble pinions too adventurous a flight. 
 This sentiment revives in my heart the feelings with which, fifty 
 years ago, I learned to regard the Rev. Ephraim P. Bradford, 
 who then endeared himself to me by acts of paternal kindness, 
 and from that period, through the struggles of my childhood 
 and youth, stood by me as a faithful and sympathizing friend. 
 I love to cherish those feelings of deep veneration through 
 which I must ever contemplate the character and influence of 
 that excellent man. While I summon up my early recollections 
 of him, his manly form rises before me, with his wonted cour- 
 teousness of manners, his noble bearing, and his open counte- 
 nance beaming with the social and benevolent affections which 
 ever came welling up from the depths of his generous heart. 
 I catch the inspiration of his voice, ever powerful and finely 
 modulated, whether in conversation or in public discourse. 
 Though the places which once knew him will know him no 
 more forever, yet with those places where we were most accus- 
 tomed to see him, and where we received our deepest and most 
 sacred impressions of him, he is in our minds inseparably asso- 
 ciated. Some of us can, in imagination, reoccupy the old meet- 
 ing-house, on some seat in its large, square, unpainted pews, in 
 the midst of a congregation the elders of which now slumber 
 with their beloved pastor in the adjacent cemetery. Still, as I 
 revisit those Sabbath scenes of my early recollection, he rises 
 up before me in the pulpit of olden style, under the quaint 
 and, for him, needless sounding-board, and, as few have the 
 ability to do, carries with him his audience in prayer and praise, 
 
 18 
 
138 
 
 in testifying repentance towards God, and faith towards our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and in vindicating the doctrines of our holy 
 religion. Again, I meet him at the week-day gathering, in the 
 school-house or a private dwelling, where he could, with rare 
 ability and effect, extemporize on the great themes of the gos- 
 pel. Again, let us go with him to the house of mourning, 
 where he poured out his heart in solemn discourse, and most 
 affectionately and appropriately addresses himself to the several 
 members of the mourning circle. Again, let us enter his 
 hospitable mansion, where we were all so cordially welcomed 
 that we severally felt we enjoyed a particular interest in his 
 pastoral regard. I love to think of him as, with meditative 
 and uplifted countenance, he leisurely rode through the town, 
 recognized at a glance and with pleasure wherever he went, 
 and with no surprise, if the truth were ever so conspicuous, that 
 he did not think to put on his better coat before he left home. 
 His ministerial work he pursued in a forgetfulness of him- 
 self, and through the manifestations of this fact we were the 
 more sensible of those traits of his character by which he was 
 greatly endeared to us. His religion was not gloomy and forbid- 
 ding. He was a pleasant man. He had a vein from which he 
 could put forth as much keen wit and good humor, and as aptly 
 point a satirical remark, as any man. But he never opened 
 this vein unseasonably. He habitually paid a strict regard to 
 the injunction, " Let your speech be always with grace, sea- 
 soned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer 
 every man." He was a literary man, and thirsted for intercourse 
 with literary society, and still was happy in accommodating 
 himself to all classes of persons, in the spirit with which the 
 apostle says, " To the weak became I as weak, that I might 
 gain the weak ; I am made all things to all men, that I might 
 by all means save some." He made himself as much at home 
 in the lowliest cottage as when he was felt to be primus inter 
 pares in the society of his ministerial brethren. His spirit was 
 eminently catholic. From the benevolence of his heart he was 
 a friend to everybody, and, from the charity which " seeketh 
 not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil," he em- 
 braced the whole household of faith in whom he discovered 
 evidence that they loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. 
 
139 
 
 He was constituted — physically, mentally, and morally — for 
 exerting a controlling influence. Even those who were the 
 most disposed to glory in feats of physical violence, stood in 
 awe of him. This may be illustrated by an. occurrence in the 
 early part of his ministry. Having preached a lecture in a part 
 of the town somewhat distinguished for the pugnacious dis- 
 position of the people, as he came out of the house, an affray 
 took place, in which one of their fighters, having prostrated an- 
 other and seized him by the throat, was forcing streams of blood 
 from his nostrils. He immediately rushed forward into the 
 scene of contention, and with one hand patted the prevailing 
 combatant on the shoulder, saying pleasantly to him, " Don't 
 kill the man! don't kill the man!" while with the other 
 hand he broke his hold from the throat of the prostrated man, 
 and then separated them, and held them apart till they promis- 
 ed for the present to keep the peace. By that transaction, he 
 gained the reputation, in that section, of being, not a pug- 
 nacious, but a powerful, kind-hearted, and fearless man. His 
 influence was not superficial and transitory. He was raised up 
 by divine providence and grace, for laying the foundations of 
 morality, religion, and mental culture deep in the mind and 
 heart of the rising community in which he was established, and 
 in which, during a period of more than forty years, lie prosecuted 
 his labors in the gospel ministry. In our centennial review of 
 this community, our minds are thrown back still further than 
 the period of its incorporation, to its germ, which was planted 
 in the families with which it commenced, a hundred and thirty 
 years ago. How important the elements of physical, intel- 
 lectual, and moral character, which then began to take root in 
 it, and to spread out their influence through its successive gen- 
 erations. What matter of grateful praise to God it is, that 
 early the principles and spirit of sound morality, evangelical 
 religion, and of true christian patriotism were planted and 
 became predominant in it. With an honest pride we call to 
 remembrance the families that have passed away, having trans- 
 mitted to us the elements of character and the spirit with which 
 we are assembled on this joyous, sacred, and solemn occasion. 
 With a just appreciation of this precious inheritance on this 
 birthday of our national independence, we must feel the solemn 
 
140 
 
 responsibilities and obligations "which are pressing upon us. 
 We must forecast the consequences of our present position and 
 influence, and what inheritance we shall transmit to our pos- 
 terity, who shall observe our next centennial celebration. While 
 I am anxiously inquiring for the future, — and " coming events 
 cast their shadows before," — I hear voices from the past. A 
 congregation rises up around me, in which I see the familiar 
 countenances of our venerated fathers. They speak anxiously 
 of our national concerns, and of the national inheritance which 
 they hoped to transmit to many generations of their posterity. 
 In regard to this inheritance, they admonish us of our duty. 
 Among them I discover the venerable form of our dear old 
 pastor and friend. He seems with great affection to look upon 
 us, and in the words of the apostle Paul to say, " God is my 
 record : how greatly I long after you in the bowels of Jesus 
 Christ." He reminds us of the glorious gospel of the blessed 
 God, which he preached to us as the perfect law of liberty. He 
 says to us, " If the foundations be destroyed, what shall the 
 righteous do ? " He assures us that the foundation of all 
 which we should hold dear, as participators in this centennial 
 celebration, and as American citizens, must be laid deep in our 
 hearts by the spirit and principles of the Christian religion. But 
 the dear man is gone. He has done with earth ; and, though 
 we may not take his mantle, may we earnestly desire to have a 
 double portion of his spirit. 
 
EEV. JOHN ATWOOD. 
 
 He was born in Hudson, then Nottingham West, October 3, 
 1795, where he united with the Baptist church at the age of 
 twenty-one. Soon after, he began to study, with the ministry in 
 view, under the instruction of Rev. Daniel Merrill. In May, 
 1817, he entered the Literary and Theological Department of 
 Waterville College, in which he remained five years, under the 
 instruction of Rev. Dr. Chaplin. June 1, 1824, he began to 
 labor with the Baptist church in New Boston, and was ordain- 
 ed May 18, 1825, and married, Nov. 28, 1826, Lydia, eldest 
 daughter of Dea. Solomon Dodge. Being dismissed from the 
 church in New Boston as their pastor, after spending a short 
 time in Francestown, he removed to Hillsborough, where he 
 remained seven years. 
 
 In 1843, Mr. Atwood was elected State Treasurer, which 
 office he retained six years, a part of which time he served as 
 chaplain to the State Prison. 
 
 In 1850, Mr. Atwood returned to New Boston, where he still 
 resides, occupying his time in cultivating his farm, and occa- 
 sionally supplying churches destitute of pastors, enjoying the 
 confidence and respect of the community, whom he has repre- 
 sented in the legislature five years, viz., 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835 
 and 1859. 
 
 As a preacher, Mr. Atwood is evangelical and instructive, and 
 as a pastor, faithful, affectionate and conciliatory ; and his min- 
 istry in New Boston served greatly to enlarge and strengthen 
 the church to which he ministered. He has always cordially 
 sought to advance the cause of education, and to promote every 
 enterprise that promised to benefit the community. And the 
 Government and the Union find, in this hour of peril, in Mr. 
 Atwood, an unwavering friend and supporter, planting no thorns 
 
142 
 
 for the pillow of his declining years by neutrality or opposition 
 to a just government. Courteous, hospitable, and generous, 
 he binds to himself all good men, both as a christian gentleman 
 and an upright citizen. 
 
 Mr. Atwood's children are Lydia D., Sarah E., John B., 
 Roger W., Ann J., Mary F., Solomon D., and John H. The 
 latter and John B. died in infancy, Sarah E. married John L. 
 Blair, and resides in Alton, 111. 
 
 Ann J. became the wife of Rev. J. L. A. Fish, and resides in 
 East Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, Mass. 
 
 Solomon D. married Florence A. Dodge, of Francestown, and 
 is of the firm, Joseph Whipple and Atwood, who have " Young 
 America " combined with caution, and infuse great activity 
 into their business. 
 
HISTOKY OF THE BAPTIST CHUECH. 
 
 By Rev. John Atavood. 
 
 From records which have been consulted reaching back about 
 seventy-five years, it appears that the Baptist church in New 
 Boston took its origin from one previously existing in Amherst, 
 and entirely distinct from the present church in Amherst. The 
 Amherst church was organized December 6, 1787, and consist- 
 ed of persons residing in New Boston, and in those parts of 
 Amherst which were subsequently formed into Mont-Vernon 
 and Milford, few or none residing in what is now called Am- 
 herst. In the course, however, of twelve years it had become 
 so diminished in numbers as to afford little hope that the enter- 
 prise would be permanently successful. In the mean time several 
 persons in New Boston had made a public profession of religion, 
 and united with the church in Weare. Rev. Mr. Elliot, of 
 Mason, also baptized fourteen persons in the town, on the 4th 
 of October, 1799, though at the time they united with no 
 church. In view, therefore, of the number of Baptist profes- 
 sors that were resident in New Boston, it was mutually agreed, 
 by members of the church both in Amherst and New Boston, 
 at a meeting holden at John Whipple's in New Boston, Nov. 
 23, 1799, that the Amherst church should in future be known 
 by the name of " The First Calvinistic Baptist Church in 
 Amherst and New Boston.'" Whereupon, those persons who 
 had lately been baptized, and those who had joined at Weare, 
 united with this church, whose number was also increased, dur- 
 ing the year 1800, by the addition of nineteen others. 
 
 In the year 1801, Rev. Josiah Stone commenced his labors 
 with this church, and, in this and the three succeeding years, 
 fourteen persons were added to its fellowship. In 1804, the 
 church, by advice of Council, took the name of" The Calvinistic 
 
144 
 
 Baptist Church in New Boston." The same year the church 
 agreed upon the erection of a meeting-house, which was com- 
 pleted the year following. This house was located in the west- 
 erly part of the town, three miles from the present place of 
 worship. Its dimensions were forty feet by thirty-two, and one 
 story high. 
 
 During this year the church united with the Warren Associa- 
 tion, with which it retained its connection until the formation 
 of the Boston Association, when it fell within the limits of that 
 body. The same year, also, Rev. Josiah Stone was installed 
 as permanent pastor of the church. From this time to 1816, 
 the number received into the fellowship of the church was 
 twenty. At the expiration of this period, a case of discipline 
 arose which resulted in the division of the church into two 
 bodies, the one being retained in the Boston Association, the 
 other uniting with the Salisbury. 
 
 In June, 1824, Rev. Mr. Stone resigned the pastoral care of 
 the church, but remained in the place until his decease, which 
 occurred in 1839. 
 
 Rev. John Atwood, then a licentiate, commenced his labors 
 with this people on the first Lord's day in June, 1824. He was 
 ordained the 18th of May, 1825, and closed his pastoral rela- 
 tion the last Sabbath in January, 1836. During his ministry 
 ninety-nine persons were added to the fellowship of the church. 
 
 February 23, 1825, the two churches were dissolved, by mu- 
 tual consent, and the members, forty-six in number, reorganized 
 into one body, and united with the Salisbury Association. In 
 1826 a pleasant revival of religion took place, in which thirteen 
 were added to the church. In 1828 the church was dismissed 
 from the Salisbury, and united with the Milford Association. 
 
 A more central location for public worship being very desirable, 
 in 1832 a meeting-house was erected in the lower village, and 
 was dedicated to the worship of God on the 6th of February, 
 1833. 
 
 In 1835 a precious revival of religion was enjoyed, during 
 which fifty-three persons were added to the church. 
 
 In February, 1836, Rev. A. T. Foss became pastor of the 
 church, which relation he continued to hold during eight years, 
 till January, 1844. 
 
145 
 
 On the first Sabbath in February, 1845, Rev. David Gage 
 commenced his ministerial labors with this people, and contin- 
 ued with them ten years, during which time sixty-four were 
 added to the church. His pastorate closed in March, 1855. 
 
 November 1, 1855, Rev. J. N. Chase began his permanent 
 labors in the place ; was recognized as pastor December 19, 
 1855, and dismissed May 1, 1859. 
 
 Rev. Franklin Merriam succeeded him in the pastoral office, 
 in May, 1859, and closed his labors in the place October 5, 1862. 
 
 The pastorate is now filled by Rev. Thomas Clarkson Russell, 
 who entered upon his labors with this church the first Sabbath 
 in June, 1863. 
 
 The most reliable statistics to be found, show that from the 
 formation of the church in Amherst, in 1787, to the present 
 time, two hundred and eleven persons have been added by bap- 
 tism ; ninety-two have been received by letter from other 
 churches ; seventy-three have been dismissed ; thirty-one ex- 
 cluded ; and seventy-two have died. The present number, 
 July, 1863, is seventy-six. 
 
 19 
 
MINISTERIAL FUND. 
 
 The grant of New Boston was given on condition that one 
 sixty-third part of the township should be appropriated to the 
 first-settled " learned and orthodox minister " for his encour- 
 agement to settle in a new region of country, among a sparse 
 population, unable to pay a full and adequate salary. Further 
 to encourage and aid the people in maintaining the worship of 
 God, it was required that another sixty-third part of said town- 
 ship should be appropriated to the support of a " learned and 
 orthodox ministry forever." And when the Masonian heirs 
 increased the size of the town, they reserved a like proportion 
 of the " Addition " for the same purposes. Thus lots num- 
 bered 61 and 70, in the old limits, and 6, in the " New Addi- 
 tion," weje appropriated to the first minister ; and lots 36, 123, 
 and an unnumbered lot set off in a then unsurveyed portion of 
 the town, were appropriated to the benefit of the ministry in 
 perpetuity. 
 
 When the Rev. Solomon Moor was settled as the first minis- 
 ter of the town, he took possession of his lots, and disposed of 
 them as he pleased. He also had the use of the " ministry 
 lots," and whatever income he could derive therefrom until his 
 death. 
 
 When the Rev. Mr. Bradford was ordained, the town paid 
 him what they deemed an adequate salary, and made him a 
 donation of four hundred dollars, " reserving to the use of the 
 town all ministerial rights and privileges," meaning the minis- 
 try lots. It was known that Mr. Moor derived but little profit 
 from them, and the town resolved that Mr. Bradford should 
 not be embarrassed by them, and thought they might be made 
 to yield a greater income, under different management. Ac- 
 cordingly, in 1804, the town sold, or leased for nine hundred 
 
148 
 
 and ninety-nine years, a portion of the ministry lands ; and 
 subsequently, at different times, the remaining portions were 
 in like manner disposed of to great advantage, being covered 
 with valuable timber. The amount received for the ministry 
 lands reached nearly seven thousand dollars, which the town 
 denominated " the funded property for the ministry," and a 
 special treasurer was chosen annually by the town, for many 
 years, to have charge of this money, and to make an annual 
 report, showing to whom loaned, and the income thereof. 
 
 The grant of the town required, also, that another sixty-third 
 part of the town be appropriated for the benefit of schools ; 
 and these lands were in like manner disposed of, earlier than 
 the ministry lots, and the amount received for them was much 
 less than that for the ministry ; and the treasurer for " the 
 funded property for the ministry " became the treasurer of 
 both funds. William Clark was repeatedly elected to that 
 office, and others were chosen after him. At length the care 
 of these funds was devolved on the town treasurer, and he 
 made a distinct report of their condition annually. Immedi- 
 ately after the sale of the ministry lands, the Baptist church, 
 first known as the " Calvinistic Baptist Church in New Boston," 
 in 1804, claimed a part of the income ; and in August of 1805, 
 agreeably to a recommendation of Livermore Langdell and 
 Lieut. Samuel Gregg, it was " Voted, That the Baptists that were 
 on their parish-book last March have their proportion, according 
 to poll and estate, to the present year." Up to March 10,1807, 
 all tax-payers were taxed for the support of the minister of the 
 town, unless excused by special vote. At this time the town 
 voted " to excuse those that in good faith belong to the Baptist 
 Society, from paying taxes to the Rev. E. P. Bradford." Octo- 
 ber following, the town voted " to raise annually five hundred 
 dollars, including the interest on funded property, four hundred 
 dollars of which to be paid to Mr. Bradford, and one hundred 
 dollars to Josiah Stone ; and that this should continue during 
 the ministry of Mr. Stone," then the pastor of the Baptist 
 church. Owing to trouble in the church, the town subse- 
 quently refused to appropriate any to the two Baptist societies, 
 the original society having become divided into two. In 1823 
 the town gave them thirty -five dollars ; and the following year 
 
149 
 
 fifty dollars. At length the town voted to divide the income 
 according to poll and estate tax ; every man saying which 
 church he wished to sustain. And when at length a Univer- 
 salist society was organized, they were allowed to have their 
 proportion. Henceforward the income of the fund was divided 
 between the three societies, in proportion to polls and estates of 
 their respective adherents, until 1861, when the selectmen 
 refused to make the annual division of the income of the minis- 
 terial fund, except the interest on nine hundred dollars, affirm- 
 ing that the rest of the fund had been lost by being absorbed 
 in other funds of the town, so that evidences of the fund could 
 be found only for nine hundred dollars ; and they affirmed 
 that, according to decisions of the courts in similar cases, there 
 was no law to oblige the town to pay it, and that to pay it was 
 contrary to law, and would render it impossible to collect the 
 taxes. At the annual meeting in 1862, the town, by a very 
 large majority, instructed the selectmen to divide the income of 
 the fund, as*in former years ; but they refused to obey instruc- 
 tions, and none has been made, except on the nine hundred 
 dollars which had not been absorbed. It is evident that certain 
 men, who were not nursed at the breasts of New Boston moth- 
 ers, and who have a chronic hatred of ministers and churches, 
 had secretly sought to effect this at an earlier period than 1861. 
 The town has never sanctioned, by vote, the repudiation, nor 
 does any honest man deny that the income of the whole fund 
 ought to be paid, though they may question if it can be legally 
 done, under existing circumstances. The Presbyterian and 
 Baptist societies have been embarrassed by this action ; but 
 the descendants of the noble men who so highly prized the 
 worship of God in his sanctuary, and realized the benefits 
 of the gospel to the community, will prove equal to the exi- 
 gency, and will not show themselves the degenerate sons of a 
 godly ancestry. 
 
 What remains of the school fund yields an income of some 
 fifteen dollars annually ; the greater portion of it having been 
 absorbed like the ministerial fund. 
 
JAMES CEOMBIE, ESQ. 
 
 Mr. Crombie was born 1811, the third son of William Crom- 
 bie, Esq., who removed from New Boston to Otsego, N. Y., 
 about 1816, having at that time a wife, three sons, and five 
 daughters, his wife being Betsey Fairfield, of New Boston. In 
 1827, Mr. Crombie removed his family from Otsego to Oswego 
 county, then a frontier region, where his son James for some 
 years relied upon him as his teacher in* mathematics and higher 
 English branches, subsequently fitting himself for college at 
 Binghampton, Cazenovia, and Homer. But, in 1834, impaired 
 health forbade the idea of a college course, and he turned his 
 attention to the study of law, and was admitted to practice as 
 attorney at Albany, and as solicitor in chancery at New York 
 city, in October, 1837, and as counsellor at Rochester in 1811. 
 He commenced the practice of law at Greene, Chenango county, 
 in 1837, subsequently removing to Fulton, Oswego county, 
 where he remained until 1850. After travelling in California 
 for a while, in search of health, he purchased a plantation in 
 Virginia. But having no sympathy with the institution of 
 slavery, having partially recovered his health, and seeing the 
 gathering storm, Mr. Crombie left the " sacred soil " of the 
 Old Dominion, and resumed the practice of law in New York 
 city, in 1854, where he now resides. 
 
 At Greene, Chenango county, N. Y., Esquire Crombie was 
 married to Miss C. Mary Beckwith, and has two sons, James F. 
 and Charles B. 
 
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BESPONSE OE JAMES CKOMBIE, ESQ. 
 
 The People of New Boston. — Never safer than when they emulate the patriot- 
 ism and godliness of the men and women who converted this wilderness into a fruitful 
 field. 
 
 Mr. President, — 
 
 When called upon to respond to the sentiment just proposed, 
 it occurred to me that, had you known how early in life I left 
 New Boston, and what had been my history and the natural 
 tendencies of my education since, you would have entertain- 
 ed serious doubts as to my fitness for the task. It was my lot 
 to leave New Boston in infancy, and to receive my education 
 in a new section of the State of New York, under circum- 
 stances and influences naturally calculated to crop out young 
 American ideas and habits. In maturer life, I sojourned awhile 
 among the golden mountains and ravines of California, at a 
 time when godliness was exotic. Still later, I resided in 
 Virginia, at a period when patriotism meant nothing more than 
 attachment to the sacred soil and the divine institution of 
 slavery. And, finally, I became a resident of the city of New 
 York, when corporation financiers, and the democracy of the rab- 
 ble, reigned triumphant. Knowing this history, you must have 
 had unbounded confidence in natal and ante-natal influences, 
 and in the power of parental instruction and example, to form 
 the character, or you would have selected some other person 
 for this subject, and this occasion. You have not, however, been 
 mistaken in your estimate of the power of these influences in 
 my case, however much you may have misjudged as to my 
 capacity to do justice to the fervor of the patriotism and god- 
 liness of the men and women who settled New Boston. 
 
 I thank God, that neither education, nor residence, nor 
 travel in other and different States, nor the. habits and institu- 
 tions of other people, have made me forget the place of my 
 20 
 
154 
 
 birth, nor the virtues, principles, and piety that made our fore- 
 fathers so preeminent. I can appreciate their love of country, 
 their earnestness and constancy of purpose, their industry, in- 
 telligence, and godliness, and the powerful influence that their 
 character, customs, and example have exerted, not only on their 
 own posterity, but upon the nation ; for wherever I have been, — 
 in the settlements of the "West, in the cities and on the planta- 
 tions of the South, and in the States that border the Pacific, — 
 their posterity as travellers, settlers, teachers, and ministers, 
 have carried with them the knowledge, refinement, literature, 
 customs, and ideas of our fathers. 
 
 Churches and school-houses of New England architecture, as 
 well as ministers and teachers of New England ideas, are to be 
 found in every city and State of the Union, or rather were to 
 be found, before the present rebellion rendered certain localities 
 dangerous ground for the expression of New England ideas. 
 
 How eminently fitted to produce such a race of men and 
 women, were these Eastern States ! An eminent writer has well 
 said, that the character, civilization, and institutions of a people 
 are mainly determined by their soil, food, and climate, and the 
 general aspect of the country they inhabit. Had our forefathers 
 found on these shores the rich alluvial soil of the South and 
 West, producing, with little labor, far more than their wants 
 demanded, and a malarious, enervating climate, what a change 
 it would have made in their destiny, and that of their race ! 
 How different would have been their energy, character, and in- 
 stitutions, and their influence upon their own and succeed- 
 ing ages ! Fortunately, however, they found these hills and 
 mountains covered with rocks and forests, almost defying the 
 energy of man. They saw at a glance what years of toil and 
 patience it would require to settle and subdue so rugged a 
 region. The very effort necessary to form a resolution to set- 
 tle and cultivate it, tended to give them purpose and energy of 
 character. How much more the execution of such a resolution ! 
 Again, they found a soil by no means productive, after all the 
 toil and privation of settlement. They must have seen that it 
 would return hardly an adequate compensation for the toil of 
 cultivation. The climate, too, was cold and bracing, — long 
 winters consumed all that the summers produced. 
 
155 
 
 With such a soil and climate, and such a rugged, hilly coun- 
 try, they had to add patience to toil, and godliness to patience, 
 to render life endurable ; and God gave them grace equal to 
 the severity of their condition. 
 
 Their very condition of toil and hardship made them thought- 
 ful, earnest, sober, and godly men. They had no time to trifle. 
 The realities and necessities of life were upon them, demanding 
 constant prudence, forecast, and effort. With such cares, re- 
 sponsibilities, and duties upon them, to meet the exigences of 
 their life, it is no wonder they prayerfully considered and prop- 
 erly valued all that pertains to the life to come. But when 
 these hills and mountains were cleared and cultivated, and cov- 
 ered with waving grain and green grass, how changed the 
 scene became ! Mountains and hills of every possible contour 
 lifting their heads above the clouds, and stretching their green 
 slopes to the valleys and rivers below, ravines and undula- 
 tions affording constant changes of sunlight and shade ; stream- 
 lets gushing out from hillside and dell, and winding their way 
 down to the rivers that gladdened and fertilized the valleys ; 
 prospects of surpassing beauty and grandeur met them, which- 
 ever way they turned. How could they help loving such a 
 country, after having bestowed so much of energy and life 
 upon it ? The inhabitants of hilly and mountainous countries 
 are proverbially patriotic the world over — especially where the 
 soil is not over productive. The beauty and grandeur of the 
 scenery, and the toil and cost of settlement and cultivation, con- 
 spire to render them so. 
 
 But the patriotism of our fathers was of no narrow, sectional 
 kind. It embraced the whole nation. 
 
 Was any Southern city visited with plague ; was any portion 
 of the nation suffering from flood or famine ; was any part igno- 
 rant, and without the means of education and improvement, — 
 our fathers were ever ready, with sympathy and material aid, to 
 assist and alleviate. They never inculcated sectional sym- 
 pathies and interests, nor the doctrine of the right of disintegra- 
 tion and secession. 
 
 But it is said, in certain quarters, that the principles and 
 ideas they taught, and the institutions they founded, have 
 become dangerous to the peace and welfare of other portions of 
 
156 
 
 the nation ; that they have become like bombshells thrown into 
 a highly-ignitable city, destructive and consuming. It has also 
 been said that their ideas, principles, and institutions were more 
 belligerent, and more to be feared, in a time of peace, than we, 
 their descendants, in a time of war ; that we were preemi- 
 nently a people of progressive and disturbing ideas and isms, 
 which we would be ready to abandon on the battle-field. 
 
 Well, the time has come to test the truth or fallacy of these 
 charges. Already, we find one portion of the country has had 
 quite enough of our ideas, and of our warlike spirit on the 
 battle-field, and are appealing to another portion to assist in 
 turning us out, and confining us to these our native hills, here 
 to droop and die. We can afford to bide our time ; for, whether 
 in or out of the Union ; whether we are confined to these hills, 
 or .have free range over this broad continent, one nation and 
 one people, time will prove that the principles of liberty, the 
 patriotism and godliness which our fathers fostered and ripened 
 amid the free air of these hills, are as imperishable as their 
 race. Allow me, in conclusion, to extend the sentiment pro- 
 posed : — 
 
 The people of New Boston and the woeld, never safer than 
 when they emulate the patriotism and godliness of the men 
 and women who converted this wilderness into a faithful field. 
 
SCHOOLS. 
 
 The facilities for educating their children were not equal to 
 the desires of the first settlers ; but such as they had, they im- 
 proved. Until the town was incorporated, all instruction was 
 given by teachers employed by individuals, while those who 
 were able sent their children for a few months to Londonderry, 
 or other places where schools existed. In 1769, the town 
 erected a small building near the meeting-house, known as the 
 " Session-House," which was often used for schools. Here we 
 find a Mr. Donovan teaching, in 1776, five months, though as 
 early as 1773 the town voted to raise twenty-four pounds, and 
 " that the selectmen divide it as they think proper." Accord- 
 ingly, a man was employed to teach for a few months in differ- 
 ent parts of the town. The following year the same amount 
 was raised, and divided equally among five districts, the people 
 voluntarily arranging themselves into so many districts. xVs 
 early as 1788, the town voted to " hire a grammar-school master 
 for a year, as cheap as they can, and that said school-master 
 shall pass an examination ; that the Rev. Mr. Solomon Moor, 
 Jonathan Gove, and William Clark, Esq., be a committee to 
 examine the grammar-school master, to see if he is qualified 
 for the office, as to the languages, figures, and mathematics." 
 Also, it was voted to " divide the town into five districts, and 
 that the grammar-master shall keep equally in the said five." 
 This division was made so as to accommodate the scattered 
 population as best it might. In 1792, the town was redistricted 
 by a committee composed of Ninian Clark, Mathew Fairfield, 
 Solomon Dodge, James Caldwell, and John Cochran, as follows : 
 
 District No. l. 
 
 David Henderson, John Parrot, Daniel Redington, 
 
 John McMillen, Jr., Samuel Cree, Henry Spaulding. 
 
158 
 
 James Caldwell, 
 Kobert Campbell, 
 Josiali "Warren, 
 Allen Moor, 
 
 Thomas Cochran, 
 Alexander McCollom, 
 James Willson, Jr., 
 
 Thomas Grifen, 
 Jonathan Grifen, 
 John Gordon, 
 Samuel Willson, 
 Joseph Beard, 
 James Carnes, 
 Ephraim Clark, 
 
 Samuel Smith, 
 Thomas Smith, 
 Robert Balch, 
 John Burns, 
 Nehemiah Dodge, 
 
 Livermore Langdall, 
 David Starrett, 
 Jacob Ober, 
 Joseph Andrews, 
 
 James Crombie, 
 Samuel Stickney, 
 William Johnson, 
 Hezekiah Austin, 
 Widow Martha Jacks, 
 John Henry, 
 
 Ebenezer Clark, 
 Thomas Cristy, 
 
 District No. 2. 
 
 David Caldwell, 
 Matthew Caldwell, 
 Samuel Abbott, 
 Joseph Haselton, 
 Joseph Leach, Jr., 
 
 District No. 3. 
 
 Alexander "Willson, 
 James Willson, 
 Thomas Willson, 
 
 District No. 4. 
 
 W r illiam Woodbury, 
 James Walker, 
 James Smith, 
 Robert "Walker, 
 William Patterson, 
 Samuel Brown, 
 Oliver Sheppel, 
 
 District No. 5. 
 
 John Livingston, 
 Jacob Bennett, 
 Deacon John Smith, 
 Thomas Smith, Jr., 
 William White, 
 
 District No. 6. 
 
 Josiah Morgan, 
 David Stinson, 
 Daniel Dane, 
 William Clark, 
 Ninian Clark, 
 
 District No. 7. 
 Thomas Stark, 
 Daniel Dodge, 
 Robert Cochran, 
 Jesse Cristy, Jr., 
 John Cochran, 
 Nathaniel Dodge, 
 
 District No. 8. 
 William McMillen, 
 Peter Cochran, 
 
 John Davis, 
 Joseph Leach, 
 David Stevens, 
 Elisha Wilkins. 
 
 Peter Cochran, Jr., 
 Samuel Boyd. 
 
 John Jordan, 
 William Beard, 
 Robert Willson, 
 Elias Dickey, 
 Aaron Howe, 
 Samuel Willson, Jr. 
 
 David Thompson, 
 James Adams, 
 William Dodge, 
 James Gregg. 
 
 Jacob Dodge, 
 Simon Dodge, 
 Samuel Patch, 
 John Whipple. 
 
 Isaac Peabody, 
 Elijah Cochran, 
 Widow Waugh, 
 Nathaniel Bootman, 
 Joseph McKenzie, 
 Deacon Jesse Cristy. 
 
 Matthew Fairfield, 
 Moses Cristy, 
 
159 
 
 John Cristy, 
 James McMillen, 
 Robert Patterson, Jr. 
 
 Daniel Kelso, 
 William Kelso, 
 Alexander Kelso, 
 Ephraim Jones, 
 Dr. McMillen, 
 
 Jacob Hooper, 
 William Camiel, 
 John Cochran, Jr., 
 James Cochran, 
 Capt. John McLaughlen, Capt. Benjamin Dodge, 
 Deacon Robert White, 
 
 John McMillen, 
 Arthur Dennis, 
 Dudley Curtis, 
 
 District No. 9. 
 
 Joseph Lamson, 
 Robert Boyd, 
 John Lamson, 
 Jacob Fairfield, 
 William McNeill, 
 
 District No. 10. 
 
 Widow McLaughlen, 
 Samuel Waters, 
 Ammi Dodge, 
 John Kennedy, 
 
 Lieut. James Ferson, 
 James Ferson, Jr., 
 William Coleman, 
 Jonathan Gove, 
 William Livingston, 
 Solomon Dodge, 
 Robert Hogg, 
 
 District No. 11. 
 
 John Richards, 
 Nehemiah Dodge, 
 Francis Dodge, 
 John Hogg, 
 Abner Hogg, 
 William Hogg, 
 James Kenedy, 
 
 David McLaughlen, 
 Lemuel Marden, 
 Widow Cristy. 
 
 James Dodge, 
 Joshua Jones, 
 Enoch Dodge, 
 Archibald McAllister. 
 
 Robert Patterson, 
 Rev. Solomon Moor, 
 Elisha Dodge, 
 Noah Dodge, 
 Gideon Dodge. 
 
 William Blair, 
 Zadoch Read, 
 Andrew Walker, 
 Philemon Perkins, 
 Lelsley Gregg, 
 Samuel George, 
 John McCaye. 
 
 Subsequently, changes took place, and new districts were 
 formed, until the number became eighteen, and so continued 
 until 1856, when two districts near the centre united, building 
 a commodious house in the lower village, and grading the 
 scholars. Other districts have built new houses, or repaired 
 old ones, while some yet remain to the disgrace of the town, 
 and the injury of the rising generation. The amount of money 
 raised by the town annually has been usually something more 
 than the law requires, in addition to the income from the 
 "school fund," most of which has been lost to the purposes for 
 which it was intended. 
 
 Great benefit has been derived from "tuition" schools, 
 taught in the autumn or spring, and not unfrequently both. 
 These have usually been well attended, and instructed by com- 
 petent teachers. " The hall over the long store in the upper 
 
160 
 
 village, and the town hall in the lower, have witnessed many 
 minds struggling to unfold themselves by searchings for knowl- 
 edge, and their success is proof of the value of such schools 
 to a community. Rev. Solomon Moor interested himself much 
 in the success of schools, and encouraged many a lad to study, 
 who otherwise would have grown up in ignorance ; and Rev. 
 Mr. Bradford was unwearied in efforts to stimulate the children 
 of the town to excel as scholars, fitting not a few for college, 
 and more to become teachers, and to enter successfully upon 
 honorable paths of activity. That New Boston has not fallen 
 in the rear of sister towns is evident from the number and 
 character of the teachers she has reared, and the intelligent 
 men she has sent forth into other communities. Such has been 
 the benefit of her schools, that she may well foster them in the 
 future, nor feel that money expended in rearing convenient 
 and tasteful school-houses, and in paying competent and faith- 
 ful teachers, will fail to return the most satisfactory dividends. 
 Of the character and advantages of her schools, we will let one 
 of her worthy sons testify in the following paper. 
 
EEV. JOSEPH ADDISON GOODHUE. 
 
 Mr. Goodhue was born May 27, 1824, the son of Joseph A. 
 Goodhue, a notice of whose family may be found among the 
 biographical sketches. Until sixteen he diligently combined 
 labor and study at home, from which time until twenty he 
 taught several district and select schools, and prepared himself 
 to enter the sophomore class in Dartmouth College, from which 
 he graduated in 1848. After teaching Kingston Academy one 
 year, he entered the Newton Theological Institution, whence 
 he graduated in 1852, and was shortly after ordained pastor of 
 the Central Baptist Church in Norwich, Conn., whence, after 
 two years, he was called to a professorship in the Connecticut 
 Literary Institute, at Suffield, which he soon resigned, and 
 accepted a call from the South Baptist Church in Boston, where 
 he remained about two years. In July, 1859, he was installed 
 pastor of the First Baptist Church in Framingham ; and August 
 1, 1862, he was called to the North Baptist Church in Cam- 
 bridge, his present field of labor. 
 
 Mr. Goodhue married Miss Abby, daughter of Rev. George 
 Leonard, of Portland, Me., December 8, 1852, and they have 
 had two children: George H., born April 15, 1855 ; and Addie 
 J., born July 15, 1857. His son George died January 25, 1864, 
 a child of much promise, whose early removal has caused great 
 grief. In 1859, Mr. Goodhue published a work called " The Cru- 
 cible," a treatise on " the Tests of a Regenerate State ; " in which 
 the author " attracts and charms the reader, not by ornaments 
 and glowing periods, but by clearly presenting the mighty theme 
 in its own colors." Rev. Dr. J. N. Brown, of the " Baptist Fam- 
 ily Magazine," pronounces this work " an invaluable book. It 
 
 21 
 
162 
 
 treats the most difficult, delicate, yet momentous points of ex- 
 perimental religion, with a singular depth of penetration, sound- 
 ness of judgment, and seriousness of spirit. Its analysis is 
 admirable, and the precision and terseness of the language give 
 it all the value, without the pretension, of a work of strict sci- 
 ence. It is truly a work of spiritual pathology. Such a book 
 as this does not appear once in a century. It makes and marks 
 an era." 
 
JH "Buff oris LlUl. 
 
 J A ^crdJjAJd. 
 
KESPONSE OE MR. GOODHUE, 
 
 The Schools of New Boston. — They have been to the intellect of her ycmth what 
 the sun and rain have been to her soil. 
 
 Mr. President, — 
 
 Prominent among the indexes of the character of any people 
 is the provision which they are accustomed to make for the 
 mental culture of their children and youth. The history of no 
 township can be an honorable one in which, next to the village 
 church, the school-house does not occupy a conspicuous place. 
 Were there no reminiscences to be cherished at these centen- 
 nial festivities, of the school and the school-master, the spelling- 
 book and reader, the arithmetic and grammar, meagre enough 
 would be the occasion. But, as one of the sons of New Boston, 
 I am proud to-day that such reminiscences arc not wanting. 
 They have been engraven on the tablets of a thousand youth- 
 ful memories in such a manner that neither the cares nor the 
 business nor the conflicts of subsequent life ever have been or 
 will be able to efface them. The scenes of the district-school 
 have been among our liveliest memories, and their story has 
 often been recounted by many a native of these hills and val- 
 leys far away in other towns and states, and even in other lands. 
 
 If there is any one feature in the past history of this munici- 
 pal incorporation which we shall celebrate to-day with a 
 heartier, livelier, and more spontaneous enthusiasm than we 
 shall the rest, it must be that of our common schools. The 
 recollection of these, more than anything else, will quicken again 
 in our veins our youthful blood. It is with a right good relish 
 that we come home from various parts, (for we have no home 
 on earth but the place in which we were born, and where we 
 first learned to read and write and spell our mother-tongue), 
 to glory with our other brethren over those primitive, simple, 
 and yet invaluable institutions in which our young ideas were 
 first taught how to get their range and shoot. 
 
164 
 
 The conviction of the worth of these institutions is deeply- 
 wrought into the fibres of our souls ; so deeply that no subse- 
 quent acquaintance with similar institutions, of however supe- 
 rior character they may have claimed to be, could possibly 
 eradicate it. We, therefore, who received our first training in 
 the common schools of New Boston, are prepared to hear any 
 amount of eulogium heaped upon them. Our feelings will 
 justify the application of epithets to them in the superlative, yea, 
 (for I must coin a word), in the superlativest degree. When 
 we were enjoying the advantages of those places of learning, 
 we believed them to be the very best in the whole world. And 
 this very faith which we had in them was calculated actually 
 to make them so to us. It is a wise provision of nature which 
 which leads the child to believe, for the time, in the superlative 
 excellence of the institutions under which lie was reared - just 
 as he naturally believes that his parents are the wisest and best 
 beings in all the world ; such faith will cause teachers and 
 educational advantages of a very inferior quality to become of 
 incalculable worth, while a corresponding distrust of those of a 
 far superior grade will reduce their benefit to the lowest degree. 
 
 This is one evil attendant upon making constant changes and 
 professed improvements in our systems of education. It weakens 
 the confidence of the young in the opportunities they have, and 
 impairs the earnestness of their application, on which more 
 depends than on the excellence of their advantages. This is an 
 evil attendant upon education in the academy, the college, and 
 the schools for the professions. By the time the youth arrives 
 at these he has outgrown the period of implicit faith which 
 belongs to childhood, and begins to reason, to elect, and doubt, 
 which impairs the concentration of his powers and his conse- 
 quent improvement. 
 
 We have never had such faith in any other literary institu- 
 tions as we once had in the common schools of our native town. 
 And the effects of once having had such faith have by no means 
 been effaced from our minds, any more than we have outgrown 
 our early reverence for those who gave us our birth and nurtured 
 our tender childhood ; while to-day those early sentiments 
 are revived with all their youthful freshness and vigor. And 
 hence we feel just like giving full sway to our early attachment, 
 
165 
 
 and declaring it as our present deliberate conviction that the 
 district schools of our native town were, without any qualifica- 
 tion, the very best in all the world. 
 
 Nor is this a matter of the feelings only, or of personal pride. 
 These schools were as a matter of fact to us the best in all the 
 world. We, the sons of New Boston, owe to them all we have 
 been or are, or expect to be. And why should we not eulogize 
 them here to-day ? It is folly to speculate as to what might 
 have been the effect upon us if our lot had been cast elsewhere 
 in our childhood, and- we had enjoyed superior opportunities, 
 and facilities for an early education. It was not so to be. It 
 was appointed that the most important part of the literary cul- 
 ture and mental training that some, and all that most of us 
 should ever have to prepare us for the conflict of life should be 
 had in the schools of this goodly town. If these had not fur- 
 nished it, we should have had none at all. The other advan- 
 tages, which some of us have enjoyed in addition to these, would 
 have' been of no avail whatever without these to precede. And 
 as we look back upon them to-day, we are more deeply im- 
 pressed than ever with the fact that they performed for us a 
 great and good work. I feel proud of my native town, when I 
 think of the position and influence to which many to whom she 
 gave their birth have attained, at home and abroad, and remem- 
 ber that their entire preparation for their stations of usefulness 
 and honor was received at her hands. And I am not less deeply 
 affected with a sense of gratitude, when I think of the many in- 
 stances in which she laid in her common schools the foundations 
 on which have subsequently been erected superstructures that 
 have been no disgrace to the literary and professional world. 
 
 Considering her situation in a rural district, and her com- 
 paratively limited facilities for educating her children, I think 
 a worthy meed of praise is due to our alma mater from her grown- 
 up sons and daughters, as they have come home to pay their 
 respects to her on this her hundredth natal day. We feel it 
 incumbent upon us, and due to her, to acknowledge that she 
 has done the best she could for her numerous family, in the 
 circumstances ; she has furnished to. all her sons and daughters 
 the opportunity, at least, of learning correctly to read and write 
 and speak the language of the country in which they were born, 
 a language which is now most extensively spoken and written 
 
166 
 
 of any on the face of the earth. So far as learning is con- 
 cerned, she has provided them with the means of securing an 
 honest livelihood, and of making a respectable appearance in 
 the world ; and if they have not done so it is their fault 
 and not hers ; she has done her part well towards astonishing 
 our Southern brethren, who have turned our enemies, with the 
 fact that Yankees can furnish an army of men who are able 
 upon the field of battle, to write upon the upturned bottoms of 
 their dippers, neatly executed epistles to their wives and 
 sweethearts at home. And, in addition to all this, she has sent 
 many of her sons, who seemed to need it most, to the academy, 
 the college, and the seminary, to finish up their education there. 
 
 But let it not for a moment be supposed that we are trying 
 to make the best of the inevitable misfortune — for which we are 
 not responsible — of having been born and nurtured in a country 
 town, rather than in some populous city, whose literary advan- 
 tages correspond with its refinement and wealth and fashion. 
 I have come in contact, to a considerable extent, with the schools 
 of the principal towns and cities of Massachusetts, which are 
 supposed not to be inferior to any the country affords ; but I 
 have never for one moment regretted the nativity which a kind 
 providence, gave me. It is not simply from natural attachment, 
 or from an early faith in their excellence, or because it was 
 appointed that we should be their beneficiaries, that we speak 
 thus well of the schools, of our native town. It is the convic- 
 tion of our maturer judgment, that the opportunities of secur- 
 ing a good education in them, even as they were a quarter of a 
 century and more ago, would not suffer so much as might be 
 supposed, by a comparison with the improved systems of educa- 
 tion, so called, which are in so high repute in our cities and 
 populous towns at the present day. 
 
 True, we do not forget their crudeness, their lack of system, 
 and order, and taste ; we remember the old school-house, with 
 its floors perfectly innocent of suds, and not very guilty of 
 broom, save now and then of a visit from a hemlock bough ; 
 we remember the benches all hacked and scarred or, rather 
 deeply carved and highly wrought, in figures betraying more 
 perseverance than grace, and more ingenuity than sense of the 
 beautiful ; we are not oblivious of its walls all ornamented with 
 drawings in charcoal and chalk which a Punch himself could 
 
167 
 
 not outdo ; we still have some faint recollections of the not 
 most highly-refined festivity claimed by the pupils on every 
 new year of deposing the dominus from his authority, and tak- 
 ing the reins of government into their own hands for the day, 
 by bolting or barring or smoking him out of the premises, as 
 the case might require, and that at the expense of no penalty 
 save an unusually close attention to books on the following day. 
 We remember all these things ; and their recital has furnished 
 merriment to the children of the city, who know as little of the 
 country as we used to of the city. But these, after all, were 
 only incidental. We are not willing to call them faults. In- 
 deed, the real, sterling merits of the simple system of the district- 
 school instruction of my boyhood, with all its defects, have 
 grown upon my appreciation the more I have become acquaint- 
 ed with the multiplied novelties which are introduced into the 
 city schools at the present time, under the head of improve- 
 ments ; and I have almost wished that my own children could 
 be transferred to the same limited system of instruction as 
 being the less evil of the two. 
 
 I have not time to draw a comparison between these two sys- 
 tems of education, and it might seem invidious to do so. But 
 some of the points on which such a comparison might be based 
 are these. It may be said distinctively, and comparatively if 
 you choose, of the common-school system of New Boston, as it 
 has been in the past, that it was the fundamental and not super- 
 ficial. If it was comparatively limited in its range, it was com- 
 mensurably thorough. For one thing New Boston deserves praise ; 
 and that is, that she has taught her children to spell their 
 mother tongue, which not all highly-educated persons are able 
 to do. The fundamental branches of reading, writing, spelling, 
 arithmetic, and English grammar were not made to give place 
 to a multitude of superficialities, which are of no account but 
 for a show. The training of our common schools has been such 
 as to develop and strengthen talent, if not to make it most elite 
 and ostentatious. It laid good foundations on which a super- 
 structure might afterwards be raised, according to the in- 
 dividual's choice ; or it furnished an education sufficiently com- 
 plete in itself for all the common, practical purposes of life. 
 New Boston has prepared her sons to go abroad in the world, 
 
168 
 
 and act out their common sense to a good advantage, and use 
 their wits without disgracing themselves. She has qualified 
 them not to be pedants and dandies, not to flourish and swag- 
 ger, but to be among the solid men of the land. Her system 
 of education has been such as to furnish sturdy thinkers rather 
 than sickly sentimentalists and frothy declaimers. The absence 
 of extensive classification and gradation in her schools, has given 
 those who had the disposition the opportunity to excel. This 
 has made them hardy, self-reliant, persevering, and not afraid 
 of obstacles. Consequently, when they, like the sons of the 
 rural districts generally, have stood side by side, in our higher 
 seminaries of learning, with the sons of wealth from the cities 
 and populous towns, who have been educated more carefully 
 and tenderly, they have marched firmly and manfully on, while 
 •the latter, their precociousness having attained to its climax, 
 have faltered and fallen back gradually toward the rear of the 
 ranks, the nearer they approached to the goal of final distinc- 
 tion. 
 
 Another cause, which ought to be mentioned as contributing 
 to this result, is the fact that our common schools never having 
 been continued through the entire year, the mental training of 
 the young has gone hand in hand with habits of industry which, 
 while their education has not suffered by it, has inured them to 
 physical hardihood and endurance ; while the sons of the city, 
 who have passed slowly from one grade to another up through 
 a long course of study in well-heated and poorly-ventilated 
 rooms, have emerged from them like a plant from a darkened 
 cellar, tall, slender, sickly, and puny, both in body and mind. 
 
 Finally, it is not unworthy to be recorded here, that the edu- 
 cational system of New Boston has been highly economical, as 
 compared with that of our populous towns and cities ; that is, 
 while she has not been frugal in her appropriations, but rather 
 generous according to her ability, the results have been com- 
 paratively very large in proportion to the outlay. It has cost 
 her far less per head to educate her children than it has the 
 cities, while, in many respects certainly, their education has 
 not been inferior. 
 
 Hence we cordially indorse the sentiment with which we 
 started, that the " schools of our native town have been to the 
 intellect of her vouth as the rain and the sun to her soil." 
 
SCHOOL TEACHEES. 
 
 The following is an abridged list of school-teachers whom 
 New Boston has raised up, as given by Jesse Beard, Esq. The 
 whole list was very long, — too long to be inserted : — 
 
 Adams, William 
 Adams, Sarah 
 Adams, Frances 
 Adams, Mary 
 Atwood, Lydia 
 Atwood, Sarah 
 Atwood, Annie 
 Atwood, Mary 
 Atwood, Solomon 
 Buxton, Edward 
 Buxton, Eliza 
 Bradford, William 
 Bradford, Ephraim P. 
 Bradford, Anstis 
 Bradford, Mary 
 Bradford, Annie 
 Bennett, John 
 Bennett, Joseph 
 Brown, Mary 
 Beard, Andrew 
 Beard, William 
 Beai-d, Sarah 
 Beard, Eliza 
 Beard, John 
 Beard, Ann M. 
 Beard, Sarah M. 
 Beard, Jesse 
 Beard, James 
 Beard, Mary 
 Beard, Evelyn S. 
 Beard, Edwin 
 Beard, Cordelia C. 
 22 
 
 Brooks, John 
 
 Burnham, Abby L. 
 
 Burnham, M. Addie 
 
 Christie, John 
 
 Christie, Ann 
 
 Christie, Sumner L. 
 
 Christie, Elizabeth 
 
 Christie, Sarah 
 
 Christie, Harlan 
 Christie, Mary 
 
 Crombie, William 
 Crombie, Robert 
 Crombie, John 
 Crombie, Mary 
 Crombie, Letitie 
 Campbell, Samuel 
 Campbell, Mary 
 Campbell, Sally 
 Campbell, Daniel 
 Campbell, Annis 
 Campbell, William 
 Campbell, Elizabeth 
 Clark, William 
 Clark, Jonathan 
 Clark, Dalton 
 Clark, Rebecca 
 Clark, Cordelia 
 Clark, Frances 
 Cochran, Peter 
 Cochi-an, Thomas 
 Cochran, John D. 
 Cochran, Thomas H. 
 
 Cochran, Mary 
 Cochran, Mary S. 
 Cochran, Jonathan 
 Cochran, Robert B. 
 Cochran, Prudence 
 Cochran, Aftnis C. 
 Cochran, Warren R. 
 Cochran, Sophia 
 Cochran, Whiting 
 Cochran, Clark B. 
 Cochran, Andrew 
 Cochran, Alonzo 
 Cochran, Lydia J. 
 Cochran, Margaret 
 Cochran, Sophronia 
 Cochran, Marinda 
 Colburn, William 
 Dodge, Solomon 
 Dodge, Sarah 
 Dodge, Amos 
 Dodge, Reuben 
 Dodge, Abner 
 Dodge, Elouisa 
 Dodge, Mary 
 Dodge, John N. 
 Dodge, James S. 
 Dodge, Mary J. 
 Dodge, Sarah N. 
 Dodge, Willard 
 Dodge, Mary, 2d 
 Dodge, Achsah 
 Dane, Almena 
 
170 
 
 Dane, Elizabeth 
 Ferson, William 
 Ferson, James 
 Ferson, Paul 
 Fairfield, John 
 Fairfield, Josiah 
 Fairfield, John, 2d 
 Fairfield, Seth 
 Fairfield, Charles G. 
 Fairfield, Sarah 
 Fairfield, Elizabeth S. 
 Gregg, Alexander 
 Gregg, James 
 Gregg, James M. 
 Gregg, David- 
 Gregg, Daniel 
 Gregg, Augusta 
 Gregg, Margaret 
 Goodhue, Joseph A. 
 Goodhue, Amos B. 
 Goodhue, Leonard 
 Goodhue, Joseph A. 
 Goodhue, Annie 
 Goodhue, Mary- 
 Kelso, Jonathan G. 
 Kelso, Augusta 
 Langdell, Christopher C 
 Langdell, Hannah 
 
 Lawrence, Helen 
 Lawrence, Eliza 
 Lamson, Sally 
 Leach, Mary J. 
 Leach, Lucy A. 
 Loring, Lorinda 
 Loring, Aaron 
 Marden, Waterman 
 Marden, Henry 
 McCollom, Rodney 
 McCollom, Alexander 
 McCollom, Arabella 
 McNiel, William 
 McNiel, Granville 
 McNiel, John 
 McNiel, Rachel 
 McNiel, Mary J. 
 McNiel, Lydia 
 McNiel, John 
 Neville, Sarah 
 Neville, Victoria 
 Neville, Julia 
 Richards, Jacob 
 Richards, Margaret 
 Richards, Joanna 
 Richards, Evelyn 
 Richards, Nancy 
 Richards, Margaret J. 
 
 Wason, Robert 
 Wason, Horace 
 Wason, Hiram 
 Wason, William 
 Wason, Robert B. 
 Wason, Austin 
 Wason, Louisa 
 Wason, Caroline 
 Wason, Adaline 
 Wason, Mary 
 Wason, Nancy 
 Wason, Elbridge 
 Whiting, Dexter 
 Whiting, Harris 
 Whiting, Calvin 
 Whiting, Julia 
 Whiting, Roxanna 
 Whipple, Joseph 
 Whipple, Philantha R. 
 Wilder, Lizzie E. 
 Wilson, William 
 Wilson, Rebecca 
 Woodbury, Hammon 
 Woodbury, Hannah 
 Woodbury, Lucy 
 Woodbury, William 
 
 CHOEISTEBS AND TEACHEBS 0E MUSIC. 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN SOCIETY. 
 
 Jacob Dodge, from 1 7 73 to 1 782 
 
 Robert Clark, 
 Wm. B. Dodge, 
 Abner Dodge, 
 Jesse Beard, 
 Jacob Richards, 
 
 from 1782 to 1803 
 from 1803 to 1808 
 from 1808 to 1817 
 from 1817 to 1828 
 from 1828 to 1858 
 
 Thos. Thompson, 
 Jesse Beard, 
 Josiah Gage, 
 Zachariah Morgan, 
 Jesse Beard, 
 Vincent Jeffers, 
 James M. Smith, 
 
 SOCIETY. 
 
 from 1804 to 
 from 1809 to 
 from 1820 to 
 from 1825 to 
 from 1833 to 
 from 1844 to 
 from 1851 to 
 
 1809 
 1816 
 1825 
 1833 
 1844 
 1851 
 1862 
 
WILLIAM W. COLBUEN. 
 
 Mr. Colburn is the son of the late Leonard Colburn. He 
 fitted for college chiefly at Francestown Academy, under Syl- 
 vanus Hayward, now pastor of the Congregational Church in 
 Dunbarton, and graduated from Dartmouth College in the class 
 of 1861, with an enviable reputation for scholarship, and is 
 now Principal of the High School in the city of Manchester, 
 highly esteemed both as a teacher and a christian gentleman. 
 
RESPONSE OF WILLIAM W. COLBURN. 
 
 The Patriotism of the Early Settlers of New Boston. — " Voted unanimously, 
 to a man, to support the Constitution and Laws of the United States."' 
 
 Mr. President, — 
 
 Patriotism has always been highly honored by men in all 
 stages of civilization. The ancient bards sang their noblest 
 strains in celebrating it ; the orators of Greece and Rome kin- 
 dled their most glowing eloquence at its altar ; and history has 
 given her most luminous page to the record of those who freely 
 offered their lives in devotion to the interests of fatherland. 
 We have honored it wherever we have seen it manifested. We 
 always read with pleasure and enthusiasm the history of the 
 patriotic achievements of the Grecian phalanx at Thermopylae 
 and Marathon ; of the imperial cohorts of Rome, led and ani- 
 mated by the stately presence of a Caesar ; of the swarthy sons 
 of Spain under the Iron Duke of Alva, and the Great Captain ; 
 of the liberty-loving Netherlander, inspired and sustained by 
 the peerless Prince of Orange ; and especially of the founders 
 and defenders of those liberties, constitutional rights and priv- 
 leges, which we now enjoy. The patriots of the Revolution, 
 from the immortal Washington to the humblest of their rank 
 and file, have been admired and eulogized by all the civilized 
 world. We, their descendants, on this, the grand fete day of 
 our nation, assembled to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of 
 the incorporation of this town, enjoying, as we do, so many bless- 
 ings in consequence of the virtues of our fathers, should be 
 guilty of unpardonable neglect if we should fail on this occasion 
 to give prominent place in our thoughts and in our speech to the 
 valor and patriotism which were manifested by the early inhab- 
 itants of this now venerable town. Unfortunately for us, the 
 early history of New Boston has not yet been written, and for 
 particular facts we are obliged to rely upon traditional accounts. - 
 
174 
 
 These, however, are sufficiently reliable for our present pur- 
 pose. Indeed, it is but a few years since the last survivor of 
 those who took an active part in the war of the Revolution 
 passed from among us, having lived to tell the story of that 
 long and soul-trying war to three generations, and at last real- 
 izing, almost literally, Dryden's beautiful description of an old 
 man's death : — 
 
 " Of no distemper, of no blast he died, 
 But fell like autumn fruit that mellowed long ; 
 E'en wondered at because he dropped no sooner. 
 Fate seemed to wind him up for fourscore years, 
 Yet freshly ran he on ten winters more ; 
 Till, like a clock worn out with beating time, 
 The wheels of weary life at last stood still." 
 
 We have all heard anecdotes of the trials endured, and sac- 
 rifices offered, by the early inhabitants of this town. The men 
 took their muskets and joined their compatriots, leaving their 
 farms to the care of their wives and children. They suffered 
 all the hardships of long marches, of severe weather, of field 
 and camp-life, and of dreary captivity. All this was endured 
 cheerfully, and in the true spirit of patriotism. That these 
 men possessed courage and resolution might be inferred from 
 what they did at home. To enter a new country, to fell its for- 
 ests, and to convert a wilderness into fruitful fields, is a task 
 that timid souls would not undertake. The first settlers of 
 New Boston, as well as of New England generally, were men 
 who had a purpose in life, and were thoroughly in earnest to 
 accomplish it. They were no carpet champions, passing the 
 time in ease and luxury ; but active, earnest men, ready to 
 meet the rough realities of life, and to do their duty either at 
 home, in the quiet pursuit of agriculture, or on the field of 
 battle, in defence of their rights and liberties. I have not 
 been able to ascertain the exact number of those who did mili- 
 tary duty, but the records show that the quota of New Boston 
 was promptly filled, both in the war of the Revolution and that 
 of 1812, and that ample provision was made for the wants of 
 those who were left destitute by the departure of the able-bodied 
 men to the service of their country. 
 
 The fathers of this town, with their compatriots, declared 
 
175 
 
 themselves capable of self-government, and nobly sustained that 
 declaration on the battle-fields of the infant republic. No one 
 can deny them patriotism, and, with the exception of the Tory 
 element, which existed here a short time during the Revolution, 
 their loyalty to republican rule cannot be questioned. At this 
 day, no one will wish to deny, or be ashamed to confess, that 
 the Tory element was represented in this town by a consider- 
 able party. Throughout the American colonies there were 
 many men who, born and prospered under a limited monarchy, 
 often the recipients of royal favor and patronage, were slow to 
 renounce their loyalty to Great Britain, and commit themselves 
 in favor of a movement which was attended with danger, and 
 whose success was doubtful. But after our national independ- 
 ence had been achieved, and republicanism established, these 
 same men became as loyal as any. 
 
 Patriotism is universally the concomitant of intelligence and 
 wisdom. Laws, governments, and institutions are the creatures 
 of men, and reflect their character ; therefore, whenever we find 
 equable laws, governments adapted to the wants of the governed, 
 and institutions of a humane and benevolent character, we 
 may safely infer that their founders were not only wise and 
 intelligent, but patriotic. 
 
 Patriotism looks to the future as well as the present. "We 
 need no stronger evidence of the patriotism of our fathers than 
 the institutions they left to the country whose interests they 
 had so willingly and faithfully served. Consider one moment 
 the system of town government that prevails here and through- 
 out New England. With the possible exception of some of the 
 cantons, of Switzerland, the world does not present other in- 
 stances of government founded on the principles of pure democ- 
 racy than in the towns of New England. Here the people, in 
 sovereign capacity, assemble en masse to provide for the com- 
 mon interest. The democracy of ancient Greece was but an 
 empty name, compared with that established by the patriot 
 fathers of New England. Men may say what they please of the 
 inefficiency and ultimate impracticability of a republican form 
 of government for a nation of the size of ours, but no monarch- 
 ist of Europe or anti-republican in America, can say that our 
 ^own democracies are not complete, efficient, and satisfactory in 
 
176 
 
 all the essentials of a prosperous and happy government. Look 
 at. the subject as we may, we find ourselves deeply indebted to 
 the patriotism of the early inhabitants of this town. The 
 gentler sex also challenge our praise and admiration for the 
 patriotism, which they manifested by patient toil and self- 
 sacrifice in their quiet sphere of life. We should not do justice 
 to this occasion if we should fail to make honorable mention of 
 their mild and unobtrusive, but potential and efficient, influence 
 for the good of their country. There never was a time when 
 patriotism could be better appreciated than now. Our national 
 government is undergoing its most trying test, and is entirely 
 dependent upon the people who created it, and who during so 
 many years have been protected by it, not only for delivery from 
 present peril, but for the perpetuity of those institutions which 
 are so dear to every American heart. While we are so anxious 
 for the success of our national arms, and tremble when we hear 
 of any disaster to the cause of patriotism, let us remember the 
 success that crowned the humble, but determined efforts of our 
 fathers, and take courage. We can in nowise better pay the 
 debt of gratitude we owe them than by following their example 
 in all the virtues of life. While we are justly proud of those 
 brave boys who have gone from loved homes to defend our 
 national honor, let us duly honor the valor and patriotism of 
 those who, in the vigor of young manhood, felled the forests 
 that covered these now cultivated hills, one hundred years 
 ago. 
 
GERRY ¥. HAZELTON, ESQ. 
 
 ' Mr. Hazelton is the son of William Hazelton, of Chester. 
 His mother was Mercy J., daughter of John Cochrane, of New 
 Boston, and sister of the Hon. Clark B. Cochrane. After the 
 usual preparatory education, he read law with the Hon. C. B. 
 Cochrane, of Albany, New York, and established himself in his 
 profession in Columbus, Wisconsin, where his past success and 
 future prospects are sufficient to satisfy the ambition of any rea- 
 sonable young man. His high christian principles and sym- 
 pathy with every good cause are the sure pledge of a harvest 
 of honor in years to come. 
 
 23 
 
EESPONSE OF GEKRY ¥. HAZELTON, ESQ. 
 
 New Boston, — like New England, loyal to the Constitution and Union, looks con- 
 fidently to her absent sons to stand by her and New England, in this hour of struggle 
 for national existence. 
 
 Mb. Pbesident, — 
 
 Were I to say that I feci a thousand times repaid for journey- 
 ing from the far-off valley of the Mississippi, to enjoy this most 
 interesting occasion, I should but feebly express the satis- 
 faction I experience, in returning to New England and New 
 Hampshire, to participate with the thousands here assembled, in 
 thus observing and celebrating this memorable and glorious day. 
 
 Leaving behind the broad lakes and thriving marts of the 
 West, the teeming prairies with their lengthened shadows, 
 where to-day, even as we are assembled, yonder sun, that bathes 
 these grand old hill-tops in its glow, is tinging the ripening 
 grain for the reaper's sickle, it is delightful to stand again amidst 
 familiar and cherished, though rugged scenes, and breathe once 
 more the inspiriting air that fans your mountain homes. 
 
 For the first time in fifteen years, I am permitted to cele- 
 brate this natal anniversary in New England. I could hardly 
 hope in a lifetime to be here under more interesting circum- 
 stances. It is a privilege which I fully appreciate. 
 
 Strong as may be my attachments elsewhere, and potent as 
 may be the impulse which constrains so many of your sons and 
 daughters to pursue the " star of empire," I can well under- 
 stand the sentiment whi^h is still so largely cherished, and in 
 the spirit of which you exclaim, — 
 
 " Others may seek the Western clime, 
 They say 'tis passing fair ; 
 That sunny are its laughing skies, 
 
 And soft its balmy air ; 
 We'll linger round our childhood's home 
 Till age our warm blood chills, — 
 
180 
 
 Till we die in dear New England 
 And sleep beneath her hills." 
 
 Mr. President, I bow with deference to this sentiment. In 
 this imposing presence, I confess myself all bnt a captive to its 
 regal command. 
 
 Others may calumniate this distinguished portion of our land, 
 and in the blindness of unreasoning prejudice, or impotent ma- 
 lignity, may thrust hither their poisoned shafts ; I shall never 
 cease to exult in New England as my birthplace, nor fail to 
 claim kindred with her noble sons. 
 
 Let the spirits of darkness howl upon her track, and gnash 
 their impious teeth in her face, — she remains the same New 
 England, sturdy, brave, intelligent and true, and this is enough. 
 
 Let other sections, and other localities fail and falter, and 
 turn their backs upon their obligations as they may, New Eng- 
 land holds right on her way faithful to her traditions, her duty, 
 her destiny. 
 
 We have heard much, to-day, of the class of men that set- 
 tled this portion of New England. They are the type of our 
 whole ancestral stock ; and if I were to undertake to define 
 their qualities in a word, I should say that, beyond any other 
 equal number of men, they united the greatness of action with 
 the greatness of ideas. They were not greater in the majesty 
 of great virtues than of great and heroic deeds. If they could 
 plan, so could they execute. To the faith of the Covenanter 
 they united the practical sense, the business energy, the unfail- 
 ing sagacity of the successful man of the world. They put 
 their trust in God, but they were careful to " keep their powder 
 dry." Taught the necessity of self-reliance, they were prepared, 
 as occasion called, to " stand as if a man were author of 
 himself, and knew no other kin ; " at the same time they never 
 failed to realize their dependence upon* the Almighty arm. 
 
 They established churches and schools, but beside these they 
 planted mills, reared factories, opened workshops, and multi- 
 plied facilities for commerce. While they cultivated and stim- 
 ulated the moral and intellectual forces of the people, they were 
 assiduous in developing the material and physical resources of 
 the land ; and although they inhabited a rocky and sterile coun- 
 
181 
 
 try, no people has ever been more prosperous, more independ- 
 ent, more happy, or more progressive. 
 
 It was these characteristics which made them so prominent 
 and so effective in achieving our nationality. Among the first 
 who conceived the necessity of cutting loose from the parent 
 government, they were also among the most resolute and heroic 
 in accomplishing that great object. They appreciated the fiery 
 path through which the colonics must press to final triumph ; 
 but they knew the prize was worth the cost, and cheerfully led 
 the way through the smoke and flames and carnage of revolu- 
 tion, with unfaltering trust in God and their own right arm. 
 They had read history not in vain. They knew that through 
 scenes of sacrifice and trial and danger, oftentimes through 
 the fierce din of arms, and the surging and thundering of con- 
 tending forces, nations and peoples and communities are ed- 
 ucated and disciplined up to a higher civilization and a truer life. 
 
 They, moreover, realized and understood the force and sig- 
 nificance of the sentiment before the poet wrote, — 
 
 " Oh Freedom ! thou art not as poets dream, — 
 A fair young girl, with light and delicate limbs 
 And wavy tresses ***** 
 
 A bearded man, 
 Armed to the teeth art thou ; one mailed hand 
 Grasps the broad shield, and one the sword ; thy brow, 
 Glorious in beauty though it be, is scarred 
 With tokens of old wars. Thy massive limbs 
 Are strong with struggling." 
 
 We have heard much, Mr. President, in certain localities of 
 the West, during the past year, in denunciation of New Eng- 
 land, — much, even, about dissolving the interesting relations 
 between her and the " rest of mankind," and leaving her to the 
 desperate alternative of taking care of herself. 
 
 Such allusions, Sir, are extraordinary, and I only refer to 
 them here to say that they are in no sense a correct reflection 
 of the prevailing sentiment on that subject, and find no coun- 
 tenance with fair-minded men of any party or nationality. 
 Were the proposition submitted to a vote of the people, there 
 is not a State west of Lake Erie where it would find any sub- 
 stantial indorsement. 
 
182 
 
 I have heard a public declaimer hissed into silence, in at least 
 two of the leading cities of the West, for carping at New Eng- 
 land. I have heard a Western troup sing, amid the tears and 
 cheers of a delighted auditory, — 
 
 " Hurrah for old New England 
 And her cloud-capped granite hills ! " 
 
 Why, Mr. President, in Wisconsin we feel as though we could 
 not keep house without New England ! 
 
 Her sons are in our pulpits, in our halls of legislation, in our 
 chambers of commerce, at our boards of trade, on our judicial 
 benches, in our editors' chairs, at our bars of justice. Her 
 daughters are our school-madams, our wives, our sisters, our 
 cousins, our friends. 
 
 No, we cannot part company. Not only East and West, but 
 North and South, must remain together. Our traditions, our 
 associations, our interests, our hopes, our necessities bind us 
 together. A part of the same great National Unity, our destiny 
 is one. No stripe shall be erased from our national escutcheon, 
 no star obscured. The days and hours of our trial and sacri- 
 fice are days and hours of discipline, and will have an end. 
 Forth from the fiery ordeal the Divine hand will lead us in his 
 own good time, purged and purified, and fitted for his own be- 
 neficent purposes. If true to the mighty trust which, in the 
 providence of God, has been cast upon this generation, we shall 
 earn the plaudits and benedictions of mankind. 
 
 Nor shall we fail. The day of our triumph may be postponed, 
 but it will dawn. " High o'er the eastern steep the sun is 
 beaming, and darkness flies with her deceitful shadows; so 
 truth prevails o'er error." The lightnings may rend the skies 
 and shake the earth, but the balmier breezes ; the purer air, and 
 the brighter heavens are beyond. The fury of the storm shall 
 cease, and the rainbow of peace again be painted on the sky. 
 The temple of our liberties, gravitating amid the convulsions of 
 the hour toward a broader and firmer basis, shall lift its jewelled 
 and burnished pillars far aloft, and stand secure amid the con- 
 flicts and commotions of the ages. 
 
WILLIAM PARKER COCHRAN, ESQ. 
 
 He is son of Joseph Cochran, Jr., Esq. After arriving at 
 majority, Mr. Cochran spent a short time in Lowell, Mass., 
 when, his health failing, he shipped on board the " China," 
 and visited the South Atlantic, and returned, after a cruise of 
 eleven months, with health greatly improved. Subsequently he 
 became employed by the Boston and Lowell Railroad as clerk, 
 conductor, and general ticket clerk for the corporation. Here his 
 health failed him again, and he resigned his position, and was 
 subsequently connected with the Cheshire Railroad, and is now 
 occupying an important office on the Vermont Valley Railroad, 
 having his residence at Bellows Falls. May 3, 1843, Mr. Coch- 
 ran married Nancy C. Miller, and their children are : Joseph, 
 born April 16, 1844 ; Austin, born Nov. 24, 1849 ; Cornelia, 
 born July 5, 1851, and William, born Feb. 24, 1855. 
 
 Two of Mr. Cochran's children — Austin and Cornelia — 
 died of scarlet fever, Jan. 9, 1854, at the same moment, after a 
 sickness of only twenty-four hours. 
 
 Mr. Cochran is an intelligent, christian man, enjoying exten- 
 sive confidence as a gentleman of business capacity. 
 
RESPONSE OF WILLIAM P. COCHRAN, ESQ. 
 
 The Homes of New Boston. — Good women have blessed, and religion has sancti- 
 fied them. 
 
 Mr. President, — 
 
 I thank you for the sentiment to which you request me to 
 respond. Had the topic been left to my own choice, I could 
 not have selected one more in harmony with my feelings to-day. 
 There is no place like home. No other place awakens such 
 pleasing associations, or sets in motion trains of reflection so 
 delightful. 
 
 Childhood, parental tenderness, instruction, and restraints, 
 youthful merriment and innocent sports, rich dainties and 
 abundant supplies, healthful labor and refreshing sleep, on the 
 one hand, and trials of patience, temptations to weakness, 
 severe tasks and scanty supplies, early bereavements and aching 
 hearts, on the other, cluster thick around the homes of our 
 early life, as the great Disposer of the " lot" has ordained. 
 
 The Homes of New Boston. — It was here upon these hills 
 and amid these valleys, that we first beheld the beauties of earth 
 and the splendors of heaven ; that we first heard the melodies 
 of the human voice ; of bird, of winds, and waterfalls. It was 
 here we were first startled by the lightning's flash and the 
 thunder's roar ; it was here we revelled amid scenes of pleasure, 
 free from the cares and toils, sorrows and trials of mind and 
 heart, which in later days beset our pathway. Never to be 
 obliterated are the memories of our early homes. In after 
 years, wherever we roam, whatever our fortune, rich or poor, 
 whatever our surroundings, no other place is to us so cherished 
 as the home of our childhood. These homes may have been 
 thatched cottages, and to-day we may live in palaces, yet these 
 early homes are the centre of attraction to our hearts ; we are 
 irresistibly drawn back, amid all our wanderings, to this start- 
 
 24 
 
186 
 
 ing-point of existence, the Eden from which it is well if only 
 our circumstances, not our sins, have thrust us out. 
 
 How different the homes of childhood from those of man- 
 hood ! In the former, our wants are anticipated by others ; in 
 the latter, we must care for ourselves and the precious children 
 God has given us. Our homes of to-day are not the homes of 
 our youth, though the homestead be ours, and we dwell in 
 the old family mansion. Death has broken domestic circles, 
 and the survivors are strangely dispersed ; so that he who 
 stands upon the old family hearthstone this centennial day, 
 surrounded though he may be with the lovely and the loved, 
 recalling the days of his youth, the forms that once surrounded 
 him, and the faces that smiled for him, cannot be insensible to 
 the fact that desolation lias swept that home, and rent into 
 fragments that once joyous family circle. He cannot but feel 
 solitary, like some branchless trunk of a decaying tree, which 
 stands in the open field, representing all that is left of a once 
 stately forest ; yet, for their very desolation our hearts cling 
 with tenderest interest to the dwellings of younger life, and 
 our minds are full of them when the sports and pleasures, the 
 pains and sorrows, associated with them are recalled. The 
 vain attempt to catch the robin or the sparrow by laying salt 
 upon his tail, the shooting the squirrel, and angling the fish, 
 are not only associated with homes, but they marked a period 
 in our childhood life ; they denoted development, and the ris- 
 ings of ambition. We can now remember the pride we felt on 
 the achievement of boyish success, and the consciousness of 
 glory which the most successful general hardly dares antici- 
 pate. 
 
 And our school-life, so intimately associated with early homes, 
 is not to be forgotten. The birch and ferule which few of us 
 escaped, the first lessons in " Webster's Spelling-Book," under 
 some Mary Campbell ; the reading of the story of " The Boy in 
 the Apple-tree ; " the " Dairy-maid " with her " spilled milk ; " 
 and loss of a " green dress ; " " Reynard and the Mosquitoes," 
 and " Poor Dog Tray," punished for being in bad company ; the 
 " Bull and the Ox," with their argumentative owners ; the 
 games we played ; the battles we fought, — in which Bunker Hill 
 was often taken and retaken ; those social gatherings on winter 
 
187 
 
 evenings and summer days, when " blind-man's buff," " pass- 
 ing the button," and " paying the forfeit," were our sports ; 
 autumnal huskings, when the red ear was suggestive of ruby 
 lips and rosy cheeks ; and apple " paring-bees," and the cider 
 that did not intoxicate, — the remembrance of these serves to 
 quicken our blood, and to cause us to grow young again ; and 
 they are all associated with the homes of former days, though 
 they may not belong to the present. 
 
 But New Boston homes are associated with the loom, the 
 spinning-wheel, the reel, and warping-bars, darning, knitting, 
 and sewing-needles, some of which were musical, all useful, 
 instruments too much displaced by the piano and crochet-needle. 
 To aid them in their social gatherings, young misses used to 
 take with them their spinning-wheels, each innocently striving 
 to excel all others ; and their brothers came in the evening, to see 
 the reeling, and crown any who had excelled, and sometimes to 
 select a pair of hands and a heart to aid in life's future toilings. 
 The early homes of New Boston were hives of active, busy 
 hands and cheerful hearts. The Homes of New Boston. — 
 Good women have blessed them. Yes, good women have blessed 
 these homes. We cannot forget a pious mother, her loving 
 heart and ceaseless watchings ; nor can we fail to be influenced 
 by what she did and what she was to us. It was her hand that 
 pressed our fevered brow, and her care, with God's blessing, 
 that restored our strength. She saved us from many a heart- 
 ache, dried many a tear, .shielded from many a temptation, and 
 secured by her intercessions much succor from the unseen 
 Power. More to us than all the world besides have been the 
 eyes, the hands, and the hearts of our mothers. And the loss 
 of a Christian mother cannot be replaced. Once lost she is 
 lost forever. Go the wide world over, and nothing will be 
 found to fill the aching void. There is no home for a child, 
 where there is no mother ; nothing can serve in the stead of 
 her love ; neither distance nor years can wean us from it ; time 
 and distance but open our minds and hearts to a truer sense of 
 its value ; the further we wander, and the longer we stay from 
 the scenes of early attachments, the more intense become our 
 longings to live over again the innocent days of our childhood, 
 when we rested our weary heads on the bosom of a loving 
 
188 
 
 mother, and were lulled to sleep by the sweet music of her 
 voice. 
 
 The Homes of New Boston. — Good women have blessed, 
 and religion has sanctified them. Nothing is more obvious 
 than the happy influence of Christian women and religion on 
 the households of New Boston. And it was here in our child- 
 hood's home that we first learned our accountability to God, 
 and of salvation through Jesus Christ. Household religious 
 instruction has always been one of the great mercies which a 
 kind Providence has conferred upon New Boston. The cate- 
 chism was earliest used as a means of storing the minds of the 
 young with Scriptural truths ; and this was generally taught, 
 and its influence in time can never be fully estimated. 
 
 In 1819, the Sabbath school was first organized in this town, 
 and it then excited a lively interest. It was intended especially 
 for the benefit of children, but our parents were not less inter- 
 ested therein, and it was at home, under their superintendence, 
 •that we learned our lessons, which consisted of committing to 
 memory passages of Scripture. Question-books and commen- 
 taries which children could use were unknown in those days. 
 Our parents were in place of them. The Bible was our text- 
 book, and Sabbath evenings were especially set apart for relig- 
 ious conversation and instruction. And pleasant indeed were 
 those Sabbath gatherings of families for the recital of what re- 
 ligious truth we had learned, and receiving more. Long and 
 thankfully to be remembered are those Sabbath evenings, when 
 all were free and eager to ask questions, which our parents 
 kindly solved and reduced to our comprehension. Whether 
 this practice was general, I cannot say ; but I know it was ob- 
 served in many families. And where this practice has been 
 discontinued, and the religious and moral instruction of children 
 has been wholly confided to Sunday-school teachers, and we go 
 about the streets boasting of the great advantages of our chil- 
 dren, in the privileges they have in Sunday-school books and 
 teachers, it becomes us to remember the days of our fathers, 
 and to inquire into their practice in training their children ; for 
 it may be that we shall find ourselves gathering only bundles 
 of straw where they reaped golden sheaves of wheat. If we 
 would have our homes sanctified as were the homes of our 
 
189 
 
 fathers, we must practice home religious instruction ; otherwise, 
 we may bring sorrow to our dwellings, and misery to our chil- 
 dren's heritage. 
 
 For such instruction, the homes of New Boston were greatly 
 indebted to the good women whom God raised up to shed a 
 profusion of light in their dwellings. Such mothers made these 
 homes sanctuaries of peace and happiness. It was the wives 
 and mothers, with strong minds and healthy bodies and sancti- 
 fied hearts, that gave to this town so many model homes, and a 
 generation of sons and daughters who are here to-day, loyal to 
 their country, true to their God and to the principles that made 
 the place of our nativity no mean inheritance. Diffusing the 
 spirit of religion through their households, they made these 
 hills and valleys attractive to childhood ; and the remembrance 
 of them and the homes they hallowed, has drawn us from our 
 distant fields of activity to the scenes of our early life, to bear 
 our testimony to their worthiness, and to give assurance to the 
 living and those that shall live after us, of our gratitude to 
 God for such homes, and such mothers, and the religion that 
 made them all that they were of good then, and now, and for 
 time to come. 
 
 And now, Mr. President, I close with the following sentiment ; 
 a prayer from a sincere and loving heart : — 
 
 The present and future Homes of New Boston. — May 
 equally virtuous mothers, bless them, and their pure religion 
 hallow them, rendering them the abodes of economy, industry, 
 and godliness. 
 
THE ABSENT. 
 
 The number of those who have emigrated from New Boston 
 is very large. They are to be found in all parts of the country, 
 and in almost all departments of activity. 
 
 On the occasion of the centennial, it was not anticipated that 
 all would return, though a large number was expected, and 
 that expectation was more than realized ; they came from 
 regions far remote, overcoming huge obstacles, and making 
 great sacrifices, all drawn by a mighty attraction to the homes 
 of their childhood and the graves of their ancestors. And 
 though both days of the celebration were crowded with rich 
 thoughts, delightful memories, and cordial greetings, yet the 
 absent were not forgotten. Those who had been so long absent 
 as to be nearly forgotten were by associations brought vividly 
 before the mind, and those who had not neglected their an- 
 cestral honies were remembered with tender interest ; while 
 those who had gone for the defence of our Government, and for 
 the preservation of our Union against a foul conspiracy, were 
 made the objects of most earnest prayer and of tenderest recol- 
 lections. 
 
I)R. CHARLES COCHRAN. 
 
 He was the youngest son of John Cochran, Esq., born June 
 9, 1816. His mother was Frances, daughter of the late Dr. 
 Jonathan Gove. He prepared for college atHopkinton, and Fian- 
 cestown academies, and spent two years in Ohio ; but in 1837 
 returned and took charge of Sandwich Academy. After two 
 years of teaching his health failing him, he returned to Ohio, 
 and in 1840, commenced studying medicine with his brother, 
 Dr. Jeremiah S. Cochran of Sandusky, and graduated at Wil- 
 loughby Medical University in 1843, and practised in Sandusky 
 until 1850, and settled in Toledo in 1861, where he now resides, 
 highly esteemed as a gentleman and a physician. 
 
 Dr. Cochran married Mary A. Norris of Sandwich, N. H., in 
 1847. 
 
EESPONSE OF DE. CHAELES COCHEAN. 
 
 The Emigeant Sons of New Boston — They speak for themselves. 
 
 Mr. President, — 
 
 The orator of the day has spoken eloquently. While you 
 have listened to his glowing words, you may have thought of 
 others, who would gladly have stood before you to give expres- 
 sion to the joyous sentiments suggested by the anniversary of 
 our country's birth, and by the rare event that has called so 
 many of the sons and daughters of the town from their scattered 
 homes. Others, who have responded to sentiments proposed, 
 have spoken words that have waked up sleeping memories, and 
 recalled incidents of by-gone years. All these have spoken ; 
 you have heard their words of cheer. 
 
 It is not of these I desire to speak, but of the absent ones, 
 whose hearts this day beat with patriotism as pure and as 
 strong as do yours. Some are scattered through the different 
 States, engaged in peaceful avocations. Others have taken up 
 arms in defence of their country. All these speak. Perhaps I 
 cannot better interpret their language than by giving incidents 
 that have occurred in the life-history of some. 
 
 On the 13th day of April, 1862, a staunch steamer, chartered 
 by the governor of the State of Ohio, lay in the Tennesee River 
 tied up at Pittsburgh Landing. Notice was soon circulated 
 through the camp of the great army that then lay on that sadly 
 memorable field, that the wounded soldiers of Ohio would be 
 cared for, and removed to commodious hospitals nearer home. 
 Among the first sufferers brought on board that hospital boat 
 was a poor fellow whose leg was shattered by a musket-ball. 
 One of those who carried the litter on which he was stretched 
 was a tall, broad-shouldered man, wearing the uniform of a 
 private soldier. I was soon busy dressing the wound. While 
 the tall soldier watched the process, I asked his nativity, " New 
 Boston, New Hampshire," he replied. Just then a gush of 
 
196 
 
 blood from the wound demanded my attention, when it was 
 stanched, and I looked up, the tall soldier was gone. During 
 the afternoon and far into the night, I frequently saw the same 
 brave, tender-hearted soldier, bringing in the wounded. Near 
 midnight, when I was at leisure, the tall soldier was engaged in 
 other duties, or taking his rest. I never knew his name nor he 
 mine. His gentle, patient, long-continued efforts to relieve his 
 suffering fellow-soldiers proved him one of nature's noblemen. 
 He speaks not for himself alone. The heart of every son and 
 daughter of the old native town will think with pride, that such 
 a man first breathed God's air among these rugged hills. 
 
 Another youthful son of the town, one pleasant day last year, 
 was sauntering through the streets of a little town in Missouri. 
 He was met by a red-whiskered, long-haired, uncombed, un- 
 shaven, and unwashed, butternut-clad native, who, with oaths 
 and coarse ribaldry, charged him with being a son of New Eng- 
 land, and of loyalty to his country. That man, erect, showing 
 every inch of stature with which God had endowed him, replied, 
 " I am a son of New England, and I am loyal to my country 
 and to her flag." The cowardly assassin shot him dead. When 
 the names of brave dead, fallen during this rebellion, shall be 
 enrolled, that of the martyred Richmond Cochran shall stand 
 prominent, and will hold a cherished place in the hearts of 
 many here assembled to-day. 
 
 These instances of devotion to country, and to the good of 
 fellow-men, do but epitomize the deeds of many of the absent 
 sons of New Boston. The minister of the gospel, the lawyer, 
 the doctor, the merchant, the mechanic and the farmer (for 
 all these professions are by them represented), each in his 
 sphere, nobly does his duty, and, if present here to-day, each 
 would echo every noble sentiment that has been uttered in 
 your hearing. The emigrant sons of New Boston do indeed 
 speak for themselves, by the noble, manly deeds that fill up 
 their daily life. They speak of whatsoever is pure and of good 
 repute here, and of brighter hopes and more glorious prospects 
 hereafter. In conclusion, permit me to propose, — 
 
 The Fathers and Brothers at Home. May they unite with 
 the absent ones in one long, loud shout, " Our country first, 
 last, always one and undivided." 
 
PEELEY DODGE, ESQ, 
 
 Mr. Dodge's ancestors are believed to have come from the 
 North of Wales, and were among the early settlers in Massa- 
 chusetts Bay. His father, William Dodge, came from Hamil- 
 ton, Essex County, Mass., in 1787, and settled where his son, 
 Samuel, now resides. Before coming to New Boston, he mar- 
 ried Rachel Poland, and their children were three sons and six 
 daughters, all of whom lived to have families. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was the youngest son. He fitted 
 for college at Pinkerton, Salisbury, and Francestown academies, 
 and with Rev. E. P. Bradford. He entered Dartmouth Col- 
 lege in 1820 ; subsequently went to Union College, whence he 
 graduated in 1824, and read law with Titus Brown of Frances- 
 town, and Nehemiah Eastman, of Farmington, and was ad- 
 mitted to practice in 1828. He commenced practice at Fran- 
 cestown, subsequently opened an office at New Boston, but in 
 1832 removed to Amherst, and in 1839 was appointed Clerk of 
 the Courts of Hillsborough County, which office he retained 
 nearly eighteen years. 
 
 In 1831, he married Harriet Woodbury, of Francestown, — a 
 sister of the late Levi Woodbury, — and is now in the success- 
 ful practice of law in Amherst, enjoying the comforts of afflu- 
 ence and the confidence of the community. 
 

 ." i -: ore's 1 fn 
 
RESPONSE OE PEELEY DODGE, ESQ. 
 
 The Lawyees of New Boston — At home and abroad. 
 
 Mr. President, — 
 
 This is an epoch in our lives' history. Our various tasks are 
 forsaken for this joyous commingling of hearts, and rehearsals 
 of human acts and Providential overrulings. We represent all 
 classes and all avocations, — the tiller of the soil, the toiler in 
 the shop, the merchant at his counter, the physician at the bed 
 of sickness, the lawyer in his office, and the pastor in his study. 
 And we here recognize the union of all these, the need of all 
 these, to the highest well-being of society. All these have here 
 spoken but the lawyer. In his behalf you call upon me to 
 speak. This I do with pleasure. There existed, for a long 
 time, a decided aversion to the legal profession among no incon- 
 siderable portion of the community. But that has disappeared, 
 and all intelligent men recognize the necessity of the profession 
 to the execution of laws and the maintaining of justice. The 
 rights of individuals would be in constant jeopardy but for those 
 skilled in the law, in detecting fraud and exposing wickedness. 
 The profession may sometimes serve to shield the wrongdoer, 
 but a thousand times oftener does it bring to light the hidden 
 works of darkness. The guilty, not the innocent, dread the 
 lawyer, and the injured find him to be the friend in time of 
 need. 
 
 In 1772, when Hillsborough County was organized, there was 
 no member of the legal profession between Amherst and Clare- 
 mont. The first lawyer who attempted to establish himself in 
 practice above Amherst, was Samuel Bell, afterwards Judge, 
 Governor of the State, and Senator in Congress. He opened an 
 office in Francestown ; but the people were greatly exasperated 
 at his audacity, pronounced him an invader upon their rights, 
 and threatened him with violence. But his manly deportment 
 
200 
 
 and strict adherence to justice soon overcame their prejudice, 
 and won their confidence. 
 
 New Boston has never been an inviting field for the legal 
 profession. Its location is not sufficiently central to attract 
 business from surrounding towns, and the people have not 
 sought to encourage litigation. Once on a time I opened an 
 office here, but soon found that if there was bread to spare in 
 any other region, it was not wise for me to remain and famish. 
 No one else has had equal daring. And yet New Boston has 
 contributed much to the support of lawyers in other towns. To 
 their patronage Steele and Gove, Brown and Danforth, Hazel- 
 ton, Sawyer, Parker, Means, and Atherton, have been greatly 
 indebted. Is it certain that though this town boasts that it has 
 no lawyer, it really has been for its interest ? There is, at least, 
 room for doubt. Be that as it may, it is certain the lawyer 
 here has gained no laurels. Nor has New Boston raised up 
 many of her sons for the legal profession ; but of those she has 
 given, there is no occasion for shame. William Willson became 
 a leader, and rose to eminence. He was the son of Alexander 
 Willson, born in that part of the town once known as Egypt, 
 " because there was much corn there." He graduated at Dart- 
 mouth College in 1797, settled in Ohio, and in 1823 became 
 Judge of the Supreme Court in that growing State, and subse- 
 quently was elected member of Congress, and died in 1827, 
 aged 55. 
 
 Of Josiah W. Fairfield, I need not speak. He has spoken for 
 himself, in your presence, as no man can without commanding 
 profound respect. Of Clark B. Cochrane this community will 
 never be ashamed, so long as they can appreciate eloquence and 
 approve of what is excellent. James Crombie, of New York, 
 Lorenzo Fairbanks of Philadelphia, and Christopher C. Lang- 
 dell, of New York, have already gained, or are rapidly gain- 
 ing, eminence in the profession. Of my humble self I have 
 nothing to say. Of the rest I can speak with pride. I am 
 proud to know that the sons of New Boston adorn all the profes- 
 sions, and not least, the legal. Other communities delight to 
 do them honor. And it is not a little grateful to know that 
 they are appreciated at home. And rest assured, Mr. President, 
 that we will endeavor, in all coming time, to do credit to the 
 
201 
 
 place of our birth, and give no occasion for the " old folks " at 
 home to be ashamed of those whom they have sent forth upon 
 the broad theatre of activity. 
 
 Mr. Dodge prepared interesting biographical sketches of 
 most of the legal gentlemen to whom he refers ; but as similar 
 sketches precede their papers in this work, they have been 
 omitted in his, while we append other names, with such facts 
 as have come to hand. 
 
 John Gove, son of Dr. Jonathan Gove, was born in New Bos- 
 ton," Feb. 17, 1771, graduated at Dartmouth College in 1793, 
 read law with W. Gordon, commenced practice in Goffstown in 
 1797, and removed to Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1802, and died the 
 same year, aged 31. 
 
 Charles Frederick Gove was the son of Dr. Jonathan Gove 
 by his second wife. He was born May 13, 1793, graduated at 
 Dartmouth College in 1817, read law with J. Forsaith, Dane 
 Law School, commenced practice in Goffstown in 1820, where 
 he remained till 1839, when he removed to Nashville, now 
 Nashua, and represented that town in the State Legislature in 
 1830, '31, '32, '33, '34. He was President of the State Senate 
 in 1835, was Solicitor from 1834 to 1837, Attorney General from 
 1837 to 1842, and appointed Circuit Judge of the Court of 
 Common Pleas in 1842. Subsequently, he resigned his judge- 
 si lip, and became Superintendent of the Nashua and Lowell 
 Railroad, and died in 1850, aged G3. 
 
 Judge Gove married Mary H. Gay, of Nashua, but left no 
 children. 
 
 Robert Clark Cochran is the son of the late John D. Coch- 
 ran. He was born Nov. 4, 1813, and married Mary Means, 
 daughter of Rev. E. P. Bradford, and lives in Gallatin, Miss., 
 practising law. 
 
 Jesse McCurdy is the son of the late James McCurdy ; his 
 mother is the youngest child of the Rev. Solomon Moor. He 
 graduated at Dartmouth College in the Class of 1852. He 
 taught school several years in Mississippi, and is now practising 
 law in Quitman, of that State. 
 
 Christopher C. Langdell is the son of John Langdell ; his 
 mother was Lydia, daughter of the late Joseph Beard, and sis- 
 
202 
 
 ter of Jesse Beard, Esq. He fitted for college at Exeter Acad- 
 emy, and graduated at Harvard, and is now practising law in 
 the city of New York. 
 
 Seth Fairfield is the son of Benjamin Fairfield, Esq., and a 
 graduate of Waterville College, Me. He went into Mississippi, 
 taught school some years, and is now in the practice of the 
 legal profession in that State. 
 
 Ninian Clark Betton was son of Samuel Betton, who came to 
 New Boston from Windham, and married Anna Ramsey, sister 
 of the wife of Ninian Clark, Esq., near whom Mr. Betton re- 
 sided until his death, which occurred Oct. 9, 1790 ; and his wife 
 died Nov. 23, 1790. These parents left two sons, Ninian Clark 
 and James, the oldest being less than four years of age. James 
 died in early manhood. Ninian, at the age of about five years, 
 was placed under the care of Robert Boyd, whose wife was a 
 kind-hearted woman, who, having no children of her own, loved 
 those of other parents, and took great pleasure in caring for the 
 orphan and needy. Here young Betton spent ten years of his 
 childhood, always expressing great gratitude for the kindness 
 of heart and the wise counsels of Mrs. Boyd. 
 
 After his removal from New Boston, at the age of fourteen, 
 he was sent to school for a while, and subsequently placed in a 
 store, as clerk. But, having no taste for mercantile life, he re- 
 solved to obtain a liberal education. He studied at Atkinson 
 Academy, and entered Dartmouth College, whence he gradu- 
 ated with the reputation of high scholarship, having the late 
 Rev. Samuel Clark for his classmate. 
 
 The following notice of Mr. Betton was written by a member 
 of the Suffolk Bar, and appeared in one of the Boston news- 
 papers on the day of his death, Nov. 19, 1856 : — 
 
 " Death of a Member of the Suffolk Bar. — Died in 
 this city, this morning, Ninian C. Betton, Esq., counsellor-at- 
 law, aged 68 years. 
 
 " Mr. Betton was a native of New Boston, N. H., and studied 
 his profession under the direction of the late Hon. Ezekiel 
 Webster, and afterwards under the direction of his distin- 
 guished brother, Daniel Webster. 
 
 " Mr. Betton was admitted to practice in this city in October, 
 
203 
 
 1817, since which time, with a short interval spent in New 
 Hampshire, he has resided with us in Boston. He was a well- 
 bred lawyer, and an honest, upright man. He has performed 
 all his duties, in every relation of life, faithfully, and goes to 
 his tomb with the sincere regret and undissembled respect of a 
 large circle of friends, who have long known and valued him 
 for his sterling good sense and honest independence of charac- 
 ter. Mr. Betton was well read^ in his profession, and was a 
 skilful and safe counsellor. He never delayed an honest claim- 
 ant in obtaining his just claim, and never aided a dishonest man 
 in prosecuting an unjust demand." 
 
 Mr. Betton, January 10, 1821, married Miss W. J., daughter 
 of the late Silas Betton, whose wife was Mary, daughter of the 
 distinguished Matthew Thornton, signer of the Declaration. 
 They had three sons ; of whom one, George E., survives. He 
 succeeds his father in the successful practice of the legal pro- 
 fession in Boston. 
 
DR. JAMES H. CROMBIE. 
 
 His father was Dr. James Crombie, who practised in Fran- 
 cestown and Temple, and died in Deny. Dr. James H. Crom- 
 bie studied medicine with his father and the late Dr. Amos 
 Twitchell, of Keene, attending lectures at Woodstock, Vt., and 
 Boston, Mass., and graduating at the medical department of 
 Dartmouth College, 1838. He commenced practice the same 
 year at Francestown, with his father, but removed to Derry, in 
 1850, where he now resides, having an extensive business. He 
 married Sarah Frances, daughter of Alexander Wilson, Esq., 
 of Francestown, in 1844. 
 
KESPONSE OF DE. CEOMBIE. 
 
 New Boston Physicians, at Home and Abroad. — Their skill to heal and power 
 to console have made them welcome visitors in chambers of sickness. 
 
 Mr. President, — 
 
 I cheerfully respond to the sentiment just announced. Though 
 I cannot claim the honor of being born in New Boston, yet my 
 father did, and here his fathers' dust reposes, and here " my 
 best friends and kindred " were born, and here many of them 
 yet live. And so identified are all my associations and feelings 
 with this town, that I find it difficult to realize that I was not 
 born here. Born here or not, I love New Boston with all the 
 affection of a dutiful son. And I thank you, Mr. President, 
 for allowing me the privilege of enjoying and contributing 
 something towards the interest of this hour. With so many 
 familiar and loved faces, with so many cordial greetings, and 
 such glorious memories as have been arrayed before us to-day, 
 it may seem unkind to call up before you a succession of men 
 with whom you associate all mortal diseases and nauseating 
 remedies. And yet, the history of the physicians of this town 
 is an important part of its whole history. Nor, I am constrained 
 to believe, can it be denied that most of them had power to heal 
 and to console. Many a chamber of sickness has been cheered 
 by their presence, and many an aching heart has been com- 
 forted by their words of sympathy. Indeed, it is this skill to 
 heal and power to console which always makes the honest, 
 christian physician a most welcome visitor at the bedside of the 
 sufferer. And no other physician is worthy the confidence of 
 the sick. A physician without respect for divine truth, and 
 reverence for God, with no sympathy for the sufferer, is un- 
 worthy the trust committed to him, however great his skill. 
 Matthew Thornton was a christian physician, and is believed 
 to be the first who practised in this town. He was born in 
 
208 
 
 Ireland, 1714, the son of James Thornton, who emigrated to 
 this country about 1717. Dr. Thornton commenced the prac- 
 tice of medicine in Londonderry, and " acquired a high and 
 extensive reputation as a physican, and, in the course of several 
 years of successful practice, became comparatively wealthy." 
 He became a proprietor of New Boston, and purchased a farm 
 east of that now owned by Mr. George W. Clark, where he re- 
 mained some years, and greatly endeared himself to the people. 
 It will be remembered that, in 1745, Dr. Thornton joined the 
 expedition against Cape Breton, as a surgeon in the New 
 Hampshire division of the army, consisting of five hundred 
 men ; and that at the commencement of the Revolutionary war 
 he held the rank of a colonel in the militia. He was also com- 
 missioned justice of the peace under the administration of 
 Benning Wentworth, and was appointed president of the Pro- 
 vincial Convention in 1775, and the following year was ap- 
 pointed to represent the State of New Hampshire in Congress, 
 and signed the Declaration of Independence. He removed to 
 Merrimack, and died June 24, 1803, aged eighty-nine years. 
 
 Dr. Thornton had great native wit, and loved a joke. Riding- 
 past an old man whose occupation was the making of grave- 
 stones, he said, " Well, Wyatt, do you not sometimes pray that 
 people would die faster, that your business might increase ? " 
 The old man calmly replied, " I cannot say but I have done a 
 thing of the kind in my life, but there is no need of doing it 
 any longer, for there is a fop of a thing by the name of Thorn- 
 ton come to town, and he will kill off two while I can make 
 gravestones for one ! " Of course Thornton put spurs to his 
 horse. 
 
 Mrs. Webster, of Boscawen, a granddaughter of Dr. Thorn- 
 ton, relates the following incidents : Daniel Webster once 
 called her attention to a story he was about to tell to a party of 
 ladies and gentlemen in the orchard at the Elm Farm, in Frank- 
 lin. Said Mr. Webster, " When I was a little boy I was very 
 feeble, hardly considered worth raising ; but Judge Thornton 
 came to my father's, on his way home from Thornton, where 
 he had been to look after his farms, and in the morning the 
 two walked into the orchard, sat down on those primitive 
 rocks, to enjoy the pleasant prospect of Elm Farm and the 
 
209 
 
 Merrimac River, and I lingered near to enjoy their conversa- 
 tion. At length my father asked Dr. Thornton what he could 
 do for his boy, Daniel. Dr. Thornton professionally examined 
 me, and. then picked from the rock some moss, and said, ' Let 
 his mother boil it in milk, and the lad drink freely of it.' It 
 was done, and here I am, an able-bodied man, stout enough to 
 wield a sledge-hammer. How much I am indebted to the hon- 
 orable signer of the Declaration for my present health, God 
 only knows ! " 
 
 " Judge Thornton married Hannah Jackson, a beautiful young 
 girl of eighteen years, whom he promised, when a child, to wait 
 for and marry, as a reward for her taking some disagreeable 
 medicine." 
 
 Dr. Jonathan Gove came hereabout the year 1770. He was 
 an excellent physician, and highly esteemed. Dr. Gove was a 
 nervous, energetic man, fond of fun, and enjoyed a joke. He 
 was riding on the Sabbath, at the time the Sabbath law was in 
 operation, on business not connected with his profession, and 
 was stopped by a tything-man, and asked where he was riding 
 on the Sabbath ? His reply was, " Sir, I am a doctor, and that 
 man is after me ! " referring to a man who happened to be 
 riding behind him. The result was, both went on unmolested. 
 He was a Tory, yet was promoted to all the offices at the dis- 
 posal of the town. He passed through a scene of great excite- 
 ment relative to small-pox, and finally removed to Goffstown, 
 where he died. His son John graduated at Dartmouth Col- 
 lege in 1793, and became a lawyer. His son Frederick was 
 the late Judge Gove. 
 
 Dr. McMillen was contemporary with Dr. Gove, and possessed 
 some skill, and was followed by his son, Dr. Abraham McMillen, 
 both dying in town. 
 
 Dr. Eastman studied with Dr. Gove, and succeeded him for 
 a few years, and then removed to Hollis. 
 
 Dr. Lincoln succeeded Dr. Eastman ; was a pleasant man 
 but not very skilful ; was an enterprising citizen, built a store 
 and mills, but, becoming intemperate, met with reverses, and 
 left town. 
 
 Dr. William Cutter, from Jaffrey, succeeded him. His wife 
 was an Evans, of Peterboro'. He had something to do with 
 
 27 
 
210 
 
 the digging up of the dead body of a child, and roused the 
 indignation of the community. He returned to Jafirey. 
 
 Dr. John Whipple was son of John Whipple, and was born 
 April 29, 1776. He studied with Dr. Samuel Shepherd, of 
 Brentwood, commenced practice in New Boston in 1800, and 
 married, June 29, 1800, Hannah, daughter of Solomon Dodge. 
 He was a successful practitioner, and a man of considerable 
 business capacity. 
 
 Dr. Winthrop Brown, from Maine, came here in the year 
 1813 or 1814. He was one of three children at a birth. He 
 stayed some four years, and had some practice. 
 
 Dr. Dalton succeeded Dr. Brown. He came to town in the 
 year 1818 or 1819, from Newburyport, Mass. He was a large, 
 tall, fine-looking man, and won the favor of all. He was the 
 only child of a sea-captain, his father dying when he was young. 
 He was a christian man. 
 
 Dr. Perkins succeeded Dr. Dalton. He married a daughter 
 of John Cochran, Esq. He practised a few years, and aban- 
 doned the profession for the ministry, and is now preaching in 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 Next came Dr. David Bradford. He was son of Rev. Moses 
 Bradford, of Francestown ; he practised successfully some two 
 or three years, and then removed to Montague, Mass., where he 
 now resides. Then came Dr. Francis Fitch, son of Dr. Fitch, 
 of Greenfield. He practised satisfactorily to his employers for 
 several years, when he removed to Amherst, where he con- 
 tinues a respectable practice. Dr. James Danforth is next in 
 course. He is son of a very respectable lawyer in Tyngsboro', 
 Josiah Danforth, formerly of Weare ; he graduated at the medical 
 college at Hanover, very acceptably, in 1838, and commenced 
 the practice of medicine in 1841, in which he has continued 
 successfully ever since. In 1843, he married Margaret, 
 daughter of Mr. William Clark ; she deceased some years since. 
 Dr. Moses Atwood came next to town. He was son of Mr. 
 David Atwood, of Lyndeboro'. He practised homeopathy, and 
 was removed by death after a few months. Dr. Nelson P. 
 Clark, who now practises in town, came last. He was born 
 March 8, 1824. He is son of Samuel Clark, of Hubbardstown, 
 Mass. He studied medicine at Concord, N. H., with George 
 
211 
 
 Hains and Edward H. Parker, commencing practice in 1850, at 
 Andover, N. H., and came to New Boston, 1857. January 15, 
 1859, he married Susan P., daughter of Mr. W. W. Knowlton, 
 of Northwood, N. H., and has an increasing business. 
 
 We have now completed the list of physicians who have 
 practised in this town. We now glance at those who have gone 
 into other places. 
 
 Dr. James Crombie, whose history is familiar to many of this 
 audience, studied medicine with Dr. Benjamin Jones, of Lynde- 
 boro', whose daughter he subsequently married, and commenced 
 practice in Temple, N. H., in 1798. In 1820, he removed from 
 Temple to Francestown, where he continued to practice until 
 1850, when he removed to Derry. February, 1855, he died. 
 Samuel Crombie, brother of the foregoing, studied medicine 
 and practised in Waterford, Me., for a few years, and there died, 
 a young man. 
 
 Dr. AVilliam Ferson was son of James Ferson, and grandson 
 of the early James Ferson, and graduated at Dartmouth Col- 
 lege, in 1797 ; he practised medicine in Gloucester, Mass., and 
 died there. I saw a gentleman, a resident of Gloucester, yes- 
 terday, who told me that Dr. Ferson was a very successful 
 practitioner in that place for several years ; that he held many 
 responsible offices in town, and was treasurer of the Glou- 
 cester Savings Bank, with a capital of three hundred and fifty 
 thousand dollars ; that he was considered a man of strict vera- 
 city, and highly respected. He died in 1853, aged seventy-nine. 
 
 Dr. Alexander McCollum practised medicine in Pittston, 
 Maine, where he yet resides. Dr. Samuel Gregg studied med- 
 icine with Dr. Dalton, went to Medford, Mass., subsequently 
 became a homeopathist, and removed to .Boston, where he now 
 enjoys an extensive practice. Dr. Jeremiah Cochran, son of 
 John Cochran, Esq., studied medicine with Dr. Dalton, and 
 removed to Sandusky, Ohio, where, after some years of success- 
 ful practice, he died. His brother Charles succeeded him, and 
 is now favorably known in the practice of medicine in Toledo, 
 Ohio. Dr. Horace Wason, son of James Wason, was born 
 December, 4, 1817, and died November 13, 1847. He 
 studied with Dr. Fitch, attended a course of lectures at Han- 
 over, and graduated at Castleton, Vt. He commenced the 
 
212 
 
 practice of medicine at Manchester, Mass., but soon abandoned 
 the field, and died. He was a young man of much promise. 
 Dr. Thomas Hamilton Cochran, son of John D. Cochran, took 
 his degree of doctor of medicine at Hanover in 1840, com- 
 menced practice in New Ipswich, in September of the same 
 year, and continued there until 1853, when he removed to West 
 Rutland, Vermont, and hi the winter of 1862-3, was ap- 
 pointed As: istant Surgeon United States Army, in the hospital 
 of Louisville, Kentucky. 
 
 Dr. Daniel Mar den, son of Solomon Marden, studied medicine 
 with Dr. Danforth, graduated at Hanover, and commenced 
 practice at Goshen, N. H., and is now practising in Peru, Vt. 
 
 We have good assurance that most if not " all these have 
 obtained a good report," and have honored the place of their 
 nativity. At home and abroad, their skill to heal and power to 
 console have made them, not only welcome visitors in chambers 
 of sickness, but blessings to those who have come within the 
 range of their influence. And, in closing, permit me, Mr. 
 President, to offer the following sentiment : — 
 
 New Boston — a venerable centenarian ! — All honor to her ; 
 to her worthy matrons and her noble sires. Her daughters 
 have cheered and made happy many a fireside ; and her sons, 
 like the sturdy oaks and majestic pines of their native forests, 
 have nobly borne themselves against the winds and storms of 
 life's conflict, successfully rising above what is base, and aspir- 
 ing to what is ennobling. 
 
 In addition to the interesting sketches above given by Dr. 
 Crombie, we subjoin the following : — 
 
 Nathaniel Peabody % was the son of Francis Peabody, who, 
 about 1779, settled on what is now the Town Farm. Nathaniel 
 studied medicine, graduating at Hanover in 1800, and practised 
 in Massachusetts, and died in New Jersey. He married Eliza 
 Palmer, and left four children : Nathaniel, now in Boston ; 
 Elizabeth, who is unmarried, greatly distinguished as a teacher 
 and authoress ; Mary Taylor, who became the wife of the Hon. 
 Horace Mann, late president of Antioch College, and has her 
 residence in Concord, Mass. ; and Sophia, who became the wife 
 of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the celebrated poet. 
 
213 
 
 Dr. Moses Atwoocl, it may be added to what Dr. Crombie has 
 said, was born in Pelham, April 6, 1801, and died in New 
 Boston, April 28, 1850. He married, for his first wife, Mary 
 Lewis, of Francestown, November 24, 1835 ; and she died June 
 21, 1844. His second wife was Julia Ann Chickering, of Am- 
 herst, to whom he was married May 5, 1846. 
 
 Dr. Atwood studied medicine with Dr. Israel Herrick, of 
 Lyndeborough, and Dr. Luther Farley, of Francestown. 
 
 He began the practice of medicine in North Lyndeborough, in 
 1827 ; thence he removed to Deering, and thence to Frances- 
 town. 
 
 His practice was allopathic until 1841, when he studied 
 homeopathy with Dr. Samuel Gregg, of Boston, and was the 
 first American who practised homeopathy in New Hampshire, 
 and the tenth in New England. 
 
 In 1837, he removed from Francestown to Concord, where, 
 under excessive labor, his health became impaired, and he re- 
 tired to the quiet village of New Boston, where he died, greatly 
 lamented. As a physician he ranked high, and was not less 
 esteemed for the many excellences of his character. He left a 
 widow and one son ; the son now lives in Francestown, and his 
 widow is now the estimable wife of the Rev. Benjamin Clark, 
 of Chelmsford, Mass. 
 
 Dr. E. G. Kelley is the only child of John Kelley, who at the 
 time of his son's birth lived on the. farm where Luther Colburn 
 resides, but is now living in Newport. Dr. Kelley was born 
 September 29, 1812 ; his mother's name was Betsey, daughter of 
 Nehemiah Dodge, of New Boston. He studied medicine two 
 years with Dr. Muzzy, then of Hanover, and one year at Phila- 
 delphia, where he graduated at Jefferson Medical College in 
 March, 1838. Since which time he has lived and practised 
 dentistry chiefly in the city of Newburyport, Mass., where he 
 now resides, devoting himself to horticultural pursuits, his 
 residence being known as the " Evergreens" of Lord Dexter 
 notoriety. Dr. Kelley married Hannah P., daughter of the Hon. 
 E. S. Rand, of Newburyport, October 21, 1840, and has four 
 children : Emily R., born August 11, 1841 : Edward A., born 
 March 18, 1845, now a member of the second class in Dart- 
 mouth College ; Mary H., born March 8, 1853 ; and George 
 Wallace, born November 7, 1858. 
 
214 
 
 Dr. Jonathan Gove was born in Lincoln, Mass. His parents 
 were John Gove and Tabitha Livermore, their children being 
 three sons and one daughter. Jonathan was born September 3, 
 1746 ; graduated at Harvard College, studied medicine in Groton 
 Mass., and settled in New Boston. He married Mary Hub- 
 bard, of Groton, Mass., by whom he had five children : John, 
 born February 17, 1771, and died in Chillicothe, Ohio ; Lucinda, 
 born May 25, 1772, and died May 7, 1775 ; Frances, born 
 November 27, 1773, and became the wife of Capt. John Cochran, 
 known in later years as Esquire John Cochran, of New Boston ; 
 Mary B., born January 7, 1775, and became the wife of 
 Thomas Stark ; George Brydges Rodney, born December 20, 
 1781, married Hannah Woodbury, of Weare, and is now living 
 in Fort Covington, New York. 
 
 After the death of his first wife, Dr. Gove married, for his 
 second, Polly Dow, Jan. 6», 1791, by whom he had children 
 as follows : Clarissa, born March 17, 1792, who became 
 the wife of William McQuestion, of Bedford, and had three 
 children, subsequently marrying, for her second husband, John 
 Richards, of Goffstown, by whom she had three children ; 
 Charles Frederick, who was born May 13, 1793, married 
 Mary K. Gay, of Nashua, and died leaving no children ; Wil- 
 liam Clark, who was born July 8, 1796, married Sally Neal, 
 by whom he had three children, himself dying when a young 
 man ; Lucretia, who became the wife of Dr. John Gilchrist, 
 and died in Canada, leaving six children. 
 
 Dr. Gove removed to Goffstown in 1794, consequently all his 
 children but the last two were born in New Boston. Dr. Gove 
 died in 1818, and his widow in 1837. 
 
 Alexander McCollom was born Feb. 5, 1795. He fitted for 
 the sophomore class in college, under Rev. E. P. Bradford, at 
 Andover, Mass., and at Bangor, Me., under Professor Fowler. 
 Here he commenced the study of medicine, under the instruc- 
 tion of the celebrated Dr. Hosea Rich, and subsequently under 
 Dr. Chandler, of Belfast, and yet later under Dr. Manning, of 
 Merrimac, N. H. He attended a course of lectures at Bow- 
 doin College, Me., and graduated at Dartmouth College. He 
 commenced the practice of medicine in Windsor, Me., subse- 
 quently removed to Palermo, and for nearly thirty years has 
 resided at Pittston. 
 
215 
 
 Dr. McCollom married, Oct. 19, 1830, Sarah Kimball, an 
 adopted daughter and niece of the late Dr. Goodrich, of Mer- 
 rimac, N. H. She was born Sept. 20, 1795. 
 
 Their children are: Mary G., bom Sept. 21, 1831; Cath- 
 erine E., born Feb. 28, 1833, and died an infant; Abel G., 
 born Sept. 12, 1837. Of their two surviving children, Mary- 
 became the wife of Dr. Edward Mead, of Cincinnati, Ohio, Oct. 
 18, 1860, and in that city resides. Abel married Annie J. Da- 
 vidson, of Wiscassett, Me., Aug. 4, 1861. 
 
 For a more extended notice of the McCollom family, the 
 reader may consult Biographical and Genealogical Sketches. 
 
 Samuel Lynch is son of the late John Lynch, his mother be- 
 ing a Kelso, sister of our worthy townsman, Robert Kelso. He 
 was born April 6, 1837 ; he graduated at the Mercantile Acad- 
 emy, at Boston, but subsequently read medicine in Norwich, 
 Conn., and graduated from the University Medical College, in 
 New York city, March 4, 1863. His residence is Saxonville, 
 Mass. 
 
MILLS. 
 
 In the year 1631, Belknap says that Capt. Mason sent eight 
 Danes over into New Hampshire, " to build mills, saw timber, 
 and tend them." And the first saw-mill in this State was built 
 by them on Mason's plantation, at Newishewannock, in 1634, 
 near Portsmouth. 
 
 The first mills erected in New Boston, were on the middle 
 branch of the Piscataquog, a little above the mills now owned 
 by Daniel Gregg. The contract for these mills bears date Nov. 
 25, 1736, and the contractor was " Joseph Wright, of Boston, 
 in the County of Suffolk, in New England, housewright." He 
 was to build for the proprietors, " with all convenient speed, a 
 dam for a saw and grist mill, of the following dimensions, viz., 
 two cells to be laid across the river, in the said New Hampshire, 
 each sixty-five feet long and twelve inches square ; and if any 
 cells are scarfed, each scarf not to be less than three feet, and 
 eighteen cells up and down the river across the others, each a 
 foot square and twenty-seven feet long, the dam to be raised 
 eleven feet and a half high from the bottom of the cross cells, 
 eighteen rafters each twenty-one feet long and nine inches square 
 at least at the smallest end, which is to be framed into a plate 
 at the head of the rafters, and eighteen rafters more to be 
 framed into the heads of the rafters before mentioned, and four- 
 teen feet in length and nine inches square each, eighteen studds 
 of eleven feet each, eighteen more of eight foot long, eighteen 
 more of five foot in length, each to be seven inches square ; 
 each end of the dam to be of stone four feet thick at the bot- 
 tom and three feet thick at the top, one foot and half above the 
 rolling-dam upon a level to a pitch-pine tree at the east side, 
 and upon the west on a level to the hill ; the wall of the dam to 
 be double-boarded up and down, and sufficiently gravelled for 
 
218 
 
 such a dam ; and upon the west side of said river to build the 
 saw-mill to carry one saw, and to find two good saws and all 
 other materials suitable for such a mill to be fitted for working, 
 with a roof framed and fitted for boarding ; and to make a flume 
 for a grist-mill on the east side of the river, in the rolling dam, 
 suitable for a grist-mill ; all the timber for the above work to 
 be of good sound white-oak, except the plates for the mill and 
 the roof, the rolling-dam to be planked from the bottom with 
 white-oak plank half-way up the rafters, the remainder may be 
 done with pine, all the plank to be two inches thick ; the whole 
 of the abovesaid work to be done well, substantial, and in work- 
 manlike manner, to the satisfaction of said committee ; and the 
 mill to be made suitable to saw twenty feet in length, and to 
 build the said mill and dam on the middle branch of Piscata- 
 quaog river aforesaid, at the mill-lot laid out by Jeremiah Cum- 
 ings, surveyor, by order of Mr. Gershom Keys, the whole work 
 to be performed according to two draughts interchangeably 
 signed by the said committee and the said Wright, and the 
 above timber and work to be fitted and completed on or before 
 the fifteenth day of July next, according to the rules of art." 
 
 The committee for the proprietors agree to pay Wright " the 
 sum of three hundred pounds in bills of credit on the province 
 of the Massachusetts Bay, or Colonys of Connecticutt and 
 Rhode Island, in manner following, viz., one hundred and fifty 
 pounds thereof within fifty days next after the date of these 
 presents, and the remaining sum of one hundred and fifty 
 pounds when the said stuff and work shall be provided and fin- 
 ished in all respects as aforesaid." 
 
 Ageeeably to this contract, the first payment was made Dec. 
 6, 1736, and, for aught that appears, the mills were completed 
 as by contract, and in 1740 the proprietors report to the effect 
 that the work had been executed. How long these mills were 
 operated is not known ; but there is reason to believe that the 
 proprietors conveyed their right in the mills and the mill-lot to 
 Zachariah Emery, agreeably to the following vote, Feb. 19, 
 1741 : " Voted, that the mill and mill-lot, together with the 
 dam, be disposed of by the committee to Mr. Zachariah Emery, 
 on the best terms they can, or to any other person or persons, 
 as they shall have opportunity." 
 
219 
 
 This Mr. Emery had just completed " a good and sufficient 
 cart bridge twelve feet wide, railed on each side, over the mill 
 branch of the river, with good abuttments on each side," and 
 " cleared a wood on the southwest side, one rod in width, up to 
 the road which Mr. Joseph Wright cleared to the saw-mill, for 
 thirty pounds, in bills of credit." And nothing more is heard 
 of the mills after this transaction of the proprietors. Yet it is 
 well known that these were of great service to the first settlers 
 for some years. 
 
 Walker's Mills were built in 1753. In the deed of the " Ma- 
 sonian Heirs," in 1751, "five hundred acres of land were re- 
 served for the grantees, to be by them disposed of for encour- 
 agement for building and supporting mills in said township." 
 And March 31, 1752, at a meeting of proprietors at the " Royal 
 Exchange Tavern, Boston," it was voted that the "committee 
 agree with some suitable person or persons to build a saw and 
 grist mill in said township, and that they be empowered to give 
 a deed of sale for what land they shall think proper for that 
 purpose." 
 
 It appears that the committee agreed with Andrew Walker 
 to erect mills ; since Feb. 8, 1753, the proprietors voted, " That 
 Andrew Walker, who has agreed with the committee to build 
 the saw and grist mill in said town, have free liberty to flow the 
 meadow swamp next to the mills above the land he is to have 
 for building the mills, upon a branch of the same stream, for 
 the term of seven years from this time, and after that, to flow 
 it according to the law of the Province of New Hampshire." 
 
 A lot of land was given Walker around the place where he 
 was to erect the mills, beside the five hundred acres reserved for 
 that purpose by the " Masonian Heirs." Walker built his mills 
 where now a saw-mill stands, owned by Bently and Dodge, on 
 the Middle Branch, having given a bond of five hundred pounds 
 for the faithful performance of his obligations, which were, to 
 keep in good running order a saw and grain mill, and to use 
 both for the convenience of the inhabitants of the township for 
 moderate compensation. But Walker proved an uncomfortable 
 man, and did not trouble himself to accommodate the settlers of 
 Xew Boston for small compensation, when he could use his mills 
 for other people with greater profit. Hence, serious complaints 
 
220 
 
 were preferred against him, and fihe proprietors, November 28, 
 1758, instructed Thomas Cochran and John McAllister "To in- 
 form Andrew Walker (the Mill-Man) that great complaints are 
 made from the inhabitants of his ill behavior and bad treatment 
 to them, which will induce a prosecution of his obligation of 
 five hundred pounds for his good performance towards the set- 
 tlers, to be put in suit against him by the Committee, unless he 
 conforms to the terms of his articles on which the Mill was 
 founded, and the Mill lott was given him." 
 
 But Walker was not the man to mend his ways at once, and 
 additional charges were preferred against him, so that the pro- 
 prietors, August 31, 1759, discuss the question of " suing 
 Andrew Walker (the Mill Man), unless he give further satis- 
 faction, complaints having been made that his Mills are out of 
 order, and that he exacts on the inhabitants for sawing boards, 
 and very disobliging." Walker seems to have had things much 
 in his own way, and the enterprising conquerors of the forests 
 soon erected other mills, and ceased to pay tribute to Walker 
 the " Mill Man." 
 
 These early mills were of great advantage to the settlers, and 
 no town in New Hampshire has better water-privileges for the 
 kind of mills here needed, and no town has had a greater 
 number of them. Other towns were for many years debtors to 
 them. Francestown, Lyndeborough, Antrim, and towns even 
 more remote, in their early settlements depended upon these 
 mills to grind their grain and saw their boards. 
 
 Deacon Thomas Cochran, soon after the erection of Walker's 
 Mills, built a corn-mill on a small stream near his residence, 
 which greatly accommodated the inhabitants at the centre and 
 in the east part of the town. This mill lasted many years. 
 
 Capt. Ira Gage's Mill. * This was a saw and corn mill. It 
 was built by Benjamin Dodge, and has been owned by George 
 Melvin, Dr. Grovenoer, of Pelham, Dole Butler, Josiah Gage, 
 and then by his son, Capt. Ira Gage, who sold one-half his right 
 to David Butterfield, who has put in machinery for making 
 boxes of various kinds, giving employment to several persons ; 
 also a planing-machine, and a lathe for turning metals. 
 
 * We are indebted to N. C. Crombie, Esq., for most of the facts interwoven in the 
 following brief sketches. — Editor. 
 
221 
 
 King's Mill. This was a saw and flouring mill, built by Dea- 
 con Jesse Christy, subsequently owned by Col. John and Wil- 
 liam Crombie. It was consumed by fire about 1808, and rebuilt 
 by the Crombies. Subsequently it was owned by Henry Clark, 
 then by Peter and Benjamin Hopkins, afterwards by Jesse Pat- 
 terson, then by Jerry and Luke Smith, and now it is owned by 
 Jonathan King, by whom it has been rebuilt and greatly im- 
 proved. As a flouring-mill, it has no superior in this region. 
 Mr. King has introduced some additional machinery for making 
 pails, mackerel-kits, etc. 
 
 John'McLaughlen's grain-mill was built near where the late 
 Moses Peabody lived. It was for many years of vast benefit to 
 the central part of the town, and ceased to be used about 1810. 
 Deacon Robert White tended it for many years. 
 
 Campbell's Mill. This was built by Robert Campbell ; being 
 framed by Samuel Christy, the father of the present Mr. Jesse 
 Christy. Thomas Campbell subsequently owned it, and now it 
 belongs to his son, Daniel Campbell, Esq. It has always been 
 used as a saw-mill, and a great amount of timber has here 
 been sawed. 
 
 Samuel Marden's Mill was near where the late Mr. Jonathan 
 Marden lived, by whom it was subsequently owned. It has now 
 gone to decay. 
 
 Morgan's Mill was at first a saw and grain mill ; now it is 
 used only for lumber. It was built by Josiah Morgan and 
 David Starrett, then it was owned by Zechariah Morgan, and 
 rebuilt by Levi Starrett, and now it is owned by Zechariah 
 Morgan. 
 
 Hadley's Mill, saw and grain, was built by Leslie Gregg ; 
 subsequently, it came into the possession of Lieut. William 
 Dodge ; afterwards, it was owned by Samuel Dodge, then suc- 
 cessively by William Dodge, George Hardy, John Giddings, 
 and Mr. Hadley. 
 
 Warren's Mill was built by Robert and Josiah Warren. The 
 frame was raised March 27, 1805, the day on which Zebiah 
 Warren (daughter of Robert), now the wife of Mr. Jesse 
 Christy, was born. This mill was subsequently owned by John 
 B. Warren, then 'by Samuel M. Christy and Dunlap, now by S. 
 M. Christy. 
 
222 
 
 Marden's Mill, saw and shingle, was built . by Solomon Mar- 
 den, and is now owned by his son, Samuel. 
 
 McLaughlen's Saw-mill was built by David McLaughlen, and 
 was subsequently owned by Francis Marden, and then by Na- 
 than Merrill. 
 
 Marden's Saw-mill, near Solomon Marden's, on the Piscata- 
 quog River, was built by Nathan and Francis Marden, after- 
 wards owned by Porter Kimball, and was burned, and never 
 rebuilt. 
 
 Thomas Parker's Saw-mill was built between Benjamin Colby 
 and Alfred E. Cochran's. It was operated for a number of 
 years, and suffered to go to'decay. 
 
 William Christy's Saw-mill was built by him, between the 
 last mill and Moses Wood's shop, on Meadow Brook. It was 
 at length, about 1810, taken down and carried to Mount Yer- 
 non. 
 
 Hopkins's Mill was built by Major James McMillen ; after- 
 wards owned by John Crombie and David Dodge ; then by N. 
 C. Crombie ; then by James Wilder, by whom it was rebuilt ; 
 then by Jerry Smith ; then by James and John Christy ; then 
 by David A. McCollom, and now by Benjamin Hopkins. Clap- 
 boards and shingles are sawed here. 
 
 Wallace's Grain-mill was built by Dr. Luke Lincoln and 
 William B. Dodge, afterwards owned by Abner Dodge, then by 
 Deacon Isaac Peabody, then by William B. Dodge, and now by 
 Robert Wallace, by whom it has been rebuilt, and in whose 
 hands it has waxed old. A first-rate flouring-mill here is greatly 
 needed, and must, in time, be had. 
 
 Smith's Saw and Shingle mill was built by Moses and Frances 
 Peabody, in 1810, and is now owned by Sandy Smith. 
 
 White's Grain-mill was built by James Adams, afterwards 
 owned by John White. It was built early in the history of the 
 town, a little south of Mr. Benjamin Dodge's house, in the 
 north part of the town, on the Middle Branch of the Piscata- 
 quog. 
 
 Deacon Thomas Smith's Saw-mill was built near White's 
 Mill, on the same stream, by his father, and for many years did 
 efficient service, though it, together with the grain-mill near by, 
 is among the things that are past. 
 
223 
 
 Elias Dickey's Saw-mill was built by James Willson and oth- 
 ers, and rebuilt by Mr. Dickey. This, too, has passed away, 
 the timber in its vicinity having disappeared, as in the case of 
 others. 
 
 John Cochran's Saw-mill was built at the foot of Cochran's 
 Hill, on the south, on a small stream, and has disappeared. 
 
 William Andrew's Saw-mill was built by "Honest" Peter 
 Cochran, and came into the possession of his son, Deacon 
 Abraham Cochran. After his death, it was owned by G-reear 
 and Dodge, and is now owned by Mr. Andrews. 
 
 Perry Richards' Saw-mill was built many years ago, and 
 owned for a while by Mr. Parker, but is now owned by Mr. 
 Richards, and is in active operation. 
 
 Capt. John Willson's Saw-mill was built by him, southeast 
 of Dickey's Mill, on a small stream running into the Piscata- 
 quog, and continued not many years. 
 
 Gregg's Mill (saw, shingle, and lath) has always been owned 
 by the Greggs. Joseph Gregg rebuilt it, and it is now owned 
 by his son Daniel. This is on the Middle Branch. 
 
 Piam Orne's Mill was in the southeast part of the town, and 
 was used only for sawing lumber, and was owned by no one 
 besides him after it came into his possession. 
 
 Woodbury's Saw-mill was built in the north part of the town, 
 near John H. Gregg's Mill, by Leslie Gregg, about 1795, for 
 Joshua Woodbury and others. It was rebuilt by Benjamin 
 Woodbury and others, and has now disappeared. 
 
 John H. Gregg's Mill was built by Andrew Walker. James 
 Cams subsequently owned a part or all of the mill ; then it 
 came into the hands of James Walker, son of Andrew, and 
 James Buxton and David Tewksbury. In 1821, Simeon and 
 Benjamin bought it, and, after several transitions, it became 
 the property of N. N. Philbrick, in 1850, who sold to John 
 H. Gregg, in 1855, the present owner. 
 
 David Willson built a saw-mill on Bogg Brook, in the east 
 part of the town. 
 
 Capt. Ezra Dodge had a saw-mill in the north part of the town, 
 near where Mr. Luffkin now lives, which was in time removed 
 to Weare. 
 
 Luther Colburn's saw and shingle mill was built by Ephraim, 
 
224 
 
 his father, on Middle Branch, in the west part of the town, and 
 is in active operation. Luther Colburn is the present owner. 
 
 Frederick Bell built a saw and shingle mill, in the east part 
 of the town, and which is now owned by John M. Holt. 
 
 James Barnard built a saw-mill, in the east part of town, 
 which was afterwards owned by John Hazelton. 
 
 Mr. OdelPs saw, shingle and lath mill, was built by Nathan 
 Merrill, afterwards owned by Benjamin Hopkins, who sold to 
 Mr. Odell. 
 
 Bailey's Saw-mill was built by Bailey and Sargent, in the 
 north part of the town, and subsequently owned by Joseph 
 Cochran, Esq., and yet later by John Brown. 
 
 A wire-mill was erected by Holmes, Kendal, and Crombie, 
 near what is now King's Mill. This was operated for a while, 
 but did not prove renumerative and was given up. Axes and 
 hoes were also here manufactured. 
 
 This establishment, after a few years, was converted into a 
 carding and clothing mill, by John Gage. Mr. Gage was suc- 
 ceeded by Dea. Marshall Adams, who continued the business 
 until within a few years with good success. 
 
 Another carding-mill was connected with Frances Peabody's 
 Mill, and a large business was done there. 
 
 The first carding-mill in town was connected with Leslie 
 Gregg's Saw-mill, and was successfully operated for many years. 
 
 Another carding and clothing mill was built, near John 
 McLaughlen's Mills, and operated many years by John Kelso ; 
 subsequently he prosecuted the business in the shop occupied 
 by Mr. Flanders. 
 
 A mirror-frame factory was successfully operated by Sandy 
 Smith, through Wisewell and Fuller, for a few years, succeeded 
 by a peg factory, operated by S. Smith. 
 
 Morgan and Andrew's Bedstead Factory was operated for a 
 while in the western part of the town, and was destroyed by 
 fire ; it was rebuilt by Levi Starrett, and is now used for man- 
 ufacturing bobbins. 
 
 Andrew's Chair and Knob Factory was built by Dea. Issachar 
 Andrews, for a clapboard mill, and is now owned by his son 
 John W. Andrews, and is doing a good business under his man- 
 agement ; connected with his establishment is a threshing-mill. 
 
225 
 
 An axe factory has been successfully operated by G. D. 
 Neville ; his axes find a ready sale. A threshing-mill by the 
 same is successfully operated. 
 
 A door factory was built in 1852, by Neil and Rodney 
 McLain, giving employment to several men, and the business 
 is highly remunerative. 
 
 Connected with this is a piano-forte frame factory, operated 
 until recently by Parley and Pearsons, now by Farley. This 
 gives constant employment to several men. The wood-work is 
 all executed here, and the cases sent to Boston ready for the 
 metallic parts. 
 
 A planing machine is here also owned and operated by N. 
 C. Crombie, Esq. 
 
 29 
 
CASUALTIES, SUICIDES, ETC. 
 
 James Smith, son of Thomas, the first settler in town, was 
 found frozen to death on the road between his father's, in the 
 northeast part of the town, and Parker's. 
 
 James Cochran, son of the first Dea. Thomas C, residing 
 on Cochran Hill, was thrown from a vicious horse, near the 
 dwelling of the present Dea. S. L. Cristy, and died from the 
 injury in 1772, aged 40. 
 
 William Henry was killed by the falling of the limb of a tree, 
 December 20, 1813, on the farm owned by Daniel Dodge ; he 
 was passed middle life, and left a large family. 
 
 A son of William Douglass was* killed by being crushed 
 between the hub of a cart-wheel and a gate-post, when in the 
 employ of Samuel Wilson. 
 
 Capt. Matthew Fairfield was killed by the falling of a tree, 
 February 11, 1813 ; then living where E. Parker resides. 
 
 A son of Rev. Solomon Moor, Witter Davidson, born May 6, 
 177-!, when a lad, was killed by the falling of a tree. 
 
 Samuel Cooledge, son. of John Crombie, Esq., was killed by 
 the falling of a cart upon him, June 11, 1814, aged 4. 
 
 A young man by the name of Dole, was killed by lightning in 
 the west part of the town, about 1822. 
 
 Samuel M. Livingston was killed by falling from the tan- 
 nery of Samuel Trull, Esq., October 30, 1829, aged 49. 
 
 Nathan Merrill was found dead in the road. Tradition says 
 that in the early settlement of the town an erratic, visionary sort 
 of a man was found dead in so small a pool of water that foul 
 play or suicide was suspected. A jury was called, on which 
 was a broad-spoken son of Erin, who acted as chairman, and 
 when inquired of by the justice for the result of their investiga- 
 tion, replied, "Yer Honor: we brought'in a verdict of felo- 
 
228 
 
 nious wilfull murther ! But jest to soften it down a little, we 
 ca'd it accidental" ■ 
 
 Tradition says, that in the spring of the year, in the early 
 settlement of the town, the body of a man was found near the 
 Great Meadow, in the west part of the town ; who he was or 
 how he came by his death is not affirmed ; his body was found 
 near the camp where some cattle had been fed during the 
 winter, which had been driven up from Londonderry, as was 
 the custom for many years. The grass in the Meadows of New 
 Boston was abundant and nutritious, and, as it could not be 
 carried to Londonderry, farmers there sent their cattle to the 
 Meadows with one or more to care for them during the winter. 
 
 Capt. John McLaughlen, who resided on Bradford's Hill, and 
 carried on an extensive business in tanning, near the house of 
 Sidney Hills, and packed much beef for the market, and built 
 mills and kept a store, experiencing some reverses in fortune, 
 was found drowned in a well in the east corner of his field. 
 The late Luther Richards was on the jury of inquest, who, in 
 speaking of the result of the investigation, said " As we could 
 not say, as no one saw him, that he came by his death inten- 
 tionally, we thought it would be most in harmony with the 
 feelings of the community to say, accidental, and that was 
 our verdict." 
 
 In a little book in which the first Jacob Hooper kept a record 
 of deaths in town from 1808 to 1828, the following is found : 
 " The 29th of November, about seven and a half in the even- 
 ing, we Sensibly felt the shock of an Earthquake, 1814." 
 
 The wife of Capt. Gray hung herself, on the night of the in- 
 stallation of Rev. Solomon Moor, in the house now owned by 
 Daniel Dodge. Gray had been a sea-captain, and foul play 
 was suspected, as the knot in the rope around her neck was a 
 genuine sailor knot. When asked why he did not cut her down 
 when he first found her, replied, that " he put his hand to her 
 mouth and her breath was cold ; so he knew she was dead." 
 
 In 1854, a young man sought to win the hand of a young 
 lady, and being unsuccessful resolved to take her life, which he 
 effected and then took his own with the same instrument, ex- 
 pressing a desire before he died to be buried in the same grave 
 witli her who had just fallen by his hand. 
 
229 
 
 The following inscription on lior tombstone, not only serves 
 to preserve the historic fact, but to show to what wondrous 
 heights of sublimity the muse will rise when so tragical an 
 event transpires. 
 
 " Sevilla, daughter of George and Sarah Jones, murdered by Henry N. 
 Sargeant, January LS, 1854, a3t. 17 years and 9 months. 
 
 Tims fell this lovely blooming daughter 
 By the revengeful hand — a malicious Henry 
 When on her way to school he met her 
 \ini wiili a sis self-cocked pistol shot her." 
 
 Charles Small was murdered, September 7, 1840, by one 
 Thomas, of Amherst, near the McCollom tavern, on the road 
 to Amherst. 
 
 Mr. Benjamin F. Blaisdell, of Goffstown, came to New Boston, 
 and bought the farm, now owned by Mr. Shedd, and entered 
 into mercantile connections. His family consisted of his wife, 
 who was Clarissa J. Kimball of Goffstown, their four children, 
 and his widowed mother. In the winter of 184!», Letitia Blais- 
 dell, an adopted daughter of the late father of Mr. Blaisdell, 
 who had been working at Manchester after his removal to New 
 Boston, came to visit in his family. At her own request, the 
 night after her arrival, she slept with her adopted mother. The 
 next morning the old lady was taken sick in a strange way, 
 soon became, Insensible and died the next morning, aged about 
 80. After the death of Mr. Blaisdell's mother, Letitia went to 
 Wcntworth, and spent about four weeks, and returned Feb. 
 16, 1849. The next day after her return a son, a child about 
 two years and a half old, was taken sick, and after twelve 
 hours of suffering died, the physicians affirming that in some 
 way the child must have been poisoned, yet no suspicions rested 
 on any person. 
 
 Soon after the burial of the child, Mr. Blaisdell and his wife 
 were taken sick, while at tea with every symptom of poison, 
 but by timely aid were relieved. Suspicions now began to rest 
 on Letitia, and she soon confessed her guilt: that she had ad- 
 ministered morphine both to the aged mother, and the little 
 child ; and the same in the tea which Mr. and Mrs. Blaisdell 
 drank ; and that she had provided herself with strychnine if the 
 morphine failed ; that she held a forged note against Mr. 
 
230 
 
 Blaisdell, and intended to destroy the whole family. This was 
 undertaken from no ill-will towards any member of the family, 
 but evidently with the impression that if they were all out of the 
 way she could take possession of the property. To this horrid 
 crime she affirmed she had been impelled by the counsel and 
 assistance of another person. She was arrested, tried, and con- 
 demned to be hung, but this sentence was commuted to impris- 
 onment for life ; yet in 1861, she was pardoned out by Gov. 
 Goodwin, and she subsequently married a man, who had served 
 a period in the same prison, but with no prospects of rest in this 
 world. 
 
 In the early history of the town, like all new settlements, fires 
 were not unfrequent, but during the present century the de- 
 struction of property by fire has been very small. 
 
 A store and dwelling-house, owned by Thomas Stark, son-in- 
 law of Dr. Jonathan Gove, were consumed on the ground 
 where now stands the large house, on Cochran Hill, erected by 
 the late John D. Cochran. This was not far from 1800. 
 
 The barn of Dea. Adams was struck by lightning, and burned, 
 in 1824. 
 
 The buildings of the late Dea. Solomon Dodge were burned 
 October 80, 1829 ; and those of his brother Davis, within the 
 same year, November 12. 
 
 The barn of Dea. S. L. Cristy was struck by lightning, and 
 burned, October 18, 1852, his dwelling being saved by a sudden 
 providential change in the direction of the wind. 
 
 The barn of the late Dea. Bennett was burned in the early 
 part of the of the present century. It occurred in4he night, 
 and but few persons could be gathered to render assistance. 
 The Rev. Mr. Bradford, then preaching as a candidate, and 
 boarding in the family of Ninian Clark, Esq., first gave the 
 alarm, and was first at the scene of destruction. To save the 
 house, some smaller buildings and fences had to be removed, 
 and Mr. Bradford rendered such essential service that he was 
 often afterwards compared to Samson walking off with the gates 
 of Gaza. 
 
 Mrs. Hannah Hines, daughter of the late Mr. Rollins, was 
 shockingly burned on Saturday evening about nine o'clock, 
 December 12, 1863, by her clothes taking fire at the open 
 
231 
 
 door of her stove. She survived in great agony until the next 
 morning, and died about seven o'clock, aged 33, leaving a 
 daughter about three years old. In her intense agony, she was 
 wonderfully sustained by a calm hope in Jesfis Christ. 
 
 A man was killed, at the raising of a house of Andrew Beard, 
 where James Buxton now lives. 
 
 In 1807, John, son of William Beard, died from the kick of 
 a horse, in twenty-four hours after the injury was received, 
 aged 14. 
 
 In 1858, a Mr. Sweetland was found frozen to death in the 
 south part of the town, evidently the result of intoxication. 
 
 May 22, 1855, Mr. John Lynch, in the west part of the town, 
 was found dead in his pasture, the contents of a musket having 
 passed into his head, accidentally, as was believed by his 
 friends. 
 
 July 22, 1830, Mr. Jonathan Gove Kelso died from excessive 
 heat, while laboring at hay making. 
 
 The spotted fever prevailed in New Boston greatly in 1814, 
 and, to a limited extent, in 1815. 
 
 Betsey Cochran hung herself, about March 31, 1828. 
 
 Mrs. Benjamin Dodge hung herself, about fifty years ago. 
 
 In 1854, Mr. Willson, son of Charles Willson, was run over 
 by a horse and carriage, on a Sabbath day, while descending 
 the hill from the Presbyterian meeting-house, and killed. 
 
 Two dwelling-houses, belonging to Dea. Peter McNiel, were 
 consumed by fire, one in 1837 and the other in 1838. 
 
 Daniel T. Gregg's house and shop were burned March 17, 
 1837. 
 
 The barn of Ezra Morgan was struck by lightning and con- 
 sumed, in 18 — . 
 
 The barn of Mr.Nourse was consumed by fire in 1856. 
 
 Isaac Giddings, son of the late Joseph Giddings, was drowned 
 in Boston April 11, 1836, aged 26 ; he fell between the boat 
 and the landing. 
 
 Mr. Joseph Giddings died Feb. 17, 1835, and his mother the 
 same day, of small-pox ; seven others in the family were ill with 
 the same disease, but recovered. 
 
 Luke Giddings was run over by a cart-wheel, and killed in- 
 stantly, April 20, 1826, aged 46. 
 
232 
 
 Absalom Dodge, in 1823, aged 15, was killed in the woods, 
 accidentally. 
 
 About 1807, a child of Dea. Isaac Peabody was drowned 
 near his mills, aged two or three years. 
 
 Harry Robinson, a colored man, was found dead in a field 
 owned by Jacob Butler, in the summer of 1825. He had been 
 dead some two or three days before found. 
 
 Ephraim Whiting was accidentally drowned Oct. 31, 1842, 
 in Brookline, Mass. 
 
 In 1836, about the 29th of November, Elias Dickey, father 
 of the late Elias Dickey, was found dead in Francestown in the 
 road. 
 
 Samuel Twiss, father of Mrs. John Hill, was killed in Oct. 
 1799, by the falling of a tree. His wife died, aged 96 years 5 
 months, with faculties nearly unimpaired. 
 
 Jonathan Griffin was accidentally shot at Parker's, in Goffs- 
 town, about 1800. 
 
 Mrs. William Parker committed suicide, while laboring un- 
 der insanity, in 1845. 
 
 Robert Livingston's house was burned, many years ago, when 
 all were absent except their old negro, Scipio, who perished in 
 the flames. 
 
 William Campbell's house was consumed by fire about 1820. 
 
 Robert Boyd's house, many years ago, was destroyed by fire. 
 
 The house of David Colburn, near the year 1810, was burned 
 by fire. 
 
 About the year 1830, Ann Griffin, and the year 1835, Han- 
 nah Wilson, disappeared from the Poor Farm, and have never 
 been heard from. 
 
233 
 
 BILLS OF MORTALITY, 
 
 FROM 1S08 TO 1828 AS KEPT BY MR. JACOB HOOPER — FROM 1830 TO 1803 BY 
 MR. JOSEPH GIDDINGS. 
 
 1808.. 
 
 ..19 
 
 1823. 
 
 ...19 
 
 1838.. 
 
 ..16 
 
 1853 38 
 
 1809.. 
 
 ..13 
 
 1824. 
 
 ...24 
 
 1839.. 
 
 ..40 
 
 1854 45 
 
 1810.. 
 
 .. 3 
 
 1825. 
 
 ...25 
 
 1840. . 
 
 ..26 
 
 1855 37 
 
 1811.. 
 
 ..13 
 
 1826. 
 
 ...33 
 
 1841.. 
 
 ..34 
 
 1856 29 
 
 1812.. 
 
 ..14 
 
 1827. 
 
 ...23 
 
 1842.. 
 
 ..18 
 
 1857 38 
 
 1813.. 
 
 ..19 
 
 1828. 
 
 ... 6 
 
 1843.. 
 
 ..35 
 
 1858 34 
 
 1814.. 
 
 ..54 
 
 From Jan. 
 
 to June. 
 
 1844.. 
 
 ..19 
 
 1859 ...23 
 
 1815.. 
 
 ..25 
 
 1830. 
 
 ...21 
 
 1845.. 
 
 ..20 
 
 1860 22 
 
 ' 1816 . 
 
 ..17 
 
 1831. 
 
 ...20 
 
 1846.. 
 
 ..34 
 
 1861 21 
 
 1817. . 
 
 ..13 
 
 1832. 
 
 ..35 
 
 1847.. 
 
 ..24 
 
 1862 24 
 
 • 1818.. 
 
 ..23 
 
 
 . .24 
 
 1848.. 
 
 ..25 
 
 1863 30 
 
 1819.. 
 
 ..29 
 
 1834. 
 
 ..21 
 
 1849.. 
 
 ..28 
 
 
 
 1820.. 
 
 ..11 
 
 1835. 
 
 ..20 
 
 1850.. 
 
 ..21 
 
 Total...l340 
 
 1821.. 
 
 ..13 
 
 1836. 
 
 ..25 
 
 1851.. 
 
 ..28 
 
 in a little more 
 
 
 ..22 
 
 1837. 
 
 ..20 
 
 1852.. 
 
 ..35 
 
 than 52 years. 
 
 GRAVEYARD S. 
 
 As early as 1756, measures were contemplated for laying out 
 a graveyard, together with the locating a site? for a meeting- 
 house. But, although the two objects are repeatedly referred 
 to afterwards as being inseparable, yet, when the meeting-house 
 was located by the committee, July 24, 1763, no allusion is 
 made to a burial-place, except to say that they have selected a 
 place for the meeting-house near where a little child is buried. 
 This child was, it is believed, a daughter of Capt. George 
 Christy, and it is believed that this place, near the Presbyterian 
 Church at the centre of the town, had been selected for this 
 purpose before the appointment of the committee, and to select 
 a place for a graveyard was not made a part of their business. 
 We find no record, respecting it earlier than March 26, 1771, 
 when the town voted " that all the inhabitants in said town, 
 excepting such as incline to bury at the Burying yard by John 
 Smith's, work on the Graveyard by the meeting house two 
 dayes, each man, or pay three shillings for each daye's neglect. 
 Voted that William Clark have the charge of said work." 
 
 March 17, 1788, the town " voted to chuse 3 men on each 
 side of the River to lay out the Graveyards and stake the 
 Bounds, and vendue the fencing of them to the lowest Bidder, 
 and also the clearing them. 
 
 " Voted that Capt. John McLaughlin, Wm. Clark Esq., and 
 
 30 
 
234 
 
 John Cochran Esq., be the Committee for the South side of 
 S d Town. 
 
 " Voted that Dea. John Smith, Capt. Wm. Boyes and James 
 Ferson Ju'r be a Committee on the North side of S d Town." 
 
 Agreeably to this vote, the committee for the south part of 
 the town surveyed and laid out the ground as follows : — 
 
 " Beginning at the South West Corner at a Stake & Stones, 
 then running East 4 Degrees North to a Stake and Stones, 13 
 Rods — then North 3 Degrees West to a Stake and Stones, 14 
 rods — then West 4 Degrees South to a Stake and Stones, 13 
 Rods — then South 4 Degrees East to the Bounds first men- 
 tioned. William Clark Surveyor. 
 " A true Record attest, Jon'a Gove, T. Clerk." 
 
 Said committee " give notice that the fencing & clearing the 
 Grave Yard (by the meeting-house) will be sold at public ven- 
 due on Monday the fifth day of May, 1788 ; that the clearing 
 of said yard wilj. be set up by itself, and to be faithfully done 
 by the tenth day of June next — the clearing must be six feet 
 outside the stakes. The Wall to be four feet high and in such 
 proportion as to admit of a stick of Timber ten Inches broad on 
 the top. And the purchaser is also to hew said stick of Timber 
 in a triangular Form (of white Pine) and place it on the Top 
 of said wall. 
 
 " The four sides of said Wall to be put up separately, one 
 side at a time, and be completed by the first day of October." 
 
 The clearing of the graveyard was struck off to David Cald- 
 well for £1 4s. 6d. 
 
 The south side wall was struck off to John Cochran, Sen., 
 for 5s. 6d. per rod. 
 
 East side of said yard to Noah Dodge, at 5s. per rod. 
 
 West side of said yard was struck off to Daniel Dane, at 6s. 
 per rod. 
 
 North side of said yard to Robert Campbell, at 6s. per rod. 
 
 He who should build the south side wall was required " to 
 build a Gate in the same." 
 
 There is no record of the doings of the committee for the 
 graveyard in the north part of the town, but it is believed that 
 they, in like manner, laid out, cleared, and walled a lot. How 
 
235 
 
 early that ground began to be used is not known, but tradition 
 says the first persons buried there were children of Dea. John 
 Smith. He had two children sick with dysentery, and he went 
 to Chester for medicine, but before he could return one died, 
 and the other soon followed. 
 
 Some of the oldest inscriptions to be found there are the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
 Abraham Cochran died Jan. 15, 1776, in the 47th year of 
 his age. 
 
 Dea. John Smith died Sept. 3, 1800, in the 74th year of his 
 
 age. 
 
 "The sweet remembrance of the just 
 Will flourish tho' they sleep in dust." 
 
 Dea. Thomas Smith (son of the foregoing) died May 1, 1854, 
 aged 89. He served as an elder in the Presbyterian Church 
 forty-seven years. Esther, his wife, died Oct. 8, 1851, aged 77. 
 
 Paul Ferson died Oct. 17, 1798, aged 66. 
 
 Dea. James Ferson died Feb. 26, 1804, aged 86. 
 
 James Gregg died December 31, 1805, aged 63 ; his wife, 
 Jane, died January 12, 1820, aged 82. 
 
 The oldest inscription, to be found in the centre graveyard, 
 is at the grave of Alexander McCollom, who died in 1768. 
 
 March 1, 1773, the town " voted to get a Pall, and John 
 McLaughlin to get it at the town's cost." 
 
 POUNDS. 
 
 The first pound was built of logs, by Dea. Thomas Cochran, 
 near his corn-mill, agreeably to the vote of the town in 1763. 
 
 The second was built near the old Presbyterian Church, 
 agreeably to a vote of the town, March 4, 1793, of stone, and it 
 is almost the only thing perpetuated from a period so remote to 
 the present. 
 
 ROAD S. 
 
 The first settlers came into New Boston by way of Goffstown, 
 and this is one reason why that part of the town adjoining 
 Goffstown was first settled. The concentration of houses on 
 
236 
 
 the Plains was not long encouraged, and settlements were 
 pushed westward and southward, on the height of land on which 
 is Jesse Beard's farm, and yet further to John Smith's, and 
 thence towards Francestown, by the late Dea. Thomas Smith's, 
 and southward to Wm. Bentley's, thence east to John Dodge's, 
 and, crossing the South Branch, to Dea. Thomas Cochran's ; 
 also from Bentley's to Clark's Hill, and thence to Cochran 
 Hill, and Alfred E. Cochran's, towards Amherst ; also from Bent- 
 ley's settlements were pushed south to centre of the town, over 
 South Branch and Bradford's Hill, and thence towards Amherst, 
 by Jacob Hooper's, and by way of Dea. Patterson's (Allen 
 Leech's) to Rev. Solomon Moor's and. Allen Moor's, and by 
 way of Dea. White's, on Wason's Hill, by the McAllisters and 
 where Robert Kelso now lives, into Amherst. 
 
 In 1765, a road was laid out from the line of Amherst, begin- 
 ning near the present R. Kelso's land to Allen Moor's, and 
 thence to Alexander McCollom's and to Dea. Thomas Cochran's. 
 The same year, a road was laid out from Amherst, by way of 
 Alfred E. Cochran's (then Peter) farm, Lot No. 10, between 
 William Moor's (now Fuller), and John McMillen's (now Jona- 
 than Marden's) to George Christy's ; thence, over Cochran's 
 Hill, to, Francestown. But these roads, and nearly all laid out 
 at this period, as may be seen by the transcripts, simply followed 
 old paths which had been used for years. And it will be seen 
 that, generally, the early roads went over the highest parts of 
 the town. It was easy to build roads over the hills, and it was 
 here that the settlements were to be found. The soil was best, 
 and could be brought under cultivation quickest on the elevated 
 parts ; while they were more healthy than the lower parts, they 
 afforded better views. It was worth much, when the primitive 
 forests covered the land, to occupy such elevations as could 
 overlook some of the surrounding settlements. 
 
 The roads were built by each man working a certain number 
 of days, according to the vote of the town, until 1771, when it 
 was "voted to make the Highways by Pole and Estate the 
 present year ;" and " to allow each man three shillings a day." 
 It was also voted that " each Pole work four days on the High- 
 ways exclusive of his Estate, and that a pair of oxen be allowed 
 as a man." When the labor should be expended seems to have 
 
237 
 
 been left to the selectmen generally, though highway surveyors 
 were chosen ; but some years, the town voted that the labor 
 should be under the direction of a committee, and then the town 
 was divided into districts, and highway surveyors were annually 
 chosen, who were made responsible for the roads and the dis- 
 position of the labor. 
 
LOEENZO FAIBBANKS, ESQ. 
 
 He is son of Joel Fairbanks, and was born March 16, 1825. 
 He fitted for college at Black River Academy, Ludlow, Yt., 
 though he was for a time at Hancock Academy ; also at Town- 
 send Academy, Vt. He entered the sophomore class in Dart- 
 mouth College, in the fall of 1849, and graduated in 1852, 
 immediately commencing the study of law, in the city of New 
 York, spending the ensuing winter in Savannah and Charles- 
 ton. He resumed his studies in 1853, in the office of Strong, 
 Bidwell and Strong, Wall Street, New York, and was admitted 
 to the bar the same year, and continued in practice there until 
 1856, when he removed to Iowa, but soon returned and 
 established himself in business in Philadelphia, where he now 
 resides. Mr. Fairbanks is the author of a work on book-keep- 
 ing, which he published some years ago, which has been highly 
 acceptable to that portion of the community for which it was 
 written. In 1856, Mr. Fairbanks was married in New York 
 city to Sarah E. Skelton, of Bradford^ Mass., by whom he has 
 had two children, one of whom, a child of much promise, died 
 in 1863. 
 
KESPONSE OF LOKENZO FAIRBANKS, ESQ. 
 
 THE BURIAL-GROUND — GOD'S ACRE. 
 
 " Here hath prayer arisen like dew, — 
 Here the earth is holy too ; 
 Lightly press each grassy mound; 
 Surely this is hallowed ground." 
 
 Mr. President, — 
 
 We dwell to-day upon the history of a century, recounting 
 the struggles, the joys, the hopes, the sorrows of those who have 
 gone before us ; and what more fitting occasion can there be 
 for the expression of a sentiment like that which has just been 
 uttered. It finds a response in every heart, and furnishes an 
 impressive theme amid the festivities of the hour. The old 
 burial-ground claims of us a solemn tribute of respect and ven- 
 eration. It is a hallowed spot, — hallowed as the resting-place 
 of those long since passed away, whose names and deeds live 
 in tradition and history, and in the rude stone by the green 
 graves, over which we still weave bright chaplets of affectionate 
 remembrance. There have been gathered, one by one, our 
 departed friends and kindred. Those silent mounds speak of 
 sundered ties and stricken households, and bid us pause in 
 solemn thought over cherished recollections, which, though 
 mingled with sadness, grow brighter and brighter as years roll 
 away. 
 
 " Even they, the dead, — though dead, so dear, — 
 Fond memory, to her duty true, 
 Brings back their faded forms to view. 
 How lifelike through the mist of years 
 Each well-remembered face appears ! 
 We see them as in times long past ; 
 From each to each kind looks are cast ; 
 We hear their words, their smiles behold, 
 They're round us as they were of old." 
 31 
 
242 
 
 Very few there are in this great assembly who have not fol- 
 lowed thither the mortal remains of near and clear relatives 
 and friends, consecrating anew with each baptism of tears, and 
 each farewell prayer, this spot of earth to be held forever sacred, 
 — sacred by the vacant places of every hearth-stone, by every 
 association connected with the memory of the lamented dead, 
 that sends a thrill of pain or pleasure through the heart! Who 
 that wanders among these silent habitations of the dead is not 
 stirred by emotions and inspirations which spring out from the 
 noblest and holiest sentiments of our natures? There, in fond 
 contemplation, we dwell amid the scenes of the past, and live 
 again in the buoyant and happy hours of youth, bright with the 
 pleasures of home and the society of those we loved and vener- 
 ated. There as parents and children, brothers, sisters, hus- 
 bands, wives, we gather around the tombs of the departed, and 
 find a solace in the duties of affection, the faithful tribute, the 
 silent tear, that tell of sorrows that time cannot heal. There 
 the Christian, standing as it were upon the verge of that mys- 
 terious land to which we are all hastening, looks beyond the 
 portals of the grave to a life of blessed immortality. There all 
 may learn the great lesson of life in the universal record of 
 man. Born and died, covers it all. God's Acre ! The silent 
 yet majestic monitor of the world ! The loftiest monument, the 
 humblest stone, the forgotten and unhonored grave, alike 
 teach us that we, too, are mortal, and must sooner or later 
 pass to that bourn whence no traveller returneth. Soft and 
 reverential then be our tread, for holy is the earth; angel- 
 whispers are on the breeze ; the voice of God is heard from 
 the tombs of the unnumbered dead, and bids us bow in humble 
 adoration of that infinite Power before which all that is earthly 
 vanishes, and is lost in the boundless ocean of eternity. 
 
 Regard for the dead and a desire to perpetuate their memory 
 have in various forms been manifested in every age, in heathen 
 as well as in Christian lands ; and the progress of the sepul- 
 chral art is invested with peculiar interest and significance. In 
 its successive developments we trace the progress of our race, 
 and the prevailing ideas and religious sentiments of tribes and 
 nations that have left behind no other record. The barrows of 
 Europe and Asia, the tumuli of the heroic ages, alluded to by 
 
243 
 
 classic writers, and the mounds and magnificent sepulchres of 
 the Western hemisphere, containing untold treasures and the 
 implements, weapons, and utensils of by-gone races, are the sole 
 chroniclers of peoples who would otherwise he utterly lost in 
 oblivion, and stand the only memorials of unrecorded greatness. 
 The pyramids of Egypt — the culmination of mound-building — 
 remain imperishable monuments of departed glory, and are 
 counted among the wonders of the world. The catacombs, 
 shrouded in mystery, and filled with the emblems of the 
 thoughts, the actions, the life of those who have slumbered 
 through unnumbered ages, afford inexhaustible fields for the 
 researches of the philosopher and the investigation of the cu- 
 rious. The grandeur and glory of the ancient cities of the Old 
 World are immortalized in the splendor of their subterranean 
 receptacles of the dead, mortuary mansions, and palaces, elab- 
 orately carved and ornamented, that have defied the touch of 
 time, when all else has changed or passed into oblivion. The 
 proud mausoleums and monuments of later times — superb 
 palaces where the lords and monarchs are carried in solemn 
 procession with imposing ceremonies — attract the gaze of the 
 traveller, and convey the profoundest lessons to mankind. In 
 their calm and peaceful retreats we are led to exclaim, in the 
 sublime apostrophe of Sir Walter Raleigh, — " Oh, eloquent, just, 
 and mighty Death ! whom none could advise, thou hast per- 
 suaded ; what none hath dared, thou hast done ; and whom all 
 the world hath flattered, thou only hast cast out of the world 
 and despised ; thou hast drawn together all the far-fetched 
 greatness, all the pride, cruelty, and ambition of man, and cov- 
 ered it all over with these two narrow words, Hie jacet." 
 
 An almost instinctive idea that we are not wholly separated 
 from the departed, a longing for immortality, the hope of a 
 final resurrection, respect or aifection for friends, and a desire 
 to preserve the dignity of earthly greatness, have all contributed 
 to carry this art to the highest degree of perfection, until we 
 rejoice that death lias been relieved of some of its terrors by the 
 spirit of modern civilization, seeking to make our cemeteries 
 attractive and picturesque, instead of repulsive, crowning them 
 with the beauties of nature, and choice works of art, fit em- 
 
244 
 
 blems of the analogies between the living and the dead and the 
 hopes of a bright and glorious future. 
 
 " See Truth, Love, and Mercy, in triumph descending, 
 And Nature all glowing in Eden's first bloom ! 
 On the cold cheek of Death smiles and roses are blending, 
 And Beauty immortal awakes from the tomb." 
 
 The beautiful cemeteries of the present day in Europe and 
 our own country attest the spirit of the age, and exert an influ- 
 ence as wide-spread as it is beneficent. Such places as Pere la 
 Chaise, Mount Auburn, Greenwood, Laurel Hill, and Mount 
 Vernon — combining the graces of nature, with the beauties of 
 art, on which is lavished all the wealth of cultivated taste and 
 fond affection — are worthy of our highest admiration. It may 
 be that vanity and a love of display have contributed much to 
 their magnificence ; but whatever the spirit which seeks to make 
 the Silent Land harmonize with our feelings and instincts, we 
 honor it. We should cherish it as, in the main, tending to 
 good ; as ennobling and dignifying mankind ; as fostering a love 
 for the beautiful, and hence elevating public taste ; as pro- 
 moting Christianity; as an incentive to virtue, and the source of 
 charity and fellowship among men ; as a consolation to the dy- 
 ing, that they will be remembered in pleasant places, hallowed 
 and guarded by the watchful eye and pious care of devoted 
 friends. 
 
 It is natural and rational for us to think well of cemeteries, 
 and take a just pride in rendering them attractive and pleasant, 
 as well as convenient for the purpose intended. Objects which 
 so frequently appeal to our notice, and are so interwoven by 
 association with our past lives, — places where repose the ashes 
 of our friends and kindred, and where we also shall ultimately 
 find rest, — certainly demand our fostering care, and should 
 excite a laudable desire for their improvement. "We cannot 
 allow this occasion to pass without offering a few suggestions, 
 with the hope of awakening, in some degree, a proper public 
 sentiment on a subject of so much importance. We regret to 
 say, we have cause to blush for the little care we have bestowed 
 upon our principal burying-ground. It has, indeed, been suf- 
 fered to fall into general neglect. It is contracted in space, and 
 crowded to excess, where land is plenty and cheap. It is not 
 
245 
 
 only almost entirely destitute of the adornings which elsewhere 
 grace such places, even in our own immediate vicinity, but is 
 wanting in common conveniences. There are no avenues or 
 walks, but few shade-trees or plants, little or no shrubbery, 
 hardly anything that may be called ornamental, while the whole 
 is allowed to run to waste, and grow up with obnoxious weeds 
 and unsightly things, marks of desolation, where beauty and 
 loveliness should smile upon the lap of earth. The walls are 
 dilapidated ; tombstones are thrown down, scattered, and 
 broken, or lean in all directions, sad evidences of a want of 
 public spirit or private enterprise. Let it be so no longer ; let 
 us cast off the stigma and the reproach we justly deserve. In- 
 spired by the memories that, on an occasion like this, come 
 crowding upon us, by a true consideration of our interests as 
 well as our pleasures, let us pledge ourselves to the work of re- 
 form. Stoical philosophy may answer the highest aspirations 
 of some ; parsimony may stifle the better instincts of others. 
 We make no appeal to such. If they rest in unhonored graves, 
 let it be no fault of ours. Our duty is plain and easy. No 
 sacrifices are called for. We would create no public burden, 
 nor urge any of the extravagant expenditures which can be 
 borne only by the concentrated wealth of our large cities. We 
 only need the development of the right spirit, and a little 
 spared from our hoarded treasures will meet every required 
 demand. Then shall we live with the satisfaction of having 
 performed our duty to the dead, and with the happy assurance 
 that when our wanderings are over, and our dust shall return 
 to mingle with the dust of our kindred, that our providence has 
 rendered the burial-ground the desired resting-place of all that 
 the earth can retain. 
 
 We have already hinted at the general requisites of an ap- 
 propriate place of burial. It may be well to sum them up and 
 urge them upon your attention. 
 
 1st. Ample Space and proper Location. — There is no occasion, 
 in a country town like this, for confining our cemeteries within 
 narrow limits, nor of seeking desolate hill-sides. Land is cheap, 
 and we can afford some of our broad and fertile acres for so 
 worthy an object. It may be best to extend our present grounds 
 by adding contiguous lands on the north, west, and south, al- 
 
246 
 
 though they are not all that could be desired. At all events 
 we must have more room, even if compelled to seek another 
 locality. We are constantly disturbing graves which have 
 hardly been forgotten by the present generation, and it is a 
 sacrilege that ought, if nothing else will, arouse us to a sense 
 of our duty. 
 
 2d. Neat and permanent Enclosures. — It is a disgrace to us 
 to surround our graveyards with walls and fences that would 
 damage our reputation if they enclosed our fields and common 
 pastures. We are in favor of a substantial iron fence, even at 
 a cost of five or ten thousand dollars. If that is beyond our 
 means, we can at least begin the work, and leave its completion 
 to succeeding generations as a monument to our enterprise. 
 This would require the principal outlay of money. 
 
 3d. Convenient Avenues and Walks. — These are not only 
 necessary, but, by a proper arrangement and construction, they 
 add much to the beauty and symmetry of such a place. We 
 have said that our present burial-ground is destitute of such 
 conveniences. There is not even a carriage-way, and the set- 
 ting of a monument imposes upon us the necessity of dragging 
 it over graves which we have no right to disturb. In attending 
 a funeral, we are obliged to leave our carriages, and follow the 
 bier on foot. Can such things be and not mantle our cheeks 
 with shame ? 
 
 4th. Pleasant Shade-trees. — Trees were the mortal enemies 
 of our ancestors, and we can pardon them for not appreciating 
 the beauties of groves and ornamental arbors. We cannot ex- 
 cuse ourselves, if we neglect to adorn our cemeteries with what 
 can be obtained so cheaply, and possess at the present day so 
 many natural charms. Pleasant shade-trees are really the 
 crowning glory of a rural cemetery. 
 
 5th. Shrubbery, Plants, and Flowers. — A cultivated taste 
 inclines us to place a high value upon these, while they are the 
 most natural and instructive emblems of a renewed life, and 
 that pure and holy affection which leads the chastened mourner 
 to hallow with their gentle influence the sacred repose of loved 
 and cherished ones. 
 
LETTERS. 
 
 Many letters were received from distinguished individuals, 
 who had been invited to be present on our centennial occasion ; 
 but we insert only a few from those who will not otherwise 
 appear in this volume. 
 
 Conway, Mass., June 29, 1863. 
 
 Gentlemen, — 
 
 Your kind invitation in behalf of the " Old Folks at Home," 
 requesting my attendance at the centennial celebration, Satur- 
 day, the fourth day of July next, is at hand. I have delayed 
 an answer until this late moment, in the hope of being able to 
 accept it. With extreme regret, I now find that pressing- 
 duties will require me to forego the satisfaction of meeting with 
 you, to celebrate the day which brings round one hundred years 
 on the wheels of time. 
 
 The ashes of the dead, as well as the loved faces of the living, 
 attract me strongly to my native town, and that attachment, I 
 find, increases each day of my life. I cannot imagine any- 
 thing, gentlemen, which would be more delightful than to 
 participate with the assembled inhabitants of my native town, 
 in rescuing from oblivion her ancient history, her original set- 
 tlement, her doings in the Revolution, in the war of 1812, and 
 in this great Rebellion, — her contributions in money and men, 
 who sacrifice everything for the old flag of our Union. I know 
 the story will be one of which New Boston will be proud. I 
 feel it to be an honor that, as one of her sons, I am entitled to 
 your invitation. The recollections which suggest themselves, 
 the localities, the streams, the woods, the green hills, the old' 
 church, the adjoining burying-ground (where sleep my own 
 kith and kin), time nor distance can ever obliterate from my 
 mind. With the sincerest good wishes for the success of your 
 
 celebration, 
 
 I remain, yours, etc., 
 
 W. C. CAMPBELL. 
 
248 
 
 Boston, June 30, 1863. 
 Bev. E. C. Cogswell. 
 
 Dear Sib : — Your note of the 24th instant, together with 
 the circular of the Executive Committee, kindly requesting me 
 to be present on the contemplated festival on the centennial 
 anniversary of the place of my nativity, is received. It would 
 give me much pleasure to again meet many of my former 
 friends and acquaintances, to mingle with and witness the 
 reminiscences of former days. But my professional engage- 
 ments are such as will constrain me to forego the gratification 
 it would give me to be present. Although I should find that 
 many places and faces have much changed, yet many anec- 
 dotes and incidents of my boyhood would be revived. The 
 trudging on the farm of my native hill I could never enjoy, 
 when a boy ; and to wait for the slow movement of an ox-team, 
 or for a nibble at the end of a fish-line, I could never endure ; 
 yet I never found time to be idle. I cannot say that the early 
 part of my professional life was congenial to my disposition ; 
 still I persevered in puking and skinning sick folks (perhaps 
 with as much success as most of my professional fellows) for 
 fourteen years, when I got tired of guessing and experimenting 
 on the sick, " on general principles " (as a famous medical pro- 
 fessor used to say), not knowing whether I was doing good or 
 harm. Then during the winter of 1837 and 1838 I heard of the 
 more certain way of selecting remedies for disease according to 
 the law, " similia similibus curantur," which I at once exam- 
 ined, and satisfied myself by experiment that disease could be 
 most certainly cured by a very small quantity of a specific 
 remedy, properly selected. That course of practice I have pur- 
 sued since that time, with increasing satisfaction, although I 
 had to endure the gibes and jeers of my former associates in 
 the profession, for nearly a year, before there was a single genial 
 physician in all New England with whom I could speak on the 
 subject ; now we have over two hundred like physicians in my 
 adopted State. Of the native, or former resident physicians 
 in New Boston, I cannot say much. When I was a pupil, 
 I was much in the office of Doctor James Crombie, at 
 Francestown, where he used to detain me, sometimes long, in 
 relating stories and anecdotes, for which he was an adept. I 
 
249 
 
 have thought that he sometimes benefited his patient quite as 
 much by his story-telling as he did by his medicine. He also 
 loved a repartee as well as he did to tell a story. I distinctly 
 recollect the doctor telling a story of a good old lady (who was 
 desirous of doing all the good she could) asking the doctor if 
 he knew what a grand physic oil-nut bark was. "No," said the 
 doctor, " is it ? How do you take it ? " " "Why, doctor, just take 
 some of the bark and steep it and drink it ; — it makes one of 
 the grandest physics in the world; but doctor" (she said), 
 " when you scrape the bark you must always be careful to 
 scrape it down, for if you scrape it up it will puke you dread- 
 fully" " Well," said the doctor, " what will it do if you scrape 
 round ? It will go round and round in a fellow's belly and 
 neither go up nor down, won't it ? " 
 
 I do not know whether Doctor Hugh McMillen was a native 
 of New Boston or not ; at any rate he was a genius, possessing 
 a high-toned intellect and shrewd observation. He obtained 
 much of his medical knowledge while engaged in the study of 
 ancient alchemy, over which he spent much time. I recollect 
 of hearing the old gentleman make a remark, long before I had 
 given any attention to medicine, but I have often thought of it 
 since. The old doctor was sitting in a store smoking his pipe, 
 when a physician from a neighboring town passed by, who had 
 been called to visit some severe cases of typhoid fever. Some 
 one of the by-standers asked if he was a very skilful physician. 
 Doctor Hugh replied, with an ejaculating grunt, removing his 
 pipe from his mouth long enough to say, " Good in fevers ? 
 Yes ; so any other fool might be if he had wit enough to let 
 them alone." This was long before the French professor had 
 published his expectant plan of treatment. 
 
 Doctor John Whipple was a man of observation, and 
 although empirical in his practice, yet he learned much from 
 experience. His practice was what would now be called eclec- 
 tive. He relied much upon specifics which he had learned by 
 observation, and was what might be termed a successful practi- 
 tioner. 
 
 I will propose for a sentiment, — Progress and Development. 
 
 I am not willing that science, art, and practical philosophy — 
 should remain as they were one hundred years ago ; our mis- 
 
 32 
 
250 
 
 sion is to find out (if we can) the eternally fixed laws of nature, 
 
 and investigate them for the melioration and improvement of 
 
 our generation and race. For abide them, either for good or 
 
 for evil, we must. 
 
 Most respectfully your friend, 
 
 SAMUEL GEEGG. 
 
 Eev. E. C. Cogswell, | 
 
 E. B. Cochran, Esq., and Associates. ) 
 
 Eockland, Maine, June 23, 1863. 
 
 Messrs. Cogswell and others, — 
 
 Yours of June 20th was received. I shall endeavor to be at 
 New Boston on the 4th. I send you to-day, by express, a flag 
 without a stripe erased or a star obscured ; please accept it as 
 a humble gift from one who sprung from the State that pro- 
 duced a Webster, a Mason, Woodbury, and others that have 
 done their country service. The flag was made by those that 
 bear the name of Cochran. Long may it wave o'er the land 
 of the free and home of the brave. Excuse haste. 
 Yours truly, 
 
 W. S. COCHEAN. 
 
 To E. C.Cogswell and others, \ 
 Executive Committee. 3 
 
 New York, June 22, 1863. 
 
 Rev. E. C. Cogswell. 
 
 Dear Sir, — Your esteemed favor, inviting me to attend 
 your forthcoming centennial celebration of the incorporation of 
 the town of New Boston, came duly to hand. 
 
 I regret to say that my engagements are likely to be of such a 
 character as to make it very inconvenient, if not impracticable, 
 for me to leave town during the early part of July. I think, 
 therefore, I shall be obliged to decline your very kind invita- 
 tion. 
 
 Thanking your committee and yourself for your politeness, 
 and wishing every success to your praiseworthy undertaking, 
 I am, very respectfully yours, 
 
 C C. LANGDELL. 
 
251 
 
 Lee Centre, Illinois, June 18, 1863. 
 
 To E. C. Cogswell and others : — 
 
 Your circular, announcing a proposal to celebrate, on the 
 4th of July next, the centennial anniversary of the incorpora- 
 tion of New Boston, was duly received, and read with deep 
 emotion. I need not say that I was immediately seized with a 
 strong desire to accept the genial invitation of " the old Folks 
 at Home," to appear among their sons and daughters, to re- 
 vive recollections of the past at the old homestead. My res- 
 idence in this remote region, once esteemed by us as the v^rge 
 of sundown, has not abated my love and fond recollection of 
 the place of my birth. To be addressed as one of the young 
 folks, beguiles the somewhat saddening conviction which the 
 bleached head and the honor and title of grandfather force upon 
 me. I am refreshed by the suggestion that I am yet young. 
 I exceedingly regret my inability to share in the festivities of 
 the day. My heart, however, although in an absent body, will 
 be in sympathy with the occasion. I sincerely hope that the 
 gathering of the " General Assembly for high consultation " 
 will be an occasion of great delight to all my townsmen so for- 
 tunate as to be present. 
 
 Very truly yours, etc., 
 
 C. C. COCHRAN. 
 
 Milwaukee, June 18, 1863. 
 
 Rev. E. C. Cogswell : — 
 
 Dear Sir, — I have not, up to this time, answered your kind 
 letter and invitation of May 11, for the reason that two or 
 more of our family have intended to be at the centennial cel- 
 ebration on the 4th proximo. I write to you noiv, because un- 
 foreseen circumstances have arisen within the past few days and 
 hours that may prevent the consummation of our strongest 
 wishes. 
 
 I have written this day to our brother and sister, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Burr, the details of the sad combination of circum- 
 stances above alluded to, and I refer you to them for reasons 
 that may prevent our attendance at the interesting celebration 
 of the birth-year of our beloved native home. 
 
 It is possible that one of the " Bradford boys " will, on the 
 
252 
 
 day of the celebration, be resting his weary, war-worn body 
 under the green turf of the old hill-side graveyard where his 
 boyhood footsteps so often trod. 
 
 I need not say to you, dear sir, how great will be the disap- 
 pointment to us if none of us can be present with you on this 
 occasion, that happens but once in a lifetime ; and we ask your 
 kind remembrances. 
 
 Most truly your friend, 
 
 JAMES B. BRADFORD. 
 
 Milwaukee, June 29, 1863. 
 
 Mr. Cogswell : — 
 
 Dear Sir, — Your letter of May 11, inviting me to your 
 centennial celebration, came duly to hand. 
 
 I had intended, until recently, to be present on the occasion, 
 but find now that it will not be in my power, and that I must 
 forego the pleasure of meeting old friends, most of whom I may 
 never have an opportunity to see again. Let me assure you, 
 however, that with reference to New Boston, I can say in all 
 sincerity, with the poet, — 
 
 " Where'er I roam, whatever realms to see, 
 My heart, untravelled, fondly turns to thee." 
 
 With an earnest wish that your celebration may be all, in 
 interest and gratification, that you can desire, 
 I am yours truly, 
 
 E. P. BRADFORD. 
 
 Boston, July 3, 1863. 
 Rev. E. C. Cogswell : — 
 
 Dear Sir, — My thanks are due for your kind invitation to be 
 present on the 4th instant, and mingle in the festivities of the 
 two memorable events, which the citizens of New Boston de- 
 sign to commemorate connectedly. The closing up of the cen- 
 tury, which, has just passed, in the settlement of my native 
 town, will be of thrilling interest to those now upon the stage, 
 especially those who have reached their " threescore years and 
 ten," as they look back over the rise and progress of events as 
 they have transpired during the last century. The two impor- 
 tant eras will give scope to the flowing out of soul, and ex- 
 
253 
 
 pression of high-toned patriotism, especially if the spirit of 
 " '76 " pervades the hearts of the New Boston people. 
 
 It would prove a day of hilarity to all good people who may 
 assemble around the festive board, on the occasion, if we were 
 free from the deadly grasp and horrors of a civil war. Notwith- 
 standing the dark cloud which broods over our mourning coun- 
 try, still we would not lose sight of the nation's first struggle, 
 which so gloriously gained for us our independence and an 
 elevated stand amongst the nations of the earth. 
 
 It would contribute much to my happiness to be a participant 
 in the festivities of the day, not of the outer, but of the inner 
 man. It would prove injurious to me to leave my business just 
 at this time, which must plead my excuse for non-attendance 
 on so pleasant an occasion. 
 
 In conclusion, permit me to offer the following sentiment : — 
 
 Loyalty, without alloy, to the principles established by the 
 Constitution of American Independence, that all men are 
 born/ree and equal. 
 
 I am, dear sir, very cordially, 
 
 Your friend and humble servant, 
 
 WM. R. CLARKE. 
 
 Evergreens, Newburyport, Mass., June 15, 1863. 
 Rev. E. C. Cogswell : — 
 
 Dear Sir, — Your circular for the " hundredth anniversary " 
 celebration on the coming 4th of July, was received months 
 ago, but I have delayed replying till I could say, I will come. 
 Unfortunately, I cannot yet so decide, but hope to be able to 
 enjoy the day with old friends. 
 
 I well remember the orator for the occasion, Hon. C. B. 
 Cochrane, as well as some of your committee, particularly Lu- 
 ther Colburn. My regards to all. 
 
 Respectfully your obedient servant, 
 
 E. G. KELLEY. 
 Rev. E. C. Cogswell, Ch. Ex. Committee. 
 
254 
 
 Milfoed, June 23, 1863. 
 
 Rev. E. C. Cogswell: — 
 
 Dear Sir, — I thank you for your polite invitation to attend 
 the centennial celebration of the birthday of New Boston. It 
 would be highly gratifying to me to be present on the occasion, 
 and participate with the people in their reflections on the past. 
 But I am afflicted with lameness, which retards me on the track, 
 except on the track of time. I can be with you only in spirit. 
 My best wishes for you, and for your town. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 HUMPHREY MOORE. 
 
 Amherst, July 4, 1863. 
 
 Rev. E. C. Cogswell : — 
 
 My Dear Sir, — On this day of glorious and precious mem- 
 ories, I am glad that your citizens have decided to commem- 
 orate the commencement of your civil history. The settlement 
 of New Boston, and the period of its incorporation as a town, 
 must furnish many pious and patriotic incidents, which may 
 well be brought to mind in an hour like this, when the national 
 life is imperilled. I have a very lively sympathy with every 
 effort to recover the memorials of that heroic age, when these 
 towns were planted. The descendants of those who emigrated 
 from Londonderry to New Boston, can look back to a noble an- 
 cestry. I should be happy to join in the services which bring 
 to mind their personal worth and valuable labors, but I can- 
 not, with convenience, be absent from home. If you should 
 prepare a memorial volume, or print any record of your pro- 
 ceedings, enter my name as a subscriber. 
 
 Thanking you for the Gourteous invitation with which I have 
 been honored, I am 
 
 Yours, with sincere esteem, 
 
 J. G. DAVIS. 
 
TOWN OFEICEES. 
 
 John Goffe, Esq., was apppointed by the Governor and Coun- 
 cil to call the first town-meeting in New Boston ; and the first 
 meeting was held at the dwelling-house of Dea. Thomas 
 Cochran, on Thursday, March 10, 1763. At this meeting 
 Alexander McCollom, was chosen Town Clerk, and Thomas 
 Cochran, James McFerson, Nathaniel Cochran, John Mc- 
 Allister, and John Carson, Selectmen ; Thomas Wilson ; Con- 
 stable, Matthew Caldwell, John Smith, George Cristy, James 
 Wilson, and Thomas Brown, Surveyors of Highways ; Abraham 
 Cochran and Samuel Nickles, Tythingmen ; William Gray and 
 John Burns, Hog-reeves ; John Carson and James Hunter, 
 Deer-keepers ; John Cochran, Commissioner of Assessments ; 
 Dea. Thomas Cochran, Pound-keeper ; Matthew Caldwell and 
 Thomas Wilson a Committee to examine the Selectmen's 
 accounts. 
 
 The following is a list of the names of the persons that have 
 served in the office of Representative, Town Clerk, and Select- 
 men, from the year 1763 to the year 1863, the year set against 
 their names, prepared by George G. Fox, Esq. : — 
 
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GRADUATES OF COLLEGES. 
 
 John Gove, Dartmouth College. .1703 
 
 William Wilson, D. C 1707 
 
 William Ferson, D. C 1 707 
 
 Peter Cochran, (Rev.) D. C 1708 
 
 Nathaniel Peahody, D. C 1800 
 
 Thomas Cochran, (Rev.) B. U. . . 
 Robert Cochran, (Rev.) B. U. . . 
 
 Samuel Clark, (Rev.) D. C 1812 
 
 Charles F. Cove, D. C 1817 
 
 Josiah W. Fairfield, D. C 1825 
 
 Clark B. Cochrane. U. C 1839 
 
 Perlcy Dodge, U. C 1824 
 
 Hiram Wason, (Rev.) A. C 1834 
 
 i Royal Parkinson, (Rev.) D. C. .1842 
 
 I Witter S. M'Curay, D. C 1845 
 
 Jesse M'Curdy, D. C 1852 
 
 Amos B. Goodhue, U. C 1845 
 
 Joseph A. Goodhue, D. C 1848 
 
 Lorenzo Fairbanks, D. C 1852 
 
 Warren R. Cochrane, D. C 1850 
 
 William R. Adams, D. C 1859 
 
 William W. Colburn, D. C 1861 
 
 Henrv Marden, D. C 1862 
 
 GRADUATES OF MEDICAL COLLEGES. 
 
 Samuel Gregg, D. C 1825 
 
 A. G. Kelley, Jeff. Med. Coll.. . .1838 
 
 Jeremiah Cochran, B. C 1825 
 
 Chas. Cochran, Willoughby TJniv .1843 
 
 Thomas H. Cochran, D. C 1840 
 
 Horace Wason, CastletonM. Sch.1845 
 
 Samuel Lynch, Union Med. Col., 
 New York . . • • 1863 
 
EOLL OE HONOR. 
 
 A TRIBUTE TO THE ABSENT SOLDIERS, BY W. R. COCHRANE. 
 
 While we are luxurious, 
 
 Joyous and curious, 
 Many brave hearts are away to the war : 
 
 Kindred to some of us, — 
 
 What would become of us, 
 Losing the rights they are suffering for ? 
 
 Returning approvingly, 
 
 Eagerly, lovingly, 
 Home's gushing heart is the dream-gathered gem 
 
 As in spirit they meet with us, — 
 
 Laugh with us, eat with us, 
 Oh, be our sympathy ever with them ! 
 
 In fancy, frivolity, 
 
 Pleasure and jollity, 
 Friendship's sweet paths, or devotion's warm tear, 
 
 They were ever a part of us, — 
 
 Deep in each heart of us 
 Be the white chamber of memory dear ! 
 
 For some will not press again 
 
 Hands whose caress again, 
 Meeting or parting, can thrill us no more ; 
 
 In the camp languishing, 
 
 On the field vanquishing, — 
 Falling in glory, their battles are o'er ! 
 
 From the clash, the disparity, 
 Booty, barbarity, 
 
264 
 
 Back will the spirit instinctively roam ; 
 Dying unswervingly, 
 
 Dying deservingly, 
 Dying in dreams of affection and home ! 
 
 Oh ! take him up carefully, 
 
 Tenderly, prayerfully, 
 Though the fixed eye be unceasingly dim ; 
 
 Though he awake no more, 
 
 Though his heart break no more, 
 Holy the ashes of heroes like him ! 
 
 Bear him with gratitude 
 
 To this cold latitude, 
 Where the green graves of his kindred may be 
 
 Link not with slavery 
 
 Christian-like bravery, — 
 Let his bones rest in the soil of the free ! 
 
 Reared in obscurity, 
 
 Piety, purity, 
 Though unemblazoned his dearly-loved name ; 
 
 True to the land we love, 
 
 True to the God above, 
 Ages shall brighten and whiten his fame ! 
 
 Not popularity, 
 
 Property, charity. 
 Not by what others might offer or say ; — 
 
 He was a patriot, 
 
 Loving the state he ought, 
 Here was the spirit which called him away ! 
 
 Oh ! changelessly, cheerfully, 
 
 Tenderly, tearfully, 
 Lovingly spoken his name shall be ; — 
 
 In his life beautiful, 
 
 Unto death dutiful, 
 Long shall he live in the hearts of the free ! 
 
OP VOLUNTEERS FROM NEW BOSTON 
 IN THE WAR OP THE REBELLION. 
 
 FOR TIIREE MONTHS. 
 
 James B. Whipple, 
 Paul Whipple, 
 Page Fox, 
 Joseph K. Whipple, 
 W. B. Dodge, 
 Alfred Eaton, 
 W. E. Taggart. 
 
 FOR NINE MONTHS. 
 
 Perley Doge,* 
 M. Colburn, 
 Abner Lull,* 
 Jacob Towns, 
 Geo. Andrews, 
 C. H. Dickey ,* 
 H. Peabody,* 
 J. Peabody,* 
 L. Peabody,* 
 J. Langdell, 
 Wm. Kelso * 
 Page Fox, 
 H. Fairfield, 
 Horace Langdell, 
 Edward Cudworth,* 
 Calvin Andrews, 
 C. H. Murphy, 
 E. P. Dodge, 
 Geo. Marden, 
 Lewis Towns,* 
 Moses Crombie, 
 Benj. Wilson,* 
 
 Fred. Lamson.* 
 
 FOR THREE YEARS 
 OR THE WAR. 
 Emerson Johonnett, 
 Edward Reynolds, 
 Samuel Putman, 
 Wm. C. Kelso, 
 Jacob Carson, 
 W. Cornelius Beard,* 
 Julian Dodge, 
 S. Dodge, Jr., 
 Wm. B. Dodge, 
 Robert Clark, 
 Geo. H. Chandler, 
 Caleb Dodge, 
 Paul Whipple, 
 Henry Gage, 
 A. Carson, 
 Everett Ober, 
 John Corvan,* 
 Geo. Davis, 
 Geo. How, 
 Edwin Barnard, 
 Levi W. Sargent, 
 Charles Brooks,* 
 
 Richardson, 
 
 Frank Warden, 
 John Buxton, 
 Washington Follansbee, 
 Henry Shelby, 
 Addison Meade, 
 
 Chas. E. Daggett * 
 H. Frank Warren, 
 Elbridge Mansfield, 
 J. H. Johonnett, 
 A. J. Bennett, 
 Austin Morgan, 
 Geo. Lawrence, 
 John G. Rowell, 
 Wm. Dustan, 
 Geo. E. Cochran, 
 Daniel Heald 
 John H. Eaton,* 
 Alfred Eaton, 
 Frank Carson, 
 R. Bartlett, 
 Wm. N. Dunklee, 
 A. P. Brigham, 
 
 Hope, 
 
 J. Whipple Jr., 
 Geo. Moulton, 
 James Leet, 
 Duncan Campbell, 
 Edgar Richards, 
 Joseph Richards, 
 Oscar Richards,* 
 Daniel F. Shedd, 
 James Colburn, 
 John Dickey, 
 Wm. J. Perkins, 
 John II. Boynton. 
 
 34 
 
 *Dead. 
 
REV. WILLIAM CLAKK. 
 
 He was born in Hancpck September 28, 1798, the son of John, 
 who was the son of William. When a lad he went to Con- 
 cord, and learned the printer's art. But while here, under the 
 preaching of Rev. Asa McFarland, D. D., he became hopefully 
 interested in religion, and desired to obtain a suitable education 
 for the ministry, and to this bent his energies. He fitted for col- 
 lege at Bradford Academy, Mass., and graduated at Dartmouth 
 College in the Class of 1822. Teaching an academy at New- 
 port two years, he entered Andover Theological Seminary in 
 1824, and graduated in 1827, after which he was employed as 
 an agent for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
 Missions in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and was settled 
 over the First Congregational Church in Wells, Me., February 
 19, 1829, where he remained six years, seeing much fruit of his 
 labors. He was then appointed agent for the American Tract 
 Society for New England, and in 1836 for the Society at New 
 York, as their general agent for the Western States. In 1840 
 he was appointed district secretary for the A. B. C. F. Mis- 
 sions for Northern New England, and occupied this position 
 until 1856, when he resigned, and was appointed secretary and 
 general agent of the New Hampshire Home Missionary Society, 
 and still holds that office. 
 
 Mr. Clark married Elvira Hurd, of Newport, January 14, 
 1829, who died February 9, 1847, leaving a son and daughter, 
 — the latter dying young, the former being now a member of 
 Amherst College, Mass. December 26, 1848, Mr. Clark mar- 
 ried Mrs. Mary C. Wheelright, of Bangor, Me., and resides at 
 Amherst. 
 
MHjZxOZra vMffi> . 
 
RESPONSE OF REV. WILLIAM CLARK. 
 
 New Boston. — What has given it its character. 
 
 Mr. President, — 
 
 From its first settlement more than one hundred years since, 
 the town of New Boston has held a conspicuous and honorable 
 position. Its name has been associated with whatsoever is of 
 good report. Having no special natural advantages above its 
 sister towns in the vicinity, with the exception, perhaps, of 
 somewhat extensive water power and valuable pine growth on 
 the borders of its streams, it has been prominent among them. 
 Great industry has ever characterized its inhabitants. Few, in 
 any period of its existence, have eaten the bread of idleness. 
 The sturdy owners of the soil have cultivated their acres with 
 indomitable energy and unremitting diligence ; combining these 
 traits with frugality and good management, they have attained 
 to prosperity. This is seen in their good roads, their substan- 
 tial stone fences, their well cultivated farms, their convenient 
 well-furnished buildings, their large barns, their extensive 
 flocks and herds. 
 
 Hospitality has been a marked trait in the character of the 
 New Boston people. Before the construction of the turnpike 
 passing through the southwest corner of the town, teamsters 
 from upper towns in the State and in Vermont, learning the 
 fame of New Boston hospitality, were wont to avail themselves 
 of it, much to their comfort and to the relief of their scantily 
 filled purses. Some fifty years ago, when country farmers, liv- 
 ing remote from sea-board towns, were wont in the winter sea- 
 son to go tib market with their own teams and exchange their 
 produce for groceries, Deacon Robert Clark used to purchase 
 largely, not only for his own family, but for the visitors and 
 callers at his house, whether relatives or strangers. 
 
270 
 
 In one of his annual trips to Boston, while negotiating some- 
 what largely for groceries, the merchant inquired whether he 
 was purchasing to sell again, or for his own family expenditure ; 
 intending to sell at a cheaper rate if the good deacon had in 
 view the former object. He replying, " Sir, I am purchasing 
 for my own family, and for my friends and my guests," was 
 obliged to pay retail prices. Paying such prices for his groce- 
 ries they were cordially dealt out to his comers, irrespective of 
 relationship, without money and without price. The hay and 
 grain of his well-filled barns were in like manner gratuitously 
 dealt out to the teams of his callers and guests. This gen- 
 erosity, this open-heartedness, that disdained to receive compen- 
 sation for entertainment, was a prominent trait in the earlier 
 settlers of the town, and contributed not a little to its good 
 name. 
 
 The early settlers of New Boston, most of them of Scotch 
 descent, possessed sturdy intellects and strong common sense. 
 Well educated for those days of comparative scarcity of schools, 
 books, and newspapers, they made provision for the education 
 of their children. When unable to sustain the present system 
 of common schools, neighboring families would unite in pro- 
 curing teachers for their children from Scotland and Ireland. 
 This kept alive amongst them the love of education and learn- 
 ing, and greatly promoted general intelligence. As fruits of 
 this, the town bias furnished a large number of well-educated 
 men for the professions of medicine, law, and divinity, and for 
 teachers, mechanics, merchants, tradesmen, and farmers. In 
 this connection should be named the wives, mothers, and 
 daughters of New Boston, who were second in no respect in 
 strength of character, intelligence, frugality, hospitality, or in- 
 dustry, to their husbands, parents, or brothers. Indeed, the 
 valuable traits of character belonging to the men were inspired 
 by the excellent women of the successive generations of the 
 past century. 
 
 It need hardly be said, after the foregoing, that public order 
 and good morals have been marked traits in the character of 
 the people of New Boston. These are almost necessary conse- 
 quences of a community distinguished for industry, frugal- 
 ity, hospitality, intelligence, good family government, respect 
 
271 
 
 for parental authority, fraternal affection, love of honesty, 
 truth, integrity between man and man, obedience to public law, 
 temperance, respect for and observance of the Sabbath as an in- 
 stitution of God, reverence for the sanctuary, — all these, and kin- 
 dred virtues, have ever belonged, to a good degree, to this people. 
 
 Now, under what general influences has their character, as 
 above imperfectly delineated, been formed ? We reply, under 
 those of the Bible, of the preaching of the gospel, and of its 
 blessed institutions. 
 
 The early settlers of the town — most of them emigrants 
 from Londonderry, whose ancestors were Scotch Presbyterians 
 — brought with them a reverence for God and his institutions. 
 Theirs was a scriptural piety, the fruit of an unhesitating, full, 
 practical faith in the great doctrines of revelation. 
 
 These great doctrines had been taught them in Londonderry 
 by the McGregors and the Davidsons, and by their godly par- 
 ents ; from the Bible and the Westminster Assembly's Cat- 
 echism. These Bible truths had enlightened and invigorated 
 the intellect, and stamped the character of the pioneer settlers 
 of the town. Thus trained at home, and coming here in the 
 fear of God, they laid the foundation of religious institutions 
 when comparatively few and feeble in pecuniary means. They 
 kept the Sabbath, and reverenced the sanctuary. Soon after 
 their establishment in town they extended a call to Rev. Sol- 
 omon Moor, recently from Scotland, to become their pastor and 
 teacher. This call, signed by some fifty men, heads of families, 
 honors their intellect and heart. 
 
 Mr. Moor, accepting the call, became their minister, remain- 
 ing such till his death, which occurred May 3, 1803, at the age 
 of 67. A church of the Presbyterian order was formed, prob- 
 ably in the same year of his settlement, 1768. His ministry 
 of thirty-five years was comfortable and useful, made so, in no 
 small measure, by the influence of his excellent lady, a daugh- 
 ter of Rev. William Davidson, of the east parish, Londonderry. 
 On the ministry of Rev. Mr. Moor, most of the families in the 
 town constantly attended. Such was the tone of public opin- 
 ion, that no family or individual could have the respect of the 
 people who did not regularly resort to the sanctuary, and, at 
 least externally, hallow the Sabbath. Returning from public 
 
272 
 
 worship, parents would gather their children around them, and 
 teach them the doctrines and duties of the Bible. Daily wor- 
 ship was maintained by the families generally. This greatly 
 contributed to the maintenance and efficiency of family govern- 
 ment. Children honored their parents, and loved one another ; 
 they were taught to respect their superiors and reverence age, 
 to fear God and keep his commandments. 
 
 Such was the state of society in New Boston when Rev. 
 Ephraim P. Bradford — a nobleman by nature, and, by the grace 
 of God, a finished scholar ; a sound theologian ; an eloquent 
 preacher ; a faithful pastor ; a devout Christian : wise, prudent, 
 deeply impressed with a sense of his responsibilities as a minis- 
 ter of Christ — was ordained a successor of Rev. Mr. Moor 
 Feb. 26, 1806, continuing pastor of the church to the close of 
 his life, Dec. 15, 1845, at 69 years of age. During his useful 
 ministry, of nearly forty years, some three or four extensive re- 
 vivals occurred among his people, the aggregate fruits of which 
 were several hundred additions to the church. Seldom has a 
 Christian ministry, of like duration, been more beneficial to 
 any people. The high tone of morals existing from the early 
 settlement of the town, the respect and observance of the Sab- 
 bath, the reverence for the sanctuary, the cheerful support of 
 Christian ordinances shown by the fathers at one period, and 
 maintained to a good degree by the children under the able, 
 earnest, godly ministry of Mr. Bradford, gave prominence to 
 New Boston. 
 
 The primary and principal influences, therefore, which have 
 given New Boston its excellent character during the century 
 of its existence, have come from the Bible, the church, the 
 pulpit, the ministry, the Sabbath school, the ordinances of the 
 gospel. Had none of these hallowed influences existed in the 
 town, had the first settlers been indifferent to the sacred insti- 
 tutions ordained of God for the temporal and eternal good of 
 the race, and had their successors followed their example, how 
 barren of interest would be the event we to-day celebrate ! The 
 great interest of this occasion results, in no small degree, from 
 the ecclesiastical history of the town. May its future history 
 be fraught with like interest. In order to this, the people must 
 earnestly, cheerfully, liberally, sustain the divinely-appointed 
 institutions of the Bible, — institutions so loved by the fathers. 
 
DR. THOMAS II. COCHRAN. 
 
 Dr. Cochran was the son of John Davidson Cochran, born 
 June 15, 1812, on Cochran Hill. After his preparatory course 
 in schools, he studied medicine and surgery with Dr. Nehemiah 
 Cutter, of Pepperell, Mass., and Drs. Dixi Crosby, of Hanover, 
 and Josiah Crosby, of Meredith Bridge, and graduated at the 
 Medical College at Hanover, in the Class of 1840, and com- 
 menced to practice at New Ipswich in September of that year. 
 He was married, by Rev. Samuel Lee, to Mary, daughter of 
 Capt. Jeremiah Pritchard of New Ipswich, Oct. 3, 1844. Their 
 children are : Hamilton P., John D., Frederick C, Mary L., and 
 Helen V. Dr. Cochran held a commission of Justice of the 
 Peace for the County of Hillsborough from 1847 to his re- 
 moval to West Rutland, Vt., in 1855, and served as Assistant 
 Surgeon U. S. Army, in the military hospitals Louisville, Ky., 
 in the years 1862 and '63. He is now in the successful prac- 
 tice of his profession in West Rutland, Vt. 
 
 35 
 
J.KBufford'siifti. 
 
KESPONSE OF DR. T. H. COCHBAN. 
 
 '• And the rest of the acts of the fathers, behold, they are written in the book of the 
 
 Chronicles. " 
 
 Mr. President, — 
 
 1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in or- 
 der a declaration concerning - the manner of the discovery and 
 early settlement of this goodly heritage, whose boundaries are 
 the Eastern and Western Seas, and also the acts of the early 
 fathers, — 
 
 2 I thought it good to me also, having sat at the feet of 
 elders and old men and ancient maidens, and learned, by 
 word of mouth, many ancient traditions ; 
 
 3 And also having a perfect knowledge of many things that 
 have never been before written ; 
 
 4 And furthermore, having been an eye-witness of many 
 things, that have come to pass in these latter days, to set them 
 forth in order unto your most excellent friends, 
 
 5 That you, likewise, might know and understand the same : — 
 
 6 Now, therefore, declare I them unto you, and not unto you 
 only do I declare them, 
 
 7 But to the effect that generations yet unborn may also read 
 and know of the acts of their fathers. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. — FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 1 Now it came to pass, in the days of Ferdinand and Isabella, 
 that there arose a young man, a Genoese, a man of much 
 study and learning and wisdom and understanding, and full of 
 all knowledge in navigating ships upon the waters. 
 
 2 Now this young man went into the presence of the King 
 and Queen, and bowed himself before them, saying, 
 
276 
 
 3 Hear ine, King, I pray thee, and turn not a deaf ear 
 unto the supplication of thy servant. 
 
 4 Now this is my petition and desire ; for it comes to pass, 
 that as I lie sleeping upon my couch by night, my slumbers are 
 disturbed by strange visions of isles and lands beyond the sea, 
 towards the setting sun ; 
 
 5 And my convictions, also, by day are, that there are yet 
 other lands, that my lord the King knoweth not of. 
 
 6 Now, therefore, I pray thee, give me ships, and men to 
 navigate them, that I may go in search thereof, and bring sil- 
 ver, and gold, and precious stones, and men-servants, and maid- 
 servants, to fill the treasury of my lord the King. 
 
 7 Now it came to pass, that, after many like entreaties, the 
 hearts of the King and Queen were moved with compassion 
 towards him, and they gave him ships and men, as he had de- 
 sired them. 
 
 8 Now when he had cast his lot upon the waters, and had been 
 tossed about for many months, he lifted up his eyes, and be- 
 hold, there rose up before him a land of mountains and valleys, 
 and hills and forests, yea, of lakes and mighty rivers, whose 
 waters mingle with the sea ; 
 
 9 A land inhabited by a strange people, clothed in skins and 
 furs of animals, cunning archers, and mighty warriors, wor- 
 shippers of a great spirit, but who knew not the living and true 
 God. 
 
 10 Now he called the land he had discovered, Columbia, and 
 tarrying for a season, returned to his own country. 
 
 11 ^[ Now it came to pass, that when the discoveries that 
 Christopher, whose surname was Columbus, had made, became 
 noised abroad among the nations of the East, 
 
 12 There arose colonies from Tyrus, which is, by interpreta- 
 tion, England ; 
 
 13 And also from the land of pipes, lager-beer, and sour- 
 krout, which is, by interpretation, Holland ; 
 
 14 Also from the land of oil, wine, and honey, the originators 
 of fashions for the civilized world to ape, which is Prance ; 
 
 15 Also from the land of knight-errantry, seekers for gold- 
 dust, famed for its Amoritish and Moorish women, even Spain. 
 
 16 Now they crossed the sea in ships, and anchored at the 
 
277 
 
 mouths of the mighty rivers, and builded cities ; every tribe 
 according to its nation, did it build a city. (a) 
 
 17 Now the land that Columbus discovered became a great 
 and mighty nation. * 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF LONDONDERRY. 
 
 1 Now there came also a tribe of Scots from the Isle of 
 " Erin Go Bragh " known and read of all men as Scotch-Irish, 
 for they had sojourned many generations in that Isle, in the 
 north part thereof, Presbyterians, who feared God, and eschewed 
 evil. 
 
 2 They also came down in ships, their wives and little ones, 
 and the ships wafted westward, and anchored at the mouth of 
 Jordan, even the Merrimac, where it empties into the sea. 
 
 3 Now it came to pass, as they journeyed westward a Sabbath- 
 day's journey, that they lifted up their eyes, 
 
 4 And behold they discovered land, yea rich land, abound- 
 ing in forests of cedar and fir. 
 
 5 And behold also, there were meadows, where ran pure 
 streams of water, and bearing much grass for their flocks and 
 herds. (b) 
 
 G Here they pitched their tents, and gave thanks unto the 
 Lord, for his goodness, and for his mercy that endureth for- 
 ever. 
 
 7 And they called the land whereon they worshipped 
 -Bethel;" 
 
 8 For they said " The Lord hath directed our steps hither- 
 ward, and pointed this land out to us, for an heritage for our- 
 selves, and the generations that are to come after us." 
 
 9 So it came to pass that they builded houses, and tilled the 
 earth, and the earth yielded her increase, and sons and 
 daughters were born unto them. 
 
 10 And their flocks and herds multiplied exceedingly, and 
 they became a prosperous and happy people, fearing God alway. 
 
 11 Now they called the land whereon they abode " London- 
 Derry, " for they said " We will perpetuate the name of the 
 place of our nativity." 
 
278 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF NEW BOSTON. 
 
 1 Now it came to pass, in process of time, that the sons that 
 were born unto them grew to man's estate, and for number 
 were like the hosts of David when he warred against the Phi- 
 listines, — 
 
 2 G-odly men, and men of valor ; and their daughters were 
 like the roes upon the mountains, — comely and fair to look 
 upon. 
 
 3 Now the young men arose and said unto their fathers, 
 " Behold the young men, for we are mauy, and the place is too 
 straight for us. 
 
 4 Where now is the rood of ground whereon we can build 
 an house, and plant a vineyard, and eat our bread, and drink 
 our wine, and live and die under our own vine and fig-tree ? " 
 
 5 Now when the young men had done speaking their fathers 
 said unto them, — 
 
 6 Lift up your eyes and look afar off, beyond Jordan, even 
 westward, beyond Joppa. (c) 
 
 7 Is there not a land flowing with milk and honey, and own- 
 ed by the merchant men of the city, even Boston ? 
 
 8 Arise, go to now, take money in your purse, and two loaves 
 to sustain you on your journey, 
 
 9 And go buy you lands whereon to build and raise you up 
 a local habitation and a name in Israel. 
 
 10 Now the young men did as their fathers had commanded 
 them, and went and bought lands that had been measured by 
 the compass and chain, 
 
 11 And felled the timber thereon, and burned it upon the 
 ground, and sowed instead the wheat and flax and barley ; 
 
 12 And builded an house ; every man according to his means, 
 did he build an house. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE YOUNG MEN SEEK WIVES. 
 
 1 Now it came to pass that one young man, after he had cast 
 in the wheat and flax and barley, and builded an house, arose 
 and came to himself, and said, — 
 
279 
 
 2 kt As it was in the days of Adam so it is In these latter 
 days, it is not good for man to be alone ; " 
 
 3 " What doth it profit a man, if he gain a farm and live a 
 bachelor ? " 
 
 4 I will arise, and go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bcth- 
 uel, my mother's father, and take from thence a wife of the 
 daughters of Laban, my mother's brother." (1) 
 
 5 And he arose, and went and did as he had said ; 
 
 6 Now this was the portion that Laban bestowed upon his 
 daughters. 
 
 7 One young heifer, one ewe lamb, one foal, and a side-sad- 
 dle, new from the shop, stitched by the hand of a cunning work- 
 man, 
 
 8 A spinning-wheel (there were no pianos in those days), 
 and some fine linen from the loom, 
 
 9 Pewter spoons and platters, without alloy, for the table, a 
 churn and kneading-trough. (d) 
 
 10 And, peradventure, another article, much used in those 
 days, somewhat after the similitude of a kneading-trough, with 
 the addition of rockers. 
 
 11 This was the portion that the damsel brought unto her 
 husband. 
 
 12 Now it came to pass, that other young men, seeing that 
 the prosperity of their friend was greater after he had taken a 
 wile than before, went and did likewise. 
 
 13 " Seest thou a man diligent in business, he shall stand 
 before kings, he shall not stand before mean men." 
 
 14 Now they prospered and waxed in riches, and became 
 much people, and called the land whereon they dwelt Israel, 
 which is by interpetation New Boston, for they said, " Did we 
 not buy lands of the merchant-men of the city of Boston ? 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 WHAT THE W I V.E S DID. 
 
 1 " The heart of her husband, doth safely trust in her. 
 
 2 " She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her 
 hands ; 
 
280 
 
 3 " She layeth her hand to the spindle, and her hands hold the 
 distaff; 
 
 4 " Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among 
 the elders of the land ; 
 
 5 " She maketh fine linen and selleth it ; 
 
 6 " Her children rise up and call her blessed, and her husband 
 also and he praiseth her." 
 
 7 Now the wives they had chosen were cunning workers with 
 the shuttle and distaff, and spun of the wool, and made gar- 
 ments for themselves, their husbands and little ones. 
 
 8 And of the flax, they made linen, yea the fine linen of 
 Egypt did they make, and laid it upon the lawn to bleach and 
 to whiten, 
 
 9 And watered it with a watering-pot, at the rising of the 
 sun and at the going down of the same, and at noon-day, until 
 it was like unto the snow for whiteness. 
 
 10 Now they beetled it upon a rock, even the rock that stands 
 unto this day, at the threshold of the door of the house of 
 Peggy, the daughter of John, did they beetle it ; 
 
 11 And folded it in folds, and took it to the Fair, even the 
 " Deny Fair," and sold it to the merchant-men of the city for 
 shekels of gold and shekels of silver. (c) 
 
 12 Thus were they an helpmeet to their husbands. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CAVE OF MACHPELAH. 
 
 1 Now it came to pass that the chief people and elders as- 
 sembled themselves together, and said one to another, 
 
 2 " Man that is born of woman tarrieth but for a season and 
 passeth away, and we have not yet where to bury our dead." 
 
 3 And they communed with Ephron the son of Zohar the 
 Hittite saying, — 
 
 4 " Sell unto us, for as much money as it is worth, the field 
 and the cave therein, which layeth before Mamre, on the hill- 
 side, above the river, even t the Piscataquog, that runneth 
 through the valley, for a possession of a burial-place, that we 
 may bury our dead out of our sight." 
 
281 
 
 5 And Bpliron answered and said unto them : " Hearken 
 unto me my neighbors and townsmen ; 
 
 6 The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, — what 
 is that betwixt me and you ? bury therefore thy dead." 
 
 7 And they hearkened unto Ephron, and weighed unto him 
 the silver which he had named, even four hundred shekels cur- 
 rent money with the merchants. 
 
 8 And the field and the cave of Machpelah, which lieth 
 therein were made sure unto them for a possession of a burial- 
 place, and there they bury their dead even unto this day. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BUILDING OF THE FIRST TEMPLE — CALLING OF 
 SOLOMON. 
 
 1 Now after those things, the chief people and elders assem- 
 bled themselves together the second time, and said one to 
 another, 
 
 2 " Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, 
 but we have not where to worship God on the Sabbath day." 
 
 3 Now they took counsel together, and builded a sanctuary 
 on Mount Ephraim, on the north side thereof, near Cave Mach- 
 pelah. 
 
 4 The length thereof was one score and ten cubits, and the 
 breadth thereof was one score and five cubits, and the height 
 thereof twelve cubits. 
 
 5 On the south side was the gate, or main entrance to the 
 lower, or inner court of the sanctuary, and on the east, south, 
 and west sides of the inner walls was an upper court, which is, 
 by interpretation, a " gallery." 
 
 6 On the south of the upper court sat those who sang songs 
 and played the harp, and on the east and west sides sat rebel- 
 lious lads and " contrabands," 
 
 7 While on the lower court sat the elders and assembled wis- 
 dom of Israel. 
 
 8 Now there were on the east and west ends of the sanctuary, 
 porches, or outer courts with side entrances to the lower court, 
 and winding-stairs to the upper court. 
 
 36 
 
282 
 
 9 Now opposite the south gate on the north side, against the 
 wall of the inner court, was the altar, whose height was three 
 cubits and a span, and above the altar was there projecting from 
 the wall after the similitude of the " shell of the tortoise," which 
 is, by interpretation, a " sounding-board," that the truths spoken 
 at the altar might not ascend, and be lost among the rafters, 
 but descend, and find lodgment in the hearts of the hearers. 
 
 10 Now the color of the temple was diverse from that of the 
 sepulchre unto which Christ likened the Jews ; 
 
 11 And the building might be likened unto an algebraic for- 
 mula, thus : a -J- b — x — y = the whole, which is, by inter- 
 pretation : a, the walls ; plus b, the roof; minus x, the steeple ; 
 minus y, the bell = the house. 
 
 12 ^[ Now they called Solomon from the isle of Scotia, be- 
 yond the sea, a devout man, of much learning and wisdom, and 
 of talents not a few. 
 
 13 And Solomon was anointed to walk in and out of the 
 temple before this people, and he did so ; and his offerings were 
 acceptable unto the Lord ; and multitudes turned from the error 
 of their ways under his teachings. 
 
 14 And the temple was called the " Temple of Solomon." 
 
 15 Tradition says of Solomon, whose surname was Moor, 
 that he was of large stature, and his countenance beamed with 
 intelligence and good-humor, 
 
 16 And was known for his many proverbs and sayings, that 
 abounded in wit and sarcasm, and was, withal, a good horse- 
 man, and sat upon his horse after the similitude of one that 
 commandeth an army. 
 
 17 ^[ Now there was a man of much note in the land, whose 
 surname was McLaughlen, who kept an inn on the hillside above 
 the sanctuary, and many of the hearers of Solomon assembled 
 there at noontide on the Sabbath day, and regaled themselves 
 with new wine and strong drink. 
 
 18 Now on the altar, on the right hand of Solomon, stood a 
 monitor, which is, by interpretation, an " hour-glass," to ad- 
 monish the congregation of the distich in the primer, that 
 
 " As runs the glass, 
 Man's life doth pass.'W 
 
283 
 
 19 And Solomon preached by the hour. 
 
 20 Now on the morrow after the Sabbath, a certain man re- 
 proached Solomon, in this wise : — 
 
 21 " Thou didst weary us yesterday with thy much speaking, 
 and the hour dragged heavily upon us." 
 
 22 Whereupon Solomon replied, and made the ears of him 
 to whom he spake to tingle : " "What have I to do with thee, 
 thou wicked and perverse son of Belial ? for thou wilt take two 
 glasses from Mac with an easy grace, and canna' take one glass 
 from me without grumbling." 
 
 23 Now all the days of the ministration of Solomon among 
 this people were one score and seventeen years ; and he died, 
 and was buried in the cave upon the hillside, and a horizontal 
 slab, supported at its four corners, with inscriptions thereon, 
 showeth his history unto this day. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE SECOND ADVENT. (g) 
 
 1 Now it came to pass, that about one score and ten years 
 after the coming of the first tribe, there came also from the sea- 
 shore, even Beverly and Hamilton, in the " Old Bay State," 
 another tribe and people, whose speech and dialect were unlike 
 the speech and dialect of the former people, for they said " Sib- 
 boleth." 
 
 2 Now they multiplied and became much people, so that the 
 name became more numerous than any other name in the land. 
 
 3 They also waxed in riches, and became money-changers and 
 tax-gatherers, 
 
 4 And owners of much land, and cattle, and sheep, and 
 swine, 
 
 5 And horses, and asses, and " contrabands," and he-goats, 
 and rams, and bulls, whose bellowings were like the bellowings 
 of the " bulls of Bashan," when they encompassed the psalmist 
 round about. 
 
284 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE WITCH OP ENDOB (h) — WHAT SHE DID — THE 
 FATE OF ISAAC — THE DEATH OF THE WITCH. 
 
 " I tell the tale as it was told to me." 
 
 1 Now as it was in the days of the man of Uz, so it was in 
 the early settlements : " Satan came also," in the person of a 
 witch, that he might annoy and vex the feeble ones, and pro- 
 voke them to " curse God and die." 
 
 2 Now she entered into the swine, and choked them with 
 their victuals ; and she possessed the house-dog, that he howled 
 dismally, and the cat, that she screeched wildly about the house, 
 
 3 And also the cock did crow, and the geese did cackle at 
 unseasonable hours of the night. 
 
 4 Now an incubus fell upon the sleeper, that he awoke 
 with fright, and the infant screamed and refused its mother's 
 breast. 
 
 5 Now the kine gave blood instead of milk in the pail, and 
 the churner of cream received naught for her labor, and 
 swine's flesh turned to oil in the pot with the dinner of herbs. 
 
 6 All this, and more, did this witch do, to the great annoy- 
 ance and affright of the people, and against the peace and 
 dignity of Israel. 
 
 7 ^[ Now Isaac, the son of Eliab, conceived a passion for Me- 
 hitable, the daughter of John, who lived a long mile distant 
 across the wood, and he tarried with her until a late hour of 
 the night, and departed for his father's house. 
 
 8 Now the witch confronted him at the water-ford, in the 
 depth of the wood, and Isaac saw an " unco sight," — phantoms 
 and ghosts, and Father Time with his scythe danced before him, 
 and blazing fires flitted fantastically upon his right hand and 
 upon his left. (i) 
 
 9 The big owl hooted, and the small owl screeched over his 
 head, and the hare rustled the dry leaves at its feet. 
 
 10 Now Isaac perceived that he was tormented by a witch, 
 and was sore afraid, and said, " If I cross the stream, she will 
 cause my feet to slip, and I shall be choked in the waters ; and 
 if I turn, and flee to the house of Mehitable, she will cut the 
 sinews of my heel, and I shall be roasted alive." 
 
285 
 
 11 Now Isaac was in a great strait, and wot not what to do, 
 and left not his track till the crowing of the cock. 
 
 12 Now Isaac never tarried with Mehitable more. 
 
 13 ^[ Now the death of the witch was after this wise : — 
 
 14 A housewife, who had churned from the rising of the sun 
 until the eleventh hour of the day, and brought no butter, said, 
 " How long shall I be troubled with this, mine adversary ? " 
 
 15 And she took a horse-shoe, that had been worn, and 
 heated it to redness seven times, and cast it into the churn, 
 which made the contents to seethe and boil, and again beat the 
 cream with the dash, as it were a dozen strokes, and took out 
 butter by the pound. 
 
 16 Now it came to pass, at the self-same hour, that two men 
 were passing the house of the witch, and heard a scream from 
 within, as of one in distress ; 
 
 17 And they entered, and lo ! the woman lay dead on the 
 floor, with a mark on her forehead after the similitude of a 
 horse-shoe. 
 
 18 Now it was a proverb in Israel, that if the housewife 
 churned, and brought butter before sunrise, on the first morn- 
 ing of the fifth month of the year the spell of the witch would 
 be broken, and the woman would be in luck with her dairy. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE BAPTISTS — COMING OF ISAIAH, AND BUILD- 
 ING OF THE TABERNACLE DEATH OF ISAIAH. 
 
 1 In the beginning of the nineteenth century came Isaiah 
 the prophet, crying, 
 
 2 " Ho, all ye that pant after the water brooks, come unto 
 me, and I will immerse you beneath the waters of Jordan. 
 
 3 " For all other rites and ceremonies concerning baptism 
 are but as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals, of none effect." 
 
 4 Now many followed Isaiah, and they builded a tabernacle 
 in the land, in the north part thereof, near the habitation of 
 Issachar, whose length was twenty cubits, and whose breadth 
 twenty cubits, and whose height was twelve cubits and a span. 
 
 5 At the south end thereof was the gate that led to the altar 
 at the north end ; 
 
286 
 
 6 From the gate to the altar was an aisle ; upon either side 
 thereof were seats for the hearers ; 
 
 7 On the west of the aisle sat those who wore beards ; and 
 on the east sat those whose heads were decked with the roses 
 of Sharon, and wore long hair for a covering. 
 
 8 Thus were man and wife separated in the sanctuary. 
 
 9 Now Isaiah, whose surname was Stone, prophesied among 
 them many years, and was gathered unto his fathers. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 WINTER EVENING FESTIVALS — WHAT HAPPENED 
 * TO THE WIFE OF THE MILLER. 
 
 1 Now it was a custom among the first tribe, that after ear- 
 ing and harvest, they made feasts, each man at his own house, 
 and bade those of his kin and tribe, that his house might be 
 filled. 
 
 2 And he sat before them the fruits of his stall, and fowl and 
 wild game and honey ; 
 
 3 Also did he set before them the fruits of his orchard and 
 vintage. 
 
 4 Now they ate and drank, and repeated anecdotes of olden 
 time, and recounted personal exploits and deeds of daring, and 
 made merry until a late hour of the night. 
 
 5 Thus did they spend a winter's eve. 
 
 6 ^[ Now there was a man at a feast, an elder of the church, 
 of uprightness and integrity; 
 
 7 And he brake the wheat and the barley between the upper 
 and nether millstone ; 
 
 8 And his fame was known through all the region round 
 about, as there was no mill, for fine flour, like unto the " Dea- 
 con Cristy Mill." 
 
 9 Now, like Noah of old, he looked upon the wine when it 
 was red, and tarried long at the inn of him that sold strong 
 drink. 
 
 10 Now it came to pass that his wife said unto him at the 
 feast, 
 
 11 " Wist ye not that it is the twelfth hour of the night ?" 
 And he said, "We will go." 
 
287 
 
 12 Now he drove fine horses, even a span ; and the horses ran 
 furiously, and overturned the sleigh, and threw the woman upon 
 the ground, even at their own door. 
 
 13 And she arose with a fright, and shook the snow from her 
 garments, and said, 
 
 14 " I have reason to thank my Maker that I am not killed." 
 
 15 Now the saying of his wife displeased him much, inas- 
 much as it wounded his pride ; for he accounted himself a good 
 reinsman. 
 
 16 And he lifted up his voice and said unto her, " Thank 
 your Maker ! thank your Maker ! Woman, verily, verily, I say 
 unto thee, thou hast far more reason to thank thy driver." 
 
 17 Now this has been a saying and a byword in Israel, until 
 the present day. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 CALLING OF EPHRAIM — BUILDING THE SECOND 
 TEMPLE — BURIAL OF EPHRAIM. 
 
 1 Now the people lamented the death of Solomon ; for a 
 faithful shepherd he had been over them. 
 
 2 And they said " Who now will go up to the sanctuary 
 before us, and baptize our little ones, and give our daughters 
 in marriage, as Solomon has done ? " 
 
 3 And they prayed that the Lord might direct them in their 
 choice. 
 
 4 ^[ Now Thomas, an elder in the church, fell into a deep 
 sleep, and saw as in a vision, and behold there stood up before 
 him a young man in stature like unto Saul the son of Kish, 
 whom the Lord directed unto Samuel. 
 
 5 And his countenance beamed with intelligence and joy, 
 and was like unto the face of one divinely inspired to preach 
 glad tidings. 
 
 6 And he spake many tongues, and his voice was sweet and 
 harmonious, like a band of well-tuned instruments ; 
 
 7 And his eloquence was like unto the eloquence of Saul 
 of Tarsish when pleading before Agrippa. 
 
 8 Now Thomas awoke, amazed at his dream, and declared 
 it unto the brethren ; 
 
288 
 
 9 And they said : " Is it not Ephraim, the son of John, a hero 
 of the Revolution ? Lo, he tarrieth at Carmel, at his father's 
 house." 
 
 10 And they sent messengers unto Ephraim, and Ephraim 
 came, and was anointed to walk in and out before this people. 
 
 11 And never was there so large a multitude gathered to- 
 gether in Israel as on the day of the anointing of Ephraim. 
 
 12 ^[ Now in the eighteenth year of the ministration of 
 Ephraim, being the three and twentieth year of the nineteenth 
 century, the chief people and elders assembled themselves to- 
 gether the third time, and said, — 
 
 13 "Behold our children and children's children worship 
 with us in the sanctuary, and their number is legion, and lo, 
 the temple our fathers built is too straight for us." 
 
 14 Now they took counsel together, and builded a second 
 temple upon the plain, in the field of Ami, a furlong east from 
 the first temple ; 
 
 15 Now the length thereof was forty cubits, and the width 
 thereof was forty cubits, and the height thereof was eighteen 
 cubits, 
 
 16 And the porch before the temple was four cubits, and its 
 length twenty cubits. 
 
 17 On the south end of the temple was the tower, whose 
 height was four score cubits, with a dial upon three sides there- 
 of, made " without hands." (i) 
 
 18 On the south are three doors that open into the porch or 
 outer court, and from the porch are three doors that open into 
 the sanctuary, and winding-stairs that lead to the upper 
 chamber or gallery, on three sides thereof. 
 
 19 Now the height of the altar opposite the middle door of 
 the porch, on the north side of the sanctuary, is nine cubits, 
 and is overlaid with cushions of scarlet, and at the four corners 
 therof hang tassels of purple. 
 
 20 Behind the altar was placed a window, and around the 
 window hang curtains of scarlet, and above the curtains is 
 written in letters of gold, as upon the arc of the rainbow, 
 " Holiness becometh thine house, Lord, forever." 
 
 21 Now there was no temple in all the country round about 
 so beautiful and comely in all its proportions as the " Temple 
 of Ephraim." 
 
289 
 
 22 ^[ Now all the days of the pilgrimage of Ephraim were 
 three score and eight years, and all the days of his ministry 
 among this people were one score and nineteen years, and he 
 died. 
 
 23 And his people made great lamentation over him : " My 
 father, my father! the chariot of Israel and the horsemen 
 thereof." 
 
 24 Now they carried the body of Ephraim into the aisle be- 
 fore the altar, and John, a learned divine, spake unto them, 
 and comforted them with precious words. 
 
 25 Now they buried Ephraim in the cave upon the hillside, 
 where they buried Solomon and the saints in Israel that had 
 gone before him, even the cave of Machpelah which they pur- 
 chased from Ephron the Hittite. 
 
 20 And they erected a monument of marble, with inscrip- 
 tions and devices thereon, that the sons and daughters of Israel, 
 sojourning in far countries, as they make pilgrimages once 
 more to the homes of their childhood and graves of their sires, 
 might see the spot where they laid him. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 C O M I N (J OF JOHN THE PHYSICIAN, — MARRIAGE 
 PROCLAMATION — DEATH OF JOHN. 
 
 1 Now there came a young man of fair exterior, of good 
 report, and of knowledge and understanding, and his manner 
 and speech were pleasing unto the people, and his name was 
 John, and he healed the people of their infirmities for many 
 years. 
 
 2 Now John was withal a good penman, and was chosen 
 many years the people's scribe, to chronicle the votes and laws 
 of the town. 
 
 3 Now it was so that the sons and daughters of Israel were 
 many, 
 
 4 And the sons were diligent husbandmen, and cunning 
 workers of wood and iron, and tradesmen ; 
 
 5 And the daughters were comely and fair, even fairer than 
 the last daughters of Job; and they were skilled in the use of 
 the needle and management of the dairy. 
 
 37 
 
290 
 
 6 ^[ Now as it was in the days of Noah, so it was in these 
 latter days, they were " married and given in marriage." 
 
 7 Now it was the custom that when a young man was be- 
 trothed to a maiden, he gave the chief scribe money, even five 
 dimes, to proclaim it three times at the festivals and public 
 gatherings of the people. 
 
 8 Now John the scribe, as was his custom, sat with those 
 who sang and played the harp in the temple of the Lord on the 
 Sabbath day. 
 
 9 Now when Ephraim the priest had done exhorting the peo- 
 ple, and the singers had sung, John stood up in his place and 
 proclaimed in a. loud voice, in this wise, and all the congrega- 
 tion gave heed : — 
 
 10 " Marriage is intended between Major Jesse Obadiah and 
 Miss Prances Matilda Zachariah ! " 
 
 11- " Also between Captain Jacob Hezekiah and Miss Maria 
 Antoinette Zepheniah ; all of this town." 
 
 12 " Also between Colonel Elias Tobias, of Joppa, and Miss 
 Hannah Annis Mordechias, of this town ! " 
 
 13 Thus did John proclaim them that their parents and 
 friends might show cause, if any they had, why it should not 
 come to pass, or forever hold their peace. 
 
 14 ^[ Now John, whose surname was Dalton, fell sick, and 
 died, and a large multitude gathered at his burial. 
 
 15 And the body of John was borne to the tomb by men 
 wearing white aprons and gloves ; and they lamented the 
 death of John, and threw sprigs of evergreen upon the coffin 
 in the grave. 
 
 CHAPTEB XIV.. 
 
 A BURIAL SCENE. 
 
 1 Now the age of Ninian, whose surname was Clark, — one 
 of the early fathers, an honorable and upright man, and a mag- 
 istrate for many years, — was four score and eight years, and 
 his eyes, waxed dim, and he called to his bedside his children, 
 
 2 Even William, his son, and Lydia and Letitia, his daugh- 
 ters, for his other sons, Hamilton and Eobert and David and 
 
291 
 
 Jonathan, were already dead, and Samuel, his youngest, lived 
 a great way off; 
 
 3 And he said unto them, " Gather yourselves together, your 
 wives, your husbands, and little ones, and hearken unto Ninian, 
 your father. 
 
 4 " Behold, the days of my pilgrimage are fulfilled, and I go 
 hence, and the place that knows me will soon know me no more 
 forever." 
 
 5 And he charged them, and said unto them, " I am to be 
 gathered unto my people ; 
 
 6 Bury me in the cave in the field of Machpelah, which I 
 and my neighbors bought of Ephron the Hittite, for a possession 
 of a burial-place. 
 
 7 There we buried Solomon, our beloved pastor, and there I 
 buried Mary, the mother of you all, and there I also buried her 
 sons, David and Jonathan." 
 
 8 Now after Ninian had made* an end of commanding his 
 children, he drew up his knees in the bed, and yielded up the 
 ghost, and was gathered unto his people. 
 
 9 Now when the day of his burial had come, his children 
 and children's children gathered themselves together, clothed 
 in sackcloth, and a large multitude gathered there also. 
 
 10 Now Ephraim, the priest, stood up in their midst, and 
 comforted them, and when he spake to them of the faith and 
 hope and charity of Ninian, he moved the multitude to tears. 
 
 11 Now they passed around the coffin, and looked upon the 
 face of Ninian, their father and friend and neighbor, and wept. 
 
 12 And the body was borne to its burial, and a large proces- 
 sion followed ; according to the age and relation of the deceased, 
 did they follow in order. 
 
 13 Now when the coffin was let into the grave, John, the 
 physician, and conductor of the ceremony, uncovered his head, 
 and spake aloud, saying, 
 
 14 " In behalf of the chief mourners, I thank you, friends 
 and neighbors, for this last tribute of respect for the deceased, 
 
 ' and for burying their dead out of their sight. The bearers and 
 friends are requested to return to the house of mourning." 
 
 15 Now the children and children's children, and friends and 
 relatives of Ninian, returned to the house of mourning, and 
 
292 
 
 ate of the fatted calf, and drank wine, as was the custom in 
 those days, and each then departed unto his own house. (1) 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 COMING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. 
 
 1 In those days came John the Baptist, like one crying in 
 the wilderness, 
 
 2 "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths 
 straight." 
 
 3 Now many believed in the preaching of John, and were 
 baptized of him in Jordan, which is, by interpretation, " Scoby 
 Brook." 
 
 4 Now this same John was clothed in raiment of broadcloth 
 and fine linen, with a white scarf about his neck, and sandals 
 upon his feet. 
 
 5 Now during the faithful administration of John, the church 
 increased an hundred-fold. 
 
 6 And they also waxed in pride, for they said, " Behold the 
 temple of Bphraim, and the unpainted tabernacle our fathers 
 worshipped in is a hissing and a by-word." 
 
 7 Now they took counsel together, and builded a second 
 temple in the valley, by the river's bank, 
 
 9 Where dwelleth the innkeeper and the merchant-men of 
 Israel, and they that heal the sick, and the miller, and the 
 workers of wood and iron, and he that stitcheth blinkers with 
 an awl ; 
 
 10 And where is also the tabernacle of learning, and the 
 grand sanhedrim, where the people do yearly congregate to do 
 penance, by taxing themselves, and choose whom they shall 
 serve, or who shall serve them, and make long harangues, and 
 pass some lawful and many unlawful acts. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST, OR JACKSON BARBACUE. 
 
 1 Now it came to pass, in the last year of the reign of John 
 the second, whose surname was Adams, that the Whigs, who 
 had chosen John aforetime, said among themselves, 
 
2& 
 
 . 2 " John doeth well, and we will choose him to sit at the 
 head of the assembled wisdom of the nation, yet other four 
 years." 
 
 3 But the Democrats said " Nay ; we will choose Andrew, 
 a valiant warrior, and hero of many battles, to preside over the 
 destinies of the nation." 
 
 4 Now the Democrats strove against the Whigs, and vexed 
 them sore, and cast out John, and put Andrew in his place. 
 
 5 Now it happened on a day, which is to say, the first month 
 of the year, and eighth day of the month, which is the day 
 when Andrew overthrew the hosts of the king, and slew them 
 hip and thigh, that there were none left to tell the tale, 
 
 6 That Samuel, whose surname was Trull, an innkeeper in 
 the land, made a, great feast, and bade the friends of Andrew 
 without stint. 
 
 7 And Samuel slew an ox, and sacrificed him whole upon 
 the party altar. (I) 
 
 8 And multitudes came and filled his house, and ate of the 
 ox, and drank of his wine, and sang songs, and danced, and 
 made merry in their hearts ; 
 
 9 For they said, " We have conquered our political enemy, 
 the Whigs, and digged about them, and hedged them in, inas- 
 much as we have chosen Andrew over John." 
 
 10 Now there was a man at the feast whose head' was 
 whitened with the frosts of many winters, a councillor in the 
 land for many years, and his name was the name of the Lord's 
 anointed, even Samuel. 
 
 11 Now Samuel stood up among them, leaning upon his staff, 
 and prophesied unto them, saying, 
 
 12 " I hath, as I hoping, that Jackson seed may ne'er depre- 
 ciate, but increase from generation to generation, until e'en the 
 mules themselves do bring forth their young." 
 
 13 Now the prophecy of Samuel pleased them much, and 
 the multitude sent up three shouts like unto the shouts of the 
 hosts of Joshua, that rent the walls of Jericho. 
 
294 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 i 
 
 COMING OP FRANCIS AND JAMES AND NELSON. 
 
 1 Now after John, came Francis, fresh from the " Whited 
 Sepulchre filled with dead men's bones," skilled in the art of 
 healing, and filled with medical lore. (m) 
 
 2 Now Francis, whose surname was Fitch, was of a perverse 
 and obdurate heart, steeled against the smiles and fascinations 
 of women ; for he said, like Paul, " ' It is better that all men 
 should be as I am ; ' 
 
 2 " Howbeit marriages increase the number of my ' loaves 
 and fishes,' so let them marry who will, for my purse's sake." 
 
 4 So Francis preserved his identity, and lived a " bachelor," 
 which caused many a damsel to mourn, and refuse to be com- 
 forted. 
 
 5 Now Francis tarried many seasons, and departed for the 
 plains of lawgivers and synagogues and prisons. 
 
 6 ^[ Now after Francis, came James, the son of Josiah, the 
 lawyer, and he lodged in the inn of one Pharisee (Faris.) 
 
 7 Now James, whose surname was Danforth, rebelled against 
 the monkish celibacy of his illustrious predecessor, and was 
 smitten with the beauty of Israel, and took a wife of the daugh- 
 ters of the house of William, of the tribe of Ninian. 
 
 8 And there was much. mourning among the damsels of Is- 
 rael, who exclaimed, " Alas for us ; for while we were busy here 
 and there, he was gone ! " And thus they wept, while James 
 rejoiced, and gave heed unto the sick of the land. 
 
 9 Lastly there came one Nelson, whose surname is Clark, 
 from the cold regions of the North, saying, " Come unto me, 
 all ye sick, lame, and suffering, and I will give you rest, not by 
 means of the nauseating drugs of the apothecary, but by the in- 
 finitessimal saccharine globules whose taste is pleasant, and 
 whose virtue is sure." And the people listened to Nelson and 
 were healed. 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 VALEDICTION. 
 
 Humble mansion, within whose portals we drew our first 
 breath, and gazed with an infant's stare upon the morning 
 
295 
 
 light, and from whose altar the morning and evening incense 
 arose, and from whose gates the beggar ne'er turned him away 
 empty, farewell ! 
 
 Farewell ! ye Elms of Zoar and Poplars of Hebron, against 
 whose trunks the northern blasts have spent their strength for 
 naught, and amid whose branches the evening breeze discoursed 
 sweet music, and in whose shade we gambolled and fell asleep 
 hi childhood. 
 
 Humble school-house, farewell ! where first we lisped our 
 a, b, abs, to the now venerable Jesse, whose surname was 
 Beard, and in boyhood's rougher years we tugged at roots and 
 felt the rod, and where at the noontide hour we joined the 
 joyous throng at athletic games and sports, and with tactics 
 military, purely original, we besieged, with boisterous shouts, 
 that made the welkin ring, and took snow forts by storm. 
 
 Farewell ! ye forests and hunting-grounds ; where in days 
 of yore, we, with sinewey arm and measured stroke, the " wood- 
 man's axe " wielded, and brought to earth, with the thunder's 
 crash, thy proudest monarch s ; and where, with our grand 
 ancestral fowling-piece, dropped the cunning fox and timid 
 hare, as on swift foot they fled the thirsty blood-hound's deep- 
 muttered bay, as in the fresh track he scents his game, and in 
 mad haste pursues. 
 
 Ye meandering brooks and mountain streams, farewell ! 
 where oft in boyhood's days, we, with the angler's rod and line, 
 tempted with delusive bait the speckled tenants of thy bubbling 
 waters. 
 
 Ye mountains of Gilboa, whose tops rend the clouds in twain, 
 the theatre of those grand terrific scenes upon which we oft 
 did gaze with mingled awe and admiration, as on thy gigantic 
 front and sides the lightnings crashed and thunders echoed, 
 farewell ! 
 
 Farewell, old familiar hillside, where stood the first temple 
 dedicated to the triune God, and at whose baptismal font the 
 hand of Ephraim was placed upon our infant brow : and where 
 in early childhood we repeated our first Sabbath-school lesson, 
 and wondered with childlike curiosity at the meaning of the 
 distribution of those symbolic elements to the sacramental 
 host. 
 
296 
 
 Cave of Machpelah, farewell ! where the polished marble 
 tells the passer-by, that here repose the dead. During the past 
 century a rich harvest has been gathered within thy sacred 
 embrace. Here the loving and loved of earth sleep and know 
 no waking, until mortal shall put on immortality. Here ma- 
 ternal breasts, on which our infant head reposed, lie treasured in 
 thy sacred urn until the " resurrection morn." 
 
 A sacred trust thou hast in keeping, and most sacredly art 
 thou fulfilling thy pledge, Grave ! Venerable and illustrious 
 dead, loving and beloved, " peace to your ashes ! " 
 
 Old New Boston, all hail to thee ! home of our childhood 
 how pleasant are thy gates, and thy temples how beautiful to 
 the eye of the returning pilgrim ! The eagle buildeth her nest 
 in thy high places ; the ox grazeth by thy river's bank, and the 
 kid and fattlings feed upon thy hillsides, and the horse 
 snuffeth the battle afar off. Thy sons go forth the third time 
 to meet the enemy and return not empty-handed, and thy 
 daughters are those whose children rise up and call them 
 blessed. " Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within 
 thy palaces." Again, peace, and farewell! (0) 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHRONICLES. 
 
 Note «, Ch. 1. — " Build a city." The French settled Louisi- 
 ana, Spain, Florida, English Jamestown, Dutch New York, 
 etc. 
 
 Note b, Ch. 2. — " Meadows," etc. Beaver Meadows, vide 
 Parker's History of Londonderry. 
 
 Note c, Ch. 3. — "Beyond Jordan." The Merrimac lies 
 about midway between Derry and New Boston. " Joppa," a 
 small village in Bedford, between the river and New Boston. 
 
 Note (1), Ch. 4. — Some married cousins. 
 
 Note d, Ch. 4. — " Pewter." An entire set of pewter platters 
 and plates, consisting of fourteen pieces, now grace as a relic 
 of antiquity the open, kitchen cupboard of Peggy Cochran, on 
 Cochran Hill, which her mother brought from Londonderry, 
 over a century ago, as part of her wedding dower. It was used 
 as table-service at the " antiquarian picnic," on the Monday 
 
297 
 
 following the centennial, when some twenty-live descendants 
 from that venerable, weather-beaten mansion, that has bravely 
 withstood the storms of a century, representing four genera- 
 tions and three States, held a social reunion to pay their re- 
 spects to the aged tenant, who, with the exception of one sister, 
 is the only living representative of her generation, whose name 
 was once legion. 
 
 The old-fashioned pot of " baked beans," brown bread," 
 and " mug of cider," were prominent items in the " bill of fare." 
 Before partaking of the bountiful repast, a select portion of 
 Scripture was read by one of the number, from an old family 
 Bible, and a feeling and pertinent address made, and a blessing 
 invoked by Eev. Mr. Cogswell, who, with his estimable lady, 
 were invited guests. 
 
 Note e, Ch. 5. — " Derry Fair." An annual festival held at 
 Deny, where stock and household manufactures were taken to 
 be sold or exchanged. 
 
 Note/, Ch. 7. — " Hour-glass." As clocks and watches were 
 rare in those days, the hour-glass was the only measure of 
 time. 
 
 Note g; Ch. 8. — " Second advent." The numerous and in- 
 dustrious family of Dodges. As they were mostly from towns 
 bordering on the coast in the vicinity of Salem, Mass., and being 
 an admixture of English and Welch and inheriting, by associa- 
 tion, much of the peculiar phraseology of the fishermen of the 
 coast, their mode of expression was, as might be supposed, 
 different from that of the Scptch and Irish of the first families. 
 
 Note h, Ch. 9. — "Witch, etc." Many of the Scotch-Irish 
 settlers were firm believers in the witch legends of father-land. 
 
 Note i, " Blazing fires." Jack O'Lanterns, Will O'Wisps, 
 Ignis Fatuus. 
 
 Note i, Ch. 12. — " Without hands." The edifice is yet want- 
 ing a clock to make it complete. 
 
 Note _;', Ch. 14. — " Drank wine." It was a universal custom 
 to furnish one or more kinds of spirits at funerals. The wife 
 of Deacon Thomas Cochran, who died in 1829, was the first 
 person of any note buried without that ceremony. The tem- 
 perance question began to be agitated about that time. 
 
 Note I, Ch. 16. — " Sacrificed." Roasted whole. 
 
 38 
 
298 
 
 Note m, Ch. 17. — " Whited Sepulchre," Medical Buildings. 
 Hanover. 
 
 Note n, " Have faith ; " homeopathic. 
 
 Note o, Ch. 18. — " Third time." Revolution, War of 1812, 
 and the Rebellion of 1861. 
 
BUSINESS AND INTERESTING LOCALITIES. 
 
 As the settlement of New Boston began in the northeast part 
 of the town, for some years business was confined to that re- 
 gion, though, of course, but little was done prior to 1760, yet 
 there was a small stock of goods kept in a dwelling-house near 
 Walker's Mills, as early as 1755. About this time, the settle- 
 ments were being pushed into other parts, and Cochran Hill 
 became a place of interest. A Mr. McGaw built a house here, 
 and kept a tavern and store ; and Joseph Towns traded near 
 where the late John D. Cochran's house stands, sold to Thomas 
 Stark, and removed to Hopkinton. Stark traded here some 
 years, was burned out, resumed his business, and was suc- 
 ceeded by Ira Wilkins. Wilkins continued for a few years, and 
 was succeeded by James Ray, of Mount Vernon. For a while, 
 Nathaniel Martin traded here. This Thomas Stark was a 
 nephew of the elder General Stark, married the daughter of 
 Dr. Jonathan Gove, ultimately failed in business, and died in 
 Dunbarton. Near King's Mills, Samuel Worthly traded for 
 several years. As early as 1760, a store was opened on Brad- 
 ford Hill. John McLaughlen carried on a large business here, 
 for many years, keeping also a tavern, which was extensively 
 patronized, the great thoroughfare through the town being over 
 this hill. This was the grand central business locality, for a suc- 
 cession of years. A store was kept many years by Mr. Lamson, 
 in a part of the Dea. White house ; and the tanning of hides 
 was carried on for years, traces of the pits being yet discover- 
 able in Mr. Abraham Wason's field. He, also, kept a tavern. 
 Mr. Joseph Lamson, a little to the south of this, for many 
 years kept a tavern ; so it is evident that over this road, at the 
 base of Joe English's, on the west, there must have been much 
 travel. A public house and store were, for many years, kept 
 near Mrs. John Lynch's, on the turnpike. Mr. John Moor did 
 
300 
 
 business for some years. A store was kept, for a while, near 
 the residence of the late Dea. Issachar Andrews, by Samuel 
 Morgan, with whose death trade ceased here. 
 
 As we have said, the principal business locality was the cen- 
 tral part of the town. Capt. John McLaughlen, who kept a 
 store and tavern on Bradford's Hill, at length carried on the 
 business of tanning, near the residence of Mr. Sidney Hills. 
 Here he opened a slaughter-house, and killed a great many cat- 
 tle, salting the flesh for a foreign market, and retaining the 
 skins for tanning. And this soon became the centre of busi- 
 ness. Several stores were opened, and two or three taverns 
 were kept. Mr. James Sloan had a store in a part of the 
 house now used for the parsonage of the Presbyterian church ; 
 in which building was " Long Hall," which was often used for 
 select schools, and other purposes deemed important in those 
 days. It was here that Jonathan Cochran, John Goodhue, John 
 and Nathaniel Safford, Nathaniel Cleeves, Levi Bixby, Moses 
 Whitney, Rodney M'Oollom, Samuel and Butler Trull, Parker 
 Warren, and Nehemiah Trull, carried on mercantile business. 
 It was here Capt. Geary Whiting, Samuel Trull, and Ira 
 Clough prosecuted a large business in tanning. Here Water- 
 man Burr, Esq., Micah Lawrence, Esq., and Amos W. Tewks- 
 bury commenced their successful business career. About 1825, 
 what is now called the " Lower Village " began to be built, and 
 soon business was transferred from the " Upper Village " to 
 this, as it had been from Bradford's Hill to the " Upper Vil- 
 lage." The opening of new lines of travel have produced great 
 changes in business localities. Until within a few years, Burr, 
 Lawrence, and Tewksbury continued, in the " Lower Village," 
 the business which they began in the " Upper Village ; " here, 
 also, traded David G. Fuller, Alexander Dickey, Stephen Whip- 
 ple, John Gregg ; and still later, James and Dexter Smith, 
 James and David Gregg, Joseph Whipple, and Solomon Atwood. 
 
 Nestled in this valley, on either side of the " South Branch " 
 of the Piscataquog, is the principal village, consisting of some 
 fifty dwelling-houses, three stores, one tavern, a large school- 
 house, two stories in height, with ample halls, and modern im- 
 provements, built in 1856, at the expense of nearly four thou- 
 sand dollars, where the children are divided into two grades, 
 
301 
 
 and called together, by the musical tones of a bell, the Baptist 
 church and the Town House. This latter is the old Presbyte- 
 rian meeting-house, that formerly stood on the hillside, just 
 south of the burial-ground. It is of the same dimensions as 
 formerly, except in its height. The lower part is used for 
 meetings of the town, while the upper was finished for a school- 
 hall, for which purpose it has been much used. In the upper 
 part, also, is a room in which the selectmen transact their busi- 
 ness. 
 
 Pending over this village, on the south, is the " Upper Vil- 
 lage," the central graveyard, and the Presbyterian meeting- 
 house with its lofty steeple and rich-toned bell. 
 
 To one standing on the highest part of Clark's Hill, a beau- 
 tiful panorama unfolds itself on every hand. Some fourteen 
 towns can be seen by the unassisted eye. Monadnock, Kear- 
 sarge, and other eminences are prominent among the objects of 
 interest. This locality is associated with the thriving and chris- 
 tian families of Clarks, who lived and died here. 
 
 Cochran's Hill, like the Clark Hill, is in the western part of 
 the town, not as high as the latter, yet a beautiful swell of land, 
 with rich scenery around it, and associated with the early fam- 
 ilies of Cochrans and Crombies. These families were in afflu- 
 ent circumstances, and remarkable for their hospitality and 
 social propensities. Bradford's Hill is near the centre of the 
 town, and nearly as high as any point of land by which it is 
 surrounded. The hill was first settled by John McLaughlen, 
 and here the Rev. Mr. Bradford lived for nearly forty years, 
 and from him it takes its name. On the west, in the distance, 
 Monadnock is seen struggling to raise its head above the shoul- 
 der of an intervening range of hills. On the north, Kearsarge 
 bares its head to the blast of the storm, and Mount Washington 
 deigns at times to unveil his lofty peak. The Unconoonucs re- 
 pose in quiet beauty on the east, beyond which are seen the 
 heights around Laconia and Lake Winnipiseogee. To the 
 south, the eye stretches indefinitely towards Ashby and Ash- 
 burnham, Mass. The rising and setting of the sun in the sum- 
 mer, and its setting through the entire year, are obscured by no 
 material object ; and the west winds come sweeping over a vast 
 region of country, checked by no intervening barrier. The 
 
302 - 
 
 lungs can always expand and be filled here, while the eye never 
 tires in beholding objects, whose attractions are so many and 
 so varied, nor in watching the endless phenomena of clouds 
 and winds. The stars seem nearer than on most elevations. 
 The scenery in winter is indescribably rich. The pure snow- 
 carpet on hill and valley, on a calm day, stretching in all direc- 
 tions save one, as far as the eye can reach, with a thousand cot- 
 tages embosomed, is a scene of rare attraction. And when the 
 winds are abroad, and the snow is in high spirits, the ever- 
 shifting snow-wave, the scowling face of the cloud, the cease- 
 less sport of the wind, changing its form continually, present 
 an ever-varying scene of thrilling interest to the spectator. We 
 have seldom, or never, seen a location so well adapted to the 
 large lungs, and larger heart of him, whose name is forever to 
 be associated with it. It is emphatically Bradford's Hill. 
 " What God hath joined together let no man put asunder." 
 
 Wason's Hill is believed to be the highest point of cultivated 
 land in the town, from which the prospect is beautiful in several 
 directions. This elevation is pleasantly associated with Dea. 
 Robert White, with whom Rev. S. Moor lived at the time of 
 his installation, and also with many other influential families. 
 " Joe English" stands in the southern part of the town, attain- 
 ing a height of 572 feet from its base. On the north the ascent 
 is not difficult, the slope extending a considerable distance, so 
 that in this direction it might be ascended by carriages. On 
 the east it is more abrupt, while on the south it presents a 
 bold and seemingly perpendicular and craggy front. The top 
 and parts of its sides are covered with trees. This hill over- 
 looks a great region of country. Near it are nestled the vil- 
 lages of Mont Yernon, Amherst, Prancestown, Merrimac, and 
 Dunbarton, and the cities of Manchester and Nashua. Ando- 
 ver, Mass., and other towns in that direction maybe seen, while 
 the eye stretches indefinitely into Maine, in the direction of 
 Saddleback Mountain, between Deerfield and Northwood, and 
 Pawtuckaway, between Deerfield and Nottingham. 
 
 " Joe English " was an object of great interest to the early set- 
 tlers, since it designated to their friends in Londonderry, Chester, 
 Tyngsborough and other places, the locality of their humble 
 homes ; and from this height they could easily trace the com- 
 
803 
 
 munities they had left for ruder dwellings in the " woods." 
 This hill was, no doubt, a favorite resort of Indians, so long as 
 they lingered in this region. It is known that remnants of 
 tribes lingered long on the branches of the Piscataquog, in 
 which fish abounded, and where lingered the mink, the beaver, 
 and other game. The Indians that used to live along the 
 Merrimac and its tributaries, were the Agawams, Wamesits or 
 Pawtuckets, the Nashuas, the Sougans, the Namoskeags, the 
 Penacooks, and the Winnepesaukees. In process of time, 
 through various causes, these became merged into one tribe, 
 and were indiscriminately called Penacooks. Namoskeag was 
 the royal residence of the ancient Sagamores of this great tribe, 
 while at the mouth of the Piscataquog River was a considerable 
 village. The Sagamores most worthy of mention among the 
 Penacooks, were Passaconaway, Wonnalancet, his son, and 
 Kancamagus, usually called John Hodgkins, his grandson ; 
 Passaconaway appears first in 1627 or 1628 ; he was a power- 
 ful warrior, and died prior to 1669, being a faithful friend to 
 the English. Wonnalancet was chief of the tribe in 1669, and 
 was converted to Christianity in 1674, through the preaching of 
 the Rev. John Eliot, and ever afterwards exhibited a meek and 
 quiet spirit, and proved an abiding friend to the whites. Won- 
 nalancet was succeeded in 1685 by Kancamagus, better known 
 as John Hodgkins, son of Naunomocumuck, Passaconaway's 
 eldest son. He was a brave and wise chieftain, and losing his 
 respect for the English authorities, became a formidable enemy 
 to the settlements in the neigborhood of the Merrimac River. 
 He is last heard of in 1691, near which time it is believed he 
 died in friendship with the English. 
 
 When the grant of New Boston was obtained, in 1763, no 
 considerable tribe was to be found in the region, yet fragments 
 of tribes temporarily abode both within the limits of the 
 township, and at different points on the Merrimac and its 
 tributaries, up to nearly that period ; and though New Boston 
 never suffered much from depredations, yet the settlers lived 
 in fear of roving squads of them. 
 
 Joe English has sometimes been called IngalFs Hill, or Indos, 
 but its true name is " Joe English," which it received from a 
 noted Indian of that name. In his History of Manchester, the 
 
304 
 
 Hon. C. E. Potter, alluding to this eminence, thus writes : — 
 " It is noted, and is of much curiosity as a freak of nature. It 
 is precipitous and abrupt on its southern end, having the ap- 
 pearance of the southern part of the hill being carried away by 
 some convulsion of nature. In fact the hill terminates on the 
 south in a rough precipice, presenting in the distance a height 
 of some two or three hundred feet, and almost perpendicular. 
 The hill took its name from an incident of olden time connected 
 with this precipice. In 1705 or 1706, there was an Indian liv- 
 ing in these parts, noted for his friendship for the English set- 
 tlers upon the lower Merrimac. He was an accomplished 
 warrior and hunter, but following the counsels of Passacona- 
 way and Wonnalancet, he continued steadfast in his partiality 
 for his white neighbors. From this fact the Indians, as was 
 their wont, gave him the name, significant of this trait, of ' Joe 
 English.' In course of time the Indians, satisfied that Joe 
 gave information of their hostile designs to the English, deter- 
 mined upon killing him upon the first fitting opportunity. Ac- 
 cordingly, just at twilight, they found Joe upon one of the 
 branches of the ' Squog,' hunting, and commenced an attack 
 upon him ; but he escaped from them, two or three in number, 
 and made directly for this hill, in the southern part of New 
 Boston. With the quick thought of the Indian, he made up 
 his mind that the chances were against him in a long race, and 
 he must have recourse to stratagem. As he ran up the hill, he 
 slackened his pace, until his pursuers were almost upon him, 
 that they might become more eager in the pursuit. Once near 
 the top he started off with great rapidity, and the Indians after 
 him, straining every nerve. As Joe came upon the brink of the 
 precipice before mentioned, he leaped behind a jutting rock, 
 and waited in breathless anxiety. But a moment passed, and 
 the hard breathing and measured but light footsteps of his 
 pursuers were heard, and another moment, with a screech and 
 yell, their dark forms were rolling down the rocky precipice, to 
 be left at its base, food for hungry wolves ! 
 
 " Henceforth the hill was called Joe English, and well did his 
 constant friendship deserve so enduring a monument. 
 
 " ' Joe English ' was the grandson of the Sagamon of Aga- 
 wam (now Ipswich), whose name was Wosconnomet. 
 

305 
 
 " ' Joe English ' came to his death in consequence of his fidel- 
 ity to the whites. The hostile Indians determined upon liis 
 death, and kept constantly upon his path. At length, July 27, 
 170G, Lieutenant Butterfield and his wife, riding betwixt Dun- 
 stable and Chelmsford, on horseback, with Joe English as 
 companion and a guard, fell into an Indian ambuscade. The 
 horse was shot upon the first fire, Butterfield and his wife fall- 
 ing to the ground. The main object of the Indians being to 
 secure 'Joe,' Butterfield and the soldier made their escape, 
 while the Indians (one of the party being left in charge of Mrs. 
 Butterfield) went in pursuit of him. ' Joe ' made for the woods, 
 several Indians in full pursuit, and finding them gaining upon 
 him, he turned about and presented his gun as if to fire. The 
 Indians, fearing his fatal aim, fell upon the ground, and Joe 
 took to his heels for life. Again the Indians gained upon him, 
 and 'Joe' again presented his trusty gun, and for fear of it 
 the Indians again threw themselves upon the ground. This 
 was repeated several times, until ' Joe' had almost gained the 
 thick woods, when one of the Indians, despairing of taking him 
 alive, and fearing he would escape them, fired upon him, break- 
 ing the arm with which he held the gun. The gun fell to the 
 ground and ' Joe ' redoubled his speed. But just as he gained 
 the wood, a shot struck his thigh and he fell to the ground. 
 His fall was the signal for a yell of triumph from the Indians in 
 pursuit. When they came up to him, they expressed their 
 pleasure in no measured terms. ' Now, Joe,' said they, ' we 
 got you ; you no tell English, again, we come ! ' ' No,' retorted 
 Joe, ' Cap'n Butterfield tell that at Pawtucket.' ' Hugh ! ' 
 exclaimed the Indians, the thought just striking them that the 
 soldiers at the block-houses, at Pawtucket or Dunstable, alarm- 
 ed by the whites who had escaped, would lie upon them in a 
 short time. There was no time for delay. Joe could not be 
 carried away, and one of them buried his hatchet in the head 
 of the prostrate Indian. Thus died 'Joe English,' the faithful 
 friend of the white man. The services of ' Joe English ' were 
 considered so meritorious that a grant was made to his wife 
 and two children, by the Legislature of Massachusetts, because, 
 as the words of the grant have it, ' he died in the service of his 
 country ! ' " 
 
 39 
 
MES. SARAH THERESA WASON. 
 
 She is the daughter of Capt. John Lamson, born March 18, 
 1821. Mrs. Wason was educated at the district school, and at 
 New Ipswich Academy. Feb. 22, 1843, she became the wife of 
 Mr. Abram Waaon, a worthy farmer residing near Joe Eng- 
 lish, on a farm once owned by Dca. Robert White. Mr. Wason 
 was the son of James Wason, a brother of the late Dea. Robert 
 Wason. The children of the late James Wason arc : Thomas, 
 who married Mary Emeline Cowdry, of Lunenburg, Mass., Jan. 
 5, 183(5. His second wife was Mary Ann Lawton, of Shirley, 
 Mass., who was married April 2, 1851. He married, for his 
 third wife, Harriet Lawton, of Shirley, Mass., Feb. 22, 1855, 
 and resides in Mount Vernon, N. H. Robert married Martha 
 F. Murray, of Charlcstown, Mass., April 8, 1841. He married, 
 for his second wife, Harriet Hall, of Charlestown, Mass., in 
 1852. Alcinda married Perley Batchelder, of Mount Vernon, 
 N. H., July 8, 1841, where they reside. David married Julia 
 M. Leeland, of Somervillc, Mass., Dec. 25, 1843, and resides 
 in California. William married Frances Hazeltine, of Am- 
 herst, N. H., Sept. 30, 1847, and resides in , Watertown, Mass. 
 James Putnam married Eliza Baker, of Billerica, Mass., Oct. 
 1847, and resides in California. John died Dec. 25, 1845, 
 aged 20 years. Horace died Nov. 13, 1847, aged 29. William 
 died Oct. 12, 1855, aged 43. 
 
 Mrs. Wason's poetical taste has been inspired by the bold and 
 delightful scenery amid which she has lived, by the broad acres 
 her husband has tilled, and by the flowers cultivated with her 
 own care. Her occasional productions have been received with 
 much commendation. Modest and retiring, she has shrunk 
 from public notoriety, and, with great reluctance, submitted the 
 hymns found in the centennial proceedings and the ensuing 
 poem, for publication : — 
 
JOE ENGLISH MEMORIES. 
 
 Post remember, clear Joe English, 
 
 Thine ancient, youthful day, 
 How creation's mighty Maker 
 
 Fashioned thine eternal clay ? 
 Hast thou stood in silent grandeur 
 
 These thousand, thousand years ? 
 Thy face uncovered, upward turned 
 
 To Him who rules the spheres ? 
 
 Dost remember, dear Joe English, 
 
 If thou hadst another name 
 Before the red man christened thee, 
 
 When the early English came ? 
 Didst thou guard their " smoky wigwams " 
 
 As thou hast the white man's home, 
 And love and cherish Uncas' tribe, 
 
 And tribes before them, gone ? 
 
 Dost remember sixteen ninety, 
 
 How the council-fire burned bright, 
 When young Joe English's doom was said, 
 
 For his friendship to the white, 
 And a wily, red-faced warrior, 
 
 In skulking, Indian style, 
 Went to hunt the missing culprit 
 
 Round thy huge, old granite pile ? 
 
 That amid the silent darkness 
 The doomed one lurked anear, 
 
 The hot blood mounting to his brow 
 Such black treachery to hear, 
 
310 
 
 And with light, elastic footstep 
 
 Overtook his crafty foe, 
 And his deadly English musket 
 
 Laid the dusky savage low ? 
 
 Rememberest thou when Tories 
 
 " Burned the Pope " among the trees ? 
 ('Twas the effigy of Washington 
 
 That swung in the autumnal breeze,) 
 How they came again the next year, 
 
 To repeat their much-loved fun, 
 And party spirit grew so strong, 
 
 That the Tories had to run ? 
 
 Those were days when dreaded witches 
 
 Held an undisputed sway, 
 And took the cattle from their stalls 
 
 To the scaffold on the hay ; 
 Used to hide within the cream-pot 
 
 When the churning days came round, 
 And the heated poker's burning mark 
 
 On the witch was always found. 
 
 Dost remember, dear Joe English, 
 
 How they searched thee, o'er and o'er, 
 For the pot of hidden treasure, 
 
 And the gold thou hadst in store ; 
 And no richly hidden treasure, 
 
 Neither gems of gorgeous hue, 
 But thy solid granite boulders 
 
 Ever met their longing view ? 
 
 That for miles around the country 
 
 Mysterious lights were seen 
 Flitting round thy sacred summit 
 
 When the darkness reigned supreme ? 
 That the goblins, ghosts, and witches, 
 
 And the money-diggers' crew 
 
311 
 
 Vanished when the light of morning 
 Streaked the distant eastern blue ? 
 
 Dost remember, dear Joe English, 
 
 The cottage, mossed and brown, 
 Reared upon thy northern summit, 
 
 On a green and grassy lawn, 
 Where the eye could ever linger 
 
 On New Hampshire's " Crystal Hills," 
 On her silvery lakes' deep settings. 
 
 On her winding, rushing rills ? 
 
 Far up, within that mountain home 
 
 A group of children fair 
 First conned their life's great lesson from 
 
 Their mother's earnest prayer, 
 Sadly gazed their farewell parting 
 
 By that humble cottage door, 
 With their buoyant hearts so trusting 
 
 In the untried world before. 
 
 That youthful boy of golden hair 
 
 Wears honor's radiant crown, 
 And fortune's smile is over him, 
 
 And showers her blessings down. 
 Bright, shining laurels, ever green, 
 
 Are upon another's brow, 
 As he sits in stately council 
 
 With our mighty nation now. 
 
 Dost remember, dear Joe English, 
 
 Among thy many joys, 
 Those Western troops, a numerous throng 
 
 Of right merry girl's and boys, 
 How they grew to manhood's portion 
 
 In thy bracing mountain air, 
 Plow their sterling self-reliance 
 
 Sought other homes and cares V 
 
312 
 
 Dost know, that he of gifted mind 
 
 Early passed away from earth 
 To where the flowers immortal bloom, 
 
 Where no ties are torn by death ? 
 Another loved one sweetly sleeps 
 
 'Neath Mount Auburn's sacred dust, 
 Who gave, with liberal hand and heart, 
 
 God's blessings held in trust. . 
 
 Life's fleeting years have sped away, 
 
 And one among that band 
 Is telling messages from God, 
 
 In a far-off Western land ; 
 Another wields the golden wand 
 
 So many fail to win, — 
 'Mong Brookline's splendid palace homes 
 
 His princely home is seen. 
 
 Within a sheltered, sunny nook 
 
 Adown thy fertile vale, 
 A once delightful, pleasant home 
 
 Yet stands the threatening gale, 
 Lived one who served his country well 
 
 In Revolution times, 
 Who crossed old ocean's foamy deep 
 
 To many foreign climes. 
 
 Long time ago, in life's young morn, 
 
 A proud, impulsive boy 
 Went forth from out that early home, 
 
 In a seaman's bold employ. 
 The waves dashed o'er the noble ship 
 
 In a tempest-storm, one day ; — 
 These sixty years his bones have slept 
 
 In Chesapeake's sandy bay. 
 
 Remember'st thou, in by-gone days, 
 Doctor Hugh McMillen's fame, 
 
313 
 
 His wondrous skill in medicine, 
 
 And the trials he o'ercame ? 
 There're many legends told of him 
 
 Where thy loved name is known ; 
 His cool, shrewd, philosophic mind 
 
 Stood undaunted and alone. 
 
 His father bore an elder's part 
 
 In the church's earliest call, 
 And filled an honored member's seat 
 
 In the legislative hall ; 
 His numerous sons and daughters, 
 
 His descendants scatter wide, 
 From northern shores and southern clime, 
 
 To Pacific's peaceful tide. 
 
 Close nestled 'neath thy changeless face, 
 
 Two homes stood side by side, 
 Whose heads were elders in the church, — 
 
 Whose sons are scattered wide, 
 And " when mankind were wrapped in sleep,' 1 
 
 At midnight's mystic hour, 
 Devouring flames consumed those homes 
 
 With reckless, fearful power. 
 
 Know'st thou that California's land 
 
 Has mystic charms untold, — 
 That many reared among thy homes 
 
 Have sought those mines for gold ? 
 That one gathered rich treasures up 
 
 With earnest, careful hand, 
 Then came to breathe life's last fond sigh 
 
 Among his household band ? 
 
 There, grassy mounds are over some 
 
 Who never came again : 
 And oh, the weary days and nights, 
 
 When the fever burned their veins ! 
 
 40 
 
314 
 
 No loving mother near, to bathe 
 The aching, throbbing brow, 
 
 Or say sweet words of gentle trust, 
 As the passing spirit bowed. 
 
 Dost thou know our first loved pastor 
 
 Lived anear thy mountain throne, — 
 That his children oft have gathered 
 
 In the old ancestral home ? 
 Grandsons twain went forth in honor 
 
 From old Dartmouth's classic hall, 
 And another's heaping treasure 
 
 Where the golden cascades fall. 
 
 Dost remember, dear Joe English, 
 
 In seventeen seventy-nine, 
 When good old Deacon White lived here 
 
 In vigorous manhood's prime, — 
 Of the quaint, old-fashioned wedding, 
 
 When his daughter 'came a bride, — 
 Of the three days' jovial feasting 
 
 Ere she left his home and side ? — 
 
 That this dear old, ancient homestead, 
 
 So rich in scenery grand, 
 Has been the dwelling-place of scores 
 
 In this our far-famed land ? — 
 That sorrow mingled with their joys 
 
 In the days of long ago, 
 When some dear, cherished form was laid 
 
 In the grave so cold and low ? 
 
 Know'st thou our loyal-hearted sons, 
 Whose names we're proud to tell, 
 
 Were cradled 'mid these granite hills, 
 And drank at Freedom's well ? 
 
 They said " Good-by " to friends and thee, 
 To their childhood's cherished home : 
 
315 
 
 They've gone to plant our nation's flag- 
 Where bold, rank treason roams. 
 
 Dost thou know, dear old Joe English, 
 
 'Tis our centennial day, 
 And eager, longing eyes have come 
 
 From homes far, far away, 
 To gaze once more upon thy face, 
 
 Once more review past scenes, 
 Once more recall youth's ardent hopes, 
 
 And childhood's sweetest dreams 1 
 
 Dost know, dear, changeless, silent friend, 
 
 That our lives are passing on ? 
 Soon for us the keenest joys we feel 
 
 Will be numbered o'er and gone ; 
 Soon the loving hearts that cherish thee 
 
 With tenderest memories green, 
 Will faint and falter in life's work, 
 
 And the grave will come between. 
 
REV. HIRAM WASON. 
 
 He was son of the late lamented Dea. Robert Wason, and 
 was born December 18, 1814. He united with the Presbyterian 
 Church in 1831, and began to fit for college the following year, 
 attending the first of a series of select schools in New Boston, 
 taught in the Long Hall, by Wm. Hall. He completed the pre- 
 paratory course at Prancestown, and entered Amherst College 
 in 1834, graduating in 1838, and immediately commenced 
 teaching in New Ipswich Academy. His health failing, in the 
 autumn of 1839, he went South, and spent nearly a year teach- 
 ing in a private family in Georgia. Returning North, he spent 
 one year at Andover Theological Seminary ; but for the sake of 
 milder winters went to New Haven, Ct., and remained the two 
 following years in the Theological Seminary there. In 1843 
 he was licensed by the Londonderry Presbytery, at Greenfield ; 
 and the same year went to the West, and spent a short period 
 in Lane Seminary, and soon began to preach at Vevay, Switzer- 
 land county, Indiana ; where he remained until 1857 ; since 
 which time he has been at West Creek, Lake County. On en- 
 tering the ministry Mr. Wason was embarrassed by feeble health, 
 and yet has been unable to preach but one Sabbath for nearly 
 twenty years. While at Vevay he taught a select school from 
 four to nine months yearly, during seven of the years of his 
 stay there. In October, 1844, he married Betsey R., daughter 
 of Timothy Abbot, Esq., of Wilton, N. H., and has one son and 
 two daughters. Mr. Wason is a highly successful and faithful 
 minister ; retaining the spirit and principles in which his earlier 
 days were nurtured, and is remembered with interest by the 
 church and community among whom repose the ashes of his 
 beloved father and mother. 
 
S.Zjto- 'rtr-d'-s.ftti. 
 
 P£^« 
 
THE PAST AM) PBESENT-THE CONTRAST. 
 
 Mr. President, — 
 
 The hundredth anniversary of the first settlement of New 
 Boston furnishes an occasion for mingling our sympathies, and 
 for indulging in pleasant and grateful recollections. The early 
 history of our native town is full of interest to all her sons and 
 daughters. Here our fathers endured hardships and privations, 
 and their descendants are now enjoying the fruits of their 
 labors. We now stand upon the horizon that divides two cen- 
 turies. In looking over the past Ave find the changes have been 
 great ; the physical changes are the most obvious. On every 
 side cultivated farms and buildings, for the comfort of man and 
 beast, now greet the eye. The first settlers saw nothing but 
 one dense forest, with no trace of the white man save here and 
 there the marks of the surveyor's axe. The first thing to be 
 done was the construction of a rude cabin on some sunny hill- 
 side, or sheltered valley ; — not always the most comfortable 
 for winter or convenient in summer. The modern housekeeper 
 would have her ingenuity taxed to apply the same room to the 
 purposes of parlor, sitting-room, dining-room, kitchen, bedroom, 
 chamber, and cellar. The furniture of such a dwelling must 
 correspond both in quantity and quality, and yet, in that cabin, 
 the stranger and the visitor were always made welcome. Be- 
 sides the purposes of living, the early dwellings were factories 
 also, for in most of them was found a place for the card, spin- 
 ning-wheel, and loom. They manufactured most of their table- 
 linen, bedding, and wearing apparel, — not only the clothing 
 for every-day wear, but the clean attire for Sundays and festive 
 occasions. 
 
 In contrast with the cabin of the pioneer, there now stands 
 the neatly-painted cottage or mansion, arranged for comfort 
 and convenience, and furnished with all the improvements and 
 
320 
 
 luxuries of steam and telegraph days. For many of the every- 
 day conveniences which we enjoy, our ancestors had no word in 
 their vocabulary. 
 
 Substantially built and well-filled barns, furnishing food and 
 comfort for large stocks, stand in striking contrast with the 
 rude hovel, built of poles, and covered with hemlock or pine 
 boughs, to furnish protection to the only cow, the main depend- 
 ence for family food. If the family were able 'to own, and 
 had the means of keeping them, a yoke of oxen were added to 
 the stock ; these performed the double labor of service on the 
 little farm and journeys upon the road. They had but little 
 use for the horse, and none for the carriage. Their visiting, 
 marketing, and journeys were performed with an ox-team. 
 Even after horses were in common use, carriages, except the 
 one-horse square-top chaise, were almost unknown. All rode 
 on horseback, and the horses always carried double ; often a 
 child in the mother's lap, and ■ another on the pommel of the 
 saddle before the father. 
 
 They had not the semblance of roads, but followed paths or 
 trails over the most convenient ground, guided by marked trees. 
 Frequently there were not even pole bridges over the streams, 
 and when they were swollen, and there was no ferry, they must 
 wait till the waters subsided so that they could ford the stream. 
 This often caused a delay of many days on short journeys, and 
 there was no help for it. Store-bills then were not large. A 
 yearly journey to Londonderry, Newburyport, or Salem, to sell 
 the overplus of farm products, and to purchase necessaries for 
 the year to come, sufficed for shopping. 
 
 Mills were then scarce, and often far distant ; and when it 
 was impossible or difficult getting to them, the corn, rye, and 
 barley were prepared in various ways at home for family food. 
 Their fare was simple, wholesome, and nutritious. The " Indian 
 Johnny-cake " baked on wooden trenchers by the fire, the bean, 
 or corn-porridge, and barley-broth (eaten in the wooden bowl 
 or pewter basin or porringer, with a pewter spoon) never gave 
 our grandparents the dyspepsia. We dare not say that the first 
 settlers were not happier, and oven more useful in laying the 
 foundations for generations yet to come, than we, their descend- 
 ants, who inherited the fruits of their labors. They were then 
 honest men, and sincere worshippers of God. 
 
321 
 
 They were in the habit of attending meeting in heat and 
 cold, in storm and sunshine, roads or no roads. There was no 
 danger of breathing confined air in any of their places of wor- 
 ship, on a windy day, nor were any made sick or faint, after a 
 cold ride, by going into a church well warmed by stove or fur- 
 nace, and no one became drowsy or listless from sitting on well- 
 cushioned or inclined-backed seats. 
 
 The only compensation in those days, for our present com- 
 fortable places of worship, was the family foot-stove, which was 
 considered the property of the mother. The little ones who 
 sat nearest to her would have the advantage of putting their 
 toes and fingers near it, while the larger ones, as they sat on 
 all sides of the old square pews, would extend their feet toward 
 the radiating heat, or rap their boots together, waiting im- 
 patiently to have the minister say, " Finally." The older men 
 would bear cold patiently, showing what they could endure for 
 religion's sake, while the young men bore it bravely, lest their 
 reputation for hardihood might suffer in the eyes of the gentler 
 sex. The minister, boxed up in the old-fashioned pulpit elevat- 
 ed far above the congregation, as if it were colder in that airy 
 height, often preached having on a surtout buttoned up close, 
 and a heavy cloak over the shoulders, with thick gloves or mit- 
 tens on the hands ; not very conveniently dressed for oratorical 
 effect. Between the two services the boys and those w"ho could 
 not well endure the cold, would scatter to the post-office and 
 tavern, where it was known that good fires were kept, and 
 while the men would stand round the bar to get that which 
 was then believed to be invaluable to keep out the cold of 
 winter and the heat of summer, the boys would monopolize the 
 heat of the large fireplace filled with wood. The more gallant 
 and self-denying portion of the men would take the family 
 foot-stove, and replenish it with good live coals for the afternoon 
 service and homeward ride. Those times have long since 
 passed away, and now most places of worship arc as comfortable 
 as a private sitting-room, summer or winter. 
 
 The first two generations passed away before the sound of 
 any bell floated down the valleys and over the hills, to call the 
 people together for worship, to tell the most suitable hour for 
 
■ • O i ) 
 
 breakfast or dinner during the week, and what would be the 
 proper time for steady folks to retire to rest. 
 
 The bell is even made to speak a language when it rings and 
 tolls out of season. It announces the fact to all the inhabitants 
 of the town, that a man, woman, or child has passed away ; 
 and then the solemn toll, beating the slow, measured step to the 
 grave, reminds the living of their destiny. 
 
 Great changes have taken place within the memory of many 
 now living, in regard to some of the customs, — changes which 
 are real improvements in civilized life. The time has been 
 when no wedding would take place without the free use of 
 wine, and generally that which was much stronger. It is said 
 that a barrel of rum was often provided for the occasion, and 
 then a drunken frolic would last for several days. Now, it is 
 rare that even wine is provided publicly for the occasion. 
 
 The change is equally great in regard to the general use of 
 intoxicating drinks. If there are as many drunkards now as 
 formerly, and as much liquor consumed (as is claimed by some), 
 the number that use it is certainly less. It is within the mem- 
 mory of many of us, that not a single farmer in town thought 
 of harvesting his hay or grain without rum ; when not a single 
 building was raised, or any special gathering made, without 
 rum ; and when it was not known that any man or boy refused 
 to drink from principle. Good men drank, believing that it 
 was right and beneficial. It was offered to the minister when 
 making his parochial calls, and not generally refused ; to the 
 family physician when he came to see the sick, and to friends 
 wheli they came to make an afternoon or evening visit. All 
 merchants kept it on one end of the counter to sell by the glass 
 or to give their customers. Even at the solemn rites of the 
 burial-service it was not forgotten or omitted. After the 
 religious services at the house, and before going to the grave, 
 the glass was first passed to the minister, then to the near 
 friends and more distant relatives. Those who were to act as 
 bearers were next served, and then it was freely offered to all 
 the neighbors and citizens who had gathered for the occasion. 
 Those living at the close of the century can well judge of the 
 change that has taken place. 
 
 In education there has been an advance. At first, the schools 
 
323 
 
 were limited from necessity, — limited in number, length, and 
 excellence. They had nut the means to hire teachers of suit- 
 able education, nor were such persons easily obtained. The 
 log school-house or a small room in some private house, early 
 gave place to the red frame school-houses, and the red ones are 
 rapidly yielding to the neatly-painted white ones. There is 
 ample room for the next century to improve on the past. The 
 school-house should have a pleasant and healthy location, with 
 ample grounds for recreation, well-fenced and ornamented with 
 trees. The interior should be arranged for health and conven- 
 ience. In other words, let the house where the child receives 
 the first elements of an education be an attractive place, and it 
 will exert a lasting influence on both mind and heart. One of 
 the main impulses to education, and that which has done more 
 than any other one thing to elevate the standard of education, 
 was the inaugurating, in New Boston, a select school in the au- 
 tumn of 1832. This brought together the best scholars from 
 the various school districts in town. It was, in reality, a sort 
 of graded school system, for the school was made up almost en- 
 tirely of town scholars. This school was kept up for many 
 years. It was the means of fitting numbers for teaching, and 
 for years New Boston furnished more school-teachers than any 
 of the neighboring towns. It also stimulated others to acquire 
 a liberal education ; for previous to this, only a few had grad- 
 uated. Other changes might be mentioned, did time and space 
 allow. In early times, when families were few and land abun- 
 dant, the children settled mostly in the vicinity, and pursued 
 the avocation of their fathers ; but in these days of steam com- 
 munication, and the multiplying of trades, the children em- 
 igrate. Now they are found engaged in almost every branch of 
 business and every profession, and scattered over a Avide extent 
 of territory. 
 
 But there have been painful changes, that I have not men- 
 tioned. Every house has its story of joy and sorrow. Death 
 has been here ; and nowhere can the history of change and sor- 
 row be so plainly read as in the graveyard. There sleep the 
 fathers, — forever sacred be their graves ! There, too, lie our 
 kindred and neighbors and friends. Through these changes 
 we, too, must pass. The blessings we inherit we only hold in 
 
324 
 
 trust, to transmit, after we have improved them, to our descend- 
 ants. It is the duty of the present generation to honor the 
 memory of the past, emulate their virtues, and cherish all that 
 is really good, so that the coming century may stand in happy 
 contrast with the present in all that is pure and ennobling. 
 
SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 " At a meeting of a number of heads of families, and others, 
 patrons of the Sabbath school in New Boston, holclen at Mrs. 
 Moses Whitney's hall, in said town, on Friday, the first day of 
 October, 1819, 
 
 " Motion being made to choose a chairman, the Rev. E. P. 
 Bradford was chosen, and took the chair accordingly. 
 
 " Motion was then made to choose a clerk, and Joseph Coch- 
 ran, Jr., was chosen to officiate in that office. 
 
 " Proceeded to open a contribution for the purpose of pur- 
 chasing books for premiums, to reward the youth and children 
 composing the Sabbath school, for their industry in committing 
 and reciting portions of the sacred Scriptures." 
 
 From the foregoing, taken from a document which came into 
 our hands, it appears that a Sabbath school was organized in 
 the Presbyterian congregation as early as 1819. Its organiza- 
 tion was very simple : classes were formed, and teachers ap- 
 pointed, and the work to be done was to commit and recite pas- 
 sages of Scripture. It was a school for children only ; yet, it 
 would sec in, from the large and enthusiastic meeting referred 
 to above, and from the character of the men that composed it, 
 and the amount subscribed, that there was no want of interest 
 in the enterprise on the part of parents. The enthusiasm of 
 the pupils was great, as appears from the number of verses of 
 Scripture committed and recited. The whole number of classes 
 was eight, four male and four female. The whole number of 
 teachers, eight ; assistant teachers, eight ; and the whole num- 
 ber of pupils was 43 males, and 75 females. The boys recited 
 9,786 verses, and the girls 29,994. 
 
 Class No. 1 consisted of 10 boys, from 14 to 16 years of age : — 
 Jeremiah Cochran, Rodney Cochran, John Kelso, Jr., Hiram 
 Lynch, John Fairfield, Jr., Hiram Mcintosh, Lincoln H. Flint, 
 
326 
 
 Jesse Colby, Joseph B. Cochran, and John Howe. Their 
 teacher was Moses Whitney, and the highest number of verses 
 recited was 559, by Jeremiah Cochran. The whole number of 
 verses recited by the class was 1,596. 
 
 Class No. 2 consisted of 10 boys, from 11 to 18 : — Peter 
 Crombie, James B. Gregg, Jonathan Cochran, Sumner Cristy, 
 Alfred Cochran, Nathaniel Patterson, Silas Cochran, Daniel 
 Lynch, Haskell McCollom. Their teacher was William Jones ; 
 and the highest number of verses recited was 1,116, by James 
 B. Gregg ; the next highest, was by Jonathan Cochran, 628. 
 The whole number of verses recited by the class was 3,866. 
 
 Class No. 3 consisted of 9 boys, from 9 to 12 : — Samuel C. 
 Whiting, Elbridge Wason, Isaac Giddings, Jr., Absalom Dodge, 
 Sylvester Dodge, Gilman McCurdy, William W. Peabody, Ly- 
 man Marcleu. Their teacher was JJeacon R. Wason ; and the 
 highest number of verses recited was 511, by Calvin Whiting ; 
 the next highest, 505, by Samuel C. Cochran. The whole num- 
 ber of verses recited by the class was 1,492. 
 
 Class No. 5 consisted of 14 boys, from 5 to 8 : — John B. 
 Wallace, William Wallace, John Crombie, John C. Henry, 
 William Bradford, George W. Clark, Jacob Dodge, Ephraim 
 Cristy, William P. Cochran, William C. Campbell, James Mar- 
 den, Thomas H. Cochran, Albert Dodge, R. C. Cochran. Their 
 teacher was Robert B. Cochran ; and the highest number of 
 verses recited was by William Bradford, 456 ; the next highest, 
 264, by Thomas H. Cochran. The whole number recited by 
 the class was 2,832. 
 
 Class No. 5 consisted of 18 girls, from 13 to 16 : — Marinda 
 Cochran, Susannah Leach, Syrena McMillen, Louisa Beard, 
 Nancy McCurdy, Margaret R. Cochran, Letitia Cristy, Eliza 
 Beard, Jane Livingston, Anna Marden, Eliza Dickey, Harriet 
 Crombie, Hannah Peabody, Eleanor Giddings, Louisa Butler, 
 Hepsibah Flint, Jane Gregg, Jane Wilson. Their teacher was 
 Mary B. Cochran, assisted by Miss Burns ; and the highest 
 number of verses recited was 1,206, by Letitia Cristy ; the next 
 highest was 873, by Hannah Peabody. The Avhole number 
 recited by the class was 9,112. 
 
 Class No. 6 consisted of 17 girls, from 11 to 12 : — Adeline 
 
327 
 
 McMillen, Caroline McMillen, Charlotte Fairfield, Lucretia Liv- 
 ingston, Cordelia Clark, Asenath Dodge, Sally Smith, Mehi table 
 Griddings, Relief Dodge, Sophronia Cochran, Rebecca Clark, 
 Frances Smith. Margaret Ann Cochran, Lavinia Wilson, Sa- 
 brina Wilson, Abigail H. Flint, Rebecca Pinkerton. Their 
 teacher was Miss Sally Lamson, assisted by Betsey Wilson and 
 Lydia Cochran. The highest number of verses recited was 
 1035, by Sophronia Cochran ; the next highest was 896, by 
 Lucretia Livingston. The whole number of verses recited by 
 the class was 8,953. 
 
 Class No. 7 consisted of 16 girls, from 5 to 10 : — Mary Cristy, 
 Eloisa Dodge, Augusta Kelso, Nancy Eliot, Anna Hooper, Han- 
 nah Hooper, Rachel Smith, Annis Cochran, Ann Clark, Fran- 
 ces Moor, Elizabeth Peabody, Mercy Cochran, Jane Wilson, 
 Mary E.Cochran, Clarissa W. Collom, Mary Emily Cochran. 
 Their teacher was Miss Frances Cochran, assisted by Sally 
 Gregg and Harriet Cochran. The highest number of verses 
 recited was 864, by Annis Cochran ; and the next, 801, by Au- 
 gusta Kelso. The whole number recited by the class was 7,198. 
 
 Class Xo. 8 consisted of 24 girls, from 4 to 8 : — Nancy Rich- 
 ards, Sarah Hooper, Anstis Bradford, Nancy Cristy, Emily 
 Whiting, Lucy Adams, Lydia Adams, Ellis Hooper, Phebc Pat- 
 terson, Mary Jane Wilson, Rnhamah Cochran, Elizabeth Ann 
 Peabody, Abigail Fairfield, Mehitable G. Marden, Clarissa W. 
 Mcintosh, Almena Dane, Dolly George, Clarinda Smith, Betsey 
 Dane, Margaret Cochran, Elizabeth Dodge, Mary Patterson, 
 Mary Whiting. Their teacher was Roxanna Whiting, assisted 
 by Jane Cochran and Lydia Cochran. The highest number of 
 verses recited was 511, by Sarah Hooper ; and the next highest 
 was 449, by Anstis Bradford. The whole number recited by 
 the class was 4,731. 
 
 The whole number of verses recited by the school was 39,780. 
 
 This school continued seventeeen weeks ; and the premiums 
 wore trifles, — cheap books or tracts, no one exceeding in value 
 twenty-two cents, few exceeding ten cents. These were given 
 as rewards not anticipated, for the meeting referred to was 
 held near the close of the school, and Rev. Ephraim P. Brad- 
 ford was authorized to obtain the books, and deliver them to 
 
328 
 
 the teachers, to be given to the pupils. And, true to their 
 generous character, before the meeting closed they voted, 
 unanimously, " That the thanks of this meeting be presented 
 to the instructors and instructresses for the ability, fidelity, 
 and impartiality they have manifested in the discharge of their 
 duties, in instructing the youth and children composing the 
 Sabbath school in this town, the present season." 
 
 This mode of sustaining the Sabbath school continued for 
 some years, with slight modifications. At length, catechisms 
 and question-books were gradually introduced, and for years 
 past the school has extended through the entire year, receiving 
 a large infusion of the adult portion of the congregation. 
 Though the congregation has diminished, the Sabbath school 
 has increased in numbers ; to-day, June 20, it numbers 207 pu- 
 pils, with 22 teachers, and as many classes, while an increased 
 interest is felt to have more of the Bible committed to memory 
 than during the few past years. 
 
 Knowing the men and women who have been trained in this 
 Sabbath school, who yet remain on the old homesteads or have 
 gone to other localities, it is not easy to close our eyes to the 
 fact that this institution has proved an incalculable benefit to 
 at least two generations, and promises benefits equally great to 
 yet other generations. The smiling faces and sparkling eyes 
 affirm the pleasure which children feel in attending. It is here 
 that the intellect is quickened, as well as the heart improved. 
 It is here that self-respect is inspired, and noble resolutions are 
 made, which give direction to conduct and form the character 
 for subsequent life. It is here that jewels of the church as 
 well as of the household are burnished, and from those here 
 disciplined will come forth the brightest ornaments of the 
 church and the greatest blessings of the State. 
 
 Although the introduction of the Sabbath school into the 
 Baptist congregation transpired at a later date than into the 
 Presbyterian, still it has been no less a blessing to that portion 
 of the community. 
 
 During the past two years, through the efforts of the pastor 
 of the Presbyterian Church, three schools have been organized 
 and sustained by the citizens in as many different parts of" the 
 
329 
 
 town remote IVom the meeting-houses. Much interest has ex- 
 isted in these, and no little good has been done. That in the 
 west part of the town, under the superintendence of Dea. 
 Marshall Adams, has had nearly a hundred scholars, including 
 children and adults. The interest in this school has been 
 greatly heightened, and its benefits • multiplied, by a good 
 library of one hundred volumes the first year, and the addi- 
 tion of seventy-five the second; — the generous gift of Mr. 
 Marshall C. Adams, of Jaffrcy, the worthy son of the superin- 
 tendent, who has not forgotten the home of his childhood, nor 
 lost his interest in an institution that blessed his youth. This 
 thoughtfulnoss of Mr. Adams deserves special commendation, 
 as being the first and only gift, of any note, received from her 
 many and prospered absent children, by the town. It strikes 
 us as a little remarkable that, of the two generations of men 
 whom New Boston has sent forth, most of them nurtured in 
 her churches and trained in her Sabbath schools, not one of 
 them — good men and highly prospered abroad — has ever 
 made a thank-offering to the Sabbath school in which lie was 
 taught, the church in which he was nurtured, or the town in 
 which he was reared, except Mr. Marshall Adams, the first- 
 born of a family of thirteen children, all of whom are now 
 living, and having hope towards God through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. Has it been the result of thoughtlessness, or have 
 other places made imperious demands upon all their charities? 
 Or have they ceased to feel a lively interest in the place of 
 their young life's activities and advantages V Or do they still 
 think of the town with its population of 1820, and the large 
 crowded assembly on the hill of mighty men and noble wo- 
 men, with ample means of obtaining all they need, forgetting 
 that the population of the town has been sadly changed and 
 reduced by the exodus of her sons and daughters, — that the 
 churches where they worshipped arc no longer thronged as in 
 days of yore ? Are they ignorant that, while the virtuous and 
 God-fearing are diminished by their going forth, the ungodly, 
 who glory in their shame, reject all religious instruction, and, 
 gyrating in the slime of moral corruption, are not diminished ? 
 No debt is more obvious than that which absent children owe 
 
 42 
 
330 
 
 to the place of their birth ; to remember it affectionately, and 
 sympathize with its struggles to hold fast the things that 
 remain. And every absent son is honored or dishonored as 
 the reputation of the old homestead is sustained or lowered. 
 Nor should it be forgotten that any efforts to uphold or en- 
 hance the honor of the place of one's nativity reflects most 
 glory on him who makes the endeavor. 
 
HON. GEERY WHITING COCHEANE. 
 
 Mr. Cochrane was born near Joe English, March 22, 1808, 
 being the son of Mr. John Cochrane. His early youth was 
 spent on the farm and in the district school, afterwards at 
 Pinkerton Academy in Deny, and Bradford Academy, Massa- 
 chusetts, and in teaching. In 1829 he entered the store of 
 Jacob Howe, Esq., of Haverhill, Mass., and after a service of 
 four or five years entered upon business *for himself in that 
 place, subsequently removing to Boston, where he now resides 
 and where he is prosecuting a large and lucrative business. 
 For many years he has been director in several insurance 
 companies, and in one of the largest banks in Boston. He 
 was eight years a member of the State Committee ; was chosen 
 Presidential elector in 1860 ; and in 1862 and 1863 was elected 
 executive councillor for the Essex Second District. 
 
 Mr. Cochrane married Miss Mary Jane, daughter of Rev. 
 William Batchelder, and has three sons, — William B., Henry 
 F.,and Frederick, — all of whom have been liberally educated. 
 
 Mr. Cochrane's father was a native of Windham, and has 
 been dead many years ; his venerated mother, an estimable 
 Christian lady, is now living in Chester, aged ninety, enjoying 
 remarkable vigor of body and mind, waiting cheerfully her 
 appointed time. 
 
 Mr. Cochrane has two brothers, — Hon. Robert Boyd, of this 
 town, and Hon. Clark B., of Albany; and five sisters, — Mary 
 B., who married Mr. Moses Hall, of Chester, whose children 
 are Luther W., William Atwood, Mercy H., Abigail S., Nason, 
 Clark B., Adeline, and Elizabeth; Mary J., who married Wil- 
 liam Hazelton, of Chester, whose children are William, Har- 
 riet T., Gerry W. (a lawyer in Columbus, Wisconsin), George 
 C. (a lawyer in Wisconsin), John Franklin (a lawyer, now 
 
332 
 
 Brigade Quartermaster in the Army of the Potomac), Sophia 
 P., living in New Boston, Marinda living in Chester, an in- 
 valid, and Abba S., who married Mr. Jonathan Pressey, and 
 lives in Chester. 
 
 Mr. Cochrane is a man of large charities, with a heart for 
 every good enterprise ; alive to the interests of education, the 
 country, and of religion. 
 
JOnffarisItth, 
 
RESPONSE OF HON. GERRY W. COCHRANE. 
 
 The Religious Character of the early Settlers of New Boston. — " First 
 
 pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, 
 without partiality, and without hypocrisy." 
 
 Mb. President, — 
 
 There is no truth more apparent in the history of our race 
 than this, that everywhere and always men are laboring for 
 the future ; struggling forward to a good more or less remote, 
 on which hangs some glittering prize, whose attainment is to 
 fill the measure of their happiness. Whether this be one of 
 man's mistakes or not, it is surely one of his most universal 
 characteristics, that he is about to live. He has ever some un- 
 fulfilled desire, some unaccomplished plan, some deficiency to 
 be supplied in his means of enjoyment, before he can dismiss 
 his corroding care, quiet the burning fever of desire, and relax 
 his soul into the sweet and placid consciousness of happiness. 
 We may infer, therefore, that the tendency to live for the 
 future, to regulate our present course of life with a primary 
 reference to our future well-being, however abused, is emi- 
 nently consonant with the nature of man ; it harmonizes with 
 those high powers of reason and reflection, which exalt him 
 immeasurably above the brutes, and enable him, though phys- 
 ically confined within a narrow sphere of activity, to live in 
 spirit throughout the entire circle of creation and the entire 
 duration of time. In so living, man displays the high endow- 
 ments, the mighty capacities, of his nature. 
 
 Society, government, institutions of learning and religion, 
 are matters of formation and growth. They are the result of 
 earnest thought, practical wisdom, and experience. God de- 
 sires that man shall be happy ; but under the arrangements of a 
 wise Providence he must labor for it. For the production of a 
 result so devoutly to be wished, he must cooperate with the 
 
384 
 
 laws of nature and of grace. Progress has been, is, and must 
 be, the law of our race, until earth shall be redeemed from the 
 thraldom of sin, and converted into another paradise. If one 
 nation has lost the line of advancement, another has seized it, 
 and so the world has gone forward. 
 
 It must be remembered, however, that no nation is truly 
 progressing where the Bible is not recognized as containing the 
 great fundamental principles upon which all our hopes must 
 rest, both for success in this world, and a glorious immortality 
 beyond. Hence the importance given by our fathers to the 
 influence of the Gospel, the pure teachings of God's blessed 
 word ; hence the necessity that every people should magnify 
 the truth, and seek earnestly to know him who is " The way, 
 the truth, and the life." 
 
 Perhaps no race of men ever recognized this more than did 
 our Puritan fathers, who, turning their backs upon the graves of 
 their ancestors, left home and country, coming to this western 
 world for " freedom to worship God." As we look over the 
 history of the past three centuries, and read of the intolerance 
 of those times, we are filled with wonder and admiration in 
 contemplation of those noble characteristics, displayed by the 
 long succession of Christian heroes who went to prison and 
 death to maintain their faith. Prom their retreats we hear 
 the prayer and the psalm swelling and rising from the hearts of 
 indomitable Covenanters, driven from their homes, and suffer- 
 ing the loss of all things, for truth and conscience's sake. Well 
 may we, the sons and daughters of the earlier settlers of this 
 our native town, thank God and take courage, even in these 
 dark and troublous times, that we have descended from an an- 
 cestry whose inflexible purpose ever was to do right and 
 oppose the wrong ; whose sincere, patriotic, Christian devotion 
 to the principles of eternal truth, set forth in our declaration 
 and bill of rights, is worthy of the profound gratitude of our 
 hearts. 
 
 Most of the early settlers of New Boston were of Scotch 
 origin, hence their firm purpose and decision in all matters of 
 conscience ; their iron will in surmounting every obstacle to the 
 fulfilment of their purposes and plans, whether of a temporal 
 or spiritual nature, never forgetting the Divine injunction, " In- 
 
385 
 
 asmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my 
 disciples, ye have done it unto me." While we have been 
 searching for facts, and studying the religious character of those 
 men and women who, one hundred years ago, exercised a con- 
 trolling influence in this town, imparting a high moral tone to 
 the sentiments of this community, our heart has been cheered 
 with the fact so fully established of their fidelity to Christian 
 principles. We see them laboring to establish and perpetuate 
 in the mind and hearts of their descendants that reverence for 
 God and his sanctuary ; that strict observance of the holy 
 Sabbath, with all its hallowed associations and delightful duties 
 which they themselves so fondly cherished. 
 
 No words of ours can convey to the mind the true spirit of 
 dependence upon Divine guidance, the firm personal adherence 
 to truth, that vigorous faith in the power of the gospel which 
 pervaded the hearts of our fathers, so well as those embraced 
 in their call to the Rev. Solomon Moor, to become their pastor, 
 in the year 1767. This paper was signed by forty-four men, 
 whose names have been so intimately associated together, and 
 closely indentified with the early history and prosperity of New 
 Boston, that they will be heard with thrilling interest as they 
 are now enunciated. The following are the exact words of that 
 call, as found among our early records, bearing the signatures 
 of some we have seen, with whitened locks and venerable forms. 
 gathering around the communion table to celebrate the suffer- 
 ings and death of a crucified Redeemer. Sentiments like these 
 deserve to be engraved in letters of living light upon the door- 
 post of every family in the town : — 
 
 New Boston, August 25, 17(>7. 
 We the inhabitants of the Town of New Boston as sensible of the repeated 
 instances of the goodness of our Kind benefactor, particularly in smiling upon 
 our new Settlement, so that, from a very small, in a few Years we are in- 
 creased to a considerable number and the wilderness by God's Kind influences 
 is, in many places amongst us become a fruitful field affording us a comfort- 
 al ile maintainanee. We acknowledge that we are not proprietors of our estates 
 in the sight of God, but stewards, and therefore they are to be improved for 
 his honor, the spreading and establishment of his interest, and being destitute 
 of a fixed Pastor, and having longing and earnest inclination to have one. 
 established amongst us, that we may have the Gospel mysteries unfolded, Or- 
 dinances administered amongst us. the appointed means of < rod's 1 louse below, 
 
336 
 
 thai we and our seed may be disciplined, and trained up for his House of 
 glory above, as a Kind providence of God has opened such a door by, Sir, 
 your coming amongst us, we are cheerfully led to embrace the happy opor- 
 tunity, being well assured Rev. Sir, by unexceptional credentials as to your 
 ministerial abilities to Preach the Gospel ; and likewise as to your exemplary 
 life which gives force to what is preached, as also the suitableness and agree* 
 ableness of what you Preach to our capacities. We therefore, earnestly im- 
 ploring direction from the being that alone can effectually direct us in such a 
 weighty and soul concerning matter, we with hearts full, of well gratified 
 affection, do in the most hearty manner, invite, call, and entreat you, the 
 Rev. Solomon Moor to undertake the office of a pastor amongst us, and the 
 charge of our souls forced upon your accepting this our call, as we hope the 
 Lord will incline and move you so to do, we in a most solemn manner, prom- 
 ise you all dutiful respect, encouragement, and obedience in the Lord's 
 order. As the laborer is worthy of his hire, and he that serves at the altar, 
 should live by it, and as we have nothing but what we have received, we are 
 willing to improve part of our portion in this life, that we may be made par- 
 takers of everlasting portion in the life to come, by the blessing .of God under 
 your ministry, and for your encouragement and temporaiy reward, we prom- 
 ise you yearly forty pounds sterling per annum for the first five years 
 after your instalment, and after that the addition of five pounds sterling more 
 per annum." * 
 
 The deep religious feeling that controlled the action of these 
 men is apparent in almost every sentence of the foregoing 
 paper. We can have no surer test of the devoutly pious 
 character of the early settlers of New Boston than is here 
 given us. 
 
 How significant the words, " We are not the proprietors of 
 our estates in the sight of God, but stewards ; therefore they 
 are to be improved for his honor " ! Here is a free and frank 
 confession of entire dependence upon God, coupled with a 
 strong desire to do his will, — a practical illustration of the 
 parable of the talents, with the command given, " Occupy till 
 I come," — a full recognition of the doctrine taught by Christ 
 and his apostles. These were the men that desired, as they 
 here express it, not only to have their own minds and hearts 
 disciplined, and trained for heaven, but that their children and 
 children's children should be educated for higher and nobler 
 duties, and become heirs of immortal glory. Some of their 
 descendants are here to-day, witnesses for God, saved as by fire, 
 
 * See names on page 110. 
 
M>;7 
 
 ill answer to their prayers, and their faithful instruction in the 
 blessed Word of life. 
 
 Who can estimate the undying nature and the priceless value 
 of a religion founded upon the eternal principles of truth, set 
 forth in this "call"! Three generations have passed away 
 since that document was signed and put upon record. 
 
 Changes, many and terrible, have come over us, and our dear 
 native land ; but our fathers' God is our God to-day, and wher- 
 ever men lean upon him, and not upon their own understand- 
 ing, they become an element for good, which no earthly power 
 can overthrow. No, never ! Such a community, covenanted 
 in one bond of union to do his will, are sure to possess that 
 practical wisdom and true conception of duty, which a devoted 
 heart and a vigorous faith cannot fail to inspire. Their lives 
 will everywhere and always be a never-failing attestation to the 
 blessedness of the religion of Jesus Christ. Let us follow those 
 men after they had settled the question of duty, in reference to 
 devoting a part of what God had given them, to the support of 
 the gospel ministry. Mark their language in stating their feel- 
 ings and purposes to one whom they expected soon to become 
 their religious instructor and spiritual guide : — " We, there- 
 fore, earnestly imploring direction from the Being who alone 
 can effectually direct us in such a weighty and soul-concerning 
 matter." How comprehensive the prayer ! how full of mean- 
 ing is every word ! — the very embodiment of all spiritual life, 
 — the sure evidence of a true gospel hope, — a petition that 
 could never come from any other than a humble Christian 
 heart, uttering its sincere desire from a sense of its wants and 
 obligations to Him whose mighty arm upholds the world. 
 The fruits of this connection between minister and people 
 prove to us, who know them, that this short prayer, so accord- 
 ant with the teachings of the gospel, secured the Saviour's 
 blessing. 
 
 The charge of illiberality is often made against those men 
 who first came into this vast wilderness to secure for them- 
 selves and their children a permanent Christian home. They 
 are often quoted as the very personification of sectarianism in its 
 most hateful form ; enforcing a church and family government 
 particularly severe ; tending to create and foster in the minds 
 

 and hearts of their descendants a strong aversion to everything 
 systematized and made permanent in the pastoral relation and 
 in the administration of the gospel ordinances, so beautifully 
 referred to and set forth in the " call." 
 
 We take peculiar pleasure, in the privilege afforded us at this 
 time, to give our testimony on this point, and to repel these 
 charges, which we sincerely believe to be false. If a sect or 
 community of persons, for being tenacious of their opinions of 
 right and wrong, — for being strict in their observance of the 
 Christian Sabbath, and for enforcing wholesome rules in the 
 church and family, — are to be stigmatized as bigots, then we will 
 admit that they were guilty of the charge, and pray that God 
 will make every son and daughter of Adam " not almost," but 
 altogether, such as they were. For if any people ever suffered 
 for want of just such men to stand by the minister, and give 
 character and efficiency to the church of Christ, we who live in 
 the middle of the nineteenth century are that people. 
 
 Look over any region, and you find it dotted with men (or 
 rather the physical forms of men) marked and ticketed as not 
 belonging to themselves, but to others from whom they derive 
 their opinions, both in politics and religion. Such persons arc 
 never to be trusted. They have no decision, nor firmness of 
 purpose in standing by the right and opposing the wrong ; no 
 seizing an object with a grasp of mind not easily relaxed. A 
 proper decision, such as our fathers possessed, is not a preju- 
 diced wilfulness, that dares act without investigation ; but, 
 when convinced of the right, they stood immovable as the 
 mountain base. The grand characteristics of the early settlers 
 of this town were integrity and moral courage, which gave them 
 executive force, and raised them above all defeat, and gave 
 them an overwhelming advantage over the faint-hearted and 
 fickle. In a world like ours, such characteristics are indispen- 
 sable to success in right. The unstable man is as the waves of 
 the sea, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Without 
 fixedness of purpose, a firm and consistent course of reasoning, 
 he will be likely to sacrifice his conscience at the shrine of a short- 
 sighted and time-serving policy. By this class of men every- 
 thing is resolved into natural law and human agency. The 
 power of God is not recognized, and he is virtually shut out of 
 
389 
 
 his own creation. But to our Christian fathers, the element of 
 influence and power was their constant recognition of Almighty 
 God, to them a sure pledge of succei . 
 
 Let us look, for a moment, at the every-day lives of those men 
 who cleared these forests, erected many of the dwellings that 
 now stand as landmarks, to remind us of the simplicity and 
 rigid economy of those fathers and mothers, who constituted 
 the first Christian church in New Boston, and solemnly cov- 
 enanted with eaeh other, before God, to sustain a gospel minis- 
 try ; who toiled incessantly, six days in the week, and walked 
 from one to four miles on the Sabbath, taking their children 
 with them, to attend on the public worship of the sanctuary, 
 sitting during a two hours' service, without fire on a cold win- 
 ter's day. 
 
 Does this not prove their firm and devoted love for the teach- 
 ings of God's Word, and the ordinances of his house ? We 
 have a strong and full affirmative answer, not only in their 
 lives, but in their own language, as we quote their exact words 
 on this point : — That we might have the gospel mysteries un- 
 folded, — the appointed means of God's house below, that we 
 and our seed may belMsciplined and trained up for his house 
 of glory above." The excellency, dignity, and power of such 
 language are seldom equalled. These were the men who insti- 
 tuted and sustained a systematic family government, a Christian 
 family discipline, teaching their children to reverence God, 
 and hallow his sanctuary, and to keep his statutes, calling them 
 morning and evening, day by clay, around the family altar, 
 from which ascended the humble petition and the heart-felt 
 thanksgiving. Well do we remember more than one such altar 
 where, when a small boy, we bowed with our little associates, 
 and listened to the earnest words of some of those holy men, 
 whose memory still lingers with many present to-day. We can 
 never forget such men as Dea. Thomas Cochran, Deacon Wil- 
 liam McNeil, Dea. Robert Patterson, and many others, who 
 long since were gathered into the Redeemer's fold on high. 
 Here, too, were the Christiem mothers. Oh, how the heart 
 swells with tenderest emotion as we write the word, mother ! 
 Who can estimate the value of a Christian mother ! See her 
 by the bedside of her little ones, teaching them, as soon as they 
 
340 
 
 can lisp the name of Jesus, to say, " Our Father who art in 
 heaven," and tell me, if you can, the value of such instruction, 
 the influence of such love. 
 
 What minister of the gospel, living in the middle of the nine- 
 teenth century, would not thank God for such a church to 
 " stand up for Jesus," ever ready to counsel with and sustain 
 the pastor in his arduous work of love ? The respect, encour- 
 agement, and obedience of these parents and their children, 
 which they promise " in the Lord's order," proves their faith 
 and sincerity in what they considered the instrumentalities to 
 be used for the conversion of their fellow-men, and the wisdom 
 of the choice so unanimously made. God signally blessed them 
 by imparting the influences of his Holy Spirit to the word 
 spoken, in the purifying of many souls, and by continuing that 
 connection, so prayerfully considered during the space of nearly 
 forty years, in which there was a great ingathering of those 
 made wise unto salvation. The church was greatly strength- 
 ened, and made a power for good to influence many generations. 
 In the process of time, after a long and successful ministry, 
 God called this faithful servant from his labor on earth to his 
 rest in heaven. The people bowed with sa'ddened hearts as they 
 laid him in the tomb, sorrowing most of all that his work on 
 earth had ceased, and they " should see his face no more." 
 These praying disciples, whose hearts burned within them as 
 they talked of Him whose voice was now silent in death, and 
 called to mind the kind words of comfort and consolation they 
 had received, were now found just where we may always ex- 
 pect to find the unwavering child of God, clinging closer to the 
 cross as sorrow and affliction darkened their pathway, earnestly 
 seeking that divine and heavenly light which every true Chris- 
 tian finds when he comes to the throne of grace, and there asks 
 wisdom of Him who said to his own chosen disciples, " Let 
 not your hearts be troubled : ye believe in God, believe also in 
 me." 
 
 These pious fathers and mothers, pillars in the church, 
 did not shrink from duty, nor falter in their efforts to secure 
 another under-shepherd at the earliest convenient time. After 
 repeated trials, God heard their prayers, and sent them a young- 
 man, possessed of high intellectual endowments, firm in pur- 
 
841 
 
 pose, with a deep conviction of the great responsibility he was 
 about to assume in entering upon the work of preaching the 
 glorious gospel of the blessed God. His labor for the instruc- 
 tion of the young, and counsel to those in the vigor of life, his 
 kind words of comfort for the distressed, his efforts in elevating 
 the standard of piety among this people for nearly half a cen- 
 tury, will be felt in their influence long after those who now 
 hear mo shall have passed away. Eternity alone will reveal the 
 nature and extent of the work he accomplished for the Master, 
 as he traversed these hills and valleys, carrying joy to every 
 young, buoyant heart, and consolation to the sick and bereaved 
 in sorrow's dark hour. The hallowed associations and delight- 
 ful memories of the Rev. Ephraim P. Bradford are yet fresh 
 with many here to-day, whose hearts have been made to rejoice 
 in a risen Saviour through his instrumentality. Ay, they can 
 never forget him until they shall fail to appreciate the impor- 
 tance of a faithful and earnest presentation of divine and saving 
 truth. 
 
 This beloved pastor and all his early faithful associates and 
 colaborers in the church of Christ have gone to their reward in 
 heaven ; but their Christian fidelity and the moral influence of 
 their lives cannot fail, under God, to promote the welfare of his 
 kingdom in years to come. " Here the flowers fade, the heart 
 withers, man grows old and dies : the world lies down in the 
 sepulchre of ages ; but time writes no wrinkles on eternity. In 
 the dwelling of the Almighty can come no footsteps of decay." 
 
 The old meeting-house that stood on the green hillside, with 
 its square pews, and ever-to-be-remembered sounding-board, 
 where our fathers worshipped for more than half a century, has 
 been vacated forty years, but there are some present who re- 
 member the religious privileges of that house with sacred joy. 
 
 Never can we forget some of the solemn seasons that occur- 
 red within those hallowed walls, as we witnessed them in our 
 youthful days. Semi-annually were spread the long tables 
 around which were first gathered the aged servants of God, to 
 partake of the holy communion ; following these were the 
 active, vigorous members of the church, and then came the 
 youngest of the flock, all in their turn, to hear words of wisdom 
 from this faithful minister of the Lord. The sweet harmony of 
 
342 
 
 those voices in the choir, as they sung of a crucified and risen 
 Redeemer, the earnest exhortation, the devout prayer, are all 
 written on the tablet of our memory, never, never to be effaced. 
 
 As we write these words we seem to see that devoted pastor 
 we early learned to reverence and love, with dignified and 
 manly form, his countenance beaming with Christian kindness, 
 rising to address the throne of grace. Oh ! how those melting- 
 tones, uttered in words of humble, devout prayer, lift the soul 
 upward and onward toward the divine life ! Oh ! how they 
 impart to all who seek that higher life, holier aspirations, and a 
 firmer reliance on the promises of the gospel, an earnest desire 
 for a closer walk with God, and a fuller purpose to do his 
 will. 
 
 There is something truly delightful to the Christian'heart in 
 such holy worship, such solemn, quiet communings with the 
 Great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. These commemora- 
 tions serve to raise our thoughts from earth toward heaven, 
 pointing the soul to that day when all the saints in glory shall 
 be gathered around the great white throne, with their voices in 
 harmony with that angelic choir whose heavenly music shall 
 swell in rapturous strains when the last sound of the organ and 
 the lute shall have ceased forever. Thus may all the sons and 
 daughters of the early settlers of New Boston, down to the 
 latest generation, be prepared to sing the song of Moses and 
 the Lamb, that when, one by one, they cross the river of death, 
 exulting angels may welcome them to the celestial city. 
 
RESPONSE OE EEV. J. A. GOODHUE.* 
 
 The Resident Sons of New Boston. — " Theirs is a good inheritance. ' As his part 
 
 is that gocth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff.' " 
 
 Mr. President, — 
 
 The world in which wc live is a wide, wide world, and man 
 at best is a pilgrim and a stranger in it. The idea of his hav- 
 ing anything that can be called a residence here is very imper- 
 fectly realized under any circumstances. The rapid march of 
 mankind from the cradle to the grave, the changes which even 
 a few short years produce upon the face of human society, are a 
 sad and impressive commentary upon the fact that we have 
 here no abiding place, no continuing city. The appearance of 
 mankind upon the face of this earthly ball is like that of the 
 ants upon a molehill which to-day are lively and busy, but to- 
 morrow are gone forever. The idea of having a habitation and 
 a home here on earth can be realized under the most favoring 
 circumstances only just enough to make us appreciate the pre- 
 ciousness of the conditional promise of a real home in heaven, 
 and an everlasting mansion there. 
 
 That the possession of a place on earth, which you can call 
 your home, is an invaluable blessing, and one of the choicest 
 and dearest in this world, no one will deny. The enjoyment of 
 this blessing is greater, too, than we are wont to suppose. The 
 great mass' of mankind do not, except by the privation of it, 
 
 * In addition to the "Crucible," noticed in a sketch of him on page 161, 
 Mr. Goodhue is author of an article entitled " The Preaching of Ecclesiastes," 
 published in the Christian Revieio, July No. for 1854, page 434; also an 
 article entitled, " Dying unto Sin with Christ," it being an exposition of Horn, 
 vi. 2, 8, 10, 11, published in the Bibliotheca Sacra, E^nd American Biblical 
 Repository for July, 1857, it being the 55th No. of the former, and the 107th 
 of the latter, page 538. 
 
344 
 
 know what it is. Aside from the comparatively sparse popula- 
 tion of the rural portions of the country, aside from the yeo- 
 manry of the land, the cultivators of the soil, the large propor- 
 tion of the race follow an exceedingly unsettled, nomadic, 
 planetary mode of life. The mechanics of the land, the arti- 
 sans, the merchants, and those who follow the professions, are 
 almost constantly subject to migration . and change. Very few 
 of the inhabitants of our cities and large towns, into which the 
 great tide of humanity is constantly pouring, realize to any 
 extent what it is to have a home. The major part live merely 
 by tenantry from year to year ; so that they are able to acquire 
 no uninterrupted attachments to one locality over another. 
 They are equally at home everywhere ; which is equivalent to 
 saying that they have no home anywhere. Even those who are 
 fortunate enough to be the owners of the dwellings in which 
 they live, and the soil on which these dwellings stand, can have 
 but a very imperfect enjoyment of the home feeling. Their 
 estates are limited within the very narrowest compass by a 
 crowded and crowding population all around them, while the 
 rapid march of events, like an invading army, is continually 
 jostling them from their places as they come in the way of its 
 onward progress. 
 
 The conditions which are necessary to constitute a real 
 home, in the most perfect sense in which it can be realized in 
 this world, are found among the inhabitants of the country, 
 who are the grand producers of the land. One of these con- 
 ditions is the perpetual and perpetuated ownership of the dwell- 
 ings and lands which they occupy, and in connection with 
 which their entire lives are spent and all their earthly labors 
 are performed. The tillers of the soil are the most permanent 
 and almost the only permanent and really settled class of people 
 in the whole community. They are almost the only class who 
 can contemplate, with any kind of certainty, the spending of 
 their entire lives in the dwellings in which they were born, and 
 who can look forward to a changeless occupation through life, 
 and that upon the very same materials that have always con- 
 stituted the means of their industry and the sources of their 
 livelihood. Those who have chosen to remain by the stuff and 
 perpetuate their family tree, in this goodly town, may have this 
 
345 
 
 thought to console them, that though they may see less of the 
 world than many others, and experience less of its adventures, 
 they have elected for themselves a mode of life which is cal- 
 culated to insure to them the invaluable blessing of an uninter- 
 rupted earthly home, as no other mode of living can ; a blessing 
 which they are not in a position to appreciate as we do who 
 are not permitted to enjoy or anticipate it. 
 
 One of the most difficult questions we, who have gone abroad, 
 ever have to answer, is, Where is your home ? The only reply 
 we can make to it is that New Boston is our native town. 
 Aside from that we are as much at home in one place as an- 
 other. There is no other spot on earth that is endeared by any 
 sacred memories or by any ties that may not be sundered 
 without much pain. And the question where we shall lay our 
 bodies when we are dead, and the bodies of our loved ones, is as 
 unsettled as it is painful to contemplate. With you who remain 
 upon your native soil these questions require not a moment's 
 thought. Here you were born on the same ground and under 
 the same skies where your fathers before you have lived and 
 toiled, and here you expect to live and labor and die, and 
 yonder graveyard is to be your final resting-place. Rooted 
 down thus deeply as you are, having grown up out of the soil 
 made sacred by the industry of your ancestors, your very life 
 is identified with the scenes in the midst of which it is your lot 
 to perform all your earthly labors. How it must sweeten and 
 lighten your otherwise laborious pursuits to stop a moment and 
 call to mind the hallowed memories that cluster around you ; 
 to remember that every foot of the ground on which you perform 
 your daily toil has been trodden by the feet of your fathers, and 
 that they have so oft reclined under the very same trees for 
 shade and rest to which you are wont, in your wearied moments, 
 to resort. 
 
 What peace and quiet, also, it must impart to your life to 
 think of the comparative security of your earthly posses- 
 sions and the unfailing nature of the resources from which 
 you derive your livelihood. Though such scope for ambition 
 and enterprise is not open before you as lies in the path of 
 others, yet neither are you beset by the harassing fears by 
 which their minds are haunted day and night in view of the 
 
 44 
 
346 
 
 uncertain tenure by which they hold their worldly goods, and 
 the liability that, in some unfortunate hour, their wealth and 
 all the sources of it may be swept away, and they be left amid 
 the strife and bustle of a selfish and avaricious world, penniless 
 and helpless as the veriest beggar. The vibrations of the 
 market, the rise and fall of stocks, which they watch with 
 breathless anxiety, and on which their fortunes depend, affect 
 you no more than a wave of the sea dashing against the dis- 
 tant shore affects these everlasting hills on which you dwell. 
 Until the sun shall cease to shine in the heavens and the rain 
 to fall from the clouds ; until the wheels of Nature shall stop 
 in their course, and day and night, seed-time and harvest, shall 
 return no more, you will have no fears that your comfortable, 
 though not luxurious, livings will fail to make to you their 
 steady returns. 
 
 The voyage of your life is across a smooth and quiet sea ; 
 and though you have to toil in rowing, and do not penetrate so 
 many seas, nor feel the winds of so many climes as others, yet 
 you are sure of a peaceful voyage, and a safe arrival at your 
 destined haven ; — while those who go out to try their fortunes 
 upon the wide world, though animated by greater enterprises 
 and higher hopes, yet they also find a rougher and more stormy 
 voyage. The jarrings and commotions of human society are 
 most keenly felt by them. They mount up and go down with 
 every wave, and are often at. their wits' end, not knowing 
 whether the favoring breezes of fortune shall land them high 
 up on the shores of wealth and fame, or whether contrary 
 winds shall lay them forever low in the valley of disappoint- 
 ment, mortification, and penury. Go to the thickly-settled 
 towns and cities, the great centres of human activity, and you 
 observe at once the constant feverishness of the life that is 
 there spent ; you witness the rapid pulse, the hurried tread, 
 the excited, anxious eye, and flushed countenance, which make 
 you feel as if men thought they were liable not to live out half 
 their days before they arrive at their journey's end ; while 
 the dwellers in this goodly town pursue their peaceful avoca- 
 tions with as much quiet and leisure as if they had taken a 
 lease of life for a thousand years. All but the most extraor- 
 dinary waves of excitement spend their force and die away 
 
347 
 
 before they reach them. Nothing, except it be some such 
 calamity as the civil war which is now convulsing the entire 
 nation, moves them, and that only in a modified degree. Yet 
 the world will stand just as long, and its ends be just as fully 
 accomplished for them as for those who spend their lives in 
 anxious solicitude lest every day should be the last. 
 
 There is no more independent class of people on the face of 
 the earth than the resident sons of this goodly town. The 
 sources of their earthly livelihood are as little connected as 
 possible with the treachery and fickleness of public opinion. 
 The favor of no earthly mortal are they obliged to court in 
 order to secure the privilege of earning their daily bread by 
 the sweat of their brow. Dependent for their sources of in- 
 dustry and livelihood only upon their broad and fertile acres 
 warmed by the genial sun and watered by the gentle showers 
 of rain, and upon their faithful and obedient flocks and herds, 
 it is their prerogative, as it is of no others, to say, — 
 
 " I am monarch of all 1 survey, 
 
 My right there is none to dispute ; 
 From the centre all round to the sea, 
 I am lord of the fowl and the brute." 
 
 The least of any class in the world are those who remain 
 upon their native soil obliged to be servants to their fellow- 
 men, and to be under the disagreeable necessity, as are the 
 great mass of men of every rank in the cities, of constantly 
 compromising their personal feelings, if not their consciences, 
 for the purpose of endeavoring to secure the good-will of 
 others, both their inferiors and superiors, for whose persons 
 they care nothing, but only for their patronage. By no such 
 mortifying obsequiousness and servility does the farmer obtain 
 his earthly living. He bows down to no one but to his Maker, 
 and has none to thank for his prosperity but a favoring Provi- 
 dence and his own industry. 
 
 Those who remain upon their native soil are, also, most per- 
 fectly contented with their situation and their lot of any class 
 of people in the world ; while those who roam abroad and fol- 
 low a life of adventure and experiment never find the situa- 
 tion that precisely suits them. Having once sundered the ties 
 that bind them to their native land, such ties are never formed 
 again. 
 
348 
 
 But independently of these natural ties, the resident sons 
 of New Boston have as much reason to be contented with the 
 lot which their nativity has afforded them as any other people. 
 A more salubrious climate, a more beautiful landscape, a more 
 productive soil, a more upright, moral, and peaceable commu- 
 nity, is nowhere to be found. A more favorable portion of the 
 earth on which to spend one's life, if one desires to live in peace, 
 could not be assigned by a wise Providence to any mortal. 
 The temptations and exposures which are attendant upon the 
 path of the young, especially in our populous towns and cities, 
 are here almost entirely unknown. It would scarcely seem 
 possible that one reared in such a community as this should 
 not lead a life of moral purity at least. The value of such an 
 opportunity for rearing up the children, which a kind Provi- 
 dence gives us, for spheres of worth and usefulness, can be ap- 
 preciated only by those who are subjected to the trying expe- 
 rience of educating their offspring in the midst of the mixed 
 populations of the seaboard towns. 
 
 Above all, and finally, a more fitting spot than this can- 
 not be found on the face of the earth for religious culture ; for 
 the implantation and cultivation in the heart of true piety to- 
 wards God, and for securing a preparation to meet our common 
 Maker ere long at the day of final accounts, and then to spend 
 an eternity in the abodes of the blessed beyond the grave. 
 I see not how the accumulative influences of the sacred asso- 
 ciations and hallowed memories which come welling up from 
 the past here to-day ; the recollections of the departed, of 
 whom yonder graveyard so vividly reminds us ; the solemn 
 associations that cluster around these holy shrines, where ven- 
 erated ministers of religion were wont to lead their people in 
 the worship of Almighty G-od, but who, with large portions of 
 their flocks, have gone to their reward ; — I see not how these 
 sacred associations and reminiscences, in the midst of which 
 resident brothers are permitted to spend their lives, can fail, 
 under the blessing of God's Spirit, to mature and ripen them 
 ere long for the rest of the true people of God. That this may 
 be their portion and ours when the next centennial shall come 
 round, is our sincere and earnest prayer. 
 
BIOGKAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 Thomas Smith. — He came from Chester to this town about 
 1734, when it was an entire wilderness, and settled where the 
 late Hiram Lull lived, in the east part of the town. He was 
 for some two years the only white man within the present lim- 
 its of New Boston, before the grant of the town was made. 
 It was near his farm that the Proprietors built sixty dwell- 
 ing-houses, a grist and saw mill, and a meeting-house, as early 
 as 1740. Mr. Smith is said to have built the first frame house 
 in New Boston, and it yet stands in a state of comparatively 
 good preservation, and constitutes a part of Widow Hiram 
 Lull's house. Mr. Smith Was once obliged to flee from his 
 farm before he had moved his family to it, because of the pres- 
 ence of Indians. They had done violence to some neighbors 
 living a few miles from him in Goffstown, and seeing traces of 
 one or more in the vicinity of his cabin, evidently seeking an 
 opportunity to capture him, he precipitately fled with his faith- 
 ful gun, and returned not until the Indians had departed from 
 his neighborhood. His son Samuel, in 1765, lived where the 
 late Deacon Thomas Smith died ; his son James perished with 
 cold on the road leading from his father's to Parker's, in Goffs- 
 town. His son Reuben was in the war of the Revolution, and 
 after the close of it he removed into the State of Maine, near 
 the Passamaquoddy Bay. 
 
 Deacon John Smith. — He was son of the above-named 
 Thomas, and moved with him from Chester. He married a 
 Miss McNeil, daughter of William McNeil, by whom he had 
 five children : Martha, Sarah, Janey, Mary, and John. After 
 her death he married Ann Brown, of Francestown, by whom 
 he had fourteen children : Janey, Thomas (the late deacon), 
 Elizabeth, William, David, Susanna, Ann, Samuel, Martha, 
 Reuben, Elizabeth B., Robert, an infant, and James D. Of the 
 
350 
 
 children of his first wife, Martha died Feb. 19, 1756, and 
 Janey Jan. 10, 1756, of dysentery, and were the first that 
 were buried in the graveyard in the north part of the town. 
 
 Sarah married a Mr. McMarston for her first husband, and 
 for her second, John Burns, who owned the farm now owned 
 by Mr. Luther Colburn. He was in the war of the Revolution, 
 also of 1812, and had the title of Major. He moved to White- 
 field when a young man, and died there a few years since, hav- 
 ing represented his town in the Legislature after he was eighty 
 years old, remarkable for his vigor of body and mind. 
 
 Mary, another daughter of Deacon Smith, married Robert 
 Burns, of Bedford ; they had a son who became a physician. 
 John Smith entered the army in 1776, and served to the close 
 of the war, then settled in Francestown, and died there, having 
 married for his first wife Elizabeth Campbell, of Litchfield, by 
 whom he had two sons, John and David ; one of his daughters 
 is now the wife of Mr. Benjamin Dodge, of New Boston. 
 
 This John Smith, son of Deacon John, was a lieutenant in 
 the militia. A musket-ball was lodged in his neck, and was 
 never extracted. He was one of the early deacons in the Con- 
 gregational Church in Francestown. He was a very worthy 
 man, and reared an interesting family ; his son John being 
 distinguished for his piety and devotion to the instruction of the 
 Indians at the West. Deacon Smith, Senior, died Sept. 3, 1800, 
 in his 74th year. The inscription on his tombstone is very 
 appropriate : — 
 
 " The sweet remembrance of the just 
 Will flourish though they sleep in dust." 
 
 Deacon Thomas Smith. — He was son of Deacon John Smith, 
 born May 7, 1765 ; he married, March 22, 1791, Esther Poland, 
 who was born May 1, 1774. They had thirteen children; 
 Susannah was born Jan. 27, 1792, became the wife of Mr. 
 Thomas George, of Weare ; after his death married Mr. James 
 Adams, of this town, and afterwards removed to Johnson, 
 Vt., where she died Dec. 12, 1843, leaving three children, two 
 by the first, and one by the second husband ; Ann, born March 
 17, 1794, became the wife of Thomas Ring, and lives in New 
 York, having five children : John, born May 14, 1796, married 
 Dec. 1, 1819, Nancy, daughter of David Tewksbury, and had 
 
351 
 
 thirteen children, eight of whom survive, viz., Ezra D., who 
 married Mary Jennis, and lives in Concord ; John B., who 
 married Rebecca W. Richards, and resides in California ; 
 Amos T., who resides in California ; Ivers, Sarah T., Almas, 
 Ethan A., who married Maria E. Burt, of Bennington, March 
 
 19, 1863, and lives in New Boston, and Clara ; Thomas died 
 March 2, 1852 ; Charles B. died Jan. 17, 1847, at the Deaf and 
 Dumb Asylum, in Hartford, Conn ; David T. died in California 
 March 8, 1862 ; Clarinda died August 17, 1837 ; James K. P. 
 died Sept. 25, 1848. 
 
 Esther (daughter of Deacon Thomas Smith), born August 
 
 20, 1798, married Asa Dodge, of Francestown, having one 
 daughter, who became the wife of Smith Follansbee, of Frances- 
 town ; Thomas, born April 8, 1801, married Nancy Gove, of 
 Weare, lives in New Boston, and has one son, Daniel. 
 
 William, born May 22, 1803, lives in Croyden with his 
 third wife, having three children by his first, and seven by his 
 second wife ; Moses was born June 8, 1805, married Eliza Bai- 
 ley, of Weare, and lives in Johnson, Vt., having seven chil- 
 dren ; Rachel was born August 10, 1807, married Ambrose 
 Story, and lives in Antrim ; Clarinda, born January 9, 1810, 
 became the wife of John McCurdy, who soon died, leaving her 
 no children ; Ivers was born March 31, 1812, married Sarah 
 Hoyt, of Weare, and lives in New Boston, having two daugh- 
 ters, one of whom, Lora, became the wife of Thomas Moore, 
 of Bedford ; the other, Clarinda, married Elbridge Colby, of 
 Weare ; George W. was born January 19, 1815, and died 
 February 15, 1858 ; Ethan was born October 17, 1817, mar- 
 ried Alvira Morrill, and lives in Weare, having six children ; 
 Sarah, born October 23, 1819, died young. 
 
 Deacon Thomas Smith died May 1, 1854, and his wife died 
 October 8, 1851. He was a man of great decision and energy 
 of character, industrious and thrifty ; he became one of our 
 most independent farmers. He reared a large family, and con- 
 tributed generously to benevolent enterprises, never overlook- 
 ing the claims which God had upon his possessions. As a 
 christian, he was uniform in his feelings, consistent in his daily 
 walk, a strict observer of the Sabbath, and a constant attend- 
 ant on the sanctuary. He was emphatically a pillar in the 
 
352 
 
 Presbyterian Church, and his end was peace ; and his death 
 was seriouly felt by the church and the community. 
 
 William McNeil. — He lived about a mile southwest of the 
 first named Smith, where a Mr. "Woodbury now lives. Mr. 
 McNeil was a schoolmaster, teaching for many years in differ- 
 ent parts of the town whence he came, and also in this town. 
 His second wife presented him a daughter, who was the 
 first female child born in New Boston. They called her Han- 
 nah; and she married John Jordan, a British soldier, who 
 deserted before the Eevolution. They lived where William 
 Beard now resides. He enlisted in the war of the Eevolution, 
 and was at Bunker Hill. After the war he moved his family 
 into Vermont, and was buried near Burlington, having died in 
 the camp during the war in 1812. 
 
 Mr. McNeil had other daughters, one of whom became the 
 wife of a Mr. Ferson, brother of Deacon James Ferson. He 
 had also two sons, both of whom were in the war of the Rev- 
 olution. 
 
 John Blair. — He settled where Mr. William Woodbury now 
 lives. He came direct from Ireland, marrying for his wife Miss 
 Jennet McCloud. He had two sons and one daughter. His 
 daughter married James Hunter, and their son John was the 
 first male child born in New Boston, and became a soldier in 
 the war of the Revolution. Mr. Blair's sons were Robert and 
 William : Robert enlisted in the British army long before the 
 war of 1776, and William lived with his father, marrying a Miss 
 Rosinna Gregg Dec. 8, 1768, by whom he had a son named 
 Hugh,'born Oct. 2, 1769, who lived with his father on the old 
 homestead ; also a daughter, named Jeane, born Feb. 17, 1771. 
 
 Dea. James Fekson. — He settled where Mr. John Dodge 
 now lives, coming from Chester. He had three sons : the third, 
 James, married the daughter of Mr. James McNeil, and moved 
 to Ohio in his 74th year, where he has since died. Dea. Ferson 
 had three daughters : Sarah, Hannah, and Rosamah. Sarah 
 became the wife of Mr. John Eli, and moved to Londonderry, 
 and Rosamah became the wife of the late Abner Hogg. Dea. 
 Ferson's wife was Jennet Lesley, a very excellent woman ; her 
 husband was a worthy, christian man ; was one of the earliest 
 deacons in the Presbyterian Church, and died Nov. 1, 1792, 
 aged 76 ; and his wife died Feb. 26, 1804, aged 86. 
 
353 
 
 James Ferson, son of Dea. James Ferson, was born in 
 Chester May 29, 1744, 0. S., and married Mary McNeill, 
 daughter of James McNeill. She was born in New Boston 
 Sept. 30, 1755, N. S. They were married Dec. 28, 1773. 
 Their children were William, Jennet, James, Paul, Sally, Sam- 
 uel, Daniel, and John. James was Town Clerk for some years, 
 and became a physician. Some of the children went to Ohio, 
 and their father, who was 74 years old, followed them, and died 
 there, being esteemed a highly worthy man. 
 
 His son, William, graduated at Dartmouth College in the 
 Class of 1797, studied medicine and practised in Gloucester, 
 Mass., where he died. He is remembered as a school-teacher ; 
 he taught school in the house near Mr. Bently's, one winter ; 
 he was cross-eyed, and was sure to detect the rogues. 
 
 Hugh Gregg. — He settled near where Daniel T. Gregg lately 
 lived, and married Sarah Lesley, sister of the wife of Dea. 
 James Ferson. They had sons : James, .Alexander, Lesley, 
 Reuben, and Samuel. James settled where his son, the late 
 Daniel T. Gregg, lived until within a few years of his death, 
 the farm now being owned by John H. Gregg. Reuben served 
 in the war of the Revolution. 
 
 Hannah, daughter of James, married Nathan Andrews, of 
 Sutton, where she resides, aged 94, having had eight chil- 
 dren : Sallie, who married a Mr. Woodsworth, and died in New 
 York ; Nathan, who married Dorothy Pilsbury, and has five 
 sons and one daughter ; John, who married Susan Adams, and 
 has sons and daughters, graduated at Dartmouth College, and 
 is now a chaplain in the army; Samuel G., who inherits the 
 homestead, married Lavinia H. Pilsbury, and has two children ; 
 Jennett, who married John Eaton, of Sutton, and has six sons 
 and three daughters ; Hannah died young ; James, who 
 was liberally educated, and died a young man ; Mary, who has 
 been a school-teacher. Daniel T., his son, was born Dec. 11, 
 1775, married Esther, born July 14, 1780, daughter of Thomas 
 Milieu. This Thomas Millen was born in Londonderry 1756, 
 was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, lived in Newbury, Vt., 
 having married Jane McCollom, sister of Alexander McCollom, 
 of New Bostom, and died in 1852. Daniel T. Gregg inherited 
 the homestead, and had eight children ; Jane E. resides in 
 
 45 
 
354 
 
 New Boston : James died young ; John H. lives in New Bos- 
 ton ; Maria L. became the wife of Thomas Delano, resides in 
 Somerville, Mass., and has seven children ; Ann B. died in 
 1844 ; Charlotte Augusta is a teacher in Chicago, 111. ; Esther 
 died May 24, 1853. 
 
 Joseph, son of James Gregg, was born in New Boston Dec. 
 11, 1777, married Jennett Moor, of Goffstown, and lived where 
 Daniel M. Gregg now resides. He rebuilt the mills at that 
 place, and operated them until his death, doing an extensive 
 business in lumbering. He had several children : Jennett mar- 
 ried Bartlett Richards, and died leaving eight children ; James 
 M. married Sarah Goodwin, of Londonderry, and died in New 
 Boston April, 1862, leaving two children, Letitia, the wife of 
 Alfred E. Hardy and Margaret, having buried three children. 
 
 Letitia married William Smith, of Bradford, and died leaving 
 three children. 
 
 John married Mary Bachelder, and lives in Goffstown, having 
 three children. 
 
 David married Harriet Todd, having had four children. 
 
 Margaret married John Richards, of Goffstown. 
 
 Daniel M. married Hannah Augusta Young, of Deerfield, 
 and has two children. 
 
 Sally, daughter of James Gregg, married John Brown, of 
 Bradford, and had six children : Joel, who is a physician, 
 and resides in Newton, Mass. ; Jeremiah, who is a lawyer in 
 Boston, a graduate of Dartmouth College ; Hannah, who mar- 
 ried Truman Brachaway, and lives in Boston ; Jerusha died 
 young ; Livonia, who married Mr. Simpson, of Manchester, 
 who died in California ; and Nancy, who married a Bracket, 
 and lives in Bradford, having a son, John Q. A., in Cambridge 
 College. 
 
 John, the son of Hugh Gregg, married a Waugh, and settled 
 in Deering. 
 
 Alexander, who married a Wilson, and Mary, who married a 
 Person, settled also in Deering. 
 
 Ann married William Patterson, and lived in New Boston, 
 having had eight children. 
 
 Rosanna married William Blair, and lived in New Boston, 
 where Mr. William Woodbury now lives. She had three sons 
 and seven daughters. 
 
355 
 
 Leslie married Lydia Beard, and had one son and six daugh- 
 ters ; his son married Jane Moor, and lived in the State of 
 Maine ; Sallie married James Moor, and died in Cavendish, Vt. ; 
 Lydia married Mr. McDougall, of Goffstown, and had nine 
 children ; Mary married Foster Wyatt, of Amherst ; Rebecca 
 married Levi Ordway, and lives in Cavendish, Vt. ; Hannah 
 died in Goffstown ; Rachel married Samuel Campbell, of Bed- 
 ford. 
 
 Samuel, subsequently known as Samuel Gregg, Esq., mar- 
 ried Jane Wilson, and died in Deering. 
 
 Andrew Walker. — He came from Londonderry, and con- 
 tracted with the proprietors to build a grain and saw mill, 
 where Dodge and Bently's mills now stand, for which he was 
 to receive five hundred acres of land, on condition that he 
 should keep them in good running order, and be very accom- 
 modating and reasonable in tolls and charges with the settlers. 
 He built his mills in 1753, but was not guilty of being exces- 
 sively accommodating to the settlers, and many and grievous 
 complaints were made against him to the Proprietors, who, los- 
 ing patience with him, instructed Dea. Thomas Cochran and 
 John McAllister to deal summarily with him, if he did not 
 speedily reform. He did do a little better for a time, but 
 proved a hard subject ; and other mills were soon erected, and 
 the settlers became independent of his. 
 
 Walker's sons were Andrew, Alexander, James, and Robert ; 
 his daughters were Peggy, Martha, and Jennet. Andrew lived 
 in the north part of the town, marrying Ruth Woodbury, and 
 subsequently moved to Unity, and died there ; Alexander died 
 in the year 1776, at Mount Independence, in the camp; James 
 went into the war of the Revolution, and afterwards lived in 
 Antrim, and fell dead in the road ; Robert married a Miss 
 Woodbury, and moved to Acworth, and died there ; Peggy 
 married Jonathan Major ; he was a baker in the army ; after 
 the war they separated, he going into the State of ^Jaine ; both 
 are dead. 
 
 Dea. Jesse Cristy. — He came from Londonderry, where he 
 married Miss Mary Gregg, daughter of Samuel Gregg. He 
 settled on what is called the Whipple farm on Clark's Hill, now 
 owned by Mr. Edward Dodge. Mr. Cristy sold his farm to Mr. 
 
356 
 
 John Whipple, and built mills where King's Mills now stand. 
 He was chosen Deacon during the ministry of Rev. Mr. Moor. 
 He was a very honest, friendly man, but' often indulged his 
 appetite for intoxicating drinks, to an extent wholly inexcus- 
 able. His wife was an estimable Christian woman ; she was 
 also a very large woman, weighing between three and four 
 hundred pounds, as many who remember her affirm. Their 
 children were : Jeane, Peter, Samuel, John, Mary, Elizabeth, 
 James, Mary Ann, Jesse, Robert, Anna, and William. Jeane 
 became the wife of James Willson, Esq., and lived where Mr. 
 Peter Jones now resides. Several of Dea. Cristy's sons, after 
 the Revolution, moved into New Brunswick, where many of 
 their descendants may now be found. Robert went into Ohio 
 after the death of his mother, and his father accompanied him, 
 and with him died. 
 
 Dea. Thomas Cochra«n. — He was born in Londonderry, 
 Ireland, about 1703. His father's name was James, and his 
 mother's Letitia Patten. They were doubtless prisoners within 
 the walls of that city, and took active part in its defence during 
 the famous " Papal Siege." They immigrated to this country 
 with their four children, two sons, Thomas and Peter, and two 
 
 daughters, Molly and , about 1720, and, landing at 
 
 Halifax, N. S., settled at Topsham, Maine, where he soon died, 
 and the family moved to Londonderry, N. H. 
 
 Peter went to New Jersey, and Molly married James Wilson, 
 of Topsham, Maine, where it is said some of her descendants 
 still reside. Thomas (afterwards Deacon) married Jennett 
 Adams, of Londonderry , and came here about 1748. 
 
 He was elected Deacon in the Presbyterian Church as early 
 as 1768. He. was a proprietor, and owned large tracts of land. 
 He settled where Thomas R. Cochran, his lineal descendant, 
 now lives. He was early intrusted with important business by 
 the Proprietors, and was for many years the most prominent 
 man hi the town. His piety was sincere and consistent, and 
 his character was always above reproach ; he was a safe coun- 
 sellor and faithful friend. He was very useful as a carpenter, 
 aiding gratuitously new settlers in framing and rendering com- 
 fortable their dwellings. For many years there was no physi- 
 cian in the town, but Deacon Cochran having some knowledge 
 
357 
 
 of diseases and their proper treatment, was accustomed to care 
 for the sick, and to exercise his surgical skill in setting many 
 a bone. His house was the resting-place of weary travellers, 
 and his table was ever free to the hungry. His children were, 
 James, John, Robert, Peter, and Thomas, and two daughters, 
 Letitia and Elizabeth. Robert went to Charleston, S. C, and 
 become a large and wealthy planter, and died there leaving 
 children. James married Miss Christina Aiken, of London- 
 derry, and lived where Mr. Ephraim Dodge now lives, on Coch- 
 ran Hill ; he died in 1772, aged about 40 years, receiving a 
 fatal injury by being thrown from a vicious horse ; his children 
 were: Thomas (the late Deacon Thomas), Margaret, who mar- 
 ried Jesse Christy, and lived in Grafton, Vt. ; Jennett, never mar- 
 ried ; Robert, who lived on a part of his father's farm, marrying 
 for his wife Miss Sally McMillen ; Nathaniel ; John, known as 
 the late Esquire John ; Peter, who graduated at Dartmouth 
 College 1798, and became a Presbyterian minister, and going 
 South, perished on the ocean ; John, another son of the first 
 Deacon Thomas, lived on Cochran Hill ; Peter, another son, 
 lived where the late Mr. Peter Cochran died, and where his son 
 Alfred E. now lives. 
 
 Deacon Cochran had two daughters: Letitia who married 
 Dea. Robert Moor, of Londonderry, father of the present Miss 
 Jane Moor ; and Elizabeth, who married Robert Hopkins, of 
 Windham ; Thomas settled at home with his father, to aid him 
 in his old age, but died October 6, 1770, aged 28. After a few 
 years Dea. Cochran becoming infirm, abandoned his home- 
 stead, and lived alternately with his sons, John and Peter, and 
 died, with his son John, November 20, 1791, aged 89, a good 
 man, whose memory deserves to be cherished by the whole town 
 as well as by a grateful posterity. The late Mr. Abner Hogg 
 said of him : " He was the best man I ever knew. There was 
 no way in which you could view him, and not pronounce him 
 good." Deacon Cochran's wife, his " blessed Jenney," as he 
 was wont to call her, was a queenly woman, equal to her hus- 
 band in all virtues. She was a crown of glory to him, and a 
 blessing to the whole town. She carried relief to the sick and 
 joy to the needy, and was a ministering angel in every sorrow- 
 ing household. She died June 7, 1784, aged 76. The late 
 
358 
 
 Mr. Luther Richards said of her : " I can remember her well, 
 and a dear good woman she was too. Everybody loved her." 
 " I can testify to all that," added the late Mr. Hogg. The first 
 meeting of the town was called at Deacon Cochran's house March 
 10, 1763, and that of the present year (1863) was held March 
 
 10, one hundred years after the first, the same day and hour, 
 at the Town House ; a coincidence of dates which was appro- 
 priately noticed by the town amid its deliberations. 
 
 John Cochran. — He was son of the foregoing Dea. Thomas 
 Cochran. He settled on the Cochran Hill, where his daughter 
 Peggy, at the venerable age of 87, now lives, occupying the 
 same house which her father built nearly a hundred years ago, 
 being the first framed house erected in that part of the town. 
 Mr. Cochran married Miss Elizabeth Boyce, daughter of Joseph 
 Boyce, a descendant of a celebrated divine of Dublin, Ireland. 
 Their children were: Mary Ann, born October 16, 1764, who 
 died August 9, 1838, in her seventy-third year ; she married 
 Jesse Cristy, son of Captain George Cristy, who died April 26, 
 1841, aged 83 ; Letitia, born May 1, 1766, died unmarried 
 February 15, 1857, aged 91 ; Joseph, who was born October 
 
 11, 1767, and died October 30, 1841, aged 84 ; he was a Deacon 
 in the Presbyterian Church ; James, born May 5, 1769, who 
 lived where Mr. Cudworth now lives, and died April 8, 1845, 
 aged 76 ; Thomas, who was born April 14, 1771 ; Jennett, born 
 March 20, 1773, who became the wife of Peter Cochran, and 
 died May 15, 1863, aged 90 ; John and Elizabeth, twins, died 
 young; Margaret (Peggy), born July 25, 1776, and is yet liv- 
 ing; Betsey, born August 16, 1778, who died insane, March 31, 
 1838, in her 59th year ; John Davidson, born October 26, 1780, 
 and died June 14, 1850, aged 69 ; Mary and Robert, twins, 
 born January 30, 1783 ; Mary married, in 1812, William Brown, 
 Esq., and Robert became a Presbyterian minister, and- died 
 August 1, 1818, aged 35, leaving one son and one daughter; 
 the daughter becoming the wife of the late Abraham Cochran, 
 and the son, General William S. Cochran, lives in Rockland, 
 Me. Mr. Cochran was an excellent man ; having ample means, 
 he maintained a most hospitable table. New settlers made his 
 house their home as long as it was necessary, and travellers 
 were never tnrned away unfed, his " latch-string being never 
 
359 
 
 pulled in " by day nor by night. He was skilled in hunting 
 game, in which he took great pleasure. Mr. Daniel Dodge 
 carries a cane, the head of which is the antler of a deer shot by 
 Mr. Cochran in his own field near his house. He was a man 
 of giant frame, and great personal courage and prowess. Tra- 
 dition says that having followed a bear to her den, from which 
 she could not be driven, he, with a torch in one hand, and his 
 never-erring musket in the other, entered the den and shot her in 
 her dark recess, and putting a rope around her neck, with the 
 assistance of his neighbors drew her forth as a trophy. Mr. 
 Cochran was very useful as a house carpenter, in which trade 
 he was much employed. He was a member of the Presbyterian 
 Church, and lived a consistent christian life, and died March 
 29, 1825, aged 88 ; his wife died October 23, 1821, aged 83. 
 At his funeral Rev. E. P. Bradford preached from the text 
 Gen. 1. 1 : " And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept 
 upon him, and kissed him." At her funeral Rev. Mr. Bradford 
 preached from the text Gen. xxiii. 2 : " And Sarah died in Kir- 
 jath-arba ; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan : and 
 Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her." 
 
 "We give the following additional facts respecting his chil- 
 dren : — 
 
 Mary Ann, his daughter, became the second wife of Jesse 
 Cristy, son of Capt. George Cristy, the first male child born in 
 New Boston ; being a blacksmith by trade, he lived many 
 years on Cochran Hill, but at length moved to Grafton, Vt. 
 His first wife was the daughter of James Cochran. His chil- 
 dren by his last wife were : Margaret C, born Aug. 27, 1801, 
 and died June 4, 1859, being the wife of Jonathan Sherwin, 
 of Grafton, Vt., and Achsah, born Feb. 18, 1804, and died 
 Sept. 25, 1858 ; Letitia lived and died in the house in which 
 she was born, unmarried ; Joseph married Margaret Hogg ; 
 James married Jane Crombie ; Thomas married Mary Barstow, 
 of Hanover, Mass. ; graduating at Brown University, he 
 studied theology, and was settled as a Congregational minister 
 in Camden, Me., his children being Elizabeth B., John Boyce, 
 Nathaniel Barstow, Deborah Barstow, and Sydney C. T. This 
 John B. married Elizabeth Fletcher, of Lowell, Mass., and is 
 an enterprising farmer m Linden, Genesee Co., Mich. ; and 
 
360 
 
 Nathaniel B. married Jane Lees, of New Ipswich, N. H., May 
 4, 1841, and was for many years a popular steamboat captain 
 on the Hudson River, but has lately retired to a farm near his 
 brother in Michigan, a gentleman of fine literary taste and an 
 antiquarian of rare attainments ; Jennet married Peter Coch- 
 ran ; John Davidson married Letitia, daughter of Ninian 
 Clark, Esq., and built the large house at the corner of the four 
 roads on Cochran Hill. He possessed an ardent, genial, tem- 
 perament, and was greatly given to hospitality. He, in com- 
 mon with the Beards and Fersons, was a popular school- 
 teacher during the first quarter of the present century. His 
 children were : Thomas Hamilton, born June 15, 1812 ; Robert 
 Clark, born Nov. 4, 1813 ; Jonathan Ramsey, born Nov. 12, 
 1815, and deceased Nov. 28, 1855 ; John Boyce, born May 27, 
 1817 ; and Mary Letitia, born July 3, 1820. Robert C. studied 
 law and settled in. Gallatin, Miss., marrying, Oct. 17, 1844, 
 Mary, daughter of Rev. E. P. Bradford, their children being 
 Henry Bradford and Letitia Clark. Jonathan R. was an 
 enterprising, public-spirited man, and died in California Nov. 
 30, 1855, where he had resided for some years ; John B. mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Adams, of New York, and now resides in Lan- 
 sing, Michigan ; Mary L. became the wife of Benjamin Russell, 
 of Milford, in 1848, who, in 1850, with his wife's brother, 
 Jonathan Cochran, went to California, and was accidentally 
 drowned in the bay of San Francisco. Being an upright and 
 energetic man, he was highly esteemed, and his death greatly 
 deplored. His widow, in 1853, became the wife of James Pat- 
 ten, Esq., of Berne, New York. They have one daughter, 
 Mary Letitia. Robert, the youngest son of John Cochran, 
 married Abigail Stacy, of Wiscassett, Me., and died August 1, 
 1818, aged 35. Mary, the youngest daughter of John Coch- 
 ran, married William Brown, of Union, Me., and has two 
 children, a son and a daughter ; the son resides in Nashua, 
 and the daughter resides in New Boston, the wife of Charles 
 Goodrich. 
 
 Peter Cochran. — He was the son of Deacon Thomas Coch- 
 ran, married Mary M'Curdy, and lived on the South Hill, 
 where Mr. Alfred E. Cochran now lives. He died March 4, 
 1828, aged 89, and his wife died April 2, 1841, aged 92. 
 
361 
 
 Their children were : Robert, who married and lived in Ver- 
 mont ; Jennet, who married Capt. Wm. Stinson, of Dunbarton, 
 father of the present Col. Charles Stinson, who married Susan, 
 daughter of Robert Cochran, brother to Jennet ; Nancy, who 
 married Ninian Clark, of Hancock, brother of Dea. Robert C, 
 and son of William ; Letitia, who married Abraham Story, 
 Esq., and lived in Washington ; Peter, who married Louis 
 Story, of Dunbarton, and lived on the homestead, having one 
 son, Alfred E., who married Clarinda Parker, and their chil- 
 dren are Wallace, Warren S., Sarah, and George E. Mr. 
 Peter Cochran died Feb. 15, 1862, his second wife being Mary 
 Fairfield, of Saco, Me. James, another son of Peter Clark 
 the elder, died unmarried, and Mary, another daughter, mar- 
 ried Peter Jones. Jesse died young. 
 
 Capt. George Cristy. — He came from Londonderry about 
 1750, having married Margaret Kelso, daughter of Alexander 
 Kelso, of Londonderry. Her brother John subsequently set- 
 tled where his grandson, Mr. Robert Kelso, now resides. Capt. 
 Cristy settled where Dea. Sumner L. Cristy lives. His chil- 
 dren are Anna, Jesse, Thomas, John, George, Mary, Nancy, 
 Margaret, and some others. Margaret became insane, and 
 Anna married William Campbell, who lived where Mr. Lemuel 
 Marden now resides. Capt. Cristy became quite affluent for 
 his times, and had a very respectable family. His wife was 
 a highly esteemed lady. He died April 22, 1790, aged 58, and 
 his wife died March 13, 1799. 
 
 Before Mr. Cristy had cleared land enough to afford forage for 
 his cow, he was accustomed to drive her to the meadow, near 
 what were the Dea. Jesse Cristy's Mills. One evening, when 
 he was unable to go for his cow himself, Mrs. Cristy, with her 
 dog and pail, went for the milk, with the intent of leaving the 
 cow at the meadow. Obtaining the milk, she started for 
 home ; but when darkness came she found herself just where 
 she had started. With a heavy heart she saw the necessity 
 of passing the night by the side of the cow with her dog, 
 though an infant child at home demanded her presence. She 
 passed a sleepless night, rendered hideous by the howling of 
 wolves and a consciousness of danger. With the dawn of 
 light she started for home, guided by spotted trees, and soon 
 
 46 
 
362 
 
 met her husband in search of her, who had in like manner, 
 with his little ones, passed a night of terrible suspense. 
 
 John McMillen. — He came to New Boston in 1755, and 
 settled the tract of land owned by the late Dea. Elzaphan 
 Dodge and by Jonathan Marden. After a few years he sold to 
 his cousin Daniel McMillen, and settled the tract of land now 
 owned by Ezra Morgan, and subsequently moved to Littleton, 
 and died in the town of Lyman, at the age of 95 ; and his wife 
 died at the age of 90. 
 
 Mr. McMillen was in the Revolutionary war, serving in 
 Rhode Island in the militia, being called out to defend certain 
 places, while the veterans advanced against the British. His 
 sons were Alexander, Samuel, Daniel, Joseph, Henry ; and 
 his daughters were Mary, Sally, Nancy, Hannah, Rachel, 
 Catherine. Most of his sons settled in Western New York. 
 Mary became the wife of James McMillen, who settled in New 
 Boston. Sally became the wife of Robert Cochran, and lived 
 in New Boston. Rachel married a Mr. Haskins. Catherine 
 became the wife of a Mr. Pike, and lived in Western New 
 York. 
 
 Mr. McMillen was a worthy citizen, and a consistent mem- 
 ber of the Presbyterian Church, and was . often entrusted with 
 important business by the town. 
 
 Daniel McMillen. — He bought, as above stated, the farm 
 of John McMillen, where he lived and died. When about 
 eighteen, he enlisted in the Revolutionary war, in the militia, 
 and was at West Point when Benedict Arnold went over to the 
 British ; and was guarding Arnold's house when he rode 
 away, observing strange movements and personages about the 
 premises before daybreak, not mistrusting what was transpir- 
 ing. Just before this event he and others, under an appro- 
 priate officer, were sent out to bring in wood ; and while 
 engaged in this, a fine looking officer approached, and they 
 were ordered to open right and left and salute him, which sal- 
 utation was gracefully returned by the unknown rider. Soon 
 after Major Andre, the spy, was taken, and was identified as 
 the same officer whom they had saluted, then on his way to 
 Arnold to consummate the arrangements for his defection. 
 
 After the war, Mr. McMillen married Mary, the daughter of 
 
363 
 
 the above John McMillen. Their children were six sons and 
 four daughters, — John, James, Annanias, William, Daniel, 
 David, Sally, Alice, Polly, and Betsey. John lived in Wash- 
 ington, was deacon in the Congregational Church there, and 
 highly respected as a citizen and christian. James lived on 
 that part of his father's farm now owned by Jonathan Marden, 
 and erected the buildings thereon. He died in 1849, aged 86. 
 Annanias settled in Littleton. William lived on that part of 
 his father's farm owned by the late Dea. E. Dodge, but subse- 
 quently moved to Newport, and died there. Daniel lived in 
 Bradford. David lived and died in Littleton. Sally became 
 the wife of James Steele, and lived in Washington, but died in 
 New York. Alice became the wife of John Lynch, and lived 
 and died in New Boston. Polly married Zebi Wright, and 
 lived in Littleton, but died in Manchester. 
 
 James had twelve children : John, who lived in Lyman, 
 and died in Lyndeborough ; Sally, who married Andrew 
 Walker, Jr., who built the house where Issachar Andrews 
 lives ; they subsequently moved to Unity, where she still lives ; 
 Abigail married Henry George, of Goffstown, and lived in 
 Haverhill ; after his death, she became the wife of David 
 Tewksbury, of this town ; Daniel, who married Eliza Lewis, of 
 Francestown, and lives in New Boston, having seven children ; 
 James, first and second, who died young ; and Rachel, who 
 married William Hunter, and lived in Boston for many years, 
 and now lives in Maiden ; Syrean, who married John Emerson 
 and lives in Boston ; Adeline and Caroline, twins ; the first 
 married Ezra B. Peabody, and lives in Brookline ; the second 
 married William Haywood, and lives in Connecticut ; Absa- 
 lom, who lives in Unity ; Henry, who lived in South Carolina, 
 and died there. 
 
 Nathaniel Cochran. — His father's name was John, and was 
 born in Ireland. He married Lilly Killgore, and came to 
 America in the year 1717. They landed at Brunswick, in the 
 State of Maine, where Bowdoin College now stands. He was, 
 by way of distinction, called John " The Man." Their chil- 
 dren were as follows : James, Joseph, Thomas, Nathaniel, Sam- 
 uel, Elizabeth, and Susannah. James, when sixteen years of 
 age, was a soldier in the King's service, and was taken prisoner 
 
364 
 
 by two Indians, on the Sheepscot River in Maine ; and on the 
 second night after his capture he killed them both while they 
 were sleeping; he brought their scalps and guns to Boston 
 April 3, 1725. For this act of bravery he received as a re- 
 ward twenty pounds, lawful money, and a discharge from the 
 service one year before the term of his enlistment expired, 
 and was ever after called " Indian Jemmy." He subsequently 
 removed to Pennsylvania. Nathaniel was born in Ireland in 
 the year 1714, was three years old when his father brought him 
 to America. He married Miss Jael Martin, and came from 
 Londonderry to New Boston, it is thought, about 1755. Their 
 children were as follows : John, born 1745, on Noddle's Island, 
 now called East Boston, Mass., and died at New Boston June 
 8, 1805, aged 60 ; James, born in Salem, Mass., Feb. 14, 1748, 
 and died at New Boston May 11, 1837, aged 89 ; Elijah, born 
 in Salem, Mass., August 23, 1751, and died at New Boston 
 Jan. 15, 1850, aged 99 ; Jennette was born in Salem, Mass., 
 and died in Londonderry. Mr. Cochran's wife died in Lon- 
 donderry, 1753 ; and he married for his second wife Elizabeth 
 Henderson, by whom he had a daughter, named Jael, born at 
 New Boston 1768, and died at Belvidere, Vt. Mr. Cochran's 
 second wife died July 16, 1796, and he died July 16, 1802, 
 aged 88, where Mrs. Sargent resides. 
 
 John Cochran, Esq. — He was son of the above-named 
 Nathaniel ; born 1745, married Martha Dickey Sept. 2, 1773, 
 and settled near his father's, where the widow of Col. Ira Coch- 
 ran lately died. Their children were as follows : Nathaniel, 
 born Aug. 14, 1774, supposed to have been killed in a skirmish 
 with a party of Spanish Royalists, near the Gulf of Mexico, 
 about Dec. 25, 1816 ; Samuel, born March 7; 1776, and died 
 at Opelousas, St. Martins, Louisiana, July 12, 1832 ; Martha 
 D., born Oct. 26, 1777, died Sept. 23,1778 ; Martin, born Nov. 
 29, 1779, and died Aug., 1782 ; William, born May 9, 1781, 
 and died at Boston July 17, 1821, of yellow fever, which pre- 
 vailed in Boston that year ; Ira, born Jan. 2, 1786, it being 
 the second day of the year, the second day of the month, the 
 second day of the week, and the second day of the new moon, 
 and he died Oct. 27, 1818 ; Mary Boyd, born March 28, 1739, 
 died June 14, 1850, being married to Levi Cochran Oct. 31, 
 
365 
 
 1820 ; John Bruce, born Aug. 3, 1794, and died at Boston 
 Aug. 14, 1821, of yellow fever ; Mr. Cochran's wife died March 
 16, 1843, aged 92, and he died June 8, 1805, aged 60. Mr. 
 Cochran was an intelligent, upright man ; he was for many 
 years a Justice of the Peace, Town Clerk, and Selectman, doing 
 business with great facility and accuracy. He was a warm 
 Whig, and espoused the cause of the Patriots with great zeal, 
 and this brought him often into collision with the Tories, whom 
 he resisted with great ability. He was a member of the Pres- 
 byterian Church, and was exemplary as a christian. 
 
 James Cochran. — He was son of Nathaniel, and brother of 
 the above-named John. He married Anna Waugh Sept. 28, 
 1780. She was born Nov. 5, 1761, and died April 28, 1785. 
 Their children were : Jane, born March 24, 1782, who became 
 the wife of Col. Ira Cochran, and died July 14, 1861, aged 79 ; 
 Elizabeth, born Sept. 26, 1783, and married Moses Peabody 
 August 8, 1805, and is still living at the venerable age of 80 ; 
 and an infant son born April 1, 1785, and died the same day. 
 Mr. Cochran married Elizabeth Stone for his second wife, who 
 was born in Salem, Mass., July 8, 1763, and died Nov., 14, 1808, 
 and their children were : Joseph, Anna, Susannah, John, who 
 died July 26, 1795 ; Martha D., died July 25, 1795 ; Lydia, Ru- 
 hamah, died Aug. 25, 1801 ; Nathaniel M. and Hiram. Mr. 
 Cochran settled where John Lamson lives. Mr. Cochran died 
 May 11, 1837, aged 89, greatly respected as a citizen and be- 
 loved as a friend and christian. His life was characterized by 
 uprightness and pious zeal ; he successfully raised a large 
 family of children. Additional facts may be found respecting 
 some of his children, and those of his brother John, after what 
 is recorded of Elijah Cochran. 
 
 Elijah Cochran. — He was son of Nathaniel and brother of 
 the above-named James ; and lived on Buxton Hill. He was a 
 tailor by trade. He married Jemima Gregg June 24, 1779, 
 and she died Aug. 27, 1834, aged 80. Their children were 
 Nathaniel, Mary Martin, James Gregg, Samuel, Isaac, and 
 Hitty. Mr. Cochran was in the war of the Revolution, being 
 at the battle of Bennington, and died in 1850, aged 99. 
 
 Jael, daughter of Nathaniel, married Enoch Dodge, and had 
 eleven children. 
 
366 
 
 Nathaniel, son of John and Martha, married Celeste Prud- 
 homer, and their children are : Mary, who became the wife of 
 Michael Hargrider, and Martha, who married Andrew Myers. 
 
 William, son of John, married Mary Fletcher May, 1807, 
 and their children are Martha, Agnes Gorden, Mary Ann, and 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 Ira, son of John, married Jane, daughter of James, Feb. 19, 
 1815 ; and their children were : John Harris, born March 3, 
 1816, and died in the Army Hospital near Washington in 
 1863, and James Dinsmore, who died young. Mrs. Cochran 
 died July 14, 1861, aged 79 ; and Col. Ira, her husband, died 
 Oct. 22, 1818, aged 32. Mary Boyd, daughter of John, mar- 
 ried Levi Cochran Oct. 31, 1820, and died June 14, 1850, aged 
 61. Their children are : Mary Bradford, now the wife of Reu- 
 ben Dodge, and Sarah Martha, who became the wife of David 
 M. McCollom. 
 
 Elizabeth, daughter of James, married Moses Peabody Aug. 
 8,1805. 
 
 Susannah, daughter of James, married Jonathan Cochran 
 Nov. 26, 1812, and resides in Bangor, Me., their children being 
 Mary Emily, Sarah B., Martha A., and Helen A. 
 
 Lydia, daughter of James, married Phineas Dodge Dec. 31, 
 1822, her children being Elizabeth, who married Oliver Wal- 
 cott, and Arvilla, who married Arnmi Follett. She died at 
 Johnson, Yt., Feb. 14, 1828. 
 
 Nathaniel Martin, son of James, married Elizabeth Knights 
 Jan. 30, 1827 ; their children being Nathaniel D., Elizabeth 
 M., Arvilla, and James M. He died at Franklin, Dutch Settle- 
 ment Parish, St. Mary's, Louisiana, Nov. 16, 1838. 
 
 Anna, daughter of James, married Joseph Batchelder. 
 
 Hiram, son of James, married, and had several children, and 
 died at Orono, Me., Sept. .1, 1844. 
 
 Joseph Cochran, Esq. — He was son of James, and married 
 Anna Wilson Nov. 1, 1810. Their children are : William P., 
 born March 2, 1811, and resides at Bellows Falls, Vt. ; Ru- 
 hamah, born Feb. 25, 1812, now the wife of Hon. Horace 
 Chace, of Hopkinton ; Eliza J., born May 16, 1813 ; Elvira, 
 born Feb. 27, 1815, and died Aug. 19, 1840, in Michigan, the 
 wife of Charles Merrill ; James M., born Feb. 28, 1817, and 
 
J. ill affords Lilt. 
 
 
367 
 
 resides in Stonington, 111., the pastor of the Baptist Church in 
 that place ; his wife was Jane M. Philbrook ; Mary Ann, born 
 June 26, 1819, now the wife of Henry Holt ; Walter W., born 
 May 18, 1821, who lives at Bellows Falls, Vt., connected with 
 railroads centring there ; Joseph L., born Feb. 16, 1823, and 
 resides in Holyoke, Mass., engaged in manufacturing ; he mar- 
 ried Miss Sarah Weeks ; Hannah W., born June 14, 1825 ; 
 Cynthia C, born Aug. 16, 1827, and died June 26, 1852 ; and 
 Augusta K., born Aug. 13, 1830. 
 
 Walter Wardrobe married Eliza Ann Corning Sept. 23, 
 1847. She was born Nov. 23, 1822, and their children are : 
 Frank Byron, born March 15, 1851 ; Stella Ann, born July 7, 
 1853 ; Emma Jane, born March 10, 1855 ; and Lizzie Etta, 
 born Feb. 29, 1860. 
 
 Joseph Cochran, better known as Joseph Cochran, Jr., was a 
 good scholar for his day, and greatly excelled in penmanship ; 
 and this was early called into requisition in various ways as 
 Town Clerk and secretary of religious societies. He was very 
 accurate in the transaction of business, and much of his time 
 was devoted to town affairs and the settling of estates. He 
 was commissioned ensign in the 9th Co. 9th Regt. N. H. 
 Militia, June 11 ? 1810, by Gov. John Langdon, and as Lieut. 
 June 17, 1812, by Gov. Wm. 'Plummer, and as Capt. June 15, 
 1815, by Gov. J. T. Gilman. He held commissions as Justice 
 of the Peace, beginning with June 19, 1816, from Govs. Plum- 
 mer, Bell, Morrill, Dinsmore, Hill, Paige, Colby, and Dinsmore, 
 the last bearing date July 2, 1851, extending through a period 
 of forty years. 
 
 Sept. 28, 1846, he was commissioned by Gov. Anthony Colby 
 Special Justice of the Police Court of the City of Manchester, 
 to which city he had removed. He early identified himself 
 with the temperance. cause, and devoted to it his most vigorous 
 energies. He was very efficient in the erection of the Presby- 
 terian and Baptist meeting-houses, and aided much the cause 
 of Sabbath schools. In politics he was formerly identified with 
 the Democratic party, but early espoused the cause of the 
 progressive patriots, who sought to remove slavery as the con- 
 trolling power in the government, and with that party he con- 
 tinued to act until his death. 
 
368 
 
 Mr. Cochran was for many years a member of the Presby- 
 terian Church; but in the most friendly manner left that to 
 unite with the Baptist, having changed his views of the doctrine 
 of baptism. As infirmities increased he removed to Bellows 
 Falls, Vt., where several of his children had already gone ; and 
 there with them he spent his last years, and died January 17, 
 1863, aged nearly 78, greatly beloved by his family and re- 
 spected by all who knew him. 
 
 Abraham Cochran. — After his marriage with Jennette Coch- 
 ran, of Londonderry, of which he himself was a native, Mr. 
 Cochran came to New Boston, and settled on the rich swell of 
 land, now in the possession of Benjamin Baker, who married his 
 granddaughter. He also purchased the large and well-timber- 
 ed lot of land owned by the late Deacon Abraham Cochran, his 
 grandson. He had five children : Andrew, Jane, Peter, Ann, 
 and Mary, the first two dying young ; Peter married Jennette, 
 daughter of John Cochran on Cochran Hill, — inherited the 
 homestead, and died January 20, 1843, aged 75. His children 
 were Jane, Abraham, John Davidson, Margaret Ann, Mary 
 Elizabeth, and Andrew, who died' when a child. Jane married 
 Robert, son of the late Dea. Robert Crombie, and lives inNew 
 Boston ; Abraham, born September 1, 1802, married Almira 
 Trull, of Townsend, Mass., September 9,1830, and lives where 
 William Andrews now resides. Mrs. Cochran died, leaving 
 him five children, — Lydia Jane, Andrew D., Alonzo B., Almus 
 P., and A. Josephine. Mr. Cochran married for his second 
 wife Abigail, daughter of Rev. Robert Cochran, of Wiscasset, 
 Maine, January 20, 1847, by whom he had two daughters, 
 Almira T. and Abbie Maria. Mr. Cochran was a member of 
 the Presbyterian Church, and for many years was an elder in 
 it. He died July 22, 1856, in Rutland, Vt., on his return 
 home from a journey taken for his health,. aged 54 years. Dea. 
 Cochran was a sincere christian and an upright man, and his 
 end was peace. His son Alonzo died April 22, 1858, aged 22, 
 a young man of great promise ; and his daughter, Lydia, died 
 August 14, 1860, aged 29, a thorough scholar ; and his son 
 Andrew, a member of Dartmouth College, died October 23, 
 1860, aged 27, near San Antonia, Texas, where he had gone 
 in search of health, hoping to stay the progress of consumption, 
 
369 
 
 of which his father, brother, and sister had died. He was a 
 young man of exemplary piety, and possessed a superior intel- 
 lect. Almus, another son of Dea. A. Cochran, is in the army of 
 the Cumberland, and A. Josephine, his youngest daughter by 
 his first wife, is a graduate of New Ipswich Academy. 
 
 John Davidson (son of Peter) married Margaret Todd, of 
 Belfast, Maine, and lives in Milford, his surviving children be- 
 ing Albert A., now in the service of his country, and Jennie M. 
 
 Margaret Ann, daughter of Peter, married Benjamin Baker, 
 of Newbury, Vt., and they live on the homestead in New Bos- 
 ton, having two children, Benjamin F., and Annie M. ; Mary 
 Elizabeth married Peter E. Hadley, Esq., of Goffstown, and they 
 have two sons, George P. and Charles C. 
 
 Peter Cochran, father of the late Dea. Abraham Cochran, 
 was distinguished from all other Peter Coehrans by the worthy 
 title " Honest Peter," a title justly due to him. 
 
 John McLauglen. — He settled on Bradford Hill, and built 
 the house in which Rev. Mr. Bradford lived. He had a son, 
 John, who kept store and tavern, and was a man of great busi- 
 ness activity, for many years he kept the town astir with his 
 enterprises, which were greatly beneficial to the community if 
 not remunerative to himself. A worthy descendant of his may 
 be found in Colonel Thomas McLaughlen, son of David, born 
 in New Boston March 11, 1800, moved into Vermont with his 
 father when a lad, and has been for the last twenty-five years 
 the owner of Clarendon Springs, and the well known and 
 popular proprietor of the Clarendon House, a romantic and 
 quiet retreat among the green hills of Vermont, where thou- 
 sands from all parts of New England and the great Metropolis 
 resort annually to receive healing from its waters, and enjoy a 
 respite from the heated atmosphere and din of city life. Colonel 
 McLaughlen is a philanthropic, public-spirited man, and a 
 liberal contributor to the religious and charitable institutions 
 of the day. 
 
 William Clark, Esq. — He was son of Robert Clark, of Lon- 
 donderry, who came to this country about the year 1725, set- 
 tling on the height of land northwest of Beaver Pond, and died 
 in 1775 ; his wife, who was Letitia, daughter of John Cochran, 
 of Londonderry in Ireland, died in 1783. Their children were 
 
 47 
 
370 
 
 William, John, Samuel, Ninian, Jane, Letitia, Agnes, and 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 William married Anne Wallace, of Londonderry, February 
 2, 1764, and settled in 1766, in New Boston, where Mr. George 
 W. Clark, his grandson, lives. Their children were Letitia, 
 Robert, Ann, John, Mnian, Rebecca, Samuel, Ann, and Letitia. 
 Mr. Clark was the only Justice of the Peace in town who re- 
 ceived his commission from the British Government ; he did 
 not sympathize at first with the patriots of the Revolution, and 
 made enemies thereby. But he was a man with whom the 
 town could not afford to be long angry. As a surveyor of land 
 he had no equal in the town ; as an intelligent justice his ser- 
 vices were of great value. He was a just man, and sought to 
 promote peace and save the town and private parties from liti- 
 gation ; he was employed in the service of the town for a long 
 succession of years in almost every capacity, and had the un- 
 bounded confidence of the people. He was a member of the 
 Presbyterian Church, and lived and died as a christian, and 
 left a name that will not soon be forgotten. His death trans- 
 pired March 9, 1808, aged 73. His wife died June 12, 1792, 
 aged 55. 
 
 Dea. Robert Clark. — He was son of the foregoing William, 
 and was born in Londonderry October 6, 1765, before his father 
 moved here. Robert inherited the homestead, and married 
 Annis Wallace March 4, 1790. ' Their children were Rebecca 
 Wallace, Ann, Frances Moor, William, Sally Wallace, Jane 
 Moor, Louisa Letitia, Cordelia, and George Washington. Mr. 
 Clark was chosen elder in the Presbyterian Church about the 
 time of Mr. Bradford's ordination, and greatly magnified his 
 office by his exemplary and holy life. His christian zeal and 
 uniform devotion to Christ and his cause gave him great power 
 in the church, and secured to him the confidence of the town. 
 For many years he filled important offices, and was always 
 deemed a safe counsellor, and a friend of peace and good order. 
 He died September 18, 1826, aged 61, greatly lamented by a 
 bereaved church and an afflicted community. His wife died 
 January 5, 1850, aged 82, being an excellent woman, a great 
 help to her husband, and the succorer of many. 
 
 Their daughter Ann married, December 28, 1813, Mr. Robert 
 
-'SA-.TerAIzth. 
 
 I^PrVTU^ 
 
 ^V- ($4 
 
371 
 
 Mack, of Londonderry ; Frances Moor married, October 13, • 
 1829, the Rev. Samuel Wallace Clark, who died in Greenland 
 August 17, 1847, aged 52 ; Jane Moor married Alexander 
 Gregg October 3, 1820, and they live in Medford, Mass., he 
 being the son of the late Samuel Gregg, Esq. ; their son, Wil- 
 liam Robert, married Hannah Caldwell, of Manchester, Mass., 
 in 1848, and they live in Boston ; George W. married, April 2, 
 1837, Letitia M., daughter of William Crombie, of Fulton, New 
 York, and lives on the home farm. 
 
 John Clark. — He was a son of William, and brother of 
 Robert. He married Rebecca Wallace, sister of Deacon Rob- 
 ert's wife, and their children were : Ann, who died in Amherst ; 
 Samuel Wallace, who married Frances Moor, daughter of Dea. 
 Robert Clark, and died in Greenland ; William, a clergyman, 
 now residing in Amherst, Secretary of the N. H. Home Mis- 
 sionary Society ; and Gilman, now living in Foxcraft, Me. ; 
 Abbie, who became the wife of Mr. Kent, and lives in "Vermont ; 
 John, married and lived in Georgia for many years, but now at 
 the North ; Lydia and Letitia, who live in Amherst. 
 
 Rebecca Clark. — She was daughter of William, and mar- 
 ried Moses Cristy March 20, 1788, and they settled where Dea. 
 Sumner L. Cristy now lives. Their children were : John, who 
 married Polly Dodge for his first wife, and Roxanna Baker for 
 his second, and died in Johnson, Vt. ; Anna became the wife 
 of Stephen Durant, and, for her second husband, married John 
 Carroll, and died in Lowell, Mass. ; William Clark married 
 Hannah Taylor, and lives in Charlestown, Mass. ; David, who 
 died Sept. 8, 1802 ; Robert died in childhood ; James married 
 Jane Dodge, and lives in Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Elizabeth S. mar- 
 ried Ezra Harthan, and died at Great Falls ; Mary, who became 
 the second wife of Ezra Harthan, and died at Great Ealls ; Le- 
 titia died unmarried ; Nancy, who died young ; and Sumner 
 L., who was born May 26, 1807, and married Sarah Hooper, 
 daughter of the late Jacob Hooper, and their children are : Sa- 
 rah, who became the wife of E. F. Baker, and resides in Sa- 
 lem, Mass. ; Elizabeth H., who graduated at Mount Holyoke, 
 Mass., in 1860 ; Mary L. ; Harland P., living in Flint, Mich. ; 
 Martyn K. ; Charles S. Mrs. Cristy died May 4, 1854. Dea. 
 S. L. Cristy married, for his second wife, Emily Whiting, daugh- 
 ter of the late Capt. Gerry Whiting. 
 
372 
 
 Ninian Claek. — He was son of William, and married Nancy 
 Cochran, daughter of Peter Cochran, the elder, and sister of 
 the late Peter. He settled in Hancock, and died there. His 
 children were : Nancy, who married Peter Whitcomb, of Lon- 
 donderry ; Peter Cochran, who died in New Jersey while teach- 
 ing school. Mr. Clark married, for his second wife, Sally War- 
 ner, by whom he had children : Warner, who died in Hancock ; 
 Reid Paige, who lives in Londonderry, marrying for his wife a 
 Miss Perkins ; Avory, who married a Miss Goodhue, and lives 
 t in Hancock ; Almira ; Augustus Ninian, who lives in Beverly, 
 Mass. ; Robert, who died in California ; and Mary Ann, who 
 lives in Hancock. 
 
 Ninian Clark, Esq. — He was son of Robert Clark, of 
 Londonderry, and came with his brother William, and settled 
 near him, where Mr. William Orne now lives. He married 
 Mary Ramsey, sister of the wife of the late Dea. Thomas Coch- 
 ran, Nov. 11, 1773. Their children were William, Lydia, 
 Robert, Hugh Hamilton, Letitia, David, Jonathan, and Samuel. 
 William, born Sept. 29, 1774, inherited the homestead, and 
 married Abigail H. Farwell, of Merrimack, having for children : 
 Abigail D., who died young ; Robert H., who went west ; Mary 
 R., who was made deaf by spotted fever, and has since died ; 
 Rebecca G., who married Joel Fairbanks, and lives in New Bos- 
 ton, her husband dying Sept. 10, 1862 ; Ann, who married Wil- 
 liam C. Cochran June 2, 1840, and lives in New Boston ; John 
 C, who was made mute by spotted fever, living in Nashua, where 
 he died, and marrying for his wife Caroline Dunnison, of Fran- 
 cestown ; Abigail, who in like manner was made mute, and 
 married Albert Gove, a mute, of Henniker ; Margaret, who 
 became the wife of Dr. James Danforth, of New Boston, and 
 died Sept. 18, 1851 ; William Dalton, who married Nancy, 
 daughter of John Moor, and lives in Davenport, Iowa ; Lydia 
 (daughter of Ninian), born May 3, 1776, and became the wife 
 of John Crombie ; Robert, born June 23, 1778, became a mer- 
 chant, and died in Boston, unmarried ; Hugh Hamilton, born 
 Nov. 2, 1780, became a merchant in Boston, of the firm Hum- 
 phry and Clark, and died April 11, 1818, aged 37 ; his wife 
 being Nancy Barnard, daughter of Rev. Jeremiah Barnard, of 
 Amherst, who died Dec. 1, 1803, aged 27, by whom he had 
 
373 
 
 three children ; Anne B., who married the Hon. Charles G. 
 Atherton, and now lives in Boston ; and Frances, who became 
 the wife of the Rev. Alonzo Hill, of Worcester, Mass. ; and 
 Hamilton ; Letitia (another daughter of Ninian) was born 
 April 11, 1783, and became the wife of John Davidson Cochran, 
 son of John Cochran, on Cochran Hill ; David Ramsey (another 
 son of Ninian) was born June 23, 1785, and died June 18, 
 1823, aged 37, living where the late John Linch died, having 
 by his first wife one daughter, who married John Nichols, of 
 Boston, and by his second a son, Ninian Ramsey, who lives in 
 Somerville, Mass., marrying Cordelia Benner, of Waldoborough, 
 Me., and has one daughter ; also three daughters : one, Re- 
 becca, marrying a Mr. Reid, of New Orleans ; and the second, 
 Sophia, who married a Mr. Reid, and lives in Bridgewater, 
 Mass. ; and the third, Frances, who married a Mr. Howard of 
 Bridgewater, Mass. Jonathan, another son of Ninian, was born 
 April 27, 1789, and died May 13, 1814 ; and Samuel, the last 
 son of Ninian, was born April 21, 1791, being prepared for 
 Dartmouth College by the Rev. Mr. Beede, of Wilton, grad- 
 uating 1812. He studied theology with Rev. Dr. Channing, 
 and was ordained pastor of the Unitarian Church in Princeton, 
 Mass., June 18, 1817, and was installed at Uxbridge Jan. 9, 
 1833, and remained pastor of that church until his death, which 
 occurred Nov. 19, 1855. He married Miss Sarah Wigglesworth, 
 an estimable christian woman, who died some years before him, 
 himself being " a man of rare modesty, great self-denial, imper- 
 turbable good-nature, excellent gifts, large culture, and unflinch- 
 ing fidelity to duty ; " and when the Master called he was ready. 
 Mr. Ninian Clark, father of the foregoing, was an extraor- 
 dinary man, of large sympathies, and a noble spirit. He was 
 for many years a Justice of the Peace, filling many offices with 
 fidelity ; always characterized for his unflinching integrity. He 
 was for many years a member of the Presbyterian Church, and 
 his life and character were models for imitation. No two men 
 in town exerted a more widely-extended influence, nor more 
 enduring and happy, than Ninian Clark and his brother Wil- 
 liam. Mr. Ninian Clark died May 25, 1828, aged 87, and his 
 wife died Jan. 11, 1791. 
 
374 
 
 James Crombie. — He was son of John Crombie, who em- 
 igrated from the north of Ireland, and settled in Londonderry 
 about the year 1720, marrying Joan Rankin Nov. 17, 1721, by 
 whom he had nine children: Hugh, William, James, John, Eliz- 
 abeth, Mary Jane, Nancy, and Ann. 
 
 James came to New Boston in 1783, and settled where C. F. 
 Farley lives, having married Jane Clark, daughter of Robert 
 Clark, of Londonderry, by whom he had six sons and two 
 daughters, all of whom were born prior to his coming to New 
 Boston, except Clark. His children were as follows : — William, 
 born Dec. 16, 1766, who married Betsey Fairfield, and settled 
 in Fulton, in the State of New York, where he died Dec. 20, 
 1851, and where his wife died Aug. 9, 1855, aged 85 years ; 
 Robert, born Dec. 12, 1768, who married Mary Patterson, daugh- 
 ter of Dea. Robert Patterson, and settled in the northern part 
 of the town : he was, for many years, a deacon in the Presbyte- 
 rian Church, and died April 21, 1830, aged 61 ; John, who 
 lived on the homestead ; Jane, born July 27, 1772, married 
 James Cochran, son of John Cochran, and settled near his fa- 
 ther, on Cochran Hill, where Mr. Cudworth now lives, and died 
 there ; James, born Sept. 28, 1774, who married Joanna Jones, 
 daughter of Dr. Jones, of Lyndeborough, with whom he studied, 
 commencing the practice of medicine in 1798, at Temple, re- 
 moving to Francestown in 1820, where he continued until 1850, 
 when he removed to Derry, where he died with his son James 
 H. Crombie, M. D., 1853 ; Samuel, born Aug. 2, 1778, who 
 married Mary Cooledge, and removed to Waterford, Me., where 
 he practiced medicine until his death ; Letitia, born Jan. 15, 
 1781 ; Clark, born in New Boston Sept. 14, 1784, who mar- 
 ried Lucy, daughter of Daniel Dane, and settled near King's 
 Mills, subsequently living where Mr. Prince now lives, and at 
 present resides in South Reading, Mass., — his children are: 
 Jane, James C, Daniel D., Sarah E., and Albert D. ; Jane be- 
 came the wife of Butler Trull, of Goffstown, and died leaving 
 five children; James C. married and resided in Lowell, Mass., 
 where he died, leaving one child ; Daniel Dane married in 
 Lowell, Mass., and has one child ; he is agent for the Everett 
 Mills, Lawrence, Mass., a gentleman widely known for his in- 
 tegrity of character and business capacity, as well as for his 
 
-:^ X: .. 
 
 ■ l's tith.. 
 
 i^U>i^C <^W??^. 
 
^Cg&nWtfS -'-'*■ 
 
375 
 
 loyalty to his country and spirit of enterprise ; Sarah E. be- 
 came the wife of John Ammidon, a merchant in Baltimore, 
 Md., and has two children ; Albert D. married Miss Greenwood, 
 of Nashua, and has one child ; he is a successful merchant in 
 Baltimore, Md. 
 
 Mr. James Crombie was a shoemaker, currier, and tanner, 
 and was one of the most useful mechanics of his day ; generous 
 in hospitality, high-minded and honorable in his dealings, social 
 in his habits, diffusing happiness by his cheerful spirit and help- 
 ing hand. His ready wit created mirth for the gloomy, and 
 his christian fervor prompted to acts of piety. He was just the 
 man for the time and the place into which Providence brought 
 him. He died Jan. 7, 1814 ; and his wife, as good as himself, 
 died May "25, 1815. 
 
 John Crombie. — He was son of the foregoing James Crom- 
 bie, born July 30, 1770, marrying Lydia Clark April 28, 1800, 
 daughter of Ninian Clark, Esq. He lived with his father, and 
 had for children: Ninian Clark, who was born Jan. 20, 1801, 
 and married Rebecca Patten, of Derry, Oct. 29, 1829, and lives 
 in New Boston, having for children : Nancy Moor, John Clark, 
 Moses Colvard, Harriet Rebecca, and James Patten ; Mary 
 Ramsey, who was born July 27, 1802, and married James 
 Wilder, living and dying near the mills now owned by Mr. 
 Hopkins, her children being : John Crombie, James Watter- 
 man, and Charles Styles ; Jane, born Nov. 17, 1803, and died 
 young ; Harriet, born April 26, 1806, who married William C. 
 Cochran April 26, 1831, and died Aug. 16, 1839, leaving two 
 sons, Thomas Ramsey and John Crombie, and two daughters, 
 Lydia Clark and Margaret Anna ; Letitia, born Jan. 27, 1808, 
 and died young ; Samuel Cooledge, born May 22, 1810, and 
 was accidentally killed June 11, 1814; John, born Feb. !», 
 1812, who married Eliza Patten, of Derry, April 26, 1828, 
 lived in Nashua, and died Jan. 19, 1855, leaving five children : 
 Harriet, Mary, Eliza, John, Lydia, and Frances Rebecca ; 
 Samuel Cooledge, born April 20, 1814, who married Susan 
 Choat, of Derry, Jan. 28, 1841, and now lives in Burlington, 
 Vt., his wife dying March 19, 1857, their children being Mary 
 Pinkerton, William Choat, Lydia, and Rufus ; Nancy Moor, 
 born March 26, 1816, and died May 5, 1830 ; William Hamil- 
 
376 
 
 ton, born Sept. 3, 1818, who married Adeline Cheney, of 
 Deny, June 22, 1842, and lives in Davenport, Iowa, his chil- 
 dren being Etta Yelora, Sophia Clark, Emma Frances, and 
 Frank Hamilton. 
 
 Mr. John Crombie was a house carpenter, learning the 
 trade from Dr. Hugh McMillen. After his death, which oc- 
 curred April 24, 1839, in the 69th year of his age, his affec- 
 tionate pastor, the Rev. E. P. Bradford, wrote thus of him : — 
 " Mr. John Crombie will long be remembered by a numerous 
 circle of friends and acquaintances as a virtuous, intelligent, 
 and useful member of society. Possessing a great share of 
 that most valuable of intellectual properties, common sense, 
 his inquiries were directed, from an early period of his life, 
 chiefly to those subjects which are of practical importance to 
 mankind. Though he had enjoyed the advantages of a com- 
 mon education only, which were comparatively small in his 
 childhood and youth, the inquisitive and discriminating char- 
 acter of his mind led him to search diligently for general 
 knowledge, of which he obtained a very valuable treasure. 
 His sound judgment, combined with a generous and benevo- 
 lent disposition, rendered this knowledge highly useful in its 
 application to the important purposes of life. He was often 
 called to assist in compromising difficulties between conflicting 
 parties, who placed great confidence in his wisdom and impar- 
 tiality. He always , manifested an enlightened regard for the 
 institutions of revealed religion. He often expressed his con- 
 viction of the need of the gospel in the prevalence of its 
 spirit, in order to the happiness of human society. He be- 
 lieved it also to be the grand instrument of preparing men for 
 a better world. In consistency with these views, he ever 
 took an active and liberal part in supporting it in the religious 
 society of which he was a member, and in extending it to the 
 destitute. Every enterprise which in his view was judiciously 
 projected for advancing the public good, received his cheerful 
 approbation and support. From the worldly substance which 
 Divine Providence bestowed upon him, he was in the habit of 
 distributing generous portions among the poor. His guests, 
 whether relatives, acquaintances, or strangers, he treated with 
 great hospitality and kindness. His house was the abode of 
 
TF" *N| 
 
 ,$v**" 
 
 ©a (g^®ra©OI n 
 
■/SBuiTa-d's JiOi. 
 
377 
 
 domestic order, peace, and happiness. He was permitted to 
 live with the wife of his youth nearly forty years, in bonds of 
 the most affectionate mutual regards. As a mechanic, Mr. 
 Crombie was skilful and enterprising, and characterized for 
 his habitual and persevering industry to the last moment of 
 his active life ; and many are the inhabitants of this region 
 who, as they lie dovvn to rest at night, may feel indebted to it 
 for ' a shelter to their heads.' Many the sanctuaries of the 
 Lord, whose spires point to heaven, are the ' workmanship of 
 his hands ; ' and while they remind us of the ' wise master- 
 builder ' who laid his foundation there, should admonish us 
 of the only ' pathway ' to a heaven of peace and rest. Mr. C. 
 bore his last sickness, which was sometimes very distressing, 
 with great patience and resignation to the will of God. He 
 apparently enjoyed the unclouded exercise of his reason till 
 within a few minutes of his death. He often expressed a hope 
 of a blessed immortality only through the merits of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. He died, as he had lived many years, a member 
 of the Presbyterian Church. His widow and children, who 
 survive him, have experienced a heavy bereavement in his 
 death. But their sorrows are alleviated by the belief that he 
 has entered into everlasting rest." 
 
 Mrs. Crombie, highly esteemed for her many excellences of 
 character, which made her household the abode of domestic 
 happiness, died May 9, 1849, aged 73. 
 
 Lemuel Marden. — He was born Aug. 80, 1745, and came 
 from Bradford, Mass., about 1786, where he married, in 1769, 
 Hannah Greenough, born May 21, 1750, the youngest of six 
 daughters ; she died Oct. 20, 1843, aged 73. He settled where 
 the late Jonathan Marden lived, purchasing of Daniel Hardy, 
 of Bradford. His children were Hannah, Greenough, Solo- 
 mon, Nathan, Francis, Samuel, Mehitable, Jonathan, and 
 Sarah. He died Jan. 9, 1819, aged 74. 
 
 Greenough, his son, was born Oct. 17, 1772, and married 
 Sybil, daughter of Benjamin Hardy, of Hancock, Oct. 10, 
 1802, having learned the trade of a mason in Bradford, Mass. 
 He bought the farm on which he now lives of Porter Sawyer, 
 who bought of Nathaniel Fairfield, who bought of the heirs of 
 Ralph Inman, one of the original proprietors of the town, liv- 
 
 48 
 
378 
 
 ing in Cambridge, Mass. Fairfield felled the first trees and 
 erected the first cabin. Mr. Marden's children are : Lemuel, 
 who married Clarissa M'Collom, and lives where William 
 Campbell died ; Levi, John Langdon, Lyman, Cynthia, Sybil, 
 Abigail, David, and William Greenough. Mr. Marden, though 
 ninety-one years old Oct. 17, 1863, retains to a remarkable 
 degree his mental faculties and physical energies, superin- 
 tending a large farm, and transacting his business with great 
 exactness. 
 
 Jonathan Marden, a son of Lemuel, was born July 5, 1788, 
 and married Sally Foster December 31, 1815. She was born 
 at Ashby, Mass., February 8, 1763. .Their children are : Eliza- 
 beth Foster, born February 6, 1817 ; John Foster, born July 6, 
 1818 ; Jonathan, born September 26, 1820 ; Harriet Newell, 
 born August 29, 1822; Alfred, born November 22, 1828; 
 Charles, born July 21, 1830 ; and George Waterman, born Oc- 
 tober 17, 1832. Elizabeth F. became the wife of Caleb Reid 
 June 1, 1842, and removed to Beaver Dam, Wis., in 1855, 
 where she died May 4, 1861, aged 44. John F. married 
 Jerusha H. Adams, of Milton, Mass., and has four children; 
 Harriet Newell married Frederic H. Ober, of Hopkinton, May 
 
 29, 1845, and lived in Nashua. After his death she became 
 the wife of George Hall, of Brookline ; Jonathan married Eliza 
 Jane Norton, of Yermont, March 9, 1847, by whom he had one 
 child. His second wife died in 1863. 
 
 Alfred married Augusta H. Emerson, of Francestown, Dec. 
 
 30, 1852, and lives in Beaver Dam, Wis., though now in the 
 army of the Cumberland. He has one child. Charles married 
 Harriet Butterfield, of Nashua, March 14, 1855, and lives at 
 Beaver Dam, Wis., having two children. George Waterman 
 married Abby M. Sawyer April 1, 1858, who soon died, and he 
 married Asenath B. Hovey, of Peterborough, where he now 
 resides. 
 
 Samuel Marden. — He was the son of Solomon, born March 
 24, 1775, who was the son of Lemuel Marden. He was born 
 November 18, 1804. Phebe Noyes was- born November 3, 
 1802. They were married July 1, 1828. Their children were : 
 Mary, born April 20, 1829, died April 24, 1829 ; Lydia Maria, 
 born July 31, 1830 ; Harriet Campbell, born April 6, 1832, 
 
379 
 
 married George Hall, Jr., March 11, 1857, and now resides in 
 Nashua ; Mehitable Jane, born April 10, 1834, died March 11, 
 1854 ; James, born February 23, 1836, married H. Jennie 
 Park May 19, 1863, now resides in Springfield, Mass. ; Henry, 
 born December 9, 1837, graduated at Dartmouth College 1862 ; 
 George, born August 26, 1839, married Sarah Lizzie Mansfield 
 November 11, 1862, served in the Union Army, 16th Regiment 
 N. H. V., from November 1862 to August 1863 ; Mary Ellen, 
 born September 30, 1841 ; Lora Ann, born August 11, 1843 ; 
 Samuel Lewis, born June 23, 1845. 
 
 Benjamin Dodge. — He came from Beverly, Mass., marrying 
 for his wife a Dodge. He " followed the seas " from his child- 
 hood, and commanded a ship for many a year prior to his com- 
 ing to New Boston, and for a long time after his family came 
 here ; visiting almost every country on the globe. He settled 
 where Mr. Irving now lives, some improvement having been 
 made by a prior settler ; and was accustomed to entertain his 
 family and neighbors with the narrative of his adventures 
 whenever he visited his home. His children were Benjamin, 
 Gideon, and Antipas. Antipas lived where his father died, in 
 New Boston ; Gideon lived and died near his father's ; Ben- 
 jamin was born April 13, 1758, in Beverly, Mass., and married, 
 November 24, 1780, Eunice Boutwell, who was born November 
 14, 1761, in Reading, Mass., and died November 21, 1811. 
 His second wife was Widow Mudgett, of Weare, born August 17, 
 1774, in Andover, Mass., to whom he was married March 15, 
 1812 ; she died December 5, 1838. Mr. Dodge died January 
 13, 1831. 
 
 He first settled near the Rev. S. Moor, then in Sullivan, sub- 
 sequently in Amherst, and finally in the northern part of New 
 Boston, where he died. His children were : Elizabeth born 
 January 13, 1783, who married Lieutenant Solomon Dodge 
 May 25, 1805, and lived where Israel Dodge, her son, now lives, 
 she died December 6, 1840 ; Lydia, born June 18, 1787, who 
 married Samuel Gregg November 11, 1811, and lived in Deer- 
 ing, she died November 8, 1826 ; Charlotte, born February 
 23, 1790, who married James Boutwell December 20, 1810, 
 and died January 17, 1844; two daughters dying young; 
 Monice, born June 23, 1799, who married Mr. Samuel Dodge 
 
380 
 
 February 6, 1817, and lives in New Boston ; Achsah born July 
 6, 1802, who married Captain Rodney George, of "Windham, 
 March 16, 1832, and now lives in Tewksbury, Mass ; Rebecca, 
 born February 20, 1806, who married Jacob Bailey February 
 6, 1825, and lived where John Lamson resides, but now lives a 
 widow in Nashua, having a daughter who married William, son 
 of Greenough Marden ; Sarah, born November 27, 1813, who 
 married Captain Jonathan Gove Kelso, of New Boston, April 
 11, 1837, and now lives in Charlestown, Mass. ; Mary W., born 
 Sept. 4, 1816, who married David A. Kendall, of Mont Vernon, 
 April 25, 1837, and died June 28, 1856, these last. two being 
 the children of his second wife. Benjamin, born January 22, 
 1777, remained on the homestead, marrying, November 22, 
 1821, Mary, daughter of Dea. John Smith, of Francestown, 
 whose children are : John Newton, who married Emma Jane 
 Colburn July 1, 1858, and lives with his father; Persis Board- 
 man, who married Robert Peaslee, of Weare, in 1846 ; Mary 
 Jane, who married William Taylor in 1853, and resides in 
 Medford, Mass. ; James Smith, who married Sarah Evelyn, 
 daughter of Jesse Beard, and is a merchant in Andover, Mass. ; 
 David Campbell died young ; Sarah Elizabeth, who died young ; 
 and Sarah Nancy. 
 
 Andrew Beard. — He came from the north of Ireland in 
 1766, and stopped at Litchfield a few years, and then located 
 himself where James Buxton lives, where he erected a house, 
 at the raising of which a man was accidentally killed. He 
 soon left this place, and permanently settled where Alfred N. 
 Hardy now lives, that beautiful eminence long being known as 
 " Beard's Hill." He died June 19, 1798, aged 88. His son 
 Joseph, who was four years old when his father left Ireland, 
 married Margaret McMillen, of Franceston, in 1784, and settled 
 where his son Jesse now lives — a Mr. Mackintosh having com- 
 menced a settlement there. The children of Joseph Beard 
 were : Anna, yet living unmarried, retaining great vigor of mind ; 
 Sarah, Jesse, James, now living in Vermont ; Lyclia, who mar- 
 ried John Langdell ; Mary, who married John Stone, and lives 
 in Vermont ; Joseph Goardly, who died young. His son Jesse 
 succeeded his father on the homestead, marrying, November 23, 
 1826, Elizabeth Sweetser, daughter of Benjamin Fairfield, Esq., 
 
381 
 
 and their children were Cordelia Clark, Edwin, Joseph, Horace 
 Philbrick, now a merchant in Andover, Mass., marrying in 
 1862, Frances R. Shattuck, of Andover, Mass. ; Evelyn Sarah, 
 who was married June 1, 1858, to James Smith Dodge, a mer- 
 chant in Andover, Mass. ; Selwin Felt and Mary Josephine. 
 Mr. Beard has buried all his children but the two living in An- 
 dover. He has been a remarkably successful educator, com- 
 mencing teaching in 1814, and ending in 1860, having taught 
 67 terms, and having been a superintending school committee 
 21 years ; taking great interest in vocal music, he has taught 
 87 singing schools. Mr. Beard was born February 17, 1789, 
 and though 71 years old, has kept pace with the world's prog- 
 ress, and yet seems young, in sympathy with the young, and 
 alive to every effort for their improvement. 
 
 William, the oldest son of Andrew Beard, was born October 
 20, 1751. His father it seems was a blacksmith, and was born 
 in the county of Antrim in the year 1710. In 1749 he married 
 Lydia Goardly, and when they came to New England they had 
 four children ; two sons and two daughters. She excelled in 
 the manufacture of linen cloth. 
 
 In June, 1775, he was at work building a house for his father 
 on their new farm, when the news came that the British were 
 landing in Boston. With the leave of his father and mother 
 he immediately repaired to Charlestown in defence of his coun- 
 try, was at the battle of Bunker's Hill, and was one of the 
 forty volunteers who brought some cattle across the neck, 
 under a raking fire of the enemy, in order to prevent their 
 capture. In 1777 he received an ensign's commission, and 
 was one of the scouts that commenced the attack on the 
 enemy at Bennington. He was in several engagements, but 
 was never wounded. 
 
 When he was done serving his country, he returned home 
 and lived with his father on the farm. March 20, 1790, he 
 married Jane Burns, of Bedford, by whom he had seven chil- 
 dren, three sons and four daughters. They lived on the same 
 farm till their death. 
 
 Although entitled to a pension, he nobly refused to draw it. 
 His death occurred Jan. 2, 1832 ; his wife died Feb. 9, 1830. 
 
 Sally Beard, daughter of Andrew Beard, married George 
 Robinson, of Tyngsborough ; both died young. 
 
382 
 
 Lydia, daughter of Andrew Beard, married Leslie Gregg, 
 of New Boston, had seven children, one son and six daughters, 
 afterwards moved to Goffstown, where they both died. 
 
 Rachel, the youngest daughter, married Thomas Christie, of 
 New Boston, and moved to Hartland, Yt. ; had nine children, 
 three sons and six daughters. 
 
 Andrew Beard, the son of William Beard, was born Jan. 30, 
 1791. In 1816 he married Elizabeth Cochran, daughter of 
 Dea. Joseph Cochran, by whom he had three children. She 
 died Jan. 11, 1826 ; he afterwards married Rachael Marshall, 
 of Weare, and moved to Newport, N. H., and died March 30, 
 1860, aged 69 years. 
 
 John, son of the above-named Andrew Beard, was born Dec. 
 16, 1817. Married Emily Marshall, of Unity, and now lives at 
 Bock Island, 111. Margaret, the daughter of Andrew, married 
 Hiram Angel, of Newport, and died, July 23, 1857 ; their son 
 died in infancy. 
 
 John, son of William Beard, was born May 5, 1793, died 
 Sept. 25, 1807, aged 14 years. 
 
 Sarah, daughter of William Beard, was born August 10, 
 1795 ; Sept. 24, 1822, married Moody Marshall, of Weare, and 
 had eight children, seven sons and one daughter. 
 
 Jane, daughter, of Wm. Beard, was born March 8, 1802, 
 and settled in New Boston, had five children. 
 
 William, the son of William Beard, was born May 6, 1798. 
 Nov. 8, 1825, married Eleanor McMillen, daughter of Dr. 
 Hugh McMillen, of New Boston ; settled on a part of his 
 father's farm called the Jordan Lot. He has six children, 
 four sons and two daughters. 
 
 Asa M., the son of William Beard, 2d, was born Nov. 8, 
 1827. In 1850 he married Lucy J. Trull, of Goffstown ; has 
 four children, and lives in New Boston. 
 
 Ann Augusta, daughter of William Beard, 2d, was born 
 May 18, 1829, and in 1858 married John Gilmore, of New- 
 port ; has one child, and lives in New Boston. 
 
 Sarah M., daughter of AVilliam Beard, was born Feb. 5, 
 1836. In 1858 she went to Marshfield, Indiana, as a school- 
 teacher ; January, 1862, married Levi M. Cronkhite, of that 
 place, where she now lives. 
 
383 
 
 Cornelius "VV., son of William Beard, was born Sept. 29, 
 1840. Sept., 1861, he enlisted in a company of sharpshooters, 
 was in several battles, received a severe wound at the battle 
 of Antietam, and was killed in a skirmish with the rebels at 
 Gettysburgh July 4, 1863, aged 22 years, 7 months, and 5 days, 
 — a brave soldier and a pure patriot. 
 
 James M. G. was born May 27, 1844 ; in 1862 he published 
 an Almanac called the " New England Calendar, and Miscel- 
 laneous Year Book." In March, 1863, he went to Indiana as 
 a school teacher, in which business he is still engaged. 
 
 Eliza and Louisa, twin daughters of William Beard, Sen., 
 were born Feb. 15, 1806. Eliza married Jacob Bartell, of 
 Lynn, had one child, and died in 1852, aged 47. Louisa mar- 
 ried Hiram Campbell, of Bedford, settled in New Boston, had 
 four children ; afterwards removed to Nashua, N. H., where' 
 she died, in 1840, aged 43 years. 
 
 William Kelso. — He was born in Londonderry, being the 
 son of Alexander Kelso, whose wife was a Kelso, daughter of 
 William Kelso. Alexander, with three brothers, came from the 
 North of Ireland and settled in Londonderry, and died when 
 William was fifteen years old ; and William came to New 
 Boston about 1763, though his sister Margaret came some years 
 earlier, being the wife of Capt. George Cristy, who settled 
 where Dea. Sumner L. Cristy now lives. William married 
 Agnes Kelso, and settled first where Leonard Merrill lives, 
 and after clearing a few acres, sold to his brother Daniel, and 
 then settled where Mr. Robert Kelso now lives, near Joe Eng- 
 lish, buying of Eleazer Boyd, who cleared a few acres and 
 reared a small house. Mr. Kelso had six children : Nancy 
 Richards, who died Jan. 30, 1831, aged 50 ; Elizabeth, who 
 died March 2, 1839, aged 60 ; Ann, who died Nov. 8, 1851, 
 aged 81 ; John, who died March 2, 1850, aged 74 ; and William, 
 born April 9, 1785. John (the son of William) succeeded 
 his father on the homestead, and married Gizzy, the daughter 
 of Dea. Robert Patterson, and his son Robert lives on the 
 homestead, the boundaries of which have not been altered since 
 Eleazer Boyd sold it to his grandfather William, though in all 
 other respects it has been changed for the better. Mr. Robert 
 Kelso, in 1841, married Juliana Perkins, of Windsor, their chil- 
 
384 
 
 dren being Henry, Mary L., and Helen A. William, the 
 youngest son of the elder William, and brother of the fore- 
 going John, settled where he now lives, buying his farm fifty- 
 three years ago of Mr. Clapp, who bought of Coburn, who 
 bought of Sawyer, who had it of Archibald McAllister, the 
 son of John, the first McAllister in New Boston. This Wil- 
 liam married, in 1823, Susannah Coggin, of Mont Vernon, and 
 their children are Susannah, Eliza, Catherine, William, who 
 lives with his father, Alfred, and Nancy A. 
 
 William Kelso, at the head of this sketch, died Jan. 19, 1823, 
 aged 83 ; and his wife died April 7, 1825, aged 77. His 
 brother Daniel lived on Leonard Merrill's farm, marrying Mary 
 McAllister, daughter of John, having twelve children: Alex- 
 ander, John, Ann, William, Daniel, Robert, Annanias, Eliza- 
 beth, Thomas, Mary, David, and Jonathan Gove. 
 
 Alexander was a physician, and was killed by the falling of 
 a tree. Ann married Thomas White, son of Dea. Robert 
 White, and lived in Vermont, he dying in Hopkinton, and she 
 in Antrim. 
 
 William lived in New York, died there, and left children. 
 
 Daniel lived and died in Pennsylvania, and left children. 
 
 Robert lived and died in Rising Sun, Indiana, and had chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Annanias has lived in Vermont, but now is in New Boston, 
 and is the father of Jonathan Gove Kelso, of Charlestown, 
 Mass. 
 
 Elizabeth was Mrs. Parkinson, mother of Rev. Royal Parkin- 
 son, of Randolph, Vt. Thomas died in Canterbury, on his way 
 to Columbia, of spotted fever. Mary married Asa Dustin, and 
 lived in Columbia, and died leaving one child, Daniel. David 
 married Mary, daughter of Wm. Campbell, and for his second 
 wife' he married widow Andrews, daughter of Dea. Joseph 
 Cochran. Jonathan Gove married Letitia, daughter of James 
 Cochran. 
 
 Alexander, another brother of the first-named William 
 settled where Mrs. Achsah Dodge now lives, marrying Nancy 
 Guiness, of Amherst ; their children being Anna, Sally, and 
 Catherine. 
 
 John Kelso, son of Daniel, was born July 14, 1771 ; by 
 
385 
 
 trade he was a clothier, and carried on the business for many 
 years in New Boston. He married Dorcas Cleaves, of Mont 
 Vernon. Their children are : John, who was born Nov. 1, 1804, 
 married Susan Bradford, of Fitchburg, Mass., and has three 
 children, "William, Marion, and John ; he resides in Benning- 
 ton, Vt., and is a manufacturer of woollen goods. Augusta, 
 born July 13, 1808, became the wife of Micah Lawrence, of 
 Ashby, Mass., Feb. 15, 1834. Mr. Lawrence, in company with 
 Waterman Burr, when he was a young man commenced trade 
 in the Upper Village, subsequently continued the same busi- 
 ness in the Lower Village, and in retired life is enjoying the 
 fruits of his successful enterprise. Their children are : Helen, 
 who became the wife of Charles A. Wood, Esq., Sept. 27, 1863. 
 Mr. Wood is a native of Hancock, N. H., and now a success- 
 ful lawyer in Madison, Wisconsin ; he served as Lieut. Col. 
 over two years and was at the siege of Vicksburg ; immediate- 
 ly after his marriage he sailed for a tour of Europe. Sarah 
 became the wife of Charles H. Bixby Sept. 16, 1862. Mr. 
 Bixby is son of Levi Bixby, formerly of Francestown, and late of 
 Surinam, South America ; he graduated at Williams College in 
 1858, and soon after, went to Europe, and studied the modern 
 languages in France and Germany ; immediately after his mar- 
 riage he, in company with his wife, sailed again for Europe, 
 spending nearly two years in Germany, France, and Italy. 
 George 0., born July 27, 1841, became connected with the 
 Naval Department of the West in Oct., 1862, and now holds 
 an important position in the Medical Department. Eliza C. 
 was born Nov. 15, 1843. John K. was born Nov. 13, 1847. 
 
 David, son of John Kelso, born Aug. 25, 1814, is a mason 
 by trade, and resides in New Boston. Sarah was born Aug. 20, 
 1816, became the wife of Neil McLane, Esq., Aug. 14, 1849, re- 
 sides in New Boston, and has one daughter, Marion A., born 
 May 24, 1854. Adeline, born Jan. 20, 1819, became the wife of 
 Joseph Warren in 1844, and resides in New Boston ; her chil- 
 dren are H. Frank, John K., and Emma ; Frank enlisted in 
 1862, in the 13th Regt. N. H. V., and has proved a brave and 
 valiant soldier, shrinking from no danger and complaining of 
 no hardships. 
 
 49 
 
386 
 
 John McAllister. — He came from the North of Ireland, 
 and settled where William Kelso now lives, about 1748. He 
 married in Ireland, and had one son four years old, whom he left, 
 and a daughter, named Mary, was born during the passage 
 across the ocean, and married Daniel Kelso, whose son John 
 was the father of the present David Kelso, Mrs. Micah Law- 
 rance, Mrs. Neil, McLane, and others. She was an excellent 
 woman, and a great help to those who early settled in the 
 neighborhood of Joe English. She was witty, and loved to 
 make all around her happy. The Eev. Mr. Moor when he 
 first visited her, inquired of her if she were born in Ireland. 
 " No, indade, I was not," was the reply. " Were you born in 
 England ? " inquired he. " No, indade, I was not, sir." 
 " Then you must have been born in America ? " " An' I was 
 not born in America, neither, sir." " Then where upon 'arth 
 were you born ? " " An' indade, sir, I was not born on the 
 'arth at all, sir." As Mr. Moor was a man of great good na- 
 ture, and loved a joke as well as any of his parishoners, the 
 mystery was satisfactorily explained. 
 
 Mr. McAllister had three sons : Archibald, who was born in 
 Ireland, Agnus and Daniel. Archibald lived on the homestead 
 at first, then moved to Francestown, where he died. Agnus 
 settled where James Dexter now lives, near the late Dea. Peter 
 McNeil's ; subsequently he moved to Pequawkett, an Indian 
 name applied to a considerable tract of country now includ- 
 ing Conway, N. H., Fryeburgh, Me., and some of the adjacent 
 towns. Here he died some years since. Daniel settled near 
 his father, and sold his farm to the father of the present Capt. 
 John Lamson, and moved to New Brunswick on the Passama- 
 quoddy Bay, where he died. 
 
 Tolm McAllister was an early proprietor, and had a fine tract 
 of ±and. He was a man of great energy of character, and was en- 
 trusted with various offices in the town, and took great interest 
 in its settlement, and the permanent establishment of the institu- 
 tions of religion. When an old man he removed, with his son 
 Archibald, to Francestown, where he died in a good old age. 
 It is related as a singular coincidence that his daughter Mary, 
 who married Daniel Kelso, had twelve children, nine sons and 
 three daughters, while Archibald, her brother, had twelve chil- 
 dren, but nine of them were daughters and three were sons. 
 
387 
 
 Dea. Robert White. — He settled on the height of land now- 
 owned by Abram Wason. He was among the earliest set- 
 tlers in the vicinity of Joe English, and took an active part in 
 the settlement of Mr. Moor. His wife, Mary, is remembered 
 as an excellent woman. Mr. White was one of the earliest 
 elders in the Presbyterian Church, associated with Archibald 
 McMillen, John Smith, Thomas Cochran, William Moor, James 
 Ferson, and William McNeil, in the Session. His children 
 were: Andrew, born Jan. 20, 1759 ; Jane, born May 2, 1761, 
 who married a Mr. Willson ; William ; Robert, born Feb. 25, 
 1766 ; Thomas, born July 11, 1773, who married Ann, daugh- 
 ter of Daniel Kelso, and lived in Tunbridge, Vt. ; Solomon, 
 William, and John Craige. Dea. White sold his farm to John 
 Lamson, and tended John McLaughlen's grain-mill for many 
 years; subsequently he removed to Goffstown, tending a mill 
 there, whore he died in 1809. Dea. White was a good man, 
 and highly esteemed by his contemporaries. Mr. Lamson, who 
 bought his farm, carried on the business of a tanner and cur- 
 rier ; he kept a store in a part of his house, also a tavern. 
 
 Willsons. — Three brothers, sons of Robert Willson, came 
 from Londonderry, and settled on an elevated tract of land in 
 the east part of the town now called Willson's Hill, but for a 
 long time called Egypt, because during years of scarcity corn 
 could always be had of the Willsons, whose lands were very 
 productive, and they had more pecuniary means than most of 
 the early settlers. Thomas Willson settled the farm just east 
 of Almus Warren's, which is now owned by John B. Warren ; 
 James settled northeast of his brother Thomas's farm, where 
 Robert Crombie lately lived ; and Alexander settled near his 
 brother James, on land now owned by Micah Lawrance ; David 
 was the son of Thomas, and lived where Almus Warren 
 now lives, one of whose daughters became the wife of od- 
 ney McCollom, and another of John B. Warren. James Will- 
 son, Esq., who lived where Peter Jones now resides, was another 
 son of Thomas, marrying a daughter of Dea. Jesse Cristy ; his 
 other children were Elizabeth, Alexander, Robert, David, and 
 Jane. The children of James (the first James) were Robert, 
 James, David, Molly, John, Samuel, Hugh, Jane, and Marga- 
 ret, who became the wife of William Batchelder Dodge, and 
 
388 
 
 was the mother of Mrs. Solomon Dodge, and of the first wife 
 of Jacob Richards, Esq., also of the wife of James Cristy, now 
 living in New York ; Alexander (the first) had a son Alexander, 
 also a son William, who graduated at Dartmouth College in the 
 Class of 1797, studied law, and went to Ohio, where he was 
 made Judge and elected a member of Congress, and died while 
 returning home from Washington. He was a man of fine tal- 
 ents and great energy. 
 
 Robert Willson, who settled in the northeast part of the 
 town, near the Plains, was a distinct branch of the Willsons, 
 known as the " Black North Willsons," while the others were 
 called " Curly Willsons." 
 
 Dea. William McNeil. — He was born March 28, 1746, in 
 the town of Bellemoony and County of Antrim, Ireland, being 
 the son of Abraham and Jane. He came to this country with 
 his parents in 1750, and settled at what was then called Derry- 
 field, now Manchester. His father died in 1752, and he came 
 to New Boston in 1765, accompanied by his mother and two sis- 
 ters, and settled on a fifty-acre lot of wild land on the south 
 side of Joe English. He married, Dec. 15, 1774, on her 22d 
 birthday, Rachel Patterson, daughter of Peter Patterson, of Lon- 
 donderry. Their children were : James, born June 1, 1776 ; 
 Jane, May 26, 1778 ; Grissel, April 6, 1780 ; Abraham, July 
 24, 1782 ; Rachel, Oct. 26, 1784 ; Peter, Dec. 5, 1786 ; John, 
 Nov. 14, 1788 ; Betsey, Sept. 26, 1790 ; Sally, Sept. 5, 1793 ; 
 Jennette, Eeb. 4, 1796. Three 'feons and three daughters grew 
 up, and the remainder died young. Abraham lived in Antrim 
 for many years, subsequently in Lowell, Mass., where he died ; 
 Peter lived with his parents on the homestead, and married 
 Mary Stiles, of Amherst, Sept. 23, 1818, by whom he had eleven 
 children, six daughters and five sons — Mary Jane, H. Elizabeth, 
 William, C. Granville, John, James, Rachel Patterson, Abby 
 Stiles, Peter Patterson, Harriet Newell, and Lydia Shaw ; Mary 
 Jane married N. Farnum, of Francestown, having had one child, 
 Nahum Hardy, deceased ; H. Elizabeth married Fuller R. Tal- 
 bot, and lives in Lacy, Iowa, and has seven children — James F., 
 Mary E., John, Hardy F., George, Abby J., Albert S. ; William 
 married Sarah Barnes, of Hillsborough, and lives in Clarence, 
 Iowa, and has five children — Scott, Kate, Frank, Fred, Dora ; 
 
C. Granville married Martha A. Holt, of Andover, Mass., and 
 lives in Tipton, Iowa, and has seven children — Charlotte E., 
 Abby M., Sarah E., George Granville, Elbridge G., Claria Jane, 
 and Peter Patterson ; he holds the office of deacon, and is a 
 man of much activity and usefulness in the church of Christ ; 
 John married Mary L. Pratt, of Chelsea, Mass., where he re- 
 sides, having four children — Annie C, Mary Alice, Caleb H., 
 and Hattie C. ; James married Jane Willson, of Factory ville, Pa., 
 and lives in Bates County, Mo., and has four children — Abby 
 Jane, John, Willson, and Thomas S. ; Rachel P. married Capt. 
 James M. Tuttle, and lives in New Boston, having two children 
 — James P. and Granville J. ; Abby S. died at the age of 19 ; 
 Peter Patterson married Sarah Elston, and lives in Elston, 
 Missouri, having three children — Mary, Abby, Hattie N., and 
 Arthur, who was chosen deacon in the Presbyterian Church in 
 1828, and died February 15, 1849, aged 62 ; John lived in 
 the south part of Antrim, and died there ; Jane married Abra- 
 ham Smith, of Nottingham West (now Hudson), where she 
 died, having had twelve children ; Grissel died unmarried, 
 aged 55 ; Betsey was married to John Burns, a jeweller, of 
 Milford, Nov. 25, 1817, by whom she had no children, and 
 was, after Mr. Burns's death, married to Piam Orne Oct. 31, 
 
 1822, and their children were: Joseph Milton, born Sept. 11, 
 
 1823, who married Climena Bartlett, and lives where his father 
 died, July 30, 1843 ; William, born Oct. 8, 1825, who married 
 Almeda Bartlett, and lives on the farm settled by Ninian Clark, 
 Esq. ; and Sarah Elizabeth, born Sept. 28, 1828, and died Oct. 
 14, 1846. Mrs. Orne yet lives, possessed of great activity both 
 of body and mind, for one aged 73. Dea. William McNeill was 
 a noble man, calm, dignified, yet genial and affectionate. As 
 a christian he was exemplary and devout, cherishing large 
 charity, and always ready for every good work. He sustained 
 his pastor by all the influence he could exert, and sought to 
 strengthen the things that remained. He successfully reared 
 his family, and left his posterity an example which they can 
 safely follow. When he died, devout men and women made 
 great lamentation over him, because they had lost from the 
 church a man of faith and prayer. His decease transpired 
 Jan. 15, 1823, when in his 77th year. His widow survived 
 
390 
 
 until April 20, 1837, attaining the good old age of 84, exerting 
 a blessed influence while living, and in dying left assurance that 
 a life full of good works and kindly endeavors shall end with 
 the comforts of hope and glimpses of celestial light. 
 
 Dea. Robert Patterson. — He was born in Londonderry, 
 being son of Peter Patterson, and brother of the wife of Dea. 
 William McNeil. He settled where Allen Leach, his grandson, 
 lives, marrying Susanna Miller, of Londonderry. Their chil- 
 dren were seven, three sons and four daughters ; the oldest son 
 died young, and the oldest daughter, Mary, married Robert 
 Crombie, afterwards deacon of the Presbyterian Church, and 
 lived in the wet-.t part of the town ; Rachel married Joseph 
 Leach, and lived in the eastern part of New Boston ; Gizzel 
 married John Kelso, father of the present Robert Kelso ; Jane 
 married William Mackintosh, and lives in Bethel, Vt. ; Samuel 
 went into Pennsylvania, where he married, and has seven chil- 
 dren ; and John died unmarried. Dea. Patterson was an ex- 
 cellent man, being chosen deacon before Mr. Moore's death, and 
 serving many years during the pastorate of Mr. Bradford. He 
 was exact in his notions, and slow to conform to new customs, 
 yet was a man in whom there was no guile. He died in 1828, 
 greatly lamented. 
 
 Dea. Robert Wason. — He was born in Nottingham West, 
 now Hudson, June 14, 1781, being the son of Thomas Wason ; 
 his mother was Mary Boyd, of Londonderry. He came to 
 New Boston April, 1803, to live with Robert Boyd, his uncle, 
 who settled on Lot No. 30, near Joe English, being then ad- 
 vanced in years. He was married Dec. 26, 1808, by Rev. Mr. 
 Bruce, to Nancy, daughter of John Batchelder, of Mont 
 Vernon, born Oct. 13, 1789 ; their children are Elbridge, 
 Louisa, Hiram, Nancy, Mary, Robert Boyd, Adeline, Caroline, 
 and George Austin. Elbridge married Mary Stickney, of 
 Boston, April 24, 1851, who died Aug. 15, 1863, and he has 
 his residence in Brookline, Mass., and is of the firm Wason, 
 Pierce & Co., in Boston. Hiram graduated in 1838, at Am- 
 herst College, studied theology at New Haven, Ct., married, 
 Oct., 1844, Betsey R. Abbot, daughter of Timothy Abbot, Esq., 
 of Wilton, went to Indiana, in which State he still resides at 
 West Creek, Lake County. Mary married Nathaniel Carr 
 
■JBBuTford's lath 
 
 e/A^*- ^2 
 
391 
 
 Nov. 13, 1850, and lives in Boston, Mr. Carr belonging to the 
 firm of Dexter, Robie & Co. Robert Boyd resides in Boston, 
 and is with his brother Elbridge, one of the same firm. Ade- 
 line married John Batchelder Sept. 5, 1843, and lives in 
 Sprague, Conn., their children being Emma, Louisa, and 
 Herman. M. Batchelder is the inventor of a sewing-machine, 
 and was the first to devise the most essential and practical 
 parts of all sewing-machines in this country. He is also the 
 inventor of a machine for stamping bags, etc., which is of great 
 utility. Austin inherits the homestead, and is a progressive 
 farmer; he married Clara L., daughter of Mr. Sidney Hills, 
 Sept. 17, 1863. Caroline, who had been a teacher for many 
 years in Boston, died June 23, 1864, greatly beloved, useful in 
 life and happy in death. 
 
 Deacon Wason reared a highly interesting family, none of 
 whom has forsaken the faith or rejected the principles that 
 characterized the worthy men of earlier clays. He was social 
 and affectionate, and always aimed to cultivate the intellect 
 and improve the heart of his children. He united with the 
 Presbyterian Church in 1815, and a few years after was elected 
 an elder, which office he held at his death. Dea. Wason was 
 a man of great energy, and entered with zeal upon every en- 
 terprise adapted to benefit the church or the community, so 
 that he was a " doer of the word " as well as a hearer; and 
 when he died, Aug. 7, 1844, aged 63, his death was greatly 
 lamented, and the loss of his influence was seriously felt. His 
 venerable widow, enjoying a peaceful home and the affection- 
 ate ministrations of her children, survived until July 28, 1863, 
 having been a faithful mother and a sincere christian. 
 
 Dea. Archibald McMillen. — He came to this town as 
 early as 1756, and settled on the south of Joe English. He 
 was elected a deacon in the Presbyterian Church as early as 
 1768. He was chosen to represent New Boston and Frances- 
 town in 1777, at Exeter, in the General Court ; also at Con- 
 cord in 1778, and was chosen Moderator at a meeting of the 
 town Dec. 4, 1780. He served in the war of the Revolution 
 at different times, and was at the battle of Lexington. He 
 subsequently went into New York on business and died ere he 
 could return. He had children, among whom was a son, 
 
392 
 
 Hugh, who was born April 26, 1763, and married Eunice , 
 
 who was born Jan. 19, 1761, and their childron were : Archi- 
 bald, born Dec. 24, 1787 ; Aaron, Hannah, Abraham, Mary, 
 Eunice, Mercy, Asa, Betsey, Andrew, Elenor, and Abner, born 
 Aug. 17, 1804. 
 
 This Hugh was an excellent house carpenter ; he was eccen- 
 tric in character. He obtained access to some old medical 
 books of Dr. Codman, at Amherst, and from them learned to 
 compound certain medicines which effected some marked 
 cures, gained for him some celebrity, and secured for him the 
 popular title of doctor. He gained some knowledge of chem- 
 istry, and acquired the art of converting the softer metals into 
 shining silver coin. His laboratory was an object of great in- 
 terest, where for some time he drove a brisk business. His 
 son Abraham succeeded him in the compounding and use of 
 his medicines. 
 
 Dea. Thomas Cochran. — He was grandson of the first 
 Dea. Thomas, and son of James, who was killed by being 
 thrown from a vicious horse. Dea. Thomas came into posses- 
 sion of the farm on which his grandfather settled. He was 
 born March 25, 1759, and married Margaret Ramsey, of Lon- 
 donderry, April 13, 1784 ; she was born Dec. 29, 1762, and 
 died July 21, 1829, aged 66 ; and he died Dec. 30, 1852, aged 
 94. Their children were : James, born Dec. 4, 1785 ; Mary 
 C, born April 24, 1793 ; Nancy, born Nov. 16, 1797 ; Lydia, 
 March 15, 1788 ; Anna, July 1, 1795 ; Letitia, Nov. 13, 1799 ; 
 William C, June 3, 1802 ; and Margaret R., Sept. 23, 1804. 
 James married Abigail Buxton, daughter of Capt. Benjamin 
 Buxton, May 26, 1815. She was born Oct. 8, 1796. They 
 lived on the homestead with his parents. Their children were 
 eight : Edward Buxton, the first born, married, in 1852, Clara 
 Bonham, of Michigan, where he now lives ; Mary Flint mar- 
 ried, Dec. 31, 1851, Mr. Charles G-. B. Ryder, of Dunbarton, 
 and their children are Charles Ellenwood and Bayard Cochran ; 
 Sylvester lives in Sandstone, Mich. ; Charlotte Abigail married 
 John C. Carroll in 1863, and they live in Jackson, Mich. ; 
 James Richmond was born Sept. 9, 1832, graduated at the 
 Scientific Department of Dartmouth College in 1856, and was 
 shot dead Nov., 1861, in Missouri, in the street, by one An- 
 
393 
 
 drew Burritt, because he would not swear allegiance to the 
 Southern Confederacy. The miserable traitor has since died 
 in the rebel army. The rest of Mr. James Cochran's children 
 died young. He died of consumption May 2, 1849, and his 
 wife, of the same disease, died Aug. 28, 1850. 
 
 William C. married Harriet, daughter of John Crombie, for 
 his first wife ; and their children were John C, Thomas Ram- 
 sey, and Lydia C. ; for his second, he married Ann Clark ; and 
 their children are Mary Abbie and Margaret Ann. Deacon 
 Cochran's children are all dead but William C, residing near 
 the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Dea. Cochran was highly esteemed as a citizen, being a kind 
 neighbor and upright in all his ways. As a christian his influ- 
 ence was always good, and as an elder in the Presbyterian 
 Church he magnified his office ; he died as if falling into a 
 gentle repose, as some of his children had who preceded, and 
 as those have who succeeded him. The peacefulness of his 
 life and the guilelessness of his heart made him deserving of 
 high commendation, and his death was greatly lamented. 
 
 Lieut. Solomon Dodge. — He was born in Andover, Mass., 
 Aug. 13, 1747, and died May 8, 1799. His wife was Sarah 
 Dodge, born Aug. 20, 1752, to whom he was married Jan. 23, 
 1772. She died Dec. 23, 1845. He settled where his grand- 
 son, Israel, now lives, coming here when a young man, and 
 performing his appropriate part in the settlement of this new 
 region. He seems to have been a man of much energy, and 
 highly esteemed for his manly virtues. His children that came 
 to maturity were : Amos, who settled in Johnson, Vt. ; Solo- 
 mon, who remained on the homestead ; Hannah, born Sept. 
 13, 1779, who married Dr. John Whipple, of New Boston, and 
 who now, a venerable widow, enjoys great vigor of body and 
 mind, living to do good, and is loved as a mother by all who 
 know her ; Daniel, who settled in Johnson, Vt. ; Sally, who 
 became the wife of Jacob Hooper, Jr. ; Alice, who became the 
 wife of Thomas Hooper, and lived in Johnson, Vt. ; Phineas, 
 who was bora Oct. 30, 1793, and is now living in New Boston ; 
 and Aaron, who married Lydia Irwin, and lived in Johnson, 
 Vt., dying March 18, 1862, aged 64 years. 
 
 50 
 
394 
 
 Dea. Solomon Dodge. — He was the son of the foregoing, 
 born August 1, 1777, and died March 16, 1853 ; May 25, 1805, 
 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Dodge,- who was 
 born January 13, 1783, and died December 6, 1840, — their 
 children were : Lydia, who became the wife of Rev. John 
 At wood, of New Boston ; Solomon, who lives near the old 
 homestead and married Mary, widow of Charles Buxton, and 
 daughter of Jacob B. Dodge ; Sarah, who became the wife of 
 Phillip F. Pettee, of Goffstown, and died May 5, 1859 ; Amos, 
 a successful merchant in Concord, who married Emily Everett, 
 of New London ; Benjamin, who died, unmarried, October 10, 
 1852, aged 34 ; Israel, who married Priscilla, daughter of 
 Israel Andrews, and lives on the homestead ; and Ann E., who 
 became the wife of Isaac Manning, of Johnson, Vt., and died 
 in 1848. 
 
 Dea. Dodge was a genial, large-minded man, upright in his 
 conduct, commanding the confidence of all. He was a Deacon 
 in the Baptist Church for many years, and by his ardent piety 
 and consistent life gave great strength to that body. He suc- 
 cessfully reared a large family, and is remembered with venera- 
 tion by all his children, and his name is fragrant in all the 
 church. October 31, 1829, his dwelling and other buildings 
 were all consumed by fire ; and the good man bowed without 
 a murmur beneath the stroke, and gave God glory in the midst 
 of his affliction. 
 
 Solomon, son of Dea. S. Dodge, was born February 27, 1808, 
 and married Mrs. Mary Buxton March 14, 1834. Their chil- 
 dren are : Margaret Elizabeth, born March 5, 1835, and who 
 died an infant ; Solomon, born May 28, 1836 ; Charles Franklin, 
 born July 2, 1838 ; William Bachelder, born April 22, 1840 ; 
 Julian Percival, born September 29, 1842 ; Edward Buxton, 
 born April 8, 1845; and Albert Ernest, born August 26, 1848. 
 
 Solomon married Elizabeth, daughter of Captain John Cristy, 
 August 9, 1862. He enlisted August 12, 1862, for three years 
 in the Company P. 9th Regiment N. H. Volunteers, and his 
 brother William is in the same regiment. Julian enlisted Oct. 
 1862, in the second regiment of Berdan's Sharpshooters, under 
 the lamented and greatly beloved Capt. Henry M. Caldwell, of 
 Dumbarton. 
 
. • 
 
 
395 
 
 m 
 
 Mrs. Dodge, wife of Solomon Dodge, Sen., was the widow of 
 Charles Buxton, to whom she was married April 5, 1820. She 
 was born February 20, 1803, and their children were : Charles 
 Franklin, born October 26, 1821, died June 20,1823; Mar- 
 garet, born October 14, 1823, died January 14, 1827 ; Eliza 
 Jane, born December 14, 1826, became the wife of Robert M. 
 Gregg December, 1850. 
 
 Mr. Buxton died March 25, 1834, aged 40. 
 
 Luther Richards. — He was born in Sharon, Mass., Nov. 
 23, 1774 ; his father and grandfather were each named Wil- 
 liam ; his mother was Joanna Cummings. Mr. Richards's 
 father had seven sons : William, Jeremy, John, Oliver, Luther, 
 Samuel, and Solomon ; and three daughters : Susan, who mar- 
 ried Elijah Briggs ; Anna, who married Mr. Leonard ; and 
 Sally, who became the wife of Samuel Waters. All the sons 
 were married and left large families of children, and all are 
 dead but Samuel, who lives in Winthrop, Me. 
 
 At the age of fifteen Luther came with Mr. Waters to New 
 Boston, and with him learned the tanner's trade. At the age 
 of twenty-one he went to Weare, and subsequently to Hopkin- 
 ton. But about 1798 he purchased the farm on which he 
 resided until his death, and where he prosecuted the business 
 of tanning. 
 
 In 1799 he married Mary, daughter of Jacob Hooper. They 
 had eight children : Luther, who died unmarried ; Ruthey W., 
 who became the wife of Dr. Samuel Gregg, now of Boston. 
 She died in 1853, leaving five children ; Martha D., who mar- 
 ried a Mr. Tileston ; Carrie A., who married a Mr. Stockbridge ; 
 Anna S., who married a Mr. Howard; Abby T., who became 
 the wife of a Mr. Wooster, and Josephine M. ; Jacob Hooper,* 
 who remains on the homestead, was born August 17, 1804 ; he 
 married for his first wife, December 25, 1829, Asenath, daughter 
 
 * Mr. Richards, since the writing of this sketch, has died. His death oc- 
 curred March 11, 1864, at the age of 59. Captain Richards's life was re- 
 markably free from faults; upright in all his dealings, fond of society, greatly 
 beloved by his family, and respected by the community, he will long live in 
 their recollection, while the Presbyterian Church and congregation will long 
 deplore his removal, as a kind, judicious, and faithful chorister for more than 
 thirty years. 
 
396 
 
 of William B. Dodge, by whom he had three children, Margaret 
 A., who became the wife of Dr. Atwood, and died in Virginia ; 
 Evelyn M. and Frank S. ; he married April 19, 1847, for his 
 second wife, Nancy B., daughter of Ezra Dodge, of Beverly, 
 Mass., by whom he has two children, Mary Eliza, and Frances 
 Dodge ; Samuel Wardsworth, who died young ; Nancy P., who 
 died unmarried ; Mary Anna, who became the wife of Robert 
 Fulton, now living in Bedford, whose children are Lyman 
 Hahneman, Luther Herbert, and Samuel Wardsworth ; Joanna 
 Cummings, who married Nehemiah Trull, and died in Canter- 
 bury in 1848, leaving one daughter, Abby Joanna ; Abby 
 Hooper, who became the wife of Samuel G. Waters, and lives 
 in Johnson, Yt., their children being Samuel H., Luther R., 
 Wardsworth F., Ruthey G., and Mary A. 
 
 Mr. Richards, at the age of thirty, was thrown from a horse, 
 and by this and other casualties was crippled for life, yet his 
 indomitable energy overcame obstacles to which many would 
 have yielded. Few men could accomplish more than he, in 
 spite of great physical sufferings. Exact and scrupulously 
 just in his transactions, he secured the confidence of others, 
 and died September 22, 1857, aged nearly 85 years, greatly 
 respected and sincerely lamented ; his mental powers being but 
 little impaired, and a delightful christian peace continuing 
 until the last. 
 
 Mrs. Richards died March 3, 1847 ; and Jacob H. Richards's 
 first wife died December 12, 1846. 
 
 John Dodge. — He came to New Boston in 1815, from Ham- 
 ilton, Mass. His wife was Mary Dodge, of Wenham, Mass. 
 He bought of Stephen Ferson the farm formerly owned by 
 Paul Ferson, son of Dea. James Ferson. Mr. Dodge's children 
 were John, Israel, Mary, Joseph, and Elizabeth. 
 
 John now lives on the homestead, his wife was Polly Dodge, 
 of Hamilton, Mass., by whom he has three children : Joseph A., 
 now of Plymouth, superintendent of the Concord and Montreal 
 Railroad, marrying Mary Tewksbury, and having two children, 
 Lizzie and John ; Mary Ann, now the wife of John S. Edwards, 
 having two children, Andrew D., and Eugene ; Casandana. 
 Mr. Dodge's second wife was Mary T. Lovett, of Beverly, Mass., 
 by whom he has five children : S. Emiline, now the wife of 
 
397 
 
 Miles Taylor, of Lake Village ; Israel T., now living in Lafay- 
 ette, Indiana, marrying Julia M. Allen, of Woburn, Mass., and 
 having one daughter, May ; John, who died young ; Eben, 
 who married Fannie, daughter of Dea. Livemore Langdell, and 
 lives with his father ; and Andrew, unmarried, living in 
 Indiana. 
 
 Israel lived where Eben Bartlett now lives, and died in 
 1852 ; Mary married Jonathan Dodge, and lives in the west 
 part of the town, her children being Elizabeth, Alva, Lydia, 
 Josephine, John E., and Daniel L. ; Joseph died young; Eliza- 
 beth became the wife of Joseph B. Cochran, son of Dea. Joseph 
 Cochran, and lived with his father ; her second husband was 
 Nathaniel Whiting, of Francestown, her children being Sarah, 
 Josephine, and Harvey. 
 
 Isaac Peabody. — His great-grandfather's name was Francis, 
 and he came to this country in 1835 from Wales, England, set- 
 tling in Topsfield, Mass., where he erected mills which have 
 been in the possession of his descendants until now. 
 
 Mr. Francis Peabody was born in Topsfield, Mass., September 
 30, 1747, and came to New Boston in 1783. He purchased a 
 farm of Robert Patterson, now known as the "Town Farm." 
 He died May 13, 1826. He had eight children, six sons and 
 two daughters, viz. : Lydia, Nathaniel, Isaac, Moses, John, 
 Mary, Ezekiel, and Francis. Lydia was born October 5, 1772, 
 married Thomas Willson, and lived in the east part of the 
 town, and died June 18, 1839, leaving no children. (For 
 Nathaniel, see Sketches of Physicians.} Isaac was born Nov. 
 28, 1775, married Mary, daughter of Jacob Dodge, and lived 
 on the homestead. He was elected an elder in the Presbyterian 
 Church, and died January 23, 1832. He had children : John, 
 who lives in Antrim ; Hannah, who married Nathaniel Coggin ; 
 Elizabeth, who married a Mr. Hursey, of Croyden ; Daniel, who 
 died in Hooksett ; and Isaac, who lives in Lowell, Mass. 
 
 Moses was born Dec. 22, 1778, and died Aug. 1, 1858. He 
 married Elizabeth, daughter of James Cochran, and lived in 
 New Boston. His children are : Ezekiel Cummings, Horace, 
 who died in 1855 ; William Wason, who died in Salem, Mass., 
 in 1851 ; Elizabeth Ann, who married Isaac Newton Fitz, of 
 Lowell, Mass., and died Oct. 17, 1845 ; Mary Potter, who mar- 
 
398 
 
 ried Samuel Bellows, and died in Boston, July 1, 1839 ; 
 Martha Jane, who died March 3, 1831, aged 13 ; James Coch- 
 ran, who married Caroline Gibson, of Ashbnrnham, and died 
 Sept. 13, 1847, aged 28 ; Harriet Newell, who was born Feb. 
 25, 1823, and became the second wife of Mr. Fitz, the husband 
 of her deceased sister, and lives in Lowell, having two chil- 
 dren, Frank Eugene, and Willie Fremont. 
 
 John, was born Jan. 16, 1781, and died Aug. 15, 1821, in 
 Batavia, India. He married Elizabeth Manning, of Salem, 
 Mass., in 1808, by whom he had three children. Commencing 
 as a merchant in Salem, he soon entered upon a seafaring life. 
 In 1813 he attempted to reach St. Domingo with a loaded ves- 
 sel, and was captured by a British vessel, and was released in 
 1814. Having commanded several vessels bound to India, his 
 last voyage was undertaken with enfeebled health in 1821, he 
 reached Batavia, and died Aug. 15, 1821. He was a man of 
 strict business habits, and of great integrity, and died sustained 
 by faith in Jesus Christ. His daughter Elizabeth married a 
 Rev. Mr. Elevenworth in 1813, and went to North Carolina, 
 subsequently removed to Petersburg, Virginia, where he be- 
 came a slaveholder, and there she died, leaving several chil- 
 dren. The wife of Capt. John Peabody died in 1846, aged 57. 
 
 Mary married John P. Chapman, of Windsor, April 18, 
 1810 ; he died March 22, 1815, leaving three children. She is 
 still living, at the age of 80, with her brother Francis, in Am- 
 herst. 
 
 Francis was born Feb. 6, 1793, and married Lydia Peabody, 
 of Topsfield, Mass., who was born Jan. 12, 1797, on the 23d 
 of Dec, 1819. His children (all born in New Boston) are : 
 Aaron Francis, born Jan. 2, 1821, married Paulina A. Nettle- 
 ton, of New York, July 24, 1849, and moved to Fond Du Lac, 
 Wisconsin, in 1851 ; John, born Jan. 17, 1822, and died Nov. 
 30, 1824; Ann Maria, born May 22, 1824, married Rev. 
 Charles Seccumb, of Salem, Mass., Aug. 4, 1850, who was or- 
 dained Aug. 8, 1850, as a Home Missionary, and went to St. 
 Anthony, Min., the same year, and became pastor of the first 
 Congregational Church formed in that State, and here his wife 
 died Feb. 28, 1853 ; John, born Nov. 9, 1827, married Fannie 
 E. Sargent, of Milford, March 22, 1859, and lives in Brook- 
 
399 
 
 line, being elected a Deacon in the Congregational Church in 
 that place in 1860 ; Lydia E., born Sept. 7, 1829 ; David, born 
 Dec. 17, 1831, and married Lucy D. Tolman, of Wilmington, 
 Mass., and moved to St. Anthony, Min., having had two chil- 
 den: Francis, born Oct. 13, 1860, and Charles W., born May 
 17, 1862, and died Aug. 10, 1863 ; Margaret Brigham, born 
 April 23, 1837; George Wellington, born Oct. 11, 1838; 
 Daniel Augustine, born June 29, 1842, enlisted Oct., 1861, in 
 the Fifth New Hampshire Regiment, Co. I, was in the battle 
 of Fair Oaks, returned home Oct. 2, 1862, an invalid, and is 
 now on the pension list (1864). 
 
 Mr. Francis Peabody removed to Amherst in 1846, where 
 he now resides, waiting for " the rest that remaineth for the 
 people of God," surrounded by christian children. 
 
 David Colburn, son of Ephraim Colburn, removed from Ded- 
 ham, Mass., to New Boston in the year 1795. He settled in 
 the westerly part of the town, upon the farm formerly owned 
 by Capt. Burns, where he remained until his death. He was 
 succeeded by his son Ephraim, who owned, and with the ex- 
 ception of a few years, lived upon the farm during his life. 
 At the time of his death it was in possession of his son Luther, 
 the present owner. David Colburn married Rebecca, daughter 
 of Thomas Richards, of Dedham. They had a numerous fam- 
 ily, only three of whom were living when they came to town, 
 — Edward, Ephraim, and Tryphena. 
 
 Edward, the oldest, married Betsey, daughter of Ebenezer 
 Newell, of Needham, Mass., to which town he removed in 1822, 
 and died in 1833. 
 
 Tryphena married Capt. Jacob D. Dodge, and is now residing 
 in Nashua. She has had a numerous family, only four of whom 
 are now living, two sons and two daughters. 
 
 Ephraim, the second son, married Rachael, also a daughter 
 of Dea. Newell, of Needham, in April, 1804. He died May 
 19, 1855, aged 78 years. His widow, who still has a home 
 upon the old farm, is now 78 years of age. 
 
 They had seven children : Leonard, born Aug. 17, 1804 
 Willard, born January 9, 1807 ; Luther, born Aug. 16, 1811 
 Horace, born Sept. 28, 1815; Mark, born May 12, 1818 
 Ephraim, born May 1, 1821, and Reuben, born April 8, 1826. 
 
400 
 
 Leonard, the oldest son, married Mary T., daughter of Capt. 
 Livingston, of New Boston. He was always a resident of New 
 Boston, and during the last years of his life resided near the 
 Upper Village, where his widow still lives. He died in July, 
 1856. 
 
 They had four children : "William W., Ephraim Warren, 
 Emma J., and James L. William graduated at Dartmouth 
 College, in 1861, and is now Principal of the High School in 
 Manchester, N. H. Warren married Lizzie S. Roper, of Fran- 
 cestown, where he now resides. Emma married Dea. John N. 
 Dodge, of New Boston. James enlisted into the 9th Beg. N. 
 H. V. in Aug., 1862, and is now in the army. 
 
 Williard, the second son, married Sarah, daughter of Joseph 
 Gilbert, of Prancestown. They lived in New Boston till 1853, 
 when they removed to Manchester, where they still reside. 
 
 They had eleven children : Bachael N., Willard E., Sarah 
 G., Hannah R., David W., Maria W., Carrie S., Mary E., Les- 
 tina L., Margie C. D., and Joseph G. 
 
 Rachel married David S. Todd, of New Boston, in the fall 
 of 1854, and died in March, 1857. 
 
 Willard has been twice married, and is now living in Ches- 
 ter. Sarah married James More, of Manchester, and died in 
 1856. Hannah married Eri Harvey, of Manchester, and died 
 in February, 1864. 
 
 David enlisted as private in the 2d Regt. N. H. Y. in the 
 spring of 1861 ; was promoted to orderly sergeant, which po- 
 sition he held at the time of his death. He was married to 
 Miss Lucy Proctor, of East Washington, N. H., while home on 
 a furlough in the spring of 1863, and was killed on the 2d 
 of July following, at the battle of Gettysburg, after having 
 safely passed through all the battles in which his regiment had 
 been engaged previous to that time. 
 
 Maria is now residing in Manchester. Carrie married 
 Emerson Dunham, and is also in Manchester. Lestina and 
 Joseph are with their parents. Margie died in May, 1854. 
 
 Luther, the third son, married Mary S., daughter of Samuel 
 Todd, of New Boston, Oct. 15, 1835. She died in Aug., 1841. 
 
 He married Hannah E., daughter of Nehemiah Story, of 
 Goffstown, May 3, 1842. By his first marriage he had two 
 
401 
 
 children : Mary J., born March 4, 1837, and Martin L., born 
 April 26, 1839. By the second marriage, five children : 
 Hattie E., born Dec. 1, 1843 ; Emmie M., born April 18, 1850 ; 
 Frank N., born Oct 19, 1852 ; Addie N., born Dec. 24, 1855, 
 and Charles S., born April 11, 1860. 
 
 All are living at the present time except Frank, who died 
 July 31, 1854. Martin served as Lieut, in the 16th Reg. N. 
 H. V., in Louisana. 
 
 Horace, the fourth son, died Sept. 16, 1816. Mark, the 
 fifth son, married Caltha, daughter of Capt. Cyrus Lufkin, of 
 Weare, in June, 1843. They reside in Weare, and have two 
 children : Cyrus L., and Edson. 
 
 Ephraim, the sixth son, married Sarah J., daughter of Wil- 
 liam Taylor, of New Boston, in 1850. She died in July, 1859. 
 
 He married Charlotte Barron, of Merrimac, in August, I860, 
 and is now living in Merrimac. He has one son, William 
 Henry, born in February, 1853. 
 
 Reuben, the seventh son, married Hannah Gould, daughter 
 of Elijah Gould, of Antrim, in 1849. 
 
 In 1853 he married Miss Mary J. Holt, of Francestown, and 
 now resides in Manchester. By the first marriage he had one 
 daughter ; by the second one son, Otis H., born in 1854. 
 
 Benjamin Buxton was born in North Reading, Mass., in 
 1753. In early life he resided in the family of Rev. Eliab 
 Stone, the pastor of a church in that place, under whose in- 
 struction he commenced the study of Latin. But the Revolu- 
 tionary war breaking out, he forsook his Latin, and hastened to 
 the defence of his country. Soon after the commencement of 
 the war, he went out in a privateer, which, having made a suc- 
 cessful voyage, was returning with the crews of the vessels she 
 had captured on board, when they suddenly rose, got possession 
 of her, and took her into Halifax. Subsequently he was im- 
 pressed on board of a British man-of-war, where he was kept till 
 the close of our Revolutionary struggle. In that situation he 
 was treated with great severity, because he would stand up for 
 his country. As often as the British officers vilified it, assuring 
 him that, together Avith Washington, it was going to ruin, he 
 replied to them, " Sir, I wish I was with him." He was be- 
 labored unmercifully with blows, till, on a certain occasion 
 
 51 
 
402 
 
 under such treatment, he turned on his heel, and knocked the 
 boatswain down ; at which, some recommending to " take him 
 aft," — that is, to have him executed, — the boatswain said, 
 " No, I won't ; I'll hang him myself." Giving him a few light 
 blows, he turned away from him, and the same day drew him 
 into his berth to drink grog with him, saying, " Buxton, you 
 are a good fellow." 
 
 During his service in the British navy, he acquired consider- 
 able reputation as a seaman ; and after his discharge from that 
 service he followed a seafaring life a number of years, in the 
 capacity of a shipmaster. 
 
 About the year 1796 he removed from Danvers, Mass., where 
 he had resided for some time, to New Boston. He was nat- 
 urally of an upright, frank, and generous disposition, having no 
 heart or tact to secure advantages in trade ; which may be illus- 
 trated by a single incident. Col. Daniel Flint, of North Blad- 
 ing, coming into the country with him, to assist him in select- 
 ing and purchasing a farm, said to him, " Now, Buxton, let me 
 do the trading, and don't you say a word." But, having ex- 
 amined the farm which he purchased, and learned the price at 
 which it was held, he immediately forestalled all attempts to 
 get it at a cheaper rate, by saying, " Cheap enough, Col. Flint, 
 cheap enough ! " 
 
 Soon after he came to New Boston the death of his little 
 daughter was sanctified to him for his religious awakening and 
 hopeful conversion. He then made a public profession of re- 
 ligion, and was ever after noted for his consistent christian life 
 and regular attendance on the institutions of the gospel. His 
 youngest son he consecrated to God, with a special desire that 
 he should become a minister of the gospel. Through God's 
 covenant faithfulness, his prayers for this object have been an- 
 swered. In 1813 he died, aged 60 years, a good man, and 
 greatly lamented. 
 
 Capt. Buxton, in 1786, married Hannah Flint, of North 
 Reading, who was born Feb. 5, 1759, and died in the year 1837. 
 They had six children. 
 
 1. Hannah was born May 17, 1787 ; died Sept. 12, 1860 ; mar- 
 ried Abner Dodge, who was born Oct. 21, 1788 ; died Sept. 24, 
 1852. They were professors of religion, of consistent piety ; 
 had eleven children. 
 
403 
 
 Eloisa was born Aug. 5, 1808 ; married Abner Dane June 9, 
 1840 ; a few years after their marriage removed to Nashua, 
 where they now reside. 
 
 Jacob was born July 1, 1810 ; an ingenious mechanic ; expe- 
 rienced religion in his last sickness ; died at his paternal home 
 in Nashua, Feb. 2, 1849. 
 
 Ezra was born Sept. 9, 1812 ; married April 10, 1838 ; a pro- 
 fessor of religion ; has two sons ; resides in Danvers, Mass. 
 
 Benjamin P. was born Dec. 13, 1814 ; married Oct. 12, 1848 ; 
 has two children ; is a professor of religion ; resides in Stacy- 
 ville, Iowa. 
 
 Mary B. was borri Feb. 3, 1817 ; married Samuel Dane ; is a 
 professor of religion ; has had several children ; resides in New 
 Boston. 
 
 Reuben was born Dec. 15, 1818 ; married Mary Cochran ; 
 has one daughter ; is a professor of religion ; resides in Man- 
 chester. 
 
 Abner B. was born June 1, 1821 ; died April 16, 1822. 
 
 Abner B. was born April 9, 1823 ; married Mary Gr. Hall ; 
 resides in Nashua. 
 
 James F. was born Oct. 26, 1826 ; died Dec. 20, 1834. 
 
 Anna M. was born May 11, 1828 ; is a professor of religion ; 
 resides in Nashua. 
 
 Margaret was born April 26, 1831 ; was a professor of re- 
 ligion ; a sweet singer ; died July 9, 1855. 
 
 2. Charles was born Aug. 27, 1789. 
 
 3. James F. was born Nov. 9, 1792 ; married Lucinda Coch- 
 ran in 1819, and they had four children : Charlotte Flint, Fran- 
 ces Gove, John Cochran, Eliza Dalton. 
 
 Charlotte was born Jan. 1, 1820 ; died Nov. 24, 1838. 
 
 Frances was born Jan. 15, 1824 ; became the wife of J. 
 Richards Dodge Oct 20, 1846. 
 
 John was born Feb. 29, 1828 ; married Henrietta S. Norris, 
 of Sandusky, Ohio, Nov. 16, 1853. 
 
 Eliza was born June 15, 1832 ; became the wife of Edward 
 P. Ransom Aug. 7, 1855, and died at Newburyport, Mass., 
 Feb., 1857. 
 
 Mr. James F. Buxton resides with his son, in Springfield 
 City, Ohio, where his wife died Dec. 27, 1857, aged 62. 
 
404 
 
 4. Abigail was born Oct. 8, 1796 ; died Aug. 8, 1850 ; was a 
 professor of religion ; married James Cochran, by whom she 
 had eight children. 
 
 5. Mary was born Jan. 31, 1799 ; died Oct. 6, 1802. 
 
 6. Edward. (See page 135.) 
 
 Robert Parkinson. — His ancestors were all of the genuine 
 stock, Scotch Irish. His father, whose name was Henry, en- 
 tered Nassau Hall College from Londonderry, and graduated. 
 He served in the Revolutionary war, and was at one time quar- 
 termaster in Col. John Stark's regiment. In an old manuscript 
 of his it is found recorded that his " constitution was broken 
 while in the service ; " and this is given as a reason why he 
 spent his days in farming and teaching, instead of pursuing a 
 profession. It is said that he excelled as a classical scholar ; 
 and in his day he fitted many students for Dartmouth College. 
 His wife was a McCurdy, and aunt to the late James and John 
 McCurdy, of New Boston. 
 
 Robert Parkinson, his son, was born in Francestown May 18, 
 1781, and passed his youth in Concord and Canterbury, and 
 purchased a lot of land in Columbia, then a wilderness, as was 
 no small portion of Coos County at that time. He spent the 
 summer of 1809 there, "in camp," and clearing land, sowing 
 winter grain, and building a house of hewn timber, the first 
 in the settlement of so much pretension, there being only two 
 or three houses, and those of round logs. 
 
 In February or March, 1810, he was married, by Rev. Mr. 
 Bradford, to Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel Kelso, one of the 
 sturdy farmers who cleared away the forests, and laid the foun- 
 dations of the civil and religious institutions of the town. His 
 wife was Mary, daughter of John McAllister, and they had nine 
 sons and three daughters, and all lived to adult years. 
 
 Mr. Parkinson's wife was born April 5, 1781. Immediately 
 after his marriage he proceeded to Columbia, and spent the .first 
 twelve years of wedded life there in his log house, in which 
 there were born two sons and two daughters. Here he became 
 involved, and lost his property, partly in consequence of being 
 " bound," and having to pay another's debt, and partly by an 
 investment in lumber, which was rendered unsalable by the 
 " Embargo," and became disheartened. But his noble wife was 
 
405 
 
 equal to the position in which this change of fortune placed 
 her. Before leaving New Boston she professed her faith in 
 Christ and all the precious promises of the Bible, by uniting 
 with the Presbyterian Church. And the hope she had pro- 
 fessed gave full proof of its genuineness : in the darkest and 
 stormiest hour it was an anchor to her soul, sure and steadfast. 
 Possessing, by nature, a cheerful temperament, untiring energy, 
 a fortitude which succombed to no hardship, a love which many 
 waters could not quench, and a clearness of perception which 
 never failed to distinguish between a lowly position and low- 
 ness of character; — with these natural gifts rooted in, and 
 vitalized and beautified by, the faith which is the substance of 
 things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen ; 
 
 " Let cares like a wild deluge come, 
 And storms of sorrow fall ; " 
 
 still she could move calmly on in the path Providence had as- 
 signed her, without a faltering step or a murmuring lip, and 
 wear herself out in feeding, clothing, instructing, counselling, 
 and inspiring with self-respect, courage, and hope, the little 
 flock to whom she was far more then wealth and high position. 
 And in the rich triumphs of faith she went to her eternal rest 
 March 4, 1837, aged 56. 
 
 In 1821 Mr. Parkinson with his wife and children returned 
 to New Boston, and lived near the base of Joe English, not far 
 from the school-house in Captain Lamson's district. In that 
 school-house the children, born in Columbia, were baptized by 
 Rev. Mr. Bradford, as there was no church in that settlement. 
 The scene at their baptizing is described as most intensely in- 
 teresting and solemn. In that little red house Mr. Parkinson's 
 children, for the first time, attended school ; whatever they had 
 learned before had been taught them by their faithful mother. 
 In speaking of that school the Rev. Royal Parkinson, their 
 fourth child, thus speaks : " Among the best remembered school- 
 mates of those days were Clark B. Cochrane, the sons of James 
 Wason, and the elder sons and daughters of Dea. Robert "Wason. 
 My brother Henry and sister Frances attended at the same 
 time ; and my impression is that Gerry Whiting Cochrane, 
 brother of Clark B., and one or two of their sisters, attended 
 
406 
 
 that first winter school. From it have come three college grad- 
 uates, two ministers, one minister's wife, one lawyer, judge 
 and member of congress, one state senator, one alderman, at 
 least four leading and successful city merchants ; all reliable 
 men, of sterling character, and not less than half a score of suc- 
 cessful teachers. Perhaps I should be justified in adding to 
 this catalogue a poetess, since, if L. Theresa Lamson, now 
 Wason, was not my schoolmate, and I am not sure, she was 
 my pupil, for I subsequently taught there, as did my sister 
 Frances." 
 
 Royal Parkinson, the second son of Robert, was born in 
 Columbia November 8, 1815. When but eight years old he 
 went to live with Captain James F. Buxton, " a man in whom," 
 he says, " I never saw a mean act ; and that his wife was a 
 woman of great kindness and worth, no inhabitant of New 
 Boston need be told." After four years Captain Buxton remov- 
 ing to Nashua, young Parkinson labored in different places 
 during summers and attended or taught schools winters ; aid- 
 ing his mother in the support of the family. " Among my 
 teachers," he says, " in New Boston were Augusta Kelso, now 
 Lawrence, B. B. and C. B. Cochrane, Putman Bradford, David 
 Atwood, and William and Jesse Beard. The last named had 
 few equals, and I have never known his superior, as a teacher. 
 My fitting for college," he continues, " was away from New 
 Boston, but yet under New Boston inspiration and auspices. 
 Prominent among those who inspired me with courage to make 
 the attempt, outside of my own family, were Mr. Bradford, and 
 by their kind words and worthy example Edward Buxton and 
 Clark B. Cochrane, and chief among those who aided me in 
 executing it, were Captain Buxton and his wife. During the 
 time of my academical studies they resided in Nashua, and 
 the greater part of the time I had a home with them, and all 
 its conveniences and comforts, in exchange for what 'chores' 
 I did, more or less." 
 
 Mr. Parkinson entered Dartmouth College in the spring of 
 1889 and graduated in 1842, and entered immediately the 
 office of Hon. George Y. Sawyer, of Nashua, as a law-student, and 
 was connected with it two years, though engaged in teaching 
 the larger part of the time. In the mean time old religious 
 
407 
 
 impressions made at New Boston in the great revival of 1881 
 were revived, deepened, and culminated in new and higher views 
 of life and its end, and he turned from the law to the gospel. 
 He entered Union Theological Seminary, New York city, 
 and spent two years there, and the third at Andover, graduat- 
 ing in 1847. He at once began to Labor at Capo Elizabeth, 
 Me., where he was ordained over the Congregational Church 
 October 18, 1848, and was united in marriage witli Joanna. 
 Griffin, of Brunswick, Me., November 21 of the same yen-. 
 "And now, 1 ' says he, in speaking of himself " I am here in 
 Randolph, Vt., ministering to a worthy church and people; 
 and one member of the church, among the most worthy, is a 
 granddaughter of Deacon Robert Patterson, of New Boston. 
 Three miles from here, on the railroad, there is another village 
 in town; the leading mercantile firm in it is one noted 
 throughout the county for its reliability, its strict integrity; 
 the church, the Sabbath school, and everything good has in it 
 friends and supporters; it is Amos W. Tewksbury and sons 
 from New Boston." 
 
 Mary (daughter of Robert Parkinson ) is connected with the 
 School of Designs, Cooper Institute, New York; Benry, is a 
 merchant in Nashua, and be married Lydia Wilson, of Antrim; 
 Eliza became the wife of Mr. McKean, of Manchester, and has 
 deceased; Francos became the wife of Rev. Mr. Wheeler, of 
 Roxbury, Mass., and has four children ; Caroline is a teacher 
 in Worcester Seminary, Mass. ; John K. is in California; and 
 Clara married Henry Herrick, designer and engraver, Brooklyn, 
 New York, and has four children. 
 
 John Goodhue. — In November, 1636, the Etev. Nathaniel 
 Rogers, formerly minister of Assington in Suffolk, England, 
 came over to this country, and was soon followed by William 
 Goodhue and sixteen others, all members of bis church. Said 
 Goodhue was deacon of the first church in Ipswich; was in 
 high reputation as a man of piety, integrity, and wisdom. For 
 many years he served the town as selectman, moderator, and 
 representative, lie died, at an advanced age, in 1699 or 1700. 
 His children were Joseph, William, and Alary: .Joseph, was 
 deacon of the first church with his father; William was dea- 
 con of the second church. History says both men were of like 
 respectability with their father. 
 
408 
 
 Joseph died in September, 1697. By his third wife, Mercy, 
 he had one son whose name was Samuel, who was born April 
 6, 1696. Samuel married Abigail Bartlett, and settled in 
 Stratham, N. H. He afterwards moved to Nottingham, where 
 he was deacon of the Congregational Church for many years. 
 He subsequently removed to Hollis, N. H., and died the 7th 
 of November, 1785, in the ninetieth year of his age, triumphant- 
 ly supported by the religion he had long professed and en- 
 joyed. 
 
 John, the youngest of his eight children, married Olive 
 Taylor, and resided in Hollis, and afterwards in Groton, N. H., 
 where he died in 1818, aged eighty-four. Their children were 
 six. John 2d, the eldest, married Hannah Parham, and resided 
 in Hollis, N. H., afterwards in Amherst, N. H. Thence he re- 
 moved to New Boston in 1796 or 1797, where he was in busi- 
 ness as a merchant till the winter of 1816-17, when he 
 removed to Westfield, Ohio, where he remained till his death. 
 
 Joseph (A) Goodhue, the second of the five children of John 
 2d, was born in Hollis, N. H., 1789 ; removed with his father 
 to Amherst, thence to New Boston. He married Betsey Felch 
 November 15, 1818. He resided for nearly two years in Med- 
 ford, Mass., when he returned to New Boston, where he still 
 remains. 
 
 Their children were five, three sons and two daughters. 
 Amos B. Goodhue was born January 22, 1821. He graduated 
 at Dartmouth College in 1845. In a few months after his 
 graduation he married Elvira, daughter of David Patten, Esq., 
 of Hancock, N. H., and went to Alabama, where in the course 
 of a year or two he became Professor in Howard College at 
 Marrion, where he still remains. 
 
 Leonard F. Goodhue was born Oct. 23, 1822. He entered 
 the Sophomore class in Dartmouth College in 1844, and died 
 at the commencement of his Junior year, having attained a 
 high position in his class as a scholar. 
 
 Joseph Addison Goodhue. (See page 161.) 
 
 Ann married Dr. Eaton for her first husband; for her second, 
 Mr. Edwin Tilden, of Boston. 
 
 Mary became the wife of Mr. Fuller, and after his death, of 
 Rev. Mr. Weeks ; and is now dead. 
 
409 
 
 Mr. Gooodlmc married, for his second wife, Ann Crosby, of 
 Milford, by whom he has one daughter, Sarah L. 
 
 Capt. Matthew Fairfield. — Capt. Matthew Fairfield com- 
 manded a company during' the war of the Revolution, and was 
 sent by the War Department to quell the Tory insurrections, or 
 mobs, that existed in New Hampshire, and particularly in Hills- 
 borough County, where the old loyal Scotch element so largely 
 predominated. The duty assigned him was like that of our 
 provost marshals. There are those living who remember to 
 have seen and read his first proclamation to the rebels. His 
 greatest troubles were in New Boston, where the Tories had 
 their rendezvous. But it appears that here he found friends, 
 and soon after the war he moved his family from Wenham, 
 Mass., to New Boston, and settled on a tract of land in the 
 south part of the town, where he resided until his death, in 
 1814, which was occasioned by the falling of a tree. 
 
 His wife was Abigail Ayers, of Haverhill, Mass. They had 
 but one child, John. 
 
 Capt. Fairfield was a man of much intelligence, and was 
 often entrusted with important business, serving the town in a 
 variety of ways with great fidelity. 
 
 John Fairfield, Esq. — He was son of Capt. Matthew Fair- 
 field, came to this town with his father when a small lad, and 
 at his father's death inherited the homestead, as the only child. 
 He married Hetty Baker, of Wenham, Mass., by whom he had 
 twelve children, only two of whom survive : Josiah W., of Hud- 
 son, N. Y., the second child, and Mrs. Warren, of Manchester, 
 the youngest. Mr. Fairfield's wife died Sept. 8, 1840, aged 62. 
 Afterwards he married Mrs. Stevens, of New Boston, and died 
 Feb. 17, 1854, aged 81. His widow died in 180:3. 
 
 Mr. Fairfield, like his father, was a very intelligent man, and 
 possessed of business capacity, which was often called into 
 requisition. 
 
 John Cochran, Esq. — It appears that James Cochran came 
 to this country in 1717, and died in Londonderry in 1718. 
 The name of his wife is unknown. 
 
 His son Thomas was born 1702, and died Nov. 20, 1791, 
 known as the first Deacon Thomas Cochran, of New Boston j 
 
 52 
 
410 
 
 and his wife was Jennet Adams, of Londonderry, born 1708, 
 and died June 21, 1784. 
 
 James, the son of this Deacon Thomas, was born in 1731, 
 and died April 21, 1772. His wife was Christian Aiken, born 
 1734, and died Aug. 22, 1819. She was daughter of Nathaniel 
 Aiken, who was born May 14, 1696, and died Dec. 1, 1783, 
 having married, Dec. 1, 1726, Margaret, daughter of James 
 Cochran ; and this Nathaniel Aiken was the son of Edward, 
 who was born in 1660, and died in 1747, having married Barby 
 Edwards in 1663, who died in 1747. Thus John Cochran, Esq., 
 was the son of Dea. Thomas, who was the son of James. 
 
 John Cochran, Esq., was born Eeb. 27, 1769, and died May 
 16, 1857. He married Frances, daughter of Dr. Jonathan 
 Gove. She was born Nov. 25, 1774, and died Jan. 5, 1826. 
 Their children were : 
 
 Lucinda, born Nov. 12, 1794, and died Dec. 27, 1856, be- 
 coming the wife of , Feb. 26, 1819. 
 
 Frances, born July 12, 1796 ; married Rev. J. W. Perkins 
 Dec. 28, 1824, and they now live in New Chester, Adams 
 County, Wisconsin. 
 
 Charles E., born July 7, 1798, and died April 20, 1814. 
 
 Harriet, born July 30, 1800, and died Jan. 13, 1826. 
 
 Rodney G., born Dec. 1, 1802 ; married, May 1, 1828, and 
 now lives in Francestown. 
 
 Jeremiah S., born Jan. 16, 1805 ; became a physician, and 
 died at Sandusky, Ohio, July 6, 1845 ; marrying, Jan. 1, 1837, 
 Sarah T., daughter of Hon. M. Far well, of Sandusky, a most 
 estimable woman, who died in 1842, by whom he had four chil- 
 dren, one of whom is the wife of J. M. Osborn, Esq., of Day- 
 ton, Ohio, and another is a soldier in the Army of the Cumber- 
 land. 
 
 Jonathan, born March 28, 1807 ; married Nov. 26, 1840, and 
 now resides at Elgin, Min., Wabashaw Co. 
 
 Samuel C, born May 6, 1809 ; married June 22, 1837, and 
 resides at St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 Sarah Jane A., deaf and mute, born Nov. 12, 1812, and died 
 Sept. 23, 1828, at the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, Hartford, Ct. 
 
 Charles, born June 9, 1816 ; married May 27, 1847 ; now a 
 practising physician in Toledo, Ohio. 
 
411 
 
 Alexander McCollom. — With his wife Jennet, Mr. McCol- 
 lom came from Londonderry, Ireland, about the year 1730, and 
 settled in Londonderry, N. H. His children were Alexander, 
 Thomas, Jean, Robert, Archibald, John, Jennet. 
 
 Alexander married Elizabeth McMurphy, and settled in this 
 town, on the farm now owned by George Adams, in 1758, more 
 than a mile east of the Presbyterian Church. He was chosen 
 clerk at the first meeting of the town, at Dea. Thomas Coch- 
 ran's house (after its incorporation), March 10, 1763, and held 
 that office without interruption until his death, Jan., 1768. 
 His children were Jennet, Jean, John, Elizabeth, and Alex- 
 ander. 
 
 Jennet married Eliphalet Duston, and settled in Francestown, 
 and died in the city of Manchester, at the residence of Dr. L. 
 Farley, July 8, 1854, age 95 years 9 months. She was married 
 at the age of 16, and proved a woman of rare excellences of 
 mind and heart. She reared a family of eight children, two 
 others dying before reaching maturity ; united with the Pres- 
 byterian Church in 1776, then under the charge of Rev. Sol- 
 omon Moor, by whom all her children were baptized, and lived 
 a life in harmony with her sacred profession. Her relation to 
 the church extended through a period of seventy-eight years, 
 while her married life was fifty-nine. She outlived all her chil- 
 dren but three, with one of whom she died, possessed of much 
 of the mental and physical energy of earlier days, and in the 
 glorious hope of immortality. 
 
 Jean married Thomas Millen, and settled in Newbury, Vt. 
 
 John died 1783, aged 22. 
 
 Elizabeth married Zachariah Duston. 
 
 Alexander retained the homestead, and in 1784 married 
 Mary, daughter of Robert Patterson, and their children were 
 John, Elizabeth, Robert, Rodney, Alexander, Fanny, Elbridge, 
 Mary, Milton, Haskell, Clarissa, George W., and two that died 
 young. This Alexander McCollom held the office of Selectman 
 several years, and was a very energetic and industrious man. 
 He removed to Mont Vernon in 1820, where he died 1 1843, 
 aged 77, and his widow died in 1854, at the age of 79. Of 
 their children, John settled in Claremont, and married Betsey 
 Chase, their children being Clarissa and Annis ; he died in 1822, 
 aged 34. 
 
412 
 
 Elizabeth married John McLane, of Francestown, and their 
 children were Niel, Alexander, John, Charles, Rodney, Mary 
 Isabel, Nancy Jane, George W., Elizabeth, Clara, Sarah, Hellen, 
 Marion, and Robert E. 
 
 Robert died in Batavia, N. Y., 1825, aged 35, unmarried. 
 Rodney married Naomi, daughter of the late David Wilson, and 
 their children are : David A., who married Martha, daughter of 
 Levi Cochran ; Arabella, who married Foster Allen, and they 
 reside in Manchester, Mass. ; and Mary Rebecca. 
 
 Alexander married Mary Goodrich, of Merrimac, and settled 
 as a physician in Pittston, Me., where he now resides. 
 
 Fanny resides in Lowell, Mass. ; Elbridge, married Mary 
 Jane, daughter of Hon. Jonathan Harvey, of Sutton, and 
 their children are Elizabeth, Hannah, and Thomas Benton. 
 
 Milton married Sophronia Trow, and lived in Mont Vernon, 
 their children being Charles, John, Mary, and Francis ; 
 ■ Milton died in 1852, aged 49 ; Mary died in 1825, aged 20 ; 
 Haskel married and lived in Lancaster, Mass., and his chil- 
 dren are Mary, Caroline, George, and Harriet ; Clarrisa, 
 married Lemuel Marden, and they reside in New Boston ; 
 George W. married Mary Jane Stephens, of Mont Vernon, 
 and they live in New York city. 
 
 Robert Campbell. — The Campbells are Scotch-Irish in 
 their origin, and made their first settlement in Townsend, 
 Mass. Robert, the subject of this sketch, was the son of 
 Robert, who died at Townsend Feb. 12, 1792, and married 
 Elizabeth, daughter of James and Mary Waugh ; and this 
 Elizabeth died Dec. 5, 1796, and her father died May 18, 1802, ' 
 and her mother died 1800. Robert Campbell (the second) 
 was born in Townsend, Mass., June 4, 1742, and died Jan. 18, 
 1827. He married Elizabeth Waugh, who was born in 1750 
 and died in 1831. Their marriage transpired Dec. 8, 1767 ? 
 and they came to New Boston in 1770, and settled on a tract 
 of land in the east part of the town, where his grandson Dan- 
 iel Campbell, Esq., now resides. It was a rough tract of land, 
 but containing rich soil and excellent timber. Their first habi- 
 tation was the rudest structure of round logs, and few and far 
 distant were their neighbors, dark and dense were the forests 
 on every hand, made more dark by frightful beasts of prey; 
 
413 
 
 but stout hearts and strong arms soon converted the wilder- 
 ness into a fruitful field. Mr. Campbell's wife was a resolute, 
 christian woman ; and they both resolved to clear the land and 
 'build houses for the Lord's sake, and they ever kept their eye 
 upon the interest of religion, as well as civilization, and hal- 
 lowed the Sabbath and sanctified all things with prayer. The 
 war of the Revolution came just when they were beginning to 
 enjoy a little comfort, but they both cordially embraced the 
 cause of the Patriots, and he bared his bosom to the weapons 
 of the Royalist, and she encouraged him in his patriotism, and 
 fearlessly took upon herself the care of the household and the 
 management of the farm. While near Ticonderoga, he was 
 taken prisoner by the Indians, together with James Caldwell 
 and Josiah Warren, stripped of their clothing, and subjected to 
 much suffering ; but after some months were exchanged, and 
 came home on a furlough in great destitution, but cheerfully 
 returned to the service again. Mr. Campbell could not toler- 
 ate Tories, and whenever they assembled for treasonable pur- 
 poses, his horse was always fleetest of foot to bear him to their 
 rendezvous, to aid in dispersing them. Mr. Campbell was an 
 honest man, a kind neighbor, as well as a firm patriot, and was 
 often intrusted with business for the town, and took a lively 
 interest in the institutions of religion. 
 
 His children were: Daniel, born Oct. 18,17G8,and died Oct. 
 6, 1795 ; James, born Oct. 15, 1770 ; Thomas, born April 7, 
 1773, and died Jan. 7, 1852 ; Elizabeth, born April 7, 1775 
 and died Dec. 4, 1856 ; Robert, born March 6, 1777 ; John, 
 born March 22, 1779 ; Samuel, born Aug. 27,1782 ; an infant, 
 April 18, 1784 ; Josiah, born June 3, 1785 ; David and Jona- 
 than, May 28, 1787; Mary Gove, born, June 22, 1789; Sallie, 
 born Sept. 16, 1792. 
 
 James went to Hartland, Vt., where he died without chil- 
 dren, having married Sallie Weed Dec, 1795 ; Elizabeth mar- 
 ried Samuel Christie, of Antrim, Dec. 20, 1814, and he died 
 Oct. 25, 1818, and she died at New Boston Dec. 4, 1856, aged 
 81. Mrs. Christie was a lady of a highly cultivated mind and 
 christian heart, in sympathy with every good cause; the im- 
 press of the Master was clearly seen upon her, and when he 
 called she was ready to go. The influence of her life, and her 
 
414 
 
 sweet serenity in death, were a wondrous proof of the sancti- 
 fying effect of .religion. 
 
 Robert was born March 6, 1777, went to Hartland, Yt., mar- 
 ried Huldah Hackett, and died, leaving two daughters : Mary 
 Ann, who became the wife of Samael M. Christie, and Sarah 
 Jane, who became the wife of Reuben R. Dutton, and resided 
 at Hartford, Vt. Mr. Dutton died in 1856. 
 
 John was born March 22, 1779, went to Waitsfield, Vt., 
 married Maria Louise Whitney June, 1801, by whom he had 
 nine children, of whom there are now living : Calista, John 
 S., James and Mary Gove. He died March 23, 1852. 
 
 Samuel was born Aug. 27, 1782, was many years a school 
 teacher in Boston, and subsequently located on one of the 
 best farms in Mont Vernon ; he married Rebecca Kingsbury, 
 of Dedham, Mass., by whom he has had two children : Eliza- 
 beth M. (deceased) and William Henry. 
 
 Josiah was born June 3, 1785, went to Waitsfield, Vt., and 
 married Abagail Cary Jan., 1813, by whom he had five, chil- 
 dren : Robert, Benjamin, Rebecca C, Annis C, Josiah, and 
 Hannah A. 
 
 David and Jonathan were born May 28, 1787. David died 
 Oct. 6, 1795, and Jonathan went to Hartland, Vt., and married 
 Elizabeth Wilson Dec, 1812, by whom he had three children, 
 now all dead. He died May 15, 1819. 
 
 Mary Gove was born June 22, 1789, and died, unmarried, 
 June 23, 1840. 
 
 Sallie was born Sept. 16, 1792, and became the wife of John 
 Mclntire, of Goffstownin 1822, and had one child that died 
 young. Mr. Mclntire died May 20, 1840, and she became the 
 wife of Dea. John French, of Bedford, Aug., 1844, and died 
 May 25, 1861, and she now resides in Goffstown. 
 
 Thomas Campbell. — He was son of Robert, born March 6, 
 1777, inherited the homestead, and married, Oct. 3,1799, Ann, 
 daughter of William Clark, Esq., and died Jan. 7, 1852, and 
 she died Aug. 25, 1857. Mr. Campbell was an excellent citi- 
 zen, and exemplary in the various walks of life, while his wife 
 was an energetic, industrious, high-minded christian lady, 
 adorning the domestic life by many virtues, and, amid all her 
 cares, not forgetting her obligations to God. The largest hos- 
 
415 
 
 pitality in her house was always enjoyed, and the sick and 
 needy ever found in her a friend and helper. She filled a large 
 place in the family and neighborhood. 
 
 Their children were : Annis, born July 9, 1802 ; Daniel, 
 born April 16, 1801 ; Eliza Ann, born Sept. 5, 1807, and died 
 March 23, 1808 ; William C, born Sept. 16, 1810, and Eliza- 
 beth L., born April 13, 1816. 
 
 Annis married Leonard C. French, Jr., Esq., June 1, 1831, 
 and they live in Bedford, their children being : Clinton, born 
 October 24, 1832 ; Elmira T., born May 1, 1835, and became 
 the wife of Thomas R. Cochran, of New Boston, January 1, 
 1863 ; William C, born December 18, 1838 ; and Robert C, 
 born January 2, 1845. 
 
 Daniel married Sabrina R., daughter of John Moor, and 
 granddaughter of Rev. Solomon Moor, November 6, 1834, who 
 died February 11, 1846, aged 38, by whom he had five chil- 
 dren ; Clark, born March 17, 1836, and married November 27, 
 1862, Ann Perkins, of Mont Vernon, where they now reside ; 
 Alfred M., born May 14, 1838 ; John, born May 1, 1840, and 
 •died November 17, 1840 ; John and Sabrina, born February 11, 
 1846, the latter dying April 18, 1846. 
 
 Mr. Campbell married, for his second wife, December 2, 1847, 
 Matilda Moor, and they have two children : Hamilton M., born 
 August 29, 1848, and Mary Ann, born March 27, 1851. 
 
 William C. went to Conway, Mass., in 1838, and is engaged 
 in mercantile business ; he married Emma Ames, and they 
 have six children: Almira F., Elizabeth, Emma, Mary Ann, 
 Jesse, and William F. 
 
 Elizabeth L. married Luther McCutchin, and they live in 
 New London, having two children : Robert Sherman and Ann 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 Josiah Warren. — He came from Chelmsford, Mass., son of 
 Ephraim, who married Esther Parker, and this Ephraim seems 
 to have been the son of Joseph, who married Ruth Wheeler 
 March 11, 1696, and died September 30, 1769, while Ephraim 
 seems to have died at Townscnd, Mass., about the year 1784, in 
 his eighty-first year. Josiah Warren came to New Boston from 
 Chelmsford, Mass., about the same time as Robert Campbell, 
 and settled on a tract of land quite near him, and very similar 
 
416 I 
 
 to his, where the late Josiah Warren lived. He married Jane 
 Livingston, sister of the late Lieutenant Robert Livingston, 
 and was a very worthy citizen, a kind neighbor, hospitable to 
 strangers, and a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church. 
 He was a zealous patriot, and was in the army of the Revolution 
 with his friend and neighbor, Robert Campbell, sharing his 
 fate in captivity ; and his wife was worthy of her husband, and 
 of the times in which she lived. 
 
 Their children were : Esther, born May 5, 1768, and died aged 
 86 ; Ephraim, born October 14, 1770 ; Robert, born December 
 24, 1772, and died March 26, 1857, aged 84 ; Josiah, born Oct. 
 15, 1774, and died May 5, 1862 ; Jane, born September 16, 
 1776 ; Mary, born November 9, 1774 ; Ephraim, born November 
 2, 1780, and died December 10, aged 69 ; Sarah, born March 
 1782 ; Elizabeth, born March 27, 1784 ; Salley, born September 
 27, 1786 ; and Mary Ann, born December, 1788. 
 
 Esther married William Duncan, of Antrim ; Zebiah mar- 
 ried Samuel Christy, son of Dea. Jesse Christy, and lived in 
 Antrim ; Robert married Prudence Butterfield, and lived near 
 his father's, and was a worthy citizen and highly esteemed as a 
 Christian, and his children were: John B., who inherited the 
 homestead, and married Lavinia, daughter of the late David 
 Wilson, having children, Alnms, James, George, and AnnisP. ; 
 Josiah inherited his father's farm, and married Hannah Her- 
 ridon, and their children are : Jonathan, who married Mary 
 Peabody, and lives, in Manchester ; Joseph H., who married 
 Adeline Kelso ; Josiah, who married Lucinda Worthley, and 
 lives in Goffstown, his present wife being a McClure ; John D., 
 who married Sophia Jayne, and lives on the homestead ; Jane 
 married Jedediah Tuttle, of Antrim, and was the mother of 
 our worthy townsman, Captain James M. Tuttle ; Mary mar- 
 ried William Livingston, and their children were : Gerry W., 
 Ephraim W., living in Nashua, Mary T., who married Leonard 
 Colburn, having for children William W., a graduate of Dart- 
 mouth and teacher of the high school in the city of Manchester ; 
 Ephraim W. married, and lives in Francestown ; Emma Jane, 
 the wife of Dea. John N. Dodge ; and James L., now in the 
 Army of the Cumberland ; and Jane W. (daughter of Mary 
 and Wm. L.), who married Leonard Cutler, of Frankville, 
 Iowa, and John. 
 
417 
 
 Ephraim (son of Josiah) lived in Goffstown, and was an ex- 
 cellent man, for many years a deacon in the Congregational 
 Church, which office he held at his death, December 10, 1849, 
 aged 69 ; he married Mary Patterson, who died April 8, 1824 : 
 their children being William P., who married Mary Gove 
 Campbell, daughter of the late Robert Warren, and she died 
 September 28, 1854, at the age of 40, leaving five children ; 
 Ephraim, Mary Prances, William Christie, Granville Patter- 
 son, and Sarah Jane Patterson. 
 
 Jane, who married Cyrus Clough, of Hillsborough, and has 
 three sons living; Robert, who married Mary, daughter of 
 John Fairfield, Esq., of New Boston, by whom he had one son, 
 Frank ; his second wife was Martha Butterfield ; Mary, who 
 married Horace Richards, of Goffstown, and died leaving six 
 children : Henry, Mary Annis, George, Ephraim, Edward, and 
 Tyler. 
 
 Dea. Ephraim Warren married for his second wife Beulah 
 Mussey, sister of the celebrated Dr. Reuben D. Mussey, by 
 whom he had four children : John M., Esther Duncan, George, 
 who inherits the homestead, and married, June 25, 1863, L. 
 Abbie, daughter of Jeremiah Burnham, of New Boston ; and 
 Julia Ann. 
 
 James Caldwell, Esq. — He was son of James Caldwell, of 
 Londonderry, one of the Proprietors, and settled on a tract of 
 land where Samuel Jones now lives, but subsequently sold, 
 and built on land adjoining the farms of Robert Campbell and 
 Josiah Warren, and these three men lived on terms of great 
 intimacy until death separated them. Their early hardships 
 were similar, and their experience of captivity by the Indians 
 was the same. These three men were captured during the war 
 of the Revolution, near Ticonderoga, and after a captivity of 
 about three months were liberated, by exchange, on the last 
 Wednesday of May, election day in Massachusetts ; and an- 
 nually afterwards they celebrated that event by a feast which 
 they called the Feast of Purim. Alternately at each other's 
 houses the feast was year by year prepared, when the three men, 
 with their wives, breakfasted together, and at dinner all the 
 children and grandchildren were assembled, with such neigh- 
 bors and friends as they chose to invite to partake at tables that 
 
 53 
 
418 
 
 groaned with smoking meats, pudding, and pies, such as wives 
 of those days prepared to grace the festive board. After the 
 repast they gave themselves up to shooting at targets, pitching 
 of quoits, wrestling, running, and such other sports as were in 
 vogue at that period. And thus these families were strongly 
 bound to each other, living in unbroken friendship, and aiding 
 each in a variety of ways in subduing the forests, in multiply- 
 ing their domestic comforts, and promoting the happiness of the 
 community. 
 
 Esquire Caldwell was an energetic man, qualified for trans- 
 acting business, with which he was often entrusted ; he was 
 intelligent beyond many of his contemporaries, and loved to give 
 and receive a joke ; a kind neighbor and a true patriot ; and in 
 Revolutionary times he was a terror to evildoers ; and with his 
 two friends, Campbell and Warren, often made the conclaves 
 of treasonable Tories disperse like chaff before the wind. 
 
 Esquire Caldwell's children were Elizabeth, Mary Ann, 
 Solomon Moor, Alexander, Sarah, Jacob, Hannah, and James. 
 Alexander was born February 4, 1773, and settled near his 
 father. 
 
 Dea. William Moor. — He was one of a large family in Lon- 
 donderry, and came to New Boston among its earliest settlers. 
 Allen Moor, who first settled in the north part of the town, and 
 subsequently in the southeast, on a tract of land now owned 
 by R. B. Cochrane, was his brother, and died unmarried, leaving 
 a highly-productive farm to a relative. Dea. William Moor 
 settled the farm now owned by Calvin Fuller, in the western 
 part of the town. His children were Thomas, Robert, Mar- 
 tha, Molly, John, George, William, Hannah, Tristram, Eliza- 
 beth, and Anna. He moved into New Brunswick, near Passa- 
 maquoddy Bay, about 1786, and the river St. Croix ; Alexan- 
 der McAllister, Peter, James, and John Cristy, and some others 
 accompanied, or soon after followed him. Inducements were 
 held out to those in the States who had not sympathized with 
 the Revolutionary movements, to settle there, and these men 
 availed themselves of the flattering though partially deceitful 
 proffers. Dea. Moor was one of the first elders in the Presby- 
 terian Church, and possessed a competence, and reared an 
 interesting family. 
 
419 
 
 Mrs. Moor was a resolute, high-spirited woman, and encour- 
 aged her husband in going into that new settlement, where they 
 both died. A daughter of their son John is the present wife of 
 Daniel Campbell, Esq. 
 
 Capt. Joseph Lamson. — He was son of Jonathan, who was 
 son of William, who was son of William, Danish in origin. 
 This last William emigrated to this country in the year 1637, 
 and settled in what is now called Hamilton, Mass. Jonathan 
 was born in 1720, and died Aug. 1G, 1808. His wife, Anna 
 Whipple, died Aug. 29, 1791. Their children were : William, 
 born 1745, and died Nov., 1800 ; Jonathan, born Aug. 3, 1747, 
 and died Sept. 28, 1825 ; Francis, born Oct. 4, 1749, and died 
 May 13, 1831 ; Nathaniel, born June, 1751, and died May 13, 
 1806 ; Lydia, born Aug. 4, 1753, and died Aug. 25, 1753 ; 
 Anna, born Aug. 4, 1753, and died Feb., 1835 ; Benjamin, horn 
 June 7, 1755, lost at sea June, 1780 ; Lydia, born June 20, 
 1757, and died Jan. 27, 1759 ; Joseph, born Oct. 22, 1759 ; 
 Lydia, born Oct. 22, 1729, and died Dec. 28, 1759 ; a child, 
 born Oct. 7, 1761 ; and Asa, born June 20, 1764, and perished 
 at sea. 
 
 William married Mary Lummus, of Hamilton, Mass., and 
 settled in Mont Vernon, and died in 1800, his son William suc- 
 ceeding him on the homestead, which is in possession of Wil- 
 liam O. Lamson, the grandson of William the first ; Jonathan 
 lived and died on the homestead in Hamilton ; Francis settled 
 in Beverly, Mass., being a hatter by trade ; Nathaniel was a 
 merchant, and died in Beverly ; Anna married Edward Patch ; 
 Asa lived in Beverly, Mass. 
 
 Mr. Joseph Lamson came to New Boston in 1787, having 
 married Sarah Patch Sept. 8, 1784, and bought the farm settled 
 by Daniel McAllister. He had followed the sea for several 
 years, and served in the war of the Revolution. He was in the 
 battles of Bennington and Stillwater ; served as a privateer on 
 the sea. He was one among the number who threw the tea 
 overboard in Boston harbor in 1773. After peace was restored 
 he continued the occupation of seaman, until he removed with 
 his family to New Boston, where he resided at his death, Nov. 
 12, 1843, at the age of 84 years. 
 
 He was a man of good sense and sound judgment. Having 
 
420 
 
 been a close observer of men and things in foreign countries, 
 he always had a fund of information at command for all classes. 
 Being an upright and conscientious man, he possessed the con- 
 fidence of his neighbors, and those with whom he had business 
 transactions. He was greatly endeared to his family and friends 
 for his many social qualities, and was tenderly loved and 
 respected by his grandchildren, always giving them a cordial 
 welcome to his fireside and table. He was a great reader, 
 especially of the Bible, making it a daily practice to read a 
 portion of it, with Scott's comments, usually adding his own. 
 The Sabbath he sacredly observed. For many years he was in 
 the daily habit of rendering thanks to the great Giver, and 
 imploring a continuance of his many favors. Having a reten- 
 tive memory, the history he had read in early life was a great 
 source of pleasure to him in his declining years. 
 
 His wife died March 25, 1856, aged 91. Mrs. Lamson was 
 a superior lady, highly intelligent, and cultivated in her man- 
 ners. Until her death she received and read a weekly journal, 
 — " The Farmer's Cabinet," published at Amherst, — and never 
 allowed the world, with its inventions, improvements, and rev- 
 olutions to leave her in the rear. She was young at ninety- 
 one, with the vivacity and freshness of youth, adorned with the 
 graces of sincere piety, and in her death was witnessed a blessed 
 triumph of grace. 
 
 Their children were : Sally, born June 3, 1786, who died Aug. 
 25, 1848 ; Polly H.,born Feb. 4, 1788 ; Joseph, born April 22, 
 1790, lost at sea 1813 ; John, born March 15, 1793 ; Asa, born 
 Oct. 17, 1795 ; and Theresa, born Sept. 6, 1797. 
 
 Sally died unmarried, but not unlamented ; her piety was 
 attractive, and while it adorned her it blessed others, and grace 
 gave her the victory. 
 
 Asa married Sally D. Locke, of Andover, Mass., Dec. 12, 
 1826. He lived, where Mr. Jaquith resides, for many years, 
 and died in Andover, Mass., Aug. 24, 1860, leaving four chil- 
 dren : Martha D., who married Gabriel H. DeBevoise, a grad- 
 uate of Andover Theological Seminary; Samuel L. ; Sarah 
 Patch, who became the wife of Rev. Everts Scudder, of Kent, 
 Conn., in 1859 ; and Emilina. 
 
 John succeeded his father on the homestead, and married 
 
J.RihiKurd s Littu 
 
 frn^i Jzft 
 
 &z<<r7^7cr>^- 
 
421 
 
 Sally Gage, of Merrimac, Feb. 15, 1820. He was commis- 
 sioned second lieutenant of the company of cavalry in the 
 ninth regiment in 1820, and first lieutenant by Governor S. 
 Bell, and as captain bj r Governor D. L. Morrill in 1826, and at 
 his own request was honorably discharged in 1829. Capt. 
 Lamson's children are : Sarah Theresa, born March 18, 1821 ; 
 Joseph Walter, born Nov. 13, 1822 ; Orrilla Angeline, born 
 April 13, 1826 ; Ruth A., born May 4, 1828 ; John H., born 
 Aug. 13, 1830 ; Mary E. Gage, born Jan. 4, 1823, and died 
 Feb. 17, 1853 ; George Frederick, born Sept. 5, 1837, and died 
 July 10, 1863, at Baton Rouge, La., member of the Ninth 
 Regiment N. H. Vols. ; Sarah Theresa married Abram Wason 
 Feb. 22, 1843, and they have one son, Eugene ; Joseph W. 
 married Ann Elizabeth Pearson Nov. 3, 1852, and lives in Man- 
 chester ; Ruth A. married Winthrop G. Harrington Nov. 3, 
 1852, and lives in Cambridgeport, Mass., their children being 
 Mary E. G., John Lamson, Sarah R., and George E. ; John H. 
 married Elmira W. Sargent Aug. 3, 1853, and lives in New 
 Boston, their children being Joseph W., Mary E., and Emma H. 
 
 Mary E. (daughter of Capt. Lamson) died Feb. 17, 1853, an 
 estimable young lady, of rare piety and mental endowments. 
 
 Daniel Dane. — He came to New Boston from Ipswich, Mass., 
 in 1780, son of Daniel, who died 1768, aged 52, and was born 
 April 29, 1716, his wife being Abigail Burnham, born in 1717, 
 their children being : Abigail, who was born Dec. 1, 1740, lived 
 and died in Ipswich, her second husband being a Mr. Patch ; 
 Lydia, born Dec. 7, 1741, and married Thomas Appleton, and 
 lived in Beverly, where she died at the age of 103 ; Daniel, who 
 was born Aug. 14, 1743, and died Aug. 7, 1819 ; Samuel, who 
 was born Feb. 23, 1745, and died in Beverly of small-pox ; Eliz- 
 abeth, born Oct. 4, 1746, who married a Mr. Ellen wood, and 
 lived in Beverly ; John, born Nov. 8, 1748, and lived in Bev- 
 erly ; Sarah, born Oct. 31, 1750, who married a Mr. Waters, 
 and lived in Beverly ; Nathan, born Dec. 27, 1752, was an em- 
 inent lawyer, and died in Beverly in 1835 ; Lucy, born Oct. 3, 
 1754 ; Joseph and Benjamin, twins, born July 13, 1756 ; Mar- 
 tha, born July 6, 1758, marrying for her first husband a Mr. 
 Ellenwood, and lived in Ipswich, and for her second husband 
 she married Thomas Whipple, and moved to Dunbarton, N. H., 
 
422 
 
 about 1800, where their descendants may now be found ; Jo- 
 seph, born April 29, 1760. 
 
 The foregoing were the brothers and sisters of the Daniel 
 Dane who came to New Boston in 1780. He married Sarah, 
 daughter of John Goodhue, of Ipswich, Mass., and bought the 
 farm settled by David Scoby, where his son, Dea. Samuel Dane 
 now lives. He was a man of much energy and decision of 
 character, and was a steadfast friend of the Presbyterian 
 Church, of which he was a member. 
 
 His children were : Sarah, born Nov. 20, 1771, who married 
 Andrew Taylor, and lived in Bennington, having three chil- 
 dren, Sarah, Daniel, and "William, she dying March 28, 1798 ; 
 Daniel, born Sept. 17, 1773, and died young ; Elizabeth, born 
 April 13, 1775, and died young ; Daniel, born Sept. 13, 1776, 
 married Nancy Aiken, of Deering, and lived in New Boston, 
 where he died in May, 1834, leaving four children, Nathan, 
 Sally, Hammond, and Nancy ; Elizabeth, born Jan, 33, 1779, 
 and married Abner Starrett, of Prancestown, and is now living 
 in China, Me., having seven children, Abner, Daniel, William, 
 Betsey, Lucinda, Sarah and David ; Samuel, born March 19, 
 1781 ; John died an infant ; John, born April, 29, 1784, mar- 
 ried Betsey Giddings, and died in New York, leaving children, 
 John, Polly, Betsey, Ursula, Horace, Joseph, Daniel, Otis, and 
 Oliver ; Polly, born Oct. 6, 1786, married Amasa Lewis, of 
 Lyndeborough, and lives in Medforcl, Mass., having children, 
 Samuel, Amasa, Aaron, Sally, Mary, Elizabeth, Abagail, Julia, 
 Horace, and Almina ; Joanna, born Oct. 1, 1789, married Dan- 
 iel Dodge, and lives in New Boston, their children being Al- 
 bert, who died young ; Hiram, who married for his first wife 
 Olive Butterfield, of Francestown, by whom he had one child, 
 and for his second wife Abigail, daughter of Greenough Mar- 
 den, by whom he has children : Polly, who became the wife 
 of the late Cummings Cross, and has one daughter, and Sarah, 
 who married James Hobby, of Charlestown, Mass. ; Lucy, 
 (daughter of Daniel Dane) was born Dec. 7, 1791, and mar- 
 ried Clark Crombie, and they live in South Reading, Mass., 
 having four children. 
 
 Dea. Samuel Dane. — He was formerly better known as 
 Colonel Dane, and was born March 19, 1781, inheriting the 
 
423 
 
 homestead. He married, Dec. 19, 1805, Lucy, daughter of 
 Benjamin Dean, of Francestovvn, by whom he lias had eight 
 children ; Abner, born Nov. 28, 1806, and married, June 9, 
 1840, Louisa, daughter of the late Abner Dodge, and lives in 
 Nashua ; Rodney, born Sept. 5, 1808, married, July 11, 1837, 
 Emily, daughter of James Ridgeway, of Nashua, where he 
 now lives ; Almina, born Sept. 13, 1810, married, April 25, 
 1844, Ebenezer Goodhue, of Hancock, and he died in Nashua 
 Oct. 10, 1862 ; Elizabeth B., born June 6, 1812, and married 
 Butler Trull May 22, 1845, and lives in Decatur, Illinois, 
 having two children, Emily Ann and Mary Elizabeth ; Mary, 
 born April 2, 1814 ; Lucy, born June 11, 1816, and became 
 the wife of Horace Langdell April 29, 1856, and has one 
 child, Sabrina ; Samuel, born April 19, 1818, lives with his 
 father, and married, Nov. 15, 1849, Mary B., daughter of Ab- 
 ner Dodge, and they have had three children, Moses Atwood, 
 Walter Franklin, and Willie Francis; Sabrina A., born April 
 6, 1820, married, Sept. 25, 1845, William Taylor, and died 
 July 8, 1851, having one son, William Henry. 
 
 Robert Hogg. — He came from the north of Ireland, when 
 about twenty-two years old. Was born Feb. 25, 1732 ; his 
 father's name was James. Robert Hogg married Margaret, 
 daughter of Samuel Gregg, of Londonderry ; her mother was 
 Mary Moor. Mrs. Hogg died about five years after the death 
 of her youngest child, of consumption, aged 55 or 56 ; and 
 Mr. Hogg died Jan. 23, 1795 ; both he and his wife were mem- 
 bers of the Presbyterian Church, and were highly esteemed 
 for their consistent piety. Robert Hogg came to New Boston 
 in 1764, and purchased three lots of land, including the farms 
 of Solomon and Israel Dodge and John Cochran, and built 
 his house on the hill just in the rear of Solomon Dodge's 
 house, and there he and his wife died. 
 
 Their children were thirteen in number, some dying young ; 
 Mary married Tobias Butler, a school teacher, and they lived 
 near her father's for awhile, and then moved to Antrim, and 
 subsequently to Hillsborough, where they died, leaving several 
 children — Susan, James, Robert, Margaret, Samuel, Joseph, 
 Thomas, John, and Nancy. 
 
 James, son of Robert, married Jennet Morrison, and moved 
 
424 
 
 to Francestown, then to Ac worth, and subsequently to War- 
 rensville, Ohio. 
 
 William married Elizabeth Ferson, and lived where Mrs. 
 Giddings resides, but subsequently moved to Moretown, Yt., 
 where they died. Nancy married Thomas Patterson, and died 
 in Ohio. John married Polly Brown, and died in Plainfield ; 
 Margaret married Joseph Cochran, afterwards a deacon in the 
 Presbyterian Church, and lived where their son John now 
 resides. 
 
 Robert married Elenor Clark, and died in Alstead. Sarah 
 married Stephen Ferson, and lived where Mr. John Dodge 
 resides. They had an interesting family of children, but all 
 died young save one, who is an idiot. He became poor through 
 intemperance, and died at the poor-farm July 3, 1863, his 
 wife dying some years previous. Samuel married and lived in 
 Walpole. Betsey married Samuel Fisher, and settled in West- 
 ern New York, and subsequently in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Abner Hogg. — He was the son of the foregoing Robert, 
 and was born in Londonderry Feb. 15, 1759, and came with 
 his father to New Boston when five years old, and assisted his 
 father until 1776, when he enlisted in the Revolutionary army, 
 his brother James having been in the battle of Bunker Hill 
 June 17, 1775 ; Abner enlisted June, 1776, under Capt. 
 Barnes, of Lyndeborough, and went to Ticonderoga in the di- 
 vision under Gen. Horatio Gates, and returned in December. 
 The next spring he enlisted for three years under Capt. Liver- 
 more, in the Third New Hampshire Regiment, commanded by 
 Col. Alexander Scammel, and went in the vicinity of Ticonder- 
 oga, and suffered greatly from sickness and frequent skirmishes 
 with the enemy, in one of which he lost everything but his 
 life. He was in the battle at Saratoga, and witnessed the 
 surrender of Burgoyene. Subsequently, he joined Washing- 
 ton's army near Philadelphia, and took-' part in many of those 
 signal conflicts that resulted in our Independence. He was in 
 ten battles, and returned home in May, 1780. He held the 
 office of a sergeant for two years in the army, and drew a 
 pension from the General Government from March, 1831, until 
 his death. 
 Mr. Hogg married, October 21, 1784, Rosamah Ferson, whose 
 
- C/?e <ZJ}as7<?<pc/ Gome &> V^c/^/^y "L <s e<s 
 &6e^ M>&, ^,> ^^ re/e^^ 
 
425 
 
 mother was born in 1718, during a passage across the ocean, 
 and settled, where he died, on the farm now owned by William 
 Bently, his grandson. He lived with his wife in great conju- 
 gal affection, and reared a respectable family. Mr. Hogg was 
 chosen second lieutenant by the town in 1787, at the same 
 time that John McLaughlen was elected captain, all doing ser- 
 vice in one company, and all the officers being chosen, like 
 civil officers, by the town at their legal meetings. In the years 
 1844 and 1845 he was elected to represent the town in the 
 State Legislature, which he did with credit to himself, though 
 more than eighty-five years old. 
 
 Mr. Hogg was for many years a member of the Presbyterian 
 Church, but, in 1805, united with the Baptists. His piety was 
 sincere and his life blameless, performing with great exactness 
 the duties of neighbor, citizen, and christian. Possessed of a 
 firm constitution, and being temperate inhabits and calm in his 
 temperament, he retained both physical and intellectual powers 
 to a remarkable degree, unimpaired even to the last year of his 
 life. To him the writer of this is indebted for many facts that 
 appear in these pages, which otherwise would have been lost. 
 He retained a vivid recollection of many of the earliest settlers, 
 and could give their names and the names of their children 
 with great exactness, and many incidents in their lives he could 
 relate with great accuracy. His conversation was characterized 
 by simplicity and sincerity, loving most of all to dwell on topics 
 relating to our holy religion. He was in sympathy with Christ, 
 and loved his word and ordinances, and died in the comforts of 
 a hope of acceptance through the merits of Jesus October 16, 
 1856, aged ninety-seven years, eight months, and one day. 
 
 The following account of his children was given by Mr. 
 Hogg himself: Sarah F., born July 26, 1785, and died Decem- 
 ber 17, 1842 ; Robert, born June 25, 1787, married, December 
 26, 1811, Joanna, daughter of Livermore Langdell, and died 
 November 3, 1852, having taken, as did some of his brothers, 
 the name of Bently ; his children being three daughters, one of 
 whom, Abagail, became the wife of Hiram Lull, and lives on 
 the first setlled farm in New Boston, settled by Thos. Smith, in 
 the east part of the town — and two sons : William, with whom 
 Mr. Abner Hogg died, and Abner, who died in 1855 ; Hannah, 
 
 54 
 
426 
 
 born July 5, 1790, and died the same year ; Hannah, born 
 October 17, 1792, and married Stephen Bennet; Jennet F., 
 born June 9, 1799, married Asa Andrews, and lives in John- 
 son, Vt., having four children: Polly L., born July 2,1802, 
 married Samuel Andrews, and lives in Johnson, Vt. ; Rebecca, 
 born May 11, 1806, and died September 12, 1807 ; Sarah, the 
 oldest daughter, married David Tewksbury, and lived in New 
 Boston. 
 
 Amos Wood Tewksbury, Esq. — His father, David, was born 
 September 12, 1776, the son of Henry and Hannah C. Tewks- 
 bury, of Weare, and married April 3, 1797, Betsey, daughter 
 of Moses Lull, of Weare, and settled in New Boston in 1800, on 
 the farm now owned by his son, D. A. Tewksbury. His wife 
 died May 30, 1809, and he married, October 27, 1811, Sarah, 
 daughter of Abner Hogg, who died December 17, 1842, and 
 for his third wife he married, November 5, 1844, Mrs. Abagail 
 George, daughter of James and Mary McMillen. Mr. Tewks- 
 bury died March 22, 1855. His children by his first wife were : 
 Amos Wood, Nancy, who became the wife of John Smith, son 
 of the late Dea. Thomas Smith, and James, Betsey, and David, 
 who died young, and Dorothy, who married David Jones, of 
 Merrimac, and died in 1836. By his second wife he had Eliza, 
 who married Joseph Andrews, and died in 1856 ; Rozeann, 
 who married David Jones, and resides in Merrimac ; Mary 
 Andrews, who became the wife of Joseph A. Dodge, and they 
 live in Plymouth ; Hannah Bennett, who married John F. 
 Kennard, and lives in Merrimac ; Jane Andrews, who married 
 Lewis M. Lull, and they reside in Woburn, Mass. ; Harriett 
 Newell, who married Samuel G. Ohamberlin, and settled in 
 Merrimac ; and David A., who married Adaline Brown, and 
 resides on the homestead. 
 
 Amos Wood Tewksbury, first child of David, was born July 
 30, 1798, and married, May 13, 1823, Abigail Balch, who died 
 October 26, 1826, her two children dying very young. Mr. 
 Tewksbury married for his second wife, November 20, 1828, 
 Annis Campbell, daughter of Robert Cochran ; and their chil- 
 dren are : Amos Bradford, who married September 6, 1860 ; 
 Martha S. Stedman, of Randolph, Vt., who died May 7, 1863 ; 
 Martin Atwood, Emiline Antoinette, and Henry Winslow. 
 
J 
 
 
 O 
 
 <y 
 
 J^VritmA/rHt 
 
427 
 
 Mr. Tewksbury commenced business as a merchant in 1826, 
 in the " Upper Village " of New Boston, where he remained ten 
 years, that being the centre of business for the town. But a 
 village having sprung up which is now known as the " Lower 
 Village," a few rods from the former on the South Branch, 
 he transferred his merchandise to that, where he continued in 
 trade eighteen years, gaining by his strict integrity and exten- 
 sive business. He served as town clerk twelve years, and 
 treasurer ten years, and was treasurer and collector of the 
 Presbyterian society sixteen years, and never failed during that 
 whole period to have the money ready for his pastor the very 
 day it was semiannually due. He was treasurer and collector 
 for the New Boston Fire Insurance Company fourteen years. 
 
 Mr. Tewksbury removed from New Boston to Randolph, Vt., 
 in the year 1855, successfully prosecuting business under the 
 firm of A. W. Tewksbury and Sons. 
 
 David Starrett. — He was born in Derryfield, now Man- 
 chester, May 9, 1763, being a son of David Starrett, and died 
 November 29, 1839. He married Mary Langdell August 27, 
 1788, for his first wife, born February 27, 1772, and died May 
 18, 1817, and for his second, a cousin of his first, Abigail Lang- 
 dell (born September 29, 1776, and died September 2, 1844), 
 December 1, 1818. His children were : a daughter born Dec. 
 1788, and died ; William L., a son who died young ; Betsey, 
 born March 20, 1793, and married Samuel Todd, of Frances- 
 town, and lives in New Boston ; Jane, who died young ; Mary, 
 born July 20, 1797, and died January 29, 1832, being the wife 
 of Captain Daniel McLane ; David, born July 14, 1799, and 
 died March 13, 1845 ; Jane, born June 4, 1801, married Wil- 
 liam Taylor, and lives in Nashua ; Sabrina, born September 20, 
 1803, married for her first husband Isaac Patch, of Francestown, 
 for her second Daniel Taylor, of Nashua ; Levi, born March 19, 
 1806 ; Mark, born January 22, 1808, and lives in Nashua, his 
 wife being Betsey Goodale, of Deering ; William, born Sept. 
 26, 1809, and married Hannah Gilbert, of Francestown ; Sally, 
 born August 12, 1811, and married William Lamson, and they 
 live in Metamora, Illinois ; Roxanna, born June 8, 1813, and 
 died April 5, 1815 ; Caroline, born July 10, 1815, and married 
 Frederick Heirsch, of Metamoca, 111. 
 
428 
 
 William L., the second child of David Starrett, was born May 
 9, 1790, and died of hydrophobia August 16, 1809. The fol- 
 lowing notice of the event was written by the Rev. Moses Brad- 
 ford, of Francestown. " Some time in the month of June last 
 Mr. Starrett was bit by a fox, from which he suspected no 
 harm, as it appeared to be a wound of no consequence. He 
 continued about his domestic business as usual, until about the 
 8th or 10th of August following, when he began to complain 
 of sleepless nights and other symptoms of the above disorder. 
 The Monday before he died his complaint became much more 
 alarming, at which time he called on a neighboring physician, 
 who not being acquainted with the disorder, mistook it for a 
 fever of the malignant kind ; in this situation he continued 
 (except with aggravated symptoms of the hydrophobia) until 
 Wednesday, the 16th, when a second physician was called, who 
 immediately informed the patient together with the family what 
 his disorder was — likewise of the imminent danger he was in, 
 but too late ; medical assistance at this time was equally as im- 
 potent as the tears of weeping friends. The sight of water was 
 at this time very dreadful to the patient ; to see it poured from 
 one vessel to another threw him into the utmost horror of mind 
 as well as distress of body ; being asked by the physician what 
 effect it had, or how it made him feel, he replied that one drop 
 appeared sufficient to drown him. At this stage of the disorder 
 the severity of convulsions threatened the immediate dissolu- 
 tion of the body ; yet his reason continued good to the last. 
 He exhibited a firm reliance on the mercy of God through the 
 merits of his son Jesus Christ for salvation beyond the grave, 
 and spoke very sensibly to a number of his friends and ac- 
 quaintance who were spectators of the awful scene, and having 
 committed his soul into the arms of him, who through death 
 hath conquered the power of death, he launched into the invisi- 
 ble world. He was a youth much respected and beloved by 
 the whole circle of his friends and acquaintance, and died 
 lamented by all who knew him." 
 
 Levi, son of David Starrett, married Mehittable Gage, of 
 Merrimac, and inherited the homestead, but in 1864 removed 
 to North Andover, Mass. Their children are : David Clifton, 
 who married Maria J. Dennison, of Francestown ; Sarah ; an 
 
429 
 
 infant son ; Martin Van Bnren, who marrioil Kohecca .lane 
 Philbrick, oi* Manchester ; Caroline, who married John J\I. 
 Tuttle, of Weare; Henry Gage, and Levi Efcawson. 
 
 Tradition has it that Mr. Starrett's ancestor, who came ko 
 this country, was an officer in the Scotch Army. Being lorn 
 time in England, a lady belonging to the nobility became en- 
 amored with him, and resolved to marry him. This not being 
 allowed by her parents, they clandestinely sailed for New Eng- 
 land, where they were married, and settled near Boston, and 
 most of their descendants went to Thomaston, Me., while one son, 
 David, settled in Derryfield, now Manchester; and another, 
 William, settled in Francestown, and ultimately David removed 
 ta Francestown also. 
 
 Betsey, daughter of David Starrett, married Samuel Todd 
 June 7, 1814, and lives in New Boston. She was horn 
 March 20, 17915, and Mr. Todd November II, L788. Their 
 children are: An infant son; Mary S., horn September 28, 
 1816, became the wife of Luther Colburn August 22, 1841, 
 and left two children, Martin L., and Mary. lane; Harriet A., 
 born September 14, 1814, became the wife of David Gregg, 
 and her children are: Almus D., Margaret, who became the 
 wife of .James Whipple, and died November, 18G2 ; Caroline, 
 and Harriet; Mark, horn September 16, L820, married Rachel 
 Mclntire, of Lyndehorough, and died August 23, 1860, leav- 
 ing one son, George E. ; James Page, born Nov. 24, 1822, 
 married Abigail Desire A., daughter of John Loring, Dec. 30, 
 1852, and their children are: Mary Alice, James, Arthur, 
 George Loring, Caroline Lizzie, and Frank P. ; David S., born 
 October 25,1824, married Rachel Colburn, and alter her death 
 Martha Dean, of Francestown, by whom he has two children, 
 Charles and Harriet. 
 
 Caroline S., born September 26, 1827, married Horace Lang- 
 dell, and died, leaving one child, Austin. 
 
 John M., born November 22, 1829, and died September 6, 
 1832 ; Sarah E., born August 9, 1833,married (Jeorge Upham, 
 lives in Goffstown, and has two children, Frederick and Caro- 
 line. 
 
 John, born September 6, 1835, married Elizabeth M. Fletcher, 
 resides in New Boston, and has one child ; Mr. Samuel Todd 
 
430 
 
 was son of James, who was born in Peterborough ; he came 
 here about forty years ago. 
 
 John Lamson. — Rev. Dr. Lamson was requested to furnish 
 facts respecting his ancestors. Instead of arranging them in 
 our usual form, we shall give the entire letter ; otherwise its 
 simplicity and touching allusions would be lost. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Cogswell. 
 
 Dear Sir : New Boston is a name which revives the earliest and most 
 cherished memories of my childhood. It was the home of my grandparents, 
 and of my father during his childhood and early youth, and the place where 
 I passed the larger portion of a year when quite a child. Having no family 
 records, and being the only descendant of the family living in this part of 
 the country, I can only give such general statements as linger in my memory. 
 
 My grandfather was John Lamson, his wife was Elizabeth Rea, of Tops- 
 field. What year they removed to New Boston I am unable to state, though 
 it is my impression it was soon after their marriage. He was for some years 
 an innkeeper, and I think pursued some other branch of business. They 
 had five children, John, Benjamin, Betsey, William, and Joseph. These 
 all lived to be over twenty years of age, and all died under thirty. My 
 father, William Lamson, came when a lad to Danvers, Mass., and was ap- 
 prenticed to Mr. Caleb Oakes, a shoe manufacturer. Soon after his majority 
 he was married to Sally Richardson, of Danvers. They had three children, 
 Betsey, William, and Joseph. After his marriage, my father became master 
 of a small trading vessel, which ran between Salem, Mass., and Baltimore, 
 Md., and it was on one of the return voyages that, overtaken with a terrific 
 gale, he and his vessel and all on board were lost. This was when I was in 
 my third year. A year afterwards my mother, with her three children, 
 went to New Boston, and passed a year with my grandmother, then a widow, 
 and childless, having lost four of her children by consumption, and my 
 father by shipwreck. It is almost incredible to myself that, after a lapse of 
 nearly fifty years, I retain so vivid a recollection of the scenery of the place, 
 and of many of the circumstances of my brief residence there. It seems 
 to me, if I were an artist, I could sketch a very faithful outline of the build- 
 ings on the old Lamson place there, as they then were. The names of the 
 families in the neighborhood I still remember. The Sabbaths, the general 
 appearance of the old church, and of the congregation, come back to me, as 
 I write, with a strange vividness. There were then but few, if any carriages 
 in the town, and a large portion of the people, both men and women, came 
 to church on horseback. My mother used to take me on the horse with 
 her. There it was that I received my first impressions of the sacredness of 
 the Sabbath, probably there that I for the first time attended church. 
 
 But how great the changes since the days I am now recalling ! I have now 
 been for twenty-eight years a preacher of the gospel, and have outlived 
 nearly every member, if not every one, of the family on my father's side. 
 My grandmother lived to hear me preach one sermon, the first I ever 
 
431 
 
 preached, and died shortly afterwards, in Danvers. My sister Betsey was 
 married to Mr. Allen Jacobs, of Danvers, and died a year after her marriage, 
 leaving an infant that survived his mother but a few years. My brother 
 Joseph went some twelve years since to California, where, if living, he still is. 
 I have been blessed with one son, an only and noble child. Soon after the 
 opening of the present war he entered the service of the country, in the 
 paymaster's department, and on the fourth of last August was drowned by 
 the burning of the steamer Ruth, on the Mississippi River, between Cairo 
 and Memphis. In his death perished the only hope of perpetuating the 
 family name. His body sleeps in the Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem, 
 Mass. 
 
 I am glad to know you are preparing a memorial volume of the town of 
 New Boston, the first century of whose history has just closed. If you can 
 use this, or any portion of it, it will give me pleasure to have thus contributed 
 to place the names of my ancestor's among the names of those with whom 
 they once lived. Very respectfully yours, 
 
 Brookline, Mass., 1864. WILLIAM LAMSON. 
 
 Marshall Adams. — A native of Rmdge, N. H., removed 
 to New Boston April 18, 1823, and rented the clothing shop 
 formerly occupied by John Kelso, situated in the Lower Vil- 
 lage, which then contained but seven small dwelling-houses, 
 one grist-mill, one clothing and carding-mill, one saw-mill, and 
 one blacksmith shop, where for three years he was engaged in 
 the dyeing and clothing business, and also the manufacture of 
 woollen cloth. In 1826 he purchased the clothing shop of 
 John Gage, situated in the west part of the town, where he 
 continued in the wool-carding, dyeing, and clothing business 
 till 1852, since which he has been engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits. In May, 1826, he married Sarah G. Richards, a native 
 of Newton, Mass. 
 
 The following are their children : Marshall C., who married, 
 April 19, 1853, Susan B. Patterson, of Danvers, Mass., and 
 resides at Jeffrey, N. H. ; Sarah B., who married, Oct. 27, 
 1856, Horace Pettee, Esq., and resides at Manchester, N. H. ; 
 William R., who graduated at Dartmouth, in the Class of 
 1859, now Principal of the High School at Alton, 111., and 
 married, Sept. 3, 1861, Ellen D. Richmond, of Rochester, Vt., 
 then a teacher in the Female Seminary at Carlinville, 111. ; 
 John R., who married, May 1, 1859, Jennie R. Cahart, of 
 Natick, Mass., and now resides at Natick, Mass. ; Frances B., 
 who married, Oct. 29, 1858, Holmes R. Pettee, and resides in 
 
432 
 
 Manchester, N. H. ; Mary N. ; Joseph G., who married, May 
 2, 1859, Martha J. Perry, of Natick, Mass., and resides at 
 Natick, Mass. 
 
 Henry P., who married, July 3, 1861, Fannie B. Patterson, 
 of Danvers,Mass. He entered the service of his country July 
 29, 1861, in the 13th Regt. Mass. Yol. ; was wounded in the 
 battle of Antietam Sept. 15, 1862. Received his discharge 
 March, 1863, and resides at Manchester, N. H. 
 
 Charlotte R. ; James C, who entered the service of his 
 country, Sept., 1863, as member of the 39th Regt. Mass. Vol. ; 
 Ellen M. ; Charles A. ; and George Albert. 
 
 Of Dea. Adams's thirteen children, not one has died; not 
 one is a drunkard ; not one uses tobacco in any of its forms ; 
 not one is a Sabbath-breaker, or a profane swearer. Reared 
 in his modest dwelling with frugal fare, he has sent them forth 
 with minds and hearts well disciplined for any sphere of 
 activity, — all professing to be disciples of Jesus Christ. 
 
 John Whipple. — He was born Dec. 30, 1747. Deliver- 
 ance, his wife, born Feb. 15, 1746 ; early settled in New Bos- 
 ton, where they had nine children, six sons and three daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 Jerusha was born Oct. 17, 1768, married Jacob Bennett, 
 of New Boston, and died Sept. 23, 1839, being 71 years a resi- 
 dent of New Boston, and living to see seven children arrive to 
 the age of manhood, several of whom are married and pleas- 
 antly situated in their native town. Stephen, born Dec. 16, 
 1770, and died a young man. 
 
 Paul, born July 11, 1773, married Betsey Woodbury, by 
 whom he had fourteen children. 
 
 John, born April 29, 1776. For many years a skilful phy- 
 sician, married Hannah Dodge ; died Nov. 4, 1836, leaving a 
 widow but no children. 
 
 Saloma, born April 2, 1778, died July 3, 1779. 
 
 Saloma, born June 24, 1780, married Rev. Thomas Rand, 
 of Springfield, Mass., where many of her descendants may 
 now be found. 
 
 Aaron, born Sept. 11, 1782, died July 5, 1783. Aaron 2d, 
 born Jan. 13, 1787, died Nov. 7, 1792. 
 
 Robert, born March 13, 1790. For many years a very sue- 
 
433 
 
 cessful physician and surgeon in Barre, Vt. ; afterwards re- 
 turned to New Boston, where he still resides. 
 
 The children of John and Betsey Whipple, with their de- 
 scendants : 
 
 Betsey, born May 26, 1796 ; died at Francestown Nov., 
 1855, leaving a husband and two daughters, both married ; 
 Lucy, born April 12, 1798, married Mark Langdell, of Mont 
 Vernon, by whom she had nine children ; "William, the young- 
 est, being one of the first to volunteer to defend our country's 
 flag in the rebellion of 1861. Twice has he been wounded, 
 but is now a veteran in the Army of the Potomac. 
 
 Stephen, born March 4, 1800, married Hannah Kingsbury, 
 of Francestown. 
 
 Hannah, born Jan. 27, 1802. For several years a resident 
 of Lowell, Mass. ; was early left a widow, with no children. 
 
 Saloma, born Feb. 26, 1804, now finds a home with her 
 children, having buried three husbands. 
 
 John, born Aug. 31, 1806, married Philantha Reed, of Barre, 
 Vermont. 
 
 William Bently, born May 3, 1808 ; died 1854, leaving a 
 wife and four children ; the youngest is one of the brave de- 
 fenders of his country. 
 
 Aaron, born March 3, 1810 ; married, and lives in Boston, 
 Mass. ; has two children, a son and a daughter. 
 
 Mason Woodbury, born Nov. 11, 1811; settled with his 
 family in Haverhill, Mass. 
 
 Robert, born May 17, 1813 ; went to Florida, where he died. 
 
 James, born April 8, 1815 ; with wife and three children has 
 a home in York, Penn. 
 
 Isaac Adams, born June 9, 1818 ; early fell a victim to con- 
 sumption, and died Aug. 30, 1841. 
 
 Maria, born Dec. 7, 1820 ; died Sept. 30, 1836. 
 
 Fidelia, born Aug. 17, 1823 ; married Nelson Shedd ; has a 
 family of five children, and resides in Mont Vernon. 
 
 Stephen and John, with their families, have homes in their 
 native town. Joseph, the only child of Stephen, married, Jan. 
 19, 1864, Sarah Chandler, and is an enterprising merchant in 
 New Boston. 
 
 John's family is as follows : Hannah, married John McLane ; 
 
 55 
 
434 
 
 has four children, a daughter and three sons : Philantha, a well- 
 known school-teacher ; John, James, Paul, and Reed, inheriting 
 from their father a love of military discipline, and with hearts 
 glowing with true patriotism, early engaged in defending the 
 " Flag of our Union ; " James, Paul, and Reed enlisting May, 
 1861, for three months, and served their term ; Paul reenlisted 
 Nov., 1861, in the 7th Regiment N. H. Volunteers, was severely 
 wounded in the foot at the siege of Fort Wagner, S. C, July 
 18, 1863, but he soon joined his regiment ; he reenlisted Feb., 
 1864, and is now in the Army of the Potomac. John enlisted 
 in the 11th N. H. Yol. Regiment Sept., 1862, fought bravely 
 at the battle of Fredericksburg, Ya., was among the first of his 
 regiment to enter Yicksburg and Jackson, Miss. At Knox- 
 ville, Tenn., Nov. 23, 1863, while skirmishing, was taken pris- 
 oner by the rebels, since which nothing has been heard from 
 him. James married Margie, eldest daughter of David Gregg, 
 of New Boston, who soon after died. Reed lives in Boston, 
 Mass. Mary A. remains at home. Willie, born Sept. 29,1849, 
 died Nov. 24, 1856. 
 
 Mr. Jacob Hooper came to New Boston about the year 1775, 
 from Manchester, Mass. He went into the forest and prepared 
 a comfortable home for his little family before moving them 
 hither. He was an ingenious and industrious man, of sound 
 judgment ; and in process of time made his backwoods home a 
 pleasant and attractive spot, and secured for himself a lasting 
 reputation for uprightness of character, dying lamented both 
 by the church and community. He had one brother who served 
 in the war of the Revolution, and was killed in the battle of 
 Bennington. 
 
 Mr. Hooper was three times married : by his first wife, Mary 
 Obear, of Beverly, he had two children ; by his second, Ruth 
 Wadsworth, of Lyndeboro', he had eight. His last wife was the 
 widow of Lieut. Solomon Dodge, who lived to the advanced age 
 of 93 years. Only three of his children lived to arrive at ma- 
 turity. His daughter Mary married Luther Richards, and 
 settled in New Boston. His son Thomas married Alice Dodge, 
 daughter of Lieut. Solomon Dodge, and settled in Johnson, Yt. 
 His eldest son Jacob married Sarah Dodge, daughter of Lieut. 
 Solomon Dodge, and remained at home, providing amply for 
 
435 
 
 the wants of his parents and family, and proving himself a wor- 
 thy successor of his father. As a citizen he was very industri- 
 ous and highly trustworthy, receiving many assurances of the 
 confidence of his fellow-citizens. He was a model farmer in 
 neatness and thrift. His house was always an abode of gener- 
 ous hospitality, where want received a ready response. In his 
 family lie was affectionate and forbearing, happy in making 
 others happy. 
 
 He had eight children, only five of whom survive him. Two 
 daughters settled in New Boston ; one of whom became the 
 wife of Zechariah Morgan, the other married Dea. S. L. Cristy ; 
 two of them settled in Michigan, and one resides in Canterbury. 
 The youngest son, George, married and settled in Johnson, Vt., 
 while the eldest son, Levi, inherits the homestead. Mary mar- 
 ried Mr. Orvis, and lived in Manchester, where he died ; and 
 she now resides in New Boston. 
 
 Livermore Langdell. — William Langdell, born in England, 
 came to America ; married Marie Witridge, of Beverly, Mass., 
 and settled in Beverly. He followed the sea for several years, 
 then removed to Mont Vernon, N. H., with his son Joseph. 
 Had five sons, two of whom were lost at sea in one vessel. He 
 afterwards removed to New Boston with his son Livermore, 
 where he died 1799. His wife died April, 1816. 
 
 Livermore, his son, was born in Beverly, Mass., and married 
 Abigail Dodge, of Beverly. He followed the sea a few years, 
 and was the captain's first mate after the war of the Revolution 
 broke out. He removed to New Boston in 1771, and first set- 
 tled where Zechariah Morgan lives ; built the first saw and grist 
 mill in that part of the town ; sold and bought where his son 
 Samuel lives, and there spent the remainder of his days. He 
 volunteered, and was at Saratoga when Gen. Burgoyne surren- 
 dered to Gen. Gates. He was one of the first deacons of the 
 Baptist Church in New Boston, and died May, 1826. He had 
 twelve children. The eldest, Abigail, married David Starrett, 
 of New Boston ; she died Sept. 2, 1844 ; Jane Langdell died in 
 Salem, Mass., 1836 ; Mary Langdell married Thomas Farnum, 
 settled in Johnson, Vt., and died April, 1828 ; Sarah Langdell 
 married William Langdell, settled in Johnson, Vt., and died 
 Sept. 4, 1863 ; William Langdell married Marie Aiken, of Deer- 
 
436 
 
 ing, N. EL, settled in New Boston, afterwards removed to 
 Nashua, and died in New Boston July, 1862 ; his wife died 
 Aug., 1855 ; Joanna Langdell married Robert Hogg, only son 
 of Abner Hogg, died May, 1844 ; Lucy Langdell married Pium 
 Dodge, of Salem, Mass., and is still living there ; Rebecca Lang- 
 dell married Ezra Langdell, settled in Mont Vernon, and 
 died Jan., 1855 ; Livermore Langdell married Fannie Fisher, 
 of Francestown, and settled in New Boston ; Betsie Langdell 
 died April, 1816, aged 19 years ; Jacob Langdell was drowned 
 in Haunted Pond, in Francestown, July 11, 1813, aged 12 
 years ; Samuel Langdell married Caroline Fisher, of Frances- 
 town, and settled in New Boston. 
 
 Livermore Langdell' s family consists of seven children, five 
 sons and two daughters ; one son in Lyndeboro', two in Wiscon- 
 sin, two sons and two daughters in New Boston. 
 
 Samuel Langdell' s family consisted of nine children, four of 
 whom died in their infancy in New Boston. 
 
 Zechariah Morgan. — He was born Aug. 14, 1768. Heph- 
 zibah Morgan, his wife, was born Feb. 1, 1764 ; both members 
 of the Baptist Church. Mr. Morgan came to town about 1800. 
 His children are : 
 
 David, born Jan. 12, 1797, who resides at Andover, Mass. 
 
 Ebenezer, born June 18, 1799, and died July 29, 1836. 
 
 Zechariah, born Dec, 1802. He married Julia A. Fisher 
 Oct. 4, 1831, who died Nov., 1835. Two children were the 
 issue of this marriage : Harriet W., born July 4, 1832, and 
 died Jan. 3, 1834 ; and Austin W., born April 29, 1835. He 
 enlisted in the 11th Regiment N. H. Volunteers, and died at 
 Knoxville, Tenn., Oct. 27, 1862. 
 
 Zechariah Morgan married his second wife, Hannah W. 
 Hooper, Sept. 11, 1836. Their children are : Julia A., born 
 Nov. 24, 1837 ; Addie A., born Oct. 28, 1839 ; Edward P., born 
 June 12, 1846 ; and Frank B., born June 15, 1849. 
 
 Capt. Joseph Andrews. — He was born in Essex, Mass., April 
 23, 1757. He married Margaret Ober, of Manchester, Mass., 
 who was born Jan. 22, 1765. Mr. Andrews was a sea captain, 
 and came to New Boston in 1790. 
 
 His children were Joseph, Ruth, Israel, Issachar, Daniel, 
 Benjamin, Asa, Amos, Isaac, and Samuel. 
 
437 
 
 Joseph was born Sept. 15, 1782 ; married Jane Adams, and 
 settled in Johnson, Vt., where he remained until his death, June 
 23, 1862, leaving two sons and four daughters. 
 
 Ruth was born June 29, 1784, became the wife of Joseph 
 Manning, settled in Johnson, Vt., and died March 11, 1844, 
 leaving one son and three daughters. 
 
 Israel was born Sept. 27, 1786, married, and lives in John- 
 son, Vt., having three daughters and four sons. 
 
 Daniel was born April 4, 1792, married, March 8, 1814, Han- 
 nah, daughter of Jacob Dodge, of Wenham, Mass., and inher- 
 ited her homestead. His children are Hannah D., Jacob, 
 Daniel, Bradford, Mary D., and Daniel. Jacob and Daniel 
 died young ; Bradford married Ann, daughter of Samuel Kid- 
 der, of Francestown, lives in Francestown, and has three chil- 
 dren ; Mary D. became the wife of Benjamin D. Stanley, lives 
 in New Boston, and has four children ; Daniel lives in New 
 Boston, marrying for his first wife, May 1, 1856, Abby Plum- 
 mer, and for his second, Nov. 3, 1858, Margaret Ann, daughter 
 of Ezekiel Irving, of New Boston. Mrs. Daniel Andrews died 
 Dec. 23, 1862, aged 70. 
 
 Benjamin married Mary, daughter of Dea. Joseph Cochran, 
 by whom he had two children, Benjamin and Joseph Foster ; 
 the former lives in Nashua, and the second is a lieutenant in 
 the 1st Regiment New Hampshire Cavalry. This Benjamin 
 died some years since in New York. 
 
 Asa married Jane, daughter of the late Abner Hogg, and 
 settled in Johnson, Vt., where he yet resides, having two daugh- 
 ters and one son. 
 
 Amos married Betsey Fisher, of Francestown, for his first 
 wife, and for his second, Abigail Carson, and died Sept. 4, 1854. 
 
 Isaac died young, and Samuel married Polly, daughter of 
 Abner Hogg, and lives in Johnson, Vt. 
 
 Capt. Joseph Andrews was of English descent, and followed 
 the sea until he came to New Boston. He was in the service of 
 William Gray, of Boston, fourteen years. When the war of 
 the Revolution began he was returning from the East Indies, 
 was captured and carried to Halifax, and for some time impris- 
 oned in a fetid dungeon. After his release he commanded a 
 vessel in the privateering service until the close of the war. 
 
438 
 
 He settled in New Boston, on a tract of land now owned by 
 Clifton Starrctt, purchasing of Jacob Ober, a brother of his 
 wife. Here he lived until his death, Oct. 18, 1834, his wife 
 dying June 21, 1829. He was one of the founders of the Bap- 
 tist Church in New Boston, was an exemplary christian, and 
 reared an interesting family. 
 
 Dea. Issachar Andrews. — He was born October 16, 1789, 
 married Abigail Manning October 12, 1811, who was born 
 May 12, 1785. His death occurred May 29, 1882, and she 
 died January 12, 1857. They had children : Joseph M., born 
 March 1, 1813; Issachar, Jr., born August 9, 1815; John 
 W., born April 20, 1818 ; Caroline, born June 22, 1820 ; Wm. 
 E., died very young: Wm. E., born August 5,1823; Benj. 
 F., born January 31, 1825; Cynthia, born April 1, 1827. J. 
 M. Andrews married Eliza Tewksbury June 30, 1836, who 
 died June 11, 1856 ; their children being Dura P., Lizzie D., 
 who died June 6, 1855 ; Sarah T., Willie M., who died March 
 13, 1843 ; Nettie H., Hattie C, Emma E. Mr. J. M. Andrews 
 married for a second wife Caroline M. Scott, of Greensborough, 
 Vt., December 1856. Their children are George S. and 
 Charles. 
 
 Issachar Andrews married Betsey Lull December 28, 1841. 
 Their children are : Calvin L., who was married August, 1862 ; 
 George C, who died September 6, 1883 ; Hellen M., Ada M., 
 and Louisa L. 
 
 John W. Andrews married Mary J. Crombie, a native of 
 Dublin, May 9, 1843. Their children are : John C. Prissila, 
 who died young; Lottie A., and Mary J., who died young; 
 Abbie L., Willie R., who died April 13, 1864, and Hattie R. 
 
 Caroline Andrews married Benjamin Goodhue, of Hancock, 
 November 23, 1841. Their children are Warner C, Andrew 
 P., Cynthia A., Benjamin F., Caroline F., and Eben P. 
 
 William E. Andrews married Lydia A. Knight, of Hancock, 
 February 10, 1857. 
 
 Benjamin F. Andrews married Elenor Templeton, of Wilton, 
 November 25, 1848. Their children : Eliphabet P., H. Ellen, 
 Mary E., Willie F., Jessie F., who died November 15, 1857 ; 
 Bertie S., Luis A., and Benjamin. 
 
 Maurice Lyxch. — He married Catherine Shuhan. He was 
 
439 
 
 educated for a Catholic priest. His son John Lynch was born 
 in Newfoundland September 8, 1766, married Alice McMillcn 
 November 21, 1789, died February 17, 1843 ; (Alice McMillen 
 was born in New Boston June 22, 1771, and died September 
 5, 1829). Their children were : Francis, born in Mont Vernon 
 September 16, 1790, married Fannie Knowlton April 20, 1815 ; 
 Ann, born in Mont Vernon July 27, 1792, died July 29, 1863 ; 
 John, born in New Boston April 14, 1794, married Nancy 
 Kelso February 14, 1826, died May 22, 1858 ; Alice, born in 
 New Boston February 29, 1796, married Moses Woods Oct. 
 24, 1816 ; William, born in New Boston May 10, 1798, mar- 
 ried Ann Donnan January 31, 1822, died September 16, 1845 ; 
 Katharine, born in New Boston June 19, 1800, married Ama- 
 zieii Blanchard May 10, 1842, died November 24, 1861; 
 Hiram, born in New Boston July 12, 1804, married Martha 
 Seaver March 26, 1840 ; Hiam, born in New Boston March 
 20, 1802, died September 1, 1813 ; Leonard, born in New 
 Boston November 17, 1805, married Eliza Palmer January 
 22, 1832, and died July 7, 1850 ; Alfred, born in New Boston 
 July 16, 1809, died November 17, 1815. 
 
 Robert Livingston. — He married Zebiah Sargent, of Boston, 
 lived in Haverhill, Mass., a few years, then in Londonderry, 
 and came to New Boston at the first settlement of the town, 
 and settled on the farm now owned by Jonathan Dodge. He 
 had ten children, three sons and seven daughters : John, Wil- 
 liam, Robert, Mary, Zibiah, Hannah, Ann, Margaret, Jane, and 
 Elizabeth. John married Mary Todd, daughter of Colonel An- 
 drew Todd, of Londonderry ; William married Mary Ann Boyce, 
 of Londonderry ; Robert married Mary Leslie ; John lived in 
 Londonderry, then moved to Walpole, and died there. William 
 settled on the farm owned by the late Jacob H. Richards ; he 
 was a delegate to the convention at Concord, from this town, 
 September 22, 1779. Robert served seven years in the Revolu- 
 tionary war, and died in this town. Mary married John Car- 
 son, and lived and died in New Boston. Zibiah married Daniel 
 Boardman, and lived in Lynn, Mass. Hannah married Dea. 
 William Moore, and lived on the farm now owned by Calvin 
 Fuller. Ann married Josiah Hitchings, and lived in this town 
 some time, then moved to New Brunswick. Margaret married 
 
440 
 
 Josiali Patterson, lived and died in this town. Elizabeth mar- 
 ried Abijah Richardson, and lived in "Westford, Mass. ; Wil- 
 liam Livingston had no children of his own, but adopted his 
 nephew William, son of John Livingston, who lived and died 
 in New Boston. John Livingston had eleven children, eight 
 sons and three daughters : William and Samuel were the only 
 ones that settled in town. William married Mary Warren ; 
 Samuel married for his first wife Eunice French, of Maine ; 
 after her death he married Hannah Twiss, of New Boston. 
 Lucretia Livingston, daughter of Robert Livingston, first mar- 
 ried Dr. Reed, of Nashua, after whose death she married Rev. 
 Mr. McKay, and they moved to Inverness, Scotland, and finally 
 went to Syria as missionaries. Dana Livingston lived in Saco, 
 Me. ; John, also, lived there. Robert Leslie married a daughter 
 of Dea. Josiah Duncan, of Antrim, and settled there. Gerry 
 W., son of William Livingston, lived and died in this town. 
 Ephraim W. married Mahala Christie, they now reside in 
 Nashua, and their children are : Anstice Bradford, Cynthia C, 
 John ; Edward, member of the 8th N. H. V., now in the Army 
 of the Potomac; Ephraim W., Charles, for three years in the 
 TJ. S. A. ; Carrie J., and George W., now drummer in the 3d 
 Regiment N. H. Y., and aged 16. 
 
 Mary T. Livingston married Leonard Colburn, and now re- 
 sides in New Boston ; their children are William W., Ephraim 
 Warren, Emma Jane, James Leonard, member of the 9th 
 Regiment N. H. Y., now in the Army of the Potomac. 
 
 Jane Livingston married Leonard Cutler, and lives in Frank- 
 ville, Iowa. John Livingston married Elizabeth Barrett, of 
 Nashua, and still resides here; his children are: Gerry W., 
 who died in the army at New Orleans September 18, 1853 ; 
 Mary Jane ; Adeline F., his wife, died in August, 1841. Samuel 
 Livingston had by his first wife the following children : John 
 L., Ursula, Alminor, and Mary ; by his second wife, Adeline 
 F., David, Nancy, Diantha, Samuel, Benjamin. 
 
 Capt. Gerry Whiting. — He came from Francestown, mar- 
 ried Abigail, daughter of Dea. Wm. Starrett, September, 1798. 
 Their children were : Julia, who became the wife of Oliver 
 Cochran November, 1822 ; Roxanna, who was married to 
 David Stone February, 1825 ; Dexter, who married Mary 
 
441 
 
 Stone April, 1828 ; Harris, who married Mary Dodge in 1832 ; 
 Louisa I)., who died; Calvin, who married Abby Btirnham; 
 Emily, who married, June, 1855, Dea. Summer L. Cristy ; Mary, 
 who died July, 1830 ; Hannah 0., who married James Clark; 
 and Abby, who married Walter J. Jaquith in 1849. These 
 children all located for a time in Johnson, Vt., except Emily 
 and Abby. Capt. Whiting was a man of great business capa- 
 city, and was long respected as an upright and worthy citizen, 
 and had a highly interesting family of children. He died Nov., 
 1827. His wife was an exemplary christian woman ; she died 
 April, 1831. 
 
 Wiilliam Woodbury. — Three brothers came from England, 
 and settled in Beverly, Mass. Mr. William Woodbury de- 
 scended from one of these brothers, and came to New Boston 
 about 1785. He settled in the north part of the town, marry- 
 ing, and having five children who came to maturity : Dorathy, 
 who became the wife of Mr. Walker, and lived in Ackworth, 
 and had children ; Hannah, who also married a Mr. Walker, 
 and lived in New Boston, and had children, one of whom is Mrs. 
 Joshua Woodbury ; Joshua E., who married and settled near 
 his father, and had children: Ebenezer K., Joshua E., Hittic, 
 who married a Mr. Thomas, of Middleton, Mass., where si to 
 now resides ; David, who removed to Mobile, Alabama ; Sallie, 
 who married and lived in Wisconsin ; Benjamin Smith, who 
 lives in New Boston ; Sallie (daughter of William) died un- 
 married ; Benjamin S., who married Sallie B. Jones, daughter 
 of Joshua Jones, and lived on the old homestead and had twelve? 
 children ; Sabrina, who married Jason Philbrick, of Weare, and 
 lives in Sanbornton ; William, who married Rachel P., daughter 
 of the late John Shirley, and lives where her father died, being 
 the farm formerly owned by Hugh Blair, and has two children : 
 liiicetta, who married William B. Symonds, of Weare, and lias 
 four children ; Benjamin F., who married Caroline H., daughter 
 of Richard Webster, of Concord, and has one daughter, Hettic 
 R. W. ; Joshua J., who married Harriet McClure, and resides 
 in' New Boston, and has two children ; Eliza .Jane, who mar- 
 ried Luther M. Brown, and lives in Minnesota, and has four 
 children; Elizabeth Ann, who died young; Harriet R., who 
 married Thomas Holmes, and lives in Minnesota ; Frances Ann 
 
 56 
 
442 
 
 who married Squire G. Eastman, of Weare, and has had five 
 children ; Caroline, who married Jesse Clement, of Weare, and 
 has two children ; Levi, who married Maria Whitcomb, of 
 Warner, and lives in Weare ; Maryett. 
 
 Mr. Benjamin S. Woodbury died December 25, 1846, and his 
 widow lives in Weare. 
 
 Samuel Gregg, Esq. — He was the youngest son of Hugh 
 Gregg. Was born at New Boston June 9, 1764. In the 
 early part of his manhood he was an apprenticed mechanic, 
 his father having died when he was quite young. For several 
 years he pursued his trade of carpenter and cabinetmaker, but 
 relinquished his trade, and gave his attention to farming. He 
 occupied many responsible positions in town affairs, and was 
 many years Justice of the Peace. 
 
 He married for his first wife, Jane W., daughter of Alex- 
 ander Wilson, of New Boston. She was born Nov. 20, 1770, 
 and died Dec. 25, 1800. 
 
 They had six children : Jenny, who married Daniel Dodge, 
 and lived in Johnson, Vt. ; Elizabeth, who married Robert 
 Wilson, and lived in Deering ; Mary, who married Samuel B. 
 Waters, and lived in Johnson, Vt. ; Sarah, who married Rob- 
 ert McPherson, and now lives in Michigan ; Alexander, who 
 married Jane M., daughter of Dea. Robert Clarke, of New 
 Boston, and now lives in Medford, Mass. 
 
 He married for his second wife, Lydia Bartlett, of Newbury, 
 Mass. ; they had one son, James Bartlett, who married Mary 
 Bailey, of Newbury, Mass. His second wife, Lydia B., died in 
 New Boston Nov., 1835, and he died in Deering, New Hamp- 
 shire, May 6, 1839. Of the above children there are now 
 living, Sarah, Alexander, and Samuel. 
 
 Docter Samuel Gregg. — He was born at New Boston July 
 1, 1799. He studied medicine with John Dalton, M. D., of 
 New Boston. He graduated M. D. at Dartmouth College in 
 1825, and commenced practice in medicine the same year in 
 Medford, Mass. He married for his first wife Ruthey W. R., 
 daughter of Luther Richards. She was born at New Boston 
 June 5, 1802,' and died in Boston, Mass., Feb. 20, 1853. 
 
 She had nine children : Mary Josephine W., who died in 
 Medford, Mass., May 6, 1838 ; Martha D., who married Ed- 
 
./rfffu/frrd-sZiiA 
 
 ^^-T^^i^^y 4-/2 
 
443 
 
 ward G. Tileston, Esq., and now lives in Brookline, Mass. ; 
 Samuel W., who died in California in 1850, aged 23 years; 
 Caroline A., who married W. R. Stockbridge, and now lives in 
 Cambridge, Mass. ; Abbie Maria, who died in 1836, aged three 
 years ; Anna, who married Joseph Howard, Jr., and now lives 
 in Brooklyn, N. York; Abby H. T., who married I. B. Woos- 
 ter, and now lives in San Francisco, California ; Franklin 
 Hahneman, who died in infancy, and Josephine Maria, now 
 living in Boston, Mass. Dr. Samuel Gregg's present wife was 
 Mrs. Sophronia C. Hills, of Leominster, Mass. 
 
 Doctor Samuel Gregg continued the practice of medicine, 
 after the teachings of the Allopathic School, for nearly fourteen 
 years ; when, in 1838, he was induced to examine the teachings 
 of Hahneman, who had promulgated a new, or Homeopathic 
 system of therapeutics. Being satisfied of the truth of the prin- 
 ciple announced by Hahneman, he has continued in successful 
 practice ever since. He thus introduced the " New School " 
 system into New England, and was the only practitioner of that 
 system for nearly a year in all that region. In 1840 he re- 
 moved to Boston, where he continues in successful practice, 
 and can now enumerate his colleagues by hundreds, throughout 
 New England, who have adopted the motto, " Similia Similibus 
 Curantur " of the immortal Hahneman. 
 
 Daniel Dodge. — He was born in Hamilton, Mass., Oct. 24, 
 1766 ; married, Elizabeth, daughter of Luke Dodge, who was 
 born Feb. 27, 1764. They had nine children : Daniel, born 
 Dec. 9, 1785, married, Dec. 28, 1810, Joanna, daughter of 
 Daniel Dane, who was born Sept. 16, 1789 ; their children are : 
 Albert, born Nov. 13, 1812, died Feb. 14, 1823 ; Hiram, born 
 April 3, 1813, who married Olive Butterfield for his first, and 
 Abigail Marden, for his second wife ; Polly, born Feb. 28, 1819, 
 who became the wife of Cummings Cross ; Sarah, born Dec. 
 1823, who became the wife of James Hovey ; Lydia, born Dec, 
 1828, died 1849. 
 
 Betsey, born Jan. 28, 1788, died young. 
 
 Betsey, born Oct. 28, 1789, became the wife of Daniel "Whit- 
 termore, and resides in Wisconsin, having had eleven children, 
 four of whom survive. 
 
 Polly, born March 16, 1793, died April 16, 1814. 
 
444 
 
 Luke, born Feb. 19, 1795, married Rachael Dodge, lived in 
 town, and died April, 1868, leaving three children : Ephraim, 
 who died June, 1863, William, and Daniel. 
 
 Ephrairn was born March 16, 1797, married Catherine Luce, 
 and resides in South Boston, having five children. 
 
 Lydia, born Jan. 28, 1798, died July 16, 1806. 
 
 Jonathan, born Sept. 6, 1801, married Mary Dodge, died in 
 New Boston Sept. 6, 1801, having had seven children. 
 
 The first Daniel Dodge died April 26, 1843 ; his wife died 
 July 20, 1851. Mr. Dodge was one of the most thrifty farm- 
 ers in town ; upright in his transactions with others, and a 
 friendly neighbor, having regard to the law of the Sabbath 
 and the institutions of religion, knowing how to bridle his 
 tongue. 
 
 Joshua Jones. — He came from Dracut, Mass., about 1780, 
 and settled in the south part of the town, buying of John Mc- 
 Allister. He married Sarah Burns, of Dracut, Mass. Their 
 children are Betsey, Nathaniel, Joshua, Peter, Samuel, George, 
 Sally, and Jefferson. 
 
 Betsey married Benjamin Butterfield, of Goffstown, where 
 she lived and died. 
 
 Nathaniel married a Miss Butterfield, and settled in Dracut, 
 Mass., and died in the West Indies, leaving several children. 
 
 Joshua married Irena Perkins, and died in New Boston in 
 1863, leaving one son. 
 
 Peter married for his first wife Mary, daughter of Peter 
 Cochran, sister of the late Peter Cochran, by whom he had 
 seven children: Mary Jane, Peter C, Nancy, Letitia, Jennette,. 
 James C. , and Allen W. Mary Jane married Daniel Ayers, Esq. , 
 of Albany, N. Y. ; Peter C. resides in California, and has two 
 children; Nancy died young. Letitia married Perry Richards, 
 of Goffstown, for her first husband, and Richard Pattee, 
 also of Goffstown, for her second husband, and has two chil- 
 dren ; Jennette died young ; James C. married Jerusha, 
 daughter of John G. Dodge, of Goffstown, and has two chil- 
 dren ; Allen W. died in California in Feb., 1858. Mr. Jones 
 married for his second wife Mrs. Nancy Hill. 
 
 George married Sarah Battles, of Mont Yernon, and had six 
 children. 
 
445 
 
 • Sally married Capt. Benjamin Woodbury, lived and died in 
 New Boston, having had several children. 
 
 Jefferson married Mary Fisher, of Francestown, lived in 
 Goffstown, and died some years ago. 
 
 Capt. Ephraim Jones. — He was son of Jonathan Jones, of 
 Dracut, Mass. ; he married a Miss Hildreth, daughter of Gen. 
 Hildreth, of Dracut, of Revolutionary memory. He had two 
 daughters, Mercy and Prudence. Prudence married Mr. Co- 
 burn, and settled in Dracut. Mr. Jones was a blacksmith, and 
 made scythes and other edge tools, and was one of the most 
 useful men in town ; highly respected, and promoted to all 
 the offices in the gift of the people ; and an active friend of 
 the Presbyterian Church until his death. 
 
 Thomas Otis. — He was born in Barrington Feb. 9, 1783. 
 At the age of twenty-one he removed to Wenham, where he 
 married Mary, daughter of Aaron Lee. He came to New 
 Boston in 1819, and settled in the east part of the town. Their 
 children are Peter Y., Hannah, Sarah L., Thomas, Mary 
 Jane, Harriet Newell, William Luke, James L., and Elizabeth. 
 
 Peter married Frances A. Center, and has three children : 
 William Henry, Harriet Frances, and Charles. 
 
 Hannah became the wife of William A. Flint, and resides 
 in Merrimack. 
 
 Sarah married Jonas Holden, lives in Rollinsford, and has 
 three children. 
 
 Thomas married Mary Mulligan, lives in Watertown, Mass., 
 and has four children. 
 
 Mary Jane married Henry F. Straw, lives in Manchester, 
 and has two sons. 
 
 Harriet N. married Elijah Parkhurst, and lives in Merrimac, 
 having one daughter. 
 
 William L. married Paulina Balch, of Goffstown, and is now 
 a member of the 11th Regt. N. H. V. 
 
 James L. married Louisa Manuel, and lives in Chicago, 111., 
 having one daughter. 
 
 Elizabeth married George Austin, of Goffstown, and lives 
 in Springfield, Mass. 
 
 Mr. Otis died Jan. 4, 1855 ; his wife died Aug. 25, 1854. 
 He was an excellent man, greatly beloved as a neighbor, and 
 
446 
 
 honored as a christian. He found a ready helper in his wife in- 
 every good purpose, and they reared a happy, industrious, and 
 virtuous family of children. 
 
 Dr. Jeremiah S. Cochran. — He was son of John Cochran, 
 Esq. His mother was Prances, daughter of the late Dr. Jona- 
 than Gove. He was born in New Boston Jan. 16, 1805. His 
 youth was spent at home on a farm. Serving as a clerk in a 
 store in Billerica, Mass., in 1822, he began the study of Latin, 
 under Rev. E. P. Bradford, in the year 1823. In 1825 he 
 began to read medicine with Dr. John Dalton. In 1826 he 
 attended a course of lectures at the Medical College at Han- 
 over. Subsequently he attended lectures at Bowdoin College, 
 and graduated as a physician in May, 1829. He commenced 
 the practice of medicine at Massena, in Northern New York, 
 Oct. 6, 1829, where he remained about a year, and then re- 
 moved to Waddington, and subsequently to Fort Covington, of 
 the same State. At length he went to Sandusky, Ohio, during 
 the prevalence of the cholera at the West. Here he directed 
 all his energies to his profession, and rose rapidly in it, treating 
 cholera with marked success. He spent three months of the 
 winter of 1835 in attendance on lectures at the Cincinnati 
 Medical College, and, with this exception, he never slept a 
 night away from his place of business from 1832 to 1845. He 
 was a skilful physician, because he studied his cases thoroughly, 
 and rarely failed in diagnosis. He gained clear and distinct 
 ideas of the nature of the disease, and then promptly and 
 boldly applied the remedies. There was no vacillation in his 
 treatment of his patients. Having prescribed the remedies, he 
 required a strict adherence to the directions given, any devia- 
 tion was visited with severe rebuke. 
 
 In 1837 Dr. Cochran married Sarah T., daughter of Hon. 
 M. Farwell, of Sandusky. She was an estimable lady, and died 
 in 1842. They had four children : Charles, who died in 1842 ; 
 Sarah Frances, who died 1849, whose remains lie in the centre 
 graveyard, in New Boston. Of their surving children, one is the 
 wife of J. M. Osborn, Esq., of Dayton, Ohio, and the other is a 
 soldier in the army of the Cumberland. 
 
 In politics Dr. Cochran was a republican, vigorously opposing 
 every measure for slavery extension. As a christian he was 
 
447 
 
 sincere and earnest, being a constant attendant on the services 
 of the sanctuary upon the Sabbath. He believed that a physi- 
 cian could arrange his business so as to attend church on 
 Sunday, unless there were unexpected calls at the time which 
 could not be postponed till after service. He was also a constant 
 attendant at the evening meetings of the church for prayer, 
 taking part in them. He contended that a physician was not 
 worthy to be trusted who trifled with religion and outraged 
 the moral sense of a christian community by trampling upon 
 the law of the Sabbath, and by identifying himself with the 
 workers of iniquity. Dr. Cochran early identified himself with 
 the religious community, and was ever ready to cooperate with 
 them in any effort to do good, and thus secured the confidence 
 of all right-minded men, and was enabled to exert an influence 
 over them for good, and when he died they mourned for him as 
 for a friend and benefactor. 
 
 Three years before his death he was attacked with fever, which 
 was followed by a succession of fevers of the same character 
 every summer, and continued until autumn. In June, 1845, he 
 had an attack as in former years, and from it was slowly recov- 
 ering when a night exposure caused a relapse, and he expired 
 July 6, 1845, when it was said of him, " The good physician is 
 dead."* 
 
 Rev. Samuel Clarke. — He was born in New Boston, N. H., 
 April 21, 1791. All the early circumstances in which he was 
 placed conspired to impart unwonted sobriety to his character. 
 His home was in a wild, mountainous region, remote from the 
 dissipations and distractions of the city. There, instead of the 
 sights and sounds of man's creating, he listened to the many- 
 toned voices of nature heard in glade and forest ; and was 
 taught to commune with the mysteries and wonders of the in- 
 visible world, written on the earth and sky, and revealed to the 
 lonely heart of man. The distinctive character of that home, 
 too, could not fail to have a commanding influence over him. 
 His family belonged to a strongly marked class of immigrants, 
 who took up and reclaimed the townships along the upper Mer- 
 
 * Condensed from a more extended sketch, by his brother, Dr. Charles 
 Cochran, of Toledo, Ohio. 
 
448 
 
 rimac and its tributary streams. They were originally from 
 Scotland, full of Scotch blood, and trained in the sternest 
 dogmas of the Presbyterian Church. They had removed in a 
 body to the north of Ireland ; had been involved in the priva- 
 tions, hardships, and woes winch befell this part of the coun- 
 try a century and a half ago. They had shared in the hunger, 
 nakedness, and cruel sufferings, of the siege of Londonderry, — 
 so full of strange incident, so bloody, and so barbarous ; and 
 when once more they took up the line of their pilgrimage, and 
 at length pitched their tents on the hills of New England, there 
 again to engage in a border warfare with the savages of the 
 New World, the story of their sufferings — wild and heart-stir- 
 ring traditions, could not fail to leave a profound impression 
 upon the minds of their descendants. A marked seriousness 
 and thoughtfulness, the old Scottish reverence for the clergy, 
 sobriety of demeanor, and strictness of discipline, lingered long 
 in the Colony, and went down from generation to generation. 
 
 Mr. Clarke was born and reared in the midst of these influ- 
 ences. He was trained in their precise school of manners, and 
 was exact in the little proprieties as well as in the essential 
 duties of life. His father, Ninian Clark, was an extraordinary 
 man, of large sympathies and a noble spirit, trusted by every 
 one, and famed all the country around for unflinching integ- 
 rity. He was a man of thought and considerable reading ; 
 such men as Dr. Samuel Clarke and Archbishop Tillotson were 
 among his favorite authors. The son, then, in addition to 
 those peculiar influences which served to awaken a profound 
 reverence for things sacred and to bring God very near, re- 
 ceived those also which helped to expand and ennoble him. 
 
 He was prepared for Dartmouth College by the Rev. Mr. 
 Beede, of Wilton ; entered, and was graduated in 1812. Here he 
 enjoyed the respect and affection of his classmates ; a feeling 
 which had continued to such extent, that when, forty-two years 
 after graduation, the survivors once more met at their Alma 
 Mater, they appointed him to collect the statistics, and prepare 
 a biography of each member of the class ; which trust he execut- 
 ed with fidelity, and to the satisfaction of his fellows. After 
 leaving college, he returned for a few months to his old tutor 
 in Wilton ; but was afterwards induced to repair to Cambridge, 
 
44«» 
 
 when, at the same time, he took charge of the grammar-school 
 in that place, and became a pupil in theology of the Rev. Dr. 
 Ohanning. I lore new Scenes opened before him, and now in- 
 fluences were exerted which never ceased to be felt, lie had 
 come from the quiet seclusion oi' the country : and now, for the 
 first time became familiar with the social activity and the in- 
 tellectual and spiritual wealth of the metropolis. Young Buck- 
 minister was at the height of his fame ; Kirkland occupied the 
 presidency oi' the neighboring - university, and Ohanning was 
 making his influence widely felt. 
 
 Amid such influences Mr. Clarke was ordained June 18, 
 1817, over the Unitarian Church in Princeton, Mass., where he 
 remained fifteen years. He was installed over the Unitarian 
 Church in Uxbridge, Mass., January 9, 1883, where he re- 
 mained twenty-seven years, making a. ministry of forty-two 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Clarke married Miss Sarah Wigglesworth, who appears to 
 have been adapted to exert a large and beneficent influence ; 
 gifted with genius, refined tastes, and an active intellect, Mrs. 
 Clarke could not fail to win to her home even those whom no 
 parochial ties could have drawn thither. She was a woman to 
 win ; for she combined to a rare extent large mental endow- 
 ments, with a capacity for the homeliest duties. She would 
 conduct the affairs of her household in a manner to satisfy the 
 most fastidious, and the while revel amid the creations of an 
 exuberant imagination, and engage in speculations the most 
 profound. She would dignify her home-cares by a discussion 
 of the abstruse metaphysics of Reid and Hamilton, and throw 
 over them the hue of poetry by seizing and holding whatever 
 might catch her fancy. It was no burden to her to rise before 
 the dawn on Monday mornings, and to do the drudgery of the 
 week; for she would find ever fresh enjoyment in the unspeak- 
 able beauty and glory of the morning hour. She would linger 
 late on Saturday night over the humblest and most distasteful 
 work, and find no weariness in it; for she already had foregleama 
 of the enjoyment of the coming Sabbath ; and, while it was yet 
 midnight, would, like Petrarch, begin her great hymn of wor- 
 ship. So also in the often hard and irksome duties of the par- 
 ish, how difficult soever at first, she so schooled herself that, 
 
 57 
 
450 
 
 whatever the)' might be, they would afford her only pleasure 
 aud profit. In her walks, she would seize ou a beautiful sun- 
 set, or a way-side flower, and transfer it to her portfolio. She 
 would find sunlight and flowers in the homes of others ; and 
 the more desolate and forlorn those homes were, the more sure 
 she would be to see what others could not see, and invest them 
 with a sanctity and loveliness all their own. 
 
 Thus Mrs. Clarke lived and died ; a blessing to her husband 
 and family, and a blessing to the people. Mr. Clarke survived 
 his wife but a few years. The blow which removed such a 
 companion left a wound that time could not heal. Always 
 frail, his whole life interrupted by frequent sicknesses, he could 
 bear the strain upon his faculties no longer. He fell, as the 
 good man would wish to fall, at the altar at which he served. 
 He was arrested in the midst of his discourse, and never preach- 
 ed again. Feeling that his work was done, he sent a letter, 
 resigning his office, and requesting the society to accept his 
 resignation, — a request which, to their honor, they promptly 
 declined ; not only voting to supply the pulpit, but to continue 
 the salary of Mr. Clarke. From that time, although the seal 
 of coming death was on his brow, it brought no terrors ; and 
 the kindly voice and the beaming smile seemed to speak of a 
 heaven within. And November 19, 1859, he fell asleep " like 
 one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him, and lies 
 down to pleasant dreams." * 
 
 Rev. Samuel Wallace Clark. — He was born in Hancock 
 Dec. 15, 1795, -son of John Clark, Esq., who was the son of 
 William, of New Boston. He was, by birth, the second of ten 
 children, eight of whom, four sons and four daughters, lived to 
 mature age. His youth was spent with his father on a farm 
 and preparation for college. He graduated from Dartmouth in 
 the Class of 1823, and studied theology in a regular course at 
 And over Seminary, graduating in 1827, and was ordained pas- 
 tor of the Congregational Church in Greenland, Rockingham 
 County, Aug. 5, 1829. He married, Oct. 13. 1829, Frances 
 Moor, daughter of Dea. Robert Clark, of New Boston. 
 
 * See " Commemorative Discourse," preached December 11, 1859, by Rev. 
 Alonzo Hill, of Worcester, Mass.. from which the foregoing is chiefly taken. 
 
451 
 
 Mr. Clark was a man of a high order of intellect, the native 
 gift of God. This gift was increased and chastened by cultiva- 
 tion through a long, faithful, and regular course of study and 
 discipline. The pursuit and contemplation of truth was his 
 delight : of all truth, — truth in nature, truth reduced to 
 science, truth in life and in Providence. Especially was the 
 truth of God, as revealed in his word, his highest joy, and until 
 his death he retained his inquisitive, studious tastes and habits 
 of mind, so that he could say, with the Roman orator, " These 
 studies occupy our youth, make our riper years happy, are an 
 ornament in prosperity, a refuge and solace in adversity, delight 
 us at home, and are no hindrance to us abroad, spend the night 
 with us, go with us in our travels, and pass the time with us in 
 our country abodes." 
 
 The natural cast of his mind was reflective, meditative, in- 
 trospective ; truth, in his mind, did not lie in parcels and frag- 
 ments, but was logically connected, disposed in system and in 
 the order of sequence. His mind was equally removed from a 
 conceited and dogmatic conservatism on the one hand, and from 
 a rash and empiric radicalism on the other. Neither the bigot, 
 the superstitious, nor the fanatic, found anything in him answer- 
 ing to their own wishes and character. 
 
 There was in Mr. Clark, pervading and tinging the opera- 
 tions of his mind, a rich, salient vein of playful humor, — that 
 quick, brilliant reason, which, as Barrow has said, consisteth in 
 one knows not what ; " Its ways are unaccountable and inex- 
 plicable, being answerable to the numberless rovings of fancy, 
 and windings of language." He was apt, and wont himself to 
 say many apt and pleasant things ; and he enjoyed, with a keen 
 zest, anything of the kind in his associates and friends, if so be 
 it were pure and innocent. It is matter of observation that this 
 property of mind, while it often delights, sometimes offends and 
 wounds. In him it was baptized and purified in the clear, 
 transparent flowings of a pure love. Nothing biting, nothing 
 sarcastic, or ironical, escaped his lips. He made fun and mock 
 of no creature of God. His wit and humor conversed with 
 things and thoughts, and not so much with men and characters. 
 " Sometimes it lie in a pet allusion to a known' story, or in a 
 sensible application of a trivial saying ; sometimes it played in 
 
452 
 
 words and phrases ; sometimes it lodged in a sly question, in a 
 shrewd intimation, or in closely retorting an objection ; " 
 hence, while you saw its glare and brightness, it was never with 
 the foreboding fear that its stroke might ere long fall upon you 
 or yours, smiting, prostrating, and humbling you in the dust. 
 This trait and grace of mind he had rightfully and by inheri- 
 tance, being descended of the Scotch race, in whose character it 
 is proverbially prominent. And amid all the solemnities of a 
 death-bed, — in the undressing of his soul, — the reverential and 
 earnest abiding of the quick-coming scenes of eternity, — the 
 patient expectation of heaven and its glories, which were the 
 objects of trust and faith in Christ only, his pleasantry and 
 humor did not forsake him ; and these, with the other and 
 spiritual exercises of his mind, gave a very pleasant and grate- 
 ful air to the sick-chamber and the death-bed, where the good 
 man meets his fate, making less frightful, pleasant and joyous 
 even, the noiseless approach of the king of terrors. Thus was 
 he natural and himself, up to the last hour of life and in the 
 solemn moment of death ; a devout, confiding christian indeed, 
 but no less a man gifted and endowed as well by nature as by 
 grace. His life of great excellence was crowned by a graceful, 
 dignified, and sacred period. 
 
 Mr. Clark for a long time was a sufferer, but endured his 
 protracted confinement with patience, and died of bronchial 
 consumption Aug. 17, 1847, leaving a wife and three children, 
 after a pastorate of eighteen years.* 
 
 The materials for the foregoing sketches have been gathered 
 from various sources with great labor, and they have been ex- 
 tended far beyond our first intention, and quite as far beyond 
 the legitimate taxing of our strength. Soon after the Centen- 
 nial a request was made through several of the weekly news- 
 papers, that any person interested in the history of New Boston, 
 and having a historic relation thereto, would furnish a brief 
 sketch of his family, both historic and genealogical. Few have 
 complied with it. But the fault of any omission must be the 
 delinquent's, not ours. We have never felt that we were binder 
 any obligation to write the history of private families and indi- 
 
 * Condensed from a more extended notice. 
 
453 
 
 viduals. If we have done it in case of most of the foregoing 
 sketches, it was not because we felt there were any claims on us 
 from any one, but because the history of the town would be 
 incomplete without some of them, and the volume would lose 
 much of its interest to coming generations. 
 
 Although a full list of names of the men who served in the 
 war of the Revolution cannot be obtained, yet they are inci- 
 dentally brought to light in these sketches, and it is abundantly 
 evident that New Boston promptly furnished her full share of 
 men, giving liberal bounties, and generously supporting the 
 families of the soldiers at the expense of the town. Though a 
 majority of the people were opposed to the war, and though 
 they had some stormy debates, yet the patriots always had a 
 majority whenever a vote was taken to raise bounties, or advance 
 the pay of the soldier, or relieve his family. The records of 
 the town, on this subject, are full and entirely satisfactory. 
 
 In the war of 1812 the town could " vote unanimously, to a 
 man, to sustain the government," and, of course, men and 
 means were furnished without stint. So in the present war, 
 our quotas have been promptly filled through the offering of 
 generous bounties, notwithstanding a large majority of the legal 
 voters are opposed to the present administration. And few 
 towns have more readily contributed to the wants of soldiers, 
 through the various channels in which comforts are conveyed 
 to them, than this, though these contributions have come from 
 a small minority of the inhabitants. 
 
 We have taken great pleasure in honoring the men who have 
 heroically served their country, whether in 1776, 1812, or 18G1. 
 Their names deserve a record, and their patriotism a tribute of 
 praise. A united and grateful country will honor them as they 
 deserve, when the stormy clays have passed, and it comes to be 
 seen that a country, purified by sufferings and sacrifices, has 
 favors only for those who bared their bosoms to the conflict for 
 self-preservation, and reproaches for those that " came not to 
 the help of the Lord, to the. help of the Lord against the 
 mighty." 
 
FABMS AND FABMING. 
 
 The surface of New Boston is broken, its abrupt hills indi- 
 cating that Nature once got into a strange freak, and sought 
 to make this region of country preeminent for its inequalities. 
 But she gave a rich compensation in the fertility of the soil, and 
 the grandeur of the forests. The branches of the Piscataquog, 
 which traverse this region, have been distinguished for the 
 superiority of the pine timber that bordered them, while her 
 hills have been covered with a heavy growth of chestnut, 
 beech, birch, maple, and hemlock. Wood here grows with 
 surprising rapidity. With markets near, and prices remunera- 
 tive, great quantities of wood for fuel are transported from the 
 town, affording employment for many teams through the year, 
 especially in winter. And the quantity of valuable timber for 
 building, and other purposes, every year removed, is very 
 large. The timber of New Boston has been inferior to that 
 of no other town in the vicinity. Masts of great size have here 
 been obtained for a long series of years. By royal authority, 
 when New Hampshire was a colony of England, a road was 
 constructed up the Piscataquog River, through Goffstown and 
 Weare, and a branch extended into New Boston. This road 
 has always been known as the " Mast Road," its construction 
 being for the accommodation of " the masting business." Mr. 
 Potter, in his " History of Manchester," says : — 
 
 " Some of the largest and most valuable masts, ever cut in 
 the Province, were cut in Goffstown and New Boston. The 
 old people relate that one was cut upon the farm of Jonathan 
 Bell, of Goffstown, in the valley of the south branch of the 
 Piscataquog, and about a half of a mile southwest of Goffs- 
 town, West Village, that exceeded in size, length, and symme- 
 try, any other ever cut in this region. It was so large, that 
 some of the teamsters drove a yoke of ' seven feet oxen ' upon 
 its stump, and turned them round with ease." 
 
4r>/5 
 
 Owing to this abundance of timber, with corresponding mill 
 facilities and convenient markets, Lumbering has absorbed much 
 of the interest and labor which ought to have been given to 
 the soil. The lumbering business is more speedily remunera- 
 tive, but the tilling of the soil better promotes the morals of 
 a people, and far more tends to permanent wealth. Large 
 tracts have been divested of rich growths, leaving the soil 
 poor and worth but little ; consequently the farms to which 
 they were attached greatly depreciate, and are used for pas- 
 tures or sold in fragments to surrounding neighbors ; and thus 
 many of the once most productive farms are lost on the map 
 of the town, and the thousands of dollars received from the 
 sale of lumber almost immediately finds investment in other 
 towns; SO that while individuals obtain largo sums by divest- 
 ing the soil of its growth, the town is, in reality, to the same 
 extent impoverished. So much of the large growth has been 
 removed, that there would be good reason to anticipate greater 
 attention to farming, if the increase of wood did not nearly 
 equal the amount removed. As it is, we think there is hope. 
 The surface of New Boston, as has been said, is distinguished 
 for its abrupt inequalities. Her hills are precipitous, and the 
 soil on their sides and tops is deep and friable, seldom Buffer- 
 ing from droughts, and as little injured by " washings." 
 
 The rapid decay of minerals supplies the earth with needed 
 salts, so that it is not impoverished by its annual production 
 with a reasonable return from the stable. Corn, wheat, oats, 
 barley, beans, and potatoes arc cultivated with great success ; 
 and, unless positively abused, there is little soil in New Boston 
 that does not repay the laborer. And he is a thriftless farmer 
 who grows poor, possessed of a moderate amount of mother 
 earth within our limits. Indeed, such is randy or never the 
 case with any sober and industrious man. 
 
 For a long time our restless youth have been eager to rush 
 into the manufacturing towns and mails of trade, preferring a, 
 more rapid course to wealth, though full of hazards. This is 
 owing partly to the little taste manifested, and the little regard 
 shown to the higher needs of the family by parents, which have 
 served to disgust many a youth with rural pursuits, and partly 
 to the feverishness which pervades the whole country, by the 
 
456 
 
 opening of new channels of trade and novel fields of activity. 
 That farming is not a rapid road to wealth, is admitted ; but 
 that it is a sure road to competence, is undeniable. That it 
 requires labor, it must be confessed ; but the poor city clerk, 
 who puts on better cloth, and assumes more attractive airs, 
 to the confounding of country boys, has to labor more hours, 
 and with more degrading obsequiousness, than the young man 
 who tills the soil ; while his chances of competence are by no 
 means flattering. 
 
 Valuable as has been the timber of New Boston, we doubt if 
 it has equalled her annual grass crop ; productive as is the soil 
 in the growth of the cereals, it is unsurpassed in its adapted- 
 ness to the cultivation of the grasses. Here the timothy, red- 
 top, and clover grow luxuriant, and are cultivated with facility. 
 Large quantities of hay are every year conveyed to Manchester, 
 Nashua, and other places, commanding remunerative prices, 
 thus being a source of income to the farmer. Still, it is to be 
 feared that too many calculate upon the ready cash it will 
 bring, more than how they may enhance the fertility of the 
 soil and increase its production. If hay is sold and .its equiv- 
 alent in fertilizing properties be not returned to the soil, the 
 ground is necessarily impoverished to that extent. Yet many 
 farmers of New Boston can afford to spare a portion of their 
 grass crops, if judiciously cared for from the barn-cellars. And 
 this leads us to say that great improvements have been made, 
 within the past few years, in the construction of barns and cel- 
 lars for the reception of manures. It is now well understood 
 that the thrifty farmer can multiply his fertilizers fourfold 
 beyond that distributed to the land by our fathers ; and the 
 waste once witnessed on many a farm would now be deemed a 
 reproach. 
 
 While New Boston boasts a rich soil and ample returns, she 
 also takes pride in her herds and flocks. The pastures are nat- 
 urally fertile and well-watered. The cattle that graze them are 
 mostly of the native breed, greatly improved by being crossed 
 with other breeds. They do not possess the great horns, nar- 
 row shoulders and rumps, as formerly, but are large, round, 
 line-looking animals, strong for labor, or meet for the stall, or 
 ready to enrich the dairy. A few herds of pure Devons may 
 
457 
 
 be found, but more crossed with the native breed. Now and 
 then a Durham and Ayershire may be seen, but the cattle gen- 
 erally preferred are the first named. The number of cattle is 
 large. The dairies though not large as formerly, yet are nu- 
 merous and more remunerative, while present exorbitant prices 
 obtained for butter and cheese would justify extension. Within 
 the past few years more attention has been given to wool-growing ; 
 and the sheep once more is heard bleating upon our hills, from 
 which for a time she seemed banished, evidently to the detri- 
 n >nt of the soil and the loss of the farmer. 
 
 New Boston has always boasted a race of fine horses ; and 
 few towns can present a larger number of substantial and well- 
 trained animals for the' family and the road, than may here be 
 found. The Scotch-Irish take great pride in driving a spirited 
 steed, and count it reproach to be the owner of a mean animal 
 from the days of good old Deacon Jesse Christy, whose horses 
 never ran too fast for him, to the present young Americas. 
 New Boston has won the palm at many a fair, and gloried in 
 the animal " that smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of 
 the captains and the shouting." John Newton Dodge has taken 
 the premium for horses ; George Austin Wason, for Devon stock 
 and horses ; while Jacob Hooper and Solomon Dodge have car- 
 ried off the premium for best farms, at county fairs. A brighter 
 day, we think, is beginning to dawn upon the farming interests 
 of New Boston, and the future promises to yield better results 
 than the past. " The good time coining " for New Boston is 
 when lumbering shall cease, and all men not required in other 
 branches of activity shall count it their glory to own farms and 
 excel in their cultivation ; — where her youth shall no longer 
 prefer to obtain a livelihood any way rather than by farming. 
 A quiet home in the country, with pleasant surroundings, with 
 means of intelligence and aids to refinement, which every thrifty 
 farmer may have, is of all places the most secure of ills, and 
 the most sure pledge of length of days, and of blessings that 
 bring no sorrow with them. The farmer is not now necessarily 
 ignorant of the world's activity, either in trade or politics. 
 Cities are no longer the only centres of intelligence and refine- 
 ment, but these centres may be found wherever there is a live 
 tiller of the soil, or an active mechanic. His daily and weekly 
 
 58 
 
458 
 
 newspaper keeps him as well-informed as if he lived in the great 
 metropolis. And as to seeing, his horse, light of foot, soon 
 bears him to the city to which he need be no stranger, or the 
 iron horse that passes his door lands him in a short time in the 
 midst of trade and attractions ; nor is he less happy if his 
 family be permitted to accompany him. 
 
 " In the year 1672, when throughout Great Britain only six 
 stage-coaches were constantly going, a pamphlet was written by 
 one John Cresset, of the Charter House, for their suppression ; 
 and among the many grave reasons given against their contin- 
 uance is the following : ' These stage coaches make gentlemen 
 come to London upon very small occasion, which otherwise 
 they would not do, but upon urgent necessity ; nay, the con- 
 venience of the passage makes their wives often come up, who, 
 rather than come such long journeys on horseback, would stay 
 at home. Here, when they have come to town, they must pres- 
 ently be in the mode, get fine clothes, go to plays and treats, 
 and by these means get such a habit of idleness and love of 
 pleasure, that they are uneasy ever after.' " 
 
 The farmers of New Boston have no such fears. Their sen- 
 sible and intelligent wives and daughters may love to visit the 
 city occasionally, that they may not forget how the world moves 
 at the seat of fashions and inventions, but they are glad to re- 
 turn to the quiet seclusion of their happy rural homes, wiser, 
 and better prepared for their duties than before. There is no 
 longer ground of fear of " country cousins." They are as well- 
 educated, have as much brain, and sometimes more heart than 
 their city friends ; and " country cousins," instead of being awed 
 by the airs of city friends, have come to feel that theirs is the 
 better inheritance. Self-respect will exist where there is home- 
 refinement and heart-culture. Let the farmers of New Boston 
 resolve that they will make their homes nurseries of industry, 
 intelligence, and virtue, and they will never pine for the pleas- 
 ures of a city life. Let theirs be the sentiment, — 
 
 " Higher, higher will we climb 
 
 Up the mount of glory, 
 That our names may live through time 
 
 In our country's story ; 
 Happy, when her welfare calls, 
 He who conquers, he who falls. 
 
459 
 
 " Onward, onward will we press 
 
 Through the path of duty ; 
 Virtue is true happiness, 
 
 Excellence true beauty : 
 Minds are of supernal birth, 
 Let us make a heaven of earth. 
 
 " Close and closer then we knit 
 
 Hearts and hands together, 
 Where our fireside comforts sit 
 
 In the wildest weather : 
 ( )h ! they wander wide, who roam 
 For the joys of life, from home. 
 
 " Nearer, dearer bands of love 
 
 Draw our souls in union, 
 To our Father's house above, 
 
 To the saints' communion. 
 Thither every hope ascend, 
 There may all our labors end." 
 
 According to the United States census for 1860, the popula- 
 tion of New Boston is 1,369, — white males, 682 ; white females, 
 681 ; free colored males, 2 ; and colored females, 4. The pop- 
 ulation of Hillsborough County is 62,140. The population of 
 the bordering towns is as follows : Francestown, 1,082 ; Goffs- 
 town, 1,740 ; Weare, 2,310 ; Bedford, 1,172 ; Amherst, 1,508 ; 
 Mont Vernon, 725 ; Lyndeborough, 823. The total population 
 of the State is 325,579. 
 
 The following columns show that the number of owners or 
 managers of farms is 170 ; number of acres of improved land, 
 16,306 ; acres of unimproved land, 4,352 ; cash value of the 
 farms is set down at -1477,190 ; the value of implements and 
 machinery is 120,658 ; number of horses, 281 ; milch cows, 546 ; 
 working oxen, 342 ; other cattle, 857 ; sheep, 723 ; swine, 406 ; 
 the value of live stock, $82,086 ; number of bushels of wheat, 
 2,094 ; bushels of rye, 1,319 ; bushels of Indian corn, 10,885 ; 
 bushels of oats, 4,410 ; pounds of wool, 1,867 ; bushels of peas 
 and beans, 391 ; bushels of Irish potatoes, 18,797 ; bushels of 
 barley, 996 ; cash value of orchard products, $5,974 ; pounds of 
 butter, 47,025 ; pounds of cheese, 18,152 ; tons of hay, 3,686 ; 
 value of slaughtered animals, $11,058. 
 
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INDEX. 
 
 Adams, Dea. Marshall, 129, 329; sketch of, 
 
 431. 
 Adams, Marshall C. 329. 
 Addition, New, 67, 71. 
 Aiken, Rev. Dr. 131. 
 Andrews, Capt. Joseph, sketch of, 436; Dea. 
 
 Issachar, sketch of, 438. 
 Antrim, 35. 
 
 Appleton, Rev. Jesse, 122. 
 Argyleshire, 15, 35. 
 Atwood, Rev. J. 9,52; sketch of, 141; his 
 
 history of B. Church, 143. 
 Atwood, Dr. Moses, sketch of, 210, 213. 
 Ayrshire, 35. 
 
 Baptist Church, 52; organized, 143. 
 Beard, Ebenezer, 107; Andrew, sketch of, 
 
 3S0; Jesse, 13,109,380. 
 Beede, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 Barnard, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 Betton, N. C, Esq., sketch of, 202. 
 Blair, John, sketch of. 352. 
 Blanchard, Col. J. 42, 07, 70. 
 Boston, arrived at, 38. 
 
 Bradford, Rev. E. P. 34, 52, 9S ; call of, 118; 
 acceptance, 120; ordination, 122; mar- 
 riage, 123 ; trials, 124; salary, 129; publi- 
 cations, 130 ; wife, 131, 133; children, 132. 
 Bradford, Dr. David, 211; James B. and 
 
 EphraimP. 252; Rev. Moses, 117. 
 Brown, Rev. Mr. 117; Dr. Winthrop, 210. 
 Bruce, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 Burial-ground, history of, 233; Fairbanks 
 
 on, 241. 
 Burnap, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 Burr, W., Esq. 12, 300. 
 Butterfield, Lieut. 305. 
 
 Buxton, Rev. Edward, 13, 20; sketch of, 135; 
 response of, 137; Capt. Benjamin, sketch 
 of, 401. 
 Caldwell, James, Esq., sketch of, 417. 
 Campbell, Daniel, 9; Wm. C, letter of 247; 
 Robert, sketch of, 412; Thomas, sketch 
 of, 414. 
 Canada, 61. 
 Casualties, 227. 
 
 Census, first, 44; second, 45; third and 
 fourth, 40; for 1860,459-405. 
 
 Centennial, proceedings of, 9. 
 Chase, Rev. Mr. 145. 
 Choristers, 170. 
 Churches, 50. 
 
 Clark, Wm. R., letter, 253; Rev. William, 
 19; sketch of, 207; response of, 209; Dea. 
 Robert, 123, 209 ; sketch of, 370 ; Dr. N. 
 P. 210 ; William, Esq., sketch of, 309 ; 
 John, sketch of, 371 ; Rebecca, sketch of, 
 371 ; Ninian, sketch of, 372 ; Ninian, Esq., 
 sketch of, 372 ; Rev. Samuel, sketch of, 
 447; Rev. Samuel Wallace, sketch of, 
 450. 
 Clayford, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 
 Cochrane, Hon. C. B. 9; letter, 10; sketch 
 of, 23; address, 25, 200; Robert P.. 9; 
 Warren R. 9; sketch of, 73; poem, 75; 
 Hon. Gerry W. 19; sketch of, 331 ; re- 
 sponse of, 333. 
 Cochran, C. C. letter of, 251; Dr. Charles, 
 sketch of, 19.;; response of, 195, 211; Dr. 
 Jeremiah 5. 211; sketch of, 446. , 
 
 Cochran, Dea. Thomas, 47, 111, 123 ; sketch 
 of, 350 ; William P., Esq., sketch of, 183; 
 response of, 185; Gen. William S., ban- 
 ner of, 12; letter of, 250; Robert C, Esq. 
 201; Dr. Thomas !I. 212; sketch of, 273; 
 response of 275; John, sketch of, 35S; 
 Peter, sketch of, 300; Nathaniel, sketch 
 of, 303; John, Esq., sketch of, 304; 
 James, sketch of, 305; Elijah, sketch of, 
 305; Joseph, Esq., sketch of, 306; Abra- 
 ham, sketch of, 308; John, Esq., sketch 
 of, 409. 
 Cristy, Dea. S. L. 9, 371 ; Moses, 371; Dea. 
 Jesse, sketch of, 355; Capt. George, 
 sketch of, 361. 
 Cogswell, Rev. E.C. 9, 12; address of, 14, 133. 
 Colburn, L. 9; Wm. W., sketch of 171; re- 
 sponse of, 173. 
 Crombie, Dr. James II., sketch of, 205, re- 
 sponse of, 207; James, Esq., sketch of, 
 141; response of, 153, 200; Ninian C. 9; 
 Dr. James, 211 ; James, sketch of, 374; 
 John, sketch of, 375. 
 CammingS, Jeremiah, 11, 01. 
 Cutter, Dr. Wm. 209. 
 
468 
 
 Dalton, Dr. John, 210. 
 
 Dana, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 
 Dane, Dea. Samuel, 12 ; sketch of, 422 ; Dan- 
 iel, sketch of, 421. 
 
 Danforth, Dr. James, 210. 
 
 Davidson, Kev. Wm. 50. 
 
 Davis, Rev. J. G., letter of, 254. 
 
 Deering, 40. 
 
 Derry, 37. 
 
 Dodge, Solomon, 9; John, 9; sketch of, 396; 
 Perley, Esq., sketch of, 197 ; response of, 
 199; Benj., sketch of, 379; Lieut. Solo- 
 mon, sketch of, 393; Israel, residence of, 
 393 ; Dea. Solomon, residence of, 394 ; 
 Amos, Esq., residence of, 394: Daniel, 
 sketch of, 443. 
 
 Dunbar, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 
 Dunstable, 106, 305. 
 
 Dwelling-houses, 103. 
 
 Eastman, Dr. 209. 
 
 Elders, 113, 119, 123, 129, 134. 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen, 36, 66. 
 
 Exeter, 49. 
 
 Fairbanks, Lorenzo, Esq. 200; sketch of, 
 239; response of, 241. 
 
 Fairfield, J. W., Esq. 200; address of, 20; 
 sketch of, 93; response of, 95; Capt. 
 Matthew, sketch of, 409; John, Esq., 
 sketch of, 409; Seth, Esq. 200. 
 
 Farmer's Cabinet, 11. 
 
 Farms and Farming, 454. 
 
 Ferson, Dea. James, sketch of, 252; Dr. 
 William, 211. 
 
 Fires, 230. 
 
 Fitch, Dr. Francis, 210. 
 
 Flag-, presented by Gen. W. S. Cochran, 12. 
 
 Foss, Rev. A. T. 144. 
 
 Francestown, 40, 67. 
 
 Fryeburgh, 65. 
 
 Fullerton, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 
 Gage, Rev. David, 145. 
 
 Goodhue, Rev. J. A. 20, 21 ; sketch of, 161 ; 
 responses of, 163, 343; John, sketch of, 
 407. 
 
 Genealogical sketches, 349. 
 
 Goodridge, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 
 Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, 66. 
 
 Goffe, John, Esq. 48, 201. 
 
 Goffstown, 40, 104. 
 
 Gove, Dr. Jonathan, 201; sketch of, 209, 214; 
 Charles Frederick, 201 ; John, 201. 
 
 Graduates, college, 260. 
 
 Grant, 40, 61; conditions thereof, 62, 103. 
 
 Grantees, names of, 01 ; claim of, 01. 
 
 Graveyards, 54, 104 ; history of, 233. 
 
 Gregg, Hugh, sketch of, 353; Dr. Samuel, 
 211: letter of, 248; sketch of, 442; Sam- 
 uel, Esq., sketch of, 442; David, 9. 
 
 Harris, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 
 Haverhill, 38. 
 
 Hayward, Rev. Sylvanus, 73. 
 
 Hazelton, Gerry W., Esq., sketch of, 177; 
 
 response of, 179. 
 Hills, Cochran's, 299; Bradford's, 300,301; 
 
 Clark's, 301; Joe English, 302, 304. 
 Henniker, 40. 
 Hogg, Robert, sketch of, 423 ; Abner, sketch 
 
 of, 424. 
 History, Ecclesiastical, 103. 
 Hoilis Association, 108. 
 Hooper, Jacob, sketch of, 434. 
 Honor, Roll of, 263. 
 Hymns, Centennial, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19. 
 Incorporation, 47. 
 Indians, tribes of, 303. 
 Inhabitants, number of, 44, 459. 
 Ireland, 35, 30, 38,50, 95. 
 James the First, 36; the Second, 37. 
 Joe English, friendship of, 304; death of, 
 
 305 ; memories of, 309. 
 Jones, Joshua, sketch of, 444; Capt. Eph- 
 
 raim, sketch of, 445. 
 Kelso, William, sketch of, 383. 
 Kelley, Dr. E. G., sketch of, 213; letter of, 
 
 253. 
 Laconia, 06. 
 Lamson, Capt. John, 9 ; Joseph, sketch of, 
 
 419; Rev. William, D.D. 430 
 Langdeil, Livermore, sketch of, 435. 
 Lawyers, 99. 
 Livingston, Robert, 439. 
 Localities, business and interesting, 299. 
 Londonderry, 35 ; origin of 37, 40. 
 Lovewell, Zacheus, 41, 63, 65; Capt. John, 
 
 65. 
 Lynch, Dr. Samuel, 215 ; Maurice, sketch of, 
 
 438. 
 Mast Road, 454. 
 
 McAllister, John, sketch of, 386. 
 McCollom, Alexander. 55; sketch of, 411; 
 
 Dr. Alexander, sketch of, 214. 
 McCurdy, Jesse, Esq. 201. 
 McGregore, Rev. Mr. 50. 
 McLaughlen, sketch of, 3r9. 
 McMillen, Dr. Hugh, 209, 249 ; Dea. Archi- 
 bald, sketch of, 391 ; John, sketch of, 362 ; 
 Daniel, sketch of, 362. 
 McNeil, William, sketch of, 352; Dea. Wil- 
 liam, 55, 123 ; sketch of, 388. 
 Manchester, 40, 304. 
 Manufacturing Establishments, 224. 
 Marden, Dr. Daniel, 212; Lemuel, sketch of, 
 377; Jonathan, 378; Samuel, sketch of, 
 378. 
 Marshal, Chief, 12 ; aids, 12. 
 Mason, John T. 42, 66, 67. 
 Masonian heirs, 65, 67 ; grant, 68. 
 Meeting-houses, 103, 105, 107, 126. 
 
469 
 
 Merriam, Rev. Franklin, 145. 
 
 Merchants, 250. 
 
 Merrimac, 38. 
 
 Miles, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 
 Mills, 103. 
 
 Ministerial Fund, 147. 
 
 Moor, Rev. S. 50; call of, 109; installation 
 
 of, 112; marriage, 113 ; death, 114; his 
 
 ■widow and children, 114, 115. 
 Moore, Kev. Mr. 117; letter of, 251. 
 Moor. Dea. William, sketch of, 418. 
 Moorhead, Rev. Mr. 50. 
 Morgan, Zechariah, sketch of, 436. 
 Morrill, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 Morrison, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 Mortality, Bills of, 233. 
 Murders, 228. 
 
 Narraganset- towns, 41, 63. 
 New Boston, first called, 40, 47; supplies her 
 
 war quotas, 453, 455. 
 Nuffield, 38. 
 Officers, town, 255. 
 Old Style, 05. 
 Orthodox, minister, 103. 
 Otis, Thomas, sketch of, 445. 
 Paige, Kev. Mr. 117. 
 rarkinson, Rev. Royal, 20, 405; Robert, 
 
 sketch of, 404. 
 Tatten, Matthew, 71, 105, 106 ; Samuel, 105, 
 
 106. 
 Patterson, Dea. Robert, 123 ; sketch of, 390. 
 Peabody, Dr. Nathaniel, sketch of, 212 ; Isaac, 
 
 sketch of, 397. 
 Perkins, Dr. James, 210. 
 Peterborough, 40. 
 Phipps, Sir William, 61. 
 Pine-trees, 454. 
 Poems, W. R. Cochran's, 75; Mrs. S. T. 
 
 Wason's, 309. 
 Population, 459. 
 Presbyteiiau Church, 52; organized, 113; 
 
 members of, 119. 
 Presbyterians, 95, 96. 
 President, 12; Vice, 12. 
 Pounds, 235. 
 Potter, Hon. C. E. 304. 
 Preaching, desired, 107. 
 Richards, Luther, sketch of, 395. 
 Roads, 235. 
 
 Revolution, war of, 49. 
 
 River, Piscataquog, 41, 106. 
 
 Russell, Kev. T. C. 19, 145. 
 
 Schools, first appropriation for, 157; districts 
 
 and first committee, 157. 
 School Fund, how obtained, 148; lost, 149. 
 School teachers, list of, 169. 
 Schools, Sabbath, first organized, 325. 
 Scotch, 35; Scotch Irish, 44, 95, 96. 
 Scotland, 35, 95. 
 Session House, 125. 
 Settlement, town, 43. 
 Simpson, John, 41, 02, 64. 
 Sleigh, Rev. Mr. 117. 
 Smith, Thomas, sketch of, 349; Dea. John, 
 
 sketch of, 349 ; Dea. Thomas, sketch of, 
 
 350. 
 Society, Presbyterian, organized, 129. 
 Starrett, David, sketch of, 427. 
 Stone, Rev. Josiah, 143, 144. 
 Suicides, 22S. 
 
 Teachers, school, 109 ; music, 170. 
 Tewksbury, Amos W., Esq., sketch of, 420. 
 Thornton, Dr. Matthew, 49, 207; anecdotes 
 
 of, 208. 
 Ticonderoga, 65. 
 
 Town meeting, the first, 47; other, 48, 98. 
 Turf and twidge, 50. 
 Tyng, Eleazer, 64. 
 Ulster, 37. 
 Vardy, Luke, 41, 65. 
 
 Volunteers, names of, 263 ; tribute to, 263. 
 Warren, Josiah, sketch of, 415. 
 Wason, Dea. Robert, 120; sketch of, 390; 
 
 Elbridge, 390; his residence, 312; Rev. 
 
 Hiram, sketch of, 316; response of, 319; 
 
 Dr. Horace, 211 ; George A. 12; Mrs. S. 
 
 T. 11, 12, 15, 17, 18; sketch of, 307; poem 
 
 of, 309. 
 Walker, Andrew, sketch of, 355. 
 Wentworth, B. and J. 44. 
 Whipple, Dr. John, 210, 249; John, sketch 
 
 of, 432; Dr. Robert, 432; 
 White, Dea. Robert, 51, 111; sketch of, 387. 
 Whiting, Capt. Gerry, sketch of, 440. 
 Willson, William, Esq. 200; Willsons, 
 
 sketch of, 3S7. 
 Windham, 40. 
 Woodbury, William, sketch of, 441. 
 
ERE AT A. 
 
 I\age 10, seven lines from top, for occasion, read occasions. 
 Page 75, ten lines from top, for suns, read sons. 
 Page 101, eleven lines from bottom, for mother, read mothers. 
 Page 200, nineteenth line from top, for leader, read lawyer. 
 Page 242, nine lines from top, for out, read only. 
 Page 264, twelve lines from top, for Doge, read Dodge. 
 
 Page 307, seven lines from top, before Thomas, insert Samuel Anderson, residing in 
 Providence, It. I. 
 Page 369, seventeen lines from top, for McLauglen, read McLauglilen. 
 Page 440, eleven lines from bottom, for here, read there. 
 
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