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snow which fell during the night, and traveled nearly five
miles when the dog stopped near the roots of a large tree which had blown down,
where they found the dead body of the child, with its little hands crossed over
its eyes, and covered over with leaves and mosses by its faithful protector,
who stayed with his little charge as long as he could without starving. For
years afterwards let any of the family say to him, "Painter, where is
Edwin?" and he would instantly drop on the floor and seemed to manifest as
keen sorrow as a dumb beast could for the absence of the little one.
Mr. Stevens' family was again afflicted, in 1831, by the
death of a little daughter two years old, who went to a spring near the house
with her little cup for some drink, when she slipped in and before discovered
was drowned.
It is said there are many interesting incidents connected
with the early history of the town, such as hair-breadth escapes, perilous
adventures, great endurance, &c., among the early settlers; but the older
inhabitants, who were the subjects and witnesses of them, had all died or
removed from town before the writer became one of its citizens.
The Fosters, Blakes and Morses are among the principal
hunters who have become familiar with the wilderness in all northern Vermont.
The latter are usually engaged as guides to the stranger who wishes to spend a
few days in hunting and fishing. Bears, deer and moose are often captured. The
latter, which was formerly very plenty, has taken a dislike to the steam
whistle and do not now approach very near to the abodes of civilization. In the
year 1858 a large moose came upon the railroad, a few miles north of the
village, and was discovered by the engineer, who was running a train of empty
platform cars. He immediately let on steam and gave chase, the moose keeping
the railroad track for about one mile, when the engine getting rather too near,
the moose wheeled to double his track and succeeded in getting around the
engine, but came so close as to come in contact of the second car, which struck
him with such force as to instantly kill him and at the same time threw two
empty cars from the track. It was a very large one, weighing between 600 and
700 pounds. Many of his leaps measured over 20 feet.
In the winter of 1842 and '43 an epidemic prevailed in
this part of Vermont, which baffled the skill of the best physicians for a long
time, and proved very fatal. In Brighton many were attacked, but Dr. Harvey
Coe, then practicing physician, having been fortunate enough to hit upon the
right treatment, lost only one patient. Other physicians soon adopted his
theory and many lives were saved.
[The writer is under obligations to Dr. Coe and E. W.
Hoffman, Esq., for much information relating to the early history of this
town.]
——————————
BRUNSWICK.
BY MRS. MARGARET G. MARSHALL.
The town of Brunswick is bounded S. by Maidstone, E. by
Connecticut river, N. by Bloomfield, and W. by Ferdinand, formerly Wenlock.
Most of the meadow land bordering on the Connecticut river is annually inundated
by its waters, increasing the fertility of the soil, by the alluvial deposit
left upon the land when the water subsides. With the exception of the land
bordering on the river, the town is broken, hilly and stony, and poorly adapted
to purposes of agriculture. The town was chartered in the usual manner, by
Benning Wentworth in 1761, to Stephen Noble and 63 others, and embraces a
little more than 15,000 acres. There is quite a discrepancy in the charter of
Brunswick, which can only be accounted for on the supposition that the course
of the Connecticut river was not correctly understood. The charter says,
"containing by admeasurement about twenty-five thousand acres, which tract
is to contain something more than six miles square and no more;" then
after some preliminary remarks, proceeds to describe the tract by courses and
distances, and says, "butted and bounded as follows, viz : at the most
easterly corner of Maidstone, from thence northwesterly up Connecticut river so
far as to make six miles upon a straight line, thence from said river N. W. six
miles and one half mile, from thence southwesterly on a parallel line with
that on the river to the northerly corner of Maidstone aforesaid; from thence
S. E. by Maidstone aforesaid to Connecticut river, to the bounds first above
mentioned." If the course of the river had been
BRUNSWICK. 961
N. E. and S. W. in accordance with the general course,
the survey as described in the charter would have embraced the amount of land
contemplated; but as the river runs nearly N. and S. by Brunswick, and the
other lines were run as described in the charter, the shape of the town was not
a square or nearly so as they seemed to have supposed, but took the form of a
rhombus, which very materially diminished the area, and deprived the original
proprietors of about two-fifths of the quantity of land designed to be embraced
in the charter. It does not appear that any of the original proprietors ever
occupied the soil, or commenced any improvement or operations within its
limits. Arthur Wooster is supposed to have made the first clearing of some
three or four acres, on the upper side of the Wait Bow, but for some cause
abandoned his improvement, and never became an inhabitant of the town. The
first survey and allotment of the town was made by Eben W. Judd, in 1788,
making two lots to each original proprietor, and were called the first and
second division comprising nearly 2/3 of the town. The first divisions contained
only 8 acres each and were laid out on the lands bordering on the river. The
design in making the lots so small was, that each proprietor might have a piece
of meadow land. The second division lots contain 115 acres. The allotment of
the remaining portion of the town was made in 1823, by Rich Stevens, and
containing 72 acres to each lot.
Notwithstanding the forbidding condition of the lands not
immediately bordering on the Connecticut river for purposes of cultivation,
probably no town in Essex county originally contained more white pine timber
than Brunswick, and the natural facilities of conveying the same to the
seaboard might have rendered it a very great source of wealth to the early
settlers, or their descendants and successors, provided they had possessed the
means of obtaining its ownership, or fully appreciated its coming value; but
failing perhaps in both of those prerequisites, they suffered most of the
timber to be removed by others with but little pecuniary advantage to the first
and present occupants of the soil.
David Hix and Abram Gile were the first settlers in
Brunswick. Hix commenced on the farm afterwards owned and occupied by Joshua R.
Lamkin, he was a cooper and did not make much improvement in clearing and otherwise
subduing the natural hindrances in the way of civilized life. He was taken by
the Indians while hunting sable in the woods, and carried to Canada, where he
remained two years and three months
Abram Gile commenced settlement on the Wait Bow, but remained
in the town only a short time. The most permanent settlers in the town before
1800, who cleared their farms, and remained until their decease, were John
Merrill, Joseph Wait, Nathaniel Wait, Philip Grapes, Joshua R. Lamkin, Gideon
Smith, David Hyde, and Reuben Hawkins. There are some others who resided
temporarily here before 1800, of whom little is known.
John Merrill moved from Lisbon, N. H., into Brunswick in
1778. His farm was the one upon which Elias Taylor now resides, and is the
first farm, as you pass up the Connecticut, in Brunswick. He was an intelligent,
energetic and worthy citizen, and was one of the first selectmen in town. He
was justice of the peace for many years, and discharged its duties with much
ability. Having a quick and excitable temperament, he sometimes transgressed
the rules of propriety in some of his expressions; yet he was a good neighbor,
and kind to all with whom he had intercourse. He died Feb. 27, 1839, aged 87
years 2 months. His son Joseph Merrill resides in Maidstone, on the farm adjoining
the one formerly occupied by his father, in Brunswick. He is now 86 years old,
and although his hearing and eyesight are somewhat impaired, he possesses a remarkable
memory, and from him the writer obtained many early incidents relative to
Brunswick. I will relate a circumstance of his narrow escape from death when a
boy about ten years old. His father had girdled a large elm tree for the
purpose of killing it; Joseph the boy was driving the team for his father to
plough, and as they passed around the land they were ploughing, they came near
this elm tree, which being hollow and consequently nearer cut off than the
father was aware, it fell just at the time they were passing it, falling on the
boy and killing one of the oxen; that part of the tree however that struck the
boy had a small crook in it, which prevented his being killed, notwithstanding
it held him so fast that help had to be obtained, before he could be removed.
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JOSEPH
WAIT
came to Brunswick in 1779, and settled with his brother
Nathaniel on the bow of land which bears their name. He was chosen
proprietor's clerk in 1786, which office he held until the town was organized.
He was the first sheriff in Essex county, was the first representative of the
town, and was first selectman, in connection with John Merrill, and David Hyde.
He was chosen clerk at the time the town was organized, and held the office
many years. The town meetings were holden at his dwelling-house for many years
after the town became organized, and he probably held more town offices than
any other man in town before 1820. He was killed by a fall from his horse in
1823. Nathaniel his brother served three months as militia-man in the war of
the Revolution.
PHILIP
GRAPES
came to Brunswick 1780, he was chosen selectman in 1797,
and first constable and collector in 1798, and collected the tax of one cent on
each acre of land, granted by the legislature of the state of Vermont Nov. 10th
1797, for the support of Government. He was a soldier in the war of the
Revolution some two or three years, and was killed by the fall of a tree in the
year 1800. His widow Elizabeth survived him many years, and was the oldest
person that ever died in town, being over 100 years of age. The first saw and
grist mill was built in Brunswick, in 1800, by Ithiel Cargill, who came into
the town in the fall of 1799, and contracted with the proprietors to build the
mills in one year, and as an encouragement for building the same the proprietors
voted him the right of pitching 400 acres of his undivided land, provided he
did not select it in more than three places. He purchased the farm occupied by
Reuben Tuttle, which embraced the mill privilege. He owned and occupied the
farm and mills more than 20 years, and raised up a large family. His two oldest
sons John and Ithiel went to the town of Wenlock (now Brighton), about 20 miles
from the Connecticut river, through an unbroken forest, and commenced in the
solitude of the forest to make themselves a farm; after chopping down some 15
or 20 acres of trees Ithiel was killed by the falling of a tree, yet John with
great perseverance continued the improvements, and cleared up a large farm,
and now lives upon the premises, being a worthy and independent farmer; the
rest of the family moved to Morgan in the county of Orleans, and there is not
any of the name or connection remaining in Brunswick.
DAVID
HYDE
came here in 1784, and settled upon the farm known as the
Hyde Bow., This bow is a beautiful tract of land, situated nearly in the center
of the town, and taking into consideration all the conveniences with which it
is surrounded, constitutes a desirable location.
He soon made the forest disappear, and in its place waved
the golden grain. He was a close observer of men and things, and in the
athletic sports often practiced in these times, he could run the fastest, dive
the deepest, and stay under water the longest of any of his townsmen. His
notions of right and wrong were somewhat peculiar, as will be seen by reference
to his acts and sayings. In measuring grain that he sold to his neighbors, he
always heaped the half bushel, and in weight he made no account of the fractions
of a pound, frequently remarking that "weight and measure was the Lord's,
but the price was his own."
He died in the year 1812. David his youngest son when a
boy had a cruel fever- sore on his leg which destroyed the joint at the knee,
and caused the limb to be shorter than the other. He owned and occupied the
homestead after his father's decease, some 35 years, and by his sagacity and
shrewd management became one of the wealthiest men in the county.
GIDEON
SMITH
came into town before 1787, and settled upon the bow of
land next below the mouth of Paul stream. Being industrious and economical in
his habits, he became a substantial citizen of the town. He was rather comical
or amusing in conveying his ideas; for instance, being asked which of the men
Hyde or Tuttle (two of his neighbors) in his opinion was the best man, he
replied, "Hyde from Tuttle you can't, but Hyde from the devil there
remains Tuttle." He died in 1801, and the farm is now occupied by his
descendants.
The town of Brunswick was organized in 1796; the preamble
to the application is as follows:
"The inhabitants of Brunswick, being for many years
destitute of the privileges of an organized town, agreed in the year 1796,
BRUNSWICK. 963
that the town should be organized, to have the use and
benefit of the laws as organized towns have."
The application was to David Hyde, Esq. and was signed by
Jos. Wait, Philip Grapes, Nathaniel Wait and Jacob Schoff, free holders. The
meeting was held at Nathaniel Wait's dwelling-house on Thursday, March 31,1796;
David Hyde was chosen moderator, and Jos. Wait town clerk; Joseph Wait, David
Hyde and John Merrill, selectmen.
The first settlers of Brunswick in common with the early
inhabitants of adjoining towns, endured many privations and hardships not
known at this day. Living at a distance of 130 miles from the seaboard, all
heavy articles, such as salt and iron, in fact all those articles so necessary
to civilized life that could not be obtained from the soil, or found in the
woods or waters, had to be transported upon the backs of men or horses, having
no convenience of roads, and guided through the forest by spotted trees; being
obliged to ford streams that run across their route, and often swollen so as to
be impassable except by swimming; having no mills either for the manufacture
of lumber, or converting their grain into meal or flour, nearer than Haverhill,
N. H., a distance of 65 miles; and in addition to all the privations incident
to their situation, being surrounded by the hostile Indians, who at any time
might pounce upon them with the bloody tomahawk, we should think their
situation anything but desirable. But more, their currency was mostly the fur
of the wild animals, and the salts of lye, and many a horse's back and sides
has been made sore in carrying those salts in bags to market. When we take a
retrospective glance at the condition of the early settlers of Essex county, it
will materially help us in appreciating our condition, and perhaps should serve
to lessen that spirit of complaining in which we are too apt to indulge.
However, that Providence, who it is said, "tempers the wind to the shorn
lamb," seems to have prepared our fathers and mothers for the position
in which they were placed, by giving them strong and vigorous constitutions,
and that spirit of endurance so essential to their condition, and rarely
excelled. The first school in town was kept by Susan Bailey, in 1795; it was
kept in a log house that stood at the foot of the hill, near where Andrew J.
Taylor's dwelling-house at present stands.
The first division of the town into school districts was
made in 1818; by which three districts were made, called the upper, middle and
lower school districts, which embraced all the inhabitants then in town, and no
further districting or alteration has been made since. The second term of the
Court in Essex county was held in Brunswick, in David Hyde's barn. The
presiding Judges were Daniel Dana, Mills DeForest, and Samuel Phelps.
The first road in town was surveyed by Eben W. Judd, in
1790; it was laid up the Connecticut river from the N. line of Maidstone to
the S. line of Bloomfield, and followed nearly the same track as the highway
now traveled. The proprietors voted a tax of $10 on each original right, to
build the same.
In 1793 a road was laid out and built, from Connecticut
river westerly through Brunswick and Wenlock, to Island Pond, and thence to
Magog Lake. The road was built by the proprietors of the towns through which it
passed, for the purpose of encouraging the settlement of their lands. This road
extended six miles in this town. In 1820—21, five families settled in
Brunswick, upon lands through which this road passed but after making some
little improvements, they found the area of arable land so limited, by mountains
on one side, and swamps on the other, that in two or three years they were
compelled to abandon their lands which have since grown up to bushes, and no
further attempt has been made to settle on the lands they occupied, or on
other lands in town back from the Connecticut river.
The first child born in town was George W. Hix, son of
David Hix; but in what year he was born, or any other circumstance connected
with his history, but little is known.
The first tavern in town was kept by William Marshall, who
located in 1816, and opened his house for the reception of public travel, which
for many years was the home for all who desired entertainment, and was the only
public house in the town if we except one kept a few years by Thomas G. French.
He died in 1833, aged 52 years. His son George Marshall was chosen State
Senator for Essex county in 1845. In 1847 he moved with his family to the state
of Wis‑
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cousin, where he now resides. The widow of William
Marshall, now in her 77th year, resides upon the premises, and is endeavoring
to gather up and assist in preserving the early matters connected with the
first settlement of Brunswick, which are so fast becoming lost.
For religious instruction the inhabitants have been almost
entirely limited to the Bible, and the preaching of the Methodist itinerancy.
Classes were early formed by that church, but no house of worship was erected,
and but one clergyman was ever located in the township.
BENJAMIN
BROWN,
born in Wellfleet, Mass., was bred a sailor, and for some
years commanded merchantmen, and visited different foreign ports; but becoming
a convert to the Methodist tenets, he left the sea, and became a traveling
preacher. After delivering his message (like Jonah as he often remarked), in
1825 he purchased the farm and mills formerly occupied by Ithiel Cargill,
rebuilt the mills, and settled among this people. He remained in town,
occasionally preaching to the people, until 1854, when he disposed of his
estate, and left the country.
This town furnished three soldiers for the war of 1812,
their names were Martin Webster, Elisha Webster and Henry D. Schoff, Martin
resides now in the state of Illinois, Elisha died in Brunswick (where he had
always lived), Dec. 31st, 1861, and Henry D. still resides in this town.
Four young men have gone from this town to help suppress
the rebellion of 1861,* namely, Adna Schoff, Dexter French, Michael Smith and
Enoch Smith.
PONDS.
There are 7 ponds in Brunswick, called Great South and
Little South Ponds, Davis Pond, Dennis Pond, Paul Stream Pond, Tuttle Pond, and
Mineral Pond.
The largest is Great South Pond, and covers an area of
about 50 acres; they are all tolerably well stored with various kinds of fish,
such as the trout, pickerel, perch and eels, which when well cooked furnish a
delicious dish for the epicurean.
The Mineral Pond is celebrated for the large quantities of
lilies that annually bloom in its waters, and furnishes nosegays to hundreds
who in July and August frequent its shores to obtain the beautiful and odoriferous
flower. This pond doubtless received its name in consequence of its being
located in the vicinity of the mineral springs, hereafter described.
RIVERS
AND STREAMS.
The Nulhegan River runs across the N. W. corner of the
town, a distance of about one mile and a half. The greatest fall and most rapid
portion of the river is in Brunswick. This river was the great thoroughfare of
the Indians in their migrations from the St. Lawrence waters to the Atlantic
Ocean; and the paths they made in carrying their canoes and other effects by
the falls in this town were very distinct at a late day, and at many places
were discernible at the time of building the Grand Trunk Railroad in 1851,
which passes up this river.
Paul Stream is a beautiful stream of pure and limpid
water, taking its rise in the towns of Granby and Ferdinand. In its course
through Brunswick it contains many good mill privileges. It was upon this stream
that the first mills in Brunswick were built by Ithiel Cargill, as before
stated.
Wheeler Stream (a tributary to the Connecticut River) has
two branches called the north and south branch that unite about half a mile
from its junction with said river. The north branch rises in Notch Pond in the
town of Ferdinand (formerly Wenlock), and after entering Brunswick passes
through Davis Pond and Dennis Pond. The south branch takes its rise in the
Great West Pond in Maidstone, and after entering this town runs through Great
South and Little South ponds before uniting with the other branch.
Reuben Hawkins and Isaac Stevens in 1802 erected a
saw-mill upon this stream, which was burned in 1814 by a fire that extended
over the surrounding hills and destroyed much valuable pine timber.
These streams are celebrated for the abundance of fish
that formerly frequented their waters, the Paul stream for its trout, and the
Wheeler stream for its suckers, affording amusement and profit to those of
piscatorial habits, and being a great source of support to the early settlers.
CURIOSITIES.
There are some three or four natural curiosities in
Brunswick which perhaps are worthy of notice. The first that I shall mention is
the mineral spring or springs, as
—————
* This history was written early in 1861.—Ed.
BRUNSWICK. 965
they seem to issue from two or three points. They are
located in the north-easterly part of the town, and come forth from a high bank
of the Connecticut River, about 60 feet from the waters of the river, and
perhaps 20 feet from the top of the bank.
Their waters are strongly impregnated with iron, sulphur,
lead, and perhaps silver, and a thick sediment is formed upon every substance
with which the waters come in contact, and in such quantities that bushels
could be obtained with little labor.
The volume of water discharged is large, making quite a
brook as it leaps and tumbles down the hill into the river. These springs have
long been celebrated for their medicinal qualities, and at an early day some
rude structures were erected for the convenience of invalids; and many have
realized permanent relief by bathing and drinking of the waters, particularly
those of cutaneous or eruptive complaints. The water emits a strong sulphurous
odor, is clear and cold, and is used as a common beverage in warm weather by
persons residing in their immediate vicinity. A. J. Congdon, Esq., of
Lancaster, N. H., has recently purchased a few acres of land embracing the
springs, in anticipation of erecting a boarding-house and other accommodations
for invalids or those who may desire to visit the springs from curiosity or
pleasure.
In the north-westerly part of the town is a natural pass
between two high mountains, it is called the Little Notch. The Magog road,
leading from Connecticut river westerly to Island Pond, passes through this
notch. This pass is about 20 rods long, and barely wide enough to admit of
building the road, the mountains rising abruptly on each side forming a grand
and picturesque appearance.
In the west part of the town is a ridge of land called the
Hog-Back. It is three-fourths of a mile long, its course being nearly north and
south, coming to an abrupt termination at its southerly end, and 50 feet high,
rising on both sides at an angle of 40 degrees, forming a sharp ridge at the
top. On the west side of this ridge towards its northerly end the south branch
of Wheeler Stream meets it at right angles, thence flowing south along the
western base makes a short curve around the south end of the ridge, and runs
directly back on its east side. The water of the stream being so still and
smooth that it, is hardly perceivable which way it runs.
The ridge is covered with a beautiful growth of sapling
pine timber, and its formation, taken in connection with the stream, is a
matter of much curiosity.
On the farm upon which Daniel M. Smith resides is a very
large granite bowlder which probably weighs more than 500 tons, and stands upon
so small a base that it has taken the cognomen of "the rock that stands
upon nothing." In order to give the reader some idea of the size and
position of this rock, we will make a comparison: We will suppose a two-story
house, having an old fashioned hip roof, cut off at the top or apex of the
roof, so as to form a flat surface of four or five feet square; then suppose
this house turned bottom side up, and standing upon the roof, on a rocky
foundation, and one will have quite a correct understanding of the same. While
we may wonder at the peculiarities attending this huge block of granite. He who
holds the ocean as in the hollow of his hand can only tell when and how this rock
was placed in its present position.
Since the Grand Trunk railroad was built in 1852, which
passes through the north part of this town, considerable capital has been
invested in Brunswick, in the erection of mills and other machinery, for the
manufacture of lumber, which has added much to the business-like appearance
and wealth of the town. Gen. R. M. Richardson & Co., of Portland, Me., in
1855, erected a capacious saw-mill on the Nulhegan river, at the point where
the railroad crosses the river, at an expense of $30,000. The mill is one of
the largest in the county, if not in the state, having a set of gang-saws, a
large circular saw or board-machine, a single upright saw, and butting-saw,
besides machines for filing saws, making shingles, clapboards and sugar boxes,
&c., &c. The company employ some 50 or 60 men in the various
departments connected with the establishment.
The mill is capable of sawing 50,000 feet of boards from
the log in 24 hours, and during the last three or four years have manufactured 3,000,000
feet or more annually, besides large quantities of shingle, boxes and heading.
Enos Woodard, an energetic and enterprising member of the
company, who has
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HISTORICAL MAGAZINE.
had the care and superintendence of the establishment for
the last two or three years, has purchased a large tract of hard woodland in
the vicinity of the mills, and is carrying on quite extensive farming
operations. He has, in connection with his son Charles, erected a store near
the mills, being the first store in town, and a brisk trade has sprung up where
a few years since the solitude of the forest was only broken by the scream of
the owl and the roar of the waterfall. D. H. & T. G. Beattie, of Maidstone,
have recently built a large saw-mill on Paul stream, and are actively engaged
in lumbering operations.
Other mills, of less size and capacity, have been built
within a few years, on Wheeler stream, for the manufacture of lumber; and
perhaps no town in the county sends more lumber to market, in the various forms
in which it is prepared, than Brunswick.
Prior to the facilities extended to this county by the
railroad enterprise but little progress, since 1810, was made in this town in
point of wealth and population.
The broken and sterile condition of the lands not
immediately bordering on the river did not give sufficient inducement to
agricultural pursuits to cause their settlement, and the want of a ready
market for most of the products of the soil, had a tendency to laxity in its
cultivation; but, since 1852, a new order of things is seen, not only in active
mechanical operations, but also in the cultivation and improvement of farms.
The article of hay, which perhaps is as much entitled to
the appellation of king in the North as cotton in the South, has more than
doubled in price; and a ready market is found, at an advanced price of former
years, for the various productions of husbandry.
MEMORY'S
DREAM OF THE DEAD.
BY MRS. M. M.
JOHNSON.*
Like foam on the crest of the billow,
Which sparkles
and sinks from the sight,
Like a leaf from the wind-shaken willow,
Tho' transient,
yet beautifully bright:
Like dewdrops exhaled while they glisten,
Like perfume
which dies soon as shed,
Like melody hushed while we listen,
Is memory's
dream of the dead.
ON
THE SHORE.
There's a calmness and beauty in evening's decline,
A joy and sweet peace that has ever been mine,
A quiet that rests on the heart like the ray
That falls in the water at closing of day.
Yon trees, in full foliage o'er the still water beading,
Seem waving their branches in quiet delight,
While the small pensile twigs to the water depending,
Seem to welcome the coolness and quiet of night.
——————————
CONCORD.
BY J. E. WOODBURY, AND OTHERS.
To write the early history of a town whose first
settlement dates as far back as does that of many towns in our state, is
extremely difficult; especially so, when—as with the history of this town—the
public records afford but a meagre supply of the requisite material and data,
and the early settlers have nearly all passed away, leaving but little record
of themselves from which to gather up the scattered fragments of a town
history. Their memorial is found rather in well cultivated farms and
comfortable dwellings—in the church, the school-house, and the thriving
village, with all their accompanying evidences of a progressive, intelligent
and prosperous people, where the deep, dark forest once proclaimed that rough,
stern, rugged nature held undisputed sway. By their unwearied labors the
wilderness has been made to literally "bud and blossom as the rose."
These are their monuments—more eloquent, truthful and enduring than sculptured
marble and chiseled granite—of the deeds and characters of those who
"reared amid the wilderness
The hamlet and the town."
To us who live in these "later days," when the
savage grandeur and sternness of nature has yielded to the onward and conquering
march of labor and progress, it is hardly possible to realize the almost insurmountable
obstacles with which the first settlers had to contend.
This whole northern region was an almost unbroken
wilderness; and, in addition to the hardships experienced in the first
settlements of places lying contiguous to settled portions of country, the
inhabitants of this town had to bring all the necessaries of life from the
southern part of this state and New Hampshire, as well as from Massachusetts,
and to transport them over roads which would now be considered hardly passable
either for man or beast.,
—————
* Now of Stratford, N. H., formerly Maria Marshall, of
Brunswick.