TOWN INDICTED FOR NON-CONSTRUCTION OF HIGHWAYS--PETITION FOR A DIVISION OF TOWN--TOWN AGAIN INDICTED--CELEBRATION JULY 4, 1815--TOWN MEETING HELD ON FIRST MONDAY OF MARCH--CHANGED TO SECOND TUESDAY--CHANGED BACK TO FIRST MONDAY--STATE AND COUNTY OFFICERS HELD ON SECOND TUESDAY--STATE MAP--VOTED TO FURNISH A POOR HOUSE--RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR GOVERNING THE POOR--WALLACE ROAD BUILT--TOWN INDICTED--NEW COUNTY PROPOSED--HOOKSETT INCORPORATED--NAMES OF GOFFSTOWN TAXPAYERS SET OFF TO FORM A PORTION OF HOOKSETT--POOR FARM FURNISHED--CODE OF RULES ADOPTED--NEW CODE OF BY-LAWS--SPECIAL SUPERINTENDENT--FARM SOLD--LIST OF AGENTS--BODY OF DAUGHTER OF WILLIAM McDOLE REMOVED FROM GRAVE--ISLANDS IN MERRIMACK RIVER IN AMOSKEAG FALLS ANNEXED TO GOFFSTOWN--FAST DAY PROCLAMATION OF GOVERNOR MORRIL--DOW ROAD--GOFFSTOWN UNION LIBRARY INCORPORATED--AMOSKEAG FIRE ENGINE COMPANY No. 1 INCORPORATED--AMOSKEAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY INCORPORATED--CELEBRATION--WILL OF JAMES AIKEN--FARM OF ISAAC PARKER--ANNEXED TO GOFFSTOWN--GOFFSTOWN MANUFACTURING COMPANY INCORPORATED--SURPLUS REVENUE--REPAIRING OF TOWN HOUSES--DIVISION OF TOWN--LIST OF TAXPAYERS FOR 1820 AND 1830

In the early settlement of the towns, many of the roads or highways were very inadequately built, and some, yes many, were merely bridle paths, over which the settlers could pass with an ox team or upon horseback.

The people of those towns located upon the north and west began to clamor very loudly for highways leading to Portsmouth and Boston. The inhabitants of Goffstown had not sufficiently recovered from the Revolutionary War to expend much money in the construction or improvement of roads.

At the present time another war cloud bangs over the United States which seems formidable. In the midst of these war-like affairs the subject of roads was pressed with unrelenting vigor and energy. The town had been indicted for the non-construction of roads which the court had placed upon it. At a special meeting holden in March, Thomas Jameson was appointed an agent to represent the town in respect to the two roads that were already indicted, and also if possible to prevent the construction of establishing a road from Hale's Bridge in the town of Walpole, through Goffstown to Chester. This was the beginning of a long series of litigations which lasted for years, and imposed heavy and grievous burdens upon our townspeople.

We will not undertake to deny the public utility and advantage of many of the roads called for, nor of their convenience when constructed, but the inadequate means and the financial condition of the taxpayers must be taken into consideration.

At the annual meeting in March, 1814, an article was inserted in the warrant "to see what the town will do respecting the petition of Jonathan Gove and others to the General Court praying to have the westerly part of this town taken off and annexed to a part of the towns of New Boston and Weare and incorporated into a new town."

The idea of forming a new town composed of a part of Weare, New Boston and Goffstown, had been discussed by some of the residents residing within the territory mentioned. It was not in accord with the sentiment in our town, and David L. Morril was chosen an agent to attend the General Court and object to the severing of a portion of Goffstown for the purpose named.

No new town was formed from the territory named, and no record is found of another attempt in that direction. The following year a similar trouble to the one mentioned in the first part of this chapter befell the town in the form of an indictment from the Supreme Judicial Court for failing to follow their instructions, in properly repairing the road in the easterly part of the town leading from Dunbarton southerly past Henry Blaisdell's. The court, however, was somewhat lenient and allowed the town to improve the aforesaid highway to their approval, which was done the following fall.

1st. Ode on Science by a select choir
2nd. Prayer by Rev. Hezekiah D. Buzzell of Weare
3rd. Song--National Independence by the choir
4th. Declaration of Independence read by B. T. Caldwell
5th. 18th Psalm by choir
6th. Oration by David L. Morril Esq.
7th. Ode by the choir

In the year 1816 the votes passed, to which any significance would be attached, were to purchase a hearse with all the necessary apparatus belonging to it. Heretofore the bodies of the dead had generally been carried on a bier. At this time a vote was passed to hold the annual town meeting for the choice of town officers upon the second Tuesday of March.

The election for the choice of town officers and the transaction of town business had been holden since 1762 on the first Monday of March, and in all probability the older residents could not become accustomed to voting for town officers upon any other day, for at the annual election in 1818 the vote was reconsidered, and they subsequently met upon the first Monday of March as formerly and continued the custom until 1838.

A meeting had likewise been held on the second Tuesday of March, since 1803, for the election of state and county officers. And in the spring of 1838 the election of state and county officers, town officers and town business in general were embraced in the warrant calling the meeting upon the second Tuesday of March, and the same continued until 1878.

December 18,1816, a resolution was passed by the General Court, authorizing each and every town in the state to have and receive one of the maps of the state of New Hampshire furnished by Philip Carrigan, Esq., upon producing to the legislature satisfactory evidence that such town caused a survey to be made for the purpose of completing the map. The town of Goffstown received their map, and at the annual meeting in March, 1817, the town voted "to deposit the map of this state belonging to this town in Capt. John Smith's hall the present year." And the next year the map was deposited at David L. Morril's, and whatever became of it no one knows. The usual indictment was again renewed this year, and John Pattee, Esq., was appointed agent to defend the town at the Supreme Judicial Court.

At the annual meeting in March, 1817, the town voted "to furnish a house for the towns poor," and in the following April a special meeting was called to see "if the town would reconsider the vote." The article was dismissed, and the selectmen were empowered to make provision for Aaron Small, Joseph Ordway's family and John Small's son "in the best manner they can for the interest of the town." And on the following November a code of by-laws were established for the government of the towns poor.

No poor farm was purchased for six years thereafter. Perhaps the by-laws were so drastic that they served as an incentive for the poor to make a desperate endeavor to support themselves. The by-laws consisted of five articles in substance as follows:

Article 1. Declared it the duty of the selectmen to receive the needy agreeable to the laws of the state.
Article 2. They should be fed and clothed.
Article 3. The selectmen should keep an account of the expense.
Articles 4 and 5. Were relative to punishment, the limit of which was twenty stripes.

The legislation in New Hampshire at that time on this subject was the act of February 15, 1791, June 18, 1807, and June 27, 1807, authorizing towns to provide a house of correction or a work house in which to set their poor at work, and make rules and regulations not repugnant to the laws of the state for the ruling, governing and punishing such persons as may be there committed. Overseers of the poor had authority to bind out idle or poor persons or set them at work--males to 21 and females to 18 years of age. Early legislation on the subject was enacted May 2, 1719, and published on page 139, Acts and Laws of His Majesty's Province, of 1771, and the execution of the law was an act of extreme cruelty.

Evidently little progress had been made as far as regards the practical part of the care of the poor, for the next year 1818 it was left with the selectmen to do for them as they may think proper; and in the year 1819 seven were vendued as formerly, and Widow Davis' family, Joseph Ordway's family, Isaac Wells family and the Smalls were left to the care of the selectmen.

This custom was followed until the purchase of the poor farm in 1823, and that year we find that William Ferson and wife, Thomas Stevens, David Hale and wife, Charlotte Johonnett, Benjamin McIntire and family, Joseph Ordway's family, Joanna Hadley, Tryphena Kidder, Samuel Davis, Widow Ayer, Hannah Small, Widow Moore, Lydia Small, Sally Martin, Rebecca Kelley, and Samuel Ordway were vendued at prices ranging from $.05 to $1.75 per week. The family of Seth Wyman and Sampson Wheeler were left for the present to the selectmen. The legislature passed a law June 23, 1818, requiring towns to use a check-list for state and county officers. Previous to this every man bad voted upon his honor.

In 1819 the subject of a highway from what is now the present Shirley Station southerly through Bedford and Merrimack to the river road in Merrimack began to be strongly agitated. By an inspection of the map one can see at a glance that the proposed road would accommodate a large class of travel and be a great convenience to the traffic to Boston.

The town elected August, 1820, Joseph Philbrick, to be one of a committee to act with two other committeemen from the towns of Bedford and Merrimack to select the most feasible route for the layout and building of the contemplated high-way. The road was laid out by the Court's Committee, and forever afterwards known as the Wallace Road. Our town voted to build that part within its limits and the selectmen assessed a tax of $1,000 and each district in town was notified to work out their proportion. The town also voted that each man that "labors well" shall have ten cents per hour allowed him, and some rum or not as the selectmen may think proper.

About two months thereafter a special town meeting was holden and another $1,000 was raised to be laid out under the direction of the selectmen with the addition of Plummer Hadley, Nathaniel Kimball and Samuel Saltmarsh as committee. The next summer the sum of $1,500 was raised to be laid out in labor at eight cents per hour, and David Barr was to have the general oversight of the expenditure. This virtually completed the road but Jonathan Butterfield, William McDougall and James Shirley would not accept of their land damage awards, which was a matter of litigation, and finally settled out of court.

The year 1821 was an unfortunate year for the town, as regards highways and fruitful in contentions. The Wallace Road was hardly completed before the Dodge Road, leading from the foot of the Dodge Hill northerly past the present residence of Charles C. Hadley, to a point near the Jones tomb, must be built. The town was indicted on account of the river road, now within the limits of Amoskeag and Hooksett, and craves the indulgence of the court, for time to make repairs sufficient to meet its approval. A bridge must be built across the Piscataquog River at the Center, known in the records as the bridge near George Henry's.

In the spring of 1820, one Thomas W. Thompson presented a petition to the selectmen, that the inhabitants of Goffstown vote upon the subject of the formation of a new county, constituted from certain towns in Rockingham and Hillsborough counties. The sentiment in Goffstown was strongly against anything of this kind, and the vote stood 14 in favor and 146 against.

For a third time the severing of a portion of the territory of our town for the partial formation of another town was brought before the people. This time the proposition was the formation of a new town from portions of Dunbarton, Chester and Goffstown to be known as Hooksett. Our people were strongly opposed to the proposition and Capt. Robert Hall was appointed an agent to remonstrate against it in the General Court. A vote in Goffstown showed 22 in favor and 131 against.

On the 2nd of July, 1822, the act was passed incorporating the town of Hooksett and the line between Goffstown and Hooksett is described as follows:

Beginning at the southerly corner of Bow, thence running a line due south until it strikes the northerly line of Goffstown, thence westerly on Goffstown line to the northwest corner of Hugh J. Taggart's farm, thence southerly to the southwest corner of lot No.4 in Goffstown formerly owned by Col. Robert McGregor, thence easterly on the southerly line of said lot No.4, and continuing in the same course until it strikes the highway leading from Samuel Poor's to the Merrimack River, thence by said highway and including the same to said river, The territory severed from Goffstown was the northeasterly portion adjoining the Merrimack River on the east, and Dunbarton on the north.

The said town of Hooksett should have their part of the school money, and their proportion of all public funds. They should support all poor living within their jurisdiction who had previously gained settlements therein. All public taxes assessed before a new act for proportioning public taxes shall be passed may be levied and collected by the proper officers of said towns of Chester, Dunbarton and Goffstown, upon the inhabitants of Hooksett, in case the selectmen of Hooksett should neglect to assess their proportion of such public taxes, and put the same seasonably into the treasuries of the respective towns in the same manner as if the act had not passed.

Names of those persons resident taxpayers in that part of Goffstown set off to form a portion of Hooksett:

Non-resident landowners: William Parker, William McDougall, Daniel Farmer. At the annual meeting in the spring of 1823, six years after a former vote, the town "voted at a convenient season to build or furnish a house for the towns poor," and the selectmen were appointed a committee for that purpose. The selectmen evidently attended to their duties and purchased the farm owned by Noah Kidder and land adjoining on the north owned by William T. Martin, and at a special meeting held the following April they "voted to accept the report of the selectmen relative to purchasing a farm for the towns poor and to suspend the remainder of the report for the present." This is the farm upon which Henry Blaisdell now resides.

Also to accept the code of by-laws presented by the selectmen for the government of the towns poor. This code of by-laws was very similar to the first with the addition for punishment that the persons may be fettered and shackled and put into a dark hole or place provided for that purpose and fed on bread and water for a term not exceeding six days.

Another article defined the duties of the selectmen to commit to the work house all rogues, vagabonds, common beggars, lude [lewd] or disorderly persons. Another article provided that the by-laws should be read in the presence of the towns poor and all others under the care of the overseers on Monday following town meeting day. No doubt this was a very solemn occasion and one attended with a great deal of dignity when the chairman of the board of selectmen visited the poor farm and to this mixed audience of all grades and conditions read the code of by-laws. How salutary an effect it had upon the timid disobedient or incorrigible there is no record.

By the by-laws it will be seen that the poor house was made a place of detention and punishment for criminals and disorderly persons, and they should be subject to the rules and regulations thereof. Upon the by-laws submitted for the management of those dependent upon public charity and the unfortunate I have no comment to make, except in the language of Cicero's orations "0 tempora O mores."

The poor house or house of correction was evidently in running condition, and Robert Richards was appointed agent for the balance of the year 1823. It was the custom for each incoming board of selectmen to annually appoint or reappoint an agent, who should assume the duties upon the first day of April for the term of one year. Whether Mr. Richards was dissatisfied with his position or the selectmen dissatisfied with his management no record discloses but his successor for the years 1824-25 was Capt. Benjamin Poor.

The town farm was an improvement on former methods of caring for the poor, yet it was no delectable resort for the aged and infirm, nor an elysian field for those who could labor. The worthy poor, pauper insane and criminals were all together; no separate apartment for mildly insane or the unfortunate. The same tasks and the same tables were their lot. Perhaps at that time it was the best that could be done; it brings one to a realizing sense of the improved methods of caring for this class.

Perchance those of the present day, who are especially sympathetic, may look with pity upon a case as late as 1861. In a selectmen's bill for services of that year, he charges one day to Manchester after coffin for Mr. T.; the next charge one and one-half days burying Mr. T. and taking Mrs. T. to the poor house. It must have been very assuaging to Mrs. T.'s sorrow over the loss of her husband to be taken to the poor house the next morning after the funeral.

There is no further record found relative to the poor house until March 1, 1827, when the selectmen also acting as overseers of the poor make a report showing the receipts and disbursements of the poor house establishment. March 1, 1828, an-other report. was submitted, which like the report of the preceding year showed a balance against the institution, and it was not self-supporting from a financial stand-point. They append to their report the names and ages of those persons then at the poor house, namely:

Of this number McCoy ever remained at the farm, laboring patiently year after year, and on his account the town never sustained any financial loss.

In the year 1830 a new code of by-laws for the government, convenience and maintenance of the towns poor was adopted, and all the by-laws and regulations heretofore made relative to the poor house institution were thereby repealed. This last set of rules and regulations were supposed to be in accordance with an act of the legislature passed December 16, 1828, which act repealed all former laws for the support and maintenance of the poor, etc.

One of the noticeable features of the new law was the abolishment of severe punishment. No punishment should exceed hard labor; solitary confinement should not exceed forty-eight hours.

In the spring of 1831 an addition was made to the farm by the purchase of three acres of adjoining land from Nathaniel Hadley. Evidently the affairs of the poor farm had not been running smoothly, and there seemed to be dissatisfaction in town in respect to the management. Jesse Carr was chosen a special superintendent at the annual election in 1831, and James Gilchrist was hired as agent. The next year the town voted to submit the provision of a special superintendent to the selectmen, and no further record of the office is found. Mr. and Mrs. Gilchrist proved able and efficient managers, and their services were retained for eight successive years.

In the spring of 1835 thirty acres of land was purchased as an addition to the farm, which was formerly owned by Willoughby Colby. The town continued to run the establishment as a town farm until 1866, when at the spring election on the l3th day of March it was "voted to sell the town farm previous to the first day of April," which vote was carried into effect. And the farm was sold at public auction to Joseph B. Hoit.

For many years the town farm served as a haven of refuge for the poor and unfortunate. In the absence of any other it afforded a home, and generally speaking the inmates received all they could naturally expect. During the late forties and subsequently to about 1863 the inmates numbered from seven to twelve. Many were aged people, who here closed their earthly existence. And the number was gradually reduced to two, who could be supported to a better advantage elsewhere.

AGENTS AT THE POOR FARM

In 1822 there was quite an excitement over the clandestine removal of the body of a daughter of William McDole, from the grave in the cemetery at Grasmere, where she had been buried the preceding May. The feeling became strongly crystallized and the inhabitants demanded that some action should be taken to apprehend the guilty parties. Accordingly the selectmen were authorized in behalf of the town to offer "a reward of $500 for the apprehension of any person or persons who removed the corpse of the late daughter of William McDole." There was no discovery of the perpetrator of the crime and the matter was subsequently dropped.

In 1824 the town instructed the selectmen to take proper measures to have the islands in the Merrimack liver at Amoskeag Falls annexed to Goffstown and at the following June session, an act was passed by the legislature that all the islands on Amoskeag Falls in the Merrimack River, lying westerly of the center of the pulpit or east stream in said falls be and the same are hereby annexed to the town of Goffstown. And the inhabitants of the said islands shall be liable to do the same duties and enjoy the same privileges as the other inhabitants of Goffstown, and shall be subject to the same laws and penalties and pay all taxes legally assessed on them by the town of Goffstown. We here insert a proclamation of David L. Morril, governor of New Hampshire, then a resident of Goffstown, for a day of public humiliation and prayer. It is published for the two-fold purpose of marking the contrast between that time and the present, likewise to show the merit as a literary production:

STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE

A PROCLAMATION,

FOR A DAY OF PUBLIC HUMILIATION AND PRAYER

That Divine Being, who created the Universe, directs the destiny of nations and individuals, by his Almighty Fiat the world came into existence, "He spake, and it was done, he commanded, and it stood fast." "Man he formed of the dust of the earth, breathed into him the breath of life, and he became a living soul," a moral, an accountable being. The rational and immortal powers of which he is possessed, render him a proper subject of moral government; and the light of creation and revelation presents lessons of instruction, prohibition, and command, to the whole human family. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handy work. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."

All mankind are under the strongest obligations to obey the injunctions of their Maker, love him with all their hearts, and serve him with all their powers. But, notwithstanding the plainness, of the divine commands, the numerous ways in which they are presented to the understanding, and the indisputable evidence that their happiness would be promoted by obedience; yet such is the alienation of the human heart, that they are disposed "to trust in lying words that cannot profit," and say, "we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart." This being the condition, propensity, and practice of our fallen race, their guilt is marked on every step of human life, and every fleeting day should furnish instances of penitence and amendment.

As it has been an immemorial practice to set apart a day in each year, for these important duties, I have thought fit, by advice of Council, and do hereby appoint, THURSDAY, THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF APRIL NEXT, to be observed as a day of PUBLIC HUMILIATION AND PRAYER, throughout this State, and recommend to all Christian people, of every denomination, to devote said day to the services and duties for which it is intended; and for these purposes to assemble in a public and social manner in the house of God, and there humble themselves before their offended Maker, and intercede for pardon and salvation through the merit of his beloved Son; and implore him to treat us not according to our aggravated offences, but according to his rich mercy through him who is "full of grace and truth," and kindly continue those civil and religious privileges, temporal and spiritual blessings, which an indulgent Providence has bestowed upon us from our early existence; that he would preserve us from war, pestilence and famine, and all those evils which our transgressions merit, and by renewing and sanctifying the hearts of all classes of men, incline the whole community to obey his voice, as expressed in his works and word, and thereby "lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty."

That he would direct the President of these United States, the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial departments of the general government, and succeed all their exertions to maintain the true principles of our national Constitution, and promote the lasting union of this republic; that he would kindly bless the nation as a great political community, and the several States as component parts, and so direct their public councils, that no collision may arise which shall tend to interrupt our present tranquillity, or future prospects. That he would graciously regard the respective interests of this State, direct and prosper the people in their various avocations, preserve them from those contaminating sentiments and habits, by the indulgence of which, virtue and liberty are entombed in the vortex of licentiousness; that he would direct the public councils, and bless the several departments of the government, so that each may faithfully perform its duties, and seek to promote the happiness and prosperity of the people; that he would be graciously mindful of our College, and all our literary institutions, and cause that they may be so conducted, that learning and virtue shall be more extensively enjoyed.

And especially that he would pour out his Spirit on the church of the Redeemer, all charitable associations, the whole human family, send the gospel to the destitute parts of the earth, and endue the Ministers of his Sanctuary with wisdom and grace, that all their labours may, through the blessing of Almighty God, tend to the promotion of piety here, and prepare a blessed admission into the heavenly world.

It is expected that all people, on this day, will refrain from their ordinary labour and recreation, and devote a suitable part thereof, to the duties and solemnities of the occasion. Dated at Goffstown, the twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of North America, the fiftieth.

DAVID LAWRENCE MORRIL.

   By His Excellenc's Command,
      with Advice of Council.
         RICHARD BARTLETT, Secretary.

For a few years following nothing of especial significance is found in the records save the fact that the town is continually under indictment for failing to construct highways laid out by the court. At each annual election an article appeared in the warrant to choose an agent or agents to attend to all lawsuits against the town, and the choice of this agent became as important a matter as the election of selectmen. This contention and litigation in reference to highways was an expensive matter for the town.

In 1827 the indicted bog road was built by the townspeople in the same manner as the Wallace Road previously described. About 1886 a road was laid out from a point on the Mast Road near the overhead bridge of the Milford Railroad, north-easterly across the Piscataquog River near Samuel J. Dow's and intersecting with the road leading from Grasmere to Amoskeag on the plain.

The town avoided the construction; the same subject occurred a second and third time, and was before the people at various intervals until 1892, when it was finally dropped. The building of a highway on the route described would have involved an immense expense on account of the nature and topography of the country over which the route must pass between the points named. On the 22nd of June, 1827, David Barr, Jonathan Aiken, Moses Poor and William Brown were incorporated under the name of the Goffstown Union Library, and allowed to hold property not exceeding one thousand dollars. On the 3rd of July of the same year Mayo Pond, Charles Morgan and John T. Morgan became incorporated by the name of the Amoskeag Fire Engine Company No. 1 in Goffstown and could hold real and personal estate to the value of $1,000.

July 1, 1831, Ira A. Gay, Oliver Dean and others were incorporated by the name of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company for the purpose of establishing, managing and carrying on the manufacture of cotton, woolen, iron and other lawful manufactures at or near Amoskeag Falls in Goffstown. By the terms of the charter the company were allowed to hold real and personal estate not exceeding one million dollars.

On the 8th of January, 1829, a political celebration was held in Goffstown in honor of the election of Andrew Jackson, President of the United States. It was holden on the fourteenth anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans in which General Jackson was eminently successful and which went a long way toward winning the presidency. Hon. Charles 0. Atherton of Dunstable, now Nashua, delivered the oration which was a lengthy and scholarly production. A ten hundred ox was roasted whole in a building that stood east of Parker's store upon what is now the Common. This celebration was a great event and indicated the energy and determination of the people who undertook it. The first ox prepared for the barbecue was spoiled in the roasting, and the next day it was again undertaken and completed successfully. There was a large attendance from Goffstown and the surrounding towns, and the event was considered in every way a success. The day closed with an entertainment and ball in the evening.

By the terms of the will of James Aiken who died May 30, 1809, his widow Jane Aiken was to have the "Use of $4,000 during the time she shall remain my widow. Said sum to be paid her by my executor at my decease for her to make the best use in her power. And in case she marry or if she does not marry, at her decease the said $4,000 shall be paid to three trustees of the town of Goffstown, who shall appropriate the interest of said sum yearly toward the support of an academy in said town, provided said town first procure a charter under the name of Aiken's Academy. Provided, also that said town of Goffstown does erect a building for the purpose in one year after they come in possession of the money, and no part of the $4,000 or the interest be expended in erecting said building. And if said town should not obtain said charter, or if they should obtain it and not continue a school as aforesaid, said sum of $4,000 to go to my brothers and sisters. And, further, if my said wife should marry after my decease, and her husband die, she shall have a right to call on those who have received the $4,000 to return the same to her for her use while a widow, and after her decease or in case she marry again, then to go to those who may have received said sum as aforesaid, and so on as the case may be."

In 1831 Mrs. Aiken married Rev. Walter Harris, D.D., of Dunbarton, and the town soon after voted to accept the donation of James Aiken upon conditions that individuals be found who would procure the charter, build the house and bring themselves within the provisions of the will to enjoy the money. Charles F. Gove, Esq., was appointed an agent to procure a charter, and Charles F. Gove, Jesse Carr and James Barr were appointed a board of trustees to take charge of the Aiken fund. Mr. Gove was appointed to procure a charter, not for the town of Goffstown, as the will read, but for "such individuals as may be willing to be incorporated, provided it can be done without any expense to the town."

The passage of the foregoing vote evinced a spirit on the part of the voters not especially favorable to the project. At the June session of the legislature in 1831, an act was passed incorporating certain persons by the name of Aiken's Academy at Goffstown. David Barr, Charles F. Gove, their associates, successors and assigns were incorporators. Said incorporation was duly authorized to establish an academy in Goffstown for the instruction of youth, hold and possess real and personal estate not exceeding $15,000 in value. They can sell shares at $15 each, and the incorporators were authorized to receive funds by gift or bequest, and appoint a board of trustees and such other officers as they shall think proper. The charter was approved July 2, 1831, and signed by Franklin Pierce, speaker of House of Representatives, Samuel Cartland, president of the Senate, Samuel Dinsmore, governor.

This is the last record I can find concerning the Aiken fund, neither do I find that the incorporators or trustees built any building or sustained a school.

Doctor Harris, Mrs. Aiken's second husband, died December 25, 1843, and by the terms of James Aiken's will the $4,000 would revert to her during her widowhood or lifetime. She died January 16, 1886, twenty-two years after the decease of Doctor Harris. The only period that the incorporators could claim the use of the money was from 1831 to 1843, and it is doubtful if progress was ever made after the charter was obtained.

Isaac Parker, who resided where D. Edwin Whipple now lives, upon the Mast Road westerly of Parker's Station, realizing that the interests of himself and family could be better subserved by becoming a resident of the town of Goffstown, petitioned the General Court that his farm might be severed from the town of New Boston and annexed to Goffstown. In accordance therewith the prayer of his petition was granted, and upon the 18th of June, 1836, his farm with all the privileges thereunto pertaining was severed from New Boston and annexed to Goffstown. The territory embraced within the limits of this addition to the town is described as follows; Beginning at the northeast corner of said New Boston, thence running westerly on the line between New Boston and Weare to the northwest corner of Isaac Parker's farm, thence southerly by a line parallel with the east line of said New Boston to the south side of the Mast Road, thence westerly on said Mast Road to land of John Whittle, thence southerly on the west line of said Parker's farm to the north branch of Piscataquog River, thence down said river to the west line of Goffstown, thence northerly on the west line of Goffstown to the bound first mentioned.

July 7, 1837, Benaiah Richards, Ephraim Warren and David Steele were Incorporated under the name of the Goffstown Manufacturing Company, for the purpose of earning on the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods in the town of Goffstown and may hold real and personal estate not exceeding one thousand dollars.

In 1836 the Congress of the United States passed a law transferring $37,468,859.97, called the Surplus Revenue, to the states. This money accrued from the sale of government land; this surplus was to be paid to the separate states in four installments. Only those states which voted to accept it, subject to recall by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, whenever needed by the general government, received the same. New Hampshire in 1836 passed an act authorizing the state treasurer to receive the public funds, and give a certificate in behalf of the state of New Hampshire that they should be safely kept and repaid when called for.

New Hampshire was to receive its share in four installments commencing January 1, 1837. The first three installments amounted to $669,086.79; the fourth the state never received. The General Court of New Hampshire met in November, 1836, and especially devoted its time to the question of distribution of the surplus revenue. The session was a long and weary one, lasting over fifty days, and on the closing days of the session a bill was approved, which divided the money among the towns. It was to be loaned to the towns, subject to recall should the United States demand it. (Act of January, 1837.)

By an act passed in 1838 the towns were authorized to use this money for any purpose for which they should lawfully raise taxes. Another let down for the towns occurred in 1841, when the legislature authorized such dispositions as a majority of the voters should decide upon. The sentiment began to spread rapidly in New Hampshire that the money never would be called for by the United States, and what they first looked upon as a loan they now viewed as a gift.

Goffstown's share of this surplus revenue was $5,399.40. The town of Goffstown at a special meeting on the 11th day of February, 1837, voted "that the town receive their proportion of the surplus revenue belonging to said town and appropriate the interest arising from the same toward paying the state and county taxes annually."

Jesse Carr was elected agent to receive and loan the above mentioned money. The said agent may loan the money to the inhabitants of the town in any sum not exceeding five hundred dollars, nor less than twenty. The agent should present his account annually to the selectmen, and the same should be laid before the town at their March meeting.

In the spring of 1838 it was voted "that the surplus interest money be paid to town treasurer"; this was intended to mean the interest the agent received for the money loaned. In March, 1842, voted "that the surplus money belonging to the town of Goffstown be equally divided among the legal residents paying taxes, belonging to the town, except those who have received their share in another town. And the agent was instructed to make payment within six months.

The next year David Steele, Henry B. Stearns and George Poor were appointed a committee to settle with Jesse Carr, the agent for distributing surplus revenue, and the committee were required to give public notice of the time and place of settlement, that all may be heard. The agent evidently intending to carry out the intent of the vote had refused payment to some who were non-residents at the time the money was received, and likewise to certain persons who had disposed of their real estate and left town before the vote was passed. But all differences were finally adjusted, the money was distributed, the town was so much poorer, and many of those who received it in a short time were no richer.

About 1840 the subject of purchasing the pews in the east meeting-house, and repairing and rearranging the interior, in order that the same might be more commodious and suitable for the transaction of town business, was discussed at several meetings. At one meeting an appropriation was made of $400, and at a special meeting called soon after, the vote was reconsidered. The repair question was decided in the affirmative, and at the next meeting in the negative alternating for several meetings, and finally dropped. Some of the citizens becoming enraged called a special town meeting, and a subject which had been previously before the people, the division of the town, was again brought to their attention.

The article to be acted upon read "To see if the town will vote to divide the town or set off the east part, by running a line as near north and south as can conveniently be done, commencing near the center of said town." This was a subject in which the majority of the voters took a deep interest, and it came home to them personally, not only financially, but sentimentally. This subdivision meant two small towns long and narrow; it likewise meant many inconveniences to both east and west parts. At the appointed time there was a large attendance, and the vote decidedly in the negative.

Once more the old hackneyed subject received its just desert. A short time after this, the town house was repaired and made acceptable to the townspeople. For a number of years the road leading from Goffstown village to Amoskeag through Grasmere Village was continually before the public. Petitions to widen and straighten, and petitions to relay different parts were presented the selectmen. Hearings were appointed, and in case they reported unfavorable to the petitioners, the next year an article would be inserted in the warrant for action upon the same subject. The matter dragged its slow length along, and finally sweat itself out, very much to the relief of those disinterested.

In 1847 the town appointed George Poor agent to take into consideration the subject of the public landing near Amoskeag Bridge; his report appears under the subject of public landings. At the annual meeting in the spring of 1848 Alfred Story, Archibald Dow and John B. Sargent were elected selectman. Mr. Sargent died August 28, 1848, and Mr. Dow removed from town. As Mr. Story was the only remaining member of the board a town meeting was called early in October, and Walter B. Jones and David M. Taggart were chosen selectmen for the remainder of the political year. It has frequently occurred in town that there has been one vacancy in a year upon the board either from death or removal, but this is the only year in which two vacancies occurred.

       

ALHN Hillsborough County

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