Exeter, New Hampshire

“ Forty years before, he was born in Exeter, England, and in 1637 landed at Massachusetts bay. He lived at Exeter ten years, and in 1649 moved to Hampton, built a framed house which is still standing, became a large land-holder and town official, and died February 4, 1686. Few men of the early settlers have left a family name so widely represented as Godfrey Dearborn. His descendants are numerous in every county of New Hampshire, and are to be found in every part of New England. ”

“ In New Hampshire Colony. As there was no constituted authorities over the patent of New Hampshire, the Exeter settlers, under the leadership of John Wheelwright, who had purchased a tract thirty miles square from certain Indian Sachems in April, 1638, were driven to the expedient of agreeing upon a voluntary association for governmental purposes. The executive and judicial functions were vested in a board of three magistrates or elders, of whom the chief was styled Ruler. ”

“ The governor retired to the fort, and his house was pillaged. He afterwards went on board the Scarborough and sailed for Boston. He had adjourned the assembly to the 28th of September. But they met no more. In September, he issued a proclamation from the Isles of Shoals, adjourning them to April next. This was the closing act of his administration. It was the last receding step of royalty. It had subsisted in the province 95 years. The government of New Hampshire was henceforth to be a government of the people. ... The convention which had assembled at Exeter was elected but for six months. ”

“ Two years later occurred the Antinomian controversy in Massachusetts, and the expulsion of Wheelwright, whom, when discussing that episode, we left on 182his way to New Hampshire. He succeeded in making the winter trip to the settlements on the Piscataqua, and the following spring, with a few associates and the help of his new hosts, he founded the town of Exeter, the inhabitants entering into a written compact for their self-government. [440] That the Massachusetts authorities would have preferred that he should die alone in the winter's snow is hardly a charitable supposition ”

“ Climb the higher parts for a bird's-eye view of the city, and the scene is entrancing. We look down upon the calm-flowing Exe threading its way through the valley till it debouches at Exmouth; on the riverside beneath us is the quay, with coasting schooners and barges moored alongside, and sundry bales of merchandise heaped upon the wharf, as though the people were playing at commerce to remind the world at large that Exeter was once an important port, although some ten miles from the river's mouth. ”

“ THE EXE AT TOPSHAM
After leaving the peaceful atmosphere of the Cathedral the noise and distractions of the modern city grate upon us; the return to the twentieth-century commonplace after the fourteenth-century refinement is too sudden, there being no intermediate stage between the one and the other, between the gloom of the great church and the glare and feverish hurry of a prosperous city. This being so, we cannot do better than seek a measure of quietude and repose along the banks of the Exe, a river which, rising on Exmoor, gives name to Exeter, Exminster, and Exmouth. ”

“ As it approaches the ever-faithful city, lying like Tiverton on the left bank, the Exe is bordered by a green strath, with swelling hills on either hand. No sooner is the suburb of St. David passed than there comes into view the eminence which formed the limits of the ancient Exeter, its summit crowned with trees that half conceal the meagre remains of the Norman castle, while from its southern slope rise the mighty towers of the Cathedral. ”

“ Exeter impresses the stranger to-day merely as a prosperous county-town, a pleasant cathedral city, yet in the reign of Stephen it was ranked for importance next after London, York, and Winchester, supplanting Lincoln, once the holder of the fourth place, from which it was soon itself to be dislodged by Bristol. But Exeter, seated on the hill where, in dim, wild ages a band of Britons built them a rude stronghold, beside the stream up whose reddened waters the vessels of Roman and Saxon and Dane have fought their way, does not forget. ”

“ It is away through the city and across the Exe, to where the road rises in the direction of Dartmoor, that one of the finest views back upon the streets and the cathedral is obtained. Exeter from the Dunsford road, glimpsed by the ancient and decrepit elm pictured here, is worth seeing and the view itself is worth preserving, for elm and old-world foreground, with the inevitable changes which the growth of Exeter is bringing about, will not long remain. ”

“ Larger vessels lie at Topsham, at the junction of the canal with the estuary of the Exe; while at the mouth of the estuary is the port of Exmouth. Imports are miscellaneous, while paper, grain, cider and other goods are exported. Brewing, paper-making and iron-founding are carried on, and the city is an important centre of agricultural trade. The parliamentary borough returns one member. The city is governed by a mayor, 14 aldermen and 42 councillors. Area, 3158 acres. The eastern suburb of Heavitree, where is the Exeter city asylum, is an urban district with a population (1901) of 7529. ”

“ When over 50 years old (1740) Rundle wrote to Alured Clarke, who had just been elevated to the deanery, that Exeter still continued the delight of his imagination. It was "by far the finest climate and most agreeable place of residence in England." He dwelt on "the variety of public walks round the town, the beauty of the landscapes, and the warmth of the air. The trees there shoot with a more luxuriant verdure, the flowers glow with warmer colours and the fruits ripen to a richer flavour . . . the fig and the grape scarce desire better skies." ”

“ Exeter. The settlement of Exeter commenced in 1638. The founder and first minister of the place was the Rev. John Wheelwright, mentioned by Dr. Belknap as "a gentleman of learning, piety, and zeal." He came from Lincolnshire, England, and landed at Boston, Ms., May 26, 1636. "He and Mary, his wife, were admitted to the Boston church, on the 12th of June." A settlement had been made, as early as 1625, at Mount Wollaston, afterwards Braintree, Ms. In 1634, Boston was enlarged, so as to include Mount Wollaston. Mr. Wheelwright became preacher to the people at that place. ”

“ Many of the old streets in this quarter of the city are worth visiting, [Pg 28] for in the narrow thoroughfares are some interesting old houses. In St. Mary Arches Street is the church of the same name, shut in by houses. It is one of the old parish churches of Exeter, and one that takes part of its name from the fine Norman pillars and arcade of the nave, which is the oldest in the city. In the south aisle is a chantry containing the altar tomb of Thomas Andrews, mayor in 1505 and 1510 ”

“ Once a year, during Honiton Great Fair, this long, empty street is not too wide; but all the year round, and every year, the broad highway hence on to Exeter is a world too spacious for its shrunken traffic. Broad selvedges of grass encroach as slyly as a land-grabbing, enclosing country gentleman upon this generous width of macadamised surface, and are allowed their will of all but a narrow strip sufficient for the present needs of the traffic. ”

“ In almost every instance, those who, during the first half of the present century, laid about the waterfalls of New Hampshire the foundations of our manufacturing villages, builded better than they knew. They were generally men of limited means, moderate ambitions, and democratic instincts ”

“ They have not only built up a prosperous and influential commonwealth at home, furnishing a talent and genius too great to be circumscribed by territorial lines, but they have greatly aided in laying the foundations and building up the newer sections of our country. Let any person pass through the mighty West, and thence to the great Northwest which to-day is doing vastly more than any section to supply the world with bread, and he will be surprised to find the great number of sons of New Hampshire who have attained reputation, position, and influence. ”

“ It is needless to say, that, while such a man always has enemies, (as what man of ability and energetic character has not?) he has firm and lasting friends,—friends from the fact that they always know where to find him. Among the many self-made men whom New Hampshire has produced, he takes rank among the first; and by his indomitable energy, industry, and enterprise has not only made his mark in the world, but has achieved a reputation in his profession and business on which himself and friends may reflect with just pride. ”

“ Not that these were the only travellers familiar to the roadside village in those days. Not every one who fared from London to Exeter could afford the luxuries of the mail or stage coach, or of the good cheer and the lavender-scented beds just glimpsed. ”

“ There is no position that more truly shows the strength and power of a man than that of moderator of a New Hampshire town-meeting; but for many successive years he was chosen to preside over the deliberations of the annual and other meetings in this, then, large town, and always did so with great dignity, and to the perfect satisfaction of all. He was also chosen one of the board of selectmen, and represented the town in the legislature, and while a member of that body introduced and supported a bill to repeal the law authorizing imprisonment for debt. ”

“ Exeter is, like Bristol, a county of itself, and yet stands, in a true sense, as the capital of Devonshire. It is, moreover, the heart of the whole West Country. "In Exeter," says Mr. Norway, a Cornishman, "all the history of the West is bound up—its love of liberty, its independence, its passionate resistance to foreign conquerors, its devotion to lost causes, its loyalty to the throne, its pride, its trade, its maritime adventure,—all these many strands are twined together in that bond which links West Countrymen to Exeter. There is no incident in their past history which does not touch her. ”

“ She next claimed and absorbed the town of Exeter, and her new claims, extending to Maine, there came into conflict with those of Gorges and the Pilgrims. The latter, indeed, had lately heard her state that she was entitled to a part of the town of Plymouth itself, and she did encroach upon the Plymouth territory. [529] A further enlargement of her power to the south, and one obviously outside her jurisdiction, was next made within the present limits of Rhode Island. ”

“ While the state of Massachusetts has drawn from our midst a large proportion of the men whose labors have brought the prosperity and distinction which that proud old commonwealth enjoys, she has given New Hampshire in return some of her own sons, whose efforts have contributed in no small degree to advance the honor and welfare of the state of their adoption. ”

“ There's Bungey; and for Bungey there are towns,
Whole townships named but without population. [9]
Anything I can say about New Hampshire
Will serve almost as well about Vermont,
Excepting that they differ in their mountains.
The Vermont mountains stretch extended straight;
New Hampshire mountains curl up in a coil.
I had been coming to New Hampshire mountains.
And here I am and what am I to say?
Here first my theme becomes embarrassing.
Emerson said, "The God who made New Hampshire
Taunted the lofty land with little men." ”

“ Too many of the old homesteads of New Hampshire have gone to decay. Deserted and dilapidated buildings, decrepit fences, and unharvested crops of briers and weeds, where but a generation ago there were the homes of comfort, industry, and thrift, tell a sad story of what our state has done to supply the brain and brawn which have developed the resources of others. ”

“ Rolling down the Exeter Road, from his London mansion, or from his suburban retreat of ‘La Trappe,’ at Hammersmith, in his gilded, old-fashioned chariot, he gathered a variety of literary men at what Young calls ‘Pierian Eastbury.’ Johnson, sick of the Chesterfields and the whole gang of literary patrons, scornfully refused Dodington’s proffered friendship ”

“ We have passed through the fifty-three miles that separate Exeter from Plymouth. It would be hard to find in any part of the world, in equal space, a road so lavishly endowed with gifts of the fertile and the beautiful. ”

“ Starting with integrity and great strength of purpose, possessed of a keen perception, a shrewd judge of men, and an impressive bearing, he has attained an eminence which all may admire. Well may New Hampshire point with pride to such a man. ”

“ Yet, after all, but one native of Manchester has ever held the office of governor of New Hampshire. What is far more remarkable is the fact, that of twenty men who have been chosen mayor of Manchester, one alone was born within its limits. He and Manchester's only native born governor are one and the same,—the subject of this sketch,—a man who, from the work he has accomplished, as well as from the distinction he has received at the hands of his fellow-citizens, has long been accorded a conspicuous position among the representative men of his city and state. ”

“ And are a figure of the way the strong
Of mind and strong of arm should fit together,
One thick where one is thin and vice versa.
New Hampshire raises the Connecticut
In a trout hatchery near Canada,
But soon divides the river with Vermont.
Both are delightful states for their absurdly
Small towns—Lost Nation, Bungey, Muddy Boo,
Poplin, Still Corners (so called not because
The place is silent all day long, nor yet
Because it boasts a whisky still—because
It set out once to be a city and still
Is only corners, cross-roads in a wood) . ”