Historic Homes Part 5

Directly after their marriage, the young husband, then only twenty-two years of age, gathered a company together and marched for Cambridge, where he was encamped for a short time only. Later on he acted as commissary to supply the three regiments of the State at Cambridge, for he was considered too important a person to be allowed to take a place in the field.

In 1779 he was elected a member of the New Hamps.h.i.+re Legislature and was called in 1780 as the only delegate to attend the gathering which was to take place at Hartford, Connecticut. Those were the days when there was no money or credit in the treasury, so that he was forced to take the journey on horseback. He was absent six weeks, paying his own expenses everywhere out of his personal income.

So popular did he become that he was elected to Congress in 1782, being one of the youngest and most popular members. Later on he became Treasurer of State, succeeding his father in this work. He was made Governor of New Hamps.h.i.+re, which office he held for fourteen consecutive years and later on accepted the nomination for two years more. In 1816 he declined the election, giving as an excuse that he preferred to spend his remaining days in quietness.

This Governor Gilman was a portly man, weighing two hundred pounds and standing six feet in his stockings. He was a dignified old gentleman, preserving his vigor to the very end. While the latter part of his life was spent in renewing social relations with his friends, the memories of the past were always with him, and he was never so happy as when he recalled the days of Was.h.i.+ngton, who was a personal friend. Strong and original in intellect, few men were able to foresee as he did the future of his country.

It is said that the night before his death he was brought downstairs by a faithful old negro retainer to spend his last evening with his family.

He had a clear realization that his time was drawing near, and he gave full instructions to his family concerning his burial and the manner in which they should cherish his memory. He requested particularly that no one should wear mourning for him--"Spend upon the living, not the dead,"

he said. After a short time he was reminded that he was getting very tired, and he left the room remarking: "I have no disposition to leave this precious circle. I love to be here surrounded by my family and my friends." He commended them to G.o.d, saying: "I am ready to go and I wish you all good night."

The brothers of this noted man also held positions in State affairs and in the militia. His brother Nicholas at one time lived in this house. He occupied the position of lieutenant, captain, adjutant, and adjutant-general in the Revolution, being also a member of Congress. He took his seat in the United States Senate on March 3, 1797, and came out in views a solid Federal.

Governor John Taylor Gilman, who succeeded his father, Colonel Nicholas, had eleven children, many of whom were married in the State Room of this house, which is so closely connected with the political events of the Revolution and where so many distinguished guests have been entertained.

The Gilmans were one of the most distinguished families in Exeter, coming up from Ma.s.sachusetts to join Reverend John Wheelwright's little colony. Their enterprise, energy, and thrift made them natural leaders in the community. If there was a meeting-house to be erected, there was always a Gilman on the committee. Should there be a military company to be enlisted, there would always be a man of that name in the ranks. When the commissioners, seven in number, distributed the common lands in 1739, there were four of this family among the band. Little wonder then that their name is allied with the princ.i.p.al events of history.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE x.x.xII.--Parlor, Ladd-Gilman House.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE x.x.xIII.--Living Room, Ladd-Gilman House; Robert Treat Room, Ladd-Gilman House.]

The hallway of this home is found to be a small and unpretentious one, with a winding flight of stairs at one side that leads to the second-story floor. At the left of the side entrance is the Treasury Room, where, during the lifetime of Gilman, important meetings were held and State secrets were often discussed. The furniture from this room has long since been gone, but the white pine walls with their coat of paint are still as fresh as they were the day they were built. The huge fireplace without tiles bespeaks plainly the days of prosperity. At the right of the hallway is a large, square room that was used in the olden times as a dining-room. There are no secret closets in this house, with the exception of a sliding panel in the Grill Room, which when lifted gives access to the wine closet below. Beyond that is the old kitchen, which is now used as a dining-room. It still shows the old brick oven, where during Governor Gilman's occupancy the baking was done, and also the Dutch oven, where the meat was roasted in the governor's day. On the mantel over the old fireplace are displayed some fine bits of old pewter, while the windows of this house still retain the small panes.

The room at the right of the family entrance is known as the State Room.

It is a dignified room, large enough to have held easily the notable a.s.semblages that must have met there during his occupancy. The fireplace has no mantel, but a wide panelling, such as is found only in houses of that period. The only ornamentations are the elaborate columns that define the fireplace and panelling. The room is finished in wood panels.

The huge beams have been cased in, and the windows with their wooden shutters remain as they were first built. The furnis.h.i.+ng is all of the colonial period, showing slat-back chairs and cane-seated ones. A feature of this room is the wonderful old mirror, one of the largest ever made and so tall that an opening had to be made in the ceiling, that it might be set up. It is a room typical of the period and shows woodwork that has never been replaced. The andirons are painted in brilliant colors, showing the Hessian soldiers,--a kind that were in use directly after the Revolution.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE x.x.xIV.--Ladd-Gilman House; Prison, Ladd-Gilman House.]

The chambers have each an old four-poster, while their fireplaces are unlike many of that period, being finished in stone instead of wood. In the middle chamber is a fine example of a field bed, which was used by Daniel Webster. In this room also is a queer little mahogany piece that, when the cover is lifted, shows a foot-bath that was taken by Governor Gilman to Was.h.i.+ngton during his term of service there. In addition to this there is a quaint little trunk of leather, which was used by the governor to transport his belongings to and fro,--not a very elaborate wardrobe if it all went into the one trunk.

The Middle Chamber, as this is familiarly known, has also one of the old fireplaces without a mantel. Every room in the house shows the wide-beamed ceilings that came into use about that period.

Probably the most interesting room is a small one at one side which was used as a prisoner's room. Here the windows are very small and were formerly barred over. In this room the poor debtors were kept until released by their friends.

In the capacity of Treasurer of State, Colonel Gilman had his office in the house, and here he affixed his signature to the paper bills of credit to which the State and country were obliged to resort in order to carry on the war. It was a duty, however, that still permitted him to devote part of his time to military service, holding the position of colonel of the Fourth Regiment of Militia and aiding in the capture of General Burgoyne. Within the walls of this mansion were born his children, three of whom became conspicuous in the history of the State.

John Taylor Gilman, who succeeded his father, held many offices of trust and in 1814, at the alarm of Portsmouth, he took personal command of a large detachment of militia stationed by his order in that vicinity.

Nicholas Gilman, Jr., who resided in the house until the age of twenty-one, became senior Deputy Adjutant-general of the Continental army on the staff of General Was.h.i.+ngton and partic.i.p.ated in all the important battles and campaigns in which, under Was.h.i.+ngton, the army engaged. In 1787 Captain Nicholas Gilman and John Langdon were chosen delegates to the Federal Convention of States, which a.s.sembled at Philadelphia and framed and adopted the Const.i.tution, the delegates signing in the order of States. The signatures of Langdon and Gilman followed immediately after that of General Was.h.i.+ngton, as President of the Convention. Gilman was one of the youngest members of that body, that combined patriotism, experience, and character.

The third son, Colonel Nathaniel Gilman, succeeded his father Colonel Nicholas Gilman, Sr., in the treasury department--The Continental Loan Office--as early as 1783. From 1818 to 1824 the mansion was occupied by Captain Nathaniel Gilman, son of Colonel Nathaniel Gilman and grandson of Colonel Nicholas Gilman, Sr.

The house itself is in an excellent state of preservation. The partially panelled walls, the quaint windows with wide sills, the large and cheerful fireplaces in which the original dogs still do duty, belong distinctively to colonial days. The small, high windows fitted with wooden shutters show the great thickness of the house wall, and the whole surroundings impress one with solidity and comfort.

CHAPTER VIII

THE ADAMS HOUSE

One of the first settlers at Newbury, Ma.s.sachusetts, was one Henry Sewall, who came over from England in 1634, bringing with him cattle, servants, and provisions. He was allotted six hundred acres of upland and marsh land at Newbury, according to agreement made before he left his native country. This land bordered the river Parker, near what is now known as Byfield proper, a fertile, woodland country with rolling hills and rich land. He married Jane Dummer, settling later on the grant of land that had been apportioned to him for the first stock farm in America.

Near the foot of the hill, at the parting of four roads, was a lot of land that he bequeathed to his wife, with ten pounds yearly. The grant of land later on was divided into several house lots, one of which was the home of William Longfellow, the emigrant ancestor of the Longfellow family in America, who married Anne Sewall. This shows the connection through marriage of the prominent families who settled in this region.

Captain Abraham Adams was born in Newbury, May 2, 1676. He followed the sea in early life, sailing first to the West Indies, and soon rose to the command of a vessel, making fourteen trips to England, besides many coastwise trading voyages. In 1703 he married Anne Longfellow. She was a niece of Judge Samuel Sewall, and lived on the part of the old Sewall grant then known as "Highfield," which name was given to the estate that Abraham Adams' father gave to him at the time of his marriage, although the deed was not pa.s.sed until two years afterwards. Upon this land Captain Adams built his mansion, an unpretentious house following the lines of that period. It stood in the midst of the tract which at that time was much larger than it is to-day, although even now it is still possible to walk a mile in a straight line from the homestead on ancestral ground covered with heavy timber and showing broad meadows.

Stone walls were not then built to define boundaries, and the highway was a mere bridle-path running by the door and on between the houses of Henry Sewall and William Longfellow to the ford over the brook, at that time a considerable stream. The captain, who took kindly to farming, greatly improved the land, and on the grant are still found small apple-trees that grew from those set out by him in 1706. The seeds for these trees were brought by Captain Adams when he returned from one of his voyages. Tradition relates that while bringing them from the s.h.i.+p his oxen stopped in the ford at Cart Creek, and the captain, in a discouraged mood said: "I would rather dump the seeds in this cart into the creek than to put them in the ground." He changed his mind, however, and became a very successful farmer.

After Captain Adams' marriage to Anne Longfellow, he promised to give up his life on the sea and devote his time to farming. Whether with this he made a mental reservation is not known, but in his s.h.i.+pyard half a mile away he afterwards built several vessels and engaged in a coasting-trade. Unlike the other farmers of the day, the products of his farm were carried to New Orleans and other ports and bartered for rice and mola.s.ses. The old s.h.i.+pyard can still be seen, but the vessels have long ago disappeared. The narrow river winding to the sea shows little s.p.a.ce for s.h.i.+pping, and even in its most prosperous days it was necessary to launch the rudely built s.h.i.+ps sidewise.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE x.x.xV.--The Adams House, Newbury, Ma.s.sachusetts.]

The old house is still standing. Some of the original s.h.i.+ngles and clapboards, covering a solid wall of home-made bricks, are still in a good state of preservation, especially on the west end. The innovation of a modern porch has added to rather than detracted from the pleasing appearance of the house. The diamond paned windows that were imported from England have been removed. Inside, the smoothly finished beams, the great fireplaces with panelled sides, the heavy doors, the broad, low steps, the fine woodwork in staircase and mantel, all speak of former pride and prosperity.

Many an ancient legend is related concerning this old dwelling. Under the attic eaves is still shown a bunk known as Booth's bin, on account of an Indian slave by that name who for many years slept in it. Many years ago David Adams, while on a visit to Deny, New Hamps.h.i.+re, took with him a slave who became suddenly ill. No regular physician could be secured who was willing to attend him, so a cow doctor was called. He advised a hot bath. As nothing could be found large enough for the bath, an old dug-out was dragged up from the river, pitched, and filled with boiling water, into which the negro was unceremoniously thrust but escaped with his life.

During a fire that occurred in this house sometime during the residence of Abraham Adams, this slave wished to aid in putting it out, he rushed up over the stairs to cut a hole in the roof with a hatchet. The hatchet was dull and the roof was high, so he battered it with his head until a hole was made.

Somewhere on the bridle-path that led to the house in the early days of its occupancy there lived for a time a little band of twenty-five Indians, many of whom died there. One beautiful day in the early spring Mother Anne sauntered down the lane and strolled across the fields, as was her custom, to sit down outside the wigwam and chat with the old squaw. She was all alone, as Quanto, the brave, was absent attending to work around the place. Soon the old squaw stirred up the blaze of the camp-fire and set the kettle on to boil, making ready for the return of her husband for the midday meal. She put in beef and turnips, for it was before the days of potatoes. The smell of the savory stew was most appetizing, and Mother Anne, who had been often urged to partake of the Indian hospitality, decided this time to accept. Suddenly a slight rustle in the branches caused her to turn her head, and there by her side stood the brave, Quanto, who had come out silently from the shadows. His blankets were cast aside, and twined around his arm and shoulder was a big black snake which he held by its head. With the characteristic grunt of the Indian he saluted his guest, then stepping quickly forward, he removed the cover of the kettle with his left hand and with his right threw the writhing snake into the stew. Needless to say, Mother Anne's important household duties called her home before the meal was ready.

When the house was first built, the land was covered with forests which were afterwards felled. Since then many generations have ploughed and sowed the fields which, with incredible toil, were wrested from the wilderness. Six ponderous oxen and a pair of steers were attached to a ma.s.sive wooden plough, on which rode a man and boy; the stronger of the two held the plough upright. Thus were the sods turned and the fields prepared.

The labor of Mother Anne in those days was as arduous as was that of Captain Abraham. At the east side of the house, close by the old well, stood the leach-tub holding one hundred gallons. Here lye was made to be used in working the flax. Soap-making followed the cattle-killing in the early spring, for butcher and baker did not come near the house at that period.

From the apple trees cider was made, forty barrels being put in for a yearly allowance, for it was drunk much as tea and coffee are to-day.

The Indians naturally craved some of this drink. One of them, after being repeatedly refused, came with a basket filled with gifts from the woods and asked slyly if "Him Captain" would fill it with cider in return. So persistent was he that the captain told him yes. The Indian answered: "Him, Captain, wait a little!"

Quick as a flash, attaching the basket to the rope, he swung it down the well. After several dippings it froze, making an excellent receptacle in which to carry the cider home.

Captain Adams was a very prominent man. He had two sons, twins, who both were sent through Harvard. There was a daughter, Anne. All three of these were very religious, for we read that the twins established the Lynnfield church and also the Old South in Newburyport, while the daughter Anne, with her husband, established the First Baptist Church in New Hamps.h.i.+re. Jacob, another son, started the first seminary for girls in America, called the Adams Female Seminary, one of its teachers being Mary Lyon, the founder of Mount Holyoke College.

Samuel Adams was the same type of man as his father and succeeded to the homestead. He had five sons, the eldest of whom was blind, and with four of these sons he fought through the long war of the Revolution. From this old doorway loving wives looked anxiously for the return of their husbands and sons from the wars.

Singularly enough, although five generations of Adams' went to war, and the heads of the families wore side-arms, no trace of them is found in the household, with the exception of one sword that did duty at Bunker Hill. What they did with their arms was never known, but if they were melted into ploughshares, the work must have been done quickly.

After the death of Abraham, the house was left to Samuel, his son, in consideration of one pound and the love and affection borne him; after his death it went to Samuel's son, Captain Stevens, born in 1760.

Captain Stevens, so the legend runs, was a very tall man, standing six feet four inches in his stockings at the time of his enlistment in the Continental army when sixteen years of age. Still kept in the house are his spectacles which were made to order from silver dollars which he had saved. His desk still stands in the living-room and was bought with money paid him as a soldier. It cost forty dollars even at that period.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE x.x.xVI.--Parlor, Adams House; Living Room, Adams House.]

Entrance to the house is through a colonial porch that gives into a small hallway. At the left is a large, square room that is used as a living room. In one corner is the old desk in which is the original deed of the house, signed by Samuel Sewall and Hannah Sewall. The dwelling is a treasure-house of old colonial furniture, many of the pieces having been originally in the old Longfellow house. One of the most interesting of these is a fine example of banister chair, the one that was brought by Anne Longfellow across the fields to the Adams house when she came there a bride.

On the opposite side of the house is a second large, square room, also filled with heirlooms, among which is a fine example of an 1800 mirror of the picturesque type showing "Dawn." This was also brought by the Longfellow bride. The fireplace in this house is the original one around which the Adams father and son gathered the night before the battle of Bunker Hill, to mold bullets that would be used on that occasion.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE x.x.xVII.--Dining Room, Adams House.]