Author: Muriel Bristol

By Muriel Bristol (Transcriber) | October 25, 2018

The Milton excerpts from the New-Hampshire Register, Farmers’ Almanac, and Business Directory, for 1876.

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MILTON, STRAFFORD – Pop., 1898. N.E. from C., 40; N.W. from Dover, 20. R.R.S. [Railroad Station] – Milton and South Milton, on Ports., Gt. Falls & Conway R.R. 

OFFICERS – Clerk, C.H. Looney; Treas., Geo. Lyman; Selectmen, Geo. Lyman, G.H. Plumer, John U. Simes; Supts., M.V.B. Cook, J.N. Lowell, Freeman H. Lowd. 

Postmaster – C.H. Looney; South, H.H. Wentworth; West, T.F. Canney. 

Justices [of the Peace] – Luther Hayes, C.H. Looney, E.W. Fox, State; Joseph Plumer, Joseph Mathes, Joseph Cook, George Lyman, G.W. Peavey, J.S. Hersey, J.N. Sims, B.B. Plummer, B.P. Roberts. 

Churches – Chris., D.B. Goodwin; Cong., J.N. Lowell; F. Bap., E. Tuttle. 

Exp. & Tel. Ag’t – Daniel Corkery. 

Hotels – Ben Franklin House, R. West; Tri-Mountain House, J.R. Horne. Livery Stable – Jas. R. Horne. 

Literary Institution – Milton Classical Institute, J.P. Bickford. 

Manufacturers – boots and shoes, South, H.H. Wentworth; lumber, Luther Hayes, Scates & Lyman; Lewis Plumer, p.o. ad., Union. 

Mechanics – blacksmiths, H. Duntly & Son; carpenters, Joseph Mathes, E.H. Hersom; painter, G.F. Hodgdon; wheelwrights, Joseph Mathes, Daniel Jenness. 

Merchants – Ira W. Jones, J. Hart, J.E. Abbott, Jas. R. Horne; fancy goods, Mrs. Ira L. Knox, Mrs. J.F. Hart; millinery, Mrs. C.M. Roberts.

Physician, G.W. Peavey.

[Milton] Mills – Postmaster & Ex. Ag’t – E.W. Fox.

Churches – Cong., D.B. Scott, C.F. Page; F. Bap., A.S. McLean; Meth., James Crowley. 

Hotel & Livery Stable – Central House, Ira Miller. 

Manufacturers – carriages and wheelwright, John Brackett; flannels, Waumbeck Manuf’g Co.; felt cloth, piano and table covers, Edward Brierly & Son; table and piano covers, Townsend & Co., John Meikle. 

Mechanics – blacksmiths, Ebenezer Osgood, Nathaniel Rines, S.F. Rines; carpenters, J.F. Titcomb, E.S. Simes; harness makers, A.A. Fox & Son; harness makers, A. Sanborn & Son; mason, J.G. Rines; painter, G.W. Came.

Merchants – Asa Fox & Son, A.A. Fox & Co., J.U. Simes, J.B. Merrill & Son; boots and shoes, S. Grant; fancy goods, Mrs. W.P. Farnham; provision, C.S. Lowd. 

Physicians – J.C. Buck, C.W. Gross, M.K. Cowell.

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The Boston Globe newspaper of 1876 contained the following news of fires in Milton Mills and Milton Three-Corners during this year:

New England by Mail. Milton Mills, N.H. – The store of Augustus Fox at Milton Mills, was destroyed by fire Tuesday might. Loss $6,000; insured in the Home, New York, for $4300. The second story was occupied by the Odd Fellows, who lost everything (Boston Globe, March 9, 1876).

NOTES. Milton, N.H. – Yesterday morning a house at Milton Three-Corners, formerly occupied by George B. Wentworth, was burned. Loss $6000 (Boston Globe, September 15, 1876).

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Previous in sequence: Milton Businesses in 1875; next in the sequence: Milton Businesses in 1877.

References:

Claremont Manufacturing Company. (1876). New-Hampshire Register, Farmers’ Almanac, and Business Directory, for 1876. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=VvEWAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA173

By Muriel Bristol (Transcriber) | October 21, 2018

Extracted below is the Milton entry from the The New Hampshire Register and Farmer’s Almanac, for 1871.

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Milton, STRAFFORD – Clerk, Joseph Mathes; Treas., Thomas H. Roberts; Selectmen, Charles Hayes, David Walingford, jr., Thomas H. Roberts; Supts., James W. Applebee, Frank Haley; Postmasters, Ezra H. Twombly; – Elbridge W. Fox, Mills; – John C. Plumer, South; – Thomas Canney, West; Physicians, Stephen Drew, Geo. W. Peavey; – J.C. Buck, R. Buck, Mills; Churches, F. Bap., Ezra Tuttle; Cong., Frank Haley; Cong., Caleb Page; F. Bap., D. Waterman; Meth., Ira J. Tibbets, Mills; Literary Institution, Milton Classical Institute; Merchants, Geo. M. Sayward, John E. Twombly, Mark H. Hart; Mrs. Clara M. Roberts, millinery; – Wm. C. Watson, boots and shoes; Asa Fox & Son, Asa A. Fox & Co., Bray U. Simes, John U. Simes; Geo V. Olney, groceries; Mrs. H.A. Farnham, Miss Augusta Berry, millinery; S. Lowd, provisions, Mills. Manufacturers – James Bennett, George B. Wentworth, boots and shoes; – Hiram V. Wentworth, Luther Hayes, Lewis Plumer, G.W. Wentworth; – William P. Tuttle, South, lumber; – Waumbeck Manuf’g Co., flannels, Edward Brierley, flannels, felt cloths, piano and table covers; John Meikle, dyer and table-cover painter, Mills.

Hotel, Central House, Ira Miller, Mills.

Livery Stable – Wm H. Huntress.

R.R.S. [Railroad Stations] – Milton and South Milton. Stage from Milton Mills to Union Village to connect with every train.

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Previous in sequence: Milton Businesses in 1869-70; next in sequence: Milton Businesses in 1873

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References:

Claremont Manufacturing Company. (1871). The New Hampshire Register and Farmer’s Almanac, for 1871. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=AwEXAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA130

By Muriel Bristol (Transcriber) | October 19, 2018

The New-Hampshire Register and Political Manual for the Year 1870 directory entries for Milton in 1870. The compiler gathered his information from data available in 1869.

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MILTON, (Originally part of Rochester) incorporated June 11, 1802. Population – 1820, 1232; 1850, 1619; 1860, 1862.

Рostmasters – Еzra Н. Twombly; Mills, Elbridge W. Fox; West, ______ Kenney; South, H.V. Wentworth. Selectmen – Еlbridgе W. Fox, Charles Hayes, Henry B. Scates. Town-clerk, Geo. W. Tasker. Clergymen – James Doldt, Caleb F. Page (Mills), Cong. Physicians – Stephen Drew, George W. Peavey, Charles E. Swasey (Mills). School Com. – James Doldt, M.V.B. Cook, James W. Applebee. Justices – Charles Jones, Luther Hayes, State; Elbridge W. Fox, Joseph Plumer, Ebenezer Wentworth, Charles A. Cloutman, Asa Jewett, Joseph Cook, Robert Маthes, Ira C. Varney, George Lyman, George Peavey, Маrtin V.B. Cook, John T. Hersey, George W. Tasker, Edward W. Fox, Ezra H. Twombly, Thomas H. Roberts, John U. Simes, Larkin A. Craig. 

Mеrchants – John E. Twombly, Joseph Sayward, Mark H. Hart (Milton), Asa Fox & Son, Bray U. Simes, John U. Simes, Benjamin F. Hubbard (Mills), variety. Manufacturers – Milton Mills Manufacturing Co., George H. Jones, E.R. Mudge & Co., flannels; Edward Brierly & Co., flannels and table covers; Hiram V. Wentworth, boots and shoes; Luther Hayes, shooks [i.e., barrel staves]. Hotels – Milton, by William Н. Huntress, Central, by Ira Miller (Mills).

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Elsewhere in the directory, we find the value of Milton’s land and farm stock, as of April 1868, and its votes in recent elections.

Value of Lands in New-Hampshire, and Number & Value of Farm Stock, per Inventory, April, 1868.

Milton, [Lands. Value.] $276,478, [Horses, etc. No.] 188, [Horses, etc. Value.] $12,386, [Cows, Oxen, etc. No.] 897, [Cows, Oxen, etc. Value] $30,245, [Sheep. No.] 786, [Sheep. Value.] $1,758. 

TABULAR STATEMENT BY TOWNS of Distance from Concord, of Vote for Railroad Commissioner, 1869; Population of 1860; Ratable Polls; Valuation of 1868; and proportion on $1000 of State Tax.

40 [Miles from Concord], Milton, 255 [Votes for Quarles], 90 [Votes for Donahue], 1,862 [Population], 388 [Rateable Polls], $511,028 [Valuation], $3.43 [per $1,000 State Tax rate].

Vote for Governor, March, 1869, March, 1868, and for President, Nov. 1868.

Milton, 250 [Stearns], 95 [Bedell], [0, Scattering]; 262 [Harriman], 124 [Sinclair]; 226 [Grant], 78 [Seymour].

NH Secretary of State Walter Harriman (1817-1884), of Concord, won election as NH Governor in 1867 and 1868. Former NH State Senator Onslow Stearns (1810-1878), of Concord, won election as NH Governor in 1869 and 1870. They were both Republicans. Governor Stearns was succeeded as governor by Manchester Mayor James A. Weston. (Weston’s election over Republican opponent James Pike was close enough that the final result was decided in the state legislature).

Under the Strafford County entry, Hayes, Luther, Milton (South), was Strafford County Sheriff.

For State Senate District No. 6, Milton voted for Republican Ezra Gould, 262 votes [70.6%], over Democrat Edwin Pease, 109 votes [29.4%], in 1868. Pease received 4,400 votes [51.6%] in the overall district vote, while Gould received 4,059 votes [47.6%], and “scattering” received 76 votes [0.9%]. The result was reported as “Pease’s majority.”

For State Senate District No. 6, Milton voted for Republican Ezra Gould, 254 votes [73.0%], over Democrat Edwin Pease, 94 votes [27.0%], in 1869. Gould received 3,754 votes [49.7%] in the overall district vote, while Pease received 3,744 votes [49.5%], and “scattering” received 61 votes [0.8%]. The result was reported as “no choice.”

Under the Government of New-Hampshire entry, CHARLES JONES, Milton, held the District No. 2 seat on the five-seat Governor’s Council in 1870, under Governor Onslow Stearns, of Concord. By virtue of his seat on the Governor’s Council, Jones also held an ex-officio seat on the State Board of Education.

Republicans George Lyman and Samuel G. Chamberlain held Milton’s two seats in the NH House of Representatives. Middleton had its own representative, Democrat Franklin Colbath.

(Note: Today, the Milton and Middleton share a single district with two representatives, versus the two towns having independently two and one representatives, respectively, for a total of three representatives. Increases in population have occurred since then, and have occurred in greater proportions elsewhere than in Milton and Middleton, thus occasioning reduced representation compared with that of the past. (See The Mathematical Limits of Representation).

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The New England Farmer reported on the agricultural fair held at Great Falls, i.e., Somersworth, in September 1869, during which Hiram V. Wentworth was selected as a board member:

AGRICULTURAL FAIRS. Strafford County, N.H. Fair at Great Falls, Sept. 14-16. The Journal says that the entries of Stock, Fruit, Vegetables, implements, manufactures, &c., were large and attractive. In the procession were town teams of eleven yoke of oxen each from Barrington, Somersworth, Rollinsford, and the County Farm; and ten yoke from Dover, drawing huge carriages, tastefully ornamented, and filled with singing children and other happy people. The Journal does not give the premiums awarded, but remarks that the exhibition is ahead of all previous one, and all are perfectly satisfied. The receipts are about $5000, which will place the Society on good footing pecuniarily.

On Wednesday morning the following board of Directors was chosen – M.C. Burleigh, S.C. Chick, Great Falls; Noah Tebbetts, Joseph Nutter, Rochester; H.V. Wentworth, Milton; W.R. Garvin, Rollinsford; C.R. Meserve, Madbury; Wm. F. Jones, Durham; E. Bartlett, Lee; C.W. Davis, Farmington; A.G. Orne, Middleton; G.S. Gilman, New Durham; R.B. Peavey, Strafford; Elisha Locke, Barrington (New England Farmer, September 25, 1869).

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Previous in sequence: Milton Businesses in 1868; next in sequence: Milton Businesses in 1871

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References:

Jenks, George E. (1869). The New-Hampshire Register and Political Manual for the Year 1870. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=K0A4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA100

Wikipedia. (2018, October 18). Onslow Stearns. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onslow_Stearns

Wikipedia. (2018, October 9). Ulysses S. Grant. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant

Wikipedia. (2018, October 18). United States Presidential Election, 1868. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1868

Wikipedia. (2018, August 24). Walter Harriman (Governor). Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Harriman_(governor)

By Muriel Bristol (Transcriber) | October 18, 2018

Edwin A. Charlton’s 1857 description of Milton, “as it is”:

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Milton, Strafford county. Bounded north-west by Middleton and Wakefield, east by Salmon Falls River, which separates it from Lebanon, Maine, and south-west by Farmington and New Durham. Area, 25,000 acres. Distance from Concord, 40 miles  north-east, from Dover, 20, north-west. Salmon Falls River washes its whole eastern border for a distance of 13 miles. A branch of this river passes through its northern extremity. Milton Pond lies at the foot of Teneriffe Mountain – a bold and rocky elevation, which extends along its eastern section. The soil is generally good, the surface somewhat broken, and affords excellent pasturage. The inhabitants are mostly engaged in farming.

Milton Mills – John Townsend, proprietor; capital, $50,000; manufacture flannels; have 18 looms and 1200 spindles. Amount manufactured per annum, $90,000. Do. [Ditto] stock used per annum, 120,000 pounds wool. Number of operatives, 35. 

This town was formerly a part of Rochester, from which it was taken and incorporated June 11, 1802. There are two meeting houses – one Congregational, and one Christian.

Population, 1629. Number of polls, 406. Inventory, $414,982. Value of lands, $236,265. Do. [Ditto] mills and factories, $8500. Do. stock in trade, $10,730. Money at interest, &c, $12,939. Number of sheep, 708. Do. neat stock [cattle], 1264. Do. horses, 189.

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Charlton’s nineteenth-century orthography is interesting. He retains some features from the eighteenth century. Numbers in the single thousands do not employ commas. That is reserved only for numbers in the tens of thousands or larger. The traditional abbreviation “do.” is used for “ditto,” which is itself a sort of Latin abbreviation for “as has been said before.” The plural of operators, as in machine operators, is “operatives.” Neat stock would be oxen or heifers.

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Previous in sequence: Milton in 1849; next in sequence: Milton in 1859

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References:

Charlton, Edwin Azro. (1857). New Hampshire As It Is. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=vnIUAAAAYAAJ

By Muriel Bristol | October 13, 2018

We encountered the six and a half pages of the US Excise Tax of May 1864 for its Collection District 1 and Division 8. This was put forward as a temporary tax – a war measure – but we all know there is no such thing as a temporary tax. This particular “temporary” war tax continued well into the 1870s. (We will perhaps examine other years separately in the future).

Division 8 comprised the towns of Alton, Alton Bay, East Alton, and West Alton; Barnstead, Center Barnstead, and North Barnstead; Blue Hill; Farmington; Gilmanton, Gilmanton I.M. [Iron Mill], and South Gilmanton; Middleton; Milton, Milton Mills, and South Milton; New Durham; Strafford, Center Strafford, and Strafford Corner.

There was one entry for an itinerant Dover-based 3d-class pedlar.

Only the entries for Milton, South Milton, and Milton Mills have been excerpted below (Their sequence numbers have been omitted).

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ALPHABETICAL LIST of Persons in Division No. 8, in Collection District No 1 of the State of New Hampshire, liable to a tax under the Excise laws of the United States, and the amount thereof, as assessed by George A. Titcomb, Assistant Assessor, and by him returned to the Assessor, of said District, for the month of May – Annual, 1864.

Assessors must be particular to fill all the blanks in this form, as far as practicable, and to classify and number all articles and occupations upon which taxes are assessed to correspond with the entry in the Abstract.

[Page 76]

• Bennett, James, Milton, Manufacturer, $10 Class B License, $10 Amount of Tax Due
• Drew, Stephen, Milton, Physician, $10 Class B License, $10 Amount of Tax Due

[Page 77]

• Fox, Asa & Son, Milton Mills, Retail Dealer, $10 Class B License, $10 Amount of Tax Due
• Hanson, William H., Milton, Retail Dealer, $10 Class B License, $10 Amount of Tax Due
• Hayes, Barstow, & Co., So. Milton, Manufacturers, $10 Class B License, $10 Amount of Tax Due
• Hayes, Lyman, & Perkins, So. Milton, Retail Dealers, $10 Class B License, $10 Amount of Tax Due

[Page 78]

• Huntress, William H., Milton, Hotel 8th Class, $5 Class B License, $5 Amount of Tax Due
• Huntress, William H., Milton, Retail Liquor Dealer, $20 Class B License, $20 Amount of Tax Due
• Huntress, William H., Milton, Livery Stable, $10 Class B License, $10 Amount of Tax Due
• Huntress, William H., Milton, 1-Horse Carriage, $1 Rate, $90 Value, $10 Class C Enumerated Articles, $36 Amount of Tax Due
• Jewett, Asa, Milton Mills, Retail Dealer, $10 Class B License, $10 Amount of Tax Due
• Jones, Charles, Milton, 1-Horse Carriage, $1 Rate, $80 Value, $1 Class C Enumerated Articles, $1 Amount of Tax Due

[Page 79]

• Milton Mills Co., Milton Mills, Manufacturers, $10 Class B License, $10 Amount of Tax Due
• Plummer, Enoch W., Milton, Stallion, $10 Class B License, [blank] Amount of Tax Due
• Plummer, Enoch W., Milton, 1-Horse Carriage, $1 Rate, $75 Value, $1 Class C Enumerated Articles, $11 Amount of Tax Due
• Plummer, Joseph, Milton, 2-Horse Carriage, $2 Rate, $150 Value, $2 Class C Enumerated Articles, $2 Amount of Tax Due
• Pearl, Joseph, Milton, 2-Horse Carriage, $1 Rate, $80 Value, $1 Class C Enumerated Articles, $1 Amount of Tax Due

[Page 80]

• Reed, L.D., Milton Mills, Hotel 7th Class, $10 Class B License, [blank] Amount of Tax Due
• Reed, L.D., Milton Mills, Retail Liquor Dealer, $20 Class B License, $30 Amount of Tax Due
• Simmes, Bray U., Milton Mills, Retail Dealer, $10 Class B License, $10 Amount of Tax Due
• Simmes, John U., Milton Mills, Retail Dealer, $10 Class B License, $10 Amount of Tax Due
• Twombly, E.H., Milton Mills, Retail Dealer, $10 Class B License, $10 Amount of Tax Due

[Page 81]

• Wentworth, H.V., So. Milton, Horse Dealer, $10 Class B License, $10 Amount of Tax Due

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These 23 entries provide a snapshot of the major economic activity in South Milton, Milton, and Milton Mills as assessed in May 1864 – the beginning of the fourth and final year of the Civil War. At least, it provides a snapshot of the major taxable activity.

South Milton had manufacturer Hayes, Barstow, & Co., retail dealer Hayes, Lyman, & Perkins, and horse dealer H.V. Wentworth.

Horse dealer Hiram V. Wentworth (1818-1890) had become a shoe manufacturer by the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. (He was also an incorporator of the Milton Classical Institute).

Milton proper had a single manufacturer James Bennett; a retail dealer William H. Hanson; 7th class hotelier, retail liquor dealer, and livery stabler William H. Huntress; and physician Dr. Stephen Drew.

James Bennett (1816-1894) appeared in an 1865 Dover Directory as a partner in Bennett (James) & Hovey (Thos. C.), shoe manuf. Orchard n. Central, house 8 Orchard.

William H. Hanson (1834-1913) had appeared as a Lebanon, ME, shoemaker in the Eighth (1860) Federal Census and would appear as a Dover grocery clerk in Ninth (1870) Federal Census.

William H. Huntress (1823-1873) had appeared as a Milton shoemaker in the Eighth (1860) Federal Census and would appear as a Milton saloon keeper in the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. He must have established or taken up his 7th-class hotel, saloon, and livery stable at some time between June 1860 and May 1864.

William H. Huntress, Charles Jones (1833-1873), E.W. Plummer (1815-1896),  Joseph Plummer (1820-1907), and Joseph Pearl (1786-1867) all had their carriages taxed. These one and two-horse carriages might have been their owners’ personal carriages or they might have been possibly for hire. (Charles Jones was also an incorporator of the Milton Classical Institute).

Jones and the Plummer brothers all appeared together on the same page in the Eighth (1860) Federal Census; they were all farmers, whose post-office district was Milton, while Joseph Pearl, who was also a farmer, had a post-office district of West Milton.

Enoch W. Plummer had his stallion assessed too. No other horses, either stallions or mares, appeared in the Milton tax assessments. It seems unlikely that this was the only stallion in town. Might it have been especially valuable for some reason?

The Great Falls & Conway railroad had begun running through Milton some nine years before this assessment. The station building was still nine years in the future.

Milton Mills had a single manufacturer, Milton Mills Co.; five retail dealers: Asa Fox & Sons, Asa Jewett, Bray U. Simmes, John U. Simmes, and E.H. Twombly; and one 7th class hotelier and retail liquor dealer L.D. Reed.

Asa Fox (1809-1887) appeared as a Milton Mills farmer in the Eighth (1860) Federal Census and as retail grocer in the Ninth (1870) Federal Census.

Asa Jewett (1815-1883) appeared as a Milton Mills farmer in both the Eighth (1860) and Ninth (1870) Federal Censuses.

B.U. Sims (1801-1885) and his son, John Sims, appeared together as Milton Mills merchants in the Eighth (1860) Federal Census and Bray U. Simmes and John U. Simmes appeared separately as Milton Mills retail grocers in the Ninth (1870) Federal Census.

E.H. Twombly (1830-1893) appeared in the Eighth (1860) Federal Census as a Milton Mills merchant and Ezra H. Twombly appeared in the Ninth (1870) Federal Census as Milton Mills Post Master.

L.D. Reed appeared in the Eighth (1860) Federal Census as the landlord of the Milton Mills Hotel. His tenants at that time included a physician (Wm. B. Reynolds), four pedlars, a bread pedlar, and an expressman. His hotel appeared between the households of John L. Swinerton, physician, and E. Osgood, blacksmith.

Lewis D. Reed, aged thirty-eight years, hotel keeper, of Milton, registered for the draft in June 1863. He died in Milton in 1870.

This Milton Mills assessment may be compared with Vulpe’s January 1864 letter in the Farmington Weekly Courier. The Milton Mills Co. of the tax assessment corresponds to John Townsend, Esq.’s superlative flannel mill of the other. Vulpes omits the trader E.H. Twombly, as well as L.D. Reed’s hotel and saloon bar, but mentions “three or four” small grocery vendors and a carting company that the tax assessment omits.

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Previous in sequence: Milton’s US Excise Tax of 1863; next in sequence Milton’s US Excise Tax of 1865

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References:

Find a Grave. (2015, August 17). James Bennett. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/150871040

Find a Grave. (2013, July 31). Asa Fox. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/114673689/asa-fox

Find a Grave. (2016, December 5). William H. Hanson. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/173508228/william-h-hanson

Find a Grave. (2013, August 14). Asa Jewett. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/115418840/asa-jewett

Find a Grave. (2016, May 24). Joseph Plummer. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/163223950/joseph-plummer

Find a Grave. (2013, August 17). Bray U. Simes. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/115612041

Find a Grave. (2013, August 17). John U. Simes. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/115612563

Fox, Cynthia G. (1986). Income Tax Records of the Civil War Years. Retrieved from www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1986/winter/civil-war-tax-records.html