of Lowell, Mass. ; and to Messrs. Iluse, Goodwin & Co., of the
Vox Press, I tender thanks for the excellent printing of this book.
To the citizens of Windham who have aided me, I render
thanks for their public spirit and interest in the work.
And finally, to all who have aided me by pecuniary assistance
in this unremunerative task, or by words of encouragement, or by
correspondence and information, or who have embellished the
pages of this History with portraits of themselves or others, I
render my grateful acknowledgments.
I'liis History is now submittetl to the people of the town, to the
descendants of the first settlers, to the general public, and to pos-
terity. That this work may be of interest to the present, and of
value to the future, is my earnest desire ; and that the lessons
taught by the lives of our Avorthy ancestors may never fade from
the memories of their descendants, is my hope and will bo my
reward.
LEONAKD A. MORRISON.
WiNmiAM, N. II., May II, 1883.
PKBLIMINAKY CHAPTER.
In writiiiir aiul in readiiifr a histoiy of tlie people in lliis Scotch settle-
ment, tlie iniiiil insensibly j;oes Ivack to Scotland, the Fatherlanil. Before
the mental vision passes, in panoramic review, its romantic monntains
with their wikls and fastnesses, its glens and historic places, where the
ancestors of this people lived and surtered ; where thej' contended for the
right, as it was given them to see the right, often against superior force,
sometimes with inditferent success, but still where the blood of martyrs
became the seed of the Church, and where the cause at times crushed be-
neath arbitrary power, flourished again with newness of life and undying
vigor. The incidents of Scottish history, such as
" Scots wha ha' wi' Wallace bled,
Scots whom Bruce has often led,"
With a multitude of others, come thronging the memory like the iurush-
ing waters of a mighty flood.
Tlie Fatherland is tiiled with glorious memories, which appeal to one's
inner nature, touch his heart, and thrill his soul. The great binding
power of association links each descendant of those who planted this
settlement with the history of Scotland. He can claim kinship with her
noblest and best ; with her warriors, statesmen, and orators ; with her poets,
whose songs have touched responsive chords in the heart of man, wher-
ever man possesses a soul capable of appreciating the beautiful and true :
songs, too, not for one clime or one age, but for all climes and all ages,
and which have found a home in the universal heart of humanity.
The main-land of Scotland, situated between 54° 38' and 58° 4(y 30"
north latitude, and Itetween 1° 46' and 6° 8' 30" of west longitude, is a
cold and wintry land, small in extent of territory, its surface covered
with morasses, lakes, lofty mountains, and fertile and productive glens.
Its area is about 20,400 square miles, or nearly three times as large as the
State of New Hampshire, and much of this surface is covered with water.
It has a sea-coast of 3,000 miles ; the whole northern and western coast
is indented with arms of the sea, and from Murray Firth on the north, to
Loch Linnhe on the southwest coast, the country is nearly cut in two by
the water. On the north are the Orkney Islands, on the west are the
wind-swept Hebrides, while upon the southerly border is the Nortli Chan-
nel, which, with its narrow width of from ten to twenty miles, alone
separates Scotland from Ireland. This land, so small in extent of terri-
tory, has been peopled with a brave and hardy race, and its history is as
grand, as romantic, as heroic, as any recorded.
The earliest authentic account we have comes from Roman historians,
and their records show that tiie Scotch were early noted for their bravery,
adroitness in war, fearlessness in danger, and fortitufle in adversity.
They would gather into bands, sweep down from their mountain fastnesses
upon the surrounding country, overcoming all obstacles, gather large
booty, and retire with incredible swiftness, thus precluding successful
pursuit. They were a haughty race, yet beneath their lawlessness were
strong in their regard for race and kindred, kindness for the distressed, and
practical sympathy for the needy, combined with a steady and unquench-
able love of country. England was nominally under Roman rule from
12 HISTORY OF WINDHAM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE,
Caesar's conquest, 55 B. C, to A. D. 449. During Konian supremacy
the Scottish clans made repeatetl raids into the rich provinces of Eng-
hind, and escaped with valuable booty. The Iloman legions could not
subdue them.
In A. D. 208, the Wall of Severus was built by the Romans, ft-om the
Solway Frith to the mouth of the river Tyne, as a last and most tre-
mendous barrier to the warlike clans. The wall was twelve feet high,
eight feet thick, and extended some seventy miles. A ditch thirty-six
feet wide and twelve feet deep was dug on the Scottish side of this wall.
There were a large number of towers, eighty-one forts, and three hundred
and thirty turrets upon this wall, built at proper distances from each
other, so that a fire lighted in one could be seen in' another. This was for
signalling the approach of danger, and notice could quickly be given the
entire distance. Yet over this great wall, guarded by soldiers, the Scots
often broke, laying the provinces of England under contribution, and
escaping again to Scotland.
Caledonia was the name by which Scotland was known to the Romans,
and it took its present name about A. D. 840.
Kenneth McAlpin, son of Alpin, surnanied the Hardy, was the first
king of the Scots and Picts, who included all of the inhabitants of Scot-
land, as he became the king of the two nations in 842. He and his imme-
diate successors styled themselves kings of the Scots and Picts. From this
union in A. D. 842, the Scottish nation maintained its position among the
nations of the world, till its union with England in 1603. During this
intervening period there was confusion, turbulence, and war; but Scotland
never was permanently subjugated. In 1603, James VI of Scotland, heir
of the English throne, succeeded Queen Elizabeth, with the title of
James I. Since that date the two nations have been united under one
government.
Among the most famous of Scottish heroes, and one who justly holds a
sacred place in Scottish hearts, was the patriot and hero, William Wallace.
He freed his nation from the gi'aspof Edward I of England. He was
finally beti'ayed, and by Edward was beheaded in 1305. The historic Scotch
names appear in the Londonderry settlement, and among them is the
honored name of Wallace. Robert Bruce took up the work which had
fallen from the hands of Wallace, and June 25, 1314, with thirty thousand
men, fought the battle of Bannockburn, defeated Edward II with one hun-
dred thousand men, and Scotland's freedom \vas thus fully assured. The
Scotch were heroes, Bruce was the "plumed knight" of t lie Scottish host,
and his name is covered with imperishable renown. During all these
centuries the Scotch people were inured to hardships and the dangers of
battle.
The foregoing brief sketch gives a glimpse of events in the Father-
land, and of our ancestors, for several hundred years. It brings us down
to the commencement of the main events which resulted in the persecu-
tions in Scotland, the emigrations to Ireland, and finally to Londonderry
and Windham in 1710. The caust's which led to this Scotcl'. emigration
arc familiar to many, but not to all, and it appropriately finds a i)lace in
this history; for had it not been for these events, there would have been
no settlement here, no history, and no such homes as we have in Wind-
ham. So the " oft-told tale " will be told again.
In the reign of Henry II, in the year 1172, Ireland had l)een subjugated l)y
the English, but for several centuries tlieir authority in the island was
held by a feeble teinire. After repeated rclxdlions, the English authority
was i)ernianently estahlislied under tiuccn I'Mi/.aix'tli in 1601, and a large
l)art of the lands of the rebellious Catholics was confiscated by the govern-
ninit. it was a favorite ])roject of the government to plant nt'W settle-
ments of Scotch and English in Ireland, for tlie purjjose of keei)ing in
clieck the wild and turl)uient spirits of the Irish. For this purpo.se tlie
confiscated lands of the Irish were otlered at a low rate for purposes of
PRELIMINARY CHAPTKR. 13
.srttk'iiioiit. The soil and cliiiiat*- woro al tractive, and colonics of English
and Scotch were soon siici'tssl'ully planted. James 1 and the London
liiiilds oti'ered i;reater inducements than were ever ollered before, to tlic
Scotch who would move across the North Channel and settle on the vacant
lan<ls, and the English who would carry English thrift and enterprise into
the desolated country. One fourth of the territory of Ireland had fallen
to the crown, including most of the ])rovince of Ulster, nine of the
northern counties, and portion of the counties on the eastern coast.
James the First reigned till 1(12"), and during his reign numerous settle-
ments were made. In ICIS the tlrst Presliyterian church ever established
in Ireland, was founded at Hallycorry, County of .Antrim. Vet neither in
Scotland nor Inland did the Scotch enjoy that religious freedom or tolera-
tion which their unconquerable spirits sought and demanded. Though
James was a Protestant as well as his predecessor Elizabeth, yet they
were of the Anglican, or Established Church of England, which ditl'ered
wiilely in its forms and ceremonies from the simple service of the stern
Scotch Presbyterians. During the reigns of these sovereigns, various
acts were pas.sed by P;irliament regulating the religious atfairs of the king-
dom, and requiring that all should adopt the modes of worship and arti-
cles of faith of the Estal)lished Church. The Puritans of England and the
rresbyterians of Scotland rejectetl with scorn the interference of the gov-
ernment, and demanded greater simplicity of worship than that allowed
by the governmental church. Of the Puritans it has been said that the
name Puritan was given as a word of reproach, and arose from this senti-
ment of the uon-c(niforming class. Tlie very reproach, persecution, and
conse(iuent dei)rivation and sutfenng, prevented all but tliose zealously in
earnest from joining this ostracized sect. Those very per.secutions in
England and Scotlanil were the means of driving Puritans, Pilgrims, and
Scotch Presbyterians to the American wilds, and planting upon the wild
shores of New England a conscientious, hardy, and liberty-loving race,
who founded those institutions, fostered and developed by succeeding gen-
erations, which are the beneficent ones enjoyed bj' us to-day. A writer
says, "The Puritans were anthracite on fire."
Bancroft says of them: "The austere principle was now announced,
that not even a ceremony sliould l)e tolerated, unless it was enjoined bj'
the word of God. The church of England, at least in its ceremonial part,
was established by an act of Parliament, or a royal ordinance ; Puritanism,
zealous for independence, admitted no voucher l)ut the Bible, — a fixed
rule, which they would allow neitlier Parliament, nor hierarcliy. nor king
to interpret. . . . The principles of Puritanism proclaimed the civil
magistrate subordinate to the authority of religion ; its haughtiness in this
respect has been compared to 'the infatuated arrogance' of a Roman
pontiff. . . . The principle thus asserted, though often productive
of good, could not but l)ecome subservient to the temporal ambition of
the clergy. Puritanism conceded no such power to its spiritual guides;
the church existed independent of its pastor, who owed his otlice to its
free clioice; the will of the majority was its law, and each one of the
brethren possessed equal rights with the elders. Tlie right, exercised by
each congregation, of electing its own ministers, was in itself a moral
revolution; religion was now with tlie people, not over the people. Pu-
ritanism exalted the laity. Every individual who liad experienced the
raptures of devotion, everj* believer who, in his moments of ecsta.sy, had
felt tlie assurance of the fa\'or of God, was in liis own eyes a consecrated
person. For him the wonderful counsels of the Almighty hail chosen a
Saviour; for him the laws of nature had l)een suspended and controlled,
the heavens had opened, the earth had (juaked, tlie sun had veiled his
face, and Christ had died and had risen again ; for him prophets and apos-
tles had revealed to the world the oracles and will of God. Viewing him-
self as an object of divine favor, and in this connection disclaiming all
merit, he prostrated himself in the dust before heaven ; looking out upon
14 HISTORY OF WINDHAM IX NKW HAMPSHIRE.
mankind, how could he but respect himself, whom God had chosen and re-
deemed? He cherished hope; he possessed faith; as he walked the earth,
his heai't was in tlie skies. Angels hovered round liis path, charged to
minister to his soul ; spirits of darkness leagued together to tempt him
from his allegiance. His hurning piety could use no liturgy ; his penitence
could reveal his transgressions to no confessor. He knew no superior in
sanctity. He could as little become the slave of a priestcraft as of a despot.
He was himself the judge of the orthodoxy of the elders; and if he feared
the invisible powers of the air, of darkness, antl of hell, he feared nothing
on earth, ruritanisni constituted, not the Christian clergy, l)ut the Chris-
tian people, the interpreters of the divine will. The voice of the majority
was the voice of God ; and the issue of Puritanism was therefore popular
sovereignty." *
The course of the English government and the endurance of the Scotch
Presbyterians will now be traced.
The monarchs of England, bent on absolute power, strove to overturn
the Presbyterian government of the Scottish church, which was an ob-
struction to them and favorable to liberty. James I, when he came to the
throne in 1603, endeavored to corrupt and overawe the general assemt)lies
of the church of Scotland, and to induce them to introduce prelacy and
the ceremonies of the established church of England. His son. Charles I,
on his accession in 1G25, vvas more bold and direct, and by his own author-
ity endeavored to make the Scotch worship by rule, and attempted to im-
pose a book of canons and a liturgy, which failed of success, causing the
triumph of the cause he intended to destroy, and his own overthrow and
death by execution, Jan. 30, 1649.
In 1581, the Genei'al Assembly of Scotland drew up a confession of faith,
or national covenant, condemning the Episcopal government, which was
signed by James I, and which he enjoined upon all his subjects. It was
again subscribed in 1590 and 1596. In 1638 the subscription was renewed,
and the sul^scribers engaged by oath to maintain religion in tlie same
condition as in 1580, :md to reject all innovations introduced since the
latter date. This oath, annexed to the confession of faith, received the
name of The Covenant. This abjured both Popery and prelacy, and was
signed by the great mass of the Scotch people. Those who adhered to
this covenant were called Covenanters.
The great principles for which the Presbyterians, or Covenanters, con-
tended, were : that C'hrist alone was king and head of his church, and He
alone had the right to appoint her form of government: that the Presbj'-
terian polity was the only form of church government instituted in the
word of God; and that the church is free in her government from every
other jurisdiction, except that of Christ, the head of the church.
Soon after, Cromwell came to the front, the Protectorate was estab-
lished, and continued till a little after Cromwell's death, Sept. 3, 1658.
Macanlay, in speaking of the Scotch, says, "In perseverance, in self-
command, in forethought, in all the virtues which conduce to success
in life, the Scots have never been surpassed. ... In mental cultiva-
tion, Scotland had an indisputable superiority. Though that kiugdom
was then the poorest in Christendom, it already vied in every l)ranch of
learning with the most favored countries. Scotsmen, whose dwellings
and whose food were as wretched as those of the Icelanders of our time,
wrote Latin verse with more tiian the delicacy of Vida, and nnide dis-
coveries in science whicli would have added to the renown of Galileo." f
And again he says, "Scotland was I'rotestant. In no i)art of England had
the movement of the poi)ular mind against the Koman Catholic Church
been so rapid and violent. The reformers had van(|uished, deposed, and
imprisoned their idolatrous sovereign. They would not endure such a
* Huncroa'H HLstory ol' the IJuiU-tl .Stiites, Vol. I, i>|>. 279 anil UiMJ.
t Macuuluy'H llitilory ol' EiiKliii^li Vol. I, |>. 19.
IMJKI.IMINAKY CHAPTER. 16
coinproinise us had lii'i-ii ctlt'cti'd in Kiiiiljiiid. Tlu-y had i-stahlishud the
Calviiiistic (Ux-triiU', iliscipliiic, and worshij), and they made liltU- distinc-
tion between I'operv and I'relaey. l)et\veeii the Mass and tiie Hook of Com-
mon I'rayiT." •
Aj^iiin the ^jcovernment of Knj^land underwent a eliaiif^e at tlie deatii
of Cromwell, Sept. 3, 1(!58. He was sueueeiled by hi.s son Kidiard; l)Ut
the jiovernment soon slipped from his weak ,i;rasp, the Stuarts returned,
and Charles II l)ecame kinij in ICtlO. Charles II sought by tines, l)y inijjris-
onnu'Ut, by l)anishnient, by tortures, by pul)lie i-xeeutions, ami l)y open
massacre, to enforce coufornuty to the Anglican Church. He was sup-
port eil by his brother James, afti-rwards James II, Viceroy of Scotland.
lie was a biicotetl Catholic, and the Scotch Presbyterians were the legiti-
mate objects of his hate. The tires of persecution were rekimlled, the
swonl again unsheathed, and bathed again in the blood of tiiousands of
slaughtered saints. To attend any religious service save that of the es-
tablished onler, was punishable with death. " A part of the Scottish nation
sullenly submitted to superior power, l)Ut there were many tierce and reso-
lute men who considereil the obligation to observe the covenant stronger
than the obligation to obey the nuigistrate; so the Scotch Covenanters, in
detiance of law, persisted in meeting to worship God after their own fash-
ion. Driven from the towns, the}' assembled on heaths and mountains.
Attacked by the civil power, they without scruple repelled force by force.
At every conventicle tliey mustered in arms. They repeatedly broke out
into open rebellion. They were easily defeated, and mercilessly punished,
but neither defeat nor punishment could sul)due their spirit. Hunted down
like wihl beasts, tortured till their bones were beaten flat, imprisoned by
hundreds, hanged by scores, exposed at one time to the license of soldiers
from England, abandoned at another time to the mercy of l^auds of ma-
rauders from the Highlands, they still stood at bay in a mood so savage
that the boldest and miglitiest oppressor could not but dread the audacity
of their despair." These very events occurring in Scotland were in-
timately associated with tlie history of the families of some of the tirst
settlers of Windham. They set iu motion a train of events which led to
this settlement.
In 1()79 a battle was fought at Bothwell Bridge, on the east bank of the
Ch'de, between the Covenanters and the royal forces under the Duke of
Monmouth. The disastrous results of the fight to the Covenanters caused
Robert Stuart, who was in the battle, to fiy the country, and take up his
abode iu Ireland. He was the father of Charter John Stuart, one of the
first sixteen settlers in Londonderry in 1719, and grandfather of John
Stuart, of Windham Range ; and the names of some sufieriug Covenanters
that have been reproduced iu this settlement, are the same which are
upon the Windham records, and are uames of those who move among us,
and are familiar to us all. Margaret McLaughlau, a "mother in Israel,"
and Margaret Wilson, a sweet girl of 18, suflered martyrdom by drowning
uear Wigtou, because they would not abjure the Presbyterian faith. In
1G85, Jolm and Alexander Jamison, Joseph Wilson, aud John Humphrey
had listened to the preaching of Mr. Renwick iu the fields, and were over-
taken in New Cumnock by a band of Claverhouse's soldiers, and three
were immediately shot. James Campbell, at this same time, and near this
place, was hunted l)y the same baud of soldiers, but escaped. While
Claverhouse and his dragoons were scouring the counties of Ayr and
Lanark for victims, Alexander Brown was a vigilant Covenanter whom
they wished to apprehend. He saw them, aud was seen by them, as they
approached his dwelling. Escape was impossible. So assuming a cool
and careless demeanor, he advanced to meet the soldiers, as if anxious to
make their accpiaiutauce. This stratagem outwitted his wily foes. They
said to him, " Kuow you if Alexander Brown be within.?" " He is not at
* Macaulay's History of Englaml, Vol. I, p. 50.
16 HISTORY OF WINDHAM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
present within. He went out recently, and I luvve not seen liini return,"
replied Brown. " He is in the house, and you wish to conceal him,"
shouted a surly trooper, and immediately the soldiers burst open the cot-
tage, made a vigorous search, but Brown luul escaped, and the troopers
burned his house, and departed. Such was the state of Scotland during
the reign of Charles II. The latter ruler died Feb. 6, 1085, and was
iumiediately succeeded by his brother, James II, the bigoted Catholic, the
cruel and unrelenting foe of Scotch Presljyterians. He who as viceroy
had shown such love for persecution of the Covenanters, — as king his
enmity Avas exhi])ited with greater virulence. Bands of soldiers hunted
the Covenanters like beasts of prey.
At Clydesdale, the place from which the Clydes of Windham emigrated
to Ireland, three Covenanters, poor laboring men, were asked. May 11, 1685,
if they would pray for the King. They refused to do so, except under the
condition that he was one of the elect, thinking that to pray for one pre-
destined to perdition was an act of nuiliny to the decrees of God. Upon
their refusal they were immediately blindfolded and shot. So the work of
death went on. In the very heart of mountain solitudes the brave Cove-
nanters were tracked and slain. Yet often in the most retired and un-
known retreats, worthj^ men of that epoch found shelter, braving the fierce
mountain winds, the sleet and tempests, that they might escape unrelent-
ing persecution. David Steel, after being promised his life, was shot at
Shellyhill in 1()86, before his own door ; and Mary Wier, his .young, sweet,
and loving wife, as she bound up his shattered head, and closed his eyes,
exclaimed, "The archers have shot at tliee, ni}^ husband, but the.v could
not reach thy soul ; it has escaped like a dove far away, and is at rest !"
Isabella Allison, of Perth, a young woman of about 27 years, was con-
demned and gibbeted for her opinions' sake. There were multitudes of
such persecutions and heroic deaths. It was during these tierce persecu-
tions, between 1()84 and 1688, that the McGregors, the Cargills, ancestors
of those families in Londonderry, and the Mclveens, ancestors of the Mc-
Keens of Windham, tied from Scotland to Ireland. Circumstances indicate
that about this time the Morisons, ancestors of those of that name in this
town, escaped to Ireland.
While the government was persecuting the faithful in Scotland, and
with bloody hands consigned hundreds to the grave, large bodies of the
Scotch, having suffered the extreme of cruelty, and worn out with the
unequal contest, escaped in open boats across the North Channel to Ire-
land, and joined their countrymen there. They left a land whic-h was dear
to them, sundering the ties of kindred and association, and l)ecame
from necessity unwilling exiles in Ireland, where they were often joined
by their families. Tliere their religious peculiarities became nu)re marked,
their devotion to Presbyterianism more strong for the sutt'erings they had
endured, and their hatred of Catholicism burned within them with a
stronger and fiercer flame which nothing could subdue, and which
nought but death could (luench. These exiles were from all parts of Scot-
land, though they entered Ireland from Argyleshire, that being the contig-
uous territory. The customs and home-life of our ancestors, and the
feelings of wives and families forsaken by the husband and father, (Ind
fitting expression in the first two stanzas of the following poem, written