Once
upon a time, in the days when History and Tradition seem to have met, there lived on the
Isle of Jersey, a boy. He was a French Huguenot, and his name was Eli.
His last name was Beede, but he spelled it Bede. He was
filled with a great desire to see more of the world than the little island could show him,
and so, in 1713, when he was fourteen years old, he hid himself away in the hold of a
sailing vessel and came to America.
In due
time the little ship sailed, and in due time he was discovered and brought before the
captain. When the captain, who was prepared to be very stern and severe, saw the boy, he
relented and set about to find a task by which he should earn his food. He saw that his
grimy fingers were delicate and had be trained to work "the most refined." He
had among the articles for the colonial trade, large boxes of stockings knit by English
dames. These stockings had become moth-eaten, and the young Eli soon proved that he could
mend them to be as good as new. So he paid his passage, and landed safely—tradition
says in Boston and tradition says in Portsmouth. He loved the country, and immediately set
out to find employment on a farm. He went to Hampton, apprenticed himself to a farmer, and
lived with this same farmer until he was 21. Tradition says that his indenture paid
whatever remained of his passage money. He had gained a knowledge of farming and decided
to go to Kingston, then East Kingston. There he went to work to make a living, and make a
living he did.
The very house that he built is still
standing. He married Mehitable Sleeper, the first girl born in Kingston,
became a member of Mr. Secombe’s church, and trained his children
well—four sons and two daughters.
Eighteen farms in three towns were
recorded as belonging to him when he died —great flocks and herds—and pots of
silver in his cellar.
His second son, Daniel,
is the one who interests us most tonight, as he was the one chosen by the proprietors of
Sandwich to make the first settlement here.
Sandwich became an entity in the minds
of a few people when Oct. 25, 1763, Gov. Benning Wentworth
divided a certain tract of land into 72 shares for the following purposes
1. 2 shares (500 acres) for the
Governor.
2. 1 share for the propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts.
3. 1 share for the glebe of Church of England.
4. 1 share for first settled minister.
5. 1 share for schools.
The remaining 66 shares—1 share
each to 66 individuals who became proprietors of the new town. As the time was limited,
the proprietors immediately set about to find a leader of the band of Settlers, and they
decided that Daniel Beede of Gilmanton was the best person to become
father to the enterprise.
He was 38 years old, and his life had
proved the he possessed the characteristics which they desired:
Executive qualities in a large degree, sound judgment, great prudence, sterling
integrity, unfailing hospitality.
Daniel Beede was born
in East Kingston, July 21, 1729. His education was very limited. The Bible was the only
book allowed in his father’s house. His father attended Mr. Secombe’s
church and from this same Mr. Secombe, Daniel received
much instruction. Mr. Secombe gave him a spelling book, and Daniel
was obliged to hide it as carefully as though he had stolen it. Daniel
studied mathematics, trigonometry and practical surveying, the last study training him for
the surveying necessary in Sandwich.
Daniel married Jan. 26,
1750, Patience Prescott and settled in Brentwood, where seven
children—five sons and two daughters—were born. He then removed to Gilmanton,
where, in 1766, his son Cyrus was born. In 1767, he was called to settle
Sandwich. As an inducement to come to Sandwich, he was promised 100 acres of land for each
of his children—tradition says each of his sons.
Leaving his farm in charge of his second
son, Daniel, Jr., he and his wife, Israel Gilman and his
wife, fifteen laborers, and Mary Wells, a hired girl, came to Sandwich in
Nov., 1767.
We suppose that they came across Lake
Winnepesaukee from Gilmanton to Clark’s Landing in Moultonborough Falls. Then they
climbed Red Hill that they might decide upon a location for the first house. They decided
that what is now know as Wentworth Hill was the most desirable spot, and journeyed thither
through unbroken forests, and mires, and swamps. The very same day they reached the top of
the hill, they built a log house. Snow fell that night. Daniel Beede took
cold and had a fever, and through that long illness, he was cared for by Dr. Rogers
of Plymouth, who came across country, his only guide being spotted trees.
We are not told that Daniel’s
son Nathan came with the party, but Nathan, himself,
claims that he felled the first tree cut in Sandwich. The fact of Nathan’s
presence
here may explain why Daniel, Jr., a lad of fifteen, was left to attend to
the Gilmanton farm.
Five log houses were built in the autumn
of 1767, as follows: Daniel Beede, Jeremiah Hilton, Jeremiah
Page, David Bean, and John Prescott—all on high land within
a comparatively short distance from the present Wentworth hill location. Others were built
during the winter. The next great piece of work, after sites were chosen and log houses
were built, was the building of roads from house to house.
Then the town must be surveyed, and this was done in 1769 by Daniel Beede.
The territory was divided into 4 short and 13 long ranges. A short range contained 6 lots,
and a long range from 29 to 31 lots. A plan was drawn, and the town accepted this plan in
1771. This plan is not now in existence—only an imperfect copy.
The first town meeting was held in 1772
in Daniel Beede’s house. He was elected Town Clerk, and served in
that capacity twelve years—until 1794. He was elected on the first board of selectmen
and served nine times., the last term ending in 1792. He was the first Justice of the
Peace, 1775, holding that position until his appointment as Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas for Stafford County. He was Representative with some interruptions for 1775 to 1795.
He was Judge from 1795 to 1799, when he resigned to take effect upon his seventieth
birthday. In 1775, he was a delegate to the 5th Provincial Congress at Exeter, and a
delegate to the first Constitutional Convention in 1791-92. He served the town during his
entire life in Sandwich—1767 to 1800. All town meeting were held in his house from
1772 to 1792. Then the town meetings were held in the church, which stood where [omitted
in copy].
Daniel Beede built the
first mills in town (saw and grist) at the lower end of the village where the ruins now
remain. His son Cyrus, and later his grandson Stephen,
lived in the house nearby. He had many fights with wolves as he journeyed from his home to
these mills. The wolves continued to be a menace to the inhabitants until the "Great
Wolf Hunt" in 1830, when "800 warriors of all ages" led by Gen.
Johnson D. Quimby killed some, wounded many, and the remainder of the pack fled
to the mountains never to return to Sandwich or Tamworth.
When he came to Sandwich in 1767, he
brought with him a helper in the housekeeping, Mary Wells.
Mary married Benjamin Blanchard, one of the fifteen
laborers who came with the party. Later, Dorothy Scribner agree to come
to help Mrs. Beede after Daniel promised her that she
should marry one of his sons, and the record reads, "Married—July 15, 1770—Nathan
Beede and Dolly Scribner."
Daniel Beede built two
log houses on Wentworth Hill—and then built a two-story house there, which was torn
down, probably in 1853. Dec. 6, 1895, Nathan Beede sold this place to Dr.
Asa Crosby, who agreed to pay $3,000.00 for the house and farm. Nathan took
Dr. Crosby’s place in East Sandwich, near Cram’s
Corner, in part payment. July 16, 1817, Dr. Crosby sold the farm to Dudley
Leavitt and Reuben Dearborn (father of the well-known Methodist
clergyman), both then of New London, N. H., Aug. 10, 1820. The two-story house built by Daniel
Beede was replaced by the present structure about 1853.
The Association Test—which
was really a declaration of independence and preceded the National Declaration by some
months—was sent by order of the General Congress to the inhabitants of New Hampshire,
April 12, 1776. If the cause to which these patriotic citizens pledged themselves had been
defeated, they would have been hanged as traitors. 8199 persons in New Hampshire signed
it—773 refused to sign. Some of those who refused to sign were Tories; some were
Quakers; some had not the courage. Of the 46 voters in Sandwich, 38 signed it. Among that
number were Daniel and Daniel Jr. Nathan and Aaron
were Quakers and refused to sign.
Nathan was the first real Quaker in Sandwich. His father Daniel
attended that church, but never became a member. "in the after-life, he thanked God
that he had preserved his freedom from the discipline and powers of all church
governments, and from the restraints and impositions of all sectarians."
Nathan’s son Elijah
lived in East Sandwich, where were mills erected by his grandfather, Daniel.
Elijah was the father of Parker Beede and also of
Anna Beede, who became Mrs. Langdon G. Clark—the
mother of George L. Clark, Mrs. Herman Quimby, Mrs. Alonzo McCrillis,
Frank M., Selwyn Beede, and Charles, the last mentioned now living in East
Sandwich.
Haines Quimby, son of Mrs.
Herman Quimby, although descended from Nathan, the Quaker, has
enlisted and will soon join the United States Artillery. All honor to his noble
spirit. Nathan died in Sandwich in Aug. 1841.
In the burying ground opposite the
present Wentworth house on Wentworth Hill, sleep four generations of the Beede family:
Judge Daniel in an unmarked grave; also his son Elijah,
who was drowned
in Squam Lake in May, 1775; Nathan and his wife Dolly Scribner;
Nathan’s son Elisha, his wife Sally Stevens,
and their daughter Mary. The white shaft which is seen in the field at the right as one
journeys toward Sandwich Lower Corner was erected to the memory of Nathan and
Dolly Beede."When Daniel died, he left to his children
several of the best farms in town, not an acre of them being tainted with dishonest
possession."
Daniel, Jr.
—Judge
Daniel’s second son married Dorothy Hackett, and eleven children
made their home a merry one. He was the boy of fifteen who was left to carry on the farm
at Gilmanton, take care of the smaller children, and send supplies to his father in
Sandwich. He owned the ridge of land at North Sandwich extending from the Leander Pierce
place nearly to Durgin’s Mills. He was thrifty and acquired property, although
somewhat careless and indolent. This story is told of him. A neighbor of whom he bought
potatoes one spring said to him, "How does it happen that you have to buy potatoes? I
thought you planted a large acreage in the southwest field." "Well, now you
speak of it, I remember that I planted two acres of potatoes in that southwest field, but
I entirely forgot to dig them," was Daniel’s reply.
Aaron—Daniel’s
third son married Sarah Winslow. There were three children—Elisha,
Anne, and Aaron. Elisha was the father of Rev. Hugh
Beede, the Congregationalist minister who preached in Sandwich much of his life. Aaron’s
daughter Anne married Dr. Moses Hoit, and Aaron
Beede Hoit, the famous teacher, was their son. Aaron, whom many
of us remember, was the son of Elisha. He married Mary McGaffey
and had a large family of children, among who is the Rev. Aaron McGaffey Beede of
Bismarck, North Dakota—preacher and poet.
Joshua—fifth
son of Daniel married Phebe Culley. Of their three children,
Robert, James, and Noah, we have two descendants—daughters
of James— Mrs. John Gilman and Mrs.
Jesse H. Cork.
Sarah —Daniel’s
eldest daughter married Joseph Varney. They bought a farm 2.5 miles east
of Meed’s Mills. Joseph bought the farm in 1819. Simeon, his son,
moved on to it March 20. 1820, but the farm was not deeded to him until Nov. 19, 1825. He
lived there until his death in 1850. Levi, Simeon’s son, went to
Canada. There are no Varneys among the voters in the town of Sandwich at the present time.
Mary —Daniel’s
second daughter married Richard Varney. They lived on Wentworth Hill, the
second farm west of Daniel Beede.
Cyrus —the
boy born in Gilmanton in 1766 lived in the lower part of Centre Sandwich village in the
house near the Daniel Beede Mills, on the opposite side of the road from
the Mills. He married Judith Varney, and their son Stephen was
for many years a familiar figure upon the street as he walked from his home below the
millpond to his office in the Carroll County Bank building where he filled the position of
cashier. He was one of the foremost men of the town—connecting the business of two
generations—between which he happened to live. He was a prominent Quaker, as well as
businessman. His father Cyrus was not much engaged in public business,
but he was a Quaker minister of wide reputation. He was regarded by his brethren in the
ministry as one of the ablest and soundest exponents of the doctrines of that denomination
in New England. Dr. Charles White said, "When one became acquainted
with Cyrus Beede and came to appreciate his intellectual dimensions, his
logical grasp of mind, his conversational powers, and high moral elevation, he was sure to
concede to him a high rank as a large, liberal, intellectual man." Cyrus also
had a sense of humor, and could give keen, incisive replies. Many years ago there was a
exhibition of wild animals in town, and Stickney, a somewhat eccentric
man, and Cyrus were standing together as the animals went past, when one, a formidable
looking creature, attracted their attention. Stickney spoke, "See,
Uncle Cyrus!
Don’t he look like the very Satan?" Cyrus replied,
"Thee doubtless can judge about that much better than I." He died in Centre
Sandwich April 19, 1841, and is buried in the Quaker burying ground just below the
village.
Martha —the
first child born to Daniel and Patience Beede in Sandwich married
Stephen Hoag March 4, 1791, when she was 21 years old.
Stephen Hoag was the son of Enoch Hoag, goldsmith, who came from
Dover to Sandwich in 1786. Of their thirteen children, Enoch, the
youngest son, acquired a national reputation through his intense interest in the problems
connected with the Indians. In 1854, he moved from Sandwich to Iowa, and from that state
he was appointed by President in 1869, Commissioner of Indian Affairs. After serving the
United States Government seven years, he returned to Sandwich, and here he died in 1884,
aged 73 years. He is buried near his parents, Martha Beede and
Stephen Hoag, another son, who was drowned in Squam Lake Aug. 13, 1855, sleeps in
the Quaker burying ground near Durgin’s Mills.
Phebe Beede—another
daughter, married John Purington, hatter. There were three children—Patience,
who married Gen. Hugh Montgomery; John Wombly Purington, who married Betsey
Ambrose; and George. Patience died in Haverhill in 1874, in her
80th year. John Trombly died in Sandwich in 1825. John Purington,
the father, and John Tromley, the son are buried in the burying ground on
Wentworth Hill. Much valuable information regarding Daniel Beede and his
family is preserved in letters written by Phebe Purington and her
daughter, Mrs. Patience Montgomery. John Purington died in 1813, and
Phebe married Rev. Ross Coon, M.D., of Haverhill, N. H., which
explain the fact that she and her daughter, Mrs. Montgomery, died in that town.
Lydia —another
daughter married Samuel Tibbetts Nov. 27, 1803. They lived near
Judge
Daniel’s place, although they were not married until after Daniel’s
death. The
children, four in number, did not remain in Sandwich.
Of Patience, the
youngest child, I have no data beyond the fact that she married Barzillai Hinds
Feb. 27, 1795.
From five of Daniel Beede’s
nephews and from one niece have descended well-known members of this family—these
being the children of Daniel’s brothers, Jonathan and Thomas.
1. From Jonathan’s
son Jonathan, who married Anne Winslow, we have among
the children his daughters Naomi and Mehitable. Naomi Beede
became the wife of Russell Hoag, and by that marriage united again the
Beedes and the Hoags. Their children are Susan, Edwin and Elizabeth
of Chelsea, and Thomas Hoag of Tamworth.
2. Mehitable Beede, the
wonderful teacher, for many years a power in Sandwich—the one who developed many of
its fines minds—married Richard Wiggin. Among their children is Hon.
George Winslow Wiggin, the President of our Old Home Association of 1917, and the
historian of the evening. We all remember Samuel Beede Wiggin, who was,
during most of his life, a citizen of this town.
3. From Jonathan’s son
John was descended Eli Beede—so tall a man that he was
familiarly known as "Old Fo’teen Feet. He is said to have assisted in building
to Town House at North Sandwich in 1847, and that he was so tall that he could stand on
the ground and shingle at the ridge pole.
4. Jonathan’s son Moses
had a son John whose children were well-known to the last
generation—Samuel, who went to the Civil War from Sandwich; James,
a teacher; and Eunice, who became the wife of Alonzo S. Kimball,
a professor in the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. There were other children who did not
remain in Sandwich.
5. Moses had a son Samuel
who, although his life compassed only 35 years, became a Baptist of power in influence in
the councils of the church. He was Editor of the Free Will Baptist newspaper, "The
Morning Star." He died in 1834.
6. Moses had a
daughter, Hannah Folsom, who married Jeremiah Roberts,
and their only child, Abbie Ellen Roberts, became the second wife of Daniel
G. Beede, thus uniting two distant branches of the Beede family.
7. Early in Sandwich history, we find
the name of John Beede—"Squire John" as he was usually
called. He was Daniel’s nephew, son of Daniel’s brother
Thomas. After Daniel, Squire John became the foremost
man of the town, living on a farm on Squam Lake. Squire John had a son John,
who married Mary Way, whose son John Way Beede was for
many years a prominent citizen of Meredith. John Way Beede’s son,
John Fred, is still living in Meredith, and Eva Beede, John Way’s daughter,
is the wife of Rev. Willis P. Odell, D.D., of Brookline.
Squire John and
his son John were both Justices of the Peace, and performed many
marriages, as the old town records show. They lived on what is known as the J.
Edwin Beede place, a farm of nearly 400 acres, which has been the property of
that branch of the Beede family from the earliest times. J. Edwin was the
son of Squire John’s son Josiah. J. Edwin’s son James,
who owns and lives on this same farm, and is the only voter in town at present who bears
the name of Beede.
8. Daniel’s niece,
Mary, the daughter of this brother Thomas,
married Deacon William Weeks, and Thomas Beede
Weeks, Daniel Weeks and Ella Weeks are descendants from that union.
9. Daniel’s nephew Jacob,
who settled under the mountain of Beede Hill, had a son Thomas, who had
four children—Enoch Rogers, Thomas Hoit, Elisa Jane and Daniel Greenleaf.
Enoch and Thomas settled in the west about 1850; Eliza
Jane married John Smith of West Sandwich. Her daughter Eliza
Jane married George Thompson, and their grandson, Guy
Thompson, is a credit to Sandwich boys in khaki today.
Thomas Beede’s son,
Daniel G. Beede, dwelt among you for nearly eighty years. He loved and
worked for Sandwich.
This is a reverent tribute to the lives
of those who prepared this beautiful town as a setting for the life work of many of us.
May we all aspire to possess the characteristics which made Judge Daniel Beede the
choice of the Proprietors of Sandwich:
Executive qualities in a large degree.
Sound judgment.
Great prudence.
Sterling integrity.
Unfailing hospitality.
Centre Sandwich
Aug. 22, 1917
Read at the 150th Anniversary of the
settlement of Sandwich, N. H., Aug. 22, 1917, by the second daughter of Daniel Greenleaf
Beede.
Re-keyed into electronic form April 6, 1997 by Earl
H. Beede. This copy fully represents the copy in his possession and no changes have been
intentionally introduced.
Converted to HTML August 13, 1997 by Jack W. Ralph.
The words are the same but the document is formatted a little different than the original.
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I would
like to thank Jack Ralph, AKA Nevada Jack, for letting us use his
article on The History of Sandwich, NH and the Beede
Family. If you have a chance, please check out his very informative
site. For anyone that is doing research on the Beede
Family, Jack certainly has a great deal of information. Why don't you take
a look! 
