Project Gutenberg's Zachariah Chandler, by Detroit Post and Tribune This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: Zachariah Chandler An Outline Sketch of His Life and Public Services Author: Detroit Post and Tribune Release Date: November 13, 2015 [EBook #50423] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZACHARIAH CHANDLER *** Produced by Richard Tonsing, Andrew Sly, Mark C. Orton and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) ZACHARIAH CHANDLER: AN OUTLINE SKETCH OF His Life and Public Services. BY THE DETROIT POST AND TRIBUNE. WITH AN INTRODUCTORY LETTER FROM JAMES G. BLAINE, OF MAINE. O iron nerve to true occasion true, O fall'n at length that tower of strength Which stood four-square to all the winds that blew! —Tennyson. DETROIT: THE POST AND TRIBUNE COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. R. D. S. TYLER & CO., DETROIT. CHARLES DREW, NEW YORK. J. M. OLCOTT, INDIANAPOLIS. TYLER & CO., CHICAGO. WM. H. THOMPSON & CO., BOSTON. 1880. Entered According To Act of Congress, in the Year 1879, by THE DETROIT POST AND TRIBUNE, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Electrotyped by A. W. Habbin, Detroit. PRESS OF WRIGHTON & CO., CINCINNATI, O. TO THE REPUBLICANS OF MICHIGAN, Who so Long Upheld, and Who were Implicitly Trusted by, ZACHARIAH CHANDLER, THIS RECORD OF HIS LIFE IS DEDICATED. t is stated elsewhere that this work is written "By The Detroit Post and Tribune." Unusual as this form of announcement is on the title-pages of books, there certainly may be an authorial as well as an editorial impersonality; in this case the phrase succinctly expresses the fact, namely, that the volume represents the joint labors of the staff of The Post and Tribune, alike in the collection and the treatment of its material. While its preparation has been almost wholly a matter of original research, such use as was necessary has been made of historical data contained in "The Centennial History of Bedford, N. H.," published in 1851, in Horace Greeley's "American Conflict," and in Henry Wilson's "History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power." Needed information has been furnished by those intimately connected with Mr. Chandler, but the work has not been submitted to their revision, and they are not responsible for the form of the narrative, nor for the personal estimate it embodies. This book presents a sketch of the life and the public services of a remarkable man. It has been written from the standpoint of political sympathy, and with the hope of deepening the wholesome influences so powerfully exerted upon public sentiment in his lifetime by Zachariah Chandler. The aim has been to make it accurate in statement, and to see that its chapters should fairly draw, in outline at least, the picture of the career of a genuine leader of men. INTRODUCTORY LETTER. To the Editors of The Post and Tribune: I am unable to give any personal or special incidents in the life of Mr. Chandler not open to his biographers from other sources. I was not so intimate in my relations with him as were some others, nor did I know him better than many others who like myself were associated with him in public life for a long period. I knew him well, however, both on the side of his private life and his public life, and in every phase he was a man of strong character. The time in which a man lives, and the circumstances by which he is surrounded, control his fate even more largely than his personal and inherent qualities. Mr. Chandler was fortunate in the time of his removal to the West, fortunate in the era which brought him into public life. When he became a citizen of Michigan the days of hard pioneer life were ending, extensive cultivation of the soil had begun, products for shipment were large and rapidly increasing. Facilities for transportation were already great. The Erie Canal had been open for several years, and steamers had multiplied on the Great Lakes. Everything was in readiness for a strong-minded, energetic, competent man of business, and Mr. Chandler had the good fortune to settle in Detroit at the precise point of time when the elements of success were within his grasp. For a quarter of a century thereafter his career was that of a business man intensely devoted to his private interests, and participating in public affairs only as an incident and with no effort to secure advancement. The result of this steady devotion to business was that Mr. Chandler found himself at forty-four years of age possessed of a large property, constantly and rapidly increasing in value. Coincident with this condition in his financial fortunes came a crisis in the political affairs of the country, involving the class of questions which took deep hold on the mind and the heart of Mr. Chandler. The curbing of the slave power, the assertion and maintenance of freedom on free soil, undying devotion to the Union of the States, and the bold defense of the rights of the citizen—these were the issues which in various phases absorbed the public mind from the repeal of the Missouri compromise in 1854 down to the close of Mr. Chandler's life. And on all the issues presented for consideration for twenty-five years Mr. Chandler never halted, never wearied, never grew timid, never was willing to compromise. On these great questions he became the leader of Michigan, and Michigan kept Mr. Chandler at the front during the prolonged struggle which has wrought such mighty changes in the history of the American people. It is a noteworthy fact, not infrequently adverted to, that the political opinions of Michigan both as Territory and State, for a period of sixty years, were represented, and indeed in no small degree formed, by two men of New Hampshire birth. From 1819 to 1854 General Cass was the accepted political leader of Michigan, and only once in all that long period of thirty-five years did her people fail to follow him. That was in 1840, when the old pioneers and the soldiers of 1812—generally the friends of Cass—refused his leadership, and voted for the older pioneer and the more illustrious chieftain, William Henry Harrison. From 1854 till Mr. Chandler's death the dominant opinion of Michigan was with him; and her people followed him, trusted him, believed in him. During that quarter of a century the population of the State more than trebled in number, but the strength of Chandler with the newcomers seemed as great as with the older population with whom he had begun the struggle of life in the Territory of Michigan. The old men stood firmly by him in the faith and confidence of an ancient friendship, and the young men followed with an enthusiasm which grew into affection, and with an affection which ripened into reverence. Mr. Chandler's life in Washington, apart from his public service, was a notable event in the history of the capital. His wealth enabled him to be generous and hospitable, and his elegant mansion was a center of attraction for many years. Nor were the guests confined to one party. Mr. Chandler was personally popular with his political opponents, and the leading men of the Democratic party often sat at his table and forgot in the genial host, and the frank, sincere man, all the bitterness that might have come from conflict in the partisan arena. It is fitting that Mr. Chandler's life be written. It is due, first of all, to his memory. It is due to those who come after him. It is due to the great State whose Senator he was, whose interests he served, whose honor he upheld. I am glad the work is committed to competent friends, who can discriminate between honest approval and inconsiderate praise, and who with strict adherence to truth can find in his career so much that is honorable, so much that is admirable, so little that is censurable, and nothing that is mean. Very sincerely yours, JAMES G. BLAINE. Washington, February 15, 1880. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Birthplace and Ancestry in New England. PAGE. The town of Bedford, N. H.—King Phillip's War—Land grants to surviving soldiers—Souhegan-East—Grant of a charter—Naming the town—The early settlers—The thirst for civil and religious liberty—Records of the church—The thrift of the people—Native humor—A patriotic record—Services in three wars. 19 CHAPTER II. Parentage and Childhood. The Chandlers of New England—The first Zechariah and his possessions—Settlement in the intervale of the Merrimack—Genealogy of the family—Noted family connections—Prominence in church and State—The family residences—Birthplace of Zachariah—Inherited traits—A strong, self-reliant boy—His school-days— One term as teacher—Work on the farm—Military experience—Clerk in a store—His journey Westward— Affection for the old town—Some of Bedford's emigrants. 31 CHAPTER III. Removal to Michigan—Mercantile Success—Business Investments. Business start in Detroit—The cholera epidemic—Caring for the sick—Characteristics of the young business man —Nearest approach to an assignment—Pushing his business—Visits to the interior—Strong friendships— His young clerk and successor—Commercial integrity and sagacity—Accumulation of property—Helping the Government credit—Incorruptibility as a Legislator. 44 CHAPTER IV. The Panorama of Northwestern Development. Early explorations of the Lakes—A mission at the Sault—Passage of the Strait—First settlement at Detroit— Steam navigation upon the Lakes—Organization of the Territory—An imperial domain—Detroit in 1833— Marvelous development of a great City and State—Statistics of 1879. 54 CHAPTER V. The Commencement of Political Activity—Record as an Anti-Slavery Whig. A conspicuous figure in politics—Lewis Cass, his career and characteristics—A strong contrast—Mr. Chandler as a Whig—A sinewy worker at the polls—The Crosswhite case—Making a firm friend—Nomination and election for Mayor—A sharp campaign—Invitation to Kossuth—Nominated for Governor—An energetic but unsuccessful canvass—First nomination for the Senate. 71 CHAPTER VI. The Formation of the Republican Party. The Compromises of 1820 and 1850—Annexation of Texas—Calhoun's farewell—Profound Northern indignation—Memorable debates in Congress—"Free Democrat" action in Michigan—Public anti-slavery meetings and private conferences—The Whig Convention at Kalamazoo—Steps toward union—A stirring address—"Under the Oaks" at Jackson—A notable convention—Formation of the Republican party—A ringing platform—The first of a series of uninterrupted successes—Work of Mr. Chandler in the campaign. 89 CHAPTER VII. The First Election to the Senate. Work in the campaign of 1856—The National Conventions—Aid in making Michigan radical—Republican success in that State—An earnest Senatorial canvass—Mr. Chandler nominated over Mr. Christiancy and others—His election—Composition of the Thirty-fifth Congress—Subsequent career of his associates. 119 CHAPTER VIII. The Development of the Southern Conspiracy—The Election of Abraham Lincoln. Preparations for Disunion—Imbecility of the Administration—Gloomy forebodings—Mr. Chandler's first prepared address—A vigorous and unanswerable speech—The Dred Scott decision—The John Brown raid—A warning to traitors—Denunciation of treason—Personal peril—Giving "satisfaction" to Southern "gentlemen"—Mr. Chandler not to be bullied—The Chandler, Cameron and Wade compact. 133 CHAPTER IX. Services to the Cause of the Protection of Home Industry. Beneficence of "The American System"—Reply to the "mud-sill" speech—Defense of free Northern labor— Beneficence of "The American System"—Reply to the "mud-sill" speech—Defense of free Northern labor— Review of the tariff controversy—The Morrill tariff of 1861—Modifications proposed in 1867—The priceless value of the skilled mechanic. 151 CHAPTER X. Services to Northwestern Commercial Interests and the Cause of Internal Improvements. The Committee on Commerce as first organized—Unavailing protests—Mr. Chandler's first speech in the Senate —The St. Clair Flats improvement—A defeat and significant prophecy—The work, its cost and value—Mr. Chandler a member and then Chairman of the Committee on Commerce—The wide scope of that committee's labors—One-half of the entire amount expended by the United States for rivers and harbors appropriated during Mr. Chandler's chairmanship. 164 CHAPTER XI. The Outbreak of the Rebellion—No Compromise of Constitutional Rights. First formal step of secession—Buchanan's "No coercion" message—Organization of the Southern Confederacy —Mr. Chandler opposes compromise—Thwarting the plots of rebel leaders—Securing the appointment of Secretary Stanton—Unwritten reminiscences—Denunciation of traitors and imbeciles—The proposed Peace Congress—The "blood-letter" and its justification. 182 CHAPTER XII. The Commencement of the Civil War. President Lincoln's arrival in Washington—Mr. Chandler's advice as to the Cabinet—Conciliatory character of the inaugural—An illustration of Southern perfidy—Surrender of Fort Sumter—A Detroit meeting—"But one sentiment here"—Reception of Michigan men in Washington—Visit to Fortress Monroe—Crossing the Potomac—Proposed confiscation of rebel property—"Two parties in the country, patriots and traitors"— Vindication of Michigan's record—An advance movement urged. 201 CHAPTER XIII. The Committee on the Conduct of the War. The disaster at Ball's Bluff—A committee of inquiry proposed by Mr. Chandler—Organization of the Committee on the Conduct of the War—Opposition and subsequent co-operation of the Administration—Confidential Relations with President Lincoln and Secretaries Cameron and Stanton—Laying out work—Mr. Chandler's great speech against McClellan—Distrust of McClellanism in politics—The Fitz-John Porter case—Last work of the committee. 215 CHAPTER XIV. The Vigorous Prosecution of the War. The political reverses of 1862—The "Union movement" in Michigan—Re-election of Senator Chandler— Proposition to arm the colored people—The Fremont proclamation and the Hunter order—Opposition to the colonization schemes—Influence with the Secretary of War—The Trent affair—Aid to Michigan soldiers in the Washington hospitals—"We must accept no compromise." 250 CHAPTER XV. The Presidential Campaign of 1864. The political and military successes of 1863—The Cleveland convention—Nomination of Fremont and Cochrane —Renomination of Abraham Lincoln—Resignation of Secretary Chase—Peace negotiations at Niagara Falls —The Wade-Davis manifesto—Nomination of McClellan—Mr. Chandler's conferences with the disaffected Republicans—Resignation of Postmaster-General Blair—Withdrawal of the Fremont ticket—An overwhelming political triumph. 263 CHAPTER XVI. The Administration of Andrew Johnson—Reconstruction and Impeachment. The Assassination of President Lincoln—The War Committee meet President Johnson—Revengeful disposition of the new Executive—Legal questions in reference to the trial of traitors—An important paper by Benjamin F. Butler—A practicable method for prosecuting Jeff Davis—Change of sentiment in President Johnson—He abandons the party that elected him—Development of his "policy"—Hindrance to successful reconstruction —The impeachment resolutions and trial—Disappointment of Mr. Chandler at the failure to convict— General work in the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses. 279 CHAPTER XVII. The Presidency of General Grant—The Republican Congressional Committee. Work in the campaign of 1868—Mr. Chandler's re-election to the Senate—The Fifteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights bill—Edwin M. Stanton's death and the fund for his family—Mr. Chandler's opposition to Southern war claims—His purchase of the Confederate archives—The value of these documents—Election of Senator Ferry—Mr. Chandler's fidelity to his friends—His denunciation of Southern outrages—His 298 of Senator Ferry—Mr. Chandler's fidelity to his friends—His denunciation of Southern outrages—His comparison of the two parties—His defense of President Grant against Charles Sumner's attacks—The "Salary Grab" opposed by Senator Chandler and his colleague—The Republican Congressional Committee and its efficient work—Intimacy between Mr. Chandler and James M. Edmunds—The latter's usefulness. 298 CHAPTER XVIII. The Maintenance of a Sound Currency and the Public Faith. Condition of the government credit in 1861—The first issue of "greenbacks"—Mr. Chandler's opposition to any increase in the amount—Taxation recommended as a substitute—Opposition to the taxation of national bonds—Arguments for payment in coin of the "greenbacks" and bonds—Advocacy of the national bank system—The panic of 1873—Resistance to every measure of inflation—Mr. Chandler's speeches in January and February, 1874—The Resumption act. 319 CHAPTER XIX. Secretary of the Interior in the Cabinet of President Grant. Political reverses of 1874—The contest in Michigan a complicated one—Republican success by a narrow margin —A close Legislature—Resistance to Mr. Chandler's re-election—His pronounced success in his party caucus—A combination of a few Republicans with the Democrats elects Judge Christiancy—Like results elsewhere—Mr. Chandler's confidence—"A candidate for that seat"—Letter to the Republican members of the Legislature—A seeming calamity proves to be a benefit—Appointment as Secretary of the Interior— Changes in the personnel of the Department—How Alonzo Bell became Chief Clerk—The first blow falls— An entire room closed as a measure of "practical reform"—Purification of the Bureau of Indian Affairs—"The most valuable men" suddenly dismissed—Order against the "Indian attorneys"—President Grant's support— Changes in the Bureau of Pensions and the General Land Office—Mr. Chandler's admirable executive qualities recognized—Anecdotes of his Cabinet service—Fighting the patronage-seekers—A cowardly informer—A head to the Department—An investigation that failed—"Pumping a dry well"—Close of Mr. Chandler's term—Tributes of Secretary Schurz to the practical efficiency of his predecessor. 337 CHAPTER XX. The Presidential Election of 1876—At Home—The Marsh Farm near Lansing. Mr. Chandler made Chairman of the National Republican Committee—His original confidence in the result— Apathy in the West—Aid to Ohio—The closeness of the contest apparent—Measures to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat—Mr. Chandler's firm attitude during the remainder of the contest—Its great value— Dissent from the "policy" of the new Administration—A Cabinet anecdote—Mr. Chandler retires to private life—A visit to the Pacific coast—Other extended trips—The marsh farm near Lansing, Michigan—An important experiment in the reclamation of wet lands—Mr. Chandler's "expensive theory"—The method of drainage explained and illustrated in detail—Successful results of the earlier experiments in cultivation— General farm equipment—Houses, barns and stock—Relaxation at the farm—Mr. Chandler's correspondence—The answering of every letter his rule—The power of his oratory—Terse sentences, Saxon words, and brief speeches his aim—The sincerity and honesty of the man—The strength of his friendships—His hearty social qualities—His Washington and Detroit residences described—Narrow escape from a serious accident in 1858—Mr. Chandler's family—His domestic happiness—His wife and daughter his sole heirs. 356 CHAPTER XXI. The Michigan Election of 1878—Mr. Chandler's Return to the Senate—"The Jeff. Davis Speech." Development of "Greenback" strength in the West—Resolute resistance in Michigan to the spread of financial heresy—Mr. Chandler leads the Republican battle—A great victory—It is followed by his fourth election to the Senate—He takes his seat in time to answer rebel eulogies in the Senate on Jeff. Davis—His brief and telling response—It strikes the chord of patriotic feeling—The popular response—The "extra session" of 1879—Mr. Chandler's last Congressional speech. 374 CHAPTER XXII. The Campaign of 1879—Mr. Chandler's Last Days—Death and Funeral. Mr. Chandler at the front in the political contests of 1879—He is greeted by a popular ovation—His name urged for the Republican presidential nomination in 1880—Grant his own choice—Work affects his strong constitution—His Chicago speech—Dead in his bed at the Grand Pacific Hotel on Nov. 1, 1879!—The national grief—Funeral and burial. 386 APPENDIX. ZACHARIAH CHANDLER'S LAST SPEECH: Delivered in McCormick Hall, in the City of Chicago, on October 31, 1879. THE DORIC PILLAR OF MICHIGAN: A Memorial Address, Delivered in the Fort Street Presbyterian Church, Detroit, on November 27, 1879, by the Rev. A. T. Pierson, D.D. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE. Steel Portrait of Zachariah Chandler, Frontispiece. The Chandler Homestead at Bedford, N. H., 33 The Birthplace of Zachariah Chandler, 35 The Entry of the Birth of Zachariah Chandler in the Family Bible, 37 The School House at Bedford, N. H., 39 The Chandler Block (Detroit), 49 Detroit in 1834, 65 Fac-Simile of the "Temperance Ticket" of 1852 in Michigan, 86 The First Republican State Convention—("Under the Oaks" at Jackson, Mich., July 6, 1854), 111 The National Capitol at Washington, 127 The Ship Canal at the St. Clair Flats, 173 Portrait of Senator Chandler in 1862, 217 Portrait of the Late James M. Edmunds, 315 The Interior Department at Washington, 341 The Cabinet of President Grant—1876-'77—(From a Sketch by Mrs. C. Adele Fassett), 347 The Office of the Secretary of the Interior, 353 Plat of the Marsh Farm, 361 The "Big Ditch" of the Marsh Farm, 363 The Main House at the Marsh Farm, 365 The Large Barn at the Marsh Farm, 367 Mr. Chandler's Residence at Washington, 369 Mr. Chandler's Residence at Detroit, 371 The State Capitol of Michigan, 377 Senator Chandler Denouncing the Eulogies upon Jeff. Davis in the Senate Chamber at 3 a. m. of Monday, March 3, 1879, 381 The Grand Pacific Hotel at Chicago, 389 Profile Bust of Zachariah Chandler—(A sketch from Leonard W. Volk's Plaster Cast), 391 The Tribute of Gen. U. S. Grant (fac-simile), 393 ZACHARIAH CHANDLER. CHAPTER I. BIRTHPLACE AND ANCESTRY IN NEW ENGLAND. he valley of the Merrimack, fifty miles northwest from Boston, is the New Hampshire town of Bedford. It is a community of thrifty farms, with striking characteristics, and almost a century and a half of entertaining history. Simplicity of manners and sturdiness of character prevail among its people to-day, and the vigor of the stock of its original settlers, the loftiness of their traditions, and the puritanism of its civilization have made it a nursery of strong men. King Philip's War ended in a Pyrrhic victory for the New England provinces. The subjugation of the savages was only accomplished when one in twenty of the men among the colonists had fallen and a like proportion of their families was houseless, and it left behind it what was in those days a heavy debt. More than half a century elapsed before there was any substantial recognition of the claims of the survivors of that war and their descendants. It was not until 1732, after numerous petitions and prolonged discussion, that "the Great and General Court of Massachusetts" granted land enough for two townships "to the soldiers who had served in King Philip's or the Narragansett War and to their surviving heirs- at-law." This grant was subsequently enlarged to seven townships, as appears from the following record of proceedings in "the Great and General Court or Assembly for His Majestie's Province of the Massachusetts Bay," under date of April 26, 1733: A Petition of a Committee for the Narragansett Soldiers, showing that there are the number of Eight Hundred and Forty Persons entered as officers and soldiers in the late Narragansett War, Praying that there may be such an addition of Land granted to them, as may allow a Tract of six miles Square to each one hundred and twenty men so admitted. In the House of Representatives, Read, and Ordered that the Prayer of the Petition be granted, and that Major Chandler, Mr. Edward Shove, Col. Thomas Tileston, Mr. John Hobson and Mr. Samuel Chandler (or any three of them,) be a Committee fully authorized and empowered to survey and lay out five more Tracts of Land for Townships, of the Contents of Six miles Square each, in some of the unappropriated lands of this Province; and that the said land, together with the two towns before granted, be granted and disposed of to the officers and soldiers or their lawful Representatives, as they are or have been allowed by this Court, being eight hundred and forty in number, in the whole, and in full satisfaction of the Grant formerly made them by the General Court, as a reward for their public service. And the Grantees shall be obliged to assemble within as short time as they can conveniently, not exceeding the space of two months, and proceed to the choice of Committees, respectively, to regulate each Propriety or Township which is to be held and enjoyed by one hundred and twenty of the Grantees, each in equal Proportion, who shall pass such orders and rules as will effectually oblige them to settle Sixty families, at least, within each Township, with a learned, orthodox ministry, within the space of seven years of the date of this Grant. Provided, always, that if the said Grantees shall not effectually settle the said number of families in each Township, and also lay out a lot for the first settled minister, one for the ministry, and one for the school, in each of the said townships, they shall have no advantage of, but forfeit their respective grants, anything to the contrary contained notwithstanding. The Charge of the Survey to be paid by the Province. In Council read and concur'd. J. BELCHER. In June of 1733 these grantees met on Boston Common for the purpose of making a division of the lands thus appropriated, but twenty veterans of the Narragansett War being then living. They organized into seven societies, each representing one hundred and twenty persons, and each represented by an executive committee of three. These committees convened in Boston on the 17th of October, 1733, and, by drawing numbers from a hat, apportioned to their societies the following seven townships set apart from the public domain under the grant: No. 1, in Maine, now called Buxton; No. 2, Westminster, Mass.; No. 3, Souhegan-West, now Amherst, N. H.; No. 4, originally at the Falls of the Amoskeag, where Goffstown now is (subsequently exchanged for lands in Hampden county, Mass.); No. 5, Souhegan-East, N. H.; No. 6, Templeton, Mass.; No. 7, Gorham, Me. Thomas Tileston, of Dorchester, drew "Number 5, Souhegan-East;" of the one hundred and twenty grantees whom he represented, fifty-seven belonged to Boston, fifteen to Roxbury, seven to Dorchester, two to Milton, five to Braintree, four to Weymouth, thirteen to Hingham, four to Dedham, two to Hull, one to Medfield, five to Scituate, and one to Newport, R. I. In the fifteen Roxbury grantees was Zechariah Chandler, who was one of the few who personally took up land under the grant and settled upon it one of his own family. As a rule the grantees sold their claims to others. On the town records Zechariah Chandler's name is signed in the right of his wife's father, Thomas Bishop, who served against King Philip. His son, Thomas Chandler, took possession of the land and was among the pioneers of the town. To-day the Chandler family is believed to be the only representative in Bedford of the original grantees. It was in 1737, 1738, and 1739 that systematic settlement practically began in this part of the Merrimack valley. In 1741 New Hampshire became a separate province, and in 1748 the farmers of Souhegan-East, finding themselves without any township organization and without the power to legally transact corporate business, called upon the government for relief. As a result, it is recorded that on the 11th of April in that year Gov. Benning Wentworth informed the Council of New Hampshire "of the situation of a number of persons inhabiting a place called Souhegan-East, within this Province, that were without any township or District, and had not the privilege of a town in choosing officers for regulating their affairs, such as raising money for the ministry," etc. Thereupon a provisional township organization was authorized, under which the municipality was managed until 1750, when, on the 10th of May, the following petition was sent to the Governor, signed by thirty-eight citizens, among them Thomas Chandler: To his Excellency, Benning Wentworth, Esq., Governor and Commander-in-Chief of his Majesty's Province of New Hampshire, and to the Honorable, his Majesty's Council, assembled at Portsmouth, May 10, 1750. The humble Petition of the subscribers, inhabitants of Souhegan-East, so-called, sheweth, That your Petitioners are major part of said Souhegan; that your petitioners, as to our particular persuasion in Christianity, are generally of the Presbyterian denomination; that your petitioners, through a variety of causes, having long been destitute of the gospel, are now desirous of taking proper steps in order to have it settled among us in that way of discipline which we judge to tend most to our edification; that your petitioners, not being incorporated by civil authority, are in no capacity to raise those sums of money, which may be needful in order to our proceeding in the above important affair. May it therefore please your Excellency, and Honors, to take the case of your petitioners under consideration, and to incorporate us into a town or district, or in case any part of our inhabitants should be taken off by any neighboring district, to grant that those of our persuasion, who are desirous of adhering to us, may be excused from supporting any other parish charge, than where they conscientiously adhere, we desiring the same liberty to those within our bounds, if any there be, and your petitioners shall ever pray, &c. This petition was presented on May 18, 1750, to the Council, which unanimously advised the granting of a charter, and this the Governor did upon the following day. The name of the town was changed by Governor Wentworth from Souhegan-East to Bedford, it is said in honor of the fourth Duke of Bedford, then Secretary of State in the ministry of George II. This was the formal organization of the present town, which has a territorial extent of about twenty thousand acres of land. Of the early population of this and neighboring towns "The Centennial History of Bedford" (published in 1851) says: With few exceptions the early inhabitants of the town were from the North of Ireland or from the then infant settlement of Londonderry, N. H., to which they had recently emigrated from Ireland. Their ancestors were of Scotch origin. About the middle of the seventeenth century they went in considerable numbers from Argylshire, in the West of Scotland, to the counties of Londonderry and Antrim, in the North of Ireland, from which in 1718 a great emigration took place to this country. Some arrived at Boston, and some at Casco Bay near Portland, which last were the settlers of Londonderry. Many towns in this vicinity were settled from this colony. Windham, Chester, Litchfield, Manchester, Bedford, Goffstown, New Boston, Antrim, Peterborough and Acworth derived from Londonderry a considerable proportion of their first inhabitants. Many of their descendants have risen to high respectability, among whom are numbered four Governors of New Hampshire, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, several distinguished officers in the Revolutionary War and in the last war with Great Britain, including Stark, Reid, Miller, and McNeil, a President of Bowdoin College, some Members of Congress, and several distinguished ministers of the gospel. It was a Scottish stock, with an Irish preceding the American transplanting, that peopled Bedford. There were among its original settlers a few families of English and fewer still of pure Milesian extraction, but the Scotch descent was overwhelmingly predominant, and the austere theology and noble traditions of the Kirk of Scotland formed the leaven of the community. Their religious history dated back to John Knox. Their immediate ancestors were the sturdy Presbyterians with whom James I. colonized depopulated Ulster after he had crushed the Catholic uprisings. Those involuntary colonists made that the most prosperous of the Irish provinces, and at a critical moment for the cause of Protestantism added to the annals of heroic endurance the defense of Londonderry against the army of James II. But to their simple and tenacious faith the tithes and rents of the Anglican Church were scarcely less abhorrent than Catholic persecution, and the example of Puritan emigration ultimately led them by thousands to American shores. Much of this tide of settlement was diverted by the Puritan pre-occupation of New England soil to the Middle and Southern States, but a strong current set up into northern New England and occupied (with much other territory) the valley of the Merrimack. It was to these Scotch-Irish Presbyterians that the greater number of the grantees of Bedford—as a rule the descendants of Massachusetts Puritans—sold their claims, and the community became what their labors and influence made it. The Chandler (representing an original grantee) was one of the few Bedford families which sprang from English stock and possessed Puritan antecedents. The settlement of Bedford was thus the outgrowth of an unquenchable thirst for civil and religious liberty. A profound conscientiousness added these simple, devout, frugal, and industrious people to the pioneer assailants of the North American wilderness. The ancient records and the published annals of the town afford a quaintly interesting picture of early New England civilization. Its background is the rock of religious faith, and to repeat the chronicles of the Bedford church for the eighteenth century is to write the history of the township for that period. The original grant required the maintenance of "a learned, orthodox ministry." The petition for the charter of Bedford set forth that "your petitioners, as to our particular persuasion in Christianity, are generally of the Presbyterian denomination," and assigned as the chief reason for asking incorporation that they "having been long destitute of the gospel, are now desirous of taking the proper steps in order to have it settled among us," but "not being incorporated by civil authority are in no capacity to raise those sums of money which may be needful." The official records of formal township proceedings abound in such entries as these: Feb. 15. 1748. Voted—That one third of the time, Preaching shall be to accommodate the inhabitants at the upper end of the town; one other third part, at the lower end of the town; the last third, about Strawberrie hill. July 26, 1750. Voted, There be a call given to the Rev. Mr. Alexander Boyd, to the work of the ministry in this town. March 28, 1753. Voted, Unanimously, to present a call for Mr. Alexander McDowell, to the Rev'd Presbytery for the work of the ministry in this town. March 13, 1757. Voted,—That Capt. Moses Barron, Robert Walker, and Samuel Patten, be a committee for boarding and shingling the meeting-house. March, 1767. Voted,—That the same committee who built the pulpit, paint it, and paint it the same color the Rev. Mr. McGregor's pulpit is, in Londonderry. June, 1768. The meeting-house glass lent out[1]; Matthew Little's account of the same. David Moore had from Matthew Little, six squares of the meeting-house glass; Daniel Moor had 4 squares of the same, Dea. Gilmore had of the same, 24 squares. November 20, 1768, the Rev. Mr. John Houston, had 24 squares of the same; Hugh Campbell had 12 squares of the same; Dea. Smith is to pay Whitfield Gilmore 6 squares of the same; James Wallace had 15 squares of the same; John Bell had 9 squares of the same; Joseph Scobey, one quart of oil. A true record. Attest, WILLIAM WHITE, Town Clerk. [Extract from the "town meeting warrant" (call) for 1779]: As for some time past, the Sabbath has been greatly profaned, by persons traveling with burthens upon the same, when there is no necessity for it,—to see whether the town will not try to provide some remedy for the same, for the future. The Bedford church has been ever the center of all public activity. Its officers have been the officers of the town. From its pulpit have been made all formal announcements. Within its walls have been inspired every important home measure, and its influence has stimulated each wise public action. In the early records the school-house also shares prominence with the meeting-house, and the later generations of Bedford's inhabitants were men and women of solid primary education and thorough religious training. Thrift and industry made them prosperous, and they raised large families of powerful men and vigorous women. The mothers and daughters shared in the field work, and even carried on foot to Boston the linen thread from their busy spinning wheels. Physical and moral strength characterized the race, and they built up a community of comfortable homes, severe virtues, strong religious instincts, a stern morality, and long lives. Neither poverty nor riches were to be found among them, and the simplest habits prevailed. Silks were unknown, and homemade linen was the choicest fabric. Brown bread was the staple of life, and wheat flour a luxury. Tea and coffee were rarely seen, but barley broth was on all tables. Shoes were only worn in winter, except to church on Sundays when they were carried in the hand to the neighborhood of the meeting-house. The saddle and pillion were used in journeys. Splinters and knots of pitch pine furnished lights. The hymns were "deaconed out" by the line at the meeting- house, and at the appearance of the first bass-viol in the gallery (about 1790) there was a fierce rebellion among the more austere of the worshipers. There was community of effort in all important enterprises, and no man needed aught if his neighbor could supply it. But this frontier picture is not wholly stern in its lines. Along with this simplicity of life and severity of religious doctrine there was no lack of frolic and rough joking, and the other rugged characteristics were relieved by shrewd wit and native humor. The annals of Bedford are entertaining and abound in such anecdotes as these: Deacon John Orr (the grandfather of the mother of Zachariah Chandler) was a sturdy Irish-Scotchman, whose temper under extreme provocation once got the better of his devoutness and led him into a vigorous profanity of speech. This glaring dereliction in a church officer called for reprimand, and he was waited upon by the minister and a delegation of his brethren who asked, "How could you suffer yourself to speak so?" "Why, what was it?" His offending language was repeated to him. "And what o' that!" said he, "D'ye expect me to be a' spirit and nae flesh?" Late in life Deacon Orr visited Boston with a load of produce and put up at a house of entertainment where, after he had drunk several cups of tea, and refused a final invitation, the landlady said that it was customary to turn the cup upside down to show that no more was wanted. He apologized and promised to remember the injunction. The next morning he partook of a huge bowl of bread and milk for breakfast, and not wanting the whole laid down his spoon and turned the dish upside down with its contents on the table. The hostess was naturally angry, but was met with the statement that he had merely followed her own direction. The answer of a brother deacon to one of the congregation who complained, "I could na' mak yesterday's preaching come together," was a compend of practical Christianity: "Trouble yourself na' about that, man—a' ye have to do, man, is to fear God and keep His commandments." It is also told that the objections of one of the staunch Scotch Presbyterians of Bedford to the marriage of his daughter with an urgent suitor of Catholic parentage were overcome by the apt query, "If a man happened to be born in a stable would that make him a horse?" And to one of the rural theologians of the town is credited this contribution to ecclesiastical distinctions: "The difference between the Presbyterians and Congregationalists is this: The Congregationalist goes home and eats a regular dinner between services, but the Presbyterian postpones his until after meeting." After a most vigorous quarrel between the minister and one of the flock over a boundary line dispute, the wrathful member of the congregation was prompt at service on Sunday with the following explanation: "I'd have ye to know, if I did quarrel with the minister, I did not quarrel with the Gospel." That this was a community of uncompromising patriotism follows from its character. In the French and Indian war the New England forces were at one time under command of Col. John Goffe, of Bedford, and the number of privates enlisted from that town was large. The New Hampshire regiment which joined the expedition of General Amherst against Canada, commanded by Colonel Goffe, was raised largely among the Scotch-Irish emigrants of Hillsborough and Rockingham counties, and had in its ranks many Bedford men. In the Revolutionary War a large portion of its able- bodied citizens were in the first American army that beleaguered Boston and fought at Bunker Hill; nearly or quite half of all who could handle a musket were with Stark at Bennington, and with Gates at Saratoga. General Stark lived but a few rods from the town line on the north, and one of his most trusted officers was Lieutenant, afterwards Colonel, John Orr, of Bedford. The town records abound with votes taken to carry out the measures proposed by the Continental Congress, and also chronicle one case of semi-Toryism and its punishment. In 1776 Congress advised the disarming of all who were disaffected towards the American cause, and the selectmen of the New Hampshire towns circulated this pledge among their people: In consequence of the above Resolution of the Continental Congress, and to show our determination in joining our American brethren, in defending the lives, liberties, and properties of the inhabitants of the United Colonies, We, the Subscribers, do hereby solemnly engage and promise, that we will, to the utmost of our power, at the risk of our lives and fortunes, with arms, oppose the hostile proceedings of the British Fleets and Armies against the United American Colonies. Among its Bedford signers were John Orr, Zachariah Chandler, and Samuel Patten (all ancestors of Zachariah Chandler,) and the report made from that town was this: To the honorable, the Council and House of Representatives, for the Colony of New Hampshire, to be convened in Exeter, in said Colony, on Wednesday, 5th inst. Pursuant to the within precept, we have taken pains to know the minds of the inhabitants of the town of Bedford, with respect to the within obligation, and find none unwilling to sign the same, except the Rev. John Houston, who declines signing the said obligation, for the following reasons: Firstly, Because he did not apprehend that the honorable Committee meant that Ministers should take up arms, as being inconsistent with their ministerial charge. Secondly, Because he was already confined to the County of Hillsborough, therefore, he thinks he ought to be set at liberty before he should sign the said obligation. Thirdly, Because there are three men belonging to his family already enlisted in the Continental Army. Mr. Houston, who was thus officially reported as the only Bedford Tory, had occupied the town pulpit for over fifteen years, and was a man of scholarship and purity, but he had become a loyalist in sympathy at the outbreak of the Revolutionary troubles, and was as inflexible in conviction as his neighbors. Originally (in 1756) the town had voted that his salary should be at the rate of forty pounds sterling a year for such Sundays as they desired his services. When they felt unable to pay they voted him one or more Sundays for himself, and then deducted from his salary proportionately. In 1775, after prolonged controversy with him, his case was brought before town-meeting (on June 15th), and he was unanimously dismissed by the adoption of a vote setting off for his own use all the Sabbaths remaining in the calendar year. The town records contain this explanation of the action: June 15, 1775. Voted—Whereas, we find that the Rev'd Mr. John Houston, after a great deal of tenderness and pains taken with him, both in public and private, and toward him, relating to his speeches, frequently made both in public and private, against the rights and privileges of America, and his vindicating of King and Parliament in their present proceedings against the Americans; and having not been able hitherto to bring him to a sense of his error, and he has thereby rendered himself despised by people in general, and by us in particular, and that he has endeavored to intimidate us against maintaining the just rights of America: Therefore, we think it not our duty as men or Christians, to have him preach any longer with us as our minister. The resolute and uncompromising spirit, which thus sternly resented and punished unpatriotic sympathies in one whom the people had been accustomed to hold in reverence, was manifested on all occasions. This is a document of later date, signed by a Bedford committee, which seems not to have been suggested by any outside action, but to have resulted from the impulses of the citizens themselves: Bedford, May 31, 1783. To Lieut. John Orr, Representative at the General Court of the State of New Hampshire:— Sir:—Although we have full confidence in your fidelity and public virtue, and conceive that you would at all times pursue such measures only as tend to the public good, yet upon the particular occasion of our instructing you, we conceive that it will be an advantage to have your sentiments fortified by those of your constituents. The occasion is this; the return of those persons to this country, who are known in Great Britain by the name of loyalist, but in America, by those of conspirators, absentees, and tories; We agree that you use your influence that these persons do not receive the least encouragement to return to dwell among us, they not deserving favor, as they left us in the righteous cause we were engaged in, fighting for our undoubted rights and liberties, and as many of them acted the part of the most inveterate enemies. And further,—that they do not receive any favor of any kind, as we esteem them as persons not deserving it, but the contrary. You are further directed to use your influence, that those who are already returned, be treated according to their deserts. In the War of 1812 there were more than two hundred men in Bedford armed and in readiness to march whenever called upon, and in this two hundred was one company of about sixty men over forty years of age and therefore exempt from military duty. In the War of the Rebellion Bedford invariably filled its quota without draft and without high bounties, and it paid its war debt promptly. It was in this community of stalwart, clear-headed, freedom-loving, sturdily honest, and uncompromisingly sincere men and women, that Zachariah Chandler was born and that the foundations of his character were durably laid. FOOTNOTES: The glass for the meeting-house was procured before the building was ready for it, and it was loaned to different members; the careful record kept shows how scarce and costly an article it then was. [1]