Original picture from a glass negative: 

research and reproduction by Dennis Fuller

Chair of the Canaan Historical Society, Canaan, Vermont.

History of an old house from 1875

                          

This blog is dedicated to the history of an old house, its creators and its inhabitants from 1850 to the present. The posts and pages of this site will introduce you to various aspects of the life in the 19th and 20th centuries, a period of industrial revolution, innovations,  and prosperity. The diverse documents cover topics from “clues on how to date the construction of an old house from the end of the 19th century", passing by interesting "informations on Colonial architecture in Northern New England", to the “history of families that lived in this house and in the village of West Stewartstown during the 19th century”. 

History is often written to present the elite, the lives of a few and their singular view of the society; this site would like to give tributes to the general population of a small New Hampshire village. 

The Internet site “The Old House 1875” is in perpetual construction, return often to find new information each time.

(translate the content to the language of your choice using the option on the right).

Page list:

• Introduction
• The History of the house from 1850 to now 
• Architecture of a Federal Style house with a classically inspired Greek Revival design and the concept of "New England Connected Farmstead"
• A look into an English Style barn built around 1850 and modified 25 years later

• The Barbours

  The Pipers

  The Harveys

  The Halls 
• Historic picture of the house and personages of the time 
• Clues to the age of an old house and barn from the 19th century
• Insight into the Town of West Stewartstown and its inhabitants in the 1860s and 1890s
• Emigration of the French Canadians from Québec to New England 
• The Town of Stewartstown and the Civil War

disclaimer:

This Internet site and its content coming from many different sources is accessible to the public, and is purely for educational purposes and for people doing research on the various subjects presented in this blog. 

Please inform us if you see typo, error, or simply want to make some clarifications

If you are interested in completing a similar project for your house or your town and need help, you may contact us directly.

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Many readers inquired about the references used to construct this blog; I decided to present the sources here at the beginning of the blog: 

References:

For genealogy:

FamilySearch, available on line: https://ident.familysearch.org

https://peoplelegacy.com/

https://www.findgrave.com/

Photos:

Many pictures: courtesy from The Alice M. Ward Memorial Library, Canaan Public Library, VT (from their photographic glass plate negative extensive collection). House original picture from a glass negative: research and reproduction by Dennis Fuller, Canaan Historical Society, Canaan, Vermont.

“West Stewartstown Memories”, The Town of Colebrook, M/S Printing, July 2000.

Architecture:

Andrew Cogar, architect 

https://www.historicnewengland.org/preservation/for-homeowners-communities/your-old-or-historic-home/architectural-style-guide/

https://www.historicnewengland.org/preservation/for-homeowners-communities/your-old-or-historic-home/architectural-style-guide/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connected_farm

Hubka, Thomas C., Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn: The Connected Farm Buildings of New England, University Press of New England, Hanover NH 1984

The American DoorKnob, by Franklin Pierce Hall, available on line:

https://www.antiquehomesmagazine.com/reading-room/the-american-doorknob/

King post bridge truss for short span, in Popular Science Monthly, Volume 38, 1889.

https://www.tn.gov/tdot/structures-/historic-bridges/history-of-a-truss-bridge.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_post

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:PSM_V36_D482_King_post_bridge_truss_for_short_span.jpg

https://www.decks.com/how-to/articles/beam-span-chart-table

https://dcstructural.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/TFEC-4-2020-Design-Guide-for- Timber-Roof-Trusses.pdf

Hubka, Thomas C. Maine's Connected Farm Buildings, Part II. Maine History 18, 4 (1979): 217-245. Available on line: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistoryjournal/ vol18/iss4/4

Garvin, James L. A. Building History of Northern New England. University Press of New England, Hanover and London, 2001.

Halstead, Byron David. Barns and Outbuildings and How to Build Them. Originally published by Orange Judd Company, 1881. New York: The Lyons Press, 2000.

Noble, Allen G. and Richard K. Cleek. The Old Barn Book: A Field Guide to North American Barns and Other Farm Structures. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1995.

Rawson, Richard. Old Barn Plans. New York: Main Street Press, 1979.

Visser, Thomas Durant. Field Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings. University Press of New England, Hanover and London, 1997.

Maps: 

West Stewartstown Villages, New Hampshire 1861 Old Town Map by H.F. Walling

https://shop.old-maps.com/new-hampshire/towns/coos-co-nh-1861-town/west-stewartstown-villages-new-hampshire-1861-old-town-map-custom-print-coos-co/

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from West Stewartstown, Coos County, New Hampshire. Oct 1887

Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C. 20540-4650

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3744wm.g3744wm_g053951887

New Hampshire State Atlas 1892, New Hampshire

Published by D. H. Hurd & Co. in 1892. Available on line:

http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/4298/Dalton++Stewartstown++Carroll++Stewartstown+West++White+Mountain++Harts+Landing/New+Hampshire+State+Atlas+1892/New+Hampshire/

Books/Information:

Historical Newspapers: 

The Frontier Gazette: an 8 page journal presenting national, international, and local news as well as information articles on various topics. It was published once a week, on Saturday, in West Stewartstown. Publisher: C.E. Tewksbury. It was active for at least ten years, from 1892 to 1903. Available Online: https://www.worldcat.org/title/frontier-gazette/oclc/22532330/

and

Daily Kennebec journal. Essex County herald.

Available on line: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

History of Coos County, New Hampshire, by Merrill Georgia Drew, W. A. Fergusson & Co., Syracure, 1888

https://archive.org/stream/historyofcooscou00merr/historyofcooscou00merr_djvu.txt

https://archive.org/details/historyofcooscou00merr/page/698/mode/2up?view=theater

https://archive.org/stream/historyofcooscou00merr/historyofcooscou00merr_djvu.txt

Vital Statistics of Stewartstown, N.H. From Dec. 1, 1770 to Jan. 1, 1888

by Charles E. Comp and Pub Tewksbury (Town Clerk) 1888

Dixville, Colebrook, Columbia, and Stewartstown

by Susan Zizza, 2013, Arcadia Publishing. Available on line: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dixville_Colebrook_Columbia_and_Stewarts/b4gJQ5K4UhcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=west+stewartstown+nh+washington+street&pg=PA80&printsec=frontcover

Colebrook: "a Place Up Back of New Hampshire”, by Dr. William H Gifford

News and Sentinel, Incorporated, 1970, 1993, Colebrook, NH - 386 pages

Fahnestock's Pittsburgh directory for 1850, containing the names of the inhabitants of Pittsburgh, Allegheny & vicinity; their occupation, places of business and dwelling houses, also a list of the public offices, banks &c.

Pittsburgh, Printed by G. Parkin, 1850. 118 p.

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.00196193777

dcmsiabooks.fahnestockspitts00unse

“West Stewartstown Memories”, The Town of Colebrook, M/S Printing, Second Printing, July 2000, Page 169.

Census 1850 and 1860, Stewartstown, Coos County. Available on line: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9BSC-9219?cc=1473181

New Hampshire, Coos, Stewartstown - Vital records

Allen County Public Library; http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/

Available on line: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/283452availability=Family%20History%20Library

New Hampshire Register, State Year-book and Legislative Manual. United States, F. L. Tower Companies, 1897, Page 210-211. Avalaible on line: https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_Hampshire_Register_State_Year_book_a/8u4WAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

The New Hampshire Business Directory for 1868-1869. Briggs & Co., Boston, 1868

(price was $2.00). Available on line: https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_Hampshire_Business_Directory/IOUCAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+hotel+pike,+west+stewartstown+nh&pg=PA104&printsec=frontcover

About electricity in New Hampshire: 

State of New Hampshire Annual Report, Report of Secretary of State, 1907, volume 1, Concord, NH.

About the 11th Regiment:

The Eleventh Regiment, BY James M. Warner, Brigadier and Brevet Major-General U. S. Vols.,

And Aldace F. Walker, Lieutenant-Colonel and Brevet Colonel Eleventh Regiment. Available on line: https://vermontcivilwar.org/rr/11th_Infantry.pdf

About the "Hotel Pike":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_R._Miller_(architect)

New Hampshire's Connecticut Lakes Region, by Donna Jordan

Arcadia Publishing, 16 juil. 2003 - 128 pages

Available on line (certain pages): https://books.google.com/books?id=1ics8_vCHdkC&hl=fr&source=gbs_navlinks_s

The Tourists' Guide-book to the State of New Hampshire, by Frank West Rollins

Rumford Press, Concord, NH, second edition, 1902 - 365 pages

Available on line (certain pages): https://books.google.com/books?id=olz9I0XJhncC&printsec=frontcover&hl=fr#v=onepage&q&f=false

Summer by the Seaside: The Architecture of New England Coastal Resort Hotels, 1820-1950, UPNE, 2008 - 231 pages

Available on line (certain pages): https://books.google.com/books?id=HZie8msijuMC&printsec=frontcover&hl=fr#v=onepage&q&f=false

About the emigration from Québec:

Document Emigration of the French Canadians from Québec to New England by Richard Bélair. Presented in 2007-2008 in the course of his studies for a bachelor degree in History at the Université du Québec À Montréal.

HISTORIC PICTURE OF THE HOUSE DATING FROM 1894

      

Original picture from a glass negative: 

research and reproduction by Dennis Fuller

Chair of the Canaan Historical Society, Canaan, Vermont.

 

 

 

Same picture with associated names 

from “West Stewartstown Memories”, The Town of Colebrook, 

M/S Printing, Second Printing, July 2000, Page 169. 

 

On a historic picture of the house from around 1894, Tom (Thomas W) Piper (b.1867, Stewartstown, d.1921), now 27 years old, and a grocery salesman, is the owner of the house. In 1892, he buys the house with his newly married wife Mary Cole and the help of his father William and mother Olive Piper. The picture is taken after the death of Thomas’ first wife Mary Cole (b.1871, d.1894, m.1890) and before his second marriage with Viola Thrasher (b.1869, d.1916, m.1895). We recognize Thomas’ father, William Piper (b.1826, d.1896) who died two years after the picture was taken. Also present is Thomas’ mother, Olive Alice Keysar 62 (b.1832, d.1916, m.1851), and his older brother, Fred Bill Piper (1857-1927). Thomas’ future wife Viola “Ola” is present on the picture, by his side.

  Lee Otis when older (date mid-1900)

Lee Otis Parker (b.1883, d.1961), only 11 years old on the picture, is the son of the well know carpenter Ephriam Smith Parker (b.1838, d.1921, he operates a lumber shed and carpentry shop on River Street) and Olive Piper’s cousin Phoebe K Keysar (b.1844, d.1921, m.1870). Phoebe is the daughter of John Keysar (b.1816, d.1891, lived in Clarksville), the younger brother of Olive’s father, Benjamin Young Keysar (b.1811, d.1852). 

 

The Parkers live one house North of the Congregational Church on Washington Street, while the Pipers's house of the historic picture presented above is located one house South of the Church. You will find a picture of Ephriam Parker's house in the book "Stewartstown Memories" page 43.

Mary Ann Hibbard Chamberlain (Chamberlin) (b.1835, from Hereford, Québec. Her first marriage in 1855 was with John Moody Hilliard (b.1826, d.1874), with whom she will have 8 children. Her second marriage in 1877 was with her 10 years younger present husband, George H. Chamberlain (b.1848), a local farmer. She is part of the Piper’s family. From her first marriage, her oldest daughter Isabelle L (Belle) Hilliard (b.1857, m.1878) is married with Fred Bill Piper, Thomas Piper’s older brother. 

She is also the mother of Mary Eliza Hilliard (b.1862), the wife of Benjamin Howard Blodgett (b.1858, m.1878), and parents of future Dr. John M Blodgett (b.1880). But, more importantly, Benjamin Howard Blodgett, is the son of John P Blodgett and Josephine S Keysar, Olive Alice Piper’s younger sister. 

To summarize, Mary Ann's daughter Isabelle (Belle), is married with Thomas Piper’s brother, and her other daughter Mary Eliza is married with Olive Alice Piper’s nephew. 

      

 One of the two is Jessie Rowell, which one and who is the other one? 

Jessie May Rowell (b. 1875, d.1967, m.1899 with Lingan W. Jewett) is only 19 years old on the picture. She is the niece of Ellen Flanders Rowell (1834-1907, m. 1854), the wife of Thomas Henry Mayo (1826-1907), an important figure in West Stewartstown as an artist-painter; also, the Mayos are close neighbors, living across the road on Main Street. Jessie May lives on High Street in West Stewartstown (the street just above Washington Street) with her father Sommer Rowell (Summer), a "carpenter", and her mother Julia (Juliette).

Three young man's names are written under the picture: Jerry Almon Terril (25), Hugh Savage (27), and Ernest Cole (25):

 

As a second source of income, the piper’s generally had a “boarder” (or roomer) living with them. At the time of the picture, Jerry Almon Terril, 25 years old (b. 1869, in Clarksville), was likely a boarder. Later on, in the 1900 US Census, he is a boarder in the Norton Haynes household also on Washington Street, West Stewartstown. He works as a "saw setter" at the saw mill.

Hugh Savage from Thedford Mines, Québec (b. 1867, 27 yo) is a railroad station agent for the Upper Coos Railroad in West Stewartstown. The railroad had been recently completed in 1887 and was essential to the economic success of region. Of interest, he will marry in 1896 the daughter of A.B. Quimby, Jenni May, living in the house across the street on the corner of Mill Street. Ultimately, in 1913, will return to live in Canada, more specifically in Alberta, with his wife Jennie May and three children. More about the Quimby family in the page on West Stewartstown: the Village .

But, where is Ernest Cole?

Ernest Cole (Earnest Clinton Cole, b. 1871) named on the picture turns out to be Thomas W Piper's brother-in-law from his first marriage with Mary Elmira Cole who died in 1894 before this picture was taken. Ernest would be 25 years old on the picture (He marries Miss H. J. Weeks of Canaan Dec 25, 1896).

The three males of the same age would be Jerry Terril, Hugh Savage, and Ernest Cole. There are 6 males on the pictures, but 7 names are boy's names (Tom, Lee, William, Bill, Ernest, Jerry, and Hugh). We see 5 females on the picture, but only 4 names are girl's names (Mary Ann, Jesse, Olive, and Ola). 

Lee is considered a gender-neutral name, and as such could be a female, but there is very little doubt that the young boy from the picture is Lee Otis Parker, with too many facial features similar to his picture at an older age. This assumption is also substantiated by the corresponding Lee's age.

Help would be welcome to solve the mystery?

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As you may have noticed, Mary Ann Hibbard Chamberlain is wearing a type of dress ''à la mode'' for the time:

article in The Frontier Gazette 1896:

and at least 2 of the ladies are wearing ''hats of the season'' as per The Frontier Gazette 1895:

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It was exciting to find another photo from the 1900s at the Alice M. Ward Memorial Library, Canaan Public Library, VT, with Viola Thrasher (Mrs. Tom Piper) and Annie Chamberlain (Mary Ann Chamberlain):

Mrs. Viola Piper is the third from the left top row and Mrs. Chamberlain is in the middle of the first row (6th from the left). They were giving a theatrical play at the theater on the second floor of what was then the Loverin’s store (picture below, where is now located the Salomon’s grocery store). In 1892, it was called Jacobs' Store as you may see on the map below.

location of Jacobs' Store and Loverin's Store 

 

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A detailed map of the village with the names of its inhabitants from 1892, the year the house was acquired by the Pipers:

Advertising for the train schedule in The Frontier Gazette 1896:

Sources:

New Hampshire State Atlas 1892, New Hampshire. Published by D. H. Hurd & Co. in 1892. Available on line: http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/4298/Dalton++Stewartstown++Carroll++Stewartstown+West++White+Mountain++Harts+Landing/New+Hampshire+State+Atlas+1892/New+Hampshire/

“West Stewartstown Memories”, The Town of Colebrook, M/S Printing, Second Printing, July 2000, Page 169.

Pictures courtesy from The Alice M. Ward Memorial Library, Canaan Public Library, VT