Part 5 (1/2)
Directly after their marriage, the young husband, then only twenty-two years of age, gathered a company together and marched for Cambridge, where he was encamped for a short time only. Later on he acted as commissary to supply the three regiments of the State at Cambridge, for he was considered too important a person to be allowed to take a place in the field.
In 1779 he was elected a member of the New Hamps.h.i.+re Legislature and was called in 1780 as the only delegate to attend the gathering which was to take place at Hartford, Connecticut. Those were the days when there was no money or credit in the treasury, so that he was forced to take the journey on horseback. He was absent six weeks, paying his own expenses everywhere out of his personal income.
So popular did he become that he was elected to Congress in 1782, being one of the youngest and most popular members. Later on he became Treasurer of State, succeeding his father in this work. He was made Governor of New Hamps.h.i.+re, which office he held for fourteen consecutive years and later on accepted the nomination for two years more. In 1816 he declined the election, giving as an excuse that he preferred to spend his remaining days in quietness.
This Governor Gilman was a portly man, weighing two hundred pounds and standing six feet in his stockings. He was a dignified old gentleman, preserving his vigor to the very end. While the latter part of his life was spent in renewing social relations with his friends, the memories of the past were always with him, and he was never so happy as when he recalled the days of Was.h.i.+ngton, who was a personal friend. Strong and original in intellect, few men were able to foresee as he did the future of his country.
It is said that the night before his death he was brought downstairs by a faithful old negro retainer to spend his last evening with his family.
He had a clear realization that his time was drawing near, and he gave full instructions to his family concerning his burial and the manner in which they should cherish his memory. He requested particularly that no one should wear mourning for him--”Spend upon the living, not the dead,”
he said. After a short time he was reminded that he was getting very tired, and he left the room remarking: ”I have no disposition to leave this precious circle. I love to be here surrounded by my family and my friends.” He commended them to G.o.d, saying: ”I am ready to go and I wish you all good night.”
The brothers of this noted man also held positions in State affairs and in the militia. His brother Nicholas at one time lived in this house. He occupied the position of lieutenant, captain, adjutant, and adjutant-general in the Revolution, being also a member of Congress. He took his seat in the United States Senate on March 3, 1797, and came out in views a solid Federal.
Governor John Taylor Gilman, who succeeded his father, Colonel Nicholas, had eleven children, many of whom were married in the State Room of this house, which is so closely connected with the political events of the Revolution and where so many distinguished guests have been entertained.
The Gilmans were one of the most distinguished families in Exeter, coming up from Ma.s.sachusetts to join Reverend John Wheelwright's little colony. Their enterprise, energy, and thrift made them natural leaders in the community. If there was a meeting-house to be erected, there was always a Gilman on the committee. Should there be a military company to be enlisted, there would always be a man of that name in the ranks. When the commissioners, seven in number, distributed the common lands in 1739, there were four of this family among the band. Little wonder then that their name is allied with the princ.i.p.al events of history.
[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE x.x.xII.--Parlor, Ladd-Gilman House.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE x.x.xIII.--Living Room, Ladd-Gilman House; Robert Treat Room, Ladd-Gilman House.]
The hallway of this home is found to be a small and unpretentious one, with a winding flight of stairs at one side that leads to the second-story floor. At the left of the side entrance is the Treasury Room, where, during the lifetime of Gilman, important meetings were held and State secrets were often discussed. The furniture from this room has long since been gone, but the white pine walls with their coat of paint are still as fresh as they were the day they were built. The huge fireplace without tiles bespeaks plainly the days of prosperity. At the right of the hallway is a large, square room that was used in the olden times as a dining-room. There are no secret closets in this house, with the exception of a sliding panel in the Grill Room, which when lifted gives access to the wine closet below. Beyond that is the old kitchen, which is now used as a dining-room. It still shows the old brick oven, where during Governor Gilman's occupancy the baking was done, and also the Dutch oven, where the meat was roasted in the governor's day. On the mantel over the old fireplace are displayed some fine bits of old pewter, while the windows of this house still retain the small panes.
The room at the right of the family entrance is known as the State Room.
It is a dignified room, large enough to have held easily the notable a.s.semblages that must have met there during his occupancy. The fireplace has no mantel, but a wide panelling, such as is found only in houses of that period. The only ornamentations are the elaborate columns that define the fireplace and panelling. The room is finished in wood panels.
The huge beams have been cased in, and the windows with their wooden shutters remain as they were first built. The furnis.h.i.+ng is all of the colonial period, showing slat-back chairs and cane-seated ones. A feature of this room is the wonderful old mirror, one of the largest ever made and so tall that an opening had to be made in the ceiling, that it might be set up. It is a room typical of the period and shows woodwork that has never been replaced. The andirons are painted in brilliant colors, showing the Hessian soldiers,--a kind that were in use directly after the Revolution.
[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE x.x.xIV.--Ladd-Gilman House; Prison, Ladd-Gilman House.]
The chambers have each an old four-poster, while their fireplaces are unlike many of that period, being finished in stone instead of wood. In the middle chamber is a fine example of a field bed, which was used by Daniel Webster. In this room also is a queer little mahogany piece that, when the cover is lifted, shows a foot-bath that was taken by Governor Gilman to Was.h.i.+ngton during his term of service there. In addition to this there is a quaint little trunk of leather, which was used by the governor to transport his belongings to and fro,--not a very elaborate wardrobe if it all went into the one trunk.
The Middle Chamber, as this is familiarly known, has also one of the old fireplaces without a mantel. Every room in the house shows the wide-beamed ceilings that came into use about that period.
Probably the most interesting room is a small one at one side which was used as a prisoner's room. Here the windows are very small and were formerly barred over. In this room the poor debtors were kept until released by their friends.
In the capacity of Treasurer of State, Colonel Gilman had his office in the house, and here he affixed his signature to the paper bills of credit to which the State and country were obliged to resort in order to carry on the war. It was a duty, however, that still permitted him to devote part of his time to military service, holding the position of colonel of the Fourth Regiment of Militia and aiding in the capture of General Burgoyne. Within the walls of this mansion were born his children, three of whom became conspicuous in the history of the State.
John Taylor Gilman, who succeeded his father, held many offices of trust and in 1814, at the alarm of Portsmouth, he took personal command of a large detachment of militia stationed by his order in that vicinity.
Nicholas Gilman, Jr., who resided in the house until the age of twenty-one, became senior Deputy Adjutant-general of the Continental army on the staff of General Was.h.i.+ngton and partic.i.p.ated in all the important battles and campaigns in which, under Was.h.i.+ngton, the army engaged. In 1787 Captain Nicholas Gilman and John Langdon were chosen delegates to the Federal Convention of States, which a.s.sembled at Philadelphia and framed and adopted the Const.i.tution, the delegates signing in the order of States. The signatures of Langdon and Gilman followed immediately after that of General Was.h.i.+ngton, as President of the Convention. Gilman was one of the youngest members of that body, that combined patriotism, experience, and character.
The third son, Colonel Nathaniel Gilman, succeeded his father Colonel Nicholas Gilman, Sr., in the treasury department--The Continental Loan Office--as early as 1783. From 1818 to 1824 the mansion was occupied by Captain Nathaniel Gilman, son of Colonel Nathaniel Gilman and grandson of Colonel Nicholas Gilman, Sr.
The house itself is in an excellent state of preservation. The partially panelled walls, the quaint windows with wide sills, the large and cheerful fireplaces in which the original dogs still do duty, belong distinctively to colonial days. The small, high windows fitted with wooden shutters show the great thickness of the house wall, and the whole surroundings impress one with solidity and comfort.
CHAPTER VIII