THE HISTORY OF LONDONDERRY, COMPRISING THE TOWNS OF DERRY AND LONDONDERRY, N. H. BY REV. EDWARD L. PARKER, LATE PASTOR OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN DERRY. WITH A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY PERKINS AND WHIPPLE. PREFACE. SOON after the death of my father, the charge of editing the History of Londonderry was committed to me. The first four chapters of the work were nearly completed, and the material for the two remaining chapters and the Appendix, in a great measure collected and arranged. It was the design of my father, that the work should be examined by myself, and by his son-inlaw, Mr. Samuel H. Taylor, Principal of Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., previous to its publication; and a considerable portion of the manuscript was in my hands, for this purpose, at the time of his decease. The Editor has therefore done but little more in the preparation of the work, than would have devolved upon him had its Author lived to see its entire completion. And though it is more than probable that the Author had in his mind some facts and illustrations, not committed to paper, with which he intended to enrich the work; yet it is believed that the History, now presented to the public, is, in matter and form, what he intended it to be. In its preparation, my father availed himself of every source of information, and made free use of such material as could be found, occasionally adopting the precise words and expressions of others, when they suited his purpose. The Editor would express his obligations to Mr. Daniel MacGregor and James McKeen, Esq., of the city of New York; Hon. Samuel D. Bell, of Manchester, N. H.; George W. Nesmith, Esq., of Franklin, N. H., and Messrs. A. W. and R. C. Mack, of Londonderry, for much valuable assistance. His acknowledgments are also due to Hon. Luther V. Bell, LL. D., of Somerville, Mass., for the portrait of his grandfather, John Bell, Esq., and to Messrs. McKeen, of Brunswick, Me., for the portrait of their father, President McKeen. There are doubtless others, to whom my father would have been pleased to express his obligations. The manuscript, before it went to press, received the careful examination of Mr. Taylor, who also prepared the Memoir of the Author. EDWARD P. PARKER. Merrimack, N. II., |