Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 5.djvu/101

 STARK PLACE, DUNBARTON. 8i

ally acquired wealth and substance. He was one of the early proprietors of Dunbarton, and owned many hundred acres in that town. By his wife Eleanor Nichols, whom he married prior to his departure for America, he was the father of four sons. He died at Derryfield, now Manchester, June, 1758, at the age of sixty-one years.

His second son, John, was pioneer, hunter, ranger, general, and stamped his name indelibly in the annals of American patriotism. Few heroes of any age have performed braver deeds than John .Stark performed for his country's weal. His name blazes across half a century of heroism, in letters of fire. Among our Revolutionary worthies, he stands forth like some grim, rugged, iron- handed paladin. Even his faults were heroic. In his character he combined the qualides of a Regulus, a Quincteus Fabius, a Godfrey, and a Bayard. Like Homer's men, he seemed to dwarf his predecessors in his grandeur, his hero- ism, and his hardihood. He was brave as Coeiir de Lion ; he was frank even to bluntness ; he was eccentric, but only to differ from those less able than he was ; he was stern, but the kindest of friends ; he was cautious, but when he acted it was with the whirlwind's rush ; above all, he was an incorruptible patriot and an honest man. There is not a single spot on his name. As a hero, the early annals of our country are full of his exploits. As a general, the glorious victory at Bennington attests his genius and emblazons his name. Brave, grand old soul, he rests now in the beautiful valley of the Merrimack, and few there be who deserve a nobler grave.

In 1758, in August of that year, while at home on furlough, John Stark married Elizabeth Page, daughter of his father's old friend. Captain Caleb Page, one of the principal proprietors of Dunbarton, whose name still clings to a rural neighborhood in that township, viz. : Page's Corner. After Quebec had surrendered and the war was concluded, Stark directed much of his attention to the settlement of the new township. He and his brother William, and Capt. Page, owned two thirds of the borough, and though Stark retained his residence at Derryfield, he built a mill on his lands, and from his military services and respectable standing, was a person of influence and consideration among the population. In subsequent years the larger part of his property in this town fell into the hands of his eldest son, Major Caleb Stark.

Caleb Stark was born at Dunbarton, December 3, 1759, while his father was still absent with the army. His mother at the time made her home under the roof of her father, the wealthy magnate of the region. To this grandson, who had been born under his roof and who bore his christian name, Capt. Page ever bore the strongest affection. He adopted him, and under his indulgent care the youth remained until the harrassing and exciting days of the Revolution. In the division of his large estate, Capt. Page, at the close of his Hfe, did not for- get the child of his adoption ; he was assigned an equal portion with his own children.

Though under sixteen years of age, Caleb Stark was present at the battle of Bunker's Hill, standing side by side with some of the veteran rangers of the old French war, near the rail fence that extended from the redoubt to the beach of Mystic river. In order to be at the scene of conflict, he had left home secretly, mounted on his own horse, and armed only with a musket. He reach Medford the very night before the battle, and at once proceeded to his father's head- quarters. When the veteran saw the youthful warrior, his first greeting was : "Well, son, what are you here for? You should have remained at home." Answered young Stark : " I can handle a musket, and have come to try my fortune as a volunteer." "Very well," replied the Colonel, and then turning to Capt. George Reade, he continued : "Take him to your quarters ; to-morrow may be a busy day. After that we will see what can be done with him."

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