Richard and Lucinda Suglin in A sketch of Keene, the gem of the Ashuelot Valley
Item
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Title
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Richard and Lucinda Suglin in A sketch of Keene, the gem of the Ashuelot Valley
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Type
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Text
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Date
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1885-02
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Description
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Entry in the Sketch of Keene's Reminices and Sketches of Keene People for the Suglin Family
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Format
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PDF
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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Keene Public Library
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Contributor
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Carroll, J.
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Location
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Few rods north of Old Anna's hut (Old Gilsum Road), Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, US
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Bibliographic Citation
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A sketch of Keene, the gem of the Ashuelot Valley: originally published in the Granite Monthly for February, 1895 by Thomas C. Rand, page 34, https://keenenh.gov/sites/default/files/Sketch%20of%20Keene.pdf
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extracted text
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34
REMINISCENCES AND SKETCHES
in the fireplace, and the boys (and
girls as well) thought it nice fun to
quietly ascend the roof on a dark evening and drop sticks and stones into
the big kettle below. On one occasion
when a party was indulging in this
kind of sport, Old Anna seized a large
dipper and filling it with boiling water
rushed out and liberally besprinkled
two or three of the mischievous party
who were unable to reach the ground
in time to escape her vengeance.
"Old Anna" died some forty years
ago, yet there are many people still
living in Keene who have a vivid and
pleasant recollection of the merry
times they enjoyed in the home of
this eccentric old woman, and who
will never forget the impressive manner in which she was wont to assure
every girl patron that her future husband would be a "dark-complexioned
man with lots of money," and that
she was to have" a ne';v pair of shoes
in a few days."
Richard and Lucinda Sug"n_
A few rods north of Old Anna's hut
lived a negro family named Suglin,
the conspicuous members of which
were the father, Richard, and the oldest daughter, Lucinda. Richard was
an athlete and enjoyed a fight as much
as he did a nice dinner of chicken or
lamb, of which delicaCies he was exceedingly fond. He always attended
the musters and trainings of the mi1itia
of those days and was sure to be in a
fight with some one very soon after
arriving on the field. It was rare indeed that he got the worst of such a
contest, for he was quick and power·
ful and seemed to be totally oblivious
to the dreadful blows which were
sometimes rained upon his woolly
head and ebony face. Ordinarily,
Richard was peaceable and good-na-
tured, fighting being indulged in purely for recreation and generally without provocation.
Lucinda, the daughter, inherited
some of her father's peculiarities,
especially his fighting propensity and
love of frolic. She could sing and
dance quite attractively, and did not
hesitate to spar with any young man
who dared to stand up before her.
The "accomplishments" which characterized Richard and his daughter,
however, were not appreciated by his
neighbors, all of whom seemed to rejoice when the family emigrated to
another state. Since their departure
the raising of lambs and poultry in the
viCinity of their old home has been
attended with less loss than it was in
the days when Richard used to attribute the disappearance of this kind of
property to the depredations of hawks
and foxes.
Justus Tozer.
Another conspicuous figure on our
streets was that of Justus Tozer, a
little old man who was famous for his
ready wit and ability to construct
rhymes on any subject suggested to
him. Although he lived to a good old
age, it is probable that at his decease
he had not drawn a sober breath for
forty years. He was a harmless, goodnatured old man, and a great favorite
with the young people who gathered
about him whenever he appeared on
the street and eagerly listened to his
quaint rhymes and witty remarks.
When importuned for a rhyme, it
came on the instant and without hesitation. Thus on one occasion when
a bright-eyed little girl asMd a favor
of this kind he at once replied,
"MIss Catura,
You look like fury."
Noticing that he had offended tl).e lit-
