Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1884-11-24
A VISIT TO THE HOUSE OF
"PERLEY."

veteran author, reconteur and cores
pondent, at Indian Eill, four miles
from Newburyport, Mass.
1t was in 1850 that the residence
of Mr.. Poore was completed, on In
dian hill, and he took his family
there to dwell, and they have dwelt
there continuously, eight generations
of them, the property being lmprov-
ed by each successive possessor, un-
til it is now great mansion of sixty
rooms. covered with clematis and
honeysuckles which have fed upon
the frost and sunshine of more than
two centuries. =
Beyond the parlors are series of
quaint old chambers, occupied now
as they have been, sewing and sitting
rooms, all filled with historic relics.
all mellow with the ripeness and in
terest of age. AS generations added
to the size of the family circle the
house was enlarged, until it became
a labyrinth of rooms.
In the second story there are other
chambers quite as quaint and odd,
but quite as comfortable and luXuri-
Gus as modern ingenuity and modern
taste has been able to arrange. In
the stone tower, no longer needed to
protect the non-combatants of the
the family against savage assailants,
Maj. Poore has stored quantity of
historic relics and manuscripts, too
valuable to run the risk of fire, and
beyond the power of underwriters to
replace.
The third story is given mp to his
tory and literature; series of low
rooted rooms, whose walls are cover
ed with books and whose cabinets
and chests, desks and closets contain
a store of literary treasures which
first interest and then bewilder one.
Mr.. Poore has the largest and finest
collection OF autographs in the coun-
try, not the mere signatures of men,
but manuscripts of personal value
and enduring interest. He has love
letters written by Napoleon and
Washington, as well as men of lesser
note, and among them the original
letter written by the Father of his
Country to Widow Curtis asking
when the marriage day should be.
He has manuscript addresses or pub
lie papers in the penmanship of near
ly oil the famous men of this nation,
the originals of presidential inaugu-
ration addresses and presidential
messages to congress, which, as clerk
of the senate committee on printing
records he has been able to secure.
He mas political correspondence be-
tween several great leaders, and 9TH
er relics of the sort too valuable to
be left slumbering in the attic of
even so historic house.
No public library in the land has
such a collection, and the archives OF
the government contain nothing like
it and its interest.
In his library Maj. Poore has the
writing desk which was used by John
Quincy Adams while the latter was
in the house of representatives. and
about the house are other desks and
chairs which have been owned and
used by Daniel Webster, Charles
Sumner, Abraham Lincoln, and 9th.
er famous men. Over the mantle in
the library is cabinet containing {
collection of decorated china, includ.
ing one or more pieces from every
set that has been in use in the white
house from the time of Washington
until to-day.
The main hall on the ground floor
leads into what was perhaps origin.
ally intended to be a conservatory
but it is now filled with Indian relics
From this you enter what is known
as "the continental rooms The
first, a sort of hallway, is filled will
military relics of the revolution
Muskets and swords that we're useG
in all the great battles of that strug.
gle, uniforms, flags, and camp equip
age; the drum which led the New.
bury company to the battle of Bun
ker Hill, and other relics of similar
interest and value
The timber of which this portion
of the house was constructed all came
from other historical houses. From
the Province house and the Dearborn
! house of Roxbury, from the Stuy-
vesant house, which was the resi-.
dence of the colonial governor ol
New York, from the houses of Johr
Hancock, Edward Everett, Haw-
thorne and others.
These continental rooms contain g
picture of domestic life as it was tC
be seen in New England 200 years
ago. The furniture is complete, and
the most of it has been in actual use
by the Poore family. From the
knocker on the door to the towe
which hangs on its roller in the sink.
room every article is genuine and his.
torical, and the catalogue alone
would fill column or two. In the
parlor is a harp that was made in
1882, manuscript bible, and paint.
ings that have hung there for 15(
years.
| But the most interesting of all is
the bedroom, with its equipments al
as they were used 200 years ago by