Closely linked with romance and history is the Ladd-Gilman house, one of the notable colonial houses at Exeter, New Hampshire. This mansion was not always of its present dimensions. When built by Nathaniel Ladd in 1721 it was of brick and about half the size of the present structure. It is situated on a large area of land, with a frontage on Water Street, on a part of the original lot that was purchased of Oliphalet Coffin in the year above mentioned. For many years this estate was held in the possession of the Ladd family, descending from father to son until 1747, when it was purchased by Colonel Nathaniel Gilman, a leading citizen of the place and a man of influence. Gilman came from a family which had been prominent in the town for many years.

Here in 1752 his son, Colonel Nicholas Gilman, then only twenty-one years of age, brought his bride, Anne Taylor, a very beautiful young woman who had descended from Puritan ancestors and who was very popular with the patriots of that day. During their residency the house, considered at that period one of the best in Exeter, was enlarged to its present size, and the exterior was entirely covered with wood to correspond with the additions.

Colonel Gilman was distinguished as one of a quartet who furnished brains for the Old Granite State, being known as the Robert Morris of the province and possessing not only influence but wealth and ability. He was a close friend of Governor Wentworth who, with his son, was a frequent visitor at the house; so sincere was their intimacy that when Colonel Gilman sided with the colonists Governor Wentworth declared that instead of making a rupture in their friendship, if the Rebellion were crushed, he should save his friend. This great intimacy was also shared with Count Rumford.

It was in 1775, several years after the house was enlarged, that Gilman was made Treasurer and Receiver-general of the State, in which office he stayed until his death in 1783. The treasury building was a room in his own house. This may in a way account for there being two entrance doors, one for family guests and the other for business purposes. The house has never been altered, with the exception of the introduction of modern improvements, since the day that it was enlarged. It is a fine, substantial building, two and a half stories in height, showing dormer windows and a six-foot chimney. The huge fireplaces are still kept intact, few if any showing hand-carving. The porches are dignified but ample in their lines of architecture, and the entire exterior shows an unusual type.

The room nearest the entrance door at the extreme left was used as a treasury, for in addition to the office of State Treasurer, Colonel Gilman held the position of Continental Loan Officer of the State, all the money being received here. In this same room the Committee of Safety used to meet, and it was here that the Battle of Bennington was discussed and planned.

Gilman was a great friend of Daniel Webster, who never came to Exeter without passing the principal part of his time in this house, the bed in which he slept being still shown in one of the large continental chambers.

The house was noted for its hospitality, a home where many gatherings, both for charity and pleasure, were held. The mistress of the household was a famous New England housekeeper, who possessed the whole art of housekeeping at her fingers' end. Beautiful as a young bride, she was even more so in after years. Her trim figure became rounded out, while her dark eyes and fresh, rich color preserved their brightness. Colonel Gilman was a striking figure, six feet tall, with an erect carriage. He wore until the day of his death a ruffled shirt-front and a cue.

It was during his occupancy that the Declaration of Independence was passed. The Legislature had not adjourned when the message came, and the President, who was in waiting, decided the documents must be publicly read. The news spread like lightning; the farmer eager to hear all dropped his scythe in the swath, the mechanic rushed from his shop, while the housewife forsook her spinning-wheel, all meeting in a general enthusiasm to hear the words that gave them freedom and a country. The document was brought into Exeter by a courier, who dashed suddenly into the village, bearing in his hand a letter addressed to the Convention of New Hampshire and signed by no less a personage than John Hancock. On, on, he rode, until he reached the Gilman house and delivered it into the hands of the host. It was read in the village square amid intense enthusiasm by his son, John Taylor Gilman, who was also destined to play an important part in our country's history.

John Taylor Gilman was then just out of his teens. He was a handsome man with magnetic power and an idol of the people. No one in the whole audience was more thrilled than was the father of the reader, who, filled with ardor, paused often to crush down the rush of sentiment that overmastered speech. Colonel Gilman was distinguished as one of those who financed the Revolution, and his son succeeded him in this service.

After Colonel Gilman's death, in 1783, the house was left to John Taylor Gilman, who inherited his father's love for political power. He, like his sire, was a most comely man, just entering into manhood when he married Dorothea Folsom, a great-granddaughter of the noted Revolutionary hero. She was only twenty-one years old when she married, being one of the belles of the village and a most estimable young lady. For sixty years she directed the affairs of her household in a most exemplary manner and was the personification of hospitality.

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 Hampshire 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 Hampshire, 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 Washington, 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 God, 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 Massachusetts 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 principal events of history.

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 assemblages 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 furnishing 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.

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 Washington 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 Washington and participated in all the important battles and campaigns in which, under Washington, the army engaged. In 1787 Captain Nicholas Gilman and John Langdon were chosen delegates to the Federal Convention of States, which assembled at Philadelphia and framed and adopted the Constitution, the delegates signing in the order of States. The signatures of Langdon and Gilman followed immediately after that of General Washington, 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.