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As William and Hannah stood up to greet their friends and relatives at the wedding, her brother Jeddie stood beside her, turning his toes in, knocking his knees together, twiddling his thumbs, and crossing his eyes, causing the guests to laugh. With a frown Hannah turned to see what prank he was playing. Drawling his words, he remarked that William wasn’t the kind of a life partner he would choose, but since that was her choice he guessed he’d have to go along with it. At least she couldn’t go without him or she’d only be half there, ‘cause he was the other half, her twin brother. This remark brought forth hearty laughter from everyone.
This was August, and the air in the shop where some of the quests were dancing soon reeked with the odor of human bodies and liquor. As the fiddler fiddled and the caller monotoned his “sashay all” and “alleman left” the young newlywed couple stepped outside, where some of the guests, whose religion kept them from participating in the dancing, were playing games, wrestling on the short grass around the premises, and playing mumblety-peg. The festivities lasted all through the night and it was morning before Hannah and William arrived at their small new home in Holderness.
William was still employed at the sawmills and wharfs and he assisted his parents as he could. Lydia Ann, their first child, arrived March 28, 1811.
War with England was declared June 18, 1812. The first battles of this war were fought by the Navy. Portsmouth Bay was one of the targets. Several ships were sunk; the wharves, piers, and docks were burned as well as many homes and historical places in the town. Restoration called for many workmen and William pondered the advantages of joining them.
Hannah’s second baby, Benjamin, was born January 20, 1813, and by the time he was old enough to travel they had definitely decided to move to Portsmouth, visiting relatives and places of interest along the way.
As they approached the road leading to the wharf at Wolfborough, they saw some geese waddling single-file down for their daily swim in the lake. William was reminded of the story about the geese which his father Ben told him many years before. It seems the housewives decided that Wolfborough was an excellent place to raise geese and they might be able to sell some of the feathers for ticks and pillows. Depriving themselves of geese for the table, they nurtured and tended their flocks with great case. Everyday the geese were herded into the road, where they hissed their way to the wharves. Each year the flocks increased and were soon destroying crops. One day they were caught in a grain field and driven into a velar by the owner of the grain. Word was sent out that the geese would be restored to the owners on payment of a fine. The housewives assembled, but could not determine which geese belonged to which wife. There was much clicking of tongues and angry words to think one of the townsmen would do such a thing. Eventually the husbands paid the fine and the geese waddled up the road, each goose knowing its home path.
Hannah laughed merrily at this story, and soon they found their way to the Benjamin and Betsy Folsom homestead. They remained but a short time, then went on around the end of the lake to Gilmanton.