Mr. Samuel Goddard was born at Sutton, Massachusetts, July 6, 1772. We have no information concerning his early life. His opportunities for education are said to have been scanty. After coming to manhood he was for several years in trade with a brother in Royalston, Mass. Here he married his first wife (Abigail Goddard of Athol, a town adjoining Royalston), and here his older children were born.
Narrative of the captivity of Frances Noble, who was, among others, taken by the Indians from Swan Island, in Maine, about the year 1755; compiled by John Kelly, Esq. of Concord, New Hampshire, from the minutes and memoranda of Phinehas Merrill. Esq. of Stratham, in the same state; and by the Former Gen. Tleman communicated for publication to the editors of the Historical Collections of New Hampshire.
A particular account of the captivity and redemption of Mrs. Jemima Howe, who was taken prisoner by the Indians at Hinsdale, New Hampshire, on the twenty-seventh of July, 1765, as communicated to Dr. Belknap by the Rev. Bunker Gay. As Messrs. Caleb Howe, Hilkiah Grout, and Benjamin Gaffield, who had been hoeing corn in the meadow, west of the river, were returning home, a little before sunset, to a place called Bridgman’s fort, they were fired upon by twelve Indians, who had ambushed their path. Howe was on horseback, with two young lads, his children, behind him. A ball, which
Hon. Ezra Scollay Stearns, Secretary of the State of New Hampshire since 1891, came to that office superabundantly qualified to meet its most exacting requirements. He was born in Rindge, N.H., September 1, 1838, son of Samuel and Mary Fitch (Moore) Stearns, his father being a native of Brattleboro, Vt., and his mother of Sharon, N.H. Through his mother he is connected with the Fitch family, several members of which were men of distinction during the Colonial period. The family was of Scotch-Irish origin; and the city of Fitchburg, Mass., was named in honor of John Fitch, a descendant in
George Wallingford, a prosperous business man of Claremont in the last generation, was born in Dublin, N.H., July 17, 1808, son of Ebenezer and Mary (Hildreth) Wallingford. The first ancestor, Nicholas Wallingford, settled in Bradford, Mass., in 1672. David Wallingford, of the third generation descended from Nicholas, was a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary War. Born September 25, 1744, he went to the war from Hollis, N.H., was a minute-man, served in four companies under Captains Dow, Towns, Emerson, and Goss, and took part in the battles of Bunker Hill and Bennington. His son Ebenezer, who was born October 5, 1780,
John W. Jefts, a machinist by trade, but who for the past nine years has been successfully engaged in farming in the town of Langdon, was born here, December 4, 1859, son of Alphonso M. and Almira (Clough) Jefts. The genealogy of the Jefts family is traced to England, from which country, on some date between 1620 and 1638, the American progenitor emigrated to Massachusetts, and settled in Billerica. His immediate descendants continued to reside in that State for some years. Jonathan, the greatgrandfather of John W. Jefts, was the first of the name to come to New Hampshire. He
C. Reed Lewis, the well-known horse dealer and auctioneer of Unity, was born in Marlow, N.H., July 10, 1837, son of Gilbert and Orrilla H. (Huntley) Lewis. His grandfather, Dudley Lewis, was a prosperous farmer and lifelong resident of Marlow. Gilbert Lewis was born and reared in Marlow. In 1839 he moved to Goshen, where he conducted a store, and remained three years. In 1842 he located in East Unity, and was there engaged in farming for some time. His last days were passed on a farm in Unity Centre, where he died November 16, 1872, aged sixty-two years. His
William Hall, the enterprising proprietor of Langdon Creamery, Langdon, N.H., and dealer in butter, cream, milk, eggs, chickens, pork, and other farm and dairy products, was born in Claremont, this State, March 23, 1850. He is a son of Jonathan and Caroline L. (Leet) Hall and a descendant of one of the oldest families in Sullivan County. Both his grandfather and his great-grandfather Hall bore the Christian name of Jonathan. Grandfather Hall was born August 25, 1776, in Spencer, Mass., whence he came to Langdon when a young man. He afterward removed to Claremont, where he died in 1854. In
Benjamin W. Breed, farmer, of Franklin, Merrimack County, N.H., a veteran of the Civil War, who nearly lost his life by a gunshot wound received in battle, was born in Nelson, Cheshire County, February 12, 1830, son of John and Sarah (Blood) Breed. Many of his ancestors and of their near kin were of Massachusetts birth, and were lifelong residents of that State, the family being one of the earliest that settled in Essex County. Dr. Nathaniel Breed, who was a native of Lynn, Mass., was a surgeon’s mate on the staff of General Washington in the Revolution. Dr. Breed’s
Henri G. Blaisdell, an accomplished musician of Concord, N.H., was born in Dorchester, N.H., October 23, 1850, son of Pettingill and Laurette (Lillis) Blaisdell. He is originally of Scotch descent. His paternal grandfather was Sanborn Blaisdell, who was long a resident, and presumably a native, of Dorchester, in which town he was engaged in farming and where he spent his last years. He married Mehitable Sanborn. Pettingill Blaisdell, father of Henri G., was born in Dorchester in 1824. He received his education in the district schools and subsequently engaged in the business of manufacturing and selling lumber, for many years
Among the ambitious and adventurous spirits that sought homes in the northern part of Vermont were three sons of Cephas Clark, namely Silas, Samuel, and Cephas, all of whom settled in Glover. The design of this work is to treat from now on of the history of the three sons of Cephas Clark who emigrated to and settled in the northern part of Vermont.
The Cheshire County Agricultural Society has grounds here, twenty-six acres in extent, with all the buildings and accessories necessary to a firstclass exhibition, which annually is made. In laying out the grounds the forest trees were permitted to stand along the avenues where the cattle pens are located, so that visitors may view the specimens and be well protected from sun or rain. The grounds are about a mile and a half distant from the cityhall. The Agricultural Society was organized January 16, 1850, when Salma Hale, of Keene, was chosen president; A. B. Hodskins, of Walpole, Edmund Jones, of
Although Keene is divided into eleven school districts, No. i is the metropolitan, called Union district, and includes the schools of the city proper. The suburban districts partake largely of the characteristics of rural schools. The following table gives a fair idea of the citys buildings and school facilities :- School House Pearl street 72 $ 525 00 1,$-3,500 00 $ 4,025 00 116 School street, old building. 41 400 00 2,000 00 2,400 00 112 School St., new building.. 141 125 00 3,111 00 3,236 00 98 Fuller school 5A 300 00 4,155 00 3,455 00 112 Washington street
During the period of the Revolution, Keene performed her part faithfully. In 1773 the foot company of Keene numbered 126, under command of Col.. Josiah Willard. The alarm list, numbering forty-five, seems to have been made up of the older men, including many of the original settlers; the selectmen of Keene, David Nims. Eliphalet Briggs, Jr., and Benjamin Hall, reported the following census for Keene : Unmarried men, from sixteen to sixty 65. Married men, from sixteen to sixty 96 Boys, sixteen years and under : 140• Men, sixty years and upwards : 1, Females, unmarried 217 Females, married 105.
Up to the winter of 1736 no person had remained in the town during that season. Those who came in the summer to clear their lands brought their provisions with them, and erected temporary huts to shelter them from the weather. But during that summer, Nathan Blake and Seth Heaton, from Wrentham, and William Smeed, from Deerfield, made preparation to pass the winter in the wilderness. Their house was at the south end of Main street. Their stock consisted of a yoke of oxen and a pair of horses, one of the latter belonging to Heaton and the others to
In March, 1732, a committee was appointed to lay out house-lots in the townships mentioned, who, in June, made a report of the house-lots in the Upper township. Of these, fifty-four were laid out on what is now the city plain, twenty-seven on each side of the Main street, and the other nine upon the plain on the Swanzey line. They were 160 rods long and eight rods wide, each containing eight acres. This committee, being also authorized to admit settlers, notified all persons who were desirous of taking lots to meet at Concord, Mass., June 26, 1734. A few
GILSUM lies in the northern-central part of the county, in lat. 43° 1′ and long. 4° 50′. In outline it is similar to that of a carpenter’s square, bounded north by Alstead and Marlow, east by Stoddard and Sullivan, south by Sullivan and Keene, and west by Surry. It was originally granted, under the name of Boyle, to Joseph Osgood and his associates, December 30, 1752. No settlements were made under this grant, through fear of the Indians, until so late a date that the charter was forfeited But notwithstanding this, in March, 1761, Benjamin Bellows bought of Rebecca Blanchard,
Young, Everend J. b. in Croyden, 1850; son of Caleb J. and Eliza (Heath) Young; m (1.) Nora A. Butterfield; m. (2), Nov. 4, 1914, in Keene, by Rev. E. F. Miller, to Mrs. Eunice I. (Rumrill) Howard, b. in Weathersfield, Vt., 1868; dau. of Horace and Lucinda (Randall) Rumrill. Ch.: Harold L.2, b. Washington, N. H.; m. Feb. 28, 1903, in Marlow by Rev. F. O. Tyler of Marlow, to Grace A. Knight, b. in Marlow, Mar., 1883; d. there, Sept. 19, 1914; dau. of Milan A. and Vesta E. (Shelley) Knight. Ch.: Emory E.3, b. June 23, 1903.
William Yeardley (I), b. in England in 1752, came to Dublin, N. H., in 1776 and died there, June 23, 1805. He m. Sarah Twitchell, dau. of Gershom, b. 1750; d. in Dublin, Jan. 7, 1831. Of their six children the third was William (II), b. 1784; m. 1804, Rhoda Brooks, dau. of Joseph, b. Mar. 3, 1707; d. Apr. 5, 1837. Horace (III), the fifth of the nine children of William and Rhoda (Brooks) Yeardley, was b. in Dublin, Mar. 11, 1814, and m. Sarah Elizabeth Taylor b. Aug. 30, 1822. Their son, William Wallace, 1, was b. in
Charles Henry4 Wyman, b. in Barnard, Vt., Jan. 30, 1863; son of Elliot and Hester (Woodward) Wyman; m. June 15, 1890, at Barre, Mass., Martha Robinson, b. in Barre, June 5, 1865; dau. of Charles and Mary Stearns (Henry) Robinson. This Charles Henry was son of Elliot Wyman of Barnard, Vt.; who was the son of Ira Wyman of Stockbridge, Vt.; who was the son of Jasher Wyman of Stockbridge, who came there from Athens, Vt. The ch. of Charles H. and Hester were: Carl Robinson5, b. Summit, Wis., July 2, 1891. Herbert Harland5, b. East Jaffrey, Dec. 17, 1898.
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