This volume, titled History of Bedford, New Hampshire, from 1737, was compiled by Peter P. Woodbury, Thomas Savage, and William Patten. It was published in Concord, N.H., by The Rumford Printing Co. in 1903. The work was undertaken by the undersigned committee in accordance with a town vote to prepare and publish a history that would supplement the earlier edition published in 1851.
The primary objective of this edition was to incorporate all facts from the predecessor’s work, along with additional details and events that occurred since its publication, documenting the town’s history up to the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of its incorporation on May 15, 1900.
The authors utilized a variety of sources, including town records, graveyard inscriptions, family Bibles, ancient newspapers, and manuscript journals, while also acknowledging the cooperation and assistance of the citizens of Bedford.
A significant portion of the work is dedicated to Genealogies of 157 families, furnished largely by family representatives and compiled by Miss Mary E. Manning. The book also includes Biographies of notable figures associated with Bedford and a chapter on Vital Statistics (births, deaths, and marriages) compiled from town records, with recognized limitations due to the incompleteness of earlier record-keeping. The authors consciously included minute details, particularly in the sections on celebrations and genealogies, anticipating their potential future historical importance.
Table of Contents
- Centennial Celebration, 1
- Address—Isaac O. Barnes, 7
- Festivities of the Occasion, 34
- Letters Read, 59
- Historical Notices, 72
- Topography and Industries, 72
- Brickmaking, 73
- Fish and Wild Game 77
- Streams and Ponds, 79
- Bedford Men of Note, 82
- Indians on the Merrimack, 83
- Early Settlement, 85
- Origin of the Town, 90
- Mason and Gorge’s Claim, 95
- First Proprietors 100
- Incorporation, 105
- The Proprietors’ Records 117
- Roads, Landings, and Bridges, 214
- Manchester & Milford Railroad 220
- Bridges, 221
- Landings, 231
- Piscataquog Village, 232
- Industries:
- Mills, 238
- Tanneries and Cooper Shops, 247
- Blacksmith Shops, 248
- Cider Mills 250
- Shoemaking, 251
- Stores, 252
- Spinning and Weaving, 254
- Pounds, 256
- Taverns, 258
- The Church, 263
- Members1850, 264
- Members1904, 268
- Notes from Records 271
- Universalist Society, 274
- Baptist Society, 275
- Ministry, 277
- Rev. John Houston, 281
- Rev. William Pickles, 294
- Rev. David McGregore, 298
- Rev. Thomas Savage, 311
- Rev. Arthur Little, 320
- Rev. Ira C. Tyson, 321
- Rev. Daniel H. Colcord, 323
- Rev. Albert D. Smith, 323
- Rev. Charles H. Fields, 324
- Rev. William C. Lindsay 324
- Rev. Albert P. Watson, 325
- The Meeting-house, 326
- Dedication of New Town Hall, 337
- Fiftieth Anniversary Church Dedication, 354
- One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration, 355
- AddressRev. Ira C. Tyson • 367
- Graveyards, 382
- Ministerial Land, 389
- Parsonage Association, 400
- Presbyterian Vestry, 402
- Bedford Messenger, 404
- Music in Bedford, 405
- Ladies’ Social Circle, 412
- Schools, 417
- List of Teachers, 433
- College Graduates, 446
- Physicians of Bedford, 448
- Lawyers of Bedford 462
- The French War, 466
- The Revolutionary War, 480
- Bedford Men in the Revolutionary War, 498
- War of 1812, 502
- Militia, 502
- The Civil War, 511
- Bedford Men in the Civil War, 515
- Spanish-American War, 524
- Extracts from Records, 525
- Societies of Bedford:
- Agricultural Society, 550
- Lyceum Association, 552
- The Grange, 553
- Lafayette Lodge of Masons, 567
- Golden Cross Commandery Library, 568
- Slavery in Bedford, 573
- Changes in Manners and Customs, 578
- Early Settlement in Ohio, 588
- Changes in Occupancy of Farms, 592
- Fatal Casualties, etc., 634
- Longevity, 645
- Statistics of Taxation, 648
- Invoice of 1750, 656
- Invoice of 1801, 658
- Invoice of 1850, 662
- Invoice of 1901, 677
- Population, 691
- Vital Statistics:
- Births, 694
- Marriages, 738
- Deaths, 759
- Town-meeting, 783
- Boards of Selectmen, 784
- Town Treasurers,788
- Constables, 789
- Justices of the Peace, 790
- Moderators, 792
- Representatives, 793
- Town Clerks, 794
- Tax Collectors, 794
- School Boards, 795
- Library Trustees, 796
- Delegates to Constitutional Convention, 796
- Supervisors of Check-lists, 797
- Vote for Governor, 797
- One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration, 801
- Genealogies, 821
- Addenda, 819, 1129
- The History of 1908, 1130
Biographies
- General David Atwood
- Thomas Savage Burns
- Zachariah Chandler
- Hon. George Foster
- Horace French
- Alfred J. French, M. D.
- Sam and Alice Gardner
- Adam Gilmore
- Adam Gilmore, Jr.
- Col. John Goffe
- Major John Goffe
- Rev. Joseph Goffe
- Deacon Daniel Mack
- Deacon Samuel McQuesten
- Lieut. John Moor
- Dea. James Moor
- Albert F. Newton
- Hon. John Orr
- Hon. Benjamin Orr
- Rev. Isaac Orr
- Ann Orr
- William Parker, Esq.
- Francis Wayland Parker
- Charles Irving Parker
- David Patten, Esq.
- John Rand, Esq.
- John Rand
- Thomas Rundlett
- James Woodruff Savage
- Lieut. Thomas Savage
- Rev. Lemuel Chandler Spofford
- Mrs. Hannah (Barnes) Sprague
- Rev. Moody A. Stevens
- Hon. John Vose
- John Wallace, Esq.
- Rev. Cyrus Washington Wallace
- Peter Perkins Woodbury, M.D.
- Eliza B. (Gordon) Woodbury
- Josiah Gordon Woodbury
- Charles Howe Woodbury
Vital Statistics
This chapter on Vital Statistics compiles all available town records of births, marriages, and deaths in chronological order.
Completeness: The record is acknowledged to be incomplete for the entire period, as thorough record-keeping was not consistently maintained. However, the accuracy is noted to be high for certain earlier years and with few omissions since 1888. The authors state that a complete record is ultimately impossible.
Genealogies
The genealogies presented in this volume were primarily supplied by representatives of the families themselves, with compilation efforts, unless otherwise specified, handled by Miss Mary E. Manning. The goal was to secure the record of every family in town, and records for 157 families were ultimately obtained. While an effort was made, not all families responded.
Arrangement and Conventions
To organize the information, several abbreviations were used: $b.$ for born, $m.$ for married, $d.$ for died, $res.$ for resides or resided, $rem.$ for removed, and $ch.$ for children. Members belonging to the same generation are assigned the same Arabic numeral, and names appearing again, preceded by the same Roman numeral, are set in italics to indicate their reappearance in the sequence. New Hampshire is the assumed location unless another town or state is explicitly mentioned. Since all families are arranged alphabetically, an index was deemed unnecessary.
The genealogies of people born in Bedford but residing elsewhere have their descendants traced up to the second generation, when that information was available. Some branches of older families remain incomplete because the authors were unable to trace all descendants. The committee utilized information from the histories of Amherst, Francestown, and Willey’s Book of Nutfield, and received valuable personal assistance. Notably, William Wilson Moor of Concord provided the genealogies for the six distinct Moor families in town, in addition to contributing information on several other families. The authors acknowledged that information was at times conflicting, requiring significant personal investigation to ensure accuracy, and they have presented the material to the best of their ability.
Families
Abbott, Adams, Aiken, Atwood, Barnard, Barnes, Barr, Barron, Bartlett, Beal, Bell, Bixby, Blood, Boies, Boynton, Brickett, Brown, Burns, Bursiel, Buswell, Campbell, Chandler, Conner, Currie, Cutler, Damon, Darrah, Dole, Dunckler, Dunton, Emery, English, Esterbrook, Farleigh, Farley, Ferguson, Fletcher, Flint, Fosher, Foster, French, Fullerton, Fulton, Gage, Gamache, Gardner, Gault, George, Gilmore, Goffe, Gordon, Granz, Hadley, Hall, Hardy, Heselton, Hodgman, Hogg, Holbrook, Hull, Jenkins, Jenness, Jones, Kendall, Kilton, King, Linson, Lord, Mack, Manning, Martin, McAfee, McAllister, McClary, McDole, McDowell, McDuffee, McFerson, McKinney, McLaughlin, McPherson, McQuesten, Minot, Mitchell, Moor, Moore, Morrison, Nevens, Nevins, Newton, Nichols, Nordstrom, Orr, Parker, Parkhurst, Patten, Peabody, Peaslee, Plummer, Prichard, Quaid, Rand, Riddle, Roby, Rogers, Rollins, Rundlett, sargent, Savage, Schneider, Seavy, Shepard, Shirley, Signor, Smith, Spencer, Spofford, Sprague, Sprake, Stevens, Stowell, Sweat, Swett, Taffe, Talford, Tarr, Tinker, Tolford, Townsend, Vose, Walch, Walker, Wallace, Warren, Watson, Webber, Welch, Whitford, Wiggin, Witherspoon, Woodbury, Worcester, Worthley, and Young.
List of Illustrations
- Bedford Center from Bell Hill, Frontispiece
- The Grain Rock, Opposite page 44
- The Pulpit, 80
- Indian Rock, 82
- The Walker Monument,86
- The Old Meeting-house, 328
- The New Town House, 338
- The New Meeting-house, 352
- The Old Graveyard, 382
- Center Graveyard and Vestry, 384
- Center Graveyard — west view, 384
- Joppa Graveyard, 386
- South Graveyard, 388
- Schoolhouses:
- Districts 1 and 2, 416
- Districts 3 and 4, 422
- Districts 5 and 6, 428
- Districts 7 and 8, 434
- Districts 9 and 10, 440
- Old Houses:
- Col. Daniel Moore House and Moore’s Tavern, 480
- Houston House and Riddle House, 596
- Walker House and Chandler House, 608
- Holbrook House (Gilchrist Tavern) and Joppa Store, 626
Illustrations
Source
Woodbury, Peter P.; Savage, Thomas; Patten, William; History of Bedford, New Hampshire, from 1737, being statistics compiled on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, May 15, 1900, Concord, N.H. : The Rumford Printing Co., 1903.