History of Pembroke New Hampshire

Nathan Carter assisted by Trueworthy Ladd presents in the History of Pembroke, N. H. 1730-1895 a poignant account of the town of Pembroke New Hampshire from its beginnings as the Plantation of Suncook in the early eighteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century. It opens with the 1728 grant by the Massachusetts Bay Colony to the survivors and heirs of Captain John Lovewell’s company and follows the establishment of the township in the years that followed, placing its early history within the conditions of frontier settlement in central New Hampshire.

The narrative is arranged largely as a chronological record. Events are set down year by year, with little attempt at interpretation, in keeping with the authors’ aim to record facts clearly and fully. This approach is especially evident in the treatment of proprietary affairs, land divisions, roads, bridges, and mills, as well as in the extended accounts of the Bow Controversy and the Masonian Claim. Early proprietary records are printed exactly as they appear in the originals, preserving their spelling, punctuation, and form.

The loss of the town’s earliest records makes some portions of the account incomplete, but the history draws widely from surviving materials, including town documents, state papers, military rolls, deeds, and maps. Pembroke’s role in the Revolutionary War and the Civil War is carefully documented, with service records checked against official sources. Later chapters broaden the record to include churches, schools and higher education, local industries and commerce, newspapers, and biographical sketches of men and women connected with the town.

Taken as a whole, the volume brings together a large body of information on Pembroke’s public life and development. By assembling records, maps, and firsthand research in a single work, it preserves details that might otherwise have disappeared and provides a reference for the town’s history from 1730 to 189See Vol. II: Genealogies of Pembroke New Hampshire

History of Pembroke, N. H. 1730-1895, Vol. I

Pembroke: Situation — Physical Features — Soil — Productions, 1-3
Perils of the Early Settlers from the Indians — Causes — Lovewell’s Expedition — Fight at Pigwacket, 3-15
Petition of Pigwacket Survivors — Suncook Granted — Laid Out — Petition for Authority to Organize — Conditions of Settlement, 15-20
Settlement Begun — Drawing Lots — Proprietors’ Meetings, 1729-39, 20-38
The Bow Controversy, 39-50
Proprietary Annals, 1710-49, 50-65
Proprietary Annals, 1750-59, 65-71
The Masonian Claim, 71-90
Roads, Bridges, and Ferries in Suncook Prior to 1759, 90-100
Annals, 1760-69, 100-106
Annals, 1770-79, 106-115
Pembroke in the Revolution, 115-137
Annals, 1780-89, 137-149
Annals, 1790-99, 149-159
Annals, 1800-09, 159-165
Annals, 1810-19, 165-174
Annals, 1820-29, 174-181
Annals, 1830-49, 181-188
Annals, 1850-69, 188-200
Pembroke and Suncook in the Rebellion, 200-223
Annals, 1870-94, 223-243
Ecclesiastical: Congregational — Presbyterian — Methodist — Baptist — Independent, 244-267
Biographical — Clergymen: Congregational — Presbyterian — Methodist — Native, 267-278
Biographical — Physicians, 278-283
Biographical — Authors, Lawyers, and Others, 283-296
The North or Ambrose Meeting-House, 296-300
Schools in Pembroke — Higher Education, 301-311
Roads in Pembroke after its Incorporation, 312-329
Bridges in Pembroke after its Incorporation, 329-341
Merchants in Pembroke, 341-349
Mills, Mill Privileges, and Manufactories, 349-365
Secret Organizations — Newspapers, 365-372
Officers of Ancient Suncook and Pembroke, 372-390
Map of Suncook Showing Buildings and Sites of Buildings with Explanations, 390-396
Map of Pembroke Showing Buildings and Sites of Buildings with Explanations, 396-416
Important Events in Pembroke and Elsewhere, 417-425
Addenda, 426-428

Illustrations

Half-tone—N. F. Carter, Frontispiece
Pembroke Town History Company, facing vii
Map of Penacook Suncook and Bow, 19
Map of First and Second Division of Lots, 27
First Church built in Ancient Suncook, 1733, 32
Fac-simile of Petition of Inhabitants of Suncook, facing 80 (missing in book, but included in gallery of illustrations below)
Map of Buckstreet Lots, 83
Map of Western Part of Allenstown Adjacent to the Gore, 88
House of George P. Little, facing 121
Old Town House, built 1811, 167
House of Eleazer Frank Baker, facing 210
Congregational Church, Pembroke Street, facing 253
Methodist Church, Suncook, facing 263
Baptist Church, Suncook, facing 266
Steel Plate — Dr. George H. Larabee, facing 281
Steel Plate— David L. Jewell, facing 288
Steel Plate— Col. Thomas W. Knox, facing 290
Steel Plate— Edmund E. Truesdell, facing 294
Wood Engraving — Hon. Aaron Whittemore, facing 295
Pembroke Academy, facing, 307
House of Richard Morse, 318
Map of Suncook, facing 391
Map of Pembroke, facing 397