History of Lebanon, N.H., 1761-1887, Part 1

Author: Downs, Charles Algernon, 1823-1906
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Concord, Rumford printing co.
Number of Pages: 638


USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Lebanon > History of Lebanon, N.H., 1761-1887 > Part 1


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40



Gc 974.202 I49d 11369~


M. L.


GENEALOGY COLLECTION


ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01096 3988


Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015


https://archive.org/details/historyoflebanon 1761down


REV. CHARLES A. DOWNS.


HISTORY


OF


LEBANON, N. H.


New Hampsh


1761-1887


BY


REV. CHARLES A. DOWNS


ILLUSTRATED


CONCORD, N. H. RUMFORD PRINTING CO. 1908


REV. CHARLES ALGERNON DOWNS,


Historian.


BORN IN SOUTH NORWALK, CONN., MAY 21, 1823.


DIED IN LEBANON, N. H., SEPTEMBER 20, 1906.


1136989


Rev. Charles A. Downs prepared for college at Concord, N. H., under the tutelage of his maternal uncle, Rev. Nathaniel Bouton, D. D., the eminent historian, and entered the Concord Literary Institute in 1839, from whence he proceeded to Dartmouth College, where he remained something over one year, when he transferred himself to the University of the City of New York, where he graduated in 1845.


Mr. Downs came to Lebanon July 5, 1848, as a candidate for the pas- torate of the Congregational Church, to succeed Rev. Phineas Cook, who had served the church for nineteen years; he was installed as pastor November 22, 1845, and continued in that office for twenty-five years, when, at his own request, the connection was dissolved. He continued to reside in Lebanon, but for a few years was the acting pastor of the church at Hanover Centre.


He served the state as superintendent of public instruction, and the town as selectman, representative, police judge, superintendent of schools, precinct clerk and treasurer, and town clerk, and spent much time and labor in the preparation of this volume. For fifty-eight years Mr. Downs was known to every citizen of Lebanon, and he left this earth without an enemy. He once said to the writer of these lines, " I have tried to live so my obituarist would have nothing to say."


F. C. C.


PREFATORY NOTE.


The warrant for the annual meeting of the town of Lebanon held March 9, 1880, contained the following :


"Article 12. To see what action the town will take in relation to a preparation of a history of the town and raise money there- for or act thereon." Whereupon the following resolution was adopted :


"Resolved, That the selectmen be authorized to secure a proper person or persons to prepare a history of the town and to use such sums of money as may be necessary therefor out of any monies not otherwise appropriated."


At the annual meeting March 11, 1884, the following resolution was adopted :


"Resolved, That the selectmen be authorized to take such ac- tion as they deem expedient in regard to the printing of the town history and that the expense of the same be paid from any monies in the treasury not otherwise appropriated."


Under the resolution passed March 9, 1880, Rev. Charles A. Downs was engaged to write a history of the town, but no defi- nite action was taken regarding its publication until the annual town meeting, March 12, 1895, when the following resolutions were adopted :


"Resolved, That the selectmen be authorized to appoint three suitable persons whose duty it shall be to supervise the publica- tion of the history of the town, as prepared by the historian, Rev. Charles A. Downs; that such sums of money as may be necessary for the completion, publication and illustration of said work be and is hereby appropriated therefor.


"Resolved, That said committee when appointed shall have authority and they are thereby empowered to make a contract


vi


PREFATORY NOTE.


for the publication of said history and to fix the number of copies to be published."


Under the resolutions the selectmen appointed Alpheus W. Baker, William H. Cotton and Frank C. Churchill said com- mittee. This committee met on March 12, 1895, and organized by choosing Alpheus W. Baker, chairman; William H. Cotton, treasurer; and Frank C. Churchill, secretary; at which time it was voted to ask the historian to meet the committee for confer- ence on March 16, 1895. The conference brought out the fact that the manuscript was not yet complete and the further fact that it was Mr. Downs' intention to finish his work at an early day. Mr. William H. Cotton died August 25, 1904, and Mr. Alpheus W. Baker died April 11, 1905, the manuscript not being in the hands of the committee at the time of the decease of my associates.


On January 4, 1906, I turned over to the selectmen the record book of the committee and all papers and pictures that had come into its hands.


At the annual town meeting held March, 1906, the following resolution, offered by Mr. Solon A. Peck, was passed :


"Resolved, That the selectmen be a committee to act with Frank C. Churchill, whose duty it shall be to supervise the pub- lication of the history of the town, as prepared by Rev. C. A. Downs."


The manuscript was placed in the hands of the commit- tee in August, 1906, and on September 20, 1906, Rev. Charles A. Downs died. September 3, 1906, the committee entered into an agreement with the Rumford Printing Co. of Concord, N. H., to print 1,500 copies.


FRANK C. CHURCHILL.


LEBANON, N. H., 1908.


TABLE OF CONTENTS.


PAGE.


Introduction


1


Charter


2


Names of Grantees


4


Provisions of Charter


5


Persons


7


Records


8


Town 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31, 33, 39, 43


Proprietors' 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30, 37, 41


Territory of Lebanon


45


Survey of the Town


47


Settling


51


First Meeting House


59


Boundaries


64


Controversy with Enfield


66


Condition of the Town, 1775


67 71


Provision Bill


84


Revolutionary Papers


86


Soldiers in the Revolution


95 97


Committee of Safety


100


Vermont Controversy .


108


Settlement of the Controversy


140


Development of the Town


144


Eight School Districts


153


New Meeting House


165


Town in 1900


190


Property in Town


190


Roads and Bridges


198


Lyman's Bridge


.202, 203, 305


Fourth New Hampshire Turnpike .202, 204, 262


War of 1812


222


State and Town Officers


229


Revolution


Major Whitcomb's Battalion


viii


TABLE OF CONTENTS.


The Toleration Act


PAGE. 243


Political Affairs


248, 256, 279, 289, 300


Meeting House


.249, 265


Poor Farm


250


New Roads


251


Support of Primary Schools


253


Railings on Bridges


253


Railroad in Prospect


254


Public Money from United States Surplus Revenue


254


Town Clerk's Recording Deeds 255


Meeting House Uneasy


255


Dividing Grafton County


262


Surplus Revenue


262


Sale of Spirituous Liquors


266


Railroads


268


Opening of Northern Railroad to Lebanon


269


Capital Punishment


276


Extinguishment of Fires


276


Vote of Thanks to George H. Lathrop


277


Teachers' Institutes


277, 281


New Burying Ground


278


Tomb


279


Town House


281, 296


Horse Sheds


283


Common


284


Humphrey Wood Bridge


285


Firemen's pay


285


Railroad Tax


286


Cemetery at West Lebanon


286


School Districts


286


Fence Around Village Burying Ground. 287


287


Groceries


288


Railroad Bridges and Crossing


288


289, 304


Hearse for West Lebanon


Police Officers 289


County Farm 291


Burying Grounds 292


Shade Trees 293


Instruction to Collector of Taxes


TABLE OF CONTENTS.


ix PAGE. 294


Engine Company, No. 2.


Hearse


294


To Provide Place for the Poor


294


Sextons for Cemeteries


295


Encouragement of Manufactures


. 293, 303


Park on Hanover Street


295


Roads Discontinued Across the Common


296 299


Purchase of Hose


Common-Regulations


299


Town Pound


300


Town Bonds


302


Hay Scales


302


Hanover Street Bridge


302


Survey of Streets


304


First Board of Health


Fire Precinct Extended


Bequests to the Town


Centennial Fourth of July


Town Pump


Sale of Cider and Sewage


Hog Reeves


313 317


Coasting


Soldiers' Monument


318


C. C. Benton's Bequest 318


319


Heating and Lighting Town Hall


319


Street Lights


320


Manufacturers' Exemption from Taxation


321


Spring at West Lebanon


321


Town Clocks


322


Balance of the Dog Tax


322


Colburn Park


Postmasters of Lebanon


Town in the Rebellion


Town Meetings


324 324 325 325 329


Selectmen During the War


Soldiers in the War 329


State Aid, Etc. 351


Reimbursement 351


304 305 311 312 312 313


Stocking Streams with Trout


X


TABLE OF CONTENTS.


PAGE.


Centennial and Patriotic Celebration


352


Exercises on the Stand


353


Toasts and Speeches


353


Volunteer Toasts


363


Memorial Building


364


Village Fire Precinct and Great Fire of 1887


370


At Last


384


List of Losses


393


Insurance


395 399


Resurgam


Notes About the Fire


399


Relief Work


402


Who Will Rebuild


402 405 405


Decade 1817 to 1827


410


West Congregational Church.


417


Baptist Church


418


Methodist Episcopal Church


429 432


Sacred Heart Church


436


Index


437


General Index


437


Churches of the Town


Congregational Church


Universalist Society


Index of Names 446


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.


Rev. Charles A. Downes Frontispiece


Old Lafayette Hotel. facing page 24


Old Lebanon Bank Building 40


Maj. Wm. Willis Bliss 52


Hon. Experience Estabrook 58


Prof. Ira Young 64


Capt. John Bliss 72


Maj. John Griswold. 76


80


Prof. Charles A. Young


88


Dr. Cyrus H. Fay.


104


William P. Gallup


120


Hon. George S. Towle


128


Sally Truman


136


Diarca Allen


144


Lucinda Howe Storrs


148


Hiram A. Simonds


152


Orren Hubbard


156


James Hubbard


160


Abel Storrs


164


Col. Constant Storrs


168


Seth Blodgett


170


George Blodgett


172


The Old Meeting House on the Common-Present Town


House 174


Old View of the Common


176


Clement Hough 180


Clark Hough 184


Rev. Story Hebard 188


Abram Pushee 192


Simeon S. Post 196


Richard Burleigh Kimball


xii


ILLUSTRATIONS.


PAGE.


· Halsey R. Stevens 204


Oliver Lathrop Stearns


204


Dr. Phineas Parkhurst 208 238


Timothy Kenrick


Ami B. Young


240


Dr. Benjamin Gallup


240


Dr. Caleb Plastridge.


240


Robert Byron Kimball


254


Robert Kimball


254


J. W. Peck Homestead 264


John W. Peck


265 266


Elisha P. Liscomb


266


Hon. A. H. Cragin


278


William G. Perley 286


Daniel Richardson 286


Jesse C. Sturtevant. 292


Col. Frank C. Churchill.


296


William H. Cotton.


296 296 296


Alpheus W. Baker


298


Albert M. Shaw 298 Solon A. Peck. 304 Postmasters of Lebanon 324 328


Col. James G. Benton.


Harry H. Hosley, U. S. N.


332 346 350


Call for Troops, Spanish War


Col. Henry L. Kendrick. 362


Laying Corner Stone Memorial Building


364


Sergt. Jesse E. Dewey 364


After the Fire, 1887 384


After the Fire, 1887 392


Charles H. Dana. 406


Rev. Phinehas Cooke 412


Baptist Church 418


Elias H. Cheney


420


Gilman C. Whipple 420


Harvey Murch


Joseph W. Gerrish


Edward J. Durant


Maj. N. H. Randlett


ILLUSTRATIONS.


xiii PAGE. 422


First Baptist Church and Parsonage


Rev. John Moore


432


Colbee C. Benton


432


Rev. G. W. Bailey


434


Map of Proprietors' Lots, 1761-1803


436


HISTORY OF LEBANON.


INTRODUCTION.


The final conquest of Canada in 1760 gave peace to the fron- tiers of New Hampshire. The Indians, who had for so many years been a source of terror and distress, were no longer feared.


The various Indian and French wars, by the continual passage of soldiers, had made the lands in the valley of the Connecticut well known. They were eagerly sought by both adventurers and speculators. Benning Wentworth, the royal governor of New Hampshire, always alive to his own interest, "availed himself of this golden opportunity, and by advice of his council ordered a survey to be made of the Connecticut river for sixty miles, and three lines of townships on each side to be laid out." This sur- vey was made by Joseph Blanchard. Townships of six miles square were laid out on both sides of the river and granted to various petitioners, and so numerous were the applicants that in the year 1761 not less than sixty townships were granted on the west side of the river and eighteen on the east side.


Nor was this movement wholly speculative. In the older set- tlements of Massachusetts and Connecticut there came upon the people one of those mysterious impulses which prompt men to leave their homes and seek new abodes in unoccupied territory. "There was a passion for occupying new lands." In the various expeditions to repel French and Indian aggressions, soldiers had passed through the Connecticut valley in going to and returning from Canada. They had noticed the fertile intervales and well timbered hills of the Cohos country. They pictured to them- selves the farms and homes with which the hills and valleys might be beautified. Among those who had noted these lands were certain soldiers from the southeastern towns of Connecticut. They reported what they had seen to their neighbors, and as soon as peace was secured by the conquest of Canada, they took meas- ures to give reality to the pictures which had so often filled their fancies upon the scout and march.


2


2


HISTORY OF LEBANON.


A number of persons in the towns of Norwich, Lebanon and Mansfield, Conn., associated themselves together to procure char- ters of townships in the new territory of the Connecticut valley. They formed two companies, though each was composed mainly of the same persons. One company sought a charter of a town to be called Lebanon, the other company proposed to call their town Enfield; both names of Connecticut towns. They ap- pointed Jedediah Dana their agent to go to Portsmouth and obtain from Governor Wentworth charters for the towns. He was successful in his mission and on the same day, July 4, 1761, charters were issued for Lebanon and Enfield. The following is the charter of Lebanon :


CHARTER. 4 PROVINCE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE-


George the Third By the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith &c-To all Persons To whom these presents shall come


GREETING


KNOW Ye that we of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, for The due encouragement of settling a new Plantation within our said Province, by and with the advice of our Trusty and well be- loved BENNING WENTWORTH, Es q., our governor and commander in chief of said Province of Newhampshire, in New England & of our council of the said Province-Have upon the conditions and reserva- tions hereinafter made given and Granted, and by these presents for us and our heirs & succefsor, do give and Grant in equal shares unto our loving Subjects, inhabitants of our said Province of Newhampshire and our other Governments & to their heirs and afsigns forever, whose names are Entered on this grant-To be divided to and among them into sixty-eight equal shares, all that tract or parcel of land situate lying and being within our said Province of Newhampshire, containing by admeasurement Twenty-three thousand acres, which tract is to contain six miles square, and no more, out of which an allowance is to be made for highways and unimprovable lands, by rocks, Ponds mountains and Rivers, one Thousand and forty acres free, according to a plan and survey hereof made by our said Governor's order and returned into the secretary's Office, & hereunto annexed, butted and bounded as follows (viz) : Beginning at a white Pine Tree marked with the figures three on one side and four on the other, which tree is about eighteen miles on a point from the upper end of Charleston, and stands on the bank of Connecticut river, from thence South, seventy-two degrees East six miles; from thence North, thirty-six degrees East five miles and one


3


INTRODUCTION.


half; from thence North sixty-four West seven miles to Connecticut River, To a hemlock tree marked four and five that stands just at the head of white river falls; from thence down the river to the first bound mentioned; and that the same be & hereby is incorporated into a Town- ship by the name of Lebanon; and the inhabitants that do or shall here- after inhabit the said Township are hereby declared to be enfranchized with and Entitled to all & every the privileges & immunities that other Towns within our Province by law exercise & enjoy & further that the said Town as soon as there shall be fifty Families resident And settled thereon shall have the liberty of holding two fairs, one of which shall be held on the and the other on the annually, which fairs are not to continue longer Than the respective - - following


the said - and that as soon as the said Town shall consist of fifty families a Market may be opened and kept one or more days in each week as may be thought most advantageous to the inhabitants: also That the first meeting for the choice of Town Officers agreea- ble to the laws of our said Province shall be held on the last wednesday in August next, which said meeting shall be notified by Mr John Baldwin, who is hereby also appointed Moderator of the sd first meeting which he is to notify and govern agreeable to the laws and customs of our said Province; and that the annual meeting forever hereafter for the choice of such Officers for the said Town shall be on the second Tuesday of March annually-To have and to hold the said tract of land as above exprefsed, together with all privilidges and appurte- nances, to them and their respective Heirs & afsigns forever, upon the following conditions (viz)


First That every Grantee, his heirs or afsigns shall plant and culti- vate five Acres of land within the term of five years for every fifty acres Contained in his or their share or proportion of land in said Township, and continue to improve and settle the same by additional Cultivation on penalty of the forfeiture of his Grant or share in the said Township & of its reverting to us our Heirs and Succefsors, To be by us or them regranted to such of our subjects as shall effectually cultivate and settle the same.


2nd That all white and other pine trees within the said Township fit for masting our Royal Navy be carefully preserved for that Use, and none to be cut or felled without our special license for So doing first had and obtained, upon the penalty of the forfeiture of the right of such Grantee, his heirs & Afsigns To us our heirs and Succefsors, as well as being subject to the penalty of any act or acts of Parliament that now are or hereafter shall be Enacted.


3d That before any Division of the land be made to & among the Grantees, a tract of land as near the Center of said Township As the land will admit of shall be reserved and marked out for Town-lots, one of which shall be allotted to each Grantee, Of the contents of one acre


4th Yeilding and paying therefor To us our Heirs & Succefsors for the


4


HISTORY OF LEBANON.


space of Ten years to be computed from the date hereof, The rent of one Ear of indian corn only in the twenty-fifth Day of December annually if lawfully demanded, the first Payment to be made on the twenty-fifth day of December 1762.


5th Every proprietor settler or inhabitant shall yeild and pay unto US. Our heirs and succefsors Yearly and every year forever, from and after the Expiration of ten years from the above said twenty-fifth day of December namely on the twenty fifth day of December which will be in the year of our Lord 1772 one shilling Proclamation money for every hundred acres he so owns settles or pofsesses, and so in proportion for a greater or lefser. Tract of land, which money shall be paid by the respective persons above said, their heirs or Assigns, in our Council chamber at Portsmouth, or to such Officer or Officers as shall be appointed to receive the same & this to be in Lieu of all other rents & service whatsoever


In testimony whereof we have caused the seal of our Said Province to be hereunto affixed witness Benning Wentworth Esq. Our Governor and Commander in chief. of our said Province the fourth Day of July in the year of our Lord Christ one thousand seven hundred and Sixty-one, & in the first year of our Reign-


By his Excellency's command


with advice of council


Theodore Atkinson Sec.ty


B. WENTWORTH


THE NAMES OF THE GRANTEES OF LEBANON


John Hanks


Joseph Dana


John Salter


John Swift


Obadiah Loomis


Daniel Allen Jr.


Elijah Huntington


David Eldredge


Huckins Storrs Jun


Jesse Birchard


John Baldwin


Nathan Arnold


Robbert Barrows Jun


Levi Hyde


Richard Salter


John Birchard


Constant Southworth


Nathan Blodgett


Thomas Storrs


Moses Hibbard Jun


Hobart Estabrook


John Allen


Samuel Storrs


Robert Hyde


Charles Hill


John Hyde


Benjamin Davis


Lemuel Clark


Joshua Blodgett


Jefse Birchard


Joseph Turner


Daniel Blodgett 3d


Josiah Storrs


Nehemiah Estabrook


Joseph Wood


Jonathan Martin


John Storrs


Nathaniel Porter


Jonathan Murdock


Jonathan Yeomans


5


INTRODUCTION.


Jabez Barrow


David Turner


Seth Blodgett


Daniel Blodgett


Joseph Martin


Jonathan Walcutt


Nathaniel Hall


John Birchard


Robert Martin


Judah Storrs


Thomas Barrows Jr


Edward Goldslone Lutwych


One whole share for the Incorporated society for Propagation of the gospel in Foreign Parts. One whole share for a Glebe for the Church of England as by law established-One whole share for the first settled Minister One whole share for the benefit of a school in said Town-his excellency Benning Wentworth Esq. a tract of land of five hundred acres as marked in the plan which is to be accounted two of the within shares


Jedediah Dana


William Dana


Mark H Wentworth


James Nevins Esq.


Jonathan Blanchard


Oneil Lamont


Clement Jackson Esq.


Hugh Hall Wentworth


Samuel Penhallow & William Knight.


Province of Newhampshire July 5 1761 Recorded in the Book of Charters per Theodore Atkinson Sec.ty


PROVISIONS OF THE CHARTER.


1. "That the town as soon as there shall be fifty families resi- dent and settled thereon shall have the privilege of holding two fairs." These fairs were not unlike the agricultural fairs of the present day-except in this, that their main purpose was not the exhibition of products of the soil and of manufactures, but buy- ing and selling-trade of any kind.


2. "A market may be opened and kept one or more days of the week." By the English laws the killing of animals for public sale was allowed only as a privilege at specified times. A man could not kill and sell any animal when it was most convenient for himself, but it must be done only on the specified market days. Similar laws prevail now in Canada. They, however, are often evaded, for though one may not sell meat on any day but the market day, yet he may kill upon any day for his own use and may lend to his neighbor, who in his turn may kill and re‹ turn the borrowed meat on some other than the specified day or days.


6


HISTORY OF LEBANON.


In the Provincial Papers, Volume I, page 216, the following may be found :


31 October 1655


At the request of the towne of Hampton by their deputy itt is ordered that there shall be a markett kept there one day in every week, viz., on the fifth day which is theire lecture day


3 That all white and other pine trees within said township fit for masting our royal navy be carefully preserved for that use, and none be cut or felled without our special license


"As early as 1668 the government of Massachusetts, under which the province (New Hampshire) then was, had reserved for the public use all white pine trees of twenty-four inches in diameter at three feet from the ground. In King William's reign a sur- veyor of the woods was appointed by the crown; and an order was sent by the Earl of Bellemont to cause acts to be passed in his several governments for the preservation of the white pines. In 1708 a law made in New Hampshire prohibited the cutting of such as were twenty-four inches in diameter, at twelve inches from the ground, without leave of the surveyor, who was in- structed by the queen to mark with the broad arrow those which might be fit for the use of the navy, and to keep a register of them. Whatever severity might be used in executing the law, it was no difficult matter for those who knew the woods and were concerned in lumbering, to evade it; though sometimes they were detected and fined. Great complaints were frequently made of the destruction of the royal woods-every governor and lieuten- ant-governor had occasion to declaim on the subject in their speeches and letters; it was a favorite point in England and recommended them to their superiors as careful guardians of the royal interest. On the other hand, the people made as loud com- plaints against the surveyor for prohibiting the cutting of pine trees, and yet neglecting to mark such as were fit for masts; by which means many trees which could never be used for masts, and might be cut into logs for sawing, were rotting in the woods; or the people who got them were exposed to vexatious prosecutions." Farmer's Belknap, page 188.


It is doubtful if any of the trees in the valleys and on the hills of Lebanon were ever marked with the "broad arrow" as fit for masting the "Queen's Navee."


7


INTRODUCTION,


THE PERSONS.


The majority of the first proprietors resided in Connecticut. Many of them never came here, but sold or gave their rights to others. At that period many persons sought an interest in these wild lands merely as a matter of speculation, without any inten- tion of ever occupying them as their homes. The following per- sons whose names are appended to the charter, became actual settlers :


Jedediah Dana,


William Dana,


Joseph Dana,


Huckins Storrs,


John Baldwin,


Hobart Estabrook, .


Charles Hill,


Joseph Wood,


Joseph Martin,


Nathaniel Hall,


Levi Hyde, Nehemiah Estabrook,


Moses Hibbard, Jun.,


Nathaniel Porter.


Clement Jackson was a physician at Portsmouth and, with his son, was surgeon to the troops gathered at Portsmouth and vicin- ity after the battle of Bunker Hill.


Mark H. Wentworth of Portsmouth was a merchant and a relative of the governor. At the commencement of the Revolu- tion he was a Tory, refusing to sign the "Association Test;" re- fusing to sell rum for the use of the American army, the sheriff of Rockingham County was directed, February 27, 1777, to seize a certain number of hogsheads; September 12, 1777, he was re- quired by the Committee of Safety to give his parole in writing for himself and family; also the wife and children of John Fisher, Esq., "that they do not leave the town of Portsmouth without permit from the Legislative authority of this state." These persons were held as hostages for Woodbury Langdon, . Esq., a prisoner in New York City. He was the father of John Wentworth, the last royal governor ; was appointed counsellor of the province, 1759; died at Portsmouth, December 19, 1785.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.