A history of the town of Sullivan, New Hampshire, 1777-1917, Volume I, Part 81

Author: Seward, Josiah Lafayette, 1845-1917
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: [Keene, N.H., Sentinel printing Co.]
Number of Pages: 888

USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Sullivan > A history of the town of Sullivan, New Hampshire, 1777-1917, Volume I > Part 81

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 (link on the Part 1 page).

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repair, adding piazzas and considerably altering its appearance. Henry O. Esty and his son-in-law, Frank M. Russell, lived here a short time, after the Cowees.

176. Site of the Boynton house. This farm was the eastern part of lot 8, range 8. The lot was drawn by Abner Mack, and sold by him, Dec. 4, 1761, to the Rev. Clement Sumner of Keene. The latter sold it to Ichabod Fisher of Keene, Jan. 19, 1762. John Dimick, Sr., of Gilsum (later of Sullivan), purchased the same of Fisher, Nov. 23, 1767. Mr. Dimick's son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. John Chapman, of Gilsum, later occupants of 175, bought this place of Mr. Dimick, Jan. 8, 1773. This farm was not settled for eleven years after the Chapmans bought it. Their son, BENJAMIN CHAPMAN, purchased it of John Chapman, Apr. 2, 1784. Benjamin cleared the farm and built the first house on this site. He lived here eight years and his first four children were born here. About 1792, the farm was purchased by JOHN FARRAR, SR., although the tax lists do not indicate that he came to town before 1794. The latter's brother, William Farrar, purchased the farm of John, July 6, 1795. He lived, however, in what is now the town of Troy. DAVID EMERY BOYNTON, a brother of Mrs. William Farrar, bought the farm of his brother-in-law, Dec. 2, 1796. Mr. Boyn- ton was a soldier of the Revolution. He lived here until his death, Oct. 23, 1836, forty years in all. His father, Ephraim Boynton, also a soldier of the Revolution, spent his last days with his son on this farm, and his body is buried in the old Sullivan cemetery, with that of his wife. D. E. Boynton left the farm, by will, to his son, DAVID BOYNTON, who owned it 22 years before he sold it. He had nine children, of whom seven lived to marry : Nancy J., who married Albert Crosby of Billerica, Mass .; Emery W., who died at Rock Island, Ill., in 1899; Alpheus C., who died in the city of New York, in 1882; Abigail C., who married George Christopher and resides in the city of New York; Lucretia A., who married Thomas N. Hooper, and lives in Davenport, Iowa; Elizabeth, who married Adelbert M. Thompson, and died at Mason City, Iowa ; and Charlotte, who married George Parker, a policeman in Watertown, Mass. David Boynton sold this farm, March 13, 1858, to HENRY C. RAWSON, who lived here eight years. His first three children were born here, no one of whom is living. After his second marriage, he lived at 196. For a fuller notice of him, see that para- graph. Mr. Rawson sold the farm to Elliot C. Winchester, Jan. 29, 1864, and, for a time, it was joined to the Winchester farm. Mr. Winchester lived at 193. Edward S. Bryant bought the whole estate, including this farm, Dec. 14, 1885. He died, Aug. 24 (23 on town records is an error), 1889. The heirs of Elliot C. Winchester had to take the farm into their possession, May 16, 1890, and sold it, June 6, 1890, to Charles W. Wilber of Keene. The latter sold it, June 14, 1904, to LOUIS A. PIPER of Keene, who has erected a summer camp and sugar house on the estate, at 177, and enjoys living here in the summer. The summit of Boynton Mountain is on this farm. The elevation is 1743 feet above the sea, the highest land in Sullivan.

177. The sugar house and summer camp of LOUIS A. PIPER of Keene, who now owns the Boynton farm. See the preceding paragraph.

17712. A new building for a barn and storehouse, erected in 1908 by LOUIS A. PIPER. See 176.

178. Site of the old Cummings house, in which Rev. Charles Cummings

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and others lived, on the eighth lot of the ninth range. This lot appears to have been drawn by Rev. (afterwards Rev. Dr.) Joseph Lathrop (sometimes spelled Lothrop) of Springfield, Mass. In Hayward's history of Gilsum, there appears to be some confusion about titles, and Rev. C. Sumner is credited with having drawn the lot. The deeds show that it was Lathrop. William Comstock, who lived at 106 later, bought the lot of Lathrop, Jan. 5, 1769. Mr. Comstock died at 106, Oct. 7, 1773, the first person who died within the limits of the present Sullivan so far as known. Fifteen years after his death, May 16, 1788, the lot was divided among his four children. Aug. II, 1794, William Comstock, Jr., purchased the share of his sister, then Mrs. William Corey, Apr. 7, 1795, James Comstock purchased William, Jr.'s, rights in the lot and the interest of the remain- ing heir, Mrs. Simeon Ellis. SOLOMON WOODS, a brother of Enoch Woods, Oct. 30, 1797, purchased the lot of James Comstock and became the first settler upon the farm and built the house. He lived here eight years. The first four of his eight children were born here. These were all sons. The remaining four children, two sons and two daughters, were born in Gilsum Stephen Griswold, Fr., of Gilsum, bought the farm of Woods, May 1, 1805. It is not supposed that he lived here. One of his daughters was born while he owned the farm, but was probably born in Gilsum. He lived at Gilsum Lower Village and operated a mill. He sold the farm, March 16, 1807, to Philip Atwood of Nelson, who never lived here. Mr. Atwood's son, SILAS ATWOOD, probably lived here two or three years, while building a house at 207, the first to be built on the farm where Wm. H. Bates lives, which farm Silas Atwood had purchased. Silas was unmarried. REV. CHARLES CUMMINGS, who had been living nine or ten years at 19372, bought this farm of Philip Atwood, April 7, 1810. He was the first pastor of the Baptist Church. See page 431. He had seven children. A son died young. Two sons, Charles H. and Jos. Elliot, lived several years after their marriages in Sullivan, then moved elsewhere. Two other sons, Enoch P. and Cyrus, never lived in Sullivan after their marriages. The elder daughter, Mary, married Luke Hemenway, a son of Rev. Luther Hemenway. Luke became a very wealthy business man. The second daughter, and youngest child, Anna G., married Elijah Boyden, an honored resident of Marlborough. She is still living in the enjoyment of a delightful old age, beloved by all who know her. On March 1, 1830, CHARLES H. CUMMINGS bought of his father an undivided half of this farm. He built the house at 180, at the east end of the farm, as we shall see under paragraph 180. On March 23, 1833, JOSEPH ELLIOT CUMMINGS bought of his brother C. H. Cummings, an undivided half of what he had pur- chased. On Nov. 14, 1834, J. E. Cummings bought all of the remaining interest of his father in the farm. On Sept. 25, 1838, C. H. Cummings bought of J. E. Cummings his interest in the farm and owned it all. The two brothers had lived in the new house at 180, which had been fitted for the joint occupancy of the two families. C. H. Cummings sold the eastern half of the farm to Charles Rawson as we shall see under 180, where the history of that part of the farm is continued. He sold the western half of the farm, including the house at 178, Oct. 1, 1838, to Chauncy W. Rawson, who lived at 175. Mr. Rawson never lived at 178 and, in a few months, sold it, April 1, 1839, to JOHN DUNN, who lived here about a year and a half. See 151. Dunn sold it, Aug. 19, 1840, to

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HISTORY OF SULLIVAN.

CHARLES MASON, who also lived here more than a year and sold it, March 19, 1842, to EPHRAIM FOSTER, who owned it a little more than two and a half years, living here most of the time. For Mr. Mason, see paragraph 6, also page 616. For Mr. Foster, see 87, 97, 101, 196, 237, and also page 614. On Dec. 9, 1844, Mr. Foster sold this place to Chauncy W. Rawson and David Boynton. No one lived here again and the buildings were removed. On Oct. 2, 1847, Rawson and Boynton divided the land, Rawson taking the part north of the Cummings road, and Boynton the part south of it. The place has since been pastured and we need not trace its history further.

179. A small building for a summer camp, erected by Charles H. Mark. It is on the piece of land, containing twenty acres, which formed the south-west corner of the old Cummings farm. We saw, in the last paragraph, that in the division between Rawson and Boynton, this corner became Boynton's land. James L. Bates, who was living at 180, bought it of Boynton, March 28, 1859. Daniel W. Bates of Gilsum bought it of J. L. Bates, Oct. 25, 1879. George E. Newman, then of Alstead, bought it of D. W. Bates, Jan. 17, 1880. Clark A. Knapp of Keene bought it of Newman, Oct. 26, 1885. John S. Towne of Keene bought it of Knapp, Aug. 20, 1888. CHARLES H. MARK of Keene bought the same of Towne, July 17, 1899, and still owns it. A few years ago he erected this little cabin for the purpose of a summer camp, but it has never been much used and it would require considerable work and expense to make it serviceable again.

180. Site of the house built by Charles H. Cummings, where Charles Rawson lived, and where James L. Bates lived many years, also F. R. Boyce. On Mar. 1, 1830, CHARLES H. CUMMINGS bought a half interest in the farm on which stood the house at 178 and this house after it was built. This house was built in 1835. It was built for two families. C. H. Cummings used a part of it. J. E. CUMMINGS, who had purchased a half interest of his brother, C. H. Cum- mings, in the place, Mar. 23, 1833, and the whole of his father's interest, Nov. 14, 1834, used the other part of the house. The house was first occupied, Jan. 2, 1836. Rev. Charles Cummings also lived here a short time with his sons. Charles H. Cummings, son of Rev. Charles, was a well informed and very bril- liant man. He soon sought a larger field of usefulness and moved to Ohio, where he died. J. E. Cummings, on Feb. 8, 1837, sold all of his interest in this farm to his brother and moved to the Reuben Wright farm, at 202, and later to Lexington, Mich. For an account of the Cummings brothers, see page 612. Charles H. Cummings sold this farm to CHARLES RAWSON, son of Isaac of 173, Sept. 25, 1838. He lived in this house about sixteen and a half years. He went from here to Westmoreland. R. Curtis Nurse lived in a part of the house in 1848. His son, Ellery A. C. Nurse, was born here. Mr. Rawson sold the farm, Mar. 15, 1855, to Sarah, wife of JAMES L. BATES. The Bates family lived here eleven years. They had eleven children. A son and daughter died young. Three daughters and six sons lived to maturity and married. Of the sons, J. William Bates lived in this house in 1858, when his youngest child was born ; Harvey L. Bates lived here in 1855 and again in 1860, when his first and fourth children were born, and C. Uriah Bates lived here when first married, and his elder son was born here in 1863. Francis C. Howe, who married a daughter of Mr. Bates, lived a short time in one part of the house and had a son born here

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FAMILY HISTORIES.

in 1861. HIRAM H. DAVIS of Gilsum bought this farm of the Bates family, Dec. 8, 1866, and sold it, nearly a year later, Oct. 10, 1867, to LEWIS DAVIS of Gil- sum, who deeded it back to HIRAM H. DAVIS, a few months afterwards, Apr. 7, 1868. Mrs. L. Alzina Boyce, wife of FRANK R. BOYCE, then of Winchendon, Mass., bought the farm of H. H. Davis, Sept. 5, 1868. Mr. Boyce was a citizen much respected. His first wife died before he came here. His second wife died while he owned the place, her death occuring in Fitzwilliam. He married his third wife while he owned the farm. He had a son and a daughter. While he owned the place, Levi J. Barrett, now of Winchester, was a tenant, 1877-79. The sixth of his nine children, Willard Russell Barrett, was born here in 1878. George M. Bowen, who came from Richmond, was a tenant here, 1879-1883. His youngest and fifth child, Clarence E. Bowen, was born here in 1879. Mr. Boyce sold the place to Clark A. Knapp of Keene, May 6, 1886. Knapp sold the same to Edwin Cheney of Princeton, Mass., Dec. 31, 1886. Cheney conveyed the same to Edmund Cowles of Worcester, Mass., Feb. 20, 1888; but the Chesh- ire Provident Institution of Keene, which held a mortgage on this property, foreclosed, Mar. 6, 1888, acting under a writ of possession issued, Dec. 30, 1887. Orville E. Cain, as assignee of the aforesaid institution, sold the estate to John S. Towne of Keene, June 16, 1904. Towne immediately sold the house to Chas. H. Mark of Keene, who removed it in the summer of 1904. It was a strong, well built house. It was a pity that it was removed and the last inducement to occupy this good farm thus taken away. Mr. Towne sold the estate to Walter R. Kirk of Keene, Sept. 13, 1904, and Kirk sold it to George H. Giffin of Keene, Nov. 25, 1904. Mr. Giffin wanted it more particularly for the wood and timber, and he erected the pretty building at 181 for the accommodation of his help employed in cutting the wood. He sold the estate, Sept. 29, 1906, to the Giffin Coal Co. of Keene, who transferred it, June 5, 1907, to Ella S. Giffin, then the widow of George H. Giffin, who died in Keene, very suddenly, Dec. 18, 1906. He was an estimable young man for whom the writer of this volume had a warm friendship. He was very much interested in numismatics and had a valuable collection of American silver coins, lacking but a few pieces of being a complete set. He was an enterprising and honorable business man.

181. The tidy little building constructed by George H. Giffin, immediately after his purchase of the property described in the preceding paragraph. It was built for the convenience of the wood choppers. See 180.

182. Site of the Silas Morse house. The farm on which this house was situated was the eastern half of the ninth lot of the ninth range, drawn by Samuel Gilbert of Hebron, Conn. Rev. Clement Sumner of Keene bought it of Gilbert, Dec. 9, 1761, and sold it, June 12, 1773, to Obadiah Wilcox of Surry. On Oct. 2, 1887, Wilcox sold the whole lot to William Chapman, then a young unmarried man of Sullivan, who never lived here. Chapman sold the whole lot, Dec. 16, 1789, to Joshua Burditt of Lancaster, Mass. Burditt settled the west end of the lot. See 183. On May 1, 1798, ARTEMAS STONE of Fitzwilliam bought the east half of the ninth lot of the ninth range of Burditt. Stone came here and cleared and settled the farm and built the house upon it. He had twelve children, the second, third and fourth of whom were born at 182. On Aug. 5, 1806, Artemas Stone sold the same place to his father, Hezekiah Stone

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of Fitzwilliam. Hezekiah never lived here, so far as we have any evidence. He was the father of Mrs. Nathaniel Mason who lived at 14, at East Sullivan. On Sept. 11, 1813, Hezekiah sold the place to SILAS MORSE of Fitzwilliam, who moved to this house and lived here many years. He had nine children. Nathan- iel P. and Archibald lived in Michigan. Nathan, after living in Fitzwilliam, moved to Michigan. Silas Abbot and Alexander lived at Royalston, Mass. Ira lived in Gilsum and died in Fitzwilliam. James succeeded his father on this place, and also lived at 191. Mary I .. married Thomas Forristall of Fitzwilliam, and Susannah married David A. Roundy of Gilsum. On Nov. 17, 1830, Silas sold this place to his son, JAMES MORSE, who lived upon it three or four years, then moved to 191. See paragraph 191, for a further account of him. James sold this place, Jan. 7, 1834, to CHARLES H. CUMMINGS of Sullivan, and it was joined to the farm at 180. This house was not occupied afterwards, and for further owners see the farm described in paragraph 180.

183. Site of the John Farrar house. This house was on the same town lot as the house described in the preceding paragraph. The owners of the entire lot, to Mr. Burditt, are mentioned in paragraph 182. JOSHUA BURDITT of Lan- caster, Mass., bought the entire lot of William Chapman, Dec. 16, 1789. He owned the whole lot several years and was the first settler upon the same. He sold the eastern half, May 1, 1798, to Mr. Stone, as we saw under 182. He kept the western end for his own farm, and added to it by a purchase of twenty acres from the east end of the ninth lot of the eighth range. He was a brother of Ebenezer Burditt, who lived at 193. He owned the lot two or three years before his marriage and had it ready for occupancy when that event occurred. He had two sons born in Sullivan. He sold his farm, Feb. 6, 1799, to William Farrar of that part of Fitzwilliam which is now Troy. JOHN FARRAR, Sr., a brother of William, lived at this place. He had been in the Revolution and was captured by Indians and scalped by them. He had two daughters and a son, all born in Fitzwilliam (now Troy.) One daughter married Eli Dort of Gilsum ; the other married David Porter. The son was named for himself. He died in South Hadley, Mass. William sold this place, Dec. 13, 1808, to DAVID PORTER, John's son-in-law, who lived here seven or eight years. Mr. Porter had a large family of thirteen children. The first five were born here and the first and third died here, as did also the wife of John Farrar, Sr. On Sept. 9, 1815, Mr. Porter sold the farm to JOHN FARRAR, Jr., who lived upon it twenty-two years. He had four daughters, two of whom died unmarried. Another daughter married Robert P. Young, and another, Ruth Amilda, married Elijah N. Gunn of Gilsum. On April 24, 1837, Mr. Farrar sold this farm to David Boynton, who used it in con- nection with the Boynton farm. See 176. The buildings were not occupied again and were soon removed. John Farrar, Jr., moved to Keene, to a house on the so-called Gunn road, and died there.

184. Site of the first schoolhouse in District No. 5. See page 502, for an account of the schoolhouses in this district. This schoolhouse, probably a rude affair, served the purposes of the district until about 1801 or 1802, when the second such structure was built at 194. The building that stood here was evi- dently a framed building, for it was purchased by a man who had bought land in Gilsum and moved across the line into that town for a dwelling, as we observed on page 502.

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FAMILY HISTORIES.

185. Site of the Maynard house. This was on the tenth lot of the ninth range. Like the ninth lot of the same range, it was drawn by Samuel Gilbert of Hebron, Conn. ; sold by him to Rev. Clement Sumner of Keene, Dec. 9, 1761 ; and by the latter to Obadiah Wilcox of Surry, June 12, 1773. On Jan. 3, 1788, John Wilcox of Surry, a son of Obadiah, bought this lot of his father. SILAS SHATTUCK, who was already living in Sullivan, bought the lot of John Wilcox, Nov. 10, 1794. Shattuck owned the place about four years. He had a daughter born here, which he named Sarah, for her mother. On July 7, 1797, he sold the place to James Nash, then of Sullivan, but ten days later, July 17, 1797, he repurchased it of Nash. STEPHEN FOSTER, Sr., then of Marlborough, a black- smith, bought this farm of Shattuck, June 22, 1798. He lived here about two years, when he purchased the farm at 199 (later 197). His oldest child was born in Marlborough, before he moved here. His second child was born in a few days after he moved to 199. He continued to own this farm for two or three years after he left it and sold it, May 26, 1803, to ANTIPAS MAYNARD, who had pre- viously lived at 201, also a short time in Gilsum. He was a native of Bolton, Mass. He had nine children. The second was born at 201, the third at Gilsum, the next three on this farm, and the youngest three in Gilsum. His descendants are very numerous and scattered all over the world. His son, Asa Maynard, was the proprietor of a flourishing hotel in Marlborough for several years. On Nov. 25, 1809, Maynard sold this farm to David Boynton, who removed the buildings. It has not since been inhabited, but used for pasturage and forest products. It is unnecessary to trace the several owners.

186. Site of the McKinzey house. The tenth lot of the eighth range was chartered to Samuel Gilbert of Hebron, Conn. The first settler of the east end of the lot, at this place, was WILLIAM COREY, a brother of Samuel Corey, who settled the Corey farm at 189. Corey purchased the eastern half, or fifty acres, of the lot. We cannot find a record of his deed, but he was married, Apr. 4, 1786, to Mary B. Comstock, a sister of James Comstock, who lived at 112, and began housekeeping here. His purchase was doubtless in 1785 or 1786. He lived here about four years. His oldest child, Josiah Corey, was born here. He moved to Stoddard, where his other seven children were born. JOHN REED, who lived here a short time, purchased the place of William Corey, Feb. 24, 1789. We found the original deed at the Cheshire Registry, but it was never recorded. We know almost nothing of this Reed. He sold the place, Nov. 30, 1789, to JOHN ROWE, Jr., who had married the widow of William Comstock, Sr., for his second wife. It was not a union of unalloyed happiness, especially for Mrs. Rowe. Mr. Rowe is said to have lived by himself in this house a short time. He sold the farm, May 14, 1790, to WILLIAM MCKINZEY (sometimes spelled McKinsey or Mckenzie.) He was then living in Sullivan. We do not know whence he came. He lived here nearly thirteen years and had two children born here, a son and a daughter. He moved from here to Elizabethtown, in Lincoln County, New York. He was the last occupant of the little farm, to which he added some territory. He sold it, Feb. 5, 1803, to Simon Baxter of Surry, a real estate speculator who did not live here. Baxter sold it, March 9, 1804, to Reuben Wright, who lived at 202, who sold it a few weeks later, May 30, 1804, to Philip Atwood of Nelson, who had purchased already the western end of the lot. The

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HISTORY OF SULLIVAN.

whole lot was now united into a single farm upon which Mr. Atwood placed his son, Silas Atwood, who lived at 207. The future owners may be seen under par- agraphs 207 and 210. The house at 186 was never used after McKinzey left it and was soon removed.

187. Site of the Silas Davis house, the last log dwelling-house in Sullivan. It was on the eleventh lot of the eighth range, drawn by Jonathan Wright of East Windsor, Conn., and was sold by him to Samuel Church of East Haddam, Conn., Sept. 5, 1768. It was finally sold, for non-payment of taxes, to Isaac Hammond of Swanzey, later of lower Canada, who obtained his deed, Dec. 8, 1783, and sold it to his brother, Aaron Hammond of Gilsum, Jan. 14, 1794. Aaron sold it, Oct. 6, 1795, to David Thompson of Alstead, who first settled the lot, his house being on the Gilsum side of the line, at 40, of the outside num- bers. Benjamin Thompson of Alstead bought the whole lot of David Thompson, Jan. 3, 1798, and moved to the house just mentioned and continued to live there, where he also died. John Nash of Gilsum bought the eastern end of this lot, comprising a few acres, of Benjamin Thompson, March 10, 1807. More than twenty years after this purchase, he settled his brother, SILAS DAVIS, upon this spot. A log house was built for Silas which became in time the last log house of the town and the only one which many of later generations ever saw. Silas moved into this log house, Feb. 9, 1829. John Nash died, Oct. 31, 1836. He willed this little farm to Silas Davis, who lived here until his death, July 7, 1870. Silas was an honest and industrious man. He excelled in basket work. Basketry was his chief business, and many of the baskets used by the farmers of the town for a long time were made by him. He had eight children. A daughter married Henry H. Howard. See 188 and 214. Another daughter married Willard S. Cady of Stoddard. Jonathan lived in Vermont. The others were all unmarried, most of them dying young. After the death of Silas, the family moved to Gilsum. The house decayed. The heirs of Silas Davis still own the land.

188. Site of a house built by Henry H. Howard. About 1840-41, HENRY H. HOWARD of Gilsum, who had married a daughter of Silas Davis, came here and built a small house, perhaps a log house. He lived here about four years, 1841-45. The third, fourth, and fifth of his sixteen children were born here. He removed to Gilsum about 1845, but returned to Sullivan, later, and lived at 214. The land on which this house stood belonged to Silas Davis. See 187.

189. Site of the first house built on the Corey farm. This was on the eleventh lot of the ninth range. According to Hayward's History of Gilsum, this lot was drawn by Joshua Dart. In another place in the same history it is said to have been drawn by Ezra Loomis. The latter statement is undoubtedly right, for Ezra Loomis owned it and sold it, Sept. 8, 1781, to SAMUEL COREY (often spelled Cory), who came from Tewksbury, Mass. In this deed, he is said to be of Gilsum, Cheshire County, " State in dispute." This dispute has refer- ence to the attempt of certain towns on both sides of Connecticut River to erect a new state, independent of New Hampshire. The attempt utterly failed. See pages 113 and 114. These towns were usually known as the New Hampshire Grants. It was proposed to call the new state Vermont. Samuel built a house, · probably a log house, on this spot, in which he lived until about 1788, when he built a house across the line on the site of 43 of the outside numbers. His

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A history of the town of Sullivan, New Hampshire, 1777-1917, Volume I, Part 81

Author: Seward, Josiah Lafayette, 1845-1917 Publication date: 1921 Publisher: [Keene, N.H., Sentinel printing Co.] Number of Pages: 888

Author: Seward, Josiah Lafayette, 1845-1917
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: [Keene, N.H., Sentinel printing Co.]
Number of Pages: 888