USA > New Hampshire > Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol. I > Part 43
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).
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 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126
(IV) Nehemiah, third child and son of Joseph and Hannah Flanders, was born February 18, 1709. In February, 1733, he married Sarah Hackett, and was the father of six children, namely: Jarvis, Hezekiah, David, Nehemiah, Olive and Levi.
(V) Levi. youngest child of Nehemiah and Sarah (Hackett) Flanders, was born February 26, 1754. The place and date of his death is unknown to the writer, nor is there any available record of his marriage, but it is known that he had one son, whose name was Caleb.
(VI) Caleb, son of Levi Flanders, resided in Danbury, New Hampshire. He married Mehitahle Searles, and had a family of thirteen children: Wil- liam. John (died young), Lorenzo, Hiram, Charles. Frank, Samuel, George, John, Frances, Dorothy, Nancy and Daniel W.
(VII) Daniel W., child of Caleb and Mehitable (Searles) Flanders, was born in Danbury, March 24. 1818, and died in Enfield, New Hampshire, April 19. 1900. He was a prosperous farmer and a useful citizen, acting with the Republican party in politics, and taking an earnest interest in the gen- eral welfare of the community. He was a mem- ber of the Masonic order. On June 7, 1846. he mar- ried Lavinia H. Bean, born in Danbury, August 1, 1853, and died in Enfield in 1905. She became the mother of one son, Henry Willis Flanders, of Enfield.
(VIII) Henry Willis, only child of Daniel W. and Lavinia IT. (Bean) Flanders, was born in Dan- bury, December 22, 1855. Having completed his education at the New Hampshire Conference Sem - inary at Tilton, he engaged in the lumber business and has followed it continuously to the present time. He is now a member of the firmn of Wells & Flan- ders, who operate a saw-mill on Mascoma river. and cuts an average of one million feet of lumber per annum, giving steady employment to several men. Politically Mr. Flanders is a Republican, but takes no active part in political affairs, beyond his elective privileges. He was married in 1883 to May Holt, daughter of Nathan S. and Amanda (Jennie) Holt. of Enfield. Mr. and Mrs. Flanders have no chil- dren.
The records of Essex county, Massa-
AYER chusetts, have frequent mention of this name, under very many forms. such as : Aars, Aers, Aier, Aiere, Aiers. Air, Aires, Airs, Ares, Aries. Ayeres, Ayers, Avhaire, Ayre, Avres, Faire, Eairs, Eares, Eayer, Eayr, Eayre, Eires, Ever. Eyers, Eyre, Eyrs and Heires.
(I) The ancestor of most of the name in New England, and the earliest one who lived in Essex county was John Ayer. It is supposed that he came from England, and he was living in Salisbury. Massachusetts, as early as 1640. He removed to Ipswich in 1646, and the next year to Haverhill, and died there March 31, 1657. His will was made
153
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
March 12, 1657, and probated October 6 following. He was survived by his wife Hannah, the mother of his children, who died October S. 1688, having been a widow for more than thirty years. Their children were: John, Rebecca, Robert, Thomas, Peter, Mary, Obadiah, Nathaniel and Hannah. The eldest received the homestead by will.
(II) Cornet Peter, fourth son and fifth child of John and Hannah Ayer, was born about 1633. perhaps in England, and was made a freeman in Haverhill. in May. 1666. Ile was a farmer in that town, which he represented in the general court in 1683. 1685, 1689-90, and otherwise active in town affairs, and in the Indian wars. He was married November 1, 1650, to Hannah Allen, who was born June, 1742. in Salisbury, daughter of William and Hannah (Goodale) Allen. She survived him nearly thirty-one years, dying his widow December 22. 1729, at the age of eighty-seven years. He died in Boston in January, 1689. Their children, all born in Haverhill, were: Ruth, Hannah, Abigail, Mary, Martha. Samuel, William, Rachel and Ebenezer.
(III) Captain Samuel, eldest son and sixth child of Cornet Peter and Hannah ( Allen) Aver. was born September 28, 1660, in Haverhill, in which town he lived and was a yeoman. He was a man of property and among his possessions was a negro slave, named Lot. He succeeded his father as a member of the committee for the control of the common lands of the town. His efficient leadership in the Indian wars did much to prevent savage out- rages. He died January 2, 1744. He was married November 21, 1693, to Elizabeth Tuttle, of Ipswich, who survived him nearly nine years and died No- vember 29, 1752. Their children were: Hannah, Peter. Samtiel, William. Ebenezer, Elizabeth, Simon and Sarah. (Mention of Simon and descendants appears in this article).
(IV) Lieutenant Ebenezer, fourth son of Cap- tain Samuel and Elizabeth (Tuttle) Ayer, was born February IS, 1705, in Haverhill, and settled in Methuen, Massachusetts. Upon the establishment of the Province line, in 1741. his homestead he- came a part of Salem. New Hampshire. The fol- lowing inscription is found on his tombstone in that town: "Here lies ye body of Lieutenant Eben- ezer Ayr : he departed this life March 3, 1763, aged 57 years." He was married March 29, 1726, to Susanna. daughter of Robert and Susanna (At- wood) Kimhall, of Bradford. Massachusetts. She was horn May 25. 1707, and died September 26, 1749, having been the mother of ten children, five of whom died young. By a second wife Elizabeth, Lieutenant Ayer had five children. His widow died January 2. 1786, aged seventy-one years. The five surviving children of the first wife, and the five of the second wife, in order of age. were : Ebenezer, Peter, Timothy, Joseph, Isaiah, William, Elizabeth, Samuel, Philip and John.
(V) Maior Ebenezer. eldest son of Lieutenant Ebenezer and Susanna (Kimball) Aver, was born March 22, 1727, in that part of Methuen which is now Salem. He settled in Pepperrellborough, now Saco, Maine. In early life he was one of Captain John Lovewell's men in the memorable Indian fight at Pequaket, and was engaged in other expeditions. He was in the ill-fated excursion of Benedict Arnold, through the wilds of Maine, in the winter of 1775-76. After the Revolution he did not re- turn to Saco. He was married July 4, 1754, to Hannah (Plaisted) Scammon, widow of James Scammon. They were undoubtedly the parents of the next mentioned.
(VI) Moses Ayer was born March 17, 1757, in
Saco, Maine, and was an active resident of that town. By his wife, Mary (Tyler), born August 10. 1750, he had the following named children, born in Saco. Maine: Elizabeth, John, Sarah, Hannah, Abigail, Andrew, Moses, and Tristam, whose sketch follows.
(VI) Tristam, eighth child of Moses and Mary (Tyler) Ayer, born in Saco, February 19, 1799. and died December 21, 1851, in Bux- ton, Maine. He' was married August 20, 1820. to Frances Moses, of Buxton, who was born January 24, 1801, and died June 13, 1870, in Buxton. They had children named as follows : Mary A., William, Sarah E., John L., Maria G., Lyman G., Frances J. and Charles H.
(VII) John Lyman, fourth child and second son of Tristam and Frances Ayer, was born June 17. 1829, and died February. 1903, at Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was a paper maker and mill- wright by trade, and was employed in a paper fac- tory at Wells River, Vermont. Later he worked in a saw mill, and at the lumber business in Haver- hill, Massachusetts, and vicinity. In 1890 he re- turned to Wells River and worked ten years for the Adams Paper Company. This concluded the active period of his life, and he afterward lived re- tired at Plymouth, Massachusetts. He married, in Haverhill, New Hampshire, Melissa Pike, and they were the parents of sons. John T. and Charles J.
(VIII) Charles James, son of John L. and Melissa ( Pike) Aver, was born in Haverhill, New Hampshire, November 24, 1858. He was educated in the schools of Haverhill, and graduated from Newbury Academy in 1878. Following that he traveled six years in western states. He then re- turned to Haverhill, and became a clerk in the gen- eral merchandise establishment of A. F. Pike, which he bought a year later and carried on successfully for thirteen years. In 1897 he removed to Plym- outh. New Hampshire, and has since been engaged in the real estate and insurance business. Since settling in Plymouth he has enjoyed a large meas- ure of prosperity. He is a Republican in political sentiment, and as such was elected town treasurer of Haverhill. Since locating in Plymouth he has been a member of the school board of that town, was a member of the general court in 1905, and is now (1907) serving his fourth term as a member of the board of commissioners of Grafton county. He is a member of Grafton Lodge. No. 46, Free and Accepted Masons, of Haverhill : Penngewasset Royal Arch Chapter. No. 13; and Omega Council, No. 9. Royal and Select Masters, of Plymouth: St. Gerard Commandery, Knights Templar, of Little- ton : and Edward A. Raymond Consistory, Thirty- second degree. of Nashua. He married, September 23. 1888, at Piermont, New Hampshire. Lillian Estelle Cawley, who was born in Haverhill, Jan- uary 2. 1858, daughter of Chase S. and Mary ( Morse) Cawley, of Haverhill. Six children have been born of this inion: Leslie Carlisle (died young) : Doris Lysle, born December 25, 1800: Percy Morse, November 2, 1892: Max Ellsworth (died young) ; Roland Chase (died young) : and Shirley. April Q. 1901. The first four born in Haverhill, and the last two in Plymouth.
(IV) Simon, son and seventh child of Captain Samuel and Elizabeth (Tuttle) Ayer, was born De- cember 26, 1700. in Haverhill, and was a farmer. residing in that town. He was married December 20, 1733. to Mary Webster, who survived him eight years and died January 24. 1782. He died January I. 1774. Their children were : Samuel (died young). Simon, Elizabeth and Mary, twins (both died
154
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
young), Simon, Stephen, Moses, Elizabeth, Mary, William and Abigail. (Mention of Moses and de- scendants forms part of this article).
(V) Stephen, fourth son and sixth child of Simon and Mary (Webster) Ayer, was born De- cember 1, 1744, in Haverhill. Massachusetts, where he lived until 1771. He removed to Dunbarton, New Hampshire, where he was engaged in clearing and tilling land. He was a tanner by trade. He was married April 18, 1769, to Sarah Gray, of An- dover, Massachusetts, who was born March 13, 1740, They had two children born in Haverhill, and five in Dunbarton, namely: Thomas, Nanna, Elizabeth, Daniel, Polly, Hepzibah, Sarah and Susannah.
(VI) Susannah, youngest child of Stephen and Sarah (Gray) Ayer, was born January 1, 1781, in Dunbarton, and became the wife of Jonathan Clif- ford, of that town (see Clifford, VII). They re- sided on the Ayer homestead in Dunbarton.
Chase's History. of Haverhill, Massachu-
setts says that in 1700, one-third of the inhabitants of tliat town bore the name of Ayer. The name has long been prominent in the Merrimack valley. A worthy representative was Rev. Franklin D. Ayer, D. D., who was born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, December 19, 1832, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1856, and for thirty years ( 1867-1897) was pastor of the First Congregational Church at Concord, New Hamp- shire. The name is well. known in a commercial way in connection with the patent medicine business at Lowell. Massachusetts.
(I) Thomas Ayer, was born at Gilford, New Hampshire, and owned a farm of one hundred acres in that town. He was a Republican in poli- tics, and attended the Free Will Baptist Church. He married Sally Gale of Gilmanton. They had four children : Sarah, Thomas P., Joseph and Ste- phen S.
(II) Stephen Smith, son of Thomas and Sallie (Gale) Ayer, was born in Gilford, in 1828. He was educated in the common schools of Gilford, at the New Hampton Literary Institute, and academies of Wolfboro, after which he taught several years at Gilford. He took up farming on a tract of fifty acres. He was a Republican in politics. He was chosen selectman, town treasurer and representa- tive to the legislature from Gilford, and assessor in Laconia. He was an Odd Fellow and filled all the chairs. He attended the Free Will Baptist Church. He married Mary Elizabeth Rowell. daughter of Jacob and Elanor Rowell, born in Gilford in 1827. She died in Laconia, May 28, 1906. They had four children : Ardall, Claribel, George, mentioned be- low, and James, who died in infancy. Stephen S. Ayer died at Laconia, October 21, 1899.
(III) George, third child of Stephen Smith and Mary Elizabeth (Rowell) Ayer, was born Oc- tober 19. 1864. in Gilford. He was educated in the common schools of Laconia and at Tilton Seminary, after which he learned the trade of a machinist in Boston, where he remained three years. Later he was fireman on the Concord & Montreal railroad for five years. In 1896 he bought a farm of forty acres in Lakeport, which he sold. in May, 1000, and now resides in Lakeport. He is a Republican in politics, and was selectman for nine years. He was a representative to the legislature in 1904. He attends the Free Will Baptist Church. He is un- married.
Ayres. Ayers, Ayars, Ayer, Ayre, AYERS Eayers, Eyer, Eyre. etc., are some of the forms of this ancient name dating back to the nineteenth century. Among the theories
of its origin extant is the following legend : When at the battle of Hastings, 1066, William the Conqueror was flung from his horse and his helmet beaten into his face, he was rescued and mounted by a faithful follower named Truclove. "Thou shalt no longer be called Truelove," said the Duke, "but Eyre, or air, for thou hast given me the eire I breath." True- love was given lands in Derbyshire, a coat-of-arms displaying leg and thigh in armor cut off, and an honorary badge still worn by all the Eyres in Eng- land. What representative of the name first brought it to New England it is difficult to determine, but it is probable that the determination to liazard the future in the great New West came to several at about the same time.
(I) It is definitely known that in the middle of the eighteenth century three brothers-Jonathan. John (Dependence?) and Perkins Ayers-lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Reliable family pa- pers state that their father settled in Portsmouth, his two brothers going to Haverhill and Newbury, Massachusetts. Probability points to John Ayers. who married Mary Hunking in 1722, who was on the list of taxpayers in 1727 and a New Hampshire soldier in the siege of Louisburg in 1745, as the Portsmouth pioneer. The records of Portsmouth show these brothers prominently active in civil and religious affairs, bearing their share of personal and official responsibility in the development of the new country. They were engaged in shipping and in the various industries connected with the leather trade, at that time an important commercial in- terest. Perkins Ayers was one of the leading char- ter members of the Third Congregational Church, organized in 1758, with the Cambridge platform for discipline and the New England confession of faith for doctrine, by a number of persons withdrawing from the Congregational churches of Portsmouth. The names of Jonathan and Perkins, with their sons, were subscribed to the Association Test of 1776: "We, the subscribers, do hereby solemnly en- gage and promise that we will, to the utmost of our Power, at the Risque of our Lives and For- tunes, with Arms, oppose the Hostile Proceedings of the British Fleets and Armies, against the United American Colonies." It is related in the "Ports- mouth Rambles" that an incendiary wave swept over the community in 1813, an attempt being made to fire the barn of Mr. Perkins Ayers, living in School street, opposite the school house.
Jonathan, born in 1722, married Alice Sherburne, daughter of Edward Sherburne, the mayor of a garrison in Portsmouth. That she had the courage of her convictions is shown by her withdrawal from the Congregational Church, of which she was a member, to unite with the more liberal church mentioned above. For this heresy, refusing to be reclaimed, she was punished by excommunication. September 1, 1795. Of her nothing more is found recorded except that "she lived and died and was burried in Portsmouth." Jonathan died in Can- terbury in 1801. The children of Jonathan and Alice Sherburne Ayers were: I. Joseph, subiect of the next paragraph. 2. Statia, married Captain Thomas Manning. 3. Abiguil, married Captain John Salter. 4. Alice, married John Simes. 5. Sally, unmarried. 6. Phebe, died young. 7. Mary Anne, married Converse. 8. Jonathan. Jr., married Dorothy Deering; afterward moved to Northfield; had ten children. 9-10. Henry and Ed- ward, went to England.
(II) Joseph, the eldest son of Jonathan and Alice ( Sherburne) Ayers, was born August 15, 1745, in Portsmouth, where he was still living in 1776, as shown by his signature to the Association
155
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Test. He lived in Moultonborough in 1779-1782, serving in 1781 as selectman. Returning to Ports- mouth, he moved his family to Canterbury about 1785 or '86, with such supplies as could be taken by an ox-team. Among his assets were two hogsheads of molasses and as many of rum-considered in those days as necessary supplies. In his family were three slaves-Deborah, an aged negro woman. and her two grandsons, Prince and Caesar. Mr. Ayers became the owner of one thousand acres of land in Canterbury, and spent the remainder of his life in improving it. The large colonial house sit- ttated on a hillside, with adjacent barns and gran- aries, indicated his agricultural interests. In a time of poor writing and worse spelling, his penmanship and orthography evidenced an education above the average. Ahead of his times in his ideas of public utilities and improvements, he was the founder of the first public library in the section of the county in which he lived.
Joseph Ayers married (first) Sarah Bickford, of Portsmouth, December 14, 1767. They had one son. Joseph Sherburne, and two daughters. He married (second). October II, 1770, Miriam Frost, of Kittery, Maine, born May 17, 1743. She was the daughter of Charles and Sarah (Pepperrell) Frost. Charles Frost was descended from the emigrant Nicholas Ffrost, born April 28, 1585, in Tiverton, England, married Bertha Cadwalla, born July 3. 1610, settled at Sturgeon Creek, Maine. 1636, died July 20, 1663. Charles Frost (2), son of Nicholas and Bertha Cadwalla Frost, born July 3. 1631, at Tiverton, married Mary Bowles, of Kittery. He was known as Major Charles Frost, and was killed by the Indians, July 4, 1697. Charles Frost (3), born April 17, 1687, married (first) Sarah Wain- wright: (second) Mrs. Jane Pepperrell, the widow of Andrew Pepperrell. Charles Frost (4) married Sarah Pepperrell, daughter of Andrew and Jane El- liot Pepperrell, and granddaughter of Hon. and Col- onel William Pepperrell, who was the founder of the Pepperrell family in America. Of Welsh origin, William Pepperrell was a native of Tavistock parish, near Plymouth. England. He came to the Isles of Shoals about 1660, and afterward settled in Kit- tery. From his success as a fisherman after- ward as a shipwright came his extensive shipping and commercial interests. As generous and public- spirited as he was successful, he was a most valued citizen, always engaged in some public service. From 1690 to 1725 Mr. Pepperrell was justice of the peace ; 1715 he was made judge of common pleas, and continued on the bench many years. He was commander of Fort Pepperrell, erected in 1700, and paid largely for its support. In 1714 Kittery Point was made a port of entry, and the command of a larger fort above the point gave Mr. Pepperrell the rank of captain .. As commander of militia he rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. William and Margery (Bray) Pepperrell, whom he married about 1680, were among the original members of the church organized in 1714. Of their eight chil- dren two were sons, Andrew (mentioned above), born July 1. 1681, died 1713: William, Jr .. com- mander at the siege of Louisburg, and afterward Sir William Pepperrell, born June 27, 1695, died July 6, 1759.
The children of Joseph and Miriam (Frost) Ayers were: 1. Jonathan, born September 14, 1771 (see below). 2. Polly, born February 26, 1774. died the following September. 3. Sarah, born at Kittery. November 8, 1775, died December 26, 1776. 4., Andrew Pepperrell, born August 31. 1777, died December 5, 1787. 5. Statira Manning, born in
Moultonborough, New Hampshire. May 24. 1779. 6. Eliza, born May 2, 1782, Moultonborough. 7. Abigail, born January 8. 1785, Portsmouth, died January 20, 1788. 8. Miriam, born May 16, 1787, at Canterbury. Joseph Ayers died April 28, 1812; Miriam (Frost) Ayers died December 20, 1834.
(III) Jonathan (2), the eldest child of Joseph and Miriam (Frost) Ayers, still a lad when his father removed to Canterbury, grew up on the homestead, succeeding to its possession and adding an equal acreage, largely in valuable timber land. A gentleman of the old school, liberal in religion, in church attendance constant, in politics an ardent Whig, keen in his sense of justice, in intelligence broad, he stood high in the esteem of his fellow townsmen, serving them in the legislature, as justice of the peace, and as trustee of the library founded by his father. He married Hannah Haines, born in Greenland, May 30, 1780, the daughter of Samuel and Hannah (Johnson) Haines, who moved from Greenland to Canterbury. Samuel Haines was a soldier of the Revolution, and descendant of Dea- con Samuel Haines. who emigrated to New England in 1635 and later settled in Greenland, where Sam- nel the soldier was born August 26, 1747. Of his five sons three were college graduates-Samuel (1803), and Stephen, Dartmouth, Charles Glidden, Middlebury, 1817. The last mentioned practiced law in New York, was appointed by Governor Clinton attorney general of that state in 1825. Died the same year, aged thirty-three years. The chil- dren of Jonathan and Hannah ( Haines) Ayers were: Mary Jane. born May 30, 1780, Canterbury, married John B. Chase. 2. Alice Sherburne, born December 12, 1808, married Nathaniel Kenison. 3. Jonathan, born February 18, 18II, married March 22, 1838, Mary Rogers, of Northfield, born in Derry, June 20, ISII. 4. Joseph Sherburne, born January 14, 1813. married (first), December 17, 1835, Lucy Caroline Emery, of London, and (second), 1861. Martha B. Lyford, Canterbury. 5. Charles Haines, born June 10. 1815, married (first), October 4, 1838, Almira D. Gerrish, and (second), October 19, 1854, Ellen Maria Gerrish. 6. Augustine Haines. horn
May 23, 1819. died April 7. 1845. 7. Eliza Haines, born June 25. 1821, died June 3. 1885. 8. Henry Sherburne, born April 13. 1823. died August 26, 1844. Hannah Haines died December 17. 1823. Mr. Avers married, December 19, 1825. (second) Mrs. Susan (Stevens) Hacket, born July 23. 1789, died August, 1882. Jonathan Ayers died September 5, 1840.
(IV) Jonathan (3) was of versatile talent and commanding presence. With a leaning to- ward mechanics, he built a sawmill with dam, canal and shop, but impelled by strong religious convictions he soon after moved to Gilmanton, where he studied for the ministry. After preach- ing two years with marked success in the Congre- gational Church in London, his health suffering from sedentary life, he returned to his farm and sawinill in Canterbury. Active in political as well as religious life, he held many town offices, and was twice a Democratic member of the legislature. As surveyor he was authority on boundary lines in Canterbury and adjoining towns, and was assistant engineer in locating the Boston, Concord & Mon- treal railway. As justice of the peace his legal knowledge was of great value and in the great civil struggle his influence was exerted to uphold the national administration. He married, March 22, 1838, Mary Rogers, born in Derry, June 20, 1811, daughter of Thomas Dorman and Mary (Mc- Gregor) Rogers. Thomas Rogers was the son of
156
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Major William Rogers, of Newbury, Massachu- setts, who served in the war of the Revolution from 1775 to his discharge in 1781. He was a direct de- scendant of John Rogers, of London, the compiler of the Matthews Bible, the first authorized version, prebendary of St. Paul's Church, and the first martyr of Queen Mary's reign.
Mr. Rogers, born January II, 1777, in Newbury, settled in Londonderry, and was deacon of the Pres- byterian Church for many years. He married Mary McGregor, great-granddaughter of Rev. James Mc- Gregor, one of the original settlers of London- derry, and first pastor of the first Presbyterian Church in New England. Mr. McGregor was not only the religious leader of the colony, but through his statesmanship and wide official acquaintance he was instrumental in procuring valid titles to the soil and in securing preservation from Indian depredations. Deacon Rogers and family removed to Northfield, where he died October, 1839. Mary, his wife, died 1841. Mary Rogers was educated in Derry, afterward removing with her father to Northfield. Her intellectual ability was of a high order, her influence during several years of teach- ing was inspiring. She was among the early ad- vocates of the anti-slavery movement and of the temperance cause. Missions were also dear to her. Jonathan Ayers died . in Concord, June 1, 1871. Mary Rogers Ayers died January 25. 1897. Their children were: 1. Augustine Rogers, born Gilmanton, September 28. 1839; see forward. 2. Helen Mc- Gregor, born Loudon, December 26. 1843; see for- ward. 3. Mary Adelaide, born Canterbury, June 27, 1850. 4. Samuel Haines, born Canterbury, Oc- tober 16, 1853, died December 2, 1890.
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.