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 91
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(XII) John H., second child of John P. and Rachel (Nelson) Robie, was born February 7, 1855, in Chester, and educated in the common schools. After working one and one-half years in a general store in Hampton Falls he was employed five years as a brush maker in Manchester. He next worked at farming in Brentwood five years, and then went to Concord, where he worked at meat cutting ten years. In 1895 he removed to Chester, where he has been in the meat business eleven years. He is a Republican, and is a trustee of the public library. He owns and lives on the old Robie homestead. He married. August 27, 1884, Abbie J. Goldsmith, of Concord, who was born November 30, 1860, daugh- ter of J. B. and Sarah J. (Foss) Goldsmith. She graduated from Penacook Academy, and is a mem- ber of the Congregational Church. They have two children : Olive B., born February 14, 1894, and Winnifred R., June 9, 1901.
(X) Thomas Sargent, youngest child of Edward and Sarah (Smith) Robie, was born January 14, 1791, at Chester, New Hampshire. When a lad of thirteen he went to Gorham, Maine, where he was employed in the store of his brother, Captain Top- pan Robie, till 1815, when the two brothers became partners. Mr. Robie was a man of upright character, and was honored for his piety and benevolence. For many years he was deacon of the First Con- gregational Church, of Gorham, and was intimately associated with its first pastor, Rev. Thaddeus Pome- roy. These two, pastor and deacon, were much at- tached and worked harmoniously together for the cause of Christ during many years. Deacon Robie lived to see his three surviving sons in the Congre- gational ministry. Although dying before he had reached the age of fifty, Deacon Robie had become an influential and prosperous citizen of his adopted town. He was largely instrumental in the building of the brick vestry to the Congregational Church in 1828, as he subscribed five hundred dollars for the same. He was town treasurer of Gorham for many years. On May 21, 1820, Deacon Thomas S. Robie married Clarissa Adams, daughter of Benjamin Adams, of East Sudbury, Massachusetts. They had nine children : Edward, whose sketch follows; Lu- cinda A., Thomas S., Benjamin A., Joseph Adams, Catherine P., Lucinda E., Thomas S. and Benjamin A. Deacon and Mrs. Rohie were greatly afflicted in the loss of their children. The second, third, fourth and fifth died of scarlet fever within a space of six weeks, their deaths ranging from July 31 to September 13, 1832, and their ages from two to ten years. The sixth child, Catherine P., died December 1I, 1834, at the age of three years and eight months. Of the four who lived to grow up, Edward the eldest is mentioned below; Lucinda E., born February 8, 1833, lives with her brother Edward; Thomas S.,
born September 21, 1834, married Virginia D. Peldle- ton, September 21, 1859, became a clergyman of the Congregational Church, and died at Chicago, March 25, 1906; Benjamin A., born September 9, 1836, married Lucy Wiggin, and was pastor of the Congregational Church at Grafton, Massachusetts, at the time of his death, September 16, 1900. Deacon Thomas S. Robie, the father, died October 22, 1838, aged forty-seven years, and his wife died July 27, 1860, aged sixty-eight.
(X]) Rev. Dr. Edward, eldest child of Deacon Thomas S. and Clarissa (Adams) Robie, was born April 5, 1821, at Gorham, Maine. He graduated from Gorham Academy in 1836, and from Bowdoin College in 1840. For the next three years he was a student at Andover Theological Seminary, and in the fall of 1843 he matriculated at the celebrated University of Halle, near Leipsic, Germany, where he remained two years. In the winter of 1846, after spending six months in Berlin, Dr. Robie returned to America and became teacher of languages in Gorham Academy. This once famous institution, which has sent out so many distinguished graduates, was founded in 1805, and Dr. Robie's unele, Toppan Robie, was on the board of trustees for half a cen- tury. Dr. Robie's cousin, Governor Frederick Robie, of Maine, is now president of the board. In 1848 Dr. Robie became assistant teacher of Hebrew at Andover Theological Seminary, where he remained three years. In 1852 Dr. Robie was ordained and installed pastor of the Congregational Church at Greenland, New Hampshire, where he has preached continuously ever since. No other clergyman now living in this state can show such a record as this, and very few pastors in the early days when ministers were settled for life by the town, were spared to preach so long. Although Dr. Robie is in the eighty-sixth year of his age, and the fifty-sixth of his ministry, he performs all the duties connected with the parish, and attends all conferences and meetings of the association. His intellect is as bright as ever, and he is an interesting converser. During his pastorate he has taken two trips to Europe for recreation, but those have been the only gaps in his continuous service. Dr. Robie is as modest as he is learned. In 1903 he wished to preach on some subjeet in which he did not consider himself thoroughly versed. Accordingly he went to Boston, took a special course at Cambridge, and returned with added stores of knowledge.
On December 28, 1852, Dr. Edward Robie mar- ried Susan P. Jameson, daughter of Rev. Thomas and Elizabeth (Lord) Jameson, who was born at Effingham, New Hampshire, October 23, 1823. She died at Greenland, June 12, 1878. There were no children. Miss Lucinda E. Robie, Dr. Robie's only surviving sister and near relative, now presides over his home in Greenland.
(Second Family.)
This family is descended from a ancestor
ROBIE who settled in New England among the earliest white inhabitants. Henry Robie was born in England about 1618, and was in Dor- chester, Massachusetts, in 1639. In the same year he removed from there to Exeter, New Hampshire, where he was a signer of the Combination. About 1650 he removed to Hampton, where he was a magis- trate, a seleetman and an innholder. His first wife, whose name was Ruth, died May 5, 1673. He mar- ried (second), January 19, 1674, Elizabeth (Phil- brick) Garland, daughter of Thomas Philbrick, and widow of John Garland. She died February II, 1677. He had a third wife, Sarah, who died January
Motic
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23, 1703. He died April 22, 1688. From him have descended all, or nearly all of the Robies of New Hampshire.
(I) James Robie, probably a descendant of the immigrant, Henry Robie, was born in Durham, in 1734, and died in Meredith, April 19, 1802. He married Ann Boynton, daughter of John and Ama ( Smith) .Boynton. (See Boynton, XXV).
(II) Samuel, son of James and Ann (Boynton) Robie, was born in Meredith, February 9, 1793. He settled in New Hampton, where he died May 10, 1846. He married, May 7, 1821, Eunice Roberts, daughter of Joseph Roberts. They had six children born in New Hampton : Susan E., Mary R., Nancy, James, Thomas and William R., next mentioned.
(III) William Roberts, youngest child of Samuel and Eunice (Roberts) Robie, was born in New Hampton, January 14, 1832. He was a prosperous farmer, and resided in his native town up to his death, February 10, 1907. Fle was a Republican in politics; filled the office of town tax collector a number of years, and was a representative one term from the town of New Hampton to the general court. He was a member of the Free Will Baptist Church; he was also an Odd Fellow and a member of the Patrons of Husbandry. He married (first), October 5, 1858, Harriet M. Chase, who was born in Groton, daughter of Charles Chase; she died August 5, 1872. He married (second), January 19, 1875, Martha G. Walker, who was born in Thorn- ton, April 2, 1836, daughter of Samuel H. Walker. Two sons were born of the first marriage: Samuel Hastings and Charles Warren.
(IV) Samuel Hastings, elder son of William R. and Harriet M. (Chase) Robie, was born in New Hampton, August 9, 1862. He learned the art of printing in the composing room of the Grafton County Journal, Plymouth. He established the Meredith Review, was editor and one of the proprie- tors of the Journal Transcript at Franklin for eighteen years, and is now editor and proprietor of the Chelsea (Massachusetts) Evening Record. He married, September 27, 1881, Lizzie O. Mills.
(IV) Charles Warren, younger son of William R. and Harriet M. (Chase) Robie, was born in the town of New Hampton, New Hampshire, July 28, 1866. He was educated in the country schools and the high school at Meredith Village. In March, 1884, he entered the service of the American Express Company at Plymouth, New Hampshire, where he remained until September 1, 1887, at which time he was appointed to a position in the office of the American Express Company at Lowell, Massachu- setts. May 1, 1889, he was transferred to the po- sition of secretary to the superintendent of the Massachusetts division of the American Express Company at Boston, which position he occupied until July 1, 1891, when he was transferred to Springfield, Massachusetts, as route agent or travel- ing auditor for the company. December, 1896, he was transferred back to Boston in the capacity of superintendent of the Massachusetts division of the American Express Company, which position lie oc- cupied until April 1, 1906, when he was appointed assistant general manager of the company and placed in control of the New England branch of the busi- ness, and has since held that position. MIr. Robie's natural fitness, untiring industry and energy, and never failing vigilance over the company's interests, have placed him in the position he now deservedly holds. Early in life he became a member of the Baptist Church of Meredith, New Hampshire. He is a member of the New Hampshire and other Boston clubs. He married September 4, 1890, Lizzie
MI. Woodward, of Lowell, Massachusetts. They have one son, Harold William Robie.
The principal early immigra-
RICHARDSON tion to New England took place in 1630, when seventeen ships in all, but not all together, brought one thou- sand or perhaps fifteen hundred passengers front England to these shores. In one of these ships the ancestors of the Richardsons of this article reached Massachusetts. In which one, or from what part of England he came, no one can definitely say.
(I) Ezekiel Richardson was probably the earliest colonist of that name in New England. He and his wife became members of the church gathered in Charlestown, August 27, 1630, which afterward be- came the First Church in Boston; and both were dismissed from it with thirty-three others October 14, 1632, to form the present First Church of Charles- town, which assembled on November 2, following. He was admitted freeman May 18, 1631. Soon after his arrival in this country he and his wife settled in Charlestown where they shared the privations which made the early years of the Colony memor- able. He was a worthy and much respected citizen, and his name appears often in the town and church records of Charlestown. In1 1663 the general court appointed him constable, then an office of respect- ability and responsibility, embracing a much wider range of duty than at present. Afterwards he was on several important committees. He was one of the first board of selectmen in Charlestown, chosen February 10, 1635; also in 1637-38-39. He . was deputy or representative to the general court, chosen September 2, 1634, and also in the following year. In 1637 a lot of land was granted to him on "Mis- ticke Side," or Malden; also to each of his brothers.
Ezekiel Richardson was a follower of Ann Hutchinson and John Wheelwright in the Antinom- ian controversy of 1637, as were most of the mem- bers of the Boston Church. He was one of the eighty or more persons who signed the remonstrance in Mr. Wheelwright's favor, but afterwards desired to have his name withdrawn. On May 15, 1640, Ezekiel Richardson was one of the committee of three to explore and determine the boundary of the grant of four miles square which the general court had made to the town of Charlestown. He was also one of the seven commissioners appointed to super- vise the erection of a new church and town upon the land thus granted. This town was subsequently incorporated as Woburn, and Ezekiel Richardson was one of the seven persons who became the con- stituent members of the new church, August 24, 1642. Ezekiel Richardson and his two brothers lived on the same street in Woburn, which from them was and still is called Richardson's Row, now in the town of Winchester.
At the first election of town officers in Woburn, April 13, 1644, Ezekiel Richardson was chosen select- man, and was re-elected in the years 1645-46-47. He was appointed one of the three commissioners "to end small causes under 20 shillings," at Woburn; and filled that office until his death. He was also one of the committee of five to lay out the road from Cambridge to Woburn. He made his will July 20, 1647, and died October 21 of that year. The inven- tory of his goods amounted to one hundred and ninety pounds. At this time none of his children had obtained their majority, which gives color to the belief that he was not more than forty-five years old at the time of his decease. His wife's name was Susannah. She married (second), Henry Brooks. of Woburn, and died September 15, 1681.
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The children of Ezekiel and Susannah Richardson were: Phebe, Theophilus, Josiah, Jolin, Jonathan, James and Ruth. (Josiah and descendants are mentioned in this article).
(II) Theophilus, eldest son and second child of Ezekiel and Susanna Richardson, was baptized in Charlestown, December 22, 1633. He was but eight years old when he went with his father to' Woburn, and resided there until his death, which took place December 28, 1674, at the age of forty- one years. His estate was settled in 1675, and its inventory amounted to five hundred and fifty-nine pounds. This indicates that he was a prosperous man, and that the community had advanced in material wealth. The items in the inventory show that there were many comforts enjoyed at that time. He was married May 2, 1654, to Mary Champney, daughter of John and Joanna Champney, of Cam- bridge. After his death she was married, February 25, 1684, to John Brooks, becoming his second wife. . Theophilus Richardson's children were : Ezekiel Mary, Sarah, Abigail, Hannah, John, Esther, Ruth and Bridget.
(III) Ezekiel (2), eldest child of Theophilus and Mary (Champney) Richardson, was born Oc- tober 28, 1655. in Woburn, and resided in his native town. The inventory of his estate as recorded states that he died March 13, 1734, in his seventy- ninth year. The inventory was made March 27, 1734, and includes no real estate, but his personal estate was appraised at two hundred and twenty pounds. He was married, July 27, 1687, to Eliza- beth Swan, of Cambridge, and their children were: Theophilus (died young), Elizabeth, Theophilus, Ezekiel, Abigail and Aaron.
(IV) Theophilus (2), second son and third child of Ezekiel and Elizabeth (Swan) Richardson, was born January 7, 1692, in Woburn, and lived for some time in that town. His latest years were passed in Stoneham, where he died in the autumn of 1723. in his thirty-second year. Stoneham was then a part of Charlestown, and the probate records says he died at Charlestown "on his return from His Majesty's service at the eastward." The indians in Maine had been committing depredations on the set- tlers, and Theophilus with others had gone to their assistance. The inventory of his estate made in December, 1723, includes only a small amount of personal estate, and his widow made oath that she had to "support herself and five small children, all sick at home with the feaver.", He was married in Watertown, April 24, 17II, to Ruth Swan, daughter of Gershom Swan, probably a relative of his mother's. She was married ( second), April 6, 1726, to Ebenezer Parker, of Stoneham. The children of Theophilus (2) Richardson were : Martha, Ruth, Edward, Richard and Moses.
(V) Edward, eldest son and third child of Theo- philus (2) and Ruth (Swan) Richardson, was born March 17, 1716, in Woburn, and was a resident at one time of Charlestown. His first two children were born in Woburn, where he probably resided until his removal to Watertown. From 1764 to 1771 he was an innkeeper in that town, and occupied a house at the junction of Belmont and Mount Auburn streets, since known as Bird's Hotel. He after- wards resided in Lincoln, which was formerly a part of Watertown, and died there in 1797, aged eighty years. His will was made in 1797, and desig- nates him as an inn holder of Watertown. This was proved June 14, 1797. He was married, Sep- tember 9, 1747, and was then said to be of Charles- town, to Abigail Chenery, who was baptized May 19. 1728, daughter of Ebenezer and Ruth Chenery,
of Watertown. She died in Lincoln, August 25, 1814, aged eighty-seven years. Their children were : Edward and Moses (twins), Ruth, Richard, Peter, Abigail, John, Ebenezer, Sarah, William, Elizabeth, Lucy and Mary.
(VI) William, seventh son and tenth child of Edward and Abigail (Chenery) Richardson, was born October 5, 1765, in Watertown. The family tradition is that he went west, and he probably did. It is not likely, however, that he went any farther than Lyndeboro, New Hampshire. As early as 1791 a William Richardson and his wife, Mary Pearson, were residing in Lyndeboro. There is no record to show whence he came, and there can be but little doubt that this is the William Richardson born in Watertown who "went west."
(VII) William (2), son of William (1) and Mary ( Pearson) Richardson, was born in Lynde- borough, New Hampshire, July 1, 1791. He was a farmer, and in 1848 he moved to Milford, New Hampshire, and lived on a place near the railroad station, on the road to Wilton. He spent the last ten years of his life there. On May 21, 1814, he married Lydia, daughter of Squire Daniel Putnam. She was born in Lyndeborough, August 9, 1796, and was a descendant of a brother of the famous General Israel Putnam, of Connecticut. William and Lydia ( Putnam) Richardson had ten children : Mary, born July 28, 1815, married Thomas Dunning, of Nashua, New Hampshire, and died there, Feb- ruary 25, 1841; Eliza, born November 14, 1816, married Benjamin F. Hutchinson, of Milford; Wil- liam Putnam, born September 11, 1818, married Julia Godkin; Caroline, born July 3, 1820. died in April, 1824: Hannah, born May 6, 1822, married Nathaniel Marshall, of Nashua; John, born July 7, 1824, was a mill overseer, married Jane Dwinel, lived at Me- chanics Falls, where he died October 7, 1893; David Gage, born Marchi 30, 1826, was a cabinet maker in Reading, Massachusetts, married Susan Bancroft, of Reading; Jonathan Pearsons, born April 2, 1828, was a farmer, married Malvina Tyler, of Lynde- borough, enlisted in the Civil war in 1861, and died in prison at Danville, Virginia, November 18, 1864; Lydia Ann, born February 25, 1830, married Eugene Hutchinson, of Milford, and died in New Mexico, January 12, 1886; Charles Atherton, whose sketch follows. William Richardson, Junior, died at Mil- ford, New Hampshire, May 20, 1858. His widow died at Milford, January 9, 1865.
(VIII) Charles Atherton, fifth son and youngest of the ten children of William and Lydia ( Putnam) Richardson, was born in Lyndeborough, New Hamp- shire, February 15, 1839. He came to Milford with his father, and was educated in the schools of that town, including the high school, and at Hebron Academy. Hebron, Maine. Immediately on leaving school he enlisted in Company K, Fifth Maine Volunteers, May 6, 1861, and served for three years in the Army of the Potomac. He took part in nine pitched battles, and was captured in the great battle of Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863, and taken to Libby prison. Fortunately he was liberated on parole after an imprisonment of seven weeks, being one of the last men to leave Libby in that way. He was dis- charged July 27, 1864. He then came back to Mil- ford and bought ninety acres of land, where he has since lived. He is a thrifty farmer, and makes a specialty of his potato crop. He enjoys traveling, and has visited many parts of the country. In politics he is a Republican, and he attends the Unitarian Church. On April 16, 1865, Charles A. Richardson married Abbie Theresa, daughter of Eugene and Phebe B. (Raymond) Hutchinson, of
.
Chert A. Richardson,
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Milford, New Hampshire. ( See Hutchinson Family). They have five children, all born in Milford, now living in different and widely separated sections of the country. George Henry, the eldest, was born October 30, 1867, and married, October 9, 1895, Dora, daughter of Lockhard (2) and Elizabeth (Ward) Baxter, of Somerville, Massachusetts. He is a life insurance inspector, and lives in Methuen, Massachusetts. Ada Medora, the second, was born June 10, 1869; she married, May 1.4, 1891, Kenneth, son of Peter and Mary (Matherson) Huss, of Boston, Massachusetts; they live in Los Angeles, California. Hattie Eugenia, the third. was born August 15, 1872, is a teacher and lives in Denver, Colorado. Henry Putnam, the fourth, was born July 16, 1877, was for a time the superintendent of the farm of the New Hampshire Agricultural Col- lege at Durham, and is now living in San Francisco, California. Arthur Charles, the youngest, born June 16, 1882, married Lizzie Boutelle Makay, Oc- tober 3, 1906, and resides in Ponemah, New Hamp- shire.
(II) Captain Josiah, third child and second son of Ezekiel and Susannah Richardson, was baptized in Charlestown, November 7, 1635, and died June 22, 1695, aged sixty. In 1659 he and his brother James settled in Chelmsford, and there he became early in life a leading citizen. He was chosen fence- viewer in 1659, and was one of the committee in 1663 to unite with a committee from Groton to lay out a highway on the boundary between the two towns. He was admitted freeman March 11, 1674; was chosen constable in 1667; was one of the board of selectmen in 1668-73-77, and from 1679 to 1688 both inclusive and in 1694, fourteen years in all; and was town clerk from 1690 to 1694. He was also captain of a military company, when the members of a mili- tary company were usually warriors.
Captain Josiah Richardson, Major Thomas Henchman and William Fletcher were granted a. tract of land upon which, in 1669, they built the second saw mill in town. Some Indians, "from the love they bore to" Josiah Richardson, of Chelms- ford, granted him, January 19, 1689, a parcel of land at the confluence of the Concord and Merrimack rivers, bounded on the south by Speen's brook, and included much of the site of the present city of Low- ell. He left an estate of £697 5s 6d. He was married at Concord, by Captain Simon Willard, of that place, June 6, 1659, to Remembrance Underwood, who was born at Concord, February 25, 1640, daugh- ter of William and Sarah Underwood. William Underwood settled in Chelmsford in 1654, at the very beginning of the plantation. The children of Captain Josiah and Remembrance Richardson were : Sarah, Mary, Josiah, Jonathan, John, Samuel, Re- membrance and Susannah.
(III) Lieutenant Josiah (2), third child and eldest son of Captain Josiah ( 1) and Remembrance Richardson, was born in Chelmsford, May 18, 1665. and died October 17, 1711, aged forty-five. He was a farmer and lived near the Concord river. 111 Chelmsford. He inherited the likely qualities of his ancestors, and was a lieutenant in the militia. . He was town clerk in 1693-94, selectman, and holder of other important town offices. He died without a will, and his inventory, dated 1712. in the depreci- ated currency of the time amounted to £514 4s. He married, December 14. 1687, Mercy Parish, of Dun- stable, a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Blanch- ard) Parish, of Groton. She died April 25, 1743. Their children were: Mercy. Josiah. Robert, Zacha- riah, Hannah and William. ( Mention of the last named, with descendants, forms part of this article ).
(IV) Captain Robert, third child and second son of Lieutenant Josiah (2) and Mercy ( Parish) Richardson, was born in Chelmsford, October 2, 1693. He lived some years in Chelmsford, at least till 1724, and then removed to Litchfield, New Hampshire, where his wife's father lived. Four Richardsons-Captain Robert, Stephen. Captain Wil- liam and Jonathan-were prominent amongst the early settlers of this town. In August, 1728, the owners of "Brenton's Farm" (afterward incorporated as Litchfield) all non-residents and sixteen in num- ber, made application to one of His Majesty's justices for the county of Middlesex, Massachusetts, for a warrant to call a meeting to make a division of the property according to their several interests. This meeting was held in Charlestown on the 23d day of the same month, and a committee consisting of Cap- tain Robert Richardson, Joseph Blanchard and Ste- phen Richardson was appointed "to survey and take a plat particular of the enterval of the meadows & of the other lands lying and contained in the afore- said tract of land or farm" &c. The committee did their duty properly and so reported. Captain Robert Richardson was made collector, at a meeting of the grantees held January 23, 1729. His assessment at that time was ffI Ios, and only four men of the twenty proprietors paid a larger amount. In 1725 Robert Richardson had a company of "snowshoe men," some of whom went in pursuit of the Indians after the "Pigwacket Fight," May 8, 1725. They were skilled in woodcraft and Indian warfare, and went because they were acquainted with the haunts of the savages. Robert Richardson married Deborah Parish, of Chelmsford, and they had, before leaving Chelmsford, two children whose names were Phebe, born in 1719, and Parish, born in 1724. The com- piler of the "Richardson Genealogy" claims Timothy and Luther Richardson as undoubtedly later-born sons of Robert, as was also Zachariah and undoubt- edly Ebenezer whose sketches follow in this article. (V) Zachariah, son of Robert and Deborah (Parish) Richardson, removed from Litchfield be- fore 1780, and became the first keeper of a public house in the village of Francestown. His tavern occupied the site of the present hotel. He owned at one time nearly half the land on which the village now stands. Deacon Jonathan Fiske and Dr. Sam- uel Lolly bought land of him in 1787. He was un- doubtedly a hardy pioneer, energetic and fond of frontier life. He moved in ISto or before, to Bath, in Grafton county, New Hampshire, and later to Topsham, Vermont, where he bought a large tract of land which he cultivated. The name of Zachariah Richardson appears on a muster roll of forty-two men raised out of the Fifth Regiment of Militia, in the state of New Hampshire, by an order from Major-General Folsom, on December 7, 1776, to re- inforce the Continental army at New York, until the first of March 1777; also, on an additional pay roll of twenty shillings per month for Captain Wil- liam Walker's company in Colonel David Gilmore's regiment, raised by the state of New Hampshire to reinforce the Continental army in the state of New York, from December 5, 1776, to March fol- lowing. Zachariah Richardson also belonged to the Vermont militia, and held four offices. His wife's name was Sarah. Their children were: Sarah, Lydia, Robert, Thomas, Stoddard. William, Kendall and Jacob. This child was one of the first persons buried in the cemetery at Francestown. The entry of his death was made June, 1780.
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