History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 120

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1200

USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 120
USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 120

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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GRANTHAM.

ver B. and Hiram, the latter a resident of Warner, N. H. Oliver has always been a resident of Grant- ham, being now a venerable man of eighty-four years, hale and active. He has been respected and honored by his townsmen to a great degree ; has been town clerk for many years, selectman for four- teen years, a representative three years and Sena- tor two years.

The settlement on the east side of the mountain was not made until a few years later than that on the west side.

The first settlement was made on Dunbar Hill, so-called from name of first settler, John Dunbar, who came with his family from Bridgewater, Mass., and at about the same time came Henry Howard. John Dunbar bought six hundred acres of land on this hill. In 1796 Ezekiel and Sylves- ter Dunbar and Isaac Newell came ; in 1797, Rich- ard Dodge; in 1798, Daniel Stone; in 1800, Abiel Howard, Uzziel Hayward, Barzelin Hayward came, all settling on or near Dunbar Hill. A few years later came Bradford Dunbar, Jonathan Nichols, John and Jesse Marsh and others. In 1793 Leavitt Hill was settled by Nathaniel Leavitt, who came from Exeter, N. H. He had eight sons and two daughters; all settled in the same neigh- borhood. Soon after Mr. Leavitt came, Samuel Alexander settled near him. Howe Hill was settled in 1813 by Ezekiel Howe. Among the early settlers on this side of the mountain were Francis Williams, Benjamin Clifford, Stephen Judkins, Daniel Britt, John and Joseph Sargent, Joseph Bean, David and Jonas Hastings, John Stocker, Richard Smith, Thomas Whipple, Deacon Joseph Goss. John Mel- lendy and Henry Eastman. Most of the early settlers lived to a good old age, as have their chil- dren. I will mention one instance of longevity among the early families. Abiel Howard had seven children, viz .: Inanthe, born February 25, 1799 ; Lewis, born December 4, 1802; Rachel, born May 29, 1805 ; Susan, born March 27, 1807 ; Abiel Howard, born October 16, 1810; Nathan Howard, born May 6, 1813 ; and Emma Howard, born April 8, 1815. They are all living at this date, the oldest being nearly eighty-seven and the

youngest nearly seventy-one years, Rev. Lewis Howard, one of the number, being the oldest preacher in the New Hampshire Conference. Na- than Howard is a preacher in Iowa. Three of the above named are now living in Grantham.

The Leavitt families were very large, and at one time there were nearly fifty of them who attended one school on Leavitt Hill. Seventeen of the Leav- itts were school-teachers, three were physicians, and one, William B., a professor of practical astronomy. He now resides in Grantham, and since the death of Dudley Leavitt, the originator of the " Leavitt Almanac," in 1858, he has made the calculations for this almanac, and has the copies all complete to 1897, and intends soon to have calculations completed to 1900. Nathaniel Leavitt died at the age of ninety three years. Samuel Alexander had two sons-Ezekiel and Henry. Ezekiel died in 1881, aged eighty-eight years ; he was a soldier in the War of 1812. Henry Alexander is now living in town at the age of eighty -six years.

Among the men most prominent in town in business affairs, who have lived in Grantham (and who are now dead), in addition to those above named, were Reuben Winter, Amasa and Adol- phus Hall, Deacon Seth Littlefield, Arden Hay- ward, Captain Nicholas Shaw, Colonel Francis Howard, Captain John Sargent, John N. Brown, David and John Frye, Carlton Barton, William Strocker, Captain Jonathan Brown, Henry How- ard and Edwin Sargent, and George Fowler, Eben Hayward, Gilman Colhy, John Clark, Nathaniel L. Shedd, John Smith and George W. Bus- well. The first settlers of Grantham were an in- telligent, industrious and enterprising class of peo- ple, and they left many worthy descendants ; and the town has ever been noted for the sobriety and morality of its people.

The first town-meeting ever held in Grantham was called upon the petition of ten of the inhabit- ants, and was held for the election of town officers, on the 12th day of March, 1776, at the house of Abel Stevens.

The following were the officers elected : Abel Stevens, moderator ; Elijah Gleason, town clerk ;

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HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Abel Stephens, Ithamer Bartlett and Elijah Gleason, selectmen ; Job Colton, town treasurer ; Jonathan Parkhurst, constable ; Caleb Colton, tithingman ; Stephen Colton, hog-reeve.

It appears that in its early infancy the town was called upon to furnish men for the Continental army, and a Committee of Safety was elected each year during the war. At a town-meeting held on the 7th day of December, 1776, the town voted a tax of five pounds to pay for military stores.

At a town-meeting held on the 16th day of April, 1777, a call for men having been made, the town " Voted to give a bounty of fourteen pounds to each man the town had to furnish for three years, or during the war with Great Britain." Subsequently, on the 7th day of May, 1777, the above vote was " repealed" and instead, a vote was passed " to give every man yearly eight pounds for the two first years of service, and ten pounds two shillings for the third year." It appears that there was another call for men, for a town-meeting was called to be held at the house of Abel Spaulding, " early candle-lighting to-morrow evening, July 23, 1779." It was voted " to give six pounds to any man who will go into the service on the present call," and a committee was chosen to procure a man.

In the early history of the town money was scarce, and in 1778 the town voted to pay the selectmen for their services in produce ; and two or three years later it was voted to raise fifty bushels of wheat to pay town expenses.

In 1779, at a meeting held for the purpose, it was voted " to allow the west part of the town to join the east part of Plainfield to form a religious society, and that the highth of the ridge on the mountain in this town be the easterly line of said society.

In 1779 a warrant was issued for the inhabit- ants to bring in their votes for Peleg Sprague or Hon. Woodbury Langdon for member of Con- gress." There could not have been any third party men in those days.

It appears that as early as 1779 there might have been " tax-dodgers," judging from a vote

passed that year, by the town, " to put every man under oath when he brings in his list."

In 1781 it was voted to " raise, victual and pay one man for one month, unless sooner discharged, for scouting on the frontier." It was voted to give ten silver dollars per month, or ten bushels of wheat, for the time the man remains in the service. In those days men got three shillings a day, " find themselves," and oxen one and sixpence, for work on roads, estimating corn at three shillings per bushel. The tax collector got four dollars a year for his services.

In 1782 the town was divided, by vote of the town, into two classes, in order to raise the men for the Continental army, and a committee was chosen for the purpose-Abel Stevens, Elijah Gleason and Robert Scott.

It appears that, in 1793, a requisition was made by the State upon this town for beef, and a com- mittee was chosen to procure it,-Robert Scott, Job Colton and Nathan Parkhurst.

In 1793 the town was first divided into sehool districts, and twelve pounds was voted to maintain schools in the town.

The first vote cast in Grantham for President of the colony of New Hampshire and for Senators was in 1784. The votes for President were: For Woodbury Langdon, twenty ; for George Atkin- son, one. In 1787 Samuel Duncan was chosen agent to go to the General Court, and a committee of three was chosen to give him instructions.

From 1790 to 1804 this town was classed with Protectworth (afterward called Springfield) for the election of representative to the General Court, and the representative was taken, on alternate years, from each town. It appears that, after- ward, Grantham was classed with Cornish for the same purpose. A meeting was called to elect a representative for the two towns, and it was voted not to elect ; but, immediately thereafter, Cornish called a meeting and elected a representative, and afterward asked the town of Grantham for a share of the expense. Grantham refused to pay and appealed to the General Court for relief, and it was granted.

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GRANTHAM.

About the year 1800 a dispute arose between this town and the town of Croydon in relation to the boundary line between them, both towns claiming certain territory. After a long contro- versy, the selectmen of Grantham appealed to the General Court for a committee to establish the line. The petition was granted, but the committee failed to settle the dispute, and a second committee was appointed in 1807, who effected a settlement by dividing the territory in dispute, giving each town a part of it.

The first public-house kept in town was on top of the mountain in 1802, and, as rum was an in- dispensable article in a hotel in those days, the selectmen gave the proprietor, John Quimby, a license " to sell spirituous liquors and to entertain travelers in a public manner, as the law directs."

Soon after this a second house was opened, and, for several years, there were two public-houses on the mountain. After these houses were closed no hotel was kept in town until about 1860, when one was opened in the village, which was kept open until 1877, when it was burned down and has never been rebuilt. During the War of 1812 this town furnished its share of soldiers. It was voted by the town " to make up, to the detached militia, ten dollars per month, including what they receive from the government, to each private, from the time they are called into actual service, and the non-commissioned officers are to receive as much from the town as the privates."

The following-named persons, citizens of Grant- ham, served in the army during the War of 1812:

Henry Howard, Jr., Josiah Leavitt (2d), Ezekiel Alexander, John Gage, Jason Trumbull, Thomas Smith. Isaac Drake and Allen Kidder, who soon afterward became citizens of the town, served at the same time. These are all dead. The widows of Allen Kidder and Ezekiel Alexander are yet alive and are residing in this town, each more than ninety years of age. At the time the old State militia of New Hampshire was in its glory, the town of Grantham took quite an active part in military affairs, having had two companies of fifty men each-the Rifle Company and the Light In-

fantry Company. The Rifle Company was nicely uniformed and equipped; was well disciplined, and, under its first captain and organizer, Captain Francis Howard, who was a splendid officer, was considered the best military company in the old Thirty-first Regiment. Through the influence of Captain (afterward Colonel) Howard, the regimen- tal muster was held on Dunbar Hill one or two years. At that time-about 1828-and for many years thereafter, Dunbar Hill was the centre of business in town, there being a store and black- smith-shop located there. Francis Howard was the store-keeper for many years. In those days all store goods were brought from Boston by horse- teams. Rum was sold in all the stores at that time The town had no railroad, but gave a thou- sand dollars to help build the Sugar River road, from which we are ten miles distant. The town of Grantham, during the late war, did her full share toward supporting the government, for she furnished more than her quota of men for the army. She furnished sixty-four men ; she paid liberal bounties, and, as a result, the town came out in debt about twenty-five thousand dollars, which has been gradually reduced until it is now ten thousand dollars.

Below are the names of citizens of the town who enlisted into and served in the army : 1

Stephen M. Thornton. Newton Clough.

Jonathan Merrill.

Daniel Clough.2

Almon G. Lowell. Daniel C. Currier.

Albert Eastman. John S. Gault.

Beri Tobine.2 Lyman P. Saunders.

Benjamin F. Kinnerson.

William H. H. Cowles.

Samuel Currier.

Lt. Lucius A. Buswell.

Van Buren Woodbury.2

Daniel Kennedy.

Francis Howe.2

Simeon R. Smith.

Frederic H. Howe. David B Frye.

Orlando W. Corliss. Albert B. Stocker.

George H. Thornton.2

Orrin A. Stocker.

John G. Shedd.2

Washington L. Howe.

Roswell B. Walker.

Nathan J. Hastings.

1 Several of these men re-enlisted, so that they were counted twice in making our number sixty-four.

2 Died in service.

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HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Charles H. Leavitt.1

Wareham Miller.1

Leonard F. Shaw. Hubert Sleeper, M.D.

Lt. Dudley J. Pillsbury.1 Thomas B. Alexander.

Thomas J. Morrill. Almon O. Leavitt, M.D.

Horace Brown.1

There was a Methodist Church in Grantham as early as the year 1800. Isaac Newell, Ezra Bus- well and Jacob Perkins were its stewards. The meetings were held in private houses or school- houses, and when these would not accommodate they were held in barns. In 1826 a meeting-house on Dunbar Hill, also one on the mountain, were completed and were dedicated. Rev. Giles Camp- bell preached the dedication sermon of the former, and Rev. J. W. Hardy that of the latter. Reuben Winter was the moving spirit in the building of the house on Dunbar Hill, and he was a liberal contributor to the support of preaching in the house for many years. The house upon the moun- tain was built near where the road to Meriden crosses the turnpike. Upon this turnpike in those days there was much travel,-six-horse stage- coaches, heavy teams, etc.,-this being the main thoroughfare through town and on the direct route to Boston. There was a store and a hotel quite near, and a considerable population in the imme- diate vicinity. The house upon the mountain was occupied about twenty years, when the population had so changed as to make it necessary to move the church to North Grantham, which was done in 1855 and a neat and commodious house was built at a cost of one thousand two hundred dollars The house on Dunbar Hill was occupied until 1860, when it was moved to the village, en- larged by the addition of a story underneath for a town hall. Previous to this the town had never had a town-house. This was made a very neat and pleasant church, remaining, as at the begin- ning, a union house.

Rev. Paul S. Adams, of Newport, preached the dedication sermon and supplied the pulpit for sev- eral months. Elder J. W. Osborne, of the Chris- tian Church, East Grantham, supplied the desk for

some time. Since 1866 the Methodist Society has occupied the house most of the time. There is a church edifice at East Grantham, built and oc- cupied by the Christian Baptists. This house was built about 1840, and meetings were regularly held in it many years, but of late it has not been used, except occasionally. The settled pastors over this church, were Rev. Mr. Palmer, Rev. J. W. Os- borne and Rev. Clark Symonds. £ Rev. John Young, of Sunapee, has supplied the desk for quite a share of the time when no minister has been set- tled over the church. I append herewith the names of the preachers and the date of their pastor- ate with the Methodist Episcopal Church of Gran- tham,-

May, 1801, to May, 1802, Rev. Martin Rutter. May, 1802, to May, 1803, Rev. Oliver Beal.

May, 1803, to May, 1804, Rev. John Broadhead. May, 1804, to May, 1805, Rev. Elijah Willard. May, 1805, to May, 1806, Rev. Hezekiah Field. May, 1806, to May, 1807, Rev. Caleb Dustin. May, 1807, to May, 1808, Rev. Warner Bannister. May, 1808, to May, 1809, Rev. Caleb Dustin. May, 1809, to May, 1810, Rev. Thomas Asbury. May, 1810, to May, 1811, Rev. Philip Ayer. May, 1811, to May, 1812, Rev. Charles Virgin. May, 1812, to May, 1813, Rev. Harry Mowrey. May, 1813, to May, 1814, Rev. Benjamin Shaw. May, 1814, to May, 1815, Rev. Warren Bannister. May, 1815, to May, 1817, Rev. Caleb Dustin. May, 1817, to May, 1818, Rev. Erastus Otis. May, 1818, to May, 1819, Rev. Jon. Paine. May, 1819, to May, 1820, Rev. Orin Roberts. May, 1820, to May, 1821, Rev. Joseph Kellum. May, 1821, to May, 1822, Rev. Ezra Kellog. May, 1822, to May, 1823, Rev. Hershel Foster. May, 1823, to May, 1825, Rev. Joseph Kellum. May, 1825, to May, 1827, Rev. Caleb Dustin.

May, 1827, to May, 1828, Rev. Benjamin Paine. May, 1828. to May, 1829, Rev. J. Sylvester.

May, 1829, to May, 1830, Rev. G. Putnam.

May, 1830, to May, 1831, Rev. J. Hazeltine. May, 1831, to May, 1833, Rev. N. Ladd. May, 1833, to May, 1834, Rev. Amos Kidder. May, 1834, to May, 1836, Rev. E. A. Rice.

May, 1836, to May, 1838, Rev. B. C. Eastman. May, 1838, to May, 1841, Rev. William J. Kidder.

1 Died in service.

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GRANTHAM.

May, 1841, to May, 1842, Rev. Jessie Boyden. May, 1842, to May, 1844, Rev. B. C. Eastman. May. 1844, to May, 1846, Rev. William Moran. May, 1846, to May, 1848, Rev. Abel Heath. May, 1848, to May, 1850, Rev. Daniel Lee. May, 1850, to May, 1852, Rev. Josiah Scarritt. June, 1852, to June, 1853, Rev. C. H. Lovejoy. June, 1853, to June, 1855, Rev. S. S. Dudley. June, 1855, to June, 1857, Rev. G. P. Warner. June, 1857, to June, 1859, Rev. O. W. Watkins. June, 1859, to May, 1860, Rev. L. H. Gordon. May, 1860, to April, 1865, Rev. Richard Newhall. May, 1865, to April, 1866, Rev. D. W. Barber. May, 1866, to April, 1868, Rev. Hugh Montgomery. May, 1868, to April, 1869, Rev. Silas Quimby. May, 1869, to April, 1872, Rev. B. P. Spaulding. May, 1872, to April, 1873, Rev. G. A. Tyrell. May, 1873, to April, 1875, Rev. Noble Fisk. May, 1875, to April, 1877, Rev. B. P. Spaulding. May, 1877, to April, 1879, Rev. G. S. Wentworth. May, 1879, to April, 1881, Rev. Thomas Winsor. May, 1881, to April, 1883, Rev. J. Wesley Bean. May, 1883, to April, 1885, Rev. G. H. Hardy.

At the church at the village,-

1866 to 1868, Rev. Hugh Montgomery. 1868 to 1870, Rev. Silas Quimby. 1870 to 1872, Rev. W. H. Eastman. 1872 to 1873, Rev. G. A. Tyrell.

1873 to 1875, Rev. W. H. Eastman. 1875 to 1876, Rev. Noble Fisk. 1876 to 1878, Rev. W. W. Le Seur.

1878 to 1880, Rev. F. M. Pickles. 1880 to 1881, Rev. Thomas Winsor.

1881 to 1883, Rev. J. W. Bean. 1883 to 1885, Rev. G. H. Hardy.

The following list contains the names of all the men who have represented the town in the General Court of New Hampshire : Samuel Duncan, 1787.

Nathan Young, 1788. Samuel Duncan, 1789-92. Joab Young, 1794. R. Duncan, 1796-1800. Isaac Clement, 1804.

Ezra Buswell, 1805-6. James Smith, 1807-13, in- clusive.

Ezra Buswell, 1814-15.

James Smith, 1816. Ezra Buswell, 1817. James Smith, 1818. Uzziel Haywood, 1819. James Smith, 1820. Uzziel Haywood, 1821. Charles Gleason, 1822-23. Uzziel Haywood, 1824. James Smith, 1825. John Gove, 1826-27.

Abiel Howard, 1828-29. Charles Gleason, 1830. John Gove, 1831. Amasa Hall, 1832. John Gove, 1833. Amasa Hall, 1834, '5, '6. Oliver B. Buswell, 1837- 38.

Samuel Bean, 1839-40. Samuel C. Moulton, 1841 -42. William C. Smith, 1843- 44.

Jonathan Brown, 1845- 46.

Nicholas Shaw, 1847-48. Arden Hayward, 1849-50.

Cyrus Smith, 1851-52. Reuben Winter, 1853.

Jonathan Leavitt, 1854- 55. George W. Smith, 1856. John Leavitt, 1857.

John Frye, 1858. John Leavitt, 1859.

Adolphus Hall, 1860-61: William Stocker, 1862-63. Jos. P. Fowler, 1864-65. John Clarke, 1866-67.

Wm.H.Eastman, 1868-69. Benj. F. Goss, 1870-71. Aaron L. Brown, 1872-73. Lorenzo D. Dunbar, 1874 -75.

Edwin G. Eastman, 1876. Thos. B. Alexander, 1877. Joshua D. Hemphill, 1878 -79.

Joseph Hastings, 1880. Albina H. Powers (bien- nial,) 1881-82. Rufus Hall, (biennial) 1883-84.

William H. Miller, (bien- nial), 1885.

SENATORS.

Samuel C. Moulton, 1845-46.

Hon. Oliver B. Buswell, 1854-55. Hon. John P. Chellis, 1857-58.

This town has furnished two State Senators, viz., Hon. Oliver B. Buswell and Hon. John P. Chellis, both now living ; and a former citizen of the town was at one time in the Minnesota Senate ; F. J. Stevens, now of South Framingham, Mass., is the gentleman. The town has furnished three county treasurers; viz., Samuel C. Moulton Adolphus Hall and William C. Stroker; the last-named, however, at the time of his election was living in Sunapee. It has furnishod also one high sheriff, John P. Chellis, while W. H. H. Cowles, who was a high sheriff of the county, had previously been a citizen of the town; two county com- missioners, viz., Adolphus Hall and Horace F. Goss. The present solicitor of Rockingham County, Edwin G. Eastman, is a native of the town. The present register of deeds of Sullivan County is a native of Grantham. A. H. Powers, recently of the Board of Fish Commissioners of the State, is a citizen of the town. Leander F. Dodge

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HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

president of the Citizens' National Bank, of Newport, N. H., was born here and resided here until 1868. Almo O. Leavitt was a surgeon in the U. S. Navy during last war. Hubert Sleeper was a surgeon in the Sixteenth New Hampshire Regiment, and was taken prisoner. Only three of the natives of this town have adopted the law as a profession, viz., Hiram L. Sleeper, George Davis, and Edwin G. Eastman. Ten have chosen the medical profession. No physician ever settled in town until Dr. Sleeper eame here about 1860. The people of the town being noted for their sobriety and law-abiding character, no lawyer ever deemed it wise to locate in the town until 1882, when one came but stayed only a few weeks, left, and has not been heard of in these parts since.

But very little manufacturing of any kind has been done in town, for the reason that the water- power has never been developed, so as to make it accessible and permanent. There are many ponds in town, and with a comparatively small outlay of money, could be made a permanent water supply, sufficient for much business. There was at one time, and for many years, a tannery on the road from North Grantham to the mountain, occupied by the Clements and their successors. Later, about 1860, there was a hame manufactory at the village, owned by L. F. Dodge and W. H. H. Cowles; this afterwards went to Sunapee. Saw- mills have been very numerous, and immense quantities of lumber have been cut and drawn from town. Much of the soil of the town is good, but in parts rough and uneven. There is a very pretty little village, containing school-house, grist and saw-mill, two blacksmith-shops, three stores, beside a drug-store, church and town-house.

Population of the town at different periods has been as follows : 1775, 74; 1790, 333; 1800, 713; 1810, 864; 1820, 1032; 1830, 1079; 1840, 1036; 1850, 784; 1860, 649 ; 1870, 608; 1880, 540.

SUICIDES IN TOWN .- Joseph Eastman, drowned himself in Eastman' Pond in 1812.

The wife of Dvaid Stockwell committed suicide, 1817.

March 13, 1865, Nathaniel Fisher cut his throat.

ACCIDENTAL DEATHS IN TOWN .- About the year 1791 two men by the name of Anderson were drowned in Anderson Pond, -so called after this occurrence.

In 1809 a Mr. Miller was drowned in Miller Pond.

In 1817 two sons (Bera and Jesse) of Jesse Marsh were drowned in the village mill-pond.

In 1848 a son of Hollis Husey was drowned in the same pond.

About the year 1860 a man by the name of Heath was killed by a log rolling upon him.

In April, 1863, Eugene Brown, a son of Na- thaniel Brown, was killed by being thrown from a horse.

October 22, 1867, Lieutenant Lueius A. Bus- well was fatally injured in a saw-mill in the town of Sunapee.

In 1863 a son of Jonathan B. Hastings was fatally scalded.

August 26, 1872, Wilmer Leavitt was drowned in Stocker Pond.

January 19, 1874, Edwin Sargent, first seleet- man of the town at the time, was killed by being run over by a sled.

April 13, 1874, James W. Nelson was found dead, having perished from eold while returning from the village the night before.

October 15, 1874, Mrs. Lovina West was fatally injured by being thrown from a carriage.

April 9, 1880, Luey Green was found dead in bed.

September 9, 1880, Sanborn Brown died in consequence of being thrown from a carriage.

February 26, 1881, Joseph C. Burpee fell from a loft in his barn, and was fatally injured.

April, 1882, Charles Wallace, son of William Wallace, was fatally scalded.

October 15, 1884, George, son of George E. Hatch, was killed by the falling of a cart body upon himn.

Benjamin IT Bsof

177

GRANTHAM.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN GOSS.

Benjamin F. Goss was born August 13, 1811, in that part of Springfield, N. H., now Grantham. The first known of the Goss family in America is that they were among the early settlers in the old Rye and Greenland colonies (so called). From there, as the tide of emigration set westward, their descendants emigrated from time to time until now the name, though not a common one, is found widely scattered throughout the States.

Joseph Goss, the grandfather of Benjamin F., resided in Pittsfield, N. H., during the latter part of the last century. He was born April 5, 1758, and died in May, 1811. He twice married,-first, to Keziah Meades ; their children were William, Deborah, Betsey, Joseph, Robert, Molly, Lydia and Nathan. His second wife was Molly Towles ; their children were Miriam, Delia, Huldah, Hannah, Jonathan, David and Daniel. His will bears date 1809.

Joseph Goss, Jr., the father of Benjamin F., was born in Pittsfield February 6, 1786. When he was a young man his father purchased a tract of land in Springfield, N. H., then comparatively a wilderness, and gave it to him. The deed to one hundred acres bears date 1803, and is from John Wendall, of Portsmouth, to John Goss, of Spring- field. He came from Pittsfield on horseback, with the usual equipment of a frontiersman-trap, gun, kettle, etc .- strapped on behind him. He was then about nineteen years of age ; he used to spend the summer months in Springfield clearing land and preparing a home for himself, and in winter return to his father's house, in Pittsfield.

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History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 120

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1200

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1200