History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 104

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168

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IHILLSBOROUGHI.

whom, a boy, soon after died. By close attention to business, from early morning till nine or ten at night, he built up a good trade, passing without serious loss through the disastrous financial panic of 1837, when the bottom seemed to have dropped out of all trade, and the first question asked was, " Who has failed to- day?" He visited New York frequently, buying directly from the manufacturers and importers ; also built up a large trade in butter, by going back into that State, where the farmers, saying there was no demand, were satisfied with the York shilling (twelve and one-half cents) offered for their best quality ; this, before the days of railroads, had to be forwarded by canals and stages. A remunerative wholesale and retail trade was thus established.

About the year 1842, Mr. Gilbert, with others, sent out a cargo of merchandise to Oregon; the vessel went round the Horn and reached there, fortunately, just as gold had been discovered. Lumber costing fourteen dollars a thousand in Oregon brought two hundred in San Francisco, and provisions in proportion.

Imagine the surprise of the company, of which Mr. Gilbert was the treasurer, in hearing they had a deed of nearly all the city of Portland, and soon after receiving the first gold, about fifty thousand dollars, sent from Oregon. A second vessel was sent, the captain of which proved dishonest. An agent built a vessel for them, which was wrecked. So Mr. Gilbert decided, having drawn one prize, he had had enough of speculation, and ever after kept out of it. In 1837, Mr. Gilbert bought a house in Temple Street, and moved from there to his present residence, at the South End, in 1858.

Having been troubled with deafness for many years, resulting from a fever, he decided, on reaching his sixtieth year, to go out of business, leaving it with his nephew, above referred to, who had been with him many years, and who has proved himself a most suc- cessful merchant. He invested his money at that time (1864) in real estate, the care of which has occupied him during his declining years.

Many an impoverished family and poor widow have had occasion to bless his name from his for- bearing kindness, it having been his principle to suffer rather than inflict wrong. He has been almost daily able to assist others, and has ever ascribed, with thankful heart, all his success to the love and beneficence of his Heavenly Father.

He sold the homestead farm, now owned and ocen- pied by Mr. George W. Ray, preserving the adjoining house, bought in 1830 by Benjamin and himself, with orchard and wood lot, for family use. Here it has been the custom of all the family, by his invitation, to spend many pleasant weeks every summer, the at- tachment of all towards the homestead and church in the place being remarkably strong, Hillsborough Centre being preferred, even by the grandchildren, to any celebrated summer resort or gay watering-place. Nine months after celebrating his golden wedding,

in 1884, Mr. Gilbert was called to part with the be- loved partner of his life, by whom he had two daughters. On August 6, 1885, he reached his eighty- first year.

Genealogy .- The name of Gilbert is eminent in the annals of the church, state and learning of England through several centuries. Its early home is in Devon- shire; many branches planted in this country issued from this stock. The name is of Saxon origin, and means a bright or brave pledge.

In 1060, Gilbert de Gaunt came in with William the Conqueror. In 1115 a Gilbert who joined the Crusades was father of Thomas â Becket. In 1215 one is treasurer of Lincoln Cathedral; 1240, arch- deacon of Stow ; 1414, bishop of London. In 1475, an Otho Gilbert is high sheriff of Devonshire. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, "that high-spirited and skillful mathematician and hydrographer," was born in 1539. His early youth was devoted to liberal studies, which, with his brothers,-Sir John, Sir Adrien and Sir Walter,-they pursued under one roof with the en- thusiasm of great minds; they became valiant and well experienced in nautical affairs, and to the brothers Humphrey and Raleigh is ascribed the honor of laying the foundation of the trade and naval power of Great Britain. In 1570, Sir Huni- phrey proposed to Queen Elizabeth a plan for a university in the metropolis. Letters patent were granted him June 11, 1578, " to take possession of all remote and tortuous lands for himself and his heirs for- ever." His first voyage was unsuccessful ; but five years later he discovers and lays claims to the Newfound- land fisheries, and while coasting along the country his vessel,-the "Squirrel,"-went down in a violent storm, September 9, 1583. He was last seen sitting in the stern with an open book in his hand, and his last words were, " We are as near heaven by sea as by land." His son, Raleigh Gilbert, of Compton Castle, had a son Humphrey, who, in 1620, was five years old. That this is our ancestor is most plausible from the fact that a Humphrey Gilbert was in Ipswich, Mass., in 1648, and in 1650 bought one hundred acres near the bounds of Wenham ; that his age, as shown by a deposition of his on file, agrees with that of Sir Humphrey's grandson ; and that the name Humphrey is in no other family of Gilberts either in England or in this country. His will was made in 1657-58. By his wife, Elizabeth Kilham, daughter of Daniel Kil- ham, he had one son, John, and three daughters. The descent from this son is as follows:

1. John Gilbert, married Martha Dodge ; settled in Gloucester in 1704; had two sons, William and JJona- than; the latter died about 1800, aged eighty-six ; a son of Jonathan died in 1836, also eighty-six. Three of his sons were representatives.

2. Daniel, married Elizabeth Porter; settled in Marblehead, Mass.

3. Benjamin, married Estha Perkins; settled in Brookfield, Mass.

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HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

4. Joseph, married (Ist) Mary Coggswell, (2d) Eliz- abeth Whipple; settled in Littleton, Mass., in 1748. His will was probated April 1, 1763. The children of Joseph by his wives Mary and Elizabeth were,-

1. John, married Sarah Cummings. .

2. Samuel, captain in Colonel Prescott's Seventh Regiment.

3. Mary.

4. Elizabeth, married Aaron Stratton.

5. Daniel.

6. Joseph, born 1751, died 1777; first lieutenant in Captain Gilbert's company ; married Sarah Rob- bins, born 1751; died in Hillsborough, N. H., No- vember 25, 1828.

7. Abigail Haynes.

The children of Joseph by his wife Sarah were,-

1. John, born in Littleton, Mass., August 21, 1773 ; died in Hillsborough, N. H., March 30, 1857; mar- ried Susan Pollard (daughter of Benjamin Pollard), born in Billerica, Mass., October 8, 1773 ; died in Hills- borough, N. H., February 10, 1850.

2. Pattec Gilbert, born September 27, 1776; mar- ried (Ist), January 15, 1801, to Joseph Harwood, (2d) December 16, 1819, to William Willard; died March 9, 1860. Children,-

1. Mary Wilder Harwood, born December 4, 1802; married, January 17, 1828, Steadman Willard ; died December 26, 1877.

2. Joseph Gilbert Harwood, born July 27, 1804; married - Fletcher, of Westford; settled in Cali- fornia ; had five children.

3. John Alfred Harwood, born March 27, 1807 ; died August 13, 1810.

4. Nancy Elvira Harwood, born March 17, 1810; died July 16, 1810.

Children of Mary Harwood Willard,-

1. Alma Harwood Willard, born August 28, 1828; married George Kendall, June 23, 1864.

2. Mary Almeda Willard, born May 11, 1831 ; died October 25, 1855.

3. Stedman Alfred Willard, born February 21, 1834; married Annette Putnam, January 29, 1865.

4. Lydia S. Willard, born December 15, 1837 ; mar- ried William G. Barrows, May 15, 1862.

The children of John Gilbert and Susan Pollard, all born in Hillsborough,-

1. Joseph, born January 10, 1799; died September 27, 1836; married Alvira Moore, of Marlborough, Mass., born 1800, died March 11, 1872.

2. Benjamin, born July 7, 1801 ; died in California December, 1852 ; not married.

3. John, born August 6, 1804; married, October 4, 1833, Mrs. Ann Burrows Attwill, born in Wood- bridge, England, June 10, 1802, died in Boston, July 16, 1884.

4. Nancy Dutton, born 1807; died Dec. 25, 1844.

5. Sarah Tarbell, born 1816; died November 2, 1848. The children of Joseph Gilbertand Alvira Moore,- I. Almira, born February, 1828 ; died August 8, 1833. 11. Susan Page, born January 20, 1830; married Rodney S. Lakin, October 11, 1846 ; died June 7, 1852. Children,-

1. Willis Gilbert Lakin, born September 11, 1847.

2. Clara Frances Lakin, born May 31, 1850; died September 7, 1851.

3. John Clark Lakin, born May 8, 1852.

III. John Clark, born November 2, 1832; married (1st), August 23, 1855, Abby Jane Keay, born Janu- ary 1, 1832, died January 3, 1861; married (2d), Sep- tember 1, 1861, Lizzie Lake Keay, born August 15, 1834. Children,-

1. Susan Alice, born January 16, 1858.

2. John Clark, born November 5, 1860; died June 8, 1861.

3. Mary Abby, born June 27, 1862.

4. James Porter, born January 24, 1867.

5. Carrie Louise, born August 23, 1870.

6. Bessie, born July 29, 1872.

IV. Hammond Barnes Gilbert, born September, 1834; married, in Colorado, October 28, 1869, Julia Etta Beverley, born in Paris, Ill., daughter of Jolin Randolph Beverley, a descendant of the Beverleys and Randolphs of Roanoke, Va. Children,-

1. Joseph Beverley Gilbert, born August 2, 1870.

2. Mary Florence Gilbert, born August 24, 1873; died February 25, 1877.

3. Clifford Hammond Gilbert, born May 9, 1875.

4. Julia Gertrude Gilbert, born April 27, 1878; died February 27, 1880.

The children of John Gilbert and Ann Attwill,-

I. Elizabeth Burrows Gilbert, born in Boston, July 28, 1834; married, September 4, 1860, Henry Frost, born in Granby, Canada, May 18, 1832, son of Washington Frost and Samantha Laurence. Chil- dren,-

1. Henry Gilbert Frost, born December 7, 1864.

2. William Lawrence Frost, born April 5. 1868.

Il. Ellen Lizette Gilbert, born in Cambridge, Mass., March 21, 1845; married, June 9, 1869, Moses Field Fowler, born in Yorktown, N. Y., October 2, 1819. His father was Henry Fowler, born June 18, 1785, died May 12, 1859; and his mother was Phebe Field, born January 16, 1784, died November 10, 1862.

Scarcely had the above record of Mr. Gilbert's life, written according to his suggestions, gone to press when he was called to enter his eternal home. The summons was a welcome one, his last words being, " I am all ready, I long to go." Thus the faith in an atoning Saviour, which throughout life had been his comfort and support, brightened his last hours. In peace with his God and all men he closed his eyes upon worldly scenes, May 25, 1885.

HISTORY OF HOLLIS.

CHAPTER I.

Geographical-Original Grant-Old Dunstable-Original Bounds-West Dunstable-Hollis-Derivation of the Term-One-Pine Hill-First Settlements-The Pioneers.

THE town of Hollis lies in the southern part of the county, and is bounded as follows :

On the north by Milford, Amherst and Nashua; east by Nashua; south by Massachusetts, west by Brookline and Milford.

Nearly all the territory embraced within the bounds of the present town of Hollis originally comprised a portion of the old town of Dunstable, which was granted by Massachusetts October 16, 1673 (O. S.), and embraced the present town of Tyngsborough, the cast part of Dunstable, a narrow gore on the east side of Pepperell and a tract in the northeast part of Townsend, Mass., and the towns of Litchfield, Hud- son, portions of Londonderry, Pelham and nearly all the present towns of Nashua and Hollis and parts of Amherst, Milford and Brookline, in New Hampshire.

December 28, 1739, the westerly portion of Dun- stable was " erected into a separate and distinct pre- cinct " by the government of Massachusetts, and went by the name of West Dunstable until April 3, 1746, when, in answer to a petition from the inhabitants, about one-half of it was incorporated with full town privileges by the Governor and Council of the prov- ince of New Hampshire, and named Holles.1

1 " ] think there can be no reasonable doubt about the origin or or- thography of this name. Benning Wentworth was trovernor of the province, and owed his position to Thomas Pelham Holles, Duke of New Castle, who was colonial secretary. It is well known that Governor Wentworth named many of the towns in this State in honor of his friends, sometimes when the inhabitants had petitioned to be incorpo- rated with a name of their own choosing, they preferring to accept a name which was distasteful to them rather than ineur the Governor's displeasure, and perhaps refusal to grant their charter. As to the or- thography of the name of the Duke of New Castle, I think John Farmer is mistaken in writing it Hollis, as there are manuscript documents in the otlice of the Secretary of State to which the duke signed his name, ' Holles New Castle.' That the town was named for him I think there can be no question ; and because of his ignorance and detestable charac- ter, its citizens were justified in changing it to lollis, as they evidently did to perpetuate the name of Thomas Hollis, the benefactor of Harvard College."-I. W. Hammond.

In referring to this matter, Judge Worcester says : "Within my re- membrance, there has been much controversy upon the question

December 13, 1763, the place called One-Pine Hill was annexed to Hollis, thus extending its domains farther east. March 30, 1769, a strip was taken from the west side of the town one and a quarter miles wide, and, with "mile slip," incorporated into the town of Raby (Brookline). A small addition was made to the town, May 14, 1773, of land taken from Dunstable.

On the 17th of February, 1786, a strip, three-quar- ters of a mile wide, the entire length of the west side of the town, was annexed to Raby.

Under the laws of the province of Massachusetts (says Judge Worcester) in force at the time, the twenty- six petitioners for the charter of Dunstable, "with such as might joyn with them in the settlement," be- came owners in fee simple, as tenants in common, of all the ungranted land within the boundaries of the township. In the year 1682, shortly after the close of King Philip's War, a meeting of these proprietors was held, who formed themselves into an association for the purpose of settling their several rights, of making divisions of their lands from time to time among themselves in the modes and proportions mutually agreed upon, and also for the making of sales and setting off' the lands disposed of to pur- chasers and actual settlers.

The meetings of these original proprietors, and of those who succeeded to their estates, afterwards con- tinued to be held (sometimes at intervals of many

whether the name of Hollis should be spelt with the letter i or e in the last syllable, and also as to the person in whose honor the lown was named. Mr. Farmer, in his 'Gazetteer of New Hampshire,' spells it with an i, and tells us that the name was either derived from the Duke of New Castle, whose family name was Hollis, or from Thomas Hollis, a distinguished benefactor of Harvard College, Mr. Farmer spelling both names ' Hollis.' Hon. J. B. Ilill, in his history of Mason, says the name was derived from that of the Duke of New Castle, whose family name was Holles, Mr. Hill using the letter e in the last syllable. From the best evidence at my command upon the question, I have no doubt that Mr. Hill is correct, both in the orthography of the name and also in that of the person for whom the town was called. In the original record of the town charter, now at Concord, and in the copy of the char- ter on the Hollis record, the name is spelt Holles, In the town records for the twenty-five years and more before the War of the Revolution the name oceurs hundreds of times, and, so far as I have seen, is uniformly spelt Holles, as in the charter, and is so spelt in the New Hampshire Laws published as late as 1815."

435

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HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

years) for more than a century, the last of them as late as 1816. The doings of this association, incluid- ing the partitions and sales of land made by the pro- prietors, were carefully recorded in books kept by them for the purpose, now worn and mutilated, but still to be found in the office of the city clerk of Nashua.

Before the year 1729 most of the land of these pro- prictors lying in the present towns of Nashua, Hud- son and Litchfield, N. H., and Tyngsborough and Dunstable, Mass., had changed ownership, and much of it was then in the occupation of actual settlers. Previous to that year no record of any sale or grant, to any one of the early settlers of Hollis, of land in that town is to be found in the books kept by these proprietors. But in the month of January, 1729-30 (O. S.), as is shown by these records, the modest quantity of thirty-seven and one-half aeres was set off by the proprietors to Peter Powers, in the right of John Usher. The survey of it was made by Colonel Joseph Blanchard, an honored citizen of Dunstable, and a noted surveyor of the time, and was set off to Powers by Henry Farwell, Joseph French and Wil- liam Lund, as a committee acting for the association, This tract is described in the record as lying in that part of Dunstable called "Nissitissit," which was the Indian name of Hollis. It was laid out in an oblong one hundred and twenty rods east and west, and fifty rods from north to south. Some years afterwards, as is shown by these records of the proprietors, there were set off to Powers, as purehaser and grantee, in a simi- lar way, several other tracts of land in Hollis, amount- ing in all to nearly fourteen hundred acres, among which was one tract of one thousand acres lying be- tween Long and Pennichuck Ponds, but he is the only person among the early settlers of Hollis whose name is found as a grantee upon the books of that association.

Mr. Powers, afterward known as " Captain Powers," · and as a leading and prominent citizen of Hollis, was born at Littleton, Mass., in 1707. In 1728 he was married to Anna Keyes, of Chelmsford, and the same year removed with his wife to that part of Dunstable now known as Nashua. During the summer and fall of 1730 he made the first clearing and built the first dwelling-house in Hollis. In the month of January, 1731, with his wife and two infant children, he made his way through the then dense, unbroken forest to his new home, and thus became the first permanent settler of the town. The site of this humble dwelling, no doubt built of logs, was about one-half mile north- west of the present Hollis meeting-house, but a short distance from the house formerly owned by Thomas Cumings, afterwards by his son-in-law, Mr. John S. Heywood, now deceased, where vestiges of the old cellar, as is said, may be still seen. For nearly two years this family had no neighbor within about ten miles of them. On the 9th of March, 1732, their eldest daughter, Anna Powers, was born, who was the first child of English descent born in the town.

In the summer of 1732, Eleazer Flagg, from Con- cord, Mass., settled in the southwest part of the town, on or near the place afterwards owned by his grand- son, Captain Reuben Flagg, and now by Timothy E. Flagg, Esq., about two miles from Mr. Powers. The house of Mr. Flagg is said to have been fortified against the attacks of the Indians, and was used as a garrison-house. Mr. Flagg was the second settler. The third family is said to have been that of Thomas Dinsmore, from Bedford, Mass. In the year 1736 the number of settlers is said to have increased to nine families.

The whole of the township of Dunstable, from the date of the charter till the new province line was settled, in the spring of 1741, was believed to be in the county of Middlesex, Mass., and a part of it. The office of the register of deeds for that county was and still is at Cambridge, where, by the province law of the time, the deeds of all real estate within the county were to be recorded. But no records of deeds of land in Hollis, to persons known to have been early in- habitants of the town, are to be found in that office of a date prior to 1731.

Subsequent, however, to 1731, and before the spring of 1741, it is shown by these records that between those dates a very considerable number of deeds of land, now in Hollis, were made to the early settlers of the town Many of these deeds, in addition to their date, a description of the land sold and the name of the grantee, give also his occupation and place of former residence. Among these deeds of land in Hollis, made before 1741, are to be found the following names of the early settlers of the town as grantees, viz .: Thomas Dinsmore, weaver; David Nevins, earpenter, and widow, Margaret Nevins, all of Bedford, Mass. ; William Nevins, of Newton, Mass., husbandman ; Jonathan Danforth and Joseph Farley, of Billerica ; Eleazar Flagg and Jonathan Melvin, of Concord; Enoch Hunt and James McDonald, of Groton; Stephen Harris, of Littleton; and Samuel Cumings, of Groton.

Dunstable, as originally chartered, as we have seen, was bounded on the south, in part, by the north line of Groton. As chartered in 1655, Groton lay on each side of the Nashua River, its northeasterly corner being about two miles east of that river, at a place then and still known as Bnek Meadow, now in the town of Nashua, about one-half mile from the south line of that town. The original northwest corner of Groton was in the line between the towns of Pepperell and Townsend, Mass., about one mile south of the present south line of New Hampshire. This corner is still marked by a stone monument. This old north line of Groton crossed the Nashua River and the present State line at a point very near the Hollis depot, on the Worcester and Nashua Railroad.

The following notice of carly settlers is taken from Hon. Samuel T. Worcester's excellent "History of Hollis :"

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HOLLIS.

Captain Benjamin Abbot was from Andover, Mass. llis name was on the Hollis tax-lists in 1750. In 1755 he was lieutenant in Captain Powers' company, Colonel Blanchard's regiment, in the expedition to Crown Point, and was again in the army in 1757. Ile was selectman in 1752, 1753 and 1754. His son Ben- jamin was a soldier in the Revolution. Died January 5, 1776, æt. forty-six.

William Adams was in West Dunstable in 1738, and signed the petition for the charter of West Dunstable. Married Mary Spears, May 29, 1744. Was a town officer in 1746. His son William was a soldier at Bunker Hill and Bennington. Died August 3, 1757, æt. thirty-nine.

Ensign Stephen Ames came from Groton, Mass. Married Jane Robbins, in Groton, in 1731. Was in West Dunstable in 1739, selectman in 1747 and 1748, and was a soldier in the French War in 1757. Repre- sentative to the New Hampshire General Court in 1775, 1776 and 1777. His sons Jonathan and David were soldiers in the Revolution.

Ebenezer Ball came from Concord, Mass. His name was on the Hollis tax-list in 1749, and he was a soldier in the French War in 1755, in the company of Captain Powers. His sons Ebenezer, Nathaniel, William and John were soldiers in the Revolution.

Daniel Bailey was from Marlborough, Mass. Set- tled in the part of Hollis known as Monson about the year 1754. Himself and three of his sons-viz. : Joel, Andrew and Daniel, Jr .- were Revolutionary soldiers. Died Jannary 15, 1798, æt, sixty-nine.

Henry Barton was in West Dunstable in 1738 and signed the petition for the charter. Was parish as- sessor in 1741 and collector in 1743. Died April 20, 1760, æt. fifty-four.

Benjamin Blanchard is supposed to have come from Dunstable, N. H. He was in West Dunstable in 17-13, and signed the call to Rev. Mr. Emerson. Mar- ried Kezia Hastings, December 31, 1744. Was tith- ingman in 1747, and selectman in 1750 and 1754.

Elnathan Blood, supposed from Groton, Mass. His name is on the first tax-list for West Dunstable, in 1740. Married Elizabeth Boynton, in Groton, in 1741. He was a soldier in the French War in 1757, and se- lectman in 1773.

Josiah Blood was from Dracut, Mass. Was in West Dunstable in 1738, and signed the petition for the charter. Was a soldier in the Revolution, as was also his son,. Josiah, Jr., and is supposed to have died at Ticonderoga in September, 1776.

Nathaniel Blood, supposed from Groton, Mass. He was in West Dunstable in 1738, and signed the peti- tion for the charter, and was a soldier in the French War in 1758. Five of his sons-viz., Nathaniel, Fran- is, Daniel, Timothy and Nathan-were soldiers in the Revolution, the last named of whom was killed at Bunker Hill.

Deacon John Boynton, supposed from Newbury, Mass. Was in West Dunstable in 1743 ; parish clerk

in 1744. Married Ruth Jewett, of Rowley, in 1745. Chosen deacon in 1755, and selectman in 1758, 1761 and 1762, etc. His sons John and Jacob were soldiers in the Revolution, the last of whom was killed at Bunker Hill. Died October 29, 1787, at. sixty-seven

John Boynton, Jr., supposed also from Newbury. He was in West Dunstable in 1745. Married Lydia Jewett, of Rowley, in May, 1745. His sons, Isaac and Joel, were Revolutionary soldiers.

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History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 104

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1168

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168