USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Hudson > History of Hudson, N.H., formerly a part of Dunstable, Mass., 1673-1733, Nottingham, Mass., 1733-1741, District of Nottingham, 1741-1746, Nottingham West, N.H., 1746-1830, Hudson, N.H., 1830-1912 > Part 10
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
Ephraim Cummings settled upon a part of these lands that had been laid out to his father and grandfather as a part of their share of the proprietary land of Dunstable, more than forty years previous.
He was a cousin to Eleazer, son of Nathaniel, Eleazer, son of Abraham, Deacon William and Josiah Cummings, all early settlers of this town.
His house was located on the south side of Bush Hill, at the foot of the long descent, and on the south side of the present highway, where two cellars are visible still, a short distance from each other. There is also another cel- lar in sight on the opposite side of the highway, a little northeast from the others, indicating that there have been at least three dwellings on this farm since its settlement.
It is likely that Mr. Cummings settled there about the time of his marriage in 1732. At this time, and for a few years later, his nearest neighbors must have been at the settlement of his father-in-law, John Butler, near Gumpas Pond in Pelham. He was another active, substantial, use- ful man in the affairs of Nottingham.
He was one of the selectmen in 1756, 57, 62, 63 and 1766. He served as moderator of the annual town meetings in 1762 and 1763, and was elected a delegate to the New Hampshire General Court in 1760.
The children of Ephraim and Elizabeth (Butler) Cum- mings, as their births are recorded, were: Peter, born De-
126
HISTORY OF HUDSON
cember 8, 1733; Sarah, born May 12, 1736; married Sam- uel Page; David, born May 20, 1738; Elizabeth, born Oc- tober 26, 1740; married Nathaniel Haselton; Ephraim, born April 19, 1743; Hannah, born April 29, 1745 ; married Joseph Cummings; Priscilla, born July 7, 1747; married Jonathan Lund, Jr.
The farm continued in the possession of his descend- ants to the third generation. No record of the death of Mr. Cummings or of that of his wife is found. But an item exists in the diary of Nathaniel Merrill, stating that he made a coffin for Ephraim Cummings, and that his funeral occurred March 11, 1771.
Ensign John Snow was, in 1733, one of the eighteen settlers in what is now Hudson.
John Snow, son of John, born in Woburn, Mass., May 18, 1688, married Sarah Stevens, February 13, 1693. He had children born in Woburn, as follows: Elizabeth, born March 18, 1695; died June 24, 1698; Joseph, born May 6, 1697; Mary, born August 13, 1699.
He was among the first settlers of this town.
All the town meetings, with a single exception, until the first meeting house was completed, were held at the house of Ensign John Snow. The cellar where his house is said to have stood, was pointed out to the writer many years ago by Mr. Timothy S. Ford, who owned the farm, and whose father, Timothy, had owned it before him, and whose grandfather, James Ford, a captain in the Revolu- tionary army, resided in the immediate neighborhood long before that time. This cellar is on the Back road, very near the highway, and some distance south from the pres- ent house on the Ford farm, now (1912) owned by James A. Sanders, and less than half a mile northerly from the junction of the Back road with the Lowell road. There is another cellar between the Snow cellar and said junction which should not be taken for the Snow cellar. The exact date of his settlement here is not known. He was assessed for 1733 and 1734 only. He was the first town treasurer of
127
SETTLERS OF HILLS FARMS
Nottingham. The town records give his death as of March 21, 1735. The inscription upon his head stone in the small burial ground near his former residence does not quite agree with the above date, and gives his age as 68-4-3. This is substantially all that is now known about Ensign John Snow.
Lieut. Joseph Snow, the last of the pioneer settlers of this town to be located, was assessed from 1733 to 1746. He was the son of the preceding John Snow, born in Wo- burn, Mass., May 6, 1697. He was among the earliest set- tlers. His residence was south of Zaccheus Lovewell's, a short distance north of the state line. His house was one third of a mile west of the River road, and the cellar, yet visible, is in the pasture, south of the old Ferry road, and south-east of the late Sylvanus Winn's house, now owned by Paul Butler of Lowell. He probably sold this place about 1741, to Dr. Ezekiel Chase, the first resident physi- cian of this town, who occupied the same farm for many years. He later owned the farm on the north side of the Bush Hill road at the Chase hill, so called, a short distance west of the Haselton road, where the old cellar is visible .. He died there May 7, 1747, aged 51 years, and was buried in the small burial ground before referred to. His widow, Bridget Snow, was assessed for the estate until 1761, after which she removed, with her younger children, to Ply- mouth, N. H., where she died December 3, 1773, aged 73 years. . Joseph Snow was chosen constable for the east side of the river, by the town of Dunstable, March 2, 1724. He was one of the selectmen of the township of Dunstable for 1725.
The births of Joseph and Bridget Snow's children are recorded in Dunstable as follows: Bridget, born July 29, 1719; Joseph, born March 19, 1721; John, born January 11, 1723; Henry, born November 17, 1725.
Besides the above, though their names do not appear on the records, were: Sarah, who married James Blod- gett; Rebecca, who married Rev. Zebediah Richardson;
128
HISTORY OF HUDSON
Elizabeth, who married Edward Evans; Mary, who married James Harvell.
These eighteen pioneer settlers of our town, with few exceptions, were young men in the full vigor of manhood. At the date of the charter of Nottingham, in 1733, the youngest of them was Edward Spalding, who was twenty- five years old, Ephraim Cummings was twenty-seven; Eleazer Cummings, Jr., twenty-nine; Eleazer Cummings, William Cummings, Thomas Colburn and Zaccheus Love- well were thirty-one; Joseph Winn was thirty-four; Thom- as Pollard, thirty-six; Joseph Snow, thirty-seven; Joseph Blodgett, forty-three; Henry Hills, forty-five; Ebenezer Spalding and Nathaniel Hills, fifty; Ensign John Snow, sixty-seven; and the ages of John Taylor and Jabez Davis are unknown. The age of Nathan Cross is not known, but he was a young man, not much above thirty.
These early settlers generally had large families of children, who intermarried, one family with another, and their descendants became very numerous. Especially is this true of the families of Cummings, Hills, Pollard, Blod- gett, Winn, Spalding, Cross and Colburn.
All of which names are still borne by some of our most worthy citizens; while very many of the representa- tives of these same families, bearing other names, have their homes here, altogether forming a large percentage of the present population of Hudson. The Snow family also became quite numerous, and among the present residents of our town, the descendants of Ensign John Snow and Lieut. Joseph Snow, by other names are still numerous.
There are also Davises, representing an ancient family of the town, but no connection can be traced between that family and Jabez Davis, the Quaker settler here.
ALDEN HILLS
CHAPTER XI
"HILLS ROW"
In 1656 Massachusetts granted to William Brenton, a fur-trader, and at one time Governor of Connecticut, a tract of land which embraced nearly all of the present town of Litchfield, and extended into Londonderry and Merri- mack. This grant was called by the Indian name Natti- cook (meaning "open place of the deer"), or "Brenton's Farm." It was included within the boundaries of Dunsta- ble, as chartered in 1673, and all of that part lying east of the Merrimack River became a part of Nottingham under its charter of 1733.
"Brenton's Farm" was divided among its sixteen orig- inal proprietors in 1728, and was settled soon after that date. In the first tax list of Nottingham, 1733, we find but eight names that were inhabitants of " Brenton's Farm."
These were Benjamin Adams, Capt. Robert Richard- son, Aquila Underwood, Ebenezer Wright, Samuel Moore, Edward Linkfield, Thomas Wartels and John Barret. A petition was presented to the General Court of Massachu- setts, in May, 1734, by Aquila Underwood, in behalf of the petitioners for the incorporation of a separate township to include the Natticook lands, or "Brenton's Farm." The petition was granted July 4, 1734, and a charter issued for the incorporation of the town of Litchfield.
Under this charter the town of Litchfield was bounded as follows :
Beginning at Merrimack River, half a mile south of where Natticock south line crosseth said River, running from thence west two miles and a half, then turning and running the general course of Merrimack River to Sowbeeg (Souhegan) River, making it a straight line, thence running by Sowbeeg (Souhegan) River, to Merrimack River again two miles and a half.
Also, that the bounds dividing between Natticook and Nottingham begin at the lower line or south bounds of Nathaniel Hills' lands on
129
130
HISTORY OF HUDSON
Merrimack River, so extending east by his south line to the south east corner ; so on east to Nottingham east line; north two degrees east about half a mile, to a pine tree with stones about it standing within sight of Beaver brook, marked with the letter F; from thence North North west by a line of marked trees, lettered with F, about six miles to Merrimack River, near Natticook corner; Southerly by the River Merrimack to the mouth of the Sowbeeg (Souhegan) River before mentioned.
Litchfield, as then bounded, extended south on the Merrimack River very nearly a mile farther than at pres- ent, and about one-half mile south of the Brenton Farm line, which is still marked by the line dividing lands of J. W. Howard, formerly of George E. Hill, on the south, and of John L. Spalding on the north, and where an oak tree is standing on the west side of the highway.
It included the nine hundred acre tract of land that Na- thaniel Hills had bought of Jonathan Tyng, leaving all of the Joseph Hills farm in Nottingham. This left the town of Nottingham about eleven miles in length from north to south, and about five miles wide from Dracut line near Beaver Brook, on the east, to Merrimack River, which formed its western boundary.
This Tyng land, laid down on an old plan as nine hun- dred acres, and probably purchased by Nathaniel Hills for that amount, like most of the early measurements of land in this vicinity, exceeded in area, and actually contained more than one thousand acres.
As we have seen by the tax list of 1733, the only set- tler upon this land, if any, was Nathaniel Hills, who had probably removed from the garrison to the place near the river, where Hills ferry was established and existed for many years. This farm of Nathaniel Hills extended from the river, easterly about three-quarters of a mile to land now occupied by Dr. Alfred K. Hills. It was bounded northerly by Brenton's Farm and southerly by what is now the Pearl T. Thomas farm, and contained about 180 acres. The farm next south of that just described, also extending from the river easterly more than three-quarters of a mile, and bounded northerly by Nathaniel Hills' farm, and
131
"HILLS ROW"
southerly by the Hills Garrison farm, contained ninety acres or more. This farm included the greater part of what was later the Sprake place, now owned by Pearl T. Thomas. This was probably conveyed by Nathaniel Hills to his son Samuel, who occupied it until his death about 1798.
Ezekiel Greeley, great-grandfather of Horace Greeley, seems to have owned some of this Tyng land next east of the two farms last described, as shown by the returns of a highway, which with some changes, is now known as the Derry road. This was May 12, 1747, and the records say :
A road viewed and laid out three poles wide. Beginning upon Dary line near Nathaniel Hills Jrs. From thence running by Thomas Marshes' Dwelling house, and so running by John Marshes' house and James Hills' and Joseph Pollard's and Ezekiel Hills and Henry Hills, and so running Between Ezekiel Greeley's House and Barn, thence running to John Marshalls land, running on said land to Josiah Duttons, thence to Pine tree marked.
JOHN MARSH, JOHN MARSHALL, SAMUEL GREELE, JR. Selectmen.
The site of the Ezekiel Greeley house was pointed out to the writer many years ago by Alden Hills, as being lo- cated about forty rods south-westerly of the Alden Hills house, upon a small knoll, near the highway, and upon the west side, where a depression is still visible and marking the location.
Mr. Greeley lived there until 1758, when he removed about one and a half miles easterly into what was then Londonderry, and the land upon which he had formerly re- sided was absorbed by the Henry Hills farm.
Henry Hills, one of the brothers that built the garri- son, and who lived there until about 1739, when he dis- posed of the place to Deacon Roger Chase, moved easterly upon some of the Tyng land, and what was later the east part of Elijah Hills' place. This Elijah Hills was the son of James, born March 15, 1738; was grandfather
132
HISTORY OF HUDSON
of Alden and great-grandfather of Dr. Alfred K. Hills, the present owner of the old homestead of his father, including the Ezekiel Greeley land, and also now including the great- er part of what was the Ezekiel Hills farm, containing alto- gether about 230 acres, all of which was a part of the Na- thaniel Hills Tyng land.
Henry Hills resided there until his death, which oc- curred August 20, 1757. Four or five years later the farm was conveyed to Elijah Hills ..
Ezekiel Hills, son of Henry, born April 11, 1718, set- tled upon the next farm east, where he lived until his de- cease, May 14, 1790, and which was later the home of his son Thomas, and his grandson Amos Hills.
Joseph Pollard, brother of Thomas, born in Billerica, Mass., May 3, 1702, owned and occupied the next farm east, and adjoining Ezekiel Hills' place. His wife Ann was the daughter of Nathaniel Hills, born in Newbury, Mass., May 5, 1712. He settled upon this farm while it was a part of Litchfield, and previous to 1746. The farm contained about one hundred acres. He removed to New Ipswich about 1770. This farm was later owned by War- ren Hills, a brother of Alden, and at present by Justin E. Hill, a son of Warren.
The adjoining farm on the east, also containing about one hundred acres, was owned by James Hills, one of the three brothers that first built and lived in the garrison, and who sold his interest in that property January 11, 1723, to Samuel Whiting, and returned to Newbury, Mass. Com- ing back from Newbury, with his wife and four small chil- dren in 1737, he settled on this farm, a part of which is now owned by Charles W. Hills, one of his descendants in the fifth generation. He lived on this place until his death, which we do not find recorded, but his name appears on the tax lists until 1769. His son Jeremiah, born in Newbury, March 1, 1727, also resided upon the same farm during his life. He died April 4, 1810.
Col. William Hills, son of Jeremiah, born July 14, 1777, and who died September 3, 1858, was also a life-long
MRS. NANCY KIMBALL HILLS
133
"HILLS ROW"
occupant of the same farm, and at his decease left it to his son, Granville Hill, the father of Charles W., already men- tioned. A part of the old farm is at present owned by the Enoch Cummings heirs.
The next adjoining farm east, which contained one hundred acres, was conveyed by Nathaniel Hills to his old- est son Enoch, born in Newbury, March 16, 1711. It is not known that Enoch Hills ever occupied the farm, or re- sided in town after his majority. His name does not ap- pear upon the tax lists of Nottingham, or of Nottingham West. An ancient head stone in the old cemetery at South Nashua bears the following inscription in part :
Mrs. Ruth Hill, wife of Enoch Hill, who died February 7, 1747, aged 36 yrs.
Probably this was the wife of Enoch Hills, and if he lived here at any time it must have been previous to 1746, at the time the town of Litchfield included that part of this town.
In laying out a highway May 12, 1747, the record de- scribed it as "running by Thomas Marshes' Dwelling house and so running by John Marshes' house and James Hills." This John Marsh was John, Jr., and a brother to Thomas. After the removal of the Marshes from this farm, probably after 1750, it was owned and occupied by Deacon Roger Chase until about 1762, when Henry Hills, son of Henry, Sen., occupied it until his decease. He was born October 22, 1719, and died October 21, 1773. His widow Hannah continued to occupy the place, with her son William, son of the last named Henry, born in Litchfield, March 3, 1754. No record of the death of this widow, Hannah Hills, is found, but William Hills occupied the place for many years-certainly until later than 1804. It is the same farm owned for a long time by the late Stephen D. Gree- ley, and at present, 1912, by George W. Dooley.
The northern half of the next farm on the east was conveyed by Nathaniel Hills to his son, Nathaniel Hills, Jr., born in Newbury, April 28, 1716, and is another of the
134
HISTORY OF HUDSON
Hills farms that has been transmitted from father to son for several generations, and which is now owned by Frank- lin A. Hills, a descendant in the fifth generation from Na- thaniel, Sen., as follows: Nathaniel1, Nathaniel, Jr2., Sam- uel8, born February 6, 1769, Abijah4, born May -, 1806, Franklin A. Hills5, the present owner.
Nathaniel Hills, Jr., married Susanna Baldwin of Pel- ham, daughter, probably, of John and Sarah - - Baldwin, born March 8, 1733. They had children-Elizabeth, Sim- eon, Abijah, Nathaniel, Samuel, born February 6, 1769, Betsey, Sarah, Jane, Rebecca, Aviah, Abigail and James. Simeon had a Revolutionary war record, and A bijah was a sea-faring man.
DEED.
To all People to whom these Presents shall come GREETING.
Know ye. that I Nathaniel Hills of Litchfield in the County of Mid- dlesex within his Majesty's Province of Massachusetts Bay in New Eng- and, Yeoman, for the Love and Good-will and natural affection I have and do bear unto my well beloved son Nathaniel Hills for his full portion out of my Estate. The receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge, and my- self fully satisfied & contented, Have Given Granted, Bargained, Aleined, Released, Conveyed, and Confirmed, and by these presents do Freely, Clearly and Absolutely, Give, Grant, Bargain, Aleine, Release, Convey and Confirm unto him the said Nathaniel Hills his Heirs and Assigns for ever, one Moeity or tract of land, Lying in Litchfield aforesaid, part of my Land I now enjoy-fifty acres of of the Northerly end of the next Lot above the Lot that I gave to my son Enoch Hills which fifty Acres being divided by a three Rod way a thirt it. where the Path is now, or near there about. Bounded as followeth --
Northerly on Natticook and Easterly on my own I.and and Souther- ly on my own Land and Westerly on my son Enoch Hills' Land. Being well bounded at every corner by stakes and stones, or marked trees,-be- ing divided by sd three Rod way across it as aforesaid, so that what I give to my aforesaid son Nathaniel with said way shall contain fifty acres the one full half of the Northerly end of the fourth Lot of Land from Daniel Hills cross Lot that he bought of me the sd Nathaniel Hills.
To Have and to Hold the before Granted Premises, with the Appur- tenances and Privileges unto him my sone Nathaniel Hills his Heirs, Ex- ecutors Administrators and Assigns forever, to his and their own proper use Benefit and Behoof forever. And I the said Nathaniel
135
""HILLS ROW"
Hills my self-my Heirs, Executors, Administrators, do Covenant, Prom- ise and Grant unto and with the said Nathaniel Hills, his Heirs and As- signs forever, That before and until the Ensealing hereof I am the True, Sole Proper and Lawful Owner and Posessor of the before Granted Premises with the Appurtenances. And have in myself good Right, full Power and I.awful Authority to Give, Grant, Bargain, Aleine, Release, Convey and Confirm the same as aforesaid ; and that Free and Clear, and Freely and Clearly Executed Acquitted and Discharged of and from al former and other Gifts, Grants, Bargains, Sales, Leases, Mortgages, Wills, Intails, Joyntures, Dowries, Thirds, Executions and Incumbrances whatsoever.
And Furthermore I the said Nathaniel Hills, for myself and Heirs, Executors and Administrators, do hereby covenant and engage the before Granted Premises with the Appurtenances unto my said sone Nathaniel Hills, his Heirs and Assigns forever to Warrant, Secure and Defend against the Lawful Claims of any Person or Persons whatsoever.
In Witness whereof I the said Nathaniel Hills have hereunto set my hand seal, this - day of March Annoque Domnio One Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty Eight Nine
(Signed) NATHANIEL HILLS [SEAL]
Signed Sealed and delivered in presence of EBENEZER TAYLOR DAVID LAWRENCE.
Middlesex SS Janr ye 5th 1739
The above named Nathaniel Hills appeared & acknowledged this in- strument to be his free act and Deed.
Before me
JOSEPH BLANCHARD
Justice of Peace
Recorded Feb. 20 1802. Vol. 54 Page 512. Hillsborough County Records.
This farm, together with the south half, was in Litchfield from 1734 to 1746, and in Londonderry from 1746 to 1778, when it became a part of Nottingham West.
One other farm east of the last mentioned was a part of the Tyng land. This place was occupied for many years by Charles Center, and a part of it was recently owned by Anson A. Osgood. The east line is now different from the original east line of the Tyng land, and it is not known how many acres the original farm contained, but it is very prob- able that it was not much less than one hundred acres.
136
HISTORY OF HUDSON
For several generations the settlement on the Derry road from the Alden Hills place, northeast, for about two miles was known, and is to some extent to the present time, as "Hills' Row," and the name was very appropriate.
Taken in their order was the old Henry Hills farm, later owned by Elijah and his descendants; then Ezekiel Hills homestead, kept in the family for many years; Joseph Pollard's place, whose wife was Ann Hills; the James Hills farm, still in the family; the Enoch Hills place, owned out- side the family for several years, but purchased by Henry Hills, Jr., about 1762, and in the family as late as 1820; the home of Nathaniel Hills, Jr., in possession of a descendant to-day.
The Joseph Hills farm, as it was called, and the Na- thaniel Hills Tyng land, containing altogether 1600 acres, after they had been divided and settled, were known collec- tively as "the Hills Farms," which name they retained to a very recent date.
Many portions of these lands were fertile, easy of cul- tivation, producing abundant harvests, and have always constituted a very important part of the settlements of Not- tingham, Nottingham West and Hudson, each in their turn as regarding the number of inhabitants, wealth, intelli- gence and influence of its citizens.
The Joseph Hills farms were settled previous to the incorporation of Nottingham in 1733. The Nathaniel Hills Tyng farms, about ten in number, were principally, or all settled between 1733 and 1746.
ALFRED K. HILLS, M. D.
CHAPTER XII
THE BOUNDARY DISPUTE
Mention has already been made of the dispute over the boundary line between the provinces of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and its origin briefly described. The Plymouth Council, March 19, 1627-8, granted to Sir Henry Roswell and his associates the land between the Charles River and the Merrimack and all land "which lye * within the space of three English miles to the northward of the Merrimack or to the northward and every part thereof." This act was confirmed the following year, by a charter given by King Charles I to the Massachusetts Company, and the error of this claim does not seem to have been discovered until the Gardner survey was made in the summer of 1638. Even then, with that stubborn- ness peculiar to the spirit of the times, it was not acknowl- edged by the Massachusetts colony.
A second survey was made by the Massachusetts court fourteen years after the one mentioned, which re- sulted in the Endicott memorial, and the contention be- tween the provinces waxed earnestly as the years went by. To hold the territory Massachusetts began to grant to those who had participated in the Indian wars, and others who had claims against the province, townships in the de- batable country, not forgetting the three mile strip claimed on the east bank of the Merrimack. Tyng Township, granted to the party of wood scouts led by Capt. William Tyng in a winter expedition against the red men in 1702-3, and beginning at the northern limit of Litchfield, extend- ing north six miles, was one of these grants. Brenton's Farm was another. Old Dunstable, lying on both sides of the river, completed the lower section.
137
138
HISTORY OF HUDSON
New Hampshire was not idle in trying to hold what she believed to be justly her own. Of course the border towns suffered most, not the least of which was the bitter enmity it incurred among those who should have been friends. The Scotch-Irish of Londonderry had obtained their charter of New Hampshire, but trying to hold the territory to the Merrimack River on the west, brought them into sharp rivalry with the English colonists who had re- ceived their grants from Massachusetts. Commissions were appointed to settle the dispute, but these hesitated and delayed and wrangled over the matter. Demand was met by counter demand; one party was looked upon by the other as "foreigners," these considered their rivals as "in- truders."
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.