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 9
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John Marsh was assessed there for 1743, and after un- til 1776.
Ebenezer Spalding, son of Edward of Chelmsford, born January 13, 1683; married Anna - and had child- ren ;
Edward, born March 8, 1708; Bridget, born December 25, 1709; Experience, born March 22, 1711; Reuben, born March 27, 1715, died young; Stephen, born May 28, 1717; Sarah, born November 27, 1719; Esther, born February 27, 1722; Mary, born May 4, 1724; Reuben, born July 26, 1728; Anna, born November 30, 1731.
Edward Spalding, son of Ebenezer, born March 8, 1708, settled about the time of the incorporation of Nottingham, on that part of the Joseph Hills farm willed by him to his grand-daughter Elizabeth, daughter of his son Gershom, next north of that settled by Jabez Davis, and containing forty-six acres as stated in said will. This with the six farms already described, included all the land of the Joseph Hills farm south of that part willed to Samuel Hills, and settled by his three sons, Nathaniel, Henry and James.
He married Elizabeth - Children as found re- corded: Levi, born October 23, 1737; Elizabeth, born No- vember 26, 1741; Lucy, born June 27, 1744; Esther, born August 11, 1747 ; Sarah, born April 6, 1754.
Ebenezer Spalding, father of Edward, born in Chelms- ford, January 13, 1683, settled on the south part of the same land that Joseph Hills devised to his son Samuel, and that Samuel conveyed to his sons, Henry and James, Au- gust 22, 1721.
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James Hills, after living in the garrison with his broth- ers, Nathaniel and Henry, on January 11, 1723, sold his part of the land to Samuel Whiting of Dunstable, and re- turned to Newbury. This was the same land settled by Ebenezer Spalding, and was the next farm north of the one owned by his son Edward. It was later the north part of the Pierce farm, and Edward's farm was the south part. Ebenezer Spalding was the ancestor of nearly all the Spalding families that have been residents of this town, and which have been quite numerous.
He resided on the farm until about 1740. He was as- sessed here from 1733 to 1740, and from 1758 to 1764. Jo- siah Cummings4, son of Abraham, born July 12, 1698, was residing on the farm in 1741, and he received a deed of the same from Ebenezer Spalding, January 10, 1742. Josiah Cummings had formerly resided in Litchfield, and was probably proprietor of the first ferry established in that town across the Merrimack River, called Cummings' Ferry, and later Lutwyche's Ferry, and since the time of the Rev. olutionary war known as Thornton's Ferry, having been owned by the Honorable Matthew Thornton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, who resided on the Merrimack side of the river.
This Josiah Cummings was a brother of Eleazer, Jr., who died in 1735, as already noted, and a cousin of Eleazer and William. He served under Capt. John Lovewell, but was not in the bloody fight at Pequawket, May 9, 1725. The following deed, copied from the original, makes it cer- tain that he was one of Captain Lovewell's soldiers.
TO ALL PEOPLE to whom these Presents shall come, GREETING.
KNOW YE THAT I Josiah Cumings of Litchfield, in the County of Middlesex and Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, Hus- bandman. For and in Consideration of the Sum of Ninety Pounds bills of credit, to me in Hand before the Ensealing hereof, well and truly paid by Thomas Colburn of Nottingham, in the county and province afore- said, Husbandman, the Receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge, and myself therewith fully satisfied and contented, and thereof, and of every part and parcel thereof, do exonerate, aquit and discharge him the said
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HISTORY OF HUDSON
Thomas Colburn, his Heirs, Executors and Administrators forever by these Presents : Have given, granted, bargained, sold, aliened, conveyed and confirmed, and by these Presents, do freely, fully and absolutely give, grant, bargain, sell, aliene, convey and confirm unto him, the said Thomas Colburn, his Heirs and Assigns for ever, One full part or Shair of all that Right Granted unto me the sd Josiah Cumings with Zacheus Lovewell and others, the whole tract containing two thousand one hundred ninety acres Granted in Consideration of our serving his Majesty under the command of ye Late Capt. John Lovewell, and Ordered to be Laid out Joyning to Suncook or Lovewells Town So Called, on the west Side of Merrimack River. Sd Colburn fully Complying with and fullfiling al ye duties orders and Restrictions ordered to be done on ye whole of the Grant maid to the Said Josiah Cumings by the Said Gu ll court &c.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said granted and bargained Premises. with All the Appurtenances, Priveleges and Commodities to the same belonging, or in any wise appertaining to him the said Thomas Colburn his Heirs and Assigns forever : To his and their only proper Use, Bene- fit and Behoof for ever.
And the said Josiah Cumings for my Self Heirs, Executors and Ad- minstrators, do hereby Covenant, Promise and Grant to and with the said Thomas Colburn, his Heirs and Assigns, that before the ensealing hereof I am the true, sole and lawful Owner of the above bargained Premises, and am lawfully seized and posessed of the same in my own proper right, as a good, perfect and absolute Estate of Inheritance in Fee Simple : And have in my Self good Right, full Power and lawful Authority, to grant, bargain, sell, convey and confirm said bargained Premises, in Man- ner aforesaid : And that the Said Thomas Colburn, his Heirs and As- signs shall and may from Time to Time, and at all times for ever here- after, by Force and Vurtue of these Presents, lawfully, peaceably and quietly have, hold, use, occupy, posess and enjoy the said demised and bargained Premises, with the Appurtenances free and clear, freely and clearly acquited, exonerated and discharged of, from, all and all manner of former or other Gifts, Grants, Bargains, Sales, Leases, Mortgages, Wills, Entails. Joyntures, Dowries, Judgments, Executions, or Incum- brances, of what Name or Nature forever, that might in any Manner or Degree obstruct or make void this present Deed.
FURTHERMORE, I The Sd Josiah Cumings for myself, my Heirs, Ex- ecutors and Administrators, do Covenant and Engage the above demised Premises to him the said Thomas Colburn his Heirs and Assigns, against the lawful claims or Demands of any Person or Persons whatsoever, for ever hereafter to warrant, secure and defend by these Presents.
IN WITNESS whereof I the said Josiah Cumings have hereunto set my Hand and Seal this fifth Day of June in the Eleventh Year of His Majesty's Reign Annoque Domini, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty Eight.
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signed sealed and
Delivered in Presence of
JOSIAH CUMINGS [SEAL]
JOHN -
JOHN BELL
Middlesex S. S. Dunstable July ye 5th 1738.
The Within Named Josiah Cumings Personally Appearing Acknowl- edged the Within Instrument to be his free Act & Deed Coram me
JOSEPH BLANCHARD Jus. Peace.
Prov. of New Hampshire.
Recorded Lib. 34. Fol. 271.
Exam'd-D. PEIRCE Recd.
He was assessed in this town from 1741 to 1761. A Josiah Cummings, who was probably this same Josiah, mar- ried May 15, 1721, in Woodstock, Conn., Mary Fressell. His first wife died very likely previous to 1738, for no wife of his signed the deed he gave to Thomas Colburn, June 5, 1738. He married second, Miriam -, probably soon after 1738.
By his first wife he had one son, Josiah, Jr., who was assessed in this town from 1759 to 1784, and who died un- married.
On October 13, 1784, he conveyed the homestead, and other lands owned by him, to Richard Marshall, "contain- ing in all about 90 acres, together with all the personal es- tate that is in the posession of said Josiah Cumings, or may be found elsewhere, or any other land now in his posession or may come in his possession hereafter by pro- priety."
Miriam, the widow of Josiah Cummings, Sen., proba- bly died before the date of this sale, as she joined in the deeds with Josiah in the sale of lands, March 3, 1773. This deed from Josiah and Miriam Cummings, in consideration of ninety-two pounds and fourteen shillings, conveyed to Simeon Barrett "The one-half of all that tract of land in said Nottingham West which Josiah Cumings purchased of Ebenezer Spalding as by a deed of the same Dated ye 10th day of January, 1742, that is the River lot containing 50 acres, one half the same and one half the buildings on
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HISTORY OF HUDSON
the same. Also one half of what Josiah Cumings pur- chased of Greele joining to the above said land containing 50 acres. Being half of the same what ant sold of it. Also one half of a wood lot in said Nottingham West, contain- ing about 40 acres which was purchased of Thomas Marsh. One half of the other belonged to the River lot, Viz., one half of the same."
They also conveyed land to Samuel Hills, July 20, 1778.
Josiah Cummings4, Sen., died February 8, 1761, in the 64th year of his age.
The foregoing accounts for eight of the settlers on the Joseph Hills Farm at the time of the making of the first tax list in 1733, which does not include the two Hills broth- ers. Beginning at the southerly end they are as follows:
Eleazer Cummings, Nathan Cross,
William Cummings, John Taylor,
Eleazer Cummings, Jr., Jabez Davis,
Edward Spalding, Ebenezer Spalding.
It is very evident that none of these-with the excep- tion of John Taylor, who lived in a garrison house-had settled here until after the end of Lovewell's war. If there were possibly any such, there certainly could not have been more than one or two. At that time Henry Hills lived at the garrison, and, perhaps, Nathaniel also.
Yet it is far more likely that soon after the close of the war, or before 1733, that Nathaniel Hills had bought the Tyng land containing nine hundred acres and reaching from the river easterly about two and one-half miles, and adjoining the Joseph Hills Farm and the Foxcroft land on the south and the William Brenton land on the north, and that he had taken up his residence on this land, about half a mile north of the garrison and near the bank of the river. If he had not already removed, he certainly did so previous to the incorporation of Litchfield, July 4, 1734.
Be this as it may, he settled there on the river bank, and established a ferry across the river sometime later,
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which was ever after known as Hills' Ferry, and which was operated as such until the building of Taylor's Falls Bridge in 1827. That place was in his possession, and in that of his posterity, until after the decease of George E. Hill, which occurred September 16, 1904. Neither did Henry Hills remain very long at the garrison after the incorpora- tion of Nottingham. About 1739 or 1740, he sold that place to Deacon Roger Chase, and removed nearly a mile and a quarter east, to a farm that was a part of the Na- thaniel Hills Tyng land.
CHAPTER X
SETTLERS OF HILLS FARMS
We have seen that at the date of the town of Notting- ham's incorporation, in 1733, there existed a compact set- tlement of some ten families on the Joseph Hills Farm, occupying the nine farm divisions as they then had been established, and as they continued to exist substantially for many years later. Many of these old farm lines remain to the present day. At that time no permanent settlement seems to have been founded between that of Mr. Eleazer Cummings at the south end of the "Hills" settlement and the Joseph Blodgett garrison nearly two and one-half miles further down the river, which has already been mentioned.
Thomas Pollard, son of William, of Coventry, Eng- land, came to Billerica, Mass., about 1692. His mother was Mary Farnum, sister of Edward. He married in No- vember, 1692, his cousin, Sarah Farnum, daughter of Ed- ward. He died April 4, 1724. She died May 3, 1725. Their children were:
Mary, born August 20, 1693; Edward, born November 4, 1694; Barbara, born December 6, 1695, married Joseph Pierce, Chelmsford, February 13, 1734; Thomas, born Feb- ruary 16, 1697; William, born August 3, 1698; John, born September 1, 1699; Sarah, born February 16, 1701; Jos- eph, born May 3, 1702, married Ann Hills; Oliver, born July 23, 1703, married Hannah Hills, July 23, 1736; Sarah, born December 21, 1704; Nathaniel, born October 18, 1706; James, born October 5, 1708; Walter, born Decem- ber 28, 1709; Elizabeth, born March 5, 1713; Benjamin, born August 18, 1715.
Thomas Pollard, Jr., born in Billerica, February 16, 1697, was one of the early settlers of Dunstable, on the east side of the Merrimack.
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His farm was next south of, and adjoining that of Jos- eph Blodgett, and was bounded on the west by the river. It was the same as was later the James F. Palmer place, now owned by Sidney P. Gowing. The present house is on the west side of the Lowell road, opposite its junction with the road that bears to the east about two and two- thirds miles south of Taylor's Falls Bridge. The exact date of his settlement here is not known. Probably it was not until about the close of Lovewell's war.
The following is copied from the Dunstable town records :
At a meeting Monday, March 6, 1731-2, chose Thomas Colburn, Jr., Constable for the east side of the river . Also whereas, Thomas Colburn, Jr., hath been at this meeting legally chosen constable for the ensuing year, and he hath agreed with Thomas Pollard for serving as constable in his stead and place, and to clear him the said Colburn as other persons who by law is exempted from being chosen constable by reason of their serving as such,
Now therefore voted and agreed that the said Thomas be accepted in his place, and that he serve as constable in his room for the ensuing year, said Thomas Pollard complying with the same.
Thomas Pollard was in the French and Indian war in 1756 and also in 1758.
The children of Thomas and Mary Pollard were: *John, born September 20, 1727; * Ebenezer, born Decem- ber 4, 1728 ; * Thomas, born September 17, 1732; died May 18, 1756; Dorcas, born January 12, 1735 ; died September 1, 1736; Amos, born March 2, 1737; Rachel, born March 26, 1739; Molly, born June 10, 1741; died August 24, 1753; Samuel, born July 10, 1743; Timothy, born August 24, 1745.
Thomas Pollard died July 23, 1769.
Joseph Winn, son of Joseph and Martha (Blodgett) Winn, born in Woburn, Mass., September 9, 1698, with his brother Josiah, was in Nottingham at the time of its incor-
* Dunstable Records.
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HISTORY OF HUDSON
poration. Josiah did not remain to become a permanent resident.
Joseph, soon after, settled upon a farm a short dis- tance below that of Thomas Pollard, bordering on the river, a part of which farm has ever since been occupied by his descendants. At present it is the homestead of Elmer C. Winn, a lineal descendant in the sixth generation of the family, as follows: Joseph Winn1 and Martha (Blodgett) Winn, of Woburn; Joseph Winn2, born in Woburn, Sep- tember 9, 1698; Joseph Winn3, born November 17, 1723; Joseph Winn4, born April 16, 1760; Paul Tenney Winn5, born August 1, 1805; Elmer C. Winn6, born -.
The original Joseph Winn farm included the home- stead of Elmer C. Winn and also the farm adjoining it on the north, owned by the late Reuben Spalding.
The first house built by Mr. Winn was on the north half of the farm, not far from the present location of the Spalding house. Joseph Winn, Sen., always resided on the north half of the farm, but Joseph, Jr., had the south half, or the part ever since owned in the Winn family, and built a house and other buildings upon it probably as early as 1745. The county road, laid out by the court's committee, the report of which was accepted at a court holden at Ports- mouth, the first Tuesday of March, 1749, and which ex- tended from Litchfield line to the Massachusetts boundary, in its description has the following :
Thence S 7º W. 26 rods to a stake east of Joseph Winns Barn, South through said Winns orchard, 18 rods to a stake, which sd 18 rods the road to be but two rods and a half wide, S. 32º E. 17 rods to a maple marked, S 15° W 25 rods to a stake near Joseph Winn, Jr's. corn Barn.
Thus it appears that the distance of Joseph Winn, Jr's., buildings from his father's was about sixty rods, or nearly the same distance from each other as at present are the Winn and Spalding houses.
Abiather Winn, the youngest son of Joseph, Sen., born January 4, 1746, either bought of his father, or inher- ited the north part of the farm, but he died August 24,
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SETTLERS OF HILLS FARMS
1783, aged 38. His executors, William Burns and Abigail Burns, in 1787, in consideration of two hundred and forty pounds conveyed to Phineas Underwood land containing seventy acres in Nottingham West, lying easterly on the public highway and westerly on Merrimack River, north- erly on Gerrish Lot, so called, and southerly by land of Joseph Winn.
It is understood that Mr. Joseph Winn, Sen., once owned the mill on Musquash, or Nacook brook, at the place near the highway where there has ever since been a saw and grist mill, until within a few years, long known as Wilson's Mills.
Mr. Winn died August 25, 1781, in the 84th year of his age, and his wife, Elizabeth, died in September, 1778, in the 74th year of her age. They were buried in the Blodgett Cemetery.
The children of Joseph and Elizabeth Winn were: Joseph, born November 17, 1723, in Woburn; Benjamin, born August 6, 1726, in Woburn; Elizabeth, born August 10, 1728, in Woburn; Katherine, born April 11, 1733, in Nottingham; Micajah, born October 24, 1735, in Notting- ham; Nathan, born October 15, 1738, in Nottingham; Sus- anna, born, September 10, 1741, in Nottingham; Abiather, born January 4, 1746, in Nottingham.
The exact date at which he came here is not known. We find the following record of 1732:
Allowed Joseph Winn, as by certificate of payment of rates in Wil- mington when he was rated in this town, 14s- 3d.
Thomas Colburn, son of Thomas and Mary Colburn of Dunstable, was born in Dunstable, April 28, 1702
Samuel Sewell, Merchant, of Boston, April 21, 1726, conveyed to Thomas Colburn, Jr., of Dunstable, in consid- eration of one hundred and sixty pounds, three tracts of land in said Dunstable.
The first tract, on the east side of the Merrimack River, containing by estimation two hundred acres. Bounded westerly by Merrimack Riv-
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HISTORY OF HUDSON
er, Northerly by Beals land, Easterly on the second division of land, and Southerly by Robert Parishes land.
One other parcel thereof, also on the East side of the River, 400 acres, more or less. Beginning at a white oak tree nigh Davernport's Meadow, nigh to a run of water that comes out of said Meadow, and runs easterly by Davernport's land till it -- with John Blanchard's line, and runs easterly by him 160 poles to an oak marked J. W. B. and runs by Mr. Welds line, easterly, to Mr. Howards Farm, and southerly back again, bounding by the rim of meadow to the said oak where we first began.
The third and last being a parcel of upland containing 100 acres, more or less, also on East side of River. Bounded Easterly by Mr. Howards Farm & Northerly by Mr. Welds, and runs easterly by him to a white oak Marked T. and is bounded Southerly by the Town Common to Mr. How- ards line and by him to the first corner where we began.
Thomas Colburn settled on the first described lot, ex- tending easterly from the river, containing two hundred acres, more or less, a part of which was until recently owned by Isaac D. Colburn and Henry T. Colburn, descendants of Thomas Colburn, of the fourth generation. The Eugene Donnelly heirs own the better part of the farming lands and the buildings, occupying the old Colburn house, which is probably situated at, or near, the place where Thomas Colburn first settled and made his home. It is west of the Lowell road about one third of a mile. The farm adjoins the Joseph Winn farm on the south. He probably settled there not very long after he purchased the land of Samuel Sewell.
We have already seen that he was chosen constable at a town meeting in Dunstable, March 6, 1732, for the east side of the river, and that he agreed with Thomas Pollard "to serve in his stead and place and to clear him the said Colburn, as other persons who by law is exempt from being chosen constable by reason of their serving as such." By which it would appear that he had previously served in that office.
Captain Thomas Colburn was a prominent and influ- ential citizen in the affairs of the town in its early settle- ment. He was one of the selectmen in 1735, and was chairman of that board in 1740-48 and '54. He was mod-
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SETTLERS OF HILLS FARMS
erator of the annual town meetings for nine years between 1740 and 1758 inclusive. He was chosen delegate to the Massachusetts General Court in 1741, "to procure abate- ment of county tax, in consequence of the town being di- vided by the new Province Line.".
We find no record of any children by his first wife. An inscription in a small burial ground in the south part of the town reads:
Hannah, wife of Thomas Colburn, died March 26, 1756, aged 53-3-6.
He afterwards married Mary -; their children were: Thomas, born November 12, 1761; Isaac, born Jan- uary 25, 1763; Zaccheus, born February 16, 1765.
He also had a negro servant, Titus, born April 2, 1742. The following is copied from the town records:
Captain Thomas Colburn died August 30, 1765, in the 64th year of his age.
Thomas Colburn, Jr., son of Capt. Thomas and Mary Colburn, died August 30, 1765, in the 4th year of his age. Both killed by lightning.
The widow, Mary Colburn, so suddenly bereaved of a husband and son, and left with two small boys, the eldest about two and one-half years of age, sometime previous to 1769, married Major Samuel Moore, formerly of Litchfield. They resided on the Colburn farm, where he was assessed until 1784. Probably Major Moore died about that time. His widow died August 30, 1818, aged 93 years.
Mr. Colburn's next neighbor south was Zaccheus Love- well. He was the son of John Lovewell, Sen., and brother of Captain John, the hero of the Pigwacket fight, who was killed by the Indians, May 8, 1725. Zaccheus Lovewell was born in Dunstable July 22, 1701. He was a Colonel in the French and Indian war. He died April 12, 1772.
Major Zaccheus Lovewell was a resident of Notting- ham when the first tax list was made up, and lived upon the farm adjoining that of Thomas Colburn, later and un- til within a few years known as the Chase place. It is now
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HISTORY OF HUDSON
owned by Silas T. Steele's sons, Fred G. and George S. It is not certainly known where the house of Major Love- well stood, but most probably on or near the site of Mr. Steele's buildings, and a short distance from the old Col- burn residence. Possibly it may have been on the west side of the River road, a little south of its junction with the Colburn road, and a short distance south-east of Num- ber Two school house. He was a very capable man in the affairs of the town. He was a member of the board of selectmen in 1734, 1739, 40, 43, 45 and 46, being its chair- man three terms, 1743-45-46. He was moderator of the annual town meeting in 1746, and was a delegate to the Massachusetts General Court in 1733 and 1734.
His farm extended from the river easterly as far as the River road, and probably much farther. The births of the children of Zaccheus and Esther Lovewell, as found recorded in this town, are as follows: Esther, born No- vember 10, 1728; Lucy, born January 12, 1730; Mary, born May 20, 1732; Zaccheus, born December 16, 1735; Noah, born April 1, 1742; Sarah, born October 25, 1744; Han- nah, born February 16, 1747.
Major Lovewell removed, about 1748, from this town to Dunstable, N. H., now Nashua.
Ephraim Cummings, son of Thomas and Priscilla (Warner) Cummings, born in Dunstable, March 10, 1706, married, 1732, Elizabeth Butler, born in Woburn, Mass., September 4, 1706, daughter of Deacon John Butler, the first settler in that part of Nottingham that is now the westerly part of Pelham.
John Butler bought of Jonathan Tyng, in 1721, two tracts of land in the east part of Dunstable, containing in all six hundred acres adjoining what was then-and until the settlement of the Province line in 1741-the Dracut boundary. He settled there in 1722 and built a log house in the form of a garrison. It is supposed that this house stood near the present Mammoth road, at the place for- merly known as the John Gage place, easterly of Gumpas
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Pond. Deacon John Butler was one of the most prominent and useful men in Nottingham, previous to the incorpora- tion of Pelham in 1746, when the east part of Nottingham became a part of this new town.
Thomas Cummings, the father of Ephraim, was one of the proprietors of the township of Dunstable, and had a tract of land laid out to him east of Hills Meadow-now in Hudson-and running north-easterly one and a half miles, and about forty rods wide. John Cummings, Sen., also a proprietor, had a lot of the same dimensions laid out to him adjoining that of Thomas on the north.
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