History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 149

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1714

USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 149
USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 149

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).

3. Joseph, born March 15, 1722.

4. Benjamin, born March 1, 1723-24. Was of Bar- rington.

5. Mehitable, born Dec. 11, 1725.

6. John, of North Yarmouth, Me.

7. Elijah, of Berwick, Me.

S. Ichabod, of Berwick, Me.

Ichabod Hayes, son of John, as in Fam. 1, born March 13, 1691-92, lived at Littleworth. He was " killed by a mill-log," June 1, 1734. His wife was Abigail, and they had (Fam. 4),-

1. Sarah, born Dec. 30, 1716; married Nathaniel Horne, of Dover.

2. Ichabod, born Dec. 13, 1718. (See below).

3. Ezekiel, born Feb. 21, 1720 ; died young.

4. Daniel, born May 26, 1723; married Sarah, daughter of Richard Plummer, of Madbury.

5. Moses, born Jan. 30, 1725-26. (See below.)

6. Aaron, born March 3, 1727-28 ; was of Notting- ham.

7. Abigail, born Aug. 28, 1730; believed to have died young.

8. Hannah, born Jan. 5, 1734; married William Wentworth, of Milton. She had eight children, and died Aug. 11, 1808.

Samuel Hayes, son of John, as in Fam. 1, born March 16, 1694-95; lived at Back River. He married Nov. 23, 1720, Leah, daughter of William and Martha (Pomfret) Dam, who was born Feb. 17, 1695. They had (Fam. 5),-

1. Mary, born Aug. 12, 1728; married Jotham Nute, of Dover.

2. Abigail, married Tristram Pinkham, of Dover.

William Hayes, son of John, as in Fam. 1, born Sept. 6, 1698; lived somewhere about the "Corner." He married, Nov. 23, 1720, Hannah Sanborn. They had (Fam. 6),-

1. Mary, born Oct. 23, 1721.

2. Hannah, born Oct. 21, 1723.

3. William, of Dover.

4. Patience, married a Hall.

Benjamin Hayes, son of John, as in Fam. 1, born Sept. 6, 1700, moved to Rochester. He married Jane (Snell), widow of Tristram Heard. Of his children were (Fam. 7),-

1. Benjamin, born Dec. 19, 1726. (See below.)

2. Abigail, baptized June 9, 1728.

3. George, baptized June 30, 1730.

4. Elisabeth, baptized May 14, 1732.

5. Hannah, baptized Oct. 28, 1733.

THIRD GENERATION.

Thomas, son of John, as in Fam. 2, born Sept. 29, 1715, lived at Tole-End. He was a deacon. His wife was Hannah. He died April 7, 1774. Children (Fam. 8), -.

1. Ezekiel, born Oct. 14, 1742.

2. Susan, born Oct. 11, 1745.

3. Abigail, born March 5, 1748-49.

4. Thomas, of Gilmanton, N. II.

Hezekiah, son of John, as in Fam. 2, born Feb. 2, 1719-20, lived in Barrington. He married Margaret Cate. He died Feb. 24, 1790. Children, in part (Fam. 9),-

1. William, of Poland, Me.

2. Elihu, of Madbury. He had four children, viz. :

1. Sarah A., married Nicholas Pike.

2. Elisabeth, married her cousin, Deacon Solomon Hayes.

3. Reuben, of Alton.

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HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

4. Jonathan, of Madbury.

3. IIezekiah, of Barrington. He married his consin, Sophia Cate. His son, Deacon Solomon, of New Durham, married his cousin Elizabeth, just men- tioned.

Wentworth, son of John, as in Fam. 2, born Jan. 27, 1727-28, lived in Rochester. He married, first, 1753, Mary, daughter of Rev. Amos Main, of Rochester. She was born Sept. 9, 1732, died Jan. 14, 1774. Ile married, second, March 13, 1777, widow Susan ( Burnham) Roberts. She was born Jan. 17, 1741, died Aug. 5, 1815. He died Jan. 11, 1802. Children (Fam. 10),-

By first wife :

1. Amos Main, born Oct. 25, 1754, settled in North Yarmouth, Me., and had five children.

2. Betty, born July 25, 1757, married Timothy Roberts, son of her father's second wife. He was a soldier in the Revolution. Lived in Milton.

3. John, born May 10, 1760, died Oct. 14, 1760.

4. Elihu, born Jan. 16, 1763, married a cousin, and left children.

5. Theodore, born March 13, 1766, settled in Bel- grade, Me., and had two children.

6. Molly, born Aug. 16, 1768, died July 10, 1773.

7. Tamsen, born April 11, 1772, married Samuel Locke, of Barrington. A daughter, Abigail Page, married Gorham W. Hoitt, formerly sheriff of this county, and still survives.

By second wife :

8. John, born June 20, 1780.

By her first marriage, Susanna (Burnham) Roberts had the following Roberts children :

1. Timothy, born Aug. 5, 1759, married as above, and had eight children. One of these, Amos Main Roberts, is father of Charles Wentworth Roberts, of Bangor, who was Democratie candidate for Gov- ernor of Maine in 1875.

2. John, born March 16, 1761, died Jan. 22, 1764.

3. Joseph, born Dec. 19, 1762, married a Dam, of Rochester.

4. Susanna, born Nov. 7, 1764, died on the 10th.

5. Child, born Sept. 26, 1765; died same day.

6. Relief, born June 22, 1767; married Daniel Horne, of Farmington (Timothy, late of New Dur- ham, and others were her children).

Jonathan, son of John, as in Fam. 2, born April 17, 1732, was lieutenant; lived at Tole-End, on the homestead. He married Mary Wingate, daughter of his father's second wife. He died April 15, 1787. Children (Fam. 11),-

1. Mary.

2. Robert.

3. Jonathan.

4. Tamsen, married, Jan. 8, 1786, Daniel Cushing, and had eight children, including Deacon Peter Cush- ing, lately deceased.

5. Nancy, married William Cushing, and had three children.

6. Sarah, married Samuel Jackson, of Rochester, N. II.

7. Robert, of Bolton, Vt.

8. Betsey, married Stephen Jackson, of Rochester. Ichabod, son of Ichabod, as in Fam. 4, married Elizabeth, daughter of John Hayes, and granddaugh- ter of the emigrant John. She died Oct. 28, 1795. He died Oct. 15, 1794. Children (Fam. 12),-

1. Abigail, born May 9, 1742, married Ichabod Hansom, of Windham, Me.

2. Ichabod, born Jan. 17, 1744, was of Farmington, N. H.

3. Ezekieł, born Feb. 19, 1746, was of Dover.

4. Daniel, born June 24, 1748, was of Farmington.

5. Moses, born June 15, 1750, was of Farmington.

6. Aaron, born Sept. 19, 1752, was of Dover.

7. James C., was of Milton.

8. Tamsen, born March 21, 1755 ; died young.

9. Abra, born Ang. 2, 1757 ; died single.

10. Betty, born March 10, 1762; married Maj. Joseph Mooney, of Alton.

11. John, born Sept. 15, 1764, was of Saco, Me.

Moses, son of Ichabod, as in Fam. 4, born Jan. 30, 1725-26, was ensign, and lived in Rochester. He had (Fam. 13),-

1. Sarah, born Jan. 20, 1750.

2. Anna, born Dec. 19, 1753.

3. Peter, born Feb. 24, 1755.

4. Enoch, born Aug. 27, 1757.

5. Abigail, born July 9, 1760.

6. Moses, born Aug. 10, 1763.

7. Joshua, born Dec. 9, 1765.

8. Jacob, born May 28, 1769.

9. Hannah, born Aug. 9, 1771.

10. Mary, born May 13, 1774.

Benjamin, son of Benjamin, as in Fam. 7, born Dec. 29, 1726, lived in Rochester. IIe had at least (Fam. 14),-

1. George Snell, born Nov. 23, 1760.

The following, from Rochester town records, we cannot connect :

Ichabod had children,-

1. Betsey, born Oct. 24, 1771.

2. Margaret, born March 27, 1773.

3. Ichabod, born March 8, 1775.

4. Daniel, born Dec. 29, 1776.

5. Hezekiah, born Sept. 7, 1779.

6. Tamsen, born Dec. 6, 1780.

7. Hannah, born Nov. 17, 1783.

8. Ezekiel, born April 4, 1786.

9. Polly, born Aug. 23, 1787.

Moses had children,-

1. Hezekiah, born Nov. 7, 1778.

2. Elisabeth, born Aug. 9, 1780.

3. Molly, born June 2, 1782.

4. John, born April 5, 1785.

5. Stephen, born Oct. 29, 1788.

Ichabod Hayes was born March 8, 1775, and died Nov. 5, 1833. His first wife was Deborah French.

633

FARMINGTON.

She was born June 5, 1779, and died Jan. 14, 1824. semi-annual auction sales held at Boston, which was They were married Nov. 10, 1796. Of this union , then the method of selling. fourteen children were born, of whom Martin L. Hayes was the ninth. His second wife was Sarah Plumer, by whom he had two children.

Martin L. Hayes, shoe manufacturer, born in Farm- ington, N. 11., March 28, 1812, died June 24, 1879. He was the pioneer shoe manufacturer in this State. In early life he was very poor, and at fifteen years of age had been bound out to a shoemaker named Ste- vens, at Alton, near Farmington, who tanned and curried all the leather he used in making shoes for the country people.

After he had learned his trade, but before his time was out, Hayes became restless. To make shoes or put on patches for a sixpence, with charges running a year, or possibly two, to be settled finally, perhaps, by payments made in fence rails or fodder, did not seem to make a trade worth much, even when one had worked six years to acquire it. He had yet ten months to serve before he would be twenty-one, but he had fifty dollars that he had earned in tanning dog- and cat-skins for whip-lashes and strings, that had been allowed to him as one of the perquisites of his apprenticeship. So he bought his time for forty dollars, and, with his bundle on a stick and ten dol- lars in silver, he walked to Dover, eighteen miles dis- tant, and went by stage to Boston, bound to Natick, where he finally arrived with fifty cents remaining of his capital.

He procured work at once with Edward Walcott, and kept at it for about ten years, working industri- ously and saving every cent. Then, with a little money, he returned to Farmington to start shoe man- ufacturing on his own account. Young men who jump into the shoe trade without a preliminary ex- perience, backed by ample means, and fret because they can't retire with a fortune at the end of five years, will be interested to learn how Mr. Hayes started to manufacture shoes, how he helped to build a town and enrich a township, and how he became the possessor of forty-seven thousand acres of land. His return to Farmington was some time in the year 1837 or 1838. Affairs there were pretty much in the same condition as when he left. A man named Bad- ger had undertaken the manufacture of shoes, but it did not pay, and the business, which had never amounted to much, was suddenly terminated one day by Mr. Badger's abrupt departure for parts unknown, leaving his creditors to settle his business as best they could. This, it would seem, was rather an unpromis-

Besides the difficulties of transportation, there were also the inconveniences attending the imperfect fa- cilities for the preparation of stock in the shop. Sides of leather were carried to the river and soaked, but this was afterwards improved upon by substituting a hogshead of water which stood outside; then. again, the sides of leather must be cut up in chunks, and pieces skived with the shoe-knite; a broad flat rock on which the leather was vigorously hammered answered for a roller. This was a rough beginning for the shoe trade of Farmington; but that was not all. The hard times of 1837 bore heavily on the young shoe trade of New England ; all manufactures were depressed, complaint was lond, and distress was general ; 1840 came, and still " hard pan" hadn't been reached; 1841-42, and yet no better. The trade in shoes was a mere barter. The workmen were paid in store orders for making shoes that sokl for fifty cents a pair in Boston, and the order taken up on the de- livery of rolls of tough bulls' hides to the storekeeper, who sold them in small pieces to the custom trade tor taps. By working sixteen hours a day himself, and practicing rigid economy in personal expenses, a man might pull through, and he did. In 1843 there came the long looked-for reaction. Now came the tide of opportunity for Farmington. Anything in the shape of a shoe would sell, large profits were being realized, and Natick could not fill her orders for her want of workmen. Before the depression there had been no want of help. Strafford County had kept the shoe- shops well filled, and now, when wanted, the men were not at hand ; most of them had long since returned to their homes and settled down on rocky farms, and some had found other occupations. The married men who could make shoes were unwilling to return to Na- tick, and there were many such in the vicinity of Farm- ington : so that it happened that, as the men would not go to work at Natick, the work of Natick must go to Farmington, and watchful men were standing eager to guide the auspicious movement. Special in- tucements were held out to mechanics to settle in the place, enterprise was encouraged by liberal poliey and active co-operation, the weak sustained, fidelity and good service well rewarded : so that, without the help of a single dollar not earned upon the spot, Farm- ington has grown into a rich and handsome village, whose citizens all commenced life at the very bot- tom.

After 1840, Martin L. Hayes began to get money for ing field for a new beginner ; but Hayes was not dis- . his shoes and count his profits, rather more aspiring to the possession of land than to a pre-eminence in the shoe trade ; these profits he invested, with proper cantion, in real estate, disposing of it again to shoe- makers in return for work,-a system that has given to many poor men comfortable homes, and still con-

mayed. The difficulties were many and insurmount- able to any other than a determined spirit. The stock was either shipped on coasting packets from Boston to Portsmouth, and thence up river to Dover, or all the way by stage (as the Boston and Maine Railroad was not built until about 1840-41), and the i tributed to the honest profits of the worthy manufac- shoes must be returned the same way in time for the . turer. In the centre of the village, on a five-acre lot,

636

HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Mr. Hayes had erected an elegant mansion, himself the architect, the house and grounds in all of their appointments conforming strictly to the notions of the master.

He was fairly worn out for the last six months; yet he kept up until but a few days before his death. Mr. Hayes got fairly started in 1839, making shoes for Forbush & Townsend, afterward for William Bur- rage & Co., then for Joseph Whitney & Co., Allen, Harris & Potter, Potter, Nnte, White & Bayley, Pot- ter, Hitchcock & Co., and Chase, Merritt & Blan- chard, No. 94 P'earl Street ; the latter was his last and longest business connection.

Jeremiah Colbath (afterward Hon. Henry Wilson) and Hon. George M. Herring, both of whom had made their mark in the world, were his associates in Natick, and were his lifelong friends. Mr. Herring became established in Farmington about 1843, and died in September, 1875. The history of Mr. Wilson is too well known to need mention here.

Martin L. Hayes married Eliza Pearl, daughter of Joseph Pearl, who was a sister to the wife of Hon. Alonzo Nute; she died about thirty years since, leaving him one child, a daughter, now the wife of George E. Davis, of Lawrence, Mass., who inherits his large property.

His funeral services were held at his residence on the 26th of June, and were conducted by the Revs. J. E. Dame and Walter E. Darling. His pall-bearers were H. B. Edgerly, Iliram Barker, J. W. Waldron, G. N. Eastman, Levi Pearl, C. W. Wingate. The body was conveyed to the family tomb, and placed in the sarcophagus which was prepared under his own direction several years since. Nearly all the busi- ness places were closed, and abont all the manufac- turers were present.

In politics he was one of the first who cast an anti-slavery vote in Farmington. He was always a strictly temperance man, and refused to hold any public office. Ile was one of the corporators of the savings-bank, and at one time one of the trustees, and was also a director of the Farmington National Bank at its beginning.

His two lifelong friends were G. M. Herring and Henry Wilson, both of whom he outlived. In mem- ory of Mr. Wilson, Mr. Hayes deeded to the town of Farmington the birthplace of Wilson, and at his own expense placed a large bowlder from a neighbor- ing mountain, weighing abont twelve tons, on the spot, and had inseribed upon the stone, " Henry Wilson, Vice-President U. S. A., born here February 12, 1812."

DR. DAVID T. PARKER.

uel Parker, who was born in Newton, Mass., and whose parents were killed by Indians in King Philip's war, about the year 1675. Samuel, while a young man, went to Connecticut, was one of the first settlers of the town of Coventry, and was the first man who officiated as deacon of the church in that town. He lived respected, and died at a very advanced age. His great-grandson, Clement, a short time after the birth of the subject of this sketch, removed to Cabot, Vt., where he lived until the winter of 1816, when he went to the West Parish, in Chester, N. H., where he was ordained for the Presbyterian Church in that town, and labored with that people during ten years. He then removed to Milton, N. H., and, after two or three years, to Acton, Me. His son David lived with and followed the fortunes of his father, with occa- sional exceptions of working out at farming, until he was seventeen years old, when he left the paternal roof and attended school at the academy in Alfred, Me. In the winter of 1830-31 he taught schools in Waterborough, Me., being then in his eighteenth year ; from that time he attended school in summer, teaching in the winter, until his twentieth year, when he began the study of medicine with L. M. Barker, M.D., at Great Falls (Somersworth). He attended lectures at Dartmouth College in 1833, afterwards studying with Dr. Charles F. Elliott and with Dr. B. Smart, of Kennebunk, Me., gradnating at Bowdoin College, May 17, 1836. He has been married twice, -- first to Clara C. Chamberlain, of Lebanon, Me., April 18, 1833, with whom he lived more than forty-three years. She died Nov. 7, 1876, having been the mother of three children,-a daughter, who died in her first year, and two sons, both of whom arrived at the age of manhood, and chose the profession of their father, studying and practicing medicine. The elder son died of pneumonia in La Harpe, III., and the younger, a man of unusual genius for his profession, served through the late civil war, was six months in Salis- bury prison, having been put in charge of the prison hospital, came home at the close of the war, and died Dec. 31, 1866, of disease contracted thereby. His father was married June 16, 1878, to Mrs. Lucy A. Fernald, a cousin of his first wife, and who is his willing helpmeet in benevolence.

Dr. Parker commenced the practice of medicine March 3, 1837, in Farmington, N. H., which was then a small, obscure village of fifteen houses and about one hundred and twenty-five inhabitants, and which he has seen inerease more than twentyfold.

He has been a lifelong Whig or Republican, and was chosen to represent the town in 1864-65, by forty votes over the general ticket, which was largely Dem- ocratic. He was in 1842-43 elected president of the Strafford District Medical Society, and in 1872 was made president of the New Hampshire Medical Soci- ety. He has been for many years a member of the American Medical Association, and belongs to several

David Taylor Parker, the son and third child of Rev. Clement and Rachel Taylor Parker, was born in Bradford, Vt., April 10, 1813, and is the fifth in de- scent (Clement4, Lemuel3, John2, Samuel1) from Sam- : other societies. He is strongly allopathic, and has

D.S. Parker 11. 8.

LEVI W. LEIGHTON, SR.

Joseph. L. Demeriti

ابليسله ليج

f of Varney

637

FARMINGTON.

nothing to do with quackery in any form. His seanty spare time is devoted to reading and study and keep- ing up with the medical literature of the time. As for the esteem in which he is held as a physician, it is enough to say that the same families who employed him forty-five years ago employ him to-day.

In religion he is strictly orthodox, and has con- tributed more according to his means than any other citizen towards the support of the Congregational Church.

His sensitiveness to want and suffering has pre- | vented him from accumulating so many specimens of the almighty dollar as most men of his ability and of his successful practice would have laid by for the rainy day of old age, but the needy and hungry have never been turned from his door nor suffered for lack of his care. He might for reasons refuse to attend a rich man, but a poor one never. We may reasonably doubt if there is in the State a man of his means who has given more service in a quiet and unostentatious manner than has Dr. Parker for suffering humanity.

LEVI W. LEIGHITON, SR. AND JR.

Levi W. Leighton, Jr., son of Levi W., Sr., and Tam- son A. (Chamberlin) Leighton, was born on the farm in the town of Farmington, N. H., where he has al- ways lived, March 5, 1830. His grandfather was Joseph Leighton, a native of Barrington, N. H. Josephi was twice married, and had children,-Levi W., John, and Abigail, who married Mark Demer- itt, of Farmington, N. H. (See Demeritt history.) Joseph Leighton and a brother of his, name not known, purchased the farm where his grandson, Levi W., Jr., now (1882) resides. Here he continued to reside till his death. He was an energetic and frugal man, and laid well the foundation of a prosperous and happy family. His son, Levi W., was born about 1794, on the home-farm in Farmington, N. H .; mar- ried Tamson A. Chamberlin, and had children,-(1) Hannah, who has been twice married, first to John K. Colbath (deceased) ; second, to John Killroy, by whom she has three children.

(2) Mary C. (deceased).

(3) John W. (deceased), who left a widow and three children.

(4) Levi W.

(5) Tamson A., wife of E. P. Mooney, of Farming- ton.

(6) Emily, wife of Stephen W. Bennett, of Farm- ington.

Levi W. Leighton, Sr., was a Democrat in polities, and held the several town offices of his town. He inherited the principal characteristics of his father, and was esteemed for his virtues. He died Jan. 2, 1857, and his wife died March 9, 1869.

Levi W. Leighton, Jr., received the advantages of a common-school education. He has always resided

on the home-farm, and followed the occupation of a farmer. He is modest and unassuming, and is uni- versally respected by all. Like his fathers he is a Democrat, and thoroughly believes in the principles enumerated by Jefferson and Jackson. He has been in feeble health for several years. He married, January, 1855, Sophia, daughter of Bernard and Harriet (Richardson) Averill, of Mount Vernon, N. H. She was born Dec. 17, 1832.

JOSEPH L. AND MARK DEMERITT.

Joseph L. Demeritt was born in Farmington, N. H., on the same farm where he now resides and which he owns, May 22, 1831. His grandfather, Paul Demeritt, was born in Madbury, N. H., April 9, 1757. Paul settled in Farmington when a young man, on the farm which has been in the family since about 1775. Dur- ing the first five summers of his living on this farm he kept bachelor's hall, made the first improvements on the farm, and laid the foundation of a good farm well tilled. He used to return to his native place and spend his winters in some kind of employment.

On the 20th of January, 1780, he married Betsey Davis, and had children,-Susan, wife of Benjamin Libbey ; Hannah, born April 2, 1784; Lois, wife of Joseph Hayes; Mark, born June 6, 1792,-all born on the old homestead. Paul Demeritt was a farmer of about one hundred and sixty aeres; was an industri- ous, frugal man. He died Nov. 26, 1835; his wife died April 30, 1849.

Mark Demeritt, youngest son of Paul, was a farmer on the farm where he first saw the light of day. July 21, 1816, he married Abigail E., daughter of Joseph Leighton, of Farmington. (See Leighton history, Farmington.) She was born Jan. 28, 1799, and died May 6, 1881. Their children are Charles M., a carpenter in Rochester ; Hannah, wife of John Bickford, Rochester; John F., now with his brother on the home-farm; Martha E., wife of William Wenthworth, a farmer in Farmington; Joseph L., the subject of this sketch ; Paul J., a merchant in Massachusetts ; Lois S., wife of William Henderson, Rochester, N. H. ; and Emma B., wife of E. P. Hods- don, of St. Louis, all born in Farmington on the old farm. Mark Demeritt was a man of more than ordi- nary ability, and was justly considered one of the leading representative men of his native town. In polities he was a Jacksonian Democrat, and as such was honored with all the important offices of his town. He discharged all his duties with acceptability to his constituents, and reflected honor on all who bear the name. He was magistrate for many years, select- man, and member of the State Legislature. He died Oct. 22, 1875.

Joseph L. Demeritt received such advantages for an education as the common schools of his district afforded. He attended them winters, but, like most farmer's boys, worked on the farm summers.

638

HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

He was always the home boy, and took care of his aged parents.

He is one of the largest and best farmers in the town, owning some three hundred acres in the home- farm and one hundred elsewhere. In polities a Demo- crat. He has been selectman five years, with credit to himself and satisfaction to his townsmen. Few there are in Farmington who enjoy the confidence of 1 the people more than does Joseph L. Demeritt. He is a modest, unassuming man, never putting himself forward or thrusting his opinions upon others. He reads for himself and does his own thinking. Ile is liberal in his views on all questions, yet in politics thoroughly believes in the political principles as taught by Thomas Jefferson and more recently held by Governor Horatio Seymour, of New York.

JOSEPII EMERSON.

Joseph Emerson, son of Joseph, was born in Farm- ington, N. H., Feb. 17, 1808. He was of English ex- traction, his ancestors having come from England and settled in America at an early day. His grandfather, Timothy Emerson, was a native of Durham, N. II., and was a colonel in the Revolutionary war, serving with distinction under Gen. Stark of Revolutionary fame. Ile married Abigail Thompson, of Durham, and had children,-(1) Joseph, (2) Sally, (3) An- drew, (4) Polly, (5) Abigail. Ile was a wealthy farmer and owned slaves. He died in advanced life. Joseph Emerson, Sr., was born in Durham, N. H., Feb. 12, 1763, and died March 8, 1841. He married Marcia, danghter of Joseph Hayes, Nov. 25, 1791. She was born Dec. 20, 1770, and died Sept. 16, 1847.

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History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 149

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1714

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1714