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 79
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 79
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 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143 | Part 144 | Part 145 | Part 146 | Part 147 | Part 148 | Part 149 | Part 150 | Part 151 | Part 152 | Part 153 | Part 154 | Part 155 | Part 156 | Part 157 | Part 158 | Part 159 | Part 160 | Part 161 | Part 162 | Part 163 | Part 164 | Part 165 | Part 166 | Part 167 | Part 168 | Part 169 | Part 170 | Part 171 | Part 172 | Part 173 | Part 174 | Part 175 | Part 176 | Part 177 | Part 178 | Part 179 | Part 180 | Part 181 | Part 182 | Part 183 | Part 184 | Part 185 | Part 186 | Part 187 | Part 188 | Part 189 | Part 190 | Part 191 | Part 192 | Part 193 | Part 194 | Part 195 | Part 196 | Part 197 | Part 198 | Part 199 | Part 200 | Part 201 | Part 202 | Part 203 | Part 204 | Part 205 | Part 206 | Part 207
Mr. Barker left Boston for Melrose, Mass .. about 1840 or 1841, and remained there till April, 1872, when he returned to his native town and purchased the old place where he now resides. Since his settle- ment in Hampton he has not been engaged in busi- ness. In politics a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Barker have been members of the Methodist Episco- pal Church since 1834. He has held all the important offices of the church, such as steward, class-leader, trustee, superintendent of the Sabbath-school, etc. He has always been liberal to the church and charita- ble to the poor. As a citizen and neighbor he stands deservedly high. He is a man of sound judgment and well-defined views. Few were his equal in his chosen business through life.
THE MARSTON FAMILY.
The Marston family is very numerous in New Hampshire. The first of the name of whom we know was one Thomas Marston, who was at Salem, Mass., in 1637, and was among the married men who settled in Hampton in 1638. He was prominent in all town matters, and held all the offices of the town worthy of mention. His wife was Mary, daughter of William Easton. Their children were Isaac, Bertha, Ephraim, James, Caleb, Mary, and Sarah. He died Sept. 28, 1690.
William Marston was in Salem in 1637, and settled in Hampton in 1639, or the second summer of its settlement. It seems from the records that he too was active in town affairs. He died June 30, 1672. His wife was Sabina -, and their children were Thomas, William, John, and Frifenia.
Robert Marston came from Salem to Hampton in 1640.
David Marston was a descendant of one of the above, and was born in Hampton, N. II., Dec. 29, 1797 ; married Sarah A., daughter of Simon N. Dear- born (see Dearborn history, Hampton), April 23, 1832.
She was born Aug. 23, 1807. Their children are Angusta M. (deceased), wife of Langdon Brown, of Rye. Left a son, George H.
(2) Caleb G., born Oct. 17, 1835; married Vianna Palmer, and has a daughter, Annie May.
(3) Lovinia M. (Mrs. Ambrose Swasey, of Cleve- land, Ohio).
(4) Melborn, born March 23, 1845; was a soldier in Company D, Fourteenth Regiment New Hamp- shire Volunteers, and was killed at the battle of Shenandoah Valley, Sept. 19, 1864.
David Marston was a Republican in politics, was selectman, and represented his town in the Legisla- ture.
He was a farmer by occupation, and a mason by trade. He and wife always attended the Congrega- tional Church in Hampton. Ile died July 11, 1860.
His father was Elisha Smith Marston, a son of Elisha, born Jan. 29, 1750, in Hampton. Married Judith Morrill, and had seven sons and one daughter. He died in April, 1832.
Josiah Marston, son of Josiah, was born in Hamp- ton in 1794; was twice married, first to Hannah Drew, and had three children, two of whom are liv- ing,-Mary A., who married Capt. Joseph Marden (deceased), of Portsmouth, and Hannah, wife of Samuel P. Garland (deceased), of Rye.
Mr. Marston's second wife was Mary Ann, daughter of Joseph Freese Dearborn (see Dearborn history), April 6, 1852. She was born Dec. 15, 1800. Mr. Marston was a school-teacher in his early life, and for a while after his first marriage, but later became a farmer in Portsmouth, near where Mr. Winchester now resides, and where his first wife died. He was a Whig and Republican in politics.
His widow is living with her niece (Mrs. David Marston), and is now in her eighty-second year. In her youth she received an academic education at the Hampton Academy. She is a member of the Con- gregational Church of Hampton.
THE BACHELDER FAMILY.
Rev. Stephen Bachiler (as the name was formerly spelled) was born in England in 1561, and received orders in the Established Church ; but being displeased with some of the ceremonies of the church, and re- fusing to conform to it, was refused permission to perform them. He went to Holland in company with his family, where he remained several years, and then returned to London, from which place he sailed on the 9th of March, 1632, in the " William and Francis." Mr. Thomas was - master, with sixty passengers on board. Mr. Bachiler and family arrived at Boston June 5, 1632, having been eighty-eight days on the way. He immediately settled with his family at Lynn, Mass., where he organized a church composed partly of six persons who had left the Established Church of England when he did. A difficulty arising
332
HISTORY OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
in the church, Mr. Bachiler requested dismissal for himself and the original six members, which was granted. He was admitted a freeman May 6, 1635, and removed from Lynn in February, 1636, and went to Ipswich, Mass. In the winter of 1636-37, being then some seventy-six years of age, he made a journey : and ten months. on foot with some friends to Matakeese (now Yar- mouth), a distance of one hundred miles, where he intended to plant a church, but finally gave up the idea and returned to Ipswich. On the 6th of July, 1638, we find him at Newbury, where he received grants of land. On the 6th of September, 1638, the General Court of Massachusetts granted him per- mission to commence a settlement at Winnacunnet (now Hampton). In 1639 the inhabitants of Ipswich were very desirous that he should be their minister, but on the 5th of July of the same year he sold his interest there and settled in IIampton, N. H., when a town was begun and a church gathered, of which he was its first pastor. He became a large land-owner, and, as appears from the records, presented the first bell to the society in Hampton as early as 1640. He was considered a man of good judgment and upright in character, but in due time got into some trouble, which caused a dissension in the church, and it was thought advisable for him to leave, which he did April 20, 1647, when he went to Portsmouth, where he remained three years. In 1650 he married his third wife, being in his ninetieth year. In May he was fined ten pounds for not publishing his marriage, but in October following half of his fine was remitted.
In a few years he went back to England, where he married his fourth wife, while his third was still living in Portsmouth. He died at Harkney, in England, in 1660, aged about one hundred years. Notwithstanding his errors and follies, he had un- doubtedly many virtues, or he would not have had so many friends, and they would not have continued with him through every change of his fortune. His descendants are numerous. He had seven children, Theodata, Deborah, Nathaniel, Francis, Stephen, and another son and daughter.
Nathaniel Bachiler, son of Rev. Stephen Bachiler, was one of the leading men in the town for a long period. He had a good education, wealth, and a large family connection, and exerted a controlling influence in the town. He was opposed to Capt. John Mason, and first on the list to head " Weare's Peti- tion." He held all the offices of the town, and was representative in 1694. His first wife was Deborah Smith, by whom he had nine children, viz. : De- borah, Nathaniel, Ruth, Esther, Abigail, Jane, Stephen, Benjamin, and Stephen (2d). His wife died March 8, 1676, and he married for his second wife Widow Mary Wyman, by whom he had eight children, viz. : Mercy, Mary, Samuel, Jonathan, Thomas, Theodata, Joseph, and Mary (2d). His second wife died in 1688, and he married again Eliza- beth- -. He died between 1707 and 1710.
Levi Batchelder, son of Nathaniel, born Aug. 14, 1765, married Deborah Ward, and had two sons, Samuel and Cotton, who died at thirty. Levi Batch- ' elder was a tailor by trade. He died Aug. 26, 1822. His wife died Nov. 10, 1849, aged seventy-one years
Samuel, son of Levi Batchelder, was born in Hampton, N. H., Feb. 19, 1786, and died at his resi- dence, Dec. 12, 1863, aged seventy-seven years and ten months. His advantages for an education were limited, but his thirst for knowledge caused him to surmount every difficulty, and he obtained a good business education. He was a good farmer. He married Sarah Dearborn, daughter of Joseph F. Dearborn (see Dearborn history), Jan. 31, 1810. She was born Feb. 16, 1790, in Hampton, on the old Dearborn place. Her mother was Mary Nudd, daughter of Simon Nudd.
Children of Samuel Batchelder and Sarah, his wife, were: (1) Dearborn; (2) Alfred C., who died at twenty-six, unmarried; (3) Thomas W., died at twenty-nine, unmarried; (+) Deborah A., died at eighteen ; (5) Mary Ann, born March 15, 1822; (6) Sandborn, died at fourteen ; and (7) Sarah F., died at thirty-four.
Dearborn, the eldest of this family, was born July 24, 1810; was twice married, first, to Mary Jenness, daughter of Thomas Jenness, in 1833, by whom four children were born, of whom one, Fidelia F., is living. Mr. Batchelder's second wife was Abby O., sister to his first wife. They were married in 1841. Of this union seven children were born, viz., Dorinda A., Sarah M., Susan E. (deceased at ten), Samuel D., George H., Charles J. (deceased), and Frank P. Dearborn Batchelder was a foundryman by occupa- tion. He died Oct. 30, 1863.
Samuel Batchelder was a Whig and Republican in politics, and held the various town offices. He was a member of the Congregational Church, and was always liberal towards all benevolent enterprises. As was said hy the minister at his funeral, he was one of " nature's noblemen." His wife died June 24, 1846, aged fifty-six years. At his death the old home was left to his daughter, Mary Ann, who is now in her sixtieth year, and is one of the intelligent ladies of the town. This Batchelder family has descended from Lieut. Cotton Ward to his daughter Deborah, thence to her son Samuel, thence to Mary Ann, who has taken a deep interest in the welfare of her parents' de- scendants, and has contributed no small sum towards the proper education of her nephews and nieces. She is a member of the Congregational Church.
Charles Joseph Batchelder, son of Dearborn, was born March 27, 1858. He received an academic edu- cation, and one year at the State Agricultural Col- lege at Hanover, N. H. He was intelligent, and quick to learn, but ere he had reached his majority was killed at Silver City, N. M., by the Indians, while driving an express-wagon for the government, Oct. 15, 1878.
.
Batchelde, Chas
333
HAMPTON FALLS.
CHAPTER XLIX. HAMPTON FALLS.
Geographical-Topographical-List of Early Inhabitants-Petition of Hampton Falls for a Fair-Grant of a Fair, 1734 -- Other Petitions- Council of 1737.
HAMPTON FALLS lies in the eastern part of the county, and is bounded as follows : on the north by Exeter and Hampton, on the east by Hampton, on the south by Seabrook, and on the west by Kensing- ton.
The surface is generally level and soil fertile. Hampton Falls originally formed a portion of the town of Hampton, and was incorporated as a parish May 12, 1718.
Early Inhabitants .- Among the inhabitants of the town in 1732 were the following :
Daniel Weare.
John Green.
Samuel Daves.
Jacob Stanyan.
Robart Quinby.
Thomas Gill.
Joho French.
Amos Cass.
Henry Lampre.
Sam" Ecions.
Edward West.
Benjamin Green.
Jedjah Blake.
JONATHAN PRESCUTT
JOSEPH WORTH
parish
ISRAEL. BLAK of
BENJAMIN GREEN
Hampton-Falls. -
Hampton Falls Oct. 10th 1734.
Grant of a Fair to Hampton Falls, 1734.
George the 2d by the Grace of God of Great Britain, [Prov. Seal] France and Ireland King Defendr of ye faith &' To all to whoo these presents shall come, Greeting-Know yes that we of our Especial Grace certain knowledge and meer motion for the due encouragement of Trade and Traffic within our Parish of Hamp- ton Falls in our province of New Hampr in New England and for the more effectual carrying on of the same there-Have Given and Granted and do by these presents give and grant to the Inhabitants of our Said Parish & their successors the privilege of having holding & keeping two yearly Fairs in the sd parrish forever, each to continue 2 day together & no more, The one To begin on the last Tuesday in April, and the other on ye last Tuesday in October, Annnally, To have and to hold the said Privilege of keeping Two yearly Fairs as above-said for the Ends and purposes above expressed to the said Inhabitants and their anccessora forever In Testimony whereof we have caused our Province seal to be hereunto affixed.
Witness, Jonathan Belcher Esq. Our Govr & Com" In Chief in and over our sd Province the twenty fourth day of October in ye 8th yr of our reign, Anno'q Dom. 1734.
J. BELCHER.
By Hie Exey Comand wth
the advice of yo Coun.
R. Waldron, Secy.
Petition for a Presbyterian Society.
To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq. Captain General Governor and Commander in Cheif in and over his majesties Province of New Hampshire &c-To the Honorable his Majesties Council and House of Representatives for said Province Convened in General Assembly-November 21st, 1765.
The petition of the subscribers, Free holders & Inhabitnots of the Town of Hampton Falls in said Province-Humbly Sheweth.
John Cram, Jr. Joseph Pearkins. John Ware. Samuel Healey. Nath1 Healey.
John Green, Sen. Lenamin Cram. William Evans. Jonathan Tiltoo. Jonathan Preacutt.
Jonathan Row.
Thomas Leavit.
Elisha Prescut. Elisher Prescut, Jr. Benj. Present.
Edward Tuck.
Samll Blake. Nathaniell Preacutt. Joseph Draper. Richard Nason.
Beniamin Sanbon.
James Prescutt.
Jeremialı Green.
Jonathan Prescut.
Beuja Sweet.
Benj. Hiland.
John Gove, Jr. Calub Swan.
Petition of Hamptan Falls for a Fair.
To His Excelency Jonathan Belcher Esq. Goveruonr and Commander in Chief in and over his Majestys Province of New Ilampshrand to the Honble his Majestys Conncel.
The Huaibie Petition of the Select mien of the Parish of Hampton. falls in said province Most Humbly shewetli
That whare as in this onr Parish and in the Touns and Parishes Round about us, and to ye East ward of our Province Thare are Raised a Bund- ance of Quick Stock which to geather with other Traflick Twill in a year we want to sell, and having experenced Sumthing of benifet of a Time and place for Marketing &d Stock and Traffick in our sd Parish, which Benifett not ondly our Parish but also our Province together with ye eastward Tonns have ahaired with us in by Reason of the Seathnation of vur Pariahs being ye most convenient to accomotodate Boath Provinces. We your Petitioners Therefore most Humbly pray
That his Excelency and ye Honble Councel order that ye second Wed- nesday and Thursdays in May and ye Third Wednesday and Thisday io October to be days of Fair for Pnldick Trailing in this Parish att the now most noted Publick hons and Cuntory Road yearly and for ever, for the Benyfites above Expressed Ae in duty bound will ever pray.
JOSEPH TILTON Selectmen of ye
Joseph Cass, Jr. Jonathan Fifield. Moses Black, Sr.
Joseph Casa.
Jon. Chapman.
Jonathan Cass.
Sharon Blake.
John Stanyan. Shadrick Warde.
Jona Philbrick.
Jorge Conar.
Benj& Pearkins.
Isac Fales.
Thomas Cram.
Jeremh Browne.
William Thomson.
John Halle.
Ichabod Robie.
Jethro Tilton.
Timo Blake. Henry Grene. (?)
Jonathan Nason.
Benjn Moody.
Jonathan Bachelder.
Ralp Butler. Enoch Saubarn.
Samuell Lane. Richard Sanborn.
James Sanburo.
Joseph Tilton.
Sherbun Tilton.
Josiah Tilton. David Sanborn.
John Page. Ebenezer Prescutt.
Jeremiah Easman. John Chase.
Stephen Hobs. Israel James. Abram Moulton.
Joseph Nortin. Ebenezer Dow. Samuel Page.
Timothy Huchesun
Joseph Wadleigh John Swain. Philemon Blake.
Jonathan Chase. John Philbrick. Nathan Sanborn. Jesreal Clifford. John Clifford. Beniamin Prescut. Samnel Tilton.
Rubert Row. John Bachelder. Wadley Cram. Daniel Kelley. (?)
Jonathan Green. Jonathan Bachelder. Joseph Tilton. John Cram. Jonathan Cram, Jr. John Browen. Jamee Monlton. Samuel Matshun. John Matson. Jacob Garland.
Timo Hiland. Calub Browne.
Thou. Philbrick. Jeremy Gove. Jonathan Dow. Jno Harvey.
That abont Two years ago The Revd Mr. Pain Wingate in the congre- gational way & manner was settled in the work of the ministry in said Town. That the Religious sentiments of and Doctrines preached by the said Revd Mr. Wingate are very different from those of your Petitioners -and disagreeable to theo-That your Petitioners apprehended they could not be profited by the preaching and ministration of the ad Revd Mr Wingate That the measures taken by the said Town in order to the settlement & support of the said Mr. Wingate are as your Petitioners conceive unprecedented aod Justly Grievoue to them, and that there- fore your Petitioners and many others Inhabitants of said Towo (near one half thereof ) constantly oppused his settlement there and disseoted therefrom:
John Grove, Seur. Winthrop Dow. Joseph Worth. Jacob Brown. Ephraim Hoy t. Nathan Hoyt. Ephraim (?)
Nathan Clough.
334
HISTORY OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
That your Petitioners are conscientiously of the Presbyterian Perswa- sion respecting Church Government, Doctrine Discipline and worship That they with others of their Brethren of that Perswasion have for some time past been regularly formed into a church, built a meeting house in said Town for the publick Worship of God, Called and settled a mini-ter in the Presbyterian way, namely The Rev. Mr. Samuel Per- ley : That your Petitioners conscientiously and constantly ou the Lords days and at other times occasionally attend the public worship of God there, according to their said Perswasion ; That the premises notwithstanding the select men of the said Town of Hampton Falls for the last year assessed and Rated your Petitioners for the sup- port of the said Mr. Wingate and obliged them to pay the same, That the selectmen of said Town for the present year have again as- sessed & Rated your Petitioners for the same purpose, which your Pe- titioners apprehend to be a Grievous & unreasonable Burthen npon them-Wherefore your Petitionere Humbly pray your Excellency and Honours to take their case under your wise consideration And as they conceive themselves to be Intitled to his majesties Grace & Favour in allowing to all his subjects biberty of Conscience-and that it is unreason- Able for them to be compelled to pay towards the support of a minister they do not nor cannot hear and attend upon for the Reasons aforesaid When at the same time they are at the expence of maintaining publick worship among themselves in that way and mode they think most agreable and nearest to the directions given in the Scriptures by the Great head of the Church, and where the True Doctrines of Grace & Salvation are preached according to their Opinion of those things : They pray your Excellency & Honours would grant them Relief in the premi- Bes by Exonerating them their Families and Estates and all others within said Town of Hampton Falls who are of the same Perswasion and attend the publick worship of God with them from all ministerial Rates and Taxes in said Town (Excepting to their own minister) and by setting them off as a distinct Parish for ministerial affairs only, and by enabling the said Presbyterian congregation to raise & Levy on themselves such Taxes and assessments as they shall from time to time find necessary for the support of the ministry and publick worship of God among themselves-or grant your Petitiovers such other Relief as your Excellency and Honours io your wisdom shall see fit, And your petitions as in duty bound will ever pray, &c., &c.
Thomas Leavitt
Samuel Selley
Ebenezer Knowlton
David Eaton
Richard Smith
Samuel Eaton
Jacob Smith
Nath Sinkler
Winthrop Gove
David Knowlton
Jolin Chase Jr
Eliphe Merrill
Jolın True
Thomas Brown
Ahener True
Nathan Guve Enoch Gove
Ahel Page
Thomas True
Joshua Page Jr
Jonathan Weare
John Exten
Thomas Eaten
John Kenney
Wimon Eaten
Elisha Brown
Joseph Norteo
Jonathan Walton
Joseph Eaton
Job Haskell
Jobn Selley.
Enoch Boid
Samuel Felch
Daniel Chase
Joseph Falch
Thomas Selly
Henry Roby
John Eaton, Jr
John Chas
Jonathan Hoyt
Abel Daves
Elezer Gove
Simon Clough
Paul Grinelf
John Robei
John Hunt
Jonathan Chase, Jr Benjamin Leavit
Province of New Hamp' November 27th 1765
The foregoing Petition read & ordered to be sent down to the Houblo Assembly
T. Atkinson, Jr Secry
Province of \ In the house of Representatives Novr 27th 1765.
New Hampř
The annexed Petition being Read and considered.
Voted, That the Petitioners be heard thereon the second Day of the siting of the General Assembly after the first day of January next, and that the Petitioners at their own cost serve the selectmen of Hampton
falls with a copy of the Petition and order of Court that they may ap- pear and shew cause if any they have why the Prayer thereof should not be grantedl.
In Council Nov 28th 1765
Read & concurrd.
T. Atkinson Jr. Secry.
Province of In the House of Representatives July 24 1766.
New Hampr
The foregoing Petition being taken under Consideration and the Parties heard thereon :
Voted, That the Petitioners have liberty to Bring in a Bill for them and their Estate to be set off from the Parish of Hampton falle to act in all Respects as a distinct Society or Parish by themselves Except paying their Proportion of the Province tax until a new Proportion thereof. The line of said New Parish to be fixed by a committee of the General Court with liberty for such of the Petitioners as shall not fall within said new Parish to Poll of with their Estates and Belong thereto and for any who shall fall within said new Parish who are not of the Presbiteriao Perswasion to Pull off with their Estates and belong to the old Parish, and for any who are not of the Presbyterian Perswa- sion who have or shall have Lands within said New Parish to Poll off said lands to belong to the old Parish agreeable to the Purport of a Vote of the Parish of Hampton falls the Second day of Sepr 1765.
M. Weare, Clr.
Province of } In the House of Representatives July 9th 1766. New Hamps™
Upon a motion of the Petitioners for some alteration in the foregoing vote
Voted, That it be understood that any non Residents who have or shall have Lands in either Parish shall have liberty to Poll off their said Land to that Parish which they shall choose. M. Weare, Clr. In Council Eodm Die
Read & Concurr'd.
T Atkinson Jr. Secry.
Council of 1737 .- Aug. 10, 1737, the assemblies of the provinces of Massachusetts and New Hampshire met at Hampton Falls, for the purpose of establishing the boundary line between the two provinces. A cavalcade was formed from Boston to Salisbury, and Governor Belcher rode in state, attended by a troop of horse. He was met at Newbury Ferry by another troop which was joined by three more at the supposed boundary line, and conducted to the George tavern in Hampton Falls. Here he held a council and made a speech to the Assembly of New Hampshire. The novelty of a procession of the executive* and legisla- tive bodies for such a distance occasioned the follow- ing pasquinade in an assumed Hibernian style :
" Dear Paddy you ne'er did behold such a sight, As yesterday morning was seen before night; Yon in all your born days saw, nor I didn't neither, So many fine horses and men ride together. At the head the lower house trotted two in a row, Then all the higher house prauced after the low : Then the Governor's coach gallop'd on like the wind, And the last that came foremost were troopers bebin , But I fear it means no good to your neck or mine, For they say 'tis to fix a right place for the line."
CHAPTER L.
HAMPTON FALLS .- (Continued.) STREAMS AND MILLS.1
The Streams and Mills of Hampton Falls .- It would be difficult for many of the residents of New Hampshire to-day to fully realize the situation of
1 By George D. Dodge.
.
Joshua Page
Sam1 Philbrick
Joseph l'age
Jonathan Swett
William French
Jacob French
Benjamin Eaton
Isaac Brown
M Weare, Cir.
I
RESIDENCE OF HON. WARREN BROWN, HAMPTON FALLS, N. H.
335
HAMPTON FALLS.
some of the early settlers of this State, who were compelled to travel forty miles through the woods to find a grist-mill. Concerning the state of things in 1633, one historian writes, "No mill was erected for grinding corn, for the colonists had none of their own to grind. They depended on supplies from England, except some corn and wheat brought from Virginia, to be ground in the windmill at Boston." The first ' mention we find in the history of this State of any mill is that of a saw-mill in 1635, at the falls of Newichwannock, the Indian name for Berwick, Me.
Looking back an hundred years, we judge that at that time, considering the size of Hampton Falls, she was excelled by no town in our State in the line of mills and manufactures.
Falls River, the principal stream in this town, flows from Muddy Pond, in Kensington, towards the sea, and empties into Hampton River, at Falls River's mouth, so called, half a mile below the depot. Here was situated the old ship-yard, reached by a cause- way over the marsh from the town-landing at the depot.
After leaving Kensington this stream flows for about a mile just within the town-line, between Hampton Falls, and Seabrook, and then makes a short divergence into Seabrook.
Near the point of divergence are situated Weare's Mills, first mentioned in the records of Hampton Falls in 1724.
A stone dam affords a fall of about eight feet, which is now applied to an encased wooden tub- wheel, of the kind which links the iron turbine of to-day with the primitive water-wasters of fifty years ago.
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.