USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Antrim > History of the town of Antrim, New Hampshire, from its earliest settlement to June 27, 1877, with a brief genealogical record of all the Antrim families > Part 38
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23, 1808, married Emily Dean of Bellows Falls, Vt., and is now spoken of as " enjoying the rest and comfort which a life well-spent deserves."
It is believed that Thomas Bell moved away about 1809. None of the family returned here to live except Hiram, by whom chiefly the family was identified with this town. Hiram Bell returned to North Branch to live in the fall of 1832, and on Dec. 19, of the same year, he married Mary French. She was born in Hancock, Aug. 28, 1813. In 1833, Mr. Bell went into trade at the Branch, in company with Hiram Griffin. But he did not long continue in the business ; and we find he moved to Hen- niker in March, 1837. He died Feb. 27, 1871. He left three children whose names will be found below.
Mr. Bell was largely noted as a hotel-keeper. He began his career of serving the public in this way by opening a tavern in company with Ira Cochran in the McCoy brick house in Antrim, now Samuel M. Thomp- son's. This was in 1826, under the "Sign of the Big Pumpkin." He kept a bowling-alley, - the first in this section, it is said. But he came into notice specially as a landlord at the White Mountains. He presided at the Profile House seven seasons ; at the Crawford House for a time; and at the Pemigewasset House, Plymouth, for many years. Was an exceed- ingly genial and pleasant man, helpful and wide-awake, and everywhere he had a host of friends.
1. GEORGE E., [b. in Antrim May 15, 1834, m. Susan J. Thomp- son Dec. 4, 1862; was a hotel-keeper in Boston, smart, capable, widely-known, and popular. He died suddenly, April, 1880. Was an alderman of Boston ; was several years in the custom-house, by appointment of the President ; was one of those genial men who usually have a host of friends and no enemies. The " Boston Journal " says : " In his private relations he was a most estimable man, and in his official life as a member of the board of aldermen his duties were discharged in a conscientious manner. Although a Democrat in politics, he was not a partisan in deciding matters affecting the interest of the city of Boston, and, although at times differing with his colleagues in this respect, he always had their respect as acting according to his honest convictions."]
2. MARY E., [b. in Henniker Aug. 21, 1837; m. Col. Edwin R. Abbott, Feb. 20, 1860. Mr. Abbott went from Bradford, and is now at the head of an immense hotel at Coney Island, N. Y.]
3. ELLEN A., [b. in Henniker May 4, 1845, m. Solon Newman July 1,1873.]
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BEMAINE.
GEORGE BEMAINE, of English birth, came here in the spring of 1770, and made his home several years with Dea. Aiken. He was a de- serter from the British in Boston, and came to this frontier town for con- cealment. Was a man of fifty years or more, well educated, was a good reader, a superior penman, and was the first teacher in Antrim, and also the first in Hillsborough. His first school in that town seems to have been in the fall of 1771. In early life he had been a school-mate of . Dilworth, of spelling-book fame. Here he taught the children in private houses, as there was no school-house, and deserves credit as one very useful in the new settlement. He finally went into the Revolutionary army, and lost his life at the battle of White Plains, Oct. 28, 1776. Noth- ing can be learned of his ancestry, or connections. He deserves credit as the first teacher in Antrim or vicinity. Made his home at Dea. Aiken's till death, though occasionally absent for purposes of teaching. Seems to have been a very worthy man, and just the one to meet the wants of these pioneer families, giving instruction when otherwise it must have been denied.
BICKFORD.
DANIEL BICKFORD, an Englishman, one of ten sons, was born on the voyage to this country. His father settled in Exeter. Daniel was a hatter by trade, came here from Pembroke in 1795, and settled a short distance southwest of the Riley or Judge Whittemore place. He mar- ried Martha Mann of Pembroke in 1786. Moved to the Scott Moore place, Hillsborough, in 1812, and died there in 1815, aged fifty-five. They had six children, the two youngest born here : -
1. WILLIAM M., [b. in 1787, m. - Cragin of Charlestown, Mass., and d. in that city in 1825.]
2. ABRAHAM, [m. Jane Stuart of Henniker, and d. in that town in 1872, aged 82.]
3. DANIEL, [b. in 1792, m. Sarah Spring, went to New York and d. 1813.]
4. SALLY P., [b. in 1794, m. Reuben Kidder, d. 1847.]
5. JAMES D., [b. in 1796, a clothier by trade ; m. Salome Hun- toon of Unity, d. Newport 1842.]
6. POLLY M., [b. in 1798, m. David McCaine of Francestown, d. in that town in 1838.]
BISHOP.
RICHARD BISHOP, son of John and Mary (Poor) Bishop, and grandson of Thomas Bishop, was born in the county of Kilkenny, Ire- land, in December, 1822. He married Mary Flinn, of the same place, " and two of his children were born on that side the water. He came to Antrim from Boston in 1857, and lived in what is known as the Bishop
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house, being that next east of Maplewood Cemetery. Thence he moved to Bennington in 1870, where he now resides. Children : -
1. MARY, [b. March 12, 1851, m. Michael Harrington of Han- cock.]
2. ANNE.
3. KATE, [m. Thomas Welch.]
4. ELLEN.
BLANCHARD.
THOMAS BLANCHARD and his son Samuel came over in 1639, and settled in Charlestown, Mass. They were of Huguenot race, and the name was originally Blanche. Samuel, the son, moved in 1686 to Andover, Mass., and died there in 1707, aged seventy-seven. His son, Samuel Blanchard, Jr., is understood to have been the father of Caleb, who came to Antrim. This second Samuel married Ruth Gould, of Chelmsford, Mass.
Caleb, son of Samuel and Ruth (Gould) Blanchard, was born in Ando- ver, Mass., in 1760, came to Antrim from Dracut, Mass., in 1818 (follow- ing his son Joshua who had come here some years before), and bought of Francis Brown what is now known as the Whiteley place. He married Lucy Gould, of Chelmsford, Mass., and had seven children, all born else- where, but most of them lived more or less in this town. He fell in the barn and broke his neck, Aug. 7, 1843, aged eighty-three. He was a remarkably vigorous man; walked two miles before breakfast on the day of his death. His widow died in 1852, aged nearly ninety-three. Their children : -
1. JOHN, [b. in Dracut, Mass., July 30, 1788 ; m. Margaret H. Taylor of New Boston ; remained on homestead ; d. Nov. 30, 1860. His wife d. June 20, 1866, aged 78. His house was burned Feb. 14, 1842, while all the family were gone to church, and the present house was built in the summer of that year. Mr. Blanchard was many years a teacher, was a great reader, was a man of active memory, strict in his family, very religious, and very decided and unbending in his convictions. His children were : -
Betsey H., (b. Sept. 22, 1821, m. Edward Whiteley Sept. 15, 1853, remains on homestead.)
John N., (b. Nov. 11, 1824 ; rendered partially insane by fit of sickness ; has been patiently cared for by his sister many years.)
Ephraim T., (d. at the age of 11, July 2, 1840.).
Lucy G., (d. at the age of 18, Aug. 9, 1849.)]
2. JOSHUA, [m. Isabella Harvey of Dracut, Mass. ; came here about 1814 ; bought the Jonas White place (B. C. Butter-
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field's) ; was a blacksmith, and had a shop a little south of the house ; was succeeded by his brother Caleb ; after a few years moved to Lyndeborough, and d. there in 1821, aged 31. His children were : -
William G., (b. in Antrim, m. Eugenia Morange of New York, lives in Boston.)
Julia Ann, (b. in Dracut, Mass., m. Mason Wheaton, lives in Malden, Mass.)
Harriet N., (b. in Lyndeborough, unm., lives in Boston.)
Jane C., (b. in Antrim, m. Henry Chesley, lives in Brighton, Mass.)
Isabella, (d. unm. in Boston in 1854.)
Mary F., (m. 1st, George W. Hope ; 2d, Daniel Sargent of Sutton.)]
3. RUTH, [m. John Barton of Weston, N. Y. ; had five children ; all dead but one, and she the widow of Col. Bartlett Dorr, who was killed in battle in the late war. . A daughter, Liz- zie, was the wife of Rev. Henry C. Fuller. The aged par- ents are both living.]
4. LUCY, [m. Thomas Knowlton of Dracut, Mass. ; had a family of ten children ; but now parents and children are all dead, save one son, Charles P. Knowlton, living in the West.]
5. CALEB, JR., [b. May 17, 1795, m. " Millie " Cram July 12, 1821; was blacksmith by trade; succeeded his brother Joshua in shop and farm occupied by him ; was there but a short time ; had children, Elizabeth W. and Oliver H., born in Antrim, and several after removal from town; went from here to Eden, N. J. ; thence to Kansas ; and as noth- ing has been heard from them, it is supposed they were all swept off by the Indians, who made fearful depredations at that time in the State.]
6. AMOS, [b. Nov. 30, 1799; built the Collins Whittemore house in 1819; m. Eunice Flint April 6, 1820 ; sold in 1824, probably to John Dunlap, and went to Aurora, N. Y .; is still living in Jamestown in that State. Children : -
Amos A., (b. in Antrim in 1821; graduated at Dartmouth College, class of 1845; in. Ruth Tenney of Hanover; is a lawyer of note in Buffalo, N. Y.)
George G., (b. in Antrim in 1822, m. Philinda Keyes of Jamestown, N. Y .; lives in San Francisco; has been attor- ney-general of California. George A., his only son, is a
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lawyer in that State, and district-attorney of Sacramento county.)
Flint, (b. in Aurora, N. Y., in 1824, m. Sarah J. Allen, lives in Jamestown, N. Y. One son, Henry L. Blanchard, is a lawyer in Port Townsend, Washington Territory, and another son is a physician in Jamestown.)
William D., (m. Sarah Prince of Buffalo in 1856, d. in James- town, N. Y., in 1862.)
Charles, (graduated at Dartmouth College Medical Depart- ment in 1851, m. Cornelia Lampson of Detroit in 1864, is a physician in Buffalo, N. Y. The name appears as Henry Charles on the college record.)
Mary, (d. unm. in Jamestown, N. Y., in 1864.)]
7. MARY, [b. May 6, 1802, m. Samuel H. Pratt of Boston Aug. 16, 1827. Mr. Pratt d. Feb. 14, 1862. Children : -
Henry O., (b. in Boston in 1828, unm., lives in Brighton, Mass.)
Charles O., (m. Anna E. Jones, lives in Dorchester, Mass.) Mary B., (m. James E. Favor and lives in Bennington.)
Edwin B., (m. Harriet A. Hemmenway, lives in Waltham, Mass., was an ensign in the navy during the war.) Harriet N., (m. Arthur D. Phelps, lives in Boston.) Julia Marella, (five preceding b. in Boston ; this b. in Aurora, N. Y., m. D. A. Glidden, lives Boston Highlands.)
William B., (b. in Antrim in 1840, m. Susie Snelling of Bos- ton ; was colonel in the army ; wounded at Atlanta ; lives in St. Louis ; is in postal railway service.)
Caroline E., (b. in Boston in 1843, m. William F. Hunt of Roxbury, Mass., lives in Chicago. )]
MRS. CARRIE (FOOTE) BLANCHARD came to South Village in January, 1876, bringing five children, all born in Bennington, viz. : John, born in 1858 ; Fred, born in 1860 ; Charles, born in 1867 ; Minnie, born in 1869 ; Eugene, born in 1871. John Blanchard, her husband, was killed by the explosion of a powder-mill, Oct. 4, 1870.
BODWELL.
WILLIAM BODWELL, son of Joshua Bodwell, whose mother was murdered by the Indians in Haverhill, Mass., was born in Methuen, Mass., in 1761, married Rachel French of Atkinson in 1785, settled the Reuben Robinson place west of the pond (Dutton's) in 1789, went to Ohio in 1800, and died there in 1834. The widow afterwards married Alexander Witherspoon, and died April 12, 1837. Children of William Bodwell : -
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1. WILLIAM, [b. Sept. 6, 1786, m. Betsey Kimball of Dublin, went to Stow, N. Y., in 1811, and died there in 1816.]
2. SALLY, [b. Sept. 4, 1788, d. 1804.]
3. JOHN, [b. Sept. 5, 1790; moved to Stow, N. Y., in 1811; thence after the death of his brother William he went to Ohio, and nothing more can be learned of him.]
4. HANNAH, [b. Jan. 25, 1793, m. Joseph Knight, moved to Atkinson, and is yet living there.]
5. ANNA, [b. March 24, 1795, m. Dea. Samuel Fletcher, April 20, 1814 ; is a noble, devoted woman, spending her old age with children at Bunker Hill, Ill.]
6. EDE, [b. July 30, 1797, m. Rev. David Van Alstin, a Univer- salist preacher, settled in Atkinson in 1818, and she died there in:1831.]
7. PRISCILLA, [b. March 3, 1800, d. Oct. 18, 1803.]
BOND.
DEA. ASA BOND, adopted son of Dea. Elisha Bond of Gilsum, mar- ried, first, Almira Ellis of Sullivan ; went from Gilsum to Nashua, and was a machinist there of considerable prominence. His wife died in Nashua in 1842 ; married, second, Sally Barker of Antrim in 1844 ; came here in 1846, and bought the Samuel Carr place (now James Rich- ardson's) and lived there till his sudden death, Oct. 30, 1865, at the age of sixty-nine. Mr. Bond was at work repairing machinery at a lathe in the shop now J. A. Bryer's, and dropped dead so suddenly that when found he still held the tools in his hands ; was a long time an elder in the Presbyterian Church, and a pure and devoted man. His descend- ants are all gone from Antrim. He buried six children before coming here, and brought four with him as follows : -
1. WILLIAM L., [b. in Nashua in 1828, m. Jane Pickles, is a physician, lives in Charlestown, Mass.]
2. J. ELLIOT, [b. in Gilsum in 1830, now of Somerville, Mass.]
3. SIBYL E., [b. in Peterborough in 1832, m. James Gordon in 1850, lives in Somerville, Mass.]
4. CHARLES F., [b. in Nashua in 1837, m. Olivia Brown of Antrim Feb. 19, 1857, now lives in Hancock. Their chil- dren, - Charles W., b. Dec. 10, 1857 ; George A., b. Dec. 21, 1859 ; and Mary A., b. in 1861, d. in infancy, - were all natives of Antrim.]
BOUTWELL.
REUBEN BOUTWELL was born in Reading, Mass., in 1760 ; came here in 1783 from Amherst ; married Olive Bradford of Mont Vernon;
ה
In J Murar Se Resten
Chandler B Bouteille
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moved first into a log house a few rods southeast of Daniel Simonds place, in which he lived several years and had three children born, one of whom was Chandler B. Boutwell, Esq., long the oldest person in Antrim. Afterwards lived in Simonds house for a time, then cleared and settled the farm begun by Hutchinson, next west of Daniel Swett's, putting up the buildings there in 1799. These buildings are now gone, and the road to them thrown up. The house was moved to the Branch, was known as the mill-house, and was burned in 1876. Mr. Boutwell died in 1816, and at the burial, March 11, at the cemetery on the hill, the snow was so deep and the cold so intense it was impossible to fill the grave, and they left it to be finished in warm weather. His children that grew up were : -
1. REBECCA, [b. July 25, 1780, m. Asa Robinson Feb. 23, 1804, d. Aug. 13, 1831.]
2. MOLLY, [b. June 19, 1784, m. John Robinson, and d. in early life.]
3. CHANDLER B., [b. March 5, 1786, m. Peggy Carr June 4, 1811, with whom he lived more than sixty-two years. She died Oct. 23, 1873. Bought of John Woodcock the place on which he now resides; built the brick house in 1847; has been always a vigorous, industrious man, of good cal- culations and simple habits; has acquired large property ; been a constant attendant at church all his life ; one that the minister was sure to find in his place and one that always supported the gospel with his means. He united with the Presbyterian Church at the age of 88; is now smart and cheerful in his 93d year ; has voted seventy-two times in succession at the March meeting, without a break. Since writing the above Mr. Boutwell has died, the event occurring Jan. 27, 1880. At one time they buried all their family of children in a row of four little graves on Meeting- House Hill, but afterwards were born to them as follows: - Roxah, (b. Dec. 14, 1815 ; m. Daniel Swett, June 18, 1840 ; a most excellent woman ; d. after lingering sickness and great suffering in August, 1875.)
Achsah, (twin sister of Roxah, m. Sylvester Preston, Dec. 26, 1837.)
Margaret, (b. Jan. 9, 1826, m. William M. Conn April 9, 1854. They occupied the homestead of her father, where she d. very suddenly of diphtheria Feb. 16, 1876.)
Elizabeth, (b. Feb. 11, 1829, m. Charles R. McClary, and lives in Nashua. )]
4. JAMES, [b. March 13, 1788 ; m. 1st, Lottie Dodge of New Bos-
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ton ; lived on his father's homestead till the death of the latter; then moved to the Weeks or McCoy place in the east part of the town where the large brick house stands. His wife d. Jan. 17, 1844, aged 53, and he m. 2d, Hepsibeth (Draper) Brooks, widow of William Brooks of Hancock. He d. April 26, 1851, aged 63. . His children were : -
James, (m. Mary A. Averill Oct. 23, 1834, and moved to Peter- borough. He d. in Milford March 27, 1855, aged 44.)
Achsah, (m. James Wilson Dec. 25, 1834, and d. July 25, 1863, aged 49.)
Reuben, (b. in 1815, m. Hannah Gillis, inherited the home- stead, and d. Nov. 15, 1868, leaving two children : Susie E.,
who m. John M. Blodgett of Newbury, where he died in 1871, and Horace G., b. March 19, 1858.)
Charlotte, (d. Feb. 28, 1840, aged 20.)
Eunice, (now Mrs. Ziba Crane of Washington.)
Benjamin, (m. Frances Emery of Athens, Me., and d. March 20, 1858, aged 32.)
Sarah M., (m. James D. Matthews of Hancock in 1850, and d. in that town. )] 1
5. HANNAH, [b. May 11, 1791, m. Philip Averill Sept. 26, 1812, d. Nov. 5, 1834.]
6. PATTY, [b. Aug. 25, 1796, m. Walter Jones of Hillsborough Aug. 10, 1815, moved to the West many years ago.]
7. WILLIAM, [b. Jan. 8, 1798, m. Elizabeth Morrison of Wind- sor Nov. 4, 1817. He lived a short time in Stoddard ; bought and built in 1825 where his son William now lives, at the end of the road, south of the Keene road in the west part of this town. Built again about 1830 between the Levi Curtis place and the Keene road; but after a few years bought the Abner Cram place, where he lived till his death in January, 1878, aged a few days over 80 years. His first wife d. Nov. 7, 1862, aged 68, and he m. 2d, Mrs. Hepsibah (Tyler) Rogers, who survives him. This family spell their name Boutelle. The oldest child, Mary, was born in Windsor ; the rest in Antrim.
Mary, (b. Feb. 29, 1818, m. Albert Frost Feb. 21, 1843, and lives in Peterborough. Has children : George A., Mary E., Eugene L., and Emma Jane.)
Ann M., (b. April 14, 1819, m. John Hutchinson July 4, 1844.)
.
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William, (b. May 3, 1823 ; m. Susan Splaine Oct. 27, 1847 ; lives in extreme west of the town south of Keene road ; was out in the army in the Thirteenth N. H. Regiment ; has children : Elizabeth J., b. Aug. 24, 1848, who m. 1st, Rodney D. Wyman, and 2d, Henry Shepherd of Stoddard ; William H., b. Nov. 24, 1849, who m. Lottie Wilmot of Rome, Pa., and has children, Mary Belle and Nellie May ; Wallace M., b. Sept. 10, 1851, who m. Hattie B. Cram of Nelson Oct. 6, 1875 ; Augusta S., b. April 16, 1855, who m. Henry Hasling and lives in Lawrence, Mass. ; Nancy J., b. May 1, 1857, who m. George H. Buffum June 28, 1873 ; James E., b. Sept. 16, 1859 ; Nell S., b. June 17, 1862 ; and John H., b. Aug. 6, 1865.)
Jackson, (b. June 12, 1824; m. Fanny Wier in October, 1853; lives on the Horace Tuttle farm, High Range ; was out in the war in the Thirteenth N. H. Regiment ; has children : Mary J., b. Oct. 4, 1854; Willie T., b. Dec. 27, 1856; Henry E., b. March 7, 1858; Lilla E., b. Aug. 18, 1861; George E., b. Nov. 15, 1865 ; Albert L., b. April 21, 1871 ; and Ada F., b. June 12, 1873.)
John, (b. March 12, 1825; went to California in 1858; not heard from since 1861.)
Nancy O., (b. Nov. 25, 1827 ; m. George W. Baldwin Nov. 6, 1851 ; lived in Nashua; but his health failing, he came to Antrim and died here, three days after the birth of his youngest child. His death occurred Oct. 3, 1856, at the age of 29. She m. 2d, Col. William Cross of Litchfield, Jan. 1, 1858, who d. Jan. 6, 1867, aged 56. She m. 3d, Aaron Cutler of Londonderry, March 5, 1868, and now resides in Litchfield.)
Margaret J., (b. in 1832; m. Augustus Lovejoy of Hollis Feb. 24, 1853; has children : Nellie Jane, b. in 1857, and Frank H., b. in 1863.)
Reuben, (b. May 17, 1835 ; was out in the war in the Thir- teenth New Hampshire Regiment; m. Rose McGue of Nashua ; has one son, Fred, b. in September, 1860.)
David W., (b. June 25, 1837; m. Eliza J. Whitney March 20, 1860 ; lived awhile in Nashua ; was out in the war in the Thirteenth New Hampshire Regiment ; was disabled by disease, and now draws a pension for support; lives at the Branch ; has children : Jennie F., who was b. in Nashua
24
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March 13, 1861, and Charles H., who was b. in Antrim April 25, 1863.)]
BOUTELLE.
CHARLES M. BOUTELLE, son of Charles and Betsey (Knight) Boutelle of Hancock, born in 1825, was a cabinet-maker ; came here to work for Isaac B. Pratt in Clinton in 1848; married Sarah Buckminster in 1850; built the same year the house now Allen Sawyer's (Clinton), but moved to Bear Valley, Minn., in 1859, and died there in 1876. Mr. Boutelle stood in high repute in the community where he died; was postmaster in Bear Valley ten years. Left children : -
1. PROF. CLARENCE M., [b. in Antrim in 1851; now professor of mathematics and physics in the State Normal School at Winona, Minn.]
2. CHARLES H., [b. in 1853, lives in Bear Valley.] .
BOYD.
The ancient family of Boyds " descended from a younger son of the illustrious lord high steward of Scotland." Robert, son .of Simon, who was third son of Alan the second lord high steward, was of a very fair complexion, and consequently was named "Boyt," or "Boyd," from the Gaelic, signifying fair. From this Robert Boyt or Boyd, all the Boyds of Scotland descended. Some families by the name of Boit claim that as the original name. Robert Boyd died about 1240. His son, Sir Robert Boyd, called in 1262 " Robertus de Boyd," died in 1270. And his son, the third "Sir Robert Boyd," was one of the barons who were forced to swear fealty to King Edward I. of England in 1296. The following year he joined Sir William Wallace, but died soon after. His son, the fourth " Sir Robert Boyd," was one of the most gallant and able friends of Rob- ert Bruce, and was by that king made Lord of Kilmarnoc, and covered with honors. His descendants have been traced in the male line down to the year 1800, and stand high among the dignities of old Scotland. Some of the younger sons from time to time emigrated to Ireland, and thence in subsequent years their children came to America. Much about the Boyds of Scotland must be omitted here from lack of space. In Ireland they kept clear of the natives. William Boyd, Esq., of Fox- borough, Mass., who was born in Newtownards, Ireland, in 1800, tells us the word which the grandmother would call out to the " bairns " in the street when the native Irish came along : " Came in, an' stay in till them folks hae a' gane awa', for they're Eerish oot there an' ye maunna gang neer them." William of Foxborough was grandson of Hugh Boyd, who had a brother William born about 1710, or a little later. The names William, Robert, and James occur many times. There is no doubt that Capt. William Boyd, father of the brothers who settled in Antrim, was of this stock. There is little doubt that he was a cousin of " William born in 1710 or later." But positive proof must be sought in the old
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records on the other side of the water. I am indebted, for various papers, to Francis Boyd, Esq., of Boston.
CAPT. WILLIAM BOYD, a man of notable courage and force, came to Londonderry among the early settlers of that town, though not for several years after the beginning in 1719. Eight of this name appear on the memorial to Gov. Shute, March 26, 1718, asking encouragement to obtain land in "that very excellent and renowned Plantation " called New England. In his mature years, he signed the " Association Test," April, 1776. Mr. Boyd came over the water fourteen times as captain, bringing Scotch emigrants from Ireland. Married Alice Hunter, and settled permanently in the western part of Londonderry in 1751. Died Nov. 24, 1789, aged 70. His wife died Nov. 26, 1790, aged 60. Chil- dren : -
1. DEA. JOSEPH, [came to Antrim in 1774 and began the D. H. Goodell farm ; m. Mary McKeen, -" Molly Boyd," as she was called ; had the reputation of being " peculiarly kind, tender-hearted, and generous." Joseph Boyd was a very efficient elder in the Presbyterian Church from 1800 until his death. It was said that nobody ever knew him do an unfair thing ; was eminently sincere and honorable ; was a man patiently laborious and industrious. His death, Dec. 20, 1816, was occasioned by his being thrown from a car- riage just below the old meeting-house on return from wor- ship. His age was 64. His wife, Mary, who d. May 3, 1828, aged 73, was a woman of great force and courage. At one time her husband was absent in Londonderry, and she was left with two or three small children in their log house in the woods, when a bear attacked her pigs. They had a small barn, one cow, a pair of oxen, and two pigs. This was all their stock. The bear broke into the inclos- ure some way, and her first notice of it was by the terrible squealing of the pigs. One of them ran by the door in a fright, and as the other kept up the squealing, she went down near the barn and found a bear lugging it nearly to death. Quick as a flash she grabbed a stake, one end of which was on fire, and struck bruin such a fearful blow that he dropped the pig, ran off about two rods, set up on his haunches, and looked at her as if deliberating what to do ! She used to say that he looked more like the devil than anything else she ever saw ! She got between him and the pig and drove the bleeding thing into the pen and shut it in. Then she ran for Daniel McFarland, the nearest man
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