USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > Durham > History of the town of Durham, New Hampshire (Oyster River Plantation) with genealogical notes, Volume 1 > Part 12
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The Committee of Safety, Inspection and Correspondence for 1777 and 1778 consisted of Ebenezer Thompson, Esq., John Smith, 3d, Esq., Moses Emerson, Esq., Valentine Mathes, Esq., Benjamin Smith, Esq., Joseph Stevens, Esq., Col. Alpheus Ches- ley, Capt. Thomas Chesley, Mr. John Thompson, James Gilmor, Esq., Mr. Jonathan Woodman, Jr., Mr. Nathaniel Hill and Capt. Timothy Emerson. The committee for 1779 was the same except that Lieut. Benjamin Chesley was substituted for his father, Capt. Thomas Chesley, deceased. The committee for 1780 consisted of Ebenezer Thompson, Esq., Mr. John Thompson, Valentine Mathes, Esq., Capt. Timothy Emerson, Col. Alpheus
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HISTORY OF DURHAM
Chelsey, Joseph Stevens, Esq., James Gilmor, Esq., Lieut. Benjamin Chesley, Mr. Nathaniel Hill, John Smith, 3d, Mr. Jonathan Woodman, Hon. Gen. Sullivan, and Col. Samuel Ches- ley. The committee for 1781 included Mr. Jonathan Chesley and Capt. John Grifin, and omitted John Thompson and Alpheus Chesley.
In 1779 a committee appointed to consider the inflated prices and depreciation of paper currency reported a series of resolves to be signed by voluntary subscribers, to the effect that they would not ask more for certain commodities than the prices established by the committee and that such prices should be changed only in agreement with Portsmouth and neighboring towns. The following persons signed the agreement, Alpheus Chesley, Jacob Joy, Ebenezer Chesley, William Jackson, Enoch Jackson, Samuel Chesley, Philip Chesley, Thomas Dame, Jona- than Williams, James Gilmor, James Leighton, Lem Jackson, Benjamin Bunker, Ebenezer Meserve, Jeremiah Burnham, Samuel Hicks, Eliphalet Wiggin, Benmor Duda, Samuel Joy, Joseph Chesley, Jr., Ephraim Clough, Benjamin Doe, Jr., James Drisco, Joseph Rendal, Pike Burnam, Samuel Nutter and Robert Lapish.
On the 18th of October, 1779, the report of a committee was accepted, fixing the price of merchandize and country produce in pounds and shillings of greatly depreciated currency. Silver and gold coins were not in circulation, having been bought up by speculators. The following list is instructive as showing the necessities of life and their comparative values:
WVest India Rum per gallon, £6.12; New England Rum, 5.2; Molasses per gal, 4.13, Coffee per pound, £o.18; Sugar from 12s to 14s per pound; Tea per pound, 6.6, Chocolate, I.7; Cotton Wool per pound, £2; salt of the best quality per bushel, £9; New England made salt, £6; Indian Corn, per bushel, 4.10; Rye, 6; Wheat, 9; Oats, 2.5; Peas, best quality, 9; Beans, 9; Beef, Mutton, Lamb and veal by the quarter, 4 shillings per pound; Hides per pound, 3.6; Pork by the Hog, per pound, 6 shillings; Butter, per pound, 12 s; Cheese, 6s; English Hay per ton, £30; German Steel per pound £1.16; Bloomery Iron per c, £30; Cider at the press per barrel, £5.8; Flax well dressed per pound, 12s; Sheep wool, £1.10; Sole Leather per pound, £1.1; Upper Leather, well cured, per side, £12; Green Calf Skin, £2.14; Calf Skin dressed at a medium, £6; Side of Leather Suitable for Saddles, £13.4; Laborer per day found as usual, £2.2; Tradesmen that work abroad and are found as usual, £3.3; Blacksmiths for shoeing a horse all round, steel corcks, £6; Shifting a set of shoes, £1.16; Axes, £7.10; Mens Shoes of the best quality from £7 to £8 per pair; Best Womens
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HISTORY OF DURHAM
shoes, £6; Cabinet makers to have no more than 20 for I from the price of 1774; Felt Hats, £6; Tailors to have £18 for a suit of plain Cloaths and other work in like proportion; Innholders, for Dinners, £1 ; for Breakfasts and suppers, 15s; Horse keeping to Hay, £1.4; Toddy per bowl, 15s; Cyder per mug, 5s; Oats per mess, 7s; Tallow handles per pound, 15s; Letters of horses to have 4s per mile out and nothin in; Potatoes and Turnips of the best quality, 24s per bushel; Wood per cord, £13.10; Good Saddle, £52.16; Bridle, -; Poultry -; Hogs fat, per pound, 13s; Winter apples per bushel, 18s; All articles of country produce, manufacture, or labour not herein enumerated to be at 20 for I from the price in the year 1774.
In this list the relative price of labor is the most interesting item. A laborer would have to work three days to get a gallon of rum, then considered more a necessity than molasses, or three days for a pound of tea, or two days for a bushel of corn, or nearly four days for a pair of shoes. Who will say that labor is not better paid today? But is the shoemaker of the factories today better off than the independent cordwainer that went from house to house in those times? Is the sweat-shop of modern tailors to be preferred to the changing work-shops of those who then made clothes? Have times improved? It is the comparative inequali- ties that distress and oppress wage-workers.
From various sources, chiefly from the Revolutionary Rolls, as published in the State Papers of New Hampshire, have been gathered the names of the men from Durham and Lee who served as soldiers in the War for the Independence of the Colonies.
Adams, Lt-Col. Winborn
Burnham Josiah (Lee)
Adams, William, fifer
Burnham Edward
Adams, Ensign Samuel
Burnham, Ensign James
Applebec, Joseph
Burnham Pike
Applebee Thomas
Buss John
Branscomb Arthur
Burnham Paul
Adams Peter (negro on ship Raleigh)
Burnham Samuel
Bennett Ebenezer
Carson Robert
Bickford, Eliakim
Chesley, Aaron,
Bickford Eli (Lce)
Chesley, Col. Alpheus
Bickford Ephraim (Lee)
Chesley Ebenezer
Bickford Josiah (Lee)
Chesley Jonathan
Bickford Joseph
Chesley Samuel
Bickford Samuel
Blaisdell Abijah
Clark Samuel Hill Clough John
Boffe Jesse
Clough Samuel
Bunker Zacheus
Clough Lt. Zacheus
Bunker Enoch, Corp. Burnham Benjamin (Lee)
Cogan Patrick
Colbath Benjamin
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HISTORY OF DURHAMI
Colbath Dependance
Emerson Capt. Smith
Colbath Downing
Emerson Timothy
Colbath John
Fernald Amos (Lee)
Colkins John, Drummer
Fowler Philip
Copps David, Corp.
Frost Nicholas (Lee)
Frost Nathaniel (Lee)
Couch John Critchet Elias (Lee)
Frost Winthrop (Lee)
Crommit Moses
Footman Thomas
Crommett James
Footman John
Crommett Philip
Green, Corp. Enoch
Crommett Ebenezer
Gerrish Timothy
Crommett Thomas, Ens.
Glidden Gideon
Cromwell Samuel
Glover John
Creecy William
Griffin, Lt. John
Crown William
Hall Benjamin (Lee)
Dame, John
Hall Sergt. James (Lee)
Daniels Eliphalet, Capt.
Hall John
Daniels Nathaniel (Lee)
Hicks Benjamin (Lee)
Davis David
Hill Wille (Lee)
Davis Micah, Sergt.
Hill Thomas (Lee)
Davis Clement
Hull John
Davis Philip
Jenkins Nathaniel (Lee)
Davis Thomas
Johnson John
Davis Timothy
Johnson Andrew
Davis John (Lee)
Kinnistin Josiah (Lee)
Doe Jonathan
Kynaston David
Doe Joshua
Kent Robert
Duda Lemuel
Kent, Ebenezer
Drew Andrew
Langley David
Drew Zebulon Lt.
Layn Capt. John (Lee)
Drew Francis
Leathers, Enoch
Drisco John
Leathers John
Demeritt Samuel
Leathers Jonathan
Durgin Benjamin
Leathers Edward (Lee)
Durgin David
Leathers Thomas
Durgin Joseph
Leathers Robert
Durgin Josiah (Lee)
Leighton James
Durgin Henry
Leighton, Lt. Tobias
Durgin Levi
Leighton, John?
Durgin Philip
Leighton Valentine
Durgin Trueworthy D.
Mann David
Durgin Eliphalet Lt.
Martin Sidon (Lee)
Dutch Jeremiah
Mathews Gideon
Dutch John
Mallin Mathew
Edgerly Sergt. Thomas
McDaniel James (Lee)
Edgerly James
Meader Moses
Meader Nicholas
Emerson Moses, Commissary
Martin Dan (Negro)
Dunsmore Elijah Capt. (Lee)
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HISTORY OF DURHAM
Mitchell John
Mooney Benjamin Mooney, Col. Hercules Mooney John Munsey Timothy (Lee)
Starboard, Ens. John
Starboard Stephen
Spencer Abednego
Neal John
Spencer Moses Spencer Robert
Noble Stephen
Noble John
Stevens John (Lee)
Norton John
Stevens Nathaniel (Lee)
Norton Thomas
Sullivan, Gen. John
Pendergast Edmund
Tash, Col. Thomas
Perry Abraham
Torr Vincent
Pinder Sergt. Jeremiah
Thomas, Lt. Joseph
Pinkham Abijah
Thomas Stephen Jones
Pinkham Isaac (Lee)
Thomas, Sergt. James
Pinkham Paul (Lee)
Thompson James
Pinkham Thomas
Thompson Samuel
Polluck John
Thompson Thomas Tobnie Patrick
Pinder Benjamin
Rand David
Tucker Stephen B.
Rand John
Tuttle Capt. George
Randall Joseph
Tuttle Nicholas
Rogers Daniel
Tuttle Isaac
Reynolds Abraham
Tufts Henry
Richards Bartholomew
Underwood, James
Runnels Enoch (Lee)
Ward Samuel
Runnels Capt. Samuel
Wille Robert
Runnels Israel (Lee)
Wille Ezekiel
Runnels Moses (Lee)
Wille Thomas
Runnels Stephen
Williams Joseph
Runnels Solomon
Williams Jonathan
Ryan James
Williams Samuel
Ryan Michael
Weeks Jedediah
Scales Samuel (Lee)
Welch Benjamin (Lee)
Scammell, Gen. Alexander
Whitten Mark (Lee)
Sawyer Samuel
White James
Shaw Daniel (Lee)
Williams John (Lee)
Sias John (Lee)
Wigglesworth Surgeon Samuel
Sias, Capt. Benjamin
Woodman Lt. Archelaus
Smart William
Woodman Edward Jr.
Smith Benjamin
Woodman Sergt. Joshua
Smith Edward
Yeaton Samuel
Smith John
Young Jeremy
Smith Joseph
York Samuel
Small Benjamin (Lee)
Small Isaac (Lee) Spencer John
It is impossible to trace the military record and life history of all the men of Durham who took part in the struggle for national
GEN. JOHN SULLIVAN
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HISTORY OF DURHAM
freedom. It would not be fitting, however, to publish a history of Durham without saying the few words that space permits about some of the soldiers of the Revolution.
Gen. John Sullivan was born in Berwick,1 Me., 17 February 1740, son of the Irish schoolmaster, John Sullivan, and his wife, Margery Browne. He was educated mainly by his father and studied law with Judge Samuel Livermore of Portsmouth, settling in Durham as its first lawyer soon after 1760. He purchased of the heirs of Dr. Samuel Adams, 19 December 1764, the house since known as the Sullivan house, near the monument that the State erected to his memory. He is mentioned in the town record in 1771, when he was chosen overseer of the poor. He soon be- came well known as a lawyer of learning, eloquence and forensic ability. Prosperity enabled him to purchase the water privilege at Packer's Falls and to erect, soon after 1770, six mills, including corn-mill, saw-mill, fulling-mill, and scythe-mill. We have seen the part he took in the capture of military stores at Fort William and Mary. He was commissioned major in 1772. He was dele- gate to the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775, where he took an active part and urged the declaration of independence. He was appointed brigadier general in 1775 and served at the siege of Boston, after which he served in the expedition to Canada and conducted the retreat. He was promoted to be major general 29 July 1776. He took part in engagements about New York, where he was captured but soon exchanged, and in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine and Germanton. He spent the winter at Valley Forge and commanded the expedition to Rhode Island. He scourged out of the Susquehanna Valley the Indian murderers of Wyoming, for which service monuments have been erected in his honor. Through impaired health and the pressing needs of his family he resigned his office, 9 November 1779. He was again delegate to Congress in 1780 and 1781. The office of attorney general was conferred upon him in 1782 and was held till 1786. It is remarkable that a son and a grandson held the same office. He had a prominent part in the formation of the
1The Rev. Alonzo Quint D.D., in his oration at the dedication of the Sullivan monument in Durham, claims that Gen. John Sullivan was born in Somersworth. The evidence seems insufficient to the present writer. Berwick points out the exact spot where he was born. In 1737 the parish of Somersworth voted "that Mr. John Sullivan be the schoolmaster for the ensuing year, voted John Sullivan to sweep and take care of the meeting house & to have thirty shillings,"-See Knapp's Historical Sketch of Somersworth, p. 28. This was three years before Gen. John Sullivan was born.
SULLIVAN MONUMENT
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HISTORY OF DURHAM
Constitution of New Hampshire and was thrice elected president, or governor, of the state, 1786-87, 1789. He was also speaker of the House. He was made by President Washington first Judge of the United States District Court of New Hampshire, in which office he died. He was also the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Free Masons of New Hampshire.
It is of equal interest to the inhabitants of Durham to know how he served his town. He was chosen agent for the proprietors of Durham, 22 May 1769. He was moderator of town meetings eight times, 1781-1788, on the Committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety, 1774-1781, overseer of the poor, 1771, 1784, assessor and commissioner, 1788, on the school committee for the Falls District, 1780.
He was the first president of the New Hampshire branch of the Society of the Cincinnati, and meetings of that society were held in Durham in the years 1788-1792.
The Sullivan Lodge of Knights of Pythias is so named in honor of an illustrious townsman.
His patriotism and ability in war and peace have been recog- nized in the erection of the monument in front of his old residence, 27 September 1894, with the following inscription :
In Memory of JOHN SULLIVAN Born February 17, 1740 Died January 23, 1795 Erected by the state of New Hampshire upon the site of the Meeting House under which was stored the gunpowder taken from Fort William and Mary.
The reader, doubtless, will be interested to see a picture of another monument that commemorates the victorious campaign of Gen. Sullivan in the Susquehanna Valley. The illustration is here presented through the courtesy of the American Irish Historical Society, which published a full report of the pro- ceedings at the dedication of the monument. On that occasion, Lynde Sullivan, Esq., of Boston, whose summer residence is in the old Sullivan house in Durham, gave the principal his- torical address, in which many interesting details are given of
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HISTORY OF DURHAM
the life of Gen. John Sullivan. A noble poem was read by Joseph I. C. Clarke, and here is a little sample of it :
I see through a tangled, wooded glen The glint of weapons shine, And a long array of stalwart men
Marching in warlike line.
They stretch 'twixt the hills from crest to crest,
Their sweat is thick upon brow and breast,
Their muskets trailing low.
They peer through the forests round about
For pitfalls of the foe.
Their horses tug at the traces stout
Of cannon rumbling slow.
And swarms of boats and rustic floats
Up the babbling river come,
And I catch the thrilling of bugle notes
And the rolling of the drum.
On through the thickets a way they trace;
They pause at the river's bars.
They follow a man of the Fighting Race, And he follows a flag of stars.
The inscription upon the monument is as follows:
NEAR THIS SITE SUNDAY AUGUST 29 1779 WAS FOUGHT THE BATTLE OF NEWTOWN BETWEEN CONTINENTAL TROOPS COMMANDED BY MAJOR GENERAL JOHN SULLIVAN AND A COMBINED FORCE OF TORIES AND INDIANS UNDER COLONEL JOHN BUTLER AND JOSEPH BRANT AVENGING THE MASSACRE OF WYOMING AND CHERRY VALLEY DESTROYING THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY ENDING ATTACKS ON OUR SETTLEMENTS AND THEREBY OPENING WESTWARD THE PATHWAY OF CIVILIZATION.
Gen. Alexander Scammell, son of Dr. Samuel Scammell, who came from Plymouth, England, in 1738, and settled at Milford, Mass., was born in 1744. He graduated at Harvard, in 1769. He taught school at Kingston, Mass., in 1770, at Plymouth, Mass., in 1771 and at Berwick, Me., in 1772. For a year he was employed as a surveyor in exploring the territory of Maine and
.
HOWE' Loomis ELMIRA .NY.
NEWTOWN BATTLEFIELD MONUMENT Elmira, New York. Dedicated August 29th, 1912
Illustration by the courtesy of the American Irish Historical Society Reproduction by Anna Frances Levins
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HISTORY OF DURHAM
New Hampshire, and was one of the proprietors of Shapleigh, Me. He then became a student in the law office of Maj. John Sullivan at Durham. The will of Samuel Meader of Durham was witnessed in the law office of Gen. John Sullivan, 18 May, 1773, by John Smith, Alexander Scammell and Jnº Sullivan. He is first men- tioned in the records of Durham as one of the committee to apply
GEN. ALEXANDER SCAMMELL
the Association Test, 28 November 1774. Tradition says that he pulled down the flag at the capture of Fort William and Mary, December 1774. He was at the battle of Bunker Hill as brigade major and served under Gen. Sullivan in the siege of Boston. He was promoted to deputy adjutant-general in 1776. He crossed the Delaware in the same boat with Washington as his special aid, and took part in the battles of Trenton, Princeton and Saratoga.
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HISTORY OF DURHAM
In the campaign against Gen. Burgoyne he was colonel of the First and then of the Third New Hampshire troops and was by the side of Lieut-Col. Winborn Adams when he fell at Bemis Heights. He himself had been wounded yet kept the field and witnessed the surrender of Burgoyne. In 1778 he was commis- sioned adjutant-general of the army. At the battle of Monmouth he was aid to Washington, rallied the troops and led the charge. Washington said of him, "The man who inspired us all to do our full duty was Alexander Scammell." He commanded the Light Infantry in the march into Virginia, was wounded and captured at the battle of Yorktown and died of his wound six days after, 6 October 1781, aged 35. He was buried at Williamsburg, Va.
He was six feet and two inches in stature, of fine proportions, graceful and attractive, full of ardor, courage and perseverance, a favorite with Washington, popular with the officers, honorably remembered by Lafayette. His was a brief, brilliant and noble career, and it reflects honor on the town where he lived and loved. Some permanent memorial erected in Durham is due him. The Scammell Grange is named in honor of him and thus honors itself also.
The following letter, written to Maj. John Sullivan, then in the Continental Congress, well shows the quality of Scammell's heart and mind, as well as the commotion caused at Durham by news of the battle of Lexington :
PORTSMOUTH, N. H., May 3, 1775.
HONOURED SIR: Your leaving New Hampshire at a time when your presence was so extremely necessary to cherish the glorious ardour which you have been so instrumental in inspiring us with, spread a general gloom in Durham, and in some measure damped the spirit of liberty through the Province; and nothing but the important business in which you are imbarked would induce us to dis- pense with your presence with any degree of patience or resignation.
But when the horrid din of civil carnage surprised us on the 20th of April the universal cry was-Oh if Major Sullivan was here! I wish to God Major Sullivan was here! ran through the distressed multitude.
April court which was then sitting adjourned immediately. To arms! to arms! was breathed forth in sympathetick groans.
I went express to Boston, by desire of the Congressional committee, then sitting at Durham, proceeded as far as Bradford, where I obtained credible information that evening. Next morning I arrived at Exeter, where the Provincial Congress was assembling with all possible haste. There I reported what intelligence I had gained; that the American army at Cambridge, Woburn and Charlestown was more in need of provisions than men; that fifty thousand had assembled in thirty-six hours: and that the Regulars, who had retreated from Concord, had encamped on Bunker's Hill in Charlestown.
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HISTORY OF DURHAM
The Congress, upon this report, resolved that the Durham company, then at Exeter (armed completely for an engagement, with a week's provisions) should return home and keep themselves in constant readiness. All the men being gone from the westward and southward of Newmarket and men-of-war expected hourly into Portsmouth, it was with the greatest difficulty your Dur- ham soldiers were prevailed upon to return. Six or seven expresses arrived at Durham the night after our return; some desiring us to march to Kittery; some to Hampton; some to Ipswich, etc., which places, they said sundry men-of-war were ravaging. The whole country was in a continual alarm, but suspecting.
! !
-
SCAMMELL GRANGE, No.122.
that the marines at Portsmouth might take advantage of the confusion we were in and pay Durham a visit, we thought proper to stand ready to give them a warm reception and supposing that your house and family would be the first mark of their vengeance, although I had been express the whole night be- fore, I kept guard to defend your family and substance to the last drop of my blood. Master Smith being under the same apprehensions, did actually lay in ambush behind a warehouse and came very near sinking a fishing boat anchored' off the river, which he supposed heaped full of marines. Men, women and children were engaged day and night in preparing for the worst.
Many towns in this Province have enlisted minute-men and keep them under pay; and the Congress before this would actually have raised an army
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HISTORY OF DURHAM
had they not waited for the General Court which sits tomorrow, in order to raise as much money as they can to pay off their army when raised.
I am extremely mortified that I am unable to join the army at Cambridge. The particulars of the skirmish between the Regulars and the Americans will, long before this, have reached you.
In longing expectation your safe, happy and speedy return is hoped for by ali your friends but by none more sincerely than
Your dutiful humble servant,
ALEX. SCAMMELL.
To John Sullivan at Philadelphia or New York.
Col. Hercules Mooney is said to have been a tutor in the family of a nobleman in Ireland. A person of his name was in Trinity College, Dublin, in 1732. He is described as a "tall, stately man." He came to America in 1733 and began teaching in Somersworth. He signed the petition to make Madbury a parish in 1743. He removed to Durham, where he taught from 1751 to 1766. He received a captain's commission in 1757 and took part in the Crown Point Expedition, being captured and robbed when Fort William Henry was taken. Was selectman in Durham in 1765. After the separation of Lee he taught in that town and was selectman there, 1769-75, and represented Lee several times in the General Assembly. March 14, 1766 he was appointed major in Col. David Gilman's regiment, and on the 29th of Sep- tember was promoted to be lieutenant-colonel and marched to Ticonderoga with his regiment. June 23, 1778 he was appointed colonel in the expedition to Rhode Island. He served on the Committee of Safety in Lee, was a justice of the peace and a grantee of Holderness, whither he removed in 1785. Here also he was selectman and representative four times. He died in April 1800, and was buried on his farm about a third of a mile from Ashland village, under a willow tree. The farm is now owned by Samuel H. Baker. A rough slab marks his grave. His sons, Benjamin and John, served in the Revolutionary Army, the former as lieutenant. Col. Hercules Mooney was one of Ireland's many precious gifts to young America, a leader in thought and activity, a moulder of character in the training of youth, a wise builder of the Granite State, a valiant commander in battle, a peaceful and highly useful citizen in the towns he served.
Col. Thomas Tash, born 5 July 1722, was of a family that came from near Belfast, Ireland, according to tradition. The original name was McIntash. His father was Jacob Tash, who married (2) Patience, daughter of James and Mary (Smith) Thomas, in
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HISTORY OF DURHAM
1727. Col. Tash married (1) Mrs. Anne Parsons, the wealthy widow of Capt. Parsons of Portsmouth, (2) Martha, daughter of Joshua and Elizabeth (Kenniston) Crommett. He appears in a scouting party, under Samuel Miller in 1744. He was a captain in 1758, in the French and Indian War. September 17, 1776, he was appointed colonel of a regiment that served near New York. He removed to New Durham in 1783 being one of the original proprietors and their clerk in 1765. His children were Thomas, James, Jacob, William, Martha, Betsey, Mary who married Josiah Edgerly 12 July 1793, and Patience. Col. Tash died in October 1809, aged 87 years.
He lived for a time in Newmarket being engaged in trading and shipping and represented that town in the legislature in 1776. He erected the first saw- and grist-mill in New Durham. He was taxed for real estate in Durham as late as 1783. He repre- sented New Durham, Wolfeboro, etc., in the legislature in 1778. He was a justice of the peace and actively engaged in manu- factures and agriculture, a busy leader in stirring times.
Lieut .- Col. Winborn Adams was born in Durham, son of Dr. Samuel Adams, grandson of the Rev. Hugh Adams. He was, doubtless, named for his uncle, Winborn Adams, a schoolmaster, who died in 1736, thus perpetuating the maiden name of his grandmother, Susanna Winborn. He is often mentioned in the records of Durham as surveyor of lumber and innholder. The house he built and used for an inn stands on the south side of the road, opposite the Sullivan monument. He was at the capture of the military stores at Fort William and Mary, Decem- ber 1774, and was commissioned captain of the first company raised in Durham for the Revolutionary Army. He was pro- moted to be major in 1776 and lieutenant-colonel 2 April 1777. He commanded the Second New Hampshire Regiment at the battle of Stillwater, called also the battle of Bemis Heights, and fell mortally wounded, 19 September 1777. His name was long perserved in several branches of allied families. He seems to have been a brave and popular man. He was a member of the lodge of St. John (Portsmouth) of Free and Accepted Masons, and so also were Gen. Sullivan and Gen. Scammell. In a deed dated 1756 he is called "Chirurgeon."
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