USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > Durham > History of the town of Durham, New Hampshire (Oyster River Plantation) with genealogical notes, Volume 1 > Part 20
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
A petition, dated 23 November 1791, and signed by certain inhabitants of New Hampshire, was addressed to the General Court, asking for a road from Concord to Durham. The peti- tion represents that the roads from the sea coast inland are
RELICS OF PASCATAQUA BRIDGE
crooked and indirect and that the trade would be greatly facili- tated by straightening the same; that a road can be built from Durham Falls to Concord in thirty miles, and will save to the consumer the expense of forty-five miles of carriage, all of which has been demonstrated by survey and plans already drawn. The General Court appointed a committee, 10 December 1791, with full powers to survey and establish a road from Concord to Dur- ham Falls and to Newmarket Bridge. This first New Hamp- shire Turnpike was followed by fifty-two more in the state before the year 1812. After a time most of them failed to yield revenues and their charters were surrendered. Others were dissolved under a legislative act of 1838, which gave the towns the right to convert a turnpike into a highway upon appraisal and pay- ment of damages.
In the laying out of this Turnpike mention is make that it "joins the now road at the end of a causeway near John Thomp- sons" and goes on to "the road leading to the Lee meeting house, thence leaving Lee road." Damages were allowed to Jonathan Warner, Col. Stephen Evans and John Thompson. The report
237
HISTORY OF DURHAM
was signed 16 June 1792, and accepted by General Court 21 June of the same year.
This Turnpike was continued on the north side of the river, to Meader's Neck, after the construction of Pascataqua bridge in 1794. This bridge was 2,362 feet long and 38 feet wide, built from Fox Point in Newington to Rock Island, thence to Goat Island by an arch of 240 feet, thence to Meader's Neck or Tickle Point, where there was a toll gate. The architect was Timothy
e
BOSTON & MAINE RAILROAD STATION, DURHAM Erected 1911
Palmer of Newburyport, Mass. There was a draw for the pas- sage of vessels. A sketch of it was made by Robert Gilmor of Baltimore in 1797. The original cost of this bridge was $65,- 947.34 and it was sold half a century later for $2,000. It gave way in 1830 and again in 1854, and 600 feet of it, on the New- ington side, was carried away by ice, 18 February 1855. It was not rebuilt. The construction of the railroad turned the course of travel. The vicinity of the Durham terminus is still known as Pascataqua Bridge, and the school district here is known by the same name. For more minute description of this bridge see Miss Thompson's Landmarks in Ancient Dover.
238
HISTORY OF DURHAM
As early as 1792 a stage was run through Durham to Boston from Dover but was discontinued through lack of patronage. Twenty years later two lines of stage were started from Dover to Boston, one running by the way of Haverhill and the other through Newburyport. They continued to run till 1841, when the Boston and Maine Railroad Company opened its line from Exeter to Dover.
The road from the Falls to Madbury formerly led around through Bagdad, where Dea. W. S. Meserve now lives. It was straightened early in the nineteenth century, so as to pass di- rectly by the Judge Thompson house. March 12, 1811, it was voted in town meeting that the selectmen let the building of this road to the lowest bidder, although for two years the building of it had been opposed.
The ferries from Fox Point in Newington to Meader's Neck and to Oyster River Point, the latter called Bickford's Ferry, Furber's Ferry from Furber's Point in Newington to Mathes Neck and to Durgin's farm on the west side of the mouth of Crom- mett's Creek, the ferry across Lamprey River, etc., have been repeatedly and sufficiently mentioned in this book and in the Landmarks in Ancient Dover.
BURIAL PLACES
The oldest graveyard of which we have any knowledge was near the meeting house, built in 1656, on the south side of Oyster River, in the vicinity of the oyster bed. The site was sold with the parsonage lands to Daniel and Robert Mathes, 13 April 1837, and no reservation of the burial ground was made. All traces of the old meeting house, the parsonage and the graveyard have dis- appeared, except that near the river may be seen some flat, oblong pieces of rough granite, scattered about, that may have marked the resting places of some of the first settlers in this vicinity. It is believed that careful investigation, with the use of the spade, would reveal this earliest cemetery.
Only a few families, however, availed themselves of this resting place for their dead. On nearly every original farm may be found a sacred spot, marked with granite, unlettered stones and low mounds. The new owners of the old farms have some- times respected such spots, and sometimes they have not. The dead were buried near the garrisons or private houses, where the graves of loved ones could be seen and cared for every day. Nobody knew how to polish and chisel granite, and slate head- stones were expensive and hard to be obtained at any price. A mound and two roughly split stones were the usual memorials, and doubtless, while relatives survived, flowers grew and faded on those little mounds. Even to this day new residents some- times place a handful of flowers upon graves of the unknown. Ought not the many prosperous descendants of the first settlers to fence and properly mark the resting places of their ancestors? This has been well done in several instances.
On the north side of Oyster River, and near its mouth, several generations of the Meader family lived, died and were buried, on land now owned by Edward L. Emerson. Other portions of the Meader farm are owned by Elisha R. Brown, Stephen P. Chesley and others. Tradition says that six or seven persons from Durham Point, on their way to the boat from a religious meeting held at the garrison house of Col. James Davis, were waylaid and slain by Indians on the Meader land, just below
239
240
HISTORY OF DURHAM
Davis' Creek. Their bodies were discovered a few days later and buried where they lay. Their graves can still be pointed out.
On the other side of the Turnpike road, on the Odiorne farm, now owned by David W. Watson, are the graves of the Odiorne family.
On the Emerson farm, a little further up the river, are the graves of the early Knight family.
Above Davis' Creek, in the field overlooked by the site of the garrison, were buried the families of Ensign John Davis and of his distinguished son, Col. James Davis.
Still further up the river are the graves of Joseph Smith and many descendants. His headstone states that he was the first European to till the soil where he is buried. This burial lot has a split stone wall around it, and the present owner of the farm, Forrest S. Smith, keeps the place in admirable condition. Near by are the graves of Col. Gilmore's family.
Crossing Bunker's Creek we see the remains of the old Bunker garrison, on the hill north of the highway. Near by is the house sold by Fred M. Bunker to Clarence Fowler a few years ago, near which are some of the Bunker graves, but the oldest Bunker graves are in the field across the highway and near the river. The field is now owned by Mrs. Joseph Smith. Here were buried James Bunker, the emigrant, Benjamin Bunker who took part in the siege of Louisburg, and others.
On the farm owned by Clarence Fowler, across the road from his house, are the graves of some of the Twombly family, once resident on this farm.
There are Ransom graves on the farm of Friend Pinkham.
Passing up the highway, or Turnpike as it is called, and crossing Jones' Creek we come to the land first owned by Stephen Jones about 1663. Down to the present generation the Jones family have been buried on a high knoll, in sight from the Turnpike. A massive stone wall has been built around a spacious burial lot. It ought to stand for centuries. It is the best built burial enclosure to be found in this section of the country.
On the south side of the Turnpike is the farm of the late John T. Emerson, at one time owned by the Leathers family. Near the river is the Emerson tomb. On another farm near by, owned by the heirs of the late George P. Emerson, are more Emerson graves.
241
HISTORY OF DURHAM
On the north side of the Turnpike, west of the Jones farm, on land now owned by the heirs of the late William P. Ffrost, formerly the town farm, and before that owned by the Chesley family, is the old Chesley burial place, where Philip Chesley, the emigrant, Col. Samuel Chesley and many others of the Chesley family were buried. A later Chesley burial ground is fenced about in the open field. Near by, on land owned by Samuel Kidder, are Foss graves.
On the George B. Palmer farm, formerly the Jackson farm, are Jackson graves, which were near the barn, but not visible at the present time, as the plow has removed all traces of the graves within a few years.
Near the point of intersection of the Dover road with the Turnpike road is the Coe burial lot, where Joseph Coe, ship- builder, son of the Rev. Curtis Coe, is buried.
Passing over the creek near the Coe farm we come to the farm of the late Dea. Albert Young, and here are buried his father's family and also his Chesley ancestors, descendants of George Chesley. Here also lies Charles S. Davis, a soldier of the Civil War, the father of Walter S. Davis, who lives in this neighbor- hood. There are graves on the land owned by the heirs of the late Samuel Runlett.
Durham has no public cemetery. The nearest approach to it is the graveyard near the village school house. March 24, 1796, Jonathan Woodman, Jr., of Durham sold one acre of land near Durham Falls "for the sole and exclusive use and purpose of a burying place of them and their several posterities forever to Ebenezer Smith, Jonathan Steele and Ebenezer Thomp- son Jun', esquires, Joseph Richardson, James Durgin and Jacob Woodman, gentlemen, John Blydenburgh, Benjamin Thomp- son, Robert Lapish and William Ballard, traders, John Angier, physician, Noah Jewett, joiner, James Leighton, tailor, Joshua Ballard, hatter, John Stevenson, cordwainer, Curtis Coe, clerk, Thomas Pinkham, hatter, Samuel Yeaton, Cooper, and John Langley, blacksmith, all of Durham." There is little space left in this graveyard for burials. The Rev. Federal Burt and wife are buried here, also Dea. Abraham Perkins and wife, and families of men above mentioned.
The New Hampshire College has a residence for its president, built upon the site of a former house erected by Lieut. Benjamin
16
242
HISTORY OF DURHAM
Chesley, born 24 January 1743. He is buried across the Turn- pike in the field that the College bought of the heirs of the late John McDaniel. On the college farm, on land formerly owned by John W. Emerson, are more graves.
Near the village on the Mill Road, lie the bodies of Moses Davis and his son, killed by Indians, 10 June 1724. His negro slave avenged his death by killing one of the leaders, a son of Baron de St. Castine. Love Davis, daughter of Moses, in view of the slave's fidelity gave orders that he should be buried at her feet. This was done and their graves may still be pointed out. Further from the village, on same farm, were buried the parents of Love Davis and there is a stone marked "Aaron."
Near the residence of Lucien Thompson is the Thompson burial ground, where are buried many generation, including John Thompson, Sr., Robert aad Judge Ebenezer.
On the next farm are buried Capt. John Woodman, builder of the old Woodman garrison, as well as his descendant, John Smith Woodman, a noted professor at Dartmouth College. This burial place, often called the Indian burying ground, per- haps because it was once used by the Indians as a place of bury- ing their dead, is cared for by a trust fund held by the town of Durham. The Woodman monument is a conspicuous object.
Near the Woodman garrison was the Huckins garrison, and in sight, August, 1689, eighteen persons were massacred by the Indians.
On the college farm, near the railroad station, on land bought of J. W. E. Thompson, are graves of the early Hill family. They are unmarked, on the brow of the hill, among the oak trees close to the road. Close by, on land formerly owned by a daughter of Timothy Hussey, are some graves of the Joseph White family. North of the road and westerly of the college farm, on land owned by Miss Martha A. Stevens, are Stevens graves. Among those buried here are two of her brothers, who served as soldiers in the Civil War, Samuel Stevens and James M. Stevens.
In the rear of the George Mathes place is a burial ground, where Lemuel Woodman and family are buried.
Not far from the Oyster River boundary line, in the woods, lies buried Eli Demeritt, the emigrant from the Isle of Jersey. Capt. Samuel Demeritt, his grandson, settled on land granted
243
HISTORY OF DURHAM
to his grandfather before 1700 and left parts of his homestead to his sons, Nathaniel and Israel. On each of these farms are Demeritt burial places.
Close to the Madbury line, on the farm owned by Edward Pendexter, are the graves of the Pendexter and Joy families. On another part of the same farm are Marden graves. There are Woodman graves on the Moses G. Woodman farm. On land owned by Ira B. Hill are Indian graves mentioned 4th of 9th month, 1652, and also Chesley graves. Nearer Munsey's bridge, on land owned by the first Munsey of Durham, are graves of that family.
On the farm owned by George G. Hoitt, formerly the farm of the late Demeritt McDaniel, is the McDaniel tomb, where are the remains of at least two generations of the McDaniel family.
There is an old burial ground nearly opposite the residence of Leonard B. Bunker, on the Mast Road leading toward Lee, where are numerous graves, unmarked, belonging to the Thomp- son family.
In this vicinity, over the line in Lee, is a large cemetery where many of the Durham people are buried. Passing by the resi- dence of George E. Chesley in Lee towards Packer's Falls, we go by the Corson place, where the Corsons are buried. Then we reach the David Wiggin place, and back from the road in the woods are Wiggin graves.
Across the road, on the Hilliard F. Fogg farm, are two burial places, one of which contains the remains of the Stevenson family.
Next is the Griffiths farm, on which are the Meader and the Griffiths burial places. On the George Dame farm is the Dame place of sepulture.
In this section are the burial place and tomb of the descendants of the late Dea. Samuel Hayes. In this tomb are also relatives by the names of Bennett and Young. The Hayes place is now owned by the Morse family, and the granddaughter of Dea. Hayes, Miss Alice Hayes of Cambridge, Mass., has filed with the town clerk a list of those whose bodies are in this tomb. A trust fund has been left to the town, the interest of which is to be used in caring for this burial place.
On the farm owned by Albert Brown, formerly known as the Young place, are graves of the Young family.
244
HISTORY OF DURHAM
On the Pendergast garrison farm, now owned by John H. Scott, the Pendergast family lie buried.
On the farm owned by H. H. Dame, formerly the Joseph R. Chesley place, are Chesley graves, and in this place George Chesley was killed by lightning, 12 June 1878.
On the Joy farm, now owned by Mr. John Gooch, is the Joy cemetery, well cared for, in which are buried the Joy family, one of whom was Dea. Samuel Joy. Here also is the $3,000 monument in memory of David F. Griffiths and his wife, Sarah E. Griffiths. Mrs. Griffiths gave a trust fund to the town to insure the care of this monument.
On the Eben M. Davis farm, near the Newmarket line, once stood the David Davis garrison, and on this farm four or five generations of the Davis family have lived and died and been buried.
On the Daniel T. Woodman farm are three burial places, the oldest of which is the Pitman, then the Moses Wiggin, then the Woodman. There are graves on a farm in this vicinity owned by Joseph Bascom.
On the farm now owned by Herbert Tuttle and formerly onwed by the Bennett family are the Bennett graves. Here lies Capt. Eleazer Bennett, who was one of the party that cap- tured the gunpowder at Fort William and Mary in December 1774. On the George Dame place are graves of the Dame family.
On the Ezra Parsons farm, formerly the Clough farm, are Clough graves. There are Bickford graves on the farm owned by Roscoe Otis. On the Newmarket road leading toward Dur- ham village, near the residence formerly of Lester Ladderbush, is the Mooney burial place, enclosed by a stone wall. Here are buried descendants of Col. Hercules Mooney. Cogans are buried on the Levi Davis farm, now owned by Frank E. Doe.
In Lubberland, on the farm of Peter Smith, are Chesley graves, and the garrison built by Joseph Chesley about 1707 was located in this vicinity.
On the farm owned by Frank Emerson, at Lubberland, are graves of the Drew family, among which is that of Nicholas Drew. On the old Smith farm are buried Judge Valentine Smith and his ancestors.
On the farm owned by John B. G. Dame are the graves of the Dame family and also of the Bickford family, the remains
245
HISTORY OF DURHAM
of some of the Bickford family having been taken up near the residence of Hon. Jeremiah Langley and reinterred here.
On the farm of Joseph M. R. Adams, formerly known as Mathes Neck, is the Adams tomb, where lie the remains of Rev. John Adams, known as "Reformation John Adams."
On the Eben Kent farm are buried eight generations of the descendants of Oliver Kent. On the next farm north, formerly that of Thomas Drew, lie buried Thomas and his wife, Tamsen, and many of their descendants, in the middle of the field, west of a little gully.
On the Rollins farm, commonly called the Clark Mathes farm, are buried many of the Fernald family who once lived here.
On the farm owned by James D. Meader are some old graves unmarked by headstones, whence some bodies of the Edgerly family were removed.
At Durham Point, on the farm owned by Hon. Jeremiah Langley, down in the pasture back of an old Bickford cellar, are the graves of the Bickford family.
The Mathes cemetery, at the Point, is the burial place of many generations of that family. It is well fenced and cared for. Near by is the mound where the family of Charles Adams, all massacred by the Indians in 1694, are buried.
The graves of "Deacon Langley and Mary his godly wife," as the record of the Rev. Hugh Adams has it, are said to be on the old Langley farm, earlier that of William Drew. On the Stevenson place, next west, and in the middle of a field are indications of early graves.
On the Clarence Smart farm, once owned by Abijah Pink- ham, at least a part of it, is a burial place overgrown with bushes. The marble headstones have all fallen, but the inscriptions can be read. Here lie the remains of Abijah Pinkham and some of his family. This is about half way between the Falls and the Point, and not far from the road.
The Burnham cemetery is situated in the field of the old Burnham farm, between the river and the hill on which the garrison of Ambrose Gibbons was built. It is well fenced. There are a dozen graves with granite headstones. Here also are buried Samuel Pickering, who died 15 July 1856, aged 55, and Simeon Pickering, who died 1854, aged 80 years, 3 months.
On the hill back of the Sullivan house is an old burial place,
246
HISTORY OF DURHAM
which has recently been cleared up and well walled. The oldest inscription here is that of Phebe Adams, wife of Dr. Samuel Adams, showing simply that she died in 1743. A row of low mounds indicates that probably her husband and his father and mother, the Rev. Hugh Adams and wife, Susannah, are buried here. They ought to have suitable memorial stones, for in spite of his eccentricities the Rev. Hugh Adams and his son, Dr. Samuel, did many good deeds for Durham. This place is also honored as the resting place of Maj. Gen. John Sullivan and family, and Judge Jonathan Steele.
A few rods distant is the Simpson graveyard, where the old sea captain and his wife lie buried, who left their property of $18,000 to the church in Durham and the Durham Library Asso- ciation, and a small legacy to the town, the interest of which is to be used in caring for these graves.
The Lapish family and the Drew family are buried on the farm now owned by the Ffrost family. Here in an unmarked grave lies the body of James Britton, a soldier in the Civil War in both army and navy. Close by are many rough granite headstones that indicate the graves of early members of the Smith family, for James Smith and his descendants owned this farm many years.
Above the tidal part of the river, on a sightly knoll, lies buried the late Hamilton Smith, Durham's only millionaire. His widow erected a costly stone chapel, in which services are some- times conducted in memory of him and his wife, for whom the citizens of Durham had the greatest respect.
On the Olinthus Doe farm, near the moat, now owned by the town of Durham are at least four generations of the Doe family.
On the Leonard Bunker farm, on the Mast Road, are the graves of Ichabod Chesley's family. On the Coe place, between the turnpike and Bucks hill, in the pasture, are probably the graves of Jonathan Chesley's family, as he owned this place, and there are graves of the family of Ezekiel Leathers.
On the Walker farm, close to Beech hill, owned by the late Albert DeMeritt, are the graves of the family of Joshua Chesley.
Near the Huckins graves, on the farm of Dea. W. S. Meserve, are buried four generations of Capt, Samuel Emerson's family. In another spot on same farm are the graves of four slaves.
Money has been bequeathed to the town, only the interest of
247
HISTORY OF DURHAM
which can be used, to insure perpetual care of the Woodman, Simpson, Griffiths, Wilson, Furness, and Hayes cemeteries and graves. All families having ancestors buried in the town would show love and respect, if they would give or bequeath money to the town for a like purpose.
SLAVERY
The first African slaves in America were brought by Dutch ships in 1619 and sold to Virginian planters. At that time slavery was quite common in old England, and the American colonies followed the old custom. No law was necessary to legalize the traffic in slaves nor the custom of holding them. Slavery had been a concomitant of war from time immemorial. Hence Indians taken in war were held as slaves and sold into slavery. A large number of those captured in the sham fight at Dover, managed by Maj. William Waldron and Maj. Charles Frost, were sold as slaves in the West Indies.
Slavery was not profitable in the northern states, and most of the slaves were house servants. In 1767 there were in Ports- mouth one hundred and twenty-four male and sixty-three female slaves, probably more than in any other part of New Hampshire. As early as 1649 William Hilton sold to George Carr an Indian slave named James, and the bill of sale is on record. In 1767 there were 633 slaves in New Hampshire and in 1775 there were 657. The Revolution virtually put an end to slavery in the North. In 1790 the census shows only 158 in New Hamp- shire, and these were old servants held and maintained out of kindness, for in 1800 the census shows only eight in New Hamp- shire. In 1840 one is reported. Durham reported only three slaves in 1790, belonging to Samuel Burnham, Timothy Emerson and Stephen Jones. Lee and Madbury did not report any slaves, though there were free colored persons living there. No emancipation law was ever passed by New Hampshire, though an act in 1789 seems to show the intention of legislators to regard slavery as a dead letter. ›
Among the earliest slave owners at Oyster River was William Drew, in the administration of whose estate, 1669, mention is made of a man servant and a maid servant. The will of Nicholas Follett, 1700, mentions "my Negroe Man Caezer."
The Rev. Hugh Adams records among his baptisms the fol- lowing, 17 December 1719: "At a lecture at Loverland, on account of her faith and engagement for its education, our sister Sarah Bennick, having an infant maid servant born in
249
250
HISTORY OF DURHAM
her house of a Negro father and Indian mother, had her baptized Mary Robinson." And again, 5 January 1723/4, he records, "Then at our house, Simon Teko, Indian man servant, owning his Baptismal Covenant, I baptized our Indian woman servant Maria, and their Infant born in our house, Scipio," and June 23 1728, "Phillis, our servant child, born in my house of Maria, our Indian Woman Servant." He baptized, 30 August 1724, "Peter, the Negro servant of Peter and Sarah Mason" and 5 March 1726/7, "Caesar Sanders, Free Negro."
The inventory of the estate of the Rev. Nicholas Gilman, 1748, names Peter, a negro man, valued at £150.
The Rev. John Adams recorded the marriage of Belmont and Venus, I January 1760. Their surname was Barhew and they are said to have been brought from Africa and belonged to Jeremiah Burnham. The Rev. Curtis Coe recorded the burial of Venus, November 1783. The Barhew family lived ·on a part of the Burnham farm called Nigger Point. They had seven children, Aenon, Caesar, Jubal, Titus, Peter, Candace, and another daughter. Aenon, when only four years old, was bought for $100 by Col. Timothy Emerson, brother of Mrs. Jeremiah Burnham, and became free after the Revolution. He died 16 December 1827 and was buried, with other slaves owned by the Emerson family, near the residence of Dea. Winthrop S. Meserve. Caesar was noted for his singing at prayer meet- ings. He was acquired by Vowel Leathers, and died in New- market after having obtained his freedom. [See Landmarks of Ancient Dover, p. 162.]
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.