USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > Durham > History of the town of Durham, New Hampshire (Oyster River Plantation) with genealogical notes, Volume 1 > Part 8
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
James Morrey, or Murray, was received as an inhabitant in 1658. He died at Oyster River, II November 1659. A jury of inquest, impaneled by John Bickford, found that James Morrey was killed by the limb of a tree falling on his head. Among the jurors were William Smith (Gowen), Niven Agnew, Jonas Bines James Bunker, Thomas Stevenson, Matthew Williams and oth- ers, all of Oyster River. See Court Files at Concord.
Edward Patterson was taxed at Oyster River in 1667/9. He is mentioned in 1660 as a voter. The following is found in Dover Town records: "31 : 10: 1660, Granted to Edward Patterson a trackt of land lying between his land and the Brooke which Run- neth out of the long marsh on the est side of the highway from Oyster River fall to lamperell River and on the west side by the South branch of Oyster River, not intrenching on anie former grant, always provided that thear be a Convenient way alowed to the Scochmen to thear lott." He sold this lot to William Rob- erts. Edward Patterson was a grand juryman in 1660. There died at New Haven, Conn., 31 October 1669, Edward Patterson, "one of the south end men." Had he wandered so far to join some of his own countrymen there?
William Thompson was another Scotchman, without doubt, as were George Thompson of Reading and Alexander Thompson of Ipswich, Mass., by convincing evidence. For his family see Genealogical Notes.
Later Scotchmen in Durham were David Kincaid, probably from Campsie, in the parish of Stirling; Eleazer Wyer, son of Edward Wyer, tailor, from Scotland, who lived in Charlestown, Mass. Eleazer Wyer married Sarah, widow of James Nock and
84
HISTORY OF DURHAM
daughter of Charles Adams. Another son of a Scotchman was Dr. Samuel Merrow, born at Reading, Mass., 9 October 1670, son of Henry Merrow, who married Jane Wallis, 19 December 1661. Dr. Merrow practiced medicine at Durham from 1720 to I733.
DEPREDATIONS BY INDIANS
The story of the Indian wars in New England has been told so many times and embellished by fancy so plentifully that it is very difficult to add thereto statement of fact or pleasing form. Yet the history of Durham would be incomplete without the full story, and so effort has been made to bring together the scattered narrations of the past.
The causes of the wars with the Indians have been sought in the injustices of white settlers, overreachings in trade, treachery of supposed friends, maltreatment of Indians, their sale into slavery, and like offences. There were exceptional misdeeds on the part of white men, and it must be remembered that not all the Indians were examples of childlike innocence and good-will. Yet there were some good Indians that were not dead Indians, and the majority of the white settlers treated them with justice and kindness. For fifty years there was little trouble with them, and no war would have been waged with them, in all proba- bility, had it not been for conflict between the people of France and Great Britain. These nations carried their quarrels and ambitions into their foreign possessions. One prize at stake was a continent, or a large part thereof, though neither party then knew the value of the prize. The French stirred up some Indian tribes against the English, and the English retaliated, whenever they could, in like manner.
The first clash of arms was in what is known in history as King Philip's War. In 1675 began the depredations in Maine and New Hampshire. Hubbard records that in that year the Indians burned five or six houses at Oyster River and killed two men, namely William Roberts and his son-in-law. This William Roberts lived on the south side of the river, about two miles below the Falls. There is no record that any of his neighbors were disturbed, and he may have been away from home. Who the son-in-law was has not been ascertained. Five sons-in-law are mentioned after this date as living, and only five daughters have been found. He had a son, William Roberts, Jr., who is mentioned in Court Records before this as a siniple-minded youth,
85
86
HISTORY OF DURHAM
and is not mentioned anywhere after 1675. He may have been the one who was killed with his father.
Soon after this, in the same year, the Indians "assaulted another house at Oyster River, the which, although it was gar- risoned, yet meeting with a good old man, whose name was Beard, without the garrison, they killed him upon the place and in a barbarous manner cut off his head and set it upon a pole in derision. Not far off, about the same time, they burned another house and barn."1 The man slain was William Beard, whose garrison stood "east of Beard's creek, between the turnpike road and the highway to Dover, a short distance from the corner." Probate records declare that he died about the first of November, 1675. Hubbard goes on to say that the same year the Indians "burned two Cheslies houses about Oyster River and killed two men that were passing along the river in a canoe and carried away an old Irishman with a young man taken from about Exeter." The two escaped later. History does not tell us who the men slain were. The Chesley families were nearest neighbors to Beard and probably were in his garrison, when their houses were burned, for they survived this raid.
The following letter was written shortly after the well known massacre at Cochecho, when Major Waldron and twenty-two others were killed and twenty-nine were carried into captivity. It seems that the Indians then made an attack upon some part of Oyster River Plantation, though the historians have made no note of it. The letter is found in the Massachusetts Archives:
HAMPTON, July 30, 1689.
MAJOR PIKE SIR: thes are to informe you that this last night There came news to me ffrom Exeter that one of Phillip Cromwells Sons came yesterday from oyster River where were 20 Indiens Seen and seueral Houses Burning. About 20 English ishued out to beat them off a many guns were herd go off but he coming away while it was a doing we have not as yett any account of what harme is ther done and we thank you for your care about our .
Al- though no help could be procured there is but a few could be procured with us the notice was so suddaine but thos that are gon went yesterday when it was almost night they were willing to stay no longer. When I have account farther from Oyster River I will send it to you not Els at present.
ffrom your ffriend
SAMUELL SHERBURNE 2.
1 Hubbard's Indian Wars, Vol. 1I, pp, 110, 116, 118. Cf. Landmarks in Ancient Dover, by Miss Mary P. Thompson, p. 178.
2 Memoranda of Ancient Dover, p. 269.
87
HISTORY OF DURHAM
The messenger above mentioned may have been a son of Philip Crommett, who is sometimes called Cromwell in the old records. He lived at this time near the northern border of Exe- ter, now Newmarket.
The next attack of the Indians upon Oyster River was in 1689. Then the Rev. John Pike records in his Journal that in August "James Huggins [Huckins] of Oyster River was slain, his garrison taken and 18 persons killed and carried away." James Huckins was a lieutenant and had been one of the select- men of Dover. He had a garrison-house, which stood a few rods south of the house now owned by heirs of the late Andrew E. Meserve, east of the railroad and on the north side of the second road crossed by the railroad as it runs from Durham to Dover. The men slain were at work in the field which lies southeast of the garrison, beyond Huckins' brook. They were all buried under a mound which still exists in the southeast corner of the field which now belongs to the Coe family. The Indians then attacked the garrison-house defended by only two boys and some women and children. They managed to set fire to the roof of the garrison but the boys held out till the Indians promised to spare the lives of all. Yet they killed three or four of the children and carried away the rest of the inmates of the garrison, except one of the boys, probably Robert Huckins, who escaped the next day. The garrison-house was destroyed. Lieut. Huckins' widow was recovered after a year of captivity at Fort Androscoggin, which was located on Laurel Hill, Auburn, Me.
Some details of this attack have been preserved in a letter of Jeremiah Swayen to Governor Simon Bradstreet, dated at Salmon Falls "7ber 15 1689." He says, "a house poorly fortified at Oyster River was taken by ye Enimie being about Sixty in ye company; though part of cap" Gardners Compa lodged the night before at said house and were moved away about half an hour before ye assault and were got to Cocheacha where a post overtooke them and they faced about & persued ye Enimy but could not find them. . One of ye captives made his escape two days after he was taken, whom ye Indians tould that they had beleagerd ye place three days and when they knew how many men belonged to ye house & seeing y" all gathering corn came and killed them first, and then sett upon ye house where were onely Woomen children & two Boyes, they killed and Cap-
88
HISTORY OF DURHAM
tivated Eighteene persons none escapeing." Coll. of Maine Historical Society, IX, 57.
On the fourth of July, 1690, seven persons were slain and a lad taken at "Lamperell River," that is, in the vicinity of the present village of Newmarket. Two days later, 6 July, occurred the battle, when "Capt. Floyd fought the enemy at Wheelwright's Pond but was forced to retire with loss of 16 men, " as Pike says.1 It was a very hot day and the men of Oyster River made all haste to arrive at the scene of action. Among them was James Smith, who lived near the Falls. Of him it is recorded that he "died of a surfeit which he got by running to assist Capt. Floyd at Wheelwright's pond."
History gives but few details of the battle at Wheelwright's Pond, which was a running fight through woods, after Indian fashion, beginning, as local tradition says, at Turtle Pond in Lee and extending to the southeast side of Wheelwright's Pond in the same town. One hundred men, under command of Capt. Noah Wiswall and Capt. John Floyd, set out from Dover. The fight was on Sunday. Captain Wiswall, Lieut. Flag, Serg. Walker, and twelve privates were killed, when both parties with- drew from the conflict. Capt. Converse found seven wounded men yet alive and brought them to the hospital by sun-rise the next morning, says Mather. Probably all of the men at Oyster River who were enrolled in the militia had a part in this battle, as we may infer from the following petition, found in the Massa- chusetts Archives.
PETITION OF THOMAS FOOTMAN March the 29th 1692.
To the honorable court now sitting in Portsm . the humble peticon of thomas ffootman humbly shueth that your petitioner being Imprest almost two years past to serve their magstys and on the first expedition was Listed under the honorable Capt. John floyd where upon ye first ffight ourcommander had (which was at osteriver New town) your petitioner was wounded, of which wounds your petitioner is not healed, nor cannot Expect to be ever Able to work to get a Competant Living, your peticoner being Reduced to so weake and Low Estate nothing to help himself for present nor for futuer no wages Reseved, nor non to pitte a poore wounded soulder, Charritye also grone cold the doctors they demand money, your peticioner having for himself nether meat nor drink nor Cloths, makes your peticoner humble address his poore and miserable Lowe Condition to this Honorable Court humbly praying Releff not doubting but
1Mather's Magnalia, App. Art., VI. N. E. Reg. VII, 156. Id., XVIII, 161. Pike's Jour- nal. Thompson's Landmarks in Ancient Dover, p. 180.
89
HISTORY OF DURHAM
this honorable Court will bee pleased to Consider Your peticconers Case and find a way that your petitioner may be Releved & your petitioner shall pray THIOMAS FFOOTMAN.1
John Davis certified that he impressed Thomas Footman on the 20th day of June 1690, by order of Major Vaughan, for the expedition to Winipisiocke. Accompanying this petition is an account of "Lowis and Cristan Willames," [Lewis and Christian Williams of Portsmouth] "of ther Charg to Thomas fottman for his tendance and seven months diate during the Cure in which time the said fottman was not able to put on his Cloathes which is 7 shillings and 16 pence a week." John Davis certified that the bill of the "Cerorgon" [chirurgeon, surgeon] was six pounds.
It appears from the above that the fight began at "Newtown," an undefined locality, north of Turtle Pond and extending to the upper part of Oyster River and towards Wheelwright's Pond.
The French and Indians seem to have had little regard for solemn treaties of peace. That made at Pemaquid was suddenly broken by the attack upon Oyster River, 18 July 1694, said by captives to have been talked of in the streets of Quebec two months before. Pike's Journal records the terrible event in the following laconic sentences: "The Indians fell suddenly & unexpectedly upon Oyster River about break of day. Took 3 garrisons (being deserted or not defended) killed & carried away 94 persons, & burnt 13 houses. This was the first act of hostility committed by them after ye peace concluded at Pemiquid."
There were warnings that led some persons to be apprehensive of danger, warnings which were long remembered and interpreted with suspicion. Col. Richard Waldron wrote to Governor Dudley, under date of 22 September 1712, thus: "Capt Davis tells me yt last night at oyster river in the dead of ye Night there were doors knock'd at & Stones flung at Some Garrisons, to find out who liv'd in their houses & whether any watch was kept in their Garrisons, as the enemy did ye Night before Oyster river was Destroy'd & Wee are well assured Some Scouts of the Enemy are now near us. " 2
The account of this attack as given by Dr. Belknap in his History of New Hampshire is said to have been drawn from manuscripts in the possession of the Smith family of Durham.
1 Collections of the Maine Historical Society, 2d Series, Vol. 4, pp. 382-3.
2 Collections of the Maine Historical Society, 1X, 330.
90
HISTORY OF DURHAM
But little can be added thereto from public records and published histories. On Tuesday evening, 17 July, the enemy to the number of about 250 concealed themselves in the woods and divided into two bands, one for the north side of the river and the other for the south. The latter began the attack somewhat prematurely. John Dean, who lived near the Falls, on the north side of the river, arose before day to catch his horse, intending to leave home in the morning. He was fired upon and killed. The report of the gun was heard and warning was thus given to some households. The undefended fled to the nearest garrisons, and some were killed in their flight. Mrs. Dean and her daughter were captured and her house was burned. They were taken to a spruce swamp and left in the care of an old Indian who had a violent headache. He asked her for a remedy and she replied, "occapee," the Indian term for rum. He drank freely and she and her daughter made their escape. They hid in a thicket during the day and then went down the river in a canoe to Burn- ham's garrison, where they found protection.
The next house attacked seems to have been that of Ensign John Davis, who lived perhaps half a mile below the Falls. He surrendered on the promise of safety, yet he, his wife and several children were killed, and his house was burned. Two daughters were made captive, one of whom became a nun in Canada and never returned. The other returned and became the wife of Peter Mason. A sister of Ensign Davis, who was the widow of James Smith before mentioned, was living at the house of her brother and was killed at the same time with her sons, James and Samuel, after having been carried into the woods. The state- ment has been made that the oldest son of Mrs. Smith escaped to the river but was there shot. This may be doubted, since John Smith, her son, lived to marry Elizabeth Buss and have a numer- ous family. Two daughters also were spared, as subsequent deeds clearly show.
The next house below Davis' was the Burnham garrison, on a hilltop, easily defended by its situation. Hither fled Moses Davis, who had heard the first shot that killed John Dean. Eze- kiel Pitman and family, who lived only a gun-shot's distance from Burnham's, were alarmed by shouts. They escaped through one end of the house while the Indians were entering the other, and, protected by the shade of trees, made their way to the Burnham
.
91
HISTORY OF DURHAM
garrison, on which no serious attack seems to have been made. Tradition in the Burnham family says that the yard-gate had been left open that night, and ten Indians were sent to surprise the garrison. They were fatigued and fell asleep on the bank of the river near the house. John Willey with his family spent that night at the Burnham garrison. He had been kept awake by toothache and heard the first gun fired. He immediately closed the gate and shouted to the Pitman family. The shout awaked the Indians, who at once made the attack upon the Pitman dwelling.
The next house below Ezekiel Pitman's was that of Stephen Jenkins, who had bought the place of William Williams. He lived on the hill, about where the present old house of Benjamin Mathes stands. On the 26th of July 1694, only eight days after the massacre, it was recorded in the Probate Court, that "ad- ministration on the estate of Stephen Jenkins of Oyster River, who was killed by the Indians and left several small children, was granted to his brother, Jabez Jenkins of Kittery, Maine." Ann, wife of Stephen Jenkins, was carried into captivity and returned in time to give testimony in the trial of the noted Indian chief, Bomazeen, at Boston, who escaped with his life at this trial and was slain in the attack on the village of the Norridgewocks, in 1724. The deposition of "Ann Jenkins, her within written testimony," dated II June 1695, gives many details of this massacre.
Ann Jenkins, of full age, Testifieth & saith, that at Oyster River, on the eighteenth of July last past, in the morning about the dawning of the day my husband being up went out of the dore, & presently returning cried to me & our children to run for our lives, for the Indians had beset the town: whereupon my husband & myself fled with our children into our corne field, & at our entrance into the field, Bomazeen, whoume I have seen since I came out of captivity in the prison, came towards us & about ten Indians more: & the sd Bomazeen then shot at my husband and shote him down, ran to him & struck him three blows on the head with a hatchet, scalped him & run him three times with a bayonet. I also saw the said Bomazeen knock one of my children on the head & tooke of her scalp & then put the child into her father's armes; and then stabbed the breast. And Bomazeen also then killed my husband's grandmother & scalped her, and then led me up to a house and plundered it & then set it on fire & carried me & my three children into captivity, together with the rest of our neighbors, whose lives were spared, being at first forty nine: but in one miles goeing, or thereabouts, they killed three children, so there remained forty six captives. & that night the company parted & the captives were distributed, but before they parted I, this deponent, numbered one
92
HISTORY OF DURHAM
hundred and fourty of Indians & fourteen frenchmen & then, when I tooke ac- count, there were more fireing at Woodmans garrison & at Burnhams garrison, but the number unknown to me. Myself with nine captives more were carried up to penecook & were Left with three Indians, & that party went to Greaten, Bomazeen being their Commander. In nine days they returned & brought twelve captives: & from thence with their canoes, sometimes a float, & sometimes carried, untill that we came to Norridgeawocke, which took us fifteen dayes, & staid about two months there, then dispersed into the woods, twoe or three families in a place, & kept moving toe & froe, staeing about a week in a place, until they brought us down to pemaquid & delivered us to Capt. March. Bomazeen was my Master; his wife my Mistriss, untill Bomazeen was taken at pemaquid; after that I belonged to his wife, untill about two months before I was brought down to pemaquid; for then the Indian Minister, called prince Waxaway, bought me, when I was brought to great weakness and extremity by their bad usage, and showed me great kind- ness; by whose means, under God, my life was preserved. My mistriss was very cruel to me & I was cruelly whipt seaven times & they intended so to proceed, once a week, untill they had killed me; but that the Indian Minister had compassion on me & rescued me. That Indian Minister also bought three captives more, and freed them from their hard usage. Their names are Nicholas Frost, Sarah Braggonton and Thomsand Drue.
The mark of W AN JENKINS.
Notice that the manual sign of Ann Jenkins was W. Was her maiden name Williams? The Nicholas Frost mentioned in her deposition was the beaver-trader of Kittery, now Eliot, Me. Sarah Braggonton was doubtless of the family of Arthur Bragdon of York and Thomsand Drue was Thomasine, or Tamsen Drew of whom we shall learn more a little later.
Mention is made in the above deposition of a house near to Jenkins' that was plundered and set on fire. This must have been the house of the Rev. John Buss, who was at the time away from home. His house, which was the parsonage, together with the church, stood near the bank of the river, or perhaps a few rods therefrom, on higher ground. His family hid among the trees till the enemy withdrew. The church, which stood near the parsonage, was not burned at this time and religious services were held there after 1718.
The fact that Bartholomew Stevenson was appointed, 4 August 1694, administrator of the estates of his brothers, Thomas and Joseph Stevenson, leads to the inference that these two brothers perished in this massacre. They lived near the garrison of Thomas Drew, who, according to Probate Records, "was killed by Indians and left no will." Administration was granted to his widow
93
HISTORY OF DURHAM
Mary, 30 July 1694. Thomas Drew has been confused with Francis Drew, who married Lydia Bickford. The latter sur- rendered the garrison at Drew's Point, on promise of quarter. He is supposed to have killed an Indian, whose bones were found in the house after it was burned. Francis Drew attempted to escape and ran towards the Adams garrison but was overtaken by the Indians, bound and tomahawked. His wife was carried away and was rendered so feeble by hunger that she was left to die in the woods. "Administration on the estate of Francis Drew of Oyster River, who was killed by the Indians and left no will, granted to his brother, John, Nov. 16, 1694." Two years later administration on the estate of Francis Drew was granted to his oldest son, Thomas, he being "now returned out of the hands of the Indian Enemy." This Thomas Drew had been married about six months to wife, Tamsen, and lived with his father. He was taken to Canada and his wife to Norridge- wock, whence she returned after about four years, to become the mother of fourteen children. The following deposition by her sheds further light on the massacre of 1694:
The Deposition of Damsen Drew lately dwelling att Oyster River in Pis- cataqua.
This Deponent maketh Oath that on or about the last day of August [evi- dently an error of memory] in the year 1694 she this Deponent being in Bed with her Husband they heard a great Tumult and Noise of firing of Guns which awakened her out of her sleep, and she understanding that the Indians were in arms & had encompassed the House, willing to make her escape, she endeav- ored & att last got out of the window and fled, but the Indians firing fast after her she returned to the House and her father in law took her by the hand and haled her into the House again, where upon she endeavored to get out at another window, but the Indians had besett that, so she returned to the other Room where her friends were, and the window of that Room being open an Indian named Bombazine (as she was then informed & has since seen and known him in the Prison at Boston) caught hold of her Arm and pulled her out att the Window & threw her violently upon the ground, she being then with child & when he had so done he went into the House to plunder, when another Indian named Assurowlaway (who could speak good English) came to her & told her she would receive no hurt & took her and carryed her into the woods, And further this Deponent saith not.
The mark of DAMSON x DREW.
Boston, May 23d 1698.
Tamsen Drew "was delivered of a child in the winter, in the open air and in a violent snow storm. Being unable to suckle her child or provide it with food, the Indians killed it. She lived
94
HISTORY OF DURHAM
fourteen days on a decoction of the bark of trees. Once they set her to draw a sled up a river against a piercing northwest wind and left her. She was so overcome with the cold that she grew sleepy, laid down and was nearly dead when they returned; they carried her senseless to a wigwam and poured warm water down her throat, which recovered her." Belknap's History of New Hampshire, p. 141. Footnote by John Farmer, giving traditionary information obtained from John Smith.
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.