USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Hampton Falls > History of the town of Hampton Falls, New Hampshire : from the time of the first settlement within its borders, 1640 until 1900 > Part 54
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The next house was built and occupied by Dr. John C. Gove for many years previous to 1880. It is now owned and occupied by the Young family. Albert Young came from Aroostook county, Me. In summer the family pick and market a great many berries ; in winter they make and sell husk mats.
At the corner below Mr. Young's house lived the Rollins family. They were rated from 1768 to 1808. Eliphalet and John Rollins were Revolutionary soldiers from this town. Some of the family
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moved "up country." There is no trace of the house in which they lived. The name is written "Rawlings" in some places on the record.
Not far from the Rollins house lived Jonathan Hardy, rated from before 1747 until 1768, when he polled into Seabrook. He was a large land owner. What is now known as Great hill was then called Hardy's hill. Having in his later years become de- pendent, the selectmen of Seabrook came up and disposed of his remaining property and used it for his support.
The house on the road from Crank to south, on top of the hill, was built by George A. Wright, who came from Seabrook in 1876. He moved to Newburyport in 1894. The premises are now owned by Edwin Janvrin.
The next house on the other side of the road was built by Daniel Pervear. It is now occupied by George Goodwin, who came from East Kingston and married a daughter of Richard Fogg. He is a shoemaker and a successful grower of strawberries.
Where Ladd and Harris live was the homestead of Samuel S. Lamprey, son of Dea. John Lamprey of Kensington. He built his buildings upon the east end of his father's farm. He was rated from 1815 to 1826, and removed to Salisbury, now Amesbury. He was succeeded by Richard Morrill, who came from Salisbury and was rated from 1827 to 1856. His son Jonathan invented a ma- chine for ditching the salt marshes. The family returned to Salis- bury. John Wiggin was the next owner. He was a native of Exeter, but moved here from Brentwood, and lived here until his death. He was rated from 1858 to 1886. Ladd and Harris, the present occupants, came from Haverhill.
The Nason family came from Rainsford county, Eng., in 1648, and settled in South Berwick, Me. Richard Nason was killed there by Indians about 1675. His son Jonathan, born in South Ber- wick, moved to Dover. After residing there for several years he moved to Hampton Falls about 1700. Jonathan Nason became prominent in the management of town matters. He was moderator in 1745, 1748, and 1749; selectman in 1721, 1722, 1729, 1736, 1745, and 1747. He was a surveyor, and helped to survey and lay out townships in New Hampshire. He lived where Levi E. Lane now lives. His son Richard moved to the south road. onto a part of the present Nason farm, his house being near the Kensington line. He was also prominent in town matters, was selectman in 1748, 1758, and 1760, and representative in 1758. His son Jonathan was
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selectman in 1820, 1826, and 1827. He moved the house from near the Kensington linc to its present location. It took ninety yokes of oxen to take it up the hill. He died in 1846. His wife was Mary Gordon of Exeter. He had two sons, Charles A. and George W. George W. married Mary, daughter of Capt. Nathaniel Perkins, and died in 1852. Charles A. married his brother's widow and has three sons and two daughters. Richard is employed in the Boston market. David is a musician, and lives in Newbury- port. Jonathan married a daughter of James D. Janvrin and lives west. Mary married a Brewer and lives in Kensington. Mar- tha married Ralph Blatchford and lives in this town. In militia times Charles A. was prominent in military matters, holding a general's commission. He was selectman in 1850 and 1851; rep- resentative in 1860 and 1861.
On land now owned by Ladd and Harris, very near the Ken- sington line, lived Nathan Brown, who married Hannah, daughter of Richard Nason. Mr. Brown probably came from Kensington. He was rated from 1789 to 1814. Mr. Brown's children lived in Amesbury and Haverhill. Some of them are buried in the Nason cemetery. Afterward a family named Fulford, from Salisbury, rented and lived in the house. The house was removed many years ago.
On the road to Weare's mills is the house occupied by Daniel Pervear, son of Daniel. This house was moved here from Sea- brook and is said to have been the first Quaker meeting-house, built in 1701. Mr. Pervear had three daughters. Mary J. married Al- pheus Pervear; Fannie married John C. Kenniston, who came from Effingham, and now lives in Lynn, Mass .; Lydia married Stephen M. Towle, who came from Salisbury. He was a soldier, and died near Covington, Ky., November 22, 1863. Mr. Pervear sold the place and lived in Vineland, N. J., for a number of years, until he died. Charles Blatchford came from Gloucester, lived here for a time, and then returned to Gloucester. Oliver Eaton came here from Seabrook and bought the place in 1880, and lived here until his death in 1892. He gave the place to Victoria, daughter of Albert Young, now the wife of George W. Scoones, during her lifetime; then the proceeds are to go to endow the Eaton High School in Seabrook.
About half-way from the south road to Weare' mills, on land belonging to the Green farm, lived Philip Pervear, the ancestor of the Peryear family in this town. Philip Pervear married Martha
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Emmons January 1, 1723. He had nine children,-Joseph, bap- tized in 1727; Nathaniel, in 1728; John, in 1731; Daniel, in 1732; Elizabeth, in 1734; Susanna, in 1735; Mary, in 1738; John, in 1740, and Daniel, in 1742. Philip Pervear was rated the last time in 1749. Widow Martha was rated last in 1753. The ancestors of the Pervear family came from France, the name originally being La Pervear. We are unable to say when or where they first settled. They appear to have been people of means, as manuscripts and other things of value which they brought to this country are still in the possession of their descendants.
In a house which stood near Philip Pervear's lived a family named Davis. Samuel Davis was rated as early as 1732. Jona- than Davis, last of the name, was rated in 1808, when the name disappears from the record. They were nicknamed the "Didley Davises." The Davis house was moved to the south road and is now occupied by Frank Pervear.
Above the sawmill on the road to Kensington is the house of Daniel Merrill, who came from Salisbury. He married a daughter of Jonathan Weare, and built here about 1870. Howard, son of Daniel, was killed by the accidental discharge of a gun in 1898.
A little above Daniel Merrill's was a house on the south side of the way, once occupied by Stephen Gove, who came from Seabrook and was rated from 1812 to 1816. His son Albert, who lived in Sea- brook, was a soldier from that town in the war of the Rebellion. He is now living in Stratham. The premises were afterward owned by John Weare and occupied by Emery Page, who came from Ken- sington. He and his son Charles E. died about 1885.
Homestead of John Weare, son of Dea. Jonathan. He owned most of the mills, and was noted for making an extra quality of Indian meal and other products. He was representative in 1836 and 1838, and died in 1877, aged eighty-seven. His son Jonathan married a daughter of John French of Kensington. After his death his widow married Warren B. Pervear. His son John E. married a daughter of H. G. Prescott, and is engaged in the grocery business in Newburyport. One daughter married Daniel Merrill and lives near the mill. Another married William Dow of Ken- sington. Benjamin F., son of John, married, first, a daughter of Richard Fogg; second, Lucy, daughter of Josiah Smith. He has two sons and two daughters. One daughter married Stephen Per- kins, who came from Lebanon, Me. Benjamin F. built a house about 1860, where he lives. This is the last house in town going toward Kensington.
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HISTORY OF HAMPTON FALLS.
HOMESTEADS AT FOGG'S CORNER.
The house occupied by William E. Walton was built about 1854 by William Cummings, whose wife was a Fogg. They lived here for a time. The next owner was Crosby R. Edmunds about 1865. He removed to Greenland and was station agent for many years for the Concord & Portsmouth Railroad, at the station now known as Greenland Village. William E. Walton came from Seabrook about 1872, and is the present owner and occupant. His daughter Edith married David P. Simpson.
The next house west was built by Mr. Butler, a descendant of Ralph Butler who lived at Butler's hill. He was a royalist at the time of the Revolutionary War, and like many others of a like belief removed to the British provinces. Mr. Butler built the house now occupied by his son Robert H. about 1854. Robert H. was a sol- dier in the war of the Rebellion.
The house on the corner occupied by George A. Fogg was the homestead of Samuel Fogg, who came from a house on the opposite side of the road in Seabrook, which was the Fogg homestead. Sam- uel was a carpenter, and was rated from 1844 until 1868. He died in Brentwood. George A. Fogg was a son of David, and was born in Seabrook upon the Fogg homestead. He bought his present place when his uncle went away, and married Sarah, daughter of John Batchelder.
Residence of Richard Fogg. He came from Seabrook, was a brother of Samuel, and married Harriet, daughter of Charles Chase. He was first rated in 1833 and continued here until his death. His sons Charles and John live in Seabrook. James lives in Lynn, and Ezra in Hampton Falls. His daughters, Mrs. Benjamin F. Weare, Mrs. Charles A. Hardy, and Mrs. George C. Goodwin. all lived in Hampton Falls. The premises are now owned by Mrs. Lydia Parker of Seabrook.
In a house which stood upon what is now George A. Philbrick's pasture near Fogg's corner lived a family named Lock. Josiah and Levi Lock were rated here in 1789 and a few years later. The house was afterward occupied by Simon Lock, whose name does not appear upon our record. Some time after 1800 the house was moved to Seabrook, the family going there to live. Simon had a son Hubbard, who lived upon the Rocks road, and a daughter, who married Edward Gove of Seabrook.
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The house now occupied by Chevey P. Chase was the homestead of John G. Chase, who originally came from Lynn, but had lived in Seabrook several years before coming here. He was first rated in 1842. He removed to Greenland in 1865, and died there a few years later. He was a man of pugilistic inclinations and attended musters and other gatherings where he could exercise his skill with others of like tastes. Chevey P. Chase is the present owner and has enlarged the house. He married a daughter of Enoch Chase of Seabrook, and has a son Ira M.
HOMESTEADS ON THE MIDDLE ROAD.
Aaron Merrill was a Revolutionary soldier, but not credited to this town. He came from Salisbury, and married Mercy, daughter of Amos Leavitt, in 1775. He was rated here in 1787 and probably before. He was a tanner and currier by trade. He used the gambrel-roofed house now occupied by the Creightons for a shop. He was prominent in town matters, having been selectman a num- ber of times from 1794 to 1816, and representative in 1813, 1815, and 1816. He died about 1830. He had several sons. Aaron, Jr., succeeded to the homestead. One of his daughters mar- ried Moses Wells; another, Dearborn Lane. Betsey and Sally lived in their father's house after his decease, and were unmarried. This house was removed many years ago. Aaron Merrill, Jr., had a house a little east of where his father lived. He married Cynthia, daughter of Theophilus Sanborn. His son William T. was a physi- cian and lived in Hampton, where he was a prominent citizen. He died in 1897. John A. committed suicide in 1872. George S. lived in the Dockham house at the hill, and died in 1897. Lowell F. lived in the Poland house. His daughter Elizabeth was unmar- ried. Martha married - Bacon; Augusta, John B. Shaw of Hampton. All are deceased. Aaron, Jr., died in 1858. The house he lived in was destroyed by fire in 1867.
Moses Wells came from Ipswich, Mass., and was first rated in 1800. He married a daughter of Aaron Merrill and lived in the grambrel-roofed house now occupied by the Creightons. He and his wife died within a day or two of each other, in December, 1858, and were buried in one grave. Their children lived in Massachu- setts.
James Creighton came from Scotland to this town about 1857, and was engaged upon Mr. F. W. Atkins's farm and in collecting
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HISTORY OF HAMPTON FALLS.
milk. Mr. Atkins's farm is the one now occupied by Albert S. Smith. Mr. Creighton bought the house and lived there until his death in 1894. His family still occupy the house.
Joseph Durant came from Exeter, and married a daughter of James Creighton. He erected his buildings in 1876.
Mrs. McIllveen, a sister of Mrs. Creighton, came from Scotland, and built her house in 1879. She has two sons.
David Creighton, son of James, built the house now occupied by John Cannon, who came from Scotland. David Creighton mar- ried a daughter of Mrs. Zebulon Dow by a former marriage. He now lives in Maine.
William Irving came from Ireland in 1880. His house is the one built by Sarah Marston in 1838, near John Batchelder's. It was moved to its present location in 1888.
Lydia Staniel and her mother had a house which stood near the Creighton house. She was the daughter of an English woman, was well educated, and taught school. She was an adept at fine needlework, was an eccentric character, and died about 1820. She is said to have started from home Sunday afternoon and walked to Pittsfield, and commenced her school on Monday morning.
Near where Joseph Durant lives was a house occupied by Aaron Smith. He was rated in 1771 and for a few years after. We know nothing of his family. The field back of Mr. Durant's house is still called the Smith field.
At the corner formerly called Hoag's corner, near where John Cannon's house stands, lived Hussey Hoag, who was a Revolutionary soldier, and was probably a son of Jonathan Hoag, who was killed by a rock falling upon him. Hussey Hoag's mother lived to be one hundred and five years old, and died in Seabrook, where she lived with another old lady named Dow, who lived to about the same age. Tradition says that Mrs. Hoag sold Hussey when an infant for a quintal of fish. He is said never to have recognized his mother on this account. Mr. Hoag married a Stickney, and had two sons, Green and Joseph, and two daughters. He afterward had a house not far from Butler's hill, but it was probably in what is now Seabrook, as he polled from Seabrook to Hampton Falls in 1768. All by the name of Hoag are said to have been descended from a family who came from Wales and settled in Ipswich, Mass. Hussey Hoag was rated from 1766 to 1811.
In this immediate neighborhood lived Philip Burns, who mar- ried Mary, daughter of Joseph Worth, in 1765, when he was first
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rated. His name disappears from the record before 1787. He was a Revolutionary soldier from this town.
On the north side of the road nearly opposite the mouth of the Crank road lived a family named Sleeper. They were rated from 1747 or before, and disappear previous to 1787. Those named Sleeper in this town are said to have lived here.
On land of John J. Brown, below the brook, lived Ephraim Green, son of Jonathan, baptized December 16, 1741. He was accidentally killed by a companion while gunning upon the salt marsh. This was about 1767, at which time his name disappears from the record.
Col. Ichabod Robie, son of Henry, was born at Hampton in 1664, and died at Kingston in 1757. He appears to have been buried at Hampton Falls. He lived in Hampton Falls for a number of years, and was a prominent man while here. He was selectman in 1719 and 1725; representative and moderator in 1751 and 1752. He married Lucy, daughter of Dea. Francis Page, and was dismissed from the church to that of Kingston in 1725. It is difficult to tell from the record whether he or Ichabod Robie, Esq., are meant in some cases where the name appears. We are unable to tell where he lived in this town. Ichabod Robie, Esq., was born in that part of Haverhill which is now Atkinson in 1682. He was son of John and grandson of Henry, who came from England. When a boy he was captured by the Indians who had killed his father. He came to Hampton in 1705 and settled upon what has since been known as the Robie farm. He married Mary Cass, daughter of Joseph, in 1707. He was a tanner and currier by trade, as was his son Henry who succeeded him. In 1749 Ichabod Robie and his asso- ciates were granted a township six miles square. It was called Robiestown, because his name was first mentioned in the grant. The town was afterward called Weare. He had three sons and four daughters. His son John married Ann Williams and settled in Chester. Gov. Frederick Robie of Maine was one of his descend- ants. Henry, born in 1715, married Abigail Butler in 1734. He succeeded to the homestead and was prominent in town matters. He was town clerk in 1759 and 1762; selectman in 1751, 1753, 1761, 1763. He polled into Seabrook in 1768. He was elected to the first convention at Exeter in 1774, and to the second, at the same place, in 1775, from Seabrook, although he was living upon the Robie farm in this town. He was representative from the two towns in 1776 and 1777, and died in 1807. He had six sons and
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HISTORY OF HAMPTON FALLS.
four daughters. His son John lived in Weare, and was town clerk thirty-three years; also selectman and representative. He married Mary Eastman, and died in 1824. Nathan, son of Henry, sue- ceeded to the farm, and married, first, Lydia Stewart in 1794. He died in 1842. Abigail, daughter of Henry, died in 1839, aged eighty-nine. Anna died in 1841, aged ninety-three. Lucy, third wife of Nathan, died in 1855, aged eighty-nine. Nathan was suc- ceeded by his son Henry, born in 1797, who married Sarah Towle of Chester. He had one son and one daughter, Abbie, who mar- ried John A. Lane of Pittsfield. Nathan Henry, son of Henry. born in 1835, married Sarah E. Noyes, daughter of William H. Noyes of Seabrook. He was an auctioneer, conveyancer, and trial justice, and died January 17, 1898. In 1865, all his children- three sons-died of diphtheria. He is survived by one son, Frank J., who lives upon the homestead, and three daughters. Josephine E. married Fred H. Wells of Amesbury; Lucy E. married Albert E. Day of Exeter; Ida F. married William C. Knight of Newbury, Mass. The old Robie house was burned in 1833, and the present house was built the same year.
The Brown place was the homestead of Samuel Lane, who was born in Hampton in 1698, and married Elizabeth Blake. He was a brother of Dea. Joshua Lane, who was killed there by lightning in 1766, and died in 1776. His son Samuel, born in 1741, lived here, and married Hepsibah Sleeper. He was a cabinet maker, and died in 1822. His son Jonathan, born in 1762, was commonly called "Cornet Lane." He married, first, Lydia, daughter of Ben- jamin Leavitt, and second, Polly, daughter of Samuel Towle of Hampton. He had seventeen children, and died in 1819. After his death his family removed to Piermont. Hannah, daughter of Samuel Lane, 2d, lived here until her marriage late in life. After- ward Theodore A. Coffin of Hampton owned the place for a time. Joseph C. Brown, son of Jacob, was the next occupant. He built the house and buildings up the hill a little further west than the ones occupied by the Lanes. He married his cousin, Hannah Berry of Chichester, and was killed in 1838 by a rock, beside which he was digging, falling upon him. His widow married William F. Towle in 1843, and removed to South Hampton in 1851. Joseph C. had two sons and one daughter. John J. married Mary G., daughter of Jonathan Robinson of Exeter, and has two sons and six daugh- ters. James D. married Sarah Robinson, sister of his brother's wife, and has one son, James H., and two daughters. Ada mar-
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ried Dr. Francis A. Lane of Lynn, Mass. Edith, a teacher, is unmarried. Sarah A., daughter of Joseph C., married John Shaw, lives in Pittsfield, and has two daughters.
Jonathan Nason came from Dover in 1700, settled on what is now the Lane farm, and probably lived there until his death. He was the ancestor of the Nason family of this town, and was prom- inent in town affairs. He was succeeded by Richard Fifield, who continued here for many years. He began to be rated in 1794, and removed with his family to Piermont in 1820. Levi Lane, Esq., then came here. He had been living near where George C. Healey now lives, and was son of Jeremiah, before mentioned. Levi Lane, Esq., was prominent in town matters, and was town clerk from 1814 to 1822; selectman, in 1820, 1821, 1837, and 1838; rep- resentative, in 1826 and 1827. He administered the oath of office to the town officers elected for a great many years. In 1859, the town presented him with a cane in consideration of this service. He was for many years clerk of the Unitarian society, and much interested in its welfare. He married Anna, daughter of Dea. David Batehelder, in 1798, and died in 1864, aged ninety. His son Jeremiah married Adeline Baker, and removed to Candia, where he died suddenly in 1877. Levi E. lives upon the homestead. He has been selectman a number of times, and representative in 1866 and 1867. Levi Lane had two daughters, who married Samuel Batchelder and Isaiah Berry, and lived in Pittsfield. Two were unmarried; all are now deceased. Levi E. married Cynthia, daugh- ter of Dearborn Lane, and had one daughter, who married Charles F. Wadleigh of Kensington. He lived upon the Lane farm, and died suddenly in November, 1896, leaving four children.
On the north side of the road, east of the west schoolhouse, on land now owned by the heirs of Aaron Sanborn, but at that time a part of the original Prescott farm, lived Dea. James Prescott, son of James Prescott, 1st. He was born in 1671, and married, first, in 1695, Maria, daughter of Capt. William Marston; second, he married, in 1:46, Mrs. Abigail Sanborn, widow of Dea. Benjamin Sanborn and daughter of Edward Gove. He was deacon of Hamp- ton Falls church, and had three daughters and five sons. One of them, Elisha, lived where L. F. and A. D. Prescott now live, and was the ancestor of the Prescotts now living in the town. He died in 1781, and was the first person buried in the cemetery on the cross road. The house where Deacon Prescott lived was removed before 1770.
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HISTORY OF HAMPTON FALLS.
Samuel Weare, son of Gov. Meshech, married Hannah Lawless and lived where John N. Sanborn now lives. He was town clerk from 1779 to 1791, and was rated the last time in 1795. He was succeeded in the ownership of the farm by Lieut. Enoch Blake, a brother of Henry and Jeremiah. He exchanged the farm with James Sanborn for another in Pittsfield, to which place he removed. James Sanborn, son of Benjamin, married Betty Blake, was a Revolutionary soldier, and died in 1825. Levi, son of James, lived here. He was a farmer and dealer in cattle, and died in 1874. His son Albert J. lived in Exeter, was deputy sheriff and jailer, and died in 1895. George B. lived in Hampton Falls, was representa- tive in 1874 and 1875, and died in, 1893. Levi T. died in Massa- chusetts in 1895. John N. lives on the homestead, and was repre- sentative in 1885. Levi Sanborn married Mary, daughter of Eben- czer Berry of Pittsfield. Albert J. married Sarah, daughter of Stephen Johnson of Seabrook, and had one son, Frank B., who is a civil engineer and lives in Massachusetts. Levi T. married Sarah, daughter of Lewis Perkins of Rye. John N. married Lucy, daugh- ter of James Marston of North Hampton, and has two sons, Grant and Levi, and two daughters.
Thomas Leavitt was a grandson of Thomas Leavitt, who was one of the first settlers of Exeter, and settled in Hampton Falls, but probably not upon what is called the Leavitt farm. He was son of Aretas Leavitt of Hampton, who married Ruth Sleeper in 1678. Thomas Leavitt was born in 1686, married Elizabeth Lock in 1714, and died in 1761. His son Benjamin, born in 1732, married Esther Towle of Hampton in 1753, and had four sons and four daughters. Jonathan was a Revolutionary soldier, and settled in Eastport, Me .; Reuben married Ruth Norris, and settled in Pittsfield; Brackett married Mitty Prescott and settled in Pittsfield; Thomas married Hannah Melcher and lived on the homestead; Lydia married Jona- than Lane of Hampton Falls; Comfort married Moses Norris of Pittsfield: Patience married Tristram Cram of Pittsfield; Betsey married Oliver Jones of Canterbury. Benjamin Leavitt was a land surveyor, and was employed to lay out and lot off the town of War- ren about 1764. Thomas Leavitt, Esq., as he is called upon the records, was born in 1774, married Hannah Melcher in 1795, and died in 1852. He was a land surveyor, and helped to lay out some of the towns in the upper part of the state. In 1805, he made a map of the town of Hampton showing the position of every man's house, a facsimile of which is reproduced in Dow's history of Hamp-
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