Piscataqua pioneers, 1623-1775; register of members and ancestors, Part 13

Author: Piscataqua Pioneers; Scales, John, 1835-1928, ed
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Dover, N.H., [Press of C.F. Whitehouse]
Number of Pages: 230


USA > New Hampshire > Piscataqua pioneers, 1623-1775; register of members and ancestors > Part 13


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).


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Children: (1) John, bapt. at Kingsweare, Eng- land, 30 Dec., 1618; m. Penelope Spencer .- (2) Joan ; m. John Amarandeth .- (3) Samuel, b. 1628; m. Dor- cas Walton; he was a mariner at Portsmouth, 1674 .- (4) Lucy, b. about 1632; m. Humphrey Chadburne, Sr .; (2) Thomas Wills; (3) Hon. Elias Stileman ; they were all rich men. She survived Mr. Stileman, hence had the widow's dower of three large estates .- (5) Elizabeth, b. 1636; m. 7 June, 1657, John Gilman, known as Hon. John; d. 8 Sept., 1719.


John Treworgye, above named, came over as agent of John Winter (at Portland) before 1639. Later he took his father's place as agent of his grandfather, Alexander Shapleigh. He lived in Kittery, 1640-1649. Married 15 Jan., 1646, Penelope, daughter of Thomas and Penelope (Filiall) Spencer at Newbury, Mass. He had a son John, born in Newbury, 12 Aug., 1649. He was appointed Commissioner for Newfoundland 8 April, 1651, and held that office several years. See Maine Hist. Coll., Vol. 3, p. 223. He had a son James, as shown by the will of Mrs. Katharine Hilton, widow of Edward.


Descendants : Mrs. Annie (Blake) Mckinney, Mr. Walter Blake Mckinney.


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TUTTLE, JOHN, 1618-1663. He came over in the ship "Angel Gabriel," which was wrecked on the coast of Maine, but the passengers were all rescued. He first appeared in Dover in 1640, as one of the signers of the petition against having the town come under the rule of Massachusetts. He did not sign the Combination agreement for good government. He acquired 8 acres of land on Dover Neck, and had his house lot on High street, near where now is Riverview Hall. In 1642 he had a grant of "Lot No. 7," of the "20-acre lots," on the west side of Back River; this lot is adjacent to the Three Creeks, in that river; that lot of land and other land adjacent which he bought, re- mained in possession of the Tuttles, his descendants, until the beginning of the 20th century, 250 years. Some of his descendants still live in the Back River district. He also had a grant of land on the east shore of Great Bay. In the legal documents he is styled "planter." His son, Judge John Tuttle, was one of the noted men of Dover and the province ; he was one of the "Captains of Industry," as well as a great political leader and the holder of important offices, which need not be mentioned here.


He died intestate in May or June, 1663, leaving a widow, Dorothy, and three children ; she was appointed administratrix of the estate. In the Court's decree it says: "yt the eldest daughter of deceased is married and hath had her portion already; yt ye youngest daughter is to have £15 when she comes to age of 18, or be dispossessed on marrying." The son, John Tuttle, then 17, when he comes to 21 years of age, is to have the balance of the real estate, a large property at that time. Dorothy Tuttle was taxed several years in succession following the death of her husband. It is not known when they were married, but probably after he came to Dover. Date of her death is not known.


Children: (1) Elizabeth, b. -; m. Capt. Philip


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Cromwell of Dover Neck; they had children; she sur- vived him .- (2) Thomas, b. -; was killed by a tree falling on him when he was engaged in felling a tree in the forest; he was a young man, unm .- (3) John, b. 1646; d. in June, 1720. 12 March, 1693-4, he was chosen unanimously Town Clerk and was re-elected an- nually up to 1719. He was elected selectman in 1686, and in several other years. In 1698 he was elected Representative and served continuously until 1708. He was captain of a military company several years. He was Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for many years; and all the time busily engaged in the lumber business and other important affairs .- (4) Dorothy, b. -; m. Capt. Samuel Tibbetts, one of the promi- nent citizens of Dover Neck, and grandson of the im- migrant, Henry Tibbetts.


Descendants: Col. Daniel Hall, Alvah H. Place.


RALPH TWOMBLY, 1625-1686, was born in Eng- land about 1625; he died in Dover, N. H., in 1686. It is not known when he came to Dover, but probably about 1650, and became a resident of Dover Neck. His name can be found on the map of that village, showing that he was a neighbor of Gov. Thomas Roberts. Later he became a resident of that part of Dover then called Cochecho. Here he passed the remaining years of his life, one of the respected citizens, an owner of much land, and a large tax payer.


His will is dated 28 February, 1684; it was proved 7-8 mo., 1686, showing he had died that year. Eliza- beth, his wife, and his son, John, were executors. If his son, John, lived with his mother they were to oc- cupy the homestead jointly ; if not, his wife was to have the estate for life, after which John should have one- half. If son Ralph lived with his mother till he was twenty-one, then he was to have ten pounds in money, or goods equivalent to money. To son Joseph a heifer.


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To daughter Mary Tibbetts, five shillings. To each of the other children-Elizabeth, Hope, Sarah, Esther, and William, when 18 years of age, a cow.


Children: (1) John, born about 1659 .- (2) Joseph, born 1661; m. Mary Tibbetts. - (3) Ralph, who had a son Ralph .- (4) Elizabeth .- (5) Hope .- (6) Sarah .- (7) Esther .- (8) William.


Of these, mention will be made of the eldest son. John Twombly married Rachel -. He made his will 18 July, 1724, and gave his wife one-half of the homestead, lying on the south side of the road leading down to Joseph Hanson's and so on to the Neck. After her decease it was to go to son William. To his son John he gave 20 acres at Littleworth, as by deed. To sons Joseph and Samuel certain tracts of land, they to pay legacies to their uncles and aunts, as provided in the will of their grandmother, Elizabeth. To son Ben- jamin, five pounds. To William half of the homestead. To daughters, Sarah, Mary, Rachel, Esther and Anna, £5 each, William to support his mother. Wife and son Joseph executors.


Descendants: Mrs. Ellen S. (Peavey) Rounds, Mrs. Edna (Young) Demeritt.


VARNEY, HUMPHREY, was admitted as an in- habitant in Dover 6-4 mo., 1659; in 1662 he was ar- raigned in court for being absent from Church too many Sundays in succession ; he pleaded "non convic- tion," on having the law read to him ; the court admon- ished him not to be absent any more. That was when the Quaker women missionaries were at work in Dover, and Mr. Varney was inclined to give them a fair hear- ing; he finally became a member of the Society of Friends. His house and lot were on the west side of High street, above where the present road leads to Bellamy station.


Descendant: Herbert C. Varney.


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WALDERNE, MAJOR RICHARD, 1615-1689 ; he was born in Alcester, England; he came to Dover in 1635; after looking over the situation he returned to England and married a "gentlewoman of very good family," and returned with his bride in 1637. He bought a house and lot on High street, and that was their home until about 1655. During that time he had built a saw mill and a grist mill at the lower falls of the Cochecho River. He sawed lumber and built ships and sold his lumber in the West Indies and in England. About 1655 he took his family up river to reside, hav- ing his house on the north side of the river, about where now stands the Court House. In 1675 the house was converted into a garrison, and did service until it was burned by the Indians, 28 June, 1689. They killed the Major before they burned his house; his ashes and bones were gathered up and buried in the burial ground, now on the east side of St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church on Chapel street. Major Walderne's career is one of the most distinguished in that period of the history of Dover. He held important offices in the town and province. He was many times elected Deputy or Representative to the General Court in Bos- ton ; several times he was Speaker of the House, and at all times was the equal of the "greatest of the great men" in the Court. His career as soldier was equally important. He was known as "Captain Walderne" a number of years, before he was appointed Major, about 1670; his career as "Major Walderne" is one of the most distinguished of New Hampshire men of the 17th century. It is not necessary in this connection to say more concerning this great business man, statesman and warrior.


The Major's first wife, already mentioned, died, and he married (2) Annie Scammon, probably sister of Richard Scammon; she died 7 Feb., 1685. The graves of his wives are unmarked in the old cemetery, at the east of St. John's Methodist Episcopal church


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on Chapel street, where tradition says his bones, col- lected from the ashes of the burned garrison, were also buried.


Children: (1) Paul; d. about 1669 at Algiers, where he was with one of his father's ships, probably its captain ; he was a young man of business capacity, engaged with his father in various branches of work, of which the Major had many. In the preceding year he was at Penacook with Peter Coffin .- (2) Timothy; d. when a student at Harvard College; the year is not known on account of the absence of early records .- (3) Richard, b. 1650; he was educated as a merchant under Governor Willoughby, at Charlestown, Mass. At an early age he settled at Portsmouth, where he worked in conjunction with his father in his extensive shipping and mercantile affairs. He was a leading man not only in Portsmouth, but in the Province. He was a member of the convention of 1690; Councillor in 1689; Representative in 1691 and 1692; Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas ; Judge of Probate; and Colonel of one of the New Hampshire regiments. He was twice married, (1) to Hannah, dau. of President Cutt; she d. 14 Feb., 1691-2; (2) 6 Feb., 1692-3, to Eleanor, dau. of Major William Vaughn; she was b. 5 March, 1669-70; d. Sept., 1727; he d. 3 Nov., 1730 .- (4) Anna; m. Rev. Joseph Gerrish .- (5) Elnathan, b. 6 July, 1659; d. 10 Dec., 1659 .- (6) Esther, b. 1 Dec., 1660; m. Henry Elkins; (2) Abraham Lee; (3) Rich- ard Jose; (4) She died in the Isle of Jersey .- (7) Mary, b. 14 Sept., 1663; d. young .- (8) Eleazer, b. 1 May, 1665; nothing more known of him .- (9) Eliza- beth, b. 8 Oct., 1666; m. John Gerrish of Dover .- (10) Maria, b. 17 July, 1668; d. aged 14.


Descendants: John Newman Thompson, Mrs. Annie (Blake) Mckinney, Walter Blake Mckinney.


WALDERNE, WILLIAM, 1601-1646. He was born in Alcester, England, and came over with his brother Richard (the Major) in 1635; he was 14 years


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older than his brother. Various papers to and from him are in existence, but none of great importance or particular interest. He owned shares in the Dover plantation, and that was probably the reason why his brother Richard was induced to come over and become a citizen in the new plantation. He became an active member of the organization, and appears to have been a very able man. He was the first Town Clerk, hold- ing that office at the time of his death. Very little of the records which he kept survive the "tooth of time." The most important of these is the list of grantees to the "20-acre lots" on the west side of Back River, which were granted in 1642. He was associate judge in the local court. He was Deputy, or Representative, in the General Court at Boston in 1646, and performed very efficient service for the town. He was member of the First Church. He was largely engaged in various business transactions for improvement of the town. In September, 1646, he was drowned, by acci- dent, in crossing the Kennebunk River. George Smith was appointed Clerk to succeed him, in November, 1646. On petition of his brother Richard, George Smith and Elder Starbuck were appointed by the court to examine William's papers and sort out those that belonged to private individuals, and hand over the public documents to the Court. In October, 1647, Capt. Thomas Wiggin and Edward Rawson were ap- pointed administrators of his estate. They finished their work, and in May, 1649, the estate was passed over to Elder Nutter and John Hall "to dispose of as they judge may best tend to the improvement of the estate, and to be ready to be accountable when the Courte shall think meete to call for it."


Children: (1) Christopher, mentioned only in chancery papers .- (2) John, perhaps b. as by deposi- tion, 1624 or '25 .- (3) Edward, who was at Ipswich in 1648, and as Savage says early left for England .- (4) Mary apparently went to England .- (5) Samuel


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in England in 1676 .- (6) Isaac of Portsmouth, York and Boston, a physician .- (7) George, taxed in Dover, 1671 .- (8) William b. about 1642, as by deposition ; he was taxed in Dover in 1664 .- (9) Alexander, taxed in Dover, 1664; d. in 1676 .- (10) Prudence, m. Rich- ard Scammon.


Descendants: George W. Seavey, Miss Annie Katharine Seavey, Mrs. Lucy E. Gordon Varney.


WALTON, GEORGE, 1606-1686, was of Exeter in 1639 when he signed the "Combination" for good gov- ernment; later he came to Dover and kept an "ordi- nary" on Dover Neck, receiving a license 20. 10 mo. 1648, for which privilege he was to pay twenty shil- lings for every pipe of wine which he might sell. He went to Great Island and engaged in the same business as at Dover. 8, 1 mo., 1651 he sued Humphrey Chad- bourne because the house that Humphrey had built for Walton was not built according to contract, and won the case. He was not so fortunate 7, 9 mo., 1651, when he was "admonished" by the Court for "abusing the Lord's Day in carrieing boords and going to the Isles of Shoals." Various purchases, law suits, etc., are recorded of him, but none of much importance, but they show that he was an industrious man and looked carefully after his own interests. Alice, his wife, is said by Sewall (vol. I., p. 417), in 1664, to be "reputed one of the most godly women thereabout." Of this her descendants are properly proud.


Children: (1) Abishag, witnessed a deed to her father, 1659; married Robert Taprell, shipmaster. He died at sea November, 1678, leaving, as he thought, his wife and three daughters. She, however, may have been dead at that time, as the inventory of her estate is dated 23 Jan., 1678-9. The daughters are named in their grandfather Walton's will: Alice, Priscilla and Grace .- (2) Martha, b. 1642 or earlier; m. Edward West of Great Island, and d. before 29 Jan., 1679 .- (3)


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Dorcas, gave a deposition in 1666; m. Samuel Trewor- gye .- (4) Mary, b. about 1646 (aged about 32 in 1678) ; m. Samuel Robie, who was born 12 Feb., 1628-9 .- (5) George, b. 1649, was a ship master. His wife, Mary, was about 32 in 1678, and married Samuel Rand 14 Aug., 1679. Samuel Walton, mentioned in his grandfather Walton's will, and to whom Mr. Robert Taprell left his outdoor effects, must have been son of George .- (6) A child drowned 5 May, 1657 .- (7) Shadrach, b. 1658; (Col.) ; d. "October 3, 1741, aged 83." He was many years commander of the fort on Great Island, was at one time commander in chief of the combined New Hampshire and Massachusetts forces to the Eastward, and served for many years as a member of the Council.


Descendant: Charles Thornton Libby.


WARREN, JAMES, 1621-1702. He deposed, 13 Sept., 1701, aged eighty years, that he had lived in upper Kittery, now South Berwick, "near fiftie years." He came there in 1651, when Richard Leader brought his Scots from the Lynn Iron Works to run the saw- mill at Great Works and help colonize that region. He had been taken prisoner at the battle of Dunbar, by Oliver Cromwell, 3 Sept., 1650, and sent with one hun- dred and fifty prisoners to Boston on the ship Unity. So many of them finally settled in upper Kittery that it was called "the Parish of Unity" in old deeds. One of Warren's daughters was captured by Indians and taken to Canada and there it was recorded, at the time of her baptism, that her father was a native of Ber- wick, Scotland, and that her mother, Margaret, was born in Ireland. James Warren's farm, laid out to him in 1656, fronted on Cow Cove, where Capt. John Mason's servants landed his cows in 1634.


Children: (1) Gilbert, b. 1654; m. Sarah, dau. of James and Elizabeth Emery and widow of John Thomp- son .- (2) Margaret, m. James Stackpole .- (3) Jane,


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m. 4 Aug., 1690, William Grant .- (4) James, m. 1691, Mary, dau. of John and Mary (Chadbourne) Fost of ancient Dover. He became a prominent man in upper Kittery and has many descendants in Maine .- (5) Grizel, b. 6 March, 1662; m. (1) Richard Otis, as his third wife. He and a daughter were slain in the Dover massacre of 1689, and Grizel and her babe, Mar- garet, were carried as captives to Canada, where she m. (2) Philip Robitaile and had five children. She lived to the age of 89.


The Hull Genealogy says James Warren married Grissell Hull, dau. of Rev. Joseph Hull of Oyster River ; she was born 1630; as Mr. Warren's youngest child has the name Grizel it may be that his first wife, Mar- garet, died and Grissell Hull became his second wife; the given name seems to indicate that family relation.


Descendants: Mrs. Annie Wentworth (Stack- pole) Baer; Lorenzo E. Baer.


WARDELL, WILLIAM, was one of the founders of Exeter and supposed to be the brother of Thomas, also a founder of that town. He probably came to this country in 1633 with Edmund Quincey, whose servant he is described as being, and joined the Boston Church, 9 Feb., 1634. He received in Boston, 20 Feb., 1636, two acres of land laid out at Mount Wallaston only for present planting, and 19 Feb., 1637, a great lot at the same place "for three heads." But the next year he migrated to Exeter, being disarmed as a friend of the Antinomian party. He took with him some cattle, or goats, as it appears that he had in the first division of lands one hundred and twenty poles of meadow "on this side of Mr. Hilton's," and the same quantity at Lamprey River. He also had ten acres and fifty poles of upland ; and set his hand to the Combina- tion. In January, 1639, with Wheelwright and others, he was dismissed from the Boston Church to organize the Church at Exeter, which was completed that year.


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He left Exeter with Wheelwright and went with him to Wells and helped organize that town. He sub- scribed as a witness to the deed of Sagamore, Thomas Chabinocke to John Wadleigh, at Wells, 18 Oct., 1649, and attested by said Wardell's oath, 25 March, 1657. He also swore allegiance to Massachusetts at Wells, 5 July, 1653. It is not known when he left Wells, but he died in Boston in 1670.


Children: They had two children baptized in Boston : (1) Eliakim, 9 Nov., 1634, and Martha, 3 Sept., 1637. Two others born probably in Exeter .- Benjamin, in Feb., 1640, and Samuel, 16 May, 1643.


Descendants : Joseph Foster, Miss Isabel Foster.


WEEKS, LEONARD. It appears that Mr. Weeks was a native of Wells, Somerset County, England, as he was baptized in the parish there in 1629, as son of John Wyke. His name first appears in the neighbor- hood of the Pascataqua River, 6th of Dec., 1655, when he witnessed a bond in York County. He next appears in Portsmouth, 29th of June, 1656, when he received a grant of 8 acres of land in Portsmouth, being in that part of it which is now called Greenland. Previous to that he had been overseer of Captain Champernowne's plantation in the vicinity of the Great Bay. That grant of land shows that Mr. Weeks had been in Ports- mouth long enough to secure the confidence and esteem of the authorities of the town and its citizens, as they never made grants to strangers. July 5, 1660, he re- ceived a grant of 44 acres; and next of 34 acres ; and not long after that 10 more acres were granted him, all of what is now Greenland. In February, 1661, he had commenced housekeeping at Winnicut River (Greenland), and there he lived the rest of his life, dy- ing there in 1707. In 1667 he married Mary Haines, daughter of his neighbor, Deacon Samuel Haines, who had moved there from Dover Neck, where he was one


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of the first settlers. Dover gave him a grant of land, claiming ownership of that territory. Greenland was not incorporated until 1703.


The first office held by Mr. Weeks was constable. In 1666 he was one of the Selectmen, and at times later. He was sheriff for a few years. In 1669 he was mem- ber of the committee that laid out the road from Green- land to Bloody Point. His pew in the meetinghouse at Portsmouth was No. 4 in front of the pulpit, Much of the original grants of land that he owned has remained in possession of his lineal descendants to the present time.


The old Norfolk County Court records of date- "4th mo. 26, 1660. Leonard Weeks, for swearing, by God, and calling John Hall, of Greenland, ould dog & ould slave, and that he would knock him in ye head, was fined 10 shillings for swearing, & to have an admonition for his reviling and threatening speeches, & pay fees of court 3 shillings."


The old Weeks house, made of brick, stands on the Leonard Weeks farm, a short distance west of the Parade in Greenland. In "Brewster's Rambles" it is said to have been built in 1638, of bricks burnt in front of the house. It is two stories high, 36 feet long and 22 feet wide. The walls of the lower story are 18 inches thick. The bricks in the front wall are of dif- ferent colors, laid in order so as to appear something like the squares on a checker board. The lower story is 8 ft. 8 in. high. The second story is 8 feet, and the steep pitch of the roof affords room for a large garret. The windows were originally small, diamond-shaped glass, set in lead, but have been changed to a later style. The timbers are hard wood-oak beams hewn 12 by 14 inches ; the sleepers are of red oak, with the bark still on, about ten inches in diameter.


As to the time of its being built, the following statement was made in 1873 by Enoch H. Clark, an aged citizen of Greenland, who said: "The owners of


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the brick house told me it was built by Leonard Weeks' sen, Captain Samuel Weeks. As their father told me it would be (in 1873) 160 to 170 years old." So the prob- ability is that it was built about 1710, in the Indian war period. It was so built as to provide safety from attacks by the Indians who were prowling about in that section of New Hampshire. At the present time (1918) it is about 205 years old.


Children: (1) John, b. 14 June, 1668; m. -; had 3 children; d. before 1711-2 .- (2) Samuel, b. 14 Dec., 1670 ; m. Elinor, dau. of Samuel Haines, Jr .; she was b. 23 Aug., 1675; they had 7 children; she d. 12 Nov., 1736 ; he lived on the home farm and is supposed to have built the brick house, already mentioned. He d. 26 March, 1746 .- (3) Joseph, b. 1 March, 1672; m. Hannah -; cordwainer; lived in Greenland .- (4) Joshua, b. 30 June, 1674; m. Nov., 1699, Comfort Hub- bard, sister of Thomas; they resided at Bay Side, and had 10 children; she d. 20 March, 1756. They were called the "Bay Side Family ;" Capt. Samuel's was the "Brick House Family."-(5) Mary, b. 19 July, 1676; m. Lieut. Joshua Brackett; he was b. in 1672; d. 1749; had 10 children .- (6) Jonathan, m. Eliza Cate .- (7) Margaret, b. 4 June, 1679; m. Tobias Lear; grand- parents of Washington's private secretary .- (8) Sarah, m. Tobias Langdon, grandparents of Gov. John Langdon.


Descendants: Mrs. Ella Weeks Lamson, Walter N. Weeks, Harriet J. Wentworth.


WENTWORTH, WILLIAM, 1615-1697. He was born at Alford, Lincolnshire, England; he died in Dover, N. H., and was buried in the grave yard on his farm. He came to Boston in 1636 with Rev. John Wheelwright and party. He remained in Boston until Wheelwright left there to form the settlement at Ex- eter, and came with him, being of the same opinion in religious matters, having a family connection with him,


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and being one of his parishioners in the old country. So he was in Exeter in 1638 and helped organize the town, also a little later the Church. He signed the Combination agreement, 4 July, 1639. He remained there till 1642, when he went to Wells with Wheel- wright; he helped organize that town and Church, and remained there until 1649, when he came to Dover to live. For a short time he resided at Dover Neck, which was the seat of government. The town gave him a grant of land, 5 Dec., 1652, "near the Great Hill" (Gar- rison Hill), and he came up to "Cochecho" to live. He built his house on that lot, and there was his home the rest of life. That land is still in possession of the Wentworth family, his descendants, having been in possession of that family 265 years. In that same year he, with others, received a grant of the falls on Fresh Creek, not far from his home, on which he built a sawmill and received a grant of timber around it. For a number of years he was engaged in the lumber business and acquired much wealth. He was admitted to membership in the First Church while he resided on The Neck, and remained one of its strong supporters to the end of life. He was elected and installed in 1655 as one of the Ruling Elders of the Church. After that, in the records he is always spoken of as "Elder Wentworth." He was very active in town affairs, holding various offices, and acting as peacemaker on many occasions. At some time after the decease of Rev. Samuel Dudley, minister at Exeter, which oc- curred in 1683, he was employed to preach there, and continued to do so until 1693. His physical vigor was remarkable, as is evidenced by his successful resistance to the attempts of the Indians to enter the Heard garri- son in June, 1689; he held the gate fast so they could not enter. He was the progenitor of a long line of descendants, able and stalwart, mentally and physical- ly, three of whom held the highest executive offices in the Province of New Hampshire. Others have sat in




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