USA > Vermont > Orange County > Newbury > History of Newbury, Vermont, from the discovery of the Coos country to present time > Part 80
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648
HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.
bury. A memorial service was held in the church the following Sunday. He never m.
4 ABNER ALLYN, b. June 15, 1850; in partnership with his father, 1872-78. Built in 1879, part of the present factory building for the manufacture of chairs, and for other mechanical purposes, the premises being also used during the season by the Orange Co. Canning Co. Town representative 1890-92, serving four years, where he introduced and conducted the bill incorporating Wells River Savings Bank. Appointed by Hon. J. Sterling Morton, Sec. of Agriculture, State statistician, holding the office several years. Nominated, 1878, for Lieutenant Governor upon the Democratic ticket. Member of the Democratic State committee, 1892 to '96. Candidate for presidential elector, 1896. Member of the M. E. church; and steward 15 years. He m. 1st, May 27, 1880, Jennie M., dau. John Thompson, her mother being the 4th wife of I. H. Olmsted. She d. Dec. 25, 1889 ; no c .; m. 2d, Aug. 11, 1896, Laura R., dau. E. C. Stocker.
Children :
i. Howard Stocker, b. Aug. 6, 1898.
ii. Gordon Clement, b. Oct. 27, 1900; d. June 15, 1901.
PAGE.
JOSIAH and JACOB were brothers, who came from the vicinity of Haverhill, Mass., to Newbury before the Revolutionary War in which both served.
JOSIAH, b. Haverhill, Mass., or Plaistow, N. H., 1748; m. Lydia Pettee of South Berwick, Me .; rem. to Ryegate in 1782, where he was town clerk and representative.
Children :
i. Jonathan, b. Feb. 22, 1770, Haverhill, Mass.
ii. Mary, b. March 14, 1772, Haverhill, Mass.
iii. Abigail, b. July 18, 1774, Newbury.
iv. Joseph Kimball, b. Aug. 16, 1776, Newbury.
v. John, b. Aug. 25, 1778, Newbury; d. Sept. 1, 1779.
vi. Sarah, b. Sept. 18, 1780, Newbury.
vii. John, b. Aug. 11, 1782, Ryegate.
viii. Phebe, b. Nov. 23, 1786, Ryegate.
1
ix. William, b. Aug. 20, 1790, Ryegate.
JACOB, b. 1750; came to Newbury about 1771; served in the Revolutionary war; taken prisoner with Col. Thomas Johnson in Peacham and carried to Quebec, but returned in the same year. He m. 1st, July 29, 1773, Sally, sister of Col. Thomas Johnson, (b. Oct. 29, 1751 ; d. Sept. 17, 1791). He m. 2d, 1792, Louisa, dau. of Richard Chamberlin. Lived on the Ox-how, but rem. to Ryegate, 1793, and settled on a farm at the head of the pond below Ryegate Corner. He d. 1831.
Children, b. Newbury :
i. Eunice, b. Jan. 26, 1775; m. Jonathan Fowler.
ii. Sarah, b. Oct. 17, 1776; d. Oct. 16, 1778.
iii. Sarah, b. April 24, 1778; m. Rufus Hosmer.
iv. Jacob, b. 1781; m. Judith Carter.
v. Ruth, b. May 4, 1783; m. Samuel Whittaker. Mrs. Bailey White is their dau.
vi. Abigail, b. Aug. 5, 1785; m. Stephen Smith of Danville.
vii. John, b. April 30, 1787; m. Sarah Heath of Danville.
viii. Hannah, b. July 15, 1789, Haverhill; m. Daniel Lang of Bath.
ix. Polly, b. Nov. 26, 1792.
x. Betsey, b. Jan. 27, 1795, Ryegate.
1 WILLIAM2 (Josiah1), b. Ryegatc, Aug. 20, 1790. Lived in Ryegate and Newbury, Hc m. Sept. 16, 1812, Emily, dau. of Benjamin Chamberlin, (b. Newbury, March 2, 1788; d. Oct. 19, 1860). Their son says (1899) that when his parents were m. his father came on horseback from Ryegate to Newbury, took his bride on the horse behind him and went to General Whitelaw's in Rycgate, where they were m. Captain in the militia. He d. in Lebanon, Oct. 16, 1883.
Their c., were all b. in Rycgate :
2 i. Albert G., b. Feb. 26, 1813, q. v.
.
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GENEALOGY-PAGE.
ii. Ben P., b. Sept. 25; d. Dec. 12, 1814.
iii. Ann Maria, b. March 22, 1816; m. Dec. 7, 1843, John A. Meader; d. Monroe, N. H., Sept. 15, 1898; q. v.
iv. Jane T., b, Sept, 25, 1818 ; m. Oct. 31, 1843, Theodore Andrews ; d. Groton, Mass., Feb. 13, 1893.
v. Amaret J., b. Jan. 20, 1821; m. Oct. 17, 1843, at Bradford, Thaddeus Clark ; d. Washington, D. C., Sept. 26, 1890.
vi. Sarah E., b. Oct. 29, 1823; m. Feb. 19, 1871, Horace B. Morse, as 2d wife ; d. Jan. 20, 1868. She d. Lowell, Mass., Aug. 13, 1878.
vii. Elizabeth, b. Aug. 8, 1825; m. Sept. 27, 1851, Horace B. Morse, as 1st wife ; she d. Jan. 20, 1868; q. v.
2 ALBERT G.,3 (William,2 Josiah1), b. Ryegate, Feb. 26, 1813; m. Apr. 14, 1844, Mary Ann, dau. of Absalom Brown, (b. September 7, 1822) ; farmer in Newbury ; res. (1899), Woburn, Mass.
Children :
i. Sarah M., b. Newbury, March 10, 1845; m. at Lebanon, N. H., June 5, 1871, Charles E. Davis ; res. Newtonville, Mass .; two c.
ii. Adna A., b. Lowell, Mass., 1846; m. 1st, Thetford, 1871, Ella M. Newcomb, who d. 1875. He m., 2d, at Lyndeboro, N. H., Carrie Blanchard; res. Woburn, Mass .; B. & M. R. R. employee.
iii. Frank M., b. Aug. 23, 1848; m. Jan. 17, 1882, at Charlestown, Mass., to Elizabeth Heaton of Boston; res. Woburn.
iv. Dan Carlos, b. Oct. 24, 1851; m. at Gorham, N. H., March 1, 1875, Nancy McKnight of Sawyerville, P. Q .; res. Woburn, Mass .; R. R. employee.
v. Henry Ovando, b. Nov. 1, 1853; res. Manchester, N. H. ; un-m.
PARKER.
JONATHAN, moved from Rumney, N. H., to Boltonville-Newbury, with his wite and two c., Eliza Ann and E. George, March 20, 1832, and bought the farm now owned and occupied by the widow of the late Stephen Putnam, and lived on said farm, until his death. Mr. Parker was a man of decided character, a wise adviser, and safe councilor; his judgment was sought for by his neighbors, as he was a man of rare ability. Prior to this he was deputy sheriff for many years of Grafton County, N. H., and was one of the leading men in the town of Plymouth in his earlier days. Jonathan Parker was b. Oct. 11th, 1777, at Plymouth, N. H; d. Sept. 17, 1851, at Boltonville. Susan Parker, his wife, b. May 14, 1801, at Plymouth, N. H .; d. March 15, 1877, with her son, E. G. Parker, at Woodsville, N. H.
Children :
i. Eliza A., b. April 14, 1826, Rumney, N. H .; m. George W. Miller, of Lowell, Mass.
1 ii. E. George, b. Nov. 30, 1827, at Rumney, N. H .; m. Matilda P. Cook of Lyme, N. H.
iii. Maria E., b. May 6, 1833, at Newbury ; m. John H. Wills of Farmington, Maine.
iv. Charlotte, b. April 20, 1835, Newbury; m. Augusta Wills, Vienna, Me .; d. May 6th, 1871.
v. Martha H., b. March 30, 1837, at Newbury ; m. Joel P. Felker, Wells River ; d. Sept. 10, 1855.
1 ENOCH GEORGE, b. Rumney, N. H., Nov. 27, 1827; came to Newbury with his parents; was in business at Woodsville and Wells River; proprietor of the Parker House at Woodsville some years; director in Woodsville National Bank, and prominent in Odd Fellowship and Masonry, also held town offices. He was superintendent of the Wells River Sunday school for several years. He d. June 20, 1901, leaving a widow and one son, Dr. George Parker, of Concord, N. H.
PATTERSON.
RICHARD, b. Markinch, Fife, Scotland, Jan. 3, 1809. He had very limited advantages, his only schoolmaster being one John Anderson, who had been a soldier in the British army during the American war, and lost his right arm at the battle of Bunker Hill. He was a weaver by trade, and m.
650
HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.
March, 1829, Janette Donaldson, (b. Jan. 23, 1810; d. Jan. 20, 1882). In company with his wife's brother, George Donaldson, he started for America Sept. 20, 1832, and after a voyage of nine weeks reached Montreal, and later Ryegate, on foot from Burlington. In 1834, he bought 80 acres of wild land of Samuel Gibson, on which he built a log house, Donaldson, whom he afterwards bought out, settling near him. He spent the rest of his life here, re-visiting Scotland in 1868. A natural turn for mathematics led him to study surveying, in which he became proficient; he knew more about the boundaries of land in this vicinity than any other man, and his knowledge made him a valuable witness in cases involving the title to land in this and other towns. He studied law with Elijah Farr, and although never admitted to the bar, practiced considerably, and was much resorted to for legal advice. Member of the Constitutional Convention of 1870. He also accumulated a valuable library, and with the contents he was thoroughly familiar ; in politics he was a Democrat of the ante-bellum school. Mrs. Patterson was one of the last of the fine old Scotch ladies of an earlier generation than any who remain. He d. Newbury, June 6, 1895. Children :
i. Margaret, b. Aug. 30, 1830 ; m. John Gilmore, (q. v.)
ii. Richard N., b. May 8, 1834 ; d. April 15, 1860.
iii. Ellen D., b. March 11, 1839; m. John Buchanan, (q. v.)
iv. Washington, b. Feb. 22, 1841. Read law with Leslie & Rogers, Wells River, and with Dickey & Worthen, at Bradford; admitted to the bar, Jan. 1867, and practiced law in Tama and Benton Counties, Iowa, for four years; returned to Newbury, 1871, and has not been in active practice for some years. Has written much for the press; farmer on homestead. He m. June 14, 1876, Lizzie B., dau. of Thomas Corliss. C., (1) Richard T., b. Dec. 14, 1879; now in Vermont University. (2) Roscoe F., b. Apr. 22, 1881, now in Vermont University. (3) Victor, b. July 11, 1893.
PEACH.
The following paper, prepared with great care and patient research for this volume, by Rev. R. W. Peach, has sufficient historical and local interest to justify its insertion without abridgement. EDITOR.
THE REV. ROBERT WESTLY PEACH, was b. at Oak Hill, near O'Fallon, Ill., Nov. 27, 1863; being the oldest child of Samucl W., (now of Port Townsend, Wash , title abstractor), and Anna R. (Wiggins) ; grandson of William and Elizabeth (Grotts); great grandson of the William who moved from Newbury to Illinois. Cadet, West Point, 1883-85; graduate, Reformed Episcopal Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, '90; ordained Presbyter, June, '90; m. to Harriet Elizabeth, only dau. of the Rev. Joshua L. Burrows, Ph. D., Oswego, N. Y., Sept. 24, 1890; pastor, Trinity Reformed Episcopal church, Ashtabula, Ohio, '90-'93; acting pastor, First Reformed Episcopal church, Boston, Mass., '93-'94; pastor, First Presbyterian church, Quincy, Mass., '94-1900; pastor, Seeond Presbyterian church, Camden, N. J. 1900 -; moderator, Presbytery of Boston, South Ryegate, October, '98; commissioner, Presbyterian General Assembly, Minneapolis, May, '99; moderator, Presbytery of West Jersey, April, 1901; dcelincd eall to Reformed Episcopal church of the Reconciliation, Brooklyn, N. Y., just before entering Presbyterian church ; resumed academic studies in Boston University ; Ph. B., '96; student in graduate school, '96 - ; they have four e., Ruth E., Anna H., Eggleston Westly and Dorothy S. Mr. Peach has visited Newbury several times.
THE ANCESTRY OF THE PEACH FAMILY.
The name Peach, originally Peehc, is Norman-French, and the family in England dates back to the time of William the Conqueror. The Pcaches of Newbury arc descended from John Pcach, Jr., one of the carly settlers of Marblehead, Mass. John Peach, Sr., one of the founders of that town, had no family.
651
GENEALOGY-PEACH.
He was a near relative, probably first cousin, of John, Jr. The two men are named together in Seventeenth Century documents over forty times. Including these instances, I have found the name of John, Sr., one hundred times, and that of John, Jr., over eighty times, in contemporary records of Salem and Marblehead. Besides these, there are over thirty cases in which the distinction of senior or junior is omitted, part of them referring to one and part to the other. Both men lived to the age, approximately, of fourscore years; and it came to be a saying in Marblehead, which passed without question in depositions, "the two Peaches." The first mention of Marblehead in the records of Salem, as Roads, in his history of the former town, has noted, concerned John Peach and another man. This minute is found on page 8 of the "Salem Towne Booke" (of Grants of Land), in the office of the clerk of that city. Its quaint spelling entitles it to reproduction :
"By the towne repsentative, viz the 13 men deputed, the 28th of the first moneth, 1636.
"John Peach, [Sr .? ] ffysherman and Nicholus mariott, having fenced about five acres of ground on marble neck (though contrarie to the order of the towne) yet Its agreed that they may for psent improve the said place for building or planting, pvided alwayes that the ppriety thereof be reserved for the right of the towne of Salem, to dispose of in pcess of tyme to them or any other ffyshermen, or others as shalbe thought most meet, yet soe as that they may haue reasonable consideracon for any chardge they shalbe at."
Jany. 1, 1637, Salem assessed £8 upon twenty-four inhabitants of Marblehead, of whom John Peach (Sr .? ) was the sixth named.
Again, nearly fifty years afterwards, John Peach (probably Sr.) made a most interesting deposition, which is preserved in the Essex County Court papers, xliv. 30 :
'The testimony of John Peach Aged 80 yeare or therabout.
"This deponent testefieth that John Bennett deceased came with him into New England in the same ship in the year 1630: and his [Bennett's] wife some years after came into New England," etc.
John, Sr., probably did not know his exact age, for in 1669 it was given as "above 50," and in 1672 as 60. He was elected a selectman of Marblehead the year that town was separated from Salem, 1649, and nine or more other years. He was frequently an appraiser of estates, court constable, etc. In 1672 he was one of a committee of four to assign seats in the new "Lentoo" to the meeting-house. He d. Aug. 20, 1684, having lived in Marblehead probably fifty-four years. Peach's Point took its name from him. In his will, which is on file in the Essex County Probate office, he bequeaths. property to relatives in Simsborough, England, Barbados Island and Marblehead. and calls William Peach, son of John, Jr., his "cousin," a term used rather indefinitely in those days.
Having differentiated "the two Peaches," we may now trace the line of descent of the Newbury branch of the family, which begins in America with
I. JOHN, Jr., and ALICE ( -- ) PEACH. John, Jr., was b., it would appear from various depositions, between April 26 and July 22, 1613. Pope's "Pioneers of Massachusetts," p. 349, says that John, Sr., and John, Jr., had lived in Marblehead 41 and 33 years, respectively, Jan. 25, 1672. Therefore, in 1638 or 1639, John, Jr., came to Marblehead. His wife, Alice, is named in different documents dating from 1644 onward. She was one year younger than he. They were m before 1640, for their eldest dau. was a widow in 1660. They had three daus .: Hannah, first the wife of John Bradstreet, then of William Waters; Mary, who m. William Woods, and Elizabeth, who m. John Legg. Their only son was William. Jolın, Jr., lived in Marblehead for about fifty-four years. In 1656, '59, '60, '61, '62 and '71 he was a selectman.or "towne's man," and was often besides appointed on responsible committees, to "lay out" land that was to be divided, "view ffences," guard the rights of the commoners to pasturage of their cattle, etc. On the latter committee he was elected as late as April 11, 1692. He was often a witness to wills and deeds. In 1674-5, when disputed rights in the commons were settled by the General Court, out of 116 commoners who subscribed
652
HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.
agreement, his rights to five cows' commonage were exceeded only by Moses Maverick (nine), and equalled beside only by Samuel Cheever, the minister, (five). He was admitted a freeman, May 16, 1683. His lands are frequently referred to as boundaries. Within a fortnight before making his will, he deeded his share (of six or eight acres) of the "Coye-pond" lands to his daughter, Elizabeth Legg, and his portion of "the Humphrey tarme" to his dau., Mary Woods. He also gave land to the heirs of his daughter, Hannah Waters, during his lifetime. The date of his death is not known, but the earliest date in the settlement of his estate is Nov. 28, 1693. His will is on file in the Essex County Probate office. His remaining estate was inventoried at £389, and consisted of two dwelling-houses with adjoining lands, and four several lots, two of ten each, one of five and one of four (?) acres, household goods, and "six cattle." His real estate was to be a life tenure of his "dear and beloved wife, Alice Peach," and after her of his "onely sonne William Peach," and. after him of his "present wife Emme," and then to be divided between John and Thomas, sons of William and Emme. William, their youngest son, was left out.
II. WILLIAM and EMME (DEVEREUX) PEACH. William, only son of John, Jr., and Alice, was b. April 8, 1652. His wife, Emme, dau. of John Devereux, (said to have been a lineal descendant of Sir Walter Devereux, one of the knights of William the Conqueror,-a Peche was another ot his knights), was b. in 1657 or 1658. They were m. before 1680. William was several times chosen on important town committees. Emme united with the 1st Ch. of Marblehead, April 29, 1687, and on June 19, following, had their e., John, Thomas, William and Hannah. baptized. Hannah m. first John Calley, and after his death one Waters. She alone survived her mother, who d. in April, 1737, in her eightieth year. William's tombstone recorded his death June 16, 1715, aged 63 years, 2 months, 8 days. The wills of both husband and wife are preserved in the Essex office. Each of their three sons had a son William; John and Thomas, in fact, had two, the first one in each case haying doubtless d. in infancy. The surviving William of Thomas was b. too late to have been number four of our line, who must have been either John's surviving son or William's son of that name.
III. JOHN and SARAH (STACEY) PEACH. John was b. about 1680 ,and m. Sarah Stacey of Salem, Nov. 30, (or Dec 30), 1700. They had five c., of whon: the surviving William was baptized as an infant, Feb. 24, 1712.
Or,
III. WILLIAM and SARAH ( ELKINS) PEACH. William was b. in 1683, and m. Sarah Elkins of Lynn, Jan. 4, 1711. They had six e., of whom William was b. Feb. 13, 1712, (?) and baptized March 28, 1714.
IV. WILLIAM, JR., and AMY (TREFRY) PEACH. William was b. in 1711 or 1712, and m. Amy Trefry, Sept. 12, 1734. Their c., according to the baptismal records of the 1st Ch. of Marblehead, were John, Amy, Agnes, Sarah, Mary, William, Hannah and Elizabeth. Note that only two of the eight e. were sons. It is a tradition amongst us that we are descended from two brothers who came from England; in truth, 'twas their great grandfather who came from England. William was a carter, and his business descended to John, his first-born son. He held several offices by election at town meetings, "hayward," constable, sealer of leather, "hogg reave," juror, etc. He d. before Feb. 5, 1771.
Of the other Williams contemporary with the carter, and his first cousins, one was a fisherman, who d. before Sept. 7, 1773. Which one of the Williams had a negro servant, Cesar, who was publicly whipped for stealing, in 1769, and which William was one of ten heads of families, out of 712 in Marblehead, who, in 1770, obstinately refused to sign an agreement against trade with Great Britain, and particularly against the use of India tea, is not known.
We come now to the William who settled in Newbury :
1 WILLIAM and ELIZABETH (BOWDEN) PEACH. William, son of William and Amy (Tretry), was b. in 1748 and baptized May 7, 1749. He m. Elizabeth, widow of Samuel Messervy, (and mother of the Samuel Messervy who
.
653
GENEALOGY-PEACH.
settled in Newbury ), Aug. 2, 1772. Her maiden name was Bowden. They had eight c. baptized in the 1st Ch. of Marblehead, of whom the first and fifth were named Elizabeth and the second and third William-the first of each name having evidently d. in infancy. The others were John, Thomas, Amy Trefry and Twisden Bowden. Sarah. their ninth c. was b. June 12, 1790. In Marblehead, William followed the craft of "house-wright," "joyner" and "cabinet-maker;" after his removal to Vermont he was designated as "yeoman."
William Peach was a Revolutionary soldier. From July 15, 1775, to Jan. 1, 1777, he belonged to the Sea Coast Defence service, in the company at the fort in Marblehead commanded successively by Captains Wm. Hooper and Edw. Fettyplace. (See archives in the State House, Boston.) This company was called to Bunker Hill, but not in time to engage in the battle. William's name is found in certain memoranda of the same company, dated Feb. 18, Aug. 26 and Dec. 31, 1777, indicating his continuous service throughout that year also. He was a matross (cannoneer). In August, 1778, a Marblehead company to which he belonged marched to Rhode Island and joined the army under Gen. Sullivan. Here he served two months, when the siege of Newport was abandoned; to this, William Hooper made affidavit Nov. 21, 1833. Wm. Peach was one of the soldiers engaged in transporting bread in small boats for the army at Tiverton, who were fired upon by the British, and some of the bullets were found lodged in the bread; an experience of which his son John testified having heard him often tell. Aug. 22, 1834, Joseph Berry wrote from Newbury to the Commissioner of Pensions at Washington, urging the claim of William Peach in these words: "The old man and his wife are both infirm and helpless as infants, and his mental capacity is even more impaired than his bodily faculties, and he has been endeavoring for I believe near fifteen years to establish what he thought to be a just claim to a pension." Sept. 3, 1834, the claim was allowed, based on seventeen months and fifteen days of service, and he received $204.16 back pay, and $58.33 yearly for the remaining five years of his long life. He should have been credited with at least thirty-one and one-half months; and it was his own recollection that he continued to serve at the Marblehead fort until the close of the war.
In 1788 and before, William was a member of the fire company of the engine, "Friendship." Just before his removal from Marblehead, occurred an interesting episode connected with his craft. On April 6, 1789, he was one of nine men who bought a lot from Knott Martin, Jr., upon which to erect a meeting-house. August 5 of the same year Dr. Hopkins. (author of the "Hopkinsian theology"), preached the dedicatory sermon from Haggai ii : 9. Nov. 8 of the same year their house was shut, "Moses Bradford, an illiterate man," having preached the last sermon. March 29, 1790, the nine men resold the property to Knott Martin, Jr., for his personal use. It was used from time to time for Methodist and Baptist services, and eventually turned around and converted into a double dwelling-house, now numbers 9. and 11 Watson street.
William's name is on the Assessors' lists of Marblehead from 1769 to 1790. Sept. 7 of the latter year, two months before removing to Vermont, he sold the northeast end of his former "mansion-house" to John Seawood, and the other end to Joseph Brown, Oct. 19, 1796. Two years later Joseph Brown, who was a black man and a Revolutionary patriot, bought the Seawood half from Mary, widow of John. "Black Joe" and "Aunt 'Crease," his wife, are historic names in Marblehead. Their adopted daughter inherited the estate, and sold it in 1867 to Henry Berry, whose widow still owns it. The house is most picturesquely hidden away behind the trees on the hill back of the junction of Beacon and Norman streets, and is reached by a narrow, winding, rock-walled lane.
William's life in Newbury is touched upon by the author of this history, in the proper place. The present contributor may add a word concerning William's older and only brother, John, who was baptized May 16, 1736, m. Elizabeth Conant, Jan. 6, 1761, (?) and d. in the house which he had built at "the ferry," (now the Curtis house), June 21, 1792. His widow lived until May 27, 1816. John and Elizabeth had thirteen c. spared to grow up, six sons and seven daus. At least two of the daus. m. in Newbury,
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HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.
Amy to Thomas Burroughs, 1794, or beforc, and Sarah to Nicholas White, Oct. 25, 1803. With the exception of a French family who assumed the name, all of the Peaches now living in Marblehead are descended from two of the six sons, John and Lot, and nearly all from Lot. The last son of Thomas, another of the six, was Benjamin F., Sr., who d. Oct. 4, 1899, at the age of 82 years, 11 months and 4 days; he was the father of Maj .- Gen. Benj. F. Peach, Jr., of Lynn. Four of Lot's e. are living: Mary (Merritt), aged 80, (1899), Stephen B., Eben and Ruth. The next to youngest of the six sons of John and Elizabeth, Ebenezer W., moved to Mt. Desert Island, Me., where his descendants now live. Of William's four sons two abode in Newbury and two emigrated.
William Peach was in Newbury as early as 1788. Tradition says that he came here as chain-bearer with a party of surveyors. June 9, 1790, he bought of John C. Foster a farm of 128 acres for £60, ten acres was cleared, on which was a house. The deed is dated at Marblehead, June 9, 1790. To this purchase he added much out-lying land and became a large land owner. This farm remained in the family till 1865, when it was sold to Ezra B. Willoughby. At his death in 1893 it was bought by F. G. Howland, who now lives on it.
They came to Newbury in 1790, he on foot and his wife on horseback, bringing her son, Twisden, two years old, with them in her arms. He used a willow staff and his wife a willow riding whip. When they arrived at their destination they stuck both staff and whip into the ground where they took root, and still stand, on each side of the road that turns off to Wallace hill, a few rods below Mr. Howland's house. The one which carries the guide board was the whip and the other the cane. The girth of the latter is about twelve feet. These trees are mentioned in a survey of a road in 1810. In his old age William Peach drew a pension. He d. on that place, Aug. 3, 1837, aged 91. his wife having d. Jan. 20, of the same year, aged 91, their married life being 66 years, 5 months, 18 days. Their first dwelling was a log house which stood on the south side of the road, and the first framed house, built 1805, was taken down in 1872. Children :
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