USA > Vermont > Windham County > Londonderry > The history with genealogical sketches of Londonderry > Part 15
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Upon authority of one of his grand-daughters it is stated that he was twice married and had eleven children, though none of the children of the first marriage are said to have come to Vermont.
His second wife was Deborah Tarbox and their children, upon the same authority, were four sons; William, John, Grovenor and Amos, all of whom lived in town for some part of their respective lives and some until the end of life.
William married Mary Sargent, and died in Londonderry, Dec. 12, 1869, at the age of seventy-five years. He had four sons and five daughters:
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William, Gilman, Alfred, Merrill D., Hannah, Mary, Eliza, Emeline and Martha (the order of birth uncertain).
William married Betsey Batchelder, had two sons, who died in boyhood, and three daughters: Chestina, Hattie and Ina, who lived to maturity. His mature life, or most of it, was spent in Weston, Vt.
Gilman married Lucy Wyman and had seven children: Leroy G., Charles (who died in infancy), Charles (second of that name), Frank E., Martha, Adaline and Florence.
Alfred married Steele and had one daughter, Ida.
Merrill D. married Salome Rowell, but had no child.
Hannah married John G. Walker of Peru, Vt. and had a son and a daughter. Mary was twice married; Ist to Joseph Utley, 2nd to Israel Lampson. Eliza married Clark Simpson and moved to Michigan where she died.
Emeline married Henry K. Hall and had two sons, Fred and Frank. Martha married Austin Rowell and died childless.
John married Mercy Allen, who died childless, in 1855 in this town. It is said he never married again, but no further information about him is found.
Grovenor married Mary Farnum and lived in Landgrove. His children were
Robert, John, Henry W., Gardner (who died in infancy), Nancy, Susan, and Ann.
Robert married Josie Nichols and had two sons and a daughter.
John married Betsey Roby and had a son, Alvin J., and a daughter who married H. S. Dow.
Henry W. married Belle Moffat and had a daughter who married James Thayer.
Nancy married Daniel Eddy, lived in Landgrove and had two sons.
Susan married Horace H. Harlow to whom she bore three daughters and a son. One daughter and the son died in childhood.
Ann married Myron Piper and died childless.
Silas Davis
SILAS was the oldest of five sons of Richard and Lois (Whitney) Davis, born Aug. II, 1772. His parents moved from Lincoln, Mass. to Jaffrey, N. H. soon after the birth of their second son, Solomon.
Dr. Cutter's published HISTORY OF JAFFREY refers to him as a descendant of Dolor Davis who came from England in 1634 and settled in Cambridge, later moving to Concord, Mass. He was on the tax list in Jaffrey, from which town he came to Londonderry, Vt., in 1801 and took deed of land in Londonderry Feb. 2, 1802, in which deed his residence was given as in Londonderry. He was twice married; first to Susannah Tenney, by whom
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he had five children: William, May 16, 1806; Mehitable, Sept. 22, 1809; Sally, Jan. 16, 1812; Elzina, Feb. 21, 1814; and Alvin, Dec. 14, 1817.
His second wife was Phebe (Westcott) Shattuck and their children were: Phebe M., Aug. 20, 1822, and Nathaniel Silas, June 29, 1827.
The last named was accustomed to write his name Silas N., and was familiarly and commonly known as "Thad."
William went to Kentucky, where he married Sarah A. , and re- sided in that State until after the birth of his children.
He had twin sons, Willard and William, and a daughter, Malvina.
His son Willard died in Texas and William lived for some years in Orange, Mass. William, the father, later returned to Londonderry and died here. Nothing further can be learned of his family, save that his daughter was married.
Mehitable married Alexander Shumway Whitney and died childless. Sally married Avery B. Stowell. (See STOWELL FAMILY SKETCH.)
Elzina married Luther Stowell. (See STOWELL FAMILY SKETCH.)
Albin married Elnora Atwood and had one son, Eugene M., who married Ella M. Estabrook, and died, Jan. 23, 1910, in this town leaving no issue.
Phebe M. married Lord Sterling, had a daughter and died at Weymouth, Mass.
Nathaniel S. never married but lived in town until his death, Nov. 24, 1895.
Solomon Davis
SOLOMON, brother of Silas, was the second son of his parents, born Apr. 24, 1774, and was taxed in Jaffrey, N. H. as late as 1799 and was described as of Londonderry, Vt. in a deed of land in Londonderry dated April 16, 1803. The time of his coming here cannot be more definitely fixed.
He married Hannah Wright and they had five children: Solomon W., Oct. 20, 1808; Lydia, March 8, 1811; Betsey, July 15, 1813; Hannah, May 15, 1816, and Daniel, Jan. 8, 1819; they remained residents of town until death.
Solomon W. married Harriet Rider and their children were Solomon Olin, Harriet, Abby A., and Moses Alden.
Lydia married Stephen Dudley and had six sons and four daughters.
Betsey married Parkhurst Stevens and had two sons and two daughters. Hannah died in childhood.
Daniel married Laura Rider and had five sons: Daniel W., Donald W., Denzel W., Dorr W. and De Witt.
Delia married Peter Dudley.
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Solomon Olin married Marcia Abbott and they had seven children: Ernest Solomon, who married Minnie L. Jenkins and had a son, Solomon Wesley; Earl L., who died in early manhood unmarried; Orrie B., who married Lyle O. Pierce and died childless; Charles Abbott, who married Lucy E., daughter of Frank E. and Flora (Abbott) Davis, who died leaving a daughter, and he later married Mary Stillson and they have had four children; Rose E. and Abbie Harriet who are unmarried, and Everett Olin who died in infancy.
Harriet married Ora S. Abbott and died without issue.
Abby A. married Edwin F. Sterling, had a son and a daughter and died at Weymouth, Mass.
Moses Alden lived for years on the old homestead of his father and his grandfather, married Lucy Marshall, had one daughter, and moved to Chester, Vt. where he died.
Daniel W. married Mary I. Vanduzee and was for many years a merchant in Chester, where he died, July 16, 1920. He had two sons: Fred W., who married Grace E. West, and Walter F., who was twice married; first to Nellie Stoddard and second to Marion W. Jones.
Donald W. went to the far northwest where his mature life was spent. His first wife was an Indian woman by whom he had a son, Jeff, and a daughter, Julia. His second wife was Lillie Grier and they had six chil- dren, of whom we have the name of but the oldest, Chester, who died of wounds received in the "World War." He was a member of the Canadian Parliament for some fifteen years and died at Dawson City.
Denzel W. married Lizzie W. Gould and had two daughters: Daisy W., who married Benjamin A. Sandy, and Ida L., who married Carl H. Laws. He died in Minneapolis, Minn.
Dorr W. married Ella M. Meade and had three sons: Norris M., who mar- ried Winifred L. Henry; D. Wesley, who married Alice E. Johnson, and Guy W., who was twice married, first to Sadie C. Hunsdon, and second to Lucinda Dorsey.
DeWitt married Isadore S. Wilson and they had four sons: Don W., D. Watson, Dan W. and Dwight W. DeWitt survived his first wife and mar- ried Allie C. Amsden who bore him a daughter, Laura A., and a son, DeWitt, Jr. He resides on a farm in Chester.
Gibson
SILAS GIBSON, with his wife, came to Londonderry from Ashby, Mass. in 1800 and resided here during the remainder of their respective lives.
He was the fourth child of Arrington and Mary (-) Gibson, and was born in Lunenburg, Mass. He married Damaris Bennett in 1773 and they lived in Lunenburg and Ashby until coming to Londonderry. He was a
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descendant, in the fourth generation, of John Gibson who was born in Eng- land and came to Cambridge, Mass. about 1631, tracing his descent down through John Jr., Deacon Timothy and Arrington.
He was a soldier of the Revolution, a private in Captain George Kim- ball's Company; marched from Lunenburg on the Lexington alarm, Apr. 20, 1775, serving ten days; also a private in Captain Joseph Bellows' Com- pany, Oct. I, to Oct. 19, 1777. So far as the records disclose, he, at no time, held title to any land in town, but came here with his son Arrington and had a home with him until his death, as did his wife who survived him.
His children were: Arrington, Mar. 14, 1774; Nathan, Jan. 3, 1776; Silas, Mar. 25, 1778; John, May 25, 1781; Damaris, May 10, 1784; Mary, Apr. 22, 1787; Sarah, - -, 1789, and Abigail, May 18, 1796.
He also had an adopted son, Ichabod, who was a physician, but who never came to this town to reside. All of these children, born to him, resided in town and, excepting Silas, died here.
Arrington, then of Leominster, Mass., in Sept. 1800 purchased the farm at the Middle-of-the-town now known as the Collins place, but when he began living there is somewhat uncertain. May 5, 1803 he married Polly (Mary) Cochran, of Londonderry, and from that date until his decease that farm was his home. He was a man of some prominence and much influence in town affairs. At one time he was a licensed Inn-keeper and his "tavern" was his farm house, still standing and occupied though it long ago lost its public character. His children were: Sylvia, Apr. 24, 1804; Betsey, Sept. 8, 1808, and Ruel, June 3, 1811.
Sylvia married Doctor Jairus B. Collins who built the house south of her father's home, near the schoolhouse, and on a part of his farm, where they lived until her husband acquired the farm of her father, when they moved to the old homestead and there spent the remainder of their lives.
Four children were born to them; Nancy C., who married T. J. Stevens and moved from town; Jairus Irenus, familiarly and generally known as "Jack," who spent many years in the far west but came back to the old home in broken health and lived with his brother until his death which followed not long after his return; Emeline E. who lived on the old homestead all her life, dying unmarried, and Henry H. who never mar- ried, but occupied the ancestral farm until near the end of his life then dis- posing of the main farm but retaining the house built by his father, in which he was born and where he died.
Betsey married Foster A. Wheeler and went to California where she died. Ruel married Emily Barnard and survived her many years. In his old age
he returned to the home of his boyhood and spent his last years with his nephew, Henry H. Collins. He had five sons; Francis N., Albert B., Cyrus H., Charles R. and Benjamin Arrington. Francis N. was a member of the 9th N. H. Vols. in the Civil War. He married Mary A. Bellows, a
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The History of Londonderry
descendant of Colonel Benj. Bellows, founder of Walpole, N. H., from whom Bellows Falls derives its name, and had three children; Ellen C., Charles Bellows and Charles O. Albert B. married Ellen T. Hooper and had a daughter, Mabel H. He served in the Civil War in Co. I, 9th N. H. Vols. Cyrus H. died in Chicago, Ill., unmarried. Charles R. married Jennie Parles but had no child. Benjamin Arrington was a lawyer and practiced in Denver, Colo. He married Mary Cushing and had children; Alex. Cushing, Benj. Cushing and Pauline E.
Nathan purchased land in Londonderry earlier than his brother Arrington, taking deed in 1798 from James Rogers, son of Col. James the original proprietor of Kent; but, as in the case of his brother Arrington, it is un- certain when he came here to reside. At the date of his deed from Rogers he was "of Leominster," Mass. May 2, 1805 he married Mary (Polly) Hasey, both then being residents of Londonderry; and he lived here until his death, Oct. 21, 1847. In the Town Clerk's office is found a record of the births of four who were the fruit of his marriage; Dorothy, Mar. 24, 1806; Damaris, Sept. 16, 1807; Samuel, Mar. 17, 1809, and Ichabod, Apr. 14, 1811. There were two other daughters, Mary and Betsey, and, it is said, a son, Robert, evidently all born subsequent to the entry of the record mentioned.
Dorothy died, unmarried, Aug. 21, 1825.
Damaris married Abel Adams and had a family of four sons and three daughters who lived to maturity and married.
Samuel is believed to have died unmarried, and in early life, as nothing in reference to him, save his birth, appears on the records and nothing has been learned from survivors of the family.
Ichabod was three times married. His first wife was Sarah Fish who bore him a son, Samuel, who died in infancy, and two sons and two daughters who lived to maturity. These were Lydia who married Page A. Warner and had a daughter who married George Babbett; John W. who married Julietta Cole and died in town, June 16, 1877, leaving a son, Alvarado C., and a daughter who married Frank A. Curtis of Londonderry; William H. who was a member of Co. G, 11th Vt. Vols. in the Civil War and who married Emma - -; and removed to Cambridge, N. Y. where he died without issue; and Sarah, who married Alfred B. Wilcox and lived in Cambridge, N. Y. Ichabod's second wife was Mrs. Isabanda (Cole) Harrington, and his third was Mrs. Sarah (Mason-Hulett) Under- wood. There was no issue from the last two marriages. He remained in town until shortly before his death and then went to his daughter Sarah's home where he died.
Mary married Willard Brown and had a daughter Maria, and perhaps others of whom we have not the names.
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Genealogical Sketches
Betsey married Leonard Howard and had a son, Niles, and a daughter, Hattie A., who married George S. Curtis.
Robert is one of whom we only know that it is said such a son was born to Nathan and his wife, and that he "went off west" many years ago.
Silas married Abigail, daughter of Jonathan and Bathsheba (Bennett) Gibson, of Grafton, Vt., and is said to have had eight children, one being Nathan, born in Grafton, Feb. 7, 1804. He moved to "the west" and died at Mt. Morris, Ill. in 1861.
John married Elizabeth (Betsey) Cochran and spent his life in town. He was a physician and practiced his profession in this and surrounding towns for many years, traversing the hilly roads in a two-wheeled "gig" or "chaise" said to have been specially constructed for him to give a space for his unusually long legs. His home was on the farm on the hill road, now owned by Robert Batstone, where he built the brick house still standing, and there he died, May 2, 1866. He never had any child and, being of strong religious belief and anxious to aid in support of an edu- cated ministry, provided by his will that what remained of his estate at the death of his widow should pass to a western college absolutely.
Damaris never married but lived in town until her death, Oct. 30, 1841. She was always deeply interested in the welfare of her church, the old Presbyterian-later Congregational-organization, and gave a small farm situated on the road from the Middle-of-the-town to Thompson- burg for a parsonage, the first in town.
Mary married Lyman Whitman, lived in town and had four children. (See Whitman Family Sketch.)
Sarah died young and unmarried.
Abigail married Eleazar Houghton and had four sons and three daughters; Benjamin B., Silas, Levi, Stephen O., Betsey, Maria and Mary.
Another branch of the Gibson family, also tracing descent from John Gibson of Cambridge, Mass. (1631), has representatives in Londonderry.
Isaac W. Gibson was born in Grafton, Vt. Mar. 14, 1810, the second son of Isaac and Keziah - - Gibson, his mother being the second wife of his father and, previous to their marriage, "widow Hayward."
His descent is traced through Isaac, Nathaniel (who moved from Lunen- burg, Mass. to Grafton,-then Thomlinson, Vt. about 1783), Isaac, Deacon Timothy, and John Jr., to John (1631). He married Maria Wait, May 28, 1837, and about that time settled in Londonderry. His children, all born in Londonderry, were; Abbie S., Aug. 26, 1838; Margaret L., Mar. 14, 1841; William L., Oct. 15, 1844; Warren H., May 25, 1849, and Lina D., Aug. 26, 1855.
Abbie S. married Charles A. Pierce, of Manchester, Vt., whom she survives.
Their home was for some time in Bennington, Vt .; later she lived in
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Northampton and in Waltham, Mass. Her children were; Charles W., Warren W. and Nettie M., all of whom married and had issue.
Margaret L. married Myron W. Utley, of Manchester, Vt., and survives him. She had a son and a daughter, both of whom married and have families.
William L. married Saville Stowell, of Londonderry, and resided here until his death, Jan. 23, 1909. He held various town offices for a long series of years and was prominent in the affairs of the town.
He had two sons and two daughters; Ernest Willard, Dec. 29, 1871; Arthur Avery, May 25, 1873; Helen Elma, July 5, 1873; and Marion Lina, Jan. 4, 1882.
Warren H. after being in business here for several years with his brother William L., removed to Michigan and for many years preceding his death was engaged in the marble and granite business. He married Laura Kettell, of Stephentown, N. Y., and had a son, William H., who is a dentist in Grand Rapids, Mich. and had two children.
Lina D. was twice married. Her first husband was Burton Roberts, of Palmer, Fla., and after his death she married Albert I. Hewes, of Chic- ago, Ill. She died in Londonderry, Apr. 25, 1917, leaving no child.
Ernest W., son of William L., graduated from Norwich University in the Class of 1894; is a lawyer by profession, located at Brattleboro; for a time principal of the High School in Chester, and married Grace Fullerton Hadley of that town. He was long connected with the State Militia as an officer of his local Company; served overseas in the World War and, after his return became Colonel of the Vermont Regiment of militia. In 1923 he was elected Representative to Congress from the second District of Ver- mont. Four children have been born to him; Frank Hadley, June 9, 1899, (died July 1, 1922); Ernest William, Mar. 6, 1901; Doris, Sept. 23, 1903, and Preston Fullerton, Jan. 22, 1908.
Arthur Avery died Feb. 20, 1881.
Helen Elma married Roy F. Rounds and lives in town.
Marion Lina married Wallace Grover and also lives in town. Her chil- dren; Walter J. and William S. were born Aug. 30, 1920, the first named dying two days later, and Edward W. born May 23, 1922.
Goddard
EDWARD GODDARD was born and lived in Norfolk County, England, and at one time was a wealthy farmer but in the "Civil War" he espoused the cause of the Parliament which brought about the despoiling of his house and goods by a company of Cavaliers, and by oppression his property was much reduced. He soon after died.
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His seventh son, William, came over to New England in 1765 and, in the following year, was joined by his wife and three sons, William, Joseph and Robert, who were the survivors of a family of six children born in London.
William, the father, had his home in Watertown, Mass. and there six other children were born to him and his wife, Elizabeth (Miles), three of whom died in childhood while three sons, Benjamin, Josiah and Edward, survived him. He died in 1691 and his wife in 1697.
From Edward, his youngest son, descended those of the family name who have resided in this town and in Windham. The home of this Edward was in Framingham, Mass. He and his wife, Susannah (Stone), had nine children, the oldest of whom was Edward who settled in Shrewsbury, Mass. and whose wife was Hepzibah Hapgood. They had eight sons and four daughters of whom the second child, and oldest son, was Nathan, a farmer of Orange, Mass. Nathan married Dorothy Stevens and they had seven children; Hepzibah, Nathan, Ebenezer, Dolly, Asa, Eunice and Lois.
From two of these sons, Ebenezer and Asa, descended the Goddards of Londonderry and Windham, Vermont.
Ebenezer married Anna Woodward, of Orange, Mass. and had a family of six sons and four daughters. Only three of these sons, Samuel, Enoch and Jonas, and one daughter, Lovisa, appear to have been even remotely connected with the history of either Londonderry or Windham.
Samuel, the second son, settled in Windham where he purchased a farm in 1803. While he owned various parcels of real estate in Londonderry, there is no satisfactory evidence of his having ever made the latter town his home. He was twice married and had two children, Achsah and Ira, both of his first marriage. His first wife was widow Anna Babbitt and his second was a widow Hunt, of Brattleboro.
Enoch, the third son and fourth child of Ebenezer and Anna, married Esther Bliss, of Royalston, Mass., came to Vermont and settled in Windham, where he lived for some years, and then moved to South Londonderry lived for a time, returning to Windham in his old age mak- ing his home with his daughter Lemira and her husband until his death in January, 1867. He had eleven children, who were; John, Aug. 17, 1805; Bliss, Sept. 10, 1806; Lemira, Nov. 7, 1808; Emery, Feb. 11, 1811; Daniel, Nov. 19, 1812; Esther W., Aug. 21, 1814; Susan, Apr. 6, 1816; Nelson W., Dec. 17, 1817; John William, July 20, 1819; Josiah, May 5, 1821, and Timothy B., Nov. 28, 1823.
John died in infancy.
Bliss married Eliza Stearns who bore him four children; Emily A. who married Ceylon D. Farnum and had three daughters, two of whom survive.
Henry y. married Abbie J. Peabody and had a son and a daughter. He lived for a time in South Londonderry and then moved to Wisconsin.
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The History of Londonderry
Josiah A. married Luella Babbitt by whom he had Hallie A., who died unmarried, and Milon.
David B., youngest of the children of Bliss and Eliza, was a member of Co. G, 11th Vt. Vols., enlisting at the age of 18. He married Mary A. Temple and had two children, a daughter who died in early childhood, and Rowe S. who married Maud Tolman and, since her decease, has married again, but has no children.
Lomira married George Dutton and lived in Windham, where she died in February, 1889. She had four sons and two daughters.
Emery died in his third year.
Daniel never resided in Londonderry. He was married three times and had four children; Caroline, Frederick, Waters and Edward, all of his first wife, Delia Waters. We have not the name of his second wife, but the third was Betsey Arms.
Esther W. married Lucius Abbott and spent most of her mature life in Londonderry. Her children were; Everett, Ora S., George T., Marcia, Rose and Charles. Her second and third sons enlisted and served in the War of the Rebellion.
Susan married William Hastings to whom she bore two sons and two daughters.
Nelson W. married Sarah Delia Gibson and had two sons, Myron Bliss and Willie, both of whom died in youth or early manhood. He never lived in Londonderry. He worked for many years in the Estey Organ Shops at Brattleboro and went back to that town when broken by ill health and advancing age and died there.
John William was drowned in his boyhood.
Josiah married Mary Jane Farnum, and came to Londonderry in 1852, and spent the rest of his life here, for many years owning and managing the meadow farm at Thompsonburg which was originally pitched and improved by the Millers who were among the earliest settlers in town. He had three daughters; Abbie J., who married John Ramsdell and had one son, Herbert J .; Laura A., who married Reuben Copp and died in 1872, childless; and Emma L. who married Fred C. Rand, whom she survives, and had a son, Ray J.
Timothy B., Enoch's youngest child, lived for many years in Londonderry and in Landgrove on a farm adjoining Londonderry and, after his second marriage, went to Jewell township in Ohio where he remained until his death. His first wife was Fanny Jane Abbott who bore him seven children; Fannie, Lyman, Esther, Frank, Laura, Mary and Sarah. His second wife was Betsey Robinson, by whom he had Luna and two sons. Both sons died without issue.
Lovisa, second daughter of Ebenezer and Anna, married Elisha White, of Royalston, Mass. and had several children, of whom a son, Lorenzo,
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Genealogical Sketches
married Mary Coombs and resided in South Londonderry for many years. Lovisa died in Londonderry Oct. 29, 1816.
Jonas was the fifth son of Ebenezer and married Friendly Dean by whom he had two children. After her decease he married Roxana Smith, of Westmoreland, N. H. He was at one time a resident of South London- derry where he seems to have been interested in the early industrial development of the village, coming here about 1818. Practically nothing is known by us about him or his family after his removal from town, which occurred after only a comparatively short residence.
Asa, a younger brother of Ebenezer, married Lucy Goddard, a distant cousin, and they had seven children: Lemuel, Lovina, David, Nahum, Lois, Dorothy, and Joseph. His second wife was Mary Tyler by whom he had Lucy, Esther and Amanda. Asa died June 3, 1828. Two of his sons became residents of Londonderry.
David married Zarina White and had a family of ten children.
He came to Londonderry and purchased a then unimproved tract of land which he began clearing and fitting for a farm and home. This was the same farm which has been for about three generations known as the Nahum Goddard farm, in the southeast part of the town. After he had been here but a short time, a few years, he sold the land to his brother Nahum and moved away permanently.
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