CONTENTS:

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

EDITOR'S PREFACE

CHAPTER I [1]. THE SETTLEMENT IN THE WILDERNESS, 1638-1646.
Topography -- The Gorges and Mason Grants -- Winnacunnet -- The Township
Grant -- Protest from Exeter -- Change of Name -- Town Meetings --
Woodwards -- Admission of Inhabitants -- Land Grants -- The Meeting-House
Green -- Care of the Cattle -- Bounds Between Hampton and Colchester --
The Landing -- The Pound -- Wigwam Row -- Reduction of Wages -- Conduct of
Town Meetings -- "The Breeding of Salt Peeter" -- Towns-How Ranked --
Duties of the Town Clerk -- Ownership of the Cow-Commons

CHAPTER II [2]. LABORS, CONTROVERSIES AND SUPERSTITIONS, 1647-1662.
The Suffrage Extended -- The Common-School System -- An Enemy to Be Met --
Care of Cows and Calves -- The Grass on the Commons -- Controversy About
the Great Ox-Common -- Highways -- Scarcity of Money -- Old Grants
Examined -- The North Line -- Indian Alarm -- The Old-Burying Ground --
Lieut. Robert Pike -- Hail Storm -- Culler of Staves -- "Dry Cattle" --
Witchcraft -- Goody Cole -- Treatment of Quakers -- "The Wreck of
Rivermouth"

CHAPTER III [3]. TOWN AFFAIRS, 1658-1680; PUBLIC LANDS; PUBLIC HOUSES; AND
A TROUBLESOME PUBLIC CHARGE.
Second Review of Old Grants -- Snow Storm in May -- Rights in the Cow-
Commons -- Capt. Thomas Wiggin -- The New Plantation -- Suit Against
Nathaniel Boulter -- Eunice Cole Again -- Bounties for New Settlements --
Commissioners for Small Causes -- Locke's Neck -- Daniel Tilton,
Blacksmith -- Committee of Survey -- Ordinaries, or Public Houses -- The
First North Division -- The New Plantation Laid Out Anew -- Exclusion of
Paupers -- The Citizen on Squamscott Patent -- Horses Wintered on the
Marshes -- Last Days of Goody Cole -- Line Between Hampton and Exeter --
Debatable Ground -- Hampton and Portsmouth Bounds -- The First Indian
War -- John Huggins' Suit -- Culture and Use of Tobacco -- More Witches

CHAPTER IV [4]. HAMPTON UNDER THE MASON AND MASSACHUSETTS CONTROVERSY,
1651-1677.
Status of the Four New Hampshire Towns -- Norfolk County and Courts -- The
Mason Claim -- The Massachusetts Claim -- Robert Mason's Complaint --
Commissioners Appointed -- Hampton Disquieted -- Abraham Corbett's
Sedition -- Mason and Randolph -- Randolph's Lying Reports -- The Four
Towns Severed

CHAPTER V [5]. TOWN AND PROVINCE UNDER THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT, 1677-1689.
A New Jurisdiction-John Cutt, President -- Marshal's Oath -- Probable
Population, in 1680 -- "Lord Proprietor" -- Richard Waldron, President --
Another Overturning-Mason and Cranfield -- Edward Gove's Insurrection --
Leases Under Mason Resisted -- Nathaniel Weare's Mission to England --
Governor Cranfield's Schemes to Obtain Money -- Resistance to Unjust
Taxation -- Provost-Marshal, Thurton -- Thurton and Roby's Adventure --
Mr. Weare's Second Mission to England -- Sir Edmund Andros, Governor of
All New England

CHAPTER VI [6]. UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT (CONTINUED), 1689-1730.
A Critical Juncture -- Conventions of the Towns -- Reunited to
Massachusetts, 1690 -- The New Connection Severed, 1692 -- Allen and
Usher -- William Partridge, Lieutenant-Governor -- Usher's Harangue -- The
Good Earl of Bellomont -- Governor Allen's Assumption of Government --
Bellomont's Brief Administration -- Courts of Justice Revived -- Allen's
Claim and Controversy -- Dudley and Usher Superseded -- Samuel Shute,
Governor -- George Vaughan, Lieutenant-Governor -- Hampton's Attitude --
John Wentworth, Lieutenant-Governor -- William Burnet, Governor --
Jonathan Belcher, Governor

CHAPTER VII [7]. THE BOUNDARY LINES, 1639-1743.
The Boundary Lines, 1639-1742 -- Town Lines -- The Charter of Hampton

CHAPTER VIII [8]. TOWN AFFAIRS - KINGSTON, 1680-1707.
Marshes Divided Into Shares -- Two Boards of Lot-Layers -- Samuel Dalton's
Death; A New Town Clerk Chosen -- "Troublous Times" -- Town Records
Secreted -- Danger From Indians -- Wolf Bounties Paid in Corn -- Pauper
Exclusion Measures -- Unlawful Fencing -- A Twelve Mile Fence -- North
Division Laid Out -- Kingston -- New Castle's Petition Rejected -- Naval
Officer -- Latin School -- First West Division Laid Out -- The Right to
Vote Defined -- The Falls Burying Ground -- Trespassers on the Commons and
Highways -- The Case of Francis Jenness -- Sheep Lost From the Flock; Ear-
Marks -- Captain Henry Dow -- Another Portion of the Commons Divided

CHAPTER IX [9]. HAMPTON FALLS, 1709-1760.
Hampton Falls, 1709-1760 -- Act of Incorporation -- Chief Justice Weare's
Death -- The Bounds Defined -- Disputes About Parsonage Lands -- "The
Third Parish in Hampton"

CHAPTER X [10]. TOWN AFFAIRS - NATURAL PHENOMENA - RYE, 1708-1736.
Claims at the New Plantation Considered -- The "Back Road" -- Lawsuit
About Land At The New Planation -- A Protective Measure -- Iron Mines --
Shares In The Common To Be Assessed -- Grant To "The Five Farms" -- Annual
Town Meeting To Be In March -- Malt -- Against Petitions Privately
Circulated -- A Shepherd's Contract -- John Tuck, Town Clerk and Commoners
Clerk -- The Great Ox Common Divided -- Hogpen Farm -- Boundary Dispute
With Exeter -- Aurora Borealis -- Measures To Protect The Beach -- The
Jenness Dispute -- Unauthorized Returns Not To Be Recorded -- The Five
Divisions; Commoners' Meetings -- "The Chestnut Country" -- High Tide; The
Meadow Pond Created -- Thunder Storms -- Earthquake of 1727 -- Ring
Swamp -- Chichester -- Court of Quaker Sessions -- Hogreeves -- Inventory
In 1732 -- Tavern Burnt And Rebuilt -- Territory Annexed to Rye -- Throat
Distemper

CHAPTER XI [11]. NORTH HAMPTON, 1719-1742.
First Petition For A Parish -- Opposition -- North Hill Parish -- The Town
Of North Hampton

CHAPTER XII [12]. REGULATIONS - LAWSUITS - CASUALTIES, 1733-1780.
First Town Treasurer -- First Division Apportioned -- The Little Shares --
Brown and Shaw Claims at the New Plantation -- Second Appearance of the
Throat Distemper -- Earthquake of 1755 -- New Plantation Lawsuits
Settled -- Cast Up By The Sea -- Small-Pox -- "The Stage Is Coming" -- The
Mast-Ship -- The Gray Rat -- Constables -- Colonel Moulton's Buildings
Burned -- Lawsuit With North Hampton, About Taxes -- The Dark Day -- An
Act For Opening Little River

CHAPTER XIII [13]. INDIAN WARS, 1675-1763.
King Philip's War, 1675-6 -- King William's War, 1689-1698 -- Hampton Men
Known To Have Served In King William's War -- Queen Anne's War, 1702-
1713 -- Lovewell's War, 1722-1725 -- King George's War, 1744-1749 -- The
French and Indian War, 1754-1763 -- Garrison Houses

CHAPTER XIV [14]. IN THE REVOLUTION, 1774-1783.
Patriotic Resolves -- Exeter Conventions -- The Seaboard Exposed -- The
End of Royal Government -- Captain Henry Elkins' Company -- Committee of
Safety -- A Provincial Congress -- Defense of Portsmouth -- Test Papers --
Bounties and Enlistments -- Stampede of the Children -- Depreciation of
the Currency -- Constitutional Convention At Concord -- Efforts To
Regulate Prices -- Constitutional Convention At Exeter -- Hampton Men In
The War

CHAPTER XV [15]. IN THE EARLY YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE; 1784-1814.
Clamor For Paper Money -- General Moulton -- Town Records At Salem -- The
Federal Constitution -- Retrospect -- Washington's Tour Of New England --
Continental Securities -- Constitutional Convention of 1791 -- Dr. Hall
Jackson -- Financial Affairs -- The Cemeteries -- Carrigain's Map --
Paupers -- Some Negro And Indian Slaves -- The Riot Of 1808 -- The Cold
Friday

CHAPTER XVI [16]. A WAR - A COLONEL - A REGIMENT, 1812-1860.
The War of 1812 -- Col. Christopher Toppan -- The Third Regiment

CHAPTER XVII [17]. THE CIVIL WAR; 1860-1865.
The Civil War; 1860-1865 -- The Winnacunnet Guards -- Roll of the
Winnacunnet Guards, Hampton, N.H., October, 1860 -- In the Country's
Service -- Memorial Record -- A List, As Far As Can Be Ascertained, of the
Non-Resident Soldiers, Accredited to Hampton -- Statistics of the Expense
to Hampton and Citizens for Bounties and Other Public Costs, for the Civil
War -- Perkins Post, No. 78, G. A. R. -- Perkins Relief Corps, No. 46

CHAPTER XVIII [18]. OTHER NINETEENTH CENTURY HAPPENINGS; 1800-1892.
The Liquor Question -- The Cold Year -- The Proprietors of the Hampton
Library -- Fire Company -- Printing of Town Accounts -- A Financial
Crisis -- Plan of Hampton -- The Eastern Railroad -- The Public Library --
The Towle Legacies -- Hampton Courts -- Constitutional Conventions of '76
and '88 -- Tramps -- The Town Farm -- The Yellow Day -- Arbor Day -- The
Old Meeting-House -- Leavitt's Tavern - Now, Hotel Whittier -- The Post
Office -- Rockingham Lodge, No. 22, I.O.O.F. -- Winnacunnet Council,
Junior Order of United American Mechanics

CHAPTER IX [19]. THE INTERWOVEN PASTORATES: REV. STEPHEN BACHILER, 1638-
1641 - REV. TIMOTHY DALTON, 1639-1661 - REV. JOHN WHEELWRIGHT, 1647-1656 -
REV. SEABORN COTTON, 1657-1686.
Father and Founder of The Town -- Rev. Timothy Dalton -- The Second
Meeting-house -- Rev. John Wheelwright -- Rev. Seaborn Cotton -- The Half-
way Covenant -- Rev. Seaborn Cotton -- The Parsonage -- Hogpen Farm -- The
Third Meeting-house

CHAPTER XX [20]. REV. JOHN COTTON'S MINISTRY, 1686-1710.
Mr. Cotton, Stated Supply -- Succeeded by Rev. John Pike -- Mr. Cotton's
Labors Resumed -- Mr. Cotton, Ordained Pastor -- A New Bell -- Mr.
Cotton's Death and Obituary -- Deacons

CHAPTER XXI [21]. PASTORS GOOKIN AND WARD COTTON - NEW PARISHES, 1710-1837.
Rev. Nathaniel Gookin, 1710-1734 -- The Falls Church Organized --
Communion Service Purchased -- The Fourth Meeting-house -- The New Church
At Rye -- Mr. Gookin's Assistants -- Mr. Ward Cotton, Colleague -- The
Hampton Falls Church -- The Kensington Separation From The Hampton Falls
Church -- The Seabrook Separation From The Hampton Falls Church -- The
Society of Friends

CHAPTER XXII [22]. REV. WARD COTTON'S MINISTRY - THE NORTH HILL PARISH,
1731-1767.
Rev. Ward Cotton, Pastor -- North Hill Parish -- The Pastor's Salary Under
a Depreciated Currency -- The Second Society of Young Men -- The Parsonage
Lawsuit

CHAPTER XXIII [23]. REV. EBENEZER THAYER'S PASTORATE, 1765-1792.
Candidates Marsh, Thayer, Scales and Belknap -- Mr. Thayer, the Chosen
Pastor -- The "Old Parsonage" of To-day -- Lining the Psalm -- Mr.
Thayer's Salary, Depreciated -- Mr. Thayer's Death

CHAPTER XXIV [24]. THE PRESBYTERIAN SCHISM, 1792-1807.
Candidating -- An Ex Parte Council -- The Change to Presbyterianism --
Rev. William Pidgin's Ministry, 1796-1807 -- The Course of the Old
Church -- The Congregational Society -- Rev. Jesse Appleton's Ministry,
1797-1807 -- The Fifth Meeting-house -- The Ecclesiastical Lawsuits -- The
Indenture of 1803 -- President Appleton

CHAPTER XXV [25]. LAST YEARS OF THE TOWN MINISTRY, 1807-1839.
The Union of 1808 -- Rev. Josiah Webster, Pastor -- Rise of the Baptist
Society -- "A Bone Of Contention" -- Litigation -- Mr. Webster's Death --
The Indenture of 1839

CHAPTER XXVI [26]. THE INDEPENDENT CHURCHES.
The Congregational Church in Recent Years -- The Free Baptist Church --
The Methodist Episcopal Church -- The Second Advent Church -- General
Outlook

CHAPTER XXVII [27]. THE COMMON SCHOOLS.
Some Early Teachers -- Location of Schools -- School Districts -- School
Houses -- Summary -- Recent History

CHAPTER XXVIII [28]. HAMPTON ACADEMY AND HIGH SCHOOL.
The Proprietary School -- Transferred To A Board of Trustees --
Constitution, or Fundamental Rules for the Hampton Proprietary School
Corporation -- The Toppan and Leavitt Bequests -- Literary Societies --
Proposed Changes -- Hampton Academy and High School -- First Graduating
Class of Hampton Academy and High School -- Trustees of Hampton Academy --
Principals, Associated Principals and Preceptresses

CHAPTER XXIX [29]. HAMPTON BEACH AND VICINITY - OWNERSHIP AND USES.
Hampton Beach and Vicinity -- Ownership and Uses -- Hampton Beach Hotel --
Boar's Head Hotel -- The Rockingham -- The Eagle House -- The Ocean
Hosue -- The Sea-View House -- Sea-Weed Laws -- The Public Lands --
Measures to Protect the Beach -- Storms and Wrecks -- Vessels, Built or
Owned at Hampton -- Capt. John Johnson's Vessels -- Mr. David Nudd's
Schooners -- Vessels Owned by Other Hampton Men -- Nudd's Canal -- Hampton
Fisheries -- Canal to Salisbury -- Nudd's Salt Works

CHAPTER XXX [30]. THE PUBLIC ROADS.
The Ring -- Drake Side Road -- Winnicut Road -- Portsmouth Road -- Landing
Road -- Kingston Road -- North Hampton Common -- Nook Lane -- Exeter
Road -- Little Boar's Head to Rye -- Hampton Falls to Exeter -- Shaw's
Hill to Little River -- Hampton Causeway Turnpike Corporation -- Proposed
Road From Vittum's Corner to Shunpike Bridge -- Proposed Road From North
Hampton Line to Hampton Falls Line -- Odious Roads Discontinued -- Road to
Meet the Lafayette Road -- The New Road -- Towle Road -- Sea-shore Road

CHAPTER XXXI [31]. THE STORY OF THE MILLS.
The Earliest Mill -- Sayward's Windmill -- A Forgottn Mill -- Gove's
Mill -- Taylor's River Mills -- Falls River Mills -- Bride Hill
Sawmills -- Little River Mills -- Rye Mills, On Cedar Swamp Run -- Nilus
River Mills -- On Bursley's Brook -- Tide Mill -- Johnson's Windmill --
Hobbs' Windmill -- Berry's Steam Sawmill [See next chapter]

CHAPTER XXXII [32]. STORES AND TRADES.
Elisha Johnson's Store; John J. Leavitt-Samuel Poor-John Wilcott, Jr.-
Nutter & Brown--Successors -- Lane's Store; J.A. Lane & Co., Present
Proprietors -- D.O. Leavitt; Apothecary And Grocer -- Post Office Store;
Stationery, Confectionery And Tobacco -- George Collum; Tin-Smith, Plumber
And Stove-Dealer -- J.W. Mason & Co.; Groceries And Hardware -- Batchelder
Brothers; Butchers -- T.N. Chase; Dry And Fancy Goods, And Millenery --
John S. Gilman; Clock And Watch Repairer And Jeweller -- Fred E. Sanborn;
Barber -- E.B. Towle; Dry And Fancy Goods, And Gentlemen's Furnishings --
Some Former Stores -- Brick-Making -- Tanneries -- The Cattle Trade --
Milk Business -- Ice Business -- Express Business -- Carpenters -- Steam
Sawmill -- Brown's Steam Sawmill Business -- Masons -- Painters -- John
Albert Towle -- Coal Dealers -- Blacksmiths -- The Shoe-Shop -- Gunning
And Taxidermy

CHAPTER XXXIII [33]. LAST WORDS.

A TABULAR RECORD OF TOWN OFFICERS.
Moderators -- Town Clerks -- Town Treasurers -- Representatives --
Selectmen -- Physicians

APPENDIX
Extracts from Capt. Henry Dow's Diary -- From Philip Towle's Diary --
Extracts from Maj. David Marston's Record of Events

ILLUSTRATIONS



AUTHOR'S PREFACE

It is many years since my interest was first awakened to collect material
for a history of the town of Hampton. In the intervals of an otherwise
busy life, I have brought together, from all available sources, such
information as seemed to me important to preserve and disseminate, in
compact form, for future generations. I was the more inclined to do this,
since the history of Hampton, in its earlier years, was in some measure,
the history of the Province of New Hampshire. Being one of the four
original towns and united with the other three in many public acts; being
a half-shire town of Norfolk County when under Massachusetts jurisdiction;
being a border town between the two provinces, and so participating in the
boundary disputes; being a sea-board town, whose defenses were of vital
importance to all the rest,- the record of its progress, for at least one
hundred years, must be of more than local interest.

Moreover, from many of the early families have gone out branches, to
people the newer towns, as they were settled, one after another; and even
in remote portions of our country, are found many persons, who trace their
ancestry back to this settlement by the sea.

Every person, who has attempted to trace his own descent from the several
families from which he has sprung, in following out any one of them for
two centuries, through all the branches into which it has ramified, has
found the task to be very difficult. No one can appreciate the difficulty,
except from his own experience. Written memorials he finds to be
exceedingly rare; and living members of the family, often, on this subject
very ignorant or very indifferent. In many cases, there are traditions and
little besides traditions, relative to some branches. But not
unfrequently, these vary one from another, so that they are of but little
value. Indeed, tradition, at best, is not a very reliable source of
information. Fortunate, then, must he be considered, who, after long,
patient research, has been able to approximate his beau idealof a complete
genealogy.

If such obstacles are to be encountered in tracing a single family, how
much greater must be met when fifty or a hundred families are to be traced
through a period of two hundred years and more. Such is the work I would
gladly have performed for the readers of this History. But to prepare a
full and correct genealogy of all the families that were in Hampton at an
early period is impossible. In many instances family records have been
lost, and in a larger number none were ever kept. The Town Records,
indeed, afford valuable aid. Entries of births, beginning in 1652, and of
marriages and deaths, in 1654, are perhaps as full on the Hampton Records,
as on those of almost any other town. The records of the Congregational
church also, the church of the town till well into the present century,
are very valuable, containing entries of marriages by the ministers, after
1687; of baptisms, after 1696; and of deaths in the town, since 1734. This
last record, with some private records kept in the town, gives us an
almost complete list of deaths for a period of a hundred fifty-seven
years. With such material, supplemented by a laborious search of wills,
deeds, the old Norfolk County Records and numerous private papers, I have
prepared the genealogies embodied in this work. That but a great amount of
labor has been employed in this preparation, and no pains have been spared
to make them correct.

To prevent mistakes in regard to certain dates, it must be remembered
that, during the whole of the seventeenth and one-half of the eighteenth
century, the civil and ecclesiastical year in England began March 25th,
and March was called the first month; while the historical year, beginning
on the first of January, was often used in narration. This gave rise to
the system of double-dating, from January to March, till 1752, when the
historical year alone came to be recognized. All dates in this work, so
far as practicable, are made conformable to the historical year.

By an act of Parliament, passed in 1751, to make the reckoning of time
conformable to the Gregorian Calendar, so called, it was ordered that the
day next after September 2, 1752 should be reckoned September 14, thus
dropping eleven days. This has been called a change of style. Dates before
this change are said to be in Old Style; later dates, in New Style. All
the dates in this work, earlier than September 2, 1752, are in Old Style.
To change them to New Style, add ten days to those prior to 1700, and
eleven days to those after that year.

I have given more space to this discussion of the boundary lines and the
protective measures in regard to the beach and the public lands
contiguous, than would ordinarily be alloted in a work of this compass;
but it has seemed necessary in the one case, in order to correct a popular
error, which has long prevailed, as to the original extent of our
territory; and in the other, to establish by the records themselves, the
fact of the town's ancient and habitual control.

In the early stages of my study, I had an efficent co-laborer in my friend
and cousin, Josiah Page, of Hampton, who devoted himself assiduously to
the task of gathering information, which, by his notes, and from the
treasures of his wonderfully retentive memory, he placed in my hands. A
born genealogist, Mr. Page brought to this department of the work his
greatest zeal, while he collected also many facts of historical
importance. I have to regret that he died without seeing the work
completed.

The names of John Wingate Thornton, Amos Tuck, Edmund B. Dearborn and
others, who have passed away, recall much valuable help rendered by these
men. To all who have given access to papers, searched records or otherwise
aided me in my researches, I would render grateful acknowledgements.

Free reference is made, in these pages, to the works of Belknap, Winthrop
and various town historians; to the Provincial and State papers, edited by
Rev. Nathaniel Bouton, D.D.; to Adjutant General Head's Reports; to the
New Hampshire Historical Society's Collections, the New England Historic-
Genealogical Register and kindred works; while the records of town, church
and county have been the main reliance for the history of local affairs.

If I have succeeded in preparing a worthy memorial of my native town, in
the years fast receding, I shall not have labored in vain.

Joseph Dow



EDITOR'S PREFACE

It is not easy for one person to enter into another's labor and carry out
his plan, even though the material be ready at hand. The author of this
History died December 16, 1889. Had he lived to complete it, the selection
and arrangement from among his papers would doubtless have differed in
many respects from the work as now sent forth. The editor can scarely hope
to have realized his ideal. And yet, by far the greater part of it was
finished by the author's own hand; and for the rest, having striven to
carry it on with accuracy and discrimination, the editor submits it to the
public, trusting that no serious mistakes have been made, and that
something of value will be found to have been added to the written history
of both early and later times.

The task of bringing the genealogies down to date has been attended with
much difficulty, both from lack of knowledge of what, among the author's
records, he designed for this work, and what for other purposes; and
because of omissions and inaccuracies in the Town Records. These have
doubtless been as carefully kept as the generality of town records; but
whole decades are passed over with scarcely an entry of birth or marriage;
and it must be confessed that errors have been found in the entries made.
To supply deficiencies and correct dates has required much time and labor,
and it cannot be claimed that all errors have been eliminated; but much
pains having been taken to insure accuracy, it is believed that any errors
which remain will not essentially mar the verity of the record.

The history is brought down to the autumn of 1892; and any references to
the present time are to be understood of that period.

The editor desires to thank all those citizens and friends who have aided
in completing genealogies or furnishing historical information. Special
acknowledgements are due to Mr. & Mrs, Edward Shaw, Charles M. Lamprey,
Esq., Wm. E. Lane and J. Warren Dow, for obtaining facts that required
correspondence and pains-taking search. Other helpers are too many to
mention by name, but they are gratefully remembered.