Benjamin Willard

Benjamin married Sarah Lakin in 1690 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA. Sarah (daughter of John Lakin and Mary Bacon) was born on 4 Feb 1661 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA; died on 15 Mar 1740 in Grafton, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The following was taken from the diary of Rev. Ebenezer Parkiman of Westborough, bearing date of 25 Jan 1758.

"We had ye sorrowing tidings of ye wife of Ensign James Miller. She washeretofore ye wife of Mr. Nehemiah How of Grafton, who was carried awaycaptive frem ye grt Meadows. Her maiden name was Willard, daughter of Captain Benjamin Willard, a woman of many virtues; her death is not only a great loss to me and mine, but to all ye place. May ye God of all Grace sanctifie it to me and mine to ye bereaved Ensign (who is under great sufferings by ye palsey) and to all ye Relatives and neighborhood."

Margaret married Nehemiah Howe in 1715 in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA. Nehemiah (son of Lieutenet Colonel Samuel Howe and Sarah Leavitt) was born in 1693 in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA; died on 25 May 1747 in Québec, Québec, Canada. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Joshua How/Original grantee at #2 (later Westmoreland,N.H.)

EARLY HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND

A committee chosen to survey the area of land where Westmoreland now lies, reported November 30, 1736, when the report was accepted, and the township of No. 2 was chartered. Nathaniel Harris, of Watertown, Mass., was appointed to call the first meeting of the proprietors of
No. 2. Afterwards it was called Great Meadow, which name it retained until it was chartered by the NH Legislature, when it took the name it now bears. The grantees under the Massachusetts charter were: "Daniel How, Jethro Wheeler, Thomas Chamberlain, Moses Wheeler, Harriden Wheeler Jr., Jethro Wheeler, Abner How, Josiah Foster, Joshua How, Meshach Taylor, Benjamin Alldridge, Jonathan Hildrith,Joseph How, Daniel How Jr., Nathaniel Wooster, Jeremiah Hall" and possibly others. Prior to the white settlers, the only inhabitants of "No. 2" consisted of a few families of Abenaquis, or Abenakees Indians, a small sub-branch of the Five Nations. It is said the meaning of this name is the "Pines." Their wigwams were in the north part of the town, on land now owned by Robert E. Green, beside a small brook afterward known as the Wigwam Brook. They remained for a
brief time only, and on terms of amity with the pioneer white settlers.

The first settlement in the town was made in 1741. In the spring of that year, Daniel How, Jeremiah Phips, Jethro Wheeler and Nehemiah How with their families, started up the Connecticut in canoes from Northfield, Mass. Daniel How, however, had been previously, with a surveying part, and he it was probably, who had attracted the others thither by stories of the great fertility of the "Great meadows." [A second account lists the earliest settlers as Daniel How,
Jethro Wheeler, Philip Alexander and THomas Crissen]. They settled upon the farm now owned by Frederick G. Parker, on road 8. He subsequently erected a small fort, the exact site of which is still pointed out as a little knoll on said farm. Peter Hayward settled near the Ashuelot river in 1764. Then John Cole and son John settled upon "Canoe Place," also known as "Canoe Meadow." Accessions were made to the little settlement from time to time; but the French war came on in 1744, which greatly retarded the growth. At this time the settlers of No. 2, Putney and Westminster united to build a stockaded fort upon the Great Meadow, in Putney, upon the
site of the house formerly occupied by Colonel Thomas White, near the landing of the ferry. Leading to this ferry (the first one in town) was a road to the Howe settlement. This fort was named "Fort Hill." It was of oblong form, eighty by one hundred and twenty feet, built of yellow pine timber hewed six inches thick and laid up about ten feet high. Fifteen dwellings were erected within it, the wall of the fort forming the back wall of the houses. These were covered
with a single roof, which slanted upward to the top of the wall of the fort. In the centre of the inclosure was a hollow square, on which all the houses fronted. On the northeast and southeast corners of the fort watchtowers were placed. A great gate opened on the south, toward the river, and a smaller one towards the west. The forst was generally garrisoned by ten or twelve men. A cannon was furnished by the Massachusetts government that survived the fort many years... Upon the completion of the fort several of the
inhabitants of No. 2 joined the garrison (These were David How, Thomas Chamberlain, Isaac Chamberlain, Joshua Warner and son Daniel Warner, wife and son, Harrison Wheeler, Samuel Minot, Benjamin Aldrige and his son George, who afterward became a general).

Hardly had the little township recovered from its effects when the second war came upon it. Still, it recovered so rapidly therefrom that in 1767 it was the third largest township in what is now Cheshire county, having a population
of 391 souls.

The "Great Meadows" was a favorite spot with the Indians in their journeyings up and down the Connecticut. The settlers were several times attacked by the Indians, and various mischief was done, though of no great magnitude.

In one of their incursions the Indians killed William Phipps, the first husband of Jemima How, and in another carried Nehemiah How, the father of her second husband, a captive to Canada, where he died. But the story of these troubles are familiar to all--well-known subjects of general history (See Belknap's Hist. N.H., Vol. II, pages 240-42).
[A second source tells this story: "William Phips, an inhabitant of Great Meadow, as he was hoeing corn near the southwest corner, was surprised and captured by two of these Indians and carried into the woods to the west. While ascending the steep hill-side, above a half mile from the fort, one of his captors returned for something left,
leaving the prisoner in charge of his comrade. Watching his
opportunity, Phips struck down his captor with his hoe, which he had retained, and, seizing the gun of the prostrate savage, shot the other as he was ascending the hill. Phips thereupon started for the fort, but before reaching it was seized by three others of the same party, killed and scalped. Phips, but a short time previous, had married Jemima Sartwell, daughter of the owner of Sartwell's Fort, a lady whose beauty, goodness and suffereings afterward come
down ot us, through the mists of many years, as 'The Fair Captive.' .... and the second story: Nehemiah How, who was chopping wood about eighty rods from the fort, was taken by the Indians as they came. His capture was effected in full sight of the fort, but it would have endangered the lives of all in the garrison to attempt a rescue. As they were leading him away by the side of the river they perceived
a canoe approaching containing two men. Firing, they killed one of them, Daniel Rugg, but the other, Robert Baker, made for the opposite shore and escaped. All three of these men belonged to the garrison. Proceeding father, they passed three other men, who, by skulking under the bank, reached the fort in safety. One of them was Caleb How, the prisoner's son. Arriving opposite to Number Four they
compelled the captive to write his name on a piece of bark and there left it....How was taken to Quebec where he died... Soon after these occurrences the fort was evacuated and went to decay].

In 1750, when the area of Town No. 2 was determined to be under New Hampshire jurisdiction, the adult male citizens of the town signed a petition to the New Hampshire Governor et al. This document was signed by "Daniel How, William Moor, Jethro Wheeler, Joshua How, Thos Chamberlain, Benjamin Knights, Amos Davies, Silas Brown, Amos Davis Junr, Meshach Taylor, Jonas Davis, John Alexander, Samuel Davis, Daniel Shattuck Sr., Ebenezer Davis, Enoch Hall, Moses Wheeler, Simon Hall, Isaac Chamberlen [sic], Joshua Chamberlain, Hariden Wheeler Jr., Jedidiah Chamberlain, Jethro wheeler,
Job Chamberlain, Simeon Knight, Aaron Davis, Martin Severance, Beniaman [sic Benjamin] Alldridge, John Brown, Jonathan Hildrith, Abner How, Joseph How, Josiah Foster, Daniel How Jr., Samuel Foster, Nathaniel Woods, Michal Gibson, Jeremiah Hall, John Sheilds [sic Shields], Isaac Stone, and Danil [sic Daniel] Sheilds. The charter was granted February 12, 1752, being given a new incorporation under the name of Westmoreland, in honor of Lord Westmoreland, an intimate friend of Governor Wentworth.

The names of the grantees of Westmoreland (under the new charter) are as follows: Thomas Chamberlain, Benja. Aldridge, Daniel How, Jethro Wheeler, Daniel How Jr., Caleb How, Abner How, Josiah Willard, Oliver Willard, Samuel How, John Arms, Valentine Butler, Samson Willard, John Fowl, James Fowl, Nathaniel Woods, Jeremiah Hall, Timothy Harrington, Josiah Foster, Edward How, Samuel Minot,
John Fowl Jr., Philip Alexander, Richard Ward, Nathaniel Harris, Cornelius White, Ebenezer Turner, Samuel Livermore, Samuel Williams, Moses Hastens, John Chandler, Simeon Alexander, Ebenezer Hubbard, Joseph Harrington, John Rugg, Thomas marshal, Ebenezer Hinsdale, Samuel Hunt, John Alexander, Enoch Hall, William Moor, Jethro Wheeler Jr., Fairbanks Moor Jr., Joseph Bellows, Herridon Wheeler, Isaac Chamberlain, Josiah Chamberlain, Joshua Chamberlain, Amos Davis, Jedediah Chamberlen [sic], Jonathan Cole, Mical [sic Michael] Gilson, Simeon Knights, John Brown, William How,
Jonathan Cummings Jr., John Chamberlain, John Taylor, Daniel Pearce, His Excellency Benning Wentworth, Esq... This was signed by Samuel Wentworth of Boston; THeodore Atkinson, Richard Samuel Smith, John Downing, Samson Sheaffe, John Wentworth Jr., Esq., and Stephen Chace [sic] of New Castle... Of these grantees we have very limited knowledge. It is certain, however, that but a small portion of them were ever actual settlers. A number of names were placed in
the list of grantees in reward for public and military services. Others were included through favoritism, and other reasons, no doubt. The grant was not satisfactory to the petitioners, inasmuch as it did not include as much territory as the old grant of No. 2 by some eight square miles.

In 1752 a committee was chosen by the proprietors to lay out the house lots, consisting of Daniel How, Jethro Wheeler, Thomas Chamberlain, Benjamin Aldrich, Richard Ward, Caleb How, and Joseph Hutchins.

The first meeting of the proprietors of the township of Westmoreland was held at the house of Thomas Chamberlain, March 31, 1752. Samuel Hunt was chosen moderator, Caleb How proprietor's clerk, and Joshua Warnen treasurer. These meetings were held by notifications posted in said town, in Northfield and in Winchester.

On September 26, 1764 nine members of other churches signed thefirst church covenant, including: William Goddard pastor-elect member of ye first church at Newtown; Thomas Chamberlain, church at Newtown; Joshua Warner, church at Harvard; Amos Davis, church at Petersham; Samuel Minot, church at Chelmsford; Robert Thompson, church at Reading; Benjamin Pierce, church at Attleborough; Abner How, church
at Amherst; Joseph Pierce, church at Wilmington."

HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND NH [EXCERPTS ONLY]
TAKEN FROM TWO SOURCES:
1. History of Cheshire and Sullivan Counties, New Hampshire Philadelphia: J.W. Lewis & Co., 1886, 1073 pgs.
2. Gazetteer of Cheshire County, N.H., 1736-1885 by Hamilton Child, Syracuse, N.Y.: H. Child, 1885, 882 pgs.

Notes:

On the 27th of June, the most disastrous affair that occurred during the season on Connecticut river, took place at Bridgman's Fort, on Vernon meadow, a short distance below Fort Dummer. On the spot where the original fort stood, which was burned by the Indians in 1747, another of the same name had been erected soon after, and being strongly picketed, was considered as secure as any garrison in the vicinity. It was situated on low ground, near elevated land, from which an easy view of its construction and arrangements might be had. From the manner in which the attack was planned, and from the stra tegy therein displayed, it is supposed that the Indians, availing themselves of the opportunity afforded by the high ground, had previously viewed the place, and by listening at the gate, had discovered the signal by which admittance was gained to
* Hoyt's Indian Wars, pp. 266-269. A full account of this fight is given in Appendix E.

† Some writers have named July 27th, as the day on which this event occurred. Contemporaneous MSS. corroborate the date given in the text

CAPTURE OF BRIDGMAN'S FORT
fort. On the morning of the day in which the attack was made. Caleb How, Hilkiah Grout, Benjamin Gaffield, and two lads, the sons of How, left the fort and went to work in a cornfield, lying near the bank of the river. Returning a little before sunset, they were fired upon by a party of about a dozen Indians, from an ambush near the path. How, who was on horseback with his two sons, received a shot in the thigh, which brought him to the ground. The Indians, on seeing him fall, rushed up, and after piercing him with their spears, scalped him, and leaving him for dead, took his two sons prisoners. Gaffield was drowned in attempting to cross the river, but Grout fortunately escaped.

The families of the sufferers who were in the fort, had heard the firing but were ignorant of its cause. Anxiously awaiting the return of their companions, they heard in the dusk of evening a rapping at the gate, and the tread of feet without. Supposing by the signal which was given that they were to receive friends, they too hastily opened the gate, and to their surprise and anguish, admitted enemies. The three families, consisting of Mrs. Jemima How and her children, Mary and Submit Phips, William, Moses, Squire and Caleb How, and a babe six months old; Mrs. Submit Grout and her children, Hilkiah, Asa, and Martha, and Mrs. Gaffield with her daughter Eunice, fourteen in all, were made prisoners. After plundering and firing the place, the Indians proceeded about a mile and a half and encamped for the night in the woods. The next day they set out, with their prisoners for Crown Point, and after nine days travel reached Lake Champlain. Here the Indians took their canoes, and soon after, the whole party arrived at the place of destination. After remaining at Crown Point about a week, they proceeded down the lake to St. Johns, and ended their march at St. Francis on the river St. Lawrence. Mrs. How, after a series of adventures, was finally redeemed with three of her children, through the intervention of Col. Peter Schuyler, Major, afterwards Gen. Israel Putnam and other gentlemen, who had become interested for her welfare on account of the peculiarity of her sufferings and the patience with which she had borne them. Of the other children, the youngest died, another was given to Governor de Vaudreuil of Canada, and the two remaining ones, who were daughters, were placed in a convent in that province. One of these was afterwards carried to France, where she married a Frenchman named Cron Lewis, and the other was subsequently redeemed.

HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT
Mrs. How, who made a journey to Canada for the express purpose of procuring her release. Mrs. How afterwards be came the wife of Amos Tute, who was for several years one of the coroners of Cumberland county. She was buried in Vernon, and her tombstone epitomizes her varied life and exploits, in these words:
Mrs Jemima Tute
Successively Relict of Messrs William Phipps, Caleb Howe & Amos Tute The two first were killed by the Indians Phipps July 5th 1743 Howe June 29th 1755 When Howe was killed, she & her Children Then seven in number Were carried into Captivity The oldest a Daughter went to France And was married to a French Gentleman The youngest was torn from her Breast And perished with Hunger By the aid of some benevolent Gentn And her own personal Heroism She recovered the rest She had two by her last Husband Outlived both him & them And died March 7th 1805 aged 82 Having passed thro more vicissitudes And endured more hardships Than any of her cotemporaries *No more can Savage Foes annoy Nor aught her wide spread Fame Destroy*

ATTACK AT HINSDALE'S FORT
On the morning after the attack on Bridgman's Fort, a party of men found Caleb How still alive, but mortally wounded. He was conveyed to Hinsdale's Fort, on the opposite side of the river, where he soon after expired. He was buried about half a mile from the fort, in the middle of a large field, and a stone erected to his memory is still standing, inscribed with this record. At the close of three years' captivity, Mrs. Gaffield was ran somed and went to England. The fate of her daughter, Eunice, is uncertain. On the 9th of October, 1758, a petition, signed Zadok Hawks, was presented to the General Court of Massa chusetts, praying them to use their influence to obtain the release of Mrs. Grout, the petitioner's sister. At that time, she and her daughter were residing with the French near Montreal, and her two sons were with the Indians at St. Francis. It is probable that their release was not long delayed, as one of the sons a few years later was a resident of Cumberland county.

But this was not the last of the incursions of the enemy. On the 22d of July, at about nine o'clock in the morning, a party of Indians attacked four of the soldiers of Hinsdale's Fort, and three of the settlers residing there, as they were cutting poles for the purpose of picketing the garrison. At the time of the attack they were not more than a hundred rods distant from the fort. Four men were on guard, and three were on the team. They had drawn only one stick when the enemy fired upon them, and having got between them and the fort endeavored to keep them from reaching it. Of the soldiers, John Hardiclay* was killed and scalped on the spot. His body was terribly mangled, both breasts being cut off and the heart laid open. Jonathan Colby was captured, and the two others, Heath

*In the letter of Col. Ebenezer Hinsdell, this name is written Hardway. — N. H. Hist. Coll., v. 254

INSCRIPTION READS In Memory of Mr Caleb How a very Kind Companion who Was Killed by the Indeans June the 27th 1755. in the 32 year Of his age.
Burial: Middle of a field half mile from Fort Hinsdale
Windham County Vermont, USA

Notes:

Samuel was only eighteen years old when his father was taken captive. He returned to Massachusetts where he married Abigail Dudley in Sudbury, MA.

In 1752 he was one of the grantees of Westmoreland, NH, where he subsequently moved. He was quite wealthy in his day. He owned enough land to give each of his children a farm and still own his own homestead, described as having been a beautiful estate overlooking the Connecticut River.

Described as having been a man of sound judgement, his advice was sought by neighbors and townspeople. However, records seem to indicate that he was not interested in holding public office. On 13 March 1782 he was chosen as constable but refused to accept the position and was prosecuted and fined. Samuel is also described as being kind, benevolent and loveable. He was a good singer, who loved to sing and was always ready with a song. He was tall, broad-shouldered and had blue eyes. His wife, conversely, was small, dark and complexioned.

He served during the Revolutionary War, being one of the first to join the Continental troops gathering in Medford. He served under Captain Jacob hind in Col. James Reed's 3rd NH Regt. He was present at the battle of Bunker Hill.

Source: "Howe Genealogies: Genealogy of John Howe of Sudbury and Marlborough, MA" Revised & edited by Gillman B. Howe (MA: Records Publishing Co., 1926) Published by New England Genealogical Society, Vol.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: , , , USA

Abner married Mehitable Holton on 25 Dec 1753 in Northfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA. Mehitable (daughter of John Holton and Mehitable Alexander) was born on 24 Feb 1736 in Northfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA; died on 1 Mar 1799 in Westmoreland, Cheshire, New Hampshire, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Hannah married Ephraim Brown on 30 Jan 1775 in Westmoreland, Cheshire, New Hampshire, USA. Ephraim (son of Captain Aaron Brown and Rachel Reed) was born on 14 Jan 1750 in Leominster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA; died on 28 Mar 1813 in Westmoreland, Cheshire, New Hampshire, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Submit married Aaron Brown on 19 Feb 1777 in Westmoreland, Cheshire, New Hampshire, USA. Aaron (son of Captain Aaron Brown and Rachel Reed) was born on 20 Mar 1752 in Leominster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA; was christened on 29 Mar 1752 in Leominster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA; died in 1797. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1800, Westmoreland, Cheshire, New Hampshire, USA
• Residence: 1820, , Warren, New York, USA

Family/Spouse: Lydia Hutchinson. Lydia was born about 1763 in Westmoreland, Cheshire, New Hampshire, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Excerpts from History of Trumbull and Mahoning Counties with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Vol II

Pg 386
EARLY SETTLERS
The spring and summer after Mr. Ferry's settlement a number of others came and began improving their farms, and a few brought their families during that year. In the spring of 1815 Willard Crowell, Israel Proctor, Samuel Eastman, and David Comstock came to this township from Vermont on foot.

Pg 387
Mayhew Crowell settled about a half a mile north of the center in 18 15. His wife, Mehitabel (Howe) Crowell, died September 20, 1817, being the first death in the township. Her daughter Harriet was the first child born in the township. The Crowell family included five sons and three daughters, who arrived at mature years. All are now dead. Their names were as follows: Willard, Obadiah, Henry, Thomas, Roswell, Mehitabel (Bellows), Mercy, and Mary (Butler). Charles Thayer settled in the northwest of the township about the year 1816. None of the family now remain in Bloomfield. One son, Hiram, resides in Bristol.

Pg 387-388
ORGANIZATI0N AND FIRST OFFICERS
This township was organized by a special act of the Legislature, and received its present name in 1816. The first township officers were chosen on the 9th of April, 181 7, at an election held at the house of Ephraim Brown and were as follows: Aaron Smith, chairman; Leman Ferry and Jared Green, judges of election; Cyril Green, township clerk; Jared Kimball, David Comstock, and Leman Ferry, trustees; Mayhew Crowell and Timothy Bigelow, overseers of the poor; Leman Ferry, Jr., and Lewis Clisby, fence viewers; Jared Green, Jr., and John Weed, appraisers of property; Jared Green, Jr., lister; Jared Kmiball, treasurer; Samuel Teed, constable; Mayhew Crowell and Leman Ferry, supervisors.

Pg 390-391
EARLY EVENTS
The first child born in this township was Harriet Crowell. The first male child was Charles Thayer. The first death was that of Mrs. Mehitabel Crowell, in 1817; the second, that of Mrs. Hannah Brown, April 28, 1818.

Pg 400
HENRY CROWELL
Henry Crowell was born in Grafton, Vermont, in the year 1802. His father, Mayhew Crowell, emigrated from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, residing in Grafton for a term of years and finally removed with his family to Bloomfield, Trumbull county, Ohio. His maternal relative, Mahitable Crowell, was the sister of Major Howe, formerly of Bloomfield, and cousin of Ephraim Brown, Esq., of the same township.

The subject of this biographical sketch removed with his parents from his Vermont home to Bloomfield in the year 1815. The journey as accomplished by means of ox teams and was necessarily slow and tedious, six weeks being consumed before they reached its termination, a distance which can now be overcome in less than twenty-four hours. For miles in many places they had to cut their way through dense forests, where the settler's axe had never before swung, bridging streams and camping out nights.

This journey proved no pleasure excursion. Few in these days of good roads and easy locomotion can appreciate the trials, privations, and suffering incident to pioneer life in those times when these little bands, severing the ties of old associations, poor in purse but strong in will, went forth in the early twilight of our Nation's history sowing the seeds of empire and breaking the way for future generations in the great West.

Arriving at Bloomfield, which at that time was a dense wilderness broken here and there only by small clearings, few and far between, his father located a tract of land, a portion of which he ultimately sold to his son Henry, who, with characteristic industry, proceeded to clear and prepare it for cultivation, erecting a dwelling thereon. In the year 1832 he was united in marriage with Miss Almena Saunders, the result of which union was five sons and two daughters; five of these seven children are still living.

In the year 1865 he removed to Cleveland, Ohio. Here he afterwards resided until his death, which occurred September 20, 1881, in the eightieth year of his age, he being the last member of a family of twelve. His temperate, orderly life, combined with habits of well regulated industry, prolonged his years far beyond the average span of existence.

He was a man of sterling integrity, most eminently just in all his dealings, never having a quarrel or case of litigation in the entire course of his life. So sweetly ordered were all his ways that in the beaten path of his daily walk and conversation he never made an enemy or lost a friend. Peaceful, quiet, and unostentatious; firmly grounded in his religious convictions, beneath a calm exterior flowed the tides of kindly thought and feeling with scarce a surface ripple, but strong, resistless, pure, and holy. He lived a noble example of the possibilities of a religious culture which rounds into symmetrical beauty the best types of an exalted Christian manhood.