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William Emery |
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Mary Chase |
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William Emery (Edward, Sarah), the son
of Edward and Sarah, was born on January 6, 1724 in Newbury, Essex County,
Massachusetts VI6, MA2 or (according to Reverend Rufus Emery) on January 6, 1725 EM1. Young Samuel “Emmery” and William “Emmery” BO13,
CO1, who were brothers EM1, had fashioned themselves into
soldiers, and they signed a petition to Governor Benning Wentworth dated
November 29, 1743, which stated BO13:
Honored Sr we the
Subscribers Being Souldiers of Contoocook Do Humbly
Desire your Excellency to Grant to Mr John
Rollins of said town a Captins Commission and
Likewise a Left & Insins
[Lieutenant & Ensign’s] Commishon to two other
men of said town whome he the said Rollins shall
nominate the Performance whereof will Grately oblige
your Humbel & Dutifull Sarvants
Samuel and William signed their names to another petition to Governor
Wentworth dated June 5, 1744, which stated that they had been “Informed of a
Declaration of war Between ye King of England and France” and
were concerned that they were vulnerable to attacks by the Native Americans in
their area, who were subjects or allies of Louis XV, King of France BO13,
CO1. The petitioners explained that they had incurred many expenses in
creating homes, breaking the land, and hiring a minister, and they described
the fort they had constructed, “a building of considerable Expense to ye proprieters and of great consequence to ye Inhabitants
being 100 feet square and all this to advance ye Kingdom of
Christ in the world and farther to enlarge and advance his majestie’s
Dominions in the american continent” BO13. Finally, the
petitioners informed the governor that the commanding officer refused to repair
the fort, install guards, or care for the settlers of Contoocook, who were
uneasy because he had neglected them, and had never called them together since
he received his commission BO13, CO1.
A third petition to Governor Wentworth which was signed by William Emery
was dated on January 2, 1748, and the petitioners, who were of Rumford,
Canterbury, and Contoocook, expressed their earnest need of a gristmill BO11,
CO1. They stated that Henry Lovejoy had constructed a suitable mill in
Rumford (which is now called Concord) which was conveniently located to serve
all three towns and had the advantage of the protection of the garrison there,
but because the garrison had been abandoned, the gristmill fell out of use BO11,
CO1. This was the only standing mill in the area BO11,
CO1. The petitioners informed the governor that if soldiers were dispatched
to Rumford, Henry Lovejoy would be amenable to resuming operations at his
gristmill, and further, he would immediately build a forge which would produce
bar iron, a useful and valuable resource to the community and the province BO11,
CO1.
William was said to have married Mary Chase on August 4, 1749 EM1. The record of
William and Mary’s intent to marry was recorded in Newbury, Massachusetts under
the heading, “Purposes of marriages, 1749” MA26:
William Emery of
Contoocook in the Province of new hamp informed of
his intent of marriage with mary Chose of new on the
4th day of august 1749 & I posted up their said intent as the Law
Directs
Regarding the hometown of Mary “Chose”, it is possible that the second
part of this place name may have become cut off or somehow lost, as it was
written on the inner edge of the book, but a comparison with other marriage
records on the same page indicated that, if an additional word was originally
written after “new”, it would have been a very short word or an abbreviation,
but “new” was probably the first portion of “Newbury”. The marriage of William
and Mary likely did not occur on August 4, but perhaps shortly after that date.
After the death of his father, William bought the rights to his father’s
estate from his sisters, Sarah and Mary ME4,
EM1, and occasionally put portions of this estate on the market EM1. According to
the division of his father’s estate, dated October 25, 1750, he received ME4:
To William
Emery, second son of ye Deceased, in his own Right,
& in the Right of his two Sisters Sarah & Mary, the Daughters of the Decd
of whom the Said William has purchased their respective Parts in & unto
their decd Father’s Estate, The original eighty-Acre-Lot of
Samuel Gerrish, the original hundred-acre-Lot of Richard Pettingal,
The original hundred Acre Lot of James Merril, One
half of the original hundred-acre-Lot of the Deceased, Three seventeenth Parts
of the original Millright, & the undivided Lands
of the original Rights of James Merril & Richard Pettingal
William built a house of logs
at the base of Corser Hill, near a little brook CO1, approximately
five miles beyond the perimeter of the stockade at Contoocook EM1. On May 10,
1754, when William received a warning that there was a threat of an attack by a
group of Native American people, he evacuated his family to the fort before
they were harmed and left his supplies and goods in his home CO1,
EM1. Their home was plundered, but their lives were spared CO1,
EM1. The testimonials provided by Stephen Gerrish, John Flanders, and
William Emery shortly after the crime occurred stated that the feather beds
were ripped open and the “ticks cut to pieces” or “the tickins
carry’d off” (perhaps the ticking which covered the
feathers was removed), and all of the clothing was
stolen from his home CO1.
The family of Nathaniel Meloon, who lived in
West Stevenstown or West Salisbury, about five miles
further than the Emery residence, was not as fortunate CO1. Nathaniel Meloon may not have been aware of the danger, because
rather than make haste for the nearest fortress, he set off for Penacook before
sunrise on May 11, and his eldest son, fourteen-year-old Nathaniel, began to
work in the fields CO1. Mr. Meloon
was captured near the Emery house, but peculiarly, his horse was left tied up
on Edward’s property; it is unclear if the Native Americans allowed Nathaniel
to tether his animal, or if they themselves took the time to secure it, or if
they simply had no need for the horse and left it alone CO1.
According to the testimonial of young Nathaniel Meloon,
the group of perhaps ten to twelve Native Americans, with their captive, his
father, arrived back at the Meloon farm at
approximately 9:00am, but were spotted by young Nathaniel, who evaded their grasp
by dashing into a thicket where he hid, and then he made his way through the
woods and repeatedly slipped into the river and swam, probably to erase his
scent CO1. Eventually, he happened across William
Emery, Stephen Gerrish, and John Flanders, who had been scouting, and they rode
to William’s house, where they discovered that it had been ransacked CO1. These particular Native Americans intended to trade the lives of
their captives, who were young Nathaniel’s mother, father, and three siblings,
to the French in Canada, in exchange for merchandise CO1. A council
advised the governor to impress twenty men, and to station them at Contoocook,
Canterbury, and Stevenstown for one
month CO1. When deposed on May 22, 1754 regarding
the abduction of the Meloon family, William Emery
gave this testimony CO1:
William Emery of
Contoocook in the Province of New Hampshire of Lawful age – Testifies &
says – That on the Tenth Day of May 1754 his wife being ill & People afraid
to tarry & take care of her there being an Outhouse moved her into Town
with the rest of the family about five miles – the next morning he Returned to
his House & found it Plundered what of his goods was not carried off was
spoilt of the value & to his damage Two Hundred Pounds Old Tenor at the
Least & the same time found Nathl Maloon’s Horse tyed at his said
House which Maloon his wife Rachel & Sarah &
son Samuel were captivated & carried away by the Indians & of clothing
Bedding & Provisions of the value of two hundred & thirty Pounds Old
Tenor at the least
William Emery and thirty-five additional men signed a petition to the
governor, Benning Wentworth, and to the king’s council members on December 21,
1757, which requested the incorporation of the township of Contoocook HA8. On April 22,
1760, Contoocook was granted a town charter, and at that time became known as
Boscawen CO1. Select portions of this petition have
been reproduced below HA8:
The Humble
Petition of the Proprietors & Inhabitants of a Township or Plantation now
called Contoocook… whereas we Dwell in the wilderness and are exposed to the
Insults and Barbarities of Salvage & cruel Enemies & have for a great
many years as well in former wars as in the present: have been and now are so
exposed and have been at a great expense & Charge to erect Forts &
places of Safegard for ourselves & Families most
of our Time being obliged to dwell in them; whereby we are not (to our great
damage) able to Live on & Improve our lands as otherwise we might have
done… having no Regular order amongst us, and a great many of the non-resident
Proprietors refusing or neglecting to contribute of pay any Thing towards our
Necessary Charges as well towards ye Supporting the
Gospel Ministry amongst us… whereby we are greatly exposed & Impoverished –
Therefore we your Humble Petitioners being yet a young, weak, and poor Township
or Plantation … Hereby Humbly pray… That they would Severally and respectively
Take our deplorable case and circumstances into their serious Consideration,
and would be so well pleased to Incorporate us into a Town with such Town privileges
powers and Immunities In as full manner… as… granted to all other Towns granted
in sd Province… And that the name of ye Town when
Incorporated may be called Newbury, or any other name your Excellency & Honours shall thing fit…
Later, he signed his name on a petition to Governor
Wentworth dated January 29, 1766, which requested the commission of George
Jackman, Jr. to become a Justice of the Peace for Boscawen BO13, CO1. During the division of the estate of his
mother, Sarah Call, on July 24, 1767, William Emery was allotted “the one half
in Quantity and Quallity of that Hundred
acre Lot that was Laid out to the Right of Edward Emery alowing it to be his full part of said Estate” HA29. William and his family relocated east to
Fishersfield, New Hampshire in 1775 EM1. The charter of Fishersfield, which was dated
February 5, 1772, stipulated that twenty-five families must settle within the
bounds of the 22,000 acres of land which were granted to John Fisher, and each
family must construct a residence and have three acres of land cleared and
prepared for mowing or tillage, with fences erected, within three years from
May 15, 1772 BA35. In February 1775, eleven families were granted
parcels of land of one hundred acres apiece in Fishersfield
CA77. His fellow settlers included his son’s family, as well as Ephraim
Bradbury, Joseph Chandler, Zephaniah Clark, Charles, Peter, and Oliver Emerson,
Samuel Gunnison, and Paul and Ebenezer Towle CA77. According to William Weiler, who in 2013 was the
archivist of the Newbury Historical Society, William Emery and his son, William
Emery, Jr., received deeds to their lots, numbers fourteen and thirteen,
respectively, on September 9, 1775, and based on the terms of the town charter
of Fishersfield for the settlement of land, Mr. Weiler believed that they very likely arrived in 1772. Mr. Weiler kindly provided a copy of the deed for William
Emery, Jr. (pages 61 and 62 from Deed
Book 18) but stated that the record of the deed for William Emery, Sr. was
not included in the deed books. That deed for his son indicated that William
Emery, Jr. received one hundred acres for the sum of five shillings. It may be
a reasonable conjecture that his father received the same or a similar amount
of land.
William Sr. and William Jr., along with thirteen additional men, signed a
petition to the Council and the House of Representatives of New Hampshire,
dated February 3, 1778, which requested the incorporation of the township of Fishersfield HA9. Despite an
almost equal amount of townsfolk who wrote a different petition with an
opposing view, which requested that the incorporation be deferred HA9, three years
later, on November 27, 1778, Fishersfield was
incorporated as a town, but its name was changed to Newbury on July 4, 1837 NE11,
BA35.
The name “William
Emery” was attached to another petition which was heard by the New Hampshire
House of Representatives on March 11, 1779, which requested an act to
incorporate the township of New Britton (New Breton), which did pass, and the
township became known as Andover HA8.
Because Andover is about seventeen miles northeast from Newbury, it is likely
this William and the William who was the father of Josiah Emery were the same
man. At a Fishersfield town meeting held on March 29,
1782, it was decided NE11:
that William Emery and William Emery Junr
Shall Have the Liberty to Pay their Highway taxes for the Last year in work on
the Road Laid out from William Emery Junrs Lot
to the Province Road so Called if Said Work be Done this year by the fifteenth
Day of June Next
At the time of the
1790 United States census, he may have lived in Fishersfield,
Hillsborough County, New Hampshire with three boys under the age of sixteen and
four females (their age range was not noted), but this William Emery may have been
his son, because the column
in which his tally mark appeared was ambiguous. The heading of the first column
stated, “Free white males of 16 years and upwards including heads of families”.
There was no other William Emery listed on the Fishersfield
census, and the name “William Emery” was not followed by “Jr.”, so it is
possible that William Emery, Sr. had already died by 1790. William Weiler noted that the use of the suffix “Jr.” in the Fishersfield town records might reveal a range of years in
which William Emery, Sr. may have died. Mr. Weiler
stated that his son, William Emery, Jr., frequently appeared in the town
records, and the last time this occurred was on March 25, 1783; after a gap of
three years, the name William Emery, sans “Jr.”, appeared on March 20, 1786.
William Emery, Sr. may have died between March 1783 and March 1786.
Mary Chase (Nathan, Judith), the
daughter of Nathan and Judeth, was born on November 1,
1727
in Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts MA20, VI28. She was the
mother of William, Jr., Sarah, Judith, Lydia, Josiah, and David EM1.
William Emery,
Jr., was born in May 1751 in Contoocook, which was later called Boscawen
Township EM1, NE8, NE9. William “Emerry”,
Jr. married Hannah Emerson on September 17, 1778 NE21. They were
the parents of William Emery III (born on March 29, 1780), Philip (born on August
13, 1781), Judith (born on July 3, 1783), Rhoda (born on April 2, 1785), Nathan
(born on February 7, 1787), Salley (born on January 14, 1789), Hannah (born on
January 14, 1791; note that this is the same date but different year as
Salley), Molley (born on May 5, 1793), Amos (born on
May 31, 1795), and Lydia (born on May 26, 1797) NE21. William died
on January 27, 1829 in Fishersfield (now called Newbury in Merrimack
County), New Hampshire EM1. Sarah
Emery was born about 1753 and allegedly married Nathan Brown of Unity, New
Hampshire; after his death, she was said to have married David Huntoon EM1. These
marriage records have not been located.
Judith Emery was born on
July 6, 1755 EM1. She married Cutting Moulton on
November 25, 1784 EM1. The transcript of their marriage
indicated they were married on November 25, 1784 in Newbury, but the month
written on the actual record was obscured; it stated
“Cutting Moulton & Judith Emery both of Newbury were married August 25”,
but the word “August was overwritten with a different word which began with a
capital letter “N” MA26.
Additionally, the year was not present, but this marriage record was amongst
others which occurred in 1784 MA26. They were the parents of William (born on
July 2, 1785), John (born on November 5, 1786), Cutting (born on June 14,
1788), Polly (born on September 7, 1789), Joseph (born on November 6, 1791),
David (born on July 27, 1793), Judith (born on October 8, 1794), and Nathan
(born on February 21, 1796 EM1. Their first
three children were born in Newbury, Massachusetts, while the remainder were
born in Parsonsfield, Maine EM1. Judith was alive in May 1808, as the
will of Cutting Moulton of Parsonsfield in York
County, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, written on May 10, 1808, mentioned his
wife, Judith, and children, Molley, Judith, William,
Nathan, John, Cutting, Joseph, and David MA40.
Lydia
Emery was said to have been born
about 1757, married John Lattemore, and lived in
Newport, New Hampshire EM1.
This information has not been corroborated by any record. Josiah Emery was born
about the year 1759 EM1. David Emery was born about 1761 EM1. His children were Ruth, born on June 25, 1802, and
Reuben, born on April 18, 1804; both of these children
were born in Fishersfield, New Hampshire VE12, EM1. The birth records of these children state that
their mother’s name was Abigail Emery VE12.
Mary was ill at the time that she and her children
vacated their cabin in 1754 EM1,
CO1. Mary Emory was mentioned in
her father’s will, dated August 4, 1784 ES7. She was said to have died on February 19, 1808 EM1.