GREGG – Descendants of Nutfield Settler James Gregg

Captain James Gregg, buried 1758
at the Forest Hill Cemetery, Derry, New Hampshire

James Gregg was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, and emigrated to Ireland with his parents around 1670.  James trained as a tailor’s apprentice in Scotland. Sometime later he removed to Northern Ireland and opened a linen draper business. He was married to Janet Cargill and had five children. He came with Rev. McGregor from Northern Ireland to New England in 1718 and was one of the first 16 men to settle Nutfield (now the towns of Derry, Londonderry and Windham in New Hampshire).  He was made captain of the militia and commanded the first soldiers in Nutfield.  James Gregg also built the first grist mill in Londonderry, New Hampshire.

Janet Cargill, his wife, was the sister of David Cargill, who also came to Londonderry, where he died 3 March 1734.   Her sister Annis Cargill married James McKeen, and another sister married Rev. James MacGregor.

James Gregg died on 10 March 1758 and is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in (what is now) East Derry, New Hampshire.  His wife died on 28 December 1764 and is buried near him.   His descendants scatted nearby to New Boston, Windham, Peterborough, Vermont, New York, and Nova Scotia.

Children:

      1.       William, born about 1695 and married Janet Rankin and had six children:  Mary born 1 March 1726 and died 3 November 1730; James baptized 15 June 1726 and married Sarah Leslie and died 1777 in Oneida, New York;  Janet born 3 November 1730; Naomi born 1 Mach 1727/8; Agnes born 1734; and Frances born 1736.

      2.       Captain John, born about 1702 and married Agnes Rankin and had ten children: Hugh born 9 December 1725 and married Sarah Leslie; James born 9 December 1725 and married Mary McCurdy; John born 7 May 1728 and married Mary Elizabeth Gregg; William born 23 October 1730 married Barbara Aiken;  George born 1735 and died 16 September 1815; Major Samuel born 17 April 1739 and married Agnes Smiley;  Major Joseph born 10 December 1741 and married Susannah Aiken; Benjamin born 10 December 1743 and married Lettice Aiken; and twin daughters Elizabeth (married John Wilson) and Janet (married William Miltimore) born 27 November 1732.

      3.       Lieutenant Samuel, born about 1704 married Mary Moor and had eight children – James born 1 February 1732/3; John, Samuel, David, Margaret (married Robert Hogg), Mary, Agnes, and Elizabeth.

      4.       Elizabeth,  born 1707 and married James Moor and had children- Captain William born 1733 and married Martha Mack; Samson born 1730 and died 1782 at Salters Head, Colchester, Nova Scotia; Janet born 11 May 1739;  Sarah born 3 April 1740; Robert born 10 July 1745 and died 14 February 1826 in Goffstown; Hugh; Mary born 8 March 1743 and Elizabeth born 2 February 1741.

      5.       Thomas, born 1708 and married Ann Leslie and then married Barbara Choate and removed to Vermont, and died 31 Jan 1789 in Bradford, Orange County, Vermont.

Note:  There was another unrelated family headed by David Gregg in Nutfield.  He married Mary Evans and came to Windham in November 1722.  Children: William (married Elizabeth Kyle), David (went to sea at age 15 and returned at age 30, married a Miss Clyde and lived in Windham)

For more information:

Ancestral Line of Clark Chamberlain Gregg, by J. Gardner Bartlett

History of Londonderry by Rev. Edward L. Parker, page 274

History of New Boston, New Hampshire, by E. Cogswell, page 38

Autobiography of Major Samuel Gregg,  1806, pages 3- 5  (online at archive.org)

A sketch of New Hampshire Governor Hugh Gregg, with his genealogy at Janice Webster Brown’s blog Cow Hampshire:  http://www.cowhampshireblog.com/2008/03/03/nashua-new-hampshires-hugh-gregg-attorney-businessman-governor-1917-2003/

Gregg Family History Project:  http://www.chaimberlaingregg.gfhp.co.uk/ 

The Clan Gregor Society:   http://www.clangregor.com/ 

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "GREGG – Descendants of Nutfield Settler James Gregg", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 20, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/02/gregg-descendants-of-nutfield-settler.html: accessed [access date]). 

Renovation Update - First Parish Meetinghouse, East Derry, New Hampshire

The steeple has been removed, and a cap is in place over the tower at the First Parish Meetinghouse in East Derry, New Hampshire.  This is the parish that was founded in April 1719 by Ulster Presbyterian minister Rev. James MacGregor.  The new steeple is taking place under the scaffolding, and there are hopes that it will be raised into place by the 300th anniversary coming soon!

Here is a photo of how the church steeple looked before the renovations...

For more information on the renovations, please see the Nutfield History website:
https://www.nutfieldhistory.org/meetinghouse-rehab/ 

For donations and more information, please see "Friends of the Meetinghouse"
https://fotmh.org/ 

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Renovation Update - First Parish Meetinghouse, East Derry, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 19, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/02/renovation-update-first-parish.html: accessed [access date]).

CLENDENIN – Descendants of Nutfield Grantee Archibald Clendenin

Clendenin tombstone at Forest Hill Cemetery, Derry, New Hampshire
Robert Clendenin, born 11 September 1804
in Salem, New Hampshire, son of Robert Clenenin and Sukey his wife.
Probably descendants of Charter Archibald Clendenin

CLENDENIN / CLENDENEN /  CLENDENING / GLENDINNING

Archibald Clendenin was one of the sixteen men who lead their Scots Irish families to Nutfield, following Rev. James MacGregor. He married Merrian or Miriam whose maiden name is unknown.  He had a inventory of his estate filed in the Rockingham County probate 1795.  His son Robert Clendenin was ordered to sell his real estate to pay his debts. Not much is known of this family.

Children (the first two children born in Ireland? The last three births recorded in Londonderry):

      1.       Andrew, birth not in the Londonderry Vital Records, m. Jenat, and had Merrian born 13 January 1729;  David born 16 October 1731; Rebecca born 21 June 1733; Martha born 10 June 1735; Archibald born 20 May 1737; Andrew born 1 June 1739; and Janet born 16 May 1741.  Andrew was a Londonderry selectman from 1745 to 1747

      2.       William, birth not in the Londonderry Vital Records, m. Anna Morrison, daughter of Charter John Morrison, and had Mary born 15 June 1740 and Robert born 23 June 1745. William drew First Division Lot #24 in Belfast, Maine, but never lived there.

      3.       Robert, born 20 March 1720 in Londonderry, married Mary (maiden name unknown) and had John born 5 December 1749; Hannah born 17 April 1751; and James born 5 November 1754.

      4.       Archibald, twin, born 21 October 1722 in Londonderry 

  

      5.       Rebecca, twin, born 21 October 1722 in Londonderry

According to the book Ontario History: Papers and Records, by the Ontario Historical Society, 1901, Volume 3, page 120, an article “Some Presbyterian U. E. Loyalists” by D. W. Clendennan :

“Each settler received a grant of about 594 acres.  Archibald Clendenin’s lay at the foot of Senter Hill. Five successive generations occupied it.  It is now called “The Shields’ Farm”.  The First son, William, married Hannah Morrison, daughter of Charter John Morrison. Their daughter, Mrs. Mary Clendenin Steele, was living nearby in 1880, aged ninety-two. She is described as a mother in Israel who always took a warm interest in her friends and relatives in their widely separated lives.  She said:  “I remember my grandmother, Hannah Morrison Clendenin, well.  She was active and vigorous for an old lady.  She died in 1801, when I was thirteen years old.  I attended her funeral, at which two of her brothers, Joseph and --------- Morrison, were present, though very feeble.  She was the only living person who knew and conversed with three of the sixteen original settlers of Londonderry, now called Derry, N.H.”

Did some of the other children go south to Pennsylvania or Virginia? 

For more information:

Account of the Clendenin (Glendenyn) Families, 1898

Synoptical family history: giving sketches of the Clendonyn- Glendening – Clendenin- Clendening, etc. family, by Daniel W. Clendenan, 1899.

Clan Douglas Society of North America (Glendenning/Clendenon are septs): http://clandouglassociety.org/glendinning/    

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “CLENDENIN – Descendants of Nutfield Grantee Archibald Clendenin”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 16, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/02/clendenin-descendants-of-nutfield.html: accessed [access date]). 

Renovations of the First Settlers Plot at the Forest Hill Cemetery, Derry, New Hampshire

Up at the Forest Hill Cemetery, behind the First Parish Meeting house in East Derry, New Hampshire, there is a section called "First Settlers" where the original early Scots Irish settlers were buried.  It used to look like this...

But now the old sign and the wrought iron fence have been removed, and it looks like this...

You can read more about this change (just in time for the 300th anniversary of Nutfield!) at this link:

https://www.nutfieldhistory.org/blog/early-settlers-plot-refurbishments   


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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Renovations of the First Settlers Plot at the Forest Hill Cemetery, Derry, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 15, 2019, (

Throwback Thursday ~ Honeymoon in Montreal 1983

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is part three of a set of scanned photo slides we recently found of our honeymoon trip in 1983.  The slides are deteriorating, and badly yellowed.  I remember that after the charm of old fashioned Quebec City, we were not enamored of Montreal, and left early for another night in Vermont instead of another night in Montreal.

Part One of our honeymoon was an overnight at the Hanover Inn, and stops in Vermont and New Hampshire.  See this link:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/throwback-thursday-honeymoon-in-vermont.html 

Part Two was a stay at the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/02/throwback-thursday-honeymoon-in-quebec.html  

A large waterfall we passed along the way

Vincent was soaked by the mist of the waterfall

Notre Dame in Montreal, Canada.  One of my favorite churches

Yours truly in our honeymoon suite in Montreal

-----------------------

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Throwback Thursday ~ Honeymoon in Montreal 1983", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 14, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/02/throwback-thursday-honeymoon-in.html: accessed [access date]).

BARNETT – Descendants of Nutfield Grantee John Barnett

John Barnett,
buried at Forest Hill Cemetery, East Derry, NH
in 1740

[NOTE:  I will be publishing a series of genealogical sketches on the early Nutfield settlers in advance of the 300th anniversary of Founders Day, April 12 - 14, 2019 in Derry, New Hampshire.  If you have additional notes on the first few generations of the BARNETT family, please comment below or send me an email at vrojomit@gmail.com, and I will edit this sketch.  These sketches will be used and distributed to the public and to the descendants at the Founders Day activities.]

John Barnett was born about 1652 in Northern Ireland and died 8 October 1740 in Londonderry, New Hampshire.  He was one of the sixteen men who followed Rev. James MacGregor to Nutfield in 1719, and received a land grant.  He married Joan Seaforth in Londonderry in 1721 and died there on 8 October 1740, about age 85, and is buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery in East Derry, New Hampshire.

John Barnett’s name is on the list of proprietors for the original Nutfield grant on 21 June 1722.  John Barnett was one of the early school teachers in 1725 in Londonderry, along with Robert Morrison, Eleanor Aiken, W. Harvey and Archibald Weir.  He was a selectman in 1741, 1742, 1743, and 1750. 

The second marriage in Londonderry was John Barnett and Joan Seaforth by Rev. James MacGregor on 2 November 1721.  The first marriage was between John Walis [sic] and Annis Barnet on 18 May 1721 [Was this woman kin to John Barnett?].

From Vital Records of Londonderry, New Hampshire, 1719 – 1910, page 41

Barnat, John and Joan.  Children: Rebecca, Oct 18, 1722; Sara, Sept 18, 1724; William, Feb. 15, 1726/7; Francis, Feb. 3, 1728/9; John, June 7, 1731; Hanna, Feb. 24, 1732/3; Robert, Jan. 5, 1734/5.

Children:

      1.       Rebecca, married Robert Walker 

      2.       Sarah, m. Thomas Christy 5 December 1749

      3.       William, m. Jean Walker

      4.       Margaret, born about 1727, died 17 September 1771

      5.       Francis, m. Hannah Walker, d. 16 Oct 1772

      6.       Samuel, born about 1730, m. Amy Smith, d. about 1794

      7.       John, m. Sarah Holmes, d. 24 October 1784

      8.       Hanna, died 10 April 1753, age 20

      9.       Robert, m. Elizabeth Varnum 15 December 1801, died 24 Feb. 1772

Note:  Three Barnett children married children of Andrew Walker.  Robert Walker was one of the first settlers of Bedford, New Hampshire about 1737. 

For more information:

The Barnet Family Tree, by L. E. Barnet  http://www.kimaccorsi.com/fhistory/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Barnett-Family-Group-Sheets-1654-1976.pdf  

Barnett Surname DNA Project http://barnettdna.micbarnette.com/category/londonderry-ire/  

Family Tree DNA BARNETT Project https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/barnett/about   

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UPDATED 18 February 2019

On 14 February 2019 I received an email message from Scots Irish research Colin Brooks:

"....my first problem is the age thing. Using the burial records from "Willey's Book of Nutfield" vol.1, part 10,11,12 pp400-414 we have this at Forest Hill Cemetery, East Derry:    John Barnett died Oct. 8, 1740 age 86 therefore born circa 1654. 1718 arrival age is c.64.  Wiley then says "William (son) died 1749, aged 11 years. SO John would have been aged 84 at William's birth. Frankly, impossible.

          I backed up to the Land records. I'm sure you know Willey has in the above book multiple maps by Rev. J. McMurphy. What I find appears to support my hypothesis. John Barnet has settlement land on the south side of the original proprietors divide and sandwiched between Archibald Clendinnen and James McKeen.  

          BUT the original "shares" 1722 records show John Barnet with one (1); John Barnet Jr. with one (1). and John Barnet and sons with two (2) in Parker's History of Londonderry pp 323-6 

          In order to gain a share, you had to be an adult (and I believe a family man); so the son's were under age 21 or not married. As you know, the JR. designation simply means the younger John Barnet. Here is the interesting part. John Sr and his second lot for sons almost touch as you go to the south. John Jr.'s land is only a 100 acres and completely on the other side of modern Derry up near the Hill Graveyard overlooking the current Interstate. So clearly, another adult John who had family by 1722, and if his name is given as "Captain" John Barnett then he had some marketable means. This is the John Barnett in most of the town records. 

          As to the "disappearance" of John Sr. until his death. Willey slips in a little note and then a map that shows John Sr. did not like his homestead location and request redress along with other men. He moves to Windham (map by McMurphy in Willey's book) and you can find his land on the modern map at the intersection of I-93 and NH- 111 between Cobbet's Pond and Canobie Lake. That pretty much takes him out of Nutfield/Derry/Londonderry history which explains the lack of records. 

  SO I have:

  John Barnet Sr. born 1654 and died Oct, 8, 1740. Original 16 proprietor of Nutfield who's land abutted Archibald Clendinnen and James McKeen Esq. John then moved to Windham, NH

   John  Barnett Jr. given one full share of original settlement recorded in 1722. Marries Joan/Janet (Seaford) McKeen Nov. 2, 1721." 

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "BARNETT – Descendants of Nutfield Grantee John Barnett", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 13, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/02/barnett-descendants-of-nutfield-grantee.html: accessed [access date]). 

CLARK – Descendants of Nutfield Minister Rev. Matthew Clark

[Note:  I will be doing a series of genealogical sketches on the early Nutfield settlers in advance of the 300th anniversary of Founders Day, April 12 - 14, 2019 in Derry, New Hampshire.  If you have additional notes on the first few generations of the Clark family, please comment below or send me an email at vrojomit@gmail.com, and I will edit this sketch.  These sketches will be used and distributed to the public and to descendants at the Founders Day activities.]

Matthew Clark, born about 1660 in Northern Ireland, and died in Londonderry, New Hampshire in February 1735/6 .  He was a Lieutenant during the Siege of Derry from 19 April to 10 July 1689, where he was wounded in the temple.  His wound never healed and he always wore a black patch. He was ordained in 1697 and served in Kilrea and Boveedy in County Derry.  On 28 April 1729 Matthew Clark left his congregation and came to Londonderry, New Hampshire to meet up with kin who were probably his children.

The Rev. James MacGregor had just died in Londonderry, New Hampshire when Rev. Clark arrived.  Since the town needed a minister they made him an offer, which he first refused, but then took the second offer and stayed as their minister for six more years.  He married Rev. MacGregor’s widow, Mary Anne Cargill, and died 27 February 1735/6. .  When he died, according to legend, his coffin was carried by fellow veterans of the Seige of Derry.

It is not proven that these were his children by a first marriage, but since they all named descendants “Matthew” he was probably their father or close kin.

      1.       Matthew, died 28 May 1781 by drowning near Amoskeag Falls; married to Elizabeth Lindsay on 15 April 1722.  Children:  Margaret, Jean, George. 

      2.       James, born about 1692, died 13 October 1768 age 77 years.  He was one of the original sixteen Nutfield grantees. James Clark married first to Elizabeth Fulton, widow of James Wilson on 22 May 1722 (the mother of Ocean Born Mary Wilson); married second to Margaret Unknown. Children born in Londonderry: John born 31 March 1723 married his cousin Margaret Clark; Samuel born 12 April 1726, died 27 November 1792, married Mary Unknown and resided in Windham; George born 15 April 1728; married Mary Wilson and had thirteen children; Elliner born 20 April 1730, died 21 September 1808, married Robert Hemphill of Windham and had nine children; Matthew born 30 June 1732, died 22 January 1805; married first Margaret Anderson, married second Margaret Unknown; and Mary born about 1740 and married William McAllister and lived in Antrim, New Hampshire.

      3.       John, died 12 January 1720/1 and was the first death recorded in Londonderry, New Hampshire.  The land he was granted in 1722 was deeded by his brothers James and Matthew on 28 January 1725/6 (NH Deed 14: 445)

      4.       Agnes, married Samuel McKeen on 15 August 1723, and had eleven children.

      5.       Thomas, arrived in 1720 to Londonderry as a servant of James McKeen.  Was granted land with his brother George.  Disappears from the Londonderry, New Hampshire records by 1733.

      6.       George, also a servant to James McKeen, also disappeared from the Londonderry records by 1733. 

      7.       Alexander, married Jane McGregor, daughter of Rev. James MacGregor, was a doctor in Portsmouth.  Jane was buried at Forest Hill in East Derry with the epitaph “Mrs. Jane Clark, relict of Dr. Alexander died Sept. 25, 1778 in her 67^th year”.

    

      Note:

          There is also a Robert Clark who appears to be completely unrelated to the above CLARK , was born about 1720, died 20 April 1775, married Letitia Cochran. He came to New England about 1725 and lived northwest of Beaver Pond.  Eight children: William, married Anne Wallace and removed to New Boston;  John, married Nancy Stinson; Samuel, married Sarah Holmes and Janet Barnett; Ninian, married Mary Ramsey and removed to New Boston; Jane, married James Crombie who removed to New Boston; Letitia, married Samuel Wallace and Robert Moor; Agnes, married William Anderson; and Elizabeth, married Andrew Mack

For more information:

“Rev. Matthew Clark of Ireland and Londonderry, N. H.” by John B. Threlfall, The American Genealogist, Volume 48 (1972), pages 21 – 26.

History of Londonderry, by Rev. Edward L. Parker

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "CLARK – Descendants of Nutfield Minister Rev. Matthew Clark", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 9, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/02/clark-descendants-of-nutfield-minister.html: accessed [access date]).

ANDERSON – Descendants of Nutfield Settlers Allen and James Anderson

Anderson Farm, built by descendants of James Anderson
on the Londonderry/Windham town line

[Note:  I will be doing a series of genealogical sketches on the early Nutfield settlers in advance of the 300th anniversary of Founders Day, April 12 - 14, 2019 in Derry, New Hampshire.  If you have additional notes on the first few generations of this family, please comment below or send me an email at vrojomit@gmail.com, and I will edit this sketch.  These sketches will be used and distributed to the public and to descendants at the Founders Day activities.]

It is unknown if these two Anderson men (Allen and James) were kin.  Some suppose them to be brothers, but there is no proof.

Allen Anderson married Hugh Rankin’s daughter.  He was granted land in 1719 and in 1728.  Allen Anderson died childless.   His sister, Martha Anderson, married William Moore, who settled in Nutfield soon after 1720.  Seven Moore children are named in William Moore’s will, and also in the will of their uncle Allen Anderson.

James Anderson married Mary Unknown and had five sons and two daughters. He died in 1771 at age 88. James Anderson settled east of the turnpike in the Double Range of what is now Derry, New Hampshire.  His grand daughter Alice married Rev. Joseph McKeen, the first president of Bowdoin College in Lewiston, Maine.  He was the grandson of Nutfield settler, James McKeen.

Children:

      1.      Samuel, married Martha Craig, four children: James (married Nancy Armstrong), John (married Anna Davidson and Mary Williams), Samuel (married Mary Davidson) was a soldier of the American Revolution, Margaret (married John Graham).  This Samuel lived on the Anderson Farm located on the corner of Chase and Mammoth Roads, near the Londonderry/Windham border.      

      2.      Robert, married Agnes Craig, nine children:  James (unmarried), John (married Jane Wallace), William (married Margaret Wilson), Allen (married Sally Moor), Robert (married Mary Darrah), Samuel (married Anna Alexander and removed to Acworth), David (married Sally Barnett), Mary (married James Dinsmore), Jane (married David Campbell).

      3.      James, married first Nancy Woodburn and had eight children– James (married Margaret Reid, was lieutenant under Captain George Reid at the Battle of Bunker Hill, he died at Troy, New York in 1827), John (married Mary Morrison), Rufus, Joseph (moved west according to Parker), Mary (married Thomas Aiken), Margaret (married James Moor), Alice (married Rev. Joseph McKeen), Nancy (married John McClary). James Anderson then married second to the widow Elizabeth Barnett and had four children – Alexander (married Martha McGilvery), Benjamin (married Lydia Jackson), William (married Prudence Ladd), Jane (married Alexander McCollom). 

      4.      Thomas married Mary Craig, seven children – Daniel (married Sarah Nesmith), James (unmarried), John (unmarried), Mary (married William Anderson of Candia), Jane (married Robert Nesmith), Martha (married Robert McClure of Acworth), Margaret (unmarried).

      5.      David, married Mary Wilson and had three sons – Robert (married Naomi Aiken), James and Andrew. 

      6.      Jane, married Elder James Taggart and had two sons Samuel and Thomas.

      7.      Nancy (unmarried)

Note:  There was also an unrelated Scots Irish settler named John Anderson who came from Northern Ireland to Londonderry in 1725 with his children John (had two sons Matthew and John at the Battle of Bunker Hill), James (married Isabel McQueston), Robert (married and lived in Derryfield and had no children), and Jane (married and lived in Vermont).

For more information: 

History of Londonderry, by Rev. E. L. Parker, see pages 259 - 260 for a sketch of Allen and James Anderson.

See the blog post on the Anderson farm on the Londonderry/Windham town line:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/02/anderson-farm.html 

Click here for a list of the first sixteen families to settle in Nutfield:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/04/nutfields-sixteen-first-families-are.html  

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “ANDERSON – Descendants of Nutfield Settlers Allen and James Anderson", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 8, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/03/anderson-descendants-of-nutfield.html: accessed [access date]).