UPDATED 2 May 2015
Historians say that in the year 1623 William Hilton settled on Hilton Point (now Dover Point) in the current town of Dover, New Hampshire. This has been disproved by several sources, but the date lingers on in many books and websites. Hilton Point is still considered the first permanent settlement in New Hampshire, because David Thompson’s Pannaway settlement on Odiorne Point in 1621 was soon abandoned. Hilton Point is a peninsula where the the Bellamy and Cocheco Rivers meet up with the Piscataqua River and the Great Bay. The Hilton brothers, William and Edward, established a fishery and then they were granted the “Squamscot Patent” for this land. The settlement was very small(only three houses) until 1633 when they were joined by Puritan “non-conformist”
families who formed the Plantation of Cochecho.
Historians say that in the year 1623 William Hilton settled on Hilton Point (now Dover Point) in the current town of Dover, New Hampshire. This has been disproved by several sources, but the date lingers on in many books and websites. Hilton Point is still considered the first permanent settlement in New Hampshire, because David Thompson’s Pannaway settlement on Odiorne Point in 1621 was soon abandoned. Hilton Point is a peninsula where the the Bellamy and Cocheco Rivers meet up with the Piscataqua River and the Great Bay. The Hilton brothers, William and Edward, established a fishery and then they were granted the “Squamscot Patent” for this land. The settlement was very small
William Hilton was a member of the Fishmonger’s Guild in
London on 9 April 1621. Edward, with his
wife and children, arrived at Plymouth Plantation in 1623. William had David Thomson transport his
family to his brother’s settlement at Piscataqua in 1624. William later moved to the York River in
York, Maine. Edward later removed to
Newfields, near Exeter, New Hampshire. (For more information on William please see the very interesting sketch in Anderson's The Great Migration Begins, Volume II, pages 954-955.)
Thomas Roberts came over to New England with Edward Hilton in 1623. Roberts remained at Dover Point, where his
family lived for many generations. Roberts
married Rebecca Hilton, sister to Edward and William. He became "President of the Court" of the
Dover Colony until it came under the Massachusetts Colony in 1642/3. He is not listed in the Great Migration series, so he must have arrived later than 1635 and before 1639 when he became president of the court.
Please be aware that the historical information you see on these two signs is NOT ACCURATE. See my correction to this post from 2 May 2015 at this link:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/05/corrections-to-story-of-hilton-point-or.html
Please be aware that the historical information you see on these two signs is NOT ACCURATE. See my correction to this post from 2 May 2015 at this link:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/05/corrections-to-story-of-hilton-point-or.html
You can reach Hilton State Park at the west bound exit 5 of
the Spaulding Turnpike, Route 16. The memorials
are located near the playground and parking area. The state historical marker was placed in
1973, and the granite marker to Edward Hilton was placed by descendants in
1955.
MEMORIAL TO
EDWARD HILTON
PIONEER SETTLER
1623
IN HONOR
OF
EDWARD HILTON
FOUNDER OF DOVER 1623
FATHER OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
MAKER OF THE FIRST ROAD
IN THE PROVINCE
MARKED BY HIS DESCENDANTS
1955
-------------------------
The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/05/hilton-point-new-hampshire-photo-friday.html
Copyright © 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
Hi, Heather, Thanks for this post. This is my husband's Hilton family. Brad's 2nd Great-Grandmother, Elizabeth Ann Hilton is William Hilton's 5th great-granddaughter. The Hilton name was carried down through some lines as a middle name, too. There were also several generations of Hilton seaman, and some were lost at sea.
ReplyDeleteUh oh, Robert Charles Anderson and I are going to have to disagree with your bio (hope he doesn't mind me speaking on his behalf). In his Great Migration Bio he says that Edward did not migrate until 1628. His info on William is also different. And, if you are interested you can read my article on why I have my doubts on the identity of Rebecca, wife of Thomas Roberts.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.jeaniesgenealogy.com/2013/01/thomas-roberts-of-dover-new-hampshire.html
I'll have to check. These are not my ancestors so I haven't thoroughly researched the genealogy. Wow! That means that BOTH signs are incorrect! That's big!
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