These photographs were taken at the Forest Hill Cemetery in East Derry, New Hampshire. It is located behind the First Parish Congregational Church. If you drive up past the church, through the parking area and enter the cemetery gates, and then drive straight ahead, you will be on the lane that is called "Settler's Row" in the cemetery. Just about fifty yards ahead on the left you will see a wrought iron fence around several tombstones, and a sign reading "First Settlers".
This area was known as Nutfield when it was settled in 1719 by Scots Irish immigrants who followed their Presbyterian minister, James MacGregor, from Aghadowey, Northern Ireland to New England. Soon after settlement, they named their town Londonderry. This area encompasses the current towns of Londonderry, Derry, Windham and parts of Manchester, Hudson and Chester. The cemetery was laid out in 1721. Forest Hill Cemetery is the only cemetery in Derry, New Hampshire.
In the "First Settler" area you will find Rev. James MacGregor's family, and the tombstones of the very early Ulster Presbyterian residents. The Find A Grave website, and the website for "The Friends of Forest Hill Cemetery" has more information on the history and tombstones at this historic burying ground. I have featured many of the oldest tombstones here at this blog. Use the search bar at the top left corner to search for surnames, or use the labels in the far right column.
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| Rev. David and Mary MacGregor (son of Rev. James MacGregor) |
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| James and Annas McKeen |
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| "Charter" John Moor |
Friends of Forest Hill Cemetery: http://forest-hill-1721.webs.com/
Find A Grave - Forest Hill Cemetery, Derry, NH:
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/102867/forest-hill-cemetery
Cemetery Department, Derry, NH: https://www.derrynh.org/cemetery
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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Settler's Row, Forest Hill Cemetery, Derry, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 20, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/03/tombstone-tuesday-settlers-row-forest.html: accessed [access date]).
thanks for your posts, they've been extremely helpful in my family research, and I plan on visiting Derry for the founders day events next year
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what the Derry 300th Anniversary will be like yet, but it will celebrated near the 4th of July, 2019. Londonderry will have their celebration on Old Home Day in August next year. Perhaps we will bump into each other there!
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