First Parish Meetinghouse, East Derry, NH before the current renovations |
Celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding
of Nutfield with the town of Derry, descendants of the original settlers, Scots
Irish researchers, the First Parish Church in East Derry, and lots of other
interested residents! In 1718 Rev. James
MacGregor led his flock from his Presbyterian Church in Aghadowey, Northern
Ireland to Boston, Massachusetts looking for a new home where they could
worship as they pleased. In April 1719
they found a grant of land in New Hampshire called “Nutfield”, and the Rev.
MacGregor and 16 men went to explore this land. One 12 April 1719 they held
their first worship service on the banks of Beaver Lake in what is now Derry,
New Hampshire. This day is considered
the founding of Londonderry, New Hampshire, and the founding of the first
Presbyterian church in New England.
Founders Weekend on April 12 to 14, 2019 will celebrate this
300th anniversary with three days of activities. There will be two parallel tracks of events
this weekend – a free weekend of activities on the Nutfield Heritage for the
general public AND the Nutfield Reunion and Conference (registration required)
for descendants, researchers, and genealogists.
I hope to see you there!
I will be one of four speakers on the conference day. The other speakers will be Dr. William Roulston,
research director of the Ulster Historical Foundation who will present “Ulster
at the Time of the Nutfield Migration”, Robert Starrat from Scotland who will
discuss “From Londonderry to Londonderry: The Sterret(t) Saga”, and also
Rebecca Graham, president of the Maine Ulster Scots Project who will present “Good
Wives and Subtle Warriors: Women of the Eastern Frontier”. For details, see the websites listed below.
The weekend will take place at various places in Derry, New
Hampshire (see the Founders Weekend link below) and the conference will take
place in the historic Upper Village Hall, just across the street from the First
Parish Meetinghouse, Taylor Library and the Forest Hill Cemetery).
For the truly curious:
Program - Specific
details for each day Friday April 12, Saturday April 13, and Sunday April 14
Conference details – for descendants and researchers of the
early Nutfield settlers
online
registration coming soon!
On Facebook (for the latest information and historical links):
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