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| First Parish Church Dover, New Hampshire |
My great uncle, eight generations removed, was named Joseph Ham, son of John Ham and his wife Mary Heard. Joseph was the brother of my 8th great grandmother, Mercy Ham who married Richard Nason. Joseph was married in August 1704 to Tamson Meserve, the daughter of Clement Meserve of Dover, New Hampshire. They lived in Dover, New Hampshire until there was a raid by the local native Abenaki on 29 August 1723 when several colonists were killed including Joseph Ham. Several residents, including two of his daughters Tamson and Abigail, were marched to Canada to be ransomed by the French.
The family did not see the two daughters for many years. In those days the French Canadians tempted the indigenous people with ransom money for capturing English settlers. In the meantime, the widow Tamson Meserve Ham remarried about 1725 to John Tibbetts, the son of Jeremiah Tibbetts and Mary Twombley. Tamson had a similar experience during her youth, when she was scalped and left for dead during a raid in 1704. She survived, married and had ten children.
The local indigenous people were the Cocheco Indians, a sub tribe of the Abenaki. This part of New Hampshire was known to the Abenaki people as Newichawannock, which was the original name of the Salmon Falls River. This land included Dover, and originally included the communities of Durham, Madbury, Newington, Lee, Somersworth and Rollinsford. Dover is the oldest permanent European settlement in New Hampshire, and the site of many conflicts between the indigenous people and the new English settlers. The first conflict between the native and European people took place in 1676, then again in 1689, 1704, 1723 and in 1724.
Tamson must have been a very strong woman to survive two massacres in New Hampshire. Obviously, she must have missed her kidnapped daughters very much, too. Tired of waiting for a ransom letter from Canada, she petitioned the Governor of New Hampshire for information on redeeming her children. The governor sent an emissary to Canada on behalf of many families, but the Ham girls were not released.
So in 1728 John Tibbetts and Tamson, his wife, went to Canada themselves and ransomed the two young girls with funds and loans raised from family, friends and the community of Dover. This was a very expensive and long expedition across the mountains west to New York, and then north to Canada. This journey left the family destitute and poverty stricken.
In 1729 John and Tamson Tibbets petitioned New Hampshire again to cover the cost of the ransom, and the expenses of the expedition. If you read the petition below, you can see how they traveled west to Albany, New York, across Lake Champlain to Canada, and returned back to Albany, then to New York, and by ship to Boston and then home to New York. They carefully listed all the expenses.
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from The New Hampshire Provincial and State Papers 1725 - 1800, Volume 18, pages 15 - 16 [2 - 170]
[Petition
of John and Tamson Tibbetts, relative to two of their Children who were taken
Prisoners by the Indians, 1729]
"To
his Exelcie William Burnet Esqr Capt. Genll & Commander in Chief in and
over his Majties Province of New hampshire in New England, & To the hoble
the Councill, & House of Representatives Conven'd in Genll Assembly -
The
Humble Petition of John Tibbets & Tamson Tibbets his wife Most humbly
Sheweth -
That
your Petitioners hath been a Verry great Expence besides their Trouble &
Travel in Going to Canada for the Redemption of Tow of th Children of yor
Petitioner Tamsen Tibbets, (formerly Tamsen Ham) That were taken Captives by
the Indians in the late Warr, and Sold to the French, And whereas your Petitioners
Did formerly Petition the honble the liut Govornor Wentworth for a Brief: and
the Good People of this Province were so Kind that there was given on hundred
and Eleven Pounds, or very neare it: Yet so it is That your Petitioners being
verry Poore; and there REmaines yet to be paid for the Ransom of their Children
the sum of two hundred & fifty pounds this Money, which they are unable to
pay, If they should sell all they have in the world, And therefore they most
humbly Pray help and Relief: in the premises as yor Excellency & honors in
Wisdome shall see Most meet: (the accompt of our Charge & Expence being
Ready to be shown if Desired.) And your Petitioners as in Duty bound shall Ever
Pray &c-
aprill
the 30th 1729
In
the house of Representatives the above Petition was Read: and voted that it be Dismis'd May 2d 1729: -
for that ye Petr has had a Brief* allready: & the accompt is verry
Extravagant -
James Jeffrey Clr assm
---------------
[2-171] A Count of my Charges of a Jurny Canade -
1727
April 30
To
my Charg from home to albany 10 pounds - shillings
NE pence
To
my Charg 6 Days at Albeny of Thatt money 2 pounds
To
my whole Charg of Going over ye Lake and mons
19 pounds 17 shillings
To
Shomble fort Confind 4 Days 1 pound
To
Pilets from Shombele to Canade 2 pounds 11 shillings
NE pence
To
firridge over Laprare
0 pounds 10 shillings
To
our Bording 2 monts at 30 Livres Each
Canedy money 12 Livers 10 pounds
To
Bording 2 Children 21 D att a Livr 3 pounds 10 shillings
To
Interpators 42 Livers 1 pound 18 shillings
To
Pasport 6 Livers
10 shillings
To
Provisons for our Return 40 Livrs 3 pounds 6 shillings 8 pence
To
Clothing our Captives 30 Livrs 2 pounds 10 shillings
To
Paid for Coming ovr the Lake 54 Livrs 4 pounds 10 shillings
To
our Charg at albeny
2 pounds 4 shillings
To
our Pasg to new york
2 pounds 10 shillings
To
our Charg in New york 6
pounds
To
our paseg from york to Boston 4 pounds
To
our Charg at Boston
2 pounds 10 shillings NE pence
To
Ransom of our Two Children from the Indians
1270 Livres 105 pounds 10 shillings 0 pence
page
17
Miscellaneous
Provincial Papers
Provc:
of New Hampshr - Mr. Jno Tibbetts and his wife Mrs Tamson
Tibbets personaly appering made oath that Thay had advanced the Several Sums
above mentioned, on there Jorny to Caniday for the Redemption of Two of There Children
as Allso for the Ranson of the Same
aprl
30: 1729 - R. Wibird Just. p."
--------------------------------------------
The government of New Hampshire had given 100 pounds to the Tibbetts family, and dismissed the petition. The family had redeemed their daughters, but was left in poverty and unable to pay back the loans to their neighbors. The two girls, Tamson and Abigail, eventually married men in New Hampshire.
Genealogy:
Joseph Ham 3, (John 2, Matthew 1), son of John Ham and Mary Heard, was born 3 June 1678, Dover, New Hampshire, died 28 September 1723, married in August 1704 to Tamson Meserve, daughter of Clement Meserve and Elizabeth Unknown. She was born about 1680 in Dover.
Children:
1. Elizabeth, 22 February 1704, d. 17 August 1788, married Benjamin Libbey
2. Mary, 28 December 1706, married Shadrach Hodgden
3. Tamson, 19 July 1708, married Thomas Drew and Thomas Spinney
4. Abigail, 15 November 1710, married John Leighton
5. Anna, 12 December 1712, married Mr. Young
6. Daniel, 24 July 1714, married Sarah Downs and Mary Horne
7. Joseph, 25 April 1716, married Mary Ham
8. Clement, 16 December 1718, married Patience Unknown
9. Jonathan, 8 June 1720, married Elizabeth Ham
10. Jane, 26 June 1722, died young
Tamson and John Tibbetts had one child, Sarah, born 18 August 1725 in Dover. Tamson lived until about 1774. John Tibbetts was previously married to Sarah Meader and had three children.
For the truly curious:
A previous blog post "A Counterfeiter Named Tamsen Meserve"
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-1731-counterfeiter-named-tamsen.html
A previous blog post "Surname Saturday - Ham"
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/12/surname-saturday-ham.html
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To Cite/Link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "How two 18th Century New Hampshire Parents Redeemed Their Kidnapped Daughters", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 1, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/03/how-two-18th-century-new-hampshire.html: accessed [access date]).
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