Original Nutfield Proprietors, April 11, 1719

These are original proprietors, or grantees of Nutfield, then Londonderry and Derry, New Hampshire.

James McKeen

John Mitchell

James Anderson

Allen Anderson
John Archibald

John Barnett

James Sterrett

Randel Alexander

John Morrison

Samuel Morrison

James Gregg

John Stuart

James Nesmith

Thomas Steele

James Clark

Robert Weir

Archibald Clendenin

Reverend James MacGregor

The list is taken from Rev. James McGregor’s petition dated 27 Feb. 1720 to Governor Samuel Shute of Massachusetts (Jeremy Belknap Papers, volume 6I.A.81, Massachusetts Historical Society).

"In 1718 five ships full of settlers and four Presbyterian ministers left Londonderry, Northern Ireland for Boston.  Some of the families went that first winter to Casco Bay, Maine and suffered without food and shelter.  In the spring of 1719 some of the families went to Haverhill, Massachusetts where they heard about land to the north that was promising.  This land was called Nutfield, due to the abundance of chestnut and walnut trees. Some of the men went there and built temporary shelters, determined to be granted the land from the Massachusetts governor Samuel Shute.  They returned to Haverhill for their families, and invited Reverend James MacGregor to come with them to Nutfield.  He did, and on April 11, 1719 he preached his first religious service on the east side of Beaver Lake under a nut tree. The following year the town was renamed from Nutfield to Londonderry."

The image above is from Willey's Semi-centennial Book of Manchester, 1846 - 1896, by George Franklyn Willey, 1896, page 52.  It depicts the first open air sermon preached by Rev. MacGregor on the shores of Beaver Lake, under the nut tree. 

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tombstone Tuesday- John Archibald, Nutfield Settler

These are photos I took for a recent Random Act of Genealogical Kindness. The request came from a descendant of John Archibald, one of the original settlers of Nutfield. This stone was located near Cemetery Road, in the new part of the Forest Hill Cemetery in Derry, New Hampshire (I photographed both sides of the stone).

This is John Archibald's original grave stone, located in the old part of Forest Hill Cemetery directly behind the First Church. I think it is just a footstone, and the headstone could not be located or was illegible.

For more information about Forest Hill Cemetery, Derry, New Hampshire, please see the website http://www.forest-hill-1721.webs.com/ or http://www.findagrave.com/ Forest Hill is Derry's only burial ground.

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Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo