The 200th Anniversary of the Willey Family Landslide in Crawford Notch

 

The original Willey House in Crawford Notch, late 1800s

next to the larger Willey Hotel

NH State Park photo

In 1793 the Willey Family of Bartlett, New Hampshire bought an isolated farmhouse and land in Crawford Notch.  This was about ten miles away from Bartlett, and about 20 miles from North Conway, where their extended family resided.  They named their farm the Willey House Inn, hoping to attract boarders, especially the artists and writers who passed through this area.  In the early 1800s the White Mountains were attracting fame as a tourist destination.  

In June 1826 a landslide in the notch frightened Samuel Willey, the head of the household. He built a shelter near the house to protect his family from another landslide. But later, in August 1826, following a severe two month drought, a heavy rainstorm caused a flood.  The Saco River, across from his farm, rose 20 feet, and a bigger landslide.  

The extended Willey family found the Willey House intact, but the Willey family and their hired men were missing. A rock ledge located above the house divided the landslide rubble, passing the house on both sides.  The house was untouched, but the family was still missing.  It is assumed that they fled to their shelter, but died in the attempt to flee.  Inside the house, there was a bible on the table, and unmade beds. The Conway Historical Society has artifacts from the site, including patchwork of clothing recovered from the house, and a brick. 

Later, search parties found the remains of Samuel Willey, his wife Polly, two children, and the two hired men.  The bodies of three other small children were never recovered.   If they had stayed in the house, they would have survived the disaster. Newpapers of the time carried this story all over the world, and in a twist of fate, it attracted tourists to Crawford Notch. The Willey homesite became the place of a large 50 bed hotel.  This scary story has become a famous ghost tale in New Hampshire.  It was so frightening that Nathaniel Hawthorne turned it into a suspenseful short story included in his book Twice Told Tales.  

Eventually the Willey house burned to the ground in 1898, and the area became a New Hampshire State Park. There is no longer a hotel here, but there is a campground, visitor center, restrooms, and a monument with a plaque commemorating the Willey House and the family that perished in the landslide.  The mountain behind the house was renamed Mount Willey, and the notch retains the scarred landscape of rocks and rubble from the landslide 200 years ago.

The New Hampshire State Park service will hold a commemoration on 28 August 2026 at 11:00 am at Crawford Notch State Park for the 200th year anniversary of the Willey House slide.  The ceremony will be held on the lawn across the street from the Willey home site monument.  After the ceremony, there will be a short history of the landslide.  New signage will be unveiled, and a new display in the Welcome Center will be revealed.  This event is open free to the public. 

Crawford Notch painting by Charles Codman (1880- 1933)

The Willey House can be seen on the right, amongst the rubble

This painting is at the Conway Public Library, Conway, New Hampshire

Yes, the area did attract many painters and artists, but mostly after the disaster

For the truly curious:

"This story will give you the Willeys - literally!",  posted 28 October 2025, the adventure of how I found the final resting place of the Willey family, including those lost in the 1825 landslide:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/10/this-story-will-give-you-willeys.html   

"Happy Halloween! The Story of the Willey Family of Crawford Notch", posted 28 October 2010, the history of the 1825 Crawford Notch Landslide:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/happy-halloween-story-of-willey-family.html 

"The Ambitious Guest!", a short story from Twice Told Tales, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1837

The Willey House, Crawford Notch, NH History, Facts and Folklore, by Rex Wiley, 2021 (available at the gift shop in the Crawford Notch State Park) 

From the Conway Daily Sun newspaper "200 years later, the Willey Slide continues to fascinate us" by Tom Eastman, 21 August 2026, https://www.conwaydailysun.com/news/local/200-years-later-the-willey-slide-continues-to-fascinate-us/article_442f4831-55dc-4257-a9d3-93eb69a1e575.html  

The Willey Family Tree, by Sue and Rick Willey    https://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/pearl/www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/family/willeynh.pdf  

New Hampshire State Parks, Crawford Notch https://www.nhstateparks.org/find-parks-trails/crawford-notch-state-park  
            The Willey House site is open 9am to 5pm at Crawford Notch State Park
            Park Office 603-374-2272

Wikipedia, "Willey House (New Hampshire)"   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willey_House_(New_Hampshire)   

Appalachian Mountain Club, "The Willey Family Tragedy"   https://www.outdoors.org/resources/amc-outdoors/history/the-willey-family-tragedy/    

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The 200th Anniversary of the Willey Family Landslide in Crawford Notch", Nutfield Genealogy, posted 26 August 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-200th-anniversary-of-willey-family.html: accessed [access date]). 

This story will give you the Willeys - literally!

 

To the memory of the Family

which was at once destroyed by

a slide from the white Mountains

on the night of 28 August 1826.

SAMUEL WILLEY, AE 38

POLLY L. WILLEY, 35

ELIZA A. WILLEY, 12

JEREMIAH WILLEY, 11

MARTHA G. WILLEY, 10

ELBRIDGE G. WILLEY, 7

SALLY WILLEY, 3

Happy Halloween!  In New England we use a lot of words to describe the sensation of getting the shivers - goosebumps, goosepimples, chicken skin, jitters, getting the creeps, and "getting the willies".  Some people say that this word "the willies" dates back to a disaster that happened in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in 1826 when an entire family died during a landslide.  The Willey Family story is sad, but scary enough to have lived on in ghost stories, books (including Nathaniel Hawthorne), and history books.  I previously blogged about the Willey family disaster and their genealogy HERE in 2010.  Seven members of the Willey family, two parents and five children, and two hired hands all died in this landslide. Only the bodies of the parents, two of the three children, and the two hired men were found. The bodies were buried near the homesite originally, and then reburied elsewhere. 

Recently we drove through Crawford Notch, the site of the famous 1826 landslide, and we looked at the monument to the family.  I knew that this was the place where the family house stood, not the burial place for the bodies of the Willey family.  But where were they buried? Somewhere else in Crawford Notch? Nearby in Bartlett or somewhere that is now part of the Crawford Notch State Park or the White Mountain National Forest land? Miles away with family members in southern New Hampshire (the family originated in the Piscataqua Region) or even out of state? Where? 

I made a quick search of the Find A Grave website, and Google with some interesting results. I searched for Samuel Willey born 1788 and died 1826.  Find A Grave said he was buried in the Willey Slide Cemetery located in Intervale, Carroll County, New Hampshire.  There are many places in New Hampshire called "Intervale", which literally means between mountains or between towns.  There is a place called Intervale nearby between the towns of Bartlett and Conway, New Hampshire. On Find A Grave there are no GPS coordinates or directions, which is very odd.  There is no description of the cemetery, and no map.  Very odd indeed.  There is even a misleading entry "Willey Family Cemetery" off Moose Mountain Road in Brookfield, New Hampshire with no photos, no information, nothing. I think it was created as a red herring. 

Since we were in the area, I was determined to find this elusive cemetery.  Google showed me that I was not alone. Many other people have documented this search online. I found one of the hired hands buried nearby in Bartlett.  His name was David Allen, and he is buried at the Garland Ridge Cemetery a short distance from Crawford Notch.  There is a link below to his gravestone. That was easy. But where is the Willey family burial ground, and where is the other hired hand buried? 

Using Google Maps satellite view has helped me in the past to find small, unmarked family cemeteries in New England.  Since we live in a heavily wooded region, satellite views often show small square or irregular openings in the forest canopy that are not visible from the road.  My next ploy was to stop in to the Conway or North Conway Public Library to ask about local cemeteries. 

As we were driving up towards Crawford Notch, through the Kancamaugus Notch and Bear Notch, I read the accounts online of other people searching for the Willey Family.  The story told by Robert Gillis of his teenaged nephew, Colin, searching for the burial ground, was inspirational. I loved reading about young people who become enthralled with local history or genealogy.  Colin used the local library to find the small Willey family burial ground. Then he mysteriously did not give the location.  But, if Colin could find it, I was sure I could find it, too.

As we were driving I also watched a 15 minute video by "Rick and Bill" on Youtube of their search for the Willey Cemetery.  You can find the link below.  Rick and Bill make videos of local history in New Hampshire, and although they also did not give the location of the cemetery either, their video gave me clues in the background as to where it was located. If you are familiar with the Intervale area, you will know what I mean. 

Both Vincent and I searched the Intervale area using the satellite views.  We knew that the Willey burial ground was nearby and easily found it.  You can find it, too.  I'm going to follow the local tradition and not tell you where to find it.  Some things can't be too easy! 

I'm writing this story near Halloween.  I've seen what Halloween mania has done to historic places like Salem, Massachusetts, and to some local burial grounds.  This is why the local people have not published the map, coordinates, or address for the Willey Family cemetery.  If you are truly interested in the history, then like me, Bill, Rick, and Colin, you can do the legwork and find it for yourself.  This is a burial ground which deserves respect.  It is not a tourist attraction for Halloween.  

Visit with respect.  Bring flowers, and leave nothing but footprints. 

Colin, Bill, Rick, and the entire Willey family would agree.  Let me know if you find the Willeys! 

The Willey Family plot

A close up of the tombstone

This stone is marked with a DAR flagholder,

and is reinforced with a metal support

The entrance to the cemetery is on private property.

Ask permission before you enter the cemetery

For the Truly Curious:

A 2010 blog post about the Willey Family:   
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/happy-halloween-story-of-willey-family.html     

Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willey_House_(New_Hampshire)   

Link to Samuel Willey's memorial at Find A Grave:   https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/231693821/samuel-willey  

Link to David Allen's memorial at Find A Grave:   https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/116456101/david-allen  

Robert Gillis, "An historical quest fulfilled: Finding the Willey Family of Crawford Notch", posted 17 September 2015,  https://www.robertxgillis.com/?p=5761  accessed 18 October 2025. 

Bill Thompson and Rick Davidson, "Visiting the Site of the Famous Willey Landslide and the Willey Cemetery", Youtube, 17 April 2024,   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPlKlczGsBs accessed 18 October 2025. 

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "This story will give you the Willeys - literally!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted 28 October 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/10/this-story-will-give-you-willeys.html: accessed [access date]). 

Troublesome Thomas Tuck of Beverly, Massachusetts

 

The town seal of Beverly, Massachusetts

I share this ancestor, Thomas Tuck (1611 - 1667) with my fellow genealogy blogger, Bill West, who unfortunately passed away last year.  Bill wrote three interesting blog posts about Thomas Tuck, and you can find the links below at the end of this post.  It was Bill who called our common ancestor "Troublesome Thomas Tuck".  

Thomas Tuck was my 9th great grandfather, born about 1611 probably in England.  He died in Beverly, Massachusetts on 20 March 1667.  Years after he died his ghost became part of the 1692 witch trails, when someone accused him of coming back from the dead to urge her to buy some land!  In my opinion his ghost was mentioned because he was not particularly law abiding during his life.  But we will never know, will we? 

" And for seeing the devill, or any spirit but ones, & that was soon after old Thomas Tuck dyed (w'ch I take to be about ten yeare since) & that shee took it to be the Ghost of Thom: tuck coming to speak w'th her about some land s'd Tuck had told her of before his death. But that shee fled from the Ghost & got away."  Salem Witch Papers No. 68.18 Examination of Dorcas Hoar 2 May 1692 

I'm on a search to learn more about Thomas Tuck's wife.  Or his wives.  I wasn't sure how many times he married, or which wife might have been the mother of my 8th great grandfather, John Tuck, born in 1646 in Beverly and died there in 1722.  There is no mention of Thomas Tuck, unfortunately, in any of the Great Migration Books, so I can assume he came to Massachusetts after 1635 (which is the drop off date for Robert Charles Anderson's research).  He is not found in many other records except for court records, where I can find many, many mentions of his misadventures.

In Sidney Perley's History of Salem, 1924, Volume 1, pages 399 - 401 there is a very short mention of Thomas Tuck.  No, not three pages on him, just three sentences in the footnotes:

"Thomas Tuck, a blacksmith, aged about twenty-five, lived on Cape Ann side in 1636.  In 1643 he was living apart from his wife, and in 1650 he had married the widow of George Harris.  His wife was Joan in 1679.  In 1643 he was complained of for living absent from his wife, but was discharged."

What facts do I learn from this tiny paragraph?  Or what new questions do I have?  How many wives did Thomas Tuck have? Which wife was my ancestress? Where can I find more records? Does he appear anywhere except in court records? Why was he a part of the Salem Witch Hysteria? 

Fortunately, after a lot of digging over many months, I found a terrific resource.  Someone had done a sketch of Thomas Tuck and his children in the 2018 edition of the New England Historic Genealogical Society Register journal, hidden inside an article about George Harris (Yes!  The same George Harris mentioned in that brief little paragraph in the History of Salem.) And this article answered all my questions about Troublesome Thomas Tuck, and even brought up some new questions and further things to investigate.

My question was how many wives did Thomas Tuck have?   Apparently he had two, one before "Joan".  Joan's previous marriage to George Harris left her with three sons.  One of these sons, Samuel Harris (1644-1682) was married to Mary Hoar, the daughter of accused witch Dorcas (Galley) Hoar.  This news explained a lot of the mentions in court records of Thomas Tuck being the "father-in-law" (step-father) to Joseph Harris.  It also explains why the Tuck and Harris children were called to testify at Dorcas Hoar's trial for witchcraft in 1692. 

The article also listed many, many resources in the footnotes for additional deeds, court records, and other information.  Some of the best I found were compiled genealogies done on the Harris family, which helped me to sort out the Tuck family!  

Thomas and Joan Tuck had only one known child, my 8th great grandfather John Tuck (1646 - 1722) who married a Rachel (________) - another brick wall female line to untangle.  But they had six children including my 7th great grandfather John Tuck (1674 - 1717), and his sister Mary Tuck (1682 - 1741/2) who married John Balch the grandson of my 8th great grandparents Benjamin Balch and Sarah Gardner. Another daughter-in-law, Sarah Reith, remarried, when her husband Joseph Tuck died, to Samuel Allen of Manchester, Massachusetts (My mother's maiden name is Allen, a descendant of William Allen (1602 - 1678) of Manchester, so I need to find the kinship connection for this Samuel Allen). I had some notes on these Balch/Tuck/Reith/Allen families already in my files. I'm sure that I can unravel it all now with this new information. 

Don't forget to check journal articles, blog posts, and compiled genealogies of related families when you hit a Brick Wall ancestor!  Especially new articles published in the last five years, which may not be mentioned as much as articles from the 20th century or early 2000s (or show up on online searches).  

For the truly curious:

History of Salem, by Sidney Perley, 1924, Volume 1, pages 399 - 401.

NEHGS Register, 2018, Volume 172, pages 302 - 304  George Harris 1 of Salem, Massachusetts, with Sketch of Thomas 1 Tuck, by Gale Ion Harris https://www.americanancestors.org/DB202/i/55221/304/73267555

The Salem Witchcraft Papers, at salemlib.virginia.edu/texts/transcripts.html, SWP No. 68.4 (deposition of Rachel Tuck and Hannah Cox v. Dorcas Hoar, 14 May 1692)

From Bill West's blog West in New England, more about Thomas Tuck: 

https://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/2015/04/thomas-tuck-and-stolen-bell-pt1.html  

https://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/2015/04/thomas-tuck-and-stolen-bell-pt2.html  

https://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/2015/04/thomas-tuck-and-stolen-bell-pt3.html

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Troublesome Thomas Tuck of Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 22, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/04/troublesome-thomas-tuck-of-beverly.html: accessed [access date]).  

Boo! Some Scary Stories for Halloween!

Derry, New Hampshire's Civil War Monument

Here is a list of spooky ghost stories, ghost towns, witches, body snatchers, and other scary stories from the Nutfield Genealogy blog over the past six years!

Ocean Born Mary and the Pirate, posted October 8, 2009: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/ocean-born-mary-londonderry-character.html

The Murder of Josie Langmaid, Pembroke, NH, posted October 14, 2009: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/murder-of-josie-langmaid-pembroke-new.html

The Haunted Pinkerton Tavern, Derry, NH, October 28, 2009 (since demolished):  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/pinkerton-tavern-ghosts.html

The Haunted Coach Stop Restaurant, Londonderry, NH, January 22, 2010: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/01/coach-stop-restaurant-and-tavern.html

The Lady in Black at Fort Warren, Boston, MA  February 15, 2010: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/02/fort-warren-boston-harbor.html  

Tammy Younger, the Witch of Dogtown, February 22, 2010:  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/02/tammy-younger-witch-of-dogtown.html  

A visit to the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, March 9, 2010: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/03/visit-to-rebecca-nurse-homestead.html  

Body Snatchers, 1819, posted April 30, 2020:

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/04/body-snatchers-1819.html  

Ghosts at the Towne Family Burial Ground, Londonderry, NH  September 28, 2010: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/09/tombstone-tuesday-towne-family-burial.html  

The Ghost Town of Zealand, NH  October 7, 2010: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/where-heck-is-zealand-new-hampshire.html  

The Willey Family of Crawford Notch, October 28, 2010: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/happy-halloween-story-of-willey-family.html  

The Ghost Town of Chinese Camp, California, September 5, 2011:

 http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/09/chinese-camp-tuolumne-county-california.html  

The Abandoned Ghost Town of Monson, NH  September 6, 2012:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-abandoned-town-of-monson-new.html    

Haunted Hannah Jack’s Tavern, Merrimack, NH  October 30, 2014:  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/10/haunted-hannah-jacks-tavern.html  

A visit to “Blood Cemetery”   October 31, 2014: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/10/halloween-visit-to-blood-cemetery.html  

Enjoy! 

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To Cite/Link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Boo!  Some Scary Stories for Halloween!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 29, 2015, (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/10/boo-some-scary-stories-for-halloween.html: accessed [access date]). 

Halloween ~ A visit to "Blood Cemetery"

Pine Hill Cemetery in Hollis, New Hampshire is also known as “Blood Cemetery” not because of anything violent that happened here, but because of the Blood family.  This cemetery unfortunately has become quite famous online as the site of paranormal activity.  Because of this “fame” there has been vandalism and loitering in this remote cemetery.  The town has erected surveillance cameras and the place is off limits between dusk and dawn.  The Hollis town police patrol this area especially near Halloween to keep out the vandals and thrill seekers.

Abel Blood’s tombstone has attracted many teenagers over the years due to myth and rumor.  The local historians haven’t found any connection between poor Abel Blood and any violent act or the occult, but nonetheless over the years many believe he haunts this cemetery.  The town had to remove Abel's tombstone because of all the damage and vandalism.   Local teens leave coins on the graves of the other Blood family members, perhaps as a bribe or offering to free them from his haunts?

During my visit there were coins on these two gravestones, and on several others. 

What is funny is that very near there is a real Blood Cemetery in Dunstable, Massachusetts- just over the border and a ten minute drive from Pine Hill Cemetery in Hollis, New Hampshire.  This smaller cemetery is labeled Blood Cemetery, has a sign, has some Blood family gravestones, and yet the local believers in spooky things seem to leave it alone.

Go figure!

The real "Blood Cemetery" located in Dunstable, Massachusetts
ten minutes from Pine Hill Cemetery

 “Blood Cemetery” , a webpage by the International Organization for Paranormal Activity all about Pine Hill Cemetery in Hollis, New Hampshire “is believed to be the most haunted and active cemeteries in the region”  http://www.bloodcemetery.com/ 

On YouTube  “Creepy Places of New England: Blood Cemetery”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx8uciuvo9k

Blood Cemetery (actually the Pine Hill Cemetery) is on this list of the spookiest places in the state of New Hampshire by Yankee Magazine:
http://www.nhmagazine.com/October-2012/Haunted-New-Hampshire-Where-to-Find-Ghosts-Ghouls-and-Scares-in-the-Granite-State-0/ 

New Hampshire Magazine, October 2012 “Spooky Stuff: Blood Cemetery” by Barbara Coles http://www.nhmagazine.com/October-2012/Spooky-Stuff-Blood-Cemetery/   

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Halloween ~ A visit to "Blood Cemetery", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 31, 2020, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/10/halloween-visit-to-blood-cemetery.html: accessed [access date]). 

Haunted Hannah Jack’s Tavern

The Common Man Restaturant, formerly the Hannah Jack Tavern, in Merrimack, New Hampshire

This building was constructed by Edward Goldstone Lutwyche, a Tory whose property was seized during the American Revolution.  Dr. Matthew Thornton, signer of the Declaration of Independence, bought the property at auction and it was inherited by son James.  He named it Hannah Jack’s Tavern, after his mother.  She was born in Chester, New Hampshire in 1742.  Today this restaurant is known as The Common Man Restaurant on the Daniel Webster Highway in Merrimack, New Hampshire, but until 2004 it was known as Hannah Jack’s Tavern. 

Hannah and Dr. Thornton are buried across the street at the Matthew Thornton cemetery.  You can read all about their gravesite HERE at this blog post.

Hannah Jack Thornton's gravestone in Merrimack, New Hampshire

UPDATE!

Over the years many restaurant workers have claimed to see ghosts in the building.  Some have reported seeing an Indian; some see servants in colonial clothing.  A few of the sightings have been in the basement, and some on the stairs.  I’ve been to this restaurant many times, and it seems bright and sunny, not at all dark and creepy, but I admit that I’ve never been down in the basement.   In October 2008 the Nocturnal Society of Paranormal research and Investigations surveyed the restaurant for "ghostly activity".  People believe that James Thornton hung himself off a rafter in the dining room, but I hadn’t seen proof of a suicide in any historical record.  Then reader and fellow genealogy blogger Janice Webster Brown sent me this item from the 5 July 1817 Farmer's Cabinet newspaper!

"DIED- .... - In Merrimack, 3d inst. Capt. James Thornton, aet. 53 - (suicide
from derangement.)"

Thanks, Janice!

For more information:

Ghosts and Legends of the Merrimack Valley, by C. C. Carole, published by Haunted America, A Division of The History Press, Charleston, SC, 2009, pages 66 -69.

Haunted Pubs of New England: Raising Spirits of the Past by Roxie J. Zwicker, published by Haunted America, A Division of the History Press, Charleston, SC, 2007, pages 73 – 77, and it is also readable online at Google Books.

“Ghost hunters look for proof Merrimack eatery is haunted”, on the website of the New Hampshire Business Review, published 10 October 2008, accessed 21 October 2014  http://www.nhbr.com/October-10-2008/Ghost-hunters-look-for-proof-Merrimack-eatery-is-haunted/

Nutfield Note:

It is interesting to note that Edward Goldstone Lutwyche’s unusual surname was the middle name of Reverend Edward Lutwyche Parker, the Nutfield, New Hampshire historian and the author of The History of Londonderry in 1851.  Rev. Parker was a graduate of Dartmouth College and ordained in 1810.  He served as pastor at the First Church in Derry until his death in 1850, and his son published his history posthumously.  Rev. Parker's father was a great friend of Edward Goldstone Lutwyche, and named his son after him.  

Edward Goldstone Lutwyche was also one of the Loyalist men who assembled a posse to arrest the protesters at the “Pine Tree Riot” in Weare, New Hampshire.  This was one of the first acts of resistance to British authority in the American Colonies, taking place on 13 April 1772.  His loyalty to the crown must have made Lutwyche very unpopular with his neighbors.  Thornton and Lutwyche also had a long standing feud over the rights to a ferry across the Merrimack River to Litchfield.  This area was known as Lutwyche’s Ferry, but is now known as Thornton’s Ferry in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

Other ghostly haunted locations posted at this blog:

The Coach Stop Restaurant in Londonderry:

 http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/01/coach-stop-restaurant-and-tavern.html

Pinkerton Tavern in Derry (no longer standing):

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/pinkerton-tavern-ghosts.html

The Towne Burial Ground in Londonderry:

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/09/tombstone-tuesday-towne-family-burial.html

Fort Warren in Boston Harbor:

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/02/fort-warren-boston-harbor.html

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/10/haunted-hannah-jacks-tavern.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

The Abandoned Town of Monson, New Hampshire

In this area lay
the center of
the old town of
MONSON
1746 - 1770

I've previously written about ghost towns or abandoned towns like Dogtown near Gloucester, Massachusetts, or Zealand, New Hampshire, or even Chinese Camp in California.  I was surprised to learn that there was an abandoned town just minutes away from me.  Monson was settled in 1737 and abandoned in the 1770s.  It straddles the borders of Hollis and Milford, New Hampshire.

It is like stepping back in time to enter Monson.  You can find it off Silver Lake Road in Hollis, down Federal Hill (a dirt road) and Adams Road (no cars allowed).  You must park about a half mile from the marker pictured above showing the center of Monson.  There are no paved roads, some open fields and cellar holes.  The trail map, available at the Gould homestead, shows a town pound and family names for the cellar holes. It is an easy walk, and very interesting.

Monson, New Hampshire

You can read about Monson in Chapter six, pages 85-94 of the History of Hollis, New Hampshire by S. T. Worcester.  In 1770 the settlers of Monson appealed to New Hampshire's General Court to repeal their charter.  This unusual request came with this explanation: "That the Land in and about the Center of Monson is so very poor, Broken, Baron and uneven, as cannot admit of many settlers, so that those Families that are in Town, are almost all planted in the Extreme parts of it. We have no prospect of ever Building a Meeting-House in the Center or elsewhere, any ways to accomodate us, by which Difficulties we think the Gospel will not be settled among us while in the present situation.  We therefore pray, &tc."



Doc Brown's cellar hole, flashback of the
movie "Back to the Future"! 

This is interesting to me because in 1743 in Hollis, New Hampshire Daniel Emerson, brother of my 6 x great grandfather Brown Emerson, was ordained to be the minister of the newly settled West Parish of Dunstable, Massachusetts.  Shortly afterwards this became incorporated as the town of Hollis, New Hampshire, which absorbed part of the settlement of Monson, and the neighboring town of Milford absorbed the rest.  At about this time, Monson disappeared from the map.



The cornerstone on this stone wall reads "1834"

In 1988 the area faced development into luxury homes, and several neighbors took action to preserve the history of Monson.  Russ and Geri Dickerman headed up an effort to protect Monson, by purchasing the entire tract for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. The Dickermans restored the Gould house, the only building still standing in Monson.  There are now trail maps, markers for cellar holes and plaques giving the history of the landscape.  Some of the family names on the cellar holes are HUBBARD, BROWN, BAYLEY, GOULD, WALLINGFORD and NEVINS.

Society for the Protection of Forests website http://forestsociety.org.

A PDF trail map with information   https://forestsociety.org/sites/default/files/Monson%20Village%20Map.pdf

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To Cite/Link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Abandoned Town of Monson, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 6, 2012, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-abandoned-town-of-monson-new.html: accessed [access date]). 

Happy Halloween!

I'll be posting something this weekend for Halloween, but in the meantime here is a compendium of spooky, scary or other frightening posts from the Nutfield Genealogy blog.  Don't read them just before going to bed tonight! Woooooo.....


Ghosts...

The Ghost Town of Chinese Camp, California
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/09/chinese-camp-tuolumne-county-california.html

The Ghost Town of Zealand, New Hampshire
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/where-heck-is-zealand-new-hampshire.html

A Ghost seen in the Towne Family Burial Ground, Londonderry, New Hampshire
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/09/tombstone-tuesday-towne-family-burial.html

The "Lady in Black", Fort George, Boston Harbor
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/02/fort-warren-boston-harbor.html

A Haunted Londonderry Restaurant
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/01/coach-stop-restaurant-and-tavern.html

A Haunted Derry Restaurant
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/pinkerton-tavern-ghosts.html


Witches...

Tammy Younger, the Witch of Dogtown, Massachusetts
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/02/tammy-younger-witch-of-dogtown.html

The Truth about the Salem Witch Trials
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-19-1692-salem-massachusetts.html

Rebecca Nurse, Hung as a Witch in Salem in 1692
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/03/visit-to-rebecca-nurse-homestead.html


Other Scary Stories...

Landslide in Crawford Notch, New Hampshire
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/happy-halloween-story-of-willey-family.html

The 1819 Grave Robber in Essex, Massachusetts
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/04/body-snatchers-1819.html

The Pirate and Ocean Born Mary
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/ocean-born-mary-londonderry-character.html

Josie Langmaid, Murdered in 1875 and immortalized in a Ballad
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/murder-of-josie-langmaid-pembroke-new.html

Halloween Photos Past and Present
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/10/ghosts-of-halloweens-past.html

Image courtesy of http://creepyhalloweenimages.com

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Chinese Camp, Tuolumne County, California

We were driving to Yosemite National Park from San Francisco, when we passed several dusty, small towns between Stockton and Mariposa.  One had just a few houses and a closed general store with a sign “Chinese Camp”.  The name of the town made us all smile, as it certainly looked like a ghost town from the Gold Rush era.  A few miles later I remembered that one of my distant Wilkinson cousins in my genealogical database was buried in the cemetery at Chinese Camp, California.  We vowed to stop again for a photo the next time we passed by.

An abandoned building at Chinese Camp

Well, it took seven years, but recently we did the drive again to Yosemite from San Francisco, and remembered to stop in Chinese Camp along Route 49.    Some of the very first Chinese laborers in California were settled here in 1849.  Although the population of Chinese Camp was only 126 souls in 2010, at one time there were over 5,000 Chinese people living here.  Several historical markers tell the history of the town, but it mostly abandoned and does not appear to be visited by many tourists.  It certainly is not commercialized or a "Disney" place to visit, and actually is quite spooky and overgrown.  We never would have stopped if I didn't have a distant relative buried nearby. 

This was the old post office, and
also served as a Wells Fargo office

This appeared to have once been a home

We drove around the town, but it seemed to be mostly abandoned buildings near the highway, with the houses near the store apparently lived in, although we only saw two people.  The general store is only open on weekends.  Across the street from the store is the gate to the cemetery, which is not visible from the road.  It is located about a half mile up the dirt road, and through another gate.  Neither gate was locked, but we had to get out of the car, open it up, and then close it as we passed through.   I’ll post the cemetery photos for Tombstone Tuesday.

For the truly curious:

History of Chinese Camp, by the Tuolumne County Historic Preservation Review Commission, 1994

Woman Keeps Chinese Camp History Alive,  The Union Democrat, 29 November 2009, by Joshua Wolfson, story at this link http://www.uniondemocrat.com/2005112985769/News/Local-News/Woman-keeps-Chinese-Camp-history-alive

A slide show of abandoned Chinese Camp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bloCr4PI3nk

Click here for a blog post about our visit to the Chinese Camp cemetery:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/09/tombstone-tuesday-chinese-camp-cemetery.html 

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Chinese Camp, Tuolumne County, California", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 5, 2011, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/09/chinese-camp-tuolumne-county-california.html: accessed [access date]). 

Some Spooky New England Tales for Halloween!

My neighbor's annual Halloween display!

Here are some links to spooky stories I have posted in the past year!

A ghost seen in an old burial ground in Londonderry, New Hampshire http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/october-24th.html

Bodies are stolen from a graveyard in Essex, Massachusetts in 1819
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/04/body-snatchers-1819.html

The Civil War era "Lady in Black" can be seen at Fort Warren, on George's Island in Boston Harbor
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/02/fort-warren-boston-harbor.html

Two local restaurants, in colonial buildings, have resident ghosts
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/01/coach-stop-restaurant-and-tavern.html
or
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/01/coach-stop-restaurant-and-tavern.html

Romance, pirates and the ghost of a pirate in Henniker, New Hampshire
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/ocean-born-mary-londonderry-character.html

Tammy Younger (1753-1829), the witch of Dogtown in Gloucester, Massachusetts
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/02/tammy-younger-witch-of-dogtown.html

The 1875 murder of schoolgirl Josie Langmaid in Pembroke, New Hampshire
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/murder-of-josie-langmaid-pembroke-new.html

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Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Happy Halloween! The Story of the Willey Family of Crawford Notch

Crawford Notch State Park October 2010
The Site of the Willey House

Many writers, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, have told the sad story of the Willey Family of Crawford Notch. The tragedy was also included in songs, poems and paintings of the time period. This remote mountain pass was used by Native Americans, who told Timothy Nash its whereabouts. He is generally credited with its discovery in 1771. The first permanent settlers in the notch were the Abel Crawford family in 1792, on land originally granted to Nash.

In 1825 Samuel Willey, Jr. of Bartlett, New Hampshire built a small house in Crawford Notch at the foot of what is now called Mt. Willey. He brought his wife and five children to live there. On 28 August 1826 there was an extended drought, followed by heavy rain. The Saco River, which has its headwaters in Crawford Notch, rose 20 feet overnight. Two days later, friends came to the valley and were horrified to find the house unharmed, but the surrounding slopes littered with landslide and avalanche boulders. A large ledge above the house had divided the landslide, which passed around the house. The bodies of the Willey parents and two children were found, and three other children remained missing.

Poets and writers have dreamed up many versions of scary tales about what happened the day of the tragedy. Did the family flee the house when they heard the landslide? Were they escaping the flood when caught by an avalanche? Were they warned ahead of time? The house stood untouched, with a bible on the table and a dog still inside.

The Willey house stood as an inn to travelers until 1898 when it burned to the ground. Its site is marked by a large boulder with a bronze plaque. As a child we used to camp nearby, and my Dad would tell the story of the Willey family in his best Halloween voice. We would get the shivers standing there looking at the park and historical marker. We were there just two weeks ago to see the Fall foliage and visit the site. I still get the shivers even today!

1971, my sister and I at Crawford Notch
(the hills still bear the marks of the landslide 150 years before)

Willey Family Lineage (Thanks to Sue and Rick Willey, please see below)

Generation 1. Thomas Willey was born 1617 in Lincolnshire or Lancashire, England, died September 1681 in Oyster River (now Durham), New Hampshire; married Margaret Geaffit, born about 1615 in England.

Generation 2. John Willey, born between 1655 and 1656 in Oyster River, died 10 Sept 1770 in Oyster River; married Alice Dorcas about 1688.

Generation 3. Samuel Willey, born 1693 in Dover, New Hampshire; married about 1715 to Sarah Stevenson, daughter of Bartholomew Stevenson and Mary Clark.

Generation 4. Samuel Willey, born before 6 March 1719/20; married 16 June 1749 to Sarah Glazier.

Generation 5. Captain Samuel Willey, born 31 January 1753 in Lee, New Hampshire, died 14 June 1844; married on 23 October 1782 to Betsey Glazier, born 1 January 1761, and died 7 April 1844 in Conway, New Hampshire.

Generation 6. Samuel Willey, born 31 March 1788, died on 28 March 1826 in Crawford Notch Avalanche; married to Polly Lovejoy, born 1791, died on 28 March 1826, daughter of Jeremiah Lovejoy and Elizabeth Spring. (Polly had a royal ancestral lineage from King Edward III of England through her ancestor Edward Carleton of Rowley, Massachusetts, see Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists who came to New England between 1623 and 1650, by Frederick Lewis Weis, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988 ).

For more information:

The story of the Willey Family from the NH State Park’s Website (scroll down under History)
http://www.nhstateparks.com/crawford.html

“The Ambitious Guest” a short story from Twice Told Tales, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1837

“The Story of the Willey Family”, brochure by the New Hampshire State Parks (from Crawford Notch State Park, picked up in October 2010 at the gift shop, free)

This link has a beautiful painting by Thomas Cole of Crawford Notch “A View of the Mountain Pass Called the Notch of the White Mountains”, 1839, an excerpt from Hawthorne’s version of the tale, and also a passage from Cole’s journal, 1828, just two years after the incident.
http://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/19th_century_america/art_crawfordnotch.shtm

The New Hampshire Willey Family Tree, by Sue and Rick Willey
http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/pearl/www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/family/willeynh.pdf

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Happy Halloween!  The Story of the Willey Family of Crawford Notch", Nutfield Genealogy, posted 28 October 2010, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/happy-halloween-story-of-willey-family.html: accessed [access date]). 

Where the heck is Zealand, New Hampshire?

I found ancestors in a ghost town! Zealand, New Hampshire exists only on birth and death records. It no longer exists on maps, gazetteers or even on line at places like mapquest.com or Google Earth. Sure, I can find a Zealand River, and Zealand Notch ( a notch is a gap or mountain pass in New England), and there is a Zealand Hut as part of the Appalachian Mountain Club trail system. My daughter hiked the Zealand Trail on snowshoes several years ago and stayed overnight in the Zealand Hut. All are remnants of a once thriving town.

In the Great North Woods there were towns that sprung up overnight as “company towns” for the logging and forestry industries. And so they died as quickly as they sprung up. A large part of the Great North Woods became the White Mountains National Forest in 1918, in three non-contiguous areas. There are more than 780,000 acres of protected land in the National Forest, and a large section of land is also New Hampshire or Maine State parkland. These lands became protected areas due to the horrific clear cutting, erosion, large forest fires, and poor land management that occurred at the end of the nineteenth century- just about the same time someone in my family tree was born in Zealand, New Hampshire.

In 1884 the Zealand Valley Railroad ran into the heart of the White Mountain National Forest area, and suddenly a million acres of virgin forest was available for lumber. Around these lumber areas grew company towns, a paternal system of control similar to the textile mill system seen in the Merrimack River valley. The homes, the stores, hotels, railroads and even the hospitals were run by the lumber company of James E. Henry in Lincoln, Fabyans (another ghost town) and Zealand. There were similar towns in Conway and other parts of the Great North Woods. There were strict rules imposed by the lumber companies such as “Any person found throwing food or making unnecessary and loud talk at the tables will be fined” [The Story of Mount Washington, by F. Allen Burt, Hanover, NH, 1974] .

In its heyday 53 million feet of timber were floated down the Connecticut River. Paper production became a major industry in northern New Hampshire. [New Hampshire: Crosscurrents in its Development, by Nancy Coffey Hefferman and Ann Page Stecker, University Press of New England, Lebanon, NH, 2004, page 162] Unfortunately, the number of paper mills has dwindled in the past dozen years, and now tourism reigns in the Great North Woods as the number one industry. The White Mountains National Forest is now one of the most visited parks in the eastern United States. Only hikers can visit Zealand Notch. There are no longer any roads to Zealand, and the Zealand hiking trail follows the path of the old logging train. An area that had been laid waste by fires in 1888 and 1903 is now again hardwood forest.

Note: One member of my family tree who lived in Zealand, New Hampshire is Mabel Boyle, daughter of James Boyle and Catherine McFarlin, born in Zealand on 22 July 1881, d. 25 March 1975 in Franconia, New Hampshire; married on 3 September 1923 to Oscar Sumner Carroll, son of Leslie Carroll and Elnora Mary Wilkinson. Mr. Boyle was found in the 1880 census record in Carroll, New Hampshire, and it lists him as being born in Canada, with his wife and seven children.

The Zealand Trail
Photo by Mike Kautz, National Geographic Society, 2007
 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

For more information:

The Appalachian Mountain Club http://www.outdoors.org/

Chronicles of the White Mountains by Frederick Wilkinson Chadbourne, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1916.

J. E. Henry’s Logging Railroads: The History of the East Branch & Lincoln and Zealand Valley Railroads, by Bill Gove, Bondcliff Books, 1998 [I couldn’t locate a copy of this book at a library nor to view at Google books, but it is on Amazon.com as a used book ]

http://www.logginginlincoln.com/ Bill Gove’s website (Gove is a retired forester who has written three books on New Hampshire’s logging railroads) see the link http://www.logginginlincoln.com/Zealand%20Gove%20Gallery/Zealand%20and%20the%20Zealand%20Valley%20Railroad/ for photos and maps of the Zealand logging railroad http://www.logginginlincoln.com/Page.html has a page about J. E. Henry and his company towns.

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gtusa/usa/nh.htm  A guide to NH “Ghost Towns” (most are associated with logging camps and company towns)

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Where the heck is Zealand, New Hampshire?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 7, 2010, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/where-heck-is-zealand-new-hampshire.html

Tombstone Tuesday- The Towne Family Burial Ground in Londonderry

The Towne Cemetery is located on the corner of John Street and Boyd Road in Londonderry. I used to be able to see it from my living room windows, but the trees have grown up so much that I can't even see the stone wall surrounding the burial ground. The sign tacked onto a nearby tree says it was established in 1828.

SUSANNAH

Daughter of

Jabez & Mary

TOWNE

1816-1903

JOHN TOWNS

died

April 3, 1848,

Aged 54 years

& 9 mos.

The Towne Family lived on Boyd Road right next to the cemetery. I have a small book published by the Londonderry Historical Society in 1962, "Early Londonderry, Volume II". On page 136 it states "....the Towne Home, occupied by Jabez Towne, who lived to be over 90 years of age...across the field on the opposite side of the road, is the "Townes Cemetery", just beyond the present Jackson place. It is the last resting place of the Towne and Boyd families." Today I can no longer see any Boyd grave markers. There appear to many missing stones, and a third of those still standing are broken. There are eleven legible stones in this cemetery.

SACRED TO THE

Memory of

MR.

MOSES TOWNS

who died

Jan 22, 1828

AEt. 70

[this appears to be the oldest stone in the cemetery

and the year the cemetery was established]

Charlotte, wife of Moses Towne

[note how the name is spelled TOWNE and also TOWNS]

On page 137 of the same book is a funny story about this cemetery. "The following experience is one never to be forgotten by Mr. Corliss. One day, when he was twelve or thirteen, Harry had been telling ghost stories out behind schoolhouse #4 with a group of boys, and the hour grew late. Harry was a little nervous as he passed the whispering birches which lined the road below the Cross place, but it wasn't until he was passing the "Townes" cemetery that he became really frightened. A pale moon shone overhead and there, moving weirdly about in the cemetery, was a ghostly figure emitting the most unearthly sounds, screeching and screaming! Terrified, Harry raced for home and fell upon the floor as he entered through the kitchen door. The next morning, a neighbor came down to the Corliss house swinging two white hens. It was she who had been in the cemetery in her nightgown the night before."

An old photo of the Towne Homestead,

from page 166 of "Early Londonderry" Volume II,

by the Londonderry Historical Society, 1962

For more information on the Towne and Boyd families, see my blog post http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/08/boyd-and-towne-families-of-londonderry.html from August 2009. In this post I give the Towne lineage down to Mary, daughter of Jabez Towne, who married Robert Boyd. I also give information on the link to the Towne family in Topsfield, Massachusetts and the relationship to the three Towne sisters accused of witchcraft in 1692 (Rebecca (Towne) Nurse, Sarah (Towne) Cloyse, and Mary (Towne) Estey).

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Published under a Creative Commons License

 Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday-  The Towne Family Burial Ground in Londonderry", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 28, 2010  (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/09/tombstone-tuesday-towne-family-burial.html:  accessed [access date]).