1 10 1 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/12165/archive/files/f78438002d2655cdb53df7be12e9b2a8.pdf?Expires=1785369600&Signature=hUS3-Chy3A5W056%7EEGZK4VPv%7EAuTMEuBo64bK6TbN4XV82My9WiEONhLsI51p4xa9mTuZ4aBOyuMiFDbUBeYVSdfkWBfjiFfpzmkvTWxln3ps194LffMYu-HxS3-f5V-0eoDTOPqr4b8fEzHkJX%7EtKKSEKw6eqre4n9paWqfw2YBeaixBGbi5rCLsoxj%7ENmtdtu0k5jRka5NxJNgllKVr2MmJspoyTGE-GyAoCgXboeFYEIX1r4icbSJPTj1HxIClRkMNU79hCuW095z3uv0vS55pkcs9ZfVx%7E9i-PxxlR558K7ncyL3IolkHy6DyztDf18qok7e2MOdgIHe7H4RHw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 0c69aa5773b4f38e76363ecf4ae80c84 PDF Text Text FARMINGTON'S F I R S T M^iilTING H0U3E and ' I T S F I R S T DEACON Dea. BENJAMIN FURBfiR An H i s t o r i c a l Memoir Presented at The F a r m i n g t o n C o n g r e g a t i o n a l J a n u a r y 1 , 1978 E t h e l W. Mazza Church �Though ray t o p i c t h i s morning i s F a r m j n g t o n ' s F i r s t Meeting House, and i t s f i r s t to ! Deacon, i t seems a d v i s a b l e t r a c e some of t h e h i s t o r i c a l background. I t i s g e n e r a l l y w e l l known t h a t t h e f i r s t settle- ments were i n t h e v i c i n i t y of G r e a t Bay: Dover P o i n t , S t r a w b e r r y Banke, L i t t l e H a r b o r , and a l o n g the P i s c a t e qua R i v e r — t h e s e o c c u r r i n g i n the e a r l y 1 6 ? 0 ' s . The names of many o f t h e e a r l y s e t t l e r s a r e a m a t t e r of r e c o r d , though t h e names of some have been l o s t the with passage o f t i m e . One o f th«Be e a r l y s e t t l e r s was James Newt, who was s e n t as a s e r v a n t o f John Mason E S Q . i n t o t h e P r o v i n c e of New 1631; Hampshire ( R e g i s t e r : 2 - ? ^ ' \n or b e f o r e was a freeman i n 1653; l i v e d on Dover Neck where he was t a x e d between 1648 and 1677: ar"^was s t i l l living i n 1691 ( R e g i s t e r : 7 - 2 5 9 ) • At l e a s t two sons were b o r n : James J r . i n 164-3 and Abraham i n ^6^\A. '<oth sons a c - q u i r e d l a n d from t h e i r f a t h e r on F e b . 1 , l ^ ^ ' l . James J r ' s . e s t a t e was i n v e n t o ^ i d (Ibid) 1691, r e f e r e n c e b e i n g made t o h i s widow; J a t r ^ s J^l. with born J u l y 27, 1687, Samuel, born i n 15R9 - - 1 a t l e a s t two other c h i l d r e n . Another e a r l y s e t t l e r was Gat)t. of /illiarr^^ Dover Neck, 1659, and B l o o d y ^'oint, ?urber, "'6S7, 'Nonstable, 1645, Freeman, 1653, s e r g e a n t , 16^^; v^h-^ w n s born i n E n g l a n d about 1614, came i n t h e C o g s w e l l from London i n 16^==^, a n i ^•^'""T-'-^ w i t h John ,;r-<^->-d He was dead i n 1699 when t h e r e wer'^ p - ^'ernaquid. + o»»?v^^f^. f o r the d i s t r i b u t i o n of h i s e s t a t e . It i s i m p o r t a n t t o remember tha-t- Tr.-n-/ o'" t h o s e e a r l y s e t t l e r s l e f t w h a t e v e r c o T i f o ^ t ' - ' ^'^-t they may have known f o r an unknown f u t u r e b o - a n s o o f r e l i g i o u s �I p e r s e c u t i o n , and t h e i r d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h t h e Church I of E n g l a n d . r As l a n d g r a n t s were made-, p r o v i s i o n w a s made f o r i i a meeting house, and l a n d was r e s e r v e d f o r the m i n i s t e r , llAs we s i t here i n t h e comfort o f t h i s church today, havI i n g come fcom our c o m f o r t a b l e homes, m n n y f i n d i t n e a r l y ; impossible t o v i s u a l i z e t h e hardshir^s of these e a r l y ' s e t t l e r s , who had t o e r e c t temporary s h e l t e r s w h i l e l a n d was c l e a r e d f o r t h e i r new homes. There were no roads i as we know them; o n l y t r a i l s t h r o u g h t h e woods. T h e i r : b u i l d i n g t o o l s were most p r i m i t i v e , a n d t h e c l e a r i n g and b u i l d i n g p r o c e s s must have been m o s t arduous. Most l i k e l y , even a s t h e y we'r-e do:^n^ t h e i r own b u i l d i n g , thought was g i v e n t o the meeting house, where t h e y c o u l d w o r s h i p God. 1 W i l l i a m F u r b e r had a t l e a s t s i x c h i l d r e n , and j j ' ^ p o s s i b l y o t h e r s o f whom no r e c o r d h a s b'^on f o ^ i r i d . 1 p L t . W i l l i a m F u r b e r J r . was boi^n ^ n ' ^ o v e r about j 1646, and l i v e d a t Welch Cove, BlJiody P o i n t ; was an j e n s i g n i n 169^, f e r r y m a n , member o f t h ^ '"'olonial Asseme b l y . H i s f i r s t w i f e was E l i z a b e t h , by whom he had a t l e a s t two c h i l d r e n , a n d nn^-p^ h i v ^ o r e . "f*''ollowi n g h e r d e a t h , he m a r r i e d E l i z a b e t h ( W u r d ) Nute, daugh- \ t e r o f Capt. John and E l i z a b e t h Pu-^d , a n d w i d o w o f James ' Mute J r . Thus t h e union o f t w o ^ D r l y f - > - ] i . nr. \ . W i l l i a m F u r b e r became s t e p f a t h e r t ^ •*-he '^ute c h i l d r e n , and she became stepmother t o t h e -^'unb^r c ' l i J d r e n . 1 W i l l i a m ' F u r b e r o f Newington. n o n n 1 6 7 ? and d i e d , 20 Mar. 1757, m a r r i e d S a r a h Nute, d a u f ^ h t e - p o f James J r . and S a r a h ( H u r d ) Nute. She was born 167'- a n d d i e d 28 I A p r i l 1762. .William's b r o t h e r J e t h r o m a r r i e d o a r a h ' s s i s t e r L e a h , f u r t h e r ceraentingthe '''nrber-'Sute c o n n e c t i o n s . �i The Town o f R o c h e s t e r was g r a n t e d i n 1722, and I t h e d r a w i n g o f p r o p r i e t o r ' s g r a n t s f o l l o w e d soon a f t e r . ! T h i s f i r s t d i v i s i o n i n c l u d e d t h e l a n d from Dover t o 1| a p o i n t a p p r o x i m a t e l y n e a r t h e p r e s e n t R o c h e s t e r Common. ; W i l l i a m F u r b e r I I I was a f u l l s h a r e p r o p r i e t o r , w h i l e : James Nute I I I , h i s b r o t h e r Samuel Nute, and Thomas T u r t l e were t h i r d s h a r e p r o p r i e t o r s , s e t t l e m e n t was , slow because o f I n d i a n r a i d s , b u t by t h e 1750's, t h e r e W8LB a Meeting House a t t h e t o p o f R o c h e s t e r Hill. These same p r o p r i e t o r s a l s o a c q u i r e d l o t s i n t h e second d i v i s i o n o f 1750, and a l s o i n t h e l a t e r t h i r d .division. Attendance a t Meeting was c o n s i d e r e d compulsory, ;and t h o s e who d i d n o t a t t e n d r e g u l a r l y were s e v e r e l y admonished, and n o t i n f r e q u e n t l y p e n a l i z e d . As latie a s 1750, t h e a r e a above t h e Common was d e s c r i b e d b y McDuffee a s unbroken w i l d e r n e s s . T r a v e l l i n g from p l a c e t o p l a c e was u s u a l l y on f o o t , by way o f I narrow b l a z e d t r a i l s , l a t e r widened enouprh f o r a h o r s e , and s t i l l l a t e r f o r wagons. Many o f t h e s e f i r s t p r o p r i e t o r s d i d nor l i v e l o n g enough t o s e t t l e on t h e i r own g r a n t s , and t h e g r a n t s were p a s s e d t o sons o r g r a n d s o n s , o r were s a c r i f i c e d f o r unpaid t a x e s , Richard'*- F u r b e r , son o f W i l l i a m I I I , was born about 1700, and b a p t i s e d a t t h e Old North -^hurch i n Portsmouth. He m a r r i e d , had two sons i n 1725 and 1725, and d i e d soon a f t e r . R i c h a r d ^ , b o m i n 1725» a s o l d i e r a t I.ouisburfehin 1747; m a r r i e d f i r s t A b i g a i l Wadleigh; and s e c o n d l y , E l i z a b e t h Downing on 28 J a n . 1748. There were a t l e a s t s e v e n c h i l d r e n o f t h i s second m a r r i a g e , but t h e t h r e e !i �I i ' b r o t h e r s Samuel, B e n j a m i n , and R i c h a r d a r e of concern j! • i lito U S t o d a y . j 11 ' E n s . R i c h a r d F u r b e r ^ , a c q u i r e d p a r t of h i s grand- ; | f a t h e r ' s g r a n t i n t h e second d i v i s i o n by deed on J ^ l y ;|10, i j 1 7 4 6 . I t i s not known when he a c t u a l l y s e t t l e d on lithe l a n d , a s h i s c h i l d r e n were a l l b a p t i s e d i n Newingt o n between 1749 and 1 7 6 2 . N e v e r t h e l e s s , his ! gravestone t o g e t h e r w i t h t h a t o f h i s second w i f e have been l o c a t e d •near t h e p r o p e r t y o f A l i c e and the l a t e C e c i l J u s t o f f Route 202A ! Dustin, i n Rochester. | A c c o i n i n g t o t h e n a r r a t i v e s e c t i o n of the I S t r a f f o r d County A t l a s , "Among t h e f i r s t who 1871 i settled in t h e M e r r i l l ' s C o m e r s e c t i o n were B e n j a m i n , Samuel, | and R i c h a r d F u r b e r , Samuel J o n e s , Benjamin C h e s l e y , Paul DeMeritt, t h e Ten Rod The try who s e t t l e d between 1770 and 1783. and j On Road, J o s e p h and L e v i L e i ghton were l o c a t e d . ; first I r e c o r d s a t the S t r a f f o r d County R e g i s - of Deeds d a t e from 1773, w i t h a l l of the [ ones a t t h e A r c h i v e s i n Concord. earlier I have not r e s e a r c h e d F u r b e r l a n d t r a n s a c t i o n s t h e r e , but a l l three i Furber b r o t h e r s were b u y i n g l a n d i n t h e M e r r i l J s Corner a r e a i n 1773, 177^, and 1 7 7 6 , and presumably s e t t l e d t h e r e v e r y soon t h e r e a f t e r , a« t h e f i r s t ' i s c h o o l d a t e s from 1791. All of t h e F u r b e r c h i l d r e n were b a p t i s e d by Rev. • Haven, and i t seems l i k e l y t h a t t h e y made the l o n g t r e k to Rochester H i l l f o r t h i s purpose. I'hus i t was ; not l o n g b e f o r e t h e y r e a l i z e d the need of h a v i n g t h e i r own m e e t i n g house, much c l o s e r t o t h e i r homes. ' p ' With the establishment separate from R o c h e s t e r of Farmington a s a community i n 1798, the need became even more i m p e r a t i v e . The church_at { : | Meeting House H i l l was b u i l t by the i �I I p e o p l e o f F a r m i n g t o n and were a s s i s t e d by Oongregation||alists. A l o t w i t h 100 f o o t f r o n t a g e and 75 f e e t deep . ( C a r l s o n ' s f i e l d a t t h e t o p of t h e h i l l ) was purchased •from Samuel J o n e s , an e a r l y s e t t l e r of Farmington who i ' l o c a t e d i n 1770 where Gen. R o b e r t s r e s i d e d i n 1888. i; ( D u r a l t p l a c e i n I 9 6 0 ) . Lemuel Meader worked a t f r a m i n g t h e b u i l d i n g . He i'was t h e f a t h e r o f E l d e r J e s s e Meader. ( I might add h e r e , t h a t Lemuel was a f i f t h g e n e r a t i o n descendant o f John Meader; one o f t h e seven b r o t h e r s who s e t t l e d t h e Meader^ boro s e c t i o n } and my own g r e a t - g r e a t - g r e a t g r a n d f a t h e r ) . ' Lemmy f e l l and was i n j u r e d c o n s i d e r a b l e , but r e c o v e r e d r a f t e r a l o n g s p e l l . The d i m e n s i o n s o f t h e b u i l d i n g were 40' by 50', two s t o r i e s i n h e i g h t w i t h windows i n both • s t o r i e s . I t was b u i l t , i n 1806. P r e a c h e r s a t Meeting House H i l l i n c l u d e d T i l l y H owe and Dyer Burge, and o c c a s i o n a l l y 5 ] i a s S m i t h , a n o t e d m i n i s t e r spoke t o a l a r g e a u d i e n c e . I'arson Haven p r e a c h e d on d i f f e r e n t o c c a s i o n s , a l s o ^ l d e r Joseph i [[ Boody. The o n l y female p r e a c h e r e s s t h a t ev<^r spoke , a t Meeting House H i l l was M i s s O a r i s s a ' i n n f o r t h . ( O l d Time ^''ar--^ r.gton #25) ! With c o l d w e a t h e r , t h e meetings M e e t i n r House ; H i l l were d i s c o n t i n u e d , but were held a t t h e "Oock" schoolhouse i n s t e a d , t h e y h a v i n g no heat i n i t . Somet i m e s t h e y would b r i n g t h e i r c h a r c o a l f o o t h e a t e r s o r , - warmers w i t h them. Most a l l o f t h e oeoT^le wo 3id. i ;! i ; i sometimes 9 0 and meet t h e r e a t "Th^ 0 ] d B l a c k S c h o o l •j House" ( c o r n e r o f cemetery l o w e r e n t r a n c e ) . T h e r e would be Simon Dame and '-^enja^in : ! m both -a, v e r y r e l i g i o u s and "good exhorter-^"; t ^ o ..'ingates a l s o ' went, t h e S a u i r e and h i s w i f e , s h ^ t - k i r - '' s arm ( a ^^ i, • r v e r y worthy c o u p l e ; Mr. Jeremv v i n ^ a t e , t h e s t o r e k e e p e r , ji �and h i s w i f * , ' and o f t e n h i s s i s t e r , M i s s Nancy; Lawyer Eastman and wife*, t h e Widow P e a r l and h e r p r e t t y daught e r S a l l i e ; Capt. B d g e r l y and w i f e ; o l d J e r e m i a h Folsom and h i s worthy companion; and Thomas Ham's f a m i l y ; w h i l e ''<3ooper" E b e n e z e r Wentworth J r . l e d the s i n g i n g t o t h e minister's great d e l i g h t . T a l l o w c a n d l e s were a l l t h e y had t o l i g h t the s e h o o l room w i t h . ~ 6ro*m-ups a t t e n d i n g meetings would b r i n g a c a n d l e a p i e c e t o l i g h t up w i t h . A l l three Furber brothers served t h e i r country i n t h e R e v o l u t i o n a r y pWP* B e n j a m i n F u r b e r , t o g e t h e r w i t h Moses F u r b e r , John Nute, and Joseph Thompson were i n C a p t . D a v i d P l a c e ' s Go., a t Seaisrey I s l a n d i n 1 7 7 5 . S g t . R i c h a r d was i n Oapt. D a v i d Copp's Go. a t P i e r c e I s l a n d a t t h e same t i i M ^ l a t e r a t S a r a t o g a ; and s e r v e d a s I a d j u t a n t a t t h e 8%u?render o f Burgoyne. I B e n j a m i n IHirber m a r r i e d f i r s t Deborah T i b b e t t s on i D e c . 18, 1777; and'second, K e z i a h Ash on J u l y 5 , 1795. iHe was t h e f a t h e r o f a t l e a s t e i g h t c h i l d r e n : J o n a t h a n , Mary, A b i g a i l , E l i z a b e t h , B e n j a m i n , - W i l l i a m , Deborah, j and R i c h a r d . ji A b i g a i l m a r r i e d John Murray J r on Nov. 26, 1807, , and t h e i r d a u g h t e r i6a»ia m a r r i e d O t h n i e ] '/amey and | I s e t t l e d on t h e f a r m about two m i l e s above M e r r i l l ' s j C o m e r . E l i z a b e t h a a r r i e d D a v i d Hayes and s e t t l e d on th»; f a r m now o c c u p i e d by L e s l i e Harden. They a r e b u r i e d i n t h e cemetery i n t h e upper c o r n e r of the fi«'ld. T h e i r daughteir, B l i a a J a n * Hayes m a r r i e d as h i s second wife:, t h e Hon. J o s l a h B a r t l e t t E d g e r l y of F a r m i n g t o n , I a man o f prominence and honor i n h i s community. E l i z a was a t e a c h e r i n F a r m i n g t o n b e f o r e h e r m a r r i a g e . They l i v e d i n t h e house boiight of Hon. Nehemiah Eastman, o r i g i n a l l y t h e J o n a s C. March house, the second frame �b u i l d i n g b u i l ^ i n F a r m i n g t o n . I t stood d i n e c t l y o p p o s i t e j t h e C o n g r e g a t i o n a l Church. I S i n c e genealogy i s p r e s e n t l y o n l y a s p a r e - t i m e ; hobby of mine, I r e g r e t t h a t I have not had time t o | pursue t h i s f a m i l y f u r t h e r . Hov/eve^, I would c a l l t o I; y o u r a t t e n t i o n t h a t y o u r own Ronald P a r r o c k i s a g r e a t g r e a t - g r e a t grandson of Capt. Samuel F u r b e r ; f u r t h e r t h a t F u r b e r d e s c e n d a n t s were s t i l l l i v i n g i n the M e r r i l l ' ; C o r n e r a r e a w i t h i n my own memory. The i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t I have found p a r t i c u l a r l y ' i n t e r e s t i n g i s t h e v e r y e a r l y Furber-Nute c o n n e c t i o n s ; ; t h a t Deacon B e n j a m i n F u r b e r ^ was t h e deacon of t h e ' !i ij f i r s t Meeting House, and t h a t Deacon "ugene Nute, ; g e n e r a t i o n u n c e r t a i n , but p r o b a b l y 1 0 t h of 1 1 t h i s t h e | S e n i o r Deacon of t h i s C o n g r e g a t i o n a l Church, t o d a y . i i The e a r l y P u r b e r f a m i l y cemetery i s l o c a t e d on l a n d o r i g i n a l l y b e l o n g i n g t o Capt. Samuel P u r b e r , ] a p p r o x i m a t e l y % m i l e i n t h e woods, w i t h i n l a n d now owned i by L e s l i e B a r d e n , and c o n t a i n s 17 F u r b e r g r a v e s t o n e s . j . • " I t i s w i t h a g r e a t d e a l of p l e a s u r e t h a t I today p r e s e n t t o t h e F a r m i n g t o n C o n g r e g a t i o n a l Church, i! s u c c e s s o r t o t h e F i r s t Meeting House, a mounted and ! framed r u b b i n g o f Deacon Benjamin F u r b e r ' s p-ravestona, and I t h i n k t h a t i t i s o n l y a p p r o p r i a t e t h a t Deacon ! Nute be a s k e d t o u n v e i H i t . I � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Documents, Papers, & Articles Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Farmington First Meetinghouse & Its First Deacon -Deacon Benjamin Furber An Historical Memoir Description An account of the resource Farmington First Meetinghouse & Its First Deacon -Deacon Benjamin Furber An Historical Memoir was presented at the First Congregational Church of Farmington, January 1, 1978 by Ethel W. Mazza. The document is eight pages typed on paper. This appears to be a photo copy of the original. FHS-RKL Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ethel W. Mazza Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Donated by David Furber church document First Congregational Church Furber Mazza meetinghouse memior