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• _UID: 7248AD29BBE8B94AA290B117C40AA2A1411F

Mary married Samuel STARK. [Group Sheet]

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• _UID: DA8EA1186F81D24D82E3A745A4C5A94FE2A8

Notes:

Nehemiah Porter was a small man, very alert in all his movements, and of a somewhat impatient disposition. It is told of him, that on one occasion he made a visit to a son, intending to return by the railroad, then recently built. He arrived at the station about half an hour before the train was due, and being in something of a hurry, and having no faith that the train could be on time, walked the whole distance home, about 8 miles. He had a very peculiar cap made for himself, consisting of three triangular pieces of firm woolen cloth, one red, one green, and one tan color, all meeting in a sharp point at the top and surmounted by a tassel; a drop cape was sewed to the bottom of two of the sides protecting his neck and shoulders. this cap he wore on all important occasions, and when he appeared in it at the town meeting, he was greeted with cheers.

About 1803 he moved to Raymond, Me., where he owned a farm on the shores of Sebago Lake. He lived there for ten or twelve years, when he returned to Chester, N. H., his parents urging him to do so, as they were old and all their children were married and away. Later he moved to Manchester, N. H., where several of his children lived, and where both he and his wife died and were buried.

His grandchildren still quote his sayings, of which the following are examples. "Let him do as he wants to, and he won't go to the devil grumbling." To a member of the family who was hunting for a lost article he said, "Look where you think it isn't just at much as where you think it is."

He had a considerable talent for acting, preferring the rather more stately parts; and was often called upon to take part in amateur performances.

Books were neither plentiful no cheap in his time, but the few he had he mastered; and among them, he loved none better than the works of Josephus, of which he had a very accurate knowledge.

The latter part of his life was spent with his daughter, Mrs. Mary Stark, at whose home he died.

Nehemiah married Lois GRAGG on 31 May 1801. Lois (daughter of Reuben GRAGG and Betsey CARLETON) was born in Sep 1780 in Boxford, Massachusetts; died on 5 Apr 1845 in Manchester, New Hampshire. [Group Sheet]

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• _UID: 14A2ACB284E2404BA00B41B75AA134F0C742

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• _UID: C6EE03C51417D64381A7795E8A93B3BF4E6C
• Living: Between 1746 and 1833, Boxford, Bradford, and Chester, New Hampshire; Address:
  Ipswich
• Military: 1775, Lexington, Connecticut

Notes:

Circa 1907: "Samuel Porter lived in Ipswich, Boxford, Bradford, and Chester, N. H. His house in Chester is no longer standing, and the grounds that surrounded it now form a part of the old graveyard, where he and his wife are buried. He is described by one who remembered him, as a person of very decided opinions and not easily influenced by others. He was a Revolutionary soldier, marching on the Lexington Alarm, 19 April 1775 (Mass. Archives, Lexington alarm, Vol XI, page 259.) He was in Capt. John Cushing's company, Col. Samuel Johnson's regiment. He was chosen by field officers as second lieutenant of Capt. Robert Dodge's company, and commissioned by council, 7 May 1776, at Ipswich. His son Nehemiah used to amuse his grandchildren by telling stories of the Revolution, one of which was as follows. One night when Samuel was on sentry duty, it was evident that the British were about to make some move, and the Americans wished to know on which of two roads they were likely to make their march. it occurred to Samuel that on one of the roads there was a bridge, and he lay down and put his ear to the ground, and was able to tell by the hollow sound that they had passed over the bridge, and this information enabled the Americans to defeat the British in a skirmish the next day."

"Just when he moved to Chester is not known, but he was living in Boxford in 1775. At first he haired a farm in Chester from Mr. Matthew Templeton, but later bought a place of his own, where he lived until his death. He was called by the Indians "Port Pig's Ear," though the origin of the curious name is now unknown."

Military:
He was a Revolutionary War soldier, marching on the Lexington alarm, 19 April 1775.

Samuel married Martha PERLEY on 27 Nov 1770. Martha (daughter of Rev. Samuel PERLEY and Ruth HOWE) was born on 25 Jan 1752 in Ipswich, Massachusetts; died on 19 Jan 1837 in Chester, New Hampshire. [Group Sheet]

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• _UID: 8136C3EF8CBCED44A15B91147EEE3DD602B2
• Baptism: 9 Feb 1752, Ipswich, Massachusetts; Address:
  Lonebrook Church

Notes:

In 1907, Martha was described by Mrs. Catherine M. Porter, of North Somerville, N. H. as a person of medium size, with beautiful blue eyes, bright brown hair, and the manners of a gentlewoman. During her widowhood she lived with her daughter Mrs. Hannah Preston, in the house of Mr. Rufus Phillips, which was owned in 1907 by Mr. G. W. Davis, of Chester, N. H.

Reuben married Betsey CARLETON. [Group Sheet]

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• _UID: 2A602C05A72DDA48AA783892458CF2127228

Notes:

No record of Samuel Porter was found (as of 1907) except the record of his birth and death, and the inscription on his gravestone, in the West Boxford graveyard.

HERE LIES BURIED
THE BODY OF
Mr. SAMUEL PORTER
WHo DIED MAY 10
1750 AGED 27 YEARS
11 MONTHS & 23 DAYS

Samuel married Sarah. Sarah was born in 1727; died on 12 Nov 1799. [Group Sheet]

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• _UID: BCC0045ACCF8C248A4A97AC68B54DEC5B740

Notes:

Sarah's will was registered at the Salem Registry of Deeds and is detailed in the source.

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• _UID: ECE05163DA33E34F9A9B3F7ED0AAF74567D1
• Living: 1770, Ipswich, Massachusetts

Notes:

Samuel Perley was a farmer, and lived in the house built by his grandfather. He attended the Topsfield church. He was a slave holder, as evidenced by baptismal records in 1742.

Samuel married Ruth HOWE about 10 Jan 1741 in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Ruth (daughter of Lieutenant Abraham HOWE and Hephsibah ANDREWS) was born on 19 Apr 1722; and died. [Group Sheet]

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• _UID: 9331A3E866E06F45BB675BF1B87D0FA19C82
• Living: 1770, Ipswich, Massachusetts