The heritage of Truman Dixon Palmer. Although it covers a single lineage there are a number of historical events and important families associated with it that may be of interest to those researching their genealogy, particularly in England and New Hampshire from the early 1600's to mid 1800's. Also, Ohio, New York and California.
This is a reproduction of the Palmer section of a "Palmer-Barrett Genealogy" book prepared by two sisters, Ethel Duffy and Grace Duffy, in the 1960's, regarding the ancestry of their grandparents.
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Last updated February 6, 1999
This is the record of the family lines of two Americans whose ancestors came to this country from the British Isles in the Seventeenth Century.
For the most part, the newcomers were Puritans, who left their native land because of religious persecution. But some of the immigrants were of the merchant class, seeking new opportunities in an unexploited terrain.
Truman Dixon Palmer and Emma Calista Barrett lived in the Nineteenth Century. They were married in Ohio. In 1859, several years after the Gold Rush, they set out across the plains in a covered wagon for California. They and their immediate descendants were thereafter known as the Lost Tribe, since all communication with their relatives in the East and Midwest was cut off in the stress of pioneer living.
Much of the research and work on this genealogy has been done over a period of years by Ethel Duffy Turner, a granddaughter of the Palmers. It was she who arranged and added to the copious material on the Barretts, gathered by Martha Nash Zander, a Barrett relative.
She used the information on the Palmers, given by Lulu Williamson, as a basis for further research and arranged it in its present form to make this authentic record of our family history a human document which helps to bring us an understanding of our ancestors.
Grace Duffy Zubler, also a granddaughter of the Palmers, has assembled the material on the descendants of Truman Dixon Palmer and Emma Calista Barrett.
In this genealogy a special effort is made to identify the immigrant ancestors of Truman Dixon Palmer and Emma Calilsta Barrett, who first came to America in the seventeenth century, and settled in New England. Their names will be found in heavier type in the printing.
The potential readers of these pages will be, for the most part direct descendants, or collaterally related to Truman Dixon Palmer and Emma Calista Barrett. They may well marvel at the turn of the events which saw their ancestors venture into a new and rugged, and often hostile wilderness. They undoubtedly were courageous individuals, with a passion for freedom of thought and religion, seeking these freedoms in a far away and unknown land, in virtual exile from their homeland.
In the short period of one hundred and fifty years there arose on the western shores of the Atlantic, a nation that was destined to be an outstanding world leader in championing the rights of man; to be a leader in progressive democratic philosophy, in invention, industrialization, in culture and in learning.
Our founding fathers possessed high ideals which they were ready to defend, often at the sacrifice of their lives.
This drama, which is briefly shown here by this record, should be read with interest and with pride by the decendants. It ranks with the most important world events of modern times.
Although emphasis herein is on the immigrant ancestors of Truman Dixon Palmer and Emma Calista Barrett there is occasional mention of co-lateral relatives. Individuals may wish to add other data, particularly their own family lines. Blank pages have been provided adjacent to the various families for this purpose.
Abbreviations used in listing of the families indicate (b) for born, (m) for married, and (d) for died.
In the descriptions of the Coats of Arms given herein there are several words or abbreviations which denote the colors used, etc. They are:
We are all freeholders, the rent day doth not trouble us and all those other good blessings we have. -William Hilton
In Hampton, New Hampshire, there is a memorial spot which has a central monument surrounded by large stones on which are cut the names of the men who founded the town of Hampton. On the central monument is a metal plaque with the following inscription:
A little band of pioneers under the leadership of Rev. Stephen Bachiler of Southampton, England seeking a larger liberty in October, 1638 settled in the wilderness near this spot to plant a free church in a free town. They were joined in 1638 by others and in that year the town was incorporated To do honor to the founders and fathers of Hampton to exalt their ideals for which they strove and as an inspiration to posterity this memorial is dedicated October 14, 1925.
County Norfolk England
The name Palmer goes back to the Crusades. The "Palmer" came back from the Holy Land carrying a palm.
William Palmer m: Mary Stamforth
(immigrant)
Christopher Palmer m: Susanna Hilton
Samuel Palmer m: Ann Sanborn
Christopher Palmer m: Elizabeth Berry
Jonathan Palmer m: Abigail Rowe
John Palmer m: Meribah Remick
Isaac Palmer m: Mary Haskell
Truman Dixon Palmer m: Emma Calista Barrett
William Palmer, yeoman (small land owner) came to America from Great Ormsby, County Norfolk, England. He married Mary Stamforth in Ransworth, Norfolk, on June 30, 1608. Their children were Martha, Christopher and Edward.
It is not known when William Palmer arrived in America, or whether his wife came with him. His children are mentioned. He settled first in Salem, then in Watertown (1636). In 1638 he became one of the founders of Hampton. He remained there until his death.
From History of New Hampshire, by Jeremy Belknap, we quote: "A plantation was formed at Winnacunnet, which was called Hampton ... A petition was presented to the Court by a number of persons, chiefly from Norfolk in England, praying for liberty to settle there, which was granted them ... The number of first inhabitants was fifty-six."
Winnacunnet was the name the Indians gave this land; it means "beautiful place of pines." These first settlers sailed up Winnacunnet River in a shallop (light open boat) in 1638. The Court granted land to a list of persons. Under this grant William Palmer received 100 acres.
Joseph Dow, in History of Hampton, N.B., says: "William Palmer was chosen grand juryman for the court to be holden at Boston on the first Thursday in September, 1640." He was a freeman. Only freemen were permitted to hold any important office. None could become freeman except church members. This rule was canceled May 26, 1647.
William Palmer was chosen woodreeve on May 4, 1644. (Woodreeve - woodward or wood warden). Arrangements were made to take care of the cattle. The calves were committed to young Christopher Palmer. He was to care for the calves "every working day and every 4th Lord's day... for which he shall have 8 shillings per week, to be payed in works and other commodities ..."
On March 10, 1645, William Palmer conveyed all his property in Hampton and in Newbury to John Sherman of Watertown and his wife, Martha, William Palmer's daughter, in exchange for the estate in Great Ormsby, England, which was her inheritance. He made his will, leaving all his other property to his son Christopher. In 1661 John and Martha Sherman sold her share in her father's estate to William's youngest son, Joseph, by William's second wife, Grace.
William Palmer's house lot was between the lots of William Eastow and John Moulton, and his house was at about the spot where the Leavitt house now stands.
He died some time between May 30 and October 6, 1647. It is not known when his wife Mary died, probably in England before his emigration. Several authorities mention Grace, widow of Thomas Rogers, as William Palmer's second wife. Her maiden name was Coolidge. Grace, when widowed again, married Roger Porter.
An item of interest: In September, 1636, a William Palmer was cited for absence from St. Margaret's Church in Great Ormsby, England. He had become a Puritan and was subject to persecution under Archbishop Laud. No doubt he left secretly at the time of the Great Migration that reached a peak in 1636.
Christopher Palmer, son of William and Mary, was born in Great Ormsby, England, in 1626. In America, he married Susanna Hilton, daughter of Edward Hilton, on November 7, 1650.
In 1652 he sued Hampton for a land grant to his father and detained from him. Thereafter he was a frequent juror, witness or party to suit. His half-brother, Joseph, born in 1643, chose him and Walter Roper of Ipswich as guardians in 1661. In 1662 they sued several Newbury men for detaining property formerly belonging to the father, William Palmer, through Joseph's land grant from John Sherman in 1661.
Christopher was a selectsman in 1655; 1677~8; 1681~1692~1697. He was called Corporal in 1671. He was on a committee formed June 9, 1663, to lay out New Plantation ... 4000 acres. In 1698 Christopher deeded the homestead to his sons Samuel and Joseph. The estate was insolvent, and this blocks knowledge of other children.
Christopher Palmer took part in the Indian wars and was a commissioned officer. His descendants are eligible for membership in the Society of Colonial Wars.
He died on June 20, 1699, aged 73. His widow, Susanna died on January 9, 1716, aged 82.
Walter Barefoot was a unique character in New Hampshire. Charles H. Pope lists him as: Walter Barefoot, gentleman, of Kittery... later home New Castle. A partisan of Charles II, an official in the Provincial government; involved in many conflicts ... He was a self-styled captain and also a doctor.
Charles Hilton, son of Edward Hilton, fell under the influence of Captain Barefoot. In 1668 Barefoot was buying sack (dry Spanish wine) for him. In 1671 Charles broke into a hotel that Barefoot had deeded to him without owning it.
Franklin B. Sanborn, in "New Hampshire", tells this story:
"In 1675 the Hampton marshal, Christopher Palmer, a son-in-law of Edward Hilton and father-in-law (error: should be brother-in-law) of the Sherman of Watertown from whom so many famous modern men descended, went up the Pascataqua to arrest Dr. Barefoot, concealing his real mission. Palmer induced the doctor to go to the Dover jail and release from arrest two of the Hiltons, who were lodged there. The jovial doctor took along a gallon of perry (cider made from pears) to drink the health of the released, and so long as it lasted they were all merry. But presently, as the jailer's son testified, there was a great noise, with Dr. Barefoot lying on the ground and saying he would not go, for he was in prison already, where he would abide. But Christopher Palmer answered 'he was his prisoner', pulling him rough and rudely. Palmer himseIf testified that Barefoot 'laid himself along the floor at the prison, more like a pig than a captain,'
for the doctor claimed that title, too. As they went down the river toward Hampton prison, where John Souter received the unwilling chirugeon (surgeon), Capt. Champernown offered to give bail for his friend, but was refused, whereby Barefoot read the Massachusetts Puritans a lecture from their own "Body of Liberties."
One good act of Waiter Barefoot survives in history. In 1662, three women Quakers were ordered made fast to a cart's tail and beaten in each New Hampshire town. In Dover, Hampton and Salisbsury the order was executed. Before any more beatings could take place, Barefoot took these women from the Constable in Salisbury on pretense of turning them over to the Constable of Newbury. Then he sent them safely out of the province.
Under James II, Barefoot was for a time acting Governor, also Chief Justice.
Joseph Dow, historian, has the following story:
"In the case of Goody Cole (Eunice Cole), Goody Marston and Susanna (the wife of Christopher Palmer) deposed 'that Goodwife Cole said she was sure there was a witch in the towne, and she knew wehre hee dwelt and who they are'... also that thirteen years before she had known one bewitched as Goodwife Marston's child was, and that this person was changed from a man to an ape, as Goody Marston's child was'."
Christopher Palmer claimed she kept his bees from swarming.
Note on Goody Cole: Goody Cole of Hampton was arraigned before the County Court of Norfolk in 1656 for witchcraft. She was sentenced to be whipped and then imprisoned for life. Later she was released, but in her old age was arrested again. When she died, she was buried on a lonely road, and a stake was driven through her breast to hold her down.
In the town of Hampton, New Hampshire, two hundred years later, Goody Cole was retried, and acquitted!
Samuel Palmer, son of Christopher Palmer and Susanna Hilton Palmer, was born on November 25, 1652. He married Ann Sanborn, daughter of Lieutenant John Sanborn and Mary Tuck Sanborn. Mary Tuck was the daughter of Robert
Tuck. Lieut. John Sanborn was the grandson of Reverend Stephen Batcheler (Bachiler). Stephen Batcheler, Robert Tuck and John Sanborn were among the original settlers of Hampton.
Samuel Palmer, his wife Ann and family lived on the Palmer homestead in Hampton. Their children were:
Samuel b. 1685 m. Elizabeth Berry Christopher b. Feb. 12, 1687 Stephen b. 1689 Mary b. 1691 Jonathan b. 1698
Samuel Palmer was under arms in King William's War in 1698. He was 44 at the time. He fought in Queen Anne's War from July 27 to August 10, 1708, when he was 56 years old.
He is listed by Joseph Dow as: Mariner.
Christopher Palmer is the second Christopher Palmer in this record. He was the son of Samuel Palmer and Ann Sanborn Palmer. His eldest brother, Samuel, became an eminent teacher of surveying and navigation. On July 24, 1705, Christopher married Elizabeth Berry, born at New Castle, 1686, granddaughter of Nathaniel Locke and Judith Hemins (or Hemming), and they settled in Rye, New Hampshire. Their children :
Jonathan b. May 16, 1707 Died young Jonathan b. April 28, 1710 m. Abilgail Rowe William b. May 3, 1712
In Queen Anne's War, Christopher Palmer was under arms from May 18 to June 1, 1708. He was 21 years old.
The date of the death of Christopher Palmer is not known at this time, nor is that of his wife Elizabeth.
Jonathan Palmer, son of Christopher and Elizabeth, was born on April 28, 1710, in Hampton. According to Charles H. Pope, Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire, he married Abigail Rowe of Hampton on October 22, 1730. The Rye Document (see later) states that they were married on the above date. But Joseph Dow, in History of Hampton, gives the date as May 5, 1746. Both dates seem to be in error, as they had a large family and the first child was born in 1740. Both
Jonathan and his wife were living when the 1790 census was taken.Their children:
Abigail baptized 1740 Anna baptized 1743 Joseph & Mary baptized 1745 Jonathan baptized 1747 Sarah baptized 1751 James baptized 1753 John baptized 1755 Jeremiah baptized 1763
Jonathan Palmer's family can be traced to towns near the sea coast ... Sutton .. Warner.. Rye.
Among the men who went to Ticonderoga in 1776 is the name of Jonathan Palmer. If the father, he would have been 66 years old. If the son, as is more likely, he would have been 29.
Examination of the genealogy of the Rowe family in America reveals that an Abigail Rowe was born in Hampton in 1722. If this girl married Jonathan Palmer of Hampton in 1739, she would have been seventeen at the time. This would bring into the record several more interesting ancestors the Swaines, Marstons and Websters, all early settlers of Hampton. The family line would be:
Robert Rowe, Jr. married May 21, 1708, Mehetabel, daughter of William Swaine (or Swayne). They had several children, including a daughter named Abigail, born January 31, 1722 (Dow).
William Swaine and Mary (Webster) Swaine were the parents of Mehetabel, who was born about 1683, died July 2, 1772. This William Swaine was the son of William Swaine, born about 1619, who married Prudence Marston. He was the son of Richard Swayne, one of the first settlers of Hampton. William was one of the eight men who were lost at sea on October 20, 1657. John Greenleaf Whittler wrote a poem about this tragedy.
The Swaynes came to Hampton from Rowley, Mass. Their sons preceded the parents to America in the ship Rebecca in 1635. One of them was named William like his father. It was he who married Prudence Marston, daughter of Captain William Marston, a Quaker. Their son William married Mary Webster in 1676. She was the daughter of Thomas Webster and Sarah Bruer (Brewer). Daniel Webster descended from this family; he is therefore a collateral relative.
John Palmer was the eighth child of Jonathan and Abigail Rowe Palmer. His Revolutionary War record:
First Enlistment as a private on the payroll of Captain Gordon Hutchins' Company, Col. John Stark's New Hampshire Regiment, when he was 20 years old. Enlisted May 4, 1775; served 8 months. Was in Battle of Bunker Hill. Second Enlistment on July 4, 1776. Served 5 months in Captain Ira Stillsen's New Hampshire Company, Col. Isaac Wyman's Regiment. Third Enlistment on July 20, 1777. Served 2 months in Captain Ebenezer Webster's Company, Col. Thos. Stickney's Regiment, Gen. John Stark's Brigade, which joined the Northern Continental Army. Under this command, John Palmer was in the Battle of Bennington. Fourth Enlistment May, 1778. Served nine months in Captain Ebenezer Fry's Company, Col. John Gilley's New Hampshire Regiment. Fifth Enlistment on July 4, 1780. Sergeant on the payroll of Captain Henry Butler's Company, Col. Thomas Bartlett's Regiment of Militia, raised by the State of New Hampshire for defense in 1780. He was discharged October 25, 1780.
In his first enlistment he gave his residence as Warner and occupation as husbandman.
Note: Enlistments as a rule were of short duration. The men returned to their homes to plant or reap their crops, etc., then often re-enlisted, as John Palmer did.
John Palmer married Meribah Remick in 1780. Descendants (women) are eligible for members in the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) and men in the Sons of the American Revolution (S.A.R.).
In the History of Sutton, New Hampshire by Worthen, is the following item under Palmer:
"The Palmers of Sutton and Warner are descendants of Jonathan Palmer. Three of his sons, John, James and Jeremiah, settled on a Lord Proprietors Lot No. 8, drawn to the original right of John Moffat, one of the Masonian proprietors. The locality has been known as Palmerstown or Palmer's Gore and adjoins Warner Gore. Here the three brothers lived to a great age and reared large families; and it has since been occupied by the descendants."
Worthen states that John Palmer came from Rye about 1790 and settled in Warner Gore. In 1818 he removed to Sutton. In Kearsage Gore his house was destroyed by what was described as tornado. From History of Warner, N.H. we have taken the account. John Palmer saw the terrible cloud, in shape like an inverted funnel. He saw the air filled with leaves, limbs, quilts, clothing, crockery and almost everything conceivable. He heard the ominous rumbling and sprang to enter the house with the purpose of fleeing with his wife to the cellar. He got the door but partly open when the house gave way, burying Mrs. Palmer under the rubbish and inflicting serious injuries. In this valley between the hills everything in the direct course of the tornado was rooted out.
In 1811 and 1813 he was chosen as selectsman. In 1813 he was elected moderator. He was a surveyor and a farmer.
Late in years he applied for and received a Revolutionary War Pension (April 19, 1833). His wife was living when he applied; she died October 13, 1841, at eighty years. He died January 20, 1842. They were buried in the cemetery near the Driver Farms, West Charleston, Vermont.
Research has so far failed to uncover Meribah Remick's family.
Isaac Palmer, eldest child of John and Meribah, was born March 17, 1781. He married Mary Haskell, who was born March 21, 1788. In 1814 a selectsman report is signed by Isaac Palmer. He and his family moved to Franklin County, New York, then to Lower Canada, then back to Franklin County. They followed the trend of emigrants to lands that were opening up farther west. They settled in or near Conneaut, Ohio, on Lake Erie. He died there on July 18, 1863. She died Sept. 16, 1859. All of their children lived to maturity.
Further research is needed to determine the genealogy of the Haskell family.
Children of Isaac Palmer and Mary Haskell Palmer:
Elmira b. June 28, 1810 at Warner, N.H. Died Jan.
11, 1884. m. Harry Brewster, who descended
from Elder Brewster of the Mayflower.
Henry b. March 23, 1813, at Warner. Died Oct. 7,
1900. m. Jane Whaley.
Elizabeth Gilman b. April 14, 1815, at Warner. Died July 4,
1896. m. John Colton Dec. 10, 1837, in
Conneaut, Ohio.
James b. June 3, 1817, at Sutton, N.H. Died July
8, 1909, near Tiosa, Indiana. m. Emeline
Whaley on April 27, 1839.
Meribah b. Dec. 31, 1820, in Franklin County, New
York. Died June 27, 1854. m. Lorenzo Johnson.
Truman Dixon b. Jan. 28, 1823, in Franklin County, N.Y.
d. May 4, 1894, at San Pablo, California.
m. Emma Calista Barrett of Ohio. She died
March 26, 1902, in Stockton, California.
Amanda b. May 20, 1826, in Hinchenbrook, Huntington,
Co., Lower Canada. d. July 10, 1903.
m. 1) Horace Clark, 2) Jeremiah Ruland
3) William Thompson.
Isaac b. Feb. 12, 1829, in Franklin County, N.Y.
d. May 10, 1905, near Tiosa, Indiana.
m. Julia C. White.
Mary Ann b. Dec. 26, 1832, Franklin Co., New York.
d. Jan. 6, 1851. Unmarried.
Truman Dixon Palmer married Emma Calista Barrett, a young school teacher, on Sept. 11, 1815. She was born on May 2, 1828, in Ashtabula County, Ohio. It is here that the Palmer and Barrett lines of this genealogy meet. At some time after 1832 Isaac and Mary Palmer had moved to Ohio, settling in or near Conneaut, as stated. The Gold Rush in California that started in 1849 created an urge in restless pioneers to move on. But it was not until 1859 that Truman Dixon Palmer and his family went to the Far West. Some of the children had died in Ohio. When they started on their journey there was Amelia (Millie), aged twelve, and ary, one year old. They went by water to St. Louis, Missouri, and there formed a caravan with covered wagons, presumably with other families. They took over five months to make the trip to California. Passage across the plains was fairly event-less. The few Indians they met were friendly. One Indian begged for the baby Mary and when the parents refused he departed. Some the descendants recall our Aunt Millie (Amelia) remembering an Indian approaching their wagon on horseback. He was obviously drunk, and demanded whiskey. Truman Dixon Palmer always had his rifle handy and he had it across his knees at the time. He patted his rifle and said "you get." Needless to say the Indian "got." The Palmers carried bolts of red cotton cloth which they gave to the Indians for favors received. It took them 165 days to reach California from St. Louis. Somewhere on the way they met Kit Carson. They crossed the Sierra Nevada mountains through Oregon Pass. They went first to Sutter's Fort in Sacramento, to San Francisco, across the Bay to Oakland, and finally to San Pablo in Contra Costa County, where Emma Barrett's father and brother had preceded them. George H. Barrett became a large and prosperous landowner in this area. Barrett Avenue in Richmond, California is named for him.
This branch of the Palmer family became the Lost Tribe. It was almost a century later that contact was established between their descendants and other descendants of Isaac and Mary Palmer.
The town of San Pablo was a small settlement in a wheat farmingarea. It was originally a vast holding of a few California-Spanish families, most notably the Castro and Alvarado families. Governor Alvarado, the last Mexican Governor of California, lived out his later years in San Pablo.
The family of Truman Dixon Palmer and Emma Calista Barrett grew up with and were friends of the children of the Alvarados and the Castros.
It is known that William J. Duffy, who married Eugenia A. (Jennie) Palmer, when Justice of the Peace in San Pablo, influenced young Henry Alvarado to study law. He became a successful lawyer and a well known judge of the Bay Area.
Truman Dixon Palmer pursued his trade of carpenter. He was Justice of the Peace of the Seventh District for ten years. He died in San Pablo on May 4, 1894. His wife Emma died in Stockton on March 26, 1902.
Truman Dixon Palmer and Emma C. Barrett Palmer had twelve children.
Eleven are accounted for below:
Amelia Maria b. Jan. 4, 1847, in Monroe,
Ashtabula Co., Ohio.
d. Jan. 14, 1915.
George uncertain
Eugene died in infancy
Frank died in infancy
Clinton uncertain
Mary Ann b. March 3, 1858, in Ohio.
d. Jan. 31, 1931.
Leland H. b. in California. d. aged 5; diphtheria.
Clara A. b. in California. d. 1875;
of consumption, aged 15.
Eugenia Amanda (Jennie) b. San Pablo Oct. 27, 1864.
d. Oct. 28, 1940.
Albert Carlton b. San Pablo Apr. 7, 1867.
d. June, 1885 in Dixon, Calif.;
abscess of the brain.
Emma Evelyn b. San Pablo Dec. 6, 1869.
d. Nov. 4, 1900.
Truman Dixon Palmer and three of the children Leland, Clara and Albert - were buried in the Protestant Cemetery in San Pablo. In 1902 the cemetery was wrecked. These four bodies were removed to the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. Along with Emma C. Barrett Palmer, the remains occupied Grave #404 -- Plot #44,
The name means Hill town.
William Hilton m. 1)-
2) Catherine (Shapleigh)
Trueworthy
Edward Hilton m: -----
son of Wm. Hilton's
first wife
Susanna Hilton m. Christopher Palmer
Samuel Palmer m. Ann Sanborn
Christopher Palmer m. Elizabeth Berry
Jonathan Palmer m. Abigail Rowe
John Palmer m. Meribah Remick
Isaac Palmer m. Mary Haskell
Truman Dixon Palmer m. Emma Calista Barrett
William Hilton (above) lived in Northwich, County Chester, England. Edward Hilton is our earliest ancestor in America. He arrived in New England in 1623; his brother William preceded him in 1621, on the ship Fortune. The brothers were not connected with the Puritan exodus; they were friendly with the Church of England.
In London, Edward had been apprenticed to Marie, widow of Charles Hilton. He was admitted to the Fishmongers Company on April 9, 1621. This was a powerful Guild. In the subsidy list of the London companies in 1641,'in New England' is marked against his name. He settled at Dover Neck on the Pascataqua River and planted corn on one side while his hogs roamed on the other side. He is said to be the first permanent settler of New Hampshire, and is sometimes called the "Father of New Hampshire."
In connection with land grants between 1621 and 1630: "Hilton's Point on the Pascataqua River to Edward Hilton ...
George Barstow, in History of New Hampshire, says:
"In the spring of 1623 they (Gorges and Mason) sent over some fishmongers of London ... to establish a colony and fishery at the mouth of the Pascataqua. They arrived in safety. They had brought with them tools of various kinds and were well supplied with provisions. One party landed on the southern shore and called the place Little Harbour. From the name of Strawberry Banke which they gave to the place where Portsmouth now stands a late historian infers that they touched the shore before midsummer and that a profusion of strawberry blossoms, or fruit, welcomed their arrival. They hastily erected salt works and one rude house was quickly prepared. The other party went eight miles farther up the river and sat down at Dover. Thus came the first fathers to New Hampshire."
Information on Edward's trips to and from England is not precise. Noyes, Libby & Davis say that apparently he made a voyage trading goods to Pascataqua in 1628, and at that time began a plantation. When patents were granted to Mason & Gorges, he returned to London, waiting on Sir Ferdinando Gorges. He received documents which empowered "Edward Hilton (gent) to make livery of the two on the Saco, and Mr. Lewis to do the same for Hilton at Squamscot.
Edward Hilton was in control at Dover Neck on December 4, 1632, when Governor Winthrop received letters from Captain Neale (Neal) and William Hilton that they had sent four vessels and forty men to protect Pemaquid from Dixy Bull. Dixy Bull was an Englishman who had turned pirate and was raiding the coast in that vicinity. The expedition against him was not successful, due to a heavy storm.
Edward Hilton continued the government of Say and Brook until October 10, 1633, when Captain Wiggin arrived in Boston to take over the patent for the two lords. Hilton then set up for himself between Dover and Exeter. When Massachusetts stepped in, the General Court in October, 1641, ordered that Francis Williams and Edward Hilton, with two magistrates from Boston, should constitute the County Court, and Hilton was named again in 1642. In 1652 Exeter voted that he go with Mr. Dudley to the General Court to assist him.
When Charles II came in, Edward Hilton proved to be a strong loyalist. This policy was unpopular among the Puritan colonists.
The historian Savage says: "The name of Edward Hilton, who was a gentleman of good judgment, is often found in our history; and in 1641, when Massachusetts usurped the jurisdiction of the colony of New Hampshire, he became a magistrate."
Franklin B. Sanborn wrote in The History of New Hampshire: "Walter Barefoot and the Hiltons, with all their affection for the Church of England and the Stuart family, were not ill friends to the poor and persecuted in New Hampshire."
Nathaniel Bouton, who collected early historical documents of New Hampshire, says: "He (Edward Hilton) was a man of enterprise and influence; he possessed the friendship of Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts and was his confidential correspondent. Before 1652, he became an inhabitant of Exeter, where he died in 1671, at a considerably advanced age."
We do not have a list of his children. His daughter Susanna married Christopher Palmer; this is our ancestral line.
Collateral
William Hilton, brother of Edward Hilton, arrived at Plymouth on the Fortune, Nov. 11, 1621. Born 1600, died 1675. Is listed as a vintner, of Northwich, Cheshire. Left Plymouth colony at time of Lyford-Oldham troubles 1624, going to New Hampshire and there founding Dover with brother Edward, fishmonger of London. Removed to York, Maine about 1648 and died there. His wife was Mary --. They had five children, one born at Plymouth. Its baptism by Anglican rite precipitated the Lyford - Oldham troubles; they were expelled for trying to establish Anglican religious forms.
Bachiler- Batchelder
Coat of Arms: Vert, a plough in fesse, and in base, the sun rising, or.
Reverend Stephen m. 1) Deborah
Batcheler 2) Christiane Weare
3) Helena Wilson
4) Mary Beedle
Ann Batcheler m. John Sanborn
daughter of Deborah
John Sanborn m. Mary Tuck
Ann Sanborn m. Samuel Palmer
Christopher Palmer m. Elizabeth Berry
Jonathan Palmer m. Abigail Rowe
John Palmer m. Meribah Remick
Isaac Palmer m. Mary Haskell
Truman Dixon Palmer m. Emma C. Barrett
One of the most outstanding personalities in this family history is Stephen Batcheler. He was born in 1561 somewhere in England, probably in Hampshire. At the age of twenty he entered St. John's College, Oxford. He matriculated on November 17, 1581, and was admitted as Bachelor of Arts on February 3, 1585. He studied for the ministry and became Vicar of Wherewall in Hants. He was there in 1587-8, it is known ... also that he must have remained until 1605. In that year a new clergyman was appointed to fill a vacancy because of the "ejection of Stephen Bachiler." He was excommunicated from the Church of England. Probably he preached to different congregations when he could avoid the Persecutions of the Church.
Judge Charles E. Batchelder of Portsmouth, N.H. stated that in 1610 he appeared to be still a clergyman, this time in the County of Southampton. On June 11, 1621, Adam Winthrop's diary shows that he had "Mr. Bachelour the preacher" to dine with him, presumably at Groton in Suffolk. There is some evidence that he preached at Barton Stacey in Hampshire some time before 1632, where he was called a "notorious nonconformist" by the sheriff of Hants. He was among the earliest of the nonconformists to be excommunicated. This was in 1605.
On June 23, 1631, at the age of seventy, he obtained leave to visit his sons and daughters at Flushing. He was then resident of South Stoneham in the county of Southampton, and "desires that his wife Helen (aged 48 years) and his daughter Ann Sandburn (aged 30 years, widow, resident in the Strand) might accompany him." He was to return within two months.
The Plough Companie: Batcheler formed this company. The members went to Holland. He was to go with them to New England in 1630 and settle in New Town (Cambridge) and "sit down with them" ... "not as a Planter only, but as a pastor also." The church was organized and began its existence in Holland, and plans were so far perfected that a ship was charted and freighted; but "upon the disaster which happened to the goods of the company by the false dealing of those entrusted by us with the Plough's ship and our goods therein," perhaps instigated by the persecuting bishops, all was lost and the emigration delayed. And so it happened that the pastor and his family returned to England, while his daughter Theodate and her husband, Christopher Hussey, both young and ardent, crossed the ocean to prepare a resting place for her aged father's church. This they found, as they fondly hoped, in Saugus (Lynn).
Reverend Stephen Batcheler, his wife Helena and his three grandsons John, William and Stephen Sanborn, came to America in the William and Francis, which left London March 9, 1632, and arrived at Boston June 6, 1632. It would seem that the boys' mother, Ann Sanborn, was not with them. Stephen Batcheler remained with his daughter Theodate and family at Lynn until 1635, when he was removed from his church.
The historian Joseph Dow suggests that the magistrates of the Court were against Batcheler because he baptized his own grandchild before another child who was born a week earlier. The action of the magistrates was strongly condemned by the liberals, of whom there were many in Lynn. When Batcheler asked for a dismission for himself and six or seven others of his company, the Church granted it, thinking he'd leave. But he and his brethren renewed their old covenant, intending to raise another church there. Governor Winthrop was against this move. The magistrates of the Court forbade him to "proceed in any such church way until the cause were considered by other ministers." Batcheler refused to desist. The magistrates sent for him, and upon his delay day after day the marshal was sent to convey him to Boston. He then gave a promise to remove out of town within three months.
He went to Ipswich, Mass. In 1637, he and his company undertook to form a settlement at Mattakeese (Yarmouth) on Cape God. Governor Winthrop said that he was then "about seventy-six years of age, yet he went thither on foot in a very hard season." The distance was about one hundred miles. The enterprise was given up because of the poverty of the Company and the difficulties encountered.
In 1638 Batcheler and some, or all, of his Company were at Newbury, and in the fall of that year at Winnacunnet. They built log cabins and, according to tradition, a log meeting house on the Green. He had the name changed to Hampton. Governor Winthrop's son John went with the Company to lay out Hampton. Hampton soon became a town in special favor with Boston. In a letter to Governor Winthrop's son, Batcheler wrote: "We are resolved (God so consenting) the second working day of the next week to set forwards toward our plantation, preparing thereto the day before. We intend to go by a shallop, so that we hope and desire to have your help and our christian friend's Mr. Bradstreet; so we pray you both to be ready to accompany us the day following; we were there and vewed it most cursorly and we found it a reasonable meet place, which we shall shew you; but we concluded nothing."
Judge Batchelder, a descendant of the 19th century, had done some research on the family and wrote: "While in America he (Stephen Batcheler) contended with a vigor and earnestness unusual for a man of his years, against the Puritan doctrine of a religious commonwealth, against that union of church and state to which they clung as to the ark of their safety." The Judge said that he was a stubborn and militant character, apparently of great honesty. At the time of the schism of the Puritan sect in America, in which Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, took the lead on behalf of greater tolerance and spiritual freedom, it is believed that it was the Reverend Stephen Batcheler who spoke out courageously against the persecution of Williams. At any rate Batcheler, perhaps in a fiery and uncompromising fashion, preached on behalf of religious freedom in the new land, as he had in the old.
Judge Batchelder says that when the Puritans wished to rid themselves of a troublesome individual they accused him of sexual irregularity. Stephen Batcheler was charged with casting amorous eyes on a married woman, if not making actual advances. He was thrown out of his church at Hampton. In 1644, says Jeremy Belknap, when the town of Exeter found itself without a minister they called "the aged Stephen Batcheler to the ministry, who had been dismissed from Hampton for his irregular conduct." The General Court, however, prevented the establishment of a church at that time in Exeter. Rev. Batcheler removed to Maine in 1647, and returned to England in 1654. He died in 1660, when he was nearly 100 years of age. Place of death: Hackney, near London.
Noyes, Libby and Davis say that he married four times. His first wife was mother of Theodate, Nathaniel, Deborah, Stephen, Samuel, Ann. In 1623 he married Christiane Weare, a widow. In 1626 he married Helena Wilson, who accompanied him to America. His fourth wife was Mary Beedle, who divorced him in 1656. (Dow says 1659). Dow says Mary married him in his old age from mercenary motives. He separated from her and went back to England.
Charles H. Pope is the authority on his children: Theodate married Christopher Hussey; they came to America in 1630. Deborah married Rev. John Wing. Stephen, at 16, entered Oxford in 1610 Ann married John Sandburn (Sanborn). Nathaniel married Hester Mercer. Mary married William Richards.
Further notes: When his wife Helena died he married (about 1648) Mary, (as above) a widow with children; she had the reputation of being a disreuptable person. Batcheler separated from her and the magistrates ordered him to go back and live with her. They fined him for not publishing his intention of marriage. Weary and disheartened, about 1654 or 1655 he returned to England, accompanied by his grandson, Stephen Sanborn.
There is one other reason why Stephen Batcheler might have left New Hampshire. He campaigned vigorously for the continued independence of the New Hampshire settlements. He staked his fortunes on this issue, and lost.
Joseph Dow: "Mr. Batcheler, a liberal Puritan, zealous for popular rights -- and possibly too independent in maintaining them."
The historian Cutter says: Rev. Stephen Batcheler, in 1586, at the age of 26, was presented by Lord de la Warr (Delaware) to the living at Merwell (Harrell), a pretty village in Hampshire on the River Test. In 1605 he was deprived of the benefice, presumably for Calvanistic opinions. He settled in Newton Stacy, where he purchased land and sold it from 1622 to 1631.
The tradition is that he was a man of remarkable personal presence, and was particularly noticeable on account of his wonderful eyes; they were dark and deep-set, under broad arches, and could throw lightning glances on occasion. The Batcheler eye has been proverbial, and in Essex County, Mass. the striking feature has been maintained. Both John Greenleaf Whittler and Daniel Webster were descendants of Stephen Batcheler. It is said that resemblance between the Whittlers and the Websters was long ago observed by those who were unaware of the relationship.
The original spelling is Sambourne.
Coat-of-Arms: Argent, a chevron sable between three mullets gules -- pierced or. Three crests are given for the various branches of the Sambourne family.
William Sambourne m. Anne Lushell
John Sambourne m. -- de la Riviere
Richard Sambourne m. Dorothy Tichbourne
John Sambourne m. -- Lisley
Francis Sambourne m. -
John Sambourne m. Ann Batcheler
John Sanborn m. 1) 2Mary Tuck
2) Margaret (Page)
Moulton
Ann Sanborn m. Samuel Palmer
daughter of
Mary Tuck
Christopher Palmer m. Elizabeth Berry
Jonathan Palmer m. Abilgail Rowe
John Palmer m. Meribah Remick
Isaac Palmer m. Mary Haskell
Truman Dixon Palmer m. Emma C. Barrett
From Joseph Dow's History of New Hampshire we have the following on the ancestry in England:
William Sambourne of Sunning, Oxfordshire, was born about 1390. He married Anne, daughter and heir of Sir William Lushell, Kent. Children: William, born about 1420. John, born about 1425.
John Sambourne. Married daughter and heir of Sir John de la Riviere of Timsbury. Child: Richard, born about 1455.
Richard Sambourne of Timsbury. Married Dorothy Tichbourne of Hants. Child: John, born about 1490.
John Sambourne of Timsbury. Married daughter of Lisley (l'Isle) of Maiden Newton, Dorset. Francis b. ab. 1580. Richard b. ab. 1575. John b. ab. 1590.
John Sambourne of Maiden Newton, Dorset. Son of Francis, born about 1600. He probably moved to London with his two brothers by 1615. He married Ann Bachiler (Batcheler), daughter of Reverend Stephen Batcheler. They had three sons: William, John, Stephen. He died in Derbyshire, England.
The name Sanborn (Sambourne, Sandburn, etc.) is very uncommon in England and genealogists assume that all Sanborns descend from William Sambourne of Sunning, Oxfordshire.
John Sanborn of this record was born in England in 1620. He came with his two brothers and his grandfather, Rev. Stephen Batcheler, to America in 1632 on the William and Francis. In Hampton, New Hampshire, he married Mary Tuck, daughter of Robert Tuck. After her death, on Dec. 30, 1668, he married Margaret Page Moulton, a widow.
In 1664 he was chosen Captain for Hampton. It appears he was not a freeman and the case was referred to the General Court. He was chosen Ensign in October, 1665 and a year later legally confirmed Ensign. He was commissioned as Lieutenant in 1679. Was representative for Hampton in 1685.
In 1649 John Sanborn, with William Eastow, was appointed to lay out the salt marsh on Great-Ox Common. Sanborn was active in town affairs, especially on boundaries and land titles.
He was a prominent man in Hampton. Was selectsman 1660~1661~1665; 1668~72; 1674~75; 1678~79. Was Ensign in King Phillip's War in 1677. Commissioner of Small Causes -- 1667~69.
When he died on October 20, 1692, his inventory amounted to 264 pounds, 14 shillings, including old Bible and books. By his first wife, Mary Tuck, he had eleven children. The eighth child, Ann, was born in 1662. She married Samuel Palmer. She died in 1745.
They are the ancestors in this record.
Robert Tuck m. Joanna Mary Tuck m. John Sanborn Ann Sanborn m. Samuel Palmer Christopher Palmer m. Elizabeth Berry Jonathan Palmer m. Abigail Rowe John Palmer m. Meribah Remick Isaac Palmer m. Mary Haskell Truman Dixon Palmer m. Emma C. Barrett
Robert Tuck came from Gorlston, County Suffolk to Watertown, where he was a proprietor. In 1638 he went to Hampton, N.H. as one of the original settlers. He was a vintner. He was also a "chirugeon," which means a doctor - literally, a surgeon. Perhaps he was the first doctor in New Hampshire, and may be numbered among the first in America.
He was made freeman on September 7, 1639. Clerk of the Writs 1648. Selectsman. He had a grant of 100 acres in June, 1640.
His inn on Rand's Hill was the first in the town. An inn was called an ordinary; he was the keeper of the first ordinary in New Hampshire. He made a trip to England in 1652; remained one year and on his return had to renew his rights to sell liquor.
He died in 1664. His wife Joanna died on February 14, 1673. John Sanborn administered the estate after his wife's mother's death. One of Henry Sherbourne's sons, Samuel, took over his ordinary.
The Tucks were probably of the borough Tuck or Tewk in England. The name Tewksbury is of this origin.
In Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, is the Robert Tuck Memorial House. This museum contains relies of the early settlers of Hampton and vicinity, and is dedicated to the memory of our ancestor Robert Tuck.
William Berry m. Jane John Berry m. Susannah William Berry m. Judith Locke Elizabeth Berry m. Christopher Palmer Jonathan Palmer m. Abigail Rowe John Palmer m. Meribah Remick Isaac Palmer m. Mary Haskell Truman Dixon Palmer m. Emma C. Barrett
In 1631 Mason sent over 58 men and 22 women to the Pascataqua River for his plantation. William Berry was among the number. He was at Portsmouth as early as 1631. At a town meeting in 1648 in Strawberry Bank it was granted that "William Berry shall have a lot upon the neck of land on the south side of Little River at Sandy Beach." This is Locke's Neck, formerly called Sandy Beach. Now Rye.
Four times (1721 - 24 - 25 - 26) the inhabitants of Sandy Beach petitioned for a separate parish. It was signed by various Lockes and Berrys and in all four instances by Christopher Palmer (the 2nd). It was granted in 1726.
John Berry is said to have been the first settler at Sandy Beach. His son William married Judith Locke, thus bringing into this record the story of "the fortune." The first William Berry died before June, 1654.
John Locke m. Christiane French Nathaniel Locke m. Judith Hemming Judith Locke m. William Berry Elizabeth Berry m. Christopher Palmer Jonathan Palmer m. Abigail Rowe John Palmer m. Meribah Remick Isaac Palmer m. Mary Haskell Truman Dixon Palmer m. Emma C. Barrett
Nathaniel Locke was born in London on November 11, 1629. He and his brother John were sons of John Locke and Christiane French, who were married in London on July 15, 1622.
Nathaniel Locke and Judith Hemming were married in the Chatham Street Church in London, and the records were destroyed in the Great Fire, in 1666. Their daughter Judith was born on May 6 (or 16) in 1656. It is probable that they were married in 1655 or before.
The date of their arrival in America is not known. John Locke, Nathaniel's brother, was in America in 1666. It is probable that Nathaniel and his family arrived somewhere around that time. There is a record that Nathaniel was a gatekeeper in some New Hampshire town, either Hampton or Portsmouth.
His wife Judith brought with her into New England "a Coat of Arms, which refereth to John Hemins." This will be discussed under Hemming, along with the story of "the fortune."
Collateral: John Locke, brother of Nathaniel, has achieved some notice in the histories. He was a carpenter, later a Captain. He was born in Yorkshire in 1627 (some say 1630). He came from Yorkshire, England to Dover, New Hampshire, about 1664. Later went to Fort Point, Newcastle, finally to Rye. Joseph Dow says: "In 1666 John Locke settled without permission ... very near the boundary line between Hampton and Portsmouth. At a town meeting his fences were ordered demolished." But two years later he was received as an inhabitant.
He fought in King William's War, and was killed by an Indian on Aug. 26, 1698. He had gone to the field to reap the grain and had placed his rifle against a large rock. An Indian crept up and shot him with his own gun. Locke had a sickle in his hand. Although mortally wounded, he struck at the Indian with his sickle and cut off the man's nose. Many years later his son Nathaniel came across a noseless Indian and believed that this was the man who had attacked his father in the field.
Also Hemmings - Hemins - Emmons
Coat-of-Arms: Or on a chevron between 3 Lions' Heads erased sable, three pheons of the field.
In the General Armory (Burke's):
Coat-of-Arms: Or on a chev. engr. az between 3 Lions Heads erased gu. an ostrich, wings endorsed of the first, in the beak a key between two pheons or.
Crest: An eagle, wings expanded or. charged on the breast with a pheon sa.& supporting with the dexter claw an escutcheon erm. thereon a pale az. charged with 3 leopards faces or.
Judith Hemming m: Nathaniel Locke Judith Locke m: William Berry Elizabeth Berry m: Christopher Palmer Jonathan Palmer m: Abigail Rowe John Palmer m: Meribah Remick Isaac Palmer m: Mary Haskell Truman Dixon Palmer m: Emma C. Barrett
Much effort has been spent by various relatives to uncover information about the ancestry of Judith Hemming who married Nathaniel Locke. In the College of Arms the record reads:
John Hemming of London gent. servant of long tyme to Queen Elizabeth of Happy memorye, to King James her successor and to King Charles, his sonne, now reigning, which John was the son and heir of George Hemings of Draytwiche in the County of Worcester gent.
We do not have the date of Judith's birth, but her husband, Nathaniel Locke, was born on November 11, 1629, which may be taken as the approximate date of her birth. They came to America at an undetermined date. She brought with her "a Coat-of-Arms, which refereth to John Hemins." She had a brother who never married, and died leaving Judith the sole heir when her father died. His will is said to have read: "To Judith and her heirs for ever and ever." They apparently settled in New Hampshire. As stated under Locke, their daughter Judith was born in 1656.
Nothing much is known about their lives in America. But a family legend persisted about a coat-of-arms and a great fortune in England. Some time before 1810, a parchment was found in an old trunk somewhere in New England. It had been partly eaten away by mice, but enough of it remained to show that it referred to a large estate in England. We are indebted to Lulu Williamson, granddaughter of James Palmer, the brother of Truman Dixon Palmer, for the story of "the fortune" and what has been done in a vain effort to trace the facts.
In a letter to Ethel D. Turner at some time in the 1930s she wrote:
"I started to work to locate the Palmer heirs in 1927 .. ." (With painstaking research she located several Palmer descendants). "I located the Nyes in Los Angeles, also Helen Irvine. In Helen's data I found a clue to your grandfather, Truman Dixon Palmer. I wrote to the Chief of Police, San Pablo, California, and located your aunt (Mary Palmer Smith), then your mother (Eugenia A. Palmer Duffy) ... Up to the time I got in touch with Helen Irvine I never knew there was a Hemming estate."
Through the contacts she made, Lulu Williamson received copies of old letters. One described the Coat-of-Arms (as brought to America by Judith Hemming) as: "3 Lions Heads on a bed of Gold, Cap of Silver and Ermine." Miss Williamson showed this description and the College of Arms description to the genealogist in the Newberry Library, Chicago, and he said they were one and the same Coat-of-Arms.
Apparently the finding of the old parchment had stirred the Locke and Palmer descendants in 1810 to institute research in England. They got in contact with a lawyer, Benjamin Duren, who was also a relative, and he went to England, carrying with him the parchment, the Coat-of-Arms, also a genealogical statement known as the Rye Document, prepared in Rye, N.H. In Records of Deeds, Lincoln County, Maine, on July 13, 1810, is a contract between Benjamin Duren, lawyer, and William Palmer of Maine with reference to the Hemming Estate. The result of these two acts was the sending of Duren to look up the estate. The spelling here is Hemins.
In Rye the following records are to be found -
State of New Hampshire, Rockingham, S.S.
Greeting :
This may certify to whom it may concern that the following
genealogy of the ancestors are in substance as followeth, that been
taken of and told unto us by our forefathers, the truth to which
we attest to, viz:
Ist. We say that Jonathan Palmer, deceased, was the son and lawful
heir to Christopher and
Elizabeth Palmer.
2nd. Christopher Palmer's wife Elizabeth was daughter and
lawful heir to William and Judith Berry.
3rd. That William Berry's wife Judith was the daughter
and lawful heir to the Locke and his wife who
came from England. Said Locke's wife's name
before marriage was Hemins, and she brought
with her into New England a Coat of Arms,
so called, which refereth to John Hemins.
Ist. Nathaniel Locke, son of John and Christiane
Locke of London,Eng., was born in London
Nov. Ilth, 1629.
2nd. Nathaniel Locke and Judith Hemins were
married at Chatham St. Church in London,
England.
3rd. Judith Locke, daughter of Nathaniel
Locke and Judith his wife was born
May 16, 1656.
4th. Judith Locke and William Berry were
married July 8, 1678.
5th. Elizabeth Berry, daughter of William
Berry and Judith, his wife, was born
March 16, 1680.
6th. Christopher Palmer and Elizabeth
Berry were married July 24, 1705.
7th. Jonathan Palmer, son of Christopher
Palmer and Elizabeth, his wife, was
born May 16, 1707.
8th. Jonathan Palmer and Abigail Rowe
were married Oct. 22, 1730.
9th. James Palmer, son of Jonathan
Palmer and Abigail, his wife, was
born Jan. 10, 1753.
Abigail baptized 1740 William Derry's wife was
Anna " 1743 the daughter and lawful
Joseph & Mary " 1745 heir to Nathaniel Locke
Jonathan " 1747 and his wife whose name
Sarah " 1751 previous to marriage was
John " 1755 Hemins.
Jerimiah " 1763 Rye, May 10, 1810.
David Locke-- Jonathan
Locke
Rockingham, S.S.
May 10, 1810.
Then the above named persons Jonathan Locke and David Locke
personally appeared and made oath to the above before J. M. Parsons, Justice of Peace.
The above is a true copy of the record attest -- Joseph W. Garland, Town Clerk.
Armed with the old parchment, the Rye Document and the Coat of Arms in a metal container Benjamin Duren arrived in England on December 10, 1810.
A letter written by Truman Remick Palmer from West Constable, Franklin County, New York, in August, 1870, stated that he had talked with an old gentleman who was an heir, and this old gentleman said that the lawyer Duren wrote back from England that he had found the property and it was more than the heirs expected. It consisted of 13 1/2 million pounds sterling then in the treasury, and if he remembered correctly -- 3/4, mile of a street in London, two miles in Liverpool, and 15 sq. miles in Maine, U.S.A.
On January 9, 1811, Benjamin Duren met with an accident and was taken to St. Thomas' Hospital, where he died the next day of pneumonia. It is believed that the papers laying claim to the estate were in his trunk. The trunk lay unclaimed in England after his death. Then came the War of 1812 to disrupt communications. The trunk was never recovered by the heirs in America.
In the following letter from Helen Irvine of Alhambra, California, to Lulu Williamson in Chicago, Ill., the "Uncle David" referred to is David Palmer, son of John Palmer (Revolutionary soldier and our ancestor) : She says she found notes (evidently part of an old letter -- date not given).
"Uncle David remembers the Coat of Arms. It was three lions' heads. In another place it says that the three lions' heads were on a bed of gold, with cap of silver and ermine. The original is lost. It was sent to England by a lawyer who undertook to recover the estate, and nothing has been heard of him since. Uncle David knows how the estate comes, through a daughter of Governor Emmons, who he thinks served under George I. Uncle David says Daniel Watson went to Maine and got a copy of the records. Daniel Watson married Uncle David's cousin Sarah Palmer (daughter of James Palmer) ... Aunt Nancy (Nobby) says she has often heard my great-great grandfather tell that there was a long street of Blue Houses (in London, she thinks), and 3,000,000 pounds in money in addition that belongs to the Palmers. In another place it (the letter) states that a record of the Coat of Arms is to be found in Boston."
Helen Irvine also stated that Amos Hoyt, Lebanon, N.H. had copies of all the papers and records necessary to establish the claim to the Emmons estate, including copies of records left at Wiscoaset, Maine. There is a will left by Elizabeth Palmer (Christopher's wife) in Rye, N.H.
The first effort to locate the trunk with the papers ended in failure. Helen Irvine noted that the American Consul had written to Mrs. Durand (Duren) that Mr. Duren was dead and that his trunk and writings were in the Consul's office; she could have them by writing for them. But the War of 1812, as stated, intervened. Mrs. Duren married again, and was killed by her husband in a fit of drunkenness.
In 1868 an effort was again made by some of the Palmers to locate the property in England. A. P. Hoyt, whose mother was the great-granddaughter of Christopher and Elizabeth Palmer, wrote to Sarah A. P. Hagerty from East Lebanon, N.H. on January 27, 1868. He rehashed the facts we have already stated. He said that Nathaniel Locke and his wife Judith had landed in Portsmouth and settled in Rye. He said that Duren carried the Coat-of-Arms in a tin sheath he had some one make for it. The papers, were carried in a small trunk.
From Boston, on February 4, 1871, Miss M. A. Hagerty wrote to Truman Remick Palmer. Jonathan Palmer from Pittsfield, N.H. had called on her. He stated that the Coat-of-Arms was Two Lions' Heads and a Unicorn, and that Mr. Duren took it with him to England. Mr. Duren had written his wife that he had collected a million and a half on the property and was in a fair way to complete his business satisfactorily when he died. Again there was an impasse.
The third attempt was made by Lulu Williamson in the 1930's. She wrote to Washington, requesting further information on Benjamin Duren and the Hemming Estate. The American Consul General in London, when contacted by the Department of State, did not understand that the Hemming will was made in the seventeenth century, and research was done for the early part of the nineteenth century. They described a will in Somerset House, made by a John Hemming, and executed October 28, 1809. This of course does not refer to the John Hemming of this record. So for the third time an attempt to trace the Hemming estate ran into a blind alley.
Gunn's Index -- Part III -- lists a record number 60066 -- John Hemming -- Bloomsbury. It is listed among Unclaimed Estates.
Below, in part, is the last letter written by Emma Calista
Barrett Palmer. It was dated about two months before she died and was addressed to her daughter, Eugenia Amanda Palmer Duffy.
Stockton, January 27 (1902)Dear Jennie:
I am very weak. I would like you to come up, but the small-pox is here in some places and anyone traveling in the cars might not be safe. The school children were vac- cinated. Millie and Chester's working good.
You know my old leather satchel. Give it to Raymond. If he don't want it, give it to Willie. Take the old (some- thing omitted). Brush the dust off and go over it with shoe polish. It may come useful some time to carry things. Maybe you can get the handle fixed at the prison.
She was too weak to write any more and her granddaughter May Ware finished the note to her dictation. In part:
After my burial I want the fence put up around the graves. The fence around Leland's is to be put around Grandpa Barrett's. Headboards are to be put at Grandpa's and every grave in our plot -- Charley Smith's and all -- I don't think to last long ...
Raymond and Willie were young Duffy children. Leland was her son, long dead. Charley Smith was her son-in-law. Millie and Chester were the children of her grandson, George Ware.
Collateral
Franklin D. Sanborn was a distinguished figure in the 19th century, both as a writer and a humanitarian. He was directly descended from Rev. Stephen Batcheler and John Sanborn, from whom we descend on the Palmer side. But he lived for a while in Concord, Mass., founded by our Barrett ancestors. He taught school there and was a friend of Emerson, Alcott, Thoreau and other literary figures. Concord was active in the "underground railroad", and often hid slaves and helped them get away to Canada. Sanborn helped in this enterprise and did great work in bringing about more humane treatment to prisoners and to the insane. We quote from "The Flowering of New England, by Van Wyck Brooks:
"Frank B. Sanborn was a sophomore at Harvard when he first walked out to call at Emerson's house. Not long after- wards, Emerson, looking about for some one to take charge of a school for the Concord children, suggested the plan to Sanborn, who was delighted with it ...
"No one could have said, in years to come, that the long, lank Sanborn with the rosy cheeks did not know the Concord he wrote about. He was a born antiquarian; nothing pleased him more than to pore over old family papers ... His school became a Concord institution. He followed the methods of Alcott, in a measure, his special friend and master, taking the children for walks in the woods and fields, with picnics, plays and boating parties, and skating carnivals at Walden Pond ...
"It was Sanborn who, a few years later, brought John Brown to Concord, where the anti-slavery cause had many friends. It was from Sanborn's house that Brown set out for Harper's Ferry. Sanborn knew his plans, of which Emerson, Alcott and Thoreau knew nothing. He was arrested after the raid. A posse came out from Boston to seize him, but he spread his arms like a windmill and braced his feet against the sides of the carriage; his sister roused the neighbors and the church bells rang the alarm. Judge Hoar issued a writ of habeas corpus and the posse disappeared. The whole town assembled the following morning to protest against the outrage."
Ralph Waldo Emerson was descended from Peter Bulkeley and is therefore a collateral relative.
Excerpts from letters written by George Brewster(1) of Cleveland, Ohio to his cousin Jennie Palmer Duffy
March 14, 1938
I was very much pleased to receive your letter of March 8th. I have thought many times of writing to some of my Palmer relatives in California, but until I received your letter I did not know of any address.
Yes, I am the son of Fred J. Brewster and the grandson of Elmira Palmer Brewster(2), sister of Truman Dixon Palmer ... Of all the good women I have known, I still place my grandmother Brewster at the top of the list as the most charit- able and loving of them all ... Grandmother died in 1884 and grandfather in 1894. He was 94 years of age when he died ... I have a very vivid recollection of hearing my grandmother relate about her brother Dixon starting for California. It seems he started down the Ohio River by boat to St. Louis, then overland by wagon train to California.
April 5, 1938
I was greatly pleased to learn about yourself and your family as I had heard your father talked of often when I was a youngster. His going to California seemed to be a sort of milestone in the life of my grandmother, as she usually meas- ured time and events as: "This happened about five years before Dixon went to California" or "Just after Dixon went west." ... I can remember very well of Uncle James(3) visiting us while grandmother was living. He was a little bewhiskered old fellow, very smart and entertaining. My father was very fond of him.
I knew Uncle Henry(4) best of all. He was a fine old man with strong convictions of right and wrong and one of the most biased men I ever knew on political and religious ques- tions. He set himself up as a sort of moral guardian over the conduct of his brothers. He was a staunch Republican and a strong advocate of temperance, while they were rabid Demo- crats and at times quite wet. So arguments would start, al- though they loved him like a father.
May 29, 1938
On our vacation trip in 1928 we visited Vermont and Massachusetts. After going to Lexington and Concord we went to Plymouth where the kingfish of all the Brewsters (Elder William Brewster)(5) is said to have landed on old Ply- mouth Rock. My sister Alice(6), who was with us is a living dynamo when in action and weighs all of 92 pounds. She suddenly was taken with the urge to stand on the old rock. The rock is now enclosed with an iron fence and covered with a portico of granite. Alice was crawling under the fence when a guard noticed her. He called out, "Get out of there. "You can't get up on that rock." She kept on going and said, "You just watch me and see. I have come 800 miles to stand on this rock." And she stood on it. When she climbed out again the guard asked her, "Why were you so anxious to stand on that rock and break our rules?" Alice answered, "Because I am a descendant of Elder Brewster and he didn't pay much attention to rules other people made for him." The guard grinned and said, "I think you must be a descendant of the Elder. You are just as damned contrary as he ever was."
____________August 1, 1938
My sister, Alice, and I drove out to the old homestead in Conneaut, Ohio where we were born. Father kept the farm looking fine while he lived; it gave me a feeling of sadness to see the dilapidated buildings, the broken fences and the general run down condition of the farm he loved ... About a mile farther on we located the site where our Isaac Palmer built his log house when he came from New Hampshire. Although the old house had disappeared long before I was born, it is still easy to locate the site. The old stone chimney stood there for many years and fragments are still seen. The location is on the line between Ohio and Pennsylvania, on the Penn- sylvania side facing Ohio. I think Isaac(7) came here about 1830 ... (The road in front of the house was the dividing line between the two states.)
The Palmers in Vermont lived about seven miles east of Sutton, the name of the village being Palmerstown. Here the family built a saw and grist mill, a school house and church and also their homes. They were a thriving community. Today not a single building is standing. The country has gone back to a wilderness and even the old graveyard can not be located.
1 George Brewster was grandnephew of Truman Dixon Palmer 2 Elmira Palmer Brewster was a sister to Truman Dixon Palmer 3 James Palmer was a brother to Truman Dixon Palmer 4 Henry Palmer was a brother to Truman Dixon Palmer 5 Harry Brewster, who was a descendant from Elder William Brewster married Elmira Palmer, the sister of Truman Dixon Palmer 6 Alice was grand niece of Truman Dixon Palmer 7 Isaac Palmer was the father of Truman Dixon Palmer