I have always felt like I had roots in New England, but especially here in New Hampshire. Although I spent about 17 of my 50 years living just over the (literally “just” over) the border of Maine, and I do have strong roots there too, I was born in New Hampshire and have spent most of my life in New Hampshire. I absolutely love traveling all over North America and overseas too, but when I come home to New Hampshire it feels like Home, and there is no place like Home. I literally have the motto “Live Free of Die” tattooed on me (I really do!) and my family research has helped me understand why I have such an affinity for New Hampshire and all the New England states (which will each be the subject of future posts)
I belong to an active Facebook Group called Descendants of the First Families of New Hampshire (highly recommended for those researching your ancestry in NH). One of the members made a list of the first settlers of New Hampshire (Thank you, Wayne Chase!). There are 368 names on the list. Cross-referencing my genealogy files informs me that I am directly descended from 33 of those families.
These relations will be the subject of many future blog posts. I am also sure future research will uncover more connections. But in the meantime, here are the connections I have found, grouped by my maternal and paternal lines. I have linked to the lineage for each, but you will need to be logged in to see it.
Paternal Ancestors
Rev. Samuel Dudley – Exeter, 1650 (10 ggf paternal) – son of Thomas Dudley, 3X Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony
Anthony Emery – Dover, 1640 (12 ggf paternal)
William Furber – Dover, 1637 (11 ggf paternal)
Edward Gilman – Exeter, 1652 (11 ggf paternal) – also 3rd great grandfather of Governor John Taylor and Nicholas Gilman, NH Patriot and Revolutionary War Here
William Hilton – Dover, 1642 (11 ggf paternal) – one of the earliest settlers of Hilton’s Point (later Dover)
John Heard – Dover, 1654 (10 ggf paternal)
Edmund Johnson – Hampton, 1639 (11 ggf paternal)
James Nute – Portsmouth, 1631 (11 ggf – paternal)
Abraham Perkins – Hampton, 1639 (11 ggf paternal)
Richard Sloper – Dover, 1657 (10 ggf paternal)
Edward Starbuck – Dover Neck, 1640 (11 ggf paternal)
James Thomas – Dover, 1669 (10 ggf paternal)
David Thompson – 1623 (12 ggf paternal) – possibly, needs more research – first non-native settler of NH
Henry Tibbetts – Dover, 1640 (11 ggf maternal) – a few errors in this line I need to fix before I post a link
Richard Tozer – Dover, 1659 (11 ggf paternal)
Thomas Wiggin – of Piscataqua, 1631 (11 ggf paternal) – NH’s first “Governor,” although not quite in the way we use that title in current days.
Gowen Wilson – Exeter, by 1647 (11 ggf paternal)
Maternal Ancestors
Thomas Beard – Dover, 1644 (11 ggf maternal)
Thomas Canney – Dover, 1634 (11 ggf maternal) – needs more research
John Church – Dover, 1665 (10 ggf maternal)
Thomas Guptill – Portsmouth, 1670 (10 ggf maternal)
John Ham – Dover, 1665 (10 ggf maternal) – needs more research
Thomas Perkins – Dover, 1669 (10 ggf maternal)
William Pitman – Oyster River, 1657 (10 ggf maternal)
Thomas Roberts – Dover, 1639 (11 ggf maternal)
William Horne – Dover, 1659 (10 ggf maternal) – killed in the Oyster River Massacre
Rev. Joseph Hull – Oyster River, bef. 1665 (11 ggf maternal) – leader of the Hull Company
Edmund Littlefield – Exeter, 1639 (11 ggf maternal) – said to be the founder of Wells, Maine
William Moore – Exeter, 1639 (11 ggf maternal)
Hatevil Nutter – Dover Neck, 1633 (10 ggf – maternal) – elder in the Puritan church in Dover, remembered for his extreme intolerance of the Quakers
John Tuttle – Dover, 1633 (10 ggf maternal) – builder of Tuttle’s Farm in Dover, distinguished as one of America’s oldest continuously run (until recently) family farms
William Wentworth – Exeter, 1638 (9 ggf maternal) – famed for his large number of notable descendants, especially those who have made a significant impact on New Hampshire (the Wentworth name is everywhere), also 1st cousin 1X removed of famed Anne (Marbury) Hutchinson
Both Maternal & Paternal (yes, VERY distant cousins)
Thomas Leighton – Dover Neck, 1633 (10 ggf – both maternal and paternal)
