Re: Benjamin Smith of Epping NH

James,

This is the information I have managed to uncover:
According to the "History of Rockingham County New Hampshire and Representative Citizens," edited and compiled by Charles A. Hazlett, 1915, an agreement between the King of England and John Wentworth, Governor of New Hampshire and surveyor of the king's woods for the 13 colonies, was reached on April 29, 1769, to establish five counties. The agreement was subject to approval by the crown which occurred March 19, 1771. The "Red Book," a state compilation published by Ancestry, gives 1771 as the original formation of the first 5 counties -- Rockingham, Cheshire, Grafton, Strafford, and Hillsborough.

Birth Information and progenyby History of Nottingham, Deerfield & Northwood, NH. by Elliott Cogswell: (Page 463-468)

"SMITH FAMILY:The Smith family is long and wide, and it would not be advisable to give much of it here, but just a sketch of the branch that came and settled in Deerfield, and whose descendants are Hilliard J., Merick, and Stevens Smith.

Benjamin Smith was one of the early settlers of that part of Exeter now called Epping, born about 1685, married Polly STEVENS; their children were: Stevens, born 1717;Eunice, born 1720 Polly, born 1723; Benjamin, born 1726, marrried Affie CASS, about 1750, who died in Epping in 1780...."

The Compendium of American Genealogy, Pg. 606:"(b. ca 1685) of Exeter & Northwood, NH; m. Polly STEVENS".

Documents Relating to Towns of New Hampshire, by Hammond, Vol. II A-F, pg. 659:"Benjamin Smith an original petitioner for Epping".

Bell's History of Exeter, New Hampshire: "..list of distributees of land as reported in 1725...Benjamin Smith: 30 acres, Benjamin Smith, Jr. 30 acres...this land being in the west end of the township now being Epping or Tuckaway" (from 1725 to1740, it took these original settlers to have thir lands institutionally recorded into written law, and a great effort was put forward by those in power to prevent it.)

From "History of Chester, NH" (Pages 25-27) "Schedule of proprietors of Chester, 1722...Benjamin Smith...the following is a list of those who were allowed ten shillings for settlement in 1723 for the first year...Benjamin Smith received settlement money on 111 acres...from the same document, pg. 47..."Benjamin Smith, Thomas Smith and Samuel Smith were cut off from Haverhill by the settlement of The Province Line of 1741.Thomas and Benjamin were paid settlement money in Chester and were probably Haverhill Peak men".

"A List of Polls and Rateable Estate Real & Personal, for the Town of Haverhill in the County of Essex, Taken in the year 1741. . . " (This page was created by "http://www.ethelind.com/hvgenweb/1741.html" and has been imported to this site with little modification.)

"By the running of the new line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire, in 1741, nearly one-third of the population, territory, and property of the town of Haverhill, fell to the north of the line. When to this is added the large portion set off for Methuen, in 1725, we find that more than one-half of its stock of all those elements which combine to make a first class New England town, had been taken from Haverhill within the short period of fifteen years. It was, indeed, a great change in its condition, and prospects, and must have been felt most seriously.

"Soon after the State line was run, the town instructed its selectmen to take an exact list of the polls and estates on the north side of the line, which was done.2 '. . . This list contains only those living in that part if town that falls into N Hampshire Province according to Mr Mitchels Line.' Spelling was retained from original list, arrangement was changed to alphabetical.

Smith, BenajminSmith, JohnSmith, NathanielSmith, SamuelSmith, Thomas

NOTES: Harold "Buddy" Smith: "Town's names changed, records were poorly kept or not kept at all.They named their children alike, children died young, one family may have had three Johns."

N.H. History and General Reg'r, Vol 48: "Muster Roll of Colonel Shadrac Walton and Company July to November 1722...Benjamin Smith" History of Epping: "Most men fit for service were sent to the siege at Port Royal, Nova Scotia, in 1710.:

Harold "Buddy Smith: "(Our earliest Benjamin would have been 25.Was it him? I think so.I think Benjamin may have received his first land grant for services to the King.One of my greatest finds to support this is thatso many names of this in the above muster roll show up as original proprietors in the Epping/Raymond area.")

Benjamin SMITH, b. 1685 in Exeter, NH. m. Polly STEVENS
Benjamin SMITH, b. 1726 in Epping, NH m. Affie CASS d. 8/30/1780 in Epping, NH) abt. 1750
"Rev. War" Jacob SMITH, b. 1756 in Epping, NH d. August 10, 1843 in Raymond, NH M. Elizabeth BLAKE b. 1754 d. Feb. 5, 1833
Benjamin Smith is remembered in the"History of Candia", Ch. XVIII, pg. 632 "There soon moved to Charming Fare (as that part of Chester was then called) quite a number of families, among whom were Benjamin Smith from Exeter"..

"History of Hampton, New Hampshire"Proprietary History pg. 47 : "Benjamin SMITH, Elisha SMITH, Samuel SMITH, Thomas SMITH.Elisha Smith is on the list of taxpayers of 1732.

Lt. Thomas Smith is said to have come from Hampton to Chester, though born in Ireland. (See "Early Settlers") Among several families of Smiths in Hampton, the names of the other grantees are not found.Benjamin, Samuel and Thomas Smith were cut off from Haverhill by the settlement of the province line in 1741. Thomas and Benjamin were paid settlement money in Chester, and were probably Haverhill Peak men."He lived on "Oak Hill".He fought in the French & Indian wars and was one of 100 men given a land grant known as "The Old One Hundred".

History of Old Chester 1719-1869 by Chase: "...October 18, 1757 (in speaking of old Raymond roads)...began at the northwest corner of No. 3 Old hundred Acres (old hundred being the original division of one hundred acre lots at a meeting of the town of Chester, NH on June 10, 1728 (Raymond separated off into its own township in 1764) then south 29 degrees west, on the reserve to where the gate now hangs, then across the 5th and 6th and part of the 7th lot to Exeter line northward of The burial place and between Benjamin Smith's house and barn.It is the road near J. Fullonton home in Raymond to Epping"(see map*)"..there was a Benjamin Smith settled in Raymond on NO. 7 O.H. (old Hundred). in 1761 a road was laid out near his land leading into Epping."

NOTE:*Kathleen Scott" I have a copy of the original map with the names of the families and their plots.There is a grave of Affie Cass and Benjamin Smith on Oak Hill in present day Raymond, NH.It is being kept up by Ralph Sr. and Ralph E. (Buddy) Jr. Smith." and Dorothea Chase. The state of Massachusetts has agreed to mark it with a plaque. Bicentennial history of Epping, N.H. by Sanborn: "..signers of the association text, Epping 1779...Benjamin Smith, Benjamin Smith, Jr. (who was Jacob's brother, Jacob at the time was a veteran.Jacob's brother Stevens became a Captain in the Revolutionary War)

NOTE: Harold E. "Buddy" Smith: "Most of the records I've encountered have Jacob, his son Stephen and grandson Jacob as yeomen (farmers).I sought out local historians in these respective towns and still correspond with them.For the most part, they agree that these early yeomen were "dirt poor".They received the lands for military service, and if they weren'tpeople of property or power, were usually very poor in prospect."