Sanbornton

History of Sanbornton

Sanbornton lies in the western part of the county, and is bounded as follows:
West, by Merrimack County; East, by Great Bay; South, by Tilton; North, by Meredith and New Hampton.

The township was granted by Masonian proprietors, December 31, 1748, to John Sanborn, of Hampton, and others. The grantees were residents of Hampton, Exeter and Stratham, twelve of whom were named Sanborn; hence the name of the town. Settlements were retarded by reason of trouble with the Indians, and none were permanently made until 1764. In 1768 there were thirty-two families in town.

The first settlers were Moses Danforth, Thomas Danforth, Solomon Copp, Daniel Fifield, Samuel Shepard, John Sanborn, David Dustin and Andrew Rowen, in 1764.

It is certain from the "Proprietors' Records", as below (says Rev. Mr. Runnels, in his excellent "History of Sanbornton"), that the two Danforths, Solomon Copp, Daniel Fifield and Samuel Shepard, and, as we know from other sources, Andrew Rowen, and perhaps David Dustin (1766?), had moved to town during the season of 1764. Also that Daniel Sanborn and probably his cousin John were in town- the former as builder of the mill- early that year, but that they did not move their families till the late winter or early summer of 1766. We find the clerk of the proprietors, by order of the committee, calling a meeting March 2, 1765,

"To consider of a petition of a number of inhabitants of said town, setting forth theair inebility to support their families by reason of the scarcity of provisions", for which they "Pray the proprietors wold help them."

At the first meeting, March 18th, it was voted not to give them any help; but at a second meeting, March 27th, motives of humanity triumphed, this former vote was reconsidered, and it was then voted that "The above s'd petishoners, namely Moses Danford, Thomas Danford, Solomon Cops, Daniel Fifield and Samuel Shepprd, shall receive of the proprietors 100 lbs o.t. for theair help, the money to be equely divided among them."

It seems, therefore, certain that soon after the encouraging vote of February 6, 1764, and during the following season, in which Daniel Sanborn's first mill was built and destroyed, the first actual settlers, with their families came to town. They must have passed the winter of 1764-65 in their settlements, as their petition had reached Exeter prior to March 2, 1765, and they could not have moved hither in the dead of winter. The conclusion is, that the persons above mentioned, and probably one or two others of the first settlers who were in easier circumstances, made a commencement during the spring or summer of 1764.

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Source: The History of Merrimack and Belknap Counties, New Hampshire. Edited by D. Hamilton Hurd. Published in 1885. Page 893.

Contributed by Herbert L. Girtman

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