Town of Winchester USGenWeb

New Hampshire

Originally named "Arlington" in honor of Charles Fitzroy, Earl of Arlington, this town was one of those established in 1733 by colonial Governor Jonathan Belcher
as protection for the Massachusetts Bay Colony border at the Connecticut River. This was in the area encompassed in the relatively newly acquired Equivalent Lands.
After being designated a part of the Province of New Hampshire in 1741, the town was granted to Colonel Josiah Willard, commander of the Fort Dummer outpost. In 1753,
it was incorporated by Governor Benning Wentworth as "Winchester", for Charles Paulet, 3rd Duke of Bolton, 8th Marquess of Winchester, and constable of the Tower of London.

Pioneers who came to the town as early as 1732 were attacked many times by Indians. Several settlers were taken captive, and the town was burned in 1745.
Its church, founded in 1736, is the oldest religious body in Cheshire County. The town has two covered bridges.

Although it has been an agricultural town, many small industries have been established in Winchester. In the 1830s, Graves & Company
was among the nation's first manufacturers of musical instruments. The coming of the Ashuelot Railroad in 1850 fostered the growth of textile mills
and wooden-ware factories, especially box manufacture and leather tanning.

Town of Winchester - Winchester Town Information

Cemeteries in Winchester - Search the nibe cemeteries in Winchester, NH

World War II US Army - Private Joseph I. Guyette, Jr. - 25 years old - 90th Infantry Division, 357th Infantry Regiment "Killed in Action" 12 Nov. 1944 - France
US Navy - SMN Clifford V. Nelson - 20 years old - U.S.S. Franklin (CV-13) "Missing in Action" 18 March 1945
Tokyo Bay, Japan when the U.S.S. Franklin was struck by two bombs. The first bomb struck the flight deck centerline and the second hit aft.
US Army - Sergeant Edward Grzelecki - 22 years old - 100th Infantry Division, 399th Infantry Regiment "Killed in Action" 16 Nov. 1944 -
killed in Raon-l'Etape, Departement des Vosges, Lorraine, France, buried in an American Cemetery there.
He lived in Ashuelot an unincorporated community in the town of Winchester
U.S. Air Force - Aviation Cadet Olaf A. Coburn, Jr. - 29 years old - 453rd Bomber Group, 735th Bomber Squadron "Killed in Action"
1 Jan. 1945 - England He lived in Ashuelot an unincorporated community in the town of Winchester
US Air Force - Sergeant Harry G. Scott - 19 years old - 376th Bomber Group, 514th Bomber Squadron "Missing in Action" 8 July 1944
his airplane a B-24 on a bombing mission to Germany, was involved in a mid-air collision with another B-24 over the Adriatic Sea.

Vietnam War US Army - SP4 Robert Gene Galbreath - 19 years old - 1st Aviation BDE, 17th Cavalry, 7th SQDN, Co. A - "Killed in Action"
25 Feb. 1972 at Ninh Thuan, Vietnam, result of a helicopter crash.
US Navy - HM2 Eliot Franklin Guild - 21 years old - Served with US Marines "Medic / Doc" 3rd Marine Division, 3rd BN, Co. H & S "Died from Wounds"
On 1 Nov. 1967, HM2 Guild was wounded in action. After a long hospitalization, first in Da Nang and later in Japan, he died of his wounds on 20 Jan. 1968.

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Cheshire Co. GenWeb Project - Founded 15 November 1996
This site maintained by: GN Kidder - E-mail - address
Copyright 1996 by Randall Mitton
Copyright 1996-2023 by GN Kidder

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Last Edited 5 Jan. 2024