I was going to write the story of Dr. Joseph Spencer and his half-brother, Nehemiah Spencer, but their story starts here with their uncle, Jared Spencer, and their father, General Joseph Spencer.
On 5 January 1767, King George the Third under the advice of the New Hampshire governor, Benning Wentworth, issued a charter for a “New Plantation” containing about twenty-five thousand acres “Beginning at the n. Westerly Corner of Holderness at a red Oak tree on the bank of the River from thence running East six miles to the N: E. Corner of Holderness from thence running North Five miles from thence West about 4 ½ miles to Pemigiwasset River, from thence a strait Line Westerly to the N: E. Corner of Rumney from thence on a running Line So 30 Ds West to the south Easterly Corner thereof, which is also the N: Easterly Corner of Cockermouth from thence Easterly on a Streight Line to the N: Westerly Corner of Holderness the bounds first mention’d…”
But there were conditions. The land was to be divided into seventy equal shares and each grantee had to “Plant & Cultivate Five Acres of Land, with the Term of five Years for every Fifty Acres Contained in his or their Share…and continue to Improve and Settle the Same by additional Cultivations on Penalty of the Forfeiture of his Grant…” Also, the grantees needed a special permit to cut down pine trees as they were reserved for “Masting our Royal Navy,” and besides the cultivation acres, each grantee was allotted a one-acre lot in town.
For these privileges, the grantees were required to pay “the Rent of one Ear of Indian Corn” annually for ten years. After ten years, they were required to pay the Crown one shilling for every hundred acres they owned.
While the land was covered with trees and not ready for cultivation, sixty-four men paid to be part of the original grant. (See Illustration 1) They also set aside five hundred acres for Governor Benning Wentworth, which included two shares for “the Incorporated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts,” one share for “the first Settled Minister of the Gospel,” one share for “a Glebe for the Church of England,” and one share for the school.
Illustration 1: Original Grantees of Campton, New Hampshire
Jared Spencer of East Haddam, Connecticut sent a petition to the New Hampshire governor in 1761. (See Illustration 2) He died before the grant was issued in 1767. While he was not one of the original grantees, his brother Joseph Spencer, Joseph’s sons Joseph Jr. and Hobart, his first cousin Peter Spencer, and Peter’s son Asa Spencer, were.
Illustration 2: Petition of Jared Spencer to Governor Benning Wentworth provided by the Office of the New Hampshire Secretary of State, Division of Archives & Records Management
Hobart and Joseph Spencer Jr. arrived in 1766 with Abel Willey, the seventeen-year-old son of the widow Mary (Holmes) Willey. Their father probably came earlier, but while he built a house large enough for the Proprietors’ meetings (This could refer to the inn he built in 1764. See Illustration 3), and was a partner with Moses Little in building a sawmill, Col. Joseph Spencer was also active in the politics of Connecticut and probably did not spend much time in Campton.
Illustration 3: The Joseph Spencer Inn photo by Deborah A. Carl
In 1750 Col. Joseph Spencer was appointed Deputy from East Haddam to the Legislature and served for fourteen years. He was also a Judge of the Probate for the District of East Haddam from 1753 until his death. He joined in all military actions involving Connecticut from King George’s War in 1746 to about 1780. He enlisted in the Seven Years’ War, serving from 1757, and he continued to serve after the war until 1766. From 1766 to 1780, he served as the assistant to the Deputy Governor. In 1776, Col. Joseph Spencer was promoted to Major-General of the Continental Army and commanded two of the Connecticut Brigades. After the war, he was appointed as a delegate to the Congress, and in 1780 he was elected to the Connecticut State Council where he served until he died in 1789.
The deeds have two Joseph Spencers selling land in Campton around the same time – one who lived in Campton and the other who lived in East Haddam. On the deed to Asa Spooner dated 14 February 1769, General Joseph Spencer appeared before Timothy Gates, Justice of the Peace in East Haddam, Hartford County, Connecticut, to acknowledge the sale of the land in Campton was his free act and deed.
So while Col. Joseph Spencer continued to make East Haddam his permanent residence, his sons Joseph and Hobart made Campton their home but appear to have left in the 1780s. Hobart moved to neighboring Rumney before moving to Thornton and then across the river to Vermont. Joseph Jr. moved to Hoosick, Rensselaer, New York where he practiced medicine before moving to Virginia and purchasing land in what is now known as Vienna, Cook, West Virginia.
Peter Spencer sold his Rights in Campton before the land was divided, but his son Asa bought and pitched Aaron Cleveland’s Right on 25 June 1770. Asa sold his own Right which was pitched by Samuel Holms on behalf of John Holms on 24 October 1770. While Asa married Deborah Patterson on 12 September 1763 in Millington, East Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut, British Colonial America, their eight children appear to have been born in Campton. Most of Asa and Deborah’s grandchildren were also born in Campton.
Of the five original Spencer Grantees (all of East Haddam, Connecticut), Col. Joseph Spencer and Peter Spencer did not live in the town, Joseph Spencer Jr. and Hobart Spencer lived in the town about ten or fifteen years, and Asa Spencer resided in the town until he died in 1778 while serving in the Revolutionary War.
Oh, my... what an incredible treasure and man, what a story of Place! Never having lived anywhere my ancestors tread, I can just imagine what that's like to live in their footsteps. I hope you can join us for this All About That Place series of programs either through Projectkin or the whole series out of the UK. More at Sog.org.uk/all-about-that-place-2024. Our short program, intended to stretch the idea out across the Americas and into the Pacific is at Projectkin.org/AATP24.