The Original Grantees of Campton, New Hampshire

Part One

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 S^o 30 D^s 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…”¹ 

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.²

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.³

While the land was covered with trees and not ready for cultivation, sixty-four men paid to be part of the original grant. 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.⁴

Names of the Grantees of Campton, New Hampshire, and a rough map of the area granted to them.

Jared Spencer of East Haddam, Connecticut, sent a petition to the New Hampshire governor in 1761. 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.⁵

Petition of Jared Spencer to Governor Benning Wentworth.

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), 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.⁶ 

The Colonel Spencer Inn built in 1764, 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 1789.⁷

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 that the sale of the land in Campton was his free act and deed.⁸

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.⁹ 

Peter Spencer sold most of 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.

Of the five original Spencer Grantees (all of East Haddam, Connecticut), Col. Joseph Spencer and Peter Spencer probably 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.¹⁰

Part Two - Col. Joseph Spencer and Dr. Joseph Spencer
Part Three - Abel Willey

1. Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records Vol. 1, 1767-1826, 1–2, Decree by George, The Third, granting permission to settle a “New Plantation” in New Hampshire and outlining the location and conditions of the grant, dated 5 January 1767; FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-899K-WFYR).

2. Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records Vol. 1, 1767-1826, 3, Conditions attached to the land grant; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-899K-WFYR).

3. Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records Vol. 1, 1767-1826, 3–4, Conditions attached to the land grant; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-899K-WFYR).

4. Rev. Isaac Willey, “The Early History of Campton,” in Proceedings at the Centennial Celebration of the Town of Campton, New Hampshire 12 September 1867 (©1868), 13; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/21905/). Also, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records Vol. 1, 1767-1826, 110–111The Grant required land to be set aside for religious purposes, a school, and for Benning Wentworth; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G99K-WN3F).

5. Petition of Jared Spencer to Governor Benning Wentworth dated 24 February 1861; digital copy provided by Office of the New Hampshire Secretary of State, Division of Archives & Records Management, Concord. Also, Colchester, New London, Connecticut, Probate Records Vol. 3, 1769–1771, 162, letters of administration were granted regarding the estate of Capt. Jared Spencer, late of East Haddam, dated 2 August 1762; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-992N-L36P). And, Connecticut, transcription of Militia War Records, 2nd Series, Vol. 1, A–L, 1747–1788, 141, Maj. Joseph Spencer’s orders & election return of 16th co. 12th reg’t, occasioned by the death of Jared Spencer, Oct. 1762; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHN-G3BQ-94C). And, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records Vol. 1, 5, The Grant required land to be set aside for religious purposes, a school, and for Benning Wentworth; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-899K-WFTS).

6. Rev. Isaac Willey, “The Early History of Campton,” in Proceedings at the Centennial Celebration of the Town of Campton, New Hampshire 12 September 1867 (©1868), 13; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/21905/). Also, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records Vol. 1, 1767-1826, 6, the first Proprietors Meeting was scheduled to be held at the “House of Col. Joseph Spencer’s in Said Campton…” on 2 November 1769; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G99K-WFZX). And, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records Vol. 1, 1767-1826, 11-12, it was voted that Lot No. 7 in the first division be granted to Col. Joseph Spencer and Mr. Moses Little “in Consideration of the Expence they have been at in building a Saw Mill in said Campton” at the Proprietor’s Meeting held at the house of Col. Joseph Spencer in Campton on 14 May 1770; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-899K-WN9X).

7. Charles Barney Whittelsey, Historical Sketch of Joseph Spencer, Major-General of the Continental Troops, Member of the Council of Safety, Congressman, Judge, Deputy, Deacon, and Farmer, (Hartford: Hartford Press, 1904), 1–3, 5–6; Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/unk82041619/).

8. Grafton County, New Hampshire, Deeds Vol. 10, 1787-1788, 48, Joseph Spencer of East Haddam, Hartford, Connecticut sold land in Campton to Asa Spooner [later in the document he is twice referred to as Asa Spencer] of Campton land that originally belonged to Aaron Cleavland one of the original Grantees, dated 14 February 1769; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSVL-X32J-V).

9. Grafton County, New Hampshire, Deeds Vol. 7, 1783-1784, 272, Hobart Spencer of Rumney, Grafton, New Hampshire, sells land in Campton pitched to the original right of Jonathan Cone to Jacob Merrill of Plymouth, Grafton, New Hampshire, dated 14 December 1781; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSRH-698X-5). Also, Grafton County, New Hampshire, Deeds Vol. 8, 1784-1786, 277 & 278, Hobart Spencer of Thornton, Grafton, New Hampshire sells land in Campton being the original right of Lotiho Sepio to John Nevans of Plymouth, Grafton, New Hampshire, dated 24 April 1786; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLR-N9SQ-7). And, “Hobart Spencer Jr. Was Most Likely the Husband of Betsey, Hazen,” Substack (https://yourfamilyquest.substack.com/p/hobart-spencer-jr-was-most
-likely). And, Grafton County, New Hampshire, Deeds Vol. 16, 1791-1792, 273, Joseph Spencer Physician of Hoosick, Rensselaer, New York, sold land in Campton which was the original right of Joseph and Joseph Jr. Spencer to Moses Little of Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, dated 19 June 1792; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSRH-ZQ4J-Q ). And, Albany County, New York, Deeds Vol. 11, 1785-1788, 243, Samuel Guthrie sells land to Joseph Spencer, physician, both of Hoosick, Albany, New York on 5 August 1786; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WC-6ZL9). And, “About Vienna, West Virginia,” Visit Greater Parkersburg (https://www.greaterparkersburg.com/area-maps/vienna/ ).

10. The story of Peter and Asa Spencer will be covered in a future Substack post.