The Original Grantees of Campton, New Hampshire

Part Four - Peter & Asa Spencer and Aaron Cleveland

The timing of this story worked out well since Monday is Memorial Day. While we look forward to getting together with family, firing up the grill, and having a good time, the day is intended to remember those who gave their lives while serving in the U.S. military. As a country, I think we’ve forgotten that, since few of us have close family members who died in the service. I know veterans, but I don’t know anyone who lost a family member in the Vietnam War, the Korean War, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, or the war in Afghanistan.

On to the story….

Peter Spencer, one of the Original Grantees of Campton, never developed the land. He sold his rights to one hundred acres in the first and second divisions to his cousin, Joseph Spencer; he sold his right to the intervale lot to Israel Brainard; and he sold his right to one hundred acres in the fourth division to John Southmayd.¹

Peter’s son, Asa, was living in Campton before February 1769. The twenty-five-year-old most likely went ahead of his family to clear part of the land and build a house before his wife, Deborah Patterson, whom he married in Millington, East Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut, on 12 September 1763, and their three young children, Huldah, Statira, and Amasa, could join him in Campton. But the move probably didn’t go according to plan.²

Detail from The Visit to the Nursery, c. 1775 by Jean Honoré Fragonard; National Gallery of Art

Just as Abel Willey had gone back and forth between Campton, New Hampshire, and East Haddam, Connecticut before his family joined him in the new town, Asa must have made at least one trip back home around May because his fourth child, Deborah, arrived on 19 March 1770. Asa and his wife Deborah probably waited until the spring rains ended, the high waters receded, and the mud dried, before they embarked with their newborn and three other children, ages six, four, and two, on the journey to their new home.³

Aaron Cleveland was another Original Proprietor who never developed the land in Campton. While the first division of Campton land didn’t start until 14 March 1770, Joseph Spencer had already bought Aaron Cleveland’s right to one hundred acres, and sold it to “Asa Spencer of Campton in the Province of New Hampshire” on 14 February 1769. This was Lot 41 that Asa had probably prepared for his family, and he claimed it on 25 June 1770, probably about the time he brought his family there to live. In turn, Asa sold John Holms his one hundred acres in the first division. Asa also bought Aaron Cleveland’s right to the one hundred acres in the second division known as Lot 9. He sold Joseph Spencer his hundred acres in the second division and sold William Baker his right to an Intervale Lot. Asa died before the third division, and no one pitched his right to the one hundred acres in 1779.⁴

Asa was thirty-two years old and had seven children when he enlisted as a soldier in the 3rd New Hampshire Regiment, 6th Company on February 10, 1777, for the duration of the war. By June 1777, the regiment was at Fort Ticonderoga, which they abandoned on July 6th. They retreated to Fort Edward, New York. “The Americans were systematically felling trees, destroying bridges, and damming streams along the road…” On 20 October 1777, the regiment was assigned to the Main Continental Army, and they joined George Washington at Valley Forge. There, Asa died on 7 March 1778, probably from one of the many diseases that plagued the camp – influenza, typhus, typhoid, and dysentery. His fellow infantry members probably buried him, perhaps at the nearby Valley Friends’ Burial Ground.⁵

The Continental Army arrived at Valley Forge on 19 December 1777 and set up their winter camp. They built about 2,000 log huts, 14 by 18 feet, and the accommodations were “tolerably comfortable.” Clothing shortages were a problem, but there was enough food for subsistence meals. Photo and information from the Valley Forge National Park website.

Even though Asa was going off to war, he did not make a will. At his death, he had one hundred acres worth 100£ and 100 acres worth 20£ and an undivided share of land worth 7£, two cows, six sheep, farming equipment, kitchen equipment, furniture, a gun and powder horn, notes totalling 18£, 17£ cash, and 35 papers dollars. Deborah Spencer waited until Amasa reached his majority in 1789 before she declined to be the administrator. As the oldest son, it fell to Amasa to take responsibility for the estate. The court appointed John Southmayd as guardian of 14-year-old Asa Spencer and 12-year-old Israel Spencer. The court appointed Moses Baker as guardian to 19-year-old Deborah. (Guardians were tasked with caring for the assets of the minors and seeing to their education. They did not take custody of the children.) Since the court should have appointed a guardian for 17-year-old Hannah and did not, she was probably deceased, and Statira and Huldah did not require guardians since they had reached the age of majority.⁶

The court appointed Abel Willey, John Southmayd, and Edmund Marsh to determine Deborah’s dower. The law entitled Deborah to the use of ⅓ of Asa’s estate during her lifetime. Perhaps there was some conflict between Deborah and her children because the committee followed the letter of the law. She received use of some of the Intervale land and some of the land near the Beebe River and then she received use of “one third of the House as follows (viz) from the wall of the House on the East side of said house one third of the width of the house allowing her the privilege of passing and repassing through the Outer Door and the heirs the privilege of the Oven with the Widow.”⁷

Photo from The Daniel Webster Birthplace website. Daniel Webster was born in 1782 in Salisbury, New Hampshire.

Deborah married Abel Willey’s cousin, Jesse Willey, on 4 December 1783. Widowed in January of that year, Jesse brought at least four children to the marriage, and Deborah, with her six children, made for a very crowded house. Perhaps Amasa resented sharing his home with his mother’s new family and insisted that she, her husband, the remaining step-children, and her two- and four-year-old sons with Jesse, stay in her ⅓ part of the house.⁸

But while one of Amasa’s sisters and at least one of his step-sisters had moved out, the house was still crowded because Amasa had married, adding a wife and three children to the residence. In 1799, he sold Lot 41, with the understanding that his “honored” mother had use of her ⅓ Dower right during her lifetime. Deborah, her husband, Jesse Willey, their two sons, three of her children with Asa Spencer, and one or two of her step-children needed to make arrangements with Samuel Holmes if they wanted to use more than the ⅓ part.⁹

Asa’s children, Statira and Israel, were the only known Spencers descended from the original settlers who remained in Campton. Of Asa’s other children who lived to adulthood, Amasa moved to Lower Canada, Asa Jr. moved to Vermont, Huldah moved to Massachusetts, and it is uncertain what became of Deborah.¹⁰

1. Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1767-1826, Vol. 1, 42, Lot 45 [should be 46], pitched by Joseph Spencer on the original right of Peter Spencer on 4 June 1770; FamilySearch. Also, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1767-1826, Vol. 1, 85, Lot 8, pitched by Joseph Spencer on the original right of Peter Spencer on 4 June 1770; FamilySearch. And, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1767-1826, Vol. 1, 245, Two 13-acre lots of Intervale laid on the original rights of Peter Spencer and John Southmayd, surveyed 31 December 1777; FamilySearch. And, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1767-1826, Vol. 1, 297–298, Lot 42, pitched by John Southmayd on the original right of Peter Spencer, surveyed 23 April 1779; FamilySearch.

2. Grafton County, New Hampshire, Deeds, Vol. 10, 1787–1788, 48, Joseph Spencer of East Haddam, Hartford, Connecticut, sells Asa Spencer of Campton, New Hamsphire, “one whole share or right of land in the town of Campton originally belonging to Aaron Cleveland an original grantee,” 14 February 1769; FamilySearch. Also, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1777-1825, unpaginated, family of Asa Spencer and his wife Deborah, who were married at East Haddam on 12 September 1763; FamilySearch.

3. Deborah Carl, “The Original Grantees of Campton, New Hampshire: Part Three–Abel Willey,” published 21 February 2025; Substack. Also, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1777-1825, unpaginated, family of Asa Spencer and his wife Deborah, who were married at East Haddam on 12 September 1763; FamilySearch. And, Hamilton Child, Gazetteer of Grafton County, NH, 1709–1886 (©1886), 200, list of Campton settlers, Asa Spencer, who arrived in 1770; FamilySearch.

4. Grafton County, New Hampshire, Deeds, Vol. 10, 1787–1788, 48, Joseph Spencer of East Haddam, Hartford, Connecticut, sells Asa Spencer of Campton, New Hamsphire, “one whole share or right of land in the town of Campton originally belonging to Aaron Cleveland an original grantee,” 14 February 1769; FamilySearch. Also, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1767–1826, Vol. 1, 40, Lot 41, pitched by Asa Spencer on the right of Aaron Cleveland on 25 June 1770; FamilySearch. And, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1767–1826, Vol. 1, 48, Lot 59, pitched by Samuel Holms on behalf of John Holms on the right of Asa Spencer on 24 October 1770; FamilySearch. And, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1767–1826, Vol. 1, 76, Lot 9, pitched by Asa Spencer on the right of Aaron Cleveland on 29 June 1772; FamilySearch. And, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1767–1826, Vol. 1, 65–66, Lot 12, pitched by Jabez Church on behalf of Joseph Spencer on the right of Asa Spencer on 22 October 1779; FamilySearch. And, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1767–1826, Vol. 1, 248–249, Six 13-acre lots laid out on the rights of Richard Sparrow…Asa Spencer…surveyed for Wm Baker on 26 April 1779; FamilySearch. And, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1767–1826, Vol. 1, Lot 6, drawn to the right of Asa Spencer on 19 March 1779; FamilySearch.

5. East Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut, Vital Statistics, Vol. 1, late 1600 to 1890, 386, transcribed from original Vol. 4, 464, Asa son of Peter Spencer and Hannah Brown, born 14 June 1744; FamilySearch. Also, New Hampshire Regiment, Return of the Noncommissioned Officers and Privates in Capt. Benjamin Stone’s Company, Asa Spencer, enlisted 7 February 1877 for the duration of the war, died 7 March 1778; FamilySearch. And, Muster Roll, database; Valley Forge Muster Roll, Search the Muster Roll > Asa Spencer. And, “New Hampshire Regiments in the Continental Army: 3rd New Hampshire Regiment,” published in 2017; American Revolutionary War 1775 to 1783. And “The Saratoga Campaign: June 14–October 17, 1777 at Upstate New York, Vermont,” published in 2017; American Revolutionary War 1775 to 1783. And, “The Encampment,” published in 2025; Valley Forge Muster Roll. And, “Valley Friends’ Burial Ground,” updated 1 February 2021; The Valley Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.

6. Grafton County, New Hampshire, Probate Estate Files 1789, Bedel–Wright, alphabetical order, Folder for Asa Spencer, unpaginated, Inventory of the Estate of Mr. Asa Spencer, 27 May 1789; FamilySearch. Also, Grafton County, New Hampshire, Probate Estate Files 1789, Bedel–Wright, alphabetical order, Folder for Asa Spencer, unpaginated, Letter from Jesse and Deborah Willey stating they decline to be the administrators of the estate and that Amasa Spencer should take care of it, dated 10 February 1789; FamilySearch. And, Grafton County, New Hampshire, Probate Estate Files 1789, Bedel–Wright, alphabetical order, Folder for Asa Spencer, unpaginated, Bond posted by John Southmayd, guardian of Asa Spencer Jr., dated 18 February 1789; FamilySearch. And, Grafton County, New Hampshire, Probate Estate Files 1789, Bedel–Wright, alphabetical order, Folder for Asa Spencer, unpaginated, Bond posted by John Southmayd, guardian of Israel Spencer, dated 18 February 1789; FamilySearch. And, Grafton County, New Hampshire, Probate Estate Files 1789, Bedel–Wright, alphabetical order, Folder for Asa Spencer, unpaginated, Bond posted by Moses Baker, guardian of Deborah Spencer, dated 7 June 1789; FamilySearch. And, Robert W. Baird, “Orphans & Guardians,” Bob’s Genealogy Filing Cabinet: Southern and Colonial Genealogies.

7. Grafton County, New Hampshire, Probate Estate Files 1789, Bedel–Wright, alphabetical order, Folder for Asa Spencer, unpaginated, Report from Abel Willey, John Southmayd, and Edmund Marsh who were appointed to set off one third of Asa Spencer’s estate for his widow’s dower: FamilySearch. And, David H. Bromfield, “Women and the Law of Property in Early America,” Michigan Law Review, Vol. 85, Issue 5&6 (April-May, 1987), 1114; Michigan Law: University of Michigan.

8. Also, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1777-1825, unpaginated, Marriage of Jesse Willey and Deborah Spencer, 4 December 1783; FamilySearch. Also, family of Jesse Willey and Rhoda, who died 5 January 1783, and family of Jesse Willey and Deborah Spencer [listed as married 4 December 1784]; FamilySearch.

9. Also, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1777-1825, unpaginated, Marriage of Ezra Tupper and Huldey Spencer, 9 June 1785 & Marriage of David Wooster and Rosannah Willey, 9 September 1788; FamilySearch. Also, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire, Town Records, 1777-1825, unpaginated, family of Amasa Spencer and Hannah; FamilySearch. And, Grafton County, New Hampshire, Deeds, Vol. 31, 1800–1801, 288, Amasa Spencer sells lot “numbered Forty one drawn to the original Right of Aaron Cleveland” to Samuel Holmes, 22 April 1799; FamilySearch.

10. 1850 U.S. Census, Grafton County, New Hampshire, mortality schedule, Campton, handwritten page 185, Statira Spencer, January 1850; FamilySearch. Also, Find A Grave, database with images, Israel Spencer (1776-1852), memorial created by Scott Connor Barnard with gravestone image by Scott Connor Barnard; Blair Cemetery, Campton, Grafton, New Hampshire. And, New Hampshire Pension Records, Vol. 21, 1776–1850, Fox, John–Gale, Daniel, compiled by Mrs. Amos G. Draper (©1922), handwritten page 14, Uriah Fox, Amasa Spencer of Stanstead, Lower Canada, testified he lived in Campton, NH in 1777 and knew Uriah Fox had enlisted in Campton; FamilySearch. And, “The Erysipelas in Derby, Vermont,” The Caledonian (St. Johnsbury, VT), Tuesday, 16 May 1843, p. 2, col. 4, During the epidemic Amasa son of Asa Spencer died 29 March, Deborah wife of Asa Spencer died 29 March, and Asa Spencer died 4 April; NewspaperArchive. And, Hampshire–Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Births, Marriages, Deaths, Vol. 2, 1843, Town of Monson, 255, Huldah Tupper, died 2 May 1842; FamilySearch.