derry, Wheelwrights* wth in his Majts Pro- of N Hampsh, for and in consideration of love and good will & affection wch we have & do bear toward' our Reverend father John Morison sen' Husbandman of ye sd Town and Pro, have given & granted & by these presents do freely clearly and absolutely give & grant unto ye s John Morison, his his heirs exe", adm" & assigns. "To have & hold all ye sd lands & meadow in ye above s premises to him ye s Jn° Morison wthout any manner of consideration during his life time and if ye wife of ye above sa Jn° Morison and ye children of ye sd wife viz Jean Morison Alias Steele & her children Samuel, Hannah, Mary, & Joseph Morison survive & outlive ye aboves Jn Morrison that they shall be all & each, of them equal sharers & quo-partners in ye aboves tract of land & meadow during her living & residing with sd children, but if the s Jean do leave her children or marry another man yt there & at yt time & no longer she shall have no part claim title nor interest in s land or or meadow & further ye above sa Jn° Morison shall be obliged to pay ye rates of sd second division from time to time and at all times henceforward and forever." Dated Dec. 25, 1723. Recorded July 2, 1731, Book 18, page 42. This farm is situated in the present town of Derry, in that portion of the town known as the "Dock." It is now owned by Mr. Charles Day, and is very pleasantly situated. Here upon this land, among the hills, where the strong soil would yield him and his family a support, he lived during the remainder of his days; and here, on the 19th of January, 1736, "being very sick and weak in body, but of perfect mind and memory, knowing that it was appointed unto all men once to die," did the old man make and ordain this, his last will and testament, which is appended: † "In the name of God, Amen. The nineteenth day of Jan'y, One thousand seven hundren & thirty five-six, I, John Morison of Londonderry within his Majesty's Province of New Hamps. in New England Husbandman, being very sick & weak in body but of perfect mind and memory, thanks be given to God, therefore calling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, do make & ordain this my last will & Testament. "That is to say principally & first of all I give & Recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it, & my body I recommend to the earth to be buried in decent christian burial at the discretion of my Exec', nothing doubting but at the General Resurrection I shall receive the same again by the mighty power of God &, as touching such worldly Estate Wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this life I give demise & dispose of the same in the following manner and form. * Makers of spinning-wheels. + Probate Records of Rockingham County, N. H. "Imprimis. I give and bequeath unto my wife Jean Morison alias Steele, after all debts and funeral charges are paid, all and every partice of my moveable Estate only my will & desire is that if there be anything of these moveables remaining at her, my wife's death that then she shall Equally divide what remains amongst my four children she had by me, Viz; Samuel, Hannah, Mary and Joseph Morison, and likewise in consideration of several good causes done by me unto him, my son Samuel Morison my will and desire is that he shall be at the trouble & charge to keep a horse & carry his mother to meeting on the Lord's day, or any where else where she may have necessary occasion to go, and I likewise constitute make and ordain my two sons James Morison & John Morison to be my sole Execs of this my last will & Testament & do hereby utterly disallow, revoke & disannul all & every other Testaments, wills, Legacies, & bequests & Exec' by me in any wise before named willed & bequeathed, Ratifying and Confirming this and no other to be my last will and Testament. "In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal the day & year above written, signed, sealed, published, pronounced and declared by me the said John Morison as his last will & Testament in the presence of us the subscribers. his MATTHEW TAYLOR. mark JOHN KINKEAD. ROBERT COCHRAN. his JOHN MORISON. He had a family of eight children, as follows: 2. mark James (101), born in Ireland about 1675; died about March 5, 1756, in Londonderry. 3. John (679), born in Ireland, 1678; died in Peterborough, N. H., June 14, 1776, aged 98 years. 4. Halbert (1946), born in Ireland; died in Londonderry, June 6, 1755, in his 70th year. 5. Martha (2201), born in Ireland; married Thomas Steele ; died in Londonderry, Oct. 22, 1759. 6. Samuel (2279), born, 1710, in Ireland; married Janette Allison; died in Londonderry, June 21, 1802, aged 92 years. 7. Hannah (2442), born about 1716, in Ireland; married William Clendennin; died in Londonderry, Jan. 7, 1802. 8. Mary (2478), born in Ireland about 1718; married Andrew Jack, of Chester. 9. Joseph (2533), born on the passage to America,† about 1720; married Mary Holmes, of Londonderry; died in Londonderry, 1807. * There is a possibility that the first four children were born in Scotland. This is on the authority of Dea. David Anderson, of Londonderry, N. H., which is undoubtedly correct, as a tradition in another branch of the family confirms it. CHAPTER V. SECOND GENERATION. CHARTER JAMES MORISON, OF LONDONDERRY, N. H., AND HIS DESCENDANTS, INCLUDING SEVEN GENERATIONS. SECOND GENERATION. - CHARTER JAMES MORISON. 10. James' [23] (John'). He is supposed to be the James Morison whose name appears upon the Memorial to Governor Shute, of Massachusetts, bearing date of March 26, 1718, previous to the settlement of Londonderry. He was one of the proprietors of the ancient township, and one of those to whom the charter of the town was given; consequently he is known as "Charter James Morison." He was one of the earliest settlers of the township, although his name does not appear among those composing the first sixteen men, who with their families located there. The following record of land was laid out to him and became his "home lot": "NUTFIELD, February ye &c 1719-20 "Laid out to James Moreson a Lott of Land in said Town containing sixty acres and is bounded as followeth, begining at the north east corner upon west runing brook the first bound mark being a small white oake tree marked standing about thirteen yards from said brook, from thence runing a due south line by marked trees three hundred and twenty Rhods and joyning all the way upon John mitchels Lott until it com to a stake at the south east corner, from thence runing a due west line thirty Rhod by marked trees to a stake at the south west corner, from thence runing a due north line by marked trees three hundred and twenty Rhod and joyning all the way upon James Alexanders Lott until it come to a small maple tree marked near the aforesaid brook, from thence running up the brook as the brook runs unto the bounds first mentioned, to gether with an interest in the common or undivided Lands with said Town ship equall to oather Lotts in said Town. Recorded this 5th of November 1720 pr John Goffe Town Clerk JAMES GREgg * Londonderry Town Records. Commite" So his home ever after was near the "West Running Brook." This land is situated about one mile southwest of Derry East Meeting-house, in what was known in the early history of Londonderry as the "Double Range." It is east of the turnpike, lying between the turnpike and the residence of Col. George W. Lane. Part, if not the whole, of the land is now included in the farm of a Mr. Noyes. From time to time other lands came into his possession. Quiet and unassuming as we imagine our ancestor to have been, still he did not wholly escape the perplexities of life, and in company with others entered his strong protest against what he considered an unjust division of lands among the settlers, and asked for redress. There were disturbing elements in the society of the early settlers. Selfishness was prominent then, as now, in the breasts of all. Many of those who lived in the "Double Range" were dissatisfied with the division and distribution of the land. "One method, 'to do as they would be done by,' did not prevail there." So fourteen freeholders in the township of Londonderry (now Derry) signed the annexed petition: PETITION FOR REDRESS OF INJUSTICE. "To the Honourable John Wentworth, Esq., Leutt Governor commander in chief of Hampshr, and to the Generall Assembly of both houses. "The humble petition of the subscribers to this Honorable Assembly, wee complean of wrong don to us and grivoos injustice in laying outt of our land by unjust methods viz. that a part of our proprietors have taken their chois of all our comons and we are nott allowed neither lott nor chois and rendered unsheur of having our hom lotts made Equal with others, one method Dos not prevall hear to do as they wold be done by. Wee the Complenentt Desire and make requeast for a practicable reull that may yealld saiftty to every party and thatt a magor vote may not cutte any propriator outt of his right by design or conning which shall further appear by a paper annexed hereunto, which will make it appear mor fully to have ben practised hear on propertie hurttofore another the complanentt seke for redress from this Honorable house, and your petitioners shall ever pray. May the 15th 1728. JOHN BARNET. SAMUEL ALLISON. WILLIAM NICKELS. JOHN ANDERSON. JAMES MORISON. ARCHIBALD CLENDENIN. JOHN STUART. JOHN MORISON. SAMUEL BARR. JOHN BARNET. GABRIALL BARR."* "This petition was presented to the General Assembly on the 18th day of May, 1728. The 23d was appointed as a day of * Town Papers of New Hampshire, vol. ix, pp. 492, 493. hearing. Both parties appearing unitedly declared that they had settled the difference among themselves, and humbly prayed the Government to give a sanction to their agreement. "In Council, May 23, 1728, Voted, that the Said Agreement be and hereby is established and confirmed. The Agrement was as follows, At a Proprietary Meeting at Londonderry the 15th day of April 1728, it was voted that the fourteen petitioners shall have Five Hundred and Ninetyfour acres of land within the said Town of Londonderry.' The petitioners shall have one half the land that fronts on Cobbetts Pond, on the South side and the East end of the said pond, so beginning at the middle of said Pond and running out a square line from the Pond Three Hundred and twenty rods if Policy Pond will allow, thence extending East not to run past ye east end of Policy Pond southerly, and so running along ye habitable land breaking no form of land until the aforesaid Petitioners' compliment of five hundred and ninety four acres is made up exclusive of any meadow," * etc. Part, if not all, of this land was laid out in October of 1728. Like the rest of the common land of Londonderry, it was formed into a "range," so that it might "be laid out in order." This was the origin of that section of farms, which for nearly one hundred and fifty years has been known as "Windham Range."† The land laid out to James Morison, Nov. 18, 1728, in consequence of this protest and petition, has furnished a home for many of his descendants down to the present day. It is now owned by his great-great-grandson, Albert A. Morrison. In his possession also is a Bible once belonging to our ancestor, and was used by him in his daily devotions. It is strongly bound, and was closed originally with clasps, though they are now broken. It was printed in 1725. It bears the marks of use, and some of its pages are stained by the sea-waves when crossing the Atlantic, a century and a half ago or more. He was one of the selectmen of Londonderry in 1725. He married Mary Wallace, in Ireland, by whom he had two sons, Halbert and Samuel. She died in Ireland, and he came to America, and married Janet Steele, and had five children. There seems to have been a general closing up of his affairs on March 5, 1756, and several deeds from him to his sons bear this date. These were not acknowledged before a justice of the peace, and those who witnessed them were obliged to appear at probate court at Portsmouth, N. H., June 9, 1757, to testify and establish the legality of the writings. The records say, "And it is * Provincial Papers, vol. iv, p. 300. † At one time, 1739, four Morisons were freeholders, and lived in Windham Range: 1. Ezekiel Morison, son of John, bought of William Clendenin the land laid out to Archibald Clendenin. The place where the house stood is in the hollow between the Senter and Smith farms. 2. Halbert Morison, Jr., son of James, bought the land laid out to William Nickles; date of deed Oct. 17, 1739. 3. Capt. Thomas Morison, son of John, lived where Isaiah Dinsmoor lives. 4. Lieut. Samuel Morison, son of James, lived where Albert A. Morrison lives. |
