THE BOOK OF DOW
GENEALOGICAL MEMOIRS
of the descendants of Henry Dow 1637, Thomas Dow 1639 and others
of the name, immigrants to America during Colonial Times

Also the allied family of Nudd

Written, compiled, edited by
ROBERT PIERCY DOW
of Laguna Beach, California, and Claremont, N. H.

Published by
Robert P. Dow, John W. Dow and Susan F. Dow
of Claremont, N.H.

Offered to all who are Dow by birth or ancestry or marriage; all imbued
with the honest pride of Dow; all interested in Massachusetts
Bay genealogy, in the study of heredity, or the
personal side of American History

THE BOOK OF DOW (Pages 23 – 25)

IN the History of Hampton, N. H., by the late Joseph Dow, by far the richest treasury of information about the beginnings of the Dow family in America, it is stated that Henry Dow, immigrant, was descended from John Dow of Tylner, Norfolk Co., who se will was probated July 23, 1561. In making this erroneous statement (which has been copied far and widely) he was grossly imposed upon by a professional English genealogist, who later confessed that he "took a chance." He took the money and kept it, out of the slender means of Joseph Dow. This will was inspected afterwards and found to be that of a John Downet.

Perhaps (and the author thinks probably) there was only one original family of Dow in Norfolk. The name occurs in the yeomanry in the 13th century in Norfolk. By 1500 the name was common throughout Norfolk. Some of them were land-owners by 1450; others had leaseholds in practically permanent form. Some had become of the gentry.

A Parliamentary writ of about 1200 cites one Richard le Duv and one Nicholas le Duv, apparently father and son, land-holders of Great Yarmouth. It is quite possible that the elder of these was the first to bear the name. It is certain that such surname could not have been in existence, as Norfolk County was slow in adopting surnames. Beyond much doubt here is the origin of the family. As a whole their position from the first was high in the yeomanry but not in the gentry. Individual members entered the gentry through marriages with heiresses and one member was created a knight banneret. Beyond a doubt, too, every Dow of Norfolk County is descended from one ancestor, a Saxon, and Norman inter-marriages occurred from 1400 onward.

The first definitely known, except as a name, is one John Dow of East Herling, 1487. His son and heir John Dow of Diss, gave to the guilds their house in Heyton St. This sounds like a man of property who had risen from a trade.

In Hapham May 8, 1498, John Dow succeeded an incumbent priest. Such instances are mostly younger sons of gentry.

Mr. Dowe of Brisingham married the daughter and heiress of Thomas Howard of Burston. The Howards were noble, even connected with royalty. She in her widowhood passed the priory manor on to the Bungloes.

After this, there are some interesting mentions of Dow, of lines which can be no more than collateral to ours.

John Dowe of Alltburgh, who died 1620, a character and large landholder, married Anne Cockett, daughter of Thomas of Brownsthorp. She outlived him until 1626, very charitable to the poor, a benefactress to the church. This John Dowe' composed his epitaph:

Vpon old John Dowe an Unprofitable townsman of great estate in land and yet not worth a mortuary at his Death in Goods.
John Dowe an antient townsman was buried in divers years past before
And lyeth buried within the Church South Door.
De quo hoe verum Epitaphium hebaeri posset.
Here lyeth the Dowe who ne'er in life did good
Nor would have done though longer he had stood
A wife he had both Beautifull and wise
But he ne'er would such goodness exercise
Death was his Freind to bring him to his grave
For he in life commendam none could have.

We now come back to the yeomanry. The Society of Antiquaries of London, Archaeologia vol 26, p 421, gives extracts from the household and privy purse accounts of the Lestranges of Hunstanton, Norfolk, from 1519 to 1578:

This booke make meneyon of all payments for the hows & receyts from the xxvth day of September in the xjth yere of ye leigue of Hyng Henry the Vlllth on to ye next accompts
                                    The ljd Weke
Item pd to John Dowe for making of a Cowle for the Hennys at Anan ljd.

A cowl is the wooden cross piece to be worn on the shoulders, from which a pail or other load may be suspended at each end. It is possible, even rather probable, that this John Dow is father of our earliest known ancestor, but no evidence of it exists.

 

From C C Norwich: Baynes 127, comes the first mention found of our own line.

WILL of John Dow of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, joiner, dated I July, 1544.
High Altar, Reparation of Church, the lazars at Yarmouth gates, Sisters of the Hospital in Yarmouth,
Sons-Thomas and Christopher, 40s apiece at their ages, etc. Wife Johan my "Place" in Yarmouth,
Residuary legatee and sole executrix-wife Johan. Supervisor uncle Christopher Coop.

From this we make out that John Dow was thrifty and had a home; that his bequests to charity were not inconsiderable for his time, that the name of his wife was Johan Coop.

The will of the widow adds another name:

WILL of Johan Dewe (sic) of Great Yarmouth, widow, dated 22 August, 1549.
Sole legatees - children, Thomas, Christopher and Katherine.

At this time the Dow family of Yarmouth, notably of Runham parish, was not so numerous to make it improbable that they were all closely akin. It seems probable that John Dow had a brother Thomas of Runham. This Thomas had at least three sons:

a.             William bur Dec 29, 1567

b.             John bur Feb 13, 1572

c.             Thomas bur Good Friday Apr 6, 1599

This 3rd born Thomas had a wife Elizabeth and a son Thomas b Oct 28, 1640. We cannot differentiate between Thomas Dow bur Apr 23, 1642, and Thomas Dow bur Oct 2, 1666.

Thomas Dow xa, (The Book of Dow, page 25)

whose children repeat the names of the previous generation, may have seen service in his youth, for he possessed and bequeathed a piece of land, not owned by his father, held of the King for military service. He was 16 when his father died. He m O ct 5, 1549, Margaret England. For many years he kept an inn in Runham Parish, Yarmouth, and probably f rmed his arable lands. It is on record that Thomas Dow, an honest man and good housekeeper, was bur: the xth day of May, 1591. Again: Margaret Dow e, wid: bur: Sept 5, 1616. Little doubt that the list of children is complete:

a.             Henry b 1550. Oddly, the Parish rec which gives many names prior as well as later, does not contain his birth or baptism

b.             Thomas bap Mch 20, 1551-2. Thomas, son of Thomas, a single man m Runham May 24, 1506, Lucie Church, widowe. She d Dec, 4, 1612. He m 2nd July 18, 1614, Sarah Manchepp of Hempsbye, who was bur May 7, 1615. Albeit of full years he m 3rd at Run ham by special license Apr 7, 1617, Grace Smith and had by her a dau Elinor b July 9, 1618

c.             Katherine m May 7, 1576, John Bowter. She had only dau - therefore the Sowter family of Seabrook, N H, who came originally from Norfolk Co, was only collaterally related

d.             Christopher bap Mch 25, 1569-70; m Runham Aug 11, 1606, Elizabeth ffranklin

e.             John bap Sept 7, 1572; bur Feb 13, 1572-3

f.              Edmond, mentioned in father's will with children Robert and Margaret. Edmunde Dove, almost surely identical gentleman of Filby (Filby, Thrigsby, Ormsby, Runham are all parishes of Great Yarmouth), had a dau Sarah bap Mch 16, 1603

C C Norwich, Andrews 85: WILL of Thomas Dowe of Runham, Norfolk, yeoman, dated 2 May, 1591

Poor of Runham, a cowe worth twentie shillings, and 20s for penny dole.
Wife Margaret, messuages and lands in Runham, Mautbye, etc, for her life.
Son Henry m the said rnessuages after the death of my wife.
Son Christopher Dowe, Daughter Katherine and Susan Sowter "daughters of said Katherine Sowter."
Son Edmond all debts owing to me by Thomas Clere esqr. and Richard Ryper of Yarmouth.
Robert and Margaret Dowe, children of my son Edmond.
Edmond Church my godchild, all the rest of my godchildren unnamed in epitome.

WILL of Margaret Dowe, of Runharn, Norfolk, wid: dated 19 August, 1615.

Henry Dow xaa, (The Book of Dow, page 26)

oldest child, b 1550, m May 12, 1594, Elizabeth March. In spite of his late marriage he did much toward a posterity. He d three years before his mother, Apr 21, 16.13. He was the parish clerk ,at Runham and for four years signed the register as church warden. The fourth year he signed as Dove. Children:

a.             Mary bap Mch 16,1594-5

b.             Lucy bap Oct. 28, 1596; d Jan 11, 1600

c.             Thomas bap Apr 1, 1599; bur Apr 6, 1599

d.             Frances bap Apr 6, 1600

e.             Thomas bap Jan 16, 1601-2. It was once assumed that he was the 1639 emigrant to Newbury Mass, which is absurd, as the Newbury man was only about 35 in 1654. Thomas inherited the land, lived, died and had a family in England, where his posterity still lives

f.              Henry bap Oct 6,1605; first Dow of America

g.             Edward bap Feb 21, 1607; lived Ormsby; m Elizabeth Robbins

h.             William bap Jan 20, 1610

This generation married into the families of March and Farrar and continues to this day of Norfolk Co. The mother of Elizabeth March was a Farrar.

In Chancery Inquisitions Post Mortern vol 344, no 94:

Inquisition taken at Walton, co Norfolk, 19th April, 12 James I, after the death of Henry Dowe, yeoman,
The said Henry was seized of a close of arable land called le Wonge close in Runham, containing about 14 acres; in reversion after the death of his mother Margaret Dowe, late the wife of Thomas Dowe, a rnessuage of land in Runham, Thrigby and Maultby , still in the occupation of the said Margaret. By his will he bequeathed the said rnessuages to his wife for life, remainder of his son Thomas.
He died 21 April 11 James I (1614), Thomas his said son and heir being then aged 11 years three months. He is now in the custody of his mother Elizabeth.
The said close called le Wonge is held of the King by military service, and is worth 13s 3d yearly.
The Messuage, etc., is held of Sir Thomas Birney, Knight, as of hip, manor of Strumpsall by fealty and a rent of 16d yearly.

Henry Dow, xaaf, [a] (The Book of Dow, page 27-34)

to be known as a progenitor of the largest American family, was at 25 a farmer in Ormsby. He had a little inheritance from his mother, more than enough to equip his holding of land. Orrnsby is not far from Runham. Its parish register was copied in 1880 by Rev R S Blofield, rector. In it occur three important items, which prove that Henry b 1606 of Runham is Henry of Ormsby and America:

Edward Dow and Elizabeth Robbins were married ye xxvij of January, anno Dom 1628.
Henry Dow and Jane Nud was married ye 11 of February 1630
oe Anno Domini 1631
Thomas doue filius Thomas Doue et Joane uxoris ej'us vicesimo
Septi mo die December baptirjatus fuit.

The mention of the father as Thomas is an obvious pen slip. We follow the youngster to America, where he died at 10.

It is clear that the brothers Edward and Henry were together as husbandmen in Ormsby, that each found a wife there, that the ties of Runham gradually were loosed as Ormsby ties grew strong. What happened to Edward we have not traced. Of Henry's path, the account is fairly ample. Of Joan Nudd we know but little: not her maiden name. She was 23 at her marriage and had a baby boy. Her husband was Roger Nudd, son of John, who died in Ormsby 1629. Probably Henry and Roger were fellow farmers. The Nudds were numerous in Norfolk, mostly in the seaward parish. Vital rec. of that parish are not extant prior to 1671. The Nudd affairs are fully discussed under the chapter of Thomas Nudd, immigrant of 1637.

Under what circumstances Henry and Joan became dissenters is not known. They were of the established church in 1630. There arose in Ormsby a great deal of dissatisfaction, religious and otherwise. This crystallized into a determination of seven families to try the New World. It was an arrangement planned long in advance and was consummated, on the same boat. Hotten's Original Lists give all the families, who afterwards appear together in Hampton, N H the Page, Moulton, Marston families intermarried with Dow with especial frequency. It has often been asserted, with more or less cynicism, that a desire to better one's material condition was the paramount reason for going to America, desire for religious freedom being very secondary. It may be that these people were at no time dissenters in England. They had to be, in Massachusetts Bay, for there were no others. That all of them were of strong religious feeling is sure. No others could stand the intensely religious atmosphere of New England, a situation in which one must travel a very narrow path of rectitude, almost all ordinary pleasures being outside the pale. If the percentage of immigrants whose motive was improvement of material conditions and not intense religiousness had been at all large, the stern puritan life could not have maintained its iron grip, but would have degenerated into the free and easy morals of Virginia during the same period. In Massachusetts Bay all were of the persuasion which became Congregationalism, in contrast to that of the Plymouth colony whose notion of Government became Presbyterianism.

In the Rolls Office, Chancery Lane, London, is a small parchment-bound volume labelled on the cover:

                                                T C 27. 979 A A. D. 1637 13 Car. I
This is filled with entries of persons "desirous to pass beyond seas" and consists of 16 pp, most of which are taken up by names of Puritans on the way to Holland. The contents has been copied into Hotten's Original Lists, Drake's Founders of New England, etc.

The entry vital to us is:

"These people went to New England: with William: Andrewes: of Ipswich M'r of the.- John: and Dorethy: of Ipswich and with William Andrewes his son M'r of the Rose: of Yarmouth Aprill the 1lth 1637. The examination of Henerey Dowe of Ormsby in Norf f Husband man, ageed 29 yeares and Joane: his wife ageed 30 yeares with four children, and one Saruant Ann Maning aged 17 yeares, are desirous to passe into New England to inhabitt."

This is all clear. Henry Dow of Ormsby married the widow of his friend, a year older than himself, took her baby boy; had three children of his own and was able to start with a servant. This latter does not indicate affluence. Passage to America w as very costly. Young men and women of good family gladly indentured themselves for a long term if the employer would pay the passage. It was in this way that Margaret Cole, who became Henry Dow's second wife, came to Dedham with the family of Mitchill Metcalfe. But, it does show that Henry was decidedly thrifty or charitable to bring the maid. Of Ann Manning, saruant ageed 17 nothing further appears; no doubt she found a husband as soon as her term of service was up. The Andrewes, father and son, were in the regular business of carrying emigrants across, so they do not appear again in these pages.

From Henry Dow are descended nearly three-fifths of all the Dows of America. The party landed in Boston after a long voyage, no details of which have appeared. One child either died on voyage or on land before Watertown statistics were begun. How and why Henry parted from his companions we do not know. All but he turned up 1640 in Hampton and asked him to join them there. Henry proceeded almost at once to Watertown, just being settled about ten miles west of Boston. Presumably the selection of the place was influenced by the opportunity to become a grantee on equal terms, with allotment of land free. No settler in those days had to buy land unless it was thought desirable to pay the Indians for a title. He remained seven years in Waterto wn, a very inconspicuous citizen. He was admitted a freeman May 2, 1638, but held no office in his town. In fact, the only mentions of him in Watertown are in the land records and vital statistics. He could have had free land in Hampton in 1640, but decided not to accept it. There is reason to think that he stayed in Watertown until the land boomed. In a few years the settled place commanded a price at which the original settlers took profits and moved on to begin anew and clear forest land. We know that Henry Dow left Watertown a moderate capitalist.

In Lands, Grants & Possessions, first Inventory, we find: Henry Dow

1.             An Homestall of Eight acres more or less bounded on the Eaft with Hill ftreet and weft with William Rix the North with Thomas Haftings & the South with Robert Veazey.

2.             A farm of Ninety seven acres of Vpland in the 5 divifion

In the third Inventory is entered:

Henry Dow.

1.             An Homestall of Eight Acres by eftimation bounded on the Eaft w'th the highway thewest with Thomas Smith and Eliz Barron the North w'th Thomas Boyson & the South w'th William Godfree in his possession.

Clearly, between the two inventories an almost complete change of adjacent land ownership had taken place, the original settlers selling out to new comers. Henry's farm has not been placed, no effort having been made. The home was on the west side of School St.

An entry of April 9, 1638 - A Divifion of Land at y'e Townplott, Henry Dow Six acres

In 1642. Ordered that all the Townes Men that had no farms laid out formerly fhall take them by ten in a Divifion, and to cast Lotts for the severall Divifions allowing 13 acres of Vpland to every head of Persons and cattle.

Lott:                        No of lot

Henry Dow Ninety seven acres         10-2

The little book of Watertown vital records is extant:

The records of the Births, Deathes and Marriages in Watertown

Keppt according to the order of Court Made in the yeare 1638.

p 6. 1638 Jofeth Dow of Henry and Jone Dow borne the 20'd - 11 mo

p 9 of the book is blank, the clerk having neglected his duty, but what belongs there is in the records of the Clerk of the Court of Middlesex Co

1640 Joan the wife of Henry Dow buried 20 (4)
1641 Daniell the son of Henry & Margaret Dow borne 22 (7)
Thomas the son of Henry & Jone Dow buried 10 (5)
1643 Mary the daughter of Henry & Margaret Dow borne 14 (7)

In the transcript of Don Gleason Hill of the First Church (of Dedham): Margarette Cole our sister by p'dence being rnaried to a brother of Watertown named Dow was dismissed to y't Church 1643. The wedding was not at Watertown.

Thus is recorded the birth of Joseph Dow, first Dow ever born in America, whose posterity is the most numerous; also the death of his older brother; the death of his mother at 33, twice a wife, five times a mother; the birth of two new children, following his father's speedy remarriage. We must not accuse Henry of indelicacy. In primitive New England life for a man without a wife's help was hard indeed; for a woman without help from a husband harder yet; for children without both parents almost unsupportable. Margaret Cole had known Henry Dow in Ormsby, had come to America in 1639 with the Metcalfe family and had settled in Dedham. She was indentured, just as Ann Manning had been, and was younger than Henry Dow. In First Church Dedham: Margaret Coole, a maid servant,, giving good satisfaction to ye church was received in ye 3rd month of this yeare, 1639. Others from Ormsby were admitted about the same time. Margaret survived her husband by 16 years; in 2nd (Martgrit Dow) Aug 23, 166 1, Richard Kimball of Ipswich. He was of Watertown 1641 to 1644 and came then to know the Dows.

In 1644 the time was ripe to move. Henry sold out all his lands and started overland for Hampton. In that town is an entry: June 16, 1640, grant of a house lot to Henry Dow, if he come. Evidently he had thought then of moving. But, he had become an astute land speculator. In 1644 he got enough for his Watertown property to buy treble the property offered as a gift. In 1644 he bought his house lot from John Sanders, freeman, of Ipswich in 1634, who came early to Hampton, but sold out, went to Newbury, returning finally to Hampton. In 1649 Henry bought the homestead of William Wakefield, freeman of 1638, who moved to Newbury in 1646. It was from this latter plot that Henry set off 10 acres for Thomas Nudd as his home. He bought a house alr eady built from John Sanborn (where the store of J J Leavitt stood in 1890). The original Sanders purchase was on the road from Hampton village to Hampton Beach about 1 1/2 miles from the ocean. In the part of the town now known as Boar's Head was the Oxe Common, land where the share holders pastured. The Cow Common was divided in 1645 into 147 shares and allotted to proprietors of house lots, Hen: Dow receiving 3 shares by virtue of proportionate lot owning. The homestead remained long in the family, sold by Olive Dow, unm, of the 6th generation.

The fates were much kinder in Hampton than in Watertown. Henry was there a man of influence, his merits known. Of course, currency was scarce to all alike and it was wholly in the usual conduct of business that Henry in 1650 binds himself to pay a debt in good merchantable wheat. He was selectman in 1651, Deputy to the General Court of Massachusetts 1655-6. He traded briskly in real estate at all times. In 1650 he sells to Manuel Hiliard a 10 acre house lot and 3 acres of salt marsh for money . He signs his name this year as Doue. Feb 16, 1659, he made provision for his oldest son: a house and barn bought from Thomas Sleeper, 100 rods of adjoining land, a share of the oxe common, the share of the cow common bought from Thomas Sleeper, als o 6 acres of planting ground in the east field. He was appointed with two others to examine the land grants and highways, but died before this was completed, Apr 21, 1659. He was one of the dozen men of Hampton always styled "gentleman" and as "Mr." His children:

a.             Thomas b Eng; bap Dec 27, 1631; d July 10, 1642

b.             Henry b Eng 1634

c.                    _____ b Eng. Appears on manifest 1637 but never later; probably d on voyage

d.                   Joseph b Watertown Mch 20, 1639

e.             Daniel b Sept 2 or 22 1641

f.              Mary b Sept 14, 1643

g.             Hannah b Hampton, Hampton rec gives 1649, and d Hampton Aug 6, 1704

h.             Thomas b Apr 28,1653. If this were right he would have m at l5. Somehow the rec of Hampton are mixed. Hannah was b about 4 years earlier and Thomas about 7 years than the dates of record

i.              Jeremiah b Sept 6, 1657; also should be earlier

All men and women of early Hampton attended strictly to their religious observances. In the meeting house every detail was arranged:

All the men to sett at the west end and all the women to sett at the east end and the devotion to be at the greet poest that is betwin the two windos. Second seat: hen grene hene dou steu Sanborn tho louit wi fifield jo merian.

Margaret Cole Dow sat by ould mistris husse her dafter husse goody swaine goody pebody goody brown mistris stanyen Mary Perkinges. Bro Page and Bro: Dow were the committee to negotiate for the services of Rev Seaborn Cotton after the resignation of Rev. Wheelwright.

Ten years prior to making his last will and testament, Henry Dow filed the following, now in Probate.Court at Exeter: Upon a promise made unto my former wife that if I were the longer liver I would make him as my own sonne, he now being grown to man's estate, I doe now and freely give and grant unto Thomas Nudd, my sonne in law to him and his heirs a pareell of lande out of my house lott, containing 10 acres be it more or lesse, etc.

Thus God, who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb, proved kind to little Tommy Nudd, to whom was given a stepfather before he was 2 and a stepmother at 12. His name occurs with that of his half-brother Henry many times as witness, etc. In 1648 he was official keeper of the calves at a princely salary of 11£ a year. The job was no sinecure; he drove all calves to the common at sunrise and separated each to its home at sunset. In the list of the first selectmen of Hampton his name appears among five. This was error, perhaps arising from his position keeping calves. He had a share in the Common, the gift of Henry Dow. In 1663 the shares were Henry Dow ab 1, Daniel Dow 1, bought from Nicholas Boulter, Henry's widow 1.

The original of Henry's will is on file in Salem, Mass. It reads:

The last Will and testament of Henry Dowe of Hampton, being sick and weake of body but sound of understanding and memorie:

Item:       I give and bequethe to Margerite my loveing wyfe my house lott being by estimation tenn acres more or lesse and six acres of fresh meadow at the springs, and one share of the cowes Common, three of my cowe and the dwelling house uppon the aforesaid, and my household stuff, excepting what shall be otherways disposed of:

Item:       I give and bequethe unto my Sonne Henry Dowe all the planting ground that is in my hands in the East Field, and my seventeen acres of Salt marsh, and one share of the Cowe commons, and one share of the Oxe Common and all my cattell excepting the three Coess abovesaid.

Item:       to my Sonne Henry one feather bed weh hee useth to lie uppon and all the bed clothes thereunto belonging and the middlemost iron pott, and I do by these presents make and appoint my Sonne Henry my sole executor to this my last will and testament.

Item:       I do give and bequeath unto my Sonne Joseph the sum of thirty pounds to be paid when he shall arrive to the age of twenty and one years.

Item:       I doe give and bequeath unto my Sonne Daniell and to daughters Mary and Hannah five pounds apiece to be paid to them they arrive to their ages of twenty and one years.

Item:       I give unto, my Sonne Thomas and to my Sonne Jeremei five pounds apeece to be paid to them att the age of one and twenty years, and after my wyfes decease, the house and house lott and six acres of meadow to returne into the hands of my executor. In case that he please to resigne up the house and fifty rods of ground which was sometimes possessed by Thomas Sleeper into the hands of my Sonne Joseph, and to pay unto my five youngest children above said five and twenty pounds, that is to say, five pounds apeece to be payd, five pounds to the Eldest the yeare after my wyfes decease, and so five pounds a yeare to the younger untill the summe of five pounds be payd to the youngest; and still with this proviso, that in case my Sonne Henry bee not willing to leave the place where Thomas Sleeper.lived and take the land aforesaid after my wyfes decease upon the condicons above named, then the said house and house lott with the six acres of meadow are .to return to my Sonne Joseph, who upon the taking possession is to undertake for the paying of the twenty five pounds above s'd to my Five young6t children according to the terms mentioned.

Item:       I give unto my wyfe two of the best of my swine, and so much of the corne in the house as may maintains hir and my Children untill harvest, and the corn till harvest to bee twenty bushells.

To this my last will and testament I set my hand and Seale ye 16th 2nd mo 1659.

Henry Dowe with seale to it
Witness Robert X Page his mark
Sam: Dalton

This is the only appearance of Samuel Dalton, substantial citizen of Hampton. Robert Page was shipmate from Ormsby. Henry Dow ab m his dau and then his dau in law.

The estate was carefully administered, as was customary in those days,. and the appraisal made by three disinterested experts. Some of the valuations now seem very high, some very low. Salt marsh, for its hay very easy to cut, was the most valuable land and its abundance was the primary cause of choosing Hampton for settlement. On the invention of the mowing machine, salt marsh fell in a year from very high prices to almost nothing

A true inventory of ye lands & goods of Henry Dow gent. of Hampton late deceased uppon ye 25th day of Aprill 1659

                                                                                                                £,   s,   d
Invt.Ye house and house lot                                                              40 00 00
It:            Six acres of fresh meadow                                                  10 00 00
It:            8 acres of other planting ground in ye East field            14 00 00
It:            17 acres of salt marsh                                                          40 00 00
It:            two oxen                                                                                12 00 00
It:            4 cows two 3 year old heifers                                             23 00 00
It:            two 2 year old steers & a young calf                                05 16 00
It:            4 swine att                                                                             03 00 00
It:            30 bu of Indian corn & 4 bu of wheat att                         05 08 00
It:            a feather bed, a rug and clothes on ye bed                      07 00 00
It:            an other f6ather bed & clothes belonging thereto         02 00 00
It:            a flock bed & clothes belonging thereto                          02 00 00
It:            two old hogsheads & a butt & other old tubbs              00 10 00
It:            20 lbs of hemp & a bag of old bedclothes                       01 13 00
It:            all his wearing clothes and a hatt att                                03 11 00
It:            a musket pike and ammunicon                                           01 00 00
It:            2 brass kettles att                                                                 01 15 00
It:            Iron potts & earthen potts                                                 01 11 00
It:            A cherne 8 trays, 4 cheese f atts, 3 bowles &
                dary things                                                                            00 15 00
It:            1/2 firkin of soape, old tubs and pailes                             01 15 00
It:            an iron skillet a brafs skillet, a possit & a
                warming pan                                                                         00 13 00
It:            3 pewter platters & other pewter att                                 01 00 00
It:            2 earthen panns, a latlin pan &- other things                  00 10 00
It:            4 cushings, chayres & stooles                                          01 03 06
It:            a cupboard and a chayre att                                               00 03 06
It:            a pareell, a tow comb, a clenser and 2 seives                  00 05 06
It:            4 iron hoops, a chaine, plough irons, 2 axes, 4 wedges,
                a payer of Bitle rings & other odd irons                           04 00 00
It:            a payer of sheets, 2 pillow bars, a napkin att                   04 00 00
It:            One thousand hosghead staves att                                  02 00 00
It:            An old Bible, Mr Dod & other books                               01 00 00
It:            2 basketts, a lamp, & other trifling things                        00 05 00
It:            2 chestes, 2 boxes, 3 baggs, a spinning wheel
                and other lumber                                                                  03 05 00
                                                                                                                ------------
                                                                                                                193 04 06

These goods were pused uppon ye 19th of May 1659

Robert X Page his mark
William M Godfrey ==> his mark
Henry Robv

THE BOOK OF DOW (Page 394) The AH Line: Thomas Dow

WE have noted, with much interest to ourselves, at least, the tendency of all Dow lines so far toward marriages confined in a great majority of instances to a small circle of families. This is most marked in the ae line, five generations allying exclusively with other pioneer families of Hampton. The tendency is almost as complete in all the ab lines who remained near Hampton; a dozen other pioneer families supplying most of the marriages. In the ad lines those who remained Quaker married comparatively little outside Perkins, Hussey, Phillips, Collins. The non-Quakers of Seabrook did likewise, Eaton, Brown, Walton. Felch supplying most of the names. This tendency toward inbreeding was absent from the ah lines, Ipswich being a larger place, with other larger towns nearby, giving a much wider range to natural selection. In all this line there are almost never more than three marriages with the same family. The exception is the line of Epping and Gilmanton, about 30 intermarriages with Gilinan. In the long run this seems to have had little effect on posterity, numerically or in personal ability. One is apt to think that hereditary influences follow a name, rather than the female lines. True, characters often persist in a family, unaltered from father to son, regardless of the influence of the mothers. A Dow of the 9th generation has but 1-512 of the blood of the immigrant. Gideon Dow's mother was a Perkins and grandmother was a Perkins. Clearly, his posterity have twice as much Perkins in them as they have Dow. The old Scotchman was no more in error than most of us, when he remarked:

"Had I kenned one of my sons would be a doctor, the other a minister, I never would have had auld Jeannie Cosh for their mither."

Resemblances are more apt to follow localities than blood. A whole town comes to look more alike, as well as act more alike, than a whole family divided up among a dozen towns.

Altho Richard Kimball, wheelwright of Watertown and Ipswich, became a very rich man, as times went, accumulating an estate of over 4,000£, and altho he naturally desired that it should go to his own blood, he was a little"near," as the New Englanders say. He made a prenuptial contract with Margaret (Cole) Dow, whereby she should have 40£ in her own right and "all the stuff she brought with her." Both d about the same time, she Mch 1, 1675, so there was no widow to spend h is accumulations in riotous living. True, he brought up his stepchildren and taught the boys a trade, but his legacies were not fortunes. To Thomas Dow ah, who needed nothing, he left 40s, payable a year and a half after his death. To Mary Dow af he left the same, altho she never married and was maintained always by her brother. To Jeremiah Dow ai he displayed his wildest extravagance, - 15£ when the latter became of age.

Mary Dow af went to Ipswich, outlived her parents many years; d Ipswich Oct 16, 1731, ae 88, provided for in the will of Thomas Dow ah.

Hannah, Dow ag m 1670 Jonas Gregorie of Ipswich; d childless Feb 2, 1671. Jonas m 2nd May 10, 1672, Elizabeth Healey, dau of

Thomas Dow ah, (The Book of Dow, pages 395 - 397)
Ye Wheelwright of Ipswich, was a prolific ancestor equal to his half brother Joseph. The two have a much larger posterity than all other Dows of eight families combined. The brothers differed much. Henry ab was a public character always, Joseph ad devoted his best self to his religious association. Daniel ae did nothing. Thomas built his life closely around his home and his business, avoiding publicity either civil or church. He was a soldier when required, publicly unknown otherwise, except as occasionally surveyor of highways and for ten years tything man. He went to church, as did every one; no one could afford to stay away. He and Jeremiah ai had seats together in the new meeting house 1710. Ipswich commons were divided 1693, the share of Thomas being 6 acres. He was a keen judge of real estate and a successful speculator. His name appears often as witness to deeds and to wills. Of  9 children, he lost but 2, and many grandchildren were maintained under his roof.

Twenty-seven years ago his shop, then a crumbling ruin, existed on the edge of present Ipswich City. It was then visited by Joy W Dow and Arthur W Dow, both descendants, driven to the spot by Harvey Nourse, authority on Dow temperament (see quotation in preface). Said Joy, many years subsequently: "I had studied genealogy hard for over 20 years, Arthur never except when I stirred him up. I took a very little piece, but Arthur took a whole brick."

Thomas is noted in all the genealogical compendiums, his career well known, yet almost no one has noted the discrepancies in his vital statistics. Hoyt, Old Families' noted but offered no correction. Hampton rec is clear that he was b Apr 28, 1653 . Savage Genealogical Dictionary gives him m 1663. Original entry of m not found. Hall Gen gives 1675; N E Gen Reg (vol 6, p 250) 1673. The actual date was prior to June 1668. It may be noted that in the list of children of Henry Dow a, there is a gap of nearly ten years. Herein is the error. The date is not wrong by a single figure; it could not be 1643, for instance. Men of his time married mostly when 21 to 24. He was born soon after 1644. The name of his 1st wife is given Wall as frequently as Hall. James Hall of Hampton m 2nd wid Mary Tuck, dau of James Philbrick. His homestead adjoined the Tuck lot to the north and that of Thomas Webster, subsequently sold to Oliver Towle. His farm was west of 'Robert Page's, north of Taylor's River. He d Oct 3,1659, leaving 4 dau,-Mary m John Marston, Elizabeth m Thomas Harvey, Hannah m Benjamin Moulton, Sarah m Thomas Dow. In Exeter Registry of Deeds: Tho Harvey and wife Elizabeth and Sarah Wall, sister of said Elizabeth, convey land in Hampton Aug 20, 1663. Acknowledged by Sarah Wall, now wife of Thomas Dow June 25, 1668. Another: Apr 3, 1669; Tho Harvey & wife Elizabeth, dau of said James Wall, and by Sarah Wall, ye present wife of Tho Dow. Savage's error lies clearly in taking the date of the deed, not its acknowledgment. These acknowledgments were made when Sarah came of age, this was 1668, she having been married just previously.

No doubt, they lived in Ipswich from the first. When she d is uncertain. Ipswich earliest rec are almost nil. Early Inhabitants of lpswich gives Feb l4, 1680. Hoyt, Old Families, Feb 7, 1680-1, and Hoyt is as careful as anyone. No authority is quoted. There was only 1 child. Thomas m 2nd in l684, name of bride being Susannah. This is only known from the mention in his will. Her identity is the subject of many queries for over 30 years in the genealogical periodicals. If the rec is extant, which is more than doubtful, it is too garbled for recognition.

He enlisted, Capt Samuel Appleton, for the Narragansett war; was in camp when it burned, losing his belongings. For this he was indemnified in 22-10-0£, paid May 1676, or over a year later. For the attack on the swamp fort he was in the center of the line. He charged with the rest but fell with a bullet through the knee. The fort was carried. He and 20 others were taken by boat to Road Island to recuperate. Thereafter he was always lame but it was not until Apr 1684 that he filed a petition to be excused from drill on this account.

Thomas was impressed with the conviction that land of his choosing was the best form of property for his posterity. For many years he traded actively in Ipswich, often together with Jeremiah ai, a less venturesome speculator, but more often alone. Not only Ipswich town lots, but farms, water front, shares in new tracts, anything promising. A farm in Rowley is notable, for when he sold it he reserved the right to cut firewood for his own and children's lifetime. This incident served to locate his son John, genealogically missing, who availed himself of the privilege in 1729. In 1715 the proprietors of a large tract in Windham Co, Conn, advertised very low prices for bona fide settlers, with long credit. It is probable that Thomas himself visited the place, which became the home of three of his sons.

He d July 12, 1728, will probated 13 days later. It had been made Nov 15, 1720, and provided for wife Susannah, who had d Aug 29, 1724. Most of the property had been distributed as land before he died. The whole property was about 4,000£ Sister Mary was to be maintained for life. Dau Hannah was to have the household goods, but she had married and moved away 7 years previously. Legacies of 50£ in corn or cattle were made payable 1, 3, 5, and 7 years later to John, Ebenezer, Thomas, Jeremiah. John received a special legacy of 10£ payable in 10 years. Ephraim was executor and residuary legatee.

A crown act resulted unexpectedly to Ephraim's benefit. In 1730 grants of land were made, after many years delay, to veterans of King Philip’s War, or their heirs. Five or six such tracts were granted, as more and more claimants were proved. The allotment for Thomas Dow was in what is now Buxton, Me. Ephraim Dow proved his claim and in 1735 the land was in the name of Nathan Simonds. Probably Ephraim sold it without ever seeing it.

Children of Thomas ah:

a.             Daniel b 1669 to 1671

b.             John b Apr 24, 1685

x.             -- stillborn about 1688

c.             Ebenezer b May 26 ,1792

d.             Thomas b Nov 29, 1694

e.             Hannah b Oct 3, 1697; int pub June 23, 1721, to Abijah How

f.              Jeremiah b Dec 12, 1699

g.             Ephraim b Jan 26, 1701-2

Daniel Dow aha (The Book of Dow, page 397)
is not found in deeds, hence probably lived with his father; d Ipswich Apr 5, 1725; m (int pub Apr 23, 1715) Exercise Jewett d Dec 18, 1724. No children. His will was made before starting on a trip to Boston. He returned safety, but d unexpectedly 2 months later. It begins: In the name of God amen. The first day of March one thousand seven hundred and twenty five I Daniel Dow of Ipswich in the County of Essex in the Province of Massachusetts Bay in New England cordwainer being in good health of body & of perfect mind and memory thanks be to God for itt being now bound on a voyage to sea and not knowing the place where nor the time I shall be called out of this World do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament. That is to say principally and first of all I give and Recommend my Soul to the hands of God -. He left 30£ each to brothers John, Ebenezer, Thomas and Ephraim; books and spinning wheel to sister Hannah.

John Dow ahb (The Book of Dow, page 397)
seems to have lived in Newbury, Ipswich and Rowley, as his vital data are generally found in all three. A small law suit over right to cut firewood finds him of Rowley 1727 on a piece of land bought many years before by his father. It is quite certain that his oldest two children were b Rowley. He was of Rowley when he receipted for legacies from father and brother. What was his trade we do not know; his children spent most of their early years with grandfather Dow in Ipswich. He seems to have been a widower for 11 years. His 1st wife Mary d Ipswich Sept 1724. Her identity has not been found. Int pub Ipswich Nov 1725 to Elizabeth Smith. She may be b Apr 3, 1703, dau of Daniel and Elizabeth (Paine); or b Apr 13, 1704, dau of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Fuller). No marriage of either is found. It is very doubtful whether she m John Dow, at all events there was no issue. He m (Newbury rec) Jan 29, 1735, Elizabeth Moody, both of Rowley. A son was born, John d 1738; Elizabeth m 2nd Feb 4, 1739-40, Benjamin Morrill of Andover, Mass, and took her infant son thither. Children:

a.             Benjamin b Apr 27,1712

b.             Moses b Sept 5, 1714

c.             Isaac b Mch 13, 1716

d.             Elizabeth b Mch 11 1718

e.                    Mary b June 4 1721; int pub to Sylvanus Lakeman Jr Nov 30, 1745 son of Sylvanus and Mary (Lull). The couple are not found anywhere

f.                     Miriam b Mch 10, 1722-31

g.                   Ebenezer b Newbury Nov 12, 1737 (rec in 3 towns)

Isaac Dow ahbc (The Book of Dow, page 431)

appears in Amesbury 1742. No rec found between b and m. He m Dee 9, 1742, Martha Hanniford. She is probably dau of John of Stratham and great aunt of Sally Hanniford abbegf. He was for 18 years blacksmith of Amesbury. May 18, 1760, he and wife obtained dismissal from Amesbury second church to the new church of  Sandown. Here he built a new smithy. A short, stout man, he went one day in 1784 to cut weeds in the field beside his shop. Not returning to dinner, his children searched and found him dead, leaning against the fence. Children b Amesbury:

a.             Thomas bap Sept 11, 1743

b.             Elizabeth bap Dec 30, 1744; m May 30, 1764, Abner Whitcher

c.             Martha b Dec 18, 1744; bap Dec 30; d Feb 11, 1753

d.             Isaac b Oct 1, 1746; d Feb 8, 1768, unm

e.             Simeon b or bap 1748; not in father’s will; perhpas d young; possibly was at Bunker Hill; vague rec perhaps wholly error

f.              Ela (Eley, rec) bap Apr 30, 1749

g.             Anna (Hannah, Barker Gen and Essex Antiq, Vol 6) b Mch 8, 1750; bap Mch 10, 1751; m 1776 John Barker, whose sister in her brother; both living Methuen 1788

h.             Jesse b Aug 8; bap Aug 12, 1753

i.              Martha bap Aug 31, 1755

Thomas Dow ahbca (The Book of Dow, page 431)

was apprenticed in boyhood to a shipsmith, brazier and blacksmith of Salem, Mass. He m Pawtucket Falls Feb 28, Mary Barker b Nov 27, 1767, dau of John and Sarah (Roberts) Methuen. The Barker family had come from Newbury and owned a tract of undeveloped land beyond Haverhill. The present city of Lawrence is on that land. Presumably owing to this marriage Thomas located in Methuen, setting up his own blacksmith shop, but he was in touch with Sandown, his sister Hannah marrying Mary's brother John. Sarah Barker, another sister, m John Ford, of distinguished military record. Thomas was a much taller man than his father, but had the complexion characteristic of the line. Mary Barker is described by a granddau as of medium height, skin fair as a lily, and eyes as dark heavenly blue. This pronounced blonde type has recurred occasionally in her descendants, most of whom are dark.

In the preliminaries to the Revolution all the Methuen Barkers and Sandown Dows were active, organization and drilling having begun many months before hostilities. All were so-called minute men, having engaged to leave home for the fight at a minute's notice. Who carried the alarm of the British troops leaving Boston is not known. The Methuen and other contingents met punctually at the Alarm Post, a huge boulder at the edge of Lowell. Maj Samuel Bedwell was in command; John Ford was sgt and Thomas Dow corporal. Parson Bridge was at the alarm post demanding that before the, start all should repair to his meeting house, but the men refused. Sgt Ford explained particularly that there was more important business on hand. Some were on horseback, some on foot, the latter speeding up by holding a stirrup. They arrived at Lexington Apr 19 and took part in the fray. The rolls give them 4 1-2 days service on this occasion. The organization was the same at Bunker Hill, arriving to find Capt Reuben Dow bcdea already behind the earthworks. It is family tradition that two or more of Thomas' brothers were at Bunker Hill, but there is no record to substantiate this. It is certain, however, that there were nine Dows in this fight. The only reason the Author has for thinking that Simeon Dow ahbce lived to this time is that family tradition says that one brother, supposedly he, came home after the fight and told an anecdote (which stuck in memory) of his neighbor in the ranks loading and firing as fast as he could and praying incessantly: "Oh, God, help us to fight this battle and give to us the victory."

The Revolutionary rolls seldom give enough to trace the movements of any man through the War. Thomas Dow was at the pre-arranged rendezvous after all had come down the hill together. He appears but twice more in the rolls, under Capt John Calfe, Col Timothy Bartlett, in 1776, and receipting, under Capt Stone, for 1-6-8£, travel allowance for Charlestown. His permanent return home was probably in 1777. He had been home, laid up with rheumatism, but had reported again for duty. One knee was always afterwards stiffened from rheumatism.

His business in Methuen had been prosperous and in 1775 he had three apprentices. They left, however, and Mary (Barker) Dow was alone to care for her four children. During the summer all went reasonably well, but before the winter had far progressed they became short of firewood and food. Another baby arrived before Spring. Mary Barker explained that to conserve food she would apportion a supply at each meal and even greater scarcity might follow. Thomas Dow ahbcab was then seven years old. When his mother was housecleaning next spring she found in his room small portions of bread, rice and the like. The youngster had silently saved them against the feared times of greater need. Continental money did not go far. Mary Barker paid $80 for a cheese.

Thomas Dow was several years in Methuen after the war; and located where is now Danville, Vt. He sold his Methuen farm and shop and with the proceeds built in Danville a new blacksmith shop and a public house known as Gore Inn. The place is still called the Gore, on a point of Danville Village Green. Here he prospered, serving fourteen consecutive years in the legislature. He and Aaron Hartshorne, presumably his partner in the inn, sold (Vt Hist Gaz vol 1, p 314) Sept, 1796, for and in consideration of 30£ to the County a parcel of land containing 4 acres situated in Danville Green Village, to have and to hold the same so long as the public buildings should remain at Danville. This condition was broken many years ago but no Dow has ever laid claim to the property.

In 1819, two of his children being settled in Yorkshire, N Y, Thomas left these children who had elected Danville for their home and went to Yorkshire. Here he lived three years, dying Mch 15, 1822, his wife dying the following year. Their gravest ones still stand in Arcade cemetery. The first eight children b Methuen rest in Danville:

a.             Mary b Apr 23,1768

b.             Thomas b Dec 2, 1769

c.             Richard b Oct 5, 1771

d.             lsaac b Oct 5, 1773

e.             Martha b Feb 28,1776; d East Aurora, N Y, Nov 9,1829; m Isaac Williams.
This couple were the original founders of Yorkshire and some of their descendants still live there

f.              Sarah m John Brown; settled in Erie, Pa

g.             Betsey b 1779; family rec says m Peter Peasley; State gives: m May 16,1806, Peter Russell

h.             Hannah b 1783; m Deweysburgh July 9, 1907, Andrew Martin Jr; settled in Canada

i.              Elsie b Sept 21, 1792

Benjamin Dow ahbcaj (The Book of Dow, page 440)

served as private under capts Chiff and Stevens, 40th N Y militia in war of 1812; m Nov 10, 1816, Lydia Lawrence King b Rutland, Vt Oct 4, 1798, d Oct 4 1869; moved to Yorkshire, N Y, thence in old age to Pacific, Wis, where he d Apr 1865. Children:

a.             Mary Barker b Feb 12, 1820

b.             Lafayette F b July 20 1824

c.             Richard b Oct 10, 1826

d.             Thomas Wellington b May 19 1829

e.             Isaac Newton b June 8, 1832

f.              ________, dau b and d Mch 8, 1834

g.             Benjamin b July 2, 1835

h.             Lorenzo H b Oct 19, 1838

h.                   Lydia A b Yorkshire May 21, 1841

i.              William P b Dec 23 1843; enlisted 1861 10th Wis vols; d in service Aug 26, 1865

Isaac N Dow ahbcaje (The Book of Dow, page 441)

d La Harpe, Kan, Apr 20, 1899; m 1858 Phebe Daggett. A pioneer of Columbia Co, Wis, 1849; moved to Grinnell, Iowa, 1860; enlisted at first call in 4th Iowa Cav; served throughout the war. Wife and four or five children survived:

a              Mary
b              Frances
c              ______
d              Loraine  [should be Loren Wallace]
e              Beulah

Actual family records:

a.             Alma Mae Dow b November 05, 1860, Grinnell, Powashiek, Iowa

b.             Frances Kate Dow b. April 16, 1866, Grinnell, Iowa; d. March 28, 1923

c.             stillborn twins (Wardie and Willie), b. Bef. 1874.

d.             Loren Wallace Dow b. August 26, 1874, Mound City, Linn County, Kansas; d. December 05, 1938, Ponca City, Kay County, Oklahoma