Colonel Robert Means

"A year after Joshua Atherton came to Amherst, in the autumn of 1774, Robert Means moved there from Merrimac [NH]. He was born in Stewartstown, Ireland, in 1742, and was the son of Thomas Means. The name seems to have been originally Mayne. ..... Robert was a weaver by trade, and, sailing for America with his friend, Jacob McGraw, had landed at Boston in 1766. They first settled at Merrimac, New Hampshire, which they made their headquarters, and then traveled about the country with their goods on their backs, as there were no selling-agents in those days through whom to dispose of the product of their looms. But their business increased so fast that it was thought best for one of the young men to establish another trade-centre at Amherst, and as neither wished to go, the matter was decided by casting lots. The lot fell to Robert Means; and there at Amherst he carried on his trade of weaving for several years, but later devoted himself entirely to the mercantile part of the business. (P) Tradition says that it was on one of his trips about the country as a peddler of his cloths that he met and fell in love with Mary McGregor, daughter of the Reverend David McGregor, a Presbyterian minister at Londonderry, New Hampshire. She was a granddaughter of the Reverend James McGregor, who had emigrated, with many members of his parish, from Londonderry, Ireland. After much prospecting, this Scotch-Irish company had received a grant of land in southern New Hampshire which they named Londonderry, and where they settled. Years later the township was divided, and that part where the first settlers built their church is now Derry. A church still stands there on the hill, and in the adjoining churchyard are the graces of Mary's grandfather, James, her father, David, and their wives. Robert Means married Mary McGregor on November 24, 1774, just about the time that he moved to Amherst ..... (P) The record that I have been able to procure of Robert Means is meager as compared with that of Joshua Atherton: for no son wrote his memoir, and no letters of his have come down to us. He was much loved by his daughters, as is shown by their letters, and by the fact that each of them named a son for him. He was undoubtedly a man of social as well as financial standing; and the "History of Amherst" states that he was "noted for honesty, fair dealing and close attention to business and in time became one of the widely known and distinguished merchants of the town and state. His prosperity increased rapidly. In 1797 and onward, he paid the heaviest tax assessed on any person in the town. For a number of years he represented the Town of Amherst at the General Court and served two years in the Senate; and also was a member of the Executive Council. He acted as Justice of the Peace for several years, was Treasurer of the County of Hillsborough for a long series of years, and was also an officer in the militia." "

Anne M. Means, Amherst and Our Family Tree, Boston, 1921, p59-61

Link

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=31096687