Elizabeth Simpson

GEDCOM Note

The Indian Massacre! Few incidents in the history of southeastern New Hampshire are so differently dated and described as the massacre of three settlers in Nottingham by Indians. The year of the killings is given as one of, or any of the years between 1747 and 1753. Some authorities say only Elizabeth Patton Simpson was killed on the one day and the two men, John Foulsham, of Exeter and Robert Beard were killed in a year, or years, later. The Simpson family records and the local stories and accounts of the killings strongly indicate all were killed on the same day, September 30, 1747. The action of the Royal Governor and Council also support this probability for in the year of 1747, there was more legislative response to the demands of the border towns for help than in any previous or later year. Even the number of Indians involved is questions and has been dated with the warrior Sabbatis, most often given credit for the deaths as late as 1753, when he actually met his death sometime in the fall of that year, and yet the two white men died of three shots fired, if local accounts can be believed, within seconds of each other. Briefly the tragedy is as follows. There had been many stories of the Indians pouring down from the north and of the settlers seeing the dark figures watching from the forest or silently following them along the trails. Alarm reached such a point that the Selectmen of the town ordered all townsmen to find shelter in the blockhouse on the Square or the scattered garrisons until the provincial soldiers had driven the redman back. Work in the field was done by groups of seven to eight men with at least one other standing guard over the stacked fowling pieces of the workers. After some time spent in the blockhouse, Mrs. Simpson tired of the inactivity and went to her home to do some needed cooking. One of her sons went with her and she set him to weeding the corn while she was in the cabin. That he fell asleep is probably the only reason that a fourth victim did not die on that fateful September day. The Indians silently entered the cabin and although taken by surprise, the doomed woman fought valiantly. There could only be one ending but the brief struggle was so violent that the cabin was a shambles before she was struck down and decapitated. Perhaps the sound of the struggle reached the road, for at least one neighbor hurrying to the blockhouse, paused, but noting that Mrs. Simpsons features were visible on the window sill, with the eyes closed as though in prayer, the man felt she was taking a few moments for devotions and hurried on to the safety of the garrison. Early that morning Robert Beard prevailed on one of the soldiers garrisoned in the town, (John Foulsham) to go with him to his homesite, partly to guard and partly to help with the work that had been so badly neglected due to the threat of warfare. The men had just finished their noonday meal when the dogs outside began barking fiercely. Mr. Beard stepped to the cabin door and fell dead as a single shot rang out. Without a thought to the danger, John Foulsham jumped to his aid only to be dropped by two bullets which struck him in the arm and side. These are the reconstructed facts of the tragedy as supported by local legend and evidence. There is no trace or record of the persons possibly guilty of the killings until the month of June 1753, when two Indians by the names of Sabbatis and Plausawa met a certain Henry Bowen in the town of Boscawen. Probably it was the sight of the heavy packs of beaver and other pelts that the two red men were carrying that induced the shifty Mr Bowen to overflow with hospitality. It is undenied history that with the aid of Nat Morrill (sic) the Indians were entertained, allowed to drink until they were practically helpless, and then after their weapons had the charges drawn coaxed into a "contest" of sorts. Sabbatis tried to use his gun, Bowen struck him several times with a hatchet and then, when down, finished him with a knife. Plausawa, too drunk to defend himself, begged in vain for his life and was soon dispatched by Bowen. The killings were discovered in 1754 when prowling dogs scattered the bones of the Indians who had been buried in very shallow graves. The settlers were at peace with the red men and these killings very nearly touched off a wide scale border conflict that was averted only when Governor Benning Wentworth had Bowen and Morrell arrested and charged with murder. Both men were indicted and held in Portsmouth jail awaiting their trial which was scheduled to begin March 21, 1754. Early that morning, around two in the morning some two hundred men from Nottingham and the surrounding towns stormed the jail, released both Bowen and Morrell and then returned to their homes. Governor Benning Wentworth issued a scathing denouncement of the action, and sent out the Sheriff and his deputies to question everyone in the inns "between Chester and Portsmouth" about the jailbreak. He also offered a reward for the arrest of Bowen and Morrell but neither were ever arrested again, and in a short time were moving about freely. There is no question that the governor in the face of such public opposition to enforcement of the law chose discretion as the better part of valor. Nottingham - 250, 250th Commemorative Edition, Nottingham Historical Society, May 10, 1972, p. 6

GEDCOM Note

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Ancestry.com Public Member Trees Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; @R6@ Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.

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Record for Andrew Simpson http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1030&h=110071077249&i...

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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Legacy NFS Source: Elizabeth Patten - Church record: birth: about 1725; Scotland

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center Simpson and Allied Families https://archive.org/details/simpsonalliedfam00slsn?q=simpson

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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"Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VQXK-2DF : 4 December 2014), Mary in entry for John Simpson, 08 Mar 1729; citing BOSTON,SUFFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0014734 V. 24. Mary in entry for John Simpson, "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915" https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQXK-2DF

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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"Family Tree," database, <i>FamilySearch</i> (http://familysearch.org : modified 24 July 2017, 16:51), entry for Elizabeth Patten(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZN6-SJD); contributed by various users. PersonID LZN6-SJD Elizabeth Patten https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZN6-SJD

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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Legacy NFS Source: Elizabeth Patten - Church record: birth: about 1725; Scotland

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center Simpson and Allied Families https://archive.org/details/simpsonalliedfam00slsn?q=simpson

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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"Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VQXK-2DF : 4 December 2014), Mary in entry for John Simpson, 08 Mar 1729; citing BOSTON,SUFFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0014734 V. 24. Mary in entry for John Simpson, "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915" https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQXK-2DF

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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"Family Tree," database, <i>FamilySearch</i> (http://familysearch.org : modified 24 July 2017, 16:51), entry for Elizabeth Patten(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZN6-SJD); contributed by various users. PersonID LZN6-SJD Elizabeth Patten https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZN6-SJD

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White, Emma Siggins The Kinnears and Their Kin Name: Tierman Data Print, Kansas City, MO, 1916; @R4@ Source Medium: Book

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407

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Ancestry.com North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2016; @R6@

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Book Title: The Kinnears and their kin : a memorial volume of history, biography and genealogy, with Revolutionary and Civil and Spanish war records, including manuscript of Rev. David Kinnear (1840) Record for Josiah Simpson

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Ancestry.com North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2016; @R6@

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Book Title: The Kinnears and their kin : a memorial volume of history, biography and genealogy, with Revolutionary and Civil and Spanish war records, including manuscript of Rev. David Kinnear (1840) Record for Patton Simpson

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Ancestry.com Public Member Trees Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; @R6@ Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.

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Record for Andrew Simpson http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1030&h=110071077249&i...

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Ancestry.com Public Member Trees Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; @R6@ Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.

GEDCOM Source

Record for Andrew Simpson http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1030&h=110071077249&i...

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Ancestry.com Public Member Trees Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; @R6@ Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.

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Record for Andrew Simpson http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1030&h=19940643328&in...

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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Legacy NFS Source: Elizabeth Patten - Church record: birth: about 1725; Scotland

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center Simpson and Allied Families https://archive.org/details/simpsonalliedfam00slsn?q=simpson

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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"Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VQXK-2DF : 4 December 2014), Mary in entry for John Simpson, 08 Mar 1729; citing BOSTON,SUFFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0014734 V. 24. Mary in entry for John Simpson, "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915" https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQXK-2DF

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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"Family Tree," database, <i>FamilySearch</i> (http://familysearch.org : modified 24 July 2017, 16:51), entry for Elizabeth Patten(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZN6-SJD); contributed by various users. PersonID LZN6-SJD Elizabeth Patten https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZN6-SJD

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Ancestry.com Public Member Trees Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; @R6@ Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.

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Record for John Simpson http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1030&h=74011108934&in...

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Ancestry.com North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2016; @R6@

GEDCOM Source

Book Title: The Kinnears and their kin : a memorial volume of history, biography and genealogy, with Revolutionary and Civil and Spanish war records, including manuscript of Rev. David Kinnear (1840) Record for Josiah Simpson

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2016; @R6@

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Book Title: The Kinnears and their kin : a memorial volume of history, biography and genealogy, with Revolutionary and Civil and Spanish war records, including manuscript of Rev. David Kinnear (1840) Record for Patton Simpson

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Ancestry.com Public Member Trees Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; @R6@ Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.

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Record for Andrew Simpson http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1030&h=110071077249&i...

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Ancestry.com Public Member Trees Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; @R6@ Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.

GEDCOM Source

Record for Andrew Simpson http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1030&h=160059582166&i...

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com Public Member Trees Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; @R6@ Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.

GEDCOM Source

Record for Andrew Simpson http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1030&h=19940643328&in...

GEDCOM Source

FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

GEDCOM Source

Legacy NFS Source: Elizabeth Patten - Church record: birth: about 1725; Scotland

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center Simpson and Allied Families https://archive.org/details/simpsonalliedfam00slsn?q=simpson

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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"Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VQXK-2DF : 4 December 2014), Mary in entry for John Simpson, 08 Mar 1729; citing BOSTON,SUFFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0014734 V. 24. Mary in entry for John Simpson, "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915" https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQXK-2DF

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FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Family Tree @R7@

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"Family Tree," database, <i>FamilySearch</i> (http://familysearch.org : modified 24 July 2017, 16:51), entry for Elizabeth Patten(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZN6-SJD); contributed by various users. PersonID LZN6-SJD Elizabeth Patten https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZN6-SJD

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com Public Member Trees Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; @R6@ Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.

GEDCOM Source

Record for John Simpson http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1030&h=74011108934&in...

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2016; @R6@

GEDCOM Source

Book Title: The Kinnears and their kin : a memorial volume of history, biography and genealogy, with Revolutionary and Civil and Spanish war records, including manuscript of Rev. David Kinnear (1840) Record for Josiah Simpson

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2016; @R6@

GEDCOM Source

Book Title: The Kinnears and their kin : a memorial volume of history, biography and genealogy, with Revolutionary and Civil and Spanish war records, including manuscript of Rev. David Kinnear (1840) Record for Patton Simpson

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com Public Member Trees Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; @R6@ Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.

GEDCOM Source

Record for Andrew Simpson http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1030&h=160059582166&i...