Landmarks in Ancient Dover, New Hampshire by Mary P. Thompson, Durham, N.H. ©1892, Printed by the Republican Press Association, Concord, N.H. LANDMARKS: Greenland NAMES: CANNEY, Thomas; CARTER, Richard; HALL, John; HEARD, John; HUSSEY, Richard; LANGSTAFFE, John; ROBERTS, Thomas; TIBBETS, Henry; WILLEY, Thomas; WEBB, George; WALDRON, Richard; LAKE, Thomas; Greenland. The entire shore of Greenland, beginning 40 rods below Sandy Point, appears to have formed part of ancient Dover. At the Court held in Boston the 19th, 7 mo., 1643, it was ordered "That all the marsh and meadow ground lying against the great bay on Strawberry bank side shall belong to the towne of Dover, together with 400 acres of upland adjoining." (N.H. Prov. Pap. 1:172.) This grant was more clearly defined in the division of the Squamscot Patent, May 22, 1656, when all the marsh was assigned to Dover from Hogsty Cove, near the mouth of Great Bay, round about the Bay up to Cotterill's Delight, together with 400 acres of upland, as granted it by the Court (Ibid, 1:222. See also Cotterill's Delight.) Among the Dover grants on the Greenland shore are those to Thomas Canney, Richard Carter, John Hall, John Heard, Richard Hussey, Henry Langstaffe, John and Thomas Roberts, Henry Tibbets, Thomas Willey, George Webb, etc. The grants to Thomas Canney and Thomas Willey were at a considerable distance above the mouth of the Winnicot river. (See Canney's Marsh and Willey's Island.) And still farther above was the large tract which Richard Waldron and Thomas Lake reserved for themselves. The Dover grants on this shore seem to have been for the most part purchased by the Portsmouth settlers, and the whole shore was finally, relinquished when Greenland was made a separate parish. PG 90 -91 LANDMARKS:Greenland NAMES: CHAMPERNOUN, Capt. Francis; HILL, Valentine; SALTONSTALL, Robert; CLARK, Capt. Thomas; PADDY, William; JENNESS, J.S.; HALE, Dr. William; RALEIGH, Sir Walter; Greenland is mentioned in the Portsmouth records as early as July 10, 1655, when 300 acres of upland and meadow were granted to Capt. Champernoun,¹ "adjoining his now dwelling house at grenland." In July, 1657 Francis Champernoone conveyed to Valentine Hill his "farm in ye Great Bay called by ye name of Greenland," which had been in his possession 16 or 17 years, with all right to "400 acres in said farm granted him by Mr. Robert Saltonstall and others of ye Patentees." Valentine Hill of Dover conveyed to Capt. Thomas Clark and William Paddy of Boston, merchants, his "farm called Greenland, lying in ye bottom of ye Greate bay in ye river of Piscataqua." ¹This was Francis Champernowne of royal descent, the friend and relative of Sir Walter Raleigh, and, as Mr. J.S. Jenness says, "the noblest born and bred of all New Hampshire's first planters." On Champernowne's island, now called Gerrish's island at Kittery Point, may be seen his grave, with its rude cairn, over which Dr. Wm. Hale of Dover has recently sung so plaintive a dirge: "Where, wind to wave, and wave to echoing rock, Their endless dirges chant for the lost renown; With every bursting wave sounding a knell Above the lonely grave of Champernowne." PG 91 LANDMARKS: Greenland. NAMES: HUTCHINSON, Edward; WOLCOT, Mary; WOLCOT, Josiah; HUTCHINSON, Eliza; CLARK, Maj. Thomas; PARTRIDGE, Col. William; PACKER, Thomas; FRYER, Nathaniel; LANGSTAFFE, Henry; LEWIS, Philip; DAVIS, John; DAVIS, Joseph; PADDY, William; CHAMPERNOUN, Francis; HILL, Valentine; Greenland. March 12, 1713, Edward Hutchinson of Boston, merchant, and Mary, wife of Josiah Wolcot of Salem -- son and daughter of Eliza Hutchinson, lately deceased, the heir of Major Thomas Clark, late of Boston, deceased -- conveyed to Col. Wm. Partridge in the name of said Clark and of Wm. Paddy, deceased, a certain neck, tract, or parcell of land commonly called by the name of Greenland or Champernoun farm, butted and bounded on the Great Bay, and lying between two creeks, purchased by said Clark and Paddy before released from Valentine Hill, long since deceased, who derived his title from Capt. Francis Champernoun, the first and original proprietor of said farm. Wm. Partridge, Esq., of Newbury conveyed to Thomas Packer of Portsmouth, chircurgeon, one half of all his right unto ye old and new ffarme at Greenland, called Champernowne ffarme or ffarmes, as sold by ffrancis Champernoun to Nathaniel Fryer, Henry Langstaffe, and Philip Lewis, March 27, in ye one and twentieth year of ye late reign of our sov. Lord, Charles ye Second. John Davis of Oyster River, in his will of May 25, 1686, gives his son Joseph "one half the marsh which I bought of Mr. Valentine Hill, situate and lying in Greenland." PG 91 LANDMARKS: Greenland NAMES: DRAKE, Francis; DRAKE, Mary; BRACKET, Thomas: JOHNSON, John; HAYNES, Mattias; CHAMPRENOON, Francis; PARTRIDGE, William; PACKER, Capt. Thomas; PEIRCE, Col. Joshua W.; Greenland. Francis and Mary Drake of Portsmouth, Aug. 5, 1686, con- veyed to John Johnson and Thomas Bracket "my now dwelling- house" and 84 acres of land in Greenland in ye township of Portsmouth, obtained partly by grant, and partly from Capt. Francis Champernoon. Sept. 20, 1717, Wm. Partridge and Thomas Packer conveyed to Matthias Haynes 66 acres in the parish of Greenland, part of the Champernoon new farm, joining the road from Greenland to Hampton, at the turn of the road against Neel's. Capt. Champernowne was a member of the Dover Combination of 1640, and a portion of his land at Greenland fell within the limits of ancient Dover. The part acquired by Capt. Thomas Packer became known as the Packer farm. A portion of this is now generally called the "Peirce¹ farm," from the late Col. Joshua W. Peirce, by whose heirs it is still owned. ¹This form of the Pierce name reminds one of the Feilding family of Great Britain. When one of its members, a peer of the realm who retained the old usage of placing the "e" before the "i" asked his kinsman Henry Fielding, the great novelist, why the wrote their names differently, the latter replied that he could not tell, unless because his own branch was the first that knew how to spell. PG 91 - 92 LANDMARKS: Greenland NAMES: MARCHES, Doctor; WEEKS, Samuel; WEEKS, Joshua; JOHNSON, James; It was voted at a town meeting in Portsmouth, June 4, 1705, that "ye bounds of Greenland be on ye south side of Col. Packer's farme." And a petition of May 26, 1725, mentions a vote of the town "that Greenland bounds should be on the south side of Packer's farm (which suppose is now Doctor Marches). The name of Greenland, originally confined to the Champernowne farm,¹ was finally given to all the western part of Portsmouth, which was set off as a separate parish in 1706, but continued to be assessd as a part of Portsmouth till March 21, 1721, when at the petition of Samuel and Joshua Weeks and James Johnson, it was allowed to be taxed separately (N.H. Prov. Pap., 2:739-40.) The privilege of sending a representative to the General Assembly was granted to the Parish of Greenland May 12, 1732. (Ibid, 4: 618,785.) ¹The editor of Mr. G.W. Tuttle's Historical Papers says there was anciently a cove or dock in the harbor of Dartmouth, England, called Greenland Dock- - a name that must have been familiar to Capt. Champernowne, who undoubtedly gave it to his farm on Great Bay. PG 92 - Submitted by C. Parziale **************************************************************************** * * * * Notice: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter informa- tion is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. * * * * The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification.