FOUNDERS OF FORT NO. 4, CHARLESTOWN, NH From: Janice Farnsworth - Farns10th@aol.com Surname:  SPAFFORD Source:     History or Charlestown, NH - Fort No. 4  by Rev. Henry H. Saunderson, 1876 p.552 Capt. John Spafford and his wife Hannah Spafford first of Boxford and Rowley, MA thence to Charlestown, NH  - their children: 1.  Eunice Spafford b. Sept. 15, 1729  at Boxford, MA 2.  Bradstreet Spafford b. Sept 2, 1731 at Rowley, MA and m. Mary (maiden name      not known) (see p.553 for their children) 3.  Phebe Spafford  b. July 1, 1733 at Rowley, MA 4.  Peggy Spafford b. June 30 1735 at Rowley, MA m. Benjamin Allen on Nov. 6,      1751   she was sweet sixteen 5.  Asa Spafford  b. Jan 30, 1757  He was taken prisoner by the French and      Indians at Charlestown on the 20th of  April 1757 with four others, and carried      to Canada.  He was exchanged and was on his way home when he died      the November following his capture  - of small pox at Quebec. 6.  Mary Spafford b. 1739 also at Rowley, MA 7.  Abigail Spafford b. 1741 8.  Relief Spafford b. 1744 d. 1758 9.  Harriet Spafford b. jan 30, 1747  at Leominster, MA at the time No. 4 was      deserted. 10. John Tyler Spafford b. 1749 d. 1750. 11. Tyler Spafford b. 1754 Capt. John Spafford erected the lst saw mill and corn mill at Fort No. 4 by a contract with a committee appointed by the proprietors of Fort 4. They were put in operation in 1744 but were burned on the 19th of April 1746 by a party of Indians who took Capt. Spafford, Lieut. Isaac Parker and Stephen Farns- worth prisoners and carried them off to Canada.  The mills were rebuilt by Capt. Spafford.  They were burned a 2nd time in 1757 by a party of abt seventy French and Indians, when Samuel Colefax, Deacon Thomas Adams and David Farnsworth and two others were taken prisoners.  They were again rebuilt and not subsequently destroyed but remained until Hall's Mills were erected at Charlestown, NH, in their place. Capt. Spafford became widely know and his grain mill was extensively  patronized by the early settlers west of No. 4 and on the upper Connecticut and Amonoosuc. The inhabitants of Haverhill, Newbury and Lancaster, MA were under the necessity as they had no mill nearer, of coming to Charlestown,NH to get their grain ground and so of numerous other towns.  The names of individuals are sometimes given who visited it.  Thus a visit by Gen. Bailey is preserved in the following:                  "General Bailey of Newbury town,                    To old  No. 4 to mill came down                     Good Captain Spafford, God rest his soul                     Ground his grist, but would take no toll. This is a tradition whether fact or fable.  Capt. David Page of Lancaster frequently made journeys to Charlestown for the same purpose. It is evident that Capt. Spafford was a most useful citizen and had the entire confidence of the proprietors and inhabitants, not only of Charlestown but of the settlements above and beyond Fort 4.  He was one of the ten male members who helped form Rev. Bulkley Olcott's Church.  He was also honored by the town which elected him on two occasions one of its selectmen.  p.553 His son, Bradstreet Spafford was a member of Capt. Phineas Stevens' company in 1750 and was also 1st Lieutenant in Capt. Abel Walker's Co., No. 1 in Colonel Bellows Regiment 1777.  He removed from Charlestown to Piermont, NH and in 1783 he and his two sons, Nathan and Asa Spafford commenced the settlement at Fairfax, VT.  He was a moderator of the lst town meeting and the lst selectman elected in town.  He is buried in the cemetery at Fairfax, VT but it has no headstone.   His children: 1.  Prudence Spafford b. 1753 2.  John Spafford b. 1755 3.  Eunice Spafford b. 1757 4.  Asa Spafford b. 1759 5.  Nathan Spafford b. 1761 6.  Phineas Spafford b. 1763 and d. Oct 11, 1765 7.  Mary Spafford b. 1765 8.  Damaris Spafford b. 1767 9.  Eunice Spafford 2d b. 1769 10. Sheloma Spafford b. 1772 11. Bradstreet Spafford, Jr. b. 1773 ************************************************* * * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the 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.