Joseph Dow
- Born: 20 Oct 1663, Seabrook, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
- Marriage (1): Hannah Challis
- Marriage (2): Mary Watson-Challis on 25 May 1687 in Amsbury, Ma;
- Died: 5 Feb 1735, Hampton, Rockingham County, New Hampshire at age 71
General Notes:
Per research of Bill Prokasy and entered on gencircles.com Joseph3 Dow was a weaver and lived in that part of South Seabrook, adjacent to Salisbury, which has been called Byfield since the earliest times. Indeed, to get into Byfield or out of it by road, in olden times, one had to go through a corner of Salisbury, Massachusetts. At the tine the town-by-town list of ratable estates was made in the Province of New Hampshire in 1742, the Hampton Falls list (which would then have included present-day Seabrook and was colloquially called the "District of South Hampton" for a short time, not to be confused with the nearby town of South Hampton) contains a section entitled, "the invoice of yt part of Salisbury Called byfield," once again pointing up the confusion over which side of the Province Line this area was on; Elihu, Eliphaz, Judah, Bildad and Noah all appear together on that list (manuscript, N.H. Division of Records Management and Archives, Concord).
Joseph3 Dow was very active in land transactions, and bought and sold many parcels of land in his lifetime, and owned an interest in a saw and grist mill in Salisbury. Prior to his death he sold a number of pieces of land to his sons Amasa, Elihu, John and Eliphaz (Essex County Deeds, 43:250-251, 65:271-272, 67:52-53, and 66:254-255), and in other transactions speaks of some of his brothers. That he left an estate appaised at £787.8.0, including a dwelling house, about 70 acres of upland, and about nine acres of salt marsh, proves that he had not "sunk into obscurity" (The Book of Dow, 96). Administration of his estate was granted to his oldest surviving son, John4, with sureties on his bond of administration being Jarvis Ring and his brother, James4 Dow. Their fine signatures appear among the papers on file, as well as two notes signed by Joseph3 Dow in 1733 and filed as part of the estate. In addition, two examples of the autograph of Noah4 Dow, son of Joseph3 Dow, are in the file. All signatures show a strong, well educated hand. Joseph3 Dow is spoken of as "Mr Joseph Dow" in one place in the file. His son John, as administrator, complained that Joseph's Sons Eliphaz, Noah and Bildad were withholding a yoke of oxen, a cow, and a two-rod measuring chain from the estate. Noah appeared and swore that there was a pair of oxen and a cow belonging to his father when he died, but that he did not know where they were. The outcome of the controversy is not clear from the probate file (Estate of Joseph Dow, Salisbury. Essex County Probate, No. 8220).
It is clear from deeds that Joseph3 Dow lived in the area now known as South Seabrook, but formerly called Byfield. This seems to be where his father and mother, and at least some siblings, lived, too (Essex County Deeds, 13:151-152). And five of Joseph3' s sons carried on in the same place. The land inherited from Lt. Philip1 Watson-Challis and sold by Joseph3 and Hannah (Challis) Dow to John Challis, and later given by him to Zerviah, Noah, Bildad and Judah in token of their having cared for their aged parents, is described as being near the road leading to the boiling spring, and bordering Dow's Farm. This last designation seems to refer to what was frequently described as "Joseph Dow's Great Pasture." The land is located in the Gravelly Ridge Division, formerly so called, adjacent to the state line, and accessible from the Collins Road which leads from Salisbury to South Seabrook. The road to the boiling spring is now gone, but one can follow the railroad track in about half way to the present Walton Road, and the boiling spring is on the west side of the track, between two railroad ties, the workmen not knowing a spring was there when the tracks were laid. At last reports, it still overflows in the springtime and runs off into a brook.
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Sources
Title: "History of the Town of Hampton New Hampshire" Author: Joseph Dow Publication: Salem Press Publishing and Printing Co., Salem, MA, 1894 Media: Book Page: p. 679, 681
Title: "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire" Author: Sybil Noyes, Charles Libby and Walter Davis Publication: Southworth-Anthoensen Press, 1928-1939 Call Number: F18.N68 Media: Book Page: p. 202
Title: New Hampshire Genealogical Record Publication: New Hampshire Genealogical Society Media: Magazine Page: 7:97
Title: Early Vital Records of Massachusetts to about 1850 Publication: Search Research Publishing Corporation, Wheat Ridge CO, 1998, Type II CD Media: Family Archive CD Page: p. 303
Joseph married Hannah Challis, daughter of Philip Watson-Challis and Mary Sargent. (Hannah Challis was born on 20 Sep 1675 in Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts and died about 1734 in South Hampton, NH (Now Seabrook).)
Joseph next married Mary Watson-Challis, daughter of Philip Watson-Challis and Mary Sargent, on 25 May 1687 in Amsbury, Ma;. (Mary Watson-Challis was born circa 1665.)
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