Avery-Palmer-Page-Lawrence-Morse-Farnsworth Family Narrative

There is controversy about which Avery first settled in Portsmouth, NH and then Greenland, NH. The book "Great Migration: Immigrants to New England", 1634-1635, Vol I, A-B has an article on the Thomas Avery of Salem who came to America in 1633 and states that he is NOT the Thomas Avery of Portsmouth, NH whose widow was named Joan. So the mix-up between the two Thomas Averys started very long ago.

According to "The AVERY Family of Greenland, NH" (William Manning of Ayer, MA-1904) which is part of the Essex Institute Historical Collections, Thomas AVERY (or Every) was a land owner in Portsmouth, NH in 1657 and his wife Joan verified his estate in 1681. In 1693 a 2nd Thomas AVERY (1657-1744) had a seat in the meeting-house in 1693 and there is a marriage recorded in Dover, NH in 1697 between Thomas and Abigail COOMBS. Robert AVERY¹ (1663-1734) of Greenland, NH (probably a son of 1st Thomas)was a witness to a deed executed by Thomas and Abigail AVERY in 1710.

Robert¹ and his wife Mary had the following children: Edward, Benjamin, Jeane, Abigail (who married Abraham HARRIS in 1728) and Robert²(1704-1756) who in 1724 married Sarah PETTS, the daughter of John (1681-1757) and Abigail HARRISON (1685-1735) PETTS , the former of whom was one of the earliest settlers on a tract of land which became incorporated as Townsend, MA in 1732. Sarah PETTS' siblings were John (1713-1767), Ebenezer (1717-?), David (1719-?), Mary (1721-?), Abigail (1725-?), Anna (1725-?) and Jonathan (1727-?).

It may be noted here that the first public library in Greenland, NH was built in 1898 by Caroline Avery Weeks, no doubt a descendant from these first Avery settlers.

Robert² and Sarah PETTS AVERY appear to have lived in Greenland, NH until 1729 when they moved to Townsend, MA and purchased land from Sarah's father. Robert and Sarah had the following children: Sarah (1726-?) who married James BYAM; Abigail (1731-1810) who married Samuel MANNING; Robert³ (1733-1757); Mary (1735-?) who married Samuel LAWRENCE; David (1737-1790; Elizabeth (1739-?) who married Isaac PATCH; Anna (1742-1824) who married Joshua JOHNSON; John¹ (1743-1760); Rachel (1746-1815) who married Ebenezer ALBEE; Lucy (1749-?) who married John WILLARD; and Jonathan¹ (1728-1790).

In 1752 Jonathan¹ AVERY married Mary (Molly) FARNSWORTH (1735-1796) of Lunenburg, MA daughter of Isaac¹ (1701-1744) and Sarah PAGE (1703-1746) FARNSWORTH who were married in 1723. Mary's siblings were: Esther (1737-?), William (1725-1806), Lydia (1730-?), Sarah (1727-?) and Isaac² (1723-1812). Isaac FARNSWORTH¹ was the son of Benjamin (1667-1733) and Mary (1674-1735) PRESCOTT FARNSWORTH of Groton, MA and the grandson of Matthias FARNSWORTH who was born in Lancashire ENGLAND in 1615, came to America prior to 1657 and died in Groton, MA in 1689. Mary PRESCOTT's lineage can be traced back to John PRESCOTT born in 1604 in England and departed 1661 in Lancaster, MA.

The PAGE Family
John PAGE1¹ (1586-1676) and his wife Phoebe PAYNE (1594-1677) and children Phebe, Samuel, John Jr.² and Daniel came to America from Dedham, England in 1630 on the ship "Jewel" one of the fleet under John Winthrop, landing in Salem, MA. Within a year John moved his family to Watertown, MA 7 miles east of Boston. John² (1629-1711) married Faith DUNSTER (1640-1699) in Groton, MA where he was one of the original proprietors as well as Constable along with serving in various other public offices. After the town was attacked by Indians in 1676, John² moved his family back to Watertown. Their 2nd son Samuel was born in Groton in 1672.

Samuel PAGE (1672-1747) married Sarah LAWRENCE (1672-1717) and moved to South Carolina in 1694 along with a group of other settlers from MA, settling on the Ashley River above Charleston and calling the town Dorchester, after Dorchester, MA. Samuel returned to Groton, MA in 1718 with his 2nd wife Martha (Sarah having evidently died in SC) but soon moved again - this time into the wilderness west of Groton in an area called "Turkey Hills" which became the new town of Lunenburg, of which Samuel was its poundkeeper and 1st Governor. His gravestone in the old cemetery bore the inscription, "Here lies buried ye body of Mr. Samuel Page - the 1st that settled in this town, who departed this life September 7 AD 1747." Samuel & Sarah's daughter Sarah (who married Isaac FARNSWORTH¹) was born in SC in 1703 and was mentioned as deceased in Samuel's will of 1747.

The LAWRENCE Family
John LAWRENCE (1609-1667) came to America on the ship "Arbella" in 1630 with his wife Elizabeth COOKE (1611-1663) (in the same fleet as John PAGE above) from Wisset, England. His lineage can be traced back to Robert LAWRENCE (1150-?) who attended Richard the Lion Hearted in the Crusades, distinguished himself at the Siege of Acre and was knighted Sir Robert of Ashton Hall.

John, a carpenter by trade, settled in Watertown, MA where he was a proprietor in 1636 and on the grand jury in 1662, when he sold his mansion house and farm and moved to Groton, MA. John and Elizabeth's 2nd son Nathaniel (1639-1724) was one of the 1st Representatives to the General Court, an ensign in the militia and a Deacon in the Groton church. He was born in Watertown, lived in Sudbury, Groton and Cambridge and died in Lexington. He married Sarah MORSE (1643-1683) in 1660 and their daughter Sarah (who married Samuel PAGE) was born in 1672.

The MORSE Family
Samuel MORSE¹ (1585-1654) and his wife Elizabeth JASPER (1587-1654) came to America on the ship "Increase" in 1635 from Dedham, England with their 8 children Thomas (1603-1640), Elizabeth (1605-1643), John (1607-1657), Abigail (1611-1654), Daniel (1613-1688), Samuel² (1619-1688), Mary (1620-1688) and Joseph (1615-1654).

Several of the above are mentioned in
A Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England Before 1692 by James Savage.
Notable descendants of Samuel MORSE are: Emily Dickinson, Wild Bill Hickock and US Presidents Bush, Coolidge and Taft.

Samuel¹ and sons Daniel, Joseph and John were members of original 19 settlers who signed the compact creating the town of Dedham, MA in 1636 then later moved to Medfield, MA, where a monument was erected in 1858 by MORSE descendants honoring Samuel¹ and several members of his family. Joseph married Hannah PHILLIPS (1617-1676) of Boston in 1638 and their daughter Sarah (who married Nathaniel LAWRENCE) was born in in Dedham, MA 1643.

The AVERY Family (continued)

Jonathan¹ and Mary (Molly) FARNSWORTH AVERY lived for a time in Pepperell, MA and apparently relocated to Temple, NH in Hillsborough County prior to 1768 as Jonathan is one of the signers of the Petition of Incorporation of the Town of Temple, NH and he also signed an Oath of Allegiance there in 1776. Jonathan & Mary had children Jonathan² (1753-1776), Timothy (1754-1775), Samuel (1758-?), all 3 of whom were killed in the Revolutionary War; Peter (1762-?); Joel (1764-?); Aaron (1766-?) who married Sara Thomson in 1795; Mary (1768-?); and John² (1760-1845) who in 1794 married Hannah FISH also of Temple. John & Hannah had the following children: John³ (1796-?); Nathan; Asa (1805-?); Esther; Hannah who married Parker BURNHAM; Mary "Polly" (1802-?) who married Moses PALMER (1798-?) (and had children Calvin, Asa, John, Elizabeth, Moses and Caroline); and Jonathan³ (1799-1888) who married Mary PALMER (1803/4-1867) in 1821 in Peterborough, NH.

The PALMER Family
The PALMER and AVERY families are very closely tied to each other through numerous marriages which appear to be a result of their association in and around Temple, NH. The PALMER family can trace its lineage in America back to William¹ PALMER (1585-1646/7) who it is thought arrived in Massachusetts around 1637, from Ormsbey St. Margaret, Norfolk, England and settled in Hampton, NH in 1638. Children from his first marriage to Mary STAMWORTH who it is thought remained and died in England were: Martha (1620-1700) who married John SHERMAN, Edward (1623-?), Christopher (1625-1699) and Mary (1627-1655?).

William and his second wife Ann had a son Joseph¹ (1643-1715) born in Hampton, NH. Joseph and his mother moved to Newbury, MA after William's death in 1646. In 1661, the guardianship of Joseph (then 17) was granted to his step-brother Christopher and Joseph was given land and a house in Newbury belonging to his late father that same year. Joseph married Sarah JACKMAN (1648-?) of Newbury in 1664/5 and later removed to Bradford, MA about 1670. They had the following children: Sarah (1665-1714), James¹ (1667-?), Joseph² (1670-1706), Benjamin¹ (1672-1750), William² (1677-?), Joanna (1680-1756), Mary (1683-1688), Samuel¹ (1686-1758) and Richard¹ (1674-1723). Joseph¹is buried in Bradford, MA.

Richard¹ married Martha DOWNER (1678-1769) of Salisbury, MA, daughter of Robert & Sarah EATON DOWNER in 1704 in Hampton, NH and lived in both Bradford and Salisbury, MA. They had the following children: Sarah (1705-?), Andrew (1707-1765), Martha (1711-1777), Benjamin² (1712-1745), Richard² (1715-1767), James² (1717-1764), Joseph³ (1719-1805), John¹ (1722-1764) and Samuel² (1713-after1787).

Read Biography of Samuel Palmer written by Veronica Palmer.

Samuel² was married in 1738 in Rowley, MA to Anne EVANS (1717-?), removed to Methune, MA around 1741 and took the oath of allegiance in Sandown, NH in 1776. Samuel & Anne had the following children: Jane (1740-?), Samuel³ (1742-1763), Elizabeth (1744-?), John² (1746-1835), Phebe¹ (1751-1754), Mary (1753-?), Phebe² (1756-1845), Asa (1758-1815), Samuel⁴ (1764-1847), Joshua (1761-?) and James³ (1749-?) born in Methune, MA.

Read Biography of Asa Palmer written by Veronica Palmer.

James³ married Elizabeth BARKER in 1772 in Methune and resided in Bradford, MA where it is believed they had the following children: James⁴ (1775-1807) and Abigail (1776-?) who married Ebenezer BALLARD, although there are no vital records in either Methune or Bradford, MA for any children. James³ is listed in the 1790 census as living in Methune with 1 male and 6 females; he does not appear in the census of 1800 or 1810.

James⁴married Abigail SMITH (1767-?) daughter of Moses and Ruth LITTLE SMITH in 1796 in Plaistow, NH. James died in 1807 in Haverhill, MA as a result of drowning. James & Abigail had the following children: James⁵ (1796-1858), Moses (1798-?), Abigail (1800-?), Samuel⁵ (1802-1803), twins Joseph⁴(1806-1885) and Benjamin³(1806-1882) and Mary (1803/4-1867).

The AVERY Family (continued)
Brothers Asa and Jonathan³ Avery moved their families from Temple, NH to the Oneida County NY area in 1827 and settled in Leyden. After 2 years, Asa returned to NH and due to illness, remained there for 48 years, until he with wife Martha and son Charles rejoined his brother Jonathan in Boonville in 1877. Asa however returned to NH as he is listed in the census of 1880 as living in Nashua, NH.
Read about the AVERY BROTHERs' JOURNEY from NH to NY

Jonathan³ and Mary PALMER AVERY had the following children: Jonathan⁴(1822-1889) who married (1) Saphenteus POTTER (?-1858) and (2) Margaret MORROWS; James (1824-1891) who married (1) Orissa HUBBARD and (2) Achsah PALMER MANZER, (1831-?) daughter of Joseph⁴ PALMER; Abigail (1825-1918) who married Linus BIRDSEY (1815-1890); Eliza (1826-?) who married Elkanah WARD; Mary (1829-1872) who was James Sackett's 2nd wife, John⁴ (1833-1907) who married Eliza PALMER (1839-?) daughter of Joseph⁴ PALMER; Ruel (1836-1840); Emily (1835-1905) who married Sanford THAYER (1835-?); Esther (1839-1930) who married Elbridge G. PALMER (1836-1911) son of Benjamin ³ PALMER; Mila (1841-1906) who was James H. SACKETT's (1830-1896) 4th wife; Garrett Smith (1844-?) who married Emily HEALD (1854-?); Clarissa (1845-?) who married Owen HEALD (1846-?), brother of Emily; and Elizabeth Jane (1831-?), who in 1853 married Heman² WARD of Vernon, NY (see Ward-Lyon-Nash Narrative).

WARD COAT OF ARMS     AVERY & OTHER COATS OF ARMS
WARD-NASH-AMSDEN FAMILY TREE     AVERY-PALMER FAMILY TREE
WARD FAMILY TREE (prior to 1800)      NASH-STONE-KELLOGG-SKINNER FAMILY TREE
LYON-PAYNE-RANSIER FAMILY TREE      WARD-SPITTLER FAMILY TREE