Francis A. Marden was born in New Boston, NH in 1809, and did not arrive in Windham until 1836, when he became a clerk in Robert Bartley's store at Windham Centre. In 1839 Marden moved to West Windham where he opened his own store, after purchasing an interest in Bartley's store. Aside from running the store, he was also maintained the farm he lived on. While in Windham, Marden was active in politics and served as a selectman and justice of the peace. He was also the postmaster at West Windham for seven years. On May 16, 1843, Marden married Lucy Park, and the couple had four children, who born between 1840 and 1849. In 1869, the Marden family moved to Hudson, and a few years later moved to Nashua.
By the latter half of the 19th century, logging had long been an important industry in Windham. Numerous saw mills had existed in town since shortly after its settlement in 1719. The vast tracts of forest made Windham, and the surrounding area, an ideal location for the lumber industry. The production of Windham's saw mills is evident in the receipt below, which gives an official measurement of over 64,000 feet of pine logs. The 64,075 feet of pines logs were produced at the mill of William H Anderson; the lumber was measured by Francis A Marden before it was sold to Horace D Gregg. Using the average diameter of a pine tree in the Northeast, the lumber would be equivalent to about 1,600,000 board feet. For his services, Marden charged a fee of $9.71. Horace D. Gregg was born on July 17, 1842 to parents, William and Abigail Gregg. He lived a rather unremarkable life, save for his service in the Civil War. During the war he belonged to Company H of the of the Fifteenth New Hampshire Regiment. The regiment had been organized in Concord, NH in October of 1862, with the length of service being ten months. Those belonging to the regiment were mustered out of service on August 13, 1863. Gregg died on May 25, 1873.
Francis A. Marden was born in New Boston, NH in 1809, and did not arrive in Windham until 1836, when he became a clerk in Robert Bartley's store at Windham Centre. In 1839 Marden moved to West Windham where he opened his own store, after purchasing an interest in Bartley's store. Aside from running the store, he was also maintained the farm he lived on. While in Windham, Marden was active in politics and served as a selectman and justice of the peace. He was also the postmaster at West Windham for seven years. On May 16, 1843, Marden married Lucy Park, and the couple had four children, who born between 1840 and 1849. In 1869, the Marden family moved to Hudson, and a few years later moved to Nashua.
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Edward Titcomb was born in Newburyport, MA on March 22, 1802 to parents, Captain Jonathan Titcomb and his wife, Mary. He resided in Newburyport for the first four decades of his life and made his living selling dry goods. Titcomb learned the trade under the guidance of Benjamin Poore, the father of prominent newspaper correspondent, Benjamin Perley Poore. As his business was located in one of the shipping capitols of the Northeast, Titcomb became involved in the local shipping industry, which proved to be a losing proposition. He also became involved in trade with the western part of the nation, but that again proved to be fruitless. After his failures in business, Titcomb left Newburyport for Windham in 1848. He purchased the property on Beaver Brook that had previously been operated as Burnham's mill. It was at his Beaver Brook factory that he manufactured mattresses, as well as running the mill to saw lumber. On November 16, 1855, Titcomb married Sarah Abbott. Abbott was a well-liked teacher who taught for twelve years, spending a few of those years in the schoolhouses of Windham. Titcomb's business in Windham was only in operation for several years, as the mill burned on July 3, 1857 and was not rebuilt until decades later. He remained in Windham until his death on November 24, 1870. He was a father of three children, including Mary Bradish Titcomb who was a teacher in Windham. Titcomb later became an accomplished portrait and landscape artist.
Joseph Hills, the progenitor of the American branch of the Hills family, was born in England in 1602. He arrived in New England in 1638, and shortly after settled in Charlestown, MA. In 1647 he moved to Malden, MA and several years later relocated to Newbury, MA where he spent the remainder of his life. Joseph's son, Samuel, resided in Newbury for the entirety of his life; eventually marrying Abigail Wheeler. The couple's only child, James, was born on February 25, 1696, and lived in the region of Newbury that later became Newburyport. In 1726, James' son, Jeremiah, was born. Jeremiah went on to serve in the French and Indian War, as well as the Revolutionary War. He was part of a group of Newbury residents who moved North and settled Nottingham West, or the modern-day Hudson, NH. Some time before 1766 he married Hannah Dow. The couple had several children, the second of which became the progenitor of the Hills family of Windham. James Hills was born on August 3, 1768 and settled in Hudson. He moved to Windham shortly after marrying his wife, Abigail Marsh, who was a native of Londonderry. He purchased a farm on Mammoth Road, which became the family homestead for generations. Although there are no records of Hills' occupation, it is likely he was an estate appraiser, and possibly an auctioneer. Hills had five children, with the first two dying young, months apart from each other in 1815. His youngest daughter, Clarissa, later married Robert Bartley, who operated a store at Windham Centre. James' son, Jeremiah, was a blacksmith in town. Jeremiah served in the New Hampshire state militia, and eventually attained the rank of lieutenant. He married Margaret Davidson, who was left a widow following her husband's death in 1817. Margaret was burdened with debt and would spend the majority of her day weaving in order to pay off the debt. She passed away in 1854 and was survived by her several children. One of those children, Jeremiah, was active in town affairs, but moved to Pelham, NH after selling the family homestead to his brother, Deacon Rei Hills. Deacon Rei Hills was born in Windham on June 26, 1818. He studied at Phillips Academy and laid stonewalls to fund his education. He spent most of his life in Windham, but spent time living in Litchfield, as well as Pelham. Hills is recorded as having been a fine teacher, and was equally skilled as a farmer and stone layer. While he was in Windham, Hills was active in town affairs including serving on the school committee, and serving as a town selectman. In 1844 he married Nancy Jane Parker of Litchfield. She was also a teacher, and taught for several years in Methuen, MA. As World War Two raged across Europe in 1940, Americans were keenly aware that their nation would not be left untouched by the war. It was inevitable that the United States was to be drawn into the conflict. Churches and religious organizations across the nation played an important role in giving Americans the spiritual strength to endure the war. At that time the only church holding regular services in Windham was the Windham Presbyterian Church. Following the death of Reverend Polley in 1938, the church was without an ordained minister until the arrival of Reverend Lester Evans in 1940. Glen Aldrich, though not an ordained minister, served as the interim pastor of the congregation until the arrival of Evans.
Evans was an experienced minister who had spent two decades at churches across the United States. His resume included time spent preaching in cities including: Pasadena, CA; Washington, DC; and Boston, MA. Never before had he served in a rural community such as Windham. Following his arrival in the summer of 1940, Evans stayed for about two years, when he was replaced by Reverend Thompson. Although his tenure was quite short, he was responsible for guiding the church-going populace of Windham through the first years of the impending war. Upon his arrival in Windham, a letter was sent out throughout town announcing the new pastor, as well as the role of the church in a time of war. The letter begins with "The Church Officials in all departments are keenly aware of the need of an alert Church, especially these days". The townspeople of Windham had weathered through the First World War, and now a war unlike any other before was looming on the horizon. The letter continues on to say "Our Nation needs a new realization of the intangibles. Just now we need a keen discernment of what really will constitute National Defense". Aside from just military defense, there was a need for "spiritual defense, such as faith, courage, a belief in God our real Protector". The letter concludes with the call to action, "Help defend America by filling your Church". There are undoubtedly many stories, accumulated over centuries, of prize fish caught in the waters of Cobbett's Pond. The story of Warren Graichen's trophy rainbow trout is but one. Graichen was a resident of Methuen, MA, but spent his summers at his cottage on Cobbett's Pond with his wife. He was an avid fisherman, and the rainbow trout was caught on one of his routine Sunday evening fishing trips. Early that evening Graichen was trolling a spoon lure at a "medium" speed near one of the deeper areas of the pond. While he did not reveal the exact spot, it was one of the prime fishing areas recorded on a map drawn up by a Windham resident. Although he was "equipped with a stiff boat road", the large fish put up an excellent fight that last nearly 15 minutes. Both the fish and Graichen fought well, but in the end it was Graichen who was victorious. His prize was a 33 inch long rainbow trout, weighing just under 9 pounds. When recounting the story of his catch, Graichen said that "there are plenty more [rainbow trout] just as big and bigger there". He was also an experienced bass fisherman and claimed to "have taken a number of four and five pounders from Cobbett's this year". He also proudly claimed to have caught several trout, ranging from 3 to 6 pounds each, that year, though none could compare to his catch that Sunday evening. The trophy rainbow trout was mounted and displayed prominently in Graichen's home.
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AuthorDerek Saffie is an avid Windham historian who enjoys researching and sharing his collection with all those interested in the history of the New England town. Archives
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