1628 - 1980 & Beyond
352 Years of Family History
"The Fassett's of Cheshire County, New Hampshire
and Allied Lines"
By Lu Dawn Ross - Fassett
In Loving Memory of Lester, and to Eleanor,
Paul, Mark, Gayle & Jeremy
Dedicated to the Memory of Our Ancestors who
helped form and create this great country of ours, the United States of America, and to preserve these memories for our children
and future generations, to have and to hold for time everlasting (while He taries a bit longer).
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<<< Links to Other Quality Fassett WebSites are located at the
bottom of this page. >>>
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Special thanks to my mother Mrs. Mildred M. Hilton-Floyd
and my sister Mrs. Carol Ann Ross-White, for without their interest and love, I would not have evolved into an amatuer genealogist!
I would especially like to thank all those who
were so very helpful and generous with their information.
A VERY SPECIAL Thank You to Katherine fassett-Schuster
and her in-depth work concerning MacPherson/Fassett Lineage !
Without you this would not have been possible.
I have delved deep into the vital records and
court documents in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and believe the material contained within to be true and correct
to the best of my knowledge. If by chance I have committed a small error or two I ask your forgiveness.
Permission to use and reproduce any part of this
effort is granted herewith to any person of an honest heart. (My thanks to Billy Rex Hilton.*1)
I feel it is important to have some knowledge
about the state of New Hampshire in order to relate a better understanding of perhaps why our ancestors chose this state to
settle in, carve out farms from the wilderness and build their futures on.
New hampshire is but one of the six states which
form the northeastern section of the United States. Of these six states, the Fassetts settled mainly in Connecticut,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Patrick MacPherson as the story goes
- *Patrick Fassett and his wife Sarah came from Rock Fassett Castle, Ireland, and settled in Lexington, Massachusetts. IConjecture
has it has that Rock Fassett Castle, was in fact, a lighthouse and as they looked back from their ship, it was the last
thing they viewed as their ship sailed out of sight.) There is a tradition that the ancestors of the family were refugees
who fled from Scotland to escape religious persecution, and that the name Fassett was assumed to conceal their identities,
the original name being MacPherson. The proper pronunuciation of the name Fassett gives the broad sound to the a, and
in England as well as in this country, some branches of the family spell the name Fawcett or Fossett, as being less liable
to minpronumciation. The final consonant is ofter written single.*2
Patrick's children grew up in Connecticut and
Massachucetts. Some settled in the New England states as I have mentioned. Their children in turn, moved throughout
New England and then to various other states in the United States of America.
It is the intention of this creative work to
deal mainly with those descendants of Patrick who settled in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, and the allied lines of those
ancestors.
"New Hampshire is more than a vacation wonderland.
New Hampshire is the home of freedom-loving industrious people who built a prosperous state and helped form a nation.
New Hampshire was first settled in 1623,
just three years after the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts. Early New Hampshire settlers carved farms out of a wilderness
and worked the land for food. Later, New hampshirites turned their skills and their state's resources to industrial
development. They cut down trees for the giant lumber and papermaking industries. They took minerals from the
mountains and hills to start a mining industry. They used the rivers and lakes as sources of power for mills and factories.
And they built ships along the state's small Atlantic Coastline. In all, the people of New Hampshire changed a wilderness
into a farming society, and then turned the farming society into a thriving industrial state.
New Hampshire's large granite deposits give
it the nickname of the Granite State. Concord is the state capital and Manchester is the largest city.
New Hampshire has cool summers with low humidty.
In winter, heavy snows fall in much of the state."*3
Many of our ancestors were involved in the various
wars of which New Hampshire played a part in. Later, as we come to these ancestors, I will attempt to give a bit of
insight into these wars, and the roles our ancesters played in them.
Life as our Patrick must have experienced it
is more then adequately described by Louis B. Wright, in his book "Everyday Life In Colonial America", G. P. Putnam's
Sons, New York, B.T. Batsford, LTD., London, copyright 1965:
"Nobody in the colonial
period ever heard of an eight-hour day. The workday on the farm was from sun to sun, sunup until sundown. Indeed,
it was often longer than this, for livestock had to be fed and cows milked by lantern light in winter; even in the summer
the farmer and his family were usually up and about their work long before sunrise. A farm permits no excuses.
Horses and cattle must be fed and watered with clocklike regularity. Crops must be tended in accordance with weather
conditions. When hay is lying dry upon the ground it must be raked and stacked before the rains come, even if the farmer
and his family have to work until late at night. Ripe grain and ripe fruit will not wait upon the farmer's convenience.
It must be reaped or gathered. The housewife must preserve or dry the fruits and vegetables when they are ready.
On every farm the summer was a time of intense activity and endless labor.
But it was not mere drudgery. Farmers
found satisfaction in their work, in watching the eternal re-creation of life each season, though not many ever stopped to
put into words the reasons for their satisfaction. They enjoyed talking with family and with neighbors about their growing
crops-a constant subject of fascinating conversations to them. And they watched over their livestock and their poultry
with abiding interest. Each horse, cow, sheep, or goat usually bore a name, sometimes a name that signified its appearance
or some trait of disposition, and if farmers could not converse with their animals, at least they could talk to them by name.
It was impossible to be lonely surrounded by so many breathing creatures with personalities worth observing. A part
of the talk about the fireside in the evening would be about how Old Brindle or some other animal had behaved that day."*4
Most of our Fassett's were hard working farmers.
I found this book of Louis B. Wright's to be most interesting, informative and easy to read and absorb, and I recommend the
reading of it to every person interested in his or her ancestors. Many of the stories pertain to just 100 years ago,
as well as 350 years ago as they were intended to be read for. Dr. Wright covers most every thinkable aspect of early
colonial life. I do hope that if you are now reading this, you will seek out and read his book (if it is still in print).
In her book, "The Fassett Geneology",
Katherine Fassett-Schuster tells us the following about our Patrick and Sarah:
"Our common ancestor Patrick Fassett leaves
us searching for more evidence concerning him. "These were trying times in England, Ireland and Scotland as they were having
a civil war. The Protestant Royalties in both Ireland and Scotland were loyal to Charles 11 after the tragic death of
his father Charles 1.
Cromwell was fiercely fighting the Scot Loyalists
at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650." "In 1651 the Scots were annihilated at the Battle of Worcester, Sept. 3, 1651, a battle
in which Cromwell did not defeat the enemy; he wiped them out. Scarcely a Scot reached home after that ordeal."
Cromwell disposed of some of these Scot prisoners by a method that reflects the same slavery of free men as the Black men
have suffered.
Two hundred, seventy-four prisoners were
shipped from London on Nov. 11, 1651 by John Beex, Robert Rich and William Green in the 'John and Sarah' with John Greene
as Master. "Our orders and servants were to be delivered to Thomas Kemble of Charles Town to be desposed by him according
to orders we have sent him."
"Entered and recorded at the request of Thomas
Kemble on May 14, 1652 was in the 'John and Sarah' of London. John Greene, Master for New England...and Scotch prisoners
free by ordance of Parliament dated 20th Oct. 1651."
"It is believed these men were sold as apprentices
but very soon by work and the Parliamentary ordance became free men. We will have to select our Patrick Fassett, whose
name we believe to have been MacPherson from some of the most likely of the list of 272 men spelling and lettering were very
different in those times."
"I reflect back on the long held
story that Patrick MacPherson and wife Sarah fled from Scotland to escape religious persecution. They changed their
name to Fassett to conceal their identity. then came to Massachusetts from Rock Fassett Castle, Ireland. If this be
the true story of out Patrick and Sarah, then they may have left before Cromwell struck havoc throughout Scotland."
"This then leaves us to wonder if
the Canadian Fassett's were perhaps related to our Patrick as I wonder if one of his brothers might have fled with him and
then chose to head toward Canada while Patrick headed south to New England. Perhaps even the Fassett's of Maine could
have been descended from yet another brother who decided to settle in Maine, or worked down from Nova Scotia and Canada.
All this is of course, conjecture on my part, due to the fact that there were indeed Fassett's of England, to whom we cannot
claim relation."
"Why else would Patrick have had to change
his name from MacPherson to Fassett? If he came in via a prisoner ship, he would most likely have no need to change
his name as a prisoner, and once pronounced a free man, there would be no need to make such a change."
"I would rather belive that he and his wife
fled just before the break-out of the war, or during the very early start of it. TheRock Fassett Castle intrigues me and I
hope to be able to one day include more about it. At this time it is merely a name of a place which once meant something
I'm sure to Patrick and Sarah."5
It must be noted here that Katherine Fassett-Schuster
did not live long enough to realize the truth of the matter most likely lies in the fact that others searching out the query
of the Rock Fassett Castle, have conjectured that it was actually a lighthouse as mentioned previously and that it was the
last thing they set their eyes upon as their ship sailed out to sea.
"Also raised here is the question, was it possible
that Patrick had a 1st marraige in Scotland? Records show that theirchildren were born between 1670 and 1690.
Thus if we believe he was not married prior to Sarah, he was 42 years old when their first child was born. This seems
quite old for him to just be starting his family.*5
"New Hampshire has never been a boastful state.
Much of its history has not been told nor has its part in the nation's development been emphaized. As a result, the
children of the state have had little opportunity to learn the story of their native or adopted home land....."*6
The following information/data is
taken from Katherine Fassett-Schuster's book: The Fassett Genealogy with Additions Added To By Lu Dawn Ross-Fassett
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Patrick Fassett and Sarah
Patrick was born in 1629 and died Nov.
1713 at the age of 85.
He is buried in the Old South Cemetary,
Billerica, Mass. with grave stone. He married Sarah Reyley.. She was born in 1644 and died 15 Jan. 1739/40 at
the age of 95. Sarah married second on 23 April 1716, Thomas Bateman, Concord, Mass.
Patrick is buried Billerica, Middlesex, Ma.
Sarah is buried in the Old South Cemetary.
The children of Patrick and Sarah Fassett were:
1. John F. born 1670 Malden, Mass,
m. Mary Hill
2. Joseph F. born 2 Oct. 1672, Malden Mass.,
m. Mary Monroe
3. Sarah F. born 1 March 1674 Boston, Mass.,
m. Samuel Hutchinson
4. Samuel Fassett born 29 December
1677, died young
5. Samueal F. 9 May 1679, m. Lydia Parker
6. Deborah F. born 15 February 1680/81
7. Mary F. born 31 March 1683, m. Job Lane
8. Peter F. born 25 August 1685, m. Elizabeth
Manning
9. Josiah F. born 1 December 1687, m. Sarah
Wooley
10. Benjamin F. born 7 July
1690, m. Elizabeth Park
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Benjamin Fassett and Elizabeth
(Benjamin2, Patrick1)
Benjamin was born 17 July 1690 in Billerica,
Mass. He 1st m. on the 4 Feb. 1713/14 to Elizabeth Park of Concord, Mass., the daughter of Lt. Richard and Elizabeth
Hastings Billings Park. At this time of his marraige he was called "of Lexington," according to Concord Records.
He married 2nd on 5 Feb. 1758 to Mrs. Eleanor Adams. He died 3 October 1764.
Benjamin Fassett soon after his marraige removed
to Canterbury and Pomfret, Connecticut. The church records of the Second Church in Pomfret (now Brooklyn, Conn..) on
the 21 Nov. 1734. He held one share as proprietor under the patent of 1710. John, Josiah, Benjamin and Elizabeth
were Separates in 1742. In 1748, Benjamin and John appear among petitioners to form a town out of the Northlake
Society. The town of Brooklyn was formed in 1786.
The children of Benjamin and Elizabeth
were:
1. Elizabeth F. born 4 March 1715 bapt.
13 March 1715, m. John Tyler
2. Benjamin F., Jr. born 6 Feb. 1716/17,
m. Lydia Copeland
3. John F. born 16 March 1719, m. Lydia
Warren
4. Adonijah F. born
23 Sept. 1720, m. Anne Copeland, sister to Lydia.
5. Mary F. born 8 September 1720
6. Josiah F. born 2 March 1722/23, m. Hannah
Thayer
Note of importance: The Canterbury Church
records gives the bapt. of the following as:
John, son of Benjamin Mac Fassett on 22 March
1719
Adonijah, son of Benjamin Mac Fassett on
7 Sept. 1720
Josiah, son of Benjamin Mac Fassett on 7 March
1725
I find the use of Mac Fassett interesting and
intriguing.
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Adonijah Fassett and Anna (Adonijah3,
Benjamin2, Patrick1)
Adonijah was born 23 Sept. 1720 in Canterbury,
Conn. He married on 4 November 1745, Anna Copeland, daughter of William and Mary Thayer Copeland. She was born
on 4 Aug. 1728 in Braintree, Mass.
(Note: Anna Copeland was a descendant
of the Mayflower Pilgrims.)
Adonijah was admiotted into the Church 5
October 1746.
The children of Adonijah and Anna
were:
1. Anna F. born 6 Oct. 1746, m. her
cousin Benjamin Fassett son of Lt. Benjamin3, Benjamin2, Patrick1. They were m. on 17 Dec. 1767.
2. Elizabeth F. born 14 June 1749,
m. Noah Adams, Jr.
3. Adonijah F. born 15 Nov. 1751, died
soon
4. Adonijah F. , Jr. born
3 April 1753, m. Anna Allen
5. Jesse F. born 15 March 1756, m.
2 Dec. 1781 to Sarah Evans
6. Lois F. born 16 Aug. 1760, m. on
2 March 1777 to David Cady
7. Joab F. born 2 March 1763, m. 5
Jan. 1792 to Lighty Herrick
8. Mary F. born 26 Feb. 1766
died 20 June 1835
9. Pearly F. bapt. 1768, m. Alfreda
Hold. He lived in Cavendish, New Hampshire.
Up to this point most of the previous information
was taken from "The Fassett Genealogy" by Katherine-Fassett Schuster of New York. I feel it is important to follow Anna
Copeland's ancestors at this point, as they were and are an important and interesting part of our family's and country's heritage.
The following information was sent to me
by Dolores Dunn Ackerman of Bellingham, Washington:
Adonijah Fassett, Sr. born 23 September
1720 in Canterbury, Conn., m. on 4 Nov. 1745 to Anna Copeland. Anna was born 4 August 1728
in Braintree, Mass. He died 1800, she died 1801, both at Brooklyn, Conn.
Her parents were William Copeland
born 7 March 1695 in Braintree, Mass., and Mary Thayer born Feb. 1689 in Braintree, Mass. They were m. on 15
June 1718. Mary Thayer was the daughter of Richard Thayer and Rebecca Micall.
Anna Copeland's family tree is as
follows:
Anna Copeland5, William Copeland4, William
Copeland and wife Mary Bass Webb3, Mary Webb being the daughter of John Bass and Ruth Alden2, Ruth Alden being the daughter
of John Alden and Priscilla Mulling1. John and Priscilla Alden being the proginators of the Mayflower Line.
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Adonijah Fassett, Jr. and Anna
Allen (Adonijah4, Adonijah3, Benjamin2, Patrick1)
Adonijah Jr. was born 3 April 1753 in Canterbury,
Conn. He married on 28 July 1776, Anna Allen. He lived in Winchester, New Hampshire. He served in the Revolutionary
War as a private in Captain Joseph Abbott's Co. of Militia at New York in 1776 in the 11th Reg't. from Connecticut.
He died in Winchester, New Hampshire on 7 Feb. 1827. According to records on file in Winchester, his brother Pearley
died on the same day.
Adonijah and his cousin Samuel4 (Benjamin3, Benjamin2,
Patrick1) were among the 110 signers of the following: (Source: Revolutionary Documents Page 161-162 of State Papers
of New Hampshire, Volume XXX, by Batchellor-)
"According to the within Resolve of the General
Congress we have called a meeting & it appears that all the before mentioned Signers have agreed to Stand by the within
Convenet
Winchester June 3: 1776 William Humphrey, Israel
Stowel, Selectmen."
The children of Adonijah, Jr. and Anna
Allen were:
(Retrieved from Vital Rocrods, Concord,
new Hampshire)
1. Thankful F. born 30 November 1778
2. Benjamin F. born 8 July 1780,
m. Martha Lee Robinsin
3. Amos F. born 13 June 1782 , m. Phebe
Page
4. John F. born 14 August 1785, m. Susan
Daltonor Dutton
5. Lois F. (Twin of Lewis F.) born 31 March
1787
6. Lewis (Twin of Lois F.)
born 31 March 1787, m. Sarah ____
7. Anna F. born 16 Feb. 1789 (? if this
is Abner who died young and was born on 23 June 1781 - were Anaa & Abner also twins?)
8. Samuel F. born 28 August 1789
9. Abner F. born 23 July 1791
d. 12 Feb/. 1812
Katherine Fassett-Schuster writes in her book:
"The above Abner is believed to be Anna or perhaps they were twins. The original records cannot be consulted as they
were destroyed by fire. Anna Fassett, a daughter of Adonijah, Jr. born 16 Feb. 1795 m. Moses Piper and in 1838 migrated
to Eaton Co., Michigan, where they both are buried."
The original records were burned in Winchester
during a fire there. The above dates are as I copied them from Vital Records in Concord, New Hampshire. But many
mistakes were made when records were sent in from town clerks.
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Lewis Fassett a) nd Sarah
(Lewis5, Adonijah4, Adonijah3, Benjamin2, Patrick1
Lewis Fassett was born 31
March 1787 in Winchester, New Hampshire. He married Sarah _____________. Lewis lived in Winchester,
New Hampshire. He had a twin sister, Lois. Lewis died 31 March, 1858.
The following info. is provided by Lu Dawn:
The children of Lewis Fasssett and Sarah __________
were:
1. Mary A. F. born 31 August 1814
2. Marion F. born 29 August 1817
3. Albert A. F. born 12
July 1821, m. three times to:
1st to Rachel Dickerson b. 24 Oct 1816 d. ? Child-Bed
Fever 30 Apr 1857. Married on 18 Nov 1846.
Children of Albert A. Fassett & Rachel Dickinson:
1. Hattie E. (Harriett)
2. Henry b. 18 April 1849, m Mary Jane Cummings b. 12 Aug
1860 in Keene, N.H., she died 24 Apr 1943 in Swanzey, N.H. They were m. 5 Nov 1876.
3. Walter C. b. 30 Oct 1852 d. 15 Sept 1931, Keene, N.H. m. Abbie____
4.. Infant b. Apr 1857, d. May 1857 (8 dys old)
2nd to Abbie Wheelock b. 12 Oct 1833, d. 16 Apr
1860
Children of Albert A. Fassett & Abbie Fassett:
One Found Listed: Abbie E. Fassett-Bissell
3rd to Harriet Wheelock b. 12 Oct 1833
(Abbie &Harriet were twins.)
Children of Albert A. Fassett & Harriet Wheelock:
1. Albert S.
2. Sarah M.
Albert was of Winchester, N.H. - Will dated 1 April 1881 probated Jan.
1902 Keene Court House %941 Fassett, A.
Copied from & mentioned in Albert's Will:
Children:
Henry Fassett by w. Rachel
Walter C. Fassett by w. Rachel
Harriett E. Boorne by w. Rachel
Abbie E. Bissell by w. Abbie
Albert S. Fassett by w. Harriett
Sarah M. Fassett by w. Harriett
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Henry Fassett b. 18 April 1849 Winchester, N.H., d. 24 Feb 1948
Keene, N.H., m. Mary Jane Cummings on 5 Nov 1876. She was b. 12 April 1860 Keene, N.H., d. 24 April 1943, Swanzey,
N.H.
Children of Henry Fassett & Mary jane Cummings:
1. Warren H. Fassett b. 2 March 1880 Swanzay, N.H., D. ____
in Hospital in Keene, N.H. Warren m. on 7 Oct 1903 to Amy A. Griffith b. 2 Jan 1881 in Keene, N.H.. Amy d.
? 1965, Keene, N.H.
2. Alice C. b. 3 Apr 1891, Swanzay, N.H. 1st m.10 Mar 1908 to Clarence
Worcester b. 22 July 1889 West Swanzey, N.H.
Alice 2nd m. on 4 Nov. 1916 to Elwin J. Worcester b. 30 July 1891 Sharon, N.H.,
he died in Marlboro, Mass.
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Warren H. Fassett b. 2 March 1880 m. on 7 Oct. 1903 to Amy Alice
Griffith. He died & buried in Keene, N.H. Amy Alice daughter of Joseph E. Griffith & Ella M. Cummings.
Children of Warren H. Fassett & Amy Alice Griffith:
1. Lester H. Fassett b. 25 Sept. 1909, Keene, n.H.
m. Eleanor Winneford Day on 7 Oct 1931. Eleanor was b. 11 May 1913, Colebrook, N.H., daughter of Edwin Chauncey Day.
2. Norman W. b. 24 April 1918 Swanzey, N.H., m. Kathleen Barr_ b.
4 Nov.__ on 14 June 1941. Kathleen was born 4 Nov. ____ in Fitzwilliam, N.H.
Norman & Kathleen had one son & one daughter.
<<<>>>
Lester H. Fassett b. 25 Sept. 1909, Keene, N. H. m. Eleanor
Winneford Day on 7 Oct 1931. Eleanor was b. 11 May 1913, Colebrook, N.H., daughter of Edwin Chauncey Day & Blanche
Mae Alls.
Children of Lester & Eleanor were:
1. Judith (Judy). b. ______, Keene, N.H.
m. Charles "Charlie" Gilman and lives in N.H.
2. Paul Lester b. Feb. ____, Keene, N.H.
m. Lu Dawn Ross and lives in N.H.
Paul & Lu Dawn had 3 children:
Mark Paul Fassett
- Married Renee' - 3 Children
Gayle Lousie Fassett - Married Ronald - 4 Children
Jeremy Heath Fassett - Married Angie - 5 Children
Paul 2nd m. Judy Bourassa
(Note: From Paul's Mother Eleanor
Winniford Day-Fassett forward, all are living people. Thus further data/info is not forthcoming. LDR)
Paul married Lu Dawn Ross in 1963 at the Grace
United Methodist Church in Keene, New hampshire. All 3 of their children were born in Keene, N.H.
Lu Dawn was born in Nevada, Missouri in 1945,
daughter of Colin Ross & Mildren Hilton-Sims. Colin was born in Nova Scotia. Mildred was born in Taney
County, Mo.)
