TIBBETTS ROAD, BARRINGTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE
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This page has nothing to do with any of my ancestors. It is just an old road located in the southern part of a town that I enjoy hiking through. My curiosity about the old graveyard and cellar holes led me to this research.
The namesake of this road is the family of John Tibbetts (Tebbetts). I have yet to determine when the family first moved into Barrington, but there were three of this surname in town when the 1790 was taken. The early vital records of the town do not list any Tibbetts/Tebbetts names. |
Tibbetts Road, looking south. I recall being able to pass through along the edge of this some 15 years ago, but a beaver dam has since flooded the road. A path has been cleared through the woods to by-pass this swamp.
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The Family Graveyard
Located just a short distance away from the Tibbetts cellar hole, on opposite side of the road. Most of the stones are now flat, and are quickly eroding away. This graveyard contains the stones of John Tebbetts, first Mary (died in 1825) and his second wife Anna. John and Anna's daughter Lydia E is also here, three children of John's son Miles B, Joseph W Hanson (a step-son of John's son Richard), as well as Alice, granddaughter of John and Anna through their daughter Mary. Son Richard B was buried here in 1905, but was moved the following year to "Oak Hill" (now Pine Grove).
The Neighborhood in 1856
from 1856 Strafford County Map
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J & M.B & R.B. Tebbetts - This is John Tebbetts/Tibbetts, with sons Miles B and Richard B. Miles would move to Bradford, MA, but Richard stayed on the homestead until his death.
J. Clay - Job Clay Sr and family. S.H. - School House W.H. Davis - William H was the son of Calvin and Sarah (Lucy) Davis, born in town on 4/28/1828. His mother was the head of household in 1850 census. They left town by 1860, and he is afterwards seen in Newmarket (dying there in 1910). C.W. Sewall - Charles W Sewall, a farmer, his estate value listed in 1860 census as $1000/700. W. James - The Widow Sally James. Her daughter Mary would marry John D. Brown, and they were occupying the house on the 1871 map (below). In 1860, the house was valued at $300. M. Davis - Moses Davis is listed on the 1850 census, a 76-year old farmer, with Nancy, also aged 76. The estate was valued at $200. He would die on 16 Jan 1860 in Lee, NH (or Lawrence, MA). His burial place is unknown, but perhaps in Lee or Newmarket (his death was recorded there, and was where a son lived). |
An interesting side note: Job Clay Jr, his brothers Charles and George Clay having already enlisted to serve in the Civil War, would do the same when he turned 18. Or, PERHAPS he wasn't yet of age, as he traveled all the way to North Berwick to enlist with the 9th Maine Infantry, and he didn't use his own name! He signed up as "Richard Tibbitts" - he used his neighbor's name as an alias. When he filed for a pension in 1890, he had to report he had used an assumed name.
The Neighborhood in 1871
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J & R.B. Tibbetts - John Tibbetts, now a widower, lived here with son Richard B and his family. The 1870 census gives the value of the farm at $1500., the personal property worth $700.
S.H. No 13 - School House Number 13 C & J Clay - Likely Charles and Job Clay, the sons of Job Clay Sr. In 1870 census, only Job Jr was occupying the house, the real estate valued at $50. That is a significant drop in value, as the previous census listed it at $500. Perhaps some of the land had been sold (I haven't viewed deeds yet). Davis home - no name is attributed to this house on the map. On 1860 census, there are three families listed between Job Clay and Charles Sewall with no estate values (only personal value) who may have been renting this homestead - Stephen Leathers, Gilman Langmaid, and True Emmerson(sic), or perhaps they were all at the Moses Davis house (see below). True W Emerson's wife was Mary A Clay, Job and Lydia's daughter. He died during the Civil War. C W Sewell - Charles W Sewell (Sewall) is still seen on the 1871 map, but he had already moved to Newmarket by then. S Leathers - Stephen Leathers, aged 55, and wife Olive, 66, now occupy the former Moses Davis place. They were listed in town for the 1850 and 1860 censuses, but were not on the '56 map, as they were likely renting. His daughter Lydia and her husband Gilman Langmaid are listed beside him on 1860 and 1870 censuses, so they shared the house or lived elsewhere on the property. |
From 1871 Strafford County map
J Brown - John D Brown was married to Mary S James, the daughter of John O and Sarah (Edgerly) James. The widow Sarah James was living with them during the 1870 census. The property value was $500/100
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The Neighborhood in 1892
1892 Barrington, NH map
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By the time the 1892 map was drawn, most of the residencies on the Tibbetts Rd were gone, or missed by those who surveyed or gathered the information.
Richard B Tibbetts owned the family farm [1900 census], father John having died in 1883, and was living there with wife Nancy. He would die in 1905, and was originally buried in the family plot. He was re-interred to Oak Hill (aka Pine Grove) the following year. SCH - School house. Not listed among the open schools in the 1891 town report, or later ones, so probably had been closed down by then. J Hill & Buzzell - not sure about these names at this time "A" Leathers is probably Albert, who was married to Olive A D Smith, the daughter of Hannah Smith, whose residence is seen on bottom of map. They were living with her in the 1880 census with their sons Perley and Arthur, and must have moved into the former Stephen Leathers homestead after this date. Albert was the son of Joseph Leathers (not sure if he was closely related to Stephen), and died in Barrington in 1893. Olive died in Nottingham in 1887. Burial place not known for them. |
Today
The Tibbetts homestead (photos taken March 2009). Notice the gravestone of Alice Choate in cellar hole of barn. As her footstone is located in the family graveyard across the road, someone moved her headstone over here (prior to 1976, when cemetery transcription book was published). As I don't believe her grandparents would have moved her body under their barn, it looks like an act of vandalism.
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School house #13 - The only evidence left of this school location is a large granite block, which may have been part of the foundation or the front step. It was probably pushed aside from its original spot when foresting was done in the past. I have found numerous hand-wrought nails, a fork, and the top cover of an old stove while metal detecting here. (Photos taken March 2010)
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Granite block on left, perhaps moved from its former spot in center of photo
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The "W.H. Davis" homestead (photo taken Jan 2016)
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South wall of the W.H. Davis homestead (photo taken Aug '09)
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I believe this is the Widow James & J Brown cellar hole (photo taken Mar 2009). There is also a filled in well hole and a pile of brick/rock debris nearby. North of this, and still under the power lines, is a large pile of small rocks, which may have been where the Caldwell place was located. There is no other cellar hole in the vicinity to mark that spot.
Also not found by me was any evidence of the Job Clay homestead, which was southeast of the school house. The old road from Tibbetts Rd to the Clay home is still in existence, as it had been used for a logging trail in the past. There are also several other trails intersecting this one and, in 2016, a deforestation project removed most trees in this area, but I still did not see a trace of the Clay place. |
The Davis/Leathers place has been used for many years as a party place, and numerous shelters have been built on this location, some using the old cellar holes. I have found hand-wrought nails, old bottles and a key while detecting here.
Cellar hole at the Davis/Leathers place (April 2014). Driveway in background heads easterly to Tibbetts Rd.
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Smaller cellar hole at Davis/Leathers place, used (in May 2010) as a sheltered partying spot
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Below is probably the remains of the "C W Sewell" homestead, on the northeast side of Tibbetts Road. There are no signs of any structure, or the outline of one, so perhaps whatever stood of the old foundation was destroyed or pushed aside when the electric company cleared the way for the power lines.
