life as a house

8/9/2019 Life as a House

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Life as a House

________

A Research Paper Presented To

Dr. Morrison and Dr. Alexander

of the History Department of Salem State College

_______

In partial fulfillment of the

Institute: Early American History

_______

Rachael CostelloAugust 2010


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Why research a house? A house survives longer than the people who built it, lived

and died in it. A house, one hopes, remains in the same spot and can reveals the stories of

the era of its construction. A house is also related to each owner, occupant and visitor of

the home. All houses come with stories, these stories can be personal family stories or in

the case of older homes, historic tales, and the Hubbard house [Image A] is no different.

Since my grandparents purchased this home, and home is a generous term, it was more of

a fallen down shack in 1961, there were stories abound. The stories go on and on; it was

believed to have been built in the first generation of settlers in the mid-1600s, GeorgeWashington ate dinner here because the house was the home of a doctor, Benedict Arnold

stopped here as he marched to Canada, and the final story is that Lafayette slept here.

This home was in its infancy was a modest, rural, cottage; and it would seem for even

one of these events, let alone all of them, to have occurred in this home, the house would

have to have been owned by a person with a high social class, and been located in a more

economically affluent urban area like Portsmouth. Given the time constraints, the goal of

this paper is not to prove or dispel historic stories, however entertaining, but merely to

prove when and by whom the house was built.

As a historian, the stories of possible famous people visiting this house have

always been fascinating, but the really exciting aspect of this house has been the original

architectural features that are still visible and will help date this house. The granite and

field stone foundation, the wooden roof pegs (spikes) holding the frame together, the

mortise and tenon roof beams, the wide roof boards, and the corner beams. The house is

clearly old. James Garvin explains why such an old house would have survived, It is

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not destroyed in Indian attacks then, man and nature further obliterated all physical

evidence of first generation English buildings. 5 So if there are no homes standing that

were built in the 1600s, then what evidence remains that indicates when this house was

built?

What is left exposed of this homes structure, and the historic record will reveal

this homes origins. First, we must look at the construction technique using what is

visible. Conveniently the second floor is finished only on one side, thus the attic on the

other side of the second floor is unfinished and the frame of the building is exposed for

ease of analysis. Richard Candee points out that, construction techniques do not evolvein cultural isolation; they reflect and are based on specific social and economic

conditions. 6 The primary consideration of anyone building a home today or 300 years

ago is economics. One must consider the cost of hiring someone to either build the house

or help the owner build the house, and what resources are accessible to the builder for

their home. 7 The most easily accessible resource available in Northern New England for

building homes was wood. However, the area was also abundant in clay, George

Washington even noted in 1789 it was odd that there were not more houses made out of

brick. Apparently the belief was that wooden houses were more wholesome than

masonry dwellings in a damp, foggy climate. 8 So wood was favored by the people of

Northern New England in building their homes, and that wood was either pine or oak.

The choice depended on location, carpenters north of the Merrimack River tended to use

pine until the late eighteen century and early nineteenth century and then spruce was

widely used for framing and sheathing. 9 The posts in this house are so heavily painted

that the species of the wood is difficult to determine. However, the sheathing and rafters

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in the attic are identifiable. The bark that is still visible on the rafter beams appears to be

pine [Image B] indicating that the house may have been built in the early 1700s. James

Garvin shares that, it is difficult to date a house from it frame alone because by the early

1700s framing practices had generally reach a norm from which they would not

substantially depart until the end of the century. 10

The basic idea behind a framed house is that the weight of the frame is diffused to

the ground through very few poles. 11 Garvin shares that, a typical full length house built

in Northern New England, during early to middle 1700s has six tie beams beneath its attic

floor with six rafters rising from them.12

He also states, eighteenth century house hasfour bents one at each end and two near the middle of the house. 13 Although there are

only three bents or posts visible in this house [Image C], and the beams below the attic

floor are not visible, the size and number of the rafters indicates that the weight of this

house was originally diffused through six posts on each side of the house. Although there

are three posts visible in this house, it is not supposed to replicate the original design

feature of the home. I believe my grandfather built the exterior walls on the backside of

these posts because that enlarged the footprint of the house by nearly 6 inches at each

corner. This is supported by Garvin belief that, After 1700 with few exceptions, the

framing members in dwellings were intended to be covered either by wall or ceiling

plaster. 14 Out of these three visible post only one is clearly uninhibited by a wood

sheathing or drywall. The one post is painted with a heavy brown paint but it is clearly

original wood, and appears to be inverted [Image C the brown post]. The post is a rough

cut with many blemishes. It [Image D] does not come to a 90 degree angle at the edge,

but has an irregular surface area as if the post was hand-hewn on four sides to make flat

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surfaces but cutting any further to make square edges would have shrunk the log to a size

too small to sustain the weight of the rafters above. The post appears to be pine which

would be consistent with building materials used in seventeenth and eighteenth century

New England north of the Merrimack River .15 This one unobstructed post is waney on the

surface [Image E] revealing the upward, curved lift of an adze blow. Its waney edge is

similar to the waney edged beams seen in the Yeaton-Winn House at Strawberry Banke

Museum. As mentioned earlier the beam appears to be inverted [Image C]. It is narrower

on the bottom than it is on the top. The top is 7 inches thick where the post is only 5 5/8

inches think at the bottom. Garvin informs that this inversion was common because of allthe complex joints that came together at the top corners of the frame at each floor and

therefore the thicker end of the tree (the bottom) was needed at the top of the post to

accommodate the multiple joints. The bottom of the post only needs to sit on the sill and

therefore could be the small end of the tree (the top) 16 Garvin states, Houses built after

1830 not infrequently have wholly sawn frames, floors, and roof membranes also tended

to becomes regularized during this period. 17 This indicates that this house was built

before 1830, considering the corner posts and rafters are all irregular.

Another indicator of the age of a home could be the sills that sit horizontally atop

the foundation. The sills were in great disrepair and the house lilting, as a result in 1961

and the house was actually lifted up off the foundation and the sills replaced .18 The sills in

this house give no evidence as to the date it was originally built. Other indicators could

be the floor joists, the tie beams that connect the front and back of the house, but again

these are either not visible or were clearly replaced in the 1961 renovation.

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The attic of this house is full of evidence of eighteenth century construction. The

rafters of a traditional home of early New England, before the mid-1700s, was to have

few rafters, often spaced seven to eight feet apart .19 This house has only six rafters

inconsistently spaced. The rafter on the northwest wall is over eight feet between the next

rafter and then there is only five plus feet between the next rafter. Additionally, before

the mid-1700s horizontal timbers called purlins were used, they ran the length of the

house connecting rafters together .20 The final clue to a seventeenths century dating is the

roofs sheathing boards in this house are applied vertically running from eaves to ridge. 21

The vertical sheathing and purlins [Image F] were done to shore up against racking in thewind and heavy snow loads. 22 The mortise and tenon joints [Image G] are visible with

wooden pegs [Image H] further shoring up the joint. The vertical sheathing boards on the

roof appear to be pine and are one inch thick but vary in width; one over 12 inches but

the rest exactly 12 inches or less. The board is rough almost fuzzy not smooth with many

knots and blemishes. Additionally the roof boards do not have straight edges. There are

many gaps between boards. Eighteenth century pine boards were divided into three

categories. 23 Clear boards were the best product available in the eighteenth century.

These clear boards were one full inch thick and squared edges and free of knots, sap

streaks and other defects. Merchantable boards were also one inch think, squared edges,

and suitable for use in construction and they could have minor knots and defects. Refuse

Boards were an inferior grade and usually culled out by surveyors but still had some

value and were used in rough construction. 24 The roof sheathing in this house is clearly

refuse board or much degraded merchantable board [Image I]. Garvin tells that refuse and

merchantable boards were often used as roof sheathing because the irregular edges

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allowed moisture to evaporate from beneath wooden shingles that were used in the 1700s

as roof covering. 25 The fuzzy texture of our roof sheathing is probably the result of an

upright saw. 26 The first water powered upright or reciprocating saw mill was built in

1630 in what is modern day South Berwick, known then as Newichawanock, part of

Kittery. 27 This mill was only five miles away from this house, but even closer was a saw

mill at Sturgeon Creek only a mile away from this house built in 1650. The land for the

saw mill was granted the year before in 1649 to Alexander and Nicholas Shapleigh a

grant of the right and priveledge to set down a Saw mill or Mills at Sturgeon Creek,

with the right to & property in all the Timber both pine and oak on the North Side of theCreek. 28 Shapleigh pledged to deliver his board to the dwellers of Sturgeon Cricke

at 3 shillings p hundred. 29 The upright saws cut on the downward stroke thus the surface

of the board reveals the presence of many torn wood fibers at each cut giving the surface

a slightly fuzzy feel. 30 The frame of this house indicates a 1700s construction.

Below ground level, the foundation of this house has irregular shaped stones that

actually appear to be rubble of a granite quarry or very large field stones, and large

rectangular granite blocks atop the ragged stones. The smaller stones have been worked

or cut with the flat surface facing inward. These granite underpinnings, as know as a

curb, date this house to at least after 1767. This date is the arrival of John Park a Scottish

stone Mason who emigrated in that year .31 It was not until that year that splitting granite

with wedges was introduced and thus allowing granite blocks to be used in foundations.

However, the granite stones of this house raise a question of date. Are the visible notches

[Image J] created from a shallow chisel or hammer or are they created by a plug drill?

The method of cutting granite evolved between 1767 and the 1830s. The early, pre-1830

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method required cutting a series of shallow slots in the face of the stone using a

sharpened bar or chisel struck with a heavy hammer. 32 In the 1830 a new method

evolved called the plug drill. A v-shaped point was drilled into granite and then rotated

between hammer blows, thus creating a round hole two or three inches deep. Then a half-

round pair of steel shims or feathers were driven in the holes that exerted outward

pressure and split the stone. 33 The peg holes in the granite foundation of this house are

mostly two inches deep and approximately one inch wide and spaced slightly less than

three inches apart. This leads me to believe that our granite foundation blocks were

dislodged using the post 1830s plug drill method.Who built these early Kittery houses? The story of the homes of John K.

Pickering and Col. Oliver Whipple of Dover in the 1700s, introduce a mulatto framer by

the name of Hopestill March (or possibly Caswell) .34 But there is no evidence he made

his way across the river to Eliot, even though, John Heard was from Dover. As Howells

point out that it was fashionable for gentleman to understand architecture. 35 The first

men to come to the Piscataqua Plantation were skilled men, and therefore knowledgeable

in masonry, joining, sawing, and carpentry. 36 John Heard himself was a carpenter and it is

stated that his grandson, also John Heard, maintained his trade .37 Most likely it was the

father-in-law John Heard who built or helped build all the houses shown on the 1752 map

[Image K] of the Heard estate. Most houses of the early settlers were modeled after what

they knew and that was English architecture. The foundations were a few rocks neatly

arranged laid in mud or clay. Following English tradition, the frames of the houses were

made of oak, straightened with a broad-axe, mortised and tenoned, and further strengthen

with an oak pin. 38 This house clearly follows the English Tradition.

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The Heard era of ownership has an interesting history. John Heards first land

grant was in what is Dover today in 1652. 39 He is also mentioned in reference to the mast

industry of the area but as a shipwright, Lumber was easily available at Dover, and

several English shipwrights had settled there, Richard Waldren, Hatevil Nutter, John

Hall, and John Heard, among others. 40 The earliest mention of John Heard is as a signer

who entered into a written compact in 1640 called the body politic, the purpose of which

appeared to be better protection. 41 That same year he was present at the court in Saco, and

elected selectman in 1648. 42 He probably occupied the land prior to his being granted the

land as was the case with nearly all the early settlers .43

He, although spelled John Hord, islisted as one who signed in 1652 to submit to the government of Massachusetts Bay. His

first land grant in Kittery came at 130 acres in 1661. He lived in Kittery for awhile

because we know his will identifies him as from Kittery and its dated 1677. He moved

back to Dover in his final years and died there in 1688. 44

One of his sons, James Heard, made his home in Kittery. James had grants of land

in his own name in 1668 and 1674. James Heard was identified as a Quaker, 45 and even

dismissed as selectman for being a Quaker. His father, John Heard had to pay a fine of 40

shillings for once having a Quaker in his house. 46 James predeceased his father in 1676.

According to the last will and testament of John Heard in 1677, The estates of James

Heard and his fathers were to be combined in Johns will since James died without a will.

The will assigned Richard Otis (James wife, Shuahs, second husband) and James

Chardbourne as executors of his will and, also to take care for ye Comfortable

subsistence of Izbell Heard the Relict of the said John Heard, during her natural life &

also for the Children of James Heard according to ye intent of ye sayd will & testament:

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& alsoe to yield up the estate of Lands & housing unto John heard, the Grandchild of the

sayd John Heard deceased, when hee shall accomplish & attayne to the age of twenty one

years, 47 Thus the land on which this house sits changed hands to those of the third

generation of Heards, John Heard.

The grandson, John Heard has a sad life on this land. He out lived two wives and

predeceased a third. He and his first wife, Phoebe, were victims of an Indian attack in

July of 1697 on the property. John was wounded and survived, but Phoebe was mortally

wounded and died. They were returning from the Sabbath services with Major Charles

Frost and others, when their party was attacked. As the story goes; Phoebe was ridingwith her husband and was thrown from the horse when the Native Americans gunfire

first started. She tried twice to mount the horse but each time the different stumps gave

away rotten underneath her weight. With the Native Americans upon them she begged

John to flee in order to save the children. The horse took off, she was killed with a

tomahawk, and he narrowly escaped and was wounded near his home, but did reach his

home and protect his four children .48 Today, there stands a historic marker [Image K-2]

on the site of the attack called Ambush Rock. This house is located currently at the

intersection of Route 101 and Ambush Rock Road. One year almost to the day of

Phoebes death, John the widower remarries a widow Jane (Cole) Littlefield and they

have 3 more children. He has a total of seven children all girls except one, James who

predeceased him. 49 Old Eliot identifies John Heard as a carpenter and yeoman and noted

Indian Fighter. 50 John Heards history in Kittery indicates he was a well respected man.

In 1648, he served as the first ye select townes man 51 of the newly incorporated Kittery.

John Heards name is mentioned in many business dealing of the town of Kittery; He was

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listed as selectman in 1659, he is listed as one of the Garrison Houses to which his

neighbors could find refuge in 1722 52, He assisted in granting land in 1668 to a Kathrine

Leighton 53, and he helped supervise the building of the meeting house. 54 His only media

mention was in an advertisement [Image L] for the sale of the deceased Tobias Leighton;

To be sold by Noah Emery, Executor of the last Will and Testament of Mr. Tobias

Leighton, late of Kittery, deceased, several parcels of land, part of the Estate of the said

deceased for payment of his debts, viz. One Tract containing near about eighty Acres,

with House, cellar, and good Well on the same, situate near the Middle of the upper

parish of Kittery, between the Farms of Mr. Charles Frost and Capt. John Heard.-GoodLand for pasture, Mowing, and Tillage, and considerable wood upon part of it, very

pleasant and convenient for a gentlemans Country Seat, or a farm to live upon. 55

The 1739 will of John Heard begins the next chapter in the history of this property

and also the first evidence of a house.

It is my will that my farm whereon I now live at Sturgeon Creek, that is to say so much of it as was the Farm of my grandfather John Heard deceased and given by him to me in and

by his last will and testament shall be divided according to the true value for quantity andquality to & amongst all my children and the representatives of those that have deceased asfollows viz. The two children on my son James Heard deceased namely Sarah and Phoebeto have a double portion betwixt to them, so as to make each of them equal to each of mydaughters namely Dorcas Tucker, Shuah Bartlett, Phoebe Stevens, Mary barter and AbigailHubbardAlways provided that those of my son in laws who have built or made anyimprovements (by my leave) on any part of said farm, shall have the same (if they chooseit) reckoned only as so much land in grant of their wives shares saving to themselves their

buildings and improvements. 56

The inventory of his estate places a 674 total value. The value of just the Kittery land,

buildings and personal items were 614 most of that being in the land and buildings, and

the land he owned in Berwick around the Little River added another 60. 57 The lynchpin

of my research comes in the form of a surveyors map provided to the court in April of

1752. The map shows the inheritance of Abigail Hubbard the wife of Moses Hubbard.

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Abigails plot was #7 [Image M] which included 33 acres [Image N] and a house. 58 The

house on the map is interesting because it is clearly a single story modest house[Image O]

in approximately the same location as the current house stands.

Ownership of the property and house in 1752 now belongs to Moses and Abigail

(Heard) Hubbard. Moses and Abigail were married in 1723. Moses Hubbard moved to

Kittery and built the house that is shown on the 1752 surveyors map sometime between

the date of their marriage in 1723 and 1739 when John Heards will mentions son in

laws homes and improvements. Moses Hubbard, like his own father Philip Hubbard and

his father-in-law John Heard, held many public offices. In 1724 he was juryman and wasappointed although declined the position of constable. Again he was a juryman in 1732 a

Grand juryman and in 1733-34 Grand juryman Superior Court. 59 Moses and Abigail had

eight children the youngest of which was Joshua. Moses will is not evident in the county

records but there was an inventory taken upon his death. The inventory [Image P] shows

a man of more modest means than his father-in-law the previous owner of the property.

The value of his property was 24 and shows only animals; five sheep, four cows and a

small swine. The inventory continues with personal items like a hand gun, furniture and

dishes and work tools, but no land and no house are mentioned. 60

The county records reveal the next property transition in 1767 between Abigail

(Heard) Hubbard and her son Joshua Hubbard, but it is not in the form of a will but in a

purchase [Image Q]. Abigail sells the 33 acres to Joshua for fifty-three pounds, six

shilling, and eight pense in full money to me in handfor lands in Kittery aforesaid

whereon.I now dwell containing 33 acres more or less. 61 Abigail did not write, so the

deed shows her mark[Image R] .62 This was the year before she died. Joshua Hubbard was

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twenty three years old when he purchased the land and married two years later. This deed

and successive deeds always identified him as yeoman, even though he served as a

Justice of the Peace and his docket identifies himself as Esquire. It is not until after his

death in 1809 that that an appeal of his will identifies him as Esquire .63 Old Eliot

identifies him with many names that he was addressed by; Sheriff Hubbard and The

Old Squire indicating his involvement in public life and town business of the day 64 He

kept very exact records that give us insight into his life and that of his neighbors in the

1700s, unfortunately the only glimpse we have into those records is through the lens of

J.M. Willis at the turn off the 20th

century as recorded in Old Eliot, the history magazine produced by Eliot Historical Society.

We know Joshua Hubbard served in 4 th Company of the towns militia in 1763

(age 19) as a private and in 1777 (age 33) two months as a private in Rhode Island in

Captain S. Grants Company. However, his name does not appear on the final roll of the

company. 65 His public service continued when he served as a representative in 1784,

1785, & 1786 and traveled to Boston often for his duties. 66 He was known as Sheriff

Hubbard but no appointment date is clear in the historic record.

He also had a steady business in writing writs for his neighbors. Like Samuel

Lane of Stratham, New Hampshire, Joshua Hubbard was a man who knew how to write

and that skill was important in an era when many could read but few could write. Samuel

Lanes journals show that he frequently wrote deeds, leases, bonds, and advertisements,

on behalf of fellow townspeople. 67 Joshua Hubbards minute books (now lost) are filled

with similar writing activities, in 1771 he charged between two and five shillings for

writs. 68 In January of 1792 he prepared a deed for a purchase of Marsh land between

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James Shapleigh and the Stephen Paul and wife, he charged four shillings. 69 In October

1792 he prepared two pair of Justices blanks, writs with my signing to Dudley Hubbard

and charged 2 shilling. In December 1792 he wrote the last will and testament of

Dominicus Hubbard. 70 In addition he was a Justice of the Peace. Today one thinks of a JP

as only performing marriages and that was one of the functions of his job. His Minute

Books record that he billed a Mr. Moses Furbish for six shillings, to my going up to

your father Goulds and marrying you. 71 His minute books also record the vows that he

used to perform the ceremony. However, A Justice of the Peace in colonial

Massachusetts meant that he was also a magistrate who heard criminal cases either brought forth by the constables or by victims. He also issued fines for damages and court

costs and even sentenced people to the gaol in York.

According to his Docket and Judiciary Minutes he worked as a Justice of the

Peace beginning in July of 1787. The beginning of each session begins At a Justice

Court held at Kittery [later entries read York] before Joshua Hubbard Esq. one of the

Justices of the Peace for the county of York 72 In 1788 we see an example of the most

common case Justice Hubbard heard. It was a case brought by Robert Jenkins against

Samuel Nason, no description of the claim is presented and apparently the defendant

didnt appear and therefore defaulted. Joshuas decision in this case was 36..15..11 in

damages and 1..2..2 for court costs. The record shows that the execution was filed on

June 4 th 1788 and delivered by Ebenezer Sullivan, Esq. 73 He kept a separate, more concise

list for all cases where the value of the crime was 4 or less. It was common for animals

and possibly children to damage someone elses property and for these small cases to

arise. Say a pig entered your neighbors garden and eat all your corn before it could be

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harvested. Your neighbor would want compensation for the corn, and would bring a case

before the Justices Court for an independent decision on damages. I suspect the large

number of defaulted cases was the result of defendants not appearing. This happened

regularly enough to conclude that the people acquiesced to the courts decision by not

attending, and this indicating community respected and trusted that the decision of the

court would be fair.

If cases could not be resolved by the defendant pleading guilty in the Justices

Court then it was referred to a high court. In July of 1788 a case was brought before

Justice Hubbard by Ivory Shorey against Jacob Shorey. No description of the crime isidentified but the record states, Parties appear and defendant did not confess now the

parties {contest} 74 to refer this action and the plaintiff attorney Ebenezer Sullivan Esq.

notified the said defendant that plaintiff would carry his demands before the Court of

Common Pleas to be holden at Biddeford within and for the County of York on the 2 nd

Tuesday of October next as may appear by the second on the original writ. 75 It seems

that Justices Hubbards goal was to get a confession, if there was no confession the issue

could not be settled at this lower Justices court. Sometimes, the parties both parties

actually appeared and amicably resolved the situation. In the fall of 1788, Daniel

Whitehouse brought a case against Simeon Hamilton and the docket reads, settled in

court by the parties and defendant paid 7/6 toward entry. 76 The tone indicates

collaboration rather than judgment. Apparently, Justice Hubbard was given easier cases

in his first years as Justice; however, by 1789 he was getting criminal cases where he was

issuing much harsher sentences. George Patch labourer from Kittery was brought before

Justice Hubbard, August 15 current feloniously take, {Meat}, and carry away out of the

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yard of and {aproppion} of Nathaniel Hanscom of Kittery aforesaid yeoman near his barn

a certain lamb being the property of the said Nathaniel and the value of eight shillings. 77

Joshuas decision: George Patch paid twenty shilling to the Commonwealth and had to

pay Nathaniel Hanscom 24 shilling being three fold damages, and the cost of prosecution

1..2..2 and for the infraction against the Peace and laws of the Commonwealth be

imprisoned in the common Gaol inYork for the term of twenty days. 78 The attorney

Ebenezer Sullivan, whose names appears in many cases as attorney but also in many

cases as executor and deliverer of decisions, has several cases before the court as

plaintiff. In May of 1791 a Joshua Bray is brought before the court by Ebenezer Sullivan,Bray pleads not guilty and Justice Hubbard, be discharge and defendant to go without

bail. 79 When the full case is actually heard in June of 1791 the record shows that Joshua

Bray was accused of feloniously take, steal, or carry away by force and arms from

Ebenezer Sullivan of Berwick 80 a pair of cows valued at 30, one horse valued at 20,

also a pair of wooden fetters value 3 shillings, a cow bell and wooden bow value 8. Bray

was found guilty and ordered to pay 100. 81 This case was similar in its wording as other

theft cases but what raises an eyebrow is the by force and arms, meaning some weapon

was used to threaten the owner. This phrase by force and arms, was used in both the

initial hearing where Bray was released without bail as well as in the full court case. This

indicates that people were literally considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of

law.

Joshua Hubbard died in 1807 at the age of 65 but he was still doing Justice of the

Peace work up until the end. He was not hearing cases but he was still hearing oaths for

persons taking public office. In April 1807, personally appeared Joseph Shay and took

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the respective oaths of field driver, fence viewer, and hogsreive the { } all offices

whereunto he was chosen for the current year, before my Joshua Hubbard. 82 Later that

year in September Samuel Goold took oath of a collection of taxes within and for town of

Kittery for current year. 83

His business life was also varied like that of his New Hampshire counterpart,

Samuel Lane. Eliot Historical Society believed that he kept a store as his private

business. 84 It was common for men who traveled regularly, as Joshua Hubbard did, to run

errands and make purchases for their neighbors. His few entries that remain of his lost

minute books show only a few transactions of store bought items. There is letter betweenhim and Col. James Sheaffe for delivery of 25 gallons of Rum to his customer Nathanial

Clark Jr. for which Mr. Sheaffe would be paid three shilling six pense per gallon in

month from that date. 85 He also bought 1 dozen 1793 Almanacks from Daniel Sewell on

Dec 10, 1792. 86 In Sept 1797 one of the old Eliot Men of this date, bought of the Squire,

not only one yard of Tobacco, at 25 cts, but one pint of brandy, at the same price. 87

And in June of 1797 William Furguson purchases leather for upper leather of a pair of

shoes for a man as well as other pieces of shoe leather all for 17 cents. 88 Joshua also sold

hay and cider, but both of those items were produced on the his property. With the variety

and quantity of items that he kept, I would agree that he may have had one room in his

house dedicated as a warehouse or store.

He also had a large person library. His minute books show Joshua Hubbard

lending books; In October 1792 he lent Rev. Matthew Mirriam of Berwick Doctor

Channings Dissertations and Dr. Fordries Sermons and Addresses to Young Men, and

later on he borrowed Dr. Fordries Sermons and Addresses to Young Women, in two

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volumes. All were noted as returned. 89 He also lent to Samuel Nason Esq. Vertots

History of the Roman Republic, two volumes. 90 His final inventory [Image U] shows a

library valued at $31..15 as the most valuable personal item behind his lands, livestock,

and home. 91

The physical indicators of the house in relation to the history of the house. We

know there was a house on the property in 1752 which was between 31 and 44 years old

when in 1767 when Joshua Hubbard purchases it from his mother. This range comes

from comparing important dates like the marriage of Abigail and Moses in 1723, and the

historic record of Old Eliot if correct (and there is an error in the same sentence) thatMoses did not move to Eliot until 1736 these dates compared to the 1752 map that shows

the house. I believe Joshua Hubbard did not move out of his parents house and merely

took over ownership and continued to live in the house. Abigail, his mother died the

following year after the sale of the land to Joshua. It seems possible that she was feeling

her age and it made sense to sell the property to the child who wanted it, freeing up cash

to leave to the rest of her heirs, and thus creating a clean transaction versus a messy and

long probate situation after her death. If she was indeed frail she wouldnt have moved

out, but continued the living arrangement. Joshua was only 23 when he purchased the

property, and he was unmarried. Joshua did not marry Dorcas Shapleigh until 1770 so

there would not have been a wife to cause tension by all living under one roof. The

house drawn on the 1752 map appears to be a modest, one-story cape style cottage

similar to this house [Image O]. Based on the hand-hewn, mortise and tennon corner

beams and rafters, the purlin roof, our modern home could be the original one story 1752

house [Image O] except for one note in the historic record; Joshuas residence stood on

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the same side of the road as the present homestead, a few rods to the south of it, or nearer

Rosemary [Hill]. 92 So the house on the 1752 map is not this house. A rod is 16.5 feet, so

a few rods south on the same side of the road means the remnants of the old house

shown on the 1752 map are very close, approximately 33-50 feet away. I have two ideas

of where the remnants of the old house are; the first and most probable spot is the spot

where the hill on the side lawn actually creates a corner [Image S], which could be the

corner of an early foundation. The second possibility is further south a few rods to the

lowest spot of the property where water pools each Spring [Image T]. This could be the

spot of an old cellar. Or both locations could be related to the homestead of JoshuaHubbard one being a house and the other being an outbuilding such as a barn or cider

house. From the tax valuations of 1798-99 from Old Eliot, Joshua Hubbards home is

worth $300 and his lands valued at $893. Interestingly, Joshua Hubbard did the

valuations of lands and houses in 1798 for the town of Kittery. The Maine State

Historical Society has the original notes titled Joshua Hubbards Memorandum Book

Upon Valuations, at the top of the first page it begins 1798 and continues to list all

residences with a description of the home and property, on a loose piece of paper at the

back of the book is the value placed on just the homes, the land valuation is not there but

is present in Old Eliot.

Unfortunately, Joshua Hubbard did not describe his own house or place a value on

it as he did for his townsfolk, although he is recorded on the Old Eliot list. We can glean

from his neighbors homes that homes of the era were in much disrepair and most

unfinished: #17 Daniel Gould Dwelling has not much finished inside onto rotten but a

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{ } his barn no shingles but poorly boarded-his land about 20 acres of common mowing

and tillage also 5 acres of good pasturing about 10 acres of rocky hills pasturingvalue

150. 93 Another Neighbor, #9 Noah Emerys dwelling house not shingles or clapboards

not finished inside-the other house no shingles or clapboard on it old and in decaying

condition His barn old and part rotten no shingles on it-Lands about 7 acres good about

10 acres of worn sandy land, poor land, poor tillages, the remained very poor and chiefly

land common with a few small pines on it150 value. 94 Finally a relative, #30 James

Bartlett dwelling house the sills and sleepers rotten not half of it finished inside The barn

partly not shingled and what part which is shingled so decayed as to lean much of the 46acres about 12 of mowing and tillage the {ref } pasturing == the 20 acres of Rocky land

covered mostly with sapling pines and a few scattering of oaks the fresh marsh in all

about 1 acre, {tru } 1 acre that it cannot be improved350 value. 95 These entries are

a good sample of all the homes in Kittery in 1798. Even though Joshua Hubbard did not

record his own homes description we can surmise that by 1798 his now 77-90 year old

home was in a similar level of decay as was his neighbors homes. So when was this

house built and by whom? Joshua had only one child, a daughter named Abigail after her

grandmother. Abigail Hubbard married in November of 1787 a doctor named Daniel

Chickering. As stated in Old Eliot, according the Minute Book #21, Dr. Chickering

actually came to board at Joshua Hubbards home in February 8, 1787. To your

beginning to Board with me at 12s p. weekMarch 5, to 1 day of Mr. William Emery

making shelves for Books, Medicines, & Emerys Board one day 6s.To clean Boards

for ditto, 6s. 96 Apparently Dr. Chickering bought or brought a horse, because the next

several entries refer to the building of a horse crib, to keeping your large horse to hay, to

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pasturing your large horse, and finally his board and one room in my house and washing

for 36 weeks came to a little over 31. The tone of these early entries through entries up

to October 1787 seem matter-of-fact and business-like. We know that Dr. Daniel

Chickering marries Abigail Hubbard in November 17, 1787 and the tone of the entries

begins to change. On December 20,1787, Dr. Chickering and Abigail are still living in

Joshuas house because Dr. Chickering is charged for Board, Room and washing for last

9 weeks. Entrees referring to the board of Dr. Chickerings horse indicate the beginning

of a problem in the household. The entry reads, To keeping your everlasting Great

Eating horse at pay for 5 weeks at 9s. before you got any hay elsewhere,-- 2,5s.0.97

Clearly the horse eats a lot and was causing stress on Joshua and the fact that Daniel

found hay elsewhere indicates that there was at least one possibly difficult conversation

about the boarding of the horse, and we know that after December 20, 1787, Daniel and

Abigail move out of Joshua Hubbards house. Do they move into a new house built on

the property next to Joshuas house? Abigail is only out of Joshuas house for

approximately 2 months. An entry on February 25, 1788 reads, To taking your wife to

Board; and finding her one bedroom in my house: You having absented Your Self by

night, and left her destitute of all necessaries of life. 98 The entry continues, Ebenezer

Fry and James Gowen Cole see you when you was on your departure; also Ichabod

Stacey was with you and carried you. This entry alludes to the fact that the doctor was

out not just one night but many, because no one becomes destitute in one night. Secondly,

the doctor had his own horse so being carried by Ichabod Stacey must have meant

literally carried because he could not walk. This Leave by Night also doesnt appear to

be the medical business of a doctor. The situation must have been bad enough to warrant

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Abigail moving home to her parents, which I believe to be a drastic measure in 1788. It

appears unlikely that Abigail and Daniel were living in a new house just 80 feet from

Joshuas House otherwise Abigail could have stayed in the new house and ate meals with

her parents avoiding destitution, and literally hollered if she needed help at night. Further

more this situation continued for over a year. On November 24, 1788, a year after Daniel

and Abigail married there is a meeting between Joshua and Abigail apparently in his

home with John Heard Bartlett Esq. and Jeremiah Bartlett called as witness to the

conversation; were present when Notified my Daughter Nabby to go to her husband, as

I Could not Entertain her from her husband contrary to his will, which might be Contraryto the Laws of my country and civil society for what I know: and as I wished to be clear

from Injuring her husband, or the Laws, or Society, I then called them to Witness. 99 At

first reading of this, I thought Joshua was literally telling Abigail to go to her husband,

especially because he was charging Dr. Chickering for shoes, cloth, clothing and

accessories provided for his wife. However, The fact that Joshua Hubbard was a sitting

Justice of the Peace in 1787, 1788, and 1789 during this whole situation, meant that he

was well versed in the law and that this meeting was merely an effort to provide evidence

that He, Joshua, was not keeping Abigail from her husband. The meeting was a legal

maneuver against being sued. It is clear in an entry a few weeks later on December 7,

1788 that Joshua didnt want Abigail to go back to Dr. Chickering,

Sabbath day, coming from meeting, Doctr Daniel Chickering assaulted me in thefollowing manner, viz:Rode upon the side of me. I stoped my horse; he his horse. I rode along to get fromhim. He rode after me. I stoped and he stopd.I desired him to go along, he said he would not. I then told him I would go along. Hesaid he would go with me. I then told him I did not want his company, and desired himnot to Insult me in that manner. He said the high-way was free to him; and continuedInsulting me a great way with many opprobrious speeches. Mr. Moses Paul, John Raitt,Daniel Goodwin, present. 100

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One week later, on December 15, 1788, Joshua again, Warned my daughter Nabby to

leave my house and go to her husband, before rev. Mr. Young. This is the unsatisfactory

end of the story. We dont know the result of this story because the minute books are lost.

The record shows that Abigail predeceased were parents, she died in December 1806

childless, eighteen years after this entry.

Abigail and Daniel were married in November of 1787 and moved out a month

later. It would seem if they had built a house next to Joshuas home in the month between

their wedding and when they moved out that Joshua would have indicated such in his

minute books and that would have warranted a comment from J.L.M. Willis who was the

last to see the Hubbard minute books. As I stated earlier, it appears unlikely that Abigail

and Daniel were living in a new house just 50 feet from Joshuas House otherwise

Abigail could have stayed in the new house and ate meals with her parents thus avoiding

destitution, and literally hollered if she needed help at night. Furthermore, if Dr.

Chickering was living in a house just 50 feet from Joshuas house without out his wife

wouldnt there have been more contentious interactions like the above mentioned. I

conclude that this house was not built by Dr. Daniel and Abigail Chickering.

Joshua Hubbards house was probably in even greater disrepair and rot at his

death in 1807 and his wifes death in 1818 than it would have been in the valuation in

1789. Because his only daughter died young, he had no children to pass the property

down to, so his will stipulated the property should be passed to his nephew James

Hubbard. Joshua dies in 1807, in Stephen Furbishs Highway List for 1810, just three

years later, Widow Dorcas Hubbard and James Hubbard are listed together as having 53

polls of highway the same as all of their neighbors. 101 This indicates that James Hubbard

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moved to the property at least after Joshua died, even before the will was settled in

probate in 1816. The list reads

Polls R.Estate P. Estate. Sum Total.Widw Dorcas Hub-Bard & JamesHubbard 53 2 80 60 3 93

The real estate of Dorcas and James listed as 2 80 on this highway List is valued larger

than anyone else on the list [Image V]. 102 There are only three other entries that have real

estate valued as 2 10 or higher, and one of those is also a group entry like the Hubbards.

This indicates that there were probably two homes on this site. We know that JoshuaHubbards property in 1798 had a dwelling house, 1 story with 15 windows, a 40x28

cider house, and a 83x26 barn. 103 The buildings on Joshua Hubbards property in 1798

were typical of his fellow townsman, and his house more modest in size. The only

explanation of that propertys value increasing in the 1810 Highway List is if there was

another house our building on the property. I believe the house that sits at 840 Goodwin

Rd. in Eliot was built between 1810 and 1856 by James Hubbard.

An 1810 construction date would be consistent with the physical evidence in the

house. Although many of the features; the purlin roof, the hand-hewn rafters and corner

posts, the vertical roof sheathing, the vertical saw markers all indicate an 18 th century

(1700s) construction. Garvin states, Carpentry evolved too slowly through the 1700s in

most locales to provide good benchmarks for dating. Unaffected by concerns of changing

style or fashion, individual carpenters tended to adhere to old habits that they might have

learned as apprentices decades earlier. 104 The foundation is definitely nineteenth century

(1800s) and possibly even contradicts an 1810 construction by James Hubbard. The

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1Endnotes

Garvin, A Building History of Northern New England. 2001 pp22 Grant, Anna, Interview, 2005 and 20103 Costello, Christine Interview 20104 Grant, Anna Interview 20105 Candee, Wooden Buildings in Early Maine and New Hampshire. 1976 pp136 Ibid pp557 Ibid pp558 Garvin, A Building History of Northern New England. 2001 pp429 Ibid pp710 Ibid pp911 Ibid pp912 Ibid pp12-1313 Ibid 1014 Garvin, A Building History of Northern New England. 2001 pp1015 Ibid pp716 Ibid pp1217 Ibid pp2118 Costello, Christine Interview 201019 Garvin, A Building History of Northern New England. 2001 pp1320 Ibid pp1321 Ibid pp1322 Ibid pp1323 Ibid pp1324 Ibid pp1325 Ibid pp1926 Ibid pp1927 Ibid pp1928 Willis, John L.M. Old Eliot: Book One January 1897-December 1899. 1985.pp7629 Ibid pp7630 Garvin, A Building History of Northern New England. 2001 pp1931 Ibid pp 4432 Ibid pp4533

Ibid pp4534 Howells, John Mead. The Architectural Heritage of the Piscataqua. 1965, pp 235 Ibid pp236 Ibid pp537 Willis, J.L.M. Old Eliot Book One. 1897, Book 3 vol 1 pp14438 Howells, John Mead. The Architectural Heritage of the Piscataqua. 1965, pp 539 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 3 pp15040 Saltonstall, William. Ports of Piscataqua . pp1341 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 9 No.1 pp20942 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 3 pp14443 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 3 pp15044 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Two.1901-1903, vol 5 No.2 pp5345 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 1 pp3346

Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 3 pp15047 York County Probate Records Book III folio 1748 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Two.1901-1903, vol 5 No.2 pp5449 Ibid pp5450 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 3 pp14451 Willis, John L.M. Old Eliot: Book One 1897-1899. Vol 1 pp8852 Willis, John L.M. Old Eliot: Book One 1897-1899. Vol 1 pp11753 Willis, John L.M. Old Eliot: Book One 1897-1899. Vol 2 pp10954 Willis, John L.M. Old Eliot: Book One 1897-1899. Vol 2 pp10155 Advertisement. Boston Post Boy. Boston, Mass. Sept 10, 1750, the same ad appeared again on September 24, 175056 York County Probate Records Book 8 pp 146-147, the will


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57 York County Probate Records Book 8 pp 148, the inventory58 York County Probate Records Book 8 pp 173-175, surveyors map59 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 pp8360 York County Probate Records Book 9 pp 257-258, the inventory61 York County Registry of Deeds Book 39 p 24662 York County Registry of Deeds Book 88 p 3463 York County Registry of Deeds Book 96 p21564 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #2 pp8165 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 7 #1 pp13566 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #2 pp6167 Brown, Jerald E. The Years of The Life of Samuel Lane 1718-1806, pp5668 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #1 pp2269 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #1 pp2270 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #1 pp2371 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #2 pp7972 Hubbard, Joshua. Docket and Judiciary Minutes. 1787- ,Maine Historical Society Book 173 Hubbard, Joshua. Docket and Judiciary Minutes. 1787- ,Maine Historical Society Book 174 Words placed in { } are words that are illegible on the original copy and I have tried to either decipher the word or leave a blank.75 Hubbard, Joshua. Docket and Judiciary Minutes. 1787- ,Maine Historical Society Book 176 Ibid Book 177 Ibid Book 278 Ibid Book 279 Ibid Book 280 Ibid Book 281 Ibid Book 282 Ibid Book 283 Idid Book 284 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #2 pp8185 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #2 pp6986 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 3 #1 pp2387 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 3 #1 pp2688 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 3 #1 pp2489 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 3 #1 pp2490

Ibid pp2491 York County Probate Records Book 22 pp216, the inventory92 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #2 pp8093 Joshua Hubbards Memorandum Book Upon Valuations 1798 Maine Historical Society94 Joshua Hubbards Memorandum Book Upon Valuations 1798 Maine Historical Society95 Joshua Hubbards Memorandum Book Upon Valuations 1798 Maine Historical Society96 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #2 pp8497 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #2 pp8498 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #2 pp8599 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #2 pp85100 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Three.1906-1909, vol 8 #2 pp86101 Willis, John L.M. Old Eliot: Book One 1897-1899. Vol 3 #1 pp5102 Willis, John L.M. Old Eliot: Book One 1897-1899. Vol 3 #1 pp5103 Willis, J.M. Old Eliot Book Two.1901-1903, vol 6 No.4 pp184104 Garvin, A Building History of Northern New England. 2001 pp9105 Eliot Historical Society, http://www.eliothistoricalsociety.org/

Bibliography

Land Deeds:

York County Registry of Deeds Book 1451 pg 110York County Registry of Deeds Book 1346 pg 138-140
http://www.eliothistoricalsociety.org/http://www.eliothistoricalsociety.org/


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Adams, James Truslow. Revolutionary New England 1691-1776 . New York:Cooper Square Publishers, Inc.: 1968.

Candee, Richard. Wooden Buildings in Early Maine and New Hampshire: :Atechnological and cultural history 1600-1720. PhD diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1976.

Garvin, James. A Building History of Northern New England . Hanover, NH:University Press of New Hampshire, 2001.

Gould, Mary Earle. The Early American House . New York: Medill McBrideCompany, 1949.

Howells, John Mead. The Architectural Heritage of the Piscataqua . New York:Architectual Book Publishing Company, Inc.,1965.

Labaree, James W. Colonial Massachusetts: A History . Millwood, NY: KTOPress, 1979.

Saltonstall, William. Ports of Piscataqua . New York: Russell & Russell, 1941.

Willis, John L.M. Old Eliot Book One 1897-1899 . Somersworth, NH.: NewEngland History Press, 1985.

Willis, John L.M. Old Eliot Book Two 1901-1903 . Somersworth, NH.: NewEngland History Press, 1985.

Willis, John L.M. Old Eliot Book Three 1906-1909 . Somersworth, NH.: NewEngland History Press, 1985.

Wissler, Clark, Constance Skinner, and William Wood. The Pagent of America: Adventures in the Wilderness . New Haven, CT.: Yale University Press, 1925.

Image A: Hubbard House


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Image B: bark from rafters compared to picture of fresh pine bark

Image C: three visible corner posts


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Image D: Rough post

Image E: Waney surface indicates hand-hewn with adze or flat ax


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Image F: Purlin roof beams and vertical sheathing

Image G: Mortise and Tenon joint


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Image H: Wooden Pegs

Image I: Uneven edges and fuzzy texture make this refuse board sawn on and upright saw.


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Image J: Granite blocks of foundation with evidence of prying

Image K: 1752 Map showing the survey done for this will


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Image K-2 Ambush Rock Marker

Image L: advertisement mentioning John Heard


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Image M: Lot #7 of the survey done for John Heards Will

Image N:


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Image O:

Image P: Inventory of Moses Hubbard


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Image Q: Deed between Abigail Hubbard and Joshua Hubbard

Image R: Abigail could write so signed her name with anX her mark


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Image S: Odd hill with corner beside our house. Was more pronounced when Iwas young. I believe to be the former foundation of Joshua Hubbards house or barn

Image T: Lowest spot on property could be early cellar


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Image U: Inventory of Joshua Hubbard

Image V: Highway List 1810


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Image W: 1856 Map of Eliot showing J Hubbard homes location

104

105

life as a house

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