THE EARLY FAMILIES OF HATLEY

Phyllis Emery Skeats
Copyright 2000

(Verbal permission to display the following was obtained from the author in September, 2000. The following are only selected excerpts, which have been restructured for clarity. All rights are retained by the author. Complete books are available from the author at a nominal price.)

The following is a survey of some of the early families in Hatley Village who arrived prior to 1900. Although some of these families did not actually live in the village, they were pioneers in the Township of Hatley who would have shared in the life of East Hatley, also known as Charleston in 1818, later to become the Village of Hatley. The name is also recorded as Hatley Borough in some documents. These inhabitants would have done their business, shopping, socializing and church going as well as participating in social happenings in the village.

The sources used for this survey include family genealogies, the St. Francis District vital statistics (1815-1879), vital statistics from the Stanstead Journal and the Sherbrooke Daily Record, B. F. Hubbard's Forests and Clearings, The Story of Hatley by Maude Gage Pellerin, Men of Today In the Eastern Townships, Planters of the Commonwealth by Charles E. Banks, and oral information from descendants still living in the area.

Not intended to be a complete genealogy of the following families, this survey deals with several members of some of the families who lived in the village of Hatley, and surrounding areas, in most cases commencing in the early to mid 1800s. In the case of some of the early families, there was not enough information available to include them in this book.

ABBOTT
The progenitor of the Abbott family in America, Daniel Abbott, is said to have emigrated from England to New England in 1630, sailing on one of the first five ships that made up the Winthrop Fleet, with the Arabella as flagship. "They sailed from Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, and arrived at Salem [Mass.] June 13 and following days. [Banks, Planters of the Commonwealth]. They settled in Andover, Massachusetts in 1648.

In 1794, Deacon Abial [iel] Abbott and his wife settled in the Lake Memphremogog travelling from Charlotte, Vt. Abiel Abbott Sr. is listed as one of the associates of Hatley Township leaders Hovey and Cull. He married Ruth Hovey of Hampton, Connecticut and travelled to what is now Magog with Ebenezer Hovey and company. Two or three sons and one daughter settled with them. Deacon Abbott died in 1830 and is buried in the Old North Cemetery.

Abial Abbott Jr., son of Deacon Abbott, was born in 1778. He located in Hatley and in 1800 married Grace Hitchcock, born in Reading, Vermont. They had ten children:
Stephen b 1791 d 1803
Electa b 1803 m Joel Tilden
Augustus b 1805 m Lora Bean
James b 1808 d 1814
Stephen 2nd b 1810 d 1814
Lucinda b 1812 d 1814
Abial S. b 1814 m Eleanor Fish
Philip J. b 1816 m Caroline Hovey
Luther b 1818 d 1819
Luther 2nd m Ellen LeBaron
Abial Jr. continued to live on the land at Abbott's Corner [Hatley Center], which had settled in 1803 with his father. Abial Jr. died in 1841 and is buried in Lakeview Cemete in Hatley Township with his wife, who died in 1886 at age 89 yrs.

Luther Abbott, son of Abial Jr., was born in Hatley in 1821. He married Ellen LeBaron in 1849. He was a successful merchant and Mayor of the Township Corporation for several years. He was appointed Postmaster in 1855. Luther and Ellen had one daughter, Ella Grace, who married Eugene N. St. Dizier: "By Reverend T.C. Brown, at the residence of the bride's father, July 30, 1874, Eugene Dizier, Esq. Merchant, to Miss Ella Grace Abbott, only daughter of Luther Abbott, all Massawippi. [Stanstead Journal]." Luther died in 1889: "[died] At Massawippi May 5, 1889, Mr. Luther Abbott. in his 69th yr. [Stanstead Journal]." He is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Hatley Township. Ellen remarried: "[marriage] John D. Moore of Magog and Dame Ellen Abbott, widow of the late Luther Abbott of Massawippi were married at Sherbrooke, June 21, 1893. [Stansted Journal]." Ellen died in 1899 and is also buried in Lakeview Cemetery.

BEAN
John Bean was the immigrant ancestor of the Bean family in America. He received a grant of land near the town of Exeter, New Hampshire in 1660. He was married twice and had eleven children, one by his first wife who it is recorded, died on the ship bringing them to America. He had ten children by his second wife.

Moses Bean was born in 1774 in Sutton, New Hampshire, and removed to Hatley Township, Lower Canada in 1798. It is recorded that Moses Bean was one of three scouts [Taylor Little, Bond Little and Moses Bean] who left Sutton, N.H. in 1795 and walked to that section in the Eastern Townships which was surveyed in 1795 and named the Township of Hatley. They chose land for themselves and scouted lots for friends back home in New Hampshire. They returned to Sutton, New Hampshire in 1796, returning in the spring to plant crops. In 1800 Taylor and Jesse returned to Sutton where they married; Jesse married Lucy Warner and Taylor married Pamelia Marsh.

Moses Bean married in 1802, Betsey Kezar, daughter of Captain Simon Kezar. They settled on Lot 13, Range 2 in Hatley. Moses and Betsey had eight children, two of whom died in infancy: Simon b. 1804; Mark b. 1806; Lora b. 1807; Betsey b. 1808; Moses b. 1809; Vernon [Venan] b.1810; Luke b.1811[12]; and Salome b. 1818. Moses Sr. died in 1826 and is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Hatley Township as is his wife, who died in 1830. Venan died in 1882: "[Died] At North Hatley, June 21, 1882, Venan Bean, aged 72 yrs. [Stanstead Journal]." He is buried in the Reedsville Cemetery in North Hatley. Luke died in 1881 and is also buried in Reedsville. Other members of the Bean family are buried in Lakeview Cemetery; this cemetery is often referred to as the Bean Burying Ground.

Simon Bean, eldest son of Moses and Betsey Kezar Bean, was born in Hatley in 1804. After his father's death he took over the family homestead and cared for his mother until her death. In 1831 Simon married Sarah, daughter of Bond Little. Sarah died in 1852 and in 1862 he married Caroline, daughter of Chester Hovey. Sarah and Simon had six children, all born in Hatley: Lora m John Ives; William died young; Mary m E.B. Gustin; Josephine m Edwin Bean; Lucinda m Edwin Woodward; Simon b 1844. One other child died in infancy.

Simon held the office of Captain of the Militia, which trained on the Common in Hatley Village. He was also a Magistrate in Hatley for many years, and played a large role in the early life of Hatley Township. He died in 1885: "In Hatley July 7, 1885, Capt. Simon Bean in his 81st year [Stanstead Journal]." He is buried in Lakeview Cemetery along with his first wife, Sarah, who died in 1857: "Sarah Little, wife of Simon Bean of Hatley, aged 50 years [Stanstead Journal]." Caroline, his second wife, died in 1884: "At Hatley, May 14, 1884, after a protracted illness, Caroline Hovey, relict of the late Philip J. Hovey and wife of Simon Bean in her 71st year [Stanstead Journal]."

Joseph Bean was born in Sutton, New Hampshire in 1799. He married Betsey Rowell of Goffstown, N.H., daughter of Thomas and Lydia [Hawes] Rowell. They removed to Hatley where they had eleven children: Lydia [born 1806], Philip [born 1808], Joseph [born 1812], Betsey [born 1814], Freeman [born 1816), Dolly [born 1818], Lucy [born 1819], Melvina [born 1821], Moses [born 1823], Samuel [born 1825] and William [born 1826]. Joseph and his wife both died in 1870. They have many descendants in the area.

FISH
The ancestry of Joseph Fish has been traced back to John Fish in England. Nathaniel Fish [great-grandson of Joseph], progenitor of the Joseph Fish line in America, arrived at Lynn, Massachusetts in 1637. Three generations later, descendant Nathan Fish and his wife Mary Pierce had a son, Joseph.

Joseph Fish was born in Pepperell, Massachusetts, in 1770. In 1793 he married Sarah [Sally] Spear in Reading, Vermont. They removed from Vermont and settled in Stanstead County in Lower Canada, [Quebec] in 1795. It is recorded that they were the first white people to settle in Stanstead. After much hardship they removed to Lot 9, Range 1 in Hatley, the lot Mr. Fish had drawn as an associate of Hovey and Cull in 1803. Joseph and Sarah were parents to:
Lemuel b 1794 m Mary Rowell
Joseph b 1795
Champion b 1797 m Polly Wells
Horace b 1800 m Hannah Leavitt
During the first seven years of their life in the Township, there was not a gristmill within twenty miles of their dwelling. From 1795 to 1802, they pounded their grain in a large mortar made from a heavy block of maple. In 1795, Mrs. Fish was "playfully called the handsomest woman in the town, there being no other women in their settlement [Hubbard]". Joseph Fish died in 1859 and is buried in the Old North Church Cemetery outside Hatley, as is Sally, who died in 1858.

Sally b 1818 m Nathan Emery [great-great grandparents to the author]
Joseph b 1820 m Elizabeth Paradis
Leonard b 1824 m Cynthia Elliott
Nathan 1st d 1822 in infancy
Lydia b 1827 m Thomas Smith
Thomas 1st b 1829 d 1832
Thomas 2nd b 1829 m Ida Bachelder
Nathan 2nd b 1829 m Mary Sheldon
Kendrick b 1841 m 1st Lizzie Morse and 2nd Editha L Bishop
Amelia b 1845

Nathan (2nd) was married in Michigan: "At Muskegon, Michigan on October 29, 1864, by Reverend S.A. Henderson, Nathan E. Fish of Cincinnati, formerly of Hatley, to Mary a Sheldon of Ogdensberg, N.Y. [Stanstead Journal]." Lizzie Morse, wife of Kendrick Fish, died in 1876: "In Bury [Quebec] October 9, 1878, Lizzie R. Morse, wife of Kendrick R. Fish, aged 31 years [Stanstead Journal]."

Sally, daughter of Lemuel and Mary, was born in 1818. She married Nathan Emery who owned and lived on the Emery homestead next to the Old North Church, originally the Ephraim Wadleigh property, a mile out of the village of Hatley. Both the Fish and Emery families played an active role in the life of Hatley Village. Sally is buried in the Old North Cemetery: "[Died] In Hatley, March 4, 1875, Sally Fish wife of Nathan Emery Esq., age 57 years. [Stanstead Journal]." Nathan died in 1897 and is buried with his wife.

"Albertus Elliott Fish was born at Minton, Quebec, 1855. He was the son of Leonard and Cynthia [Elliott] Fish. His great grandfather was Joseph Fish, coming to Canada from New Hampshire, settling in Hatley about 1796. Albertus was educated in public schools including Charleston Academy in Hatley. He served as Justice of the Peace, member of first board of councillors in Ayers Cliff [Ayer's Flat] and commenced a mercantile business in North Hatley in 1888 and also was a partner in the A.E. Fish & Company. He married Betsey Sampson, Hatley Quebec in 1879. The children were George G., Leonard W., Muriel E., [Alin and Charles N. deceased at infancy] also Helen G., aged 19 years, died 1913 [Men of Today in the Eastern Townships]." A.E. Fish died in 1937 and is buried in the Reedsville Cemetery, as is his wife, who died in 1935.

Horace Fish was born in Hatley in 1800 and married Hannah Leavitt, daughter of Jeremiah Leavitt and Sarah Shannon Leavitt. They settled in Hatley where their first three children were born:

Julia b 1824 or 25 d 1916 m Edward Thompson
Sarah b 1828 m 1st J.C.L. Smith and 2nd William McGregor [in Utah]
Betsey Jane n.d. m John A. West
Joseph b 1840 at Twelve Mile Grove. Ill.
Frank Richards b 1848 in Iowa

Horace and Hannah emigrated to Utah in 1837 (actually 1835) when the family of Jeremiah and Sarah Leavitt left Hatley on their journey to that state.

Champion Fish, brother of Lemuel and Horace, was born in 1797 and married Polly Wells; they settled in Hatley. Their children were:

Eleanor b 1819 m Abial S. Abbott b 1814 d 1862
Betsey b 1821 m Asa Foster
Mary Anne b 1823 m Josiah Osgood

Descendants of the Fish family still reside in the Eastern Townships, other parts of Canada, and the United States.

LEAVITT
The Leavitt family was amongst the early families in Hatley and Compton Townships. They were descendants of Deacon John Leavitt, who sailed to America from England about 1628, finally settling at Hingham, Massachusetts where he is buried. John married first Mary Lovit [Leavitt] who died in July 1646, leaving five children. He married second Sarah Gilman at Hingham in December 1646; they had eight children, all born in Hingham. The following are the lines of the first Leavitt settlers in the Eastern Townships, including those of Jonathan and Rebecca [Ring] Leavitt, who emigrated from Grantham, New Hampshire in the very late 1700s or early 1800s.

Nathaniel Leavitt, born in 1727, was a great-grandson of Deacon John Leavitt. He married Lydia Sanborn [born in 1737], daughter of Jeremiah Sanborn of Sanbornton, New Hampshire. They were parents to:
Joseph b 1755 d 1840
Lydia b 1757
Moses b 1759 d 1827
Jeremiah b 1760 d at Hatley, Canada about 1817
Nathaniel b 1764 at Exeter, N.H. d 1839
Dudley b 1767 at Grantham, N.H. d 1839
John b 1769 at Grantham, N.H. d 1854
Josiah b 1772 d 1865
Jonathan b 1773 d 1842 at Compton, Quebec
Stephen b 1775 d 1776
Hannah b 1776 d 1839
Polly b ?? married a Mr. Frye of Grantham. N.H

Jonathan Leavitt, born in 1773, was the eighth son of Nathaniel and Lydia [Sanborn] Leavitt. The family removed to Grantham, New Hampshire; Jonathan married Rebecca Ring at Deerfield, N.H. They settled in the Eastern Townships of Quebec circa 1800, and settled in Hatley for approximately two years before removing to a property near the dividing line between Hatley and Compton Townships. Their land was actually in Compton although their main activities took place in the early settlement of Hatley, which was closer to their farm [approximately two to three miles]. They attended the Old North Church (Anglican) after it was erected in 1818. The Old North schoolhouse, which was erected in the same time period across the road from the church, was no doubt their educational institution, along with one of the earlier schools in the area. which was built circa 1804 in the Hatley area.

After acquiring their land and erecting their first home, Jonathan and Rebecca raised a family of seven children, most of them born on their Compton homestead:
1.Zebulon b 1801 d 1891 m Alice Corey
2. Mary b 1802 d aye 90 m Benjamin Corey
3. Jeremiah b 1808 d 1885: m 1st Elvira Howe and 2nd Julia Dearborn
4. Sarah b 1812 d age 87 m David Smith Flanders
5. Lydia b about 1814 d age 45 m Lucius Chapman
6. Jonathan b 1818 d 1903 m 1st Lois Little 2nd Alice Little
7. Hannah b nd d age 87 m a Mr. Marks from Kentucky
(Note: In the following text, Zebulon speaks of nine children. Most sources indicate seven; perhaps two family members died at a young age. On the occasion of Zebulon's death in 1891, the following article appeared in the Stanstead Journal:

"A short time ago an account was given in the Journal of a meeting of aged people at the residence of the late Carlos Ayer in Hatley, of those Mr. Zebulon Leavitt died on Friday last, in the ninety-first year of his age. He had been a long time resident of, or upon, the border of this township [Hatley], and was highly respected, as was made evident by the large attendance at the `Old Meeting House' on the 18th inst....under the services of Elder Sornberger.

"The following history of the life of Zebulon Leavitt was furnished by one of his near relatives, and was related by the deceased not long before his death; and is illustrative of pioneer life in this part of the country. He was the oldest of nine children of the late Jonathan and Rebecca Leavitt, who in [circa] 1805, moved from Grantham, N.H. to Stanstead [Hatley], and two years later moved to Compton next to the east line of Hatley, on the farm now owned by Jonathan Leavitt Jr., the only [living] brother of the deceased Zebulon Leavitt. There were no roads or clearings within about two miles of them. There the little 'log house' common to the early settlers, with its flagstone hearth and back, and a chimney, sticks and clay mortar, was built, and after some eight years, a log barn was bui1t and covered with poles and bark, as there were no boards to he had and no mills for many miles for grinding grain, their bread was made from corn pounded in a mortar during the first few years of their pioneer life.

"The inhabitants were few and far between, but they were all as united as the members of one family. When he was eight years old, he [Zebulon] first went to school in a small log school house near where Simon Bean now lives in Hatley, a distance of more than three miles from his home, and which was taught by Miss Rhoda LeBaron, whose tuition was paid in grain, as there was no money in circulation….the American school books were the only ones in use, and consisted principally of 'Webster's Speller' and 'Third Part'. He was present and assisted in the building of the first meeting house in Hatley [the Old North Church] which was dedicated on the fifth of February, 1818, and was called `Trinity Church' but is now known as `The Old Church' and in which the funeral service of Zebulon Leavitt was recently held, contigious to which the body was buried."

In 1903 it was recorded in the local newspaper, the Sherbrooke Daily Record, on the occasion of Jonathan Jr.'s [Zebulon's brother's] 85th birthday:

"The family had lived on the farm where we met, for upwards to one hundred years. Mr. Leavitt and most of his family were born on the farm. His father [Jonathan] had died in 1842 and his mother [Rebecca] 20 years later at the age of 87 [This farm remained in the family until the early 1950s]."

1. Zebulon Leavitt, son of Jonathan and Rebecca, born in 1801, married Alice Corey, born in 1812. They were married in the Anglican church [St. James] in Charleston [Hatley Village] on October 27, 1831. Zebulon and Alice were parents to eight children:

a. John b 1832 d 1912 m Anna Horner
b. Mandana b 1834 d 1917 m Carlos Ayer
c. Iphidiah b 1836 d 1914 m Isabelle Thwaites
d. Jonathan b 1838 d 1912 m 1st Roxanna Kezar 2nd Julia Hurd 3rd Marina Cass
e. Emma Jane b 1841 d 1862 m Norman Cass
f. Mary E. b 1843 d 1864
g. Sarah b 1844 d 1862
h. George Albert b 1854 d 1897 m Jennie Gould

a. John, eldest son of Zebulon and Alice, was born in 1832. He married Anna Horner.

b. Mandana, eldest daughter of Zebulon and Alice, married Carlos Ayer: "[Married] September 7, 1858 in Stanstead, Carlos Ayer of Hatley to Mandana Leavitt, daughter of Zebulon Leavitt of Hatley [Stanstead Journal]." Carlos and Mandana were parents to three children:

1. Alice b 1859 d 1935 m William Hodges. Alice married in 1883: "At the residence of the bride's father, November 22, 1883, by Reverend L.S. Bean, William A. Hodges and Alice L. Ayer, eldest daughter of Mr. Carlos Ayer, all of East Hatley [Stanstead Journal]."
2. Frederick Carlos b 1865 d 1930 Harriet Couch. Frederick [Fred] married in 1894: "On October 3,1894 at the Methodist Church, East Hatley, by the Reverend H.S. Osborne, Mr. Frederick Carlos Ayer of Brooklyn, New York, son of the late Carlos Ayer Esq. [and Mandana Leavitt of Hatley to Harriet Ruth, daughter of the late Mr. Mahlon Couch of Compton [Stansted Journal]."
3. Minnie b 1873 d 1948 m Joseph Woodman. Minnie married in 1901: "At the Methodist Church, East Hatley, May 29, 1901 by Reverend A.O. Watts, Mr. Joseph F. Woodman and Minnie, youngest daughter of Mrs. Mandana Ayer, both of Hatley [Stanstead Journal]."

c. Iphidiah Leavitt, second son of Zebulon and Alice, was born in 1836 and married in 1861: "In Stanstead, March 25, 1861, Iphidiah Leavitt to Isabell Ann [Isabella], daughter of James Thwaites, both of Hatley. Married by Reverend R.V. Hall [Stanstead Journal."

Isabella and Iphidiah were parents to only one child, Ruth Sarah, who married George E. Hartwell in 1882: "At the residence of the bride's father in Hatley on March 15 ,1882, by Reverend W.H. Lyster, George Hartwell of Compton and Ruth S., only daughter of Iphidiah Leavitt Esq. of Hatley [Stanstead Journal]." Iphidiah died in 1914, Isabella in 1936. They are both buried in St. James Church Cemetery in Hatley.

Isabella Ann Thwaites [Mrs. Iphidiah Leavitt], born in 1839, was the sister of William Richard Thwaites, born in 1843, who married Eliza McKay [born 1846]. Both were the children of James Thwaites and Ruth Hodgson.

William and Eliza McKay Thwaites were parents of Charles Thwaites [born 1877]. Charles married Anna Wilhelmina Anderson; they were parents to Isabel Gladys Thwaites. Isabel married Nils Archie Nelson; they now reside on the old Abbott farm in Hatley Township close to the homestead where young Wire Leavitt grew up.

d. Jonathan, third son of Zebulon and Alice was born in 1838. In 1862 he married Roxanna Kezar: "In Hatley, September 28, 1862 by Reverend C. Heard, Jonathan Leavitt to Roxanna L. Kezar, both of Hatley [Stanstead Journal]." Roxanna died in Compton nine years later, on March 18, 1871: "Mrs. Roxanna L. Kezar, daughter of Joseph and Selena Kezar of Hatley and wife of Mr. Jonathan Leavitt 2nd, aged 32 years, 20 das [Stanstead Journal].

In December of the same year Jonathan remarried: "On December 31, 1871 by Reverend C. Heard, Jonathan Leavitt to Julia Hurd, both of Hatley [Stanstead Journal]." Julia died in 1881: "In Hatley, January 23, 1881, Julia Hurd, wife of Mr. Jonathan Leavitt, aged 39 years [Stanstead Journal]." Jonathan and his second wife Julia Hurd had two children, a son Ritchie W. and a daughter [Susan] Susie May; Susie married Carlos Moulton and resided in Hatley Township. They were parents to five children including a son, Howard, who died in infancy:

1. Archie m Vivian Rick and became parents to two children, Wayne and Sandra.
2. Madeline m Ronald McClary and became parents to three daughters, Janice, Lois and Elane.
3. Charles 4. Margaret 5. Howard [see above]

Archie and Vivian resided in Hatley Village for many years. Vivian died in 1993 and is buried in the United Church Cemetery in Hatley. Archie now resides in Ayer's Cliff.

Madeline and her family also resided in Hatley Village for many years, where Madeline taught at the Hatley Elementary School. Ronald died in 1957 and is buried in the Hatley United Church Cemetery. Madeline now resides in Lennoxville, Quebec.

1n 1881, Jonathan married once more: "[Married at Moe's River] On September 29, 1881, by Reverend W.H. Lyster, Mr. Jonathan Leavitt of Hatley and Miss Marilla Cass, youngest daughter of Norman Cass of Cassville [Stanstead Journal]." In 1888, Jonathan suffered another loss: "On March 4, 1888, Frederick Middleton Leavitt in the 4th year of his age, second son of Jonathan and Marillia Leavitt [Stanstead Journal]:" Jonathan died in 1912: "[Massawippi] Mr. Jonathan Leavitt died March 5, 1912 at the home of his daughter Mrs. Carl Moulton, at the age of 73 years [Stanstead Journal]." Marilla died in 1938: "[Hatley] Mrs. Marilla Leavitt, wife of the late Jonathan Leavitt died January 25, 1938 at the home of her youngest son, Mr. Carl Leavitt in Foster, Quebec. She was a resident of this community for many years. She leaves two sons, Carl and Luther of Framingham, Massachusetts, one step-daughter Mrs. Carl Moulton of this place, one step-son Mr. Ritchie Leavitt of Framingham and other relatives [Stanstead Journal]."

Jonathan and his third wife had two children, Luther and Canton [Carl] M. Luther resided in Massachusetts. Carlton [Carl] Leavitt was born in 1887. He married Susie Moulton, also born in 1887: "At the home of the bride's father, Hatley on April 22, 1908, by Reverend J.I. Hughes, Mr. Carlton M. Leavitt of Hatley to Susie, daughter of Mr. Leroy Moulton [Stanstead Journal]." Carlton died in 1966, Susie in 1972. He is buried in the Hatley United Church Cemetery, Susie in the Massawippi Cemetery. Canton and Susie had three children:

1. Doris Lillian b 1909 m Kenneth Little
2. Frederick Wesley m Una Parsons; resided in Knowlton
3. Marion m Bernard Mitchell; resided in Lyndonville, Vermont

Doris and Kenneth lived in the Old North Church neighbourhood on one of the Little homesteads. They were parents to six children:

1. Donald Kaye m Ida Sarrasin; they have a daughter, Jane
2. Richard Frederick m Sara; 2 sons
3. Russell Thomas m Diane Whiteman; three children
4. Joyce Ann m Robert McVittie; three children
5. Elizabeth Helen m Frank Bartle; two children
6. Susan Jane m Douglas Humphries; three children

Frederick Wesley, son of Carlton and Susie, married Una Alice Parsons. Their son Reginald Keith married Maureen Donnelly. Their daughter Doreen Alice married Malcolm McPherson in 1957. They reside in Knowlton, Quebec where they raised four children:

1. Dawn Lynn m Dave Neely
2. Steven Miles m Lorraine Cournoyer
3. Betty Jill m Christopher Slack
4. Neil Mark b 1969

e. Emma, second daughter of Zebulon and Alice [Corey] Leavitt, married Norman Cass and died at a young age: "In Magog, May 7,1862, Emma Leavitt, aged 20 years, 3 mos. and 20 das [Stanstead Journal]."

f & g. Mary and Sarah, both middle daughters of Zebulon and Alice, died young; Sarah in 1862 and Mary in 1864. Mary and Sarah are both buried in the Old North Church Cemetery. It is recorded that Mary Leavitt married Wellington Hadlock: "On December 8 [1864], Wellington Hadlock to Mary Leavitt, both of Compton [Stanstead Journal]." In 1870, Wellington Hadlock remarried to Emily Heath; both were from Compton.

h. George Albert, youngest son of Zebulon and Alice, was born in 1854 and married in 1884: "In Hatley on March 20, 1884, at the residence of the bride's uncle, Mr. Willard Pope, by Reverend L.S. Bean, Mr. George Albert Leavitt of Hatley and Miss Jennie E. Gould, eldest daughter of Harvey I. Gould of Stanstead [Stanstead Journal]." George died at the age of 43 years: "In Hatley November 6, 1897, George Albert Leavitt, aged 43 yrs. 2mos. 6 das., youngest son of the late Zebulon and Alice Leavitt [Stanstead Journal]." He is buried in the Old North Church Cemetery.

After George Albert's death, Jennie Gould Leavitt married George Meigs. She died in 1937: "[Hatley] Mrs. George Meigs, aged 77 yrs., died at her home here October 30, 1937. Her maiden name was Jennie Gould, the daughter of Harvey and Ellen [McCoy] Gould. She leaves her husband and two children from a former marriage, Mr. Leon Leavitt and family of Windsor, Vermont and Mabel [Mrs. William Little] and family from Somerville, Massachusetts [Stanstead Journal]." Jennie is buried in St. James Church Cemetery in Hatley.

2. Mary, daughter of Jonathan and Rebecca Leavitt, died in 1895: "In Hatley, February 25, 1895, Mary Leavitt, wife of the late Benjamin Corey, aged 91 years 6 mos. 12 das [Stanstead Journal]." Her husband, Benjamin Corey, died in 1876: "In Hatley March 8, 1876, Benjamin B. Corey, aged 76 years, 9 mos. and 10 das [Stanstead Journal]." They are both buried in the McConnell Cemetery.

3. Jeremiah, second son of Jonathan and Rebecca, was born in 1808. He married 1^st Elvira Howe and 2nd Julia Dearborn. He died in 1885.

4. Sarah [Sally], daughter of Jonathan and Rebecca, married David Smith Flanders and resided in Hatley. In 1886 they celebrated an anniversary: "[Hatley News] A large party of relatives and friends gathered at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. D.S. Flanders in Hatley on April 27,1888 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their marriage [Stanstead Journal]." Sarah died in 1897, David Smith Flanders in 1888. They are both buried in the Old North Church Cemetery.

5. Lydia, third daughter of Jonathan and Rebecca, was born circa 1814. She married Lucius Chapman; they lived outside Hatley in the Barnston area. In 1847 they lost an infant son. After Lydia's death in 1857, Lucius remarried in 1860 to Isabella Gahan of Barnston. He died in 1872: "In Barnston, Dec. 3, 1872, Mr. Lucius Chapman, aged 63 years. [Stanstead Journal]."

6. Jonathan, youngest son of Jonathan Sr. and his wife Rebecca, was born in 1818. He died in 1903: "Reference should have been made last week to the death of Mr. Jonathan Leavitt which took place on the 6th day of October, 1903. He has laid down the battle of life after more than eighty-six years of toil and strife, during which he maintained a consistent Christian character and was held in high esteem by all who knew him. He will be especially missed by his daughter [Helen] who has always been with him, and several grandchildren. The summons to `come up higher' was gladly obeyed [Sherbrooke Daily Record]."

In another article from the same source a G.W. Chapman wrote of Jonathan: "He always lived a consistent Christian life, and was never ashamed to give a reason of his hope, which he could as well as anyone I saw. Every one had confidence in his religion, as was testified by the number of friends and neighbours which attended the funeral, there being those from his own neighbourbood and those from a distance, and also by the tears which were shed for a kind and Christian veteran who had fallen. He leaves one daughter [Helen] who kindly cared for him during his last years, several grandchildren, and many other relatives and friends to mourn his loss..."

Jonathan had married Lois Little who died in 1851 at the age of 27. He then married her sister Alice, who died in 1862. Jonathan and his wives are buried in the Old North Church Cemetery. Jonathan and his first wife, Lois Little, had two children:

a. Maryette [Marietta] Leavitt b 1849 m Alonzo Emery. Marietta and Alonzo settled in Hatley. Marietta died in 1882: "In Hatley, September 12, of consumption, Mrs. Marietta Emery, daughter of Jonathan Leavitt [Compton], and wife of Alonzo Emery, in her 24th year [Stanstead Journal]."
b. Milton Leavitt b 1850

With his second wife Alice, Jonathan had three children:

c. Lois Leavitt b 1853 d 1854
d. Helen Maria Leavitt b 1855 d 1923 m Frederick Emery, son of John Emery and Fanny Chamberlin, in 1874 at a double wedding ceremony: "Also, at the same time and place, Mr. Frederick Emery of Hatley and Miss Helen M. Leavitt of Compton [Stanstead Journal]." They lived on the old Leavitt family homestead where they raised their children:

i. Alice, married Miles Kent in Hatley. They removed to western Canada where they raised a family of nine children:

1. Ethel Pierce n.d. first child
2. Henry Kent b abt 1900 d. 1966
3. Myrtle Alice d 1990 m a Mr. McCreary
4. Mildred Lois d 1995 m a Mr. Hill
5. Ralph Frederick d 1994
6. Francis Margaret d 1995 m a Mr. Pederson
7. Gerald Emery d 1998
8. Arthur Everet d 1968
9. Lloyd Kent

ii. Charles [who died in infancy] was born in 1884 and died in 1885. He is buried in the Old North Church Cemetery.

iii. Willis Jonathan was born in 1886. He married his second cousin Geneva Emery, daughter of Riverious and Margaet Henderson Emery; they resided on the old Leavitt homestead, home of Jonathan and Rebecca, and Willis' grandfather Jonathan Jr.. Willis and Geneva had four children:

1.Dorothy Helen married Bert Rice. They live in St. Louis, Missouri, and are parents to Jeffrey, Brian and Michael. Jeffrey is married with two children, and also lives in St. Louis. Brian is unmarried and lives in Oklahoma. Michael is married with two daughters; he and his wife also live in Oklahoma.
2.Winson (Winston) Willis never married, and died in 1982. He is buried in the United Church Cemetery in Hatley.
3.Phyllis Margaret married lst Lindsay Pocock; they had three children:

a. Sharon Joyce married 1st Kenneth Huff; they had two daughters Sandra and Robyn. She married 2nd Michael Baumtrog; they had two children Matthew and Emily. Sharon lives in Cambridge, Ontario with her two youngest children; she is employed as a children's librarian.
b. Russell Stewart married Therese Shaheen; they live just outside of Compton where they operate an organic food business. They are parents to Lara, Nathaniel, Aimee and Camille.
c. Joanne Margaret is married to William Floch; they live in Ayer's Cliff, at the southern end of Lake Massawippi. They are parents to four children: Anna and D'Arcy [by Bill's first marriage], and James and Paul. Joanne pursued studies in sociology and taught for several years at Bishop's University in Lennoxville. She is currently a fulltime mother, involved in several projects.

Phyllis married 2nd Terry Skeats. Phyllis worked as a librarian at Bishop's University in Lennoxville for many years. She and Terry reside in North Hatley, Quebec in a home built as a replica of the old Leavitt homestead on the Compton/Hatley Township line

4. Joyce Kay died in a car accident at the age of four years; she is buried in the Old North Church Cemetery.

iv. Leana Ruth, was born in 1897. She married Walter Kingdon; they settled on a farm outside of Hatley, and were parents to four daughters:

1. Helen married Phileas Gosselin; they settled on a farm outside North Hatley close to where an ancestor, John Emery, and his wife Fanny Chamberlin had settled. Here they became parents to seven children:

a. Richard m Peggy Gagne; they live in Newport, N.H.
b. Madeleine, unmarried; she lives in Lennoxville
c. Yvonne m John Louis Rousseau; they live in Montreal
d. Margaret m Robert Wheeler; they live near Concord, N.H.
e. Jacques m 1St Winifred Moore and 2"d Alberta Moore; they live in North Hatley
f. Michael m Carole Imbeault; they live in Sherbrooke, Quebec
g. Aline died young

Phileas Gosselin died several years ago; Helen now lives in Lennoxville

2. Muriel married Calvin Hartwell; they resided in Lennoxville. They were parents of two sons. Wesley is unmarried and lives in Lennoxville. Walter married Barbara Drew, daughter of Ronald and Cynthia Huff Drew. They also live in Lennoxville. Muriel died in 1990 and is buried in the Reedsville Cemetery.
3. Myrtle is unmarried and lives in the municipality of Wateville; she worked for many years in Sherbrooke and Waterville, and is now retired.
4. Dorothy, died at an early age in 1968; she is buried in the Reedsville Cemetery near North Hatley with her father Walter, who died in 1971.

Willis and Geneva sold the Leavitt homestead in the early 1950s and moved to Hatley village. Willis died in 1973, Geneva in 1984. They are both buried in the United Church Cemetery in Hatley village.

Helen Leavitt Emery died in 1923: "[Hatley] Mrs. Fred Emery died March 16, 1923 at the home of her daughter Mrs. Walter Kingdon [Ruth] at Eustis. Helen was the daughter of the late Jonathan Leavitt [Stanstead Journal]." Her husband Frederick died in 1919. They are both buried in the Old North Church Cemetery. [Fred and Helen Leavitt Emery were the paternal grandparents of the author, Phyllis Emery Skeats].
e. Willis Jonathan b 1860 m Jennett Kerr 1879 at the Congregational Church in Waterville, Compton County.

7. Hannah, youngest daughter of Jonathan and Rebecca, married a Mr. Marks from Kentucky. She died in Kentucky: "Mrs. Hannah Mark[s] died in Kentucky recently, aged 83. She was the sister of the late Jonathan and Zebulon Leavitt, also Mrs. Benjamin Corey of this place and Mrs. Lucius Chapman of Barnston. She was the youngest and last survivor of the family [Stanstead Journal]:"

There are many descendants of Jonathan and Rebecca [Ring] Leavitt in the Eastern Townships, including Hatley Township, Compton County and Brome County. They also reside in the Province of Ontario and in other parts of Canada. There are also descendants in the United States, including in New England.

Jonathan Leavitt Sr. died in 1842; his wife Rebecca, died in 1865. They are both buried in the Old North Church Cemetery.

Jeremiah Leavitt, third son of Nathaniel and Lydia [Sanborn] Leavitt, was the brother of Jonathan Leavitt Sr. He was born in 1760 and married Sarah Shannon. They resided in Grantham, N.H. and then removed to Hatley Township. They were parents to ten children:
1. Josiah b circa 1792 did not marry
2. Weare b circa 1785 d circa 1847 m 1st Abigail Cole 2nd Phoebe Cole
3. Jeremiah b 1795 d 1846 m Sarah Sturdevant
4. Nathaniel b circa 1790 d circa 1838m 1st Deborah Delano 2nd Betty Bear
5. Lydia b circa 1794 m Thomas Rowell
6. John b 1798 d 1852 m Lucy Rowell
7. Sally [Sarah] b circa 1796 m William Rowell
8. Betsey b 1800 d 1848 m James Adams
9. Rebecca b 1802 d 1892 m Franklin Chamberlin [Chamberlain]
10. Hannah b 1805 d 1876 m Horace Fish
Jeremiah Sr. died circa 1817; he is believed to be buried in the Old North Church Cemetery in Hatley. The records for the Old North Church do not commence in 1818, when Reverend Charles Stewart entered them into his registry. However, this cemetery was commenced in the late 1700s as a pioneer burying ground for early settlers. There is a reference to a Leavitt Burying Ground, which could have been the Old North Church Cemetery, as several early members of the Leavitt family are buried there. Jeremiah's wife, Sarah Shannon Leavitt, died after leaving for Utah.

4. Nathaniel Leavitt, son of Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon, was born in 1790. He married 1st Deborah Delano and 2nd Betty Bear (see "The Puzzle of Betty Bear" by the author). There were six children with his first wife:

a. Roxana b 1818
b. Saliva b 1820c.
c. Nathaniel b 1823 d
d. Caroline b 1825
e. Flavilla b 1826
f. John b 1827

There were three additional children with his second wife, Betty Bear:

g. Mary b circa 1836
h. Weare [Wire] b 1837 d 1887
i. Priscilla [or Rosella] b 1838

Wire [Weare, Wear, Wier] Leavitt, son of Nathaniel and Deborah Delano, was born in 1837. At a very young age, he was left with the Abbott family, and never saw his natural mother again; he went by the name Abbott until he married. Wire married 1st Harriet Dustin and 2nd Mary Dustin. The children were:

One child with Harriet Dustin:

i. Betsey Jane b 1861 m Leon Stebbins

Children with Mary Dustin:

ii. Lovina Mary b 1865 d 1919 m Henry Hibbard
iii. Edwin Allan b 1868 d 1953 m Nettie Priest
iv. Hattie Cora b 1869 d1951 m William Cunningham
v. Helen Rosetta b 1873 d 1959 m Franklin Woodard
vi. John Luther b 1881 m Lottie Corliss

Wire died in 1887: "[Ayer's Flat] Mr. Wier Leavitt died suddenly May 12, 1877 [Stanstead Journal]." He is buried in the McConnell Cemetery in Hatley Township along with his first wife Harriet, who died in 1863, and his second wife Mary, who died in 1928: "[McConnell] Mrs. Mary Leavitt died May 17,1928, aged 91 [Stanstead Journal)." There are numerous descendants of Wier Leavitt in Canada.

There are numerous descendants of Wire Leavitt in Canada:

iv. Hattie Cora, second daughter of Wire and Mary Dustin Leavitt, married William Cunningham in 1891. William's parents were killed in a train accident when he was ten years old; he came to North Hatley to live with his mother's aunt and uncle, Nancy and Hiram Woodard. Hattie was a kind and gentle person. She and William settled near Abbott's Corner where they were parents to:

1. Goldie Adam Ralph Tweed
2. Ray Neil b 1894 m 1st Mabel Young and 2nd Winifrid Whitehead
3. Kenneth Roy b 1895 m Sylvia Perkins
4. Mildred Maud b 1897 m Lorenzo Hills
5. Hazel Helen b 1898 m Scott Kezar
6. Gordon Willie b 1900 m Stella Danforth
7. Myrtle Ivy b 1902 m Gerald Knutson
8. Thelma Lillian b 1905 m Charlie Mosher
9. Glenys Vivian m Stanley Leavitt

Hazel Helen, third daughter of Hattie Cora Leavitt and William Cunningham, married Scott Kezar; they settled in North Hatley where they were parents to (a) Priscilla Nan and (b) Joyce Blanche. Hazel's parents lived on a farm on Lake Road near Massawippi village.

Scott Kezar was the son of Albert Harry [Harry] Kezar and Laurena [Rena] Griffin. The family lived for several years on a farm adjoining that of Scott's father Amos, on the Lake Road near the village of Masawippi. After moving to North Hatley, they built the Pleasantview Hotel, later owned by J.R. McKay. Laurena Griffin Kezar died in 1927; her husband Albert H. died several years later. Both are buried in the Massawippi Cemetery.

(a) Priscilla Nan Kezar lives in North Hatley with her husband Earl Winslow Davis. Earl operated a popular store in North Hatley for many years.
(b) Joyce Blanche Kezar married Alden Parker of Lennoxville in 1948. They spent nine years in Florida and are parents to:

1. Jane Priscilla m Robert Fields
2. Scott Alden unmarried
3. Cheryl Ann married David King

All three children and their families live in Colchester, Vermont. Robert Fields is deceased, and Joyce Kezar Parker lives in Lennoxville.

Myrtle Ivy, fourth daughter of Hattie and William, married Gerald Sigurd Knutson on January 15, 1924 at the Universalist Church in North Hatley. Myrtle was born on December 5, 1902 and died February 24, 1993; she loved sports and curled until she was 86 years old. Gerald, whose parents were from Norway and Sweden, was born January 27, 1898, and died Ma 6, 1965.

Geraldine June Knutson, daughter of Gerald and Myrtle, married Leonard Swallow in 1946 at Trinity Church in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Geraldine worked at Bishop's University in Lennoxville as secretary to the Registrar. Leonard operated a garage specializing in antique cars. They are parents to:

1. Judy Heather m Christopher Guy Bean; they live in North Hatley
2. Joan Cheryl m Gary Prucha; they live in Ontario
3. Leonard John m Diane Salois; they live in Ontario
4. Jill Lori m Walter Wantola; they live in Ontario

v. Helen Rosetta, second daughter of Wire and Mary Dustin Leavitt, married Franklin [Francis] Woodard in 1893: "At the residence of the groom's father, George W. Woodard, Ayer's Flat on January 18, 1893, Mr. Frank H. Woodward [Woodard] to Miss Helen R., daughter of Weir [Wire] and Mary Leavitt of Ayer's Flat [Stanstead Journal]." Helen Rosetta died in 1959 and is buried in the Reedsville Cemetery outside North Hatley with her husband, who died in 1964.

Guy Floyd Woodard, son of Helen and Franklin, married Grace Reed in 1920 at the Universalist Church in North Hatley: "[North Hatley] At the First Universalist Church, North Hatley, September 2, 1920, by Reverend E.E. Marggraf, Mr. Guy Floyd Woodard, son of Mr. and Mrs. F.H. Woodard and Miss Grace Carolyne Reed, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. T.V. Reed, both of this place [Stanstead Journal]." Guy died in 1980 and is buried in the Reedsville Cemetery as is Grace, who died in 1969. In November 1941, Guy and Grace announced the engagement of their daughter Mary Jean: "Mr. And Mrs. Guy F. Woodard, of North Hatley, Quebec, announcement the engagement of their daughter, Mary Jean Helen to Sergeant Gordon E. Beane of the R.C.A.F., Montreal, Que., son of Mrs. F.W. Beane and the late F.W. Beane, of Waterville [Sherbrooke Daily Record]."

Mary Jean and Gordon were married in 1941, and were parents to:

1. Gordon Thomas m Wenda Margaret Beattie
2. Verna Kathleen m Antonio Tyrol Molo
3. Christopher Guy m Judith Heather Swallow
4. Frederick Paul m Helene Francoise M. Laperle
5. Gregory Mark m 1st Heather Jean Green and 2nd Bonnibelle Joan Anderson
6. Nicholas John m Kimberly Jean McElrea

Mary Jean was a teacher for many years, and still resides in North Hatley. Her husband Gordon Edwin, died in 1992 and is buried in the Reedsville Cemetery near North Hatley.

3. Jeremiah, Jr., son of Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt married Sarah Sturdevant in 1817 at Grantham, New Hampshire. They removed to Hatley soon after their marriage where his parents were already residing. Here they built a log home and had twelve children:

1. Mary Ann b 1818 in infancy
2. Clarissa b 1819 m 1st Horace Sturdevant 2nd Simon Colton
3. Louisa b 1820 in Hatley d 1855 m William Jones
4. Jeremiah b 1822 in North Hatley d 1878 in Eliza Harrover
5. Lydia b 1823 in Hatley d 1847 m William Snow
6. Weare Leavitt b 1825 in Hatley d Nauvoo m Lydia Savage
7. Lemuel Sturdevant b 1827 in Compton m five times
8. Dudley b 1830 in Hatley d 1908 m four times
9. Mary Amelia b 1832 in Compton d 1893 m William Hamlin
10. Thomas Rowell Leavitt b 1834 in Compton d 1891 m 3 times
11. Betsy Jane Leavitt b 1839 Twelve Mile Grove, Illinois
12. Sarah Priscilla b 1841 Nauvoo, lllinois

After the death of Jeremiah Sr. around 1817, members of this Leavitt family made the decision to leave the area and travel to Utah to follow the doctrine of Mormonism and the teachings of Joseph Smith. In her journal, written during her journey to Utah, Sarah Sturdevant Leavitt recorded the beginning of their adventure: "From this time we set out in earnest and ready to start with the rest of the company July 20, 1835. The company was made up of the Leavitt family, Mother Sarah Shannon Leavitt and her children, consisting of twenty-three souls. Franklin Chamberlain, her oldest son-in-law, took the lead. He did not belong to the church, but his wife did [Sarah's Journal]."

Another line of Leavitts settled in the Richmond-Melbourne area in the Eastern Townships. Early records show births to Dudley and Judith Pease Leavitt as well as to Wadleigh and Abigail Caswell Leavitt, and to others.

Jonathan Leavitt was the son of Joseph Wadleigh Leavitt and his wife Mary Wadleigh. He was born in 1730 and married Ruth Cram of Deerfield, New Hampshire, born in 1732. They had a large family of thirteen children:

1. Dorothy b 1716
2. Gideon b 1752
3. Hannah b 1753
4. Mary b 1756
5. Jonathan b 1758
6. Ruth b 1761
7. Wadleigh b 1763
8. Joshua b 1765
9. Love b 1768
10. Elizabeth b 1770
11. Dudley b 1773
12. Lydia b 1776
13. Joseph b 1778

7. Wadleigh [born 1763], married Elizabeth Leavitt, born in 1770. They were parents to: Abigail, Mary, Nathaniel, Ruth, Dudley, Elizabeth, Wadleigh Jr., Lovina, Nancy, Gideon, Guy and Mary. Elizabeth and Wadleigh must have moved to Melbourne circa 1800, as the birth of their daughter Elizabeth is recorded in church records in 1801. She was baptized in 1819.

Dudley Leavitt, son of Wadleigh Sr. and Elizabeth, was born 1799. In 1823 he married Judith Pease, born in 1804, at the Protestant Church in Shipton, near Melbourne. They resided in Melbourne where they raised their family:

1. Joseph b 1825
2. Wadleigh b 1828 d 1841
3. Elizabeth b 1830
4. Dudley b 1832
5. Alonzo b 1833
6. Sabrina b 1834
7. Matilda b 1836
8. Julius b 1837
9. Albert Dudley b 1839
10. Judith b 1842
11. Hosea b 1844
12. Emeline b 1846
13. Benton Chamberlain 1849

Benton Chamberlain, son of Dudley and Judith Pease Leavitt, was born in 1849 in Melbourne. He married Emily Cummings of Lowell, Massachusetts. They lived in Melbourne where they raised a family that included:

1. Alvin b 1875
2. Hattie b 1876
3. Albert Dudley b 1879
4. Emily b 1881
5. Berth K. b 1883
6. Ida May b 1886
7. Arthur G. b 1890 at Northfield, New Hampshire

Wadleigh Leavitt Jr., son of Wadleigh Sr. and Elizabeth Leavitt, was born in 1808 in Littleton, New Hampshire. He removed to Melbourne with his parents and married Mary Polly Percival in Eaton, Compton County, Quebec, Canada. They settled in Melbourne where they had six children:

1. Francis b about 1829
2. Catherine b 18313. Caroline b 1833
4. Jeanette b 1835
5. Calvin Percival b 1839
6. Hannah b 1842

Mary Polly Leavitt died in August of 1842; Wadleigh married Abigail Caswell in 1843 at the Congregational Church in Melbourne. They were parents to several children including:

7. Edwin b 1844
8. Mary b 1846
9. Sarah b 1850
10. Alice b 1852
11. Henry b 1865

The Leavitt family still has many descendants in the Eastern Townships, and through marriages and migrations there are still numerous descendants throughout the rest of Canada and the United States.

ROWELL
Valentine Rowell, born in England in 1616, was the progenitor of the Rowell families in America. He sailed from Atherstone, England to Salisbury, Massachusetts in 1635 at the age of 19 years on the Susan and Ellen with his father Thomas [1590-1662] and his mother Margaret [Osgood]. In 1643 he married Johanna [Joanna] Pinder [Pinter], who was born in 1621 in England.

Their descendant, Thomas Rowell was born in Goffstown, New Hampshire in 1765, the son of Abraham Rowell [1743-1815] and Elizabeth Eastman [1743-1842]. He married Lydia Hawes [born 1769] of Fishersfield [Newbury] New Hampshire. Thomas' siblings were:
Jonathan [born 1766]
Sally [n.d.] m. Thomas Messer
Jacob [born 1768]
Abraham [born 1770]
Betsey [born 1773] m. Samuel Kendrick
Isaac [born 1774]
Moses [born 1776]
Sarah [born 1778] m. Jamsin Eaton
Samuel [born 1780]
Polly [n.d.] m. Silas Parker
Molly [born 1782] m. Whitcher Sargent
Hannah [born 1784] m. Benjamin Colby
Nancy [born 1786] m. Gore Rowell
Thomas and Lucy (Lydia) removed from Sutton, New Hampshire and settled in Hatley Township in 1802, where they lived in a home on the property which was eventually owned by Perley Young of Hatley Village. They were parents to nine children, several born in Sutton, New Hampshire, who married into several Hatley families:

1. Elizabeth [Betsey] [born 1787(9)] married Joseph Bean
2. Lydia [born 1790] married William Harvey
3. Polly [1794] who died
4. Thomas (born 1796] married Lydia Leavitt [8 children born in Stanstead]
5. Mary [born 1798(9)] married Lemuel Fish [9 children born in Hatley]
6. Nathan [born 1801] married Anna Leavitt [known as Annie]
7. Lucy [born 1803] married John Leavitt [10 children born in Compton]
8. Kendrick (born 1806] married 1st Sarah Hawes [Jones] and 2nd Pluma Rowell
9. Phebe [born 1809] married Luke Wadleigh

Kendrick Rowell [1806-1871] and his second wife Pluma [1800-1878], Mary [1799-1884] and Nathan [1801-1877] are all buried in the Old North Church Cemetery. Thomas Rowell Sr. died in 1833 and is also buried in the Old North Church Cemetery as is Lydia, who died in 1856.

Nathan Rowell, son of Thomas and Lucy, was born in Sutton, New Hampshire in 1801. He married Anna Leavitt [born 1812]; they settled in Hatley. Their children were:

Wiear [Wire] [born 1834] married Thursey [Thirza] Ayers
Abbie married a Mr. Perkins
Thomas [born 1836, died 1847]
Thomas 2nd [born 1848] married 1st Jane Jennie Whitcomb and 2nd Mrs. Susie E. Robinson
Phoebe [born 1839] married Charles Peck
Laura [born 1844] married Horace Abbott
Eva [born 1854] married John Atkinson

Wiear Rowell [1834-1911], Thursey Ayers [1829-1899], Thomas Rowell [1836-1847], Phoebe Rowell [1839-1919], and Eva Rowell [1854-1920] are all buried in the Old north Church Cemetery.

Thomas Rowell (2^nd) was born in 1848, the son of Nathan Rowell and his wife Anne Leavitt. he married 1st Jane [Jennie] Whitcomb. They had three children: Albert Eugene, Arthur and Cora. Jennie died in 1915; Thomas remarried in 1916 to Mrs. Susie Robinson of Ayer's Cliff. Thomas spent most of his life in Hatley, where he was born. In the early 1900s, he moved to Sherbrooke. In his obituary in the Sherbrooke Daily Record in 1918 it was recorded: "The late Thomas Rowell, who was 70 years of age, was born in Hatley and spent the greater part of his life in that vicinity. Thirteen years ago he came to Sherbrooke and inaugurated a very successful business …upright and honest in business he was respected and esteemed by all who knew him, while his social and family relations were ever kindly, sympathetic and affectionate."

Albert Eugene Rowell, son of Thomas Rowell, "was born in Hatley, Que., 1875, son of Thomas and Jennie [Jane Whitcomb] Rowell. His grandfather was Nathan Rowell [Anna [Annie] Leavitt] who came from New Bedford, Mass., and settled in Hatley. Albert was educated at East Hatley and attended a business college in Belleville, Ontario. He began a business at Lynn, Mass., and in 1903, in partnership with his father, he purchased a business in Sherbrooke from C.H. Fletcher, consisting of a wholesale biscuit and confectionery manufactory. He was active in Sherbrooke life, including the Christian Science and Sherbrooke Curling associations. He married Josephine Todd, daughter of Silas Todd, Compton, in 1899. They had two children, Alberta Josephine and Gerald Eugene [Men of Today in the Eastern Townships]."

Nathan died in 1877: "In Hatley, July 21, 1877, Mr. Nathan Rowell, aged 76 yrs., 4 mos. 17 das. He was a resident of Hatley for 75 years [Stanstead Journal]." Nathan is buried in the Old North Church Cemetery as is Anna, who died in 1897: "At Suffield, Que. December 25, 1893, Annie Leavitt, widow of the late Nathan Rowell, aged 81 years [Stanstead Journal]."

Mary Rowell, daughter of Thomas and Lucy Rowell, born in 1798[9], married Lemuel Fish [born 1794]; they settled in Hatley where they raised their children:

Sally [born 1818] married Nathan Emery
Joseph [born 1820] married Elizabeth Paradis
Leonard [born 1824] married Cynthia Elliott
Lydia [born 1827]
Thomas [born 1829, died 1832]
Thomas 2nd [born 1833] married Ida Bachelder
Nathan [born 1836] married Mary Sheldon
Kendrick [born 1841] married Lizzie Morse

Mary died in 1884 and is buried in the Old North Church Cemetery as is her husband, who died in 1873: "At Hatley September 27, 1873, Mr. Lemuel Fish, in his 80th year. Mr. Fish was the first white child that ever came into Hatley and has resided there nearly 78 years [Stanstead Journal]."

A possible descendant, Herbert Rowell, lives in Bury, Quebec. He is the son of John Wesley Rowell and Inez Waldron. Herbert married Nina Parsons; they are parents to the following five children: Allan Herbert [born 1949] married Nancy Baldwin; Nelson Leslie [born 1949]; Caroline Anne [born 1954] married David Baldwin; Brian John [born 1962] married Melanie Alden; and Robin George (born 1964, died 1984].

STURTEVANT
The Sturdevant [Studevant, Sturtevant] family members who resided in Hatley Township in the early years were descendants of Samuel Sturdevant and his wife Ann [Hannah] Lee. Samuel was born about 1620, Ann in 1625. It is presumed the family emigrated to Massachusetts with descendants later removing to New Hampshire.

Samuel Sturtevant was the second son of Samuel and Ann Lee. He was born in 1654 and married 1st Mary [Mercy] Cornish and 2nd Elizabeth [Smith] Morrell. They were parents to nine children:

Mercy b 1676
Samuel (3^rd) b 1677
Hannah b 1679
Nehemiah b 1681
William b 1683
James b 1688
Josiah 1690
John b 1692
Moses b 1695
Samuel Sturtevant 3^rd, born in 1677, married Mary Prince [Price], born in 1685. They were parents to four children:

Desire b 1709
Lemuel b 1710/1711
Samuel b 1716
James b 1718
Lemuel Sturtevant, son of Samuel 3^rd, was born in 1711. He married Deborah Bryant, born in 1720. They were parents to eleven children:

Desire b 1738
Mary b 1740
Jesse b 1742/3
Elsie 1745\
Deborah 1748
Samuel 1750
Huldah b 1752
Lucy 1754
Lemuel (Jr.) 1756
Jacob n.d.
Barzilla b 1763
Lemuel Sturtevant Jr. was born in 1756; he married Priscilla Thompson, born in 1760. They resided in Lyme [originally spelled Lime], County of Grafton, New Hampshire. Lemuel and Priscilla were parents to thirteen children:

Cyril b 1779 d 1866
Lemuel b 1781 d 1863
Priscilla b 1782 d 1822
Jairus b 1784 d 1867
Mary [Polly] b 1786 d 1849
Ezra Thompson b 1788 d 1872
Cyrus b 1789 d 1864
Huldah 1791 d 1870
Lucy b 1793 d 1843
Isaac Bryant b 1795 d 1797
Sarah Sally b 1798 d 1878
Deborah b 1799
Lydia b 1802 d 1871
Mary Polly Sturtevant, daughter of Lemuel and Priscilla, married Joshua Sawyer Woodman, born in 1789. They settled in Hatley where they raised their family [see the Woodman family]:

Mary Ann b 1812
Mary Maria b 1813 m George Walker
Joshua Sawyer b 1815 m Florinda Bachelder
Eliza Jane b 1818 d 1820
Eliza J. b 1821 m Isaac Gordon Jr.
Caleb Thompson b 1821
Albert Alonzo b 1825 m Mary Jane Sanborn
Sarah Priscilla b 1828 m L.D. Parker

The children were mostly married in the Free-Will Baptist Church in Stanstead County, perhaps the Old North Church, which was Free-Will Baptist after 1828. It leads one to believe the family might have resided in Hatley for a time.

Mary Polly died in 1849 and Joshua married Arethusa Bicknell. Arethusa died in 1854, Joshua in 1865: "At Compton on March 10, 1865, Mr. Joshua S. Woodman, aged 76 years [Stanstead Journal]." Mary Polly and Joshua are both buried in the Old North Church Cemetery. Their daughter Eliza Jane [1818-1820] is also buried there.

Sarah Sally Sturtevant, daughter of Lemuel and Priscilla Thompson and sister of Mary Polly, was born in Lyme, New Hampshire in 1798. She married Jeremiah Leavitt, born in 1795, son of Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt. In her own words, she wrote in her journal, commencing April 19, 1875: "I was born in the town of Lime, County of Grafton, New Hampshire and am now 76 years, seven months and fifteen days old. My father was Lemuel Sturdevant and my mother was Priscilla Thompson ...When I was 18 years old the Lord sent me a good husband. We were married at my father's house, March 6, 1817, in the town of Barton, County of Orleans, State of Vermont. The next June we moved to Canada, fifteen miles from the Vermont line..."

Her husband's parents were already living in Hatley; Sarah and her new husband would have joined them there. Jeremiah's father, Jeremiah Sr., died about 1817 and the family finally decided to remove to Utah. Sarah writes again in her journal: "From this time we set out in earnest and ready to start with the rest of the company July 20, 1835. The company was made up of the Leavitt family, Mother Sarah Shannon Leavitt and her children, consisting of twenty-three souls. Franklin Chamberlain, her oldest son-in-law, took the lead. He did not belong to the church, but his wife did." [Franklin Chamberlin married Rebecca Leavitt in 1820 in Hatley at the Anglican Church {i.e., the Old North Church}.]

Their children were born in Canada and the United States, those prior to 1835 in Hatley and the rest in the United States:

Ann b 1818 died an infant
Clarissa b 1819 died an infant
Louisa b 1820 d 1855 m William Jones
Jeremiah 3rd, b 1822 d 1878 in Utah
Lydia b 1823 d 1847 Weare b 1825 d 1847
Lemuel b 1827
Dudley b 1830 d 1908
Thomas Rowell b 1834 d 1890/91
Mary Amelia b 1832 m William Hamlin
Betsey b 1839 in Illinois; she was the 2nd wife of William Hamlin
Sarah Priscilla b 1841 at Nauvoo, Illinois

The genealogical ties between the members of the Leavitt, Rowell and Sturtevant families, with many of the families in Hatley Township, still remain today.