Ebenezer Newton

Ebenezer Newton, Barbara’s fifth great-grandfather, was born 26 May 1741 and died 14 May 1814. He lived in Keene, New Hampshire, as a young man, married Susannah Hubert there in 1768, and later died at Rochester, Vermont. Family and compiled notes associate him with French and Indian War service and Revolutionary-era military and civic records.

Ebenezer Newton was born 26 May 1741. His ancestry was not known to the compiler of the family notes, although those notes suggested, without proof, that he may have descended from Richard Newton. He was in Keene, New Hampshire, by 1754, when he was described as a young man or youth.

The family notes state that he served during the French and Indian wars of 1754–1757 with General Amherst’s army, which captured Ticonderoga. Family tradition further held that he was among scouts or pioneers who crossed the Green Mountains from Charlestown, New Hampshire, then known as No. 4, toward Ticonderoga. The notes themselves caution that he would have been young for this service if the dates on his gravestone were correct.

On 2 June 1768, Ebenezer married Susannah Hubert at Keene. Both were recorded as residents of Keene, and the marriage was performed by Rev. Clement Sumner. Her surname also appeared as Hobert and Hubbard in the notes. She was said to have been born about 1750 and was thought to have come from Milton or Braintree, Massachusetts, but her parentage was not known. A suggested connection to the immigrant Edmund Hubbard of Hingham, Massachusetts, was speculation rather than a documented descent.

In 1770, Ebenezer Newton and others received permission from the town of Keene to build pews in the meetinghouse and divide them among themselves. The family notes considered this possible evidence that he was working as a carpenter by that time.

During the Revolutionary period, Ebenezer appeared on a Keene muster roll about 1775, in a company described as having 117 officers and men and an alarm list of 45 men. He signed the Association Test of loyalty on 12 April 1776 and joined a 22 November 1776 petition concerning a pest-house for Keene. The notes also identify him as a Revolutionary soldier enrolled in Col. Ashley’s regiment. On 20 June 1777, Col. Ashley’s regiment marched against Burgoyne, with Ebenezer Newton of Keene listed among the enlisted men; the regiment participated in the Battle of Bennington on 16 August 1777.

The 1790 United States census placed Ebenezer Newton at Keene, with a household consisting of one male and six females. The family notes concluded from this record that he had not moved permanently to Rochester, Vermont, as early as 1780, despite family supposition. Those notes state that his children were born in Keene and recorded in the town books.

Ebenezer later died at Rochester, Vermont, on 14 May 1814. He was buried in the cemetery in Rochester village. His reported gravestone inscription gave his age as 74 years. A later statement by Mrs. Hester (Page) Dunham, identified in the notes as his great-granddaughter, said that a Rochester place thought to have been his home had actually been settled by his son David Newton in 1800; she added that, if Ebenezer lived there, it was not permanently.

Susannah Newton spent her last years at the Rochester home of her son David. She died there on 2 June 1838 and was buried in North Hollow Cemetery, Rochester, Vermont.

Historical context

Ebenezer’s surviving family notes place him in frontier New Hampshire during the French and Indian War era and later document his participation in several Revolutionary-era civic and military records in Keene. His reported move or later residence in Rochester occurred after the 1790 census still recorded him in Keene.

Sources & research

Original Family Tree Maker Notes: Entry “6395. EBENEZER NEWTON1 of Keene, N. H.”
Gravestone inscription, cemetery in Rochester village, Rochester, Vermont: Ebenezer Newton, died 14 May 1814, aged 74 years.
Marriage record, Keene, New Hampshire: Ebenezer Newton and Susannah Hubert, 2 June 1768; Rev. Clement Sumner officiating.
Keene town record, 1770: Permission for Ebenezer Newton and others to build and divide meetinghouse pews.
Keene muster roll, about 1775: Foot company and alarm list including Ebenezer Newton.
Association Test, 12 April 1776: Signature of Ebenezer Newton.
Keene petition for a pest-house, 22 November 1776: Signature of Ebenezer Newton.
Col. Ashley’s regiment record, 20 June 1777: Ebenezer Newton of Keene listed among enlisted men marching against Burgoyne.
First United States Census, 1790: Ebenezer Newton household at Keene, New Hampshire.
Statement attributed to Mrs. Hester (Page) Dunham: Rochester residence associated with David Newton, settled in 1800.
Gravestone inscription, North Hollow Cemetery, Rochester, Vermont: Susanna Newton, wife of Ebenezer Newton, died 2 June 1838, aged 88 years.