EARLIEST SESSIONS IN AMERICA (SAMUEL, ALEXANDER, SAMUEL II, DAVID, DAVID II) by Ada Sessions Eddins Samuel Sessions is believed to be the first Sessions in America. He came from England in about 1630 with Paul Dudley who became Massachusetts first colonial governor. He managed the property of Mr. Dudley in Roxbury for many years. Samuel was a large man weighing 250 lb. and stood 6 feet 3 inches tall. While in England he served as a man at arms for King Charles the First, a son of King James who revised the Bible which become known as "THE KING JAMES VERSION". He must have received and honorable discharge or he would not have been permitted to come to America with Dudley. He had a large family, but there is a record of only two possible sons Alexander and Nathional. He may have had a brother George who followed him to America. ALEXANDER SESSIONS The first positive record of Alexander Sessions is a deposition he made before Simon Bradstreet on 27th of January, 1669, in which he reported his age as 24 years. Thus, his birth date would fall in the year 1645, but where he was born or who his parents were is not verified. On the 24th of April, 1672, in Andover, Massachusetts he married Elizabeth Spofford, daughter of John Spofford and Elizabeth Scott, Her father was an influential citizens of the town of Rowley, Massachusetts. He took his Freeman s oath October 10th, 1677 and was granted an 80 acres of land in Andover, Mass. He resided there until his death the 26th of February, 1687/8. The administration of his Will was not completed until 8 March, 1696. His wife Elizabeth signed the documents as having eight sons and one daughter. One of these sons was named Samuel, so it is possible that the original Samuel was Alexander s father. JOHN SPOFFORD (Father of Alexander s Wife) John Spofford resided in Rowley, Mass. Because of a great drought, he found himself and others of his neighbors in
great need of corn. He offered to drive to Salem, Mass. and purchase corn for all of them. 2 The merchant to whom he applied had foreseen the scarcity and had raised his prices. He refused to open his store and sell for the old price. Pleading the necessity of himself and neighbors in vain, he finally cursed the merchant. John was taken before a magistrate and charged with profane swearing which in those days was a grave offense. The magistrate asked, "Isn t it not true thou has cursed profanely, this thy good neighbor?" "No, answered John, not profanely, but as a religious duty." He then quoted his authority: "Prov. llth chapter, 26th verse. "`He that holdith corn from the hungry, thy people shall curse him. Your Honor, I did a good job of it." John was immediately acquitted and the merchant ordered to open his store and deliver John as much corn as he could pay for at the old price. SAMUEL SESSIONS II Alexander s son Samuel was born at Andover, Massachusetts on 8 March, 1679/80. He acquired part of his father s estate and purchased other lands. Samuel was influential in town affairs although he held no positions. On 17 February, 1707/8, at Topsfield, Massachusetts he married Mary Cox of Topsfield. Samuel and Mary Cox Sessions had six children, two girls and four boys. The two girls and one boy died while young leaving Samuel, Timothy, and David. The birth date of David remains distinctly in the old Andover town record as 25 January, 1718/19, however, the name is worn away. Old family records recognize this as the birth date of David. His father, Samuel drowned on the 6th of December, 1750, while trying to cross a stream of water near their home. He was 70 years old. David s mother, Mary, died the following spring 28 February, 1750/1 (old calendar). DAVID SESSIONS "THE CROWN POINT MARTYR" The earliest record of Samuel s son David is in the Vital Records of Andover, Massachusetts. It is the marriage record of David Sessions and Mary Lancksford. David was twenty-five at the time of his marriage and commenced to acquire land in Boxford and Andover, Massachusetts. Their first child was "Hetteell born August 19th, 1744. On the 21st of August, 1745, David Sessions, yeoman, bought 6 acres of Wades Meadows 2
from Jacob Marston of Andover, Their next two children were Samuel born, May 11th, 1749 and David on the 31st of May, 1751. Three more children were born to them: Mary, Darius, and an unnamed daughter. 3 David purchased from Nathan Towne, 40 acres with house in Andover and then in July of 1752, he bought a parcel of land from his Uncle Samuel. It contained 57 acres with a brook running through it. The Deed was signed by Samuel and his wife Hannah (Gray) and witnessed by Timothy Sessions. Most of the early American Colonists fled from persecution in their native lands, but they expressed no intention of casting off Allegiance to their Mother Country. The colonies compiled with demands of England to furnish forces to assist with quelling disturbances promoted by French and Indians. In 1755, the Governors of Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts planned a four fold attack on the French: Ft. Duquesne, Ohio; Niagara; Crown Point (near Lake Champlain); Fort Beausejour in an attempt to put an end to the constant raiding by French and Indians on the Colonial border towns. The French were defeated at Crown Point in the Battle of Lake George (Sept 8th), but the Colonists made the mistake of not occupying Crown Point. The next year England and France decreed a formally declaration of war, and the French under General Montcalm captured Ft. George. The English and Colonial troops who were in this battle were promised safe conduct back to Fort Edwards on the Hudson River, but on the way back they were massacred by Indians. David Sessions, the son of Samuel, died in this massacre. Mary Lancksford Sessions was granted administrator of his estate on the 8th of December, 1756. An inventory disclosed the value of his holdings as fifty-two pounds. On November 8th, 1757, Mary Sessions sold land "by the ford over the brook near Stephen Foster" and again on 21 October, 1765, she presented a charge against the estate in which she stated that two of her young children (Mary and an unnamed daughter) had died. She signed the petition as Mary Long, having married her neighbor, John Long. David Sessions II Records in 1775 show David Sessions living in Andover, Massachusetts. He was 26 years of age and not married. War 3
with England was eminent and all of the towns were organized with "dispatchers" to spread the word that the British were coming. Many a Deacon s yard was used as a drilling ground for the men and boys of the communities. Andover was a short distance north and east of Lexington, and all of the young men were ready to protect the store of arms and ammunition at Lexington and Concord. David served as a fifer in the fife and drum corps. David s record during the Revolutionary War was obtained from the Department of Records in Washington. 4 January 5, 1933 Dear Madame: Reference is made to your letter in which you request a copy of the Pension Record of David Sessions, a soldier in the Revolutionary War, born 1749 in Boxford, Massachusetts. The record given below is obtained from papers on file in the Revolutionary War Pension Claims S37380 based upon the service of David Sessions and is the record of the only soldier with that name found on the Revolutionary War records in this office. David Sessions enlisted 19 April 1775 at Cambridge, Mass. and served eight months as a Sergeant in the fife and drum corp of Capt. Perley s company, Col. James Frye s Massachusetts Regiment. He (re-)enlisted 1 January 1776, served one year as Sergeant in Capt. Elisha Woodbury s Company. Col. John Stark s New Hampshire Regiment and was discharged at Mt. Independence. He was allowed a pension on his application executed 25 April 1818 at which time he resided in Ketchum or Riley, Oxford Co. Maine District. He was then about 62 years of age. The exact date and place of his birth not given. In 1820, the soldier lived at Newry, a place adjoining Ketchum, and stated that his wife, Rachel, was 55 years of age. Place of said Rachel and her maiden name are not stated. Yours very truly, /s/ A. D. Hiller Assistant to Administrator In March of l783, David Sessions of Derryfield, New Hampshire, his brother Samuel of Londonderry, and his sister Mehetable (Hettee) wife of Asa Rowell of Salem, New Hampshire, sold fifteen acres of land in Andover to Nathan Foster of Andover, Massachusetts. This sale along with the tax list of 1783 indicates David settled in Derryfield after the Revolu- 4
tionary War. A charter was granted Derryfield in 1751, but many difficulties concerning land titles and the Revolutionary War set the progress of the community back. Some of the town records are faded with no specified place for recording vital statistics. Entries were written in between town meetings, along margin, and any other place available consequently they are difficult to read and in some places indiscernible. 5 At the March town meeting of Derryfield, 1785, David Sessions, Lt. Ebenezer Stevens, James Pierce, Archibald Gamble, Nathaniel Merrill and Theophelus Griffin were appointed to serve as surveyors for the Derryfield highways. He was also appointed as a Keeper of the Fish. This later assignment was to regulate the use of seines and the number of fish taken from the Merrimac River to the portion allotted Derryfield. Great schools of salmon, eel, and several other types of fish migrated up this river. These fish not only furnished food but were used for fertilizer. It was estimated the annual supply of lamprey eels for family use in Derryfield and adjoining towns equaled three hundred head of beef cattle. David Sessions s name appears continuously on the tax list until 1789. In April of 1789 town board minutes show that one item to be considered was "to see what method the town will take to conduct with respect to that action that David Sessions hath commenced against Israel Young. After this item David s is not on the tax list of Derryfield, New Hampshire. In the 1790 census of Fairlee, Vermont, the name of David Sessions appears as head of a household with three females living at the same residence. Evidently David was not satisfied with the outcome of his trouble with Israel Young in Derryfield and moved his family to Vermont. David had married Rachel Stevens in probably 1885. She was a daughter of Ebenezer and Esther Stevens. She had a twin brother, Ebenezer. Her father, a Lieutenant in the Militia, served on a committee, "to look after the liberties of the people", called the Safety Committee. This committee was a forerunner to the Provincial Congress. David and Rachel had two daughters Polly and Sally while living in Derryfield. Shortly after the census was taken Rachel gave birth to a son that they named David. He was born in Fairlee, Vermont, on 4 April, 1790. They had three more children: William, Asa, and Rachel. Clearing trees to have enough ground to raise food on was a problem in the north-eastern New England states. Once the ground was cleared gardens and usually wheat were planted. Black bears were of concern to the early settlers. They destroyed the young corn and got into the sheep flocks. Moose, 5
deer, wild turkey and many varieties of fish were used for food, and hulled corn boiled in maple syrup, blueberry sauce, and cranberry tarts added to the daily diet. 6 Every farm had an orchard and maple lot. Wood was plentiful for building since the English government no longer collected "ship mast" trees as part of her Colonial bounty. Timber not used for building was burned for potash to make soap and to get pearl ash for baking powder. The people suffered greatly from lack of roads, and when the roads did come whole caravans of sleighs carried produce to the coast and large droves of cattle were driven to Boston market. The Connecticut River was used sometimes, but there were many obstacles on the river. Most Vermonters were former inhabitants of Massachusetts and Connecticut where education was regarded as essential, so taxes were aside for schools. However, many of the young people lived on farms and were unable to attend school. There is no record of why David moved his family from Fairlee, Vermont to Maine. However, Riley Plantation in Maine was opened for settlement in 1805 and by 1810 David had moved. By an act of Congress in 1789, participants in the American Revolutionary War were granted pensions for their service. David placed a claim, and it was approved April 25th, 1818 for ninety-two dollars. In March of 1821, David and Rachel left their homestead near Newry and moved in with David and Patty. For five years, Rachel had been suffering intensely with rheumatism, by this time she was unable to dress herself or stand. NOTE: This history was taken in part from one written by Nina Folsom Moss who descends from Patty s son David s line. 6