Connections: The Emery Pioneers of Kittery, Maine and Monroe, NH

I grew up in a small dairy farm town along the curve of the Connecticut River above the White Mountains in New Hampshire, called Monroe.  It was named for James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States as the town was incorporated in 1854 when it split from the mother town of Lyman after being known since 1761 as West Lyman.  The Gardner Mountain range divided the two halves of Lyman and it made sense to split into two separate towns.  I lived in Monroe for 10 years between the ages of 5 and 15 so it holds a special place in my heart and my memory.  It was there that I first developed a love of history and an interest in knowing about the people who once walked along the same paths I found myself walking.  I developed this interest in many ways from my interactions with my grandfather who was, himself, an amateur historian who submitted many historical tales of early 20th century farm life to the Green Mountain Folklore Society for publication. 

We lived on a winding country road originally named Coppermine Hill Road, and eventually shortened to Coppermine Road for there were purported to be copper mines in this area in the 1800's.  We lived on a portion of my Grandfather's property and just down the road, within shouting distance, lived my best friend.  His family lived in a house that was built by the brother of the man who built my grandfather's house.  We knew this from reading the wonderful "History of Monroe New Hampshire" published in 1955 by Frances Ann Johnson as part of Monroe's Centennial celebration.  

These two brothers were named Edward and Horace Emery.  My friend and I sought out and visited the brothers' graves in the North Monroe Cemetery.  This was not the normal pastime of most kids but it is still a cherished memory of mine.

So how does this tale of childhood memories relate to Eliot history?  Well, those familiar with the history of Eliot and Kittery will recognize the Emery name.  In Monroe, or more accurately West Lyman, the first Emery settler was the father of Edward and Horace, Caleb Emery.  Caleb was born in 1776 in Dunbarton, NH and settled in West Lyman in 1804.  He seems to have brought along his father Amos and uncle Caleb both soldiers of the American Revolution in Capt. Samuel McConnell's Company out of Pembroke, NH who marched to Bennington, VT.  Much of the settlement of this part of New England along the Connecticut River occurred later than settlements along the coast mainly due to hostilities with native tribes which continued until the conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1763.  

Caleb's farm encompassed both my Grandfather's property and the property of my friend's family.  When Caleb settled here he built a log cabin near the brook that divided the two properties.  My friend and I looked many times for evidence of this log cabin but never found any, or at least none that our young eyes would have recognized.  

The paternal line of Caleb Emery of West Lyman, NH leads back to John Emery of Romsey, England who was born in 1598 and came to America aboard the "James" in 1635 bound for Boston and eventually Newbury, Massachusetts.  John Emery of Romsey is the brother of Anthony Emery of Romsey who was also aboard the "James".  

Anthony Emery was an early settler of Dover, NH in 1640 and Kittery, Maine in 1649.  All of the Emery name from the Kittery area originate from Anthony through his son James.  Anthony was said to be a large man of 300 pounds.  Physically large and also large in importance of that early settlement.  He was one of the signers of the Submission of Maine to Massachusetts in 1652.  His time in both Dover and Kittery was full of controversy and court decisions, mostly involving alcohol and his ability to sell it.  But they also involved Anthony being overly friendly with Quakers which was not allowed in the strict Puritan environment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  

By 1660 Anthony had had enough of the Puritans of Kittery and moved south to Portsmouth, Rhode Island where he lived out his remaining days.  His son James and his grandchildren continued to live in Kittery and the Berwicks.

The tale of two Emery brothers from Romsey, England and how they played a historical role in two places I have called home does not end there.  For through my other hobby of genealogy, and much to my surprise, I discovered a genealogical line to these Kittery Emerys.  Anthony Emery of Kittery was my 9th Great Grandfather.  So I was the 9th Great Grandchild of Anthony Emery who settled a few miles down the road from where I now live, and I grew up on the ancestral farm of my distant cousin Caleb.  Such is the magic of modern genealogy combined with local historical research, and the web that connects us all to the history of those varied places we call home.