I find it
interesting that at least three of my original immigrant ancestors were named
Peter: Peter Tufts, the first Tufts came from England; my Grandfather Staples’
immigrant ancestor, Peter Staples, came from England to Kittery, Maine; and
Peter Labaree arrived in Salem, Massachusetts from France. All arrived before
1700.
My ancestor Jonas
Tufts of Charlestown, NH married Sarah Labaree. Her grandfather, Peter Labaree
(not Peter the immigrant mentioned above), was one of the first settlers of
Charlestown, New Hampshire in 1750. In
1754, he was captured by Indians.
Peter Labaree was born April 21, 1724 in Salem,
Massachusetts. His father, Peter the immigrant, (1690-1740) was a French
Huguenot who escaped religious persecution in France and settled in Salem. Many
people have searched for more information on Peter the immigrant, but few
records have been found. The history of the Huguenot persecution in France and
where they escaped to is written in many references. Captive Peter (1724-1803)
was early employed as a ship’s carpenter and married Ruth Putnam in 1746. (My
ancestor John Tufts married Mary Putnam also of Salem. I have yet to make the
connection between them.) Peter and Ruth had 9 children. The first 2 children were
born in Salem and made the trip on horseback to Charlestown, NH about 1750. They
are mentioned frequently in The History
of Charlestown NH….1876, by Henry Hamilton Saunderson
Peter Labaree’s descendants
compiled a rare book detailing the families he left and his story. History of the descendants of Peter Labaree,
Charlestown, New Hampshire: genealogies and sketches of families from the
French and Indian War of 1754 to the present time by Jane Labaree. There are photocopies of this book available
and it can be found at the Tuck Library in Concord, (part of the NH Historical
Society-nhhistory.org) There is also a diary kept by Peter, but I do not know
where it is. I believe pages of it are privately held. If anyone has
information on the diary, please let me know.
The best story I
have found about his capture is A
Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson:
Together with a Narrative of James Johnson, Indian Captive of
Charlestown, NH – 1757, a very well-written, easy-to-follow account written by Peter’s fellow captive, Mrs. Susanna
Willard Johnson.
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The story of their
capture and trip to Canada is eventful. Mrs. Johnson gave birth to a child
while on the trail (and named her Captive). The Indians were brutal but showed
compassion for the mother. (They also knew they would receive more ransom money
in Montreal if the captives lived.) Mrs. Johnson was eventually was settled in
St. Francis, a large Abenaki village in Quebec. In 1757, she returned to
America after suffering severely in Canadian jails. Her husband was James
Johnson, a soldier, who also returned and was killed at Fort Ticonderoga in 1758.
Peter Labaree
escaped from Montreal in a much different manner than Mrs. Johnson. Peter was
indentured to a carpenter in Canada
Another descriptive version of this story can
be found in Historical address at the
dedication of a monument in Charlestown, N.H. 1870 by Benjamin Labaree. The
address, which is quite lengthy, details some of the history of Charlestown and
stories of the captivity. The audience must have had quite a bit of patience to
sit through it but it’s great to read about the era, and Mr. Labaree was an
eloquent scholar. Photocopies of this book can also be found from online
sources (eBay).
Labaree farmhouse Charlestown NH
Peter and Ruth
raised their family of nine children in a home Peter purchased in 1780. While
some later families settled in Canada and Vermont, the old homestead was
held in the family for many generations. Peter
and Ruth’s son Benjamin lived and died at the old home and had it moved closer to the road. His
son, James, had the brick home built in 1830. It was last in posession of his grandson Carl Carey, but was finally sold out of the family in 1905.
For many years a grandfather clock was
maintained in the home. It was built in 1780 by Stephen Hassam who also made
numerous steeple clocks in the Connecticut River Valley. The “Labaree hall clock”
was handed down from the Labaree to the Tufts family, and is still in working condition
today. A painting of one Labaree has
also made it to the Tufts family but we have not determined if it is Peter the
captive or one of the Benjamin Labaree descendants. Benjamin Woods Labaree of
Newburyport, MA suggests it is the portrait is of Benjamin Labaree who was the
president of Middlebury College from 1840 to 1866. He was also the author of
the address at the dedication of the monument (above). This line of the Labaree
family is full of very accomplished educators.
Peter and Ruth’s graves
are in the old cemetery in Charlestown, where the monument dedicated to the
captives is located.
Sarah Labaree Tufts was born May 1,
1799, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah (Farwell) Labaree. She died in 1893. Here
is some information about Sarah Labaree Tufts:
“She died on her
Ninety-Fourth birthday and the Seventieth anniversary of her marriage. She
possessed a buoyant and radiant nature, responsive, communicative, sympathetic,
with an overflow of greeting and hearty recognition at her own door, and never
laying aside her active participation in the great charities of her own
communion. She was an active reader and listened to reading with great avidity.
She was a constant and consistent member of the Congregational Church in Walpole Walpole
Robeson/Tufts home; Walpole NH
Tufts Kinsmen 2010 quote:
JONAS TUFTS
b. 1, Sep. 1798 in Charlestown [Somerville],
Mass.
d. 3, Sep. 1879 in Walpole, N. H.
m 1, May
1823 in Charlestown, N. H.
to SARAH
LABAREE
dau of Dr.
Benjamin and Hannah (Farwell) Labaree
b. 1, May 1799 in Littleton, N. H.
d. 1, May 1893 in Walpole, N. H.
had 1) Timothy, 2)
Sarah, 3) James, 4) Martha F., 5) Clarissa J., 6) Susan
JONAS
originally moved to South Charlestown, N. H. where he owned a large brick house
which stood on the meadow. His wife, Sarah, was a descendant of Peter Labaree who
was captured by Indians with the Johnson family in 1754 and taken to Canada. She was sister to Rev. Benjamin Labaree, who
was President of Middlebury College for 20 years. They first moved to Prospect
Street in Walpole but in 1876 Jonas bought the widow Susan Robeson’s house on
Westminster St. East, corner of Elm, a home as steeped in patriotism as Barbara[Frietchie]
. The story is told in the Walpole history: On
the night of Mrs. Robeson’s death it so happened that there was to be a
brilliant torch light procession to encourage the election of Abraham Lincoln
for president (first term). Every house
around the Common was to be brightly lighted. As the twilight settled down, she
asked why her windows were not lighted. When it was explained that she would
perhaps rest better in a dimly lighted room, she smiled and said “Let every
panel of glass in every window of this house be lighted at once if there are
candles enough in town to do it.” She
died before morning. [HWAL 1:120]
Jonas was described as parsimonious.
His daughters had but one silk summer dress between them. After he died, widowed Sarah is said to have
blossomed out!
Labaree website:
and blog:
Nutfield genealogy
also has brief story on the fort at Charlestown:
