Ebook Landmarks in Ancient Dover

The township of Dover, New Hampshire, originally comprised not only the present city of that name, but the townships of Durham, Lee, Madbury, Rollinsford and Somersworth, the greater part of Newington, a portion of Newmarket, and nearly, if not quite, the whole shore of Greenland along the south side of the Great Bay.

A complete list of the old localities and landmarks of this extensive region has necessarily required a great amount of research. The list given in the present work is based on the early town records, especially those of Dover proper; on the county records at Exeter prior to 1773; on the New Hampshire Provincial and State Papers; and on local and family traditions. All the grants and conveyances of land referred to in this work have been personally examined by the writer, unless otherwise intimated. The orthography and phraseology of these records have been retained as far as possible, even when no direct quotations have been made.

The present edition of the "Landmarks in Ancient Dover" entirely supersedes the first one. The numerous errors in that edition have, as far as discovered, been carefully corrected in this, and several hundred new localities have been added.

Among the most important corrections are those relating to Herod's Cove, Pinkham's and Swadden's Creeks, and the ancient bounds of the Bloody Point settlement once known as Kenney's Creek and Hogsty Cove. Numerous places along the Greenland shore of the Great Bay are herein proved to have been a part of Ancient Dover. And whereas the first edition of this work was only supplementary to what others had written, the present edition is a complete register of all the noteworthy localities within the limits of Ancient Dover, not only of early times, but also those of more recent date, as well as many places in Barrington, Nottingham, and Rochester, mentioned in connection with the public highways or with the inhabitants of Dover.

A few of the places mentioned in this work have not been positively identified, in spite of much research; but the neighborhood has in all cases been indicated, and some points given which, it is hoped, will lead to their identification. The writer will feel greatly obliged for any information bearing thereon, and for the correction of any errors discovered in the work.