|
the Indian murders and cruelties
which have been inflicted upon the
early settlers of Dover, conse-
quently -want of space debars us
from the attempt.
First Ministers and Church.
Rev. William R. Leveridge, Con-
gregational, was the first minister
who preached here, and, probably,
the first ordained minister that
ever preached the gospel in New-
IIampshire. For want of adequate
support, he remained but two
years, and removed south. He
was influenced to come here
through Lord Say, and commenced
his services Oct. 10, 1633. The
next was Rev. George Burdett,
who came among them in 1634.
He was elected Governor and was
settled to preach in 1637, but being
detected in some criminal acts, he
made a precipitate flight to the
province of Maine. A Congrega-
tional church was established in
1638, by one Capt. John Underhill,
and put in charge of Rev. Han-
serd Knoll ys, in 1639. This
church was called the First
Church, being the oldest but one
in New-Hampshire. He was fol-
lowed by Rev. Thomas Larkman,
in 1640. These two last men
proved themselves destitute of
moral character, and were forced
to leave the parish. The church
being much oppressed by the bad
character of the ministers, in
1642, called the pious Rev. Daniel
Maud to become their pastor.
This charge he faithfully perform-
ed until his death, which occurred
in 1655. Then followed the Rev.
John Reyner, settled in 1657; died
in 1669. Rev. John Reyner, his
son, settled in 1671; died in 1676.
Rev. John Pike, settled in 1681;
died in 1710. Rev. Nicholas Se-
ver, settled in 1711; dismissed in
1715; died in 1764. Rev. Jona-
than Cushing, settled in 1717; dis-
missed in 1764. Rev. Jeremy
Belknap, D. D., settled in 1767;
removed to Boston in 1786, and
wa3 settled there in 1787. Dr.
Belknap was the celebrated histo-
rian of New-IIampshire. He died
in Boston, June 20, 1798. Rev
Robert Gray, settled in 1787; dis-
missed in 1805. |
Town and City. Dover was in-
corporated as a town, October 22,
1641. A city charter was granted
in June, 1855, and adopted Sep-
tember 1, 1855. The following
persons have acted as mayors:
1856, Andrew Pierce; 1857, Thom-
as E. Sawyer: 1858, James Ben-
nett; 1860, Albert Bond; 1861,
Alphonzo Bickford; 1863, Wil-
liam F. Estes; 1866, Joshua G.
Hall; 1868, Eli V. Brewster; 1870,
William S. Stevens.
The population, at various dates,
is as follows: in 1777, 1,666; 1790,
1,998; 1820, 2,871; 1850, 8,186;
1860, 8,502; 1870, 9,294. Ratable
polls in 1872, 2291. Assessed val-
uation, $5,917,089. True valua-
tion, about $9,000,000.
Boundaries. North by Somers-
worth and Rollinsford, east by Sal-
mon Falls river, which separates
it from Maine, south by Madbury,
and west by Rochester. Area of
improved land 2,640 acres.
Distances. Forty miles east from
Concord, and sixty-six north from
Boston.
Railroads. The railroad facili-
ties of Dover are excellent. The
Boston and Maine Railroad which
connects Boston with Portland,
passes through the centre; the Co-
checo, a branch of the Boston and
Maine, runs to Alton bay, distant |
