Hello again my Hayes relatives.   I once again have a family history story to share with you.  This one involves quite a few of our  family members.  First of all let me remind you of our Hayes lineage.  John Hayes was the first of our Hayes ancestors to settle in America.  He first appears on records in Dover, New Hampshire in 1680 at the age of twenty.  He married Mary Horne in 1666 and they had several children of whom John is our ancestor.  John married Tamsen Wentworth and they had Thomas Hayes who married Hannah Twombly and then comes our revolutionary war vet  Benjamin who married Elizabeth Heard.  These four generations all lived in Dover, New Hampshire. The next generation was James who married Phebe Nutting and they  left New England and eventually settled out west. 

With this genealogical background in mind I want to share with you some history of Colonial America.  In 1675 -1678 a war broke out between certain Indians led by one who had adopted the name King Philip and the English settlers and their native allies.  This war named King Philip's war was widespread across New England but not in Dover or the surrounding area.  The natives there had peaceful relations with the English settlers.  At the end of the hostilities, many of the native combatants fled Massachusetts and found their way to Dover.  The community now had a mix of friendly and hostile natives.  The  magistrate and head of the Militia in Dover was Richard Waldron who also ran a large trading post. He was asked by Governor Bradford  in 1676 to round up the hostile Indians and hold them for Massachusetts to come get.  Waldron did not want the friendly natives that had lived in their community to be taken or harmed by any skirmish in the arresting of the offending natives.  So, he decided to trick the Indians and told them he was going to host a mock war game and invited them all to a large field near town.  When the Indians arrived, they were surrounded and captured by 4 militia companies including two from Massachusetts.  The local Indians were separated from the hostile Indians and the militia  marched them to Massachusetts were they were hanged, imprisoned or sold into slavery.  The local Indians of Dover took this action by Waldron and the militia as a betrayal and tensions began to rise. Not only that Richard Waldron was a greedy man who often cheated the Indians giving them little of nothing for their land and holding his hand on the scales at his trading post.  He also was known to sell liquor and weapons which was forbidden.  Yet he as head of the militia wouldn't allow the natives in the woods on their own beyond a certain point making them get written permission from himself.  On top of all this, a new chief came into power and this one was not like his predecessors who wanted friendly relations with the English.                                                                                                   

  Knowing the increasing strain in relations between the settlers and the natives, in 1684, the governor ordered garrison houses to be built in New Hampshire at the expense of the state. Dover, New Hampshire lies on the Cocheco  River and a total of five garrisons were built; two on the south side of the river and three on the north side.  As tensions rose, the settlers began to sleep in the garrisons and go about their usual activities during the day light hours.  The garrison houses were built on stone block foundations with the second story overhanging the first.  By being constructed in this manner, the floor boards could be removed in the overhang area for water to be poured  to put out set fires or boiling water to defend against attackers.  The houses were also fitted with slots so guns could be aimed at invaders.  These garrisons were rather large with large hearths for cooking and heating.  They had the ability to house around 50 people. The five garrisons were owned by Peter Coffin, his son Tristam Coffin on the south side of the river and Richard Otis, Elizabeth Heard widow of Capt. John Heard, and Richard Waldron on the north side of the river,  Four of those owners are our ancestors.  Richard Otis is our 7th Great Grandfather.  Elizabeth (Hull) Heard is our 7th Great Grandmother.  Peter Coffin was Elizabeth's first cousin which made his son Tristam her second cousin.  Don't ask me what that makes them in relation to us other than extremely distant cousins.

In June of 1689, Governor Bradford was informed of the increasing threat of hostilities toward the settlers in Dover and on the 27th of June he dispatched a letter to be carried to Richard Waldron.  It read in part.  "Some Indians report that there is a gathering of Indians in or about Penacock with the design of mischief to the English....they have of particular design against yourself and Mr. Peter Coffin which the council thought it necessary to give you notice that you take care of your own safeguard." The letter arrived June 29, 1689.  The night of June 27, 1689, several Indian woman decided to spend the night at the garrisons.  This was not unusual especially during peaceful times.  In the early morning hours of June 28, the woman left the garrison house and went and opened up the gated entrance to the compound.  This occurred at each garrison.  The women were letting in hostile natives with  evil intent. The only compound spared was that of Tristam Coffin because he had his much more fortified and the woman was more than likely unable to open the gate or an Indian woman was not allowed to spend the night.  At the Heard garrison, our 7th Great Grandfather, William Wentworth was awakened by barking dogs and went to check the gates to find it unlocked.  He proceeded to lock it  at the same time as the natives tried to enter.  He shoved them back then laid on his back with his feet against the gate until he was able to awaken the rest of the house.  In the meantime 3 balls were shot through the gate but missed our ancestor.  Our Great Grandfather was well up in years when this event occurred.  Elizabeth Heard, our 7th Great Grandmother had traveled by river up to Portsmith and didn't arrive back in Dover until the morning of the 28th.  When she and her 4 grown children landed, they began to walk towards home.  When they were near the Waldon garrison, they smelled smoke and saw the marauding band of Indians.  Elizabeth was elderly, became frightened and unable to run.  She told her children to run for their lives but hide her in the bushes first.  Reluctantly, they did as they were told and hid their mother and ran.  While hiding she was discovered by an Indian and thought she was going to be killed.  However this Indian recognized Elizabeth as the women who showed kindness to him and helped him when the militia was rounding up and mistreating the Indians during the war game farce. He left her unharmed. Elizabeth remained hidden in the bushes until it seemed safe and then walked home believing she would find her home destroyed but learned it was intact thanks to the quick thinking and bravery of Elder Wentworth.

At the Peter Coffin garrison, the Indians did not kill Peter or the others but looted his home, then kidnapped Peter and took him to his son's garrison that the Indians had been unable to enter.  They threatened Peter with violence if Tristam didn't open up the gate. Seeing his father in grave danger, Tristam opened the gate.  The Indians came in and looted there also.

The Otis garrison did not fare as well as the Coffin's. Our Great Grandfather Richard Sr Otis heard something, rose up in bed and was murdered.  His grown son, Stephen along with his daughter-in-law, Mary (Pittman) was also killed as well as his 2 year old daughter, Hannah. Several of his children and three of his grandchildren were captured and kidnapped along with his third wife, Grizel and infant daughter, Margaret.  The Indians burned the Otis Garrison to the ground.

The Waldron garrison  was also a scene of horrific evil.  Richard was grabbed, tied to a chair and tortured by the Indians until he was finally killed by his own sword.  He also had family members perish and some captured.  The Waldron compound was also burned to the ground along with  5 other homes in the town of Dover and the mill near the falls.  All in all 23 people were killed in the various garrisons including our 7th Great Grandfather William Horne, (father-in-law to John Hayes). 29 people were captured. This was one quarter of the population of Dover.  The loss was devastating.  The Indians split up into several groups and led their captives to Canada.  The militia pursued the Indians and was able to catch up to one group in Conway, New Hampshire and rescued some of the victims including out 6th Great Grandmother, Experience Otis and two of her sisters, Judith and Rose.

The rest of the captives were forcefully taken to Canada and sold to the French.  The wife of Richard Otis and his infant daughter Margaret of 3 months were separated. Our aunts and uncles including John who was 6 at the time, was renamed and rebaptized into the Catholic faith.  Remember New England was settled by Puritans none of the captives were Catholic.  In 1714, there was a prisoner exchange and many returned to Dover.  However four of our aunts and uncles chose to remain in Canada.  When Margaret, now named Christine, grew up she married and had two children.  When her first husband died, she returned to Dover at the age of 45 and lived out the remainder of her life there.