Mary Brown was the first child born in Newbury.

That fatal epidemic, throat distemper, first made its appearance in Byfield parish, in October, 1735, when one died. Before the end of October, 1736, one hundred and four persons (mostly children) died in this parish alone, supposed to have been about one seventh part of the population. Probably about one half belonged to Rowley part of the parish. In one family eight children died; four of them were buried in the same grave.

The first parish lost by throat distemper,

72

which was probably about one eighth part of the whole population of the town.

1660. Thirty children died in the town.

1698, February 15. Four persons, three adults and one child, were buried in one grave.

1728. Thirty-two persons died in the first parish.

1773. Thirty-seven persons died in the first parish, mostly adults, by fever.

During Mr. Jewett's ministry, viz. from 1729 to 1774, a period of forty-five years, ninety-four persons died in the first parish over the age of eighty years. The average number of deaths in the town for the last twenty years, has been one to about seventy of the population. The greatest number, in any one of those years, was equal to one in about fifty, and the smallest number, in any year, equal to one in about one hundred of the population.

1730. The small-pox was in the town, when several died, and again in 1764, and at several times during the Revolutionary war, when several died. Formerly, when the small-pox was in Boston, the town of Rowley established a smoke-house, in which they required all persons and baggage from Boston to take a smoking.

DEATHS BY CASUALTY, &c.

1706-7, January 10. David Stewart, son of James, choked with a copper, aged 4 years.

1708, June 17. Mary Jewett, daughter of Joseph, drowned, aged 2 years.

1710, Sept. 19. Samuel Lancaster, drowned; he left a widow and several children.

1711, December. Samuel Boynton, Jr., frozen, aged 17

years.

1713. Sarah Gage, daughter of William, scalded, aged 4 years.

1715, Aug. 12. Peter, son of Samuel Cooper, drowned, aged 19 years.

1715-16, March 16. John Dolliver, son of John, drowned in Rowley River.

1717, May 30. Abigail Leighton, daughter of Richard, found dead in bed, aged 1 year.

1718, May 16.

Simon Lull, only son of Simon, drowned. 1723-4, February. James Brown, a child lost in the woods, and perished.

1724–5, Jan. 6. Jonathan Lambert, son of Thomas, scalded, aged 7 years.

1730, June 24. A child of Richard Clark, by smallpox.

1730. Samuel Prime, drowned.

1730, July 11. Richard Clark, small-pox, aged 53 years. 1742, April 16. Moses Wood, son of Thomas, by the

fall of a gate upon him.

1749, Oct. 15. Abner Todd, son of Abner, by a fall from a tree, aged 12 years.

1752, Aug. 22. Abner Dodge, a child, drowned in a tub of water.

1753, Feb, 27. Dudley Lull, son of Thomas, Jr., killed by an explosion of gunpowder.

1755, July 16. Joshua Stickney, son of Stephen, of Lunenburg, drowned in the Falls River, by falling from a hay boat.

1756, May 29. Moses Richards and Abijah Johnson, drowned in Rowley River.

1759, August 13. Mr. John Noyes, schoolmaster, suddenly.

1760, November. William Bailey, drowned at Isle of Sables.

1762, May 13. John Dodge, aged 40 years, Stephen Thurston, and Nathaniel Boynton, aged 50 years; these, with 3 others, were lost by shipwreck near Annis Squam Bar, Gloucester.

The same year, Jonathan Trask, and Joseph Hobson were drowned.

1764, June 7. Charles Canada, a pedlar, was found dead in the road.

About 1769, Daniel Kilborn was drowned in the Cow Bridge Creek, aged about 27. Left a widow and 1 child.

1770, John Todd, by falling down stairs, an old man. 1771, Nov. 18 or 19. Abraham Adams hung himself in the night. He had lived, to appearance, (says the record,) a life of virtue and religion; his reason had failed some time. He was advanced in life.

1771, Jan. 23. Nathaniel Clough, by a fall on the ice with a log of wood upon his shoulder; he died instantly. Left a widow and children.

1772, April. Caleb Jewett, drowned at sea; a young

man.

1772, March 20. Abraham Jewett, son of David, by a bean in his throat, aged three years.

1775, May 4. Widow Mercy Chapman, drowned in Rowley River. Her body was found near Safford's Point.

1776, Feb. 14. Eliphalet Spofford, son of Capt. Eliphalet, by bleeding, aged two years.

1777, Jan. 30. Elizabeth Spofford, wife of Moses, in a fit, fell into the fire, and was so much burned that she died soon after.

1777, Sept. 12. Deacon Abner Spofford, instantly, by a fall in his saw-mill, aged 74. 1779, Jan. 5.

years.

Jeremiah Hazen, by small-pox, aged 63

1780, June 1. George Ropkins, died while under the operation of extracting a stone from the bladder, aged 17 years. 1790, April. James Wharf and James Page, of Rowley, with others of Newbury, were lost in a violent storm, while out fishing. They sailed from Newbury, old town, and the vessel was never heard from. Wharf left a widow and five children.

About 1792, Thomas Collins, drowned.

1793, Sept. 7. The wife of Aaron Jewett, of Ipswich Village, (belonging to Rowley, First Parish,) hung herself. She lived some hours after she was taken down. She was a professor of religion, sustained a good character; toward the close of life, she was visited with distressing sickness, and lost her reason in a great measure.

1795, February. Joseph Poor, a deacon of Byfield Church, died of apoplexy, when in the meeting-house upon the Sabbath.

1796, March 10. Samuel Potter, of said Ipswich Village, was frozen to death while out gunning.

1799, Jan. 4. John Johnson, fell down dead in the road, near Plain Hill, aged 79.

1805, Aug. 5. Isaac Bradford, of Duxbury, an insane man, attempted to ford Rowley River, near Northend's Island, and was drowned.

1806, Nov. 26. Jonathan Stevens was killed by the wheel of a loaded waggon passing over his neck, aged 43 years.

1810, July 10. Solomon Dodge, son of Solomon, aged 7 years, was accidentally killed with a scythe, by a little

brother.

1810, Oct. 9. At the house of Daniel Jewett, Mrs. Mehitable, wife of David Hobbs, of Topsfield, by an injury received by upsetting a chaise.

1810, Oct. 14, Sabbath day. Widow Miriam Fellows was found dead near a wall in a pasture, with a large stone upon her head, supposed to have fallen in attempting to get over the wall, on Friday preceding.

1811, Jan. 12. Mary, daughter of Moses Dole, by a burn, aged two years.

1811, Nov. 2. David Hobson, found dead in the west ox pasture road, with his face lying in a small run of water. 1813, April 2. Elizabeth, wife of Peter Cloughlin, being in her house alone, was found burnt to death.

1816, March 19. The wife of Aaron Crombie, by hanging herself, aged 48 years.

1816, August 11, Sabbath day. David Edgerly, drowned while bathing in Rowley River, aged 24 years.

1817, Dec. 8. Moses Scott, almost instantly aged 75 years.

1819, Sept, 28. Moses Johnson, found dead in a field, aged 57 years.

1819, Nov. 23. Joshua Edwards, by designedly taking arsenic, aged 30 years.

1821, May 5. Amos Spofford, by a fall from his horse, on training day, aged 32 years.

1823, July 22. hay, in his field,

1823, Dec. 8.

aged 14 years.

1824, Sept. 19

Stephen Dole, by a fall from a load of aged 67 years.

Caleb Chaplin, son of Caleb, by burning,

Sophronia Pearson, found dead in bed,

at the house of Widow Lucy Boynton.

1824, Oct. 7. Enoch Dresser, by a fall from a horse,

aged 48 years.