Charles Barrett Sr. (1740 - 1808)

Born 13 Jan 1740 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Rebecca (Minott) Barrett — married 1764 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 21 Sep 1808 at age 68 in New Ipswich, Hillsborough, New Hampshire, United States [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Rick Pierpont [send private message]

Biography

• In 1764 Charles went to New Ipswich, NH from Concord, MA.
• He was a delegate to the state convention to ratify the U.S. constitution.
• He was a member of the state senate and a rep. for 14 years.
• Military record in National Archives (Revolutionary War) indicate he was on the roll of men who marched from New Ipswich before daylight on the morning of 4/20/1775.
• He built the first locks in America - in ME.
• He built a cotton mill in NH.
• In Aug. 1996 we visited his house and the house he built for his son, Charles Barrett, Jr. The houses are side by side on Main St. New Ipswich, NH. We also visited the gravesites at the nearby cemetery.
• The 1800 house, Forest Hall, Barrett House, that was built for his son is open to the public.
• His own house, next door, is now privately owned by Gregg Hansen who showed us all through the house.
• The fire screen that is in the parlor of the "mansion" was needleworked by Charles, Sr.'s wife, Rebecca, for their daughter, Rebecca. It is of the Dana crest as Rebecca married Samuel Dana.
• The sign in front of the house in 1996 is as follows. "Barrett House: Built in 1800 by Charles Barrett, as a residence for his son, Charles, Jr., "Forest Hall" as it was known, pays tribute to the Barrett family and to the 19th century textile industry.
• The Barrett textile mills, located in Bank Village (New Ipswich), produced cotton fabric for domestic and export usage.
• This house demonstrates fine federal architecture and testifies to the skill of local craftsmen."
• From 1996 SPNEA brochure: "According to tradition, Forest Hall was built as a wedding gift for Charles Barrett and his bride by his father. Its grand scale was encouraged by the bride's father, who promised to furnish the house in as lavish a manner as it could be built. The interiors are, indeed, elegantly furnished, and must have presented a fine backdrop for the young couple. New Ipswich was a flourishing mill town at the beginning of the 19th century, and Forest Hall reflects the prosperity of that era. Ultimately, the town was bypassed by the expanding railroad, which led to a decline of industry in the area. Economic stagnation, however, had the beneficial side effect of preserving the historic character of the town and region.
• The Merchant-Ivory film of Henry James's, 'The Europeans', was shot at Barrett House. A tea room is open on Sunday afternoons and holidays during the season. The grounds may be rented for private events." The tea room is not operating in 1998.
• "History of Hope, Maine", by Anna Simpson Hardy:

The community of Hope, Knox County, Maine, is located about five miles inland from the towns of Camden and Rockport. The area was first settled in the mid-1780s when Charles Barrett of New Ipswich, New Hampshire, contracted with the proprietors to form a new township. Settlers were offered lots at reasonable prices, promising to clear the land and build a meeting house. By 1790, the plantation, then known as Barrettstown, boasted 53 families. The town was officially incorporated as Hope in 1804.

• "History of New Ipswich, NH" says he married a 2nd time, to Francis Cragin, in 1810, two years after he died.

Name

Charles Barrett, Sr.

Birth

January 13, 1739/40 Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts

Event

Of New Ipswich, Hillsborough, New Hampshire

Built Cotton Mill (NH)

Built first Locks in America (Maine)

Member of Senate, Rep. for 14 years

Marriage

1764 Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts

The couple was married about 44 years until his death in 1808.

They had four children.

He married his first cousin once removed.

Death

September 21, 1808 Probably, New Ipswich, Hillsborough, New Hampshire

Age at Death: 69

Burial

Hill Cemetery, New Ipswich, Hillsborough, New Hampshire

Sources

• Tolman, George. Concord, Massachusetts Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1635-1850 (Beacon Press, Boston, Mass., 1895) Page 150. Birth record.
• Documents Relating to Towns in New Hampshire (1885) Vol. 14: "Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, 1775 to May 1777" Vol. 1.

• Page 34: "Person that went to Cambridge in April A.D. 1775 on the alarm of the battle at Concord, their time and expenses:"

• Chandler, Charles H. The History of New Ipswich, New Hampshire, 1735-1914 (New Ipswich, N.H., Sentinel Print. Co., 1914) Page 212-217.

• Page 75: "Roll of the men who marched from New Ipswich before daylight on the morning of April 20, 1775". It shows "Chas. Barrett 1 Day". No person on the list is shown as serving over 13 days, in "The First Uprising", except for the pastor, Rev. Stephen Farrar, who served 30 days. This is attested to by Capt. Thomas Heald, who also served 13 days.

• Find A Grave: Memorial #62765444
• Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2010) Vol: Concord - V1, Page 150. "Charles Barrett ye son of Thomas Barrett and Mary his Wife was born January 13:1739/40 "
• Historic New England, Barrett House
• Barrett, William. Genealogy of Some of The Descendants of Thomas Barrett, Sen., of Braintree, Mass., 1635 (D. Ramaley & Son, Saint Paul, Minn., 1888) Page 265.