The town common (commons) was a small, open field at the center of the town which was jointly owned. It was used as a marketplace, a place for the militia to drill, or for grazing livestock.
New Hampshire was first settled by Europeans in 1623. It was separated from Massachusetts in 1679.
Women played an essential role in American society as mothers and homemakers.
Esther Dwinnell Robbins was born on February 28, 1791 in Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire. Her parents were Israel Dwinnell and Eunice Davis.
She married Adams Robbins in Marlborough, Cheshire County, New Hampshire on May 24, 1826. Adams was born on September 28, 1794 and was the son of Asa Robbins and Hepsebeth Adams.
Esther and Adams children were all born in Nelson, Cheshire County.
They included:
Harriet Amelia Robbins Kidder (March 2, 1827, married Charles Kidder),
John Adams Robbins (October 14, 1828),
Caroline Calesta Robbins (March 19, 1830), and
James Monroe Robbins (April 7, 1832, married Maria Virginia Bills).
Esther Robbins died on April 12, 1832 at the age of 28. She probably died due to childbirth complications when her son, James, was born. She was buried in the cemetery on the Old Town Common in Nelson.
After her death, Adams remarried. His wife could have been Martha (Patty) Plumley or Hannah Jewitt or both.
Their children included:
Esther Elmira Robbins Vikers (1836, married William Harrison Vikers),
Gilman Plumley Robbins (1837, died age 18),
Mary Louisa Robbins (1839, died age 8),
Alfred Clement Robbins(1842, married Myra Morrison), and
Fidelia A. Robbins Davidson (1844, married James Davidson).
The Adams Robbins family appeared in the 1850 census of Nelson. The household consisted of
Adams age 55 who was a farmer,
Esther E. age 14,
Gilman P. age 12,
Sarah J. age 11,
Alfred age 8, and
Fidelia A. age six.
All members of the household were born in New Hampshire. Harriet Kidder was already married in 1850 and lived in the next household. Caroline was living or working in another home. Mary Louisa died before the census and Gilman died in 1855. The Sarah Robbins who died in 1855 was only 11 and Adam's daughter would have been 16.
Adams died on July 6, 1879 in Nelson, New Hampshire.
Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire was settled after 1736 and was a fort protecting Massachusetts during the French and Indian Wars. It was called Upper Ashuelot. When New Hampshire separated from Massachusetts in 1741 it became Keene, New Hampshire.
During King George's War, the village was attacked and burned.
Three daughters of William Towne and Joanna Blessing were wrongly accused of practicing witchcraft in Salem. Rebecca Towne Nurse, Mary Towne Estey, and Sarah Towne Bridges Cloyes were persecuted in 1692. The children of people in the line below are all descendants of Mary Estey.
Childbirth was was perilous. Around 1.5 percent of births ended in the mother's death. Since women gave birth to many children, chances of dying in childbirth were quite high.
