"[L]iberty must at all hazards be supported.
We have a right to it, derived from our Maker.
But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us,
at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood."
-- John Adams, 1765
Middlesex County, Massachusetts was created on May 10, 1643. The county originally included Charlestown, Cambridge, Watertown, Sudbury, Concord, Woburn, Medford, Wayland, and Reading.
New Hampshire was first settled by Europeans in 1623. It was separated from Massachusetts in 1679.
Lieutenant Ebenezer Davis was born in 1743 in Littleton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. His parents were Simon and Jane Davis.
He married Maria (Mariah) Whitney on November 26, 1777. She was the daughter of Joseph Whitney and Abigail Nutting.
He signed the Association Test in 1776 in Rindge, Cheshire County, New Hampshire.
Their children probably included:
Simon Davis (1778),
Ebenezer Davis (1780),
Sarah Davis Bullock (1781),
Joseph Davis (1784), and
Polly Davis (1790).
Census records indicate that they had other children.
From 1790 through 1820, Ebenezer Davis was in Rindge. In 1790 the household consisted of five females, one man older than 16, and 3 boys under 16.
In 1796 when the Rindge Meeting house was built, Lieutenant Davis was one of the men delegated "to clear the ground of all idle spectators where they are in the way of the workmen."
In 1800 there were two women and a man older than 45, a man and a woman between 16 and 25, and a girl between 10 and 15.
In 1810 there was a man and a woman over 45, a man between 26 and 44, and a woman between 16 and 25.
In 1820 there was a man and a woman over 45 and two men between 26 and 44.
Maria died on May 4, 1830. Ebenezer died on December 10, 1831 in Rindge, Cheshire County, New Hampshire.
The Association Test
“We, the subscribers do hereby solemnly engage and promise that we will, to the utmost of our powers, at the risque of our lives and fortunes, with arms, oppose the hostile proceedings of the British fleets and Armies against the United American Colonies."
Littleton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts was first settled in 1686 by English settlers and was the the location of the Native American village called Nashoba Plantation
The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) was between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the 13 colonies which became the newly formed United States.
The New England Meetinghouse was the only municipal building in a town. Both worship and civil meetings were held there. It was customary for men and women to sit separately and the town chose a committee once a year to assign seats according to what was paid, age, and dignity.
History of the Town of Rindge, New Hampshire by Ezra S. Stearns published by Press of G. H. Ellis, 1875
Lieut. Ebenezer Davis, a son of Simon Davis, was from Littleton, Mass. Resided in Rindge a few years previous to his marriage; md. Nov. 26, 1777, Maria Whitney, of Littleton. His farm was east of and adjacent to the farm of Ebenezer Stratton, senior. He was styled Lieutenant from and after 1778, and was respected for his ability and integrity. He d. Dec. 10, 1831, aged 88; his wife d. May 4, 1830, aged 84.
i. Simon, b. Nov.12, 1778; d. unmd. July 1, 1841. He was a school-teacher of good repute.
ii. Ebenezer, b. May 10, 1780; d. Feb. 17, 1808.
iii. Sarah, b. Nov. 1, 1781; md.
in Rindge, May 4, 1808, Rufus Bullock, Esq., of Royalston, Mass. Ex-Gov. A. H. Bullock, of Massachusetts, is a son of this marriage.
iv. Joseph, b. May 13, 1784; d. unmd. April 27, 1849.
v. Polly, b. July 14, 1790; d. unmd. Aug. 11, 1869.
Historically an esquire (Esq. or Esqr.) was the title of a man who ranked below a knight in the English gentry. Later it designated a commoner with the status of gentleman and was used by attorneys.
