Williams, Harry

Harry Williams (19th century)

Hinsdale, NH

Harry Williams had moved into New Hampshire from Massachusetts by the 1810s.  At the time he would have been a free Black male in his 20s residing in Hinsdale, NH.  In 1812, he purchased 45 acres of land for $40 from Jesse Hill Jr., along with a white man named David White.  The parcel being Lot 49 in the 6th range, straddle both Hinsdale and Winchester, NH.  Williams resided on the Hinsdale side while White lived on the Wincherster side.

Williams and White resold the land four years later to Elihue Stebbin, Gentleman for $100.  Stebbins purchased 100 acres of land as part of this land deal in March 1816.  A possible explanation for the discrepancy in lot size is that David White owned 1/2 of Lot 49 in his name alone and sold his interest in the other 1/2 here with the half held with Harry Williams.  The deed indicates that David Williams of Winchester, cooper, & Henry Williams of Hinsdale, Coulored Man, were selling the land together.  

Where Harry Williams may have lived in the immediate years following the sale of his property is largely unknown.  By 1830, he reappeared in New Hampshire.  The census lists him as a resident of Hinsdale, NH, once again, this time residing with a free Black woman of the same age group.  His wife may have died in the 1830s.  Census records for the years 1840-1860 document Harry as a resident of Hinsdale, residing alone.  Census records disclose that he was born around 1790 in Massachusetts.

SOURCE MATERIALS

Registry of Deeds, Cheshire County, Hinsdale; Vol 62, #156; Vol. 73; #479- Cheshire County Registry of Deeds

U.S. Federal Census, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860- Ancestry.com

GENEALOGICAL SUMMARY

HARRY WILLIAMS was born c.1790 Massachusetts. He may have been married sometime in the 1830s. Williams remained in Hinsdale, NH into the 1860s.