Penacook (North Concord), New Hampshire
The railroad station in Penacook where Edward Hill would have worked in 1850. Click to Enlarge.
Shows where the Edward Hill family lived in 1850. The railroad station was on north Penacook St.; and manufacturing was on Merrimack St. (a few hundred yards north of the red icon. Cick to Enlarge.
Another view of the station. No enlargement available.
Rolfe's Sash and Door Manufacturing was located several hundred yards north of the the main Rolfe home on Penacook St. This building would have been familiar to our Hill ancestors. Click to Enlarge.
Captain Henry Rolfe (Photo on right)
Captain Henry Rolfe was born in Concord (Fisherville) in 1785. By the mid-1850s, this house found itself facing the passenger rail station in Penacook. He was the great grandson of Henry Rolfe, originally from Newbury, Mass., who was one of the original proprieters of Pennycock.
His death occurred just after the railroad station was constructed.Henry Rolfe's sons, Timothy, Abial and Nathanial succeeded their father in the farming and lumber business. Large numbers of pine was cut down on their ancestral farms, sawn into lumber in their own sawmill. Once cut, the lumber was moved down the Merrimack river to lumber markets in Boston and Lowell
In later years their lumber business became more sophisticated, and subsequently began manufacturing boxes, doors, sash under the name of C. M. & A. W Rolfe.
In the 1850 census we find our Hill ancestors living in the "railroad shanties" of Concord. After a little research, we now know where the shanties were located...just south of the railroad station in Penacook. Outside of Shanty town , the closest neighbors were the Rolfes who were not only among the earliest settlers in Concord, but also large landowners in Penacook.
The Rolfe homes were located within a few blocks of each other, and would have been familiar with the Edward Hill family. The main home was located at 11 Penacook, which today is directly across the passenger station in Penacook This home, along with other Rolfe homes, are pictured on the right side of this page (click to enlarge). A map of the main Rolfe home is on your left, and directly south of this home were the railroad shanties (click to enlarge).
Captain Nathanial Rolfe would have been someone our ancestors would have known. This story about him shows his sympathies for the Irish race:
"Captain Rolfe was a man of broad sympathies, ready to help wherever help was needed. In the early years of the village when the first families of Irish birth settled here, there was a strong prejudice against them among the workmen in the Rolfe shops, so much so that when a young Irishman was first taken into the shop, several of the best workmen left and when others threatened to leave unless the young man was discharged; but Captain Rolfe declared that he would keep the young Irishman even if every one of the workmen left, and he did keep him, and employed many others of that race at a time when it was difficult for them to obtain employment elsewhere. "
11 Penacook. Same house as below, but shows how rural this part of Concord was. click to enlarge.
11 Penacook St., Abiel Rolfe home (click to Enlarge)
6 Penacook St., Herbert Rolfe home (Henry). Click to Enlarge
Nathanial Rolfe home on Penacook St. (click to enlarge)
The Catholic Church
The first priest to arrive in Concord was in 1849. This mission church was under the direction of Reverend William McDonald of Manchester. In those early days, Mass was held in local homes.
Tthere were few Catholic churches in New England. It was said that between Boston and the Canadian border, there was only one Catholic church, and this was located in Lowell. Even in New York City, the first Catholic churches were under constructed at this time, which reflected the Protestant nature of America.
In the 1903 history for Penacook it pointed out something interesting: "it is believed that the first child baptized in Penacook was Andrew Linehan in May 1852." Two of Edward and Margaret Hill's children were born in Concord (Anne November 1849 and Elizabeth July 1852). Who knows... maybe Anne should be the record holder.