Where is it?
The center of the Searles Hill community was on the Center Rangeway. The fragments of the Center rangeway now go under different names. Beginning at the Merrimack Road in Franklin now, as Punch Brook Road or nearly so, Searle’s Hill Road, Center Road, Loverin Hill Road onto the slopes of Mt Kearsarge.
From historical accounts we know:
The Graveyard was just east of the Church/Meeting House which was located on a ten acre lot. A parsonage was to the nw and the school across from the church. They School cellar hole has been identified, and possibly the Parsonage as well.
From deeds we know: The Graveyard is mentioned in deeds and is likely located either on Lot 17 or Lot 18 or less likely but possibly near to 16 as originally laid out. Today’s property lines adhere to the original lot lines laid out in circa 1763 or earlier and original lot lines are easily identifiable.
The Searles Hill Graveyard is the sacred burial ground of our earliest notable settlers and likely at least 2 Revolutionary War veterans are interred there. The settlement itself is of historic significance in our town’s history but sadly there are no stones above ground to help us find it. We do however see it in deed records.
Sometime after 1841 the graveyard stones were destroyed or plowed down as the story goes and the search connecting deeds continues and is nearly complete. A small group of citizens and an ancestor of Reverend Searle have in the last 2 years resurrected this search.
From John Dearborn’s History of Salisbury 1890:
1768 Church on Searle Hill is built, graveyard is just East of the church.
About 1770 a Parsonage is built NW of the Meeting house
1772-1791 Rev Searle is the Minister
1774 Mehitable Smith Webster wife of Ebenezer dies.
1782- Daniel Webster is baptized in the church
1791- The church is disassembled a few years prior and reconstructed on its new site yhe crossroads.(Paul Shaw in Historic Salisbury Houses)
Who might be buried there?
Form the History of Salisbury by John Dearborn 1890 page 131:
The First Cemetery
“Here, soon after, the church was erected; a school house once stood near it and just east of the meeting-house was the burying ground. Here the infant brothers and sisters and the self sacrificing mother* of Daniel Webster were buried. He was laid near one hundred years ago the wife of the first minister of the town and others beside her old and young.”
“Who by the wayside fell and perished,
Weary with the march of life.”
*(First wife of Ebenezer Webster not Daniel’s mother.error)
The epitaph may have been on her stone though that is an unknown.
Possible Occupants of the graveyard on Searles Hill.
1- Andrew Pettengill died 1777
Andrew Pettengill owned owned a church pew and was a church supporter. He owned land on the hill as did his brother and nephew who owned the graveyard at various points. He is not buried in any graveyard in town nor likely at his tavern at the crossroads in Salisbury. Perhaps he was the first person buried at Searles Hill. Why there? His strong connection to the church is clear. Both he and the Reverend Searle were intimately connected with or served with Ebenezer Webster father of Daniel Webster in the Revolution. They were veterans. Comrades. It is reasonable to assume they are buried there. They signed the Articles of Association and there was an alarm fire location on the hill to warn of Indians and British, they possibly manned.
2-Ebenezer Webster of Kingston (not Daniel’s Father) prior to Salisbury was instrumental in founding Searles Hill from his earliest days in Kingston and responsible for installing Reverend Searle. He and his family attended the church and Daniel Webster was baptized there. From “History of Franklin” by Shepard,
3-“Mehitable (Smith) Webster [Ebenezer Webster’s first wife] died March 28, 1774, and was buried near her little children on Searles Hill.” From “History of Franklin” by Shepard, pg. 63. also page 131 in John Dearborn’s History of Salisbury 1890 though referred to erroneously as the mother of Daniel Webster.
4-The Minister Searle’s wife, died in 1792. She is not buried in any other graveyard. The family resided nearby until 1841.
5- Rev. Jonathan Searle b. 1746 Rowley Mass -d 1818 Salisbury NH. It does not seen that he is buried in the Shaw’s corner graveyard near the road to the Birthplace. His family continued to live at the parsonage near the Church graveyard on Searles Hill up until 1841. Oddly in 1890 he is not mentioned as being buried on the Hill by John Dearborn.
6- Amos Searle 1799-1830. lived on Searle’s Hill after his father died. He died before Oak hIll Cemetery was created and is likely buried there though his name is on the family monument on Oak Hill.
7- In addition there are those associated with and who supported the church, who owned church pews, and were town residents who died right before other graveyards had been established and are not buried anywhere we know of. There are those also who lived on the hill who may also be buried there. A descendant of the Bailey family is researching the graveyard as well. Early church records are scant and do not indicate who is buried in the Searles Hill Graveyard and until records are found it will remain speculative based only on reasonable deductions.
If you have any information or family oral history on this topic please contact us.
Exploring Searles Hill, please note: Searles Hill Road is a Class 6 road and is not maintained by the town. The land is all privately owned as the oldest deeds show including those sections that were once laid out for town use as such as a Meeting House, School, Parsonage and graveyard. A good portion of the land is posted and requires the permission of the land owner to visit. As with all areas where remnants of old farms or building once stood there are cellar holes and open dug wells and are not safe. If you are on unposted land or otherwise please note that all objects or artifacts found belong to the landowner and may be of historical significance and should not be removed.