Meredith, N.H. in 1860 - Part I

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Above is a clipping of the town of Meredith, from a Belknap County, N.H. map, drawn by E.M. Woodford, and published by Smith & Peavey in 1859 and 1860 (the full map can be found on the Library of Congress website). There were seven Leavitt households found on it - these families can be identified by comparing their names with the census of 1860. PART I will focus on the western side of town:

1. "B. Leavitt" - This is Bradstreet Leavitt, son of Samuel [Desc. of Nehemiah, pg 52].
​Also written as "Broadstreet" in early papers, he purchased half of his father's holdings in Lot 16, 2nd Div., in 1837, including land in Lot 16, 4th Div., which bordered it [Strafford Deeds, v. 180, pg 459]. He purchased another 39 acres from adjoining lot 60 in 1839, from David G. Smith [Straff Deeds, v. 180, pg 435]. He died in 1883, and was buried in the family cemetery on the property, along with his wife, parents, et al [See LEAVITT Cem on Find a Grave]. 

1860 Meredith, NH census, pg 8

(left) Provincial and State Papers, Vol. 27: Plan of Meredith, 1770 (inset, pg 488-489)

2. "T. Leavitt" - Thomas Leavitt (1794-1880)
A descendant of Nehemiah [Vol. VI, pg 83], he lived on the north side of "Saddle Hill", which would be renamed Leavitt Mountain. He owned land in Lot 63, 2nd Division. He first purchased 1/2 of the 120 acre lot from his father John in 1817 [Straff. Deeds v.116, pg 435], and another 30 in 1828 [v.151, pg 462]. His brother Ebenezer had property in Lots 60 and 61, which their father had sold him in 1832.

1860 census, pg 13

He is buried, along with his wife Jane (Randlett) and their three unmarried children, on the old homestead. Daughter Nancy J. was the last to live on the property, her will, dated 1888 (proved in 1902), left 100 acres (in two lots) to Warren L. Glidden, provided he live on the farm and "take care of the farm in a husband like manner" and care for her "in sickness and health" [Belknap County Probate, Vol. 26, pg 512]. His parents, John and Sally (Ward) Leavitt, are buried nearby in the Sanborn Cem. (Asahel Sanborn purchased the westerly end of the "burying yard" from Ebenezer K. Leavitt in 1851).

3. "T.L. Leavitt" - on the south side of "Saddle Hill" was Thomas L. Leavitt (1828-1902) another member of the Nehemiah line [Vol. VI, pg 65], the son of John and Sarah (Edgerly). His father had purchased Lot 42, 2nd Div., in 1818 [Straff. Deeds, v. 6, pg 228], later selling it to Thomas' eldest brother Levi in 1844. Levi would, in turn, "sell" it back to his parents in 1852, for use during their natural lives. Following their father's death in 1855, Levi sold the lot to Thomas [Belknap Deeds, v. 27 pg 525].  

1860 census, pg 14

​Thomas and his sister, Mary J., didn't marry, and shared the household. Sarah, his widowed mother, was with them in the 1860 census. The siblings are both buried in Laconia's Union Cemetery [see our cemetery page for Laconia], sharing a plot with their Uncle Ebenezer K. Leavitt. 

The parents are buried on their former land, in a small plot [see: Leavitt Cem. - Find a Grave] with only their stones standing there (though field stones show an unknown burial there). A red check is an estimated location of the graveyard.

4. "J. Leavitt" - Likely the home of Joseph Leavitt (1807-1858)
Though deceased at the time of the 1860 census, his widow Julia was still living there with two children. Her father, Levi Smith, had sold the property to her husband in 1841 [Belknap Deeds v.2, pg 41], which was all he then owned in town. The deed included the stipulation that Joseph and Julia cared for her parents and let them stay in the household, along with their other children.

Julia's brother, Noah W. Smith, seen on the opposite of the road on the map, had earlier purchased 1/2 of his father's estate. Both Joseph and Julia (who died in 1864) and their dau. Addie C. were buried in the Smith Cem, but their son George S. Leavitt (in his 1905 will) asked that they be re-interred in his New Hampton Village Cem. lot. This may not have happened, as his stone [Find a Grave] has all of their names inscribed, with "buried in Smith Cemetery, Meredith" at bottom. The entry for the Smith Cemetery on Find a Grave doesn't list any Leavitts, and no disinterment forms were filed in NH VR. 
​Joseph Leavitt, son of Samuel, is found in the Desc. of Nehemiah VI, pg 68-69.

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Found in the 1860 census living in Meredith, but NOT marked on the 1859/60 map of Meredith, was the family of Jeremiah W. Leavitt. He spent most of his life in New Hampton, but had apparently briefly crossed over the border just in time for the census. Looking at his household, there is a "Ruth Ranlet", aged 55, listed with him. 

1860 census, pg 9

​On the 1859/60 map, marked just north of the J. Leavitt homestead (see #4 above), is a "Mrs. R. Randlett". The order of enumeration would place him in this vicinity. The home probably belonged to Ruth, as other censuses find her around this location, so the estate value should have been listed beside her and not Jeremiah. 
Jeremiah Leavitt is found in the Desc. of Nehemiah VI book, on pg 35/63.    

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MEREDITH, NEW HAMPSHIRE in 1860 - continued in PART II