In memory of Bracket, son of Thomas & Hannah Leavitt ,the first who died of the spotted fever in Pittsfield Feb'y 8th 1813, in his 11th year.

His full name was Levi Brackett Leavitt, born on 18 Feb 1802, perhaps in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, where his birth date was recorded. The circumstances aren't clear as to why he was in Pittsfield, NH during that dreadful winter of 1813 - was he just visiting his uncle Brackett? Had his father Thomas also moved to Pittsfield, albeit only for a brief time?

The Concord Gazette, on 6 March 1813, wrote that there had been about 120 cases within 20 days, and 13 deaths in Pittsfield. When the disease first broke out, the town quickly organized a committee to help with the sick, bringing in doctors from out of town, and raising $200 for procuring medicine, wine, etc to aid the sick. The elder Brackett Leavitt (uncle of the above youngster) was among the townsmen in the committee who praised the work of the doctors, in a card dated Feb. 27th, 1813. The fever, though, wasn't yet through with the town, and many still perished, including Mr. Leavitt himself, in May of 1813.  

For more Pittsfield, New Hampshire grave photos, see their own page HERE.

The daughter of Benson and Abigail (Ward) Leavitt, EMILY WILDER LEAVITT was born in Boston, MA on 28 Dec 1836. 

She attended the Charlestown Female Seminary, where she graduated in July 1852. She is found in the census records for Boston, 1850-60, 1880, and Cambridge in 1870, never listed with any occupation. She is seen in the Boston City Directories, living in Roxbury in 1886, at 10 Joy St, Boston, 1898-1901, and at 7 Walnut in 1902.

She worked with many individuals in gathering, compiling, and editing their family genealogies. She used the library of the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston for her research, at a time when females were not allowed to be members. It was not until 1898 [List of Members of the NEHGS, April 1, 1898], when women were allowed to join, that she enrolled. Many articles written by Miss Leavitt  were published in their New England Historical and Genealogical Register.

Some of her earlier works included genealogies compiled for Moses Conant Warren in 1890:
- A Genealogy of the Bogman Family, 1767-1890
- A genealogy of one branch of the Morey family 1631-1890
- A genealogy of one branch of the Conant family, 1581-1890

She followed those with:
- Henry Crane of Milton, Mass., 1654, and Some of His Descendants (1893)
- The Blair Family of New England, compiled for Mr. William Blair, Chicago (1900)
- Palmer groups : John Melvin of Charlestown and Concord, Mass., and his descendants (1901-05)
- Morse Genealogy, Comprising the descendants of Samuel, Anthony, William and Joseph Morse and John Moss (1903, 1905), with J. Howard Morse
- The Starkeys of New England and allied families, compiled for Albert Crane, Esq (1910)

She also wrote articles for other genealogical publications, including Putnam's Monthly Historical Magazine, where she compiled church records from Hampton Falls, NH in 1897-8.

JOSEPH LEAVITT SANBORN was the son of Aaron Sanborn and Lydia Leavitt, dau. of Thomas and Hannah (Melcher) Leavitt of Hampton Falls. Sanborn was born there on 31 Oct 1843.

He was with his parents in Hampton Falls for the 1860 census, working as a farm laborer, age 16. He was enrolled, at age 19, in an advanced class at Phillips Exeter Academy, the Class of 1863. He went from there to Harvard College, where he graduated with the Class of 1867. He taught school in Plymouth, MA, 1867-68, following that with several years at a school in West Newton, MA.

While teaching in Newton, he was married there on 6 July 1871 to Josephine Lakin of Worcester. Late the following year, they removed to St. Louis, Missouri, with Joseph taking a teaching position at the city high school. For less than a year he had been a resident of the city before typhoid  would claim the thirty-year old . 

His obituary, as published in the Daily Missouri Republican, on Tues., April 1st, 1873: 

His body was returned home to Hampton Falls, where he was buried in West View Cemetery. He left behind his pregnant wife and infant daughter, Josephine, aged only 11 months. Another daughter, Esther, would be born in July 1873. They would return to Worcester, MA soon after.

BENSON LEAVITT, was the eldest son of Thomas and Hannah (Melcher) Leavitt, born 21 Jun 1797 in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. As the U.S. flag and its holder suggests, he was a veteran of the War of 1812.

A member of the New Hampshire Militia, he was in the company of Capt. Samuel James, under Col. Case Waldron. He served as a private with a detachment of artillery from the Third Regiment, raised for the defence of Portsmouth Harbor in Sept. 1814. He would have only been 17 years of age at the time of his enlistment.

He moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1826, establishing a wholesale grocery and fish store with his brother Joseph M. The 1831 City Dir. listed their business on Battery Wharf, but later references show their store on the Philadelphia Packet Pier. Following the death of his brother in 1849, the store of "B. & J.M. Leavitt" would change to "Benson Leavitt & Co." as he co-partnered with son Charles B. [Glouc. Telegraph, 4 Mar 1868]. The 1842 Dir. listed Benson as living at 11 Fleet, with Joseph at 10 1/2 (it was the same building). In 1831, they had been on Hanover.

He was a Justice of the Peace, as well as an alderman, in Boston for many years. In Nov. and Dec of 1845, as Chairman of the Board of Aldermen, he served as acting mayor in the city when the current official had passed away and elections needed to be held to secure a new leader. He was also among the list of bank directors, and was on the school committee in Ward 1, Boston. Party-wise, his name was often submitted on the ballots of several political parties in the years of running for an alderman position, but was noted as being either a Whig or American Republican (ie. Native American). 

When his father died in 1852, both Benson and brother Joseph received the homestead farm in Hampton Falls (but remained in Boston), with their sister Hannah having the right to live there as a single woman [Rock. County Probate, file #16376]. From the 1856 map of Rockingham county, the location of the home is marked "C & B. Leavitt". This home still stands today. The cemetery where they are buried, not yet established when this map was drawn, is opposite the Old West View Cemetery, highlighted on the map.

Benson died from pneumonia on June 1st, 1869, in Watertown, MA, aged 72 [MA VR]. His body was a shipped back to Hampton Falls, where he was buried in the family plot at West View Cemetery. Newspaper accounts called him "the oldest fish dealer in Boston". One death notice read as follows:

His wife, Abigail Ward, had predeceased him in 1851, as did two of his children. He was survived by three daughters (Theresa, Susan, and Emily) and son Charles. 

JOHN H LEAVITT was a farmer in Shapleigh, Maine, where he was born on 27 May 1821, the son of Jeremiah and Abigail (Hasty) Leavitt. Except for his time serving during the Civil War, he lived his entire life there, and died in town on 19 Jan 1911. He was buried in Riverside Cemetery, in the neighboring village of Springvale, Maine. 

​The 1856 map of York County shows "J. Leavitt" in Shapleigh, located on what is today Shapleigh Corner Road, on the east side of the road. On the 1872 Shapleigh, Maine map, his homestead is on the west side of the road "from Shapleigh to Sanford". There is an old building on this spot, but currently not clear if this is the home of John H. or one built later. [GPS: 43.538218, -70.851348]
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Online access to York County Deeds aren't available at the time of this writing, but the 1880 Census Agriculture Schedule lists John H having 42 acres (28 improved, and 14 woodland/forest) valued at $1000. In the inventory of his probate, his real estate was still valued at this dollar amount.

His first wife, Eliza Bragdon, is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery, Acton, ME (see cemetery records). They didn't have any children. He secondly married, on 11 Oct 1862 in Shapleigh, to Pauline A Cooper. At that time, he was on leave from Camp Lincoln in Cape Elizabeth, having been mustered into Company K, 27th Maine Infantry, on the 30th of Sept., and would ship out for Virginia a week later. 

He received a disability discharge on 7 Jan 1863 and returned home to Shapleigh.

John and Pauline had six children, their names all inscribed on the above family monument. Some of them are not buried in this plot, however; they are elsewhere with their husbands.
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According to his obituary, published in the Springvale Advocate on Jan. 27th, 1911, John had gone blind some years prior. He was the oldest resident of Shapleigh when he passed away at his home, from Bright's Disease.

Links:
Obituary: Springvale Advocate, 27 Jan 1911, pg 2
Map: York County, Maine, 1857 (Shapleigh)
Map: Shapleigh, ME, 1872 (at Digital Maine)
Maine State Archives Collection: Civil War (Co K, 27th ME Enlistment Rolls)
York County, ME Probate (File #54949) - he left real estate to his wife, while remainder of estate equally divided between three daughters. Grandson Edward Ham received $500.