Newton, C

Newton, C

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1st tier Candidate

Christopher Newton (Jr.), b 1743 in Groton, CT - d 1834 in Newport, NH.

1773 deed Christopher Newton of Groton, house joiner, buys 50A in Newport, NH

1781 deed Christopher Newton of Newport, house joiner, buys 80A in Newport, NH

m Mary Giles 1766 in Groton

ch Martha 1768, Mary 1770, Margery 1772, Abigail 1775, Erastus 1777 and Hubbard 1780. 

Moved family to Newport between April 1777 and 1779.

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1st Lieutenant of Alarm Company ....  Minute Men in June 1777 (His cousin Isaac Newton was 2nd Lieutenant)

1784 and 1785, selectman of Newport

1791 Newport entry where Christopher Jr. was on a committee to erect a meeting house.

1805 Christopher paid for his draught for a bridge and then inspecting the bridge

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(The above details are taken from period documents. However, several histories include variances in his birth and death dates. The 1743 birth date cited here comes from Groton period town records, his tombstone and NH birth / death records. Part of the issue might be the existence of a second Christopher Newton family in Groton in the early 1800s. Details on this additional family were not clear, but a separate Christopher died there in 1811.)

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Ref's: History of Newport, NH; Newton Genealogy ... Record of the Descendants of Richard Newton; History of the descendants of Peter Spicer; Genealogical & Family History of the State of NH

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2nd tier Candidate (likely too early for the planes)

Cristopher Newton (Sr.),  Groton, b 1704 - d  1791, will 1786.

m Deborah Sholes in Groton, 1732

m Martha, 1770

Cristopher Sr. was the first of eight born to Samuel and Ruth (Spicer), having married in 1702. Samuel had a sawmill.

Wife Martha, sons in will: Mark, Abel, Christopher Jr., Agrippa, Jacob and Elijah dec’d. He left ½ of his carpenter tools to Agrippa. His inventory also included saws, adds, augers and chisels, in addition to ½ of the carpenter tools mentioned in the will.

 

C Newton planes are very similar to those of Abel Spicer style-wise but use the molding plane wedge style of Oliver with the straight cut-out under the finial. The families were related via Ruth Spicer marrying Samuel Newton in 1702 as mentioned above. In addition, in a 1767 deed for Christopher Newton Sr., Abel Spicer, known planemaker, was a witness along with John Spicer. Oliver Spicer (1726) and Abel Spicer (1736) birth dates compare roughly with that of Christopher Jr (1743) such that Christopher making planes with shared Spicer construction details would make sense.

 

C Newton 1790 census

Charles 5 in MA, VT, PA, NH, NY, Calvin 1 in MA, Cotton 1 in MA, Caleb 1 in NY, Christopher 2 in CT, 1 in NH. No craftsmen were found.

 

Other craftsmen: Charles Newton, b 1795 Tunbridge, VT, carpenter (too late for the planes)

                            Charles Newton, 1775 deed, Southborough, MA, gunstocker (less likely to be the maker of the planes)