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BOOK OF DOW FIFTH GENERATIONJoseph Dow
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[RN3472] BOOK TWO Joseph Dow & bbbfa [RN3472] m Haverhill Apr 20, 1768, Judith Emery, whose sister Mary subsequently m his brother Henry. This line is not in Emery Gen. They had a brother who moved to N Y State. Another brother (or close relative) emigrated with the Dows to New Brunswick and has a posterity now in that Province. A grandson says that his grandmother was Eliza Ann Emery, it is likely that Eliza was a niece and a 2nd wife. Judith's name appears in deeds until the family disappears from Mass in 1771. Joseph remained closely associated with his father in shipwrighting and land speculation. It is not easy to distinguish between them in deeds, as both had wives Judith. The Chelmsford roster of troops for the 1760 Canadian campaign contains Joseph Dow b Amesbury, 17, of Chelmsford. For some campaign (probably this one) he secured his cousin Gideon Colby as substitute. In 1765 he received land in Haverhill from his father, which he sold Jan 5, 1771, to James McHard. From this time he drops absolutely out of sight until he reappears in New Brunswick 1801. He had business interests in Dracut and Goffstown and family tradition calls one of his sons Ipswich, a suggestive name. Prior to 1783 New Brunswick had almost no population and was part of Nova Scotia. In the spring of 1783 a large party of colonists from Mass and adjoining States landed at the mouth of St John River and took up lands. They had been tories and this was their first opportunity to reach British soil. Their lives had been made most unpleasant since 1775 and many of them had lived in strict seclusion. This party, however, contained no Dow. The Provincial government was liberal in the matter of granting Iand; indeed it could well afford to be to get bona fide settlers. Land had been "squatted upon" and such was readily confirmed by Government title. To William Dow bcdhd land was granted in Charlotte Co in 1791, on which his kin had settled possibly as early as 1772. William Dow, probably not identical, got York Co land by grant in 1815. On Deer Isl, N B, there is a place known for 150 years as Hannah Dow's Hill, origin of name uncertain. The grants of land to the bbbfa line did not begin until 1803. A series of accidental discoveries have brought to light the movements of this family throughout. Joseph Dow and wife were in Boston 1774 and he took part in the so-called Boston Tea Party. Just when he was converted to the tory cause we do not know. The people of Boston had no chance to join the Federals at Bunker Hill. They had to look on in silence, whatever their sympathies. Joseph was a ship builder already; under the British occupation of the city he was the best man at that trade in the place. He was kept busy and well paid. Family tradition says that a son of Joseph was born in or near Haverhill 1783. This is absent in the well kept Haverhill rec, and is doubtful, unless the family was there in hiding. When the British evacuated Boston, the position of the tories was precarious. A fairly large party fled; among them was Joseph Dow and at least three members of the allied family of Emery. These subsequently followed Joseph to New Brunswick, where their descendants are plenty, some being quite prominent merchants in St John today. They took refuge first on the uninhabited island of Southport, just outside of Wiscasset, Me. Possibly Henry Dow bbbfh went there first. They traveled in a boat of Joseph's own making and were successful in taking all portable property, tools for ship-building being a prime necessity. The stay at Southport lasted twenty years. Here Judith Emery died and Joseph took a second wife, Eliza Ann Emery. Here were born probably eight children. Here a ship yard was built and many vessels launched, mostly of the schooner type. It is a family tradition that Joseph built the first schooner known to Maine. Altho Southport had no money and needed none, except for taxes, no government existing for years, Joseph and his associates became comparatively wealthy, wealth consisting of vessels. They set up a coasting trade and their boats became well known from Halifax to Boston. St John, N B, was of course a regular port of call and the Dow vessels became well known to the Provincial government. The Governor himself, realizing that the Province lacked good builders, invited Joseph Dow to locate there, promising ample lands, virgin timber tracts and deep water. Joseph accepted, and the place chosen was at the junction of the St John and Oromocto Rivers. The first grant, in Sunbury Co, was made in 1803 to Aps Dow. This is Absalom bbbfaf. In 1810 John and William got additional grants. Joseph Dow Jr got a grant in 1810 and another in 1818. He was by this time Joseph Dow, as his father had joined the great majority. If our theory is correct, a 1st born of Joseph and Judith remained in Southport. The rest developed the great ship-building business begun at Oromocto. There was some sort of partnership, but how extensive or lasting is not known. Very naturally, however, the whole family, wealthy and aristocratic, considered themselves tory of tories. In Oromocto dwelt 6 sons, 1 dau: x Thomas; the son who elected to stay in Southport
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