Where is it?
The heart of the Searles Hill community was located on the Center Rangeway. Today, remnants of the Center Rangeway are known by various names. Starting at Merrimack Road in Franklin, these include Punch Brook Road (or close to it), Searle’s Hill Road, Center Road, Loverin Hill Road, and extending up the slopes of Mt. Kearsarge.
From historical accounts, we know:
The Graveyard was located just east of the Church/Meeting House, which stood on a ten-acre lot. A parsonage was to the northwest, and the school was across from the church. The school cellar hole has been identified, and possibly the Parsonage as well.
According to deeds, the Graveyard is mentioned and likely situated on Lot 17 or Lot 18, with a smaller chance of being near Lot 16 as originally laid out. Today’s property lines remain consistent with the original lot lines from around 1763 or earlier, making them easy to identify.
The Searles Hill Graveyard is a sacred site where some of the earliest notable settlers, including at least two Revolutionary War veterans, are believed to be buried. This historically significant settlement holds importance in the town’s history, though no gravestones remain above ground to locate it. However, its presence is confirmed through deed records.
Sometime after 1841, the graveyard stones were reportedly destroyed or plowed down. The ongoing search for connecting deeds is nearly complete. Over the past two years, a small group of citizens, along with a descendant of Reverend Searle, has renewed efforts to uncover this history.
From John Dearborn’s History of Salisbury, In 1890:
1768 Church on Searle Hill was built, graveyard is just East of the church.
About 1770, a Parsonage was 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 at the crossroads. (Paul Shaw in Historic Salisbury Houses)
Who might be buried there?
From the History of Salisbury by John Dearborn, 1890, page 131:
The First Cemetery
“Here, soon after, the church was erected; a schoolhouse 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.
- Andrew Pettengill died in 1777. Andrew Pettengill 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 it.
- Ebenezer Webster of Kingston (not Daniel’s Father), before Salisbury, was instrumental in founding Searles Hill from his earliest days in Kingston and was responsible for installing Reverend Searle. He and his family attended the church, and Daniel Webster was baptized there. From “History of Franklin” by Shepard,
- “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.
- The Minister Searle’s wife died in 1792. She is not buried in any other graveyard. The family resided nearby until 1841.
- Rev. Jonathan Searle b. 1746 Rowley, Mass -d 1818 Salisbury, NH. It does not seem that he is buried in the Shaws’ 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.
- 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.
- 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. Some lived on the hill, who may 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 at contact@salisburyhistoricalsociety.org
If you’re exploring Searles Hill, keep in mind that Searles Hill Road is a Class 6 road and isn’t maintained by the town. The land is privately owned, as indicated by the oldest deeds, including areas once designated for town use, such as a Meeting House, School, Parsonage, and graveyard. Many parts of the land are posted and require landowner permission to access. Be cautious, as old farm remnants or buildings may have cellar holes and open wells, which can be dangerous. On unposted land or otherwise, remember that any objects or artifacts found belong to the landowner, may hold historical value, and should not be removed.