Person:Thomas Duston (3)

Thomas Duston moved with his parents to Portsmouth, NH, after their house in Kittery, ME was burned in 1660. His father died in 1662,and a year later his mother married Matthias Button of Haverhill as his fourth wife...On April 7 and June 23, 1673, Thomas was a witness in two cases before the Quarterly Court of Essex County...It was probably on the thirty acres which he received from his mother that Thomas built the house mentioned on Jan. 25, 1675, in the Haverhill Records as being one of those built 'which fall under the law made in 1660 which prohibits them from privileges in Common lands.' Here he probably lived with his mother for about two years until 1675 when he deeded to Peter Green forty-five acres of upland 'with the House orchard and fence and timber and to pertenances belonging thereto' in consideration of exchange of land...On June 24, 1676,Thomas Duston is listed as a private in Lieut. Benjamin Swett's Haverhill Company in King Philip's War...-00738

Thomas' birth may have been in Kittery, ME. He was a brick maker and he had a saw mill. He built a new brick house and it became a garrison house which was, under his command, to be repaired and guarded by five men. This garrison house has been maintained and is periodically open for tourists.

The problem he faced when the Abnaike Indians descended on Haverhill is described by Jane James, p. 21: "On the morning of March 15, 1697 about 20 Abinake Indians in war dress descended on the outlying homes of Haverhill. Thomas Dustin, constable of Haverhill at the time, was working outdoors and saw them approaching. He hurried to warn his family. He sent their seven children aged 17 to 2 to the nearest garrisoned house (probably Onisephorus Marsh's) telling them to run as quickly as possible. He then urged his wife Hannah to come with him on the one horse. But six days earlier Hannah had given birth to their 12th child, Martha. Although they certainly would have taken the baby with them there was a neighbor who had been nursing Hannah, Mary (Corliss) Neff, a widow, to consider. One can imagine the awful confusion of those few moments with the Indians approaching. Hannah urged Thomas to go with the children and protect them and he did. He was resolved to save at least one of the fleeing children--"the dearest one" according to [Cotton] Mather who later personally interviewed Hannah. He intended to swing that one on the horse with him and ride on. However, he could not make such a painful choice and so, dismounting and keeping the horse between the fleeing band and the two or three Indians who followed, they all arrived at the place of safety. He had a musket and Chase debates as to whether he fired at the pur- suers as some accounts suggest."^[3]

June 8 1703, administration was granted to Thomas Duston of Haverhill on the estate of his father, Thomas Durston of Kittery.1 This fixes the parentage of the famous Thomas Duston or Dustin of Haverhill, who married, 3 Dec. 1677, Hannah, daughter of Michael and Hannah (Webster) Emerson.

Sources S1. Gramma's Garden/Dustin Famiy Online S2. Gramma's Garden/Dustin Famiy Online cites (N.E. Reg Vol 6 p.203). Notes N1. Lt. Benjamin Sweet's company Aug 24 1767 (N.E. Reg. 43 p.98 & 275). N2. On the York county (Maine) Probate records June 8 1703 (N.E. Reg. Vol 31 p.221)"Administration granted to Thomas Duston of Haverhill on the estate of his father Thomas Duston of Kittery deceased intestate."

Other S1, N1

   24 Aug 1677
   served in King Phillip's War Military Service

Other S2

   28 Nov 1677
   Haverhill (Essex Co.) Mass
   Freeman

Other N2

   8 Jun 1703
   Kittery Maine
   for his father Estate Administrator

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Duston-Dustin Family Association, and Harold Dustin Kilgore. Duston--Dustin Family Genealogy. (Winthrop, Massachusetts: Duston-Dustin Family Association, 1938-1988)
   7.

   Thomas[2] Duston (Thomas[1]), b. about 1652, probably in Portsmouth, N. H., but perhaps in Kittery, Me.; d. before Nov. 17, 1732.

2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Duston-Dustin Family Association, and Harold Dustin Kilgore. Duston--Dustin Family Genealogy. (Winthrop, Massachusetts: Duston-Dustin Family Association, 1938-1988)
   25.
3. ↑ James, Jane Emerson, and Charles Henry Pope. The Haverhill Emersons: revised and extended from the original compilation of The Haverhill Emersons, parts I & II by Rev. Charles Henry Pope. (Lake Winnebago, Missouri: J.E. James, c1983).