This page is a starting point for exploring the resources we've collected about Pelham and its history. Many of these resources have been digitized by other organizations and are available online; where possible, we have provided links to these external resources, which can be searched for "Pelham" to find relevant sections.
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Of the files hosted here, many were scanned and digitized by William Hayes and Karen Genoter. We thank them for their efforts.
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Histories of Pelham
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The Souvenir Book from the 1909 Old Home Day contains a short history of Pelham.
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For the 200th anniversary of Pelham's incorporation in 1946, a souvenir booklet was prepared that contains a discussion of Pelham's history.
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Pelham: Old Days and Old Ways, by C. Frances (Hobbs) McLucas. From the introduction: Mrs. C. Frances (Hobbs) McLucas was a former president of the Pelham Historical Society. She felt strongly about the lack of written History of Pelham. At the time of her death she was compiling this story of town history and of the Hobbs family. We The Pelham Historical Society were requested to publish it. We present it in its entirety - unedited and unfinished - just as Mrs. McLucas left it. Copies can be purchased in our store.
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Reflections: A Pictorial History of Pelham, New Hampshire 1746-1996 was published as part of Pelham's 250th anniversary celebration. Copies can be purchased in our store.
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Discussions of Pelham in Larger Works
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This work discusses early grants in the region north of the Merrimack River that today includes Pelham.
The early grants of land in the wildernesse north of Merrimack, by Gordon, 1892
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Pelham is often mentioned in the Gazetteer of the State of New Hampshire. Here are two of the early dates; others can be found on archive.org.
A Gazetteer of the State of New Hampshire, by Merrill and Merrill, 1817
A Gazetteer of the State of New Hampshire, by Farmer and Moore, 1823
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Pelham also appears in the New-Hampshire Annual Register and United States Calendar. Two early examples are shown here.
The New-Hampshire Annual Register and United States Calendar, by Farmer, 1831
The New-Hampshire Annual Register and United States Calendar, by Farmer, 1837
The New-Hampshire Annual Register and United States Calendar, by Fowler, 1844
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Early editions of The New England Gazetteer contain descriptions of New England towns including Pelham.
The New England Gazetteer, by Hayward, 1839
The New England Gazetteer, by Hayward, 1857
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Edwin Charlton's New Hampshire As It Is contains brief mentions of Pelham.
New Hampshire As It Is, by Charlton, 1856
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Pelham is mentioned in some years of the Transactions of the New Hampshire State Agricultural Society.
Transactions of the New Hampshire State Agricultural Society, edited by Adams, 1857
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Pelham appears in Coolidge and Mansfield's History and Description of New England, 1860.
History and Description of New England, by Coolidge and Mansfield, 1860
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A later New Hampshire compilation called The Statistics and Gazetteer of New Hampshire also mentions Pelham.
The Statistics and Gazetteer of New Hampshire, by Fogg, 1874
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Later editions of the New Hampshire Annual Register were published as the New-Hampshire Register, Farmers' Almanac, and Business Directory.
The New-Hampshire Register, Farmers' Almanac, and Business Directory for 1878
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Rev. Augustus Berry wrote a short history of Pelham that was included in History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, by Hurd and Hamilton.
Augustus Berry's history of Pelham
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Pelham Vital Records
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Vital records from the town clerk, 1743-1865, as copied by C. Frances Hobbs.
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Vital records from town reports, 1888-1951, scanned by William Hayes and Karen Genoter.
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Atwood Cemetery gravestone inscriptions, as recorded in 1905 by C. Parker Hildreth and Silas Coburn.
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Gumpus Cemetery gravestone inscriptions, as recorded in 1976 by the Pelham Historical Society.
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Pelham Center gravestones through 1965, as recorded by C. Frances Hobbs.
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Pelham Family Histories
Ruth Baldwin Williams collected information about a number of the early settlers of Pelham. Here is her work, in 14 parts.
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