Elizabeth Tandy was born in Kingston, NH on March 2, 1746 to William and Mary Dearborn (Morgan) Tande. Elizabeth’s husband Daniel, a mason, spent much of his time working at Portsmouth, NH, leaving her in charge of the Goshen farm. She proved very capable of not only running the farm but helping neighbors in need. She became known as “Aunt Betty” and was highly regarded until her death at the age of 104. An article in the December 19, 1935 Argus Champion details seven “adventures” of Aunt Betty. The three most notable ones are given here.
The Sheep
Aunt Betty and her neighbor Elizabeth Lang kept some sheep, and one night wolves got into their pen and killed several of them. When Aunt Betty heard a noise by the pen one night, she went to investigate and found the sheep gone. She followed their trail through the night, and eventually found them, with the wolves growling nearby. Protecting the sheep all night, she was able to bring them safely home the next morning.
The Bear
On another night Aunt Betty heard a bear growling at the pig pen. She jumped out of bed, wrapped a sheet around her shoulders, and ran at the bear screaming and flapping the sheet. He ran, scared, up over the hill.
The Near Suicide
A woman of the town came to Aunt Betty, desperate and convinced that the only solution to her desperate situation was to commit suicide. After fruitlessly trying to prevent her suicide with words, Aunt Betty brought her to a place of deep water and held her head under the water as long as she dared. When she surfaced, her friend was still determined to die, so Aunt Betty held her head under water even longer. The second time worked, and her friend decided to abandon the idea of death as a way out of her situation.
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