Very often the contributions of women to history are overlooked. Yet women have always played a part of every community and Goshen is no different. Whether it was taking care of the home, helping with the running of a farm or business, or delving deeply into the planning and expansion of our community, women were always present. Here are the stories of just a few of these brave women. In his History of Goshen Walter Nelson recounts several stories of the bravery of the wives of Goshen’s early settlers.
Elizabeth “Aunt Betty” Grindle (1746-1850) – 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 (more)
Temperence Dickenson Rand (1764-1839) – One winter when the family found themselves with little food left, her husband travelled to Walpole, NH to purchase more provisions. He was trapped there for six days due to a violent snowstorm, leaving his family with little food. Mrs. Rand’s infant child had recently died, and she nursed her youngest child to help keep her family alive. During a time of physical and emotional stress she faced the starvation of her family with courage and ingenuity.
Ida Farr Nelson (1854 – 1948) – I was born in Goshen, NH December 28, 1854 in the house on the hill by No. 5 schoolhouse, built by my father, Rev. Eleazar D. Farr in 1853. My mother was Charity P. Tandy…
This begins the written journal of Ida Farr Nelson which was later transcribe by Brian Nelson Burford in 2017. Mrs. Farr was a prolific writer and the publications that we have are documented here.