Jedediah Tayntor

Jedediah Tayntor was not a man born to an influential family, nor was he a man of renowned status, but the life of this rugged and simple farmer was by no means ordinary, insignificant or easy.
For much of his life, Jedediah called Marlborough his home and was, in fact, one of the town's early settlers was actively involved in its community and politics. But he also was involved in the affairs of the state and nation.
On July 25, 1748, Jedediah was born to John and Sarah Tayntor in Shrewsbury, Mass. He grew up there and, as was typical at the time, he apprenticed with a carpenter from ages 14 to 21 to learn the trade. In the spring following completion of his trade work he was married to 19-year-old Mary Maynard and relocated with his new bride to a house in Marlboro, Mass.
In 1772 Darius, his first child was born. Darius lived with his parents for 20 years, but then decided to set out on his own and was never heard from again. Another child, Mary, was born three years later. She would remain with the family until she was married to Major John Wiswall.
The younger years of Jedediah's life were during a tumultuous time for America. Relations between the Colonists and their mother country, England, had been stretched thin over taxation, local control and the rights of colonists. Both sides were delicately poised on the brink of war, and in 1775, a confrontation in Lexington, Mass. plunged the nation into revolution.
Jedediah was a corporal in a company of Minutemen militia from Marlboro, who, at the alarm raised by the famous ride of Paul Revere, marched to Lexington April 19, 1775 at the very beginning of the Revolutionary War. The battle at Lexington was the first of many battles in which Jedediah fought. He was at the Battle of Bunker Hill, misleadingly titled because on June 16, 1775 American troops where ordered to Bunker Hill, but in fact secured nearby Breed's Hill. It was there that the fighting actually took place, not on Bunker Hill. Although the Americans ultimately lost the hill after twice driving back the British and inflicting many casualties, the colonists deemed it a moral victory on the grounds that they had shown the British that they were a force to be reckoned with and would not be easily vanquished.
In June 1776, the Tayntors joined several families in an oxcart migration to Marlborough, N.H. Despite having to construct a house and establish fields and a farm for his family, Jedediah's devotion and service to American independence did not wane, and in September 1777 he was back in military action. This time he served as a sergeant in a company deployed from this region to intercept British General John "Handsome Jack" Burgoyne who, after successfully capturing Fort Ticonderoga, was marching southward, attempting to divide the colonies along the Hudson River.
In October, after several battles, Burgoyne was forced to surrender his five thousand troops to the Americans near Saratoga, New York. This victory at Saratoga, the turning point in the war that led to independence, would not have been possible without the devotion of the hundreds of militia men like Jedediah.
Even after the end of his military career, Jedediah showed a passion for service and involvement in his country and town, and he became an influential person in the politics and the community of Marlborough and the state.
His elected roles ran from Fence Viewer to New Hampshire State Legislator. One of his early offices was Tithingman. This was an elected official who would ensure that people observed the Sabbath by not working unnecessarily or traveling on Sunday, and he was authorized to fine those who did not obey. Each Tithingman had a long black staff with a three-inch brass or pewter tip.
It was not uncommon for Tithingmen to be offered bribes, but nothing in the historical record suggests that Jedediah would have accepted such offers, as he was known as an upright person and a devoutly religious man. It is said that he read the Bible once through each year for 40 years without fail.
Reading was something for which Jedediah had a passion, and he often would sit up reading late at night after his family had gone to bed. He may have read simply because he enjoyed it, but with his limited formal education, educating himself by reading was probably a major motivation. A favorite of his was Rollin's Ancient History, and he is said to have read the entire 10 volumes at a voracious rate of three volumes per week while still doing a full week's work.
Jedediah played yet another role in politics, this perhaps his most notable. In the years following the Revolutionary War, the newborn nation of the United States had to create a bill to bind the states together in a confederation. Jedediah was part of this most important process. When the draft of the Articles of Confederation was sent out to the states and towns that would be part of this new country, New Hampshire took issue with one of the articles regarding pensions, and a committee was formed to draft an amendment. It was on this committee that Jedediah sat. The amendment it drafted was accepted by legislature and approved.
During the time that he was in Marlborough, Jedediah fathered four more children — Jedediah, Daniel, William and Betsey — but none would live to see even his or her 11th birthday. One can only imagine how hard it must have been on Jedediah and Mary to suffer the loss of four of their children at such a young age.
On March 26, 1817, Jedediah died after living a very full 69 years of hard work and service. Mary, his widow, lived with her first daughter and her grandchildren at the farm until 1842, just days short of her 91st birthday.
The house that Jedediah built still stands in Marlborough. After passing through the hands of several families, it has been owned by Camp Glen Brook for over 50 years. Though maintenance and additions to the farmhouse were necessary to make it suitable for use as a camp and educational facility for youth, parts of the original structure are still evident. If one looks at the floors, supports, and much of the general architecture the original craftsmanship of Jedediah Tayntor can be seen.
Evidence of the fields can still be found though in most places the trees have reclaimed the pastures and all that is left are the stone walls to remind us of the man who once lived here.

Robin Madsen is junior in the honors-level American Studies class at Keene High School, for which he wrote this report. Among the sources for this report was the History of the Town of Marlborough.