David is a life-long resident of West Parish, having grown up on Liberty Street. He also purchased the original parsonage when it was to be demolished for the construction of I-495. He had the building relocated to Liberty Street where he restored it to its original specifications. I remember seeing the parsonage go past the church on its way to its new location. You do not see a parsonage blast by a church building very often! OK - it was a crawl. David writes:
Regarding Bradford Academy (later Bradford College), the book says: "The last preceptor was Benjamin Greenleaf, born in West Parish on September 25, 1786, the son of Caleb and Susannah Emerson Greenleaf. His boyhood home was four miles from the Haverhill center." (A preceptor is a head of a school, a principal).
Fletcher comments: His birthplace was Mahoney's house (35 Liberty Street) next door to yours (Gustafson's at 25 Liberty). It is known in the Haverhill Historical Records as the Benjamin Greenleaf house. And it is just four miles from City Hall.
Dave notes that the first stage coach ran in 1793 on the Derry Road, now North Broadway.
Not only were there shops making hats in Ayer's Village but another was located half way up Scotland Hill on the right (north) side (West Lowell Avenue).
Regarding newspapers, Fletcher notes the first newspaper (The Guardian of Freedom) was published form 1793-1798 and in the special collections section of the Haverhill Public Library, including several copies Dave donated in 2003. The paper lists the cargos of ships that docked on Water Street behind the present fire station.
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