The Weeks Brick House, Greenland, NH

The immigrant progenitor

Leonard Weeks was born about 1633, presumably in England.  It is believed that he was an employee in some capacity for Captain Francis Champernowne.  Champernowne was a shipmaster and a man of great means, both economically and in relationships.  Weeks immigrated between 1640 and 1655 into the Southern New Hampshire / Maine area.  He worked on one of Champernowne’s farms (now the site of the Portsmouth (NH) Country Club).

It appears that between 1656 and 1667, Weeks received the first of several land grants.  This indicated he no longer was an employee but was a self-sustaining member of the community.  During this time, he married a daughter of his neighbor Samuel Haines.  Her first name is unknown.  The union did not produce any children.  She died before 1667 when Weeks married Mary Redman (Rodman?) the mother of his 8 children.  Mary died in 1694.  Sometime between Mary’s death and his own in 1706, he married a third time to Elizabeth___.  No issue was produced from this union.

In his will, Weeks left his 90 acre farm to his second son, Samuel.  In 17^th century Greenland, NH it was the center of activity.  The location was ideal for the needs of the times.  The area provided access to Great Bay which allowed passage down to the Piscataqua River and on to the Atlantic Ocean for transportation and fishing.  Land transportation was ability for inland usage. 

Samuel the second son

Leonard’s second son, Samuel (1670-1746) was born and died in Greenland.  Samuel married Eleanor Haines.  She was the granddaughter of his father’s neighbor and the mother of his 8 children.  Samuel inherited the homestead and by 1710 had built a 36’x22’ (with walls 18” thick) brick house, made of hand

The Weeks Brick House RT 33 Greenland, NH

hewed logs and brick made on the site.  He was authorized to build a mill for both lumber and grain on the Winnicut River.  His economic status showed in his probate inventory.  He kept horses, cattle, oxen, grew wheat, corn and kept bees for honey.  He had expanded his landholdings.  Samuel was the most successful farmer of the Weeks homestead owners.

Samuel was a captain in the Greenland militia and served in various positions of civil offices.  He was a founding member of the Greenland Congregational Church in 1706.   He willed the family homestead to Walter, his second son.  His other lands and farm at Great Bay were willed to his 3^rd son, Matthias. 

The Brick House

It was said that Samuel built the house as he did to show a commitment to permanence in the face of uncertainty of the times. The house has become an enduring symbol of the strength of the family. It had quite a history.  Built in 1710, it has seen 9 generations of Weeks family members living in it.  It has survived Indian raids, earthquakes and fires until 1968 when the property sold out of the family.  At that time, urban sprawl was rampant and developers were eager to get control of the property.  The Descendants of Leonard Weeks in America, Inc. bought the house and land for long term preservation.  It was placed on the New Hampshire Historic Site and was listed on the National Register of Historic places as well as being deemed Conservation land by the State of New Hampshire.

Today, the mission of the property is to become museum quality in all aspect of serving the community in historical conservation and education.  Each year the descendants of Leonard Weeks gather to walk in his footsteps and learn about local history.  The older our country gets and as new generations come along, a lot of important history is lost as the previous generations pass on.  It is important to preserve and protect the history we have left.  Houses and other history that has withstood the test of time is, to me, symbolic of the endurance of the people who settled our country.  Something that should be embraced.

 

Sources: The Brick House & Gardens http://www.weeksbrickhouse.org/index.html
Leonard Weeks, of Greenland, N. H. and descendants, 1639-1888: with early records of families connected, including the following names:--Bailey. Bartlett. Brackett. Burley. Chapman. Chesley. Clark. Eastman. Folsom. Fowler. French. Frost. Haines. Hilton. Home. Lane. March. Mead. Moody. Moore. Philbrook. Pickering. Perkins. Rollins. Sanborn. Scammon. Thompson. Wiggin and Wingate by Chapman, Jacob pub. 1889
https://archive.org/stream/leonardweeksofgre00chap#page/n5/mode/2up