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��HON. EDWARD H. ROLLINS.
��insurrection against the tyrannical Cran- fleld, then Royal Governor. This Ed- ward Gove, who, failing in his object, surrendered at the persuasion of his friends, was the only man in New Hamp- shire who ever received the sentence of death for high treason, which was pro- nounced by the renowned Maj. Waldron, Chief Justice of the special court com- missioned for the trial. In the bill pre- sented by the grand jury, Gove and eight others, including Thomas Rawlins, were presented for high treason, but we do not learn that any but Gove were tried ; certainly he was the only one sentenced, and he was subsequently pardoned and had his estates restored.
Another of the family who fell a vic- tim to Indian malignity was Aaron Raw- lins, a son of Thomas above mentioned, who lived on a plantation at the lower falls of the Piscasick (now Newmarket), whose house was attacked by the Indians on the night of August 29, 1723, and he and his eldest daughter were killed, after a valiant defence. His wife and two younger children, a son and daugh- ter, were taken captive and carried to Canada. Mrs. Rawlins was redeemed after a few years. The son was adopted by the Indians and ever after lived with them, while the daughter married a French Canadian.
There were from twenty-five to thirty descendants of James Rawlins, of the fourth and fifth generation, engaged in active service in the patriot cause during the revolutionary war. Some of the more prominent of these were John Rollins of Newmarket, who served at Bunker Hill and throughout the war ; Joseph Rollins of Nobleboro, Me., wounded at Benning- ton, and present at the surrender of Bur- goyne ; Jotham and Nicholas Rollins of Stratham, the former a Lieutenant at Bunker Hill, and the latter a Captain at Stillwater and Saratoga ; and John Rol- lins of Rochester, who was in the disas- trous fight at Hubbardton. This John Rollins settled in Alton, was a promi- nent citizen, held a Colonel's commission in the militia, and died in 1847, aged 91 years. We find the Rollinses pi-ominent in the early history of Rochester. Ed- ward Rollins, of the third generation
��from James, settled early in that town, where he built a large garrison house near the lower end of what is now the main street of Rochester village. He was a leading citizen and selectman. His son Edward was one of the founders and first members of the Methodist church in that place. Another son, Samuel, was a sol- dier in the Revolution and was present at the capture of Ticonderoga.
Among the first settlers of that portion of Dover which subsequently became Somersworth was Jeremiah Rollins, the only son of Ichabod, heretofore men- tioned as slain by the Indians. He was one of the petitioners for the incorpora- tion of Somersworth as a separate par- ish. He died a few years previous to the Revolution, leaving several daughters, but only one son, Ichabod Rollins, who became an active champion of the Revo- lutionary cause, was a member of the Conventions at Exeter in April, May and December, 1775, and served as a member of the Committee appointed to prepare a plan of providing ways and means for furnishing troops, and also as a member of the Committee of supplies, the princi- pal labor upon which was performed by himself and Timothy Walker of Concord. He was a member of the Convention which resolved itself into an independent State government, Jan. 5, 1776, and served in the Legislature in October fol- lowing. He was the first Judge of Pro- bate under the new government, holding the office from 1776 to 1784. He was sub- sequently a member of the Executive Council, and died in 1800. From this eminent citizen the town of Rollinsford, formed from the portion of Somersworth in which he resided, received its name. He stands midway in the direct line of descent from James Rawlins to Edward H. — the greatgrandfather of Edward H., and the great grandson of James. He had four sons, of whom James, the third, was the grandfather of Edward H. John Rollins, the eldest of the sons, was the grandfather of Hon. Daniel G. Rolli^e, a prominent citizen, who was Judge of Probate for the County of Strafford from 1S57 to 1866, and whose son, Edward Ashton Rollins, was Speaker of the N. H. House of Representatives in 1861
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