In 1172, one of his descendants, Sir Roger Le Poer, went with Earl
Stougbon in his invasion and partial conquest of Ireland, where he
greatly distinguished himself, and received large grants of land. He was
the ancestor of a succession of distinguished men, among whom were Sir
Nicholas Le Poer, who had a summons to parliament, in 1375, as Baron Le
Poer, and Sir Richard, Sir Peter, Sir Eustace, and Sir Arnold Le Poer.
The barony, descending by writ to heirs, female as well as male, is now
held by the Marquis of Waterford. The Earl of Lynn, for a term of one
hundred years, and the Marquis of Waterford, were of that descent,
through Lady Catharine Poer. The family was also a distinguished one in
England, from the Norman conquest down. In 1187, Richard Poer of this
line, high sheriff of Gloucestershire, Eng., was killed defending the
"Lord's Day;" and Sir Henry Le Poer distinguished himself greatly as a
commander under the Duke of Wellington. This remarkable family has
outlived the dynasties of the Conqueror, the Plantaganets, the Tudors,
and the Stuarts, and flourishes yet. Since the time of Queen Elizabeth,
they have returned to their early orthography of Power; and finally, in
America, have added the "s," making it Powers.
Walter Powers, the ancestor of all the Powers families of Croydon, N.
H., was born in 1639. He came to Salem, Mass., in 1654. He married,
January 11, 1660, Trial, daughter of Deacon Ralph Shepherd. They moved
to Nashoba, and he died there in 1708. The town, in 1715, was
incorporated by the name of Littleton (Mass.).
[Illustration: L. W. Barton]
Of the nine children of Walter and Trial Powers, the eldest, William,
was born in 1661, and married, 1688, Mary Bank.
Of the nine children of William and Mary (Bank) Powers, William, 2d, was
b. 1691, in Nashoba, and m., 1713, Lydia Perham.
Of the four children of William, 2d, and Lydia (Perham) Powers, Lemuel
was b. in 1714, and m. Thankful Leland, of Grafton, Mass., daughter of
Capt. James Leland. All except the eldest of their children settled in
Croydon. N. H.; and two of his sons served Croydon as soldiers in the
Revolution. Although not an "original grantee of Croydon," he owned
"proprietors' rights" at an early day, and often attended "proprietors'"
meetings at the inn of his brother-in-law, Lieut. Phinehas Leland, as
moderator. He died in Northbridge, Mass., 1792.
Of the ten children of Lieut. Lemuel and Thankful (Leland) Powers,
Ezekiel was b. in Grafton, Mass., March 16, 1745, and m., Jan. 28, 1767,
Hannah Hall of Uxbridge, Mass., who was daughter of Lieut. Edward and
Lydia (Brown) Hall. Levi W. Barton was her great-grandson. They came to
Croydon in 1767. He was a prominent citizen, and held here many offices
of trust. He was a man of industry and indomitable energy. He d. in
Croydon, Nov. 11, 1808. His widow d. Oct. 21, 1835.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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