Virginia (Woods) May105 refers to James Blood’s wife Catherine (_____) Blood as his “2nd wife” but no additional information is given.

Harris reports that “James and his wife were admitted to Church at Groton Oct 13, 1728. Lived in the part of Groton which became Dunstable.”106 The following lengthy extract from Harris107 (with some minor footnotes omitted) describes the location of James Blood’s farm along the newly-surveyed boundary between Massachusetts and New Hampshire:

“In 1673 certain men were given liberty to ‘settle a plantation about Groton,’ and this soon became known as Dunstable. For some time it encompassed an emense [sic Harris] area including what are now the towns of Nashua, Hollis and Hudson NH as well as parts of a number of others. Then when the province line was drawn it created some confusion for there were then two towns of Dunstable -- or one town in two states, as you prefer, at any rate they were referred to as Dunstable, Mass, and Dunstable NH.

“The town boundaries between Groton and Dunstable shifted back and forth for a century or more. James Blood (Gr. 1687/aft. 1752) was one of the men who went to the outskirts of Groton to carve his farm from the wilderness. Eventually the site became Dunstable, but his farm was so close to the province line that the part which became his son Simeon’s was split by the boundary. The following mention of him and his farm is taken from the journal of Richard Hazzen who was appointed by Gov. Belcher and the Council of New Hampshire to survey the western section of the boundary between Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

“The original charters gave Massachusetts its northern boundary as three miles north of the Merrimack River incorrectly assuming the course of the river to be east and west. When its northerly course was discovered Massachusetts greedily claimed rights as high as Franklin NH. In 1740 after a long controversy it was decided to allow the line to follow the Merrimack only so long as it should follow a westerly course. Mr Hazzen was appointed on March 17, 1741 with his chainmen to make the survey.

“‘Wednesday March 24, 1741. At ten of the clock it cleared up; and we immediately set forward and measured 4:3:44, to Nashua River, and at night lodged by James Blood’s fire.

“‘Observations: -- In our course this day we crossed the Southerly end of the hill called Phillips Hill. We went through the property of several of the inhabitants of Dunstable, left Robins’ house about twenty poles southerly of our line. We crossed over the southerly end of a hill commonly called Andrews Hill. A large hill lay northeasterly of it called Mount Gilboa, and Mr Adams house lay westerly of said hill. We also crossed a large stream called Salmons Brook at which brook Groton line joins on Dunstable and thence to the south of a small pond called Lovewell’s Pond which is twenty poles short of nine miles from the point where I first began to measure, and it is so small as scarce worth taking notice of, and from said pond we went through a [p. 12] pitch pine plain to Nashua River, James Blood’s house lying southerly of our line about one hundred & twenty poles & near the said River. The afternoon cloudy and but little wind.’

“Several generations of Bloods are buried in the large family Cemetery there in Dunstable, and a part of this original farm remained in the family for over two centuries until finally sold in the 1940’s.”