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Bearguy · 01-14-2015, 06:53 PM

The land on Bear is found south of the Carry but includes the cove on the north side of the island. It was put on the market by members of the Gilman family that gradually took ownership of it beginning in the mid-1860s. The Gilman's were very early settlers in Meredith and well off. They moved to the neck in the early 1800s. They used the Bear property for grazing. The land was passed down to heirs on at least three occasions before this ad came out. It had just passed into the hands of Ellen Lil (Gilman) Prescott when she put it on the market. She was living in Oakland, CA. The NH Historical Society has a short, undated brochure advertising the same property. It talks about NH as 'the Switzerland of America', and it attaches California place names (e.g. Half Moon Bay) to the island to glamorize it. The property was ultimately sold to two gentlemen named Hoban and Link c. 1926.

The other land referenced in the ad belonged to the well known Gilman family on Meredith Neck. It included, I believe, the house that Bob Montana, of Archie fame, owned. The Gilman family cemetery is fairly close by on the left as one drives out on the Neck road.

01-14-2015, 06:53 PM	#5
Bearguy Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 11 Thanks: 0 Thanked 14 Times in 1 Post	Details behind the ad for Bear Is. land The land on Bear is found south of the Carry but includes the cove on the north side of the island. It was put on the market by members of the Gilman family that gradually took ownership of it beginning in the mid-1860s. The Gilman's were very early settlers in Meredith and well off. They moved to the neck in the early 1800s. They used the Bear property for grazing. The land was passed down to heirs on at least three occasions before this ad came out. It had just passed into the hands of Ellen Lil (Gilman) Prescott when she put it on the market. She was living in Oakland, CA. The NH Historical Society has a short, undated brochure advertising the same property. It talks about NH as 'the Switzerland of America', and it attaches California place names (e.g. Half Moon Bay) to the island to glamorize it. The property was ultimately sold to two gentlemen named Hoban and Link c. 1926. The other land referenced in the ad belonged to the well known Gilman family on Meredith Neck. It included, I believe, the house that Bob Montana, of Archie fame, owned. The Gilman family cemetery is fairly close by on the left as one drives out on the Neck road.