General Moody Adams Pillsbury. Born Boscawen 4 May 1794, Moody was the fourth (of 12) children of Lt. Daniel and Eunice (Thurlow “Thorla”) Pillsbury, some of the early settlers of Boscawen from Newbury, Massachusetts.
From Charles Carleton Coffin’s History of Boscawen and Webster, 1733-1878, pg. 430: “His educational advantages, like those of most boys of his time, were those of the district school. Upon arriving at his majority he settled in Bashan, upon the farm where he lived through life, giving more attention to his saw-mill than to his farm. Bashan was a new section, densely timbered, and his mills became a source of profit. He became an officer in the militia, was colonel of the 21st Regiment for several years, and rose to the rank of brigadier-general. Gen. Pillsbury took an active interest in the events of his time. He was a constant attendant upon the public religious services of the Sabbath, gave liberally to the support of benevolent objects, and was long a member of the church. He was one of the first to espouse anti-slavery principles and gave to the cause of freedom his whole heart. He was a kind neighbor, a friend to the poor, and a genial companion.”
Moody Pillsbury died in Webster 8 January 1863. He was buried at the Old Meeting House Cemetery beside his wives, (1) Abigail Wilkins Dix, and then (2) Louisa Frances Dix. These women were the daughters of Lt. Col. Timothy and Abigail (Wilkins) Dix, and the sisters of Major General John Adams Dix and Lt. Col. Roger Sherman Dix. Before construction began on the Blackwater Dam in 1941, the remains of Moody Pillsbury and his wives, and two of Moody and Abigail’s sons, Moody Adams Jr., and Charles W., who drowned at 1 year of age, were moved to Corser Hill Cemetery.
Originally, the area of Moody Pillsbury’s sawmill was called Pillsbury Pond. Later, it was called Holmes Mill Pond when the Holmes mill was at that site. A century after Moody’s death, a development company tore down the Holmes house and built a dam to create a lake for summer houses and named it Pillsbury Lake.