Levi W. Barton's parents were Bezaleel Barton, 2d, and Hannah (Powers) Barton. Let us glance at the maternal ancestry.
The family of Power (or Le Poer, as formerly written) was of Norman extraction, and settled in England at the conquest of that kingdom by the Normans, under William, duke of Normandy, in the person of Power, or Le Poer, who is recorded in "Battle Abbey" as one of the commanders at the battle of Hastings, in 1066. Soon after, Sir John Le Poer resided in Poershayse, Devonshire, England.
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.).
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.