Nathaniel Folsom Nathaniel Folsom ( September 28 , 1726 , Exeter , New Hampshire – May 26 , 1790 , Exeter , New Hampshire ) was an American merchant and statesman . He was a delegate for New Hampshire in the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1777 to 1780 , as well as the Major General of the New Hampshire Militia . Private life . Folsom was born into a large family in Exeter , New Hampshire . His ancestors were among Exeter ' s earliest settlers , having arrived with the Gilman family , to whom they were related , from Hingham , Massachusetts , where both families settled for a time before moving on to New Hampshire . ( The original spelling of the family name was Foulsham . The Folsoms continued to hold land outside Hingham , Norfolk , England , many years after leaving for the Massachusetts Bay Colony . In 1673 , John Folsom of Exeter gave his son Peter of land in Norfolk County , England , which he had inherited from his family . ) Nathaniel Folsom ' s father , Jonathan ( c . 1685 – 1740 ) married Ann Ladd ( 1691 – 1742 ) , and she gave birth to Anna , Sarah , Lydia , Elizabeth , Abigail , John , Mary , Nathaniel , Jonathan , Samuel , Josiah and Trueworthy ( named for Folsom ' s Treworgy ancestors ) . When Folsom ' s father died , in January 1740 , the thirteen - year - old went to work for a merchant . He invested in timber and opened a saw - mill . Then in 1761 , he went into business with some distant cousins , Joseph and Josiah Gilman . They became " Folsom , Gilman & Gilman " and opened a general store , built ships , and carried on an import / export business . The firm operated in Exeter and Portsmouth . Though the partners went their separate ways in 1768 , Folsom continued in foreign commerce , timber , and lumber operations for the rest of his life . Folsom married twice , first to Dorothy Smith ( 1726 – 1776 ) . Their children included : Nathaniel , Dorothy , Jonathan , Anna , Arthur , and Mary ( 1751 – 1812 ) , and Deborah ; ( Deborah was New Hampshire Governor John Taylor Gilman ' s first wife , Mary his second ) . By his second wife , Mary Sprague , he had one daughter , Ruth Weare Folsom . Military career . Folsom joined the militia as did most young men . During the French and Indian War he was Captain of a company in the New Hampshire Provincial Regiment during the Crown Point expedition led by Sir William Johnson in 1755 . At the Battle of Lake George , his company , supported by artillery from Massachusetts surprised and captured Baron Dieskau , the French commander - in - chief . Besides capturing the Baron , they dispersed the French troops , took the French baggage train and seized a critical mass of supplies , with the loss of only six men . Folsom went on to become a colonel in the militia . His formal commission was revoked by Governor Wentworth after the raid on Fort William and Mary in December 1774 . Disregarding this , Colonel Folsom marched his regiment to Portsmouth , and escorted the captured cannons safely back to Durham . On May 29 , 1775 , the Provincial Congress named him a Brigadier General in command of New Hampshire ' s forces . This created some confusion , as the Massachusetts provisional government had named John Stark to the same position . At the time , Colonel Stark was the senior commander of the New Hampshire men who had marched to the Siege of Boston . The confusion was resolved in June , when the Continental Congress named John Sullivan General of those New Hampshire forces in service with the Continental Army . Folsom was the senior officer for militia forces within the state . He was later named a Major General , and continued recruiting , training , and supply efforts throughout the war . Political career . Folsom had served several years as moderator of the town meetings at Exeter . When a revolutionary Assembly , the Provincial Congress , first met on July 21 , 1774 , he was a delegate . The Provincial Congress , in turn named him their delegate to the first Continental Congress that met in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . In 1775 , Folsom continued his service in the provincial congress , as he would do until 1783 . He became a close political ally of Meshech Weare and Josiah Bartlett , as he was named to the New Hampshire . In January 1776 , he also became a justice in the Rockingham County court of common pleas . In 1777 and 1779 he was also returned to his old post as a delegate to the Continental Congress . In 1783 he became the chief judge in the common pleas court . That same year he went to , and presided over , the state ' s constitutional convention . When a constitution was adopted , as president of the convention , he wrote a cover letter , then forwarded it to the towns for ratification . Ironically , one problem addressed by the constitution was to limit the number of offices held by one man . Folsom resigned from the Assembly , and as head of the militia , and from the Governor ' s Council . He held the job of chief judge in Rockingham County until his death in Exeter on May 26 , 1790 . He is buried in Exeter ' s Winter Street Cemetery .