Project Gutenberg's Sketches of Successful New Hampshire Men, by Various
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Title: Sketches of Successful New Hampshire Men
Author: Various
Release Date: May 5, 2012 [EBook #39634]
Language: English
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SKETCHES OF SUCCESSFUL
NEW HAMPSHIRE MEN
Illustrated with Steel Portraits.
MANCHESTER:
JOHN B. CLARKE.
1882.
Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1882, by
JOHN B. CLARKE,
in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.
PUBLISHER'S PREFACE.
This volume contains portraits and biographical sketches of eighty-eight
New Hampshire men whose deserved success in their several callings has
made them conspicuous in the professional, business, and political
world. It should be the first of a series,--the beginning of a work so
extensive as to include similar presentations in regard to all the
prominent men of our state, when it would exceed in value and interest
to New Hampshire people all other publications of a biographical nature.
The glory of our state centers in and is reflected from her great men
and noble women, whose history should be familiar to all who by birth or
association are interested in her fame and welfare, and especially to
those in whose hands rests her future, and who may need the
strengthening influence of their example. To this end this volume will
contribute. Its preparation has occupied a long time, and involved much
labor and expense. My connection with it has been that of a publisher,
whose duties I have endeavored to discharge faithfully and acceptably.
All else is to be credited to others. The sketches are printed in the
order in which they were furnished.
JOHN B. CLARKE.
MANCHESTER, N. H., July, 1882.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
ADAMS, CHARLES, JR. 278
ADAMS, PHINEHAS 166
AMORY, WILLIAM 151
BALCH, CHARLES E. 113
BARNARD, DANIEL 304
BARTLETT, CHARLES H. 33
BARTON, LEVI WINTER 50
BLAIR, HENRY WILLIAM 285
BRACEWELL, JOHN 199
BRIGGS, JAMES F. 294
BRYANT, NAPOLEON B. 187
BUFFUM, DAVID HANSON 276
CARPENTER, JOSIAH 43
CHANDLER, GEORGE BYRON 185
CHANDLER, WILLIAM E. 255
CHENEY, GILMAN 215
CHENEY, PERSON C. 162
CLARK, JOSEPH BOND 179
CLARKE, JOHN B. 311
CLARKE, WILLIAM C. 261
COGSWELL, FRANCIS 177
COGSWELL, GEORGE 204
COGSWELL, THOMAS 160
COGSWELL, WILLIAM 137
COLBY, ANTHONY 251
CROSBY, ASA AND SONS 243
CUMNER, NATHANIEL WENTWORTH 297
CURRIER, MOODY 35
DANIELL, WARREN F. 237
DEARBORN, CORNELIUS VAN NESS 195
DUNLAP, ARCHIBALD HARRIS 264
EDGERLY, MARTIN V. B. 130
FRENCH, JOHN C. 157
GEORGE, JOHN HATCH 98
GILMAN, VIRGIL C. 148
GOODELL, DAVID H. 233
GOODWIN, ICHABOD 133
GRAVES, JOSIAH G. 235
GRIFFIN, SIMON G. 58
HALL, DANIEL 229
HARRIMAN, WALTER 74
HAYES, ALBERT H. 202
HEAD, NATT 223
JEWELL, DAVID LYMAN 63
KENT, HENRY O. 21
KIMBALL, JOHN 89
MARSH, CHARLES 184
MARTIN, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 269
MAXFIELD, RUFUS A. 289
MCDUFFEE, JOHN 153
MEANS, WILLIAM GORDON 103
MINER, ALONZO A. 16
MOULTON, JOHN CARROLL 114
MURPHY, CHARLES M. 67
NESMITH, GEORGE W. 180
NORCROSS, AMASA 37
PARKER, JOHN M. 31
PEABODY, CHARLES A. 209
PILLSBURY, GEORGE ALFRED 39
PILLSBURY, OLIVER 191
PIERCE, THOMAS P. 127
PIKE, CHESTER 123
POTTER, CHANDLER E. 302
PRESCOTT, BENJAMIN F. 281
RICHARDS, DEXTER 271
RIDDLE, WILLIAM P. 307
ROLLINS, EDWARD ASHTON 143
ROLLINS, EDWARD H. 217
SARGENT, JONATHAN EVERETT 93
SAWYER, CHARLES H. 249
SAWYER, JONATHAN 240
SHAW, ALBERT M. 267
SHERBURNE, HENRY C. 69
SMYTH, FREDERICK 106
SPALDING, EDWARD 81
SPALDING, GEORGE BURLEY 291
STARK, GEORGE 9
SULLOWAY, ALVAH W. 119
TILTON, CHARLES ELLIOTT 110
TUTTLE, HIRAM A. 14
WALLACE, RODNEY 56
WALLINGFORD, ZIMRI S. 70
WESTON, JAMES A. 85
WHEELER, SAMUEL METCALF 79
WHITE, JEREMIAH W. 140
WHITE, NATHANIEL 172
WILDER, MARSHALL P. 25
WILLIAMS, CHARLES 47
[Illustration: Geo. Stark]
GEN. GEORGE STARK.
BY H. W. HERRICK.
In the remarkable development of railroad traffic in this country within
the last fifty years, many prominent men of our state identified with
this interest have achieved an enviable success. A leading position
among these representative men will be accorded to General GEORGE STARK,
who, within the last forty years, has been associated with the
successful organization and management of several of the most wealthy
and influential of these corporations. Beginning at an early age with
some of the first of these enterprises in New England, he has been
identified with their history; and he has also had, within the last five
years, a controlling hand in the resuscitation and extension of the
great Northern Pacific line, that will soon span the continent from the
great lakes to the Pacific ocean. This successful business career has
been honorably distinguished, inasmuch as it has, in all its phases,
recognized the sound business principles that govern supply and demand
in the legitimate carrying-trade. As the leading medium between the
producer and consumer, the railroad interest thrives only with the
prosperity and good will of both; and in this, its legitimate sphere,
seeks neither to control production or traffic, except in those
reciprocal relations which contribute to the public good.
The influences attending the early life of Gen. Stark favored the
development of the qualities of character that have made his business
career marked and successful. His father, Frederick G. Stark, was the
son of John, the third of the children of Major-General John Stark, the
hero of Bennington, the latter being, therefore, the third in ancestral
order removed from the subject of this sketch. George Stark was born at
Manchester, N. H., April 9, 1823, a few months after the death of his
illustrious military ancestor. His father at this time occupied the old
manor-house formerly owned by Judge Blodget, originator of the famous
Blodget canal. This time-honored structure has been destroyed by the
demand of modern improvements, and its site, at the entrance of the
canal around Amoskeag Falls, is now only marked by the ruins of the
sheds connected with it. The locks and canals, in connection with like
works on the Merrimack river, were owned by the Union Locks and Canal
Company, and Frederick G. Stark occupied the position of general
superintendent and manager. He was also proprietor of a general-supply
store for river-men and the population adjacent, and was, moreover, land
surveyor for the neighboring country. He also held the position of
general magistrate, and was, withal, the most influential man of the
vicinity, leading in all commercial enterprise and traffic. He died in
1861.
The early days of young Stark were favored with the oversight and
directing influence of an excellent mother,--a lady of genial, kindly
character, rare mental qualities, and showing a benevolent and christian
solicitude both for her own family and general society in the
neighborhood. She died in 1856. Of the four children, Juliet (Mrs. Henry
C. Gillis) died in 1840; Emma (Mrs. J. G. Cilley) died in 1859;
William, the youngest, well remembered as possessing rare literary
abilities, and known as author and poet, died in 1873.
At the age of nine years George was taken from the schools of the
Amoskeag district, and for the succeeding four years studied in the
academies of Pembroke and Milford. His mental culture in these advanced
schools was chiefly in the line of mathematics, yet natural aptitude and
diligence supplied in after life many deficiencies in education. At the
close of his school-days in Pembroke and Milford George returned to
Manchester, in 1836, finding the scenes of his childhood transformed
from their previous quiet to a busy preparation, by engineers and
laborers, for the new city of Manchester. The young school-boy was
placed as assistant with the chief engineer and surveyor, Uriah A.
Boyden, and worked one season on the preliminary surveys for the canal,
factories, and streets of the embryo city. During this season, and a few
years succeeding, when not employed on surveys, he attended the
academies of Bedford, Sanbornton, and the high school at Lowell,
Mass.,--the last being then under the charge of Moody Currier, Esq. In
the autumn of 1836, at the early age of fourteen, he was employed with
the staff of engineers engaged in the locating surveys of the Nashua &
Lowell Railroad. This line, only fifteen miles in length, was two years
in process of building, giving an amusing contrast to the long routes
now located and built in one season. The years 1839 and 1840 were spent
in alternate seasons of field work with the engineers and study at the
academies.
Upon the completion of the Nashua & Lowell road, the enterprising
business men of Concord had ready for the engineers the work of further
locating the line from Nashua to Concord. This extension of thirty-six
miles was commenced in 1841, and our young surveyor, then only seventeen
years old, was complimented with the post of assistant engineer, and
given the charge of portions of the line, both in the surveys and laying
the track. At the close of this service he was employed for a time on
the preliminary surveys of the Northern Railroad.
In 1843, Stark was invited by the Land and Water Power Company of
Manchester to enter its service, make surveys, and superintend the
building of the lower canal. This work was finished in the same year in
which it was begun. The following season we find him engaged on surveys
for the Vermont Central, and subsequently on the Old Colony Railroad,
where he first served as assistant, and afterwards as resident engineer,
in which position he remained until the completion of the work in 1845.
From this period to the year 1847 he was in the service of his old
friend and employer, Mr. Boyden, engaged on surveys and drawings for
mill-work. At the close of his engagement with Mr. Boyden, Stark
returned to Manchester and spent a good part of the season in making
surveys and drawing a map of the compact part of the city, with
reference to drainage. He also made a survey, accompanied with a report,
upon the feasibility of supplying the city with water from Massabesic
lake.
The success of the new lines of railroad in New Hampshire stimulated
interest in this form of investment, and several new roads and
extensions were projected. The Nashua & Wilton and Stony Brook lines
were the first lateral roads built, as feeders to the trunk roads of the
Merrimack valley, and Stark was appointed chief engineer of both. On the
completion of these lines, the Boston, Concord, & Montreal road, which
had been built from Concord to Sanbornton, was extended northward, and
the post of chief engineer was offered to Stark. His health failing in
the summer of 1849, while engaged in this work, he left business cares
and spent several months in recuperation, accepting, in the autumn of
the same year, the situation of treasurer and assistant superintendent
of the Nashua & Lowell Railroad, then under the management of Judge
Charles F. Gove. This position was held until the early part of 1852,
when he received the high compliment of an appointment as superintendent
of the Hudson River Railroad. He had been in this position but little
more than a year when an urgent offer was made to him to take the office
vacated by the resignation of Judge Gove, the superintendent of the
Nashua & Lowell Railroad and its branches. This position, being more
congenial than that of the New York road, was accepted, and he entered
upon the duties of his new situation at once.
In 1857, four years after his appointment to the last mentioned office,
he was offered the post of managing agent of the Boston & Lowell road
and its branches, in connection with the Nashua & Lowell line. The
magnitude of the operations of these two roads, with their auxiliary
lines, was very great, and in their management required executive
ability of the first order. The responsibilities of the position were
onerous, and involved the appointment of superintendents, subordinate
officers, and foremen, determining a code of regulations for their
guidance, the adjustment of time-tables, tariff-rates, and fares, the
purchase of supplies, and many other cares incident to the working of a
complex and extended carrying-trade. The manner in which these duties
were discharged was attested by the smooth working of the organization
in its details, and the satisfactory results to the stockholders. In
this period of service, which included about eighteen years, the great
depot on Causeway street, Boston, was erected under the general
management and supervision of Gen. Stark. In its first inception, this
magnificent building, with its approaches, was intended to furnish
terminal facilities for two or more roads. A contract to that effect was
completed with the Massachusetts Central road. Negotiations were also
entered into with the Eastern Railroad Company for a joint occupancy of
the building, and a proposal was obtained from that company to pay fifty
thousand dollars annual rental, besides bearing a proportionate share of
the running expenses. Stark submitted this proposal to his associates,
recommending its acceptance; but it was declined, on the ground of
inadequate compensation, the president of the Boston & Lowell and Nashua
& Lowell roads saying, in his written reply to Stark:--
"While the income is certainly important to us, we have built
the station for our own accommodation, with our eyes open, and I
think our directors won't flinch from our position and divide
with them, unless they pay well for it."
The unsuccessful termination of this negotiation, and the want of accord
in other matters of general policy between Stark and some of the then
prominent directors of his roads, embarrassed him in his duties, and he
resigned the position of general manager in March, 1875, but retained
his seat in the board of directors until the following year. During his
business connection with the combined roads of the Merrimack lower
valley, the influence of Gen. Stark in developing great public business
interests is recognized by all familiar with the subject. The
far-reaching and comprehensive plans for a direct through line
connecting Boston with the West, realized in 1863 by connection of the
lines of the Merrimack valley, Vermont Central, Ogdensburg, and other
roads, were the direct result of Stark's labors and influence; and he
was manager, for several years, of the line from Boston to Ogdensburg.
Upon leaving his position as general manager of the Boston & Lowell and
connecting lines, Stark was chosen, in the spring of the same year
(1875), by the bondholders of the Northern Pacific Railroad, as one of a
committee of six to re-organize and resuscitate that enterprise, left in
its well remembered dilapidated condition by the financial panic of
1873. After carefully investigating the condition of affairs and the
actual and prospective resources of the road, a plan of re-organization
was submitted by the committee, accepted by the bondholders, and the
road taken out of the hands of the receiver. In September following, a
board of new officers was chosen, in which we find the name of Gen.
Stark as vice-president and director. To these positions he had an
annual re-election until by resignation he severed his connection with
the corporation in 1879. The magnitude of the Northern Pacific road and
its branches is well known to the public; to detail its operations and
resources would require too much space here, even if presented in the
most condensed form. Intended ultimately to connect the great northern
lakes with the Pacific coast, its entire length, when completed, will
exceed two thousand miles,--as long as the combined length of the Union
Pacific and Central Pacific roads. At the time of the election of Gen.
Stark to its management about five hundred and fifty miles of the track
were operated; at the present time nearly a thousand miles of track are
laid, including over a hundred miles on the Pacific coast. After
retiring from active service in the Northern Pacific road, Gen. Stark
established, in connection with his son, J. F. Stark, a banking-house in
New York city.
Though most of his business connections have been in the railroad
interest, Gen. Stark has found time for attention to duties in other
directions. In 1857 he was commissioned, by Gov. Haile of New Hampshire,
as brigadier-general of the third brigade of New Hampshire militia. In
1860 he accepted the post of colonel commanding of the Governor's
Horse-Guards, an organization comprising the _elite_ of the military men
of the State. In 1861, in the capacity of brigadier-general, he received
orders from Governor Goodwin to proceed to Portsmouth and take charge of
the organization of troops, at the opening of the rebellion. The
promptness and efficiency with which this service was performed is still
fresh in the memory of the public, and the state owes the management of
this recruiting station much of the credit attached to New Hampshire for
promptly responding to the call of the general government. At one time
fifteen hundred troops were at this station, waiting orders from the war
department.
Gen. Stark has not been prominent in political life, or identified with
the intrigues and contests of political partisanship. The political
affinities of his ancestors were with the Democratic party, and he has
been identified with it, yet promptly breaking the restraints of
strictly party lines at the call of patriotism, as at the opening of the
late civil war. In the four years succeeding 1856 he represented the
first ward of Nashua in the state legislature, and in 1860 and 1861 was
the candidate of the Democratic party for governor. While at this period
party spirit was embittered and active, and the Republicans largely in
the ascendant, the conservative and popular character of their leader
gave the Democrats a handsome gain in the popular vote.
The qualities of character that contribute to success in large fields of
commercial enterprise are sometimes difficult to define, while their
influence is apparent and is seen and felt by all. A prominent trait is
great deliberation in reaching decisions, yet firmness in maintaining
them. Sagacious insight of character in choosing agents and
subordinates, while holding them to a strict accountability, is also a
quality of executive merit. We see this last trait in a marked degree in
the small sums represented in the items, "damages" and "gratuities," in
all reports of the railroad management of Gen. Stark. Every employe,
from the highest to the lowest position, on roads under his
superintendence, had printed instructions of duties, to which he was
required to assent. Under no circumstances were men retained in
important posts who used intoxicating liquors, and no _cafe_ or
restaurant connected with the stations was allowed to keep alcoholic
drinks for sale.
In _personnel_ Gen. Stark is characterized by a quiet, deliberate, yet
courteous manner that is not disturbed by the varied conditions and
incidents of business life. This trait of an habitual mental equipoise
is a peculiarity that impresses itself prominently on an observer. He
has a natural, unrestrained manner in conversation, and social qualities
that are freely manifested in company with tested and worthy friends. As
a writer of business documents and reports he manifests power, method,
and perspicuity, and his manuscript shows a careful arrangement,
neatness and precision of chirography quite remarkable in one of his
extensive business experience. At the age of fifty-eight he is yet in
the full tide and vigor of business life. His family residence at
Nashua, though showing no taste for ostentation or display, is an
elegant structure in the villa style, furnished with every comfort and
convenience, and adorned with works of art.
Gen. Stark was married, in 1845, to Elizabeth A. Parker, daughter of
Daniel Parker, of Bedford, N. H. She died in 1846. In 1848 he was united
by marriage to Mary G. Bowers, daughter of Col. Joseph Bowers, of
Chelmsford, Mass. His two children are John F. and Emma G. Stark.
HON. HIRAM A. TUTTLE.
BY JOHN WHEELER, M. D.
Hon. HIRAM A. TUTTLE was born in Barnstead, October 16, 1837, being the
elder of a family of two sons. His father, George Tuttle, and his
grandfather, Col. John Tuttle, were also natives of the same town. His
great-grandfather, John Tuttle, settled in Barnstead in 1776, coming
there from that locality in Dover known as "Back River," where a part of
the Tuttle family had resided since the settlement there of their
emigrant ancestor, John Tuttle, who came from England before 1641.
His mother, Judith Mason Davis, is a descendant from Samuel Davis, a
soldier of the Revolution, and one of the primeval settlers of
Barnstead. Brave soldiers of the Davis family from four generations have
represented that town in the four great wars in which the country has
been engaged.
When Mr. Tuttle was nine years of age he moved, with his father's
family, to the adjoining town of Pittsfield, where he attended the
public schools and Pittsfield Academy, while the latter was under the
charge, successively, of I. F. Folsom, Lewis W. Clark, and Prof. Dyer H.
Sanborn.
After having been engaged in several vocations, in all of which he
showed industry and faithfulness, at the age of seventeen years he
became connected with the clothing establishment of Lincoln & Shaw, of
Concord, where he remained several years. The ability and zeal which he
exhibited while there won for him the confidence and respect of his
employers, who established him in the management of a branch store in
Pittsfield, of which he soon became the proprietor. His business
increased gradually at first, and then rapidly till his establishment
had gained an extensive patronage, and ranked among the largest
clothing-houses in the State. It is so favorably remembered by former
residents and patrons that orders are received for goods from distant
states and territories. Mr. Tuttle has also been interested in real
estate. He has built many dwelling-houses, including a fine residence
for himself, and the best business buildings in the village. In many
ways he has promoted the growth, social and business interests, and
general prosperity of his adopted town. He is a trustee of the savings
bank, a director of the national bank, and a trustee of the academy in
Pittsfield.
[Illustration: Hiram A. Tuttle]
When he had attained his majority, in 1859, he expressed his intention
of casting his first vote with the Republicans, although all his
relatives belonged to the Democratic party. The Democrats of Pittsfield
had been victorious and powerful since the days of Jackson, under such
distinguished leaders as Moses Norris, Jr., Charles H. Butters, and
Lewis W. Clark, all being able lawyers, impressive public speakers, and
having popular manners. Mr. Norris, a native of the town, represented it
repeatedly in the legislature, was speaker of the house twice, a
councilor, representative in congress four years, and was elected to the
United States senate for six years while residing here. The ability and
courteous manners of Mr. Clark (now Judge Lewis W. Clark) made him no
less popular than Mr. Norris, with all classes, during the shorter time
he was in business life in town. Seeing in young Tuttle qualities that
might make him troublesome if opposed to them, but useful if in accord
with their party, the Democrats used their most eminent persuasive
powers to induce him to cleave to the party of all his kindred and vote
with the hitherto victorious; but he obeyed his convictions and remained
true to the Republican party. In 1860 the Republicans, though so long
hopelessly beaten, made a sharp contest. When the day of election came,
Mr. Clark was elected moderator, having been a most acceptable presiding
officer for several years. The election of town clerk was made the test
of the strength of the two parties. After a very exciting ballot, Mr.
Tuttle was elected town clerk and the Democrats were beaten for the
first time in thirty-three years. Although Pittsfield has a Democratic
majority under normal circumstances, Mr. Tuttle has received the support
of a large majority of its votes at times when his name has been
presented for position. In 1873 and 1874 he was representative to the
legislature. In 1876 he received an appointment, with the rank of
colonel, on the staff of Governor Cheney, and with the governor and
staff visited the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia. He was elected
a member of the executive council from the second district in 1878, and
was re-elected in 1879, under the new constitution, for the term of two
years.
Mr. Tuttle has been very successful in all that he has undertaken; but
his thrift has never made him arrogant or indifferent. He has cheerfully
shared with others the results of the good fortune that Providence has
granted him. He is an agreeable and companionable gentleman in all the
honorable relations of life. As a citizen, neighbor, and friend, he is
held in the highest estimation. He has furnished employment for many,
and has been kind to the poor, very respectful to the aged, charitable
to the erring, and a sympathizing helper of the embarrassed and
unfortunate. Few men have more or firmer personal friends whose
friendship is founded on kindness and substantial favors received. He
gives with remarkable generosity to all charitable objects presented to
him, and is very hospitable in his pleasant home. Mr. Tuttle accepts the
Christian religion, and worships with the Congregational church. While
he contributes very liberally for the support of the denomination of his
choice, he does not withhold a helping hand from the other religious
sects in his town. In his domestic relations he has been very fortunate.
He married, in 1859, Miss Mary C. French, the only child of John L.
French, Esq., formerly cashier of the Pittsfield bank. Their only
child,--Hattie French Tuttle,--born January 17, 1861, is a member of the
junior class in Wellesley College.
REV. ALONZO A. MINER, D. D.
BY REV. GEORGE H. EMERSON, D. D.
The subject of this sketch owes his name to the grace of one of
England's greatest kings. In the wars between England and France, to
which belongs the renown of Cressy and Poictiers, the English sovereigns
accepted such assistance in munitions and men as their subjects could
proffer. Henry Bullman of Mendippe Hills, Somersetshire, was a miner. He
fitted out a company of one hundred, armed with battle-axes, many of
them laborers in his mines, and presented the same to Edward III. for
his use in Continental conquest. In his gratitude Edward conferred upon
him a coat of arms and gave him the name of "Miner." This honored
subject, and the first of the name of Miner, died in 1359. From him
descended Thomas Miner, who came to Boston with the elder Winthrop in
1630. Charles Miner, of the fifth generation from Thomas, was a
Revolutionary soldier. At the close of the war he removed from
Connecticut to New Hampshire.
A descendant of King Edward's friend, seventh in descent from Thomas,
the grandson of Charles, ALONZO AMES MINER was the son of Benajah Ames
and Amanda (Cary) Miner,--an only son and the second of five children.
He was born at Lempster, Sullivan county, N. H., Aug. 17, 1814.
Grace Miner, granddaughter of Thomas, above named, married Samuel Grant,
Jr., of Windsor, Conn., April 11, 1688. From that union descended
Ulysses S. Grant, ex-President of the United States.
The subject of this sketch inherited neither fortune nor even health.
Mental powers, a constitutional integrity, and a lack of the lower
ambitions came as his only birthright. All else is his by conquest. Till
the years of late boyhood he was an invalid. His opportunities for
education in the village school were very intermittent. His feeble
health and a grave uncertainty as to his ever reaching mature manhood
constantly broke in upon the systematic training of the school. He
filled out the school studies in the invalid's chair at home. None
predicted for him length of days. Even the cautious physician made
thirty years the utmost limit of life allotted him. He, however,
supplemented his broken studies with academic training at Hopkinton,
Lebanon, and Franklin, N. H., and at Cavendish, Vt. Beginning public
life as a school-teacher at the age of sixteen, he took charge of the
village school, alternating this labor with his studies at the
academies. His pupilage at Cavendish was soon followed by promotion. Mr.
John Garvin was the principal. He was a very zealous Calvinist. Young
Miner was a no less zealous Universalist. It was at a time when
sectarian lines were sharply drawn. It was then a custom with zealous
Calvinists to regard Universalists, not simply as unsound in doctrine,
but also as wicked in life and conduct! But Mr. Garvin saw something in
the young pupil that dispelled the prejudice. He took him into
partnership in the management of the school in 1834. In this position
young Miner served a year.
[Illustration: A. A. Miner]
In 1835, certain gentlemen of Unity, proposing to establish an academy
at that village, saw in Mr. Miner, now near his majority, their man. He
accepted their proposition. The school, named the "Scientific and
Military Academy," was for both sexes, with military training for boys.
Four years of his principalship were successful beyond expectation. In
some of the terms the number of scholars reached one hundred and fifty.
August 24, 1836, he was married to Maria S. Perley of Lempster, who
entered the school as preceptress. She has ever been his faithful and
devoted helpmeet.
Not a few of those who have strong sympathy with Dr. Miner's theological
belief are persuaded that there was something providential in his call
to the ministry of the Universalist church,--the service he has rendered
that body being so great, in several regards so exceptional. He does not
appear to have been converted to Universalism. He literally was a "born
Universalist." While anxious friends assigned but a narrow limit to so
frail a constitution, the invalid felt that his place was to be in the
ministry of the Universalist church. Of this he made no secret. It
became a matter of course that on reaching maturity he would become a
preacher of the faith he so deeply cherished.
The success of the Unity school might have fixed another in the
profession of teaching. It had no weight in diverting Mr. Miner from
what he deemed a higher call. Several of his patrons solicited him to
begin his ministry in Unity in connection with his school duties. He
complied. In February, 1838, he preached his first sermon in Chester,
Vt. In the following May he began a regular ministry, preaching half of
the time in Unity, and devoting the other half to a circuit which
included about twenty of the neighboring villages. After six months of
this twofold labor he resigned his principalship; but he was persuaded
to remain yet another year,--all the time filling his appointments on
Sunday. At the New Hampshire convention of Universalists, held at
Nashua, June, 1839, he was ordained to the sacred office. In the
November succeeding he was called to the pastorate of the Universalist
church at Methuen, Mass. Such was the success of his new labors that a
reputation for very exceptional gifts as an orator, logician, and
preacher, spread. It was seen that his call to a larger and more
exacting field of duty was but a question of early time.
In the city of Lowell, the Rev. Abel C. Thomas had met with
extraordinary success as pastor of the Second Universalist church. After
a pastorate of little less than three years he resigned to accept a call
to Brooklyn, N. Y. Certain of his parishioners said to him, in the
hearing of the writer of this sketch, that his withdrawal would be a
calamity to the Lowell parish. Grateful for this tribute he replied:
"Put into the pulpit the man I will name, and I pledge you that the
church shall go on prospering and to prosper." There was a pause and all
ears were both curious and anxious. Mr. Thomas added: "That man is A. A.
Miner." A unanimous call of the committee and of the congregation was
extended. On the first Sunday of July 1842, the Rev. A. A. Miner
preached his introductory sermon as pastor of the Lowell Second
Universalist parish. The prediction of Mr. Thomas proved true. In a
pastorate of six years Mr. Miner greatly strengthened, materially and
spiritually, the church to which he ministered. In cordial co-operation
with the pastor of the First Universalist church,--at first Rev. Thomas
B. Thayer, and afterwards Rev. E. G. Brooks,--he labored with eminent
success. The citizens soon discovered that the new minister was of
"many-sided talents." Then began that drain upon his strength, branching
off, according to his specialties, into as many channels, whereby he has
been, perhaps, as thoroughly and as variously "utilized" as any man of
this period. Then began trusts, official positions on school boards,
charity boards, and every other conceivable board, the faithful
performance of any one of which would have made an average
reputation,--all discharged by one person, and he never having a
thoroughly healthy day, presents simply a marvel.
During an early year of his Lowell ministry, a crisis came in the career
of the Universalist church; and Lowell happened to be its turning point.
There was a Universalist paper published at Lowell, the _Star of
Bethlehem_. It was edited by the Universalist pastors. A third parish
had been founded, and the Rev. H. G. Smith became its pastor. He was
associated with Messrs. Miner and Brooks in the management of the paper,
each contributing over his own signature. About the year 1842 the
Unitarian ministry was suddenly rent by one of its ministers, in
ability, magnetism, and rhetorical skill without a peer among his
brethren,--the Rev. Theodore Parker. He had adopted German rationalism
in regard to the Bible and Christianity, and by the boldness of his
utterances and the felicity of his manner was rapidly forming that
radical wing which to-day appears to dominate in the Unitarian body.
Such a leading was not likely to be restricted to any one sect. Was it
to enter and change the character of the Universalist movement? The Rev.
Mr. Smith showed that he was thoroughly imbued with the new doctrine;
and he was rapidly making converts among the younger members of his
ministerial fraternity. Rev. Messrs. Miner and Brooks, fully persuaded
that the new idea was a false one, thought that they foresaw that its
free acceptance by the Universalist ministry and people would at an
early day endanger the stability of their church. They met the issue
without reserve and with no regard to consequences personal to
themselves. In the pulpit and in the paper they vigorously protested
against the course of Mr. Smith. An anxious discussion followed, and it
spread. It was taken into the ecclesiastical body, the Boston
Association, where a resolution deprecating and protesting against the
"deistical innovation" was passed by a strong majority. This was in
1847. A few years later the writer of this inquired of the Rev. Thomas
Whittemore in regard to that rationalistic excitement. His answer was,
"Miner and Brooks took it in hand at Lowell and the Association killed
it." This episode apparently weakened the Universalist cause in Lowell.
The writer is one of the large number who have no doubt that the
promptness and thoroughness of the Lowell pastors averted a calamity.
May 1, 1848, Mr. Miner was called to the pastorate of the School-street
church, Boston. Having the entire confidence of his renowned senior, the
Rev. Hosea Ballou, he rapidly worked disaffection out of the parish,
thoroughly organized it, got the more than confidence of its leading
members; and he has carried it forward to the present day with a degree
of high success seldom paralleled in any denomination. In the early part
of the year 1851 his people decided to enlarge the edifice. The closing
of services while the reconstruction was in progress gave Mr. Miner an
opportunity to recruit his wasted strength by European travel. In June,
1852, Rev. Hosea Ballou died full of honors. Another call upon his
administrative ability as president of Tufts College led to the
settlement of associate pastors. But, apart from these interludes, Dr.
Miner has been the sole pastor since the death of Mr. Ballou.
In the movement to found Tufts College, of the very small number of
devoted friends, Dr. Miner has not occupied a second place. Subscribing
himself liberally, a few of his parishioners felt the contagion of
example and made generous pledges. The Rev. Otis A. Skinner, D. D., was
the first agent for collecting funds, and with heroic perseverance in
this pioneer work he raised the larger part of $100,000,--the minimum
upon which the work could begin. This, however, was but a beginning. The
assets to-day are not far from one million dollars. The influence of Dr.
Miner in reaching this result has been pre-eminent. The corner-stone was
laid in 1853. Mr. Miner giving the address. On the death of its first
president, Rev. Hosea Ballou, 2d, D. D., Mr. Miner was constrained to
accept the presidency. He was inaugurated, July 9, 1862. Previous to
this, the principal trust, he had served the college as trustee,
secretary, and treasurer. It was largely by his devices that the money
was raised to meet the current expenses during the infancy and the
poverty of the institution.
In 1863 Harvard College conferred upon him the honorary S. T. D. He had
received the honorary A. M. from Tufts in 1861; and that of LL. D. was
conferred by Tufts in 1875. His presidency continued till 1875, at which
date he acceded to the urgent call of his parish, and resigned the
presidency of the college and took the sole pastorate of his church,
which, in 1872, had dedicated the large and costly temple at the corner
of Columbus avenue and Clarendon street, in which it has worshiped from
that date to the present. Again his labor was effective. Out of the
pulpit as well as in it, giving his heart and energy to its interests,
the old parish entered upon a new era of prosperity. A pastor does well
who holds to himself one generation. Dr. Miner now has under his
influence a third generation, and the "spell" is not weakened. In the
period of his pastorates, he has conducted more than one thousand eight
hundred funeral services, and solemnized more than two thousand five
hundred weddings.
On removing to Boston, in 1848, Mr. Miner found himself in the center of
new calls upon his "many-sided" talents. He was seen to be financier,
organizer, popular leader, platform orator. Thence "missions" multiplied
and increased. The limits of this sketch permit but the baldest
statement of his labors, all of which he has rendered with singular
skill. Of course he was put upon the school board of the city. Then the
state made demands, and he is now serving a second term of eight years
on the state board of education. At a dinner given in his honor on
occasion of his departure for a short period to California, the then
Gov. Washburn bore testimony to the inventiveness and far-reaching
wisdom with which he was aiding to advance the educational interests of
the commonwealth. He has been six years chairman of the board of
visitors of the state normal art school. He has served as one of the
overseers of Harvard College. He is one of the "hundred orators," having
delivered the Fourth of July oration in Boston in 1855. Add to such
duties constant lecturing before lyceums, temperance meetings, and peace
societies, his frequent addresses at academic commencements, and
membership of various associations which we have not space to
mention,--how so many offices can be discharged, and all with
acknowledged fidelity, is a question that perplexes. In the way of duty
he has made enemies. But neither friends nor foes ever accused him of
seeking any of these high responsibilities. In every instance the
position sought the man. His pre-eminent gift has seemed to the writer
to consist in speaking to a point and with a view to a particular
effect. When he appeared before the legislative committee to plead for a
state grant to Tufts College, the committee unanimously reported in
favor,--one of the members adding that the eloquence with which the
claim had been urged had convinced the committee that it _was_ a claim.
The late Samuel Burbank of Lowell gave the writer this incident: Dr.
Miner had occasion to address a meeting of stockholders of an insurance
company whose affairs had got into a bad way. When he was through, the
late Samuel Lawrence, turning to Mr. Burbank, said: "That is the
Universalist minister,--well, if he will abandon his pulpit he may have
charge of any of our manufactories at any salary he may ask."
Like his faith, Dr. Miner's interest in the temperance reform is a "born
conviction." From his youth to his present hour, he has never wavered in
his belief that the drinking curse is the giant evil. In the pulpit, the
lyceum, the caucus, on the platform, he has labored to create and
enforce law to resist the ever threatening danger. In politics he makes
it the chief state issue, and in 1878 was the candidate of the
Prohibition party for governor of Massachusetts. In 1867 he led before
the legislative committee the protest against the repeal of the
prohibitory law, in opposition to the efforts of Gov. Andrew. His speech
on that occasion has become an arsenal of facts pertaining to the ethics
and the practicability of the statute. Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, D. D.,
said to the writer of this: "Your Dr. Miner has made a great speech,--a
very great one: it will never be answered." For ten years he has been
the president of the Temperance Alliance. In token of his great service
before the legislature, the Alliance presented him a costly Dore Bible.
He also had another "token" in the shape of threatened violence and the
defacement of his house. This was meant as dishonor. Dishonor? Could the
apostle articulate his thought, for what titles Jerusalem could have
conferred would he exchange the "forty stripes save one?"
But in all these varied toils, his church and faith have had the
uppermost place. By instinct and habit an extemporaneous speaker, the
one field he has least worked is that of literature with the pen. An
occasional article for the church periodicals and a Sunday-school manual
have at times occupied him. But most of his published works were spoken,
and taken down by reporters. He is one of some half-dozen Boston
preachers who are favorites with the reporters of the Boston dailies.
"Old Forts Taken," his latest publication, was the rhetoric of his "off
hand" speaking, save as the transcript of the reporter may have been
revised. But, whether laboring by speech or pen, he has never permitted
any duty or position to hold other than a second place beside his duties
to the church of his love.
In the movement which has transformed the once scattered societies of
his denomination into a compact, organized, and working church, no one
has rendered a more effective service. Of its first Home Mission he is
literally the pioneer. No one more faithfully represents the
controversial and aggressive spirit of the doctrines of his Church; but
no one has done more to make that church effective for practical
righteousness and Christian worship. He has now reached the decline, not
of his powers, nor of his zeal, nor of his work, but only of his years.
May the evening of his days be as serene and pleasant as his youth and
maturity have been industrious, faithful, and true.
[Illustration: Henry O. Kent]
COL. HENRY O. KENT.
BY H. H. METCALF.
Among the best known of the representative men of New Hampshire, Col.
HENRY O. KENT of Lancaster is conceded a prominent position. The Kent
family is of English origin, the first of the name in this country being
among the settlers of old Newbury, Mass., in 1635. John Kent, a scion of
this stock, died in 1780, at Cape Ann, Mass., aged eighty years. His
son, Jacob, born at Chebacco (now Essex), Mass., in 1726, settled in
Plaistow in this state. In 1760, a regiment commanded by Col. John Goffe
was raised in New Hampshire for the invasion of Canada, one company of
which was officered by John Hazen, captain; Jacob Kent (above named),
first lieutenant; and Timothy Beadle, second lieutenant. This regiment
marched to Number Four (Charlestown), cutting a road through the forest
to the Green Mountains, and thence to Crown Point on Lake Champlain,
where they took water transportation. After a successful campaign they
returned through the wilderness, _via_ the Newbury meadows or the "Cohos
country," with the fertility of which region Lieut.-Col. Jacob Bayley,
Capt. Hazen, and Lieutenants Kent and Beadle were so favorably impressed
that they determined to return and found a settlement. The project was
soon carried out, Bayley and Kent locating on the western, and Hazen and
Beadle on the eastern, side of the river, from which settlements sprang
the towns of Newbury and Haverhill. Jacob Kent died at Newbury, in 1812,
at the age of eighty-six years. He was a noted man in his section,
commander of the first company of militia in the towns of Newbury and
Haverhill "in our province of New Hampshire," as says his commission,
signed in 1764 by Benning Wentworth, which, with his sword, borne in two
wars, is now in Col. Kent's possession. During the Revolution, while
burdened with the cares of the infant settlement, he was an earnest
actor in the scenes which gave us our independence. He was colonel of
the forces in his vicinity, and on the advance of Burgoyne started with
his regiment for the field, and was present with it at the capitulation
at Saratoga. The original homestead is still in the family, Col. Jacob
Kent--a gentleman through a long life well known in the political,
military, and social circles of Vermont--being the present owner.
Jacob Kent, first named, left three sons,--Jacob, John, and Joseph. John
Kent, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, settled in the town of
Lyman, where he died in 1842, leaving four sons and one daughter. The
father of Col. Kent--Richard Peabody Kent--was one of these sons, his
mother, Tabitha Peabody, being a daughter of Lieutenant Richard Peabody
of the Revolutionary army. He is still in active business in Lancaster,
where he settled and engaged in mercantile pursuits in 1828. During this
long career his affairs have been transacted with scrupulous integrity,
exactitude, and honor. Though never in public life, he has always taken
a deep interest in the material and educational welfare of the
community. On the maternal side the ancestry of Col. Kent is traced to
Richard Mann, "a planter in the family of Elder Brewster," who was one
of the colony of the Mayflower. From him descended that John Mann, born
December 25, 1743, who was the first permanent settler of the town of
Orford, N. H., October, 1765. To him were born fifteen children, of whom
Solomon Mann was well known in the state. Emily, second daughter of
Solomon Mann, married Henry Oakes, an active and well known business man
at Waterford and Fairlee, Vt. To Henry and Emily (Mann) Oakes were born
three daughters and a son. One of the daughters, Emily Mann Oakes, was
married to Richard P. Kent at Littleton, June 5, 1832. To this union
there were born three children--sons--Henry Oakes, Edward Richard, and
Charles Nelson.
HENRY OAKES KENT was born in Lancaster, February 7, 1834. He attended
the district school and Lancaster Academy, and graduated from Norwich
Military University in the class of 1854, receiving later the degree of
A. M. He studied law with Hon Jacob Benton, and was admitted to the bar
at Lancaster in May, 1858. Soon after, he became the proprietor of the
_Coos Republican_, and assumed the editorial and business management of
that paper, his strong interest in political affairs and the fortunes of
the Republican party, with which he was actively indentified, impelling
him to this step, in taking which he relinquished the prospect of a
successful and distinguished career at the bar. In the management of the
_Republican_, both financial and editorial, he displayed rare skill and
ability. His leading articles were always strong, vigorous, earnest, and
secured for his paper, notwithstanding its remote location from the
Capital, an influential position among the party journals of the state.
It is safe to say that from the time when he assumed its management
until 1870, when he sold it,--a period of twelve years,--no paper in the
state rendered more efficient support to the party with which it was
allied, or advocated more heartily all measures tending to advance the
material prosperity of the section in which it was located, than did the
_Coos Republican_ under the direction of Col. Kent.
Since 1870 he has attended to a large and growing general office
business, to which he had previously given more or less attention, and
also to the interests of the Savings Bank for the County of Coos, for
which institution he secured the charter in 1868, and of which he is and
has been a trustee and the treasurer. He is also an owner and manager of
the Lancaster paper-mill; is treasurer of the Pleasant Valley Starch
Company, and is president of the Lancaster and Kilkenny Railroad
Company, a corporation organized to develop the resources of the
adjoining forest town of Kilkenny. The encouragement of local enterprise
and industry has, indeed, always been one of his characteristics.
As has been indicated, Col. Kent entered political life as a Republican,
and was an active advocate of the cause and policy of that party, with
pen and voice, until after the election of Gen. Grant to the presidency.
In 1855, when but twenty-one years of age, he was chosen assistant clerk
of the house of representatives, and re-elected the following year. In
1857 he was chosen clerk of the house, discharging the duties of that
office, for three successive years, with a readiness and efficiency
which have never been excelled by any incumbent. In those days the
previous question was not in vogue, and roll-calls were frequent. So
familiar did Col. Kent become with the roll, which embraced over three
hundred names, that he called it from memory, and it is related that,
having called the roll nineteen times in one day, it became so impressed
upon his mind that he called it over at night in his sleep, after
retiring at the Eagle. In 1862 he was chosen a representative from
Lancaster, and served with marked ability, his previous experience as
clerk admirably fitting him for the discharge of legislative duties. He
served that year as chairman of the committee on military affairs; a
position of great importance, considering the fact that we were then in
the midst of the war period. His next appearance in the legislature was
in 1868, when he served as chairman of the committee on railroads, and
again in 1869, when he was at the head of the finance committee. During
each year of his legislative service he occupied a prominent position
among the leaders of his party in the house, displaying marked ability
in debate, and energy and industry in the committee-room.
In 1858 a commission was appointed, by the states of Maine and New
Hampshire, "to ascertain, survey, and mark" the boundary between them.
The line had been established in 1784, and revised in 1825, when Ichabod
Bartlett and John W. Weeks were the commissioners on the part of New
Hampshire. The duty of representing this state upon the commission of
1858 was assigned to Col. Kent, and the work was performed during the
autumn of that year, through the wilderness, from the Crown Monument, as
far south as the towns of Fryeburg and Conway. Col. Kent's connection
with this work is perpetuated in the mountain bearing his name, on the
northeastern frontier, laid down on the state map of 1860, and in
subsequent surveys. In 1864 he was one of the presidential electors of
this state, and from 1866 to 1868 inclusive, he was one of the bank
commissioners.
At the outbreak of the rebellion Col. Kent volunteered in aid of the
Union cause. He was ordered to Concord by Gov. Goodwin, commissioned
assistant adjutant-general, with the rank of colonel, and assigned to
duty in the recruiting service. Raising a company in a few days at
Lancaster, he was ordered to Portsmouth, where he aided to organize and
send out the Second Regiment and to fit the garrison at Fort
Constitution. He continued on duty as assistant adjutant-general (the
only one ever appointed in New Hampshire) until after the earlier
regiments had left the state; but when a call was issued for three
additional regiments from New Hampshire, in the fall of 1862, he was
commissioned colonel of the Seventeenth, which was raised mainly by his
personal efforts and upon the strength of his name, and organized and
thoroughly drilled and disciplined under his command. Under the
exigencies of the service, however, and by orders received from the
secretary of war, the regiment was consolidated with the Second, whose
ranks had become heavily depleted, the men being transferred and the
officers necessarily mustered out, the governor in "general orders,"
regretting the necessity for this action and complimenting the
Seventeenth for its high discipline and soldierly demeanor. As it was,
few men, if any, in the state, did more than Col. Kent to promote the
efficiency of the service, and to maintain the reputation of New
Hampshire for prompt and patriotic effort in the Union cause,--a cause
which he sustained by pen and voice and active personal effort
throughout the entire struggle. He has been connected with the Grand
Army of the Republic since its organization, is past commander of his
Post, and is a frequent and popular speaker at the Veterans' reunions
and on Memorial-day occasions.
Col. Kent was an active member of the organization known as the
"Governor's Horse-Guards," which was formed for parade on the occasion
of the annual inauguration of the governor, in which he held the office
of major in 1860, and rode as colonel in 1863, 1864, and 1865.
In his association with, and labor for, the Republican party, Col. Kent
was actuated by his opposition to the institution of slavery, which he
regarded as prejudicial to the republic. He maintained his convictions
earnestly, yet candidly, in his paper and on the stump. But after the
war and the downfall of slavery, he favored the burial of past issues
and sectional bitterness, and the restoration of fraternal relations, as
essential to the general prosperity of the country. Regarding the policy
of the administration as inimical to such result, he was unable to
sustain it. He therefore disposed of his paper, which as a party organ
he could not conscientiously carry to the opposition, and engaged in the
development and organization of the Liberal movement, which resulted in
the Cincinnati convention and the nomination of Horace Greeley for
president in 1872. He participated in that convention, and was a member
of the National and chairman of the State Liberal Republican committee
in 1872 and 1873. In 1873 the Liberals ran an independent state ticket,
but united with the Democracy on a common platform in 1874. The
resolutions of the Liberal convention, announcing such purpose, were
presented in the Democratic convention by Col. Kent, whose appearance
and announcement elicited strong demonstrations of enthusiasm in that
body. The campaign thus opened, ended in the election of a Democratic
governor and legislature,--a result to which the earnest labors of Col.
Kent largely contributed. In recognition of his efficient services, as
well as acknowledged ability, he was accorded the Democratic
congressional nomination in the third district in 1875, and again in
1877 and 1878. In each of the attendant canvasses, he spoke
continuously, and ran largely ahead of his party vote, especially in his
own town and vicinity. In all subsequent campaigns Col. Kent has
heartily devoted his energies to the furtherance of Democratic
principles, and has been active upon the stump in New Hampshire and
outside the state, and always with numerous calls and large audiences.
Col. Kent is now fully engaged in the direction of his business
concerns, which furnish an ample field for his energies and talent; yet
he has in no degree abated his interest in public and political affairs.
As has been said, he has given earnest encouragement to all enterprises
calculated to promote the material welfare and prosperity of his
section. In the advancement of educational interests he has also been
earnestly engaged. He is a trustee and chairman of the executive
committee of the corporation of Lancaster Academy, and is also a trustee
of Norwich University, and president of the "Associated Alumni and Past
Cadets" of that institution. In 1875 he addressed the Associated Alumni
at their reunion, and in 1876, by request, delivered an address at
commencement which for its eloquence and patriotic sentiments secured
hearty and general commendation. He was, last year, one of the
corporators of the Yorktown Centennial Association, named by the
legislature of Virginia. He has long been prominent in the Masonic
order, having passed the chair in North Star Lodge at Lancaster, and
frequently been district deputy grand master. In 1868 and 1869 he was
grand commander of the order of Knights Templars and appendant orders
for the jurisdiction of New Hampshire. In 1880 he was made the recipient
of a past masters badge of solid gold, from the Masons of his section.
Col. Kent was married, in Boston, January 11, 1859, to Berenice A.
Rowell. They have two children, a daughter,--Berenice Emily,--born
October 31, 1866, and a son,--Henry Percy,--born March 8, 1870. His
religious associations are with the Episcopal church, and he is, with
his family, a regular attendant upon the service of St. Paul's at
Lancaster.
Of fine presence, genial and courteous manners, and strong personal
magnetism, public spirited, generous, and obliging, his popularity in
his section is great, as is evidenced by the large vote which he always
receives when his name is upon the ticket, in his own town. Still young,
endowed with strong mental powers, well known as a writer and public
speaker, ambitious and courageous, it is fair to presume that he will
yet attain still greater prominence and usefulness in public and private
life.
[Illustration: Marshall P. Wilder
_PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY AND PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITES STATES AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY._
Portrait taken at the age of seventy.]
MARSHALL P. WILDER, PH. D.
BY JOHN WARD DEAN, A. M.,
Librarian of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society.
There are few men in our community whose lives afford as striking an
example of what can be achieved by concentration of power and
unconquerable perseverance as does that of Col. WILDER. The bare
enumeration of the important positions he has held, and still holds, and
the self-sacrificing labors he has performed is abundant evidence of the
extraordinary talent and ability, and the personal power and influence,
which have enabled him to take a front rank as a benefactor to mankind.
MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER, whose christian names were given in honor of
Chief-Justice Marshall and General Pinckney, eminent statesmen at the
time he was born, was the oldest son of Samuel Locke Wilder, Esq., of
Rindge, N. H., and was born in that town, September 22, 1798. His
father, a nephew of the Rev. Samuel Locke, D.D., president of Harvard
College, for whom he was named, was thirteen years a representative in
the New Hampshire legislature, a member of the Congregational church in
Rindge and held important town offices there. His mother, Anna, daughter
of Jonathan and Mary (Crombie) Sherwin, (married May 2, 1797,) a lady of
great moral worth, was, as her son is, a warm admirer of the beauties of
nature.
The Wilders are an ancient English family, which the "Book of the
Wilders," published a few years ago, traces to Nicholas Wilder, a
military chieftain in the army of the Earl of Richmond at the battle of
Bosworth, 1485. There is strong presumptive evidence that the American
family is an offshoot from this. President Chadbourne in his life of
Col. Wilder, and the author of the "Book of the Wilders," give reasons
for this opinion. The paternal ancestors of Col. Wilder in this country
performed meritorious services in the Indian wars, in the American
revolution, and in Shays' rebellion. His grandfather was one of the
seven delegates from the county of Worcester, in the Massachusetts
convention of 1788, for ratifying the constitution of the United States,
who voted in favor of it. Isaac Goodwin, Esq., in the Worcester
Magazine, Vol. II. page 45, bears this testimony: "Of all the ancient
Lancaster families, there is no one that has sustained so many important
offices as that of Wilder."
At the age of four Marshall was sent to school, and at twelve he entered
New Ipswich Academy, his father desiring to give him a collegiate
education, with reference to a profession. When he reached the age of
sixteen, his father gave him the choice, either to qualify himself for a
farmer, or for a merchant, or to fit for college. He chose to be a
farmer; and to this choice may we attribute in no small degree the
mental and physical energy which has distinguished so many years of his
life. But the business of his father increased so much that he was
taken into the store. He here acquired such habits of industry that at
the age of twenty-one he became a partner, and was appointed postmaster
of Rindge.
In 1825, he sought a wider field of action and removed to Boston. Here
he began business under the firm name of Wilder & Payson, in Union
street, then as Wilder & Smith, in North Market street, and next in his
own name, at No. 3, Central wharf. In 1837 he became a partner in the
commission house of Parker, Blanchard, & Wilder, Water street, next
Parker, Wilder, & Parker, Pearl street, and now Parker, Wilder, & Co.,
Winthrop square. Mr. Wilder is the oldest commission merchant in
domestic fabrics in active business in Boston. He has passed through
various crises of commercial embarrassments, and yet he has never failed
to meet his obligations. He was an original director in the Hamilton,
now Hamilton National, Bank, and in the National Insurance Company. The
latter trust he has held over forty years, and he is now in his fiftieth
year in the former. He has been a director in the New England Mutual
Life Insurance Company for nearly forty years, and also a director in
other similar institutions.
But trade and the acquisition of wealth have not been the all-engrossing
pursuits of his life. His inherent love of rural pursuits led him, in
1832, to purchase a house in Dorchester originally built by Gov.
Increase Sumner, where, after devoting a proper time to business, he
gave his leisure to horticulture and agriculture. He spared no expense,
he rested from no efforts, to instill into the public mind a love of an
employment so honorable and useful. He cultivated his own grounds,
imported seeds, plants, and trees, and endeavored by his example to
encourage labor and elevate the rank of the husbandman. His garden,
green-houses, and a forest of fruit-trees occupied the time he could
spare from business, and here he has prosecuted his favorite
investigations, year after year, for half a century, to the present day.
Soon after the Massachusetts Horticultural Society was formed, Mr.
Wilder was associated with the late Gen. Henry A. S. Dearborn, its first
president, and from that time till now has been one of its most
efficient members, having two years since delivered the oration on the
occasion of its fiftieth anniversary. One of the most important acts of
this society was the purchase of Mount Auburn for a cemetery and an
ornamental garden. On the separation of the cemetery from the society,
in 1835, through Mr. Wilder's influence, committees were appointed by
the two corporations, Judge Story being chairman of the cemetery
committee, and Mr. Wilder of the society committee. The situation was
fraught with great difficulties; but Mr. Wilder's conservative course,
everywhere acknowledged, overcame them all, and enabled the society to
erect an elegant hall in School street, and afterwards the splendid
building it now occupies in Tremont street, the most magnificent
horticultural hall in the world. In 1840 he was chosen president, and
held the office for eight successive years. During his presidency the
hall in School street was erected, and two triennial festivals were held
in Faneuil Hall, which are particularly worthy of notice. The first was
opened September 11, 1845, and the second on the fiftieth anniversary of
his birth, September 22, 1848, when he retired from the office of
president, and the society voted him a silver pitcher valued at one
hundred and fifty dollars, and caused his portrait to be placed in its
hall. As president of this association he headed a circular for a
convention of fruit-growers, which was held in New York, October 10,
1848, when the American Pomological Society was formed. He was chosen
its first president, and he still holds that office, being in his
thirty-third year of service. Its biennial meetings have been held in
New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Boston, Rochester, St. Louis,
Richmond, Chicago, and Baltimore. On these occasions President Wilder
has made appropriate addresses. The last meeting was held September,
1881, at Boston, where he presided with his usual vigor and propriety,
at the advanced age of eighty-three.
In February, 1849, the Norfolk Agricultural Society was formed. Mr.
Wilder was chosen president, and the Hon. Charles Francis Adams,
vice-president. Before this society, his first address on agricultural
education was delivered. This was the first general effort in that cause
in this country. He was president twenty years, and on his retirement he
was constituted honorary president, and a resolution was passed
recognizing his eminent ability and usefulness in promoting the arts of
horticulture and agriculture, and his personal excellence in every
department of life. He next directed his efforts to establishing the
Massachusetts board of agriculture, organized, as the Massachusetts
Central Board of Agriculture, at a meeting of delegates of agricultural
societies in the state, September, 1851, in response to a circular
issued by him as president, of the Norfolk Agricultural Society. He was
elected president, and held the office till 1852, when it became a
department of the state, and he is now the senior member of that board.
In 1858 the Massachusetts School of Agriculture was incorporated, and he
was chosen president; but before the school was opened congress granted
land to the several states for agricultural colleges, and in 1865 the
legislature incorporated the Massachusetts Agricultural College. He was
named the first trustee. In 1871 the first class was graduated, and in
1878 he had the honor of conferring the degree of Bachelor of Science on
twenty young gentlemen graduates. He delivered addresses on both
occasions. In 1852, through his instrumentality, the United States
Agricultural Society was organized at Washington. This society, of which
he was president for the first six years, exercised a beneficial
influence till the breaking out of the late civil war. He is a member of
many horticultural and agricultural societies in this and foreign lands.
Col. Wilder, at an early age, took an interest in military affairs. At
sixteen he was enrolled in the New Hampshire militia, and at twenty-one
he was commissioned adjutant. He organized and equipped the Rindge Light
Infantry, and was chosen its captain. At twenty-five he was elected
lieutenant-colonel, and at twenty-six was commissioned as colonel of the
Twelfth Regiment.
Soon after his removal to Boston he joined the Ancient and Honorable
Artillery Company. In 1856 he was chosen commander of the corps, having
four times previously declined nominations. He entered into
correspondence with Prince Albert, commander of the Royal Artillery
Company of London, founded in 1537, of which this corps, chartered in
1638, is the only offspring. This correspondence established a friendly
intercourse between the two companies. In June, 1857, Prince Albert was
chosen a special honorary member of our company, and twenty-one years
later, in 1878, Col. Wilder, who then celebrated the fiftieth or golden
anniversary of his own membership, nominated the Prince of Wales, the
present commander of the London company, as an honorary member. They are
the only two honorary members that have been elected by the company, and
both were commanders of the Honorable Artillery Company of London when
chosen. The late elegantly illustrated history of the London company
contains a portrait of Col. Wilder as he appeared in full uniform on
that occasion.
In 1839, he was induced to serve for a single term in the Massachusetts
legislature as a representative for the town of Dorchester. In 1849 he
was elected a member of Gov. Briggs's council, and the year following, a
member of the senate and its president. In 1860, he was the member for
New England of the national committee of the "Constitutional Union
party," and attended, as chairman of the Massachusetts delegation, the
National convention in Baltimore, where John Bell and Edward Everett
were nominated for president and vice-president of the United States.
He was initiated in Charity Lodge No. 18, in Troy, N. H., at the age of
twenty-five, exalted to the Royal Arch Chapter, Cheshire No. 4, and
knighted in the Boston Encampment. He was deputy grand master of the
Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and was one of the six thousand Masons who
signed, Dec. 31, 1831, the celebrated "Declaration of the Freemasons of
Boston and Vicinity;" and at the fiftieth anniversary of that event,
just celebrated in Boston, Mr. Wilder responded for the survivors, six
of the signers being present. He has received all the Masonic degrees,
including the 33d, or highest and last honor of the fraternity. At the
World's Masonic convention, in 1867, at Paris, he was the only delegate
from the United States who spoke at the banquet.
On the 7th of November, 1849, a festival of the Sons of New Hampshire
was celebrated in Boston. The Hon. Daniel Webster presided, and Mr.
Wilder was the first vice-president. Fifteen hundred sons of the Granite
State were present. The association again met on the 29th of October,
1852, to participate in the obsequies of Mr. Webster at Faneuil Hall. On
this occasion the legislature and other citizens of New Hampshire were
received at the Lowell depot, and addressed by Mr. Wilder in behalf of
the sons of that state resident in Boston.
The Sons celebrated their second festival Nov. 2, 1853, at which Mr.
Wilder occupied the chair as president, and delivered one of his most
eloquent speeches. They assembled again June 20, 1861, to receive and
welcome the New Hampshire regiment of volunteers and escort them to
Music Hall, where Mr. Wilder addressed them in a patriotic speech on
their departure for the field of battle.
The two hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of the settlement of
Dorchester was celebrated on the 4th of July, 1855. The oration was by
Edward Everett; Mr. Wilder presided and delivered an able address. On
the central tablet of the great pavilion was this inscription: "Marshall
P. Wilder, President of the Day. Blessed is he that turneth the waste
places into a garden, and maketh the wilderness to blossom as a rose."
In January, 1868, he was solicited to take the office of president of
the New England Historic-Genealogical Society, vacated by the death of
Gov. Andrew. He was unanimously elected, and is now serving the
fourteenth year of his presidency. At every annual meeting he has
delivered an appropriate address. In his first address he urged the
importance of procuring a suitable building for the society. In 1870, he
said: "The time has now arrived when absolute necessity, public
sentiment, and personal obligations demand that this work be done and
done quickly." Feeling himself pledged by this address, he, as chairman
of the committee then appointed, devoted three months entirely to the
object of soliciting funds, during which time more than forty thousand
dollars was generously contributed by friends of the association; and
thus the handsome edifice. No. 18 Somerset street, was procured. This
building was dedicated to the use of the society, March 18, 1871. He has
since obtained donations amounting to upwards of twelve thousand
dollars, as a fund for paying the salary of the librarian.
In 1859, he presided at the first public meeting called in Boston in
regard to the collocation of institutions on the Back Bay lands, where
the splendid edifices of the Boston Society of Natural History and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology now stand. Of the latter
institution he has been a vice-president, and the chairman of its
Society of Arts.
He was one of the twelve representative men appointed to receive the
Prince of Wales in 1860, at the banquet given him in Boston; also one of
the commissioners in behalf of the Universal Exposition in Paris, 1867,
when he was placed at the head of the committee on horticulture and the
cultivation and products of the vine, the report of which was published
by act of congress.
In 1869, he made a trip to the South for the purpose of examining its
resources; and in 1870, with a large party, he visited California. The
result of Mr. Wilder's observations have been given to the public in a
lecture before the Massachusetts state board of agriculture, which was
repeated before the Boston Mercantile Library Association, the Amherst
and the Massachusetts Agricultural colleges, Dartmouth College, the
Horticultural Society, and the merchants of Philadelphia, and bodies in
other places.
His published speeches and writings now amount to over eighty in number.
A list to the year 1873 is printed in the "Cyclopedia of American
Literature." Dartmouth College, as a testimonial to his services in
science and literature, conferred upon him, in the year 1877, the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy.
The Hon. Paul A. Chadbourne, LL. D., late president of Williams College,
in a recent memoir of Mr. Wilder remarks: "The interest which Col.
Wilder has always manifested in the progress of education, as well as
the value and felicitous style of his numerous writings, would lead one
to infer at once that his varied knowledge and culture are the results
of college education. But he is only another illustrious example of the
men who, with only small indebtedness to schools, have proved to the
world that real men can make themselves known as such without the aid of
the college, as we have abundantly learned that the college can never
make a man of one who has not in him the elements of noble manhood
before he enters its halls."
In 1820, Mr. Wilder married Miss Tryphosa Jewett, daughter of Dr.
Stephen Jewett, of Rindge, a lady of great personal attractions. She
died on a visit to that town, July 21, 1831, leaving four children. On
the 29th of August, 1833, Mr. Wilder was united to Miss Abigail,
daughter of Capt. David Baker, of Franklin, Mass., a lady of education,
accomplishments, and piety, who died of consumption April 4, 1854,
leaving five children. He was married a third time on the 8th of
September, 1855, to her sister, Miss Julia Baker, who was admirably
qualified to console him and make his dwelling cheerful, and who has two
sons, both living. No man has been more blessed in domestic life. We
know not where there would be a more pleasing picture of peace and
contentment exhibited than is found in this happy family. In all his
pursuits and avocations, Mr. Wilder seems to have realized and practiced
that grand principle which has such a bearing and influence on the whole
course of life,--the philosophy of habit, a power almost omnipotent for
good or evil. His leisure hours he devotes to his pen, which already has
filled several large volumes with descriptions and delineations of
fruits and flowers proved under his own inspection.
The life of Col. Wilder is a striking instance of what an individual may
accomplish by industry, indomitable perseverance, and the concentration
of the intellectual powers on grand objects. Without these, no talent,
no mere good fortune could have placed him in the high position he has
attained as a public benefactor. He has been pre-eminent in the
establishment and development of institutions. Few gentlemen have been
called upon so often, and upon such various occasions, to take the chair
at public meetings or preside over constituted societies. Few have
acquitted themselves so happily, whether dignity of presence, amenity of
address, fluency of speech, or dispatch of business be taken into
consideration. As a presiding officer he seems "to the manner born." His
personal influence has been able to magnetize a half-dying body into new
and active life. This strong personal characteristic is especially
remarked among his friends. No one can approach him in doubt, in
despondency, or in embarrassment, and leave him without a higher hope, a
stronger courage and a manlier faith in himself. The energy which has
impelled him to labor still exists.
In closing this sketch, we may remark that a complimentary banquet was
given him, September 22, 1878, on the eightieth anniversary of his
birth. On this occasion the Rev. James H. Means, D. D., his pastor for
nearly thirty years, the Hon. Charles L. Flint, secretary of the board
of agriculture, the Hon. John Phelps Putnam, judge of the Massachusetts
superior court, and others paid tributes to the high moral character,
the benevolent disposition, and the eminent services of the honored
guest of the evening.
Judge Putnam closed as follows: "Our dear old friend, we greet you. On
this auspicious occasion we wish you many returns of your natal day.
_Serus in coelum redeas_,--late may you return to the heavens. And
when that day comes, on which, in the onward march of life you shall
fall by the way-side, may you fall as falls the golden fruit in this
autumn time,--
'Sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.'"
[Illustration: John M. Parker]
HON. JOHN M. PARKER.
BY WM. H. STINSON.
Among the many worthy sons of the old Granite State who by their
business enterprise, executive ability, and genial manners have won a
position on her honored roll, appears the name of JOHN MCGAW PARKER, who
was born in Goffstown, September 17, 1824, the eldest son of William
Parker by his second marriage, one of the early settlers of the town.
His mother, Hannah Adams, of Derry, was a most estimable lady, whose
christian influence over her family of three children was most enobling.
She was a descendant from that honored and illustrious family whose
representatives were called to the executive head of our nation. She
died February 26, 1869, having reached the age of four score years. We
trace the ancestry of his father to Josiah Parker, who came from England
to Cambridge, Mass., prior to 1700. His son, Rev. Thomas Parker, was the
first settled pastor at Dracut, Mass., where he died in 1765. A son of
his settled in Litchfield, this state, from whose family sprung the
father of the subject of this sketch.
During his early youth, young Parker received such training and
advantages as were offered by the district school, united with the best
of home influences. At the age of eleven years he was placed in the
academy at Hopkinton, by his father, who was desirous of giving his son
the benefit of a business education; the following year he entered old
Derry academy at Derry, where his education was completed.
Displaying much aptitude for business, his father, who was engaged in
the lumbering and the mercantile trade, as well as farming, placed him
in his store as clerk; the succeeding year he was clerk in a store at
Concord, but the next year, 1839, he returned to his home, taking charge
of the business of his father, who was in failing health, and who died
on the 9th of August following, at the age of sixty-four years.
His father's death necessitated changes in home affairs, and in March,
1840, he entered the store of William Whittle, at Goffstown, where he
remained until twenty-one years of age; he then returned once more to
his home and went into the mercantile trade at his father's old stand.
This was in 1843; he continued the same until 1847, when he formed a
partnership with his younger brother, David A., under the firm name of
J. M. & D. A. Parker, which union continues at the present time. In
addition to the mercantile and agricultural interests, they have engaged
extensively in the wood and lumber business, and as the "lumber kings"
in their section of the state their business has grown and developed
into one of no inconsiderable magnitude, requiring the investment of a
large capital which has accumulated through their indomitable energy and
business sagacity, backed by a judgment of such soundness as years of
experience can but give. The building of the N. H. Central Railroad, now
the Manchester & North Weare road, chartered in 1848, added greatly to
their business facilities for the transportation of their wood, bark,
and lumber, which enterprise received their earnest encouragement.
On the 30th of November, 1854, he married Letitia C., second daughter of
the late Capt. Charles Stinson, of Dunbarton, who was born March 9,
1835. Their married life has been a truly happy one, and such a kindly
home as all members of the household will ever revert to with the
fondest of recollections. They have three children: Charles Stinson,
born November 3, 1855; Henry Woodman, born February 26, 1859; Frank
Adams, born June 1, 1866. The two former, Charles and Henry, inheriting
their father's traits of character for business, are merchants at
Goffstown village, while Frank is pursuing his studies at Gilmanton
Academy.
Since the organization of the Republican party, Mr. Parker has ever been
a zealous advocate of its principles, and his abilities have been
recognized most honorably by his political party in their public
preferments. In 1855 he was elected a commissioner for his county, and
re-elected in 1856; and a member of the state senate in 1858 and 1859.
Among his associates in this body were Hon. Walter Harriman, Hon. John
G. Sinclair, Hon. Austin F. Pike, and Hon. John D. Lyman. He represented
his town in the legislature in 1869. In 1876, without consultation and
greatly to his surprise, he was selected as the nominee, by his party,
for councilor from his district, and owing to his popularity received a
majority of the suffrages at the election following, in the face of a
Democratic majority of six hundred in the district the year previous;
and was re-elected in 1877. At the institution of the state board of
equalization, in 1879, he was commissioned by the court as one of the
five members; re-appointed in 1881, and selected as president of the
board.
When the Guaranty Savings Bank of Manchester was organized, in 1879, he
was elected its president, a position still retained; and is also a
member of the board of directors of the Merchants National Bank of the
same city.
Mr. Parker filled the position of postmaster at the Goffstown office
during a period of four years; and he has a wide reputation in all the
surrounding towns as one of the most successful auctioneers, where his
services are ever in demand. Being possessed of a judicious and candid
mind, he is often called to act in the capacity of referee, where his
mature judgment has assisted in the friendly adjustment of disputed and
antagonistic questions which threatened the peace and harmony of
families, neighborhoods, and towns.
His business prosperity enables him to exercise a liberal spirit towards
objects and institutions that tend towards worthy ends; and he is
certainly one of the most industrious of men, whether attending to the
demands of the farm, the store, the lumber interests, selling of
estates, or to the almost countless calls from his public and minor
private duties that come crowding to his immediate notice. In all
matters of a public nature he has ever taken an active interest,
especially in the growth of enterprise in his native town.
Mr. Parker's love for social life allows the years to sit lightly. Of a
happy, open disposition, ever approachable, at his delightful residence
at Parker's station, Goffstown, presided over by his amiable and
generous-hearted wife, a cordial welcome is assured all who enter his
hospitable doors.
[Illustration: Chas. H. Bartlett.]
HON. CHARLES H. BARTLETT.
CHARLES HENRY BARTLETT was born in Sunapee, N. H., October 15, 1833. He
is the fourth son of John and Sarah J. (Sanborn) Bartlett, and is a
lineal descendant, in the eighth generation, of Richard Bartlett, who
came from England to Newbury, Mass., in the ship "Mary and John," in
1634.
The original orthography of the name was Barttelot, which is still
preserved by the family in England, whose ancestral home in Stopham,
Sussex county, has remained in possession of the family for nearly a
thousand years, and the present occupant, Hon. Walter B. Barttelot, is
the member of parliament from that county.
In the same ancestral line is found the name of Hon. Josiah Bartlett,
who, as a delegate in the continental congress from New Hampshire, was
the first man to vote "yea" on the passage of the declaration of
independence, July 4, 1776, and the second to affix his signature
thereto. All the Bartletts whose names appear in the annals of our state
trace their lineage to the same ancestry.
Mr. Bartlett has four brothers,--Joseph S., who resides in Claremont,
and Solomon, John Z. and George H., who reside in Sunapee; and two
sisters,--Mrs. Thomas P. Smith and Mrs. John Felch. His parents are
still living, at the advanced age of eighty-two years, in the enjoyment
of an ample competency, the fruits of a long life of earnest and
cheerful labor, and the practice of a stern, self-denying economy, the
characteristic of the best type of our New England husbandry.
Mr. Bartlett's early life was mainly spent upon his father's farm,
laboring through the summer season and attending school during the
winter. He early developed a decided taste for literary pursuits, and
from childhood devoted a liberal share of his leisure moments to the
perusal of such books as were accessible to him. He also contributed
liberally to the current literature of the day, and showed remarkable
facility in both prose and poetic composition. He received his academic
education at the academies at Washington and New London, after which he
commenced the study of law in the office of Metcalf & Barton at Newport.
He studied subsequently with George & Foster at Concord, and with
Morrison & Stanley at Manchester, being admitted to the bar of
Hillsborough county, from the office of the latter, in 1858. In that
year he began the practice of his profession at Wentworth, N. H., and in
1863 removed to Manchester, where he has since resided. For some two
years he was law partner with the late Hon. James U. Parker, the
partnership terminating with the retirement of the latter from active
business. In June, 1867, he was appointed, by Judge Clark, clerk of the
United States district court for the New Hampshire district, since which
time he has not actively practiced his profession, but has devoted
himself to the duties of his office, which became very onerous and
responsible upon the passage of the bankrupt law, about the time of his
appointment. The holding of this office under the government of the
United States has disqualified him from accepting any office under the
state government. He was clerk of the New Hampshire senate from 1861 to
1865, Gov. Smyth's private secretary in 1865 and 1866, treasurer of the
state reform school in 1866 and 1867. In the same year he was
unanimously chosen city solicitor, but declined a re-election, owing to
his appointment as clerk of the district court. In 1872 he was elected,
as the nominee of the Republican party, mayor of the city, and served
till February 18, 1873, when he resigned in accordance with the policy
of the national government at that time, which forbade United States
officials from holding state or municipal offices. His cheerful
co-operation with the administration in this matter, though at the
sacrifice of a most conspicuous public position, was handsomely
recognized by President Grant, through Attorney-General Williams. His
last official act as mayor was to order the city treasurer to pay the
amount due him for salary to the Firemen's Relief Association. Mr.
Bartlett has been a trustee of the Merrimack River Savings Bank from
1865 to the present time, and a trustee of the People's Savings Bank
from its organization in 1874. He is also a director in the Merchants
National Bank. He was the master of Washington Lodge of Freemasons from
April, 1872, to April, 1874, and now holds the position of United States
commissioner, to which he was appointed in 1872. The only positions of
trust he has held since his appointment as clerk of the United States
court, are as a member of the last constitutional convention, and
chairman of the commission appointed by the governor and council to
investigate the affairs of the New Hampshire Insane Asylum.
Mr. Bartlett married, December 8, 1858, at Sunapee, Miss Hannah M.
Eastman, of Croydon, N. H., by whom he had one son, Charles Leslie, who
died at the age of four years, and one daughter, Carrie Bell, a member
of the Manchester high school.
Clarke's "History of Manchester," from which the foregoing facts are
gathered, closes its biographical sketch of Mr. Bartlett as follows:
"Mr. Bartlett has a keen, well balanced mind, whose faculties are always
at his command. He thinks readily, but acts cautiously, and seldom makes
a mistake. Hence he has been financially successful in almost everything
he has undertaken. He is one of the most practical lawyers in the State,
and was for several years in charge of the law department of the
_Mirror_, giving general satisfaction, and his withdrawal, when his
business compelled it, was a source of much regret to the readers of
that paper."
In 1881, Dartmouth College conferred upon him the honorary degree of
Master of Arts.
[Illustration: Moody Currier]
HON. MOODY CURRIER, LL. D.
Forty years ago, when Manchester, now the metropolis of New Hampshire,
was little more than a wasting waterfall and an unpeopled plain, a few
young men who had the sagacity to see, the courage to grapple with, and
the strength to control the possibilities of the location, made it their
home. One of these was MOODY CURRIER, who was then seeking for a spot in
which a willing hand and a busy brain could carve out a successful
career. His boyhood had been spent upon a farm, where he supported
himself by work during the day, and gratified his desire for knowledge
by studying by the light of pitch-knots in the evening. In this manner
he fitted himself to enter Hopkinton Academy, and by similar methods
worked his way into and through Dartmouth College, where he graduated
with high honors in 1834. During his collegiate course he earned enough
by teaching and other work in the vacations to pay his expenses, but his
graduation found him without funds, and, as the readiest way to lay the
foundation of his fortune, he taught school at Concord one term and the
Hopkinton Academy one year, and then accepted an invitation to take
charge of the high school at Lowell, Mass., where he remained until
1841. Meantime he had read law, and in the spring of that year came to
Manchester, was admitted to the bar, and formed a partnership with Hon.
George W. Morrison for the practice of his profession, which continued
for two years, when it was dissolved, and he pursued his business
independently until 1848. During this time he had acquired a large and
lucrative practice, and while attending to the interests of his clients
had established a reputation as one of the safest and most sagacious
financiers in the young city, which led the founders of the Amoskeag
bank, when that institution was organized, to elect him its cashier. He
accepted the position, and from that time has been prominently
identified with many of the largest and most successful moneyed
corporations in the city and state. He was cashier of the Amoskeag bank
until it was re-organized as a national bank, when he was elected its
president, which position he still occupies. He has been treasurer of
the Amoskeag Savings Bank since its foundation, in 1852, a director of
the People's Savings Bank and of the Manchester Mills since their
organization. He was a director of the Blodget Edge Tool Company, and a
director and treasurer of the Amoskeag Axe Company, during the existence
of those corporations. He was treasurer of the Concord Railroad in 1871
and 1872; has been treasurer of the Concord & Portsmouth Railroad since
1856, president of the Eastern Railroad in New Hampshire since 1877,
treasurer of the New England Loan Company since 1874, and a director of
the Manchester Gas-Light Company since 1862; and has held many other
places of responsibility,--in all of which his prudence, foresight, and
good judgment have grasped the opportunities which have eluded so many,
avoided the whirlpools in which so many have been ingulfed, and secured
for stockholders and depositors regular and satisfactory dividends.
While thus adding to the fortunes of others, he has not been unmindful
of his own, and is one of the wealthy men of the state, able to command
whatever money will buy, and to give liberally to any cause that
commends itself to his judgment. But while it has been the business of
Mr. Currier to manage vast moneyed concerns, the demands of his calling
have not been permitted to choke out his love of books and study. The
literary tastes, and habits of close and tireless application, which
inspired the boy to struggle for and obtain a liberal education, survive
in the man, and have made him a persistent student until he is one of
the most accomplished scholars in the state.
While a teacher at Concord, he edited a literary journal in that city,
and after coming to Manchester published and edited, for several years,
a weekly newspaper. Since he became a banker he has spent much of his
leisure in his well filled library, finding his recreation in adding to
his knowledge of the classics, mastering the problems of exact science,
and exploring the fields of _belles-lettres_. He has written, for his
own amusement, many poems of much merit, a volume of which was published
for circulation among his friends in 1879, and he is a master of the art
of expression in terse and polished prose. His scholarly attainments
were recognized by Bates College in 1880, which conferred upon him the
degree of LL.D.
As a citizen, Mr. Currier occupies a high place in the city with whose
material growth he has been so largely identified. He is an earnest
advocate of whatever tends to her advancement, a judicious counselor,
and a liberal giver. He was one of the founders of her city library, to
which he has made large donations, that, with one of her public
fountains, attest alike his generosity and his judgment; and there have
been few projects for her improvement which have not found in him a
strong and ready helper.
Prior to 1852 he acted with the Democratic party, which elected him
clerk of the state senate in 1843, 1844, but the agitation of the
slavery question enlisted him in the ranks of the Free-soil forces, and
from the organization of the Republican party he has been one of its
most earnest and effective supporters. In 1856 and 1857 he was a member
of the senate, being its president the latter year; and in 1860 and
1861, was a member of the governor's council, and chairman of the
committee for raising and equipping the troops necessary to fill the
state's quota in the war of the rebellion. In this position his business
ability and methods were of great service, and to him, at least as much
as to any other one man, is due the creditable reputation which the
state won in that trying period.
In 1876 he was one of the presidential electors who cast the vote of New
Hampshire for Hayes and Wheeler, and in 1879, had he permitted his
friends to use his name, would have been a prominent candidate for the
governorship in the state convention that year, as he was in the primary
meetings.
Mr. Currier has been married three times. He has no children living. He
resides in an elegant home in Manchester, in which are reflected his
cultivated tastes and ample fortune. Though able to look back upon a
long career, he is in the enjoyment of excellent health and the full
strength of his manhood, and while carrying the business burdens that
would crush most men, finds leisure to enjoy the fruits of his industry,
frugality, and judgment.
[Illustration: A. Norcross]
HON. AMASA NORCROSS.
Amasa Norcross, A. M., of Fitchburg, Mass., was born in Rindge, N. H.,
January 26, 1824. His father, Daniel Norcross, was a farmer in New
Hampshire, and was the grandson of Jeremiah Norcross, the immigrant
ancestor of the family, who arrived in this country in the year 1642,
and settled at Watertown, Mass. Daniel Norcross was a man of sterling
integrity, a large land-holder, and the incumbent of many offices of
honor and trust. His wife, _nee_ Mary Jones, was also a native of New
Hampshire.
Amasa Norcross received an excellent academic education, first in the
academy of his native town, and subsequently in a similar institution at
New Ipswich, N. H. Selecting the profession of law for the life exercise
of his talents and energies, in 1844 he became a student in the office
of the Hon. Nathaniel Wood of Fitchburg, and in 1847 was admitted to the
bar. Since that time he has pursued his professional labors in the city
where he now resides. He is to-day the senior member of the Fitchburg
bar, and for many years he has been a recognized leader of the legal
fraternity in that section of the state.
In 1858, 1859, and 1862, Mr. Norcross was a member of the Massachusetts
house of representatives, having been elected thereto on the Republican
ticket. In 1858 he was a member of the committee of probate and
chancery, of which Governor Andrew, then a member of the house, was
chairman; and in 1859 and 1862 he was a member of the judiciary
committee. In August of the last-named year, he was appointed, by
President Lincoln, United States assessor for the ninth congressional
district of Massachusetts. The district was large, comprising
seventy-two townships. He filled the office with signal ability and
satisfaction for ten years, and until the office of assessor was
abolished by act of congress. In 1862 the authorities of Dartmouth
College conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts.
In the session of 1859, Mr. Norcross was appointed a member of the joint
committee of the senate and house of representatives to examine and
amend the report of the commissioners appointed to codify the laws of
the state. He gave to this work his entire attention for several months,
when report was made by the committee to the adjourned session of the
legislature, held in the autumn of that year. Upon this committee were
several distinguished lawyers, among whom were Gen. Caleb Cushing and
Gen. Benjamin F. Butler. In 1874 he was a member of the Massachusetts
senate and chairman of the judiciary committee of that body. He was also
chairman of the committee on federal relations. To him was assigned the
honor of drafting the report which recommended rescinding the
resolutions of censure upon Charles Sumner which had been passed by the
legislature of Massachusetts. Previous efforts to relieve that
distinguished statesman from that burden had failed; this succeeded. The
rescinding resolutions reached Senator Sumner at Washington a few days
before his death, and doubtless contributed materially to soothe his
last hours.
In the fall of 1876, Mr. Norcross was elected representative to congress
on the Republican ticket, over his political opponent, S. O. Lamb of
Greenfield. In 1878 he was elected a second time, over the candidates
of two political parties. He has been an active member of the Republican
party since its organization, and is now serving his third term in
congress, having been again re-elected in 1880. In the several
conventions resulting in his nomination and election, he was always
supported by the better elements in his party.
Local affairs have always received a proportionate share of Mr.
Norcross's attention. On the organization of the city government of
Fitchburg, in 1873, he received the honor of first election to the
mayoralty of the new city. He was re-elected the following year. In the
administration of its affairs his executive ability was marked.
Necessary public improvements were effected, and all bear tokens of his
excellent judgment and skill. With financial and other public
organizations he has been, for many years, prominently identified. He is
a director in the Rollstone National Bank of Fitchburg, in the Worcester
North Savings Institution, and in the Fitchburg Fire Insurance Company.
The interest of Mr. Norcross in benevolent and educational institutions
has been deep and constant, and he has done much for their advancement.
He took an active part in organizing the Fitchburg Benevolent Union, was
its first president, and he is now one of its life members. For fifteen
years he has been a trustee of the Lawrence Academy at Groton, Mass. By
act of the legislature of Massachusetts he was made one of the original
members of the corporation known as the Cushing Academy, located at
Ashburnham, and by the same act was designated as the member authorized
to call the first meeting of the trustees, of which board he is still a
member. He has contributed largely to the organizing and building up of
this now flourishing academy. For more than thirty years the labors of
Mr. Norcross connected with his large legal practice have been arduous
and continuous.
In June, 1852, he was married to S. Augusta, daughter of Benjamin and
Rebecca Wallis, of Ashby, Mass. She died March 4, 1869.
[Illustration: Geo. A. Pillsbury]
HON. GEORGE ALFRED PILLSBURY.
BY FRANK H. CARLETON.
New Hampshire is a small state, yet her sons and daughters are scattered
far and wide. They have not only built up a prosperous and influential
commonwealth at home, furnishing a talent and genius too great to be
circumscribed by territorial lines, but they have greatly aided in
laying the foundations and building up the newer sections of our
country. Let any person pass through the mighty West, and thence to the
great Northwest which to-day is doing vastly more than any section to
supply the world with bread, and he will be surprised to find the great
number of sons of New Hampshire who have attained reputation, position,
and influence. In the highest ranks of commerce, at the bar, and from
the pulpit, they wield a great influence. Their names are too numerous
to be enumerated, yet it is to but few that the distinction is given of
being distinguished in two states, and these as far apart as Minnesota
and New Hampshire. To this small but honored class belongs the subject
of this brief sketch, GEORGE ALFRED PILLSBURY, one of a family whose
name suggests high qualities.
The family history has been traced as far back as Joshua Pillsbury, who
settled a grant of land at what is now Newburyport, Mass., in the year
1640,--a grant which for over two hundred and forty years has been in
the possession of the Pillsbury family. Following him, next came in the
line of descent Caleb Pillsbury, who was born January 26, 1717, for
several years and at the time of his decease a member of the
Massachusetts provincial legislature. Caleb Pillsbury left a son
Micajah, who was born in Amesbury, Mass., May 22, 1763, and married
Sarah Sargent. The result of this union was four daughters, and four
sons--Stephen, Joseph, John, and Moses. With this family Micajah
Pillsbury removed to Sutton, N. H., where he remained until his death,
in 1802, occupying various positions of town trust. His wife survived
him several years. Of these sons, Stephen Pillsbury was a Baptist
clergyman, who died in Londonderry. The other brothers, including John
Pillsbury, the father of the subject of this sketch, were all
magistrates of the town of Sutton. The youngest sister married Nathan
Andrews, a gentleman well known in the annals of Sutton.
John Pillsbury was born in 1789. He was prominent in the town affairs of
Sutton, being a selectman for several years, and representing the town
in the state legislature. He was also a captain in the militia in those
days of the fife and drum, when a commission had a significance. On
April 2, 1811, he married Susan Wadleigh, daughter of Benjamin Wadleigh,
a settler in Sutton in 1771. Benjamin Wadleigh was a descendant of
Robert Wadleigh of Exeter, a member of the provincial legislature of
Massachusetts. On the maternal side the ancestry was good. The maternal
grandmother was the daughter of Ebenezer Kezar, who, it is related,
concealed the girl whom he afterwards married, under a pile of boards,
at the time Mrs. Duston was captured, in 1697. He was identified with
the early history of Sutton in many ways.
As we have said, John and Susan Pillsbury were the father and mother of
the subject of these lines. They were a hardy, vigorous, and exemplary
parent stock. To them were born five children, to wit: Simon Wadleigh
Pillsbury, born June 22, 1812; George Alfred, August 29, 1816; Dolly W.,
September 6, 1818; John Sargent, July 29, 1827; and Benjamin Franklin,
March 29, 1831. All of the children received the common-school education
of those days; but Simon W., whose natural fondness for study
distinguished him as a young man, gave his attention to special branches
of study, particularly mathematics, in which he became known as one of
the best in the state. He delivered the first public lecture in Sutton
on the subject of temperance. But too much study wore down his health,
and he died in 1836, cutting short a promising future.
Of the other brothers, John Sargent is too well known to need mention.
When a boy of sixteen he became a clerk for his brother, George Alfred,
at Warner, N. H. In 1848 he formed a business partnership with Walter
Harriman in Warner, neither of these two men in those days dreaming that
in the future one would be the governor of a state on the Atlantic
seaboard, and the other of one on the banks of the great Mississippi. In
1854 John S. settled in Minnesota, at the Falls of St. Anthony, around
which has grown up the beautiful city of Minneapolis, with a population
of sixty thousand. He shortly entered into the hardware trade, in which
he built up the largest business in the state, acquiring a fortune,
serving for a dozen years or more as state senator, and finally being
elected governor for three successive terms of two years each, being the
only governor of Minnesota accorded a third term. His entire
administration, which ceased in January, 1882, was a remarkable one,
characterized by many acts of wisdom, chief among which was the
adjustment of the dishonored state bonds issued at an early day for
railroad purposes.
The remaining brother, Benjamin F. Pillsbury, remained in Sutton until
1878, where he filled many places of trust, being elected selectman,
treasurer, and state representative. In 1878 he removed to Granite Falls
in western Minnesota, where he is extensively engaged in the real
estate, grain, and lumber business, and is reckoned one of the leading
citizens of his section.
But we have been drawn somewhat from the subject of this article. As we
have stated, George Alfred Pillsbury was born in Sutton, N. H., August
29, 1816. He received a thorough common-school education in the
rudimentary branches. Of a very quick and active temperament, he very
early in life had a strong determination to enter business for himself.
At the age of eighteen he became a clerk to a Boston merchant. After a
year's experience there, he returned to Sutton and entered into the
manufacture of stoves and sheet-iron ware, in company with a cousin,
John C. Pillsbury. He continued in this business until February 1840,
when he went to Warner into the store of John H. Pearson, where he
remained until the following July, when he purchased the business on his
own account, and continued in it for some eight years. In the spring of
1848 he entered into a wholesale dry-goods house in Boston, and in 1849
again returned to Warner and engaged in business there until the spring
of 1851, when he sold out his interest and went out of mercantile
business entirely. During his residence in Warner he was postmaster from
1844 to 1849, was selectman in 1847 and 1849, town treasurer in 1849,
and a representative to the general court in 1850 and 1851. He was also
selected as chairman of the committee appointed to build the Merrimack
county jail in Concord, in 1851-52, with the general superintendence of
the construction of the work, which was most faithfully done.
In November, 1851, Mr. Pillsbury was appointed purchasing agent of the
Concord Railroad, and commenced his duties in the following December,
having in the meantime moved his family to Concord. For nearly
twenty-four years he occupied this position, and discharged its duties
with rare business ability, showing wise judgment in all his purchases,
which amounted to more than three million dollars, and settling more
cases of claims against the corporation for alleged injuries to persons
and property than all the other officers of the road. He had great
quickness of perception and promptness in action, two wonderful business
qualities, which, when rightly used, always bring success.
During his residence of twenty-seven years in Concord, he gradually
acquired a position which all may envy. Various positions of trust, both
in public matters and as a private adviser, were discharged by him most
faithfully. He was one of the committee appointed by the Union
school-district to build the high school and several other school
buildings. He was also interested in the erection of several of the
handsome business blocks and fine residences in the city.
In the year 1864, Mr. Pillsbury, with others, established the First
National Bank of Concord. From the first he was one of the directors,
and in 1866 became its president, which position he held until his
departure from the state. He was also more instrumental than any other
person in organizing the National Savings Bank in 1867. Of the savings
bank he was the first president, and held the position until 1874, when
he resigned. During Mr. Pillsbury's management of the First National
Bank, it became, in proportion to its capital stock, the strongest bank
in the state. Up to December, 1873, when the treasurer was discovered to
be a defaulter to a large amount, the savings bank was one of the most
successful in the state; but this defalcation, with the general crash in
business, required its closing up. Its total deposits up to the time
mentioned exceeded three million dollars. The bank finally paid its
depositors nearly dollar for dollar and interest, notwithstanding the
large defalcation by its treasurer.
Mr. Pillsbury was elected a representative to the general court from
ward five, in 1871 and 1872, and was appointed chairman of the committee
on the apportionment of public taxes during the session of the
legislature in 1872. For several years Mr. Pillsbury was a member of the
city councils of Concord, and his intimate knowledge of public affairs
led the people to twice elect him as mayor, a position the duties of
which he discharged with that rare ability which had characterized all
his other affairs; and it was during this time that he decided, after
much consideration, and with deep reluctance, to leave Concord and move
to Minneapolis, Minn., where he had already acquired large interests.
When this resolution was made public, it drew forth strong and
wide-spread protests from the citizens and neighbors whom he had served
so long, for they felt the state could illy afford to lose such a man.
But of this we will speak later.
During his residence in Concord he was identified with all measures to
promote the public good. Both by his business judgment and his ready
purse did he aid the benevolent and religious organizations. He was
actively engaged in establishing the Centennial Home of Concord, for the
aged, making large contributions and serving at a trustee. He was also a
generous giver to the Orphans' Home at Franklin, and was a trustee from
the time of its foundation until he left the state. In 1876 he was
appointed, by the city councils, chairman of a committee of three to
appraise all the real estate of the city for taxation purposes. Several
objects attest his generosity and public spirit, among which might be
mentioned the gift to the city of the fine bell in the tower of the
Board of Trade building, and the handsome organ in the First Baptist
church,--a joint gift from himself and his son, Hon. Charles A.
Pillsbury, of Minneapolis. He also made several large contributions
towards building and endowing the academy at New London.
Upon his preparing to leave Concord for the West, in the spring of 1878,
expressions of regret came to him from all sources. Complimentary
resolutions were unanimously adopted by both branches of the city
government, and by the First National Bank, the latter testifying most
emphatically to his integrity and superior business qualities. The First
Baptist church, of which he was an active member during his residence in
Concord, and its society also passed similar resolutions. The Webster
club, composed of some fifty of the leading citizens, also adopted
resolutions regretting deeply his departure. A private testimonial
signed by over three hundred of the leading citizens of all branches of
business, all the members of the city government, all the banking
officers and professional men, was presented, and on the eve of his
departure an elegant bronze statue was presented to himself and wife by
members of the First Baptist church. In church affairs and acts of
private charity he had always shown a strong interest, which drew him
friends from all classes of people.
Coming to Minneapolis he was at once recognized, and from the moment he
established himself there he took an assured position. He at once
entered actively into the milling business (in which he had long been
interested) in the firm of C. A. Pillsbury & Co., composed of himself,
his brother, Gov. J. S. Pillsbury, and his two sons, Hon. C. A.
Pillsbury and Fred C. Pillsbury,--to-day the largest producers of flour
in the world, operating five large flouring-mills with a capacity of
seven thousand five hundred barrels per day. The business of this firm,
while selling a large amount of flour in the United States, has been
gradually directed to the European trade, supplying the foreign markets
with the very best brands of breadstuffs. To-day there is not a European
market in which their flour is not sold extensively and given the
highest quotations.
Mr. Pillsbury, much against his wishes, has been crowded again into
public life in Minnesota, and only a few weeks since, while on a trip to
the Pacific coast, in company with President Villard, to look after the
interests of the Northern Pacific Railroad, he was elected a member of
the city council of Minneapolis. He is also president of the Board of
Trade, vice-president of the Northwestern National Bank, president of
the Minneapolis Free Dispensary, and president of the Minnesota Baptist
State Association.
Despite his years, Mr. Pillsbury has all the activity and impulses of a
man of forty. He is a great friend of young men, aiding them not only by
advice but in a practical manner, and, without seeking popularity,
finding himself beloved by all. In the city of his adoption he has built
himself a handsome residence with spacious grounds. His love for his old
home manifests itself in all his tastes, and in his residence he has
wrought in the beautiful New Hampshire granite brought from his old home
in Concord.
In 1841, Mr. Pillsbury married Margaret S. Carleton, a lady beloved by
all, who has always busied herself in acts of goodness and benevolence.
No one has ever known her but to love her. From this marriage three
children were born, two sons and a daughter,--Charles A., born October
3, 1842; Mary Adda, born April 25, 1848; and Fred C., born August 27,
1852. Mary Adda died May 11, 1849. Charles A. graduated at Dartmouth
College in 1863; has been an active and successful business man in
Minneapolis for the past twelve years, for the last four years has been
a member of the state senate, and is a man greatly respected by all.
Fred C. is a practical business man, possessed of sound judgment, and is
rapidly making his way in the world.
It is needless to speak of the qualities which have given a gentleman
like George A. Pillsbury the position and influence of which we have
spoken. They are apparent to all. Starting with integrity and great
strength of purpose, possessed of a keen perception, a shrewd judge of
men, and an impressive bearing, he has attained an eminence which all
may admire. Well may New Hampshire point with pride to such a man.
[Illustration: Josiah Carpenter]
JOSIAH CARPENTER ESQ.
BY H. H. METCALF.
The men who make and whose lives illustrate the material prosperity and
progress of a nation or people are those, as a rule, whose life and
labor have been devoted in the main to the financial, commercial, and
business interests of the country. Politicians, stump-orators, and
office-holders of long continuance in place and power, may attain
greater celebrity or a wider transient popularity, and move more
effectually for the time being the tide of public sentiment; yet the
influence which moves the deep and silent yet strong and resistless
currents which make for the substantial progress and development of the
race, is that which is exercised by the active, energetic, and
persistent man of business, whose ready and thorough conception of the
demands of industry, trade, and finance, and whose prompt action at
their behest, make him not only the master of his own fortune, but, to a
great extent, that of others. Of this class of men the subject of this
sketch is a prominent representative in this state.
JOSIAH CARPENTER was born in the town of Chichester, May 31, 1829. His
ancestry goes back in direct line to William Carpenter, who in the year
1638, at the age of sixty-two years, embarked with his son William, aged
thirty-three, and his wife, Abigail, and their four children, for
America, sailing in the ship "Bevis," from the port of Southampton,
England, and making their home at Weymouth, Mass. From Joseph, one of
the four children named, the line of descent runs through Benjamin, born
January 15, 1657, John, born March 25, 1691, and John, born January 4,
1728, to Josiah, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, and for
whom he was named. The senior Josiah Carpenter was born in Stafford,
Conn., October 6, 1762, being one of a family of five sons and two
daughters. Himself and three of his brothers served in the patriot army
in the war of the Revolution, one of the brothers being killed while on
sentinel duty at Roxbury Neck. He graduated with the highest honors from
Dartmouth College in the class of 1787, studied for the ministry, and,
November 2, 1791, was ordained and installed pastor of the First
Congregational church in Chichester, which pastorate he retained for a
period of nearly forty years, establishing and maintaining a reputation
for geniality, benevolence, and hospitality which gained for him the
affectionate regard and esteem of his people. Throughout his entire
career as a citizen and a minister of the gospel, he labored earnestly
and diligently to advance every undertaking which had for its object the
public good, or the advancement of the cause of religious truth, as he
understood it. He married, April 13, 1790, Hannah Morrill, of
Canterbury; and their children were Nancy, David Morrill, John Thurston,
Clarissa, Hannah, and Oliver, none of whom are now living.
The second child--David Morrill Carpenter--was born in Chichester,
November 16, 1793, and, after receiving a good academic education,
commenced active life in his native town in the capacity of a country
merchant, which business he followed with much success for many years;
but subsequently turned his attention to agriculture, becoming the
owner of an extensive farm, which he cultivated for several years in a
most successful manner. Notwithstanding the constant demands of his
private occupation, which, as his success demonstrated, were never
neglected, a great portion of his time during the period of his active
life was always claimed by the public duties imposed by his
fellow-citizens. Almost continually for twenty-five years he held one or
more town offices, being several years chosen as the representative of
his town in the state legislature, the duties of which position he
discharged with ability and fidelity. He served as a member of the board
of commissioners for Merrimack county, and was also, for more than
thirty years, one of the trustees of the Merrimack County Savings Bank
of Concord; he was also for a long time a director of the Mechanics Bank
of that city; and was almost invariably in attendance upon the weekly
meetings of the boards of the respective institutions. January 13, 1818,
he was united in marriage with Mary, daughter of Jonathan Chesley
Perkins, of Wells, Maine, who married Hannah Dennett, of Portsmouth,
December 6, 1787, and shortly removed with his young wife to the town of
Loudon in this state, adjoining Chichester, which was then almost a
wilderness, where he cleared up a large farm, became a prosperous and
influential citizen of the town, and reared a family of six children, of
whom Mary, above mentioned, was the fourth. The children of David M. and
Mary (Perkins) Carpenter were Charles H., Josiah, the subject of this
sketch, Clara A., Sarah L., and Frank P., besides two daughters, who
died in early life. In 1850, Mr. Carpenter removed to the town of Epsom,
where he purchased a large farm, in the management of which his son
Josiah was associated with him, upon which he remained until he retired
from active business, in 1858, in which year he removed to Concord,
where he resided until his death, December 9, 1873, seven years
subsequent to the death of his wife, who departed this life, November 4,
1866, at the age of sixty-eight years. A man of wide influence,
universally exerted for good, he lived beloved and died respected. He
had been a soldier in the war of 1812, enlisting at the outbreak of
hostilities, although but a boy at the time; yet, like his father, who
had served in the Revolution, he would never accept from the government
the pension to which he was legally entitled.
Charles H., the eldest son and child of David M. Carpenter, resides in
the town of Chichester, where he has always had his residence, and where
he has won a reputation, not only as one of the successful farmers, but
most prominent citizens, of the town and of the county. His farming
property embraces more than a thousand acres of land. He is also quite
extensively engaged as a dealer in real estate and lumber. Clara A., the
eldest surviving daughter, is the wife of Samuel C. Merrill, a
prosperous flour manufacturer and flour and grain dealer, of Paterson,
N. J., formerly a well known wholesale merchant of Manchester. Sarah L.
married Prof. James W. Webster, of Maiden, Mass., a teacher of
experience and ability, now and for many years past principal of the
Hancock school, Boston, formerly a successful teacher in Concord. Frank
P., the youngest son, is a member of the enterprising and well known
firm of Drake & Carpenter of Manchester, who are extensively engaged in
the wholesale flour and grain trade.
The subject of this sketch,--Josiah, the second son of David Morrill
Carpenter,--although engaged to some extent in boyhood in assisting his
father upon the farm, secured an academical education at Pembroke and
Pittsfield academies, and at the New Hampshire Conference Seminary at
Sanbornton Bridge (now Tilton). Very early in life he manifested an
aptitude for business, and engaged for some time in youth in the
purchase and sale of live stock, not only in this section but at the
Southwest. Returning home from Kentucky about the time his father
removed to Epsom, he engaged with him in extensive farming operations in
that town. He received, soon after, an appointment as deputy-sheriff for
the county of Merrimack, and also for the counties of Belknap and
Hillsborough, which position he held for several years, and in which he
transacted a large amount of business. For three or four years previous
to his father's removal to Concord, the entire management of the farm
was substantially in his hands, which, together with his official
business and individual enterprises in different directions, gave ample
scope for his energy and capacity.
In 1858 the farm in Epsom was sold, and, his father having removed to
Concord, Mr. Carpenter, in April of that year, established his residence
in the town of Pittsfield, having been tendered and accepted the
cashiership of the Pittsfield bank. He discharged the duties of that
position so satisfactorily that upon its conversion to a national bank,
in 1864, he was continued as cashier and also made a member of the board
of directors. He continued his residence in Pittsfield until the spring
of 1877, remaining all the while in management of the bank's affairs,
while at the same time engaging in various lines of business in his own
behalf. Nor did he fail to devote attention to public affairs. Never a
politician, but always a stanch Democrat, he took no little interest in
the success of his party, as well as the welfare of the town and
community. He was frequently intrusted with official responsibilities by
his fellow-citizens of Pittsfield, and represented them in the
legislature in 1862 and 1863.
In the fall of 1863, his health having become impaired from overwork, he
went South to spend the winter, upon the advice of his physicians, going
first to New Orleans, whence he made a trip up the river, where he had a
fine opportunity for viewing the operations of the army in that quarter,
the time being soon after Gen. Butler's occupancy of the city. Later in
the season he visited Cuba, where he remained some time, returning in
the spring greatly invigorated, and with improved general health. He was
elected treasurer of Merrimack county in 1872, and again the following
year, receiving at each election a support considerably in excess of his
party vote. Long prominent in the councils of his party in his section
of the state, he has served also, at different times, as a member of the
Democratic state committee.
In March, 1877, desiring a more extensive field of business operation,
Mr. Carpenter resigned his position as cashier of the Pittsfield
National Bank and removed to the city of Manchester, where, with
characteristic vigor and enterprise, he immediately set about the work
of procuring a charter for and organizing the Second National Bank of
Manchester, of which institution he has been a director and cashier
since its organization. The national bank being well established, he
assisted in securing a charter for and organizing the Mechanics Savings
Bank, of which he has been from the first a trustee and the treasurer.
Both these institutions, under his skillful supervision, have attained a
prosperous and flourishing condition. Aside from his general banking
operations, he has in Manchester, as elsewhere, dealt extensively in
notes, bonds, and real estate, and has been, for the past few years,
quite largely engaged in building. In company with ex-Gov. Smyth, he is
proprietor of Smyth and Carpenter's block, on Elm street, the northern
half of which has recently been completed. This block is four stories
high and basement; has a frontage, on Elm street, of two hundred feet, a
depth of one hundred feet; contains ten stores on the first floor, with
offices and tenements above; and is, beyond question, the largest brick
block in the state in the ownership of any single firm.
Mr. Carpenter has always manifested an interest in educational affairs,
and has been specially interested in the establishment and prosperity of
the Holderness School for Boys, located at Holderness in this state,
under the auspices of the Episcopalian denomination, with which he is
associated. He has been one of the trustees of this school from the
inception of the enterprise, and is also the treasurer. He devoted much
time and personal care to the work of remodeling the buildings at the
outset, and, since then, to their enlargement as the growth and success
of the school has demanded.
September 1, 1858, Mr. Carpenter was united in marriage with Georgianna
Butters Drake, born January 15, 1836, a lady of fine mental capacity and
attainments, endowed with the graces and virtues essential to true
womanhood, and at home alike in the social as well as the domestic
circle. She was the only daughter and eldest child of the late Col.
James Drake of Pittsfield, a prominent citizen of that town, well known
in public life, who filled various responsible offices, including that
of state senator, and who died April 7, 1870. He was a descendant of the
celebrated Sir Francis Drake, the English explorer and naval commander
who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe, and attained
the rank of vice-admiral of the British navy. The family were among the
earliest settlers of New England, and trace their ancestry more than six
hundred years. The elder brother of Mrs. Carpenter--Frank J. Drake--is
the partner of Mr. Carpenter's younger brother--Frank P.--in the firm of
Drake & Carpenter, heretofore mentioned, while her younger
brother--Nathaniel S.--is in business at Pittsfield.
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter,---a daughter,
Georgia Ella, born October 13, 1859, an accomplished young lady who
resides with her parents, and a son who died in infancy. Their residence
is a fine brick mansion, among the most substantial in the city, on
north Elm street, at the corner of Sagamore.
Mr. Carpenter is now in the prime of life, though his business career
has already been more extended and successful than that of most men of
similar vocation who have been engaged a lifetime therein. Filling
various positions of trust and responsibility, public and corporate,
with the greatest acceptability; of sound judgment, strong will, quick
perception and a practical, well balanced mind, and unquestioned
integrity of action; enjoying the general confidence of the public, and
in a special degree that of those persons obliged or accustomed to seek
advice or assistance from others, in matters of business,--his success
may indeed be regarded as far greater than that of those ordinarily
known as fortunate business men, while there yet remains, in the
ordinary course of life, ample time for farther successes and greater
achievements.
[Illustration: Chas. Williams]
HON. CHARLES WILLIAMS.
BY O. C. MOORE.
It has long seemed to the writer that the successful organizer of modern
industry deserved a high place in public estimation. The qualities
usually found in such a person constitute as rare a combination as can
be found in any department of human activity. Those qualities are
industry, probity, intelligence, judgment, and executive ability. These
virtues will always be found to lie at the foundation of a well ordered
and prosperous state. When to these are added enterprise and energy,
there is little wanting either to the successful individual or to the
growing community. It is to this class of men that New England owes much
of its pre-eminence to-day. What the pioneer settlers did to smooth the
path for their successors; what the forefathers of the Revolution
contributed to establish a new government and place it upon a
self-supporting basis,--the men who established the industrial
enterprises of New England have done for their posterity and the
perpetuity of republican institutions. If New England should be stripped
to-morrow of her mills, shops, and foundries, and the wealth and
institutions that they in turn have created, New England would be but
little more than an obscure and unenterprising hill country, with a
diminishing population and lessening influence. She would have a noble
and inspiring history, but her glory would be departed.
HON. CHARLES WILLIAMS, the subject of this sketch, belongs to the
untitled American nobility of organizers of industry. He comes of an old
industrial stock, and can trace his lineage back, through six
generations of workers, to a stalwart ancestor in old Wales. The
Williamses formed a large part of the population of Wales, "somewhat
like the O's of Ireland and the Mac's of Scotland." It is an interesting
fact that the ancestor of Oliver Cromwell, in the fourth remove, was a
Williams, known as Morgan ap Williams, of Glamorganshire, Wales, a
gentleman of property, who married a sister of Lord Thomas Cromwell,
afterwards Earl of Essex. Carlyle speaks of the Protector as "Cromwell
_alias_ Williams." The "Encyclopedia Americana" states positively that
the genealogy of Cromwell is traced to Richard Williams, who assumed the
name of Cromwell from his maternal uncle, Thomas Cromwell, secretary of
state to Henry VIII.
However this may be, Richard Williams, the sixth remove in a direct line
from the subject of this sketch, came to America from Glamorganshire,
Wales, in 1632, and settled in Taunton, Mass. Among his descendants were
Hon. John Mason Williams, a distinguished jurist of Massachusetts; Gen.
Seth Williams, of Augusta, Me., a graduate of West Point, and a
distinguished officer in the Mexican war; Hon. Ruel Williams, of
Augusta, Me.; and Hon. Lemuel Williams, a member of congress from
Massachusetts. It is a coincidence of note that the occupation of the
subject of this sketch, as well as that of his lineal descendants,
follows the distinctive characteristic of the Welch ancestry.
Glamorganshire is famous for its iron and coal mines, and its iron-works
are on the most extensive scale, it having sixty blast furnaces, some
of which give employment to six thousand men.
The direct descent from Richard Williams of Taunton is as follows:
Benjamin Williams, settled in Easton, Mass.; Josiah Williams, settled at
Bridgewater, Mass. Seth Williams, the great-grandfather of Mr. Williams,
was born at Bridgewater, May 21, 1722. At the age of eighteen he went to
Easton, Mass., and took up one thousand acres of government land. He
married Susannah Forbes, of Bridgewater, and built the homestead now
standing in Easton. Edward Williams, his son, married Sarah Lothrop, of
Bridgewater, in 1772, still retaining the "homestead," where Lieut. Seth
Williams, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born January 29,
1776. He was a tanner by trade, and took part in the war of 1812. He
married Sarah Mitchael, daughter of Colonel Mitchael, of Bridgewater,
Mass., an active man in the Revolutionary war, and for many years a
member of the legislature from Easton. They were married in 1800, and
lived near the "homestead." They had eight children, Charles, the
present subject, being the third son, born at Easton, August 1, 1816.
The first seventeen years of his life were spent on the farm, receiving
such rudimentary education as could be obtained at a district school. At
the age of eighteen he apprenticed himself to Gen. Shepherd Leach,
proprietor of the "Easton Iron-Works," for the term of four years, to
learn the foundry business, with a compensation of twenty-five dollars
for the first year, fifty dollars for the second, seventy-five dollars
for the third, and one hundred and twenty-five dollars for the fourth.
By the death of Gen. Leach the contract was surrendered; but young
Williams still continued in the employ of his successor, Mr. Lincoln
Drake, until the panic of 1837. In this stagnation of business at the
East, he determined to go West, and purchased several hundred acres of
land near Springfield, Ill. The now flourishing capital of the state was
then represented by a few dwelling-houses, one church, and a small
hotel. This "New West" could then boast of no railroads, and the
difficulty of getting produce to market, which was mainly by flat-boats
down the Mississippi, offered but little attraction to farming, and he
returned East. For two years he was employed in the foundry at North
Chelmsford, Mass., and the subsequent three years in the Amoskeag
foundry at Manchester, N. H.
Mr. Williams came to Nashua in 1845, at the age of twenty-nine, endowed
with good health, correct habits, and an honorable ambition. In company
with his elder brother, Seth, they established the foundry business,
under the firm name of S. & C. Williams, erecting a building eighty by
one hundred feet, and the business commenced. It was in the same year
that two other important and still flourishing industries were begun in
Nashua,--the manufacture of shuttles and bobbins by J. & E. Baldwin, and
the manufacture of mortise-locks and doorknobs by L. W. Noyes and David
Baldwin. This was the day of small beginnings, and only twenty-five
hands were employed in the foundry for several years. The business grew
steadily, however, and everything seemed propitious. On the second of
July, 1849, a fire broke out in the works, and, in spite of all
exertions, the entire property was consumed, including all the patterns.
The total loss was estimated at forty thousand dollars. It was a
staggering blow, as these young men had no insurance. Men of less
courage and energy would have succumbed to such a misfortune; but on the
very day of the fire the work of rebuilding was begun, and pushed with
rapidity, a brick structure taking the place of the wood one destroyed.
The partnership of S. & C. Williams was dissolved in 1859, and the
business has since been continued by Charles. His brother Seth has been
extensively employed in similar business. The business of the Williams
foundry in Nashua has steadily increased, and was never more extensive
than to-day. The pay-roll shows one hundred and twenty-five hands
employed.
Strict attention to business, unyielding integrity, and thorough mastery
of his calling have been Mr. Williams's secret of success. He was one of
five who organized the Second National Bank, and has since held the
position of vice-president of the bank. Mr. Williams was elected a
member of the common council soon after the organization of the city, in
1853, but from that time until 1876 he neither sought nor held any
political office. In this centennial year, however, his party turned
instinctively towards him as its most available candidate for mayor, and
at the nominating caucus he received an almost unanimous nomination. The
nomination was ratified, and Mr. Williams became the centennial mayor of
Nashua. His administration was characterized by the same prudence,
fidelity, and success that have crowned his business career. He was
nominated for re-election, and the nomination was ratified at the polls
by an increased vote and a largely increased majority. One of the social
events of Mr. Williams's term of service was the visit of President
Hayes and his cabinet to the city, and at the mayor's residence, which
was elaborately decorated for the occasion, Mrs. Hayes held a public
reception, which was attended by a great throng of people from the city
and the surrounding towns.
In his domestic relations Mr. Williams has been one of the most
fortunate and happiest of men. In 1846 he married Eliza A. Weston, a
cultivated christian woman, and a devoted wife and mother, daughter of
Capt. Sutheric Weston, of Antrim, N. H.; both are members of the First
Congregational church, Nashua, Rev. Frederick Alvord, pastor. Three
children have blessed the union. Seth Weston Williams, born April 15,
1849, a graduate of Yale College, class of 1873, and of Bellevue Medical
College, New York. After travel and study in Europe he returned to his
native land, and had just entered on the practice of his profession,
with the brightest prospects of usefulness and eminence, holding a
responsible appointment in Bellevue Hospital, when, on a visit to
Portland, he was attacked with congestion of the brain, which terminated
his promising career at the age of thirty. The other children are
Charles Alden Williams, born August 18, 1851, married October 26, 1881,
Kate N. Piper; he was graduated from the scientific department at
Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., under Dr. William Taylor, in 1870, and
further pursued the same course of study at the school of Technology in
Boston, Mass., and will succeed his father in business; and Mrs. Marian
Williams-Viets, born March 4, 1854, married, November 8, 1878, Herbert
Allen Viets, of Troy, New York.
Feeling in himself the want of an early education, Mr. Williams spared
no pains in bestowing superior advantages upon his children, all of whom
received a liberal education. In 1873 he planned a year's travel abroad
with his family, but the critical condition of business in the country
at that time prevented his leaving home. The plan was carried out,
however, under the care of Dr. Seth Williams, the trip covering the tour
of the Continent, and of the Orient as far east as Damascus.
HON. LEVI WINTER BARTON.
BY REV. J. W. ADAMS.
Ancestral excellence is an invaluable legacy. As a rule, "blood will
tell," and the marked physical, mental, and moral traits of a prominent
family are likely to re-appear in many successive generations. And,
added to this hereditary wealth, comes the inspiration of a noble
example, suggesting the possibility and the desirability of worthy,
helpful living. The subject of this sketch was fortunate in this regard.
In the garnered wealth of a vigorous, talented, and virtuous ancestry,
he has "a goodly heritage."
* * * * *
From an abundance of reliable data, we extract only so much from the
genealogical record as is necessary to the integrity of the direct lines
from a very distant past to the present.
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.).
[Illustration: 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.
Of the ten children of Lieut. Lemuel and Thankful (Leland) Powers,
Ezekiel was b. in Grafton, Mass., March 16, 1745, and m., Jan. 28, 1767,
Hannah Hall of Uxbridge, Mass., who was daughter of Lieut. Edward and
Lydia (Brown) Hall. Levi W. Barton was her great-grandson. They came to
Croydon in 1767. He was a prominent citizen, and held here many offices
of trust. He was a man of industry and indomitable energy. He d. in
Croydon, Nov. 11, 1808. His widow d. Oct. 21, 1835.
Of the seven children of Ezekiel and Hannah (Hall) Powers, Ezekiel, 2d
(the first male child born in Croydon), was b. May 2, 1771. He m.
Susannah Rice, Jan. 18, 1790.
Of the six children of Ezekiel, 2d, and Susannah (Rice) Powers, Hannah
(mother of Levi W.) was b. Feb. 20, 1795, and m. Bezaleel Barton.
Edward Hall (the earliest ancestor of Lieut. Edward Hall, who settled in
Croydon about 1774) was at Duxbury, Mass., in 1637, and d. at Rehoboth,
Nov. 27, 1671. The direct line by generations is: 1st, Edward; 2d,
Benjamin; 3d, Edward; 4th, Lieut. Edward, b. in Wrentham, Mass., July
18, 1727; went with his father in 1740 to Uxbridge, where he held
commissions under the king of Great Britain. He m., Aug. 17, 1747, Lydia
Brown. About 1774 they came to Croydon, N. H., where he was moderator,
March, 1775, tax-collector and constable, 1778, and selectman, 1784,
1785, and 1786. He d. in Croydon, Dec. 28, 1807. His widow d. Aug. 10,
1819. 5th, Hannah, b. Oct. 1, 1749, who m. Ezekiel Powers and settled in
Croydon. At this point the Hall unites with the Powers genealogy, and
the last-named persons were great-grandparents of Levi W. Barton.
The Bartons are of English descent. Without undertaking to be precise as
to the details of kinship, we are able to identify the following as
among their earliest ancestry in New England. Marmaduke Barton was in
Salem, Mass., as early as 1638. Edward was in Salem in 1640. Rufus fled
from the persecution of the Dutch at Manhattan, N. Y., and settled in
Portsmouth, R. I., in 1640, and died 1648.
Mrs. Eliza Barton testified in an important case at Piscataqua, N. H.,
in 1656. Edward, undoubtedly the one living in Salem in 1640, and
husband of Eliza Barton, came to Exeter, N. H., in 1657, and died at
Cape Porpoise, Jan., 1671. Benjamin Barton of Warwick, son of Rufus
Barton, m., June 9, 1669, Susannah Everton. Edward Barton, son of Edward
of Exeter, took the freeman's oath in 1674. Doctor John Barton (probably
son of Doctor James Barton) m., April 20, 1676, Lydia Roberts of Salem,
Mass.
James Barton, b. in 1643, came to Boston, Mass., before 1670. He d. in
Weston, Mass., in 1729. Samuel Barton (probably son of Doctor James
Barton) was b. in 1666. He testified in a witch case (in favor of the
witch, be it said to his credit) in Salem, Mass., in 1691. Stephen
Barton was at Bristol (then in Mass.) in 1690. Col. William Barton, b.
in Providence, in 1747,--who with a small body of men crossed
Narragansett bay on the night of July 20, 1777, passed, unnoticed, three
British vessels, landed, reached the quarters of the English general,
Prescott, and captured him, and for which, history informs us, he
received from congress the gift of a sword, a commission as colonel, and
a tract of land in Vermont,--was a descendant of Samuel Barton and
Hannah his wife, ancestors of the Bartons of Croydon. They were living
in Framingham, Mass., as early as 1690, and moved to Oxford, Mass., in
1716, where his will was proved Sept. 23, 1738. Of their eight children,
Samuel was b. in Framingham, Oct. 8, 1691; and in., May 23, 1715,
Elizabeth Bellows.
Of the children of Samuel and Elizabeth (Bellows) Barton, Bezaleel was
b. July 20, 1722, and m., April 30, 1747, Phebe Carlton, a lady noted
for her beauty.
Of the children of Bezaleel and Phebe (Carlton) Barton, were Phebe (one
of whose grand-daughters was the wife of Dr. Judson), Bezaleel,
Benjamin, and Peter who was b. at Sutton. Mass., Sept. 3, 1763, and went
with his parents to Royalston. Mass., in 1764, where he m. Hepsibeth
Baker, Nov. 12, 1789. Bezaleel Barton and his sons, Bezaleel, Benjamin,
and Peter, served Royalston as soldiers in the Revolution. Bezaleel,
senior, was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill.
Peter and Hepsibeth (Baker) Barton came to Croydon, N. H., in 1793,
where he resided until 1824, when he removed to Sunapee, where he d.
Sept. 24, 1825. He was chosen selectman of Croydon from 1801 to 1805,
inclusive. He shared largely the confidence of the public, and was noted
for his strict integrity. Of his thirteen children born in Croydon,
Bezaleel, 2d, was b. July, 1794, and m. Hannah Powers, daughter of
Ezekiel Powers, at which point the Barton and Powers genealogies unite.
* * * * *
Of the children of Bezaleel Barton, 2d, and Hannah (Powers) Barton, Levi
Winter was b. March 1, 1818.
The father, a man of marked social qualities, and frank and genial in
his bearing, died before the son had reached his majority, and previous
to this business had taken the father from home, so that most of the
responsibilities of the family rested upon the mother. But it is no idle
pun upon her maiden name to say that she was a _power_ in that
household. She exercised a healthful and unchallenged discipline. Her
intuitive vision saw every material necessity of the family; her
unsurpassed executive capacity was equal to every demand; and, what is
quite as essential to the formation of a symmetrical character, her
moral and religious precepts and example compelled a recognition of the
claims of God and man. The sick and the poor of her neighborhood were
often greatly indebted to her for the wisdom of her counsels, the
abundance of her alms-deeds, and the warmth of her sympathy. Universally
venerated and esteemed, she died in Croydon, Sept. 14, 1881, aged 86
years.
Inheriting the best qualities of such an ancestry, molded and inspired
by such a mother, and in boyhood acquiring his fiber in the severe but
practical school of tireless industry, rigid economy, and heroic
self-denial and self-reliance, we might anticipate for Mr. Barton a
character and a career which would place him among the best and foremost
citizens of his state, and entitle him to an important chapter in its
history. We hazard nothing when we say that he has made that
anticipation a reality, and that he has afforded us another conspicuous
example of what the humblest may achieve under the fostering genius of
republican institutions.
His district-school education, often interrupted by demands upon his
manual labor, consisted of ten brief winter terms. At eighteen he
assumed the responsibility of his own education and support. He had no
money, but he had what is better, courage and muscle. He went to work.
His books were always near by, so that, whenever there was a leisure
moment, "the horny hands of toil" would grasp and his hungry mind would
feast upon them. He would brook no discouragements. No hours were
allowed to run to waste. Often on rainy days he would call on his old
friend, John Cooper, Esq., to receive instruction. These efforts,
supplemented by a term under Dr. Miner of Boston, qualified him to teach
in the common schools. But for awile he devoted himself chiefly to
farming.
At twenty-one he married Miss Mary A. Pike, one of Newport's worthiest
young ladies. She died the next year, leaving an infant son, Col. Ira
McL. Barton, now deceased. The death of his wife was a severe blow to
one in whose nature the domestic element is so marked. With the light of
his home gone out, and with his life-plan destroyed, he seemed almost
paralyzed for a time. But the bent steel of his intense personality was
sure to react. The second year after this bereavement he entered Kimball
Union Academy, to pursue a classical course under that distinguished
teacher, Dr. Cyrus Richards. Having but one hundred dollars when he
entered, he was compelled to teach winters and to toil with his hands
during the summer vacations; but his uncompromising zeal carried him
successfully through the three years' course. We cannot repress our
admiration for the young man whom neither bereavement nor poverty could
crush, but who, in spite of the most disheartening circumstances, earns
the right to stand in the front rank with his most brilliant
competitors. This he did.
In the same spirit, and still relying upon his own exertions for means,
he entered Dartmouth College in 1844, and honorably graduated in 1848.
His oration, on graduation, was highly commended by the public journals
of the day. At the commencement and close of the terms, he would make
the journeys to and from college, twenty-one miles, on foot. During his
senior year he studied law with Hon. Daniel Blaisdell of Hanover.
After graduating, Mr. Barton taught five terms in the Canaan Academy,
and at the same time was a law student with Judge Kittredge. During this
period he was appointed postmaster of Canaan. In the early part of 1851
he left Canaan, and completed his legal studies with Messrs. Metcalf &
Corbin of Newport, and was there admitted to the bar in the July
following. In 1854 he formed a law partnership with Hon. Ralph Metcalf,
which continued until Mr. Metcalf was elected governor. He then became
the law partner of Shepherd L. Bowers, Esq., with whom he was associated
until 1859. Notwithstanding his extensive law practice, Mr. Barton has
been engaged, to a considerable extent, in building, farming,
stock-raising, and fruit-growing. No man with equal means has
contributed more to the growth and permanent improvement of the village
of Newport. None Have done more by their own personal industry to
convert rough fields into attractive streets, luxuriant gardens, and
pleasant homes. Taught from childhood to cultivate the soil, he has, all
along through his busy life, found his highest enjoyment in turning
aside from the turmoil of professional labors to the more genial
occupation of agricultural pursuits.
As evidence of his superior legal abilities, and of the public esteem in
which he is held, we point to the following record: He was register of
deeds for Sullivan county from 1855 to 1857, inclusive; county solicitor
from 1859 to 1864; representative to the state legislature in 1863,
1864, 1875, 1876, and 1877; and state senator in 1867 and 1868. During
all these seven years of service in both houses, he was a member of the
judiciary committee, and for five years its chairman. In 1866 he was
chairman of the board of commissioners appointed to audit the war debt
of the state. In 1876 he was a member of the convention which revised
the state constitution; and was chosen Republican elector of president
and vice-president of the United States. Gov. Harriman appointed him
bank commissioner, but he declined the office. Gov. Prescott appointed
him, in 1877, one of the commissioners to revise and codify the statutes
of New Hampshire.
His many friends have fondly hoped to see him elected to congress. It is
conceded that his abilities and his fidelity to important public trusts
reveal his eminent fitness for such a position. But local divisions, for
which he is in no way responsible, have thus far prevented his
nomination. His name has come twice before the nominating conventions,
and each time with a very flattering vote.
When Mr. Barton commenced the practice of law in Newport, he found there
able rivals for the honors of the profession, whose reputations were
well established. I cannot better express the truth than to use the
language of a writer who, speaking of this period of his life, says:--
"The field seemed to be fully and ably occupied, but from the
outset his success was assured. It immediately became apparent
that he would bring to the discharge of the duties of his new
position the same energy and devotion to principle which had
hitherto characterized his actions. From that time to the
present, he has enjoyed the confidence of the public. As
counselor, he is cautious and careful, dissuading from, rather
than urging on, litigation. As an advocate, he is eloquent,
zealous, bold, and persistent. His faithfulness and devotion to
the interests of his clients have often been a subject of
remark."
Mr. Barton's legislative experience began in 1863, that intensely
feverish period of the rebellion. The Democratic party was represented
by its ablest orators and most skillful parliamentarians. They were
artful, bitter, and desperate. The majority could not afford to waste or
misapply its resources. Competent leadership was essential to the
utilization of the Republican strength. Fortunately this was found. It
came from the ranks of the "raw recruits." Wary and watchful, alert and
forcible, Mr. Barton promptly and successfully met the assaults of the
opposition, and sometimes "carried the war into Africa." The house soon
acknowledged his leadership,--a leadership which he maintained at the
subsequent sessions. The soldiers will never forget his fearless
advocacy of the measure allowing them to vote in the field. This cost
him his re-appointment as solicitor; but he was not the man to sacrifice
so sacred a principle for the loaves and fishes of office. In 1875 and
1876 he occupied the responsible position of chairman of the Republican
legislative caucus. In the sessions of 1876 and 1877, the Manchester
_Mirror_, _Independent Stateman_, and other papers spoke in the highest
terms of his service, giving him the credit of punctual attendance,
praiseworthy diligence, and of ably championing the best measures that
were enacted, and pointing him out as a probable candidate for the
national congress. His long and able legislative experience has never
been stained by political corruption, or by the betrayal of any moral
question. John Cooper, Esq., in the _Granite Monthly_ of May, 1879, has
truthfully said: "Through all these years of political life he presents
a record without a blemish."
Mr. Barton is a man of well proportioned, commanding physique, and is
well preserved by temperate living and total abstinence from all
intoxicants and narcotics. He is also a man of fluent and agreeable
speech, of fine conversational powers, and is the inspiration of every
social circle which he enters. At home as well as abroad, in private as
well as in public life, he is the invariable advocate of every moral and
social reform. He is an honor to the Masonic fraternity, whose
principles he worthily represents. He is the warm and helpful friend of
the Methodist Episcopal church, to which he belongs; but he has an
unaffected contempt for all sectarian narrowness. His sense of justice
is intuitive, his sympathy quick, and in its exercise he regards neither
state nor condition. The destitute and forsaken always find in him a
true friend. From boyhood he has been an avowed and uncompromising
opposer of slavery, and of whatever oppresses the masses, whether white
or black. If he sometimes asserts and maintains his opinions with
earnestness and warmth, he never does so with malice. In the advocacy of
what he deems to be just, he is never turned aside by motives of
self-interest.
In 1852 he married Miss Lizzie F. Jewett, of Hollis,--a cultured,
christian lady. Her amiability, good sense, and force of character
render her every way worthy of her distinguished husband. Their "silver
wedding" was observed in 1877, and was honored by a large circle of
friends. Besides other tokens of appreciation bestowed at that time,
Hon. Edmund Burke presented, in behalf of the donors, an elegant silver
service.
Their children are Herbert J., Florence F., Natt L., and Jesse M. The
eldest son, Herbert J. Barton, was born September 27, 1853. He prepared
for college at Tilton, and graduated at Dartmouth in the class of 1876.
He has taught with great success in Providence, R. I., also for two
years as principal in the Newport high school, and, still later, as
principal in the high school of Waukegan, Ill. In 1881 he was admitted
to the bar of Illinois at Chicago, and is now associated in practice
with his father. He married, August 21, 1877, Miss Sarah L. Dodge,
daughter of Leander F. Dodge of Newport, a very intelligent and worthy
young lady. The son has many of the elements which have contributed to
the father's success, and we expect his native state will hear from him.
Florence F. graduated from the Newport high school in 1881, and is a
young lady of fine promise.
In conclusion we remark, Mr. Barton stands well at home. Conscious of
his personal integrity and of the worthiness of his aims, his well
earned honors clustering thickly upon him, beloved by his family and
community, and cheered by the favor of Providence, he may with great
propriety congratulate himself that he has not lived in vain. And as his
physical and intellectual forces seem not in the least abated, we may
fondly hope that his fellow-citizens may for many years to come enjoy
the benefits of his practical wisdom and patriotic devotion; and that
his posterity may as nobly sustain the name of Barton as he has the
names of those from whom he descended.
HON. RODNEY WALLACE.
RODNEY WALLACE, of Fitchburg, Mass., was born in New Ipswich, N. H.,
December 21, 1823. He is the son of David and Roxanna Wallace, who spent
the latter years of life at Rindge in the same state.
Whether the family is of English or Scotch origin is extremely difficult
to decide. If the orthography of the last century is correct, then it is
English; if not, Scotch. The point possesses more genealogical than real
importance. People are free to change their names as they list, and have
always exercised that privilege; and under either garb the name has been
borne by noble and distinguished men in the Old World.
The first of this family who came to this country settled in Ipswich,
Mass. Benoni Wallis removed from this place to Lunenburg, Mass., and
there married, on the 2d of July, 1755, Rebecca Brown, of Lynn. They
continued to reside in Lunenburg until her death, August 25, 1790. He
died March 15, 1792. David Wallis, son of Benoni, was born October 10,
1760. He married Susannah Conn, and died in Ashburnham, January 14,
1842. David Wallace, son of David and Susannah (Conn) Wallis, was born
in Ashburnham, July 14, 1797. He married, July 8, 1821, Roxanna Gowen,
of New Ipswich, and removed to Rindge in 1846, where he died May 29,
1857. She died in Fitchburg, February 27, 1876. In the exercise of his
own right and discretion, he restored what he doubtless held to be the
original spelling of his name, and always wrote it Wallace.
Rodney Wallace, when twelve years of age, went from home to work upon a
farm for the sum of forty dollars for the first year, with the privilege
of attending school eight weeks in the winter; and from this time until
arriving at the age of twenty he worked for wages, attending school from
eight to ten weeks in the winter. His education was thus acquired,
during the few winter months, in the common country schools of that
time. From the age of twenty until his removal to Fitchburg, he was
employed and intrusted with business for the late Dr. Stephen Jewett, of
Rindge, N. H.
In 1853 he removed to Fitchburg and became a member of the firm of
Shepley & Wallace, wholesale dealers in books, stationery, etc., which
firm, under this name and the name of R. Wallace & Co., became one of
the best known firms in this line of business in New England. After
several years of successful management of that business, he withdrew
from the firm, engaged in the manufacture of paper, and connected
himself with several other manufacturing interests in Fitchburg. In
whatever interest Mr. Wallace has been engaged, he has not only been
fortunate in its pecuniary issues, but also in the speedy command of the
confidence and respect of his associates. True moral principle has been
united with unquestioned probity, business tact, and liberal,
intelligent management, and he is held in high estimation, both as a
citizen and as a friend. His usefulness has been approved by long,
earnest, and efficient service; and his liberality, by unostentatious
but generous donations to the support of many laudable undertakings.
[Illustration: Rodney Wallace]
In 1865, Mr. Wallace entered into the business of manufacturing paper
with three other gentlemen, under the name of the Fitchburg Paper
Company. One by one these gentlemen sold their respective interests to
Mr. Wallace, and in 1868 he became sole owner of the entire property.
From that time until the present day he has carried on the business
under the old firm name of the Fitchburg Paper Company. He has, since he
became sole owner, made large additions of land to the property, rebuilt
the original mill and filled it with the most improved machinery,
erected a new mill with the latest improvements of every kind, and built
additional store-houses, etc., until he has increased the producing
capacity from two thousand five hundred pounds per day, to sixteen
thousand pounds of hanging, card, and glazing paper per day of
twenty-four hours. The mills, the ample store-houses, the out-buildings
and dwelling-houses make up a little village, wanting nothing but
distance from the city to claim a name of its own.
For the direction of several monetary and corporate interests his
services have been frequently sought. He has been president and director
of the Fitchburg Gas-Light Company since 1864; a director of the
Fitchburg National Bank since 1866; partner in the Fitchburg Woolen Mill
Company, with the Hon. Wm. H. Vose and Hon. Rufus S. Frost, since 1867;
a director of the Putnam Machine Company since 1864; and has just been
chosen director of the Parkhill Manufacturing Company, recently
organized for the manufacture of ginghams. For several years he has been
a trustee of the Fitchburg Savings Bank, a director of the Fitchburg
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, president of the Fitchburg Board of Trade
(four years), a director of the Fitchburg Railroad Company, and a
trustee of Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
Though thoroughly patriotic and keenly alive to the importance of
current issues, the magnitude of the private and corporate interests
committed to his care would not permit the alienation of close personal
attention from them to political matters, and whatever offices he has
held have sought him, instead of his seeking them.
He was a selectman in the years 1864, 1865, and 1867, and a
representative to the general court in 1874, but declined a re-election
the following year, on account of ill health. He was a member of the
governor's council in 1880 and 1881, and has just been re-elected to
serve in the same position the present year.
Mr. Wallace was married, on the 1st of December, 1853, to Sophia,
youngest daughter of Thomas Ingalls, Esq., of Rindge. She died June 20,
1871, leaving two sons. The eldest, Herbert I., born February 17, 1856,
is a graduate of Harvard College, class of 1877; and the younger, George
R., obtained his education in the Fitchburg high school, and a two
years' special course in the Institute of Technology, Boston. They are
both now with their father. Mr. Wallace married, for his second wife,
Sophia F. Bailey, of Woodstock, Vt., on the 28th day of December, 1876.
GEN. SIMON G. GRIFFIN.
BY REV. A. B. CRAWFORD.
GEN. GRIFFIN was born in Nelson, N. H., on the 9th of August, 1824. His
ancestors, as far back as they can be traced, were prominent men in the
communities where they lived, gifted with more than ordinary intellect
and force of character.
His grandfather, Samuel Griffin, Esq., came from Methuen, Mass., soon
after the Revolutionary war, married a daughter of Rev. Jacob Foster, at
that time the settled minister at "Packersfield," now Nelson, and took
up his residence in that town. His superior abilities soon brought him
forward to fill responsible positions, and for many years he represented
the town in the legislature, and held the highest town offices. Both he
and the General's maternal grandfather, Nehemiah Wright, were patriot
soldiers in the Revolutionary army, and both were present at the battle
of Bunker Hill.
His father, Nathan Griffin, was equally gifted with the earlier
progenitors of the race; but, losing his health in the prime of his
manhood, the care of rearing the family of seven children fell upon the
mother. Her maiden name was Sally Wright,--one of the loveliest of her
sex, both in person and character,--and the General owes much to her
wise counsels and careful training. She died recently, at the age of
ninety-four, in the full possession of her mental faculties.
When but six years of age, in consequence of the illness of his father,
the boy was sent to live for some years with his uncle, Gen. Samuel
Griffin, of Roxbury, N. H. He, too, had a decided talent for military
affairs, had been a volunteer in the war of 1812, was prominent in the
state militia, and was fond of repeating the military histories and
descriptions of battles and campaigns that he had read, thus producing a
deep and lasting impression on the mind of the lad. But never, after he
was seven years old, could the boy be spared from work on the farm to
attend school during summer. Ten or twelve weeks each winter at the
district school was all the "schooling" he ever had; but his leisure
hours were spent in reading and study, and, in spite of his want of
advantages, at eighteen years of age he began to teach with marked
success. He had also read much history, and the lives of the great
military chieftains of ancient and modern times; and thus by
inheritance, and by his early training and reading, he had become
unconsciously fitted for the special work before him, and had cultivated
the patriotic spirit and ability for military affairs which have won for
him an honorable place among the distinguished soldiers of our state,
and made him, as confessed on all sides, one of the best volunteer
officers in the war of the rebellion.
Continuing his studies while teaching winters and working on the farm
summers, he mastered all the higher English branches usually taught in
colleges, studied Latin and French, and went through a large amount of
miscellaneous reading. In 1850 he married Ursula J., daughter of Jason
Harris, Esq., of Nelson; but soon after the birth of a son, the
following year, both mother and son died. Returning to his former
occupation of teaching, he took up the study of law, and while thus
engaged represented his native town two years in the legislature,
serving the second term as chairman of the committee on education.
[Illustration: S. G. Griffin
Brig. & Brevet Maj. Genl. U.S.A.]
He was admitted to the bar in 1860, and had just begun the practice of
his profession at Concord when the war broke out. Throwing aside his
law-books, he took up the study of military tactics, joined a company
then forming at Concord, under the first call for troops,--volunteering
as a private, but when it came to organization was chosen captain,--and
finding the quota of New Hampshire full under the first call,
immediately volunteered, with a large number of his men, for three years
or the war, under the second call. Recruiting his company to the
maximum, he joined the Second Regiment at Portsmouth, was mustered into
the United States service in June, 1861, and commanded his company at
the first battle of Bull Run, handling it with coolness and bravery,
although it was under a sharp fire, and lost twelve men, killed and
wounded. It was the celebrated "Goodwin Rifles," Co. B, 2d N. H. Vols.,
armed with Sharp's rifles, by the exertions of Capt. Griffin and his
friends,--the only company sent from the state armed with
breech-loaders.
In 1861 he was promoted to be lieutenant-colonel of the 6th N. H. Vols.,
and joined that regiment at its rendezvous in Keene. The regiment was
assigned to Burnside's expedition to North Carolina, and landed at
Hatteras island in January, 1862. In March it removed to Roanoke island,
and on the 7th of April, Lieut.-Col. Griffin was sent in command of an
expedition, composed of six hundred men with five gunboats, to break up
a rebel rendezvous near Elizabeth City, N. C. Landing at daybreak the
next morning, he attacked and broke up the camp, capturing seventy-four
prisoners, three hundred and fifty stands of arms, and a quantity of
ammunition. On the 19th of April, at the battle of Camden, N. C., he
commanded his regiment, which formed the reserve. At the critical moment
he moved it forward in line of battle, within short musket range, halted
the line, gave the command to fire, and the regiment poured in a volley
with wonderful coolness and precision. The enemy broke and fled, and the
battle was won.
On the 22d of April, 1862, he was commissioned colonel of the regiment.
Assigned to Reno's division, which was sent to aid Pope in Virginia, he
commanded his regiment at the second Bull Run, where it was ordered,
with its brigade, to attack the enemy in a piece of wood. Forcing their
way for some distance, they received a murderous fire in front and from
the left flank and rear. Thinking it must be friends firing into them by
mistake, Col. Griffin took the colors and waved them in that direction,
but the fire only came the sharper; and finding himself nearly
surrounded by an immense force, and deserted by the other regiments, he
gave the order to retreat, and brought off the remnant of his men,
bearing the colors himself.
At the battles of Chantilly and South Mountain he commanded his
regiment; and at Antietam, after one attempt to carry the bridge in
front of Burnside had been made and failed, Col. Griffin was ordered to
make the assault with his own regiment and the Second Maryland. The
charge was gallantly made, but the approaches were difficult, the
enemy's fire destructive, and the column was checked; but
re-enforcements were brought up, and the bridge was carried, and the
Sixth New Hampshire, with Col. Griffin at its head, was the first to
plant its colors on the heights beyond. For gallantry in this action he
was recommended for promotion to brigadier-general. At Fredericksburg he
commanded his regiment, which again suffered severely in the assault on
the heights. Soon after that battle he obtained a leave of absence, and
was married to Margaret R. Lamson, of Keene, N. H., with whom he is
still living, and by whom he has two sons.
Early in the year 1863, the ninth corps was transferred to the
department of Ohio, and Col. Griffin was placed in command of the second
brigade, second division, serving in Kentucky. From there the first and
second divisions were sent to aid Grant at Vicksburg; and, upon the fall
of that city, Sherman moved upon Jackson, Miss., the capital of the
state, driving Johnston before him. While approaching the town, Col.
Griffin was at one time in command of the advanced line, consisting of
three brigades, when a sharp attack was made by the enemy, at three
o'clock in the morning, with a view to breaking our lines by surprise,
but was repulsed with considerable loss. Returning to Kentucky, he took
command of the second division, and marched over the Cumberland
mountains, joining Gen. Burnside at Knoxville. Several regiments of the
corps had been left in Kentucky, and Col. Griffin was sent to conduct
them forward to Knoxville. Before they had started on the march,
however, Kentucky itself was threatened with raids, in consequence of
our defeat at Chickamauga, and Col. Griffin and his troops were retained
for the defense of that state. While on that duty his regiment
re-enlisted for three years, or the war; and in January, 1864, he was
ordered with it to Covington, Ky., where they were remustered into the
United States service, and immediately proceeded to New Hampshire on
their thirty days' furlough, granted by the terms of re-enlistment.
In the spring of 1864, the ninth corps re-assembled at Annapolis, under
Gen. Burnside, and Col. Griffin was assigned to the command of the
second brigade, second division. On the 5th of May the corps joined the
army of the Potomac, on the Rapidan, and at two o'clock on the morning
of the 6th, Col. Griffin was sent with his brigade to attack the enemy,
and later in the day made a brilliant charge in repelling an attack made
on the second corps. At Spottsylvania Court-House, May 12, Gen. Hancock
made the assault at four o'clock in the morning. Griffin occupied the
right of the ninth corps, on the left of Hancock, though some distance
from him, with orders to support that officer. Promptly at four o'clock
Griffin advanced with his brigade in line of battle, and made directly
for the point of attack indicated by the sound of Hancock's guns. As he
approached, he galloped forward to see just where to make the
connection. Passing out of a wood into an open field, he found Hancock's
troops wild with excitement over their success, but with organizations
completely broken up by the charge they had made. Looking across a
valley to a slope beyond, he saw a large force of rebels advancing
rapidly to make a counter attack. Hastening back to his command, he
brought it forward into position just in time to take that advancing
column in front and flank with a destructive fire. Other brigades came
up and formed on his left, and for five hours a terrific fire was kept
up, and the furious onslaught of three Confederate divisions was
repulsed. The loss on each side was fearful, but Hancock's corps, and
possibly the army, was saved from being swept away, and a victory was
won. By this gallant act Col. Griffin "won his star," being made a
brigadier-general of volunteers by President Lincoln, on the
recommendation of Generals Burnside and Grant, and confirmed by the
senate without debate, reference, or a dissenting vote.
On the 18th he made a reconnoissance with his brigade, and handled it
with coolness and skill in the fights of North Anna, Tolopotomy Creek,
Bethesda Church, and Cold Harbor. On the arrival of the army in front of
Petersburg, June 15, he was placed in command of two brigades, and made
a skillful attack on the enemy's advanced lines at daylight next
morning, capturing one thousand prisoners, fifteen hundred stands of
arms, four pieces of artillery, with caissons, horses, and ammunition,
and opening the way into Petersburg had supports been ready in time. At
the battle of the "Mine" he commanded his brigade, and did every thing
that could be done in his place to insure success; also at the Weldon
Railroad, Poplar Grove Church, and Hatcher's Run.
At the final breaking of the lines in front of Petersburg, on the 2d of
April, 1865, after charging the enemy's picket line and capturing two
hundred and forty-nine prisoners during the night previous, he formed
his brigade near Fort Sedgwick, in column by regiments, with three
companies of pioneers in front armed only with axes to cut away the
_abatis_. Just at daybreak, at a preconcerted signal, in connection with
Gen. Hartranft on his right and Col. Curtin on his left, he led his
column to the charge. Nothing could exceed the coolness and intrepidity
with which officers and men pressed forward under a terrific fire of
grape, canister, and musketry; for our artillery had opened and given
the enemy warning. Tearing away the _abatis_, they dashed over the
parapet, seized the guns, captured hundreds of prisoners, and held the
line. The loss was frightful, but the backbone of the rebellion was
broken; and when the news of the assault reached Richmond, on that
Sunday morning, Jefferson Davis crept out of church and stole away, a
fugitive; and Petersburg and Richmond were occupied by our troops next
morning. For gallantry in that action Gen. Griffin was brevetted a
major-general of volunteers, and succeeded to the command of the second
division, ninth corps, holding that position till the close of the war,
with the exception of a short time while he was president of an
examining board of officers at Washington. He joined in pursuit of the
rebel forces, and his division formed a part of the column that
encompassed Lee and compelled him to surrender. Returning with the army
and encamping at Alexandria, he led his division in the Grand Review, on
the 23d of May; and when the last regiment of his command had been
mustered out, he also, in August, 1865, was mustered out of the service
of the United States.
Gen. Griffin's service had been a most honorable one. Brave, able, and
patriotic, he was always in demand at the front, and his service was of
the most arduous kind. He took an active part in twenty-two great
battles, besides being engaged in numberless smaller fights and
skirmishes, and his troops were never under fire, or made a march of any
importance, except with him to lead them. Yet he never received a
scratch, although he had seven ball-holes through his clothes, and had
two horses killed and five wounded under him in action; and he never
lost a day's duty from sickness,--the result, no doubt, of temperate
habits. As an example of the severity of his service in Grant's campaign
of 1864, he left Alexandria with six regiments, reporting twenty-seven
hundred fighting men. At the close of the campaign he had lost three
thousand men, killed and wounded,--three hundred more than his whole
number,--new regiments having been assigned to him, and the older ones
filled up with recruits.
At the close of the war the government appointed him a field officer in
one of the regiments in the regular army; but he had no desire for the
life of a soldier when his country no longer needed his services, and he
declined the offer. In 1866, 1867, and 1868, he represented Keene in the
New Hampshire state legislature, serving the last two years as speaker
of the house, which position he filled with marked ability, showing rare
talent as a presiding officer. In January, 1866, he presided over the
Republican state convention; and Dartmouth College that year conferred
on him the degree of Master of Arts, _causa honoris_. In 1871 he was
nominated for congress by the Republicans of the third district, but the
opposition carried the state that year, and, although making a good run,
he was defeated by a few votes. Renominated in 1873, he was again
defeated by a small majority.
The habits of study so diligently cultivated by Gen. Griffin in youth
have never been laid aside, but are still kept up in the midst of an
active and busy life, he being engaged in large enterprises in the South
and West. As a public speaker he is able, graceful, and convincing, and
his work always shows thorough preparation, correct taste, and sound
judgment. In a book of Garfield's speeches, with a short sketch of his
life, published by a firm in St. Louis, a few memorial addresses,
selected as the best delivered in the country, are inserted as a
supplement, and Gen. Griffin's, delivered at Keene, and the same day at
Marlborough, is found among them.
In his home, where he is cordially seconded by Mrs. Griffin, there is a
tender and affectionate union of the members, a courteous hospitality, a
library rich in choice books which are read and known, and all the
comforts and enjoyments of a true New England home; and from that home
abundant good works go out that make for the well-being of a community.
[Illustration: D. L. Jewell]
COL. DAVID LYMAN JEWELL.
BY J. N. McCLINTOCK.
The chief industry of the flourishing village of Suncook is the
manufacture of cotton cloth. The China, the Webster, and the Pembroke
mills are three great establishments under one management, built on the
banks of the Suncook river, and operated principally by its power, where
this class of goods is made. About these mills, which give steady
employment to over fifteen hundred operatives, has grown up a
substantial village, with fine public buildings, spacious stores,
elegant private residences, and long blocks of neat tenement-houses,
inhabited by a liberal and public-spirited class of citizens, and
governed by a wise and judicious policy which renders this community
comfortable, attractive, and law-abiding. The man to whose clear head
and skillful hand is intrusted the management of this great corporation,
of such vital importance to the village of Suncook, is a genial
gentleman of forty-five, Col. DAVID L. JEWELL, a brief outline of whose
life it is my purpose to sketch.
DAVID LYMAN JEWELL, son of Bradbury and Lucinda (Chapman) Jewell, was
born in Tamworth, N. H., January 26, 1837. In the midst of the grandest
scenery of New England, under the shadows of the Ossipee mountains, and
in view of bold Chocorua, our friend was ushered to this earthly
pilgrimage. Colonel Jewell is a descendant of Mark Jewell, who was born
in the mirth of Devonshire, England, in the year 1724, and died in
Sandwich, N. H., the 19th of February, 1787. He descended from the same
original stock as Bishop John Jewell of Devonshire.
Mark Jewell came to this country in 1743, married, and located in Durham
this state; he was the father of three sons, Mark, Jr., Bradbury, and
John. Mark. Jr., was the first white man that settled in Tamworth, in
1772, on what is now called "Stevenson's Hill," removing soon after to
"Birch Intervale," as known at the present time. He married Ruth Vittum,
of Sandwich, in 1776; they were the parents of sixteen children. He was
prominent in all town affairs, and sometimes preached, and was
familiarly called among his fellow-townsmen "Elder" or "Priest" Jewell.
Bradbury, son of Elder Jewell, married Mary Chapman in 1806, by whom he
had two sons, Bradbury and David.
Bradbury Jewell, a pupil of Samuel Hidden, was a teacher of considerable
note, and his memory is tenderly cherished to-day by many of his pupils
throughout the state. While engaged in teaching he pursued a course of
medical studies, and in 1839, having completed them, collected his
worldly goods and removed to Newmarket, a place presenting a larger
field for practice. There he commenced in earnest his chosen profession;
but, being of a delicate constitution, the exposure incident to a
physician's life soon told upon his limited strength; he was taken sick,
and died "ere the sun of his life had reached its meridian," leaving his
widow, with two little children, in indigent circumstances, to combat
with a cold and selfish world. A wealthy merchant of the place, having
no children, wished to adopt young David, offering to give him a
college education and leave him heir to his worldly possessions; but
with a mother's love for her offspring Mrs. Jewell refused the offer,
and resolved to rear and educate her children as well as her limited
means would allow. Being a woman of undaunted spirit, she opened a
boarding-house for factory operatives, when factory girls were the
intelligent daughters of New England farmers, who regarded this new
industry a most favorable opportunity for honorable employment.
Having brothers in Massachusetts, and thinking to better sustain herself
and children, Mrs. Jewell removed to Newton Upper Falls, Mass.,
following the same occupation there. In that village young Jewell first
attended school, the teacher of which was a former pupil of his father.
To render his mother more substantial assistance than he could afford
her by doing irksome chores, he went to work in the factory when but
nine years of age, receiving for a day's work, from quarter of five in
the morning until half past seven in the evening, the very munificent
sum of sixteen cents a day, or one dollar a week. He worked nine months
and attended school three, every year, until he was nearly thirteen
years of age, when the close confinement was found detrimental to his
health, and he was taken from the mill and placed on a farm. The next
three years he passed in healthful, happy, out-door work. Returning home
from the farm strong, robust, and vigorous, he re-entered the mill,
where he was variously occupied, becoming familiar with the operations
of the numerous machines in each department, but more particularly those
pertaining to the carding-room, where his step-father, Thomas Truesdell,
was an overseer, learning as he pursued his work, gradually and
insensibly, things that to-day are of incalculable benefit for the
business in which he is now engaged. He little thought, however, when
moving his stool from place to place in order to facilitate his labor,
he would some day be at the head of similar works many times greater in
magnitude than those in which he was then employed. His inherited
mechanical taste developed by his life among machinery, and when he was
seventeen years of age he gladly entered a machine-shop. Here his ready
perception of form rendered his work attractive and his improvement
rapid.
Before completing his apprenticeship he felt keenly the want of a better
education, and determined to obtain it. His exchequer was very low, but
having the confidence of friends he readily obtained a loan, and in the
spring of 1855 he entered the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Mass. The
principal, after a casual examination, said: "Well, you don't know much,
do you?" Being quick at repartee young Jewell replied: "No, sir; if I
did, I would not be here." This brief sip at the fountain of knowledge
only increased his thirst for more, and in September of the same year he
entered the state normal school at Bridgewater, Mass., under the regime
of Marshall Conant, a life-long friend and counselor. Mr. Jewell from
the first was a favorite among his classmates,--courteous, genial,
pleasant in disposition, something careless withal; physically vigorous,
and always the first at athletic sports when relieved from study.
Mathematics, of which he was very fond, and natural philosophy were his
favorite branches of study, and free-hand drawing his delight, as
slates, book-covers, and albums attested. While in school he made rapid
advancement in knowledge, and graduated in the spring of 1857, having
acquired, as his diploma reads, "a very creditable degree of knowledge
of the several branches taught therein. Besides these attainments, Mr.
Jewell possesses a tact and skill for rapid sketching and delineation
which give life to his blackboard illustrations."
To show the forethought possessed by him in a marked degree, before
graduating he had secured a school to teach in New Jersey, and the day
after the closing exercises were over he started for his new field of
labor. He taught with great success in New Jersey and also in New York,
some three years. One school of which he was principal numbered three
hundred scholars, and employed five assistant teachers, most of whom
were his seniors in years. Like his father, he gained an enviable
reputation as a teacher, and his credentials speak of him in the highest
terms, as a competent, faithful, and pleasing instructor, and a most
excellent disciplinarian. One superintendent of schools remarks: "He was
the best teacher that has been employed in the town for thirty years."
While engaged in teaching, Mr. Jewell pursued a course of study in
engineering and surveying, and finally determined to follow engineering
as a profession. He gave up school-teaching, left the "foreign shores of
Jersey" and entered the office of R. Morris Copeland and C. W. Folsom,
of Boston. His first work was the resurvey of Cambridgeport. He
afterwards worked in Dorchester and on Narragansett bay. But this new
occupation had just been engaged in when "the shot heard round the
world" was fired on Sumter, and the tocsin of war sounded the alarm.
Surveying, like all other business, came to a stand-still; the compass
was changed for a musket, distances measured by the steady tramp of the
soldiery, and the weary flagman became the lonely sentinel.
About this time the owners of the Pembroke mill and property connected
therewith, in Pembroke and Allenstown, N. H., decided to increase their
business by building a new mill twice the capacity of the one then owned
by them. Knowing Mr. Jewell to be a good draughtsman, having employed
him during the construction of the Pembroke mill, they again engaged him
for like duties. Consulting with their then resident agent, he prepared
the required working plans and drawings for the Webster mill. The work
on the building was soon under way and rapidly pushed to completion.
While thus engaged the agent at Newton died, and the immediate care of
the mills was given to Mr. Jewell until (as the treasurer said) he could
find the right man.
Finishing his work at Suncook, and having conducted the affairs of the
company at Newton in a very satisfactory manner, the treasurer tendered
him the agency of the mills. In accepting the position, his career as
agent began where, fifteen years before, he commenced the work that
fitted him so thoroughly for the successful management of the same. The
mills were in a bad condition, the machinery old, and "run down," and
the owners impatient and anxious. Nothing daunted, however, Mr. Jewell
entered heartily into the business, making such changes that at the time
he tendered his resignation he had doubled the production, and greatly
improved the quality of the goods manufactured. Looms built more than
fifty years ago, and improved by Mr. Jewell, are still running and
producing nearly as many yards per day, and of as good quality, as those
made at the present time. These mills were run throughout the war,
paying for cotton as high as one dollar a pound, and selling the cloth
for thirty-five cents a yard. Mr. Jewell was very anxious to enlist
during the exciting times of war, but was prevailed upon by the owners
to continue in charge of their works, and by the entreaties of his wife,
who was hopelessly ill, to remain at her side.
The treasurer and part owner of the mills at Newton Upper Falls was also
treasurer and large owner of the mills at Suncook. In 1865 the Suncook
company agitated the subject of enlarging their works by the addition of
another mill, and in 1867 active operations were commenced upon the
China mill, which was, when completed, the largest works of the kind
contained under one roof in the state. Mr. Jewell again fulfilled the
office of engineer and draughtsman. The company's agent at Suncook,
wishing to devote his time exclusively to the construction of the new
mill, desired that Mr. Jewell come from Newton several days each week to
look after the manufacturing in the two mills. Thus for more than two
years he acted as agent at Newton, also as superintendent of the Webster
and Pembroke mills.
In 1870, before the China mill had fairly commenced operations, the
agent resigned his position. Mr. Jewell, having at Newton proved
diligent, faithful, and capable, was appointed in his stead. Resigning
his position at Newton he removed with his family to Suncook, and
assumed the management of the triumvirate corporation, June 1, 1870.
Again he was obliged to go through nearly the same routine as at Newton.
The machinery, however, was more modern, but had been neglected,
supplies scantily distributed, and the power was inadequate to the
demand. With indomitable perseverance he has remedied the defects, by
providing reservoirs, more thoroughly utilizing the water power, adding
new and valuable improvements, putting in powerful steam apparatus
capable of running during the most severe drought. He has increased the
annual product from twelve million yards in 1874 to twenty-seven million
yards in 1880, with substantially the same machinery, showing what
tireless perseverance and devotion to duty can accomplish.
Mr. Jewell is one of the directors in the China Savings Bank, Suncook.
He is also a member of the New England Cotton Manufacturers'
Association, and of the New Hampshire club. Mr. Jewell was honored by
being appointed aide-de-camp, with the rank of colonel, on Governor
Head's staff, and smilingly speaks of turning out _officially_ more
times than any one of the other members. He is a member of the Governor
Head Staff Association, an active member of the Ancient and Honorable
Artillery Company of Boston, a member of the Amoskeag Veterans of
Manchester, a member of the New Hampshire Veterans' Association, and an
honorary member of the old Twelfth New Hampshire regiment. He was
elected captain of the Jewell Rifles, named in his honor, but graciously
declined, and was made an honorary member. The Masonic fraternity also
claims him, being an active member of the "Jewell" Lodge, Suncook, also
named in his honor, and of the Trinity Royal Arch Chapter, Horace Chase
Council R. and S. M., and Mount Horeb Commandry, Concord, N. H. He is a
member of the Supreme Council, having taken all the Scottish rites up to
the 33d degree, and is an active member of the Massachusetts Consistory
S.'. P.'. R.'. S.'. 32d degree, Boston, and a member of the Connecticut
River Valley Association.
Colonel Jewell is a public-spirited citizen. To him Suncook is largely
indebted for its material advancement since his residence in this
community. Three times have his presence of mind and mechanical skill
been the means of saving the village from entire destruction by fire. To
him is the place indebted for its very effective water-works to guard
against fires in the future.
In happy combination with the great executive ability of the subject of
our sketch, are a fine literary taste and decided artistic talent. The
former has opportunity for gratification in a library rich in standard
works, and the latter is attested by the exterior architectural
decorations and interior embellishments that beautify his home. In
private life, Col. Jewell is genial, affable and approachable. In
religious thought he affiliates with the Congregationalists; but the
Sabbath is to him a day of rest.
Mr. Jewell married, in August, 1860, Mary A. Grover, daughter of Ephraim
Grover, of Newton, Mass. She died October 16, 1862. He was married the
second time, May 31, 1865, to Ella Louise Sumner, daughter of Lewis
Sumner, of Needham, Mass.
Mr. Jewell has kept aloof from politics, but is a good Republican; and,
should he be the standard-bearer of the party in any future contest, he
could probably lead his forces to victory.
[Illustration: Chas. M. Murphy]
HON. CHARLES M. MURPHY.
BY JOHN B. STEVENS, JR.
We live in days when the success of men apparently born to lives of
grinding toil is a pregnant sign of the times. Such opportunities are
now open to him who has a good order of ability, with high health and
spirits, who has all his wits about him, and feels the circulation of
his blood and the motions of his heart, that the lack of early
advantages forms no barrier to success. A striking illustration of the
truth of these statements is exhibited in the following sketch.
CHARLES M. MURPHY, son of John and Mary M. (Meader) Murphy, was born in
Alton, Belknap county, N. H., November 3, 1835. In 1842 his parents
moved to Barnstead, N. H., and settled upon the Tasker farm at the south
end of the town. Here the child grew in stature, and filled out and
braced his frame by hard manual labor.
Scanty record is left of these years of severe work and continuous
struggle; but there is little doubt that the discipline developed an
indomitable will and sturdy self-reliance--which alone enable poor men's
children to grapple with the world--that under more favorable
circumstances might never have shown their full capacity of force and
tenacity.
Again, it is widely believed--and nowhere more strongly than in opulent
cities and busy marts--that a boy is better bred on a farm, in close
contact with the ground, than elsewhere. He is quite as likely to be
generous, brave, humane, honest, and straightforward, as his city-born
contemporary; while, as to self-dependence, strength, and stamina, he
ordinarily has a great advantage over his rival.
He attended the district school, during the winter terms, until of an
age suitable to leave the parental care, when he enjoyed for two terms
the advantages of the academy at Norwich, Vt. At school it appears that
he was diligent and ambitious, and, from his great physical strength and
natural cheerfulness of temperament, very active in all athletic
exercises. Then began the severe and practical duties of life; and,
being the oldest of four boys, for some years he assisted his father in
educating and advancing the interests of his brothers. John E. Murphy
became a prominent dentist, practicing in Pittsfield, N. H., and
Marblehead, Mass., and died at the early age of thirty-five. Frank
Murphy, M. D., a graduate of Dartmouth College, practiced his profession
in Strafford and Northwood; but died in the very flush and promise of
life, at the age of twenty-nine. Albert Warren Murphy, D. D. S., a
graduate of the Philadelphia Dental College, after one year's practice
in Boston, removed, in 1872, to Paris, France, where his professional
labors brought him both credit and profit. At the expiration of two
years, an active interest in Spanish affairs and a desire to test the
business advantages of the country led him to Spain. He soon settled in
Madrid, and in 1879 was appointed dentist to the royal court.
Relieved from his generous labors at home, the subject of our sketch was
married, at the age of twenty-two, to Sabrina T. Clark, daughter of
Isaac Clark, Esq., of Barnstead, N. H., and for six months tried
independent farming; but, though fully aware what a life full of joy and
beauty and inspiration is that of the country, and not destitute of a
natural taste for rural pursuits, at the expiration of the time named he
surrendered his acres to his father, and with less than one hundred and
fifty dollars moved to Dover and began the study of dentistry with Dr.
Jefferson Smith. To this business he brought the same will power and
ability to prolong the hours of labor which marked his early life, and
in two years was pronounced competent to practice in his new calling.
Dr. Smith soon died, and the recently emancipated student not only
succeeded very largely to his practice, but enlarged and built upon it
till a reputation and an income were secured which made travel and study
easy and profitable. For eighteen years this patient, hopeful man
labored and experimented, adding each season to his knowledge and skill,
losing hardly a day except while studying for his degree at the Boston
Dental College. In 1878, as the result of long and careful study of the
business interests of the country, he withdrew entirely from his
profession and embarked his all in the precarious occupation of a
broker. Here his coolness, sagacity, and equableness of temper found
their proper field, and such a measure of success has followed as falls
to the lot of few men not bred from youth amid the fluctuations of the
stock market. In his new occupation he is indefatigable in procuring
information, and alike keen in discerning new traits in men and shrewd
in contrasting them with those which are more common and better known.
Very naturally the subject of our sketch took a lively interest in
political affairs upon becoming of age. A strong and devoted Republican,
in his adopted city his influence in local politics has been felt for
years. He was a member of the state house of representatives in 1871 and
1873; attached to the staff of Gov. Straw; appointed and confirmed as
consul to Moscow--honor declined; a member of the Chicago convention in
1880, where he stoutly supported Blaine so long as a ray of hope
remained; president of the Dover Five Cent Savings Bank--from a state of
torpor and weakness it has grown under his guiding hand into activity
and strength; elected mayor of the city of Dover in 1880, and recently
chosen for another term; recipient of the honorary degree of A. B. from
Lewis College in 1881. Through all his mature life, Col. Murphy has been
a busy man.
But the energetic and successful are not exempt from the sorrows common
to humanity. Three children, who, if spared, might put off to a distant
day the weariness that inevitably comes with advancing years, died while
young; and finally the partner of all his vicissitudes bade him a final
adieu. His second wife, Mrs. Eliza T. Hanson, widow of the late John T.
Hanson, of Dover, dispenses a gracious hospitality in the spacious and
richly furnished Cushing-street mansion.
In closing we may add, Col. Murphy combines qualities which are
generally found apart,--a love for work amounting to dedication, and a
readiness to assist the unfortunate which seems ingrained. His abode is
full of cheerfulness. No one comes there who does not receive a hearty
welcome; no one departs without feeling as if leaving a home.
[Illustration: Hy. C. Sherburne]
HENRY C. SHERBURNE.
HENRY CLAY SHERBURNE, son of Reuben R. and Sally (Rackleyft Staples)
Sherburne, was born in Charlestown, Mass., December 9, 1830. His father
was a native of Pelham and his mother of Newmarket; so, although born
outside the limits of the state, he is wholly of New Hampshire lineage.
His early education, obtained in the public schools of Boston,
terminated when he was fifteen years of age, at which time he entered
the employ of Holbrook & Tappan, hardware dealers, in whose store he
remained three years.
At the age of eighteen years he gained his first experience in railroad
business, serving as a clerk in the freight department of the Boston &
Lowell Railroad, under his father, who was agent of the upper roads
doing business with that corporation. Accepting a clerkship in the
office of the Concord Railroad, he removed to Concord in 1851. After a
year's service with the Concord Railroad, he entered the employ of the
Concord & Claremont Railroad, where he remained until 1865, a period of
thirteen years.
In July, 1865, after the adjournment of the legislature of that year, of
which he was a member from ward five, Concord, he removed to Boston,
entering into the business of railroad supplies in partnership with his
brother, Charles W. Sherburne. He remained there until March, 1880, when
he was elected president and a director of the Northern Railroad.
During his residence in Boston, in 1876, he was elected president of the
New York & Boston Despatch Express Company, which position he still
holds. In the summer of 1880 he was elected president and a director of
the Concord & Claremont and Sullivan railroads, and subsequently a
director of the Concord Railroad. In September, 1881, he was chosen
general manager of the Boston, Lowell, and Concord railroads, under the
business contracts between those roads. In 1878 he was sole trustee of
the Hinkley Locomotive-Works, upon the failure of that company, and
operated the works for about two years.
He is now a resident of ward four, Concord. He has a wife, and one
son--Henry A. Sherburne, eleven years of age.
ZIMRI S. WALLINGFORD.
BY HON. JOSHUA G. HALL.
Famous as the small farming towns of New Hampshire have been in
producing men eminent in the learned professions, they have not been
less prolific in furnishing young men who have achieved distinction and
borne great sway in what are recognized as the more practical business
pursuits. Inventors, constructors, skilled artisans, the men who have
taken the lead in developing our manufacturing interests and bringing
toward perfection intricate processes, those who have increased the
volume of trade at home and abroad, and have become merchant princes,
have come, as a rule, from the plain farm-houses and common schools of
our thousand hillsides. The stern virtues, the rigid frugality, and the
unflagging industry always insisted on in the home life, supplemented by
the limited but intensely practical learning gained in the district
school, have furnished successive generations of young men compact,
firm, and robust in their whole make-up, strong of body, clear and
vigorous of mind, the whole impress and mold of their moral natures in
harmony with right doing. These men have been a permeating force for
good through all classes of our population, and towers of strength in
our national life. The life of the subject of this sketch is a well
rounded example of such young men.
ZIMRI SCATES WALLINGFORD, the son of Samuel and Sallie (Wooster)
Wallingford, was born in Milton, in the county of Strafford, October 7,
1816.
Nicholas Wallington, who came, when a boy, in the ship "Confidence," of
London, to Boston in the year 1638, settled in Newbury, Mass., where he
married, August 30, 1654, Sarah, daughter of Henry and Bridget Travis,
who was born in 1636. He was captured on a sea-voyage, and never
returned; and his estate was settled in 1684. With his children (of whom
he had eight), the surname became _Wallingford_.
John Wallingford, son of the emigrant Nicholas, born in 1659, married
Mary, daughter of Judge John and Mary Tuttle, of Dover, N. H.; but he
lived in that part of Rowley, Mass., now known as Bradford. He had seven
children; one of these was Hon. Thomas Wallingford, of that part of
ancient Dover afterwards Somersworth, and now known as Rollinsford, who
was one of the wealthiest and most eminent men of the province,
associate justice of the supreme court from 1748 until his death, which
took place at Portsmouth, August 4, 1771. The eldest son of John
Wallingford, and grandson of the emigrant, was John Wallingford, born
December 14, 1688, settled in Rochester, N. H., and became an extensive
land-owner. His will, dated October 7, 1761, was proved January 17,
1762. His son, Peter Wallingford, who inherited the homestead and other
land in Rochester (then including Milton), made his will April 18, 1771,
which was proved August 24, 1773. His son, David Wallingford, settled
upon the lands in Milton, then a wilderness. He died in 1815, being the
father of Samuel Wallingford, who was father of Zimri S.
[Illustration: Z. S. Wallingford]
Upon his mother's side, Mr. Wallingford is descended from Rev. William
Worcester, the first minister of the church in Salisbury, Mass., and
ancestor of the eminent New England family of that name or its
equivalent, _Wooster_. Lydia Wooster, great-aunt of Mr. Wallingford, was
the wife of Gen. John Sullivan of Durham, major-general in the army of
the Revolution, and the first governor of the state of New Hampshire;
she was mother of Hon. George Sullivan of Exeter, who was
attorney-general of this state for thirty years.
In 1825 the father of Mr. Wallingford died, leaving his widow with four
children, of which this son, then nine years of age, was the eldest. At
the age of twelve he commenced learning the trade of a country
blacksmith. When he had wrought for his master as his boyish strength
would allow for two years, he determined not to be content with being
simply a blacksmith, and entered the machine-shop of the Great Falls
Manufacturing Company at Great Falls, N. H., and served a full
apprenticeship at machine-building there, in Maryland, Virginia, and in
the city of Philadelphia.
August 27, 1840, Mr. Wallingford married Alta L. G. Hilliard, daughter
of Rev. Joseph Hilliard, pastor of the Congregational church in Berwick,
Maine, from 1796 to 1827. Their children have been (1) John O.
Wallingford, who was sergeant-major, and became lieutenant in the
Fifteenth N. H. volunteers, in the war of the rebellion; was severely
wounded in the assault on Port Hudson; and was afterwards captain in the
Eighteenth N. H., an officer of great merit, whose death at his home in
Dover, March 23, 1872, was the result of disease contracted in his war
service. (2) Mary C., now wife of Sidney A., Phillips Esq.,
counselor-at-law in Framingham, Mass.; (3) Julia, residing with her
parents.
In 1844, Mr. Wallingford entered the employ of the Cocheco Manufacturing
Company, Dover, N. H., as master machine-builder, and remained in that
capacity until 1849. During that period, Mr. Wallingford and a partner,
by contract, constructed new machinery, cards, looms, dressing-frames,
and nearly everything necessary for the re-equipment of the mills. The
then new and large mill at Salmon Falls was also supplied with the new
machinery necessary, in the same manner.
In 1849 he became superintendent of the company's mills, under the then
agent, Captain Moses Paul, and upon the death of that gentleman, was, on
the first day of August, 1860, appointed agent of the company. He has
continued to fill that office to the present time. Taking into account
the great social and public influence, as well as the recognized ability
with which his predecessor had for many years administered the affairs
of the Cocheco company, the magnitude of its operations, the force and
grasp of mind necessary to carry on its affairs successfully, it was
evident to all familiar with the situation upon the death of Captain
Paul, that no ordinary man could occupy the place with credit to
himself, or to the respect of the public, or the satisfaction of the
corporation.
Fully conscious of the responsibility assumed, and full of the
determination which an ardent nature is capable of, not only to maintain
the reputation of his company but to extend its operations and raise the
standard of its manufactured goods, it is not overstating the fact to
say that in the last twenty years few manufacturing companies have made
greater strides in the extent of their works, in the quality of their
goods, or their reputation in the great markets, than has the Cocheco
under the management of Mr. Wallingford. Always strong financially, its
wheels have never, during that time, been idle in any season of panic or
monetary depression. Honorable, and ever generous to all its employes,
its machinery has never stopped for a day at the demand of any organized
strike. The pride, as well as the main business interest of Dover, Mr.
Wallingford has always made his company popular with the people; its
word proverbially is as good as its bond. The importance of the work is
seen in the fact that the mills were, when Mr. Wallingford took charge,
of a so-called capacity of fifty-seven thousand spindles; it is now one
hundred and twenty thousand; and the reputation of the goods is
world-wide. Twelve hundred operatives are on the books of his charge.
To a stranger to the home life of Dover these results seem the great
life-work of Mr. Wallingford; but such an one, in making up his
estimate, will fail to do justice to some of the elements of character
which have, by skillful adaptation, contributed to so great success. To
one so observing, the marked traits of the individual are lost sight of
in the results of his career. To those only who are personally familiar
with the individual are the real elements of success apparent. Of
course, without the strong common sense and good judgment which we sum
up as "business sagacity," Mr. Wallingford's successes would have been
failures; but, to one familiar with his daily life for a score of years,
it is apparent that the crowning excellence of his life, and the power
which has supplemented his mental force and rounded out his life, have
been his stern moral sense.
Perhaps the most noticeable trait in his character from childhood has
been his love of justice and right, and his hatred of wrong and
injustice in all its forms. Under such a man, no employe, no matter how
humble his position, could be deprived of his just consideration; no
interest of his corporation could be allowed to ask from the public
authorities any indulgence or advantage not fairly to be accorded to the
smallest tax-payer. Had he gone no farther than to insist on this exact
counterpoise of right and interest, as between employer and employe, and
between the interest represented by him and the public interest, his
course would have stood out in marked contrast with the conduct of too
many clothed with the brief authority of corporate power. Had this
strict observance of the relative rights of all concerned been as nicely
regarded by associated capital generally as it has been by the Cocheco
company under the management of Mr. Wallingford and his lamented
predecessor, no "brotherhood" for the protection of labor, no "strikes"
organized and pushed to bring too exacting employers to their senses and
to an observance of the common rights of humanity, would have had an
existence, and none would have had occasion to view with jealous eye the
apprehended encroachment of corporate power on private right. But while
so insisting on justice in everything, no man has a kindlier vein of
character, or a warmer sympathy for deserving objects of charity.
Impulsive, naturally, no distressed individual or deserving cause
appeals to him in vain, or long awaits the open hand of a cheerful
giver.
To a man so endowed by nature, so grounded in right principles, and so
delighting in the exercise of a warm christian charity, we may naturally
expect the result that we see in this man's life,--success in his
undertakings, the high regard of all who know him, and the kindliest
relations between the community at large and the important private
interests represented by him in his official capacity.
Fifty years ago, when the subject of this sketch, a mere child, was
leaving his widowed mother's side to learn his trade, the public mind
was just beginning to be aroused from its long lethargy to a
consideration of the abolition of slavery in the United States. The
sleep of men over the subject had been long, and their consciences seem
hardly to have suffered a disturbing dream. Church as well as state was
a participator in the system, and with unbecoming haste rose up to put
beyond its fellowship and pale the first agitators of emancipation.
Garrison had just been released, through the kindness of Arthur Tappan,
from an imprisonment of forty-nine days in Baltimore jail, for saying in
a newspaper that the taking of a cargo of negro slaves from Baltimore to
New Orleans was an act of "domestic piracy," and was issuing the first
number of the _Liberator_, taking for his motto, "My country is the
world, my countrymen are all mankind;" and declaring, "I am in earnest,
I will not equivocate, I will not excuse, I will not retreat a single
inch, I will be heard."
The agitation of the abolition of slavery, which was to end only with
emancipation, had thus begun. The discussion found its way into the
public prints, and among the thinking circles of all rural New England.
The blacksmith's apprentice read what the newspapers had to say, and
listened to the neighborhood discussions on the great question. His
sense of justice and humanity was aroused, and he adopted the motto and
declaration of purpose as announced by Garrison; and from early youth
till the time when Lincoln's proclamation assured the full success of
the object aimed at, Mr. Wallingford was the earnest friend of the slave
and the active promoter of all schemes looking to his emancipation. With
Garrison, Phillips, Parker, Douglas, Rogers, and the other leading
anti-slavery men, he was a hearty co-worker, and for years on terms of
warm personal friendship.
During the winter of 1849-50, Hon. Jeremiah Clemens of Alabama made a
speech in the United States senate, in which he claimed that northern
mechanics and laborers stood upon a level with southern slaves, and that
the lot of the latter was in fact envious when compared with that of the
former classes. This speech at once called out from Hon. John P. Hale,
then a member of the senate, a reply in keeping with the demands of the
occasion and with the great powers of Mr. Hale as an orator. Soon after,
a meeting of the mechanics of Dover was held, at which Mr. Wallingford
presided, and at which resolutions expressing the feelings of the
meeting toward Mr. Clemens's speech were passed, and a copy furnished to
that gentleman by Mr. Wallingford. Upon the receipt of these
resolutions, Senator Clemens published in the _New York Herald_ a letter
addressed to Mr. Wallingford, propounding ten questions. These questions
were framed, evidently, with the design, not so much of getting
information about the actual condition of the workingmen of the free
states as to draw from Mr. Wallingford some material that could be
turned to the disadvantage of the system of free labor. Mr. Wallingford
replied through the press, February 6, 1850, in a letter which at once
answered the impulsive and haughty "owner of men," and triumphantly
vindicated our system of free labor. For directness of reply, density,
and clearness of style, few published letters have equaled it. It must
have afforded Mr. Clemens material for reflection, and it is not known
that he afterwards assailed the workingmen of the nation.
From the formation of the Republican party, Mr. Wallingford has been one
of its active supporters. Though no man has been more decided in his
political convictions, or more frank in giving expression to them, no
one has been more tolerant of the opinions of others, or more scrupulous
in his methods of political warfare. Despising the tricks of the mere
partisan, and abhorring politics as a trade, he has always been content
to rest the success of his party on an open, free discussion of the
issues involved. Not deeming it consistent with his obligations to his
company to spend his time in the public service, he has refused to
accede to the repeated propositions of his political friends to support
him for important official positions; but he was a member of the
constitutional constitution of 1876, and presidential elector for 1876,
casting his vote for Hayes and Wheeler. He is and has been for years,
president of the Savings Bank for the County of Strafford, a director of
the Strafford National Bank, president of the Dover Library Association,
and a director in the Dover & Winnipesaukee Railroad. In his religious
belief Mr. Wallingford is a Unitarian, and an active member of the
Unitarian society in Dover.
GENERAL WALTER HARRIMAN.
BY REV. S. C. BEANE.
The name of no New Hampshire man of the present generation is more
broadly known than that of WALTER HARRIMAN. His distinguished services
to the state, both in the legislature and in the executive chair; his
honorable service as an officer of the Union army; the important trusts
he has held at the hands of one and another of our national
administrations; and, not least, his brilliant gifts as an orator, which
have made him always welcome to the lyceum platform and have caused him
to be widely and eagerly sought for in every important election campaign
for many years,--combine to make him one of the most conspicuous men in
our commonwealth.
The Harriman family is of English origin. Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, a man of
eminence in the church, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1590. He
graduated at the University of Cambridge, in 1610. Becoming a dissenter
from the Church of England, after twenty-five years of faithful service,
his ministerial functions were suspended. He says of himself: "For
refusing to read that accursed book that allowed sports on God's holy
Sabbath, I was suspended, and by it and other sad signs driven, with
many of my hearers, into New England." This stanch Puritan arrived on
these shores in 1638. In his devoted flock there was an orphan lad,
sixteen years of age, named Leonard Harriman, and from this youthful
adventurer the subject of our sketch descended, being of the seventh
generation. Rogers selected for his colony an unoccupied tract of
country between Salem and Newburyport, Mass., to which he gave the name
of Rowley, that being the name of the parish in Yorkshire to which he
had long ministered.
The oldest son of Leonard Harriman was massacred, with ninety of his
comrades,--"the flower of Essex county,"--in King Philip's war,
September 18, 1675, at Bloody Brook. The great-grandfather of Walter
Harriman saw eight years of hard service in the French and Revolutionary
wars. His grandfather settled in the wilds of Warner, at the foot of the
Mink hills, but lost his life, by an accident, at the early age of
twenty-eight. His father, the late Benjamin E. Harriman, was a man of
character and influence through an honorable life. He reared a large
family at the ancestral home in Warner, where the subject of our sketch,
being the third son, was born April 8, 1817.
Muscle and intellect and the heroic virtues can have no better nursery
than the rugged farm-life of New England, and the Warner homestead was a
challenge and stimulus to the qualities that were needed in the future
man of affairs. This child of the third generation that had occupied the
same house and tilled the same soil, grew up with a stalwart physical
organization and a fine loyalty to his native town, a deep interest in
its rude history and traditions, and a sympathy with the common people,
which in turn made him a favorite with all. To this day there is to him
no spot, save his present home, to be compared with his birthplace, and
there are no people so interesting and endeared as his old neighbors in
the rugged hill-town. He has recently written a history of Warner, which
is regarded as "one of the most systematic, comprehensive, and generally
interesting works of the kind yet given to the public in the state." The
Harriman home still remains in the possession of the family, and, though
the ex-governor now resides in Concord, he spends many a day in every
year amidst the old familiar scenes. His "schooling" was obtained at the
Harriman district school, and at the academy in the adjoining town of
Hopkinton.
[Illustration: Walter Harriman]
When hardly more than a boy, he made a successful trial of the excellent
self-discipline of school-teaching, and at different times taught in New
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. While in the latter
state, at the age of twenty-two, he became deeply interested in the
principles of Liberal Christianity (the form of religious faith which he
has steadfastly held to this day), and occasionally wrote sermons, which
were well received from the pulpit, and some of which found their way
into print. It was certain from his early youth that nature designed him
for a public speaker, the rare oratorical gifts which afterwards
distinguished him having shown themselves gradually and prophetically in
the district school-house and the village academy. This tentative
experience in preaching, undertaken of his own motion and without
conferring with flesh and blood, resulted in his settlement, in 1841,
over the Universalist church in Harvard, Mass., where he remained in
active service four years. Returning now to Warner, and soon leaving the
pulpit altogether, he became the senior partner in trade with John S.
Pillsbury, late governor of Minnesota,--probably the only instance in
our history where two young business partners in a retired country town
have afterwards become the chief executives of different states.
In 1849, Mr. Harriman was elected by his townsmen to the New Hampshire
house of representatives, where he almost immediately became prominent
as a leader in debate on the Democratic side. Of his record as a party
man little need to be said, except that from first to last, and whatever
his affiliations, he has shown great independence in espousing measures
and principles which commended themselves to his judgment and
conscience, even when it put him in a minority with his political
associates. In his first legislative term, on the question of commuting
the death sentence of a woman who was sentenced to be hung for murder,
he not only advocated such commutation, but was a leader in the movement
for the abolition of capital punishment altogether, to which purpose he
has ever since stood committed. In the legislature of 1850, he was the
leading advocate of the homestead exemption law, at which time a
resolution was adopted, submitting the question to the people. The
voters of the state gave their approval at the next March election, and
in the following June the act was consummated. No legislature has dared
to repeal it, and the foresight and courage of its authors and earliest
advocates have been so approved by thirty years of experience that it is
doubtful if a single citizen can be found to-day who would desire to
undo their work.
It was no accident or trifling smartness that could give a man
prominence in those two legislatures of a third of a century ago. Among
the men of marked ability, now deceased, who held seats in those years,
were Horton D. Walker, Samuel H. Ayer, Lemuel N. Pattee, Edmund Parker,
Samuel Lee, John Preston, William Haile, Richard Jenness, William P.
Weeks, Thomas E. Sawyer, Wm. H. Y. Hackett, Nathaniel B. Baker, Charles
F. Gove, Thomas M. Edwards, Josiah Quincy, and scores of others, now
living, of equal merit. In this galaxy of brilliant minds, it is no
exaggeration to say that, young as he was, Mr. Harriman was an honored
peer in legislative duty and debate. Besides the two years named, he
represented Warner again in the house in 1858, when he was his party's
candidate for speaker. He also represented district No. 8 in the state
senate in 1859 and 1860. In 1853 and 1854 he held the responsible office
of state treasurer. Appointed in 1856, by the President of the United
States, on a board of commissioners (with ex-Congressman James H. Relfe
of Missouri, and Col. Wm. Spencer of Ohio), to classify and appraise
Indian lands in Kansas, he spent a year of official service in that
inviting territory, then turbulent with ruffianism. Border raids,
burnings, and murder were daily occurrences. But the duties of this
office were faithfully attended to, and no breath of complaint was
overheard against the delicate work of this board.
During the reign of that un-American political heresy, popularly called
Know-Nothingism, in 1854, 1855, and 1856, Mr. Harriman was its firm and
unyielding enemy. In a discussion of this question with Hon. Cyrus
Barton at Loudon Center, Mr. Harriman had closed his first speech, and
Mr. Barton had just begun a reply, when he dropped dead on the
platform,--a tragedy which lingers sadly in the memory of his friendly
antagonist of that day.
The outbreak of the civil war began an era in the life of every public
man in the nation. It projected issues which made party allegiance a
secondary affair. It sent many honest and earnest men across the party
lines, while some of our best citizens simply took their stand for the
time being outside all political folds, independent, and ready for
whatever calls the exigencies of the country might give forth. In that
fateful spring of 1861, Mr. Harriman became the editor and one of the
proprietors of the _Weekly Union_ at Manchester, which heartily espoused
the war policy of Mr. Lincoln's administration for the preservation of
the republic, and thus found himself the leader and spokesman of what
were known as the "War Democrats." He was placed in nomination as a
candidate for governor of the state, at a large mass convention of this
class of voters, held at Manchester in February, 1863, and this movement
resulted in defeating a choice by the people and throwing the election
into the legislature.
No man uttered braver or more eloquent words for the Union cause than
Mr. Harriman, and his tongue and pen were an important element in the
rousing of the citizens of New Hampshire to the graver duties of the
hour. In August, 1862, he was made colonel of the Eleventh New Hampshire
regiment of volunteers. He led this regiment to the field, and was at
its head most of the time until the close of the war, except the four
months, from May to September, 1864, when he was an inmate of
Confederate prisons. With some other captured Union officers, he was,
for seven weeks of this time, imprisoned in that part of Charleston, S.
C, which was most exposed to the fire of the Union guns from Morris
island, but providentially, though that part of the doomed city was
destroyed, no harm came to him from the guns of his fellow-loyalists.
The first set battle in which the Eleventh Regiment bore a part was that
of Fredericksburg, in December, 1862, when, with unflinching courage,
Col. Harriman and his men faced the dreadful carnage of that long day
before Marye's Height, less than three months after their arrival in the
field. The loss of the regiment in this engagement was terrific. Passing
over much (for want of space) that is thrilling and praiseworthy, we
find the Eleventh under their colonel, at the front, in the battle of
the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, when they made a daring and stubborn onset
on the Confederate intrenchments, carrying before them two successive
lines of the enemy's works. But among the five thousand Union men that
were captured in that bloody engagement, the commander of the Eleventh
N. H. was included. Col. Harriman and the survivors of his charge were
present at the final grapple of the war before Petersburg, and on the 3d
day of April, 1865, he led a brigade of nine large regiments (a force
three times as great as the whole American army at Bunker Hill) into
that fated city, on the heels of Lee's fleeing command. The war was now
virtually ended, the surrender of Lee at Appomattox followed six days
afterwards, and the Eleventh Regiment, of proud and honorable record,
was mustered out of service in the following June. Their commander was
appointed Brigadier-General U. S. V., by brevet, "for gallant conduct
during the war," to date from March 13, 1865.
On his arrival home, at the close of the war, Gen. Harriman was elected
to the office of secretary of state, by the legislature then in session,
and he at once entered upon the duties of the office, which he held two
years, and until his promotion to the gubernatorial chair. In the large
Republican convention, consisting of six hundred and seventy-five
delegates, and held at Concord in January, 1867, he was nominated, on
the first ballot, as candidate for governor of the state. One of the
most salient and memorable incidents connected with this period was the
joint canvass made, by amicable arrangement, between Gen. Harriman and
the Hon. John G. Sinclair, the Democratic candidate. Such canvasses are
not uncommon in the West and South; but in New England, and with two men
of such forensic ability as these distinguished nominees possessed, it
was an event fraught with great popular interest, and which drew forth,
possibly, the most earnest and eloquent discussions of questions to
which a New England people has ever listened. Many flattering notices
were given of these discussions. There were thirteen in all. Commenting
on one of the number, a leading newspaper said of Gen. Harriman:
"Soaring above all petty personal allusions, he held the audience as if
spell-bound, and made all his hearers, for the time being, lovers of the
whole country,--of the Union, of liberty, and independence throughout
the world. He spoke not as a politician, but as a patriot, a statesman,
a philanthropist, and his noble sentiments had such power of conviction
that it was impossible to ward off the results by argument." His
election followed by a decisive majority.
The campaign of 1868 occurred at a time when a strong reaction was
setting against the Republican party throughout the country. Fresh
candidates for the presidency were about to be nominated; the
impeachment of Andrew Johnson was in progress; military rule had been
established in the South; utter financial ruin was hotly foretold; and
the dominant party was suffering crushing reverses in many of the
leading states. To add to the discouragements of this party in New
Hampshire, when the municipal elections came on in December, Portsmouth
and Manchester rolled up adverse majorities, and the tide was tending
strongly in one direction. Encouraged by such promising signs, the
Democratic party held its state convention at the early day of the 14th
of November. Their old and tried war-horse, John G. Sinclair, was again
put upon the track, and his election was, by the party, deemed a
foregone conclusion. A long and fierce contest ensued. Gov. Harriman met
his fellow-citizens, face to face, in every section of the state. He
addressed immense meetings, holding one every secular day for six weeks,
and failing to meet no appointment on account of weariness, storms, or
any other cause. He was triumphantly re-elected, obtaining a larger vote
than any candidate for office had ever before received in New Hampshire.
Of Gov. Harriman's administration of the affairs of the state, in its
principal features, with the exacting duties and the keen prudence
required of the chief executive in those days of large indebtedness,
unbalanced accounts, and new legislation to meet the new and
unprecedented demands, his constituents seem to have been hearty and
unanimous in their approval. Their feelings may be summed up and
expressed in the words of the _Boston Journal_, when it said: "The
administration of Gov. Harriman will take rank among the best that New
Hampshire has ever had."
General Harriman was appointed naval officer of the port of Boston, by
President Grant, in April, 1869, which office he accepted after the
expiration of his gubernatorial term in June following. He was
re-appointed in 1873, for a term of four years. The affairs of this
office were conducted in such manner as to preclude any word of
criticism.
Gen. Harriman has engaged in political canvasses repeatedly in most of
the northern states, and in 1872 he participated extensively in the
state campaign in North Carolina. In this latter canvass, the key-note
of the national campaign was pitched, and the result of the desperate
contest there in August made the re-election of Gen. Grant in November a
certainty.
Thousands have warmly testified to the rare oratorical powers of the
subject of this sketch, the _Meriden_ (Conn.) _Recorder_ being one of
the number. That paper says of him: "As a platform speaker, we never
heard his equal. His delivery is fine, his logic clear as crystal, his
manner easy and natural, and his physical force tremendous. With a voice
clear and distinct as a trumpet, of immense compass, volume, and power,
his influence over an audience is complete. He affects nothing, but
proceeds at once to the work in hand, and from the very outset carries
his hearers with him, rising, at times, with the inspiration of his
theme, to the loftiest flights of eloquence."
Gov. Harriman has been twice married; first, in 1841, to Miss Apphia K.,
daughter of Capt. Stephen Hoyt, of Warner, who died two years
afterwards; and again in 1844, to his present wife, Miss Almira R.
Andrews. By the latter marriage he has had three children. Georgia, the
only daughter, is the wife of Joseph R. Leeson, an enterprising importer
of Boston. Walter Channing, the oldest son, married Miss Mabel Perkins,
of Portsmouth. He is a promising and successful lawyer, living at
Exeter, and solicitor of Rockingham county. The younger son, Benjamin E.
having prepared himself for the medical profession at some of the best
schools in the land, took his degree at Dartmouth College in 1877, and
began practice in Manchester. But his health soon failing, after patient
and determined efforts for its recovery, and after attempting in another
place to resume his professional work, he died at his father's home in
Concord, in May, 1880, lamented, not only by his own family, but by a
large circle of devoted and enthusiastic friends. His wife, so early
bereaved, was Miss Jessie B., only daughter of the late Col. Isaac W.
Farmer, of Manchester. A biographical paper read before the N. H.
Medical Society, by Dr. A. H. Crosby (a physician of wide reputation),
and printed, portrays the character of Dr. Harriman in generous outline,
and fine and tender tinting, and from it we know that he was a young man
of high integrity, large capacities for friendship, and superior
equipment for his life-work. There are two grandsons to represent the
family, one in the home of each of the governor's surviving children.
The home of Gov. Harriman in Concord, where he has now lived since 1872,
is a delightful one, and no one enjoys it with more satisfaction than he
himself. A great traveler, by the necessities of his public career, he
has a mastering fondness for quiet domestic life, and never are his rich
stores of experience, his knowledge of men, and his fine sense of humor
with its exhaustless fund of material, more ready at his command than of
an evening in his own house. He writes for various of the standard
publications of New England, and no time hangs wearisome on his mind. He
wears the honorary degree of A. M., conferred by Dartmouth College in
1867. A good citizen and neighbor, a delightful companion, free and
familiar and sympathetic with all persons, his intellectual power now at
high noon, and never better able to serve his time than now, it would
seem that many years of useful activity are before him ere the restful
evening descends.
[Illustration: Sam M Wheeler]
HON. SAMUEL METCALF WHEELER.
HON. SAMUEL METCALF WHEELER was born in Newport, N. H., May 11, 1823. He
was the only son--having one sister--of Albira and Melinda (Metcalf)
Wheeler, who came of families of remarkably vigorous constitution and
decided longevity; and from his ancestry, doubtless, Mr. Wheeler
inherits the intellectual and physical ability which has made him so
careful in breadth of study, and so successful as a legal adviser at the
bar and in legislative debate and action.
Mr. Wheeler's early education was obtained in the seminary at Claremont,
N. H., the military academy at Windsor, Vt., at Newbury Seminary, Vt.,
and in private instruction in the languages.
In 1844 he entered upon the study of law in the office of Walker &
Slade, at Royalton, Vt.; seven months later he entered that of Tracy &
Converse at Woodstock, Vt., where he remained two years and a half; and
for some months afterwards he read law with Hon. Ralph Metcalf, an
ex-governor of New Hampshire, from whose office he was admitted to the
bar in 1847. He commenced practice in Newport, where he remained about a
year. The next four or five years he practiced in Fisherville, and in
1853 he removed to Dover, where he at once entered upon a large and
successful practice, and where he still remains. At first he was in
business connection with John H. Wiggin. Esq., which lasted for two
years. Subsequently, in 1858, he associated with himself Hon. Joshua G.
Hall, then commencing practice, and the law firm of "Wheeler & Hall"
continued for eight years. Since that time. Mr. Wheeler, while having
the assistance made necessary by his practice, has remained without a
partner.
As a lawyer, Mr. Wheeler has long been recognized as a leader. His
natural abilities, strengthened and brightened by patient study, which
has made him familiar with the law and precedents, and his learning,
supplemented by the power to see all the features of a case and a
conscientious devotion to the interest of his client, make him a safe
adviser. His particular success, however, has undoubtedly been in the
trial of jury causes, where his extensive study, quickness of
perception, tact, and forensic ability, and a habit of thought which
grasps particulars into a whole, tending to one strong impression upon
listeners, have been the elements which have made him very strong.
Mr. Wheeler was from the first one of the pillars of Republican strength
in Strafford county; and when the party in Dover has needed some one to
represent it with conspicuous ability it has very often called upon him.
He represented that city in the legislature in 1864, 1865, 1868, 1869,
and 1870, and in 1876 was a member of the constitutional convention of
New Hampshire. In the house, he was on the judiciary committee in 1864,
and its chairman in 1865, also chairman of the finance committee in
1868; and in the constitutional convention was chairman of one of the
four only leading committees, vis., that on the bill of rights.
In 1869 he was chosen speaker of the house, receiving nearly all the
votes of his party in caucus, and much beyond his party vote in the
house. He was rechosen in 1870, again receiving more than the vote of
his party. As a member of the house, he was always recognized as a
leader whose counsel it was safe to follow and whose opposition was
generally fatal; and, as speaker, he was distinguished for his dignity,
courtesy, and knowledge of parliamentary law. He was several times the
leading Republican candidate for congress in the first district, and the
peculiar methods by which other men were put into the place which the
people demanded he should fill have disgraced and weakened the party in
that section ever since.
In the year 1866, Mr. Wheeler received the honorary degree of Master of
Arts from Dartmouth College. He was president of the Dover National Bank
from 1858 to 1874.
Mr. Wheeler married, December 31, 1848, Priscilla E., daughter of Joseph
W. and Phebe (Wheeler) Clement, of Franklin, N. H. They have but one
child,--Helen Maud,--born March 27, 1858. Mr. Wheeler is still in the
prime of successful practice in Dover.
[Illustration: Edward Spalding]
HON. EDWARD SPALDING, M. D.
The subject of this sketch, born at Amherst, N. H., September 15, 1813,
was the son of Dr. Matthias Spalding, who was of the fifth generation in
direct descent from Edward Spalding, who came to New England about 1632,
and settled first at Braintree, Mass., removing a few years later to
Chelmsford, Mass., of which he was one of the earliest proprietors. Col.
Simeon Spalding married, for his second wife, Mrs. Abigail Wilson, whose
maiden name was Johnson, the fourth generation in descent from Edward
Johnson of Woburn, who came from Kent county, England. Matthias Spalding
was one of the youngest of her children, born at Chelmsford, June 25,
1769, and graduated at Harvard College in 1798. Adopting the medical
profession, he went abroad to perfect his education by attending
lectures in London. Having a natural aptitude for the practice of
medicine and surgery, with this superior training, he was soon
distinguished for his successful treatment of disease, and his services
were widely sought.
In 1806, after the settlement of Matthias Spalding at Amherst, he
married Rebecca Wentworth, daughter of Hon. Joshua Atherton, and sister
of Charles H. Atherton, an eminent lawyer and father of Hon. Charles G.
Atherton, late United States senator. Mrs. Spalding was a woman of a
refined nature and elegant manners. Of eight children, Edward was the
first son and the fourth child. Favored in his parentage, he was also
favored in the circumstances and companionships of his early life. The
society of Amherst embraced a number of families of superior talents and
education. Among the children of these families he was an active, manly,
and generous boy, fond of fishing and athletic sports, and popular with
his schoolmates.
When eleven years of age he was sent to Chelmsford, to be under the
instruction of Rev. Abiel Abbott. At thirteen, he was one of a company
of Amherst lads who became students at Pinkerton Academy, in Derry, then
in charge of Abel F. Hildreth, a celebrated master in those days. While
preparing for college, he was associated with Jarvis Gregg, Stephen
Chase, James F. Joy, and James McCollom, who were subsequently
distinguished as scholars, becoming tutors in the college at Hanover,
after graduation. In college young Spalding made good use of his
opportunities, and counted among his friends and classmates at Dartmouth
Rev. F. A. Adams, Ph. D., Prof. Joseph C. Bodwell, D. D., Hon. J. F.
Joy, LL. D., John Lord, LL. D., Judge Fowler of Concord, and Rev. E.
Quincy S. Waldron, president of Borromeo College, Md.
In the autumn following his graduation, in 1833, young Spalding went to
Lexington, Ky., hoping to obtain employment as a teacher. The effort to
establish a private classical school in Lexington, though widely
advertised, was not successful. The patronage did not answer to the
promises of the ambitious prospectus, and, after a trial of a few weeks,
the enterprise was abandoned as unremunerative. The West was not to be
the scene of Dr. Spalding's life, nor teaching his employment.
Mr. Spalding returned to New England in the spring of 1834, and
commenced the study of medicine in the office of his father at Amherst.
He attended three courses of lectures in the Harvard Medical School at
Boston, and was graduated at that institution in the summer of 1837.
Having spent a few months riding with his father, and observing his
treatment of the sick, he decided to enter on what seemed a promising
field for a physician at Nashua. Accepting an invitation from the elder
Dr. Eldredge, he became a partner with him in practice. After this
partnership was dissolved the business increased, and he gained for
himself an extensive and valuable patronage. He enjoyed the confidence
of a large circle of families, and his success as a physician had given
him an enviable reputation. In the meantime he had been called to assume
responsibilities of a fiduciary nature, involving such care and labor as
seriously to interfere with his professional engagements. The transition
to these new employments was the natural sequence of the excellent
judgment and rare capacity for business which he manifested. The
accuracy and promptitude with which his accounts were rendered to the
probate, and the just consideration for the feelings and interests of
all persons concerned in the settlement of the estates committed to his
trust, brought such a pressure of occupation that he was compelled to
relinquish his profession.
He had now been in practice twenty-five years, and satisfactory as his
services as a physician had been to the community, he was yet to perform
an imperative and valuable service by his judicious management of
important trusts and his earnest co-operation in the direction and
enlargement of new enterprises. In addition to his engagements in the
settlement of large estates, he became interested in banking,
manufacturing, and railroads, holding various offices of labor and
responsibility in these institutions and corporations. He was for
several years treasurer of the Nashua Savings Bank and subsequently its
president. He was one of the original projectors of the "Pennichuck
Water-Works," of which company he is president. A director in both of
the large cotton manufacturing companies which have contributed so much
to the prosperity of the city, he has also fulfilled similar duties in
other corporations elsewhere. For a time a director, he has become the
president, of the Indian Head National Bank.
In municipal and town offices he has performed important duties, taking
a lively interest in the progress of popular education. He has been a
member of the school committee a large portion of the time that he has
lived in Nashua, and is now chairman of the board of education. A member
of the New Hampshire Historical Society, his encouragement and
assistance are gratefully acknowledged by several gentlemen who have
been engaged in the preparation and publication of genealogical and town
histories. He has also been actively engaged in building up the city
library, of which he has been a trustee from the beginning of the
enterprise.
Never seeking political preferment, and personally disinclined to the
strife for political distinctions, he was elected mayor of the city in
1864, and served as delegate to the Baltimore convention in the same
year. He was a member of the state convention for the revision of the
constitution in 1876, and councilor for two years during the
administration of his Excellency Governor Prescott, 1878 and 1879.
In 1866 he was elected a trustee of Dartmouth College, a position which
he still retains, and in which he has contributed to the substantial
prosperity of the institution by frequent, unobtrusive gifts, and the
steady service of a loyal and judicious mind. He has also represented
Dartmouth College as a trustee of the College of Agriculture and the
Mechanic Arts during the whole period of its existence as a department
of instruction.
On the 23d of June, 1842, Dr. Spalding was united in marriage with Dora
Everett, second daughter of Joseph and Mary Appleton Barrett, of New
Ipswich, a family associated favorably with the history of the town so
widely known by the character and achievements of its sons. By this
marriage Dr. Spalding had three children, of whom two daughters are
living; the second child, a son. Edward Atherton, died November 10,
1863, aged eleven years and two months. With this exception, the life of
Dr. Spalding has been singularly exempt from afflictive changes. Happy
in the circle of his kindred and the connections formed by marriage, his
home has been a welcome resort to the youth of both families, while the
older generation was tenderly cared for by the thoughtful and continued
ministrations of this son and his companion.
As might be inferred from what has been said of the general esteem in
which Dr. Spalding is held, he has many personal friends among men of
thoughtful and scholarly habits. Himself a student, and thoroughly awake
to whatever affects the nation's welfare, he has been a careful reader
of current history. He has marked the progress of the various moral and
political questions that agitate the minds of the people and shape the
legislation of the country, with deep concern that the issues might be
favorable to the principles of truth and righteousness. A sincere
believer in the teachings of our Divine Lord, he has recognized as a
Christian the claims of the country, as well as the claims of the city
where he dwells. A liberal and constant contributor to the institutions
which are organized to extend the knowledge of Christ throughout the
world, he is known as the patron and advocate of missions at home and
abroad. For many years he has been the president of the New Hampshire
Bible Society. He has cheerfully borne his full proportion of the
expenses incident to the maintenance of the local institutions of public
worship and religious instruction in the church and society with which
he is connected. When the meeting-house of the First Congregational
church was burned, he at once proposed to his friend, Mr. Isaac
Spalding, that they two should each give ten thousand dollars towards
the cost of rebuilding,--a proposition to which Mr. Spalding promptly
assented, thus insuring the immediate erection of the commodious and
pleasant edifice which that church now owns.
With such a variety of offices and engrossing employments still
demanding his attention, we should anticipate that the duties would
become burdensome, and the skillful hand lose something of its cunning;
but the Doctor is still vigorous and works easily. This continued
capacity for labor is doubtless owing to the natural endowments of a man
who has nurtured his forces by avoiding excesses on the one hand, and on
the other by carefully husbanding his strength. He has not only arranged
his business on system, but he has resolutely reserved to himself,
annually, seasons of almost absolute rest. Retaining his early fondness
for fishing, for a few weeks in every year he has resorted to the
mountain streams and inland lakes of northern New England for his
favorite recreation. In these excursions he has sought the head waters
of most of our rivers, and become acquainted with the grand and
beautiful scenery of the mountain region. He has learned the haunts and
habits of all the fish to be found in our streams, and of the birds that
frequent our forests. By this method has he renewed his youth, while,
with others of congenial tastes, he has made his knowledge tributary to
the public good, by joint efforts to restore the migratory fishes to the
waters of the state, from which, by artificial obstructions, they have
been shut out. The board of fish and game commissioners for New
Hampshire, of which Dr. Spalding is chairman, is an outgrowth of this
joint endeavor that promises to enlarge the piscatory resources of the
state.
With this record of the number and variety of trusts which are still in
his hands, and the appointments that he must meet daily, and from week
to week, it is evident that the Doctor is still capable of continuous
labor. His grateful testimony addressed to his classmates is, "I have
enjoyed almost uninterrupted health, and a degree of happiness and
prosperity far beyond the common lot." The sources of his good fortune
are not to be sought in extraordinary gifts or peculiar helps. Beginning
life with a sound mind and sound body, he has cherished both by regular
habits and studious industry. By fidelity and painstaking in business,
by generous and considerate treatment of others, by using his influence
and property in befriending the needy and helping young men struggling
with adverse circumstances, by cherishing the friendship of good men in
all classes of society, and in daily recognition of his need of guidance
and wisdom from God,--he has escaped the envy and conflicts which beset
a selfish and ambitious career. Happy in his employments, and enjoying
the good that followed his exertions, men have witnessed his advancement
with pleasure and sought to do him honor. His life illustrates the value
of those personal excellences which all may cultivate, and shows the
readiness of mankind to recognize their worth. To such as are seeking to
do right and serve their generation, the example is encouraging, and
assures us that energy, integrity, and beneficence are not without
rewards.
[Illustration: Yours truly
James A. Weston]
HON. JAMES A. WESTON.
By H. H. Metcalf.
Much has been written in praise of Manchester, the foremost city of the
state in size and importance, in the extent and variety of its
manufacturing establishments and in the energy, activity, and public
spirit of its citizens. It has been called, also, the "city of
governors," and four of the nine living ex-chief-magistrates of the
state have their residence within its borders; while still another,
residing in the immediate vicinity, is reckoned as substantially a
Manchester man. Yet, after all, but one native of Manchester has ever
held the office of governor of New Hampshire. What is far more
remarkable is the fact, that of twenty men who have been chosen mayor of
Manchester, one alone was born within its limits. He and Manchester's
only native born governor are one and the same,--the subject of this
sketch,--a man who, from the work he has accomplished, as well as from
the distinction he has received at the hands of his fellow-citizens, has
long been accorded a conspicuous position among the representative men
of his city and state.
JAMES ADAMS WESTON was born in Manchester, August 27, 1827. He is a
descendant of the seventh generation from John Weston, of
Buckinghamshire, England, who aided in establishing the colony at
Weymouth (then Wiscasset), Mass., where he went into mercantile
business, being among the first to engage in the colonial trade.
Returning to England a few years subsequently, he suddenly died there;
but in 1644, John Weston, a young son of the deceased, made his way to
America, where he joined some of his kindred who had emigrated in the
mean time. He finally settled in Reading, Mass., and was the progenitor
of the family of which James A. Weston is a representative.[1]
In 1803, Amos Weston, a descendant of John, removed from Reading, with
his family, and settled in Manchester, then Derryfield. He was a farmer
by occupation, and located in the southeastern part of the town. This
Amos Weston was a man of character and influence, and was a member of
the committee, chosen in March, 1810, to petition the legislature to
change the name of Derryfield to Manchester. A son of the above, Amos
Weston, Jr., removed with his parents to Derryfield, and located upon
land adjoining that of his father, clearing up from the wilderness the
farm since well known in Manchester as the "Weston place." He married
Betsy, a daughter of Col. Robert Wilson, of Londonderry, a leading
citizen of the town, whose father, James Wilson, came from Londonderry,
Ireland, more than one hundred and fifty years ago, and settled at the
place now known as Wilson's Crossing. Amos Weston, Jr., was a man of
strong mind and sound judgment, and was much in the public service. He
officiated as town clerk five years; as selectman, fifteen years, being
eleven years chairman of the board; was three times the representative
from Manchester in the legislature; and a member of the constitutional
convention of 1850. From his union with Betsy Wilson--an estimable and
exemplary woman--five children resulted. Of these, the youngest, James
A. Weston, is the sole survivor.
Like most sons of New Hampshire farmers, Mr. Weston passed a
considerable portion of his time in youth in tilling the soil; but
secured a substantial education at the district school and the
Manchester and Piscataquog academies. With a strong aptitude for
mathematics, he soon determined to apply himself to the study of civil
engineering, with a view to making that his avocation in life, teaching
school winters in the meantime. So rapidly did he prepare himself for
his chosen occupation that at the age of nineteen years he was appointed
assistant civil engineer of the Concord Railroad, and immediately (in
1846) commenced work in superintending the laying of the second track of
that road. In 1849 he was promoted to the position of chief engineer,
which he held for a long series of years. For several years, also, he
discharged the duties of road master and master of transportation of the
Concord and Manchester & Lawrence railroads. As chief engineer of the
Concord & Portsmouth Railroad, he superintended the construction of a
considerable portion of the line, as he subsequently did that of the
Suncook Valley Railroad. As a civil engineer, he occupies a place in the
front rank in his profession in New England; and his services have been
in demand far beyond his ability to respond, in making surveys for
proposed railways, water-works, etc. Prominent among the public works
with which he has been connected in this capacity, may be mentioned the
Concord water-works, supplying the capital city with water from Penacook
lake, for which he made the survey, and whose construction he
superintended.
In his political convictions and associations, Mr. Weston has been a
Democrat from youth. Never a machine politician, or even a zealous
partisan, though a devoted supporter of the principles and policy of his
party, he has won and held the personal respect of both friends and
opponents in political affairs; so that, when a candidate for public
office (which he has never been except at the urgent solicitation of
those who regarded his candidacy essential to party success), he has
never failed of strong popular support, measurably exceeding that of his
party strength alone. In 1861 he was persuaded to accept the Democratic
nomination for mayor of the city. Previous to this time Manchester had
almost universally been regarded as a Republican or Whig city. The year
previous to Mr. Weston's nomination the Republican candidate had been
elected by nearly four hundred and fifty majority. He was defeated,
however, by a majority of about two hundred and fifty; while the
following year he came within eighteen votes of defeating the opposing
candidate, ex-Mayor Theodore T. Abbot, who received on a former occasion
a larger vote than had ever been cast for any other candidate.
Again, in 1867, Mr. Weston was pressed into service by his party
associates in the city, as a mayoralty candidate against Hon. Joseph B.
Clark, then mayor, and Republican candidate for re-election. This
canvass resulted in his election by a majority of two hundred and
seventy-two, and by a larger vote than had ever been received by any
previous candidate except that for Mayor Abbot, in 1855. At the next
election the Republicans made a strong and determined effort to regain
their ascendency in the city; but, although they had carried the city
for Gen. Grant for president, at the election but a few weeks previous,
by about six hundred majority, the ward returns at the municipal
election gave Mayor Weston a majority of seven votes over his Republican
opponent, Hon. Isaac W. Smith. The "revising" process was resorted to,
however, and the latter declared elected by twenty-three majority. In
1869, Mr. Weston defeated Mayor Smith by a good majority, and was
re-elected the following year.
Naturally enough, Mayor Weston's remarkable success as the
standard-bearer of his party in the city of Manchester, and the
increased popularity he had secured by wise and efficient
administration of municipal affairs in that large and prosperous
community, suggested him to the Democracy of the state at large as a
most fit and available candidate for the gubernatorial nomination; and
at the state convention, in January, 1871, he was made the nominee of
the party for governor. The election resulted in no choice of governor
by the people, though Mr. Weston received a decided plurality of the
votes cast, and was chosen governor by the legislature in June
following,--the Republicans thus losing control of the state government
for the first time since their advent to power in 1855. Determined to
retrieve their fallen fortunes, the Republican leaders, in 1872, brought
to the front, as their standard-bearer and gubernatorial nominee, Hon.
Ezekiel A. Straw, agent of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, a man of
great resources and unparalleled influence in manufacturing circles, not
only in Manchester, but throughout the state. His defeat of Gov. Weston
in the following canvass was a matter of no surprise to either party;
and his re-election the subsequent year naturally resulted. The
Democracy, however, insisted on continuing Mr. Weston as their
candidate; and in 1874 he secured a handsome plurality, and was again
elected governor by the legislature. In December previous he had
received the unusual distinction of a fourth election as mayor of his
city, being chosen by a majority much larger than he had ever before
received, reaching some six hundred votes. Although there was great
partisan excitement in the state during Mr. Weston's second
administration, his official integrity and thorough devotion to the
welfare of the state were conceded even by his most determined political
opponents; and no man holds in fuller measure the respect and esteem of
the people, regardless of party, than does James A. Weston, the only
living Democrat who ever occupied that position.
In the prosperity of his native city, in every material direction, Mr.
Weston has manifested a deep and abiding interest, and no man has
labored more zealously or efficiently for the promotion thereof. In
illustration may be cited the fact that to his efforts, individual and
official, more than those of any other man, the city is indebted for the
projection and completion of its superior water-works, by which an ample
supply of pure water is secured from Lake Massabesic. Various sources of
supply had long been considered, but he had been, from the first, an
advocate of the Massabesic project, and his influence had done much to
secure its favorable consideration. In 1871, while mayor of the city, he
had the satisfaction of seeing definite action determined upon in that
direction. Having been actively engaged in securing the necessary
legislation, and becoming ex officio a member of the board of
commissioners established to carry out the work, he devoted his efforts
heartily to its inauguration, and no day of his life, probably, ever
brought him more sincere gratification than that which witnessed the
completion of this important work,--a source of daily blessing to the
people of his city, and of just pride to those under whose advice and
direction it was projected and executed, among whom he is properly
regarded most prominent. He is still a member of the board of water
commissioners; is chairman of the board of trustees of the Manchester
cemetery fund, a member of the committee on cemeteries, and has long
served as its clerk and treasurer.
Gov. Weston served as chairman of the New Hampshire centennial
commission, was appointed by congress a member of the centennial board
of finance, and his efforts contributed largely to the excellence of the
New Hampshire exhibit and the general success of the exposition. He also
served as chairman of the building committee of the Manchester soldiers'
monument, and has recently been appointed a member of the state board of
health, established under the act of the last legislature.
With all his public and professional work, Gov. Weston has been for
several years actively and prominently connected with important business
interests. He was for some time one of the trustees of the Amoskeag
Savings Bank, and some three years since was chosen president of the
City National Bank, which was changed to the Merchants National Bank in
October, 1880, at whose head he still remains. He was also the prime
mover in the organization of the Guaranty Savings Bank of Manchester,
which commenced business in December, 1879, of which he is clerk and
treasurer, as well as one of the trustees. This institution, under his
administration, has been almost unprecedentedly prosperous, and is one
of the most solid financial establishments in the city and state. He is
treasurer of the Suncook Valley Railroad, and a director and clerk of
the Manchester horse railroad, a corporation in whose establishment he
was actively engaged. He has been chairman of the finance committee of
the New Hampshire Fire Insurance Company from its organization until the
present time; vice-president also until the resignation of the
presidency by Gov. Straw, in January, 1880, since when he has been
president. This flourishing corporation--the only one of the kind in the
state, whose capital stock is about to be increased to half a million
dollars, and which already ranks with the most prosperous in the
country--owes its success, in no small degree, to Gov. Weston's sound
judgment and careful management. When, in August, 1880, after protracted
litigation, the supreme court appointed trustees for the bondholders of
the Manchester & Keene Railroad, who assumed control of the road, Gov.
Weston was selected as chairman of the board by which the road has since
been operated.
In 1871, Gov. Weston received from Dartmouth College the honorary degree
of Master of Arts. He has long been a member of the Masonic order, has
taken all the degrees conferred in the Manchester bodies, and is now
serving his eighteenth term as treasurer of Trinity Commandry, Knights
Templar. For ten years past he has been a member of the well known
military organization, the Amoskeag Veterans. His religious associations
are with the Franklin-street Congregational church, of which society he
has long been an active member and treasurer. His residence has been in
his native city from his birth until the present time, with the
exception of seven years at Concord, from 1849 to 1856.
February 23, 1854, he married Anna S., daughter of Mitchel Gilmore,
Esq., of Concord, a cultivated lady of strong domestic tastes, by whom
he has an interesting family of five surviving children,--the eldest
born, a son (Herman), having died at the age of four and a half
years,--Grace Helen, born July 1, 1860; James Henry, July 17, 1868;
Edwin Bell, March 15, 1871; Annie Mabel, September 26, 1870; Charles
Albert, November 1, 1878. Their home, at the corner of Maple and Myrtle
streets, is a spacious yet modest and tasty dwelling, the abode of
domestic comfort and social enjoyment.
Other men in New Hampshire have attained greater wealth and more varied
public honors; but when all the elements of substantial success are
considered, there are none, certainly, who outrank the subject of this
sketch. Cautious, sagacious, and methodical; with a well balanced mind,
and executive ability of a high order; scrupulously exact in the
performance of every duty and the discharge of every trust, public or
private; uniformly courteous in his intercourse with others, and mindful
of every obligation to society and humanity,--the ample measure of
success he has attained, and the general esteem in which he is held, are
but the legitimate outcome of his life and conduct.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A genealogy of the Weston families in America, prepared under the
direction and patronage of Gov. Weston, is nearly ready for publication.
[Illustration: John Kimball]
HON. JOHN KIMBALL.
BY J. N. McCLINTOCK.
A stranger in Concord is at first most impressed by its natural
beauties, enhanced by the foresight of the fathers of the town. Nature
and art are rarely combined. Beautiful shade trees are on every hand, as
they are in many other of the favored cities of the Union. Concord is
distinctively attractive in its perfection. The roads and streets are
carefully graded; the bridges are substantial and elegant structures;
the system of water supply, gas-works, and sewers, unseen, is excellent
and complete; the school-houses are appropriate and ornamental; the
private and public buildings are well built and neatly maintained; the
fire department is exceptionally fine; the property of the city is
discretely acquired, and well cared for; the policy of the city is at
once progressive and liberal.
To no one man can be given the credit of accomplishing all these
satisfactory results; they are the fruits of unity of purpose of the
many, guided by a large, public-spirited policy dictated by a few. To no
one, however, is the city of Concord more indebted for its material
advancement and internal improvement, during the first quarter century
of its municipal existence, than to its esteemed citizen, Hon. JOHN
KIMBALL. The name is a household word in Concord. It conveys a meaning
to the present generation peculiar to itself. It is the name of a man
who, springing from the sturdy yeoman and artisan stock,--from the
people,--has won his way, by tireless industry, unblemished integrity,
sterling honesty, and sound good sense, to positions of responsibility
and prominence.
* * * * *
The Kimball family is one of the oldest in New England. It sprang from
1. Richard Kimball, who, with his wife, Ursula, and seven children, left
their home in the mother country, braved the dangers of a stormy ocean,
landed on the inhospitable shores of an unbroken wilderness, and
commenced a new life, deprived of the comforts and luxuries of
civilization, but blessed with political and religious liberty. He came
from the old town of Ipswich, county of Suffolk, in the east of England,
sailed on the ship "Elizabeth," and in the year 1634, at the age of
thirty-nine, settled in Ipswich, in the Bay colony. The next year he was
admitted a freeman, which must be accepted as evidence that he was a
Puritan in good standing. He was the father of eleven children, and died
June 22, 1675. From this patriarchal family most of the Kimballs of New
England can trace their descent.
2. Richard Kimball, son of Richard and Ursula (Scott) Kimball, was born
in England, in 1623, and was brought to this country by his parents, in
childhood. He was a wheelwright by trade; married Mary Gott; was the
father of eight children; settled in Wenham, Mass., as early as 1656,
and died there May 20, 1676. The mother of his children died September
2, 1672.
3. Caleb Kimball, son of Richard and Mary (Gott) Kimball, was born in
Wenham, April 9, 1665. He was a mason by trade; was the father of eight
children; settled for a time at Exeter, N. H., and died in Wenham,
January 25, 1725. His widow died in Wenham, January 20, 1731.
4. John Kimball, son of Caleb and Sarah Kimball, was born in Wenham,
Mass., December 20, 1699. He settled on the land purchased by his father
in Exeter, N. H., and married Abigail Lyford, February 14, 1722. She was
the mother of six children, and died in Exeter, February 12, 1737. He
afterwards married Sarah Wilson, of Exeter, September 18, 1740. They
were the parents of nine children. The fifteen children of John Kimball
were all born in Exeter.
5. Joseph Kimball, son of John and Abigail (Lyford) Kimball, was born in
Exeter, January 29, 1730. In early life he married, and was the father
of two children, but was left a childless widower in a few years. He
afterwards married Sarah Smith. They were the parents of nine children.
In 1793 he removed to Canterbury, and settled on a farm just north of
Shaker Village. In early life he was stricken with blindness, and never
looked upon the town of Canterbury, and never saw six of his children.
He died November 6, 1814. His wife died March 1, 1808.
6. John Kimball, son of Joseph and Sarah (Smith) Kimball, was born in
Exeter, November 20, 1767; married Sarah, daughter of Benjamin Moulton,
of Kensington, November 21, 1793; moved to Canterbury, February 17,
1794, and settled on their homestead near Shaker Village, where they
resided nearly sixty years. They were the parents of nine children. His
wife died April 30, 1853. He died February 26, 1861, reaching the good
old age of more than ninety-three years. He was well known throughout
central New Hampshire, and did a large business in buying wool.
7. Benjamin Kimball, son of John and Sarah (Moulton) Kimball, was born
in Canterbury, December 27, 1794; married Ruth Ames, daughter of David
Ames, February 1, 1820, and settled in Boscawen in the spring of 1824,
on the farm known as the Frost place, High street. In 1830 he removed to
the village of Fisherville, where he died July 21, 1834. He was an
active and influential business man. In 1831 he erected the dam across
the Contoocook river, and the brick grist-mills standing near the stone
factory. He took an active part in all that was essential to the general
and religious welfare of the town. In March preceding his death he was
elected to represent the town in the legislature, but his health was so
impaired that he was not able to take his seat.
8. JOHN KIMBALL, the subject of this sketch, the son of Benjamin and
Ruth (Ames) Kimball, was born in Canterbury, April 13, 1821. In infancy
he was taken by his parents to Boscawen, where in early youth he had the
educational advantages which the district schools of the town afforded.
He enjoyed the privilege of attending the Concord Academy only one year,
after which he was apprenticed with a relative to learn the trade of
constructing mills and machinery. On attaining his majority, in 1842,
his first work was to rebuild the grist-mill near Boscawen Plain.
Afterward he followed the same business in Suncook, Manchester, Lowell,
and Lawrence. In 1848 he was employed by the directors of the Concord
Railroad to take charge of the new machine and car shops then building
at Concord. He was appointed master mechanic of the Concord Railroad in
1850, and retained the position eight years, when he relinquished
mechanical labor for other pursuits. As a mechanic, Mr. Kimball
inherited a great natural aptitude, and has few superiors. His sound
judgment and skill were in constant requisition in the responsible
office in the railroad service he held for so many years; and the
experience and training there acquired have been of great value to the
city and state when his services have been demanded by his
fellow-citizens.
In 1856, Mr. Kimball was elected to the common council of the city of
Concord. In 1857 he was re-elected, and was chosen president of that
body. In 1858 he was elected a member of the state legislature; and was
re-elected in 1859, serving as chairman of the committee on
state-prison. From the year 1859 to the year 1862, Mr. Kimball served
the city of Concord as collector of taxes and city marshal. In 1862 he
was appointed, by President Lincoln, collector of internal revenue for
the second district of New Hampshire, including the counties of
Merrimack and Hillsborough, and held the office for seven years,
collecting and paying over to the treasurer of the United States nearly
seven millions of dollars.
In 1872, Mr. Kimball was elected mayor of Concord, and was re-elected to
this honorable and responsible office in 1873, 1874, and 1875.
Immediately after Mr. Kimball assumed the duties of this office a severe
freshet either carried away or rendered impassable five of the seven
bridges spanning the Merrimack and Contoocook rivers. The work of
rebuilding these structures devolved immediately upon him, as
superintendent of roads and bridges. The Federal bridge and the bridge
at Fisherville, both of iron, are monuments of his progressive ideas.
During his administration the system of water supply from Long pond was
carried on to successful completion, and the purest of water has since
been at the command of every citizen. This work required a large sum of
money, which was so carefully expended that no one has felt the burden
save as a blessing. The fire department was invested with new dignity by
the city government during those years. The firemen had their demands
for appropriate buildings fully satisfied, and are proud, as is the
whole city, of the beautiful central fire station and other buildings of
the department, which compare favorably with any in the country.
Aside from his mechanical skill, Mr. Kimball long since won the enviable
reputation of an able and successful financier. In 1870, upon the
organization of the Merrimack County Savings Bank, he was elected its
treasurer, and has held the office ever since. To him, for many years,
have been intrusted the settlement of estates, the management of trust
funds, and the care of the property of widows and orphans. As treasurer
of the New Hampshire Bible Society and Orphans' Home, he has given to
those institutions the benefit of his financial experience.
For the benefit of the city of Concord, the mechanical skill and
financial ability of Mr. Kimball were fully exercised. During his term
of office as mayor he was one of the water commissioners, _ex officio_,
and president of the board in 1875. He was subsequently appointed a
water commissioner, in 1877, for a term of three years; re-appointed in
1880, and has been president of the board since his first appointment.
Upon the death of Hon. Nathaniel White, Mr. Kimball was elected
president of the Concord Gas-Light Company, having held the office of
director for several years. What little credit is due a member of the
constitutional convention of 1876 is his. He represented the fifth ward
in Concord, and served the convention acceptably as chairman of its
finance committee.
The demand for a new state-prison, in union with the philanthropic ideas
of the age, culminated, in the year 1877, in an act of the legislature
providing for a new state-prison, and granting for the purpose a very
moderate appropriation, hedged in by every possible safeguard. The
governor, Benjamin F. Prescott, with the advice of his council,
immediately upon the passage of the law appointed three commissioners to
carry into effect the provisions of the act. Mr. Kimball was chosen
chairman of the board. Upon these commissioners has devolved the duty of
constructing the massive pile of buildings known as the new
state-prison, commodious for the officers, humane and comfortable for
the inmates, acceptable to the authorities and the people, and within
the limits of the appropriation. In the autumn of 1880 the structure was
appropriately dedicated to its future uses, by fitting ceremony. Col.
John H. George, of Concord, delivered the address, and in closing
said:--
"It is a matter of further and warm congratulation that its
erection has been intrusted to a competent commission; that good
judgment and intelligent investigation have characterized the
plan; that no corrupt jobbery has polluted its construction; and
that for every dollar expended a fair and honest result has been
obtained. And in this connection it is but just to say that the
fitness and labors of the chairman of the board especially
should receive public recognition. To the successful performance
of the duties of his office he brought unusual mechanical skill
and large experience in the construction of public works."
In 1880, when the Manchester & Keene Railroad was placed in the hands of
the court, Mr. Kimball was appointed, by Chief-Justice Doe, one of the
trustees. In November, 1880, Mr. Kimball was chosen a senator from
district number ten, and upon the organization of the legislature in
June, 1881, he was elected to the office of president of the senate, in
importance the second office in the state. As presiding officer, he is
dignified, courteous, and impartial. He carried to the position a fund
of information, a wealth of experience, controlled by sound judgment,
and strong convictions.
Politically, Mr. Kimball is a Republican. For fifteen years, since 1863,
he has been treasurer of the Republican state committee. With him right
takes precedence of policy. It takes no finesse to know on what side he
is to be found. In his dealings he is upright, has confidence in himself
and in his own judgment, and it is hard to swerve him. He is frank and
free in his general intercourse, bluff and often brusque in manner, but
never discourteous. He is a man of large and progressive views, and
actuated by the most conscientious motives. His character for integrity
is without blemish, and as firmly established as the granite hills.
In 1843 he joined the church at his old home in Boscawen, and ever since
has affiliated with the Congregationalists. For many years he has been a
member of the South Congregational church of Concord. He is eminently a
man of affairs,--of acts, not words. His reading is of a scientific
character, varied by genealogical and historical research.
In person, Mr. Kimball is of commanding presence and muscular figure,
inclined to be spare, but of apparently great physical powers. In
private life he is a devoted friend, a kind neighbor, an esteemed
citizen, and a charitable, tolerant, self-reliant man.
In early manhood, May 27, 1846, Mr. Kimball was joined in marriage to
Maria H. Phillips, of Rupert, Vermont. Their only child, Clara Maria
Kimball, born March 20, 1848, was married June 4, 1873, to Augustine R.
Ayers, a successful merchant of Concord. Five children--Ruth Ames, John
Kimball, Helen McGregor, Joseph Sherburne,[2] and Josiah Phillips--have
been born to them.
FOOTNOTES:
[2] Deceased.
[Illustration: J. E. Sargent]
JONATHAN EVERETT SARGENT, LL.D
by J. N. McCLINTOCK.
JUDGE SARGENT, now of Concord, has been well known throughout the state
for more than a quarter of a century. Besides an extensive legislative
acquaintance, he has, as judge of the different courts and as
chief-justice of the state, held terms of court in every shire town and
half-shire town in every county in the state. He has been emphatically
the architect of his own fortune, and by his energy and perseverance has
reached the highest post of honor in his profession in his native state.
He is genial and social with his friends; he loves a joke, and belongs
to that small class of men "who never grow old." He loves his home, his
family, and his books. No man enjoys the study of history and of poetry,
of philosophy and of fiction, better than he, while law and theology
come in for a share of attention,--a kind neighbor, a respected citizen,
a ripe scholar, a wise legislator, an upright judge, an honest man.
In the year 1781, Peter Sargent, the grandfather of the subject of this
sketch, moved from Hopkinton. N. H., to New London, at that time equally
well known as Heidleburg. This locality had been known by this latter
name for nearly a quarter of a century. It was granted by the Masonian
proprietors, July 7, 1773, to Jonas Minot and others, as the "Addition
of Alexandria." It was first settled in 1775, and was incorporated as a
town by the legislature, June 25, 1779. Peter Sargent, who thus moved
into the town two years after its incorporation, was one of ten
brothers, all born in Amesbury, Mass., who settled as follows: Amasa,
Ezekiel, Thomas, and Moses always lived at Amesbury; James settled in
Methuen, Mass.; Peter, Nathan, and Stephen came to Hopkinton, N. H., and
settled there; and Abner and Ebenezer came to Warner, N. H., and settled
there. These ten brothers, with four sisters, were the children of
Deacon Stephen Sargent, of Amesbury, Mass.
[Christopher Sargent, an older brother of Deacon Stephen, graduated at
Harvard, entered the ministry, and was the first settled minister of
Methuen, Mass. His eldest son, Nathaniel Peaslee Sargent, graduated at
Harvard, practiced law at Haverhill, and was for many years a judge of
the supreme judicial court of Massachusetts, and was chief justice of
the state in 1790 and 1791, when he died aged sixty.]
Deacon Stephen Sargent was the son of Thomas, 2d, who was the son of
Thomas, 1st, who was the son of William Sargent. Stephen married Judith
Ordway, of West Newbury, Mass., September 26, 1730; was chosen deacon of
the Second Congregational church in Amesbury, May 10, 1757; and died
October 2, 1773.
William Sargent was born in England about 1602, and was the son of
Richard Sargent, an officer in the royal navy. It is believed he came to
Virginia at an early day, with William Barnes, John Hoyt, and others. He
married Judith Perkins for his first wife, who died about 1633, when he,
with several daughters, was one of the twelve men who commenced the
settlement of Ipswich, Mass., that year. He soon after went to Newbury
and helped form a settlement there; and about 1638 he, with several
others, commenced a settlement at Hampton. He soon after, about 1640,
removed to Salisbury, and was one of the eighteen original proprietors,
or commoners, who settled in New Salisbury, since known as Amesbury. His
second wife's name was Elizabeth, by whom he had two sons, Thomas and
William. He had several lots of land assigned him at different times;
was one of the selectmen of the town in 1667. He died in 1675, aged
seventy-three.
Peter Sargent married Ruth Nichols, of Amesbury or Newbury, Mass., and
came to Hopkinton, N. H., in 1763 or 1764, where they lived some
eighteen years, and raised a large family, and when he went to New
London took them all with him. His children were Anthony, Abigail, Ruth,
Judith, Peter, Ebenezer, Amasa, John, Molly, Ezekiel, Stephen, William,
and Lois. These all came from Hopkinton to New London in 1781, except
Lois, who was born subsequently in New London.
Ebenezer, the father of the judge, was born in Hopkinton, April 3, 1768,
and was, of course, thirteen years old when he came to New London with
his father's family. After becoming of age he procured him a farm, and,
on the 25th of November, 1792, he married Prudence Chase, of Wendell
(now Sunapee), the daughter of John and Ruth (Hills) Chase. They had ten
children, as follows: Anna, Rebekah, Ruth, Seth Freeman, Aaron Lealand,
Sylvanus Thayer, Lois, Laura, Jonathan Kittredge, and Jonathan Everett.
Jonathan Kittredge died young, the other nine lived to mature age, and
five of them, three sons and two daughters, still survive. The parents
always lived upon a farm, securing what was then considered as a
competence, and both died in New London, having lived together more than
sixty-five years.
The following, then, is the order of descent:--
1. Richard Sargent, of England.
2. William, son of Richard, born in 1602.
3. Thomas, son of William, born in April, 1643.
4. Thomas, Jr., son of Thomas, born in November, 1676.
5. Stephen, son of Thomas. Jr., born in September, 1710.
6. Peter, son of Stephen, born about 1740.
7. Ebenezer, son of Peter, born in April, 1768.
8. JONATHAN EVERETT SARGENT, was born at New London, October 23, 1816.
He lived at home, working upon the farm until he was seventeen years of
age, and, being the youngest child, his father had arranged for him to
live at home and take care of his parents, and have the farm at their
decease. The son, however, had little love for the farm, and, as soon as
the care and support of his parents could be provided for in another
way, he arranged with his father that he was to have the remaining four
years of his time till twenty-one, was to clothe himself, and pay his
own bills, and call for nothing more from his father. He fitted for
college at Hopkinton Academy, and at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, and
in 1836 entered Dartmouth College, having paid his way by teaching
school winters and laboring in vacations. By teaching school every
winter and two fall terms in Canaan Academy during his college course,
he earned enough to pay all his expenses in college with the exception
of $200, which he borrowed of his father, and repaid the same, with
interest, within two years. Though out of college two terms, besides
winters in teaching, and another term on account of sickness, yet he was
always ready at each examination to be examined with his class. He was
elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, and graduated, in 1840,
among the first in his class.
Mr. Sargent had long before this made up his mind to turn his attention
to the law as a profession, and he accordingly began the study of the
law at once with Hon. William P. Weeks, of Canaan, and remained with him
till the spring of 1841, when he was advised by his physician to go
South for his health. He went first to Washington, soon after to
Alexandria, D. C., where he taught a high school, then to Maryland,
where he remained a year in a family school, when, having regained his
health, he returned to New Hampshire in September, 1842. He had, upon
his arrival in Washington, entered his name as a law student in the
office of Hon. David A. Hall of that city, and continued the study of
the law under his direction, while engaged in teaching, and he was
admitted to the bar in the courts of the District of Columbia in April,
1842, only about twenty months after leaving college. By the rule of
that court any one might be admitted upon examination, without regard to
the length of time he had studied; and he was examined in open court by
Chief-Justice Cranch and his associates upon the bench, and was
admitted.
After returning home, he continued his legal studies with Mr. Weeks
until the July law term, in Sullivan county, in 1843, when he was
admitted to the bar in the superior court of judicature in this state.
He then went into company with Mr. Weeks at Canaan, where he remained
till 1847, when he removed to Wentworth and opened an office there. He
had been appointed solicitor for Grafton county in November, 1844, while
at Canaan, and he at once commenced a lucrative business at Wentworth;
was re-appointed solicitor in 1849 for five years more, thus holding the
office for ten years, to 1854, performing the duties to the entire
acceptance of the county and the people. He declined a re-appointment.
In 1851 he was first elected a member of the legislature from Wentworth,
and served as chairman of the committee on incorporations. The next year
he was re-elected, and was made chairman of the judiciary committee; and
in 1853 he was again a member, and was nominated with great unanimity
and elected speaker of the house of representatives. He served with
ability and impartiality and to the general acceptance of the members.
The next winter a new man was to be selected as a candidate for senator
in his district, and he was nominated, and was elected in March, in a
close district, by about three hundred majority. He was elected
president of the senate in 1854. He was renominated in the spring of
1855, but the Know-Nothing movement that year carried everything before
it, and he was defeated, with nearly all the other Democratic nominees
in the state.
On April 2, 1855, he was appointed a circuit justice of the court of
common pleas for the state. But in June of that year the old courts were
abolished, mainly upon political grounds, and new ones organized, and
new judges appointed. Judge Sargent received a request from Gov. Metcalf
that he would accept the second place on the bench of the new court of
common pleas. This offer had not been expected, but upon consultation
with friends it was accepted, and Judge Sargent was appointed an
associate justice of the court of common pleas. He acted as judge of the
new court of common pleas for four years, until 1859, when, by a statute
of that year, that court was abolished, and one new judge was to be
added to the supreme judicial court, making the number of supreme judges
six instead of five, as before. Judge Sargent was immediately appointed
to that place on the supreme bench. He was then the youngest member of
the court in age, as well as in the date of his commission. He remained
upon the bench of that court just fifteen years, from 1859 to 1874. In
March, 1873, upon the death of Chief-Justice Bellows, Judge Sargent was
appointed chief-justice of the state, which place he held until August,
1874, when the court was again overturned to make room for the
appointees of the prevailing political party. Chief-Justice Sargent, at
the time of his appointment as chief-justice, had become the oldest
judge upon the bench, both in age and date of commission. His written
opinions are contained in the sixteen volumes of the New Hampshire
Reports, from the 39th to the 54th, inclusive, numbering about three
hundred in all. Many of these are leading opinions upon various
subjects, and show great learning and research.
After the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and the attempt to make
Kansas a slave state, Judge Sargent acted with the Republican party.
Upon leaving the bench, in August, 1874, he was solicited to go into the
practice of the law in Concord with William M. Chase, Esq., whose late
partner, the Hon. Anson S. Marshall, had recently been suddenly removed
by death. Judge Sargent accepted this offer, and thus at once stepped
into an extensive and lucrative practice. This arrangement was made for
five years.
In 1876 he was elected a member of the constitutional convention of this
state. In this convention he acted a prominent part. He was made
chairman of the judiciary committee, the same place held by Judge Levi
Woodbury in the convention of 1850. He took an active part in the
debates and discussions of that body, and wielded an influence probably
second to no one in the convention. He was also elected, by his ward in
Concord, a member of the house of representatives for the years 1877 and
1878.
Early in 1877 steps were taken for a revision of the statutes, and Judge
Sargent was appointed chairman of a committee, with Hon. L. W. Barton of
Newport, and Judge J. S. Wiggin of Exeter, to revise and codify the
statutes of the state. Their work was completed and the statutes enacted
by the legislature, to take effect the first of January, 1879. The
volume was prepared and printed by the committee before the day
appointed. It is the largest volume of statutes ever printed in the
state, and it is believed not to be inferior to any other in any
important particular.
In the fall of 1878, Judge Sargent was invited by a committee of the
citizens of New London to prepare a centennial address, to be delivered
on the one hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town. He at
once accepted the invitation and set about the work, and on the 25th day
of June, 1879, he delivered his address, and the occasion was
distinguished by a larger collection of people, probably, than ever met
in the town upon any former occasion. The address was published in the
_Granite Monthly_, in the numbers for July, August, and September, 1879,
and has been favorably noticed as a work of great labor and research.
Dartmouth College conferred on him the degree of Master of Arts, in
course, three years after graduation; also, the honorary degree of
Doctor of Laws, at its centennial commencement, in 1869. In compliance
with a request from a committee of the trustees, he prepared and
delivered at the commencement of 1880 at Dartmouth College a memorial
address upon the late Hon. Joel Parker, formerly chief-justice of this
state and afterwards professor of law in Harvard College. This duty
Judge Sargent performed in a manner creditable to himself and
satisfactory to the friends of the late Judge Parker. His address has
been printed with other similar addresses in memory of other deceased
judges, graduates of Dartmouth, by other distinguished sons of the
college.
In 1864 he was elected grand master of the Grand Lodge of Free and
Accepted Masons for the state of New Hampshire, and was re-elected the
next year. After this he declined a re-election. He has for many years
been an active member of the New Hampshire Historical Society, and for
the last five or six years has been one of its vice-presidents. For some
years past he has been connected with the National State Capital Bank as
one of its directors. The Loan and Trust Savings Bank at Concord
commenced business August 1, 1872, and in the nine years since then its
deposits have increased to over a million and a quarter of dollars.
Judge Sargent has been president of this bank, and one of its investment
committee since its commencement, and has given his personal attention
to its affairs. In 1876 the New Hampshire Centennial Home for the Aged
was organized and incorporated, and January 1, 1879, a home was opened
in Concord. Judge Sargent has been president of this institution four
years, and has taken a deep interest in its prosperity and success.
About the 1st of September, 1879, at the end of five years from the
commencement of his partnership in business, he retired from the
practice of law. Since he commenced the practice of the law, in 1843,
his residence has been as follows: In Canaan four years, to 1847; in
Wentworth twenty-two years, to 1869; and in Concord since. The judge has
acquired a competency, has one of the finest residences in the city, and
is enjoying life with his friends and his books.
Judge Sargent married, first, Maria C. Jones, of Enfield, daughter of
John Jones, Esq., November 29, 1843, by whom he had two children. John
Jones Sargent, the elder, graduated at Dartmouth College in 1866, and
died in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, October 3, 1870, just as he was ready to
commence the practice of the law. The second, Everett Foster, died
young. For his second wife, he married Louisa Jennie Paige, daughter of
Dea. James K. Paige, of Wentworth, September 5, 1853, by whom he has had
three children,--Maria Louise, Annie Lawrie, and George Lincoln. The
second died young; the eldest and youngest survive.
Judge Sargent is a leading member of the South Congregational church in
Concord, and, while decided in his own opinions, he is liberal and
tolerant in judging of the faith, and charitable in judging of the
conduct, of others. As a lawyer, he was always faithful and true to his
clients, a wise counselor and an able advocate. As a legislator, he has
been conservative and safe. As a judge, he always studied to get at the
right of the case, to hold the scales of justice evenly, to rule the law
plainly, and to get the questions of fact, and the evidence as it bore
upon them, clearly and distinctly before the jury. Any one who attended
the courts where he presided as a judge could see at once that he was
patient and painstaking, industrious and persevering, vigilant and
discriminating, impartial and fearless; and any one who reads his
written opinions will see that they exhibit great research, learning,
and ability.
JOHN HATCH GEORGE.
BY H. H. METCALF.
The man who makes his way to the front rank at the bar and in politics,
and holds his position without dispute for more than a quarter of a
century, must be a person of ability, energy, and sagacity. Especially
is this true in New Hampshire, which, from the earliest period of our
national history, has produced some of the ablest lawyers and the
keenest politicians known to the country. Such a man is Col. JOHN HATCH
GEORGE, of Concord, whose name has long been a household word at every
Democratic fireside in the state, and whose eminent legal position is
recognized throughout New England.
Born in Concord, where he has ever since resided, November 20, 1824,
Col. George is now fifty-seven years of age. His parents were John and
Mary (Hatch) George, the former a prominent, respected, and energetic
citizen, who, though a native of Hopkinton, located in Concord in early
manhood; the latter, a daughter of Samuel Hatch, a leading citizen of
the town of Greenland, among whose grandchildren are included the Hon.
Albert R. Hatch and John S. H. Frink, Esq., both also known as eminent
lawyers and leading Democrats.
Gaining his preliminary education in the excellent public schools of his
native town and in the old Concord Academy, Col. George entered
Dartmouth College in 1840, being then fifteen years of age, where he
diligently pursued his studies for about three years, until the death of
his father compelled his return home and the non-completion of his
college course. The faculty subsequently conferred upon him his
graduating degree, which was followed by that of Master of Arts. Among
his classmates at Dartmouth were several who became prominent at the bar
and in public life, including the late Hon. Harvey Jewell, and Hons. A.
A. Ranney and Horatio G. Parker, of Boston, and the present governor of
this state, Hon. Charles H. Bell.
If young George was unfortunate in the loss of his father, and in the
failure to complete the college course consequent thereon, he was
especially fortunate in being favored with the kindly regard of that
brilliant son of New Hampshire, Gen. Franklin Pierce, who, as a friend
of the family, had become conversant with his qualities and
characteristics, and readily discerned the line of action best
calculated for the development and successful exercise of his powers.
Fortunate as he was, however, in the enjoyment of the friendship of Gen.
Pierce at this time, it may safely be assumed that he never would have
been the recipient of such favor had he not given evidence of the
possession of abilities above the common order. The really great lawyer
has a lofty regard for his profession, and will never be found
influencing any one to enter upon its pursuit who is not likely to honor
the profession and bring credit to himself. When, therefore, upon the
invitation of Gen. Pierce, young George entered upon the study of the
law in the office of the former,--as he did soon after leaving college,
and at the time when that distinguished man was in active practice,--it
was under circumstances every way propitious to that ultimate success
creditable alike to each. During his three years of legal study under
such tutelage, he made that rapid progress which characterizes the
advance of the ambitious and enthusiastic young man, well equipped,
mentally and physically, for the work in hand, thoroughly in love
therewith, guided by wise counsel and inspired by brilliant example; and
when, in 1846, he was admitted to the bar, and entered upon the practice
of his profession in his native city, it was with unusual thoroughness
of preparation.
[Illustration: John H. George]
At the opening of his professional career, Col. George was again
particularly fortunate. Gen. Charles H. Peaslee had long ranked among
the most careful lawyers of the state, and had acquired an extensive
practice. He was a warm friend of Gen. Pierce, professionally and
politically, and, like him, an intimate friend of the George family.
Entering largely into public life, its engrossing duties withdrew his
attention more and more from professional engagements, rendering
desirable a partnership alliance with some active and competent young
man. Such alliance was offered to and promptly accepted by young George,
who thus auspiciously commenced his professional career.
The limits of this sketch will not permit a detailed account of the
progress and success of its subject; but it may be stated, that from his
entrance upon legal practice to the present time all his energies and
faculties have been heartily devoted to the labors and duties of his
profession, in whose performance he has won a high measure of fame, as
well as a fair amount of that substantial reward which the world largely
regards as the prime object of human effort. His connection with Gen.
Peaslee continued about five years, and was followed by a professional
alliance of a similar character with Sidney Webster, Esq., then a young
lawyer of fine abilities and brilliant promise, who has since become
distinguished in legal and diplomatic circles. This partnership
continued till Mr. Webster left Concord to become private secretary to
Gen. Pierce, upon the accession of the latter to the presidency in 1853.
Soon afterward, Col. George formed partnership relations with Hon.
William L. Foster, who subsequently became and long remained a judge of
the supreme court of the state, and with them Hon. Charles P. Sanborn
was also for a time associated. Since the recent resignation of Judge
Foster, his connection with Col. George has been resumed.
Not only in behalf of an extensive private clientage have the
professional services of Col. George been employed, but for many years,
also, in behalf of the public,--he having been appointed solicitor for
Merrimack county in 1849, and re-appointed in 1854, discharging the
duties of the office until 1856, when he was removed for partisan
reasons, the Republican party signalizing its ascendency by a clean
sweep of all Democratic officials. From 1853 to 1858, he was U. S.
attorney for the district of New Hampshire, appointed by President
Pierce.
There are, undoubtedly, many men at the bar, in this and other states,
as well grounded in legal principles as Col. George, and even more
familiar with the text-books, who have fallen far short of the success
he has attained. It is one thing to be able to state abstract legal
principles, and quite another correctly to apply those principles to the
facts in any given case. It has ever been the habit of Col. George, in
the conduct of a cause, to thoroughly familiarize himself with all the
facts and circumstances connected therewith. The mastery of the cause
itself leaves little difficulty in the determination of the law bearing
thereon, and is the strongest guaranty of success in its management
before a jury; and it is in the conduct of jury causes that Col. George
has won the greater measure of his success. Gifted with great perceptive
powers and a ready knowledge of men, and familiar as he ever is with the
cause in hand, in all its bearings, he is never taken at a disadvantage,
no matter how able or alert the opposing counsel. In handling witnesses,
and especially in cross-examination, he has shown unusual tact and
ability. He reads the mind of a witness almost intuitively, and
understands how to bring out the essential facts even from the most
reluctant, and to do so in the manner best calculated to make the
desired impression upon the minds of the jury. As an advocate, he is
equaled by few and excelled by none of our New Hampshire lawyers; yet
his power in this regard consists in the systematic, logical, and
intensely earnest presentation of all the facts which go to make up and
strengthen his cause, and to destroy or weaken that of his opponents,
rather than in the oratory which abounds in eloquently rounded periods
and impassioned appeals. In this connection may well be quoted the words
of one who, knowing Col. George from youth, has written of him as
follows:--
"Intense earnestness, and a faculty of an immediate and powerful
concentration of all his mental faculties on any subject which
interested him, were the predominant peculiarities of the early
manhood of Mr. George. When he came to the bar, he manifested a
power of felicitous language, and a largeness of vocabulary,
which were rarely to be seen even in the most practiced
speakers. He never prepared beforehand the words of his spoken
utterances, either at the bar, in the committee-room, or on the
stump. Whatever he could see and understand at all, he saw and
understood clearly. The strength of his feelings, the enormous
power and range of his vocabulary, added to this clearness of
vision, made mere verbal preparation unnecessary for him. His
speaking was made up of a clear perception of the turning-point
of his case, and then of pungent epigram, sparkling paradox,
rattling attack, vivid repartee, hearty humor, and, when
occasion called for, of a fearlessness of denunciation of what
he believed to be wrong or unjust or unfair, which made him,
even at the outset of his brilliant career, a dangerous
antagonist for the most practiced and powerful members of the
New Hampshire bar."
Though not retiring from general practice, Col. George has devoted his
attention largely to railroad law for many years past, having accepted,
in 1867, the position of solicitor for the Boston & Lowell Railroad, and
established an office in Boston for the transaction of business in
connection with that position. For nearly twenty years previous to that
date he had served as clerk and counsel of the Concord Railroad
corporation, and had already become familiar with the law of railways
and their general relations to the public. To-day there is no higher
living authority upon railroad law in New England than Col. George,--no
man who understands more thoroughly or can state more clearly the
respective rights, duties, and obligations of railroad corporations and
the people, in relation to each other, a general understanding of which
is becoming more and more essential to the fullest measure of our
national prosperity. His public addresses upon the subject, his
arguments before legislative committees, courts, and juries, are models
of clearness and cogency, admirable in construction and convincing in
effect.
Notwithstanding his uninterrupted devotion to the law, Col. George is no
less generally known in politics than at the bar. Well grounded in the
faith of the Democratic party in his youthful years, his intimate
association with Pierce, Peaslee, and other distinguished leaders of
that organization in his early manhood served to intensify his feelings
and convictions in that regard, so he has ever been a ready and zealous
exponent of Democratic principles and a champion of the Democratic
cause, contributing his services without stint in conventions, in
committee work, and upon the stump, doing able and brilliant service in
the latter direction in all parts of the state, and in almost every
campaign for the past thirty-five years. He long since came to be
regarded as one of the most powerful and effective political debaters in
the state. His efforts upon the stump are characterized by the same
earnestness, the same sledge-hammer logic, and the same comprehensive
array of facts, as at the bar. His mode of warfare, political as well
as legal, is of the Napoleonic order. He never assumes the defensive,
and if placed in such position by any combination of circumstances he
soon transforms it into one of active aggression.
From 1851 to 1853, inclusive, Col. George served as chairman of the
Democratic state committee, and again in 1856. In 1852 he was also
selected as the New Hampshire member of the Democratic national
committee, and he was especially active in the campaign, both in the
state and the country at large, which resulted in the election of his
friend, Gen. Pierce, to the presidency. His service upon the national
committee continued until 1860. He was a member of the Democratic
national convention in 1856, and chairman of the state delegation in the
national convention at Cincinnati, in 1880. At the state convention of
his party, in September of that year, he presided, delivering, upon
assuming the chair, one of the ablest addresses ever heard upon a
similar occasion.
His party having been in the minority in New Hampshire for the past
twenty-five years, he has been comparatively little in public office.
Aside from the non-partisan positions heretofore mentioned, he was for
three years--in 1847, 1848, and again in 1850--clerk of the state
senate. In 1853 he was chosen a member of the legislature, but resigned
his seat to accept the office of United States attorney. In this
connection it may be mentioned that in 1855 he was tendered, by
President Pierce, the office of secretary of the territory of Minnesota,
which he at first was inclined to accept, but, after deliberation,
determined to forego the chances for political promotion ordinarily
involved in an appointment of that character, and remain with his
friends and his law practice in his own state. In 1850, Col. George
received the Democratic nomination for congress in the second district,
and again in 1863, when he made a vigorous canvass, and was defeated by
a very close vote. In 1866 he received the votes of the Democratic
members of the legislature as their candidate for United States senator.
Had he deserted his party and allied himself with the majority when the
Republicans came into ascendency, he might readily have commanded the
highest honors in the gift of the state, as others less able than
himself have done; but his position in the honest regard of the people,
irrespective of party, is far higher to-day for having remained true to
his convictions and steadfast and active in their maintenance.
His military title comes from his service as chief of the staff of Gov.
Dinsmoor from 1848 to 1850. He was also for several years commander in
the brilliant and popular organization known as the "Governor's
Horse-Guards." As a popular orator, outside the domain of law and
politics, Col. George also takes high rank. His oration upon Daniel
Webster, at the recent centennial celebration of the birth of that most
illustrious son of New Hampshire, under the auspices of the Webster club
of Concord, is surpassed in power and felicity of expression by none
which the event anywhere called forth.
Col. George was united in marriage, in September, 1849, with Miss Susan
Ann Brigham, daughter of Capt. Levi Brigham, of Boston, who died May 10,
1862, leaving five children, three sons and two daughters. In July,
1864, he married Miss Salvadora Meade Graham, daughter of Col. James D.
Graham of the United States engineers, by whom he has one child, a
daughter. His eldest son, John Paul, graduated at Dartmouth College in
1878, entered the Harvard Law School, and is now a student-at-law in the
office of George & Foster. His second son, Charles Peaslee, graduated in
June, 1881, at the naval school at Annapolis, and is now a midshipman in
the U. S. navy. His third son, Benjamin Pierce, is a member of the
sophomore class in Dartmouth College. His eldest daughter, Jane
Appleton, is the wife of Mr. Henry E. Bacon, and resides in Portland,
Me.; his second daughter, Anne Brigham, is at home; while the youngest
daughter, Charlotte Graham, is at school in Washington, D. C.
The family residence of Col. George is the old paternal mansion on North
Main street, in Concord, wherein he was born. He has also an excellent
farm a few miles out of the city, in Hopkinton, where he makes his
summer home, and where, in his little leisure from professional labor,
he indulges a fondness for rural pursuits, and especially for the
breeding and care of domestic animals, which was one of the
characteristics of his boyhood. Incidental as this may be, his farm is
known as one of the most highly cultivated in the section where it is
located, and his horses and Jersey cattle are the admiration of all
lovers of good stock.
As a citizen, Col. George is public-spirited, and freely devotes his
time and energies to the furtherance of every movement and the advocacy
of every measure which he believes calculated to promote the material or
educational welfare of the community. No man in Concord has done more
than he to advance the prosperity of the city in every essential regard.
The efficiency of the public schools has ever been an object of deep
interest to him; and as a private citizen, as a member of building
committees, and in the board of education, he has given his services
freely in perfecting the admirably equipped public-school system, which
is far from the least of the attractions which render our capital city
one of the most desirable places of residence in New England.
The general extension of the railway system of the state, to which most
that has been accomplished in the development of its material resources
for the last twenty-five years is due, has ever found an enthusiastic
supporter in Col. George, who has been and still is directly connected
with several railroad enterprises in different sections, which have
proved of great local and general advantage.
Few men have more or warmer friends than Col. George. A man of positive
opinions, frankly and honestly declared, he commands the sincere respect
of those with whom he comes in contact in all the relations of life,
private, social, public, and professional. Formidable as an opponent, he
is nevertheless fair and honorable, as he is true and faithful as a
friend and ally. He is a prominent member of the Masonic order, having
attained the rank of sovereign grand inspector-general of the 33d
degree, and a member of the "Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite of the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States."
This brief sketch can perhaps be no more appropriately concluded than in
the following language of the gentleman (Sidney Webster, Esq.,)
heretofore quoted:
"Years of incessant toil, while they have diminished somewhat
the energetic temperament and the exuberant animal spirits of
Col. George's youth, and have naturally softened his once blunt
and almost brusque manner in debate, have not diminished the
real force and strength of his genuine character, for character
is just what Col. George has always had. As the ripples of his
experience spread over a wider and wider area, he may have less
and less confidence in the infallibility of any man's opinions,
and less belief in the importance to society of any one man's
action; but Col. George has reached and passed his half century
with his mental faculties and his moral faculties improving and
strengthening, year by year. New Hampshire has to-day very few
among her living sons better equipped to do triumphant battle
for her in the high places of the world."
[Illustration: Wm G Means]
WILLIAM GORDON MEANS.
WILLIAM GORDON MEANS, for sixteen years clerk and paymaster of the
Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, and afterwards treasurer of the
Manchester Locomotive-Works, was born at Amherst, Hillsborough county,
April 27, 1815. He is of the third generation in descent from Col.
Robert Means, who came to New Hampshire from Stewartstown, Ireland, in
1766, and commenced business at Merrimack, with Dea. Jacob McGaw, who
emigrated to this country about the same year. This partnership, which
had prospered, was dissolved when Amherst became the shire town, and
Col. Means opened a store there, in which he prosecuted a successful
business. A man of great energy, he was prominent in the affairs of the
town; elected its representative at the general court three times, also
a member of the senate three years, and councilor for Hillsborough
county, his name is identified with the most important measures of that
period.
Col. Means had a large family. Several of the daughters were married to
gentlemen who subsequently attained great distinction in the learned
professions. Of the sons, Robert became a lawyer, and David McGregor,
who bore the name of his mother (a daughter of Rev. David McGregor of
Londonderry), succeeded his father as a merchant. He married Catherine,
daughter of Hon. Joshua Atherton, who is described as a woman of
vigorous understanding and positive convictions, ready in conversation,
and of sprightly and pleasing manners. By this marriage, David McG.
Means had three sons and six daughters, of whom the subject of this
sketch was the third son and the fourth child, receiving the name of his
uncle, Hon. William Gordon, at that time a lawyer of great promise in
Amherst.
Among his schoolmates, William G. Means is remembered as a quick-witted
boy, fond of adventure, and overflowing with fun. The schools in Amherst
at that date did not furnish advantages of a high order. Aside from the
training of the household, the youth had no superior privileges, except
a few terms at Pinkerton Academy, Derry, then under the care of Abel F.
Hildreth, an eminent teacher. For parts of three years he attended this
school, in company with his brother James, Edward and Alfred Spalding,
E. D. Boylston, and other students from Amherst.
In the autumn of 1830, Mr. Means went to Boston, and entered the store
of Daniel McGregor, then a dealer in dry goods,--finding employment,
after an apprenticeship of four or five years, in the house of Robert
Appleton & Co. By the commercial crisis of 1837, like hundreds of young
men similarly situated, he was thrown out of employment, and returned to
his home in Amherst. These years of service in Boston were not without
their valuable uses, though a new direction was soon to be given to his
capacity for business. He saw the perils that beset the career of the
tradesman, and learned the wisdom of that conservatism which underlies
the avenues of success in mercantile pursuits. While living in Boston,
he became interested in the lady who was subsequently to share his
fortunes and build his house.
In March, 1838, Mr. Means became clerk of the Amoskeag Manufacturing
Company at Manchester, taking charge of the books and pay-rolls of the
land and water-power department, then under the direction of Robert
Read, Esq. The city had no existence except in the plans of the
projectors. There was not a mill on the east side of the river, not a
building except the scattered farm-houses; the canal had been laid out,
a site for a cotton mill set off, but nothing was finished. It was
during this constructive period of the city's history that he was
occupied with the oversight of workmen, the execution of land sales, and
the varied duties of the Amoskeag counting-room, thus gathering the
knowledge and experience which qualified him for the important agencies
that have since engrossed his time.
In 1854, desiring a more independent position, he resigned his place in
the Amoskeag company, and united with O. W. Bailey, Aretas Blood, and
Joseph M. Stone in organizing a company for building railway engines. By
the act of incorporation, they took the name of "Manchester
Locomotive-Works." Without adequate capital, and with adverse times, the
projectors of the enterprise had a weary struggle before them. Having no
reputation as builders, and with limited capacity for production, it was
not easy to obtain patronage; but with the pluck and persistence which
deserved success, the proprietors determined to make only first-class
engines. At the end of ten years they had gained a position which
commanded wide confidence, and they then began to divide profits. Since
that time, with occasional interruptions, the business has steadily
increased, so that, in the number, size, and weight of the engines now
constructed, the product of a month often exceeds in value the entire
product of some previous years.
In 1858, Mr. Means was elected treasurer of the Salmon Falls
Manufacturing Company. The mills of this company were in the eastern
portion of the state, and for convenience of access he removed his
family to Andover, Mass., still retaining his place as treasurer of the
locomotive-works, and having an office for the business of both
companies in Boston. Under his management the condition of the Salmon
Falls company was much improved. The capital stock of the company was,
by cash payment to its stockholders, reduced from $1,000,000 to
$600,000. New mills were erected, and the productive capacity of the
concern enlarged by one-fourth, without any assessments or sacrifices on
the part of the stockholders,--a result which illustrates beyond dispute
the good judgment and skill of the management. Mr. Means resigned the
treasurership September 1, 1877.
On the 26th day of February, 1840, Mr. Means was married to Martha
Allen, daughter of Bethuel and Martha (Bent) Allen, of Newton, Mass.
They have had eight children, of whom six are now living,--four sons and
two daughters. The sons, as they have reached manhood, have found
employment in the corporations with which the father is connected.
In politics, Mr. Means has been Whig and Republican. Conversant with the
affairs of government, and a careful observer of public men, he has
manifested a generous appreciation of the good qualities of those with
whom he did not agree. Loving justice, and abhorring the wrongs by which
any class of his fellow-men suffered injury, he strongly adhered to the
principles and steadfastly upheld the policy of the party with which he
voted. In 1854 he was elected representative from ward three in
Manchester, and served one term in the house at Concord. Having removed
from ward three, he was not returned a second time.
In religion, Mr. Means has firmly held to the evangelical system of
doctrine. In early manhood he made profession of his faith by uniting
with the Congregational church in his native town; transferring his
membership to the Hanover-street church in Manchester, and thence to the
South church in Andover, with successive chances of residence. In all
of these places he has proved a stanch friend of the ministry and a
liberal supporter of Christian institutions. A man of clear convictions
and of marked independence of character, he has not stood aloof from the
community, but, cherishing a hearty respect for human nature, he has
taken an active part in the popular movements in behalf of education and
local improvements. To the appeals for charitable aid, whether coming
from individuals or churches or institutions of learning, the response
has been cordial. The establishment of the Means prizes at Phillips
Academy illustrates his discriminating beneficence. In times of
difficulty and depression he has been helpful in bearing burdens, making
good deficiencies, and quietly upholding the cause he had espoused. For
a few years past the family have spent the winter season in Boston; but,
whether in city or country, the man is unchanged. He is still interested
in the welfare of the church and the state, thoughtful of his friends
and former associates, considerate of neighbors, and bestowing sympathy
and assistance where they are needed, seeks to keep alive the ancient
virtues of New England life, and maintain the best standards of service
and citizenship.
EX-GOVERNOR FREDERICK SMYTH.
FREDERICK SMYTH was born March 19, 1819, in Candia, Rockingham county,
N. H. His ancestors were farmers, men and women of thrift and
intelligence. He was trained in the hardest kind of farm labor,
receiving, in addition, such education as the good common schools of
that town could give, supplemented by a brief course at Phillips Academy
at Andover, Mass. With a view to further education, he taught school
several winters, and in 1839 found employment at the store of George
Porter, Esq., in Manchester. Elm street was then a sandy and uninviting
thoroughfare, with only one other store. At the end of the year Mr.
Smyth's employer persuaded him to give up the idea of a college
education and adopt a mercantile life. He soon became a partner in the
business, which was successfully carried on until 1849, in which year he
was elected city clerk,--the beginning of a long official career, local
and national.
In 1852, Mr. Smyth was elected mayor, the city then containing a
population of fifteen thousand. Mayor Smyth's first message contained
many practical suggestions; for instance, that the police or school
committee be empowered to take vagrant children from the streets and put
them in school; that proper sidewalks be constructed and maintained; and
that a special committee be appointed to confer with the corporations in
regard to the introduction of pure water. In May of that year he set
trees on Elm street, the commons, and about land owned by the city. To
this matter the mayor gave his personal attention, and not only at that
time but every year since, with few exceptions, has inspected the trees
and given notice to the proper authorities of any lack. This thorough
attention to detail, and desire for doing the work belonging to his
office personally and not by proxy, was characteristic of Mayor Smyth.
In March, 1853, he was re-elected by an increased majority, and the year
was marked by the annexation of parts of Bedford and Goffstown to
Manchester, and by the rebuilding of the Amoskeag Falls bridge.
The subject of lighting the streets with gas was first introduced to the
attention of the city councils at that time, and a few lamps
experimentally established. The free public library was also urged,--a
recommendation then somewhat in advance of the popular sentiment. It
was, however, advocated by the late Hon. Samuel D. Bell and some others,
and was finally carried through both branches of the city government
without serious opposition. It has resulted in the establishment of a
library of which any city might be proud, and a building for its
accommodation costing, with the recent annex, nearly forty thousand
dollars. A special vote of the trustees at that time recorded their
appreciation of Mayor Smyth's effective exertions in the matter. Having
been a third time elected mayor and with still increased majority, the
annual message of 1854 set forth the working plan of the library,
proposed a change of city charter to allow the consolidation of
school-districts, and again urged the imperative need of a supply of
pure water. At the close of this term of office he declined a
re-election, but was soon appointed, by the governor, chairman of a
committee to locate and build a house of "reformation for juvenile
offenders." His associates in this work were the late Hon. Matthew
Harvey, ex-governor, and judge of the United States circuit court, and
Hon. Hosea Eaton.
[Illustration: Frederick Smyth
GOVERNOR OF NEW HAMPSHIRE 1865-66]
The first report of the commissioners was a vindication of the humane
policy of the state, containing a sketch of what had been done in this
and other countries for the reform of young offenders, with a full
report of progress made. In May, 1858, the house was dedicated to its
purpose with appropriate ceremonies, and the commissioners were
complimented by Gov. Haile for the fidelity with which the task was
accomplished. While engaged in the supervision of this work, Mr. Smyth
represented ward three in Manchester in the legislature of 1857 and
1858. He was made treasurer of the reform school and of the N. H.
Agricultural Society, holding the latter office during ten years of its
greatest usefulness. It was in this time, Judge Nesmith being president,
that Daniel Webster spoke at one of the annual fairs in Manchester to
the farmers of his native state, and Edward Everett made one of those
matchless speeches which lives in perennial beauty like the landscape it
describes. Mr. Smyth was at the same time a director of the U. S.
Agricultural Society, manager of the fairs held by that association at
Louisville, Richmond, Chicago, and Cincinnati, and vice-president of the
American Pomological Society. Such varied activities having brought him
favorably to the attention of people throughout the state, he received
some votes in the convention which nominated the Hon. Ichabod Goodwin
for governor. The next year Mr. Smyth was made president of the
convention. In 1860 he was appointed, by Secretary Chase, an agent to
receive subscriptions to the national loan, and being cashier and
principal business manager of the Merrimack River Bank and of the
savings bank, he invested largely for them in government bonds. The bank
of discount soon after became known as the "First National Bank."
In 1861, Mr. Smyth was appointed by government a commissioner to the
International Exhibition at London, and was then made one of the jurors.
The favorable exhibit made by the textile fabrics of Manchester was in
no small degree owing to the care with which he looked after their
disposal. His appointment gave him unusual facilities for study and
observation in the highest circles of London and England, and he was
also accredited from the various associated bodies with which he was
connected at home to the Royal Agricultural Society. Upon these and
kindred topics he wrote some interesting letters, which were published
in the _N. H. Journal of Agriculture_. He also took a trip on the
Continent, accompanied by C. L. Flint, Esq., secretary of the
Massachusetts board of agriculture. The gathering proportions of the war
at home, however, led him to cut short his travels, and he arrived at
New York, via London, in September. He now gave his time to the care of
the banks, encouraging subscriptions to the national loans, and taking
active part in measures calculated to strengthen faith in the
administration.
In May, 1863, a fair was held in Smyth's Hall in aid of the sanitary
commission, at which nearly four thousand dollars were raised. Mr. Smyth
gave the use of the hall and his personal efforts as chairman of the
committee, sparing no pains to make the occasion successful; and his
enthusiasm and zeal stimulated that of others. After the battle of
Gettysburg and of the Wilderness, he went to the front and gave
efficient aid in caring for the sick and wounded. One result of exposure
to the burning sun and malaria of the battle-field was the first serious
illness of his life. In that same year, when the importance of good
municipal government was felt to be superior to partisan considerations,
at the solicitation of men prominent in both parties, Mr. Smyth allowed
his name to be used as a candidate for mayor the fourth time. He was
elected practically without opposition, and his election had the desired
effect, to give confidence to all classes and stability to the financial
standing of the city.
It has been noticed that he was thought of before this as a possible
candidate for governor, and the feeling had so strengthened that in 1865
he was nominated for that office, his chief competitor in the convention
being the late Hon. Onslow Stearns. The nomination proved a very popular
one, and after an active canvass he was elected by a majority of over
six thousand, the highest given to any man for twenty-four years. Such
support was very gratifying to the governor-elect; but, nevertheless, he
felt that he had undertaken no light task. The state debt, which
heretofore in times of peace seldom exceeded a few thousands, had now
arisen to millions. Moreover, loans must be made in competition with
other states and with the general government. State bonds were hard to
sell at any price, and all the time expenditures were going on. In less
than three months from Governor Smyth's inaugural message he had raised,
by personal solicitation, largely from banks at Manchester, over one
million of dollars, and the credit of the state, strained but not
impaired by its patriotic efforts, was firmly re-established. Much time
in this year was occupied in the reception and discharge of returning
soldiers, and from June until Christmas day, when the last regiment was
mustered out, the state echoed to the tread of the home-coming veterans.
Governor Smyth's correspondence at this time reveals great care taken
for the needs of the men, for inmates of military hospitals, or for
companies unnecessarily detained in camp. In this busy period he found
time to make brief practical speeches at Portsmouth, Milford, and
various other places, each of them calculated to draw attention to the
resources and credit of New Hampshire, and to foster a healthy
confidence in our ability to overcome every difficulty. He also
delivered in Concord the annual address before the New England
Agricultural Society, the late Govs. Andrew of Massachusetts and
Buckingham of Connecticut, with other N. E. governors, being present,
and highly commending the address. This year Governor Smyth was made one
of the corporators of the national asylums for disabled soldiers, and
served on the committee whose duty it was to arrange the working
details, with Gen. Grant, Admiral Farragut, Gen. Butler, Surg.-Gen.
Barnes, Hon. H. J. Raymond, ex-Gov. Todd, and Admiral Davis.
In 1866 he was unanimously nominated for re-election as governor, and,
as before, chosen by a handsome majority. Some events of the second year
are of much interest. The appointment of Dr. Bouton as state historian,
resulting in the preservation and publication of the Provincial Records,
was a peculiarly fitting act; laws in regard to the river fisheries were
carried into effect; and initial steps taken toward the foundation of
the Agricultural College, of which Gov. Smyth is at this date a trustee
and the treasurer. The financial and executive report of the two years'
work is very concisely given in the valedictory address of June 6, 1867.
On two occasions the governor spoke briefly at the annual dinner of the
sons of New England, at Delmonico's in New York, and was very warmly
received. Some of the most influential and respectable papers of the
state advocated his nomination for a third term; he, however, definitely
declined the honor in a letter to the _Statesman_. He was a delegate at
large to the Republican national convention which renominated Gen.
Grant, and was also a member of the last constitutional convention of
New Hampshire. In 1866 he was chosen, by vote of congress, one of the
managers of the military asylums for six years, other members of the
board being Hon. R. J. Oglesby of Illinois, Gen. B. F. Butler, Hon. L.
B. Gunekel of Ohio, Jay Cooke of Philadelphia, and Gen. Martindale of
New York, with the President, Secretary of War, and Chief-Justice, _ex
officiis_, any one of whom had authority to admit to the Homes on
application being made in due form. The proper discharge of these duties
involved a vast amount of correspondence, much travel, and constant
care. Gov. Smyth was re-elected for a second six years' term in 1872,
and was vice-president of the board. In 1878, the house being
Democratic and the senate nearly a tie, Gen. Shields was proposed as his
successor, but failed of an election. Two years later, however, the
Democracy were able to unite on a successor.
Since the close of his term as governor, he has delivered addresses on
several occasions,--one before the Vermont State Agricultural Society,
another at the dedication of a soldiers' monument at Washington, N. H.,
and, later, the "Oration to the Unknown Dead," delivered on "Decoration
Day" before Louis Bell Post No. 3, G. A. R., in 1880; and in 1881, an
address on a similar occasion, at Rochester, N. H.
In 1878 he was appointed, by President Hayes, honorary commissioner to
the International Exposition at Paris. Accompanied by Mrs. Smyth, he
left New York, April 24, in the steamer Russia, for Liverpool. Visiting
London and some English cities by the way, they reached Paris at the
grand opening. Soon after they left Marseilles for Alexandria, Egypt,
and from thence made a tour of the Holy Land, _via_ Cairo, Ismailia, and
the Suez canal, afterward journeying to the Levant, stopping at
Constantinople, Smyrna, Athens, and other points of interest. They were
received with uniform courtesy and attention by officials at the U. S.
legations, and particularly spoke of the interest manifested in their
welfare by Ministers Noyes at Paris, Maynard in Constantinople, Reed at
Athens, Consul-General Fairman at Cairo. Nearly everywhere they seem to
have found friends to smooth the roughness of the traveler's path; and
on their return to Paris, which they did by way of Rome, Switzerland,
and most of the continental cities, it was regarded as an exceptional
piece of good fortune to be present at the memorial celebration in honor
of M. Thiers. Ex.-Gov. Smyth was there also received as a member of the
Stanley club. While thus absent, he wrote a series of interesting
letters, which were published in the _Mirror and American_, and read
with pleasure by a large circle of acquaintances. Since returning from
the East he and Mrs. Smyth have made an extended trip into Mexico,
touching at Cuba by the way. Their experience in that land of the sun
appears to have been equally pleasant with that in other places.
The ex-governor, frequently if not always accompanied by his wife, has
visited almost every nook and corner of our own land except, possibly,
Alaska, and is therefore well qualified to make comparisons. This long
and varied experience in affairs, in acquaintance with men, and in
travel, has made him a very interesting man in conversation whenever he
chooses to indulge in the reminiscences of a not distant past. His house
abounds in tokens of travel, curious and rare bits from many lands, and
he has entertained there, from time to time, many distinguished guests.
Before local associations and to personal friends he has given some
familiar and delightful talks on what he has seen in these vacations of
a busy life. He also pays the penalty of success in other ways, which,
if flattering, are not always agreeable. His advice is daily sought, not
only, as is natural, in financial and political matters, but on matters
more remote from his habits of thought. But, whatever it may be, he
gives cheerfully, and no man more readily lends a hand to those who are
trying to help themselves.
Offices of trust also flock to one who has proved himself capable of
taking good care of his own affairs, and among appointments which he
holds at this date, not before named, are: 'director of the Concord,
Suncook Valley, and Boston & Acton railroads; director and treasurer of
the Manchester Horse-Railroad; vice-president of the New England
Agricultural Society; president and director of the Northern Telegraph
Company; treasurer of the Elliot hospital; cashier and manager of the
First National Bank of Manchester; trustee and treasurer of the
Merrimack River Savings Bank: vice-president of the American Pomological
Society. In 1866 the faculty of Dartmouth College conferred on him the
degree of A. B.
CHARLES ELLIOTT TILTON.
Charles Elliott Tilton, son of Hon. Samuel Tilton, was born in
Sanbornton, September 14, 1827, and in that part set off and
incorporated as the town of Tilton. He received his early education in
the common schools, and at the age of fifteen was put under the
instruction of Prof. Dyer H. Sanborn of Sanbornton Academy. Later he was
admitted into the Norwich University (a military school), where he
remained three years.
When war was declared with Mexico, Gen. Ransom, the president of the
university, was commissioned to raise a regiment, and induced nearly
every student to enlist, offering young Tilton the command of a company,
which honor, through the influence of his father, was declined. About
this date he left home, going to New York, where he remained with his
brother a short time.
He then sailed for the West Indies and South America in pursuit of a
fortune. At this point a business career was inaugurated which for
thirty years called for untiring labor. He visited all the islands,
prospected the Orinoco and Amazon rivers to their head waters, went
overland to Caracas and La Guayra, thence to Maracaybo, St. Martha,
Carthagena, and Chagres. Here he heard of gold discoveries in
California, and proceeded at once to San Francisco _via_ Panama. A hasty
survey of the outlook satisfied him that "merchandising" rather than
digging for gold afforded better chances for success, and on this
foundation determined to build his fortune. In 1850 he went to Oregon,
and in the succeeding year formed a copartnership with W. S. Ladd. Esq.,
for general mercantile pursuits, which continued until 1859. That his
operations were diversified and on a large scale, the public prints of
that era are ample evidence. He was interested in establishing a line of
vessels to run between Oregon and China, one of which, the "C. E.
Tilton," had made the quickest passage from New York to Oregon on record
to the present time. She was subsequently sold to the Japanese
government and by them converted into a man of war, and was finally sunk
in an encounter with the U. S. ship "Powhattan." In 1859 the
banking-house of Ladd & Tilton, Portland, was organized, so favorably
known and generally advertised during the settlement of the presidential
vote of that state in 1876. He remained a partner in this institution
twenty-one years, retiring in 1880.
In all this period Mr. Tilton was interested in many other enterprises
on the Pacific coast and frontier. Among these may be mentioned the
navigation of the Columbia and Willamette rivers. He was one of five who
controlled what has developed into the Oregon Railway & Navigation
Company, with a capital of $24,000,000. He had an interest in the
banking firm of Ladd & Bush, Salem, in the First National Bank of
Portland, and First National Bank of Walla Walla, W. T. At the same time
he was largely engaged in transportation across the plains. He fully
understood the requirements for merchandise in Utah, Montana, Wyoming,
and Colorado. He furnished and dispatched large trains from San
Bernardino, Cal., to Utah, and from St. Joseph, Mo., to Colorado, and
from there to Montana, giving his personal attention to them all. This
was no pastime twenty years ago. A country largely held by hostile
Indians had to be traversed, and few trains reached their destination
unmolested. Desperate encounters frequently occurred, resulting in more
or less loss to life and property, and once ending in the capture of an
entire train by the "Red Devils." Other obstacles had to be met,
incident to such undertakings, like storms, swollen rivers, and
break-downs, which would have seemed insuperable to any one of less
force of character. Realizing what the great West might be, he purchased
land in all the territories, which investments have proved advantageous.
He engaged in many other transactions which his keen perceptions led him
to believe would be remunerative, so that, in fact, there were but few
enterprises of importance connected with the growth and development of
the Pacific slope, whether pertaining to its finance, internal
improvements, or its foreign and domestic commerce, in which the cool
and sagacious subject of this sketch was not a participator.
[Illustration: C. W. Tilton.]
To organize and direct successfully such varied and extended operations,
outlined here only in part, required a mind strong in perception and
purpose. A union of these qualities, with that adventurous spirit which
led the youth of eighteen to the sources of the Orinoco and the pampas
of the Amazon in pursuit of wealth, constituted a mental alliance which
could well measure the possibilities of a new country and avail himself
of their fulfillment.
In all this time Mr. Tilton enjoyed excellent health and immunity from
serious accident. After living amidst the steaming malaria of tropical
lagoons, sleeping by the side of his mustang on the plains, blockaded by
the storms of the Sierras, assailed by the hostile Apaches, he returns
to his native hills unscathed, with a sound constitution and the early
purpose of his will fully accomplished.
Mr. Tilton's munificence has manifested itself most liberally to his
townsmen within two years. In that time he has erected and conveyed to
them a town hall finished in an elegant and substantial manner. It
contains a market and town office, a store and post-office, all
commodiously arranged, no expense being spared which would add to
convenience. They return to the treasury a handsome rental. The hall
proper is easily approached, is finished in hard wood, as is all the
interior of the building. It is artistically frescoed in water-colors
and gilt, lighted with gas, has a stage fitted with drop-curtains,
changes of scenery, a beautiful proscenium, proper furniture, a Steinway
piano, all after the most approved styles. The building, with its
appointments, is the admiration of visitors and the pride of
towns-people. He has placed an iron bridge, the present season, from
Main street to Island Park, costing over eighteen hundred dollars. The
public are allowed at all times to use and occupy this delightful
resort. Its airy summerhouse, built after an European model, surrounded
by works of art, is unmatched in loveliness. For remodeling one of the
village churches he contributed more than three thousand dollars; and
donated five hundred towards an iron bridge between Tilton and
Northfield, which act results in two by the towns named. He expended a
large sum in the purchase of land and improving it for a public park
near by the village, and, including the gift of the fine town hall,
January 4, 1881, must have appropriated forty thousand dollars for the
pleasure and benefit of his townsmen. During this period he has paid
thousands of dollars for improvements on his own premises, giving
employment to a large force of laborers and mechanics.
Mr. Tilton's elegant and spacious residence is situated on an eminence
commanding a magnificent prospect, and overlooks the village that bears
his name. When built, a few years since, it was deemed one of the best
in central New Hampshire. In the last two years it has been materially
improved, while large additions have been constructed, consisting of an
extensive conservatory and aviary on the one side of the main building,
and a spacious drawing-room on the other; it is unequaled in its
appointments, perhaps, in New England. It is twenty-eight feet by
thirty-eight feet in area, and twenty-two feet in height. Seven thousand
five hundred feet of mahogany were used to complete it. To the height of
four feet the most elaborate work in wainscoting is produced, while
pilasters in the same wood, ornate in their design, extend from the
floor on either side and meet in the ceiling above. This arrangement in
finish running at right angles leaves the walls and surface overhead
checked into panels, either square or oblong, each of which is filled
with an individual conception of the artist, but collectively form a
general design. An exquisitely designed gablet holds the porcelain tiled
fire front, its three sides partly filled with French plate mirrors, and
a Swiss styled hooding covers the apex which contains the clock. Carpets
and rugs, drapery and furniture, mirrors and chandeliers, were
manufactured for the room. We know the owner is averse to anything that
attracts attention to himself. The public on proper occasions have had
the pleasure of seeing these premises; and what we have here recited has
been gathered from sources that have been open to all.
Mr. Tilton is cordial and pleasant in his intercourse with his neighbors
and acquaintances, and in feelings and tastes one of the people. The
steel portrait is an excellent one. He is in the prime of manhood and
intellect.
Through life, so far, he seems to have been conscious that his capacity
was for business and not politics. He has never sought or held public
office, and says he never will. The frequent mention of his name in
political circles and sometimes in the press, in such connection, is not
inspired by him.
He comes back to a common welcome after thirty years of incessant labor,
from amidst surroundings, which, if detailed, would seem stranger than
fiction.
Mr. Tilton was married December 29, and sailed in the "Gallia" from New
York for Liverpool, January 4, 1882. We understand it is the intention
of the happy pair, if Providence permits, to stay abroad as long as
pleasure or profit can be derived from their trip.
[Illustration: Chas. E. Balch]
COL. CHARLES E. BALCH.
Charles Edward Balch was born in Francestown in 1834, and is the son of
Mason and Hannah Balch, his mother being a daughter of Joshua Holt, of
Greenfield. His boyhood was spent upon a farm, and his education was
obtained in the common schools and Francestown Academy. When eighteen
years of age he began life for himself as a book-keeper in the dry-goods
store of Barton & Co., in Manchester, and two years later had so
established himself in the confidence of the managers of the Manchester
Savings Bank that he was called to a clerkship in that institution. In
this position his industry, courtesy, and excellent judgment won good
opinions from all with whom he came in contact, and when the Manchester
National Bank was organized, in 1865, he was chosen its cashier, and has
filled this responsible position ever since. He has also been a trustee
of the Manchester Savings Bank since 1862, is a member of its investing
committee, treasurer of the Manchester Gas-Light Company, a director and
member of the finance committee of the New Hampshire Fire Insurance
Company, and a trustee of many large estates. In all these positions,
Mr. Balch has proved himself a sagacious, careful, and safe financier.
The banks to which he has given the most of his time and energies
reflect in their strength and uniform success his honesty, reliability,
and prudence; and those whose funds have been intrusted to his
management have always found their confidence justified by steady and
satisfactory returns.
Mr. Balch is, moreover, a man whose private character is above
suspicion, a citizen whose public duties are never left to others, a
friend whose fealty is never doubted, and an acquaintance whose
courtesy, candor, and affability command universal respect and good
will. He has been too modest to ask, and too busy to accept, political
honors; but his influence has been potent in advancing the party to
which he belongs, and in shaping the policy of the city in which he
resides. In affairs of state and city, as in business matters, he makes
little noise; but his work tells, and his convictions of duty bring
substantial results. He was commissioned a colonel of the state militia
in 1879, and served on Gov. Head's staff for two years.
In July, 1867, Mr. Balch married Miss Emeline R. Brooks, daughter of
Rev. Nahum Brooks, then of Bath, Me., but now of Manchester, who
presides over and dispenses the hospitalities of his pleasant home.
HON. JOHN CARROLL MOULTON.
BY COL. THOMAS J. WHIPPLE.
The ancestors of Hon. JOHN C. MOULTON were among the fifty-six
inhabitants from the county of Norfolk, England, who first settled in
the town of Hampton, then Winnicumet, in the year 1638. The names of
John Molton and Thomas Molton appear in a partial list of these original
settlers, which may be found in "Belknap's History of New Hampshire."
Vol. I. p. 37.
General Jonathan Moulton was a descendant of this family, and the
great-grandfather of John C. Moulton. He was born in Hampton, N. H.,
June 30, 1726, and died at Hampton, in the year 1788, at the age of
sixty-two. He was a large proprietor in lands, and several flourishing
towns in the interior of this state owe their early settlement to his
exertions and influence. This fact is mentioned in "Farmer & Moore's
Gazetteer," published in 1823. When he was thirty-seven years old, the
town of Moultonborough was granted to him and sixty-one others, by the
Masonian proprietors, November 17, 1763. He was already noted for the
distinguished service which he had rendered in the Indian wars, which
ended with the Ossipee tribe, along the northerly borders of
Moultonborough, in 1763. Many of his adventures during this bloody
period have been preserved and transmitted to the present time; enough,
indeed, to fill a large space in this brief sketch. It may be well to
preserve one of these incidents in this record:--
An octogenarian in the vicinity of Moultonborough relates that, during
the Indian wars, Colonel, afterward General, Jonathan Moulton went out
with a scouting party from Dover. After numerous adventures, they met
with and attacked a party of six Indians, near a place now known as
Clark's Landing, on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, all of whom fell in
the skirmish which ensued, with one exception. The colonel had a large
dog with him, which, after the affray was over, he placed upon the track
of the escaped Indian. The dog ran on the shore a short distance, and
then struck off on to the ice. The party followed, and as they
approached the entrance of what is now Green bay they saw in the
distance that the dog had the Indian down upon the ice; and when they
got to the spot the Indian was dead,--killed by the dog.
The active services of the general in these border wars had made him, at
an early age, well and favorably known to the leading men of that day.
His numerous raids and scouts, in the region occupied by the Ossipee
tribes, had made him well acquainted with the then wilderness, and with
the adjacent country upon the western shores of the lake, and no doubt
secured to him the land grant which he obtained, in common with many of
his companions in arms. He was rightly placed at the head of the
grantees, by the Masonian proprietors, and the town of Moultonborough,
which was named after him, perpetuates the memory of his rugged virtues
and of his enterprising character. His descendants have been inhabitants
of Moultonborough and of Center Harbor to the present time. After
obtaining this grant, the general devoted much of the remainder of his
life in promoting the settlement and the development of this new
territory. Among other things in this direction, he obtained from Gov.
Wentworth the grant of land now known as the town of New Hampton, which
was formerly a part of Moultonborough gore, and then called
"Moultonborough Addition." The following amusing account of the way in
which Gen. Moulton secured this last grant appears in "Fogg's
Gazetteer," and is to be found in other histories of those early
times:--
[Illustration: John C. Coulton.]
"In 1703, Gen. Jonathan Moulton, of Hampton, having an ox
weighing one thousand four hundred pounds, fattened for the
purpose, hoisted a flag upon his horns, and drove him to
Portsmouth as a present to Gov. Wentworth. The general refused
any compensation for the ox, but said he would like a charter of
a small gore of land he had discovered adjoining the town of
Moultonborough, of which he was one of the principal
proprietors. The governor granted this simple request of General
Moulton, and he called it New Hampton, in honor of his native
town. This small gore of land contained nineteen thousand four
hundred and twenty-two acres, a part of which now constitutes
Center Harbor."
Thus it appears that General Moulton, by his energy and enterprise,
largely contributed to the formation of three towns,--one named New
Hampton, by him; another named Moultonborough, for him; and the third,
Center Harbor, was carved from a part of his grant called
"Moultonborough Addition."
* * * * *
The following is the genealogical order:--
1. Gen. Jonathan Moulton, born in Hampton, N. H., June 30, 1726. Jan. 7,
1749, he married Abigail Smith. He died in 1788.
2. Benning Moulton, son of Jonathan Moulton and Abigail (Smith) Moulton,
born May 21, 1761. He married Sally Lovett, Nov. 7, 1782. He settled in
Center Harbor in 1783, and there died Dec. 23, 1834.
3. Jonathan Smith Moulton, son of Benning Moulton and Sally (Lovett)
Moulton, born at Center Harbor, Dec. 14, 1785. He married Deborah Neal.
He died Nov. 15, 1855.
4. JOHN CARROLL MOULTON, son of Jonathan Smith Moulton and Deborah
(Neal) Moulton, born in Center Harbor, Dec. 24, 1810. In addition to the
ordinary opportunities of the district school, in his native town, he
attended Holmes Academy at Plymouth, N. H., where for several terms he
pursued his studies under the instruction of the late Samuel Burns, who
ranked among the foremost teachers of his time. To perfect himself in
mathematical studies, for which he showed an early and natural aptitude,
he placed himself under the tuition of Master Dudley Leavitt, the noted
"almanac-maker," who, for many years, opened an annual term of high
school in Meredith, where he taught all the advanced branches of
mathematics to pupils, who in that day flocked from every part of the
country to place themselves at the feet of this great mathematical
Gamaliel. These studies he ardently pursued far beyond the limits of the
ordinary academical course, and they seem to have impressed upon him a
permanent proficiency often called for and manifested in the various
large business transactions with which he has been connected for so many
years. During the intervals of schools he assisted his father--who was
in trade and a large farmer--as clerk and general assistant in his
extensive business. In 1831, at about the age twenty, he opened a store
and commenced trade at Sandwich. N. H., where he remained about a year,
when he returned, and resumed the same business at Center Harbor.
July 15, 1833, he married Nellie B. Senter. He then opened a hotel in
what has since grown to be one of the famous boarding-houses at Center
Harbor, and, with the aid of his brilliant and accomplished wife, united
the duties of landlord and merchant, which employments he continued
there for several years. In 1836, Lake Village, N. H., began to attract
attention as a place of large prospective business, and Mr. Moulton left
Center Harbor, and opened a store at that place. He also engaged in
manufacturing, and continued in these employments for several years.
In 1841 he removed to Laconia, then known the world over as Meredith
Bridge, and took charge of the Belknap Hotel. This being the only stage
house of that lively place, it was usually inundated with the stream of
public travel peculiar to those times. He continued this business about
two years, when he opened a bookstore and an apothecary-shop in a
building which stood on the site now occupied by the post-office and the
national bank. He was soon after appointed postmaster,--in the latter
part of Tyler's administration; was re-appointed by President Polk,
through whose term he held the office, which he continued to do a short
time during the term of President Taylor, when, being a life-long
Democrat, he was removed. He was re-appointed by President Pierce, and
also by President Buchanan, during whose terms he held the office, which
he continued to do a short time under President Lincoln, when he was
superseded by the appointment of a Republican. Thus he held the office
of postmaster during part of the terms of three Republican, and the full
terms of three Democratic administrations, making his term of office
about sixteen years in all. The duties of his long term of service were
performed in a manner universally acceptable and satisfactory to the
public.
In 1848 the Boston, Concord, & Montreal Railroad was built and completed
from Concord to Plymouth. In anticipation of this event the firm of
Charles Ranlet & Co. built large and extensive car-works at Laconia,
which they designed particularly for the construction of freight-cars.
The firm commenced and carried on the business until the decease of the
senior partner, in 1860, when the works were suspended. In 1861, Mr.
Moulton became a partner, and by his great energy and business capacity
has developed a large business, which employs some two hundred men, most
of whom are skilled workmen. The monthly pay-roll is about eight
thousand dollars. The works have been repeatedly enlarged, and several
extensive buildings erected, to accommodate the increase of business.
For several years, passenger-cars of the finest style and finish, as
well as freight-cars, have been built at their works, and their annual
gross earnings are to be reckoned at several hundred thousand dollars.
In February, 1881, these car-shops, with most of their machinery and
contents, were burned to the ground, only some of the out-buildings
being saved. Before the ruins were done smoking, lumber began to be
hauled upon the ground, and in thirty days from the fire cars were being
built in new shops which had been erected on the old foundations. Mr.
Moulton was then over seventy years of age, and was well able to retire
from business, with an ample competence, to the quiet repose which most
men desire as the closing blessing of an active and arduous life.
In 1871 and 1872 he was chosen senator from district number six, and
performed his official duties with his accustomed promptness and
fidelity, and to the satisfaction of his constituents. He was also
elected councilor for district number two in 1874. In 1876 he was one of
the delegates to the Democratic national convention held at St. Louis,
which nominated Samuel J. Tilden for the presidency, and in the ensuing
presidential campaign was one of the candidates on the Democratic ticket
for elector.
In 1865, rapid growth of the manufacturing, commercial, and other
business interests at Laconia and Lake Village suggested to him the
great need of added financial facilities. To meet these demands, it was
necessary to procure a charter from the government to establish a
national bank at Laconia. Almost insurmountable obstacles to success in
this enterprise were encountered, and finally overcome. The charter was
procured, and the bank established, largely by the active and persistent
labor of the subject of this sketch. Upon the organization of the
Laconia National Bank, he was chosen its first president, and has
continuously and acceptably held the position to the present time. It
may well be said, that the impartiality with which the accommodations of
this bank have been extended to promote all hopeful enterprises has done
much to advance the growth and prosperity of the place.
For several years, Mr. Moulton was a stockholder in the Gilford Hosiery
Corporation at Laconia. In 1868 he became sole owner of the entire stock
and property. He has steadily continued its successful operation, with
an annual product of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, until now.
The factory employs about one hundred and fifty hands, mostly females,
at the mill, and gives employment to many households in the surrounding
country. Mr. Moulton and Benjamin K. Thurston are joint owners of the
extensive flouring and grain mill of Laconia. He is also a large owner
of the stock in the Laconia Gas-light Company, and has done much to
place this important pioneer enterprise upon the solid basis it now
holds among the public improvements of this growing town.
Mr. Moulton is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is
one of the charter members of Winnipisseogee Lodge No. 7, which was
established at Laconia in 1842, and is now one of the Uniformed
Patriarchs of the order.
His domestic and family relations are as follows:--
July 15, 1833, he married Nellie B. Senter, of Center Harbor, who was
the daughter of Samuel M. Senter. Her ancestor, Col. Joseph Senter, and
Ebenezer Chamberlain were the first settlers in that town in 1765 and
1767. She died Nov. 18, 1860, at Laconia. Five children were born to
them, of whom three survive.
Edwin Carroll Moulton was born May 25, 1834, and died Nov. 13, 1867. He
married Augusta Ranlet, of Laconia, daughter of Charles Ranlet; and
their only child, Nelly Augusta Moulton, still survives. He was an
active business man, full of promise, and many friends still cherish his
memory.
Samuel Moore Senter Moulton was born Aug. 1, 1837, and resides at
Laconia. May 2, 1861, he enlisted, and served in the New Hampshire
volunteers. July 26, 1861, he enlisted in the regular army of the United
States, and served three years during the rebellion, with the mounted
troops. Since the war he is employed as book-keeper, clerk, and
paymaster in the car factories above referred to. He was one of the
selectmen of Laconia for the years 1868 and 1869; and was representative
of the town to the legislature for the years 1876 and 1877. He married
Martha B. Thurston, daughter of Benjamin E. Thurston, who is well known.
He served as representative to the legislature from the town of
Moultonborough in Carroll county, for the years 1867 and 1868, after
which he removed to, and now resides in, Laconia, which town he
represented in the legislature in 1881. He was also high sheriff of
Belknap county in the years 1874 and 1875.
William Hale Moulton was born July 20, 1844, died March 10, 1849.
Horatio Francis Moulton was born Jan. 24, 1848. During the war he was
three years in the United States navy. He was one of the naval cadets,
and intended to pass his life in the United States service, but was
prevented by pulmonary disease. He married Ella S. Melcher, of
Springfield, Mass., daughter of William Melcher, and has a family of
three young children. He is superintendent of the Gilford Hosiery
Company, and has been so for many years.
Ida Lettice Moulton, was born June 4, 1850. She married Joshua B.
Holden, of Boston, Mass., and they have a young family of four children.
Mr. Moulton married his second wife, Sarah A. McDougal, Aug. 18, 1866.
Her many virtues and useful charities have endeared her to a large
circle of warm friends.
The lives of men who are absorbed in the exacting duties of many
diversified and burdensome pursuits are not crowded with incidents which
interest remote posterity; but the successful and many-sided enterprises
of such men exert a wide and beneficial influence in their day and
generation. Such a man is Mr. Moulton. He has always been an
open-handed, public-spirited citizen. To him, and to two or three
others, we owe the building of the finest church in Laconia and the
support of a liberal ministry. Long after he has passed away, the town
of his adoption will continue to exhibit many evidences of his liberal
contributions to whatever tended to promote the growth of the town, the
prosperity of its business, or the public welfare.
[Illustration: A. W. Sulloway]
HON. ALVAH W. SULLOWAY.
By H. H. Metcalf.
From an industrial, as well as a political standpoint, the town of
Franklin has long occupied a prominent position in the state. Highly
favored by nature with the facilities most conducive to the development
of manufacturing industry, there has grown up within its limits, or been
attracted thereto from other localities, a large class of citizens
possessing the enterprise, energy, and sagacity requisite to the most
advantageous use of those facilities. There are, indeed, few among our
New England towns of corresponding size, which include among their
inhabitants a larger number of active and successful business men, or
whose progress has been signalized during the last quarter of a century
by a more substantial industrial development.
ALVAH W. SULLOWAY is one of the best-known, most practical, energetic,
and public-spirited among the enterprising business men of this
prosperous and progressive town. While the state of Massachusetts has
drawn from our midst a large proportion of the men whose labors have
brought the prosperity and distinction which that proud old commonwealth
enjoys, she has given New Hampshire in return some of her own sons,
whose efforts have contributed in no small degree to advance the honor
and welfare of the state of their adoption. Among these is the subject
of this sketch. Born in Framingham, Mass., Dec. 25, 1838, Mr. Sulloway
is now in his forty-fourth year. He is the only son and eldest child of
Israel W. and Adeline (Richardson) Sulloway, to whom three daughters
were also born, two of whom are living, one unmarried, and the other the
wife of Herbert Bailey, Esq., a prominent manufacturer of the town of
Claremont. Israel W. Sulloway is a native of Boston, and sprang from
revolutionary ancestry on both the paternal and the maternal side, his
mother being a Woodbury of Salem, daughter of Capt. Israel Woodbury, who
served in the patriot army throughout the war for independence. He
engaged in manufacturing service in youth, and was for some time an
overseer in the Saxonville woolen mill. When his son Alvah was about ten
years of age, he removed to the town of Enfield in this state, where he
engaged in the manufacture of yarn hosiery. Here he introduced the
process of manufacturing the celebrated Shaker socks by machinery, being
the first manufacturer to engage in the enterprise, where he established
a prosperous business, which he carried on about sixteen years, when he
sold out to his son-in-law, Mr. Bailey, and retired from active life,
locating at Waltham, Mass., where he still resides. In his father's mill
at Enfield, Alvah W. Sulloway gained that practical knowledge of the
business in which he has since been engaged, which constituted the sure
foundation of the success he has attained therein. He secured a good
academical education at Canaan, Barre, Vt., and the Green Mountain
Liberal Institute at South Woodstock; but spent a considerable portion
of his time between the age of ten and twenty-one years in active labor
in the mill, thoroughly familiarizing himself with the various
processes in hosiery manufacture, and the general conduct of business in
that important line of industry.
Upon attaining his majority, with that ambitious and independent spirit
which so generally characterizes the youth of New England, and to which
the development and prosperity of all sections of our country are so
largely due, Mr. Sulloway determined to go into business for himself.
His purpose received the ready sanction and encouragement of his father,
and after due deliberation he formed a partnership with Walter Aiken of
Franklin, in the manufacture of hosiery. The partnership continued for
about four years, when it was dissolved by mutual consent, and another
firm was organized, which put in operation a new mill. This firm
consisted of Mr. Sulloway and Frank H. Daniell of Franklin, who carried
on business together until 1869, when Mr. Daniell withdrew, and Mr.
Sulloway has since been sole proprietor. The mill is situated upon the
lower power of the Winnipesaukee, opposite the mills of the
Winnipiseogee Paper Company, the power being used in common by the two
establishments. The building is of brick, three stories high, with
basement, contains four sets of woolen machinery, with about
seventy-five knitting-machines, and furnishes employment for about
ninety operatives, besides a large number of women in the vicinity, and
surrounding towns, whose labor is required in finishing the work which
the machines leave incomplete. The goods manufactured are the Shaker
socks, or half-hose, of which about three hundred dozen pairs are
produced daily, giving an annual product of about one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars. The monthly pay-roll averages about two thousand five
hundred dollars, aside from the amount paid for outside labor.
Mr. Sulloway is a business man in the true sense of the term, and as
such he has been thus far eminently successful. But while devoting his
energies and ability to the development of his own business interests,
and thereby indirectly conferring large benefit upon the community in
which he moves, he has never failed to contribute, by direct personal
effort, to the advancement of all measures of public utility and
material progress; and to his labor and encouragement, personally and
pecuniarily, as much as to any other among its many enterprising and
public-spirited citizens, the town of Franklin is indebted for the
advanced position which it holds, when regarded from a business, social,
or educational standpoint. He was a prime mover in the organization of
the Franklin National Bank, which went into operation in November, 1879,
and has been president of the institution from the start. He has also
been a trustee of the Franklin Savings Bank ever since its
establishment, and for several years past a member of the committee of
investment. In 1880 he was chosen a member of the board of directors of
the Northern Railroad, which position he still holds.
In politics, Mr. Sulloway is an ardent Democrat, an earnest and
enthusiastic worker in the party cause; and his labors in this direction
have been largely instrumental in bringing his party into ascendency in
Franklin, which was for many years one of the hardest-contested
political battle grounds in the state, numbering, as it does, among its
citizens several of the most active leaders of the two great parties. In
1871, although the town was then decidedly Republican, he was chosen a
member of the state legislature from Franklin, and was re-elected the
following year. In 1874, and again in 1875, he was elected to the same
position. In the legislature, as everywhere else, he proved himself a
thoroughly practical man, devoting himself actively to business, and
leaving speech-making to those inclined to talk rather than work. In
1871, he served on the committee on elections; in 1872, upon railroads;
in 1874 was chairman of the committee on manufactures, where his close
acquaintance with manufacturing interests fitted him for most efficient
service; and in 1875 was again a member of the elections committee. In
1874, when the Democratic party managers set to work systematically to
win a victory in the state, Mr. Sulloway was nominated for railroad
commissioner upon the ticket headed by James A. Weston for governor.
Although there was no choice by the people in the election that year,
the Democracy won a substantial victory, in that they secured a majority
in the legislature, and the election of their candidates for governor
and railroad commissioner followed at the hands of that body. To this
triumph of his party in the state, the energetic labor of Mr. Sulloway
in the general conduct of the campaign contributed in no small degree.
As a member of the board of railroad commissioners for the term of three
years, the last year as chairman of the board, he rendered the state
efficient service, carrying into his official labors, so far as they
extended, the same practical sagacity and judgment exercised in his own
private business.
In January, 1877, Mr. Sulloway was nominated by the Democracy of the
second district as their candidate for congress, against Major James F.
Briggs of Manchester, the Republican nominee. The district was strongly
Republican, and that party had a popular candidate in the field; yet Mr.
Sulloway, with no expectation of an election, made a vigorous canvass,
and ran largely ahead of his ticket. He was also the candidate of his
party in the district at the next election, and again in 1880, making
lively work for his successful opponent, Major Briggs, on each occasion.
He has been an active member of the Democratic state committee for more
than ten years past, and for the greater portion of the time a member of
the executive committee of that body, having direct charge of the
campaign work. He was a member of the New Hampshire delegation in the
national convention at St. Louis in 1876, which nominated Samuel J.
Tilden for the presidency, and was an enthusiastic supporter of the
great New York reformer, not only in convention, but also in the
subsequent campaign in which he was actively engaged as a member of the
Democratic national committee from this state. In 1880 he was again a
delegate to the national convention of his party, at Cincinnati, where
Gen. Hancock was nominated, and was again elected as the New Hampshire
member of the national committee, holding the position until the present
time.
In religion, Mr. Sulloway is an adherent of the liberal faith. He was
reared a Universalist, and is now an active member of the Unitarian
society in Franklin, a young but flourishing organization which is
already taking active measures for the erection of a fine church
edifice. In this organization, as in business and politics, Mr. Sulloway
is an earnest worker, and his labor and encouragement have contributed
materially to its success. He is a trustee of this society, and, with
Governor Bell, a vice-president of the New Hampshire Unitarian
Association. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the
Unitarian Educational Society, under whose auspices the liberal
educational institution known as Proctor Academy, at Andover, is
conducted.
In 1866, Mr. Sulloway was united in marriage with Miss Susan K. Daniell,
an accomplished daughter of the late J. F. Daniell, a member of the
noted paper-making firm of Peabody & Daniell, and a sister of the Hon.
Warren F. and Frank H. Daniell. They have two children, a daughter and
son,--the eldest, Alice, born August 5, 1871, and Richard Woodbury, born
February 15, 1876. Their home is a fine modern residence, erected in
1877, beautifully located in a bend of the Winnipesaukee river,
surrounded by handsome grounds, with all its appointments conducive to
the comfort of the family and the host of friends who share their
generous hospitality.
Mr. Sulloway is a man of keen perceptive powers and ready judgement, so
that he is enabled to form conclusions upon all practical questions
presented with more than ordinary promptness and accuracy. His opinion
in all matters of public interest and concern in the community in which
he resides is as frequently sought and carries as great weight as that
of any other man, to say the least, and the same also may be said of his
advice in private business affairs. He is frank and outspoken at all
times, and never hesitates to say just what he thinks when called upon
to express himself in any direction. He has many warm friends, and
enjoys a full measure of popularity in social as well as in public and
business circles. He was a moving spirit in the organization of the "New
Hampshire Club," an association formed by New Hampshire men doing
business in Boston, for social entertainment, and has been a leading
member of the same from the start. Endowed with an active mind and
healthy and vigorous bodily powers, he has great capacity for labor, and
will, unquestionably, accomplish even more substantial results in the
future than have already attended his efforts.
[Illustration: Chester Pike]
CHESTER PIKE.
The subject of this sketch was born July 30, 1829, in the town of
Cornish, N. H. Mr. Pike may be said to be possessed of prescriptive
rights in the township of his nativity and residence, for, planted of
others, it was by blood of his blood nurtured into permanence and
prosperity.
As the traits of the parent re-appear in the qualities of the child, so
the annals of the stock from whence he sprang mingle inseparably with
the chronicles of this many-hilled town by the Connecticut. His
great-grandfather and great-grandmother Chase were the first white
persons to settle in Cornish, and in every mention of early citizens
will be found the names of Pike, Bryant, and Chase, whose blood blends
with his. The friendship arising from nearness of residence and a common
industry, which from the first had bound these families together, was
soon strengthened and made permanent by the stronger tie of
intermarriage.
In 1827, Eben Pike, who was the eldest son of Ebenezer and Mary Marcy
Pike, of Cornish, was united in marriage with the daughter of Capt.
Sylvanus Bryant and Sarah Chase Bryant, of the same place. This lady, on
her mother's side, was a cousin to the statesman, Salmon P. Chase, who
for many years represented Ohio in the senate of the United States, and
at the time of his death, as chief-justice of the supreme court, wore
with undiminished honor and dignity the mantle of the great Marshall.
The earliest fruit of this union was Chester Pike, whose life we are now
tracing. A later son, John B. Pike, a mail-route agent between Boston
and St. Albans, an efficient officer and courteous gentleman, is now a
resident of Lebanon, in this state. The oldest son still resides in his
native town and not far from the spot where his grandparents first
settled, in the broad, picturesque valley of the Connecticut, hard by
the village of Windsor, and under the shadows of Ascutney. To one so
located, the relics of the past are objects of enduring interest. The
very hills and valleys must awaken memories of the olden time and kindle
associations of the ancestral home, which will perpetuate the virtues
and the aspirations of the dead. He can but experience something of the
feeling of the descendants of the old families of England, who live upon
their ancient estates, and saunter in the halls of old castles, or under
the shadows of gnarled trees that were planted centuries ago by the
founders of their line, whose ashes long since mingled with, and became
a part of, their inalienable homesteads. The remembrance of the brave
fathers and fair mothers who lived in the heroic past is their richest
inheritance.
In his earlier years, obedient to the custom of the fathers, Mr. Pike
attended the district school. This institution, original to New England,
discharges a function in the training of the young which, to our mind,
some of the methods and more ambitious inventions of modern educators
fail to fulfill. In the district school, if properly taught, are secured
habits of faithfulness and diligence, and a permanent knowledge of
elementary branches, which are of daily practical use in the life of
the people. There, too, the silly conceits and factitious distinctions
of society are broken down, as children see that success is achieved by
brains, not money; by industry, not social standing. In this, sometimes
rough but general intercourse of youth, democratic ways and independence
of thought are acquired, and the seeds of a true manhood and womanhood
are planted. Our system of public schools is in harmony with the
organism of the state, and in them our children imbibe a spirit of
obedience to wholesome, legitimate authority, and so become conservative
of public discipline and order. Men learn to rule by learning to obey.
It was here that Mr. Pike laid the foundations of character.
Later, he was for a time a scholar in the academy at Hartland, Vt. After
a season of study there, he matriculated in that long-time famous and
still existing center of pro-collegiate education, the Kimball Union
Academy at Meriden, N. H. The principal, at that time, was the Rev.
Cyrus Richards, and under his guidance several terms were passed in the
acquisition of the more abstruse learning of the books. But the months
drift by, and at the age of fifteen Mr. Pike graduates from the schools
and passes on to the sterner duties of manhood and of life. The winter
months of the six ensuing years are filled up with the active work of
the pedagogue, and the summer seasons in constant, laborious work upon
the home farm.
During this period he was ripening the lessons of his pupilage and
maturing plans for the future. At the age of twenty-one, Mr. Pike,
though he still spent his winters for some years in teaching, became a
trader in cattle and a merchant in the products of the soil. By his
enterprise in this, his chosen vocation, he reached the position of a
foremost man of a notable class among the farmers of New England.
Familiar from youth with the harvest capabilities of the rich levels and
the sun-warmed hills of Sullivan county, and gifted with a quick sense
to perceive the wants of modern markets, he has, by unusual energy and
sagacity, fitted means to ends, and, with a Midas-touch, turned his
agrarian resources into gold. His success teaches the lesson that the
New England farm has no less potential wealth at present than in times
past, if skill but holds the handles of the plow. Let the modern farmer
cling to the old homestead and the paternal acres, and take counsel with
the progressive science of soil-enrichment; let him employ the same
skill in the cultivation of his farm and the management of his stock,
let him use the same enterprise in utilizing markets, and the same
economy in the disposition of his funds, which are necessary in other
employments,--and his success is sure.
We would here quote from a leading paper of the state a few lines
pertinent to our narrative:--
"Capt. Chester Pike, of Cornish, has one of the largest, if not
the largest, farm in the state. It contains about one thousand
acres of land, divided into wood, mowing, tillage, and pasture
land; forty acres in corn, and seventy acres in wheat, rye,
oats, barley, and potatoes. Last season he raised six thousand
eight hundred baskets of corn. He has one hundred and thirty
head of cattle, three hundred sheep, thirty-seven horses, and
forty hogs, and raises hay enough to keep his stock through the
season, or about three hundred tons. Capt. Pike's farm lies in
the town of Cornish, on the east bank of the Connecticut river,
immediately opposite the farm of the Hon. William M. Evarts,
late secretary of state, situated in Windsor. Vt., which is of
about equal dimensions, and, in fact, the largest farm in
Vermont. Mr. Evarts raises about the same amount of stock, hay,
and produce as Capt. Pike. On both of these farms may be found
all the modern appliances, such as mowing and reaping machines,
seeders for sowing grain, two-horse cultivators for hoeing corn,
most of the work being done by machinery, the same as upon the
largest farms of the West."
Any man might be proud of such a record, but it is only a part of the
truth. In single seasons, Mr. Pike often buys, for resale, from
seventy-five to one hundred and twenty-five tons of poultry, and between
two and three hundred thousand pounds of wool. Besides the above, he has
for many years purchased annually, for the Boston market, in the
interest of the firm of Lamson, Dudley, & Pike, of which he is a member,
great numbers of cattle and sheep. During the thirty years, Mr. Pike has
found an outlet for that restless energy and enterprise which these
pursuits and the occupation of farming and stock-growing cannot exhaust,
in an extensive lumber business. All this, it should be borne in mind,
is in addition to the extensive cultivation and stock-growing on his own
farm.
Notwithstanding the variety and extent of his purely business
transactions, Mr. Pike has also found leisure to fill with efficiency
many stations in the public service. At one period of his career, during
several successive years he was selectman of Cornish. This led the way
to other offices. He who had discharged with faithfulness and skill the
responsibilities in the town, was deemed worthy to be honored with
higher duties, and Mr. Pike found himself, in 1859, 1860, and 1861, the
incumbent of the office of county commissioner for Sullivan county. At
the end of his third term, his fellow-townsmen withdrew him from the
commissionship, which he had ably filled, and made him their
representative to the general court for 1862, and again for 1863. He
made an intelligent and active legislator, and soon became familiar with
the business of the house. The estimate which was put upon his services
and standing in the house is seen in the fact that in his first year he
served on the committee on manufactures, and, in his second year, was
made chairman of the committee on banks, which at the time was one of
the most difficult and responsible positions in the house. If Mr. Pike
did not often attempt to influence legislation by debate, he had what
Wirt attributes to Jefferson, "the out-of-door talent of chamber
consultation," and used it with good effect. The years 1862 and 1863
were two of the most anxious and trying years of the civil war, and
perplexing propositions were brought before the legislature for
solution. There were sharp antagonisms and earnest debates among the
strong men of those sessions; questions of jurisdiction and policy
touching the national defense and the rights of states, new to
legislation and embittered by party rancor, became the subjects of
action; the frequent calls for men and money to meet the demand which
the prolonged and sanguinary conflict made upon the state gave to the
legislation of the period unprecedented interest and importance. Through
it all, no man was more active, more true, or more patriotic, than Capt.
Pike.
In 1863, the subject of our sketch was appointed provost-marshal of the
third New Hampshire district, and during that and the two succeeding
years, when the war-cloud hung heavy and dark on the southern horizon,
he discharged the duties of this delicate and difficult office with
unusual ability, and received from Mr. Frye, the
provost-marshal-general, the highest possible commendation for the
integrity and success with which he administered the affairs of his
department of the public service. Associated with him in this branch of
the military organization, were some of the foremost men of the state:
Hon. Francis A. Faulkner, an able lawyer of Keene, was commissioner, and
Dixi Crosby, the distinguished head of the Dartmouth Medical College,
was surgeon of the board of enrollment; Senator H. W. Blair, Hon. Ossian
Ray, and Col. Nelson Converse of Marlborough were the deputy-marshals,
and Judge W. H. H. Allen of Newport, C. C. Kimball, Esq., of
Charlestown, and Henry C. Henderson, Esq., of Keene, were clerks of the
board. To have conducted the office in a way to secure the respect and
co-operation of such a body of men is in itself a distinguished honor.
In 1866, Mr. Pike received the nomination for councilor of the fourth
councilor district, but declined, and was subsequently appointed United
States collector of internal revenue. His administration of the duties
of this position was deservedly popular with the department at
Washington, and with the people at home, and he remained in it till the
districts of the state were consolidated. In 1876 he was a delegate from
Cornish in the constitutional convention, receiving every vote cast by
his fellow-townsmen.
In addition to these public offices, Mr. Pike has been a director in the
Claremont National Bank for fifteen years, and an active member and
officer of the Sullivan County, the Connecticut River, the New Hampshire
State, and the New England agricultural societies. To have earned and to
have enjoyed the popular favor in a republic and in so many and varied
places of honorable trust, is to have passed the crucial test of fitness
for public life.
Few men of positive character and recognized ability, if in exalted
positions, are so fortunate, in this age, as to escape criticism; but it
will be acknowledged that in all the state and national trusts held by
the subject of our sketch, he has so borne himself as to win the
approval of the authorities, the good will of the people, and the
respect of his friends.
In 1862, Mr. Pike was united in marriage to Amanda M. Fay, the daughter
of Hon. Levi Chamberlain Fay, of Windsor, Vt., a lady of attractive
manners and varied accomplishments. Mrs. Pike has been a most loyal wife
in all the relations of life, and the beloved mother of four
children,--three sons and a daughter,--of whom but one survives, Chester
Fay Pike, a lad of twelve years.
In the above narrative, we have done little more than to set down in
order the events in the life of a quiet citizen of one of the country
towns of our state; but, when we consider how much this gentleman has
accomplished and that he is only now at the meridian of life, we realize
that his is no ordinary career, and that New England does not furnish a
long catalogue of men who have so well illustrated the genius of our
institutions, and the possibilities of a sagacious mind that has a fixed
purpose to succeed in the race of life. The man who does difficult work
and wins the love of friends deserves to be honored of all. In all the
relations of public and private life Mr. Pike,--
"By nature honest, by experience wise,
Healthy by temperance and exercise,"
has acted well his part, and so honored his state, and made a name which
his descendants will cherish in the years to come.
[Illustration: Thos. P. Pierce]
COL. THOMAS P. PIERCE.
BY HON. JOHN H. GOODALE.
Most of the success and thrift which during the past thirty years have
attended the manufacturing interests of New Hampshire are due to the
untiring industry and intelligent foresight of that class of
self-reliant, progressive business men who, starting in life with
ordinary advantages, have had the nerve to seize and the capacity to
improve the opportunities within their reach. Prominent among this class
of enterprising and valuable citizens of this state is the gentleman
whose name stands at the head of this page,--HON. THOMAS P. PIERCE.
Col. Pierce was born in Chelsea, Mass., on the 30th of August, 1820. He
came from Revolutionary stock on both the father's and mother's side.
After limited training in the public schools, he learned the trade of
carriage and ornamental painting in Boston.
In 1840, the subject of this sketch came to Manchester, which was then
springing into existence as a manufacturing village, under the auspices
of the Amoskeag Land and Water Company. Three years previous the first
improvements were begun, and it was now a bustling town of six hundred
families, gathered from every section of northern New England. With much
of the rush and recklessness of a newly grown community, there were then
germs of that energy which has since made Manchester an eminently
prosperous city. Young Pierce, not yet of age, worked as a journeyman at
his trade, and by his unvarying courtesy and cheerful spirit was a
favorite among his associates. He was an active member of the famous
Stark Guards,--a military organization of which Hon. George W. Morrison
and Walter French, Esq., were successively in command.
There is no more exhaustive test of a young man's stamina than life in a
rapidly growing manufacturing village. One literally goes in and out in
the presence of the enemies' pickets, though they may not be intentional
enemies. The temptation to excess is constant and persistent. Often the
most brilliant and sagacious fall victims. It is to the credit of Thomas
P. Pierce that he passed the ordeal unscathed. In the summer of 1842 it
was his good fortune to marry Miss Asenath R. McPherson, the daughter of
a farmer in the adjoining town of Bedford.
The war with Mexico began in 1846. When it was decided that an army
under Gen. Scott should be raised to march to the city of Mexico, it was
ordered that a regiment of infantry should be raised in New England. Mr.
Pierce at once volunteered as a private, and was soon after
commissioned, by President Polk, as second lieutenant of one of the
companies of the New England regiment. The command of this regiment was
first assigned to Franklin Pierce; but on his promotion to the command
of a brigade it was given to Truman B. Ransom, a brave and accomplished
officer from Vermont.
Early in the summer the brigade under Gen. Pierce was ordered to proceed
to the eastern coast of Mexico, and to land in the vicinity of Vera
Cruz, to be ready to co-operate with the main army under Gen. Scott in
the march to the Mexican capital. The troops disembarked on the 28th of
June,--a most unfavorable season of the year. The heat was so intense on
the lowlands that to march between nine o'clock in the morning and four
in the afternoon was impossible. With the exception of a few of the
officers, the entire force was made up of new recruits. It occupied two
weeks to secure mules for army transportation. On the 14th of July the
movement toward the city of Mexico began, and, on reaching the
foothills, every bridge and fortified pass was strongly guarded by
hostile Mexicans. There was constant skirmishing, and the enemy, from
the cliffs and thickets, made annoying and sometimes dangerous attacks.
The climate, the difficulties of marching, and hardships of a military
life in a strange country bore heavily on the inexperienced soldiery.
Amid these perplexities, the tact, the genial spirit, and untiring
attention to the wants of his comrades won for Lieut. Pierce a high
regard and strong personal attachment. In the sharp conflicts which
occurred on reaching the table-lands, Lieut. Pierce took an active part.
At the battle of Contreras, fought August 19, he was personally
complimented by Col. Ransom for bravery,--himself soon after a martyr to
his personal valor.
Reaching the higher lands, Gen. Scott found the flower of the Mexican
army entrenched among the cliffs of Churubusco. To leave the enemy in
the rear was to hazard everything; and in the dangerous task of
dislodging and utterly routing them the New England regiment bore a
conspicuous part. In his report of the battle, Gen. Scott placed the
name of Lieut. Pierce on the list of those recommended for promotion on
account of gallant and meritorious conduct. The storming of Chepultepec
soon followed, in which the New England regiment had literally to cross
a succession of ridges and ravines, exposed to a deadly fire from the
enemy among the crags. The assault was successful, and the surrender of
the Mexican capital immediately followed. In this action, and in the
details of patrol service during the winter, while the city was occupied
by the American army, Lieut. Pierce was officially commended for the
vigilant discharge of his duties.
The campaign in Mexico, with its varied experiences, had, without doubt,
a marked and favorable effect upon the subject of this sketch. The
novelty of climate and productions, the grandeur of the scenery, and the
immense natural resources of that region were not lost upon him. But of
still greater value was the experience gained from association with men
of large attainments, positive ideas, strong will, and comprehensive
views. The majority of the army officers in that campaign were of this
character; and the young soldier, at the close of the war, returned home
in March, 1848, with higher aims and a better and truer estimate of the
duties and responsibilities of life.
Col. Pierce again engaged in business at his trade, in Manchester,
which, in the meantime, had been incorporated a city. In 1849 he became
a member of the city government; and in the same year was appointed a
member of Gov. Dinsmoor's staff. Upon the inauguration of Gen. Franklin
Pierce as president, in March, 1853, he was appointed postmaster at
Manchester. This position, in the largest and most prosperous city of
the state, was one of unusual labor and responsibility. Col. Pierce
filled the office for eight years, and to the entire satisfaction of the
citizens of all parties.
On the breaking out of the rebellion, in 1861, Col. Pierce was selected
by Gov. Goodwin as commander of the Second New Hampshire regiment, of
the three months' troops. Having satisfactorily discharged his duties,
he retired after the term of enlistment was changed to three years. The
next year, September, 1862, unexpected difficulties having arisen, Gov.
Berry telegraphed to Col. Pierce to take command of the Twelfth New
Hampshire regiment, then completing its organization at Concord. How
well he accomplished the duty assigned him was expressed in a statement,
signed by the officers of the regiment, at the time of his withdrawal,
in the following words:--
"Your generous and patriotic course in assuming temporary
command of the regiment during a period of great excitement and
confusion, thereby saving it from dissolution and the state from
disgrace, merits our admiration and sincere thanks."
In 1866, Col. Pierce removed to Nashua, for the purpose of engaging in
the manufacture of card-board and glazed paper. Since then he has been
an active member and one of the directors of the Nashua Card and
Glazed-Paper Company,--one of the most successful business enterprises
in the state, and which, in the variety and excellence of its products,
is not surpassed by any corporation of its kind in the country. Col.
Pierce is also a director of the Contoocook Valley Paper Company in
Henniker, a director of the Second National Bank and president of the
Mechanics Savings Bank at Nashua.
In 1874, Col. Pierce was elected a member of the New Hampshire state
senate, the only candidate of his party ever elected from that district;
and in 1875 and 1876 he was sheriff of Hillsborough county. While
unwavering in his attachment to, and support of, the Democratic party,
he is not rabid in his policy or partisan in his associations. When
President Hayes visited Nashua, in 1877, he was selected by the city
government as chairman of the committee of arrangements; and no citizen
took a more efficient part in securing a proper observance of the
obsequies of President Garfield. He and his family are attendants of the
Universalist church.
In his social and domestic relations, Col. Pierce has been fortunate. Of
his two children, the eldest, Mrs. Julia M., wife of William N. Johnson,
resides at West Henniker, where her husband is a paper manufacturer; his
son, Mr. Frank Pierce, is associated with him in business.
A few years since, having purchased the homestead of the late Gen. J. G.
Foster, he built a spacious and elegant residence. Situated on an
acclivity on the north side of the Nashua river, surrounded by ample
grounds and stately trees, it is a home of rare attractions. Col. Pierce
is still in the prime of active life, and his past record, as well as
his present position, is a guarantee that he will ably and faithfully
meet the responsibilities of the future.
COL. MARTIN V. B. EDGERLY.
BY H. H. METCALF.
In these days of varying fortune in business life, and in this country
especially, where property is accumulated or lost more readily and
frequently than in any other land, the beneficent nature of the
institution of life assurance has come to be very generally appreciated.
This institution, which, so far as its general establishment is
concerned, is peculiarly an American one, is indeed a natural outgrowth
of our social and business system, and is coming to be more fully
recognized, from year to year, in one form or another, as the only
medium through which men in general business, or most of the avocations
of life, may make substantially sure provision for the support of their
families or those depending upon them, in case of their own removal by
death before acquiring a competency, or after the loss of the same
through business reverses or adventitious circumstances. The man who
stands before the public as a leading representative of an institution
of such importance becomes properly a person of note in the business
community; and when he is endowed with those powers and qualities of
mind which naturally bring him into prominence in social and political
circles and the general activities of life, he may well be classed among
those who are esteemed representative men of the times in the state and
section wherein he resides, and which is the field of his active labor.
Such a man is the subject of this sketch.
MARTIN VAN BUREN EDGERLY is a native of the town of Barnstead,--a town,
by the way, which has sent out its productions into the world in the
form of able, energetic men,--men of strong minds in strong bodies, who
have made their mark in the world, and stand at the front in the various
fields of activity in which they have engaged. In the domain of law, of
theology, of politics, and of general business, the sons of Barnstead
hold high rank, as is abundantly demonstrated by reference to the names
of Lewis W. Clark, Rev. Alonzo H. Quint, John G. Sinclair, and John P.
Newell. Mr. Edgerly was the fifth of nine children--five sons and four
daughters--of Samuel J. and Eliza (Bickford) Edgerly, born September 26,
1833. Samuel J. Edgerly was a man of far more than ordinary intelligence
and mental activity, who, but for the misfortune of disease, which
impaired his physical powers in early life;, would have become
unquestionably a leading spirit in public affairs. As it was, he was
recognized by all with whom he came in contact in life as a man of
strong mind and decided character. He was a descendant, upon the
maternal side, and was named in honor of that Col. Samuel Johnson who
was one of the early settlers of the town of Northwood, and of whom it
is said, in sketching the history of that town, that upon the first
night of his abode within its limits he slept upon the ground between
two rocks, with a quilt or piece of canvas for covering.
[Illustration: M. V. B. Edgerly]
When a lad of twelve years, Col. Edgerly removed with his parents to
Manchester. He attended the public schools for a time, but at an early
age entered the service of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, being
engaged at first in the mills and afterwards in the machine-shop; but,
after several years, becoming dissatisfied with the dull routine of
mechanical labor, and desirous of testing his powers in the field of
business, in October, 1856, at the age of twenty-three, he embarked in
trade as a joint proprietor of a drug-store with Mr. Lewis H. Parker. He
was thus engaged but a short time, however, removing the following year
to the town of Pittsfield, where he soon established himself in the
insurance business, taking the agency of various companies, fire and
life. This, it may be truly said, was the actual starting point in his
career. He found in this business a field of labor congenial to his
tastes, and peculiarly adapted to the development and exercise of the
distinctive powers of mind and body with which he is endowed; and he
entered into his work with heart and soul. He was not long in
discovering the special line of effort to which he was best adapted, and
which gave the best promise of substantial success in response to such
effort; nor were the managers of the business in question long in
ascertaining, from the character of the work already accomplished, the
direction in which their own advantage lay; and so it came about in a
short time, that after a visit to the company's office in Springfield,
made upon the solicitation of the president, Col. Edgerly became
exclusively the agent of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
Company, relinquishing all other agencies, and devoting his entire
efforts to the interests of the company.
So thorough and satisfactory was the work which he accomplished, that a
year later he was given the general agency of the company for the state
of New Hampshire, with headquarters at Manchester, to which city he
removed with his family, when, in 1863, he was given charge of the
business for Vermont and northern New York in addition to this state.
Under his efficient management and supervision the business of the
company increased to a remarkable degree in the entire territory of
which he had control, until the net annual receipts in premiums upon new
policies, in New Hampshire alone, had risen from substantially nothing
in 1859, when he first commenced work, to nearly seventy-five thousand
dollars in 1866, representing the proceeds from the issue of a thousand
policies, covering an aggregate insurance of more than a million and a
half of dollars. This remarkable success was due, not simply to the work
of personal solicitation, in which line Col. Edgerly has no superiors,
but more especially to the keen discernment and ready knowledge of men
with which he is endowed, enabling him to select proper agents and
judiciously supervise their work.
In 1868 he accepted the position of superintendent of the company's
agencies throughout the country. For two years he labored as none but a
physically robust and mentally active man can, establishing agencies and
working up the business of the company throughout the West, while
retaining and directing his own special work in the East. This double
labor was too arduous, even for a man of his powers, and in 1870 he
resigned the position of superintendent, and confined his work to his
former field in New Hampshire, Vermont, and northern New York. In
September, 1874, however, he was induced to accept charge of the
company's agency in Boston, in addition to his other duties, and since
that date he has divided his time and labor between the two positions,
efficiently directing the work of both, and largely increasing the
business at the Boston office. In January last he was made a member of
the board of directors of the company which he has so long and
faithfully served, and which owes its prosperity, in no small degree, to
his intelligent efforts.
Col. Edgerly has been a Democrat from youth, and has ever manifested a
lively interest in political affairs, although he has had neither the
time nor inclination to enter, to any extent, upon the duties of public
position, even had it been in the power of his party to confer the same.
He has, however, in such time as he was able to command, done a great
deal of party work in different campaigns; and in 1874 was elected a
member of the board of aldermen, although his ward was strongly
Republican at the time, thus demonstrating his personal popularity and
the esteem in which he is held in the community where he resides. He has
frequently served as a member of the Democratic state committee, and as
treasurer of the same, and a member of the executive committee; also, as
chairman of the Democratic city committee in Manchester. He was a
delegate from New Hampshire to the Democratic national convention at
Baltimore, in 1872, which nominated Horace Greeley for the presidency,
and was the New Hampshire member of the Democratic national committee
from 1872 to 1876. Again, in 1880, he was chosen a delegate-at-large to
the national convention of his party. In 1871 he was appointed, by Gov.
Weston, chief of staff; and in 1873 and 1874 he held the position of
commander of the Amoskeag Veterans, of which organization he has long
been an active and popular member. In 1874 he was appointed, by
President Grant, an alternate commissioner to represent New Hampshire at
the centennial exposition and celebration in Philadelphia.
Actively and closely as he has been engaged in his chosen line of
business, Col. Edgerly has lent his aid and judgment to some extent to
the encouragement and direction of other business enterprises. He has
been many years a trustee of the Merrimack River Savings Bank and a
director of the Suncook Valley Railroad, of which latter enterprise he
was among the active promoters. He was also, for a time, a director of
the City National Bank. In his religious associations he is an
Episcopalian, and is an active member and officer of Grace church in
Manchester. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows and Masonic bodies in
the city of his residence.
March 7, 1854, Col. Edgerly was united in marriage with Miss Alvina
Barney of Danbury, by whom he has had three children, two of whom are
now living, a son and daughter,--Clinton Johnson, born December 16,
1857, and Mabel Clayton, born October 18, 1859.
Col. Edgerly is a man of fine personal appearance, genial manners, and a
ready appreciation of the demands of friendship and society, as well as
those of business. There are few men of greater personal popularity in
his city or state, and none who command more fully the confidence of
those with whom they are brought into relationship, whether in business
or in social life. Yet under fifty years of age, he has, it may
naturally be assumed, many years of successful effort yet before him,
and many more in which to enjoy the substantial reward of his labor.
[Illustration: ICHABOD GOODWIN.
_GOVERNOR OF NEW HAMPSHIRE 1859-60._]
HON. ICHABOD GOODWIN.
BY FRANK GOODWIN.
Mr. Goodwin is the eldest son of Samuel Goodwin and Nancy Thompson
Gerrish, and was born in that part of Berwick which is now North
Berwick, in the state of Maine. He is descended, on both father's and
mother's side, from families of very great colonial importance. The
great-grandfather of Mr. Goodwin, Capt. Ichabod Goodwin, is said, by the
writer of the genealogy of the Berwick Goodwins, in the _Historical
Magazine_, to have been the most remarkable man who ever lived in that
town. He distinguished himself at the battle of Ticonderoga, and we
learn from the _London Magazine_ that he was especially mentioned in
Maj.-Gen. Abercrombie's report to Secretary Pitt.
On his father's side, his ancestors figured conspicuously in the wars
before the Revolution, and up to the period of the Revolution were of
the families upon whom devolved the magisterial work and honor of the
times. On his mother's side he is likewise descended from families which
for a century, and up to the time of the Revolution, performed a large
share of the duties of public office; and some of the most conspicuous
names in the colonial history of Maine and New Hampshire are to be
counted among his maternal ancestors.
To mention the names of Champernoun, Waldron, and Elliot, none more
familiar to those informed upon colonial history, is but to recall the
persons from whom, on the maternal side, he is lineally descended, or
with whom his maternal ancestors were closely allied by ties of family
connection. The ante-revolutionary importance of the people from whom he
comes is well illustrated by the fact that the name of his maternal
grandfather, Joseph Gerrish, stands first on the triennial catalogue of
Harvard College in the list of graduates of the year 1752, a class which
numbered a Quincy among its graduating members. The significance of this
fact, as bearing upon the status of his mother's family at that time,
is, that the names of the members of the classes of that day are
published in the triennial catalogue of Harvard in the order of the
social importance of the families to which the members respectively
belonged.
At the time of Mr. Goodwin's birth, which was just before the beginning
of the present century, the state of things which the Revolution had
brought about had had ample time to crystallize. Whether it was through
the great changes that under the new order of things had taken place in
the political, social, and commercial affairs of the country, or whether
from those inherent causes under the operation of which families
conspicuous and influential in one period drop out of notice and are
lost to the eye of the historian, the annalist, and perhaps even of the
town chronicler, Mr. Goodwin's family, at the time of his birth, were
simply plain farming people, highly respected within the limits of the
little country town in which they lived, but no longer among the noted,
or influential, or wealthy people of Maine. The country had, by the
close of the last century, taken a considerable stride onward in
prosperity as well as in numerical growth, and the bustle and hum of
industry, pouring itself into new channels of prosperity, had passed by
many of the families which in the earlier era had been the foremost in
developing the resources of the country, in leading the yeomanry in war,
in presiding over the tribunals, and sitting in council as civic
magistrates.
Mr. Goodwin's academic education consisted of several years of study at
the academy at South Berwick, an institution having at that time a good
deal of local importance, and then, as now, the only school in the
vicinity of his birthplace where a fitting for college could be
obtained. Shortly after leaving that academy he entered the
counting-house of Samuel Lord, Esq., then a very prominent merchant and
ship-owner of Portsmouth, N. H., and he became a member of Mr. Lord's
family. He here displayed qualities which had been quite conspicuous in
his earlier boyhood,--those of energy and assiduity and a very marked
capacity for affairs. These qualities, which at the early age of twelve
had made him quite a competent and satisfactory manager of the farm of
his widowed step-grandmother, who was the grandmother of Mr. Lord,
showed later in his conduct as a clerk in the commercial business of the
then very thriving shipping port of Portsmouth. Mr. Lord, finding that
Mr. Goodwin's business abilities were more comprehensive than the mere
duties of a clerk required, placed him as a supercargo in charge of the
business of what was then the largest ship owned in the port, the
"Elizabeth Wilson." In the present days of railroads, sea-going
steamers, oceanic cables, and the commercial complement of these foreign
correspondents or agents, it may seem a trivial sign of a young man's
capacities to name the fact of his being made the business manager of a
ship, especially as ships then went in regard to size; but it is the
introduction of these very modern appliances for conducting business
which has rendered the responsibility of the delegated management of
this species of property comparatively easy. In the days of Mr.
Goodwin's early voyaging, the whole discretion as to the conduct of the
ship's affairs was vested in the supercargo, except in the brief period
of her being in the home port, when the owner resumed his authority and
control. In foreign places, among strangers, beyond the reach of
opportunity for consultation with his owner, the young man must rely
upon himself; must decide upon what voyage his ship shall go, and must
be ready to account to his principal upon his return for the results of
a prosperous enterprise or a disastrous adventure. It was not long
before Mr. Goodwin had learned enough of seamanship to enable him to add
to the duties of the supercargo the further business of navigating his
ship, so that for several years he was both ship-master and business
manager, offices then, as now, rarely combined in one person; for the
ship-master is to-day chiefly the navigator and head seaman of his ship,
while the business, involving the chartering and the rest, is attended
to by a merchant in the port of destination, who is in ready
communication with the owner, both by the fast-going mail of the
steamship and the quicker method of the ocean cable. Mr. Goodwin's sea
life lasted for about twelve years. During that time he had been so far
successful as to become a part owner, and to be enabled to begin
business at home.
In the year 1832 he established himself as a merchant at Portsmouth.
Portsmouth has been his home ever since that time; and there he for many
years conducted an extensive mercantile business, his chief business
interests lying in the direction of the foreign carrying-trade. Upon
leaving the sea he soon became foremost in matters that were of public
concern. He was one of the early projectors of the railroad interests of
New England; and, until within a few years, he has taken a large part in
all the enterprises of public import in the vicinity of his home,
including, besides railroads, the enterprises of manufacturing and
banking; and he has been vested always with a large share of the local
trusts, both public and private, which devolve upon the public-spirited
and trusted citizen. He has of late years been inclined to withdraw from
these responsibilities; but of those which he still retains, the
presidency of the Howard Benevolent Society, a position he has held for
over thirty years, and the presidency of the Portsmouth Bridge Company
may be mentioned. He has, however, within the last two years, assumed
the presidency of the First National Bank of Portsmouth, in which he is
largely interested as a stockholder, and in which institution he had
been a director from its incorporation as a state bank. He was for many
years and at different periods a director in the Eastern Railroad
Company, and was the first president of the Eastern Railroad in New
Hampshire, which position he held for twenty-five years. He was also of
the first board of direction of the Portland, Saco, & Portsmouth
Railroad Company, and was the president of that corporation from the
year 1847 to the year 1871. But it is unnecessary to mention all the
public trusts of a corporate nature which have been confided to his
care. His chief claim to public esteem, and that which will secure to
him its most enduring recognition, is derived from his services as the
first "war governor" of New Hampshire.
Upon Mr. Goodwin's settling as a business man in Portsmouth, he did not
confine his energies to his private business and to corporate
enterprises, but soon acquired a large interest and influence as a
member of the Whig party. He served in the legislature of New Hampshire,
as a member of that party, in the years 1838, 1843, 1844, 1850, 1854,
and 1856. He was also a delegate-at-large from that state to the
conventions at which Clay, Taylor, and Scott were nominated by the Whigs
for the presidency, and was a vice-president at the first two named
conventions; and he has twice served in the constitutional conventions
of New Hampshire. He was the candidate of the Whigs for congress at
several elections before the state was divided into congressional
districts. New Hampshire was in those days one of the most powerful
strongholds of the Democratic party in the country; and a Whig
nomination for any office, determined by the suffrages of the whole
state, was merely a tribute of esteem by that party to one of its most
honored members. Upon the establishment of congressional districts, Mr.
Goodwin received a unanimous nomination of the Whig party for congress
at the first convention held in his district. This nomination bid fair
to be followed by an election, but the circumstances of his private
business prevented his acceptance of the candidateship. In the great
political convulsions which preceded the war of the rebellion, the power
of the Democratic party in New Hampshire began to decline, while the
ties which through years of almost steady defeat in the state at large
had been sufficient to hold together the Whig party, now came to be
loosened, and out of the decadence of the former and the extinction of
the latter party there was built up the Republican party, which gained
the supremacy in the state, and which has ever since, with a brief
exception, maintained that supremacy. Mr. Goodwin, while in full
sympathy with the cause of the Union, which he believed the politicians
of the South were striving to dismember, yet felt that perhaps the
impending crisis could be arrested through the means of the old
political organizations; and he remained steadfast to the organization
of the Whig party until he saw that its usefulness, both as a state and
as a national party, was gone. He was the last candidate of the Whigs
for the office of governor of New Hampshire, and received in the whole
state the meager amount of about two thousand votes. This lesson did not
require to be repeated. He immediately did all in his power to aid in
the establishment of the Republican party in this state; for, although
the old-time issues between the Democrats and Whigs had gone by, and new
questions had arisen involving the very integrity of the nation, he did
not regard the Democratic party as one capable of solving or disposed to
solve those questions in a patriotic and statesmanlike way. He was
chosen the governor of New Hampshire, as the Republican candidate, in
the year 1859, and was re-elected in the following year, his second term
of office having expired on June 5, 1861.
The military spirit of the people of New Hampshire had become dormant,
and the militia system of the state had fallen pretty much to decay long
before the election of Mr. Goodwin to the office of governor. A slight
revival of that spirit, perhaps, is marked by the organization in his
honor, in January, 1860, of the "Governor's Horse-Guards,"--a regiment
of cavalry in brilliant uniform, designed to do escort duty to the
governor,--as well as by a field muster of several voluntary
organizations of troops which went into camp at Nashua in the same year.
But when the call of President Lincoln for troops was made, in the
spring of 1861, the very foundation of a military system required to be
formed. The legislature was not in session, and would not convene,
except under a special call, until the following June. There were no
funds in the treasury which could be devoted to the expense of the
organization and equipment of troops, as all the available funds were
needed to meet the ordinary state expenditures. The great confidence of
the people of New Hampshire in the wisdom and integrity of Mr. Goodwin
found in this emergency full expression. Without requiring time to
convene the legislature so as to obtain the security of the state for
the loan, the banking institutions and citizens of the state tendered
him the sum of $680,000, for the purpose of enabling him to raise and
equip for the field New Hampshire's quota of troops. This offer he
gladly accepted; and averting delay in the proceedings by refraining
from convening the legislature, he, upon his own responsibility,
proceeded to organize and equip troops for the field; and in less than
two months he had dispatched to the army, near Washington, two well
equipped and well officered regiments. Of this sum of $680,000, only
about $100,000 was expended. On the assembling of the legislature, that
body unanimously passed the "enabling act," under which all of his
proceedings as governor were ratified, and the state made to assume the
responsibility.
During the period of this gubernatorial service, there was a
reconstruction of the bench of the highest judicial tribunal of the
state; and during that time nearly every position upon that court was
filled by his appointment. It is sufficient to say that the exalted rank
which that tribunal has ever held among the courts of last resort of the
states of the nation, suffered no diminution from his appointments to
its bench, such was the good sense and discernment of Mr. Goodwin in
making the selections, although himself not versed in the law.
"Waite's History of New Hampshire in the Rebellion" says of him:--
"His administration of state affairs met with universal
approval, and he left the office (that of governor) with the
respect of all parties. As a member of the legislature and of
the constitutional convention, he took a leading part on
committees and in debate. His speeches were never made for show.
He spoke only when there seemed to be occasion for it, and then
always to the point, and was listened to with great respect and
attention; for his conservatism and practical wisdom in all
matters of public policy were well known. In all public
positions he has discharged his duties with fidelity, industry,
and marked ability. As a citizen and business man he is
public-spirited, liberal, high-minded, and enjoys the unbounded
confidence and respect of all."
Mr. Goodwin has always been noted for his kindness to young men, aiding
them without stint, both with his purse and his advice in their business
difficulties; and he has ever been ready to extend to all his townsmen
who needed aid the assistance of his influence, his counsel, and his
pecuniary means.
In 1827, Mr. Goodwin married Miss Sarah Parker Rice, a daughter of Mr.
William Rice, a wealthy and prosperous merchant of Portsmouth. Of seven
children, one son and two daughters survive.
[Illustration: William Cogswell]
REV. WILLIAM COGSWELL, D. D.
By Rev. E. O. Jameson.
WILLIAM COGSWELL, the oldest of the four Cogswell brothers whose
distinguished lives are briefly sketched in this volume, was born June
5, 1787, in Atkinson, N. H. His ancestors were among the earliest
settlers of Massachusetts, and persons of quality, piety, and
distinction.
His descent is from John Cogswell, who settled in Ipswich, Mass., in
1635, and Giles Badger, who settled in Newbury, Mass., the same year.
His parents were Dr. William and Judith (Badger) Cogswell, of Atkinson.
His grandparents were Nathaniel and Judith (Badger) Cogswell, of
Haverhill, Mass., and Gen. Joseph and Hannah (Pearson) Badger, of
Gilmanton.
His grandfather, Nathaniel Cogswell, was the son of Lieut. John and
Hannah (Goodhue) Cogswell, of Chebacco Parish, Ipswich, Mass. Lieut.
John Cogswell was the son of William and Susannah Cogswell of the same
place, and William Cogswell was the son of[3]John and Elizabeth
(Thompson) Cogswell, who emigrated from Westbury, Wilts county, England,
in 1635, and settled in Ipswich, Mass.
His grandfather, Gen. Joseph Badger, was the son of Joseph and Hannah
(Peaslee) Badger, of Haverhill, Mass. Joseph Badger was the son of John,
Jr., and Rebecca (Browne) Badger, of Newbury, Mass. John Badger, Jr.,
was the son of John and Elizabeth Badger of the same place; and John
Badger was the only son of Giles and Elizabeth (Greenleaf) Badger,
immigrants to Newbury, Mass., in 1635.
It may be said of his ancestry, in general, that they were a religious,
intelligent, liberty-loving, and an enterprising people. By reason of
ability, integrity, piety, and attainments, many of them have been
called to positions of municipal, military, political, and
ecclesiastical duty and eminence, and have excelled in the learned
professions, in the halls of legislature, on the field of battle, and in
the Christian pulpit.
From such choice Puritan stock, having in his veins the blood of the
Thompsons, the Greenleafs, the Brownes, the Goodhues, the Peaslees, and
the Pearsons, as well as of the Cogswells and the Badgers, it is not
strange that he and his no less eminent brothers should be found among
the distinguished men whose portraits adorn and whose biographies fill
the pages of this volume.
William Cogswell was born only a few years after the victory of our
great struggle for national existence and independence. His rural home
was far up the side of one of New Hampshire's grand old hills, sloping
southward and crowned with a New England meeting-house. He was born
where he could breathe to heart's content the pure air of heaven, look
off upon scenery of landscape wide, varied, and grand. His early life
was beneath the shadow of the best religious and educational
institutions, which his father had been the prime mover in
establishing. In full sight of his early boyhoood's home was the academy
which said to country boys of those days. The door is open to you here
to enter a college course and find your way into the learned
professions. The lad heard the invitation, seized the opportunity, and
eagerly pursued his preparatory studies at Atkinson Academy, then under
the charge of John Vose, Esq. He entered the sophomore class of
Dartmouth College in 1808, maintained a high rank of scholarship during
his course, and was honorably graduated in the class of 1811.
Before entering college, William Cogswell received deep and abiding
religious impressions which ripened into a personal religious
experience, and during the vacation of his junior year, September 23,
1810, he made a public confession of faith and united with the
Congregational church of his native town. After graduation from college
he taught in the academy of his own town, in Essex, Mass., and was one
year principal of the Hampton Academy. While teaching in Essex, Mass.,
he had, for a pupil in the classics, a lad some ten years of age, whose
name was Rufus Choate. This Rufus Choate was heard of in later years.
Meanwhile, occupied with teaching, Mr. Cogswell pursued somewhat his
theological studies, having his eye on the Christian ministry. At the
end of two years, he found that his labors in school and studies out of
school had told seriously upon his health. Acting upon the advice of his
physician and of his minister, he procured a good saddle-horse and a
license to preach the gospel in destitute parts, and galloped off toward
the northern wilderness of his native state, in eager pursuit of health
and men's souls. In both these objects he was successful. He regained
his health, and under his earnest presentation of the gospel a large
number of persons were hopefully converted to Christ, and Christian
institutions planted in the then spiritual wastes, which have since
blossomed as the rose and borne fruit to the glory of God. Upon his
return, Mr. Cogswell completed his professional studies under the
instruction of Rev. Daniel Dana, D. D., of Newburyport, and Rev. Samuel
Worcester, D. D., of Salem, Mass. After preaching a few Sabbaths, he
received a unanimous call to become the pastor of the South church in
Dedham (now Norwood), Mass., which he accepted, and was ordained and
installed over that church, April 26, 1815.
At this time, Mr. Cogswell was twenty-seven years of age, a man of fine
personal bearing and manners; his warm christian spirit and deep
religious experience spoke in the very lineaments and expression of his
open, intelligent, and winning countenance. His qualities of mind were
the best, his education thorough, his grasp of truth vigorous, his views
scriptural and discriminating, and his faith in God and Revelation
implicit.
His ministry in South Dedham lasted fourteen years, and was of
unmeasured benefit to that church, at once stimulating to its religious
life, educating to its members in scriptural doctrine, and successful in
bringing men to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour.
Mr. Cogswell was a preacher whose clear-cut statements, whose logical
order, conclusiveness of argument, and persuasiveness of appeal made him
a power in the Christian pulpit. Quite a number of his sermons were
requested for publication by his congregation; and in those days when
the printing of a sermon meant that it was something of rare merit. He
had been settled in South Dedham some three years, when he married, Nov.
11, 1818, Miss Joanna Strong, the youngest daughter of the then late
Rev. Jonathan Strong, D. D., of Randolph, Mass.
In 1829, being urgently called to important services in connection with
the American Education Society, to the regret of his people and with
personal reluctance, he resigned his pastorate to enter upon these new
duties; and, accordingly, was dismissed December 15, 1829, and removed
to Boston, where he resided for some years. So important were his
labors and so successful in this new field of effort, that January 25,
1832, he was chosen, with great enthusiasm, to succeed Dr. Cornelius to
the secretaryship of the society, which office he filled with fidelity
and acceptance until he resigned in 1841 to accept a professorship in
Dartmouth College. In 1833, Mr. Cogswell received from Williams College
the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and in 1837 was chosen one of the
trustees of Andover Theological Seminary. He removed to Hanover, N. H.,
and entered upon his duties as professor of National Education and
History in Dartmouth College. This position he resigned in 1844 to
accept the presidency and professorship of Christian Theology in the
Gilmanton Theological Seminary.
Rev. Dr. Cogswell for many years had been engaged in editorial work, and
was much interested in historical and genealogical researches. In 1846
he retired from his connection with the seminary, about to be
discontinued, and gave himself exclusively to literary pursuits, except
that he usually preached on the Sabbath. In the few remaining years of
his life he performed a vast amount of literary labor, and became known
very widely, and was honored with a membership in nearly all the
historical societies in this country and in Europe.
Rev. Dr. Cogswell published several works, viz.: a Catechism on the
Doctrines and Duties of Religion; a Manual of Theology and Devotions;
the Theological Class Book; the Christian Philanthropist; and Letters to
Young Men Preparing for the Christian Ministry. All these works passed
through several editions. His published editorial works were: Four vols.
of the American Quarterly Register, 1837-1841; New Hampshire Repository,
2 vols.; the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. I.;
New Hampshire Historical Collections, vol. VI. He published, also,
various miscellaneous writings.
Rev. Dr. William and Joanna (Strong) Cogswell had four children.
The eldest, a daughter, died in infancy.
William Strong Cogswell was born in South Dedham, April 11, 1828, and
died April 6, 1848, at the age of twenty years. He was a young man of
rare ability and brilliant promise. At the time of his death he was a
member of the senior class in Dartmouth College.
Mary Joanna Cogswell was born June 6, 1832, in Boston, Mass. She
graduated at Gilmanton Academy in 1851; married, September 20, 1858,
Rev. E. O. Jameson, who is now (1882) pastor of the First Church of
Christ, in Medway, Mass.
Caroline Strong Cogswell, the youngest child of Rev. Dr. Cogswell, was
born June 3, 1840, in Boston, Mass. She was educated at Gilmanton
Academy and Holyoke Female Seminary, and has been a successful teacher
in the public schools.
Rev. Dr. Cogswell, at length, under the taxing pressure of a busy
editorial service, and crushed by the great loss of his only and very
promising son, found his health giving way, his usual vigor forsaking
him, and it became only too evident that the end of his earthly life was
approaching. He continued, however to accomplish more or less literary
work, even up to the last few days before his death, which occurred
April 18, 1850. The funeral service was on the following Sabbath,
conducted by Rev. Daniel Lancaster, who preached a memorial discourse
which was subsequently published.
Rev. Dr. Cogswell's life was eminently busy, laborious,
self-sacrificing, and honored. His earthly work was faithfully and nobly
done; his death triumphant, and heavenly reward sure.
FOOTNOTES:
[3] For full account of John Cogswell, whom tradition calls "a
prosperous London merchant," see "Cogswells in America," soon to be
published.
JEREMIAH W. WHITE, ESQ.
BY HON. JOHN H. GOODALE.
On the head-waters of Suncook river, in the central region of New
Hampshire, is the town of Pittsfield. It is limited in extent,
undulating in surface, rich in the quality of its soil. Its earliest
settlers were sturdy farmers, men and women who from infancy had been
accustomed to the hardships and privations of pioneer life.
Among these settlers was Josiah White, who, with his wife of Scottish
origin, in the spring of 1775 took up his abode in the outskirts of an
unbroken forest. Years of hard labor followed, which at length brought
to him and his family the comforts of a rural home. Of his sons,
Jeremiah White, the father of the subject of this sketch, succeeded to
the homestead. He was born March 4, 1775, and, passing his life amid the
scenes of his earlier days, died December 5, 1848. He is still
remembered by the older residents of Pittsfield as a citizen who was
useful, influential, and respected. Of great personal activity and tact
in business, genial and generous, an enterprising farmer of the old
school, a safe and sagacious adviser, his departure left a place
difficult to fill in the business affairs of the vicinity.
JEREMIAH WILSON WHITE was born in Pittsfield, September 16, 1821. The
active habits and pure atmosphere of his early rural life laid the
foundation of a sound physical constitution. His opportunities for
education during childhood were limited to a few months at a distant
district school. At the age of fifteen he entered the Pittsfield
academy, under the instruction of James F. Joy, a graduate of Dartmouth,
and in later years well known as president of the Michigan Central
Railroad. Pittsfield village had a thrifty and vigorous population, and
among her ambitious and talented young men were several who have since
been conspicuous in public life. One became United States senator;
three, judges of the supreme court in their respective states; and one,
founder of the system of public instruction now in successful operation
on the Pacific coast. Remaining at the academy two and a half years, Mr.
White, then in his seventeenth year, decided to prepare himself for
mercantile and active business life. Adopting the plan which appeared
most feasible, he went to Boston, and entered upon an apprenticeship in
a drug-store. Forty years ago a mercantile apprenticeship in that city
was not a sinecure position. But the young man was not averse to toil,
and by assiduous and systematic attention to his duties was preparing
the way for future success. Added to his other duties he began the study
of medicine in all its branches, and continued it for several years
after, until he was qualified for, and, if occasion had required, could
have entered upon, professional service.
Finishing his engagement at Boston, he engaged as clerk to Luther
Angier, postmaster and druggist at Medford, Mass., with the agreement
that with proper notice he could leave to engage in business for
himself. Early in the summer of 1845, Mr. White believed that that time
had arrived. He had never visited Nashua, but had heard of its
reputation as a growing manufacturing town. A few hours' inspection
settled the question, and before leaving he hired the store which he
afterwards occupied for nearly thirty years.
[Illustration: Yours truly
J. M. White]
Mr. White, in engaging in trade for himself in Nashua, was aware that a
young man and a stranger must encounter severe difficulties in entering
upon mercantile life. Many before him had succumbed to the obstacles
which he was now to encounter. He did not hesitate. Laying out his plan
of business, he examined into the most minute details of its management.
He was never idle. No man was more thorough and painstaking in the
discharge of obligations to his customers. His labors often extended far
into the night. In fact, he lived in labor, and thought no plan complete
till its execution was secured. With these habits added to sound
business judgment and foresight and a rare knowledge of men, the record
of the business life of Mr. White has been an uninterrupted success; and
it is in this department of consistent and persistent effort that his
example is worthy of imitation.
In many of the business enterprises of Nashua, Mr. White has taken an
active, and in some of them a prominent, part. Engaging in the
transportation and sale of coal on his arrival, he has always been the
leading dealer in the trade. After the close of the war he originated
the project of, and gave his attention to, the construction of the large
block of stores on Main street, known as the "Merchants' Exchange,"
retaining for himself and son the corner store, which he still occupies.
Early in 1875 he conceived the idea of establishing a new national bank,
and in the April following obtained a charter. The people of Nashua and
vicinity believing in his financial ability immediately subscribed for
the stock and elected him president, a position he continues to hold to
the satisfaction of the stockholders, and the advantage of the
institution.
In addition to the presidency of the Second National Bank. Mr. White is
now recognized by the public as a sagacious and influential railroad
manager. Since 1876 he has been prominently connected with the affairs
of the Nashua & Lowell Railroad as a director and large stockholder. For
many years this road had been connected with and used by the Boston &
Lowell Railroad corporation, and, as Mr. White clearly saw, on terms
greatly disadvantageous to the stockholders of the Nashua & Lowell
company. The stock had gradually declined much below par. To resist so
great and powerful a corporation required pluck and energy. To be
successful against such odds demanded a leader daring, prompt,
aggressive. Mr. White was the man for the emergency. How well his
measures succeeded is realized not only by every stockholder, but in all
railroad circles throughout New England.
In the transaction of business, Mr. White is not only methodical but
positive. He reaches his conclusions quickly and acts upon them with the
utmost directness. Having decided upon a measure he engages in it with
all his might, bending all his efforts to make sure of the desired end.
Selecting his agents, he accomplishes the whole work while many would be
halting to determine whether the project was feasible. A man of so
pronounced opinions and prompt action naturally makes some enemies; but
he has no opponents who do not accord to him the credit of an open and
honorable warfare. In a word, he is essentially a business man in the
full sense of that term. Not only in occupation, but in taste and
aptitude, he is a representative of that class of American citizens who
have won a world-wide reputation for practical sagacity, enterprise, and
thrift.
Mr. White is in no sense of the word a party politician. Of Whig
antecedents, his first vote was cast for Henry Clay, in 1844, for
president. Before leaving his native town his liberal tendencies had
been quickened by witnessing the unwarranted arrest, in the pulpit, of
Rev. George Storrs, who was about to deliver the first anti-slavery
lecture in Pittsfield. The event justly occasioned an unusual
excitement, and was the beginning of that agitation which reached every
town and hamlet in the Union.
Since the organization of the Republican party, Mr. White has supported
it in all national issues; but is one of the independent thinkers who
does not hesitate to exercise "the divine right of bolting" when unfit
men are put in nomination.
In the winter of 1861, Mr. White and his family left on a southern trip,
and reached Charleston, S. C., the last of February, not long after the
United States troops under Maj. Anderson were shut up in Fort Sumter by
the rebel forces. Mr. White had letters of introduction to several
citizens of the city high in authority, who received him kindly, and,
learning that he was a business man and not a politician, were anxious
to learn from him the state of feeling among the business men and the
middle class of citizens at the North. While the statements of Mr. White
were far from gratifying, they continued their friendly relations.
Previously he had written to his friend, Capt. John G. Foster, second in
command at Fort Sumter, of his intended tarry at Charleston. He was now
desirous of an interview with him. Applying to the Confederate
authorities for a pass to Fort Sumter, it was granted him,--a privilege
not allowed to any other civilian during the siege.
On the following day, March 5, he went on the steamer Clinch to Fort
Johnson, to which point Maj. Anderson was allowed to send his boat under
a flag of truce for the daily mail. Here a new obstacle was encountered,
for the boat was forbidden by Maj. Anderson to bring any person to the
fort. But, with the restriction that he should remain outside with the
boat till Captain Foster could be notified, he was permitted to go. The
interview was a great surprise as well as gratification.
Reaching Washington before the bombardment of Fort Sumter and the
beginning of actual hostilities, Mr. White was taken to the war
department and interviewed by Gen. Scott as to the determination and
strength of the Confederate force at Charleston. Mr. White thought it
would require a force of ten thousand men to relieve Fort Sumter, and
said so. Gen. Scott laughed heartily, and told him that two thousand men
would be ample for the purpose. In common with the most of the leading
men at the capital, Gen. Scott underestimated the pluck and strength of
the rebels. Soon after, when Jay Cooke was appointed government agent to
negotiate the war loans, Mr. White received the appointment of agent for
Nashua and vicinity.
In 1846, the year after coming to Nashua, Mr. White was united in
marriage with Miss Caroline G. Merrill, oldest daughter of Caleb
Merrill, Esq., of his native town. The marriage was a fortunate and
happy one. The young wife was endowed with scholarly and refined
attainments, qualifying her for the enjoyment of social and domestic
life. Added to this, she possessed a sound and discriminating judgment
on which her husband could safely rely. No transaction of any magnitude
was entered upon without securing her approval. Many of his best and
most sagacious moves in business were made at her suggestion. Of their
two children, the eldest, Caroline Wilson, died in infancy. The son,
James Wilson White, born June 10, 1849, fell a victim to the prevailing
disease of this climate, and died in Florida, January 27, 1876. Mrs.
White, having survived her children, died suddenly of apoplexy in 1880.
Her memory is cherished by many who knew her worth.
In April, 1881, Mr. White was married the second time to Mrs. Ann M.
Prichard, of Bradford, Vt., an educated and accomplished lady and the
sister of his first wife. His residence, at the corner of Pearl and
Cottage streets, combines the elements of modesty, taste, and comfort,
and is the abode of a happy home circle.
[Illustration: E. A. Rollins]
HON. EDWARD ASHTON ROLLINS.
BY PROF. E. D. SANBORN.
The early settlers of New Hampshire were of pure English origin. They
possessed that "large, roundabout common sense" which John Locke
ascribes to the English people. A few leading families planted the first
colonies, founded the state, and ruled it for more than a century. The
Rollins family held a prominent place among the settlers of southern New
Hampshire. James Rollins, the ancestor of most of the men who have borne
that name in the state, came to this country as early as 1632, and
finally settled in Dover.
The name Rollins, or Rawlings, is very ancient and honorable in England.
Its origin is variously explained by antiquarians, but it can very
naturally be traced to Rollo, who conquered Normandy and made it a
kingdom, A. D. 912. William the Conqueror was the seventh in descent
from the brave hero of Scandinavia. The descendants of Rollo followed in
the train of the Conqueror, and were afterwards found in all parts of
the United Kingdom. All the different families had nearly the same coat
of arms, each indicative of their martial origin. The escutcheon is a
shield with three swords in the center, and above it a human arm holding
a fourth. The history of the race reveals their heroism, energy, and
perseverance. The name we have chosen to illustrate represents a genuine
scion of the old tree which for nine hundred years has drawn its
vitality from the Scandinavian stock. Having said enough to show that
Rollins is composed of the Northman name "Rollo," and the Saxon "ing,"
meaning child or descendant, we will speak briefly of the early life of
the subject of this sketch.
EDWARD ASHTON ROLLINS was born in Wakefield, December 8, 1828. At the
age of seven, his father, Hon. Daniel G. Rollins, removed to Great
Falls, a village of Somersworth, and during much of his life was in
public office. He was repeatedly elected to the legislature of New
Hampshire, was for many years judge of probate for Strafford county,
till he reached the age of seventy years, which, by law, terminated that
office; he was also, for many years, president of the Great Falls &
Conway Railroad Company. In all his official relations he acquitted
himself with unsullied integrity. His son, Edward Ashton, was,
therefore, trained to know the relations and duties of a business man.
His father's example was his pole star. With his eye fixed on that, and
with the inherited virtues of industry, energy, and prudence, he could
scarcely go astray. He studied both books and men. The common school
promoted his native love of learning, and occupied his youthful days.
For a higher class of studies, he attended the academies of Rochester
and Gilmanton. In 1847, at the age of nineteen, he entered Dartmouth
College. He immediately received the place for which he was fitted by
nature and culture. His character for sobriety, earnestness, and
devotion to duty was already formed, and, as the poet hath it,
"character is destiny." The best men in the class sought him as a
companion. His teachers saw and aided his love of learning. None made
greater progress; none were more highly esteemed; none ranked above him.
Those kindred virtues, industry, economy, integrity, and devotion,
always attract watchful eyes and win loving hearts. The path of duty and
honor often lies hid even to the wise and prudent. Cromwell said, in the
height of his fame, "No man often advanceth higher than he who knoweth
not whither he goeth." The threads that run through the web of our life
are carried by shuttles driven by an invisible but unerring hand. A
little incident in the college life of Mr. Rollins illustrates this
assertion. Walking one day with some college friends, he was met by
President Lord, who, beckoning him to him, desired him to call at his
study at a particular hour. This was the good doctor's usual method in
summoning delinquents for discipline. The companions of Mr. Rollins
rallied him upon his approaching interview; but hear the result. With no
little anxiety, he met the president at the hour named, who said to him:
"I have received a request from a distinguished gentleman in Baltimore,
desiring me to send to him a young gentleman of the first rank in
scholarship and character to be the private tutor of his sons. I have
concluded to offer the place to you." After consultation with father and
mother, at home, he decided to go. He found a delightful home, and
formed friendships which have lasted till this day, and essentially
modified his whole public life and determined his occupations. In his
friendships, he follows Shakespeare's advice:--
"The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel."
Classmates, teachers, preachers, and neighbors are remembered and
reverenced according to their worth. They not only enjoy his
hospitality, but, if overtaken by want or misfortune, share his purse.
Old and faithful servants, too, are not forgotten.
Mr. Rollins enjoys society; and in every social circle he gives more
than he takes. He is the life of company; conversation never flags when
he is present. His humor plays like sunshine over the surface of
society. If any one fails to make his contribution to the wants of the
occasion, he is roused to duty by a merry sally of humor from Mr.
Rollins; and he is more likely to make himself than his neighbors the
subject of his wit or satire. Like Charles Lamb, he holds the wires
while others draw the sparks, which always move but never shock their
feelings. Nobody is wounded, but all are animated. He can deliver an
appropriate speech at any meeting in church or state, after dinner or
after a session. The young and the old seek his company. Some of his
warmest friends have been very aged men. The venerable Horace Binney
lived to be ninety-six years of age, and he corresponded with Mr.
Rollins till the last days of his long and useful life. Some of his
letters deserve to be written in letters of gold, to be read and enjoyed
by all lovers of truth, virtue, and religion. Rev. Dr. Barnes, also,
kept up a neighborly intercourse with Mr. Rollins, by calls and letters,
as long as he lived. Mr. Rollins's religious life was nourished by the
notes and discourses of Albert Barnes, whom he loved as a spiritual
father. Every Christmas was sure to bring to the good doctor a reminder
of this relation.
To perpetuate home affections and keep alive a love of New England
institutions, in the winter of 1881, Mr. Rollins, with a few friends,
formed a New England society in Philadelphia. Their first meeting was a
distinguished success. The proceedings were published in pamphlet form
and were widely read. The speeches were wise and witty; that of Mr.
Rollins, the first president, was full of pertinent allusions and
patriotic sentiments. It was received with enthusiastic applause. His
remarks, in the introduction of other orators, were beautifully adapted
to the men and the occasion.
The extent and variety of Mr. Rollins's business relations make it
impossible to characterize them with brevity. Integrity and fair dealing
have marked his whole career as lawyer, commissioner, banker, and
railroad manager. His motto is, "Live and let live." The pecuniary
interests of friend, neighbor, client, trader, relative, or stranger are
never prejudiced by partisan opinions. An opponent and friend stand, in
business relations, on the same foundations. His large experience in
money matters creates the impression that he is a safe adviser in the
purchase of stocks; he is, therefore, often importuned to decide for
others questions of investment. Where men are known to be honest and
faithful in handling money, even strangers ask no other security for
their property.
Such is the law of association that binds together honest and honorable
business men. Large pecuniary enterprises prosper in their hands,
because they fear God and love justice and truth. Of every such man it
is said, "Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." So God ordains.
This title, "_in office_," covers nearly the whole professional life of
Mr. Rollins. After six years of successful practice of the law, he was
elected to the legislature of New Hampshire from Somersworth. He held
this relation for three years; during the last two, 1861 and 1862, he
was chosen speaker of the house. It was a period of great excitement,
the very outbreak of the civil war. Though young and inexperienced, he
acquitted himself with the highest credit to himself and honor to the
state. At the close of this responsible and difficult work, he was
appointed, by President Lincoln, cashier of the bureau of internal
revenue; and the next year, deputy commissioner of the same department.
In 1865 he was made commissioner of internal revenue, one of the most
responsible positions that any citizen of our country has ever been
called to fill. The office was new, important, and burdensome. No finite
mind could comprehend and control at once its multitudinous relations.
Its net-work covered the whole territory of the United States. The
property of the entire country was subject to its inspection and
taxation. More than a million of dollars, every day, were received into
the treasury from six thousand agents, for whose official integrity the
head of the department was responsible. In new cases, the commissioner
was often obliged to act as law-maker, judge, and executive. The cases
admitted of no delay. The safety of the state required prompt decisions.
These sprung up as intuitions. In his official report, made to congress
in November, 1865, the commissioner says: "When it is recollected that
the present generation only know by tradition or obsolete statutes that
taxes have ever been imposed in this country on articles of their own
manufacture, and the objects of internal traffic, or upon the various
crafts and professions in which they were employed; and when, too, it is
considered that the revenue collected for a single year ending June 30,
1865, amounts to a sum nearly or quite equal to all the receipts of this
government, from whatever sources, from its organization to the year
1812; and when it is further considered that this amount was contributed
at a time when the commercial marine of the country had been nearly
destroyed and more than a million of men had been withdrawn from the
productive pursuits of life,--we may not only be justly proud that the
material strength of the country has been fully equal to the burden, but
that it has been borne so quietly and so willingly." This office was
administered wisely and well, by Mr. Rollins, till March 8, 1869, when
President Grant assumed the reins of government. Failing health then
admonished him to retire from the distracting cares of the office of
commissioner. At the time of its resignation, as many of his subordinate
officials as could come together adopted resolutions of respect and
confidence in honor of their head. The first resolution expresses the
opinions of the whole country, including cabinet officers and senators,
as well as their own. It is thus written:--
"_Resolved_, that the integrity, fidelity, ability, and untiring
devotion to the duties of his office which Mr. Rollins has
exhibited, have inspired in us feelings of profound respect for
his sterling qualities as a man and an officer; and that we
especially admire the genial disposition which he has uniformly
manifested toward us, amid all the cares and perplexities of a
difficult and a burdensome office, held, much of the time, under
peculiarly trying circumstances."
The remaining resolutions are cumulative of these expressions of
confidence and esteem. No testimony could be more honorable to a well
spent official life.
The religious life of Mr. Rollins, from boyhood to age, has been as
strongly marked as his official career. He believes in doing, not in
seeming; in practice, not in profession. He can speak as well as work
for the truth. When the pastor needs help, he addresses the people. When
the poor of the church or congregation need aid, he heads and carries
the subscription paper. He has never lived in a place where he has not
taught a Bible class; and worthy young men who have learned in his
classes have often received promotion in business through his influence.
He is always present at the stated meetings of the church.
"Punctuality," says the old maxim, "is the essence of virtue." Mr.
Rollins believed in the importance of punctuality; therefore he was
never missed from the place of duty. In college he was never absent or
unprepared; in office, in the bank, in public assemblies, the hours of
business are promptly observed. In church, too, the times and places of
worship are conscientiously observed, and if a delinquent neighbor, who
has failed to be present when church affairs, temporal or spiritual,
were discussed, meets him on a subsequent day, he is carefully
questioned with regard to his health!
The family is the unit of the state. Good families make good
communities, good cities, and good nations. A single good family is a
light shining in a dark place. The history of the world is the united
histories of illustrious families. The history of the church is the
history of holy men. The Scriptures record the deeds and words of the
best men our earth has known. Eliminate from the Bible the actions and
opinions of kings, prophets, and apostles, and the records of our race
become unintelligible. When we find a faultless and worthy Christian
household, we do well to present it to the public for contemplation and
imitation. One such household we venture to describe. Mr. Rollins's
house is beautiful of situation, at the corner of Spruce and Fortieth
streets, in West Philadelphia. Its liberal grounds, numerous trees,
shrubs, and flowers make it very attractive to the eye of the stranger.
When once introduced to the interior, every guest who has any music in
his soul would be delighted to sing "Home, sweet Home" from early morn
to dewy eve. Every room invites you to repose; every picture that looks
upon you from the walls bids you welcome. It is impossible for one who
has enjoyed the hospitality of the house to describe it fully without
encroaching upon the sacred privacy of domestic life. This house was
long the home of the now sainted mother, who only a few months ago was
bidden to go up higher, and left the husband and children desolate. The
house seems like the shrine of a departed divinity. The furniture was of
her selection, the walls and mantels were adorned by her handiwork; and
when changes or additions are now made to the internal conveniences of
the home, the first question asked is, "What would mother choose if she
could speak to us?" Her spirit seems still to hover over them.
Sidney Smith said, "There can be no handsomer furniture than books."
Every room, every nook and corner of the house, is furnished with new
books. The room specially devoted to library uses has a selection of
books in every department of reading, sufficient for the instruction and
pleasure of any man of refined taste and culture. Amid the thousands of
volumes gathered, the most precious of them all to the family and their
friends are two volumes written by Mrs. Rollins not long before her
decease, entitled "New England Bygones" and "Old-Time Child Life." To
one born in New England seventy years ago, the pictures of New England
scenes are inimitable; they stir the blood of age like a trumpet. These
books are the creations of true genius, and will live when all the
contemporaries of this gifted woman are dead.
Enough has been said to reveal the attractions of this delightful home.
Every word has been dictated by a life-long friendship. The sterling
qualities of the subject of this sketch constrained me to portray them,
and the half has not been said. When the elders of the Jews were sent to
Jesus by the Roman centurion to intercede for his sick servant, the
highest commendation they could name was this: "For he loveth our
nation, and hath built us a synagogue." He was patriotic and religious;
he feared God and loved his neighbor. No higher test of moral worth can
be named. Let all public men be judged by this standard; and among them
our good friend whom we have sketched, we doubt not, will hold a high
rank. And if at any time the President of the United States should be
seeking for a man for financial secretary who is honest, capable, and
experienced, a multitude of voters would cry out,--Edward Ashton Rollins
is the man!
VIRGIL C. GILMAN.
VIRGIL CHASE GILMAN was born in Unity, Sullivan county, New Hampshire,
May 5, 1827, and was the third of a family of eight children born to
Emerson and Delia (Way) Gilman.
Emerson Gilman was the oldest son and the first of twelve children born
to Stephen and Dorothy (Clough) Gilman, who were married September 5,
1793. This was his second marriage, he having married Anna Huntoon, by
whom he had nine children, some of whom died in infancy. Stephen Gilman
was a native of Kingston, and served as a cavalry officer in the war of
the Revolution. He was a descendant of Moses Gilman, who was one of
three brothers,--Edward, John, and Moses,--who emigrated from Hingham,
England, early in the sixteenth century.
In 1827, it was said:[4] "Edward Gilman's descendants are as
numerous as the sands on the seashore. There is hardly a state
in the Union where they may not be found. The family have been
in civil office from the time our colony became a royal province
to the present time. John Gilman was one of the first counselors
named in President Cutts's commission, and died in 1708. Col.
Peter Gilman was one of the royal counselors in 1772. Hon.
Nicholas Gilman was counselor in 1777 and 1778. Hon. John
Gilman, in 1787; while the present venerable John Taylor Gilman
was fourteen years, eleven in succession, our highly respected
chief magistrate. His brother, Nicholas Gilman, was a member of
the house of representatives in congress eight years, and in the
national senate nine years. Our ecclesiastical annals have,
also, Rev. Nicholas Gilman, Harvard College, 1724; and Rev.
Tristram Gilman, Harvard College, 1757, both respected clergymen
and useful men."
These words are quoted in substance from Mr. Lincoln's work. "If
he had written forty years later" says the author of "The Gilman
Family in England and America,"[5] "he would have found the
family still more numerous and many additions would have been
made to his list of prominent men bearing the Gilman name. The
family of Gilmans is not one furnishing a few brilliant
exceptions in a long list of commonplace names. Its members
appear generally to have been remarkable for the quiet home
virtues, and rather to have desired to be good citizens than men
of great name. To an eminent degree they appear to have obtained
the esteem and respect of those nearest to them, for sound
judgment and sterling traits of character."
Emerson Gilman followed the trade of clothier until the introduction of
machinery supplanted the hand process, when he, after pursuing the
business of farmer for a few years, removed to Lowell, Mass., in 1837,
relying, upon his strong and willing hands to find support for his large
family and give his children the advantages of education which that city
signally afforded.
[Illustration: Virgil C. Gilman]
The subject of this sketch was then ten years old, and made fair
progress through the several grades to the high school, with which his
school-days ended. He removed to Nashua in 1843, but it was not until
1851 that he entered business on his own behalf, at which time he became
associated with Messrs. Gage and Murray for the manufacture of printers'
cards of all the various kinds, also fancy-colored, embossed, and marble
papers, a new business in this country at that time, which business he
followed successfully for twenty-one years, and until his close and
unremitting application made it necessary for him to relinquish it for a
more active out-door employment. Following a natural love for rural
affairs, he was not long in possessing himself of a hundred-acres farm
in the south part of the city, upon the Lowell road, which he greatly
improved, and indulged to some extent in the usually expensive luxury of
breeding Jersey cattle, trotting-horses, and Plymouth Rock fowls. He
claims to have bred the finest and fastest gaited horse ever raised in
New Hampshire. Meantime, having realized the object sought, greatly
improved health, and the office of treasurer of the Nashua Savings Bank
becoming vacant by the resignation of Dr. E. Spalding, in 1876, he was
elected to fill the vacancy, and still continues in this responsible
position, with nearly two and a half millions of deposits committed to
his watchful care and secure investment.
Never coveting office, still he has rarely refused to perform his full
share of duty in the various departments of labor and responsibility
incident to city affairs, from ward clerk to the mayor's chair, serving
also as assessor, member of the board of education, and is now trustee
of the public library, also its secretary and treasurer. To him
Dartmouth College is indebted for the Gilman scholarship; and the board
of trustees of the Orphans' Home at Franklin finds in him an interested
member. He is identified with the mechanical industries of the city,
having a large interest in the Nashua Iron and Steel Company, and its
local director; also an owner and director in the Underhill Edge Tool
Company, and Amoskeag Axe Company; also a director in the Indian Head
National Bank.
In military affairs actively he is unknown, his service having commenced
and ended with the "Governor's Horse-Guards," enlisting as private in
Co. B, and ending as major of the battalion. His interest, however, is
kept alive by honorary membership of "City Guards" and "Foster Rifles,"
of his adopted city.
His strong love for agricultural affairs led him to take an interest in
our New Hampshire Agricultural Society, of whose board of trustees he
was formerly a member, also one of the trustees of the New England
Agricultural Society.
He was a member of the legislature of 1879, serving as chairman of
committee on banks and taking a deep interest in the work of that
session, and especially zealous in opposition to the taxation of church
property. At the present time he is the Republican senator of the Nashua
district, and honored by the chairmanship of the leading committee of
the senate, the judiciary, no member of the legal profession holding a
seat in that body at this time. How well he discharged the duties of
this responsible position those can testify who had business with the
committee, or those who witnessed his unremitting application and
conscientious decisions.
Denominationally he is a Congregationalist, and a communicant with the
First church, that was organized in 1685. An interest in its prosperity
has induced him to serve as director of the society connected therewith
many years, and of which he is now president, and treasurer of the
Sabbath-school connected. It will thus be seen that the subject of this
sketch fills many positions of responsibility and usefulness which bring
no pecuniary reward, without ostentation, and no foul breath tarnishes
his fair record.
Our state has among its many honored sons few whose energy, integrity,
and discretion have won success in so many directions, and none who
command more universal respect among all classes. In business, politics,
and social and religious circles he has been and is a leader, whose
triumphs shed their blessings far and wide. Few have done so much for
Nashua. No one deserves better of the state.
In 1850 he married Sarah Louisa, daughter of Gideon Newcomb, Esq., of
Roxbury, by whom he had two children,--Harriet Louise, who married
Charles W. Hoitt, an attorney-at-law in Nashua, and Alfred Emerson, who
did not attain his second birthday.
[Illustration: W. Amory]
WILLIAM AMORY.
WILLIAM AMORY was born in Boston, Mass., June 15, 1804, and is the son
of Thomas C. and Hannah R. (Linzee) Amory. He was one of a family of
four sons and four daughters, of whom three only--two sons and one
daughter--survive. His father, a merchant of Boston, died in 1812; and
seven years later his son, then but fifteen years of age, entered
Harvard University. He spent four years there, and soon after went to
Europe to complete his education. He pursued in Germany the study of law
and of general literature for a year and a half at the university in
Gottingen, and for nine months at the university in Berlin. He occupied
the subsequent two years and a half in travel, and returned to Boston in
July, 1830, after an absence of five years. There he pursued his legal
studies with Franklin Dexter and W. H. Gardiner, and in 1831 was
admitted to the bar of Suffolk county, without, however, any intention
of entering upon legal practice.
In that year he was chosen treasurer of the Jackson Manufacturing
Company, at Nashua, N. H., and began business as a manufacturer. Without
experience, and yet with a mind which study had disciplined and
knowledge of the world had made keen, with remarkable energy and
enterprise, he was eminently successful, and the Jackson company paid
large and sure dividends for the eleven years he continued its
treasurer. In 1837 he became the treasurer of the Amoskeag Manufacturing
Company, an office which included at that time, when the plan of
creating a city upon the Merrimack was just to be carried out, the
responsibility and wisdom of a general manager of the company's
interests, as well as the usual financial duties of a treasurer. He held
that office from then till October, 1876; was treasurer of the Stark
Mills, with the exception of four years and a half, from its
organization, in 1839, to 1876; was a director of the Manchester Mills,
and its successor, the Manchester Print-Works, from the start, in 1839,
till 1871; and has been a director of the Langdon Mills from its
beginning, in 1860, and its president from 1874 to 1876. When Mr. Amory
tendered his resignation as treasurer of the Amoskeag company, the
following complimentary resolutions were unanimously adopted by the
stockholders:--
"_Resolved_, That the stockholders of this corporation have
heard with regret of the resignation of their treasurer, William
Amory, Esq.
"That a continuous service of thirty-nine years demands from
them an expression of their appreciation of his eminent success,
not only in building up an unequaled and remunerative
manufacturing establishment, but in founding the largest and one
of the finest cities in the state.
"For both these results they tender to him their hearty thanks,
and desire to place this testimonial upon the records of the
company."
In seconding the motion to adopt the above resolutions, T. Jefferson
Coolidge, Esq., spoke as follows:--
"The best witness to the services of Mr. Amory as treasurer is
the splendid condition of the Amoskeag company. He took it in
its infancy, when it was poor. There was then but one mill of
about eight thousand spindles. He leaves it, after forty years
of success, with one hundred and thirty-seven thousand spindles,
and more than two millions of quick capital. You have received
in dividends, for forty-two years, an average of eleven per cent
a year; and, if to that is added the increase of the quick
capital, the company has earned fifteen per cent per annum,
without taking into consideration the money spent on the plant.
To put it in another light: a stockholder of one share, costing
one thousand dollars, if he allowed compound interest at the
rate he received on his dividends, would find that his share had
been worth to him eighty thousand dollars.
"The mills themselves are equal, if not superior, to any in New
England, and contain more than twenty acres of machinery floor;
and, although there are many mills in England and some here that
are running more spindles, yet I believe the Amoskeag is the
largest cotton-manufacturing establishment in either country
producing its goods from the cotton in the bale, and turning
them out actually finished for the market.
"I have said enough to show that no one can be more deserving of
a vote of thanks than the retiring treasurer. Let us hope that
he may be preserved for many years to aid in the counsels of the
company, and to assist his successor in the arduous task that
must fall to any man who takes a place which he has filled so
long, so ably, and so successfully."
Mr. Amory married, in January, 1833, Miss Anna P. G. Sears, daughter of
David Sears, an eminent merchant of Boston, by whom he has had six
children, of whom four survive.
Mr. Amory is a man with whom, more than with almost any one else,
Manchester is closely identified, and to whose accurate foresight and
comprehensive views a very large proportion of its beauty and success is
due. To him, as the manager of the company which gave it its first
impulses in life and has ever since assisted its growth, it owes in
large measure its wide streets, its pleasant squares, and its beautiful
cemetery. He has pursued a liberal policy, and deserves the city's
gratitude. As the treasurer of the company, he has met with eminent
success. A man of perfect honor and integrity, cautious and prudent, he
has looked upon the funds in his possession as his only in trust, to be
managed with the utmost care. Herein is to be found the secret of his
success. Few men stand better than he in the business world of his
native city, or elsewhere. A gentleman of culture, of the utmost polish,
with a very pleasing appearance, he enjoys the affection and respect of
many personal friends.
FOOTNOTES:
[4] History of Hingham, Mass., by Solomon Lincoln, Jr. Farmer & Brown,
1827.
[5] Arthur Gilman, A. M. Joel Munsell, Albany, 1869.
[Illustration: John McDuffee]
JOHN McDUFFEE.
By Rev. Alonzo H. Quint, D. D.
To men of their own energetic stock, who, refusing all political
preferment, have given comprehensive abilities, sterling integrity, and
sagacious industry to the development of business, many New Hampshire
towns owe an imperishable debt. JOHN MCDUFFEE'S record is in the
prosperity of Rochester.
The name itself suggests that strong Scotch-Irish blood which endured
the siege of Londonderry, in which were Mr. McDuffee's ancestors, John
McDuffee and his wife, Martha, honored in tradition. John and Martha
McDuffee had four sons, viz., Mansfield, Archibald, John, and Daniel.
Mansfield went to London, England; the other three came, with their
parents, to America in the emigration which gave New Hampshire the
powerful stock of Derry and Londonderry. John, the father of these sons,
settled in Rochester in 1729, on land on the east side of the Cochecho
river, adjoining Gonic lower falls,--the farm of eighty-five acres
remaining without break in the family, and now owned by the subject of
this article. The Rochester settler was, as just stated, the father of
Daniel McDuffee, and also of Col. John McDuffee,--a gallant officer in
the old French and Revolutionary wars, lieutenant-colonel in Col. Poor's
regiment,--who, never marrying, adopted his brother Daniel's son John,
and eventually made him his heir. John, the colonel's heir, was a farmer
in good circumstances, married Abigail, daughter of Simon and Sarah
(Ham) Torr, and was father of John McDuffee, the subject of this sketch,
who was born on the farm once the colonel's, about a mile and a half
from Rochester village, on the Dover road, December 6, 1803.
Of course, while working on the farm more or less, he had, for five or
more years, the advantage of a good school, kept at the village by
"Master" Henry H. Orne (D. C. 1812), of severe discipline and good
scholarship, who supplemented the public school with a private one each
autumn. Mr. Orne was a very successful teacher, and among the associates
of John McDuffee in this school were Thomas C. Upham, Nathaniel G.
Upham, John P. Hale, and Noah Tibbetts. In 1818, at the age of fifteen,
the boy entered Franklin Academy in Dover, the first day of its
existence, Thomas E. Sawyer and Richard Kimball being among his
associates, and Rev. Mr. Thayer being its principal. Here he fitted to
enter college as sophomore, but returned home, and, at the age of
eighteen, he went into the store of his uncle, John Greenfield, at
Rochester. It was a large country store, where everything was sold.
After two years' experience, being only twenty years of age, he began
the same business for himself on the same square; was successful, and,
after two years, took into partnership his uncle, Jonathan H. Torr.
During this period he was commissioned postmaster of Rochester, being
not of age when appointed, and he held this office until removed on
Jackson's accession to the presidency.
In the spring of the year 1831 he went to Dover, and began the same
business on a broader scale, first in the Perkins block, and, in the
autumn, as the first tenant of the northern store in the new Watson
block, on the Landing, Ira Christie his next southern neighbor. This
locality, now at an end for such purposes, was then the place of
business and offices. Steady success continued to reward his energy and
industry; but in February, 1833, selling to Andrew Pierce, Jr., he
returned to Rochester to settle the large estate of his wife's father,
Joseph Hanson, who, dying in December previous, had made him executor.
Mr. Hanson, whose daughter Joanna (by his marriage with Charity Dame)
Mr. McDuffee had married June 21, 1829, was one of the three old and
wealthy merchants of Rochester, Nathaniel Upham and Jonas C. March being
the other two. The settlement of this extended estate and business was
completed, and the accounts settled, by Mr. McDuffee's energy, in seven
months; and it caused his entire abandonment of trade, although he had
been eminently successful.
There was no bank in Rochester. Old traders had some connection with the
Strafford Bank in Dover, and the Rockingham Bank in Portsmouth. They
loaned money, instead of getting discounts. Mr. Hanson's safe, where he
kept all his securities, was a small brick building back of his store,
with a sheet-iron door fastened by a padlock. He kept some deposits,
however, in Strafford Bank, and was a stockholder in that and in the
Rockingham Bank. The three principal traders used to go to Boston twice
a year, on horseback, to buy goods. Mr. McDuffee saw that a bank was
needed. He prepared the plans, secured signatures, obtained a charter
from the legislature in 1834, and the Rochester Bank was organized with
ninety stockholders and a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, later
increased to one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, with one hundred
and thirty stockholders. Of the original ninety, only two besides Mr.
McDuffee now survive. On the organization he became cashier, his
brother-in-law, Dr. James Farrington (member of the twenty-fifth
congress), being president. This bank was the frontier bank, no other
existing between Rochester and Canada, and it was the first bank which
the counterfeits from Canada naturally but uselessly struck. It was a
favorite of the people, and was so managed that its dividends were eight
or nine per cent. It is well known that the business was really left to
the probity and skill of its cashier. Cashier for twenty years, on the
then renewal of its charter, Mr. McDuffee resigned the cashiership in
favor of his son Franklin, and became president. The bank did not become
a national bank until 1874, and in the six years previous he and his son
formed the house of "John McDuffee & Co., private bankers," took up the
old bank's business, and successfully carried it on. In 1874 they merged
it in a national bank, the one being president and the other cashier, as
before, and the two taking two-fifths of its stock. It is an interesting
fact that no bill has ever been issued by either Rochester bank without
the well known signature of John McDuffee, either as president or
cashier; and he still actively administers the interests of the bank he
originated in another form forty-eight years ago.
In addition to this Rochester interest, Mr. McDuffee was one of the
original grantees of the Dover National Bank, and for a short time was a
director; but his interest became more in the Strafford Bank, at Dover,
of which (new charter) he was the second heaviest stockholder, Daniel M.
Christie being the first. He became a director in the Strafford National
Bank in 1870, and still actively holds that position. The stock of this
bank (par, one hundred dollars) has this year sold at one hundred and
sixty dollars.
The Norway Plains Savings Bank, at Rochester, was chartered in 1851, and
Mr. McDuffee became its treasurer, being succeeded by his son Franklin
in 1867, and himself becoming president,--an office in which he still
remains. It is worth, recalling, that, although this bank was ordered,
in the panic, to pay out only five-sixths of any deposit, it
subsequently petitioned for leave to pay, and did credit to every person
affected, the remaining sixth.
Mr. McDuffee early saw the advantages of manufacturing to a community.
By his own means and a liberal allowance of banking facilities he has
greatly aided their development, the first such enterprise in Rochester,
the Mechanics' Manufacturing Company, being decided to locate there by
the new banking facilities. Mr. McDuffee was a director. It was a
manufacture of blankets, and its successor is the Norway Plains
Manufacturing Company. The original company Mr. McDuffee carried safely
through the crisis of 1837. The mill-property at the Gonic Mr. McDuffee
bought in 1845, to lease to N. V. Whitehouse, that business might not be
given up. He held his purchase for about ten years. The effort was
successful, and the property was eventually taken by a joint stock
company. Stephen Shorey, owning some facilities for manufacturing at
East Rochester, came to Mr. McDuffee to see if the bank would advance
means to build. Mr. McDuffee at once pledged the means, and the mills
were built. A stock company afterwards purchased mills and machinery,
and the thriving village of East Rochester owes its prosperity to Mr.
McDuffee's liberal policy. Thus have been developed the three principal
water-powers of Rochester.
Mr. McDuffee's personal interests in manufacturing were also in the
Great Falls Manufacturing Company, in whose great business he was a
director for four years; capital, one million five hundred thousand
dollars. In 1862 he bought large interests in the Cocheco Manufacturing
Company, and has there remained. Since 1874 he has been a director of
that corporation. As such, he advocated the erection of the great mill,
now No. 1, and the replacing of all the old buildings by new and
magnificent mills, unsurpassed in the United States,--a work now rapidly
progressing. The remarkable success of this company certifies alike to
the sagacious boldness and the considerate policy of its directors.
The need of railroad facilities at Rochester was early apparent to Mr.
McDuffee. In 1846 he entered into two enterprises,--the Cochecho road,
from Dover to Alton Bay, and the Conway road, from Great Falls to
Conway. Each was to and did pass through Rochester. In each road Mr.
McDuffee was the largest individual stockholder, and of each was the
first treasurer. When the Conway road reached Rochester, Mr. McDuffee
resigned its treasurership. The other road, after various difficulties,
became the Dover & Winnipesaukee, by the incorporation of the
bondholders, and Mr. McDuffee continued to be a director. With "friend"
William Hill, he visited Boston more than thirty times to treat for the
lease of this road to the Boston & Maine. The effort was finally
successful, and the road, by itself weak, became a fine piece of
property. Rochester was thus doubly accommodated; but another avenue was
needed, and Mr. McDuffee took part in the Portland & Rochester, which
secured a route eastward, of which road he was a director; and he
invested liberally in the Rochester & Nashua, which opened a line to the
West. The result has been that Rochester is a "billing-point," and its
various manufacturing interests have felt its impetus.
The beauty of "McDuffee block" in Rochester, built by him in 1868,
exhibits the owner's public spirit. It is an elegant brick building of
four stories, containing six stores, twelve offices in the second story,
a public hall in the third, and a Masonic hall, one of the finest in the
state, in the fourth. In the use of the public hall the liberality of
its owner to benevolent objects is well known. As a Mason, he joined
Humane Lodge on the very day he became "of lawful age."
Of other real estate, Mr. McDuffee has, besides various pieces in
Rochester, including such as the Gonic farm, the New Durham
"powder-mill" estate of nine hundred acres of land and eleven hundred
acres of water; and in Barrington, two hundred acres on Isinglass
river, held with a view to future manufacturing needs.
In religion, Mr. McDuffee was brought up under good old Parson Joseph
Haven, and has remained a liberal supporter of the Congregational
society. In politics, he was an earnest Whig. His first vote was for the
electors who chose John Quincy Adams president, and his postmastership
was ended by Andrew Jackson. He has always been a decided Republican.
Mr. McDuffee's great amount of labor has been possible only by the
vigorous constitution which he inherited. The boy, who, before he left
home, "carried the forward swath" in the hay-field, made the man who now
accomplishes an amount of work which would surprise many younger men.
Monday is always given to the Strafford Bank, at Dover; Tuesday, he
presides at the Rochester Bank meeting; Wednesday, at the Savings Bank;
and no day is idle.
Of Mr. McDuffee's happy domestic relations nothing need be said. Of his
eight children,--naming them in the order of birth,--(1) Joseph, who
followed the sea, died (single) on the ocean at the age of thirty-five.
(2) Franklin, who graduated at Dartmouth College in 1853, died, after a
successful financial career, November 11, 1880, greatly lamented; he
married Mary Fannie, daughter of John Hayes, of Farmington, and left two
sons, John Edgar (now in the Chandler Scientific Department of Dartmouth
College), and Willis. (3) John Randolph, graduated at the Chandler
Scientific Department in 1857; was a civil engineer in Rochester, and
died single, aged twenty-five. (4) Anna M., is the wife of Frank S.
Brown, of Hartford, Conn., of the firm of Brown, Thompson & Co. She has
one son and two daughters. (5) Mary Abbie, is the wife of Charles K.
Chase, a merchant in Rochester, and has two daughters. (6) Sarah died
single. (7) George, the only surviving son, is engaged in extensive
grain, mill, and lumber business in Rochester; he married, first, Lizzie
Hanson, who died leaving a son; afterwards he married, second, Nellie,
daughter of Dr. James Farrington, of Rochester, her father being nephew
of Dr. James Farrington, M. C. (8) Oliver, died in infancy.
Judged by the success of his work as the banker, as developing by a
liberal and wise help every worthy manufacturing enterprise, and as
foremost in the building of the various railways centering in Rochester,
it is clear that Mr. McDuffee nobly comes into the list of those spoken
of in our first paragraph, whose record is in the prosperity of his
native town, where ability, sagacity, integrity, and kindliness have
united to make that record, as well as his own personal success.
[Illustration: Very truly yours--
John C. French]
JOHN C. FRENCH.
Prior to 1870, New Hampshire had no reliable fire insurance company.
That she now has one that is "sound, solid, and successful," firmly
established in the confidence of the country, and steadily growing in
strength and stability, is mainly due to JOHN C. FRENCH, who, in spite
of much prejudice and distrust, laid the foundations of the New
Hampshire Fire Insurance Company, and has since been its leading spirit
and manager.
Mr. French came of sturdy stock. His grandfather, Abram French, was a
native of Stratham, where he spent his boyhood and learned the trade of
a carpenter and builder, in which he soon became known as a skillful and
thorough workman. In this capacity he went to Pittsfield to complete the
interior of the first meeting-house in that town; and, when this was
finished, erected the buildings upon the parsonage lot for Rev.
Christopher Paige, step-father of the "beautiful Grace Fletcher," the
first wife of Daniel Webster. Some years later, Mr. Paige removed from
town, and the young mechanic bought the place, and in 1796 married
Hannah Lane, of Stratham, and established the French homestead, in which
he reared to maturity twelve children, and dispensed for many years the
hospitality which his prosperity enabled him to provide for a wide
circle of relatives and friends. His numerous children and grandchildren
ranked among the reliable and thrifty people of that town.
Enoch, the oldest son of Abram French, who married, in 1823, Eliza Cate,
of Epsom,--a most estimable woman,--and settled on an adjoining farm,
was the father of five children. The only survivor of this family is the
subject of this sketch, John C. French, who was born March 1, 1832, and
spent his boyhood upon one of the rocky farms in Pittsfield. His
opportunities for obtaining an education were very limited, but his
ardent desire to learn impelled him to supplement his common-school
privileges by reading at home, and afterwards to obtain, by working on a
farm summers and teaching winters, the money to pay his expenses for
several terms at the academies at Pittsfield, Gilmanton, and Pembroke.
What he learned at these institutions only fed his ambition to know
more; and, as there was little opportunity for him to gratify his tastes
and aspirations at home, when he became of age he made an arrangement
with J. H. Colton & Co. to solicit orders for their mounted maps. The
tact and activity which he showed in this work led his employers, a year
later, to give him the Boston agency for "Colton's Atlas of the World,"
then in course of preparation; and in this he won another success,
selling over twelve hundred copies of this large and expensive work. In
1855 he was appointed general agent for the house for New England, and
subsequently gave considerable time to the introduction of Colton's
series of geographies into the public schools; and was afterwards
employed by Brown, Taggart, & Chase, and Charles Scribner & Co., in
bringing out their school publications. While thus engaged he was able
to gratify his fondness for travel, observation, and reading; gained an
acquaintance with the leading authors, teachers, publishers, and other
prominent educators, and a knowledge of the local history, industries,
and resources of all the principal towns in New England. He also learned
thoroughly the art of advertising, and of putting books upon the market
in a way to command popular favor.
During the eight years he was thus employed, he made frequent journeys
to Pittsfield, and spent a portion of each season there with his
parents, to whom he was devotedly attached; but in May, 1866, having
been appointed state agent of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance
Company, he established his residence in Manchester, which has since
been his home, though he still retains possession of the beautiful
homestead farm upon which he was born.
Three years later, having become interested in and familiar with the
insurance interests of the state, he conceived the idea of establishing
a stock fire insurance company, and by untiring persistency and zeal
overcame the almost universal prejudice against such an organization,
enlisted in its support some of our most prominent citizens, secured a
charter and the capital stock, and began the business which under his
energetic and prudent directions has since grown to great proportions.
To this company he still gives his undivided time and efforts, refusing
to accept political office, declining all inducements to go elsewhere,
resting entirely content with the success he commands in and from the
company's office. His wide and varied experience has given him a great
insight into business affairs and productive industries, and also an
extensive and invaluable knowledge of men, and these acquirements and
all his native abilities he is bringing to the service of the company in
the enlarged and enlarging sphere of his official duties. That he does
not labor in vain is shown by the fact that the New Hampshire company,
so recently established, has increased its capital stock from one
hundred thousand to five hundred thousand dollars, and its cash assets
to nearly a million, that it commands the countenance and assistance of
many of our most prominent men, and enjoys a national reputation for
prudent management and financial success.
Mr. French has always taken a lively interest in his native town, and,
when the project for building a railroad which would promote its growth
and prosperity took shape, he gave himself heartily to the support of
the enterprise, and it was largely through his efforts that the three
hundred and fifty thousand dollars necessary to build the Suncook Valley
road was secured, by subscriptions to the capital stock and gratuities
from the towns along the line. As one method of helping this work to a
successful completion, he established the _Suncook Valley Times_--a
weekly paper--at Pittsfield and for two years contributed regularly to
its columns a series of historical and biographical articles, which
attracted much attention in the locality, and were widely copied and
read elsewhere. He also at one time published and edited at Manchester a
journal devoted to insurance interests; and in these publications, as
well as in those of the New Hampshire company, has established a
reputation as a vigorous, versatile, and popular writer.
The zeal, fidelity, and success with which he has managed the various
interests intrusted to him have been highly appreciated, and numerous
testimonials have borne witness to the satisfaction of his employers.
The records of the New Hampshire company contain a resolution passed
unanimously by the stockholders, in 1871, in which the unparalleled
success of the company is ascribed mainly to his zeal and efficiency;
and a similar resolution is inscribed upon the books of the Suncook
Valley Railroad.
Mr. French, while not a politician, takes a deep interest in public
affairs, and his help can always be depended on for whatever promises to
promote the public good and the well-being of the community in which he
lives. He is a genial companion, a stanch friend, and a man who wins and
holds the good opinions of a very large circle of acquaintances. He is
a member of Trinity Commandry, Knights Templar, and a director of the
Merchants National Bank.
Mr. French married, in 1858, Annie M., daughter of L. B Philbrick, Esq.,
of Deerfield, and has three children,--Lizzie A., Susie P., and George
Abram,--who reside with their parents.
HON. THOMAS COGSWELL.
The town of Gilmanton has always been distinguished for its strong and
able men, who have exercised a powerful influence in the affairs of
their town and state. It has furnished men to fill nearly every position
of trust and honor within the gift of the people of our state, and it
has ever been proud of her illustrious sons. Among the very strong men
of this old town stood Hon. THOMAS COGSWELL, who in the year 1820, at
the age of twenty-one, moved hither from Atkinson, N. H., where he was
born December 7, 1798. He was one of a family of nine children of
William and Judith (Badger) Cogswell, eight of whom lived to years of
maturity. He settled on the farm formerly occupied by his grandfather,
the Hon. Joseph Badger, and with strong hands and indomitable courage
commenced gaining a livelihood for himself and young wife, Mary Noyes,
whom he married just prior to moving here. He soon attracted the
attention of the older settlers, and in a short time became one of the
leading men in the town; and ever afterwards took an active part in all
its local affairs, and for the whole period of his life was honored and
respected by his neighbors and townsmen, and received at their hands
every office within their gift.
There is no position that more truly shows the strength and power of a
man than that of moderator of a New Hampshire town-meeting; but for many
successive years he was chosen to preside over the deliberations of the
annual and other meetings in this, then, large town, and always did so
with great dignity, and to the perfect satisfaction of all. He was also
chosen one of the board of selectmen, and represented the town in the
legislature, and while a member of that body introduced and supported a
bill to repeal the law authorizing imprisonment for debt. For ten years
he was a deputy-sheriff for the county of Strafford, before its
division, and during all this time was actively engaged in the duties of
the office. He was also treasurer of the county for three years. In 1841
he was appointed one of the judges of the court of common pleas for the
new county of Belknap, and held that position until the year 1855, when
the judiciary system of the state was changed. In 1856 he was elected a
member of the governor's council from district number three. He was a
justice of the peace and quorum for over forty years. He was an officer
in the New Hampshire militia, and attained the rank of captain. He was
of Revolutionary stock, his father and seven uncles having served in
that war, and performed, in the aggregate, thirty-eight years of
service.
For seven years in succession he taught the winter term of school in his
district, at the same time performing all the work incident to his farm,
and during his whole life was interested in and a promoter of education.
Gilmanton Academy, an institution established by the efforts of his
grandfather, Gen. Joseph Badger, and his uncle, the Hon. Thomas
Cogswell, with the assistance of many other strong and good men, early
received his aid and co-operation, and he was one of its board of
trustees up to within a few years of his death. In early life he became
a member of the Congregational church at Gilmanton Iron-Works, and was
deacon of the same for many years; and always gave freely of his means
for the advancement of the cause of the Christian religion.
[Illustration: Thomas Cogswell]
Notwithstanding the many and various duties imposed on Mr. Cogswell by
his almost continuous service in some public position, he was a large
and successful farmer, and by his own exertions added year by year to
his original farm, so that at his death he owned in one tract nearly one
thousand acres of valuable land. He was a great lover of the soil and
was always interested in the cause of agriculture, and was in every
respect a well informed and successful farmer.
He possessed, to an uncommon degree, strong natural powers of mind, and
was capable of grasping difficult questions and giving a good legal
opinion. His mind was essentially judicial, and, had he devoted himself
to the study and practice of law, would undoubtedly have been a leading
mind in that profession. For many years he was consulted by his
neighbors and townsmen upon the troubles that frequently arose between
them, and to his credit, by his clear and practical judgment, saved,
frequently, long and expensive litigation. He was true to every trust
committed to him, and was scrupulously honest and exact in all his
dealings.
In politics, Thomas Cogswell was a Democrat to the end of his life.
During the war of the rebellion, he was a strong supporter of the
government, and a friend and well-wisher of every soldier in the field.
He saw clearly and plain that his duty as an American citizen was to
render all the aid in his power to help carry on and bring to a
successful close the terrible struggle then going on. He was a lover of
his country and delighted in its free institutions; and, although strong
in his political faith, was not a partisan.
Mr. Cogswell was noted for his energy and force of character; and, when
he had once made up his mind as to a certain course to pursue, he never
changed it until he was thoroughly satisfied that he was wrong. He was a
natural leader among men, and possessed the characteristics of a great
general. He was a ready and fluent public speaker, and few men could
better entertain an audience. He excelled in strong common sense, and
could state exactly his position on any subject that interested him. He
was always well informed, particularly on the history of his country and
its many political changes. He was of commanding appearance, and was a
noticeable person in any assembly. He was of an affectionate
disposition, and sympathized with the afflictions of others. He died
August 8, 1868, and was buried in the old historic burying-ground in
Gilmanton near the dust of his illustrious ancestors; and in his death
the town lost a wise counselor, the poor a generous friend, and the
community at large an honest and upright man.
There are four children now living,--Mary C. Burgess, wife of the late
Dr. Burgess, now living in Boston, Mass.; Martha B. Batchelder, wife of
the late Dr. Batchelder, also residing in Boston; James W. Cogswell,
sheriff of Belknap county; and Thomas Cogswell, a lawyer, residing on
the old homestead at Gilmanton.
HON. PERSON C. CHENEY.
BY COL. DANIEL HALL.
Person Colby Cheney was born in that part of Holderness, N. H., which is
now Ashland, February 25, 1828. He was the sixth child in a family of
five sons and six daughters,--children of Moses and Abigail (Morrison)
Cheney,--nine of whom still survive.
Of his sisters, Sarah B. is the wife of Rev. S. G. Abbott, of Needham,
Mass.; Abby M. is the widow of George Washburn, late of Goffstown, N.
H.; Ruth E. is the wife of Joseph W. Lord, of Wollaston, Mass.; Marcia
A. is the wife of J. P. F. Smith, of Meredith, N. H.; Hattie O. is the
wife of Dr. C. F. Bonney, of Manchester, N. H.
Of his brothers, Rev. O. B. Cheney, D. D., is the president of Bates
College, Lewiston, Me., and has mainly laid the foundations of the
success and popularity of that excellent institution of learning; E. H.
Cheney is the editor and proprietor of the _Granite State Free Press_,
Lebanon, N. H.; and Moses Cheney, a manufacturer of paper at Henniker,
N. H., is retired from business.
The square, old-fashioned New England house, where the family resided,
is still to be seen. It stands in the picturesque village of Ashland,
overlooking the valley below, and commanding a view of lofty hills and
beautiful scenery. The childhood of the subject of this sketch was
passed in this venerable mansion, but his boyhood and early manhood were
passed at Peterborough, N. H., where his father was engaged in the
manufacture of paper. This gave him an early and intimate acquaintance
with the paper business, enabled him to gain a knowledge of all its
details, and gave him those habits of industry and self-reliance, which,
upon the basis of a strong natural sagacity and force of character, have
distinguished his business life. He acquired a fair education in the
ordinary branches of knowledge, in the academies at Peterborough and
Hancock, N. H., and Parsonsfield, Me.
His father removed to Holderness in 1845, having sold his interest to A.
P. Morrison; and Person C. Cheney assumed the management of the
paper-mill at Peterborough. In 1853 a firm of which Mr. Cheney was a
member built another paper-mill at Peterborough; but he soon bought out
the interest of his associates, and continued business in Peterborough
till 1866.
Mr. Cheney took an early interest in politics, and represented the town
of Peterborough in the legislature in 1853 and 1854. He entered ardently
into the memorable events of 1860 and 1861, and zealously aided and
promoted the preparation of his state for the great struggle to maintain
the Union. In due time he offered his personal services, and in August,
1862, was appointed quartermaster of the 13th Regiment, N. H. Vols., and
proceeded with the regiment to the seat of war. Joining the army of the
Potomac, he rendered faithful service to the regiment and the country
until exposure and overwork in the campaign before Fredericksburg
brought on a long and dangerous sickness. Barely escaping with his life,
he was compelled to resign and return home. He received an honorable
discharge in August, 1863. From that time till the close of the war the
Union cause at home had no more earnest or efficient friend and
champion. In 1864 he was chosen railroad commissioner of New Hampshire,
and served three years.
[Illustration: P. I. Cheney]
In 1866, Mr. Cheney removed to Manchester, and formed a partnership with
Thomas L. Thorpe, as a dealer in paper stock and manufacturer of paper
at Goffstown. In 1868 the firm of E. M. Tubbs & Co., of which Mr. Cheney
had been a member three years, bought out the interest of Mr. Thorpe,
and the business was continued under the name of P. C. Cheney & Co. In
1870 the mill at Goffstown was destroyed by fire, but was replaced by a
new mill, and the business enlarged by rebuilding the old mill at
Amoskeag village.
Mr. Cheney, upon becoming a resident of Manchester, became at once
thoroughly and prominently identified with the development and
prosperity of that rapidly growing city; and very soon his business
capacity and integrity, his liberal spirit and engaging manners,
attracted attention to him as a man not only highly fitted for public
honors, but as pre-eminently capable of commanding them at the hands of
the people. He was brought forward as a candidate for mayor of
Manchester in 1871, and elected by a larger majority than any candidate
had received since 1863. He performed the duties intelligently and to
general acceptance, but declined a re-election. In 1874, at its
organization, he was chosen president of the People's Savings Bank, and
still retains the office.
In 1875, under peculiar circumstances, Mr. Cheney became the Republican
candidate for governor. In 1874 the Republicans had lost the state for
causes which it would not be useful to recite; and the Democrats, having
control of every branch of legislation, had used their power to fortify
themselves in the possession of the state government, by making new ward
divisions in the city of Manchester, and redistricting for councilors
and senators, in such a manner as to put their adversaries at great
disadvantage, and render it almost impossible to recover the state.
Under such circumstances it became absolutely necessary for them to
place at the head of the ticket a name of the greatest personal
popularity. Such were the prestige of Mr. Cheney, gained by his
successful administration in Manchester, his personal magnetism among
those who knew him, and his well known energy as a canvasser, that,
unexpectedly to himself, he was selected as the standard-bearer of his
party, and the result proved how wisely. The hottest campaign ever known
in a state proverbial for the violence of its political contests ensued,
and there was no choice of governor by the people; but Mr. Cheney had a
plurality of the votes cast, although Judge Roberts, his competitor,
received the heaviest vote his party had ever polled in New Hampshire.
The Republicans secured a majority in the legislature, which elected Mr.
Cheney governor. In 1876, Gov. Cheney was again a candidate, and after a
canvass which exceeded in intensity even that of 1875, he was re-elected
by a flattering majority of the popular vote, which was heavier than had
ever before been cast in New Hampshire. Mr. Cheney brought to the office
of governor a patriotic love for the state and solicitude for her good
name, a clear insight, great executive ability, thorough business
habits, and personal dignity, urbanity, and tact of a high order. These
qualities, combined with his undoubted integrity and earnestness of
purpose, enabled him to give the state a most prudent and successful
administration of its affairs. The retrenchment of expenses, so much
needed in a period of financial depression following years of sharp
distress, was kept steadily in view, and a thorough business system
inaugurated in all branches of the government; the affairs of the
adjutant-general's office were redeemed from years of neglect and
confusion; the state debt was materially reduced; at his suggestion a
law was passed requiring vouchers to be filed for all disbursements from
the governor's contingent fund; and the finances of the state were left
in all respects upon a sound and stable basis. The prominent part of New
Hampshire in the Centennial Exposition was due largely to his foresight,
his faith in its benefits, and his untiring efforts in its behalf. None
who participated in them will ever forget the brilliant success of "New
Hampshire Day" at Philadelphia, or the reception of Governor and Mrs.
Cheney, during his term of office, to the members of the legislature and
the citizens of Concord, at White's Opera House, which was a memorable
social event.
Gov. Cheney retired from office with the universal respect and esteem of
men of all parties, and has since devoted himself closely to business.
On the death of his partner, Dr. Tubbs, in 1878, Gov. Cheney purchased
his quarter interest, and thus became sole proprietor of the business.
The following year he converted the property of the old "Peterborough
Company" at Peterborough, into a pulp-mill, and obtained an amendment of
the charter, by act of the legislature, changing its name to the "P. C.
Cheney Company." This charter is among the oldest in the state, having
been granted in 1833, and bears the names of Charles H. Atherton, Samuel
Appleton, Samuel May, Isaac Parker, Nathan Appleton, and others, as
grantees. The original charter authorizes the company to extend its
operations to any town in the state.
In 1880 the company commenced operations for increasing its production
by building both a pulp and paper mill in connection with the old one at
Manchester. This enterprise has been carried to completion, and thereby
doubled in amount an already extensive business. Consequently the
corporation, the stock of which is held by Gov. Cheney solely, now owns
and carries on wood-pulp mills at Goffstown and Peterborough, and also
one in connection with its paper-mill and waste-works at Manchester. Its
paper-warehouse is at No. 1104 Elm street. The product of these various
establishments, and their monthly disbursements for labor and services,
are very large; and it is doubtful if a more important business has been
built up in our state by the courage, foresight, and skill of one man.
Gov. Cheney is an indefatigable worker, and keeps all the details of his
extensive and complicated business within easy command.
He is identified with the First Unitarian church of Manchester, and has
been a director and president of the society. He is a Royal Arch Mason,
and member of the Altemont Lodge; also a member of Peterborough Lodge,
I. O. O. F.
In 1850 he was married to Miss S. Anna Moore, who died January 8, 1858,
leaving no children. He married, June 29, 1859, Mrs. Sarah White Keith,
daughter of Jonathan White, formerly of Lowell, Mass., one of the
earliest of Lowell's manufacturers, by whom he has one daughter, Agnes
Annie Cheney, born October 22, 1869. His domestic life is singularly
happy and charming. His residence, No. 136 Lowell street, is a home of
modest elegance, of courtly hospitality, and the center of a refined
circle. It is not too much to say that to the affectionate sympathy, the
grace, and fine social tact of his accomplished wife, Gov. Cheney owes
not only the enjoyments of a delightful home, but much of the success
and popularity of his career.
The bare outlines of Gov. Cheney's life, as above given, convey but a
faint impression of the essential quality of the man, and his importance
as a factor in the social, business, and political life of his day and
generation. It remains to be said that in Manchester his name is the
synonym for liberality, public spirit, a generous and helpful charity,
and a philanthropy, which, though unobtrusive, loses no opportunity to
exert itself for the relief of distress and the elevation of society at
large. Of a sympathetic nature, he cares more for others than himself,
and no deserving person or worthy object ever solicits his aid in vain.
He is prominent in every movement for the public good, and never spares
himself, nor grudges the means which his business sagacity, energy and
enterprise have gained for him, when work is to be done for a good
cause, or help is needed for anybody in poverty or distress.
Mr. Cheney is still in the prime of life, and his useful service, his
honorable and upright character, his high and unselfish aims, have made
him a power in the state. A brave, true, and honest man, a sincere and
warm-hearted friend, of positive convictions, of unflinching devotion to
principle, and fitted for any station, he is obviously in the line of
succession to still higher honors than have been accorded him. It goes
without saying that such a man has hosts of friends; and certain it is
that he is second to no man in New Hampshire in those elements of
popular strength and confidence which commend men to public service.
An earlier biographer, from whose sketch most of this is derived,
appropriately closes his delineation of him with the remark, that "Mr.
Cheney may yet be drawn from the seclusion of private life, and the
unremitting toil of active business, to lend his aid to the councils of
a nation."
HON. PHINEHAS ADAMS.
BY ARTHUR P. DODGE.
Phinehas Adams was born in Medway, Mass., the twentieth day of June,
1814, and comes from the very best Revolutionary stock of New England.
His grandfather and great-grandfather participated in the battle of
Bunker Hill, and served through that memorable war. He had three
brothers and seven sisters, of whom the former all died previous to
1831. Three sisters are now living: Sarah Ann, born in 1816, the wife of
E. B. Hammond, M. D., of Nashua; Eliza P., born in 1820, widow of the
late Ira Stone, formerly an overseer in the Stark Mills; and Mary Jane,
born in 1822, widow of the late James Buncher, a former designer for the
Merrimack Print-Works at Lowell, Mass. Mrs. Buncher is the present
popular and very efficient librarian of the Manchester public library.
His father, Phinehas Adams, senior, married Sarah W. Barber, a native of
Holliston, Mass., in 1811. Her father was an Englishman, who came to
America from Warrenton, England, during the Revolutionary war, and
married in this country a Scottish lady who came from Edinburgh.
Phinehas Adams, the senior, was both a farmer and a mechanic, and became
quite an extensive manufacturer. At a very early date he constructed
hand-looms, which he employed girls to operate; and, subsequently,
started the first power-loom that was ever established in this country,
at Waltham, Mass., in the year 1814.
In this year and in the same town he became a mill overseer, and
afterwards gave his whole attention to manufacturing. He resided, when
Phinehas was a child, at different times in Waltham and Cambridge,
Mass., and in Nashua, to which latter place he removed later in life,
and became proprietor of a hotel, the Central House. This business was
more agreeable to him, since he had broken several of his ribs and
received other injuries from an unfortunate fall.
Hon. William P. Newell, of Manchester, who was agent of the Amoskeag
company from 1837 to 1846, was once a bobbin-boy for the elder Adams.
This was ten years before the son, who was attending a private school in
West Newton, Mass., until 1827, began to work in the mills. In the
last-named year, his father became agent of the Neponset Manufacturing
Company's mills--which were owned by himself, Dr. Oliver Dean, and
others--at Walpole, in the same state; and to this place he removed his
residence.
[Illustration: Phins. Adams]
When quite young, the son disliked close confinement in school, the task
of poring over books being to him rather dry and irksome; but his father
said to him that he must either study or go to work in the mill. At the
latter place he was soon found engaged in a work well calculated to
dispel boyish romance in a summary manner. He almost repented making
this choice, but pluckily "stuck to the work" with the indomitable
perseverance so often displayed in after life, and was employed as a
bobbin-boy for a year by the company. He then entered Wrentham Academy,
where he remained, making progress in his studies, for a year and a
half, when his father was compelled to inform him that he had met with
serious losses by reason of the failure of the company, and that he,
Phinehas, would now leave the academy and go to work. The father very
much regretted feeling obliged to take this course, having cherished the
hope of being able to give his son a thorough education. The latter
readily accepted the situation, replied to his father that he was ready
and willing to work, but, that if he must go to work in a mill, he
preferred that it should be in a large one, and not in a "one-horse
concern;" for he desired a wide field and the best possible
opportunities to gain a knowledge of the business in its many details.
One of the greatest events in the commercial history of our country was
the founding of the "City of Spindles," in 1821. Very naturally, the
junior Adams was led to go there to gain his desired knowledge. On the
10th of November, 1829, he proceeded to Lowell, and at the age of
fifteen became employed as bobbin-boy in the mills of the Merrimack
company. At that time, the company had only about thirty thousand
spindles in its mills.
In these early days of manufacturing, the system was adhered to in
Lowell of keeping fierce bull-dogs--one, at least--in each mill. They
were liberally fed with fresh meat, _not_ for the purpose of making them
_less_ savage, and chained near the entrance to the mill, making
effectual sentinels while the watch-_men_ were making their rounds. This
custom was followed until about 1831.
Mr. Adams was early possessed of an ambition to become an overseer; and
to this end he labored hard and faithfully, never thinking or dreaming,
however, that he would become agent of a large mill. This was his real
beginning, the wedding to his long and uninterrupted manufacturing life,
the "golden wedding" anniversary of which event occurred in November,
1879.
Soon after his commencement at Lowell, he was promoted to the position
of second overseer in the weaving department, a post he retained until
1831, when he passed to a similar position in the Methuen Company's
mill, of which his uncle was agent. In 1833 he made another change,
going to Hooksett, where he became overseer in the Hooksett
Manufacturing Company's mills, of which his father was then the agent.
Not long afterwards he assumed a similar position in the Pittsfield
Manufacturing Company's mill, at Pittsfield, then under the
administration of Ithamar A. Beard. Mr. Adams remained in Pittsfield
from December, 1834, until Mr. Beard resigned.
On the 7th of March, 1835, Mr. Adams, who had previously decided to
return to Lowell, left Pittsfield; embarked in the mail stage, and found
himself about noon of the next day at Nashua, where his parents then
resided. In those days there was no city of Manchester, neither was
there a splendid railroad service running through the fertile Merrimack
valley. But the waters of the Merrimack, though scarcely at all utilized
at that time to propel water-wheels, carried upon its bosom heavily
laden vessels from Boston, _via_ the old Middlesex canal, which ran as
far north as Concord. Locks were in use at Garvin's Falls, Hooksett,
Manchester, Goffe's Falls, Nashua, and at other points. A passenger
steamer plied in those days between Lowell and Nashua upon the river.
Mr. Adams remained at home only until Monday. He was industriously
inclined, and proceeded immediately to the Merrimack Mills in Lowell,
the scene of his earlier labors, where he accepted the office of
overseer. He remained with this company until he came to Manchester, in
1846. In December, 1841, John Clark, the agent of the Merrimack Mills at
Lowell, proposed that Mr. Adams should enter the office as a clerk. This
idea was very distasteful to Mr. Adams, but he yielded to the wishes and
advice of Mr. Clark, to get acquainted with book-keeping and the general
business of the mills, to prepare for a higher position. For five years
he held this position.
In the year 1846, Mr. Adams left Lowell to assume the agency (succeeding
the Hon. William P. Newell) of the "Old Amoskeag Mills," then located on
the west side of the Merrimack River at Amoskeag Falls,--now a part of
the city of Manchester,--on the present site of ex-Governor P. C.
Cheney's paper-mill. The building of the Amoskeag mills was the
beginning of Manchester's wonderful career of prosperity, which has
developed to such great proportions. Her many mills, now running more
than three hundred thousand spindles, many looms, and many
cloth-printing machines, and the many other signs of industry, are
abundantly attesting to the truth of the statement. With the Amoskeag
company Mr. Adams remained until the 17th of November, 1847, when he
became agent of the Stark Mills.
Of the great manufactories of Manchester, that of the Stark Mills
company ranks third in magnitude and second in age. This company was
organized September 26, 1838, and began active operations during the
following year. During its forty years and more of busy existence, up to
April 30, 1881, when Mr. Adams resigned on account of ill health, it had
but two resident agents: John A. Burnham held the position from the
inception of the corporation until the 17th of November, 1847, the date
marking the commencement of the long term of service of the subject of
this sketch. At that time the capital of the Stark Mills company was the
same as now,--one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The
shares, the par value of which was one thousand dollars, were worth six
or seven hundred dollars when Colonel Adams was chosen agent; but they
had risen to fourteen or fifteen hundred dollars when he resigned.
In the early days of New England manufacturing, more labor was performed
by hand than is to-day; and, though substantially the same machinery was
employed, yet it had by no means attained its present capacity and
wonderful completeness. In December, 1863, Mr. Adams was commissioned by
the directors of the Stark Mills to go to Europe for the purpose of
securing machinery, and information relating to the manufacture of linen
goods. At that time, owing to the war, cotton goods were very scarce and
expensive. For unmanufactured cotton itself the Stark company paid as
high as one dollar and eighty-six cents per pound, and a higher price
than even that was paid by other companies. A bale of cotton brought
nine hundred and thirty dollars. Mr. Adams traveled extensively through
England, Scotland, and Ireland, and visited the city of Paris. He
ordered considerable machinery of the English manufacturers, who were
very busy with American orders at the time. So great, in fact, was the
demand upon them, that the Stark machinery did not arrive until the
September following, nearly a year after being ordered.
From choice, Colonel Adams has been quite clear of politics, having only
served as ward clerk when a young man in Lowell, and, later, as a
presidential elector for General Grant. He was Governor Straw's
chief-of-staff, which, by the way, it is believed never "turned out in a
body" as such. He was also four years a director in the Concord
Railroad, just after the decease of Governor Gilmore. About the year
1848 he was chosen one of the assistant engineers of the Manchester fire
department, in which capacity he served with peculiar fidelity for
twelve years. Mr. Adams and the other engineers resigned their positions
after two steamers had been obtained, thus giving the captains of the
old companies chances of promotion. Never being "up for office," as were
many of his friends, he could act with positive independence; and he
invariably did act, as he thought, for the best interests of the city.
Col. Adams has for a long time been closely identified with the moneyed
institutions of Manchester, having served as a director in the Merrimack
River Bank from 1857 to 1860, the same in the Manchester National Bank
from 1865 to the present time; and as a trustee in the Manchester
Savings Bank nearly all the time since it obtained its charter. Since
the decease of Hon. Herman Foster, Mr. Adams has been one of the
committee on loans for the latter institution. He is one of the
directors of the Gas-Light Company, and was for many years a trustee of
the public library. He was elected, in 1865, one of the original
directors of the New England Cotton Manufacturers' Association.
For many years, Mr. Adams has been engaged, as opportunity occurred, in
procuring rare coins and medals. Of the former, he now possesses very
complete collections of the various denominations in gold, silver,
nickel, and copper; and he has a great number of valuable medals. Many
of these antiquities command a very high price in the market, their
numbers being absolutely limited, and the demand for them steadily
increasing.
During the administration of Colonel Adams, which covered a long series
of eventful years, a great many changes occurred. In what may be called,
more particularly, the manufacturing world is this especially true. He
is the oldest agent and the longest in such position in the city,--nay,
more, in the entire Merrimack valley; and most of those holding similar
positions thirty-two years ago are now passed from this life. That fine
old estate on Hanover street, for a long time known as the "Harris
estate," was formerly owned by the Stark company, who built the
commodious mansion now converted into a charitable institution,--the
"Orphans' Home,"--for the use of their agents. John A. Burnham was its
first occupant; and next, Mr. Adams, who resided there nine years,
beginning with 1847.
When Baldwin & Co.'s steam mill on Manchester street, where D. B.
Varney's brass foundry is located, was, with other structures, burned on
the 5th of July, 1852, that house, then occupied by Mr. Adams, was set
on fire by the flying sparks; but the fire was speedily extinguished.
Mr. Adams was at the time attending to his duties as engineer where the
fire raged the fiercest. Thus Mrs. Adams and those of her household were
without protection of the sterner sex in the early part of their peril.
Soon, however, aid was proffered by several men, of whom Mrs. Adams
admitted Mr. Walter Adriance and three others, friends of the family,
whereupon she securely barricaded the doors. The work of passing water
to the roof was very lively for a while.
In 1856, Mr. Adams moved into the house No. 2 Water street, where he
lived about nine years, when he purchased his present fine residence,
No. 18 Brook Street.
On the 24th of September, 1839, Mr. Adams was united in marriage with
Miss Elizabeth P. Simpson, daughter of the late Deacon Samuel Simpson,
of Deerfield, a veteran in the war of 1812. Mrs. Adams's paternal
grandfather, Major John Simpson, participated in the battle of Bunker
Hill, and, it is said upon good authority, fired the first shot, on the
American side, of that famous engagement.
It occurred in this wise: The men in his line were instructed by their
commander, Colonel Stark, not to fire a gun until the British had
arrived at a certain point, forty paces distant from the American works.
When the red-coated invaders had advanced to within that distance, the
major (who was then a private), an excellent marksman, being unable to
withstand so good an opportunity, fired before the order was given, and
dropped his man. The fire was then opened along the whole line. On being
reproved for disobeying orders, Mr. Simpson replied, "I never could help
firing when game which I was after came within gun-shot." He died
October 28, 1825.
From this happy union of Mr. Adams with Miss Simpson two children have
sprung: Elizabeth, born June 15, 1842, and Phinehas Adams, Jr., born
December 26, 1844,--both being born in the same house in the city of
Lowell. The former is the wife of Daniel C. Gould, paymaster of the
Stark Mills, and the popular tenor singer at the Franklin-street church,
to whom she was married the 10th of September, 1868. Mr. Gould is the
son of Deacon Daniel Gould, who was the first railroad-station agent in
Manchester, a position he held until succeeded by the late Henry
Hurlburt. Mr. Phinehas Adams, Jr., married Miss Anna P. Morrison, of
Belfast, Maine.
About a year after being married, Phinehas Adams joined the First
Congregational church in Lowell. Mrs. Adams was a member of the same
church. On removing to Manchester, both had their relation transferred
to the Franklin-street Congregational church.
At a business meeting of the Stark Corporation directors, in 1879, on
the suggestion of Edmund Dwight, it was voted to present Colonel Adams
with a suitable token, bearing testimony of the high respect in which he
is held by them. Therefore, on the 17th of November, 1879, that being
the date completing his thirty-two years of service as agent of that
corporation, they presented him with one of the most valuable gold
watches made by the Waltham company, together with a massive gold chain
and an elegant seal. Inside the watch-case is engraved the following:
"The Stark Mills to Phinehas Adams, November 17, 1847-1879. William
Amory. Edmund Dwight, treasurer." Accompanying these superb gifts was
the following letter, expressive of sentiments that any honorable man
would be justly proud to merit:--
"BOSTON, November 15, 1879.
"_My Dear Sir_,--I send you a watch and chain by request of the
directors of the Stark Mills. It will reach you on the
anniversary of the day on which you entered their service,
thirty-two years ago. Will you receive it as an expression of
their great respect for your character, and their high
appreciation of the service you have rendered the corporation
during the third part of a century?
"It is their sincere hope that the connection which has lasted
so long may long continue.
"With great regard, yours sincerely,
"EDMUND DWIGHT, _Treasurer_."
"PHINEHAS ADAMS, ESQ."
This testimonial was eminently deserved, as no one is held in greater or
more universal respect than is the upright, courteous, and genial
recipient.
Right here it may be as well to put on record the fact that Mr. Adams
has never used tobacco or intoxicating liquors during his life. The life
of Mr. Adams proves that tireless persistence and devotion to duty
accomplish much. The influence exerted by his life is far greater than
is commonly supposed or realized. It can hardly fail to stimulate young
men to honorable exertions, and to teach them that extensive notoriety
is not necessarily indicative of true greatness, and also that too eager
grasping after mere political distinction or after temporal riches is
far less desirable than linking their lives to immortal principles. No
sermon could be more potent than such a life as this, illustrating the
fact that exalted character is the choicest of all possessions, bearing
ever large interest in this life, and likewise in the life hereafter.
GENEALOGY.
_The "Phinehas Adams" Branch of the Adams Family, copied from the
Original Chart prepared by Elijah Adams, and dated Medfield, May 2,
1798._
HENRY ADAMS, Devonshire.
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PETER, JOSEPH, HENRY, ----, EDWARD, SAMUEL, JONATHAN.
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JONATHAN, HENRY, JAMES, JOHN, ELISHA, EDWARD, ELISHAB.
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------------------------+----+---------------------------------
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OBADIAH, JOHN, THOMAS, JEREMIAH, ELEAZER, ABRAHAM, DANIEL, PHINEHAS, EDWARD.
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BENJAMIN, JOHN, ELEAZER, SETH.
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JOHN, JUDE, JOEL, PHINEHAS, JAMES, ELIAS, HEZEKIAH, ELEAZER.
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ASAHEL, BARZILLAI, PHINEHAS, WILLIAM, LOWELL.
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----------------+-+----------
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ASAHEL, ASAHEL, PHINEHAS, ASAHEL.
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---+---+
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PHINEHAS.
NATHANIEL WHITE.
The ancestors of NATHANIEL WHITE were among the hardy pioneers who
settled New England two hundred and fifty years ago, William White, the
founder of the family in this country, having come from England and
landed at Ipswich, Mass., in 1635. The descendants of William were among
the earliest settlers of northern New Hampshire.
Nathaniel White, the subject of this sketch, the oldest child of Samuel
and Sarah (Freeman) White, was born in Lancaster, February 7, 1811. His
childhood was passed under a tender mother's care; and to her strict
religious training he was indebted for the noble character which led him
untainted amid the temptations of youth, and unspotted through a long
career of usefulness. At home were those principles of integrity,
honesty, temperance, philanthropy, and generosity inculcated which led
to a long life rounded by Christian virtues, adorned by humanitarian
graces, and free from vices.
At the age of fourteen he went into the employ of a merchant of
Lunenburg, Vt., with whom he remained about one year, when he accepted
employment with Gen. John Wilson, of Lancaster, who was just entering
upon his duties as landlord of the Columbian hotel in Concord. His
parents more readily consented to his taking this step on account of the
many noble qualities of Mrs. Wilson. To her care he was intrusted by his
solicitous mother. In the employ of Gen. Wilson, Nathaniel White
commenced life in Concord at the foot of the ladder. He arrived in
Concord, August 25, 1826, with one shilling in his pocket. For five
years, or until he came of age, he continued at the Columbian, rendering
a strict account of his wages to his father, and saving the dimes and
quarters which came as perquisites, until by his twenty-first birthday
he had a fund of two hundred and fifty dollars.
In 1832 he made his first business venture, negotiating the first and
last business loan of his life, and purchased a part interest in the
stage route between Concord and Hanover, and occupying the "box" himself
for a few years. In one year he was free from debt. Soon after, he
bought into the stage route between Concord and Lowell. In 1838, in
company with Capt. William Walker, he initiated the express business,
making three trips weekly to Boston, and personally attending to the
delivery of packages, goods, or money, and other business intrusted to
him. He was ever punctual; he never forgot. In 1842, upon the opening of
the Concord Railroad, he was one of the original partners of the express
company which was then organized to deliver goods throughout New
Hampshire and Canada. The company, under various names, has continued in
successful operation to the present day; and to Nathaniel White's
business capacity has it been greatly indebted for its remarkable
financial success.
In 1846, Mr. White purchased his farm, and has cultivated it since that
date. It lies in the southwestern section of the city, two miles from
the state-house, and embraces over four hundred acres of land. For his
adopted home he ever felt and evinced a strong attachment, and to him
Concord owes much of her material prosperity and outward adornment.
Beautiful structures have been raised through his instrumentality, which
render the capitol and the State-House park such attractive features of
the city.
[Illustration: Nath White]
In 1852 he made his first step in political life, being chosen by the
Whigs and Free-soilers to represent Concord in the state legislature. He
was an Abolitionist from the start; a member of the Anti-Slavery society
from its inception. His hospitable home was the refuge of many a hunted
slave,--a veritable station on the under-ground railroad, where welcome,
care, food, and money were freely bestowed, and the refugees were sent
on their way rejoicing. The attic of his house and the hay-mows of his
stable were the havens of rest for the persecuted black men.
In all works of charity and philanthropy, Mr. White was foremost or
prominent. He was deeply interested in the establishment of the New
Hampshire Asylum for the Insane and the State Reform School; in the
Orphans' Home, at Franklin, which he liberally endowed; and the Home for
the Aged, in Concord, which was his special care. The Reform club of
Concord, though not an eleemosynary institution, received substantial
benefits from his generosity; and to him, in a great measure, it owed
its very existence during the reaction which followed the first
enthusiasm.
Besides his extensive interest in the express company, his farm,--which
is one of the most highly cultivated in the state,--his charming summer
retreat on the borders of Lake Sunapee, and his real estate in Concord,
he was interested in real estate in Chicago, in hotel property in the
mountain districts, in railroad corporations, in banks, in manufacturing
establishments, and in shipping. He was a director in the Manchester &
Lawrence, the Franconia & Profile House, and the Mount Washington
railroads, and in the National State Capital Bank; a trustee of the Loan
and Trust Savings Bank of Concord; also of the Reform School, Home for
the Aged, and Orphans' Home, and other private and public trusts.
In 1875, Nathaniel White was candidate for governor, of the Prohibition
party; and he had a vast number of friends in the Republican party, with
which he was most closely identified, who wished to secure his
nomination for the highest honor within the gift of a state, by the
Republican party. In 1876 he was sent as a delegate to the Cincinnati
convention, which nominated Mr. Hayes for president. During the summer
of 1880, he was placed by his party at the head of the list of
candidates for presidential electors. With all these honors thrust upon
him, Nathaniel White was not a politician, although firm in his own
political convictions. The office sought the man, and not the man the
office.
Nathaniel White was blessed in his marriage relations. His history is
incomplete without a narration of the perfect union, complete
confidence, and mutual trust and assistance between him and his wife,
during a married life of nearly half a century. November 1, 1836, he was
married, by Rev. Hubert Bartlett, of Laconia, to Armenia S., daughter of
John Aldrich, of Boscawen, who survives him. Mrs. Armenia S. White is of
good old Quaker stock, descending, in the sixth generation, from Moses
Aldrich, a Quaker preacher who emigrated to this country in the
seventeenth century and settled in Rhode Island: and on the maternal
side, from Edward Dotey, a pilgrim who landed in the Mayflower. She was
born November 1, 1817, in Mendon, Mass., her parents removing from Rhode
Island at the time of their marriage. In 1830, she went with her parents
to Boscawen, where she lived until her marriage. Mrs. White has been her
husband's companion and helper in every good work.
Their children are John A. White, Armenia E. White, wife of Horatio
Hobbs, Lizzie H. White, Nathaniel White, Jr., and Benjamin C. White,
who survive. They lost two children,--Annie Frances and Seldon F.; and
adopted one,--Hattie S., wife of Dr. D. P. Dearborn, of Brattleborough,
Vt.
In early life Mr. White joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He
belonged to no other secret society. Anti-slavery societies, temperance
societies, charitable and benevolent societies, woman suffrage and equal
rights societies, and the Universalist society,--in all of these both
husband and wife were deeply and equally interested. During the first
four years of their married life, on account of Mr. White's occupation,
they boarded; for eight years they lived on Warren street; since 1848,
until the death of Mr. White, in their residence on School street. Here
they have meted out generous and refined hospitality to the humble
slave, the unfortunate, and to the most illustrious guests who have
honored Concord by their visits.
Nathaniel White died Saturday, October 2, 1880, having nearly completed
the allotted span of three score years and ten. He was stricken down
suddenly, although, with his usual business foresight, he seems to have
been prepared for the change.
Among the tributes to his worth which were called out by his death was a
letter by Hon. H. P. Rolfe, which presents a just and fair estimate of
his character, as follows:--
"I remember Mr. White even before you became acquainted with
him. I can see him now, as in the early morn, in the dim light
before the dawn of day, he drove up over the frozen hills of
Boscawen, through the drifting snows, buffeting the bleak winds,
and standing erect upon the footboard of his sleigh, with his
six frost-covered steeds well in hand. I remember him as in the
late afternoon or early evening he went dashing down those
fearfully steep hills, called "Choate and Gerrish hills," with
his Concord "coach and six," loaded down with sixteen and
eighteen passengers, and no break to resist the fearful pressure
upon a single pair of wheel-horses. He then had the same quiet,
reserved manners that marked the man all through his long, busy,
and useful life. There was no noise, no brag, no bluster, no
profanity, no tobacco, no rum! He was mild in speech, pleasant
in address, gentle in conduct, quiet in action, diligent in
business, constant in season and out, and faithful to all his
trusts; and every thing he did came fully up to the measure of
his responsibility.
'His life was gentle; and the elements
So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, "This was a man."'
"The wealth he possessed, and which he distributed with such a
generous hand, came from no ancestral estates. He made his
wealth, and he made himself, and he was emphatically 'the
architect of his own fortune.' He honored his father and his
mother, and his days were lengthened in the land; and if he had
lived till the 17th day of February, 1881, he would have filled
up the number of days which the Psalmist has assigned to manly
life. His example in youth, in manhood, and in mature age is a
valuable legacy to the young man who shall try to imitate it.
"To his wife and children he has left a memory as fragrant as
devotion, tenderness, and love could make; and in the hearts of
his other kindred he has planted a grateful remembrance, which
will find a habitation there as long as their lives shall last.
The beauty, gentleness and sweetness of his domestic life were
only appreciated by those who saw him at home, in the bosom of
his family, and partook of his genial hospitality.
'Wife, children, and neighbor may mourn at his knell;
He was lover and friend of his country as well.'
"It will not be out of place to insert here the language of a
learned and gifted gentleman who knew Mr. White, having formed
an acquaintance with him before the days of railroads, while he
was driving on his route between Concord and Hanover. I refer to
Prof. Edwin D. Sanborn, of Dartmouth College, who used
frequently to ride on the outside of the coach with Mr. White.
The following sketch was published in the Lebanon _Free Press_
in 1859, and was part of an article entitled, 'Good Habits the
Best Capital of the Young':--
'I know a gentleman, now residing at the capital of New
Hampshire, who, at the early age of fourteen, left the paternal
roof to become a clerk in a store. Thirty years ago every store
was a grog-shop. From that business he entered a hotel in a
large town, where liquor was also sold. The inference would be,
with most persons, that such positions were very unfavorable to
temperate habits. Ruin is almost inevitable to a young man thus
exposed and tempted. In the case alluded to, the lad served his
apprenticeship, and saved both his money and character. He
never, in a single instance, tasted liquor, or used tobacco, or
handled cards or dice. He passed from the hotel to the
stageman's box. He drove a coach from Concord to Hanover ten
years, I think. Before the building of railroads this was one of
the most exposed routes in the state. The day's journey was
long, the roads were bad, and the cold was often intense. It was
the common practice of stagemen to fortify themselves against
the cold by large and frequent potations. They soon lost health
and character. They were a short-lived race because of their
intemperance. But the subject of my story was true to his
principles. In cold and heat he abstained. He resisted all
solicitations, and offended nobody. He was trusted by all,
suspected by none. He was universally popular, always
intelligent. He was both a good companion and an honest agent.
He never forgot a commission, never violated a trust. He saved
his wages, and supported his parents, who needed his aid.
Multitudes who had occasion to travel that weary road, still
remember with gratitude the pleasant speech, agreeable
deportment, and excellent habits of this accomplished stageman.
When the railroad took the place of the old mail-coaches, the
trusted and confidential agent and owner of "the old line" was
employed upon the new mode of locomotion. He soon entered into
the express business, which has been constantly increasing in
extent of space and in quantity of packages from the first
journey of the iron horse till this hour. The honest stageman
became the confidential agent of thousands who had messages or
property to be conveyed over the road. With the increase of
business came increase of wealth. He was no lover of lucre.
Though born in humble circumstances, and trained to habits of
rigid economy, he had an eye for improvements, and a heart for
practical beneficence. He acquired property easily, and he gave
liberally. Aged parents and needy relatives shared his
liberality. He cared for the friends who were bound to him by
the ties of blood first, and then for such acquaintances as
needed his ready aid. From the penniless boy, without education,
he has become a thrifty man of business, bestowing thousands of
his hard-earned treasures upon objects of charity of his own
choice. How valuable is a character thus formed and matured!
Through all his varied life he has never tasted ardent spirits,
or used tobacco in any form. He ascribes all his success in life
to his early determination to be both temperate and honest. Such
an example deserves commendation and imitation.'
"These lines were written in 1859; and more than a score of
years of usefulness, of duties, of benevolence, of affection,
and of honor have since filled up and rounded off a life into
the completeness of manhood. When he was removed from earth,
death claimed a dutiful son, a tender and loving husband, an
affectionate father, a devoted brother, and a constant friend.
"Since I came to this city, death has been constantly busy in
our midst. None of us who have lived here these thirty years but
have witnessed its ravages, snatching from many of us our
dearest treasures. He has gathered to himself many of the gifted
and the good, whose memories are still fragrant; but the sincere
tributes to the memory of Nathaniel White have never been
equaled, I fear never will be. No person in New Hampshire has
ever had the happy combination of means and disposition to
bestow such noble charities as he. I feel myself privileged,
after forty years of constant friendship, to unite my tears of
sorrow and sympathy with those of his bereaved family and
afflicted friends, and to lay a laurel upon the freshly made
grave which covers one of earth's true noblemen.
"How well he filled up all the days of his years with love for
and duty to his family, his kindred, and his friends; to the
poor, to the downtrodden, to the slave, and to all the
unfortunate of earth! He claimed no right or privilege for
himself, in the wide domain of nature, that he did not want
others to enjoy. Hence he insisted always that the nation should
immediately strike the shackles from the slave, and let the
oppressed go free. Never himself under the thraldom of rum and
tobacco, he wished everybody else to be free from it. He
exercised the largest liberty himself, and enjoyed perfect
freedom of thought and action in religious, political, and other
matters; and he desired every man and woman to do the same.
Hence, when he arranged his worldly matters, he gave the
ownership and sole control of his business affairs into the
hands of his wife, with whom he had walked life's journey,
thereby giving signal proof of his sincerity that the wife is
the equal of the husband in the sight of God, and should be in
the love, esteem, and regard of man. He often said that the
wife, in the event of the husband's death, should maintain the
same rights and the same relation to the family that the husband
would if the wife were taken away. In his will he made her
responsible to no court or other tribunal. She was only required
to make proof of his will, in order that the ownership of all
his property should vest in her. In all this he recognized the
rights of womanhood as well as the rights of manhood. In this
way he gave proof of his belief that the twain, man and wife,
are one flesh.
"The Centennial Home for the Aged was the apple of his eye; and
yet he made no large bequests to it himself, having perfect
assurance that the wife, who had borne life's burdens with him,
and shared his devotion to this noble benevolence, would be
equally the author of her own charities and the almoner of his.
As a business man and a citizen, his reputation ripened by
integrity. It was beautified by sincere sympathy for the poor
and the downtrodden; it was embellished by his generous
charities; and it was endeared by his gentle and winning
manners. When his final summons came, he had filled out a life
of rare usefulness and of singular success.
"Mr. White was fifty-four years a resident of Concord. In every
thing that made for her welfare he was always the foremost
citizen. Many others did nobly, but he exceeded them all. In a
single matter that vitally affected the city of Concord,[6] in
which the writer was engaged, and in which liberal expenditures
were needed, he contributed more than all the others combined;
and I make mention of this because the people of Concord should
know of his liberality, about which he rarely ever spoke and
never boasted.
"In all his aspirations to make himself an honorable name, and
to do good to his kindred, his friends, his country, and his
race, Mr. White was most fortunate and happy in that he had the
early suggestion, the prompt encouragement, the ready
co-operation, and the ardent sympathy of her who for nearly half
a century kept his home constantly blooming with the
sweet-scented flowers of affection.
"Farewell, noble spirit!
'Thou 'rt buried in light:
God speed unto heaven, lost star of our night!'
We dismiss thee, not to the tomb of forgetfulness and death, but
to a blessed memory, an unclouded fame, and to a limitless
life."
FOOTNOTES:
[6] The retention of the state-house.
[Illustration: Francis Cogswell.]
FRANCIS COGSWELL.
FRANCIS COGSWELL was born in Atkinson, December 21, 1800. He died at his
home in Andover, Mass., February 11, 1880. His death closed a long,
honorable, and useful career. He was a gentleman of the old school,
strong, steadfast, and true. God gave him talents of a high order, and
he improved them all. He was honest, not from policy, but because it was
his nature to be. His ambitions never clouded his convictions of duty,
nor swerved him from the path which his high sense of probity and honor
pointed out; and, after more than fifty years of business activity, and
association with thousands of people in almost every relation in life,
he could say, as he did: "I die contented. I have no ill will towards
any one, and I know of no reason why any one should have any ill will
against me." He loved his family with a love that never wearied and
never forgot; which dared all things, suffered all things, did all
things, that could make for their comfort and happiness. He loved his
books. He was a stanch friend, a kind neighbor, and a generous citizen,
who never left to others the duties he could discharge. In business, he
was sagacious without being a schemer, patient and industrious without
being a slave. He had judgment, foresight, and reliability; and he
worked his way to success openly, steadily, and surely. He died
universally respected and widely and sincerely mourned.
Mr. Cogswell was the son of Dr. William Cogswell, the son of Nathaniel
Cogswell of Atkinson, who was born July 11, 1760, and was married to
Judith Badger, July 22, 1786, the daughter of the Hon. Joseph Badger,
senior, of Gilmanton, N. H., born May 15, 1766, whose children were as
follows:
William, born June 5, 1787; Julia, born February 20, 1789; Hannah
Pearson, born July 6, 1791; Joseph Badger, born August 30, 1793;
Nathaniel, born March 5, 1796; Thomas, born December 7, 1798; Francis,
born December 21, 1800; George, born February 5, 1808; John, born
February 14, 1810, and died August 6, 1811.
Julia Cogswell was married to Greenleaf Clarke, of Atkinson, March 1,
1810. They were the parents of William Cogswell Clarke and John Badger
Clarke, who are sketched elsewhere in this book.
Hannah Pearson Cogswell married William Badger, of Gilmanton, who was
afterwards governor of New Hampshire. Their children are Col. Joseph and
Capt. William, of the U. S. army.
Joseph Badger Cogswell was married to Judith Peaslee, October, 1817.
They had six children, three sons and three daughters: William is a
successful physician in Bradford, Mass.; Francis has been a very popular
teacher, and is now superintendent of schools in Cambridge, Mass.; and
Thomas is a dentist in Boston.
Rev. Nathanial Cogswell married Susan Doane, October, 1825. He was a
settled clergyman at Yarmouth, Mass., a man of great influence, and his
son John B. D. Cogswell has been speaker of the Massachusetts house of
representatives.
William, Thomas, and George Cogswell are sketched in this book.
Francis Cogswell received his early education in the public schools and
at Atkinson Academy, from which he entered Dartmouth College, where he
graduated with honor in the class of 1822. Selecting the law for his
profession, he prepared himself for admission to the bar at Exeter, was
admitted in 1827, and commenced practice in Tuftonborough, N. H., the
same year. He removed, in 1828, to Ossipee. In 1833 he removed to Dover,
and was appointed clerk of the court in Strafford county. Nine years
later he located at Andover, Mass., and became treasurer of the
Ballardvale Woolen Company.
May 16, 1845, he was chosen cashier of the Andover bank, to which
institution he devoted himself with great fidelity until he was called
to the presidency of the Boston & Maine Railroad, in 1856. In this
position, his systematic methods, untiring industry, ability to manage
men, careful regard for the public and respect for its opinions, and
stern integrity asserted themselves, to the great advantage of the
corporation and the approval of its patrons; and his resignation, which
he tendered in 1862, caused wide-spread regrets, which grew more and
more pronounced until 1865, when he yielded to the general demand and
accepted a re-election. His second term lasted until 1871, when he felt
compelled to lay down the heavy burdens inseparable from the office, and
retire from active life.
In addition to these, Mr. Cogswell held many other public and private
trusts of great responsibility, in all of which his sterling qualities
were quietly but effectively asserted. He was a director of the Andover
bank for twenty years; treasurer of the Marland Manufacturing Company
for twenty-two years; a trustee of Gilmanton and Atkinson academies, and
of the Punchard free school at Andover; an overseer of Harvard College;
and senior warden of the Episcopal church at Andover, where he was a
constant worshiper for many years. Many private properties were also
committed to his care; and his advice was constantly in demand by his
neighbors and acquaintances.
Mr. Cogswell was a man of pronounced political views, but would never
accept political honors. Prior to the war he was a Democrat; but the
attempt of the southern slaveholders to destroy the Union made him an
earnest Republican, and one of the strongest supporters of the loyal
cause. He was chairman of Andover's war committee, and gave liberally of
his means to her soldiers and their families.
Mr. Cogswell was married, June 8, 1829, to Mary S. Marland, daughter of
Abraham Marland, of Andover, by whom he had eight children. Three of
these--John F. Cogswell, of Andover, at the head of the well known and
very successful express company of Cogswell & Co., Lawrence, Mass.,
Thomas M. Cogswell, of Lawrence, engaged in the same business as his
brother, and Mary M., wife of William Hobbs, Esq., of Brookline,
Mass.,--are living.
[Illustration: Joseph B. Clark]
HON. JOSEPH BOND CLARK.
JOSEPH BOND CLARK, son of Samuel and Betsey (Clement) Clark, was born at
Gilford, N. H., June 21, 1823. He had four brothers and four sisters, of
whom two survive,--Samuel C., a lawyer at Lake Village, and Hannah B.,
widow of the late William G. Hoyt, of Moultonborough. At the age of
seventeen he began a preparatory course of study at New Hampton Literary
Institution, and, after three years, entered Brown University at
Providence, R. I., in 1844, and graduated in 1848. He then spent six
years teaching in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, meanwhile qualifying
himself for the profession of law, some time with the Hon. Asa Fowler,
of Concord, N. H., and with Stephen C. Lyford, of Laconia, from whose
office he was admitted to the Belknap-county bar in 1853. He however
continued for two years longer principal of the Wolfeborough Academy,
and then removed to Manchester, N. H.
Mr. Clark was soon recognized as a moving force among men, was made city
solicitor in 1858-59, representative in the legislature from ward one in
1859-60, and was appointed solicitor for Hillsborough county in 1861 and
again in 1866, holding the office ten years in all. In the midst of his
varied activities the war broke out; he was commissioned as a lieutenant
in the Eleventh Regiment, Col. Walter Harriman, and went to the front to
assist in putting down the rebellion. In March of the succeeding year he
was promoted to the rank of captain, and was wounded in the battle of
the Wilderness, May 6, 1864. He remained with his regiment until the
close of the war, and was mustered out of service in June, 1865. In 1867
he was mayor of the city of Manchester. He has been a director in the
Merrimack River Bank (now First National) and trustee of the Merrimack
River Savings Bank, since their organization, and is a director of the
Nashua, Acton, & Boston Railroad and of the Manchester Horse-Railroad.
He was for several years a director of the First Baptist society of
Manchester, and chairman of the building committee, which erected
probably the finest church of that denomination in the state.
In 1878-79 he represented ward three in the legislature, and was
chairman of the finance committee; and was a member and clerk of the
committee for the erection of the soldiers' monument in Manchester, in
1879. He married, September 12, 1862, Mrs. Mary Jane (Peabody) Smith,
daughter of James H. and Roxana Peabody, of Manchester. She died August
15, 1873, leaving two children,--Mary P. and Joseph M.
This record, so brief and yet so full, will suggest better than any
words the general estimation of Mr. Clark among those who know him.
Undemonstrative and quiet in his manner, cautious and prudent in action,
simple and temperate in habit, he is, above all, a thoughtful and
patriotic citizen, whose vote is given for the best measures, and whose
example lends force to his words. Conservative by nature, he is yet not
slow to place himself on the side of equal justice and truth.
HON. GEORGE W. NESMITH.
[FROM HISTORY OF ANTRIM, BY REV. W. R. COCHRANE.]
JAMES NESMITH, one of the signers of the memorial to Gov. Shute, March
26, 1718, and one of the proprietors of Londonderry, was also one of the
original sixteen that first struck for settlement on the soil of that
ancient town. April 22, 1719. He was a strong man, worthy of respect,
and honored by his associates. Was appointed elder of the West Parish
Presbyterian church, at its formation in 1739. The date of his death was
1767, and his age seventy-five. He married, in Ireland, in 1714,
Elisabeth, daughter of James McKeen and Janet Cochran. This Elisabeth
McKeen was sister of Janet McKeen, Dea. Isaac Cochran's mother. She died
in 1763, aged sixty-seven. The Nesmiths lived in the valley of the Bann
in Ireland, and emigrated to that place from Scotland in 1690. Dea.
James Nesmith had two children in Ireland, and seems to have buried the
eldest child there. Seven children were born to them in America. The
names of all were: Arthur, buried in infancy in Ireland; James, born in
Ireland in 1718; Arthur, born in Londonderry April 3, 1721; Jean, born
March 12, 1723; Mary, born Jan. 24, 1726; John, born Feb. 11, 1728;
Elisabeth, born Jan. 8, 1730; Thomas, born March 26, 1732; Benjamin,
born Sept. 14, 1734.
James Nesmith, Jr., the son born in Ireland, was born early in 1718,
just before embarking for America, and was brought over in his mother's
arms. He married Mary Dinsmore and settled in the northern part of
Londonderry. Though an old man when the Revolutionary war broke out, he
went with all his heart into the struggle against the British; marched
among the minute-men at the first call, and was a participant in the
battle of Bunker Hill. He had children, James, Jonathan, Robert,
Elisabeth, Mary, and Sarah; and died where he settled, July 15, 1793. Of
these six children, we will only say as follows: James, the oldest, was
born in 1744; married Mary McClure (Parker's History is wrong in saying
Martha); was elder in the West Parish church; left children,--William
M., Robert, Isaac, James, Martha, Jane W., and Margaret,--of whom
William M., the first named, married Harriet Willis, and was father of
Hon. James W. Nesmith, long U. S. Senator from Oregon. Senator Nesmith
was born in 1820, married Pauline Goffe in 1846, and now lives in wealth
and honor at Dixie, Ore. The second child of James, Jr., was Jonathan of
Antrim; Robert, the third child, married Jane Anderson; Elisabeth, the
fourth child, married James Cochran of Windham; Mary, the fifth child,
married James McClure of Acworth; and Sarah, the sixth, married Daniel
Anderson of Londonderry.
[Illustration: Geo. W. Nesmith.]
Returning now to Arthur, the third child of Dea. James the emigrant, we
have to say that he was born April 3, 1721. He married Margaret Hopkins,
and settled in the south part of Londonderry; but in later life he moved
to the state of Maine. He had two sons in the Revolutionary army, one of
whom, John, was a captain noted for valor and strength, but died near
the close of the war from effects of excessive exposure and hardship. Of
Jean and Mary, daughters of the first Dea. James, I know nothing. But
John, the sixth child of the emigrant, married Elisabeth, sister of Gen.
George Reed of Londonderry, settled on the first Nesmith homestead with
his father, and died there in 1815, aged eighty-seven. His children
were: James of Antrim; Arthur of Antrim; John, Jr., who married, first,
Susan Hildreth, and, second, Lydia Sargent, and died on the homestead in
Londonderry in 1844; Ebenezer, who married Jane Trotter; Thomas;
Elisabeth, who married Dea. James Pinkerton; Mary, who married John
Miltimore, moving to Reading, Penn.; and Jane, who married Hugh
Anderson. Of Elisabeth, the emigrant's seventh child, I have no data.
Thomas, the eighth child, was born March 26, 1732; married Annis Wilson,
and settled in Londonderry (now the north part of Windham), and had
three children: John, Elisabeth, and Thomas, Jr. Of Benjamin, the ninth
child of the first Dea. James, I have no information of importance in
the present undertaking.
JONATHAN NESMITH, second child of James and Mary (Dinsmore) Nesmith, and
grandson of the proprietor Dea. James, was born in Londonderry, in
August, 1759. He came here in May, 1774, and began to clear the farm
that remained in possession of the family until 1865. He made successive
clearings each year, and with vigorous hand put up his log
cabin,--though only a boy of sixteen years when he began. He permanently
moved here in 1778. He subsequently had to pay for the most of his land
a second time. Was one of the leading spirits of the town. Was eleven
years selectman, and was four times chosen representative of the town.
Was always on important committees, and was known and confided in by
all. He was chosen one of the elders of the Presbyterian church at its
formation in 1778, though only twenty-nine years of age. For fifty years
he only failed of officiating at one communion. Dea. Nesmith was a man
of great sociality,--up to jokes,--genial, jolly, and good-natured; was
very hospitable and benevolent; anxious for the public welfare; stoutly
in earnest to maintain the faith of his fathers; a man of strong
ability, good judgment, and irreproachable character. He was an honor to
the town he helped to establish. His death occurred Oct. 15, 1845, aged
eighty-six. His first wife was Elenor Dickey, whom he married in 1781.
She was the daughter of Adam and Jane (Strahan) Dickey of Londonderry,
and grand-daughter of John and Margaret Dickey, of Londonderry, Ireland.
She was born Jan. 1, 1761, and died Sept. 17, 1818. He married, second,
Mrs. Sarah (Wetherbee) Hamblin, of Concord, Mass. She was twelve years
of age when she witnessed the battle of Lexington and Concord from her
father's door. She saw those brave men fall, remembered everything, and
was always fond of telling of those first blows for liberty. She died
Jan. 16, 1852, aged eighty-nine. Dea. Nesmith's cabin was burned one day
when the family were absent; and he used to remark, in after years, that
he never felt so poor as then. Yet, undismayed, he went about building
another, being generously aided by neighbors he had himself always been
forward to help. After several years he put up a substantial framed
house, which was burned March 4, 1841, from a spark catching on the
roof. In his old age Dea. Nesmith resigned his office in the church; and
it is spoken of as a remarkable scene, when he stood in the public
assembly and offered his resignation, and then, with trembling voice and
with uplifted and palsied hand, invoked God's blessing on his successors
in coming time. His children were:--
1. JAMES, b. Oct. 5, 1783; m. Polly Taylor April 10, 1810;
cleared and settled west of the pond and west of the Steele
place, on land now George Brown's,--often called the Boyd place;
went thence to Solon, N. Y., in 1822, with six children. There
his wife d. in 1846. In 1852 he m. 2d, Mrs. Susan Clark; moved
to Waukon, Io., and d. there in 1862. He had children:--
_Mary_, (b. in 1811; d. in infancy.)
_Mary E._, (b. in 1812; m. John Stillman of Cortlandville, N.
Y., in 1833; went to Waukon, Io., in 1857, where they now live.)
_Rev. John T. G._, (b. in 1814; studied at Cazenovia Seminary;
m. Harriet N. Taylor; entered the Methodist ministry; was a
faithful and able man; d. while pastor, at the age of 36.)
_Hannah E._, (b. in 1816; m. John Reed; moved to Waukon, Io., in
1857, and d. there in 1877.)
_Abigail S._, (b. in 1818; became second wife of Isaac Barker in
1847; went to Waukon, Io., in 1854.)
_Mark W._, (b. in 1820; d. unm., at Solon, N. Y., in 1848.)
_James A._, (b. in 1822; carried to Solon, N. Y., when an
infant; went thence to Illinois in 1844; m. Laura Post.)
_George W._, (b. in Solon, N. Y., in 1825; m. Mary C. Farrar of
Fairfield, Vt.; resides at Waukon, Io.)
_Dr. Milton W._, (b. in 1828; m. Margaret Donoughue in 1852; is
now physician and druggist at Waukon, Io.)
_Woodbury T._, (by second wife; b. in 1852; remains at Solon, N. Y.)
2. JEAN, now called "Jane," or "Jenny;" b. May 14, 1787; m. John
Dunlap, June 26, 1807, and d. March 29, 1835.
3. THOMAS D., b. March 22, 1789; m. Martha Weeks, March 30,
1813; succeeded his father on the homestead. His first wife d.
in 1828, aged 35, and he m. 2d, Nancy Gregg, Feb. 4, 1830. He d.
Sept. 10, 1841, aged 52. The second wife d. Feb. 9, 1856, aged
63. He was known in town as "Capt. Nesmith;" was captain of the
"Antrim Grenadiers," and was often marshal of the day on special
occasions. He was a useful man, and d. in his prime. His
children were:--
_Robert W._, (b. May 3, 1814; m. Olive Dunlap of Bedford, June
1, 1839; settled in Jefferson, Tex., and d. at Sulphur Springs
in that state, Nov. 28, 1866. He left two daughters: Oriette,
now in the Metropolitan Railroad office, Boston; and Sally Y.,
who m. Com. Decatur Morris, and lives in Little Rock, Ark.)
_Jonathan_, (b. Jan. 24, 1816; m. Marietta F. Morrill of
Franklin, Nov. 15, 1841; inherited the homestead of his father
and grandfather, sold the same in 1865, and two or three years
later moved to Hancock, where he now resides. He was the last of
the name in town. At one time there were three Dea. Nesmiths in
town, known as "Dea. James," "Dea. Arthur," and "Dea. Jonathan,"
and they each had nine children,--making, with sisters and
friends, nearly forty by that name in this place. Jonathan's
children are: Jennie M., who was b. Sept. 23, 1842,--an
excellent teacher; Thomas S., who was b. May 12, 1846, and d. at
the age of three years; Fannie H., who was b. Dec. 8, 1848, and
m. Frank H. Baldwin, June 19, 1876, residing in Keene; Annie M.
T., who was b. Sept. 12, 1852; Abbie Isabel, who was b. Nov. 15,
1854, and d. 1856; Miles G., who was b. Sept. 26, 1857; Addie
M., who was b. Jan. 27, 1860; and John S., who was b. May 5,
1863.)
_Sarah E._, (b. Dec. 24, 1818, m. John W. Buttrick, and lives in
Lawrence, Mass.)
_Miles_, (b. Feb. 2, 1821; went to California in 1849, and was
driver for the California Stage Company; the horses became
unmanageable, and the whole team was thrown down a fearful
precipice near Virginia City, Nev., by which the driver, all the
horses, and most of the passengers were instantly killed. This
sad event occurred in December, 1862.)
_Harriet F._, (b. Feb. 2, 1823, m. Walker Flanders, and lives in
Lawrence, Mass.)
_Martha J._, (b. June 9, 1825; m. Isaac P. Cochran of Windham,
Nov. 12, 1846.)
_Melvin_, (b. Dec. 20, 1830; d. in Sacramento, Cal., Dec. 31,
1853.)
_Hiram G._, (b. Feb. 18, 1833; d. in Jefferson, Tex., in 1857.)
_Nancy R._, (b. Jan. 24, 1836, m. Josiah Melville, and lives in
Nelson.)
4. ADAM, b. March 5, 1792; m. Rebecca Dale; settled in Beverly,
Mass., and d. Jan. 15, 1865.
5. MARY D., "Molly Dinsmore" on town record, b. April 11, 1794;
called "Long Mary," being tall in form; a talented, respected,
and Christian woman; d. unm. April 6, 1874.
6. MARGARET, b. May 4, 1796; d. unm. in 1827.
7. ISABEL, b. March 6, 1798; d. unm. March 8, 1862.
8. HON. GEORGE W., b. Oct. 23, 1800; was graduated at Dartmouth
College in 1820; m. Mary M. Brooks; settled in the practice of
law at Franklin; was long judge of the New Hampshire supreme
court, remaining on the bench until relieved by the
constitutional limitation of years. Is now president of the N.
H. Orphans' Home, and trustee of Dartmouth College; is a man of
noble principles and honored life, enjoying in his old age the
highest confidence and esteem of men. The degree of LL. D. was
conferred upon him by Dartmouth College. He stands among the
best and noblest of the sons of New Hampshire, and is an honor
to his native town.
CHARLES MARSH.
Yankee courage, integrity, and judgment have won no more substantial or
more splendid triumphs in the business world than are reflected from the
dry-goods palace of Jordan, Marsh, & Co., a house whose grand successes
have made it famous throughout the mercantile world. The foundations of
this magnificent establishment were laid in 1851 and 1852, by three
young men, two of whom were natives of New Hampshire. The head of the
firm, Eben D. Jordan, when fourteen years old had gone up to Boston from
his home in Maine, and began his business career as an errand boy, and
in a short time had been promoted to a clerkship, in which position he
made himself master of the dry-goods business, and while doing it became
acquainted with two other young men, Benjamin L. and CHARLES MARSH, who
had left their father's house in Chesterfield, N. H., and sought in
Boston an opening in which pluck, push, and perseverance, unaided by
influential friends or unearned capital, could carry them on to success.
In 1852, Messrs. Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh established the firm of
Jordan, Marsh, & Co., and the next year Charles Marsh, then a clerk in
the store of Pearl, Smith, & Co., was admitted as a partner. The house
began in a small way; it had behind it little but the splendid courage
and the remarkable abilities of the three young partners; but these were
sufficient to win a fair share of business, and a reputation which was
better than money, and in a short time it was firmly established in the
confidence of the mercantile world and the good will of the public. In
eight years the business had grown to two million dollars per annum, and
since that time it has steadily and rapidly increased, until the firm
controls the dry-goods market of New England, and, in many lines, of the
entire country.
The elder Marsh died in 1856, leaving his partners to carry on and
complete the grand enterprises he had helped project and begin. His
brother still remains to share with Mr. Jordan the triumphs of the firm.
In the early days of the business, Charles Marsh was an active salesman,
and was accounted one of the best ever known in Boston. Afterwards, he
took charge of the wholesale department, which has since been and still
is under his personal supervision.
In commercial circles and in the store he has a clearly defined and high
rank as a manager, with rare combination of talents. His coolness, his
thorough knowledge of the business, his level-headed judgment, and
organizing and executive capacity are abundantly attested in the great
and rapid growth of the wholesale business. He is a balanced man; and
how necessary this quality is to success in an enterprise of this
magnitude, only those who have seen houses go to wreck for lack of it
can tell. The elements of personal popularity in his character, and his
extensive acquaintance throughout the country, help to explain his
success. For nearly thirty years his steady hand has been felt at the
helm, and yet he seems to-day only in the prime of his powers.
[Illustration: Chas. Marsh.]
[Illustration: G. Byron Chandler]
HON. GEORGE BYRON CHANDLER.
The subject of this sketch is a member of a family that has long
occupied a prominent and honorable place in New Hampshire history. His
parents, Adam and Sally (McAllister) Chandler, were worthy
representatives of the strong-minded, able-bodied, industrious, and
successful citizens who in the early part of the century tilled the
farms and shaped affairs in our farming towns. They resided upon a
fertile farm in Bedford, which was the birthplace of their four
children. Of these, the three sons--Henry, John M., and George
Byron--are all citizens of Manchester, and are now engaged in the
banking business. The only daughter is dead. The boys spent their
boyhood upon the farm, doing their share of the work; but their parents
were solicitous that they should be fitted for some more profitable
calling, and gave them all the school privileges of the neighborhood,
which were afterwards supplemented by academical instruction at several
state academies.
His home work, his studies at Piscataquog, Gilmanton, Hopkinton, and
Reed's Ferry academies, and his duties as a teacher at Amoskeag,
Bedford, and Nashua, occupied the boyhood of GEORGE BYRON CHANDLER until
the age of twenty-one, after which he spent one year as a civil engineer
in the employ of the Boston, Concord, & Montreal Railroad.
In the spring of 1854 he decided to devote himself to a business instead
of a professional career, and, coming to Manchester, entered the grocery
house of Kidder & Duncklee as a book-keeper. The next year he was
offered a similar position in the Amoskeag Bank, which he accepted, and
filled so acceptably that eighteen months later he was promoted to the
teller's counter, and remained there until the organization of the
Amoskeag National Bank, in 1864, when he was elected its cashier and
entered upon the discharge of the duties of this responsible position,
which he still holds. That he has won in it the continuing confidence of
its managers, who are among the most sagacious of financiers, and the
hearty approval of its numerous owners and patrons, is the best
testimony to his fidelity and efficiency. His success in this capacity
led the trustees of People's Savings Bank, when it was organized, to
select him as its treasurer, and the success of this institution is
another reflection of his patient and skillful work. These two banks, of
which he is the chief executive, are among the strongest in the country;
and it is much for him to be proud of that they have grown so great in
resources and public confidence during his administration.
Mr. Chandler has also been prominently, honorably, and profitably
identified with many other financial enterprises which have been
conspicuous for their success. He has been the treasurer of the New
Hampshire Fire Insurance Company since its organization in 1870; he was
for five years a director of the Manchester & Lawrence Railroad, and has
been for several years its treasurer; he was a director of the Blodget
Edge Tool Company and of the Amoskeag Axe Company, during their
existence; and he has been for years constantly intrusted with numerous
private trusts involving the management of most extensive and important
interests.
Mr. Chandler has an ample fortune, and a large income which he scatters
with a free hand. He gives liberally and buys freely. The
representatives of a worthy object who appeal to him for aid seldom go
away empty. His residence and grounds, which occupy an entire square,
are among the most costly and attractive in the city, and are noted as
the home of good taste, elegance, and hearty hospitality. He is a leader
in social life and active in city affairs. For several years he has been
an officer of the Amoskeag Veterans, and is now president of the New
Hampshire Club, composed of the leading business men of New Hampshire,
which he was largely instrumental in organizing. He has read much, and
traveled extensively in this country, and has a wide acquaintance with
its distinguished men, and a valuable knowledge of the resources,
customs, and characteristics of its several sections, which he has often
been called upon to utilize for the benefit of others in lectures before
schools and also in addresses before public assemblies.
From his early days Mr. Chandler has been an active member of the
Unitarian Society in Manchester, and has served for years as one of its
directors and president. Like other organizations with which he has been
identified, this has been frequently indebted to him for liberal
donations in money and a zealous support in many ways.
In 1874, the Democratic party of the Manchester district elected him to
the state senate, where he served with credit to himself and the city.
He declined a renomination.
In 1862, Mr. Chandler married Miss Flora A., daughter of Hon. Darwin J.
Daniels, an ex-mayor of Manchester, who died in May, 1868, leaving an
infant daughter, who did not long survive her mother.
His second wife, who now presides over his mansion, is the only daughter
of Col. B. F. Martin, of Manchester, to whom he was married in 1870.
Three children--Benjamin Martin, Alexander Rice, and Byron--are the
fruit of this union. Of these, the oldest and youngest are living.
[Illustration: N. B. Bryant.]
HON. NAPOLEON B. BRYANT.
BY HON. J. M. SHIRLEY.
The subject of this sketch was born at East Andover, N. H., on February
25, 1825. His mother was of Revolutionary stock, and from one of the
oldest families in town; and was one of those sunny-souled "Mothers in
Israel," who, half a century ago, were alike the glory and honor of our
New England homes. His father was a man of high character and fine
natural endowments; but was in straitened circumstances. As there was no
lawyer in that part of the town where he lived, nor within several
miles, he acted as a magistrate, trial and otherwise, for many years;
and his services were sought in making deeds, wills, and contracts,
formulating notices and the like, organizing voluntary corporations,
settling the estates of deceased persons, and in this class of business
usually intrusted to lawyers. His son grew up in this atmosphere, the
influence of which, with his father's strong desires, determined the
choice of his profession.
The world lavishes its praise upon, and often loads with honors, the
self-made man, for that implies a successful one. It too often forgets
the rugged path which leads thereto, and the hard discipline--the heroic
treatment that so often kills--which enables him to attain that
position. As a rule, it crowns with honors the victors as they sweep the
summit-heights, but furnishes no headstone for the dead that mark the
ascent and block the pathway.
Young Bryant had the hard lot so common "among the hills;" but he had
health, hope, courage, ambition, and the glow-fire of a fervid
imagination, which enabled him to succeed when others
"By the wayside fell and perished,
Weary with the march of life."
Until ten years of age, he had the limited educational advantages
afforded by the district school, gaining one term at a private school
when about seven, by walking two miles and a half each way, daily, to
attend it. At ten he entered the high school at Franklin, taught by
Master Tyler of Andover, an author of some note and a teacher of high
repute in those days, and remained for half a term,--all that the
limited means of the family would permit. A similar privilege was
accorded at eleven and again at twelve. At the age of fourteen he
borrowed money enough of a relative to defray the expense of an entire
term at Boscawen Academy, then under the charge of Mr. Ballard, of
Concord, a graduate of Dartmouth, giving his note therefor, which he
repaid with interest at the end of three years. Here he studied
trigonometry and surveying, and for several years afterwards earned
considerable sums to aid him in prosecuting his studies by surveying in
his own and adjoining towns. When fourteen he "cast off the lines" and
assumed the entire burden of his support and education. To aid in this
work he commenced teaching when fifteen, and taught every winter until
he left college. Thus lacking means, he drifted about, a term at a time,
among the various academies in the state, at Concord, Claremont,
Gilmanton, and New London, until he entered New Hampton, joining a class
which was to fit for college in one year from that time. Here, through
the kindness of the faculty, he took the studies of the freshman year,
entered the sophomore class at Waterville at the same time his
fellow-classmates entered as freshmen. At the academies and in college
he developed an intense passion for debate, and took a leading part in
all the lyceums at home and the societies connected with the various
institutions of learning he attended, to which he undoubtedly owes much
of the freedom and ease that have since characterized his efforts on the
hustings and at the bar.
When he was about twelve, his father gathered at his house the _debris_
of what had been an excellent town library. The son reveled in this
feast of good things, reading everything from Goldsmith's "Animated
Nature," to Paley's Philosophy. With boyish enthusiasm he devoured the
pages of Rollin, without the slightest idea, that, except when the old
Jansenist relied upon others, he was reading romance instead of history.
This gave a new impetus to his desire for what was then termed a
"liberal education." At twenty-two he entered the office of an eminent
law firm---Nesmith & Pike--at Franklin, and after something less than
two years' hard study went to Harvard Law School, from which he
graduated in 1848; was admitted to the bar of Grafton county at the
November term of the same year, and, having opened an office at Bristol
in that county in November, 1848, upon his admission, entered upon the
active practice of his profession.
At twenty-five he was elected one of the commissioners of the county of
Grafton and held the office for three years, being chairman of the board
two years. At twenty-nine he was appointed prosecuting attorney
(solicitor) for that county, and discharged its duties with marked
efficiency. In 1853 he removed from Bristol to Plymouth; and from that
time was engaged on one side or the other of nearly every important
cause there tried by the jury.
The county of Grafton was created in 1771. It was a large county and had
for its shire towns Haverhill on the Connecticut and Plymouth on the
Pemigewasset. It had at the outset, as it now has, a bar of exceptional
character and ability. Some of the greatest forensic and legal battles
of the century--like the celebrated Dartmouth College case of national
reputation--were lost and won here. Over the highest court, Smith,
Richardson, and Parker, a triad of illustrious chief-justices presided,
followed by Gilchrist, Woods, and Perley, but little less distinguished.
Here, in the olden time, Jeremiah Mason, the foremost jurist of his day,
Daniel and Ezekiel Webster, the Sullivans, and their compeers, "rode the
circuit" after the custom in the mother country. These great advocates,
after exhaustive preparation; spoke to crowded court-rooms, the people
flocking to these entertainments like men to a feast. Then oratory was
in demand at the bar; but now, in its place, is required a dry summary,
as terse and pointed as an auditor's statement of accounts.
When Mr. Bryant became actively engaged in jury trials, the bar was not
what it once was, for Livermore, Olcott,--the father-in-law of
Choate,--Woodward, and others were in their graves; Woods and Wilcox
were on the bench; Ira Perley had removed to Concord; and Joe Bell had
left the state. But there were Goodall, with his varied experience and
eventful life; Felton, active, precise and mathematical; Duncan, whose
earlier efforts were regarded by competent critics as at least equal to
those of his famous brother-in-law, Choate; Harry Hibbard, scholar,
lawyer and statesman; that dark haired "giant of the mountains,"
Bingham; Bellows and Sargent, since chief-justices,--headed by their
acknowledged leader, Josiah Quincy, one of the most practical,
sagacious, and clear-headed men in the state. Here, too, occasionally
came Perley, with combative blood, incisive speech, and immense law
learning, to enter the lists with that child of genius and prince of
cross-examiners and advocates, Franklin Pierce. It was no child's play
for a young man to withstand the "cut and thrust" of such, and contest
for supremacy with them before twelve men.
Lawyers know that those who are almost invincible before a referee,
auditor, chancellor, or the full bench, are often failures before a
jury. Nothing tests or taxes a lawyer's nerve, knowledge of men, tact,
readiness, fertility in resource, and the power of reconstruction or
combination, like a jury trial, and he only who has been through
it--unless it be the woman who is so unfortunate as to be his wife--can
fully appreciate the strain of the minute and laborious preparation
which precedes, the anxious days without food and nights without sleep
which attend the progress of the trial, and the collapse after the
verdict, especially if it be an adverse one, when a young practitioner
is pitted against one of the leaders. It is a hard experience; but it
schools him in his work, and enures him to the hardships of campaigning.
Mr. Bryant tried his first cause before a jury, against Mr. Quincy, and
won. The veteran congratulated his youthful opponent and predicted his
success at the bar. At the next term he was pitted against his old
instructor, Mr. Pike, and one of the judges wrote his father a note
highly complimenting the efforts of the son in that important and
exciting trial.
In 1855, Mr. Bryant removed to Concord and entered into partnership with
Lyman T. Flint, Esq., who had assisted him at New Hampton in fitting for
the sophomore year. His practice soon extended to Belknap and
Hillsborough, while he retained his hold in Merrimack and upon his old
clients in Grafton, where he attended the courts as before.
Mr. Bryant had hitherto acted with the Democratic party, in whose faith
he had been reared, but in 1856, in common with thousands more, in the
whirlwind which swept the North after the passage of the Nebraska bill,
and the troubles which had arisen in Kansas, he supported by voice and
vote the nomination of John C. Fremont, speaking in all the large towns
and in nearly every county in the state. From that time until he left
the state in 1860, he probably made more stump-speeches than any other
man in it. In 1857 he was elected representative from ward six in
Concord, was re-elected in 1858 and 1859, and was speaker the last two
years. He originated and carried through, against a violent opposition,
the act making parties witnesses. At this day the act seems eminently
proper; but then it was regarded by many as portentous of evil,
subversive of social order, and revolutionary in the extreme. Its
constitutionality as applied to pending suits was affirmed in Rich _vs._
Flanders (39 N. H., 304), against the dissent of two of the six judges,
Chief-Justice Bell and Judge Bellows, who, as a member, had strenuously
opposed its passage.
When the Know-Nothing party, so called, carried the state in 1855, one
of their first acts was to overthrow the entire judicial system of the
state, by repealing the acts creating it, and to erect a
Siamese-double-headed-partisan one upon its ruins. The system proved
expensive and became odious, not only to the entire Democratic party,
but to the bar and influential class, irrespective of party relations,
and to potential forces in the then Republican party.
In 1859, Mr. Bryant devised the system, which, with a brief exception,
has been in force to the present time. It was carried after an intensely
bitter contest. He made up the committee on the judiciary, to whom the
bill was referred. It consisted of ten members, four of whom were
Democrats headed by the veteran Quincy, five radicals, and one
conservative Republican. Two of the six were for the bill and one was on
the fence. The moss-backs, politicians, and lobbyists swarmed, and great
efforts were made to defeat it. The four Democrats on the committee at
first voted for their own bill, and then notified the friends of the new
one that on the test vote they should give them a solid support, which
would enable them to bring an affirmative report into the house.
Caucuses were held almost every night of actual session to hold the
timid ones in line, and prevent their yielding to the great pressure to
which they were subjected.
An incident occurred during his speakership in 1859, which illustrates
Mr. Bryant's readiness, courage, and political forecast. The theory that
it was the right of every state and everybody in it to nullify the laws
of congress whose constitutionality had been affirmed by the federal
supreme court was much more popular in the North then than it became
after the election of Mr. Lincoln. Lengthy petitions headed by A. T.
Foss, A. Folsom, and Stephen Thayer, "praying for the enactment of a law
that no person held as a slave shall be delivered up within this state,"
were presented. They were referred, as a matter of course, to the
committee on the judiciary. Parker Pillsbury, Elder Foss, Dr. Hawks, and
others appeared for the petitioners at the hearing, and made eloquent
speeches in support of their petition. They had the candor, courage, and
directness which characterized the old-time Abolitionists. They did not
attempt to deceive the committee or any one else, but avowed that their
purpose was by the bill proposed to array the state against the general
government. The hearing closed. The four Democrats voted against the
bill, and the chairman with flushed face demurred at such legislation;
but five out of the six Republicans voted for the bill, and without a
word of warning it was reported to the house by a party vote. It was
read the first time without objection, and upon a division was ordered
to a second reading by a vote of one hundred and thirty-four to one
hundred and one. Mr. Bryant called Mr. Parker of Lempster--since a
member of congress--to the chair, took the floor, and in an eloquent
speech denounced the bill as nullification pure and simple, and moved
its indefinite postponement. A sharp debate followed. Three lawyers who
had voted for the bill in the committee defended the principle of it
mainly upon the ground that everybody had the right to judge of the
constitutionality of the bill at which the proposed law was aimed, and
that the opinion of the supreme court was of no more account or binding
force than the opinion of a like number of other persons. Mr. Bryant
replied, and the result was that two members of the majority of the
committee voted to sustain their nullification report, four, including
the one who reported the bill to the house, voted against their own
report, and the bill was defeated by a vote of two hundred and
seventy-nine to nineteen. He had a natural gift for the position, and
left the speaker's chair with the respect of all for his ability, his
fairness, and his unvarying courtesy as a presiding officer.
In 1860, Mr. Bryant was at the Chicago convention as a substitute
delegate, working strenuously and effectively for the nomination of Mr.
Lincoln. He stumped the state for him, and after his election removed to
Boston.
Since he has resided in Massachusetts, he has refused to hold any
political office whatever, and has only interested himself in politics
in speeches during the state and national campaigns. Since his residence
there he has devoted his time almost entirely to an active, extensive,
and constantly increasing general practice in several counties in
eastern Massachusetts, in both the state and federal courts, and not
infrequently has been called to his old circuit in New Hampshire, when
he could spare the time. The importance of the cases in which he has
been engaged, and the character of those opposed to him, are sufficient
evidence, if any were needed, that he is a trained lawyer, a skillful,
eloquent, and able advocate.
He delivered the centennial oration in his native town in 1879, and, for
some reason unknown to the writer, rendered the same service for the
town of Brandon, Vt. He has also occasionally delivered lectures before
lyceums and the like.
When twenty-four, he married Miss Susan M. Brown, of Northfield, N. H.,
a woman of high personal character and accomplishments, and who proved
all that any man could wish as a wife and mother. Three children still
survive.
In private as in professional life, Mr. Bryant is noted as a genial and
courteous gentleman.
[Illustration: Oliver Pillsbury]
HON. OLIVER PILLSBURY.
BY HON. J. W. PATTERSON.
WILLIAM PILLSBURY, from whom most and probably all of the Pillsburys of
this country have descended, emigrated from Dorchester, England, and
settled in old Newbury, now Newburyport, Mass., about the year 1641.
OLIVER PILLSBURY, the subject of this sketch, sprung from this line. He
was born in Henniker, N. H., February 16, 1817. His parents, Deacon
Oliver Pillsbury and Anna Smith Pillsbury, were both persons of unusual
physical and mental strength. The writer recalls distinctly, after a
lapse of more than thirty years, the amiable expression and serene
dignity of Mrs. Pillsbury, and the masculine thought and deep, solemn
voice of the deacon as he led the devotions of the religious assemblies
of the people. He was one of the strong men of the town and a pillar in
the church. Others might veer and drift, but we all knew that the deacon
was anchored within the veil, and was as sure to outride the storm as
the hill upon which he had fixed his home. He was a man of strong
powers, a stern will, and constant devotion to the great ends of life as
he saw them. The qualities of both parents were transmitted in large
measure to their children. Our state has produced but few men who were
the peers in intellectual strength and moral courage to their first
born, Parker Pillsbury. Not many men in our country, indeed, in the
years that preceded the civil war, struck heavier blows for, or clung
with a more courageous, self-sacrificing devotion to, liberty than he.
Those of us who knew him could hear the deep undertone of the deacon's
voice in his, and knew he would conquer or die. In the roll-call of the
imperishables in the great struggle for liberty, his name will be heard
among the first.
Of such stock is Oliver, the fifth son of Dea. Oliver Pillsbury. During
the first seventeen years of his life he experienced the usual fortune
of the sons of New England farmers,--a maximum of hard work and a
minimum of schooling; but at that time, having been overtaken by a
lameness which threatened to be permanent, he was sent to the academy,
that he might prepare for duties suited to his prospective infirmity. He
entirely recovered, but this circumstance gave a new drift to his life.
For nearly five years he pursued his studies with unabated interest and
industry, giving thoroughness and a practical character to his
acquisitions by teaching during the winter months. Mr. Pillsbury had few
equals and no superiors among those who taught at that time in our
public schools. He was master both of his school and his studies, and
had the faculty of inspiring his pupils with his own spirit. Many who
have since done good work in life look back with gratitude to those
years of pupilage.
In 1839, Mr. Pillsbury left New England and went to New Jersey, where he
opened a tuition school, there being no free schools in the state at
that time. There, though an entire stranger, he gained the confidence of
the whole community at once, and held it during eight years of
successful work. During the last six years of this time he taught the
academy at Bound Brook, Somerset county. While there he married Matilda
Nevius, who died in 1847, leaving a young daughter, an only child. The
position which Mr. Pillsbury acquired among the educators of New Jersey
may be learned from the fact that he was prominent among the few
gentlemen who held the first school convention at the capital, over
which he presided, and which was followed by similar conventions in
other cities. The movement thus begun resulted in the establishment of
public instruction in that state. To have been a leading spirit in the
accomplishment of so beneficent a work, in a sojourn of only eight
years, should be a perpetual honor to the life of any man.
At the end of this time, Mr. Pillsbury's health having become impaired,
he returned to his native place, where he purchased the paternal
homestead and entered again upon the work of his boyhood. For seventeen
years he followed the life of a farmer, but did not move in its old
empirical ruts. He applied the knowledge and improved methods which
modern investigation has given to agriculture, and in a little time
doubled the productive power of his farm. The successful factor in every
industry is brains, and in this case even New Hampshire farming proved
no exception to the rule.
In 1850, Mr. Pillsbury contracted a second marriage with Miss Sarah
Wilkins, of Henniker, his present esteemed and accomplished wife.
Though assiduous in the pursuits of agriculture, his benevolent
instincts led him to take an active interest in the causes of
temperance, anti-slavery, and whatever else the public welfare seemed to
demand. His efforts in this direction, in co-operation with those of
others, produced a change in the politics of the town, which resulted in
his introduction to public life. He was elected moderator of
town-meeting fourteen times, selectman six times, and to the legislature
three times. In all these trusts he showed himself wise, able, and
efficient. As a legislator, he did not seem anxious merely to shine, but
to be useful, and to advance the interests of the state. Such qualities
and service commended him to public favor, and in 1862 he was elected a
councilor for the last year of Gov. Berry's administration, and
re-elected to the council of Gov. Gilmore. This, it will be remembered,
was while the hardships and horrors of the civil war were upon us, and
when questions that could not be settled by precedent, and that tested
the authority and resources of the state, were brought daily before the
governor and his council for decision. The exigencies of the government
would not suffer delay. Not only great permanent interests, but the very
life of the nation was in peril, and large and frequent demands were
made upon the states for supplies of men and money, when every resource
seemed exhausted. In such times means must be invented and resources
created. Criticism becomes silent, and waits for the return of peace to
awaken into unreasoning activity. Under the pressure of such events,
weak men are likely to be paralyzed, avaricious men corrupt, and bold
men to abuse power.
The qualities which Mr. Pillsbury developed in these trying
circumstances ought to make his name historic. The writer has received
communications from two gentlemen who were associated with him in the
council, and whose services to the state are universally acknowledged,
and, as they express more forcibly than any words of mine can do the
part which the subject of this sketch took in that eventful period, I
take the responsibility to publish such portions of their respective
letters as bear specially upon the subject of this paper. The known
character of the writers will give additional weight to their strong
language of encomium. Hon. John W. Sanborn, of Wakefield, writes, as
follows:--
"Learning that you are to prepare a biographical sketch of Hon.
Oliver Pillsbury, I take pleasure in saying that I formed
acquaintance with him in 1863, being then associated with him in
Gov. Gilmore's council. His great executive ability, patriotism,
honesty, and integrity won the respect and admiration of all his
associates. At that time the country was engaged in that
terrible war for the support of the government and its own
salvation, and grave questions came before us relative to the
prosecution of the same. Although an ardent Republican, he never
let partisan feelings warp his judgment in his official acts. He
had strong convictions of right, but was always ready to discuss
all questions with that frankness and fairness which
characterize men of noble minds, and he fully appreciated the
opinions of his opponents. I had the honor to serve with him on
the military committee of the council, which had important
matters to consider,--questions involving the rights and
interests of the soldiers, their families, and the state. The
duties of this committee were arduous and often difficult, but I
can attest to the fidelity and untiring energy with which he
performed his part. He took great interest in the welfare of the
soldiers, particularly the sick and wounded, and was ever ready
to minister to their wants. In a word, he was a model councilor
for the time in which he served, and the future historian will
class him among our ablest and most efficient men."
Hon. John W. Noyes, of Chester, who was also in official association
with Mr. Pillsbury, says:--
"I was with him a very considerable portion of the time for two
years, while we were members of Gov. Gilmore's council, during
the war. He was the most important member of the council, on
account of his past experience and familiarity with the duties
of the situation; in fact, his information and judgment were
exceedingly valuable to the governor, and all the other members
of the council.
"I regard Mr. Pillsbury as one of the best-informed and most
competent business men in this state. I hardly think that there
is another man in the state that could fill his present position
as well as he does. I told Gov. Stearns before he made the
appointment, that, if he knew Mr. Pillsbury as well as I did, he
would not need recommendations, but would urge his acceptance of
the place."
It would be idle to add anything to such commendations.
In 1869, Mr. Pillsbury was appointed insurance commissioner, by Gov.
Stearns, for a period of three years, and has been re-appointed from
time to time to the office, which he still holds. Soon after his
appointment he drafted and secured the enactment of the present law of
the state relative to insurance companies of other states and other
countries. This law established the department of insurance, and has
given to the people a degree of protection against the frauds and
impositions of unreliable companies never before enjoyed is this state,
and has brought into its treasury, by tax on insurance premiums, over
hundred and twelve thousand dollars, in addition to the compensation of
the commissioner.
During the whole term of his office, Mr. Pillsbury has worked quietly
but assiduously to eliminate unreliable companies from our borders, and
has carefully avoided the admission of all such as are not regarded as
perfectly trustworthy. It is universally affirmed by men familiar with
the insurance business, that the commissioner of this state has
administered his office with unusual skill and success, and his reports
are much sought for and often quoted and referred to as authority in
other states. The state may well congratulate itself on having had the
continued services, for thirteen years, of one so able and experienced
in an office so intimately connected with the material interest of the
people.
In 1871, Mr. Pillsbury moved to Concord, and the estimation in which he
is held in the community is attested by the fact, that, during the
eleven years of his residence at the capital, he has twice been elected
to represent one of its wards in the legislature, and has been a member
of its board of education for seven years, and was president of the
board at the time he tendered his resignation. When a member of the
legislature, Mr. Pillsbury was eminently practical, and whenever he
spoke was listened to with marked attention; for he only addressed the
house on subjects that he had thoroughly considered, and it was
understood that his remarks were likely to aid the members in reaching a
wise and just conclusion.
As one of the supervisors of the educational interests of Concord, Mr.
Pillsbury was exceptionally intelligent, conscientious, and painstaking.
His views on the general subject were comprehensive, and he kept himself
informed as to all real improvements in methods of instruction. He
discountenanced shams, and labored faithfully to make the schools
sources of knowledge, of discipline, and of virtue. To the other public
trusts so honorably held by the subject of this sketch, we may add that
of trustee of the State Industrial School. He has had a deep and abiding
interest in this institution since its founding, and has given to it an
active and efficient support.
We can only realize how pure and unselfish his labors of this character
have been, when we reflect that Mr. Pillsbury has no children of his own
to kindle and feed his sympathies, but that they spring from a general
benevolence toward all children of whatever condition in life. His only
child was a daughter of rare mental activity and attainments, and of
unusual sweetness of temper. She married Mr. J. S. Eveleth, of Beverly,
Mass., where, after a residence of nearly two years, she died of
consumption, in the flower and promise of early womanhood, leaving two
homes stricken and desolate.
In this brief sketch we have unconsciously drawn a model citizen,--a man
in all the relations of life faithful to the claims of duty; in the
family, society, and the state, blameless; benevolent without
ostentation, patriotic without the claim of reward, and true to every
trust.
"While we such precedents can boast at home,
Keep thy Fabricius and thy Cato, Rome."
[Illustration: C. V. Dearborn.]
CORNELIUS VAN NESS DEARBORN.
Early as 1639, and only nineteen years after the landing of the
Pilgrims, John Wheelwright, a dissenting minister from England,
gathering a company of friends removed from Massachusetts bay to Exeter
in the province of New Hampshire. Among the thirty-five persons who
signed the compact to form a stable and orderly colony is found the name
of Godfrey Dearborn, the patriarch of the entire Dearborn family in this
country.
Forty years before, he was born in Exeter, England, and in 1637 landed
at Massachusetts bay. He lived at Exeter ten years, and in 1649 moved to
Hampton, built a framed house which is still standing, became a large
land-holder and town official, and died February 4, 1686. Few men of the
early settlers have left a family name so widely represented as Godfrey
Dearborn. His descendants are numerous in every county of New Hampshire,
and are to be found in every part of New England.
It is worthy of note, that among the descendants of Godfrey Dearborn the
practice of medicine has been a favorite occupation. Benjamin Dearborn,
of the fifth generation, graduated at Harvard in 1746, and, entering
upon a successful practice at Portsmouth, died in his thirtieth year.
Levi Dearborn had for forty years an extensive practice at North
Hampton, and died in 1792. Edward Dearborn, born in 1776, was for half a
century the medical adviser of the people of Seabrook, and acquired a
handsome estate. Gen. Henry Dearborn, who gained a national reputation
by his brilliant services in the Revolutionary war, and as the senior
major-general of the United States army in the war of 1812, was a
practicing physician in Nottingham when summoned to join the first New
Hampshire regiment raised in 1775. To-day several of the ablest
physicians of the state bear the name.
Toward the middle of the last century the Dearborn family had been quite
generally distributed through Rockingham county. Peter Dearborn, the
great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Chester in
1710. Of his children, Josiah, born in 1751, married Susannah Emerson,
the daughter of Samuel Emerson, Esq., a substantial Chester farmer. He
learned the trade of a shoemaker, but, on the breaking out of the
Revolutionary war, entered the army as a private, and was stationed at
Portsmouth under Col. Joseph Cilley. Afterwards he did honorable
service, first as a private, and then as lieutenant in northern New
York, and finally closed his enlistment by an expedition to Newport, R.
I., in 1778.
Returning from the war, he and his family found a new home thirty miles
westward in Weare. It was not an unfitting location. With its sixty
square miles still mostly covered with a dense forest of oak, maple, and
beech, with its uneven surface nowhere rising into high hills, it had a
strong soil, which, when cultivated, yielded large crops of hay and
grain. It was already a growing township, and thirty years later became
one of the four leading farming towns of the state. Here Josiah Dearborn
passed his life, raising a family of eleven children, nine of whom were
sons. Samuel, the fifth son, and father of the subject of this sketch,
was born in 1792. The district-school system was not organized in New
Hampshire until 1806, and the children of that time had scanty
opportunities for instruction. Young Dearborn and his brothers were
reaching manhood, when farming in the eastern states was depressed by
the recent war with England and the occurrence of several cold summers.
Migration westward had commenced, and the Dearborns for a time debated
the expediency of a removal to the Western Reserve. They at length
decided to locate in Vermont, and in 1816 five of the brothers and a
sister removed to Corinth, a town in the eastern part of Orange county.
Here Samuel Dearborn settled upon a farm, soon after married Miss Fanny
Brown, of Vershire, whose parents were natives of Chester, N. H., and
here he passed a long and useful life. He died December 12, 1871, in the
eightieth year of his age. His wife had died in 1836. Of scholarly
tastes, he was for many years a teacher of winter schools. An active
member of the Freewill Baptist denomination, his religion was a life
rather than a creed.
CORNELIUS VAN NESS DEARBORN, the son of Samuel and Fanny Dearborn, was
born in Corinth, Vt., May 14, 1832. His name was in compliment to the
then ablest statesman of the state, who had filled the offices of
governor and minister to Spain. Cornelius was the youngest but one of
seven children. His childhood was passed in a strictly agricultural
community. Corinth, lying among the foothills of the Green Mountains, is
one of the best farming towns in eastern Vermont. Without railway
facilities, with scanty water power, its inhabitants depend for a
livelihood upon the products of the soil, from which by industry they
gain a substantial income. Few in Corinth have ever accumulated more
than what is now regarded as a fair competency, and very few have
encountered extreme poverty. A more industrious, law-abiding,
practically sensible people would be difficult to find.
When four years old, young Dearborn met with the saddest loss of
childhood--a mother whose intelligence, forethought, and womanly virtues
had been the life and light of the household. He early joined his older
brothers in the labors of the farm, attending the district school for a
few weeks in summer, and ten or twelve weeks each winter. When fifteen
years old, he attended the spring term of the Corinth Academy, and
continued at intervals for several terms later. In the winter of
1848-49, his seventeenth year not yet completed, he taught the school of
a neighboring district. His success warranted his continuance as teacher
in the vicinity for the five following winters. Continuing his farm
labors in summer, he in the meantime developed a mechanical capacity in
the making of farm implements and the designing of buildings,--a natural
aptitude which has been of great service in maturer years.
Soon after attaining the age of eighteen, Mr. Dearborn determined to
enter upon a course of study preparatory to a professional life. Before
leaving Corinth he commenced the reading of law with Rodney Lund, a
young man who had commenced practice in the vicinity. In March, 1854, at
the suggestion of his maternal uncle, Dr. W. W. Brown, he came to
Manchester, and renewed his law studies in the office of Hon. Isaac W.
Smith, with whom he remained till his admission to the bar in the fall
of 1855.
In December, 1855, he opened an office at Francestown. The town afforded
a safe opening for a young practitioner, but not one for large profits.
There was a time, after the close of the war of 1812, when the trade of
Francestown village exceeded that of any other locality in Hillsborough
county. But the opening of the railroad to Nashua, and soon after to
Manchester, entirely changed the centers of trade and business, and left
Francestown to become a respectable and very quiet village.
Hitherto, Mr. Dearborn, while entertaining positive views, had not
actively participated in political discussion. But the year 1856
witnessed the consolidation of the anti-slavery sentiment of the
country. It had already so far concentrated its strength in New
Hampshire as to have secured the state government and a unanimous
representation in Congress. The nomination of John C. Fremont for
president, in the summer of that year, hastened the organization of the
anti-slavery elements of the entire North under the name of the
Republican party. In common with a majority of the intelligent young men
of the state, Mr. Dearborn entered into this contest with all the zeal,
vigor, and enthusiasm of one whose action is untrammeled by personal or
partisan ends. The campaign which followed was the most brilliant and
far-reaching in its results of any in the political history of the
nation. No idea ever agitated the American mind to which calculating
selfishness was more foreign. Even the great uprising which brought
about the war of Independence was less free from selfish motives. And,
though the general result in the presidential election of that year was
adverse, yet in New Hampshire, as in every state north of Pennsylvania,
the returns clearly showed that the cause of freedom had acquired an
over-ruling strength.
In June, 1857, Mr. Dearborn was united in marriage with Miss Louie
Frances Eaton, daughter of Moses W. Eaton, of Francestown, and
grand-daughter of Dr. Thomas Eaton, a physician of long and extensive
practice, and one of the most enterprising farmers of his time. In 1857
he was elected county treasurer, and re-elected in 1858. It was the
first public position he had held, and its duties were satisfactorily
discharged.
In 1858 he removed to Peterborough, occupying the office of E. S.
Cutter, Esq., who had recently been appointed clerk of the courts for
Hillsborough county. He resided in Peterborough till 1865. During this
time he was in partnership with Charles G. Cheney, and afterwards with
Albert S. Scott, both of whom have since died. He represented the town
in the legislature in the years 1861 and 1862, being a member of the
judiciary committee.
In the summer of 1865 he removed to Nashua, for the purpose of
continuing the practice of his profession. An accidental purchase led to
a change of occupation. The _Nashua Telegraph_ had for many years been
edited by Albin Beard, a genial, witty, and, withal, accomplished
writer. Under him, the _Telegraph_ had acquired a marked local
popularity. He died in September, 1862. Its present publishers were
inexperienced writers, and illy qualified to satisfy the admirers of its
former editor. The _Telegraph_ was rapidly deteriorating in value and
influence. The senior proprietor inquired of Mr. Dearborn what he would
give for his half of the establishment. A somewhat nominal price was
offered, and much to the surprise of Mr. Dearborn was accepted. He at
once entered upon the duties of editor and financial manager. Under his
direction the _Telegraph_ was rapidly recovering its patronage and
influence, but at the end of two years his health failed, and a change
of occupation became a necessity. He disposed of his interest to the
present editor, Hon. O. C. Moore, and resumed the practice of law.
Since his residence at Nashua. Mr. Dearborn has contributed largely to
the improvement of real estate, to the erection, of improved
school-buildings, and in his capacity as member of the board of
education to the reconstruction and greater efficiency of the public
schools. He was appointed register of probate for Hillsborough county in
1868, and held the office till 1874.
For several years he was treasurer of the Nashua & Lowell Railroad, and
is still one of the directors. In his official action he aided largely
in sustaining the measures which have placed that corporation in front
rank of profitable railways.
Nearly twenty years ago, while a resident of Peterborough, he was
appointed, by the governor, one of the Bank Commissioners of New
Hampshire. In that capacity he became acquainted with the extent and
peculiarities of the financial institutions of the state. In 1864 and
1865, he actively superintended, in his official capacity, the
converting of the state banks of discount into the national banks of the
present system. In March, 1866, he was appointed Examiner of the
National Banks for the state of New Hampshire, a position which he still
holds. He is the only person who has filled this position since the
organization of the national banking system.
In the discharge of the duties of Bank Examiner, official fidelity
requires that the investigation shall be thorough and exhaustive. That
during the past sixteen years but a single instance of defalcation has
occurred resulting in loss among the forty-nine national banks in the
state, is pretty conclusive evidence of a diligent and careful
supervision. From the length of time he has held the position, he has
become familiar with the indications of laxity, lenity, negligence, not
to mention recklessness, which mark the first steps of danger to a
banking institution; and his suggestions and warnings to bank officials
have not infrequently been of advantage to the public generally as well
as to stockholders, where no publicity has been gained through the press
or otherwise.
Personally, Mr. Dearborn is not an ostentatious, obtrusive, aggressive
man. He has no fondness for newspaper notoriety, no solicitude lest he
shall be overlooked by the public. In politics and religion he is
liberal and tolerant, conceding to others the utmost freedom of opinion.
Attending to his own duties, it is not his habit to interfere with the
personal affairs of others. But when attacked without reason or
provocation, no matter what his pretensions, his assailant will speedily
find that he has need for a prudent husbandry of all his resources.
Mr. Dearborn is a member of the Congregational church. His two children
are sons. The older, John Eaton, born November, 1862, is acquiring a
business education. The younger, George Van Ness, born August, 1869, is
attending the public schools. His house is pleasantly situated on Main
street, and is one of the desirable residences in the city. Still in the
prime of life, his many friends have no reason to doubt that in the
future, as in the past, he will be adequate to any responsibility which
may devolve upon him.
[Illustration: John Bracewell]
COL. JOHN BRACEWELL, A. M.
BY REV. GEO. B. SPALDING, D. D.
The subject of this sketch was born June 18, 1837, in Clitheroe,
England. Clitheroe is a busy cotton-manufacturing town on the Ribble,
and in the greatest cotton-manufacturing district of the world,
Lancashire.
The father, Miles Bracewell, from his early boyhood had been engaged in
printing calico, having served his apprenticeship with James Thompson &
Sons, who owned and managed the Primrose Print-Works. James Thompson was
a famous manufacturer, his enterprise and liberality being known
throughout Europe. For many years Miles Bracewell had charge of the
"color department" in the Primrose Print-Works. He afterwards went into
business for himself, and at the time of his death was the senior
partner and principal owner of two print-works,--one at Oakenshaw and
another at Kersal Vale.
It was while the father was in the service of James Thompson, that JOHN
BRACEWELL, then a very small boy, was regularly apprenticed to this
distinguished manufacturer. The institution of apprenticeship, in
anything like its English thoroughness, is little practiced in this
country. For a long period in England the term _apprentice_ was applied
equally to such as were being taught a trade or a learned profession.
The term of seven years was regarded as much a necessity for the learner
in any craft, as for the scholar seeking to attain the degree of doctor,
or master in the liberal arts. Although the laws which formerly made the
apprenticeship compulsory have been abolished in England, yet the
principle is universally recognized there in the form of a voluntary
contract. Of its immense advantages in the way of securing the most
thorough knowledge, and highest skill in the learner, no one can doubt.
Mr. John Bracewell, who probably to-day holds the foremost place among
those engaged in his business in this country, is a living argument for
the excellence of the apprentice system. He began his tutelage as a lad.
He began at the lowest round in the ladder of his advancement, and was
long and rigidly held at each last until he could safely mount the
higher one. There was a very superior French chemist employed in the
Primrose Works, and no little of the boy's studies were under him.
When eighteen years of age, Mr. Bracewell had established such a
reputation for proficiency in the mysteries of color that he was offered
a fine position in a great carpet manufactory in France, but his father
advised him to decline this flattering offer, feeling that the
responsibility was too great for one so young. That subtle but
irresistible influence which for so many years has been drawing such
tides of population from Europe to America was already settling the
question as to the country where this young man was to work out his
great success. Only a month after he had declined to go to France, he
received and accepted the offer of a position as assistant manager in
the Merrimack Print-Works, Lowell, Mass. There he remained five years
and a half, winning for himself a distinguished reputation by the energy
and skill of his management. Certainly it argues some unusual qualities
in his work while there, some extraordinary gifts and capacities in his
nature, that could have led the Cocheco Manufacturing Company to call
this young man of twenty-three years of age to its most responsible
position, that of superintendent of its print-works. There were no less
than thirteen applicants for this office. The directors, with entire
unanimity, made choice of this youngest of them all, and gave to him the
unlimited charge of the most important department of their great
industry. Soon after entering upon his new duties, Mr. Bracewell took
advantage of the suspension of work in the manufactory, made necessary
at that period of the civil war, to enlarge his scientific knowledge by
attending lectures on analytic chemistry at Harvard College. He studied
with great thoroughness this science during a five months' course, and
at the same time directed the many repairs and changes which were being
made in the print-works at Dover. With the beginning of the year 1861,
Mr. Bracewell took up his residence in Dover. The remarkable enterprise
and judgment of the new manager made themselves at once felt. For just
twenty years he continued in his position. These years witnessed a
series of brilliant successes. He showed himself to be a genius in his
profession. To his originating, creative mind he joins an unusual power
of adapting to his own uses suggestions coming from whatever source. By
his sheer abilities, his indomitable energy, his quickness of insight,
his tireless perseverance, and his perfect command of the minute details
of every branch of his work, Mr. Bracewell soon lifted the Cocheco goods
to the very head of their class, and held them there to the last day of
his service. The production of the print-works very nearly quadrupled
during this period.
In 1864, Mr. Bracewell was married to Mary Harriet Hope, of Lowell,
Mass., whose noble character death has made the more precious to many
friends. There were born to them three daughters and one son, all of
whom are living.
During Mr. Bracewell's residence in Dover he endeared himself to all
classes of people by his large-hearted liberality, his great geniality,
and his keen personal interest in whatever affected the welfare of the
city or the condition of every individual in it. He was an ardent
supporter of his church, which he greatly loved, and every good cause in
the community. He was quick to suggest, and ready to lead any movement
which was helpful to the material and moral advancement of Dover. With a
view of benefiting the city, and also as a sound investment for his own
advantage, Mr. Bracewell built, in 1879, a substantial and attractive
block, consisting of nine stores, which spans the Cochecho river. It
bids long to stand, a fitting monument of his public spirit and wise
foresight.
Though born and educated an Englishman, he became an ardent, patriotic
American citizen from the very day that he touched American soil. His
pride and hopes for America are as intense as any native son's. His love
for Dover is as tender and steadfast as though its air was the first he
breathed. The church with which he first united, he still regards as his
home. He long served her as a most efficient superintendent of its
Sunday-school, and when he was about to remove his residence from Dover,
out of a great desire to see the church freed from the burden of a debt
of thirteen thousand dollars, Mr. Bracewell, by his payment of a tenth
of the sum, led on others to such generous donations that the debt was
speedily extinguished.
Mr. Bracewell may still be regarded as a New Hampshire son, and a
citizen of Dover. His nature will not allow him to lose elsewhere the
very great interest which twenty years' sojourn here has created in him.
It may well be expected that he will some time return to permanently
abide among friendships whose preciousness he and his host of friends so
fully appreciate.
In January, 1881, Mr. Bracewell received an offer to go into business at
North Adams, Mass., and as the physicians thought his wife's health
would be better there than in Dover, he decided to make the change. The
directors of the Cocheco Manufacturing Company, by offer of an increase
of salary of from ten thousand to fifteen thousand dollars a year, and
other inducements, sought to retain Mr. Bracewell in their employment;
Mr. Bracewell, however, removed to North Adams, purchasing a third
interest in the Freeman Manufacturing Company of that place, and the
same success which was acquired in Dover has followed his abilities into
the great business which he represents at North Adams. The Windsor
calicoes, and other products of the Freeman Manufacturing Company,
already stand in the market among the foremost of their class.
In 1877, Mr. Bracewell received the degree of Master of Arts from
Dartmouth College,--a distinction well earned and worthily bestowed.
During Gov. Prescott's term of office. Mr. Bracewell served as a member
of his staff, with rank of colonel.
Mr. Bracewell's remarkable activity has not been shut into his business.
The intensity of his nature comes out to an undiminished degree in his
politics, his friendships, his public spirit, and his religious faith.
His sympathies are quick and universal; his enthusiasms are
communicative and inspiring; his affections are tender and loyal.
ALBERT H. HAYES.
Too many of the old homesteads of New Hampshire have gone to decay.
Deserted and dilapidated buildings, decrepit fences, and unharvested
crops of briers and weeds, where but a generation ago there were the
homes of comfort, industry, and thrift, tell a sad story of what our
state has done to supply the brain and brawn which have developed the
resources of others. But now and then there is a farm which has not only
been preserved, and made to retain its old-time attractions, but
improved, beautified, and adorned, by liberal outlays dictated by good
judgment and cultured taste, until it has become the envy of all who
admire elegant buildings, fertile fields, and fine flocks and herds.
Many of these are the property of men who grew up rugged, strong, and
self-reliant among our hills, went out in early manhood in quest of
greater opportunities than could be found or created at home, and,
having won fortunes abroad, have loyally brought them back to the town
of their nativity to rescue old firesides from irreverent ownership, to
erect upon old sites modern mansions, to coax from an unwilling soil
great crops, to furnish people with employment and courage, and to
return in a hundred ways substantial thanks for the privilege of having
been born in New Hampshire. Of this class is the Hayes farm in Alton,
now owned by Dr. ALBERT H. HAYES, who has brought back, from the golden
sands of the Pacific, the ample means which enable him to add to the
natural attractions of his lakeside birthplace all that money can
command in the creation and embellishment of a country home.
David Hayes, who was a sturdy farmer of Scotch descent and a native of
Strafford, purchased and settled upon a farm in Alton about the year
1790. He had three sons and three daughters, and in time the oldest son,
Joseph, succeeded him as the holder of the title to the farm. This son
married Betsey Brewster, a daughter of George Brewster, of Wolfeborough,
by whom he had eight children, of whom six still survive. The seventh
was born September 6, 1836, and named Albert Hamilton. His parents were
well to do and appreciated the value of an education, so that, as he
grew up, while he did his share of the work on the farm, he had the
advantage of the winter schools, and was afterwards sent to the
academies at New Hampton and Northfield. At the age of twenty-one he had
completed his studies at these institutions, and concluded that it was
easier to buy farm produce than to raise it, and that a place containing
more people and more money would suit him better than Alton, and, going
to Boston, commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Abner Ham, of that
city. Subsequently, he attended lectures at Columbia College in the
District of Columbia, and graduated at a Pennsylvania university.
Meantime he had served as a hospital surgeon in the army for two years,
and in 1870, having acquired the necessary funds, made a prolonged
European tour.
[Illustration: A. H. Hayes]
On returning to America, Dr. Hayes extended his travels through this
country, and in 1874, with an eye to business and pleasure, went to
California. Here he soon became acquainted with John W. Mackey, the
Bonanza king, and other prominent financiers on the coast, and as a
result formed a partnership with J. M. Walker, a former partner of
Mackey, under the firm name of Hayes & Walker. As a member of this firm,
and as an associate with Mackey, Mr. Hayes, during the next three years,
did an extensive banking and brokerage business, handling a vast amount
of money, and reaping handsome profits, which enabled him, a little
later, to buy largely of the stock of the Bonanza mines, which were then
pouring a steady stream of wealth into the laps of their owners.
Becoming convinced that this would not continue, and that other mining
properties were more desirable, he sold out his interest, and after a
long investigation bought outright the Red-Hill gravel mines, in Trinity
county, California. This purchase, which includes eleven hundred acres
of land, in which are located seven mines, and extensive water rights,
upon which in that country the value of a gold mine largely depends,
makes Mr. Hayes the sole owner of by far the largest and most valuable
mining property held by a single individual in the state of California,
and establishes his place among the few who have been able to seize and
hold the glittering prize for which so many have striven since the
western slope began to yield its treasures.
While thus seeking his fortune elsewhere, Mr. Hayes has retained his
residence in Alton and his lively interest in all that concerns the town
and state. The homestead upon which he was born is his, and he makes it
his home during the summer. He has expended a large amount in improving
it, a barn costing fifteen thousand dollars being among the latest
additions. When the house, which he has planned to match it, is erected,
the establishment will be one of the finest in the state.
In 1876, 1877, and 1878, Dr. Hayes represented Alton in the legislature.
He married, in 1877, Jessie B. Benjamin, daughter of E. M. Benjamin,
Esq., of San Francisco, a relative of Judah P. Benjamin, of Louisiana,
and a lady of rare literary attainments and social accomplishments.
Their only child--Lloyd Benjamin Hayes--was born May 21, 1880.
With so much success behind him, Mr. Hayes is still a young man, as
cheery and active and energetic as when he first left New Hampshire. He
has an extensive knowledge of the world, a wide circle of acquaintances
among those who shape the politics and business of the country, and
hosts of friends who have been won by his unfailing good nature,
liberality, and courtesy. He is pledged, when he has done making money,
to come back to New Hampshire and spend it.
HON. GEORGE COGSWELL, A. M., M. D.
BY JOHN CROWELL, M. D.
George Cogswell was born in the town of Atkinson, N. H., February 5,
1808. He came from that sturdy stock of ancestors whose history is so
closely interwoven with the early life and enterprise of New England. In
1635, John Cogswell, a prosperous Englishman of good estate and
standing, established a settlement in the town of Ipswich, now Essex,
Mass., on a grant of three hundred acres of land, which have remained in
the Cogswell name, in regular line, to the present time. His maternal
ancestor was Giles Badger, who settled in Newbury, Mass., the same year.
These families have been closely allied by marriage, and their
descendants have been prominent in church and state, in medicine and in
letters.
The father of the subject of this sketch, Dr. William Cogswell, was a
medical practitioner of wide reputation, noted for his executive and
judicial abilities. He was appointed chief surgeon of the military
hospital at West Point during the Revolutionary war, closing his service
in 1785, when he settled in Atkinson, N. H., practicing his profession
until the close of his life, January 1, 1831. His mother was Judith
Badger, daughter of Gen. Joseph Badger, Sen., of Gilmanton, N. H. She
was a woman of great force of character, of devout piety and strong
faith. When in her ninety-fourth year, after her earthly vision had
become dim, the name of Jesus would light her face with a radiant glow
of loving recognition. This devout woman united with the church in
Atkinson in 1810, on which interesting occasion her husband and their
three oldest children joined her in the act of consecration; and on the
same day their six younger children were baptized by the pastor, Rev.
Stephen Peabody. The youngest of these nine children died in infancy.
All of the remaining eight became professors of religion, and lived to a
good old age, in the enjoyment of the honors and dignities of the high
official trusts committed to them. Of this large family, the subject of
this sketch alone survives (1882), vigorous in his threescore years and
ten, and actively engaged in the discharge of the duties of his several
official trusts.
Dr. George Cogswell received his preliminary education at Atkinson
Academy, where his love for scientific investigation soon became
manifest. He commenced the study of medicine with his father, whose wise
instruction and safe counsel did much to shape the future career of the
aspiring student. In his desire for a wider culture in the line of his
chosen profession, he became a private student to Reuben D. Mussey. M.
D., L.L. D., and for two years enjoyed the instruction of this
distinguished lecturer on anatomy and surgery. Early in 1830, he became
a pupil of John D. Fisher, M. D., of Boston, who, at that time, was the
most noted auscultator in New England. Dr. Fisher showed his confidence
in his ambitious student by giving him the main practical charge of the
House of Industry, at that time located in South Boston. The grateful
pupil held the most intimate relations with his distinguished teachers
during their lives.
[Illustration: Geo. Cogswell.]
In 1830 he was graduated Doctor of Medicine from Dartmouth College, with
the honors of his class, and the same college conferred upon him the
honorary degree of Master of Arts in 1865.
Dr. Cogswell at once commenced the practice of his profession in
Bradford, Mass., in August, 1830, and soon entered into a large and
successful business. He brought to his work the discipline of hard and
intelligent study, and his great desire was to advance the standard of
medical practice in Essex county. He was the first physician in "Essex
North" who made intelligent use of auscultation and percussion in the
diagnosis of disease.
In his desire for a wider knowledge in the range of his profession,
especially in the line of surgery, he visited Europe in the fall of
1841, spending the succeeding winter in visiting the hospitals of Paris,
and in attending the lectures of the distinguished men who at that time
had attained a position in medical science surpassing, in point of
investigation and practical analysis, that of any other city. In the
following spring he visited the principal cities of Italy, and for a
while studied in the hospitals of London. On his return to Bradford he
at once resumed the practice of his profession. He boldly and
successfully attempted capital operations in surgery, and became the
leading surgical operator and consulting physician for a large circuit.
He fitted up a well appointed dissecting-room, and the advantages of his
instruction were sought by many students, who can attest to the
thoroughness of his teaching, especially in the department of surgical
anatomy. His knowledge of technical anatomy was quite remarkable, and
sometimes his students would contrive a plot to "stump" the "old doctor"
by an intricate quizzing upon some obscure nerve or vessel. The attempt
always proved futile; but the cunning students did not enjoy the fire of
questions that followed from their teacher, who all too easily perceived
the "soft impeachment." The term "old doctor" was applied by the
students before their preceptor was thirty years old. In 1844, Dr.
Cogswell was offered a professorship in the medical department of one of
the leading colleges of New England, which he declined.
He early manifested his interest in the elevation of the standard of
medical practice, by suggesting to his professional brethren the
importance of a local organization, and through his efforts the Essex
North Medical Association was formed, composed of the leading physicians
in the northern portion of the county. This society has had a vigorous
growth, and is now merged into the Massachusetts Medical Society, under
the title of the "Essex North District Medical Society." Although
retired from active practice, he retains his membership in this society,
and regularly attends the quarterly meetings, participating in the
scientific and practical discussions, and manifesting a lively interest
in the success of the younger members.
Dr. Cogswell has been called upon to fill many positions of
responsibility and trust; and since he retired from the active duties of
professional life his whole time has been absorbed in the transaction of
business of a public and private nature. He was elected president of the
Union Bank in Haverhill, Mass., at its organization, in 1849, and was
elected to the same office when that institution became the First
National Bank, in 1864, which position he still retains. For many years
he has been vice-president of the Haverhill Savings Bank, and was for a
time a successful railroad president.
He was an active member of the Chapman-Hall meeting in Boston, which
organized the Republican party in Massachusetts, with which party he has
ever been in full accord. In 1852 he was a member of the electoral
college of Massachusetts, which gave the vote of the state for Gen.
Winfield Scott; and also a member of the college of 1864, which gave the
vote of the state for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. He was a delegate from the
sixth district of Massachusetts to the Chicago convention which
nominated Abraham Lincoln for president in 1860. In 1858 and 1859, he
was a member of the executive council of Massachusetts, with Nathaniel
P. Banks as governor. In 1862 he was appointed, by President Lincoln,
collector of internal revenue for the sixth district of Massachusetts.
After holding this office for four years, he was removed by President
Johnson, without cause; but was again appointed to the same office by
President Grant, in 1870, which position he held until 1875, when this
district was consolidated with two other districts. This was one of the
largest and most important paying districts in the country, and under
the administration of Dr. Cogswell its affairs were conducted with
marked efficiency, and with absolute correctness.
Dr. Cogswell has always taken a deep interest in educational matters,
and he has given some of his best service to the management of important
schools. He has been, for a long time, a trustee of Atkinson Academy,
and is also a trustee of the Peabody Academy of Science, in Salem, Mass.
But the crowning work of his life in the department of education has
been in connection with Bradford Academy. For nearly fifty years he has
been a trustee of this famous school, and during most of this time has
had the entire management of its financial affairs. His efficiency in
this work is best illustrated by the success of the school in all its
departments. The splendid appointments of this academy for the higher
education of young ladies, the ample grounds, the perfection of the
school edifice, the excellence of the teachers, and the scope of its
curriculum, give it a prominence and a power not excelled by any similar
institution in the land. It may be safely estimated that Dr. Cogswell,
by his long connection with this, the oldest school for young ladies in
the country, has had a wider personal experience in matters of internal
management, in consultation with teachers, and in advising with
reference to pupils, than any man connected with an institution of this
character; and he has the pleasure, with his associate trustees, of
seeing this school, by the generosity and interest of its many friends,
placed upon an enduring foundation. He was elected, in 1869, a member of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and is also a
member of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society.
In the great reforms that have occurred during the last half-century,
Dr. Cogswell has given his influence by judicious advice and consistent
example. He commenced active life with the temperance movement, and by
precept and example has ever advanced the cause. He was also an ardent
supporter of the anti-slavery movement from the beginning of that great
controversy.
Dr. Cogswell is evangelical in his religious convictions, and has never
departed from the traditions of his ancestors. In 1831 he became, by
profession, a member of the First Parish Congregational church in
Bradford, and has always been identified with its growth and prosperity.
In 1860 he assisted in forming the "Haverhill Monday Evening Club," a
private organization limited to twenty-five members. This club is
composed of gentlemen of literary tastes, residing in Haverhill and
Bradford, and the meetings afford delightful recreation in the
discussion of literary, scientific, and social topics. This is one of
the oldest and most successful clubs in Massachusetts, and its unique
character has suggested similar organizations in many neighboring
cities.
In 1831 he married Abigail Parker, daughter of Peter Parker, Esq., of
East Bradford, now Groveland. Her ancestors were noted for intellectual
ability and force of character. She was born September 6, 1808, and died
July 23, 1845. The children of this marriage are as follows:--
Abby Parker, born September 25, 1832; graduated at Bradford Academy;
married Hon. George F. Choate, judge of probate and insolvency of the
county of Essex, Mass., October 20, 1869.
George Badger, born September 15, 1834; fitted for college under the
tuition of Benjamin Greenleaf, and at Gilmanton Academy; entered
Dartmouth College in 1851; followed the sea before the mast from 1853 to
1855, sailing up the Mediterranean, and around the world. In the winter
of 1855-56 he attended Harvard Medical School, and graduated as M. D.
from Dartmouth College in 1857; from 1857 to 1859, was resident
physician in charge of the state almshouse at Bridgewater, Mass. He
settled in North Easton in 1860, where he now resides, enjoying a large
and successful practice; was surgeon of the Twenty-Ninth Massachusetts
regiment during the war; was on the staff of Gen. Wilcox as acting
medical inspector of the ninth army corps, and for two months was
incarcerated in Libby prison; medical director of Massachusetts
Department, G. A. R., in 1874 and 1875. He received the honorary degree
of A. M. from Dartmouth College in 1880. He married Catherine Babson
Brown, of Bradford, February 18, 1858.
William Wilberforce, born January 22, 1837; died August 5, 1837.
William, born August 23, 1838. He fitted for college at Phillips
(Andover) and Kimball Union academies; entered Dartmouth College in
1856; made a voyage around the world, before the mast, in 1856 and 1857,
doubling Cape Horn and Cape of Good Hope; graduated at Harvard Law
School in 1860, and admitted to the practice of law the same year;
entered the United States military service in 1861, as captain of
volunteers; promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1862, to colonel in 1863,
and brevet brigadier-general in 1864; discharged from service July 28,
1865; commander of the post at Atlanta during its occupation by Gen.
Sherman's army; was under Banks in Shenandoah valley, Pope in Virginia,
McClellan at Antietam, Hooker at Chancellorsville, Sherman at
Chattanooga, Atlanta, Savannah, Raleigh, and at the final surrender;
commander Massachusetts Department, G. A. R., 1870; senior
vice-commander United States military order, Loyal Legion, of
Massachusetts, 1870; was four times wounded, once severely. He now
resides in Salem, Mass., and was mayor of that city from 1867 to 1869,
and from 1872 to 1873, inclusive; member of the house of representatives
in 1871 and 1872, and in 1881 and 1882. He married, June 20, 1865, Emma
Thorndike Proctor, who died April 1, 1877. He was again married December
12, 1881, to Eva M. Davis, of Salem. Dartmouth College conferred on him
the honorary degree of A. M. in 1878.
Sarah Parker, born March 23, 1843; graduated at Bradford Academy. In
1871 she made an extended tour in Europe, in company with her
brother-in-law, Judge Choate.
In 1846, Dr. Cogswell married Elisabeth Doane, youngest daughter of Hon.
Elisha Doane, of Yarmouth. Judge Doane was a man distinguished for
wisdom and exactness, belonging to one of the most respected and
cultivated families on Cape Cod. The following are the children of this
marriage:--
Elisha Doane and Susan Doane, born September 22, 1847. Susan died
November 29, 1847; Elisha died April 6, 1850.
Doane, born April 29, 1851; graduated at Phillips Academy, Andover, and
at Dartmouth College in the class, of 1874; studied medicine two years
at Harvard Medical School; is now extensively engaged in agriculture, on
one of the largest farms in Essex County.
Caroline Doane, born August 2, 1852; graduated at Bradford Academy; and
in 1878 visited the most interesting portions of England, Scotland, and
the continent of Europe.
In 1878. Dr. Cogswell made his second visit to Europe, and was at the
World's Fair, in Paris, during that year. He included in his travels the
mountains and lakes of Switzerland, and portions of Germany, Belgium,
and Holland. He also visited the rural districts of England, Scotland,
and Ireland, giving much attention to the agricultural capabilities and
resources of the countries through which he passed, and manifesting, at
the age of seventy, the same enthusiasm in all objects of interest that
characterized his former visit, thirty-six years before.
Amid his multiplied cares and duties, Dr. Cogswell has found time to
devote no little attention to agriculture; and his broad acres, on the
sunny slope of "Riverside," give evidence of successful labor. There,
amid the rural retirement of his country home, he passes the summer
months of his green old age, with his delightful family, receiving his
friends with the easy, cordial grace of old-time hospitality. His
interest in all that relates to the welfare of the people among whom he
has lived for half a century remains unabated. The public schools, the
intellectual and social life of the town, improvements in agriculture,
and the dignity and proprieties of local management,--all claim his
attention and enlist his co-operation; and to him belongs the noble
prestige of the honored and beloved fellow-citizen.
"His prosperous labor fills
The lips of men with honest praise;
And, sun by sun, the happy days
Descend below the golden hills."
[Illustration: Charles A. Peabody]
HON. CHARLES A. PEABODY.
Hon. Charles. A. Peabody, of New York city, was born in Sandwich, in
Strafford (now Carroll) county, N. H., on the 10th day of July, A. D.
1814, and was the son of Samuel and Abigail Peabody, who were natives of
Boxford, Essex county, Mass. His paternal grandfather was Richard
Peabody, of Boxford, an officer in the war of the Revolution, who had a
command at Ticonderoga and elsewhere. His mother, whose maiden name was
Wood, was the daughter of Jonathan Wood, also of Boxford. His maternal
grandmother's name was Hale. Her family claimed to be descended from a
branch of the family of Sir Matthew Hale. On his father's side he is
descended from Welsh ancestry. The name of Peabody (as tradition of
heraldry has it) is composed of two words,--_pea_, meaning mountain, and
_boadie_, meaning man,--and signifies mountain man, or man of the
mountains. It was first borne by a chieftain of a clan in the mountains
of Wales. After the battle between Nero and Boadicea, about the year 61,
the Queen's forces, although routed, refused to surrender, and such of
them as escaped the sword of the Romans fled to the mountains, and there
maintained a wild independence under a chieftain, who, from that fact,
acquired the name of Peabody, or man of the mountains.
The father of our subject, who was a lawyer of fine talents, and much
respected as a gentleman of high moral and social qualities and much
general culture, was graduated from Dartmouth College in the class of
1803. He was a college-mate of Daniel Webster and Ezekiel the cherished
brother, whose name Daniel desired always to have associated with his
own. An intimacy between himself and Ezekiel, contracted in college,
continued throughout their lives. He lived and practiced law in
Sandwich, Epsom, and Tamworth, N. H., at different periods of his life;
and, after retiring from business, moved to Andover, Mass., in his
native county, for the better education of his younger children, about
1843, where he died in 1859. His wife survived him, and died at Andover
in 1872.
The subject of this sketch--the oldest of ten children--was educated
partly by private tuition at his father's house, partly in
Massachusetts, and partly in the classical schools (academies) in the
northern part of New Hampshire,--at Wolfeborough, Gilford, Sanbornton
(now Tilton), and Gilmanton. He fitted for college with the intention of
entering Dartmouth, the _alma mater_ of his father. Failure of health at
the critical time defeated that purpose, however, and had almost
unlimited control over his movements and destiny for a time much longer
than the term of a college course. In the years 1832 and 1833 he lived
most of the time in Beverly, Mass., where he taught and studied as
health and circumstances permitted. In 1834 he went to Baltimore,
attracted by advantages of climate over northern New Hampshire, and the
greater facilities afforded there for his temporary occupation of
teaching, by which to support himself and render needed pecuniary aid in
the education of younger members of the family. There he pursued the
study of law in the office of Nathaniel Williams, at that time attorney
of the United States for the district of Maryland. He remained in
Maryland a little more than two years, when he returned to New England
and entered the law school of Harvard University. He remained there
until 1839, when he went, in November of 1839, to the city of New York,
where he has since resided. There he entered an office as a student,
introduced by the late Rufus Choate, of Boston. But he soon commenced
business as a practitioner at the bar. In 1846 he married Julia Caroline
Livingston, daughter of James Duane Livingston, of the city of New York.
Mr. Peabody continued the practice of law in the city of New York,
taking no active part in politics, but always observing with interest
the course of events in the general government, and especially those
connected with slavery and the slave power. He was an unconditional
Whig, and his residence at the South in early life had given him such
knowledge of slavery, in its effect on the slave, the owner, the free
population, white and colored, and on general prosperity, that he early
formed very positive opinions concerning it and its very great evils. On
this, as on all other subjects, he was conservative and temperate in his
opinions and feelings, taking no part in extravagant denunciations of
those engaged in it, but always deprecating such courses as being, to
his mind, not only inexpedient and unwise, but also unjust. With the
strongest possible convictions against slavery on all grounds, moral and
economic, he counseled moderation in the treatment of it. He was ever
opposed to intemperate agitation, as tending to no good, but liable to
lead to great evil. He was for years prior to the formation of the
Republican party an active member of the Union Safety committee in New
York, a body of conservative gentlemen of the highest character,
organized to repress acrimonious treatment of the subject, as tending to
alienate the different sections of the country, and to imperil the peace
and possibly the integrity of the nation.
When the Republican party was organized, adopting as its principles on
the subject of slavery that it might remain undisturbed where it then
existed, but should on no condition be extended into territory where it
did not then exist, he accepted those views as the best terms for
freedom to be obtained peaceably, and perhaps the best the lovers of
freedom were warranted under the constitution in demanding. In 1855 he
was a member of the convention which organized the Republican party of
the state of New York. In the same year he was the candidate of the
Republican party for election as justice of the supreme court of the
state, to succeed Robert H. Morris, but his party was in the minority.
In the same year (1855) he was appointed, by the governor of the state,
justice of the supreme court, as the successor of Henry P. Edwards,
deceased. In 1856 he was appointed justice of the supreme court of the
state to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of James R. Whiting.
In 1857 he was again the candidate of the Republican party for justice
of the supreme court, but the party was not sufficiently strong to elect
him. He served on the bench of the supreme court the terms for which he
was appointed, and received more than the votes of his party at the
times he was nominated for election.
While serving as justice of the supreme court, and when his term in that
court was about to expire, he was offered, by the governor, the
appointment of city judge. This would have made him judge of the court
of general sessions, the principal criminal court of the city, having
jurisdiction of cases of the highest class. This appointment he did not
accept. In 1858 he was appointed, by the governor of New York,
commissioner of quarantine, to succeed Ex-Gov. Horatio Seymour, with
authority to abolish the then present station and erect a new one
elsewhere, as the commission might decide. His associates in this
commission were men of the highest character, and the commission was one
of importance at the time,--just after the quarantine buildings had
been destroyed by a terror-stricken mob, and the wildest fears that
contagious diseases might be transmitted from such a station had taken
possession of many minds.
In 1862 he was appointed, by Abraham Lincoln, President of the United
States, judge of the United States Provisional Court for the state of
Louisiana. This court was called into existence by the necessities of
the federal government in respect to its foreign relations, after the
conquest of New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana by the army of the
United States, during the late war of the rebellion, and while that
territory was held in military occupation. A large part of the
population of New Orleans and Louisiana was persons of foreign birth and
allegiance, having claims on their respective governments for the
protection of their rights. Those governments, when appealed to, made
demands through their ministers, resident at Washington, on the
government of the United States, and the number and importance of these
claims had become so great that the state department was much
embarrassed by them. Mr. Seward, secretary of state, had been more than
half his time since the conquest occupied by them, and they had, in some
instances, assumed such proportions as to threaten seriously the
relations of the government with foreign powers. In this condition of
things it was resolved to constitute a tribunal which should be
empowered to decide all these questions, and keep them from the
department. Accordingly, the government resolved to establish a court at
New Orleans, which should have power to hear and determine every
question which could possibly arise out of human transactions, and to
make the decisions of that court conclusive of the rights of all
parties. To effect that purpose, the following order was made by the
President of the United States:--
EXECUTIVE ORDER,
ESTABLISHING A PROVISIONAL COURT IN LOUISIANA.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, }
WASHINGTON, October 20, 1862. }
The insurrection which has for some time prevailed in several of
the states of this Union, including Louisiana, having
temporarily subverted and swept away the civil institutions of
that state, including the judiciary and the judicial authorities
of the Union, so that it has become necessary to hold the state
in military occupation; and it being indispensably necessary
that there shall be some judicial tribunal existing there
capable of administering justice, I have, therefore, thought it
proper to appoint, and I do hereby constitute, a Provisional
Court, which shall be a court of record for the state of
Louisiana, and I do hereby appoint Charles A. Peabody, of New
York, to be a provisional judge to hold said court, with
authority to hear, try, and determine all causes, civil and
criminal, including causes in law, equity, revenue, and
admiralty, * * * his judgment to be final and conclusive. And I
do hereby authorize and empower the said judge to make and
establish such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the
exercise of his jurisdiction, and to appoint a prosecuting
attorney, marshal, and clerk of the said court, who shall
perform the functions of attorney, marshal, and clerk, according
to such rules and regulations as may be made and established by
said judge. * * * A copy of this order, certified by the
Secretary of War, and delivered to such judge, shall be deemed
and held to be a sufficient commission. Let the seal of the
United States be hereunto affixed.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, _Secretary of State_.
The powers conferred by this order, it will be seen, are as great as can
be conferred by sovereignty itself,--"to hear, try, and determine all
causes, civil and criminal, including causes in law, equity, revenue,
and admiralty, * * * his judgment to be final and conclusive." Under
this commission, Judge Peabody proceeded to organize his court by
appointing his prosecuting attorney, marshal, and clerk. Thus organized
in New York, the court proceeded, by government transport, to New
Orleans, and commenced business. It was immediately filled with causes
of the first magnitude, and continued throughout its existence to
attract almost all of that class of business. The court held that it had
jurisdiction not only of cases originating in it, but that it had power
to review on appeal cases originating in other courts. It also ordered
causes pending and undecided in other courts transferred to itself, and
there decided and ended them. A cause pending in the circuit court of
the United States, on appeal from the district court of the United
States, was transferred by order of this court and decided. (The
Grapeshot. 9 Wallace 129). Mr. Seward, as he and Chief-Justice Chase
were dining with Judge Peabody, speaking of the supreme court of the
United States, said for the ear of the chief-justice: "His court has
some power in time of peace, no doubt, but none in time of war. It is
limited to a small class of cases, and in those usually to appellate
jurisdiction, and in all cases it is bound by law prescribed for its
guidance; in none of which respects was Peabody's court under any
limitation;" and (turning to Judge Peabody) he added: "Why, Peabody, all
the power of his court is not a circumstance to what you had in
Louisiana."
The executive department of this court was no less remarkable than its
jurisdiction. The marshal had at his command, by order of the
departments of war and navy, all needed aid from the army and navy. A
personal escort of soldiers as large as needed on land, and transports
and gunboats on water, were always at his disposal, and nothing was
needed beyond the exhibition of the process of the court to command
their services. Escorts of a thousand and more cavalry were in the
service of the marshal at times, and similar facilities were afforded by
the gunboats and transports on the rivers, bayous, and lakes of that
aqueous state. Even private commercial vessels plying on the Mississippi
river and other waters of the state were, by order of the war
department, compelled to stop and take on board any deputy of the
marshal, at any place where he should demand it by showing his signal,
and to stop and land him wherever he demanded it. This they were
required to do at all places, however exposed, and where vessels were
not otherwise allowed to land for business purposes, on account of
exposure to the enemy. The relief to the department of state was
complete; for from the time the court commenced business nothing was
heard there of controversies which had burdened and alarmed the
department previously, and the success of the court in other respects
was equally complete, commanding the respect and confidence of the
community,--the disloyal as well as the loyal. This office he resigned
in 1865, and the court was terminated in July, 1866, on his
recommendation, by an act of congress.
In 1862, to meet an emergency, and to avoid having the business of that
court interrupted by business of a different character, he was appointed
judge of a criminal court in New Orleans, in which for several months he
dispensed all the criminal justice administered in the city of New
Orleans and the part of Louisiana held by the federal army, excepting
only capital cases, which were always tried in the more dignified court
held by him. In 1863, while holding the United States provisional court,
he was appointed chief-justice of the supreme court of Louisiana,--the
appellate court of last resort. In 1865 he was appointed, by the
President of the United States and confirmed by the senate, attorney for
the United States for the eastern district of Louisiana. That office he
declined to accept, and he returned to the practice of his profession in
New York as soon as he felt at liberty to retire from the United States
provisional court.
In 1870 he was nominated by the Republican party for surrogate of the
county of New York, on which occasion he was not elected; but he ran
many thousands of votes ahead of his ticket, and lacked less than
thirteen thousand of an election, while the majority against the ticket
generally, which was headed by Gen. John A. Dix for mayor, himself an
honored son of New Hampshire, was more than fifty-four thousand.
He is now, and has been since its organization many years ago, a member
of the "Association for the Reform and Codification of the Law of
Nations," an association, as its name imports, devoted to the
advancement of the law governing nations in their intercourse with each
other, composed of publicists and advanced students of the science of
government from nearly every nation of Europe, and from some of the most
enlightened nations of Asia, as well as America. In the proceedings of
that body he has taken an active part, attending its meetings, which
occur annually, and are held in the different cities of Europe, as
Ghent, Geneva, the Hague, Bremen, Antwerp, London, Berne,
Frankfort-on-the-Maine, Cologne, Liverpool. He has always been a member
of the executive committee, and is now vice-president of the association
for the United States, in which office he succeeds Charles Francis Adams
and the late Reverdy Johnson. He has traveled extensively in Europe,
having visited it frequently in the summer vacations of business, and
last year (1881), after attending the congress of the Association for
the Reform of the Law of Nations, at Cologne, he attended an
International Geographical congress at Venice, as a delegate from the
American Geographical Society. He is now pursuing his profession in New
York, as he has always done since he commenced there, except for the
times he has been acting as judge.
In his religious preferences he is Episcopalian. While living in New
Orleans, in 1863, 1864, and 1865, he was a member of the vestry of
Christ church there, and he has been for many years, and now is, senior
warden of Christ church, North Conway, in the White Mountains of New
Hampshire.
Judge Peabody has married twice. The first time, as before stated, to
Julia Caroline Livingston, daughter of James Duane Livingston, of the
city of New York, the mother of his children. His second marriage was to
Maria E. Hamilton, with whom he is now living. This lady, daughter of
John C. Hamilton, is a grand-daughter of Alexander Hamilton, the
favorite aid and trusted counselor of General Washington in the
Revolutionary war, the first secretary of the treasury of the United
States, the organizer of that department, and in large measure of the
government of the United States.
By his first marriage he had five children, who are now living,--four
sons and one daughter. His sons are all graduates of college and
professional schools. Three of them are lawyers, one is a physician, and
all reside in the city of New York. One of them bears the name of
Glendower (Philip Glendower), after the Welsh chieftain, Owen Glendower,
in recognition of the Welsh origin of the family.
As has been said, Judge Peabody was the oldest of ten children, having
had five brothers and four sisters, all natives of New Hampshire. Of his
brothers, only one survives with him, Dr. William F. Peabody, of San
Francisco, a doctor of medicine, a biographical sketch of whom should
form a part of this volume. Dr. Peabody was for a time Professor of
Languages in Mount Hope College, Baltimore, following thither his older
brother while the latter was teaching and studying his profession there.
The Doctor studied his profession in Baltimore, and practiced there for
a time; but in the very early days of California emigration removed
thither, where he still resides, commanding much respect as a gentleman
of high moral and social character and much literary taste, as well as
an able physician. Two of his brothers, George B. Peabody and Enoch W.
Peabody, after the subject of this sketch, the pioneer of the family,
had located in New York, became shipmasters of distinction in the "old"
or "Black Ball" line of Liverpool packets sailing from New York, in the
days when those ships were the pride of the nation, and the command of
one was equivalent to a certificate of the highest character for
efficiency and reliable qualities. Of the sisters, three survive and
live in Andover, Mass., the last place of residence of their parents.
NOTE.--Judge Peabody's judicial life has been sufficiently
varied and uncommon to attract remark. He has been twice justice
of the supreme court of the state of New York, by appointment of
the governor, and was offered a place on the bench of another
court, which he did not accept; he has been appointed judge of
three different courts by the federal government of the United
States; he has been three times the nominee and candidate of his
party for other judicial places,--twice for the bench of the
supreme court of the state of New York, and once for surrogate
of the city and county of New York.
[Illustration: G. CHENEY]
GILMAN CHENEY.
The postal, passenger, and express cars, representing respectively
government, corporate, and private enterprise, constitute a trinity
which has annihilated space and made possible the business progress of
the last fifty years. The third is the creature of a few men, among whom
the Cheney brothers of New Hampshire are most conspicuous.
Their grandfather, Deacon Tristram Cheney, was one of the early settlers
of Antrim, he having come from Dedham, Mass., in 1769, and located near
the Hillsborough line. His son Jesse, who married, first, Miss
Blanchard, of West Deering, and, afterwards, Deborah Winchester, of
Hillsborough, located his homestead near Cork Ridge, on what is known as
the Dimond Dodge place, where there were born to him nine children, of
whom Benjamin P., James S., and Gilman are the three who have made
"Cheney's Express" a familiar phrase in every city and village in New
England and Canada.
Gilman was the fifth child. He was born January 25, 1822, and until he
was eighteen years of age worked at farming in the vicinity of his
native town. At that age he had a little knowledge of books, a strong
constitution, and an abundant stock of courage and ambition, with which
he left home to make a place for himself in the business world. For the
next ten years he was slowly gathering capital, experience, and
knowledge of men and things in the cotton-mills of Nashua, Newburyport,
and Manchester; and, while filling his place to the satisfaction of his
employers, he could not find there the opportunity he wished, and, in
search of a wider and more promising field for action, went to
California. Here he crowded three years very full of adventure and
business success, and then returned to assist his brothers in extending
the express system, which was then in its infancy. He was assigned to
the Canadian division, and, establishing his headquarters at Montreal,
he gave himself heartily to the work, and has since been thoroughly
identified with the enterprise. His position is that of superintendent
of the Canadian Express Company, which covers the territory and controls
the express business between Detroit, Mich., and the seaboard at
Portland, Halifax, and St. John's, and also an ocean route by the Allan
line of steamships to Europe. He is also largely interested in the
American and Wells & Fargo express companies.
The home of Mr. Cheney is in Montreal, where he extends a warm and
princely welcome to hosts of friends, and especially to those who were
fortunate enough to have known him in his boyhood days in New Hampshire.
He married Mary Ann Lincoln Riddle, daughter of James Riddle, Esq., of
Merrimack. His only child, William G. Cheney, was born October 12, 1858.
Mr. Cheney has been a very successful man. The enterprise with which his
name is identified has grown great and strong. It has made its owner
rich, it has given employment to thousands of men at remunerative wages,
and it has made it easier and more profitable for others to do their
business. He deserves all the good things he has received, for he is a
true man. In every relation of life, in boyhood and manhood, in business
and pleasure, he has challenged only the affection and admiration of
those interested in him. His integrity is inborn, his good-nature never
fails, and his energy never tires. He never disappoints his friends; and
he has no enemies.
[Illustration: H Rollins]
Hon. Edward H. Rollins.
COMPILED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES, WITH SOME ADDITIONS,
BY HON. DANIEL HALL.
The Rollins family is one of the oldest and most numerous in the state.
In southeastern New Hampshire, from the seaboard to Lake Winnipesaukee,
the Rollins name is prominent in the history of almost every town. Most,
if not all, the representatives of the name in this region, and among
them the subject of this sketch, are the descendants of James Rollins
(or _Rawlins_, as the name was then and for a long time after spelled,
and is now by some branches of the family), who came to America in 1632,
with the first settlers of Ipswich, Mass., and who, ten or twelve years
afterwards, located in that portion of old Dover known as "Bloody
Point," now embraced in the town of Newington, where he died about 1690.
The representatives of the family suffered their full share in the
privations and sacrifices incident to the firm establishment of the
colony, and performed generous public service in the early Indian and
French wars, and the great Revolutionary contest. Ichabod, the eldest
son of James Rawlins, and of whom Edward H. is a lineal descendant, was
waylaid and killed by a party of Indians, while on the way from Dover to
Oyster River (now Durham), with one John Bunker, May 22, 1707. Thomas,
the second son of James, who subsequently became a resident of Exeter,
was a member of the famous "dissolved assembly" of 1683, who took up
arms under Edward Gove and endeavored to incite an insurrection against
the tyrannical royal governor, Cranfield. For this attempt, Gove and
others, including Thomas Rawlins, were presented for high treason. Gove
was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death, but was subsequently
pardoned. We do not learn, however that any of the others were tried.
Others of the family fell victims to the murderous malignity of the
Indians.
There were from twenty-five to thirty descendants of James Rawlins, of
the fourth and fifth generations, engaged in active service, and several
of them in distinguished capacities, in the patriot cause during the
Revolutionary war.
Among the first settlers of that portion of Dover which afterwards
became Somersworth, was Jeremiah Rollins, the only son of Ichabod,
heretofore mentioned as slain by the Indians. He was one of the
petitioners for the incorporation of Somersworth as a separate parish.
He died a few years previous to the Revolution, leaving several
daughters, but only one son, Ichabod Rollins, who became an active
champion of the Revolutionary cause, was a member of the conventions at
Exeter in 1775, and served as a member of the committee appointed to
prepare a plan of providing ways and means for furnishing troops, and
also as a member of the committee of supplies, the principal labor upon
which was performed by himself and Timothy Walker of Concord. He was a
member of the convention which resolved itself into an independent state
government. January 5, 1776, and served in the legislature in October
following. He was the first judge of probate under the new government,
holding the office from 1776 to 1784. He was subsequently a member of
the executive council, and died in 1800. From this eminent citizen, the
town of Rollinsford, formed from the portion of Somersworth in which he
resided, received its name. He stands midway in the direct line of
descent from James Rawlins to Edward H.,--the great-grandson of James,
and great-grandfather of Edward H. He had four sons, of whom John, the
oldest, was the grandfather of Hon. Daniel G. Rollins, who was judge of
probate for the county of Strafford, from 1857 to 1866, and whose son,
Edward Ashton Rollins, was speaker of the New Hampshire house of
representatives in 1861 and 1862, commissioner of internal revenue under
President Johnson, and is now president of the Centennial Bank at
Philadelphia; and another son, Daniel G. Rollins, was recently district
attorney, and is now surrogate of the city and county of New York. James
Rollins, the third son of Ichabod, and grandfather of Edward H., settled
upon the farm in Rollinsford which has since remained the family
homestead. He was the father of thirteen children, seven sons and six
daughters. Of these, Daniel Rollins, the eighth child, born May 30,
1797, and who married Mary, eldest daughter of Ebenezer Plumer, of
Rollinsford, was the father of Edward H. He succeeded to the homestead,
but sold out and went to Maine with a view to making his home there. He
soon returned, and repurchased that part of the homestead lying east of
the highway, and erected a dwelling opposite the old family mansion,
where he lived a life of sturdy industry, rearing a family of six
children, four sons and two daughters, and died January 7, 1864.
EDWARD HENRY ROLLINS, the oldest of the children, was born October 3,
1824. He lived at home, laboring upon the farm in the summer season,
attending the district school in winter, and getting an occasional
term's attendance at the South Berwick Academy, and Franklin Academy in
Dover, until seventeen years of age, when he went to Concord and engaged
as druggist's clerk in the well known apothecary store of John McDaniel.
He retained his situation some three or four years, industriously
applying himself to the details of the business. He then went to Boston,
where he was engaged in similar service until 1847, when, having
thoroughly mastered the business, he returned to Concord and went into
trade on his own account, soon building up a large and successful
business. Having bought and improved the land on Main street, just north
of the Eagle Hotel, the great fire of 1851 destroyed the building which
he had but recently finished. He rebuilt the stores known as "Rollins's
Block," one of which was occupied by his own business for so many years.
This property he sold a short time since to the New Hampshire Savings
Bank.
In politics, Mr. Rollins was originally a Webster Whig, but voted for
Franklin Pierce in 1852, and for Nathaniel B. Baker, the Democratic
candidate for governor, at the next March election. The aggressions of
slavery, however, culminating in the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill
and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, dissolved his brief
connection with the Democratic party. Strongly opposed to the extension
of slavery, or any measures rendering its extension possible, though he
had previously taken no active part in politics, he enlisted in the
American or Know-Nothing movement, in the winter of 1854-55, with the
hope that it might, as it did, prove instrumental in the defeat of the
Democracy.
From this time Mr. Rollins was an active politician. He labored
effectively in perfecting the new party organization, taking therein the
liveliest interest. At the March election, 1855, he was chosen to the
legislature from Concord, and served efficiently in that body as a
member of the judiciary committee. The next year witnessed the merging
of the American party in the new Republican party, which object Mr.
Rollins was largely instrumental in securing. Re-elected to the
legislature in March, 1856, Mr. Rollins was chosen speaker of the house,
ably discharging the duties of the office, and was re-elected the
following year. The talent which he had already developed as a political
organizer made his services eminently desirable as a campaign manager,
and he was made chairman of the first state central committee of the
Republican party, a position which he held continuously until his
election to congress in 1861, and in which he exhibited a capacity for
thorough organization,--a mastery of campaign work, in general and in
detail,--seldom equaled and certainly never surpassed.
He was chairman of the New Hampshire delegation in the Republican
national convention at Chicago, in 1860, having been chosen a delegate
at large by the state convention, with but a single vote in opposition.
In the close contest between the friends of Lincoln and Seward in that
convention, the New Hampshire delegation, under his lead, supported
Lincoln from the first, and was strongly instrumental in securing his
nomination.
In 1861, Mr. Rollins was elected to congress from the second district,
over the Democratic candidate, the late Chief-Justice Samuel D. Bell. He
was re-elected in 1863, over Col. John H. George, and in 1865 over Hon.
Lewis W. Clark, now associate justice of the supreme court. Mr.
Rollins's congressional career covered the exciting period of the late
civil war, and subsequent reconstruction, and he was throughout a
zealous supporter of the most advanced Republican measures, such as the
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and the thirteenth and
fourteenth amendments to the constitution, abolishing slavery throughout
the Union, conferring citizenship and civil rights upon colored men,
fixing the basis of representation in congress upon all citizens,
without regard to color or previous condition, imposing political
disabilities upon such civil and military officers of the government as
had violated their oaths by engaging in the rebellion, declaring the
inviolability of the public debt, and prohibiting forever the payment of
that incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United
States. To this entire policy Mr. Rollins gave a most earnest support,
and took part zealously and efficiently in all the important legislation
of those days. He was an industrious member of the committees to which
he was assigned, serving on the committee on the District of Columbia,
as chairman of the committee on Accounts, and a member of the committee
on Public Expenditures, by which latter committee, during his service, a
vast amount of labor was performed, especially in the investigation of
the management of the New York and Boston custom-houses, involving the
operations of the "blockade runners" during the war. He was also, on
account of his well known parliamentary knowledge and skill, frequently
called to the chair to preside over the house on turbulent occasions.
In view of Mr. Rollins's subsequent intimate connection with the Union
Pacific Railroad Company, it is proper to remark that in congress he was
a firm opponent of, and voted against, the measure adopted in July,
1864, doubling the land grant of this company, and making the government
security a second instead of a first mortgage upon the road. In 1869 he
was chosen secretary and assistant treasurer of the Union Pacific
Railroad, having for some time previous, after the expiration of his
congressional service, acted as agent of the company at Washington in
the transaction of business with the government, especially in receiving
the subsidy bonds. In 1871 he was elected secretary and treasurer, and
officiated as such in the office of the company at Boston until March,
1877, though retaining his residence at Concord, and devoting
considerable attention to New Hampshire politics. He had, after retiring
from congress, been again called to the chairmanship of the state
committee, and served from 1868 to 1871, inclusive, with his usual
ability and success. As chairman of the committee, and _ex officio_
commander-in-chief of the Republican forces in New Hampshire for ten
years, he was a tireless worker,--the very incarnation of energy and
persistent industry. He had a genius for political organization and
warfare. His vigor and magnetism surmounted all obstacles and swept away
all opposition. His enthusiasm was contagious. Undaunted by suggestions
of danger or defeat, he inspired all around him with his own indomitable
courage and spirit. This was the secret of his extraordinary power, as
it ever is in the world's affairs, and made him master of every field
where he contended.
Mr. Rollins's name was presented by his friends for United States
senator in 1866, when Hon. James W. Patterson was nominated and elected;
in 1870, when Senator Cragin was re-elected; and again, in 1873, when
the choice fell upon Hon. Bainbridge Wadleigh. At the expiration of
Senator Cragin's second term, in 1879, Mr. Rollins was nominated by the
Republican caucus, and elected as his successor for the full term of six
years, commencing in March, 1877. He took his seat in the senate at the
extra session, in the spring of 1877, and was assigned to the committees
on the District of Columbia, Contingent Expenses, and Manufactures,
being for a time chairman of the latter. He is now a member of the
committee on Naval Affairs, on the District of Columbia, on Retrenchment
and Reform in the Civil Service, on Enrolled Bills, and is chairman of
the committee on Public Buildings and Grounds. As a senator, he has
exhibited constantly his peculiar traits of industry, energy, and
fidelity to duty. Engaging in debate less than some other senators, and
never parading before the country for effect, he yet speaks on all
proper occasions, and always to the business in hand, and with
characteristic force, point, and effectiveness. He is seldom absent from
his seat, responds to every roll-call, and but few questions have arisen
since his service began on which his vote is not recorded. It is a
noteworthy fact, that during more than five years' service in the senate
he has been absent but two days when both branches of congress were in
session, and then was sick in bed with malarial fever. No senator has a
clearer or cleaner record in this respect. His devotion to his state and
constituents is very marked. Every letter is answered, every call
responded to, and every New Hampshire man dwelling in or visiting
Washington is treated by him with courtesy, and his business with the
government carefully attended to and furthered by his active assistance.
Among the measures of special interest to the people of New Hampshire,
in which he has taken a leading part, are those for the relief of
savings banks from national taxation, and appropriations for the
improvement of Cochecho, Exeter, and Lamprey rivers. No senator in the
chamber gives more assiduous attention to the work of the committees,
where measures are matured, or has a more useful influence upon general
legislation; and his friends feel a just pride in the fact that in a
somewhat venal and very suspicious age his name is untainted by any
schemes of corruption or jobbery, or scandals touching the use of public
money.
Such are the outlines of Mr. Rollins's conspicuous public career. His
influence may be truly summarized by saying that during the last
twenty-five years no man in New Hampshire has been more prominently
known in the politics of the state, and well informed men in all parties
concede that the Republican party owes more, for its almost unbroken
successes in the closely contested elections from 1856 to the present
time, to his labors, in the committee, in congress, and before the
people, than to those of any other man.
Mr. Rollins was active in the organization of the First National Bank at
Concord, a large stockholder, and a member of the first board of
directors, but withdrew and disposed of his stock some time since. He
sold his drug business at Concord to his brother, John F. Rollins, many
years ago, when his congressional and other duties required his entire
attention. The latter, also, has since disposed of the business, and now
resides upon Fort George island, at the mouth of St. John's river, on
the coast of Florida, of which Senator Rollins is the proprietor. This
island is a most romantic locality, and is the subject of a very
interesting illustrated sketch in _Scribner's Magazine_, by Julia B.
Dodge. It embraces twelve hundred acres of land, and is admirably
adapted to orange-raising, and is under cultivation for that purpose.
The climate is delightful, far superior to that of the main land, and
Mr. John F. Rollins, by a long residence there, finds his health much
improved.
Mr. Rollins was united in marriage, February 13, 1849, with Miss Ellen
E. West, daughter of John West, of Concord. Her mother, Mrs. West, was
the daughter of Gen. John Montgomery, a prominent citizen of Haverhill,
well known in public affairs. To this union there have been born five
children: Edward W., born November 25, 1850; Mary Helen, September 4,
1853; Charles Montgomery, February 27, 1856; Frank West, February 24,
1860; Montgomery, August 25, 1867. The second son, Charles Montgomery,
died at the age of five years. The other children survive. The eldest
son, Edward W., is a graduate of the Institute of Technology at Boston,
and was for five years the engineer and cashier of the Colorado Central
Railroad. He is married, and now engaged in business as a banker in
Denver, Col. Mary Helen, the only daughter, is married to Henry
Robinson, a lawyer, and prominent member of the present legislature, and
resides in Concord. Frank W., the second surviving son, after
prosecuting a three years' course at the Institute of Technology,
attended the Harvard Law School, and is now about completing his legal
studies in the office of Hon. John Y. Mugridge, at Concord. Montgomery,
the youngest son, is fitting for college. It will thus be seen that Mr.
Rollins believes in practical education for his sons.
Retaining his home in Concord, where he has always lived the greater
portion of the year, Mr. Rollins has for several years past had his
summer home at the old place in Rollinsford, where he was reared, and
which came into his possession after the death of his father in 1864.
Here he has made many improvements, and brought the land into a superior
state of cultivation. He thoroughly repaired and remodeled the house
some six years ago, and made it a very attractive summer residence. In
the spring of 1881, however, while he was absent in Washington, the
house and all the buildings on the farm, with most of their contents,
were completely destroyed by fire. Without delay, Mr. Rollins proceeded
to rebuild, and has erected a very large and finely appointed barn and
stable, with carriage-house, ice-house, and other buildings; and a fine
house, on the old site, is very near completion. The house is in the
Queen Anne style, most conveniently arranged, and finished principally
in hard native woods, with ornamental fire-places, elaborately carved
fire-frames, and frescoed ceilings. It is heated by steam and lighted by
gas, has hot and cold water conveniences, spacious halls, and is fitted
up with every modern improvement. In a few weeks it will be ready for
occupation, and will be one of the most beautiful dwellings in this
region, combining all the substantial conveniences of a farm-house, and
an elegant home for summer and winter, also. The place is located but
little more than a mile from the city of Dover, where Mr. Rollins goes
for post-office and other business accommodations, so that in the summer
time he is regarded as a Dover citizen. Telephonic communication has
been established between his house and the telegraph office in Dover.
Mr. Rollins's mother is still living, at an advanced age, at her old
home, and her youngest daughter, Miss Elizabeth W. Rollins, resides with
her.
In religious faith, Mr. Rollins was reared a Congregationalist, and when
in Rollinsford he attends worship at the old First Parish church in
Dover, where Rev. Dr. Spalding officiates. Mrs. Rollins is an
Episcopalian, and in Concord the family attend upon the services of the
St. Paul's Episcopal church.
He has long been a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the Blazing Star
Lodge, Trinity Chapter, and Mt. Horeb Commandry, at Concord, of which he
has been eminent commander.
Mr. Rollins is very fond of agricultural pursuits, and works on his farm
in the haying and harvesting seasons, with great benefit to himself
physically. Though constitutionally not very strong, and of a highly
nervous temperament, his excellent personal habits, his rural tastes and
simplicity of life, have enabled him to do a prodigious amount of work
without suffering anything beyond an occasional derangement of health,
always restored by relaxation from official duties, and physical labor
on the farm, where he was wont to take similar exercise in boyhood. He
is now in the full vigor and strength of his powers, and may reasonably
look forward to many years more of active usefulness to the state and
nation.
[Illustration: Natt Head]
GOV. NATT HEAD.
NATT HEAD is of Welsh and Scotch ancestry. John and Nathaniel Head,
brothers, emigrated from Wales and settled in Bradford, Mass.
Subsequently they removed to Pembroke. Although of Welsh birth, they
were thoroughly English in their views and general characteristics, as
tradition and other testimony amply prove. Nathaniel, the
great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, became an influential
and patriotic citizen of his adopted town. Early in the period of
trouble with the mother country he was selected by the members of the
committee of safety in Pembroke to go through that town and hunt up and
make a list of the Tories. Hostilities having been inaugurated, he
enlisted in the military service, and served with fidelity and bravery
throughout the war. After the return of peace he became actively
identified with the state militia, and rose to the command of the third
brigade. He represented the town of Pembroke in the legislature.
Gen. Head had three sons, of whom Nathaniel, born in Bradford, Mass.,
March 6, 1754, was the grandfather of Gov. Natt Head. When a young man
the son paid his addresses to Miss Anna Knox, daughter of Timothy Knox,
of Pembroke. She was of Scotch-Irish blood, and one day, as the father
and son were plowing, the former remarked, "Nathaniel, do you intend to
marry that Irish girl?" The son respectfully but emphatically answered
in the affirmative; whereupon the father added, "Then, understand, you
can never share in my property." Young Nathaniel's answer was: "Very
well; I will take care of myself." And, in accordance with his
declaration, he dropped the goad-stick, and in a few hours left the
paternal roof to take up a farm in the wilderness and build a home. The
father made good his threat, and at his death Nathaniel received one
dollar and his brothers the remainder of the property. Nathaniel located
in that portion of Chester now Hooksett, and, building a log house,
carried to it Anna Knox, his wife. The site of the primitive cabin was
the identical spot where Gov. Head's beautiful residence now stands. As
would be expected, the young man, who with no fortune but strong arms
and a stout heart had the bravery and determination to establish his
forest home, soon rose to position and influence. The report of the
battle of Lexington made him a soldier at once, and the record shows him
to have been a second lieutenant in the ninth company of volunteers from
New Hampshire at Winter Hill, in the cold season of 1775-76; ensign in
Capt. Sias's company, Col. Nichols's regiment, in the expedition to
Rhode Island in 1778; and captain in Col. Reynold's regiment in 1781.
Returning to his home, he added to the pursuit of agriculture the
establishment and operation of a lumber-mill. He was early commissioned
a justice of the peace, and held frequent courts, at the same time
performing a large amount of probate business, including the settling of
many estates, while his acknowledged sense of justice and marked
integrity often caused him to be chosen arbiter in important questions
of dispute in the neighborhood. With the close of the war, his martial
ardor was not extinguished, and he became prominently connected with
the state troops,--the old roster showing him to have been a brigade
inspector, and also colonel of the Eleventh Regiment.
Col. Nathaniel Head, Jr., had nine children, the seventh, John, born May
30, 1791, being the father of the subject of this sketch. He remained at
the old homestead, and after arriving at manhood was associated with his
father in the work of the farm and the mill, and after his death
succeeded to the estate by purchasing the interests of the other heirs.
The military spirit again appears in John Head, who rose to the rank of
lieutenant-colonel of the Seventeenth Regiment.
Col. Head married Miss Anna Brown, whose home was near his. Before her
union with him she was a school-teacher, and a woman of great energy and
executive ability. She was a member of the Pembroke Congregational
church, and took a deep interest in the religious and educational
affairs of her neighborhood. She was a grand-daughter of William Brown,
one of the three brothers who came from Scotland and settled in the
upper part of Chester, near what is now Suncook. Her father, William
Brown, was a sea captain, who made numerous voyages around the world.
Captain Brown's sister married Ezekiel Straw, grandfather of Gov.
Ezekiel A. Straw, of Manchester, making the latter a second cousin of
Gov. Head. The three Brown brothers already mentioned were men of
ability, and had high family connections across the Atlantic. Their
English coat of arms was the "hawk and the bird" the design showing the
former diving towards, and in the act of catching, the latter. On the
maternal side, Gov. Head's great-aunt, Betsey Brown, daughter of Rev.
Joseph Brown, M. D., of the Church of England, married the distinguished
Hon. Samuel Livermore, of Holderness, who was chief-justice of the
superior court of judicature.
Mrs. John Head had four brothers, one of whom, Hon. Hiram Brown, was the
first mayor of Manchester, and now resides at Falls Church, Va. By the
death of Col. Head, August 7, 1835, the widow was left in the management
of a large and valuable property, to which was added the care of her
family. All those responsible duties she discharged with great fidelity
and conscientiousness until her death, which occurred April 3, 1849. She
left five children, of whom four are now living. They are Mrs. Hannah
A., widow of the late Col. Josiah Stevens, Jr., of Manchester; Natt,
born May 20, 1828. John A., of Boone county, Io., and William F.,--the
latter the business partner of Gov. Head.
The picturesquely located home farm of three hundred acres is owned by
Natt and William F. Head. It extends from the house to the Merrimack
river, and follows the same for the distance of half a mile, embracing
many acres of the fertile intervale lands of that stream. The farm is
particularly adapted to grass, and yields about two hundred and fifty
tons of hay annually. There are kept on it one hundred head of neat
stock and thirty horses. In addition to the homestead, the brothers own
large tracts of outlying wood and pasture lands. The lumber operations
which were begun by Col. Nathaniel Head have assumed large proportions
in the hands of his descendants. Under the firm name of Head & Dowst, in
Manchester, the brothers do a heavy lumber and building business. On the
home farm are the famous Head clay banks, where some eight million or
more of brick are produced each year. The firm employs, in Hooksett,
from seventy-five to one hundred men.
Gov. Head had the advantages of the common school and of the Pembroke
Academy. His room-mate at the latter was Mark Bailey, now a professor at
Yale College, and between whom a close friendship has since existed.
Being only seven years of age when his father died, he soon learned to
assist his mother in managing the work of the farm and the mill; and to
such an experience, joined with her kindly influence, may be attributed
the formation of those principles of character which led to the eminent
success that he achieved in later years in business and in political
life. After the death of his mother, he settled the estate, and with his
brother William bought out the other heirs and formed a joint
partnership, under the firm name of Natt & W. F. Head, that has
continued to the present time,--there never having been any division of
their income, or of the large amount of property that they own. On the
score of integrity and promptness in meeting every business obligation,
it will not be invidious to say that no firm in the state has a higher
standing.
From boyhood allied to agriculture, Gov. Head's interest in it has never
diminished, notwithstanding the many military and civil honors that came
to him in later life. For five years he was a director, and for eleven
years the president, of the New Hampshire State Agricultural Society, an
officer of the Merrimack County Association, a trustee of the New
England society since its organization, and an ex-trustee of the New
Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts at Hanover. For
many years he has been a popular speaker at agricultural fairs and
farmers' meetings. While president of the state society he inaugurated
the first farmers' convention ever held in New England, and which called
out many of the ablest agricultural speakers in the country.
Inheriting military taste and enthusiasm from three generations, we find
him following in the footsteps of patriotic and distinguished ancestors.
He was one of the active spirits in the formation, and was one of the
first member, of the famous Hooksett Light Infantry, which was a crack
company in the old state forces. September 1, 1847, he was commissioned
drum-major of the Eleventh Regiment, third brigade, first division, of
the state militia, and served four years. He was an original member of
the famous Governor's Horse-Guards, and drum-major and chief bugler
during the existence of the corps. He was a charter member and four
years commander of the Amoskeag Veterans, of Manchester; is an honorary
member of the Boston Lancers, and is a member, an ex-sergeant, of the
Ancient and Honorable Artillery, of Boston. He was chief on the staff of
Gov. Joseph A. Gilmore, and is an honorary member of several other
military organizations. The Head Guards, of Manchester, one of the
oldest companies under the present militia system, was named in his
honor.
In this connection it may be stated that when the Soldiers' Asylum near
Augusta, Me., was burned, Gov. Head was appointed to the charge of that
institution during the illness of the deputy-governor, and subsequently
rebuilt the establishment. He had previously, as a contractor, built
several miles of the Concord & Portsmouth Railroad between Suncook
and Candia, and also the road-bed and bridges from Suncook to Hooksett,
and the branch line from Suncook to Pittsfield.
In early life he was elected to various town offices; was commissioned a
deputy-sheriff, and was a representative in the legislature from
Hooksett in 1861 and 1862.
The appointment which brought him most conspicuously before the public
was that of adjutant, inspector, and quartermaster general of the state,
which he received from Gov. Gilmore, March 26, 1864. He was called to
that office at a period when the republic was in one of the most serious
crises of the great civil war, and when the loyal people of New
Hampshire were putting forth every effort to enlist the men called for
under the President's proclamation of the preceding month. On entering
the office he found every department lamentably incomplete, but little
matter having been collated in relation to the equipping of the troops
or their achievements in the field, although the state had, up to that
time, furnished twenty-six thousand soldiers. In truth, not a full set
of muster-in rolls of any regiment was found in the office.
Notwithstanding these obstacles, and with no appropriation to draw
upon, Gen. Head promptly entered upon the duties of his position,
procuring the necessary outfit for the office, and upon his own
responsibility employing clerks. He did this trusting in the legislature
for re-imbursement, which it not only cheerfully made, but made all
additional appropriations that were called for. The faithful manner in
which all the clerical work was performed, the method and persistency
shown in hunting up and placing on file the records of our soldiers, and
the system exhibited in preserving and filing the valuable and extensive
correspondence,--were all worthy of the greatest praise. The reports
issued during Gen. Head's administration not only give the name and
history of every officer and soldier who went into the service from our
state, but they embrace biographical sketches of all the field officers
who fell in battle or who died of disease during the war, together with
a brief history of all the organizations, giving their principal
movements from their departure to their return home. These books also
include the military history of New Hampshire from 1623 to 1861, the
data for which were gathered with great perseverance and under many
discouragements from various sources in this and other states and from
the rolls in the war department at Washington, thus making the united
reports a work of inestimable value to the present and coming
generations, and, at the same time, constituting an invaluable
contribution to the martial history of the nation. He was the first
adjutant-general in our country who conceived the idea of having
handsomely engraved on steel, with attractive and appropriate symbols
and of a size adapted to framing, a memorial certificate to be presented
to all surviving officers and soldiers from our state, and to the widows
or nearest relatives of those who gave their lives in the great struggle
for the preservation of the republic. This testimonial was filled up
with the name and rank, and also the regiment and company with which the
men were connected, and the nature and length of their services. It will
not be invidious to say that no other state had during the war an abler
or more efficient and patriotic adjutant-general than New Hampshire, or
one who was more devoted to the men on their way to the field, while
there, or on their return after peace was declared. Many a veteran will
remember with gratitude his fatherly care of them after their discharge,
and his good counsel and assistance in saving them from the hands of
sharpers who were always in waiting to take advantage of the necessities
of soldiers. From his own private means Gen. Head extended aid to all
soldiers needing it; and to the credit of New Hampshire "boys in blue"
it should be recorded that he never lost a dollar by such confidence and
generosity. It seems almost unnecessary to add that his constant and
unwearied devotion to them secured for him not only their highest
respect and warmest esteem, but won for him the enduring title of "the
soldier's friend."
In 1875 the celebrated controversy occurred in the old second senatorial
district over the spelling of his name on the ballots, upon which
technicality his votes, he having a plurality, were thrown out. His
constituents, however, were determined that justice should be done him,
and they gave him a handsome election the succeeding year, and
re-elected him in 1877, when he was made president of the senate,
discharging its responsible duties with rare efficiency and
acceptability.
For some years Gen. Head had been mentioned in connection with the
Republican nomination for governor, receiving votes in successive
conventions. In that which nominated Gov. Benjamin F. Prescott, in 1877,
Gen. Head's vote was a flattering one, and ranked second only to that of
the successful nominee. At the convention in September, 1878, which was
the first to select candidates for a biennial term, Gen. Head was
nominated upon the first ballot by a decided majority. By reason of the
third-party or "Greenback" movement, it was not expected by his most
sanguine supporters that he would be elected on the popular vote, yet
the result was that he was chosen over all by a majority of four hundred
and eighty-eight. His election to the executive chair being for two
years, he was, according to the custom of the party regarding the tenure
of this office, not a candidate for renomination. In the brief review
which the limits of this sketch allow of his gubernatorial
administration, we find that it was throughout eminently successful;
creditable alike to his own ability and fidelity, and to the fair fame
of our state which he so honorably served.
During his term of office there arose many important measures and
questions whose consideration demanded practical good sense, wisdom, and
impartial judgment. The well known Buzzell murder case, which finally
became one of the most celebrated in the criminal records of the world,
had been twice tried when Gov. Head entered the executive chair. Buzzell
was then awaiting execution, and thousands had petitioned for a
commutation of his sentence. His Excellency and his official advisers
gave a long and patient hearing to counsel for the state and for the
defense, and to all others who desired to be heard, and then, after
mature deliberation, refused the prayer on the ground that no new
evidence had been presented that would warrant the changing of the
decision of the court. Buzzell suffered the extreme penalty of the law,
and the conclusion in his case was sustained by legal and public
opinion. The project of a new state-prison which had been successfully
inaugurated under his predecessor, was carried forward to its
completion. The commissioners selected to superintend the work consulted
with the governor at every step, and without even a whisper of
extravagance or jobbery the building was finished, dedicated, and opened
for use, and stands to-day, in thoroughness of structure and excellence
of arrangement, second to no other penitentiary in the country. There
came before Gov. Head many judicial and other appointments, all of which
were made with the single aim of serving the highest interest of the
state. During his term he made many official trips, and wherever he
traveled he received those assiduous attentions which he personally and
as chief executive of the state merited. He attended the inauguration of
President Garfield, the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary exercises
at Boston, the Newtown, N. Y., centennial celebration, and military
encampments in various states. It was also his pleasure to receive
Governors Talbot and Long, of Massachusetts, Governor Van Zandt, of
Rhode Island, and many other distinguished dignitaries. His
administration took its rank in history as one of the purest, wisest,
and best that New Hampshire has ever had.
In the financial world, Gov. Head has been chosen to many responsible
positions. He is a director of the Suncook Valley Railroad, in which
enterprise he was one of the most active workers; is a director of the
First National Bank of Manchester, and of the New Hampshire Fire
Insurance Company; president of the China Savings Bank at Suncook, and a
trustee of the Merrimack River Savings Bank, of Manchester.
In Masonic and kindred organizations he is one of the most conspicuous
and influential members in New Hampshire, and, in fact, in the country.
He is on the rolls of Jewell Lodge, of Suncook, of which he is a charter
member, and is a member of Mount Horeb Royal Arch Chapter, Adoniram
Council, and Trinity Commandry, of Manchester. He is a member of the
Supreme Council, having taken all the degrees of the Ancient and
Accepted Scottish Rite, including the thirty-third, and all in the Rite
of Memphis to the ninety-fourth; is an honorary member of the Boston
Consistory, the largest Masonic body in the world, and
ex-Illustrious-Grand-Chancellor of the Sublime Consistory of New
Hampshire. He was a charter member of Howard Lodge of Odd Fellows, and
also belongs to the Hildreth Encampment, both of Suncook, and is now a
charter member of Friendship Lodge, of Hooksett, and is a member of the
Oriental Lodge of the Knights of Pythias of Suncook. He has been for a
long time a member of the New Hampshire Historical Society, and is now
its vice-president.
Although his own opportunity for mental improvement was somewhat
limited, yet he has always been a stanch advocate of our public-school
and higher educational systems. He is not a member of any church, but
from youth he has been a regular attendant upon religious services, and
has always given freely of his time, and contributed generously from his
means, to the building up and advancement of Christian work.
Gov. Head was married, November 18, 1863, to Miss Abbie M. Sanford, of
Lowell, Mass. They have had three children, of whom Lewis Fisher and
Alice Perley are dead, while Annie Sanford, who is now at school in
Bradford, Mass., is nearly fifteen.
The old log cabin to which reference has been made gave way a long time
since to a framed structure, which, in turn, a few years ago was
supplanted by an elegant brick mansion with French roof and attractive
architecture, and whose interior has all modern appointments, with rich
furniture and works of art. The house is surmounted with a tower, from
which is obtained a delightful view of the Merrimack valley, and of
distant mountains. It was built under Gov. Head's personal supervision,
and in making so great an outlay he had in view the hope that after the
period of business activity he might be permitted to spend there in
happiness the closing years of his life.
Gov. Head is of commanding personal appearance, while in his bearing he
is exceedingly courteous and agreeable. In him English and Scotch blood
have united to form a character distinguished by strong and sound
practical sense, diligence, determination, perseverance, and, above all,
a high standard of honor and unswerving integrity. In the proud record
of the eminent public men of our state, the name of Gov. Head has high
and creditable rank.
[Illustration: Daniel Hall]
HON. DANIEL HALL.
BY REV. ALONZO HALL QUINT, D. D.
Of those towns in the state whose scenery is somewhat quiet, one of the
most beautiful is Barrington. A small tract on its western border is
level and not fertile, but most of its surface is gently rolling, two
decided heights, however, affording beautiful views. The map shows it to
be traversed by streams in every part, one important river being the
outflow of Bow lake; and the map shows no less than fourteen ponds, some
of them nearly two miles in length, and whose shores, often abrupt, are
full of beauty. Magnificent pine forests of the first growth have been
carefully preserved to the present generation, and fertile farms are
numerous.
DANIEL HALL was born in this town, February 28, 1832, and, with slight
exceptions, was the descendant of generations of farmers. His first
known American ancestor was John Hall, who appears to have come to
Dover, N. H., in the year 1649, with his brother Ralph, from
Charlestown, Mass. Of this blood was the mother of Gov. John Langdon,
Tobias Lear (Washington's private secretary), and others of like energy.
The emigrant, John Hall, was the first recorded deacon of the Dover
First church, was town clerk, commissioner to try small cases, and a
farmer, but mainly surveyor of lands. His spring of beautiful water is
still "Hall's spring," on Dover Neck. His son Ralph was of Dover, a
farmer; whose son Ralph, also a farmer, was one of the early settlers of
Barrington; whose son Solomon, also a farmer, was of the same town;
whose son Daniel, also a farmer, was father of Gilman Hall (his ninth
child), who, by his wife Eliza Tuttle, was father of nine children,
Daniel being the first born. The picturesque old house in which he was
born, built by one Hunking, is still standing near Winkley's pond, an
interesting and venerable landmark, but unoccupied and in a ruinous
condition. Gilman Hall was early a trader in Dover, but for twenty-five
subsequent years was farmer and trader in Barrington, his native town,
on the stage road known as the "Waldron's Hill" road. He was
representative, and for many years selectman. Daniel's mother was a
descendant of John Tuttle, who was judge of the superior court for many
years prior to the year 1700, residing in Dover.
Daniel Hall's life as a boy was on the farm. He went to the district
school a long distance, through snows and heats, and by and by helped in
the store. When older, from fourteen years onward, he drove a team to
Dover, with wood and lumber, and sold his loads, standing on Central
square. But he had a passion for books, and a burning desire for an
education. He learned all he could get in the district school, and when
about sixteen years of age he secured two terms, about six months in
all, in Strafford Academy,--one term under Ira F. Folsom (D. C. 1848),
and one under Rev. Porter S. Burbank. In 1849 he was one term at the New
Hampshire Conference Seminary, in Northfield, Rev. Richard S. Rust,
principal. Then, for satisfactory reasons, he gave up all academies,
returned home, set himself down alone to his Greek, Latin, and
mathematics, and with indomitable perseverance prepared for college. He
entered Dartmouth in 1850, probably the poorest fitted in his class; but
he had the fitting of a determined will, unconquerable industry, a keen
intellect, and the fiber of six generations of open-air ancestors, and
in 1854 he graduated at the very head of his class, and was
valedictorian. It is needless to say, perhaps, that the eldest of nine
children had to practice economy, and teach district schools five
winters in his native town; and that what small advances he had from his
father were repaid, to the last dollar, from his first earnings.
In the fall of 1854 he was appointed a clerk in the New York
custom-house, and held the place for some years. He had taken an early
interest in politics, being by education a Democrat. But he had always
been positively anti-slavery in sentiment. He was dissatisfied with the
Kansas-Nebraska bill; and alone of all the clerks in the custom-house,
and fearless of the probable result to himself, he openly denounced the
Lecompton-constitution policy of Buchanan, and supported Douglas. In
consequence he was removed from office in March, 1858.
Returning to Dover, he continued the study of law--which he had
commenced in New York--in the office of the eminent lawyer, Daniel M.
Christie, and on that gentleman's motion was admitted to the bar at the
May term, 1860. He afterwards well repaid Mr. Christie's kindness by a
eulogy, upon his decease, delivered before the court, and subsequently
printed. It was regarded as an eloquent and appreciative tribute to Mr.
Christie's remarkable qualities of manhood, and extraordinary powers as
a lawyer.
Mr. Hall, upon his admission to the bar, opened an office in Dover, and
commenced practice. In the spring of 1859, just before the state
election, in view of the great crisis coming upon the country, at an
immense meeting in Dover, he (as did also Judge Charles Doe) withdrew
from the Democratic party and cast in his allegiance with the
Republicans. With them, where his conscience and political principles
alike placed him, has his lot been cast ever since; and it is not
improbable that that one addition, in later and critical years, turned
the scale in New Hampshire's political destinies.
It was an episode in his life that in 1859 he was appointed, by the
governor and council, school commissioner for Strafford county, and
re-appointed in 1860. His early training in the country district school,
his work as master in the winters, and his hard-earned higher education
qualified him eminently for the practical duties of this office.
In the autumn of 1861, Mr. Hall was appointed secretary of the United
States senate committee to investigate the surrender of the Norfolk
navy-yard. This committee consisted of John P. Hale, Andrew Johnson, and
James W. Grimes. Soon after, he was appointed clerk of the senate
committee on Naval Affairs, at Washington, of which Mr. Hale was
chairman. He served in this capacity until March, 1862; but he wished
for more immediate participation in the great struggle then in progress.
The conflict, which had its symptoms in the Lecompton strife, had become
war, and the young man who had then sacrificed office for principle was
ready for a still greater sacrifice. In March, 1862, he was commissioned
aid-de-camp and captain in the regular army of the United States. He was
assigned to duty with Gen. John C. Fremont; but before he had time to
join that officer, Gen. Fremont had retired from command, and Capt. Hall
was transferred to the staff of Gen. A. W. Whipple, then in command at
Arlington Heights, of the troops and works in front of Washington, on
the south side of the Potomac. In September, 1862, a few days after the
battle of Antietam, Gen. Whipple joined the army of the Potomac, and
eventually marched with it to the front of Fredericksburg. On the 13th
of December, 1862, he was in the battle of Fredericksburg, crossing the
river with the third corps, and taking part in the sanguinary assault
upon the works which covered Marye's Heights.
At the battle of Chancellorsville he was in the column sent out to cut
Jackson's line as he moved in front of the army, and in the gallant
action of the third division of the third corps, under Gen. Whipple, of
whose staff he was a member, and was with that lamented officer when he
fell mortally wounded. Capt. Hall was then assigned to the staff of Gen.
Oliver O. Howard, commander of the eleventh corps, and with him went to
Gettysburg. His position in that action was important. When Gen.
Reynolds, commanding the first corps, had advanced through the town and
encountered the enemy, Gen. Howard, then moving up and about five miles
to the rear, hearing the heavy firing, ordered Capt. Hall to ride
forward as rapidly as possible, find Gen. Reynolds, ascertain the
condition of affairs, and obtain his orders. Capt. Hall's fleet horse
soon covered the distance, and he found Gen. Reynolds himself in an
advanced and exposed position from the enemy's fire. He did his errand;
Gen. Reynolds said he had met the enemy in force, and sent the order to
Gen. Howard to bring up his corps with all possible dispatch. Scarcely
had Capt. Hall got back through the town, when he was overtaken by the
intelligence that Gen. Reynolds was mortally wounded, and near the
cemetery he met Gen. Howard impatiently coming up in advance of his
corps. Passing Cemetery Ridge, Gen. Howard said, "That is the place to
fight this battle," and directed Capt. Hall to take a battery from the
leading division, and place it in position on the crest of the hill.
This was done, and that battery, the first planted on Cemetery Hill,
remained on that spot through the three days of the conflict. When Gen.
Howard took his own place there, Capt. Hall was of course with him, and
on the second day of the engagement was slightly wounded by a shell.
These details are given, simply to place on record, in this permanent
form, his testimony to the justice of the claim made by the friends of
Gen. Howard, that he was fully entitled to the thanks voted him by
congress for selecting Cemetery Hill and holding it as the battleground
of the great and glorious battle of Gettysburg.
In the latter part of 1863 his health suffered, and he was forced to
leave the service in December, 1863. But in June, 1864, he was appointed
provost-marshal of the first New Hampshire district, being stationed at
Portsmouth, and here he remained until the close of the war. The affairs
of the office were in some confusion, but his methodical habits soon
reduced it to order. During his term of service, he enlisted or drafted,
and forwarded, over four thousand men to the army. This service ceased
in October, 1865. "He was one of the men," said a substitute broker to
the writer of this sketch, "that no man dared approach with a crooked
proposition, no matter how much was in it."
Mr. Hall resumed the practice of law in Dover, but in 1866 was appointed
clerk of the supreme court for Strafford county, and in 1868, judge of
the police court of the city of Dover. The duties of these offices were
performed with his usual sense of justice, but in 1874, the Democratic
party, being in power, "addressed" him out of both offices. In the mean
time he had been judge-advocate, with the rank of major, in the military
of New Hampshire, under Gov. Smyth, and held a position on the staff of
Gov. Harriman, which gave him his usual title of Colonel.
Col. Hall had long taken a deep interest in political affairs. To him
they represented principles. In 1873 he was president of the Republican
state convention at Concord. He had been for some years a member of the
Republican state committee, when, in December, 1873, his abilities as a
leader and executive were recognized in his selection as chairman of
that committee. He so remained until 1877, and conducted the campaigns,
state and national, of 1874, 1875, and 1876. These were critical years
for the Republican party. The nearly even balance of parties in New
Hampshire, the vigor and intensity with which the battles are always
fought, and the skill necessary in every department, demand abilities
and energies of the highest order. The years mentioned surpassed
ordinary years in political danger to the Republicans. It is sufficient
to say that Col. Hall conducted the last three campaigns to a triumphant
issue. So decisive were the successive victories that the tide was
turned, and from that time the state has not swerved from Republican
allegiance.
In 1876, Col. Hall was chairman of the New Hampshire delegation to the
Republican national convention at Cincinnati, being chosen at large,
unpledged, and with scarce a dissenting vote. Seven delegates voted from
first to last for James G. Blaine; but Col. Hall, with ex-Gov. Straw and
Hon. Charles H. Burns, voted six times for Mr. Bristow, and on the
decisive ballot for Rutherford B. Hayes.
In 1876 and 1877, Mr. Hall was, by appointment of Gov. Cheney, reporter
of the decisions of the supreme court of New Hampshire, and in that
honorable position published vols. 56 and 57, New Hampshire Reports.
In 1877 he succeeded Gov. Harriman as naval officer at the port of
Boston. This office is co-ordinate with that of collector, upon which it
is a check. Mr. Hall's business habits, his keen insight, his perfect
accuracy, and the ruling principle of his life to do everything well and
thoroughly, there came into operation. He quietly mastered the details
as well as the general work of the department. Regularly at his post,
his office became a model in its management, and was commended in the
highest terms by the proper officers. When, therefore, his term expired,
he was re-appointed for another four years, by President Arthur, with no
serious opposition.
Mr. Hall married, January 25, 1877, Sophia, daughter of Jonathan T. and
Sarah (Hanson) Dodge, of Rochester, and has one son, Arthur Wellesley
Hall, born August 30, 1878. The beautiful house erected and occupied by
him in Dover, and adorned with cultivated taste, has not its least charm
in the steadily increasing library of carefully selected literature, to
whose study he devotes the hours not required by official duties.
He attends the First church of Dover, the Congregational church, where
his emigrant ancestor held office two centuries and a quarter ago. He is
a radical teetotaler, and deeply interested in the cause of temperance.
It is his personal request to have his great love for the horse, and,
indeed, for all animals, spoken of in this sketch.
Mr. Hall's gentle, courteous, and unassuming manners do not meet the
common idea of the bold and sagacious politician. His modest
conversation will suggest scholarly instincts, but requires time to show
the breadth of his culture. Public addresses have, as occasions
demanded, exhibited the thoughtful political student, a patriotic love
of country, and the ripeness of the accomplished scholar. Fidelity to
every engagement, good faith to every principle espoused, firmness in
determination, and usefulness in every work undertaken, have insured him
success. But in a life still so young, it is fair to assume that
recognitions of public respect will be greater than any trusts yet
given, or reputation achieved, in his profession, the field of long past
battles, or the offices of public honor.
[Illustration: D. H. Goodell]
HON. DAVID H. GOODELL.
Olive Atwood Wright was one of a large family of children. Her parents,
who lived in Sullivan, were very poor and found it difficult to provide
for the many who were dependent upon them, and when Olive was fifteen
years of age she left home and started for Boston in search of an
opportunity to earn her own living. On arriving in that city she had
just fifty cents, and finding no employment there she proceeded to
Waltham, where the first cotton-factory in the country had just
commenced operations. Here she found some old acquaintances; but they
refused to recognize her on account of her poverty. She, however,
obtained the privilege of working in the factory, and at the end of a
year visited her parents with eighty times as much money in her pocket
as she had when the stage left her in Boston. Eight years later she had
saved from her earnings five hundred dollars, and having married a young
farmer, Jesse R. Goodell, went to live with him upon the homestead which
had belonged to his ancestors, in Hillsborough. This couple were the
parents of DAVID H. GOODELL, who was an only child, and was born May 6,
1834. The family remained upon the Hillsborough farm until 1841, when it
was sold and they removed to another in the adjoining town of Antrim.
The parents, who had had but very limited school privileges, felt keenly
the importance of an education, and were desirous of having their son
obtain one. They accordingly, when he had mastered the studies of the
common school, sent him to Hancock Academy several terms, and then to
New Hampton, and he graduated at Francestown in the summer of 1852, and
in the fall entered Brown University. Here he took high rank as a
scholar, winning a prize in mathematics, and marking within one degree
of perfect in Latin; but his health failed him during the sophomore
year, and he was compelled to return to his home. The next year and a
half he spent upon his father's farm, and, having recovered his health,
resumed work as a teacher, in which he was engaged two terms at
Hubbardston, Mass., one at New London Literary and Scientific
Institution, and one at Leominster, Mass.
A sedentary life did not agree with Mr. Goodell, however, and he again
went to Antrim with the intention of making farming his permanent
business. Soon after, the Antrim Shovel Company was organised, and he
was called from the farm to act as its treasurer and book-keeper. A year
later, in 1858, he was appointed general agent of the company, and
served in this capacity six years, the three last as the agent of
Treadwell & Co., of Boston, who had purchased the business of the
original company. In 1864, Oakes Ames bought the business, including the
patents covering the now famous Antrim shovel, and moved it to North
Easton, Mass., and Mr. Goodell in company with George R. Carter, one of
the firm of Treadwell & Co., began in a small way the manufacture of
apple-parers. He invented what is known as the "lightning apple-parer,"
and put it upon the market through a New York house, which sold the
first two years a few hundred dozen. This they considered a good
business; but Mr. Goodell was not satisfied, and the next year took the
road himself, and in three weeks' time he sold two thousand dozen, and
made the invention known throughout the country.
In 1867 the factory was burned, and, as the firm carried no insurance,
it lost everything; but in six weeks it had a new shop in operation, and
was able to supply the demand for the next year, which rose to five
thousand dozen. In 1870 another calamity overtook the enterprise. The
firm of Goodell & Co. owed at that time seven hundred and sixty-one
dollars, but it had indorsed, to accommodate one of the partners, the
notes of Treadwell & Co. to the amount of fifty thousand dollars, and
the failure of this firm sent both into bankruptcy. The result of this
trouble was that Mr. Goodell bought the property himself, borrowed money
and paid its debts, paid for it out of his first year's profits, and has
since been able to greatly enlarge the business without signing a note
for himself or anybody else, or accepting any of the pecuniary help
which has been freely offered him.
Up to 1872 he directed his energies mainly to the manufacture and sale
of parers; but in that year he helped organize the Wood Cutlery Company
at Bennington, and in 1875 united it with his private business and
transferred the whole to the Goodell Company, of which he owns a large
share of the stock and is the manager and controlling spirit. The
business of this company has steadily increased until it employs one
hundred and fifty hands, and pays for labor more than fifty thousand
dollars annually. It manufactures all kinds of table cutlery, Cahoon
seed-sowers, apple and potato-parers, and cherry-stoners.
While giving his closest attention to these manufacturing enterprises,
Mr. Goodell has taken a warm interest in agriculture, and for many years
has managed the large farm that formerly belonged to his father, which
came into his possession some time since, and upon which he resides.
Here he demonstrates the principles of progressive and profitable
husbandry and stock-raising, extends a hearty welcome to his friends,
and enjoys the peace and plenty which are reserved for the gentleman
farmer. He has been one of the trustees of the New England Agricultural
Society for several years, and organized and was for a time president of
the Oak Park Association, and is an active member of the New Hampshire
board of agriculture.
Mr. Goodell has always been an ardent, wide-awake, and working
Republican, and when the party, under his leadership, wrested the town
from the opposition in 1876, he became its representative in the
legislature, to which position he was re-elected in 1877-78. In the
house he established and maintained a reputation as one of the most
judicious counselors and most effective speakers in the state, and
commanded the confidence of his colleagues to such an extent that no
measure which he advocated was defeated, and none that he opposed was
successful. Among the important bills which were carried through largely
by his judicious and earnest support was that for the erection of a new
state-prison.
Mr. Goodell's wife was Hannah Jane Plumer, a daughter of Jesse T.
Plumer, of Goffstown. He has two children,--Dura Dana Goodell, born
September 6, 1858, and Richard C. Goodell, born August 10, 1868. The
family are members of the Baptist church of Antrim, as were the father
and mother of Mr. Goodell.
These facts justify the claim of a wide circle of friends and
acquaintances, who look upon him as one of the strongest men of the
state, and one for whom high honors are in reserve. Though still in his
prime, he has won a position of which any man should be proud. His large
manufacturing business, which has given the town new life and
prosperity, is of his own creation; his farm is a model which invites
healthy progress; his private character is without a blemish; his
business credit above suspicion; his reputation as a citizen, neighbor,
and friend is of the best; and his ability to fill any public position
creditably and well is universally acknowledged.
[Illustration: J. G. Graves M.D.]
JOSIAH G. GRAVES, M. D.
BY B. B. WHITTEMORE.
The subject of this sketch, JOSIAH GRISWOLD GRAVES, was born July 13,
1811, in Walpole, N. H., one of the loveliest villages in the valley of
the Connecticut. His father was a well-to-do farmer, and his mother a
woman of the olden time, who looked well to the ways of her
household,--a woman of superior mind and excellent judgment.
Not having a fancy for farming--and thus acting contrary to the wishes
of his father--he left home at the age of eighteen, with his mother's
blessing and one dollar in money, determined upon securing an education
and fitting himself for the medical profession. He defrayed the expenses
of his education by his own individual efforts and native energy of will
and industry, by teaching both day and evening, and was remarkably
successful in his labors. Being a natural penman, he also gave
instruction in the art of penmanship.
He commenced the study of his profession in 1829. He was a student in
medicine in the office of Drs. Adams and Twitchell, of Keene, and
subsequently attended medical lectures at Pittsfield, Mass., and
graduated at Williamstown Medical College in 1834. Afterwards he spent
six months in the office of Drs. Huntington and Graves in Lowell.
Dr. Graves commenced the practice of medicine in Nashua, N. H.,
September 15, 1834. At this time Nashua was a comparatively young town,
the compact part of the present city having then had but ten years'
growth. He went up the Merrimack river on the old steamboat then plying
on the Merrimack, landing a little below what was then the Taylor's
Falls bridge. His first patient was a pauper, who was badly injured
accidentally. After adequate treatment the man was placed on his feet
again, a well man. Such a patient was not very remunerative, and did not
tend to fill an empty pocket. This was evidenced by the fact that a
carpenter who was applied to for the purpose of procuring a wood-box
declined the job and refused to trust the young doctor. Necessity being
the mother of invention, the doctor was obliged to construct that useful
article himself. It was but a brief period, however, before energy,
determination, and superior medical and surgical skill carved out for
him an extensive practice. For forty years he followed his profession in
Nashua and the adjoining region with untiring assiduity, and with a
success that has but few parallels. He loved his profession and gave to
it his best powers. He was gifted in a remarkable degree with a keen
insight into the nature of disease, and of course his success was in
proportion to his fitness for his calling. He did not need to be told
symptoms; he knew, by intuition where the break in the constitution was,
and how to rebuild and give new life. He was made for his profession,
and not his profession for him, which is too often the case.
After several years' practice, desirous of further improvement, he took
a degree at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. At the time of the
rebellion the governor and council of New Hampshire appointed him a
member of the Medical Board of Examiners.
For the past few years Dr. Graves has been much interested in railroads,
East and West; has been a director in the Nashua & Lowell Railroad and
other roads, and is now president of the Texas Trunk Railroad. He is a
director in the Faneuil Hall Insurance Company, and in the Metropolitan
steamship line; and is also connected with many other financial
interests of a comprehensive character.
A few years ago Dr. Graves made an extensive land purchase at Scituate,
Mass., containing two hundred acres or more, which he calls his "Mound
Farm." It lies on an elevation, bordering on the ocean, and is
considered by those familiar with the "South Shore" as the most eligible
location, and as commanding the finest prospect oceanwards, of any in
that popular and beautiful summer resort. Here the doctor has erected a
few dwelling-houses, and has sold lots to others who have erected summer
residences. These houses are elegantly and conveniently constructed, and
so located as to enable their owners to enjoy an unobstructed ocean
view, as well as the ocean breezes. In one word, it is, in and of
itself, a villa of extensive proportions, and is destined to become
still more extensive in the future. The doctor has recently made large
purchases of adjoining lands, and is already engaged in farming on a
large scale, and introducing improved modes of cultivation. Here, with
his family, he spends his summers, residing in Nashua or at the South
during the winter.
At the age of seventy, Dr. Graves is still active and remarkably well
preserved, and much more active than many younger men. He has a business
office in Boston, and manages his large estate with as much foresight
and sagacity as when in the prime of life and engaged in accumulating
his fortune.
Dr. Graves was married to Mary W. Boardman, daughter of the late Col.
William Boardman, of Nashua, in 1846.
As a man, Dr. Graves is distinguished for his firmness. His opinions he
maintains with resoluteness until good reasons induce him to change
them. He means _yes_ when he says "yes," and _no_ when he says "no." He
is a man of a positive character. It is needless to say, that, while
such a man always has enemies, (as what man of ability and energetic
character has not?) he has firm and lasting friends,--friends from the
fact that they always know where to find him. Among the many self-made
men whom New Hampshire has produced, he takes rank among the first; and
by his indomitable energy, industry, and enterprise has not only made
his mark in the world, but has achieved a reputation in his profession
and business on which himself and friends may reflect with just pride.
[Illustration: Warren Daniell]
HON. WARREN F. DANIELL.
In almost every instance, those who, during the first half of the
present century, laid about the waterfalls of New Hampshire the
foundations of our manufacturing villages, builded better than they
knew. They were generally men of limited means, moderate ambitions, and
democratic instincts; and they established their shops and factories
without expectation that they were changing worthless plains and forests
into cities, or plain mechanics into millionaires. They aimed only to
create productive industries in which they and their few employes,
meeting on equal terms, could work together and win a fair reward for
their labor. But they were skillful workmen, good managers, courageous,
persistent, and equal to all their opportunities, and under their
inspiration and direction their enterprises have grown into great
proportions, which have made the fortunes of their owners, and called
into being communities that are models of the best that skill,
intelligence, and thrift can produce.
To this class of men belonged Kendall O. and James L. Peabody and
Jeremiah F. Daniell, who, fifty years ago, built a paper-mill in the
forest that then grew about the falls upon the Winnipesaukee, where the
wealthy, wide-awake, and beautiful village of Franklin Falls now stands.
The Peabodys, who were bakers by trade, built a small mill at this point
about the year 1828. In disposing of their production as bakers they
accumulated large quantities of cotton rags, and, as there was little
demand for these, they built a miniature paper-mill to convert them into
a more salable commodity. Their knowledge of the paper business was very
limited, their machinery of the most primitive kind, and their
experiment was not at first a success; but they were men not easily
turned from their purposes, and, feeling that what they lacked was a
practical paper-maker, one of them went to Massachusetts in search of
one. He found there Jeremiah F. Daniell, who at the age of thirty-five
had seen twenty-one years of service in a paper-mill, and knew the
business thoroughly. This young man had been trained in a hard school,
and was by education as well as by natural abilities well qualified to
prove an efficient helper to men, who, like the Peabodys, were trying to
establish a new enterprise in the face of many discouragements. He began
his apprenticeship when a boy of fourteen, and from that time until he
reached his majority most of his scanty earnings went to support a
widowed mother and orphaned brothers and sisters.
When he became of age, his entire property consisted of a suit of
clothes, and a five-dollar bill which proved to be counterfeit. With
these he started, carrying his shoes in his hand (as a matter of
economy), to obtain employment at his trade, which he found at
Pepperell. Here he remained several years, and during the time married
Sarah Reed, of Harvard, Mass., by whom he had two children, Warren F.,
the subject of this sketch, who was born June 26, 1826, and Mary, who
died in infancy. Subsequently he manufactured paper for himself in
Dorchester and Methuen, Mass., and in 1833 went West. Not finding a
promising opening, he returned to Massachusetts and was met by Mr.
Peabody, who arranged for him to go to Franklin and take charge of the
mill there, in which he was given an interest. This he did, and, when a
few months later his family joined him, the Daniell homestead was
permanently established at the head of the Merrimack. The first efforts
of the young manager were directed to supplying the mill with improved
machinery, a difficult task, as the owners had little money to spare,
and the nearest machine-shop in which an order for that class of
machinery could be filled was at South Windham, Conn., but, finally, two
eight-horse teams closed a three weeks' journey by landing in Franklin a
newly invented paper-machine, and the mill was ready to run in a few
months. Meantime, Mr. Daniell had purchased the interest of J. L.
Peabody, in the firm which thus became Peabody & Daniell. The machinery
was scarcely in position when a fire destroyed the factory and its
contents, leaving the owners, in the midst of the hard times of 1837,
bankrupt in nearly everything but courage, reputation, and a
determination to succeed, which enabled them, after many struggles, to
rebuild and proceed in a small way with their business. The erection of
the cotton-mills at Manchester soon after gave them an opportunity to
purchase large amounts of paper stock at low prices, and from that time
they were moderately prosperous.
The next year after the removal of Mr. Daniell from Massachusetts his
wife died, and a year later he married Annette Eastman, of Concord. His
son Warren was at that time a wide-awake boy, ten years old. He had
picked up a little book knowledge in the Massachusetts schools, and in
order that he might be further educated without much expense he was sent
to Concord, where he worked upon a farm for his board and clothes and
privilege of attending school a short time each winter, until he was
fourteen, when he was called home and entered the paper-mill as an
apprentice, to learn the business with which his name is now so
prominently identified. It was his purpose at a later period to attend
the academy at Tilton; but on the day on which the term began his father
was severely burned by an accident, and he was obliged to take his place
in the mill. No other time appeared when he could well be spared, and he
continued working there until he was twenty-five years of age, and was a
master of the trade in all its branches.
As a journeyman, his wages were one dollar and twenty-five cents per
day, a sum which he found sufficient to provide, in those days of
frugality, for all the needs of himself and his young wife and child. He
was, however, ambitious at some future time to have a mill of his own,
and with this object in view left Franklin and contracted with parties
at Waterville, Me., to erect and run for them a paper-mill at that
place. This occupied him for one year, when he took charge of another
mill at Pepperell, Mass., where he remained until 1854. In that year his
father bought out Mr. Peabody, and offered to sell him half the
establishment if he would return to Franklin, which he did. The firm was
then J. F. Daniell & Son, and for the next ten years the business
prospered under that name. In 1864 Warren bought his father's interest,
and was sole proprietor until 1870, when the mill property, which had
grown from modest beginnings to be one of the largest and best known
private manufacturing establishments in the state, was sold to a company
of Massachusetts capitalists who had organized as the Winnipiseogee
Paper Company. Mr. Daniell then become connected with a large
paper-house in Boston and removed to that city. He soon tired of life in
that crowded metropolis, and, returning to his old home, he purchased a
large interest in the company that had succeeded him there, and became
its resident agent and manager, which position he still occupies. This
company owns and operates at Franklin large paper-mills supplied with
the best machinery, employs three hundred men and women, and produces
nearly twenty tons of paper daily, and reflects, in its abounding
success, the sagacity, energy, and enterprise of the man who plans and
directs its operations, who, without the help of a liberal education or
wealthy friends, has won his way by hard and patient work to a first
place among the business men of New Hampshire.
Few men in our state have been so uniformly successful, and none in
compassing their own success have contributed more to that of others. In
climbing up, WARREN F. DANIELL has pulled no one down. The village of
three thousand busy, prosperous, and happy people is largely the
creation of the paper-mill, in which he has made his money, and its most
creditable characteristics are in no small degree the results of his
counsel and liberality. The business world acknowledges him as a man of
undoubted integrity, thoroughly responsible, and eminently successful.
His townsmen and fellow-citizens of New Hampshire know him as a genial,
unassuming man, whose good fellowship never tires, whose generosity is
inexhaustible, and as one who is never too busy with his own affairs to
lend a helping hand to any cause or person that deserves it; as a
citizen and friend and neighbor who has shown them how to get money
rapidly, and how to spend it freely, intelligently, and helpfully.
Mr. Daniell's first wife was Elizabeth D. Rundlett, of Stratham, N. H.
The marriage occurred in 1850, and Mrs. Daniell died while he was at
Pepperell, in 1854. He married Abbie A. Sanger, of Concord, in October,
1860, who presides over his elegant home, which is located near the
confluence of the Winnipesaukee and Pemigewasset rivers, and surrounded
by a broad intervale which liberal outlays have made one of the most
fertile and beautiful spots in the Merrimack valley. He has five boys:
Harry W., by his first wife; and Eugene S., Otis, Warren F., and Jerie
R., the fruit of his second marriage.
He is an enthusiastic farmer, and owns across the river from his home a
large and productive farm. He has long been the owner of the best herd
of Jersey cattle in the state; his stables always contain some of the
finest and fleetest horses; he admires a good dog, and is a skillful
breeder of swine and poultry. He has contributed much to the
introduction of improved stock, crops, and farm machinery in his
neighborhood; has been active and liberal in sustaining the state and
local agricultural societies, and in otherwise promoting the farming
interest.
In politics, Mr. Daniell is a Democrat; and such has been his popularity
among those who have known him best, that even when Franklin gave a
Republican majority of seventy-five he was several times elected to
represent it in the house, and subsequently was chosen a state senator
two years in succession in a district which no other Democrat could have
carried. He represented his party in the national convention of 1872,
and has always been one of its trusted counselors and most efficient
workers. That he would have been its candidate for governor and congress
but for his refusal to accept the position is generally known. During
the war he gave himself unreservedly to the cause of the Union as
represented by the "boys in blue," voting steadily to raise and equip
all the men who were needed, giving liberally of his means to provide
for them and their families, and supporting, by word and deed on all
occasions and in all places, the cause for which they fought.
JONATHAN SAWYER.
BY REV. GEO. B. SPALDING, D. D.
1. John Sawyer, a farmer in Lincolnshire, England, had three sons,
William, Edward, and Thomas, who emigrated to this country in 1636,
being passengers in a ship commanded by Capt. Parker. They probably
settled in Rowley, Mass.
2. Thomas Sawyer went to Lancaster, Mass., as early as 1647, when he was
twenty-four years of age. This section of the Nashaway valley,
comprising eighty square miles in extent, had been purchased in 1643 by
Thomas King, of Watertown, Mass., of Scholan, sachem of the Nashaway
Indians. Thomas Sawyer was one of the first six settlers. His name
appears in the petition made to the general court in 1653 for the
incorporation of the town of Lancaster. In 1647, the year of his
arrival, he married Mary Prescott. She was the daughter of John
Prescott, to whom belongs the honor of being the first permanent
inhabitant of Lancaster. The eminent historian, William H. Prescott,
traces his ancestral line to this John Prescott. There were born to
Thomas Sawyer and Mary Prescott eleven children. This family figures
largely in that most tragic page of the history of Lancaster which tells
of the massacres and captivities of its inhabitants, and the entire
destruction of the town itself by the Indians. On the land of Thomas
Sawyer stood the Sawyer garrison, into which were gathered the survivors
of that most murderous attack made upon the town in the winter of
1675-76. At this time his second son, Ephraim, who was at the Prescott
garrison, was killed by the Indians. Thirty-two years later, 1708, the
oldest son, Thomas, and his son Elias were captured by the Indians and
taken to Canada. When the party reached Montreal, the father offered to
put up a mill on the river Chambly, on condition that the French
governor would obtain the release of all the captives. Thus the first
mill in Canada was built by Thomas Sawyer. He was liberated, but his son
Elias was detained for a time to teach the Canadians "the art of sawing
and keeping the mill in order, and then was dismissed with rich
presents."
3. Caleb Sawyer, the sixth child of Thomas, was born in 1659, in
Lancaster, Mass. He married Sarah Houghton, thus effecting an alliance
between two of the most prominent families who organized the town of
Lancaster. Caleb Sawyer died in 1755, leaving two sons and two
daughters.
4. Seth Sawyer, the oldest son of Caleb, was born in 1705; married Miss
Hepsabeth Whitney; died in 1768.
5. Caleb Sawyer, the second son of Seth, was born in 1737, at Harvard,
Mass., a part of Lancaster which in 1732 had been incorporated as a town
by itself. He married Miss Sarah Patch in 1766. They had two sons,
Phineas and Jonathan. Jonathan remained on the home farm at Harvard,
which is still occupied by his descendants.
[Illustration: P. Sawyer]
6. Phineas Sawyer was born at Harvard, Mass., in 1768. He went to
Marlborough, Mass., now Hudson, in 1800. He bought a mill property
there, consisting of a saw, grist, and wire-drawing mill. In 1806 he
built a cotton-mill, and operated it until the close of the war in 1815.
It required in those days immense enterprise and energy to project and
carry on such a work as a cotton-factory. The machinery was procured
from Rhode Island. The ginning-machine had not yet come into general
use. The cotton, when received, was distributed among the farmers, to
have the seeds picked out one by one by their families. It was carded
and spun by water power, at the mill. It was then sent out again among
the farmers to be woven into cloth. Phineas Sawyer was a man of great
independence of character, self-reliant, and full of courage. These
qualities, so conspicuous in his business affairs, shone out with
undiminished power in his religious life. He lived at a time in
Massachusetts when Methodism was regarded with special disfavor. But Mr.
Sawyer, believing that the Methodists were right, believed so with all
his heart, and the petty persecutions to which his faith was subjected
only intensified his zeal and loyalty. His house was the home for all
traveling Methodists, and the place where they gathered for religious
worship. He was well versed in the best Methodist literature of his
times. He stands forth in the annals of his church as one of the
foremost men, for sagacity, boldness, and piety, in the Needham circuit.
He had for his wife a worthy helpmeet, Hannah Whitney, of Harvard. She
was as ardently attached to Methodism as was her husband, and bore her
full share of service and sacrifice for it in its days of weakness and
persecution. The sudden death of her husband, which took place in 1820,
left Mrs. Sawyer to provide for the support of twelve children, the
youngest, Jonathan, being then two years old. This truly noble woman,
with but little means, faced the difficulties before her with an
unflinching spirit of faith and hopefulness. It required superlative
fortitude, finest sagacity, and sternest self-sacrifice to have enabled
this mother to successfully rear these twelve children, give to them a
good education, and establish all of them in respectable positions in
the world. She continued to live in Marlborough some nine years, leasing
the mill property. In 1829 she went to Lowell, where she lived twenty
years, dying there in 1849, greatly respected by all who knew her, and
held in honor and affection by her many children.
7. JONATHAN SAWYER, the subject of this sketch, was the youngest child
of Phineas. He was born at Marlborough, Mass., in 1817. He went with his
mother and other members of the family when he was twelve years old, to
Lowell, where for the next few years he attended school. He was a member
of the first class that entered the high school of that city, having
among his mates Hon. Benjamin F. Butler, Gov. E. A. Straw, and G. V.
Fox, assistant secretary of the navy during the civil war. Bishop Thomas
M. Clark was the principal of this school. On account of a severe
sickness, young Sawyer at sixteen years of age left school, and while
recruiting his health made a visit to his brother, Alfred Ira Sawyer,
who, after some experience as a dyer at Amesbury and Great Falls, had
come in 1824 to Dover, N. H., where he was operating a grist-mill, a
custom carding and cloth-dressing mill, converting this last into a
flannel-mill. Jonathan remained in Dover two years, going to school and
working for his brother. In the fall of 1835 he returned to Lowell. His
mother, for the purpose of conferring upon her son a more complete
education, sent him to the great Methodist school at Wilbraham, which at
that time was a most flourishing preparatory school for the Wesleyan
University at Middletown, Conn. Here he remained two terms, when, at
nineteen years of age, returning to Lowell, he went into a woolen
establishment as a dyer. Afterwards he went into this business on his
own account, and continued in it until 1839.
During the latter part of this time he was not so engrossed in his
business but that he found time to make frequent visits to New Ipswich,
where Miss Martha Perkins, of Barnard, Vt., was attending school. In
1839 they were married, and went to Watertown, N.Y., where Mr. Sawyer
became the superintendent of the Hamilton Woolen Company. After two and
a half years, Mr. Sawyer went into business for the manufacture of
satinets. In 1850, his brother Alfred having died at Dover, N. H., the
year before, and the children being too young to carry on the business,
Mr. Jonathan Sawyer assumed its control in connection with his brother
Zenas. Two years later Zenas retired, and Francis A. Sawyer, who had
been a prominent builder in Boston, became a partner with Jonathan, the
object being to continue the manufacture of woolen flannels. In 1858 the
property below known as the "Moses mill," another flannel manufactory,
was purchased. This mill was enlarged in 1860 to four sets of machinery,
again in 1863 to eight, and in 1880 and 1882 to sixteen sets. The old
machinery is now completely replaced by new. The old mill, started in
1832, was in 1872 replaced by the present substantial structure, which
contains fourteen sets of machinery, with preparing and finishing
machinery for thirty sets in both mills.
Since 1866 the attention of these noted manufacturers has been entirely
devoted to the manufacture of fine fancy cassimere cloths and suitings.
Already they have established for these goods a foremost place in their
class. At the Centennial Exhibition, at Philadelphia, a medal and
diploma were awarded the Sawyer goods, for their "high intrinsic merit."
The business has, since 1873, been carried on as a corporation, having a
capital of six hundred thousand dollars. The corporation consists of the
old firm of F. A.[7] and J. Sawyer, and Charles H. Sawyer, the present
agent of the establishment. In 1866 this company made a bold innovation
on the method that was so long in vogue among manufacturers, of
consigning their goods to commission houses. The undertaking upon which
this company entered, of selling their own goods, was met with great
opposition; but their boldness and foresight have already been justified
by the success which they have made, and the adoption of their methods
by other manufacturers. This establishment can now look back upon a
half-century of remarkable history. The unmarred reputation for
strictest integrity which these managers have won, their far-reaching
enterprise, and the unsurpassed excellences of their fabrics, have
enabled them to prosperously pass through all the financial depressions
and panics which so many times have swept over the country during this
long period.
Mr. Jonathan Sawyer, with his vigor of mind and body still unimpaired,
lives in his elegant mansion, which looks out upon a magnificent picture
of wood and vale and mountain range, and down upon the busy scene of his
many years of tireless industry. He loves his home, in the adornment of
which his fine taste finds full play. When free from business he is
always there. He loves his books, and his conversation shows an unusual
breadth of reading in science, history, and politics. He is possessed of
a strong, clear intellect, a calm, dispassionate judgment, and
sympathies which always bring him to the side of the wronged and the
suffering. At a time when anti-slavery sentiments were unpopular, Mr.
Sawyer was free in their utterance, and was among the first to form the
Free-soil party. Since the organization of the Republican party, Mr.
Sawyer has been among its strongest supporters. He has persistently
declined the many offices of honor and profit which those acquainted
with his large intelligence and sagacity and stainless honesty have
sought to confer upon him. He is abundantly content to exercise his
business powers in developing still more the great manufactory, and his
affections upon his large household and his chosen friends, and his
public spirit in helping every worthy cause and person in the community.
The children of Mr. Sawyer, all of whom have grown up to maturity, are
Charles Henry, Mary Elizabeth, Francis Asbury, Roswell Douglas, Martha
Frances, Alice May, Frederic Jonathan.
FOOTNOTES:
[7] Francis A. Sawyer died June 16, 1881.
[Illustration: ASA CROSBY MD AND SONS]
DR. ASA CROSBY AND SONS.
BY S. P. HADLEY.
In giving a notice of Judge Crosby of Lowell, Mass., as originally
contemplated, at his request and with the consent of the publisher, I am
desired to give it in the character of a family notice, or rather of the
father and sons, now all deceased except the judge.
DR. ASA CROSBY, the father, was born in Amherst (now Milford), N. H.,
July 15, 1765, and died at Hanover, N. H., April 12, 1836. He married
Betsey Hoit, daughter of Judge Nathan Hoit, an officer in the
Revolutionary war, and judge of the court of common pleas. He was in the
sixth generation from Simon of Cambridge, Mass., who arrived in the
"Susan and Ellyn" in 1635, the direct line being Simon, Simon, Josiah,
Josiah, and Josiah his father, born in Billerica, Mass., November 24,
1730. Sarah Fitch, his mother, was born in Bedford, Mass., March 25,
1732. The Crosby families mostly inhabited Billerica, Mass., where many
of the descendants still reside, although some lived in the ancient town
of Braintree, Mass., and others on Cape Cod. His father settled in
Amherst, N. H., where he died October 15, 1763. His mother lived until
September 16, 1825. The following notice of Dr. Crosby, written by Prof.
R. D. Mussey of Dartmouth College, is taken from the _Boston Medical and
Surgical Journal_, Vol. XIV.:--
"Dr. Asa Crosby was an uncommon man. At the age of twenty-one he
commenced practice in Strafford county, N. H., and continued in
full practice forty-six years. He was a distinguished member of
the profession, both in physic and surgery; and in the latter
branch he performed some very important and difficult
operations. Indeed, for many years he was the principal operator
for an extensive district of country. He was one of those
self-taught men, whose force of intellect breaks through the
most appalling obstacles, and rises unaided to skill and
reputation. Although deprived of a systematic course of
professional instruction, having commenced practice before
medical schools were established in New England, he provided
himself with a good library, and spent his leisure hours, and
even moments, among his books. He drew around him young men as
pupils, between twenty and thirty of whom may be reckoned as
educated by him; and, what is much to his credit, many of them
are now distinguished men.
"Dr. Crosby was for many years a member of the Church of Christ,
and died in the full hope of a better life.
"The medical profession in New Hampshire is not a little
indebted to Dr. Crosby, inasmuch as he was one of the few who
interested themselves in procuring the charter of the State
Medical Society, of which he was an active and zealous member
for thirty years. The honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine was
conferred on him by Dartmouth College in 1811."
JOSIAH CROSBY, M. D.
DR. JOSIAH CROSBY, third son of Dr. Asa Crosby, was born in Sandwich, N.
H., February 1, 1794, and died in Manchester, N. H., January 7, 1875. He
married Olive Light Avery, daughter of Daniel Avery, a merchant and
manufacturer of Gilford, N. H., February 9, 1829. He studied his
profession with his father, and the distinguished Prof. Nathan Smith of
Dartmouth College. His early practice was in Concord, N. H., and Lowell,
Mass., but his professional life-work was in Manchester, N. H., from
1844 to his death. The following extracts are taken from an obituary
notice of him read before the New Hampshire Medical Society by Dr. W. W.
Wilkins, of Manchester:--
"Here (Manchester, N. H.,) for thirty years he was the unrivaled
head of the profession. Here he originated the method of making
extensions of fractured limbs by the use of adhesive strips,
which gave him a high reputation with surgeons in Europe as well
as at home; and, later, he invented the 'invalid bed' which has
so tenderly held the patient, without a strain or jar, while the
bed-clothes could be changed or wounds cared for, or, by
dropping a belt or two, prevent local pressure and irritation.
The skillful physician, the christian gentleman, and
sympathizing friend were combinations of character in him rarely
excelled.
"Those who have known Dr. Josiah Crosby, who have had the
privilege of his acquaintance, been honored by his confidence,
and felt the influence of his pure example, will feel more
deeply than any words of mine express, the loss we have met in
his death. Few men love their life-work as he did. The practice
of medicine to him was no mere trade, no secondary means of
obtaining something else that outranked it, but the chosen
calling of his life, to which in his young manhood he gave not
only his rare mental endowments, but the rich treasures of his
heart; and with the weight of eighty years resting upon him, it
was his greatest comfort that he could still labor in his chosen
profession.
"His habits of study, that had been early formed, followed him
into old age. New theories and discoveries in medical science
were carefully criticised; the medical journals, to which he was
a liberal subscriber, were read; and he was better posted in
regard to the medical literature of the day than a majority of
the young men in the profession.
"He exerted a strong influence on the profession itself. The
quiet dignity of his character was felt by all who came in
contact with him. No unguarded words passed his lips in regard
to members of the profession that were absent that would not
have been as freely expressed in their presence.
"The same elements of character made him a superior surgeon. His
operations were complete. He had abundant resources, and, if the
ordinary methods of treatment failed, was ever ready to supply
their place by extraordinary methods. His contributions to
medical science were of a character that reflected the highest
honor upon him as a physician and skillful surgeon, and placed
him in no mean rank as a benefactor of his race.
"He never indulged in sports, or frequented watering-places. His
church, his home, and his professional duties filled to the full
his days and years, and too many sleepless nights. His
sympathies for the sick, his great benevolence, his love of
neighbor as of himself, formed the mainspring of his life
labors.
"We have known him in his strength, and we shall always
recollect him as the strong, self-reliant, active physician. We
are more than grateful for his record. Life is the sum total of
so many days and years, to which may be added the little real
good one has been permitted to accomplish in a lifetime. Looking
back over these fifty years, can we compute the worth of such a
life?"
His widow still lives, as also his son, Dr. George A. Crosby, of
Manchester, an eminent physician and surgeon.
JUDGE NATHAN CROSBY.
NATHAN CROSBY, fourth son of Dr. Asa Crosby, was born in Sandwich, N.
H., February 12, 1798; was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1820: read
law with Stephen Moody, Esq., of Gilmanton, and Asa Freeman, of Dover,
N. H., and was admitted to the bar in Strafford county in 1823. He
practiced law a dozen years, mostly in Gilmanton, N. H., and Amesbury
and Newburyport, Mass., until 1838, when he removed to Boston, at the
call of the Massachusetts Temperance Union, to conduct two important
features of the temperance cause,--the acceptance of the teetotal pledge
for the ardent-spirits pledge, and prohibition for license, and to
organize societies based upon those principles throughout the
commonwealth. He was also editor of the _Massachusetts Temperance
Journal_, the _Cold Water Army_ and _Temperance Almanac_, and various
other publications.
Subsequently, in 1843, he removed to Lowell, and was employed by the
manufacturing companies of that city to purchase the large lakes in New
Hampshire whose waters supply the Merrimack river, and secured for the
companies one hundred thousand acres of water. Before this service was
fully accomplished, he received the appointment of standing justice of
the police court of Lowell, upon the resignation of the late Hon. Joseph
Locke, who had held the office thirteen years. Judge Crosby was
qualified May 19, 1846. This position he still holds. He has rarely
failed of holding the civil terms of the court during his entire period
of service. In the discharge of the duties of a local magistrate,--a
position peculiarly trying, placed, as those duties are, so near the
people in all their differences, controversies, temptations, follies,
and depravities,--he has been at all times humane, conscientious,
incorruptible, and just, aiming to do right.
In all works of philanthropy and reform, no one has a kinder heart, or a
more willing or generous hand. His frequent appeals to the public,
through the press, upon the temperance issues of the day have been
characterized by great power, earnestness, and practical wisdom, and
have been widely read and approved. He has never held political office,
but has been in the ranks of the Federal, Whig, and Republican parties.
He was the first man in the country to give one hundred dollars for the
sanitary relief of Union soldiers in the late rebellion, and to form a
soldiers' relief association, of which he was president during the war.
He was the first college graduate from the town of his birth, and the
last of four of his class who received the degree of Doctor of Laws.
His literary productions consist of "Obituary Notices for 1857 and
1858," in two volumes, "First Half Century of Dartmouth College,"
eulogies upon Judge Wilde and Hon. Tappan Wentworth, "Notices of
Distinguished Men of Essex County, Mass.," the last being especially
illustrative of Choate, Cushing, and Rantoul, and letters and appeals to
the citizens of Lowell upon the temperance issues of 1880 and 1881. He
has a nervous, but animated and entertaining style. His "First Half
Century of Dartmouth College" is a model in its way, while his "Crosby
Family," a genealogical work, is not the dry and uninteresting reading
such literature usually is, but is entertaining, even to the general
reader, for its reminiscences of individuals, and its pleasant pictures
of old times in New Hampshire.
He has always cherished a deep interest in Dartmouth College, and to no
slight extent has, by personal effort, brought about events which have
been of substantial benefit to that ancient seat of learning.
Judge Crosby has been twice married. His first wife, Rebecca Marquand
Moody, was a daughter of Stephen Moody, Esq., of Gilmanton, by whom he
had nine children, of which number five are now living, namely, Frances
Coffin, wife of Dr. Henry A. Martin, of Boston; Hon. Stephen Moody
Crosby, of Boston; Maria Stocker, wife of the late Maj. Alexander McD.
Lyon, of Erie, Penn.; Ellen Grant, wife of N. G. Norcross, Esq., of
Lowell, and Susan Coffin, wife of Charles Francis, son of James B.
Francis, of Lowell, the distinguished engineer. His daughter, Rebecca
Marquand, widow of the late Z. B. Caverly, United States _charge
d'affaires_ at Peru, a highly accomplished and widely esteemed lady,
was, with her daughter, lost on the "Schiller," a German steamer, off
the English coast, in the spring of 1875,--a disaster which, at the
time, created profound sorrow throughout the country. He married, May
19, 1870, Matilda, daughter of James Pickens, of Boston, and widow of
Dr. J. W. Fearing, of Providence, R. I., who still lives.
Personally, the judge is a fine exemplification of the good results of
temperance, self-care, and habitual good humor; and one meeting him for
the first time, and noting his firm step and erect carriage, would
hardly think him older than a man of sixty.
DIXI CROSBY, M. D.
DR. DIXI CROSBY, fifth son of Dr. Asa Crosby, was born in Sandwich,
February 8, 1800, and died at Hanover, September 26, 1873. He married
Mary Jane Moody, daughter of Stephen Moody, of Gilmanton, a
distinguished lawyer, July 2, 1827. His academical preparation for his
profession was quite limited; but being quick to learn, and with
uncommon powers of memory, he made rapid progress in the study and
practice of his profession and early became a prominent surgeon and
physician, practicing in Gilmanton and Laconia till called to fill the
chair of surgery in the Dartmouth Medical College, as successor of
Professor R. D. Muzzey. He was placed at the head of the Medical
College, in 1838, and held the place with great ability and distinction
until nearly the time of his death.
His son, Prof. Alpheus B. Crosby, a young man of remarkable distinction,
who died August 9, 1877, succeeded him. Another and older son is an
eminent physician in Concord, N. H.
"Dr. Crosby, though a surgeon by nature and by preference, was
in no modern sense a _specialist_. His professional labors
covered the whole range of medicine. His professorship included
obstetrics as well as surgery, and his practice in this
department was exceptionally large. His surgical diocese
extended from Lake Champlain to Boston. Of the special
operations of Dr. Crosby we do not propose here to speak in
detail. It is sufficient to mention that, in 1824, he devised a
new and ingenious mode of reducing metacarpo-phalangeal
dislocation. In 1836 he removed the arm, scapula, and
three-quarters of the clavicle, at a single operation, for the
first time in the history of surgery. He was the first to open
abscess of the hip-joint. He performed his operations without
ever having seen them performed, almost without exception. Dr.
Crosby was not what may be called a _rapid_ operator. "An
operation, gentlemen," he often said to his clinical students,
"is _soon_ enough done when it is _well_ enough done." And with
him it was never done otherwise than _well_.
At the outbreak of the rebellion, Dr. Crosby served in the
provost-marshal's office at a great sacrifice for many months,
attending to his practice chiefly at night. As years and honors
accumulated, Dr. Crosby still continued his work, though his
constitutional vigor was impaired by the severity of the New
Hampshire winters and by his unremitting labor. At length,
having reached man's limit of threescore years and ten, he
withdrew from active practice, and in 1870 resigned his chair in
the college.
Dr. Crosby furnishes a beautiful and rare instance of a
completed life. He early fixed his aim,--he reached it; he did
all he attempted, and he did it well. '_Nihil tetigit, quod non
ornavit._'
To those of us who had been most intimately associated with our
departed friend, who had enjoyed his teachings, his counsels,
and his generous kindness, the news of his death came as a heavy
shock. But he still lives in the remembrance of his
distinguished services, in the unfading affection and gratitude
of his pupils, and in the many hearts whose burdens he has
lifted. Verily, '_Extinctus amabitur idem!_'"--_Obituary notice
of Dr. J. W. Barstow._
PROF. ALPHEUS CROSBY.
PROF. ALPHEUS CROSBY, ninth son of Dr. Asa Crosby, was born in Sandwich,
October 13, 1810, died in Salem, Mass., April 17, 1874. He married for
his first wife, Abigail Grant Jones Cutler, daughter of Joseph and Abi
C. Grant (Jones) Cutler, of Newburyport, Mass., August 27, 1834, who
died in Paris, France, March 25, 1837. He married, for his second wife,
Martha Kingman, daughter of Joseph Kingman, Esq., of West Bridgewater,
Mass., a teacher in the Normal School, Salem, Mass. He was childless.
Professor Hagar says: "When in his tenth year he was taken to
Hanover, the seat of Dartmouth College, and was placed
temporarily under Professor Adams in algebra and Euclid, under
Professor James Marsh in Latin, and under Tutor Rufus Choate in
Greek; and these gentlemen pronounced him fitted for college. He
was subsequently put to the study of Hebrew, under the Rev. John
L. Parkhurst, and was sent to Exeter Academy; but in 1823 he
entered college, passed through the four years' course of study
without a rival and far beyond rivalry. His power of acquisition
and retention was marvelous.
"After his graduation, he spent four years at Hanover; the
first, as the preceptor of Moor's Indian Charity School, and the
following three as tutor in the college. He subsequently spent
nearly two years at the Theological Seminary in Andover, Mass.
He was appointed to a professorship of Latin and Greek in 1833.
In 1847 he was released from the Latin and became professor of
Greek only, which office he held until 1849, when he resigned;
but he remained professor _emeritus_ until his death."
Professor Crosby was one of the earnest Greek scholars of eminence that
New England can boast, being precocious in his scholarship, and so a
little in advance of Professor Felton, of Cambridge, who was a year or
two older. Both graduated in 1827, Felton at Harvard, and Crosby at
Dartmouth; and this, as it happens, was the year in which the first
Greek lexicon, with definitions in English, came into the hands of
pupils in any part of the world. It was the work of John Pickering, a
Salem man, who for many years stood almost alone as a great Greek
scholar in America, having preceded Crosby and Felton by more than
thirty years. The young men took up the work where Pickering laid it
down, and began not long after they became Greek professors in their
respective colleges (Felton in 1832, and Crosby in 1833,) the task of
preparing grammars, readers, and editions of authors, for the studious
youth of the land. Crosby's Greek grammar and his edition of Xenophon's
Anabasis soon came into common use, and have been of great service in
promoting the elementary instruction of thousands of Greek scholars
since; as also have Felton's Reader and his editions of Aristophanes,
etc. The learning of Hadley, Goodwin, and other recent professors has
gone beyond that of these pioneers in extent and accuracy, but it is
doubtful whether they have done so much for rudimentary scholarship.
Professor Crosby belonged not to us alone, but to all New England,--to
the whole land. Our country is poorer by the loss of an eminent scholar,
one of that small band of classical scholars in America who are known
and honored at foreign seats of learning. In the latest, freshest, and
most original Greek grammar of Professor Clyde, of Edinburgh, the author
acknowledges his obligations to four distinguished scholars, three
Europeans and one American; and the American is Professor Crosby.
Professor Crosby published "A Greek and General Grammar"; "Greek
Tables"; "Greek Lessons"; an edition of Xenophon's Anabasis; "Eclogæ
Latinæ"; "First Lessons in Geometry"; also many religious and political
tracts, and elementary school-books, which have been widely useful among
the freedmen and Indians.
PROF. THOMAS R. CROSBY, M. D.
PROF. THOMAS RUSSELL CROSBY, M. D., youngest son of Dr. Asa Crosby, was
born in Gilmanton, N. H., October 22, 1816, and died at Hanover, March
1, 1872. He married Louisa Partridge Burton, daughter of Col. Oliver
Burton, U. S. A. He graduated D. C. 1841, taking also, at the same time,
his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He practiced in Meriden and
Manchester, was chief surgeon in Columbian College Hospital, in
Washington, D. C., during the war, became professor in the Medical
College in that city, and afterwards professor in Dartmouth College.
During much of his professional life he was an invalid, but was
indefatigable in habits of study, steadily advancing to posts of honor
and reward, both as practitioner and teacher.
* * * * *
The faculty of Dartmouth College say: "We would record with deep sorrow
the decease of Dr. Thomas R. Crosby, Professor of Animal and Vegetable
Physiology in the agricultural department of the college, and Instructor
in Natural History in the academical and scientific departments; and
that we have a profound sense of the loss sustained by the college and
the community in the departure of one who, to all the virtues that
adorned his character, added such fullness, variety, and accuracy of
scientific and professional attainment as fitted him for signal
usefulness in the several positions he occupied."
His brother Josiah bears this testimony of him in a letter, after he had
passed away: "I have always considered him equal to any of the brothers
as a general scholar, and, decidedly, as the best medical scholar of us
doctors; and, although he had not an opportunity of performing so much
surgery outside the hospital as others of the family, yet what he did
shows conclusively that he was competent to any emergency. He had all
the requisite qualifications for a good operator,--a correct knowledge
of anatomy and great self-possession."
[Illustration: C H Sawyer]
COL. CHARLES H. SAWYER.
BY REV. GEO. B. SPALDING, D. D.
Charles Henry is the eldest son of Jonathan Sawyer, the sketch of whose
life precedes this. He was born March 30, 1840, at Watertown. N. Y. At
ten years of age, on the removal of his father to Dover, N. H., Charles,
who had already become quite advanced in his studies, was sent to the
district school in that place. The district school, although it has been
supplanted by what is regarded as an improved system of education, had
its own distinctive merits. The six years' training in it, under
competent teachers, was sufficient to give young Sawyer a thoroughly
practical education in those branches which are found to be essential to
success in business life. Books can do little more than this. Experience
must complete the training process. At sixteen years of age, it being
determined that Charles was to enter into the business of his father, he
was placed as an apprentice in the Sawyers' woolen-mills. The business
to which a young man is to devote his life affords the very best means
for his education in it. It proved to be so in this instance. The young
apprentice, as he progressed from one stage to another, had the finest
of opportunities for acquiring a full knowledge of all the diversified
interests and sciences which belong to such a great industry. There is
scarcely a branch in natural philosophy, physics, or the mechanical arts
that is not intimately connected with the manufacture of woolens. But
the manufacturing processes embrace only a part of the activities and
requirements of such a business as the Sawyers. They are their own
buyers and sellers in all the great markets of our own and other lands.
Superadded to mechanical knowledge and skill, there must be the large
intelligence, the clear foresight, the quick, unerring judgment, which
belong to the accomplished financier. In this manufactory, based upon so
varied knowledge, and calling into activity so many of the strong mental
powers, Charles found a grand school, and such proficiency did he make
in it, that when he came to his manhood he was abundantly qualified to
take upon himself the duties and responsibilities of superintendent. He
was appointed to this position in 1866. No small share of the
distinguished success which has come to this establishment may be fairly
attributable to the fidelity and perseverance in service, the keen
sagacity and the great enterprise, which Charles H. Sawyer has brought
to its every interest. In 1873, when the company became incorporated, he
was admitted to the firm, and, at the same time, was appointed its agent
and one of the directors. Since then he has been elected its president.
Mr. Sawyer has served in both branches of the Dover city government; was
a member of the New Hampshire legislature in 1869 and 1870, and again in
1876 and 1877, serving on the committee on railroads, incorporations,
judiciary, national affairs, and as chairman of the committee on
manufactures. In 1881 he was appointed, by Governor Bell, a member of
his military staff with rank of colonel. Mr. Sawyer is now acting as
director of the Strafford National Bank and the Portsmouth & Dover
Railroad, and trustee of the Strafford Savings Bank. He is a member of
the Masonic order, taking a personal interest in all that concerns its
prosperity. In 1867 he became a member of the Strafford Lodge, and was
master in 1872 and 1873. He is a member of the St. Paul Commandry of
Knights Templar, of which he has just been elected eminent commander for
the fourth time.
Mr. Sawyer, in 1865, was married to Susan Ellen Cowan, daughter of Dr.
James W. and Elizabeth Cowan.
Mr. Sawyer is not only a man of affairs, taking a deep personal interest
in the various movements of politics, finance, and industrial life, but
he is a man of large reading and is well acquainted with the best books
and thoughts of the times. His judgments of men and measures are
singularly free from partiality and prejudice. His conclusions are
deliberately formed, and based upon a broad comprehension of all the
related facts. His sense of justice is strong; his intellectual
qualities are admirably balanced. He never is otherwise than perfectly
poised. With all this he has the warmest heart, the quickest sympathies,
great kindness of manner, and utmost geniality of spirit. In the reserve
of his nature he withholds himself from all impetuous demonstrations;
but, when the occasion demands, his influence, his advice, his
friendship are put forth with commanding effect. Nature made him on a
large scale, and books and experience and increasing converse with the
best phases of social life are developing him into rare strength and
symmetry of character.
[Illustration: Anthony Colby]
GOV. ANTHONY COLBY.
ANTHONY COLBY is known in his native state as a typical "New Hampshire
man." Born and bred among the granite hills, he seemed assimilated to
them, and to illustrate in his noble, cheerful life the effects of their
companionship. His great heart, sparkling wit, fine physical vigor, and
merry laugh made his presence a joy at all times, and welcome
everywhere. His ancestry, on his father's side, was of English, and on
his mother's, of Scotch-Irish, origin. The first member of his father's
family that removed to this country settled in the town of Salisbury,
Mass., in 1740. He bore the name of Anthony Colby, and was a member of
the so-called "Test Association."
Joseph Colby, the father of Anthony, was born in Hopkinton, N. H., near
Beech Hill, in 1762. He died in 1843. Of his brothers, two, James and
Nathaniel, settled in that town, and another, David, in Manchester, near
the sea, in Massachusetts. During the last century, Joseph bought a
portion of land under the "Masonian Grant" from Mr. Minot. Then the
restriction of ownership in the state was that "all the white-pine trees
be reserved for masting the ships of His Majesty's royal navy." Each
town was required to set apart a portion of land for a meeting-house,
and the support of the gospel ministry; for a school-house and the
support of a school, as well as a military-parade ground.
In the organization and settlement of the town named New London, and in
the needs of the settlers, both civil and religious, Joseph took an
active part. He began clearing land in that part of the town now called
Pleasant street, at the north end of Pleasant pond. He early established
trade for himself with Newburyport and Salem. The state legislature then
held its sessions in Portsmouth. Of this, he was for fourteen
consecutive years a member. He was a political leader, and an
uncompromising Federalist. For fifty years he was a stanch member of the
Baptist church, of which Rev. Job Seamans was the first pastor, and he
was for some time president of the Baptist state convention.
He married Anne Heath, a direct descendant of the Richard Kelley family,
of which Judge Kelley, of Exeter, was a member. Her immediate relatives
took part in the Revolutionary war. Members of the family live in
Newbury, Mass. The family of Joseph Colby consisted of two sons and two
daughters. The eldest daughter, Sarah, married Jonathan Herrick; the
second, Judith, married Perley Burpee. Both of these daughters were
settled beside him. Mrs. Burpee still survives. The two sons of Joseph
Colby never left their father's household. Joseph, the eldest, spent the
most of his life in the gratification of his literary tastes, and a
species of journalism. Anthony, born in 1795, was of a lively
disposition. A pleasant vein of humor ran through his character, making
him enjoy a joke, while a native prescience led him to project himself
into every kind of progress. A keen insight into the character of men
gave him an almost unlimited influence over them. He never passed
through college, but his faculties were broadly developed by the
condition into which his genial and vivid nature led him. His father's
home was so guarded and in every way provided for, that ample
opportunity was afforded him to follow the pursuits and activities that
were congenial to him. He married, at an early age, Mary Everett, whose
modest and refined Christian character greatly influenced him. A more
favored home could hardly be imagined than that in which his three
children were born, and which is still held sacred by them. The steady
support of a grandfather's established character, the stimulus of a
popular father, joined to the affection of a devoted grandmother and the
delicate influence of a lovely mother, created an atmosphere, of solid
content and peace as blissful as is to be found this side of heaven. His
eldest son, Daniel E. Colby, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1836.
He married Martha Greenwood, and now lives in the paternal home. His
daughter married, in 1851, James B. Colgate, and lives in New York, as
does her brother Robert, who married Mary Colgate. Robert also graduated
from Dartmouth College, and studied law with Judge Perley, at Concord,
N. H.
The prominent characteristics of Anthony Colby were manly self-reliance
and intrepidity, joined with quick sympathy and faithfulness in
friendship, which made men trust and love him. His father's identity
with the state gave him a wide knowledge of its resources, industries,
and inhabitants. He was interested in the affairs of the entire state,
and was always ready to sacrifice the interests of his private business
for those of his townsmen. There was no neighborhood or personal
difficulty in which he did not willingly take the responsibility of
bringing help or reconciliation. His tender sympathy, benevolence, and
personal authority were sufficient to adjust the differences and rights
of all who sought his assistance. He was strictly and absolutely a
temperance man, never tasting spirituous liquors, and always using his
influence to save young men from the use of them. His nature was
many-sided enough to find some points of agreement with men whose habits
differed from his own.
He established a line of stages through his native town before any
system of railroads had been extended through the state. He afterwards
became president of the Concord & Claremont Railroad. He possessed, in
an unusual degree, an ability to create in his own brain and carry into
practice business activities. He saw and felt how labor could be well
applied, and, while a young man, built himself, in a part of the town
then almost a forest, a grist-mill, carding and fulling mill. In 1836 he
was instrumental in establishing a scythe-factory which was carried on
by the use of the same water that had been used for the mills. In this
enterprise he was associated with Joseph Phillips and Richard Messer,
both of whom had learned the trade of scythe-making. In the vicinity
there grew up directly a flourishing village.
In politics, Mr. Colby was always conservative. He was first elected a
member of the New Hampshire legislature, in 1828, and afterwards held
nearly every higher office of trust in the state. Daniel Webster was his
personal friend. Their fathers, who lived in the same county, only about
twenty miles apart, were many years associated in the legislature, of
which they were members, from Salisbury and New London. The friendship
between himself, Judge Nesmith, of Franklin, and Gen. James Wilson, of
Keene, was _more_ than simple friendship,--they were delightful
companions; of essentially different characteristics, the combination
was perfect. Daniel Webster was their political chief, and his vacation
sometimes found these men together at the Franklin "farm-house," and at
the chowder parties up at the "pond." The Phenix Hotel, under the charge
of Col. Abel and Maj. Ephraim Hutchins, was the central rendezvous,
where a great deal of projected statesmanship, a great deal of story
telling and fruitless caucusing were indulged in, down to the revolution
of 1846, when the Democrats lost their supremacy by the admission of
Texas as a slave state, when John P. Hale went into the senate. Anthony
Colby was then elected governor. Mr. Webster wrote him earliest
congratulations. With the usual backsets of a radical change, the Whig
party held the front until Mr. Webster made his Seventh-of-March speech
in 1850, on the fugitive-slave bill. Following up that speech by another
on the Revere-House steps, favoring the enforcement of that law, and
addressed to New England men, in which he said, "Massachusetts takes no
steps backward," he placed his friends in a most trying predicament.
Mr. Webster and his Boston body-guard made an effort to hold the Whig
party solid to his position. It could not be done. The Abolitionists
stood forth in full panoply, indiscriminately and precipitately
aggressive, thanking God for the fugitive-slave law, and that Daniel
Webster was its promoter and defender. He wrote to Gov. Colby, urging
him to stand firmly by him and help bring the public mind to this new
standard. The governor was perplexed. Privately he expressed himself
after this fashion: "New Hampshire men vote for the fugitive-slave law!
This whole business is like crowding a hot potato down a man's throat,
and then asking him to sing 'Old Hundred.'" He wrote Mr. Webster that he
would do all that he could for him as a friend, although the law was
odious to him.
There was held, that summer, a Baptist state convention. It was a full
convention, for the churches were in a ferment, and many of them
disintegrating upon the slavery issue. He was sent as a delegate from
the church of which he was a member. A set of resolutions was reported,
of a very violent and denunciatory character, directed against the
fugitive-slave law, Mr. Webster, and both political parties, threatening
expulsion and disfellowship to those members of churches who did not
come out with an open and square protest upon this subject. The
discussion was all one side until the advocates of the resolution had
aired their opinions to their own satisfaction. Then, the governor,
seeing his opportunity, quietly arose and moved an amendment to the
resolution inveighing against Mr. Webster personally. He felt the fight
to be a single-handed one, and would go through it alone if necessary.
Presently, a candid brother seconded his amendment with a few
suggestions. Other brethren applauded. Then the storm set in from the
other side, and the convention became disorderly. It was as if the
better elements of New England life were in one grand convocation. This
was the first public discussion of the situation. The contest was as
brilliant a one, on a modified scale, as any intellectual and emotional
contest that we read of. The governor's only hope of reconciliation was
by settling down on his own popularity with the members of the
convention, and, avoiding the principles involved, appealing to their
generosity as a personal favor. With tears in his eyes and in faltering,
grieving tones, he besought them most solemnly to spare his life-long
friend the denunciation contained in that one resolution, and accept his
amendment. The convention agreed to it. He sent a report of the
proceedings, with an explanatory letter, to Mr. Webster: but he was not
satisfied. There the matter dropped. These true-hearted friends saw,
silently, the scepter of leadership declining in Mr. Webster's hand, and
sadly lamented, what they could not prevent.
No Whig had held the office of governor, until the election of Anthony
Colby, since the election of Gov. Bell, an interim of seventeen years.
Gov. Colby being rallied upon his one-term office, said he considered
his administration the most remarkable the state ever had. "Why so?" was
asked; when with assumed gravity he answered: "Because _I have satisfied
the people in one year_, and no other governor ever did that."
His spirit attached him to military life. He was early promoted to the
rank of major-general. This experience turned to his account, when,
during the trying years of our late war, in 1861 he was appointed
adjutant-general, and subsequently provost-marshal, of New Hampshire.
At this time his son Daniel E. Colby was appointed adjutant-general. The
governor always alluded to this service as the saddest of his life,--to
encourage and send forth to almost certain death the young men of the
state whom he loved as a father. This was his last prominent office in
state affairs; and so faithful was he in it, that, although nearly
seventy years of age, he went often to the front to acquaint himself
with the condition of the soldiers and share their hardships with them.
In 1850 he received from Dartmouth College the degree of A. M., and the
same year was chosen one of the trustees of the college. He was
interested in the best possible educational advantages of the young, and
in every way promoted them. Through his energy, in a great degree, the
academy in New London has arisen to its present flourishing condition.
His son-in-law, James B. Colgate, of New York, has generously endowed
it, and aided in placing it upon a solid basis. The trustees have
conferred upon it the name of Colby Academy.
Gov. Colby's second wife, Eliza Messenger Richardson, of Boston, by her
accomplishments and true Christian character embellished and enlivened
his declining years, while the devotion of his children cheered the
seclusion of his last days.
Said an illiterate woman, to strangers discussing his character in the
cars, "Governor Colby carries the very _demon_ of honesty in his face."
It was his unfailing sense of duty and trust in God that won for him the
vast respect of the public, and esteem of a large circle of private
friends.
Sunday evening, July 20, 1875, he died, peacefully, in the home of his
father, at the age of eighty years, and was buried in the cemetery of
his native town, by the side of his parents.
[Illustration: Very Truly
Wm E. Chandler
April 1882]
SECRETARY WILLIAM E. CHANDLER.
BY HON. JACOB H. ELA.
WILLIAM E. CHANDLER, the second son of Nathan S. and Mary A. Chandler,
was born in Concord, N. H., December 28, 1835, and educated in the
public schools of that city and the academies of Thetford, Vt., and
Pembroke, N. H. He began the study of the law in the office of George &
Webster and George & Foster in 1852; graduated from the Harvard Law
School as LL. B. in 1855; and in 1856, before coming of age, began
practicing in Concord with Francis B. Peabody, Esq., now of Chicago.
Mr. Chandler has, from early childhood, fulfilled all the expectations
of his friends. At the Harvard Law School he was librarian, and
graduated with prize honors for an essay on "The Introduction of the
Principles of Equity Jurisprudence into the Administration of the Common
Law." He developed an early taste for policies, and a desire to aid in
philanthropic movements. He delivered an address, in 1857, before the
Concord Female Benevolent Association, in the Unitarian church, which at
once proved him a clear and vigorous writer and thinker. The writer's
first recollection of him as a lawyer was in the management of an
election case before the state legislature, for the Republicans of
Moultonborough, when it seemed imprudent to employ one almost a boy to
manage a case such as was generally committed to lawyers of large
experience; but the result justified the selection. In June, 1859, he
was appointed, by Gov. Ichabod Goodwin, law reporter of the New
Hampshire supreme court, and published five volumes of the reports. He
entered the service of the Republican party with great earnestness at
its beginning, in 1856, and gave much of his time in the office of the
state committee, to assist the movement during its early campaigns,
becoming secretary first, and afterwards chairman in 1864 and 1865. The
election of 1863 took place during the darkest period of the war,
following the battle of Fredericksburg, when gloom and almost despair
overshadowed every town in the state. It was evident to all that a draft
was impending, and it seemed as though the ability of the towns and the
state had been exhausted, and no more money could be raised or
volunteers be found to enlist. All those opposed to the war were united
and active in the Democratic party, and were aided by those Republicans
who were alarmed by the burden of debt, and by those who would
compromise the safety of the Union sooner than expose themselves to be
drafted to save it. It was the most important political campaign ever
conducted in the state, and brought the executive ability of Mr.
Chandler prominently into view, and led to his future advancement. It
was the first campaign in which a woman took a leading part. Miss Anna
Dickinson was employed as one of the speakers in the canvass, and there
commenced her career on the platform. She had before often spoken in
anti-slavery meetings. President Lincoln watched this campaign more
closely, probably, than any other outside his own state. It was the
opening election of the year following a depressing defeat, and he felt
that to lose it at such a critical time would be as disastrous in its
effects upon the army and the country as the loss of a great battle. It
was his interest in this election which first brought Mr. Chandler to
his attention, and there is no doubt that he noted when, in the New
Hampshire Republican state convention, in 1864, Mr. Chandler offered the
following resolution, which was unanimously and by acclamation
adopted:--
"_Resolved_, That Abraham Lincoln, by the exercise, during the
severest and most dangerous crisis in the nation's history, of
unequaled sagacity and statesmanship, and that moderation and
prudence which experience has shown to be the highest wisdom; by
his spotless integrity of personal character, above reproach and
above suspicion; and by his slowly formed yet unalterable
determination that the triumph of the constitution and the Union
over secession and rebellion shall be the final triumph of
liberty throughout the nation,--has received and merited the
abiding confidence of the people to an extent never awarded any
other public man since Washington; that the best interests of
the country demand that the complete destruction of the
rebellion and the restoration of peace, prosperity, and the
Union, should be achieved under his administration of the
government; and that we therefore declare Abraham Lincoln to be
the people's choice for re-election to the presidency in 1864."
The adoption of the resolution, and the conduct of the canvass in the
spring of 1864 on the basis of Mr. Lincoln's renomination, resulted in a
very large Republican majority; and Mr. Chandler, who had been a member
of the legislature of 1862, and, at the age of twenty-seven, had been
elected speaker of the house of representatives, in 1863, was again
chosen speaker; and in August, 1864, presided over the legislature in
which occurred the eventful conflict and riotous disturbances over the
veto by Governor Gilmore of the bill allowing soldiers in the field the
right to vote. Mr. Chandler gained his earliest reputation for
persistency, coolness, and moral courage in this celebrated conflict, so
well remembered by the Republicans of the state.
In November, 1864, he was employed by the Navy Department as special
counsel to prosecute the Philadelphia navy-yard frauds, and on March 9,
1865, was appointed, by President Lincoln, the first solicitor and
judge-advocate-general of that department. On June 17, 1865, he was
appointed first assistant secretary of the treasury, with Secretary Hugh
McCulloch, and held the office over two years, resigning November 30,
1867. After his resignation, he practiced law in New Hampshire and in
Washington, and was solicitor of the National Life Insurance Company,
and counsel and one of the proprietors of the Washington-Market Company,
and engaged in some mining and railroad enterprises.
It has been at various times falsely charged that Mr. Chandler received
large fees for prosecuting cotton claims before the department in which
he had been an officer. This charge is entirely false. He has never
prosecuted, before any forum, any such claims, and the following letter
to him, written at a time when Hon. George G. Fogg made such charges
against him, proves the correctness of his conduct:--
WASHINGTON, D. C., January 25, 1868.
HON. HUGH MCCULLOCH, _Secretary of the Treasury_,--
MY DEAR SIR:--It has been stated in public prints and otherwise,
in a form designed to injure me, that since leaving the Treasury
Department I have taken employment against the government as
agent or attorney for cotton claims.
As you know that such statements are false, I desire that you
will be kind enough to inform me in writing of the understanding
that exists as to my relation to such cases.
Very truly yours,
WM. E. CHANDLER.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 28, 1868.
DEAR SIR:--Your favor of the 25th instant is received. It was
arranged between us, before you resigned your office of
Assistant Secretary, that you were not to act as counsel or
otherwise against the government in relation to cotton claims,
either at this department or before the court of claims. The
arrangement was entirely voluntary on your part, and was
considered prudent and judicious in view of your connection with
this class of claims in the department. I regarded it as a very
honorable one as far as you were concerned, as it was
unaccompanied by any retainer or employment of yourself as
counsel for the government in such cases, and was without any
assurance on my part, or, as I supposed, any expectation on
yours, that you should be so employed.
The understanding has not been, so far as I am advised, directly
or indirectly violated by you.
Very truly yours,
HUGH McCULLOCH, _Secretary_.
HON. WM. E. CHANDLER, Washington, D. C.
Mr. Chandler did not keep out of politics, but was elected as a
delegate-at-large from New Hampshire to the national convention of 1868,
and subsequently was chosen secretary of the national committee. He held
this position during President Grant's administrations, and devoted
himself to the successful conduct of the campaigns of 1868 and 1872. In
1876 he declined to occupy the position longer, but still contributed
much of his time to assist in the conduct of the canvass. He had, during
this time, become the owner of the largest interest in the _New
Hampshire Statesman_ and the _Monitor_, the leading weekly and daily
Republican papers in the state, at Concord, and he was elected, in
November, a member from Concord to the constitutional convention which
amended the constitution of the state.
After voting in Concord at the presidential election in 1876, Mr.
Chandler left for Washington, reaching the Fifth-Avenue Hotel, New York,
in the early hours of the morning. The other managers of the national
campaign had retired for the night, believing they were defeated; but,
coincident with Mr. Chandler's arrival, news reached the committee-rooms
that Oregon had been carried by the Republicans, which would elect Hayes
and Wheeler by one vote. Mr. Chandler at once comprehended the situation
and the points of danger, and, without waiting for consultation, sent
dispatches warning against defeat by fraud, to Oregon, Florida, South
Carolina, and Louisiana. At the urgent solicitation of prominent members
of the party, he was prevailed upon to start immediately for Florida, to
protect the interests of the Republican party. He there became counsel
for the Hayes electors before the canvassing board of the state, and it
is universally admitted, by Republicans and Democrats alike, that to him
more than to any other man is due the preservation to the Republicans of
the fruits of their victory in that state. When the contest was
transferred from the states to congress, and, finally, before the
electoral commission chosen to arbitrate and decide who had been elected
president, Mr. Chandler acted as counsel, and assisted in preparing the
case as presented to the commission.
In the report of the special committee sent by the senate to investigate
the election in Florida, made January 29, 1877, by Senator Sargent, of
California, is contained a full statement of what the committee
considered to be the law with reference to the conclusiveness of the
declaration by a state canvassing board of the vote of the state for
presidential electors, which was the earliest formal exposition of the
principles of law which were finally adopted by the commission. The
authorship of this statement is freely attributed by Mr. Sargent to Mr.
Chandler, and the points, briefly stated, are as follows:--
I. The canvassing board was created by competent legislative
authority, with jurisdiction to ascertain, declare, and certify,
in due form, the result of the election, and in this case it did
certify that the Hayes electors had been chosen by nine hundred
and thirty majority.
This declaration, having been made by a tribunal having
unquestioned jurisdiction over the subject-matter, is
conclusive, and it has not been and cannot be reviewed, revised,
or reversed, by any power anywhere existing.
II. It cannot be reversed by any authority proceeding from the
state Of Florida. It cannot be reversed by a recanvass of the
votes.
III. As the decision of the canvassing board, that the Hayes
electors were chosen, cannot be reversed by a recanvass, neither
can the title of the electors be impaired upon proceedings of
_quo warranto_.
IV. If the declaration of the result of the election of
presidential electors in Florida, made by the state tribunal
authorized by the legislature to make such declaration, cannot
be reversed by any authority proceeding from the state of
Florida, neither can it be reversed by congress. The
constitutional provision, section 1, article 2, is, "That each
state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof
shall direct, a number of electors equal," etc. It is not
pretended by anyone that the president of the senate, or
congress, in counting the electoral vote, can do more than
merely ascertain whether or not the electors have been appointed
within each state in the manner prescribed by the legislature
thereof; and in the present case, if congress shall find that
the result of the late election was ascertained and declared by
the proper tribunal, created for that purpose and authorized by
the legislature to make the declaration, that declaration and
decision by such tribunal having jurisdiction over the
subject-matter is final and conclusive upon congress, and cannot
be reviewed, revised, or reversed. It does appear that the
canvassing board of the state of Florida, duly authorized by the
legislature, canvassed the result of the election, and declared
and certified that the Hayes electors were chosen, which result
appearing to the governor of the state, he issued certificates
to the electors so declared chosen, and they proceeded to
perform their functions. Beyond this authorized decision and
declaration of the proper state tribunal, it is respectfully
submitted that neither the president of the senate nor congress
can go.
V. In stating this doctrine, that neither the president of the
senate nor congress has the right, in counting the electoral
vote from any state, to go beyond the decision of that tribunal
authorized by the state legislature to ascertain and declare the
result of the vote of the people of the state for electors, it
is not meant to assert that the president of the senate, or
congress, cannot go behind the mere ministerial certificate of
the governor. It is the duty of the executive to give a
certificate to the electors chosen in the manner the legislature
may have appointed, and declared to be so chosen by the tribunal
authorized by the legislature to make such declaration. But if
the governor is, by the state statute, not a member of such
tribunal, his certificate is as purely ministerial as that of
the clerk of a court certifying a copy of a judgment. It is a
valid certificate if it is in accordance with the facts
appearing upon the record. It is utterly invalid and worthless
if contrary to those facts. Therefore the president of the
senate, or congress, in canvassing the electoral votes, even
ministerially, and with no authority to go beyond the
declaration of the election made by the state tribunal
authorized to decide the result of the election, may look beyond
the mere ministerial certificate of the executive, who has been
authorized to decide nothing, and whose certificate is of no
value or binding force unless correctly and truthfully issued in
accordance with the legally declared election. This distinction,
which enables the president of the senate, or congress, to go
behind the mere ministerial certificate of the governor of the
state, but yet prohibits them from going behind the declaration
as to the result of the election duly made by the proper state
tribunal authorized to make such declaration, although
technical, is as clear and distinct, and founded upon principles
of law as sound and wise, as those which allow any tribunal to
go behind a clerk's merely ministerial certificate purporting to
verify the result of a verdict or judgment in court, without
allowing it to go beyond the true record of the verdict or
judgment itself.
After Mr. Hayes had been by the commission declared elected president,
when his administration surrendered the state governments of South
Carolina and Louisiana into the hands of the Democratic claimants, Mr.
Chandler vigorously opposed it, and criticised the surrender and the men
connected with it in most scathing terms, in letters published in the
winter of 1877-78. His fidelity to his convictions of duty was
conspicuous; and his courage and boldness in attacking the Hayes
administration gave him a lasting hold upon the confidence of the
country.
In 1880 he was elected at the head of the ticket of Blaine delegates
from New Hampshire to the Chicago convention, and was especially active
in the contests in the national committee prior to the convention, and
as a member of the committee on credentials, of which Senator Conger was
chairman, and which made the successful report in favor of district
representation. The following is an extract from the report of the
committee on credentials:--
This long current of precedents, and this universal custom of
the past, most conclusively establish the right of congressional
district representation. It is a question of substance and not
of form. Whether the delegates have come certified from separate
district conventions, or whether they have come from a state
convention where the district members thereof have selected
their district representatives, and formally reported them to
the state convention, and their election has been certified, for
brevity and convenience, only by the officers of the state
convention, district representation in fact has always been
allowed. The right of the congressional district to two members
residing within it and representing its sentiments, has been
treated as sacred, and your committee do not believe that it
should be now for the first time invaded with the approval of a
national convention.
Not only does the call for the convention, and the practice and
precedents of the party in one unbroken line, indicate and
secure the right of single district representation, but every
consideration of the reason of the practice tends to confirm its
wisdom. The purpose to be secured in nominating a President is
the selection of a candidate the most likely to be accepted by
the people; and the nearer we get to the popular feeling, in the
manner of selecting delegates, the wiser and safer will be our
nominations. If a state convention called to choose delegates to
a national convention can, by a bare majority, over-rule the
choices of the congressional districts and select delegates
residing within the districts who do not represent its
sentiments, they might as well he allowed to select all the
delegates from one congressional district. Residence within a
district, coupled with misrepresentation of its sentiments, is a
mockery. The delegates thus selected by a state convention will
not fairly represent the masses of the Republicans of the state,
but frequently will misrepresent them. Nominations made by
conventions of such delegates will not be so likely to be
ratified at the polls; and, in the opinion of the committee, it
is the duty of the convention emphatically to disapprove these
attempts to over-ride time-honored customs of the party, and to
vindicate the right of every congressional district to be
represented in a national convention by two delegates of its own
selection, and expressing its own sentiments.
When his favorite candidate was withdrawn in the convention, he
supported General Garfield, and during the campaign which resulted in
his election was a member of the national committee and served on the
executive committee.
On March 23, 1881, he was nominated, by President Garfield, as
solicitor-general in the Department of Justice; but his confirmation was
opposed by Attorney-General MacVeagh, and also by all the Democratic
senators, on account of his extreme radicalism on the southern question.
The Republicans, with Vice-President Arthur's vote, would have had one
majority; but the whole Democratic vote, the absence of the New York
senators, the abstention of Senator Mitchell, and the adverse vote of
Senator Cameron of Pennsylvania, caused his rejection, on May 20, by
five majority.
Mr. Chandler had been, in November, 1880, elected a member from Concord
in the state legislature, which assembled in June, 1881, and he took a
leading position. He favored stringent legislation against bribery at
elections, and against the issuing of free passes by railroads, and was
in favor of controlling by law the regulation of freight and fares upon
all railroads within the state. After the close of the session of the
legislature, when consolidation was effected between certain
Massachusetts and New Hampshire railroads without the consent of the
proper authorities, and against the law, he contended against their
action in the courts, in the press, and in all legitimate ways. Its
success would have placed the whole railroad interest in the lines
running through the center of the state and their branches under the
control of Massachusetts capital and Massachusetts corporations. His
legal positions have been sustained by the court, and the custody and
control of the roads ordered to be taken and exercised by their rightful
owners.
The latest honor conferred upon Mr. Chandler was his selection by
President Arthur as a member of his cabinet. He was nominated, April 7,
1882, for Secretary of the Navy, and confirmed April 12, by a vote of
twenty-eight to sixteen; he qualified and took possession of the office,
April 17, 1882.
In closing this sketch of a busy and useful life, I must add a few words
appreciative of the character of one whom as a boy and man I have known
for forty years. In his personal habits Mr. Chandler is above
reproach,--pure in speech as in action,--with a mind quick to perceive,
prompt to execute, and comprehensive in its scope. He is a man with
convictions and the courage to express and maintain them. He has never
sought advancement by flattery or pandering to prejudice. Those who know
him best have the most faith in his integrity. The best evidence of it
is the fact that in twenty-five years of aggressive political life,
while occupying positions of temptation, and criticising freely the
action of men who forgot their moral obligations or were shirking their
official duties to the detriment of the public good, no one of them has
been able to connect him with personal dishonesty, corrupt practice in
official life, or political treachery or double-dealing. His methods are
direct, positive, systematic, exact, and logical. The positions he has
held have all come to him in recognition of his ability and earnest
efforts in serving the cause he espouses.
Mr. Chandler has been twice married,--in 1859, to a daughter of Gov.
Joseph A. Gilmore, and in 1874, to a daughter of Hon. John P. Hale. He
has three sons,--Joseph Gilmore, born in 1860; William Dwight, in 1863;
and Lloyd Horwitz, in 1869. Mr. Chandler's father died in 1862. His
mother is still living in Concord. He has two brothers,--John K.
Chandler, formerly a merchant in Boston and the East Indies, now
residing on a farm in Canterbury, N. H.; and George H. Chandler, who was
first adjutant and afterwards major of the Ninth New Hampshire regiment,
and is now a lawyer in Baltimore. Mr. Chandler's father was a Whig, a
man of great intelligence and firmness of character. His mother is a
woman of equally positive traits, and has contributed much to the
formation of the character which has given success to her sons.
[Illustration: Wm. C. Clarke.]
HON. WILLIAM C. CLARKE.
Among the public men of New Hampshire who have lately passed away, none
was more widely known in the state, or more sincerely respected, than
Hon. WILLIAM COGSWELL CLARKE, of Manchester. He was born in Atkinson, N.
H., December 10, 1810, being the eldest son of Greenleaf and Julia
(Cogswell) Clarke. His father was a farmer and master-mason, the
constructor of many fine business buildings in the neighboring town of
Haverhill, Mass., and a highly esteemed citizen of Atkinson, where he
served as selectman and justice of the peace. He was descended from
Nathaniel Clarke, a merchant of Newbury, Mass., who died in 1690, and
from Capt. Edmund Greenleaf, of that place, an officer of repute in the
wars of the early colonists with the Indians. The wife of Greenleaf
Clarke was a daughter of Dr. William Cogswell, of Atkinson, who was a
surgeon in the Revolutionary army, and at one time chief of the Military
Hospital at West Point.
William C. Clarke pursued his early studies at Atkinson Academy, of
which his maternal grandfather was one of the founders, and then entered
Dartmouth College, at the age of eighteen years. He was graduated with
high honors in the class of 1832, which included Professors Noyes and
Sanborn, of Dartmouth, and the late Samuel H. Taylor, LL.D., the noted
instructor at Andover, Mass. Immediately becoming principal of Gilmanton
Academy, he held the position for one year, while beginning the study of
law. He continued his legal studies in the Harvard Law School, in the
office of Stephen Moody, at Gilmanton, and in that of Stephen C. Lyford,
at Meredith Bridge, now Laconia, N. H. On his admission to the bar, in
1836, he began practice in the latter town, and on the creation of
Belknap county, at the close of 1840, he was appointed county solicitor.
He held this position until the spring of 1844, when he removed to
Manchester, and continued the practice of his profession. Two years
later he was one of a committee of seven chosen by the town to petition
the legislature for a city charter, and at the first city election, in
August, 1846, was the Democratic candidate for mayor. There being two
other candidates, there was no choice, and he withdrew his name before
the second ballot, in September. In the same year, however, he consented
to act as chief engineer of the fire department of the young city, and
he retained this position till the close of 1848, having a number of
leading citizens as his assistants.
In 1849 he was elected to the office of city solicitor, which he held
for two years, and in 1850 he served as a member of the state
constitutional convention. Appointed the judge of probate for
Hillsborough county in 1851, he obtained the judicial title which clung
to him thereafter. In 1854 he was again the Democratic candidate for
mayor, but the Whig ticket was successful. A year later Judge Clarke was
tendered, by Governor Metcalf, an appointment to the bench of the
supreme court, but declined the position. As judge of probate he
discharged his duties with high public approval, but his removal from
this office, in 1856, was included in the sweeping political changes
which began in 1855. In 1858 he served as a member of the Manchester
Board of Aldermen. Soon after the death of the Hon. John Sullivan, he
was appointed, in 1863, to succeed him as attorney-general of the state;
and, receiving a re-appointment in 1868, he continued to fill the office
until his death in 1872.
From the time of his admission to the bar until he became the chief
prosecuting officer of the state, Judge Clarke was actively engaged in
private legal practice. He early acquired the reputation of a sound and
able lawyer, and obtained an extensive clientage. As attorney-general he
was highly successful in the performance of his duties, to which he
devoted himself with conscientious faithfulness. Recognizing the
semi-judicial character of his office, he did not allow the zeal of the
advocate to outweigh more important considerations, and, in cases where
a minor offense had been committed for the first time, he frequently
caused indictments to be suspended, so as to give the culprit both a
chance and a stimulus to reform. Hardened or flagrant criminals he
pursued with the rigor demanded by the interests of justice, leaving no
stone unturned in his efforts to secure their conviction. He drew all
his indictments with the greatest care, and it is said that no one of
the number was ever set aside. He took equal pains with the preparation
of evidence and of his arguments in all important causes. These cases
included a number of murder trials which attracted wide attention when
in progress, and which afforded marked proof of his legal skill. His
sense of duty being above all other considerations, he was unmoved by
all attempts to affect his official course by private appeals or by any
species of personal influence.
Judge Clarke had a marked distaste for ordinary politics and the arts of
the politician. On the few occasions when he consented to be a candidate
for an elective office, he did not seek the nomination, but accepted it
at the request of his friends. Firmly believing, however, in the
original principles of the Democratic party, he often gave his voice and
pen to their support, and was long a prominent member of that party in
New Hampshire. When the rebellion broke out he did not hesitate a moment
in regard to his political course, but was among the foremost of those
who urged all citizens to sink minor party differences and rally to
sustain the imperiled government. During this crisis he was active in
calling and addressing many public meetings, which pledged aid to the
most vigorous measures for the defense of the Union. At the great war
mass-meeting held in Concord, N. H., on the 17th of June. 1863,--which
was attended by thirty thousand people, from all parts of the state, and
was addressed by men of national eminence, including a member of
President Lincoln's cabinet,--Judge Clarke called the assembly to order,
and read the call, after which he was chosen the first vice-president.
Being dissatisfied with the attitude toward the war assumed by many of
the leaders of the Democratic party, he was largely instrumental in
organizing the zealous War Democrats of the state into a third, or
"Union," party, which nominated a separate ticket for state officers in
1862 and 1863. This organization was not maintained after the latter
year, and Judge Clarke thenceforward voted with the Republican party;
but, after the early years of the war, he refrained from any active
participation in politics, which he regarded as inconsistent with the
nature of his duties as attorney-general.
He was one of the original directors of the Manchester Bank, serving
from 1845 till 1849, and of the City Bank, with which he was connected
from 1853 till 1863. He was also a trustee of the Manchester Savings
Bank from 1852 until his death. For many years he was a trustee of the
Manchester Atheneum, and when this was succeeded by the City Library, in
1854, he was chosen a member and clerk of the board of trustees of the
latter institution, retaining both positions during the rest of his
life. He was the first treasurer of the Manchester & Lawrence Railroad
Company, holding that office from July 31, 1847, till his resignation
took effect, February 8, 1849; and he was the clerk of that company from
February 28, 1854, until he died, being also its attorney when engaged
in private legal practice. He was a trustee of Gilmanton Academy, and in
1854 was a member of the National Board of Visitors to the United States
Military Academy at West Point.
Judge Clarke was one of the earliest members of the Franklin-street
Congregational church in Manchester, and one of the original officers of
the society, to both of which he rendered valuable service.
Some mention of his personal appearance should not be omitted, as he was
a man of unusually distinguished presence, having a large, finely
proportioned figure, with a handsome, dignified head and face. Without
undue formality, his manners were invariably courteous and refined. With
excellent literary tastes, he possessed much general information, and
was very attractive in conversation. Though rigid in his sense of right
and wrong, he was eminently charitable in his views of others, having a
broad tolerance of opinions which differed from his own. His disposition
was genial, and his kindness of heart unfailing.
He was married, in 1834, to Anna Maria Greeley, only daughter of the
late Stephen L. Greeley, Esq., of Gilmanton, N. H. His wife survives
him, with four children,--Stephen Greeley, Anna Norton, Julia Cogswell,
and Greenleaf.
The death of Judge Clarke occurred at his home in Manchester on April
25, 1872, and was the cause of wide-spread sorrow. At his funeral there
was a large attendance of prominent citizens from many parts of the
state. Resolutions of regret and eulogy were adopted by the city bar,
the Hillsborough-county bar, the Manchester Common Council, and various
other bodies with which he had been connected. In the resolutions of the
common council he was spoken of as "one who, as a former member of the
city government, and its legal public adviser, served it with marked
fidelity and ability, and who, by his many virtues, had won the
confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens." His associates of the
Manchester bar declared that "he was a faithful officer, a wise
counselor, a respected citizen, and a Christian gentleman. He was
courteous in manner, efficient in duty, upright in character, and an
ornament to his profession." In the resolutions adopted by the bar of
Hillsborough county, and entered upon the records of the supreme court,
Judge Clarke was described as "a public officer faithful and upright,
discharging his official duties with signal ability; a lawyer of large
experience in his profession, of well balanced judgment and discretion,
well read in the principles of the law, and faithful alike to the court
and his client; a citizen patriotic and public-spirited; in his private
relations, a gentleman of unblemished reputation, distinguished for his
high-toned character, affable manners, and uniform courtesy; and
illustrating in his public and private life the character of a Christian
gentleman, governed by the principles which he was not ashamed to
profess."
HON. ARCHIBALD HARRIS DUNLAP.
BY REV. W. R. COCHRANE.
Mr. Dunlap comes of strong, sturdy, Presbyterian stock and Scotch
ancestry, of which he is a characteristic and worthy representative.
Archibald Dunlap came from the Scotch settlement in Ireland and located
in Chester, N. H., in 1740, or a little earlier. He married Martha Neal,
whom he found in Chester. She was of Scotch race, and her father, Joseph
Neal, was among the Presbyterians that petitioned the legislature, in
1736, to be freed from paying a second tax to support a Congregational
minister. The third child of Archibald was Maj. John Dunlap of
Revolutionary memory. Maj. John was born in Chester in 1746; married
Martha Gilmore; settled in Bedford; was a farmer on a large scale; was a
manufacturer of furniture; and acquired a large property. He was a
famous military man in his day; and on one occasion entertained his
entire regiment at his house, at his own expense. One of the incidents
of the day was the rolling out of a barrel of _New England rum_ and
setting it on end, staving in the head, and the soldiers were allowed to
help themselves to their heart's content.
John Dunlap, son of Maj. John, went to Antrim when a young man, and
built at the North Branch village in that town. He married Jennie,
daughter of Dea. Jonathan Nesmith, of Antrim, June 26, 1807. He carried
on the cabinet-making business at the Branch village many years. About
the year 1812 he introduced the manufacture of ladies' and gentlemen's
knit underclothing, and made looms for that purpose; and it was probably
the first thing of the kind ever known in this state, and was considered
a great curiosity. In 1835, Mr. Dunlap put up a factory in South
Antrim,--now known as the "silk-factory." He died December 15, 1869, in
ripe old age.
Hon. ARCHIBALD HARRIS DUNLAP, son of John and Jennie (Nesmith) Dunlap,
was born in North Branch village, Antrim, September 2, 1817. He passed
through the usual routine of country boys in that day,--hard work the
year round, except a few weeks at school in the winter. April 8, 1831,
in company with his oldest brother, the late Robert N. Dunlap, of
Zanesville, O., he left Antrim to strike out in the world for himself.
With a small bundle of effects in one hand and a pilgrim's staff in the
other, these two boys started out in the dim light of the early morning
for a journey on foot to Nashua,--nearly thirty-five miles. "Harris," as
every one then called him, was only thirteen and one half years old when
he thus turned his back upon his pleasant cottage home and faced the
battle, come as it might. This shows the stuff he was made of. The
Scotch grit and zeal and powers of endurance were manifest in that first
journey. Painters and poets have dwelt upon subjects far less worthy of
remembrance than that boy's march of thirty-five miles, inspired only by
the determination to succeed in spite of poverty and toil.
[Illustration: A. H. Dunlap.]
As the weary hours of the forenoon wore away, and they began to feel the
strain upon their physical strength, the boys consulted together as they
walked, as to what refreshments they could afford. The arguments of the
occasion are not handed down; but it was decided, considering the low
state of the treasury, that a "_glass of brandy apiece would do the most
good for the money_." (The temperance reform had not reached the people
then!) So at the next tavern, just above Mont Vernon, they called for
the brandy,--which was brought out in _one glass_,--and they divided it
as fairly as they could. Then they passed on to Amherst, and taking a
little _solid_ refreshment, such as a country store ordinarily affords,
_without_ brandy, and spending an hour for rest, then they started on
the eleven dreary miles that lay between that place and Nashua. The
younger boy said he "thought the last five miles never _would_ come to
an end;" but they _did_ end, and Nashua was reached late in the
afternoon. I have heard Mr. Dunlap say, that, however many better and
wiser boys may have reached that city, certainly a more tired one never
did than he! Saturday, April 9, his first day in Nashua in which he was
to be so prominent, he spent in looking over the place. On the Sabbath,
having been brought up to go to meeting and to the Sabbath-school, he
attended Mr. Nott's church, of which he had heard in Antrim. He was
turned into a side gallery with a lot of boys; but the solemnity of
years was upon him as he looked on that large, strange audience on his
first Sabbath of absence from home. The impression made upon him will
never be forgotten. That day he cast his anchor in with that people, and
it has held ever since. The strange country boy that looked and listened
with so much feeling that day is now, after fifty years, one of the
leading spirits in that church, while nearly all the vast audience he
looked upon have passed away! The poor boy reached the highest place! He
early became a member of the church; was deacon in the Olive-street
church from 1855 till its recent union with the Pearl-street church; was
then chosen deacon in the united or Pilgrim church; and was chairman of
their building committee in the erection of the new and stately edifice
of 1881.
About that time (1831) "Nashua Village" had begun to attract attention.
The Nashua Manufacturing Company and the Indian Head Company were
completing cotton-mills. In one of those erected by the latter company,
Col. William Boardman was setting up the heavy machinery; and for him
the boy of whom we write went to work for his _board_ until he could do
better. The colonel gave him his dinner, and that was the price of his
first half-day's work in Nashua. But that afternoon (Monday, April 10,)
Ziba Gay, Esq., manufacturer of machinery, sent for him and engaged him
for the summer. The boy of thirteen years, and stranger to all, had
found a place in the great machine-shop! Here he staid till the fall of
the same year, when he left to enter Franklin Academy, under Prof.
Benjamin M. Tyler. Remaining at this institution till the spring of
1832, he returned to Nashua and entered the service of the Nashua
Manufacturing Company, where he continued till the fall of 1834. Then,
being disabled from active labor by an accident, he left, and entered
Francestown Academy, under charge of Prof. Benj. F. Wallace. At the
close of the fall term he went home to his native town and attended the
winter district school, taught by Edward L. Vose, Esq. Here, in a small
unpainted school-house on the southward slope of "Meeting-house Hill,"
he "graduated" in the early spring of 1835. Whether the "graduating
exercises" were of a "high order" the record does not say; but certainly
they were as rich with promise as some of greater sound and name. And
now, after all this varied and often rough experience, A. H. Dunlap was
only seventeen years old! Large in body, sound in mind, fearless,
independent, upright, and tested by hard discipline, he was just the man
to succeed. At once he returned to Nashua and resumed his place in the
mills of the Nashua company, where he remained three years. Then at the
age of twenty he was made an overseer in the Indian Head mills. In this
business he remained till the spring of 1847, when he was compelled to
abandon it on account of failing health. Then he was in trade two years
in Franklin, N. H. Then (1849) he returned to Nashua and commenced the
garden-seed business, in which he has been very successful, and which he
still continues under the firm name of A. H. Dunlap & Sons. "Dunlap's
Garden Seeds" are known all over the land.
Mr. Dunlap has had the confidence of the people of Nashua, as shown by
the many trusts committed to him, and the offices he has held in the
city government. He was a representative from Nashua in the legislature
of the state two years, 1869 and 1870. In 1858 he was elected railroad
commissioner for three years. In 1864 he was chosen one of the
presidential electors for New Hampshire, and had the honor of casting
one of the electoral votes for that great and good man, Abraham Lincoln,
whom all men now have learned to love and honor. He is one of the
directors of the Nashua & Rochester Railroad, and is a trustee of the
New Hampshire Banking Company.
He has always cherished a deep interest in his native town, and his
address at her centennial celebration, in 1877, was among the best of
the many able efforts on that occasion. He aided nobly, both by
investigation and by gifts of money, in preparing the recently published
History of Antrim.
Mr. Dunlap married Lucy Jane Fogg, of Exeter, August 12, 1841. She was
the daughter of Josiah Fogg, of Raymond, and grand-daughter of Maj.
Josiah Fogg, who came from Hampton and settled, in 1752, in that part of
Chester set off as the town of Raymond in 1764. Maj. Fogg was prominent
in Chester before the separation; and paid the highest "parish and state
and war tax" in Raymond in 1777. The Fogg family is traced back in
England and Wales to the year 1112 A. D. The first of the name in this
country was Samuel Fogg, who came to Hampton in 1638.
The children of Hon. A. H. and Lucy J. (Fogg) Dunlap are James H.,
Georgie A., John F., Abbie J., and Charles H.
[Illustration: A. M. Shaw.]
HON. ALBERT M. SHAW.
BY A. W. BAKER.
ALBERT M. SHAW, of Lebanon, is a native of Poland, Me., born May 3,
1819. He came to, and has spent most of his active life in, New
Hampshire, where a wide field for the exercise of his energy and
abilities was open to him. His parents, Francis and Olive (Garland)
Shaw, had four children,--three sons and a daughter,--of whom Albert M.
is the oldest.
Mr. Shaw's father was a successful merchant, able and willing to give
his children the advantages of a fair education, and such special
training as would fit them for callings towards which their proclivities
and natural abilities inclined them. At the age of twenty, Albert,
having acquired such an education as could be obtained in the public
schools of his native state, went to Boston and spent nearly two years
in the study of civil engineering and practical work for building
railroads. He had made such progress that he was engaged to assist in
the construction of a branch railroad from the Boston & Providence road
to Stoughton, a distance of about six miles, and executed this
assignment so well that he was made superintendent of the work of
constructing a branch railroad from Natick to Framingham, and afterwards
was engaged in the construction of the Old Colony road, which occupied
him until 1845.
Previous to this, preparation had been made to build the Northern
Railroad from Concord to West Lebanon. He came to New Hampshire in 1845,
and engaged in the building of the road, and remained on the road until
the entire line was completed. With this road he has been closely
identified nearly ever since. For eighteen years he was its civil
engineer and road-master; and during the entire time that the late
ex-Governor Stearns was its president was his trusted and confidential
adviser and executive officer. He has also served in its board of
directors, and superintended the construction of its principal branches,
including the Sugar River and Peterborough & Hillsborough roads.
The activity of Mr. Shaw has, however, been by no means satisfied with
his duties upon the Northern road. Since 1848 he has been engaged in the
building of the Kennebec & Portland road in Maine, the Portsmouth road
in this state, the air-line road from Rochester to Syracuse in New York,
and that from Waterloo to Huntington mines in Canada, besides the
building of the Granite hosiery-mills at Franklin, and the carrying to a
successful conclusion many private enterprises for himself and others.
In 1872 he was called to the important position of superintendent of
road-way of the Central Vt., and its branches.
While building the Northern road he became acquainted with Caroline
Dearborn Emery, of Andover, whom he married in 1848, and soon after
located his home in the beautiful village of Lebanon, where he still
resides with his wife and two sons, William F., and Albert O., who are
engaged in business near by. His only daughter, Mary Estelle, died in
1870.
The same qualities which have made Mr. Shaw successful in business have
given him prominence in social and political life. He has always taken
great pride in Lebanon, and has been a leader in most of the projects
which have added to her beauty and stability. His support has, from the
first, helped establish her schools, strengthen her churches, and
sustain her social and charitable associations, and his enterprise has
contributed largely to her material prosperity.
In politics, Mr. Shaw is a Republican who works hard, manages shrewdly,
and gives liberally, that his party may win. He doesn't like to be
beaten, and seldom is. He has done much for his neighbors and friends,
and they have lost no opportunity to honor him. In the stormy days of
1862 and 1863, when strong men were needed, he was sent to the popular
branch of the state legislature, to which he was returned in 1881. In
1863 he was sent by the governor to look after the interests of New
Hampshire soldiers on that ever memorable field of Gettysburg, a duty
for which his warm sympathies and his executive ability eminently fitted
him. In 1876 he represented Lebanon in the constitutional convention,
and in 1878 and 1879 was the state senator from that district. He was
appointed a consul to the province of Quebec by President Lincoln in
1864, was a presidential elector in 1868, and in 1877 was one of the
three commissioners appointed by Gov. Prescott to build the new
state-prison. In all of these positions, his extensive knowledge of
public affairs, his tact in dealing with men, and his skill and courage
in overcoming opposition have enabled him to acquit himself with great
credit, and render those for whom he acted most valuable service. The
prison, which is one of the few public buildings in this country that
cost less than the estimates, is a monument to his business capacity and
strict integrity.
He is a great reader on scientific matters, is interested in books of
travel and adventure, especially in those relating to the arctic
regions, and gratifies his taste in the collection of a library.
Mr. Shaw is a Royal Arch Mason, and takes an interest in the mystic art.
He attends the Methodist church, and is a liberal contributor to all
that pertains to the success of that society. The worthy poor find in
him a sympathizing friend, always prepared to contribute to their
necessities in a most liberal manner. He is good to himself, and true
and generous to his friends. Mr. Shaw is fond of hunting and fishing,
loves the woods and streams for their own sakes, as well as for the
relief and rest they afford him; amid the busy employments of his life
some part of the season is pretty sure to find him "camped" in the wilds
of northern New Hampshire or Maine.
Mr. Shaw has many acquaintances among the prominent men of the day. As a
companion he is lively, genial, fond of fun, relishes a joke at the
expense of others, and can take one at his own expense with becoming
meekness, if it will not be otherwise spoiled.
He is at present engaged in caring for the large property interests
which have resulted from so long a term of skillful industry and
sagacious calculation.
[Illustration: B F Martin]
COL. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN MARTIN.
BENJAMIN F. MARTIN, who has been prominently identified with the
paper-making industry of New England for many years, and is widely known
as one of Manchester's wealthy and influential citizens, is the son of a
Vermont farmer. His parents were Truman and Mary (Noyes) Martin, whose
homestead was at Peacham, where they resided with their five sons and
four daughters. Their son Benjamin Franklin was born July 21, 1813, and
passed his youth at home, attending the short district schools, and
filling the long vacations with farm work and the few recreations that
were then open to farmers' boys. He also had the advantage of some
instruction at the Peacham Academy, and when he arrived at the age of
eighteen was thought to be sufficiently educated in books to begin a
business career, to which he was naturally inclined. He accordingly went
to Meredith Bridge, now Laconia, to learn paper-making in a mill owned
by an older brother. He spent one year in this mill, and then next
served as a journeyman in one at Millbury, Mass., where he acquired a
thorough knowledge of the business. Mr. Martin then formed a partnership
with a brother-in-law, the late Thomas Rice, for the manufacture of
paper at Newton Lower Falls, Mass., where he remained until 1844, when
he removed to Middleton, Mass., and purchased a mill there, which he
successfully operated for nine years. In 1853 he had arranged to locate
in Lawrence, Mass., but the inducements offered him to go to Manchester
were sufficient to change his plans, and he at once commenced the
erection of a mill at Amoskeag Falls. This was soon completed, and in it
Mr. Martin carried on for twelve years an extensive and profitable
business. In 1865 he sold it to Hudson Keeney, but four years later
repurchased it, and continued to operate it until 1874, when he sold the
establishment to John Hoyt & Co., and retired to enjoy the fruits of his
well directed industry and sagacity.
The demands of his business have left Mr. Martin little time for
office-holding; but in 1857 and 1858 he represented ward three in the
common council, and in 1860 was a member of the board of aldermen. In
1863 and 1864 he was a member of the state legislature, and also served
as a colonel on the staff of Gov. Gilmore. In 1860 he was a delegate to
the national convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln.
He was elected a director of the Merrimack River Bank when it was
organized, in 1854, and was chosen its president in 1859, but resigned
the next year. He was one of the first trustees of the Merrimack River
Five Cent Savings Bank, and its vice-president in 1860. He was a
director of the Manchester Bank under its state charter, and has since
held a similar position in the Manchester National Bank, and is a
trustee in the Manchester Savings Bank. He has long been connected with
the Portsmouth and Manchester & Lawrence railroads as a director, and
since 1878 has been president of the Manchester & Lawrence. He is now
president of the Manchester Gas Company.
Col. Martin married, January 3, 1836, Mary Ann Rice, of Boston, a sister
of Hon. Alexander H. and Willard Rice, by whom he has had three
daughters, Fanny R., the wife of Hon. George B. Chandler, being the only
one now living.
Mr. Martin is, in the best sense of the term, a successful business man.
He is a master of the art of paper-making, which was carried in his mill
to a high degree of perfection. His standing in the commercial world is
such as only a long and uninterrupted course of honorable dealing and
unexceptional promptness in responding to every obligation secures. He
was quick to see the possibilities of his business, always ready to
improve opportunities, and judicious in the execution of all his plans.
In Manchester, he is highly honored and respected as a citizen, whose
prosperity contributed to that of others, and as a man whose integrity
is beyond suspicion, and whose private life is above reproach. He has
been a great help to the city in which he has acquired most of his
wealth, not only in building one of her great factories in which
hundreds of men have found steady and profitable employment, but in
giving liberally to her charities and other institutions which have
depended upon the generosity of the public, and in discharging all the
duties of a public-spirited citizen. He has long been one of the chief
supporters of the Episcopal church, where he worships, and a willing
helper of the Republican party, with which he has always acted. His home
is one of the most elegant in Manchester; and it is the home of good
taste, comfort, happiness, and hospitality.
[Illustration: Dexter Richards]
HON. DEXTER RICHARDS.
BY JOSEPH W. PARMELEE.
From the twelve immigrants of the name of Richards that originally came
from England to this country, at different times, in the years from 1630
to 1728, have come, as may be seen by the records of the New England
Historic-Genealogical Society, in Boston, a great number of descendants,
who, from the beginning, have borne a royal part in the toils and trials
and hardships of our early time, and who are to-day represented in the
learned professions, the arts, commerce, and manufactures, and general
business of this great country.
The sixth of these immigrants, in point of time, was Edward Richards, a
passenger in the ship Lion, from London, who landed in Boston, September
16, 1632. His brother, Nathaniel, was also a passenger. Nathaniel
afterward joined the party of Rev. Mr. Hooker,--a memorable
expedition,--and with it traversed the then howling wilderness to the
valley of the Connecticut, and was among the founders of Hartford.
Edward Richards was, for a time, resident at Cambridge, Mass., where he
married, September 10, 1638, Susan Hunting. He was afterward one of the
sixty-two original proprietors of the town of Dedham, near Boston, where
he lived, and died in 1684, and where many of his descendants are to be
found at this time. We follow the descent of the line from Edward (1),
through John (2), John (3), John (4), Abiathar (5), to Sylvanus in the
sixth generation, who, about the beginning of this century, moved, with
his family, to Newport, N. H., where he settled on a large tract of land
in the western part of the township, on what is known as the old road to
Claremont. The place is now (1882) in possession of Shepard H. Cutting.
Mr. Richards was, for some years, one of the largest land-holders and
tax-payers in the town. In connection with his farming business he kept
a way-side inn, where rest and refreshment awaited the dusty and chilly
traveler,--man and beast. This was nearly three-quarters of a century
before the scream of the locomotive was ever heard in this part of New
Hampshire, a time when the people were mostly dependent upon their own
resources, in regard to methods of travel and transportation.
About the year 1812, Sylvanus Richards moved to Newport Village, and
became the proprietor of the "Rising Sun" tavern, a house originally
built and occupied as a public house by Gordon Buell, the father of the
late Mrs. Sarah J. Hale, of Philadelphia, the accomplished writer and
editor of the _Lady's Book_. It was in this house that DEXTER RICHARDS
was born.
Of the four children, all sons, born to Sylvanus and Lucy (Richardson)
his wife, was Seth Richards (7), born in Dedham, Mass., February 20,
1792, who grew up to aid him in his business, and ultimately succeeded
to the proprietorship of the "Rising Sun." The writer remembers Capt.
Seth Richards as a man of great personal activity and tact in business,
of irreproachable integrity in all his transactions with his fellow-men
through a long and busy life, genial and benevolent, a downright
gentleman of the old school, and in his departure leaving a place in the
social and business affairs of this community exceedingly difficult to
fill. He was often called by his fellow-citizens to fill town offices
and places of trust and responsibility, and was chosen as a
representative to the state legislature in 1833.
After leaving the hotel he turned his attention to the mercantile
business, and was for some time a clerk in the store of Erastus Baldwin,
one of the earlier merchants of the town. In 1835, when the Cheneys
retired from Newport, he purchased their stock and trade, and the "old
stand," and continued the business successfully for many years, or until
about the year 1853, when he became interested in the Sugar River
flannel-mills,--of which we shall have more to say hereafter,--and
finally retired from active life about the year 1867.
Captain Richards married, April 8, 1817, Fanny Richards, of Dedham,
Mass., and to them were born, in the years from 1818 to 1834, two sons
and six daughters. In regard to the family of Seth and Fanny Richards,
we may say that no more pleasant and hospitable home ever opened its
doors in Newport. They died in the faith and communion of the
Congregational church. Fanny died August 11, 1854. Seth died October 30,
1871.
Of the children of Seth and Fanny Richards, was Dexter, born September
5, 1818, who is more particularly the subject of this sketch. Tracing
his genealogy, we find him in the eighth generation from Edward in the
line of the American Richardses. To say that Dexter Richards was born
with a silver spoon in his mouth would belie the facts in the case; but
to say that he comes through a worthy line of ancestors, and that he
inherits their good and noble qualities and best abilities, will meet
our case at the threshold. He has some time said that he never had any
childhood or youth, in the common acceptation of the term; that in his
early years his parents were in moderate circumstances, and, being the
eldest son of a family mostly daughters, he was called to work, and
think of ways and means for promoting their welfare. While other lads of
his age were engaged in their sports and pastimes, or enjoying public
occasions like the old-fashioned trainings and musters, Fourth-of-July
celebrations, or town-meetings and court days, he early manifested a
natural tact for business, by engaging in some juvenile enterprise by
which to turn an honest penny with the crowd.
The public school in district number two afforded him an opportunity for
learning the rudiments of knowledge, which was eagerly improved, summer
and winter, as he could be spared from other duties. When about eighteen
years of age he finished his education, so far as schools are concerned,
with a term or two at a high school in Lebanon, under the tutelage of
the late eminent Prof. Edmund R. Peaslee. Mr. Richards has, therefore,
never been through with what is termed a regular course of study, and
comes to us with no diploma from college or hall. The most important
part of his education has been acquired outside the schools, in the
great university of active life, and is of the most practical character.
Politically, he was reared in the Democratic faith; but, when the union
of the states was assailed, the action of the Democratic party in regard
to the great questions of that day not being in accord with his views he
withdrew from it, and affiliated with the Republican party, just then
commencing its career. The ranks of this great party, that has for more
than twenty years dominated in this country, were greatly augmented and
strengthened by such acquisitions from the Democratic party; men who
arose in their might, declaring the patriotic sentiment of their old
leader and hero, Andrew Jackson,--"The Union must and shall be
preserved."
In regard to his public career, Mr. Richards was many times, when quite
a young man, elected to serve on the board of selectmen. In the years
1865, 1866, and 1870, he represented the town in the state legislature.
In 1871 and 1872 he was a member, from this district, of the executive
council, and about that time a delegate to the Republican national
convention at Philadelphia, that nominated General Grant for his second
term of the presidency. In 1876 he was a delegate to the convention for
revising the constitution of the state; and, so far as his official
course is concerned, from the beginning it has been distinguished by
eminent ability and the strictest integrity. The "spoils," so-called,
have never been his object in accepting offices of trust at the hands of
his constituents. He has found his reward more in the faithful and
conscientious performance of his duty.
In regard to the business career of Mr. Richards, we may say it has been
characterized by great industry and enterprise, on a basis of good
judgment, and in a spirit of fair dealing throughout. We have already
alluded to his early inclination to buy and sell and get gain in a small
way, as a boy, and in this respect the child foreshadowed the man.
During the years of his minority he was the faithful and efficient
coadjutor of his father in all his plans and purposes, and particularly
so when Capt. Seth Richards succeeded to the mercantile business at the
old Cheney stand, about the year 1835. In the management of this
business the son was a most important factor, and on coming of age
became a partner with his father. The business was well managed and
profitable, and with it came prosperity to the Richards family, and to
Dexter Richards the foundation and assurance of future successes in
life. About the year 1853, Richards & Son came to be interested in a
flannel-mill in Newport, that, possibly, had not heretofore been very
successfully managed. The history of this concern may be briefly stated
as follows:--
The Sugar River mills were built in 1847, by Perley S. Coffin and John
Puffer. About the year 1853, Richards & Son (Dexter) succeeded by
purchase to the original interest of John Puffer, then owned by D. J.
Goodridge. On the retirement of the senior Richards, in 1867, changes
were made by which the entire establishment came into possession of
Dexter Richards, Mr. Coffin retiring from the concern with a handsome
fortune.
In the prosecution of the business up to this time, the parties
interested had been singularly favored by circumstances that brought
disaster to many other firms and business men throughout our northern
towns and cities. We have reference to the great civil war that about
this time (1861-65) so much disturbed the commerce of the country. Of
the gray twilled flannels produced by the Sugar River mills, a large
stock had accumulated at this time. The goods were well adapted to the
wants of laborers, and particularly the soldiers in the Union army. The
war created a demand; prices appreciated; the machinery was kept running
night and day; the flannels found ready sale as fast as they could be
produced; and the success of the Sugar River mills was henceforth
assured. In the mean time, the establishment had been greatly enlarged
and improved, and was turning out about eight hundred thousand yards of
flannel yearly.
In 1872, Seth Mason Richards, the eldest son of Dexter Richards, a young
man just entered upon his majority, was admitted to a partnership with
his father. Enlargements and improvements have continued from time to
time, and the condition of the establishment at this date (1882) may be
stated as follows: Dexter Richards & Son, proprietors; capital stock,
$150,000. S. M. Richards, superintendent; Arthur R. Chase, secretary. It
gives steady employment to eighty-five operatives; runs eight sets of
cards, forty-four narrow looms, fifteen spinning-machines; works up two
hundred and eighty thousand pounds of cotton and wool, and turns out
annually nearly one million yards of gray twilled flannel. The
trade-mark (D. R. P.) of these goods is well known, among dealers and
others, throughout the country, and the products of the factory find
market and ready sale through commission merchants in Boston, New York,
Philadelphia, and Chicago.
Up to the year 1871, the manufacturing and agricultural interests of
Newport and the towns adjoining had achieved all the prosperity it was
possible for them to attain without railroad facilities to enable them
to compete successfully with other places in the enjoyment of such
facilities. As early as 1848, the Concord & Claremont Railroad Company
had been incorporated, and in 1850 the road had been put in operation to
Bradford. From Bradford to Claremont the rugged nature of the route was
appalling to engineers and contractors, and particularly so to
capitalists who were expected to construct the road. The enterprise here
came to a stand. Further efforts, legislative and otherwise, to continue
the work, were made without success, and for twenty-one years the
heavy-laden stages and teams continued to toil on over the weary hills,
to and fro, waiting for some able and friendly hand to establish a new
order of things, and deliver them. In the meantime, the war of the
rebellion, that had absorbed the thought and labor and capital of the
country, had come and gone, and "enterprises of great pith and moment,"
that had long slumbered, were again revived,--day dawned again upon the
Sugar River Railroad.
In the year 1866, mainly through the influence of Dexter Richards, then
a member of the legislature, and his enterprise as a citizen, the Sugar
River Railroad Company, now known as the Concord & Claremont Railroad
Company, was chartered. The means to revive and continue the building of
the road through to Claremont were furnished by the Northern Railroad
Company, aided by large assessments on the towns on the route of the
road. The town of Newport, by official act, became responsible for
forty-five thousand dollars, or about five per cent on its valuation. In
addition to this amount, the further sum of twenty thousand dollars was
required to assure the continuance and completion of the work. Of this
amount, Mr. Richards became liable for eleven thousand dollars, and
other parties interested made up the remaining nine thousand dollars.
The assurance of sixty-five thousand dollars from the town of Newport
secured the construction of the road through to Claremont beyond a
doubt. The road was soon afterward completed, and the first regular
train from Bradford to Claremont passed through Newport, September 16,
1872.
It was also through the instrumentality of Mr. Richards, that in July,
1866, the wires of the Western Union Telegraph Company were extended and
in operation to this town. Of the one thousand dollars subscribed by
citizens of Newport to secure this great facility of communication,
three-fourths of the amount were paid by him.
Mr. Richards has identified himself with the friends of education, and
Dartmouth College particularly, by the endowment of a scholarship in
that venerable and favorite institution of learning. He has also
contributed liberally to the support of Kimball Union Academy, at
Meriden, of which he is one of the trustees. He is also one of the
founders and benefactors of the Orphans' Home, at Franklin, and a
trustee of the New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane, at Concord,
benevolent institutions that are an honor to our state.
The Congregational church and society, of Newport, of which Mr. Richards
has been for many years a member, are greatly indebted to him for their
present substantial prosperity. He has identified himself not only with
the ample support of the ministry of this time-honored church, its
mission work, its charities, local and remote; its Sunday-school,--of
which, up to 1878, when he retired from the position, he had been for
more than twenty years the superintendent,--but with the improvements
and additions to its buildings and grounds, and the erection of its
parsonage. At an expense of some two thousand five hundred dollars, he
has placed a large and fine-toned organ in the choir, as a memorial of a
beloved daughter (Elizabeth) who died in the year 1868, in the
twenty-first year of her age.
To complete the list of interests that wait on Mr. Richards for his
attention, we find his name as one of the directors of the Eastern
Railroad in New Hampshire; and, also, one of the directors of the N. H.
Fire Insurance Company, at Manchester. He is the president of the First
National Bank of Newport. He was also one of the founders and the first
president of the Newport Savings Bank, chartered July 1, 1868, and now
in successful operation.
He married, January 27, 1847, Louisa Frances, daughter of the late Dr.
Mason Hatch, a long time highly esteemed physician and citizen of
Newport. Of the six children born to them in the years from 1847 to
1867, three only survive: Seth Mason, born June 6, 1850, now a partner
with his father in the Sugar River mills establishment, in which he has
exhibited superior business qualities, and bids fair to become a useful
and influential citizen of the town and state. Josephine Ellen, born
October 30, 1855, a graduate of the Female Seminary, at Andover, Mass.,
and the founder of a scholarship in honor of her _alma mater_. During
the years 1880 and 1881, Miss Richards, with a party of friends, sought
entertainment and culture from an extended tour in Europe, visiting
Egypt and Palestine in the course of their trip. William Francis, born
January 28, 1867, is now (1882) a student connected with Phillips
Academy, Andover, Mass.
The Richards family have a delightful cottage at Straw's Point, Rye
Beach, where an unaffected hospitality, as well as the breath of the
sea, await their friends during the summer months.
There are several instances in the history of Newport of men who, having
acquired wealth in their dealings with its citizens, have removed to
more important places to enjoy the spending and investing of their
incomes, without leaving behind them any visible improvement in the way
of buildings, or a public good of any kind,--nothing but a memory of
their insatiate avarice, followed by unsparing criticisms. Such a record
can never be made of Dexter Richards. With increasing ability in the way
of means, he has manifested a corresponding disposition to improve the
physical aspect of his native town. He has placed on the street not only
his elegant private residence, but houses for rent, and substantial and
sightly blocks of buildings for business purposes. He has improved his
factory buildings and grounds, built barns, cultivated lands, produced
crops, interested himself in improved breeds of cattle and horses, thus
giving employment to many working men and hands, and increased the
productive industry of the town and its general valuation in many
respects, aside from his manufacturing interest, as indicated by the
assessment for taxation. He is by far the largest tax-payer in Newport,
and one of the largest in Sullivan county and the state of New
Hampshire.
He has managed his private affairs and the public business, as far as it
has been intrusted to his care, with superior ability; and now in his
mature prime of life, should the state require his further service, his
past record and present position would afford an abundant guarantee for
the able fulfillment of any future or more important trust.
HON. DAVID HANSON BUFFUM.
DAVID HANSON BUFFUM was born in the town of North Berwick, county of
York, and state of Maine, on the tenth day of November, 1820. He was the
oldest child and only son of Timothy and Anna (Austin) Buffum. His
mother was a native of Dover,--a daughter of Nathaniel Austin. His
father--who manufactured furniture and carriages to a limited
extent--died when the subject of this notice was but six years of age,
leaving also two sisters still younger. Subsequently his mother was
united in marriage with William Hussey, and at her death, fifteen years
afterward, two children were left as the result of this marriage. Still
later Mr. Hussey was united in marriage with Mary J. Hanson, and, at his
death, in 1870, two children remained as the result of this union. This
presented the rather singular and unusual occurrence, that three
children by one marriage and two children by another were _half-brothers
and half-sisters_ to two children by a third union, and yet were _in no
way related to each other_.
The care of the fatherless six-years-old boy and of the two little
sisters still younger was too much for the very slender resources of the
widowed mother. The family was broken up, and the "child David" was
taken into the family of his father's brother. The next eleven years of
his childhood and boyhood were spent with this uncle. He was a country
merchant who "kept everything," as the old-time merchants of fifty years
ago all did. The boy was taught to work in the store, "to do the
chores," and was sent to the district school as opportunity
afforded,--which generally consisted of two terms of eight or ten weeks
each per year. The Quaker uncle was a kind but sturdy master, and habits
of temperance, thrift, untiring energy, steady perseverance, and a love
of buying and selling were ingrained into the very bones of the boy.
Leaving his uncle when seventeen years old, he made his home with his
step-father for two years, during which time he attended two terms at an
academy, and taught a country school "to pay his way." At nineteen years
of age, in the autumn of 1839, with few dollars and much courage, he
commenced as a clerk with two brothers in a general store at Great
Falls, in Strafford county, of which place he has since been a citizen.
His salary was eight dollars per month and board, for the first six
months. At twenty-one he bought out one of his employers, at
twenty-three he sold out to the other and erected a brick block which
contained three stores, one of which he occupied as a merchant in
general merchandise, always keeping abreast of the times, until called
to a new business.
The legislature of 1846 granted the charter of the Great Falls Bank, the
first in the town, and its originators had got together the one hundred
thousand dollars of capital stock by such efforts of labor and
persuasion as would astonish the railroad builders and bankers of these
days. The directors, December 5, 1846, selected Mr. Buffum as its
cashier, which position he held until April 20, 1863. On the 5th of
August, 1857, he was elected treasurer of the Somersworth Savings Bank,
which position he held for ten years. While he filled these positions,
both of which he resigned in order to give his exclusive attention to
manufacturing, he had become interested, by way of investments, in real
estate, shipping, and manufacturing.
[Illustration: D. H. Buffum.]
In 1857, Mr. Buffum, in company with John H. Burleigh, organized the
Newichawanick Woolen Company at South Berwick, Me., an enterprise at
first unprofitable, but which proved to be a financial success. In 1862
he organized the Great Falls Woolen Company with a capital of fifty
thousand dollars, which, from fortunate earnings in the next few years,
was increased to one hundred thousand dollars; and he has since been
treasurer and general manager of it excepting for a period of six years,
when he was compelled to withdraw from the active management by reason
of impaired health, occasioned by too close application to business,
three years of which time he spent in travel.
For twenty years Mr. Buffum has been engaged in the manufacture of
woolen fabrics, gradually extending his operations, until, at this
writing, he is owner of a felt-mill at Milton, N. H., a partner in the
wool-pulling establishment of L. R. Hersom & Co., in Berwick, Me.,
treasurer and manager of the Great Falls Woolen Company, and treasurer
and director of the Newichawanick Woolen Company at South Berwick, Me.;
he has also been a director of the Great Falls Manufacturing Company
since 1877. He has been connected with the Great Falls Bank, both state
and national, from its commencement, as cashier, director, and
president, which latter position he now holds; and, with the exception
of the first two years, has been connected with the Somersworth Savings
Bank as treasurer, trustee, and vice-president.
In local affairs, Mr. Buffum has taken an active and leading part. The
same nervous, physical energy which made him the first player in the
game of ball in his youth afforded just the qualities needed in the fire
department, in which he was always among the foremost, and for many
years at the head. He was chosen town clerk in 1843-44, moderator in
1848 and 1857, and selectman in 1846 and 1871-72.
In political affairs, Mr. Buffum has acted with the Whigs and
Republicans. In 1861-62 he was chosen representative to the legislature,
serving the first year as a member of the committee on banks, and the
second year as chairman of the committee on the reform school. In 1877
he was elected to the senate from district number five, and served as a
member of the committees on judiciary, finance, banks, and state
institutions. In 1878 he was re-elected to the senate, and chosen its
president. He was the last president of the senate of twelve members. Of
the sixty-two presidents of that body, he was the only one from district
number five, or from Strafford county as now constituted. In 1880 he was
elected as a delegate-at-large to the Republican national convention at
Chicago.
In his domestic relations, Mr. Buffum was happily connected, and his
home reflected the results of a successful business career. He was
married, January 26, 1853, to Charlotte E. Stickney, daughter of
Alexander H. Stickney, one of the old-time citizens of Great Falls. The
issue of this union was three sons and a daughter. The wife and mother
died March 8, 1868, and the daughter, May 23, 1877. Two of the sons,
Edgar Stickney and Harry Austin, are graduates, and the third, David
Hanson Jr., is now an undergraduate, of Yale College. Of the two little
sisters left fatherless with him, one is the widow of the late Hon. John
H. Burleigh, of South Berwick, Me., and the other is the wife of Isaac
P. Evans, an oil-manufacturer, of Richmond, Ind. The half-brother is
Timothy B. Hussey, plow-manufacturer, of North Berwick, Me., and the
half-sister has presided over his household since the death of his wife.
Mr. Buffum received his youthful impressions and early religious
training among the Society of Friends, whose tenets have exercised a
marked influence upon his career. At Great Falls he has been a regular
attendant at the Congregational church, to which he has been a liberal
contributor. The many trusts committed to his care fairly prove the
esteem and respect in which he has been held by his neighbors and
townsmen.
HON. CHARLES ADAMS, JR., A. M.
BY REV. W. R. COCHRANE.
It appears from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register,
Vol. VII., and also from Drake's History and Antiquities of Boston,
folio edition, 1854, that "Ap Adam (the Welsh for Adams) came out of the
Marches of Wales." Their descendants appear to have lived for many
generations in the English shires of Lancaster, Gloucester, and Devon.
From the latter, Henry Adams, the first of this family in America,
emigrated, and settled in that part of Braintree which is now Quincy,
Mass., about 1630. He died there in 1646. Twenty-four generations in the
male line are given below, the first seventeen of which are copied from
the authorities cited above.
1. Sir John Ap Adam, Knt., Lord Ap Adam, member of Parliament
from 1296 to 1307.
2. Sir John Ap Adam Kt.
3. Sir John Ap Adam.
4. William Ap Adam.
5. Sir John Ap Adam.
6. Thomas Ap Adam.
7. Sir John Ap Adam, Knt.
8. Sir John Ap Adam, _alias_ Adams.
9. Roger Adams.
10. Thomas Adams.
11. John Adams.
12. John Adams.
13. John Adams.
14. Richard Adams.
15. William Adams.
16. Henry Adams who settled in Braintree, (now Quincy), Mass.,
and died 1646.
17. Edward Adams, of Medfield, Mass.
18. John Adams, of Medway, Mass.
19. Abraham Adams, of Brookfield, Mass.
20. Jesse Adams, of Brookfield, Mass.
21. Dr. Charles Adams, of Antrim, N. H.
22. Hon. Charles Adams, Jr., A. M., North Brookfield, Mass.
23. Charles Woodburn Adams, North Brookfield, Mass.
24. Charles Joseph Adams, North Brookfield, Mass.
[Illustration: Chat. Adams Jr.]
From Henry Adams (16), who settled in Braintree, descended the
presidents. He had a large family besides the Edward named above, and
among them a son Joseph, born in 1626, who married Abigail Baxter. These
last had a son Joseph, born December 24, 1654. Of this second Joseph,
the second son was Dea. John Adams of Braintree. Dea. John married
Susanna Boylston, of Brookline, Mass., and their oldest son was John
Adams, born October 19, 1735, second President of the United States. His
oldest son was John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States,
and father of Hon. Charles Francis Adams.
Dr. Charles Adams, the twenty-first generation from Ap Adam of Wales,
was son of Jesse and Miriam (Richardson) Adams, of Brookfield, Mass.,
and was born in that place, February 13, 1782. His early years were
spent on the farm with his father. His education was chiefly acquired in
the district school and Leicester Academy. He then taught some two years
in Half Moon, N. Y. On his return, in 1803, he commenced the study of
medicine with Dr. Asa Walker, of Barre, Mass., with whom he remained in
practice one year after completing his studies. He came to Antrim, N.
H., and began practice in the early summer of 1807, coming to take the
place of Dr. Nathan W. Cleaves, whose early and much lamented death
occurred in April of that year. Dr. Adams married, February 13, 1809,
Sarah McAllister, of Antrim, daughter of James and Sarah (McClary)
McAllister. She was a woman of excellent tastes and superior mind, of
rare patience in toil and trial, and of a sweet and winning Christian
spirit,--all of which made her conspicuously worthy and attractive. She
was of pure Scotch descent and strict Presbyterian opinions. She was a
mother whose children might well "rise up and call her blessed." Dr.
Adams was a favorite in Antrim; was early in town office; was a
successful physician; was a great reader, full of information; and was
looked upon by contemporaries as an original and able man. He moved from
Antrim to Oakham, Mass., in 1816, where he died of old age, March 6,
1875.
Hon. CHARLES ADAMS, JR., A. M., the subject of this sketch, was born in
Antrim, January 31, 1810; in that part of the town then known as
"Woodbury Village," having only eight or ten houses all told, now the
large and flourishing village of South Antrim. Here he had his first
schooling, under charge of Fanny Baldwin and Daniel M. Christie,
afterwards Hon. Daniel M. of Dover. Of those early school-days he
retains a vivid remembrance; and he is the last of that group of
scholars, or nearly the last, now living. After removal from Antrim, he
continued and completed a common-school education at Oakham; was at a
select school six months under Rev. John Bisbee, of Brookfield, Mass.;
then he studied eight months with Rev. Josiah Clark, of Rutland, Mass.;
and this was the limit of his opportunity for education. Then, though
quite young, he was in a store about five years in Petersham, Mass.,
obtaining much practical knowledge in the course of his work. He is what
called a self-made man. Few men can be found better versed in literary
matters, or political economy, or the history of our land. He has been
familiar with distinguished men, and is one we count winsome in the
social hour, with a fund of information on most topics of conversation;
with apt quotation, or vigorous repartee ever ready on his tongue. Hence
he is one of the most agreeable, genial, and gentlemanly of men. He was
some years book-keeper, and afterwards partner, in the immense boot and
shoe-manufacturing establishment of North Brookfield (now employing from
twelve hundred to fifteen hundred hands), from which company he retired
just before the war.
With singular continuance, Mr. Adams has been kept in offices of trust
by the people of his adopted town and state. He was clerk of North
Brookfield (now of about forty-five hundred inhabitants) ten years;
representative in the Massachusetts house four years; on the executive
council of Massachusetts four years; treasurer of the state of
Massachusetts five years; and member of the senate of that state four
years. And in all these cases the office sought the man, not the man
the office. The writer of this knows that some of his friends were
almost angry with him because he would not consent to run for congress,
when the way was clear and an election sure. It is simply the truth to
say that he has been in public life more than a quarter of a century;
that he is a man of fixed principles and irreproachable character, a
vigorous hater of shams and corruption, and held in honor throughout his
adopted state.
During his administration as treasurer and receiver-general of the
commonwealth, it became necessary, in arranging its financial matters,
to negotiate, sign, and deliver in England, a large amount of its bonds,
and Mr. Adams was commissioned by the governor and council to go to
London for that purpose. After having successfully accomplished the
objects of his mission, he took the opportunity of traveling for a short
time on the continent of Europe, as well as in Great Britain, and
especially in Scotland. In the latter country he had an ardent and
loving interest, which was increased by travel there, and has lost
nothing in subsequent years. He is a Scotch antiquarian of much reading
and research.
Mr. Adams has always been greatly attached to his native town,
Antrim,--cherishing with undiminished love the rocks and the hills upon
which he looked in childhood. His visits are frequent to the old town;
he still retains his membership in the old Presbyterian church; clearly
remembers the old faces; loves the old ways; was a great helper in
preparing the recent History of Antrim, and was a willing contributor to
its embellishment. With all the rest, he has been something of a
musician, being a member of the church choir (North Brookfield, Mass.,)
more than forty years,--for many years its leader. And in these traits
his children follow him, as they are gifted with rare musical taste and
skill.
Mr. Adams married, May 8, 1834, Eliza, daughter of Hon. Joseph Cummings,
of Ware, Mass.; and they have three surviving children,--Charles
Woodburn and George Arthur, of North Brookfield, and John Quincy, of
Boston. An only daughter, Ellen Eliza, married Frank A. Smith, and died
at West Brookfield in 1866.
The degree of A. M. was conferred on Mr. Adams by Dartmouth College in
1878. And it may be added that such men as Mr. Adams are continually
reflecting honor upon our rocky New Hampshire, from which they went
forth. Their success goes to prove, that, with an eager mind, good ready
common sense, persevering application, and inflexible honesty, the boys
of the Granite State may win high places among men. We see by this
biography, that, if the _man be good enough_, the place will seek the
man. Truth and uprightness, backed by good abilities, are pretty sure to
be appreciated.
[Illustration: B. F. Prescott.]
GOV. BENJAMIN F. PRESCOTT.
BY COL. WILLIAM E. STEVENS.
The first person by the name of Prescott in the province of New
Hampshire, was James, who came from Dryby, in the county of Lincolnshire
in England, and settled in Hampton, in 1665. On his arrival he began
farming operations in what is now Hampton Falls, upon the farm now known
as the "Wells Healy place," and remained there until he moved to
Kingston, in 1725, when that town was granted to him, and others. In
1668 he married Mary, daughter of Nathaniel and Grace Boulter, who was
born in Exeter, May 15, 1648. From this couple sprang the Prescotts in
New Hampshire. James was the second cousin of John, who came to
Massachusetts and settled in Watertown in 1640, from whom sprang the
Prescotts mainly in that state, and among them Col. William, the hero of
Bunker Hill, and his grandson, William H. Prescott, the eminent scholar
and historian. James is represented to have been an influential man,
honest in his dealings, upright in character, sound in judgment. His
opinions were sought and respected. They had nine children, five sons
and four daughters. Their fourth child was Jonathan, who was born August
6, 1675. When he grew up, he settled in that part of Hampton, which,
since 1737, has been known as Kensington. In 1696 he was at Fort William
and Mary and remained there some time, and in 1710 served under Capt.
John Gilman in a scouting party. He had four sons and two daughters. His
first child was named Jonathan. He was married, April 3, 1721, to
Judith, daughter of Ebenezer and Judith (Sanborn) Gove. He was
appointed, by Gov. Benning Wentworth, captain in a company, in the
celebrated expedition against Louisburg, on the island of Cape Breton,
under Sir William Pepperell. While on this expedition he died of fever
on the 19th of January, 1746, leaving eleven children, four sons and
seven daughters. His eighth child was named Nathan Gove Prescott, and
was born March 13, 1735. He married, February 24, 1757, Patience Brown,
of Kensington. Near the time of his marriage he moved to Epping and
began work as a farmer and blacksmith. His brother Micah settled near
him, on the opposite side of the road, and was engaged in the same
occupation. They both signed the "Association Test," in 1776, with two
hundred and seven others in the town.
Nathan Gove Prescott had five children, three sons and two daughters,
born upon the farm where he settled. He died November 13, 1825, aged
nearly ninety-one years. Nathan was his first child, and was born June
25, 1759. He became a carpenter and went to Monmouth in the province of
Maine, but returned to New Hampshire and died at an advanced age. He
married Anna Wells and had nine children, four sons and five daughters.
His fourth son was Asa, who was born in Deerfield, May 2, 1787. He was a
farmer and blacksmith. He married Polly Clark, of Greenland, and by this
marriage had nine children, six sons and three daughters. He died in
Epsom, March 27, 1867, aged nearly eighty years. His oldest son was
named Nathan Gove Prescott, after his great-grandfather. He was born
upon the homestead, November 1, 1807. He became a farmer and was
successful in his work. He possessed excellent judgment on all matters
relating to his occupation, and was considered by all who knew him as an
excellent and thrifty farmer with the limited means at his command. He
was honest, frugal, and upright. His word was never questioned, his
judgment was relied upon, and his opinion respected and valued by his
townsmen. On the 9th day of May, 1832, he married Betsey Hills Richards,
daughter of Captain Benjamin and Mehitable (Hills) Richards, of
Nottingham, who was born December 21, 1811. She is a lady of fine
presence, vigorous constitution, and cultivated manners. She still
resides in Epping with her son. Her husband, Nathan Gove Prescott, died
July 7, 1866, aged nearly sixty years. They had only one child, BENJAMIN
FRANKLIN PRESCOTT, who was born on the family homestead, February 26,
1833. Thus the line of ancestry has been traced from 1665.
The families on both sides can point to a fair and honorable record. The
subject of this sketch inherited from his paternal and maternal line a
strong constitution and great power of endurance, which have aided him
much in his career. Like the rest of the boys in his neighborhood, he
attended the district school a few months in the summer and winter, and
worked upon the farm the remainder of the time. He made commendable
progress in his studies, and as soon as his age would allow, his
parents, feeling the want of a liberal education themselves, determined
to give their son the advantages of the higher seminaries of learning.
In the fall of 1847 he was sent to Blanchard Academy, in Pembroke, where
he remained a portion of the time till 1850, when he entered Phillips
Academy, in Exeter. He remained at this distinguished institution until
the summer of 1853, when he entered the sophomore class in Dartmouth
College, from which he graduated in 1856. While at Exeter he delivered
an oration before the "Golden Branch," a literary society, at its annual
anniversary, which at the time was well received. While in college, in
the winter of 1855, he taught school in Chester. At his graduation he
had an oration, and was for a time president of the United Fraternity, a
public society in the college. After his graduation, in the fall and
winter of 1856 he taught two district schools and one private school in
Epping, and in February, 1857, he entered as a student in the law firm
of Henry A. & Abel H. Bellows, in Concord, and after studying the
requisite time was admitted to the bar, in August, 1859. He began the
practice of his profession in Concord, and remained in it until May,
1861, when he became associate editor of the _Independent Democrat_,
during the absence of Hon. George G. Fogg, United States minister to
Switzerland, until the summer of 1866.
Mr. Prescott was, from his youth, strongly opposed to the institution of
slavery, and on reaching his majority allied himself with the Republican
party, and cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont. His
father was also a Whig and then Republican. About 1858 or 1859 he was
elected secretary of the Republican state committee, succeeding the Hon.
William E. Chandler, and filled that position for fifteen years, during
which time many of the important and successful political campaigns were
conducted.
While connected with the _Independent Democrat_, he was appointed a
special agent of the United States Treasury Department for New England,
his duty being, unless otherwise directed, to examine and report upon
the custom-houses and their business, light-houses, revenue-cutters,
sub-treasury and marine hospitals. He held this position less than three
years, and was removed early in the administration of Andrew Johnson
because he openly denounced the policy and course of the President. He
served as secretary of the colleges of electors for New Hampshire in
1860, 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876 and 1880; he was elected secretary of state
in June, 1872, 1873, 1875, and 1876. On the 10th of January, 1877, Mr.
Prescott received the nomination as the Republican candidate for
governor, and on the second Tuesday of March following was elected, by a
majority of thirty-six hundred and thirty-two over his competitor, Hon.
Daniel Marcy, of Portsmouth. On the 9th day of January, 1878, he was
unanimously renominated at the state convention in Concord, and on the
second Tuesday of March following was re-elected by a majority of nine
hundred and fifty-six over his regular competitor, Hon. Frank A. McKean,
of Nashua, and a plurality of fifteen hundred and twelve. On June 16,
1862, he was elected a resident member of the New Hampshire Historical
Society, and was for several years vice-president of the same. In 1876
he was elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain,
also president of the Bennington (Vt.) Battle Monument Association, also
president of the Provident Mutual Relief Association. On May 6, 1880, he
was elected a delegate-at-large to the Republican convention in Chicago,
and while there was chosen chairman of the New Hampshire delegation. On
the 8th of December, 1881, he was elected an honorary member of the
Marshfield Club in Boston. In 1874 he was appointed a trustee of the New
Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, and in 1878 he
was elected a trustee of Dartmouth College, both of which positions he
holds at the present time.
While governor, he was frequently called upon to address public and
private gatherings, and when it did not interfere with his official
duties he seldom failed to respond. His first address was at Epping, on
the occasion of a public reception given him by the citizens of the
town, without distinction of party, on the day after his inauguration.
The occasion was brilliant and highly complimentary. He also was present
at the inauguration of Rev. Samuel C. Bartlett, D. D., LL.D., as
president of Dartmouth College, and gave an address of welcome to this
eminent scholar. The governor visited, with a large detachment of the
state militia and distinguished citizens of the state, the centennial
celebration of the battle of Bennington, Vt., and spoke there for the
state at the banquet on that memorable occasion. He was also at state
and town fairs, and meetings of various kinds held within the limits,
and without the state, on all of which occasions he acquitted himself
creditably, both in matter and manner, his style of speech being
graceful and forcible.
Gov. Prescott was married, June 10, 1869, to Mary Little Noyes, daughter
of Jefferson and Nancy (Peart) Noyes, of Concord. Mrs. Prescott was born
in Atkinson, May 6, 1839. She is a lady of refined manners and a
favorite in society. They have had only one child, who takes his
father's name. He was born June 16, 1879, upon the family homestead.
Gov. Prescott is an excellent and successful farmer, and has a large
farm under a high state of cultivation. In 1876 he erected a spacious
dwelling-house and other buildings. He has a large and well selected
library.
Under Gov. Prescott's administration the laws of the state were revised,
the new prison constructed, the militia re-organized, and judicial
appointments made. The prison was built within the appropriation. In all
his official acts Gov. Prescott was animated by a purpose single to the
welfare of the state, and upon his retirement to private life, at the
end of his term, he took with him the respect of its people,
irrespective of party or sect. Pre-eminently a man of the people,
without ostentation or pride of place beyond that which is befitting one
who has filled the office of chief magistrate, he has always been as
approachable to the humblest citizen as to the most exalted personage.
From the beginning of his public life, Gov. Prescott has taken a deep
interest in all that appertains to the welfare of his native state. For
its institutions of learning he has shown a high regard. His _alma
mater_, Dartmouth College, is an object of solicitude, and no other son
has done more for her in proportion to his means and influence. Many of
the portraits of eminent graduates, presidents, and benefactors that now
adorn the walls of the college, were procured through his thoughtful and
persistent efforts. The portraits and marble busts that grace the hall
in Phillips Academy, in Exeter, with one or two exceptions, were secured
to it through his indefatigable zeal and wise action. This declaration
will apply with equal truth to the collection of portraits by eminent
artists in the state-house, and also the Historical Society at Concord.
His interest in the history of the state is very keen, and few of New
Hampshire's sons have done more to vindicate the fame of her
Revolutionary heroes, and secure for them and their state the credit
withheld by partial or poorly informed historians.
Gov. Prescott has a fine presence. Erect of body, with broad massive
shoulders indicative of great physical strength; features regular,
strongly marked and of kindly expression; agreeable manners, genial and
open-hearted; outspoken at all times, but never censorious; hospitable,
and considerate; a strict partisan, but never intrusive or arrogant;
impatient of shams, but a firm friend of all philanthropic
undertakings,--he has filled with credit to himself and luster to his
state and country every place of honor and trust to which the favor and
good judgment of his fellow-citizens have called him.
[Illustration: H W Blair]
HON. HENRY WILLIAM BLAIR.
Among the many strong and self-reliant men and women who went out from
the old Scotch-Irish colony of Londonderry to establish homes in other
sections of the state were the Livermores, Shepherds, Coxes, and Blairs,
who were the first settlers in the Pemigewasset valley, where they and
their descendants have ever since exerted a controlling influence.
The Blairs located in Campton, where the father of New Hampshire's
senator of that name was born and grew to manhood. He was an excellent
scholar, a talented musician, an accomplished military officer, and a
man of great bodily strength and agility who was a recognized leader in
the town. His wife was Lois Baker, a descendant of the Bakers of Candia,
a family noted in colonial and revolutionary times, and for many years
one of the most respected and influential in Campton. She was a very
fine singer, and was gifted with remarkable mental endowments and rare
sweetness of disposition. Both Mr. and Mrs. Blair were teachers in their
youth, but after their marriage located themselves upon a farm in their
native town, where they lived happily until he was fatally injured by
falling timbers, while engaged upon the frame of a building. He died
December 8, 1836, leaving three children: a daughter, Hannah Palmer
Blair, aged six years; a son, Moses Baker Blair, aged four years; and a
son, HENRY WILLIAM BLAIR, aged two years. A fourth child, Lois Esther
Blair, was born soon after his death. Of these, the oldest daughter died
in 1843, and the oldest son, a young man of remarkable abilities, in
1857.
The death of Mr. Blair left his widow very poor, and finding it
impossible to support the children in her old home she was obliged to
separate them. The two eldest were "put out" to live in the families of
neighboring farmers, while she kept with her the youngest son, Henry,
and the infant daughter, until he was six years of age, when she
arranged with Samuel Keniston, a leading citizen of Campton, to take him
for one year, and, carrying the little girl with her, journeyed by stage
to Lowell in quest of work in the factories there, by which she might
obtain the means to support and educate her children. This venture was
not a pecuniary success, as her small earnings were nearly all absorbed
in necessary expenses; and in the summer of 1842 she returned to
Campton, and soon after removed with the two young children to Plymouth,
where for the next year she supported them by sewing.
At this time the boy Henry W., who was born December 6, 1834, was seven
years of age, bright, active, and able to make himself useful on a farm;
and he attracted the attention of Richard Bartlett, one of the
prosperous farmers of Campton, who offered to take him and give him a
home in his house, with what small educational advantages the district
school afforded, in return for such services as a boy of his build and
mettle could render. Thither he went in May, 1843, to begin to earn his
own living, and for several years his home was with Mr. Bartlett, who
treated him kindly and generously. In 1846 Mrs. Blair died, and from
that time on the boy fought the battle of life aided only by such
friends as he made for himself, and inspired by a purpose to show
himself a worthy son of his noble parents, whose memory he has always
reverently cherished. Writing of them many years after, when the people
of New Hampshire had conferred upon him the highest honor in their gift,
he said: "I owe very much to my parents, who, though poor, were among
the best that a child ever had; and to them I have always applied
Cowper's proud tribute to his own:--
'My boast is not that I deduce my birth
From loins enthroned, and rulers of the earth,
But higher far my proud pretensions rise,
The son of parents passed into the skies.'"
Until he was seventeen he worked hard upon a farm summers, and attended
the district school winters, and in the autumns of 1851 and 1852 the
Holmes Academy at Plymouth, of which Rev. James H. Shepard was
principal. His earnings the following winter enabled him to still
further gratify his longings for an education by going to the New
Hampshire Conference Seminary for one term in the spring of 1853. As
this exhausted his means, in the hope of obtaining more he worked for a
mechanic one year, and was expecting soon to resume his studies, when
his employer failed in business and he lost his wages. Before he could
secure another situation he was prostrated by a severe illness, which
left him broken in health, and compelled him, after a long struggle, to
abandon his purpose of obtaining a collegiate training. The next three
years he worked upon a farm, taught school in New Hampshire and
Massachusetts, tramped through this state selling books, and did
whatever honest work his health would permit, in the hope of gaining
strength and money enough to complete his academical course, studying,
in the meantime, two terms at Northfield and one at Plymouth, when it
became evident that his strength was unequal to the task he had set
himself, and he yielded to the advice of Samuel A. Burns, an eminent
scholar and teacher, who took a warm interest in him, and May 1, 1856,
entered the office of William Leverett, an able Plymouth lawyer, as a
student. Three years afterwards he was admitted to the bar, and,
associating himself with his instructor, began practice as the junior
member of the firm of Leverett & Blair; and, devoting himself to his
profession with the same industry, perseverance, and ability which
enabled him to enter it, he soon gained an enviable reputation as a
lawyer. The next year he was appointed solicitor of Grafton county,
which was his first public office.
From the first, Mr. Blair was a thorough-going Republican. An
instinctive hatred of slavery and all its attendant iniquities inspired
him as a boy to look eagerly forward to the time when he could join in
the warfare against it, and when he reached his majority he lost no
occasion to declare by voice and vote his convictions upon the subject.
When the slaveholders raised the standard of revolt against the
government, he had just begun to reap the fruits of his early struggles
and see the realization of his boyish dreams of success in his
profession; but every call for men served to render him uncomfortable at
home, and while the Twelfth Regiment was being recruited he put away his
books and briefs and tried to join it, but failed to pass the surgeon's
examination. He then enlisted as a private in the Fifteenth Regiment,
and was chosen captain of Company B. Before leaving the state he was
commissioned major by Gov. Berry, in which capacity he went to
Louisiana. Soon after his arrival there the disability of his superior
officers left him in command of the regiment, and from that time the
drill and discipline which made it one of the best in the service were
his work. In the assault upon Port Hudson, in May, 1863, he was severely
wounded by a minie-ball, in the right arm, and was carried to the
hospital to recover; but, learning a few days later that another attack
on that rebel stronghold was to be made, he insisted on disregarding the
commands of the surgeons by joining his command, and, with his arm in a
sling, led his men, who had the right of the column, in the ill-fated
charge of June 14. Here he was shot again in the same arm by a bullet,
which tore open the old wound; but he refused to leave his troops, and
remained with them until he could take them from the field. About this
time he was promoted to be lieutenant-colonel of the regiment, and, as
such, brought it home when its term of service had expired. He reached
Concord little more than a bodily wreck, and for some days his life hung
by a thread; but careful nursing by his devoted wife and friends
restored him to sufficient strength to warrant his removal to his old
home on the banks of the Pemigewasset.
A long season of suffering and disability from wounds and disease
contracted in the army followed his return; but he gradually regained
his health sufficiently to resume the practice of law at Plymouth, in
which the court records show him to have been remarkably successful. He
had a legal mind, had fitted himself for the bar with great
thoroughness, prepared his cases carefully and patiently, and managed
them skillfully, seldom failing to obtain a verdict. The Grafton-county
bar was at that time noted for the ability and learning of its members,
and he was rapidly working his way to a prominent place among them, when
he turned aside to enter political life,--a step which many of the
eminent men with whom he was associated in the trial of causes regard
even now as a great mistake, his brilliant success in the field of
politics failing, in their estimation, to compensate for what he was
capable of achieving in the law. For several years he practiced alone;
but in 1878 formed a partnership with Alvin Burleigh, which continued
until his election to the senate.
In 1866, Mr. Blair was elected a representative to the popular branch of
the state legislature, and there began the political service which has
since made him so widely known. The next year he was promoted to the
state senate by the voters of the eleventh district, and in 1868 was
re-elected. In 1872 the third district, composed of the counties of
Coos, Grafton, Sullivan, and Cheshire, elected a Democrat to congress;
and in 1874 the Republicans, looking about for a candidate under whose
lead they could redeem it, found him in Mr. Blair, whose reputation as a
soldier, clean record as a citizen, personal popularity, and
indefatigable industry and zeal dictated his enthusiastic nomination,
and after an exciting campaign secured his election to the forty-fourth
congress. In 1876 he was again elected, and in 1878 declined a
renomination. The next summer the term of United States Senator Wadleigh
expired, and Mr. Blair came forward as a candidate for the succession.
He was earnestly supported by the younger men of the party, by the
temperance and soldier elements; and, though his competitors were the
ablest men in the state, he bore away the great prize, and immediately
entered upon the discharge of his duties at Washington, to which he has
since devoted himself.
Mr. Blair's election to the national senate was largely due to the
record he had made in the house, and to his remarkable faculty of
winning and retaining the hearty friendship of nearly all with whom he
had ever been associated. From his youth up he had held radical views
upon public questions; and the persistency and zeal with which he
advanced and defended these under all circumstances convinced even his
opponents of his entire sincerity, and bound to him his coworkers with
locks of steel. Men liked him because he was cordial, frank, and
earnest, and respected him because he had ability, industry, and
courage; and so they rallied around him with a devotion and faith which
overcame all opposition.
During the four years he represented the third district in the house, he
served upon the committees on Railroads and Accounts, and several
special committees. In the senate of the forty-sixth congress, upon the
committees on Education and Labor, Agriculture, Transportation, Routes
to the Seaboard, Election Frauds, Pensions, and Exodus of the Colored
People: and in the present congress is chairman of the senate committee
on Education and Labor, and a member of those on Pensions, Public Lands,
Agriculture, and Woman Suffrage.
Soon after entering the house he introduced and advocated with great
ability a proposition to amend the national constitution so as to
prohibit the manufacture or sale of distilled spirits in the United
States after 1890, a measure which gave him a national reputation, and
caused him to be recognized by the temperance people of the country as
their leader and champion in the national capitol. The woman suffragists
have also found in him a vigorous and unwearying defender; and his
speeches in support of his bill to extend government aid to the common
schools of the South are among the most carefully prepared and
conclusive arguments on that subject. When the financial policy of the
country became a subject of discussion, and many of its strongest minds
were carried from their moorings by the Greenback cyclone, Senator Blair
stood sturdily for an honest currency and strict honesty in dealing with
the government creditors, and by his speeches in congress and on the
stump contributed in no small degree to the triumph of those principles
and the incidental success of the Republican party. The veteran soldier
has always found in him a friend who lost no opportunity to speak and
vote for the most liberal pension laws, and who never tired in
responding to individual calls for assistance at the department. His
other service as a senator has been most conspicuous in his speeches
against the Texas Pacific Railroad Subsidies, upon Foreign Markets and
Commerce, Election Frauds in the South, the Exodus of Colored People,
the Japanese Indemnity Fund, the Public Land Bill, and the Commission of
Inquiry into the Liquor Traffic; his eulogies upon Henry Wilson,
Zachariah Chandler, and Evarts W. Farr; and his reports on numerous
subjects which have claimed the attention of his committees. He is
rarely absent from his seat, and when present never declines to vote.
His first term expires March 3, 1885.
From this brief sketch it will be seen that Mr. Blair owes his
exceptional success in life to no extraneous or accidental aids. His
parents were poor, and their untimely death deprived him of their
counsel and example. His boyhood was a struggle with poverty, of which
his youth was only a continuance. All he had, he earned. What he became,
he made himself. As a man, he has shown great capacity for work and a
disposition to do his best in every position. He is always intensely in
earnest. He has indomitable perseverance and persistency, and never
allows his abilities to rust in idleness. He is an outspoken and
aggressive but practical reformer; a radical but sagacious Republican.
Though his early advantages were few, he has been a voracious reader and
a close student, and does not lack for the help which familiarity with
books gives. He is an easy writer and a fluent speaker. He is generous
to a fault; and his most prominent weakness is a disposition to magnify
his obligations to his friends.
Senator Blair married Eliza Nelson, the daughter of a Methodist
clergyman, of Groton, and has one son,--Henry Patterson Blair,--aged
fourteen years.
[Illustration: R A Maxsfield]
RUFUS A. MAXFIELD.
BY J. P.
RUFUS A. MAXFIELD was born in Nashua, N. H., on the fifth day of March,
1835. His father, Stephen C. Maxfield, was a native of Newbury, Vt., was
married to Clarissa Staples, a native of Chichester. N. H., at Nashua N.
H., when the now populous city was but a small village. There were ten
children born to them. Four died quite young; six are now living, viz.:
the subject of this sketch; James G. Maxfield, M. D., surgeon at the
National Home for disabled volunteer soldiers at Togus, Me.; J. P.
Maxfield, treasurer of the Hiscox File Manufacturing Company, at West
Chelmsford, Mass., who resides in Lowell, Mass.; Stephen W. Maxfield, a
mechanic, now living in Nashua; Susan T. and Helen A.; the former
married and resides in Wolfeborough, N. H., the latter in Lowell, Mass.,
with the widowed mother, who is still living at the ripe age of seventy
years. Stephen C, the father, was employed for seventeen years by the
Nashua Manufacturing Company, and was a faithful servant to his
employers. He early became identified with the Methodist denomination,
and was among the most zealous workers in building up the two societies
in those early days. He died in Lowell. Mass., August 10, 1862, having
lived a consistent Christian life, at the age of fifty-three years.
When Rufus was eight years old he was employed in the carding department
of the Nashua company's mills during his school vacations. It was here
that he was first taught the rudiments of cotton-manufacture. For awhile
he worked as back boy in the mule-spinning department. In 1846 the
family removed to Lowell, Mass. After attending school here for a short
time he again went into the mill in the carding department on the
Lawrence corporation. From here he was transferred to the mule-spinning
department. In 1853 he left the mill temporarily to attend school at
Northfield, N. H., where he remained two years, when he returned to the
mill and to his mule-spinning. He passed through the various grades
until he reached the position of second overseer. He was married on the
10th of May, 1856, to Mary A. Spaulding, daughter of Joshua Spaulding,
of Pepperell, Mass.
Soon after the breaking out of the war of the rebellion, the mills of
Lowell suspended operations, and thousands were thrown out of
employment, Mr. Maxfield among the rest. In 1863 he entered the employ
of the Naumkeag Mill, at Salem, Mass., as second overseer under Charles
D. McDuffie, Esq., who had charge of all the spinning in these mills.
Mr. McDuffie is now agent of the Manchester Mills, Manchester, N. H. Mr.
Maxfield remained in the employ of the Naumkeag Mill until the close of
the war, when, the corporations in Lowell resuming operations, he was
tendered the position of overseer of the mule-spinning in the
hosiery-mill of the Lawrence Manufacturing Company, who were then
starting. Here he remained until the spring of 1866, when he took charge
of the mule-spinning in number five mill, then the largest mill owned by
the Lawrence company. During the latter part of 1868 he had charge of
all the spinning in this mill.
In 1869 he was appointed superintendent of Ida Hill Mill, Troy, N. Y.
Under adverse circumstances, with a mill cramped for power, and with old
machinery very much out of repair, he was very successful, earning
satisfactory profits for the owners. In the year 1872, the management of
the Tremont and Suffolk Mills in Lowell, Mass., offered him the position
of superintendent of their large mills, where, under Thomas S. Shaw,
Esq., agent, he remained until 1875. During his connection with this
company, the quality of the Canton flannels, which are a "specialty"
with these mills, was brought up to a standard that made them rank among
the first in the market, commanding ready sales and good prices.
The directors of the Nashua Manufacturing Company, on the death of
Oliver Hussey, Esq., in January, 1875, realizing the qualifications of
Mr. Maxfield for such a position, appointed him agent of their large
mills in Nashua, N. H. During Mr. Maxfield's administration to the
present time, there have been extensive alterations and improvements in
the direction of economy of manufacture and increased production, so
that the reputation of the company that owned the model mills of New
England has been maintained. Thus we find the boy who at eight years of
age took his first lesson in cotton-manufacture, returning, after the
lapse of thirty-two years, to the same mills as agent. Little did the
youth dream what thirty-two years would bring to pass in his career.
Socially Mr. Maxfield is a very agreeable gentleman; and, while he has
devoted his energies during all these years to his chosen calling, he
has found time to connect himself by social ties to beneficiary
organizations, thus lending his influence to the great work in which
they are engaged. He was prominent for many years in the management of
the affairs of Mechanics Lodge of Odd Fellows of Lowell, Mass., passing
through the various positions until now he is one of the "Past Grands"
of this lodge. He is also a member of Pentucket Lodge of Masons, Royal
Arch Chapter, Ahasuerus Council, and Pilgrim Commandry of that city.
He is a regular attendant of the Methodist church, and is respected by
the people of Nashua for his upright and honorable course of life. He is
prompt to decide questions that come before him; but his decisions,
though firm, are tempered with that affability of manner which relieves
them of much of the harshness that many men manifest. May he be spared
many years to pursue his favorite calling; and may the day be far
distant when the Nashua Manufacturing Company shall lose his services,
or the city of Nashua lose so worthy a citizen.
[Illustration: Geo. B. Spalding]
GEORGE BURLEY SPALDING, D. D.
BY REV. A. H. QUINT. D. D.
GEORGE BURLEY SPALDING, the present pastor of the First church in Dover,
was born in Montpelier, Vt., August 11, 1835, son of Dr. James Eliza
(Reed) Spalding. The line of American descent on the paternal side as
follows: Edward, of Chelmsford, Mass., immigrant; Benjamin, whose will
was proved April 5, 1670; Edward, of Canterbury, Conn.; Ephraim, of
Connecticut; Reuben, of Connecticut; Reuben, who married Jerusha
Carpenter, and lived in Sharon, Vt.; Dr. James; and Rev. George Burley.
Deacon Reuben Spalding, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was
one of the early settlers of Vermont, whose life was not more remarkable
for his toils, privations, and energy as a pioneer in a new country,
than for his unbending Christian integrity. He entered Sharon in 1769,
and lived on the same farm eighty years. He was a member of the church
sixty-one years, and deacon forty-two years. He was distinguished for
"the best qualities of the old New England Puritanism."
Dr. James Spalding was the third of twelve children, and for many years
a successful practitioner of medicine in Montpelier, Vt., but especially
eminent in surgery. He graduated at the Dartmouth Medical School at the
age of twenty years. He was more than forty years a member of the
Vermont Medical Society; its secretary over twenty years, its president
in 1866, 1867, and 1868. "His life," says a printed sketch, "was that of
the good Samaritan, a life of toil, prayer, and sympathy for others."
By the line of Reed, the family is of the same blood with Rev. Dr.
Gardiner Spring and Rev. Dr. Edwards A. Park. The grandmother of Dr.
George B. Spalding, and the grandfather of the late Senator Matthew H.
Carpenter, were sister and brother.
George Burley Spalding was the seventh of nine children. He fitted for
college at the Washington County Academy, Montpelier, and graduated at
the University of Vermont in 1856, being twenty-one years of age. He
read law one year in Montpelier, with Hon. Charles W. Willard, and then
went to Tallahassee, Fla., where he read law another year with Judge W.
C. M. Davis. While in the South, he was a regular correspondent of the
_New York Courier and Enquirer_, of which his brother, James Reed
Spalding, was one of the editors. As such he attended the noted Southern
commercial convention in Savannah, in 1858, where Yancey, Rhett,
Barnwell, and DeBow poured out their hot invective. In the following
year he mingled with the great southern leaders, on the eve of the great
events which were soon to burst upon the country. Doubtless in his law
study and in his intercourse with men in different phases of society, he
acquired that practical acquaintance with human nature which makes
available his instinctive and common-sense power of meeting all classes
of men.
Flattering offers were made him by Judge Davis to remain and enter into
practice with that eminent lawyer, at a large assured income. But Mr.
Spalding had already changed his purpose for life. He returned North,
abandoned the law, and began the study of theology in the Union
Theological Seminary in New York city in 1858. Here he remained two
years. Here, also, he did regular editorial work on the _New York
World_, of which his brother was founder, and subsequently wrote for the
columns of the _New York Times_. This experience enabled him, later, to
write, for five years, a large portion of the editorial leaders of the
_Watchman and Reflector_. While in Union Seminary, his spirit of
independence and industry was so strong that he supported himself
entirely by his literary work. Leaving New York, he entered Andover
Theological Seminary, where, after one year's study, he graduated in
1861. On the 5th of October of that year he was ordained pastor of the
Congregational church in Vergennes, Vt., a position to which he had, in
fact, been called before his graduation, as well as to another field. He
resigned his successful pastorate at Vergennes, August 1, 1864, to
accept a call to the Park church, Hartford, Conn., formerly Dr.
Bushnell's, where he was installed September 28. He resigned that
charge, and was dismissed March 23, 1869, and was installed pastor of
the First church in Dover, September 1, following.
This church is the second in point of age in this state, being organized
in December, 1638, and preceded by Hampton only. The old Exeter First
church itself later, became extinct in 1642, and the present First
church of Exeter dates from 1698 only. The Dover First _parish_ dates
from October, 1633, and is unquestionably the oldest in New Hampshire. A
long line of able men has been on the roll of the pastors of that
venerable church. Under none has it been so strong and so influential as
under Dr. Spalding. Its numbers have largely increased; its pews are at
a constant premium; its pew-occupants number men of the highest
distinction in the state. Three years since, the whole of the handsome
church edifice was refitted at an expense of over twelve thousand
dollars, besides the amount necessary to purchase the pew property, and
no debt remains. An elegant and commodious parsonage has also been
purchased and paid for. Without disparagement to others, it is safe to
say that public opinion accords to Mr. Spalding a foremost place among
the ministers of New Hampshire. Certainly no pastor of the ancient First
church ever had a greater public respect or a deeper personal affection.
His administration of a strong and thinking society goes on without even
a ripple. He has been frequently called to attend distant councils, some
of great and even national interest, and some where delicate questions
required the wisest consideration; and in all cases his calm and
deliberate judgment has had an influence inferior to none. One of these
was the great Brooklyn Council, of national interest, in 1876.
In his preaching, one has to study him to get the secret of his
influence. There is nothing in it to startle. There is no dramatic
exhibition. It is the farthest possible from the sensational. There are
never any protruding logical bones. He never indulges in any
prettinesses of diction. But a critical analysis (the last thing one
thinks of in listening to him) reveals the elements of his power. His
themes are always elevated themes. One sees the most earnest convictions
held in perfect independence and honesty; a natural development of
thought in an always fresh and orderly way; a diction as clear as a
pellucid brook; illustrations drawn from wide observation, always simple
and frequently beautiful; a genial, sometimes intense, glow pervading
his whole discourse; and a dignified but simple manliness throughout.
Fully six feet in height, and with liberally developed physique, he
impresses one at first mainly with the idea of manly strength. But it
takes no great time to see that commanding intellectual abilities are
fully parallel with his physique; and those who hear him, and especially
those who know him, find an equal development of a generous nature which
inclines always to sympathy, and with which he answers, in public and
private, to every appeal to his helpful power. In doctrine he is
understood to hold the main tenets of what is called _old_ theology, but
as forces rather than dogmas, and liberally instead of severely applied.
Mr. Spalding's literary work has been extensive, but mainly upon current
newspaper periodicals. This has given him, of course, a valuable
directness and clearness of expression. A few sermons and other
productions have been published: A sermon on God's Presence and Purpose
in the War, November 26, 1863; a discourse commemorative of Gen. Samuel
P. Strong, February 28, 1864; a discourse on the 250th anniversary of
the settlement of Dover, May 18, 1873; a discourse commemorative of the
character and career of Hon. John P. Hale, November 27, 1873, which the
poet Whittier characterized in the highest terms,--a fine specimen of
judicious analysis, in which he does justice to the pioneer of the
anti-slavery cause in the United States senate,--a justice now lately
apparently purposely ignored out of a desire to magnify a brilliant but
later laborer. The Relation of the Church to Children, November 6, 1873.
The Dover Pulpit in the Revolution, July 9, 1876,--for which he searched
and well used the manuscript of his eminent predecessor, Dr. Jeremy
Belknap. The fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the Conference
of Churches of Strafford county, June 18, 1878. The Idea and Necessity
of Normal-School Training, December 26, 1878. Annual Report of the
Trustees of the State Normal School, June, 1879. Memorial on the Death
of Garfield, September, 1881. Historical discourse on the one-hundredth
anniversary of the Piscataqua Association, October 26, 1881. On the
death of Wells Waldron, November 13, 1881. On the death of John Riley
Varney, May 5, 1882.
In addition, however, to his other work, he has been, and is, the editor
of the _New Hampshire Journal_, a successful weekly in the interest of
the Congregational churches, from which some of his keen editorials have
met with favor throughout the country.
Mr. Spalding was a member of the constitutional convention of New
Hampshire which met January 8, 1877. He represented Dover in the New
Hampshire house of representatives in 1877. He is also a trustee of the
state normal school, by appointment of the governor and council, his
first appointment, for two years, being made in 1876, and his
chairmanship of that board commencing soon after and now continuing. He
became a member of the school committee of Dover in 1875, and still
continues, having been its chairman from 1876. He was chosen trustee and
one of the executive committee of the New Hampshire Missionary Society
is 1873; and still retains each position. He received the degree of
Doctor of Divinity from Dartmouth College in 1878.
Dr. Spalding married Sarah Livingston, daughter of Rev. Dr. John W.
Olmstead, manager and editor of the _Watchman and Reflector_; her
mother, Mary, was daughter of Richard Montgomery Livingston, a lawyer of
Saratoga, N.Y. Their children are Mary Livingston, Martha Reed,
Catherine Olmstead (who died August 29, 1881, aged fourteen), Gertrude
Parker, and George Brown.
JAMES F. BRIGGS.
BY HENRY M. PUTNEY.
John and Nancy (Franklin) Briggs were of that class of working
Englishmen who had the courage to flee from hard surroundings which no
strength could overcome, and seek in a new world, among strangers, a
chance to improve their condition. They were factory operatives at Bury,
Lancashire county, England, where their son JAMES F. was born, October
23, 1827. When he was fourteen months old they took passage on an
emigrant ship for America, and after a rough voyage of more than seven
weeks landed in Boston, March 4, 1829. Going direct to Andover, Mass.,
the father found employment in a woolen-factory there. From that place
he removed to Saugus, where he worked a short time, and from thence to
Amesbury, which was the family home until 1836. In the fall of that year
the father, in company with two brothers, bought a small woolen-factory
at Holderness, now Ashland, N. H., and, having established his home near
by, commenced business on his own account, in manufacturing woolen
cloths. But few operatives were needed to run this mill, and they were
mainly the three proprietors and their children, among whom was the boy
James, then a lad nine years old, who had begun to earn his living in a
factory before the removal from Massachusetts, the family circumstances
being such that all had to contribute to its support as soon as they
were able. He was continuously employed in the mill for the next five
years; but during this time he had learned enough of books to make him
ambitious to know more; and, as the affairs of the family were fairly
prosperous, at the age of fourteen he was sent to the academy at
Newbury, Vt., and afterwards to the one at Tilton. Being an expert
operative, able to take the wool from the fleece and convert it into
cloth, by working in the factory a part of each year he earned the money
to pay his expenses at these institutions one or more terms every year
until 1848, when he arranged to commence the study of law with Hon.
William C. Thompson, at Plymouth; but in February of that year his
father died leaving a family of eight children, six of whom were younger
than James, in destitute circumstances. This affliction, which threw the
care of the family largely upon the young man, compelled him to change
somewhat his plans; but he did not for a moment lose sight of the object
he had in view, and, as he could not enter the law office at Plymouth,
he borrowed books from it and pursued his studies during such time as he
could get at home, for a year, when he entered the office of Hon. Joseph
Burrows, then a practicing lawyer at Holderness.
[Illustration: Yours truly
J. F. Briggs]
In 1849 the family removed to Fisherville, in order that the younger
children might obtain employment in the factory there, and he completed
his studies in the office of Judge Butler, from which he was admitted to
the bar in 1851. A few months later he commenced the practice of law at
Hillsborough Bridge, whither he went a perfect stranger, without money
or reputation. But he had ability and energy, was willing to work, knew
how to live within a small income until he could make it larger, and
little by little he gained clients and friends, who gave him a lucrative
practice, accepted his counsel, followed his leadership, and established
his reputation as the most popular and influential man of the town. In
1856, 1857, and 1858, he was sent by a nearly unanimous vote to
represent Hillsborough in the legislature, where he was at once accorded
a prominent position as a member of the judiciary committee, and the
third year was honored by the nomination of his party for the
speakership. At this time he acted with the Democratic party, and
continued to do so until the war of the rebellion, when he felt that all
loyal men should unite to save the Union and maintain the national
authority, and, having been nominated by the Democracy of his district
for councilor upon a platform which enunciated peace-at-any-price
doctrines, to which he could not assent, he declined the nomination, and
from that day has been an ardent, active, and enthusiastic Republican.
While the Eleventh Regiment was being recruited, he tendered his
services to the governor of the state and was appointed quartermaster on
the staff of Col. Harriman. In this capacity he served through the
battles of Fredericksburg, the military operations in Kentucky, and the
Mississippi-river expeditions which resulted in the capture of Vicksburg
and Jackson, for about a year, when he was prostrated by the malaria of
the southern swamps, and compelled to resign and return to his home in
Hillsborough.
During his absence in the field, and the illness which succeeded his
return, his legal business had become somewhat demoralized, and on the
recovery of his health he concluded to start anew in a wider field of
action in Manchester, to which city he removed in 1871, forming a
partnership with Hon. Henry H. Huse, which still exists. Manchester gave
him a cordial welcome. Her mill operatives and other mechanics greeted
him as an honored graduate of their school, who in his after triumphs
had never forgotten the hard road by which he had journeyed to success;
her lawyers and clients were already well acquainted with his
professional abilities; her soldiers recognized him as an old companion
in arms, and her politicians as an earnest Republican who could and
would be a tower of strength in every campaign. Under these
circumstances he did not have to wait for business or political
preferment. Soon after opening his office he was appointed city
solicitor, and in 1874 he was elected to the legislature from ward
three. Two years later he was chosen senator from the Manchester
district, and in the same year was sent to the constitutional
convention.
In all these positions he won reputation and friends to such an extent
that in 1877 he was nominated for congress without substantial
opposition, and elected by a large majority. At the expiration of his
first term he was unanimously renominated, and after an exciting
campaign was re-elected by a majority of eight hundred and forty-nine
over the combined Democratic and Greenback vote. Two years afterwards it
became a question whether he should be returned. The traditions and
prejudices of the district were strongly against a third term. Four
other able and deserving men were ambitious to succeed him, and he
declined to push for the nomination, but accepted a call to take the
stump in Maine, leaving it for his friends to determine whether his name
should be used in the convention. To one of these, who wrote him that he
ought to return from Maine and attend to his canvass, he replied: "I am
assured that I can be of considerable service here, and, as it is of
vastly more importance that the cause shall triumph in this state next
Monday than that I shall be renominated, I must remain and trust to you
and others to decide whether it is best to send me back to Washington.
Whatever that decision may be, I shall be satisfied." The convention met
just after the disastrous defeat of the party in Maine, and when it
appeared that there was only a desperate chance for its nominee to be
elected. It decided that if any man could succeed he could, and a few
days after he took the stump. Manchester, which was counted a doubtful
city when the convention assembled, gave him more than eight hundred
majority, and the rest of the district swelled this to fourteen hundred
and eighty.
In congress, Mr. Briggs has been from the first a faithful, hard-working
member, always in his seat, tireless in serving his constituents,
especially the veteran soldiers, and conscientiously devoted to the
discharge of all his duties. In the forty-fifth congress he was a member
of the committee on Patents; in the forty-sixth, of the committee on
Naval Affairs; and in the present, the forty-seventh, is chairman of the
committee on Expenditures in the War Department, and a member of the
Judiciary and Reform in the Civil Service. No member of the house
commands a more perfect confidence in his associates, and few, if any,
are able to accomplish so much. He succeeds at Washington as he did at
home, by quiet, patient, persistent work, and is satisfied with results
rather than with brilliant outbursts and noisy exhibitions of his
rhetorical powers.
Mr. Briggs married Roxana Smith, the daughter of Obadiah and Eliza M.
Smith, of New Hampton, and has had three children, all of whom are
living. The oldest, a son, was educated at West Point, and served four
years in the army, when he resigned, and is now engaged in the
manufacturing business in Trenton, N. J. Two daughters reside with their
parents in Manchester.
In concluding this brief sketch, written without the knowledge of its
subject, the author feels that it will fail to satisfy those who have
known Mr. Briggs intimately without some direct reference to the
qualities which characterize him in all positions in life. Prominent
among these are his perfect fidelity, industry, steady courage, and
thoroughness. It is natural for him to be true, impossible for him to be
false. He is ambitious, and few prize more highly the honors they win;
but he is incapable of the duplicity, demagogy, and all the cheap
artifices by which some men succeed. His faithfulness to his convictions
does not count cost or query about consequences to himself. He is as
stanch and true a friend as ever lived, and he never cheats those whom
he dislikes or despises. His generosity and devotion to his family are
far-reaching and untiring. He is a public-spirited citizen, a kind
neighbor, and a pleasant companion. He is always approachable, patient,
and considerate. In every cause in which he enlists he is a hard worker
and a free giver. He knows how to wait, and how to look beyond temporary
reverses to the complete triumph which he always believes will crown and
establish the right. He never frets, and never rests until the result is
secure. His private life is without a stain, and the fierce light of the
hottest campaign has disclosed no shadow of a blot upon his public
record. His sympathies are with the people, and his head and hands are
controlled by his heart. These qualities have made James F. Briggs what
he is. They have supplied the place of early advantages, influential
friends, and fortune. They have carried him from the woolen-mill,
working for a few cents a day, to the national house of representatives,
commissioned to speak and act for the largest and richest district in
New Hampshire. They have made him strong at the bar, popular at the
polls, and influential in congress.
[Illustration: Nath. W. Cumner]
NATHAN WENTWORTH CUMNER.
BY J. W. FELLOWS.
The ancestors of the Cumner family were of English origin. The name is
first discovered in the period following the supremacy of the Norman
rule,--the return from the dynasty of the Conqueror to the ascendency of
the English-Saxon line. It was first spelled Comnor, and later Cumnor,
meaning "hospitality to strangers," or a "place of hospitality," and
comes through the Saxon branch. To this period may be referred the
formation of many English family names,--often derived from some
unimportant circumstance, or suggested by personal characteristics.
These became marks of distinction, new titles to manhood, and were
proudly bequeathed by father to son,--"inherited sur-names."
During the century following the loss of Normandy, the Anglo-Saxon, as a
written language, having been banished from courts and superseded in all
legal papers by the Latin, became dearer to the common people as a
spoken language, preserving their cherished objects and transmitting
leading sentiments. It increased its power and volume by building new
terms and means of expression, and particularly by multiplying its
patronymics. In a comparatively short space of time the language had
become vernacular, and fairly entitled to be styled English, rich in the
idioms and proper names of its own creation and outgrowth.
"The history of words," says Trench, "is the history of ideas," and he
might have said of people and nations. They are not only the "vehicle of
thought," but they tell anew the story of their times and enrich the
great body of history with countless incidents of value and importance.
In studying their genealogy, the English-speaking people find the
starting-point of many an illustrious name in the peculiar circumstances
of those mediæval times,--the natural product of the mingling of
different tongues, and the constant struggle between feudalism and
servitude.
The famous old manor-house, Cumnor Castle, so celebrated in romance,
once enjoyed the rent-fee and service of a large body of retainers, and
carried for many a year, by reason of its feudal allotments, a numerous
vassalage. Its walls have long since fallen into shapeless ruins, but
the lands of its tenantry now embrace the beautiful village of Cumnor.
The families bearing this name have not been numerous in England, but
have maintained their lineage with remarkable directness. The earliest
trace of these people shows that they belonged to the industrial
classes,--the guilds-people, who in the latter part of the seventeenth
century had attained such prominence as to nearly control the business
interests of the great metropolis, and to whom the Lord Mayor of London
was pleased to say on a memorable occasion, "While our gracious nobility
are the leaf and flower of the kingdom, ye are the sturdy trunk and
branches."
The subject of this sketch belongs to the third generation in America.
His grandfather Robert Francis Cumner came to this country when about
fifteen years of age, under circumstances of a very interesting
character. In June, 1774, while walking in the streets of London, he
was seized by a "gang of pressmen" from the ship Somerset, sent out to
recruit his Majesty's marine. He was carried directly on board, forced
to become one of the crew, and do the duty of a common sailor. He was
not allowed the privilege of communicating with his friends, and no
tidings from him or knowledge of his situation were received during the
long cruise of the Somerset in distant waters, until she appeared in
Boston harbor and took part in the battle of Bunker Hill. Her position
and the service she rendered the British troops on that memorable day
are well known in history. From her decks came the first fatal shot, and
under the fire of her guns the broken and retreating ranks of royalists
found protection.
The scenes of that bloody struggle made a deep impression upon the mind
of young Cumner, and fixed his determination to take no part in the work
of subjugation. Circumstances fortunately soon favored his settled
purpose. The Somerset not long after the battle "got aground," probably
somewhere in the lower part of Massachusetts bay. During their efforts
to get afloat, some of the crew went ashore, among them the Cumner boy,
who immediately availed himself of the opportunity to escape from his
unwilling service. While following the highway into which he first came,
near the shore where lay the stranded Somerset he was overtaken by a
Quaker on horseback, who, learning his situation and purpose to obtain
his freedom from the "British yoke," invited our young hero to "get up
behind," and, throwing his gray cloak over the lad, soon carried him
beyond the king's power.
He settled in Wareham, Mass., learned the tailor's trade and began the
permanent business of his life. October 20, 1785, he married Miss Sylvia
Sturtevant, whose family connections were very worthy and highly
respected. Her father was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and
fell on the battle-field fighting for independence. The Sturtevant
people have received honorable mention in the annals of history, and
their name is written among those who deserve well of their country. Not
long after his marriage he moved to Sandwich, Mass., from that place to
Wayne, in the state of Maine, where he resided during the remainder of
his life. He was successful in business and became a prominent and
highly respected citizen. He was a man of modest and retiring habits and
exemplary character, but of indomitable will and inflexible adherence to
what he believed to be right. If his life were the subject of our
sketch, we could fill it with incidents showing his remarkable tenacity
of purpose. Robert Francis and Sylvia Cumner had two children,--John,
born January 19, 1788, and Polly, a few years younger. He died February
5, 1825, and his wife, March 26, 1826, and their remains were interred
in the Evergreen cemetery in Wayne.
John Cumner was but a few months old when the family moved from
Sandwich, Mass., to Wayne. He was of a sanguine active nature and early
evinced the character of a sincere and zealous worker in religious
matters. He obtained a fair education, and although to a certain extent
compelled to work on the farm and devote himself to that kind of
employment, his thoughts ran upon matters more congenial to his nature.
When about eighteen years of age he was employed by Gen. Landsell to
take charge of his farm in Bridgewater, Mass., where he remained several
summer seasons. During this time he became acquainted with Miss Hannah
Thomas Bartlett, of Bridgewater, whom he married July 11, 1813. He
settled in Wayne, upon the farm which became the homestead, and was so
occupied by the family during his many years of labor and life in the
ministry.
He was associated with the society of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and interested in the affairs of that denomination, at the early age of
nineteen years, and soon after appointed a class leader and licensed to
preach. His labors were attended with marked success, and at the annual
meeting of the general conference for Maine, in 1833, he was admitted to
membership and received his first appointment. He continued in the
active ministry until 1852, when failing health obliged him to cease
labor; but his love for the church and his zeal in the cause of its
established creeds continued unabated during his remaining years. He
died February 5, 1861, closing a life of industry and devotion, in which
he had accomplished more good than usually falls to the lot of man. His
wife died December 5, 1852. She was very beautiful when young, and was
much beloved and admired by her wide circle of friends. Possessed of an
earnest and devotional nature, she entered with ardent sympathy into the
plans and labors of her husband; faithfully bearing her share of life's
varied duties,--firmly in the hour of trial, and with amiable
companionship when prosperity filled the measure of their ambition. They
had eleven children, two of whom died in infancy. Three others have
deceased,--Maryetta in 1871, and Francis and James in 1881. The
remaining members of the family are Cathamander, William B., John T.,
Nathaniel W., Charles W., and Benjamin G. Cumner.
NATHANIEL WENTWORTH, the youngest but two of the children of John and
Hannah T. Cumner, was born at Wayne, November 28, 1829. His early life
was devoted to obtaining an education in the vicinity of his home,
passing from the district to the private school in the town of Wayne,
and to other schools and seminaries in the circuit where his father's
appointments were made. During some portion of the season, for a few
years he assisted the older brothers in cultivating the homestead farm,
but at the age of sixteen he went to Wilton, Me., and engaged in
learning the tailor's trade. He remained there about three years; then
went to Waltham, Mass., staying there about one year and a half; then to
Lowell, Mass., where he remained until 1851, when he came to Manchester,
N. H., and entered the employ of B. F. Manning, then doing business in
the store occupied in later years by the firm of Cumner & Company.
In January, 1854, Mr. Cumner became a partner in the business of
merchant tailors and clothiers, the firm name being Manning & Cumner.
This arrangement continued until August, 1857. Mr. Cumner then withdrew
and went to Washington, D. C., as a member of the firm of F. Tenney &
Co., proprietors of the National Hotel. In August, 1859, he returned to
Manchester and purchased the stock and "good will" of the Manning store,
and entered at once into business, in which he continued as the sole
proprietor until 1865, when his brother Benjamin G. Cumner became
associated with him, forming the copartnership of Cumner & Company. At
this time Mr. Cumner became also a member of the well known wholesale
house of Sibley, Cumner, & Co., in Boston, having purchased an interest
in the old house of Foster & Sibley, and devoted his attention largely
to the wholesale trade. In 1868, Lyman E. Sibley retired and Mr. Cumner
became the senior member, the name of the firm remaining the same.
In the great fire of November 9, 1872, their establishment was among the
first to be burned, and the firm suffered a total loss of their immense
stock; but their credit was so strong, and their energy and ability so
widely recognized, that their business received no check, and the
transactions of the house proceeded even upon a more extensive scale
than before. In 1879 the firm became Cumner, Jones, & Co., which is the
present style of the business. In 1881 he sold his interest in the
business of Cumner & Co. in Manchester, which had enjoyed unvarying
success and great prosperity from the beginning; and from that time
devoted himself entirely to the Boston house. The business had so
largely increased that it became necessary to give it his constant
personal attention. The reputation of Cumner, Jones, & Co., in
commercial circles, has become widely known, and its remarkable success
an acknowledged fact.
Mr. Cumner has been eminently successful as a business man. Possessing
in a large degree self-reliance and confidence in his own judgment, he
selected an honorable calling and devoted himself to its duties and
demands. He believed that industry and perseverance, with well matured
plans, were certain to produce the most desirable results. He knew the
energy and fidelity of his own character, and trusted to the safety of
sound principle; and he has proved that his plans were wisely laid and
his ways well chosen. At a comparatively early age he has acquired a
competence, and in his position of senior member of one of the soundest
and most prosperous, and at the same time conservative, wholesale houses
in New England, his influence is always in favor of that healthy and
reliable condition of trade which establishes public confidence and
guarantees general prosperity.
And not only in connection with his partnership associations is Mr.
Cumner known as a business man. In the circles where the leading
merchants and importers of our New England metropolis are accustomed to
meet and discuss the laws of trade and canvass the prospects of the
future, his judgment is greatly respected, and the intelligence and
foresight with which he is able to advise are highly regarded. He bears
an unblemished reputation as a man of honor and fairness, in all ways
commanding universal respect and esteem,--a gentleman in the true
significance of the term. In the wide range of personal distinction,
among all the marks of honor and renown which the world affords, the
title of a true gentleman stands first, and he who bears it worthily
need envy neither prince nor potentate.
As a citizen, Mr. Cumner has taken an earnest and unvarying interest in
public affairs. Politically, his associations have been with the
Democratic party; but his views have been conservative, looking to the
real purposes of the government rather than the aims and desires of
party politicians. While residing in Manchester he held important
offices in the municipal government, was a faithful public servant,
working zealously to promote the general interests and the common good
of his constituents, of whom he deserved well.
Mr. Cumner became a member of the celebrated military organization, the
Amoskeag Veterans, in the days of its origin, and has continued to do
active duty through the entire term of its existence. He held the office
of captain in 1870, and commander of the battalion, with the rank of
major, in 1879 and 1880. During his membership he has served in
countless capacities incident to the general management of the
organization, and while commander did very effective service in
promoting harmony and unity of purpose, and increased in a great degree
the interest and efficiency of the corps.
Mr. Cumner's connection with the Masonic fraternity has been a very
prominent feature of his life. He became a Mason in Lafayette Lodge,
Manchester. May, 1850, and was one of the petitioners and charter
members of Washington Lodge in 1857. He held many subordinate offices,
and was the Worshipful Master in 1862 and 1863, and has been treasurer
nearly all the time since. His keen scrutiny of its business affairs and
careful management of its accounts have done much to keep his lodge in
sound financial condition. In 1856 he received the capitular degrees in
Mt. Horeb Royal Arch Chapter, and, after serving at almost every post in
that body, became its High Priest from 1862 to 1864. He took the cryptic
degrees in Adoniram Council, in May, 1857, and soon after the orders of
knighthood were conferred upon him in Trinity Commandry, Knights
Templar. In all these subordinate bodies he sustained an ardent and
zealous membership, contributing freely to their support and aiding
materially in their prosperity. In 1802 he was admitted to the degree of
High Priesthood, and in 1803 received the degrees of the Ancient and
Accepted Rite to the 32d, inclusive, in Boston, and in September, 1881,
was elected to the 33rd and last grade in Masonry. In the Grand Masonic
bodies of New Hampshire he has been equally prominent, and his earnest
labors and sincere devotion to their interests have been recognized and
appreciated. After holding several offices in the M. E. Grand Royal Arch
Chapter of New Hampshire, he was elected Grand High Priest in 1867 and
1868, and gave eminent satisfaction by his management of affairs. In the
Grand Lodge of New Hampshire he held nearly all the subordinate
positions, and was elected Most Worshipful Grand Master in 1872, 1873,
and 1874. As the presiding officer in these grand bodies, whose duties
are mostly legislative, he commanded the respect of the fraternity for
fairness and impartiality, and was highly esteemed for his graceful and
courteous bearing. His addresses and official papers were regarded as
sound and creditable documents by the fraternity in other jurisdictions.
If Mr. Cumner has been prosperous and successful in other departments of
life, he has been remarkably happy and fortunate in his family and
social relations. He married Miss Harriet Elizabeth Wadley, daughter of
Moses D. Wadley, of Bradford, N. H., January 24, 1856. They have two
sons,--Harry Wadley Cumner, born July 18, 1860, and Arthur Bartlett
Cumner, born July 30, 1871. Harry Wadley graduated from the Manchester
high school in 1879, with high standing in his class and the reputation
of a faithful and efficient student. He entered the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, in Boston, in 1879, as a special student,
remaining two years. In 1881 he engaged in mercantile life; and having
integrity and the capacity to make the best use of his privileges and
attainments, he has certainly the earnest of a prosperous and honorable
life. Arthur Bartlett, a bright and beautiful boy of uncommon
intelligence, has yet to climb the pathway of youth; but if aught can be
predicted from such tender years he is not likely to disappoint the fond
hopes of parents and friends.
In the common judgment of mankind, woman receives very little credit for
the success of man in the struggles and achievements of this life. The
intuitive judgment and unfaltering support with which the faithful and
devoted wife aids her husband are unseen influences, the force and
importance of which never have been and probably never will be
understood or appreciated; and, although the remarkable success which
the subject of this sketch has gained may be attributed to his ability
and integrity, still the high social position to which the family have
attained, and the important and very creditable purposes which they have
accomplished, are equally due to the clear and well trained judgment,
the watchful care and oversight of domestic affairs, and the amiable
companionship of his estimable and accomplished wife. While in their
relative spheres, either in the busy marts of trade or the domestic
departments of life, "on change" or in the drawing-room, each to a
certain extent must be judged independently, in all the economy of life
her individuality and influence will be seen to have done their full
share in molding the fortunes of the family.
Anxiously we strive to look behind the "cloud curtains" that veil the
future and hide from view what lies in the untried ways beyond. Vainly
through the shadows which the sorrows of real life cast far in advance,
and into the misty lands "whence come the troops of good and evil
forces," so strangely and mysteriously mingled, we gaze and endeavor to
discern the hastening events upon which our happiness and success so
largely depend. But if we may predict of the future by the past, if we
can anticipate what is to come by what has been accomplished, then shall
the members of this family be blessed with the enjoyment of their full
share of all that is happiest and best.
COL. CHANDLER E. POTTER.
Col. CHANDLER EASTMAN POTTER was a native of East Concord, N. H., born
March 7, 1807, son of Joseph and Anna (Drake) Potter. He graduated at
Dartmouth College in 1831, taught high schools in Concord and Portsmouth
several years, read law, and was admitted to the bar and practiced in
Concord. In 1814 he moved to Manchester, where he owned and edited the
_Manchester Democrat_ until the fall of 1848, when he sold the paper.
From 1852 to 1856 he was editor of the _Monthly Visitor_ and _Granite
Farmer_. In June, 1848, he was appointed justice of the Manchester
police court, succeeding Hon. Samuel D. Bell, which office he filled
seven years, with honor and credit to himself. He was an able and
efficient member of the Historical Society in New Hampshire, and other
societies, and author of a very elaborate and correct history of
Manchester. His ennobling views of man and nature, and of sound, true
principles were always heard with profound attention and delight. He had
copiousness of ideas, and his writings were always filled with the
thoughts of a comprehensive mind, instructing all who read what he wrote
with a ready pen. He was interested in the study of the Indian language,
and has written many sketches of Indian character, and was a contributor
to Schoolcraft's Indian work. "Col. Potter was probably the best
informed man and antiquarian in the state, on all topics that related to
the early settlement of New Hampshire." He was genial and social, with a
keen relish for humor and anecdote, friendly with all classes. The rich
and the poor found in him a true friend in time of need. He was a
devoted friend of the militia organizations of the state, and second
commander of the Amoskeag Veterans, a company that adopted the uniform
of the continentals. They visited Washington during the administration
of President Pierce, commanded by Col. Potter, who entertained the
Veterans at his home, the McNeil (N. H.) mansion and birthplace of
Franklin Pierce, in 1865. A grand entertainment was given them in a
large tent upon the grounds.
In Dr. Loring's address to the Veterans he remarks:--
"As a strong, active, and useful son of New Hampshire, he will
long be remembered, and when all to whom his form and presence
were so familiar shall have passed away,--his associates, his
family, kindred, his daily companions to whom his anecdote and
good sense rendered his company desirable,--the fruits of his
labor as a careful historian and annalist will remain, a
valuable contribution to the literature of New Hampshire, a
tribute from one who loved every incident of her early and
aboriginal and heroic age. To his friends he left an honorable
reputation; to his company, a record which will not be forgotten
until the history of New Hampshire shall be blotted out."
Col. Potter's last able work, The Military History of New Hampshire,
published in 1866, consists of two volumes, from the settlement in 1623
to the close of the war of 1812, with valuable biographical sketches.
[Illustration: C. E. Potter]
Judge Potter married, November 1, 1832, Clara A., daughter of John
Underwood, of Portsmouth, by whom he had four children. She died March
19, 1854, and November 11, 1856, he married Frances Maria, daughter of
Gen. John McNeil, of Hillsborough. After this marriage he resided at the
Gov. Pierce homestead in Hillsborough during the remainder of his life.
Col. Potter loved the society of intelligent and worthy people, and
welcomed all without distinction. His domestic relations gave a great
charm to his existence. He died at Flint, Mich., whither he had gone
with his wife on business, August 3, 1868. After the funeral ceremonies
were performed at Manchester, the Veterans met at their armory and
passed the following resolution:--
"WHEREAS, an inscrutable Providence has seen fit to remove from
our midst our loved and chosen commander, and we have performed
the last sad rites of sepulture over his remains; therefore, be
it
"_Resolved_, That in the decease of their colonel, Chandler E.
Potter, the Amoskeag Veterans have sustained an irreparable
loss,--that their foremost man from the beginning, who at all
times, and under all circumstances, in sunshine and in storms,
unselfishly sought to promote their highest welfare, is no
more,--and for each one of us to resolve that in our day and
generation we will endeavor to follow his example is the highest
tribute we can pay his memory. We mourn not alone. Society has
lost an ornament; the state a historian whose labors, yet
incompleted, in compiling and preserving her military history,
will long outlive our feeble efforts."
HON. DANIEL BARNARD.
BY M. B. GOODWIN.
1. John Barnard, was among the early settlers of Massachusetts. He came
to this country in 1634, in the ship Elizabeth, from Ipswich, England,
and settled in Watertown.
2. John Barnard, son of the pioneer, John Barnard, had two sons,
Jonathan and Samuel.
3. Jonathan Barnard, son of John Barnard, was a resident of Amesbury,
Mass. Owing to the manifold duties of a busy professional life, DANIEL
BARNARD has not had the time or opportunity to trace out the genealogy
of his family fully, but there is much reason for believing that this
Jonathan Barnard was his great-grandfather. His great-grandfather was
Captain Jonathan Barnard, inn-holder in Amesbury, who kept "The Lion's
Mouth" in provincial days, was a captain in the colonial militia, and
was prominent in the affairs of the town in which he lived. He was one
of the sixty original grantees, in 1735, of the township of New
Amesbury, or "Number One," which was afterwards granted, in 1767, by the
Masonian proprietors, as Warner. His name heads the list of the
grantees.
4. Charles Barnard, son of Capt. Jonathan Barnard, was a soldier in the
patriot army of the Revolution, and settled in Warner, on the northeast
slope of Burnt Hill.
5. Thomas Barnard, son of Charles Barnard, was born in Warner in 1782;
married, first, Ruth Eastman, of Hopkinton; married, second, Phebe, his
first wife's sister. In the fall of 1826 he removed, with his young
family, from Warner to Orange. He died January 29, 1859; his second wife
died June 30, 1845.
6. DANIEL BARNARD, son of Thomas and Phebe (Eastman) Barnard, was born
in Orange, January 23, 1827. When his father, Thomas Barnard, went there
and planted his home on his lot of three hundred acres on the highlands
dividing the waters which flow into the Pemigewasset from those which
flow into the Connecticut, the whole territory was still covered by the
primeval forest. But rugged, courageous hearts and hands in due time
converted forest into field, and while a troupe of seven sons and a
daughter was springing up in the rugged mountain home, a good farm was
opened, which, with its abundant crops of grass, the stocks of cattle
and very large flocks of sheep, allowed no place for idleness, summer or
winter. The church and the district school stood together more than
three miles off, and so continued till the subject of this notice, the
fifth child of the family, was fourteen years old, no regular school
being established nearer till he was eighteen years old. But the father
being a man of sense and intelligence, and the mother an uncommonly
bright, capable woman, they not only made the utmost exertion to give
their children the full benefit of the meager chances of the district
school, but also systematically supplemented these opportunities with
regular study and teaching in the long winter evenings at home. The
father, a good mathematician, managed the flock in arithmetic, and the
mother handled them in other branches. From the age of seventeen, Daniel
Barnard was granted the privilege of attending the Canaan Academy every
season during the winter months, until he was twenty-one, being employed
during the summer on his father's farm.
[Illustration: Daniel Barnard]
When he arrived at man's estate he fearlessly took his stand with the
Free-soil Democrats, and was four times elected to represent his native
town in the state legislature.
During this time he was intent upon securing the advantages of a college
education, and with this end in view he taught school, during the
winter, in Orange, Grafton, Groton, Lyme, Enfield, and Amherst, and
pursued his preparatory studies at Canaan and Boscawen academies, and
under the tuition of Prof. William Russell at the Normal Institute at
Reed's Ferry.
Mr. Barnard's legislative experience materially changed his plans in
life; and he decided to enter at once upon his professional studies. He
was well known in the house from his first appearance in that body; not
merely because so youthful in appearance, but because, also, of the
uncommon capacity, the sincerity and sagacity with which, in unassuming,
almost diffident ways, he met all his duties; and in the latter sessions
of the four years' service he became a leader of the Independent party
in the house, and an influential member of that body. At home, during
the same period, he was sleepless in his vigilance, contriving by
sagacious management to hold the little band of Free-soil Democrats in a
solid column, and annually to carry the town till he left it, in the
autumn of 1851.
At the close of the legislative session of that year, with fixed
professional aims, he went to Franklin, entered upon the study of the
law in the office of Nesmith & Pike, and in 1854, on admission to the
bar, became at once the junior partner with Mr. Pike, in the office
where he had read his profession, Mr. Nesmith at that time retiring from
the office and extensive business which he had so honorably founded and
built into its large proportions. In 1863, Mr. Barnard withdrew from the
firm and established himself alone in his profession in the same
village, rapidly rising into the very large, wide, and lucrative
business which for more than eighteen years has allowed him not so much
as a week, or scarcely a day, of vacation in the year. During this
period he has had as many students in his office constantly as the
circumstances of his office would admit, and has nearly all the time had
a partner in a temporary way. His partner now is his eldest son, William
M. Barnard, who graduated at Dartmouth College with superior rank, in
1876, at the age of twenty years; studied his profession in his father's
office and at the Boston Law School; and was admitted to the bar and
into partnership with his father in 1879. In relation to the business of
the office, it is perfectly safe to add that there has been no time
within the last fifteen years in which there has not been a formidable
amount of business piled up awaiting attention, notwithstanding the most
sleepless and indefatigable industry which Mr. Barnard has brought to
his duties. For the last ten years he has not only regularly attended
all the courts in the counties of Merrimack, Belknap, and the Plymouth
sessions of Grafton, but has constantly attended the United States
circuit courts, practicing in bankrupt, patent, and revenue cases.
The esteem in which Mr. Barnard is held by the immediate community in
which he lives may be casually mentioned. Though never seeking office,
he has been often chosen to places of responsibility by his townsmen. In
1860 and 1862 he represented the town of Franklin in the legislature;
and in all political contests in the town in which he has been candidate
for the suffrages of his townsmen he has always run much ahead of the
party ticket. In 1865 and 1866 he was a member of the state senate,
presiding over that body in the latter-named year; in 1870 and 1871 he
was a member of the governor's council; and in 1872 was a member of the
Republican national convention at Philadelphia. He was solicitor of
Merrimack county from 1867 till declining re-appointment in 1872, the
position being again tendered to him and declined in 1877. He was a
firm, earnest supporter of the homestead-exemption law of 1850, which
was opposed by most of the profession through the state, and introduced
the resolution in the house which first gave the members a daily paper.
As a member of the senate in 1867, he took a profound interest in the
amendment of the federal constitution prohibiting slavery, making an
able and effective argument in its support in that body.
In the cause of education he has always been a foremost friend in
Franklin and throughout the state. His own early struggles have
doubtless contributed to make him peculiarly a friend of the common
school, and his experience as a teacher in his early years gives him
practical wisdom in the cause. While studying his profession in
Franklin, he was from year to year employed in the Teachers' Institutes,
which did a large work in awakening higher ideas of the mission of the
common school in New Hampshire during that period, and in that business
he was in nearly every county of the state. In 1867, the honorary degree
of Master of Arts was conferred upon Mr. Barnard by Dartmouth College.
Mr. Barnard has been prominently identified with all the leading
industries which have been established in Franklin, and which have so
remarkably built up the town within the last twenty years; procured the
charters and helped organize all the great corporations; has been a
continuous trustee of the Franklin Library Association since its
establishment, more than fifteen years since, and a trustee of the
Franklin Savings Bank since its establishment, in 1865; legal counsel of
the Franklin Falls Company from its organization, in 1864, and the last
eight years its local agent; and is a director and vice-president of the
Franklin National Bank, recently organized in that town.
As a lawyer, Mr. Barnard ranks very high in the profession, his advice
being eagerly sought by the humblest client and the most influential
corporations; but no person, however poor, with a meritorious cause, was
ever turned away from his office to make room for a richer or more
powerful client. His client's cause becomes his, and his whole energy is
directed to winning for his employer what he believes he should have.
His terse and logical arguments are especially powerful before a jury;
and his eloquent voice has been often heard in legislative halls,
leading and guiding the law-making assemblies, and in political
meetings, sustaining the motives and policy of his party.
In the social, humane, and religious work of the community, he has
always been active and efficient, generous almost to a fault in every
good enterprise; and in these spheres of duty he has ever had the
efficient co-operation of a cultivated, and, it is not too much to add,
a model Christian wife,--Amelia, only child of Rev. William Morse, a
Unitarian clergyman of Chelmsford, Mass., at the time of the
marriage,--to whom he was married November 8, 1854. Mr. Morse, now
deceased, was one of the pioneer clergymen of the Unitarian faith in
this country, was many years pastor of the Callow-Hill-street church,
Philadelphia, and an able and excellent minister. His wife was
Sophronia, daughter of Abner Kneeland, of Boston, an able and upright
man, whose trial on the technical charge of blasphemy, but really for
the publication of heretical religious doctrines, was a most noted
episode in New England forty years ago. Mrs. Morse was a noble woman.
Mr. Morse and his wife resided during the last years of their pleasant
lives in Franklin, near their daughter, who watched with singular
tenderness over the closing years of the parents to whom she is indebted
for superior training as well as superior ability. Their union has been
blessed with seven children, six of whom, four sons and two daughters,
are living.
[Illustration: Respectfully
William P. Riddle]
WILLIAM P. RIDDLE.
The lives men live and the character of communities lived in are
retroactive. Written or unwritten, the good and ill of them swell the
tide of human progress, which ebbs and flows by force of individual
influences. Time and place are accidental to birth, but often determine
conditions that shape fortune. In New England, in the last century, men
achieved and wore the iron crown, and their descendants inherited traits
of mental and moral character that make material for biography.
The subject of this sketch was of the third generation of his family in
the town of Bedford, N. H., the place of his nativity. In origin the
family Was of Anglo-Norman extraction. The name of Riddle appears in the
English and Scotch genealogies, and is traceable back into the ninth
century. Gaen Riddle, of Scotch descent, the head of his branch of the
family in this country, came over and settled in Bedford, N. H., about
the year 1737, and was one of the original settlers of that town.
WILLIAM P. RIDDLE, of whom is the present memoir, was the grandson of
Gaen Riddle, and the son of Isaac,--a man of prominence in the affairs
and events of his time and locality. William P. inherited in a marked
degree his father's characteristics. Born on the 6th day of April, 1789,
during the period of the formation of our constitutional government, he
became early imbued with the ideas of nationality. His youth was passed
at the district school, upon the farm, and about his father's business,
in which he displayed aptness and activity. At the old Atkinson Academy,
in New Hampshire, he ultimately acquired what education it was his
privilege to obtain, and for a short time taught school in his native
town.
In 1811, Mr. Riddle located in Piscataquog, a village in Bedford,
situated on the Merrimack river, and now apart of the city of
Manchester. There he took charge of his father's mercantile affairs.
Business soon increased in importance, which led to the formation of the
partnership of Isaac Riddle & Sons, in 1817. This firm eventually
extended its business operations throughout central New England. They
owned and carried on stores, warehouses, lumber-yards, saw and grain
mills at Bedford and Piscataquog, and also operated cotton and nail
factories, and lumber and grain mills, on the Souhegan at Merrimack. At
the latter place they erected dwelling-houses, stores, and a hotel,
whence it came to be known as Riddle's Village, and was an active and
thriving place.
During this time the project of constructing the "Union Locks and
Canals," on the Merrimack river, was inaugurated,--an enterprise which
rendered that river navigable for boats and barges to the capital of the
state of New Hampshire, and opened up water communication with Boston.
With this achievement Mr. Riddle became identified, manifesting energy
and foresight. Taking advantage of the facilities thus afforded for
inland navigation, the firm of Isaac Riddle & Sons established a
warehouse in Boston, together with a line of canal-boats, and in
connection with their other extensive business entered actively into the
carrying-trade. This water transportation was continued by Mr. Riddle
after the dissolution of his firm in 1830, and until the opening of the
Nashua & Concord Railroad.
At the decease of his father, the old firm was dissolved, and Mr. Riddle
assumed and carried on the business in his own name, both at Merrimack
and Bedford. He supplied the region round about with merchandise, and
furnished lumber largely for the cities of Nashua, Lowell, Newburyport,
Boston, and Providence, supplying the navy-yard at Charlestown with
spars and ship-timber, Boston, and Lowell, and other large cities with
lumber for public buildings and bridges, and the railways of New England
with ties and contract lumber, and shipped railroad sleepers to the West
Indies. The old "yellow store" at Piscataquog Bridge was the scene of
many of these transactions. It was a busy mart. Here were bought and
bartered domestic products, wood, timber and lumber from all the
outlying country, in exchange for groceries and merchandise, which in
turn were transported down the Merrimack to the markets of
Massachusetts.
During this latter period of his business activity, Mr. Riddle also
dealt extensively in hops, buying them throughout New Hampshire,
Vermont, and Canada, and shipping and marketing them in Boston, New
York, and Philadelphia, and in some instances exporting them. In 1846 he
was appointed inspector-general of hops for New Hampshire, the culture
of which having become of important concern to the farmers of the state.
In this capacity he was favorably known and respected among hop-growers
and merchants of New England. In 1848 the Piscataquog steam-mills were
erected by him, and successfully operated for several years. Thus were
continued and carried on mercantile pursuits and business enterprises
until his retirement, about the year 1860, filling up a busy life of
upwards of half a century.
Early in life Mr. Riddle evinced a taste for military affairs. At the
age of twenty-five years he organized a company known as the Bedford
Grenadiers, and was chosen its first captain. Five years afterwards he
was promoted to the rank of major of the "Old Ninth Regiment." The next
year he became lieutenant-colonel, and on June 15, 1824, was promoted to
the colonelcy of the regiment, and was in command for seven years. The
"Old Ninth" was then composed of ten full infantry companies, two rifle
companies, one artillery company, and one cavalry company, and for
discipline and efficiency ranked first in the state. In June, 1831, Col.
Riddle was promoted brigadier-general; and on the 25th of June, 1833,
was further promoted to the rank of major-general of the division, which
military office he held till his resignation. Thus he had filled all the
offices of military rank within the state.
Mr. Riddle married, in 1824, Miss Sarah Ferguson, daughter of Capt. John
Ferguson, of Dunbarton,--a soldier of the Revolution who fought at
Bunker's Hill. Of this union there were seven children. After his
marriage he continued to reside in Piscataquog, living on the present
homestead till his death.
In civil life, Gen. Riddle also held offices of trust. He was
representative at the legislature, county road commissioner, justice of
the peace and of the quorum, trustee of institutions, on committees of
public matters, and frequently moderator at the town-meetings. In 1820
he was chairman of a committee chosen to build Piscataquog
meeting-house, a matter of some church importance to the town of
Bedford; and some twenty years later he was on the committee to remodel
it into an academy, of which he was made and continued a trustee, and in
which he exercised a lively interest. It was his pleasure to promote
public education in every way. The common school, the academy, and the
college received his patronage and fostering consideration. As the
town's committee, he superintended the early construction of bridges
across the Piscataquog and Merrimack rivers; in 1825, rebuilt the
McGregor bridge, now the location of the new iron bridge on Bridge
street, Manchester; and at a later period was the president of the
Granite Bridge Company, which erected the lattice toll-bridge at
Merrill's Falls.
In the "Masonic Fraternity," Mr. Riddle was prominent, becoming a member
of the order in 1823. The following year he helped found the Lafayette
Lodge in Piscataquog, being a charter member. He gave liberally to the
support of this lodge, both in funds and effort, supplying it with a
hall for meetings and work for twenty-five years. He was the last
surviving member of its early projectors. The old Lafayette Lodge was
among the very few in the state during the anti-Mason troubles that held
its regular communications unbroken. He was also a member of the Mt.
Horeb Chapter, and of Trinity Commandry of Knights Templar.
About agriculture he found time to exercise his taste. He owned several
farms, and cultivated them with success, experimenting with crops, and
giving results to the public. He was a patron of the state and county
fairs, and sought in many ways to advance and encourage the best
interests of husbandry. Hop-raising was a specialty with him, and
through his methods and example the culture of hops within the state was
extended and improved.
In 1854, after the incorporation of the city of Manchester, at a time
when there seemed to be little interest manifested in military affairs
in the state, Gen. Riddle undertook and assisted in the organization of
the Amoskeag Veterans, now so well known and respected. In its origin
the corps was a military association, composed of many of the most
prominent and worthy citizens of the community. From such an association
a battalion was formed, and Gen. Riddle chosen its first commander. The
success of this movement gave an impetus to the military spirit of the
day, and was the means of inaugurating a new militia system for the
state. The Veterans, as is well known, uniformed in continental style,
and to-day enjoy a wide reputation for their unique and quaint
appearance on parade, their martial bearing, and soldierly mien, and for
the character of the rank and file. In the fall of 1855, upon the
invitation of President Pierce, the Amoskeag Veterans visited Washington
and became guests at the White House, freely enjoying its hospitality,
and receiving official honor. While there they made a notable pilgrimage
to the tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon. On its return, the battalion
attracted much public notice. At Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York,
it received special attention and entertainment. During the late war the
Veterans showed patriotism, both in deed and sentiment, and otherwise
promoted the national cause.
In politics, Mr. Riddle was a Whig, during the existence of the party;
and subsequently became a Republican. Though not a politician, he took
an earnest and active interest in the public affairs of the country.
Respecting the constitutional rights of all sections, he most faithfully
upheld the integrity of the nation. With him, liberty of thought,
speech, and action was a fundamental and inherent idea. To him the
history and traditions of the American people were a sacred heritage,
and the constitution and union were solemn and paramount obligations,
inseparable and indissoluble. In political faith, he believed the nation
co-existed in perpetuity, and that the people were the source of all
sovereignty; that parties and policies were expedients,--essential, but
subordinate to principle and the fundamental concerns of the state. In
the early discussions prior to the outbreak of the late rebellion, he
took an earnest and serious interest. He regarded secession as
treasonable heresy, and odious. During the war he was an ardent
supporter of the government, and threw all his influence in its behalf.
With deep faith in free institutions, and the power of the nation, he
"never despaired of the Republic." Upon the close of hostilities, peace
was welcomed by him as the harbinger of a redeemed country.
Though nurtured under Scotch Presbyterian influences, Mr. Riddle was
ultimately a Unitarian in his religious faith. He was prominent among
the founders of the Unitarian society at Manchester, and exercised much
personal regard for its success. Liberal in his views, he was always
actuated by principle, and aimed at consistency in Christianity. The
Sermon on the Mount was to him an abiding force. Dogma was subordinated
to faith; and faith enlightened by reason. A patient listener to
religious teaching, he molded his own opinions. In his last days he was
wont to say, that, upon a retrospection of his life, he "did not wish to
change anything." Simplicity of character, charity, and hospitality were
marked traits in life. Energy, efficiency, and integrity characterized
his whole career. In private life he was much respected, and fully
sustained the confidence of his fellow-men. In public life he was
identified with every worthy achievement of his time. Few men of his
generation and nativity have lived more active lives, and few will leave
for a memorial a wider record of usefulness and enterprise.
In the full possession of his faculties, at the ripe age of eighty-six
years, the subject of this sketch passed quietly away, on the 18th day
of May, 1875. The church he helped to build and to sustain was the scene
of his obsequies. In the cemetery at Bedford, by the place of his birth,
within the old family tomb, he was interred, amid the kindly offices of
friends, and the associations with which he had so long been identified.
Such is the brief portrayal of a life and character, which in some
degree was the logical outcome of the rugged circumstances that beset
the early settlements of New Hampshire.
The causes which led to the establishment of civil and religious liberty
in New England equally wrought out the characteristics of the people.
Bedford, Londonderry, Antrim, were primarily a part of the wilds, and
the "rock-ribbed" hills, that were subdued and made habitable by the
indomitable energy and frugal industry of those early pioneers. Their
descendants, partaking somewhat of their own robust virtues, have in
turn impressed the higher culture and the later institutions of the
country. In those old towns may yet be traced the lineaments of the
ancestry which so eminently struggled for "conscience' sake." Perhaps to
no influence more than that of the New England mothers' is attributable
the steady, underlying moral force which pervaded that elder
civilization.
Well may it be said, that "New Hampshire was a good state to emigrate
from,"--for those communities which have had the good fortune to be the
recipients of such an emigration.
[Illustration: John B. Clarke.]
JOHN B. CLARKE.
BY JOHN W. MOORE.
Among the various pursuits of the American people there can be no one
which ranks higher in a literary point of view than journalism. Once the
orator, the teacher, the learned adviser, and the judge had the greater
influence among the people; but now the newspaper, as a power in
civilization and culture, exceeds all other influences, for journalism
has become, in this country, a most potent agency for good, and editors
now, far more than statesmen, teachers, or ecclesiastics, are the guides
of current opinion. It was at one time a common saying in England, that
"America is too much governed by newspapers." Thomas Jefferson, hearing
this assertion, answered, "I would rather live in a country with
newspapers and without a government, than in a country with a government
but without newspapers." The well managed newspaper of to-day is not
only a recorder of events, but it occupies itself with all the thoughts
and doings of men, the discoveries of science, the treasures of
literature, the progress of art, the acts of heroes, and the sayings and
doings of Christendom. Sustained by the people, and laboring for them,
it has the power to make and unmake presidents, control parties, build
up free institutions, and regulate the minutest details of daily life;
it becomes in one sense school-master, preacher, lawgiver, judge, jury,
and policeman, in one grand combination. Among the influential
newspaper-men of this country who are now, and who for thirty years past
have been, busy in publishing journals, speaking for truth, honesty,
liberty, religion, and good government, is found the subject of this
sketch, JOHN BADGER CLARKE, the well known, genial, liberal,
enterprising, able, and very successful editor and publisher of the
Manchester, New Hampshire, _Daily Mirror and American_, and the _Weekly
Mirror and Farmer_.
John Badger Clarke was born at Atkinson, January 30, 1820, and was the
junior of six children--five sons and one daughter--of Greenleaf and
Julia (Cogswell) Clarke. Atkinson was a good town to be born in, and an
excellent place in which to gain religious, moral, and educational
instruction. The direct ancestors of the present Clarke family were from
Atkinson; and from that excellent farming town the children of Greenleaf
Clarke went forth on their way to college and to places of
responsibility, and to high callings in life,--the ancestors being known
as intelligent, honored, enterprising, patriotic people, conscientiously
religious, after the Puritan faith.
Julia Cogswell, the mother of Mr. Clarke, was the daughter of Dr.
William and Judith (Badger) Cogswell, and sister of Rev. William
Cogswell, Hon. Thomas Cogswell, Hon. Francis Cogswell, and Hon. George
Cogswell, biographical sketches of whom appear in this book. She was a
woman of great intellectual powers, a fine scholar, and was preceptress
of Atkinson Academy at the time when John Vose, author of a treatise on
astronomy, was principal.
The Badger family, connected with the Clarkes and Cogswells, are
descendants of Giles Badger, who settled at Newbury, Mass., in 1643.
Gen. Joseph Badger, born at Haverhill, Mass., January 11, 1722, and who
died April 4, 1803, in the eighty-second year of his age, was active in
the Revolution, a member of the provincial congress, and of the
convention which adopted the constitution. After removing to Gilmanton,
N. H., he held many town offices, was made a brigadier-general, was a
member of the state council, and was a stanch supporter of the
institutions of learning and religion. Hon. William Badger, born in
Gilmanton, January 13, 1779, was a representative, senator, president of
the senate, and governor of the state in 1834 and 1835. He was also an
elector of president and vice-president of the United States in 1824,
1836, and 1844; was an associate justice of the court of common pleas
from 1816 to 1821, and for ten years high-sheriff of the county. Hon.
Joseph Badger, Jr., son of the general, was born in Bradford, Mass.,
October 23, 1746; was distinguished as a military officer for thirty
years, passing from captain to brigadier-general. He served in the
Revolutionary war, and was present at the capture of Burgoyne. He died
at Gilmanton, January 15, 1809, aged sixty-two. His wife was a daughter
of Rev. William Parsons, and their marriage was the first one recorded
in Gilmanton.
Of Mr. Clarke's four brothers, a sketch of the eldest, the Hon. William
Cogswell Clarke, is given elsewhere in this book. Dr. Francis Clarke was
a very successful physician, who resided during his professional life at
Andover, Mass., where he died July 10, 1852. Hon. Greenleaf Clarke was a
teacher of the high school at Lynn until obliged to leave because the
sea air disagreed with him, when he returned to the old homestead in
Atkinson, where he has since resided. He was a member of Gov. Hubbard's
staff, several years a representative to the legislature, and, in 1879,
the senator from the Rockingham district, and is now New Hampshire's
commissioner of the Boston & Maine Railroad, an office which he held in
earlier days. Dr. Moses Clarke graduated from the Medical College,
Hanover, and received his degree in 1842. He was eminent as a physician
and surgeon; settled at East Cambridge, Mass., in 1845, and was a member
of the medical societies of that state in 1854, and a representative to
the American Medical Association. He was city physician for many years,
school committee, and one of the standing committee for the
Congregational society. He died at Cambridge, March 27, 1864. The sister
of these gentlemen, Sarah Clarke, married Col. Samuel Carleton of
Haverhill, Mass., and has since resided in that town. It is seldom that
a whole family of six children have so creditably been advanced to
distinction.
The marriage of John B. Clarke with Susan Greeley Moulton, of Gilmanton,
a descendant of John Moulton, who came to Hampton in 1638, more firmly
united the mentioned old families, adding the Thurstons, Gilmans,
Lampreys, Towles, Beans, Philbricks, and others, as did the marriage of
William C. Clarke with a daughter of Stephen L. Greeley unite the
Nortons of Newburyport, and others; while Moses Clarke, by marrying a
direct descendant of John Dwight, who came from England in 1634, and
settled in Dedham. Mass., 1636, became connected with a family which
furnished a commandant at Fort Dummer, during the Indian war, and whose
youngest son, Timothy C. Dwight, born at the fort, was the first white
child born in Vermont; thus through the Dwights, connecting the
Woolseys, Edwardses, Hookers, and other Massachusetts and Connecticut
families known in the history of education and the growth of Yale
College with the Clarkes, Cogswells, Badgers, and Gilmans of New
Hampshire.
Mr. Clarke passed the years of boyhood upon the farm of his father,
breathing the pure air, and enjoying the healthy exercise of farm labor.
Here was laid the foundation of that robust constitution which was
calculated to build up the excellent physical man we see in him.
Studying at Atkinson Academy, he was prepared to enter Dartmouth College
at the age of nineteen years, from which he graduated with high honors
in the class of 1843, being only outranked in scholarship by the late
Prof. J. N. Putnam.
After leaving college, Mr. Clarke was for three years principal of the
academy at Gilford (now Laconia), exhibiting an aptness for teaching
rarely possessed. While thus engaged, he commenced the study of law in
the office of Stephen C. Lyford, Esq., and continued his studies in
Manchester with his brother, William C. Clarke, until admitted to the
bar of Hillsborough county in 1848. February 2, 1849, he started for
California, _via_ the Isthmus of Panama, where he was detained eleven
weeks, and bought for the Manchester party of forty-three with him, in
company with a gentleman of Maine with twenty men, the brig Copiapo, in
which they left the isthmus for California with one hundred and
fifty-eight passengers, Mr. Clarke being supercargo. He remained in
California a little more than a year, practicing law and working in the
mines. He then spent about four months in Central America, returning
home in February, 1851. He went to Salem, Mass., with the intention of
establishing a law office there, but returned to Manchester and opened
an office, applying himself to the practice of his profession with
success, until February, 1852, when, at the request of Mr. Joseph C.
Emerson, he took charge of the editorial department of the _Daily
Mirror_. Mr. Emerson becoming financially embarrassed, the property was
sold at auction on the 20th of October, 1852, Mr. Clarke being the
purchaser of the _Daily_ and _Weekly Mirror_, and of the job-printing
establishment connected therewith, of which he has ever since been the
sole owner and manager. Subsequently he purchased the _Daily_ and
_Weekly American_ (in which the _Weekly Democrat_ had been previously
merged), and the _New Hampshire Journal of Agriculture_. These were all
combined with the _Mirror_, and the name of the daily changed to _Mirror
and American_, and the weekly from _Dollar Weekly Mirror_ to _Mirror and
Farmer_. Since these additions to the _Mirror_, Mr. Clarke has found it
needful to enlarge both the daily and weekly papers twice.
Though Mr. Clarke commenced his journalistic career at Manchester, in
1852, without training and without capital, he had what at that time
proved most valuable to him, the capacity to see quickly and to express
correctly the tendencies of opinion; and consequently his paper seemed
to echo the voice of the people without any appearance of attempting to
create it. From the day he came to Manchester as a citizen of the
growing city (or town it then was), he has labored for the welfare of
the place and the prosperity of its people. An examination of the
records and the history of Manchester shows us that he was one of the
most active to recommend and push forward the manufacturing, mercantile,
and mechanical interests of the corporations and people, as well as to
aid in the perfection of all the educational, charitable, and
reformatory institutions of the city, county, and state. He in the
outset aspired to make the _Mirror_ one of the leading newspapers of the
country, cost what it might; and his adroitness, energy, persistency,
and straightforward devotion to that idea has enabled him to realize his
aspirations. When Mr. Clarke took possession of the _Mirror_, the weekly
paper had but a few hundred subscribers, while it now has a larger
circulation than any other paper of its class published in New England
out of Boston. Doubtless much of his success is due to his great
knowledge of men, as this enables him to select the best suited to carry
out his purposes, whether as assistants in the various departments of
his business, or to attend to details in any city, state, or national
measures in which he takes an interest. He is possessed of a brave,
earnest, and sound mind, and never wastes his energies or time upon
aspirations which may be barren of results. His work is steady, like a
good fire, throwing out light and heat constantly and continually.
Previous to the war the _Mirror_ had been non-partisan politically; but
Mr. Clarke decided that there should be no neutrals in time of war, and
his paper came out boldly on the side of the administration, and has
ever since advocated the principles of the Republican party.
In connection with his daily and weekly newspapers, Mr. Clarke has built
up a very extensive book and job printing business, and to this has
added a book-binding establishment. He has published many valuable works
of his own and others: among his own publications will be found "The
Londonderry Celebration," "Sanborn's History of New Hampshire,"
"Clarke's Manchester Almanac and Directory," "Clarke's History of
Manchester," and several smaller works.
Readers of the _Mirror_ know that Mr. Clarke is accustomed to talking
and writing with great positiveness. He generally forms his opinions
quickly, and acts upon them with directness. He will decide upon a
project, map out a plan for its execution, select the men to carry out
its details, and dispose of the matter, while other men would be halting
and trying to determine whether it was feasible. He never does anything
lukewarmly; whatever cause he espouses he enters into heartily, bending
all his efforts to bring about success and make certain the desired end.
If Mr. Clarke would do his friend a favor, he devotes himself to that
purpose with as much zeal as if its attainment were the chief object of
his life. He never wears two faces; and whether your friend or opponent
you will know his position from the start.
Mr. Clarke has always refused to be a candidate for office, because he
believed that office-holding would interfere with his influence as a
public journalist, but was a delegate to the Baltimore convention that
nominated Abraham Lincoln for the second time to the presidency, and was
one of the national committee of seven (including ex-Governor Claflin,
of Massachusetts, ex-Governor Marcus L. Ward, of New Jersey, and Hon.
Henry T. Raymond, of the _New York Times_), who managed that campaign.
He has been connected with the College of Agriculture, been a trustee of
the Merrimack River Savings Bank since its organization, in 1858; a
master for three years of the Amoskeag Grange No. 3; for two years
lieutenant-colonel of the Amoskeag Veterans, and was twice elected
commander, but declined that honor. Six times he has been elected state
printer; in 1867, 1868, 1869, 1877, 1878, and in 1879 for two years.
Mr. Clarke has always manifested a great interest in the subject of
elocution, probably having learned how faulty many students were as
orators during his senior year in college, when he was president of the
Social Friends Society, and in 1863, after he was elected president of
the Tri Kappa Society. For two years he gave to the Manchester high
school forty dollars a year for prizes in public speaking and reading.
He then offered (in 1874) one hundred dollars a year for five years to
Dartmouth College for the same object. In October, 1879, Mr. Clarke
proposed to give forty dollars a year for five years for superiority in
elocution in the high and grammar schools of Manchester, to be divided
into four prizes of $16, $12, $8, $4, the awards to be made at a public
exhibition in the month of January each year, the proceeds from sale of
tickets to which should be invested, and the income from the investment
applied for prizes for a similar object perpetually. The proposition was
accepted by the school board, and the first contest for the prizes was
made in Smyth's Hall in January, 1880, the net proceeds from the sale of
tickets being $245.00. The succeeding January $287.16 was realized, and
in January, 1882, $362.15, or a total of $894.31 in three years. In
February, 1882, Mr. Clarke offered to add to his original forty dollars
twenty dollars a year for the next two years, with the suggestion that
the forty dollars be divided into prizes of $13, $11, $9, and $7
respectively, for the best four of all the sixteen contestants, on the
score of merit, and the remaining twenty dollars awarded in equal prizes
to the contestants adjudged the best in each of the schools represented,
excluding all who should have received either of the four prizes first
named. The result of this generous offer on the part of Mr. Clarke has
been a great interest and improvement in reading and speaking in the
public schools of Manchester, and it is probable that there will be a
permanent fund of not less than fifteen hundred dollars accruing from
the exhibitions at the end of the five years, insuring a perpetual
income for the Clarke prizes.
Mr. Clarke has always been interested in farming, and, believing that
"blood will tell," has done much with voice and pen to bring about an
improvement in the breeds of horses and other stock in the state. His
admiration for good horses (of which he is never without several in his
stable), and his fondness for hunting, are so much a part of his life
that any sketch of him without allusion to them would be incomplete. As
a coon hunter he has had no rival in the state. He has served as
president of the New Hampshire Game and Fish League from the first, and
was the prime mover in its organization.
Within a few past years Mr. Clarke has learned by experience that there
is a limit to the amount of care and business the strongest man can
undertake, especially when everything is done with the intensity
characteristic of his nature. In 1872, being obliged by the advice of
physicians to abstain from all business for several months, he visited
Great Britain, France, and Germany, to regain the health too close
attention to business had temporarily destroyed. He has since applied
the wisdom thus dearly bought by limiting the time to be devoted to
business, rarely allowing himself to overstep the bounds.
Generous to a fault, Mr. Clarke has contributed liberally to all
measures calculated to advance the interests of his town and city, and
hardly a public work in Manchester now exists that does not owe
something to his influence or pecuniary aid. He has always adhered to
the Christian faith in which he was reared, and has been a liberal
supporter of the Franklin-street Congregational church of the city, a
constant attendant upon its worship, and has been elected to various
offices in that society.
Mr. Clarke married, July 29, 1852, Susan Greeley Moulton, of Gilmanton.
They have two sons,--Arthur Eastman, born May 13, 1854, and William
Cogswell, born March 17, 1856. Both are graduates of the Scientific
Department of Dartmouth College, and both are now employed on the
_Mirror_.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Sketches of Successful New Hampshire
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