Sketches of Successful New Hampshire Men
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Title: Sketches of Successful New Hampshire Men
Author: Various
Publisher: John B. Clarke
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, mo
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