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STATE BUILDERS
'-'i',''\r:sy/ie. rqco. c't Lainsoii Sfiuiii'
KOAI> TMK(K(;il C KAWFOKn XOTill. WIllTK MOUXTAIXS
STATE BUILDERS
AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORICAL AND
BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF THE
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
TWENTIETH CENTURY
BY THE STATE BUILDERS PUBLISHING COMPANY
GEORGE FRANKLYN WILLEY
EDITOR
THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLISHING CORPORATION
MANCHESTER NEW HAMPSHIRE
MDCCCCIII
r •'-
>7I
George Fr^^xklvx Willev
Prir
^903
-'t".' 2 1 904
[CLASS XZ-c. No.
COPY 8
5j»'r>l
77/^ Heuitzemann Preis, Boston, Jfass.
Co
Clic fVlmiorp
of
ZUt pioneer i^crrlcrs
ZUt j-irst of ttic Ocncranons of .^tatc !3uiltifrs\
^mo, 'fearing: pauglit inir Ooti, ilaiD. UnDcr
Dininr Dircrnon anti CMcssing. itic
.i^rcnr: f-ounDarion of a fair §-
iViigtun Commonlucalrh
CONTENTS.
Page
An Outline of New Hampshire History i
Hon. albert STILLMAN BATCHELLOR, A.M.
Education in New Hampshire 6°
james h. fassett, b.a.
Ecclesiastical 97
JOHN aldex.
Agriculture OF New Hampshire ii3
nahum j. bachelder.
The Bench and Bar of New Hampshire i34
ROSEA AV. PARKER.
Notes on the Medical Profession of New Hampshire 151
IRVING A. WATSON, A.M., M.D.
New Hampshire Savings Banks 172
JAMES O. LYFORD.
Industrial New Hampshire 1S2
g. a. cheney.
Commercial New Hampshire ^93
G. A. CHENEY.
BIOGRAPHIES
Page
Nahum J. Bachelder 201
Edward Nathan Pearson
203
Jacob H. Gallinger . .
20:;
Henry E. Burnliam . .
20S
AVinston Churchill . .
210
Chester B. Jordan . .
212
Frank West Rollins . .
214
George A. Ranisdi-11 . .
216
Rt. Rev. Denis M. Bradle\
21S
John B. Smith ....
220
Page
Hiram A. Tuttle 223
Frank P. Carpenter 225
Mary Baker G. Eddy .... 227
Moody Currier 243
Mrs. Moody Currier 245
Augustus D. Ayling 247
General Charles Williams . . . 248
Henry M. Baker 250
Charles E. Stnniels 252
Reuben H. Chenev 256
CONTENTS
Benjamin Fr.inklin Prescott
Rt. Rev. William Woodrutf .Nil,
D.D
John M. Hunt
Frank S. Strceter
Colonel William S. Pillsbury.
Cdonel Francis W. Parker .
Charles Robert Corning .
Horace P. Watts
Mary Alice Watts
Henry French Hollis .
John H. Albin
John Hosley
Alice M. M. Chesley, M.D.
Chancey Adams, M.D. .
Charles H. Sawyer
Jane Elizabeth Hoyt, M.D.
Charles T. Means ....
Harry Gene Sargent . ..
Eugene F. McQue^^ten. M.D.
Jimes E. Klock
Orlando B. Douglas, M.D.
John McLane
Channing Folsum
Roger G. Sullivan
Hermon K. Sherburne, D.O. ,
.\lonzo Elliott
Durham College
Charles Francis Piper . . . .
Ferdinand A. Stillings, M.D.
Rev. D. C. Babcock, D.D.
William Henry Weed Hinds
M.D
Charles Rumford Walker .
Joseph E. A Lanouette, M.D.
John C. French
Rev. Lorin Webster
Allen N. Clapp
Charles E. Tilton
William Jewett Tucker . .
Frank W. Grafton, M.D. .
George H. Perkins' Memorial .
George H. Perkins
William R. Clough
Edward H. Clough
Augustus H. Stark
Frederick W. Doring ....
William H. Rollins .....
M. E. Kean, M.D". V"
V.KC.E
259
206
269
-73
275
2S0
2S2
2S4
2S6
2SS
290
294
296
299
301
3°4
306
308
3'3
317
329
35^
334
337
338
340
342
344
346
34S
3>°
352
353
354
356
358
360
3<'^3
365
3(>7
Ira Joslin Prouty, M.D.
William H. Xute, M.D.
F. S. Towle, .M.D.
E. L. Glick. .....[
Henry DeWolfe Carvelle, M.D.
Emil Custer, M.D. . . . . ^"3
Edward L. Custer ,§0
Joshua Gilman Hall ,32
William Laurence Foster
William T. Cass .
Elmer D. Goodwin .
Charles A. Busiel . .
Cyrus A. Sulloway .
Louis Ashton Thorp
Eli Edwin Graves, M.D.
Nathaniel Everett ^rartin .
Henry Robinson ....
Horatio K. Libbey .
Lydia A. Scott ....
John H. Xeal. M.D. .
Captain David Wadsworth
Edson Hill
Nathaniel White ....
J'>seph P. Chatel ....
George M. Clough . .
Mrs. Mary F. Berry .
John Gault
Daniel J. Daley ^,^
Wallace D. Lovell ^^^
Sherman E. Burroughs . ... 44-
J. Homer Edgerley ^^5
George A. Marden . . .
Daniel Walton Gould .
Charles E. Sleeper ....
Thomas Fellows Clifford
Edward Giles Leach
Frederick E. Potter, >LD.
Anson Colby .\lexander, >LD
Charles S. Collins ....
John N. >rcClintock . .
Alfred Randall Evans .
John J. Donahue
John H. Roberts
Edwin G. Eastman ^v;.
369
370
372
374
376
3S4
386
3S9
392
395
397
399
401
403
407
409
413
4'5
417
421
425
42S
430
433
449
454
457
460
462
464
467
469
473
476
479
4S2
4S5
Ebenezer Learned. M.D.
John Willey ,g'-
Ira H. .A.dams, M D ^So
Samuel B. Tarrante ^g[
494
George Franklyn Willey
INTRODUCTION
BY CHARLES R. CORNING
JuSge or Probau, Merrim^k Cnm, : A/.,>;- e'' &«■«'.', 19°3
TF " good uine needs 10 bush," so it may be said that a good
Tbool needs no preface. And yet, the some, hat umque
in and purpose of this volume merit a br.ef mtroduCory.
S a e Builders is not only a carefully prepared biography of New
Hampshire men. but it presents the political, indus.r.al and edu-
"a iX hTstory- of our State as .ell. Fe,v works of ,h,s charac-
eh been prepared with greater care and discrnnn,at,on than
StaeBu.lders Each chapter is the finished producfon of a
!Sr es eciallv competent and adapted .0 trea, the parl.cula
:Sct signed hint, thereby g.ving to the work a character and
aXrity decidedly unusual. Furthermore, the b.ograph.cal fe -
:^ es o \he book\orm a convenient, authentic .and exceedmgly
Xable collection of reference, and supplies a d.sfnCve want
in the personal history of the State. Acceptable as State Budd-
ers is a. he present time, its value and usefulness are cenam
:: i^crle wi^ every year and form an important par. of New
""-^^^^^^-^ New Hampshire biographical-his^
toH rundertaking conceived and completed by New Hampsh.re
„en, and dedicated to those sons of the State, ^"ng o^de^d
whose achievements have done so much " ;-';^ '^^^Z;"'
State the sturdv and prosperous Commonwealth that she .s.
fsXavs pleasant to commend a book; but when a book, as .n
Ills h,?.ance, possesses positive merits of an endurmg nature then
commendation becomes a most agreeable duty.
A NEW ENGLAND STATE
An Outline of New Hampshire History
r,y HUX. ALBERT STILLMAN BATCHELLUK, A.M.
Editor of State- r.tpas
Tohn ^vlasnn. the territorial proprietor of New Hamp-
shire was the promoter of its earhest settlements. His
efforts contemplated the establishment ot a great man-
orial estate of which he and his successors were to be
the actual and titular heads. This design failed even-
tually not because ^lason and those who succeededto
his rights and adopted his plans were not powerlul,
per^in^ent and well sustained by the home government
but because that stvle and theory of proprietorship and
the form of government upon which it was, from the very
nature of things, dependent, could not thrive,— indeed
could not survive under the conditions which developed
in New England. . .
This colonv occupied a unique position from 1O2-,
the vear when Thomson's indenture was drawn and the
fir'^t' settlement definitelv planned, to 1641-1643. ^vhen
the four towns, Portsmouth, Dover, Hampton and
Exeter each an independent democracy, became, by
their own choice, constituent parts of ]\Iassachusetts.
This was the f^rst union with the Bay colony. It was
I
STATE BUILDERS
coiulitional on certain ini[)ortant privileges and guar-
antees, accorded to the four towns by the Massachusetts
General Court. The time of this' union, 1641-1679,
constitutes the second period of New Hampshire his-
tory. It is in a large measure identical with that of
Massachusetts Bay. The :Masonian heirs succeeded in
1679, by influences exerted upon the home government
in England, in the establishment of a separate province
for the four frontier towns, then occupying a little
break m the wilderness along the coast line and a few-
miles into the interior between ^^lassachusetts bav and
the territory of Maine.
John Cutt, a man of the people, was the first presi-
dent. He died in 16S1, and was succeeded bv his
deputy. Richard \\'aldron. Under a new commission.
Edward Cranfield held office from 1682 to 16S6. his
deputy, Walter Barefoote, having been the acting Gover-
nor in the latter part of the period.
The four towns were made a part of the Dominion
ot Xew England in 16S6. This government, under
Dudley and Andros, with its concomitants of abolished
provincial legislatures and other measures absolutely
abhorrent to the political sense of a large majoritv o'f
the people oi Xew England, survived only three rears.
The four Xew Hampshire towns, from the spring of
1689 to the closing half of the winter of 1689-90, gov-
erned themselves in the independent democratic fashion
of the first period of their historv-.
_ A second union with Massachusetts Bay was then ef-
fected, and continued during a period of two vears. In
1692 a province government by royal commission was re-
established over the four towns. The course of events,
with this unpretentious province, moved on through
much adversity to the time of the achievement of a po-
sition and potency among the American dependencies of
the mother country, in which, eighty-three vears later.
STATE BUILDERS
it was able to demand independence and join in a suc-
cessful defiance of the imperial power of England.
The intervening- governments between 1692 and 1775
were administered by Samuel Allen, Governor, with
John Usher, John Hinckes and William Partridge,
Lieutenant or acting Governors, 1692- 1699; the Earl
of Bellomont with William Partridge, Lieutenant Gov-
ernor, 1699-1702, the Governor dying in 1701; Joseph
Dudley, Governor, with William Partridge, John Usher
and George Vaughan, Lieutenant Governors, 1702-
1716 (Eliseus Buegess having been appointed Governor
in 1715, but declining the office); Samuel Shute,
Governor, with George Vaughan and John Wentworth,
Lieutenant Governors, 17 16-1728; William Burnet, gov-
ernor, with John Wentworth, Lieutenant Governor,
1 728- 1 729; Jonathan Belcher, Governor, with John
Wentworth and David Dunbar, Lieutenant Governors,
1 730- 1 741; Benning Wentworth, Governor, with John
Temple, Lieutenant Governor, 1 741-1767; John Went-
worth, Governor, with John Temple, Lieutenant Gov-
ernor, 1767-1775.
Between 1675 and 1762, the people of New Hamp-
shire participated in six wars against the French and
Indians, aggregating thirty-eight years.
The politics of New Hampshire in the Colonial
period largely related to those persistent and irrepres-
sible subjects, the Masonian title and the boundary line
against ^lassachusetts.
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE.
One of the memorable events in the term of office
of John Wentworth, the last provincial governor, was
the founding of Dartmouth College. The charter was
issued in 1769, and the beginning effected from which
a securely established and most beneficent institution has
3
STATE BUILDERS
developed. Whatever may be said of the efforts of
the Earl of Dartmouth, Gov. Wentworth and others in
behalf of the infant institution, — and for this the pub-
lic will ever remain under great obligations to them, —
the undisputed title of Founder must be accorded to
Eleazer Wheelock. If a tablet of honor for our state
builders shall ever be erected, there can be no dissent
when the name of Dartmouth's first president is ac-
corded high place in such a symposium. It will be
within the province of the historian of . education m
New Hampshire to give Dartmouth college its deserved
setting in the further extension of this work. , The suc-
cession of presidents, Eleazer Wheelock, 1769, John
Wheelock, 1779, Francis Brown, 181 5, Daniel Dana,
1820, Bennett Tyler, 1822, Nathan Lord, 1828, Asa
Dodge Smith, 1863, Samuel Colcord Bartlett, 1877,
William Jewett Tucker, 1893, presents a group of hon-
ored names, and the mention of each suggests noble ef-
fort and achievement in the cause of education, humanity
and progress under the highest standards. Webster,
Choate, Chase, and Stevens are enrolled with the son.s
of Dartmouth who, now constituting a loyal fraternity,
rejoice together in the present strength and widening
and deepening potency of their alma mater in her mis-
sion of moulding men for the leadership of men.
THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 1774-1784.
The people of New Hampshire entered upon the
active stages of a national movement for independence
with deliberation and with unanimity. Perhaps no one
of the colonies was so free of the so-called loyalist ele-
ment as was this. The "association test" put every
man to the book, either for or against the common
cause. The record of signatures in nearly all the towns
is preser\-ed and the names of those who dissented or
4
STATE BUILDERS
refused to take a position constitute a very meagre list.
The population of this colony in 1775 was only 82,200.
In the province militia establishment were thirteen regi-
ments of foot and one regiment of cavalry, besides
special organizations of cadets and of artillery. As
only t^^■elve or thirteen years had intervened between the
last French and Indian war and the inauguration of
forcible measures on the part of isew Hampshire by the
seizure of Fort \\'illiara and ]\Iary at Portsoiouth in
1774, it was in accordance with the necessities of the
case, under the operation of existing military law, that
a large part of the body of the organized militia and a
still larger part of the officers were veterans who had
thoroughly learned the science of war in that intensely
practical school of seven years duration, in which they
were associated with the best officers and soldiers of
England, and were opposed to the flower of the army of
France.
The capture of the powder and ammunition of Fort
W'illiam and Alary, under the leadership of John Lang-
don and John Sullivan, was the first overt act of resistance
in which organized force was aggressively employed
against a military organization or garrison of the mother
countrr in New Hampshire, and possibly in either of the
colonies, upon the inauguration of the American Revolu-
tion."^ The powder taken on this occasion later supplied
the patriot army assembled around Boston, and becam,e
an indispensable and historic factor in the battle of
Bunker Hill.
The provincial assembly was continued in New
Hampshire until Governor \\'entworth's departure in
1775. A succession of conventions, beginning July 21,
1774, finally resulted in the formal organization of a
legislative body on a full rq:)resentation of the people,
and with a definite purpose of establishing a new state
government. The importance and activity of the old
5
STATE BUILDERS
assembly diminished as that of the successive conventions
was augmented.
The passing- of the royal authority in the province
was-w^ith very little commotion and comparatively no
manifestation of violence. The convention which met
m July, 1775, ordered a reorganization of the militia,
and in 1777 the number of regiments had been in-
creased to seventeen. The number of men enrolled
was 16,710, and this comprised practically all resi-
dents of military age in the state. In 1775 three
regiments were formed and put under command re-
spectively of John Stark, James Reed and Enoch
Poor. The first two regiments were actual partici-
pants in the battle of Bunker Hill, so-called, and consti-
tuted more than one-half of all the Americans actually
engaged, and a little later Poor's regiment joined the
army assembled near Boston. John Sullivan was also
a participant in that campaign under commission from
Congress as brigadier general. Timothy Bedel had a
regiment in Canada, recruited largely from New Hamp-
shire. Thirty-tliree companies under Col. Wingate
were guarding the sea coast. Two companies of one
and a part of another were formed from volunteers
out of the New Hampshire regiments in Washington's
army and accompanied Arnold through Maine to Que-
bec. Coos and the Connecticut valley were 'also
guarded, and thirty-one companies were raised and sent
to take the place of the Connecticut men who declined to
remain longer in the siege of Boston. Col. Potter
called attention to the action of the Committee of Safety
m January, 1776, making John Waldron colonel and
Petef Coffin major of a regiment, the rolls of which are
not preserved. It may have been one which served at
Winter Hill. Presumably more than five thousand men
of this state were in the field in 1775.
In 1776 it was the same story of practical and un-
6
STATE BUILDERS
flinching- loyalty to the cause. Upon the successful con-
clusion of ihe siege of Boston, March 17, 1776, Sulli-
van took command of the army in Canada, which by
reason of defeat, sickness, want of supplies, want 01
support and the arrival of large fleets and armies from
England, was in a perilous situation; indeed it might
perhaps be more correctly described as desperate. Sulli-
van with the aid of reinforcements sent from Wash-
ington's army, including the three New Hampshire
reoiments under Stark, Poor and James Reed, with dis-
tinguished good conduct, brought off the entire army
with comparatively small loss, besides commanding in
several well planned engagements with the enemy.
The three regiments of the continental line were strength-
ened and continued. Returning from the Canadian
campaign, which relieved the northern army operating
in the provinces, the New Hampshire regiments of the
line were variously employed in the defence of Ticon-
deroga and the neighboring strategic points. Here
dysentery, small pox and putrid fever raged among the
troops, and it is estimated that one-third oi the New
Hampshire men died of these diseases m 1776. Sulli-
van now a Major General, in recognition of his services
in the Canadian campaign, had important command in
the ill-fated battle of Long Island, and was there taken
prisoner. After a comparatively brief detention he
was exchanged. It does not appear that these regi-
ments participated in the battles about New York or in
the operations that culminated in putting Howes Army
on one side and Washington's on the other at the Dela-
ware River in the winter of 1776-7. They dis in-
guished themselves at Princeton and Trenton, it is
sometimes asserted that Stark himself suggested the
Trenton attack. It certainly had all the characteristics
of his instinctive grasp of military opportunity, and his
unerring directness and celerity in execution. Bedel
7
STATE BUILDERS
raised a new regiment in the second year of the war
which operated in Canada: Pierce Long- transferred his
regiment from the coast defences to Ticonderoga ;
four additional regiments reinforced the patriot amiy
operating: in various divisions of the war area later
in the year, viz.: \\\inan's and A\'ingate's in Tuly
and AugTist: Tash's and BaldAV-ins in September,
and Oilman's in December. Tlie last tAvo named of
these regiments remained with Washington's armv till
the spring- of 1777. Thus it appears that in the'vear
of the Declaration of Independence the state had at least
nine full regiments in the tield.
in ^777' the contributions cyi Xew Hampshire m
men and material reached high water mark. In May
large bodies of organized volunteers from the reg-iments
of Ashley, Baldwin, Chase, Xidiols, Hale. "^loore.
A\'ebster. Stickney and :Morey responded to urgent calls
for reinforcements for Ticonderoga and the campaign
against Bm-goyne. ^
The Xew Hampshire regiments in the continental
hne continued in the serv-ice. and were distinguished for
good conduct at Saratoga and at other important en^ge-
ments and critical points. A more particular descriptfon
of the sequence of events in the Saratoga campaign may
be required to obv-iate confusion in the mind of the
reader as to the progress of affairs at this jimcture.
The two important engagements were on September
19 and October 7. Botli were on Freeman's farm" Bemis"
Heights. It was the second battle that was decisive
ot the tate of Burgo>-ne. The surrender took place at
the Heights of Saratoga, at a place now caUed Schuvler-
ville. The army laid down their arms within the old
-Fort Hardy." built in the French War at a point on the
c^posite side of the Fishk-ill from SchuvIen-iUe Thi^
was the place to which Burgov-ne had retreated imme-
diately atter his defeat at the second banle of Freeman'c
STATE BUILDERS
farm. His army was occupied two nights and a day in
this movement. Schuylerville is about ten miles distant
from the scene of the battles at Freeman's farm.
In the first battle the Xew Hampshire troops engaged
were the Xew Hampshire brigade under General Poor
and a detachment of infantry, sometimes described as
riflemen, under ]Major Henry Dearborn, about three
hundred in number, consisting of men of Long's regi-
ment, detachments of other militia, and Whitcomb's
Rangers. Dearborn co-operated with ]\Iorgan in the re-
pulse of Frazer's attack. Wilkinson says, "The stress
of the action on our part was l)orne by ^Morgan's regi-
ment and Poor's brigade." He should have coupled
Dearborn's corps with ^Morgan's regiment in this con-
nection. Judge Nesmith, in his article.' "New Hamp-
shire at Saratoga," gives statistics indicating that about
half the man engaged, possibly more than half, were
from New Hampshire, and of the losses on the part of
the Americans, killed, Avounded and missing, returned
by Wilkinson as 321, 161, or more than half, must be
credited to the New Hampshire organizations. Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Coburn of Scammell's regiment and
Lieutenant-Colonel Adams of Reid's regiment were
among the large number of valuable men and officers
which the state lost in this engagement.
In the second battle. October 7th, the New Hampshire
men were again engaged in the most important fighting,
and once more earned the highest commendation for their
sturdy heroism. Again their losses were heavy, another
Lieutenant-Colonel, Samuel Connor of Whipple's brigade,
being included in the number. There are no adequate
returns of the losses in this battle. It is recorded that
"when Cilley first became engaged, so many of his men
fell in twenty minutes that he could save himself only by
falling back' on reinforcements. With these the regi-
ment went into the fight again with great spirit and
9
STATE BUILDERS
fought till night. Colonel Scammell fearlessly led his
regiment where the fight was hottest." Marked changes
had occurred at the beginning of the year in the
command of these organizations. The promotion of
Col. Poor at the instance of General and Congress-
man Folsom to be brigadier (thus passing by Stark)
had caused a vacancy in his regiment (the second) and
at the same time had given such offence to Col. Stark
that he resigned from the army. James Reed had be-
come blind and left the service. The second regi-
ment now became the third and the third the sec-
ond. The first retained its number. Joseph Cilley
became colonel of the first, Nathan Hale of the second
and Alexander Scammell of the third. Hale was taken
prisoner at Hubbardton and George Reid became
colonel and so continued till 1781. Langdon's clarion
call to the New Hampshire Assembly and the conjuring
with the name of Stark to raise a brigade to be thrown
athwart the Burgoyne invasion is now such familiar
history that it should be supererogation even to outline
it to New Hampshire readers.
Stark's brigade at Bennington, consisting of the
regiments of Cols. Thomas Stickney, jMoses Nichols
and David Hobart, struck the blow which decided the
fate of Burgoyne's invasion. When Stark's men were
approaching the end of their famous campaign and re-
turning to their farms and their harvests, Whipple's
brigade and the new bodies of volunteers gathered by
Stark were forwarded with promptitude and energy
for reinforcement of the northern army under Gates.
With Gen. Wliipple, or Gen. Stark were Drake's, Moor's,
Evans', Bellows', Moulton's, Chase's, Welch's and Ger-
rish's regiments. Gen. Bayley of Vermont (nominally
New York) certifies to the service of a regiment in his
brigade under command of Col. David Webster of Ply-
mouth. This probably refers to Chase's regiment.
STATE BUILDERS
which was composed of parts of Webster's, Morey's
and Hobart's miUtia regiments —Webster rankmg
as Heutenant-colonel in the last named mihtia regi-
ment Sloans Orford Company and Hutchms Haver-
hill Company were probably in the Vermont^ regi-
mental organizations. Ashley's, Bellows', Hales and
Morey's Connecticut Valley militia regiments contri-
buted contingents of volunteers to reinforce Gates and
complete the investment of Burgoyne. John Langdon
led a company of volunteers to Saratoga of wliich the
captain was destined to be the first presiding officer of
the United States Senate, and the first lieutenant a
United States Senator, while nine others who were men
of conspicuous standing and commissioned officers in
other organizations, served as privates in the same
company. Stark, upon his return with fresh and liberal
contributions of New Hampshire men for the conclud-
ing movements against Burgoyne's army of invasion
with that unerring sense of correct strategy which
seemed instinctive, placed himself with two thousand
men in Burgoyne's rear, held Fort Edward and all the
fords below, and closed the only avenue of escape of
which that commander might avail himself. It was the
information that such a force under Stark had accom-
plished this manoeuvre that compelled Burgoyne to his
decision to capitulate.
This year as usual the Coos country and the sea coast
were guarded by New Hampshire men. Senter's bat-
talion was sent to the relief of Rhode Island.
Late in 1777, Col. Timothy Bedel raised a new con-
tinental regiment which was intended for Canadian or
frontier service. It was discharged in March, 1778.
Subsequently in the same year Col. Bedel raised his
fourth regiment, which was eventually discontinued by
vote of Congress.
The winter of 1777-17/8 ^o^^d the New Hampshire
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men of the continental line at Valley Forge and a bri-
gade under Whipple in Rhode Island, where Genera!
Sullivan conducted a campaign which, though in a
measure unsuccessful, was in every way creditable to
that commander.
Gen. Whipple's colonels were Nathaniel Peabody,
brigade adjutant, Stephen Evans, volunteer aid, Moses
Nichols, Moses Kelley, Jacob Gale, Enoch Hale, Joshua
Wingate and (lieutenant colonel) Stephen Peabody.
John Langdon, James Hackett and \\'illiam Gardner,
all prominent Portsmouth men, were respectively Cap-
tain, Lieutenant and Ensign of a company of Light
Horse serving with the brigade.
The New Hampshire brigade under Poor served
with distinguished valor at Monmouth. In 1779, Gen.
Poor and the New Hampshire regiments in the same
brigade participated in the campaign under Gen. Sulli-
van against the Six Nations and here again displayed
their soldierly proficiency and veteran courage and en-
durance.
In the spring of 1779, New Hampshire sent a regi-
ment under Colonel Hercules Alooney for service in
Rhode Island.
The next year the state contributed two additional
regiments for special service beyond its boundaries, one
under Col. Moses Nichols and one under Col. Thomas
Bartlett, while the continental regiments served in New
York and New Jersey, in which second named state
Gen. Poor died honored and lamented by the young
nation he had served so well.
In 1 78 1, a part of the New Hampshire contingent in
the continental line remained in New York while the
remainder took important duty in the Virginia cam-
paign which culminated in the surrender of Cornwallis.
Here died the brave and accomplished Scammell, then
adjutant General of Washington's army. Col. Daniel
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Reynolds organized a new regiment in 1781, which
served at Albany or in that region in the northern depart-
ment until discharged in November.
The New Hampshire regiments of the Contmental
Line continued in service under Washington to the end.
Henry Dearborn in 1781 succeeded to the command
of the third regiment. He was in later years Secretary
of War under President Jefferson and senior major-gen-
eral of the army in 181 2.
The Cedars and Hubbardton are the only two pomts
in the revolutionary period at which the historians of
New Hampshire are held up for explanation or apology.
It is not improbalDle that of the upwards of sixteen
thousand men in New Hampshire then capable of bear-
ing arms, practically every one was at one time or an-
other in the period of war in the active service, and
many of them multiplying terms of service through re-
peated enlistments. In that seven years of struggle, no
armed enemy in visible organization crossed the boun-
daries of the Granite State.
Nathaniel Folsom was made a major-general m the
State service and was at different periods a delegate in
the Continental Congress. His military services were
principally confined to affairs of organization after the
first few months of the war.
Congress after Bennington hastened to make the
amende honorable to Stark. They accorded him their
formal thanks and made him a brigadier-general. He
participated with his characteristic ability in the battle of
Springfield in New^ Jersey in June, 1780. He held
commands consonant with his rank and his principal-
services were of great value in the northern department
which was assigned to him after Saratoga, and which
with periods oi duty with Washington in the central
department, with Gates in Rhode Island and recruiting
services in New Hampshire occupied his attention largely
13
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till independence was achieved. He was then breveted
a major-general as an expression of the esteem in which
he was held by the representatives of the people.
Sullivan closed his distinguished career with the
thanks of Congress for his successful campaign against
the Six Nations in 1779, in which, as already written,
the New Hampshire line regiments were an important
factor.
He had distinguished himself most conspicuously in
the two Rhode Island campaigns, the relief of the army
in Canada, the campaign of 1779, in all of which he had
independent command; and his loyalty, heroic spirit
and superior military ability were well proven at the
siege of Boston, the battles of Long Island, Trenton,
Princeton, Brandywine and Germantown.
He continued in the public service his share of the
time as did Langdon, Whipple, Bartlett and Livermore,
as a conspicuously useful member of the Continental
Congress.
THE RANGER SERVICE.
The large extent of frontier which surrounded the
New Hampshire settlements on three sides, and which
had been protected by the people themselves, — every
generation in a period of a hundred years having had
one or two French and Indian wars, — had caused the
essential elements of the best soldiers of Ranger service
to be hereditary w^th the men of this province. In
1775, several companies of "Rangers" of similar or-
•ganization and training to those of Rogers in the last
French and Indian war, were raised and despatched to.
Canada under Bedel. After the termination of the
operations in Canada in 1775 and 1776, which Pro-
fessor Justin H. Smith in the Century Magazine aptly
describes as the "Prelude of the Revolution," a
14
STATE BUILDERS
large area was open to raids by Canadians, Tories
and Indians, by way of the wilderness region which
is now northern A'ermont, also by the Connecticut
Valley and the Androscoggin region. Bedel's third
and fourth regiments and, after the discontinuance
of Bedel's fourth regiment in the summer of 1779,
Hazen's Continental regiment, occupied the Connecti-
cut \^alley in force. Thus a most important pro-
ducing region and granary was quite effectually secured
from guerilla incursions. Besides these regiments
was the battalion of Maj. Benj. Whitcomb, a partisan
leader of a career which is replete with startling ad-
venture and singular exemption from military misfor-
tune and failure, which was in continuous employmenr,
and many other companies and scouts raised for special
duty and for limited periods. Among the ranger
captains or commanding lieutenants were Joshua Heath,
Jeremiah Eames, Nathan Caswell, Ebenezer ^^'ebster
(father of the great expounder of the constitution),
David Woodworth, Samuel Atkinson, Josiah Russell,
George Aldrich, Nathan Taylor, Samuel Paine, Eph-
raim Stone, Samuel Runnels, Thomas Simpson, Jonah
Chapman, Joseph Hutchins, Peter Stearns, Jacob Smith,
Jonathan Smith, James Osgood, Ezekiel Walker, Philip
Page, John x\dams, Elijah Dinsmore, Thomas Nichols,
Peter Kimball, Absalom Peters, John House, James
Ladd, and James Blake. The operations of the com-
panies of rangers doing scouting duty between the arm-
ies, or garrison service at the frontier outposts, were
usually directed by and the immediate business of the
commissariat committed to such prominent men of
the vicinity as Col. John Hurd of Haverhill, Col. Joseph
Whipple of Jeft'erson (then Dartmouth), Col. Israel
Morey of Orford and Col. Charles Johnston of Haverhill.
STATE SI
The v>r;'ver~:or of c-i~ ^I2.ie is 5rj"jed 'The Ozsn-
:n -JA-^'r ire had 2n ^nzj aixi issry. and wben
id: re e^ ~^-' "rs.
^-^•ices :f the _ :.ee :f S^e^. End cum
"H-iS
M nnsd GmjCZLTj DeDarc
Tesse. iTi:
x6
V^
■die
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vessels were fitted out, and did the enemy much in-
jury, under the command of the noted and gallant
sailors of Portsmouth. Some of these "armed vessels,'
and their commanders, were as follows :
The Enterprise, Thomas Palmer.
jMcClary, Robert Parker, (Thomas Darling.)
General' SulH van. (Thomas :Manning.)
General ^vlifflin, Daniel McXiel.
Rambler, Thomas Manning.
Pluto. John Hill.
Humbird, Samuel Rice.
Fortime, John IMendum.
Bellona, Thomas Manning.
Adventure, Kinsman Peverly.
Marquis of Kildare, Thomas Palmer.
Portsmouth, frigate built, Robert Parker.
Hampden, frigate built, Thomas Pickering."
Paul Jones, though he was a \'irginia planter at the
beginning of the war, may fairly be regarded as a Xew
Hampshire sailor. His "Ranger" sailed from Ports-
mouth and many of the most efficient men and officers
under his command on the ^"Ranger" and the "Richard"
were of this State. It now transpires that George
Roberts, who threw the grenades into the Serapis, amid-
ships, and exploded her magazines, was a Xew Hamp-
shire sailor. In a recent number of the Granite Monthly
is an interesting sketch of Seaman Roberts by his
grandson. Col. Charles H. Roberts. Gen. ^^'hipple,
Coi. Hackett, John Langdon and other Xew Hampshire
leaders were actively engaged at different periods in
fitting out ships of war at Portsmouth. The services
of these men were invaluable. It is a desideratum long
recognized in Xew Hampshire history that her part in
the naval wars of the colonial, revolutionary and state
periods has never been accorded seasonable or adequate
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treatment. In Biiell's recent Life of Paul Jones; in the
Centennial History of the Navy Yard at Portsmouth
by Furness; in the History of the A'avy Yard at Ports-
mouth by Preble; in the Correspondence of Commodore
Perkins; and in the printed proceedings on the occasion
of the dedication of his statue at Concord, ghmpses at
the abundance of material available to this purpose are
afforded.
A WHEEL WITHIN A WHEEL.
In almost the entire continuance of the war the ad-
ministrators of the New Hampshire government were
embarrassed by a serious defection which existed in the
western part of the state, and particularly in Grafton
county. \\'hile the state was maintaining a revolu-
tionary attitude towards the mother country, a revolt
against the authority of the state itself was a serious
and persistent internal condition. This state of affairs
involved a refusal of many of the towns to participate
in state governmental affairs. These towns were
all in the Connecticut river valley or in that
vicinity. A number of the leading men in these towns
were from Connecticut, and their ideas of government
were naturally in accordance with their education and
experience in the commonwealth from which they had
emigrated.
Hanover, with its college and faculty, which consti-
tuted a Connecticut colony of itself, was the intellectual
centre for this movement which took substantial form
early in 1776.
The form of government adopted for the time be-
ing by the fifth Provincial congress was not acceptable
to the majority of the people in the towns now con-
stituting the western part of Grafton county. Col.
Hurd and Lt. Col. Chas. Johnston, however, were not
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partisans of the views which generally prevailed on
this subject in their vicinity. Col. Morey and Col.
Bedel were conspicuous among the opposers of the
party in power in the so-called Exeter government. The
group of towns which included Gunthwait on the north
and Lebanon on the south in Grafton county, organized
themselves by town groups and local committees for
the management of civil and military affairs, and
formally declined to recognize the new state government
of New Hampshire. It will not be found useful to
pursue the history of this controversy at length in this
connection. It may be remembered, however, that the
Independents of the Connecticut Valley manoeuvred
with skill and persistence to accomplish such a union of
Vermont towns with New Hampshire as promised
either to augment the influence of the western part of
the state and to diminish in a corresponding degree the
political power which the eastern section had acquired,
or severing themselves from New Hampshire to join
with the proposed state of Vermont or New Connecti-
cut under more favorable conditions than they could
expect from New Hampshire. At two periods between
1776 and the close of the war, that is to say, in 1778
and 1 78 1 -2, these towns were in active union with Ver-
mont so far as the formal action of both parties could
accomplish such a result.
THE CAUSE OF THE CONTROVERSY.
Briefly stated, the contention of the New Connecti-
cut party was that upon the dissolution of political rela-
tions between the colonies and the mother country, and
more especially in respect to the territory in contro-
versy l^etween New York and New Hampshire, the
towns, being the political units and the original source
of political authority, were invested with the right to
19
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determine for themselves the question whether to accord
allegiance to the one or the other of the disputing states
or whether to erect themselves into a state independent
of the mandate of any other association of towns or
communities formed for purposes of government.
They urged that inasmuch as the New Hampshire con-
stitution of 1776 had never been submitted to the people
or to the towns for ratification and had been accepted
by a part of the towns only, it was operative only upon
such as had elected to ratify its provisions. The pro-
testing towns took care not to do any act which could be
construed as a ratification of that form of government
in the six years from early in 1776 to 1782. Their
argument was presented in the controversial and offi-
cial literature of that time with great skill and effective-
ness. They succeeded in making themselves felt as
a political force to be reckoned wath by three estab-
lished states, and the Continental Congress, as well as
the prospective commonwealth of Vermont.
CIVIL GOVERNMENT 1775- 1784.
The Civil Government of New Hampshire from the
time of the departure of Gov. Wentworth to the or-
ganization of a new form of government in June, 1784,
under the constitution of 1783, was purely legislative.
The constitution of 1776, the first adopted by either of
the thirteen states, was a very brief instrument and
evidently intended to be temporary, or as it was offi-
cially stated at the time, "to continue during the present
unhappy and unnatural contest with Great Britain."
It was promulgated and adopted by the fifth convention,
chosen in the latter part of 1775, and it was never sub-
mitted to or formally ratified by the people. It pro-
vided for a council or senate of twelve members, to be
elected for the first year by the house of representatives
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and after that by the people. These councillors were
chosen according to population^ but with a recognition
of county boundaries, so that a councillor, with rare
exceptions, represented no county but the one in which
he lived. A president of the council or senate was
chosen by that body, the senior senator to preside in his
absence. The president of the senate or council was,
of course, always a member of that body. The legis-
lature appointed the general and field officers of the
militia and the officers of the state regiments and other
state organizations in active service, — certain rights of
election or nomination of company officers by the com-
panies being recognized. The legislature appointed the
judges of the court, but each court could appoint its
own clerk. The legislature administered the executive
business of the state. In periods when the legislature
was not in session, those interims were carefully pro-
vided for by the constitution of a committee of safety
which enabled the legislative body to keep control of all
affairs and have its own members in constant control
of all vacation business. Meshech Weare was, how-
ever, continuously president of the council and presi-
dent or chairman of the Committee of Safety. Thus it
was that this able, devoted and unassuming patriot be-
came the "war governor" of New Hampshire in the
"time that tried men's souls." The legislature chose
the delegates to the continental congress. There was
no occasion under this form of government for state
election for any purpose. The counties elected the
councillors, the register of deeds and the county treas-
urer by popular vote. All other county officers were
appointed by the legislature. There was no such work-
ing' principle as incompatibility in office holding.
Meshech Weare, president from January, 1776, to
June, 1784, was also a considerable part of the time
chief justice and colonel of his regiment in the
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militia. It is evident from the fact that a differ-
ent form of government under a new constitution
proposed in 1778 was rejected that the temporary gov-
ernment was satisfactory to the majority of the people.
It was the manifestation of a sharp reaction against
the former method of colonial government.
Among the most valuable men in the government of
the Re\olutionary period were ]\Ieshech \\^eare, John
Langdon, John Dudley, Josiah Bartlett, ^latthew^ Thorn-
ton. \Mlliam Whipple, Nathaniel Folsom, Ebenezer
Thompson, John Hurd, Samuel Ashley, Nicholas Oilman,
George King Atkinson, Timothy ^^'alker, Jr., John Went-
worth, Benjamin Bellows, Moses Nichols, Charles John-
ston, Timothy Farrar, Enoch Hale, Francis Worcester,
George Frost, Jacob Abbott, Thomas Sparhawk, Moses
Dow, Francis Blood, John [NlcCleary, Samuel Hunt,
George Gains, Nathaniel S. Prentice, Paul Dudley Sar-
gent, Otis Baker, Benjamin Barker, Thomas Bartlett,
John Calfe, Jonathan Blanchard, \\'yseman Claggett,
Samuel Cutts, Levi Dearborn, Richard Downing,
Stephen Evans, John Giddings, Benjamin Giles, David
Gilman, \\'oodbury Langdon, John Taylor Gilman, Jo-
seph Gilman, Samuel Gilman, Samuel Hobart, Jonathan
Lovewell, Pierce Long, Hercules ]\Iooney, Israel ]\Iorey,
Josiah ^loulton, Thomas Odiorne, ^Matthew Patten,
Samuel Patten, Nathaniel Peabody, Samuel Philbrick,
John Pickering, Ebenezer Potter, Ephraim Robinson,
John- Smith, Christopher Toppan, John Webster, John
Wentworth, Jr., Robert Wilson, Phillips White, Joseph
Whipple and John Hale.
It is a noteworthy fact that the record does not indi-
cate that John Stark was the incumbent of any civil office
whatever unless it might have been some town fmiction
or that he may have held a commission as justice of the
peace.
The list of men chosen by the New Hampshire Legisla-
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ture to be representatives in the Continental Congresses
contains many historic names. It is probable that not all
of these delegates were in actual attendance. As mdi-
cated bv the record they were :
John Sullivan. Nathaniel Folsom, Josiah Bartlett, Wil-
liam Whipple, Matthew Thornton, John Langdon, Sam-
uel Ashlev, George King Atkinson, Benjamin Bellows,
Jonathan Blanchard, Moses Dow, Abiel Foster, George
Frost John Tavlor Gilman, Woodbury Langdon, Samuel
Livermore. Nathaniel Peabody, Ebenezer Thompson,
Timothy Walker, Jr., John Wentworth, Jr., Benjanun
West, Phillips White, Pierce Long, Elisha Payne,
Nicholas Gilman, John Pickering, John Sparhawk and
Paine Wingate.
Bartlett, Whipple and Thornton were the ones who liad
the exceptional opportunity and distinction of havmg
been signers of the Declaration of Independence.
The chief justices of the superior court in the war pe-
riod were Jvleshech Weare, who had been educated for the
mmistrv, but who had a long experience as a judge of the
province, and Samuel Livermore, an able lawyer and dis-
tinguished statesman.
The associate justices were Leverett Hubbard, lawyer;
Mathew Thornton, physician; John Wentworth, Sr., law-
yer; W^oodburv Langdon, merchant; Josiah Bartlett,
physician, and William Whipple, merchant.
These will be recognized as men who were conspicu-
ous in other important branches of the public service.
The courts at times were not open at all and until late ir.
the progress of revolutionary events there was no demand
for the services of judges and juries. There seemed to
be scant opportunity for law suits between man and man,
while an 'all-absorbing international contest was con-
trolling every effort and every resource of individual and
state.
23
STATE BUILDERS
PERMANENT STATEHOOD.
The leaders in the Revohition naturally became the
leaders in civil affairs upon the settlement of a permanent
government. The first period under the constitution of
1783 will be included between the beginning of the new
government in June, 1784, and the government under
the amended constitution in 1793.
Bv general consent the patriot Weare became president
of the state and served from June, 1784, to June, 1785.
This closed a career of remarkable purity, usefulness and
conspicuous success. President Weare's war administra-
tion was in the most trying epoch through which the
state has ever passed. No student of New Hampshire
histor}' should pass by the storj^ of the life of this man
with superficial examination. The most adequate ac-
count of this service yet presented is to be found in tlie
biography by Hon. Ezra S. Stearns in the proceedings of
the New Hampshire Society of the Sons of the American
Revolution.
When Meshech Weare passed from the sphere of
political activity the not unfriendly rivalry of John Lang-
don and John Sullivan for the honors of state became the
most interesting feature of New Hampshire politics.
Langdon succeeded Weare for one term; Sullivan suc-
ceeded Langdon for two terms. Langdon was again
elected in 1788, and Sullivan was returned to office in
1789. Josiah Bartlett took office in 1790, serving tliree
terms in succession. He was the last to hold the title
of president.
Meanwhile the federal convention of 1787, of which
John Langdon and Nicholas Gilman were the New
Hampshire members, had formulated a constitution for
the United States of America. The consent of nine states
was required for its ratification. This constitution be-
came the organic law of the new nation by its ratification
24
STATE BUILDERS
on the part of New Hampshire, the ninth state, in June;
1788.
Under this new federal government John Langdon and
Paine Wingate became senators in the winter of 1788-9,
while Nicholas Oilman, Samuel Livermore and Abiel
Foster were the first representatives in congress elected
by this state. John Sullivan was appointed as the first
district judge of New Hampshire by President Washing-
ton in the ensuing year. Pie was at the same time presi-
dent of the state and held both offices until the end of his
term as president in June, 1790.
Senator Langdon, who was president of the state for
the year 1788-9, resigned this office January 22, 1789,
to take his seat in the senate. John Pickering then suc-
ceeded to the office as president of the state, and was the
incumbent of it until the following June. This fact is
often overlooked in tables of official succession and in
political histories of the state.
The contest over the adoption of the federal constitu-
tion was the most important subject before the people in
this period. Debt and paper money disturbed and de-
ranged the business affairs of the new state and were the
causes of great distress among the people.
The disaffected elements were upon the verge of rebel-
lion in 1786 and surrounded the assembled legislature in
a clamorous mob. This uprising was successfully quelled
under the discreet management of President Sullivan, —
a display of military force being made under the com-
mand of the veteran, Cilley.
STATE GOVERNMENT FROM 1793 TO 18 16.
If the political standards of a free people may be fairly
judged at any given time by the character of the chief
magistrates whom they select, it may be said of New
Hampshire that in no other period does this test respond
25
STATE BUILDERS
as it does in that under review. In point of character and
abiHty the list of governors in these twenty-three years is
striking and conspicuous. It inckides Josiah Bartlett, one
term; John Taylor Oilman, fourteen terms; John Lang-
don, six terms; Jeremiah Smith, one term, and William
Plumer, one term.
Among the senators in congress were Samuel Liver-
more. Nicholas Oilman, William Plumer, John Langdon
and Jeremiah jMason. Samuel Livermore, Nicholas Oil-
man, Jeremiah Smith, Thomas W. Thompson, Oeorge
Sullivan, Charles H. Atherton and Daniel Webster were
among the representatives in congress.
It was in this period that the prestige of service in the
Revolution continued many of the old leaders in the high-
est prominence in the state.
At the same time a later generation of politicians of
transcendent ability was developing such statesmen- jur-
ists as William Plumer, Jeremiah Smith, Jeremiah Mason
and Daniel Webster,, and the national service of Webster
and Mason were not more useful to the state than were
the achievements of Jeremiah Smith in the reform and
construction of a system of jurisprudence, and what
Plumer accomplished in the reforms of the political sys-
tem embodied in the constitution of 1792, and in other
lines of political effort, notably that which resulted finally
in the Toleration Act of 18 19. This was a period of as-
cendency of the Federalists in this state the greater part
of the time, but the not infrequent successes of Langdon
and Plumer in contesting the governorship and the fatal
mistakes of the party in its war policy and its alliance
with the standing order in ecclesiastical affairs fore-
shadowed the sure approach of its complete and perma-
nent failure as a political power.
The Anti-Federalists, then known as Republicans — the
Jefferson party of that day — controlled the state govern-
ment in whole or in part from 1804 to 1812, Jeremiah
26
STATE BUILDERS
Smith having for a single term broken in on the succes-
sion as governor in 1809.
The court system had remained without material
change, as far as the court of last resort was concerned,
both in the province and state from 1699 ^o 181 3. In
these later years the Federalists having recovered control
of the legislature and re-elected John Taylor Gilman,
abolished the existing judicial system and reorganized the
courts. This added fuel to the flames of opposition and
added to the causes which were effectual in the final
downfall of the party in 1816.
Many important institutions had been established in the
state between the close of the Revolutionary War and the
termination of the War of 181 2. One hundred and forty-
two library associations were incorporated; sixteen acad-
emies, including Phillips or Exeter, were founded; the
medical school at Hanover had its beginning in 1798; a
Grand Lodge of Free Masons was organized in 1789 with
General John Sullivan as Grand Master; the New Hamp-
shire Medical Society had its inception in 1791; Concord
became the permanent capital in 1807, and the State's
Prison in that city was begun in 181 1.
The same period was one in which a marked transition
was to be observed in ecclesiastical affairs. Universalism
was first preached in New Hampshire in 1773, and Meth-
odism in the last decade of the same century. Baptists
in their several divisions were of course of a much earlier
sectarian development, but they did not develop consid-
erable strength in New Hampshire until the period fol-
lowing the Revolution.
In the colony and Province periods the Congregational
order had maintained its ascendency as practically a state
church, the town ministers having been elected by the
people and supported by public taxation.
At the close of the period under consideration, all de-
nominations had gathered increased members and influ-
27
STATE BUILDERS
ence and were on the eve of a contest of great importance
in the ecclesiastical history of the state.
THE WAR OF 1812.
The second war with England was not in accord with
the political views of the Federalists. While its prosecu-
tion was directed nationally by a Republican administra-
tion, in New Hampshire a Federalist governor held office
and administered its military affairs in the last two years
in which hostilities were continued.
Governor Plumer was in full accord with the war pol-
icy of the Madison administration. Portsmouth was
fortified and garrisoned early in the war by troops
under command of Major Bassett, and later by very
large levies from time to time from the militia of the
state. Captain Mahurin was posted at Stewarts-
town with a company to protect the frontier.
Major John McNeil of New Hampshire distinguished
himself at the Battle of Chippewa. General Eleazer
Wheelock Ripley, a native of Hanover, was prominent
at the Battle of Niagara and in other important lines of
duty in this war. It was to him that Miller, another illus-
trious New Hampshire soldier, replied to the inquiry,
"Can you storm that battery?" "Til try, sir." At the
Battle of Fort Erie, also, where McNeil and Miller added
to their martial laurels, another New Hampshire soldier.
Major John W. Weeks of Lancaster, was the peer of the
others in courage and conduct. Moody Bedel was an-
other conspicuous New Hampshire soldier of this war.
Gen. John Chandler was a well-known officer of New
Hampshire nativity. As has already been stated, Henry
Dearborn, formerly a distinguished New Hampshire sol-
dier of the Revolution, was in the early part of this war
the senior Major-General. On the sea, moreover. New
Hampshire sailors in many battles maintained the pres-
28
STATE BUILDERS
tige which has always accompanied the seamen of the
Granite State.
EVENTS FROM 1816 TO 1855.
The overthrow of the Federahst party in 1816 was an
irretrievable disaster to that historic organization. With
the exception of the temporary trinmph resulting in the
choice of Anthony Colby, Whig, as governor in 1846,
the Jeffersonian Republicans, later to be known as Dem-
ocrats, elected every governor until their power was over-
thrown by the American party, more commonly styled
"the know-nothing party," under a secret organization in
1855. It will be recalled that from 1824 to 1834 the
principal factions in the Democratic party were desig-
nated as Jackson men and Adams men.
The astute political managers who had compassed the
defeat of the Federalists in 1816, built the party founda-
tions for permanency as well as strength and utility.
Sectarian animosities when confused with party pol-
itics are not easily eradicated.
The agitation for what is known in the history of this
state as religious toleration was formally begun in the
legislature in 181 5. The so-called Toleration Act did not
become a law until 18 19. Meanwhile the conflict before
the people and in the legislature was strenuous and often-
times intensely acrimonious. The Rev. Dan Young, a
minister of the Methodist denomination, who introduced
the first bill looking towards this reform in the senate in
181 5, was re-elected from term to term until the passage
of the act was accomplished. He was a leading exponent
of this cause. His life, written by W. P. Strickland, con-
tains an interesting account of this controversy. In the
house, Ichabod Bartlett of Portsmouth and Dr. Thomas
Whipple of Wentworth were the champions of the Toler-
ation jMeasures. Mr. Henry Hubbard of Charlestown
29
STATE BUILDERS
was an advocate of the existing system. Mr. Barstow in
his history of New Hampshire gives a very ample resume
of the debates in the House.
Contrary to the predictions and convictions of the op-
ponents of these changes in the law of the State relating
to town taxation and town control in church affairs, the
results were advantageous to the Congregationalists as
well as to other denominations.
Contemporary with the occurrences already recounted
was the attempt to amend the charter of Dartmouth col-
lege by state authority for the purpose of reorganizing
the government of the institution. This legislation was
the result of the controversy between factions in the town
and college at Hanover. ''•'
Their petitions to the Legislature for interference in-
volved far-reaching results.
The Dartmouth college case has become a landmark in
federal jurisprudence.
Incidentally it served to make prominent and bring into
the view of the whole country the fact that there was at
the bar of New Hampshire and on the bench of her high-
est court a group of lawyers whose learning and forensic
ability could not be surpassed at that day in the entire
length and breadth of the Union.
The "era of good feeling," which intervened between
the War of 1812 and the organization of the Whig party
in 1832, was a period in which personal politics predom-
inated in all directions. From that date the Whigs by de-
grees developed strength sufficient at intervals seriously
to threaten Democratic ascendancy in the state. Their
activity and method were especially manifest in the cam-
paigns of 1839 and 1840, when Gen. James Wilson made
his phenomenal runs for the governorship.
The rapid declination of the \\'hig party after the Mex-
* Address of President Tucker before the N. H. State Board
Association, John Marshall Day. Vol. I, Proceedings, p. 360.
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ican War resulted from causes in some respects similar
to those which militated against the Federalists after the
War of 1812-15.
In 1826 occurred the Anti-Masonic uprising. This
affair drifted into politics, and, as a party issue for a time,
commanded serious attention. The movement did not,
however, acquire in this state the momentum which it had
in Vermont, where a state government was elected on an
Anti-j\Iasonic platform.
The Democracy of New Hampshire for a long series
of years was regarded as the Democracy of Andrew
Jackson and Isaac Hill. The state was a Jacksonian
Gibraltar. It is said that Gov. Hill was a potent member
of the president's "'kitchen cabinet."
However the fact may be on that point, the manage-
ment of the New Hampshire leaders always successfully
met the practical test that "nothing succeeds like success."
It is conceded that Gov. Hill exercised great influence
in national affairs. The plan of a national convention to
nominate candidates for president and vice-president to
supersede the old method of nominations by a congres-
sional caucus is attributed tO' him. Another remarkable
political fact related to Jackson's administration is the
number and prominence of the New Hampshire stock in
his cabinet. Lewis Cass, a native of Exeter, was Secre-
tary of War from 1831 to 1833. Amos Kendall, a native
of Nashua, was Postmaster-General from 1835 to 1837.
Levi Woodbury, a native of Francestown, was Secre-
tary of the Navy from 183 1 to 1833, and Associate
justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in
1845, ^^^^^ ^t times was regarded as nluch more than a
presidential possibility. He died in 185 1, Nathan
Clifford, a native of Rumney, another Jacksonian
Democrat of the New ITampshire stock, Attorney-
General under Polk in 1846, was appointed to the
Supreme court in 1857. Gen. Cass, who had the
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Democratic nomination for the Presidency in 1848,
closed his distinguished public career as Secretary of
State under President Buchanan. In all this period to
the time of his death in 1852, stood Webster, another
son of New Hampshire, without an equal in his assem-
blage of talents and attainments as a jurist, as an orator
and as a statesman among his contemporaries. At the
same time, moreover, a new generation of sons of the
Granite state were coming to place, power and promi-
nence in the national arena.
Of New Hampshire senators the names of Franklin
Pierce, Samuel Bell, Levi Woodbury, Isaac Hill, Charles
G. Atherton, John P. Plale, Henry Hubbard and John S.
Wells are easily recalled as statesmen of national reputa-
tion. As representatives from other states in the senate
who were senators before 1855, and eventually were
recognized as statesmen of the first class, were Wm. Pitt
Fessenden and John A. Dix, both natives of Boscawen,
and Salmon P. Chase, a native of Cornish. Horace
Greeley, a native of Amherst, was already a controlling
force in journalism which was moving the minds of
men in every northern state.
Among the political diversions of this period which
gave the Democracy of this state no little concern was the
Independent Democracy in 1842, 1843, i844- It made a
division of the party forces on the question of the measure
of power that was to be conceded to railroads and other
corporations in their acts of incorporation. The party
had righted itself from this jolt when another indepen-
dent movement confronted the organization in 1846 and
1847. This was really important and far-reaching. It
involved the slavery question and enabled the Whigs and
Free Soilers to effect a successful coalition and choose a
senator of the United States.
The contest of New Hampshire brought Franklin
Pierce and John P. Hale more directly and more prom-
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inently than ever before into the Hght of national pub-
licity, and from this time on both were recognized as na-
tional leaders destined tO' assume the most important rolls
in the great national drama that was impending.
There were in this period, however, important social
and reformatory agitations in progress through which
permanent and valuable results were evolved.
One of these movements was in the line of temperance
reform, and the other was directed against the institution
of slavery. The efforts in favor of the first of these
causes was primarily by means of associations designed
for the education of the people and reform by the forces
of argument and reason, and later by organization of
such societies as the Washingtonians and the Sons of
Temperance. The anti-slavery movement found many in-
tensely earnest and devoted adherents. They were so
uncompromising in their propaganda that many of the
best people in the State of a less aggressive cast of mind
regarded them as genuine fanatics.
Doubtless the results of these agitations were more
varied and far reaching than those who were the con-
temporaries of the apostles of anti-slavery realized.
N. P. Rogers, Abby Kelley, Stephen S. Foster, Parker
Pillsbury and others w^ere co-workers whose efforts in
the cause which they regarded as paramount over all
other social and moral issues, are the subjects of Mr.
Pillsbury's history, "The Acts of the Anti-Slavery Apos-
tles." They were reinforced on the New Hampshire
platforms by Garrison, Thompson, Fred Douglass and
Harriet Martineau in public speeches and in newspaper
arguments and by the Hutchinsons by their even more
effective singing of anti-slavery songs.
"The Herald of Freedom" was an influential party
newspaper which was maintained by the Abolitionists for
many years. A political organization was effected after
a few years of continuance of this agitation, but its lead-
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ers did not put the party to the test of such a radical
declaration of principles as the unconditional Atx)lition--
ists demanded.
The free soil vote first appeared in the candidacy of
Daniel Hoit for Go\-ernor in 1841, and it continued to be
a factor of more or less importance until 1856.
Attention has now been called to the existence of opin-
ions and influences which were tending unmistakably
towards a political revolution in Xew Hampshire.
In the latter part of this period the long continued
discussion of the temperance question and the develop-
ment of a conviction with the people that the subject
must be treated in a more effectual way than had before
been attempted and by a new system of liquor laws were
what preceded and eventually took practical form in the
prohibitory law of 1855.
The militia, which had formerly reached a high degree
of efficiency and had been so maintained for more than
one hundred years, had now fallen into decadence. In the
time of the Indian wars, the war of the Revolution and
the war of 181 2, ever}- citizen of New Hampshire was a
trained soldier, and these were the men who fought the
battles of their country- and gave the world a new nation.
A new and greater struggle was impending. Webster
saw it and foretold it in prophetic speech.
The military system of the state instead of being re-
formed was abolished.
The Mexican \Var, 1846- 1848, was prosecuted at a
scene of operations so far distant that New Hampshire
was less affected by it than it had been by any other.
either of the colonies or of the republic. Nevertheless
it responded with spirit to the calls of the president and
promptly forwarded its quota. Franklin Pierce was made
a brigadier general and participated in Scott's campaign.
Several New Hampshire men who were afterwards prom-
inent in the Union armies from 1861 to 186^, began
STATE BUILDERS
a military career in ]\Iexico. Among these may be
mentioned George Bowers, Lieut.-Colonel of the 13th
Regiment; Thomas J. \\'hipple, Colonel of the 4th;
Joseph H. Potter, Colonel of the 12th and Brigadier-
General of the regular army; Jesse A. Gove, Colonel of
the 22d Massachusetts; John Bedel, Colonel of the 3d
New Hampshire and Brevet Brigadier-General; John H.
Jackson, Colonel of the 3d regiment; George Thom, Gen-
eral in the same war; E. A. Kimball, Lieutenant-Colonel
of Hawkins' Zouaves, and Thomas P. Pierce, who was
appointed Colonel of the 2d New Hampshire, but de-
clined the command. Major \\'illiam Wallace Bliss was
Assistant Adjutant General to Gen. Taylor, Charles F.
Low of Concord, Theodore F. Rowe of Portsmouth,
Daniel Batchelder of Benton and Xoah E. Smith of Gil-
manton served in various capacities in the Mexican War,
Lieut.-Col. Benj. K. Pierce, a brother of the president,
was a very prominent officer in the Seminole War. He
died in the regular arm}' from the effects of disease in-
curred in. Florida,
Xo revision of the constitution through the instrumen-
tality of a delegate convention was undertaken after 1791
until 1850. The convention then assembled was an ag-
gregation of men distinguished in various walks of life,
and Franklin Pierce was made the presiding officer.
The changes accomplished were limited in number, but
important, progressive and beneficial at the three points
of amendment on which ratification by the people was
secured.
The contemporary historical literature of this period
comprises the periodical publications of the Xew Hamp-
shire Historical Society (founded in 1823) ; the historical
magazine of Farmer & IMoore, begun in 182 1; the X^'ev/
Hampshire Repository, edited by \Mlliam Cogswell,
1845-1847, the Farmers' Monthly Visitor, 1852-1854,
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and the Granite Farmer and Monthly Visitor, 1854- 1855,
conducted by Chandler E. Potter.
Whiton's History of New Hampshire, published in
1834, supposedly to a certain extent in the interest of the
Whig party, was followed by Barstow's in 1842, in which
is disclosed a quite distinct Democratic predilection.
Both, however, are very creditable works. John Farmer's
revision of Belknap's History also appeared in 1831.
The debates in the convention of 1850 were reported
in full, but there is no publication of them except in the
contemporary files of the New Hampshire Patriot.
Industrial movements destined to be of vast importance
to the state were taking form and resulting in local es-
tablishments at various points in these years.
In 1835 the first railroads were chartered, less than
seventy years ago.
The great cotton manufacturing industry which has
now for so long a time been the backbone of the state's
industrial stability and prosperity, was established in the
first half of the century just ended.
When the Democracy entered into pow'er in 1816 they
imitated the precedent their opponents established in
1813, abolishing the existing system of courts and dis-
persing the judges who held office under it. It is tO' their
credit, however, that the court of which William M.
Richardson was. the chief justice and Samuel Bell and
Levi Woodbury the associates, and those who succeeded
them in regular sequence till the termination of the Demo-
cratic regime in 1855, were of conspicuous learning, char-
acter and judicial ability.
The chief justices from the beginning of the state gov-
ernment of 1784 had been Samuel Livermore, Josiah
Bartlett, John Pickering, Simeon Olcott, Jeremiah Smith,
Arthur Livermore, William M. Richardson, Joel Parker,
John J. Gilchrist and Andrew S. Woods.
The existing political parties were now (1854) honey-
36
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combed with disaffection and discordant opinions within
the party hnes by reason of the introduction of new issues,
some of which, as for instance the temperance question
and the subject of slavery, involved vital moral consider-
ations.
The American party, which marked a sharp reaction
from the anti-secret society ideas of the Anti-Masonry
epoch, was organized under esoteric forms, and all of its
successes were achieved under the black domino. The
principal issue which it ostensibly presented wasafictitious
one. The threatened danger of domination of American
institutions and American affairs by the Pope of Rome
was preposterous.
Nevertheless this party of mushroom growth and brief
existence sensed the purpose of thousands of discontented
partisans to rearrange their political alliances and to
emerge from this great political chrysalis in an absolutely
new political attire.
This was the end of the period of political ascendency
accorded between 1816 and 1855 to the democracy of
New Hampshire.
NEW HAMPSHIRE AND THE PRESIDENCY.
It was among the decrees of destiny that the presidency
for once at least should come to New Hampshire. It
was necessarily ordered, moreover, that this event should
transpire before New York had become an indispensable
factor in presidential contests; before Indiana had be-
come pivotal; before Illinois had become an imperial com-
monwealth; and before the stars of Ohio had preempted
the zenith.
From 1848 to 1872 the sons of New Hampshire were
to be reckoned with in every cjuadrennial disposal of the
candidacies for this great office. Cass, nominated by
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the Democrats in 1848, was defeated only by a mischance,
possibly an accident, possibly by means not justifiable.
As the campaign of 1852 approached, Webster's
friends made an active canvass for him and for the first
time his candidacy was openly and positively avowed. It
is one of those unaccountable eccentricities of national
politics, occasionally and too often recurring-, that a party
that might make a Webster president should be content
with a ^^' illiam Henry Harrison, a Taylor, or a Scott.
Levi Woodbury was under serious consideration as a
possible Democratic candidate, but his death in 1851
closed the book.
John P. Hale was chosen to lead the forlorn hope of the
Free-soilers in 1852. This candidacy contained no ele-
ment of personal retaliation upon either of the great par-
ties, as did that of Van Buren in 1848. It cast a side-
light upon the situation and tendencies in politics at that
time, of which few of the contemporary politicians were
wise enough to take advantage or warning.
Although Webster and Cass still stood at the forefront
among the statesmen of their time, it was to be General
Pierce's triumph and New Hampshire's opportunity.
The president was to be one who was not only a son of
the soil, but a life-long resident upon it. He was elected
by an overwhelming majority. Only a few of the lead-
ers in public thought and public action realized as did
Webster the actual volcanic condition of the politics of
that period. Mr. Pierce's administration was indeed to
conduct national affairs very near to the end of that
epoch. The portents of the coming conflict overshad-
owed all the plans, devices and efforts of statecraft.
President Pierce's official family — Marcy, Guthrie, Mc-
Clelland, Davis, Dobbin, Campbell, and Gushing — was
one of the ablest, best organized, most harmonious, and
most homogeneous American cabinets ever assembled,
and it had the unique distinction of unbroken continu-
38
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ance during a full presidential term. It was the policy
of the party, of which this administration was of neces-
sity the representative and exponent, and the conditions
of its political environment from 1853 tO' 1857, and not
any fault or failure of the president in adhering to that
policy, however, unwise and impossible it may have ap--
peared in the light of subsequent history, that rendered
his re-nomination impossible. Franklin Pierce adminis-
tered his great office with statesmanlike tact and acumen,
with notable and unfailing dignity and courtesy, and with
loyalty to the principles of the party by whose sufifrages
he had been elevated to the chief magistracy. It was in
obedience to the dictates of party expediency, and not in
exemplification of the courage of political faith and pur-
pose, on the part of the Democracy of 1856, that James
Buchanan was made the party nominee instead of Frank-
lin Pierce.
In this period. Chase, Hale and Greeley had already
become recognized as statesmen of presidential propor-
tions. Chase's candidacy for the Republican nomination
in i860 and 1864, and for that of the Democracy in 1868,
were, in each instance, so formidable that, though unsuc-
cessful, they were of far-reaching influence in national
politics.
The candidacy of Horace Greeley by nomination of
the liberal Republicans in 1872, with such a relatively
unimportant associate as B. Gratz Brown, may have been
impolitic. The ratification of those nominations by the
national Democracy was surprising and of course tem-
porarily disastrous to the party. It was, however, a
change of front in line of battle, and all the chances inci-
dent to such a movement w^^re necessarily taken by those
party leaders who were convinced that no other course
was open to them. It was a shifting of all the aHgnment
absolutely prerequisite to the contest which was opened
under the leadership of Mr. Tilden in 1876.
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The one opportunity which was presented to General
Butler, and by the acceptance of which he might have
reached the presidency, was closed to him when he de-
clined to accept the nomination for the vice-presidency,
which it is generally conceded was at one time at his dis-
posal, on the Lincoln ticket in 1864. His attempt to
obtain a controlling position in the Democratic conven-
tion of 1884 and his subsequent flank movement against
the party which had nominated ]\Ir. Cleveland, both mis-
carried, but his attempt to compass by indirection the
election of 'Sir. Blaine through his own candidacy as the
nominee of the so-called People's party was too nearly
successful to be regarded in any other light than as an
important episode in a most remarkable presidential cam-
paign.
Henry ^\'ilson had fairly entered upon the last stages
of a successful progress to the presidency when he was
made vice-president at the second Grant election in 1872.
This peerless organizer was then the natural, if not the
inevitable, heir to the succession. Had he lived it was
hardly among the possibilities that he could fail to be
nominated and elected to the presidency in 1876 or 1880,
or for both the terms to which ]\Ir. Hayes and Sir. Gar-
field were chosen.
Zachariah Chandler was regarded as an important fac-
tor in the disposition of the presidency, and his candi-
dacy, until his death in 1879. was attracting an influential
following.
In the cabinets of the war period the treasury portfolio
was successively in the hands of John A. Dix, in the last
days of the Buchanan administration in 1861, and Salmon
P. Chase and \\'illiam Pitt Fessenden, at the beginning
of a Republican regime, until the end of the administra-
tion of ■Mr. Lincoln. The conduct of this department by
these three sons of Xew Hampshire constitutes the mosc
40
STATE BUILDERS
important chapter in the financial history of the Ameri-
can goA^ernment.
In the second term of President Grant, Zachariah
Chandler held the office of Secretary of the Interior, Amos
T. Akerman that of Attorney-General, and Marshall
Jewell that of Postmaster-General. With William E.
Chandler's service as Secretary in an important transition
period in the history of the American navy and in con-
nection with the inauguration of far-reaching measures
for the development of an adequate American war marine
in the temi of President Arthur, the past record of New
Hampshire men in the cabinet is concluded.
Zachariah Chandler and William E. Chandler are also
regarded as the Warwicks of the presidential complica-
tions and conditions which obtained in the contest be-
tween Mr. Tilden and Mr. Hayes in 1876, and their
timely, skilful and strenuous measures are now generally
regarded as being the decisive factors in the course of
events which resulted in the inauguration of Mr. Hayes
as president.
With the passing of the old school of statesmen of New
Hampshire nativity, of presidential aspirations and presi-
dential measure, twenty years ago, the State has been
practically out of presidential politics as it is related to
personal candidacies. The latter representatives of the
virile stock of the Granite State are evidently attracted
from the domain of national and local politics to more
important and promising financial, commercial and mate ■
rial opportunities in the world's work. In this field well-
informed observers readily recall the forceful and suc-
cessful personalities of James F. Joy, Edward Tuck,
Austin Corbin. Charles W. Pillsbury, John C. Pillsbury.
Thomas W. Pierce, Frank Jones, Hiram N. Turner,
Charles P. Clark, Ezekiel A. Straw, Joseph Stickney,
Stilson Hutchins and "Long" John Went worth.
Some time ago. Senator Hoar, in the Forum, discussed
41
STATE BUILDERS
the question whether the United States Senate, in point
of average abihty, had degenerated, comparing it, as it
was constituted at the time of his writing, with its mem-
bership fifty or seventy-five years ago. Mr. Charles R.
JNIiller, in a reply in the same magazine, made the remark
pertinent then to his purpose and pertinent now to these
comments, ''That were Webster living in these days he
would neither be in the Senate nor in debt."
EVENTS FROM 1856 TO 1866.*
The Republican party was organized in New Hamp-
shire in 1856. It stood in full strength and stature at
the beginning of the long course which it was destined
to run, — the yet undetermined period of control which it
was to hold, — in the affairs of the state.
Pursuing the established methods of political warfare
it emphasized the fact of its assumption of political power
by abolishing the existing court system and the creation
of a new one supposedly more consonant with the
changed conditions in political and public affairs.
The precedent was repeated by the Democracy in 1874
and by the Republicans again in 1876. Twice in the
intervening years the court systems have been radically
reversed when changes in party ascendency were not coin-
cident,— first in 1859 and last in 1891.
The chief justices since 1855 have been Ira Perley,
Samuel Dana Bell, Henry A. Bellows, Jonathan E. Sar-
gent, Edmund L. Gushing, Charles Doe, Alonzo P. Car-
* Hon. William E. Chandler, whose active cafeer in New Hampshire
politics extends back over a period of at least sixty years, and who is still
vigorous and potential in national and state affairs, is contemporary with
the entire life of the existing Republican party. He has supplemented
constant and intimate connection with law, politics, journalism and legisla-
tion in his native state with a record of forceful influence and distinguished
standing and service in the domain of national affairs such as has been
accorded to no other of his New Hampshire contemporaries since Franklin
Pierce and John P. Hale attained their primacy.
42
STATE BUILDERS
penter, Lewis W. Clark, Isaac N. Blodgett and Frank
N. Parsons.
Since 1855 the chief justice of the circuit or superior
courts existing at three periods have been Jonathan Kit-
tredge, Wm. L. Foster and Robert M. Wallace.
The approaching war betw^een the states was at this
time imminent. It affected the course of events in all
directions. The representatives of New Hampshire in the
national congress in the period of the later discussions
which culminated in the war were of a superior order of
ability.
Included in the list are Isaac Hill, Levi Woodbury,
Franklin Pierce, Henry Hubbard, Harry Hibbard, Amos
Tuck, John P. Hale, James Bell, Oilman Marston, Mason
W. Tappan and Daniel Clark.
In the history of the first New Hampshire regiment a
chapter will be found on the subject of "The relation of
New Hampshire men to the events which culminated
in the War of the Rebellion," by William F. Whitcher.
It is a treatment of this theme which could not here be
improved upon, and therefore it need not be attempted.
Any subject that is already well treated is sufficiently
treated.
The opposition to Lincoln and Hamlin in New Hamp-
shire in i860 was divided into three factions, although
one candidate and his associate would have needed all
the votes that were available.
The state administration wdien Sumter fell was con-
fronted by a difficult situation. President Lincoln had
called for a regiment of New Hampshire men for three
months' service. There was no emergency war fund in
the New Hampshire treasury, no efficient existing militia
system and no legislature in session. The Governor, how-
ever, procured the means of equipping the regiment upon
his own credit and the credit of patriotic banks and indi-
viduals, and Congressman Tappan, who was given the
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colonelcy, had the first New Hampshire regiment in the
field before the legislature was assembled.
In the intervening war period Ichotod Goodwin, Na-
thaniel S. Berry and Joseph A. Gilmore were the war
governors. Frederic Smyth, sometimes erroneously des-
ignated as a war governor, was not inaugurated as Chief
Magistrate until June, 1865, when the war had been con-
cluded.
Seventeen full regiments of infantry were sent into the
service from New Hampshire. Col. Kent's regiment (the
seventeenth), which was nearly filled, was not mustered.
A large part of the men raised for it by its organizer
were assigned to other regiments. The remaining part
was consolidated ^^•ith the veteran secoiid regiment.
The state also contril)uted a battalion of cavalry, after-
wards augmented to a regiment, three companies of sharp
shooters, a battery of light artillery and a regiment of
heavy artillery. Besides these it furnished a liberal num-
ber of sailors for the navy.
As has been observed by the writer in another connec-
tion, perhaps the most remarkable feature of the history
of New Hampshire in relation to the war for the union,
is disclosed in the following statement : —
"In the war period sons of New Hampshire moved in
important spheres of national influence. Only a few of
the names on that remarkable list need be recalled to give
point to this observation. In the United States Senate,
Henry Wilson, native of Farmington, was chairman of
the committee on military affairs; John P. Hale, native
of Rochester, chairman of the committee on naval affairs;
William Pitt Fessenden, native of Boscawen, chairman of
the committee on finance and appropriations; James W.
Grimes, native of Deering, chairman of the committee
on the District of Columbia; Zachariah Chandler, native
of Bedford, chairman of the committee on commerce; and
Daniel Clark, native of Stratham, chairman of the com-
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mittee on claims. Salmon P. Chase, native of Cornish,
was Secretary of the Treasury and author of the finan-
cial legislation which produced the sinews of war. Horace
Greeley, native of Amherst, was the greatest intellectual
force in the journalism of that time. Charles A. Dana,
native of Hinsdale, was assistant secretary of war, and
known as "the eves of the war department." John A.
Dix, native of Boscawen, Benjannn F. Butler, native of
Deerfield, John G. Foster, native of Whitefleld, one of
the defenders of Sumter, and Fitz-John Porter, native of
Portsmouth, whose historic fight for the vindication of his
good name and soldierly reputation, as admirable in its
courage and persistencv as it was successful in the result,
were major-generals. '^V alter Kittredge, native of Mer-
rimack, wrote 'Tenting on the Old Camp Ground.'
Charles Carleton Coffin, native of Boscawen, the war cor-
respondent, wrote the histories of the war which are
most read by the youth of the land.
"The lives of these men, written and unwritten, consti-
tute a part of the history of the period of strong agita-
tion, civil war. and reconstruction so important and exten-
sive' that it is appreciated only by those who have made
the most profound study of the events which they influ-
enced. Several of thera were distinguished contributors
of elaborate works devoted to the history of their time."
While it is conceded that New Hampshire contributed
no great leader in the war for the Union who could fairly
be assigned to the class with Grant, Sherman, Sheridan
and Thomas, it can be asserted with absolute confidence
that every New Hampshire regiment was composed of
a superior class of citizen soldiers, and that every regi-
ment was led by patriotic, brave and capable commanders.
"Nearly all these regiments have performed the patri-
otic duty 'since the war^of publishing elaborate regimental
histories. These books record the fact that Ladd, the
first man who fell in the sixth Massachusetts in Baltimore,
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was a son of New Hampshire; that the fifth regiment
lost more men in battle tl^an any other infantry regiment
in the Union army; that the seventh lost more officers in
a single engagement (Fort Wagner) than any other in-
fantry regiment in the Union army; that the men of the
twelfth and thirteenth regiments were the first organized
bodies to enter Richmond; that the percentage of loss b}''
the twelfth was greater than that of the fifth; that the
losses of the ninth and sixteenth from exposure and other
causes place the debt due to them for devotion and sacri-
fice among the first in the fateful catalogue; that the
other regiments exhibit records of singular distinction,
according to their opportunities in the service; and they
prove that, relating to ever}^ one of these organizations,
there is most valuable historical material which renders
their publications indispensable to any measurably com-
plete collection of Americana.
"Indeed, so abundant is the information available to the
student of this series of histories, so great is its value, and
so striking is the lesson of good citizenship and patriotism
it teaches, that indifference to it is discreditable to the
system under which our youth are passing from the
period of scholastic instruction to the active duties and
responsibilities of pri\-ate business or public service.
"It is not an unimportant consideration that the histo-
rians of these events were the actors in them. Every pass-
age in the narratives is a statement of fact under the light
and guidance of actual experience, but with a modest and
cautious reserve which excludes that over-coloring of im-
agination and exaggeration that often mars the pages of
history."
" A wonderful man was this Cassar,
Who could both write and fight, and in both was equally skillful."
46
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PROGRESS FROM 1866 TO 1903.
With the exception of the brief interval of war with
Spain in 1898, the opportunities of the people of New
Hampshire have been those which only a long period of
peace can afford.
In the administration of Gov. George A. Ramsdell the
state furnished its quota for the last foreign war. This
was a full regiment of three battalions commanded by Col.
Robert H. Rolfe. It was assigned to the concentration
camp at Chickamauga, served for a period of six months
and returned without having been afforded an opportunity
to test its quality at the front of battle. There is no doubt
that had the coveted post of honor Ijeen granted to these
men as it was to the New Hampshire-born leader of the
"Rough Riders" at Santiago (Gen. Leonard Wood),
they also would have demonstrated what the traditions
and tutelage of Stark, Miller and Cross mean for the
military spirit which will now and hereafter bear aloft
the standards of the state and the Union.
This regiment was equipped and sent to the southern
rendezvous upon the responsibility assumed by the exec-
utive department very much in accordance with the
precedent set in 1861.
Sometime this experience in such a critical emergency
as a call for troops in the face of imminent national neces-
sity will suggest to the legislature the importance of a
permanent provision of law under which the executive
may act effectively and promptly without assuming the
personal pecuniary responsibility involved in the equip-
ment of a regiment for immediate duty or the expense of
a special session of the legislature.
At this time there is promise of national aid to the
National Guard of the state, and an apparent certainty
that the New Hampshire military system already entitled
to commendation for its efficiency will deserve to rank
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with the most approved mihtary estabhshments in the
Union.
The brigade now in command of Gen. Jason H. Tolles
consists of two three-battahon regiments of infantry, a
company of cavah-y and a battery of artillery with a total
strength of twelve hundred and forty-five men and one
hundred and ten officers.
The story of New Hampshire in the last half century
is one of great industrial prosperity and progress. The
details and proofs of this advancement of the state along
the lines of its individual industries are the subjects of
dry statistical demonstration. Agriculture has waited
long for the coming of its share in the material tri-
umphs of industry and enterprise. The wide-spread de-
velopment of the vast and varied resources of the con-
tinent has at length produced a stimulating and beneficial
effect upon eastern agriculture.
The present status of this industry as compared with
previous decades cannot be accurately determined until
the latest statistics gathered by the federal census are
published.
The business of farming sufi'ered seriously from ad-
verse conditions which it encountered after the change
of values which accompanied the resumption of specie
payments and the falling off of war prices, the influx of
low-priced meats and cereals from the west, the increas-
ing tendency of farmers' boys and girls to cjuit the ances-
tral occupation for other and supposedly more profitable
or more inviting employments, and the deterioration of
farm lands in productive capacity.
On the other hand, the improvement of transportation
facilities, the introduction of more scientific methods of
agriculture, the social and industrial organizations of
farmers, technical education in this calling and the
secondary effects of such technical education, the special-
ization and concentration of farm labor and investment
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upon the treatment of those classes of Hve stock and
products against which outside competition is not disas-
trous, and the growth of new and larger demands for
local farm products by the summer hotels, the lumbermen
and the increasing population of the manufacturing cen-
tres in convenient access to the several farm districts have
combined with other influences to set the tide of business
prosperity again in strong current in favor of this indus-
tr>'- ' ^ , -
It has transpired that the largest increase in prices now
paid for the ordinary necessities of life are for farm
products. This condition is happily affording farmers
a substantial advantage, and its beneficial effects are not
only advancing the interests of those actually engaged in
agriculture, but are also promoting the general prosperity
which is al^^■ays intimately related to the business of cul-
tivating the soil — that basic occupation upon which all
sound industrial progress and business stability is estab-
lished and is dependent.
These far-reaching changes in social, educational, and
industrial conditions in this State, as related immediately
to agriculture, have not been wrought out without well
directed sagacious, patient, timely, and disinterested ef-
fort on the part of representative and patriotic farmers.
The industrial history of the years intervening since the
end of the war for the Union discloses the activity and
achievements of a band of devoted, tireless, intelligent
and progressive laborers in this direction. The results of
their efforts through organization have been what state
laws and the agencies of government could never do for
those engaged in the business of agriculture. A con-
spicuous member of this group, Xahum J. Bachelder, has
for twenty years or more been a stimulating, organizing,
and directing force in the advancement of these under-
takings and in the accomplishment of beneficent results.
His influence long ago* passed beyond the boundaries of
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the state. It augurs well for the business side of agri-
culture as well as its social and educational relations that
such an organizer, leader and conservator has unre-
servedly devoted himself and the best years of his life to
this cause.
The political history of the state since the war for the
Union is replete with interesting events and incidents.
Until 1896, with the exception of a significant and with
many of its participants a permanent revolt from the Re-
publican party in 1872, political alignments had been very
strictly maintained and political contests had usually had
more or less of the hazard of uncertainty. Not infre-
quently the Democracy succeeded in electing a member of
Congress while they were always represented in the state
senate, and it was only in rare instances that they failed
to have an executive councillor in the state administration.
Indeed, in both 1871 and 1874, by controlling the legis-
lature, they elected a governor. The governors of the
state since the organization of the Republican party have
usually been of other callings than that of the law. Four
of the modern incumbents of the office, though educated
to that profession, had retired from active practice and
engaged in other pursuits at the time of their election to
the governorship.
In a period of forty-five years Hon. Chester B. Jordan
is the only governor who at the same time continued in ac-
tive practice in the legal profession. In the same period the
majority of the senators and members in Congress were
lawyers. In four congresses, however, the 48th, 49th,
50th and 51st, it happened that nO' lawyer was elected
to the house from this state. It is another singular fact
that the recent election of a member of congress for a fifth
successive term is without precedent in New Hampshire.
Indeed, three terms have seldom been accorded to a rep-
resentative. The senators have been dealt with in a
similar fashion until recent years. Senator Chandler
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passed the limit and Senator Gallinger has had the ex-
traordinary experience of elections to three full terms. Of
course the interests of the state have suffered the penalty
in a representation in a great number of congresses by
men usually of a superior order of ability and special
fitness for the service but laboring constantly at disad-
vantage by reason of the superior power and prestige
acquired by representatives from other states in long con-
tinued re-elections.
The legislature became biennial and the senate was in-
creased to twenty-four members, while the term of the
governor and other state officers was extended to two
years in 1878 as a result of constitutional amendments
emanating from the convention of 1876.
The legislative history of the post-bellum years is in-
teresting and important.
Gilman Marston and Harry Bingham, by reason of
their towering intellectual ability, rugged honesty and
persistent devotion to the business of legislation, are
rightfully termed the "great commoners" in the general
court of New Hampshire.
Three constitutional conventions have occurred since
the amendments of 1850, one in 1876, one in 1889
and one in 1902. Of the first Hon. Daniel Clark was
president, of the second Hon. Chas. H. Bell, and of the
third Gen. Frank S. Streeter. The amendments which
resulted from these conventions were with a few notable
exceptions such as did not accomplish radical changes in
the organic law.
Manufacturing has been largely increased since 1866
in the variety of the plants and in the value of the product.
The Amoskeag continues to hold its rank as the largest
single establishment for the manufacture of cotton goods
in the world. The New Hampshire lumber mills at Berlin
and Lincoln have been developed and improved in recent
years until they are among the most extensive and the
51
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best equipped in the United States. The business of
manufacturing wood pulp in this state represents the
hig-hest degree of modern progress in that industry, and
a ^•ast investment of capital. The manufacture of shoes,
hosiery and woollens in this period has assumed strikingly
large proportions in New Hampshire. The catalogue of
minor manufacturing industries that are well established
and profitable is extensive and suggestive of the proba-
bility of greater de\'elopment in many existing lines of
manufacturing enterprise, and many yet to be inaugur-
ated.
The state is becoming the home and place of sojourn
of thousands of those who are seeking recreation and
location in a region of the most beautiful climate and the
grandest ocean and mountain scenery on the eastern side
of the national domain.
Recent statistics of this business exhibit an investment
of $10,442,352 in the state. The help employed in 1899
was 12,354, with wages of $539,901. Two hundred and
four towns were entertaining summer tourists and so-
journers. More than twenty thousand of these people
occupied cottages in 1899. They were also patronizing
several hundred hotels and one thousand six hundred and
twenty-four farm houses. The volume of this business
estimated by cash receipts from 'it in 1899 was nearly
seven million of dollars.
It is not within the province of this epitome to enter
into the limitless extensions of ecclesiastical and educa-
tional statistics. The later history of religion and educa-
tion in this state may be summarized and condensed, for
the present purpose, into a few statements. In the cities
and large centres of population the provisions for educa-
tion of youth and for religious worship and religious
teaching are such as afford superior privileges. In the
remote and partially depopulated towns people ha\-e not
kept up the rate of progress in respect to church exten-
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sion and educational opportunities that is apparent in
the more wealthy and populous districts. Ihis is inevi-
table under existing conditions and methods. It is within
the power of each religious denomination to remedy this
state of affairs for itself as regards the present disparity
in the maintenance of religious teaching, institutions and
organizations in dift'erent localities. The state must re-
form its system of local congestion of school expendi-
tures and provide a common school education, first class
in every respect, to the completion of the grammar grade,
where all the youth of school age in any school district
can have just as complete common school opportunities as
their fellows who happen to haA'e been born in a large
town or a prosperous city.
The light of the sun and the free air are the property
of everybody everywhere and in perfect equality of privi-
lege and possession. To a certain extent on a similar
prmciple of equality and freedom, reasonable and ade-
quate educational opportunities and wholesome religious
and moral teaching should be ensured in every locality so
that the young everywhere within the limits of school
age may have a fair start in education and morals. The
two weak places in our educational scheme are in the
poverty of school privileges in numerous localities and
the absence outside the cities of intelligent, capable and
systematic supervision of the schools according to a plan
by which the entire state would be divided into super-
vision districts and a trained professional educator placed
in charge of each district.
New Hampshire has not been such a field as some
other localities have been to attract great preachers to
service within her borders. A study of the biographical
data relative to the native ministry collected by Rev. N.
F. Carter, however, discloses a surprisingly large num-
ber of preachers and teachers who have gone out from
the parishes of this state and engaged in relig"ious work
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in all sections of this country and abroad in all parts of
the field of general missions. At the extremes of a cen-
tury the distinguished careers of Samuel Langdon and
Nathan Lord will be observed, — one going from this
state to the presidency of Harvard and the other coming
from another state to the presidency of Dartmouth, —
both great lights in theology, education and political
science. The list of men eminent in the church who are
natives of New Hampshire is indeed remarkable. In
that roll will be found the names of Benjamin Randall,
founder of the Free Baptist denomination; Hosea Bal-
lon, founder of modern Universalism; Carlton Chase,
Philander Chase, and William Bell White Howe, Bishops
of the Protestant Episcopal Church; Osmoh C. Baker,
Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church; Alonzo A.
Miner, theologian, college president, and reformer;
James Freeman Clarke, preacher and author; Samuel
C. Bartlett, author and educator; and Francis Brown,
eminent in theological instruction and as a religious au-
thority.
The Right Rev. Denis M. Bradley, Roman Catholic
Bishop of Manchester, and the Right Rev. William
Woodruff Niles, Protestant Episcopal Bishop of New-
Hampshire, are both distinguished prelates and adminis-
trators, whose labors have been marked by material and
spiritual progress and achievement in contemporary epis-
copacies covering unusually long periods.
Theological education has not been neglected in the
past in this state. Both the Baptist and the Free Baptist
denominations have had at different times theological
seminaries at New Hampton. The Biblical Institute at
Concord was the nucleus from which the theological de-
partment of Boston University was developed, as the
New Hampton school was transferred to Lewiston to
constitute the theological department at Bates College.
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STATE BUILDERS
A theological seminary of good repute was maintained
many years at Gilmanton by the Congregationalists.
The college of St. Anselm at Manchester, established
in recent years, has taken high rank as an educational
institution of the youth between the high schools and the
academies and the post graduate professional schools.
Dartmouth since the conclusion of the administration
of Nathan -Lord has more than doubled its resources, its
buildings and its corps of instructors. The most con-
spicuous and perhaps the most important addition to its
departments is the Tuck post-graduate school designed
foi the higher special education of men intending to en-
gage in those lines of business which are not included or
provided for in the ordinary professional schools.
The Normal School at Plymouth is permanently estab-
lished and supported by the state on constantly progres-
sive methods and increasing financial and instructional
provisions for its work. It stands well in line with the
better class of institutions of its kind.
The local high schools in most of the large towns and
smaller cities have been established since the war with
facilities of instruction and curriculum to cover the aca-
demic courses and those required for admission to college.
The state library, a model institution of its kind, with
every modern equipment appropriate to an institution of
its standing in the domain of library progress, and more
than two hundred local free libraries are no inconsiderable
re-enforcement of the educational system. Indeed, a free
library is now within the reach of every citizen and every
youth of the state.
The College of Agriculture and Mechanic arts, at first
established at Hanover upon a federal foundation, in the
administration of President Smith, but re-established at
Durham by act of the legislature prior to the administra-
tion of President Murkland, and known as the State Col-
lege, has been the beneficiary of a large endowment by
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STATE BUILDERS
Benj. Thompson and liberal aid from the state. It has
every prospect of phenomenal prosperity and usefulness,
as its resources are organized, directed and concentrated
upon that de[Dartment of education which was within the
design of congress and its later benefactor in the pro-
vision of the financial foundations.
Among the more influential exponents of journalism,
who have been identified with the newspapers of the state
past and present may be mentioned Isaac Hill, Nathaniel
P. Rogers, George G. Fogg, Asa IMcFarland, John B.
Clarke, William E. Chandler and Orrin C. Moore.
In the more national field of this fourth profession,
beyond question the primate was Horace Greeley.
Commanding position has also been held by a number of
other sons of New Hampshire in journalistic labor and
entei-prise. While there are many who are doubtless
entitled tO' mention in this class, it certainly is not permis-
sible to omit the mention of Charles A. Dana, I'lic Sun,
New York; Charles G. Green, Tlie Boston Post; Stilson
Hutchins, Tlic Washington Post; Horace White, The
New York Evening Post; and Charles R. Miller, The
New York Times.
Charles Carleton Coffin, Thomas W. Knox, and Franl:
B. Sanborn have attained to positions in the highest ranks
of able and successful nev/spaper correspondents.
There are many noted New Hampshire names which
are familiar in other fields of journalistic achievement,
besides those which are or have been identified with the
great metropolitan daily newspapers.
In this list are John A. Dix, James T. Field, Jeremiah
E. Rankin, B. P. Shillaber ("Mrs. Partington"). Alonzo
H. Quint, Moses A. Dow, John \\'entworth ("Long
John"), Harris M. Plaisted, Enoch M. Pingree, Nathan-
iel Green, Thomas B. Aldrich, Edwin D. Mead, Francis
Ambrose Eastman, George B. James, Nelson Ebenezer
Cobleigh, John B. Bouton, Thomas G. Fessenden, Na-
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tlianiel A. Haven, Georg-e W. Kendall, John Farmer,
Jacob Bailey Moore, O. W. B. Peabody, J. V. B. Smith,
Baron Stowe.
A nnmber of talented women, natives of the state,
have been contributors to various newspapers and other
periodicals as well as to the general literature of their
time, prominent in this category being Sarah J. Hale,
Eliza B. Lee, Sarah Towne Martin, Constance F. Wool-
son, Edna Dean Proctor and Sarah Orne Jewett.
Since the business of railroading was inaugurated in
this state less than seventy years ago its growth has kept
in ecjual step with the development of commerical re-
cjuirements. The present mileage, 1 190 30-100 miles
of main track and 521 92-100 of sidings is greater in
proportion to wealth and population than in the case
of any other New England state. The three stages of
construction, competition and consolidation have been
well illustrated in New Hampshire. From 1870 to
1890 intervened a period of railroad war which di-
vided the people as partisans of one railroad system
or the other, and this allegiance resembled in many waj^s
the fealty which men have accorded to political par-
ties. Since industrial peace ensued after the termination
of the wars of the rival railroad corporations, and a single
system has been developed and perfected, all the other
industries of the state have felt the impetus and had the
benefits of enlarged and highly organized railroad facili-
ties, the extension of railroad lines, the marked reduc-
tion of rates, both in passenger and freight service, and
innumerable administrative reforms.
The activities and organizations into which the people
of the state have entered in the time of this generation art
indeed worthy of more extended review than can be given
the subject in this connection. For the promotion of
state industries, the Board of Agriculture, though of ear-
lier establishment, has in recent years been so organized.
57
STATE BUILDERS
directed and supplied by increased state support that it
has become a most efficient stimukis to the cause which
it is intended to subserve.
Ancillary to the work of the Board of Agriculture is
that of the Cattle Commission and the commissioners of
veterinary examination.
The Board of Charities and Correction is a progressive
and useful organization which has accomplished impor-
tant results in reform of pre-existing systems and time-
worn methods relating to the public care, custody and
management of prisoners, the dependent poor, and other
wards of the State.
The insane asylum, now known as the state hospital,
was established in 1838 and has been supported in part
by private benefactions and in part by state appropria-
tions with constantly increasing capacity for meeting the
purposes for which it was instituted.
On parallel lines of state aid in the industrial .develop-
ment of the state, the Forestry Commissioners, the Labor
Bureau, the Inspector of Steamboats and the Fish and
Game Commission are well equipped for efficient public
service.
The Industrial School at Manchester and the recently
established school at Laconia are designed to accomplish
educational results for special classes which could not
properly be within the scope of the common schools or
any other method of instruction.
The Bank Commissioners, the Insurance Commissioners
and the Railroad Commissioners having certain advisory,
investigating and directory functions, are intermediaries
between the people and three classes of corporations.
In the department of conservation of the public health
and of preventive medicine, the State Board of Public
Health with a well equipped and well directed central
office and working station, is fulfilling an important mis-
sion at the capital and throughout the state. With this
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departinent, in classification, the various boards of medi-
cal examination,— the Boards of Registration in the dif-
ferent schools of the medical profession,— of registration
in dentistry and registration in pharmacy may be also
mentioned/ To this division of the public service the
state bacteriological laboratory is assigned as well as the
bureau of vital statistics.
The Soldiers' Home at Tilton and the Veterans' Camp
at Weirs are both visible monuments of the state's appre-
ciation of -Svhat they were and what they did" who gave
service and imperilled life m camp and battle.
The Grand Army of the Republic, the Veterans' Asso-
ciation, the Woman's Relief Corps, the Sons of Veterans,
and many other patriotic and historic associations are
serving beneficent purposes and keeping bright the mili-
tary spirit and the memory of a heroic past, and makmg
sure the perpetuation of that love of state and country
which renders impossible no lal>or and no sacrifice when
freemen shall again be summoned to the nation's defence.
The State of New Hampshire is to-day abreast of all
the commonwealths of the Union in the advancing civili-
zation of the age. Her progress and her prosperity are
upon sure foundations. There are no omens of evil in her
future except those which a self-reliant and progressive
people may confront with courage and confidence.
59
EDUCATION IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
Bv James H. Fassett, B.A,
CHAPTER I
DEVELOPMENT OF THE EARLY SCHOOLS
From the first settlement by David Thompson at Pan-
naway, in 1623, until the union of New Hampshire with
Massachusetts eighteen years later there is no record that
any form of education was provided for the youth of the
colony; but after the union, the small settlements at
Hampton, Portsmouth, Dover and Exeter came under
the excellent school laws of Massachusetts.
The most important of these laws was enacted in 1647,
and the characteristic way in which the Puritan fore-
fathers were wont to look for and strive to intercept the
machinations of Satan, even in educational matters, is
most clearly brought out in the preamble of this law. "It
being one chief e project of that old deluder, Sathan, to
keep men from the knowledge of the scriptures, as in
former times, keeping them in an unknowne tongue, so in
these latter times, by perswading them from the use of
tongues, so that at least, the true sence and meaning of
the originall might be clouded with false glosses of saint
seeming deceivers; and that learning may not be buried
in the grave of our forefathers in church and common-
wealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors :
"It is therefore ordered by this Courte and authority
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thereof, that every towneshipp within this jurisdiction,
after that the Lord hath increased them to the number
of fifty howsholders, shall then forthwith appointe one
within theire towne, to teach all such children as shall
resort to him, to write and read; whose wages shall be
paid either by the parents or masters of such children, or
by the inhabitants in generall, by w-ay of supplye, as the
major parte of these who order the prudentials of the
towne shall appointe : provided, that those who send
theire children, bee not oppressed by paying much more
than they can have them taught for in other townes.
"And it is further ordered. That where any towne shall
increase to the number of one hundred families or hows-
holders, they shall sett up a grammar schoole, the masters
thereof, being able to instruct youths so far as they may
bee fitted for the university : and if any towne neglect
the performance hereof, above one yeare, then every such
towne shall pay five pounds per annum, to the next such
schoole, till they shall performe this order."
At this tinie each of the settlements at Dover and at
Exeter, certainly, had a man with experience in teaching
since the records of Massachusetts Colony show that
Philemon Purmont and Daniel Maud had taught schools
in Boston for several years. Subsequently both of these
men moved to New Hampshire, Purmont going into
voluntary exile with Wheelwright in 1638, while Maud
w^as called to become the minister at Dover in 1642.
A little later the following items are found in the
records at Dover :
"At a Publicke towne meiting hilled the last of August
(1656) Charles Buckher chosen by voet A Schoellmaster
for this towne," and in 1658, "It is agreed by ye select
men together with ye Towne that twenty pounds per
annum shall be yearly raysed for the Mayntenance of a
schoolmaster in the Towne of Dover : — That is to say for
the teachinge of all the children within the Towneship of
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Dover, the said Scholemaster haveing the preveleges of
all strangers out of the Towneship. The sd master also
teach to read, write, cast a Compt, and Latine, as the
parents shall require. ""
An early and an active interest was taken also in the
higher education. Harvard College, which was the only
institution where young men could be properly trained
for the ministry, was aided by voluntary contributions.
The amount recommended to be raised for this purpose
was "One peck of corn or twleve pence money or other
commodity, of every family, that so the college may have
some considerable yearly healp towards their occasions."*
Moreover in 1669 the towns of Portsmouth, Dover and
Exeter granted an annual subscription of one hundred
two pounds for seven years toward the support of the
college. In presenting this amount the colonists sent the
following address to the General Court of Alassachusetts :
"Though we have articled with yourselves for exemption
from public charges, yet we have never articled with God
and our own consciences for exemption from gratitude;
which to demonstrate, while we were studying, the loud
groans of the sinking college in its present low estate
came to our ears; the relieving of which we account a
good work for the house of our God, and needful for the
perpetuating of knowledge both civil and religious,
among us, and our posterity after us."
All of the towns in New Hampshire did not take kindly
to the compulsory law in regard to the keeping of the
common school. Even in Portsmouth as late as 1697
there was a dissenting vote against raising "thirtey
pounds mony pr anum for sd scollmasters sallery," signed
by twenty-one citizens of Portsmouth; and the following
year the town disputed a bill of fifty shillings incurred
by the teacher for a schoolroom.f Doubtless their reasons
were the same as those expressed by a minorit}' report in
* Bouton. t Brewster.
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STATE BUILDERS
the tOAvn of Croydon several years later, in which it was
contended "that to be obliged to pay money for the tuition
of other peoples' children, or even our own, is unjust,
tyrannical, and oppressive. Some individuals in the same
town even went so far as to refuse to pay their school
taxes except by process of law. It is to the credit of the
majority of the New Hampshire people, however, that in
spite of this active opposition, some of which was, and
is still, to be found in all communities, public schools were
insisted upon and maintained.
During the troublesome period between 1679 and 1692
in which New Hampshire had been separated from Mas-
sachusetts, again united by petition of the people, and
again separated by action of the crown, little was done
for education. Indeed the fact that, out of three hun-
dred seventy-four signers of a petition presented to the
Court of ]\Iassachusetts in 1690 for protection against
the Indians, nearly twenty-five per cent were obliged to
make their marks would indicate a lack rather than an
abundance of educational privileges.
The germs of education, however, were strongly im-
planted in the majority of our New Hampshire citizens.
In fact the first year after their separation from the Bay
Colony (1693) the following law was passed: '"It is
enacted and ordained, that for the building and repair-
ing of meeting houses, minister's houses, schoolhouses,
and allowing a salary to a schoolmaster in each town
within this Province, the selectmen, in the respective
towns, shall raise money by an equal rate and assessment
upon the inhabitants — and every town within this Prov-
ince (Dover only excepted during the war) shall from
and after the publication hereof, provide a school-
master for the supply of the town, on penalty of
ten pounds; and for neglect thereof, to be paid, one half
to their majesties, and the other half to the poor of the
town."
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The next important law relating to education was
passed in 17 19. It compelled every town having more
than hftv householders to hire a schoolmaster to teach the
youth to read and write, and \\ here the town numbered
one hundred householders a grammar school was also to
be kept by "some discreet person of good conversation,
well instructed in the tongues." The selectmen were to
hire the schoolmaster and were to levy a tax upon the
inhabitants in order to pay his salan.-. The penalty for
the neglect of this law was twenty pounds which was to
go "towards the support of schools within the province,
where there may be most need."'
In 1 72 1 because of the general neglect to provide
grammar schools it was found necessary to hold the
selectmen personally responsible. The law provided
that "if any town or parish is destitute of a grammar
school for the space of one momh the selectmen shall for-
feit and pav out of their own estates the sum of twenty
poimds, to be applied towards the defraying the charges
of the province. "
In some of the frontier towns the law relating to
grammar schools worked rather a hardship, especially
upon the selectmen, and several instances are on record
wnere petitions were granted excusing these newly settled
parishes from the grammar school condition; but in no
instance was any town or parish excused from keeping
a school for reading and writing, "to which all towns of
fifty families were obliged."
The vast majority of the towns, however, did not come
under either one of the above laws and in most of these
small scattered hamlets all the "schooling" which the
children received was obtained from their fathers and
mothers at home.
In the first settlements near ^Massachusetts most of the
early teachers were men and a great many were college
graduates. It has been said that in the town of Hamp-
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ton, one of the earliest to be settled, all the masters
previous to the Revolutionary ^^'ar were college bred.
Dov. .* however, disputes this fact, but admits that the
great majority had had liberal training.
The dame schools were usually taught in the summer
and were for the smaller children and the girls. The
boys at this time were getting in the hay and assisting
their fathers. The women who had charge of the
summer schools were expected to teach the girls sewing
and knitting as well as spelhng and reading. Arithmetic
was considered entirely supertiuous for girls and in fact
it was very little taught even in the winter schools which
the boys attended. Frequently the maiden ladies who
taught these "marm"" schools earned something more than
their school wages by spinning between school terms for
the family with whom they boarded. They sometimes
earned as much as fifty cents per week by this means.
About the year 1720 the infltience of the Scotch-Irish
settlers, who came to this colony in large numbers and
settled in Londonderry and the surrounding towns, began
to be felt. They were all people of thrift and intelli-
gence. One of the direct descendants! of this hardy race
writes as follows : 'Tt has been said that the Scotch in
Ireland had better schools than the common people in
England had at the same time. Of three hundred and
thirteen who signed the celebrated 'Memorial to Gov.
Shute' ('Mar. 26, 1718) three hundred and six signed
their names in a legible and generally handsome hand.
■'Twelve of the signers were graduates of the univer-
sity. Most of these men came to Am.erica, and they were
fair samples of the intelligent, capable, and well-informed
Scotch people, that sought these shores. They and their
descendants were set on education, religion and liberty.
It is said that every Scotch settler coming to this town, J
whether born be3'ond the water or in some older New
* Town History of Hampton. ^ W. R. Cochrane. 1 Antrim.
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England settlement, had a fair common school educa-
tion for those times."
The other settlers were quick to appreciate the intelli-
trence and broader education of these Scotch-Irish emi-
grants and soon there was a goodly sprinkling of "Macs
and other broad Scotch names in the list of schoolmasters
throughout the colony. This led not only to the spread-
ing of the Scottish education but also to the proverbial
Scottish wit. A story is told of a certain "Master"
Russell who one winter had charge of a school in Chester.
One day Master Russell called upon a boy in one of his
classes to read a list of some of the proper names in the
Old Testament. The lad, not being well skilled in the
proper pronunciation of the old worthies, was making
somewhat hard work of his task, in fact it is to be feared
that if the old worthies had been present in person they
themselves would scarcely have recognized their names,
when the master said, "Stop, stop, Elijah ! You bring
tears to my eyes, for you are calling the names of my
old friends in Ireland."
Something of the repute in which the Scotch-Irish
schoolteachers were held may be found in the following :
At one time a Dr. Hoit was master of a school in Weare.
During the morning session the school was visited by the
chairman of the selectmen together with a Scotch-Irish
schoolmaster named Donovan. The town's chief magis-
trate proceeded to ask Dr. Hoit for his credentials, saying
that he was anxious to have a teacher who understood
English grammar. When the dignitaries had departed
one of the older boys asked the master what the word
credentials m.eant. The master, turning upon him with
a frown, said: "I don't know and I don't care, but I
suppose it is some Eatin word Donovan put into his
head."
Fortunately we have quite an accurate picture pre-
served to us of a typical Scotch-Irish schoolmaster in the
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person of ''Master Kirby," who had taught school in
Portsmouth, and v/ho afterwards settled at Barnstead.*
"He was middle-aged, thickset, rather short; his hat,
three-cornered, buttoned. His shoes were of heavy leather,
high cut, and a large sized button of steel on the instep.
His coat was rather of the long-jacket style with massive
pockets outside, and 3 standing collar. His breeches
buckled snug at the knee, were of corduroy, his stockings
long and inclined to the snuff color. His vest was of vast
proportions, buttoned snug at the neck, and made of black
and white wool. Snugly ensconced was his 'bull's eye'
under its righthand fold. His three-cornered hat much of
the time covered the glistening baldness of his pate while
liis frosted locks gathered and tied in the rear hung in a
graceful queue, ornamenting the collar of his coat upon
his spacious round shoulders. His pleasant and graceful
bearing bespoke the truthfulness of his early training, and
his dialect indicated a nationality of which he was always
proud."
The first structures used for schools were made of
logs and were extremely crude affairs. The only ap-
paratus necessary were a firqilace for warmth, hewn
benches for the children, and a rough table for the master,
A little later, when sawmills became plentiful, framed
buildings with their rude covering of boards and shingles
began to replace the log schoolhouse.
A most interesting picture of this type of schoolhouse
is given in the History of Chester, N, H.f ''The house
was fifteen by sixteen feet, six feet stud. The outside
boarding was 'feather-edged'; the walls on the inside
were ceiled; a loose floor overhead; the door opened into
the room and was furnished with a wooden latch and
string. There were at first three windows of nine panes
each, but afterwards another was added. At first there
were on a part of three sides, writing benches, composed
* Town History of Barnstead. t Benjamin Chase.
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of planks some fifteen or eighteen inches wide, one edge
supported against the walls of the house, the other by
legs inserted in auger-holes. For seats, slabs with legs
were used. The writers, of course, sat with their backs
to the teacher.
"Inside of the writers' seats were smaller ones for the
younger urchins. The 'Master' had a chair and a pine
table in the center, and 'Master Russell' swayed a scepter
in the form of a hickory switch long enough to reach
every scholar in the house. There was a brick chimney,
with a wooden mantel-piece in one corner of the house,
which so far counteracted the laws of nature that the
smoke came down into the house, instead of rising.
Green wood was used, which was out in the snow until
wanted, so that it took a considerable part of the forenoon
before the house was warm, the scholars rubbing their
eyes meanwhile on account of the smoke. By this time
the mantel-piece was on fire, and some one must get snow
and quench it."
Another picture is painted of a schoolhouse in Littleton
of a later period.* "The desks, if we examine them, will
have, hollowed out upon their upper side, coarse images
of Indian fights, canal boats, tomahawks, fox and geese
and checker boards, miniature river systems, and many a
cut and hack, made in the mere exuberance of youthful
spirits, without any apparent design. A look at the walls
reveals to us the stucco work of spit-balls and paper quids^
fired at flies or imaginary targets, by mischievous boys,
and places, too, bare of plaster and whitewash, where
some ball or ink bottle has struck in the absence of the
teacher."
In some towns where the families were widely scat-
tered and large, and families in those days were almost
always large, the schoolmaster and the school would move
from one section to another. An interesting account of a
* Town History of Littleton.
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school of this kind is found in Lancaster.* "There were
at least twenty children in this district of school age, and
they lived nearly twO' miles apart. The school would
commence in a room at Coffin Moore's, where there were
twelve children, but some of them were away. Reading,
writing and arithmetic were taught. The school would
continue at Moore's two or three weeks, or what was his
proportion of the time, determined by the number of pu-
pils, when it would be announced that the school would
move. The time having arrived for moving, the larger
boys would take the benches (which were made of slabs,
wnth sticks set in auger-holes for legs) upon their sleds,
and go to J. W. Brackett's, where there were ten children.
A room would be vacated and the benches moved in. A
table on which to write would be borrowed, or rudely
constructed of pine boards, and the school opened again.
The teacher boarded with the family until their propor-
tion of the time" was filled out. Then the school would
make another move to J. B. Week's and from there
to ]\Tr. Bucknam's, from whence it next would go to
Abiel Lovejoy's and round out its terms." These mov-
ing schools were common to all towns before school-
houses were erected.
Beside teaching the pupils to improve their minds, the
teachers were supposed by precept and example to teach
"manners" and good behavior. It is said that Master
Abraham Perkins as he approached the schoolhouse
dressed in his broad-tailed coat, velvet breeches with sil-
ver buckles at the knee, and with a large ivory-headed
cane in his hand, always saluted the children by grace-
fully removing his three-cornered cocked hat on entering
. the schoolroom. It was proper also for the pupils as he
•approached to form in two lines from the schoolroom
door, the girls on one side and the boys on the other, ar-
ranged according to their ages. First came the salute by
* Town History of Lancaster.
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Master Perkins, the three-cornered hat being held in his
hand as he marched in review between the Hnes; the boys'
caps were doffed in a twinkhng and the girls made deep
courtesies, as he passed. The children were counter-
marched into the schoolhouse behind him. About nine
o'clock in the morning the school began. First the small
children read from the New England Primer and recited
the catechism, which it contained. Then the larger pupils
were given the Psalter and the Bible from which some
read glibly and fluently, while others drawled and stum-
bled through the passages in a manner wonderful to
hear.
In some instances the more advanced pupils were al-
lowed to bring from home any reader or book which they
might chance to possess. These older pupils sat upon
the benches in the back part of the room and read around
one after another; the teacher, meantime, pretended to
listen, but, having no book, the exercise was tiresome in
the extreme and the criticisms usually lacking. An ac-
count of this kind of exercise is given by ^liss Rankin of
Littleton : "The monotony of such a dull exercise often
threw our master into a profound slumber, and I remem-
ber, one time, I, and another mischievous girl, tried to
see how hard we could punch our sleeping pedagogue
without awaking him. He was so moderate in returning
to consciousness that we had ample time to return to our
books with the most intense application, leaving him in
entire ignorance as to where the ones were who would
presume to disturb his pleasant dreams."'
The reading was followed by arithmetic taught by the
teacher orally or by rote, as it was called. Usually the
rules were written out on pieces of birch bark or on scraps
of paper if any pupil was so fortunate as to possess them,
and then memorized. After the arithmetic came recess,
and it is needless to say that the decorum of the boys on
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their entrance to school was not maintained on their exit
at recess time.
The sports of those early times, indulged in at recess
and at the noon intermission, were not so very different
from those of the children of to-day. As one of the early
chroniclers has put it : "They had 'pizen gool,' or goal,
tag-, snap the whip, high-spy, 'eny, meny, mony, mi' ; the
larger boys 'rasseled,' at arms length, side holts and
backs, and lifted at stiff heels. At a later day when school
kept in autumn or in winter they snowballed, slid down
hill or skated on the glare ice."
After recess came the writing lesson, for which it was
the duty of the teacher not only to "set the copy" in the
writing books, but also to make and mend the pens for
the pupils' use. These pens were made of quills plucked
from the wings of geese, and considerable skill and expe-
rience were needful to make a serviceable article. To
make or mend a score or so of pens each day was some-
thing of a task. Occasionally pens were made from quills
which had been boiled in oil. They were much superior
to the common pens and were called "Dutch quills." The
latter were not commonly used since they must be brought
from Boston or Newburyport.
After the writing lesson came the spelling which was
entirely oral and was usually conducted by choosing sides
and spelling down. The best speller in the school was a
noted personage, and in choosing sides he was always the
first to be called. Sometimes school districts would unite
for a spelling match and great glory awaited the boy or
girl who came off victor and brought honor to his or her
district.
The spelling of words was always done by syllable;
each syllable was spelled, pronounced, then the next syl-
lable was spelled, pronounced, then both were pronounced
together, the same method being followed throughout the
word. When a word like Constantinople was spelled in
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this wav it took considerable time and not a little breath.
Frequent mention is found of singing schools con-
ducted by some master of the art, and usually held in the
evening in a schoolhouse centrally located. These sing-
ing schools were largely attended by the young men and
women of the entire township, and to escort the young
maids to and from the singing school was not the least
of its attractions. One system of singing in vogue at the
time was invented by Mr. Tufts, minister of the church
in Xewbur}-. His book was published in 1712 and con-
tained twenty-eight tunes with rules for singing the same.
His "svstem" was to print on the staff the first letters of
the Italian syllables instead of notes, thus d would stand
for do. r for re. m for mi. etc. It is said that this method
became ven- popular. At any rate, whatever scheme was
used was much better than singing by rote, as the people
usually did, whereby "'the melodies underwent many
transformations.'' Rev. Mr. \\'alter5, evidently a man
of some htmior and with not a little knowledge of music,
hands down to us the folloA\"ing accoimt of chorus sing-
ing in the early times : "Singing sounds like five hundred
different tunes roared out at the same time. The singers
often are two words apart, producing noises so hideous
and disorderly as is bad beyond expression. The notes
are prolonged so that J myself h.ave twice in one note
paused to take breatli."
The rules of behavior were very accurately laid down
and woe betide the youth who thoughtlessly or recklessly
disobeyed them. The ways of punishment were exceed-
ingly varied and ingenious: even the ordinary- "black
strap" had its variations as will be shown later. Indeed
much of the school time was consumed not to say wasted
in violent exercise, participated in both by the teacher and
pupil. Among the milder forms of punishment was "sit-
ting on nothing" or "on the top end of an old-fashioned
elm bark seat chair, turned down." Again the pupil
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would be compelled to bold out horizontally a heavy
book. Stooping- down to hold a nail or peg in the
floor, "with an occasional smart rap on the rear," to keep
the culprit from bending his knees, standing in the corner
and sitting with the girls were also very mild forms of
punishment.
]\Iaster Hogg, one of the earliest teachers in Sutton,
emplo}-ed a unique form of punishment which he called
"horseing," and an appropriate term it was. The modus
operandi was as follows : As soon as a boy w^as caught
misbehaving he was promptly called into the floor. It
was usually not long before two other youngsters were
ready to keep number one company. The requisite num-
ber now having been obtained, the "circus" began. The
first ofl^ender was made to get down on his hands and
knees, number two must mount on his back, while a third
culprit was compelled to whip them soundly around the
room. This punishment was made perfectly fair, since
the boys were obliged to "swap" places until each had
taken his turn at "v.'hipping once and being whipped
twice."
It was not all fun for the teachers in those early
schools. Often the larger boys would combine forces,
boldly advance upon the master, and if successful in their
onslaught, they would carry him forth from the school-
house and boldly pitch him into a snowdrift or duck him
in some nearby creek. It required a man with some nerve
to take a school where his predecessors had been severally
and in turn ejected in this manner. John Gillett on com-
ing to a school of this kind in one of the New Hampshire
towns started the morning services after the pupils had
assembled by striding back and forth through the school-
room several times; then, turning suddenly, he said with
a voice which made the windows rattle, "Boys, if you
don't behave I'll lick you, then if you don't behave I will
follow you home and lick your parents."
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It is told also of Master Richard x\dams, who taught
the Sugar Hill district in Weare, that he had in his school
as many as twenty strapping boys, each one of whom was
over six feet tall. One day, at a preconcerted signal, they
all arose and marched in single file around the room. As
the foremost boy passed the fireplace, he seized a burning
branch from the hearth and shouted to his followers,
"Shoulder firelock!" But at that point Master Adams
took a hand in the afifair and ordered "Ground firelock!
consarn ye." At the same instant he gave the leader a
blow which stretched him at full length on the floor. It
is said that no better ordered school was ever taught in
that district than the one taught by IMaster Adams.
Some of the punishments seemed needlessly cruel and
unnecessary, but it must be remembered that corporal
punishment was part of the spirit of the times. The
parents knew that they had received thrashings when they
went to school, and it seemed to them in some indefinable
way a necessary though painful part of the child's educa-
tion. Doubtless the wisdom of Solomon was often quoted
in relation to the need of not sparing the rod. A certain
Master Thurston, who taught for many years in Bos-
cawen, was a noted disciplinarian, and when in those
days a master was noted for "discipline" you may be sure
that he deserved it. It is related that Master Thurston
had as one of his instruments a black leather strap, made
in two pieces with sheet lead stitched between them. On
one end of this strap he had punched four holes and on
the other five. His mode of procedure was this: Hold-
ing the strap in full view of the trembling youngster, he
would ask, "Which will you have, four holes or five?"
If the boy said four the master would reply, "For fear of
making a mistake I will give you both." It was a current
remark in West Salisbury, where Thurston taught several
terms, "that the surrounding farms never would have
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been cleared of birches if Master Thurston had not been
employed so- long as a teacher."
McDuffee in his ''History of Rochester" speaks of
a one-armed schoolmaster, a veteran of the Revolution,
who was a noted wielder of the birch and rod; the
strength of his lost arm seeming to supplement the muscle
of the one remaining. His name. Tanner, seemed pecu-
liarly appropriate; the boys, indeed, deeming it the most
fitting thing about him. His successor, Master Orne,
was said to have been remarkable, in fact unique, in the
way in which he dealt out punishment. "He flogged
singly, and by classes, and by the whole school; just as
ofiicers review their soldiers, by squads, by companies,
by battalions and by regiments." It was of no use for the
boys to rebel, they obtained little sympathy at home. The
parents considered that it was what they had received
when they went to school, "and what was good enough
for them was good enough for the children." It is
strange how history repeats itself even in educational
matters.
There is preserved among the writings of Master Jacob
N. Knapp, who taught school more than one hundred
years ago, an accurate picture of the school life oi that
time. The account runs as follows : "In the winter of my
17th year, I received an invitation to teach school for
three months in Loudon, near Concord, N. H. A school-
master's wages were at that time $6 a month and board.
My school consisted of about 40 pupils. It was composed
of both sexes and all ages. Most of the children under
10 years of age wore leather aprons, reaching from their
chins to their ankles. These aprons, after being worn a
little time, became striped and shining with bean porridge,
which in winter made the principal food of the children.
Many of the little girls took snuff; it was the fashion.
"In my school I had often used signals instead of
words. The exercises in reading and spelling for the day
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were about to commence. I. as usual gave with the ferule
one tap upon the table. The first class came out from
their desks on to the open floor, and stood in a line. On
receiving a slight sign, the head pupil read; then the next,
and so on to the last. At receiving a bow from their
teacher, each one bowed or courtesied and returned noise-
lessly to his or her desk. Two raps upon the table called
up the second class, who were exercised and dismissed in
the same manner. Three raps called up the third class.
This division closed the exercises. The school was dis-
missed.
"The people there and then considered it a privilege to
board the schoolmaster. To accommodate them, I
boarded in 13 different families, and thus became inti-
mately acquainted with every individual in the district.
The price of board was 4 shillings and 6 pence a
week. Lived well ; fat beef and pork, lambs and poultry,
in their seasons; butter, honey and drop cakes abounded;
coffee, tea and cream were liberally supplied."
As seen from Master Knapp's account a schoolmaster's
wages were about six dollars a month. Sometimes they
ran as low as four dollars per month, and in some in-
stances the master was not paid in money at all, but
drew his salary in so many bushels of grain, wheat or
rye, as the case might be. The town of Bath voted one
year to raise sixty bushels of wheat for the support of
the school. In fact this item of raising grain to be used
for school purposes is frequently met with in town
records. The use of grain for money at a time when
specie was very scarce and when the country was overrun
with paper money, whose value was almost nothing, is
not surprising. Good grain could always be exchanged
for the necessities of life and its value as a medium of
exchange w-as more or less fixed.
The two foUow^ing receipts not only show instances of
this kind of payment, but also indicate the relative value
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placed upon the master's teaching as compared with that
of the marm's teaching.
March 21, 1792.
Then my son Robert Hogg, received seventeen bushels
of Rie from Simon Kezar of Sutton which was due to
me for teaching schooHng two months in Sutton.
Per me.
Robert Hogg.
Methuen, Feb. i, 1791.
Received of Jacob INIastin and Hezekiah Parker six
bushels of Rye, it being in full for my keeping school for
them and others last fall six weeks.
Lydia Parker.
It must not be thought that this was all the money the
teacher lived upon during the year. The schools were
generally so arranged in the different neighborhoods that
they would begin one after another. The master could
thus travel from one district to the next and be pretty
constantly supplied with a school.
In addition to the funds raised directly for the support
of the schools there was usually a little revenue from
the "town lot." In all grants of township made by the
Masonian Proprietors, by Massachusetts and by John
Wentworth II, one lot or share, generally about one
hundred acres, of the land, was set aside for the use of
schools. This was usually done also' by other governors.
Frequent mention is made of this school lot or lots in
dift'erent town records; in some instances it was voted to
lease the land and to use the money for the support of
schools. Other towns appropriated the land for public
purposes and occasionally the lot was sold. The town of
Rochester, March 12, 1749, "Voted that the selectmen
of this town let out the school lot to those that will give
the most for it for the present year. And the rent tO' be
combarted to the towns youce."
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Besides the methods above indicated for raising school
money, in the very earHest schools it was the custom
"that every man should bring two feet of wood for each
scholar that he sent to school," and "that every man
should chop his own wood that he brings to the school-
house." Later, however, this custom changed somewhat,
and the task of furnishing the school firewood was gen-
erally set up at auction and struck off to the lowest bidder.
It was sometimes bid in by a man who had a quantity of
cheap wood which he wished to get rid of and who ac-
cordingly determined to dispose of it to the schools for
the boys to work up. The amount was not stipulated,
the agreement usually being that as much wood would be
hauled as was necessary. A certain Abner Hoit was fur-
nishing brown ash, and poor at that, to a school in the
central part of the state, much to the disgust of the boys.
Finally, when there were but three more days tO' the
close of school, Abner drew a cord of ash and said that
it must last the term out. The large boys determined not
to be dictated to as to the quantity of wood even if they
were obliged to accept the quality, and cut and burned
the entire cord in one day. The pitch fried out of the
pine knots in the ceiling, but at sundown not a stick of
wood remained, and Hoit was obliged to haul another
load.
In the same neighborhood lived a certain ]\Ioses
Mudgett, an easy-going individual, who found it less
troublesome to borrow wood from the schoolhouse pile,
already chopped by the boys, than to chop his own wood.
The larger boys soon suspected who was taking such an
interest in their wood pile, and they determined to fix
the old gentleman. Accordingly they bored holes in a
few of the larger sticks, filled them with powder and
drove in a tightly fitting wooden plug-. This scheme
worked to perfection. Moses got some of the loaded
sticks that very night and put them on his fire under a
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boiling pot. When the explosion came it is said that "the
pot shot up through the great chimney flue into the clear
sky and landed in the field over behind the barn." The
lesson was thoroughly taught and the schoolhouse wood
was thereafter untouched.
The burning of such quantities of wood during the
term naturally caused an accumulation of ashes. These
ashes were not then used for fertilizer, but were consid-
ered of value by the housewives for making soft soap and
also in the manufacture of potash. It was a long estab-
lished custom in many of the New Hampshire schools
for the big boys who had worked up the wood to have
the ashes. These, sorrowful to state, were sold to buy
rum with which to celebrate the last day of school. When
we consider that it was customary for boys to attend
school until they were twenty-two or twenty-three years
old and oftentimes older, this custom does not seem so
surprising, particularly as the use of New England rum
was so common. The way in which the use of "spirits"
was looked upon is seen in the following anecdote.
It seems that one day while "Good Mother Winslow"
was visiting a country school in Northfield, through some
accident, the fore stick, back log and all came rolling
down out of the fireplace onto the broad hearth. The
room instantly filled with smoke, and before matters
could be "set to rights" again, there being no shovel and
tongs, pupils and all were nearly suffocated. Mother
Winslow, so the story goes, with great indignation ex-
claimed, "It were better to sell the ashes for shovel and
tongs than to buy rum for the scholars." She was
silenced at once by a voter present, who replied, "Let 'um
have their rum — let 'um have it. It'll do tbem as much
good as salt does sheep once in a while." And so the
ashes did not go for shovel and tongs.
The district school as it existed in our forefathers'
time differed but little from many of the country schools
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in existence to-day. The "'master," however, has been
displaced and the master's daughter reigns in his stead.
There were many undeniable advantages in the old-
fashioned district school, particularly for the bright boys
and girls. They listened daily to the instruction of all the
classes from the primer to the Latin grammar, and they
unconsciously absorbed in a few terms a working knowl-
edge of subjects which would have taken a much longer
period to obtain under the graded system so universal
at present. On the other hand, the pupils of average
or mediocre ability labored under a distinct disadvantage
in the old-time schools as compared with those of to-day.
This was a direct result of the multiplicity of classes, the
brief recitation period, the impossibility of individual help
in the ungraded school and the absence of these disadvan-
tages in the graded schools.
CHAPTER II
EARLY ACADEMIES
Among the New Hampshire academies, Phillips Exe-
ter, Appleton, Atkinson, Gilmanton, Haverhill and Fran-
cestown are the only ones now in existence which have
passed the century mark. The followmg brief descrip-
tions of these six must stand for all. Their purpose was
alike, their standards were practically the same and the
results achieved, while not always equal in amount,
always tended toward the same high ideals.
Phillips Exeter, the first academy to be founded in
New Hampshire, was started at Exeter through the mu-
nificence of Dr. John Phillips. From the incorporation
of the academy in 1781 to his death fourteen years later
his bequests amounted tO' about sixty thousand dollars in
all. Thus the first academy in New Hampshire became
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also for its time one of the most heavily endowed. The
first building was of small dimensions with four school-
rooms, all of which were not finished. There was no regu-
lar course of study, each pupil taking up such branches
as he was found competent to follow; indeed, as late
as 1/88 there were but two pupils in the school who^ had
sufficiently mastered reading and spelling to enter into the
"mysteries of Latin.'' In 1797, however, a certificate
was granted Lewis Cass, the future statesman, in which
it was stated that he had acquired "the principles of
English, French, Latin and Greek languages, geography,
arithmetic and practical geometry; that he had made very
valuable progress in the study of rhetoric, history, natu-
ral and moral philosophy, logic, astronomy and natural
law." This would indicate that the curriculum had been
much extended and the standard raised. Again in 1808
and in 1818 the course of study was enlarged and at the
latter date a rigid line was drawn between the English
and classical departments. During the early years of the
academy all pupils were required to spend five or six
hours each day in the schoolroom, where both the study
and recitation work were done in the presence of a
teacher; but in 1858 this custom was abolished and the
pupils were required to be present only for recitation.
The aim of the academy from the beginning has been to
develop manliness and self reliance on the part of its
pupils, and the long list of honored names among its
alumni shows how well this object has been attained.
No school in New England at the present time can boast
a wider or more enviable reputation.
Eight years after the founding of Phillips Exeter
Academy the people of New Ipswich decided to establish
a school where the branches of the higher education could
be taught to better advantage than in the town grammar
schools. Mr. John Hubbard was elected the first teacher
at a salary of sixty pounds per year. Almost from the
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start the academy was self supporting. In 1789 a fund
was collected by subscription for the erection of an acad-
emy building, and it was completed in the same year.
The school at the present time has but few pupils, but
during the many years of its existence its influence has
been felt with peculiar force throughout that section of
the state.
Atkinson Academy, one of the few established during
the eighteenth century, was incorporated in 1791. The
first building was burned in 1802, but it was quickly
erected again the following year, the greater part of the
expense being borne by the people of Atkinson. In view
of their misfortune a grant was made by the legislature
to raise by lottery the amount of two thousand dollars,
the proceeds to go to the academy. A grant was also
made of half a township of land in Coos County, but
through some mismanagement neither the lottery nor the
grant of land amounted to a great deal. Nevertheless
the academy flourished and up to 1850 it had numbered
among its graduates nearly two thousand students. At
the present time, in common with so many other acade-
mies, its students are few and its influence proportion-
ately lessened.
At Gilmanton in 1792 a committee appointed for the
purpose reported "that the establishment of an academy
would be useful to the inhabitants and beneficial to the
public." Accordingly under an act of the legislature the
academy was incorporated in 1794. Its first teacher was
Peter L. Folsom, who acted as principal for six years. In
January, 1808, the academy building was burned to the
ground, but within five weeks after the fire the frame of
a new building was erected in its place. This school has
always taken high rank among the academies of the state.
A large number of young men have been fitted for col-
lege, many of whom have proved themselves strong in the
afifairs of the nation. In 1833 a theological department
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was established in connection with Gilmanton Academy,
and many clergymen have here received a thorough theo-
logical training.
In 1/93 the settlers of Haverhill decided to establish
an academy. A building was erected and the institution
incorporated in 1794. Its object as set forth in the char-
ter was "to promote religion, purity, virtue and morality,
and for teaching the youth in English, Latin, and Greek
languages; in writing, music and the art of speaicing;
in geography, logic, geometry, mathematics, and such
other branches of science as opportunity may present and
the teachers shall order and direct." A list of the sub-
jects taught in Haverhill Academy serve as an example
of the curricula of other academies at this time. The
first academy building was burnt in 1814 and it was voted
to rebuild with stone. Through varying periods of pros-
perity and adversity the Haverhill Academy has come
down to the present time.
The spring of 1801 saw the beginning of the Frances-
town Academy. Its first teacher was Alexander Dustin,
a college bred man, a graduate of Dartmouth in 1799.
For several years the academy continued under his effi-
cient management. From the beginning the school was a
success. In 18 18 a new building was constructed of
brick. Although the school had been in operation since
1801 it was not incorporated until 1819. From that time
down to the present there are found in a list of its teach-
ers and graduates some of New Hampshire's greatest
names. "Among its students have been one President
of the United States; two United States Senators; many
members of Congress; Judges, from Police Court to the
United States Supreme Court; one Major-General in the
Union Army; and a great number of Professors, Tutors,
Ministers, Physicians, Missionaries, Governors and lead-
ers in every department of learning and enterprise."
The limitations of this article are such that it is im-
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possible to enter into a lengthy description of the one
hundred thirty New Hampshire academies, the majority
of which have sprung- into life, performed nobly the
duties for which they were intended and have passed to
the end of an honorable and useful existence.
The town and city high schools are direct descendants
of the old-fashioned academy. As education became
more common it was made possible for the cities and
even the small towns to procure men and women of suit-
able learning and experience to teach the higher branches
at a moderate cost. Thus the young people were able
to obtain an academic training at home. At the present
time there are many such high schools which send out
each year pupils well ecpiipped in the academic branches
of education.
CHAPTER HI
THE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING
Dartmouth College had its beginning as a school for
Indian boys, established by Eleazor Wheelock in 1755
at Lebanon, Connecticut. Wheelock's original idea in
founding this school was to educate the American In-
dian, but very soon he enlarged upon this idea and admit-
ted American boys, with the understanding that they
would later become missionaries among the Indian
tribes. Ten years after the founding of the school, Dr.
Wheelock sent an Indian named Occum, a graduate of
his school, to England, where he addressed immense au-
diences and succeeded in raising funds to the amount of
eleven thousand pounds. Governor John \Ventworth of
New Hampshire in 1770 offered Dr. Wheelock an exten-
sive grant of land in New Hampshire if he would move
his school to that province, and he also promised a most
liberal charter for the college, which it was Wheel-
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ock's ambition to found. A site for the institution was
finally selected at Hanover, and after overcoming almost
insuperable obstacles, the actual scholastic life of the
college began. The first class was graduated August 28,
1 77 1, and consisted of four students. Governor John
Wentworth driving all the way from Portsmouth in order
to be present at the ceremony.
The Dartmouth jMedical School began with a course
of lectures given by Dr. Nathan Smith, a graduate of
Harvard Medical School, in 1790. The following year
the medicaJ department was formally accepted by the
trustees of Dartmouth College, and the same year a class
of four students was graduated, each receiving the degree
of M. B.
From such small beginnings has the present Dart-
mouth College sprung. It ranks among the oldest of the
American colleges, and it has established for itself a repu-
tation of which ever}' New Hampshire citizen may be
justly proud.
In 1866 a school for agriculture was started under the
title of "The New Hampshire College of Agriculture and
the Mechanic Arts." It was organized with a board of
nine trustees; five were appointed by the Governor and
Council and four by the trustees of Dartmouth College.
By act of Congress, New Hampshire was entitled to one
hundred fifty thousand acres of land scrip, the sale of
which amounted to about eighty thousand dollars.
This sum was invested in six per cent bonds, none of it
being available for the erection of buildings. The college
was first located in Hanover, where it was more or less
closely associated with Dartmouth College, not entirely
to its advantage.
The real prosperity of the college began upon its re-
moval from Hanover to Durham, when it fell heir to the
Benjamin Thompson estate, amounting in all to nearly
five hundred thousand dollars. Beautiful and spacious
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buildings were erected, mechanical, physical and chemical
laboratories were thoroughly equipped, in fact, every con-
venience was supplied for a college of mechanic arts
according to modern ideas.
The Thayer School of Civil Engineering was founded
by General Sylvanus Thayer of the United States Army.
In 1867 he gave seventy thousand dollars as a fund for
the school and established conditions which made it prac-
tically a post graduate institution. Its requirements for
graduation are probably more severe than those of any
other school of a similar kind, and its graduates are
looked upon by the profession as men thoroughly quali-
fied in all departments of civil engineering.
In 1870 an act passed the legislature for the establish-
ment of a Normal School, a board of trustees to be
appointed by the Governor and Council. The school was
finally located at Plymouth. At first it labored under a
great disadvantage by not receiving pecuniary aid from
the state, the expenses of the school being met by tuition
collected from the pupils. It was not until 1875 that
the state made a sufficient appropriation for the school to
be declared free to its students.
In 1878 the appropriation was only three thousand
dollars, but, as the efficiency and the needs of the school
have become more apparent, it has been gradually in-
creased until the state at present grants twenty-five thou-
sand dollars a year toward the expenses of the school.
From the beginning the town of Plymouth gave over its
children into the hands of the trustees of the Normal
School for a model and a practice school. At the present
time the Normal School, which numbers over one hun-
dred fifty pupils, is in a very flourishing condition.
The large and commodious building erected in 1890 for
recitation purposes, etc., as well as the dormitory build-
ing, w^hich at the time of their erection were deemed suffi-
ciently large for years to come, have already been out-
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groAvn, and the school bids fair under proper financial
conditions to b
New Ensfland.
conditions to become one of the largest normal schools in
CHAPTER IV
THE FORMATIVE PERIOD OF THE COMMON SCHOOLS
In 1789 the general court of New Hampshire repealed
all previous laws in regard to the common schools and
started anew on the basis of taxing all the inhabitants of
the several towns except non-residents, on the polls and
real estate at the rate of five pounds for every twenty
shillings that each town paid to the support of the state.
The first year it was in operation this tax amounted
throughout the entire state to nearly five thousand
pounds, and the law read "that the money thus raised to
be expended for the sole purpose of keeping an English
Grammar School, or schools for teaching reading, writ-
ing, and arithmetic; but in each shire or half shire town,
the school kept shall be a grammar school for the purpose
of teaching the Latin, and Greek languages, as well as the
aforesaid branches." The above law also required that
each candidate for a school should bring letters regarding
his qualifications from some well-known teacher, minis-
ter, principal of academy or president of a college.
The selectmen were held responsible for collecting the
full amount thus assessed for school purposes. The idea
of compelling each town to provide at least a certain defi-
nite amount for school purposes was found to be a great
improvement over the old methods, and in 1791 the
amount was increased from five pounds on every twenty
shillings of the state assessment to seven pounds ten
shillings. This law stood in force until 1805, when a law
of far-reaching importance was passed enabling towns
to divide into school districts, the districts to raise money
STATE BUILDER?
bv taxation for the purpose of building and repairing
schoolhouses. This law produced the desired effect, and
a great many schoolhouses were erected under its pro-
^-isions. It is interesting to note that in some towns a
vote was passed to di\-ide the to^^-nship into ""squadrons"
instead of districts. Just where this term squadron origi-
nated is not clear, imless it was taken from the militan.-
idea.
The location of the district school was often the source
of endless quarrels, although generally a compromise was
agreed upon so that all pupils would have to travel about
the same distance, which accounts for finding school-
houses perched in the most out of the way and unlocked
for places, with sometimes not a single farmhouse in
sight
In 1807 a fourth law was passed raising the school
rate to sevent\- dollars for even- dollar of the state tax.
the money to be expended for teacliing reading, ^^-riting
and aritlmietic. and at the same time annulling the law
that required a school to be held in shire and half shire
towns in which Latin and Greek were to be taught.
^^^lether this was because the general court deemed that
the elevai academies now in existence were amply suffi-
cient to take care of such students as ^^^shed to taste the
higher education, or whether it was believed tliat greater
general good would come to the state by the expenditure
of the entire amoimt for the betterment of the common
schools, is not known. It is certainly true, however, that
from this time academies took the place of the old gram-
mar schools and flourished in great numbers.
The effect these academies have wTOught upon the
to^^•ns in which they were located is hard to measure.
They have brought an air of culture and an appreciation
of educational \-alues to homes which without the aca-
demic influence would have been without mental or moral
uplift- The day of the academy may be past, but its
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influence is not past, and it will last so long as the town
forms the unit of New England life.
The school law of 1807, which, indirectly, was so
effective in the establishment of academies, was followed
a year later by a law containing a clause in regard to the
supervision of schools, which is the first official mention
we have in the New Hampshire records that there was
deemed any need of such supervision. The law read that
the towns should appoint a committee of three or more
persons who^ should inspect the schools annually in "a
manner wdiich they might judge most conducive to the
progress of literature, morality and religion." This law
also increased the number of branches to be taught, and
beside reading, writing and arithmetic, English grammar
and geography were added. School mistresses, however,
were allowed to do away with arithmetic and geography,
and "in place thereof to substitute such other branches
as are deemed necessary for female education."
In 1812 the state established a literary fund. This
was done for the sole purpose of founding a state college.
The funds were to be raised by taxing each year the bank-
ing corporations throughout the state one-half of one per
cent on their actual capital stock. In 1828 the idea of
founding a college was abandoned, and the funds then
available, amounting to sixty-four thousand dollars, were
distributed to the different towns according to their ap-
portionment of the public taxes. The money was to go
toward the support of the public schools, and it was in
addition to the amount required by law. In 1848 the
basis of distribution was changed, and up to the present
time it has been made upon the relative number of chil-
dren attending two weeks or more in the several towns
during the year.*
In 1827 the legislature passed a law the spirit of which
* The present law (1902) is identical, except that the tax is levied on
banking funds held by nonresidents.
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remains active even to the present time. It accurately
defined how the town should he divided into districts,
and laid down provisions regarding the authority of
school districts and their officers. It also proportioned
the money to each school district. The qualifications for
teachers were raised and the law required all pupils to be
provided with books, either by parents or guardians, or
at the public expense in case of the needy. A superin-
tending school committee were also to- be appointed an-
nually, whO' w^ere to visit all the schools in their respective
towns at least twice a year, determine upon the proper
text books and aid the teacher to maintain a full and
regular attendance.
In addition to the above mentioned duties this superin-
tending committee were to make an annual report stating
the time each school had rim, the names of the teachers,
the whole number of pupils between four and fourteen
that had not attended school and the number between
fourteen and twenty-one who could not read and write.
The only difficulty with this law was the fact that there
was no provision for collecting the statistics from the
several towns into one report.
In 1829 a law was passed that each school district, ex-
cept in the town of Portsmouth, for which special laws
had been passed, should appoint a committee not greater
than three which should be called the prudential commit-
tee. This committee was supposed to have charge of the
school moneys. They called the district school meetings,
selected teachers, furnished fuel for the schoolhouses,
attended to the minor repairs, and made such report to
the superintending committee as would be of assistance
to them in their work. By the law of 1833 the superin-
tending committees were practically done away with and
all of their powers were assumed by the prudential com-
mittees.
The rate of assessment had steadily increased by vari-
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ous acts of the legislature. In 1840 it was one hundred
dollars for every dollar pf the public tax. In 1852 it was
one hundred thirty-five dollars, in 1853 ^^ was one hun-
dred iifty dollars, in 1854 it was one hundred seventy-five
dollars, in 1855 two hundred dollars, and in 1870 twO'
hundred fifty dollars.* A town was not restricted to the
sum thus raised, but could add to the amount as much as
it pleased. About 1840 the advantages of graded schools
began to appear, and the men interested in educational
matters throughout the state strove tO' get some law upon
the statute books which would enable the New Hampshire
schools to take advantage of the graded system. Accord-
ingly in 1840 an act was passed allowing a school to^ be
graded wdien the pupils should number fifty or more,
and the most progressive towns were quick to avail them-
selves of this privilege. In 1845 the authority was given
to "any two or more contiguous school districts in any
town or towns in this state to associate together and form
a union for the purpose of establishing and maintaining
a high school or schools for the instruction of the older
and more advanced scholars belonging to the associated
districts."
In 1846 a state commissioner of common schools was
appointed whose duty compelled him ''to spend at least
tw^enty weeks in the different counties of the state for
the purpose of promoting, by inquiries, addresses and
other means, the cause of education." He was also re-
quired to make an annual report from the statistics which
the committees of the several towns were obliged to fur-
nish. Two years later the "Somersworth Act" was
passed, which allowed school districts, independent of the
town, to raise money for the maintenance of high schools.
The effect of this law was far reaching, and many dis-
tricts took advantage of its provisions and founded high
schools.
* In 1902 the rate is six hundred dollars.
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The exact status of the town superintending committee
is a difficult one to define. From 1827 until 1848 their
duties ranged from having entire control of the schools
to being merely an advisory body. In fact, as has been
noted, between 1833 and 1846 the superintending com-
mittee could be dispensed with entirely if the town so
desired. In 1859 a bill was passed somewhat enlarging
the duties of the superintending committee, although in
all important points it was identical with the law of 1827.
They were to select and dismiss teachers, prescribe rules
of conduct for the pupils, decide what text books should
be used and also the courses of study to be followed. Each
teacher was to be supplied with a register, and the com-.
mittee were obliged at the end of the year to summarize
and return to the state officer certain statistics from the
same.
The first law restricting the employment of children
in manufacturing establishments was passed in 1848.
Since this time the law has been greatly strengthened by
enactment at various sessions of the legislature. At pres-
ent it is such that no child under fourteen can be em-
ployed while the schools are in session; no child between
fourteen and sixteen years old can be employed unless he
can read and write in English; and no child between six-
teen and twenty-one shall be employed who cannot read
and write in English, unless he is a regular attendant
upon the evening schools while they are in session, such
evening schools to be established in manufacturing towns
upon petition signed by 5 per cent of the legal voters.
In 1850 the office of the state commissioner of common
schools was abolished, and in its place a board of county
school commissioners was appointed, the board to elect
its own secretary, who was to prepare statistics and re-
ports. It was the duty of this county board to recom-
mend books, methods of instruction, rules of discipline,
etc. Each commissioner w^as obliged to spend at least
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STATE BUILDERS
one day in each town of his district at some time during
the year. He was also obliged to take charge of county in-
stitutions, which were becoming popular, and for their
time served an excellent purpose. This board of county
school commissioners continued until 1867, when it was
discontinued, and again one man was placed at the head
of the educational affairs of the state. This officer was
now termed the superintendent of public instruction, and
he with the governor and council constituted the State
Board of Education.
In 1868 a bill w^as passed requiring each county to hold
a teacher's institute annually at the expense of the state.
This law, followed closely by one passed in 1870 estab-
lishing a State Normal School, marks a period of decided
awakening to the needs of educational improvement, and
aside from a slight setback in 1874, when the state failed
to make any appropriation for institutes and did away
for a short time with a state superintendent, the progress
in educational matters has been steady if not rapid.
The district system, which at the time of its inception,
had proved useful to the educational interest of the state,
was abolished and the town was again made the unit;
and as was the case previous to 1805, all the schools in
the town w'ere placed in charge of one board of educa-
tion. This law, however, did not apply to such districts
as had availed themselves of the "Somersworth Act," and
had formed special districts. The boards of education
were to consist of three members each and they were
elected at the annual town meeting, each member to hold
office for three years. This "town district" act made the
length of the school year uniform, gave the same advan-
tages to all children living in the town, which had been
impossible under the old law, equalized the burdens of
taxation and in many other ways improved the educa-
tional condition.
In 1895 a law was passed looking toward the state
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STATE BUILDERS
certification of all teachers. The law as passed, however,
has amounted to but httle, since it placed no oblig-ation
upon school boards to engage certificated teachers only.
A law was also passed requiring school boards to appoint
some agent to take an annual census of the children of
school age. The same year a law was enacted allowing
two or more towns to unite and hire a superintendent of
schools. Very little was done, however, under this pro-
vision, but four years later the state agreed to pay half
of the superintendent's salary where towns united for the
purpose of hiring a skilled supervisor. With this induce-
ment many such supervisory districts have been formed.
This law bids fair to become one of far-reaching impor-
tance. The employment of a person well skilled in the
needs of the schools to take the place of town boards
cannot be otherwise than beneficial to the schools. At the
same session a law was passed giving state aid for the
support of schools in the poorer towns. The sum thus
given amounts to about twenty thousand dollars annually.
In 1 90 1 the legislature passed a most excellent law by
which all towns not having a high school were obliged
to pay the tuition to some town which did maintain a high
school of such pupils as were fitted to enter. It was also
arranged for the state to aid the towns upon which the
above would work a hardship.
Deductions have recently been drawn, from the fact
that New Hampshire's place, according to the ratio of
illiteracy, has fallen considerably in the last thirty years,
that the schools of to-day would suffer by comparison
with those of thirty years ago. Careful examination into
the history of education in our state, however, will show
that this deduction is entirely without foundation. Take,
for instance, the State Superintendent's report for 1870,
in which he says : "One-half the schools in the state
average less than twelve pupils; the average, including
city and village schools, is only eighteen. The average
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STATE BUILDERS
attendance of pupils was only two-thirds the total num-
ber; that is, one-third of the school money was absolutely
thrown away in consequence of the number absent from
school. A decrease in the amount of money expended
for schools, and in the number of weeks of school, is
reported, because the dog tax was not available this
year."'
Comparing this state of things with those of to-day,
there is absolutely no question but that the pupils in the
common schools of the state are infinitely better off now
than then. It would appear that the real cause of the
apparent increase in illiteracy is due primarily to the
large influx during the last thirty years of a French
speaking population, whose percentage of illiteracy is far
greater than that of the native Americans. Moreover,
these French people have brought intO' our midst parochial
schools where emphasis is placed upon the teaching of
their native tongue, and it is doubtless true that many
times in census taking the inability to read and write in
English has been accepted as prima facie evidence that
the person was illiterate, when, if the inquiry had been
more thorough, the person would have been found per-
fectly competent to read and write in French.
The ability and professional zeal of the teachers in New
Hampshire is evidenced in many ways. While their
salaries have l>een exceedingly small, the quality of
teaching has been altogether out of proportion to the
amount received. In 1853 at a time when the state re-
fused all aid in holding teachers' institutes, the teachers
not being willing to forego the inspiration of such meet-
ings, have maintained since that time and paid for out
of their meagre salaries a state teacher's association
which has met each year for the discussion of educational
problems.
To give a true history of the education of the state is
impossible, since it would be necessary to trace the im-
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STATE BUILDERS
press made upon the minds of each individual child by
his or iier teacher through the time in which education
has been in progress. The teacher is the unit of educa-
tional value; obviously his work cannot be weighed and
measured. ''It is said that Jupiter on one occasion made
a proclamation that he Avould crown the person with im-
mortality, who had done the most good, and been the
greatest blessing to his fellow-men. The competitors were
numerous; the warrior, the statesman, the sculptor and
painter, the musican and benevolent, all pressed their
claims. But Jupiter seeing an old gray-headed, sage
looking man standing far behind the rest, and apparently
taking no active part in the matter, asked him what made
him look so smiling? "Ah!" the old man said: ''it
amuses me, since all these competitors were once my pu-
pils." "Crown him," said Jupiter, "and seat him at my
right hand."
96
ECCLESIASTICAL
By John Alden
Staunch and large was the ship Mary and John of the
VVinthrop fleet which left Plymouth, England, early in
the spring of 1630, carrying one hundred and forty pas-
sengers, "godly families and people," led by their two
ministers, and bound for the shores of Massachusetts Bay.
Ten years had passed away since the Pilgrim Fathers
had landed in midwinter on the bleak, inhospitable shores
of that smaller bay to the south, since then immortalized
and revered by the name "Plymouth," and there under
circumstances and conditions in severity and discourage-
ments unparalleled in history, had successfully set up a
commonwealth "in the name of God."
While the Puritans under John Winthrop were not
Pilgrims, the Pilgrims were essentially, if not wholly,
Puritans, and therefore the coming of this larger band
to so near a point as Massachusetts Bay greatly strength-
ened and raised the hopes of the original colony. The
people of both settlements had the same object in view,
the upbuilding of a religious community. They each de-
sired to attain the grace of God by devotion to duty.
This was the cardinal principle of their lives; all else
was subservient to this purpose. Their material pros-
perity and welfare and the gain of worldly power and
wealth, were all of secondary consideration, even if
thought of these were ever entertained. Their belief in
individual responsibility to divine law was of the intensest
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nature and to win souls to Christ and to advance the
interests of the kingdom of God in their reahn was their
daily (not alone weekly) concern. The Puritan accepted
the New Covenant in the fullest measure but he never
ceased to be an Old Testament or Old Covenant Christian.
He observed the teachings of the entire Bible, conform-
ing to what it taught and commanded and not seeking
to cause the book to conform to his views. His religion
was rigid, exacting and non-compromising. The teach-
ings of Christ were to him of a non-elastic, inflexible
character and if at this day he seems to have been un-
necessarily austere and unbending it must be remembered
that in his so living he believed he was fulfilling the
divine injunction. He was sturdy, steadfast, useful and
true. His whole life centred in his religion. For that
he lived and toiled, timing his every act and thought, as
thoitgh it was his last upon earth. Above all he moved
with a heart filled with gratitude to God for unnumbered
blessings, even though his daily path was one of thorns
and tribulations and hardships. One of the Winthrop
party on the ship Mary and John wrote of the voyage :
"So we came by the good hand of the Lord through the
deeps comfortabl}^. having preaching and expounding of
the Word of God every day."
The Bible of the Puritan was opened every day. He
had a family altar and his worship there was sincere, open
and heartfelt, and never perfunctory. There was a daily
heart searching and a constant prayer for strength to
resist the will of the flesh. Like the children of Israel
they were sustained by a steadfast confidence in an over-
ruling Providence. Loyalty to God, to his neighbor, and
to the civil law were characteristics of the Puritan life.
Material expediency played no part in his being, if it
to the least degree questioned the integrity of his religious
profession.
It is a notable fact that both the Pilgrims and the
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\\'inthrop Puritans, by which last statement is meant
that "Godly assembly of men and women" who made
the first settlement at Boston, were already organized into
church and town bodies at the time of their arrival in
New England, and the custom of gathering a church was
a common one when a new settlement had been decided
upon, not waiting for its actual consummation.
The early Puritans and other denominations called an
organized body of worshippers a ''church" and the build-
ing for religious services a "meeting house." Thus the
early New England records are replete with dates at
which such and such a church was "gathered."
The religious creed or church polity of the Puritans
did not disappear with the passing of the first generation
of settlers but rather did it wax stronger, more aggressive
and just as devout as the work laid down by the fathers
was taken up by the children of another generation.
Still another fact should be kept in mind as a study of
the Puritan and his ways is pursued, and it is that New-
England came to be peopled throughout its whole domain
practically by the descendants of those who reached its
shores in the years between 1620 and 1660 or thereabouts.
New England in the first century or more after the
Pilgrim settlement at Plymouth had no special attraction
to the non-Puritan emigrant and the comparatively few
of this class that did come returned for the most part to
the land from whence they had come, presumably not
caring to live the sturdy and energetic life enjoined upon
all by the uncompromising Puritan, whose religious creed
was not of the "easy" type.
The real peopling and development of New England
as a geographical whole was by a race native to the land
and this fact has its historical counterpart by the grow-
ing up in the Wilderness of a new generation of Israelites
to take possession of the land of Canaan. What is espe-
cially significant alxDut that generation of the children of
99
L.ofC.
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Israel that grew up in the Wilderness was their develop-
ment, physically and intellectually, under conditions radi-
cally different from those of their fathers in the land of
Egypt. First, their foods were not at all like those of
Egypt, but, under divine direction, such as were calculated
to build aright every element of the body. They ate
no unclean thing, no adulterated food passed their lips,
but everything they ate w^as natural in its organization.
They thus became physically robust, strong and vigorous.
The forty years in the Wilderness was a period of pre-
paration under a, new regime, new conditions, and a new
creed, as respects the relationship of man to his Maker.
Strikingly similar to the record of those whom Moses
led up out of the land of bondage is that of the Pilgrims
and Puritans of New England. Once established upon
New England soil they began to subsist upon the foods
common to the land. Their habitations w-ere wholly dif-
ferent from those of the mother country and the one
occupation of the great mass was farming. The country
which they had settled was commonly referred to in
speech and in the written word as the "New^ Canaan,"
the "New" English Canaan," and the "New England
Canaan."
The larger part of a century w-as needed to bring the
population of all New England up to one hundred thou-
sand souls. In 1676, or exactly fifty years after the land-
ing at Plymouth,, New Plampshire contained four thou-
sand people located principally in the coast region. Upon
the organization of the colonies of New Plymouth and
Massachusetts Bay in 1691 into the province of Massa-
chusetts it contained a total of seventy-one thousand
people, the settlements extending from the coast to the
Connecticut river. Connecticut and Rhode Island were
the next most populous colonies in New England, while
Maine and New Hampshire were about even as respects
the number of their inhabitants down to the opening of
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the eighteenth century, when New Hampshire received
through successive decades a most vakiable overflow of
population from Massachusetts and Connecticut and 3
most vital gain in quantity and quality by the coming of
the Scotch-Irish to that portion of the state called in
state history Nutiield.
As the Pilgrims declared in the compact entered into
and signed without dissent or hesitation in the cabin of
the Mayflower that the purpose of the undertaking, — that
is the founding of the colony at Plymouth, — "was for ye
glorie of God and advancement of ye Christian faith,"
that declaration of purpose was the keynote and con-
trolling motive of the successive generations for at least
two and a third centuries. The Puritan idea of morality
and religion and the Puritan Sabbath remained inviolate
during all this time of New England history and as there
was a continuous moving westward into new and unex-
plored territory by her sons and daughters they carried
these principles and planted them in the great West and
North-West and thereby made possible the fact that there
is to-day one and only one United States of America.
Especially is it true that down to the second half of
the nineteenth century New Hampshire was a home of the
Pilgrim and Puritan descendant, speakmg of the state
as a whole. The faith of the church of the Scotch-Irish
descendant was scarcely dissimilar to the original Ortho-
dox flrst planted on the shores at Plymouth, Boston and
Salem and the founders of the Presbyterian creed in New
Hampshire came hither for exactly the same purpose as
did the first Puritans. Born of the church which the
Pilgrim Fathers had gathered ere reaching the shores
of the "New Canaan/' Avas that greatest of all things in
the modern record of the human race,— Constitutional
Liberty, and as they gathered together churches, through-
out New England they likewise planted school houses
and the extent to which the Puritan and his descendants
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have taxed themselves for the cause of popular education
has no parallel in history.
Notwithstanding the historical truths that the first few
settlements in New Hampshire were made for trade and
commercial gain to the neglect of religion in general,
and that here and there about the state were settlements
without churches, the fact prevails that as colony, prov-
ince, and state, New Hampshire has ever been a commu-
nity in which the church and schoolhouse were funda-
mental factors of its life. No less have her people in every
generation been known for mental alertness and activity
and a disposition for intellectual speculation, progress,
and investigation. Taking the state as a whole her first
settlers came within her borders with a well defined pur-
pose which was to advance the Christian faith by spiritual
living and this purpose was adhered to down to a remote
time even if it is not in the opening years of the twentieth
century. The founding of a settlement was practically
coeval with the gathering of a churcli and the formal
organization of each was inaugurated by a season of
fasting, humiliation, and prayer as an invocation for
Divine guidance and blessing. The whole town was in
those early days the congregation and tlie ultimate deci-
sion and final decrees were vested with the whole congre-
gation. The ministry was the selected guide of the
church and town but not the master in any sense. In-
dividual favor with God as a reward for obedience and
fidelity was no less believed in than was individual re-
sponsibility to Omnipotence.
The first colonists in what is now New Hampshire
were the mere agents or representatives of commercial
interests in England. The establishment of a trading post
or commercial community was the sole or at least princi-
pal motive. The object in view was to get the maximum
measure of wealth out of the holdings v,-ithout thought of
the general common \\eal. As this was the domi-
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nant idea it became the dominant characteristic, for
u community takes on the characteristics of its people
every time/ Commercialism in itself lacks a founda-
tion' \t its best it is a characteristic of a charac-
teristic that furnishes a stable and secure under-
pinnin^c from ^vhich it can arise, expand, and m-
crease in all directions. Commerce and trade were
almost immediate factors in the Plymouth settlement and
so continued with a singular constancy, but it was ever
held as secondary to that primary purpose of building
a commonwealth dedicated to religion and morality.
The settlements on the banks of the Piscataqua had
among its leaders and first comers two brothers, Edward
and William Hilton; both were able and good men and
the inference seems to be justified that they were represen-
tative merchants of their time. Nearly a century passed
ere the settlements in all the Piscataqua region took on
a very vigorous life and made marked progress m gain
of population and material substance. Ten years passed
away before the first meeting house m New Hampshire,
at Dover, was built and when forty-seven years had been
counted from the date of that first settlement m 1623
Dover Exeter and Hampton, alone in all the colony had
settled ministers. The close of the eighteenth century
saw only fiye Congregational churches and the fifth of
these was in Dunstable, now Nashua. By 1638 Ports-
mouth had an Episcopal chapel with its settled
rector, but it was not until 1640 that regular pro-
vision was made for the support of an orthodox
ministry in the town and still another seventeen
years passed before the construction of a meet-
ing house began, and a minister, Joshua Moodey, was
called to become a settled pastor. The building of the
meeting house and the calling of the minister appears
to have quickened the spiritual life of the community
for it is recorded that the town ordered a cage to be
103
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made wherein to punish those attendants upon rehgious
service who might fall asleep, chew tobacco, or be guilty
of any" form of misdemeanor. But in spite of the de-
cision to call a pastor and build a meeting house it yet
required thirteen years to successfully gather a church
and to formally ordain Mr. Moodey. This first church
in Portsmouth became the Old North Church of historic
fame. One of its pastors, Samuel Langdon, became
president of Harvard, and Rev. Dr. Stiles, though never
formally ordained pastor of the church, became president
of Yale.
Coeval with the settlement at Portsmouth was that at
Dover and it was likewise by the Hiltons. In 1633 a
number of families of the Puritan faith took up their
abode in the town under the patronage of Lords Say and
Brooke. The ne\v emigrants, as a condition of their
settlement, had been furnished a minister of their own
faith and with their landing was perhaps the real begin-
ning of the ecclesiastical history of New Hampshire.
The first pastor of the little flock was William Leveridge.
The second pastor was George Burdett, who soon after
his ordination was elected governor of the colony. The
third spiritual leader of the pioneer band was Hanserd
Knollys, under whose direction and eft'ort the church in
Dover was gathered in 1638, fifteen years after the settle-
ment by the Hiltons and five years after the coming
of the Puritan families through the influence and aid
of Lords Say and Brooke. Upon the political union
of New Hampshire with Massachusetts in 1641 the
ecclesiastical authorities at Boston aided in the direction
of the Dover church and in the person of Daniel Maud
sent them a minister who became popular and successful.
During his pastorate the original log meeting house gave
way, in 1653, to a more pretentious structure, of the
following accepted plan : ''forty foote longe, twenty six
foote wide, sixteen foote studd, with six windows, two
104
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doores fitt for such a house, with a tile covering, and to
flanck all the walls, with glass and nails for it."
A portion at least of the original settlers of the town
of Hampton went there as a regularly organized church.
This was in 1638 and the Congregational church in that
town is the oldest in the state. The first pastor of this
pioneer church was the Rev. Stephen Bachiler, whose
descendants for generations have been a power in the
up-building of the material and spiritual interests of
every one of the six New England states. Mr. Bachiler
had reached the Psalmist's limit of life at the time of his
settlement in Hampton, a fact that forcibly illustrates
the sturdy self forgetfulness and heroic devotion to
Divine will of the first builders of the New England
Canaan. After leaving Hampton Mr. Bachiler in course of
time returned to England, where he died a centenarian.
Still another church of special and great historic in-
terest in New Hampshire is that one gathered or or-
ganized in Exeter, likewise in 1638. The prime mover
in its formation was John Wheelwright, said to have
been a classmate of Oliver Cromwell in Cambridge Uni-
versity, England. Boston was his first home in America
and there he united with the church of the Puritans. He
was a man of genuine ability and decided individuality.
He was a brother-in-law of \\'illiam Hutchinson whose
wife, Ann Hutchinson, was the founder of antinomianism
in New England. A sermon preached by Wheelwright
caused him to be banished from the colony of Massa-
chusetts Bay. He, with a small number of adherents,
went to New Hampshire and he purchased from the abori-
gines a vast tract of land lying between the Merrimac
and Piscataqua Rivers. He founded the town of Exeter
and formed there a church. Scarcely four years elapsed
after these events when the whole of New Hampshire
came under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and as the
sentence of banishment still hung over Mr. Wheelwright
105
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he was compelled to seek yet another home, which he did
in Wells, Ma'ine. After a brief stay in Maine the
sentence imposed upon him was removed by the General
Court of ^lassachusetts, when he received a call to preach
in Hampton, which he accepted.
In 1685 what is now the First Congregational church
in Nasliua, was organized, the fifth in number in the
sixty-two years since the making of the first settlement
at Piscataqua. To people living in the twentieth century
this seems like slow progress, but all circumstances con-
sidered, it was rapid development, indeed, as those condi-
tions are studied and weighed the wonder is that the little
bands of first comers should have been able to overcome
the long and trying list of difficulties, perplexities, and
trials which in time they did. No great steamships then
came freighted with the surplus population of the Old
World as now they do daily. The region all about was
then a trackless \\ilderness, the abode of wild animals
and worse wild men. But there was growing up a new
race of men and women native to the land and putting
on those national traits and characteristics that was to
make a distinct class. Yet again, ere the close of the
second decade of tlie eighteenth century came the advance
guard of what proved a mighty element in the popula-
tion of New Hampshire, New England and all the colo-
nies,— the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who settled the
southern central portion of the state.
Between these Presbyterians from the north of Ireland
and the Puritans there was a close community of interest
as respects their religious creeds and professions. In
truth the terms were simply interchangeable. Both
sought religious liberty and the advancement of the
Christian faith. \Mienever they elected to build a home
and community success followed the effort. Education
came in with morality and religion and material pros-
perity was as a matter of course. Londonderry and all
106
STATE BUILDERS
its adjacent territory that was within the original grants
to the sturdy, rugged, steadfast, and progressive Scotch-
Irish was speedily transformed from a wilderness into a
region of magnificent estates, of spacious homesteads,
and of benign influences. The spirit of the Scotch-Irish
permeated every nook and corner of the state and crossed
the line into Massachusetts. The church which the first
comers gathered as their first duty performed in their
Nutfield home is still intact and it has been as the mother
to many another church organization throughout the
length and breadth of the land.
That first church gathered by the Scotch-Irish in that
locality originally called Nutfield, built its first meeting
house in that portion of its grant since called Derry, or to
be more precise in the village of East Derry. The
original company consisted of sixteen families and as
soon as they had arrived in the region of their proposed
new home they held a service of prayer in a little field
on Westrunning brook. The very next day the emi-
grants again assembled, this time on the shore of Lake
Tsienneto or Beaver pond, and listened to- the preaching
of the Word by Rev. James McGregoire, the spiritual
leader of the little flock. His text was Isaiah 32 :2 :
"And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind,
and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of waters m a
dry place, as the shadow of a rock in a weary land."
An old account describes Mr. McGregoire as a man
of "distinguished talents" and judging from the works
accomplished by the members of his flock this description
may be given with singular appropriateness to them all,
for great indeed was what they wrought.
Without unnecessary delay the sixteen families or-
ganized themselves into a church and called Mr. Mc-
Gregoire to be their pastor and thus came into being the
first Presbyterian church organized in New England. No
Presbytery was then existent in New England but this
107
STATE BUILDERS
did not deter these determined and Godly pioneers from
ecclesiastical organization. Mr. McGregoire preached
his own installation sermon. He received the people as
his pastoral charge and they received him as their pastor.
His text on the occasion of his installation was from
Ezekiel 37 :26 : ''Moreover I will make a covenant of
peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with
them : and I will place them and multiply them : and
will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forever more."
Never were scriptural words more appropriately
selected and the Divine assurance as spoken by the
prophet of old never failed them or their children. They
had come from scenes of a cruel and unjust war, and of
bitter, relentless persecution. In their new home they
found a covenant of peace, good will and liberty of con-
science Avhich has thus far continued. They grew in
number and great has been the strength and blessings
of their children in all the generations since. The sanc-
tuary was planted in their midst and it has been as a
beacon untO' the feet of their posterity to this day.
The growth of the Presbyterian colony in London-
derry was with marked rapidity. Only four years after
the colony had gathered its first church there w'ere present
on the occasion of a communion service twO' hundred
and thirty persons. At the communion season of 1732,
thirteen years after the organization of the church, six
hundred communicants were present, a very considerable
community in itself for those early years of New England
development. Nor was the strength of the Scotch-Irish
settlement in New Hampshire designated by numbers
alone. It had quality as well as cjuantity and every
man among them was a true state builder. The entire
state felt the quickening influence of their example and
enterprise in the work of creating and directing a material
progress.
With the opening of the eighteenth century township
ro8
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p-rants began to be made xvith greatly increased rapidity
and continued unabated throughout the entire hundred
years and down into the nineteenth century, and the
worthy character of the people who made the successive
township settlements was what gave to New Hampshire
its secure and strong foundation upon which there arose
the abiding superstructure of a magnificent common-
wealth.
As Higginson says of ^lassachusetts so likewise was
New Hampshire "a plantation of religion and not of
trade." New Hampshire profited throughout the eigh-
teenth century bv a long continued overflow of popula-
tion from Covmecticut and ^lassachusetts, but New
Hampshire well repaid the benefits of this immigration,
and in kind, by sending the descendants of these early
pioneers out into other states of the Union during practi-
cally all the decades of the nineteenth century. Especially
has' Massachusetts been benefited in all her varied mate-
rial interests bv the influx of the strong, well-bred and
resourceful sons and daughters of New Hampshire dur-
ing the past fiftv vears.
People of the Quaker or Friends faith were early m
the state and in New Hampshire as well as in Massa-
chusetts proved a thorn in the religious flesh of the early
Puritans. • As a sect they have never been of any con-
siderable number in New Hampshire.
As respects denominational strength the Baptists have
always ranked second after the Congregationalists in New
Hampshire. Their first church in the state was gathered
in the town of Newton in 1755 and it is still in existence
and at this writing (1903) h^s nearly reached its sesqui-
centennial. The first pastor of this Newton church was
Rev Walter Powers, whose pastorate continued for
nearly forty years. In 1855 services commemorative of
the one hundredth anniversary of the organization of the
church were held. The sermon on the occasion was
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STATE BUILDERS
preached bv Rev. O. Aver of Claremont, pastor of one
of the largest churches of the denomination at that time
in the state.
Some authorities, however, state thai the church or-
ganized at Dover in 1638 was essentially Baptist in its
doctrinal creed. Its first pastor. Hanserd Knollys,-upon
his return to England became prominently identified with
the denomination and continued for the remainder of his
life a notable disciple of the creed and church.
Once the Baptists had obtained a foothold in Xew
Hampshire, their gro^^-th was strong and rapid. The
denomination was a mighty force in the settlement of the
state during the eighteenth century, its members braving
the dangers and enduring the hardships of pioneer life to
an extent only second to that of the descendants of the
Puritans themselves.
From the time of the organization of the little church
in Xe\\'ton to the close of the same century the Baptists
had in the state a total of twenty-five churches, and of
course all supported by the voluntary contributions of its
members.
In 1780 was gathered in Xew Durham the first Free
Will Baptist church in X'ew Hampshire, and according
to some writers and ecclesiastical authorities, the first of
the denomination in the country. The first pastor of this
X'ew Durham church was Rev. Benjamin Randall, who
was born in the town of Xew Castle in 1749. In his
boyhood and early manhood life he followed the occu-
pation of sailmaker. As a child he was deeply religpious
and throughout his was a saintly career. At first he
identified himself with the Congregationalists, but in
1775 he united with the general or regular Baptists at
X^ew Castle. On April 5. 1780, he was ordained as an
evangelist at X'ew Durham, where he had gathered his
little flock of Free \\"\\\ Baptists. He died at the age of
fiftv-nine. October 22. 1808.
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There was that in the idea of the Free \\'iU Baptist
creed that has from the first down tO' the present appealed
with a pecuHar force to tlie people of all Northern New
England and the INIaritime Provinces. In Maine, New
Hampshire and A^ermont the denomination is especially
strong. At the close of the nineteenth century the Free
Will Baptists had a grand total of one hundred churches,
ninety-three ordained and eight licensed ministers, a
church property valued at near a half a million dollars and
some eight thousand church members.
As early as 1797 there was returned to the New Eng-
land conference a list of ninety-two members of a Metho-
dist Episcopal church in Chesterfield. By the year 1800
the denomination had in the state one hundred and
seventy-one members and three travelling or circuit
preachers.
The growth of Methodism throughout the nineteenth
century in the state was healthy, strong and full of char-
acter. It early established a conference seminary in what
is now Tilton, and this seminary became a decided fac-
tor in the educational life of the state. At the close of the
last century the New Hampshire conference had a total
of nearly fourteen thousand church members divided
among one hundred and thirty-five churches.
The history of the Protestant Episcopal church in New
Hampshire is practically coeval with the settlement of the
state. An Episcopal chapel was built aljout 1634 in
Portsmouth with Rev. Richard Gibson as rector. The
present diocese of New Hampshire has for its bishop
Right Reverend William W. Niles, D. D.
As early as 1782 that religious body known by the
name of Shakers made their appearance in New Hamp-
shire and a church-state was formed under the leadership
of Elder Job Bishop. For more than a century they have
maintained their organization in the state and have made
themselves known for good works throughout the coun-
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STATE BUILDERS
try. In this year of 1903 they have two societies in the
state, one at Canterbury and a second at Enfield.
It was in Portsmouth also that the first Universalist
society was organized and this in 1781. There are in
1903 a total of twenty-eight parishes in the state, em-
bracing all told some fifteen hundred families.
The people of New Hampshire who hold to the Uni-
tarian faith, while not large in number, include many
among its most representative families. Unitarian
church bodies are in Manchester, Concord, Walpole, An-
dover, Nashua, Portsmouth, Dover and elsewhere.
There are in New Plampshire twenty-five churches of
the Christian or Church of Christ faith. These are di-
vided into two conferences. These are the Rockingham
having sixteen churches, and the Merrimack with nine
organizations and both conferences hold annual sessions.
The state of New Hampshire in itself constitutes a
diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, and is presided
over by the Right Reverend Denis M. Bradley, D. D.,
with St. Joseph's at Alanchester as the cathedral church.
There are in the diocese more than one hundred thou-
sand adherents of this faith, and above one hundred
ordained members of the priesthood. The churches of
the diocese are scattered throughout the length and
breadth of the state and many among them rank with
the largest and finest church edifices in New Hampshire.
Belonging to the diocese is the college of St. Anselms,
and various high schools for boys and for girls. ]\It. St.
Mary's is a widely known boarding-school for young
women. There are also in the diocese six orphan asy-
lums, four hospitals, four homes for aged women and
five for working girls. There are nearly four hundred
sisters of the different orders and some seventy brothers
employed in fostering and extending charitable, religious
and educational work throughout the state.
112
AGRICULTURE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
By Nahum J. Bachelder
The state of New Hampshire, in common with other
New England states, was known in early times as an
agricultural state, the cultivation of the soil and the
growing and feeding of crops constituting the leading
industry of her people. This condition of affairs existed
from the time of the earliest white settlements until the
development of the great natural water powers of the
state for manufacturing purposes during the second half
of the nineteenth century. This in turn is being followed
by increased interest and activity in agricultural matters
and better facilities in rural sections which causes us to
treat the subject by periods, the exact duration of which
cannot be definitely fixed owing to the difference in the
date of settlement in different sections of the state.
I St. The period from the settlement by white people,
which marked the beginning of agriculture in the state,
to the subduing of the forest and the clearing of farming
lands which may be known as the period of construction.
2nd. The period from the ending of the first to the
time of the marked deterioration of the soil which may
be known as the period of natural production.
3rd. The period from the ending of the second to the
present time which may be known as the period of read-
justment.
The first period would end in the central portion of the
state about 1800, but earlier in the southern and later in
113
STATE BUILDERS
the northern sections. The second period would extend
from the close of the first to about 1875, and the third
period from the close of the second. This outline of our
purpose will make clear our meaning in this brief consid-
eration of the history of the agriculture of New Hamp-
shire.
PERIOD OF CONSTRUCTION.
There is no evidence that the red men who occupied
the territory known as New Hampshire practised agri-
culture to any appreciable extent. They obtained their
supply of food and clothing by hunting and fishing, with
an occasional plot of maize or Indian corn cultivated in
the rudest manner by the faithful squaw whose lord and
master considered it beneath his dignity to engage in any-
thing so suggestive of labor. These feeble attempts to
grow corn and a few herbs were so rare, and the results
so meagre, that there is nothing in it worthy of the name
of agriculture, and the advent of the white man to the
hillsides and valleys of the state marked the beginning of
the industry. The pioneers who settled upon the farms
of New Hampshire were a sturdy race of people of great
physical endurance and strong mental endowment. They
were imbued with a resolute spirit and stimulated to ac-
tivity by the one desire to dig from the soil an honest
livelihood for themselves and their families. All else was
subordinate to this, and they entered upon their task with
remarkable fortitude and courage. The first settlers of
the farms in the southern part of the state were descend-
ants of the Puritan families who came to this country for
high and noble purposes, and their descendants in turn
gradually pushed back into the forest and cleared the land
of wood, fenced it, and made farms. The journey to the
place selected for the rough cabin home was frequently
made over a trail marked only by spotted trees, with the
family and all the household effects carried on horseback.
114
STATE BUILDERS
Perhaps a site had been selected and a rude log cabin pre-
viously erected in the wilderness which formed the nu-
cleus of the young pioneer's home. Acre after acre of
the virgin forest yielded to the sturdy blows of the
pioneer's axe, the felled trees were reduced to ashes, and
the land sowed to rye, the crop from which was to furnish
sustenance for the family.
The young wife cooked the meals, raised a family of
children, kept the cabin in order and the wild animals
away, while her husband was vigorously at work clearing
the land for a farm. Later, rocks were removed and the
vast network of stone walls that gridiron the farms of the
state were built. As the children grew up they were able
to render much assistance, and a pioneer farmer with half
a dozen sturdy boys and girls helping to fell and burn
trees, dig rocks and stumps, build walls and fences and
seed the land to grass was no uncommon sight. As the
children reached manhood and womanhoood they pushed
back still further into the forest and cleared farms and
built cabins for their homes. In the course of time the
cabins gave way to frame buildings as the typical two-
story houses with big chimneys in the centre were built,
barns were erected, and cattle, sheep, hogs and horses kept
to eat the fodder which began to grow upon the cleared
land and which furnished milk, butter, beef, pork and
wool for the food and raiment of the family. Beef and
pork were salted in the fall for the year's supply, wool
was carded, spun and woven upon the farm and made
into clothing for the family, the products of the farm
yielding the entire supply in both these directions. Lit-
tle or nothing was bought or sold and there was no desire
to do either. A little later the farmer made a trip to
Portsmouth in the fall of each year with a pair of horses
in a pung, requiring from one to two weeks' time, carry-
ing to market surplus products from the farm and bring-
ing back such supplies for the winter as his disposition
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craved and his improved financial condition seemed to
allow. As the farms were developed roads began to be
improved. Schoolhouses were erected and schools es-
tablished, churches built and religious services held,
attended by about all the people.
The close of the first period in our division was marked
by a feeling of great satisfaction and contentment among
the people. Their labor was severe both in the house and
upon the land, but they were happy. Their wants were
few and easih^ supplied. The soil of the farm was fertile
from the accumulations of centuries and the ashes from
burning the heavy growth of wood and timber, yielded
abundant crops. Fields of grain were grown with great
success, and fruit began to be given attention. The live
stock increased in number and value annually. The large
houses were filled with large families of rugged, healthy
children. The people had but little knowledge of what
was transpiring beyond the vision from their own farm,
but were prosperous, contented and happy to an extent
that it would be difficult to exceed at any period in any
part of the world. This was the condition of New
Hampshire agriculture at the close of the first period,
varying in date in difterent localities but existing with
remarkable uniformity in all sections of the state.
PERIOD OF NATURAL PRODUCTION.
The period of greatest activity among the farmers of
New Hampshire and the period of greatest supremacy of
agriculture in the affairs of the state may very properly
be termed the period of natural production occurring
during the first half or more of the nineteenth century.
'J'he soil of the fields and pastures had been recently
cleared of its forest growth and was filled with plant food.
This was true even of the hilltops, where live stock found
excellent grazing and where farm buildings, long since
ii6
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gone to decay leaving hardly a trace of existence, shel-
tered large families of contented people, the soil fur-
nishing a living that met their requirements. As the pro-
duction of the farm increased and the population multi-
plied, various industries were established to provide
things that increased incomes allowed, and to make things
previously made in the home. Dams were built across
the streams and the water power utilized in carding, spin-
ning and weaving for surrounding farmers, work w^hich
had been previously done by hand in the farmhouse.
Tanneries were built to tan the hides taken from the
farmers' animals, and shoemakers' shops built to make
the boots and shoes for the farmers' families, which had
previously been done by the itinerant cobbler. Sawmills
were erected to saw the lumber used in building and re-
pairing farm buildings, and grist mills established for
grinding the farmers' grain. As the farmers progressed
there was a demand for blacksmith shops in which to
have oxen and horses shod, clock makers' shops in which
to make and repair clocks and watches, and carriage
shops in which to build and repair wagons, all of which
vrere established, affording employment for part of the
people a portion of the time. Farming was generally
carried on to some extent with these various trades which
were worked in the less busy season on the farm. In
.those days the minister even was expected to till the soil .
and often was the leading farmer in the township. Stores
were opened to supply the people wnth groceries, rum and
tobacco as their income allowed. In many instances these
shops, mills and tanneries were scattered over the town-
ship upon convenient streams or located near the farmers
which they were to serve. Generalh' the store was
located near one or more of these industries and,
Avith the meeting-house and a school house, comprised
the country village of three-quarters of a century
ago.. The farms continued to yield abundant crops
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for many years without any return of fertility, for nature
had been filling the storehouse with plant food for centu-
ries, and it scarcely occurred to any one that the soil
would not continue to produce bountiful crops for an
indefinite period without any restoration of fertilit}-. This
great production of surplus crops induced the building of
better roads or "turnpikes," as the main roads were
called, in order to send such surplus products to a market,
and in 1837 the first steam railroad was built in the state.
These means of communication with the outside world
were the beginning of a new era in Xew Hampshire agri-
culture. The farmers were stimulated to even greater ac-
tivity, and with the rude implements of husbandry and
great muscular effort coaxed from the soil abundant
crops, which found their way to a distant market. The old
time exclusiveness and independence of the town by
which everj-thing needed for food, raiment or shelter was
produced within the town limits, gave way to a system of
broader proportions, and the little industries we have
named beside the streams and in the centres of popula-
tion supplying the wants of the people became extinct.
The farmers' boots, clothes and wagons, which were first
made upon the farm, then in the little neighborhood fac-
tories, were made by improved machiner}- and skilled
labor in distant mills and factories. Under the stimulus
of the demand for farm products unknown to the pioneer
fanners, the pastures were covered with stock and the
fields used for growing* crops with no regard for the fer-
tility removed, and in many instances the operation be-
came but little more than the transfer of valuable elements
of the soil into cash through the medium of farm products
and labor. The money thus received went to pay for
expensive living which the new conditions had offered,
to improve the farm buildings, fences and stock, or was
deposited in the savings bank to be referred to in later
years as evidence of the prosperity of agriculture during
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this period, ^^'hatever use may have been made of the
money, it represented a portion of the value of the farm
taken from the soil, and labor of the hardest kind in secur-
ing it.
The agriculture of New Hampshire suffered greatly
during this period on account of the vast number of
young men and women of good mental endowment and
great physical strength, both qualities being inherited
from ancestors of the most exemplary type, that went
from the farm homes of the state to develop the West,
or to occupy responsible positions in New England manu-
facturing cities. These young people possessed the exact
qualities needed in their adopted fields of labor and, while
they contributed much to the welfare of the localities to
which they went and in many instances improved their
own financial condition by the change, the rural sections
of New Hampshire suffered by their departure, and many
good New Hampshire farms became abandoned thereby.
When the aged father and mother who had made a suc-
cess of the farm and surrounded their farm home with
all the comforts that an intense love for it could suggest
and their scanty means provide, passed away the sons and
daughters were established in homes elsewhere and the
farm became abandoned or passed into the hands of
people with only temporary interest in it or in the town
in which they had located. The most valuable production
of New Hampshire farms have been the boys and girls
sent into the world who have developed into men and
women of influence and fame at home and abroad. Their
success has been made possible by inherited qualities of
heart, mind and body which were developed through early
experiences in farm life and the high moral atmosphere
of the Qiristian farm home. The New Hampshire farms
are entitled to the credit of a noble production in this
respect. Another serious loss was experienced by the
agricultural interests of the state in the great number of
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brave boys who went from the farms to fight for our
country in the Civil War. From 1861 to 1865 there
was a constant depletion of the farmers' ranks to recruit
the ranks of the nation's defenders. This influence
reached beyond the bare number that went to the front,
for in many cases homes were made desolate and the inter-
est of those remaining was more with the brave boys
that were on the field of battle than upon the fields of the
farm where, in a half-hearted way, the aged father and
anxious brothers were trying to grow crops. Farm ma-
chinery had not come into general use at that time, and
the great scarcity of farm help, coupled with the sorrow
and despondency in the farmer's family, placed a serious
obstacle in the farmer's path notwithstanding the high
prices that artificially prevailed. But little thought was
given to sustaining the fertility of the soil, and the crops
produced were sent to market with seemingly rich
returns.
Recognizing the necessity for the diffusion of knowledge
upon the science of agriculture, which recognition was in
part based upon the fact that the soil by continual crop-
ping was becoming exhausted of plant food, and the fur-
ther fact that a nation's prosperity depended in an eminent
degree upon a prosperous agriculture within its limits,
the Congress of the United States in 1862 provided for
the establishment of Colleges of Agriculture and Me-
chanic Arts in the several states, said institutions to be
under the direction of the respective states. The legis-
lature of New Hampshire provided for the establish-
ment of the New Hampshire institution under this act
at Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, where
it remained with varying degrees of success until, through
the operation of a bequest made by Benjamin Thompson
of Durham, the college was removed from Hanover and
established at Durham in 1891. In connection with the
experiment station established by the go^•ernment by act
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of congress in 1887, the institution at Durham will come
into the possession of the Thompson legacy in 1910,
when an annual income of about $100,000 a year will
be received. This will make it possible to- provide such
instruction in agriculture and mechanic arts as will be
of great benefit in promoting the agricultural and indus-
trial interests of the state. In 1870 the legislature of
New Hampshire established a State Board of Agricul-
ture, composed of one citizen of each county, appointed
by the Governor, the duty of which is to> promote the
interests of the various branches of agriculture by the
diffusion of information and arousing an interest among
the people therein. This is attempted through the hold-
ing of institutes for public discussion, the issuing of
reports, and the encouragement of dairy, horticultural
and other societies and exhibitions.
In 1873 the Order known as the Grange of the Patrons
of Husbandr)^ was established in the state for promoting
the interests of agriculture in general. The first organiza-
tion was made at Exeter, August 19, 1873, known as Gil-
man Grange, No. i, with eighteen charter members. The
State Grange was organized at Manchester, December
2^, 1873, with fifteen subordinate Granges represented.
The Grange seemed to come into existence at a very
opportune time, for the period immediately following
the close of the Civil War was as discouraging for farm-
ers as any in the history of the state. The farm lands,
both cultivated land and permanent pasture, showed
marked appearance of deterioration in fertility, from a
long term of exhausted cropping, which was about the
beginning of the recognition by the farmers of the fact
that such a course must result in soil deterioration. The
inflated prices prevailing during the Civil War upon all
property began to disappear, and the farmer who wanted
to sell his farm found that not only was the price of his
surplus farm products sent to market reduced about fifty
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per cent, but the value of his farm also had begun to be
depreciated. The rapid development of manufacturing
had made such demand for labor, and so advanced the
price of it, that it was beyond profitable employment upon
the farm under methods previously followed in its man-
agement. The development of the various industrial,
commercial and transportation interests of the state had
been so great that the positions occupied by the farmers
a generation earlier as leaders in town and state affairs
had been largely assumed by the representatives of other
industries. These various reasons made the advent of
the Grange and other agencies for promoting the inter-
ests of agriculture of great and timely importance. The
agricultural interests of New Hampshire reached their
greatest supremacy about 1850, although not their great-
est magnitude until later. The total value of fami prop-
erty reached the highest point in 1870. as the following
table from the United States Census will show. Number
I shows acres in farms; 2, average size of farms; 3, total
value of farm property; 4, total value of lands, improve-
ments and buildinsfs.
I
2
3
4
1900 .
. . 3,609,864
I23.I
$85,842,096
$70,124,360
IS90 .
...3,459.018
II8.7
80.207.575
66,162.600
1880 .
• •3.721,173
II5.6
88,715.693
75,834,389
1870 .
..3.605,994
121. 7
99,295,801
80,589,313
i860 .
..3.744,625
122.8
83,297,400
69,689.761
1850 .
..3,392,414
II6.I
66,432,023
55.245,997
This table shows that the intrinsic value (the gold
value) of farm property was greater in 1870, though the
deterioration since has not been marked.
PERIOD OF RE-ADTUSTMEXT.
The present may properly be called the period of re-
adjustment in the agriculture of New Hampshire. The
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condition of the industry during the two former periods
was in keeping with surrounding conditions and adapted
to the necessities of the farmers of the respective periods
as we have ah^eady pointed out. The new conditions
called for more expensive living, including luxuries in the
farmer's home unknown a generation before, driving
horses with style and speed and carriages of the latest and
most fashionable design in the place of the farm horse
and thoroughbrace wagon, broadcloth in the place of
"homespun" and dainty fabrics of foreign manufacture
in place of home-made goods in the wearing apparel
of the farmer and his family. Daily papers and the stand-
ard magazines were found upon the farmers' tables in
place of the one publication which brought him his news
and politics weekly. The society formerly limited to the
farmer's turn in boarding the district school teacher his
proportion of the term measured by the number of schol-
ars sent to school, the semi-annual visits of the seamstress
to doi the family sewing, with an occasional apple-paring
bee, husking or surprise party, had been superseded by
participation in the leading society events of the town and
state. The changes had been made necessary by similar
changes in the mode of living adopted by people engaged
in other industries which had come into existence in the
natural course of the deA^-elopment of the country and the
prosperity of which had allowed. In the re-adjustment of
agriculture to meet existing conditions at home and
abroad the New Hampshire farmer has made available
the use of improved machinery, the teachings of advanced
agricultural science, intelligent forestry, demands of local
markets, the improved means of communication and
transportation, the advantages offered by the development
of the summer boarding and summer home industries and
the educational and social influence of the farmers' or-
ganization known as the Grange.
The use of farm machinery is one of the most potent
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agents in the re-ad jusmieut prcnress. In fact, it may be
stated \v-ith cenainty that land not suited to the use of
machinery- can no longer be profitably cultivated and
should be devoted to some other purpose than the grow-
ing of culti\*ated crc^s. The first improved machinery"
to make its appearance w"as the mowing madiine by which
the farmer rides over his field and with a pair of horses
cuts as much grass without fatigue as five rugged men
could cut \N*ith tlie hand sc}-the and an additional man to
spread the swathe. The rake, tedder and fork operated
by horse power followed soon, completing the machiner}-
for hai' harvesting. The reaper and self-binder were in-
troduced about the same time, and the com harvesting
machine a little later. For tlie pulverization and culti\-ation
of the soil we have the sulk}- plough, \-arious improved
harrows, culti\-ators and weeders that move immeise
quantities of soil in a brief time, making ilie wood«i
plougii and spike tooth harrow of a couple generations
ago seem absurd for this purpose. Seed sowers have
come into use by which one man will sow or plant more
seed than ten men can sow or plant by hand and do it
infinitdy better, ^^'hen we add to these dain.- utaisils by
which the farmer separates the fat from the milk while
the mei are milking. ha\-ing the cream ready to be sent
to the butter factor}-, and the skim milk ready for feeding
the calves and pigs immediately, or if desired, the use of
machines by whidi the buner can be s^jarated from the
milk dired: and served upon the breakfast table the same
morning, we have some idea of the extent to which ma-
chinery- enters into the afltairs of re-adjusted agriculture.
The silo which has come into use w-ithin a few years for
the storage of green crops is quire properly termed a ma-
chine and CHie which the up-to-date farmer cannot afford
to be without whatever the character of his soil or the
kind of stock fed upon his farm.
Xext in importance to improved farm machinery in the
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re-adjustment of New Hampshire agriculture comes the
appHcation of the teachings of agricultural science as
evolved from experiments by scientists and students of
soils and of animal and plant growth. This includes the
manipulation of the soil by machinery in such manner as
to make available plant food already existing in the soil
in unavailable form, the growing of crops that have the
power of extracting valuable plant food from the subsoil
and from the atmosphere depositing it in the soil in con-
dition to be available by growing plants, the rotation of
crops by which certain crops that draw nourishment from
different depths of soil succeed each other in intelligent
and well-considered rotation, the purchase of such ele-
ments of fertility as are needed to replace those carried
away in crops in the most economical form and from the
cheapest sources, the fertilizing value of the different
crops when fed to animals and the manure applied to the
soil from which the crop was taken, the ability to success-
fully combat the fungus diseases and insect pests that
attack all kinds of plants and to successfully treat the
diseases to which farm animals are subject, to harvest and
market crops in the most economical manner and in the
most profitable form. These are some of the things that
the successful farmer of to-day must know and practise
and which are included under the broad name of agricul-
tural science. This science is being promoted during the
entire period of re-adjustment by the agricultural press,
the agricultural college and experiment station, farmers'
institutes and the Grange.
The practice of intelligent forestry which includes the
planting of seed and the setting of trees, the proper thin-
ning and trimming of the growth, the harvesting of the
crop when ripe, leaving the young growth, and the pro-
tection of trees from forest fires, are matters of great im-
portance in the production of one of our most valuable
crops. When we consider the fact that of the 5,763,200
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acres of territory comprised within the Hmits of the state
of Xew Hampshire, 3.455,088 acres are unimproved land,
mostly forests, the value of the annual product of which
exceeds Si 2,000,000, giving emploj-ment in round num-
bers to 10,000 people and paying in wages over S3. 000.-
000 annually, we get some conception of the extent to
which forestr}- enters into Xew Hampshire agriculture.
Cutting and marketing forest products has been an im-
portant industr}- upon Xew Hampshire farms during this
period and the money received therefor has been an im-
portant factor in enabling many farmers to supply them-
selves and families with the comforts and luxuries with
which the farm homes of the state universally abound.
Vast areas of land located upon the tops of hills and on
the sides of mountains remote from railroad, which under
early conditions were profitably cultivated and furnished
homes for large families and food and raiment to meet
their needs, are now wisely devoted to the growth of
wood and timber and in many instances paying the owner
a higher rate of interest upon the money invested than
could be obtained elsewhere. X'ew uses for wood and
timber are yearly found, and the early marketing of the
crop which many of those uses allow, renders the grow-
ing of wood and timber under favorable conditions one
of the most profitable industries of X'ew Hampshire
farms, objectionable only to the person who is unwilling
to wait twenty-five or thirty years for the production of a
crop. It makes a long term investment, but one in which
the principal and interest are sure when placed with good
judgment and cared for in an intelligent manner.
The improved means of communication and transpor-
tation eliminating the barriers between country and city
life are having marked eft'ect in the great re-adjustment
process. The establishment of rural mail deliver}-, the
rural telephone, and the building of trolley lines from
pDpulous centres into rural districts, carn.-ing the farmers
136
STATE BUILDERS
and the farmer's produce to town and carrying the city
residents to the farmer's home for rest, recreation and
pleasure, for which they are wihing to pay a hheral sum,
is opening up the financial and social advantages of the
farm as could be done in no other way. It is relieving
farm life of its isolation, inducing the farmer to eliminate
some of the drudgery by adopting more business and sys-
tematic methods, and is affording social culture in the
farmer's home, the lack of which caused the young people
to leave the farm as the desire for social enjoyment de-
veloped in the process of evolution from pioneer to twen-
tieth century life. The telephone enables the family to
keep in touch with the people of the town and enables the
farmer to keep informed in regard to any sudden change
in the market or probable change in the weather. The
rural mail delivery brings the daily paper, brings and car-
ries the business, social and literary correspondence and
leads the farmer to consider himself in touch with the
aft'airs of the town, state and nation, thereby increasing
his feeling of responsibility and promoting a desire to
act the part of a good citizen. The trolley line takes the
farmer and his family to town after a busy day upon the
farm, to attend meetings of various kinds, the theatre, or
to do shopping and returns them to their home for a mere
trifle in the way of fare. The sections of the state reached
by these utilities are assuming an unprecedented appear-
ance of thrift and prosperity, and as other sections are
included within the reach of these agencies the re-adjust-
ment will be still further aided and promoted.
The growth of manufacturing and the consequent de-
velopment O'i cities and villages composed of people en-
gaged in that industry, or to serve the needs of those so
engaged, has created local markets of great value to agri-
culture and to supply these has been the aim of a large
number of prosperous farmers. The production of per-
ishable products that must be delivered in fresh condition
127
STATE BUILDERS
has engrossed the leading attention of such fanners and
contributed to the development of intensive system of
fanning by which one acre produces a crop of greater
cash value tliaji ten acres under the system of general
farming once practised here. About fifty creameries have
been established within this period, manufacturing over
$2,000,000 worth of butter annually, in addition to which
twenty carloads of milk are daily sent to the Boston mar-
ket from the New Hampshire fanns. The growing of
apples has become a leading state industry, increasing
from an insignificant matter thirty years ago to an indus-
try of great proportions, furnishing the best of fruit for
the apple markets of the world. The g-arden, fniit, dairy
and poultry products of the state have more than taken
the place of the decline in the production of wheat, oats
and other grain crops and render tlie present annual value
of the fann productions of the state the greatest in its
history.
The development of the summer boarding and summer
home interests has had marked eft'ect in the movement
under consideration. In 1880 the Xew Hampshire legis-
lature made provision for calling attention to the advan-
tages offered by the abandoned fanns of the state for
people seeking country places, either for health, pleasure
or fanning purposes. This \\-as the beginning of a sys-
tematic movement for attracting people to the niral towns
oi the state. The ofticial in charge of the work well said,
and his statements are tnie to-day, that no more fertile
soil e:xists anywhere. The rich, alluvial soil of the Con-
necticut ^'alley. producing magnificent crops of gxass,
grain and tobacco; tlie fertile intervale farms along the
Merrimac River and its tributaries; the ridi soil of tlie
once heavily wooded hillsides and valleys in all sections
of the state, easily cultivated and retentive of moisture
and fertility in sucli a degree as to command wonder and
admiration; the apple orchards producing fniit that
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has gained a world-wide reputation for its superior flavor
and keeping qualities; the private dairies and creameries,
producing butter that was awarded the highest prize at
the World's Fair in Chicago, both on account of the skill
of our people in its manufacture and the feed, water and
atmosphere that produced milk of exceptional purity and
gave the most delicate aroma to the butter; the markets
for milk in the half hundred thrifty manufacturing cities
and villages, in the fifty creameries, and the milk trains
to Boston daily; the summer hotels and boarding houses,
numbering about 2,500, with a capacity for 60,000 people,
accommodating- during the summer season three times
this number of different people, leaving $8,000,000 an-
nually in our state; the healthful climate which attracts
these people and the charming scenery which interests
them; the half thousand lakes and ponds of sparkling
purity and seductive tranquility, affording rare enjoy-
ment for sportsmen; the half hundred grand mountains
with their densely wooded ravines in which flow a thou-
sand sparkling streams; the exceptional railroad facilities
by which the people of the state are favored with railroad
service which in low rates, freight and passenger service
and train connections is unexcelled in any section of the
country affording no greater volume of business to its rail-
road corporations; the low tax rate made possible by the
economy of the state in its expenditures and the annual
reduction of the state debt, a similar course entirely liqui-
dating the debt in the immediate future and even now
enabling the state tax to be more than paid by taxes
assessed upon corporations, the individual taxes being
no more than is needed for local expenditures which are
within the power of towns to regulate; and above all, the
religious, educational and social opportunities where
thrifty churches, unexcelled schools, and social clubs and
organizations beyond number, all affording advantages
peculiar to New Hampshire and rendering the rural sec-
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tion of the state especially desirable for the home seeker,
either for rest, recreation or to engage in the healthful
occupation of tilling the soil. These were some of the
reasons urged for locating in New Hampshire, and so
forcibly were they presented that over three hundred
farms were reoccupied during the first year. The eft'orts
have been continued from year to year, until the number
of vacant farms has been greatly reduced. The latest
figures compiled show eight hundred and forty-nine
farms occupied as summer homes upon which more than
$2,000,000 has been invested by the recent purchasers in
permanent improvements. This movement is destined
to extend in the future.
The observance of Old Home \\'eek has been a potent
factor in arousing interest in the old homesteads of New
Hampshire. Many an instance could be quoted of a son
of the town, or a former resident, who, returning for the
reunion day, is surprised at the beauty of the spots he
revisits and the flood of memories they recall. Thinking
the matter over, he concludes that after all there is no
better place in the world to live than in New Hampshire,
and th.at the best part of New Hampshire is his old town.
So he buys the old place of his family, where his father
and his grandfather, and often times, generations back of
them, li^•ed and worked and died. He repairs and paints
and enlarges the old buildings and builds new ones. He
enriches the impoverished soil and farms the land in
accordance with modern scientific methods. He plants
shade trees and fruit trees and illustrates practical for-
estry to a greater or less extent. Perhaps he grows small
fruits; perhaps he makes premium butter; perhaps he
raises fast horses; perhaps he paints pictures or models
statues or writes books.
The late Austin Corbin came back to the country
where he was born, bought farm after farm and estab-
lished the Blue ]Mountain Forest Park an object of
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interest and instruction to visitors from all parts of the
globe. Within its wire fences are enclosed 25,000 acres
of field and forest, and there is additional land outside.
To obtain control of this property required the transfer
of 375 land titles, the price paid ranging from $1 to $25
an acre. Altogether the cost of the park has been close
upon a million dollars; the expense of its maintenance,
too, is considerable. The superintendent of the estate has
a staff of twenty-five keepers — fifty at certain seasons —
and the entire twenty-seven miles of fence is patrolled
twice a week. Fourteen wild boar, imported from the
Black Forest of Germany at a cost of $1,000, have in-
creased and multiplied wath such rapidity that no one
knows how many herds there are in the park. The
twenty-five head of buffalo^ have grown to one hundred;
the fourteen moose, to another hundred; a herd of one
hundred and forty elk, to a thousand; and one hundred
and twenty-four deer, to more than twelve hundred.
A sketch of the development of agriculture in New
Hampshire and of the agencies contributing to such de-
velopment would be deficient without prominent reference
to the work of the Grange. Formed upon the principle
of fraternity and aiming to advance the interests of hus-
bandry by increasing the intelligence of those engag'ed
therein, the Grange appeals with force to people inter-
ested in the welfare of the state through the development
of its fundamental industry. Upon the introduction of
the organization in the state in 1873 it met with oppo-
sition, but its affairs have been directed with such con-
servatism and with so little taint of partisan politics as to
dispel all antagonism and allow it to take its place as an
important educational agency and a valiant champion
of the interests of rural New Hampshire. Its grand work
in affording a means of social enjoyment, mental devel-
opment and moral reform among the rural people of New
131
STATE BUILDERS
Hampshire, together with the dissemination of practical
informaj:ion in agricultural matters, entitle the Grange
to a high and honorable position among the state build-
ers. The influence of the organization in Xew Hamp-
shire through its 25,000 members and 7,000 meetings
held annually in promoting a more progressive agricul-
ture and more intelligent citizenship, is leaving a mark
upon the affairs of the state that makes unnecessary' any
other record of its work and renders null and void any
attempt to magnify its mission. The future historian
of New Hampshire will give the Grange much credit for
its broad influence in promoting various interests of im-
portance to the welfare of the state as well as to the
welfare of agriculture.
In concluding this epitome of the agriculture of New
Hampshire we cannot refrain from expressing our belief
that the rural sections of the state offer greater induce-
ments to those people looking for an opportunity to
establish a home than can be found elsewhere, reasons
for which we have already stated. People who desire to
gain a livelihood by cultivation of the soil will also find
upon the farms of New Hampshire an opportunity to
cultivate much or little, intensively or extensively, with
as profitable returns as similar effort will yield elsewhere
and amid far greater advantages than in many sections
of our country. The more general this opinion, the better
will it be for those people at present located among our
hills, for those looking for a place in which to locate and
for the state itself. There should be no hesitancy or
delay in promulgating the fact, at home and abroad, that
the re-adjustment process in the agriculture of New
Hampshire is well imder way and already showing good
results. The diversified resources of New Hampshire and
their expected development will make it improbable that
agriculture will ever again become the leading industry
132
STATE BUILDERS
of the state, but with wise action on the part of those in
position to aid it, stimulated by a just appreciation of its
possibihties and of its relative importance as a state m-
dustry upon the state s prosperity, we expect to see prog-
ress made in this direction in the near future far in excess
of any in the past to which we have referred.
133
THE BENCH AND BAR OF NEW
HAMPSHIRE
By Hosea W. Parker
To give a full and accurate history of the Bench and
Bar of New Hampshire and their influence upon the
institutions of the state from the earliest time to the pres-
ent, would require more space than is allotted to this arti-
cle. It must, therefore, be .understood that only the
salient points of the subject will be considered.
Prior to the adoption of the State Constitution in 1783,
the law was not administered with that degree of learn-
ing and accuracy which has characterized the profession
since that time. There were some able lawyers and judges
during the time of the provincial government. Ninety
years elapsed from the time of the appointment of Richard
]\Iartyn as the first chief justice of the Supreme Court
of Judicature in 1693 to the time the constitution was
adopted, and during this period there were about forty
members of the Court. ^lany of these judges never
received any legal education, but received their appoint-
ment on account of their influence in the community and
because they were men of affairs. Their loyalty to the
mother country was also an important factor that entered
into their tenure of office, and largely controlled their
official life and character. There were, however, notable
exceptions, and among them may be mentioned Meshech
\\'eare, who was an educated man, a graduate of Har^-ard
college, and for thirty-five years a judge of the Court.
134
STATE BUILDERS
He administered the law in a manner that reflected great
credit upon himself, and his administration gave universal
satisfaction. He was a judge at a period in the history of
the province when a sentiment for liberty and indepen-
dence moved the hearts and minds of the people, and
when revolution was the war cry. He was in full sym-
pathy with the American cause, and a patriot who had the
confidence of the people. There was also^ jMatthew Thorn-
ton, who was appointed a judge in 1776, and held that
position for six years. He was a man of uncommon in-
telligence, and took a deep interest in the revolutionary
movement and was in full accord with the people who
were then struggling for independence, and active in pro-
moting their cause. He was a delegate to the Continental
Congress, and a signer of the Declaration of Independ-
ence; a man of great influence in his day, whO' labored
with much zeal to throw off the yoke of oppression and
establish a republican form of government. He took an
active part in preparing a constitution for the new state
government, was honest and upright in his judicial
career, and died honored and respected by the entire com-
munity.
There were many men of marked character connected
with the Bench and Bar during this period, but many of
them were not learned in the law. Samuel Livermore
was a man of this character. His name is intimately
connected with New Hampshire history. He was chief
justice of the Supreme Court for eight years, and prac-
tised his profession in Portsmouth, Londonderry and
Holderness, N. H. Notwithstanding the fact that Liver-
more was never regarded as a learned lawyer, Dartmouth
College conferred the degree of LL. D. upon him in 1792.
He was appointed by the General Court to the Continen-
tal Congress to support and enforce the claim of New
Hampshire to the so-called New Hampshire Grants
during that exciting controversy. He was not only a
135
STATE BUILDERS
Judge and a lawyer, but he was a statesman, and was a
member of both branches of Congress and one who
exerted the widest inliuence in his day in state and nation.
He had great wiU power, and was a man of excellent
judgment, which enabled him to perform his judicial
duties without much regard to precedents or text books.
The lawyers of his time criticized him, but this had little
effect upon his conduct as a judge, and he decided cases
according to his own sense of justice. He had a long
and eventful career.
Josiah Bartlett was another judge of marked ability
and prominence. He was appointed a judge in 1792,
and held the court with distinguished ability. Xot only
this, but he was a statesman and an earnest patriot. He
took an active part in all the measures that led up to the
Wrv of the Revolution. He was a delegate to the Con-
tinental Congress and one of the sigiiers of the Declara-
tion of Independence from Xew Hampshire. His great
ability placed him in the front rank, and he rendered the
cause of liberty great service. He was a man of unblem-
ished honor and integrity, and his memory is held in high
esteem.
John Pickering, LL. D., was another judge who made
his mark and was an important factor in the administra-
tion of justice. He was Chief Justice from 1790 to 1795,
and afterwards was appointed United States district
judge for the district of Xew Hampshire. He w"as a
lav.yer of distinction and a very able jiu'ist. He was a
representative in the assembly of the provincial govern-
ment, and was there a leader who exerted a great influ-
ence. In 1787 he was a delegate to the Con\-ention held
for the purpose of forming a constitution of the United
States, and also a member of the X'ew Hampshire con-
vention held in 1788 to ratify the United States constitu-
don, and used all of his great power and will in favor
136
STATE BUILDERS
of its adoption. He was also active in revising the con-
stitution of New Hampshire.
About the time the state constitution w'as adopted, and
for some years aftpr, there appeared a large number of
great lawyers who performed valuable services for the
state and for their profession, and they have left names
and reputations of which the state may justly be proud.
They seem tO' have been especially prepared for the great
work assigned them. As w^e look over this period of
our state's history, we can but admire the brilliant array
of legal minds at this time connected with the jurispru-
dence of the state. Names that at once present them-
selves are Jeremiah Smith, Daniel Webster, Jeremiah
Mason and Ichabod Bartlett.
Judge Smith was Chief Justice from 1802 to 1809, and
again from 181 3 to 181 6. He was educated at Harvard
and Rutgers colleges, was a man of great learning, and
no man in his time did so much as he to place the judic-
iary of the state on an independent basis, and give to it
a standing and character that commanded the respect and
confidence of the people. Judge Smith was not only a
great scholar and judge, but he was a statesman, and gave
his best efforts to aid and strengthen the cause of liberty.
He was a thorough patriot, and his whole heart was filled
with the spirit of the times. He was with General Stark
at Bennington, was elected to Congress in 1790, and
occupied a seat in that body for six years. It is said that
he was an intimate friend of Washington and visited him
at Mount Vernon. He was elected governor of the state,
but this office was not agreeable to him, and he held it
only one year.
Daniel Webster regarded him as an able lawyer and
judge, and often expressed his great admiration for Judge
Smith's legal talents. Tn the famous Dartmouth College
case (so called) he took an active part, and there, as else-
where, displayed his great learning and legal ability.
137
~A~T "fKDERS
. ^-1^ -V '. -c lcr.__ :i OUT SI2.IC g'CV'r' z'".
the lawverf - s were active in directing a:.
: . " ~ : r of the state goverrimcni^ and
^r;_: --;^.: .- ._; : : --------•— for the ''— "--'^.
therein. Tbev in ft: -of sr ^r
r " T 7 '. ' ' :'. was over,
i_^ -•;_-; c:c :; ■ . :' " " *'- 'e«[al
prT'fessioTi. to take tro thr nes
of dnzer- .
It rta:> -
the w^T
-rtv,
»ta.ic was succcssiiLlIv
— ,^. ...c *.'_•.
"ise and sa
- d.V. 2«1» .
VPTi r.f Vf'wr TT?-
C25 prciessi:: .
before ren>:'^-ing^ lo
year- :' ' rt -^ '
one I
i> ^
:;> uaHiQi. w ec'Sier.
^" - '--1 practised
- ; ; . r^ :his State
When he was twenty-four
r' -- -'- ': ~ : - "T'end
1 it
m: career ne e:
-e rare qnaiines
can Bar. ii
' ' r^e case
tune.
i;3
STATE BUILDERS
Jeremiah ]Mason and Judge Jeremiah Smith were con-
temporaries of Webster, and each had an exalted opinion
of the legal abilities of the other, and often expressed it.
While the name of Webster stands out first among the
lawyers of his time, and while no other character has
left so deep an impress upon the state and nation, still
there was at least one other name that still stands out
in bold relief in New Hampshire, and that is the name
of Jeremiah ]\Iason. ^Nlany regarded ^Mason as fully
equal to Webster as a constitutional lawyer, and he gave
to the law and to the state the force of his wonderful
power of intellect.
The Bench and Bar at this time began to take a more
independent stand, and insisted with all the power it
possessed that the legislative, judicial and executive
departments of the state government should be entirely
separate and distinct. There were other great lawyers
at this time, who were active, as lawyers and as leaders,
in the state government. Among them should be men-
tioned Ichabod Bartlett, William Plummer and Levi
Woodbury.
Levi W^oodbury, LL. D., was a judge from 1816 to
1823. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1809, and
ir( 1823 was elected Governor, and in 1825, United States
Senator, to which office he was again elected in 1841.
He was appointed by Gen. Jackson Secretary of the Navy
and later of the treasury. He was offered the position of
ambassador to the Court of St. James, but this he de-
clined, and was then appointed one of the justices of the
Supreme Court of the United States. Those who had
occasion to practise in his court called him an ideal judge,
who had all the characteristics of a model jurist, and re-
flected great honor upon his state.
The New Hampshire Bar was at this time distinguished
for its ability. Besides those already mentioned, there
were the Sullivans, Benjamin West, Arthur Livermore,
139
STATE BUILDERS
Governor Hubbard, Ezekiel Webster, James Bell and
many other lawyers of state and national reputation.
Such were the men who not only laid the foundation of
the state government, but who in a large measure Txiilt
the superstructure.
Judge William M. Richardson opened up a new chap-
ter in the history of the jurisprudence of the state. He
was Chief Justice from 1816 to 1838, and did as much
to shape and mould the judiciary as any other man. No
cases which had been decided by the highest court in the
state had been printed and reported before his day. He
brought order out of chaos, and reduced the practice of
the law to a science. During his long service he rendered
a large number of important decisions. His opinion in
the Dartmouth College case was regarded at the time and
to-day as a great contribution to the legal literature of
that period. He was a great student and was familiar
with several ancient and modern languages.
Since the days of Chief Justice Richardson there have
been published seventy volumes of the decisions of the
court of last resort, and in these volumes is found a wide
range of subjects, fully discussed and considered, so that
the New Hampshire Law Reports stand to-day as a mon-
ument of labor, learning and fidelity of the judges who
have occupied the bench. These rqDorts are in all the well
selected law libraries of the land, and have been quoted
and referred to 1>y lawyers and jurists in all the states
of the Union. It has often been said by jurists that these
decisions are regarded by the courts as among the highest
and best authorities extant, and as the years come and go
they lose none of their value and importance.
While Judge Richardson did a noble work for the
profession, and brought the law and practice up to a much
higher and better standard, many of the judges who
followed him have taken a high rank in the profession.
Andrew S. Wood, LL. D., was a contemporary of Judge
140
STATE BUILDERS
Richardson, and in some respects was considered his
equal. He was a judge for fifteen years, and discharged
the duties of his office tO' the entire satisfaction of alL
He had a brilhant career, and his opinions stand out in
the reports as models, and have always commanded the
respect of the bar. '
By the casual observer it may be considered that the
lawyers and judges who took such an active part in the
formation of the state government and whO' administered
its laws during the first fifty years after the adoption of
the state constitution, were superior to those who' have
come after them, but one who gives the subject more
careful study and consideration will arrive at a different
conclusion. When we study the life and character of
such jurists as Joel Parker, John J. Gilchrist, Samuel D.
Bell, Ira Perley, Henry A. Bellows, W. S. Ladd, Charles
Doe and Alonzo P. Carpenter, all of whom have lived
since the days of Judge Richardson, we are led to believe
that the standard has been elevated instead of being
lowered. All of these held the office of Chief Justice,
except Judge Ladd.
Judge Joel Parker has had few equals. Everything
connected with his professional life was done in the most
brilliant and satisfactory manner. He was an ornament
to the profession, and closed his career as judge in 1848,
when he was appointed Royall professor in the Harvard
law school. He performed all of the duties of that
responsible position in a manner highly creditable to him-
self and tO' the institution with which he was connected.
He occupied this position for twenty years, and the
profession in New Hampshire has always been proud of
Joel Parker, and regarded him as a model judge and a
lawyer of unblemished character.
John J. Gilchrist was Judge Parker's contemporary,
and the more his judicial career is examined and his
141
STATE BUIII-ERS
Ira Perl^ Tiei a great sm^i^st.
qtslities ;f a gnear jxhige.
bet ai rises irascToie: still. _.; . ;
Ji-spedallj kind and c:«5t5: cerate !•:• the 7 , TT^-
:rL E- C:.^ : :^ i_ ; : „.. _: ..i :i the at^lest
and oarest of tze ~cg"e5 'i\n-z- have graced the Xew
traiioo. of tlie la-^ :i Xew Harrrr^nire. He r^
ties tBce to face cs the br;«ad grccmd of right and justfce.
By many he is regsncei as the ablest jurist of n»f€rtt
tfire?.
tbc ablest j-sdges. Many of ins den^c-ns are regarded
as the best type of jtKJicia' wisdjoi and reaS'>riiLr- ari
are prepared yriib. great ca--" -- ' 'r^nnng.
These jttrists "wb:» hare 1 . . . icins. in pam drrring
to the besicii- bet die praciiSEng .a."Ryer is 5.?» innrnaiely
cxmnecied vrith the j-fge :
to separate tseEi- Ttiiges ^ .z. ;:. -__-: _-. -.- .__.'-
mc^iy til* secure tiie highest and liest resdts in the a^iniiiiis-
trazivs. of jtistice. It vroold be very emberrassing for
an;- ~-^~''rrr of tx.- ~~ .--—.y th^-t pr'siiics wh^en
cc 7 anr cc : :_ of the bar. In met.
STATE BUILDERS
judges as a rule hold their places through the influence
and by the co-operation of the bar.
Fifty years ago cases were tried in court very differ-
ently from the course now adopted. In the early days
lawyers took more liberties in examining witnesses and
addressing juries than they do to-day. Then it was quite
common to go outside the record and to make statements
and refer tO' matters and things wholly irrelevant, and
discuss many subjects not involved in the trial of the
cause. To-day the supreme court would set aside a verdict
for such a course of procedure, and this is well under-
stood by the profession. Counsel have been taught to
adhere strictly to the evidence in the case. This makes
the practice of the law much more accurate and satisfac-
tory. In brief, nothing is allowed to be considered but
the facts brought out in evidence, and the law applicable
to these particular facts. In this way the results are more
satisfactory, and justice is surer and more likely to be
obtained than by the earlier methods. It has been thought
by some that the modern method is too restrictive, and
that advocates have lost much of their influence and
power by being held too closely to this rule. While
to-day the advocate may not have that unlimited sway
that he exercised in former times, and then often to the
prejudice of exact justice, still there is ample room at
the present time for the exercise of those high qualities
of mind and heart that gives to the orator a marvellous
power over his hearers. The office of the advocate has
always been regarded by the profession as of the highest
importance. Only a few of the leading lawyers can be
personally referred to in this paper, but any history of
the Bench and Bar in New Hampshire would be very
unsatisfactory without mentioning the names of some of
the leading practitioners and advocates. ]\Iany of those
who have been referred to as judges were active lawyers,
M3
ha5*e h
MZ5^
rse <L>L€i^e-^>3S «? TSBSirT
•aeatfiss
.•—f—
.r-^ "V:^
ae 2. ssT-c^ •!:«: JEWTers zal acrsjcziES c^ fiieai: ppcrrr-
V*lj5l2I ?ry! i:
nsei raese- ^resi: im%€^~
eeit
le iz5»: — :£— s"ec
He "^^25 5. Zjiz*!^ sscre'CSie- sad
_;_ - _ -^riDn:i n- :
STATE BUILDERS
1852 was triumphantly elected president of the United
States. President Pierce was severely criticized during
his administration, and it was claimed that he was in
sympathy with the pro-slavery party of the South. This
was at a time when party spirit was at a high mark, and
the passions and prejudices of political parties were un-
duly excited and aroused. That he loved his country
and was a patriot no one can doubt.
The name of John Sullivan brings to mind one who
was a tower of strength in the administration of the crim-
inal law of the state. He was for many years Attorney
General, and in the trial of criminals rendered the state
valuable service. All of his efforts were in behalf of
justice, and he never insisted upon a conviction unless
the evidence fully warranted such a result. In his ad-
dresses to the jury he was earnest, logical and eloquent,
and when he brought all the force of his intellectual
power against the respondent at the bar, escape seemed
impossible.
There are many more lawyers whose influence and
whose merits might be set forth if space allowed. Such
names as Daniel M. Christie, George W. Morrison, John
H. George, William P. Wheeler, Edmund Burke, Ed-
mund L. Gushing, Gilnian Marston, Mason W. Tappan
and Harry Bingham. These were men who belonged
to a recent period, and were all celebrated not only as
lawyers, but were distinguished for their valiant service
to the state, to their countr}^ and to their fellow men.
The name of Harry Bingham is known by every mem-
ber of the bar in the state. He was great in every depart-
ment of life. Had he lived in the days of Daniel Web-
ster and Jeremiah Mason his reputation would not have
suffered in comparison with theirs. He was a pillar in
support of the temple of justice. While we admire the
brilliant advocate, and are charmed by his eloquence, he
is not always the most useful member of the profession.
M5
STATE BUILDERS
The honest, quiet., hard-working la^^•}■er in his office, often
best serves his fellow men. He has their confidence; they
feel that their varied interests are safe in his keeping.
It was declared by the Roman Emperors that if the law-
yer performed his duty aright, he was as much a benefac-
tor of mankind as the warrior upon the field of battle
who saved his coimtr}- from defeat and ruin. Who can
estimate the great responsibility of the lawyer as he
stands in a Court of Justice as an advocate when the
life of a fellow citizen is being weighed in the balance.
It should be remembered that the duties of the lawyer
are not strictly confined to the courts, and the practice of
his profession. He is, and always has been, active in all
the duties of citizenship. The cause of education has ever
found in him a friend and supporter. The community'
is ever looking to him for counsel and advice in all public
and private enterprises. He is truly a public servant,
and when we realize how varied are his duties, how wide
his influence, and how great are his opportunities to sene
the public, no one can doubt the exalted character of the
profession. He stands as a sentinel to guard the people's
interest and to protect them against approaching danger.
In legislative bodies in this country as well as in popular
assemblies, the majorit}* rules. This is a fundamental
principle of our government. \\'hile all admit that this is
the best rule that can be promulgated for the government
of such bodies, stiU there is and always has been some
danger in its operation, and nothing has contributed
more to hold majorities in check and prevent wild and
extravagant action, than the consen^ative influence of the
legal mind. Thus it will be seen how important it is
that la^^'yers should be in the forefront in all legislative
bodies. Oiu" state has always recognized this, and we
find in the first and second provincial congresses, held at
Exeter in 1774 and in 1775, that the controlling influence
then and there was the action of the few lawyers who
146
STATE BUILDERS
were members of those bodies. The same is true in all
the constitutional conventions from 1778 to the last one
in 1889. By referring to some statistics compiled by the
Hon. J. H. Benton and given in an address of much
merit and importance before the Southern New Hamp-
shire bar association in 1894, he states: "Of the speak-
ers in the House of Representatives in N. H., from
1 79 1 to 1894, fifty of the sixty-two who have occupied
that position were lawyers, and of the presidents of the
senate, thirty-four of the seventy-five were of this pro-
fession." We shall find that this rule holds good in the
office of governor and other state officials. The same is
also true in the election of senators and representatives
in congress and even in the election of presidents of the
United States. In short, lawyers have always guarded
every department of government, and this is acknowl-
edged to be true by all classes, and not only is it for the
best good of the people, but absolutely necessary for the
safety and security of the government. Every depart-
ment of the state government has been shaped and con-
trolled by the legal profession. While the number of
lawyers in the legislature has not always been great, they
have at all times directed its action to a very large ex-
tent. The judiciary committee of the house has been the
controlling influence and the lawyers of this committee
have always carefully investigated all measures of im-
portance before giving them a favorable report. It would
be impracticable for any class of legislators to do this
work unless they had received a legal education. This
committee has at all times held a firm grasp upon all legis-
lative action. All acts of any public interest have invari-
ably been examined by them. A legislature without the
guiding hand of the lawyers would be like a ship at sea
without a chart or compass. Legislation should be a
healthy public sentiment fashioned and moulded into law.
Sir Edward Coke tells us, "Reason is the life of the law,
147
STATE BOLDERS
and law is the perfection of reason," and it requires the
most critical analysis and sound judgmoit to work out
the various problems and put them into proper -shape for
the best good of the people. Xo one who is not trained
in the law and has not learned the art of discrimina-
tion is competent to perform this task. Ours being a gov-
ernment of law, it would be impossible to administer it
without those skilled in this science.
The laws are not only made, but they are executed by
this class of men. They have laid aside the duties of
the advocate and the making of briefs, and put on the
robe of justice, still they are lawyers, ^^*e might ask with
Ci(^ro, *^\Miat is so king like, so munificent as to bestow
help on those who supplicate our aid? to raise the op-
pressed and save our fellow citizens from peril and Dre-
sene them to the state?"
Lawyers by their education and by their habit of
thought and action, naturally become consen^ative, and
adhere to fundamental principles : hence they are slow to
change, but cling to fundamental truths. They adhere
to organic law and constitutional guarantees. In this
lies the safety- of the state and nation, for they are
anchored to something that is reliable, and are unmoved
when danger threatens the state. It is the law}-er who
stands at the helm ever ready to guide the "ship of state"
through the storm.
The life, libert}% and property* of the individual are
placed in the care and custody of the law\-er, and if he is
true to his profession, they are sacredly and securely cared
for. Xot only this, the great interests of state and nation
are in his keeping. He is also called upon to care for and
consider those more delicate relations of domestic life.
which are constantly pressing upon him. More than this,
he has always been ready to answer the call of country
"when grim-%-isaged war' is seen throughout the land.
Many of the active and prominent lawyers in Xew Hamp-
STATE BUILDERS
shire left their practice and went to the front during the
War of the Revolution and during the War of the Rebel-
lion, and there, as elsewhere, maintained the honor and
integrity of the nation.
Proud as we should be of the name and fame of the
New Hampshire Bench and Bar for what it has been in
the past, we believe that it is still an honor to the state,
and that the profession has made progress during the last
twenty-five years. The rules of Court now require that
all students shall be examined by a competent committee,
and they must pass a rigid examination before they can
be admitted to practice at the bar. The bar has been
elevated by this means, and attorneys are very much bet-
ter prepared than ever before.
This, briefly, is what has been done by the Bench and
Bar of New Hampshire. The work accomplished makes
a bright page in the history of the state. Its motto is,
*Tiat justicia ruat coelum." Each and every member of
the bar ought to be deeply impressed with the dignity and
greatness of his calling. It is a noble profession, and no
one but an active member can realize the great responsi-
bility which is assumed by those who belong to it. The
lawyer has not only his own personal cares and duties,
but he must bear the burdens of his clients, and keep
constantly in mind their interests and their welfare in all
the complicated matters committed to his keeping, and
this involves study and anxious thought.
Nowhere has the profession attained a prouder or more
honorable position than in New Hampshire. From the
earliest times in her history it has been celebrated for its
high character and learning. Let it be guarded and pro-
tected with a jealous eye and it will continue to be in the
future as it has been in the past, the great conservator of
state and nation.
No class of men has ever been more ready to sound the
praises of the "Old Granite State" than her lawyers.
149
STATE BUILDERS
Their love and affection for her hills and valleys have
been made manifest throughout her history. They have
championed her cause wherever and whenever an oppor-
tunity has been presented, and have always been loyal
to all of her interests. On the other hand, the state has
placed her best interests in their keeping, and crowned
them with her highest honors.
''Of law there can be no less acknowledged, than that
her seat is the bosom of God, her voice the harmony of
the world.'"'
XoTE. — For some of the facts in this paper the author is indebted to
the late Hon. Charles H. Bell, in his admirable work entitled "The Bench
and Bar of New Hampshire."
150
NOTES ON THE MEDICAL PROFESSION
OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
By Irving A. Watson, A.M., M.D.
No class of men has a cleaner record, or has done more
for the upbuilding of the state from the earliest Colonial
period to the present time than the medical profession.
History shows that our physicians have not only stood in
the front rank of their profession, but that, through all
the struggles and vicissitudes of the Comrnonwealth from
its very planting to the twentieth century, they have been
among the leaders, whether in war or peace, serving with
a loyalty and patriotism unchallenged and unexcelled.
The little colony which began the building of the
state of New Hampshire at Strawberry Bank, in 1623,
struggled with all the hardships incident to- the severest
of pioneer life, without a physician for eight years, when,
in 1 63 1, with the new impetus which was given the
colony by the arrival of some fifty men and twenty-two
women, came Dr. Renald Fernald, the first physician to
settle in the Province of New Hampshire and the second
in New England, Dr. Samuel Fuller, more frequently
designated as Deacon Samuel Fuller, who came over in
the "Mayflower" and settled at Plymouth Colony, being
the first. It is an interesting fact that under such circum-
stances a regularly educated physician should have set-
tled with this little colony; and to what extent its future
was due to his guiding presence cannot be shown, but it
is among the probabilities that its successful career was
largely shaped by him.
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Dr. Fernald was born in Bristol, England, July 6,
1595, He is said to have resigned a position in the Eng-
lish navy to come to America, and, sailing in the "War-
wick," arrived at Strawberry Bank July 4, 1631. That
he was a man of ability, and that he served the colony
to which he had joined himself with honor and fidelity,
is evident from the few records left of his career. He
was captain of a military company; Grand Juror in 1643;
Town Recorder, 1654- 1656; was Trial Justice of the
Peace, Recorder of Deeds, Surveyor and Commissioner,
and Clerk of Portsmouth at the time of his death, Octo-
ber 6, 1656.
The name of Strawberry Bank was changed to Ports-
mouth through the efforts of Dr. Fernald, in a petition
which he w4th four others presented to the General
Court in May, .1653, giving for a reason that the name
of Strawberry Bank was "accidentally so called by reason
of the bank of strawberries that was found in this place,
and now your petitioners' humble desire is to have it
called Portsmouth, being a name most suitable for this
place, it being at the river's mouth, and a good harbor
as any in the land."
The first coronor's inquest held in Xew Hampshire
was in January, 1655, by a jury of twelve men, under the
direction of Dr. Fernald, who certifies that the said jury
returned the following verdict:
'■'Wee whose names are subscribed doe testifie how wee
found Thomas Tuttell, the son of John Tuttell by the
stump of a tree which he had newly fallin upon another
limb of the other tree rebounding back and fell upon him.
which was the cause of his death as wee consider : this
was found the last day of the last ]March."
After the death of Dr. Fernald, in 1656, I find no
evidence of there having been any regular physician in
the colony, or province, for many years, the next, per-
haps, being \\^alter Barefoote, who lived at Newcastle as
152
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early as 1660, but who seemed almost wholly engaged in
politics, although he was a physician. He was Counsel-
lor in 1682, and Chief Magistrate of the province in 1685.
He died in 1688.
The second practising physician in the Province was
probably John Fletcher, who lived in Portsmouth, was ad-
mitted freeman in 1669. He was one of the nine found-
ers of the first church in Portsmouth, in 1671. He died
September 5, 1695.
Perhaps the next in order !o be designated as a phy-
sician was John Buss, who was also a minister, and who
settled at Dover in the Oyster River Parish, now Dur-
ham, in 1684. He practised medicine and preached from
that date to 17 18, when he retired.
The practice of medicine at this time, as well as for
many years afterward, was to a considerable extent in the
hands of the ministers, who added this accomplishment
to their chosen labor of saving souls, maintaining intact
their inelastic and unyielding dogmas, exercising a cen-
sorship over the words and actions of their parishioners,
standing guard against heresy and at all points fighting
the devil with a few, but to them, all of the legitimate and
sanctified weapons of religious warfare. To them medical
science was as positive and as circumscribed as their
theology. A limited knowledge of anatomy, and less
of physiology, with the most empirical doctrine of thera-
peutics constituted a sufficient medical education. There
was no pathology, no chemistry, no microscopic investi-
gations, no post-mortem examinations to verify diag-
nosis, no clinical thermometers, stethoscopes, ophthalmo-
scopes, etc., in fact, little beyond prayer; venesection,
emetics, and cathartics, which were the chief and con-
stant reliance of the practitioner, to which all forms of
disease, or the patient, succumbed. Green (History of
Medicine in Massachusetts) says that ''the ministers were
expert in phlebotomy and they were wont to bleed and
153
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pray in all severe cases." The text-books taught that
bleeding was in nearly all diseases the first thing to be
res-iTted to. and in plethoric persons repeated bleedings
were often recorded- So universally was this operation
believed in as a remedial procedure and as a preventive
of disease :aine a ver\- general practice among
the well : . _ . .-..:.: least e\'er\- spring. Barbers often
perfc-rmed this operation as well as extracted teeth.
Emetics wer -eat favor, applicable to almost
ever}- pr'-- . ..c .„„:.' Cathartics were used to an
aJrist .: extent- With this heroic and appalling
rent a patient, if he were fortu-
--.-^.. .:. must have been fore^-er after in
: as to ■ td him.
7 vr rext physician of note in the Province was Dr.
Tj-ir.iii PacKer, who b^;an practice in Portsmouth about
1687, and remained there imtil his death in 1724. Dr.
Packer was bom in Portsmouth, England, educated as
a surgeoo in London, came to this cotmtry when a young
man. and after residing a short time in Salem, Mass.,
ermanently in Portsmouth. He was a man of
. . ^ce and in high favor, most of the time, with
: . ovenmient. The General Court of Xew
} : as held at his house at one time. He also
V, ..- ...t^ for entertaining the royal guests that visited
the province: was influential in the community, and so
7: by the governor as to be included in the
re... tr.-.c c...Lnieat of several towns.* He also held
several military and ci\'ic ofiices.
Perhaps the next physicians in chronological order
were Dr. Thomas Aiden and Dr. Jonathan Crosbee, who
were in Dover as early as 171 7 and 1718 respectively.
Dr. Joseph Peirce, who was quite a prominent and able
physi-'- :'-' 'r'-- '•me. b^an practice in Portsmouth,
*i-tT ; . i, . i -^t::r cf Dr. Packer by the anthor in Granile
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probably about the time of Dr. Packer's death, in 1724.
He was in successful practice in that place until January
T7, 1749, at which time he died of small pox. Dr. Peirce,
in 1744, was commissioned "Surgeon Gen. of ye N.
Hampshire Troops and Naval Forces," in which capacity
he served the province well.
Dr. John Ross was a physician of some note in Ports-
mouth, and was practising in that place as late as 1747.
He was one of the incorporators of Barrington, in 1722,
and of Kingswood, in 1737. Pie practised medicine for
many years in Portsmouth.
Although Exeter was settled in 1638, as far as can be
ascertained no physician located there until about 17 18 or
1720, although it is not supposed that during this entire
period the town was without some one vvho practised the
healing art, though perhaps in special cases medical aid
may have been received from Portsmouth. Dr. Thomas
Dean, who was born in Boston, November 28, 1694,
began practising in Exeter between about the dates above
stated, and followed his profession there until his death
in 1768. In official capacity he served as selectman of
the town, and was captain and afterwards major in the
Militia. He was one of the proprietors of the town of
Gilmanton.
The next physician to settle in that town was Dr.
Josiah Oilman, who was bom in Exeter Febrtiary 25,
1710, and died January i, 1793. He was an able medical
practitioner, a man of considerable education and good
business capacity; was loyal to the colony and served the
province well.
From, his time to the Revolutionary period, the fol-
lowing physicians, some of whose names will be forever
perpetuated in the history of the colony, were engaged in
the practice of medicine in Exeter: Dudley Odlin,
Robert Oilman, Eliphalet Hale, John Giddings, John
Odlin, Nathaniel Oilman, Caleb O. Adams, John Lam-
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son, Joseph Tilton, Samuel Teimey and Xathaniel Pea-
body. Evidently all these physidans were men of
imusual abilit}- and patriotism, and did more or less ser-
\-ice for the Province and for the cotmtr}-. Dr. Gidding-s
was selectman, rq)re5entative, commanded a company
in the Re^'-olution, and was nominated a candidate to the
G)ntinental O^ngress, but modestly declined. Dr. Adams
sened in the Revolution as Surgeon of Col. Poore's
7 Jrd Xew Hampshire Regiment: Dr. Lamson was noted
: : r ids eventful life, which from the time of his coming
of age was largely de\'oted to the sen-ice of his country-,
serA'ing as surgeon's mate under Col. Xathaniel Mesene ;
was captured by the Indians after the surrender of Mont-
calm; held a prisoner by the French in ^lontreal, was ran-
somed, finally exchanged, and sent to England, where,
ha^■ing attracted the attention of Gen. Edward Wolfe,
father of the future captor of Quebec, he was appointed
Siu'geon's Mate in the Kings regiment, tmder Wolfe's
command. Two years later, he returned to Exeter, subse-
quently served as stu-geon in another regiment. Dr.
To5q)h Tilton served as Surgeon on board the '"Pri-
vateer'' during the Revolution. Dr. Xathaniel Peabody
became an eminent physician, and also a man of note,
having 5er\-ed as Adjutant-General of the Militia of the
state; a dd^ate to the Continental Congress; a member
of the State Legi?iarure,and Major-General of the !Militia.
Dr. Tenne}-, from the breaking out of the Revolution,
entered the army, was present in season to assist the
wounded at Bunker Hill. At the dose of the war he re-
turned to Exeter and continued the practice of his pro-
fession.
The physidans of Dover, from the time ot Dr, Cros-
bee, about 1718, down to the Revolutionan.- War, were
Samuel Merrow, Thomas Miller, Cheney Smith, Moses
Carr, Moses Howe, Ebenezer X'oyes, Ezra Green and
Sir.:uel Wigglesworth, all of whom, s-j far as can be
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learned, were able and reputable men, some of whom
served the Province in a military or a political capacity.
Dr. Miller was appointed surgeon of a New Hamp-
shire regiment under Colonel Moore, in the Louisburg ex-
pedition, in 1745: but I find no record of his accepting
the appointment.
Dr. Smith was assistant surgeon of a New Hampshire
regiment in 1759.
Dr. Moses Carr, in addition to his medical practice, was
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas from 1776 to 1784,
and was also a charter member of the New Hampshire
Medical Society.
Dr. Ezra Green was born June 17, 1746 O. S.; grad-
uated from Harvard College in 1765; settled in Dover as
physician in 1767; immediately following the battle of
Bunker Hill he joined a New Hampshire regiment under
Colonel Reed as surgeon, and serv-ed until the winter of
1776; in 1 777, was commissioned Surgeon of the war ship
"Ranger" under command of Capt. John Paul Jones,
sailed for France in November of that year, and was in
the engagement with the "Drake"; sailed again as Sur-
geon of the "Ranger" two years later, and in 1780 as Sur-
geon of the "Alexander," serving in that capacity until
1 78 1, when his Revolutionary service ended. He was
the first postmaster of Dover, and held the office several
years. He was a member of the State Convention in
1778, which adopted the Constitution of the United
States, and was one of the founders of the New Hamp-
shire Medical Society.
Dr. Samuel Wigglesworth was born April 25, 1734,
and graduated from Harvard College in 1752. He was
Surgeon in Colonel Waldron's regiment in 1775-1776;
Surgeon in Colonel Wingate's regiment in 1776-17^7.
Among the early physicians of Portsmouth were Na-
thaniel Rogers, Nathaniel Sargent, Clement Jackson, Hall
Jackson, Joshua Brackett, and Ammi R. Cutter.
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All of the above were men of distinction and some of
renown.
Dr. Nathaniel Rogers was born in 1700; graduated
from Harvard College in 1717. Among his civil services
was that of Representative to the Legislature and Speaker
of the House.
Dr. Nathaniel Sargent graduated from Harvard Col-
lege in 17 1 7. He was a practitioner of renown.
Dr. Clement Jackson was one of the most eminent
physicians of Portsmouth for many years. His practice
was extensive. He died in 1788, at the age of 83.
Dr. Hall Jackson, a son of Dr. Clement Jackson, was
born in Portsmouth about 1739; completed his medical
education in the hospitals of London, and afterwards
became distinguished in his profession. Several hospitals
for inoculating smallpox were placed in his charge. He
received an honorary degree of ^l. D. from Harvard; was
one of the charter members of the Xew Hampshire ]\Ied-
ical Society. He was an ardent patriot, taking personal
command of an artillery company having three brass
cannon.
Dr. Joshua Brackett was born in Greenland INIay, 1733;
graduated from Harvard College in 1752. He first stud-
ied theology, afterwards medicine. His ability as a physi-
cian was recognized to the extent that he was made an
honorary member of the Massachusetts Medical Society
in 1783, and received an honorary degree from Harvard
in 1792. He was first Vice President of the New Hamp-
shire Medical Society, and in 1793 was elected its presi-
dent. He had the largest medical library in the state,
consisting of one hundred and forty volumes, which he
presented to the New Hampshire Medical Society. He
was appointed judge of the ^Maritime Court for this state
at the time of the Revolution, and held that ofifice until the
duties of it were transferred to the District Court. He
died in 1802.
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Dr. Ammi R. Cutter was born in 1735; graduated from
Harvard College in 1752. After the completion of his
medical studies he was appointed surgeon of a regiment
raised to oppose the French and Indians, and continued
with his regiment on the frontier until they were or-
dered to Cape Breton. He was at the capture of Louis-
burg in 1758. He was invited to accept the office of
Consul under the Royal Government, but declined because
it would interfere with his professional duties. In 1777,
he assumed charge of the medical dq^artment of the
Northern army, with which he remained until the sur-
render of General Burgoyne. He was delegate to the
Convention that formed the Constitution of New Hamp-
shire. He was several years president of the New Hamp-
shire Medical Society.
During this early period there resided at Kingston
Drs. Thomas Green, Amos Gale and Josiah Bartlett.
Thomas Green and Amos Gale were both distinguished
in their profession, as indeed was the Gale famih', on
account of the number of physicians bearing that name.
Josiah Bartlett was not only a distinguished practi-
tioner of medicine, but was even more distinguished as
a statesman, whose first thought was the welfare of
the province and the state. He was born in Kingston
in 1729, and at the age of twenty-one began in
Kingston, where he became one of the foremost prac-
titioners of the state. He was the founder of the
New Hampshire Medical Society, which received its
charter through his efforts in 1791. In public and
political life he exerted a great influence for the welfare
of the state, first appearing in public as a representa-
tive to the legislature of the province of New Hamp-
shire. He was a member of the committee of safety;
was chosen one of the delegates to the general con-
gress in Philadelphia in 1744, but declined election;
the following year he was appointed to command a
159
STATE BUILDERS
regiment by the first provincial congress, of which
Dr. Matthew Thornton was president; the same year he
was chosen to the continental congress, and was re-
elected the following year and signed the Declaration of
Independence; in 1779, was appointed chief justice of
the court of common pleas; in 1782, was promoted to be
justice of the superior court, and in 1788, made chief jus-
tice of the state. He also served as president of New
Hampshire, and afterwards was elected first governor.
He was a great man, far-sighted, and thoroughly trusted
by the people. His influence for the welfare of the state
was second to no man living during that trying period.
Ebenezer Thompson of Durham, born in 1737 O. S.,
through civil preferment, left the practice of medicine
for the service of the state and country. He was a man
of marked ability, and rose step by step through various
official positions to that of judge of the superior court.
During the Revolutionary period he held the three im-
portant offices of councillor, member of the committee of
safety, and secretary of state. In 1778, he was chosen
representative to the continental congress. He held the
position of special justice of the superior court, clerk of
the court of common pleas, representative to the general
court, justice of the inferior court of common pleas, and,
finally, justice of the superior court. He was one of the
presidential electors when Washington was chosen
president.
In Londonderry' there resided another physician of note,
and a patriot whose name, like that of Josiah Bartlett,
will be forever perpetuated in the history of the country,
IMatthew Thornton, New Hampshire's other signer of
the Declaration of Independence. He was bom in Ire-
land about 1 7 14; came to this country when an infant;
received an academical education; studied medicine and
commenced practice in Londonderry, where he acquired
an extensive and well merited reputation as a physician
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and surgeon as well as the distinction of being an ag-
gressive and public-spirited patriot. Dr. Thornton par-
ticipated in the perils of the expedition against Louis-
burg as surgeon of the New Hampshire division of the
army. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War he
held the rank of colonel in the militia. He was also
commissioned justice of the peace under the administra-
tion of Benning Wentworth. In 1775, when the British
government was dissolved and the provincial government
formed for temporary purposes, he was appointed first
president. In T776, he was elected Speaker of the general
assembly, and was appointed by the house of representa-
tives a delegate to represent the state of New Hampshire
in congress. The same year he was appointed judge of
the superior court of New Hampshire, which ofifice he
held till 1782. He had previously received the appomt-
ment of chief justice of the court of common pleas.
After the close of the Revolution, he served as a member
of the general court, and also as a member of the senate.
Dr. Isaac Thom was one of the earlier distinguished
physicians of the state. Born at Windham in 1746; com-
menced practice in that town, but later removed to Lon-
donderry. He was prominent in public affairs. Aside
from minor offices, he was a member of the committee of
safety during the Revolution; was justice of the peace,
and the first postmaster of Londonderry, and one of the
charter members of the New Hampshire Medical Society.
Another physician who did much for the independence
oi the country was Henry Dearborn, who was born in
Hampton in 1751, and settled in Nottingham as a physi-
cian in 1772. Upon the news of the Battle of Lexington
he marched with sixty volunteers to the scene of action;
on the seventeenth of June he marched tO' Bunker Hill
with his company under Stark, and fought most bravely
under the eye of that general. In September he joined
Arnold's expedition through the wilds of Maine and
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Canada. In the assault on Quebec he was taken prisoner;
was exchanged in ]\Iarch, 1777, and appointed Major in
Scanneh's regiment; he was in the battle of Stillwater and
Saratoga, and fought with such ability as to be noticed in
orders by General Gates. He was with General Sullivan
in his expedition against the Indians in 1799, and was
in Yorktown at the surrender of Cornwallis. After the
war he settled in Maine, where he was marshal by ap-
pointment of W^ashington. He was a member of Con-
gress two terms; secretary of war under Jefferson; col-
lector of the port of Boston; in 1812 was appointed major
general in the army of the United States, was captured
at York in Canada, and Fort George at the mouth of the
Niagara; he was recalled in July, 1813, put in command
of the Military District of New York City; in 1822 he
was appointed by President Monroe, Minister Plenipo-
tentiary to Portugal.
Dr. Moses Nichols, another physician prominent in
civil and military life, commenced the practice of medi-
cine in Amherst about 1761; served as representative to
the general court; took an active interest in the popular
cause, and in 1776 was appointed colonel of the Fifth
regiment. He commanded the right wing of Stark's
army at Bennington. In 1778 he was with General Sul-
livan in Rhode Island; two years later was in command
of the regiment at West Point at the time of Arnold's
treason. At the close of the war he was appointed Brig-
adier-General of the Fourth Brigade of the New Hamp-
shire militia. He held the office of register of deeds for
Hillsborough County for several years.
Rev. James Scales, who practised medicine as well as
preached, was undoubtedly the first practitioner in the
territory now embraced by Merrimack County. He re-
sided in Canterbury, but his practice extended to Hcp-
kinton, Rumford, and other towns.
Dr. Ezra Carter was probably the first physician to
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settle ill Concord, locating there in 1740. He was an able
physician and a man of fine character, and of great be-
nevolence.
The limits of this article will not permit biographical
references to many other physicians whose influence was
strongly felt in their respective communities during the
more trying period in the history of the province and of
the state; but enough has been shown already to indicate
the immense influence that was exerted for the public
good on the part of the medical protcssion. We must,
however, make mere mention of a few others, among
which was ^Villiam Cogswell, of Atkinson, who rendered
service as a surgeon during the Revolution,
Benjamin Page, who was born in Kingston in 1742;
a heroic surgeon, who was present at Bunker Hill, Ticon-
deroga, Bennington, etc. At the Battle of Bennington
he took command of a company after its captain was dis-
abled, and won especial commendation for his bravery.
William Page practised many years in Charlestown;
served as colonel of the Militia; member of the general
court and state senator.
Samuel Tenney, who was a brave and accomplished
physician of Exeter, and who, when the war broke out,
.hastened to Bunker Hill and arrived in season to assist
the wounded. He served as surgeon in the Revolution,
and was present at the surrender of Burgoyne and Corn-
wallis. He was a member of the convention for forming
the state constitution in 1791; in 1793 was appointed
judge of probate for Rockingham county, which posi-
tion he held till 1800 when he was elected to congress
and served three terms. He was a member of various
scientific and literary societies, and contributed valuable
articles to the press in favor of the Federal constitution,
in 1788.
George Sparhawk graduated at Harvard in 1777, and
settled at Walpole. He was a man recognized for his
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ability in that section of the state. He was twice stare
councillor.
These, and many others who ought to be named but
cannot be here, btit reference to whom may be found in
scmie of our local histories, were foremost among the
men who defended the sparse settlements of the province
against the relentless savages as well as disease, and who
largely shaped the destinies of the state. The interest
and influence which was exerted by the medical profes-
sion in its tr}-ing provincial period and early statehood
have never abated, nor has the profession lessened its in-
terest or its influence in the welfare of the commonwealth,
even to the present time. As state btiilders, the medical
profession must, as shown bj^ history, hold a rank second
to that of no other. It would be a gisrantic task to sfo over
the histon.- of Xew Hampshire from the Revolution to
the present time, and show to what extent members of
the medical profession have figured in the evoits that
have transpired. There is no ci^-il or political office, prob-
ably, that has not been held by physicians, from a justice
of the peace to a United States senator. The State legis-
lattu^e always has representatives from the medical pro-
fession; ntunerous physicians have been elected to the
United States Congress; three, Josiah Bartlett, Da^-id L.
Morrill, and Xoah 2klartin, have been governors of the
state; many have sened their state and country" in a mil-
itary c^)acity.
During the provincial period, the great majority of the
practitioners of medicine were deSdait in professional
education, through lack of opportunity, and there was but
httle general intelligence among the people regarding
medical matters, with perhaps a few exceptions, ana
these indeed were notable. The early practitioner ob-
tained his medical knowledge from reading a limited
number of medical works, from the standpoint of to-day
crude and rudimentan.-, and a few months" obser\-ation of
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disease and its treatment under the tutorship of a prac-
tising- physician. There were some who did not serve this
superficial term of study and observation, but with very
limited and doubtful knowledge secured from one or two
books, assumed the title of "Dr." with a conscientious
belief that they were performing a public duty as well as
a humanitarian service. Nevertheless, the doctor was a
man of great consequence in the community, second only
to the minister. This exalted and dignified position m
the estimation of the people probably arose, not so much
from his medical attainments as from the fact that he was
usually a man of great strength of character, interested
in all public aftairs, and a natural leader. This is evi-
denced by the large number of eminent men of that pe-
riod who were from the ranks of the profession. "A
man godly and forward to do much good, being much
missed after his death," the epitaph which Bradford gave
to Dr. Samuel Fuller, the first physician to come to New
England, was true of many of the earlier physicians of
New Hampshire.
In personal appearance the old time doctor was con-
spicuous. His dress also indicated the importance of his
position in the community. He wore a deep, broad-
skirted frock coat, long established by custom, and it
was generally ornamented with various trimmings, occa-
sionally with gold lace; a long waistcoat, deep-pocketed
with loose swinging flaps, hung over breeches or small
clothes; hose, buckle shoes, frills and cuffs, neck-bands,
and rufifled shirt front; a felt hat, generally three-cor-
nered, completed the dress.
His cocked hat, full wig, and ever-present cane were
awe-inspiring, to say nothing of his saddle bags, stuffed
with strange and nauseating drugs which he lavishly
dispensed to his patients.
Carriages were almost unknown before the Revolution.
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Travelling was accomplished on horseback, the doctor
carr}"ing his medicines in saddle bags.
During the colonial and provincial period, the fees or
charsres for medical senices were exceedinglv low, and
the physicians were pooriy paid, as the early settlers had
practically nothing with which to pay their bills except
the produce of their farms. The Day Book of the dis-
tinguished signer of the Declaration of Independence,
Dr. Tosiah Bartlett, kept when he was in the practice of
medicine, between 1765 and 1768, embracing 312 pages,
nearly all in his own handwriting, presents many entries
that are interesting, instructive, and ver}- unique from our
present standpoint. He received all sorts of produce to
pay the small amoimts charged for services rendered.
Credits of '"oats," ''merchantable boards," "pig pork,''
"hog's fat," as well as about all other kinds of farm
produce. Sometimes he took a note, seldom cash.
It may be said that, following the Revolution and those
tr^-ing times in which the public interest was centred al-
most solely in civil, political and militar}* affairs, medical
men foimd time and opportunity to turn their attention
to the development of the profession itself.
In 1791, through the efforts of Tosiah Bartlett. then
governor of the state, the Xew Hampshire Medical So-
ciety was chartered, being the fourth state in the imion
to form a medical 50ciet\% New Jersey, Delaware, and
Massachusetts preceding Xew Hampshire in making an
organization of this kind.
Its charter members consisted of nineteen physicians,
noted for their ability.- and interest in public affairs, most
of whom ha^■e been mentioned above.
' The first meeting of this society was held May 4. 1791.
at Exeter. Ten of its charter members were present,
among whom may be mentioned John Rogers, of Ph-m-
outh. who made the journey through the forest on horse-
back, and which attendance required several days, to say
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nothing about the physical hardship attendant on such
a trip.
This society, aUhough its meetings were small in its
earlier days, and sometimes there was no quorum pres--
ent, through the efforts of a few determined and energetic
physicians, it never lost its organization, and has grown
to be a large and strong association, the annual transac-
tions of which now constitute a volume of nearly 400
pages. Its records are intact and well preserved from
the date of its first meeting to the present time. In its
ranks have been a great majority of the best educated and
most reputable physicians of the state, many of whom
have left a proud and enviable record in their profession,
as well as in civil life.
The New Hampshire Medical Society, in its devotion
to the interests of the profession, organized district so-
cieties, two oi which, called the "Eastern" and the "West-
ern," being organized in 1792. The Centre District Med-
ical Society was constituted in 1807; the Strafford Dis-
trict Medical Society, in 181 1; the Western District Med-
ical Society, in 1815; the Southern District Medical So-
ciety, in 1 8 16; Grafton County District Medical Society,
in 1820; the Eastern District Medical Society reorgan-
ized in 1823; the Rockingham County Society organ-
ized in 1824; Manchester Medical Society, in 1840; Car-
roll County Society, in 1848, and numerous local medical
societies from time to time since. The Portsmouth
Medical Association was incorporated in 18 19; the White
Mountains Medical Society in 1821; the Connecticut
River Valley Medical Association in 1876.
The New Hampshire Homeopathic Society was char-
tered in 1852, and the New Hampshire Botanic Society,
chartered in 1848, changed to New Hampshire Eclectic
Society in 1881, still maintain their organizations.
Prior to the Revolution, there were but two medical
schools in this country, the Medical Department of the
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University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1764, and a med-
ical school established in New York in 1768, and which
was abandoned within a few years.
The Harvard Medical School was established in 1783,
following which was the founding of the medical depart-
ment of Dartmouth College by Dr. Nathaniel Smith, in
1797, during which year he delivered, unassisted, a course
of medical lectures in Dartmouth Hall. The following
year he was assisted by Dr. Lyman Spaulding, who lec-
tured on chemistry. During the first twelve years of the
school's existence, forty-five men received the degree
of M. B. At this period the school was without funds, and
was supported by the fees paid by the students; but Dr.
Smith received from the college for apparatus, chemi-
cals, etc., about $600 during that period. In 1803 the
legislature appropriated $600 for the same purpose. In
1809, the legislature appropriated $3,450 for the erec-
tion of a medical school building, and in 181 2 a further
sum of about $1,200 to complete the payment of the
building. Up to this time the great work of establishing
a medical school for the State of New Hampshire de-
volved chiefly, in fact almost entirely, upon Dr. Smith,
and it was through his constant and laborious efforts in
behalf of medical education that this undertaking became
a success. So marked was his executive ability in this
particular work that, in 181 2, he was called to New
Haven, Connecticut, to establish a Yale Medical School,
and he severed connection from Dartmouth two years
later.
Among the earlier instructors in the Dartmouth medi-
cal school was Dr. Cyrus Perkins, who became Professor
of anatomy and surgery in 18 10. He was succeeded by
Usher Parsons in 1819. In 18 14 Reuben D. Muzzey
succeeded Nathan Smith in the chair of theory and prac-
tice. Among other earlier instructors was Daniel Oliver,
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John Delamater, Rufus Graves, and James Freeman
Dana.
The list of instructors who have held chairs of profes-
sorships since the earlier days of the institution, contains
names of many able physicians and surgeons, too many
to even mention in this article. It is a matter of history
that this school has kept pace with the scientific advance-
ment of medicine, and to-day stands as one of the most
reputable medical colleges in the country, a fact in which
not only the medical profession but the people of New
Hampshire should take pride.
Among some who became famous as surgeons we must
mention Dr. Nathan Smith, who was born in 1762 and
died in 1828. He began practice in 1787 at Cornish;
afterwards attended the medical department of Harvard,
and received the degree of M. D. in 1790. Four years
later he visited some of the European hospitals. His
interest in medical education has already been mentioned,
in the founding of Dartmouth, Yale and Bowdoin medi-
cal schools. Dr. Smith was famous in surgery, in origi-
nating new methods in operations. He performed many
difficult operations, some of which were to him entirely
new.
Reuben D. Muzzey was born in 1780, and died in 1866.
He was a pupil of Dr. Nathan Smith. He held a profes-
sorship in the Dartmouth medical school for many years,
as well as in some other medical schools, while professor-
ships were tendered him from several prominent schools
of medicine. He founded the Miami medical school of
Cincinnati. One surgical operation which gave him great
fame both at home and abroad was the successful ligation
of both carotid arteries. He was a bold and successful
operator, and as such was duly recognized. He received
the honorary degree of A. M. from Harvard, and LL. D.
from Dartmouth.
Amos Twitchell was another of New Hampshire's
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famous surgeons. He was born in Dublin in 1781. and
died in Keene in 1850. He was a man of strong indi-
vidual opinions, abhorred intemperance, was abstemious
in his diet, and a bold and highly successful surgeon. He
perfomied the operation of tying the right carotid artery
successfully in 1807, eight months prior to the celebrated
case of Sir Ashley Cooper, who was often, though erro-
neously, credited with priority in this operation.
AMlliam Perry of Exeter was another prominent New
Hampshire surgeon, who was born in 1788 and died in
1887, — almost a centenarian. He may be said, also, to
have been the founder of the Xew Hampshire Asylum
for the Insane.
Charles A. Cheever. Josiah Crosby. Dixi Crosby. Wil-
liam Buck, E. R. Peaslee, Thomas R. Crosby, Alonzo
F. Carr. Albert H. Crosby. Alpheus B. Crosby, George
A. Crosby and many others might be named who have
achieved reputations as surgeons.
For obvious reasons we shall not mention the many
able physicians and skilful surgeons which are found in
the medical profession in Xew Hampshire to-day. They
are well known and honored in their respective communi-
ties. In no profession, science, or art, has there been so
great progress made in recent years as in medicine. The
old theories of the origin of disease have been displaced
by the discovery of the true cause of many maladies that
aftlict mankind. The germ theory, which has been
proven beyond all controversy, has led to the scientific
management of such diseases not only for the cure of the
patient, but for the protection of the country. We. know
the particular gerni or parasitic fungus which causes
consumption, the plague, leprosy, cholera, malaria, diph-
theria. t\-phoid fever, and numerous oiber diseases: and
knowing these facts, the profession, with the aid of the
state in the sanitary administration of affairs, is able to
cope with many of these diseases so successfully as to
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render such epidemics as frequently decimated entire
communities in olden times, impossible.
In the domain of surgery the advancement would seem
to be greater, if possible. By reason of modern antisep-
tics, the surgeon is able to perform with comparatively
little danger to the patient, the most brilliant operations,
such as once would not have been tolerated, and would
have been in almost every instance fatal. Scientific ap-
paratus of the most delicate kind has been devised as an
aid in the diagnosis of disease, aside from the marvellous
revelations of the microscope, and to surgery is being
applied the astonishing revelations of the X ray, as well
as the most ingenious mechanical instruments and meth-
ods, for the saving of life and limb. The crowning of
Edward VII., after his recovery from an operation that
once would have been fatal, was the coronation of modem
antiseptic surgery.
There is little danger of saying too much to the honor
of the medical profession of New Hampshire in any of
the functions of life, social, civil, military and profes-
sional. It has been tried by severest tests from the re-
motest colonial period to the present time, and has ever
been found a solid phalanx, with its front in the line of
duty, in whatever capacity that may have been; and, as
builders of our rugged commonwealth, the profession
has a record upon which nothing but praise and honor can
be bestowed.
171
NEW HAMPSHIRE SAVINGS BANKS
Bv James O. Lvford
Seven years after the first savings bank was chartered
in this country two were incorix)rated in New Hamp-
shire. The Portsmouth Savings Bank of Portsmouth
and the Savings Bank of the County of Strafford at
Dover are the ninth and tenth savings banks in the United
States in chronological order of incorporation. They
are now in their eightieth year and are among the large
and prosperous savings banks of New England. The
legislative records contain meagre accounts of their birth
and the newspapers of the day were silent on the subject
of their organization. As early as 1819 an attempt was
made to secure a charter of a savings banks at Ports-
mouth, a petition for that purpose being presented to the
legislature from the citizens of that town, then the most
important town of the state. A bill was later introduced
embodying the prayer of the petition, and, while it passed
the house of representatives without opposition, it was
defeated in the senate. Interest in the subject does not
appear to have been very marked, as four years elapsed
before another attempt was made to secure a charter.
At the session of the legislature in 1823 a second petition
for a savings bank at Portsmouth was presented. The
bill prepared in response to this petition passed both
houses and was signed by the governor without occasion-
ing any public discussion. At the same session the Sav-
ings Bank of the County of Strafiford was chartered upon
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petition of citizens of Dover, Somersworth and other
towns.
The same motive which elsewhere early in the nine-
teenth century prompted the organization of savings
banks stimulated philanthropic and public-spirited citizens
of New Hampshire to this worthy undertaking. It was
to prevent the spread of pauperism by inducing me-
chanics, operatives in factories and others to lay by in
time of business prosperity and active employment some
part of their earnings for accumulation against a time of
adversity. As set forth in one of the early petitions to
the New Hampshire legislature, the petitioners say that
they "are of opinion that the prevention of pauperism is
a duty more incumbent on society than relieving it, — that
it is a greater benefit to individuals and to the commu-
nity." Being a philanthropic movement, the chartering
of savings banks had only to overcome the scepticism of
their success to secure legislative action, and little was
it dreamed by even the projectors that savings banks were
ever to become an important factor in the business world
and that from the accumulations of wage earners would
come capital for the development of the state and for the
promotion of enterprises in the West, then an unknown
and uninhabited country.
No safeguards were thrown around these institutions,
the provisions of the charters being very general in their
character. The management was left untrammeled to the
trustees, who were expected to care for the funds placed
in their charge without compensation as a duty they owed
to their less experienced fellow-citizens. It was years
afterwards before intelligent supervision was exercised
over savings banks, and for nearly three-quarters o^f a
century little restriction was placed upon the character of
their investments. It was nearly forty years after these
first New Hampshire savings banks w"ere chartered be-
fore the total deposits of the savings banks of the state
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equalled the present deposits of the Strafford County
Savings Bank. The increase in these institutions and their
growth in deposits were slow for half a centur}-, and it
was after the Civil \\'ar before their value was fully ap-
preciated by the people. In 1850 there were but twelve
savings banks in the state and one million six hundred
thousand dollars in deposits distributed among thirteen
thousand depositors, or one depositor to about every
twenty-five inhabitants. To-day the ratio of depositors
to inhabitants is about one in three, and the total de-
posits in all savings institutions of the state is $54,621,-
362.40.
The first savings banks were mutual savings banks in
which the depositors alone shared in whatever profits
were made from the investments of their funds. The in-
corporators annually chose a board of trustees, to whom
was committed the management of the bank. The first
charters were perpetual. After ten years some charters
were limited to twenty years, to be renewed upon expira-
tion by the legislature, but the practice was not uniform,
and in 1883 the legislature made all charters of savings
banks perpetual. In 1871 a new class of savings banks
known as ''guaranty savings banks'' began to be char-
tered. These provided for a permanent guaranty fund
which was owned by the guaranty fund holders who were
the stockholders of the bank. This gtiaranty fund must
always equal 10 per cent of the deposits, and, if at any
time it became impaired by losses, must be made up by
the stockholders or the bank closed. The management of
these guaranty savings banks was in the hands of the
stockholders, who chose the trustees and who divided
among themselves all profits above a rate of interest guar-
anteed to the depositors. This rate of interest to be paid
to the depositors was fixed in the charters. In the mutual
savings banks there is no guaranteed rate of interest, the
trustees determining the annual or semi-annual dividends
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and voting extra dividends occasionally from any accu-
mulated surplus. In 1885 a charter was granted for the
New Hampshire Trust Company, the beginning of a
series of charters for similar institutions called trust com-
panies, banking companies, loan and banking companies,
etc., the general character of whose provisions was broad
and indefinite. A claim was successfully made that these
charters authorize the transaction of a savings bank busi-
ness in connection with the other business of the com-
pany. In 1 89 1 they were given recognition as savings
institutions by the legislature enacting a law requiring
them to create a separate department of their savings de-
posits and making that department amenable to the sav-
ings bank laws.
Thus the state of New Hampshire has at the present
time mutual savings banks, guaranty savings banks, and
the savings bank departments of trust companies. There
are forty-five mutual savings banks, nine guaranty sav-
ings banks and seven trust companies with savings bank
departments. The deposits of this last class are $2,650,-
915.07.
The history of the growth of the savings banks of New
Hampshire is richer in experience than that of savings
banks in some other New England States, owing
to the fact that for years there was little restraint
placed upon the trustees, and until well into the eighties
the state supervision was but little more than the moral
influence exerted by the bank commissioners. As regards
the integrity of savings bank officials. New Hampshire
will compare most favorably with any other state, the
defalcations of trusted officers being very rare. The
troubles of the savings banks have arisen mainly from
unfortunate investments and lack of intelligent manage-
ment. The third savings bank chartered in the state,
that at Exeter, was the first to get into difficulty. It was
chartered in 1828, and thirteen years later, owing to its
175
5TATE BCILDER5
'" "_" ''" ':""": ~'^. '-'"' ': ! -fjC'iC to lIiZ'z'^' ^'~-~.
..-.,. -'.'. trustees t: : -- .
pcssessiC'Ci of me bt^nk" and ck>s€ tip its attairs, b*iT ^e
-.-T -^ -'- ,; lie Zxeter Z'- ■ '": ■" " ict by the
legislamre in 1847 directing' : _ . . . _ -" c-f the
state, o-r discotraty banks to make an pj^Tmai e:: : n
of "'"r -'-ings banks, and trocn this """"" - ' -. iie
c: - -ers made reports or these . - i first
to the legislature and afterwards to the gryvemor and
C-'" - ' These examir ' - ' ere for a long time merelj
f: : -he rtare '^•^■' -'.v engrossed the attention
oi tne con' :-:e were superseded by na-
tional bamc: ~-:—^ -■--. --'- ' / ar. Savings bank officers
for many years regarded the work of the commissioners^
st^jerficial as it was, as an unnecessary interference with
dieir btisiness. The comn::"- " ':-' -'-----■. — - -■- '■'''---
itj to enforce their rec: . .'ic
had littie knowledge of tiieir. :ing m: ame
of bank failures, when they ca^-- ... f-jc very foil
ami oftentimes unwarranted criticism, Th^ were
paid directly by the banks they examined tra.til 1883,
and tiieir -— were frequently but for a siogle
term. It -r of rears after the savings banks
had become important factors in the business world be-
f'"'- '' ': --'■■--: - - — - - - =:rvision was appreciated by the
pr , ; r representatives in the legisla-
ture. The tank commission dates back to 1837, although
its ex.! --''.ns of savings ba-'" -' -; — '--r- -;-_tiI ten
years : it was fifty yez: - is rec-
ognized as worthy of ptiblic support, in 1888 the reports
t^, _ ; ::-
side, and m 1889 through the ettorts of tr. ^ - —
176
STATE BUILDERS
ers a continuing- commission was created by the legisla*
ture with a board of three commissioners, whose terms
were three years, the nrst appointments being made so
that the term of only one commissioner would expire in
any given year.
From this time dates the effective work of the com-
mission. It soon acquired the confidence of savings bank
officers, who cheerfully co-operated with the commis-
sioners in their examinations and welcomed their sug-
gestions. Together they wrought great improvements
in the management of these institutions, especially of the
smaller savings banks. In 1895 the election of the chair-
man of the board to the legislature resulted in legislation
for the relief of the banks from burdensome taxation and
the passage of laws for the government of these institu-
tions and regulating their investments. With some mod-
ifications these statutes remained the basis of the present
work of the commission in their supervision of the banks.
Although the law prescribing the investments of sav-
mgs banks dates only from 1895, not a few attempts
were made earlier to have the legislature act upon this
subject. In 1869, when the deposits had reached sixteen
million dollars and the number of banks thirty-eight, the
legislature passed a law requiring one-half the deposits of
each savings bank to be invested within the state. This
statute gave no end of trouble to both banks and the
commissioners. It was burdensome for the large banks
to comply with its provisions and the commissioners hes-
itated to apply to the courts to enforce it against insti-
tutions whose soundness was unquestioned. The banks
most frequently violating the law were the most pros-
perous of the state. Finally by tacit agreement both
banks and commissioners ignored the statute.
In 1874 a law was passed forbidding savings banks to
invest any part of their deposits in the stock of any rail-
road or manufacturing corporation.
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STATE BUILDERS
in 1 88 1 both these acts were repealed and a law was
passed prohibiting any savings bank from loaning" to any
person or corporation, firm and its individual members,
an amount in excess of ten per cent of its deposits and
accumulations, or to purchase or hold by way of invest-
ment or as security for loans the stocks and bonds of any
corporation in excess of such ten per cent. For the next
decade this was the only restriction as to the character
of savings bank investments.
Before the repeal of the statute requiring one-half of
the investments of savings banks to be made within the
state some of the savings banks had invested largely in
the growing West. Farm loans were then an attractive
investment, promptly paying large rates of interest and
generally reduced or paid at maturity. The prosperity
of those banks which had taken large amounts of these
loans, shown in increased dividends and increased de-
posits, induced others to invest in that field. The dis-
crimination in selecting loans by those first taking this
class of investments was not followed by others who later
invested in the West. So successful had been both banks
and individuals in their early Western investments that
almost any Western enterprise could be floated in the
East late in the eighties. The investments extended from
farm loans in well established sections in the \\^est to all
sections and to all kinds of enterprises. \Mth the repeal
in 1881 of the statute confining one-half the investments
of savings banks to New Hampshire, the trustees
promptly enlarged their investments in the West, until, in
1890, with few exceptions, the banks had the greater
part of their deposits invested in the West. Without
avail the commissioners called attention to the danger of
such indiscriminate investment. Deposits were rapidly
increasing. The banks were paying larger dividends than
those of neighboring states, and a tax rate in excess of
that of any New England state was easily met. In 1893
178
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the volume of deposits aggregated nearly seventy-five
million dollars, ranking New Hampshire as the fifth state
in the Union in the amount of her deposits. These ae-
posits came in part from other states, attracted by the '
rate of dividends paid by the New Hampshire banks, as
was subsequently shown when conservatism influenced
trustees to reduce the dividend rate and these deposits
were the first withdrawn.
Considerable defaults in payments of interest and prin-
cipal of Western mvestments began as early as 1888, in-
dicative of wliat miglit be expected, but it was not until
1 89 1 that the legislatiu^e could be induced to act, and then
only through a commission authorized to revise the stat-
utes of the state. A tentative measure to limit invest-
ments introduced in the legislature early in the session
was indefinitely postponed by the house on the report of
the bank committee made up largely of banking men.
Later the commission to revise the statutes was induced
by the bank commissioners to incorporate with their
amendments of the statutes one prohibiting certain in-
vestments of savings banks and limiting others. This
measure, although far from being what the times de-
manded, was vigorously opposed by bank men and would
have been defeated had it been separated from other
aniendments to the public statutes which the legislature
finally adopted as an entirety.
For four years more no attempt at legislation affecting
savings bank investments was made. In the mean time
the panic of 1893 had occurred, and with it came the sus-
pension of a considerable number of savings institutions.
When, therefore, measures were presented to the legisla-
ture of 1895 to safeguard the interests of savings deposit-
ors, they were passed as presented with little material
amendment. The wisdom of the legislation of 1895 has
never been questioned. The statute then enacted to regu-
late the management of savings banks has not been
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STATE BUILDERS
changed, and the statute relating to the investments of
savings banks has been amended only to meet the change
of character of such investments. The principle that the
legislature should prescribe the investments of savings
banks is now fully recognized, although it took nearly
three-quarters of a centurj- to convince the public of its
necessity.
Applications for charters of savings banks have not
al\\-ays been granted. At times the legislature has been
char}- in incorporating these institutions, and in 1854 it
authorized the union of two existing savings banks, be-
ing of opinion that public interests would be served by
such consolidation. Xothing came of this act, as the
trustees of the two institutions could not agree upon the
terms of imion. Later when the fever of Western invest-
ments was at its height, the legislature gave an affirmative
reply to almost every application for a charter carrying
with it savings bank privileges. Some of these charters
were never used, while others brought only financial loss
to those interested. Since 1895 no trust company char-
ters with savings bank privileges have been granted, and
savings bank charters proper have been of the mutual
kind.
The losses to savings banks on account of \\'estem
investments were considerable, and the most critical pe-
riod in tlie histor}- of Xew Hampshire savings banks was
on the twelve months beginning June, 1893. A number
of banking institutions were put in the hands of receiv-
ers, while nearly a.11 the sa\"ings banks in the state took
advantage of their by-laws requiring notice of the with-
drawal of deposits. Other suspensions of banks followed
in 1895 ^^d 1896, but confidence had been partially re-
stored, and later failures occasioned no alarm among de-
positors. The passing of the panic of 1893 so success-
fully by the Xew Hampshire savings banks, intensified as
it was by their large V*'estem interests, is still a marvel as
iSo
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we look back upon this crisis, and it is a tribute to the
confidence inspired by those bank officials whose institu-
tions rode out the storm. The large loss of deposits
occasioned thereby has been in part made up, and the in-
crease in deposits thepast three years has been normal and
healthy. Too. many savings banks existed a decade ago.
If there had been no panic, the tendency of the times
would have materially reduced the number, giving to the
public fewer yet larger institutions and therefore better
managed. Improved facilities for travel and mail have
obviated the necessity which once existed for savings
banks in small communities, and experience has shown
that the successful management of these institutions must
be in the hands of men in daily contact with the business
world. The future of the New Hampshire savings banks
is bright with promise. Depositors are satisfied with
conservative dividends. Investments are more carefully
made. Rivalry of these institutions in seeking deposits
has ceased and the lessons of the past few years are likely
to be of lastinsf benefit.
INDUSTRIAL XEW HAMPSHIRE
By G. a. Cheney
"Necessity is the mother of invention," says the old
adage, but the histon- of mankind down through the
ages does not warrant the conclusion nor justify its ac-
ceptance. True it is that the march of civilization, since
the days when Moses led the children of Israel out of
the land of Eg}'pt and bondage, has been the march of
invention, but anterior to this truth and proceeding from
it is the still greater one that the Genius of In-
vention is co-existent with an intelligent under-
standing of human life and an adherence to the
laws governing it. During their sojourn of fort\^
years in the \\'ildemess the children of Israel by their
method of living came to possess not only healthy bodies,
but sound intellects, because of their compliance with
physiological law. They triumphed in all the fields of
human effort, as brilliantly in the arts and sciences as
upon the field of battle. The}- were the chosen of God by
divine decree, but through the ageno.- of a right interpre-
tation of those laws that govern the building of the human
body and the development of the intellect. As the de-
scendants of the Israelites the Rabbinic races adhering to
Levitical law have ever continued a might}- factor in the
progress of human life. Even,- individual of both sexes,
regardless of social condition or determined aim in life,
was taught to work with head and hand. Leaving the
Rabbinic races for a people of the Christian era it is to
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be observed that the Dutch, as the inhabitants of the
Netherlands are cahed, have won the grandest of successes
in all things that are essential to human progress. The
very land that is their home was won from the sea,
lagoon, and lake, by labor that continued for centuries.
Though their country was small in area and themselves
comparatively few in numbers, they were yet a mighty
nation, rich in agencies and means for the betterment of
mankind that they by skill and research had either in-
vented or discovered. In the earlier centuries men from
Holland went to England and introduced various of the
arts and sciences and stamped their individuality upon the
national character and life.
Other nations of Europe, past and present, were in
need of the agencies of progress, enlightenment and
strength, as well as the Dutch, but they were wanting in
that deep religious spirit that dominated and permeated
Dutch life. They recognized the Divine law that by
work alone can a nation succeed and become strong and
enduring. In brief, the greatness of the Dutch character
and its long continued strength has for its explanation
the fact that they utilized the faculties of head and hand.
They toiled and thereby gained physical strength, and, as
a result of bodily vigor they had sound minds, and these
they strengthened and developed by the utilization of the
mental faculties.
Not only did Dutch life have its influence upon the
English national character, but the first settlers of New
England came to these shores by the way of Holland,
and the stop-over in the land of the Dutch was of eleven
years' duration, in which time the vitalizing life and ways
of the industrious self-reliant Netherlanders stamped its
lasting impress upon the receptive Pilgrims, who, like
their hospitable hosts, knew and accepted that Divine
law that inculcated the employment of all physical and
mental faculties.
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When once their footing had been made secure upon
the shores of Plymouth bay the Pilgrims, without delay,
set about the building of a nation. The mechanical agen-
cies with which they might clear the forests, build homes
and shop and factory were of the scantiest nature and
often times wholly lacking, but History nowhere records
that there were idle hands or heads among the Pilgrims.
Then the Puritans came in 1630, and Massachusetts had
two colonies instead of one, but the people of both, liter-
ally to a man, held that it was a part of their religion to
keep employed head, hand and heart. The people of these
colonies as their numbers increased pushed out into the
interior of New England. They settled Connecticut and
Rhode Island, for Roger Williams and his followers were
of the same spirit as the Puritans if differing on points
of church polity; and into New Hampshire went the
purest and best type of the Puritan man and woman,
and a century later came that strong and virile contingent
known in history as the Scotch-Irish, and quickly there-
after New Hampshire became one of the strongest of the
American colonies.
New England throughout its entire Colonial period
and for quite fifty years following the Revolution,
was essentially an agricultural community, but every
farmstead represented almost every factor incident
to the material life of the times. Beneath each roof
tree was the diversified industr}' of the town of to-day.
Each farm grew the flax and produced the wool for the
household's supply of linen, yarn and cloth. The carding,
spinning and weaving were portions of the domestic life
of the individual home, and the furniture, farm imple-
ments and kitchen utensils were for the most part home
made. The axe, adze, shave, and above all the jackknife,
were almost the only tools with which these things were
wrought, but the skill of their production remains to this
day an object of admiration.
184
STATE BUILDERS
While it is true that the necessities of Colonial New
England were great and of direst stress, still it is true
in greater measure that they regarded it a religious duty
to labor the livelong day with head and hand. The neces-
sities of other peoples have been as great, yet they have
ceased to exist or at least degenerated because they did
not toil and spin. It was the utilization of their physical
and mental faculties that won for the people of Colonial
New England their success and that made Puritan New
England the Genesis of American invention.
It was the continued use of the jackknife that cul-
minated in the production of that multitude of articles
that the whole world long since designated as "Yankee
notions," and New Hampshire, primarily Puritan but
enriched, strengthened and vitalized by that generous m-
fusion of Scotch-Irish blood, has from first to last played
a mighty part in the story of the development of indus-
trial America, the greatness of which growth is the mar-
vel of the world.
New Hampshire's early settlers souglit, as did those of
other New England provinces and colonies, for deposits
of iron and other of the baser metals. John Winthrop, Jr.,
who came to Massachusetts Bay with the then large sum
of one thousand pounds sterling or five thousand dol-
lars as it would be termed to-day, was the industrial king
of his day. The Great and General Court of Massachu-
setts Bay granted him enormous subsidies in the form of
land grants if he would but find his iron and erect fur-
naces. He explored every known section of the then
New England, but the only furnace of any particular
account and permanency was one he erected in one of the
towns near Boston. An attempt was also made to erect
salt works at Portsmouth, but the clearing of the forests
and the manufactures of the individual households com-
prehended the principal efforts along this line for not a
few decades succeeding- the settlement of the province.
185
STATE BUILDERS
The erection of saw mills and grist n^ills were of tirst
and vital concern to the settlers, the first to furnish ma-
terial for farm buildings and the second for the grind-
ing of com, r}-e,, and oats. It was not until nearly a cen-
tur\- had passed that wheat culture succeeded either in
^Massachusetts or New Hampshire. Indian com was the
great food dependence, and the remoter settlements in the
province depended upon the home grinding of this for a
supply. Sometimes a stone mortar was the means for its
grinding or rather its pounding into meal, but the more
frequent means was the hollowing out of a stump of a
tree cut at the required height, while the pounding was
done by the pulling down of a strong young sapling to
which a weight was attached. The natural rebound of the
tree aided in the work of grinding. The rye and Indian
com of the forefathers were foods natural and complete
in their organizations, and so built the bodies of the grow-
ing generation. Their teeth remained with them to old
age and the grave, and they never became prematurely
aged as is the case with the American people of to-day.
Fortimately for the earlier settlers, the province
abounded with water power. Streams of var>-ing size
were ever}-where available for the erection of saw mills
and grist mills to which were added later mills for the
fulling and dressing of cloth, and tanneries. The tanner\-,
which once came to be a part of almost ever}- considerable
community, is seen to-day only here and there, and that as
a large establishment, representing the present day idea of
centralization of capital and labor. But the saw mill
still remains, and its nimibers increase with each genera-
tion, and its capacit\- is as a hundred fold. The possible
production of the old-time up and down saw in the mills
of the fathers was two thousand feet a day of the old-
time Puritan length of fourteen hours. The resawing
band saw of to-day has a capacit%- of one himdred thou-
sand feet, and the portable steam circular saw mill that
i86
STATE BUILDERS
is planted everywhere about the state, anywhere from ten
thousand to twenty thousand feet.
From first to the present every farmstead is to some
extent a lumber manufactory as well as representative of
various other products. The boy who was born on a New-
Hampshire farm learned the use of the tools of the
carpenter, the stone mason, the painter and the leather
worker, and their use developed the inventive faculties.
He gained proficiency, and proficiency is progress, and
progress is the result of the utilization of the head and
hand. The old up and down saw gave w^ay to, the circu-
lar saw, hand planing to machine planing, and likewise
everv process of handling and fashioning lumber from
hand work to that by machiner}-, and in these wonderful
and astonishmg strides in lumber manufacturing New
Hampshire has been to the fore. Her great areas of for-
ests and her abounding water power were gifts of nature,
and her sons saw their opportunity and trained mind and
muscle that they might the better accept that opportunity.
During the decade which ended in 1890 the value of
the manufactured lumber products according to the
United States census was $5,641,445, and the feeling
prevailed that New Hampshire's forest resources w^ere
nearing exhaustion, for the above values only represented
the merchandise lumber of regular establishments. But
in the decade ended in iqoo the value of the state's manu-
factured lumber products was $9,218,310, an increase
over that of the preceding ten years of almost double —
or, to be exact — ninety-five and three-tenths per cent.
The capital invested in lumber manufacturing plants in
1900 was $11,382,114, and there were five hundred and
fifty-three of these plants.
In the same class with lumber manufacturing interests
is that of wood pulp and paper. In 1890 the value of
pulp and paper made in this little state alone was $1,282,-
022, but in 1900 the value had increased to $7,244,733, an
187
STATE BUILDERS
increase of nearly three hundred per cent, and the indiis-
tr}- ranks fifth in the state. It is a manufacturing inter-
est that in the past three years has progressed at tremen-
dous strides and includes all phases of the pulp industry,
A surprising revelation of the last national census was
that the boot and shoe manufacturing industr}* of the
state had passed the cotton manufacturing interests and
assumed first rank. For decades preceding first position
had been held by the cotton manufacturing industry and
without apparent danger of any rival. The census reports
of 1890 give the total value of the factory made boots and
shoes as $11,986,003. In the succeeding ten years the
value of the product reached the magnificent total of
$23,405,558. This is an increase of practically one hun-
dred per cent in a brief ten years, and is a growth rarely
equalled in the histor}- of the industrial development of
the country. Xor does the census of 1900 tell the story
to date, for that states the facts only up to 1899
as the census year ends with the "9'' and not with the
cipher. Thus to illustrate: The census of 1900 was for
the ten years which ended December 31, 1899, and not
on December 31, 1900. Therefore three full years and
more have come and gone since the last census, and in
those years the shoe manufacturing industr}- in Xew
Hampshire has grown as never before. Xew factories
have been built and old ones enlarged and re-equipped
with more effective machinery and to-day Xew Hamp-
shire ranks third among the states of the Union in the
money value of her factory made boots and shoes. In
the decade ended December 31, 1899. the value of the
boot and shoe product in Massachusetts showed an in-
crease of less than one million dollars over that of the
census of 1889 as compared to the more than eleven
millions increase in X'^ew Hampshire. The city of ^lan-
chester, for so long famed as a great cjtton manufactur-
ing centre, is to-day the sixth city in the- United States as
188
STATE BUILDERS
a shoe manufacturing community. The growth of the
industry in the state has added very materially to its
population, its general prosperity, and material well being.
Everything indicates that it is now securely anchored in
the community and that it will continue to increase.
Diversity of industry is the sheet anchor of a state as
well as a town, the safeguard, assurance and stability of
its material welfare, and in this respect New Hampshire
is indeed most fortunate, for within her borders are
ninety-five distinct and classified industrial interests. The
total number of her industrial establishments or plants is
four thousand six hundred and seventy-one, having a
total capitalization of $100,929,661. They give employ-
ment to seventy-three thousand people who receive in
wages $30,000,000 annually. The total value of the
products of these manufacturing plants is $118,709,308,
which means a per capita rate of two hundred and eighty-
eight dollars to every man, woman and child in the state.
Cotton manufacturing, so long the first industry in the
state, is now, as said, the second, and adding the value
of wood pulp products to those of lumber, it would come
dangerously near being third. New Hampshire is the
sixth state in the Union in the value of her cotton man-
ufactures, which were in 1899 valued at $22,998,249, and
of this sum Manchester contributed $1 1,723,508, or about
one-half. Manchester itself ranks as the fifth city in the
country in the value of its cotton manufactures. The
total number of spindles in the state is 1,249,875, an in-
crease of about fifty-two^ thousand in the ten years.
But the people of New Hampshire irrespective of call-
ing are under eternal obligation to its cotton manufactur-
ing interests. It has been the strong foundation upon
which the greater part of its material interests have been
reared. Every avenue of its life has been quickened
thereby. It has retained in the state thousands of its
native born and brought still other thousands within its
STATE BUILDERS
borders. It has added value to everv farm by creating a
market for its products and the commercial aitairs of the
state have found it in past and present their securest de-
pendence.
The conon manufacturing industn.- of the state had
its begifming as early as 1803, when spinning Jennys
were set in operation in the town of Xew Ipswich. The
spun }-am was carried out to neighborhood families and
by them woven into cloth. After a few years a spinning
mill was erected at the falls of Amoskeag, Manchester,
and in 1819 was introduced the power loom, and this
led directly if not immediately to the utilization of the
power of the falls and the building up of Manchester.
As reference has been made to Amoskeag falls tribute
should be paid, and that too without measure, to the
skill, courage and discernment of that grand pioneer of
2\ew Hampshire's industrial interests, Samuel Blodgett,
who before the close of the eighteenth centur}-, began
the building of a canal aroimd Amoskeag falls. He
was sevenr\- years old when he began this then Hercu-
lean undertaking, a fact that should ser\-e as a lesson
that a man is never too old to enter upon a task for the
betterment of mankind. For near a decade did this brave
and enterprising man labor to complete his project, and
succeeded before death claimed him.
There are in Xew Hampshire forty-five plants for the
manufacture of woollen goods, of one description or an-
other. The capitalization of these is about Si 1,000,000,
and wool manuf acnu-es rank as the thii d largest industr}-
in the state. These woollen mills are scattered over the
state and are not localized as are the cotton mills. Natur-
ally the woollen mill is the modem envelopment of the
hand card, the spinning wheel, and the hand loom of the
older homestead.
The popular name given to Xew Hampshire as the
"Granite State" doubtless had its origin in the fact that
190
STATE BUILDERS
so large an .area of her hills and fields consists of rocks
and ledges, but these are not necessarily granite in
the sense of building material. Strictly speaking, New
Hampshire is less a "Granite State" than Maine, and
probably Vermont. C'oncord is the greatest centre of the
business, but Troy, Fitzwilliam and Marlborough in
Cheshire county are all of great importance as re-
spects this industry. The labor employed is for the most
part skilled, and well paid, and the industry as a whole
adds much to tlie general wealth and prosperity of the
state.
An industry that has been of long continued benefit
to the state, for reason of division of labor in particular,
is that of carriage and coach building. Although confined
mostly to the city of Concord, it has been a veritable
trades school, and men trained therein have gone into
other parts of the state, and as skilled journeymen and
manufacturers have spread the benefits of the enterprise.
The Concord coach carried the name and fame of the
city and state around the world. In its construction were
employed the most skilful of wood workers, painters
and decorators, upholsterers and harness makers. The
ability of these men is of world-wide knowledge, and in
one generation or another they have been a source of
great and staying good to the community.
It is this diversity of industry that has been, and is, the
strength of industrial New Hampshire, and this diversity
is really the result of the versatility of its men and women.
The utilization of the faculties of head and hand began
in the days of the Puritans and Scotch-Irish, and con-
tinued through generations and gathering to itself
strength as it passed from parent to child, has culminated
in generations of men and women, native to the state, that
have not only builded a rich, prosperous and strong com-
monwealth at home, but have gone forth and aided m
the upbuilding of other states and the nation. This drain
191
STATE BUILDERS
from the state of her yoimg men and women has been
oftentimes at the expense of home interests, but there
IS reason to believe that this drain from the state of her
very life blood has not only reached its height, but is re-
maining on its native heath. The revelation of the last
census that the value of the products of its manufactur-
ing interests, annually, were in round nimibers thirty-
three millions greater than in the preceding decade has a
mighty significance, and the best of all its meanings is
that Xew Hampshire's s<^ns and daughters recognize that
she offers as great and varied opportunities for success
risrht here at home as does anv other state in the Union.
192
COMMERCIAL NEW HAMPSHIRE
Bv G. A. Cheney
Looking back to those years wf-ien New Hampshire
was the new-found home of a scattered number of pioneer
settlers, each with his own allotment of land, there was
neither commerce nor manufactures. Each individual
farm and home furnished food and raiment alike, and
beneath each roof tree were fashioned the utensils and
furnishings of the primitive home.
But as the settlers increased in numbers and there was
a smoothing out of the roughness and primitiveness of
their original natural surroundings, there came about a
practice of interchange of commodities between imme-
diate neighbors, and this was commerce in its crudest
form, but nevertheless the genesis of trade.
The most potent fact, the great fundamental element
in each and every original New England settlement, was
the single, all-comprehending purpose of the settler to
found for himself and children a home. The Spaniard's
great purpose in the New World was the quest of silver
and gold, and retrogression is the record of his life to
this day.
Home, that is the family, is the unit of civilized human
life, and all that it comprehends is summed up in the
one word progression.
The pioneer settlers of New Hampshire, like their fel-
lows in every other portion of New England, showed a
resolute face to every danger, endured every hardship and
193
STATE BUILDERS
performed every dun^ to me one end of securing homes
that should be their own to the centre of the earth, and to
the sky above.
At first the exchange of commodities was limited in
every respect, yet there was a steady, gradual and fixed
growth, until a systen called trade and barter was de-
vdc^)ed. This system pervaded every nook and comer
of Xew England- Its very nature prompted individual
e5ort. Hard cash, or its equivalent in paper, was not an
object oi daily observance to alL Indian com was for
long a legal tender, as were otfier farm products. The
system of trade and barter made every man a trader as
well as a farmer and manufacturer, and as he was all
three in one, his every faculty was stimulated and de-
veloped by utilizatioa. The system continued for gen-
eraticais, and it was the Golden Era of American indirid-
ual manhood, the kind of manhood that pushed further
and further westward the bounds of the American re-
puUic, that built new states and carried Xew England
connnerce across the seas.
■ In the growth of the state tie day came when there
was a surplus of products from farm and household, and
the finding of an outlet for that surplus was a problem
up for solution. Such a condition had wisely been an-
ticipated in the construction of those highways called
turnpikes by private capital and enterprise. These turn-
pikes were the forenmners of the railroads. Travellers
upon them paid for the privilege just as the passenger of
to-day does few travelling in a railway car. ^^'hile the
toll pa^ving turnpike has long since ceased as a feature in
the material Life of the state, the toll bridge is still a fact
at least in two or three instances.
Xamrally these tmnpikes lead the way to the pjrts
on the Xew England coast, and those seaports from Port-
land to Boston were the like natural outlets for Xew
Hampshire's surplus products. Hither the farmers went
19+
STATE BUILDERS
with their loads of cheese, pork, beef, poultry and other
products and exchanged them for dried codfish, salted
mackerel, loaf sugar, molasses, rum and spices. The
farmer was accustomed to make at least one trip a year
to "market," but often twice, in the early spring and late
fall. These joumeyings of the farmers gave opportunity
for that ever-to-be-remembered feature of Colonial life,
the wayside inn or tavern, that only disappeared with the
coming of the iron horse and iron road. In these wayside
inns the sturdy, self-reliant American yeomanry of the
nation's formative generations exchanged the news of
their respective localities and made known to each other
the opportunities and possibilities of the ever broadening
land. It was a great school for the development of the
individual character.
As the years were numbered off and the province and
in turn the state grew in wealth and population the stage
coach came thicker and faster over the pike, building up
and developing in its later years a class of men destined
to be the forerunner of that great community of to-day, —
the railroad men. With the increase of population came
the village with its varying phases of life and conspicuous
among these was the village merchant with his store
stocked with merchandise that included everything from
a shoe peg to a goose yoke, from whale oil to the finest
old Medford, from the tiny pin to the heaviest crowbar.
To the country store the ingenious boy brought those
articles he had so dexterously wrought with his jackknife,
which articles he exchanged for a slate upon which to
cipher, or perhaps some future preacher took this way of
becoming the owner of a copy of Jonathan Edwards'
latest sermons, or some future lawyer a copy of Black-
stone's commentaries. Hither the little girl brought her
sampler, her older sister some skilfully wrought em-
broidery and the aged madame a bed quilt of blue and
white, samples of which are still to be seen to this day.
195
STATE BUILDERS
Ever}' one toiled, tor it was a constantly taught lesson
that the idle moment was a sinful moment and that the
road to "forehandedness" was alone through industry
and incessant toil.
The accumulation at the village store of the surplus
products of the region required more frequent trips to
the seacoast markets and by the close of the eighteenth
century tlie amount of traffic over the turnpikes was
simply prodigious. In the historical novel "Soltaire"
which is descriptive of life in the White Mountain region
the author draws a vivid word picture of that tiunpike
travel as it was in the very tirst years of the nineteenth
century. He recites the testimony of men who not in-
frequently saw a string of teams that would cover a mile
of the road at a time all bound for the Portland market,
and this, be it remembered, over that "pike" that wended
its way through the Crawford Xotch.
By that skilful use of mechanical tools the Xew Hamp-
shire man of those earlier times became no less famous
than his ^Massachusetts and Connecticut brother in the
prc-duction of those articles that went by the name of
Yankee notions and he became no less shrewd as a trader
than skilful as a manufacturer. He became versatile and
it was this versatility of talent on the part of the descen-
dants of the Puritans that has proved the sheet anchor
of the nation and the source of its power as a great
commercial nation. Progression was the law of his be-
ing. \\Tien the limits of his own state became too
narrow for his operation he went forth into other states
and became a mighty power in the winning of the West
and the Xorth-\\'est. He founded mighty marts of trade
in Boston, Xew York. Philadelphia. Chicago and San
Francisco. The Xew Hampshire man left his seat on the
stage coach to become tlie builder of a railroad or to found
transportation companies. The keeper of the old way-
side inn moved on to the centres of traffic and population
196
STATE BUILDERS
and there built the mammoth hotel, the wonder oi the
world in its comprehension of comfort and elegance.
Hotel management is essentially a commercial line and
in this New Hampshire men, the descendants of the
keeper of the old time tavern, are prominent the country
over. In the summer they are in the White Mountams,
investments of millions of dollars in their charge, and in
the winter they are in Florida or Southern California
directing like great properties. In New York, Boston
and elsewhere they have proved themselves the best of
hotel managers.
These opening- years of the twentieth century present
the commercial life of the state in phases radically differ-
ent than those of a half or even a quarter century ago.
For generations its retail merchants had relied upon Bos-
ton for supplies, and whereas a generation agO' Manches-
ter had scarcely a wholesale store it has in this year of
1903 one entire section given up to the wholesale trade.
Manchester, so long famed as a manufacturing city, has
become an important commercial metropolis, the chief in
this respect of all Northern New England. New lines of
trade and commerce are in process of development
throughout the state and former ones are gaining annu-
ally. All of the state's leading industries are expanding
and this means an expanding commerce, for in a certain
sense trade is but the handmaid of industry.
197
BIOGRAPHIES
NAHUM J. BACHELDER,
Governor of New Hampshire, igoj-igo^
NAHUM T. BACHELDER.
Nahum J. Bachelder, governor of New Hampshire, is
a descendant in the eighth generation of the Rev. Stq)hen
Bachiler, who settled at Hampton in 1632. He was born
in Andover, September 3, 1 854, upon the farm where he
now Hves and which was cleared by his great-grand-
father in 1782. He is the oldest child of William A.
and Adeline (Shaw) Bachelder. His boyhood was
passed upon the farm and his early education was gained
in the district schools with a few terms at Franklin acad-
emy and the New Hampton institute.
After a brief experience in teaching Mr. Bachelder
devoted himself to practical agriculture, gaining much
success as a market gardener and dairyman. In 1877
he joined Highland grange at East Andover and
later became its master. In 1883 he was chosen secre-
tar\^ of the state grange and filled that position with
great credit for eight years, being then promoted to the
office, which he has since held, of master. Under his
administration the order of Patrons of Husbandry has
made wonderful progress in New Hampshire and has
greatly benefited the Granite state in general and its agri-
cultural interests in particular.
In the councils of the National grange ,also. Governor
Bachelder has wisely exercised a great influence. He
served for two terms as a member of the executive com-
mittee and is now upon liis second term as national lec-
turer. He has also been of eminent service to his order
STATE BUILDERS
and to the people through his membership on the legis-
lative committee.
In 1887 !Mr. Bachdder was elected as successor to the
late James O. Adams as secretar\- of the state board of
agriculture and for fifteen years has so conducted the
affairs of that office as to vrin the admiration of all who
have become acquainted with its work. Since the estab-
hshment of the office of commissioner of immigration
in 1889, now merged in the office of secretar}- of the state
board of agriculture, Mr. Bachelder has discharged its
duties, with a broad grasp of present conditions and
future possibilities which has attracted the attention of
the entire coimtr}-. He has been, tc-o, an active, \-igilant
and efficient official of the state cattle commission since
its organization and has done great work in keeping the
live stock of the state free from contagious diseases. An-
other position which he has held to the great advantage
of the agriculture of the state has been that of secretary
of the Grange State Fair at Tilton and. more recently, of
the state fair at Concord.
In the establishment of Old Home Wedc Governor
Rollins found in Mr. Bachelder an invaluable assistant,
and it is to the heart\- co-operation of these gentlemen
that the movement owes its unqualified and far-reaching
success.
Mr. Bachelder received the honoran.- degree of master
of arts from Dartmouth college in 1891. He is a member
of the Universit}' and Wonolancet clubs of Concord,
Derr\-field club of Manchester and of Kearsarge lodge,
A. F. and A. M. He attends the Congregational church.
June 30, 1887, he was imited in marriage with Mary
A. Putney of Dimbarton, and they have two children,
Ruth, bom May 22, 1891. and Henr>-, bom ^farch 17,
1895. In addition to their splendid farm estate at An-
dover thev have a winter home in the dtv of Concord.
EDWARD NATHAN PEARSON,
Secretary of State, igoj
EDWARD N. PEARSON.
EdAvard Nathan Pearson, secretary of state, and one
of the most popular young men in New Hampshire, was
bom in Webster, N. H., September 7, 1859, the son of
John C. and Lizzie S. (Colby) Pearson. He prepared
for college in the High school at Warner and the acad-
emy at Penacook and graduated from Dartmouth college
in the class of 1881, ranking with the very first in schol-
arship. Immediately upon graduation he entered the
employ of the Republican Press Association at Concord,
N. H., as city editor of the Concord Evening Monitor.
With the exception of one year spent in Washington,
D. C, as teacher in a public school, Mr. Pearson con-
tinued his connection with the Republican Press Associa-
tion and its papers, the Evening Monitor and Inde-
pendent Statesman, for almost twenty years, acting
during nearly half that time as managing editor of the
papers and business manager of the entire plant. In
this period of his life he established a reputation which
he has since maintained and increased of uniting in him-
self grace and style, originality of thought and thorough
culture as a writer with tried and true ability, industry
and integrity as a business man.
By inheritance, training, judgment and choice Mr.
Pearson is a steadfast Republican. During his connec-
tion with the Republican Press Association he was elected
public printer; and in 1899 he was chosen secretary of
state, a position which he has since filled with the greatest
203
STATE BUILDERS
credit to himself and satisfaction to the pubHc. The char-
acteristic of ]\Ir. Pearson's hfe has always been his desire
to help, by word or deed or both, every one with whom
he came in contact. In his official position he finds many
opportunities for the gratification of this desire, which,
added to his executive and administrative ability, his
wide knowledge of men and affairs, his natural gift cf
oratory and his aptitude in the management of public
functions, make him the ideal of an officer and servant
of the commonwealth.
Mr. Pearson was for several years a member of the
board of health of Concord and an officer of the associa-
tion of boards of health of the state. These positions he
resigned upon his election to the board of education of
Union school district in Concord. He is a vice-president
of the general alumni association of Dartmouth college
and has served on the committee for the nomination of
candidates for alumni trustee. He is, also, an officer of
the Xev,- Hampshire Press Association and of other or-
ganizations. He is a member of the Patrons of Hus-
bandry^ and other fraternal orders and is a constant at-
tendant upon the services of the South Congregational
church. December 8, 1882, he was united in marriage
with Miss Addie M. Sargent of Lebanon, and they have
four children.
Just entering the prime of life, with opportunities for
wide usefulness all about him, and with a large and ever
increasing circle of warm and devoted personal friends,
Secretary of wState Pearson has done and will do much
for his citv, his state and his fellow men.
204
JACOB H. GALLINGER,
United States Senator frovi New Hampshire, igoj
SENATOR JACOB H. GALLINGER.
United States Senator Jacob H. Gallinger has been for
more than thirty years a conspicuous figure in the pubHc
Hfe of his state. He was born March 28, 1837, at Corn-
wall, Ontario, descended on the paternal side from Dutch
ancestry, and his mother being of American stock. At
an early age with only the limited advantages of school-
ing possible to be had at his home, he was thrown upon
his own resources and early displayed that unflagging
industry which has been the chief instrviment of his rise
to favor in professional and public life.
As a youth he learned the printing trade and for a
time published a newspaper. The printing-office was to
him at once a source of livelihood and a school, and there
he laid the foundations for that wide knowledge of men
and affairs which has since been so marvellously extended
in the course of his remarkable career as a public man.
While still at work at the case he began the study of
medicine, and in 1855 he entered a medical school at Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, whence he was graduated at the head of
his class in 1858. Feeling, however, that he was not yet
qualified for the active work of his profession, he devoted
himself for the next three years to study and travel,
finding means to defray his expenses by literary work and
incidentally working at the printer's trade, and in 1861
he entered upon practice in the city of Keene, where he
remained only a few months, removing to Concord in
April, 1862, where for twenty-three years he was actively
205
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engaged in the practice of medicine and established a
large and especially remunerative business.
His aptitude for public aitairs became early apparent,
and in 1S72 he held his first public office as member of
the New Hampshire legislature. He was re-elected in
1S73. and in 1S76 was chosen a member of the consti-
tutional convention. In 187S he was elected a member
of the state senate and was chosen for a second term,
serving in 1879 ^-S president of that b<xly. During the
administration of Governor Xatt Head he served upon
the chief magistrate's staff as surgeon-general. In 18S2
he was chosen chairman of the Republican State Com-
mittee and sened in that capacity until 1890, when he
resigned.
In 18S4 he was elected to the Forty-ninth Congress,
was re-elected in 1886 by an enlarged majority, and
declined a third nomination in 1888. In 1888 he
was chairman of the Xew Hampshire delegation to the
Republican National Convention at Chicago, where his
political sagacity was well illustrated by the fact that
he was one of the seconders of the nomination of the
successful candidate, Gen. Benjamin Harrison of In-
diana. In 1890 he was again elected to the legislature,
and during that session of the General Court was chosen
United States senator, entering upon his duties March
4, 1 89 1. He was re-elected after an unanimous nomi-
nation in the Republican caucus in 1897, and in 1903 he
received the unprecedented honor of a ihird consecutive
election for a full term, receiving every vote that was cast
in the caucus.
In the senate he ranks ^\'ith the leaders of his part}'.
He is at the head of large and important committees, and
is an indefatigable worker in legislative lines. A master
of parliamentary law he is frequently called upon to
preside, and his voice is potent, botli in speech upon the
floor of the Senate and in private conference in the shap-
ing of the great policies of his part}- and the nation.
206
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Senator Gallinger is a public speaker of wide repute
and his services are in constant demand in many states
in every campaign. The larger portion of his political
activity in this line, however, he devotes to his own state,
where no advocate of party policies is more eagerly heard
or more enthusiastically welcomed. In 1898 Senator
Gallinger was again called to the chairmanship of the
Republican state committee, and was re-elected to that
position in 1900 and in 1902. In 1900 he again headed
his state's delegation at the • Republican National Con-
vention, and in 1901 he was made the New Hampshire
member of the Republican National Committee.
207
HOX. HEXRY E. BURXHAM.
Henry E. Bunihani. l'iiitev.1 States senator from Xev/
Hampshire, was born in Dunbarton Xov. iS. 1844.
in the eighth generation from John Bnnihani, an emi-
graiit from X'onvich. England, in 1635. His early life
was passed upon his father's farm, and he prepared for
college at Kimball Union academy. Meriden, entering
Danmouth in 1S61, at the age of seventeen. He was
gradnatevl with honors in the class of 1S65, having al-
ready through the attainments of his college course given
promise of the brilliant professional and public career
which he has since pursued.
He entered upon tlie study of law with Minot & ^lug-
ridge at Concord, and concluded his studies under the
direction of E. S. Cutter, at Xashua. and the late Judge
Le\\-is \\'. Clark at Manchester. In April. 1868. he was
admitted to tlie bar, and at once opened an office in Man-
cliester where his unt^agging industry and his marked
ability soon won for him an enviable reputation as a
successful practitioner. His clientage increased yearly,
requiring the admission of partners to the business, until
tlie firm of Burnham, Brown & Warren, of whicli he
was the active head, ranked with the leaders at the bar
in all the courts of Xew England jurisdiction.
From 1876 to 1879 he acceptably filled the office of
judge of probate for Hillsborough county, but the temp-
tations of lucrative private practice caused his resigna-
tion from the bench. In 1873 and 1874 he was a mem-
20S
HENRY E. BURNHAM,
United States Senator from N'ew HainpsJiire^ 1903
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ber of the New Hampshire legislature, and in 1889 he
sat in the convention called for the revision of the state
constitution. In 1900 he was again elected tO' the legis-
lature, and in that same year became a candidate for
United States senator. Alter a long and taxing canvass
his candidacy was crowned with success and he took his
seat in the United States Senate on the 4th of March,
1 90 1, where, although a new member, he has already
shown marked qualifications as a safe and reliable and
industrious legislator.
Judge Burnham is a member of the IVFasonic order and
has taken a deep interest in the affairs of the fraternity,
having filled all the offices. In Washington lodge at
Manchester he became an officer of the Grand Lodge
of the state in 1885, and was elected Grand Master of
that body. He is also a prominent member of the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows.
In 1874 he married Miss Elizabeth H. Patterson of
Manchester, and they have three daughters.
Senator Burnham's gifts of oratory are widely recog-
nized. A clear, logical, eloquent, convincing speaker,
possessed of fine presence and rich voice, choice diction
and an effective manner, he won his widest fame in his
profession as an advocate, swaying juries almost invari-
ably at his will. In public life this ability has served
him in good stead, and both on the stump and in the
forum of state and national legislative action he has be-
come a commanding figure.
209
WINSTON CHURCHILL.
A recent addition to the ranks of New Hampshire
citizenship, attracted hither by the unrivalled beauties
of our scenery, is Winston Churchill, the distinguished
novelist, who was born in St. Louis, Mo., November
TO, 1 8/ 1. Receiving his preliminary education in the
Smith Academy in his native state, he was appointed
a cadet at the United States Naval Academy at Anna-
ix)lis, Md., whence he was graduated in 1894. The lit-
erary bent, however, Avas too strong -upon him to per-
mit a divided duty, and resigning from the navy, Mr.
Churchill entered upon a writer's career and attached
himself to the editorial staff of a well-known periodical.
His first published novel, "The Celebrity," met with no
inconsiderable success, and bore the signs of that prom-
ise which his later work has so well fulfilled, and the
first permanent result of his emancipation from the edi-
torial desk was that stirring novel of A.merican patriot-
ism, "Richard Carvel," the first of a trilogy upon Ameri-
can historical subjects, the second of which, "The
Crisis," dealing with the Civil War in the same bril-
liant spirit in which its forerunner had treated the Revo-
lution, engenders the hope that the completing novel of
the series will still further advance the fame of its author.
Taking up his residence in the beautiful town of Cor-
nish, in the midst of that distinguished colony of writ-
ers, painters, sculptors and professional workers who
have made their summer homes there, Mr, Churchill's
WINSTON CHURCHILL
CHESTER B. JORDAN.
Z * - rr"-^' " '■ in Xew Hampshire has pos-
ses^r love and admiration of his
: :izcns lo s.^ , :e?ter B. Jordan,
i- .: -I of t'^ - -t : c-i.i 190:?.
He was b r 15. 1S30 and there
passed his K'vl: fi inces-
-- '"- - - ■"- : .. :_: -: his
„ . - ■ rsire TO ^ - . i. his
V* ay inrcmg^n v. l. nion
s.c2iemv at Mer. _ , . ^ ^ :.... .._ ._.:_- insiitu-
-:r- in 1866,
He '^ . "inee of the
tC'Tmof ^ . . -5 " j_^ ^~ r. - :^ - In
iS'SShevra; -i C-Crk of the c "'.tv.
-i ver}" sat2siacL«;»niy. v f
?■ ' ^ - - . ' : T vras
- :--ed
anc "V vear- - r-f Orc^". :
Ej::kie\' ha- . r
rssiv. . y yearf
212
CHESTER B. JORDAN,
Gover)ior of Neiv HauipsJiire^ igoi-igo2
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for historical societies, and for the Bar Association, In
1880 he was elected to the state legislature and in 1881
was its speaker, presiding with impartiality, dignity and
honor. In 1896 he repeated this success as president of
the state senate; and in 1900 his election to the chief mag-
istracy of the state followed as a natural sequence to his
splendid showing in the other offices filled by him. His
administration as governor will live in the records of the
state as a period of happiness and prosperity in a well-
governed commonwealth.
Meanwhile he had served upon the staff of Governor
Straw in 1872; had received the degree of Bachelor of
Arts from Dartmouth college in 1881; that of B. S. from
N. H. college of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1901,
and the same year LL.D. from Dartmouth college. He
presided over the Republican state convention in 1882.
Governor Jordan is prominent in ^Masonry and is a
member of many historical and other societies, bar asso-
ciations, etc. He loves almost equally his librar}' and his
camp in the woods and courts those hours golden spent in
either. He is in the directorship of two banks in his
home town.
Strong in body and mind, loving and well-beloved,
Chester B. Jordan represents the best type of the citizen-
ship of the state whose destinies he so ably guided as gov-
ernor.
213
FRANK WEST ROLLINS.
Frank West Rollins, forty-fifth governor of New
Hampshire and father of Old Home Week, was bom in
Concord, Feb. 24, i860, the son of Senator Edward
H. and Ellen (West) Rollins. He was prepared for col-
lege in the public schools of the city, supplemented by
private tutoring with Prof. Moses \\^ooison, and entered
the class of 1881 at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology^, Boston. Later he studied at the Harvard Law
school and in the law office of Hon. John Y. Mugridge,
and was admitted to the bar in 1882.
He practised his profession but a short time, however,
finding his life work in the business of banking. He
entered the firm of E. H. Rollins & Sons, becoming the
manager of its Boston branch, and to it he has given the
best fruits of his ability, sagacity, experience and enter-
prise. It has steadily grown in importance and success
until to-day it ranks with the best known and most firmly
established institutions of the kind in New England.
Into that portion of his time not taken up by business
demands and responsibilities Mr. Rollins has crowded a
variety of accomplishments and achievements almost in-
credible in number and extent.
Always devoted to literature he has made for himself
a reputation as a translator from the French; as a novel-
ist; as an orator of occasion; and as the author of a guide
book to New Hampshire which has been characterized
as more nearly approaching the completeness and reli-
214
FRANK WEST ROLLINS,
Governor of New HaiiipsJiire. iSgg-igoo
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ability of a Baedeker than any other similar publication
in this country.
In the New Hampshire National Guard he has served
in all grades from private in the ranks through line and
staff to commander in chief.
The success of former Governor Rollins is as remark-
able in politics as in other branches of his life interest.
The first office for which he was a candidate was state
senator, and he was elected from the Concord district in
November, 1894. Upon the assembling of the legislature
he was chosen president of the upper branch. In Novem-
ber, 1898, he was triumphantly elected governor of the
state and as such chief executive his fame spread from
ocean to ocean and even beyond the seas.
His greatest achievement, perhaps, was the institution
of Old Home Week, now a fixture on the calendar of
the state, and a festival whose significance and success
will go on increasing as the years roll b}'.
Retirement from the position of chief executive has
apparently made Mr. Rollins only the more active in his
endeavors for the welfare of his state. For good roads
and for forest preservation he is working with able ardor,
and already great results are in prospect.
It is not too much to say that Governor Rollins, still
a young man, is to-day the best-known citizen of New
Hampshire; and that he deserves to be.
>i5
GEORGE A. RAMSDELL.
George A, Ramsdell, g-overnor of New Hampshire in
1897 and 1898, was born in Milford, March 11, 1834,
and died in Nashua, November 16, 1900.
His earhest ancestors in America on both sides were
EngHsh emigrants and among the first settlers of Massa-
chusetts. In 181 5 his grandfather, Captain WilHam
Ramsdell, purchased the farm in Milford which was the
home of the family for more than seventy-five years.
His mother was the eldest daughter of Rev. Humphrey
Moore, D. D., pastor of the Congregational church in
Milford for a third of a century.
After a course at Appleton academy, now McCollom
institute, Mont Vernon, Mr. Ramsdell completed a year at
Amherst college, but was unable by reason of ill health
to finish the course. He continued his studies inde-
pendently, however, and in 1857 ^^^ "^vas admitted to the
Hillsborough count}'- bar.
Soon after he located at Peterborough where he prac-
tised for six years until, in 1864, he was appointed
clerk of the supreme court for Hillsborough county
and removed to Amherst. In 1866 he went with the
court records to Nashua and there resided the remainder
of his life. In 1S87 he resigned the office he had filled
so long and faithfully and resumed the practice of his
profession.
His honorable record was recognized by Governor
John B. Smith, who, on the death of Judge Allen in 1893,
216
GEORGE A. RAMSDELL,
Governor of Nezi) HantpsJiirc. iSgy-iSgS
STATE BUILDERS
tendered Mr. Ramsdell a seat on the supreme bench;
and by Dartmouth college, which conferred on him the
honorary degree of Master oif Arts.
Mr. Ramsdell's pubhc career inchtded ten years'
service on the board of education, twenty years as trustee
of the pubHc Hbrary and many other places of trust and
responsibility in Nashua. In 1870-1-2 he was a member
of the legislature, where he won an enviable reputation
as a debater. He was a working member of the constitu-
tional convention of 1876 and represented the third dis-
trict in the governor's council in 189 1-2. In the Repub-
lican gubernatorial convention of 1894 he received a
flattering vote, and in 1896 the distinguished honor was
bestowed upon him of a nomination by acclamation. In
the election that followed he received the largest plurality
of any candidate for governor in the history of the state;
and by his administration proved that this trust of his
fellow citizens was well founded.
Governor Ramsdell was prominent in the business af-
fairs of Nashua as a banker and as a director in railroad
and manufacturing companies. He was one of the leaders
of the laymen in the Congregational denomination in
New Hampshire and was a 32nd degree Mason. A thor-
ough student and facile writer, his history oi Milford, the
last important work of his life, is a valuable contribution
to the annals of the state.
He married, November 29, i860, Eliza D. Wilson of
Deering, and to them three sons and a daughter were
given; Harry W., born February i, 1862; Arthur D.,
born August 2, 1863; Charles T., born July 7, 1865; and
Annie M., born December 8, 1873.
217
BISHOP DENIS M. BRADLEY.
Rt. Rev. Denis M. Bradley, first Catiiolic bishop of
Manchester, was born in Ireland, Fehniary 25, 1846.
When he was eight years of age his mother came to
y\merica with her five children and settled in Manches-
ter. There the future bishop attended the Catholic
schools of the city and later was sent to the College of
the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass., from which he gradu-
ated. He then entered upon the study of theology in the
St. Joseph's Provincial seminary at Troy, N. Y., and
was there ordained to the priesthood June 3, 1871, by Rt.
Rev. Bishop McQuaid of Rochester.
Manchester at that time belonged to the diocese of
Portland, and Bishop Bacon appointed the young priest
to the cathedral in the latter city, where he remained
during the lifetime of that prelate, serving during the
last two years as rector of the cathedral and chancellor
of the diocese. He continued to discharge the same
duties under Bishop Healey until June 16, 1880, when
he was appointed pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Man-
chester.
Upon the erection of the state of New Hampshire into
a separate diocese in 1884 Father Bradley was recom-
mended for the new see by the bishops of New England
on account of his zeal and services in parochial duties
and his experience in diocesan affairs, gained at Port-
land. He was accordingly apointed by Pope Leo XIII
and consecrated June 11, 1884.
218
RT. REV. DENIS M. BRADLEY,
Roman Catliolic Bis hop of JVew Hampshire
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Under his wise administration the cause of Catholicity
has prospered wonderfully in New Ilampshire. He
combines the rare qualities of leadership with great ex-
ecutive ability and personal traits that have endeared
him to hosts of non-Catholics, thus enabling him to do
much towards allaying prejudice against his church.
The first Catholic church in New Hampshire was built
in 1823 by Rev. Virgil H. Barber, a convert. Ten years
later another church was erected at Dover, and for
twenty years these were the only Catholic churches in
the state. In 1847 Rev. John B. Daley, a Franciscan
father, began a church in Manchester, the Rev. William
McDonald coming one year later, as the first pastor,
completed the first Catholic church built in Manchester.
The Sisters of Mercy, the first religious community es-
tablished in New Hampshire, came to Manchester under
Mother Francis Warde, at the request of Rev. William
McDonald, in i860. At the time of Bishop Bradley's
consecration in St. Joseph's church, which is now his
cathedral, there were thirty-seven churches and chapels
in the state and thirty-eight priests. The Catholic popu-
lation of New Hampshire was about 50,000 and there
were 3,500 pupils in the Catholic schools.
These figures have now been doubled and in some cases
trebled; in fact it is doubtful if any other denomination
can point to such a record of rapid growth and progress
in so short a time. To the parochial schools for boys and
girls there have been added high schools for boys, acade-
mies for girls and one college. Orphan asylums, infant
asylums, hospitals, homes for aged women and homes for
working girls are maintained. There are several con-
vents of brothers and a score of convents of sisters.
And to Bishop Bradley a great share oi the credit for
this swift but solid growth and prosperity is due and is
freelv accorded.
219
JOHN BUTLER SMITH.
John Butler Smith, former governor of New Hamp-
shire, was born in Saxton's River village, Vermont, April
12, 1838. His parents moved to Hillsborough, N. H.,
in 1847, where as lx)y and man he has since chiefly lived.
Educated in the public schools of Hillsborough, and at
Francestown academ}-. Has followed the business of
woollen manufacturing, which was his father's occupa-
tion. Is now president and chief owner of the Contoo-
cook ]\Iills company, manufacturing knit goods, employ-
ing two hundred and fifty hands, having stores in Boston
and New York for the sale of its products, which have
attained an enviable reputation. Such establishments as
this in the hands of such men, of whom ]\Ir. Smith may
be said to be a type, have done much to build up our state,
and to offset the shrinkage in population and values in the
farming districts, by the growth of the factory villages.
Mr. Smith is president of the Hillsborough guaranty sav-
ings bank.
In religion he is a Congregationalist, of w^hich church
he is a devout member. He married Emma Lavender
of Boston, Mass., an accomplished Christian lady, with
agreeable and winning manners, whose affability and
womanly tact have been eminently useful to her husband
in all the course of his business and -official life. Of
three children born to them, Butler Lavender, the first-
bom, died at the age of two years. Archibald Lavender
and Norman are still living.
Besides his manufacturing and mercantile interests
JOHN B. SMITH,
Governor of New HaiiipsJiire, iSgj-iSg^
STATE BUILDERS
Mr. Smith is a considerable owner of real estate in Bos-
ton and in various cities and towns of New Hampshire.
He has, however, attained his prominence chiefly in po-
litical and official life. In 1884 was alternate tO' the Chi-
cago national Republican convention. Same year an
elector on the Republican ticket. In 1887-9 member of
the Governor's council. In 1890 chairman of state central
committee. In 1888 Mr. Smith was prominent in the
republican state convention for nomination to the
governorship, but was defeated, Hon. D. H. Goodell, of
Antrim, being the successful contestant. Urged to enter
the lists again in 1890 he declined in favor of his warm
friend and the more "logical candidate" Hon. Hiram
A. Tuttle. In 1892, however, the "logic of politics"
pointed very strongly to Mr. Smith as the coming
man; indeed in the months immediately preceding the
convention hardly any other name was mentioned in con-
nection with the nomination to the governorship on the
part oi the republicans. And so it happened in the state
convention of the party in September, Mr. Smith was
greatly honored by a unanimous nomination by acclama-
tion. The campaign which fohowed was a very warm
and spirited one: almost we might say the last oi its
kind in this state, a kind which began with "Tippecanoe
and Tyler too'," and continued through such campaigns
as Fremont's, Grant's and the last Harrison's. Although
the campaign of '92 had plenty of accessories of the
torch-light and the drum, it was pre-enrlnently a speech-
making canvass. Large and enthusiastic meetings were
held in all the considerable towns of the state, and in all
the cities, — and to such good purpose that although in
many states where the republicans had been uniformly
victorious they suffered miserable defeat, and in the
nation the loss of the presidency and congress in both
branches, yet New Hampshire made substantial gains for
the Republicans. Mr. Smith was elected by the vote of
STATE BUILDERS
the people at the polls, and the state legislature was re-
publican, in both houses by an overwhelming majority.
Governor Smith served in this high office the cus-
tomary two years, '93-'95, with credit and distinction.
Since that time he has held no public office, although
several times named in connection with high and honor-
able places.
The real builders of our good state are men like the
subject of this brief sketch, who have risen by sheer force
of genius and character, from humble yet honorable con-
ditions to prominence and influence in the community.
^'4Wi 1^
HIRAM A. TUTTLE,
Governor of A^ew Hai>ips]iii\\ iSgi-rSgs
HIRAM A. TUTTLE.
Hiram A, Tuttle, former governor of the state of
New Hampshire and one of her most successful and sub-
stantial business men, was born in the town of Barn-
stead in 1837. From boyhood he earned his own living
and made his own way in the world, beginning as a
farmer and shoemaker. At the age of 17 he entered
the employ of a clothing house, soon became the
manager of its branch establishment in Pittsfield and not
long afterwards the proprietor. For two score years
and more he has continued this business, constantly in-
creasing its vohmie and scope and earning far and wide
the reputation of being as honest as he is affable, as
enterprising as he is sagacious. Mr. Tuttle has also
engaged very successfully in other lines of business, bank-
ing, lumbering, etc. His wealth, his influence and his
business ability and experience are always ready tO' serve
the development 01 new industries, the increase of the
material resources of his town, county and state. In
Pittsfield he is a trustee of the savings i>ank, a director
in the National bank and a trustee of the academy. The
great success of a recent Old Home Day celebration in
the town was largely due tO' his efforts and backing.
In 1873 and 1874 Mr. Tuttle was elected a member of
the legislature from the town of Pittsfield; in 1876 he
served on the staff of Governor Person C. Cheney, with
the rank of colonel; in 1878 he was a member of the
governor's council,' and a year later was re-elected under
223
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the new constitution for a term of two years. Proving
himself in all these capacities a valuable public serv-ant,
his name was presented to the state convention of the
Republican party in 1888 as a candidate for the guber-
natorial nomination. This he did not receive at the hands
of that convention, but in 1890 the honor was given him
almost unanimously, followed by a spirited and successful
campaign at the polls.
Taking his seat in January, 1891, as governor of the
commonwealth of Xew Hampshire Mr. Tuttle discharged
the important duties of that position so faithfully and
well that his administration will always be of good
repute in the history of the state. Since its close he has
devoted himself just as sincerely as a private citizen as
when the chief executive to the best interests of New
Hampshire. !Many positions demanding fidelity and
ability of the highest order he has filled and is still filling
in both public and private life.
In ver}' truth one of the bulwarks of the community
is Hiram A. Tuttle of Pittsfield, type of the best as kind
friend, good citizen, public-spirited and successful man of
affairs.
224
■^-asj^pBWit
FRANK P. CARPENTER
FRANK p. CARPENTER.
There are in every community men who never pose in
the pubhc eye; who attend steadfastly and successfully
to their own affairs and expect others to do likewise;
but who in any public need or emergency, on the occa-
sion of any unusual demand for individual or civic
action, can be counted upon as in the forefront of those
willing- to do their part and to do it well. Such men as
these command the heartiest respect and admiration of
their fellow citizens. They are the bulwarks of munici-
pal, state and national prosperity; the great leavening
force that makes the heterogeneous units of our United
States into the world's greatest power for good.
The city of Manchester, the metropolis of New Hamp-
shire, has fully her share of such men; and one of them
whose name will spring at once to the ]ips of those ac-
quainted w4th her municipal life is that of Frank P.
Carpenter, successful manufacturer, public-spirited citi-
zen, faithful occupant of positions oi responsibility and
trust.
Mr. Carpenter was born October 28, 1845, ^^^ is
therefore to-day in the ver}'- prime of life. He was edu-
cated in the schools of the city of Concord, and to the
foundation of learning there gained he has added those
fruits of culture which can come only from wide travel,
cultured intercourse and personal investigation.
In 1872 Mr. Carpenter married Eienora Blood,
daughter of the late Aretas Blood, whose name stands
225
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among the highest for honor and usefulness in the annals
of the city of Manchester. To Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter
two children have been born, Aretas B. and ^Mary E.
Carpenter.
For more than a quarter of a century-, or since 1876,
Mr. Carpenter has been adding substantially to the ma-
terial wealth and magnificent sum total of products of the
city of Mancliester, as a paper manufacturer.
In politics he is a Democrat of that school which
stands for the old traditions and policies of the party,
and does not follow tlie vain imaginings of some recent
leaders. An example of Jkir. Carpenter s devotion to the
best interests of his cit}- is his service in the difficult and
responsible position of police commissioner.
Mr. Carpenter attends the Franklin street Congrega-
tional church. He is not a member of secret societies.
•.26
MARY BAKER G. EDDY
MARY BAKER G. EDDY.
THE DISCOVERER AND FOUNDER OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.
The advent in earthly history of a strong and vigorous
personaHty marks an era in human affairs, especially
when the individual has a distinct capacity for leadership,
and touches the life of the people upon a plane of vital
issues. The rare quality of Mazzini's nature and mental
equipment would have made him a conspicuous figure
among his contemporaries, in any event, but for one of
his endowment and ideals to become the inspired and
inspiring leader of a great religious and democratic idea,
was to date an epoch in the chronicles of his time.
The nineteenth century has given to America a galaxy
of rare and gifted women who have achieved distinction
in the fields of art, education, literature and philanthropy,
and won deserved recognition as the benefactors of man-
kind, and to this number New Hampshire has contributed
one, who in the uniqueness of her personality, the
strength and nobility of her character, the keenness and
penetration of her spiritual perception, and the patient
continuance of her well doing, would have acquired an
easy pre-eminence; but it is when she is considered with
respect to the exalted nature of her message, — its signifi-
cance to the solution of the world's profoundest, most
pressing problems, — and the growth and influence of
the movement she has inaugurated and of which she is
the recognized leader, that Mary Baker Eddy is seen to
stand quite alone.
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Her ancestors in one line were Scotch Covenanters,
whose historic devotion to faith and fatherland was
honored and preserved by their sturdy representatives
who lived among- the beautiful and inspiring- hills of the
Granite State. Capt. Joseph Baker, Mrs. Eddy's great-
grandfather, was a prominent citizen and a member of
the Provincial Congress, from which he held a commis-
sion. He married Hannah, the daughter of John Love-
v^ell, who made himself famous in the Indian wars as
the ]\Iiles Standish of the North Colonies, and Mrs.
Baker inherited a share of the ample acres which were
bestowed upon her father by the New Hampshire Colony
in recognition of the distingiiished services he had ren-
dered. Their son, Joseph Baker, 2nd, Mrs. Eddy's
grandfather, married Marian Moore, and a part of their
"old homestead" which lay in the adjoining towns of
Concord and Bow is still in the possession of one of their
descendants.
Hid away from the world's intrusion, these early
settlers spent their cpiiet and thoughtful years in close
touch with nature, "companioning with the sky." They
knew far less of the world's fitful philosophies than of
the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. Their
habits were simple, wholesome, Christian, and their
ideals, their impulses, and their integrities constituted
the greater patrimony of their children, who were all
made rich thereby.
Joseph and Marian Baker had thirteen children, and
Mark, the youngest, married Abigail Ambrose, the
daughter of Deacon Nathaniel Ambrose, a prominent
citizen and religious leader of Pembroke. They made
their home in Bow, and here Mary, the youngest of
their six children, was born.
Mrs. Eddy's father was a man of the serious, asser-
tive, intellectual type of his ancestors. Her mother was
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a woman of unusual winsomeness, of deeply thoughtful
habit and gentle strength. In Mrs. Eddy's childhood the
family moved to the village of Tilton, and here they were
known intimately to one who has said of her mother
that her presence was like the gentle dew, her character
distinguished for its excellences, her thought the com-
panion of great themes, and her life a daily illustration
of Christian faith.
The Baker home was a generous and hospitable one,
a haven of rest for ministers, and as a result in part of
its earnest religious atmosphere, Mary was led to think
of the deeper things of life even at a very early age.
The severe and sombre aspects of the Calvinistic
theology familiarly discussed in her presence, her
mother's earnest piety, and the habit of logical inquiry
with which she naturally approached every subject, —
these inevitably precipitated in the alert mind of this
meditative girl a struggle between the creedal dogma-
tism of her parents and some of her religious teachers,
and the spiritual protest and assertive freedom of her
own intuitive thought; and this struggle, both in its
nature and its outcome, gave intimation of the signifi-
cant part she was to assume in the cause of religious
rdform.
From early childhood she was impelled by a longing
for truth, an instinctive adherence to all that is good and
beautiful, "a desire," as she has said, ''for something
higher and better than matter, and apart from it," and
her mother's appreciative and considerate attitude
toward her during her early experiences of the move-
ment and impulse of the spirit within, encouraged her
recognition of the value and authority of her own spon-
taneous convictions, and of the importance of loyalty
to them.
• The son of Rev. Enoch Corser, A. M., who knew Mary
229
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Baker as a neighbor girl, has written of her at this
time: — "My father, Mrs. Eddy's pastor, and for a time
teacher, — held her in the highest esteem; in fact, he
considered her, even at an early age, superior both
intellectually and spiritually, . . . and greatly enjoyed
talking with her. . . . She was about fifteen when I
first knew her, and I well remember her gift of expres-
sion, which was very marked. She and my father used
to converse on deep subjects frequently, — too deep for
me. She was always pure and good, and she stands
out in my mind as his (father's) brightest pupil. I also
remember her great admiration for him."
In speaking of this period of her life Mrs. Eddy has
referred in the most affectionate terms to the joy and
inspiration of her associations with her brother Albert,
who, though he passed away when but relatively young,
had attained to eminence in his profession, the law, and
been tendered high political preferment at the hands of
his fellow citizens. He possessed rare intellectual gifts
and a most lovable nature. He was greatly interested in
metaphysics, and found an apt and absorbing listener in
his sister, over whom he exerted a stimulating and help-
ful influence. By him she was introduced to the classic
languages, and quickened in that love of good literature,
and those habits of close application, analysis, and dis-
crimination which gave zest to her studies and easy mas-
tery of her academic course, and which were destined to
render such service in the advancement of her life work.
To one of her sensitive, poetic mind, such a loving af-
filiation and friendship could but be most nourishing and
eventful. Intelligent sympathy is the sunshine in which
refined impulses and capacities come to their fullest blos-
soming, and in this respect the appreciative affection of
her mother and brother supplemented the appeal of the
gentle and picturesque aspects of that beautiful world.
230
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which compassed her youthful vision. Many verses
written at this time express in fragrant fancy and spiritu-
ally suggestive figure the delicacy of her interpretation of
nature and of life.
Mrs. Eddy's history as a non-conformist and champion
of religious freedom was entered upon at the age of
fourteen, when she was examined, in solemn conclave,
for admission to the Congregational church, of which
her parents had been active members for many years.
In one of the autobiographical reminiscences contained
in her little lx)ok called "Retrospection and Introspec-
tion," she has graphically outlined the surroundings and
circumstances under which a modest but daring girl stood
by her sense of truth against the rigid theology which
lier father maintained with unyielding insistence. The
scene becomes well nigh dramatic as we see this gentle,
retiring child brought before her sedate but startled
questioners, and hear her declare in the fervor of a feel-
ing so intense as to produce an alarming illness, that she
is ready' to take her chances with "unbelievers" and
hazard the dreadful judgments resting upon them, rather
than subscribe to the doctrine of predestination against
which her deepest spiritual convictions were in pro-
nounced revolt.
In the midst of her trial and her tears, Love's ministry
was expressed in her mother's words of assuring con-
fidence and tender sympathy, and there was brought to
her "the comforts of God." The sustaining power of
the divine presence was so realized that her perturbation
and consequent illness were laid aside as a garment, and
she felt strengthened and refreshed in the conscious-
ness of her faithfulness to the voice within. Despite
her unusual attitude and astonishing independence of
thought, she was admitted to the church and received
her pastor's blessing.
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We have but to enlarge the setting of this scene, and
give increase of years and experience, of trials and tri-
umphs, to embrace the stor}- of her after life's heroic
stand for a present and demonstrable apprehension of
Truth, as opposed to traditional and inetlicient beliefs,
for the spiritual and saving sense of the Word, as op-
posed to the conventionally accepted interpretations of
ecclesiastical authority, for intellectual and religious
freedom as opposed to contented conformit}-, and for the
spiritual and divine as opposed to the material and
humaji.
Remembering her responsiveness to spiritual appeal,
one can but think with what gladness she would have
welcomed, and witli what avidity she would have appro-
priated, at this time, that illumination of the Word of
God, and of the duty and privilege of life, which,
through her patient truth-seeking in the lonely problem-
solving years, has now become the inheritance of the
children of men. Her way of escape from the confusions
of dogma, and the tragedies of human experience, lay
through that region of awakening convictions which is
beset by contlicting doubts within and denials without.
Alone, with no one to imder stand, no one to guide or
support in the hour of darkness, temptation and grief,
save infinite Love, she pressed on through faith in Him,
to find after many years a satisfying portion for herself,
and to demonstrate for her brother man the possible
fulfillment of a new and larger hope.
In 1843 she married Col. George \\'ashington Glover,
a prominent and esteemed citizen of Charleston, S. C,
where she went to foimd a home; but her wedded joy
was of brief duration. In less than a year death severed
the happy union and she returned to her father's house,
where, four months later, her only child was bom. The
loss of her husband's property brought a burdensome
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sense of dependence, while the death of her mother
brought increase of lonehness and grief, but the cHmax
of her suffering was not reached until she was compelled,
through consideration for trying 'family circumstances,
to part with her little boy, who was placed in charge of
a lady in a distant part of the State.
Crushed but yet hopeful, and impelled by the longing
of her mother-heart for sympathy and a home for her-
self and boy, she consented to a second marriage, with
Daniel Patterson, D. D. S., which proved most unfortu-
nate and unhappy. After its consummation her husband
denied her the anticipated joy of having her son with
them, and made necessary the removal of the latter to a
distant state. They were thus wholly separated, and by
means of a false report, and a letter confirming it, she
was led to mourn her little one as dead. Ultimately she
was compelled to ask for a legal separation 'from Dr.
Patterson, which was granted in Salem, Mass., while he
was in Littleton, N. H., and on the ground of his adul-
tery. This closed the saddest chapter that can possibly
enter into a pure woman's life, and over which she can
but cast the mantle of silence. In the furnace o^ bitter
experience earth's proffered and alluring joys had
shrunken to their native nothingness, nevertheless, in her
fiery trial she clung steadfastly to her childhood's faith
in God, and thus in the end the gold came forth more
pure.
Loyalty to her own high ideals, regardless of the
thought and conduct of others, was the Aegis of her
safety. She longed ever for the knowledge of God, and
conformity to His will, and she proved in her own dark
days that "Truth and Love come . . . nearer us in the
hour of woe, when strong faith wrestles and prevails
through the understanding of God."* Li the loom of
a common life, she was weaving a web "whose texture
* Science and Health, p. 567.
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on the other side was more divinely fair"' tlian that which
she saw ofttimes through tears.
In all these years she was alive to every progressive
idea, and was seeking for truth in many lines of investi-
gation. The world's faiths and theories were looked
into, their cup of promise tasted, and then removed for-
ever from her lips. Allopathy and homeopathy were
studied to thereby improve her health. General litera-
ture and theolog\^ received much attention, and her pen
was busied during many years in supplying the demand
upon it for newspaper and magazine articles. More
than all other books, however, she honored the Bible,
which became her constant and quickening companion.
To the faithful study of its teachings and meditation
thereon, she traces her every spiritual gain. It alone
pointed out and illumined her ascending path to the
towering heights of Christian Science.
The progressive steps toward a higher apprehension
of Truth were taken tentatively as she found her footing
in the relative obscurity- of prevailing belief and material
experiment. Faith was feeling its way to understand-
ing, and the physical basis of therapeutics was being
replaced by an ever-strengthening conviction that the
explanation of all phenomena was to be found in the
mental realm. Medical experience and obser\-ation had
proved convincingly that the drug factor could be elimi-
nated from the healing equation without sensibly impair-
ing its effectiveness, and the accumulation of confirming
sense evidence kept pace with the growing realization of
the naturalness and superiority of the spiritual healings
of Jesus. In speaking of these first glimpses of the dawn-
ing day she has said, "When the door opened, I was
waiting and watching. 'Sly heart knew its Redeemer.
Soulless famine had fled. Being was beautiful, its sub-
stance, cause and currents were God and His idea."
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The climax of many years of prayerful seeking if
haply she might find God, was reached in 1866, when,
through a travail of suffering and of faith, she arrived
at a scientific certainty that "all causation is Mind," and
that this apprehension is practically available in the heal-
ing of disease. Having experienced a serious accident,
which left her in a painful and alarming physical condi-
tion that neither medicine nor surgery could remove,
in despair of all human aid, she turned with a sense of
supreme need and childlike faith to her heavenly Father,
and was immediately healed of her infirmity and arose
well and rejoicing, to the astonishment of her physician
and friends. The satisfying demonstration and con-
sciousness of the divine presence were hers. "The Great
Discovery" had been made, though as yet she could not
explain the rule and order of Truth's appearing. "I had
learned," she says, "that Mind reconstructed the body,
and that nothing else could. How it was done the
spiritual Science of Mind must reveal. It was a mystery
to me then, but I have since understood it."*
To the solution of this problem she now consecrated
her life. Alone with God, in persistent and prayerful
study of the Bible, she essayed to find for her fellowmen
that expression of the order of Truth's unfoldment which
brings it into saving relationship with the human con-
sciousness, man's sense of limitation and of need. With
ever-increasing clearness she recognized that Jesus must
have been both "a natural and divine scientist, "f and
that he acted in conformity with a divine law which must
be continuously operative and correspondingly available
to all those who through spiritual apprehension and
obedience of heart become responsive to its demands.
Jesus' assurance, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto
the end of the world," must mean that the manifestations
* Retrospection and Introspection, pp. 26 and 34.
•f Retrospection and Introspection, p. 31.
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of spiritual supremacy incident to the Christ Hie in him
were to attend the Christ hfe in all who received him.
for "to them gave he power to become the Sons of God,
even to them that believe on his name.'' "The divine
hand." she writes, "led me into a new world of light
and life. ... I had learned that thought must be spirit-
ualized, in order to apprehend Spirit. It must become
honest, unselfish and pure, in order to have the least
understanding of God in Divine Science. "Our reliance
upon material thing-s must be transferred to a perception
of and dependence on spiritual things. For Spirit to
be supreme in demonstration it must be supreme in our
affections. . . . The first spontaneous motion of Tnith
and Love, acting through Christian Science on my
roused consciousness, banished at once and forever the
fundamental error of faith in things material. . . . Into
mortal mind's material obliquity I g-azed. and stood
abashed. . . . Frozen fountains were imsealed. Erudite
systems of philosophy and religion melted, for Love
unveiled tlie healing promise and potency of a present
spiritual afflatus. It ^^as the Gospel of healing, on its
divinely appointed human mission, bearing on its white
wing-s, to my apprehension, 'the beauty of holiness,'
even the possibilities of spiritual insight, knowledge
and being."*
Three years were spent in retirement from the world,
before she began to conmiunicate her thought to others,
and ventured to undenake the fulfillment of the Lord's
command to preach the g\">spel and heal the sick.
As early as 1862 she began to make notes of her
meditations, and especially on the spiritual meaning of
the scriptures, and the practical relation of holiness to
health, but of these eariy endeavors to express tlie truths
of Christian Science she has ^^TitteIl. they were "feeble
attempts to state the Principle and practice of Christian
* Xffrcs^c/iifH jhJ iHfrcKfJvcttam, pp. 35-3S.
r;6
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healing-, and are not complete or satisfactory expositions
of truth. To-day, though rejoicing in some progress, she
(the author) finds herself a willing disciple at the
heavenly gate, waiting for the mind of Christ.*
The first statement of her new apprehensions to appear
in print, was a pamphlet entitled "The Science of Man,"
published in 1870. Later on its substance was embodied
in the chapter headed "Recapitulation" in her monu-
mental work, "Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures." the text-book of Christian Science, which
was published in 1875.
While the physical healing attracted the more immedi-
ate attention, bringing as it did a satisfying assurance of
the truth of her teaching to unnumbered beneficiaries,
spiritual healing, the acquirement of the Mind that was
in Christ Jesus, was ever emphasized as essential to
immunity from disease, since health is but the manifesta-
tion of right consciousness. Teaching therefore was
regarded of fundamental importance, and that which has
developed into a broad and inclusive system of instruc-
tion was begun in 1867 with a single pupil. The number
of students from all parts of America and from Europe
had so increased that in 1881 the Massachusetts Meta-
physical College was organized, and privileged by a
charter from the state to give instruction in Christian
Science Mind Healing.
Of this College Mrs. Eddy became the President and
chief instructor, and during the first eight years of its
history about four thousand students were admitted to
her primary or normal classes. In 1889, while at the
height of its prosperity, this work was laid aside and the
college temporarily closed that she might find undis-
turbed opportunity for the revision of "Science and
Health." Later, the College was reopened, and is now
an important adjunct of the Christian Science move-
* Science and Health, Pref. p. ix.
237
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ment. Its annual session is open to a selected number of
students who have completed a primary course under
authorized instructors, and who are recommended by
their intelligence and their works to become teachers
of Christian Science.
Her marriage with Dr. Asa G. Eddy, a man of the
noblest type, occurred in 1877. Their union was spiritual
and blessed, and he was her devoted and effective
co-laborer, both in healing and teaching, up to the time
when he passed away, in 1882.
Multiplied and ever-expanding events crowded upon
each other in these early years of the history of the
Christian Science movement.
The first official organ, the Christian Science Journal,
a monthly periodical, was founded April, 1883, of which
Mrs. Eddy became the editor, pubHsher and chief
contributor. To this has since been added the Christian
Science Sentinel, a weekly, and Der Christian Science
Herold, a monthly issued in the German language.
The first Christian Science association was organized
in Boston in 1876, and its growth and duplication
resulted in a national federation of state associations,
which was convened in Xew York in 1886.
The first Christian Science Church, now known as
"The IMother Church," was chartered in June, 1879, and
;Mrs. Eddy was immediately called to its pastorate. The
erection of The Mother Church edifice. Boston, ]Mass.,
was begun in 1893, and the building was dedicated free
from debt, as is the custom in all Christian Science
churches, in January, 1895. In 1903 Mrs. Eddy's
church, The First Church of Christ Scientist, in Boston,
Mass., numbers 27.796 communicants, and more than
760 organized churches and societies, very many of
them occupying splendid church buildings, witness to the
presence and healing f)ower of Christian Science in
unnumbered hearts and in many lands.
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In the midst of these many exacting activities, in all
of which she was much of the time blazing her way
through unexplored territory, and meeting with problems
every day to the solution of which she had no guide
save the illumined words and works of Jesus, Mrs.
Eddy's writings are characteristic and original.' She
has found time to make large contributions to the litera-
ture of Christian Science, and has published numerous
books and pamphlets, among which are The Unity of
Good, Pulpit and Press, Retrospection and Introspection,
Rudimental Divine Science, No and Yes, Christian
Healing, Christian Science vs. Pantheism, People's
Idea of God, Miscellaneous Writings, etc. Mean-
while her fertile pen has supplied the ceaseless demand
for association adresses, messages, contributions to
the Christian Science periodicals, newspaper articles,
etc., and has conducted a vast advisory and super-
visory correspondence. There came a time, however,
when the larger interests of the movement impera-
tively demanded her freedom from the less important
expenditures of time and attention, and this was found
in the retirement of her simple country home at
Pleasant View, Concord, New Hainpshire. Here she
now watches with patient and loving oversight, and
guides with wise and determinative counsels,' that
advancing spiritual impulse whose waves are beating
upon the shores of every sea.
The unity and homogeneity of the Cause has been
secured in the use of a uniform Bible Lesson study which
is prepared by her provision and issued quarterly. The
reading of this lesson from Scripture and the Christian
Science text-book takes the place of the sermon and is
the distinctive feature of the Sabbath service. The
saving truth of the Word, as spiritually understood in
Christian Science, is thus given opportunity to dominate
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the hearer's thought, while the personal and oratorical
distractions of the pulpit are entirely eliminated.
Unit}- has been further sectu-ed by organized uniform-
ity of instruction, and by the appointment of a Board of
Lectureship, the members of which are authorized
expositors of the teachings of Qiristian Science, and
have opportimit}- to recognize and answer in a digni-
fied way the inquiries and criticisms of the public
The distinctive and fimdamental teaching of Christian
Science is embodied in the "Scientific Statement of
Being," which is as follows :
"There is no life, truth, intelligence, or substance in
matter. All is infinite yiind and its infinite manifesta-
tion, for God is All in all. Spirit is immortal Truth;
matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal;
matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and
man is His image and likeness: hence man is spiritual
and not material."*
Denying the legitimacy and power of those himian
conditions and so-called material laws which would rob
man of his birthright as the child of God and subject
him to all the tortures and degradations of sin and suffer-
ing. Christian Science smites his shackles of error with
the sword of Truth, and bids him rise to the privilege
and enjo\Tnent of the fulness of that inheritance and
sovereignt}- which is vouchsafed him in Jesus Christ.
While accepting the orthodox postulates of the divine
nature, and the fundamental doctrines of catholic Chris-
tianity. Christian Science presents its great contrast in
its consistent, persistent, and philosophic maintenance of
these postulates; its increased emphasis of the spiritual
signification of scriptural statements: its constant direc-
tion and uplift of thought from himian personality.- to
di\'ine Principle, and its declaration and demonstration of
the present possibility- of healing through the apprehen-
* Science and Health, p. 468.
240
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sion of Truth as taught and demonstrated by the Naza-
rene. It avers that rehgious truth is one with all truth,
and is scientific; that the laws of God are always opera-
tive, and that the one and only adequate attestation of
truth is demonstration. It asserts that the universe is the
constant going forth of the wisdom and power of
infinite Love, and that it is therefore spiritual and
harmonious; that evil — all error and disharmony —
springs from that false sense and interpretation of the
universe surnamed matter, and pertains wholly to it,
and that it is unreal because it does not and cannot
manifest the life and law of God; that immortal man is
IW'holly spiritual, a ray of light which ever images and
reflects the divine nature, and which is the consciousness
of good alone; that the material sense of life is not
man. but a false consciousness, which passes with the
awakening to spiritual reality, the assertion of the true
self. It declares that the knowledge of God, Truth,
is as efificient now as ever to defeat and destroy error
and give that triumph over sin, sickness, and death
which attended the ministry of Jesus and his disciples;
that divine Love, not fear, governs all in the universe
of jMind, and that its dominion in us will break all our
fetters, heal all our diseases, and give us that victory
and peace which alone can satisfy man's immortal
instincts and craving. It bids man know that his bonds
are but the straw of human belief; that all that is real is
good, and that to know God nozu means health, freedom
from sin, ever-increasing sovereignty over human limita-
tions, and eternal life. Submitting to the requirements of
the scientific method, it proceeds to prove the truth of its
teaching, as did our Lord, by the healing of sickness
and sin; and with love for all and malice toward none
it addresses its constant endeavor to the realization of
an unselfish end, the salvation of humanity from the
sin and sorrow which mark its bondage to material
241
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sense. "As the ages advance in spirituality, Christian
Science will be seen to depart from the trend of other
Christian denominations in no wise except by increase
of spirituality."*
To those who were bound by the relentless fetters
of a materialistic philosophy, and burdened with the
physical woes of a time-honored material sense. Christian
Science has come to bring release from bondage, surcease
of pain and the glad hope and inspiration of a lofty
idealism. Thousands and tens of thousands of those
who were once discouraged and bed-ridden sufferers,
or who were the hopeless victims of drink and the baser
habits of sin, are to-day free and well through its
ministry, and with grateful hearts they remember her
who, through the long years, in patient, self-forgetful
devotion has battled for humanity and has won. They
thank God for the dawn of a happier, better day, and
they honor the hand that has led them out of darkness
into light. Their affection for Mrs. Eddy is the natural
and spontaneous expression of their sense of indebted-
ness, and they know full well that they will give it
that expression which will most please her as with
earnest faithfulness they honor the pledge which all
true Christian Scientists are daily seeking to fulfil :
"We solemnly promise to strive, watch, and pray for
that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus;
to love one another; and to be meek, merciful, just,
and pure."f
John Buckley Willis.
* Miscellaneous Writings, by Mrs. Eddy, p. 21.
t Science and Health, p. 497.
242
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was admitted to the practice of law in the state and
United States courts. His career as a lawyer was a bril-
liant and distinguished one.
During its progress he naturally became identified with
the organization and management of the more important
among the financial and industrial institutions of the
rapidly growing city. Thus wealth came to him which
he rightly enjoyed and conscientiously employed.
Political honors came as a matter of course to the
popular and prosperous attorney and man of affairs and
a long series of public offices, filled with tlie greatest
ability and integrity, culminated in his election tO' the
governorship and his administration of the affairs of the
state with the greatest success in the years 1885 and 1886.
During the remainder of his life he principally devoted
himself to literature which has always been his chief
solace and recreation. The possessor oi a splendid li-
brary, chosen with a care which showed the real culture
of the owner, Mr. Currier himself produced many works
that secured wide praise from critics. His poems, in par-
ticular, were of great literary and intellectual merit.
244
r
k
MRS. MOODY CURRIER
MRS. MOODY CURRIER.
Mrs. Moody Currier was the youngest daughter of
Enoch Slade, Esq., a distinguished citizen of Thetford,
Vermont, and sister of Gen. Samuel W. Slade, an emi-
nent lawyer oi St. Johnsbury, in the same state. She
received her early education in Thetford academy, at
that time one of the most famous institutions in New
England. Here many of the sons and daughters of
New Hampshire and Vermont resorted to prepare for
college, or to obtain a higher education than could be
obtained elsewhere. In this celebrated school Miss Slade
early found herself ranking among- the foremost, not
only in the ordinary studies, but also in the higher
branches of Greek, Latin and mathematics, which she
pursued far into the college course. After leaving the
Academy with the highest reputation for scholarship,
Miss Slade went to Boston, where under distinguished
teachers she continued her studies in music, French and
other branches of polite literature, thus adding a metro-
politan finish not easily acquired in rural institutions.
Miss Slade married Hon. Moody Currier, the distin-
guished banker in Manchester, N. H., who was in 1885
and 1886 governor of the state. The accomplishments
of Mrs. Currier added greatly to the dignity and popu-
larity of his administration.
After her marriage, in connection with her husband
she continued her literary and scientific pursuits, keeping
up with the progress of the age, adopting in their broad-
245
STATE BUILDERS
est and most liberal sense the best thoughts of modern
research. Although she has never given to the public
any of her literary productions, her education and criti-
cal tastes would warrant success in such an undertaking.
She does not seek distinction by a display to the world
of her charities and benefactions, which are many, and
known only to those who receive them. She believes
that the proper sphere of woman, is her home, which she
renders happy and adorns by devoting to it the best
energies of her life.
By her care and watchfulness she threw around
her husband's declining years a mantle of joy and glad-
ness.
246
AUGUSTUS D. AYLING,
Adjutant-General of A'ew Hainpsliire since iSjg
AUGUSTUS D. AYLING.
Augustus Davis Ayling received his commission from
Governor Head, July 15, 1879, as adjutant general of
New Hampshire, and has held this position ever since.
He was born in Boston in 1840; was educated at Law-
rence academy, Groton, and in the public schools of
Lowell. When through school he entered the employ
of J. C. Ayer & Co. of Lowell, Mass. Here he remained
until t86i, when he enlisted in the Richardson Light
infantry, an unattached company named in honor of
Hon. George F. Richardson of Lowell, which became
the Seventh Massachusetts Light Battery. He was ap-
pointed second lieutenant in the Twenty-ninth volun-
teers in January, 1862, and later in the year was pro-
moted to the first lieutenancy. In the spring of 1864 he
Avas mustered out. About a year later he became a
first lieutenant of the Twenty-fourth Massachusetts regi-
ment, and was made adjutant of the regiment. He was
also aide-de-camp and judge advocate on the stafl:' of
]\Iajor General R. S. Foster, who commanded the first
dis'ision, twenty-fourth corps. He was mustered out of
the service in 1866.
Later in the year he removed to Nashua, where he
lived until appointed to his present position. During his
residence in Nashua he served as inspector of checklists,
assessor and assistant city marshal. Married Elizabeth
F. Cornish at Centreville, Cape Cod, Mass., December
22, J869. Two children, Edith C, born March 28,
1871; Charles L., born January 22, 1875.
General Ayling is a Mason, a Knights Templar, a
member of the G. A. R., of the Loyal Legion, and of
several military-social organizations.
247
GEN. CHARLES WILLIAMS.
The growth and development of Manchester, New
Hampshire's centre of population, commerce, manufact-
uring and enterprise, is due not more to the extensive
natural advantages which the city enjoys by reason of its
magnificent water-power, than to the persistent industry
and sagacity of her citizens. A large contributor to the
upbuilding of the city of Manchester was Gen. Charles
Williams, who was bom in Oxford, England, November
2d, 1836, the son of a coal dealer who emigrated to
America in 1846. Charles Williams enjoyed only lim-
ited educational advantages, but his inheritance of sturdy
common sense largely atoned for any deficiencies in his
training, and he was enabled throughout the whole of a
long and successful career in both business and private
life to meet men of all classes upon terms of equality and
to make for himself a secure place in the history of the
community where he had his home. He began his busi-
ness career as a merchant, but buying and selling afforded
too limited a field for the exercise of his abilities, and he
entered into manufacturing, becoming the owner of large
and valuable quarries of soap stone in the town of
Francestown. These quarries he developed thoroughly
and established a large manufacturing industry in the
city of Nashua, where the rough stone he quarried was
utilized in the manufacture of stoves, tables, wash tubs,
trays and other articles of extensive use. The transpor-
tation facilities within the city of Manchester, consisting
248
» ■■■1^
GENERAL CHARLES WILLIAMS
STATE BUILDERS
of a short and slenderly equipped horse railroad, attracted
his attention, and he purchased the plant, extended it,
and finally equipped it with the best of electrical appa-
ratus, and at last sold it to its present owners in a condi-
tion of equipment, earning capacity and potential devel-
opment second to that of no other street railroad in New
England. General Williams was a Republican and
served in many official capacities as the successful candi-
date of that party. At one time he was a member of the
Governor's Council of New Hampshire, and had held
many public positions of lesser rank. He married Oc-
tober 4th, 1856, Miss Ann Augusta Jackson, of Manches-
ter, and had three children. His home was one of the
most attractive in the city of Manchester and in it he was
an ideal husband and father. He was a constant attend-
ant and liberal supporter of the Methodist Church, and
gave generously to religious and charitable institutions
all over the state. He died November 6th, 1899, be-
queathing to his heirs not only a substantial portion of the
world's goods, but that good name which is better than
riches.
249
HENRY M. BAKER.
Henry M. Baker ^vas born in Bow, New Hampshire,
January ii, 1841. His parents were Aaron Whitte-
more and Nancy Dustin Baker. His great-great grand-
mother was Hannah, only daughter of Cspt. John Love-
well, the famous Indian fighter, who was killed in the
battle of Pigwacket. May 8, 1725. She married Capt.
Joseph Baker May 31, 1739, and they resided in Pem-
broke on lands which had been granted to the survivors
and heirs of those killed in that battle. Captain Baker
was commissioned captain "of the fooi company in the
place commonly called and known by the name of Sun-
cook" by Governor Benning Wentwortb. May 30, 1758,
and served as private in several military expeditions in
the French and Indian wars. He was a member of the
Third Provincial congress of New Hampshire, and held
other positions of honor and responsibility.
Capt. Baker's son Joseph was one of the first settlers
of Bow, where he held various town offices. He mar-
ried !Marion Moore, a descendant of the Scotch cove-
nanters. He was a soldier in the Revolution.
On the maternal side Air. Baker is a descendant of
the colonial heroine, Hannah Dustin.
His father, Aaron W. Baker, held several local offices,
though, being an Abolitionist, he was in the political
minority until late in life. Air. Baker was fortunate in
having a father who was earnest and enthusiastic and
had the courage of his convictions, and a mother of high
250
HENRY M. BAKER
STATE BUILDERS
character, sweet disposition and great talent. He was
the youngest of their four sons. They gave him a good
education. He attended the academies in Pembroke,
Hopkinton and Tilton, and graduated at Dartmouth Col-
lege in 1863. Three years later he received the degree
of Master of Arts. He studied law aiul graduated from
the Law department of Columbian University. He is
a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United
States. In 1886-87 he was judge advocate general of
the New Hampshire national guard with the rank of
brigadier general.
In 1890 he was elected to the state senate, where he
was chairman of the judiciary committee. In 1892 he
was elected to congress and re-elected two years later.
He was not a candidate for re-election. In congress he
was a member of the judiciary and other important com-
mictees and frequently participated in the general discus-
sions of the House. Several of his speeches were printed
and extensively circulated.
He was a member of the Constitutional convention of
1902. For several years he was president of the Alumni
of Dartmouth College. He is a Knights Templar, a Re-
publican in politics, and in religion a Unitarian. He is
a m.ember of the New Hampshire club, the New Hamp-
shire Historical society and president of the New Hamp-
shire society of the .Sons of the x\merican Revolution.
251
CHARLES E. STANIELS.
Charles Eastman Staniels, a prominent life insurance
agent of Concord, N. H., was born in Lowell, Mass.,
December 27th, 1844, son of Edward L. and Ruth Brad-
ley (Eastman) Staniels. The father, born in Chichester,
N. H., for many years was interested in the drug business,
successively in Lowell and Boston, Mass. Toward the
latter part of his life he removed to Roxbury, then a
suburb of Boston, and died there at the age of sixty-five
years. He was twice married. By his first wife there
were three children, all of whom are now dead. His sec-
ond marriage was made with Ruth Bradley Eastman, now
over ninety-one years old, whose only child is the subject
of this sketch. A daughter of General Isaac Eastman,
of Concord, N. H., she is a direct descendant, in the fifth
generation, of Captain Ebenezer Eastman, the first settler
of Concord, and of Captain Edward Johnson, the histor-
ian of Woburn, Mass., one of the commissioners ap-
pointed by the general court of Massachusetts Bay colony
to fix the northern iDoundary of that colony in 1652. In
1833 a large boulder was discovered at the entrance of
Lake Winnepesaukee at Weirs, N. H., bearing the initials
of Governor John Endicott, with those of the commis-
sioners. Captain Edward Johnson and Captain Symon
Willard, which had remained unnoticed and subject to
elemental actions for one hundred and eighty-one years.
The State of New Hampshire has erected a substantial
stone canopy upon this historic "Endicott Rock," thereby
2^2
'■ J*'*"^ "'^z
CHARLES E. STANIELS
. STATE BUILDERS
protecting the ancient inscriptions for all time. John
Staniels the grandfather of Charles Eastman, was a na-
tive of Chichester, and followed the occupations of farmer
and budder. He lived to a very advanced age, andkf
a family oi twelve children. Judge William M. Chase of
Concord, is one of his descendants. The original surname
of thi. family was Stanyan, and its annals are interwoven
with those o.f Rockingham county.
Charles Eastman Staniels was educated in the Boston
grammar schools and in the Roxbury Latin school. In the
h^l TZT 'r ^^"lP^"^P^^^d '^'^ ^-llege, bnt tl^ out-
break of the Civil war diverted him from the purpose of
pursuing a collegiate course. He had enlisted in the Fifty-
sixth Massachusetts regiment of volunteers when his par-
ents had him discharged on account of his extreme youth
He then went to work in a wholesale furnishing house in
the city of Boston. Subsequently, m 1865, he became a
commercial traveller for the same house, and has been
more or less on the road ever since. In those mid-cen-
tury days. Western travel was an entirely different affair
from the convenience and even luxury that attend it to-
fmL , "^convenience, hardship, and even suffering
can h'T, .r K "^ '''"'''''' "^'^^^"^^^^ ^'"^P i" those days
called, and steamboatmg on Western rivers were then
common actors in a travelling man's experience. Before
the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad and the
centreTTr! ""'''''^''''^l ^"^ ^^--th of large business
centres the commercial traveller in the extreme West
was subject to diversions not known to the present gen-
eration of mercantile agents. A buffalo hunt, an Indian
scrimmage on the frontier, or a few nights in a snow
blockade in the Rockies were not considered unusual or
especially unmixed blessings.
In 1869 Mr. Staniels assumed the charge of a manii-
factunng estabHshment in Boston, and thereafter managed
STATE BUILDERS
its affairs in the South and \\'est for a number of years.
At length his health becoming somewhat undermined by
his devotion to business matters, he removed to New
Hampshire and took two years of complete rest. Then he
engaged in the fire insurance business in Concord. To this
he has since added life insurance, and has now been en-
gaged in both ver}' successfully for the past 17 years,
highly esteemed by his business associates. He has been
a member of the executive committee of the national life
underwriters' association of the United States since its
organization, and has also served as President of the
New Hampshire life underwriters' association. He mar-
ried Eva F. Tuttle of Boston, Mass., whose parents were
natives of New Hampshire, and they have a family of
three children; namely, Charles T., IMabel R. (and Ros-
coe E., deceased).
A deservedly popular man in his community, ]Mr. Stan-
iels has been elected to membership in numerous associa-
tions. He was chosen twice to fill the presidential chair
of the New Hampshire Society of the Sons of the Ameri-
can Revolution, and left that organization in fine condi-
tion when he retired from the ofiice. He has also been
President of the Wliite ^Mountain Travellers' association.
During its continuance he was the secretary of the Chau-
tauqua assembly of New Hampshire, and also served the
Eastman Family association in a similar capacity. Wher-
ever he has made his home, he has taken a keen interest in
the local military matters. ^Vhile living in Boston, he
was a commissioned ofticer of the Boston Tigers. On one
occasion, at the time of the "'draft riots" in that city, he
was in command of a detachment of that organization,
guarding the arms and ammunition of the state stored
in old Eoylston hall. Since coming to New Hampshire,
he has served as a commissioned officer in the old Amos-
keag Veterans, and in 1903 he was chosen major com-
manding. In politics ]Mr. Staniels is a Republican, and
254
STATE BUILDERS
he cast his initial ballot for Abraham Lincoln in 1864.
He is Secretary and Treasurer of the Republican city
committee, trustee of the public library and was for sev-
eral years a member of the district school committee of
Concord. He is a member of the East Concord Congre-
gational Church.
= 55
REUBEN HOWARD CHENEY.
The late Frederick D. Tappan, president of the Galla-
tin National Bank oi New York City and for many years
president of the New York Clearing House Association,
in drawing his will instructed his executors and trustees
to invest only in such securities as they may find included
in the list of investments made by the Mutual Life Insur-
ance Company of New York. Thus did a great banker
voluntarily pay high tribute to a life insurance company
which is confessedly the largest bank of the world.
The value and wisdom of and the benefits to be derived
from life insurance have been proved over and over
again, hence it is not surprising that all the shrewdest
and richest merchants, manufacturers, and professional
men all over this broad land of ours carry life insurance,
and very often to a large amount. And these men — some
of them carrying million-dollar policies — like the Mutual
Life Insurance Company of New York. A corporation,
like an individual, has a character of its own, and by it
is known. Away back in the days of our grandfathers
the Mutual Life was founded by sterling, old-school New
York business men. It started right, stayed right, and is
right. There have been nO' strayings. no cross-purposes,
no small aims, no melodramatic screamings. Adhering
always tO' highest standards, never seeking to win fortune
or public favor on any less terms, it has steadfastly pur-
sued its ideals, meting and measuring with unerring jus-
tice, and writing in golden lines the most precious and
stainless business history to which America can point and
Avherein there lurks no flaw.
Prior to January first 1903 the interests of the Mutual
256
REUBEN H. CHENEY
STATE BUILDERS
Life Insurance company of New York in New Hamp-
shire and Vermont were under the direction of Reuben
H. and Fred M. Cheney under the firm name of Cheney
& Cheney. For fifteen years the brothers continued in
business together, the final dissolution of the firm resulting
from the new system of their company which went into
effect January first, T903. The adoption of "this system
sent Fred M. to Buft"alo, New York, while Reuben
Howard, the senior partner, remains in Manchester and
in full charge of the company's field work in New Hamp-
shire and Vermont.
In the spring of 1903 Mr. Cheney, for his company
took possession of what are, without question the largest,
best equipped and most complete offices in New England,
outside of Boston, devoted to. the life insurance business.
These offices are on the ground floor, and have the dis-
tinction of being the only ground floor offices possessed
by any single insurance company in Manchester, even if
not in any other larger New England city. Thia fact of
its ground floor offices is significant and full of meaning.
Mr. Cheney is, first of all, recognized by the Mutual Life
as capable of justifying such large expenditure as it
necessarily involves, and that the company's business in
New Hampshire and Vennont comprised in his territory,
will continue to grow in the future as in the past. It like-
wise is a practical demonstration of the strength and re-
source of the Mutual Life Company.
Mr. Cheney was born in Areola, Minn., February 14,
1856, the son of PVederick Porter and Louise B. (Hill)
Cheney. Both parents were born and reared in Glover,
Vt.,and in that town they were married, migrating at once
to Minnesota. Happening to -return tq Vermont on a
visit in the early sixties to see the invalid father of the
senior Mr. Cheney, the intended visit lengthened into his
decision to remain permanently. He was drafted into the
army, w-ent to the county seat, and paid his $300 com-
257
STATE BUILDERS
mutation money, and returned home and enlisted of his
own accord. It would, indeed, be interesting to know if
there was such another instance of devotion to principle
as this. Certain it is that there were not many.
Reuben Howard was, therefore, brought up in Ver-
mont. He attended the schools of Glover and Barton,
working on farms during vacations. After leaving school
he was a clerk in a country store for two years. Later he
became a clerk in the office' of the division superintendent
of freight at White River Junction, Vt., and finally he
himself became superintendent and lived at White River
Junction for twelve years. He was offered and accepted
a special agency of the Mutual I>ife Insurance Company
in Manchester. Instant and signal success followed this
venture, and he was shortly after joined by his brother,
Fred N. The first year they doubled the amount of in-
surance ever written l>y the company in the same length
of time. The New Hampshire state agency was next
given them, and still later Vermont was added to their
territory. In the fifteen years of the continuance of the
firm O'f Cheney & Cheney it wrote $25,000,000 worth of
insurance for the Mutual Life.
Mr. Cheney is a thirty-second degree Mason, and be-
longs to the Derryfield and Calumet clubs in Manchester,
the New Hampshire club of Boston, and the Amoskeag
Veterans.
In 1876 he married Miss Nellie A. Burroughs of Glov-
er, Vt. They have a most interesting family of six child-
ren, four sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Roy-
don W.. graduated at Harvard in 1901, and is now in the
office with his father. The second souy Clinton Howard,
is his father's private secretaiy. He is developing fine ar-
tistic tastes, and his work with pen and brush is most ex-
cellent. A third son, Frederick W., is also' in the office,
while the fourth is a student. The daughters are. respec-
tively. May Louise and Ruby Lucille.
258
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PRESCOTT,
Governor of A'ezij Haiiipsliire^ iSyS-iSjg
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PRESCOTT.
A noteworthy figure in the hne of eminent chief magis-
trates who have adorned the governorship of New Hamp-
shire IS Benjamin Frankhn Prescott, who was born in
Eppmg Feb. 26, 1833, and who died in that town
Feb 21, 1895. He fitted for college at the Phillips-
Exeter academy and was graduated from Dartmouth in
i«.iO. His next few years were occupied with teaching
and the study of law, and in i860 he was admitted to
the bar. For one year he practised his profession, and
then bemg drawn into journalism through a recognition
of his literary gifts he was for five years a member of
the staff of the New Hampshire Statesman. Gov Pres-
cott s journalistic career covered the exciting period of
the Civil \\ ar, and his contributions to the columns of his
newspaper during tho.e years were recognized as no
slight factor m maintaining the consistent patriotism of
New Hampshire. In 1865 he was appointed a special
agei.t of the U. S. Treasury Departmei.t and remained
m that service tor four years. Gov. Prescott was one
of the founders of the Republican party and was advanced
o positions of trust in the party management. In 18=50
]ie was elected Secretary of the Republican State Com-
mittee and served in that capacity for fifteen years. In
1872 he was honored with the election of Secretary of
State and was three times re-elected. In 1877 by a pro^
cess of natural selection he was elevated to the governor-
ship and was re-elected in 1878. In 1880 he was chair-
259
STATE BUILDERS
man of the New Hampshire delegates to the Republican
National Convention at Chicago. In 1887 he was ap-
pointed a member of the State Board of Railroad Com-
missioners and was reappointed in 1890, retiring in 1893.
Governor Prescott was a man of marked literary, histor-
ical and oratorical gifts, a wide and discriminating mind
and possessed of sound learning, to which he added
keen judgment, unfailing discernment and an almost
unlimited capacity for hard work. Through sheer force
of intellect, supplemented with indomitable perseverance
he rose to high positions and was warmly welcomed in
the society of statesmen and scholars. He was a fellow
of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain, and
during his term as Governor was the guest at Montreal
of the then Governor General of Canada, the Marquis
of Lome and his Marchioness, the Princess Louise,
and in the presence of royalty New Hampshire's chief
magistrate was by no means ill at ease. He w'as for
many years Vice-President of the New Hampshire
Historical Society and was President of the Bennington
Battle Field Monument Association during all the years
of its effort to erect the magnificent memorial now stand-
ing on the field of that famous conflict. He was deeply
interested in the educational institutions of the state,
was for many years Trustee of the state College, and
was one of the first Alumni of Dartmouth to be honored
by his fellows with an election to^ the board of trustees
of that Listitution. This honor came to^ Governor Pres-
cott in 1878, and he held it until his death.
260
RT. REV. WILLIAM WOODRUFF NILES, D.D.,
Protestant Episcopal Bishop of New HainpsJiire
BISHOP WILLIAM W. NILES, D. D.
Rt. Rev. William Woodruff Niles, Bishop of New
Hampshire, was born in Hatley, Quebec, May 24, 1832.
His preliminary education was received at the Charles-
ton Academy in his native village, at Derby, Vermont;
and in 1857, he was graduated from Trinity College,
Hartford, Conn. He studied theology at the Berkeley
Divinity School, where he was graduated in 1861, and
in that year he was ordained deacon by the bishop of Con-
necticut. His first charge was as rector of St. Philip's
Church at Wiscasset, Me., where he remained for three
years, and where in May, 1862, he was elevated to the
priesthood. For six years he was professor of Latin in
Trinity College, and during three years of this time
served as rector of St. John's Church at Warehouse
Point, Conn.
Being elected to the bishopric of New Hampshire, he
was consecrated in St. Paul's Church, Concord, on St.
Matthew's Day, 1870. In that same year he received the
degree of Doctor of Divinity from Trinity. College, a like
honor coming to him from Dartmouth College in 1875.
In 1896, he was made Doctor of Laws by his Alma
Mater, and about this time Doctor of Civil Law by
Bishop's College in Quebec.
The work of this energetic churchman can hardly be
summarized within the brief limits of this sketch. Under
his direction all the interests of the diocese have flour-
ished wonderfully. Deeply interested in advancing the
261
STATE BUILDERS
educational facilities of the state he has been instrumental
not only in promoting the welfare of St. Paul's School,
a noted institution for boys which he found already well
established in his diocese upon his coming here, but he
has also- brought into being the well-endowed and thor-
oughly equipped Holderness School for boys, and the
successful St. Mary's School for Girls at Concord. The
number of parishes in the diocese has been largely in-
creased under his stimulating and aggressive leadership,
the value of church property has been many times multi-
plied, and the activity of the diocese in all lines has been
materially advanced.
In the House of Bishops of the American Church, he
now being one of the senior members. Bishop Niles is a
tower of strength, serving as an active member of many
of the most important boards for the promotion of church
work.
Bishop Niles is a scholar of brilliant attainment and
has performed great labors, being a member of the com-
mittee of the General Convention for the revision of the
list of chapters of Scripture to be read in church; of the
committee of revision of the Prayer Book; and of that for
the revision of marginal readings in the Bible.
Bisho]:) Xiles was married June 5. 1862, to Bertha
Olmsted, a descendant from one of the settlers of Hart-
ford, and he has four living children. His home estab-
lished in Concord at the episcopal residence erected for
him by the diocese is a centre of much culture and hospi-
tality, and he moves among the people of the state be-
loved and venerated, a faithful shepherd of his flock, a
good citizen and a sterling friend to humanity.
262
JOHN M. HUNT
JOHN M. HUNT.
John M. Hunt was born at Dracut, Mass., March 31st,
1797; died at Nashua, Oct. 30th, 1885. He was a son of
Israel Hunt, born Aug. 27th, 1758, died March 2nd,
1850, and Catherine (Noweh) Hunt, born June 15th,
1765, died ]\[ay 15th, 1850. Their ancestors came from
England in the seventeenth' century and were among the
early settlers in Massachusetts Bay colony. Their de-
scendants have been among the pioneers in near and re-
mote sections of this continent and many of them have
distinguished themselves in the service of their country,
in the professions and employments that developed that
civilization which was the crowning glory of the nine-
teenth century.
Mr. Hunt obtained a common school education, and
beyond that, for he was a well informed man on topics of
general interest, was self taught. From 1803 until his
death in 1885 he was one of the best known residents of
Nashua. In the beginning of his honorable career he was
in trade at the "Harbor" in a store that stood in the south
triangie where the Lowell and Dunstable roads form a
junction. He was also interested in a linen manufactur-
ing enterprise, the mill of which was located on the site
of the present Vale mill. The business was not success-
ful. In 1820 he w^as appointed postmaster of Nashua,
which office he held until July 1841. During all these
years, and in fact all during his active career, he took part
in town affairs and performed the duties of citizenship
263
STATE BUII-DERS
with fidelity to every trust, being town clerk and chairman
of the board of selectmen in 1830, 1833, 1834, 1835 and
1836, and instrumental in causing the first town report
to be issued to the taxpayers in printed form. When the
Nashua State bank, chartered at the June session of the
legislature in 1835, was organized in 1836, he was ap-
pointed cashier, which position of trust he held until the
bank closed its business in October, 1866. Hon. Isaac
Spalding was president of the bank during its entire life,
and it was a matter of pride with him and Mr. Hunt that
the institution never lost a dollar by a bad investment,
and that when its affairs were liquidated it paid its stock-
holders their principal and a handsome dividend in addi-
tion to the dividends paid yearly when it did business.
As a citizen, neighbor and friend, no man of his genera-
tion stood higher in the regard of the community. He
was democratic in all his ways and dealings; a man whose
influence in the community was always on the side of
justice, morality and religion. Mr. Hunt was a regular
attendant at the Unitarian church and a member of Ris-
ing Sun lodge, A. F. and A. M., of which he was senior
warden in 1826 and worshipful master in 1827. January
28th, 1833, Mr. Hunt was united in marriage with Mary
Ann Munroe, who was born in Lexington. Mass., Oct.
31st, 181 2; died at Nashua Dec. i. 1894. She was a
daughter of Thomas Munroe, born March 30th, 1785,
died July 8th, 1854, and Elizabeth (Jewett) Munroe,
born Sept. 8th, 1785, died Nov. 23rd. 1848. Mrs. Hunt's
ancestors were among the first English settlers in Massa-
chusetts, and a great number of their decendants have
made their mark in the world and have served, and are
still serving in honorable professions and callings. Mrs.
Hunt came to Nashua with her parents when she was a
child and her'home was here until her death. She was a
constant attendant at the Unitarian church and very much
interested in its work. In fact, she left a bequest to the
264
STATE BUILDERS
society. Also a bequest to establish tlie John M. Hunt
Home for aged couples and aged men, and a sufficient
sum to build and maintain the Home, in memory of her
husband. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs Hunt •
the first born April 8th, 1839, died in infancy; second'
Mary E. born April loth, 1842, unmarried. Mrs. Hunt
was a woman of retiring disposition, of modest deport-
ment and domestic tastes, devoted to her family.
265
FRANK S. STREETER.
Frank S. Streeter, president of the Xew Hampshire
state constitutional convention of 1902, and a recognized
leader at the bar of Northern New England, was born in
Charleston, Vermont, August 5, 1853, and completed his
preparatory course for college at St. Johnsbury academy
in that state. Entering Dartmouth he graduated in 1874,
having among- his classmates Frank N. Parsons, who be-
came Chief Justice of the New Hampshire supreme court;
Edwin G. Eastman, who became Attorney General of
the state in 1902; Samuel W. McCall and Samuel J.
Powers, both congressmen from Massachusetts.
Immediately following his graduation from Dart-
mouth Air. Streeter served for a while as principal of the
high school in Ottumwa. Iowa, but soon relinquished
teaching" to enter upon the study of law, the practice of
which he designed as his life work and for which profes-
sion he was eminently equipped by nature and inclination.
He became a student at law in the town of Bath and in
the office of the late Chief Justice Alonzo P. Carpenter,
who is remembered by his associates and contemporaries
at the Bar as having possessed one of the best trained
judicial minds that ever added lustre and renown to the
New Hampshire bench.
Admitted to the bar in 1877 he opened an office in the
town of Orford but maintained it for only a few months,
leaving Orford for that wider field, the city of Concord,
to enter which he was urged by those who had thus early
recognized his ability and promise as a lawyer. It was
in the autumn of 1877 that he arrived in Concord and
266
FRANK S. STREETER
STATE BUILDERS
entered upon that professional career which was des-
tined to be of so great credit to himself and the bar ouL
state. Dm.ng the greater part of his first two yea s in
Concord he had as a partner in practice Gen. John H
Albm. Later the firm of Chase & Streeter was formed
and contmued for more than twelve years, whenTt wa
succeeded by that of Streeter & Mollis
car^eTM^ s/T/'",'"^""""^ °^ '''' professional
career Mi. Streeter has been identified with that line of
practice having to do with corporation law, a line that
slweTor'^n '" fi"-^^.-^-^' tact and acumen it is po -
sible foi the lawyer to display, as it is likewise the most
mvitmg field for the practitioner of to-dav. For a num-
ber of years he has most acceptabl)^ servecl in the position
of general counsel, such vast commercial interests as the
Bostoi. and Mame railroad, the New England Telephone
and lelegraph company, and the Western Union Tele-
grai^h company. His realm of a more private practice is
iaige, exclusive, and of a most varied nature
th.t at'- Z''''\''^T '' ' "''"'^"^ °^ ^^'^ ^^^^1 profession
that All. Streeter has gained prominence and the sincere
approbation of the people. He has recognized and met
the obligations ot good citizenship, and that in a wholly
chsinterested manner. He is first of all true to what he
mves his ellow man and state as a member of societv
He IS, and naturally so, a leader of the Republican forces
n New Hampshire, and if the list of his political offices
is a short one it is because he has asked his political asso-
ciates to bestow their favors upon others rather than
upon himself. He yielded to the wishes of his party
friends to become a member of the state legislature in
icS8^, and m 1902 by the vote of all parties he became a
member ot the constitutional convention. By an ex-
tremely flattering vote he was chosen president of the
convention, and that by a body of men among whom
were the intellectual leaders of the state. At the time
of his election he had not completed the fiftieth vear of
his age, and thus his election to the high office at such
267
STATE BUILDERS
an age emphasized all the more the estimate placed upon
him by his convention associates.
In 1892 he presided over the Republican state conven-
tion, which nominated Gov. John B. Smith, and in 1896
he was sent as delegate-at-large to the National conven-
tion at St. Louis, where he served on the committee on
resolutions, and was powerfully instrumental in securmg
the platform declaration in favor of the gold standard.
In 1900 he declined a proffered election to represent New
Hampshire on the Republican National committee. For
many years he has been a member of the Republican
State committee, and since 1896 he has represented Mer-
rimack county on the executive committee of that body.
From the day of his graduation from Dartmouth col-
lege Mr. Streeter has been among the most active and
influential of its alumni. He is a life member of his alma
mater's board of trustees as such representing the alumni.
268
COLONEL WILLL^M S. PILLSBURY
COL. WILLIAM S. PILLSBURY.
In the industrial development of Derry, its towns-
people are agreed that the chief meed of praise should be
accorded Col. William Staughton Pillsbury, who was
practically the founder and the real builder of the town's
present great shoe-manufacturing industry. He has been
mstant, in season and out of season, in fostering and
furthering along all commercial and industrial enter-
prises. Born in the town of Londonderry, he represents
a family famous in the annals of state and nation, and
especially for what they accomplished in American in-
dustrial life._ The Pillsburys of flour fame were his
kinsmen, while his own immediate family was conspicu-
ous likewise in the ecclesiastical, political, and educa-
tional life of New Hampshire. His father was the Rev.
Stephen Pillsbury, a clerg^mian of the Baptist denomina-
tion, whose pastorates in Sutton, Dunbarton, and Lon-
donderry covered a period of thirty-five years. Colonel-
Pillsbury's mother was born Lavinia' Hobart, and
throughout her life of seventy-six years was esteemed for
the nobility of her character, as an exemplar of the Chris-
tian life, and for her intellectual accomplishments.
Colonel Pillsbury was born in Londonderry, and this is
his present place of residence. The family'homestead is
a short two miles from his office and factories in Derry.
Colonel Pillsbury has a most honorable war record,
which began with service as first lieutenant in the Fourth
New Hampshire regiment. Later he was commissioned
first lieutenant in the Ninth New Hampshire, serving in
the same company of which his brother, Leonard Hobart,
269
STATE BUILDERS
was the captain, a circumstance which indicates with
what esteem the then boys were held in the communitv
and state. With his company he participated in the
battle of South Mountain, and in this he distinguished
himself by the discovery of a movement by the Confed-
erates in time to save his company from a probable ter-
rible loss. Just as Lieutenant Pillsbury had safely led
his command from the ambush in which it had nearly
fallen, Major-General Jesse Reno, commander of the
Union forces, rode along the line and in the direction of
the Confederate position in which they were supported
by a battery. Lieutenant Pillsbury pointing out the loca-
tion of the enemy warned Reno of his danger, but the
warning was unheeded, and scarcely three minutes later
General Reno was killed, and in his death the Union
cause lost one of its ablest commanders.
Another incident in the army career of Colonel Pills-
bury has a distinct and highly important bearing on the
much discussed question whether Barbara Frietchie, the
heroine of \Miittier's poem, was a real or fictitious per-
sonage. Colonel Pillsbury is emphatic in asserting that
she was not a creation of the gifted poet's imagination,
and his testimony as to the genuineness of her existence,
and that she did wave the Stars and Stripes as Stonewall
Jackson and his army marched "all day long through
Frederick town," is to the point and convincing. Colonel
Pillsbury says that as his regiment, as part of the Union
army, followed Jackson and the Confederates through
Frederick, a resident of the town pointed out to him a
house with the remark that only the day before an aged
Unionist woman had waved from its window the Stars
and Stripes as the Confederates marched on. Whittier
had not then, in all probability, heard of the incident,
much less penned the words that thrilled the whole North
with patriotism, and renewed its faith in the cause of the
perpetuitv of the L^nion. The resident of Frederick spoke
to Lieutenant Pillsbury, as his company made a tempo-
rary halt, and there is not the slightest ground for pre-
suming that Barbara Frietchie and her flag were a mental
270
STATE BUILDERS
creation of this citizen of Frederick. These incidents
of the warning- to General Reno and of the genuineness
of the personahty of Barbara Frietchie are pubhshed now
for the first time in a personal narrative of Colonel
Pillsbury.
At the conclusion of the war between the states, Lieu-
tenant Pillsbury returned home and at once re-engaged
in shoe manufacturing, a business he had learned in all
its many details prior to his service in the army. He at
first engag'ed in the making of shoes in his native Lon-
donderry, but ere long began manufacturing in Derry,
w^here his business life has since been passed.
At the time of his going to Derry to engage in busi-
ness, the West or Depot village, as it was then called,
was a mere hamlet of a few scattered houses, and the
building that served the utmost purpose of his factory
was no larger than an ordinary dwelling. Step by step
the little plant has grown until to-day it has a capacity
that gives employment to some six hundred employees,
and is equipped throughout with the latest devised ma-
chinery. Li course of time he admitted into partnership,
in his shoe manufacturing enterprise, a son, Rosecrans
W., under the firm name of W. S. & R. W. Pillsbur}^
This house ranks with the most progressive and pros-
perous business interests in the state. Continuous growth
has been the law of the ])lant, and this expansion from
the little beginning is significantly portrayed in the en-
graved letter head of the firm. In the illustration is the
original factory and near to it the present great plant,
the whole silently yet most effectively setting forth the
history of the grand success of the enterprise.
Colonel Pillsbury is a man not only of great courage
and energy, but one who knows the value of method and
system. He possesses to a marked degree that faculty
known as the initiative and the skill, the persistency, and
insistency to carry out that which he originates. He
likes business for its own sake and is ever ready to do
that which will add to the advantage of Derry and his
own home town, Londonderry. He has been much in
271
STATE BUILDERS
political life. Away back in 1868 he was a commissioner
for Rockingham county. As a county commissioner he
proved a most efficient official. In 1877 1^^ '^vas an aide
on the staff of Governor Prescott and from that date has
borne the title of "colonel." As a "good citizen" he has
actively participated in Londonderry's town affairs. For
near a generation he served as moderator, as trustee of
the public library, and on committees almost without end.
He served a term as a member of the legislature many
years ago. and was a member of the senate, his term ex-
piring with the year 1902. His church home is the
Congregational. He is a Mason, and member of various
business and social organizations. He has always been
a liberal contributor in both Londonderry and Derry.
He is democratic, whole-souled, and sympathetic, and his
going and coming among the people of Derry has ever
been an inspiration to the people but never more so than
to-day. His home is a beautiful one, solid and substan-
tial, warm and cheery like its owner. Quite recently
Colonel Pillsbury has given a valuable piece of land as
the site for a new proposed municipal building in Derry.
For thirty years it has been his w^ont to visit his Boston
office four or five times a week, and he has long possessed
a wide acquaintance among the shoe trade from the At-
lantic to the Pacific.
272
COLONEL FRANCIS W. PARKER
COL. F. W. PARKER.
Colonel Francis W. Parker, world famed educator, was
born in that part of the town of Bedford now included in
the city of Manchester, October 9, 1837, and died at Pass
Christian, Missouri, March 2, 1902.
In his youth he worked on a farm and pursued steadily
the idea of gaining an education. First he attended the
district school at Piscataquog and later, in succession, the
academies in Bedford, Mont Vernon and Hopkinton.
When he was 17 years of age he began to^ teach school,
first at Boscawen and then at Auburn and at Piscataquog,
having been principal of the grammar school in the latter
place. In 1858 he went to Carrol ton, Illinois, where he
remained as principal of a grammar school until the Civil
War broke out.
When this call of duty sounded he promptly returned
to New Hampshire and entered the Fourth N. H. Volun-
teers as a lieutenant, enlisting at Manchester. His war
record was a brilliant one, his regiment seeing some very
hard fighting and his part in it being of the foremost and
best. He was wounded and once taken prisoner and when
the war ended he had fought his way to the brevet rank
of colonel, bestowed upon him for conspicuous bravery.
At the close of the war Colonel Parker engaged in
educational work once more, at first in Dayton, Ohio,
where he was appointed the principal of the first normal
school in that city. After taking a trip abroad, he was
elected superintendent of schools in Quincy, Mass., and
273
STATE BUILDERS
there first began to attract the attention of the entire edu-
cational world by his original work.
In 1880 he became one of the supervisors of Boston
schools and soon afterwards was chosen principal of the
Cook county normal school in Chicago. Later he joined
the staff of Chicago University where his merits as an
authority upon, and investigator of educational methods
was fully appreciated.
To' speak fittingly of Colonel Parker's life work would
require the full knowledge and trained pen of a fellow
expert along those lines. But even the layman in such
matters knows that tO' this brave and honored son of New
Hampshire is due great credit for the vast strides in ad-
vance which the cause of education has made in the last
two score years. As a soldier he did more than his
share to save his country; and then he devoted himself
with the talents God had given him to the proper train-
ing and culture of the youth of the new nation that was
rising into glorious power.
274
CHARLES ROBERT CORNING
CHARLES ROBERT CORNING.
vSince 1899 the judge of probate for Merrimack county
has been Charles Robert Corning, who was born in the
city of Concord on the twentieth of December, 1855. He
was educated in the city schools, later continuing his
studies at Phillips (Andover) academy, and under a
private tutor. Selecting the legal profession as a life
calling he was in 1883 admitted to the bar and began
active practice. He at once demonstrated that he pos-
sessed the judicial temperament to a fine degree, and that
his natural and acquired attainments fitted him for suc-
cess and leadership and especially as a counsellor. This
early recognition of the qualities within the man on the
part of his fellow-citizens and neighbors prompted them
to send him to the popular branch of the state legislature
m 1878 when he was only twenty-three, having been one
of the youngest men ever chosen tO' a like position in any
state of the Union. In 1883, the year of his admission
to the bar, he was again returned to the legislature, a fact
that shows the manner in which he fulfilled the duties
imposed upon him in the first session was eminently sat-
isfactory to his constituents. At the Commencement
Exercises in 1887, Dartmouth College conferred the de-
gree of A. M. on Mr. Corning. In 1889 he was sent
to the state senate and served upon its more important
committees. In 1891 he received from President Harri-
son the appointment of assistant attorney in the United
States department of justice and held this position
275
STATE BUILDERS
until 1894. His appointment to the probate judgeship
of Merrimack county gave widespread satisfaction,
for all knew that in Judge Corning were those quali-
ties of heart and mind that make the ideal judge of
such a court. In this current year of 1902 Judge Corn-
ing was elected Mayor of his native city for a term of
two years. Under his administration Avill be built the
new city hall. His fellow-citizens believe that they have
in him a chief executive eminently fitted to discharge
every duty of tlie important office. Judge Corning is a
member of Blazing Star lodge, F. & A. M., Concord.
276
HORACE P. WATTS
HORACE P. WATTS.
Among the New Hampshire men whose business sa-
'gacity and enterprise and rugged honesty of character
entitles them to be classed among the builders of the state,
was the late Horace P. Watts of Manchester. Born in
the suburb of Goff's Falls, in 1819, the son of Daniel and
Polly (Darrah) Watts, he lived nearly his whole life as a
citizen of Manchester, and when he passed to his reward
the morning of August 14, 1890, he was sincerely
mourned by a wide circle of friends and associates, whose
love and respect he had gained by his admirable traits of
character and his walk and conversation for many years.
Mr. Watts gained his early education in those nurseries
of sturdy character and independence, the public schools
of his vicinity, and continued it at Pinkerton academy in
Derry, then, as now, distinguished for the thoroughness
of its instruction and the character of its graduates. He
early entered upon a business career and by his shrewd-
ness and energy established a successful business. After
a time he became a member oi the milling firm of Hall,
Watts & Co., which for a long time conducted the exten-
sive flour and milling business on the Piscataquog river,
on the site now occupied by the American Shuttle com-
pany's mill, previously operated by J. Baldwin & Son.
This business was one of the most extensive of its kind in
the State, and at the time of its destruction by fire in
1875, it was grinding about seventy-five thousand bushels
of wheat and the same amount of corn per annum. From
277
STATE BUILDERS
this time on, j\Ir. Watts engaged himself entirely in bank-
ing and financial matters and in the charitable and church
work in which he had always been largely interested. ]\lr.
Watts was one of the directors of the jManchester Na-
tional bank, and for a time a director of the old Nashua
& Lowell railroad, now absorbed in the Boston & Maine
system. He was also a director of the First National
bank of Castleton, Dakota, and president of the Security
Loan & Trust company of the same place. In various
capacities he was interested in other leading financial in-
stitutions. No local enterprise of a public nature failed
to receive his support. He was an active member of the
Manchester Board of Trade. Wlien it became neces-
sary to build the First Congregational church, he was
largely instrumental in causing its removal to the fine
location at the corner of Hanover and Union streets and
contributed $5000 to the erection of the new edifice, and
he was for ten years president of the society of the
Church.
In the charitable work of Manchester, as has been said,
Mr. Watts was much interested. The Elliot hospital, the
Children's home, the City mission and the Woman's Aid
home were objects of his solicitude and liberal contribu-
tions.
He was firm, yet kind; generous, yet just; calm, deliber-
ate, and thoughtful, weighing his every act in the scales
of right.
His lofty symmetrical character, his life of imselfish
purity and benevolence, won for him the confidence, re-
spect, and esteem of all whose life he entered. Few men
merited a more prominent position in the aft'airs of the
city in which he lived than did he. Yet his retiring, mod-
est disposition caused him to refuse many honors which
his fellow citizens would have gladly bestowed upon him.
Politically, Mr. Watts was a Republican, but never an
active aspirant for political honors. He represented Lon-
278
STATE BUILDERS
donderry in the legislature in 1865 and served for a time
as commissioner for Rockingham county, and served on
the board of assessors in Manchester one year. Mr.
Watts married in 1842, Maria Boyd, who survived him
five years, her death occurring March 28, 1895. Of this
union there were born four children; one, a boy, passed
away in infancy. His oldest daughter, now deceased,
Martha B., married W. F. Holmes; his second daughter,
Annie E., is the wife of Rosecrans W. Pillsbury of Lon-
donderry, and Mary Alice was his third daughter.
To his home life Mr. Watts was especially devoted.
The attractions of politics had few charms for him, and
he never allowed the cares of business tO' deprive him of
the pleasures of his own family.
279
MISS MARY ALICE WATTS.
The American woman is undoubtedly the highest type
of her sex. Her supremacy is as inexphcable to the for-
eigner as it is everywhere acknowledged. In what it
consists authorities disagree. Whether it be in her easy
adaptation to all circumstances and conditions; in that
comprehensive education which she receives, beginning
in public schools and completed in academy, seminary or
college; in that native alertness, intelligence and tact
which are hers universally, the American woman has
secured her fame and reputation in the world.
Miss Mary Alice Watts of Manchester is a beautiful
example of this American type. Born as she was in the
most populous and enterprising city of New Hampshire,
she received her early education in the public schools of
her native place. No institution in this country has so
justified its existence as the public school. It teaches
those who pass through it to appreciate men and women
at their true value, and as a foundation for higher culture
has no real competitor. Supplementing this with a
course at the celebrated Ablx)tt academy, of Andover,
Mass., and a year spent in travel across the Atlantic,
Miss Watts had exceptional opportunities for observa-
tion and self-culture. These she thoroughly improved
and as a result she is one of the most pleasing and enter-
taining of conversa'tionalists. Her beautiful home on
Beech street, the family residence, contains many
souvenirs of her extensive travel, and her library is filled
MARY ALICE WATTS
STATE BUILDERS
with the best works of leading- writers in poetr)^, histor}%
fiction and all the departments of literature. Her home
displays all the e^■idences of refined and cultured tastes,
and is the centre of a delightful yet unobtrusive hospi-
talit}-. Naturally Miss A\'atts is a social favorite, her
graces of mind and manner attracting- many friends and
retaining them. Like the t^-pical American woman that
she is, Miss Watts is largely interested in the philan-
thropic institutions of the cit}-, and her life is filled with
numberless acts of kindness. The \\'oman'3 Aid home
and the Elliot hospital, of which she is a trustee, are con-
spicuously objects of her solicitude, and the City Mis-
sion and Children's home are not strangers to her bount}'.
Trained and experienced in business matters as she is,
possessed of executive abilit}- and administering her
affairs with wisdom and skill, she has lost thereby none
of the graces of womanhood, and in that sense also is
typical of the cultured American lady — always approach-
able, amiable and kind, able to do, but graceful in the
doing. Her home life is simple and peculiarly attractive,
and the sweetness and nobilit}- of her character are recog-
nized by all who come within the circle of her influence.
She is a member of the First Congregational church, and
a valued helper in the varied work of the societ}-. whose
\oity ideals, attractive personalit}- and charming man-
ners are a pcwer for good in the community'.
281
HENRY F. HOLLIS.
Henry French HoUis, of Concord, the most widely-
known man of his age in New Hampshire, was born in
West Concord, August 30, 1869, the son of Major Abijah
and Harriette V. JM. (French) HolHs. He traces his
ancestry on both sides to leaders in the colonial and early
national history of onr country. His father is a veteran of
the Civil war and a prominent business man of Concord
for half a century. One maternal great-grandfather was
William M. Richardson of Chester, who was Chief Jus-
tice of the N. H. Supreme Court from 1816 to 1838,
while the other maternal great-grandfather was Daniel
French, Attorney-General of the state. His maternal
grandfather was Hon. Henry F. French, Judge of the
N. H. Court of Common Pleas, and Assistant Secretary
of the United States Treasury from Grant to Cleveland.
An uncle is Daniel C. French, the sculptor.
Henry F. Hollis was graduated from the Concord High
school in 1886 and for the ensuing year was engaged in
railroad engineering between Denver and San Francisco
and in a survey of the intervening mountain passes. Re-
turning East he prepared at Concord, Mass., to enter
Harvard college, graduating in the class of 1892. He at-
tended the Harvard Law School and also studied law
with the late Judge William L. Foster of Concord.
In 1893 he was admitted to the bar and since that time
has practised his profession with notable success in New
Hampshire and other courts. Since 1899 he has been a
282
HENRY FRENCH HOLLIS
10^
STATE BUILDERS
partner of Attorney General Edwin G. Eastman under
the firm name of Eastman & Hollis, and the important
cases which they have handled are too numerous to men-
tion.
Mr. Hollis served one term on the board of education
in Concord, declining- a re-election ; and has been a trustee
of the New Hampshire Savings bank since 1895. He is
a member of many clubs and societies, and is as popular
socially as would be expected of a gentleman possessing
as much affability, culture and savoir faire.
In 1900 Mr. Hollis sprang full-armed into the arena
of politics and in the few years that have since elapsed he
has made himself a national figure and has achieved a
reputation that for so young a man, in the ranks of a
minority party, is little short of marvellous.
in 1900 he was the candidate of the New Hampshire
Democracy for congress in the second district and made
a vigorous and brilliant campaign, speaking extensively
and gaining wide credit for both eloquence and good
sense. In the summer of 1902 he was one of the prime
mov s in the formation of the New England Democratic
.^cv^ue, serving as its secretary and treasurer. He is,
also, the New Hampshir.'e member of the national Demo-
cratic congressional committee.
In the summer of 1902 he was unanimously called to
the chairmanship of the New Hampshire Democratic
committee and this position he filled most ably for several
months until another imperative call came from his party
that he should be its standard bearer in the gubernatorial
campaign. This duty he took up and discharged, as he
does all that comes to him in the varied walks of life, with
energy, enthusiasm, good judgment and sincere purpose.
It is believed that no candidate for governor in New
Hampshire ever ran so far ahead of his ticket as did Mr.
Hollis, w^-'o was defeated by only 8,000 votes, the regular
Republic. 1 majority being 15,000.
283
TOHX HENRY .\LBIX.
John Henn- Albin of Concord., successful lawyer, rail-
road president and man of affairs, was bom in Randolph,
Vt., October 17, 1843, the son of Tobji and Emily
(V.'hite) Albin, his ancestors on both sides coming from
England to America during the Colonial period.
His parents moving to Concord in his youth, he pre-
pared in the public and High schools of that city for
DartTJiouth college, from which he graduated in the class
of 1864. He then studied law in the office of Hon. Ira
A. Eastman of Concord and was admitted to the bar in
1868. From that date he has been continuously engaged
in the practice of his profession in Concord, and has
attained high rank in all its branches, but especially in
the department of corporate law.
Always a stalwart Republican, Mr. .Vlbin has sen-ed
two terms in the legislature, where he did valuable ser\-ice
and was an acknowledged leader of his party.
Mr. Albin has been largely engaged in the develop-
ment and management of steam and electric railroad
properties in Xew England, showing in this capacity re-
markable executive ability. He is president and a di-
rector of the Sullivan County railroad of Xew Hamp-
shire; director of the Connecticut River railroad of Mas-
sachusetts; and director of the A'ermont \'alle}- railroad
of Vermont. Until its recent sale to a s}-ndicate he was
the president and principal owner of the Concord street
railway, a propert}" which was greatly enlarged and im-
proved under his control.
284
JOHN H. ALBIN
STATE BUILDERS
The I. O. O. F. of the state and nation owe much to
General Albin's long and influential connection with the
order. He was Grand Master of the grand lodge of
New Hampshire in 1879, ^^^ ^'^^ several sessions repre-
sented the grand lodge of the state in the Sovereign
grand lodge, of which body he afterwards served as
grand marshal for several sessions. While an officer of
the sovereign grand lodge he prepared the ritual and was
largely the author of the legislation which established
the Patriarch Militant rank of the order. He was one
of the founders of the Odd Fellows home of New Hamp-
shire and has served as one of its trustees since its organ-
ization.
Mr. Albin was married on September 5, 1872, to Miss
Georgia A. Mordica, who passed away during the pres-
ent year (1902) after a beautiful and useful life in her
home, in her church and in society. To them two chil-
dren were born : Henry A. Albin, superintendent of the
Concord & Manchester Street railway, and Miss Edith
G. Albin.
General Albin's career has been a singularly successful
one, and it is still at its flood tide. His thorough and
accurate knowledge of the law and his power as an advo-
cate have placed him at the head of his profession; his
sagacity and enterprise have won him an assured posi-
tion in business circles; and his genial and magnetic
personality, coupled with his distinguished abilities, have
made him an honored and esteemed member of the so-
cial and public life of the community.
285
JOHN HOSLEY.
John Hosley was born in Hancock ^May 12, 1826, and
died in Manchester March 24, 1890.
He was one of nine children of Saniuel and Sophia
(Wilson) Hosley and was of English ancestry on both
sides. His mother's lineage traced back to 1640 when
Rev. John Wilson settled at the head of Wilson's Lane in
Boston. Mr. Hosley was also a lineal descendant of Gov-
ernor John Wlnthrop. His great-grandfather, James
Hosley, was a prominent official of the town of Town-
send, jVlass., and in 1775 was captain of the ''alarm list"
that marched to the defence of Cambridge. Later he was
captain of a company which marched to the assistance of
General Gates at Saratoga. After the Revolution this
James Hosley moved to Hancock, and the same farm he
then occupied was handed down to his descendants.
John Hosley worked on a farm in youth and made the
most of what schooling he could get. W^hen he was twen-
ty years of age he went to Manchester and went to work
as a shoe cutter for jMoses Fellows, the fourth mayor of
the city. In 1849 ]Mr. Hosley began work as a weaver in
the Amoskeag Mills, but the gold excitement then preva-
lent caught him in its rush and carried him in 1851 to
California where he remained two years. Returning to
Manchester he was for a time in the grocery business,
then became an overseer in the Amoskeag ]Mills and re-
mained in that position until 1865.
Mr. Hosley was a member of the common council in
286
JOHN HOSLEY
STATE BUILDERS
1856-57; member of the school board in 1861-62; and
alderman in 1863, '64, "71, '81 and '82. Upon the death
of Mayor Daniels in 1865 Alderman Hosley was chosen
to fill the vacancy and the next year he was elected mayor
as a citizens' candidate. In 1886 he was again chosen
mayor. He was city tax collector in 1875-76. In 1865
he was a delegate to the national union convention in
Philadelphia.
Mr. Hosley was a gentleman of the old school, a true
descendant of a race of hardy pioneers, inheriting the cool
judgment and great ability of his ancestors. He was
strictly honest and conscientious in all his public and
private dealings, and the fact that he was so often called
to fill important public offices emphasizes the apprecia-
tion and admiration with which he was regarded by his
contemporaries.
He stepped from the ranks of the workers to the helm
of affairs at the instance of those who knew his worth,
and filled each position to^ the city's honor and his own.
It was men like John Hosley who made Manchester the
city she is and to them she owes a heavy debt.
Mr. Hosley married in 1854 Dorothea H., daughter oi
Samuel and Cornelia Jones of Weare. They had one
daughter, Marian J., wife of Dr. William M. Parsons of
Manchester. Mr. Hosley was a Unitarian in religious
belief, a member of Hillsboroiigh lodge, I. O. O. F., of
Lafayette lodge, A. F. and A. M., and of the Knights
Templar.
287
ALICE :S[. M. CHESLEY, M. D.
Alice AL 'M. Chesley, 'M. D., of Exeter, one of the
most widely known and highly successful of the women
physicians of New Hampshire, was born in Nottingham,
that state, October 14, 1861, the daughter of Dr. Lafay-
ette and Mrs, Hannah D, (Jones) Chesley. Her father
was a practising physician in Exeter so that her predilec-
tion for her chosen profession was inherited as well as
acquired. As a young girl Miss Chesley was eager to
gain a broad and thorough culture. She graduated at
the High school in Cliarlestown, ]\Iass., at Chester
academy, and at the Maine State normal school. She
studied two years at Ann Arbor, Mich., but was called
home by the death of her father and sister. Her med-
ical education was then completed at Tufts college,
Boston. Mass.
Large hospital experience at Detroit, New York and
Boston has supplemented her professional studies and
has given her skill of such degree as to secure for her
a large practice in Exeter. She is a member of the New
Hampshire ^Medical society, admission to which is a
recognition of ethical and practical devotion to the sci-
ence of medicine.
Dr. Chesley's ability and faithfulness have been recog-
nized outside the beaten paths of her profession, for her
services were sought and secured by the county of Rock-
ingham for the important and laborious task of revising
and indexing the records book, dating back to 1622.
288
'MSit
ALICE M. M. CHESLEY, M.D.
STATE BUILDERS
This work was done so carefully and well as to gain
general praise.
Dr. Chesley's career is an excellent illustration of
what the young womanhood of New England can ac-
complish when its ability and application are commen-
surate with its ambition. Every woman physician who
unites in herself, as Miss Chesley does, industry, intel-
ligence, skill, training and a sincere desire to serve, fills
a want, great and long recognized.
289
CHAXXEY ADAMS. M D.
Cliaiicey Adams. A. ]\I.. M. D.. a successful medical
practitioner of Concord, was bom in Xonh Xew Port-
land, Me., Marcii 15. 1S61, son of Benjamin and Eliza
Briton (^Sawyer) Adams. He belong^s to a branch of
the famous old Massachusetts family of the same name.
Henr}- Adams, the founder of the Massadiusetts family,
was an English emigrant, who came over to this countr)*
in the year 1630, \\-ith his eight sons and settled in
Braintree, in the Colony of Massachiisetts. Of tliese
eight sons, one subsequently returned tc England. The
names of the otliers according to the records of Massa-
chusetts, were: Peter, Henry, Thomas, Edward. Jona-
than. Samuel and Joseph. Samuel ^^as the father of
two sons, one of whom was Joseph Adams, who lived
in Xorth Chelmsford, Mass. Joseph was the father of
Benjamin Adams, who was tlie father of W'illiam
Adams, who was the father of Solomon Adams, who
was th.e great-grandfather of Dr. Adams. Solomon
Adams migrated from Xorth Chelmsford, Mass., his
native town, to Farmington, Me., at the dose of the
Revolutionar>- \\'ar. The record shows that he served
his countT}- during that war from May 15, 1777, to May
15. 17S0. in Captain James ^'amllm's company, of
Colonel Michad Jackson's r^ment; but his active mili-
tary- ser^4ce actually extended beyond these dates. A\'il-
liam Adams, son oi Solomon and grandfather of Dr.
Adams, was a native of Famiington. Me, He passed
200
CHAXCEY ADAMS, M.D.
STATE BUILDERS
his entire life in that town, engaged in farming, and
died June 12, 1862, at the age of seventy-three years.
He married Nancy Hiscock, and had a numerous family
of children, of whom three died in infancy. The others
were born as follows: Thomas H., March 14, 1813;
Hannah B., October 19, 181 5; William, Jr., August 21,
1817; Nancy K., August 4, 1819; John R., August 17,
1821; Benjamin, April 7, 1823; Samuel, April 11, 1825;
Lucy J., October 6, 1829; and Dolly, September 3, 1835.
Of these Benjamin, the father of Dr. Adams, was the
last survivor. He was a native of Farmington, Me. In
early manhood he studied law while teaching school,
and was subsequently admitted to the Franklin County
bar. He then took up his residence in North New Port-
land, INIe., where he was engaged in the practice of his
profession from 1847 to 1870, when he moved to North
Anson, Me. From 1849 to 1854 he was Postmaster at
North New Portland. He was Register of Probate from
1854 to 1855. In 1873 1^^ "^^'^s a member of the House
of Representatives of the ]\Iaine legislature. He was a
Congregationalist in religious belief. In 1849 he mar-
ried Eliza Briton SaAvyer, daughter of Ephraim and
Elizabeth (Williams) Sawyer. During the last nine
years of his life he made his home with his son, Dr.
Adams, at Concord, N. PI. He died at the Margaret
Pillsbury General Hospital at Concord, N. H., of apo-
plexy, on July 17, 1902, after a short illness of five days,
at the ad\-anced age of seAent}--nine years, three months
and ten days.
Eliza B. Adams, born in New Portland, Maine, was
one of twelve children, of whom five died before reach-
ing the age of ten years. The others were born as fol-
lows: William, September 3, 1803; Sophronia, January
I, 1807: Emeline, January 23, 1810; Ann, October
9, 1812; Albina, February 15, 1815: \'iola F., April 5,
1818; and Eliza B ,, January 29, 1824.
291
STATE BUILDERS
Mrs. Adams died at North New Portland, Me., of
pneumonia, April 20, 1893, after a short illness of three
days. She was a Universalist in religions belief,
Lemuel Williams, the grandfather of Mrs. Adams,
was a native of Woolwich, Mass., now in Maine. Hav-
ing enlisted in Colonel Nixon's regiment, he served
during a part of the Revolutionary War. The children
of Benjamin Adams were Sarah Frances, Ellen Maria,
and Chancey. Sarah Frances, who married John P,
Clark, a lumberman of Skowhegan, Me., has had six chil-
dren, of whom five are living. Ellen jNIaria died at the
age of two and one-half years.
Chancey Adams was educated in the district schools
of North Anson, Me., and at Anson Academy, graduat-
ing from the latter institution in the class of 1880. For
six months after his graduation he was employed in the
drug store at North Anson. Then, feeling the need of
additional education, he entered Waterville Classical In-
stitute (now Coburn Classical Institute, Waterville,
Me.), and graduated from the same in 1881. In the
autumn he became a student of Colby University (now
Colby College) in Waterville, and, after completing the
course, graduated in 1885. After this he taught for
several terms in the district schools of Waldoboro and
Embden and in the Phillips High School. Having de-
cided to enter the medical profession, he attended the
Portland Medical School and the Maine Medical School
in Brimswick during the years 1888, 1890, and 1891,
graduating (from the latter institution) in June of the
last named year. From 1886 to 1891 he employed all
his spare time in a drug store in the interests of his in-
tended profession. After graduating from the Maine
Medical School, he entered the United States Marine
Hospital at Staten Island. Thence he went to Taunton,
Mass., as assistant physician in the insane asylum of that
city, where he remained until January i, 1893. Desiring
292
STATE BUILDERS
to qualify himself still further for the medical profession,
he then went to New York City, and took a three
months' course in the Post-Graduate Medical School and
Hospital, After this, on September 26, 1893, he opened
an office in Concord, where he has since been in active
practice. Dr. Adams already occupies a front place in
his chosen calling, and his ability and skill are acknowl-
edged by his medical associates. He has been elected
a member of the North Bristol (Mass.) Medical Society,
which made him a member of the Massachusetts State
Medical Society. He also belongs to the Centre District
Medical Society of New Hampshire and the New Hamp-
shire State Medical Society. On January 25, 1897, he
was elected City Physician of Concord for two years.
On March 9, 1903, he was elected to the Board of Health
of Concord for three years.
On January 9, 1893, Dr. Adams married Laurinda
Clara Coombs of Gloucester, Mass. They have had
three children; Benjamin W., who died in infancy; Ed-
mund Chancey and Elizabeth Beimer. In politics the
Doctor is a Democrat, and he cast his first Presidential
vote for Grover Cleveland in 1884. In 1887 he was
made a Mason in Northern Star Lodge, No. 28, A. F. &
A. M., North Anson, Me., but is now a member of Blaz-
ing Star Lodge, No. 11, A. F. & A. M. of Concord; and
of Concord Lodge, No. 8, K. of P., of Concord. Amply
qualified by the services rendered to their country by his
ancestry on both sides, Dr. Adams is also a member of the
Sons of the American Revolution of Concord.
293
CHARLES H. SAWYER.
Charles llctiry Sawyer, governor of Xew llampsliire
from 1887 to 1889. was 1xm-ii at W'atertvAvn. New N'ork.
IMarch 30. 1840. the eldest son of Jona'nan and Martha
(Perkins) Sawyer. W'hen he was ten years of age. his
father removed to Dover. Xew Hampshire, where the
son after spending six years in the public schools of that
city, was entered as an apprentice in the Sawyer mills,
established by his father, where he thoroughly acquainted
himself by actual laix^r with every branch of the business,
and at the age of twenty-six was made superimendent of
the plant. In 1873. the company being incorporated, he
became one of the ow ners and advanced successixely to
the posts of general director and president. During his
administration of this invlustrx- it rose to a promment
position among the largest and strongest woollen maim-
facturing corporations in the country, a result due in no
small measure to the capacity and ability of the president
of the company.
His marked adaptability to posts of executive manag-e-
ment centre<^^l u\)on him the attention of his fellow-citizens,
and while still a young man he served m Ix^th branches
of the city government of Dover and for four terms was
sent to represent that community in the state legislature,
serving- during the sessions of 1869 and 1870, 1876. and
1877. and tilling important positions upon the largest
committees of the house. In 1881. he was apix>inted aide-
de-camp upon the staff of Gov. Charles H. Bell with the
294
(■ii.\i<i,i:s II. swwi'.k,
STATE BUILDERS
rank of colonel. In 1884, he was one of New Hamp-
shire's clelegates-at-large to the Repnblicin national con-
vention in Chicago, and in 1886, he was elected governor
of the state. His term as chief magistrate covered a
period of great activity in legislative lines, and Governor
Sawyer's conduct of his great office was marked by con-
spicuous adherence to his conscientious scruples and with
high regard for the best interests of the commonwealth
whose destinies so- largely rested in his hands. He filled
the office so as to win a noble reputation for diligence,
honor and prudence.
In addition to the extensive interests represented in his
private business. Governor Sawyer devoted himself
actively to many other industrial and fiduciary interests
in the city of Dover, and has served as a director in the
Strafford National bank, a trustee o^f the Strafford Sav-
ings bank, a director in the Somers worth Machine com-
pany and the Dover Gaslight company, as president of
the Eliot Bridge company, and as a director in the Ports-
mouth & Dover railroad. ,
Governor Sawyer, now retired from active business
life, still maintains his residence in Dover, and though
rarely taking public part in matters which engross general
attention, he still retains a deep interest in all that per-
tains to New Hampshire's welfare and keeps in close
touch with the movements of public thought in commer-
cial and legislative circles. Surrounded by the evidences
of his active career he leads a life of dignified leisure,
sweetened by the respect and affection of that large body
of his fellow-citizens, among whom he has spent so many
years of beneficent activity.
295
JANE ELIZABETH HOYT, M. D.
The daughter of Sewel Hoyt, native of Concord
(Sug^r Hill, near Hopkinton), and Hannah Elizabeth
Nichols, of Boston, Alass.
Dr. Hoyt was bom in Concord, Sept. 23rd, i860.
Educated in the public schools of the city from 1866 to
1 8/S. At ^^'ellesley College from 1 879- 1 883. Began her
medical course in the Autumn of 1886, at "The \\'oman's
medical college of the New York Infirmary" (the Black-
well college) in New York city. She was graduated after
a four years course at the same institution, jMay 28th,
1890. She held the position as second assistant in the
New York infant asylum, 61 st Street and loth Avenue,
New York city, during her senior year in college, from
May i889-]May 1890. This position was obtained through
test examinations made under Profs. Garrigues, Chapin
and A\'endt, of New York City. (The position has only
twice been given to an under graduate. )
After passing the summer of 1890 in England and
Scotland she returned to xA.merica that autumn to serv^e as
"resident physician" at Lasell seminary, Aubumdale,
Mass., while awaiting an appointment for service in the
New England hospital. While at Lasell seminary. Sept,
1 890 June 1 89 1, nine months of daily morning service
was given in the surgical room at "The Boston dispen-
sary'," Bennet street, under Harvard clinicians, Drs. E.
O. Otis, J. Foster Bush and Briggs of Boston. Served as
intern in the New England hospital, Boston, Mass. from
June 1 89 1 -June 1892.
296
JANE ELIZABETH HOYT, M.D.
STATE BUILDERS
June, 1892 she sailed again for Europe to do special
work at Vienna, Austria, and tO' visit the hospitals of
Europe. The summer months were spent at Heidelberg
in the study oi the German language. She began work
in the autumn at the university in Vienna under Pro-
fessors Schauter, Herzfeld, Kaposy and Lukasieweiz and
thus continued until January, 1893. Six months of gen-
eral visiting of hospitals was given to the different cities
of Germany and Italy, and to- the cities of Zurich, Paris,
London and Glasgow.
Returning to America Dr. Hoyt began the practice of
medicine in Concord, N. H., June 1893. She continued
here in practice until after the death of her mother, when
it seemed best to go abroad for the third time. Leaving
Concord January 1899, she remained in foreign countries
nearly three years. One and a half years were given to
lectures in the Leipzig university, Germany, under Pro^
fessors Chun (zoology), Wundt (psychology and history
of philosophy), Schmarsow (history of art).
Sept. 23rd, 1900 (her 40tli birthday) was spent seeing
the Oberammergau passion play. Nine months were spent
in Italy as a pastime in the study of the old masters in art.
Three months were given to travel in North Africa, visit-
ing Tunis, Algiers, the desert of Sahara, together with the
intervening countries, which proved most instructive and
broadening in its influence. Dr. Hoyt is now engaged, as
occasion permits, in preparing for publication a volume
containing the story of these travels, and also a series of
articles upon the same topics. Those who have had the
pleasure of reading the published letters written by Dr.
Hoyt during her earlier foreign tours, will appreciate how
much of pleasure this announcement contains for those
who admire a free and graphic narrative style, coupled
with habits of close observation.
In January, 1902. Dr. Hoyt again began the practice
of her profession in Concord and in connection with office
297
STATE BUILDERS
work has established a chnic at the north end of the city
for the benetit of those who need medical assistance and
are too poor to go to a physician's office.
Dr. Hoyt's father, born in 1807. was one of Concord's
earliest architects and builders. Several of the houses
planned and builded b\- him are standing in tlie city to-
day. The old homestead, the present home and office of
Dr. Hoyt, at Xo. 85 North State street, is one of them,
and it is her purpose to leave this building to the city of
Concord as a memorial to her father's name and work-
manship, and as a home for working girls, to be known as
''The Sewel Hoyt Memorial Home for Young \\'omen."
Dr. Hoyt's father and mother were both descendants of
fiorhters in the war of the American Revolution.
198
CHARLES T. MEANS
CHARLES T. MEANS.
Charles Tracy Means was born in ]Manchest€r Jan. 20,
1855, the son of Wilham Gordon Means and Martha
Allen, and died January 25, 1902.
He was educated in the common schools at Andover,
Mass., where he had resided as a youth, and at the
Worcester ]Military Academy. He began his active
career as a business man in Manchester with the Man-
chester Locomotive Works, in which his father was pos-
sessed of a large interest and in which the younger man
mastered every detail of the business, finally rising to the
management of the entire concern during the period of its
greatest prosperity.
I\Ir. Means was naturally bom into public life, and in
1883, was elected to represent his ward in the state legis-
lature. Six years later he was chosen a member of the
state senate, and his services in both branches of the Gen-
eral Court were marked by intelligent appreciation of the
public needs and by a conscientious endeavor to discharge
his duties to his constituents.
In 1892, Mr. jNleans was selected as a delegate-at-large
to the national Republican convention at Minneapolis,
and four years later he received the almost unprecedented
honor of being again cliosen to head the delegation-at-
large to the national convention at St. Louis. In both
of these bodies Mr. Means voted for Thomas B. Reed
for the presidency, his relations with the ^Maine states-
man having been close and intimate for many years.
299
STATE BUILDERS
In 1900, at the Republican National Convention in
Philadelphia, Mr. Means was elected to represent New
Hampshire upon the Republican National Committee, a
position which his broad views of public questions, his
wide relations with men of affairs and substance, his
ardent political temperament, fitted him especially to
adorn.
His death at the untimely age of forty-seven years re-
moved one of New Hampshire's best-loved sons. Mr.
Means was a man who attracted wide friendships, bind-
ing his associates to him with the enduring bonds of firm
affection. His domestic life was especially happy and
beautiful. Marr}ang Oct. 18, 1883, Miss Elizabeth A.
French, of Manchester, his home environment was both
winning and affectionate. His natural thoughtfulness,
courtesy and devotion to the interests of others found full
fruition at home where in addition to those amenities of
daily life in the bosom of his family he entertained with
charming and liberal hospitality. These same character-
istics, though naturally less fully expressed, marked Mr.
Means's intercourse with all the world. Rising by his
own efforts to eminence of position and fortune, he ever
held in mind the humblest of his employees, and few men
have ever conducted business on so large a scale as he and
so endeared themselves to their subordinates. His death
deprived the city of Manchester of a devoted son and a
patriotic citizen, his party of a generous and enthusiastic
supporter, and his own family of a large-hearted, tender
and loving husband and father.
300
HARRY GENE SARGENT
HARRY GENE SARGENT.
Harry Gene Sargent was born in Pittsfield Sept. 30,
1859, but when a boy moved with his parents to Hook-
sett and a little later to Concord, where he received his
public school education, graduating from the Concord
High school in 1878. He registered as a student of law
in the office of W. T. and H. F. Norris, and later attended
the sessions of the Boston University law school. He
completed his legal education under the direction of the
late Hon. John Y. Mugridge, and was admitted to the bar
in Aug. 1 88 1, at once entering upon the practice of his
profession in Concord, where he has since been actively
and successfully engaged. For twelve years he practised
alone and laid the foundation for those professional suc-
cesses which have since attended him and the firms with
which he has been identified. In 1893, he formed a part-
nership with Henry F. Hollis, and three years later Ed-
ward C. Niles became a member of the firm. In 1898,
Mr. Hollis withdrew, and in 1900, Arthur P. Morrill,
Esq., was admitted, and the firm name now stands Sar-
gent,' Niles & Morrill, the firm enjoying one of the largest
and most varied practices in New Hampshire.
Mr. Sargent's professional career has been marked by
steady advance and by no little brilliancy as an advocate,
while as a counsellor he is most reliable. From 1885 to
1887, he was solicitor of Merrimack county, and from
1887 to 1 90 1, was solicitor for the city of Concord, in
each of these positions discharging his duties to the en-
301
STATE BUILDERS
tire satisfaction, of his constituents and winning for him-
self a fine reputation for professional ability and skill. His
practice is by no means confined to the courts of the state,
where he ranks among the ablest attorneys, but extends
to the courts of other states and the Federal courts of all
classes of jurisdiction and to practice before legislative
committees and other tribunals. In 1891, he was asso-
ciated with Wayne McVeigh, late attorney-general of the
United States, as counsel for Austin Corbin in an im-
portant railroad controversy before the legislature of New
Hampshire, and his arguments both before committees
of the legislature and later before the full bench of the
supreme court, to whom the legislature had referred the
matter, were powerful. Mr. Sargent was also counsel
for Coe and Pingree in the important litigation involving
the title to the summit of Mount Washington, appearing
both before the legislature and before the state and United
States courts in this matter, and winning a most remark-
able success.
In the fall of 1900, Mr. Sargent much against his de-
sire, accepted his party's nomination for mayor of Con-
cord. The city then being in the hands of his political
opponents the campaign was an arduous and spirited one
and the odds against him were tremendous, but at the
head of a successful poll Mr. Sargent emerged triumphant
from the contest and assumed the duties of his office in
January, 1901. As chief magistrate of his city he has
been exceptionally powerful and progressive. Under his
vigorous guidance the city has undertaken its greatest
public work since the date of the municipal water-works,
in the erection of a new city hall. This enterprise al-
though meeting a want long felt and widely recognized,
was vigorously opposed by many of the most substantial
and influential men of the city, and had a weaker hand
than Mr. Sargent's been guiding the project it probably
would have failed. But with quiet persistence he met the
302
STATE BUILDERS
arguments of the opponents of the improvement, both
before the city government and before the courts where
the question was carried upon legal grounds, and won
substantial recognition of the justice and legality of his
position.
Outside his profession and his official circles, Mr. Sar-
gent has been an active, energetic, public-spirited citizen.
He is a trustee of the Margaret Pillsbury general hospi-
tal, formerly president of the Snowshoe club, president
of the Wonolancet club, a trustee of the Protestant Epis-
copal church of New Hampshire, and a member of the
leading social organizations of the city.
In 1 90 1, upon the occasion of the Webster Centennial,
Dartmouth college properly recognized Mr. Sargent's
worth and ability by conferring upon him the degree oi
Master of Arts.
In January, 1903, Mr. Sargent was appointed by the
Governor to the position of judge-advocate-general upon
his staf¥, with the rank of brigadier-general.
303
EUGENE F. McQUESTEX, ^I. D.
Eugene F. McOuesten, ^I. D. of Xashua, is a native
of Litchfield, where he was born Oct. nth, 1843, a de-
scendant of a sturdy pioneer who emigrated from the
north of Ireland, and settled in that town in 1775. Dr.
McOuesten attended school in Litchfield and in. the city
of Nashua, and for three years was a student in the
Academy at Pembroke. In 1863 he entered the sopho-
more class at Dartmouth College, but did not graduate
there, for in the following year he began the study of medi-
cine at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, where
in two years he accomplished the course prescribed for
three years of study, and received his degree in 1866.
For one year he practised in Lynn, Mass. and then came
to Nashua where he became associated with Dr. Josiah
G. Graves. In 1869 he entered into practice for himself
and has drawn around him an increasingly numerous cir-
cle of patients. i\lways alert to the latest developments
of his profession Dr. McOuesten has taken several post
graduate courses of study and is recognized as a special-
ist in surgical practice. He is an active member of the
New Hampshire ^Medical society and has been its presi-
dent; is a member of the American Association of rail-
way surgeons, and of the Nashua ^Medical society. Of
this last named organization he was president for two
years. He was one of the founders of the emergency
hospital in Nashua, and to his lively interest in the insti-
tution no little of its success is due. Dr. ]^IcQuesten is
304
i
EUGENE F. McQUESTEN, M.D.
STATE BUILDERS
also widely interested in the business interests of his
home city, and is a director in the Indian Head National
bank, and in the Nashua Trust Co. He is a member of
the Unitarian church, a ]\lason and Knights Templar.
Dr. ]\IcQuesten enjoys the confidence of the public to a
most remarkable degree, having fairly won it by con-
stant, faithful attention to his professional labors, and
he is recognized by his brethren in medicine as a physi-
cian and surgeon of no mean skill and learning. Though
not a politician he has been a candidate for his party for
mayor, and as a citizen of Nashua he has always lent his
influence to the advancement of the interests and pros-
I)erity of the community.
305
JAMES E. KLOCK.
Principal James E. Klock of the New Hampshire State
Normal school at Plymouth was born in Java, N. Y.,
March 27, 1855. He graduated at the State Normal
School of Kansas with the class of 1875 and taught for
four years in Lyon county, that state. In 1880 he was
elected principal of the High school at Emporia and two
years later was made superintendent of public instruction
for Lyon county. In 1884, at the earnest request of the
board of education, he returned to^ Emporia as superin-
tendent of schools, a position which he held for six years.
For a similar length of time he was at the head of the
schools of Leavenworth, Kansas, resigning this superin-
tendency for one at Helena, Montana. From Helena he
came in 1900 to New Hampshire where he is doing a
grand work and one fully equal to the high expectations
raised by the reports of his success in the West.
Writing at the time of Mr. Klock's election,
A. E. Winship, Ph. D., editor of the Journal of
Education, Boston, said: "The New Hampshire Nor-
mal school trustees have made a remarkably wise choice
of principal. J. E. Klock of Helena is admirably qualified
for the place; indeed, it would not be easy to find any one
better qualified. I prophesy that he will make the Ply-
mouth school as strong scholastically and pro'fessionally
as any normal school in America; that New Hampshire
will rally around him with enthusiasm; and that his grad-
uates will be in demand far and near. Mr. Klock made
306
JAMES E. KLOCK, Ph.D.
STATE BUILDERS
the schools of Emporia and Leavenworth, Kansas, equal
to any in the country, and he has done the same for those
of Helena. If he accomplishes as much for New Hamp-
shire, and he should do- more, he will take front rank
among New England educational leaders,"
As bearing upon the fulfilment of this prophecy the
report of the trustees of the Normal School for 1902 may
be quoted. They say : "It is a matter of sincere congrat-
ulation that New Hampshire's one Normal school is led
by a man of rare excellence as an instructor, administrator
and organizer. Mr. Klock's native gifts, a kindliness of
heart, a graciousness of speech and manner, an ability to
read human nature and tO' rightly interpret human mo-
tives, combined with the power of a cultured mind and
long experience as an instructor and superintendent, make
him a strong man in his profession and a very serviceable
man for- the state.
"During the two years that j\Ir. Klock has been at the
head of our school his administration has been a most
pronounced success, and it is conceded by all who have
taken the pains to inform themselves, that the school is
on a better footing, and promises better for the future,
than at any time since its organization."
307
ORLANDO BENAJAH DOUGLAS, M. D.
A newcomer in Ne^Y Hampshire^ but one who by
his pubhc spirit and eagerness to enter into all that
contributes to the good of the community is fairly
entitled to a place in any compilation of its best-known
men, is Orlando Benajah Douglas, M. D., who was born
in Cornwall, Vt., Sept. 12, 1836, of good Scotch stock,
and the eighth generation born in New England. A
country boy, he received the sturdy training given to
farmers' sons, his early educational advantages being
confined to those offered by the district school and
by the seminary at Brandon, Vt. Upon these founda-
tions, by diligent study and constant reading, he has
built the superstructure of a fine mental training. At
the age of 18, he began to teach school, but at his
mother's desire, and in pursuance of his own ambition,
at the age of 22, he took up the study of medicine,
going to Brunswick, Mo., where he studied for two years
and worked in an uncle's drug store. Soon the Civil War
came on, and Dr. Douglas at great personal sacrifice,
and living as he did in the midst of a community
of strong Confederate sympathies, went to the nearest
Union rendezvous with a half a dozen others of similar
patriotic tendencies and enlisted in the i8th Missouri
Volunteers which was organized by the order of Gen.
Fremont. He served in that state for six months, and
was later sent South to join the army of the Tennessee,
participating in the great campaigns of that army and
marching with Sherman to the sea.
308
ORLANDO B. DOUGLAS, M.D.
STATE BUILDERS
Young Douglas refused an appointment as captain,
but accepted a lieutenant's commission and was pro-
moted to be adjutant of his regiment. Later, by order
of General Grant, he was commissioned acting assistant
adjutant general on the brigade staff. He was twice
\\ounded, in 1861 early in the war while scouting in
Missouri, and a year later at Shiloh, where he was
seriously wounded in the hip. He was on duty at
Cincinnati, at Corinth, Mississippi, and in the provost
marshal's corps at Concord, Mass., and was mustered
out near the close of the war. For some years thereafter
he was engaged in business, and later entered the
medical department of the University of Vermont,
although he receiA'ed his diploma from the University
Medical College of New York in 1877. Entering upon
the practice of his profession in New York City, he soon
attained an excellent degree of success and reputation
and held many positions of importance and responsi-
bility in his profession.
Turning his attention to the special subject of the
ear, nose and throat, Dr. Douglas became an authority in
the pathology and treatment of those organs and served
upon the surgical staff of the Manhattan Eye and Ear
Hospital for twenty-five years, conducting the throat
clinics and being visited by more than two hundred thou-
sand patients. In 1888, he was elected professor of dis-
eases of the nose and throat in the New York Post-Grad-
uate Medical School and Hospital. He was prominent in
many of the medical associations, president of the Medical
Society of New York city, treasurer of the New York
Academy of Medicine for nine years, and has written
widely upon the special subjects in which he is an au-
thority.
For ten years he had a summer residence in Suncook,
but in September, 1901, he purchased a residence and es-
309
STATE BUILDERS
tablished an office permanently in Concord. Having thus
enrolled himself as a resident of the Granite State Dr.
Douglas is sure to perform to the full his part as a good
citizen.
310
JOHN McLANE
JOHN McLANE.
For nearly fifty years a resident of New Hampshire
and for more than half that time at the head of a pros-
perous manufacturing establishment in Milford, John
McLane has long held a deserved position among the
foremost men of the state. He was born in Lennoxtown,
Scotland, Feb. 27th, 1852, the son of Alexander and Mary
(Hay) McLane. His parents emigrated to America in
1854 and settled in Manchester, where John McLane re-
ceived his education in the public schools. Fitted with a
special aptitude for mechanical pursuits he becameaskilled
wood w"orker and for many years was employed as a
journeyman in the furniture trade. But his was not the
stuff to remain in a subordinate position, and in 1876 he
established a business for himself for the manufacture of
postoffice equipments, and under his guidance the concern
has grown to immense proportions, with customers all
over the country. In Milford he has taken a lively in-
terest in the development of the town, aside from the en-
terprise conducted in his own name, and he has con-
tributed liberally of time, talent and money to advance
the community's welfare. He is president of the Souhe-
gan National Bank, and a director in the local
Building and Loan association. In 1885 he
was sent to represent his town in the legis-
lature, and although a new member, and not a
lawyer, he was placed upon that most important legal
committee, the judiciary, and was also a member of
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STATE BUILDERS
the committee on towns. In 1887 Mr. McLane again rep-
resented Milford and was appointed chairman of the
committee on insurance, and a member of tlie committee
on the revision of the statutes. In 1891 he entered the
state senate and was chosen president of that body, serv-
ing with rare and successful tact. In 1893 he was again
a member of the senate and was again chosen to the presi-
dency, an honor which came to him by unanimous vote
of his party associates, and over riding the one-term prece-
dent which had been estabhshed for upwards of half a
century. Mr. McLane married Mar. loth, 1880 Ellen L.
Tuck, daughter of Eben Tuck of Milford, and they have
four children, three sons and a daughter. Mr. McLane
attends the Congregational church, is a Mason and
an Odd Fellow. His Masonic career has been re-
markably brilliant, having served in all the positions in
the fraternity, including that of Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of the state. Mr. McLane, although deep-
ly engrossed in the work entailed by the management of
an extensive business, has nevertheless found time for
much reading and for a close and accurate study of public
affairs. He is an ardent Republican and for many years
has been a member of the state committee of his party,
and the representative of his county (Hillsborough) in
the executive committee of that body. Mr. McLane is
a public speaker of more than ordinary power, endowed
with excq>tional qualities of judgment and with that sa-
gacity which is the birthright oi his race, supplementing
the faithful results of public school study with wide read-
ing and careful thought, and possessing a cordial manner
and a dignified presence, he has appeared frequently on
public occasions with marked success. Mr. McLane is a
man of sterling integrity, both of mind and action.
312
CHANNING FOLSOM
CHANNING FOLSOM.
Channing Folsom, state superintendent of public in-
struction, was born at Newmarket, June i, 1848. His
father, a country doctor, well realizing the benefits of a
liberal education, supplemented the training afforded in
the town schools by a course at Phillips- Exeter Academy,
and the young man entered Dartmouth College in the
class of 1870. Weak eyes and insufficient financial re-
sources compelled his withdrawal from college at the end
of two years, although his Alma Mater in 1885, conferred
upon him the honorary degree of A. M. and in 1902 the
degree of A, B. in course.
While in college Mr. Folsom, following the custom of
so many Dartmouth students, taught school during the
vacation, and after leaving college he entered upon teach-
ing as his life work, beginning at Sandwich, Mass.
From there he went to Amesbury, Mass., where he spent
two years, and later had four years' experience in Ports-
mouth, New Hampshire. In 1874, he went to Dover as
principal of the Belknap grammar school, where he re-
mained three years, when he M^as elected a master in the
Eliot School, Boston, serving until April, 1882. In that
month he was chosen superintendent of schools at Dover,
and returned to New Hampshire, where he has since
lived. For sixteen years he was superintendent of schools
at Dover, and in 1898, upon the resignation of Fred Cow-
ing, he was appointed state superintendent of public
instruction, receiving successive reappointments as his
terms of office have expired.
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STATE BUILDERS
Mr, Folsom married Nov. 12, 1870, Ruth F. Savage,
of Newmarket, and has five children.
Mr. Folsom is a positive educator, both as a teacher in
the schools and as a state superintendent he has shown
himself a friend of true educational progress and the foe
of all the non-essential and cumbersome methods which
have rendered so many school programs inefficient.
Coming to his present position at a time when the old
methods of instruction had not yet been fully displaced
by the new and when many of the new ideas had yet to
prove their usefulness through practical experience, Mr.
Folsoin has wisely and discriminatingly forwarded the
educational interests of the state. During his term of
office he has seen the entire policy of the state change so
far as it has related to the state's responsibility for ad-
vanced education, and the so-called "Grange" school law,
by means of which twenty-five thousand dollars is annu-
ally distributed to the schools of the state, was drafted by
him and carried through the legislature largely through
his efforts. His administration of the trust imposed upon
him in the distribution of this fund has been eminently
conservative and successful, and he has had the privilege
of seeing his ideas stamped each year with a deeper seal
of public approval. He has also stimulated many a com-
munity to a pride and deeper interest in the local schools,
and by causing to be enacted the law providing for a
group system of school superintendents he has seen many
of the existing schools brought to a still higher state of
efficiency.
Fhrough his long residence in the state and his intimate
acquaintance with New Hampshire temperaments and
traditions, Mr. Folsom has been enabled to advance the
cause of education by wise methods, and his assured
continuance in his present post of usefulness is the
guarantee that the immediate future of New Hampshire
schools is bright witli promise.
314
*9f flBli
ROGER G. SULLIVAN
ROGER G. SULLIVAN.
A keen and deservedly successful business man is Roger
G. Sullivan, of Manchester, who was born in 1854 in
Bradford, but the greater part of whose life has been
spent in the city where he now lives. His educational
advantages were limited and were confined tO' the com-
mon schools of Manchester, as at the age of fourteen he
began earning his own living and was at that time inden-
tured to learn the carriage-painting business. At the
age of nineteen, however, he embarked in business for
himself as a cigar manufacturer, at first employing only
two men. In 1883 he began the manufacture of what is
now probably the best-known cigar in northern New
England, Seven-twenty-four, and his business has grown
since then by leaps and bounds, until now he employs
two hundred hands and his factories have a capacity of
nearly seven million cigars a year. The magnitude of
his business may be judged somewhat from the fact that
Mr. Sullivan's import duty payments and internal reve-
nue stamp purchases amount to about $90,000 a year.
His goods are sold throughout the country, and five trav-
elling men are constantly employed distributing the prod-
ucts of his factories. The pay-roll of his establishment
is about $125,000 a year.
In addition, Mr. Sullivan is largely engaged in other
lines O'f business in the city of Manchester and elsewhere.
He is a director of the Amoskeag National bank, a direc-
tor in the Manchester Traction Company, the New Hamp-
315
STATE BUILDERS
shire Fire Insurance Company and the Ujiion PubHshing-
company. At York Beach, where Mr. SulHvan has
erected a beautiful summer home, he is a large owner of
real estate, and many of the improvements recently made
at that well-known summer resort own their inception to
My. Sullivan's enterprise and sagacity.
His home on W'alnut street is one of the most at-
tractive in Manchester. He married Susan C. Femald,
of ]\Ianchester, and has three children. ]Minna E., Susan
A. and Frances E. The eldest daughter was educated at
Montreal and at Northampton, ]\Iass., and the others
obtained their education at the Visitation Convent,
Georgetown. District of Columbia, the eldest daughter
travelling extensively in Europe after completing the
course in the American schools.
Mr. Sullivan in politics is a Democrat, and is promi-
nent in the Knishts of Columbus.
,i6
HERMON K. SHERBURNE, D.O.
HERMON K. SHERBURNE.
One of the best known osteopathic physicians in New
Hampshire is Hermon K. Sherburne of Littleton. But
aside from his professional attainment he is thoroughly
representative of the best citizenship in his town and
state. He was born in Wilmington, Vermont, July 12,
1S55. He was educated in the schools of his native town
and at Montpelier (Vt.) seminary. In 1883 he married
Miss Ada L. Boyce, and one child, Theodore Vail Sher-
burne, was born to them. He died at the age of five years
and two months. She died, April 27, 1899 having been
instantly killed in a cyclone that passed over the city of
Kirksviile^ Missouri.
The science of osteopathy early attracted the attention
of Mr. Sherburne and when once he had decided to en-
gage in its practice he went to Kirksville, Missouri, that
he might learn the theory and practice of the science at
the fountain head for it was there that the school was
founded by Andrew Taylor Still. From this school he
graduated in 1899 and in the same year he began active
practice.
October first, 1901, Mr. Sherburne married for his
second wife. Miss Mary A. Burb)aiik, who like himself is
a diplomat in osteopathy. Mr. Sherburne is a member of
the American Osteopathic Association and president of
the New Hampshire Osteopathic Association. In poli-
tics he is a Republican while his membership in fraternal
317
STATE BUILDERS
orders is limited to Odd Fellowship. The church home
of the family is the Methodist Episcopal.
The article on Osteoi>athy following this sketch was
written by Mr. Sherburne expressly for State Builders.
OSTEOPATHY.
By Hermon K. Sherburne.
With the remarkable developments that have been
made along all lines of scientific research in the closing
years of the last century, perhaps there is none more im-
portant, or which will fall with a greater blessing on the
human race than the development and promulgation of
that department of the science of medicine known as
Osteopathy.
Osteopathy is a complete science of healing diseased
conditions of the body without drugs and without the
knife. It originated about 1874 in the brain of Dr. An-
drew T. Still of Baldwin, Kansas, a regular practising
ph}sician and army surgeon.
Every invention is the result of a genius seeking to
improve on old methods, so with Dr. Still convinced of
the inefficacy of drug treating in acute and its absolute
uselessness in chronic diseases he set about exploring for
himself the unknown. Anatomy and Physiology seem to
have been his favorite subjects and as has been said oi
him with "Indian cadavers for subjects and the broad
prairies for a workshop he constantly studied Nature's se^
crets in her greatest creation."
His idea as expressed in his autobiography was that
God would not give ns these bodies subject to attacks of
disease from outside without putting into the bodies
themselves the means and forces to resist the attacks.
318
STATE BUILDERS
After nearly twenty years of untiring energy and cease-
less toil, in 1892 feeling he had perfected his system suffi-
ciently to give it to the world a charter was obtained
from the state of Missouri to teach this new discovery
and the first school was opened in Kirksville that state
with an attendance of seven students.
The system, soon became known and people who' were
sick and ^vho had grown weary of taking medicme came
to Kirksville to try the new science of healing without
drugs. The}' were healed and returned home and their
friends and neighbors came.
The news spread rapidly, not by advertising, but, by
cures made, and soon there were students and patients
from all over the land going to Kirksville seeking to be
cured or tO' learn the new science. The school continued
to grow until today it has between six and seven hundred
students. Other schools were organized so that there are
now fourteen Osteopathic colleges with seventeen hun-
dred students and about twenty-five hundred Osteopathic
physicians practising.
Recognition by special enactment of legislatures is a
compliment never before paid to- a new scientific discov-
ery, since 1896 Osteopathy has received this high compli-
ment from nineteen states.
Osteopathy bases its claims to rank as a science oi heal-
ing upon the fact that there exists a definite and fixed re-
lation between an organ and the central nervous system.
It may be said to be the science of treating disease through
a technical manipulation by which the practitioner intelli-
gently directs the inherent recuperative resources of the
body to the restoration of health. It rests upon the the-
or}^ that every diseased condition not due to a specific
poison is traceable to some mechanical disorder, which, if
corrected, will allow Nature to resume perfect work.
By the term mechanical obstruction is meant any direct
interference to the nutritive or functional fluids or forces
319
STATE BUILDERS
of the organ, as pressure upon a \essel or nerve by an
abnormal condition of some denser tissue of the body.
This will cut off the nerve force and affect the bloo'd
supply. Either of these may result in producing an
abnormal function of some organ or organs and thus lead
to a diseased condition.
The osteopath looks upon the body as a machine and
himself as a trained human machinist adjusting it to its
natural condition that it may be properly driven from
the central nervous system. His work is principally done
along the spinal column, from which the nerves emanate,
going from there to all the dift'erent parts of the body.
Osteopathy makes no demands on the vitality of the
patient but rather increases it at every treatment.
The claims of modesty are never lost sight of. The
most delicate person can undergo this treatment without
the least fear of any unpleasant experience. They are al-
ways adapted to the condition of the patient, never severe,
and absolutely in no case hannful if given bv a competent
osteopathist.
The application of the treatment is ver}' general, it
having reached almost every knovm form of disease. Its
success as a curative agent is remarkably gratifying,
es|>ecially when we remember its triumphs have been made
out of the failures of other systems. It ranks among its
patrons some of the most noted and intellectual people
of our lime, as well as those in the more modest walks
of life but all alike testifying to the great blessing it has
been to themselves or family in restoring them to health
after all other medical skill had failed. No one today
should consider their case incurable until they have con-
sulted an Osteopath and teen properlv treated by him,
when it is safe to say they will malve another of that now
vast number who will rise up and call the name of Dr. A.
T. Still, the founder of this great science, blessed.
320
AL0N7X) ELLIOTT
ALONZO ELLIOTT.
Alonzo Elliott, an enterprising banker, broker and busi-
ness man of Manchester, was born in Augusta, Maine,
July 25, 1849, and when a lad came to Tilton, N. H.,
with his parents. Acquiring his education in the public
schools and in Tilton seminary, young Elliott began
life as clerk in a store, but later, having obtained a
knowledge of telegraphy, he entered the railroad service
as operator at Tilton, and remained in railroad life until
1893, with a brief interval, when he was employed in
commercial pursuits in the North country. From 1869
to 1893 he was employed at the Manchester station of
the Concord and the Manchester & Lawrence railroads,
where he earned the reputation of being the most
expert ticket seller and one of the finest telegraph op-
erators on the line. Retiring from railroading in 1893
he engaged in banking and insurance, in the latter capac-
ity representing some twenty-five leading companies. At
the time of his retirement from that branch of business
in 1896 Mr. Elliott was the organizer of the Granite State
Trust CO., later known as the Bank of New England, of
which he was treasurer until 1896. ■ He was
Secretary of the Citizens building and loan asso-
ciation, vice-president, director and clerk of the Peoples
Gas Light co., and director in the Garvin's Falls elec-
tric power CO. He was President of the Manchester Elec-
tric light CO., and raised the money to build the first elec-
tric light plant in Manchester. He has also been actively
321
STATE BUILDERS
identified with the development of many of Manchester's
diversified industries, chief among them being the El-
hott Manufacturing co., producers of knit goods, employ-
ing two hundred hands. This company was estabhshed
through Mr. Elhott's efforts and he was its first treasurer.
Prominent among other industrial enterprises in Manches-
ter with which Mr. Elliott has been closely identified are
the F. M. Hoyt, and the Eureka Shoe companies, the Kim-
ball carriage co., the East Side shoe company and the
West Side shoe company. Mr. Elliott is also interested
in many real estate ventures in the Queen City and with
the late Governor James A. Weston and late John B. Var-
ick owned the New Manchester house, a finely equipped
and valuable piece of hotel property. His home, Brook-
hurst, is one of the most attractive in that city, and his
family comprises a wife, the daughter of George W. and
Sarah (Mead) Weeks, whose father was for many years
prominently identified with the shoe trade in Manchester,
and four children. Mr. Elliott is a Mason and a Knights
Templar, and a charter member of the Derryfield club.
In religion he is a Unitarian, and in politics an Independ-
ent. In 1902 he made an independent canvass for gov-
ernor.
322
CHARLES H. MURKLAND, Ph.D.
DURHAM COLLEGE.
The New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the
Mechanic Arts was incorporated by an act of the legis-
lature passed in 1866. Section 2 of this act reads as
follows : "The leading object of the College is, without
excluding other scientific and classical studies, and
including military tactics, to teach such branches of
learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic
arts, in order to promote the liberal and practical edu-
cation of the industrial classes in the several pursuits
and professions of life." As a consequence of this act
the college was established in Hanover under the admin-
istration and in connection with Dartmouth college. It
was organized under a board of trustees appointed
partly by the governor and partly by the Corporation of
Dartmouth college.
The act of Congress referred to in this section is the
act donating certain parcels of public land to the several
states and territories for the purpose of establishing col-
leges in these states. By that act a quantity of land equal
to thirty thousand acres for each senator and representa-
tive in Congress, was donated to each state.
Section 4 of this act of congress, approved July 2,
1862, contains the following statement of the purpose
and character of the colleges to be established : The in-
terest of the money derived from the sale of these do-
nated lands was to be applied, "to the endowment, sup-
port, and maintenance, of at least one college, where the
323
STATE BUILDERS
leading- object shall be, without excluding- other scien-
tific and classical studies, and including- military tactics,
to teach such branches of learning as are related to ag-
riculture and the mechanic arts, in such a manner as the
legislature of the states shall respectively prescribe, in
order to promote the liberal and practical education of
the industrial classes in the several pursuits and profes-
sions of life."
As indicated above. Section 2 of the act of the Xew
Hampshire Legislature in 1866 is a literal quotation
from this Section 4 of the act of Congress of 1S62.
The land donated to the state was sold, and the money
received for the same, eighty thousand dollars, is now held
by the treasurer of the state in the form of state
K")nds, and the income, four thousand eight hundred dol-
lars, is annually paid over to the treasurer of the college.
In 1S90 congress provided an additional appropria-
tion, which for the current year amounts to twenty-live
thousand dollars. This money is to be applied "to the
instruction in agriculture, the mechanic arts, the Eng-
lish language, and the various branches of mathematical,
physical, natural and economic science, with special
reference to their application in the industries of life,
and to the facilities for such instruction." No part of
this appropriation can be used for any other purpose, it
must all be expended for teaching and for facilities for
such instniction, such as Kx>ks, instruments and labora-
tory' requirements. Everything connected with the erec-
tion and repair of the buildings and the maintenance of
the same must be provided for from other funds.
In 1S90 the death of Benjamin Thompson of Durham
brought before the state the opportunity to accept the
bequest in his will. His estate, amounting thereto ap-
proximately four hundred thousand dollars, was be-
queathed to the state of Xew Hampshire, in trust sub-
ject to certain conditions indicated in his \N"ill. These
3-4
STATE BUILDERS
conditions may be summarized as follows : ( i ) The
property to be held by the state of New Hampshire for-
ever, in trust, for the benefit of the New Hampshire
Colleg-e of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts.
(2) The amount to be increased by a net annual com-
poimd interest of four per cent for twenty years, the
income of the property during that time to be available
for such increase, and not to be available for the use of
the college. (3) The state to guarantee an appropria-
tion of three thousand dollars annually to be set aside
and to l>e increased by a net annual compound interest
of four per cent for twenty years, "to constitute a fund
to erect buildings and furnish the same, stock the farm,
procure apparatus, and commence a library." (4) The
college to be established in the town of Durham, and on
the "Warner Farm," the property of Benjamin Thomp-
son at his death. In consequence of this will the legis-
lature voted to accept the provisions of the will, by an
act approved March 5, 1891.
Almost immediately after, by an act approved April
10, 1 89 1, the legislature ordered the removal of the
New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Me-
chanic Arts from Hanover to Durham, and provided for
the independent government of the college by a board
of trustees appointed by the governor with the consent
of the council; and the sum of one hundred thousand
dollars was appropriated for this purpose.
One other item of importance is the establishment of
an experiment station, in accordance with the act of con-
gress approved March 2, 1887. The preamble of this
act reads as follows : "That in order to aid in diffusing
among the people of the United States useful and prac-
tical information on subjects connected with agriculture,
and to promote scientific investigation and experiment
respecting the principles and applications of agricultural
science, there shall be established, under the direction of
325
STATE BUILDERS
the college or colleges, or agricultural department of the
colleges, in each state or territory, established or which
may be established in accordance with an act approved
July 2, 1882, entitled 'An act donating public lands to the
several states and territories, which may provide col-
leges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic
arts,' or any supplement to said act, a department to be
known and designated as 'Agricultural experiment sta-
tion.' " For the maintenance of this experiment station
the sum of fifteen thousand dollars annually was appro-
priated, for the benefit of each state. In accordance with
this act an experiment station was established in con-
nection with this institution, and is at present so main-
tained.
From the first it was evident that the design of the
several acts of congress and of the legislature was to
establish an institution of a technical character. The
rapid development of manufacturing industries of all
kinds, and the progressive application of scientific prin-
ciples to practical affairs of life had already given an
ijnmense impulse to technical education. Recognizing
the obligation imposed by the several congressional and
legislative enactments, the trustees of this college con-
formed, not only to the letter, but to the spirit of their
instructions. Provision was made for full collegiate
courses in agriculture, in mechanical engineering, in elec-
trical engineering, and in technical chemistry. It was
not deemed expedient to establish a department of civil
'engineering, in as much as there was a school of civil
engineering already existing in the state.
In accordance with more recent legislative provisions
some shorter courses in agriculture have been added.
These are more immediately practical and are less ex-
acting in their preliminary requirements than are the
four-year courses.
The most recent catalogue of the college gives a list
326
STATE BUILDERS
of eighteen members of the faculty, and during the cur-
rent year it is probable that this number will be increased
to twenty. The catalogue, which may be had upon ap-
plication to the college, also contains a condensed de-
scription of the plant at large. This consists of the main
building (Thompson hall); the science building (Conant
hall); the shop building, engine and boiler room; the
agricultural experiment station (Nesmith hall); the
dairy building; a farm of three hundred and forty-two
acres; three barns and twO' greenhouses. The shop
building is well equipped with the requisites for instruc-
tion in iron working and wood working, and with vari-
ous pieces of scientific apparatus for the investigation of
mechanical problems and for scientific research. The
forge shop, which has recently been added, is fully
equipped with down-draft forges, with anvils, and the
necessary tools.
The lower floor of the science building is devoted to
physics and electrical engineering. The upper floor is
divided into chemical laboratories.
There is in process of construction a brick building
for the use of the departments of agriculture and horti-
culture. When this building is finished and fully
equipped with the recfuired apparatus, it will afford a
place for the departments indicated, and will thus greatly
relieve the pressure upon the other departments.
The college has grown constantly since its removal to
Durham, the enrolment each year showing a marked
increase over preceding years, although there has been
from year to year a very decided advance in the stand-
ard of the required scholarship. The entrance require-
ments for the four-year course at present are equivalent
to a full high school course. Entrance requirements for
the two-year course are less exacting and may be met
by a student who has had an ordinary common school
education.
327
STATE BUILDERS
One marked feature of the life of the college is its sim-
plicity and economy. The average total outlay of the stu-
dent is hardly in excess of two hundred and fifty dollars
for the year. Many of the students earn enough to help
them appreciably in meeting necessary expenses. In some
cases students who have been well prepared and have had
a fair amount of time at their disposal have been able to
pay practically all their expenses at Durham. But these
are exceptional cases.
The outlook for the college is exceedingly bright.
With an increasing constituency, both of students and
of those who are interested in the educational interests
of the state of New Hampshire, and with its undeviating
purpose to advance the cause of technical education in
the state, the college has gained a firm standing in the
public confidence and esteem, finding a constant demand
for its graduates in the abundant opportunities of indus-
trial life.
328
\
/
CHARLES FRANCIS PIPER
CHARLES FRANCIS PIPER.
Charles Francis Piper was bom May 22d, 1849,
at Lee, but has spent nearly all of his active life in Wolfe-
borough, where he is now easily in the first rank of active
and influential citizens. Lie first came to Wolfeborough
as a student at the old Academy, and at the conclusion of
his studies he went to^ Boston and entered the employ of
a wholesale dry goods house. The great Boston fire of
1872 put an end to this and he then entered the railway
mail service for a run between Boston and Bangor. He
continued in this employment until 1876, although in the
meantime he had purchased a clothing business in Wolfe-
borough, to which upon his retirement from the mail
service he devoted his entire attention, and with which he
was identified until recently. Mr. Piper's identifi.-
cation with the life of Wolfeborough is very com-
plete. During the administrations of Hayes, Garfield and
Arthur, he was postmaster of the town, having previous-
ly served as town clerk. He has been town treasurer for
seventeen years, has represented the town on the
Republican State Committee for twenty-four years, and
is now county member of the executive committee
of that body. He has been a delegate from Wolfeborough
to every state convention of his party since 1880. In 1887
he represented Wolfeborough in the legislature. In 1896
he was nominated for member of the Governor's council
and was elected in a nominally Democratic district by a
phenomenal majority. In 1890 he was elected the first
329
STATE BUILDERS
cashier of the AVolfeborough Loan & Banking co. and
still holds that position. Mr. Piper has beai instrumen-
tal in the development of many enterprises in his town
and its vicinity, and has operated extensively in lumber
and real estate. He is a member of the firm of S. W.
Clow & Co., and in association with other gentlemen con-
trols a long line of water front on the shores of Lake
Winnipesaukee and Lake Wentworth. which is rapidly
being developed for summer resort purposes. Mr. Piper
is a trustee of the Brewster free academy, a munificently
endowed secondary school at \\'olfeborough, and is in
every way in touch with all that goes to advance the in-
terests of the community in which he lives. He was prac-
tically instrumental in formulating the progressive and
liberal policy with which the summer resort industry has
been developed in \Volfeborough and vicinitv, and the
great volume of business of this sort which centres there
may be fairly said to l3e largely due to his wise and pru-
dent, yet generous and hospitable methods in inviting
both the transient and the permanent summer guests. Mr.
Piper is a member of Morning Star lodge, Carroll chap-
ter. Orphan council, and St. Paul's commandery in the
Masonic orders; of the Red Men; of the Patrons of
Husbandry. He married, Dec. loth, 1874, Ida E. Dur-
gin, a member of a thoroughly representative Wolfe-
borough family, and they have one child, a son, Carroll
D., born May 19, 1880, who was graduated from Har-
vard with the class of 1902. Mr. Piper's home is a
beautiful estate on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee,
where he delights to dispense that genial hospitality
which is so characteristic of the man.
330
FERDINAND A. STILLINGS, M.D.
FERDINAND A. STILLINGS, M. D.
At Jefferson, March 30. 1849, was born Ferdinand
Anson Stillings, the son of Anson StilHngs and Phoebe De
Forest Keniston. He ^\as educated in the schools of Jef-
ferson and at Lancaster Academy, and choosing medicine
for his profession, attended lectures at Dartmouth Medi-
cal school, where he received his degre in 1870. In that
year he was appointed assistant physician at the McLean
Asylum in Somerville, Mass., where he remained for
three years, after which he pursued his studies in the hos-
pitals of London, Paris and Dublin. Returning to
America in 1874, he settled in Concord, where he soon
built up a practice which is now recognized as one of the
largest in the state and from which he is frequently called
to other points as a surgeon and consultant.
In the field of surgery, Dr. Stillings has been especial-
ly conspicuous and successful, and he is at the head of
the surgical staff of the Margaret Pillsbury general hos-
pital in Concord, and of the Memorial Hospital for
women in the same city.
Dr. Stillings is also the chief surgeon for the south-
ern division of the Boston & Maine railroad, and he has
served as surgeon-general upon the staff of Gov. Hiram
A. Tuttle and of Gov. Frank W. Rollins. While in this
capacity he greatly raised the standing of the medical
department of the National guard by reorganizing the
hospital corps and by establishing drills for its members
with a view to enhancing their efficiency in time of need.
331
STATE BUILDERS
As a result of these efforts during the Spanish war the
first New Hampshire regiment went into the field with
a hospital corps competent to care for its sick and injured.
In 1899, Dr. Stillings was chosen to represent Ward
five, Concord, in the legislature, and served as chairman
of the committee on banks. He was re-elected to the
legislature in 190 1, and served as head of the committee
on insane asylum, in which capacity he was successful
in securing an appropriation for much-needed repairs and
additions to the state hospital. During this session also
Dr. Stillings made a profound study of tuberculosis, and
realizing the great danger to the public health from the
effects of this disease and knowing, too, the ameliorative
and remedial agencies which had been successfully em-
ployed in other states to curtail the disastrous results of
this dread malady, introduced and caused to be passed a
joint resolution creating a commission to investigate as
to the advisability of establishing a state sanatorium for
consumptives. This commission has prepared and pre-
sented to the legislature of the current year a report
heartily advocating the establishment of such a sanatori-
um, and Dr. Stillings, who in the meantime has been
chosen a member of the state senate from the loth Dis-
trict, is one of its strongest advocates in the legislature.
Dr. Stillings's professional affiliations are numerous
and important. He is an active and prominent member
of the New Hampshire Medical society, the New Hamp-
shire Surgical club, of the Center District Medi-
cal society, of the International Association
of railway surgeons, and of the surgical section of
the New York Medico^Legal association. He is an hon-
orary member of the New York Association of railway
surgeons and of numerous other professional bodies. He
has also wide business connections, being a director in the
Mechanics' National Bank, and a member of the govern-
ing board of numerous other financial and business
332
STATE BUILDERS
bodies. He is a member of the Wonolancet club and
served several terms as president of the Passaconaway
outing club.
In 1878 Dr. Stillings married Grace M. Minot, second
daughter of the late Josiah Minot, and has two daugh-
ters. Their home on Pleasant street, shaded by the ven-
erable and graceful Lafayette elm, is one of the most
charmingly hospitable in Concord.
333
REV. D. C. BABCOCK, D. D.
Daniel Clark Babcock was born in Blandford, Mass.,
May 31, 1835, the second of four sons of Russell and
Susan A. (Clark) Babcock, of whom he alone is the sur-
vivor. He received his early education in the public
schools of Blandford.
Pie was converted in Milford, Mass., in March, 1852,
and joined the M. E. church in that place. In 1854 he
transferred his membership to Sutton, Mass., and in the
spring: following was given an Exhorter's License, after
v.-hich he conducted Sunday services most of the time.
The first of January, 1857, he moved to Oakdale,
i\'lass., where he was given a Local Preacher's License,
and upon invitation filled a vacancy as preacher at Sud-
bury till the foUovv'ing session of the Conference.
After the Conference at Lowell, in April, 1857, he was
placed in charge of a Mission in Somerville, Mass.
In April of the following year ( 1858) he went to school
at the East Greenwich, R. I. Academy, and supplied a
pulpit at Wickford, R. I., to meet school expenses.
In February, 1859, he accepted a call to take the place
of Rev. E. W. Parker, at Lunenburg, Vt., he, having
been appointed a missionary to India. Late in April of
the same year he was given a Charge at Mclndoes Falls,
Vt., that he might attend the school at Newbury. There
he remained two years.
In April, 1861, he joined the New Hampshire Con-
ference, at Concord, and held the following appoint-
334
REV. D. C. BABCOCK, D.D.
STATE BUILDERS
ments: — Bow, i86i; Fisherville (Penacook), 1862;
Pleasant Street, Salem, 1863-4; Great Falls, High
Street, 1865-6; Claremont, ^ 1867; Manchester, St.
Paul's, 1868-9; Nashua, Chestnut Street, 1870.
While stationed at Bow he entered the Theological
Seminary at Concord, from which he graduated in June,
[864.
In 1 87 1 he received the appointment as Corresponding
Secretary of the N. H. Temperance Alliance. From
1872 to 1887 he was Corresponding Secretary of the
State Temperance Union of Pennsylvania. From 1880
to 1 888 he was also one of the secretaries oi the National
Temperance Society. For two years he was at the head
of the Grand Lodge, I. O. G. T., of Pennsylvania, and
editor of the "Lodge Visitor"; and for several years
published the "Pennsylvania Temperance Union,'' both
of which were monthly journals.
During the sixteen years devoted to this special work,
he averaged eighteen sermons and addresss a month,
and fifteen thousand miles of travel a year. He also
conducted about forty Temperance Camp Meetings at
\arious summer resorts.
Returning to the regular pastorate in New Hampshire,
in 1888, he was appointed to the following Charges: —
Claremont, 1888-9; Lancaster, 1890-2; Wliitefield,
189.3-5-
In 1896 he was appointed to the special work as Sec-
retary oi the N. H. Law and Order League, with head-
quarters at Concord.
The following year he returned to the pastorate, and
has held the following Charges: Dover, 1897-9; Derry,
St. Luke's, 1900-03.
In April, i860, he was united in marriage to Miss
Clara Albee Parkm.an of Sutton, ]\Iass. Two daughters
came to cheer and bless their home life: Susie P., who
lives at home, and ^Mary A., who, in 1894, was married
335
STATE BUILDERS
to J. Roy Dinsmore, a member of the Xew Hampshire
Conference.
In 1896, the American Temperance University of
Harriman, Tenn., conferred the honorary title, D. D,,
upon him in grateful acknowledgment of his effective
and wide spread work in the temperance cause.
Mr. Babcock is well and favorably laicwn throughout
the state as a strong Gospel Preacher, and a fearless and
ardent supporter of the temperance cause. His long
experience upon the public platform throughout the
country has well fitted him as a leadei in this special
branch of reform.
WILLIAM HENRY WEED HINDS, M.D.
WILLIAM HENRY WEED HINDS, M. D.
A young physician, well schooled, and already firmly
established in the practice of his profession, is Dr. Will-
iam Henry Weed Hinds of Milford, who was born in that
town July 22nd, 1867. He bears his father's name and
follows his father's profession. The elder Hinds was a
graduate of Harvard and a veteran of the Civil war. His
son was educated in the public schools of his native town,
graduating at the High school, with a special course at
Gushing academy, Ashburnham, Mass. He studied his
profession at the Boston University School of Medicine,
and received his degree in 1895. He entered upon prac-
tice at Milford, occupying the oftice in which his father
practised for so many years, and has from the outset en-
joyed a practice lucrative and full of promise. For five
years he has been secretary of the Milford board of health,
and is medical examiner for several of the leading life
insurance companies. He married Miss K. Maude Ken-
ney, of Milford, and they have one son, who' bears in the
third generation the name of his father and grandfather.
Dr. Hinds is a member of the New Hampshire Homeo-
pathic Medical society, and of the American Institute of
Homeopathy. In politics he is a Republican and in re-
ligion a Unitarian. He is a Mason, and a Past Master of
Benevolent lodge No. 7 of Milford.
337
CHARLES RUMFORD WALKER, IM. D.
Charles Rumford W^alker, M. D., descendant in the
fourth generation from the Rev. Timothy Walker, the
first minister of Concord, was bom in that city February
13, 1852, and was fitted for college at the Phillips-Exeter
Academy, where he graduated in 1 870. Four years later
he received his degree from Yale college, and immediately
entered upon the study of medicine at the Har\^ard Medi-
cal school, being graduated from that institution in 1878.
Soon after he was appointed member of the house staff
at the Boston city hospital, where he sened as surgical
intern until January, 1879. In February of the same
year he went abroad in the further pursuit of his profes-
sional studies, and was matriculated in the foremost insti-
tutions of Dublin, London, Vienna and Strasburg, his
European studies occupying more than two years. In
March, 1881, he returned to Concord and established
himself in a practice which has now grown to be one of
the largest in the city.
In addition to his general practice. Dr. Walker is a
member of the staff of the Margaret Pillsbury general
hospital, where he has sensed since the institution was es-
tablished, and is also the physician of St. Paul's school.
He also served a term as surgeon in the National guard.
In 1899, Dr. \\'alker was elected president of the New
Hampshire Medical society, and held that position during
the constitutional term. He is a member of the Ameri-
can medical association and of the national board of
health.
338
CHARLES RUMFORD WALKER, M.D.
STATE BUILDERS
Dr. Walker is a trustee of the New Hampshire savings
bank, and is a trustee and treasurer of the Rolfe and
Rumford Asyhun, a Concord institution endowed by the
will of the late Countess Rumford and supporting or-
phaned female children. He is also one of the trustees
and treasurer of the Timothy and Abigail B. Walker free
lecture fund, an endowment of thirty thousand dollars
bequeathed in trust for the benefit of the people of Con-
cord, and principally administered by Dr. Walker.
Dr. Walker's interest in public affairs has brought him
into official positions in the city and state governments,
and in 1892 he was elected member of the board of alder-
men of Concord from Ward 5. In 1894 he was chosen
to represent his ward in the legislature, where he served
as a member of the committees on public health and on
the state library, of the latter committee being chairman.
Dr. Walker was married January 18, 1888, to Miss
Frances Sheafe of Boston, and has two children, Sheafe
Walker and Charles R. Walker, Jr.
339
JOSEPH E. A. LANOUETTE, M. D.
Joseph Edouard Adolphe Lanoiiette is a distinguished
appearing medical practitioner of over a score of years'
standing in Manchester, having come to the city Jan. 31,
1 88 1. He is in the prime of hfe, being 53 years of age,
having been born Jan. 7, 1850, at Champlain, Que., a
place named after the founder of the capital of lower
Canada.
He is the son of Capt. Edouard Adolphe and Leocadie
(Hamel) Lanouette, grandson of Col. Joseph Edouard
Lanouette. He was educated in the common schools of
his native town until 10 years of age; then attended St.
Joseph's college, Three Rivers, P. O. ; commenced the
study of medicine in 1868, under Drs. C. E. Lemieux,
S. Larue, Quebec, and A. H. David, Montreal, Canada;
attended three courses of lectures at Laval university,
medical dq>artment, Quebec, and one course at the Uni-
versity of Bishop's Medical college, faculty of medicine,
Montreal, P. Q., receiving his degree from the latter
April 10, 1872.
Dr. Lanouette practised medicine at Gentilly, Canada,
from May, 1872, to January, 1881; and was a surgeon
in the Ninety-second battalion of the Canadian militia
from i873-'9i; and since the latter year has been a resi-
dent of and practitioner in ATanchester. He is a member
of the New Hampshire Medical society; of the Ameri-
can Public Health association; of the College of Physi-
cians and Suigeons of the Province of Quebec; of the
340
JOSEPH E. A. LANOUETTE, M.D.
STATE BUILDERS
Medical Graduates' society of the University of Bishop's
college; vice-president, i872-'73, of the alumni of
Bishop's university; of the American Medical associa-
tion; of the Manchester Medical, association; of the New
Hampshire French Medical society; has been consulting
surgeon to the hospital of the Sacred Heart, Manchester,
since 1892; public vaccinator for the city of Manchester,
1885-94; was in charge of the smallpox hospital, Man-
chester, during the Montreal epideniic of smallpox, 1885;
and is medical examiner for several of the old-time insu-
rance companies.
On January 30, 1903, he was appointed by Mayor
Eugene E. Reed a member of the Manchester Board of
Heahh.
Dr. Lanouette was married November 25, 1872, to
Camilla, daughter of B. Maurault, N. P., of Gentilly,
P. O. Their children are: Eva, Adolphe, Gaston and
Alice Lanouette. He was married again in 1898 to Pa-
mela Maurault, and they have one child, Joseph Edward.
The familv residence is No. 224 Laurel street. ^
341
JOHN C FRENCH.
The late John C. French of Manchester, who for
thirty years was recognized as the leading member of the
ftre msurance business in New Hampshire, was born at
Pittsfield March ist, 1832, the son of Enoch and Eliza
(Late) French. His early advantages were scanty, but
by diligent use of the town schools he soon fitted himself
to teach in the district school, and with the money thus
earned, together with that received for labor on the farm
m summer time, he was enabled to pursue his studies at
the academies in Pittsfield, Gilmanton and Pembroke At
twenty-one he was engaged by J. C. Colton & co. as an
agent and his success was so marked that he was given
charge of the Boston agency of the house. In 1855 he
was appointed New England agent for the sale of Col-
ton's text books and for the next eleven years was en-
gaged in this business with them, and with Brown, Tag-
erart & Chase, and Charles Scribner & co. In 1866 Mr
French established himself in Manchester as state agent
for the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance company
Three years later, having in the meantime assiduously
studied the insurance business in all its bearings Mr
French organized the New Hampshire Fire Insurance
company, which proved to be his life work. He was
appointed general agent of the companv and during the
thirty years that he was connected with it in all capaci-
ties, from that of agent to that of president, he had the
satisfaction of seeing its business mount from almost
342
JOHN C. FRENCH
STATE BUILDERS
nothing to assets of more tlmn three niilHon dollars, and
to the ownership of a net surplus amounting to one-third
of that sum. From a modest office with one clerk he
saw its business extend from his native state to nearly
every state in the union, employing experienced help in
all sections of the country, and writing more than a
million and a half of business yearly. In 1895 Mr.
French was elected president of the company and held
that office until the time of his death, Jan. 8, 1900, which
w^as hastened by a deplorable carriage accident some eight
months previously. In addition to his business sagacity
he had a marked taste and capacity for matters of his-
tory, genealogy and general literature. He was a mem-
ber of the New Hampshire Historical society, one of the
founders and president of the Manchester Historical as-
sociation, a trustee of the Manchester public library and
of the N. H. insane asylum. He was an authority on
matters of early New Hampshire history and his knowl-
edge of bibliography, especially in its historical and gene-
alogical branches was wide and accurate. Matters per-
taining to the public good always commanded his atten-
tion.
He established the Siincook Valley Times, a weekly
newspaper, to the columns of which he contributed topics
of history and biography, and through this medium ren-
dered no small assistance in securing the construction of
the Suncook Valley Railroad, which proved of so much
value to Pittsfield and neighboring towns.
Mr. French was a constant attendant and liberal sup-
porter of the Franklin Street Congregational Church,
was a. thirty-second degree Mason and a Knight Tem-
plar, and was Director in the Merchants' National bank.
He married, in 1858, Annie M. Philbrick of Deerfield,
who, with two daughters and one son, survive him.
343
REV. LORIN WEBSTER.
One of the most progressive of New Hampshire edu-
cators is the Rev. Lorin Webster, rector of Holderness
School, Plymouth. Mr. Webster was born in Clare-
mont, July 29, 1857, and was fitted for college at St.
Paul's School, Concord. He matriculated at Trinity Col-
lege, Hartford, and was graduated in 1880 with the
degree of Bachelor of Arts, three years later receiving
his Master's degree from the same institution. Deter-
mining to enter the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, he studied theology at the Berkeley Divinity
School, INIiddletown, Conn., and was graduated with the
degree of Bachelor of Divinity in 1883. He imme-
diately entered the faculty of Holderness School as a
master, w.here he remained for one year, resigning
to assume the rectorship of the Episcopal Church at Ash-
land. From this position he was recalled to Holderness
to assume the rectorship of the school in 1892, and under
his direction the institution has made great advance, both
in equipment, endowment and numbers. The training at
Holderness School is thorough and scholarly. Located
upon the homestead of Chief Justice Samuel Livermore,
one of that sturdy group who gave New Hampshire as
an infant state its proud standing in the young republic,
the school is adequately housed in substantial buildings,
affording healthful and homelike accommodations for all
the boys enrolled. The atmosphere of the school is that
of the home, although discipline and study are by no
344
REV. LOREN WEBSTER
STATE BUILDERS
means lacking. The honor rolls of representative Ameri-
can colleges testify to the good work done at Holderness
School.
Under Mr. Webster the school has made its greatest
strides. Possessing that ardent temperament which ap-
peals irresistibly to- the mind of youth, the rector has
been enabled tO' impress his personality largely upon the
masters and pupils of the school. Himself a scholar of
no mean repute, endowed with many graces of character
and person, and entering ^^■ith zeal into all that affects
the interests of those committed to his care, the rector of
Holderness School occupies an unique position at the
head of his large family of pupils, standing, it may be
said without exaggeration, in loco parentis to the boys
who come under his guardianship. Sound morals, sound
bodies, sound scholarship, these are the cardinal princi-
ples of the work done at Holderness School.
These are also the principles which will be inculcated
at Camp \\'achusett, a summer camp for boys, which Mr.
Webster opened in 1903 on the shore of 'Squam Lake,
justly famed for its picturesque beauty. The camp
property contains about eight acres, and has a frontage
on the shore of more than nine hundred feet.
Mr, Webster is a musician of note, and manv of his
compositions have enjoyed wide popularity. From 1898
to 1901, he was president of the New Hampshire Music
Teachers' Association, and did much to place that organ-
ization upon the sound footing which it now enjoys.
Mr. Webster was married in 1884, to Miss Jennie J.
Adams, and has three children. Harold A., Bertha L.,
and Jerome P. In college Mr. Webster was a member
of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, and he is a Mason.
345
ALLEN N. CLAPP.
One of the men who helped make Manchester what
she is, the Queen City of the Merrimack valley, was the
late Allen N. Clapp, merchant, public official and man
of affairs. He was a native of Marlix)rough, New
Hampshire, having- been born in that town on January
2. 1837. He received his early education in the schools
of Nashua and at McGaw institute, Reed's ferry, one of
the best of the old time academies.
At the age of eighteen years he went to Nashua and
entered upon a business career distinguished for its up-
rightness, enterprise and success. For many years he
was one of the principal Avholesale grocers in his section,
and for a considerable period he represented the Standard
Oil company in Manchester. Business men of his stamp
add to the moral as well as the material wealth of a com-
munity and deserve the honor which Mr. Clapp, cer-
tainly, received.
In 1861-1S62 he was elected by his fellow citizens to
the board of aldermen; in 1874- 1875 to the New Hamp-
shire house of representatives, and in 1897- 1899 to the up-
per branch of the legislature, the New Hampshire state
senate. Toi the discharge of these various public duties Mr,
Clapp brought the same intelligence, industry and applica-
tion which marked his private business life; and on every
question that came before him for decision and action
he played the part of a conscientious administrator and
citizen.
346
ALLEN N. CLAPP
STATE BUILDERS
Passing away when but little beyond the prime of a
happy and highly useful life, Mr. Gapo did not allow
the memory of his good deeds to cease with his demise,
but in his will generously remembered Elliott Hospital,
the First Congregational church of Manchester, the
Manchester Y. M. C. A. and other worthy institutions.
Mr. Clapp married, May 25, 1863, Josephine M.
Mason of Keene, New Hampshire. Their one child is
Mrs. Annie Mason Sheldon.
347
CflARLES E. TILTON.
Charles Elliott Tilton, son of Samuel Tilton, was born
in that part of the town of SanlDornton subsequently set
off and incorporated as the town of Tilton, September
14, 1827, and died there on September 28, 1901. At the
time of his death he was one of New Hampshire's best
known and most public spirited citizens.
He was educated under the instruction of the late Prof.
Dyer H. Sanborn and at Norwich university, passing
three years at the latter institution, then located at Nor-
wich, Vt.
Starting out, while a young man, to seek his fortune,
he first sailed to South America. Hearing of the gold
discoveries in California, he became one of the world
famous '49ers. Soon concluding that for him trade
would be more profitable than gold digging, he went to
Oregon in 1850 and formed a partnership with W. S.
Ladd for general mercantile pursuits. This continued
until 1859, when the banking house of Ladd & Tilton
was established at Portland, Oregon, becoming an impor-
tant factor in the financial life of the coast and so^ con-
tinuing until 1880, when Mr. Tilton retired.
Meanwhile he had been engaged in various important
business enterprises in all the states and territories of the
Pacific Northwest. One of the most widely known was
the Oregon Railway & Navigation company.
Mr. Tilton resided during the summer time
in the town which bore his name and which he benefited
348
CHARLES E. TILTON
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in almost countless ways. A fine farm there he gave to
the state of New Hampshire as the site for its Soldiers'
Home. The Memorial Arch, which every traveller
through the town sees and admires; the Town Hall; the
fair grounds; and many other adornments Oif the town
were due tO' his generosity. There, too, he invested large
sums of money in real estate and business enterprises.
He was a director of the Concord & Montreal railroad
and was actively instrumental in the construction of the
Franklin and Tilton and Tilton and Belmont railroads.
Mr. Tilton was a Democrat in politics, but never would
accept political preferment.
A widow, Genevieve E. Tilton, two sons, Alfred E. and
Charles E., Jr., all of whom reside in Tilton, and Myra
Ames Frost, a daughter, a resident of Fitchburg, Mass.,
survive Mr. Tilton.
349
WILLIAM JEWETT TUCKER.
Dartmouth College, founded in 1769 by Eleazer
Wheelock, primarily as a training school for Indian use,
has long since outgrown the intention of its founder, and
though still proud to think of itself in the words of its
greatest son as "a. small college," it nevertheless now ranks
in number of students and excellence of equipment with
the largest institutions of learning in the country. Hav-
ing passed the period of establishment and entered upon a
definite policy of expansion, both in the external and in-
ternal affairs of the college, Dartmouth in the past ten
years has taken immense strides toward educational per-
fection. This period marks the administration of Wil-
liam Jewett Tucker, who was inducted into office in June,
1893. President Tucker is a native of Griswold, Con-
necticut, where he was born July 13, 1839. His early
education was obtained at the Academy in Plymouth,
N. H., and Kimball Union Academy, Meriden. He
graduated from Dartmouth with high rank in the class of
1 86 1, and for two years thereafter was engaged in teach-
ing at Columbus, Ohio. He then entered upon the study
of theolog}" at Andover Seminary and was graduated in
1866. He began his ministry in the city of Manchester,
where he was ordained and installed pastor of the Frank-
lin Street Congregational Church in 1867. Remaining
there until 1875. he was called to the Madison Square
Presbyterian church of New York, where he continued
until 1880, when he was chosen to the chair of homiletics
350
STATE BUILDERS
in Andover Theological seminary. From this post he
was called to the presidency of Dartmouth. During the
years of his professorship at Dartmouth, Dr. Tucker be-
came deeply interested in practical sociological work and
founded the Andover House and social settlement in Bos-
ton, now known as the South End house. He was one
of the founders and editor of the Andover Review. In
1893, Dr. Tucker delivered the annual Phi Beta Kappa
oration at Harvard University, and in 1894 was a lecturer
in the Lowell Institute in Boston, delivering there a most
remarkable series of addresses bearing upon modern re-
ligious problems. In 1897 he delivered the Winkley lec-
tures at Andover seminary, and in 1898 was the lecturer
on the Lyman Beecher foundation at Yale Theological
school. These lectures, subsequently published under the
title, "The Making and Unmaking of a Preacher," rank
high in suggestiveness and value.
351
FRANK \A'. GRAFTOX, M. D.
One of the younger members of tlie medical fraternity
in New Hampshire, but yet by promise and performance
entitled to hig^h rank among his professional brethren, is
Dr. Frank \\'. Grafton, of Concord, who was born in Gil-
ford, in 1869. and was educated at Gilmanton academy,
and in the schools of the city of Concord. His medical
studies were pursued at Dartmouth ]\Iedical school,
wiiere he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in
1895. and after a year's service in the hospitals,
entered upon active practice at Concord. His
success was immediate and his practice has in-
creased yearly until it is now one of the most extensive
and lucrative enjoyed by any physician in the city. Dr.
Grafton in addition to the demands of his many patients
is a member of the staff of the ]\Iargaret Pillsbury general
hospital, giving no little time to the duties of that posi-
tion. He maintains close touch with the progress of his
profession through active membership with the New
Hampshire Medical association, the Center District Medi-
cal society and the .American INIedical association. His
contributions to the programs of some of these organiza-
tions bear evidence of sound medical learning, surgical
skill and rare good judgment. He married in Dec. 1896
Miss Edith INIcDowell, and their home on State street m
the centre of the most desirable residential section of Con-
cord is the abode of culture and refinement, and the scene
of much charming hospitality. Dr. Grafton is a member
of the Wonolancet club, a Mason and Knights Templar,
and a member of the Odd Fellows. He attends the Epis-
copal church.
352
FRANK \V. GRAFFTON, M.D.
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GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS.
George Hamilton Perkins, United States Navy,
was born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, October
20, 1835, and died at his residence, 23 CommonweaUh
avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, on October 28, 1899.
He was a son of the late Judge Hamilton E. Perkins
of the Merrimack County probate court and was reared
and received his early education in the capital city, Con-
cord.
Appointed to the Naval Academy at Annapolis, he be-
came acting midshipman in 1851; lieutenant, February
2, 1861; lieutenant commander December 13, 1862;
commander, January 19, 1871; captain March 10, 1882;
and commodore in 1896 by special act of Congress, five
years after his retirement as captain.
Commodore Perkins left a wife, who was a daugh-
ter of the millionaire merchant of Boston, the late Will-
iam F. Weld, and a daughter, Isabel, the wife of Lars
Anderson. By them a splendid monument to his memory
was erected in the Statehouse enclosure at Concord and
presented to the state with appropriate exercises in 1902.
Daniel C. French was the sculptor and President Tucker
of Dartmouth was the orator of the occasion.
Commodore Perkins owned an extensive summer es-
tablishment in the town of Webster where he spent much
money for various improvements and where he enjoyed
long and frequent visits. His attachment to his native
State remained strong during life.
354
GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS,
Coiiuitodoie United States A^avy
STATE BUILDERS
His service in the Navy during the War of the Rebel-
lion was distinguished for bravery, brilliance and her-
oism. He was executive officer of the "Cayuga" at the
passage of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and the capture
of New Orleans by Farragut in 1862, accompanying
Capt:ain Bailey when the latter was sent ashore to receive
the surrender of the city amid the curses and threats of
a fiendish mob.
He commanded the ironclad, "Chickasaw," in the bat-
tle of Mobile Bay; was mainly instrumental in the capture
of the big rebel ram, "Tennessee"; subsequently bom-
barded Fort Powell, which was evacuated and blown up,
and later shelled Fort Gaines, compelling its surrender
with the entire garrison. For his conspicuous gallantry
here he was specially commended by Admiral Farragut,
who said of him "No braver man ever trod the deck of a
ship."
By this battle imperishable fame came to the subject of
this sketch at the early age of 28 years; and the remain-
der of his career measured up to the standard of his early
achievements.
355
WILLIAAI R. CLOUGH.
New Hampshire genius and enterprise are well rep-
resented by William Rockwell Clough of Alton, who
was born in that town November 8, 1844. His father
was a well-established business man in the city of Man-
chester who later purchased a farm in his native town
of Alton, where his two sons were born, both of whom
still live upon the paternal acres.
Rockwell, the subject of this sketch, attended the pub-
lic schools of his native town, supplemeiiting the advan-
tages there enjoyed by courses at the Gilmanton schools
and at Franklin Academy, Dover. Leaving the farm
at the age of 17, he went to Massachusetts, where,
in 1862, he enlisted in the 50th regiment of Massachu-
setts volunteers and followed the flag faithfully until the
return of the regiment. He participated in the siege and
assault at Port Hudson, and has the distinction of having
been under fire continuously for six weeks. After being
mustered out he found employment as a book-keeper at
Cambridgqx)rt, having previously taken a course in com-
mercial training at the Eastman College, Poughkeepsie,
New York, and from there entered tlie employ of the
United States Government as an exper: accountant in the
department of internal revenue at Boston. Here he re-
mained for two years. Being of a mechanical turn of
mind he became accidentally attracted io the methods in
vogue for making corkscrews and other wire
goods, and soon hit upon a device which
356
WILLIAM R. CLOUGH
STATE BUILDERS
materially improved all existing machinery for
that purpose. In all he has taken out some thirty
patents. He was not able at once to develop his inven-
tion but the merit of his device made its way, though
slowly at first, until now he has established in his native
town one of the largest concerns of the kind in the
world, thoroughly equipped with machniery of his own
invention and of a nature so productive that one machine
will do the work of twenty men. His machines have
been widely introduced both in France and England,
and he has travelled extensively in the old country in
the interests of his patents. As an exhibitor at the
various industrial expositions held both here and in the
old world, he has been uniformly successful. At the
Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia he received two
premiums. He was also a prize winner at the Paris
Expositions of 1878, 1889 and 1900, and he has awards
from the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in
1893, and from the Cotton States Exposition at Atlanta
in 1895. At the Atlanta Exposition he was chosen
president of the Exhibitors' association.
Mr. Clough has retained the sole ownership
of his business, and its development and prosperity are
due to him as well as its inception in the patenting of
its fundamental device, being materially assisted by his
employees, also Alton men.
Mr. Clough was a member of the New Hampshire
legislature in 1897 and 1899, where he served as chair-
man of the committee on national affairs for both terms,
and where as a forceful and earnest speaker he made his
mark as a member of influence and integrity.
357
EDWARD HAMLIN CLOUGH.
Edward Hamlin Clough was born in ]\Ieredith, May
2, i860, the son of John K. and Ellen Libbey Clough.
He is a descendant on the paternal side of Oliver Clough,
a Scotchman and a soldier in the Revolutionary war
in Col, Alexander Scammell's 3d New Hampshire regi-
inent, and on the maternal side of John Libbey, an Eng-
lishman who settled at what is known as Portland,
Maine, in 1630.
Pie was educated in the schools of his native town and
remained at home until August, 1880, when he went to
T\Ianchester and entered the employ of Clough & Towle,
wholesale provision dealers, as book-keeper. Four years
later he was admitted to partnership with George S.
Clough, and the business was conducted under the firm
nam.e of Clough & company. In eight years the firm
built up an extensive business, reaching all important
points in northern New Hampshire. The firm was con-
tinued until 1 89 1, when Clough & company disposed of
their business to Swift Sz company. I\Ir. Clough ac-
cepted a position with Swift & company as salesman and
continued with the corporation up to the time of his
assuming the duties of postmaster.
Mr. Clough is the youngest of a family of seven boys,
and the patriotism of the family was shown at the out-
break of the Civil war, when three of his brothers vol-
unteered and saw arduous and gallant service : Wil-
liam O. Clough, Nashua, Editor of the Nashua Daily
358
EDWARD H. C LOUGH,
Postmaster, Manchester, igoj
STATE BUILDERS
Press; John F. Cloiigh, Manchester, Hillsboro County
Commissioner; Henry B. Clough, Manchester; George
S. and Charles B. Clongh, soldiers in the 12th New
Hampshire Regiment, with John F., deceased, and
Frank E. Clongh of Meredith.
In fraternal circles he is well and favorably known,
being a member of the Lafayette lodge of A. F. and
A. M.; Passaconaway Tribe of Red Men, and Queen
City lodge, K. of P. He is also a member of the Amos-
keag Veterans.
Postmaster Clough, who was recommended by the
Hon. Flenry E. Burnham, U. S. Senator, June 3, 1902,
for postmaster of Manchester, was promptly named by
President Roosevelt and confirmed by the Senate. He
•as-sumed the duties and position July i, 1902, of the
largest postoffice of the state, also four stations con-
nected with this office, and has the direction of a force
consisting of nineteen clerks (the assistant postmaster
rating in the department as one), one substitute clerk,
thirty-two carriers and ten substitute carriers, seven
rural carriers and seven substitute rural carriers and the
janitor force of three.
Mr. Clough married Miss Etta P. Prouty of Spencer,
Mass., June 14, 1884, and the fruit cf their union has
been four children, two boys and two girls : — Frank E.,
Elsie M., William O. and Julia Marion Clough.
359
AUGUSTUS H. STARK.
All New Hampshire, and especially the city of Man-
chester, honors and holds in perpetual remembrance the
name of Gen. John Stark, the hero of Bunker Hill and
the conqueror at Bennington, where by a consummate
generalship he put to flight the royal forces under Baum
and so crippled the main advance of Burgoyne's army
as to seal the fate of the entire command then and there.
The outcome of the conflicts on September 19, and Oc-
tober 7, 1777, was made certain by the blow struck by
Stark at Bennington and the grandest result of all was
the practical assurance from that glorious day of the
ultimate triumph of the cause of the colonies.
General Stark left a family representative of his day
and times, and like the provident parent he was, gave each
of his children a start in life by bequeathing to each a
generous slice of the realty that he had accumulated in his
active and well spent life of ninety-four years. From
the day that General vStark made what is now Manchester
his home that community has never been without its
families of Starks, and throughout the generations thev
have been closely and most honorably associated with
its growth and upbuilding.
In the fourth generation from General Stark was Au-
gustus H. Stark, in whose personality there survived
many characteristics of the General, and particularly so in
his versatility and love of nature and those influences of
the home.
360
AUGUSTUS H. STARK
STATE BUILDERS
The father of Augustus H. was John, grandson of
the General and third to bear the name. He married
Sarah Fletcher Pollard.
Augustus H. Stark was born in Manchester, Novem-
ber 6, 1834, and died in his native city August 8, 1902.
After completing' the several grades of the common
schools he entered upon an apprenticeship to the carriage
painter's trade, and at this and as a dealer in carriages he
continued until 1882, when he returned to his native city
from Boston, which city and its adjacent communities
had been his home for some years preceding.
His father having died he inherited a large tract of
land originally owned and tilled by General Stark and lo-
cated in what is the beautiful North End of Manchester,
the finest residential portion of the city. To the care
and improvement of this realty he devoted most of his
time after his return to the city. Upon a site overlook-
ing the immediate valley of the Merrimac River and
commanding a view of incomparable loveliness, he built
one of the most beautiful residences in Manchester. On
the opposite side of the highway from the front of the
residence was the land now included in Stark Park.
Later he and a sister gave a portion of this tract to the
city of Manchester, while another section was bought
by the city and the whole set aside for a public ground.
Within this enclosure was the Stark family burial
ground, first set apart for that purpose by General Stark
and where he was finally buried. To the beautifying of
this cemetery Mr. Stark gave liberally of his means and
time, and upon his own death it became the place of his
sepulchre.
Mr. Stark was twice married. His first wife was
Isabelle Buck of Randolph, Mass. His second wife was
Edith Frances Furbish, daughter of Henry D. and Sarah
P. (Littlefield) Furbish of Skowhegan, Maine, whom he
361
STATE BUILDERS
married December 17, 1881. Mrs. Stark yet lives in
the family homestead which she maintains in most ex-
cellent and pleasing taste. Upon its walls are hung
various oil paintings, the creations of her husband, who
displayed a tact and ability with the brush that were
more than ordinary in their scope. Mrs. Stark is also
the fortunate possessor of many household articles that
were once owned by General Stark.
362
FREDERICK W. DORING
FREDERICK W. DORING.
Frederick W. Doring, principal of the Concord high
school, is a native of Perry, Me. He fitted for college
at the Boynton high school, Eastport, Me., where he was
graduated with valedictory honors in ihe class of 1879.
A four years' course at Dartmouth college immediately
followed, and in 1883 Mr. Doring received his diploma
and degree from that splendid New Hampshire institu-
tion. At Hanover he ranked as one of the best scholars
in his class, being a member of Phi Beta Kappa and
receiving the honor of an English oration in the com-
mencement exercises.
During the year following his graduation Mr. Doring
was principal of the Brooks school at Eastport, Me.
From there he went to Newmarket, N. H., where he
labored successfully for four years as principal of the
high school. Farmington, N. H., next called him to
its high school, and there he remained five years. In
1893 he went to Woonsocket, R. I., as principal of
the city high school, one of the largest public schools
in the state and one which, under his direction, advanced
to the very front rank in New England educational
prestige.
Coincident with this steady rise to the top of the
ladder in his profession, and doubtless a partial explana-
tion oi his success, Mr. Doring has done an unusually
large amount of graduate work; studying chemistry at
Dartmouth, psychology and pedagogy at Clark Univer-
363
STATE BUILDERS
sity, chemistry, physics and history at Harvard, and
history at Brown University.
Both in New Hampshire and in Rhode Island
Mr. Doring has been a leader among his associates
in educational work and has been much in demand as
a speaker at teachers' institutes. He served in 1899
as president of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction
and as president of the Woonsocket teachers' associa-
tion. Since his return to New Hampshire he has been
prominent in the State teachers' association and has
been instrumental in the organization of an association
of high school principals, of which he has been elected
secretary.
He is also a member of the Barnard club (the school-
masters' club of Rhode Island), the Massachusetts high
school masters' club, the New England history teachers'
association, and the Harvard teachers' association.
Mr. Doring is married and has one child, a daughter.
He is a Mason and a Knight Templar, and attends the
Universalist church.
He always allies himself actively with the best
interests of the community in which he resides and as a
citizen as well as an educator counts materially on
the right side in whatever affects the municipal life.
364
WILLIAM H. ROLLINS
WILLIAM H. ROLLINS.
One of the most venerable and highly esteemed citi-
zens of Portsmouth, and of New Hampshire for that
matter, is William H. Rollins, who in this year of 1903
is an octogenarian, but as well preserved a man, in as good
health, as buoyant in spirit, and with as clear an intellect
as most men a decade or more his junior in years.
He was born in Portsmouth September 7, 1822. His
father belonged to that ancestral family from which the
town of Rollinsford took its name, and was born there
in 1790. In 18 1 3 the senior Mr. Rollins removed to
Portsmouth and made it his home ever after, as his son,
William H., has all of his, having lived since nine years
of age in his present residence.
His father was a prosperous merchant and closely
identified with the progress of Portsmouth for many
yeai^s. As was natural, the son^ has maintained his
father's interest in the city and has been favored by it
with many offices of trust and responsibility. His moth-
er was Mary A. Hooker, and to his parents were born
two other sons and two daughters, both of the latter
dying within five years of birth.
Early deciding upon a professional career, the son,
William H., after a most thorough preparatory course,
entered Harvard University and completed the pre-
scribed course and upon graduation he at once entered
upon the study of law. Obtaining admission to the bar of
New Hampshire he began practice in his native city in
365
STATE BUILDERS
1844. Active, energetic, courageous, and public spirited
the young practitioner soon attained to positions of honor
and responsibility. He became the president of the
Portsmouth savings bank and retained the position until
his resignation in 1894. For full thirty years he was a
director of the National Merchants and Traders bank of
Portsmouth.
From 1850 to 1869 he held the dual offices of secretary
and treasurer of the Portsmouth Atheneum, and again
from 1894 to 1903 he held the same positions. He was
also, in the '70s, president of the same corporation for
some four or five years. For nine years he was a mem-
ber of the school committee in his home city, and has
likewise served as a member of the state legislature
He was married in Portsmouth, January 2, 1879, to
Miss Elizabeth Ball. That there may yet be in store for
him many happy and useful years is the wish of all in hi,?
native Portsmouth.
366
M. E. KEAN, M.D.
M. E. KEAN, M. D.
In the personality and characteristics of M. E. Kean,
M. D., the student of human nature finds a delightful
study which deepens in interest and pleasure the longer
it is followed and considered. His is a genial and sunny
disposition and an unvarying nature as to natural moods.
At the same time he never borders upon the frivolous,
but is, on the contrary, the soul of sincerity and reality.
It is his rare good fortune to adapt himself to the ever-
changing conditions and circumstances of life, and in the
possession of this happy faculty is doubtless due, in large
measure, his brilliant professional and general success
in life.
The parents of Dr. Kean were Michael and Mary
(Nicholson) Kean. Both were natives of Ireland, but
both emigrated to America in their childhood years and
settled in Manchester, which city has remained to the
present (1903) their home. The senior Kean became an
esteemed citizen of his adopted city, and in his younger
days was extensively engaged in the team work con-
nected with the construction of various among the
mills of Manchester. It was while he had a temporary
residence in Bedford, across the river from Manchester,
that his son, the subject of this sketch, was born, on
June 28, 1863. The school life of the son was passed
in the Park Street school, Thomas Corcoran, principal,
and was supplemented by a course in the commercial
school of William H. Heron. Leaving school he next
367
STATE BUILDERS
entered upon an apprenticeship to the machinist's trade,
and ere long he was combining with this studies in me-
chanical engineering-, for his whole manifest predilection
was to mechanics, and if it be true, as is often asserted,
that to be a good physician or surgeon one must have a
native bent for mechanics, it was but natural that young
Kean should drift into the study of physics and surgery,
and this he did.
At first his professional studies were under the
private tutorage of the late George C. Hoitt, M. D., of
Manchester. From his private studies he entered the
medical school of Dartmouth College, where his scholar-
ship and innate aptitude soon placed him at the head of
his class, a position he maintained to the end, for he
was valedictorian of his class upon graduation in
November, 1888.
Since obtaining his diploma he has served as house
surgeon of the famed Carney Hospital in Boston, Mass.,
and is an ex-president of the alumni association of that
institution.
Locating in Manchester he has from the beginning
achieved a most flattering success, and is not only
esteemed for his ability as a physician and surgeon, but
for those c[ualities that go to make the genuine man.
He is a member of the Massachusetts state medical
society, the New Hampshire state medical society, and
of the Manchester medical society, of which last he is a
former president. Since the institution of the Sacred
Heart Hospital, Manchester, which was in 1893, Dr.
Kean has served as a member of the staff of surgeons,
has officiated as secretary of the staff, and at present is
the senior surgeon of the hospital. In 1891 he married
Miss Elizabeth E. Ward of West Lebanon, and they have
one child, Ruth Elizabeth Arnoldine.
368
IRA JOSLIN PROUTY, M.D.
IRA JOSLIN PROUTY, M. D.
Ira Joslin Prouty, M. D., Keene, N. H. Son of Dr.
Ira French and Elsie Joslin Prouty, was born August 15,
1857, at Ogdensburgh, N. Y. Received his education in
the public schools of Keene, graduating from the high
school in 1875. Following this he took a special course at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; entered upon
the study of medicine, graduating from the Medical De-
partment of the University of New York in 1882.
He began at once the practice of his profession in
Keene. Since his graduation he has done postgraduate
work at Johns Hopkins hospital at Baltimore and in the
hospitals of Boston and New York. He spent the years
1893-4 with some of the leading surgeons and at the
surgical" centres of Great Britain and on the continent.
He is a member of the American medical association,
being a member of the House of Delegates 1902- 1903.
Member of the New Hampshire medical society; Ex-
President of the New Hampshire surgical society; Ex-
President of the Connecticut valley medical association
and the Cheshire county medical society and also' Keene
natural history society. Was a member of the Board of
education 1883- 1889; city physician 1884- 1886; board of
health 1884-1885, a member of the original staff of the
Elliott city hospital, 1892, and of the first board of
trustees.
Has contributed to medical journals and presented a
number of papers before the various medical societies,
mostly upon surgical topics.
In 1882 he married Marietta, eldest daughter of John
Humphrey of Keene, who died in 1894 leaving one son,
Ira Humphrey Prouty.
369
WILLIAM H. NUTE, M. D.
William H. Nute, M. D., of Exeter, was born in Farm-
ington May 8, 1858, the son of Charles W. and Mary L.
(Richardson) Nute. He was graduated from the high
school of his native town and pursued his studies at the
New Hampton institution, going for his professional
training to Bellevue, New York city, and the Bow-
doin Medical school, Brunswick, Me., where he
received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1881,
He immediately entered upon the practice of his
profession in his native town, and remained there until
1 89 1, when despite the marked success which had fol-
lowed him in Farmington he determined to make the
hazard of new fortunes and removed to Exeter. In his
new location Dr. Nute was equally prosperous and suc-
cessful, and he almost immediately entered upon a prac-
tice which has now grown to be one of the largest in
central Rockingham county.
Dr. Nute was one of the first to recognize Exeter's
need O'f hospital accommodations, and largely through
his efforts the Exeter cottage hospital was established to
which he gives a large measure of his time.
Dr. Nute keeps thoroughly abreast with all the prog-
ress of his profession, and annually spends a large amount
of time in the hospitals of Boston perfecting himself in all
the latest discoveries of modern medical science. In addi-
tion to the exacting cares of a large general practice,
Dr. Nute is a medical examiner for the Ancient Order of
370
WILLIAM H. NUTE, M.D.
STATE BUILDERS
United Workmen, as well as for all the leading insurance
companies which do business in his section. He is presi-
dent of the Strafford district medical society, Fellow of
the American Medical association, member of the New
Hampshire Surgical club, and of the New Hampshire
Medical society. He has been prominent also in various
secret fraternities and is a 33d degree Mason, having
served as master of his lodge and past district deputy
grand master. He has also passed the chairs in the Odd-
Fellows and is a member of the Knights of Pythias. He
is Past Sachem of the Improved Order of Red Men, this
being the highest office in the gift of the order in the
state. He is also a member of the Foresters of America.
Dr. Nute married Miss Lucy Read, a daughter of one
of the oldest and best known families in Exeter, and has
one son, Norwood Read. He is a Republican in poli-
tics, a member of the Board of Health of Exeter, and
attends the Unitarian church.
371
F. S. TOWLE, M. D.
In the very front rank of the young medical men of the
state is F. S. Towle, M. D., of Portsmouth, who was
born in the city of Boston, December 28, 1863, but who
is rightfully considered as belonging to New Hampshire,
because he has given her nearly a decade out of the best
part of his life. He was educated in the schools of his
native city, but was not satisfied with this equipment for
life and determined tO' become a professional man. At
the Columbia Medical college he worked his way through,
graduating with credit and receiving the degree of Doctor
of Medicine. Later he took a post-graduate course,
thereby perfecting and extending his knowledge along
certain important lines.
His first location for the practice of his profession was
in Boston, but in 1894 he removed to Portsmouth, where
he has since been located, having established a large prac-
tice and a splendid reputation for knowledge, skill and
competence. One evidence of this is the frequency with
which he is called into consultation by his fellow physi-
cians in cases of unusual gravity and difficulty.
Doctor Towle is a member of the American medical
association; of the New Hampshire state medical society;
of the Strafford medical association; of the Rockingham
county association; of the Portsmouth medical associa-
tion; and is a fellow of the American electro-therapeutics.
Of a social disposition and deservedly popular and
prominent in fraternal circles, Dr. Towle is a member of
372
F. S. TOWLE, M.D.
STATE BUILDERS
the Knights Templar, of the I. O. O. F., of the Knights
of Pythias, and other organizations. He is a RepubHcan
in poHtics and has served his city efficiently as chairman
of the board of health and as member of the school board.
He has also been honored by appointment as surgeon-
general on the staff of the governor of the state.
He married Miss Martha H. Perry of Boston, Mass.,
and they have one son, a student in the Portsmouth Pligh
school.
373
E. L. CLICK.
E. L. Click, proprietor and principal of the National
School of Business, Concord, New Hampshire, is a native
of Michigan, and was born in 1867. At the completion
of his school days he became a teacher in his native state,
holding- positions in the cities of Crand Rapids and De-
troit. Being attracted to the study of stenography Mr.
Click perfected himself in this branch and became a court
reporter, discharging his duties with signal ability in the
two cities named above until his removal after several
years to Cleveland, Ohio, where he became a teacher in
a large business college. From Cleveland Mr. Click made
his way east and settled in Lowell, where he was engaged
in teaching commercial science for several years. In
1898, he came to Concord, where he purchased and con-
solidated two small struggling business colleges then ex-
isting in the city, and upon this basis has built up in the
National School of Business one of the largest and most
successful of commercial colleges in the East. Mr. Click's
students come from nearly all of the Eastern states and
his roll of pupils now numbers more than one hundred.
The school is finely located in one of the principal busi-
ness blocks in Concord, occupying an entire floor, which
is specially equipped with apparatus designed to give an
insight into all branches of commercial knowledge. Ac-
tual business from the start is the watchword of Mr.
Click's school, and his pupils are favored from the begin-
ning of their studies Avith an opportunity to learn by
374
E. L. CLICK
STATE BUILDERS
practice the actual procedure of modern commercial life.
In addition to the training of clerks, accountants and
stenographers common to most commercial colleges, the
National School of Business is especially equipped for the
training of teachers for business colleges, and in this line
its success has been very marked. Many of Mr. Click's
pupils have gone from his school to lucrative positions in
other business colleges where by the introduction of the
methods which have made the National School of Busi-
ness so successful they have carried on the good work in
sending out thoroughly trained and practised students for
the manifold duties growing out of the varying and ex-
acting commercial life of to-day.
Mr. Click in addition to being thoroughly familiar with
all the branches forming the curriculum of the school and
thus being enabled to have a close and practical oversight
of all the work done in the school, is a penman of re-
markable versatility and skill. The pages of the National
Penman, the recognized organ of penmanship in America,
have been adorned in successive numbers for many years
with reproductions of Mr. Click's work, both in handwrit-
ing and the more ornate branches of penmanship, and
many of the prizes ofifered by that journal for the finest
work in penmanship have fallen into Mr. Click's hands as
a result of the competitions thus set on foot.
375
HENRY DeWOLFE CARVELLE, M. D.
Henry DeWolfe Carvelle, M. D., was born in Rich-
mond, N. B., May 26, 1852, the son of James Sherard
and Elizabeth (Porter) Carvelle. His mother was of
Scotch birth, her ancestors being neighbors of the im-
mortal Bobbie Burns, and his father was of English
descent, tracing his ancestry to the time of William the
Conqueror. His great-grandfather fought in the War of
the Revolution on the British side.
After attending the schools of his native town
Dr. Carvelle entered, in 1873, the Boston Eye and
Ear infirmary as a medical attendant. There he
remained two years and during the second year pur-
sued studies under the guidance of Dr. Albert N.
Blodgett, superintendent of the institution. In 1875 he
entered the Harvard Medical school, graduating in 1878.
During his last year there he assisted for a month
in the practice of Dr. Edward Waldo Ernerson, residing
at the house of Dr. Emerson's father, tJje distinguished
Ralph Waldo Emerson, where his associations were ex-
ceedingly delightful.
After graduation from college Dr. Carvelle resided in
Boston for a short time and then removed to Manches-
ter. There he continued in general practice until 1884,
since which date he has devoted himself to the treatment
of the eye and ear. As a specialist in diseases of these
organs he ranks high, being the first ophthalmic and aural
surgeon in New Hampshire and frequently called to all
parts of the state on difficult cases.
376
HENRY DeWOLFE CARVELLE, M.D.
STATE BUILDERS
He has taken various special courses in the line of his
special work in New York and in 1887 he went abroad
for further study, spending several months in the Royal
London Ophthalmic hospital and in the eye and ear
clinics of Paris. He is a member of the New Hamp-
shire Medical society, the Manchester Medical association,
censor of the Medico-Chirurgical college of Phila-
delphia, honorary member of the I. Webster Fox
Ophthalmological society of Philadelphia, of the ophthal-
mological section of the American Medical association
and of the Pan-American Medical congress at Havana,
Cuba, Feb. 190 1. He is ophthalmic and aural surgeon of
the Elliot hospital.
Dr. Carvelle is an Episcopalian, but attends the Frank-
lin Street Congregational church. On May 5,
1893, he married Anna Brewster Sullivan, daughter of
John and Arinna (Whittemore) Sullivan of Suncook, a
grand-daughter of the late Hon. Aaron Whittemore of
Pembroke. They have one daughter, Euphrosyne
Parepa, born May 15, 1894.
377
EMIL CUSTER, M. D.
Dr. Custer practised medicine for nearly half a
century in Manchester, N. H., and died the oldest practi-
tioner in the city. He was born in Frankfurt a-m
(am Main), Germany, June 12, 1820. His father was
a native of Switzerland, his mother of Germany,
His parents removed to Altstatten, canton St. Gallen,
Switzerland, when he was four years of age. There he
received his primary education; he attended the Latin
School and Gymnasium of Aarau and St. Gallen, and
spent seven years at the Universities of Zurich, Freiburg-,
Wurzburg and Munich. After completing his studies,
he married Mrs. Nannette Tollmann-Spann, a lady of
fine presence and amiable disposition, an accomplished
pianist, descended from a family oi rank and importance
in Swiss history. In the fall of 1846 Dr. Custer with
his family came to America and after a short stay in
Syracuse, N. Y., settled in Manchester, N. H., in 1847,
when the city was in its infancy.
Dr. Custer possessed a fine classical education and
high literary attainments with a refined poetic mind. He
gradually built up an extensive practice in the city and
surrounding country. He was most popular, a man of
strictest integrity, full of conscientious endeavor for his
fellowmen; beloved and respected by all who knew him.
He combined the skill with which he ministered to the
sick and afflicted, with a cheerfulness which brought sun-
shine to many a discouraged soul, and delighted heavy
hearts by his unlimited fund of wit and humor.
378
EMIL CUSTER, M.D.
STATE BUILDERS
He was a large hearted genial man, whose word was
as good as his bond, and in his professional attendance
he made no difference between rich or poor. He was
progressive in his ideas. Although a thoroughly educated
allopathic physician he investigated the system of home-
opathy, and finding it superior tO' the old school, he
became a firm believer and practiced it to the end of his
life. He said jokingly, that his conscience would not
allow him toi practise allopathy, after he knew there was
a better way of treatment. In this he achieved success
and his advice and skill were sought by many in the city
and surrounding country. He was systematic in all his
work, neglecting nothing, and although he had a very
large practise, he found time for sociability, and was a
welcome guest wherever he went.
Dr. Custer was a most modest and unassuming man,
and only his most intimate friends had an insight to
his rich and fertile mind. To all others he was the able
and genial physician. He was fond of children. His
own two having died in infancy, he adopted his wife's
children and was a most indulgent parent to them.
His wife's death occurred seven years before his own
demise, which ended a most useful life. May i8th, 1896.
He kept his bright, cheery disposition through a long
and trying illness, till he succumbed to the inevitable.
379
EDWARD L. CUSTER, Artist.
Edward L. Custer was born in Basel, Switzerland,
January 24, 1837, oldest son of Henry M. and Nannette
Tollman-Spann. After his father's death, his mother
married Dr. Emil Custer, a man who, with his love for
children, cared for them as if his own. He received his
primary education in Switzerland and America, but his
art education in Germany. He was nine years old when
his parents came to America; overcoming many difficul-
ties in their struggle to gain a foothold. He attended
the schools of Manchester, New Hampshire, and soon
helped to support himself by his palette and brush. His
talent was early apparent. Some of his pictures, painted
while an untaught boy of fourteen years, are still pre-
served by the family, and though crude are strikingly
natural in tone and action. He also did a great deal of
decorative work, and also taught drawing and painting.
In i860 he sailed for Europe, and studied in the art
school of Dusseldorf, Germany, and after that became a
pupil at the Royal Academy in Munich, Bavaria, where
he studied under Steffan, and Schiess, both original and
powerful painters of landscapes. He spent his summers
in Switzerland, with his teachers, sketching from
Nature, and after two years he returned, and exhibited
a number of his paintings in New York City, where
they found ready purchasers. In the summer his favor-
ite haunts were northern New Hampshire and Vermont,
upon the Connecticut and its tributaries. His realistic
380
EDWARD L. CUSTER
STATE BUILDERS
studies of these localities, afterwards wrought into more
artistic form, were widely known and admired. In 1864
he settled in Boston, Mass., and in the same year he
married Miss Ruth A. Porter of Manchester, N. H., a
young lady of culture^ and a successful teacher in the
Public Schools of that city. In Boston, his talent was
recognized at once, and he was successful from the
beginning. He painted landscapes and portraits both,
was especially delighted in portraying of children. His
portraits were uniformly good likenesses, for no man
was more accurate in the observation of traits or
more faithful in their rep|roduction. His landscapes
and animal pictures were also the result of patient and
loving study, and so were always characteristic in
detail, as well as in general effect, and show his ability
was not confined to one branch of art alone. In 1870
he went abroad again with his wife and spent another
year in devoted study, and visited the art galleries of
Italy, Holland, and Germany. On his return to America
his work began to exhibit a style and vigor beyond the
expectations of his warmest friends.
His portraits of men of eminence and character were
greatly admired, among which may be mentioned those
of Judge Allen, Judge Thomas of Boston, Mass., Judge
Hoar, Judge Bacon, Mr. Haven, the eminent anti-
quarian, and Stephen Salisbury of Worcester, Mass.
In February, 1878, he met with a great loss, the death
of his beloved wife. The following summer he spent in
European travel. In May, 1880, he married again. His
death occurred soon after in the prime of life, January
9th, 1 88 1. He left no issue by either marriage. To his
friends he was more than the popular and successful
painter; he was a man to be esteemed, .a friend to be
loved.
381
JOSHUA OILMAN HALL.
County Solicitor, member of the General court, State
senator, U. S. District attorney and member of Congress,
this was the distinguished official record of the late Hon.
Joshua Oilman Hall, of Dover, who was born in Wake-
field, Nov. 5th, 1828, and died Oct. 31st, 1898. Mr. Hall
was a lineal descendant from John Hall, the first deacon
in the first church at Dover, founded in 1638. He pre^
pared for college at Oilmanton academy, and was grad-
uated from Dartmouth in the class of 1851, studied law
with the late Daniel M. Christie, of Dover, the precepvor
of so many brilliant members of the New Hampshire bar,
and was admitted to practice in 1855. He began his pro-
fessional activity first in his native village, but later re-
moved to Dover, where he spent the balance of his life.
Mr. Hall was not long in making his way to the front
rank of his profession and at the time of his death had
been for many years numbered with the leading members
of the bar in the state. In 1862 he was first chosen to
public office as solicitor of Strafford county, which posi-
tion he held until 1874. In that year he was elected to
represent his ward in the Oeneral court and was one of
the most influential members of that body in the practical
shaping of legislation. In 1871 and 1872 he sat in the
State senate and from 1874 to 1879 he was U. S. attorney
for the district of New Hampshire. In 1880 he was elect-
ed to represent his district in congress and served two
terms with distinction for himself and satisfaction to his
382
JOSHUA OILMAN HALL
STATE BUILDERS
constituents. Mr. Hall was mayor of Dover in 1866 and
1867. In every position in public life and in all his
private relations Mr. Hall was actuated by high ideals of
honor and integrity. He was a most industrious man and
despite all pressing duties of public office he never neglect-
ed the needs of the clients who had intrusted their matters
to his charge, but, doing double duty, discharged to the
full his obligations to the public service and to his private
undertakings. Nov. 16, 1861 he married Miss S. Lizzie
Bigelow of Boston, and became the father of three chil-
dren, two daughters, one the wife of F. D. Cook of
Nashua, now living in Florida, and the other, wife of
Gen. William D. Sawyer of New York City. His only
son, Dwight Hall, graduated from Dartmouth in 1894,
from the Boston University Law School in 1897, and was
admitted to the bar in that year, practising at first as his
father's partner, and now by himself. In 1898 Mr. Hall
was appointed referee in bankruptcy for the Third dis-
trict of New Hampshire and bids fair to add new laurels
to the name made illustrious by his father.
383
WILLIAM LAWRENCE FOSTER.
One of the ablest and most learned of the justices who
have adorned the New Hampshire Supreme bench was
William Lawrence Foster, who was born of Revolution-
ary stock at Westminster, Vermont, June ist, 1823. His
great grandfather was a soldier of the Revolution and
fought at the battle of Bunker Hill. His grandfather,
while a freshman at Yale, joined the minute men of Read-
ing, Mass., and participated in the battle of Lexington.
His father removed from Vermont to Fitzwilliam, and
then to Keene, where he died in 1854, and where; his son
was educated in the common schools. At the age of
seventeen he began the study of law in the office of Levi
Chamberlain, and in 18^4 and 1845 received instructions
at the Harvard Law school. He was admitted to the bar
of Cheshire county in 1845 ^"<^^ practised in Keene in
partnership with John J. Baxter, and later with his pre-
ceptor. He was early marked for political advancement
and from 1845 tO' 1849 he served as postmaster at Keene.
From 1849 to 1853 he was clerk of the New Hampshire
senate, and during the administration of Governor Dins-
more was a member of his staff. By that executive also
he was, in 1850, appointed state law reporter, which posi-
tion he held until 1856, and published fifteen volumes of
the New Hampshire reports. In 1853 he removed to
Concord and formed a partnership in the law with the late
Col. John H. George. The late Hon. Charles P. Sanborn
was subsequently a member of the firm, and Col. George
384
■.^.'
WILLIAM LAWRENCE FOSTER
STATE BUILDERS
retiring in 1857 the partnership of Foster & Sanborn con-
tinued until 1869, when the senior partner was first ap-
pointed toi the bench. In 1854 he was appointed commis-
sioner of the Circuit court of the United States and held
that position until 1862 when he was elected a member
of the House of Rqiresentatives and was re-elected in
1863. Oct. I St, 1869 he took his seat upon the bench of
the Supreme court, where he remained until 1874, when
upon the reorganization of the judicial system he was
made Chief Justice of the Circuit court. Two years later
upon a restoration of the former judicial system he was
again appointed judge of the Supreme court, and held the
office until July ist, 1881, when he resigned to resume
the practice of law. In 1884 he was appointed a United
States commissioner, and held the position until his
death. Judge Foster was a man of superb legal attain-
ments, possessing a fine mind, keen perception and gra-
cious personality, and an impressive manner as an advo-
cate. Both on the bench and at the bar he attained a
signal measure of success, his practice being at the time of
his death a choice and lucrative one. Judge Foster was
married Jan. 13, 1853 ^o Harriet M. Perkins of Hopkin-
ton, who with four children survive him. At the time of
his death Judge Foster had been for many years a mem-
ber of the standing committee of the Protestant Episcopal
diocese of New Hampshire.
385
WILLIAM TRUE CASS.
The great bulwark of American national life, the
sheet anchor of the country's strength and progress
throughout the nineteenth century, was that splendid
manhood and individual character, the glory of the New
England country town, that took up the work laid down
by the fathers and carried it forward until they, in turn,
finished their triumphant careers and passed on.
The ideas, opinions, and purposes of the original New
England life prevailed and dominated in individual and
state action until the closing decades of the century just
closed. Their soundness and wisdom were made mani-
fest by the magnificence of the results that proceeded from
an adherence thereto by the typical New England man
of that period.
The men of the type mentioned won success for them-
selves and prosperity for their country because of their
fidelity to the duty of each successive hour. In every
village and town throughout New Hampshire were men
of this class who, by precept and example, enabled a
great multitude of men and women to become a power
in the work of developing the country.
Thoroughly typical of that company of men who de-
veloped New Hampshire's interests in the nineteenth
century was William True Cass, who was born in
Andover, February 7, 1826, and died in the town of
Tilton, May 26, 1901. His was a career of usefulness
from first to last, and the community and state were
better for his having lived.
386
\
WILLIAM T. CASS
STATE BUILDERS
The parents of the subject of this sketch were Benja-
min and Sarah (True) Cass, who hved first in Andover
and later in Plymouth. Their son, William T., as a boy
worked on the parental farm, growing to manhood in
this occupation and in attending the town's schools and
the Holmes academy in Plymouth. In 1853 the family
moved to a farm in Sanborton Bridge, since called
Tilton. Farming and work in one of the village fac-
tories were followed by the son for some three years,
when in January 1856 he was chosen cashier of the Citi-
zens' Bank, a calling he was destined to follow the rest of
his long, useful, and industrious life.
It is of interest to note that during the forenoon of
the day he was elected cashier of the bank, he worked at
his regular occupation, in the village woolen mill, and m
the afternoon assumed the duties of cashier. This inci-
dent illustrates the versatility of the man, and further
is an evidence of indomitable energy and activity. ^
Although without previous experience in banking at
the time of his selection as cashier, he threw his whole
soul into his new calling and ere long he mastered its
details. As the years came and went the institution pros-
pered, its capital stock was increased and in 1865 it was
made a national bank. Mr. Cass continued as its cash-
ier until 1889, a total of thirty-three years, when an elec-
tion to the presidency of the bank caused his resignation
as cashier. As president of the bank he continued to the
hour of his death.
It was essentially through the efforts of Mr. Cass
that a savings bank in Tilton was chartered m 1870,
and upon its organization he was chosen its treasurer,
a position he held until his decease. He was a trustee
of the savings institution and the only original member of
the board at the time of his death. From a new venture
387
STATE BUILDERS
Mr. Cass saw the savingfs bank's deposits increase to
nearly a half million of dollars.
He had passed a total of nearly forty-five years as
a bank official, a length of service rarely attained in any
community. His long experience and proven ability in
the field of finance and monetary affairs caused his coun-
sel to be sought by varied business interests throughout
his section of the state.
But it was not wholly as a business man that Mr.
Cass was conspicuous. He recognized his duty in every
phase of life and served his fellow men faithfully in the
religious, educational and social life of his adopted town.
In boyhood he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church,
and throughout all his after years was actively identified
with that denomination; giving liberally of his means
to aid in sustaining the work of his own church, and
serving as class leader for the most honorable term of
forty years; president of the board of trustees for several
years, as well as a teacher and superintendent of the
Sunday School. For eighteen years he was treasurer of
the New Hampshire Conference Seminary at Tilton.
Politically Mr. Cass had been a Republican from the
inception of the Civil War, but political preferment was
never to his taste or inclination. He preferred the in-
dependence of his sterling manhood to the care of political
honor or power.
He, however, served as town treasurer, as a member
of the Park Cemetery trustees and as moderator at town
meetings.
On September i8, 185 1, Mr. Cass married Man,'
Emery Locke of Concord. Four children were born to
them, two of whom survived their father: a daughter,
the wife of Abel Wesley Reynolds of West Somerville,
Mass., and a son, Arthur True Cass, who succeeded his
father as cashier of the National Bank.
388
ELMER D. GOODWIN
ELMER D. GOODWIN.
The hope of the present and the promise of the future
are in the young men of a community. Instinctively their
fellow men note their capabilities, their dispositions, and
all their characteristics. According as are these do they
beget confidence or distrust, and fortunate is the young
man who early learns that the good opinion of his fellow
beings is essential to his permanent success, prosperity
and standing in the community.
It is from such as these that are selected the men de-
signed for leaders and to fill positions of trust in all
phases of a material life.
Splendidly representative of this class is Elmer D.
Goodwin of Manchester, who is not only a successful
business man but as a member of society is esteemed and
trusted for those traits of character that denote the man.
By integrity, industry, and sincerity of purpose he has
won his way to enviable positions of honor at the hands
of his fellow associates.
Mr. Goodwin was born in Charlestown, Mass., October
12, 1866, the son of John and Caroline W. (Bolles)
Goodwin, both of whom were natives of Londonderry.
When only eight months old his mother died and he was
sent to live with his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs.
Lewis Bolles in Londonderr>\ With them he remained
for five years when he was taken to his father's home in
Lynn, Mass., and there he lived until he was eleven years
old, at which age he returned to Londonderry. He at-
tended the schools of Lynn and Londonderry, supple-
menting these with courses at Pinkerton academy, Derry,
and the New Hampshire Conference seminary, Tilton.
389
STATE BUILDERS
The terms at these two well known academies closed
his student life, for he at once entered upon a mercantile
career that has continued to the date of this writing.
Becoming a clerk in the grocery store of George S.
Rollins in Derry, he continued as such until he accepted
a position in the Derry railroad station then under the
charge of James Priest. His next move was as a partner
with George F. Priest in the coal and ice business in
Derry. This partnership was continued for four years,
when Mr. Goodwin accepted the position of manager of
the Derry branch of the furniture house of W. P. B.
Brooks & Company of Boston, retaining the same for
some two years.
In 1 89 1 he went to Manchester to become the book-
keeper in the wholesale tin and kitchen-ware house of
the late Clark M. Bailey, and remained as such for eight
years, purchasing in 1899 the undertaking business of
Alfred E. Morse.
In this undertaking Mr. Goodwin has been singularly
successful, for he has all those attributes so desirable in
a mortician, attributes that are natural in him and not
affected. The business he has developed is one of the
largest of its kind in northern New England, and in the
business community he is held in marked esteem.
Early in life Mr. Goodwin manifested a decided in-
terest in fraternal organizations and especially is this true
as respects the Masonic order. In 1892 he joined St.
Mark's lodge in Derry, and from that year on his has
been a most enviable career as a Mason, having reached
in less than ten years to the high position of Eminent
Commander of Trinity Commandery, Knights Templar,
in the city of Manchester. He is a past high priest of
Mount Horeb Royal Arch chapter, present (1903) thrice
illustrious master of Adoniram council, R. and S. M., and
patron in the order of the Eastern Star. Aside from his
Masonic affiliations he is a past chancellor commander of
Rockingham lodge, Derry, Knights of Pythias; a member
of Gen. Stark grange, Patrons of Husbandry; a mem-
ber of the Improved Order of Red Men; a member of
390
STATE BUILDERS
the O. U. A. M. ; a member of the Derryiield club, Man-
chester; of the local board of trade, and treasurer of the
Undertakers and Licensed Embalmers' Association of
New Hampshire.
He married, in 1886, Miss Ella L. Sargent of Sears-
port, Maine. One child, a son, Lewis Byron, has, been
born to them. The church home of the family is the
Franklin Street Congregational.
391
CHARLES A. BUSIEL.
Probably no man has been more prominently and ac-
tively identified with the manufacturing, business, finan-
cial, and social life of Laconia, during the past thirty
years^, than ex-Governor Charles A, Busiel. In the
construction of the Lake Shore railroad, the erection
of the new passenger station, the establishment of a city
hospital, the inauguration of the city government, and in
a thousand and one other enterprises, all in the direction
of progress and advancement, Mr. Busiel made his mark
and built for himself a monument as a public-spirited,
broad-minded, progressive Laconian, which will do
honor to him for centuries to come.
Charles Albert Busiel was born in Meredith, N. H.,
November 24, 1842. He was the eldest son of the late
John W. and Julia (Tilton) Busiel. He received his
education in the public schools of Laconia and at old Gil-
ford academy, and after graduating he entered his
father's hosiery mill and acquired a practical knowledge
of the entire business by actual labor in each department.
In 1863 he engaged in business on his own account, but
within a few years sold his interest in the establishment
which he had put in operation, and with a brother, in
1869. he entered into partnership and engaged in the
manufacture of hosiery. Another brother joined the
firm in 1872, and the name became J. W. Busiel & Co.
This business is still continued and ranks as one of the
most important industries in Laconia.
392
CHARLES A. DUSIEL
Governor of Xcw Ham psiiijc, rSgj-iSg6 '>
STATE BUILDERS
Ex-Governor Busiel was president of the Laconia
National bank and also president of the City Savings
bank. He attained much prominence in railroad circles
by his investments in this kind of property, by his success
in organizing and constructing the Lake Shore railroad,
and as one of the managmg directors of the old Concord
& Montreal railroad.
Credit for the substantial and beautiful Laconia depot
largely belongs to Hon. Charles A. Busiel, who was at
that time one of the managing directors of the Concord
railroad, and it was through his efforts and local pride
that Laconia was granted such an expensive and mag-
nificent passenger station. History will accord to Hon.
C. A. Busiel the honor of constructing the Lake Shore
railroad and the erection of the Laconia passenger sta-
tion, and these two things will stand as monuments to
the man for years to come.
In politics ex-Governor Busiel always supported the
party which he believed represented the best interests of
the people upon local, state, and national issues. He
represented Laconia in the Legislatures of 1878 and 1879;
he was a delegate to the Democratic national convention
in Cincinnati in 1880; as a Republican candidate he be-
came the first mayor of the new city of Laconia, although
at that time the city was strongly Democratic. He was
re-elected mayor for a second term by a largely increased
majority. In 1895 he was the Republican candidate for
governor of New Hampshire, and was elected by one of
the largest majorities ever received by any candidate in
this state — about 10,000 majority and 13,000 plurality.
For the first time in history, every county in New Hamp-
shire returned a Republican majority at this election. As
governor of the state he advocated and even compelled
retrenchments and reforms, which saved the treasury
hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it was universally
393
STATE BUILDERS
admitted by opponents as well as friends, that Governor
Biisiel was one of the best governors who ever held the
position of chief executive in this state. He was prom-
inent as a candidate for United States senator in 1896,
and was undoubtedly the choice of his state for a secre-
tary's portfolio in President McKinley's cabinet.
Ex-Governor Busiel attended the Congregational
church. He was very prominent in Masonic circles, as
well as in the Knights of Pythias and other beneficial,
social and charitable organizations.
During his administration as governor he paid $200,-
000 of the state debt, and $75,000 to defray expenses left
due by previous administrations. By his vetoes of the
unnecessary measures passed by the Legislature, Gov-
ernor Busiel practically saved the state a million dollars,
and when he retired from office he left in the state treas-
ury $590,706.07 according to the report of the state
auditing committee.
January, 1897, Governor Busiel purchased a con-
trolling interest in the Laconia Democrat, and organized
the Laconia Press Association. From that time up to the
date of his death he devoted a portion of his time every
week to editorial work upon the paper. He took great
pleasure in this work and was a vigorous and aggressive
writer with broad and progressive ideas.
Li 1864 he married Eunice Elizabeth Preston, daugh-
ter of Worcester Preston. They have one daughter,
Frances E. Busiel, who is the wife of Wilson Long-
streth Smith of Germantown, Pa. They had one son,
Charles Albert Busiel Smith, l)orn March i, 1895, died
August 6, 1 90 1.
394
CYRUS A. SULLOWAY
CYRUS A. SULLOWAY.
Cyrus A. Sulloway of Manchester has just been elected
from the first New Hampshire district for a fifth term
of two' years in the national house of representatives in
Washington, establishing a record without precedent in
the political history of the state for service as a congress-
man. The man who possesses to such an extent the con-
fidence and respect of his fellow citizens must be consid-
ered as peculiarly honored, particularly when it is con-
sidered that his success has been well earned and every
whit deserved.
Mr. Sulloway was born in Grafton, New Hampshire.
June 8, 1839, and spent his boyhood upon his father's
farm. His early opportunities for education were thus
restricted to the public schools of his town, supplemented,
through his own enterprise and eagerness for knowledge,
with a course at Colby academy, New London.
His inclinations led him to choose the profession of
law for his life work and in 1861 he entered the office
of Pike & Barnard at Franklin to begin his studies. Two
years later, in 1863, he was admitted tO' the bar and im-
mediately went to the city of Manchester, of which
municipality he has ever since been a resident.
He entered into partnership for the practice of his pro-
fession with Samuel D. Lord, a prosperous connection,
which continued for ten years. Upon its dissolution Mr.
Sulloway associated himself with E. M. Topliff, and the
practice of the firm thus formed has been one of the
largest in the state.
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STATE BUILDERS
From the first moment of his entrance into pohtics
Congressman Sulloway's personaHty has been as pictur-
esque and potent as it had previously been at the bar.
From 1873 to 1878 he served as deputy collector of in-
ternal revenue. Five times he was a member of the state
house of representatives, once serving as chairman of the
committee on elections and twice as chairman of the com-
mittee on the judiciary.
It was in the fall of 1894 that Mr. Sulloway made his
debut in national politics, receiving the unanimous Re-
publican nomination for congress in the first district and
being elected, after a characteristic campaign of vigor
and enthusiasm, by a plurality of more than 6,000. In
1898 he was re-elected by a plurality of more than
11,000. In 1900 he won his third victory in this arena,
defeating Edward J. Knovvlton after one of the hardest
fought campaigns in the history of the state. In 1900
he announced that he was not a candidate for another
term, but his party almost forced the nomination upon
him and he was again successful. The story of his fifth
election is still fresh in mind.
Mr. Sulloway is one of the best known men in con-
gress, not merely for the virility of his eloquence and his
appearance, but for the solid worth of his work in very
important places. As chairman of the committee on in-
valid pensions his industry, intelligence and integrity
have been recognized and praised throughout the country.
396
LOUIS ASHTON THORP
LOUIS ASHTON THORP.
New Hampshire is justly proud of the number of her
young- men who are daily demonstrating their ability
to accept the responsibilities and demands of life in all
its varied phases, and particularly those which pertain to
public affairs. The presence of this class of young men
is one that no genuine lover of this land and its institu-
tions can fail to admire, for it gives promise of the
stability of the future, and is an ever-present inspiration
to them who would safe-guard the integrity of the
country's life.
Conspicuous among the younger men in the public life
of the state in the opening years of the twentieth century
is L. Ashton Thorp, a member of the Manchester Bar
and associate clerk of the state senate during the session
of 1903.
Mr. Thorp was born in the city of Manchester on
December 7, 1876, the centennial year of the nation's
birth. His education was obtained in the Manchester
public schools. He early displayed a predilection for the
law, and following this bent he was soon after his
graduation from the recitation room enrolled as a
student at law in the office of Burnham, Brown &
Warren, in Manchester. He was subsequently entered
as a student in Boston University law school, from
which he graduated in 1902. His admission to the bar
of New Hampshire and his opening of an office in his
native city were events that immediately followed his
graduation from the law school,
397
STATE BUILDERS
Possessing natural aptitude for the grasping of the
labyrinthine detail of legislative work, his fitness for
positions in state legislative bodies was early recognized.
In 1 90 1 he was chosen to the important ofiice of assistant
clerk of the New Hampshire senate and in the constitu-
tional convention of 1902 he was made its assistant
secretary. The duty of keq^ing the journal of the
convention devolved upon Mr. Thorp, and the manner in
which he performed the work met with the approval of
the entire body.
Mr. Thorp's initial service in public life was as a
messenger in the state senate. As a member of the
Republican party he has oftentimes appeared upon the
stump in various campaigns to the acceptance of the
party and the general public, irrespective of political
affiliation.
Mr. Thorp is a talented orator, and thus early in life
has won an enviable reputation as lecturer upon themes
of general public interest, one of his strongest being a
lecture on "The Mission of the Twentieth Century.'
He has lectured in many parts of New England and has
met with universal success.
In fraternal organizations Mr. Thorp has membership
in the Odd Fellows and Patrons of Husbandry.
398
ELI EDWIN GRAVES, M.D.
ELI EDWIN GRAVES, M. D.
Eli Edwin Gr,a\'es, a descendant from the pioneer fami-
lies of Deerfield, Greenfield and Hadley, Mass., was born
Sept. 9th, 1847 at Jerichoi Center, Vermont. He was
educated at the Essex classical institute, and then follow-
ing the marked tendency in his family, which has given
many names to the roll of the medical profession, he en-
tered the office of F. F. Ho\^ey, M. D., at Jericho, where
for two years he pursued his studies. The following two
years was passed at Burlington, Vermont with profes-
sors Thayer and Carpenter, and in June, 1868 Dr. Graves
received his degree from the University of Vermont.
Practising for a month in the office of Dr. Walter Car-
penter in Burlington he removed in September of the
same year to Boscawen, where he succeeded to the prac-
tice of Dr. E. K. Webster, and became the occupant of the
Dr. Webster homestead in that village. In 1872,
urged by the growing demands of his practice, he estab-
lished an office in Penacook. In 1876 he took a special
course in surgery at the Harvard Medical school, and has
since devoted himself chiefly to that branch of the pro^
fession. Dr. Graves maintained his residence at Bos-
cawen until 1897, taking great pride in improving and
beautifying the fine old estate upon which it was his good
fortune to live, but the increasing demand for his presence
at Penacook led him in that year to remove thither, where
he established his home at the Amsden homestead, which
he purchased. This residence, one of the finest in the
399
STATE BUILDERS
community, recei\es much attention from its owner, and
both within and without is a most attractive example of
the typical New England home of refinement and re-
source. Dr. Graves is the owner of an extensive library
of general literature as well as of publications relating to
his profession. He is also an antiquarian of no little re-
pute, being the possessor of many fine examples of old
time furniture, one of them being the high posted desk
used by Daniel Webster in his first law office. Dr. Graves'
mineralogical cabinet and his collection of Indian relics
are also extensive and valuable. Dr. Graves was one of
the first meml^ers of the lx)ard of health in Boscawen, and
for some years was superintendent of schools in that
town. In 1889 he was its representative in the legisla-
ture. For 17 years he was the physician attendant at the
Merrimack county alms house and is now a member oi
the consulting staff of the Margaret Pillsbury general
hospital at Concord. He is a member of the New Hamp-
shire Medical society, ex-president of the Center District
Medical society, member of the American Medical asso-
ciation, the American Public Health association, and of
the New Hampshire Historical society. Dr. Graves is a
Mason, an Odd Fellow, a member of the Knights of
Honor and other fraternal organizations. He was one
of the promoters of the enterprise to^ secure an adequate
water supply for the community in which he lives and is
now chairman of the water board for the Penacook and
Boscawen water precinct.
In 1872, he married Miss Martha A. Williams of
Essex, Vermont. She died January 29, 1903, leaving
besides her husband, a son who is a graduate from Har-
vard University and Harvard Medical School and is now
connected with the medical staff of the Massachusetts
General Hospital; and a daughter, a graduate of Dean
Academy, Franklin, Mass.. class of 1901.
400
NATHANIEL E. MARTIN
NATHANIEL EVERETT MARTIN.
Of sturdy Scotch-Irish ancestry, Nathaniel Everett
Martin was born in Loudon Aug. 9, 1855, the son of
Theophilus B. and Sarah L. (Rowell) Martin. Mr. Mar-
tin" s first ancestor in this country was Wilham Martin
who landed in Boston in 1732, and made his way thence
to Londonderry in this state, where was settled that ro^
bust colony of Scotch-Irish emigrants from whom have
sprung so many strong and vigorous sons. His great-
grandfather, James Martin, was one of the first of that
eager band who enlisted in the Revolutionary ranks at the
outbreak of the w^ar for independence, and though he
died l>efore the new reyniblic had established its cause by
arms, he left to his descendants a vigorous Americanism
which persisted in none of the race more strongly than in
the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Martin received his primary education in the
schools of his native town and later took a course in the
Concord High school, where his studious habits gave him
high standing. He entered upon the study of the law
with Sargent and Chase, each of whom it may be re-
marked later served with distinction upon the supreme
bench of the state, and on Aug. 14, 1879, the young at-
torney was admitted to the bar. His practice from the
first was lucrative and extensive, and for many years
the partnership which he sustained with John H. Albin,
ranked as one of the busiest law firms in New Hampshire.
In 1899 this relationship was dissolved and a new part-
401
STATE BUILDERS
nership formed with DeWitt C. Howe, which still exists
with a large and remunerative clientage.
In addition to his increasing labors in his profession,
Mr. IViartin has successfully engaged in many business
ventures and has taken an active part in thei development
of Concord's enteq:)rise and prosperity by opening up
large tracts of houselots and by engaging in manu-
facturing enterprises. For a time, too, he was a
director and the treasurer of the Sullivan County rail-
road. As a skilled legal adviser Mr. Martin has frequent-
ly been called upon to act as counsel for a large number
of towns, and in many important instances of litigation
he has served as special counsel for the city of Concord.
From 1887 tO' 1889, he was solicitor of Merrimack Coun-
ty, and by his stern and rigorous policy of law enforce-
ment he won a reputation for sterling honesty which at-
tracted wide support to him and which in following years
was of great value in the field of politics.
In 1898, he was nominated by the Democratic party
for mayor of Concord, and after a most spirited cam-
paign in which Mr. Martin's record as a friend of law
and order was brought forward as the main issue by his
supporters, he was elected by a liberal margin. His ad-
ministration of city affairs was characterized by the same
manly qualities which had marked his course as a prose-
cuting attorney, and he was frequently considered by his
party as a possible candidate for governor.
As a lawyer Mr. Martin's special forte is that of an
advocate, and the dockets of Merrimack County bristle
with jury cases in which he makes the argument. Mar-
shalling his facts with care and presenting them with con-
summate skill, he stands in the very front rank of New
Hampshire jury lawyers.
Mr. Martin was married March 27, 1902. to Jennie
P. Lawrence.
402
HENRY ROBINSON
HENRY ROBINSON
Henry Robinson, postmaster at Concord, New Hamp-
shire, is a versatile, enterprising and popnlar official.
He was born at Concord; has been repeatedly elected
to the local legislatnre, including a term in the state sen-
ate; has been president of the Commercial club; was
formerly postmaster for four years, and mayor for two,
and is thoroughly identified with the history and develop-
ment of the community.
His father, the late Nahum Robinson, was warden of
the state-prison, first construction-agent of the post-office
building at Concord, and an extensive contractor and
builder, having connection with the erection of the
greater number of the prominent buildings and business
blocks of the city. His only son, Henry Robinson, mar-
ried the only daughter of the late resident United States
senator Edward H. Rollins.
With the exception of five years, when Mr. Robinson
was pursuing his studies elsewhere under private tutors
and at law school, he has continued his residence in Con-
cord. He read law in the office of the late Judge Josiah
Minot, Attorney-General Mason \Y. Tappan, and Hon.
John Y. Mugridge. He was associated in the successful
practice of his profession with Col. Frank H. Pierce,
nephew of President Pierce, and afterward with the late
Mayor Edgar H. ^^'oodman.
He early developed a taste for politics. In 1879,
although one of the youngest members of the state legis-
403
STATE BUILDERS
lature, he won a reputation which made him a prominent
candidate for the speakership at the next session, but
preferred an active part on the floor, and his services as
secretary of the judiciary committee and as chairman of
the railroad committee of the house, during a memorable
session, and subsequently as chairman of the judiciary
committee of the senate, and as a member of the finance
committee of that body, gave him a wide celebrity as a
legislative leader and forceful and eloquent debater.
Mr. Robinson, in 1890, was appointed postmaster at
Concord, by President Harrison, upon the petition of
nearly all the business-houses and the people of the city.
The superior postal service which he gave to the Capital
city found not only a full appreciation at home, but won
for him a commendable reputation elsewhere. The at-
tention of the devotees generally of the mail service was
attracted to him by his contributions to metropolitan
journals and postal publications, and his painstaking dil-
igence in the post-office and knowledge of postal affairs
were recognized, not only by New Hampshire people, but
by the postmaster-general and others in authority at
Washington, so much so that at the opening of the Mc-
Kinley administration Mr. Robinson was given a high
recommendation and a very considerable support for a
position as an assistant postmaster-general of the United
States.
His first term as postmaster extended under President
Cleveland's administration until June 16, 1894, and im-
mediately after his retirement he was enthusiastically
nominated and elected mayor of Concord, a position which
he occupied with great ability and success for two years.
During his administration as chief executive of the city,
decided changes were made in the interests of business
management and municipal betterment. Various abuses
were unearthed, and a system of accounting of lasting
value inaugurated. The city debt was reduced, wrong-
404
STATE BUILDERS
doing punished, and safe-guards erected, and his admin-
istration is pronounced by citizens, irrespective of party
Hnes, to have been especially commendable.
Although the law has been Mr. Robinson's profession,
he has nevertheless devoted himself much to journalism
and literary work. During political campaigns he has
been a v,oluminous contributor to the newspaper press
and has been a valued correspondent of the New York
Tribune, Boston Globe, Springfield Republican, and other
leading journals, also contributing to the local press of
the state a vast deal of readable matter of a biographical
and miscellaneous character, which has given him high
standing as a New Hampshire newspaper man. His nom
de plume of " Jean Paul " is known throughout New
England, and elsewhere, as that of a vigorous, fearless,
original thinker and writer, not only in politics, but in
the general field of literature, for which he has a marked
taste and adaptation. He has had to do, in a managerial
way, with many exciting political campaigns, and he in-
variably brings to his endeavors the generous enthusiasm
that has characterized his whole life. He is a wide
reader, with classic and refined tastes, and an accom-
plished critic.
As a personal and political achievement, his candidacy
for reappointment to the postmastership, in 1898, was one
of the most noted in the history of our local politics, for
in the pre-arranged allotment of state patronage he was
not included by the powers then dominant in New Hamp-
shire. He is one of the pioneers in the establishment of
rural free-delivery, his office, inclusive of stations, having
at present the largest free-delivery — city and rural —
plant in the United States. He is the president of the
New England Postmasters' association, a member of the
Wonolancet club of Concord, of the Odd Fellows fra-
ternity, and various other organizations.
Mr. Robinson is a highly gifted man, turning his
405
STATE BUILDERS
endeavors easily into various channels with uniform suc-
cess. Suave, graceful and eloquent, he has frequently
been heard from the platform as a lecturer and political
orator, always acquitting himself with credit. A polished
man of the world, a skilful raconteur, he is one of the
most companionable of friends.
406
HORATIO K. LIBBEY
HORATIO K. LIBBEY.
A splendid example of that type of men who in the
past and the present have carried forward the work of
derveloping and maintaining the affairs and purposes of
New Hampshire's material life, and thereby made the
state the grand commonwealth she has become, is
Horatio K. Libbey. In him is seen, in highest per-
fection, that trait so characteristic of the generations of
New Hampshire men which enables one to devise, to
execute and to administer.
His is a genuine New Hampshire ancestry and birth,
for he descended from that John Libbey who settled in
Portsmouth early in its history. His father, Ezra Bart-
lett Libbey, settled in Warren in the White Mountain
region, and there the son, Horatio K., was born on Oc-
tober 24. 1 85 1. His mother, Eva Kilburn (Sinclair),
was a native of Chester, Vermont. It was as a widow
that she married Ezra Bartlett Libbey, her first husband
having been Calvin W. Cummings. She is yet (1903)
living with her son, Calvin W. Cummings, in Plymouth
at the \'enerable age of ninety-two and is remarkably
well preserved and active.
In his boyhood life the subject of this sketch went to
Manchester, in which city he attended the public schools,
and from the first was an apt pupil and early displayed
an ability and courage to accept responsibility. In his
earlier manhood years he was employed upon the mag-
nificent estate in Hartford, Connecticut, of Samuel Colt,
407
STATE BUILDERS
the inventor of the revolver bearing- his name. Event-
ually leaving Hartford he was for a time the manager
of an estate in Orford. His success in these respective
positions was so' marked as to attract the attention of
others, and in 1891 he was offered the superintendency
of the Hillsborough County Almshouse and farm located
at Grasmere in Goffstown. This position he accepted
on April ist of that year and still retains the same. He
is in addition the master of the Hillsborough County
House of Correction, which is managed in conjunction
with the county home and farm for the dependent poor.
These institutions considered singly or in combination
are an extreme credit to the county and state, and their
management reflects the utmost credit upon the admin-
istrative abilities of Mr. Libbey. They are the largest
of their kind in the state, and their arrangement and
equipment are exceptionally efficient.
Mr. Libbey in 1873 married Miss Rebecca J. Huckins,
daughter of the late Thomas P. Huckins of Warren.
She died May 27, 1903, leaving, beside her husband, two
daughters, Bessie A., the wife of William W. Porritt
of Goffstown, and Menta B. Mrs. Libbey was one who
had greatly endeared herself to all whose privilege it was
to make her acquaintance. She had those qualities of
heart and mind that won the respect, love and confidence
of all. whatever their station in life. The high order of
the management at Grasmere, which has been the ad-
miration of all since the administration of Mr. and Mrs.
Libbey began, bespeak her faithful help to her husband
in his exacting position.
In fraternal organizations Mr. Libbey is a member of
Bible lodge, F. and A. M., Goffstown, and of Martha
Washington chapter, order of the Eastern Star. He is
also a member of junior Grange, Patrons of Husbandry,
Grasmere. In political life he is a Republican, and in his
religious preference a Congregationalist.
408
LYDIA A. SCOTT
LYDIA A. SCOTT.
Prominent among the pioneers in the work of organ-
izing women's ckibs in New Hampshire, and markedly
successful in every aspect of that effort, has been Mrs.
Lydia x\bigail Scott, who since 1872 has been a resident
of the city of Manchester and a valued member of its
social, intellectual, and religious circles. First of all she
has been a worker, grandly exemplifying- in that respect
the traditions of her New England birth and character.
Her work has been of a nature that has advanced the
welfare of others, and made stronger, better and happier
the community in Avhich she has moved. Though her
special lines of w^ork have been of a public, or at least
of a semi-public nature, it is a duty, and her right to
have said of her, that in all this time she never neglected
or made secondary the interests and demands of her home
nor the obligations of an ideal womanhood and mother-
hood. Indeed, the ends and purposes of her work were
all calculated to elevate and make sweeter and dearer
every home influence and action.
Mrs. Scott's birthplace was in China, Maine, where
she was born, February 4, 1841. Her parents were
John L. and Lydia (Carlton) Gray. On the parternal
side she is of a sturdy Scotch-Irish descent, a stock
known the world oxev for integrity of purpose, inde-
pendence of thought and acuteness of intellent. On the
maternal side she descended from a fine old English
line noted for its many distinguished members. The
409
STATE BUILDERS
parents of Mrs. Scott, and their children, constituted a
family that played an essential part in the general affairs
of their home town. It was an interesting and old-time
family of five daughters and two sons. One of the
latter, John Carlton Gray, became a noted lawyer in
California and for a long time was a justice of the supe-
rior court of that state. The other son, Capt. Lemuel
Carlton Gray, died in 1880.
In her girlhood years it became the custom of Mrs.
Scott to read aloud to her parents from the Augusta Age
and other papers of those years, and doubtless this prac-
tice quickened her thought, suggested ideas, and devel-
oped her mentality, for where can be found a greater
educational help for the young than the reading aloud
from some sound and stable newspaper or like publica-
tions. So apt was Mrs. Scott as a school girl, and so
thoroughly practical were her educational acquisitions
that at the early age of fifteen years she was given a
teacher's certificate, which bit of writing she still retains
as a most precious belonging. Those years in which she
passed from girlhood into her young womanhood were
years also in which the public mind was actively engaged
in the study of many a momentous question and the
medium of this study was the newspaper. With one
whose mental life was so alert, active and inquiring as
that of Mrs. Scott, it was but natural that she should be
keenly interested in everything that pertained to news-
paper life and creation. It was just as natural that she
should drift into newspaper work, and this she did, be-
ginning a career that was long continued, able and fruitful
of results for the good of the great community that she
reached. Her first published writings appeared in the
Kennebunk Journal, then under the management of
James G. Blaine. As a newspaper worker she wrote for
various publications and upon a variety of topics, but
410
STATE BUILDERS
mainly upon those designed for the furtherance of home
and household matters, to character building, and social
and intellectual advancement.
In Augusta, Maine, on October 24, 1859, she united in
marriage with Albert M. Scott, and lived in Maine's
capital city, where her husband was an overseer in a
cotton mill, until the close of the war between the states.
It was in Augusta that their only child, Hattie Isabelle,
was born in 1862. In 1863 Mr. Scott enlisted in the
Second Maine Regiment of cavalry. While he was fight-
ing' at the front, ]Mrs. Scott, with her true womanlv cour-
age, faced those dreary days of loneliness with a daring
and hope that safely carried her to the day of the glad
homecoming of her husband. During the years of her
husband's enlistment she resumed school teaching, an ex-
perience that tended all the more to develop her innate
characteristics of self reliance, fertility of resource and
persistency of purpose.
Upon Mr. Scott's return from the war the family re-
moved to \Miitinsville, Massachusetts. In 1872 a re-
moval was made to Manchester, the city that has since
been their home.
Not long after her settlement in Manchester she be-
came identified wih the local Shakespeare club, an
organization destined to attain a truly national fame, and
the president of which she was destined to be for many
years. It was in ^Manchester that she early found a fine
opportunity to continue her literary work, which she did
in a manner that won for her the unhesitating acceptance
of her employers and the flattering approval of the read-
ing- world. In 1880 she became the editor of the fireside
department of the Alanchester Union and continued as
such for five years, in which time she became extensively
known throughout the state. At the outset of the organ-
ization of the Women's Relief Corps she became an active
411
STATE BUILDERS
participant in its affairs and destinies. She was a
charter member of Louis Bell corps of Manchester. For
two years she was a member of the council, department
of New Hampshire, and twice was delegate at large to
the National convention of the order. In 1885 she was
appointed by the national president, Mrs. Sarah E. Ful-
ler, chief of staff and as such was the first woman to
hold that office.
Continuing her interest in Manchester women's clubs
it was Mrs. Scott who projected the federation of the
local organizations and the suggestion l)ecame a vital
and vitalizing fact.
In 1882 her only daughter united in marriage with
Edward Lyon Swazey, a successful ranchman and cattle
dealer in Wyoming and later a resident of Kansas City.
Mrs. Scott has travelled extensively throughout the
length and breadth of the country, becoming thereby
acquainted with the varying conditions of the different
sections of the national domain. In these maturer years
of her life she continues to be the same useful and helpful
member of society as ever, and her interest in general
affairs is as keen as in her girlhood years.
412
JOHN H. NEAL, M.D.
JOHN H. NEAL, M. D.
One of the younger and most successful of New
Hampshire's many physicians is John H. Neal, M. D.,
of Rochester, the son of John and Sarali J. (Lord)
Neal, who- was lx)rn jNIarch 20, 1862, in Parsonsfield, Me.
Dr. Neal received his education in the public schools of
his native town and at the academy at North Parsons-
field. Following his graduation from that institution he
was for five years a teacher in the public schools of Maine
and New Hampshire, at the same time being entered as a
medical student in the office of J. jM. Leavitt, M. D., of
Effingham. He began his professional school work at
the Bowdoin Medical school, Brunswick, Me., where he
took one course of lectures and received his degree in
June, 1886, at the Long Island Cottage hospital, Brook-
lyn, N. Y.
Dr. Neal immediately entered upon the practice of his
profession in Sanford, Me., where he remained for nine
years, at the end of which time he removed to Rochester,
New Hampshire, where he has established himself in a
lucrative and extensive practice. During his residence in
Sanford, Dr. Neal took an active interest in public affairs,
and for five years was president of the Sanford board of
health. He was the first president of the Sanford build-
ing and loan association, which was chartered in 1890,
holding that office until his removal from the town and
state.
In Rochester, Dr. Neal has been equally interested in
413
STATE BUILDERS
affairs pertaining to the public good, and is at the present
time a director of the Rochester board of trade.
In poHtics Dr. Neal has also been active, and in Nov-
ember, 1902, he was elected by the Republicans of his
district toi re])resent them in the state senate of 1903. In
1897, he was appointed a member of the United States
board of pension examining surgeons, which position he
still holds. He is a memlier of the American Medical
society, of the medical associations of Maine and New
Hampshire, of the Maine academy of medicine and
science, oi the Strafiford county medical society. Of the
latter organization Dr. Neal is now president.
He is Medical Referee for Strafiford county, being the
first appointed in the county as a result of the law of
1903 abolishing the office of Coroner and establishing
that of Medical Referee instead.
For seven years he was secretary of the Rochester
board of health and overseer of poor for seven years,
from which position he resigned in July, 1903.
Dr. Neal is a member of Preble lodge of Masons in
Sanford, and is charter member of White Rose chapter,
Royal Arch Masons in Sanford, and a charter member of
Palestine commandery. Knights Templar. Rochester. Of
this commandery Dr. Neal was the first secretary.
He married Nov. 28, 1888, Miss Lulu Edna Clark,
daughter of Daniel G. and Frances J. (Chase) Clark, of
Sanford. and has one child, a son, Cecil M. Neal, born
Oct. 25, 1890.
414
CAPT. DAVID WADSWORTH
CAPT. DAVID WADSWORTH.
Captain David Wadsworth of Manchester was born in
Worcester, Mass., February 4, 1838, the son of David and
Caroline E. (Metcalf) Wadsworth. He was educated
at Cambridgeboro and Richford, Vt., and Nashua. On
the breaking- out of the Civil War he enlisted with the
Third New Hampshire volunteers from Nashua, entering
the service as a private and being promoted to sergeant,
second lieutenant, first lieutenant and captain. He served
in Sherman's expedition through the South and in the
Army of the James, taking part in fifteen battles. He
was wounded at Drury's Bluff and received an honorable
discharge September 28, 1864.
The captain's wonderful memory vividly recalls the
important events of the war and this is augmented by a
concise record book of his company, kept by its clerk, and
now held by the captain. He has assisted many a worthy
comrade to identify himself with the service and obtain
justice by this same record. One of Captain Wads-
worth's favorite anecdotes of the war is as follows :
At Morris Island, after we had laid siege to Fort Wag-
ner for three weeks, we twice advanced on the enemy and
were repulsed. One night Captain Randlett, now of the
regular army, aroused the Third New Hampshire from
their slumbers and informed them of the important part
they were to play in the destruction of the fort. They
were to lay in the trenches all night and in the morning,
when the signal was given, they were to leap over their
415
STATE BUILDERS
works and spike the guns on Fort Wagner while the rest
O'f the troops came forward to take the fort. This Httle
regiment of less than lOO men was thus truly a forlorn
hope.
In the morning it was discovered that the enemy had
deserted the fort. Before leaving they had set fire to the
fuse of the magazine, but the prompt action of the New
Hampshire men frustrated the plot. They got there just
in time to cut the fuse and thus effect the capture of the
fort without loss of life.
Captain Wadsworth is a locksmith by trade, and pre-
vious tO' 1877 was employed by the Nashua Lock Com-
pany. In that year he was appointed jailer for Hillsbor-
ough county and took charge of the new jail built by the
county at Manchester. There he has ever since remained,
conducting a model penal institution, a credit tO' the coun-
ty and to himself
A Republican in politics, Capt. Wadsworth was a
member of the state legislature from Nashua during the
sessions of 1875-76, and was chairman of the Committee
on Military Accounts, Representative from ward 6, ]\Ian-
chester. state legislature, sessions of 1893-94, being
chairman of the Committee on County Affairs. He
attends the Baptist church and is a member of John G.
Foster post, G. A. R.
January 5, i860, he married Sarah A., daughter of
Laban Moore of Nashua. She died June 10, 1866.
January 18, 1873, he married Mrs. Mary E. Buel, daugh-
ter of Benjamin Lund of Milford. They have one daugh-
ter, who is Mrs. Carl Anderson of Manchester. Captain
Wadsworth is a man of wide acquaintance and great
popularity, secured and held by his genial disposition and
strict integrity.
416
\
EDSON HILL
EDSON HILL.
A career that is replete with vakied lessons to the
young, with interest to the general reader, and one the
story of which adds an honored page to the history of
New Hampshire, is that of Edson Hill, whose busy and
eventful life came to a close in 1888.
Mr. Hill was born in the town of Northwood, Sep-
tember 13, 1807, being the eighth child of Samuel and
Judith Hill. They were of the staunch old New England
stock who believed in right and fought for it, and who
imbued their descendants with the force of character that
made them leaders in enterprises which command the
attention of men. The grandfather of Edson Hill was
a soldier of the American Revolution. At the beginning
of that conflict for the independence of the American
colonies he repaired to Fort Constitution at Portsmouth,
with musket in hand in defence of home, state and coun-
try.
Young Hill received the advantages of a common
school educatioji and then went to live with Judge Har-
vey, who had conceived a great liking for the young
man, and who was willing to give him the benefit of his
powerful influence. Judge Harvey was one of the
prominent men, not only of his own community, but
of the state. The prestige of such a man went far
towards establishing the young man's position in life,
and hence it is not strange to find him elevated as soon as
he reached his majority to positions of influence and
417
STATE BUILDERS
responsibility in his native town. During his residence
in Northwood he was elected town clerk, moderator, and
town agent. In 1836 and 1837 he served as selectman,
and in 1839 and 1840 represented the town in the Legis-
lature. In addition to holding these positions of trust
and importance he was nominated and confirmed as post-
master, filling the office very satisfactorily during a term
of years. In 1840 Mr. Hill removed to Newmarket, and
was soon after elected treasurer of Rockingham County,
holding the office for two years, 1841 and 1842. In
1843 1^^ went to Manchester and at once engaged in the
grocery business with J. Monroe Berry, their store
having been located in the Tewksbury Block, the upper
stories of which were then occupied by St. Paul's Metho-
dist Episcopal Church. Under the firm name of Hill
& Berry this business continued until 1850, when Mr.
Hill removed to Concord and the firm was dissolved.
During this time his fellow citizens had taken the occa-
sion to honor him with an election to the state Legislat-
ure, serving during the sessions of 1849 ^.nd 1850.
Previously to this in 1847 he had acted as engrossing
clerk of that body.
The Amoskeag bank w^as incorporated by the state
June 24, 1848, and began business in October with a
capitalization of $100,000. At the first meeting, Octo-
ber 2, Mr. Hill was elected one of the directors, his
associates being Richard H. Ayer, Samuel D. Berry,
Mace Moulton, Stephen B. Green, John S. Kidder and
Stephen Tvlanahan. When this bank was merged into
the Amoskeag National Bank, 1864, he was elected
director in the new institution, a position he held to the
day of his death. This fact is an excellent criterion of
the financial standing and integrity of Mr. Hill.
After Mr. Hill's removal to Concord he was chosen
state treasurer, an office he held during the years 1850,
418
STATE BUILDERS
185 1 and 1852. In 1853 the State Capital bank was
organized and Mr. Hill was selected as its first cashier,
a position he filled with eminent satisfaction to
the officials for many years following. During his resi-
dence at Concord he served in the board of aldermen
and as a councillor, but his connection with the bank pre-
cluded the active connection with political life which
he had previously maintained.
In 1867 he returned to Manchester and bought the
house on the corner of Walnut and Concord streets, in
which he ever after lived and where he died. Here
he passed his declining years in the enjoyment of a mu-
nificence that careful business management, shrewd finan-
cial foresight and years of industry and strictest integrity
had enabled him to accumulate. Three years after the
removal to Manchester he was returned to the State
Legislature from his ward, and in 1876 he was one of
the electors on Tilden and Hendricks' ticket from the
state. This was the last political position of prominence
for which Mr. Hill was nominated. His business inter-
ests monopolized his attention from this time on.
Among other positions of trust which he held during his
second residence in the city of Manchester may be named
that of director in the Concord railroad, director in the
Amoskeag bank, trustee in the Amoskeag and People's
Savings banks. During his lifetime he was associated
with the late Austin Corbin, the eminent banker and
prominent also in his day as president of the great Read-
ing railroad system. Another well-known public man
with whom he maintained a lifelong acquaintance and
intimacy was the late General Benjamin F. Butler, who
was a native of Deerfield. During those years when Mr.
Hill held the office of town agent in Northwood, Gen-
eral Butler filled the same position in his native town,
and in a controversy which arose over the disposition of
419
STATE BUILDERS
certain dependent poor in which both towns were inter-
ested, Mr. Hill came off victorious. General Butler
always remembered the incident and frequently alluded
to it.
For many years Mr. Hill was a member of the First
Baptist church of Manchester and for some time was
president of the society. In 1832 he married Olive Jane,
daughter of Nathaniel Durgin of Northwood. She sur-
vived him but a few months, dying in 1888, leaving two
children, the late Charles H. Hill and Mrs. Flora Hill
Barton of this city, who at this writing (1903) is the
sole survivor of the family. After the close of the na-
tional political campaign of 1876, Mr. Hill gradually
withdrew from his old political scenes and associations,
in which he for so many years had held an honored and
prominent place. During the later years of life it was
his custom to pass his winters in the South, living during
the summers at some of the numerous Northern seaside
resorts. He met his end calmly and peacefully, as was
to have been expected of such a mind. Throughout his
manhood life, Mr. Hill was a strong, influential and sturdy
adherent of the Democratic party and those principles
which were so grandly typified in the life and character
of Andrew Jackson. His long, busy and useful life will
be a treasured memory of those whose good fortune it
was to be included among his acquaintances.
420
NATHANIEL WHITE
NATHANIEL WHITE.
Nathaniel White, the subject of this sketch, typified in
his long, useful and sincere life that manhood character
that was the chiefest glory of New England throughout
the nineteenth century. Born in the town of Lancaster
on February 7, 181 1, he was the eldest son of Samuel
and Sarah (Freeman) White. His childhood was
passed under a mother's tender care, and to her strict
religious training was he primarily indebted for that
nobility of character wjliich the temptations of youth
and young manhood could not taint nor lure away. His
school-day life was passed in the gleaning of such knowl-
edge as the schools of his native town afforded, in those
earlier years of the nineteenth century. At the age of
fourteen years he left his native Lancaster to enter the
employ of a merchant in Lunenburg, Vermont, with
whom he remained about one year, when he accepted an
offer to enter the employ of General John Wilson of
Lancaster, at that time just entered upon his career as
landlord of the Columbian Hotel of Concord. In the
employ of Mr. Wilson he began his Concord life at the
first rung of the ladder, as it were, for he arrived in the
capital city August 25, 1826, with but a single shilling
in his pocket. For five years he continued at the Colonial
Hotel, and in these remaining five years of his teens it
was his custom to render a strict account of his wages
to his parents, but the dimes and quarters given to him
as favors by the hotel guests he saved as his own, and
421
STATE BUILDERS
these savings had amounted to $250 upon the day of
his majority. The young man exempHfied those virtues
of prudence, economy and temperance, and he entered
manhood well equipped for that career in which he so
distinguished himself. He never used intoxicating
drinks as a beverage, nor tobacco in any form, nor did he
gamble in any of the ways prevalent at the time. Busi-
ness was his pleasure, and to his business he carried en-
terprise, energy and determination. In 1832 he made
his first business venture by purchasing a part interest in
the stage route between Concord and Hanover, and dur-
ing a part of this business venture he drove his own
coach. This first business venture was a significant suc-
cess, and soon after he bought an interest in the stage
route between Concord and Lowell. In 1838 he joined
with Captain William Walker and together they began the
express business now grown to such large proportions in
New England. At the beginning of this enterprise it
was his custom to make three trips weekly to Boston,
where he personally attended to the delivery of packages
of goods and money or the transacting of other business
intrusted to him. In 1842, the year of the opening of
the Concord railroad, he became one of the original or-
ganizers of the express company which was then estab-
lished to deliver goods throughout New Hampshire and
Canada. That company under various names has con-
tinued in successful operation to the present day, and to
Nathaniel White's business capacity has it been greatly
indebted for its remarkable success. In 1846 Mr. White
purchased a farm in the southwestern portion of the city
of Concord and distance some two miles from the State
House. All told, this farm included something like 400
acres of land.
For Concord he ever had a strong attachment. To
his energy, skill and business discernment does the city
422
STATE BUILDERS
owe much of her material prosperity and corporate de-
velopment. In 1852, he took his first step in practical
political life by accepting a nomination of the Whig and
Free Soilers to represent his adopted city in the state
Legislature. From the start he was an abolitionist and
a member of the Anti-Slavery society from its inception.
His home became the refuge of many an escaping slave,
where welcome care, food and money were freely be-
stowed and the refugees helped along on another stage
of their journey to the land of freedom. In all works of
charity and philanthropy, Mr. White was foremost and
earnest. He was deeply interested and prominently
identified with the New Hampshire Asylum for the In-
sane and State Reform School; in the Orphans' Home
in Franklin, which he liberally endowed, and the Home
for the Aged at Concord was his special care. Besides
his extensive interest in the express company, his farm,
which had become one of the most highly cultivated in
the state, his charming summer home on the borders of
Lake Sunapee, and his real estate in Concord, he became
extensively interested in Chicago realty; in hotel prop-
erty in the mountain district; in banks, manufacturing
and in shipping. He was director in the Manchester
and Lawrence, Franconia and Profile House, and the
Mt. Washington railways, and in the National State Cap-
ital bank; a trustee of the Loan and Trust Savings bank,
also of the Reform School, Home for the Aged and other
private and public trusts. In 1875 he was the candidate
for Governor of New Hampshire of the Prohibition
party. In 1876 he was a delegate of the Cincin-
nati convention which nominated Hayes for President
and cast every ballot for the man of his choice. In the
Garfield and Arthur campaign in 1880 his name was
placed at the head of the list of the New Hampshire
presidential electors.
423
STATE BUILDERS
November i, 1836, Mr. White married Armenia S.,
daughter of John Aldrich of Boscawen. This marriage
proved most happy. Of Mr. White it has been said:
"His history is not complete without a narration of the
perfect union, complete confidence and mutual trust and
assistance between he and his wife during a married life
of nearly half a century." Mrs. White in this year of
1903 is still living, the subject of love and veneration by
a wide circle of acquaintances and by the entire popula-
tion of the city of Concord. Mr. White died October 2,
1880, having practically completed the Psalmist's al-
lotted span of life. The Concord Daily Monitor under
date of October 2, 1880, in commenting upon the death of
Mr. White, said : "In the death of Nathaniel White this
community sustains an irreparable loss. Large hearted,
humane, liberal and progressive, he gave to every good
work, local and state, iiis assistance and unstinted sup-
port. Devoted to the welfare of Concord he employed
his wealth for the enhancement of its prosperity. His
public spirit extended throughout the state and the de-
velopment of its resources. A good man has gone to
his reward and it can be truly said that the world is
better for the part he bore in it."
424
JOSEPH P. CHATEL
JOSEPH P. CHATEL.
Conspicuous among the residents of New Hampshire
who are of French-Canadian birth or descent is Joseph
P. Chatel of Manchester, He was born in the town of
Stuckley, Province of Quebec, January 14, 1854, the son
of Prosper and Leibaire Chatel. When the son was
eight years old the family removed to Biddeford, Maine.
In 1868 the son went, alone of the family, to Manchester
and obtained employment in the Manchester mills, and
remained at this work for six months, subsequently
returning to Biddeford, and living there until 1870. His
father having died in the meantime the family decided
to locate permanently in Manchester, which city since
that year, 1870, has been its home.
Young Chatel upon his second arrival in Manchester
re-entered one of the city's mills, remaining therein for
some two years. Alert to the opportunities of life in
Manchester and ambitious tO' better his circumstances, he
left the factory and served an apprenticeship to the
barber's trade, and shortly after its close established a
business of his own and conducted the same for some
eighteen years with a never varying success.
Having accumulated a handsome property Mr. Chatel
gave up his original business and uniting with a friend
embarked in the grocery business, also in Manchester.
After a while financial disaster overtook this venture,
ending in its complete windup. On his retirement from
the grocery business he found himself encumbered with
425
STATE BUILDERS
an^mdebtedness, which with its interest accumulation
eventually amounted to some $3,400. He went to work
as a travelling salesman for a Boston house and con-
tinued as such for twoi years. Not the least discouraged
by his ill-fated venture in the grocery trade, he lost no
opportunity to enlarge his business acquaintanceship and
to gain friends. At the close of his twO' years as a
salesman he again started in business for himself, open-
ing a wine store on Manchester street in 1894. This
business has proved from its inception a decided success.
In the years since its inception Mr. Chatel has paid
every dollar with interest simple and compound, incurred
while operating his grocery store. His trade relations
reach into all parts of New Hampshire and each year
has brought an increased list of patrons. Possessing
to a marked degree business qualifications that keep him
abreast of the times he is found aiding at all times
enterprises designed tO' augment the business and mate-
rial well-being of the city, and for these and other good
qualities he is esteemed by all.
In 1898 Mr. Chatel was put forward as the Demo-
cratic candidate for senator in the Eighteenth District,
was elected by a majority of 344 over a strong opposi-
tion candidate, and in January, 1899, took his seat in the
Senate Chamber at Concord, being the first citizen of
French Canadian birth tO' hold the position of senator in
New Hampshire, and, it is believed, in the United States.
While Mr. Chatel has always taken a deep interest in
the welfare of the great body of his countrymen, who,
like himself, have become American citizens, he has,
in the larger and broader view, been actively interested
in all that concerned the progress and prosperity of his
city and state. In all his private and social relations,
he is genial, generous and a firm friend. Business
success has in no way changed him in his attitude toward
426
STATE BUILDERS
others, and in return he enjoys a well-earned popularity
such as is rarely attained in any condition in life.
Mr. Chatel is a member of the Foresters and at this
present writing (1903) is the president of the St. John
Baptist society of Manchester.
He was married in 1873 to Miss Hedwige Brien oi;
Manchester. They have four living children, two sons
and two daughters. The eldest son, Alfred V., is a
graduate of a Montreal commercial college, wiiile the
second son, Louis A., is a Junior in St. Anselm college,
Manchester. The elder daughter, Edwige, is a graduate
of Jesus and Mary convent, Manchester, while the
second daughter, Anna Josephine, is a pupil in Notre
Dame academy.
427
GEORGE M. CLOUGH.
Georg-e M. Clough was born in Warner, N. H.,
May 28, 1863. His parents were Julia A. (Edmunds)
and Joseph A. Clough. One of his ancestors on the
paternal side served in the Revolutionary war and
another in the War of 181-2.
Having been born on a farm and his father devoting
much time to carpentry, gave to the young man many
advantages not afforded in the busy city life. He early
became acquainted with the art of training steers, caring
for sheep, holding the plow and mowing, as well as
making friends with the circular saw and turning lathe.
He attended the "district school" in his locality, when in
session, and the "village school" in winter. Soon after
entering the Simonds Free High school he became inter-
ested in land surveying and pursued the study and prac-
tised some years. His high school training was supple-
mented by private instruction.
When eighteen years old he began teaching school in
his native town, continuing for two years. Webster
next secured him for a term, and then he went to
Canterbury, remaining two years. At this time he was
offered several positions but selected the principalship
of the Ujnion school in Tilton, N. H., where he remained
for two years.
Mr. Clough has always been interested in schools and
is now president of the Simonds Free High School
Association (incorporated), of Warner, N. H., the
428
GEORGE M. CLOUGH
STATE BUILDERS
objects of which are to broaden the school's influence
and aid in its development. He is president of the
Somerville Sons & Daughters of New Hampshire,
which has a large membership and is doing much to turn
the attention of her native sons and daughters back to
their early homes. He is a charter member of the New
Hampshire Exchange Club, recently organized in
Boston, Mass.
In 1888 Mr. Clough decided to discontinue teaching
and enter the field of life insurance. After months of
careful study he became connected with the Boston office
of The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, of
Philadelphia, with which company he still remains.
He married Anna G. Gale, of Canterbury, N. H.,
who passed away in February, 1903, being survived by
three children, Gertrude G., Portia E. and Maurice.
429
MRS. MARY F. BERRY.
The pages of New Hampshire history contain nothing
of deeper interest, neither records more brilHantly il-
lumined than those which narrate the part which the
women have taken in the upbuilding of the state, from
the first to the present year of its political existence. To
make society and the state stronger and more progressive
by means of a more highly developed humanity has ever
been the especial field of effort in which these women, the
devoted, loyal. God-fearing ''Ruths" of New Hampshire,
have gleaned and toiled for the common store.
Intellectual power and attainment, with religion as its
basis and source of supply, has been the self-chosen goal
for which the women of the state in all the generations
have striven. There is no form or phase of intellectual
activity in which they have not engaged, and that with
signal success.
In Mary F. Berry is found a genuinely representative
type of the New Hampshire woman, legion in number,
who has made herself a power in formulating and ad-
vancing the thought and progress of the community
during the past twenty-five years. She has been a woman
with a vocation and an avocation, and throughout has
shown that she possessed a versatility of talent that en-
abled her to win success in any undertaking she essayed.
She has that individuality, originality, and personality
that leads her to be herself and not the reflection of an-
other or others. Her singleness of purpose has made
her a woman of convictions and never has she failed to
have the courage of those convictions.
Mrs. Berry was born Mary F. Mitchell and her birth-
place was Hooksett. Her parents were John H. and Mary
G. (Jones) Mitchell. Her school-day life was passed in
430
MRS. MARY F. BERRY
STATE BUILDERS
the common schools of her town and at Pembroke acad-
emy. From her native Hooksett she went to Massa-
chusetts, setthng finally in Stoneham. A chief event in
her life while there was the entering upon a mercantile
career in association with a woman friend. The two
associates embarked in their enterprise without capital
but with a credit of three thousand dollars with the firm's
word alone as security. The enterprise prospered and it
^vas not long ere all financial obligations were liqui-
dated.
It was while engaged in operating her store that Mrs.
Berry first heard that the attention of the world was
called to a new interpretation of the Bible, and that the
promulgation of this new idea, destined to speedily be-
come a tremendous power, was by a woman, and she also
a daughter of the Granite State. Her naturally inquiring
and searching mentality and her innate power to grasp
and fathom ideas led her to take into consideration the
declarations and conclusions of the new teacher, the dis-
coverer of the fact that "all causation is mind"; the
founder of the church, Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy, holding
this tenet as a great fundamental. There was that in
the new interpretation and reading of the Scriptures that
appealed to the heart and mind of Mrs. Berry, but she
did not accept and espouse the teaching of Mrs. Eddy
without most careful and conclusive investigation and
reflection.
Having become a believer in Christian Science mind-
healing as formulated by Mrs. Eddy, she entered upon
the work with all that zeal, love of purpose, and
enthusiasm that have ever been characteristic of her. She
became a pupil of Mrs. Eddy as early as 1882 and at the
conclusion of the prescribed course of study she returned
to her native New Hampshire with the determined pur-
pose, and as the first pioneer, of planting the new religion
in the land of her fathers. She settled in Manchester, and
bravely, yet in a womanly manner, raised the banner of
431
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her faith and spiritual principles. This was in the fall
of 1882, and from that year to the present her heart has
never failed her nor her faith laxed an iota in its zeal
and devotion. The religion she taught was one that in-
cluded the healing of physical illness as well as the lifting
up of the spiritual being. Success is the record of Mrs.
Berry's twenty years' work in Manchester. The sole
pioneer in the state at first, she soon gathered about her
men and women of Manchester who accepted the new
way of serving their Maker and mankind. Soon a read-
ing-room was engaged only to be given up for a still
larger one. Outside lecturers and teachers came at vary-
ing periods to help the Manchester members and eventu-
ally the decision to build a church was reached. In 1898,
a lot for the proposed new church was bought for forty-
five hundred dollars. In 1900 plans for the construction
of the church edifice began to be considered, but it was
not until 1901 that the actual work of construction be-
gan. A charter for the first "Church of Christ, Sci-
entist," in Nezif Hampshire, had been obtained in 1894
with twenty-three charter members. The handsome edi-
fice begun in 1901 was dedicated with appropriate ser-
vices on Sunday, January 11, 1903. The dedication
was made possible from the fact that the cost of
building had been met to the uttermost cent. This re-
markable result was greatly aided by a generous bequest
from a departed sister. The total expense was about
fourteen thousand dollars. The edifice is so built as to
make an enlargement easily practicable to a seating
capacity of eight hundred.
At the dedicatory services Mrs. Berry read an inter-
esting history of the work in Manchester, and she was
likewise one of the board of trustees that supervised the
erection of the church.
Aside from her church affiliations Mrs. Berry is active
and prominent in all that has to do with the advancement
of the material interests of her home city.
432
JOHN GAULT
JOHN GAULT.
The history of New Hampshire in all its extended and
varied range presents no single aspect that exceeds in
general interest, that more entertainingly and forcibly
illustrates the enduring influence of a strong and well
mannered human life, or that presents in a clearer man-
ner the grandeur of an idea having for its sole foundation
the uplifting of the individual man, than does that page
which tells of the coming in the eighteenth century, for
the purpose of permanent abode, of the Scotch and the
Scotch-Irish. The very nature of their spiritual homage
made them patriots and ardent advocates of constitu-
tional liberty. The conditions prevailing in the growth
of a natural physical being and the wisdom of their view
of what made the whole duty of life begat in them an
intellectual being that was at once their glory and power.
No community in all New England, however small or
remote, but what felt the influence for good that was ever
spreading out from this people. They were a race of
teachers in all that concerned the domestic, intellectual,
and spiritual progress of all the colonies. They were a
race of housekeepers and home builders, t\vo essentials of
infinitely vaster importance in the building of a nation
than are all the forces of statecraft, finance, and politics.
New Hampshire is fortunate tliis day in that she still
retains a strong and ever vitalizing infusion of this old-
time Scotch blood that has come down through the gen-
433
STATE BUILDERS
erations to make stronger and better the material life of
the state. The old family names are of still frequent
occurrence and borne by men and women who splendidly
maintain the ancient traditions as a precious heritage and
hallowed trust.
Conspicuous among these family names of early Scotch
settlers in New Hampshire is that of Gault, the first of
whom was Samuel, a native of Ayrshire, Scotland, the
birthplace of Robert Bums and a host of others who
gained honor and fame for work performed in life's
varied fields of effort.
It was near what is to-day the centre of the town of
Hooksett that Samuel Gault built his home and began
the work of winning a farm from the primeval forest.
The wife of Samuel Gault was Elsie Carleton, a Welsh
woman, and the passing of time has shown that this
union of Scotch and Welsh blood was a strong and virile
combination. After their marriage they journeyed to
Londonderry, in Ireland, where were so many of their
faith and blood. Early in their married life the couple
resolved to seek their home in America, and the frontier
settlement, now Hooksett, was selected as the place of
habitation. A son of the couple, born in their new home,
was named Matthew, and when he had grown to man-
hood he joined the forces that successfully contended for
the independence of the colonies. He was one of Stark's
men at Bennington, was with Washington at Morris-
town, and later did garrison duty at West Point on the
Hudson.
This soldier of the American Revolution, Matthew
Gault, married a daughter of Captain Andrew Bunton
of Chester, and they also had a son whom they named
Matthew. This second Matthew Gault, growing to man-
hood, identified himself with the material interests of
Hooksett, and, maintaining the spirit and tradition of
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STATE BUILDERS
his ancestry, he kept all that came under his sway in a
state of advancement and progress. He was a pioneer
in brick manufacturing, so long since a leading industry
in Hooksett, and participated in the affairs of his town,
county and state.
A son of the second Matthew was named Norris C,
who continued the brick-manufacturing interests so suc-
cessfully established by his father. Norris C. Gault served
his native Hooksett in the popular branch of the State
Legislature as far back as 1867, and for a number of
years was selectman of the town. He married Annie
Mitchell, and a son born to them is the subject of this
sketch, John Gault. He is the fifth of that line in
America begun by Samuel Gault and his wife, Elsie
Carleton, and, though still in his early manhood, he has
proven that there is no deterioration of the original stock.
The material life and interests of New Hampshire have
been fostered and advanced by each successive generation
of the family. Each generation has recognized that it
had a work to do and it has displayed the ability to do
it and do it well. Family ability and character rarely if
ever degenerate under an acceptance of such conditions.
Thus far (1903) the chosen life work of John Gault
has been teaching. His first situation in this profession
was in the Haven school of Portsmouth, where he re-
mained from September, 1895, until December, 1896,
when he accepted the principalship of the Webster-street -
school in the city of Manchester, and in this position he
is still serving.
The science of pedagogy is so comprehensive in its
scope that one sees differing and varied definitions of its
meaning. At its best it means that faculty which one
may possess of imparting knowledge to others. A per-
son may be ever so erudite, yet, lacking in this faculty, he
or she will fail utterly to make the ideal instructor. Mr.
435
STATE BUILDERS
Gault happily possesses this faculty of imparting knowl-
edge to others to a marked degree, and to its possession
is due much of his distinct success and popularity as a
teacher.
He perceives the characteristics of each individual pupil
and acts in the premises as suggested by this insight into
character.
Mr. Gault's natal day was February 28, 1872, and he
was of the fourth generation of the family to have been
born in Hooksett. His preparatory education was in
Pembroke academy, graduating therefrom in 1890. He
entered Dartmouth College with the class of '95 and im-
mediately upon graduation began teaching.
On August 27th, 1902, he married Sallie, daughter of
William F. and Mary H. (Sargeant) Head of Hooksett.
Mr. Gault is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and in fraternal organization has membership in
the Knights of Pythias and the Masons.
436
DANIEL J. DALEY
DANIEL J. DALEY.
From the very beginning of its history as a distinct
pohtical division of what is now the United States,
New Hampshire has been singularly peculiar in the
number of her sons who have chosen the law as a life
calling, and this tendency to the legal profession is as
pronounced to-day as ever, and there is no question but
what the standard of ability and erudition is as high
as ever.
Included among the younger members of the New
Hampshire bar is Daniel J. Daley of Manchester, who
was admitted to practice in 1899. He was born in the
town of Londonderry, August i, 1873, the son of
John and Julia Daley, who were residents of London-
derry for upwards of forty years, owning and tilling
one of the best farms in the town.
The boyhood life of young Daley was passed upon
the parental farm and at the common schools of the
town. At the age of sixteen he entered Pinkerton
Academy, and the pecuniary means required for this
course of study he earned by working at logging,
chopping and general work upon the farm. While still
in his teens and before the year of his majority gave
him the right to vote, he participated in the political
affairs of his town and neighborhood. At twenty-one
his fellow townsmen conferred upon him the rare honor,
for one of his age, of an election to the Londonderry
Board of Selectmen, and this wholly without any self-
seeking of the office.
437
STATE BUILDERS
His first preparatory step for the bar was a course of
study in the Nashua office of Charles J. Hamblett, United
States District Attorney under Presidents McKinley
and Roosevelt. He subsequently entered the Boston
University Law School, but did not complete its full
course of study.
Returning to New Hampshire he eventually resumed
his law studies in the office of James P. Tuttle of
Manchester, former solicitor of Hillsborough County.
It was early in 1899 that he passed his examinations
for admission to the bar, and he at once located in
Manchester, in which city he has since lived and
practiced.
His success as a lawyer was instant and marked.
From the first he has been a general practitioner, and
in each department of legal practice he has given evidence
that he is well grounded in general law.
He is thus early in his career retained by the Boston
and Maine Railroad Corporation; the American Cotton
Yarn Trust; the Manchester Traction, Light and. Power
Company; the Kimball Carriage Company, and Cavan-
augh Brothers, all clients that any lawyer of even long
experience might feel well proud of possessing.
Early in 1903 Mr. Daley became professionally asso-
ciated with a case in criminal procedure, interest in which
extended throughout New England. This was the case
of Charles W. Sell, charged with assault with intent
to kill. Sell shot and seriously wounded his former
sweetheart, Miss Mabel French, and after firing two
shots at her, both of which took effect, he next fired at
her two companions, Clinton Bunker and Joseph Clough,
slightly wounding both. The grand jury found two
indictments against Sell, and conviction under these two
indictments called for a maximum sentence of forty
years.
438
STATE BUILDERS
The finding of the indictments and the approaching
trial awakened in the pubHc an intense interest, which
deepened and spread as the day of the trial approached.
People indulged in all manner of speculation as to the
probable outcome of the trial. Practically all Agreed
that there was no possible chance for Sell to escape from
a sentence much short of ten years, and all anticipated
a long-drawn-out contest, as it was given out that the
prisoner's plea would be one of self defence. On the
morning of the day set for the trial Mr. Daley conferred
with Mr. Wason, who as the solicitor of Hillsborough
County appeared for the state, with the result that it was
agreed that Sell should plead nolo contendere, which
agreement the Court accepted and Sell escaped with an
indeterminate sentence of not less than three nor more
than five years.
Mr. Daley is popular and respected wherever known,
for he has those qualities of heart and mind that people
like to come into contact with. In fraternal organizations
he is a member and past-master of Gen. Stark Grange
Patrons of Husbandry, of Manchester Council Knights
of Columbus and the New Hampshire Catholic Club,
Manchester.
He married, in 1903, Miss Josephine C. Burke of
Manchester, a graduate of Mt. St. Mary's Academy and
widely known in Manchester's social and educational
circles.
439
WALLACE D. LOVELL.
Though of neither New Hampshire birth nor New
Hampshire residence, Wallace D. Lovell is well entitled
to rank with the state builders of this commonwealth by
reason of the strenuous eliect which he is putting forth
to develop the wealth and resources of the community.
Born at Weymouth, Mass., Feb. 3, 1854, and thoroughly
trained as a business man in that state, Mr. Lovell clearly
foresaw many years agO' the great future of New Hamp-
shire as a summer resort when once its latent energies
were fully developed and exploited. Accordingly, in the
fall of 1897, he began the work of building street rail-
ways in southern New Hampshire, extending them across
the state line into northern Massachusetts. His first ven-
tures in New Hampshire were in the southeastern portion
oi the state, where he built and developed the Exeter
street railway, the Portsmouth and Exeter street railway,
the Exeter and Newmarket street railway, the Hampton
and Amesbury street railway, the Seabrook and Hampton
Beach street railway, the y\mesbury and Hampton street
railway, the Haverhill, Plaistow and Newton street rail-
way, the Haverhill and Plaistow street railway, the
Haverhill and Southern New Hampshire street railway.
These various railroads, now united into a single com-
prehensive system, thoroughly gridiron the southeastern
tier of towns" in Rockingham county, and afford easy and
rapid intercommunication between the beautiful towns of
that section and the entrancing line of seacoast which
New Hampshire possesses.
440
WALLACE D. LOVELL
STATE BUILDERS
In connection with these enterprises Mr, LoveU has
recently buih and opened with due ceremony a bridge
over Hampton River more than a mile in length, which
practically connects New Hampshire and Massachusetts
on the shore line and a\ hich by opening up a large feed-
ing territory for his railroads in Massachusetts has added
materially to the prosperity of eastern Rockingham coun-
ty-
Turning his attention from this field where he has been
so successful, Mr. Lovell has also constructed and put
into operation the Hudson, Pelham and Salem street rail-
way, the Lawrence and Methuen street railway, the
Lowell and Pelham street railway, and the Derry and
Pelham street railway, giving communication between
the flourishing cities in the Merrimack valley in this state
and in Massachusetts.
He has also built and now operates the Dover, Somers-
worth and Rochester street railway, bringing those three
active and hustling communities into close touch with
each other, and he now has under contract the Concord,
Dover and Rochester street railway which will be built
during the coming season, and which will open up a sec-
tion of territory in New Hampshire which is now abso-
lutely without means of communication other than that
afforded by the highways, but which in material pros-
perity is amply able to support such a line as is contem-
plated.
In connection with his railway enterprises in south-
eastern New Hampshire Mr. Lovell has constructed at
Portsmouth a magnificent electrical plant known as the
Rockingham County light and power company. This
plant supplies the electrical energy for the various lines
of railway operated by Mr. Lovell and in addition is pre-
pared to furnish light and power to cities or individuals,
it being Mr. Lovell's firm belief that through the wide
distribution of electrical power in small manufacturing
441
STATE BUILDERS
establishments great prosperity to a community must
necessarily ensue.
Mr. Lovell is not content with the great work he has
already done but contemplates even larger and more ex-
tended enterprises in the same line, so thoroughly is he
imbued with the belief that the extension and develop-
ment of trolley lines will be of inestimable benefit to the
state of New Hampshire by attracting and distributing
over new sections of country thousands of summer visi-
tors who do not now come here.
442
SHERMAN E. BURROUGHS
SHERMAN E. BURROUGHS.
It was but the following out of a well-sustained pre-
dilection that Sherman E. Burroughs sought and entered
the legal profession as the chosen field of his life work.
To use an old-time, yet expressive phrase, he was a
natural born lawyer; he loved the profession not for
what he might wring from it, but rather for what it was
and all that it represented. Through good judgment
and wise decision he came to the bar well grounded in
the law, not leaving, as is so frequently the case, a great
mass of matter to be studied and learned after entering
upon practice. His general education was likewise
thorough and comprehensive, wholly free from that
superficiality so regretfully common in the whole list
of the trades and professions in present day American
life. All this made the more effective his equipment for
the bar and the general affairs of life, and that immedi-
ate success which has been his in early manhood years
was as but a natural result of a thorough preliminary
preparation.
Mr. Burroughs is a thorough-going son of New
Hampshire, for not only was he born in the state but
his ancestry on both sides for several generations had
their birth and rearing within the state. The little town
of Dunbarton, that has for so many years been famed
for its generous contributions of conspicuous men and
women to the every field of state and national life, was
his birthplace, with 1870 as his natal year.
443
STATE BUILDERS
His parents were John H. and Helen M. (Baker)
Burroughs, and when the son was fourteen years of age
the family removed to the town of Bow, in which place
the parents live to this year (1903), The educational
life of young Burroughs began in the common schools
of Dunbarton, was continued in those of Bow and the
High school in the city of Concord, graduating from the
latter in 1890, in which year he entered the freshman
class of Dartmouth college and completing the college
course graduated in 1894.
Immediately following the graduation he went to
Washington to become private secretary to his kinsman,
Henry M. Baker, then a congressman from New Hamp-
shire. His work at the national capital served him, in
effect, as it has many another young man destined for
the bar and other professional fields, as a valued post
graduate course. It was while in Washington also that
he entered upon his legal studies as a student in Colum-
bian University law school, from which he graduated in
1897, but his admission to the bar of the District of
Columbia was in 1896 and prior to his graduation from
the law school.
In the fall of 1897 he returned to New Hampshire,
was admitted to the bar of the state, and at once opened
a law office in the city of ]\Ianchester. From 1897 to
1901 he continued practice alone, but in July of the latter
year he became one of the firm of Taggart. Tuttle and
Burroughs, a firm that has attained an extensive practice
in corporation procedure as well as general practice.
Until 1903 Mr. Burroughs retained his legal residence
in the town of Bow, when he changed it to Manchester.
In 1 90 1 he was sent by his fellow townsmen in Bow to
represent them in the popular branch of the state legis-
lature, in which body he served on the judiciary and
rules committee.
444
STATE BUILDERS
In 1898 Mr. Burroughs married Helen S. Phillips, a
member of a former New York state family. Three
sons, Robert Phillips, John Hamilton, and Sherman
Edward, Jr., are a thrice blessed result of the union.
In fraternal organizations Mr. Burroughs is a Mason,
and in church affiliation he is an Episcopalian.
445
J. HOMER EDGERLEY.
Among the many New Hampshire boys in their teens
who ralHed to the defence of the flag and country in the
war from '6i to '65 was J. Homer Edgerley, and that his
youth did not preclude him from a full realization of the
magnitude and seriousness of that portentous conflict, is
evidenced by the fact that he remained with his command
till its final muster out at the close of the war.
Nor is this all; this youth, as he was at the time of his
enlistment, performed the duties of the private in the
ranks with such measure of valor and efficiency that he
won promotion, first as first sergeant of his company, next
as second lieutenant, then to a captaincy, and upon his
muster out it was as brevet-major. This last promotion
was from a recommendation in a general order of the
commanding general, prompted by a personal act of
splendid heroism.
After the war, Major Edgerley, accepting the example
of many another New Hampshire man, went to Massa-
chusetts, and from that time has made his home in Boston
or its vicinity. During much of the time of his residence
in Massachusetts, he has been in the civil service of the
United States Government, and, in addition, has served
his adopted state as a member of its legislature during the
session of 1900. As a resident of the city of Charlestown
prior to its annexation to Boston, he was a member of its
common council. For several years he was master painter
446
J. HOMER EDGERLEY
STATE BUILDERS
at the Charlestown Navy Yard. He is at present deputy
serveyor of customs, port of Boston.
Major Edgerley is a native of Dover. His father was
Calvin O. Edgerley, a long time resident and respected
citizen of that city. He enlisted at Dover under Ira A.
Moody, and this squad eventually became Company K,
Third New Hampshire. Early in 1862 he was made
orderly sergeant (from private), and satisfactorily filled
the position till June, 1863, when he was commissioned
a second lieutenant. He was at Pocotaligo, South Caro-
lina, October 22, 1862, and with his regiment at the
taking of Morris Island, July 10, 1863, in the attack of
the following morning, and in the siege work of those
weary months, during which it seemed to each man that
it was surely his turn next to be either killed or wounded.
During a portion of this time, Lieutenant Edgerley
served with the Boat Infantry Picket, an extremely haz-
ardous duty, wholly by night, and as important as it was
dangerous. Lieutenant Edgerley took active part in all
the actions of the regiment, Drury's Bluff, May 13-16,
1864; in the noted sortie of June 2, 1864; the recapture
of the rifle-pits in front of the Bermuda Hundred lines;
and in the Petersburg reconnoissance of June 9, 1864.
June 16, 1864, when the enemy had vacated Butler's
front, he was with the skirmishers, feeling the new ad-
vance of the enemy, and behaved very gallantly. On the
1 6th of August, 1864, the 7th of October, 1864, and the
various actions of those autumn months, Lieutenant
Edgerley was a participant. In December, 1864, he had
a leave of absence and he was about that time promoted
to captain. In January, 1865, he was one of the six
ofiicers with the regiment in the successful assault of
Fort Fisher, and with a mere handful of volunteer fol-
lowers he ran to Mound Battery and hauled down and se-
cured the flag, giving it to General Terry.
447
STATE BUILDERS
He was sent to Point Lookout, Maryland, in charge
of a steamer-load of the captured prisoners. In the ad-
vance on Wilmington he again displayed great courage.
On the nth of February, when he was in charge of the
line (left wing), he captured a greater number of pris-
oners than his own force. At Wilmington, after its cap-
ture, he was assistant provost-marshal, the duties of
which office required great skill, sagacity, and diplomacy.
He was in charge of the flag of truce which arranged for
the wholesale exchange of prisoners at North East Ferry.
He returned home with the regiment at its final muster
out in July, 1865.
448
GEORGE A. MARDEN
GEORGE A. MARDEN.
Of that great army of men of New Hampshire birth
who have chosen the State of Massachusetts for their
adoption and the field of Hfe's efforts and activity, few
have gained greater distinction or more widespread pop'-
ularity than George A. Marden, who in April, 1899, was
appointed by President McKinley the assistant treasurer
of the United States, at Boston, and reappointed for the
second term by President Roosevelt. Since 1867 Mr.
Marden has been a legal resident of Lowell, in which
place he has been prominently identified with the news-
paper press of Massachusetts, and it is in the news-
paper field as well as in the realm of politics that he has
become so prominently known throughout New England
and, indeed, the entire country.
Mr. Marden was born in the town of Mont Vernon,
August 9, 1839, the son of Benjamin Franklin and
Betsey (Buss) Marden. On the paternal side he is de-
scended from Richard Marden who took the oath of
fidelity in New Haven, 1646, and both lines of ancestry
are prominently identified with the settlement and devel-
opment of the colony and state of New Hampshire.
Mr. Marden' s preparatory education was obtained at
Appleton academy in Mont Vernon, now the McCollom
institute, of whose trustees he is president. In this period
he was also taught the shoemaker's trade by his father,
who was both a tanner and a shoemaker, and he worked
thereat after attaining the age of twelve, in intervals oc-
449
STATE BUILDERS
curring- while he was fitting for cohege and subsequently
during- college vacations. Having entered Dartmouth
college in the fall of 1857, he graduated in July, 1861,
being the eleventh member in rank in a class of fifty-
eight members. In 1875 he was the commencement poet
of the Phi Beta Kappa society, and in 1877 he delivered
the commencement poem before the Dartmouth Associ-
ated Alumni. Of each of these two societies he was the
president for two years. Among his classmates in college
was the Rev. William Jewett Tucker, now the president
of the college.
With his patriotism deeply stirred by the outbreak of
the Rebellion, Mr. Marden enlisted as a private in Com-
pany G, Second Regiment of Berdan's United States
sharpshooters. In November, 1861, he was mustered into
the United States serA-ice, receiving- a warrant as second
sergeant. Transferred to the first regiment of sharp-
shooters in 1862, he was, during the Peninsular cam-
paign, under McClehan from Yorktown to Harrison's
Landing. On July 10 of the same year he was made first
lieutenant and regimental quartermaster, and subse-
quently served in that capacity until January, 1863, when
he was ordered on staff duty as acting assistant adjutant-
general of the Third Brigade, Third Division, Third
Corps. After serving in this position until the fall of
1863, having been in the battles of Chancellorsville, Get-
tysburg and Wapping Heights, he was ordered to Riker's
Island, N. Y., on detached service. Soon after, at his
own request, he was sent back to his regiment, with which
he remained until it was mustered out in September, 1864.
Having returned to New Hampshire, Mr. Marden en-
tered the law office of Minot and Mugridge at Concord,
N. H., where he engaged in the study of law and also
wrote for the Concord Daily Monitor. In November,
1865, he removed to Charleston, Kanawha County,
450
STATE BUILDERS
West Virginia, and purchased a weekly paper, the Kana-
wha Republican. This he edited until April, 1866, when
he disposed of it and returned to New Hampshire. Then
he worked for Adjutant-General Nat Head of New
Hampshire, compiling and editing a history of each of
the state's military organizations during the civil war. In
the meantime, still pursuing journalism, he wrote for the
Concord Monitor and was the Concord correspondent of
the Boston Advertiser, having obtained this post in July,
1866. He accepted, January, 1867, the position of as-
sistant editor of the Boston Advertiser and discharged its
duties until Sq^tember following. Then, conjointly with
his classmate, Major E. T. Rowell, he purchased the
Loivell Daily Courier and the Loiuell Weekly Journal,
both of which he has since conducted. On September i,
1892, the partnership of Messrs. Marden and Rowell,
which lasted just twenty-five years, was suspended by a
stock corporation styled the Lowell Courier Publishing
Company, the two proprietors retaining their respective
interests in the enterprise. Since January i, 1895, the
Courier company has been united with the Citizen com-
pany, under the name of the Courier-Citizen company,
the Citizen having been made a one-cent morning paper,
and Mr. Marden remaining in editorial charge of both
papers.
Mr. Marden's first vote in a Presidential election was
cast for Abraham Lincoln. Since 1867 there has been
no election, state or national, when he did not serve his
party on the stump. The most notable of these was the
presidential campaign of 1896, when, in company with
Major General O. O. Howard, Majcrr General Daniel E.
Sickles, Gen. Russell A. Alger, Gen. Thos. J. Stewart,
Corp. James Tanner, Major J. W. Burst, and Col.
George H. Hopkins, he stumped the middle west on a
platform car, travelling over 8,000 miles in fifteen states,
451
STATE BUILDERS
addressing more than a million people. As a speaker
he has also been in much request for Memorial Day and
for jubilee anniversaries generally. In April, 1893, he
delivered a memorable address at the reunion of the "Old
Guard," held in New York on Forefathers' Day of 1889
and 1892, the invitations to which he regards as the
greatest honor of his life. July 4, 1891, he read the
poem at the annual encampment of the Society of the
Army of the Potomac at Buffalo.
It was as a member of the state legislature that Mr.
Marden first entered political life in Massachusetts, hav-
ing secured election in 1873. He was first chosen clerk
of the House in 1874, an event chiefly due to the friend-
liness with which he had inspired his fellow members of
the preceding year. He was regularly elected to that office
afterward to 1883. Then he decided to seek election to
the house again, with the purpose of becoming a candi-
date for the speakership. Having obtained both desires,
he was first elected speaker for 1883. He was again
elected representative and the speaker for 1884. Al-
though new to the gavel in 1883, when the session was
the longest held before or since then, mainly owing to
Governor Butler's frequent intervention in legislative
affairs, he made an exceptionally creditable record in the
chair. In 1885 he was a member of the state senate.
After being defeated in his candidacy for the senate of
the following year, he was appointed by Grovernor Ames
a trustee of the agricultural college at Amherst. Begin-
ning in 1888 he was annually elected Treasurer and Re-
ceiver-General of the Commonwealth for five consecutive
years, thereby exhausting the period for which the office
can be constitutionally held by the same individual unin-
terruptedly, and winning general commendation by his
administration of the state's finances. In company with
Hon. George S. Boutwell, ex-Secretary of the United
452
STATE BUILDERS
States Treasury, he represented the Seventh Congres-
sional district in the National Republican convention of
1880, held in Chicago, where both ardently supported the
nomination of General Grant, thereby earning their right
to membership in the "Old Guard," and to their "306
medals," which they have treasured to this day.
Mr. Harden married^ December 10, 1867, Mary Por-
ter Fiske, daughter of Deacon David Fiske of Nashua.
They have two sons, Philip Sanford, born Jan, 12, 1874,
graduated from Dartmouth, 1894, and Harvard Law
School in 1898; and Robert Fiske, born June 14, 1876,
graduated from Dartmouth, 1898.
453
DANIEL WALTON GOULD.
A strong and influential personality as respects char-
acter and type of manhood in that contingent of New
Hampshire men in Massachusetts, is Daniel Walton
Gould, for many years a resident of the city of Chelsea
in that state. But his influence as a citizen and active
participant in general affairs is not confined to his home
city but extends throughout the state. He is rich in the
possession of a good name and the respect and affection
of thousands of Bay State citizens who have come to
know him in tlie passing years of a well-directed life.
He belongs to that body in American citizenship who
when boys, or in the first years of an ardent young man-
hood, rallied to the defence of their country's flag and
for which they sought no other reward than the con-
sciousness of a duty well performed. The echo of the
guns that were turned upon Fort Sumter -on that event-
ful April day had scarcely died away before Daniel W.
Gould was numbered among those who had volunteered
in defence of the Union. In less than three months after
leaving his peaceful abode in the shelter of the hills of his
native New Hampshire he received his first baptism of
shot and shell on that fatal field of the first Bull Run
clash of arms. He went with McClellan to the Penin-
sula, where in one of the first battles of that campaign,
so disastrous to the LTnion arms, he received a wound
that caused the amputation of his left arm.
Returning to his home in New Hampshire he entered
heartily into every duty of the true citizen.
454
DANIEL WALTON GOULD
STATE BUILDERS
The story of Mr. Gould's life to these first years of the
twentieth century told in brief is that he was born in the
town of Peterborough, August lo, 1838, son of Gilman
and Mersylvia Walton Gould. He is a descendant of
Zacheus Gould who is supposed to have come to this
country from England in 1638 and settled in Topsfield,
Mass., in 1643. He was educated in the public schools
of Peterborough and passed three years in the law office
of R. B. Hatch. When the civil war broke out he enlisted
under the call of President Lincoln for 75,000 men, on
April 26, 1 86 1, at Peterborough, as a private, and on the
fifth of June following he was mustered into the United
States service at Portsmouth, N. H., for three years and
assigned to company G, second Regiment, New Hamp-
shire Volunteers. He served with his regiment in the
first battle of Bull Run and the siege of Yorktown. In
the battle of Williamsburg, Va., May, 1862, he was
wounded in the leg in the morning but continued to
fight in his company until late in the afternoon, when
he was wounded in the left arm. The bullet still remains
in the leg; the arm was amputated above the elbow.
While his regiment was engaged and under a hot fire,
Mr. Gould's rifle becoming deranged, he sat down and
unscrewed the cap nipple, cleaned and replaced it and
continued his fire upon the enemy. Upon his discharge
from the service he returned to New Hampshire, where
he remained until his appointment to a clerkship in the
Treasury Department at Washington in 1874. From
1868 to 1874 he was paymaster and clerk for the Union
Manufacturing Company of Peterborough, N. H. In
1868 he was also clerk of the town of Peterborough;
and in 1872 and 1873 he represented his town in the
New Hampshire legislature. He remained in Wash-
ington about a year, and in 1876 was appointed inspector
of the Boston Custom House. For some time after the
war he continued his interests in military affairs, serving
455
STATE BUILDERS
as lieutenant and subsequently captain of Company B,
Second Regiment, New Hampshire National Guard.
He is a charter member of Aaron F. Stevens Post, No.
6, Grand Army of the Republic, has held most of its
offices, and been a continuous member of the W. S.
Hancock Command, Union Veterans Union, of Chelsea,
was elected department commander of the department
of Massachusetts for 1887- 1888, was judge advocate
general of the National Command in 1889, and quar-
termaster general in the Massachusetts Department.
He is prominent also in the Masonic and Odd Fellows
orders. He is a member of Altemont Lodge of Free
Masons, member of the Peterborough Royal Arch Chap-
ter, the Hugh de Payens commandery, Keene, N. H.,
and the Naphtali Council, Chelsea; and is a member
and past noble grand of Peterborough Lodge, Odd
Fellows, and past high priest of Union Encampment
No. 6. In politics he is a Republican. He has resided
in Chelsea since May, 1874. He is much interested in
the Unitarian Society of Chelsea and is chairman of the
standing committee of this society.
In 1895 he was nominated by the Chelsea Republicans
for alderman-at-large and received the popular vote of
the city, he getting 2514 votes, or 124 more than any
other successful candidate for alderman and 16 more
than the candidate for mavor.
456
^?^ ^
CHARLES E. SLEEPER
CHARLES E. SLEEPER.
Charles E. Sleeper, the subject of this sketch, was born
at Fremont, N. H., July 13th, 1852, being of the fifth
generation to be bom on the same homestead.
The ancestor of these successive proprietors came from
England and settled upon the estate sometime in the 17th
century, having a grant of three hundred and sixty acres
from the King of England.
After graduating from the Kingston academy v^ith
high honors Mr. Sleeper followed mercantile life for sev-
eral years, awaiting patiently the opening of the door to
his great ambition, that of a hotel proprietor.
The opportunity which paved the way to his chosen
vocation came with an offer of a position at the Rocking-
ham, Portsmouth, where he not only had a valuable
experience, but proved to his employers as well as to
himself that he had made no mistake in the choice of a
vocation.
After some years of progressive effort Mr. Sleeper
took the management of Hotel Weirs, Weirs, and for
five seasons made this well-known hostelry a favorite
resort, with a constantly widening patronage.
His next move was the purchase of the Kingswood Inn
and the New Wolfboro, two of the finest hotels in the
lake region, at Wolfboro.
While these various relations were productive and
educational, the intermittent character of the summer
hotel business left something to be desired. The rush of
four or five months in the season is succeeded by an
457
STATE BUILDERS
uneventful period, representing an extreme, which to one
fitted for active Hfe is not congeniaL
As a natural consequence Mr. Sleeper, in due time,
disposing of his Wolfboro property, was prepared to
accept the management of the Plaza, upon Columbus
Ave., Boston, INIass., which soon showed a marked im-
provement under his administration, ranking among the
best of the hotels in that city.
His success in the management of a metropolitan hotel
brought him to the favorable notice of the Leicester
Hotel Co., of Leicester, Mass., which was in search of
a capable and reliable manager. For two years Mr.
Sleeper acted in this capacity, with results which war-
ranted his acquiring the property by purchase.
The sequel proved the wisdom of this action, and Hotel
Leicester became a social centre for the territory for
miles around, under the tactful methods of the landlord
and his able wife.
Still growing in public favor and possessing to an
unusual degree qualities which are considered by the
craft as absolutely essential to the proper conduct of a
modern hotel, a community of itself in its multiplicity of
interests and administration, Mr. Sleeper received in
1901, an offer of the management of the Castle Square
Hotel of Boston, Mass. This offer he finally accepteil
and later disposed of his Leicester property, in order that
he might give the last enterprise his undivided attention.
Mr. Sleeper's popularity is evidenced by an increase of
business which at times taxes the resources of this largest
hotel in the city to its utmost, and the register shows
patrons from all over New England, including many
prominent New Hampshire names.
Mr. Sleeper's personality is largely responsible for his
enviable position in the hotel world.
Combined with a masterful knowledge of detail is a
wide acquaintance and the requisite poise which enable
him to maintain an equitable balance between the ex-
458
STATE BUILDERS
tremes, the guest and the employee, with the desire to do
justice to each.
This faculty not only makes friends but retains them,
and Mr. Sleeper's staunchest friends are those who in the
past have been dependent upon these essentials, far more
than they realized.
This biography would be incomplete, indeed, without
the deserving mention of the woman who has been a will-
ing helper and capable adviser throughout Mr. Sleeper's
business career.
Mrs. Sleeper, nee Emma Robinson, is New Hampshire
bom — a native of Epping and a woman of energy and
executive ability.
She is fully capable of managing a hotel in all its
departments and has frequently shown her qualifications
in a business and social way, ably supporting her husband
in his rising progress.
In 1894 Mr. Sleeper was elected to the General Court
as representative from the city of Laconia, N. H., as a
Democrat from a Republican ward, which in New Hamp-
shire politics is an unusual combination.
As a Knights Templar, Odd Fellow and a member of
the H. M. M. B. A., he is well known and highly es-
teemed.
Naturally modest and retiring, Mr. Sleeper is an ex-
ample of one whose reward comes to him in recognition
of sterling worth, strict integrity and a high standard of
excellence which impress themselves to a marked degree
upon all with whom he comes in contact.
459
THOMAS FELLOWS CLIFFORD.
Whatever may be said to the contrary, it is neverthe-
less true that the great himian family delights in recog-
nizing merit and in rewarding it by the bestowal of its
favors, when once it is satisfied that the recipient is
worthy its confidence. No man, and especially no young
man, is secure in his relationship to society and the gen-
eral public unless he has proven himself deserving of the
approval of this same general public no matter how
strong his family and individual powers may be.
A strong personality of the type in question is Thomas
Fellows Clifford, who, already at the very beginning of
an extremely promising career, has been the recipient of
important trusts and favors from a public that thoroughly
believes in him, and that undoubtedly has a long list of
other favors in store for liim.
Born at Davis Homestead, Wentworth, December i,
1 87 1, it was his great good fortune to come from an
honored ancestry, and one that none will deny him the
right to regard with justifiable pride.
Of this ancestry one was Increase Sumner, a governor
of Massachusetts, and an able leader of his times. On
the paternal side he has relationship with Nathan Clif-
ford, long a lawyer of national repute, and for years an
associate justice of the supreme court of the United
States. A great grandfather of the subject of this sketch
was Rev. Increase Sumner Davis, the first pastor of the
460
THOMAS FELLOWS CLIFFORD
/
STATE BUILDERS
Congregational church in Wentworth. The parents of
Mr. Clifford were Thomas Jefferson and Sara (Fellows)
Clifford. Their son was educated in the public schools
of Concord, and, selecting the legal profession as his life
work, he entered the Boston University law school and
completed the prescribed course. Upon his admission to
the New Hampshire bar he located in Franklin and at
once entered upon a career that has thus far been ex-
tremely creditable to him.
His popularity in Franklin and the esteem in which he
is held by his fellow citizens were shown when upon the
declaration of war against Spain he enlisted in Company
E, First New Hampshire volunteers, and was commis-
sioned first lieutenant. He served in the war on the
staff of Gen. John W. Andrews, who commanded the
third brigade, third division, first army corps. At the
close of the war Lieutenant Clifford was mustered out as
captain of Company E.
In the state legislatures of 1897 and 1899 he served as
assistant clerk of the senate, and in the legislatures of
1 90 1 and 1903 he filled the important office of clerk of
the upper branch. He is the justice of the Franklin
police court, and since 1900 has been secretary of the
Republican state committee. Mr. Clifford has member-
ship in the Sons of the American Revolution; in Blazing
Star Lodge A. F. and A. M., Concord; in St. Omer
chapter, R. and A. M., Franklin; in the Wonolancet Club,
Concord; and the Red Star Club, Franklin.
461
EDWARD GILES LEACH.
Edward Giles Leach was born in Meredith, New
Hampshire, January 28, 1849, son of Levi and Susan
Catherine (Sanborn) Leach. He attended the common
schools of Meredith and spent one term at the New
Hampshire Conference Seminary at Tilton, and for two
years studied at Kimball Union Academy, being gradu-
ated in 1867. He was graduated from Dartmouth in
the class of 1871. Mr. Leach paid his own way through
college, teaching in winter and acting as clerk in the
Crawford House and Memphremagog House at New-
port, Vermont, in summer. After his graduation he
studied law and was admitted to the bar in September,
1874, since which time he has been in practice in Frank-
lin and Concord. He was in partnership with the Hon.
Daniel Barnard at Franklin until 1879. Since then his
office has been in Concord, where he has been a member
of the firm of Leach & Stevens, his partner being Henry
W. Stevens. He was solicitor of Merrimack County
from 1880 to 1884, and has been city solicitor of Frank-
lin since its organization as a city. He served in the
Legislature at the sessions of 1893 and 1895, being chair-
man of the House Judiciary Committee in the latter
years. In 1900 he was elected to the State Senate for
the session of 1901 and served as chairman of the Ju-
diciary Committee. Mr. Leach has been president of
the Franklin Board of Trade; of the Franklin Building
and Loan Association; of the Franklin Park Association;
462
EDWARD GILES LEACH
STATE BUILDERS
of the Manufacturers' and Merchants' Mutual Life In-
surance Company, since the org-anization of each. He
has been trustee and clerk of the Unitarian Church since
1880. He is a director in the Light and Power Com-
pany; of the Franklin Falls Company, and of the Frank-
lin Electric Road. He drafted in the charter of the city
of Franklin and was active in securing its passage by the
Legislature and its adoption by the vote of the city. He
was a leading advocate of the city, owning its water-
works, and of the system of control by a non-partisan
Board without pay, and has been one of the Park Com-
missioners since the Board was established. In politics
Mr. Leach is a Republican and has been a member of
the Republican State Committee since 1878. He was
one of the leaders in the movement which changed the
political control of the town in 1893. He had been fre-
quently nominated for office before that year, but had
been unable to overcome the Democratic majority. Mr.
Leach married, December 24, 1874, Agnes A. Robinson.
He has two sons, Eugene W. and Robert M. Leach, of
the Dartmouth classes of 1901 and 1902 respectively.
463
FREDERICK E. POTTER, M. D.
Born in Rumney, July 3, 1839, Frederick Eugene
Potter had but just entered his manliood years when, on
that ever memorable April day of 1861, the flag on Fort
Sumter received the shot that precipitated the conflict
between the states.
He was one of that class of young men to whom the
loyal people of the North looked with peculiar emphasis
to save the Union from its threatened disruption, and
promptly did he respond to the call of that fateful hour.
Selecting the navy as his preferred arm of the service,
he was on board the Monticello at the attack upon and
capture of Forts Flatteras and Clark, that event, early
in 1862, that so cheered the heart and raised the hopes
of the oft-defeated North. Transferred from the North
Carolina coast to the naval forces operating on the Miss-
issippi river, he participated in the thrilling, arduous and
decisive campaign ag-ainst Vicksburg and its tributary
country, and also saw exciting sers-ice on the Cumberland
and Tennessee rivers, returning from which he became
attached to the ill-fated Red river expedition. His ser-
vice in the navy throughout had been as a member of the
medical corps, for the opening of the war had found him
a practising physician, young as he was in years. Long
continued campaigning, hardship and exposure resulted
in impaired health, and for this reason it was sought to
ameliorate his condition by an appointment as president
of the board of examiners for admission to the naval
464
P^REDERICK E. POTTER, M.l).
STATE BUILDERS
medical corps, at the time stationed at Cincinnati, Ohio.
But this change of scene and duty failed to compass a
restoration to health, and he was given a year's leave of
absence, and this year he passed in his native New Hamp-
shire. A regained health and strength found him again
in active service, which sent him into Mexican waters at
the time France was engaged in the attempt to place the
ill-starred Maximilian on a throne in Mexico. For
seven years Dr. Potter served with naval squadrons
sailing from Mexico to distant South American ports.
Finally he applied for an assignment nearer home, and
he was ordered to the Portsmouth navy yard. At this
post he served for four years, when, in 1876, he resigned
his commission and began private practice of his profes-
sion.
Dr. Potter was a son of Frederick F. Potter, M. D.,
of Conway, who was a descendant of that Major General
Frye of Fryeburg, Maine, an ensign at the capture of
Louisburg and later a distinguished officer in the Ameri-
can Revolution and a close personal friend of Washing-
ton. On his mother's side the younger Dr. Potter was
descended from that gallant Sergeant Beverly who
fought at Bunker Hill, and who later further distin-
guished himself by swimming the St. Lawrence river in
midwinter as the bearer of dispatches from Major Gen-
eral Richard Montgomery, a duty he performed with
signal success.
As a child of three years the future Dr. Potter removed
with his family from Rumney to Suncook, in which
town he lived until the age of eighteen, when he entered
the medical school of the University of Vermont, gradu-
ating in 1859. Going to New York city immediately
after receiving his diploma he was appointed resident
interne at the King's county hospital, where he was at
the beginning of the war between the states.
Dr. Potter continued in active practice in Portsmouth
465
STATE BUILDERS
for more than twenty-five years and always with marked
success. As a man and citizen he won the highest re-
gard of all who came to know him, for he was a man
who lived in a way tO' merit trust and confidence. His
was a commanding presence and winning personality.
He was loyal to the duty of the hour and he possessed the
ability to accept responsibility.
j\ Democrat in his political affiliations he received from
his party in 1900 its nomination for governor, the honor
coming to him wholly without personal solicitation or
seeking.
In fraternal organizations he was a Mason and mem-
ber of the Massachusetts commandery, Loyal Legion.
He attended the Unitarian church.
On October 2d, 1873, he married Harriett, daughter
of Jeremiah H. and Mary (Thompson) Wilkins of Pem-
broke.
Dr. Potter died in November, 1902.
466
ANSON COLBY ALEXANDER, M.l).
ANSON COLBY ALEXANDER, M. D.
Anson Colby Alexander, a descendant from two
branches of Revolutionary stock, was born in Littleton,
October lo, 1855, and in that place acquired his early
education. He later studied at the academies at New
Elampton and New London, and began his professional
studies under the instruction of Dr. Daniel Lee Jones
and Dr. Charles W. Rowell, both of Lancaster. In 1879
he graduated from the Philadelphia school of anatomy
and surgery, and in the following year from the Hahne-
mann medical college in Philadelphia. He also gradu-
ated from the Pennsylvania hospital. While at the
Hahnemann college Dr. Alexander won a gold medal
for superior scholarship in every department. In the
spring of 1881 Dr. Alexander came to Penacook and
established himself in a practice which soon covered not
only that village, but much of the surrounding territory.
In addition to faithful attention to the needs of his wide
circle of patients Dr. Alexander has devoted himself to
a stud}'' of medical specialties, and among the specifics
which he has given to the world is one of proven value
as an exhalant for catarrhal troubles, which is now
marketed in large quantities by a corporation which is
specially organized for that purpose. He gave close
study to that dread disease, cancer, and attained wide
professional fame by his discovery of a new treatment
for that malady. In applying this treatment so many
patients were brought to him from far and near that a
467
ANSON COLBY ALEXANDER, M.l).
ANSON COLBY ALEXANDER, M. D.
Anson Colby Alexander, a descendant from two
branches of Revolutionary stock, was born in Littleton,
October lo, 1855, and in that place acquired his early
education. He later studied at the academies at New
Hampton and New London, and began his professional
studies under the instruction of Dr. Daniel Lee Jones
and Dr. Charles W. Rowell, both of Lancaster. In 1879
he graduated from the Philadelphia school of anatomy
and surgery, and in the following year from the Hahne-
mann medical college in Philadelphia. He also- gradu-
ated from the Pennsylvania hospital. While at the
Hahnemann college Dr. Alexander won a gold medal
for superior scholarship in every department. In the
spring of 1881 Dr. Alexander came to Penacook and
established himself in a practice which soon covered not
only that village, but much of the surrounding territory.
In addition to faithful attention to the needs of his wide
circle of patients Dr. Alexander has devoted himself to
a study of medical specialties, and among the specifics
which he has given to the world is one of proven value
as an exhalant for catarrhal troubles, which is now
marketed in large quantities by a corporation which is
specially organized for that purpose. He gave close
study to that dread disease, cancer, and attained wide
professional fame by his discovery of a new treatment
for that malady. In applying this treatment so many
patients were brought to him from far and near that a
467
STATE BUILDERS
permanent hospital was established in 1898 at Penacook,
under the name of the Alexander Sanitarium, having
accommodations for thirty-five patients. This proving
inadequate for the suitable treatment of all the appli-
cants, ohices were established in Boston by the Alexan-
der Corporation, which aftorded means for caring for a
large number of the afflicted. In addition, the remedy
has been given to the medical profession at large and
physicians in all quarters of the globe are now success-
fully using it to cope with the dread aftliction. June 22,
1882, Dr. Alexander married Miss Fannie Goodwin, a
native of North Attleboro, Mass., and they have two
children, the older of whom, a daughter, is developing
unusual talent as a performer on the violin, in this re-
spect strongly resembling her father, who is an excellent
musician in many lines. Dr. Alexander is a Mason and
Knights Templar. He is also' a member of the Odd Fel-
lows and the Knights of Pythias, and in all these fra-
ternities has held high offices.
He is alsO' a member of the Gynecological and Surgi-
cal society of Boston. He is a Trustee of the New Hamp-
shire Savings Bank, and has served his town as a member
of the legislature. For several terms he was an active
member of the local school board, and is a tower of
strength to the church of his faith, the First Baptist of
Penacook.
468
CHARLES S. COLLINS
CHARLES S. COLLINS.
In these first years of the twentieth century New
Hampshire finds herself strong in the possession of a
class of young and middle-aged men that can, without
the slightest misgiving, be relied upon to safeguard her
every interest and to keep her in the front rank of Amer-
ican commonwealths, that position she has ever held with
so much credit and renown.
Splendidly representative of this class and most credi-
tably conspicuous for abilities displayed and sustained
under varied and complex conditions is Charles S. Collins
of Nashua, who by birth and every inherent trait of char-
acter and predilection is a product of the state. He is,
moreover, a man of to-day rather than of yesterday, in
that his is a fine and comprehensive grasp of forces as
they exist in the present hour, and in his discernment and
acceptance of methods and plans for the utilization of
these forces, that they may result in the greatest good to
the economic life of the state. No man is playing a
more important part in the commercial, industrial and
economic initiative of the state to-day than he, and in
this work self-interest is so utterly subservient as to
absolutely preclude the possibility of adverse criticism if
such under any condition could be prompted.
He is withal a man of versatile talent and makeup.
Specialization and contraction of energy have no place
in his nature, but as a free lance, as it were, he responds
to the call for a helper in various and widely divergent
469
STATE BUILDERS
fields of human effort, that he may with his inborn en-
thusiasm push further along the material interests of the
state.
Naturally a life directed along such lines inspires confi-
dence, quickens all life with which it comes in contact, dis-
pels pessimism and enthrones optimism. His mission has
for its purpose the advancement of all the interests of all
New Hamphire, and his selection to fill the office of
president of the New Hampshire state board of trade was
a most judicious and appropiate one, for the primary
business of that organization is to make New Hampshire
a better place than ever in which to live either perman-
ently or temporarily. To this end, Mr. Collins would
have good roads just as quickly as they could be paid for
without onerously increasing the rate of taxation, for a
good road, he has urged again and again, has never yet
failed to be its own justification even when looked upon
in no other light than as a financial investment.
As president of the state board of trade he is ever alert
to bring new industries into New Hampshire, and labors
just as zealously for the interests of Coos as for Hills-
borough County. His mental status, as a glance at his
portrait shows, has exceptional calculative force, and de-
cision of character and will power are indicated in his eye.
Educated for the medical profession, which he followed
for some fifteen years with entire success, its pursuit
was calculated to develop and strengthen all those in-
tellectual tendencies which to-day constitute so much of
the man. His predetermined identification with so many
different interests was, in a way at least, characteristic of
the medical profession, the members of which in all ages
and climes have been known because of a tendency or in-
clination to have an avocation as well as a vocation. To
members of the medical profession is humanity indebted
for so many of its triumphs in the fields of mechanical
invention, in discovery among the sciences, but more
470
STATE BUILDERS
particularly perhaps for all that they have wrought as
amateur farmers, horticulturists and florists. Take from
the list of popular American fruits of all species tnose
that owe their origin and introduction to members of the
medical profession in days of amateur pomology, and it
would be sadly contracted. To a single physician
who lived until recent years, does Northern New Eng-
land owe millions of its wealth to his skill and labor in
this line. The same is true in floriculture and, indeed, in
all departments of America's rural economy. In short,
they have done more than any other single class of men
along these lines.
Dr. Collins belongs to this class of men having both a
vocation and an avocation, or rather avocations, and so
great are the requirements of the second named that he
has relinquished the first. Rather, is he now "Farmer"
Collins, instead of ''Doctor" Collins, for he is the owner
of an extensive farm located some four miles from Nashua
city hall, upon which he lives the entire year, and the
management of which he takes upon himself. As a
practical farmer he is a success, as the possibilities of
farming and its opportunities for the display of versatile
action are fully comprehended by him. Public life as it
presents itself in its truest aspects has always had a charm
for Dr. Collins, as it should to every public spirited
citizen. At the state election of 1888 he was elected as
a member of the popular branch of the state legislature,
serving in the session of 18S9. At the succeeding state
election he was chosen a member of the state senate, and
his entire legislative career was simply a traditional
success. In the state election of 1902 he was the candi-
date for the Republican party again for membership in.
the lower branch of the state legislature, and his own
party nomination received the endorsement of the Demo-
cratic party, a compliment that must have been exceed-
ingly gratifying to him. His sound judgment and
471
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beneficent spirit have ever prompted him to take the
keenest interest in the pubHc schools, and he has honor-
able service as a member of the Nashua School Board.
He is a member of the Nashua board of trade, and is
ever ready to lend a hand for the advancement of every
interest calculated for the good of the community.
In Januai-y, 1903, Dr. Collins became a member of
Gov. Bachelder's military family, occupying the position
of commissary-general.
Grafton, in Grafton County, was the birthplace of
Gen. Collins, and he was born some fifty years ago, so
that he is in the very prime of a vigorous manhood and
ready for the hardest kind of work, if work is ever hard
to such a nature and temperament as his. His parents
were William and Harriet (Colby) Collins. The senior
Collins was a physician of a long continued practice in
central New Hampshire. Gen. Collins is a descendant
of the Collins family of Quakers who long lived in
Amesbury, Mass., and they who know him well need
not be told that he typifies in his strong and aggressive
personality those sterling Quaker virtues of ceaseless
industry, tenacity of purpose, devotion to duty, and all
around integrity and manhood sympathy.
In these mid-summer days of 1903 Gen. Collins, yield-
ing to the entreaties of friends throughout the length and
breadth of New Ham]:)shire, has consented to permit the
use of his name in the Republican state convention of
1904 for the gubernatorial nomination. Should they
be successful in securing his nomination and election,
it is the practically universal opinion that, in Gen.
Collins, New Hampshire would have a governor that
would reflect the utmost credit upon the sound judgment
of her people.
472
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JOHN N. McCLINTOCK
JOHN N. McCLINTOCK.
When in 1871 John N. McClintock married Miss
Josephine Tihon of Concord and settled in that city, he
was an official of high rank in the United States Coast
Survey service, his name appearing on charts of the coast
from Texas to Maine as the maker. He had graduated
from Bowdoin college in the class of '67, had chosen as
a profession that of civil engineering, later acting as an
instructor at his alma mater.
In 1875 he resigned from the government service and
at once became identified with important and extensive
engineering projects in New Hampshire and throughout
New England. As a citizen of the state he entered
heartily into all that was designed for its social, educa-
tional, and material well being and advancement, for his
was a well-defined individuality and originality, and
breadth of view in all matters that concerned New Hamp-
shire as a distinct community was characteristic of the
man. It was, therefore, as a natural result that he soon
became a leading citizen of the state.
In 1879, in association, with Henry H. Metcalf, he
published the Granite Monthly, later assuming entire
control. For twelve years he conducted the magazine,
and in that time he brought together in its pages an in-
valuable mine of historical, biographical and general mat-
ter that constitutes one of the finest contributions to state
history extant, and for which work Mr. McClintock is de-
serving of the unstinted ai^preciation of New Hampshire
people.
473
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In 1890 Mr. McQintock brought out his history of
New Hampshire, the pre|>aration of which received his
utmost attention, and it remains to-day a most interesting
narrative and valued authority.
In all these years that he w^as publisher and editor he
never wholly relinquished the practice of his profession,
but at last in 1891 the demands of his professional work
attained proportions that led him to lay aside the pen and
devote his undivided attention to engineering. The pub-
lication of the Granite Monthly was given over to his
early partner, Mr. Metcalf, and shortly after this Mr.
AlcClintock opened an office in Boston. His practice fre-
quently calls him to New Hampshire, and he sustains a
deep interest in all that relates to the state.
Mr. McClintock is a member of the Maine and New
Hampshire Historical Societies, of several Boston clubs,,
including the New Hampshire, and is still in active prac-
tice, his work gradually drifting into that of a consulting
engineer.
Mr. McClintock is the president and general manager
of the American Sewage Disposal Company of Boston
and also of the American Water Purification Company,
to which corporations belong the basic patents covering
the biological systems of water purification. For the past
eight years he has made a specialty of these lines, and
his reputation and practice now reaches throughout the
United States and into many foreign countries as the
representative of his companies.
As his name indicates he is of Scotch-Irish ancestry,
his pioneer ancestor being William McClintock, who as a
boy migrated from Scotland to Londonderry, Ireland, in
season to take part in the memorable defense of that city
in 1689. In 1730, at the age of sixty, he came with his
family to New England. One of his sons, the Rev. Dr.
Samuel McClintock, for many years pastor of the church
at Greenland, is well known in New Hampshire history
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3s chaplain of Gen. John Stark's regiment at Bunker Hill,
as the minister who preached the first election sermon,
and as having given four sons in the Revolution to the
cause of liberty.
William McClintock, an older brother, settled near the
ancient New England metropolis of Pemaquid; his son,
William McClintock, the grandfather of John N. McClin-
tock, was a ship-master, a trial justice, a farmer, a land
surveyor, a member of the Massachusetts legislature, a
member of the first Maine Constitutional Convention and
a member of the Maine legislature; his son, John McClin-
tock, the father of John N. McQintock, was a ship-
master for about fifty years, a skilful navigator who took
his ship into every ocean and almost every port. One
of his feats was to cross the Pacific Ocean with a watch
for a chronometer and an atlas as his only chart, sailing
from Japan soon after Commodore Perry opened up the
ports of that country to American commerce.
On his mother's side John N. McClintock descends
from the Shaw family of Hampton, he thinks, and from
the Reverend Baileys who are buried in the Granary
Cemetery in Boston. His grandfather, William Stacy
Shaw, was a ship-master and a ship-builder,
Mr. McQintock is specially interested in all that per-
tains to early New England history and in the genealogy
of New England families. His active practice forbids
his devoting much time to these subjects now, but he
anticipates much work in those lines in the future.
475
ALFRED RANDALL EVANS.
Not only do the people of the North Country find in
Alfred R. Evans a man and citizen in whom they can
place implicit confidence to successfully and creditably
represent them in public and official position, but the
people of all New Hampshire recognize that in him they
have one who would do honor to the state in whatever
duty he might be called upon tO' accept and perform.
Although much in public life, Mr. Evans has come to
his various offices not through self-seeking but in response
to the sincere and earnest requests of his fellow citizens,
confident as they were that with him in this or that office
it would not be belittled nor that he would ever be guilty
of subserviency of manhod principle at the dictation of
political expediency.
Mr. Evans's most recent elective political office was as
a member of the New Hampshire state constitutional
convention of 1902, from his home town of Gorham, and
in that body of thoroughly representative men he played
his part in a manner that still further established his
reputation as a safe man to have in a legislative bod}';
a good man to send on a political mission.
Mr. Evans is 01 the best, truest, and oldest New Eng-
land and New Hampsliire stock, and in his own person-
ality he exemplifies the teachings, the purposes and results
of that life, as the citizens of Gorham and Coos County,
who have known him all his life, will bear willing testi-
mony.
476
ALFRED RANDALL EVANS
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He is a native of Shelbnrne in Coos County, and was
born March 21, 1849. His parents were Otis and Martha
D. (Pinkham) Evans, sturd}^ respected and self-reliant
residents of the White Mountain reg-ion. The great-
grandfather of the subject of this sketch served in the war
of the American Revolution, and his maternal grand-
father was that Captain Daniel Pinkham who built the
Pinkham Notch road in the White Mountains, an under-
taking at the time of no ordinary magnitude.
The schoolboy life of young Evans was passed in the
common schools of his native town, at Lancaster acad-
emy, the Nichols Latin school connected with Bates col-
lege, Lewiston, Maine; concluding his preparatory studies
he entered Dartmouth college in his twentieth year and
graduated with the class of 1872. Selecting the legal
profession as his special field of effort he studied law,
and on April i, 1875, was admitted to the New Hamp-
shire bar, and immediately began practice in the town of
Gorham. In 1874, when only twenty-five, he was elected
to the legislature from his native Shelburne and returned
to the same in 1875 and yet again in 1878. His election
to the legislature for three different terms at so early an
age significantly showed the estimate placed upon him at
the time by his lifelong neiglibors and townsmen.
Fertility of resource and talent were ever manifest in
the man's makeup, and one of the forms of their display
has been in the realm of banking and finance. On Feb-
ruary 18, 1 89 1, there was organized and set in operation
in what is now the city of Berlin a, national bank, and as
such it was the first institution of its class in that part of
New Hampshire through which flows the Androscoggin
river, and of this bank Mr. Evans became its first presi-
dent, an office he held for ten consecutive years. In addi-
tion to his service as president of the Berlin National
bank he now holds a like position in the Gorham Five
Cents Savings bank.
477
STATE BUILDERS
•
Mr. Evans since 1895 has been the judge of probate for
Coos County, the dignity and honor of which position
bespeak for him the pecuHar regard in which he is held
by the bar and public of his home and county.
His political alfiliations are with the Republican party.
He is a Mason of the thirty-second degree; and an hono-
rary member of the New Hampshire Veterans associa-
tion; and a member of the New Hampshire club, Boston.
June I, 1880, he married Dora J. Briggs. The church
home of the family is the Congregational.
478
JOHN J. DONAHUE
JOHN J. DONAHUE.
John J. Donahue, insurance, Manchester, was born in
Keene, New Hampshire, August 7, 1859, and made that
city his home until he became a resident of Manchester.
His career as a business man has been one of unvarying-
success. Having received his education in the pubhc
schools of Keene, he began as a retail grocer in that place,
after which he conducted a successful general store in
Peterboro. In 1890 he retired from mercantile business
and became associated with Cheney & Cheney of Man-
chester as a representative of the Mutual Life Insurance
Company of New York, with an office at Keene. He
soon established a very successful business and became
known as one of the leading life insurance men in the
state. His success led naturally to his appointment by
Cheney & Cheney as superintendent of agencies for the
Mutual Life in New Hampshire, and the consequent es-
tablishment of his home in Manchester. Mr. Donahue
remained with Cheney & Cheney as superintendent of
agencies until he tendered his resignation in order to
assume the duties of General Agent for New Hampshire
of the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company of
Boston, in January, 1903.
Mr. Donahue is a member of the Improved Order of
Red Men and of the Degree of Pocahontas. In 1902, he
was elevated to the stump of Great Sachem of the I. O.
R. M., having been advanced through the various sta-
tions to the highest office of the order in the state. He
was one of the incorporators of the Great Council of New
Hampshire, I. O. R. M., and was one of the special com-
mittee which secured its charter.
479
STATE BUILDERS
The Improved Order of Red Men occupies a promi-
nent position among the fraternal societies of the
United States and boasts a history long and honor-
able. While the order has been known by its present
name only since 1834, indisputable facts link it as a
society to organizations which had their origin as early
as 1765, the period when rebellious feelings against
the oppression of England were taking the form of
open hostility among the colonists. Secret consulta-
tions among neighbors gradually became organized
meetings, and these in turn resolved themselves into a
secret society with purposes purely patriotic, under the
name of the "Sons of Liberty," which existed at first
among the northern and middle colonies. This society
took a leading part in all patriotic movements from 1765
to the Declaration of Independence, its members being
the heroes of the famous Boston Tea Party.
In the year 1771 the Sons of Liberty became the "Sons
of St. Tamina," or the "St. Tamina Society," adopting
as their patron saint an old Indian chief or king, named
Tamina. The connecting link between these early patri-
otic societies and the Improved Order of Red Men of the
present day was the "Society of Red Men," organized in
18 1 6. In 1834 the order as it exists to-day came into
being in Baltimore, adding to the patriotic and social
objects of the past, the fraternal spirit which now charac-
terizes it. The growth of Redmanship has been rapid.
From a membership of ten thousand in 1861, it has in-
creased to over 300,000.
The I. O. R. M. was introduced into New Hampshire
in 1875, when Paugus Tribe, No. i, was instituted at
Salmon Falls. The Great Council of New Hampshire
was formed in 1881 and was incorporated in 1899. The
record for the past of this, the oldest order in the country
which is of truly American origin, is satisfactory and its
outlook for the future most promising.
Mr. Donahue is also a member of the Knights of
Pythias, Patrons of Husbandry and the Foresters of
America, in which for four years he ser^^ed as Grand
480
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Secretary for New Hampshire and later as Grand Trus-
tee. Among the social organizations of which Mr. Dona-
hue is a member are the White Mountain Commercial
Travelers, Amoskeag Veterans and the Monadnock
Cycle Club of Keene, a business men's club of that city
of which he is an ex-president and honorary member.
He is one of the incorporators of the Elliot City Hos-
pital of Keene and of the Cheshire County Savings Bank.
Mr. Donahue has been active in politics also, having
taken part in every campaign since attaining his majority.
He is recognized as a brilliant public speaker and has
addressed audiences in many of the cities and towns of
the state. He has the distinction of having delivered the
address at the first Peace Jubilee held in New Hampshire
on the return of the soldiers from the Spanish War. In
the New Hampshire Legislature of 1903 Mr. Donahue
represented ward two of Manchester and was chairman
of the important committee on insurance, which was one
of the busiest committees of the session. Both in the
committee room and on the floor of the House, Mr.
Donahue earned the reputation of being an able legislator,
being quick, eloquent and powerful in debate, so that he
will be remembered as one of the most potent factors in
the Legislature of 1903.
481
JOHN H. ROBERTS.
Massachusetts is not alone in her appreciation of that
sterhng manhood that has come to her from the rugged
hillsides of the Granite State, for New Hampshire ever
maintains the keenest possible interest in those absent
sons and daughters who have gone beyond her borders
to participate in the afifairs of other states.
Among the multitude of men of New Hampshire birth
who have made their mark amid the busy and varied
scenes of the old Bay State is Major John H. Roberts
of Maiden, in that state.
Major Roberts was born in Ossipee, the shire town of
Carroll County, in 1839, ^-"'i h^ was educated in the com-
mon schools of the city of Dover.
In early manhood he drifted to Massachusetts and
became a ship fitter. His ability and proficiency in this
calling secured recognition from those in authority, and
he finally Ijecame master ship fitter at the Charlestown
Navy Yard and foreman for twenty years.
Major Roberts has been twice married. In 1870 he
married Miss Marestea Corey. Three daughters, Rosa-
mond E., Etta May and Maud, were born of this mar-
riage. In 1897 he married Emily A. Gallup. In frater-
nal organization he is a member of Joseph Webb Lodge,
F, and A. M., and of Hancock Commandery, Knights
Templar. In church affiliations he is a Unitarian. The
nature of his position in the service of the United States
Government has precluded him from holding political
positions.
482
\
'E:-' »»
i'^'
JOHN H. ROBERTS
EDWIN G. EASTMAN
EDWIN G. EASTMAN.
Attorney-General Edwin G. Eastman, of Exeter, is a
type of the earnest, clearheaded and sound-hearted
New Hampshire lawyer. He was born in the town of
Grantham, Nov. 22nd, 1847, ^^^ received his education
in the common schools of the town, supplemented with a
course at Kimball Union academy, at Meriden, and
Dartmouth college, from which latter institution he grad-
uated in the class of 1874. Adopting the law as his
profession he studied with A. P. Carpenter of Bath, and
in 1876 he was admitted to the bar. In September of
that year he began the practice of his profession in
Exeter and was for a time a partner of the late Gen.
Gilman Marston. In 1876 Mr. Eastman was elected a
representative from Grantham, and he was a member of
the state senate in 1889. He served as solicitor for
Rockingham county from 1883 to 1887, and in 1891 was
appointed attorney-general of the state, upon the death
of the late Daniel Barnard of Franklin, and still holds
(1903) that responsible office. Of Mr. Eastman it may
be said that the position he holds at the bar he has
merited by character, industry and ability. Nothing
has come to him without effort, but much study and
patient effort has brought to him merited reward. As
solicitor of the county of Rockingham and as attorney-
general of the state he has had to do with many im-
portant civil and criminal cases. Toi their consideration
he has brought a great habit of industry and a sincere
devotion to his duties to the public. In the prepara-
tion of his cases he has left nothing undone that would
secure the ends of justice. As an advocate before a jury
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Attorney-General Eastman is very effective. His con-
vincing method of summing up the evidence and his
evident sincerity and directness of purpose predisposing
the jurymen to a favorable consideration of his views.
Mr, Eastman is a man quick and almost impulsive in
forming conclusions, but with a judgment so trained and
experienced that it seldom goes astray, and his advice
is valued as that of a thoroughly conscientious, sagacious
and well-informed man. His political career was credit-
able and he is often mentioned as qualified for service
in the national legislature.
Mr. Eastman is greatly interested in the business
affairs and prosperity of the community of which he is
a part. He is one of the directors of the Exeter
Manufacturing co., Vice-president and director of the
Exeter Banking co., and Vice-president and trustee of
the Union Five Cent savings bank of Exeter, besides
being interested in other enterprises.
He lives in a handsome and comfortable home in
Exeter, and with characteristic love for his native town
spends his summers at Grantham. In his legal practice
he finds it necessary to keep offices in Concord as well as
Exeter. In fine, Attorney-General Eastman is a worthy
successor to the long line of distinguished lawyers who
have filled the office of attorney-general.
484
'^(^ ty^-e-^t-t/ o^e^3^^:t e^
EBENEZER LEARNED, M.D.
A physician of the old school closely identified with the
life of central New Hampsliire in the earliest decades of
the nineteenth century, was Ebenezer Learned, M. D., a
descendant oi a fine old New England family, and born in
Medford, Mass., Oct. 13, 1762. Displaying an early fond-
ness for natural science and analytic research, he was
given a liberal education and graduated from Harvard
college with honors in 1787, being a classmate of Presi-
dent John Ouincy Adams and others afterward noted in
the history of the country, with whom throughout his life
he maintained an active correspondence.
Upon graduation he taught for several years in the
academy at Leominster, Mass., and then studied medicine
with Dr. Edward A. Holyoke at Salem, Mass., one of the
most remarkable members of the profession then living.
In 1795, he established himself in practice at Hopkinton
in this state, then an important centre, being the shire
town of Merrimack county, the seat of the state govern-
ment and the home of much cultured society.
Of striking personal appearance and possessing re-
markable professional attainments, Dr. Leamed's success
was instantaneous. His expectations were more than real-
ized, and for nearly forty years he was the leading figure
in his profession throughout a large section of country.
He ever availed himself of all the advantages afforded for
study and research, and his professional library was large
and valuable. He made regular and extended visits to
Boston where he kept in touch with the scientific progress
of the day, and he was recognized in his profession as a
man of scholarship and professional skill. In 1820, he re-
ceived the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine from
485
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Dartmouth college, and was the first delegate sent from
the New Hampshire Medical society tO' that institution.
In this society he was active and prominent, and held all
of its offices excepting the presidency, to which he was
to have been elected under precedent in the year of his
death.
As a citizen, Dr. Learned was a promoter of all good
objects and was a leader in all efforts for the diffusion of
knowledge or the advancement of science, giving liberal-
ly of his means and time for the success of such move-
ments. He organized several literary and benevolent
societies and was the founder of Hopkinton Academy, be-
ing its president and generous patron during his entire
life. Under his administration of its affairs the academy
prospered greatly, the teachers whom he selected were
masters in the art of instruction, and the pupils for several
years numbered two hundred. He was one of the pro-
moters of the Merrimack county agricultural society and
its first president, and he frequently lectured on agricul-
ture, botany and allied topics, many of his suggestions
and conclusions being far in advance of his time, as for
example, he was the first in his section to- make use of dry
air for the preservation of fruits and vegetables.
In pohtics Dr. Learned was affiliated with the liberals
and Whig parties, and in 1812, he was local president of
a widely organized political society called the "Washing-
ton Benevolent Society." In that year he delivered the
annual address before its state convention.
He was reared in the Unitarian faith and adhered to
this creed through his life, although he gave equally to
all the churches in the town, and in his will remembered
the pastors of each of them. Among other bequests was
one for the foundation of the juvenile library in West
Cambridge, now Arlington, Mass., which was probably
the first public library in that state. He was twice mar-
ried. He died October 6, 1831, leaving a wife and
eight children,
486
JOHN WILLEY
JOHN WILLEY.
Among the widely known and sincerely respected resi-
dents of the town of Jackson, throughout the last sixty
odd years of the nineteenth century was John Willey,
farmer, man of affairs and local preacher in the churqh
of his chosen faith. He was a native and life-long resi-
dent of the state and one more typical of the old-time life
of state and community it would be difficult to find.
Born in Barnstead, December 20, 1827, he went as a
young man to Jackson and immediately identified him-
self with the progress and affairs of the town which its
founders had placed amid the foothills of the White
Mountains. As a boy he had displayed a decided apti-
tude for knowledge, and gained marked proficiency as a
pupil in the schools of Barnstead, and later, when en-
rolled as a student in the old-time and famed Gilmanton
academy. Upon the completion of his course at the
academy he taught school, and also gave instruction in
penmanship, an art in which he early became an adept and
known in all the region about Jackson.
Not only was he known as boy and man for intellec-
tual attainment, but for his skill and strength as an ath-
lete and ability in the general list of field sports. A man
of many gifts, he successfully essayed public speaking,
and proved himself versatile in writing upon various
subjects and topics of the times. His natural and ac-
quired abilities in all-round scholarship led to his taking
an active and prominent part in the political affairs of his
times, and likewise led to his acquiring a deal of legal
knowledge, which caused him to become a trusted ad-
viser and counsellor. He was known for his strong
487
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and sturdy common sense and sound judgment in all
matters that arose in the community. From his indus-
trious boyhood days to the closing hours of an honored
old age, he was a close and ardent student of the Bible,
and his store of biblical lore was hardly surpassed by
any of his contemporaries anywhere in New Hampshire.
He not only read his Bible in the spirit of the faithful
disciple he was, but as an intelligent expounder of its
teachings and doctrines. He traveled in the Way him-
self and influenced and exhorted others to do likewise.
In religion he was an Adventist, and it was in this de-
nominational belief that he became a local preacher, and
many was the occasion that he filled the pulpit of the vil-
lage church. For more than a score of years he served
as the superintendent of the Sunday school in his church,
and in all the ecclesiastical life of his town he was a vital
and vitalizing factor. His life throughout was an em-
bodiment of that sterling manhood and yeomanry that
made possible the splendid humanity of the state.
At the age of twenty-four he married Miss Eliza J.
Dearborn of Jackson and eleven children came to bless
this union, eight sons and three daughters. Mrs. Willey
and five of the sons are living. Of the sons. Charles F.
is a hotel keeper in Lexington, Mass.; Alvin S. is a resi-
dent of Manchester; Nelson S. is the landlord of the
Squamscott House, Exeter; while George Franklyn is
the well-known newspaper and book publisher and author
of Manchester. The youngest living son is Clarence
K. of Merrimack, and proprietor of the Monomack House
in that town.
488
IRA H. ADAMS, M. D.
IRA H. ADAMS, M. D.
It was given to Ira H. Adams tO' live but a brief fifty-
one years, yet so diligently did he improve his allotted
moments upon earth that he accomplished as great a
measure of work as do^ most men who live the; Psalmist's
span of days and years. Choosing the medical profes-
sion as a life calling, he zealously engaged in all its ex-
actions and responsibilities with the single aim in view of
doing good and ameliorating the condition of his fellow-
men. His was a generous heart, a sympathetic mind,
and abounding spirit of love toward the sick and the
afflicted. It was- said of him: "He was a man of large
heart of love. A man who was a true friend."
He was born in the town of Pomfret, Vermont, Au-
gust lo, 1846, the son of James and Eunice (Mitchell)
Adams. He attended the public schools of his native
town and a preparatory school in Meriden. In the fur-
therance of his purpose to become a physician he entered
the medical departijient of Bowdoin College, Brunswick,
Maine, and later became a student in the medical school
of Dartmouth College, from which he graduated. In
1874, at the age of twenty-eight, he began the practice
of medicine in Hooksett, but after a short while removed
to the town of Derry, which was ever after his home.
Upon taking up his residence in Derry he identified
himself, and actively so, with all that was designed for the
good of the town. He quickly gained a reputation for
his learning and skill as a physician. His rugged hon-
esty, his sterling manhood and all around ability won
for him the utmost respect and ardent admiration of his
fellow townsmen. Again it was said of him : "As you
489
STATE BUILDERS
came to know him you felt that he was no common man.
He was wise, learned and sympathetic. His hand and
heart were always open to do good."
As a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows Dr. Adams attained to high rank in that organiza-
tion and extended his circle of acquaintances throughout
and beyond the State. He passed through all the chairs
to that of grand patriarch and grand representative to the
sovereign grand lodge. Odd Fellows everywhere had
come to recognize him as one of their foremost members.
His church affiliation was as a member of St. Luke's
Methodist Episcopal Church of Derry, and as one of this
flock he was active, zealous and devout. He was a co-
worker with the pastors of the churches, striving ever to
give spiritual as well as bodily comfort and cheer. Whole
souled, cheerful, sincere and ever striving to do good to
his fellow mortal, it was but natural that upon his death
the whole town should mourn him as its own dead. He
passed away on September 15, 1897, at the age of fifty-
one. The entire town, as it were, attended the funeral
of their beloved friend and physician. No other citizen
of Derry, at his death, was ever the object of such general
sorrow. People of all denominations, nationalities and
worldly conditions followed him to the grave. His sepul-
chre was a mound of flowers, expressions of the loving
regard of friends.
August 31, 1875, Dr. Adams married Miss Louise S.
Perley of Lempster, who with two children survive him.
A son., Richard Herbert, is an esteemed citizen of Derry,
while the daughter, Jennie Louise, is the wife of George
Franklyn Willey, the author-publisher of Manchester.
490
SAMUEL B. TARRANTE
SAMUEL B. TARRANTE
In this year of 1903 it is but thirty-three years since
Samuel B. Tarrante was born in that city of England
called Chester, the founding of which was practically
coeval |with the beginning of the Christian era and
where successively dwelt the Romans, Britons, Saxons,
and Danes. In all the near two thousand years of its
corporate existence ancient Chester has been renowned
for its architecture, its ecclesiastical life, its wall that
girdles the city and still as perfect and entire as in the
days of the Roman and the Briton; yet above all is it re-
nowned for its generations of great and learned and suc-
cessful men and women.
Young Tarrante was but three years old when he
passed, with his parents, Samuel and Eliza (Burwell)
Tarrante, through the gates of his native Chester and
sailed away for America with Montreal as the objective
point. The childhood years of the boy were passed in
the Canadian city, attending the city schools until into his
teens, when he became a clerk in a store. While yet a
boy he drifted to Holyoke, Mass., and there continued his
calling as a clerk. Returning to Montreal he engaged
with his father to learn the hair goods business in all its
phases and ramifications. It was the ancestral calling of
the family, as it had been continued for five generations
after the custom which has for so long obtained in Eng-
land.
After the completion of his apprenticeship and at the
close of a service as a journeyman in Montreal, he ac-
cepted an offered position in a Lawrence (Mass.) hair
491
STATE BUILDERS
goods store. Beginning in a subordinate position, he
displayed such a degree of efficiency, tact and business
abiUty that he was advanced through grade after grade
until he became manager of the store, with his duties and
responsibilities equal to all they would have been had he
been proprietor of the store. It was an excellent school
for the young man, then just in his early twenties. His
industry was of the incessant type, well regulated and
directed with a splendid method. He made it a rule to
save a stated portion of his salary and religiously adhered
to this rule. Adept as he was classed in his chosen call-
ing, he was ever a student in his business and ever alert
to learn more of its features and details. The lapse of a
few years found him possessed of a snug little sum of
money, and impelled onward, not only by an ambition
but a determination to be further along in the highway
of commercial success than he was yesterday, he came by
this same force within him to engage in business on his
own account in the city of Manchester.
It was in 1898 that he opened a store in Manchester
and founded a business that has been so wisely managed
as to become in the short space of five years the largest of
its kind in all New England and that has placed him
among the foremost merchants in all New Hampshire.
Indeed, facts as they are fully warrant and permit the
assertion that he is one of the most conspicuously success-
ful men of affairs that his home city of Manchester, with
all its great commercial and industrial interests, has
known in the present generation.
The true explanation of Mr. Tarrante's success is not
to be found in any "run of luck," nor by the aid of influ-
ential friends, but is wholly owing to his proficiency in
knowing all that pertained to his business, and in its skil-
ful, wise and persistent application to the work in hand.
In addition to his Manchester store he owns and oper-
ates stores in Lawrence and New Bedford, Mass. Pos-
492
STATE BUILDERS
sessing brilliant executive talents and fine powers of com-
prehension, he keeps the details of all his stores in con-
stant sight of his business eye, thus having entire famil-
iarity with every transaction. A natural bom merchant
and business man, even the management of his several
stores does not engross his whole attention, but he finds
time to enter extensively into other enterprises. He has
large realty holdings in the city of Manchester and town
of Derr}% and besides identification with real estate, he
has to do with the financing of a wide range of undertak-
ings. Uniformly prosperous in his many interests, it is
because he engages in them only after he has eliminated
all haphazard and chance features.
In September, 1898, ]\Ir. Tarrante married Miss ]\Iin-
nie Elizabeth Herzog of Lawrence, Mass. One son,
Samuel C, has been born of this union. Mr, Tarrante
in fraternal organizations is an Odd Fellow, a Patriarch
Militant and a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, and
the Franklin Street Congregational is the cliurch home of
the family.
493
GEORGE FRANKLYN WILLEY
Nestling among the foothills of the White MoLintains
in the state of New Hampshire is the little town of
Jackson, a gem of human life in a setting of awe-inspir-
ing grandeur and magnificence. To its immediate north
and north-west, Black Mountain lifts its mighty propor-
tions, a curtain as it were that tempers the bleak and
pitiless North winds of winter and serves as a soul inspir-
ing prelude to the still grander drama that Nature unfolds
behind this curtain.
Hither to this region came the rugged, honest and
fearless pioneer ere the closing decades of the eighteenth
century and here he fixed his habitation and abiding place
upon earth. He was in the depths of a primeval forest,
but his right arm was strong, his mind clear and his
purpose distinct. But above all the factors in the daily
life and action of this son of the Puritans was his abiding,
unhesitating faith that the One who made the great
White Hills would bless the means he was employing to
make for himself and his a home at their feet. It was
not the custom of the Puritan nor of his descendants to
pray the God of nature for a blessing through super-
natural channels, but always to bless the means and the
agencies he himself would employ for its accomplishment.
The pioneer in the White Mountain territory delved
from the rising to the setting of the sun and in this work
of home building he developed his physical and mental
beings along lines that were in sweetest consonance with
physiological law. There was but one sequel to this daily
routine; a sequel as inevitable as divine truth itself, and
that is progress; and progress is accomplishment: accom-
494
GEORGE FRANKLYN WILLEY
STATE BUILDERS
plishment — success. The success that the pioneer won
in the fastnesses and at the gateways of the White Moun-
tains was, in its highest and best type, in the form of a
manhood capable of standing in the most exalted places
KIRTHPLACE OF GEORGE FRANKLYX WILLEY WIXTER
known in human life. It was a manhood that has kept
American human life ever progressive and never retro-
gressive. A manhood that springs from a recognition
and appreciation of the fact that life is a duty, not a
dream nor "a pastime. The dutiful and devoted Ruth
forsook the ease of her own home and followed the
495
STATE BUILDERS
fortunes of Naomi, regardless of the frowning prospect
She accepted and took up with a cheerful heart the first
labor that presented itself in the land of her mother-in-
law,— the gleaning of the fallen straws after the reapers.
The fidelity to a trust, the recognition of duty, brought
to her and her line an undreamed of reward. Ere four
generations had passed, her descendants were upon the
throne of David and a line of mighty kings succeeded,
culmmating with the coming of the Messiah.
The keynote of the old regime in New England was
the cheerful acceptance of duty and the performance of
work and from this have proceeded that strength and
power which have builded a mighty empire. That ster-
Img and resourceful manhood and womanhood that had
Its birth amid the hills of New Hampshire has been a
potent and incalculable factor in the development of
the nation's rich and innumerable resources, as it has
for generations gone forth from its native hearths out
into new fields and new states. This force that has made
itselt telt from the Atlantic to the Pacific, had its incep-
tion in the Puritan ideas, that life was a duty and in labor
alone is accomplishment and progress. It was this identi-
cal idea that controlled and actuated the daily life of
Ruth.
Of this latest generation that has come down out of the
mountain region into the plains below, is George
weary one not sustained by that abounding faith that
characterized the daily life of the early settlers. Unlike
the great multitude, however, Mr. Willey has remained
Franklyn Willey, whose, forbears were among those who
directed labor obstacles that A^^ould have made faint and
cleared the primeval forest and built up the town of
Jackson, braving every danger and overcoming by well
within the limits of his native New Hampshire, instead
of seeking a field of action beyond its borders. In the
kaleidoscopic changes of the country's material life, he
believed he saw within the realms of his own state, as
496
siATi: iiriLDj:K>
man}" aiiil n- wide upjn inuiiitic< ftu" tlic cli>i)lay of his
innate al)iliiie< a? were afl'f.irdcd else\\here. 'J'his decisicTt
en lii- iiart i> significant and ])i"egnant w'nh meaning', in
^■ie^\• <'t tbe -eqnel that has c<>me so early in his career,
fijr he is in tliis year of 1903. hut thirt}"-three and, there-
fore, as the }ears ui man are counted, l)Ut upon the
tlu-e-h' 'Id (if middle life.
• A..
.' y
SAM'
,U-f
n
^: ;.^.xr- _^
_ J
BIRTHPLACE OF GEORGE FRAXKLVN WH^LKY SUMMER
The rewards that come t'l dui}- jjcrformed and laws
fulhlled in physiological life are cumulati\-e. They do not
cease Avith a single generati^'U unles- ruthlessly and
criminally disregarded, 'i'lie generatinns ui the Pilgrims
and Puritans down to A\ithin lift}" }"ears were distip-
guished for an undeviating adherence to the moral
and ecclesiastical vie\\s and i)rinci])les of the forefathers.
497
STATE BUILDERS
These views, principles and practices were fixed charac-
teristics of Xew Eng-land life and were the basis of
American national dexelopment. They were the funda-
mentals of that life.
Reared among the mountains, inured tO' hard work
from childho<^d and breathing an atmosphere calculated
to kindle and foster every ennobling trait in human life,
it is but natural that Mr. W'illey should be possessed of
a wonderful capacity for work; that his intellectual dis-
cernment should be capable of a quick comprehensive and
like decision in the multifarious affairs that come to
him daily.
The boyhood and early manhood years of Mr. Willey
were passed on the ancestral farm and in attending
school, but in this instance it should be understood that
what is meant by his early manhood years are those
comprised within his teens, for by the time he had reached
his majority he had taken up what has since proved to
be his life work.
A student of human nature quickly notes in Mr. W'illey
a strong indi\'iduality. He is a man of decidedly pro-
nounced characteristics and these are so many that one
sees at a glance that he possesses versa4;ility of talent to
a marked degree. Of course, he could not have all these
traits and be without that one characteristic, the posses-
sion of which has been the grandest power oi the Xew
Englander past and present and known as the initiative.
It is the initiative in the most perfect form that makes the
most successful general, the successful merchant, the like
successful financier and the leader among men. It was
the possession of the initiative by the men and women
of Xew England that led them to seek the winning of the
\\>st and among the people of this section none have
displayed this talent to a more marked degree than those
of Xew Hampshire.
It was the initiative that led Mr. W'illey, when a student
at I'inkerton Academy, Dcrry. to establish a school paper
49S
STATE BUILDERS
and to become its business manager, and as long as he
remained in its management it was a financial and literary-
success. Again, it was the initiative that led him to turn
.^.^^
A CENTRAL SCENE IN " SOLTAIRE.'
WILLEY
BY GEORGE FRANKLYN
to account his ability in spare time to accept the position
as a reporter for a Derry weekly paper, an arrange-
ment that ended in his becoming the owner of the paper,
which he conducted so successfully that after an owner-
499
STATE BUILDERS
ship of some eighteen months he sold it at what was to
him at the time a great sum. Here as a young man just
entering upon his majority and but recently come from
his mountain home, absolutely without money and with-
out friends except as he gained them in the daily exten-
sion of his acquaintanceship. Yet he saw his oppor-
tunity, or rather let it be said, as it is the greater truth,
he made for himself the opportunity to jump as it were
into the possession of a sum that made the world look
larger to him than ever before and enabled him to take
a place in the ranks of the business men of his community.
It was the fulfilment of that law that labor and labor alone
develops a man's powers; and thus early in his life was
there an exemplification of the fact that his labor was
well mannered and well managed.
With the sale of his paper, Mr. Willey found himself
free for another venture in the field of business and enter-
prise. At this point it should be said that up to this time
he had not the remotest thought of following journalism
as a life work. Indeed, he now was and had been for a
comparatively long while a student in medicine and ere
he relinquished his studies had passed an examination,
for admission to the Dartmouth Medical School. His
versatility, however, prompted him to- undertake the
preparation of wdiat was at first planned as a pocket
souvenir of the town of Derry, The work grew far
beyond its original scope and its full fruition was in the
form of a magnificent volume comprehending an ex-
haustive history of all that part of New Hampshire in
the long ago known as Nutfield and first peopled by that
grand company of men and women called Scotch-Irish.
From a literary stand-point the book was a success and
the measure of this success is becoming more marked
with the passing of time. As a financial venture its
success was something phenomenal considering that
Mr. Willey was at the time of its publication only
twenty-five. It put him in possession of ten thousand
500
STATE BUILDERS
dollars all his own and all gained by his daring industry
and initiative. He dared to act where others hesitated
and simply talked.
It was no run of good luck that transformed Mr.
Willey from the poor 1>oy of twenty into the compar-
atively rich man of twenty-five. It was pure business
acumen and perception and the carrying out of these
qualities by industrious application.
But the initiative is at times a quality that brings
disaster as well as success and Mr. Willey has in the
story of his short yet eventful life, one experience of this
nature, an experience that in a few brief months swept
away all his previous earnings and other thousands that
were either not his or that he had not earned. In 1896,
the year of a presidential campaign, he entered the field
of daily journalism. His political views were those born
of principle and predilection. He was sincere in their
holding and the wisdom of these political beliefs has
nothing to do with the creation of this study of his
career. One circumstance and another led to the com-
plete collapse of this enterprise of the daily paper and
finally to Mr. Willey's liquidation in bankruptcy. He
was at the time twenty-eight years old. In eight years
he had started in life and by his own unaided self had
won a fortune and lost it. But, Mr. Willey in the routine
of the daily paper did not lose a solitary one of these
sterling characteristics that made up his rugged man-
hood. He did not lose any time in repining. Hope
sustained by a resolute will, a sound body and clean mind
constituted his new and only stock in trade in a new-
venture he had determined upon. Faith in tlie promise
that honest, well directed labor should not go unre-
warded, sustained him in his new struggle. The cold,
unsympathetic world looked at him and said that no
man with such a handicap could succeed. He became the
owner of five \veekly papers which he had bought at a
bankrupt sale, with the city of Manchester as the place
501
STATE BUILDERS
of their publication. Hope, determination, courage,
were needed qualities with him in those days. Step by
step his path became brighter and smoother as the
barriers were turned away. Again did money come tO' his
command and as it did so, again did he exemplify the
stuff of which he is made. In the short time of some-
thing less than three years, he paid to his creditors some
eighteen thousand dollars, not one cent of which was he
under legal obligation to pay. Such an instance of moral
probity and commercial integrity is deserving of the
widest publicity and commendation for it, for it strength-
ens one's belief that sincerity is not yet a wholly departed
trait of American manhood.
But it is not alone this practical demonstration of
fidelity to moral obligation that has caused Mr. Willey
to be much in the "public eye" of late. In recent months
he has become the active head of a corporation publishing
forty-one weekly newspapers and having a paid-in capi-
talization of one hundred thousand dollars. Within the
current year he has made his debut as an author and
this debut is rich in a promise of future triumphs along
their line.
As the author of " Soltaire," a story of the White
Mountains, Mr, Willey has gained much immediate
fame and his fellow townsmen are earnest in their hope
that his present auspicious advent into the field of litera-
ture will not be allowed tO' lapse on account of business
exactions, but be followed up by new creations of his
brain and pen.
"Soltaire" has met with a most flattering success and few
indeed are the papers throughout the country that have
not reviewed it in cxtenso.
As a business man and financier, Mr. Willey has
gained a prominence that is simply astonishing, consider-
ing his age, his opportunities and the obstacles that he
has had to overcome
Surveying his past and discerning his present, one is
502
STATE BUILDERS
led to wonder what the future has in store for him.
The past warrants the behef that he is but on the thresh-
old of a magnilicent career.
Mr. Willey has vast financial interests in Nome,
Alaska, and is a large holder of real estate in his home
city of Manchester.
He was married in December, 1901, to Miss Jennie
Louise, daughter of the late Ira H. Adams, M. D.,
of Derry.
503
Price, $10 New Edition
WILLEY'S
Book of Nutfield
A History of That Part of New Hamp-
shire Comprised Within the Limits
of the Old Township of
Londonderry
From its Settlement in ijig to the Present Time
Compiled from Original Sources and Edited by
GEORGE FRANKLYN WILLEY
Biographical, Genealogical, Political, Anecdotal
Illustrated with Half-tone
AND Steel Engravings
New Hampshire Publishing Corporation
Manchester, N. H. Boston, Mass.
THE FIRST REAL ROMANCE OF THE
WHITE MOUNTAINS
SOLTAIRE
CLEVELAND DAILY WORLD
" Soltaire," by George Franklyn Willey, fully justifies its
title, for it is a literary gem, a dramatic work, as fascinating as
Washington Irving's legends of the Catskill Mountains.
NEW YORK JOURNAL:
Among the wealth of recent fiction, one book stands out
prominently as a work of true merit and sublime fascination.
This book is a little romance of the White Mountains, entitled
"Soltaire." There are not many pages, — one wishes there
w^ere many more, — and yet the reader lays the book aside with
a distinct sigh of regret, in a genuine glow^ of happiness, and
with a warm feeling of sincere appreciation to the author,
George f>anklyn Willey, for a couple of hours of pure, un-
alloyed enjoyment.
NEW YORK WORLD:
" Soltaire " is a strong, fresh romance of the White Moun-
tain region. Mr. Willey 's story is direct, simple, and com-
pletely interesting.
This is the first time an author has paid any special atten-
tion to the White Mountains — that region so full of romance
and picturesqueness. Mr. Willey has not only based his story
both on White Mountain legendary lore and history, but makes
every page of his book breathe the invigorating and inspiring
atmosphere of those grand hills, which are aptly called the
" Switzerland of America."
Q/^T T* A T IP ■p* A Romance of the Willey Slide in the White Mountains
^\yi-^ 1 .rt.lI\.IZ/ By George Franklyn Willey
A BOOK FOR EVERYONE TO READ. PRICE, $1.25
New Hampshire Publishing Corporation
36 MERRIMACK STREET, MANCHESTER, N. H.
309 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MASS.
Price, $10 New Edition
VViLLEY'S
Semi-Centennial Book
of Manchester
1846-1896
And Manchester Edition of the Book of Nutfield
Historic Sketches of that part of New
Hampshire comprised within the Hmits
of the Old Tyng Township, Nutfield,
Harrytown, Derryfield, and Manchester,
from the earliest settlements to the
present time.
BY
GEORGE FRANKLYN WILLEY
Biographical^ Genealogical^ Political^ Anecdotal
Illustrated with 500 Engravings
New Hampshire Publishing Corporation
Manchester, N. H. Boston, Mass.
HJNX 1904
lRBJe'27
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