USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Essex County, Massachusetts > Part 3
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Having lived under the parental roof-tree until he was thirty years old, Caleb Pike bought his present farm. On June 13, 1843, he married Sally Stevens, who, born August 31, 1818, was a member of one of the old fam- ilies of the district. Their three children are: Caroline Rebecca, born July 4, 1849; Hannah Stevens, born September 12, 1854; and Caleb Scott, born August 30, 1858. Caroline, who married Frank A. Chopin, the Postmaster in Salisbury village, has two chil- dren - Nellie and Arlington. Hannah Stevens is living with the widow of James Pike. By Mr. Pike's second marriage, which united him March 27, 1864, with Susie A. Courrier, there were five children, namely : Emma Florence, born January 21, 1867, who died young; Annie May, born December 3, 1869, who married John Gibbins, the book- keeper and collector in Amesbury of the New
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England Telephone Company, and has a son, Edward Gibbins; Wilbur Courrier, born Jan- uary 31, 1871 ; Susie Gertrude, born Decem- ber 23, IS73; and Moses Kellum, born June 2, IS78.
Mr. Pike has never been actively interested in political matters, and has not cared to hold public office. However, he has been High- way Surveyor for many years, and he is much esteemed by his townsmen. On his farm the largest crop is hay. Formerly he had many oxen. Now his stock comprises about twenty horned cattle and three horses. He is proud of his ancestry, which dates back to the time of the Norman Conquest of England. The family has included many distinguished men, both professional and otherwise. In this country it has given to the nation stalwart yeomen, brave soldiers, and men of sterling worth in business life.
AMUEL EATON, Tax Collector of Amesbury, was born in the year 1839, in the Cushing house, at East Salisbury, Mass., the same house in which Caleb Cushing was born in the year ISoo, and which then stood near Cushing Corner, but was subsequently torn down. His father, Henry Eaton, was a mariner. Being taken sick with yellow fever on board a ship sailing from Havana to New York, Henry Eaton was taken to a hospital in New York, where he improved sufficiently to start for home. He died, however, a few days after reaching home, in the year 1845. His wife, Jemima B. Eaton, mother of Samuel Eaton, died in the year 1869. The subject of this sketch has three sisters now living, one in Amesbury, one in Merrimac, and the third in Kensington, N. H.
Samuel Eaton in his boyhood days worked
at farming and shoemaking. After he had finished his course in the town school, he en- tered the Tilton Seminary at Tilton, N. H., where he remained three terms, afterward en- tering Eastman's Business College at Pough- keepsie, N. Y., at which he was graduated.
In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company C, Forty-eighth Regiment, sailed from New York the Ist of January, 1863, in the ship "Constellation," and arrived at New Orleans the Ist of February. He then took a steamer for Baton Rouge, where he landed with the regiment a few days later. He was at the battle of Port Hudson Plains in May, 1863, then at the siege of Port Hudson, and later at Donaldsonville, where the Union forces were attacked by the enemy. Arriving home in August, he was mustered out with the regi- ment in September, 1863.
In 1864 he entered King's Clothing House at Detroit, Mich., and later went to Howell, Mich., where he was employed in the store of Jewett & Crossman, who had a large country trade at that time. In 1866 he returned home, and taught the grammar school in East Salisbury, moving in 1870 to Amesbury, where he worked in carriage shops until 1890. He was then elected Tax Collector, and has since held that office, a period of over eight years. He is a member of Powow River Lodge, No. 90, I. O. O. F.
Mr. Eaton married Miss Lizzie T. Dow, of East Salisbury, daughter of Andrew and Louisa Dow. She died in 1880, leaving one son, Henry S., who is a shoe cutter by trade and resides in Amesbury.
ANIEL W. FRIEND, an influential resident of Manchester, is a native of this town. He was born August 17, 1817, son of Captain Daniel and Lucy
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(Knight) Friend, who were respectively na- tives of Wenham and Manchester, Mass. His grandfather was John Friend, better known by the familiar title of "Deacon " Friend. The father was Captain of a militia company, and did service in forts along the coast in the War of 1812. He died in 1820.
Daniel W. Friend grew to manhood in Man- chester on the old place where he was born, and which has been in the possession of, the family for over two hundred years. He at- tended the common schools, and later a private school in Gloucester for some months in the winter, thereafter beginning to learn the car- penter's trade at the age of sixteen. Hav- ing completed an apprenticeship of four years, he went to Boston, and there worked as a journeyman carpenter for several years. He also worked in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Bev- erly. Later he was successfully engaged in business for himself at Manchester as a con- tractor and builder for a number of years. In 1849 he went " around the Horn " to Califor- nia, being six months out before reaching San Francisco. On his arrival, instead of going to the gold fields, he resumed work at his trade, taking contracts. After remaining in California for less than a year, he came home by way of Nicaragua.
Mr. Friend has been three times married, and had one son, Daniel, now deceased. The present Mrs. Friend was before this marriage Mrs. Martha S. Pierce, the widow of Joseph Pierce, late of Manchester, and a daughter of Josiah Burnham, late of Essex, Mass. Dur- ing the session of 1852 Mr. Friend was sent by the Free Soil party as a Representative to the General Court. He has served for one term as Selectman of Manchester, also as Assessor and Overseer of the Poor. At pres- ent he is a member of the Board of Park Com- missioners. In politics he is a Republican.
He is a warm advocate of prohibition, and has spent both time and money in forwarding temperance principles. During the Civil War and prior to it he was a strong anti-slavery agitator. A self-made man, his place in the world has been won by his own energy and determination.
EORGE F. DODGE, a leading resi- dent of Wenham and a Deacon of the Wenham Baptist Church, was born here, March 11, 1833, son of Stephen and Sally (Grant) Dodge. The Dodge family, which has been settled here for many years, has given to the town men of solid worth and ability. Amos Dodge, the grandfather of George F., was well-known throughout the dis- trict. The father, also a native of Wenham, was engaged in teaching in early life, mostly in the town of Beverly. He was active as a citizen, and served the town as Selectman and Town Clerk. A man of ardent religious views, he was a zealous member of the Con- gregational church, and for years served as Deacon in that body. He died in 1876, being then in his eighty-fourth year. His wife was a native of Beverly.
George F. Dodge received his early train- ing in the public schools of Wenham. Since leaving school he has devoted his time to agri- cultural pursuits. He married Mary Abbie Dodge, a native of Beverly and a daughter of the late Richard Dodge, and became the father of two children - Mary J. and Alice F. - both now deceased. Mrs. Mary Abbie Dodge died in 1879. She was a devoted member of the Baptist church.
Mr. Dodge takes an active interest in local affairs, and helps any movement looking to the welfare or improvement of the town. He is a Republican in politics, and has served the
PERKINS MERRILL.
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public as Road Surveyor for his district. Since 1854 he has been a member of the Bap- tist church and a Deacon of the society for over thirty years. A large amount of his time and service and earnest effort has been devoted to forwarding the interests of the church.
ERKINS MERRILL, a well-known produce merchant of Salisbury, has lived in this town since his birth, on February 8, 1832. A son of Abel and Elea- nor Jackman Merrill, he belongs to one of the oldest and best known families in this section. The first of the name in America was Nathaniel, who came from England in 1635. His son, Daniel, was the first Merrill to settle in Salisbury. Daniel's son Thomas located on a farm near the residence of Per- kins Merrill, and became prominent in church and town affairs. When the redcoats were coming from England, he enlisted in the Home Guard; and it is told of him that he nailed up a boot-heel as a target, and prac- tised firing at it in order to be ready to shoot if occasion should require. The maiden name of his wife was Margaret Allen. John, son of Thomas, enlisted in the Provincial army from Salisbury, and fought in the battle of Bunker Hill. As a citizen he was prominent in town affairs, and was a zealous churchman. The next in line, John (second), died at the age of fifty-six years. He married Jane Eaton, and had a family of seven children, of whom Abel was the youngest. Abel Merrill, father of Perkins, was a farmer and a prominent mem- ber of the Methodist church, being steward in that society for many years. He was one of the Building Committee of the present church, which was erected in 1834 as a union church, and took the place of the old Congregational church. For several years he was a Captain
in the State militia. Levi, son of Abel, en- listed February 6, 1864, as a private in the Heavy Artillery, and, stationed at Fort War- ren, served until the close of the Civil War. Upon being mustered out, he returned to Salisbury, and carried on shoemaking in his own shop. He died in August, 1894. The maiden name of his wife was Alice Morrill. Their son, Frank, is still living, and resides on the old place. Frank married Annette Eaton, and has one daughter, Ellen.
Perkins Merrill received his early training in the Putnam Free School. After leaving that institution he taught school for sixteen years, mostly in Salisbury and in Amesbury. For a part of the time he was engaged in un- graded schools and for a part in grammar schools. On August 8, 1862, he resigned in order to enlist in the Union army. In Com- pany C of the Forty-eighth Regiment he went to Port Hudson with General Banks, and was in the battles at Port Hudson, the plains of Port Hudson, and Donaldsonville. A short time after his enlistment he was pro- moted to the rank of Corporal. After he was mustered out, September 3, 1863, he went to Westboro, where he was for three years assist- ant superintendent of the State Reform School. Then he came to Salisbury, and has since been engaged in the produce business, his trade lying principally in Amesbury, New- buryport, and Seabrook.
Mr. Merrill has been a delegate to various political conventions. He has never been a Democrat, and has never voted for license. Like many of his ancestors, he has been an active church member, serving as steward and class leader for some years and as superintend- ent of the Sunday-school for thirty-one years. For many years he has been a zealous sup- porter of temperance movements. He has been a member of the O. U. A. M. Lodge of
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Salisbury since it was organized. He is a comrade of A. W. Bartlett Post, No. 49, G. A. R., of Newburyport ; and he has served as chaplain of the Forty-eighth Regiment As- sociation, and is now its secretary. The first of his two marriages was contracted with Ellen French, who died in 1866; and the sec- ond, with Sarah E. Forsyth, who died in 1877, and was buried with her infant child. A son by his first wife died when a year old.
EORGE W. BLAISDELL, M.D., a leading physician and surgeon of Manchester, is a native of South Hampton, N. H. He was born March 14, 1856, son of John H. and Nancy (Gregg) Blaisdell. On the father's side he is of English stock, and of Scotch on the mother's side. Repre- sentatives of both families fought in the Rev-
olution. Lieutenant Blaisdell, great-grand- father of the Doctor, was a daring officer ; and Captain Gregg, the Doctor's maternal grand- father, fought at Bennington with General Stark. John H. Blaisdell, now living in re- tirement and eighty years old, was formerly a shoe manufacturer of Haverhill, when he made the reputation of a man of energy and foresight.
Taken to Haverhill when about two years old, George W. Blaisdell was there reared to manhood. He attended the public schools and subsequently Dartmouth College from which institution he graduated in 1878. En- tering the medical school of Dartmouth Col- lege in the same year, he studied there for time.
a Subsequently he went to Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, N. Y., and was graduated at that institution on June 14, 1881. Coming to Manchester in October of that year, he located here for the practice of his profession. He has proved himself a skil-
ful physician, and has won a reputation that might be envied by any practitioner. He now enjoys an extensive and lucrative patronage and the confidence and esteem of the commu- nity.
Dr. Blaisdell is a member of the Manches- ter Board of Health. He is also connected with Magnolia Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; with Liberty Lodge, Free and ' Accepted Masons, of Beverly; with Amnity Chapter, R. A. M., of Beverly; with St. George Commandery, K. T., of Beverly ; with the American Order of United Workmen, of Manchester; and with the Order of the Pil- grim Fathers. Of the last two organizations he is the medical examiner. In politics he is a Republican. In 1883 he was married to Mary E. Lee, a Manchester lady, daughter of the late John L. and Sarah Lee. Mrs. Blais- dell is the mother of three daughters - Ruth J., Alice L., and Dorothy.
ILLIAM P. DODGE, a prominent resident of Wenham, was born in this town on June 9, 1844, son of Abraham and Augusta (Edwards) Dodge, who were respectively natives of Wenham and Beverly, Mass. His grandfather, Jacob Dodge, was also born in Wenham, which has been the home of the family for several gener- ations. Abraham Dodge was a prominent man in his time, and served his native town as Selectman and in various other public offices. He was a Republican in politics. His death occurred on December 6, 1887.
William P. Dodge, who grew to manhood in this town, received his early education in the common schools. In later years he added to his stock of knowledge by careful observa- tion of men and affairs and by wide and varied reading. He early engaged in agricultural
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pursuits, and has since been a tiller of the soil. Also, for a number of years past, he has been interested in the manufacture of cider, and now annually turns out from his press many gallons of the beverage.
Mr. Dodge married Hannah A., daughter of Zachariah Cole, late of Wenham, a biogra- phy of whom appears elsewhere in this vol- ume. Mr. and Mrs. Dodge have four children living - Nellie A., Hattie C., Alice B., and Lewis A. Dodge. In politics Mr. Dodge is a Republican, is warmly interested in the affairs of the town, and has served for several years as Road Surveyor. He is a member of the Wenham Baptist Church, and takes an active interest in its work.
LIVINGSTONE GOODWIN, of the firm of Goodwin & Kendrick, furniture dealers in Merrimac, is a native of West Amesbury, Mass. Born September 20, 1845, he is a son of Frederick W. R. and -Betsey (Hoyt) Goodwin. His father, who was a well-known business man of Newton, reared a family of four children, namely : Mel- vina, now the wife of Charles F. Sargent, of Merrimac; Frederick Plummer Goodwin, who is in the shoe business in Lynn; Benjamin F., who is in business in Newton; and T. Livingstone Goodwin, the subject of this sketch.
After attending the public schools of West Amesbury for the usual period, T. Living- stone Goodwin took a business course at Comer's Commercial College in Boston. Then he learned the carriage-trimmer's trade, which he afterward followed as a journeyman for a number of years. About four years ago he established the furniture business which is now carried on under the firm name of Goodwin & Kendrick. He has built up a
large and profitable trade, handling paints as well as all kinds of household goods, and winning a position of high standing in the community. Besides attending to his reg- ular business, he discharges the duties of Jus- tice of the Peace, making a specialty of set- tling estates.
Mr. Goodwin married Alice L. Sargent, a daughter of Nicholas Sargent, of Merrimac, and is now the father of three sons. The latter are: Allen, who is in the employ of the Boston & Maine Railway; Henry, who grad- uated from the Haverhill High School in 1897; and Arthur W., a pupil in the Whitter Home School. Mr. Goodwin is a member of the present Board of Selectmen. He is a Deacon of the Congregational church, a member of its Prudential Committee, and the president of the Merrimac Young Men's Christian Association. In the last-named capacity he is actively concerned in the moral and religious improvement of this town.
RANK M. GREENWOOD, an enter- prising ice dealer of North Andover, was born in Boxford, Mass., September 8, 1863, son of Samuel M. and Sarah (Garner) Greenwood. His parents, natives respec- tively of Lincolnshire and Norfolk, England, emigrated after their marriage. The father was twenty-three years old when he arrived in the United States. Settling in Boxford, he followed the shoemaker's trade in connec- tion with farming for some time. In 1864 he enlisted in Company M, Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry, with which he served until the close of the Civil War. From Boxford in 1869 he removed to North Andover, where he pur- chased the ice business carried on by Charles Barker, and resided here for the rest of his life. He died in 1893. Of his seven chil-
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dren, four are living, namely: Jennic, the wife of W. H. Griffin, of Manchester, N. H. ; Mary F., the wife of Quincy W. Perley, of Haverhill, Mass. ; George G .; and Frank M.
Frank M. Greenwood resided in Boxford until he was six years old. Then he came with his parents to North Andover, where his education was acquired in the common schools. Having assisted his father in the ice business for a time, he has had entire control of it since the death of the latter. It is said to be the largest of its kind in town. Mr. Green- wood is connected with Cochichewick Lodge, F. & A. M .; with Wauwinett Lodge and Kearsarge Encampment, I. O. O. F. ; and with the Patrons of Husbandry. He is a Republi- can in politics and a Methodist Episcopalian in religion. By his marriage on October 28, 1884, with Mabel E. Keniston, daughter of Henry Keniston, of North Andover, he is the father of three children - Harry K., Guy S., and Sarah, all of whom live at home and attend school.
LIHU W. COLCORD, a retired manu- facturer residing at the corner of Haverhill and Franklin Streets, Lawrence, was born in Kingston, N.H., June 24, 1825, son of Daniel and Polly (Woodman) Colcord. Daniel Colcord, born in Kingston, June 13, 1781, was a mechanic, and constructed the first wooden plough used in his native town. His marriage with Polly Woodman took place June 2, 1812. Shc was born in Kingston, March 14, 1792, daughter of Samuel Woodman. Of their ten children two dicd in infancy, and Warren died March II, 1867. The rest, five sons and three daughters, grew to maturity and married. Mary dicd June 12, 1842. Danicl, who was a volunteer soldier in the Civil War, died Au-
gust 10, 1897, when nearly fourscore years of age. The mother died March 28, 1831, and the father, April 18, 1851. They and their deceased children rest in the Kingston ceme- tery, with the exception of Sarah and Warren, who were buried respectively in lola, Wis., and Lawrence.
When his mother died, Elihu W. Colcord was but six years old. He received a com- mon-school education, supplemented by one term at Kingston Academy. Then he learned the shoemaker's trade of his elder brothers. In the fall of 1849 he went with the gold- seekers to California, making a voyage of one hundred and fifty-nine days from Newburyport around Cape Horn to San Francisco. Dis- heartened by many months of sickness, which began before he reached his destination, he returned home penniless, after he had done some placer mining at Auburn. He next en- gaged in belt manufacturing at Manchester, and in 1853 came to Lawrence, which was then only a hamlet. Here, in company with a Mr. Eaton, firm of Eaton & Colcord, he started on a small scale to manufacture belt- ing in the Essex lumber yard. A year and a half later the firm was succeeded by Colcord & Foster, which continued the business for two years. At the end of that time the partner- ship was dissolved, Mr. Colcord taking the business and removing to the corner of Broad- way and Essex Street. Five years later he went into the Ordway Block, where he had been two years, when he built on the opposite corner. Removing thither, he carried on the business in his own building from 1856 to 1873, selling out after a very successful and prosperous career. For two years after that time he was in the belting trade in Boston, buying and selling. Hc also made carly in- vestments in real estate that have yielded him handsome returns. He owned considerable
ELIHU W. COLCORD.
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land adjoining his home, all of which he sold, with exception of the large corner lot with tenement block on same.
In 1848 Mr. Colcord married Lucy A. Frost, who was born in North Andover, Mass., daughter of Samuel A. Frost. She had one sister, Sarah Messer, who died in 1887, and has two brothers living: William P. Frost, in Lawrence: and George S. Frost, a resident of Spring Valley, Minn. Mr. Col- cord has been a lifelong Democrat. While a resident of Kingston, he was Captain of a company of militia, and held the office of Highway Surveyor. In Lawrence he has served one year as City Treasurer, and was Spiggot River Commissioner during the first year of that valuable improvement. He be- longs to the California Pioneers, which were organized November 1, 1888, with three hun- dred members. In 1869 he erected his large and elegant house at 360 Haverhill Street, costing over thirty thousand dollars, into which he moved on New Year's Day, 1870. For the past twelve years he has spent his winters at Clarcona, Orange County, Fla., where he has a homestead and a large orange grove.
AMUEL KNIGHT, a well-known dealer in coal, wood, and building material in Manchester, was born here in 1840, son of John and Harriet (Per- kins) Knight. The family has long becn resident here, and has been a prominent one in the district. John Knight, son of John Knight, Sr., was a tanner and curricr by trade. He was in business in Manchester for some forty years. At his death, on July 31, 1881, he was seventy years old.
Samuel Knight, who was reared and edu- cated in Manchester, began to learn the trade of tanner and currier at Chelsea, Mass., when
fifteen years of age. After working in that place for two years, he returned to Manches- ter, and took charge of his father's business, managing it until 1872. Since that year he has been engaged in his present business. A self-made man, the success he has met with was well earned by the untiring attention he gave to business and the strictly honorable methods he employed.
Mr. Knight marricd Mary B., daughter of Captain John Carter, a venerable resident of Manchester. Born of the union are three children : Frank P., Harriet P., and George L. Constantly interested in public affairs and desirous of aiding his native town when- ever possible, Mr. Knight has served in sun- dry public positions. He was Selectman at various times, and likewise Assessor and Overseer of the Poor. For a number of years he was Surveyor of Public Highways, and a member and the chairman of the Water Board from the time the water-works system was in- troduced in Manchester until 1895. He was prominent in advocating the introduction of this system, which has been of incstimable benefit to the town. In politics he is a Dem- ocrat, with independent proclivitics. He is a member of Magnolia Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Manchester, having been the first to join that body after its organ- ization in this town. In the town he is recog- nized as one of its substantial business men, and is universally csteemed.
RANK H. MESSER, a respected resi- dent of Andover, engaged in the under- taking business, was born in Stone- ham, Mass., February 9, 1855, son of David and Martha A. (Stone) Messer. Ebenezer Messer, the father of David and a native of Methuen, Mass., spent the greater part of his
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life in Landaff, N. H., where he followed farming. The family is an old one in Methuen, where members of it for generations were prominent citizens. David, born in Landaff, settled in Stoneham, Mass., and for forty-five years conducted an undertaking business. His wife, Martha A., a daughter of Aaron Stone, bore him nine children.
Frank H. Messer attended school in Stone- ham, which was his home until he became a young man. He then went to Charlestown, and entered the undertaking establishment of J. L. Perry, with whom he remained five years. Afterward, returning to Stoneham, he was in business with his father until the latter's death in 1890. For the next three years he carried on the business alone. In 1893, leaving the Stoneham branch in charge of his younger brother, he came to Andover, bought out C. S. Parker, and fitted up the place in first-class modern style.
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