USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 11
USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 11
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1869 he established himself in general mer- cantile business in Epsom, and now conducts a well-stocked country store. He is also ex- tensively engaged in the lumber business as a member of the firms of Tripp & Tennant & Tripp and Fellows & Tennant. One of the firms controls large tracts of timber land in -New Hampshire and Vermont, and also owns and operates saw-mills in various places for the manufacture of lumber. Another enterprise of Mr. Tennant's is brick-making, which he carries on in Pembroke. He is a director of several insurance companies and of the Sun- cook Valley Railroad. He has been station agent at Short Falls since 1869, and is now one of the oldest station agents on the Concord & Montreal Railway. From 1870 to 1889 he was Postmaster at Short Falls. This position he resigned when elected to the State Senate, and Mrs. Tennant has since held that ap- pointment. In politics Mr. Tennant is a Re- publican. From 1882 to 1888 he was one of the Commissioners of Merrimack County. He was elected a State Senator in 1889, and was a member of the House of Representatives for the years 1891 and 1892, taking part in the last annual and the first biennial session of the legislature. He has never sought for a town office; but after the death of the Town Treas- urer, who was elected to serve the present year, he was persuaded to take charge of the town's finances for the unexpired term.
On February 10, 1873, Mr. Tennant was united in marriage with Ella M. Fowler. She is a daughter of Samuel and Elvira N. (Critchett) Fowler, of Epsom, who had six children, of whom there are living - James W., Horace, and Josie M. Mr. and Mrs. Tennant have no children. Mr. Tennant is a Mason of the thirty-second degree. He has occupied all the important chairs in Evergreen Lodge, I. O. O. F., Epsom, and was its Sec-
retary for several years; and he is a member of the local grange of the Patrons of Hus- bandry. In the course of his life he has vis- ited nearly every State in the Union, includ- ing the extreme southern part and the Pacific slope, thereby greatly enhancing his knowl- edge of the wealth and business possibilities of the country.
OLONEL RUFUS P. COPPS, a veteran agriculturist of Hopkinton, and one of its most honored and respected citizens, was born January 13, 1818, in Haverhill, Mass., a son of Moses and Mary (George) Copps. It is said that this branch of the family originated with a little boy who was found wandering around the streets of Boston, finely dressed in velvet clothes, and who, it is supposed, was put ashore from an English vessel in the harbor. He could give no name, but was adopted by a man named Copp, from whom Copp's Hill, at the North End in Boston, was named. John Copp, a descendant of this little waif, was a lifelong farmer of Plaistow, N. H., where he married a Miss Sarah Pollard.
Moses Copps was a shoe manufacturer in Haverhill, Mass., for some years. In 1820 he removed to New Hampshire, living first for a year in Dunbarton, and then coming to Hopkinton, where, with the exception of one year spent in Weare, he was engaged in farm- ing on land lying just south of the present home of Colonel Copps. In 1842 he and the Colonel bought the present homestead prop- erty, which then had many of the buildings now standing. The house, erected about eighty years ago by the Silver family, was made from brick manufactured on the farm by the Silvers, and is now the only brick resi- dence in Hopkinton. Moses Copps afterward lived retired on this farm until his demise in
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1863, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. He had a large family of children, namely : Emeline, who married Daniel Bailey, and re- moved to Augusta, Me. ; Sarah Jane, who be- came the wife of Ignatius W. Fellows, a jeweller, of Hopkinton; Abigail M., who married John Clement, of West Amesbury, now Merrimac, Mass., and has a son, Jacob Melvin Clement, the manager of Colonel Copps's farm for the past two years; Mary, who married Jonathan B. Emerson, of this town, and died in Washington, N.H. ; Eliza- beth, who married Henry D. White, of Pena- cook, and died in Concord, N.H .; Rufus P., the subject of this sketch; Harriet, who is the wife of Jonathan Severance, of Washington, N.H .; Florantha, who died in childhood; Ellen M., who died soon after her marriage with the Rev. Mr. Smith, a Baptist minister; and Myra. Frances, who is the wife of George W. Pierce, and resides in Henniker. The mother survived her husband about ten years, dying at the age of eighty-three.
Rufus P. Copps was reared and educated in Hopkinton, having been but three years old when his parents came here. After attaining his majority, he spent some time in Ames- bury, Mass., and then went, after a short visit with his parents, to Bethlehem, N. Y., where he taught school one entire year and for two or three winter terms after he had begun farm- ing. In 1841 he returned to the parental roof, and soon bought his present estate in company with his father. For ten years thereafter he spent his winters as heretofore, teaching in near-by schools, often receiving but fifty cents a day for his services, and boarding at home. Later, when the crops had all been harvested, he worked winters at bottoming shoes as long as the business con- . tinued profitable; and, being at home, he took care of the cattle, and performed the neces-
sary farm chores at the same time. It was his practice to buy stock ready cut from the large manufacturers of leather, and sell the shoes together at so much a pair, the price usually averaging eight or nine dollars for a set of sixty pairs. He has also been engaged to some extent in lumbering, and of late years he has made a specialty of dairying. At the age of eighteen he joined the Rifle Militia Company, in which he served first as Orderly Sergeant. Afterward he became successively Adjutant of the regiment, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, and finally Colonel of the Fortieth New Hampshire Regiment, which command he held for two years. The Fortieth was com- posed of some of the brightest and bravest men of the towns of Hopkinton, Henniker, and Warner.
Colonel R. P. Copps has always been a Democrat in politics and an earnest sup- porter of his party. He has been a subscriber of the Patriot since it was established, having prior to that time taken Hill's Patriot, the leading organ of the Democratic party. For three successive years from 1858 he was Se- lectman of his town; and in 1861 he was a Representative to the General Court, where though he was not a public speaker he did efficient work on different committees. He has likewise served for some years as Justice of the Peace.
On September 14, 1843, Colonel Copps married Miss Melissa Flanders, who was born in Bradford, N. H., daughter of Nathaniel and Betsey (Wright) Flanders. She died September 15, 1894, aged seventy-three years, leaving no children. Although Colonel and Mrs. Copps were not parents, they nearly always had some child in their household to whom they gave the same care and advantages they would to an own son. One of these was James M. Putnam, who lived with them from
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the age of fourteen till he was twenty-one, and is now receiving one thousand dollars a -year as manager of a farm in Andover, Mass. Another was John Brown, who lived in the household from the age of sixteen to twenty, and who is now in Michigan. Arthur M. Dustin, a blacksmith of Contoocook, who 'went to live at the Colonel's when he was a little fellow of nine years, still remains with him, and now owns the homestead. . He has likewise had several other boys in his family, to each of whom he gave a good home, and otherwise sedulously cared for.
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ENJAMIN HENRY FULLER, one of Plainfield's most extensive farmers and an ex-member of the New Hampshire legislature, was born in this town, February 20, 1848, son of Benjamin L. and Persi's C. (Freeman) Fuller. His grand- father, Benjamin Fuller, who was a native of Connecticut, moved with his family to Plain- field early in the present century. Grand- father Benjamin married Rachel Boyd, who was also born in Connecticut. Their children were: Naomi, Esther, James, and Benjamin L. Naomi died at the age of twenty years; Esther married Cranston Lewin, a native of Connecticut, who followed farming and butchering in this town, and she reared a fam- ily; James was blind from the age of fourteen .until his death, which occurred when he was sixty-one years old.
Benjamin L. Fuller, father of Benjamin H., was born in Connecticut in June, 1802. He was educated in the schools of Plainfield and Lebanon, N. H .; and he assisted his father upon the farm until he became its owner by purchase. Hewas quite extensively engaged in raising cattle for the home market and for the Brighton market in Massachusetts. He
also raised sheep and horses. A man of unusual energy and industry, and giving his entire time to his business, he accumulated considerable wealth. His death, which oc- curred in 1878, was mourned as the loss of an honorable, upright man and a useful citizen. Absorbed in his business affairs, he took no part in politics. He attended the Baptist church. A member of the Masonic Lodge at Cornish Flat, he was buried with the rites of that fraternity. His wife, Persis, who was born in Cornish, N.H., in 1805, had seven children, namely: Sarah, born March 2, 1831 ; Ann, who died when eight months old; Maria, born November 9, 1833; Alfred, born April 15, 1837, who died in infancy; Laura, born April 22, 1839; Julia, born April 8, 1842; and Benjamin H., the subject of this sketch. Sarah married Augustus Hodgeman, of Vermont, a prosperous farmer, and had four sons; Maria became the wife of William Ward, a farmer of Plainfield, and had six chil- dren, four of whom are living; Laura died in 1861; and Julia married Albert Gilson, an industrious farmer of Hartland, Vt., and had eight children, of whom five are living. Mrs. Benjamin L. Fuller died in 1884.
After completing his education at the Kim- ball Union Academy, Benjamin Henry Fuller immediately began to assist in carrying on the farm. Since the death of his father he has managed the property. As the result of his early training and practical experience his farming has been most profitable. The estate, containing nearly three hundred acres of land, is one of the few farms along the banks of the Connecticut River that has not been purchased for summer residences by wealthy men from New York or Boston. The buildings are among the finest in this section; and the house, which is built upon high ground over- looking the village of Hartland, Vt., com-
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mands a view of the adjacent mountains and valleys.
On February 22, 1869, Mr. Fuller was united in marriage with Julia E. Egglestone, born May 4, 1848, daughter of Lorenzo Eggle- stone, of Boston. Aden Leroy Fuller, the only child of this union, was born November 14, 1871. After finishing his education at White River Junction, Vt., he entered the service of the Fitchburg Railroad Company as a fireman. He is now a locomotive engineer in the yard of that company in Boston. He is widely known among railroad men, and is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He mar- ried Bertha Harrington, of Groton, Mass., daughter of Albert Harrington, of that town. Mr. and Mrs. Aden L. Fuller attend the Bap- tist church. Mr. Benjamin H. Fuller is a Democrat in politics. He was a member of the Board of Selectmen for three years, and for two years of that time he was its Chairman. He represented this town in the legislature in 1891, serving therein upon the Committee on Education. One of the most active and influ- ential leaders in local affairs, he has the es- teem and confidence of his fellow-townsmen.
EORGE W. RICE, one of Henniker's most able and prosperous farmers, was born in this town, January 17, 1825, son of Jacob and Louisa (Howe) Rice. His grandfather, Elijah Rice, a Revolutionary patriot, was an early settler in Henniker. An account of his parents and of the ancestry of Elijah Rice will be found in the biography of Harrison A. Rice, which appears elsewhere in this work. George W. Rice passed his youth in attending school and working upon the farm. He was still young when his parents moved to the property now owned and occupied by his brother, Harrison A. Rice. At the age of
twenty-one he went to Manchester, N. H., where he worked at butchering for two years. Upon his return to Henniker he bought a small farm, which is now the home of W. B. Barnes. A short time later he entered the meat business, selling at wholesale in the Manchester market and conducting a retail business in this town. While carrying on the butcher business for nine years, he gradually got a foothold in lumbering. At length he sold his farm and business to W. B. Barnes, and thereafter, for nearly forty years, gave his whole time to that industry. Besides cutting and hauling the timber, he operated a saw-mill at Hillsborough Bridge for several years; and he retired from that business some three years ago. Earlier in his life he purchased a farm on the outskirts of the village, and resided upon it until 1874. Then he again took up his residence in the village, but continued engaged in agriculture. He still gives his personal attention to his property. In all he owns seven hundred acres, which include his farm of one hundred and fifteen acres, two other tracts, and some timber land. Several tenements at Hillsborough Bridge are also his property. For several years he was engaged in furnishing railroad ties, piles, etc. ; and he dealt in cattle, which he sold in Manchester, Nashua, and Lowell.
On June 6, 1848, Mr. Rice was united in marriage with Abbie Colby, daughter of Levi and Betsey Colby, of Henniker. She died July 4, 1893, leaving four children. These were: Susan L., who married George C. Bunt- ing, of Manchester; Nellie A., who is the widow of Walter Prestin, and resides in this town; James G., who is now engaged in farm- ing in Hopkinton, N. H .; and Edwin, who resides at home. In politics Mr. Rice is a Republican. For many years he was a promi- nent party leader. Upon many occasions he
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saved the party from defeat by his own per- sonal exertions. When Representative to the legislature in 1868 and 1869, he rendered able services to his constituents and the community in general. A self-made man, he has shown that energy and ability properly applied will overcome the most adverse circumstances. He fully merits the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow-townsmen.
URTIS W. BENNETT, one of the busy farmers and prominent residents of Pittsfield, was born in Epsom, N. H., January 1, 1832. His parents were Jeremiah and Betsey (Marden) Bennett, na- tives respectively of New Hampton and Epsom. Daniel Bennett, grandfather of Curtis W., was a lifelong resident of New Hampton. He owned a good farm, and was occupied in its cultivation until his death, which occurred when he was fifty years old. Politically, he supported the Democratic party ; and in his religious views he was a Free Will Baptist. He and his wife reared a family of six children.
Jeremiah Bennett attended school in his native town. After finishing his studies, he served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade. He settled in Epsom, where he fol- lowed his trade for many years, and was also engaged in farming. In politics he was a Democrat. His wife, Betsey, became the mother of five children, of whom Curtis W., the subject of this sketch, is the only one living. Jeremiah Bennett was seventy-eight years old at his death, and his wife lived to be seventy-six. They attended the Free Will Baptist church.
Curtis W. Bennett was educated in Epsom. He then learned the shoemaker's trade, and afterward followed it in his native town for
several years, together with farming. In 1863 he moved to Pittsfield, and has since devoted his time exclusively to agricultural pursuits. He owns seventy acres of desirable land, thirty acres of which is under tillage and is very fertile. On July 9, 1863, Mr. Bennett wedded Mrs. Caroline Berry, widow of John Berry, late of Pittsfield. By her first union Mrs. Bennett has two daughters - Georgia and May A. Georgia is the wife of the Rev. R. S. Mitchell, of Stoneham, Mass., and has one son -- Guy. May A. is now Mrs. Benja- min Lane, of Lynn, Mass., and has one son - Roy. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have four children; namely Alice E., John C., Charles W., and Frank E.
As a supporter of the Democratic party Mr. Bennett is quite active in local public affairs, and be has served upon the Board of Select- men and in the office of Road Surveyor. He is a Methodist in his religious views, and Mrs. . Bennett is a Calvinist Baptist. His son, John C. Bennett, is a member of Catamount Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, of Pittsfield.
EORGE W. S. DOW, an enterpris- ing box manufacturer of Henniker and the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, was born in this town, March 9, 1841, son of Jonathan and Anna P. (Peaslee) Dow. Jonathan Dow, Sr., who was a son of David Dow, of Weare, N. H., settled in Hen- niker at the beginning of the present century. On December 23, 1807, he married Sally Plummer, a native of this town. Jonathan Dow, Jr., the father of George W. S., born in Henniker, December 5, 1814, became a pros- perous farmer and a successful lumberman, and resided here until his death, which oc- curred February 5, 1873. His wife Anna, whom he married September 29, 1836, was a
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native of Weare, Hillsborough County. She became the mother of five children, namely : Ann Maria, who married John Garland; George W. S., the subject of this sketch; Jackson P. ; John F. ; and Mary E.
George W. S. Dow resided at home and as- sisted upon the farm until he was twenty-one years old. He then began work by the day for Hiram Davis, with whom he remained one year. He next entered the employ of Horace Gibson, a mackerel kit manufacturer, and some years later became a partner in the business. In 1890, after the death of his partner, he bought of John Gutterson a box-mill located near the kit factory, and has since been en- gaged in manufacturing shoe cases. The mill privilege he owns was first utilized as far back as 1766, when Silas Barnes began the con- struction of a dam, and completed it in 1773. In 1774 a saw-mill was erected here by Barnes, who later sold it to Captain Timothy Gibson. The latter built a permanent dam, put in stones, and ran a saw and grist mill, with Eben Howe as the first miller. Since Timothy Gibson's time the mills have been owned by Daniel Kimball, William M. Davis, Lieutenant Joel Howe, Captain James Yauld- ing, Micah Howe, Oliver Jacobs, Adams & Silver, Joseph P. Dow, and John Gutterson. About 1820 Timothy Sprague erected a carding-mill close by Mr. Dow's lower mill, so that the same millrace served for both. Sprague sold it to Morrison & Woods, from whom it passed in turn to Luther Hathorn, S. Little, Silas Barnes, Sylvanus Sumner, Jacob Lancaster, John Niel, and Hiram M. Davis. Davis converted it into a powder keg manufactory in 1852, and some years later sold it to Horace Gibson. Here, in company with Gibson and William Abbott, Mr. Dow, its present owner, manufactured large quantities ef mackerel kits. Mr. Dow makes shoe boxes,
which he ships by the carload to various fac- tories. He uses annually from one hundred thousand to one hundred and eighty thousand feet of lumber, which he cuts and saws him- self. He also saws building material, all the pieces of which are marked and numbered and ready to put together. In politics he is a Democrat. He was a Representative to the legislature in 1880 and 1881, during which time he served upon the Committee on the Normal School. He is a prominent figure in the district, county, and State conventions, is Chairman of the Town Committee, and has been a Selectman for the past nine years, being at the present time the Chairman of the Board. That his public services are duly appreciated is indicated by the fact that Hen- niker contains a Republican majority of from twenty-five to seventy-five votes.
On November 9, 1862, Mr. Dow was united in marriage with Mary L. Hoyt, daugh- ter of Nathan Hoyt, a cooper by trade. She is a native of Bradford, N. H., but has resided in this town for the greater part of her life. Mr. and Mrs. Dow are the parents of seven children; namely, George H., William E., Charles H., Orrin H., Fred D., Blanche M., and Percy D. Mr. Dow has filled all of the principal chairs in Crescent Lodge, I. O. O. F., and has been a member of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire. Mrs. Dow is a member of the Lodge of the Daughters of Rebecca.
RANCIS MORRILL CUTTING, who died on November 15, 1888, was a valued citizen of Newport, Sullivan County. He was born in the neighboring town of Croydon, November 28, 1825, a son of Francis and Keziah (Hudson) Cutting. His grandfather, Benjamin Cutting, who enlisted in the Continental army when a young man,
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was one of the first settlers of Croydon. Francis Cutting, son of Benjamin, was born in Croydon, and there spent his life of seventy- eight years. He owned about five hundred acres of land, and was extensively engaged in farming and stock-raising. His first wife, Keziah Hudson, a native of Goshen, N. H., died at the age of seventy-six; and he subse- quently married Miss Mary Rollins. By the first wife he had nine children, by the second two; and of the whole family seven are now living.
Francis Morrill Cutting grew up on a farm, acquiring his education in the schools of his native town. After reaching man's estate, he engaged in farming and cattle-raising, pur- chasing land in the western part of Newport. A wise manager, square in his dealings, and a good practical farmer, he had a valuable prop- erty, comprising some five hundred acres, his farm in Newport alone covering one hundred acres. In politics Mr. Cutting was a Demo- crat, in religious belief a Methodist. He was
. a man of sterling character, conscientious and honest, and was respected by all who knew him.
Mr. Cutting was married July 25, 1855, to Hannah A., daughter of Dimmick and Hannah (Colby) Baker. She was born in Meriden, N. H., October 4, 1832. Mrs. Cutting is a member of an old New England family. Her ancestors came from England. Joseph Baker was born April 13, 1678, and lived to a ripe old age. He married Hannah Pomroy, July 8, 1702. She died, leaving two children ; and he married Abigail Bissell, who bore him nine children. The Hon. Dr. Oliver Baker, a son of Joseph Baker by his second wife, was Mrs. Cutting's grandfather. He was born in. Tolland, Conn., and was one of the early settlers of Meriden, N.H. He died October 3, 1811. His brother served in the
Revolutionary War, and was taken prisoner by the British and nearly starved, having nothing but raw frozen turnips to eat while confined in an old church in New York. He offered his silver watch for another turnip, but was re- fused. When he was released, Oliver carried him home, some of the way on his back. He afterward died of small-pox.
Dr. Oliver Baker married, November 23, 1780, Dorcas Dimmick, who died October 19, 1849. They were the parents of ten children. Dimmick Baker was born in Meriden, March 18, 1793. A shrewd business man, a good farmer, a successful stock dealer, and a pros- perous merchant, he amassed a large estate for those days. He died at the age of eighty- three. His wife, Hannah Colby, was born February 7, 1794, and died March 17, 1856. They were the parents of five children - Elias, Edward, Hannah, Helen F., and Cyrus E. Three of these are living: Mrs. Hannah . A. Cutting, of Newport, N. H .; Dr. Cyrus E. Baker, of Claremont, N. H. ; and Mrs. Helen F. Cutting, of Newport, N. H. The Baker homestead, a grand old place, located near Kimball Union Academy, where all the chil- dren received a liberal education, all becom- ing teachers, is now owned by the fifth gen- eration. Dimmick Baker was a Republican. He was connected with the Congregational church.
Mrs. Hannah A. Baker Cutting has resided in the village of Newport since 1892. She still owns the farm which her husband culti- vated, retaining it for the sake of old associa- tions. An active and liberal member of the Methodist church, she gave the electric lights now used in the church edifice, and was instru- mental in making the present parsonage a part of the church property. She has long been active in Sunday-school matters, and has served as President of the Ladies' Aid Soci-
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ety, being a woman with powerful will for the right everywhere. It is almost needless to add that she wins the esteem of all with whom she is brought in contact.
ENRY C. BARTLETT, a leading farmer of Hill, N.H., was born in this town, July 25, 1845. Mr. Bartlett's family traces its ancestry back to Colonial times. His paternal grandfather, Daniel Bartlett, was born in Plaistow, N. H., August 15, 1775, married June 3, 1801, and came from that town to Hill on horseback, with his wife, Ruth Gile Bartlett, mounted behind, in the fashion of that early day. He settled on Mason Hill, where he built a small house and took up a large tract of wild land. Full of the stirring progressive spirit of the pioneer, he was soon able to put up a larger frame house; and he had an extensive farm well cleared before his death. He lived to be seventy-nine years old, and had nine children - Susan, Ezekiel, Sally, Moses, Gertrude, Ruth, Huldah, Daniel, and John, of whom the only survivor is Daniel, who resides in Sagi- naw, Mich., where he has erected several fine residences. Susan and Sally were successful school teachers.
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