USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 12
USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 12
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Moses Bartlett, second son of Daniel and Ruth, received his education in the public schools of Hill, and then went to Massachu- setts, where he was engaged in the stone- cutting business for four years. At the end of this time he returned to his native town and bought a farm on Dickerson Hill. Later he sold that place and purchased the Colonel Ray estate, where his son, Henry C., was born. He repaired the buildings of this property and spent the remainder of his life here, passing away at the advanced age of eighty-one years. Having embraced religion early in life, he
ever maintained a strictly religious integrity, dying in full triumph of his faith. His wife Charlotte, the daughter of Moses Webster, was forty-six years old when she died. Her father is said to have been a distant kinsman of the great Daniel Webster. Moses and Charlotte (Webster) Bartlett had six children, namely : Samuel W., whose residence is situ- ated on Franklin Street, Concord, N. H., who has been a faithful employee of the Northern Railroad for over thirty years; Cyrus W., who lives in Franklin, N. H., near the Kendrick farm; LaRoy D., not living; Henry C. ; Ella R., whose home is in Methuen, Mass. ; and John W., of Hill Centre.
Henry C., the fourth son as the names are here given, was educated in the district schools. He began work with the late J. P. Jone's in Georgetown, Mass., who for many years was one of the leading lawyers of Haver- hill, Mass., but afterward returned to his home in Hill and purchased the old homestead of two hundred acres.
Mr. Bartlett married Etta Louise, the only daughter of Daniel B. and Mary (Dearborn) Bartlett, March 11, 1875. He devotes him- self diligently to his farm and home, and is also faithful to his duties as a citizen. In politics he is a stanch Republican, having cast his first Presidential vote for General Grant in 1868. He has been an officer of the School Board of Hill and a Commissioner of High- ways, is a member of the Congregational church, and is ever found a person of open mind and honest convictions.
EORGE H. FAIRBANKS, a farmer of Newport, was born in Frances- town, N. H., June 4, 1830, son of Jabez and Sally (Bixby) Fairbanks. The father, born in Francestown, N. H., February
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24, 1788, lived there for some time, carrying on general farming and working at his trade of millwright, and holding communion with the Congregational church. He was a great tem- perance man. In politics he was a Republi- can, and he was a Selectman of Francestown. ,In 1840 he removed to Newport, where he re- mained during the latter part of his life. Here he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. For his first wife he mar- ried Sally Bixby on January 2, 1814. She was born January 29, 1782, and died in 1839, December 2. For his second wife he married Polly Bixby, a sister of his first wife. He died May 10, 1874, having survived his second wife, whose death occurred January 26, 1863. By the first marriage there were five children, namely: Elmira, born December 18, 1814, who died May 30, 1846; Sarah A., born December 16, 1818, who died in April, 1885; Eliza J., born March 5, 1821, who died August 30 in the same year ; Mary E., born January 29, 1826, who died October 12, 1873; and George H., the subject of this sketch.
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George H. Fairbanks came to Newport when but nine years of age, and there subsequently received the larger part of his education. While his principal occupation has been gen- eral farming, he worked at a trade in the vil- lage of Newport for a period of twenty years. On his farm of one hundred and fifty acres, most of which is under cultivation, he has made many improvements. In politics he is a Republican. He has served in the State legislature both as Representative and Sen- ator, and he has been a County Commissioner since 1893. He is a member of the Odd Fel- lows Sugar River Lodge. On October 19, 1853, he married Eunice Chapin, who died March 12, 1854. He contracted a second marriage November 19, 1855, with Helen M.
Nourse, who was born August 18, 1829, daughter of Daniel and Margaret (Wilson) Nourse, of Acworth, N. H. Mr. and Mrs. Fairbanks have been active members of the Methodist Episcopal church for many years. Their four children are: Charles H., Mary H., George A., and Burton E. Of these chil- dren Charles H. was born November 28, 1856, and lives in Newport. He married Emma L. Howe, February 1, 1881, and they have three children - M. Gertrude, Arthur R., and Alice E. George A., born March 24, 1863, belongs to the firm of Fairbanks Brothers of Rochester, N. H. On October 12, 1885, he married Margaret A. Gilmore, of Newport, and now has three children - Helen M., Marion S., and Harold G. Mary H., born January 26, 1861, died August 1, 1863; and Burton E., born November 15, 1870, died November 16, 1889. . Mr. Fairbanks, Sr., has been a stirring, active man all his life; and he enjoys the esteem of his fellow-townsmen.
ILAS P. THOMPSON, an extensive farmer of Franklin, was born in this town, March 11, 1842, son of An- drew C. and Eliza (Perkins) Thompson. His father, who was born in Franklin in 1804, spent his active period in agriculture, and passed his last days in Andover, N. H., where he died in 1892. His mother, who was born in Kennebunkport, Me., in 1806, died in 1846. She was the first wife of his father, who after her death contracted a second marriage with Mehitable S. Harvey, of San- bornton, N. H. Mehitable Thompson died December 29, 1886. The seven children of Andrew C. Thompson were: Oliver M., Thomas P., Addie W., Henry M., Silas P., Maria H., and Sarah Elizabeth, all born of his first union. Oliver M., who is now a
HON. HENRY P. ROLFE.
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stone-cutter of Concord, N. H., married for his first wife Abbie Moody, who died in 1866. The maiden name of his second wife was Abbie Flanders. Thomas P., who is engaged in farming in Tilton, N. H., married Alice C. Cutler. Addie W. is now the wife of F. Locke, a farmer of Bristol, N. H. Maria H. is the wife of Charles M. Thompson, a farmer of Stratham, N. H. Henry M., who married Selina Sleeper, is a prosperous farmer in Andover, N. H. Sarah Elizabeth died at the age of twenty-two years.
Silas P. Thompson acquired a common- school education, and resided at home until twenty-two years old. He was for a time engaged in teaching school in Salisbury, N. H. Then he went to Minneapolis, Minn. During his residence there he was in the insurance business for some time, and was Street Com- missioner for four years. Upon his return to Franklin he settled on the Colby farm, and has since given his attention to general farm- ing. He has improved the property, which contains two hundred acres, and in addition to raising the usual crops he runs a dairy and breeds horses. On November 16, 1873, he was united in marriage with Martha A. Colby, who was born in Franklin, June 7, 1841, daughter of Ezekiel and Tabitha (Smith) Colby. Mrs. Thompson is the mother of five children, as follows: Ernest O., born Decem- ber 23, 1874, now engaged in agricultural pur- suits in Franklin; Grace M., the wife of Vernon B. Blake, of this town; Minneola, born May 28, 1879, who is attending school in New Hampton, N. H. ; Luther C., born July 21, 1881, who is at home; and Katie L., born February 23, 1888, also at home. Po- litically, Mr. Thompson is independent. While residing in Salisbury he was a member of the School Committee, and he is now a Jus- the of the Peace. He is connected with the
grange in Hill. Mrs. Thompson is a member of the Christian church.
ENRY PEARSON ROLFE, a promi- nent lawyer of Concord, N. H., was born in Boscawen, this State, Feb- ruary 13, 1821. His parents were Benjamin and Margaret (Searles) Rolfe. Benjamin Rolfe, Sr., his paternal grandfather, was one of the early settlers of Boscawen, whither he came in 1769 all the way from Newbury, Mass., on horseback. His wife rode behind him on a pillion, and their housekeeping and personal necessaries were carried on the same horse, this being the ordinary method of travelling in those early Colonial times in New England. She returned alone through Chester, N. H., and left him in the forest to begin the pioneer work of clearing, planting, and building. The new home in Boscawen was soon estab- lished, and they there spent the remainder of their lives. The Rev. Jonathan Searles, Mr. Rolfe's grandfather on the maternal side, was a graduate of Harvard College and the first minister ever settled in the town of Salisbury. He baptized Daniel Webster and his brothers and sisters. Margaret Searles, afterward Mrs. Rolfe, attended the district school with the future Statesman, and was his warm personal friend.
Benjamin Rolfe, the younger, was a man of versatile parts, and carried on the occupations of carpentering, pump-making, and farming. About the year 1840 he removed his residence from Boscawen to the town of Hill, N. H., where he purchased a farm and passed the re- maining seventeen years of his life. He died at the age of eighty-four. By his wife, Mar- garet Searles, daughter of the clergyman men- tioned above, he became the father of a family of three children; namely, Enoch S., Henry
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Pearson, and Charles B. Henry Pearson Rolfe is the only one of the three now surviv- ing. Charles B. Rolfe, his younger brother, caught the gold fever at the time of the dis- covery of the precious metal in California, went out to that State among the famous pio- neers of 1849, and died there soon after arriving.
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Henry P. Rolfe in his youth attended the district schools of Boscawen and the New Hampton Literary Institution, and then en- tered Dartmouth College, where he was grad- uated in the class of 1848. Immediately entering upon the study of the law in the office of Judge Fowler, of Concord, he was ad- mitted to the Merrimack County bar in May, 1851, and continued in the active exercise of his chosen profession in Concord until some time in the year 1882, when he met with a painful carriage accident, in which he was badly kicked in the head by an unruly horse and sustained severe injuries to his back. This disaster brought on a severe attack of nervous prostration, which compelled him to relinquish the greater part of his large legal practice and from which he has never entirely recovered.
He married Mary Rebecca Sherburne, the daughter of Robert H. and Ruth (Kimball) Sherburne, of Concord. They have had a fam- ily of five children, of whom only two survive to-day; namely, Robert H. and George H. Robert H. Rolfe, the elder surviving son, married Grace Stearns, the daughter of ex- Governor Onslow Stearns, of New Hampshire, and has one child - Onslow S., born January 16, 1895. George H. Rolfe, the younger son, married Bertha O. Cawley, of Hill, N. H., and has one son - Hamilton Cawley, born December 6, 1894.
Mr. Henry P. Rolfe was an active Demo- crat in the exciting ante bellum times, and cast
his first Presidential vote for General Lewis Cass in 1848. He served as a delegate to the .Baltimore Democratic National Convention that nominated Stephen A. Douglas, "the little Giant," for President of the United States; and he was himself nominated as an elector. In a public meeting held at Concord Mr. Rolfe introduced Senator Douglas to the people of New Hampshire in a speech that the latter characterized as "one of the happiest in- troductions " he had ever had. Upon the firing on Fort Sumter at Charleston, S.C., the first overt act of the Southerners that opened the Civil War, Mr. Rolfe left the Democratic party, and thenceforth and forever transferred his allegiance and political support to the Republicans. By his character and ability he has won the confidence and esteem of his fel- low-citizens, who returned him as their chosen Representative to the New Hampshire legis- lature in the years 1853, 1863, and 1864. In. 1854 he was elected a member of the Board of Education, and the ensuing year its President. In 1869 he was appointed by President Grant United States District Attorney for the dis- trict of New Hampshire, and he occupied the office five years. Mr. Rolfe has always been a man who practised the strictest temperance in all his personal habits, never having used to- bacco or strong drink in the course of his life.
In religion he is an Episcopalian, and is a communicant of St. Paul's Church in Con- cord. At one period of his life he was an active member of the old Dartmouth "Pha- lanx," training on the right of the regiment and right of his company as the tallest man. He belongs to the fraternal organizations of the Temple of Honor and the United Order of Pilgrim Fathers, and was the first Governor of the first order of the latter lodge ever estab- lished in the State of New Hampshire. Mr. Rolfe was a sympathetic and active partici-
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pant, up to the time of his accident, in all matters relating to the welfare and higher. development of Concord; and his enforced re- tirement from public affairs while still in the midst of his usefulness has occasioned much regret among his fellow-citizens.
OLONEL GEORGE H. DANA, a retired East India merchant residing in Newport, N. H., was born in Bos- ton, September 2, 1837. Son of the late Francis Dana, Jr., M.D., for many years a practising physician in Boston and Cambridge, he comes of old and honored Colonial stock, being a member of the Massachusetts family of this name that has given to the country so many citizens of worth and distinction. In an article recently published in Munscy's Maga- sine it is well stated that "of all American families there are few that can compare, in number of men eminent in various spheres, with the Danas." Its founder was Richard Dana, who settled at Cambridge, Mass., about 1640. Continuing the quotation : "The lives and records of those of his progeny who have perpetuated the family name are interwoven with the very life of the nation. They were soldiers and statesmen ; hands that helped to lay the corner-stone of the republic; patriots who. rallied at Bunker Hill, who responded again to the call of freedom in 1812, and who in our Civil War hastened to attest their right to the family name by a display of the heroic spirit of their sires."
Daniel Dana, the fourth son of Richard, owned at one time the greater part of Cam- bridge. This possession was divided among his children. Richard, the son of Daniel, was a prominent jurist and patriot. He died in 1772. His son Francis, Sr., was the first Chief Justice of Massachusetts, and was first
United States Minister to Russia. He mar- ried Elizabeth, daughter of William Ellery, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He had three children - Francis, Edmund, and Richard Henry. The latter was one of the founders of the North American Review and author of the "Buccaneer," etc. The eldest son, Francis, was a merchant, and spent many years in Russia and Hamburg. He married Sophia, daughter. of President Willard of Harvard College, and had by her four children - Sophia (afterward wife of George Ripley, literary editor of the New York Tribunc), Mary Elizabeth, Francis, and Joseph.
Francis Dana, Jr., the father of the Colonel, graduated from Harvard College, as did his father before him. He took up the study of medicine at the Harvard Medical School, and became a physician of high rank in Boston and Cambridge. He married Isabella, daughter of Moses Hazen White, and grand-daughter of Dr. John Frink, of Rutland, Mass. In relig- ion he was an Episcopalian. He lived to the age of seventy-two years. Of his four chil- dren Francis and William died young. The others are: Isabella, who resides in Boston ; and George H.
Before the war of the Rebellion George H. Dana was engaged in mercantile pursuits in the East Indies. He returned to his native land in 1861 to join the Northern forces, enlisting in the Thirty-second Massa- chusetts Regiment as Second Lieutenant. During the war he engaged in twenty-seven battles, and was seriously wounded in the arm at the battle of Gettysburg. For one year he was on detailed duty, and during a part of that time served on the staff of his cousin, General N. J. T. Dana. He was made Lieutenant Colonel for his meritorious conduct and bravery in battle, and his military record is an
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honor to himself and to his noble lineage. At the close of the war he resumed his busi- ness relations with his partners in the East Indies, and remained there until 1871. Re- turning to the United States, he took up his residence in Newport, N. H., spending his sum- mers at Lake Sunapee, where he has large real estate interests.
Colonel Dana was married in 1865 to Fran- ces Matson Burke, daughter of Edmund Burke, of Newport. Her father was an eminent law- yer, a member of Congress, and a political writer of national importance. He was Com- missioner of Patents under the administration of President Polk. To Colonel and Mrs. Dana one son has been born, the fifth Francis. He is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and a member of the Suffolk County bar. After two years spent in the practice of his profes- sion he accepted a professorship at the St. Paul's School at Concord. He is a young man of brilliant literary attainments, and has already published many well-received stories and poems. His first novel, just completed, has been published by Harper Brothers.
ON. WILLIAM H. BARTLETT, formerly an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, was born in Salisbury, N. H., August 20, 1827. His paternal ancestry were prominent in early Colonial affairs, and several of them served in the Continental army during the Revolutionary War .. A brother of Judge Bartlett was at one time President of Dart- mouth College. An extended account of the family will be found in the History of the Town of Salisbury.
Mr. Bartlett graduated from Dartmouth College, on which occasion he was the vale- dictorian of his class. His law studies were
pursued with Judges Perley and Bellows. After his admission to the bar he entered upon the practice of his profession with an energy that soon placed him in the foremost rank among his legal associates in Merrimack County. He not only displayed the essential qualities which characterize an able, forcible advocate, but he became noted for his profound scholarship and thorough understanding of the elementary principles of law. In 1861 he was appointed to a seat upon the Supreme Bench. This important position he filled ably and impartially until his death, which occurred September 24, 1867.
On May 8, 1856, Judge Bartlett was united in marriage with Caroline Baker, who survives him. She was born in Concord, daughter of Abel and Nancy (Bradley) Baker, old and highly esteemed residents of this city. Abel Baker took a prominent part in public affairs, served as Representative to the legislature, and acted as a Justice of the Peace for many years. He lived to the age of seventy-three years. His wife, who died at the age of fifty-nine, was a daughter of Samuel and Kate (Green) Brad- ley. The Green family once owned that part of the capitol grounds adjoining Main Street, and Mrs. Bartlett's mother remembered when the present site of the State House was a po- tato field. Nathaniel Bradley Baker, only son of Abel and Nancy (Bradley) Baker, was Gov- ernor of New Hampshire in the year 1853. He died in 1876, leaving a widow and four children, each of whom has occupied promi- nent positions in different sections of the country.
RANK R. WOODWARD, a widely known manufacturer and a prominent resident of Hill, was born in the town of Salisbury, February 9, 1845, son of Daniel S. Woodward, of that place. Ancestors of his
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on both the maternal and paternal lines were brave and gallant soldiers. His great-grand- father Woodward, the first representative of the family in this country, who came here from Ireland in the first half of the last century, and settled in Maine, fought in the war of the Revolution; and his sons, Stephen and Jesse, fought in the second war with England. Daniel Woodward, a son of Jesse, married Dorcas, daughter of Enoch Adams, of Salis- bury, who fought in the war of Independence from April, 1775, until its close. In 1848 Daniel moved to Penacook, then called Fisherville, and later to Franklin.
Frank R. Woodward received his education in the public schools of Franklin and at Noyes Academy. In 1868 he went to Manchester, where he-was employed as superintendent of the Forsaith Latch Needle Factory. Two years later he purchased the business, and in 1872 he moved the plant to Hill. In the fol- lowing year he sold the needle factory in order to engage in the manufacture of glass-cutters and other light hardware. He has continued in this line of business up to the present time, gaining a wide reputation in Europe as well as in this country. The establishment of the factory in Hill has stimulated the other indus- tries of the town, and has been of great bene- fit in giving employment to many workmen. Other advantages have come through Mr. Woodward's personal efforts and private be- neficences. In 1884 he laid out and graded Pleasant Hill Cemetery, which occupies a beautiful location upon a hill overlooking the village, dedicating it to the memory of his eldest daughter, May, who died May 2, 1884, at the age of thirteen years. Previous to this there had been no cemetery in town worthy of the name, and it is greatly appreciated by the residents. In 1885 he erected in the village a fine block containing a large hall, a store,
and a number of tenements. Two years later he was engaged in making a large addition, but before the work was completed the entire structure was burned. Mr. Woodward has also built a system of water-works, with which he supplies water from springs on his property to all the villagers who desire. it. Connected with the pipes also are hydrants for protec- tion against fire, and the supply and pressure of water is excellent. When the village church was burned some years since, Mr. Woodward gave the society the lot and foun- dation for the new edifice, and took charge of its building.
Outside his manufacturing business Mr. Woodward is greatly interested in agricultural pursuits. He owns two farms, one in the village of Hill and one three miles outside. On these farms there is produced large quan- tities of milk, which is sold readily at the cars. Mr. Woodward is a charter member and the first Overseer of Pemigewasset Grange, No. 107; and he has served as its Master, Secre- tary, and Lecturer. He is also a member of Merrimack County Pomona Grange, of various Masonic bodies, of the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Red Men, and the Good Templars. In the Good Templars he is a charter member of Hill Lodge, and for a number of terms has been Chief Templar.
Mr. Woodward has been twice married. The five children of his first marriage are de- ceased. The present Mrs. Woodward, whose maiden name was Ella E. Hilpert, has one son, Harold A., born April 29, 1888. Mr. Woodward belongs to the Christian Church of Hill, and is a life Director of the society. He has charge of the church property, and has been superintendent of the Sunday-school since it started, nine years ago. In politics he is a Democrat. Keenly alive to all the public interests of his town, he has taken an
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active part in its affairs. He has served it on its Board of Education and in the capaci- ties of Supervisor and Postmaster; and he represented it in the State legislature in 1884. As the town is strongly Republican, his election to the legislature was remarkable testimony of the great esteem in which he is held by his townsmen of all parties.
RA CUTTING EVANS, a well-known printer and publisher of Concord, was born in Hill, N.H., April 16, 1841, son of Jonathan and Olive Aiken (Cutting) Evans. His parents were natives of the State, and have resided in Merrimack County over fifty years. On the paternal side Mr. Evans is a descendant of John Evans, who served in most of the important battles fought in Northern New England during the struggle for Ameri- .. can independence. The Cutting family is an old and highly reputable one; and John O. Cutting, the maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, served as a soldier in the War of 1812, and was a prominent resi- dent of Concord in his day.
Mr. Evans attended the public schools of Concord until he was fourteen years old, and then entered the employ of McFarland & Jenks, publishers of the New Hampshire Statesman. On August 13, 1862, he en - listed as a private in the Twelfth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers, for service in the Civil War. The regiment joined the Army of the Potomac at Pleasant Valley, Md., and participated in all its battles. After the battle of Gettysburg, in company with the Second and Fifth New Hampshire Regiments, it was sent to Point Lookout, Md., where it was quartered some eight months, waiting for recruits. When again ordered to active duty, it was attached to the Army of the James,
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