USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 18
USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 18
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OHN SWASEY, formerly a well-known merchant of Claremont, was born in Canterbury, N. H., July 21, 1785. He engaged in mercantile pursuits in Claremont, and conducted a profitable business until his death, which occurred October 13, 1835, at the age of fifty years.
Mr. Swasey married 'Sally Robinson, a na- tive of Epping, N. H., and a daughter of Noah and Sally Robinson. Mrs. Swasey became the mother of six daughters; namely, Ann Elizabeth, Sophia Charlotte, Sarah Jane, Lydia Ann, Adeline Maria, and Juliette Frances. Ann Elizabeth married Captain Alden Partridge, a military man of note, who founded a military college in Norwich, Vt. Her children were: George, who is no longer living; and Henry V. Sophia Charlotte, who became the wife of General Edward Phelps, a prominent resident of Cold Brook, Conn., died in 1893. Lydia Ann is now deceased. Adeline Maria married Lieutenant George M. Colvocoresses, who was in the United States Navy during the Civil War, and remained in the service after its close. He had risen in
his profession to a position from which his ad- vancement would have been rapid, when he was accidentally killed in Bridgeport, Conn., while on his way to New York. He was twice married, and had four children by his first union. Miss Sarah Jane Swasey and Mrs. Colvocoresses are residing in Claremont. Mrs. John Swasey died October 11, 1852.
EACON SAMUEL W. CARTER and his brother, Harrison, well- known natives and residents of Henniker, are sons of Nathan and Margery (Wadsworth) Carter. Their grandfather, Samuel Carter, who was born in Wilmington, Mass., in 1758, settled in Hillsborough County after his marriage. Samuel's wife, Molly Abbott Carter, was born May 18, 1769, in Londonderry, N. H.
Nathan Carter was born in Hillsborough County. When a young man he settled at Westboro Corner in the town of Henniker. He was a carpenter, and he followed that trade for forty-three years as a contractor and builder. It was said that there was not a house in the town that he had not worked upon either as builder or jobber. A skilful work- man, he took special pride in executing fine cabinet work, many specimens of which are still in the family's possession. He owned a good farm at Westboro Corner, where his shop was located. At his death on June 4, 1880, aged eighty-four years, he left an estate val- ued at ten thousand dollars. Possessed of re- markable strength, he was able to climb to an unusual height when over eighty years old, and his activity continued up to the time of his death. He served in the garrison at Portsmouth during the War of 1812, and in his later years he received a pension from the government. His wife, Margery, whom he
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married November 24, 1819, was a daughter of Aaron and Sally (Wood) Wadsworth. She became the mother of seven children, namely : William Harrison, born March 1, 1822, who died August 16, 1823; Caroline Matilda, born July 8, 1824, who died February 12, 1826; Samuel Worcester, born February 6, 1827; the Rev. Nathaniel Franklin Carter, born Jan- uary 6, 1830, who is now Librarian of the Historical Society in Concord; Henry Carle- ton, born November 30, 1834, who died Janu- ary 21, 1894; Harrison, born January 16, 1837; and William Frederick, born November II, 1840, who died April 14, 1859. Henry Carleton was for many years a prominent busi- ness man of Concord. He married Clara Ferrin, who survives him. Nathan and Mar- gery Carter were both members of the Congre- gational church, which they joined respec- tively in 1825 and 1831. Their children received strict training in both religion and temperance. The mother died January 23, 1892, in her ninety-first year.
Harrison Carter succeeded his father in the possession of the homestead, and resided there until 1895. In that year he sold the property to a cousin, Enos Carter. He is well in- formed upon all current topics, and is espe- cially familiar with local history.
Samuel Worcester Carter resided in Brad- ford for two years following his marriage. In 1852 he settled upon a farm which his father owned, and which adjoined the homestead. He continued to till the soil and raise poultry until 1891, when he sold his property. He is now living in retirement in the village.
On February 1, 1849, Samuel W. Carter married Fidelia H. Smith, who was born in Langdon, July 29, 1827, daughter of Elias and Matilda (Stiles) Smith. While serving as a privateer during the War of 1812, her father was captured by the British, and was held a
prisoner on board a war vessel and on the island of Bermuda for sixteen months. Mrs. Carter resided for some time with her ma- ternal grandparents, Moses and Mary (Ken- ney) Stiles, in Bradford, where she became acquainted with her future husband. Mr. and Mrs. Carter have one daughter, Ella Matilda, who was born August 2, 1856. On October 19, 1876, Ella Matilda Carter married Wallace A. Howlet, a painter, paper-hanger, and dec- orator, and now has one son, Wilmer Harri- son, born April 25, 1894.
In politics the Messrs. Carter are Republi- cans. Harrison Carter served as Supervisor for eight years. Both are earnest advocates of temperance and the prohibitory law. Samuel W. Carter united with the Congregational church when fifteen years old, and has been a member for about fifty-four years. For twenty years he has acted as a Deacon, and has been very active in Sunday-school work.
OHN C. SMITH, a successful dairy farmer of Franklin, was born in this town, May 2, 1842, son of Charles and Jeanette (Mann) Smith. His father, who was a lifelong resident of Franklin, and owned and successfully conducted a good farm located in the southern part of the town, died in Octo- ber, 1889. His mother, a native of Salis- bury, N. H., had five children, as follows : John C., the subject of this sketch; Elbridge, who married Emma Calef, and died October 1, 1895; Warren, who died in March, 1883, aged twenty-nine years; Jane, who married Warren Webster, and resides at the home- stead; and Charles, who was drowned in the Merrimac River in September, 1889, at the age of twenty years. John C. Smith's mother is still living, and resides at the homestead with her daughter.
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John C. Smith began his education in the common schools, and completed his studies at the Tilton Academy. He remained at home until after his marriage. Then, settling upon a farm on Smith's Hill, he resided there for twenty years. About the year 1882 he moved to the farm he now occupies, and where he is largely interested in dairying. He owns two farms, respectively containing two hundred acres and seventy-five acres, the soil of which he has greatly improved. He keeps an average of twenty-five head of cattle, and car- ries on a profitable milk business in Franklin and Franklin Falls.
On January 2, 1862, Mr. Smith was joined in marriage with Vesta L. Shaw, who was born in Salisbury, May 14, 1838, daughter of Abram and Hannah (Fifield) Shaw. Her father was a native of Weare, N.H .; and her mother was born in Franklin. Her parents resided upon a farm in Salisbury for many years, and died in that town. They had six children, four of whom are living; namely, Amos F., Calvin G., Vesta L., and Amanda. Amanda married James Morrison, and lives in South Dakota. The others were: Adeline E., who married Adams W. Batchelder, of East Andover; and Mary Saline, who was the wife of Elbridge Gerry Emery. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had three children - Jabez R., Maud Eveline, and Blanche Ethelyn. Jabez R., born Septe:nber 16, 1862, married Fanny Fellows, and resides in Franklin. Maud Eveline, who was born January 25, 1869, is now the wife of Walter Woodward, and re- sides in this town. Blanche Ethelyn, born August 1, 1883, died March 3, 1885. In pol- itics Mr. Smith supports the Democratic party, but he takes no interest in public affairs beyond casting his vote. Both he and Mrs. Smith are members of the Congregational church.
LAYTON B. HILLIARD, a leading resident and native of South Cornish, was born November 26, 1863, son of Joseph and May (Bryant) Hilliard. His grandfather, Joseph Hilliard, Sr., was a farmer and carpenter and a prominent man in his day. In politics he was a Democrat and in religion a Baptist. His wife, Roxie Day Hilliard, bore him ten children - Rufus, Hiram, George, Emmeline, Betsy, Roxie, Charlotte, Jane, Joseph, and Chester. Rufus, who was a farmer and carpenter, was born in Cornish, and died in 1894. He married Martha McClurer, and had two children. Hiram, a farmer and a Democrat, married Belle Demming, and had a family of six chil- dren, all of whom are living. George, who is a farmer at Saxton's River, Vt., married Lula Fletcher, and has had five children. Chester went to California when a young man, and died there. Emmeline, now deceased, mar- ried Ira Procter, of Claremont, and had one child, who is living in Kansas. Roxie be- came the second wife of her brother-in-law, Ira Procter, and the mother of three children. Betsy became Mrs. Adna Keys, of Acworth. Both she and her husband are deceased, while their two children are living in Minnesota. Charlotte, who married Quartus Fletcher, had a number of children, and is living at New- port, this State. Jane is Mrs. Amos Richard- son, of Cornish, and the mother of three chil- dren. Joseph Hilliard, father of Mr. Clayton Hilliard, married May, daughter of Aaron Bryant. Their six children were: Ada, Julia, Nellie, Adna, Clayton, and Luman. Ada is now the wife of Frank Weld and the mother of one child; Julia lives at home with her mother; Nellie is now Mrs. Herbert Dem- ming, and has four sons; Adna is a farmer, and lives at home, working on his mother's estate; Luman married Ida York, of Cornish,
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and is living in Claremont, engaged in the livery business.
Clayton B. Hilliard, after being educated in the town schools of Cornish, began life for himself as a farmer, and later worked in the butcher's business. He is quite prominently identified with the politics of the town, and is well informed on all questions of public or local interest. The community had the ad- vantage of his services in the capacity of Se- lectman for one term. Few residents are more active in forwarding movements for the general welfare. He married Sybil Lear, daughter of William and Hannah (Fletcher) Lear. She is the mother of two children - Ethel Hilliard and Wallace Hilliard. Mrs. Hilliard's mother died about ten years ago.
APTAIN JOHN P. KNOWLTON, a retired merchant of Sunapee, was born in that town, October 10, 1821, son of Samuel and Betsey (Pike) Knowlton. The grandfather, Robert Knowl- ton, was one of the pioneer settlers of New London, N.H., and a leading man in his time. He was a well-educated man and a successful school teacher. He also had time to attend to farming. His last years were spent in the State of Indiana, where he died at an advanced age. He married a lady named Smith, and she also lived to a good old age.
Samuel Knowlton, born June 16, 1791, was a farmer, and spent the greater part of his life in Sunapee, to which he came when he was a young man. He was also engaged in hewing lumber, saw-mills being then very scarce. His religious views were liberal, and he was a Jeffersonian Democrat. He filled various offices of greater or less importance in his town, and was in the State legislature for two
years. His wife, Betsey, who was born in New London in 1787, September II, had three children, of whom John P. is the only survivor. The father died in Sunapee, Sep- tember 13, 1846, and the mother, August 28, 1881. The two sons not living were: Dennis G., born September 23, 1815, who died April II, 1894; and Moses F., born July 19, 1817, who died November 9, 1854. Moses F. left a daughter, Ellen A., who is a successful school teacher. An interesting fact about these three men is that they were the tallest men in the town of Sunapee. Dennis was six feet, four inches; Moses, six feet, seven inches; and John P., six feet, six inches.
John P. Knowlton received his education in the town schools. Then he took up farming, and worked on the home farm for two years, and elsewhere for two or three years. His wages were not large; but in haying time he made a dollar a day, which was considered very good pay. Subsequently he became in- terested in a mercantile business, and entered into partnership with his brother in the year 1844. After eight years or more he bought out his brother's interest, and went on as sole proprietor until 1862. At that time he dis- posed of the business altogether, and retired to his farm. To-day he owns a fine, small farm of twenty-five acres, and has also a com- fortable residence, which was built under his personal supervision. In 1870 he erected the large Knowlton Block. He had been a Di- rector of the First National Bank of Newport, N.H., for several years when he resigned the office. He was appointed Postmaster in 1845, September 12, and held the office for eleven years. On January 4, 1848, Governor Jared B. Williams created him Captain of the mili- tia company called the Sunapee Guards. The commission, bearing the signatures of the Governor and the Secretary of State, Thomas
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JOHN P. KNOWLTON.
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R. Treadwell, of Portsmouth, is carefully pre- served by the Captain. For four years he was Town Clerk, and for one year Town Treas- urer. In 1856-57 he served as State Repre- sentative, and he was a Justice of the Peace for several years. . While bound to no partic- ular creed in religion, he inclines to the Uni- versalist belief. In politics he is a Democrat.
Captain Knowlton was married October 23, 1848, to Abby S., who was born in New Lon- don, April 16, 1826, daughter of William and Mary (Stevens) Morgan. William Morgan was born in the latter town, April 15, 1796, and his wife, in Newbury, April 27, 1797. He died October 7, 1875, and she died No- vember 19, 1885. They had eight children, three only of whom are now living. These are: Belden Morgan, of New London; Simeon F., of Richland, Cal. ; and Mrs. Knowlton. The names of the other children were: Thomas, Marshall, Franklin, Marietta, and Alonzo. Mrs. Knowlton has had no children.
Captain Knowlton has been a very success- ful man. Considering the fact in connection with the circumstance that at the age of twenty-one his worldly possessions amounted to twenty-five dollars, no further proof of his industry and enterprise is necessary. Both he and his wife have a large circle of friends.
OHN S. RAND, a leading business man of Pittsfield, Merrimack County, and a member of the New Hampshire legislature, was born in Barnstead, N. H., September 14, 1855, son of Hiram and Harriet .V. (Hoyt) Rand. His great-grandfather, Samuel Rand, was a native of Barnstead, and a farmer and a mechanic by occupation. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Hill. Of his four children Moses H., grandfather of John S., was the oldest. Moses H. Rand was
brought up to farming, which occupation he followed in Barnstead during his active period. In politics he acted with the Democratic party, and in his religious belief he was a Free Will Baptist. He lived to reach the age of over eighty years. He married Ann Bunker, a native of Barnstead; and her death occurred at about the same age as that of her husband. She reared four children, three of whom are living: Dr. Joseph B .; Hiram; and Mary, who married Isaac A. Fletcher, of Lowell, Mass. The latter's only daughter, Anna D., married George Rogers, of that city, and has five children.
Hiram Rand, John S. Rand's father, grew to manhood in Barnstead, and has been en- gaged in agricultural pursuits from an early age. At the present time he owns a farm con- taining fifteen acres of fertile land, which he cultivates successfully. His wife, who was before marriage Harriet N. Hoyt, a daughter of Benjamin Hoyt, of Barnstead, has had two children, of whom John S., the subject of this sketch, is the only one living. Hiram Rand is a Republican in politics, and, though not an office-seeker, he takes an active interest in local affairs and the cause of good government. He and his wife are members of the Congrega- tional church, of which he is a Deacon. He is also superintendent of the Sunday-school.
John S. Rand was educated at the Pitts- field Academy. He taught schools in Pitts- field and Alton, N. H., and on Deer Island, Boston Harbor, being thus engaged for about two years. He was also connected with a shoe manufactory in Boston for a time. Since 1884 he has conducted a flourishing dry-goods business in Pittsfield. His progressive and enterprising nature has led him into various fields of business activity, and he is now President of the Pittsfield Shoe Company and a Director of the Farmers' Savings Bank.
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On November 30, 1879, Mr. Rand was united in marriage with Miss Hattie M. Foote, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (East- man) Foote, of this town.
As an active supporter of the Republican party Mr. Rand has long been a prominent factor in the political affairs of Pittsfield, and he was elected to the House of Representa- tives in 1896. He is connected with Suncook Lodge, No. 10, I. O. O. F. His religious affiliations are with the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Rand is a member; and he was formerly superintendent of the Sunday- school.
ENRY A. EMERSON, the President and Treasurer of the Contoocook Valley Paper Company, whose plant is located in West Henniker, was born in Concord, N.H., May 1, 1837, son of Fenner H. and Clarinda B. (Baker) Emerson. His father, a native of Rhode Island, was con- nected with the paper manufacturing industry in this State for many years. Both his par- ents passed their last years with him, and died in Henniker.
At the age of seventeen, having acquired a good practical education, Mr. Emerson began to learn the business of paper-maker. Com- mencing at the lowest round of the ladder in a paper-mill of Pepperell, Mass., he worked his way upward through the various departments until he had acquired a good knowledge of the trade. He was later employed in mills at Leominster, Mass., and Franklin, N.H. Finally he was appointed superintendent of a mill in Pepperell, Mass., which position he occupied for three years. Having saved some capital by then, he was desirous of en- gaging in business on his own account, and looked about for a suitable place in which to carry out his purpose. In 1871 he became
favorably impressed with the future prospect of a paper-mill in Henniker. With P. C. Cheney & Co., of Manchester, and H. T. Hill he began operations in an old mill here; and a short time later the Nashua Card and Glazed Paper Company secured the interest of Cheney & Co. In 1872 the Contoocook Valley Paper Company was incorporated with a capital stock of seventy-five thousand dol- lars, and a large mill was erected in West Henniker .. The business grew in importance ; and, as Mr. Emerson gradually acquired the greater part of the capital stock, he became the President in 1880 and the Treasurer in 1886. The plant is propelled by water, hav- ing a capacity of three hundred horse-power, more than half of which is utilized. The annual product, which is of a superior quality, amounts to about seven hundred tons. For the past fourteen years the Contoocook Valley Company has furnished the paper used in the State printing office. Mr. Emerson is also interested in other enterprises. He is a Di- rector of the Hillsborough Electric Light Company; was for eleven years President of the Henniker Spring Water Company; owns stock in the Walworth Manufacturing Com- pany, and in several railroad companies, in- cluding those of the Connecticut River, the New York, New Haven & Hartford, the Con- cord & Montreal, the New Boston, and the Amoskeag; and he has also invested to some extent in Western securities. In 1888 he built the Emerson Block, a frame structure of three stories. In 1876 and 1878 he was elected a Representative to the legislature as a Democrat, and during his term served upon the Committee on Corporations. He continued to vote with the Democratic party until 1894, when he became a Republican. In the last national campaign he was an active supporter of Mckinley and sound money.
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On January 1, 1864, in Litchfield, N.H., Mr. Emerson was united in marriage with Louisa M. Lydston, a native of Hillsborough County. He is the President of the Henniker Free Library Association, which occupies quarters in his block. Included in his house- hold property is a library, containing about two thousand well-selected volumes. He has been connected with the Congregational church since coming to Henniker, and for sev- eral years he sang in the choir.
ALLACE P. THRASHER, a well- known business man of Plainfield, was born in Cornish, N. H., May 10, 1850, son of Samuel Powers and Ann W. (Haven) Thrasher. His great-grandfather was Jacob Thrasher, a native of Connecticut, who first settled in Salisbury, N. H., and later in Cornish. The maiden name of Jacob's wife was Eastman. Numerous de- scendants of his are distributed throughout Sullivan County.
John Thrasher, grandfather of Wallace P., was born in Cornish in 1782. He was a sur- veyor and a stone mason, and did a large con- tract business in connection with farming. He attended to a large amount of the legal business of Cornish and adjoining towns, and was a man of much natural ability and good judgment. His death occurred in 1862. He married Betsey, daughter of Peter Walker, of Cornish, and reared a family of six children - Martha, Ithamar, Esther, Sylvia, Samuel, and Dorothy. Martha became Mrs. Wheeler, and resided in Newport until her death. Ithamar, who was a large dealer in furs, and travelled through Vermont and New Hampshire pur- chasing goods, died in Corinth, Vt., in 1864, at the age of fifty-four years. He wedded Mary Ann Cotton, of Cornish, and his chil-
dren were named: Benjamin, Francimore, Edwin, Ellen, Annette, Arthur, Carrie, and Henry. His sister Esther, who became the wife of Moses Wright, of Cornish, lived in that town and Unity, had a large family of children, and died in the latter town. Sylvia married Sylvester Stowell, of Cornish, a ma- chinist, who followed his trade in Newport, N.H., and died leaving one daughter, Eliza- beth. Dorothy Thrasher became the second wife of Sylvester Stowell, and died in Unity.
Samuel Powers Thrasher, also a native of Cornish, was born in October, 1815. After completing his education, he learned the trade cf a stone mason, and subsequently became an extensive contractor. He constructed or re- modelled nearly every bridge upon the line of the Vermont Central Railroad. He also erected churches, school-hcuses, and govern- ment buildings. In politics he always be- longed to the Democratic party, and he was frequently nominated to public offices. He was finally elected to the State Senate, and was a member of that body at the time of his death, which occurred in Claremont, April 12, 1871. In his religious views he was a Universalist, and he took a deep interest in the church work. In Masonry he had ad- vanced to the Royal Arch degree, and he was buried with the rites of the fraternity. He married Ann W. Haven, daughter of James and Calista Haven, of Newport, N.H. She became the mother of thirteen children, all of whom reached maturity. They were born as follows: Laura, September 4, 1845; Winfield Scott, May 5, 1847; Flora A., October 3, 1849; Wallace P., the subject of this sketch; Charles H., January 10, 1852; Frank P., September 10, 1853; Ned, January 30, 1855; James B., September 29, 1856; Samuel P., May 9, 1858; Emma E., May 16, 1860; Elmer J., January 22, 1862; George B.,
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September 3, 1863; and Nettie M., January 22, 1865. Laura married Henry Seaver, a farmer of Norwich, Vt., and died May 30, 1895, leaving four children. Winfield Scott wedded Mary Allen, daughter of the Hon. Norman N. Allen, a prominent lawyer and an
ex-State Senator of Dayton, N. Y. He studied law in the office of his father-in-law, with whom he is now associated, and is an expert in real estate and medical cases, being largely engaged as a referee throughout Western New York. He has had ten chil- dren, nine of whom are living. Flora mar- ried Frank L. Simmonds, a native of Franklin, N. H., who is now a machinist in Tilton. She has had four children, of whom three are living. Charles H., who became a building contractor, and erected many residences in Newton, Mass., and other towns adjoining Boston, died of lockjaw in a Boston hospital, May 3, 1892. He married Ida Dickinson, and was the father of seven children, all of whom are living in Newtonville, Mass. Frank P. is a member of the Paris Night Robe Company, Meredith, N.H. He first married Eva Stevens, of Claremont, who was the mother of three children. His second mar- riage was contracted with Imo Lanou, of Irasburg, Vt., who died some two years ago. Ned Thrasher, now a prosperous farmer in Rindge, N. H., served as Postmaster under both the Cleveland administrations. He mar- ried Emma L. Walker, of Rindge; and four of his five children are living. James B., who is a travelling salesman for a lasting-machine company of Boston, and has had a large expe- rience as a shoe manufacturer, now lives at North Adams, Mass. He married Anna Glines, of Claremont. Samuel P. Thrasher is now the Secretary and Manager of the Con- necticut State Law and Order League, and resides in New Haven. When quite young
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