USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 20
USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 20
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70
Mr. Call has been twice married. On June 6; 1869, he wedded Emily W. Eaton, who died December 11, 1873. She was a daugh- ter of the late Wheeler Eaton, formerly a prosperous farmer of Franklin. On January 29, 1876, Mr. Call was united in marriage with his present wife, whose maiden name was Nellie E. Bunton. She was born in Sanborn- ton, N.H., October 20, 1849, daughter of Charles and Adeline (Shaw) Bunton, natives respectively of Hookset and Sanbornton, N.H. Charles Bunton followed the blacksmith's trade in Manchester for some time, and for ten years carried on a farm in Auburn, N.H. His wife died April 5, 1881 ; and he is now living with his daughter, Mrs. Call. Mr. Call's children by his first marriage were: Lola H., who married Lee Stackpole, an oper- ative in a needle factory at Filmont, N. Y .; and Mabel E., now the wife of Alfred M. Kelley, of Hill, N.H. Charles Herman Call, the only son of the present union, was born in Franklin, N.H., August 26, 1877, and is now a plumber of Franklin.
Mr. Call is a member of Meridian Lodge, No. 60, F. & A. M .; of Merrimack Lodge, I. O. O. F. ; of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Knights of Honor, and the grange in Hill. He is in religious communion
168
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
with the Christian church. The Call family is one of the oldest in Franklin. Among sev- eral interesting relics left by his ancestry Mr. Call has in his possession a boat chain and a chair which once belonged to Daniel Webster.
JDWARD O. DAY, an influential citi- zen of Cornish, Sullivan County, N. H., is a native of this town. He was born June 21, 1838, his parents being Hiram and Louisa (Wyman) Day. The Day family is an old one in this country, and the name
has been borne by several generations of up- right men and women. The first representa- tive in America was Anthony Day, of Glouces- ter, Mass., who died there in 1717, at the age of ninety-four years. His son Nathaniel and the next two in line, Benjamin and Benjamin, Jr., were born in Attleboro, Mass. Peletiah, who came next and was the great-grandfather of Mr. Edward O. Day, was born in Norton, Mass.
His son Rufus, who was born in Taunton, Mass., May 3, 1770, and died November 16, 1838, was the first of the name to settle in Cornish. Rufus Day was twice married, his first wife being Betty Commings, of Cornish, by whom he had the following children: Rox- anna, Sylvia, Rebecca, Samuel C., Eliza, Hiram A., Emmeline, and Lucinda. Rox- anna Day married Joseph Hilliard, a prosper- ous farmer of Cornish, and died April 19, 1878. Rebecca, who married Saul Wyman, died July 1, 1881 ; and her five children are likewise dead. Sylvia married Joseph Rich- ardson, a farmer and brick mason of Cornish, and died February 14, 1882. Of her six chil- dren one is living. Samuel C., who was a shoemaker, died June 2, 1875. His wife, formerly a Miss Wood, is deceased; but three children are living. Eliza married Samuel
Jones, a farmer of Montpelier, Vt., and had five children, two of whom are living. She died May 23, 1890. Samuel Jones is also de- ceased. Emmeline married Ariel K. Wood, and died July 16, 1887. Her husband is also deceased. Four of their children are living. Lucinda married Alvin Commings. They are both living, and have two children. Betty Commings Day died August 9, 1825; and Rufus Day married for his second wife Phebe Choate White, who died March 3, 1839, leav- ing no children.
Hiram A. Day, father of the subject of this sketch, was a well-known and highly re- spected farmer of Cornish. He was a Repre- sentative in 1883. He married Louisa Wyman, and had five children - Edward O., Henry M., Charles F., Caroline L., and Martha W. Henry Day, born in Cornish, August 29, 1842, married Alice H. Peck. He is in the insurance business in Lebanon, N.H., and is a Representative from that town at the present session of the legislature. Charles F., born January 28, 1844, enlisted as a private at Cornish in 1862, in Company E of the Ninth Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, and afterward became Corporal. He was taken prisoner at Poplar Grove Church, September 30, 1864, and died December 25, 1864, at Salisbury Prison. Caroline L., born September 12, 1846, resides at Cornish. Martha, born November 28, 1851, has been a school teacher for a number of years. Hiram A. Day died January 10, 1895.
Mr. Edward O. Day began his working life as a tiller of the soil, and has been interested in agricultural pursuits up to the present time. He is a successful farmer and a useful citizen, being well informed on current events, and through the columns of the daily press keep- ing in touch with all the great social and in- dustrial questions of the day. He has served
£
MOODY A. PILLSBURY.
£
171
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
his town as Selectman for nine years; and in 1893 he represented it in the State legislature, where he was a member of the Committee on Mileage. He has been Highway Surveyor for a number of years. He is a prominent Mason, and has held all offices in his lodge up to that of Master. He is an attendant of the Baptist church. He married L. Addie Spaulding, who was born November 2, 1843. Her parents, Siloam and Mahala (Silloway) Spaulding, were both natives of Plainfield, N.H. A singular coincidence in their lives is that both were born in the same town in March, that they were married in March, and that both died in the month of March in the same year, 1885.
OODY A. PILLSBURY, a retired farmer of Webster and an ex- member of the New Hampshire legislature, was born in this town, September 20, 1820, son of Moody A. and Abigail Wil- kins (Dix) Pillsbury. His grandparents, Daniel and Eunice (Thurlow) Pillsbury, were natives of Newburyport, Mass. Daniel Pills- bury and a brother removed to Boscawen in 1788, and settled on land now traversed by Water Street. He was a carpenter and a mill- wright, which trades, together with farming, he followed during the active period of his life; and he died December 8, 1844. His wife died October 27, 1847. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom one died in infancy. The others were: Daniel, Enoch, George T., Moody A., Rebecca, Paul P., Jo- seph, Eunice, Mary, Sarah, and William T.
Moody A. Pillsbury, Sr., father of the sub- ject of this sketch, was born in Boscawen, and reared upon a farm. He followed agriculture, and also operated a saw-mill for many years. In the State militia he was a Colonel and
later a Brigadier-general. He died January 8, 1863. His first wife, Abigail, died May 9, 1852. A second marriage united him to Louisa F. Dix, his first wife's sister, now liv- ing in Webster, and ninety years old. Timo- thy Dix, the father of both wives, was for- merly a resident of Boscawen. He moved to Massachusetts and later to Canada, where his last days were passed. Moody A. and Abi- gail Pillsbury were the parents of four chil- dren, namely: Moody A., the subject of this sketch; George, born October 17, 1823; Charles W., born June 7, 1826, who was drowned May 17, 1828; and Charles S., born April 14, 1828. George married Lydia A. Marshall, and is now a farmer in Tewksbury, Mass. Charles S. wedded Mary Runals, and is engaged in agricultural pursuits in London- derry, N.H.
Moody A. Pillsbury obtained his education in a common school and a private academy. When twenty-one years old he went to West Newbury, Mass., and for some years was em- ployed as a farm assistant in that vicinity. One year after his marriage he returned to Webster, where for some time he was a clerk in a store. His principal occupation, how- ever, has been farming. Formerly he and his father-in-law were joint owners of a good farm of two hundred acres, which he carried on for many years before his retirement from active labor.
On March 15, 1847, Mr. Pillsbury was united in marriage with Charlotte Couch, who was born in Webster, April 12, 1826, daugh- ter of Amos and Hannah (Ray) Couch. Her father, a native of Salisbury, N. H., settled upon a farm in Webster in 1820, and some years later moved to Boscawen, where he re- sided for the rest of his life. He died No- vember 29, 1883, aged ninety-two years. Her mother, who was born in Henniker, died July
172
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW.
27, 1853. The other children of Mr. Couch and his wife were: Hale, who died August 29, 1853; Eunice, who died November 22, 1888; and Charles, who died August 1, 1824. In politics Mr. Pillsbury is a Republican. He served with ability as a Selectman for six years, was Town Clerk for one year, represented his district in the legislature in 1887, and has been a Justice of the Peace for the past twenty- five years. He has been drawn for jury ser- vice six times. Both he and Mrs. Pillsbury attend the Congregational church, and are ac- tively interested in church work.
ILLIAM LAWRENCE FOSTER, a well-known lawyer of Concord, was born at Westminster, Vt., June 1, 1823, son of John and Sophia (Will- ard) Foster. His grandfather, Edmund Foster, a native of Reading, Mass., graduated from Yale College about the time of the break- ing out of the Revolutionary War, and subse- quently took part in the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill. He was settled as minister over one parish in Littleton, Mass., for forty- seven years; and he died in that town in the seventy-sixth year of his age. He married Phebe, daughter of the Rev. William Law- rence, of Lincoln, Mass., and reared a family of thirteen children. Three or four of the older sons served in the War of 1812. John, the youngest son, who was born in Littleton, Mass., went subsequently to Westminster, Vt., and thence to Keene, N. H., when his son William was but two years old. He kept a store in Keene for many years, served as Sheriff of the county and as Register of Deeds, and died at the age of fifty-six. His wife, Sophia, a daughter of Josiah Willard, became the mother of three children : William L., the subject of this sketch; Sophia, who
died in childhood; and Susan, who is the widow of Frank G. Littlefield, and resides at Exeter, N. H.
William L. Foster was educated in the dis- trict schools of Keene and at the academies of Walpole and Hancock, N.H. He began the study of law at Keene, and subsequently attended the Harvard Law School at Cam- bridge, Mass. He first opened an office in Keene, where he remained until 1853. For four years he served as Postmaster and for about five years as State Reporter. Since 1853 he has resided in Concord. From 1849 to 1853 he was Clerk of the New Hampshire Senate. He was a member of the legislature in 1862-63, and he also served on the staff of Governor Dinsmore. In 1869 he was ap- pointed Judge of the Supreme Court, and held it until his resignation in 1881. He has been a Republican ever since the formation of that party, and he cast his first Presidential vote for James K. Polk in 1844. He is a member of the Episcopal church, is popular socially, and belongs to Blazing Star Lodge, F. & A. M., of Concord.
On January 13, 1853, Mr. Foster married Harriet M. Perkins, daughter of Hamilton Perkins, who was for many years Judge of the Probate Court of Merrimack County. By her he is the father of the following children : Elizabeth F., now the widow of Edgar H. Woodman, formerly Mayor of Concord; Mary Bartlett, who became the wife of Lieutenant William A. Marshall, United States Navy ; William H., one of the masters of St. Paul's School at Concord; and Roger Elliott, who resides in Webster, N.H., and is at the pres- ent time a member of the legislature. Mr. Foster takes a keen interest in all matters pertaining to the welfare of his adopted city, in which he is highly esteemed as a useful and high-minded citizen.
173
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
ILLIAM DUNTON, a retired man- ufacturer of Newport, was born in Millbury, Worcester County, Mass., son of Moses and Zoa (Pierce) Dunton. His grandfather, who was a Revolutionary soldier, and lived for the greater part of his life in Sturbridge, Mass., carried on general farming. His son, Moses, a native of Stur- bridge, settled in Millbury, Mass., where he lived for the greater part of his life. Moses was a blacksmith, and owned a small farm. He was a good, sturdy man, and a member and Deacon of the Congregational church for many years. In politics he was a Whig. He married Zoa Pierce, who was born in Millbury. Both lived to the advanced age of seventy-five years. Of their six children one died in in- fancy. The others were: Mary, Martha, Austin, William, and Silas. Mary is now de- ceased; Martha married a Mr. Dexter, and is at present living in Cambridge, Mass. ; Austin resides in Millbury; Silas is also in Millbury, where he is engaged in business.
William Dunton received his education in the public schools of Millbury and at Leices- ter. He remained in Millbury until he was twenty-two years of age, when he located in Amsterdam, N.Y., and engaged in the manu- facture of scythes. He afterward went to Waterville, Me., and there followed the same business for one year, working out as a jobber. In 1842 he settled in Newport, where he re- sided for several years. At one time he was in business with Ezra T. Sibley for a number of years, after which he disposed of his inter- est in the firm, and returned to Massachusetts. He came again to Newport in 1865, and has lived here since. In politics Mr. Dunton is a Democrat, and he has been a Selectman of the town.
In August, 1844, he married Lois Corbin, daughter of Austin Corbin, Sr. She was born
in Newport, December 21, 1819, and died July 7, 1893. Their three children were: Emma, born in 1846, who died September 21, 1847; Mary A., born August 22, 1848; and Frederick W., born June 9, 1851. Mary is now the wife of A. O. Bostwick, and resides in Toledo, Ohio. Frederick lives in Hollis, L.I., and is in business as a land broker. Mr. Dunton, after an active business career, retired some time ago.
P RANK H. SARGENT, M.D., a rising young medical practitioner of Pitts- field, was born in this town, October 31, 1861, son of Charles H. and Almira (Ring) Sargent. His great-grandfather, Ben- jamin Sargent, served under General Wash- ington in the Revolutionary War. He later became a Baptist minister, and preached in Pittsfield from 1808 to 1818. He died March 19, 1818, at the age of fifty-eight years. His wife, in maidenhood Eunice Lindell, reared a family of seven children.
Moses L. Sargent, grandfather of Frank H., was born in Bow, N. H., May 12, 1793. He resided most of his life in Pittsfield, and was a cabinet-maker by trade. The maiden name of his wife was Sarah Thorndike, and his fam- ily consisted of three children. He lived to the age of seventy-eight years,, and his wife was seventy-six years old when she died.
Charles H. Sargent, Dr. Sargent's father, was born in Pittsfield, September 15, 1825. He followed the trade of a shoemaker for some time in connection with farming, and at one time he was overseer of a department of the Pittsfield cotton-mill. He was one of the prominent citizens of this town in his day, and was a member of the Board of Selectmen at the time of his death, which occurred Feb- ruary 1, 1872, when he was forty-seven years
174
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
old. In politics he was a Republican. His wife, Almira Ring, was a daughter of Theo- dore and Betsey (Maxfield) Ring, of Loudon, N.H. She became the mother of six chil- dren, and the survivors are: Lena A .; Charles E. ; Annie M .; and Frank H., the subject of this sketch. Charles E. married Nettie Shepherd, of Toronto, Canada; Annie M. is the wife of Henry F. Davis, of Haverhill, Mass. Mrs. Charles H. Sargent is now seventy-two years old, and resides at the old homestead in this town. . She is a member of the Free Will Baptist church.
Frank H. Sargent acquired his early educa- tion in the common schools and at the Pitts- field Academy. His medical studies were begun at the Maine Medical School connected with Bowdoin University, and continued at Dartmouth College, from which he was gradu- ated with the class of 1889. After completing his preparations with a course at the Post- graduates' Medical School in New York City, he returned to Pittsfield, and commenced the practice of his profession. Since entering upon his medical career he has created a favor- able impression throughout the broad circuit over which his professional duties extend, and as a result he has a large and constantly in- creasing practice. He succeeded to the owner- ship of the home farm, where he resides, and which he carries on successfully.
In politics Dr. Sargent is independent. He has occupied all the important chairs in Sun- cook Lodge, No. 10, I. O. O. F. In his re- ligious views he is a Congregationalist.
HILIP C. CLOUGH, Representa- tive of Canterbury, N. H., in the State legislature of 1897-98, is a highly intelligent, well-to-do farmer and a member of one of the old families of the town.
He was born in Canterbury, February 19, 1835, the second son of Thomas and Hannah (Hazelton) Clough. His grandfather, Oba- diah Clough, who was a native of Canterbury, owned the farm where Mr. Clough now lives. Thomas Clough, son of Obadiah and father of the subject of this sketch, spent his life on the old homestead. Besides farming he was in- terested in the railroad business. He was a prominent man in the town, and held many public offices. His wife, Hannah Hazelton, was a native of Canterbury. She died in De- cember, 1883. They had seven children, namely : Hannah, born September 18, 1831, who died June 26, 1840; Thomas V. B., born March 26, 1833, who married Maria Gale, and is now living in Franklin, N.H .; Philip C .; Sarah G., born May 28, 1838, who died in March, 1863; Hannah A., born July 26, 1840, died April 8, 1842; Susan A., born June 26, 1843, who married E. L. Batchelder, and lives in Canterbury ; and Mary B., born June 28, 1847, who married Thomas Tuck, and is now living in Pittsfield. The children were edu- cated in the common schools of this town and in the institute at New Hampton, N. H.
Philip C., the subject of this sketch, has always lived at the ancestral homestead. He took care of his parents in their old age; and since his father's death he has managed the farm, which he now owns. It contains about one hundred and twenty-five acres. Although farming is Mr. Clough's main business, he is also the agent for all kinds of standard farm- ing implements; and he buys and sells large quantities of fruit every fall. He is President of the Canterbury Creamery and of the Canter- bury and Boscawen Telephone Company.
Mr. Clough is a Republican in politics, and he always takes an active interest in all the town business. He has been Selectman for seven years, and in 1896 he was elected Rep-
175
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
resentative of this town. He is a member of Dorrick Lodge, F. & A. M., No. 78, of Til- ton, N. H., and was a charter member of the Merrimack River Grange, which is one of the oldest societies of the Patrons of Husbandry in the State. He was married August 30, 1870, to Mary E. Batchelder, of Canterbury, a daughter of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Kim- ball) Batchelder. Both Mr. and Mrs. Clough are active members of the Congregational Church of Canterbury. Mr. Clough is one of the most prominent men in the town, and he is well known throughout the county.
EORGE W. HURD, who owns and cultivates a productive dairy farm in Lempster, Sullivan County, was born where he now resides, September 16, 1837, son of Colonel Smith and Mehitable (Emer- son) Hurd. His paternal grandfather, Shubael Hurd, was the first ancestor to settle in Lempster. He was one of the stirring farmers of his day, and improved the property which is now occupied by his grandson. Shubael Hurd married for his first wife Rachel Beckwith, and for his second wife Isabelle Ames, a native of Peterboro, N. H. By this union there were two sons - Smith and Justus. Justus Hurd was graduated at Dartmouth College with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He practised his profession in the States of Mississippi and Missouri, and died in St. Louis a number of years ago. His second wife was Sarah Gordon, a native of Belfast, Me.
Colonel Smith Hurd, the other son of Shubael and the father of George W., was born in Lempster, January 11, 1803. He was reared upon the homestead farm, which fell to his possession ; and he displayed much energy and enterprise in its cultivation. He took an
active interest in educational affairs, and was prominent in the State militia. Colonel Smith Hurd died March 3, 1877. His wife, Mehitable Emerson, was born in Goshen, N. H., January 13, 1804. Her parents were Jonathan and Elizabeth (Lakeman) Emerson, the former of whom was a prosperous farmer. Jonathan Emerson was accidentally killed by a falling tree. Mrs. Mehitable E. Hurd, who still survives and resides at the homestead, has reared seven children, as follows: Yorick G .; Robert S .; Isabelle E .; Dency ; Eunice E .; George W., the subject of this sketch; and D. Emerson. Yorick G. Hurd, M.D., a gradu- ate of Dartmouth College, became a success- ful physician, and for twenty-one years was superintendent of the Insane Asylum in Ips- wich, Mass. He died September 24, 1888. His first wife was Mary A. Twichell, of Lempster; and his second was Ruth A. Brown, of Amesbury, Mass., who is no longer' living. Their adopted daughter, Josephine, is now the wife of Harry Dodge, a grocer of Ips- wich. Robert S. Hurd died in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1852. Isabelle E. became the wife of Dr. John G. Parker, of Dublin, N. H. ; and neither she nor her husband is living. Their only son, J. Fred Parker, is now Assistant Secretary of the State of Rhode Island, and resides in Providence. He married Helen Pierce. Dency married for her first husband Austin Spencer, of Lempster, and by that union had one daughter, Alice M. M., who is now the wife of Lewis Greenwood, of Gard- ner, Mass. For her second husband she mar- ried A. H. King, who died in December, 1896, she having passed away on November 20, 1881. Eunice E. Hurd died in 1885, aged fifty-five. D. Emerson Hurd is follow- ing the trade of a blacksmith in connection with farming in Westminster, Mass. He married Ruth M. Bruce, of Lempster, and has
176
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
had a family of five children, namely: Arno E., who married Ella Flagg, and resides in Westminster; Wynne, who died at the age of two years; Albert G., M.D., who married Nettie Killum, and resides in Millbury, Mass .; Roy; and Mary.
George W. Hurd was educated in the dis- trict schools and the high school of Lempster, and has always resided at the homestead. Since coming into possession of the property, he has added a tract of adjoining land, and now has a farm of about three hundred acres. He gives his attention to general farming and dairying, produces a large quantity of butter and considerable maple sugar. His farm is one of the most fertile and desirably located pieces of agricultural property in town. For eleven years Mr. Hurd served the town faith- fully as Collector of Taxes, but he has never aspired to prominence in public affairs. He is an earnest advocate of the temperance cause, and votes with the Prohibitionists. He has long been identified with the Patrons of Hus- bandry, and is now Treasurer of Silver Moun- tain Grange, No. 196.
On September 16, 1863, Mr. Hurd was joined in marriage with Eliza A. Fletcher. She was born in Lempster, February 25, 1846, daughter of Francis P. and Joan (Thompson) Fletcher, the former of whom was a native of Washington, N.H., and the latter of Marlow. Francis P. Fletcher died January 21, 1882; and his wife died July 3 of the same year. They were the parents of seven children, namely : Francis P .; Harriet P., who married John Harriman, and died in 1852; George S., who died in November, 1867; Phineas, who was born September 28, 1841; Eliza A., who is now Mrs. Hurd; Charles and Gilman, who are no longer living.
Mr. and Mrs. Hurd are the parents of two sons, namely : Robert L., who was born Sep-
tember 24, 1864, and died February 14, 1881 ; and Elbert Eugene, born November 20, 1870, who resides at home, and assists his father in carrying on the farm. He is one of the lead- ing young men of Lempster, and is a promi- nent member of the Patrons of Husbandry, being Master of Silver Mount Grange. On August 30, 1891, he married Susie Bean, of this town. They have had one child, Justus, who died in infancy. Mrs. Susie B. Hurd is deeply interested in grange matters, and is Lecturer of Sullivan County Pomona Grange.
JDWARD H. STURTEVANT, Treas- urer of the Franklin Needle Company, manufacturers of solid riveted latch needles at Franklin, N.H., was born in Crafts- bury, Vt., April 27, 1845, son of Hiram and Eliza S. (Corey) Sturtevant. His paternal grandfather was Ezra T. Sturtevant, a mill man and wool-carder, also a manufacturer of coffins. He married Lucy Merryfield.
Hiram Sturtevant was a farmer early in life; but in 1866 he sold his farm, and went into the manufacture of sashes, doors, blinds, and furniture, in Lebanon, N. H., continuing in this business for about three years, when he sold out to his partners. Then he went into the shoe business, in which he continued until he retired. He died December 8, 1885. His widow resides most of the time with her daughter, Mrs. D. G. Thompson, in Montreal.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.