USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 5
USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 5
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On October 9, 1849, Mr. Sargent married Abigail Philbrick, of Epsom. She was the mother of nine children, of whom there are living - Almira M., Abbie F., Charles C., and Mary E. Abbie F. is the wife of Edwin C. Emerson, of Pittsfield; and her children are: Winnifred R., Hattie B., Eva M., and Abbie B. Charles C. married Edith L. Knowlton, of this town, and has a family of five children - Grace E., Lew G., Ralph L., Charles R., and Edith P. Mary E. succes- sively married Charles H. Whipple and Clar- ence Huntoon, and has one son by her first union, Ralph C. Mrs. Ebenezer B. Sargent died at the age of sixty-five years. She was a member of the Free Will Baptist church.
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EORGE CHASE FREEMAN, one of the best known dairy farmers and cattle breeders in Plainfield, was born in Cornish, N. H., August 26, 1819, son of Cyrus and Sarah (Dow) Freeman. The grandfather, Daniel Freeman, who was a native of Connecticut, moved his family to Plainfield, where he engaged in farming. He also kept a hotel in Lebanon, N.H., for a number of years. The maiden name of his first wife was Dow. That of his second wife is unknown. His children were: Cyrus, Daniel, Benjamin, Joseph, Deborah, and Mercy. Benjamin, who was a farmer, married Eudocia Childs, and reared a family; Jo- seph, who resided upon a farm in Plainfield, married Polly Johnson, and had one child; Deborah became Mrs. Chase, and reared a family; Mercy died in infancy.
Cyrus Freeman, father of George C., ac- companied his parents from Connecticut, and was reared upon a farm in Plainfield. He tilled the soil industriously and with success during the active period of his life, devoting his entire attention to the cultivation and im- provement of his farm. His first wife, a na- tive of Cornish, whose maiden name was Persis Chase, had no children. His second marriage was contracted with Sarah Dow, who was born in Salisbury, N.H., in 1778, daugh- ter of Jeremiah Dow. She bore him eight children; namely, John T., Sarah, Persis, Forest, Susan, Daniel D., Tamesin K., and George C. John T. married for his first wife Ursula Chase, of Cornish, who bore him three children. His second wife was a lady of Plainfield, whose maiden name was Durenda Penniman. His third marriage united him to Surah Wyman, of Cornish. Sarah, born in 1 0, died in 1826. Persis married Benjamin 1 .. Fuller, a prosperous farmer and hotel- . sper of this town, and had five children, of
whom four are living. Forest, who engaged in farming, married Nancy Penniman, of Windsor, Vt., and reared a family. Susan became the wife of Enos Spaulding, a black- smith of Plainfield, and has a family. Daniel D., who was a farmer, wedded Mary Marcy, and reared children. Tamesin K. married Isaac C. Harroun, of Barre, Vt., a blacksmith by trade, and had children. Mrs. Cyrus Freeman lived to be eighty-two years old, and died in 1860.
George Chase Freeman acquired his educa- tion in the schools of Plainfield and Cornish. After finishing his studies, he assisted his father upon the homestead farm. He later bought of his brother-in-law, Benjamin L. Fuller, the farm upon which he now resides. This property, containing nearly four hundred acres of land located upon the banks of the Connecticut River, occupies an eminence overlooking the valley. Besides carrying on general farming and dairying, Mr. Freeman has been an extensive breeder of cattle, sheep, and horses. His son is now in partnership with him. They have some excellent Durham cows, six fine horses of noted pedigree, among which is a mare that last fall made a record of 2.17.
Mr. Freeman married Sarah Ward, who was born June 19, 1824, in Marlboro, daughter of William Ward. She has had four children, namely: Frances R., born March 7, 1846; William W., born June 29, 1848; Nellie May, born June 25, 1855; and Elizabeth Marion, born December 20, 1863. Frances R. married the Rev. R. C. Bell, of Connecti- cut, and had three children. William W. completed his education at the Kimball Union Academy, and has been of valuable as- sistance to his father in managing the farm. He possesses a practical knowledge of all branches of agriculture, and has acquired a
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wide reputation as a breeder of fine cattle and horses. Nellie May is the wife of Samuel P. Wood, a wealthy resident of Lebanon, N. H., and has two children. Elizabeth Marion, who attended the Kimball Union Academy, and subsequently graduated from Wellesley Col- lege, Wellesley, Mass., married George F. Chandler, a native of Strafford, Vt., and has one child. Her husband is a graduate of Dart- mouth College, and is now engaged in farm- ing upon scientific principles.
Mr. Freeman is one of the most prominent residents of Plainfield. His strict adherence to high principles has gained for him a warm place in the hearts of his neighbors and fel- low-townsmen. Although he takes a deep in- terest in the general welfare of the town, he has never aspired to political honors, as his time has always been absorbed by his large farming operations.
HEODORE M. TOGUS, M.D., a well-known and skilful physician of Hookset, Merrimack County, was born in the Province of Quebec, April 21, 1853, son of Edward Togus. His grandfather, Joel Togus, who followed the trade of a carpenter in Quebec throughout his life, died at the age of sixty-four years. The father, also a native of Quebec, born in 1832, was a successful agriculturist there for many years. He mar- ried Miss Josephine Maynard, who was like- wise born in Quebec; and they became the parents of eight children. Of these there are now living: Theodore M., Edward, John, Isaac, Jennie, Julia, and Mary. Edward mar- ried, and has one child, Jessie; Jennie married Oliver Bird, and has four children; Julia is the wife of Lewis Busiere, and has four chil- dren ; and May is the wife of Edmund Busiere, and has five children. The mother passed
away in 1872, and the father in 1887. Both were pious and active members of the Baptist church of Blackinton, Mass.
Theodore M. Togus received the larger part of his education in New England. First at- tending the schools of Shelburne Falls, Vt., then pursuing his studies in Concord, N. H., he graduated from the medical department of the University of Vermont at Burlington in 1886. The Doctor began the practice of his profession in the manufacturing city of Lowell, Mass. From there he went to Concord, N.H., in 1887. Subsequently he purchased the practice of Dr. Randall in Hookset, where he has since been actively employed in his pro- fessional duties. His acknowledged ability has won for him a fair share of the patronage of the place.
Dr. Togus was married December 25, 1878, to Miss Fannie Simmons, daughter of John C. and Frances Lane Simmons, of Concord, N.H. Of their four children two died in in- fancy. The others are: Leopold T., born No- vember 6, 1880, at Bluffton, Minn. ; and Alice M., born in Concord, N.H., June 17, 1884. In politics Dr. Togus is a Republican. Tak- ing much interest in the affairs of the town, he has served as Supervisor, and has been a member of the Hookset School Board for the past two years. He belongs to Jewell Lodge, No. 29, F. & A. M., of Suncook; and to Friendship Lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F., of Hookset. Born and bred in a Christian home, he has never departed from the faith that sus- tained his parents through life; and both he and his wife are members of the Baptist church.
ARKER PILLSBURY, a veteran of the anti-slavery movement, one of the few survivors of the earnest, intrepid band of philanthropists and reformers who for
PARKER PILLSBURY.
SARAH H. PILLSBURY.
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nearly half a century, in journeyings oft, in hardships and perils, devoted themselves to pleading the cause of the oppressed, denounc- ing iniquitous laws and practices, and demand- ing the removal of the yoke that held a race in cruel bondage, is now passing the serene sunset of a life of diligent and beneficent ac- tivity in retirement at his home in Concord, N.H. Son of Deacon Oliver and Anna (Smith) Pillsbury, and the eldest of a family of eleven children, Mr. Pillsbury was born in Hamilton, Essex County, Mass., September 22, 1809.
His father, a native of Newbury, Mass., son of Parker, first, and Sarah (Dickinson) Pillsbury, was of the sixth generation in de- scent from William Pillsbury, who married Deborah Crosby in Dorchester, Mass., in 1641, and afterward settled in Newbury, the line being continued as follows: William's son Moses, his grandson, Moses, Jr., and his great-grandson, Moses, third, who married Mary Parker, and was the father of Parker Pillsbury, first. Oliver Pillsbury, when four years old, was taken by his parents to West Boscawen, now Webster, N. H., and there grew to manhood. At nineteen years of age he re- turned to Newbury, Mass., where he learned the blacksmith's trade; and after that he com- pleted his schooling at Dummer Academy. While there he made the acquaintance of his future wife, Anna Smith, daughter of Phile- mon Smith. They were married December 8, 1808, and settled in Hamilton, Mass., he working at his trade till 1814, when the hard times caused by the war with England led him to remove to a farm in Henniker, N.H., to buy which he incurred a debt of fifteen hun - dred dollars. With the conclusion of peace the price of farm produce fell, and to free himself from this burden cost many years of severe toil. Public-spirited and religious, a
Deacon in the church, active in Sunday- school, he was earnestly interested in temper- ance and the abolition of slavery, and was ever ready to lend a hand to local benevolent enter- prises. He died in 1857, his wife, a most estimable woman, of strong character, outliv- ing him about twelve years, retaining her faculties to a remarkable degree at the ad- vanced age of ninety-four. They had been bereft of three children, and were survived by eight, namely: Parker; Josiah W., father of Albert E., ex-Attorney General of Massachu- setts; Gilbert; Oliver, Jr .; Eliza A .; Har- riet ; Mary S. ; and Moses D.
Parker, the special subject of this sketch, acquired such education in his boyhood as was afforded by the district schools of Henniker, and at an early age began to help in the work of the home farm. When about twenty years old he went to live in Lynn, Mass., and was for some time thereafter employed in driving an express wagon from Lynn to Boston. Re- turning to Henniker, he again devoted himself to farming. Uniting with the church a year or two later, he engaged zealously in religious work; and, being urged to prepare himself for the ministry, he pursued a course of study at Gilmanton, N.H., and at the Andover Theo- logical Seminary, "in less than four years from the reaper and the plough " was licensed to preach, and for a year, 1839-40, had charge of a parish at Loudon, N.H. In the mean time his sympathies and his strong sense of justice had been aroused in behalf of the Southern slaves, and in the spring of 1839, undertaking a short lecturing and financial agency for the Massachusetts Anti-slavery So- ciety, he delivered his first lecture on the sub- ject of slavery in Fitchburg, Mass. Leaving the Congregational church and pulpit in 1840, he began his "anti-slavery apostleship" in New Hampshire, his first work being to con-
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duct the Herald of Freedom for a few months in the absence of its editor, Nathaniel P. Rogers. In the autumn he entered "the lect- ure field with the full resolve," as he says, "to see the overthrow of the Southern slave system or perish in the conflict." An es- teemed associate of Garrison and Phillips, of Rogers and Foster, of Douglass and others, he engaged heart and soul in the greatest mis- sionary movement of the age, denouncing the "sum of all villanies," and fearlessly reason- ing of truth, righteousness, and, judgment to come. A book written by Mr. Pillsbury, published in 1883, entitled "Acts of the Anti-slavery Apostles," presents a graphic series of pen pictures of a character suffi- ciently indicated by its title, and is a valuable contribution to the history of that thirty years of stress and storm.
.
The work of Mr. Pillsbury himself and the esteem in which he was held by his fellow- laborers, who knew him best, may be judged from a few citations that follow, the first from the pen of Nathaniel P. Rogers in the Herald of Freedom in October, 1842; the second and third from the " Life of William Lloyd Garri- son," vol. iii.
"The abolitionists of the country ought to know Parker Pillsbury better than they do. I know him for all that is noble in soul and powerful in talent and eloquence. 'He is one of the strong men of our age."
"Could you know him and his history," wrote Wendell Phillips to Elizabeth Pease in 1853, "you would value him. Originally a wagoner, he earned enough, to get educated. When just ready to be settled, the faculty of Andover Theological Seminary threatened him that they would never recommend him to a parish unless he gave up speaking in anti- slavery meetings. He chose us, and sacri- ficed all the benefits (worldly and pecuniary)
of his hard-earned education. His course since has been worthy of this beginning."
James Russell Lowell, in his rhyming letter to the Pennsylvania Freeman, describing the reunited abolitionists at the Anti-slavery Bazaar in Boston in December, 1846, portrays with a few bold strokes this dauntless cham- pion of freedom :-
" Beyond, a crater in each eye, Sways brown, broad-shouldered Pillsbury, Who tears up words like trees by the roots,
A Theseus in stout cowhide boots, The wager of eternal war Against the loathsome Minotaur
To whom we sacrifice each year The best blood of our Athens here - A terrible denouncer he.
Old Sinai burns unquenchably
Upon his lips ; he well might be a
Hot-blazing soul from fierce Judea - Habakkuk, Ezra, or Hosea --- His words burn as with iron searers."
As was inevitable, in Mr. Pillsbury's book are recorded dark and shameful passages of American history. Impressive and pleasing is the account given of the memorable con- vention at Nantucket in August, 1841, where Frederick Douglass made his first appearance on the anti-slavery platform, and in a speech, rising to the importance of the occasion and the dignity of his theme, wrought the crowded congregation up "almost to enchantment." Long afterward Mr. Garrison, having just passed the threescore-and-ten milestone of life's journey, wrote to Mr. Pillsbury in reply to a congratulatory letter, in which the Doug- lass incident had been alluded to among others. We quote but in part : -
" Dear friend Pillsbury, - I did not mean that a fortnight should elapse before answer- ing your letter, the receipt of which gave me much pleasure, not only because of the stir- ring memories of Auld Lang Syne awakened by it, but also for its very kind and fraternal spirit. . . .
م.
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"Your coming into the field of conflict was specially timely, and displayed on your part rare moral courage and a martyr readi- ness to meet whatever of religious obloquy, popular derision, social outlawry, mobocratic violence, or deadly peril, might confront you as the outspoken and uncompromising advo- cate of immediate and unconditional emanci- pation. For then the aspect of things was peculiarly disheartening, a formidable schism existing in the anti-slavery ranks, and the pro- slavery elements of the country in furious commotion. But you stood at your post with the faithfulness of an Abdiel; and, whether men would hear or forbear, you did not at any time to the end of the struggle fail to speak in thunder tones in the ear of the nation, ex- posing its blood-guiltiness, warning it of the wrath to come, and setting forth the duty of thorough repentance and restitution. If you resorted to a ram's horn instead of a silver trumpet, it was because thus only could the walls of our slave-holding Jericho be shaken to their overthrow. . . .
"You, too, have seen of the travail of your soul, and may well be satisfied. Laus Deo.
"WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON."
Of the prominent workers in the anti-slavery conflict only two besides Mr. Pillsbury now (1897) survive; namely, the Rev. Samuel May and Charles K. Whipple. Mr. Pillsbury, it may be mentioned, was one of the trustees, with absolute discretion, to whom Mr. Charles F. Hovey, a merchant of Boston, dying in 1859, left forty thousand dollars to be used in behalf of anti slavery, woman's rights, and other reforms dear to his heart. Much to the regret of Mr. Pillsbury, owing to the exi- "encies of the Civil War and the pressing needs of the colored race during that period the whole amount was expended before any of
it could be devoted to the interests of interna- tional peace, of which he has long been a stanch advocate. Since the close of the war Mr. Pillsbury, by voice and pen, has also labored valiantly in behalf of temperance and woman suffrage, publishing and circulating over fifteen thousand tracts devoted to his favorite reforms. Disbelieving in govern- ment by force, he belongs to no political party, and he never votes.
From his boyhood up, the home life of Mr. Pillsbury has been a happy one, the domestic atmosphere cheerful and invigorating, of New England's best type. On January 1, 1840, he was united in marriage with Sarah H. Sargent, daughter of Dr. John L. and Sally (Wilkins) Sargent, of Concord, N.H. Mrs. Pillsbury was born in Loudon, Merri- mack County, N.H. Her father, Dr. John L. Sargent, was born in Chester, Rockingham County, N.H. He was a very successful phy- sician and surgeon, and had an extensive prac- tice. Her mother, Sally Wilkins, daughter of Deacon Jonathan Wilkins, of Concord, N.H., was a woman of rare excellence of character, of refined taste and culture, being an extensive and appreciative reader.
In this connection the biographer desires to say that Mrs. Pillsbury, whose portrait right- fully appears with her husband's in this vol- ume, was not only an ardent sympathizer with him in his anti-slavery work, but was most efficient in co-operation with him. It was hers to keep the domestic fire burning while he was away, to exercise an economy and thrift unknown to the present generation, that her husband's time and means might be wholly devoted to the overthrow of slavery. This wife gave her husband the encouraging word when he left the home, and bade him God- speed with a cheery voice, when her heart was sad as the grave; for she knew that her be-
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loved husband . was liable any day to be trampled or beaten to death by an angry mob, and his mangled form hurled with a slur across the hearthstone, or perchance an assas- sin's bullet would destroy the life that was her very soul. What ostracism she underwent in social life! She withdrew from the church in which her life was inwrought rather than partake of the sacred emblems from the hand of a minister who sanctioned the slavery of human beings. How her soul ached with that of her husband, and how sad the family circle when poor Sims was remanded from Boston's court-house to Southern slavery, and again when the hero martyr, John Brown, was legally murdered !
The writer regards it as an honor and a privilege to show in this sketch that in those days that tried men's souls there were women as well as men who toiled through dark days, and worried and wept through sleepless nights, that there might be accomplished what after years of bloodshed we witness in America · to-day - perfect freedom of all God's chil- " dren, without regard to color, race, sex, or sect. And so on the page of history, beside that of the anti-slavery hero and apostle, Parker Pillsbury, we place that of the heroine, Sarah H. Sargent Pillsbury, his sympathizer, helper, wife.
Mr. and Mrs. Pillsbury have always resided in this city. They have one child, a daugh- ter, Helen Buffum, who was born June 14, 1843. She was married September 22, 1888, to Parsons Brainard Cogswell, journalist and ex-Mayor of Concord, who died October 28, 1895. Mr. Cogswell came to Concord to learn the printer's trade of George G. Fogg, who ran the Independent Democrat, a Free Soil paper. Having thoroughly mastered his profession, he set his heart to have a daily paper for Concord; and the Daily Monitor was
the child of his conception. It is not too much to say that to P. Brainard Cogswell be- longs the honor of Concord's Daily Monitor. During her married life. as ever before and after, Mrs. Cogswell has continued to make her home with her father and mother, her de- votion to whom and ceaseless care for their comfort was most cordially seconded by her husband, who has left the fragrant memory of a noble manhood.
IMMET S. ROBINSON, an ex-member of the legislature and the owner of a large farm in Goshen, was born in Orange, Vt., August 2, 1859, son of Alexan- der and Sarah (Moore) Robinson, both natives of Plainfield, Vt. The father, who is a stone mason by trade, about the year 1862 moved to Newport, Vt., where he resided for fifteen years. From there he went to Newport, N. H. ; and there he has since been engaged in agricultural pursuits. Mr. and Mrs. Alexan- der Robinson have reared ten children, namely: Captain Frank Robinson, who fol- lows the sea, and is a ship-master; Henry C., who married Lucy Wing, of Newport, Vt., and is now carrying on a farm in Newport, N. H. ; Herman A., a wood-worker in New- port, N. H. ; Alson, who married Mrs. Clara True, and is now a carpenter in Tewksbury, Mass. ; Emmet S., the subject of this sketch ; Ella J., who lives in Newport, N. H. ; Philip, who for many years has been connected with the National Library in Washington, D.C .; Leander, a railroad engineer in Canada ; Ernest, a carpenter in Newport, N. H. ; and Abbie, who resides at home.
Having acquired an education in the com- mon schools, Emmet S. Robinson began to work for his living. After following different occupations for a time, he finally settled upon
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the Parker farm in Goshen, where he now resides. He owns about four hundred and fifty acres of land, the tillage portion of which he devotes to general farming and dairying; and he sells considerable milk.
On March 9, 1881, Mr. Robinson was united in marriage with Marietta Parker. She was born in this town, August 12, 1839, daughter of Jonas and Zeroyda (Chase) Parker, natives respectively of Lempster and Unity. Jonas Parker was for many years a prosperous farmer in Goshen. Both parents are now de- ceased. Mr. Robinson is a firm supporter of the Republican party, and has rendered in an able. manner his share of service to the town. He served upon the Board of Selectmen for several years, and was elected to the legis- lature in 1895. Much interested in agricult- ural questions, he is connected with Sunapee Mountain Grange, No. 144, Patrons of Hus- bandry, in Mill Village. Mr. Robinson is one of Goshen's representative men.
OHN FRAZIER, a well-known farmer of Danbury, Merrimack County, N. H., was born in Salisbury, January 16, 1836, son of John C. and Alice (Eastman) Frazier, of that place.
·His paternal grandfather, Benjamin Frazier, was one of the pioneers of Kearsarge Moun- tain. His. ancestors, it is said, were of Scotch-Irish descent. Born on July 21, 1767, he went to Deerfield when a child; and after his marriage to Mary Philbrick he removed, in 1790, to Salisbury. Here he cleared at first an acre of land and built a log house, and as time went on became a very thrifty farmer and owner of considerable land which had been cleared by his own efforts. Game was abun- dant in those days; and, Grandfather Frazier being a skilful huntsman, the family larder
was kept well filled with venison and bear steak. One section of his farm was called Bear Wold, because of the number of bears killed there. The Frazier house was always a resort for the neighboring farmers and their families whenever a good time was wanted. Benjamin Frazier died on June 12, 1820.
John C. Frazier, son of Benjamin, removed from Salisbury to Danbury in 1836, shortly after the birth of his son John. Here he built a fine group of buildings and remained during the rest of his life, dying on November 25, 1886. He served in the legislature for two terms, one of them being the famous Con- stitutional Convention term. He was the father of three sons, the second of whom, named Moses, died April 19, 1896. Mr. Frank P. Frazier, the third son, a resident of Evanston, Ill., is a member of the firm of Bartlett, Frazier & Co., of Chicago, Ill., and does an extensive grain business in the West. He married Clara Duff, of Peoria, Ill., and has one son.
Mr. John Frazier, of Danbury, is the eldest son. After leaving school, he worked for a time on a farm and later as a fireman on the railroad. In 1869 he went to Toledo, Ohio, where he remained for five years as engineer on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail- road, running between Toledo and Elkhart, Toledo and Cleveland, and between Toledo and Detroit. Coming East again, Mr. Frazier was engineer for some time on the O. C. R. R. Later he settled on the farm where he now resides. He built a new barn in 1891.
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