USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 51
USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 51
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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
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keels create a perpetual wake around her two peninsulas; a State, in front of whose chief financial and commercial metropolis there moves a commerce which in volume surpasses that passing any other point on the globe; a city which, sitting on the banks of the broad, blue Bosphorus of this western hemisphere, has been justly likened in its geographical position to the city of Constantine in the eastern world - it is proper, I believe, that I call the attention of this convention to the fact that, under a wise and liberal system of State and national policy, seventy million of people cheerfully contribute to the widening, straightening, and deepening of the various channels connecting our great inland seas.
"Long before the United States had a na- tional existence and at a period of England's history when she had already dotted the sur- face of the globe with her possessions and her military posts, and when her morning drum- ยท beats, travelling with the sun and keeping time with the hours, circled the earth with one continuous and unbroken strain of her martial airs, she in connection with France dedicated all the water ways of our northern and north-western frontier to be forever free and unobstructed to all the nations of the earth.
"The development following the policy just outlined, and which may be classed as the line of Christian civilization, is simply mar- vellous.
"Buffalo at that time was a straggling vil- lage, Detroit a camping-ground of the Indians, Chicago absolutely unknown, and the waters of Lake Superior had scarcely been stirred by a white man's skiff; while to-day almost every square mile of its vast area is lightened by the sails of its vessels, or shaded by the smoke of its rushing steamers. And the gate- way to and from that lake, which, although
admitting at one time and every half-hour four of the largest steamships, and with one move- ment lifting them from the level of Lake Huron to that of Lake Superior, is insufficient for the present and rapidly increasing traffic.
"Coming from a State with surroundings such as I have recited and with an experience thus suggestive and cheering, I hazard nothing in saying that Michigan will be in the very front rank of promoters of this work, and will stand ready to do her full share in aid of its rapid and speedy completion.
"For the sake of contrast, go in memory over the history of the eastern world, and you will call to mind that to gain possession of the eastern Bosphorus on one hand and to main- tain the same on the other, Europe, Asia, and Africa have, decade after decade, generation after generation, and century after century, marshalled gigantic armies, and almost from the period of recorded history have continued to enrich the soil of each with the best blood of their soldiery, and crimsoned alike the cold currents of the Baltic, the softer currents of the Mediterranean and the Nile, and the blue waters of the Adriatic with the best blood of their naval heroes.
"The development following this last re- cited policy has been along the line of bar- baric civilization, the effect of which is best described under terms of servile, mindless, and enervate Ottoman and darkest Russia.
"Assembled as we are, Mr. President, to consider a project which has occupied the at- tention of the civilized world since the discov- ery of America, and which has through suc- cessive periods received some of the best thought and effort of engineering and business minds, and to accomplish which five hundred millions of dollars and fifty thousand human lives have been wasted, it may be well to con- sider the board and enlightened policy which
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dictated the treaty I have alluded to, and the unexampled results which have arisen there- from.
"Had the maritime nations acted in conso- nance with that policy in reference to an interoceanic canal, we should have enjoyed its advantages one hundred years ago.
"The expressed desire of one of the many able writers and promoters of this enterprise is that the first steamship which passes through the Nicaragua Canal may hail from San Fran- cisco; and he declares that when he has seen the flag of our country floating from the peak of an ocean steamship on Lake Nicaragua, he will reverently paraphrase the devout Simeon of nineteen centuries ago: 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen the salvation of the Pacific Coast and the glory of the great Republic.'
"My devout desire is to live to see, contem- poraneously with the completion of the Nica- ragua Canal from ocean to ocean, the comple- tion of that other great national work which was inaugurated at Detroit last December ; namely, a ship canal connecting our great in- land seas with the larger oceans; and, on the completion of these great works, world-wide in their influence and benefits, I hope to see not only the Stars and Stripes, but the flags of all maritime nations, gaily and peacefully floating from the mast-heads of their various steamers on the route from the Pacific to the Atlantic and vice versa, and also on that other route, which I trust I may live to see com- pleted, connecting our great inland lakes with the outer oceans. My own idea is that all the maritime and inland States be federated to- gether for the completion of this great work.
"Such would be a fitting climax for these closing years of the nineteenth century of our Christian era, and would be the practical reali- zation of what has hitherto been the ideal
dream of the philanthropist - namely, the uni- versal brotherhood of man, the federation of the nations, and a parliament of the world.
"In this line of thought, but in no dogmatic spirit, I have offered these resolutions, and ask a respectful consideration thereof by this convention. "
A glance at the genealogical records of the Farwell and allied families shows that the subject of the foregoing sketch numbers among his ancestors some of the earliest colonists of New England and some of the most noted and influential, both in the Plymouth settlement and the Bay province. The Farwell line is thus given : -
(1) Henry Farwell from England settled in Concord, Mass., in 1638, moved to Chelms- ford, Mass., in 1650, and died there in 1670; his wife, Olive, at same town, 1691. The earliest town records of Concord being lost, knowledge of these two is scanty; but they were probably ancestors of all or most of the name in New England and of many else- where. (2) Their son, Joseph Farwell, born in Concord, 1642, married Hannah Learned, of Chelmsford, in 1666, and died in Dunstable, Mass., in 1722. (3) Isaac Farwell, son of Joseph, born in Chelmsford, died about 1753. (4) William Farwell, son of Isaac, born in Medford, Mass., in 1712, died in Charlestown, N. H., in 1801, married Bethiah Eldridge. (5) Jesse and Abigail (Allen) Farwell, of North Charlestown, N. H. (6) George and Au- rilla (Brownell) Farwell. (7) Their son, Jesse H. Farwell, born in 1834, in North Charles- town, N. H., now of Detroit, Mich.
Henry Farwell and his descendants were trustworthy, the men holding town and church offices far more important then than now. They were substantial farmers and landholders, in- telligent and independent in thought. One stood firm in the patriot ranks on Bunker Hill.
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Several were in Indian fights, some taken prisoners. The Rev. William Farwell, a great-uncle of Jesse H. Farwell, was the first Universalist preacher in Northern Vermont and New Hampshire, an heretical bishop trav- elling much over his wide diocese, holding toil and peril but light trials, and much be- loved as a true man. In Barre, Vt., one of his societies built a church over a century ago. The Farwells were a steadfast race, such men and women as hold the world together.
The wife of Jesse Farwell and grandmother of Jesse H. Farwell was Abigail Allen, daughter of Benjamin and Peggy (Spofford) Allen, and grand-daughter of Captain John and Hannah (Tyler) Spofford. Benjamin Allen was in Stark's brigade at Bennington and Saratoga. The Spofford family is a very old one in England, the name being found in the Doomsday Book, or record of the division of lands after the Norman Conquest in 1066, and also in Saxon chronicles of an earlier date. The Spofford Genealogy, prepared mostly by the late Dr. Jeremiah Spofford, of Georgetown, Mass., and edited by his daugh- ter, contains a picture of Spofforth Castle, an interesting ruin in Spofforth or Spofford, Yorkshire, England, whose owner in the eleventh century, Gamelbar, Lord of Spof- forth, was son of Gamel, who before the Con- quest was lord of the manor of Ilkley, and was the ancestor of the Spofforths or Spoffords of Yorkshire. Captain John Spofford, above named, born in 1704, grandfather of Abigail, wife of Jesse Farwell, was a great-grandson of John Spofford, one of the first settlers of Rowley, Mass., and the first settler in Georgetown, Mass. Of the latter, who had the reputation of being an intensely pious man, a curious anecdote is related : "There had been a severe drought, and he went to Salem to buy corn for himself and his neigh-
bors. The merchant to whom he applied, knowing the scarcity, and foreseeing higher prices, refused to sell. After pleading in vain, John Spofford cursed the merchant to his face, and was promptly brought before the local magistrate, charged with profane swear- ing. Spofford replied that he had not sworn profanely but as a religious duty, and quoted Prov. xi., 26, as his authority. The words he quoted are : 'He that witholdeth corn from the hungry, the people shall curse him. Spofford was immediately acquitted, and, by the summary power of the Court in those days, the merchant was ordered to deliver the corn." Captain John Spofford, his great-grandson, already mentioned, after marriage resided for ten years in Georgetown, and then removed to what is now Charlestown, N. H. The saw- mill and grist-mill built here by him, the first in this region, were burned by the Indians in 1746; and he himself, with one or two others, was carried away a prisoner to Canada, whence he returned in 1747. The mills built to re- place these were also destroyed, and afterward the third mills were built. Settlers came from Lancaster, one hundred and twenty four miles away, to have their corn ground by Cap- tain Spofford. Hannah Tyler, wife of Captain John Spofford, was a daughter of Job and Margaret (Bradstreet) Tyler, and her mother, Margaret, a daughter of Colonel Dudley Brad- street, who was a son of Governor Simon and Anne (Dudley) Bradstreet, both of honored memory, he an able and faithful government official in the Massachusetts Bay Colony for over sixty years, chief magistrate for thirteen years; she a poet, the first American woman of letters, a lady of gentle birth and breed- ing, daughter of Governor Thomas Dudley. Governor and Mistress Anne Bradstreet were the parents of eight children. From them many distinguished Americans - for example,
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Oliver Wendell Holmes, Wendell Phillips, William Ellery Channing --- have traced their lineage.
Mr. Jesse H. Farwell's mother, Mrs. Aurilla (Brownell) Farwell, was a daughter of Henry and Ruth (Shaw) Brownell, of Little Compton, R. I. She was, on the maternal side, of the sixth generation in descent from John and Priscilla (Mullens) Alden, of the "Mayflower" and Plymouth Colony, being a great-great-grand-daughter of their daughter Elizabeth, the first white woman born in New England, who married William Pabodie (or Peabody), of Duxbury, afterward of Little Compton, R. I. Sarah Pabodie, daughter of William and Elizabeth, became the wife of John Coe; and their daughter, Mrs. Lydia Coe Shaw, was the mother of Mrs. Ruth Shaw Brownell and grandmother of Aurilla Brown- ell.
Mrs. Elizabeth Alden Pabodie died at Little Compton, R. I., May 31, 1717, in the ninety- third or ninety-fourth year of her age. Her tomb bears the following inscription : -
" A bud from Plymouth's ' Mayflower' sprung, Transplanted here to live and bloom, Her memory, ever sweet and young, The centuries guard within this tomb."
B ENJAMIN W. BREED, farmer, of Franklin, Merrimack County, N. H., a veteran of the Civil War, who nearly lost his life by a gunshot wound re- ceived in battle, was born in Nelson, Cheshire County, February 12, 1830, son of John and Sarah (Blood) Breed. Many of his ancestors and of their near kin were of Massachusetts birth, and were lifelong residents of that State, the family being one of the earliest that settled in Essex County. Dr. Nathaniel Breed, who was a native of Lynn, Mass., was
a surgeon's mate on the staff of General Wash- ington in the Revolution. Dr. Breed's son John was at the battle of Bunker Hill, which was really fought, as we know, on Breed's Hill. John Breed spent the greater part of his life in Nelson, N.H., but passed his last years in Sheboygan, Wis.
John Breed, son of John and father of Ben- jamin W., resided in Nelson until 1840, when he removed to Franklin, and settled upon the farm which his son now occupies. He died in 1860. He was twice married; and by his first wife, Rhoda Wheeler, of Nelson, he had four children, none of whom are living. His sec- ond wife, Sarah Blood, who was a native of Tyngsboro, Mass., became the mother of five children, as follows: Rhoda, who lives in Franklin Falls, and is the widow of Ben- jamin H. Holt; Charles, who resided for a time in Charlestown, Mass., and died at New Orleans in 1864; Sarah Ann, who married Washington Clark, of Tilton, and is no longer living; Benjamin W., the subject of this sketch; and J. Newton, who married Betsey Bromley, and resides in Chelsea, Mass. Mrs. Sarah Blood Breed died in 1879. She was a daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Walker) Blood, and grand-daughter of Captain Ben- jamin Walker, who was wounded and taken prisoner at the battle of Bunker Hill, and died in captivity.
Benjamin W. Breed acquired a common- school education, and resided at home until twenty-three years old. He followed agricult- ural pursuits until November 4, 1861, when he enlisted in Company I, First New England Cavalry, under Captain S. R. Swett and Colo- nel Lawton, of Rhode Island. He received a gunshot wound in his leg at Front Royal, Va., May 30, 1862, which confined him to the hospital for some time. Shortly after he was shot he was told that he might live ten days,
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but there was no more chance for him to sur- vive four weeks than if his head had been cut off. The reply he gave to the orderly sergeant was, "The surgeon don't known how tough old Ben is." And so it proved. He was dis- charged November 3, 1862. Re-enlisting November 17, 1863, in the Reserve Corps, he did hospital duty in Washington, D. C., until finally discharged August 21, 1865. He re- turned to Franklin, and resided upon the River Road until 1871, when he took up his residence at the homestead, and has since been engaged in general farming. He owns one hundred and seventeen acres of excellent land, the fertility of which he has greatly increased; and he has improved his property by erecting new buildings. He carried the bullet in his leg sixteen years; and then, when it had worked out toward the surface, it was ex- tracted. He now has it in his possession, a flattened piece of lead, with scraped bits of bone adhering to it yet. With this source of inflammation removed, his physical condition is now much better than before, and he is able to do light work.
On February 21, 1851, Mr. Breed was joined in marriage with Sarah Philbrick. She was born in Sanbornton, N.H., daughter of Benjamin and Charlotte Philbrick. She died June 12, 1892; and on August 5, 1894, Mr. Breed married Mrs. Cynthia Jane Philbrick Taylor, his first wife's sister. She was the widow of Levi Taylor, a carpenter of Provi- dence, R.I., and by her first husband she had two children: Mabel, now wife of J. M. Wells, who is in the hardware business in Portsmouth, N. H. ; and Nellie, wife of Alfred L. Pomeroy, a coal dealer in Chicopee, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Breed have no children.
In politics Mr. Breed is a Republican, and formerly took an active interest in public affairs. He is highly esteemed as an industri-
ous farmer and a worthy citizen, and is popu- lar among the comrades of George R. Swett Post, No. 38, G. A. R.
ILLIAM F. HEAD, an extensive manufacturer, lumber dealer, and agriculturist of Hookset, N. H., is well known as one of the most enterprising and successful business men of Merrimack County. He was born in Hookset, September 25, 1832, son of John and Annie (Brown) Head, and is a younger brother of the late ex- Governor Natt Head, with whom for thirty years, 1852 to 1883, he was associated in business.
The Head family, although not one of the oldest in New England, has a history in this country of more than two hundred years. The emigrant ancestor was Arthur Head, a native, it is supposed, of Wales, who settled at New Castle, N.H., in 1671, and died there in September, 1711. He was survived by his wife, Sarah, who died not later than 1718. They reared five children, the eldest of whom was James Head, the great-great-grandfather of William F.
James Head was born at New Castle in 1683. In 1707 he removed to Bradford, Mass., where he made his home until his death in 1743. He was twice married, and had three children by his first wife, Sarah At- wood, who died in 1717, and three by his sec- ond wife, Elizabeth Atwood, his first wife's sister, Major James Head, the next in line of descent, being the last-born.
Major James Head lived in Bradford, Mass., the place of his birth, until 1770, when he established himself as a farmer in Pembroke, N.H. He enlisted in the war of the Revolution, receiving a commission as Major in Colonel Stickney's regiment, and at
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the battle of Bennington, August 16, 1777, was killed .. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Thurston, bore him seven children, Nathaniel, their third child, being grand- father of William F.
Nathaniel Head was born March 4, 1754, in Bradford, Mass., and in 1770 accompanied his parents to Pembroke, N. H., where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1783. Coming then to Chester, now Hookset, he built a log cabin, in which he and his family lived for many years, while he was engaged in the pioneer labor of clearing and improving his land. In addition to general farming, he es- tablished a substantial lumber business, which has since been profitably carried on by his de- scendants. He built a hotel, or tavern, as it was then called, and, being licensed as an innkeeper in 1784, dispensed hospitality as a landlord for thirty-five years. He took a prominent part in local affairs, holding at different times all of the town offices, and serving as Justice of the Peace many years. He was quite active in military circles, and, being the Commander of a company of militia, was known as Captain Head. He married Miss Annie Knox, of Pembroke; and John, father of William F. Head, was the seventh of their nine children. Captain Head lived to a good old age, dying in 1831.
Colonel John Head, a lifelong resident of Hookset, Merrimack County, was born May 30, 1791, and died August 7, 1835. He was for many years numbered among the foremost farmers and lumber dealers of this part of the county. He married July 11, 1822, Miss Annie Brown, a daughter of William and Sallie (Bunten) Brown, and they became the parents of seven children; namely, Hannah Ann, Sally B., Natt and William Brown (twins); John A., William F., and Mary Jane. Han- nah Ann Head, born January 19, 1824, mar-
ried Colonel Josiah Stevens, and died July 9, 1896, leaving one child, Sarah Frances, who married J. Henry Dearborn. A son, Edwin Eugene Stevens, died April 4, 1896, three months before his mother. Sally B. Head, who was born February 25, 1826, was married March 4, 1863, to Hall B. Emery, of Pem- broke. Natt Head (of whom see special sketch) and William Brown Head, twins, were born May 20, 1828; and William Brown died Sep- tember 20, 1829. John A. Head, born July 9, 1830, married December 4, 1862, Abbie F. Davis, of Fort Atkinson, Wis., and had one child, a son, Frank, who died at the age of fifteen months. Mary Jane Head, who was born April 20, 1835, died March 13, 1836.
William F. Head was educated in Pem- broke, and remained on the home farm with his mother. When about twenty years of age he entered into business with his brother Natt, establishing in Hookset in 1852 the manufacture of bricks, which they carried on until the death of Natt Head some thirty years later, the brothers having such faith in each other's honor that no books were ever kept, everything being owned in common. Mr. Head has had various business enter- prises under his command, in each of which he has been very successful, managing his brickyards, mills, and large farm, and contin- uing the lumber business established by his grandfather, Captain Head. Under his saga- cious management this industry has assumed large proportions. In 1871 was formed the Head & Dowst Company, contractors and builders, Mr. Head being Vice-President. His farm, the old Head homestead, contains two hundred and fifty acres of land, on which he averages an annual crop of two hundred and fifty tons of hay.
On November 4, 1858, William F. Head married Miss Mary Haseltine Sargent, a
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daughter of Sterling and Sally (Gault) Sar- gent, of' Allenstown, N.H. Mr. and Mrs. Head are the parents of two children, namely : Eugene Sterling, born June 1, 1863; and Sallie, who was born April 30, 1866, and was graduated at Lasell Seminary in 1887. Eugene S. Head was educated at Pembroke Academy and at Dartmouth College. He is now in business with his father, the firm name being William F. Head & Son. On account of the father's impaired health the management now rests upon the son, who is daily proving himself equal to the responsi- bility. In 1891 he served creditably as a member of the Legislature, and he is a mem- ber of the Republican State Committee. He is also a member of the School Board. He was married November 19, 1884, to Miss Hattie M. Hoyt. They have two children : William Hoyt, born April 24, 1886; and Mary H., born October 29, 1888.
Mr. William F. Head has held many im- portant public offices. He served as Se- lectman in 1859, and 1860; in 1869, and 1870 he was a member of the State legis- lature, representing the town of Hookset; and in 1876 he was a member of the Constitu- tional Convention. Well-versed in monetary affairs and a man of marked executive ability, he is Director of the Suncook Valley Rail- way Company, a Trustee of the Merrimack River Savings Bank, and of the First National Bank of Manchester, this State, and a Trus- tee of the New England Agricultural Society. For many years he has been prominent in the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Eureka Lodge, F. & A. M., of Concord, which he joined in 1863; being a charter member of Jewell Lodge, F. & A. M., of Suncook; and a member of Trinity Commandery, K. T., of Manchester. In politics he is a stanch Republican.
ATHANIEL HEAD, Governor of New Hampshire from 1879 to 1881, was born May 20, 1828, son of 6 John and Annie (Brown) Head. Having completed his education in the schools of Pembroke, he began life as a farmer and lumberman at a very early age, remaining on the old homestead. His military career commenced on September 1, 1847, when he was appointed Drum Major of the Eleventh Regiment, Third Brigade, First Division, of the State militia, in which he served four years. He was an original member of the famous Horse Guards, in which he was Drum Major and Chief Bugler during the ex- istence of the corps. He was likewise con- nected with the Amoskeag Veterans of Man- chester, N.H., and was an honorary member of the Boston Lancers and of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of that city. During his early life he served in various public capacities, being Deputy Sheriff many years, and in 1861 and 1862 representing his town in the State legislature. On March 26, 1864, he received an appointment that brought him more conspicuously before the public, Governor Gilmore making him Adjutant, In- spector, and Quartermaster-general. In 1875 occurred the celebrated controversy in the Senatorial district over the spelling of his name, so many of the votes being cast out that he failed of election; but on the follow- ing year his constituents, careful that a like mistake did not occur, elected him to the Senate by a large vote. In 1878 he was elected Governor of the State, being the first to hold the office under the then new biennial law.
A man of superior ability and of strict in- tegrity, Natt Head was also prominent in other important offices. For several years he was a Director of the Suncook Valley Railway
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Company, of the First National Bank of Man- chester, N.H., and of the New Hampshire Fire Insurance Company. He was likewise President of the China Savings Bank of Sun- cook and a Trustee of the Merrimack River Savings Bank of Manchester. He was a charter member of Jewell Lodge, F. & A. M., of Suncook; a member of the K. of P. lodge of the same place; and a charter member of the Howard Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Suncook. Deeply interested in the early history of our country, he identified himself with the New Hampshire Historical Society, of which he was Vice-President. He was not a member of any church, but was liberal in his religious belief. His active public life, which won him a wide reputation, brought him in contact with many of the leading men of his times; and he had a personal acquaintance with Gen- erals Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, and others, and was often invited to accompany them on different trips through the country.
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