USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 53
USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 53
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Mary Elizabeth Cooke, the youngest of her
parents' children, had the best educational ad- vantages. On completing the course of the Kimball Union Academy, she was sent to Boston, where she was thoroughly trained in piano playing. Then she returned to Clare- mont, engaged in piano teaching, and soon drew about her a class of forty eager students. She afterward followed this occupation with success for thirty years. She married Edward A. Partridge, son of Milton Partridge, the representative of a well-known family of Nor- wich, Vt., and from which the military school of that place takes its name. Milton Part- ridge, who was well versed in military sub- jects, became a fencing teacher at West Point. From there he removed to Tarrytown, N. Y., and was afterward successfully engaged in ex- ecuting large engineering contracts. He was killed by accident. His son William is now a prominent civil engineer of Normal, Ill. Edward A. Partridge graduated from Dart- mouth College, and studied civil engineering under General Ransom at Norwich. He was subsequently appointed city engineer of Dubuque, Ia., and died in the following year. Mary Elizabeth, his only child, has studied the pianoforte with her mother, the organ under Professor Whiting, of Boston, and the guitar with Hayden. She has taken her mother's piano classes, and also conducts large classes in the study of the organ and guitar. Both mother and daughter are universal favor- ites in the society of Claremont. They re- turned to Claremont immediately after the death of Mr. Partridge.
Mrs. Partridge has been especially active in the temperance cause. She is a member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, was county President from 1891 to 1896, and for twenty years was closely identified with this society. She was for ten years, under appointment of the Union, the superintend-
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ent of the jails and almshouses of New Hampshire. This position entailed much travelling, which was gladly accomplished without remuneration. Mrs. Partridge was instrumental in establishing police matrons for the care of arrested females in the police stations of Nashua and Manchester; and she worked hard and incessantly for the improve- ment of almshouses, securing better accommo- dations, with especial wards for the insane, and removing children to good homes. When she resigned in the fall of 1896, owing to im- paired health, her successor found that Mrs. Partridge's methodical work had left to her an easy road. Her daughter, who is also deeply interested in this philanthropic work, attended the National Convention of the W. C. T. U. in October, 1896, as State delegate, and is now State Reporter for the Union Signal of Chicago. Both Mrs. and Miss Partridge are prominent workers in the Episcopal Church of Claremont.
HARLES F. M. STARK, a well- known resident of Dunbarton, Merri- mack County, was born in this town, February 18, 1848, son of John and Caroline J. (Morris) Stark. He is a great- great-grandson of General John Stark, the famous victor of Bennington. John Stark, the father, was a lawyer, who practised his profession in Galena, Ill., and in New York City. He died in Washington, D.C., at the age of forty-two years. His wife, Caroline, was the youngest daughter of Thomas Morris, and a grand-daughter of Robert Morris, signer of the Declaration of Independence and first Secretary of State of the United States.
Charles F. M. Stark was a student at St. Paul's School in Concord. After leaving school, he resided for a number of years in New York City, and for a time was interested
in insurance in New York and Boston. He finally returned to the family homestead in Dunbarton, where he has since resided, it having become his property through inheri- tance. The house was built by his great- grandfather, Major Caleb Stark, a son of Gen- eral John Stark, and who did good service to his county in the Revolutionary War. It was built after the model of an English manor house, and is a quaint and interesting piece of architecture. Every room it contains is re- plete with historic memories. Heirlooms and relics both of the Stark and Morris families abound on every hand. In the north-west cor- ner room, on the second floor, is the four- posted mahogany bed, with canopy top, in which Lafayette slept while on a visit here. About half a mile away from the house is the old cemetery, where rest the remains of Major Caleb Stark, and in which others of renown are buried.
Mr. Stark married Miss Annie McNeil, daughter of John and Cynthia McNeil, at that time of Winchester, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Stark have one child - John McNeil, who is now a student at a boarding-school at Bel- mont, Mass. Mr. Stark is an enthusiastic sportsman.
UDLEY TAPPAN CHASE, a well- known farmer of Claremont, born April 2, 1823, in Cornish, N.H., son of Colonel Lebbeus and Nizaula (March) Chase, comes of an ancient family. The Chase coat of arms is described as follows : "Arms Gules, four crosses patonce, argent two and two; on a canton azure a lion pas- sant, Or, crest - a lion rampant, Or, holding between his feet a cross patonce - Gules." The motto is "Ne Cede Malis" (Yield not to misfortunes). The family is traced back to Thomas Chase', of Hundrich, in the par-
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ish of Chesham, England. His son, Richard Chase2, who was baptized August 3, 1542, and married Joan Bishop, April 16, 1564, lived and died in Chesham. Aquila3, son of Richard, born in Chesham, was baptized August 14, 1580. His son, Aquila', by his wife, Sarah, born in Chesham in 1618, came to America in 1639, and was one of the grantees and settlers of Hampton (Plymouth), Mass. This Aquila, who was a sea captain, removed to Newbury, Mass., in 1646, married Anne Wheeler, of Hampton, daughter of John Wheeler, and died December 27, 1670. His youngest son, Moses Chases, born in New- bury, December 24, 1663, married Ann Fol- lansbee, November 10, 1684. Daniel Chase6, the eldest son of Moses and the twin brother of Moses, Jr., who died young, was born Sep- tember 20, 1685, in Newbury, and married Sarah March, of Newbury, January 2, 1706. He removed to Littleton, and thence to Sut- ton, Mass., before March 26, 1733, and died in the latter place, April 17, 1768. Samuel Chase7, eldest son of Daniel, born in New- bury, September 28, 1707, married Mary Dudley, of Sutton, and died in Cornish, N. H., August 12, 1800. He removed from Sutton to Cornish shortly after the settlement of the town in 1765 by his sons, Dudley and Jona- than, and others from Sutton.
Samuel's third son, Jonathan, was born in Sutton, December 6, 1732, removed to Cor- nish in 1765, married Sarah Hall, daughter of the Rev. Dr. David Hall, of Sutton, October 22, 1770, and died January 14, 1800, in Cornish. Jonathan's son, Lebbeus9, born Jan- uary 21, 1779, in Cornish, married Nizaula March, January 8, 1815, and died in Cornish, February 22, 1865.
The birthplace of Dudley Tappan Chase'ยบ, was the old homestead, where his grand- father, General Jonathan Chase, settled in
1765, and which was the first two-story house erected in town. The house is still standing, but much the worse for wear. He lived and labored on his father's farm, and attended the common schools until he was seventeen years of age. Then he fitted for college at Kimball Union Academy, teaching school in the next and several succeeding winters. After gradu- ating at the academy in 1844, he entered Dart- mouth College in the fall of that year, and was a student there for two years, continuing to teach school in the winter. In 1857 he received the degrees of A. B. and A. M. from Dartmouth College, in the class of 1848. In the fall of 1846 he commenced the study of the law at Windsor, Vt. In 1847 he attended the law school of Harvard University for a short time, and the law school of Yale Uni- versity for a few months. He was admitted to the bars of Sullivan County, New Hamp- shire, and Windsor County, Vermont, in 1849, and commenced practice in April of that year at Windsor. Afterward he was admitted to the United States District and Circuit Courts in Vermont. He practised in Windsor County and Sullivan County until April, 1863, when on account of failing health he retired from the bar, and removed to Clare- mont. Here he bought a small farm, and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. Ac- tive exercise in the open air restored his health; and he is still living on his farm, at the age of seventy-four years, but mainly retired from labor.
On November 12, 1851, Mr. Chase married Mrs. Adelaide G. Merrifield, daughter of Ed- ward R. Campbell, Esq., of Windsor. Two children came of the union, namely : Edward Campbell Chase", born July 2, 1853, who died August 12, 1854; and Francis Dudley Chase", born February 27, 1856, who died January 10, 1857. The mother died Septem-
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ber 8, 1856, aged thirty-four years. On Feb- ruary 4, 1858, Mr. Chase married Mrs. Sula Powers Smith, who was born October 5, 1826, daughter of Captain Obed and Cynthia (Com- ings) Powers, of Cornish. The only child of this marriage was Lucy Adelaide Chase", born February 4, 1859, who died February 8, 1859. Mrs. Chase, now in her seventy-first year, enjoys good health.
Mr. Chase was mainly instrumental in hav- ing a subordinate grange of the Patrons of Husbandry organized in Claremont in 1873, November 18. He was elected the first Master, and had served in that capacity for several years, when he refused to do so any longer. He was also elected the first Master of the New Hampshire State Grange, which was organized December 23, 1873, and served by successive elections for six years. He was a member, together with his wife, of the National Grange, attended seven sessions of that body, and was for three years a member of its Executive Committee. He compiled the rules for the regulation of the co-operative associations of the grange, and had charge of the publication of the first Digest of the grange, in which, it is claimed, a single error has not been found. He was also chairman of the committee appointed to investigate the financial condition of the grange, in which capacity, after a full examination of the ac- counts, he made a report that brought order out of chaos and put the finances of the grange on a sure basis. He was Chairman of the Committee on Constitution and By-laws for several years, then considered the most important committee of the order. In the Husbandman, December 18, 1878, was the fol- lowing from a correspondent relative to the session of the National Grange held at Rich- mond, Va., in the preceding November: "I should be glad to name with approval a few
members who have given conspicuous service to the meeting if I might attempt the task without seeming to make invidious distinc- tion. In such a list I should inscribe the name Dudley T. Chase, of New Hampshire, whose clear perception has more than once saved the grange from indiscreet acts."
Mr. Chase is the last survivor of a family of ten children of his father, Colonel Lebbeus Chase, and the only representative of the fam- ily save a niece, Miss Allace C. Chase, now of Smith College, of whom he has been the guardian. He has taken an active part in the town meetings. He is an Independent in politics and religion, has strong convictions on most subjects, and is not afraid to express them on all suitable occasions. He has been a Mason of Hiram Lodge of Claremont since 1870, serving as Master for two years. His father was raised to the degree of Master Mason in this lodge in 1800. His grand- father was also a prominent Mason, as is shown by the inscription on his tombstone in the Cornish cemetery.
ORACE PERKINS EATON, for many years a resident of Franklin, Merrimack County, and a highly esteemed and influential citizen, was a native of Weare, N. H. He was born August 30, 18II, and was the eldest son of Wheeler and Abigail (Perkins) Eaton. His father, also a native of Weare, was a shoemaker and tanner by trade. He lived for a while in Seabrook, from which place he removed to Franklin, N. H., where he settled in the northern part of the town and engaged in general farming. He spent the rest of his life on this farm; but in his latter years he sold out to his son-in-law, Dana W. Call, with whom he thenceforward made his home. He died September 1, 1871,
HORACE P. EATON.
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at the advanced age of eighty-six. He was twice married. His first wife, who was before marriage Abigail Perkins, bore five children, all of whom are now dead. Their names were : Horace Perkins, Cyrus, Gorham, Emily W., and William. Mrs. Abigail P. Eaton died in 1838; and Mr. Wheeler Eaton married for his second wife Mrs. Nancy Burleigh Sleeper, of Sanbornton, N. H., by whom he had one daughter, Emily, who married Dana W. Call, and is now deceased.
Horace Perkins Eaton received his educa- tion in the best schools of Weare, and, after he had finished his studies, turned his atten- tion to farming. He was an energetic man and a progressive farmer. In politics he was a Republican, and he was the Representative for the town of Franklin for several years. He also served as Selectman a number of times. He was always an earnest member of the Franklin Christian Church, and took great interest in all church work. He died August 26, 1886. He was married at the age of twenty-six to Ismenie S. Merrill, a native of Franklin, and the youngest daughter of Eze- kiel and Jane (Bradbury) Merrill. From Franklin Mr. Merrill removed to Plymouth, N. H. There he lived in his later years a retired life, although previously engaged in the business of wheelwright. He died at the age of ninety-six. He was twice married, and by his first wife, Jane Bradbury, of Gilmanton, had seven children, of whom two, Joseph W. and Mrs. Eaton, are now living. His second wife, Mary Pevies, was born in Andover. The daughter Ismenie, born December 23, 1816, was but eleven months old when her mother died; and she was taken to live with a . family by the name of Simonds, who brought her up as their own child. She was twenty years old at the time of her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Eaton had four children, namely :
Frank W., who married Frances Young, and is now living in Hill, N. H. ; Abigail, who died March 29, 1883, the wife of John P. Sanborn, the latter now living with his son in Tilton, N. H. ; and twin daughters, born Oc- tober 3, 1849. Nancy J., one of the twins, became the wife of E. W. Lane, and is living in Sanbornton, N. H. ; and the other, Lilla M., lives with her mother on Main Street, Franklin village, whither they removed a year after the death of Mr. Eaton. Mrs. Eaton is a member of the Christian church and an efficient helper in all church work.
HILEMON C. HARDY, a promi- nent citizen of Cornish Flat, Sulli- van County, N.H., well known as the proprietor of the Hardy Remedies, was born in the town of Cornish, March 5, 1840. He is a son of the late Samuel Hardy. His great-grandfather served as a soldier through- out the Revolutionary War, and Mr. Hardy is now in possession of the gun barrel used by that patriotic ancestor in the battle of Bunker Hill. After his death his widow removed to Grantham, N. H., taking with her their ten children, six boys and four girls. She was the first of the name in this section of the State.
Her son Tristram, grandfather of Philemon C., was born in Bradford, Mass., March 29, 1771, but resided in New Hampshire the greater part of his life. He was a farmer, and carried on the trade of chair-maker in Grantham, now called East Plainfield. He married March 18, 1795, Kesia Frazier, who was born March 16, 1779, and died January 10, 1817. Their ten children were: Polly, William, Susanna, Moses, Samuel, Sally, James M., Kesia, Hannah, and Mehitable. Tristram Hardy's second wife was the widow
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Polly Rogers, to whom he was married March 12, 1818. There were no children by this marriage. Polly Hardy, born February 24, 1796, married Hosea Churchill on October 8, 1820. She died December 5, 1865, having had no children. William, born October 24, 1797, died December 11, 1878. His first wife was Mary Ball, whom he married on Jan- uary 17, 1822; and his second was Prudence Carroll, with whom he was united on October 30, 1831. Susanna Hardy, born October 26, 1799, died March 20, 1823, the wife of Inde- pendence Gile, a hotel man, named from hav- ing been born on the Fourth of July. Moses Hardy, born June 11, 1802, died August 6, 1806. Sally, born January 25, 1807, married Joshua Atwood, March 20, 1826, and died April 25, 1868. She had two children : Susan J., born April 8, 1827; and John, born December 29, 1830. James M. Hardy, born January 11, 1809, died August 28, 1810. Kesia Hardy; born May 11, 1811, was mar- ried on March 20, 1836, to John F. Carroll, a cooper and farmer. Her husband died May 5, 1879; and she died April 29, 1886. Some of their children survive. Hannah Hardy, born March 10, 1813, died May 19, 1813. Mehit- able, born November 7, 1814, died September 10, 1827.
Samuel Hardy, third son of Tristram, and father of the subject of this sketch, was born October 1, 1804, in Grantham, and was edu- cated in the public schools of that town. He learned the trade of chair-maker from his father, and at the age of twenty-one went to Cayuga County, New York, where he worked at his trade for some years before returning to New Hampshire to be married. When he went back to New York State he was accom- panied by his wife. He stayed there ten years in all, and then came to Cornish, where he had extensive farming interests; and in addi-
tion to his other labors he began the manu- facture of the Hardy Remedies, since so widely known and used. This was in 1836; and Mr. Samuel Hardy continued the business until 1869, when Mr. Philemon C. Hardy and his brother bought it out. Few changes have been made in the original receipts, but the bitters are not now made. The medicines that now bear the Hardy name are: Hardy's Salve, Woman's Friend, Hardy Pain De- stroyer, and Anodyne Liniment. During the late Rebellion the soldier boys of New Hamp- shire found a quantity of Hardy's Salve at Winchester, Va. ; and some of them wrote home to their friends that they were going to have him prosecuted for abetting the Confederates in giving or supplying them with medicine which was able to heal or to save the lives of enemies. An old sea captain has told the Doctor that rolls of the salve could be found in every port of South America. It is said to be to-day the oldest salve upon the market and the best known. Samuel Hardy did a very large business; and, besides his extensive ad- vertising through the press of the country and by distributing circulars, he sent out a great many gorgeous carts drawn by fine handsome horses, which were the envy of small boys. He never aspired for political honors, but was always a Republican of the stanchest kind and ever ready to use his influence for the benefit of his party. He was a member of the Baptist Church of Cornish, was exceed- ingly benevolent and broad-minded, and a friend to every needy or destitute person that chance threw in his way. He was most lib- eral in his contributions to the church and to every worthy object or cause. His death took place August 7, 1879; and in him the town lost a valuable citizen, and the cause of hu- manity a noble worker.
Samuel Hardy was three times married :
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first to Sally, daughter of Follansbee Carroll, of Croydon, N. H. She was born August 23, 1807, and died April 8, 1838. Her five chil- dren were: Follansbee C., Mary Ann G., Ed- mund, Mehitable, and Tristram. By his union with his second wife, Prudentia Coburn, who was born February 6, 1813, in Vermont, and died December 16, 1847, there were four children, all born in Cornish; namely, Philemon C., Sally, Hannah S., and Charles T. The third wife was Phebe A. Pratt, who had one child, William Wallace. Follans- bee C. Hardy, born December 20, 1829, is a travelling merchant, and lives in Worcester,
Mass. Formerly he had one of the most famous medicine carts ever put on the road. Except the wheels it was all constructed of glass. He married Delia Pierce, of West Boylston, Mass., on June 17, 1856, and had a family of three children, one of whom is liv- ing. Mary Ann G., born September 22, 1831, married Benjamin F. Bryant, of Hart- land, Vt., now residing at Hudson, Mass., and has a family of four children. Edmund Hardy, born December 11, 1833, married Lu- cinda Bailey, December 5, 1855. He died in the army, May 30, 1863. Mehitable, born January 10, 1836, was first married May 4, 1858, to George W. Moore, of Hudson, Mass .; and second, February 12, 1865, to Henry S. Moore, the Postmaster of Hudson. There are no children by either marriage. Tristram Hardy, born March 9, 1838, died September 22, 1839. Sally Hardy, eldest daughter of Samuel Hardy by his second marriage, born November 19, 1841, married Lewis F. Knight, of Cornish, November 30, 1863, and is the mother of five children, four of whom are now living. Hannah S. Hardy, born August 9, 1843, married Albert J. Dyer, of Sutton, Quebec, December 24, 1871. Charles T., born June 1, 1846, married November 15, 1866,
Ellen M. Ripley, and until his death, which occurred twelve years ago, May 12, 1885, was associated in business with his brother Phile- mon. William Wallace Hardy, the only child of the third marriage, born February 6, 1849, is now living at New Haven, Conn. He is in the wholesale cigar business in New York City, is exceedingly energetic and talented, and has accumulated a large fortune. He married December 25, 1875, Sarah J. Tucker, of Redding, Conn., and has one child, a son, Samuel B. Hardy.
Mr. Philemon C. Hardy was educated in the schools of Cornish and in Kimball Union Academy. He worked on his father's farm until twenty-one years of age, when he began to travel in the interests of the Hardy Rem- edies. He has continued in the business until the present time, increasing and extend- ing it and managing it most successfully. He is a Deacon of the Baptist church, and, like his father, is charitable and benevolent. Mr. Hardy was married on October 17, 1867, to Linnie J. Dyer, daughter of Daniel Dyer, of Sutton, Quebec. She was born October 17, 1848, and died March 30, 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Hardy had one daughter, Nora A., born August 4, 1879, who died July 5, 1880.
OHN F. LEIGHTON, a prosperous dairyman of Franklin, was born where he now resides, May 27, 1832, son of Edward and Judith (Rand) Leighton. His father, who was a native of Portsmouth, N. II., came to Franklin in 1816, settled upon the farm now owned by his son, and tilled the soil successfully during the rest of his active period, attaining the age of ninety-two years. He first married February 20, 1806, Lydia Rand, whose only child, Moses, is deceased. For his second wife, on April 24, 1813, he
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married Judith Rand, a cousin of his first wife and a native of Somersworth. Of this union there were born eight children, namely : Lydia, July 8, 1814; Thomas, March II, 1817; John S., June 13, 1819, who died in childhood; Mary, November 8, 1821 ; Edward, August 11, 1825; Judith, August 8, 1827; John F., the subject of his sketch; and Loren S., January 2, 1838. Lydia is the widow of Samuel Brown, late of Northfield, N. H. Thomas and Edward are no longer living. Mary is the widow of James Gardner, and now lives in Concord, N. H. Judith is the wife of Benjamin Sargent, formerly of Tilton, and now a merchant in Chicago, Ill. Loren S. married Tirza French, October 16, 1859, and is residing in Alma, Minn. Mrs. Edward Leighton died at the age of eighty-two.
John F. Leighton was educated in the com- mon schools of Franklin and Tilton. He has always resided upon the home farm, and has managed it since reaching his majority. His property consists of two hundred acres of de- sirably located land, and he has made various improvements in the buildings. He carries on a large and profitable milk business, keeping about thirty cows on the average.
On August 27, 1857, Mr. Leighton married for his first wife Mary A. Hanaford. She was born in Northfield, September 19, 1839, daughter of John A. and Mary A. (Park) Han- aford, the former of whom, now deceased, was a native of that town and a prosperous farmer ; while the latter, born in Lowell, Mass., now resides with Mr. Leighton. Mrs. Mary A. Leighton died June 5, 1886. On February 9, 1888, Mr. Leighton married Emma L. Colby, who was born in Canterbury, N. H., December 29, 1852, daughter of Leonard and Mary Ann (Page) Colby. Her father was a native of Bow, N. H. ; and her mother was born in St. Johnsbury, Vt. They were industrious farm-
ing people, and resided in Canterbury many years. The father is no longer living. The mother is residing with her son, Osborn L., a farmer of Canterbury. By his first union Mr. Leighton had three children, namely : Maria F., born June 13, 1858, who died July 30, 1881 ; Nellie A., born September 9, 1860; and George E., born October 15, 1864. George is now in business in Providence, R. I. Nellie A. married Benjamin Kimball, and died July 20, 1893, leaving four children -- Mary E., Rena E., Bertha L., and Harry M. The children by Mr. Leighton's second mar- riage are: Leonard C., born June 13, 1889; and Mary E., born March 12, 1895.
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