USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 54
USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 54
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Mr. Leighton holds a warm place in the hearts of his neighbors, who are familiar with his liberality and kindness of heart. He is connected with the Patrons of Husbandry, and both he and Mrs. Leighton are members of the First Baptist Church in Franklin Falls. In politics he is a Republican.
OHN F. JONES, a well-to-do farmer of Claremont, was born here, June 2, 1830, son of Worcester and Sarah (Dove) Jones. His great-grandfather, Asa Jones, came here from Colchester, Conn., in the early days of the town, and settled along the river at Claremont Junction, taking up a large tract of land. Asa was a Lieutenant in the army and a man of importance in the town. He married Sarah Treadway, of Colchester, and had a son, also named Asa. Asa Jones, Jr., born July 18, 1752, died June 4, 1828. On January 20, 1783, he married Mary Par- dee, who, born July 7, 1759, died May 17, 1835. They left the following children : Worcester, born November 8, 1783, who mar- ried Sarah Dove, and died December 2, 1858; Zabina, born June 30, 1785, who married
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Elvira Alden, and, died June 7, 1828; Asa, born February 22, 1787, who married Sarah Jones, and died August 7, 1862; Mary, born October 18, 1788, who married Henry Si- mons, and died August 25, 1825; Augustus, born June 6, 1793, who married Amanda Sheldon, and died August 7, 1862; Fanny Beecher, born April 28, 1795, who married Henry Ainsworth, and died in 1893; Sally R., born July 13, 1797, who married German Hendy, and died April 18, 1878; Nancy Ma- linda, born September 17, 1799, who married John Simon, and died March 28, 1840; Phi- landa, born August 13, 1801, who married Elizabeth Day, and died February 22, 1871 ; and Elizabeth M., born March 9, 1804.
Worcester Jones, the father of John F., settled on the farm of his grandfather in Worcester, then containing about one hundred and fifty acres. He became a large farmer, and added considerably to the estate. Besides keeping all kinds of cattle, he produced butter, pork, and cheese, which he sold at market. He was also interested in the Claremont Na- tional Bank, of which he was a Director. In politics he was a Whig, and he attended relig- ious service at the Union Church. Public- spirited to a high degree and a supporter of every good cause, he was a leader among his townspeople. He died December 20, 1858. His children were: Sarah, who married Laban Ainsworth, and is deceased; Mary Ann, who died at the age of seventy-eight years; Freder- ick, who married Lucy Dean, daughter of Horace Dean, and died at the age of sixty- two years; Fannie, who died at the age of twenty years; Maria, who died at the age of fifteen; Hellen, who died when a child of five years; and John F., who is the only survivor.
John F. Jones obtained his education in the district schools and at the academy in Clare- mont. He assisted his father with the farm
until 1855, when he and his brother Frederick were given complete charge. They carried on the farm until 1862, when Frederick married. John then assisted his brother until the fall of 1869, when he bought the Horace Dean farm, a place of three hundred acres, where he has since been farming on a large scale, thereby earning a comfortable income. He married Helen Dean, daughter of Horace Dean. Her grandfather was Lemuel, a Revolutionary soldier, who settled early in Claremont. He married Lucy Perry, and had three children, namely : Maria, who died in infancy; Maria (second), born in 1800, who married James Ballock, and died in 1885; and Horace, who married Emaline Pressy, and had eleven chil- dren. For several years Horace Dean carried on the hotel and Cupola Farm, and afterward bought the farm now owned by his son-in-law, Mr. Jones. The Cupola Farm was considered, perhaps, the best farm in the State. It con- tained five hundred acres of well-tilled land. He raised fine stock for the Boston markets, dealt in horses, and kept a dairy. He was a member of the Union Church, was influential in town affairs, and he acceptably served the town for a time in the capacity of Selectman. A poor boy at the outset, he became one of the wealthiest farmers of the district. He died in 1884. His other children were: Lucy, who married Frederick Jones, and died in September, 1894, having had no children ; John, who married Hannah Harlow, became a superintendent of railroad construction in Kansas, and served through the war, had no children; Lemuel, who died in September, 1849, aged ten years; Alice, who married James Thompson, and had one child, who died in infancy; Elizabeth, who married Charles Fisher; Thomas, who became a hardware mer- chant of Memphis, Tenn., served on govern- ment farms during the war, and died in 1867;
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Samuel, who married Kate Cotton, daughter of Charles Cotton, and is a farmer in Dakota ; Charles, living in Texas, who successively married Ophelia Roberts, of St. Louis, and Carrie Johnson,' of Springfield, Vt., and has a daughter Edna by the first wife, and a son, Thad P. George, by the second; and Kate, who is unmarried. Thad P. George, son of Charles Dean, resides in California, engaged in mining, lumbering, and hotel-keeping. The elder Mrs. Dean died in April, 1897, at the age of ninety years. Mr. Jones and his wife are members of the Union church. He has represented his town in the legislature, serving during his term of office on the Insur- ance Committee. He is a public-spirited man and universally liked.
EORGE A. SUMNER, a popular storekeeper and real estate owner of Hill, was born on the place where he now resides, June 27, 1839, son of George W. and Hannah (Abrams) Sumner. [ For the full genealogy of the Sumner family the reader is referred to the account of Governor Increase Sumner, to be found in the General Register. ] George Sumner is a direct de- scendant of Edward Sumner, a Revolutionary patriot, who for a long time would not allow tea to be served on his table, and who was one of the Boston Tea Party. Edward's son, Nathaniel, by his wife Hannah Bullock Sum- ner, was also a prominent patriot, and a man of large property and much influence. Na- thaniel had a numerous family of children, and gave each of his sons a farm. George, the next in line, married Margaret Lewis. One of his children, who was grandfather of the subject of this sketch, settled in New Boston, N. H. Grandfather Sumner married Lydia Winchester. He bought a farm in Deering,
N. H. He was noted in the district for his indomitable courage.
George W. Sumner, at the age of nineteen, after having helped his father in clearing the Deering property, left his home and applied himself to learning the clothing business. He came to Hill and engaged in wool carding and cloth dressing, constructing a dam and erect- ing a mill for these purposes. In 1825 he built a fine brick house, which is still one of the most prominent structures in the town. He married Hannah Abrams in 1822; and his children were: Mary, Ellen, Catherine, Jane, George A., and Sarah. Of these George is the only survivor.
George A. Sumner was sent to the public schools of Hill and later to Franklin Acad- emy. At the age of nineteen he bought a grist-mill. After running that for a time, he exchanged it for a general merchandise store. A few years later he bought out Mr. Stack- pole, whose business was located in the rail- road station, and joined the two stores. About the year 1890 he took in a partner. The business is now conducted under the firm name of Sumner & Foss. Recently, becom- ing interested in real estate, Mr. Sumner has built a number of tenement-houses for the workmen employed in the needle factory. At one time he was the freight, express, and telegraph agent of the Boston & Maine Rail- road.
On April 28, 1868, Mr. Sumner married Angie Montague, of Springfield, Mass. His children are: Annie G. and G. Willis Sum- ner. The last named is a graduate of Oberlin College, Ohio. Mr. Sumner has been an active man in town affairs, and has held sev- eral town offices. He has been Justice of the Peace for twenty-five years, Postmaster for four years, and Town Clerk for six years. He has also filled the offices of Selectman and
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Town Treasurer. In 1895 he represented the town in the State legislature. A loyal Re- publican, his first Presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. He is a Mason, and takes much interest in the develop- ment of the organization. He is a member of the Congregational Church of Hill and a regular attendant on the services.
ILLIAM S. STRAW, a prosperous farmer of Hopkinton and a son of William and Hannah Straw, was born in the house where he now lives, June 1, 1817. He is descended from William and Mehitable Straw of early Colonial times. Their children were born as follows: William, May 22, 1686; John, July 1, 1688; Samuel, August 13, 1692; and Lawrence, May 13, 1699. Lieutenant Jacob Straw, the grand- father of William S., came from Rowley, Mass., to Hopkinton, some time between 1740 and 1755, while still a young man. He se- cured fifty acres of land, upon which he erected some small buildings, and then sold the whole to such advantage that he was able later to purchase two hundred acres on Sugar Hill, in the town of Weare. Here again he erected buildings, sold out at a profit, and bought three hundred acres in West Hopkin- ton, near where William S. Straw now lives. This purchase was made in 1782; and he spent the rest of his life upon the property, putting up large and convenient buildings and making many other improvements. A pros- perous farmer, he was able to give each of his sons a farm, besides affording his sons-in-law substantial assistance. His death resulted from a cancer in his seventy-eighth year. He married Betsey (or Lydia) Ordway, of Rum- ford, later of Concord. They had twelve children, the youngest of whom died aged
sixty-six, and the eldest at the age of eighty- nine. Their names were: Samuel, Ezekiel, Jacob, Levi, Joseph, William, Lydia, Doro- thy, Sarah, Betsey, Hannah, and a daughter whose name has not been preserved.
William Straw, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born on the farm in West Hopkinton in 1782. When a young man he learned the saddler's trade, and he subse- quently worked at it for a short time in his native town. Then he went to Warner, and from there to Canaan, where his father had given him a farm of one hundred and twenty acres. After clearing a part of the farm, he sold it and returned to Hopkinton to buy a part of the old farm. Soon after, he married Hannah Huse, a daughter of Thomas Huse, who owned an adjoining farm. Mr. Huse dying soon after, William and his wife moved into the new house, which was but just com- pleted; and by buying out the other heirs Mr. Straw became the possessor of one hun- dred and five acres of the original Huse farm, probably about the year 1812. His wife, Hannah, died while still a young woman, leaving her husband with four children, all of whom lived to be over sixty-five years of age. Their names were: Sarah, who married Leon- ard Felch, of Weare; Anne, who married William Chandler, a blacksmith of Henniker; Harriet, who married Otis Lewis, of Lynn, Mass. ; and William, the subject of this sketch. William Straw afterward successively married Lucretia Page and Joannah Goodhue, of Bow, N. H. Lucretia had two children - Jesse Osgood and Page Huse. The third wife survived him four years. She had one daugh- ter, who married Jacob S. Chase, and died in Warner in 1893.
William S. Straw received his early train- ing on the farm where he was born and where he has spent the greater part of his life.
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After he had reached the age of twenty, he worked for a while in a factory at Methuen, Mass. He owned another farm before he went to live on the old Huse farm where he now lives. A capable farmer, he is always ready to make improvements. In politics he has been a stanch Democrat. He is a Universal- ist in religious belief and an earnest mem- ber of the church in Henniker. He has been a subscriber for the - New England Farmer and for the Christian Leader for forty-six years. He married Mary Ann Flanders, a daughter of James and Mary (Peasler) Flanders, who has had five children. These were: Hannah Marion, who married E. Harvey Edmonds, of Hopkinton village, and died in 1893; Luella, who married George H. Pierce, and lives on a farm near her parents; Abbie Frances, who married George H. Dodge, of Henniker; James Otis, whose life is sketched elsewhere in this volume; and Charles H., now an artist living at home.
HARLES GILMAN SANDERS, an enterprising lumber manufacturer of Chichester, was born in this town, April 30, 1824, son of Elijah and Olive (Phil-
brick) Sanders. His grandfather, Robert Sanders, followed the sea from the age of seventeen until he was sixty years old. Rob- ert was engaged in both the foreign and coast trade; and during the War of 1812 he served upon a privateering vessel, which was fitted out at Portsmouth, N. H., by Captain Chase. His last days were passed in Epsom, N. H. ; and he died at the age of sixty-four years. He voted with the Whig party in politics, and in his religious views was a Congregationalist. He married a Miss Foss, who lived to be seventy-eight years old; and she reared six sons and two daughters.
Elijah Sanders, born in Epsom in 1799, learned both tanning and shoemaking, and afterward followed those trades in Chichester for fifty years. He was an energetic and in- dustrious man. His wife, Olive, was a daugh- ter of Perkins Philbrick, a native of Rye, N. H., who moved from that town to Epsom, where he passed the rest of his life. She be- came the mother of two sons: Charles G., the subject of this sketch; and George S., who is no longer living. George S. Sanders married for his first wife Elizabeth Baxter, of Bridge- water, Mass. By that union there is one son, Charles H. For his second wife he wedded Hattie Atwater, a native of Maine, and left two children by this union - Calvin E. and Clara Olive. His second wife sur- vives, and is living with her children in Worcester, Mass. Elijah Sanders lived to be eighty-six years old, and his wife died at seventy - two. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Charles Gilman Sanders acquired a com- mon-school education in his native town. When his studies were finished, he learned the shoemaker's trade with his father. He followed that calling for fifteen years; and then, in company with his father, he built a saw-mill for the manufacture of shingles, clapboards, etc. This mill was destroyed by fire, and in 1878 he erected another upon the same site. At the present time he is operat- ing two saw-mills, one for the manufacture of shingles and clapboards, and the other for the sawing of heavy lumber. He also cultivates a farm of sixty-five acres. Both his manufact- uring and agricultural enterprises are in a flourishing condition.
On December 3, 1846, Mr. Sanders married Abigail M. Ayer, daughter of Daniel Ayer, of Chichester. Mr. and Mrs. Sanders have had five children, of whom four are living;
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namely, Frank L., Warren A., Nettie A., and Loren D. Frank L. married Emma Booth, who died leaving one son, Harry. Warren married Mary Ida Edmunds, of this town, and has four children - Bert, Minnie, Edward, and Rena. Nettie A. is the wife of Fred Lear, of Epsom, and has no children. Loren D. married Martha Tomlinson, a native of Vermont, and has one child, Harley Gil- man. In politics Mr. Sanders is a Repub- lican. He takes a lively interest in the progress of his town, and is a member of Chichester Grange, Patrons of Husbandry.
EV. ISAAC G. HUBBARD, at one time the rector of Trinity Church, Claremont, was born here, April 13, 1818, son of Isaac and Ruth (Cobb) Hub- bard. His grandfather, George Hubbard, who was a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary War, came to Claremont in 1778 from Tolland, Conn. Judge J. H. Hubbard, of Windsor, a son of George, was one of the ablest lawyers in New England. He was a powerful man, and as a pleader at the bar he had few equals. Isaac Hubbard, another son, who settled in Claremont, became a successful farmer and stock-raiser. He was an influen- tial man, served in different town offices, did much legal work, was Justice of the Peace, was considered a practical lawyer, and was prominent in the Episcopal church. He died in January, 1861, leaving a fine estate of some four hundred acres. By his first wife, a daughter of Ezra Jones, there was one child, a daughter, who married Charles F. Long, and had four children : Caroline, who died young ; Charles H. ; Isaac G. ; and Charlotte B. The three last named are still living. His second wife, in maidenhood Ruth Cobb, daughter of Samuel Cobb, of Springfield, Vt.,
had four children. Amos, the eldest, now deceased, who was in the nursery business in Detroit, Mich., married Catharine, daughter of Samuel Fiske. She was half-sister of Philip Fiske, the donor of the Fiske Library in Claremont; and her mother was a sister of Paran Stevens, the famous hotel man of that place. The second child of Isaac Hubbard was Sarah M., who married the Rev. Joel Clapp, an Episcopal minister. Charles H. died at the age of twelve.
Isaac G. Hubbard graduated from Trinity College in 1839. He then entered the Gen- eral Theological Seminary in New York, where he spent two years, and finished the prescribed course with Bishop Carlton Chase. He was ordained Deacon in Trinity Church, Claremont, June 25, 1845, and in 1847 re- ceived priest's orders from Bishop Chase. He began preaching in Potsdam, N. Y., and subse- quently officiated as assistant to Dr. Muhlen- berg for several months at the Church of the Holy Communion, New York City. In March of the year 1852 he accepted charge of St. Michael's at Manchester, where he remained until 1866. This was a missionary field de- manding the utmost patience ; but it proved work to which Mr. Hubbard was admirably adapted, and under him the parish was en- larged and the membership much increased. He was partly instrumental in the erection of a beautiful stone church and rectory, and other tangible results followed from his efforts. Mr. Hubbard's health was delicate, however, and compelled his early resignation. He re- turned to his father's farm for a period of much needed rest. In 1867, his health hav- ing improved, he accepted the rectorship of Trinity Church at Claremont. He remained here until Easter of the year 1875, when, upon a return of his former malady, he was again obliged to rest from his labors and
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travel abroad for a time. Returning to his home in 1876, he temporarily took up work at the Union Church. On Passion Sunday, March 30, 1879, he started as usual for church; but, feeling indisposed, turned home- ward, and expired on the way.
.Mr. Hubbard was a scholar of pronounced ability, and he accomplished a noble work in the cause of good. For twenty years he was a Trustee of St. Paul's School at Concord, N. H. He married Elizabeth Stimpson, daughter of William Stimpson, and had four children. These were: George Isaac, who died while a student of St. Paul's School ; Charlotte Louise, William, and Ruth Eliza- beth, who are living.
AMES YEATON, a well-known farmer of Epsom, Merrimack County, was born in this town, January 11, 1832, son of John and Sarah (Bickford) Yeaton. His an- cestors for several generations were prosperous farmers in this State; and his great-grand- father, John Yeaton (first), was a pioneer set- tler in Epsom. John Yeaton, second, grand- father of James, was a native of this town, and resided here his entire life. A successful farmer, he accumulated considerable property. He was a Democrat in politics and a Congre- gationalist in his religious views. At his death he was about eighty-one years old. He was three times married. His first wife, whose maiden name was Bickford, died at the age of twenty-five. Of her two sons who at- tained maturity, John was the elder. The father married for his second wife a Miss Towle, who had three children, none of whom are living. His third marriage, which was made with the widow of William Yeaton, re- sulted in no children.
John Yeaton, third, was born in Epsom,
March 29, 1804. He was reared to farming, which he followed successfully during his active period; and he died at the age of seventy-six years, leaving a good estate. He was one of the prominent men of his day. While not an office-seeker for himself, he took an active part in securing the election of ca- pable officials. In politics he acted with the Free Soil party, but later became a Republi- can. He was a member of the Free Will Bap- tist church. His first wife, Sarah Bickford Yeaton, whom he married December 25, 1828, was a daughter of Samuel Bickford, of Epsom. She died at the age of forty-nine years, leav- ing five of her six children; namely, James, Sarah E., Daniel, Vianna R., and Betsy A. Daniel Yeaton married Annie B. Rowell, of Chichester, N. H., and has three children - Alfred D., Minot R., and Alice B. Vianna R. is now the widow of Elbridge Batchelder, late of Epsom, and has two children - George E. and Edith G. Betsy A. married for her first husband Thomas B. Robinson, of Epsom, by whom she had two sons - Bert and Elmer. She is now the wife of John Brown, of North- wood, N. H. John Yeaton, third, married for his second wife Mrs. Caroline Cilly, the widow of Samuel Cilly, late of Lowell, Mass., and a sister of his first wife. By this union there were two children : Stella R., who is no longer living ; and Fred W.
James Yeaton was educated in the schools of his native town and at Pembroke Academy. After leaving school, he learned the shoe- maker's trade in Deerfield, N. H., and fol- lowed it for three winters. He then engaged in agriculture. In 1878 he purchased his present farm of sixty acres. On March 3, 1858, he contracted his first marriage with Martha A. Randall, daughter of Francis D. Randall, of Deerfield, N. H. Of her three children Edwin Randall Yeaton is living.
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Born June 25, 1860, he married Ella M. Eastman, of this town, and now has one child - Albert James, who was born May 26, 1896. Mrs. Martha Yeaton died at the age of thirty-six. On April 9, 1874, Mr. Yeaton entered his second marriage with Annie R. Crockett, whose mother was a sister of his first wife. She was born in Concord, March 30, 1853, daughter of John K. and Sally Rebecca (Randall) Crockett. The children of this union are : John C., who was born May 19, 1875; Helen E. P., born July 22, 1878; and George Hill, born December 21, 1883.
Mr. Yeaton is a member of the Free Will Baptist church. In politics he is a Democrat. He served as Town Clerk for two years in suc- cession, and has been several times elected a member of the Board of Selectmen. As a public official he was able and efficient. He is much respected by his townsmen.
cept Kenyon, who died at the age of twenty years.
William Riley Jordan, first, married a Miss Esther Spaulding, of Plainfield; and six of his eight children survive. Wardner, who was overseer of the poor farm for seventeen years, married Lucy Whittaker, of Grantham, N. H. ; and of his four children two are living. Les- ter married Luzina Stone, and had a family of eight children, none of whom are living. Jar- vis was Sergeant of Company C, Fifth Regi- ment, New Hampshire Volunteers, during the Civil War. Three of his sons were also sol- diers, and two died while in service. He was prominent in public affairs, and served as a Selectman for some time. Raymond K. Jor- dan was a cooper by trade and a hard-working temperate man. He and his wife, Sophia Waller, had a family of thirteen children, who are all deceased but one son. Two of the boys were in the war of the Rebellion, serving in Company C, Fifth New Hamp- shire Volunteers. The Jordans and Kenyons were early settlers in Plainfield, coming here from Connecticut.
RANK A. JORDAN, a veteran of the Civil War, who is carrying on a thriv- ing business as a stone cutter in Plainfield, N. H., was born in this town, April Anthony Wayne Jordan, father of Frank A., was born in Plainfield, February 1, 1804. He learned the stone-mason's trade, which he fol- lowed industriously during his active years, and provided his family with a good living and a practical education. He died March 10, 1870. His wife, Mercy Root, born April 30, 1807, and died February 11, 1878, aged seventy-one, who was a daughter of Allen Root, of Plainfield, became the mother of nine children, namely: Albert; Calista; William Riley, second; Louisa ; Francis G. ; Frank A., the subject of this sketch ; James; Marcia; and Electa. Albert Jordan, born March 21, 1824, was employed in a stone-mill in Manchester, Vt., for many years, or until losing his arm 19, 1840, son of Anthony W. and Mercy (Root) Jordan. It is known that some of his ancestors served in the Revolutionary War. His grandfather was James Jordan, who died May 10, 1860, aged eighty-two years. He was a native of Plainfield and a son of the first member of the family to settle here. James Jordan was a contractor for the con- struction of roads and bridges, and also car- ried on a farm. He married Waitte Kenyon, of Plainfield, born in January, 1782, and reared seven sons, namely - Anthony W. ; William Riley, first; Raymond K. ; Wardner ; Lester; Kenyon; and Jarvis - none of whom are living. The majority of them were farmers; and all became heads of families ex- I during a Fourth of July celebration. He
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