USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 62
USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 62
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he received from Dartmouth College the de- gree of Master of Arts. Though seventy-five years of age, Mr. Sturoc is still in vigorous health. He derives much enjoyment from scientific studies, which for the last twenty years he has carried on in the retirement of his study, surrounded by his excellent library and his favorite books on astronomy, geology, and cerebral physiology. Of his many beau- tiful poems none is more liked in Sullivan County than the one here appended : -
LAKE SUNAPEE.
Once more, my Muse, from rest of many a year, Come forth again and sing, as oft of yore; Now lead my step to where the crags appear In silent grandeur, by the rugged shore That skirts the margin of thy waters free, Lake of my mountain home, loved Sunapee !
Meet invocation to the pregnant scene, Where long, ere yet the white man's foot did roam, Strode wild and free the daring Algonquin, And where, perchance, the stately Metacom Inspired his braves with that poetic strain Which cheered the Wampanoags, but cheered in vain.
Clear mountain mirror ! who can tell but thou Hast borne the red man, in his light canoe, As fleetly on thy bosom as e'en now Thou bear'st the pale face o'er thy waters blue ? And who can tell but nature's children then Were rich and happy as the mass of men?
Sweet Granite "Katrine " of this mountain land, O jewel set amid a scene so fair ! Kearsarge, Ascutney, rise on either hand, While Grantham watches with a lover's care ; And our dark "Ben " to Croydon sends in glee A greeting o'er thy silvery breast, Lake Sunapee !
How grand, upon a moonlit eve, to glide Upon thy waters, 'twixt the mountains high, And gaze, within thy azure crystal tide, On trembling shadows of the earth and sky, While all is silent save when trusty oar Awakes an echo from thy slumbering shore.
O lovely lake, I would commune with thee, --- For in thy presence naught of ill is found,- That cares which wed the weary world to me May cease to harass with their carking round, And I awhile midst nature's grandeur stand, On mount of rapture 'twixt the sea and land.
Thy past is curtained by as deep a veil
As shrouds the secrets which we may not reach ; And then 'twere wisdom, when our quest doth fail, To read the lessons which thou now dost teach, And in thy face, on which we look to-day, See hopes to cheer us on our onward way.
Roll on, sweet lake ! and if, perchance, thy form Laves less of earth than floods of Western fame, Yet still we love thee in the calm or storm, And call thee ours by many a kindly name. No patriot heart but loves the scenes that come, O'er memory's sea, to breathe a tale of " home."
And, when the winter in its frozen thrall Binds up thy locks in braids of icy wreath, Forget we not thy cherished name to call, In fitting shadow of the sleep of death, When golden rays shall o'er our rest still flee, As morning beams salute thy brow, sweet Sunapee !
ILLIAM JOSEPH FORTIER, of Franklin village, a retired hat manufacturer, was born December 8, 1824, in Gentilly, Quebec County, Canada. His father, Dr. Thomas Fortier, who was a very prominent physician of Quebec, and later of Gentilly, was a member of Parliament for fourteen years. Dr. Thomas was twice mar- ried, first to Eliza Hannah, November 15, 1819, when he was twenty-four years of age. By this union there were seven children, born as follows : Thomas E., September 27, 1820; Mary Ann Emily, May 29, 1823; William Joseph, the subject of this sketch; Edward F., September 30, 1825; Mary L., January 4, 1827; Francis, January 7, 1828; and George Edward, March 7, 1831. Mary L.
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died in infancy, and Francis was drowned in 1 840. The Doctor's second marriage was made with Leocadie Gronden, of Gentilly, who bore him five children - Adeline, Georgi- ana, Sarah, Artanse, and Thomas. Having taken an active part in the troubles of 1837, Dr. Fortier was reduced to poverty. He re- mained in Gentilly for the remainder of his life, and died there at the age of eighty-four years.
William Joseph Fortier, in common with his brothers and sisters, was educated in the select schools of Canada. At the age of four- teen, his father having lost his property, he started out in life for himself. He walked to Irasburg, Vt. ; and there he lived with Dr. George Pierce, employed by the latter, but also attending school for a time. He then served an apprenticeship of three years with Deacon Seth Cole, a hatter of Coventry Falls, Vt., and continued in Deacon Cole's employment as a journeyman for three years longer. About 1842 he came to Franklin and located at his present home. After working for wages a little longer in Franklin, he started the manufacture of hats, and continued in that business until the beginning of the late war. In August, 1862, he enlisted in the United States Cavalry at Providence, R. I., and was in Company I for three years. He was in many hard battles and skirmishes, re- ceiving a very bad injury in his right knee by being thrown from his horse while participat- ing in a charge at Middlebury, Vt. On that occasion he was taken prisoner, and was sub- sequently confined in Libby Prison for forty days, after which he was taken to Bell Island, and thence to Richmond, where he was re- leased. He next went to Cedar Point and then to Annapolis, Md., where he was pro- nounced unfit for duty and detailed for service in the post-office. Here he remained until he
was discharged from service, in May, 1865. He returned to Franklin, and for about three years after he sold dry goods on the road. At the end of that period he resumed the manu- facture of hats, caps, etc., which he sold in the New England States, at times employing from fifteen to twenty hands in his factory. He continued in this business until 1889, when he retired on account of failing health.
On June 2, 1850, Mr. Fortier was married to Martha Hancock, of Northfield, N. H. Born January 1, 1839, she died December 7, 1889. Her children were: Emily Ann, born March 12, 1851; Mary Ella, born April 11, 1854; and Georgie Anna, born September 9, 1856. Emily is now the proprietor of a suc- cessful furnishing and fancy goods store at Franklin. Georgie is living at home with her father. Mary died April 9, 1884. Mr. For- tier is a member of G. F. Swett Post, No. 38, G. A. R., at Franklin Falls; also of Meridian Lodge, No. 60. He attends the Christian church. A hard-working and industrious man, he has been quite successful in life, and is highly respected by his townsmen.
R" ALSTON H. PENNIMAN, one of Plainfield's most able farmers and prominent residents, was born in this town, which is in the north-western part of Sullivan County, January 9, 1819, son of Thomas and Dorinda W. (Wood) Penniman. He comes of substantial Colonial stock of English extraction, being a lineal descendant of one of the very early settlers on the shores of Massachusetts Bay; namely, James Penni- man, who, with his wife, Lydia Eliot, and her brother, John Eliot, of honored memory as the apostle to the Indians, arrived on the ship "Lion " in 1631.
The family name, it is said, was originally
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Pen-na-man, signifying the chief or head man. Another branch of the family in Yorkshire were Royalists; and some of them were titled as knights and baronets, one being a Sir James Penniman, who was knighted by Charles I. on the battlefield. James Penniman, the emi- grant, with others petitioned for a new town at Mount Wollaston; and accordingly, in 1640, the town of Braintree was incorporated. He was one of the leading men, holding the office of Justice of the Peace; and a number of years later he was one of the petitioners for the new plantation of Mendon, ordered in 1660, his son Joseph being named as one of the commis- sioners to settle it. Lydia Eliot, the wife of James Penniman, was born at Nasing, Essex County, England, in 1610.
Peletiah and Hannah (Taft) Penniman, grandparents of the subject of this sketch, were lifelong residents of Massachusetts. They had a family of seven children, as fol- lows: Hannah Fish, born March 2, 1765, who died May 6, 1820; Nathaniel, born Decem- ber 2, 1767, died May 22, 1847; Lydia, born March 2, 1770; Ruth, born April 20, 1772; Luther, born February 13, 1775; Thomas, named above, born June 24, 1778; and Nancy, born October 8, 1781 - all deceased.
When a young man, Thomas Penniman settled upon a farm in Plainfield, and was a leading spirit among the early residents of this town. He figured prominently in public affairs, serving as a Selectman for a number of years, and was highly respected for his ability and upright character. He died Au- gust 18, 1854. His wife was Dorinda W. Wood, a native of Uxbridge, Mass. They had six children, namely : Merritt F., born March 15, 1815; Henry N., who was born May 15, 1817, and died September 21, 1818; Ralston H., the subject of this sketch; Dorinda W., born February 18, 1821; Thomas, Jr., born
January 19, 1823; and David B. W., born September 13, 1826, who died July 25, 1829. Merritt F., who became a prosperous farmer, married Lavinia Damon, and had a family of six children. Dorinda W. married John T. Freeman, who was for many years cashier of the Windsor Savings Bank. She died August 16, 1862. Thomas, Jr., wedded Mary Smith, and resided at the homestead until his death, which occurred January 24, 1886.
Ralston H. Penniman as a boy attended school in his native town, and at an early age began to make himself useful upon the farm. After the death of his father he continued to live with his brothers at the homestead until 1867, when he decided to engage in farming upon his own account. He purchased the Waterman Spaulding farm, together with adjoining tracts of land, the whole amounting to four hundred acres, and entered upon the care and utilization of this property with an energy which insured success from the start. For many years he was extensively engaged in raising sheep, which was the source of consid- erable profit. He became widely and favor- ably known throughout this section in the days when sheep-raising was a prominent branch of agriculture, and gained both notoriety and wealth in the wool trade.
Mr. Penniman married Elizabeth Colby, daughter of Jesse and Lydia (Scott) Colby, of Plainfield. Mrs. Penniman died January 24, 1876, leaving four children, namely : Robert R., born December 16, 1867; Lydia S., born January 11, 1869; H. Dorinda, born January 22, 1871; and Brainard W., born October 2, 1874. Robert R. Penniman was graduated at Dartmouth College with the class of 1894, and is now assisting in the management of the home farm. He is actively interested in edu- cational affairs, and is at the present time serving upon the School Board. Lydia S.
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l'enniman fitted herself for educational work at the Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, N. H., and taught school for five years. She is now residing at the homestead, and presides over the household affairs. H. Dorinda also taught school for a time. She is now the wife of Frank W. Heywood, who is connected with a large harvesting concern in Indianapolis, Ind. They have one daughter - Gladys, born July 18, 1895. Brainard W. Penniman com- pleted his studies at the Kimball Union Academy, and is now assisting upon the farm.
In politics Mr. Penniman is a Republican, and has frequently been nominated for public office ; but his party was in the minority here. He takes a lively interest in political affairs ; and so anxious was he to learn the result of the last national election, November, 1896, that he walked to Cornish Flat to obtain the news, and did not return until two o'clock the following morning. He is a regular attendant of the Congregational church, and contributes liberally toward its support.
ARVEY CHASE, a successful farmer and lumberman of Hopkinton, was born here, on Clement's Hill, April 3, 1829, son of Enoch J. and Sarah (Holmes) Chase. Enoch Chase moved to Concord, and in 1840 settled down again in Hopkinton on the farm now owned by his son. He bought a tract of land containing six hun- dred acres, lying along the Contoocook River, for five thousand dollars. This place was the old Folsom farm, which was considered quite
an important piece of property, the buildings of which were erected by Mr. Folsom as they now stand. The location, known as the Chase Hill, commands a fine view of the surrounding country. Included in the purchase was Pond Mill, the site of which is now occupied by
another mill. The tract was heavily timbered and a valuable one. Lumbering was Enoch's main dependence, and in this he was prosper- ous. Here he resided for some years: He died at his daughter's place in St. Johnsbury, Vt., October 16, 1879, at the age of seventy- eight. His second wife, Nancy Johnson Chase, was the widow of another Mr. Chase before her marriage to Enoch Chase. Her death in Wilmot, at the age of seventy-seven, preceded that of Enoch.
Harvey remained with his father until about twenty-three years of age, when he left the farm and passed nine years in Concord and two years in Chichester. From Chichester he returned to the old farm. He has here carried on general farming and lumbering, making somewhat of a specialty of the latter. He has added to the place, so that it now contains about a thousand acres and lies on both sides of the Contoocook River. He has rebuilt the mill, and operates it according to demand. The timber is very valuable, and the new growth quickly becomes available on account of its rapid increase. He recently sold the stumpage on two hundred acres for sixteen thousand five hundred dollars.
He has always shown himself to be a public- spirited man, and has filled many offices of trust. In 1852-53 he was Selectman and in 1854 Councilman. In 1879 he was elected to the State legislature. He is not actively identified with church interests, but his wife is a stirring worker in the Methodist Episco- pal church. He has always been a stanch Republican.
Mr. Chase was married March 16, 1852, to Martha R., daughter of Charles C. and Olive (Crockett) Bennett. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, both natives of Freedom, N. H., were married in that town, and settled on a farm in Concord when Martha was two years old. The latter
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was born in Freedom, July 9, 1834. Her mother lived with her after Martha's marriage, and died November 19, 1896, at the advanced age of eighty. Mr. and Mrs. Chase have two children, a son and a daughter. The son, Fred Harvey Chase, is with the family on the farm, and also has a steam-mill at Gilsum, near Keene. He is quite a successful business man. The daughter, Mattie Olive Chase, after graduating from the Warner High School, took a training-school course, and afterward taught for four years in the Concord schools. She was married March 17, 1897, to Joseph Newton Abbott, son of Isaac N. Ab- bott, of Concord. Two other children of Mr. Chase were : Mary Jane, who died aged four- teen ; and Georgiana, who died when ten years old. Fred Harvey Chase, the only son, who resides with his parents, owns a steam-mill at Gilsum, near Keene. He was married March 10, 1897, to Lillian Idella Jackman, of Con- cord, daughter of Enoch and Mary E.
(Moody) Jackman. She graduated at the Concord High School, was subsequently a stu- dent of the Concord Normal School and a teacher of the Walker School in that city. Mr. Chase, Sr., who is one of the sturdy, reliable, and hearty sort of men, has made a splendid success of his material life. He stands high in the regard of his townsmen, and well deserves the confidence and respect of all.
EV. JOHN VANNEVAR, born in South Malden, now Everett, Mass., on June 23, 1857, was the youngest of three children of Aaron B. and Dorothy G. Vannevar, both of whom were born in Am- herst, Mass. He lived in the place of his birth until twelve years of age, when the fam- ily moved to Summer Street, Malden. He was educated in the public schools, complet-
ing the college course in the Malden High School and graduating in 1876. He then entered Tufts College, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Divinity in 1880, and taking a post-graduate course of one year. He was ordained to the work of the Christian min- istry of the Universalist church in the home church of that faith in Malden on November 23, 1880. Called to the pastorate of the Uni- versalist society in Amesbury in the summer of 1881, he remained there two years, during which period he was married to Gertrude F. Swasey, of Malden. Because of impaired health the winter of 1883 and 1884 was spent in Florida. Soon after returning, he accepted a call to the pastorate of the First Universalist Society of Canton, Mass., where were born a son and a daughter. In the winter of 1887, because of a bronchial affection, a leave of ab- sence was granted him ; and he spent a portion of the cold season in Southern California, but was suddenly called home by the illness of Mrs. Vannevar's mother. The month of March was passed in Lakewood, N.J., where so much benefit was received that pastoral work was immediately resumed. In the fall of 1892 he resigned the Canton pastorate, after nine years of service, and, in answer to a crav- ing long possessed, purchased a large farm in East Concord, N. H., and moved thereon in October. Three years of farm life ended with a yearning for a return to pulpit work; and a call to the pastorate of the White Memorial (Universalist) Church of Concord was ac- cepted in the summer of 1895, and work begun in the following September. In April, 1896, a daughter was born, and the following summer was spent in Europe. Soon after assuming charge of the Concord parish, resi- dence was taken up in the city, where among a kindly people the days and weeks are being pleasantly passed.
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HARLES M. ROLFE, a well-known manufacturer of Concord, is a native of this city, born August 18, 1841, son of Nathaniel and Mary J. (Moody) Rolfe. His paternal grandfather, also named Nathan- iel, was one of the pioneer settlers of Concord, and came here from Haverhill, Mass. He se- cured the first water-power operated on the Merrimack River, and carried on a consider- able lumbering business besides being engaged in farming. This water-power is still in pos- session of the family, and has been for the past seventy-five years. Grandfather Rolfe died in 1829, full of years and honor, and left to his sons the valuable water privilege above mentioned, besides a large tract of timber land. Nathaniel Rolfe, Jr., father of Charles M., was also a farmer and lumberman. He carried on a large trade, and furnished lumber for the frames of many of the great mills at Lawrence and Lowell, Mass. He is still living, a hale and hearty man, at the age of eighty-three years. His wife was Miss Mary J. Moody, a daughter of Joseph Moody, of Canterbury. She became the mother of six children - Charles, Joseph, Abial, John, Mary, and Arthur. Mary died at the age of nine years. Joseph was a New Hampshire sharpshooter in the Civil War, and saw much active service. He is now a resident of Minneapolis, Minn., where he deals in real estate and operates a plant for the manufacture of dredging machines. He has held many responsible positions there, having been County Clerk and a member of the School Board. Abial Rolfe is in business with his brother Charles. He married Georgie J. Gage, daughter of Isaac K. Gage, and has three sons - Harry, Herbert, and Fred.
In 1866 Charles Rolfe, in company with his brother Abial, established the door, sash, and blind mill which they still carry on. They
do a large business, employing about fifty men. They also carry on general farming to quite an extent. Mr. Rolfe married Maria L. Morrison, and has three sons - Harlow, Henry, and Ben; and a daughter, Mary, who is now a medical student in Boston.
Mr. Rolfe has taken an active part in pub- lic affairs, and has capably filled the office of Town Treasurer, and also that of Treasurer of the Boscawen schools. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being an active worker in the organization. He also belongs to Dustin Island Grange, P. of H., of Penacook. In religious faith he is a Congre- gationalist. In politics he is a Democrat, and cast his first Presidential vote for General McClellan in 1864.
ILLIAM P. WOOD, a farmer of Plainfield, was born here, Decem- ber 29, 1859, son of Alban Palmer and Rhoda (Eaton) Wood, of this town. His grandfather, John Wood was the first male child born in Lebanon, N. H. John was one of the foremost and wealthiest farmers in the district and a very religious man. He mar- ried Persis Hyde, of Lebanon, who bore him eleven children; namely, Persis, John, Jr., Lucinda, Jemima, Sally, Thomas, Annie, Harriet, Martha, Palmer, and one child who died in infancy. Persis, who was born in 1797, and did not marry, died at the age of fifty. John Wood, Jr., born in 1799, who became a very prosperous farmer and a promi- nent man in Lebanon, served in all the town offices, and was a Representative to the Gen- eral Court. He married Sylvia Whittaker, and had two sons - John and Joseph. Lu- cinda, born in 1801, married Samuel Wood, of Lebanon, a wealthy farmer and real estate owner, and had two children - Hannah and
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Clara. Jemima, born in 1803, married Isaac Leighton, a farmer of Hartford, Vt. Sally, born in 1805, became Mrs. Silas Waterman, of Lebanon. Thomas, born in 1810, who be- came a wealthy farmer and speculator of Leba- non, married Joanna Davis, and had two daughters. Annie, born in 1812, died at the age of six. Harriet, born in 1814, married Allen H. Weld, of Lebanon, who was first a professor in a seminary of that town, and later a farmer and the Superintendent of Schools for the county of St. Croix, Wisconsin. Their son, Allen Palmer Weld, became a lawyer in River Falls, Wis., and is now Judge of Pro- bate. Martha, born in 1816, was unmarried, and resided with her brother Thomas.
Alban Palmer Wood, born January 28, 1819, received his education in the schools of Lebanon, and afterward taught school for some years. He then went to Plainfield and took charge of a farm. Formerly he raised large numbers of sheep, when sheep-raising was a profitable industry for the New England farmer. He has filled many public positions in his town, and he has been a Justice of the Peace for more than thirty years. An attend- ant of the Baptist church, he is ever ready to support it financially as well as morally. A Mason of Cheshire Lodge, No. 23, of Cornish Flat, he has held all the offices in that body, and is very popular in the fraternity. His wife, Rhoda, who, born in 1822, died April 25, 1890, had five children - Alma, William P., Alban A., Frank H., and Byron Hayden. Alma H., born November 15, 1853, taught school for many years with remarkable suc- cess, and is now living with her father. Alban A., born May 15, 1856, settled in Lawrence, Mass., after his marriage, and was an overseer there. His wife, Grace V., born in 1857, died July 4, 1891. He now makes his home with his father, and has two children
- Gertie L. and Byron M. Byron Hayden, born May 9, 1868, is an engineer in the employ of the Boston & Maine Railroad Com- pany, running from West Lebanon to Concord on one of the express trains. He married Hattie Hurlburt, of West Lebanon, and has two children.
William P. Wood was a pupil of the com- mon schools and Kimball Academy. Upon finishing school, he went to Boston, and was for a time employed as a private secretary. His health failing, he came back to New Hampshire, and at Meriden conducted for some time the store now managed by Chellis & Stickney. He then took charge of the farm he is now operating, and has since been en- gaged in agriculture and dairying. Mr. Wood is respected as a citizen. On November 2, 1886, he married Minnie B. Bean, whose father, Samuel Bean, is a wealthy resident of Lebanon, now retired from active business. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have no children. Mr. Wood is a Mason, having membership in Cheshire Lodge, No. 23, in which he has held all the offices, and which he has represented in the Grand Lodge. He attends the Baptist church.
BENEZER LOVEREN, a practical farmer of Hopkinton, was born here,
February 27, 1827, son of Captain Benjamin and Esther (Bartlett) Loveren, his parents being originally from Deering, Hills- borough County. His paternal grandparents were Ebenezer and Eunice (Hadlock) Loveren, who removed from Kensington, N. H., to Deering, where they settled. A separate sketch of Captain Benjamin Loveren appears on another page of this volume.
Ebenezer Loveren was the only child of his parents, and was born on the farm where he now lives and where he has spent his life up
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to the present time. The house in which he resides, however, is not the old original farm- house, it having been built by his father in 1844. It is the place in which Captain Ben- jamin Loveren passed his last moments. Ebenezer assisted his father on the farm until the death of the latter, when he took charge of the property, which he has since improved. To the original farm has been added one-hun- dred acres, its present size being three hundred acres. Mr. Loveren owns also a two hun- dred-acre lot of pasture land in the town of Webster, of which he makes profitable use, besides about three hundred acres in towns near by. Besides carrying on general farming, he does a large trade in milk ; and throughout his career he has shown a high degree of busi- ness ability in increasing his worldly posses- sions, having acquired quite a large amount of property in addition to his real estate.
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