USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 8
USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 8
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Nathan H. Morgan was an energetic, tire- less worker in his day, doing much of the pioneer labor of clearing the land, and for many years was one of the most influential men of the neighborhood. Many were the
pleasant hours whiled away by his grand-chil- dren, listening to his stories of the pleasures and dangers of pioneer life in his time, and of all the circumstances connected with his early life and the progress of the town. The old homestead remained in the family for three generations, the successive owners being Nathan H. Morgan, Timothy Morgan, and Richard F. Morgan.
Richard F. Morgan was one of the most prominent and enterprising citizens of the town. He held many positions of trust in the town, and served acceptably to all as Select- man and School Committee for many terms, and was one of the foremost members of the Baptist church.
Nathaniel Morgan, son of Nathan H., born in Hopkinton, April 5, 1793, married Mehit- able Colby, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Gilman) Colby, of Henniker, September 7, 1822. Three years afterward he went to Ver- mont, where he lived until 1832. Returning then to Merrimack County, he settled first in Henniker, where he lived for twenty years, and then came back to Hopkinton, where he remained until his death, May 4, 1872. His wife outlived him a score of years, passing away January 11, 1893, being ninety-six years of age. She was a pensioner of the War of 1812. They were the parents of four chil- dren, as follows: Mary Ann, Edwin, Julia A., and Gilman C.
Gilman C. Morgan came to Hopkinton with his parents in 1853. He married September 12, 1855, Miss Eva L. Merrill, daughter of Charles and Emily E. (Emerson) Merrill, of Hopkinton, where Mrs. . Morgan was born. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have but two children living; namely, Charles N. and Willis E. They have lost four children : Oliver A., who died at the age of four years; Edwin H., at the age of twenty-three years; Arthur W., at
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the age of eighteen; and Irwin A., at the age of sixteen years.
In politics Mr. Morgan is a gold bug and a Republican, although he was reared in the Democratic faith, his father having been a steadfast adherent of that party. Even in boy- hood he would never acknowledge when away from home that he was a Democrat. Not- withstanding the presence of many good men in that party, there seemed to be an element in its organism that was exceedingly distaste- ful to him; and discerning, as he thought at that time, a greater degree of intelligence and refinement in the masses elsewhere, he conse- quently found more congenial associates out- side its ranks. In later years he has found the principles of the Republican party to be more in accord with his own mature convictions.
Mr. and Mrs. Morgan are of a social nature. They are members of Union Grange, he hav- ing served as Master for three terms. In re- ligion he is liberal in his views. He attends the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Morgan is a member.
ON. CHARLES C. KENRICK, State Senator, is one of the most prominent citizens of Franklin, N. H. He was born April 8, 1844, fourth son of Stephen and Clarissa A. (Blanchard) Ken- rick. His paternal grandfather, John Ken- rick, who was born December 17, 1764, was a native of Amesbury, Mass. He married Sarah Colby, of the same place, born January 25, 1771, and had nine children, of whom Stephen, father of Charles C., was the youngest. John Kenrick died in Amesbury in 1806, and his widow married David Marsh.
Stephen Kenrick was born June 15, 1806, in Haverhill, Mass., and came to Franklin when a young man. After remaining here a
short time, he went to McIndoe's Falls, Vt., where he was for a few years engaged in bus- iness; and from there he went to Bangor, Me. Later, returning to Franklin, he was married December 29, 1833, to Clarissa A. Blanchard. He then went into business in the town, and continued thus engaged for the greater part of his life. He was a very prominent citizen, and held various positions of importance. He was President of the Hillsborough National Bank, and also of the Concord & Portsmouth Railroad. His death took place on August 4, 1884, and that of his wife October 12, 1893. They were the parents of seven. children - Ebenezer B., Ebenezer B. (second), Stephen B., Charles C., John Smith, Dr. Timothy Francis, and Clarissa Ann. The first Eben- ezer B. was born March 3, 1837, and died Au- gust 16, 1838; and Ebenezer B., second, was born November 6, 1838, and died February 9, 1839. Stephen B. was born April 9, 1842, and married Lizzie A. Rowe, of Plymouth, N. H. He was interested in a railroad, the Fort Madison (Ia.) & Green Bay (Wis.), of which he was superintendent. He died Janu- ary 30, 1896, at his home in Clinton, Ia., where his wife still resides. John Smith Kenrick was born October 28, 1846, and died August 10, 1847. Timothy Francis Kenrick, born July 8, 1849, was graduated at Dart- mouth College and also at Utica Medical Col- lege. He practised a few years in this coun- try, and then went abroad and became the medical adviser of some foreign nobleman. In this capacity he travelled considerably, spending some time in Rome and Naples es- pecially. He died at Naples, January 29, 1879, in his thirtieth year. The Doctor was a man of culture and wide intelligence, with bright prospects before him. The circum- stances of his death in a foreign land seemed to render it doubly sorrowful. Clarissa Ann
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Kenrick was born November 8, 1852, and died August 11, 1853.
Charles C., the special subject of the pres- ent article, was educated in the academies at Boscawen and New London, N. H. He was a great lover of horses, and started out when a young man in the livery business at Franklin Falls, in which he was engaged until 1894. He still remains in the stock business, being a breeder of fine horses and cattle, and owning some of the finest horses in the State. He be- came interested in farming, and now pursues it on a large scale, employing a number of ยท hands to carry on the work. He is connected with the Franklin Savings Bank of Franklin Falls. He also has a keen aptitude for the real estate business, and at present has the largest interests in that line of any one in the city. He has built and now owns many of the finest business blocks and dwellings both in Franklin and Franklin Falls. His own residence in the former place is a beautiful one, and stands without an equal in the town. In political matters Mr. Kenrick has always shown an active interest, being a stanch Re- publican. He was Representative from Franklin for two years, and was also on the Board of Selectmen several years, being Chairman of the Board in 1886. He was elected State Senator for the terms of 1897 and 1898. He is identified with social organ- izations as follows: he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and was charter member of St. Andrew's Lodge at Franklin Falls. He also belongs to the A. O. U. W. at the same place. Both he and his wife attend the Con- gregational church at Franklin.
Mr. Kenrick was married August 5, 1894, to Arabelle Rowe Morgan, of Gilford, N. H. She was born November 26, 1849, daughter of James and Lucinda (Harper) Rowe, the former of Gilford, and the latter of New Hampton,
N. H. Mr. Rowe, who was a farmer most of his life, died August 19, 1893, his wife's de- cease having occurred in 1868. They had six children - George W., Charles C., Mary E., Sarah, Clara A., and Arabelle. Of these, the first-born, George, is a farmer in Manchester, N. H. ; Charles is a farmer in Methuen, Mass. ; Mary is the widow of John McDonald, and lives in Cambridgeport, Mass. ; Sarah is the widow of Eugene Spaulding, and lives with Mr. and Mrs. Kenrick ; and Clara is not living. Mr. Kenrick has no children, but has a niece living with him, Florence May Spauld- ing, born June 10, 1884, who is a very at- tractive child.
Mr. Kenrick is decidedly the most widely known and successful man of a large com- munity. He has many and varied interests, and his spirit and energy are adequate for ' whatever he undertakes. He is a most pros- perous and substantial citizen, and his influ- ence has made itself felt in many ways for the good of the public.
HARLES GOULD, an extensive and prosperous agriculturist of Hopkinton, was born March 8, 1823, on the farm where he now resides, son of Captain Moses and Hannah (Currier) Gould. He rep- resents one of the oldest families of this sec- tion of the county. His ancestor, Joseph Gould, was one of the original proprietors of Hopkinton, where he bought land while yet a resident of South Hampton, N. H. Joseph died shortly after his purchase; and his widow with her family of five sons, all young men, came here in 1754, each son making a separate settlement. Joseph Gould was born in South Hampton, being either the son or grandson of the emigrant ancestor, Christopher Gould, who came to this country from England, locating
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in Hampton, N. H. The five sons of Joseph were : Moses, Elias, Gideon, John, and Chris- topher, all of whom served in the Revolu- tionary War, married, and reared families. Some descendants of each are now living in Merrimack County. Several of these formerly spelled their name Goold. One of them, Na- thaniel Goold, who settled in Chicago in 1838, going there on the old steamer "Mad- ison," was the last surviving charter mem- ber of Dearborn Lodge, F. & A. M., at his death.
Moses Gould, the grandfather of Charles, soon after coming here purchased the ancestral homestead at Hopkinton in 1754. His mother made her home with him. In 1760 or there- about, besides building a substantial house with solid oak timbers which are still in use, forming the frame for the present residence, he cleared the timber from quite a large por- tion of the land. He died at the age of fifty-four years. His widow, in maidenhood Joanna Davis, who attained the age of eighty- two years, lived with the Shakers at Canter- bury from 1818 until 1836. She bore her husband three children, namely: Moses, the father of Charles; Jonathan, who died at the age of twenty-two years; and Enoch, who married Lydia Rowell, and lives with his fam- ily in Bradford, N. H. Captain Moses Gould spent his entire life of seventy-five years on the old homestead, carrying on general farm- ing and lumbering. In his younger days he trained in a company of the State militia, serv- ing as Captain for several years. He brought his bride, Hannah Currier, a daughter of Dan- iel Currier, of. Warner, N. H., to the home farm, where she resided until her death at the age of eighty-two years. Here they reared their family of five children, namely : Joanna, who married Ambrose Chase, and died in Hopkinton, aged eighty years; Abigail, who
was the wife of Ezra Terrill, of Penacook, and died when sixty years old; Hannah, who died in young womanhood; Martha, who became the wife of Franklin Frost, of Penacook, and died at the age of sixty-five years; and Charles, twin brother of Martha and the subject of this sketch.
Charles Gould received a fair education at the Hopkinton Academy. Afterward for a period of twoscore years he was engaged dur- ing the winter seasons as a teacher in the county schools. He was Captain for a time in the Fortieth New Hampshire militia, in which his father had previously been an officer. He has also served many terms as one of the Superintending School Committee. In 1859 he was a member of the Board of Select- men. For some time he has been Master of the local grange. In the management of his farm he has shown good judgment. Besides making desirable improvements he has added more land to the original hundred acres. In his large dairy he keeps high-grade Guernsey cattle, and has every modern facility for mak- ing butter, which he produces at the rate of one hundred pounds per week. This product brings him the average price of thirty cents a pound the year round. At the World's Fair, held in Chicago in 1893, it received a high award, the merits ranking almost to the maxi- mum on every point counted. He received the World's Columbian Exposition Medal for his exhibit, standing the highest of any in New Hampshire, and ranking third among the whole number of competing States. He has likewise carried away several first prizes at State fairs. In politics Mr. Gould has been a free silver man for years, and in the last Presidential campaign was an earnest supporter of W. J. Bryan. He is very liberal in his re- ligious beliefs and an active member of the Swedenborgian church.
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On November 4, 1847, Mr. Gould married Miss Ruth Hill, daughter of Thomas Hill, of this town. Mr. Hill and his father owned the Contoocook water-power for many years. He was a veteran of the Revolution, serving in all the important battles, including that of Bunker Hill; and he afterward received a pen- sion from the government. Mrs. Gould and Mrs. Samantha Spalding, daughter of Stephen Putney, were, in 1896, living daughters of Revolutionary soldiers in Hopkinton. Mr. and Mrs. Gould became the parents of seven children - Moses C., Louis A., Charles Henry, Clara I., Robert T., Helen A., and Herbert J. Moses C. is a dentist at Seneca Falls, N. Y. ; Louis A., born April 26, 1852, attended the university at Syracuse, N. Y., for two years, afterward receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine at Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1880. He began the practice of his profession at Ovid, N. Y., and in 1889 settled in Farmer Village, the same State, where he is in prac- tice at the present time. He was for many years President of the Seneca County Medical Society, and for nine years was Coroner of that county. Charles Henry, a stone-cutter of Cambridge, Mass., built the armory in Bos- ton. Clara I. is the wife of Otto L. Bullard, of Bellingham, Mass. Robert T. is living on the homestead. Helen A. is the wife of George A. Newton, of Henniker, N. H. ; and Herbert J. resides with his brother, Charles H., in Cambridge, Mass.
Robert T. Gould, born May 23, 1863, has continued in business with his father, and has now the entire charge of the farm. He is very energetic and progressive, the present exten- sive butter business conducted on the farm being the result of his enterprise. He was educated in the Contoocook Academy, after which, making up his mind to devote his time to agricultural pursuits, he settled near his
father, building a neat residence on the farm in 1894. On April 3, 1895, he married Miss Mary M., daughter of John F. and Nellie (Putney) Currier, of Hopkinton. She is a lady of culture and a graduate of the Concord High School. Both Robert and his wife are members of the local grange, in which he has been Master. Very active in the grange work of the county and State, he has attended the National Grange, and, with his father, has been present at the meeting of the State Grange.
OHN M. COLE, a well-known farmer and real estate speculator of Plainfield,
was born here, August 3, 1836, son of Daniel and Lucinda (Bryant) Cole. The Cole family is of German origin. The great-grand- father of John M. was Ebenezer Cole. The grandfather, Daniel Cole, was one of the pros- perous farmers of Plainfield in his day, and also followed the trades of tanning, currying, and shoemaking. He fought for independence in the Revolutionary War, taking part in thir- teen engagements; and he received for his ser- vices a pension, which after his death was ex- tended to his widow. He and his family came up the river upon a horse sled, and were among the pioneers of this section. At his death he was ninety years old. He mar- ried Edith Wilbur, and his family consisted of six children, all now deceased; namely, Stephen, Wheeler, Enos, John, Daniel, and Hannah. Stephen became a physician, and practised in Concord, N. H., for a number of years. He married in that town, and later settled in Vermont, where he passed the rest of his life. Wheeler went to Ohio, and be- came a prosperous farmer. He married in that State, and left a daughter. Enos mar- ried and settled in Burlington, Vt. John was in business in Lowell, Mass., and Nashua,
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N.II., for a number of years. He married Lucy Pike, of Concord, N. H. Hannah be- came the wife of Joseph Spaulding, an exten- sive farmer of Plainfield, and reared a family.
Daniel Cole, the father of John M., was horn in Plainfield. He succeeded to the ownership of his father's property, and during the active period of his life was engaged in general farming and stock-raising. He served as Overseer of the Poor and Highway' Sur- veyor for a number of years, and was a Justice of the Peace. In politics he supported the Republican party, and his religious belief was the Baptist creed. He lived to be seventy- three years old, and left a good estate, to- gether with a record for honesty and integrity, of which his descendants may well be proud. Daniel Cole was twice married. His first wife was Patty Johnson, who bore him six children; namely, Sarah, Martha, Abel, George, Harriet, and Daniel W. Sarah mar- ried Earl Westgate, a farmer of Plainfield, and had a family of six children. Martha wedded Alfred Hannis, a school teacher of Claremont, N. H., and reared a family. Abel, who engaged in farming, wedded Marcia Houghton, of Windsor, Vt. George, who followed agriculture successfully, married Samantha Souther, of Plainfield. Both are now deceased. Harriet is now the widow of Nathan Souther, late of Lowell, Vt. Daniel W. resided upon a farm in Cornish, and died in that town. He married Ardel Spencer, a native of Plainfield; and a daughter survives him. Daniel Cole's second wife, Lucinda Bryant Cole, became the mother of five chil- dren - John M., Homer, Marcia, Wilbur, and one that died in infancy. Homer follows the trade of a painter and paper-hanger in Plain - field. He married Mrs. E. Harris, a widow of Windsor, who has had no children. Marcia, who is no longer living, married George
Chase, of Windsor, a mason by trade; and she had two children. Wilbur, who is a prosper- ous farmer in Cornish, married Clara Hook, of that town, and has one son.
John M. Cole acquired a common-school education, and since early manhood has been engaged in farming. He succeeded to the homestead, where he continued to reside some five years after his father's death. He then sold it to Charles Kenyon, and bought the Coburn place in Cornish. This property he sold to William Kinsman a year later, and purchased the Woodard farm in Plainfield. He had resided there about fifteen years, when he sold that property to William True, and bought the Jordan farm, located upon the River Road. After disposing of the Jordan place to Ralph Morgan some two years ago, he pur- chased the Burrage farm, where he now re- sides. His custom in these transactions was to improve the estate after buying it, and then to sell it at a good profit. He now owns a farm of one hundred acres, with substantial buildings, from which a view may be obtained of the Ascutney Mountains and the village of Hartland, Vt., upon the opposite shore of the Connecticut River. He has made a specialty of raising sheep and cattle, and he has been quite successful in general farming.
Mr. Cole married Jane Bugbee, who was born in Hartland, Vt., December 27, 1836, and was educated at the Kimball Union Acad- emy. Her grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier. Her father, George Bugbee, who was born in Cornish, Vt., in 1813, and was a prosperous farmer in that town, died in 1882. He married Eunice Lanphire, who, born in Hartland, Vt., in 1803, died in 1869, her only child being Jane. Mr. and Mrs. Cole have four children, as follows: George A., born March 14, 1863; Daniel, born March II, 1867; Samuel W., born March 18, 1868; and
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Lizzie J., born December 23, 1870. George A., who is engaged in agriculture in Plain- field, married Hattie Royce, and has two sons - Charlie and Leonard. Daniel is a resident of this town. Samuel W., who is a travelling salesman for a jewelry house, married Ida M. Jenkins, of Attleboro, Mass. Lizzie J. mar- ried Harley McCrillis, a confectioner of White River Junction, Vt.
Mr. Cole has served upon the School Board and in other town offices. Politically, he supports the Republican party, and in his religious views is a Baptist. He is well informed upon all current topics, and is es- pecially interested in family history and the preservation of relics. He has in his posses- sion several old deeds and mortgages. Among the deeds is offe conveying property from John- son to Cole, bearing the date of December 25, 1819. Another deed is from Walker to Daniel Cole, dated April 4, 1806. He also has the will of his grandfather, dated July 20, 1&39, and probated by Judge Putnam, and the paper relating to his enlistment and his dis- charge from the Continental army.
AVID A. SARGENT, a hotel-keeper in Croydon, was born January 5, 1829, in Grantham, N. H., son of Moses and Mary (Clement) Sargent. His paternal grandfather was one of the early settlers of Warner, N. H. The father was born in Warner, May 1, 1788, and remained there for some time, carrying on general farm- ing. Later he removed to Grantham, where he spent the remainder of his life. While a Republican in politics, he never held public office. He died in 1849, at the age of sixty- one years. His wife Mary, who was born in Warner, December 3, 1788, died in 1870, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. Both
were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Grantham. Their nine children were born as follows: Seth C., May 12, 1815; Benjamin, July 12, 1817; Moses C., Septem- ber 30, 1819; Aaron, June 18, 1821 ; Rozilla, February 3, 1823; Elizabeth C., December 19, 1824; John C., October 21, 1826; David A., January 5, 1829; Almira N., February 20, 1831. Of these children the survivors are : Elizabeth C., David A., and Almira N.
David A. Sargent was educated in the pub- lic schools of Grantham. He was afterward engaged in general farming, carrying on the farm after the death of his father, and contin- uing there for a number of years. In 1862 he started in the hotel business in the same town, running the Grantham House for six and one- half years. Then he disposed of that property, and in 1870 located in Croydon, where he has since lived. He has conducted the hotel there for the past twenty-six years. He is a liberal. in his religious views. In politics he is a Re- publican. He has been Town Clerk for the past two years. On- April 8, 1853, Mr. Sar- gent married Mary A. Clark, who was born in Grantham, daughter of Asa Clark, and died in 1885. Subsequently he married Diana M. Wallace, a native of Vermont, who died in 1891. Darwin A. Sargent, son of the first wife, born in 1860, was engaged in general farming, and resided in Croydon. He married Mabel A. Allen, and died in 1895, leaving his wife with three children - Otis C., Roy. A., and Dora M. Mr. Sargent is a self-made man and one who has the respect of his towns- men. He is a very pleasant man to meet, and is one of the oldest business men in Croydon. His hotel, which is very homelike, accommo- dates twenty guests. It is but a short drive from Austin Corbin's park, and many visitors annually stop with him and enjoy the moun- tain scenery.
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NDREW J. SILVER, senior partner in the firm of Silver & Hall, Goss- ville, and an ex-member of the New Hampshire legislature, was born in Deerfield, N. H., May 9, 1835, . son of Joseph M. and Sarah S. (Chase) Silver. The latter, natives respectively of Haverhill, Mass., and Deer- field, were both born in the year 1800. Jo- seph M. Silver moved to Deerfield when quite young and learned the carpenter's trade. The active portion of his life was devoted to that calling. He owned a good farm, which he also cultivated with success, and lived to the age of eighty-eight years. In politics he acted with the Republican party. His wife, Sarah, who was a daughter of Nathan Chase, of Deerfield, became the mother of seven chil- dren, of whom there are living: Abbie C., John W., Andrew J., Horace C., and Charles W. Abbie C. is the wife of C. W. Prescott, of Raymond, N. H. John W. married Hattie Chase, of Chester, N. H. ; and his children are : Walter H. and Charles P. Horace C. first married Mary E. Brown, - and subse- quently Mrs. Josephine White, a native of Tilton, and the widow of Charles H. White. Neither wife is now living. Charles W. mar- ried Abbie Arlin, of Manchester, N. H. Mrs. Joseph M. Silver died at the age of eighty- two. She and her husband were members of the Congregational church.
Andrew J. Silver completed his education at the Pittsfield Academy. After assisting his father for a short time, he became a clerk in a general store at Suncook village, in the town of Pembroke; and later he worked in the same capacity at Hookset. During the latter part of the Civil War he was clerk at the naval store connected with the United States Navy Yard at Portsmouth. After the war he followed the same occupation for a short time longer, and then established a general store,
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