USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Stafford and Belknap countries, New Hampshire > Part 10
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UDLEY L. STOKES, M.D., a suc- cessful and popular physician of Rochester, Strafford County, was born in Freedom, N.H., July 26, 1866, son of Stephen A. and Esther A. (Mills) Stokes. His father, a native of Eaton, N. H., was the well-to-do proprietor of a carriage and carpen- ter shop.
The subject of this sketch lived at home with his parents until about fifteen years of age, receiving his education in the common schools. He then went to New Hampton, where he attended the Literary Institute. Later he studied medicine with Drs. Merrow and Lougee, of Freedom, N. H., for about a year. In the summer of 1886 he entered Dartmouth College, from which he was gradu- ated in November, 1888, then going to the Long Island College Hospital at Brooklyn, N. Y., where he took a four months' post-grad- uate course. In May, 1889, he went to Goffs- town, N. H., where he was engaged in practice for two years, subsequently coming from that place to Rochester. Here he has acquired a good practice, and is numbered among the leading physicians of the town.
On October 11, 1889, Dr. Stokes was united in marriage with Miss Sarah F. Tyler, of Freedom, N.H. Two sons are the fruit of their union - Leroy T. and Samuel. Politi-
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cally, Dr. Stokes is a Democrat, but on ac- count of his professional duties has not de- voted much time to political matters. He was County Physician, however, from Decem- ber, 1891, to December, 1892; was City Phy- sician a year; and served a short time on the Board of Health, from which he subsequently resigned. He is a member of Humane Lodge, No. 2, F. & A. M .; Temple Chapter, R. A. M. ; and Palestine Commandery, K. T.
EORGE WILLIAM YOUNG, a suc- cessful farmer of Rochester, was born in the town of Barrington, N. H., July 24, 1830, son of Aaron and Lydia (Daniels) Young. The family is of Scotch- Irish descent. James Young emigrated to this country from Scotland, settled in Phila- delphia, and married Margaret Sloan, Their son William, the grandfather of George W., settled in the town of Barrington, N. H., and married Charity Howe.
Aaron Young, who was born in Barrington, received his education in the district schools of his native town. Soon after his marriage he purchased a large farm in Barrington, and spent the remainder of his life in its cultiva- tion and improvement. In politics he was a Whig, and he was well known throughout all that section of country. He represented the town of Barrington in the New Hampshire legislature, served on its Board of Select- men and in other public offices. In re- ligion he affiliated with the Congregation- alists. His death occurred in 1854. He married Lydia Daniels, daughter of Clement Daniels, of Barrington, and had a family of six children. These were: Esther, who mar- ried John E. Buzzell, of Durham, and is now a widow; Sophia A., now deceased, who married George S. Hanson, of Somersworth; the Hon.
Jacob D., living in Madbury, who was Judge of the Probate Court in Strafford County for seventeen years, and more recently a member of the Governor's Council; Aaron, who resides in Portsmouth, and is Special Agent for the United States Treasury Department in Boston, Mass. ; Andrew H., Aaron's twin brother, who was Collector of United States Internal Reve- nue for thirteen years, later Quartermaster, United States Army, and died December 10, 1890; and George William, the subject of this sketch.
George William Young received his educa- tion in the district schools of Barrington. At the age of sixteen. years he entered the news- paper office of the Dover Enquirer as an ap- prentice to learn the printing trade. Upon the expiration of his term of service, being then twenty years old, he bought out a job printing establishment in Dover, and subse- quently carried it on for some three years, when he sold out the business. In 1857 he became the agent of the New England Protec- tive Union Store at Bow Lake, Strafford, and remained in that position for about two years. He then engaged in the grocery business on his own account in Dover, and continued in the same until March, 1863. During this period he was chosen to represent his ward on the Board of Selectmen, and afterward in the Common Council. He also served as clerk of his ward for two years. In 1863 he went into the Quartermaster's department of the United States Army, and remained in the service of the government until the close of the Civil War. Beginning on December 1, 1865, he was chief clerk and cashier of the Freedmen's Bureau in the State of Virginia until May I, 1869. He then entered the service of the. military government of Virginia, and had the oversight and charge of the offices of the Clerk of the Senate, Clerk of the House, and the
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Adjutant-general's Department; and he was the Superintendent of Public Printing. Sub- sequently he was appointed Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue for Virginia, which office he held for nearly sixteen years, with his headquarters at Clarksville, Va. During his residence in Virginia he was elected by the Republicans for nine successive years to rep- resent Mecklenburg County in the Virginia legislature, where he served on most of the committees.
At one time he received from his party a complimentary nomination for Speaker of the House. Throughout the whole period of his residence in Mecklenburg County he was the United States Commissioner there. In the year 1885 he returned once more to his native State. After residing for about two years in Dover, he came to Rochester, and purchased his present farm of some twenty-five acres, where he has continued to live ever since. Since his arrival he has served the city as the Moderator of his ward. An interesting sou- venir of the war, preserved by Mr. Young, and used by him for several years in Virginia, is a fine mahogany desk, which came from the house occupied by Jefferson Davis all through his presidency of the Southern Confederacy.
Mr. Young married Cynthia E. Moody, daughter of Nathaniel and Urania (Hobbs) Moody, of Ossipee, N. H. His six children are: Ella C., who married Herman E. Can- ney, of Dover; George W., Jr., who resides in Brookfield, Mass .; Aaron Clarence, of Rochester; Emma L., married to George H. Clark, of Dover; Charles Sumner, who resides in St. Louis, Mo .; and Albert S., living in Rochester. In politics he is a Republican, in religious belief a Congregationalist. He is well content to pass the residue of his days among his kinsfolk and early friends, by whom he is held in the highest regard.
ONATHAN LUKE LOVERING, who conducts a flourishing livery business in Tilton, was born in Springfield, N. H., March 29, 1839, son of Daniel and Sarah (Russell) Lovering. His grandfather, Daniel Lovering (first), a native of Raymond, N. H., was one of the early settlers in Spring- field, and became a prosperous farmer of that town. Daniel Lovering (second), father of Jonathan L., was born in Springfield in 1806. He was reared upon the homestead farm, which he inherited; and the active period of his life was devoted to tilling the soil and raising cattle and sheep. In politics he was a Democrat. His wife, Sarah, who was a daughter of Jonathan Russell, of Springfield, became the mother of nine children; namely, Moses H., Sarah P., Levi R., Susan R., Rosina R., Jonathan L., Lydia J., Augusta M., and Amos E. Of these Moses H., Levi R., Susan R., Rosina R., Lydia J., and Au- gusta M. are no longer living. Sarah P. mar- ried Benjamin P. Cross, of Wilmot, N. H .; and Amos E. married Adella Gage, of Pena- cook, N.H. The father died in Springfield, N.H., December 22, 1851, aged forty-five; and his wife died in New London, N. H., July 25, 1868, aged sixty-one years. Both were members of the Universalist church.
When his father died Jonathan Luke Lover- ing, then but twelve years old, took entire charge of the farm, and thereafter conducted it for four years. In that period his brothers Levi R. and Moses H. died, the former on May IO, 1853, and the latter on the 14th of the same month. At the age of sixteen he moved with his mother, who married again, to New Lon- don, N.H. He acquired a district-school edu- cation, and resided at home until he was about : eighteen. He then began to work as a farm assistant; and some four years later he bought of General Luther McCutchins a farm in New
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London. After this he was engaged in gen- eral farming and butchering, and he ran a meat cart for six years. Later he bought and ran the stage and mail routes between New London and Potter Place, and that from New London to Bradford for three years. In 1873 he sold his farm and stage lines, and, coming to Tilton, purchased the stage and mail route, together with the livery business connected with the hotel, which was then known as the Dexter House. He ran the stage line from Tilton to Franklin until 1895, when it was discontinued, owing to the building of the railroad from Tilton to Franklin. In 18So he bought the Dexter House, rebuilt it in 1886; and now, bearing the name of the Lovering Hotel, it is one of the finest public houses in this section. He still owns the property, and continues to carry on the livery stable con- nected with it. In politics he supports the Democratic party, and was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1892.
On February 11, 1862, Mr. Lovering was united in marriage with Roxanna E. Todd, of New London, daughter of James and Mary (Dodge) Todd. Of his four children two are living, namely: Fred H., who was born Octo- ber 18, 1865; and Wenona D., born .July 10, 1882. Fred H., now an architect in Buffalo, N. Y., married Charlotte Calef, of Lowell, Mass., and has one son, Maitland C., born December 1, 1894. Mr. Lovering is con- nccted with the Knights of Honor. Mrs. Lovering is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church.
ARK H. MATHES, a well-to-do farmer and prominent town officer of Durham, Strafford County, was born here, October 2, 1840, son of Jacob and Mehitable J. (Willey) Mathes. Ten genera- tions of this family have been born at the
ancestral mansion. Francis Mathes, the ear- liest progenitor and original grant-owner, came here from England in 1640. The grandfather and great-grandfather of Mark H. were both named Valentine.
Jacob Mathes was a stone cutter, and fol- lowed his trade for many years in Quincy, Mass. Returning to the old homestead in Durham in 1848, he continued at stone work and contracting until 1872. In politics he affiliated with the Republican party. Offi- cially, he served acceptably as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Collector and Representa- tive to the legislature. His wife bore him five children; namely, Sarah E., Mark H., Carrie A., Hannah A., and Emma: E. Sarah E. married William R. Coffin; Carrie A. married Ambrose C. Hill; Hannah became the wife of George Shrives; and Emma E. is deceased. The father died in 1872, at the age of fifty-six years; and his wife, who lived to be sixty- seven, died in 1884.
Mark H. Mathes removed with his parents to the ancestral abode when he was seven years of age. His district-school education was supplemented by a course of study at Colby Academy in New London, N. H. When his father died he returned home, where he has since managed the farm. Since first exer- cising the elective franchise, he has affiliated with the Republican party, and like his hon- ored father he has attained official distinction. He served as Selectman for three years, being Chairman of the Board in the last year ; was a member of the State legislature in 1885; was Tax Collector in 1893, 1894, 1895, and 1896; and was Road Commissioner in 1895 and 1896.
Mr. Mathes has been twice married. By the first union, contracted in 1875 with Emma Clark, there was one child, Jacob, who died in 1890. The maiden name of his second wife
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was Zella Stevens. They were married in 1878, and now have two children -- Charles E. P. and Albert H. Fraternally, Mr. Mathes is identified with Swamscott Lodge, I. O. O. F., of New Market, N. H. ; and with Scammel Grange. Mrs. Mathes is a highly respected member of the Durham Congrega- tional church.
TON. STEPHEN SHANNON JEW- ETT .- "Of the young men of New Hampshire who have made their mark within the past few years, no one has advanced to the front with such rapidity and certainty as Stephen S. Jewett, of Laconia. His success has not been owing to any fortui- tous circumstances, nor to any special advan- : tages of birth, education, or wealth, but wholly to his merits as a man of superior ability, of great courage, and of unsurpassed fixity of pur- pose. He is one whom, in homely but expres- sive language, it is safe to tie to." ( The Granite Monthly, April, 1895.)
Mr. Jewett was born in that part of Gilford, Belknap County, N. H., now included in La- conia, on September 18, 1858. He is the son of John G. and Carrie E. (Shannon) Jewett, and comes of English stock. His great- grandfather, Samuel Jewett, who was one of the Revolutionary patriots in the battle of Bunker Hill, resided for some time in Hollis, N.H., whence he moved to Laconia, he and his brother being practically the first settlers of this place. Smith Jewett, Mr. Jewett's grandfather, was a respected citizen of La- conia; and his son, John G. Jewett, is a native resident of this place, and is a highly esteemed citizen. A gentleman of scholarly attainments, he taught school for a number of .years.
Stephen Shannon Jewett acquired his early education in the public schools of Laconia
and under private tuition by his father. At the age of seventeen he took up the study of law with the Hon. Charles F. Stone, and was prepared for examination for the bar in 1879; but being under age he was obliged to wait a year. Admitted to the bar in March, 1880, he began practice in Laconia, and until 1889 conducted an independent business. William A. Plummer then became his partner, and he is still associated with him. During the fif- teen years of Mr. Jewett's active practice few important cases have appeared on the docket of Belknap County without his name in con - nection, either as counsel for plaintiff or de- fendant. His most noted recent case was the celebrated crim. con. suit of Wilcomb against Wilcomb, Mr. Jewett appearing for the plain- tiff. În 1884 he accepted the position of Clerk of the Supreme Court for Belknap County, as an accommodation to suit the con- venience of the court, and served for a short time. He drafted and secured the passage of Laconia's city charter, was the first City Solicitor elected, and as City Solicitor is still in office. Aside from his legal work he has many financial interests. He is a Director in the Laconia Building and Loan Association, the Laconia Land and Improvement Company, the Standard Electric Time Company, the Laconia Masonic Temple Association, the La- conia National Bank, and the Weirs Hotel and Land Company.
Mr. Jewett began to take an interest in pol- itics in 1876 when a youth of eighteen, and was soon recognized as a Republican leader. He conducted the affairs of the Town Com- mittee from 1880 to 1890, and, becoming a member of the State Committee in 1884, was elected Secretary of that body in 1890. He gave ample proof of his efficiency in this capacity during what is known as "the famous Tuttle campaign, the hardest-fought political
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battle ever known in New Hampshire." In the House of Representatives he was Engross- ing Clerk in 1883, and served at different times as Assistant Clerk and Clerk. "As Clerk of the House of Representatives, who had the making up of the roll, he appeared before the full bench of the Supreme Court in the famous attempt of the Democrats to make him disclose his intentions as to whether or not he intended to place on the roll the names of certain Representatives who had been de- clared elected in town meeting. The great battle over, the 'If Entitled' will not soon be forgotten in this State, nor will Mr. Jewett's services to the Republican party at that criti- cal juncture. As in all the crises of his life, he rose to the occasion, and suddenly the people of all parties recognized him as the coming man. At the opening of the next campaign, that of 1892, Mr. Jewett was chosen Chairman of the State Committee; and the triumphant election of Governor John B. Smith proved the wisdom of the choice. In 1894 he was again put at the head of the great organization; and, with the experience of two years before to guide him, he secured the elec- tion of the candidate, Governor Charles A. Busiel, by the unheard-of majority of ten thousand votes. At this election he was himself elected to represent his ward in the legislature, and his name was at once put for- ward by his friends as a candidate for the Speakership. With the tremendous prestige which he had attained as leader in the great Republican victory in November, no candidate could stand before him; and he was nominated for Speaker in the Republican caucus by a vote of two to one over his only competitor. He was elected as a matter of course, and has made as good a Speaker as ever presided in our legislative halls." (Granite Monthly.)
Mr. Jewett was Colonel on the staff of Gov-
ernor Goodell in 1889. He was a delegate to the National Republican Convention at St. Louis in 1896 that nominated Mckinley for President ; and at present, though his contin- ually increasing law practice prevents him from entering to any great extent into political work, he is a member of the Executive Com- mittee of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, and he is on the Executive Committee of the Republican National League.
Mr. Jewett was married June 30, 1880, to Annie L. Bray, of Bradford, England. He had then just started in the practice of law, and had not even an assured income; and his subsequent success he insists is due much more to his wife than to himself. They have one promising boy, Theo S.
A member of several bar associations, Mr. Jewett has also formed a number of other social connections. At one time he was a member of the New Hampshire National Guard; and for several years he belonged to Company K, Third Regiment, of Laconia. In Masonry he has taken all the degrees up to the thirty-second; and he has been Master of Mount Lebanon Lodge, High Priest of Union Chapter, Master of Pythagorean Chapter, and Commander of Pilgrim Commandery - all of Laconia; and is now an officer of the Grand Council of New Hampshire. In private life he is courteous and agreeable, with a kindly word always for the absent and those in trouble.
AMES E. HAYES, Sheriff of Strafford County, was born April 13, 1841, in the town of Farmington, N. H., on the homestead which his great-grandfather, Daniel Hayes, cleared from the wilderness. This homestead was likewise the birthplace of Daniel Hayes, Jr., the grandfather, and of his son Richard, the father of James E. Each of
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these progenitors was a sturdy tiller of the soil; and each in his turn added to the im- provements already begun on the land, and made it his home. Richard Hayes married Martha A. Edgerly, of Farmington, who bore him two children, namely: Annie M., who married Alvah M. Kimball; and James E., the subject of this sketch.
James E. Hayes, in common with most farmers' sons, received the larger part of his education in the district school. He left school at the age of thirteen years to learn shoemaking. This trade he afterward fol- lowed for thirty consecutive years. In 1882 he erected in his native town a factory for the manufacture of heels for boots and shoes; and he has since carried it on successfully, build- ing up an extensive business. The factory is now under the charge of his son, Eugene B. Hayes. It was personally managed by Mr. James E. Hayes until 1892, when he was appointed Deputy Sheriff, an office to which he was re-elected the following year. In 1895 and 1896 he served in the capacity of Sheriff of Strafford County with so much ability that he was elected to the office for a second term. In politics he has been a firm supporter of Republican principles, and cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lin- coln. In 1872 Mr. Hayes represented the town of Farmington in the State legislature, and in 1887 he served it as Selectman. Dur- ing the administration of President Harrison he took the manufacturers' census of his dis- trict. He is a member of the local grange, and both he and his wife are members of the Congregational church.
On November 24, 1870, Mr. Hayes married Miss Mary E. Peavey, of Farmington, a daughter of John L. and Emily Furber Peavey. The only children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hayes are: Eugene B., Deputy Sheriff and manager
of his father's factory in Farmington; and John R., a student of the Dover Business College.
A LPHEUS L. BEAN, a retired farmer and an extensive real estate dealer of Belmont, was born at Loudon Ridge, N. H., February 4, 1820, son of Elijah and Betsey (Mudgett) Bean. The maternal grandfather, Scribner Mudgett, who was prominent among the early settlers of this district, emigrated from England about the year 1783, settled upon two hundred acres of wild land situated in Gilmanton, and there cleared a good farm, half of which he gave to one of his sons. He died at the age of sixty- five years. His ten children were: Edward, Richard, Samuel, John, Mary, Sally, Susan, Betsey, William, and one whose name is un- known. Susan became Mrs. Clifford. Sally taught school for some years, after which she married Levi Sleeper, a prominent farmer. Betsey, born February 29, 1788, who was William's twin sister, and always resided at the homestead, in 1813 became the wife of Elijah Bean, who was born November 30, 1788.
Elijah and Betsey (Mudgett) Bean were the parents of six children, one of whom died in infancy. The others were: Fanny G., Joseph M., Alpheus L., Betsey N., and Erastus Alonzo. Fanny G., who was born September 10, 1815, married Joshua Wood, son of John Wood, a stone-maker of Hancock, N. H. Joshua Wood, who was a painter, followed his trade in Manchester for a time; and he and his wife passed their last days in Tilton. They had two children, neither of whom is living. Joseph M. Bean, born October 11, 1817, who was engaged in farming and the live-stock busi- ness until he reached the age of seventy, is still living. His first wife, who was before
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marriage Catherine Tilton, became the mother of three children, of whom George, the only survivor, is now residing in Springvale, Me. By his second wife, Ann (Neal) Bean, who was a native of Meredith, N. H., he became the father of Ellen Bean. Ellen married for her first husband Otis Clark, a well-known citizen of Manchester, who died in IS92, leav- ing one daughter. She married for her second husband Frank Davis, who owns a farm situ- ated upon the dividing line between Manches- ter and Canterbury, N. H. Both her parents reside with her. Betsey Bean, born Novem- ber 18, 1822, died in Lowell, Mass., October 21, 1839. Erastus Bean, born February 23, 1827, who died in California in 1852, married on December 19, 1850, Augusta Ewer, of Bel- mont. The only child of that union, Flora Elizabeth, died when one year old.
Alpheus L. Bean was educated in the dis- trict schools. When his studies were com- pleted he engaged in farming. Having bought a part of his father's farm, he resided there until 1847, when he sold the property and en- gaged in the stone business. In 1850 he again turned his attention to agricultural pur- suits, and bought a farm of one hundred and eighteen acres, located in what was called the Jamestown Section of Belmont. He erected a new house upon that farm, and resided there until 1854, when he sold the estate advantage- ously. From that time until settling upon his present farm he made a business of buying agricultural property, which he would improve and sell, realizing each time a handsome profit. Among the estates that passed through his hands in this manner were the Hackett Emery place, a farm located in the French neighbor- hood, and another situated in the Jamestown Section. In 186; he purchased forty acres of the farm on Ladd Hill he now occupies. Since then he has increased its size to eighty
acres. Aside from carrying on general farm- ing, he had a milk route, and kept ten cows and four horses. He has been successful both in speculation and agricultural pursuits, and for many years was one of the most active and industrious residents of Belmont. Some time since he retired from active labor, leaving the management of the farm to his son, and is now devoting his time to looking after his invest- ments, which include some valuable interests in Laconia. In politics he is a Republican ; and, though averse to taking part in public affairs, he was persuaded to serve two years as a member of the Board of Selectmen.
In 1844 Mr. Bean contracted his first mar- riage with Polly G. Dow. She was a daughter of Joseph Dow, of Sanbornton, N. H., and died in 1846. In 1850 he wedded Matilda A. Bean, daughter of Joseph Bean, of Brentwood, N. H. ; and on April 22, 1869, he married for his third wife Mrs. Addie L. (Leighton) Morrill. Moses Leighton, the father of his third wife, was reared in Franklin, N. H., son of Edwin Leighton, was a prosperous farmer of Sanbornton, and was prominent in local politics. He was the father of seven other children ; namely, Lydia, Samuel, Ira, Wes- > ley, Freeman, Edward, and Joel. Lydia mar- ried C. J. Smith, a foreman in the Laconia Car Works, and had one daughter, Carrie, who died at the age of thirty three years. Samuel enlisted in a New Hampshire Cavalry Regi- ment, and died from disease contracted in prison during the Civil War. Ira, who is an overseer in the Laconia car shops, wedded Martha A. Somes, and became the father of two children, who died at an early age. Wes- ley, who enlisted in the Twelfth New Hamp- shire Volunteers, was killed in the battle of Fredericksburg. Freeman died of typhoid fever at the age of twenty-one. Edward, who is overseer of a foundry in Concord, married
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