USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Stafford and Belknap countries, New Hampshire > Part 13
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James A. Miller, the chief subject of this sketch, received a common-school education ; and when old enough he began to assist his father in carrying on the farm. He has al- ways resided upon his present property, which consists of sixty-seven acres of productive land; and he carries on general farming and dairying. He is one of the active supporters of the Democratic party in this town, and has filled with ability all of the principal offices.
He has been a member of the Board of Select- men nineteen years in all, and has acted as its Chairman for nine years of that time. He was Tax Collector for two years, Town Treas- urer for one term, was Overseer of the Poor, and represented this town in the legislature in 1867. He also formerly acted as a Justice of the Peace.
Mr. Miller married for his first wife Lydia M. Hayes, who bore him two children - Henry B. and Florence A., the last named being the wife of Charles Conner, of Farming- ton. His present wife was before marriage Ella J. Glidden, of New Durham ; and by this second union there are five children - Flora P., James A., Jr., Richard, Grover C., and Gladys E. Mr. and Mrs. Miller attend the Baptist church.
OREN S. FERNALD, an energetic and prosperous agriculturist of Lee, Strafford County, N. H., was born in Nottingham, Rockingham County, October 19, 1859, son of John E. and Sarah W. F. (Thompson) Fernald. He received a common- school education, and remained at home on the farm until attaining his majority. He then went to Dover, N. H., where he was employed for seven years in the office of V. Mathes. Later he returned to Nottingham and pur- chased a farm, which he successfully managed until 1891. He then came to Lee and pur- chased his present farm, which contains one hundred and fifty acres, and is located on the road from Dover to Lee, five miles south-east of Dover. Its thriving condition attests Mr. Fernald's ability as a practical farmer. In politics Mr. Fernald indorses the principles of the Republican party. While a resident of Nottingham, he served the town efficiently as Supervisor; and in March, 1896, he was
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ERASTUS A. CRAWFORD.
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elected Chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Lee.
In 1885 Mr. Fernald married Cylena A. Demerritt, who has borne him six children --- Harold L., Carl S., Edna F., Willis, Frank, and John I. Mr. Fernald is identified with Mount Pleasant Lodge, I. O. O. F .; belongs to the Improved Order of Red Men; and also officiates as Treasurer of Lee Grange, having served in that capacity three years.
OBIAS HAM, who owns and occupies a good farm on Meredith Neck, was born in Portsmouth, N. H., February 13, 1824, son of Samuel and Caroline (Odi- orne) Ham. His grandfather, Captain Tobias Ham, a master mariner hailing from Ports- mouth, while sailing his schooner off Seabrook Beach in the year 1800, was knocked over- board by a swinging boom, and was drowned.
Samuel Ham, born in Portsmouth, Febru- ary 23, 1794, grew to manhood as a farmer, and followed that occupation during the active period of his life. In 1837 he succeeded to the Ham homestead, and his last days were spent upon the old place. In politics he was originally a Democrat, but later he voted with the Republican party. His wife, Caroline, who was a native of New Castle, N. H., be- came the mother of twelve children, ten of whom lived to maturity. These were: Will- iam F., who resides in Portsmouth; Tobias, the subject of this sketch; Sylvester, Charles E., and George H., who are deceased; Joseph O. and Benjamin O., who are residents of Portsmouth; Mary Caroline, also deceased ; Ann Maria, the wife of Charles Gray, of Portsmouth; and Robert M., of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Ham were Second Ad- ventists in their religious views.
Tobias Ham attended the district schools,
and resided upon the home farm until he was seventeen years old. He then began to serve an apprenticeship at the blacksmith's trade. After following it for four years, he went to work in a machine shop, and was there em- ployed until April 12, 1872. He then turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, and, purchasing his present farm, has since been quite successful in raising the usual crops of his locality. Politically, he is a stanch Re- publican, but takes no active part in public affairs beyond casting his vote.
On November 24, 1851, Mr. Ham married Hannah Randall, daughter of James Randall, of Centre Harbor, N.H .; and he has one daughter living - Emma Etta, now the wife of George N. Eaton, of Meredith. James : Randall, who was born in Barnstead, N. H., spent the greater part of his life upon a farm at Centre Harbor. He and his wife, Lydia (Bean) Randall, reared a family of ten chil- dren, namely : Aaron, James, Haven, Sally, John, Ann, Lydia, Hannah, Oliver, and Ben- jamin. Oliver and Benjamin are now de- ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Ham are members of the Free Will Baptist church.
RASTUS A. CRAWFORD, senior mem- ber of the firm of Crawford, Tolles & Co., of Dover, N. H., carries on, without doubt, the most extensive insurance business of any firm in this State. He was born March 28, 1824, in Norfolk, St. Law- rence County, N. Y., a son of Erastus and Lois (Allen) Crawford.
Erastus Crawford was born and reared to man's estate in the White Mountain region of New Hampshire, where his father, Abel Craw- ford, was one of the oldest and hardiest pio- neers. In early manhood Erastus Crawford, crossing the Green Mountain State, went to
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St. Lawrence County, New York. Soon after his marriage he established himself as a farmer in Norfolk, where he carried on his chosen occupation until his untimely death in May, 1824, at the age of thirty-three years. His wife, whose maiden name was Lois Allen, was born in Madrid, St. Lawrence County, N. Y. After a few years of widowhood she married George A. Langworthy. She lived to the age of forty-eight years. By her first marriage two children were born, namely : Erastus A., the special subject of this sketch ; and Festus.
Erastus A. Crawford, soon after the death of his father, became an inmate of the house- hold of his paternal grandfather, the venerable Abel Crawford, in honor of whom the Notch in the White Mountains received its name. The grandfather was the first white settler at Bemis, Carroll County, this State, and cleared the land now occupied by Bemis station. For many years he was proprietor of the Mount Crawford tavern, a popular hostelry in the old stage days. He was familiar with all sections of that part of the country, traversing it on foot and horseback; and, according to an arti- cle by Julius H. Ward, "the first horse that ever climbed the rocks of Mount Washington had for a rider Abel Crawford, who was then, in 1840, seventy-five years old, and who sat proudly upon his noble animal, with head un- covered, while the wind played lightly with his silver locks." With this "veteran pilot of the hills," as he has been named, the young Erastus was reared, attending the district schools of Bartlett in his youth, assisting his grandfather in the hotel, and also acting as a guide through the mountains, this being before there were any roads to the summit of Mount Washington. When twenty years old, he came to Strafford County, and for a year pursued his studies at the academy in Rochester. Going
then into a cotton-mill at Great Falls, he began working in the lowest position, was gradually promoted from one rank to another, finally being appointed overseer of one depart- ment. At the end of twelve years his health failed, and he had to seek other business. Opening a meat and provision store, he con- tinued in Great Falls, now Somersworth, for some time, after which he drove the stage from Union Village to North Conway until 1870. In that year Mr. Crawford established himself in the fire insurance business in Somersworth, carrying it on successfully until coming to Dover, in 1885. Having then formed a partnership with Mr. Tolles, the firm have continued conducting a flourishing business. They represent about twenty of the. leading fire, life, and accident insurance com- panies of the United States, and are State agents for the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company of Newark, N. J., the territory cov- ered by them including not only the counties adjoining Strafford, but York County, Maine. On December 24, 1846, Mr. Crawford mar- ried Miss Jane S. Porter, of Somersworth, N. H. She was born February 11, 1820, and passed to the life eternal March 14, 1896. The only child born of their union was a son, Charles A., who died when young.
Mr. Crawford was one of the founders of the Republican party, of which he has ever since been a stanch supporter. He takes an active and intelligent interest in the welfare of his adopted city, in the government of which he has served two years, the second year being an Alderman. In 1892 he was elected a Rep- resentative to the General. Court from Ward Two. He is a Master Mason, belonging to the Moses Paul Lodge, F. & A. M., of Dover ; and he is also connected with Washington Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Somersworth. Mr. Crawford is an active member of the Meth-
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odist Episcopal church, having united with that denomination nearly half a century ago, and for fifteen years has been superintendent of the Sunday-school; while for fifty-two years he has acted as class leader. He was a lay delegate from the New Hampshire Methodist Conference to the session of the General Conference in New York in 1888; and in 1889 he was a delegate to the World's Sunday-school Convention held in London, England.
MITII NEAL was one of Sanborn- ton's most esteemed residents. He was born in Meredith, N. H., Feb- ruary 16, 1806, son of Joseph and Hannah (Smith) Neal. It is believed that he was a descendant of the Neals of Dean, Allesley Park, one of whom, John Neal, married the daughter of Henry Cromwell, who was a near relative of Oliver Cromwell. His grandfather, Thomas Neal, an Englishman by birth, who settled in Kittery, Me., served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The maiden name of Thomas Neal's wife was Betsey Haley. Jo- seph Neal, born in Kittery, March 23, 1762, in common with his brothers, was obliged to begin carning his living at an early age. He afterward settled in Meredith, N. H., then a wilderness, where he eventually became the owner of a good farm. His wife, Hannah, became the mother of eight children, namely : William, John, Betsey, Mary, Hannah, Jo- seph, Smith, and Irene. Of the number, Irene, who was born in 1813, is the only sur- vivor.
Smith Neal acquired a good practical educa- tion. When a young man he turned his atten- tion to agriculture. He succeeded to the possession of the homestead in Meredith, and resided there until after his marriage, when he sold the property. In the spring of 1855 he
bought the farm which is now owned by his daughter, Mrs. Mary E. Hanaford, and re- sided here for the rest of his life. He devoted much attention to the raising of cattle, partic- ularly oxen, and acquired a wide reputation as a breeder of those animals. For seven years he owned what is known as Governor's Island, comprising five hundred acres of land; and he improved one hundred and sixty-five acres of it for agricultural purposes. In politics he was a Democrat, but never aspired to public office.
On December 20, 1852, Mr. Neal was united in marriage with Sarah Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Nicholas Smith, of New Hampton, N. H. The only child of this union is Mary E. Mrs. Smith Neal was a member of the Second Baptist Church of Sanbornton. On January 1, 1890, Mary E. Neal was joined in marriage with John P. Hanaford. He was born in New Hampton, N. H., September 16, 1853, son of Nathaniel P. and Zulema W. (Prescott) Hanaford. Winthrop Hanaford, grandfather of John P., one of the best known residents of New Hampton and much re- spected for his high moral character, died in March, 1896, at the age of ninety-three years. He was a man of unusual activity, even in extreme old age. In December, 1895, he sus- tained a fracture of the leg. The direct cause of his death was pneumonia. Nathaniel P. Hanaford, John P. Hanaford's father, was born in New Hampton, October 28, 1827. He re- sided in this State until 1862, when he moved to Chadwick, Carroll County, Ill., where he is now engaged in farming and in raising stand- ard-bred horses. John P. Hanaford accom- panied his parents to Illinois, but returned later to his native State to attend the New Hampton Literary Institute, completing bis studies with a business course at a commer- cial college in Milwaukee, Wis. IIe is now
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engaged in the hardware business in Chadwick, where he has recently finished the erection of a fine business block, and where he is also interested with his father in horse-breeding.
OSES WHITTIER CLEMENT, who for the greater part of his long and active life was engaged in agricultural pursuits in Rollinsford, was born in this town, January 8, 1818, son of James and Hannah (Hussey) Clement. James Clement, Sr., grandfather of Moses, and a pio- neer settler of Rollinsford, came from England with his three brothers in a boat they had built themselves. One of them died on the way. James settled first at Dover Neck, but later came to Rollinsford, where he became the owner of a very large tract of land. He married Betsey Tibbits. Their son, James Clement, Jr., was born on the Rollinsford homestead, and received his education in the common schools. He carried on a large busi- ness in raising cattle and sheep. He fought as a soldier in the War of 1812, being sta- tioned at Portsmouth, and subsequently drew a pension from the government for honorable services. His wife, Hannah Hussey Clement, was a sister of the mother of John G. Whit- tier; and Mr. Moses Clement was both a cousin and a close friend of the famous poet. Mrs. Clement, like her distinguished brother, was a member of the Society of Friends. She was the mother of the following named chil- dren: Edward, Moses, Sarah (twin sister of Moses), James, Oliver, Elizabeth, George, and William.
Moses Whittier Clement resided all his life on the home farm, which he bought when he married, with the exception of a few years before his marriage, when he worked at shoe- making in one of the large manufactories at
Haverhill, Mass. His principal crops were potatoes and corn, and he kept but a small herd of cows. He was a hale and vigorous man for one of his years. In 1896 he loaded all the hay cut on the farm, the annual harvest of which is about twenty tons, and trimmed out after the mowing machine. He died sud- denly of heart trouble, January 29, 1897.
Mr. Clement married Miss Elizabeth Hooper, daughter of John Hooper, of Tufton- boro. She bore him five children, namely : Abbie; Elizabeth, who died in infancy ; George, the first son, who died when nineteen years of age; Elizabeth (the second of the name), who married James Whitehouse, and resides in South Berwick, Me. ; and Herbert Clement, who now carries on the farm, about thirty-five acres of which is tillage land, and is under high cultivation. Mrs. Moses Clement died January 13, 1894, at the age of seventy-five years. She was a devoted mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and her husband was one of the Trustees of the society. In politics Mr. Clement was a life- long Republican. Though never an office- seeker, he was a member of the School Com- mittee for many years, and at one time held the office of Road Surveyor. In these posi- tions he served the public interests faithfully and efficiently and to the general satisfaction of the townspeople. His son Herbert is a member of Washington Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Somersworth, in which he is Past Grand.
RS. ELIZABETH (BENSON) JACKSON, of Centre Harbor, is a native of this town, and a daughter of the Rev. Almon and Rhoda A. (Roys) Benson. Her grandfather was Eben- ezer Benson, who passed the greater part of his life in Jericho, Vt.
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The Rev. Almon Benson, born in Jericho, June 3, 1810, was educated at the Gilmanton (N. H.) Academy and Theological Seminary, and was ordained a Congregational preacher. Soon after his ordination he came to Centre Harbor to supply the pulpit for a short time, and made such a favorable impression that, at the conclusion of the service on the second Sunday of his stay, he was unanimously called to the pastorate by the society. He was in- stalled December 2, 1840, as the first settled Congregational minister in Centre Harbor. As the result of his diligent labor and influ- ence among the people, the church multiplied in membership. At the close of a protracted revival service held in 1843, all but three chil- dren over twelve years old, belonging to attendants and members, were converted and added to its fold. As his salary was not suffi- cient to support him, he engaged in farming, tilling the soil four days in the week, and spending Fridays and Saturdays in his study. He acquired considerable real estate as the result of his farming operations. After filling the pulpit here for many years, he retired from his pastoral duties, and engaged in the busi- ness of entertaining summer boarders. In politics he was a Republican. He served as a member of the School Board for some time, and represented this town in the legislature for two terms. His death occurred September
14, 1884. Rhoda A. (Roys) Jackson, his wife, was a daughter of Samuel Roys, of what is now Easton, N. H. She was a pupil of Mary Lyon at the Mount Holyoke Seminary. After completing her education she taught school until her marriage. She became the mother of four children; namely, Julitta K., Elizabeth, Rufus A. R., and Theodocia C. Rufus A. R. resides in Somerville, Mass. ; and Theodocia C. is now the wife of George E. Hart, of South Boston. Mr. Hart, who for
eleven years was pianoforte tuner in the public schools of Boston, is now teacher of tuning at the Perkins Institution for the Blind in South Boston, of which he is a graduate. Mrs. Almon Benson died February 20, 1896, aged seventy-eight years.
Elizabeth Benson was graduated from Mount Holyoke Seminary in 1871, and immediately entered upon her career as an educator. She taught for two years in Baton Rouge, La. ; for one year in Janesville, Wis .; for seven years in Massachusetts; and for two years she kept a private school in Centre Harbor. On Sep- tember 10, 1896, she married William C. Jackson. He was born in what is now Madi- son, N.H., March 7, 1843. His parents were Caleb and Cathrine (Keneson) Jackson, both natives of Madison. His great-grandfather was James Jackson, M.D., and his grandfather was Daniel Jackson, who resided in Madison, then called Eaton. In his younger days Daniel Jackson was a carpenter, and later a farmer. He was prominent as a member of the Free Baptist church, and he lived to be seventy years old. He married Abigail Mer- rill, daughter of Thomas Merrill, of Conway, N. H., and became the father of seventeen children, eleven of whom grew to maturity. She was an active member of the Free Baptist church. Thomas Merrill, who was born in Concord, N.H., April 14, 1748, married Han- nah Ambrose, of that town. His father, Thomas Merrill (first), born in Haverhill, Mass., February 25, 1723, settled in Concord, N.H., in 1765, and was the first Town Clerk and the first Justice of the Peace in that town. The first ancestor of the Merrill family of whom there is any record was John Merrill, who was born in Haverhill, April 14, 170.4. He was one of the first settlers of Concord, and was chosen a Deacon of the Congrega- tional church in 1730. Caleb Jackson, father
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of William C., was a prosperous farmer, who also followed the trade of carpenter. He owned farms, and resided at different times in Madison, Centre Harbor, Moultonboro, Sand- wich, and Tamworth. He was known and re- spected as an industrious, upright man, and for many years was a member of the Congrega- tional church. He died in Tamworth, Febru- ary 16, 1882, aged seventy-eight years and six months.
William C. Jackson was brought to Centre Harbor by his parents when he was an infant. After receiving his education in this town, he learned the shoemaker's trade, and also as- sisted his father in carrying on the farm. At the age of twenty-one he learned photography, and was subsequently engaged in that business for himself until 18SI. He then sold out, and has since been proprietor of a jewelry store in this town. In politics he is a Re- publican. He has been identified with the Congregational church as cleik and treasurer for some years. Mrs. Jackson is a lady of more than usual activity, and takes a deep in- terest in any charitable or religious movement to which she can be of assistance. She is Secretary of the Centre Harbor Library Asso- ciation and a member of the Congregational church.
SCAR ALONZO LOUGEE, one of the most prominent merchants of La- conia, was born in this city, October 28, 1857, son of True Worthy and Abbie R. (Gilman) Lougee. A representative of an old New Hampshire family of Colonial origin, he traces his genealogy directly to John Lougee, who was a native of the Isle of Jersey. In the reign of Queen Anne, between the years 1703 and 1713, John Lougee emigrated to this country, and settled in New Hampshire. Some time after he was carried off by the Ind-
ians. He subsequently escaped from captiv- ity, passed the rest of his life in Exeter, and died at the age of seventy-seven. When he was eighteen years old he wedded Mary, daughter of Moses Gilman, of New Market, and afterward reared a family of eight chil- dren. John Lougee (second), eldest son of John (first), settled with his brother, Gilman, in Gilmanton, N.H. He sucessively married Molly Leavitt, Susan Hull, and Mrs. Judith Deal, and died at the advanced age of ninety- four years. By his first two marriages he had fifteen children. The next in line was Joseph Lougee, born in Gilmanton, June 28, 1751, who was a carpenter and a farmer, possessed unusual physical powers, and died in Gilman- ton, February 16, 1845. It is told of Joseph that, when ninety years old, he assisted in moving a barn. His first wife was before marriage Apphia Swazey. His second mar- riage was contracted November 4, 1780, with Miriam Fogg, who was born March 28, 1757. He had thirteen children; namely, Elisha, Polly, Apphia, Polly (second), Sally, Sally (second), John Fogg, Anna, Joseph, Seth, Daniel, Samuel Dearborn, and Apphia (sec- ond). At his death he left ten children, forty-five grandchildren, and sixty-five great- grandchildren.
Elisha Lougee (first), great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Gil- manton, July 3, 1772. In 1798 he settled in Sanbornton, and first occupied the property in the square now owned by S. G. Abbott. Pre- vious to 1810 he removed to the Thomas place, where his son Elisha now resides. For many years he followed the carpenter's trade, at which he was quite an expert, and usually had a number of apprentices under instruction. He was a man of considerable prominence in his day, and served as a Lieutenant in the State militia. His death occurred in San-
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bornton, December 23, 1843. In 1793 he married Anna Lord, a native of Exeter, who died November 17, 1860, aged eighty-two years. Her children were: Charles, Mary, Elisha, Elizabeth, Ann, and Joseph. Elisha Lougee (second), grandfather of Oscar A., was born in Sanbornton, March 15, 1800. In early manhood he engaged in farming in his native town. At a later date he moved to Northfield Centre, and still later to Laconia, where he was engaged in tilling the soil for fourteen years. He finally returned to his old farm in Sanbornton, and is still residing there. Grandfather Elisha Lougee has been twice married. On September 4, 1823, he was wedded to Thirza Philbrook, daughter of Deacon David Philbrook, by the Rev. Peter Clark. She died July 21, 1866, aged sixty- two years; and on May 15, 1867, he married Pamelia A. Glines, of Northfield. Born of his first union were: True Worthy, Sarah Jane, Thirza Philbrook, and Samuel Fernald. True Worthy Lougee, father of Oscar A., was born in Sanbornton, October 13, 1825. His chief occupation was that of a carpenter, and the greater part of his life was spent in La- conia. He served as a private in the Twelfth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers, during the Civil War. After his discharge from the army he continued to reside here until his death by apoplexy on July 21, 1879. He was a member of the Free Will Baptist church. His wife, Abbie, whom he married in 1853, was born in Bethlehem, N.H. She became the mother of three sons, namely : Frank Her- bert, who was born March 4, 1855; Oscar A., the subject of this sketch; and Orman True, who was born May 25, 186 :.
Oscar Alonzo Lougee graduated from the Laconia High School in 1875. Immediately after he became a clerk in the dry-goods and carpet store of George W. Weeks, and was
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