USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Stafford and Belknap countries, New Hampshire > Part 26
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EORGE H. DEMERITT, an enter- prising merchant and one of the most prominent residents of Alton, N. H., was born in Nottingham, Rockingham County, February 27, 1859. His parents, John H. and Jane Demeritt, were born in Durham, Straf- ford County, N. H., and the family sprang from one of three brothers, sons of Eli de Merit, who were among the carly settlers of Durham.
George H. Demeritt's father left his native town when a young man, and, settling in Not- tingham, followed agricultural pursuits for some time. He then turned his attention to shoemaking, which has been his principle occupation in life. His wife, Jane Demeritt, became the mother of four children, namely : Andrew J. ; Frank J. ; Jossie; and George H., the subject of this sketch. Andrew J. became an engineer on the Union Pacific Railroad, and
died in 1894. Frank J. fitted for college at Pinkerton Academy, Derry, N. H., and subse- quently engaged in teaching. After that he began to read law; in 18So he went to Texas; in 1884 he was admitted to the bar in Galves- ton, Tex. ; and he is now one of the most prominent lawyers in the State. Jossie at- tended the town school, and lived with her father until she was married to Mr. William Ramsdell. She and her husband, who is fore- man for F. J. Durgin & Co., now reside at Bradford, Mass. Mrs. Jane Demeritt died some thirty-one years ago.
Being thus left motherless at the age of seven years, George H. Demeritt went to reside with John Morrison of East Northwood, N. H. He remained there until 1873, when he entered Phillips Academy at Exeter, N. H. ; and in the fall of 1873 he went to Pinkerton Academy, Derry, N. H., where his studies were completed. He then began to work for B. W. Hoyt & Co., Epping, N. H., where he remained until 1882, at which time he came to Alton and entered the employ of John Col- lins as draftsman and foreman of the cutting- room. In that double capacity he continued until November 28, 1896, when he severed his connection with the factory, much to the re- gret of those directly under his supervision, as well as his employers and all others con- cerned. He immediately formed a partner- ship with Waldo C. Varney and Frank A. Varney, under the firm name of Demeritt & Varney Brothers, for the purpose of engaging in general mercantile business. This concern has fitted up spacious quarters located upon the ground floor of John Collins's factory, fronting on the main thoroughfare of the vil- lage; and they carry a large stock of general merchandise, including dry goods, boots and shoes, paints and oils, furnishing goods, gro- ceries, flour and grain.
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In politics Mr. Demeritt is an active and zealous supporter of the Republican party, and has carnestly advocated its principles since be- coming a voter. In 1891 he was elected a member of the School Board, upon which he served for three years. He was Town Clerk from 1893 to 1895. He succeeded the Hon. Amos L. Rollins as Judge of the Police Court, which position he resigned on November 30, 1896, previous to entering mercantile business.
He is now a Justice of the Peace, also Chair- man of the Republican Town Committee, and the local party organization has in him a most capable and efficient worker. Actively in- terested in all movements which tend to bene- fit the general community, he was one of the committee of three who were elected by the town to locate and build the Opera House ; has been President of the Building and Loan Association, and Chairman of the Board of Library Trustees since its organization. In fact, he was one of the original promoters of the movement which resulted in the estab- lishment of that useful institution, having begun his endeavors to bring it into existence when the State law was passed, giving one hun- dred dollars' worth of books to every town that would inaugurate and place in working order a public library. He labored diligently to se- cure its foundation and opening, with the re- sult that it now contains over two thousand volumes. Mr. Demeritt has at various times acted as Librarian, having served in that ca- pacity without remuneration, and his efforts in its behalf are both creditable to himself and an honor to the town.
In 1880 Mr. Demeritt was united in mar- riage with Carrie E. Norris, daughter of Thomas J. Norris, of Epping, N. H. In Ma- sonry Mr. Demeritt has reached the Royal Arch Degree. He is a member of Sullivan Lodge, No. 19, F. & A. M., of Epping, and of
the chapter in Farmington, N. H. He is also a member of Cocheco Lodge, No. 28, Knights of Pythias, of Alton, and a member of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire.
EUBEN W. PRICE, M.D., of Alton, whose career has been divided be- tween the practice of medicine and dentistry, in both of which he has met with excellent success, was born in Gilmanton, Bel- knap County, N.H., February 12, 1838, a son of Moses and Sarah (Page) Price.
William Price, son of Richard, a native of Wales, as the master of a vessel made frequent voyages to America, where at twenty-four years of age, on September 12, 1727, he met and married Sarah Hidden, of Rowley, Mass. Six years later, in 1733, Captain William Price was lost in the Strait of Gibraltar. He left a son and daughter - William and Sarah. William, second, son of Captain William, married Sarah Giddings, of Essex, Mass., in 1752. During the early years of his life he was a successful grocer in Newburyport, Mass. In January, 1782, he settled on a farm in Gil- manton, N.H., where he died June 18, 1797, aged seventy years, leaving eight children; namely, William, Sally, Mary, Elizabeth S., John B., Ebenezer, Lucy, and Ebenezer (sec- ond).
William, the eldest child, the third of the name in direct line, born December 23, 1752, died December 9, 1822, aged seventy years. He was married first on April 30, 1781, to Susanna Sumner, of Portsmouth, N. H., and resided for six years in Newburyport. Then in 1787 he followed his father to Gilmanton, where he became a successful farmer, and held various positions of trust. His first wife died July 18, 1794, aged forty-two; and his sec- ond, who when he married her was a widow,
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Mrs. Mary Adams Smith, died on October 3, 1847, at eighty-six years of age. There were six children by the first union - John, Will- iam, Stephen, Sarah, Eben and Mary (twins) ; and four by the second union; namely, Ephraim S., Ebenezer, Moses, and Thomas.
Moses Price, the youngest but one of ten children, worked in his early life at his trade of carpenter and builder; and, having bought with his earnings the shares of his brothers, he lived on the old homestead, which has re- mained in the Price name for more than a hundred years, and has been the home of five generations. He was a member of the Con- gregational church, the hardest working man in Belknap County, a leading citizen, promi- nent in town affairs, being often elected to office as a Republican, when the Democrats were in the ascendency. He was thrice mar- ried, first on March 30, 1826, to Theodate Page, who died October 1, 1827, at the age of twenty-one; secondl, on December 25, 1829, to Sarah Page, who died November 19, 1854; and third, on March 24, 1858, to widow Judith Edgerly Gilman, whom he left a widow at his death in 1873. There was one child by the first marriage, Theodate P., who married Levi H. Mudget, of Gilmanton, N.H. By the second marriage there were two sons and. two daughters; namely, Ebenezer Sewall, Mary P., Reuben W., and Martha E. . Eben- ezer Sewall married Mary Jane Clay and lived on the old homestead; Mary P. married Ben- jamin Quincy Jewett, of Gilford, N.H .; Martha E. was graduated at Gilmanton Acad- emy and Mount Holyoke College, South Had- ley, Mass., and taught school a number of years in New Hampshire and in South Weymouth and Beverly, Mass. She is now a missionary at Inanda, Natal, South Africa, whither she went in 1877.
Reuben W. Price, the special subject of
this biography, worked on the home farm until about fifteen years of age, after which he fitted for college at Gilmanton Academy, but for want of health he gave up a collegiate course, and began the study of medicine with Dr. Nahum Wight, of Gilmanton. After studying three years and attending one course of med- ical lectures at Bowdoin College in Maine, and two courses at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H., he received his medical degree from the latter institution. His educational ex- penses were in large part defrayed by teaching in Gilmanton and Manchester, and as an as- sistant at Gilmanton Academy.
Immediately after his graduation in 1861 he located in Seabrook, N.H .; and after three years' practice enlisted from that town in the First New Hampshire Heavy Artillery, as a private soldier; but before leaving the State he received from the governor a commission as First Assistant Surgeon of that regiment. On arriving at Washington he was placed in charge of General Hardin's brigade of the Twenty-second Army Corps. He was after- ward Post Surgeon at Fort Reno, and again at Fort Sumner, Md., and was mustered out of the service with the regiment in 1865. He soon after received an appointment from Presi- dent Lincoln as one of the surgeons of the One Hundred and Fifteenth United States Calvary Infantry, stationed at New Orleans, and served in that regiment and in the Eighth United States Cavalry, Heavy Artillery, at Indianola and Victoria, Tex., until the close of the war.
Being mustered out in Kentucky, and wish - ing to see more of the West, he made a trip to Indiana, Missouri, and Kansas, and bought a tract of land on the Pacific Railroad in Prairie township, Jackson County, Mo. He soon after moved to his new purchase, and, having laid out the town of Greenwood, built
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the largest house on the town plat, where he kept a drug store, and practised medicine. Being a pioneer, he was a leader in the organ- ization of the town and the establishment of its schools, as well as a leading practitioner in Prairie township.
He was the first station agent, for several years Postmaster and a Notary Public, a mem- ber of the Medical Association organized in Jackson County, also of the Masonic Lodge and several temperance and other societies. Having been reared . in the Congregational church, he was anxious to establish that de- nomination in the new town, and, though the only Congregationalist there, he succeeded in uniting the disciples of various creeds in a Congregational church, of which he was made the first Deacon, and Chairman of its first Board of Trustees. He was so far financially successful as to own property in 1870, valued above debts at ten thousand dollars.
Speculations, entered into with every pros- pect of success, were rendered abortive by the financial crash of 1872; losses by indorsing other people's paper came about by the same cause; drouth, grasshoppers, and other pests destroyed the crops for several years, business being so far destroyed as to make a change of location desirable; and in 1876 he made a trip through the Indian Territory and Texas, where he spent a year lecturing on astronomy and physiology, studying in the meantime the Indian problem, and looking for a new place of business. That year was an eventful one in the doctor's life, filled with adventures and hair-breadth escapes which would fill a vol- ume with truth stranger than fiction. After his return he decided not to move South, but resumed practice at the old stand. A dentist came to the place for a temporary stay, and shared his office, during which he "stole the trade" (having studied it before studying med-
icine). He then practised both medicine and dentistry until the fall of 1881, when he made a visit to Belknap County, and, finding La- conia with only one dentist, he rented an office, into which he moved as soon as his; business could be settled in Missouri. On coming to Laconia, he gave up the practice of medicine altogether, but had an extensive dental practice there for twelve years. Hc was a charter member of Crystal Council, No. 2, of Chosen Friends, was its first Secretary and afterward its Chief Councillor; a member of several temperance societies, and active in church and temperance work.
On May 14, 1862, Dr. Price married Manda C. Smith, by whom he had five children -- Minnie, Harvey, Lulu E., Ethelyn Mabel, and Willard A. Minnie Price attended Greenwood Academy in Missouri, Gilmanton Academy, and the Normal School in Bridge- water, Mass., taught school in Gilmanton and in Laconia, and is now a teacher in Denver, Col. Harvey died in infancy. Lulu E. and Ethelyn M. attended Gilmanton Academy, and were afterward graduated at Laconia High School, each receiving the highest mark of scholarship in her class by being made vale- dictorian. They were members of the Y. P. S. C. E., and of the Congregational church, and taught school in Gilford, Gilman- ton, and Alton. Lulu E. commenced the study of photography, but died at twenty-one years of age. Ethelyn was graduated at Til- ton Seminary, receiving during her course the largest number of prizes for scholarship in the history of the institution. She entered Wellesley College in the class of 1897, gradu- ating in June of the present year, and has sus- tained throughout the course the highest rank as a scholar. Will is a member of the class of 1899 in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.
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Dr. Price married for his second wife Miss Annette Chesley, the daughter of Jonathan Furber and Abigail (Stevens) Chesley. Her grandfather, Miles Chesley, one of the early settlers in New Durham, married Mary Furber, of Farmington, N. H., and, dying, left eight children, of whom Jonathan Furber was the third. Her maternal grandfather, John H. Stevens, spent the most of his life in Alton. He was a prominent man, and ac- counted the wealthiest farmer in town in his time. He married Abigail Emerson, and had four children. Abigail, the eldest, attended the academies at New Hampton and Wolf- boro, and taught school several years before her marriage to Mr. Chesley. They lived in New Durham, where their only child, An- nette, was born, and afterward in Alton, where Mr. Chesley was prominent in town affairs, serving as Justice of the Peace and Selectman, and in other positions of trust, and represent- ing Alton in the State legislature in 1861 and 1862.
Annette Chesley, after pursuing her studies at Gilmanton Academy and at Dover Acad- emy, was for many years a successful and pop- ular teacher in the public schools of Belknap and Strafford Counties.
Dr. and Mrs. Price are now living in Alton at the home of her mother, to care for Mrs. Chesley in the fast-growing infirmities of a ripe old age. Dr. Price was never a sectarian in church, nor a partisan in politics. He has been a Republican, a Greenbacker, and a Pro- hibitionist ; is an carnest advocate of all social and political reforms, including international arbitration and the "double standard " by in- ternational agreement; and is a firm believer in trusts and monopolies owned by the govern- ment ; in Cuban independence and the annexa- tion of Hawaii; and he thinks that the Turks ought to be swept from the face of the earth.
TORACE P. BOODEY, a well-known resident of New Durham, and a vet- eran of the Civil War, was born in Alton, N.H., April 14, 1844, son of Soc- rates H. and Tanson L. (Ham) Boodey. His great-grandfather, Zachariah Boodey, came from Madbury, N. H., to this town, among the early settlers; and Joseph Boodey, grandfather of Horace P., was a lifelong resident of New Durham.
Socrates H. Boodey, who spent the greater part of his life in New Durham, was one of the stirring farmers of his day. In politics he was a Democrat. His last days were passed with his son, and he died in 1880, aged sixty- four years. His wife, who survives him, is a daughter of Nathaniel Ham, late of this town. She has had six children, as follows: Rozette E., now the wife of Henry Irvin; Horace P., the subject of this sketch; Orissa A., now the wife of Albert Labounty; Mary E., the wife of W. H. Hurd; Belle C. and Nat H., of Barre, Vt.
Educated in the common schools, Horace P. Boodey was reared to agricultural pursuits. On August 11, 1862, he enlisted for service in the Civil War as a private in Company I, Tenth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, and subsequently participated in several important battles, including those of Fredericksburg, Drury's Bluff, Bermuda Hun- dred, and Cold Harbor. At Cold Harbor he received a severe wound that confined him to the hospital for eleven months. He was ap- pointed Corporal of his company, and dis- charged as such May 15, 1865. After his re- turn from the army he resided mostly in New Durham, and was Postmaster of the part of it called Dexter. He also resided for three years in Northwood, N. H., of which he was likewise Postmaster. Mr. Boodey owns a pro- ductive farm in New Durham, which he car-
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ries on with energy and success. He has been Collector of Taxes of the town, and is a Justice of the Peace. He spends about six months of the year at the Adventist camp- ground at Alton Bay, N.H., of which he has- been the superintendent for the past ten years, having also charge of the store and boarding- house.
Mr. Boodey married M. Abbie Huckins, a native of Alton, N.H., and a daughter of An- drew and Maria J. (Chamberlain) Huckins. They have one daughter, Ethel M., who is now the wife of Eugene F. Simonds, of Sharon.
JDWIN WEBSTER LANE, the prede- cessor of the present Chairman of Sanbornton's Board of Selectmen, was born in Hill, N. H., April 25, 1846, son of Isaac Newton and Deborah J. (Thomas) Lane. He is a descendant in the eighth gen- eration of William Lane, who as early as 1651 was residing in Boston, where he was made a freeman in 1657. The family is of English origin. William Lane (second), a tailor by trade, who was born October 1, 1659, died February 14, 1749. On June 21, 1680, he married Sarah, daughter of Thomas Web- ster, of Hampton, N. H. She was born Jan- uary 22, 1660, and died January 6, 1745. Joshua Lane, son of William (second), was born in Hampton, June 6, 1696. He fol- lowed the trade of a currier and shoemaker ; and on December 24, 1717, he married Bath- sheba Robie, born August 2, 1696, daughter of, Samuel and Mary Robie. Joshua lived upon a small farm in Hampton, and there tilled the soil and worked at his trades. He and his wife united with the Congregational church March 10, 1718; and he was subse- quently a Deacon of the society for many years. He was killed by lightning, June 14,
1766; and his wife died April 13, 1765. John Lane, son of Joshua, born February 14, 1726, died March 21, 1811. On December 28, 1749, he married Hannah Dow, who, born September 20, 1727, died September 10, 1775.
Samuel Lane, great-grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch, was born December 17, 1750, and was one of the first settlers in San- bornton. He was a tanner, and carried on quite an extensive business for his day. It was his benevolent custom, when a struggling farmer lost a cow or any other useful animal, to tan the hide gratuitously, besides giving the loser a dollar. He served as Town Clerk for a number of years, was a Deacon of the Congre- gational church, and he died August 5, ISII. It was said of him at his funeral that he was positively without an enemy. On February 9, 1774, he married Judith Clifford, who died December 6, 1825. Jeremiah Lane, grand- father of Edwin W., was born in Sanbornton, July 18, 1783. He was a prosperous farmer and a man of much intelligence and sagacity. The latter qualities earned for him the title of "the Prophet." He was widely and favor- ably known throughout this section. On No- vember 11, 1813, he married for his first wife Sarah, daughter of David Morrison; and Isaac N. Lane, Edwin Webster Lane's father, was a child of that union. His second marriage was contracted with Sally Ellsworth.
Isaac Newton Lane was born in Sanbornton, April 6, 1817. He resided at home until of age. Then he went to Hill; and, forming a partnership with David Shaw, under the firm name of Shaw & Lane, he was engaged in gen- eral mercantile business for a number of years. He next became a drover and butcher, dealing quite largely in cattle and sheep, and supplying many of the neighboring towns with meat. Some time later he became a member of the firm of Forbes & Lane, who operated
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a flouring-mill in Bristol, N. H., and subse- quently moved their business to Hillsborough Bridge, N. H .. Isaac Newton Lane finally sold his interest in the mill, settled at the homestead in Sanbornton, and, after spending the rest of his life in agricultural pursuits, died March 28, 1887. In early life he was identified with the First Baptist Church, and in politics he acted with the Republican party. Ilis wife, Deborah, who was a daughter of Joseph Thomas, of Sanbornton, became the mother of four children - Edwin W., Ellen J., Emma A., and Wesley O. Ellen J. is the wife of James L. Mason. Emma A. and Wes- ley are accomplished musicians and teachers.
Edwin Webster Lane received his educa- tion in the common schools and at the New Hampshire Conference Seminary. Of a stu- dious disposition in his school days, he pre- ferred to spend his evenings in study with the light of a tallow candle, while his companions were merrymaking; but at the present time there is probably not a person in this locality who enjoys amusement more than he. At the age of twenty-one he became a partner in the firm of Stackpole & Lane, keepers of a general store, and conducted business for six years. He then sold his interest, but remained with his successors as clerk for about ten years. In 1877 he bought his present farm of one hun- dred acres, situated in the fertile valley of the Pemigewassett River, and of which he culti- vates thirty or forty acres. For several years it was his custom each fall to go to Boston, where he was employed as a clerk in a store until after the holidays; but for the past eight or ten years his time has been entirely ab- sorbed by his farm and his official duties. While residing in Hill he served as Town Clerk, and he had been Postmaster for a few years when he resigned. In 1889 he was elected Chairman of the Board of Selectmen
of Sanbornton, a position which he held until 1897. His business ability and attention to the administration of the town's affairs fre- quently prevented unnecessary outlay.
Mr. Lane wedded Nannie J. Eaton, daughter of Horace P. Eaton, of Franklin, N. H. He has now two sons: Roscoe Eaton, born Sep- tember 14, 1874; and Forrest Glenn, born April. 9, 1877. Roscoe, who displayed a ca- pacity for the printer's trade when a mere boy by using a toy press, subsequently learned that trade, and is now engaged in job printing in this town. Mr. Lane has gained quite a repu- tation as a poet, having written numerous pieces for magazines and other periodicals. A collection of his writings would make an interesting volume of poems. His first effort, contributed to the Toledo Blade, was exten- sively copied by the newspapers throughout the country. His genial disposition, generous traits of character, and the quiet natural flow of his conversation make a charming impres- sion upon the guest whose privilege it is to spend an evening in his company.
TEPHEN YOUNG, M.D., a pro- gressive and popular physician and surgeon of East Rochester, Strafford County, was born October 22, 1854, in the town of Strafford, son of George Mason. His great-grandfather, on the maternal side, Jona- than Young, of Farmington, was one of the earliest settlers of this county. He is also a descendant of the first doctor and minister of Rochester, the venerable parson, Amos Main, whose statue stands in the public square. Stephen Young, his maternal grand- father, whose full name he now bears, took a prominent part in public life, representing Strafford in the general court, and serving it for several terms as Selectman. The father,
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George Mason, was born in Rochester. After arriving at man's estate he worked at his trade of a dyer in different localities, and died while a resident of Lebanon, Me., in 1888. He was an adherent of the Republican party, but never aspired to political office. He mar- ried Miss Mary Ann Young, of Strafford, their only child being Stephen, the subject of this brief sketch. The mother died in 1884.
Dr. Young, formerly Stephen Mason, adopted his present surname at the suggestion of his maternal grandfather, who thereupon undertook the expense of his education. After attending the district schools of Straf- ford, the Austin and West Lebanon Acad- emies, and the Rochester High School, he completed his general education at South Ber- wick in 1875. In the ensuing fall he entered Dartmouth College, where he remained two years; and then he spent two years in the Medical School of Dartmouth. His medical studies were completed at Long Island Hos- pital College, from which he graduated in 1881. He then began the practice of his pro- fession in East Rochester, where he has since built up a large and constantly increasing bus- iness. His high reputation for skill, more especially in surgery, has been fully earned. In the course of his practice he has success- fully performed some delicate operations that have attracted the attention of the medical world. Since August, 1896, the doctor has had the assistance of Dr. Thomas W. Luce, a graduate of Bowdoin College, who was house doctor in the Maine General Hospital in 1895 and 1896.
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