USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Stafford and Belknap countries, New Hampshire > Part 29
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The subject of this sketch is still a young man, and much may be expected from him. So high an authority as Mr. H. G. Blaisdell, of Concord, N. H., concludes an appreciative article on Mr. McDuffee, published some time ago in the Granite Monthly, in the following
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terms : "A man we hope to hear more from in the future. He is especially blessed, as he has every means to gratify his wishes; and, while he leads a quiet life in his native town, yet we predict his work will be closely identi- fied with the musical history of our State, and when called to final account we trust he will hear, 'Well done, good and faithful servant,' for making so much of a divine talent so lovingly bestowed by the Giver of all good."
MASA ALLEN, a prosperous agricult- . urist, and one of the oldest residents of Rochester, was born in 1820 on the homestead where he now resides, son of William and Sarah (Nute) Allen. He comes of substantial English stock, and is the lineal descendant of a pioneer family of this town. His great-great-grandfather, John Allen, was the original owner of the homestead property, on which he settled in Colonial days. John's son William was the father of Major Samuel Allen, who served with distinction in the Revolutionary War.
William Allen continued the improvements already begun on the homestead, each year clearing a few acres, and carried on mixed husbandry after the fashion of his time. In- heriting the patriotic spirit of his ancestors, he served in the War of 1812 as quarter- master. His house was used as a sort of fort by the people of this vicinity, seventy-two persons having therein received protection from the Indians during one winter. By his wife, Sarah, who was a native of Milton, he becane the father of eight children, of whom Levi W., the occupant of a farm adjoining the old homestead, is the only other . sur- vivor. He was a Whig in politics, but he never filled a public office.
Amasa Allen obtained his school education
in Rochester. On the home farm he acquired a practical knowledge of agriculture. After following shoemaking for some years he aban- doned that business, and has since devoted himself to general farming, including lumber- ing, stock-raising, and dairying, having the assistance of his son, John H., who resides with him. He raises some fruit. The farm contains about three hundred acres of land, all of which is in Rochester. Besides three horses and a few sheep there is a handsome dairy of twenty-six fine milch cows, which add materially to the proprietor's income. In politics Mr. Allen is a Republican. With the exception of the Surveyorship, which he filled for a few terms, he has not held any public office. For the past ten years he has been Deacon of the Walnut Grove Free Will Baptist Church.
The first wife of Mr. Allen, whose maiden name was Clarrisa Roberts, died about sixteen months after the marriage, leaving no chil- dren. In January, 1851, he married Miss Elizabeth Blaisdel, of Milton, who bore him four children. These were: Charles W., of whom a brief sketch may be found elsewhere in this volume; Clara A., who became the wife of Charles H. Seavey, and died April 19, 1894; Martha E., now the wife of Andrew Jackson, of Rochester; and John A., who lives on the home farm.
TON. MARTIN ALONZO HAYNES, of Lakeport, Belknap County, is one of the foremost citizens of the Granite State, having won an enviable reputa- tion as a soldier, a journalist and a Congress- man. He was born in Springfield, Sullivan County, N.H., July 30, 1842, a son of Elbridge Gerry and Caroline (Knowlton) Haynes, and is of the eighth generation in
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descent from Samuel Haynes, who came from Shropshire, England, to this country in 1635. A passenger in the ship "Angel Gabriel," Samuel Haynes was wrecked at Pemaquid (now Bristol, Me.), in the great hurricane of August 15, 1635. In 1650 he settled in what is now Greenland, N. H., then a part of Portsmouth, and in 1651 and later he was a member of the Board of Selectinen of that place, also holding other offices of trust. He was one of the founders of the First Congre- gational Church of Portsmouth, which was gathered in 1670, and was Deacon of the same for a number of years. His posterity lived in Greenland, N. H., until two generations ago.
Brave and active, the Haynes family have been prominent in war and peace. The great- great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch was a ranger, fighting in the French and In- dian War; and his great-grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier. His grandfather also, James Haynes, who was born in Allenstown, N. H., was in the United States army, being enrolled as a drummer during the War of 1812. James Haynes was a farmer, residing during his later years in Newbury, N. H. He married Sally, daughter of the Rev. Mr. Clark, of Epsom, N. H., and reared a family of seven, two daughters and five sons, El- bridge G. being the eldest.
Elbridge Gerry Haynes was born in Epsom, N. H., his parents removing at an early day to Newbury, N. H. During the years of his mature manhood he worked as a stone mason in Manchester, this State, where he was one of the prominent and highly respected citizens. He served on the Board of Aldermen of the city, and was elected to the State Senate. In religious belief he was a Universalist. Hc died in Manchester, at the age of sixty-five. His widow, a daughter of Captain Nathaniel Knowlton, of Sutton, N. H., is now seventy-
four years of age. Four children were born to them, only two of whom, a son and a daugh- ter, are living, Martin A. being the elder.
Martin Alonzo Haynes was four years old when his parents became residents of Man- chester, and in that city he was educated, graduating from the high school at the age of seventeen. After leaving school he started to learn the printer's trade, but his apprentice- ship was cut short by President Lincoln's call for volunteers in 1861. Though only eigh- teen years of age at the time, Mr. Haynes enlisted, and was mustered into the Abbott Guard, the first company to enter the camp of the First Regiment at Concord. This com- pany was transferred before leaving the State to the Second Regiment, in which it was in- corporated as Company I, enrolled for three years. Soon after the arrival of the regiment at Washington, Mr. Haynes was appointed Commissary's Clerk; but he was anxious for active service, and when the first advance was made into Virginia, learning that the duties of his position were liable to keep him in camp, he resigned in disgust, demanded his musket, and took his place in the ranks of the company. Serving as a private soldier for three years, he participated in every engage- ment of the regiment, from Bull Run to Cold Harbor, never losing a day from duty, and never answering to "surgeon's call," though he was wounded three times. At the first Bull Run, late in the day, while defending the sunken road near the Henry House, he was slightly injured in the neck; at Glendale he received a severe contusion from a spent ball ; and at the Second Bull Run, at the famous bayonet charge of Grover's Brigade, when the Second Regiment broke the two rebel lines of battle, he received a savage blow in the face, and bled profusely ; but he maintained his stand, and it was he that carried from the field
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the wounded Lieutenant Rogers, who died in his arms. In the famous "peach orchard " of Gettysburg, where out of three hundred and fifty-four of his comrades engaged, one hun- dred and ninety-three were killed or wounded, the three men nearest Mr. Haynes were struck by fragments of one shell, but he was unharmed. He was offered a commission, but declined. Discharged in June, 1864, he re- turned to Manchester, and was employed for some time on the editorial staff of the Daily Mirror and the Daily Cuion. Resigning this position to accept that of clerk and paymaster of the Rockingham Mills at Portsmouth, he remained there about a year, until the sus- pension of the mills. In January, 1868, he returned to journalism, founding, with Benja- min F. Stanton, The Lake Village Times, of which three years later he became sole pro- prietor. In the meantime public duties of increasing responsibility were being crowded upon him, and in 1888 he left the editorial chair of the Times. Mr. Haynes is the author of "The History of the Second Regiment," copies of which are now eagerly sought for.
One of the strongest men of the Republican party in his native State, he was elected from the town of Gilford to the New Hampshire legislature in 1872, and served two years, the first year presiding as Chairman of the Com- mittee on Fisheries, and the second year as Chairman of the Military Committee. Dur- ing Governor Prescott's administration he was aide-de-camp on his staff, with the rank of Colonel. In 1876 he was appointed Clerk of the Circuit Court and the Superior Court of Judicature for Belknap County, and was in office until 1883, when he resigned to take a seat in the National Congress. In the fall election of 1882 his old comrades in arms brought his name forward as nominee from the First New Hampshire District, and after
a canvass memorable in the history of New Hampshire politics he was nominated in the convention at Dover, and was elected in No- vember by an unprecedented plurality of nearly three thousand, eight hundred. In 1884 he was renominated for Congress by acclamation at the Wolfboro convention, his opponent being the Rev. L. F. Mckinney, one of the ablest and most popular men of his party in the State; and Mr. Haynes received nearly twenty-five hundred plurality. In both elec- tions he went far ahead of his ticket, receiv- ing hundreds of Democratic votes. While in Congress he was on the Invalid Pensions Com- mittee, the Labor Committee, and the Ex- penditure Committee. In 1888 he was ap- pointed special agent of the Treasury, under President Harrison, and served until 1892. He has been active in all the recent Presi- dential campaigns, "stumping " for Harrison in 1888 and 1892, and for Mckinley in 1896.
As a Grand Army man Mr. Haynes has dis- tinguished himself in peace as well as in war. In 1881-82 he was President of the New Hampshire Veteran Association, and, when he resigned the chair to his successor, the associa- tion was not only free from debt, but owned valuable buildings for its annual reunions at Weirs. He was Commander of the Grand Army Department of New Hampshire at the same time. He has delivered many addresses and poems at soldiers', reunions and gather- ings. As an Odd Fellow, too, he is very prominent, having held all the chairs in Chocorua Lodge, No. 51, I. O. O. F .; and belonging to Laconia Encampment, No. 9.
He was married in 1863 to Cornelia T. Lane, of Manchester, and has two daughters, both residing at home. Mr. Haynes is a man of commanding presence, six feet (less half an inch) in height, and appearing much taller, and tips the scales at two hundred and twenty
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pounds. Erect and soldierly, with a strong, hearty voice, he makes friends by his personal magnetism wherever he goes. He is a thor- ough gentleman, courteous and kindly to all. He delights in the rod and gun, and spends much of his leisure time hunting and fishing.
RANKLIN ROSWELL SARGENT, proprietor of Pleasant View Stock Farm, Tilton, Belknap County, is a native of the Granite State. He was born in the town of Littleton, Grafton County, Sep- tember 10, 1859, son of Roswell and Mary (Morse) Sargent. His paternal grandfather, Elihu Sargent, was a resident for many years of Littleton; and there his father, Roswell, was born July 28, 1813.
Roswell Sargent, having acquired his edu- cation in the district schools, was engaged in farming until after his marriage, when he started in the hotel business. He was pro- prietor of hotels in Northumberland, Strat- ford and Stanstead Plain, Province of Quebec, and died in the last-named place, June 12, 1866. He married Mary, daughter of Obadiah Morse, and the following named children were born to them: Milo P .; Laura H .; Harvey; Martha; Franklin Roswell, the subject of this sketch; and Charles H. Mrs. Sargent's father was born in Methuen, Mass. He was a soldier in the French and Indian War, and was in General Wolfe's command at the tak- ing of Quebec. Later he enlisted in a Massa- chusetts regiment, and fought during the Rev- olution; and in the War of 1812 he fought side by side with his eldest son, Webster Morse, then a lad of seventeen. Obadiah Morse married Sarah Webster, a relative of Daniel Webster.
Franklin Roswell Sargent was taken by his parents to Stanstead when but four years of
age. As he grew older he was sent to the common schools and to the academy. A vent- urous lad, desirous of seeing something of the world, when only cleven years old he ran away from home with another boy of about his own age, taking along a bull-dog that he had re- ceived in exchange for a shot gun. When about nine miles from home the boys met a circus, and one of the men offered to buy the boys' dog if it could whip his dog. The boys agreed, and, as their dog won in the scrim- mage, the circus man handed over a ten-dollar bill. Although Sargent was so young, he had handled considerable money, and he had shrewd suspicion that genuine ten-dollar bills were not so easily obtained. He therefore took the bill to a hotel near by and showed it to the proprietor, who, seeing that it was a counterfeit, and being a man desirous of see- ing fair play, went back with the boys, and obliged the circus man to give them a genuine bill. The boys went on to Wells River, where they stayed a few days visiting relatives of the Sargents. They finally reached Boston, and parted company. Young Sargent put up at the Merrimack House, and secured a situa- tion at a dollar a day riding horses for the sale stable. Even at that age his fondness for animals, especially for horses, had developed to a considerable extent; and there has not been a day since when he has not been thor- oughly interested in horses, and most of the time connected in some business capacity, either with buying and selling or raising and training them. After staying in Boston for a month he was glad to go back to Stanstead to see his father and mother. He was only home a week when he ran away to Sweetsburg, P.Q., though he remained there only a short time.
After these youthful travels he was content to settle down at home and go to school - when he was unable to find anybody's horse to
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look out for - until he was thirteen years old. In his fourteenth year he went to Washington, D.C., in charge of two horses, and remained there driving horses at races. For the next dozen years he rode horses at all the great races in Canada and Northern New England. His career has been a varied one, and his work has taken him over many sections of the coun- try. During those twelve years he worked in Boston, where at first he got only three dollars a week. He then worked successively in Stanstead, P. Q. ; Stoneham, North Bridge- water, and Lowell, Mass .; Concord and Plym- outh, N.H .; and Bangor, Me. He next went to Lowell to manage the race track and train- ing stables; again to Stanstead; and thence back to Bangor, where he trained horses. After driving races through Massachusetts and Rhode Island, he went back to Bangor in the fall. This was about 1877. In the spring of 1879 he went to Stanstead to break and ride the mare Zeta, and then went to race at Three Rivers, and won the queen's plate with her. After this he went with horses to Barton, Vt., and remained there for about two years en- gaged in handling horses.
Not long after, he went to work for Mr. G. K. Foster, and later for his brother, Mr. F. H. Foster. He has since remained in charge of Mr. Foster's stables, and has trained horses that have made records as low as Adra Belle, 2: 13; and Lady Kenset, 2: 21 1-4, to high wheels; Bessie, 17 3-4, to high wheels; Wilkins, 15 1-2, to high wheels; Viking, 19 1-4, high wheels. Mr. Sargent now has George A., owned by Foster & Sargent, with a record of 18 1-4. He is by Glencoe Wilkes, and dam by Godfrey Patchen. In 1888 Mr. Sargent came to Tilton, being in Mr. Fos- ter's employ.
About 1892 Mr. Foster, wishing to express in practical form his appreciation of Mr. Sar-
gent's services, and to give him at the same time an enduring mark of his esteem, pre- sented him with the fine property which he now controls. Pleasant View Farm is one of the best grass farms in this part of the State. It has about sixty-five acres, and from twenty - five of these an annual crop of sixty tons of hay is harvested. The stable, erected at a cost of four thousand dollars, has seventeen extra large box stalls. The residence situated upon this property is a handsome one, and is occupied by Mr. Sargent and his family. Mr. Sargent intends to keep upon his place the finest breeders to be secured. He owns the mare Sonata, seven years old, for which he paid two thousand dollars; also Cleveland, a stallion with a record of 2: 20.
Mr. Sargent married Miss Emma, daughter of John Dyson, of Richmond, P.Q., and has had two children - Norma May and Franklin R., Jr. In politics Mr. Sargent is a Demo- crat. He is a member of Belknap Lodge, A. I. O. U. W. He has been quite an exten- sive traveller. In 1886, his health having failed, he went to Jacksonville, Fla., where he remained for a month, then going to En- terprise, where he was successful in shooting a large number of alligators. He brought home thirteen skins, and one stuffed specimen over twelve feet in length. The following autumn he went to Los Angeles and Pomona, Cal
OLONEL JOSEPH BADGER, a
progressive farmer of Belmont, Belk- nap County, N. H., son of William and Hannah P. (Cogswell) Badger, was born here, June 27, 1817, Belmont then being a part of Gilmanton.
His paternal ancestors were of English ex- traction, and were distinguished for wealth, prominence, and nobility of character, posi-
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tions of honor and trust apparently coming to them by natural right. Giles Badger, the early progenitor, settled in Newbury, Mass., prior to June 30, 1643, dying there July 17, 1647. His son, John, who was born June 30, 1643, was made a freeman in 1674, and was a Sergeant of the militia. He became the father of four children: John, who died in early life; John, second; Sarah; and James, who died in 1693. By Sergeant John's sec- ond marriage, to Hannah Swett, there were ten more children; namely, Stephen, Hannah, Nathaniel, Mary, Elizabeth, Ruth, two sons whose names are lost, Abigail, and Lydia. John Badger, Jr., second, son of Sergeant John, married Rebecca Brown, by whom he had seven children, namely, John, third, James, Elizabeth, Stephen, Joseph, Benjamin, and Dorothy.
Joseph, son of John, Jr., was twice married. His first wife, Hannah, was a daughter of Colonel Nathaniel Peaslee, of Haverliill, Mass., where Mr. Badger removed, engaging in general merchandise business the rest of his life. By this alliance there were seven children - Joseph, second, Judith, Mehitable, Mary, Nathaniel, Mary, and one other, but only two of them lived to settle in life, Jo- seph (second) and Judith. Mr. Joseph Badger married Mrs. Hannah Pearson, a widow, for his second wife. Three children were the re- sult of their union - Enoch, Nathaniel, and Moses.
Joseph (second), who was born January 11, 1722, married his stepmother's daughter, Han- . nah Pearson. Their children were: William, Hannah, Mehitable, Joseph (third), Rebecca, Ruth, Peaslee, Ebenezer, Mary and Na- thaniel (twins), Sarah, and Judith. Joseph Badger (second) settled in Bradford, Mass., where he engaged in farming, but owing to his natural ability and a good education he was
soon called upon to take part in public affairs. At the age of twenty -three he became Deputy Sheriff of Essex County, Massachusetts, and in the militia he served as Ensign, Lieuten- ant, and Captain. In 1763 he removed to Gilmanton, N.H., being one of the first set- tlers and a proprietor. He held the office of Selectman, and he frequently served as Mod- erator in town meetings. On March 10, 1768, he was appointed Justice of the Peace; July 10, 1771, he was made Colonel of the Tenth Regiment, and June 27, 1780, was made Brigadier-general; in 1784 was com- missioned Justice of the Peace and Quorum throughout the State; December 6, 1784, was made Judge of Probate for Strafford County; and in 1784, 1790, and 1791 he was a mem- ber of the State Council.
In politics Judge Badger was of the Demo- cratic Republican school, and was a firm and ardent patriot. He was conscientious in the discharge of every duty, and his life was marked by prudence, integrity, firmness, and benevolence. Institutions of learning and re- ligion were generously supported by him. He officiated as President of the Board of Trustees of Gilmanton Academy the rest of his life. Judge Badger was present at the capture of Burgoyne, and was on the attach- ment which escorted the vanquished army to Boston. After the war he served as Repre- sentative to the legislature, being also a mem- ber of the convention which adopted the Con- stitution. He died April 4, 1803, in his eighty-second year.
Joseph Badger (third) was also a Revolu- tionary soldier, serving as Lieutenant of his regiment during the campaign against Bur- goyne, also rendering efficient aid under Gen- eral Gates. After the war he returned to Gilmanton, and engaged in farming. His worth and ability were duly recognized, and
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he officiated as Representative several years, and was for eight years Councillor for Strafford district. In the State militia he was also prominent, being appointed to command the Tenth Regiment in 1795, becoming Brigadier- general of the Second Brigade the ensuing year. A brave soldier and an honored citizen was laid to rest when he died, at the age of sixty-three, January 14, 1809.
William Badger, the father of the subject of this biography, was born in 1779, and in- herited the wealth, ability, and popular favor of his father, Joseph, third. In his youth he attended Gilmanton Academy. His first wife, Martha, to whom he was married in 1803, was a daughter of the Rev. Isaac Smith, the first settled minister in Gilmanton. She had two children : John, who died while a student at Bowdoin College in 1824; and Martha, who also died in early life. By his second mar- riage with Hannah P. Cogswell, who belonged to a distinguished family, there were also two children -- Joseph and William. William Badger served as Colonel on Governor Lang- don's staff, and for a number of years in the legislature. The year he married his second wife he was elected Senator from District Six, and, being re-elected twice, served as Presi- dent of the Senate the last year, 1816. The same year he was appointed Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, holding that office until 1820, when he was appointed Sheriff of Strafford County, in which capacity he served ten years.
Colonel William Badger was a Democrat of the Jacksonian school. In 1834 he was tri- umphantly elected Governor of the State, and, proving himself a very efficient Chief Magis- trate, he was re-elected. At the close of his second gubernatorial term he refused a renom- ination, and retired to his farm. In 1844 he served as Presidential Elector. After his re-
tirement from public life he engaged in manu- facturing, owning a cotton factory, a saw and grist mill. The present prosperity of Bel- mont is largely due to his energy and enter- prise. He died September 21, 1852, at the age of seventy - three years. William, his younger son by the second marriage, was Major in the regular United States Army.
Joseph Badger, elder son of Colonel Will- iam by his second wife, prepared for college at Gilmanton Academy, and was graduated at Dartmouth in 1839. Not being in robust health, he returned to the homestead, and turned his attention to farming. In 1842 and 1843 he served on the staff of Governor Hub- bard, with the title of Colonel, and he has twice officiated as Representative to the legis- lature; but with these exceptions he has led a quiet, retired life on the Badger homestead and estate, of which he is the owner. In poli- tics he is a Democrat, and since attaining his majority he has never missed an election.
On October 11, 1865, Colonel Badger was united in marriage with Hannah E. Ayers. Their union has been blessed by four children : Mary, who died in early life; Francis; John Cogswell; and Harriet Elizabeth.
ILLIAM DANIEL KNAPP, a prominent lawyer of Somersworth, and the Judge of the local police court, was born in Parsonsfield, Me., October 17, 1830, son of Daniel and Betsy (Neal) Knapp. The first ancestor of the Knapp fam- ily of whom there is any knowledge was William Knapp, who was born in the county of Suffolk, England, in 1578. He joined the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, settling in Watertown, where his death occurred in 1658. . His descendants continued to reside in Massachusetts up to the beginning of the pres-
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