USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Stafford and Belknap countries, New Hampshire > Part 35
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Mr. Stone was married July 7, 1870, to Minnie A. Nichols, of Sudbury, Vt., who died September 23, 1875. She left one daughter, Flora M., who resides with her father. On September 12, 1896, nearly twenty-one years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Stone married Mrs. Isabella Smith Munsey, of Gilmanton, N. H., whose father, the late Colonel Noah E. Smith, has a his- toric record. His story may here be briefly outlined, as follows: He was born in ISos in Meredith, where his grandparents were among the earliest settlers, and when he was ten years of age his parents removed to Gilman- ton. He cast his first vote for Andrew Jack- son, and on Jackson's second election to the Presidency he went to New York City, where a company was being organized to operate a stage line from Vera Cruz, upon the coast, to the city of Mexico. He was soon appointed general superintendent of the lines and execu- tive officer. Going to Mexico and making the
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acquaintance of Santa Anna, he made the ar- rangements for his inauguration as President of the Republic. At the time of the outbreak of hostilities between Mexico and the United States, Colonel Smith was an old resident of the country, but he had no call to interest himself in the difficulty until after Major Gainer and other officers of General Taylor's army were taken at Encarnacion as prisoners of war. He arranged for their parole after they had been incarcerated for seven months, and loaned them nearly four thousand dollars, which was afterward returned to him. After General Scott entered Mexico they presented their benefactor with a heavy gold-headed cane, upon which was this inscription : "Ken- tucky prisoners of war to Noah E. Smith, Mexico, 1847." This cane is now a valued memento and is treasured by his daughter. He joined General Scott at Puebla after hav- ing many exciting experiences with important despatches and afterward became Scott's guide and interpreter, serving with him until the war ceased. Colonel Smith went to Califor- nia during the gold discovery excitement, and was at Sacramento at the time of the formation of the provisional city government, and was one of the council. Being taken sick, he re- turned to New Hampshire, where he remained for a time. Under President Pierce's admin- istration he served as mail agent in connection with the service to the Pacific coast. After serving three or four years, he resigned and returned to Gilmanton. He subsequently be- came a pensioner of the government on account of his services in the Mexican War. The later years of his earthly life were spent with his daughter; and on April 11, 1887, he passed to the great beyond.
Mr. Stone was made a Mason at the age of twenty-one, becoming a member of Granite Lodge, of Barre, Vt. ; and on his removal to
Laconia he transferred his connection to Mount Lebanon Lodge of this place. He does not choose to forget the days when his grandfather's farm was his world, but has been a member of Laconia Grange, Patrons of Hus- bandry, almost since its organization, and is also a prominent member of Belknap County Pomona Grange. A liberal, progressive Christian, he has been for a number of years connected with the Unitarian society of La- conia. Thoroughly honorable and upright, Mr. Stone has gained the confidence and re- spect of his fellow-men of all classes. Of commanding presence and courteous manners, he is a fine specimen of American manhood, and a citizen of whom Laconia may well be proud.
ENRY B. SCATES, a prosperous farmer and lumberman of Milton, was born in this town, February 10, 1831, son of Benjamin and Lovey (Lyman) Scates. His grandfather, Benjamin Scates (first), who was a native of Lebanon, N. H., served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and was one of the early settlers in Milton.
Benjamin Scates (second) was a lifelong res- ident of this town, and followed the carpenter's trade in connection with farming during the active period of his life. In politics he was a Whig. He died at the age of sixty-seven years. His wife, Lovey Lyman Scates, who was a native of Milton, became the mother of eight children, only two of whom are living, namely : Henry B., the subject of this sketch ; and Sophia L., who resides in Boston.
Henry B. Scates attended the common schools until he was seventeen years old, and then went to work for a neighboring farmer, with whom he remained six years. He then engaged in lumbering upon his own account, and has since carried on that business quite
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extensively. He owns a good farm containing three hundred acres of land, which he culti- vates with good results. Politically, he sup- ports the Republican party. He served as Surveyor fifteen years, as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen three years, as Town Auditor, and was Jailer under Sheriff Plum- mer for two years.
Mr. Scates married Ellen Dickson, a native of Lebanon, Me. He has no children. He is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Patrons of Husbandry. He attends the Baptist church.
T HOMAS L. HOITT, a retired manu- facturer and a veteran of the Civil War, who is now residing in Barnstead, Bel- knap County, N.H., was born in this town, April 1, 1827, son of Benjamin and Mehitable (Babson) Hoitt. On the paternal side he is a grandson of Thomas Hoitt, who died at sea while serving in the United States Navy, and was buried in the governor's garden at Surinam; and on the maternal side he is a great-grandson of General John Stark, the famous Revolutionary patriot.
Benjamin Hoitt, father of Thomas L., was born in Hampstead, N. H., August 11, 1788. When a young man he learned the trade of a shoemaker in Haverhill, Mass., and later for some years he conducted a shoe manufactory in connection with farming in Hampstead, N.H. He finally removed to Barnstead, where he became a successful farmer. For several years he served as a member of the Board of Selectmen, and he also held other town offices. In his religious views a Con- gregationalist, he was a member of that church, when it was presided over by Mr. George, the first settled minister in Barn- stead. His wife, Mehitable Babson, was a
daughter of Isaac Babson, and a grand-daugh- ter of General John Stark.
Her father was doubtless a descendant of James Babson, of whom J. J. Babson, the his- torian, of Gloucester, Mass., says, "This set- tler and his mother, Isabel, appear to have been the sole emigrants to New England of this name." Isaac Babson was graduated at Harvard College in 1779, and after marriage engaged in agricultural pursuits in Hopkin- ton, Mass., where he was the owner of a large estate. While giving some directions to his workmen he suddenly expired without a moment's warning. Isaac Babson and his wife, Elizabeth Stark, daughter of General John and Elizabeth (Page) Stark, were the parents of four children, namely: John, Mehitable (Mrs. Babson), and Mary and Sally, who remained single. John Babson resided in Manchester, N. H., for some years, but spent his last days in Barnstead, where he was buried.
The Stark ancestors of Mr. Hoitt, as is well known, figured conspicuously in military affairs in Colonial and Revolutionary times. A few particulars of the family history may here be given. The name, which is derived from the German word "starr," meaning stanch, strong, or rugged, is said to have been introduced into Scotland in 1495, when a number of German soldiers who had invaded England, to support the cause of a pretender to the throne of Henry VII., among them being some who bore the name of Starr, or Stark, were defeated and sought protection from the Scottish king. The first known an- cestor of the New Hampshire family was Archibald Stark, who was born in Glasgow in 1697. He was educated at the University of his native city, and in early manhood moved with his parents to Londonderry, Ireland. There he met and married Eleanor Nichols, the daughter of a Scottish emigrant. In 1720
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Archibald Stark and his family emigrated to America, and the next year settled in London- derry, N.H.
The children of Archibald and Eleanor Stark, born previous to their arrival in Amer- ica, died of small-pox; and the four sons born to them in this country were: William, John, Samuel, and Archibald, Jr. Archibald Stark, Sr., fought against the Indians in defence of the frontier; and the military instincts which he inherited he transmitted to his sons, all of whom became commissioned officers in the British Colonial service. William, the eld- est, was killed by a fall from his horse in 1776; and John became the redoubtable Gen- eral who fought at Bunker Hill, Bennington, and other noted battles of the Revolution, and whose brilliant achievements form an im- portant part of the history of the Revolution- ary War.
General Stark was humorous as well as brave, and when called upon to meet on the field of Bennington the soldiers who had been hired in Germany, he made that traditional speech which has been variously rendered, and may be here repcated in one of its fa- miliar forms: "Now, my men, these are the Hessians. They were bought for seven pounds, tenpence, a man. Are you worth more? Prove it. To-night the American flag floats over yonder hill, or Molly Stark sleeps a widow." General John Stark was born in Londonderry, N. H., August 28, 1728, and on August 20, 1758, he married Elizabeth Page, the " Molly Stark " of history - " Molly," it is needless to say, being a pet name. They had eleven children, as follows : Caleb, Archi- bald, John, Eleanor (first), Eleanor (second), Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary, Charles, Benjamin Franklin, and Sophia. Of these, two sons and one daughter died young. Sarah Stark married a Mr. Blodgett; Mary married B. F.
Stickering; Sophia Stark married Samuel Dickey ; and Elizabeth Stark, as above noted, was the wife of Isaac Babson, and the ma- ternal grandmother of the subject of this sketch.
Twelve children were born to Benjamin and Mehitable (Babson) Hoitt. Two of them died in infancy. The others were as follows; Ellen, Charlotte, John S., Henrietta, Thomas L., Harriet, Francis, William, Sarah, and Horace.
Charlotte Hoitt was born May 17, 1819. She married Calvin Sanborn, son of Deacon James Sanborn, of Epsom, N. H., and a repre- sentative of an old and prominent family in this part of the State. Calvin Sanborn was a wheelwright by trade, and carried on business in Barnstead until 1849, when he went to the gold mines of California. Upon his return, he resumed business in Barnstead on an ex- tensive scale, and later patented a water- wheel, which commanded a large sale. He was recognized as a superior mechanic, and for sometime was engaged in superintending the building of bridges in the South. He ac- quired wealth by the manufacture and sale of his water-wheel, and was a generous giver to charitable and other worthy objects. Mrs. Charlotte Hoitt Sanborn, who is still residing in Barnstead, possesses the essential elements of true womanhood, which endear her to a large circle of friends. She is a member of the Congregational church, and has rendered valuable aid in developing the usefulness of that society. She has no children.
Thomas L. Hoitt, the special subject of our sketch, acquired in his early years a common- school education, and at the age of fifteen en- tered the employ of Bailey Parker, a merchant of Pembroke, N. H., as a clerk. After re- maining with Mr. Parker several years he be- came manager for J. B. Merrill, with whom
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he subsequently was associated, and still later he bought him out. In 1855 Mr. Hoitt en- gaged in the dry-goods business in Salmon Falls, N. H., where he remained until the breaking out of the Rebellion, when he en- listed as a first-class musician in the Fifth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers, for three years. He served until the close of MeClellan's Peninsula Campaign, when he was honorably discharged on account of fail- ing health. In 1863 he was appointed the first postal agent between Portland and Bos- ton, and some time afterward he engaged in the shoe manufacturing business in Lynn, Mass. In 1880 he disposed of his business in Lynn, and, returning to Barnstead, has since resided here. He was instrumental in secur- ing the extension of the Suncook Branch Rail- way to this town, and is at the present time interested in the Beaudry Machine Company.
In April, 1871, Mr. Hoitt was joined in marriage with Martha E. Seavey, of Saco, Me. They have one daughter, Henrietta B., an industrious and accomplished young lady, who excels in both music and painting. Mr. Hoitt was made a Mason in Mount Belknap Lodge, of Laconia. He is now a member of Trinity Commandery, Knights Templar, of Manchester, and has advanced to the thirty- second degree. He is a member of the Con- gregational church at Barnstead Parade.
RS. HENRIETTA WARLAND, a resident of Barnstead, is a de- scendant of General John Stark of Revolutionary fame. An extended account of her ancestry will be found in the sketch of her brother, Thomas L. Hoitt, on another page. She was born in Barnstead, April 2, 1823, daughter of Benjamin and Mehitable (Babson) Hoitt. Her education was received
at a private school in Manchester, N.H., and at Mrs. Hill's High School in the same city. She resided with relatives in Manchester for some years. Shortly after her return to Barn- stead she was joined in marriage with Thomas F. Warland.
Mr. Warland was born in Kennebunk, Me. His father, Thomas Warland, worked at his trade of currier for many years, and died in Woburn, Mass. Thomas F. was reared and educated in his native town. Upon reaching his majority he went to Pittsfield, N. H., where he was engaged in business with an uncle for several years. After his marriage he went to Woburn, and was in business there until the breaking out of the Civil War. At the first call for troops he enlisted as a private in Com - pany G, Fifth Regiment, Massachusetts Vol- unteers, and participated in the first battle of Bull Run. He sustained a severe sunstroke, which so disabled him as to render further military service impossible, and he survived but a year after his return to Woburn. He was an able, energetic business man, whose prospects were unusually promising. His untimely death was sincerely regretted by his many personal friends and business asso- ciates.
Mrs. Warland has resided in Barnstead about eighteen years amid the scenes of her childhood, and in close proximity to her sister, Mrs. Charlotte Sanborn, and her brother, Thomas L. Hoitt. She is highly re- spected and estecmed by the entire commun - ity, and is a member of the Congregational church at Barnstead Parade.
ON. JERRY LANGLEY, of Dur- ham, one of the most prosperous and progressive agriculturists of Straf- ford County, was born March 25, 1841, on the
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homestead where he now resides. He is a de- scendant of one of the early settlers of this part of the county. His paternal grandfather, Jonathan Langley, spent his life in Dur- ham. His father, Jedediah Langley, was likewise a lifelong resident of this town, where he followed the occupations of carpen- ter and farmer. His mother, whose maiden name was Hannah Clay, and who came from Dover, had nine other children ; namely, John, Smith, Brackett, Moses, Elizabeth, Caroline, Martha, John (second), and Martin V.
Jerry Langley was reared upon the home farm, enjoying with his brothers and sisters the facilities afforded by the public schools of his district for acquiring an education. At the age of fifteen years he began to learn shoe- making, which he afterward followed for many years, remaining at home, and assisting also on the farm. Since becoming the owner of the homestead, Mr. Langley has carried on a thriving business in general farming. He is one of the largest dealers in hay in this local- ity, buying large quantities of it in the ad- joining towns, pressing and baling it, and then shipping it to various points. In 1890, in company with one of his sons, Mr. Langley bought a line of barges for transporting coal. The firm has now a regular route from Ports- mouth to Dover, New Market, and Exeter, carrying on the business under the firm name of J. Langley & Son. Mr. Langley's farm contains three hundred acres of land, much of which he has brought under cultivation, the care of this property with his other interests requiring the attention of himself and sons, keeping them all busily employed. He has also an interest in the New Market National Bank, which he serves in the capacity of Di- rector.
On October 9, 1864, Mr. Langley was mar- ried to Miss Emily F. Emerson, daughter of
Joshua and Sarah Durgin Emerson, of New Durham. They are now the parents of three children - Edward I., Charles S., and Carrie A. Mr. Langley has been actively identified with the town and county government in vari- ous offices of importance. He was first elected as Selectman in 1875, and since that time has repeatedly been Chairman of the Board. He has also been Road Commis- sioner, and he was a member of the College Committee when that institution was located in the town. In 1890 he represented Durham in the legislature, and in 1894 he was elected Senator from District Twenty-two. A loyal supporter of Republican principles, he has voted with that party since 1860, when he cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lin- coln. He is an active member of the Ris- ing Star Lodge, No. 22, F. & A. M., of New Market; and for twelve years he has be- longed to Squamscot Lodge, I. O. O. F., of the same town. While not connected by membership with any denomination, he con- tributes liberally toward the support of churches.
TEPHEN GALE, late a successful farmer and well-known citizen of the town of Gilmanton, N. H., was born in Gilmanton, March 20, 1800. He was the fifth son of Joseph and Sarah (Smith) Gale, and a brother of Moses S. Gale, the sub- ject of the next sketch but one. Their mother was the only child of Abraham Smith, a farmer of Gilmanton, whose farm after his de- cease came into the possession of their family.
Stephen Gale, after receiving his education in the district school of his native town, asso- ciated himself with his brother John in the cultivation of the Abraham Smith farm "on shares " for their father, who was actively en- gaged in the exercise of his trade, that of
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country blacksmith. After a few years his brother withdrew, and until after the death of his father he continued to cultivate and im- prove the old homestead, which later became his by purchase. He married Betsey S. Dud- ley, January 20, 1830. Their children were: Rufus E., born May 1, 1832, Nathaniel S., born January 13, 1837: and Laura A., born July 16, 1839. About the year 1854 he bought an adjoining farm, to which he moved with his family, excepting Rufus, his elder son.
Rufus E. Gale married Mary E. Nelson, daughter of John F. Nelson, February 14, 1856, and remained on and cultivated the home farm until August 11, 1862, when he enlisted as private for three years in Company- B, Twelfth Regiment, New Hampshire Volun- teers, in which he served with distinction. He was wounded at the battle of Chancellors- ville, May 3, 1863, but served until the close of the war, returning as Adjutant of his regi- ment. He then took up his former occupation of farming, and continued to live on the old homestead until about 1881, when he removed to Penacook, N.H., and formed a partnership with his brother in the hardware business. He still resides in Penacook.
Nathaniel S. Gale, in company with his father, successfully prosecuted the general farming business. He married May 8, 1866, Emily A. Peaslee, who died March 8, 1870. Soon after he purchased an interest in a hard- ware store in Penacook, and did business for eight years under the firm name of Evans & Gale. At that time his partner died. He has since continued the business with his brother, under the firm name of N. S. Gale & Co., to the present time. He married for his second wife, October 13, 1874, Sarah P. Gage, daughter of Luther Gage, of Penacook.
Laura A. Gale, after graduating from Gil- manton Academy, entered upon the vocation of teaching, commencing in district schools in her native town. Afterward for many years she taught select schools in Lake Village, N.H., and from there she went to Watertown, Mass., where she taught for several years, and at the present time is teaching in Reading, Mass., happy and successful in her chosen profession. She married Cyrus H. Campbell, of Watertown, Mass., where she still lives.
After his son left home, Stephen Gale, on account of age and infirmity, was obliged to abandon farming; and, accordingly, about 1874, he removed to Penacook, there making his home with his son, Nathaniel S. Mr. Stephen Gale died January 9, 1884; respected .by all, and mourned by family and friends. He was of a quiet, retiring disposition, dis- liking publicity of every kind. He enjoyed a goodly share of the confidence and good will of his fellow-citizens, although not desiring to hold any of the public offices that might have been in their gift. He ever preferred to de- vote his time and attention to his family and private affairs, always endeavoring to perform the nearer duties of life faithfully and well, leaving public honors to the numerous and eager aspirants for public favor. He was re- garded in his community as a man of a gener- ous, kindly nature, and as one who well ful- filled the apostle's injunction, "much given to hospitality." To his wife, who so nobly aided him by wise counsel, diligent labor, and watchful frugality, much is due for his success in life. She is still living, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years, happy in the pros- perity of her children, and in their companion- ship and sympathy. Conscious of the high esteem of all who know her, she is peace- fully descending the hill of life toward the sunset.
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YLVESTER J. GALE, a farmer and land-owner of Gilmanton, N.H., the only son of Thomas J. and Hannah (Sanborn) Gale, was born in this town, February 10, 1832. [For further genea- logical particulars of the Gale family, see sketch of Moses S. Gale, the uncle of Sylves- ter J. Gale, which is given in the following sketch. ]
Thomas J. Gale, above mentioned, was the son of Joseph and Sarah (Smith) Gale. He learned the trade of blacksmithing of his father, as did several of his brothers, serving with him an apprenticeship of some three years. At its completion he started out in the same business for himself in Gilmanton, not far from the old homestead. Subse- quently, in company with his brother Abra- ham, he set up a blacksmith shop at Academy Corners, in the same town, where he remained a number of years. When they dissolved their business connection, Thomas J. returned to the vicinity of his old home, and started out in business anew, but this time alone. In those days blacksmiths were in the habit of shoeing great numbers of oxen, then used instead of horses for general farm work, and here he continued successfully to carry on his trade until his death, which occurred January 22, 1874. Thomas J. Gale was a man of calm and even temperament, who seldom allowed himself to be ruffled by any momentary excite- ment. He was an untiring worker, a model husband, a kind father, and a man who made many friends. In his political views he was a strong, decided Republican. In the earlier part of his life he was a prominent and highly esteemed member of the Methodist church, but later on a change took place in his relig- ious views, and he joined the Free Will Bap- tist denomination.
He married Hannah Sanborn, the daughter
of Richard Sanborn, an enterprising, well-to- do farmer of Kensington, N. H., and who was one of four sons, to each of whom a large farm was given by their father, Theophilus San- born, a large land-owner in that section. Thomas J. and Hannah (Sanborn) Gale had only two children - Sylvester J. and Edna J. Edna J. Gale, after graduating from Gilman- ton Academy, taught school in the town for a while. While engaged in teaching she met Mr. Arthur P. Smith, of Waltham, Mass., whom she afterward married. Soon after their marriage Mr. Smith opened a commercial col- lege in Bangor, Me., but subsequently, upon an offer of the principalship of the Waltham, Mass., High School, he removed with his family to that town, where he still resides. Mrs. Edna J. Smith died in 1892 in Waltham. She had no children.
Sylvester J. Gale, like his sister, after pass- ing through the district schools of Gilmanton, for a few terms attended the Gilmanton Acad- emy. He then began to learn the blacksmith- ing trade of his father, as the latter had done before him of his grandfather, the occupation being an hereditary one in the Gale family. While working busily at his trade, he at the same time engaged in farming, until the breaking out of the Civil War. At that pe- riod he was a well developed, muscular young man, with health as firm and rugged as the granite hills of his native State. His strong and genial nature rendered him very popular among his associates. At the first call of President Lincoln for three hundred thousand men to defend the imperilled Union, Sylvester J. Gale, with lofty patriotism and burning love of liberty, instantly seized his musket in her defence. He was the first man to enlist in the army from Gilmanton, N.H. ; and his was not only the first name to be registered upon the muster-roll of Company B, Twelfth Regiment,
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