USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Stafford and Belknap countries, New Hampshire > Part 44
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EDSON ROBERTS, a thrifty, in- dustrious farmer of the progressive type, son of Sewell T. and Mary (Savage) Roberts, was born on his present farm in East Alton, N. H., August 27, 1860. He is the worthy representative of an old and highly respected family, one of the oldest in Alton.
Joseph Roberts, his great-grandfather, was an officer of the Revolutionary War. By a commission bearing the date of April 12, 1775, he was appointed by the State President, Meshech Weare, Second Lieutenant of the Seventh Company in the Tenth New Hamp- shire Regiment, and took the oath of alleg- iance, necessary for qualification, before his own father, as Justice of the Peace. His
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commission as First Lieutenant of the same company, dated April, 1779, bears the signa- ture of State President John Langdon (after- ward Governor John Langon) ; and this time the necessary oath of allegiance was adminis- tered by Joseph Badger, Jr., Justice of the Peace. All his lifetime Joseph Roberts con- tinued to take a deep and active interest in local military matters.
After the close of the Revolution, he mi- grated, with his wife and four-year-old son Richard, in the month of April, 1792, from Portsmouth to New Durham, N. H. Four years later, in 1796, New Durham was divided, the so-called "New Durham gore " being set apart and incorporated under a town govern- ment of its own and given its present name of Alton. Joseph Roberts, on his arrival, took up a large tract of wild land, and proceeded to reclaim it from the wilderness and reduce it to cultivation. He at first built a log cabin for his occupancy, and here he and his family continued to live for some fourteen years, when his temporal affairs, having become sufficiently prosperous, by his industry and thrift, he erected a frame house of such substantial sort that his descendants to the fourth generation have continued to occupy it ever since. It has always been kept in good repair and im- proved as occasion demanded, but the timbers of the original frame-work have remained in- tact and are standing to-day as fast and firm as when first put together. Here Mr. S. Edson Roberts resides at the present time, proud of the record both of his family and his mansion, and here, too, he carefully and sacredly pre- serves, to transmit to his descendants, many a precious ancestral heirloom and relic of bygone days. Close at hand is the Roberts family burial lot, where rest the mortal remains of departed members, former occupants of the homestead. Joseph Roberts, Sr., the father
of the New Durham pioneer, was buried at East Alton, about one mile away. In the early days the people of Alton, with strong, unfailing, religious instinct, then the most marked characteristic of New Englanders, in default of suitable houses of worship, were wont to gather for religious service, in the summer season at least, in barns. Joseph Roberts was an earnest, God-fearing man of the early New England type, and always took an active and foremost part in the religious life of his town.
One little incident of considerable interest in connection with Joseph Roberts we will here insert. He had at one time an appren- tice in his employ, Paul Leathers by name ; and this name having been turned into ridi- cule, the apprentice determined to have it changed by process of law, which was accord- ingly done on May 11, 18II. In the follow- ing July, his term being out, he started for Boston, Mass., and walked all the way thither. In the course of time, as the result of charac- ter and ability, he rose to the dignity of be- coming the President of the Five Cents Insti- tution for Savings in that city.
Lieutenant Joseph Roberts lived to a good old age. He had a family of six children, namely : Richard, born in 1788, who migrated with his father; Nancy, who married Mr. Pen- dergast, and lived in Newburyport, Mass. ; Martha, who married William Crockett, and was left a widow; Betsy, who married Joseph Davis, and lived in Wolfboro, N. IL. ; Sally married Deacon Solomon Hayes, and resided in New Durham; and Polly, who married Jonathan McDuffie, of Alton.
Richard Roberts, the son of Lieutenant Joseph Roberts, and the next in the ancestral line, was a civil engineer of considerable re- pute and more than an ordinary person in many ways. When a young man, feeling dis-
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satisfied with the homely routine and monot- ony of farm life, he left his father's house one evening and took service in the army, it being the time of the War of 1812 with the British. He was stationed for a long time at Carlisle, Pa., and there contracted a fever, whose after- effects continued to trouble him as long as he lived. He was subsequently stationed at Portsmouth for a considerable time, and finally returned to Alton in the year 1815. He never left home again for any length of time. After his return he went into the busi- ness of civil engineering, and, becoming a contractor, surveyed and built public roads, sometimes employing as many as one hundred men at a time. He laid out and built the road between Alton Bay and Laconia, and many more besides. While thus engaged he did not neglect his farm, which he continued to culti- vate and improve. He lived to be seventy- eight years of age, and died in 1866.
He was a man of sterling worth of character, who led an upright, blameless life. He was one of the founders of the Free Will Baptist church of East Alton, of which he was a mem- ber fifty years, and one of its Deacons for more than forty years.
His quiet, consistent Christian walk through life was a constant rebuke to evil and incen- tive to good in the community in which he lived. His fellow-townsmen regarded him with affection and confidence. They elected him to represent them in the State legislature for two different terms, somewhere about the years 1844 and 1845; and he also filled other offices of trust. Richard Roberts married Hannah Willey, and had a family of eight children, five boys and three girls, namely : Joseph, drowned when sixteen years of age ; Sewell T., the father of S. Edson; Harriet, who married Nathaniel Willey, kept a tavern at Ossipee, N. H., and died leaving two chil-
dren; Lydia, who married Benjamin F. Evans, lived first in Boston, Mass., but subsequently, in 1866, removed to Minnesota; Samuel Woodbury, who was graduated at the Dart- mouth Medical School, married, has become a prominent medical practitioner in Wakefield, N. H., and one time was the President of the New Hampshire Medical Association; Rich- ard, who is married, has a family and resides in Dover; Clara and Orrin, who both died young.
Sewell T. Roberts, the second son, was born on the patrimonial farm, February 22, 1822. He lived on this farm until he re- moved to Somersworth, N. H., and left it to his son, S. Edson. He was a member and clerk of the Free Will Baptist church of East Alton. He twice represented his town in the State legislature, about 1859 and 1860. Sewell T. Roberts died in the year 1894. He was three times married : first to Ellen Hurd, and by her had one child, a daughter, who married the Hon. O. J. M. Gilman. His sec- ond wife was Mary Savage, a sister of Colonel G. D. Savage, and by her he became the father of S. Edson, her only child. His third wife was Ann Beech, and by her he had three children, a son and two daughters, as follows : John P. Roberts, of Somersworth; Ellen E., wife of John Tash, of Dover; and Annie M., now in her second year at Bates College.
S. Edson Roberts, the special subject of this sketch, was educated in the district schools of Alton and at Wolfboro and Wake- field Academies, and was a successful school teacher. When about .twenty-one years old, he went out to Cedar Falls, in the State of Iowa, and remained there a year, during which time he joined the Baptist church in that town. In the year 1883 his father ceded to him the possession of the homestead estate of some three hundred and fifty acres, upon
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which he had already worked. Here he still carries on the business of farming, making a specialty of the milk business and keeping summer boarders. He married Ella Trask, daughter of William Trask, of Chestnut Cove in Alton, and has two sons, namely : George F., who is attending school; and Charles E.
Mr. Roberts is a highly esteemed citizen of Alton, and noted for being an unusually in- dustrious, hard- working man. He is an ambi- tious farmer, practical, full of energy and de- termined ideas, and is anxious that his affairs should show a handsome profit as the result of his efforts. His wife is a true helpmate to him in every sense of the word, and they have a bright and interesting family. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts were charter members of Alton Patrons of Husbandry, and he is a mem- ber of the Ancient Order of United Workmen at South Wolfboro.
AMES H. DEMERITT, a successful agriculturist, and the descendant of one of the earliest settlers of Strafford County, resides in the town of Madbury, on the homestead where his birth occurred Febru- ary 17, 1843. His father, Alfred Demeritt, and his grandfather, Eli Demeritt, were like- wise born on the same farm. The latter was a son of Jonathan Demeritt, who settled on this place in Colonial times, and lived here until his demise, August 31, 1833, aged eighty years and one day. Eli Demeritt, the succeeding owner of the estate, who performed his part in clearing and improving the land, swinging his axe and driving his plough to good purpose, was ninety years, eight months, and twenty days old at the time of his death, October 11, 1877.
Alfred Demeritt, who successfully carried on general farming, died here January 14,
1894, after a long and useful life of eighty- four years, six months, and twenty-four days. His body was buried beside that of his wife in the family cemetery on the farm, which con- tained all that was mortal of the three preced- ing generations of the Demeritt family. He married Mary E. Torr, who died July 28, 1875, aged sixty-two years, three months, and sixteen days. Their family, besides James H., included seven other children, of whom the following is the record : Sally died No- vember 22, 1847, aged fourteen years, two months, and eleven days; Alfred died April 24, 1842, aged seven months and thirteen days; Caroline died March 16, 1863, aged twenty-three years, ten months and twelve days; Cyrus died December 10, 1863, aged sixteen years, two months and ten days; Sarah E. married Edward Pendexter, of Madbury, and died January 16, 1894, aged forty-two years; Charles E., who married Ellen Tuttle, of Dover, is a retired farmer, and lives in Dover; and Mary A., the wife of Daniel E. Hanson, is also a resident of Dover. The father, who was an active and stanch member of the Republican ranks, served in the State legislature at two different times, performing the duties there devolving upon him in a man- ner most satisfactory to all concerned.
James H. Demeritt obtained a practical education in the district schools of Madbury and the Durham Academy. While assisting his father in the daily labors of the homestead, he received a training in farming that has been most valuable to him. On arriving at man's estate, Mr. Demeritt assumed the charge of the farm, on which he has since car- ried on general farming, stock-raising, and fruit-growing with success. His large orchard has been especially profitable. In politics he is a Republican, following in the footsteps of his father, and he takes an active part in the
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local campaigns of that organization. A pub- lic-spirited and energetic man, he has the re- spect of his townsmen, by whom he was elected to the legislature for the sessions of 1896 and 1897. He is not connected by mem- bership with any religious body, but he is always ready and willing to assist the cause of Christianity.
ILLIAM ROBERTS GARVIN, the well-known market-gardener and milk producer of Rollinsford, was born in that town, March 15, 1830, son of Samuel and Susan (Roberts) Garvin. Mr. Garvin's family has been well and favorably known in this section of the State for four generations. There is a very interesting story attaching to the life of his great-grandfather, Captain James Garvin. It is said that he came from Ireland as a "stowaway" about the year 1700, and settled on the present site of the town of Rollinsford. He was a sturdy sea captain of the old school, and was largely en- gaged in trade with the West Indies, when American shipping was manned by Ameri- cans. Thomas Garvin, son of Captain Garvin, born July 3, 1759, married Betty Randall. His son, Samuel Garvin, was born in Rol- linsford, September 12, 1804. Samuel lived on his father's farm until his marriage, having received such education as was afforded by the district schools. Then he bought the farm now owned by his son, William R., and car- ried it on until his death. He did also a · large teaming business, and owned a number of oxen. In politics he was a Democrat, and he served the community in the capacity of Tax Collector, and in other offices. His wife, a daughter of Stephen Roberts, of Rollinsford, and a consistent member of the South Ber- wick Baptist Church, had three children, of whom William R. is the only survivor.
William Roberts Garvin was sent by his parents to the common schools, and later to the academy at South Berwick. He has always resided on the home farm. It is a pleasure to go over his place and observe its scientific arrangements, and to watch the different operations that are carried on, from spring to fall. His produce is marketed in the surrounding towns, and is sometimes dis- posed of by the carload. He cultivates about ninety acres, and on an average cuts about eighty tons of hay, and one hundred tons of ensilage. He has the largest silo anywhere in the vicinity, and can pack one hundred and twenty-five tons into it. This is fed in the winter to the stock, consisting principally of fifty head of registered Ayrshire cattle. Mr. Garvin prides himself upon the purity of the breed, and it is a pleasure for any one inter- ested in handsome and well-kept cattle to in- spect his herds. His dairy yields from one hundred and fifty to two hundred quarts of milk per day. A large quantity of garden truck is produced, especially cabbage, many tons of which are annually shipped to the West. He also raises a large amount of celery for the market. Usually he has the earliest varieties of vegetables, as he starts their growth in a hot-house. Five horses are kept at work mowing, reaping, or drawing the produce to the place of shipment.
In politics Mr. Garvin is a Democrat, as was his father before him. He has been a member of the School Board and a Selectman of the town. His wife, Frances H. (Yeaton) Gar- vin, a daughter of Leavitt H. Ycaton, became the mother of seven children - Annie Bertha, Clara W., William R. Garvin, Jr., Susie E., Homer HI., Gertrude G., and Samuel R. Clara is now the wife of Elisha Sanderson, of Hop- kinton; Susie married Samuel E. Meserve, of Richmond, Me .; and Homer resides in Bos-
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ton. Mr. Garvin is a member of the Baptist Church of South Berwick. Mrs. Garvin, who died in 1894, was also a member of that church, and her death was felt as a severe loss to the membership.
5 SA I. SMITH, Postmaster at Belmont, was born in that part of Gilmanton, which has since been incorporated as the town of Belmont, December 12, 1831, son of Ithiel and Deborah (Tower) Smith. Ithiel Smith was a lifelong resident of Gil- manton, and followed agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred when he was seventy years old. His wife, Deborah Tower, who was a native of Cummington, Mass., be- came the mother of six children; namely, William, Lucy, Isaac, Mary, Matilda, and Asa I. Of these Mary and Asa I., the sub- ject of this sketch, are the only ones now living.
Asa I. Smith obtained a common-school education, and when a young man engaged in shoemaking. teaming, and farming, which he followed until 1889. He was then ap- pointed Postmaster, which position he still re- tains. He is also engaged in the grocery business in this town, and carries a well- selected stock of goods, having by his honor- able business methods secured a large and profitable trade. He has voted with the Re- publican party since attaining his majority, but is broad-minded and by no means a narrow partisan.
Mr. Smith has been three times married, and the maiden name of his present wife, whom he wedded in 1887, was Louisa Eaton. He is the father of three children - Dora, Al- bert A., and Mary E. His daughters, who are both married, reside in Massachusetts, and his son, Albert A., is now in the gro-
cery, grain, and meat business, in Belmont. Mr. Smith is prominently identified with local public affairs, and his son is at the present time a member of the Board of Selectmen. He has been a member of the Christian church for the past twenty-one years, eleven of which he has acted as Deacon, and he has also served as Secretary and Treasurer of the society.
HARLES E. HOITT, a progressive farmer of Durham, Strafford County, was born in Lee, this county, March 8, 1849, son of General Alfred and Susan (Demerritt) Hoitt. The father was born in Northwood, this county, in 1808. He began his unusually successful career by work- ing on a farm for nine dollars a month. After he grew to manhood he moved to Lee, where he was engaged in farming and hotel-keeping. He then went to Boston, Mass., remaining there in the hay business for twenty years. From 1858 to 1879 he conducted a general merchandise trade in Durham. Hc subse- quently removed to Dover, N. H. His politi- cal support was given to the Democratic party. He served as Representative from Durham, and as Senator from Lee, and at one time he was General of the Home Guards. His wife bore him thirteen children; namely, Franklin W., Alvina, Elizabeth, Alfred D., Samuel P., Mary J., Martha A., Sylvia V., George I., Washington, Charles, Lydia C., and Henri- etta. General Hoitt was in sympathy with religious movements, and contributed liberally to the support of the church. He died in Dover in 1883, at the age of seventy-four.
Charles E. Hoitt acquired a common-school education, and from his father, with whom he was fortunately associated until 1883, an ex- cellent business training. Since his father's death he has given his whole attention to the
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farm, greatly to the betterment of the prop- erty.
He was united in marriage with Martha J. Langley, who was also a resident of this town. In politics Mr. Hoitt, like his much esteemed father, affiliates with the Democratic party. He has acceptably served as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and he is at present on the board. Fraternally, he is a member of Scammel Grange, and in religion he is an at- tendant of the Congregationalist church.
ORACE H. WOOD, an enterprising manufacturer of Lakeport, Belknap County, N. H., doing business under the firm name of H. H. Wood & Co., was born in Hillsborough, N. H., April 21, 1842. His parents were Alanson and Mary (Colby) Wood. His paternal grandfather, Levi Wood, was a native of Henniker, Merrimac County, N. H., and was by occupation a farmer. He married a Miss Gould, and they became the parents of four children, all of whom are dead. Levi Wood was a highly respected member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
His son, Alanson, the father of Horace H., was born in Henniker. After acquiring his education in the public schools, he became a miller. Energetic and capable, he at different periods was engaged in running grist and saw mills in Hillsborough, Henniker, Manchester, and Contoocook. He married a daughter of Silas Colby, of Henniker. Five children, all of whom are living, were the result of their union. Both parents have passed to the life immortal. The father did not affiliate with any religious denomination.
Horace H. Wood was educated in Henniker, completing his course of study in the high school, and for several years thereafter he worked at farming. When he was in his
twenty-first year, he was employed in Holden's Mills in West Concord, N. H. Later he was in the print works at Manchester, N. H., for two years; and in 1865 he came to Laconia and in the carding room of Belknap Mills served two years as second hand, being then promoted to the position of overseer of the. room, which he efficiently filled for two years. He was next engaged in a photograph gallery with E. D. Ward, and afterward he was em- ployed for five years at the Gilford hosiery at Laconia. Mr. Wood subsequently became as- sociated with William Belford of the Durkee Brook Mills in the manufacture of shoddy, doing custom work for about a year. From Durkee Brook Mills he came to Lake Village, now Lakeport, and established the same enter- prise, but was burned out within a year. He then went to East Andover, N. H., where he leased a mill, and, in company with Mr. E. A. Colvin, engaged for a few months in the manu- facture of hosiery and underwear. In Marl- borough, N. H., he also served as boss carder and spinner for three or four months, having previously served five years in that capacity in Gilford. In 1882 he established his present plant in a small way, with six employees. Mr. Wood has managed his business so wisely and well that it is now one of the most important industries in the State. He employs one hun- dred and seventy-five hands, and has an exten- sive trade throughout the United States.
On November 23, 1870, he was married to Mary J., a daughter of David R. Lovejoy, of Meredith, N. H. Formerly he affiliated with the Democratic party. Fraternally, he is identified with the membership of the United Order of Pilgrim Fathers, in which he has held various chairs ; Union Chapter, R. A. M., No. 7; and Pilgrim Commandery, K. T., all of Laconia. He is also a thirty-second degree Mason and belongs to the Mystic Shrine.
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HORACE H. WOOD.
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TEPHEN P. CHESLEY, of Dur- ham, one of the enterprising and prosperous agriculturists of Straf- ford County, was born July 22, 1862, in Dur- ham, on the farm where he now lives. This property has been in the possession of the Chesley family for many years. Its original owner was Samuel Chesley, the great-grand- father of Stephen P. He came here from the neighboring town of Madbury, in the early part of the present century, and was from that time until his death actively engaged in clear- ing the land. His body lies buried in the family cemetery on the estate.
John S. Chesley, the father of Stephen P., was born September 30, 1839, in Madbury, which was also the birthplace of his father. With his parents he came to Durham in child- hood, and here grew to maturity on the Chesley homestead. He engaged in farming and lumbering. Besides looking carefully after his private interests, he was active in public affairs, serving as Selectman of Dur- ham, being for a part of the time Chairman of the board. In politics he was an unswerving Democrat. He departed this life, October 13, 1896, and his remains were interred in that beautiful resting-place of the dead, Pine Hill Cemetery. He married Miss Addie Sanborn, a native of Loudon, Merrimack County, and they became the parents of seven children; namely, Stephen P., James S., Wilbert S., Edgar D., Gadie E., Elizabeth W., and Ivyian M.
Stephen P. Chesley obtained his education in the district schools of Durham, and at Franklin Academy and Coe's Academy in Northwood, N.H. On the home farm from an early age he was familiar with farm work, and proved himself an apt and faithful assistant to his father in its management. The estate contains three hundred acres of land, all but
fifty of which are in the old homestead. Here father and son have carried on general farming and dairying in a practical and successful manner. A cider-mill on the place, to which the neighbors bring their apples for a few weeks in the autumn, is also a source of in- come. Born and reared in a Democratic household, Mr. Chesley has always remained faithful to the principles of that party. He has never sought political favors, but he has served as Town Auditor. He is a member of the Durham Grange.
OHN WEBSTER WELLS, one of the best known and most highly esteemed farmers of Belknap County, now living in retirement in the town of Belmont, is a na- tive of Gilmanton, this county, born July 17, 1823. A son of Dudley and Mehitabel (Bur- leigh) Wells, he comes of noble ancestry. On the father's side he is a descendant of John Wells, who died at Loudon, N. H., about the year 1796; and on that of his paternal grand- mother, his descent is traced to Captain Roger Dudley, who was slain in early life, in one of England's wars, about the year 1586.
Nathaniel Wells, son of John Wells, of Loudon, was born at Raymond, N. H., Febru- ary 22, 1750, and died at Gilmanton, N.II., January 6, 1833. He married Mary Dudley, who was born at Exeter, August 11, 1758, and died at Gilmanton, July 5, 1836. Her father, Joseph Dudley, was born in Exeter in 1728, and died at Raymond in 1792. His father, James, who was born June 11, 1690, at Exeter, and died in the same town, was a son of Stephen, who was born in Exeter, and died there in 1734. The Rev. Samuel Dudley, the father of Stephen, was born in 1606 at North Hampton, England, and died February 10, 1683. He was a son of Governor Thomas
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