USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Stafford and Belknap countries, New Hampshire > Part 49
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Some time ago, with his fortune made and with unimpaired health, Mr. Tilton returned to the scenes of his boyhood, where he has since resided in a beautiful and elegantly-fur- nished home. He has won the gratitude of his townsmen by the benefits he has conferred upon the town. The Town Hall, a most admirable and well-appointed structure, is his gift, as is also the iron bridge from Main Street to Island Park. In all, his gifts to the town amount to upward of fifty thousand dol- lars. He has also given large sums toward church improvements, and for other worthy objects. Another benefit arising from his presence here is the employment of many persons in the work of making improvements on his estate. Notwithstanding his great wealth, he is easily accessible, cordial, and unaffected. He has not only the admiration of his fellow-townsmen for the abilities he has shown in his career, but their cordial good will as a friend and neighbor.
RED C. SANBORN, a popular rail- road conductor, and one of the police commissioners of Laconia, was born in New Hampton, N. II., October 9, 1857, son
of Moses and Sarah Jane (Kelley) Sanborn. In the early days several families of that name, all related to each other, owned adjoin- ing farms in New Hampton. Walter Sanborn, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born February 23, 1770, in Brentwood, N. H., son of Zadock Sanborn. Hle settled in New Hampton, where he became prosperous as a farmer, and lived to be eighty-six years old. In 1802 he married Jennie Chase, who was born in Strafford, N. H , April 3, 1775, daugh- ter of William Chase, and with her reared seven children - John, Eliphalet, Susan, William, Phebe, Jane, and Moses.
Moses Sanborn, Fred C. Sanborn's father, resided at the homestead in New Hampton until the house was burned. He then moved to the lower end of the town, where he lived thirteen years, and subsequently to Judge Simpson's place, where he was a resident for two years. After this he went to Lake Vil- lage, and was there employed for some years on the railroad. He voted for William H. Harrison in 1840, supported Benjamin Harri- son in ISSS, and he cast his last Presidential vote for the same candidate in 1892. While living in New Hampton he served as a Select- man. He was much interested in public affairs, and was a member of the Tippecanoe Club. Ilis wife, Sarah Jane, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah (Avery) Kelley, became by him the mother of eight children ; namely, Augusta L., Edwin F., Annie M., George E., Wesley C., Herman L., Fred C,. and Oscar R. Augusta L. is the wife of John C. Fogg, a foreman in the wood-working department of the railroad shops in Lake Village. Edwin F. married Elsie A. Glidden in 1861, and died January 29, 1873. Wesley C. was acci- dentally drowned when thirteen years old. Herman L. died when eight years old. Annie M. married Arthur Tucker of the gro-
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cery firm of Tucker & Clarke, and died May 20, 1873. George E., who died October 25, 1896, was twice married, on the second occa- sion to Fanny Lane, of Bridgeport, Conn. Oscar is a machinist, and works for the Crane Manufacturing Company. George E., who, in 1891, received the appointment of foreman of an iron foundry in New York, where he had charge of two hundred and fifty men of various nationalities, and who was an expert in his calling and possessed the confidence of his employers, subsequently died after an illness of eight months.
Fred C. Sanborn came to Lake Village when very young, and was educated in the common schools. He was for some time em- ployed in a machine shop in the village. In 18So he entered the service of the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad Company as a brakeman. From this position he was soon advanced to that of freight conductor. For the past five years he has been a passenger conductor between Lakeport and Dover, and Lakeport and Alton Bay. On February 7, 1878, Mr. Sanborn married Fostina E. Young, daughter of Moses and Ann Maria (Chase) Young, who resided in that part of Gilmanton now called Belmont.
Eleazar Young, Mrs. Sanborn's great-grand- father, who was born in Loudon, N. H., Sep- tember 2, 1755, became an early settler in Upper Gilmanton, which he reached on horse- back by the Spotted Trail, accompanied by his wife and five children. Here he cleared a good farm, on which he resided until his death, which occurred November 21, 1845 Hle married Hannah Bailey, who was born September 11, 1759. Their children were : Polly, who died August 31, 18544; Joseph, who died December 14, 1843; Lucy, who died June 19, 1864; Ruth, who died July 9, 1879; Abigail, who died July 10, 1885; Bailey, who
died February 16, 1863; Andrew, who died October 11, 1805; Betsey, who died October 5, 1813; and Sarah, who died November 30, 1863. Excepting Andrew and Betsey, all reached the age of sixty years or over, Abigail living to that of ninety-five. Deacon Bailey Young, Mrs. Sanborn's grandfather, who suc- ceeded to the homestead and was a prosperous farmer, lived to be seventy-one years old. He was a prominent resident of Gilmanton in his day, and for a number of years he acted as a Deacon of the Free Will Baptist church. He married Molly, daughter of Jonah Randlett, and had a family of eleven children, six daughters and five sons, the births of the sons having severally alternated with those of the daughters. Louisa married Dr. Weymouth, of Andover, N. H. ; Mary Jane married John Avery ; Harriet did not marry ; Emeline mar- ried Edwin Nutting; Adeline married Ezekiel Gilman; Charlotte married and lived in Ver- mont; John S. married Mehitable Cole; George B. married and moved to St. Louis, Mo. ; Charles A. married Ellen Leavitt; and Ansel F. died in the army during the Civil War. Moses, the remaining son and Mrs. Sanborn's father, resided all his lifetime in Gilmanton, and lived to be sixty-two years old. In early life he was a stone cutter, and later a farmer. He was a member of the Free Will Baptist church. His wife, Ann Maria (Chase) Young, a daughter of John and a grand-daughter of Zachias Chase, became the mother of nine children; namely, Oscar T., Fostina E., Charles S., Sarah E., Hattie A., Ansel C., Abbie M,. and the twins, Amy A. and Annie. Annie, Sarah E., Hattie A., and Ansel C. all died young. Oscar T. is married and lives in North Andover, Mass. ; Charles S. is married and resides in North- field, N. H. ; Abbie M. is the wife of Albert Head, and lives in Laconia; and Amy A. is
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now Mrs. Fred W. Chatfield. Mr. and Mrs. Sanborn have had four children, as follows : Julius E., Dora G., Eleanor M., and Ralph M. Dora G. died at the age of fifteen months.
Mr. Sanborn is a member of Mount Leba- non Lodge, No. 32, F. & A. M. ; of Endicott Rock Lodge, No. 23, Knights of Pythias; and of Pillsbury Division, No. 3, Uniform Rank of Concord. He is quite active in local poli- tics, and was appointed Police Commissioner by the Governor in August, 1896.
OSEPH M. R. ADAMS, a successful general farmer of Durham, Strafford County, N. H., whose home is open during the summer months to boarders, was born on this farm, May 10, 1838, son of the Rev. John and Sarah (Sanderson) Adams.
The father was a Methodist preacher, known as Reformation John, and one of the first of the family to settle here, coming to Durham about the year 1835. This part of the town is known as Island Alcove or Durham Neck, and directly opposite is the old Furber Ferry. John and Sarah Adams had seven children, namely : John Isaac; Ira, who died in 1856; Enoch G., a veteran of the Civil War, residing in Berwick, Me. ; Charles W., who died in infancy; Sarah E., deceased; Mary A., wife of E. L. Center, a poet and newspaper correspondent ; and Jo- seph M. R. The father, who devoted the greater part of his life to the ministry, died here in September, 1850, in his sixtieth year ; the mother lived antil 1879, attaining the age of eighty-three years.
Joseph M. R. Adams, the youngest child, first attended the district school and later studied at Newmarket. When but fourteen years of age, the care of the farm devolved upon his shoulders. He confined his attention to farming until the year 1880, when he began
taking summer boarders, which proved a suc- cessful venture, and in 1893 he tore down the old house and built the present one, which will accommodate thirty boarders. It is very pleasantly located, facing the Great Bay. There are about eighty acres in the farm. Mr. Adams has served on the Durham Board of Selectmen. He is a member of the Metho- dist church.
OHN G. DAVIS, who repairs and reg- ulates most of the watches carried by the citizens of Tilton, was born in Conway, N. H., January 10, 1837, son of Ephraim and Sally (Emerson) Davis. Ilis grandfather , Thomas Davis, one of the early settlers of Farmington, N. H., was born Sep- tember 20, 1750. The wife of Thomas Davis, in maidenhood named Janna, was born May 6, 1954.
Ephraim Davis, also a native of Farming- ton, born May 18, 1789, resided at the home- stead until of age, and then engaged in the cattle business with his brother. He finally bought a farm in Conway, upon which he afterward resided for forty years, and died May 9, 1871. He served as a Selectman and in other town offices, and in politics he sup- ported the Whig party. His wife, Sally, who was born in Conway, July 14, 1797, and died September 4, 1843, became the mother of eleven children. Of these, Stephen M., Jacob E., Harriet A., Charles W., and John G. reached maturity, and Charles W. and John G. are living. Ephraim Davis was for many years officially connected with the Methodist Episcopal church, and his wife was a member. John G. Davis acquired a public-school educa- tion. In January, 1854, he began to learn the trade of a watchmaker and jeweller in Con- cord, N. H. After working there for five years, he plied his calling in Haverhill,
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Mass., Salmon Falls, N. H., Boston, and Washington, D.C., and in 1865 he started in business for himself in Rochester, N. H. In 1870 he sold his business in that town, and for several years was engaged as a travelling salesman. In 1884 he became the representa- tive of the Lord Brothers Manufacturing Com- pany, through New England and the West, continuing in that capacity until September, 1895. He is now a stockholder in that con- cern. In April, 1895, he bought the stock- in-trade of B. D. Pope, a watchmaker and jeweller of Tilton, and has since conducted the business. Besides doing all kinds of watch repairing, he carries a well selected line of goods.
On August 26, 1865, Mr. Davis was joined in marriage at Alfred, Me., with Mary S. Littlefield, daughter of Eliab and Susan Lit- tlefield, of Boston. Mrs. Davis has had two children, both of whom died in infancy. Mr. Davis is connected with Motolinia Lodge, No. IS, I. O. O. F., of Rochester. He attends the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Davis is a member.
HOMAS NUTE, a veteran agricultu- rist of Strafford County, is living in Dover, on the old homestead where his birth occurred November 10, 1817. He is a descendant of James Newte, one of the original settlers of this town, who came to this coun- try in 1631. This ancestor's surname corre- sponds with that of a family of distinction liv- ing in Tiverton, Devonshire, England, in the reign of Elizabeth. The members of this family were Loyalists in the English civil wars. Many were clergymen of the church of England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; and its last male heir died in 1806. Other forms of the name were Newt, Newet,
Newtt, Newtte, and Knute. The present form appears to have been generally adopted by the third generation descended from James. The grant of land received by James Newte in- cluded the Nute homestead, on which he set- tled. His son James, having succeeded to the property, left it to his son Paul, who was the grandfather of Thomas Nute.
Paul Nute was a soldier in the Revolution- ary War, having enlisted as a private in Cap- tain Drew's company when but sixteen years old. He served bravely unti' the close of the war, when he was discharged as Lieutenant of his company. He married Hepzibah Canney, whose children by him included Meserve, the father of Thomas Nute. Meserve Nute was born on the old home farm, which he in- herited. After spending his earlier years in seafaring, he devoted the remainder of his life to general farming, and died in 1853, aged eighty-six years. He married Elizabeth Ames, who died at the age of seventy-nine years. They had eleven children, two of whom died in infancy. The others were: Mary, who died in 1896; Elizabeth, Ephraim, Clarissa, James, Greenleaf, and Joseph, who are also deceased; Paul, who is now eighty- four years old; and Thomas, the subject of this sketch.
Thomas Nute was reared on the homestead, receiving his education during the winter terms of the district school, and. working on the farm the remainder of the time. Upon attaining his majority, he went to the village, and worked for a year in the Sawyer Mills, and was afterward employed for several years in the Cocheco Mills. Returning then to the scenes of his childhood, he assumed the charge of the property, and has since been engaged in general farming. He now owns one hun- dred acres of land, seventy-five of which be- longed to the original homestead. A large
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LUTHER H. WENTWORTH.
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part of it is in a fair state of cultivation. Mr. Nute, who is among the oldest of the native- born residents of the town, has contributed his full share toward its growth and develop- ment. In politics he is a sound Democrat, and he represented Ward Four for one year in the City Council. Socially, he is a member of the I. O. O. F., and of the local grange.
In 1842 Mr. Nute was united in marriage to Miss Maria Brock, daughter of Paul and Pacince (Ham) Brock, of Madbury, N. H.
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Nute - Charles H. Nute and Joseph J. Nute. Charles, who lived in Dover, and died in 1884, married Miss Sarah Chesley, and had two children - Charles A. and Clarence W. Joseph J., the younger son, who died 1883, married Miss Kate Lindsay, and had three children - Thomas H., Frank, and Grace J.
UTHER H. WENTWORTH, a leading resident of Milton, was born November 18, 1844, near the prem- ises where he now resides, son of Ebenezer Wentworth, of Alton, and grandson of Eben- ezer Wentworth, who was one of the early set- tlers in the State. The name Ebenezer runs back for seven generations of the family, and has always been borne by men of integrity, ability, and good citizenship.
The father, Luther, was a farmer and mer -. chant of Alton. Though his early educational opportunities were limited, he succeeded in acquiring a large fund of general information, and he afterward wrote a treatise on geometry, and taught school for many years with great success. He lived successively in Alton, Dover, Middleton, and Farmington. At Middleton he opened the first hotel established in that place. In politics he was a Republi- can. He took much interest in public affairs,
and served the town as Selectman, Justice of the Peace, and Collector of Taxes for several years. During the war he was at Milton, and he borrowed money in his own name to pay the soldiers. He married Sophia Roberts, daugh- ter of Shubel and Rose Roberts, and became the father of eleven children. Of these, be- sides Luther H., three are living, namely : Ambrose, who was a State legislative Repre- sentative in 1865; Plummer, of Haverhill, Mass. ; and Mary Ann, of Farmington.
Luther Wentworth attended the high school at Milton, and was a diligent and apt student at that institution. At the age of twenty-six years he started a grocery in Farmington, and subsequently carried it on for two years. At the end of that time he became a travelling salesman, in the interests of a company which manufactured novelty goods. In this capacity he acquired an extensive business for his em- ployers, visiting twenty-two different States of the Union, and many parts of Canada. On his travels he collected some rare bits of china, which he takes pride in displaying to his friends. At his palatial country residence his guests, who are often numerous, find in him a hospitable man and an original enter- tainer. In politics Mr. Wentworth is a Re- publican. He is greatly interested in affairs of public importance, and is well informed on the great social and political problems of the day. Through the columns of the daily press he has closely followed the progress of events in this country and abroad, and has formed definite views of his own on all the chief topics of the times.
Mr. Wentworth married Miss Flora Nelson, of Hardwick, Vt., daughter of Miles Nelson of that place. They have had two children, both of whom are now deceased. The Nelsons figured prominently as "Green Mountain Boys" in Revolutionary days; while the
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women of the family exhibited in a high de- gree the virtues of the best of their sex, and were famed not only for their skill in needle- work - a talent then more highly prized than now, when sewing machines are within the reach of all -- but were also noted for the rare cultivation of their minds, and the refinement of their character. Mrs. Wentworth, doubt- less, inherited these predominant characteris- tics, for in childhood her choice of playmates was confined to those who were polite and well- behaved. Before reaching the age of sixteen she began teaching, which occupation she fol- lowed continuously for sixteen years. While thus engaged in the thriving city of Aurora, Neb., she wrote descriptive letters of travel to home papers. A still better opportunity of exercising her talent in this direction was the occasion of a visit to relatives on the Pacific Coast. During the trip she made stops in Cheyenne, Denver, and the flourishing little temperance town of Greeley, where she visited a Teacher's Institute. She also visited both Mormon and Gentile schools in Salt Lake City, was present at a session of the legislat- ure in Sacramento, and spent six months in San Francisco. Her letters to the home papers during her stay on the coast, and while on the return trip by the Southern route, found ready acceptance and fair remuneration. After her marriage to Mr. Wentworth, she accom- panied him on his business trips, thereby ob- taining material for a series of letters, under the general title "Life in a Leather House," giving sketches of noted places and persons visited in different parts of New England.
Mr. and Mrs. Wentworth are regular attend- ants of the Congregational church, and active promoters of any movement designed to in- crease the usefulness of that society, or to promote the interests of the general public. Mr. Wentworth has lately been appointed
State Justice of the Peace, and is doing all in his power to rid the town of liquor dens. Mrs. Wentworth takes an active part in school work for the W. C. T. U. She belongs to the Congregational Club, the Aid Society, and other Christian and denominational bodies, in promotion of which she has held a series of "Sunlight Socials."
LBION NUTTER FOSS, one of the prosperous farmers of Barnstead, was born in Gilmanton, N.H., August 15, 1860, son of Samuel G. and Mary (Nutter) Foss. The grandfather, Samuel Foss, who was born in Strafford, July 23, 1783, was one of the pioneers of Lower Gilmanton, where he cleared a farm from the wilderness. He died December 17, 1859, aged seventy-six years. On February 26, 1800, he married Judith Hill, who was born October 15, 1785, and died June 9, 1855, aged nearly seventy years. He was quite prominent in public affairs, holding some of the town offices, and acting as a Justice of the Peace for a number of years. His children were: George P., Benjamin H., Samuel G., Betsey, William, Nancy, and Jeremiah.
Samuel G. Foss was a native of Gilmanton, born January 21, 1813. He was brought up upon his father's farm, but, his health becom- ing impaired, he was obliged to relinquish agricultural pursuits. Afterward, for several years, he drove a team through New Ilamp- shire and Vermont, and died in Gilmanton, August 15, 1865. Ilis wife was a daughter of James and Miriam (Jenkins) Nutter, the former of whom was born in Barnstead, Octo- ber 30, 1784. James Nutter was a son of Ebenezer Nutter, who was born October 10, 1756. Ebenezer came from Newington, N. H., to North Barnstead, when this section
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was densely wooded, and the settlers subsisted upon bear meat. He cleared a farm of sixty acres, and the title, which was signed by John Tasker, a Justice of the Peace, is still in the family's possession. He was one of the organ- izers and a Deacon of the first Congregational church in Barnstead, which was presided over by the Rev. Enos George, and he served in the War of 1812. He passed his last days upon the farm, and he died there, April 18, 1843. In 1782 he married Temperance Colbath, who was born February 1, 1759. Her children by him were: Polly, James, Eliza, Nathan, Doro- thy, Hannah, Hodgdon, William, Colbath, John, Nathaniel, George, and Joseph. James Nutter, maternal grandfather of Albion N. Foss, was a prosperous farmer and a lifelong resident of Barnstead. While he was industri- ous, he was exceedingly reserved, took no active part in politics, and lived to a good old age. His wife, Miriam, became the mother of four children, namely : Abbie J., who lived to be over seventy years old; James, who was a tailor by trade, and died in Portsmouth, N. H., while yet a young man; Nathan, who was a shoemaker, and died in Rochester, N.H .; and Mary, who became the wife of Samuel G. Foss. Mrs. Samuel G. Foss died October 1, 1886, aged seventy-three. She was the mother of one son, Albion N., the subject of this sketch.
Albion Nutter Foss on being left fatherless at the age of five years, was taken by his mother to her former home in Barnstead. Here she owned a farm which her son helped her to cultivate as soon as he was able. When old enough he took charge of the property, and in 1883 he enlarged it to one hundred and thirty acres by purchasing more land. He has also engaged in teaming to some extent, and was Postmaster of Barnstead for eight years, under the successive administrations of Cleve- I
land and Harrison. On May 12, 1883, he married Josie M. Clough, daughter of George F. Clough, and grand-daughter of Isaac Clough, who lived in Gilmanton. Mrs. Foss is the mother of three children; namely, Jennie May, Ethel Gertrude, and George Ger- rish, all of whom are attending school. Mr. Foss is a charter member of Crescent Lake Grange, No. 164, was its Master for one year, and is serving his second time. He has also served as Overseer and Steward. Mrs. Foss is also connected with the grange, and is a member of the Congregational church.
HESTER AYER TWOMBLEY, an extensive farmer and lumberman of Alton, was born in this town, Au-
gust 4, 1844, son of Benjamin and Mary J. (Ayer) Twombley. His great-grandparents resided in Farmington, N.H. His great- grandmother, whose maiden name was Sally Locke, married for her second husband Ben- jamin Dore, and lived to be ninety-two years old. Moses Twombley, the grandfather, was born in Farmington, and, in company with his brother-in-law, a Mr. Walker, was a pioneer of Alton. A progressive and industrious man, he established a comfortable home. One of his occupations was teaching singing- schools. He was active in the public and re- ligious affairs of the town, and one of the first members of the Free Baptist church in East Alton. A remarkable degree of vigor was shown by him in his extreme old age. On his eighty-first birthday he hoed three thousand, five hundred and ten hills of potatoes. He lived to be eighty-five years old. He married Sally Dore, a native of Shapleigh, Me., who lived eighty-nine years. She was the mother of ten children ; namely, Charlotte, Benjamin, James, Sabrina, Mary, Sally, Susan, Moses,
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Caroline, and Cynthia. Charlotte married John Varney, and resided in Alton; James, who was a carpenter and builder in Massachu- setts for a time, and then engaged in the mill business in Alton, married in Charlestown, Mass. ; Sabrina was the wife of Tobias Berry, a carpenter of Alton; Mary wedded Henry Gilman of this town, and moved to Maine; Sally married Charles Rollins, of Alton; Susan successively married Luther Jenness, of Alton, and Walter R. Blaisdell, of Bangor, Me .; Moses enlisted in Company A, Second Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers, and died of fever at Falmouth, Va., in February, 1863; Caroline died at the age of seventeen years; Cynthia married Cyrus Waugh, and re- sides in Levant, Penobscot County, Me.
Benjamin Twombley remained upon the home farm for some time after leaving school. He learned the stone mason's trade, and was employed in Boston, and afterward in the Charlestown Navy Yard on the dry dock. Subsequently, in company with Chester A. Blodgett, he took a contract for grading, fill- ing, and track-laying on the Lowell Railroad, with headquarters at Lowell, Mass. In 1842 he returned to the homestead, where he. re- sumed farming, and added more land to the farm. Being a constant reader, he was well informed on general topics. He was a man of high moral character, and adhered strictly to the principles of honesty. Being naturally reserved and thoughtful, he always carefully weighed his words before speaking. In poli- tics he was a Democrat. Benjamin Twombley lived to be sixty-two years old. His wife, Mary, whom he married in Lowell, Mass., was a daughter of Jonathan Ayer of that city. She became the mother of three children - Caroline Emily, Chester A., and Luther W. Caroline E. taught school for some time, and is now the wife of Aaron J. Varney of this
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