USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Rockingham County, New Hampshire > Part 15
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J® OIIN S. COLBY, a practical and pros- perous member of the agricultural com- munity of Rockingham County, New. Hampshire, is engaged in the prosecu- tion of his independent calling in the town
of Sandown, where he was born February 6, 1849. He is a son of the late Amos W. Colby, and the worthy representative of one of the earliest established families of this local- ity, tracing his ancestry back to the year 1672. His paternal grandfather, George Colby, was a lifelong resident of Sandown ; and John Sanborn, his grandfather on his mother's side, who was a soldier in the War of 1812, was very prominent in town affairs, and was a valued citizen.
Amos W. Colby lived in Sandown until after attaining his majority, but subsequently removed to Lowell, Mass., where he was en- gaged as a hack driver for a time, and later as a teamster. Returning from Lowell to Sandown, he carried on mixed husbandry until his death, in March, 1894. He was twice married, his first wife having been Mary M., daughter of John Sanborn, of this town, above mentioned. She died in August, 1854, hav- ing borne him four children, the following being their record: George Everett, their first-born, died in 1848; Cyrus Porter married Miss Colburn, of Milford, N.H., where he is engaged in farming; John S. is the special subject of this sketch; and George Everett married Miss Freeman, of Worcester, Mass., and is now a railway engineer in Salina, Kan. After the death of his first wife the father married Miss Morgan, of Lowell, Mass .; but of this union there were no children.
John S. Colby was educated in the common schools of Sandown, living with his grandpar- ents from the age of five years, when his mother died, until able to care for himself. In 1868 he began working as a laborer on the neighboring farms, remaining in Rockingham County until after his first marriage, when he went to Boston, Mass., in search of employ- ment. The following two years he was a fireman on the Boston & Albany Railroad; and he then removed to Worcester, Mass., continuing his connection with the same com- pany till 1875, when he came back to the scenes of his childhood, and here resumed the occupation to which he was reared. He pur- chased his present property, formerly known as the President Sanborn farm, containing two hundred acres of land. By dint of persever- ing energy and good management he has made
JOHN S. COLBY.
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this one of the most attractive and desirable estates in the locality, having added improve- ments of an excellent character, and re- modelled the buildings. In addition to carry- ing on general farming, in which he has met with signal success, Mr. Colby opens his spacious house to city boarders during the summer season, accommodating about twenty who wend their way thither from Boston and its surrounding towns. Socially, Mr. Colby is a member of the Grange Society of San- down. Politically, he is an carnest Republi- can, and, though not an office-seeker, has served as Road Agent and Tax Collector.
Mr. Colby has been twice married. On March 22, 1869, he married Miss Elizabeth Purington, who was born March 27, 1847, in the town of Fremont, this county. Her father, a lifelong resident of that town, where he was engaged as a shoemaker, married a Miss Moss, who now lives at South Danville. Mr. Colby's first wife died October 13, 1878, leaving two children - George W. and Fannie . Esther, the latter of whom died at the age of fourteen years. Mr. Colby and Miss Elvira Currier, a native of the town of Danville, a daughter of Captain David B. and the late Julia Ann (Hunkins) Currier, were married on April 7, 1880. Three children were the fruit of this union; namely, Florence B., Agnes Pearl, and Harold, who lived upon earth but a brief time. On May 1, 1895, death again invaded the home circle, taking away the wife and mother.
AMUEL D. FELLOWS, an expe- rienced farmer of Sandown, was born August 25, 1830. He is of pioneer ancestry, his great-grand- father, Samuel Fellows, a farmer, having been among the carliest settlers of this part of the county. Samuel's son, William Fellows, the grandfather of Samuel D., lived and died in Sandown. George W. Fellows, a native of Sandown, resided in this town all his life. He worked at the cooper's trade for many years, and was also prosperously engaged in farming. He first settled on the estate a mile distant to the south from the one now owned by his son, Samuel D., and lived there
until 1840. In that year he bought the pres- ent Fellows homestead, and here continued to till the soil and work at coopering until his demise, in 1892. Ile married Philena Col- lins, a native of Danville, this county, who bore him one child, Samuel D. The mother, who preceded her husband to the grave, died in 1889.
Samuel D. Fellows received a good educa- tion in the common schools of Sandown. On the home farm he was thoroughly instructed in the details of farming. He worked for his father until he married. Then he settled in North Danville, and thence to Kingston, where he lived two years. From there he re- moved to the parental homestead, on which he now resides. He has a finely improved farm, devoted to the raising of the grains and vege- tables common to this section of New Eng- land; and he is somewhat interested in rais- ing stock. He owns one hundred and fifty acres of land in the towns of Danville and Sandown. Mr. Fellows is a member of the local grange; and, politically, he is a steadfast Democrat. He is greatly respected as an upright citizen, and has served acceptably as Selectman of Sandown for eight terms, besides holding other minor offices.
Mr. Fellows has been twice married. His first wife, to whom he was united in 1850, was Maria F. (Hunkins) Fellows, daughter of Maynard and Rhoda (French) Hunkins, both lifelong residents of Sandown. She died in 1854, leaving no children. Subsequently Mr. Fellows married Miss Lucy A. Hoyt, who was born in Danville. Mr. and Mrs. Fellows have one child, Etta, now the wife of Simeon Clark, of the town of Kingston, this county. Mrs. Fellows is a consistent member of the Congregational church.
UCIAN EMERY SMITHI, at one time well known throughout the town of Brentwood as one of its most pros- perous farmers, was born on the family homestead, January 10, 1828, a son of Caleb and Sarah P'. Smith. Ilis father took possession of the land now comprising the farm when it was in a condition of wilderness, and cleared a large part of it. In his younger
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days Mr. Smith was engaged in the butchering business; but, succeeding to the parental es- tate after the death of his parents, he engaged in general farming, which he continued throughout the rest of his life. He was an enterprising farmer, a trustworthy man, and was ever held in high regard by his friends and neighbors. He died in April, 1891, at the age of sixty-three years.
Mr. Smith was married, November 25, 1858, in this township, to Miss Frances Feltch. She was born in Sutton, N. H., and died on the homestead in 1876. Four children were born of the union; namely, Josephine, Burton L., Milton Alonzo, and one that died in infancy. Josephine, the only daughter, is now the wife of H. P. Fuller, and lives in Haverhill, Mass. Milton A., a farmer, owning and occupying a portion of the old home farm, married Miss Maud Tucker, of Newton, this county.
Burton L. Smith, born July 2, 1863, ac- quired a practical education in the common schools. For the ensuing six years he was employed as clerk in a village store in Brent- wood. On the death of his father he returned to the homestead, which he and his brother own jointly. He has since been profitably engaged in general farming and dairying, sell- ing his cream in Fremont. He also keeps thirteen head of cattle of a good breed, and raises some stock. He was married, Novem- ber 5, 1889, to Nellie J. Wilbur, of Fremont township. Of their three children, one died in infancy. The others, Karl E. and Hollis WV., bright and active boys, are at home. In politics Burton L. Smith is an active Repub- lican, while in religion he is a valued member of the Baptist church.
EORGE H. MILLER, a prominent agriculturist of Epping, was born in Wolfboro, N. H., in 1856. His parents were Asa and Susan A. (Dearborn) Miller, both natives of the Granite State. The father was born in Milton, Strafford County, and lived there for thirty years, then going to Wakefield, and later to Wolfboro, where he resided until 1857. He then re- moved to Epping, where he passed the rest of his life. lle was a quiet man, who was de-
voted to his home and family. He died in 1883, having survived his wife but one year.
George H. Miller came with his parents to Epping when he was but a year old. His in- tellectual training was received in the schools of Epping and Durham, while he obtained a practical knowledge both of farming and me- chanics. He followed the trade of machinist for two years and a half, after which he be- came permanently identified with agricultural interests, making a specialty of dairying and the. handling of live stock. He takes great pride in keeping everything up to date; and his farm, which is near Epping, is one of the most inviting in Rockingham County. Polit- ically, he is a Democrat, and never shirks the responsibilities of office when his services are required by his party. He has capably served the town as Supervisor and Selectman. Fraternally, Mr. Miller is a member of the Knights of Pythias. He was married in 1882 to Emma J. Fogg, a daughter of V. B. Fogg, ·who was an influential citizen of this town, and has two children - Russell E. and G. Howard. Mr. Miller is a progressive man, well known and widely respected.
RS. MARY E. WARNER, Post- mistress at Kensington and pro- prietor of one of the neatest and most successful general stores in the locality, is a daughter of John T. and Mary E. (Moulton) Blake. The Blake family has been well and favorably known in this part of the State for many years. John T. Blake was born in Kensington, April 17, 1806. A shoemaker by trade, he was engaged for many years in the manufacture of boots and shoes in Kensington, displaying much business ability, and successfully managing a store until 1850. He cast his first vote with the Whigs, but in his maturer manhood his opinions underwent a change that. led him to join the Democratic party. He was Selectman of the town for a number of terms, Justice of the Peace for several years, and ably represented the dis- trict in the legislature. A man of more than ordinary intelligence, well informed on topics of current interest, he won credit for himself, and reflected credit on his constituents. In
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religious belief he was a Universalist. He died September 7, 1883. On February 1, 1829, he was married to Mary E. Moulton, a native of Gilmanton, N. H., born October 3, 1806. Mrs. Blake was a member of the Con- gregational church. She died April 10, 1882. Of their nine children, John P. died at the age of thirty-three: George, at the age of sixty- two; and Henry C. and Augusta, in infancy. Those living to-day are Thomas H., Mary E. (Mrs. Warner), Sarah F. (Mrs. Colby), Henry T., and Maria P. (Mrs. Sawyer).
Mrs. Mary E. Warner was born and reared in Kensington. On February 8, 1872, she was married to William Warner, a native of Newburyport, Mass., born April 10, 1827. He was an industrious man of sterling charac- ter, who looked for little leisure, and followed at different times different lines of business. He died in Newburyport, September 6, 1881, leaving one child, Esther B., who was born December 9, 1872. She is now living with her mother in Kensington. Mrs. Warner has supported herself and daughter since her husband's death, displaying much ability as a business woman. Her store is stocked with a complete general line of groceries, all reli- able goods at reasonable prices. She has now an established trade that is yearly increasing. In 1894 she was appointed by President Cleve- land Postmistress of Kensington, and has sat- isfactorily filled that office up to the present time. She is highly esteemed in the town, her ability and character winning the respect of all who know her. Mrs. Warren is a mem- ber of the Congregational church.
HARLES H. SMITH is an enterpris- ing and progressive agriculturist of the township of East Kingston, N. I.I. He was born on the old Smith homestead he now owns and occupies, September 3, 1842, son of George D. and Almira (Webster) Smith. His grandfather was a resident of Brentwood, this county, where he followed the occupation of farmer.
George Smith, who was born and bred in the town of Brentwood, remained at home, helping on the farm, until he attained his majority. He came then to East Kingston,
and learned the carpenter's trade. Subse- quently he worked as a carpenter and builder in Lynn, Mass., until 1836, when he returned to East Kingston. Shortly after he built the buildings now occupied by his son, Charles H. He also purchased land, and there carried on farming in addition to working at his trade until his death, which occurred February 15, 1889. He married Almira Webster, a native of East Kingston, and became the father of five children, as follows: G. Dennis, born February 8, 1835, who married Lucina Thomas, of Vermont, and is now living at Amesbury, Mass. ; Warren W., born January 20, 1837, who died April 4, 1838; Warren W. (sccond), born September 10, 1839, who died December 27, 1881, leaving his widow, whose maiden name was Julia C. Magoon, now a resident of Haverhill, Mass. ; Charles H., the subject of this sketch; and Almira J., born April 13, 1846, who now lives with her brother Charles on the homestead. The mother, who survived her husband, dicd at a venerable age, March 10, 1895.
Charles H. Smith has spent his lifetime on the homestead. The place is pleasantly situ- ated in the western part of the town. It con- tains about ninety acres of land, finely im- proved by his father. Mr. Smith raises hay, corn, and potatoes, has a fine dairy, from which he turns out excellent butter, and car- ries on an extensive butchering business, as- sisted by his son, who runs a meat wagon in East Kingston, Kingston, and Brentwood townships. Mr. Smith is a prominent mem- ber of the Republican party, and has served his town in various capacities, including that of Selectman and Collector. He has filled the latter office for the past eighteen years. HIc is a Mason, belonging to Gideon Lodge, No. 84, of Kingston Village; and he is a member and an officer of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Smith was married February 8, 1871, to Miss Betsey A. Currier, who was born in this township, May 12, 1845, daughter of Jeremiah and Sarah T. (Smith) Currier, both now deceased. Her father was a carpenter by trade, and well known throughout this vicinity as a man of integrity. Mr. Smith's family numbered four children, namely : George H.,
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born September 4, 1872, who lives and works with his father; Ellen A. and Annie S., twins, born June 28, 1875, who died respec- tively on September 17 and 22 of the same year ; and Nellie A., born December 13, 1876, who lives at Wadley's Falls, N. HI., the wife of Frank P. Kenerson, a shoemaker in that place.
ILLIAM H. NUTE, M.D., a popu- lar physician of Exeter, N. H., was born in Farmington, this State, May 8, 1858. He is the only son of Charles W. and Mary L. (Richardson) Nute. His grandparents, Israel and Hannah (Twombly) Nute, belonged to Milton, N.H. Israel, who was a well-to-do farmer, died in middle life. His wife survived him over a quarter of a cen- tury, dying in Saginaw, Mich. They reared four sons and two daughters, all of whom but one, Charles W., are yet living.
Charles W. Nute was born in Lincoln, Me., in December, 1833. One of the Maine men who responded to President Lincoln's call, he was a Major in the First Maine Heavy Artillery, and died on the battlefield before Petersburg in 1864. His wife, to whom he was united in 1856 or 1857, was a daughter of Lemuel Richardson, of Farmington, N.H. A merciful Providence spared her the grief which her husband's terrible death must have caused, for she dicd nine months previous to that event. At the time of her death she was at Alexandria, D.C. The remains of husband and wife are interred at Farmington.
William H. Nutc, M.D., was six years of age when his parents were taken away. From that time until he attained his majority his uncle, George W. Colomy, was his guardian, and had charge of the property left him by his father, together with the pension paid by the government. He attended the common schools of Farmington, N. H., and the New Hampton Institute, entered Bowdoin at the age of eigh- teen, and graduated from the Medical Depart- ment in June, 1881. His medical training was perfected by two years at Bellevue Hospital, New York, the great finishing school for American physicians. He began to practise at North Barnstead, N. H., where he remained
about a year. The eight years following he was at Farmington. In 1890 hc located in Exeter, where he now has a steadily increasing practice. His good sense and skill in pro- fessional matters have won the respect of the people, and his genial disposition make him the centre of a large circle of friends.
Dr. Nute was married December 22, 1892, to Lucy E., daughter of Henry E. and Lavinia (Davis) Read, all of Exeter. In politics Dr. Nute favors the Republican side. A strong believer in the good accomplished by brother- hoods and beneficiary societies, he belongs to a number, including the Masonic Order, in which he has passed the thirty-second degree, all the chairs in the Blue Lodge, and is Past District Deputy Grand Master; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all the chairs ; and the Improved Order of Red Men, in which he is Past Great Sachem. He has a pleasant home at No. 1 Front Street.
BENEZER GOVE, who, after spending many years in the Western interior, is passing the sunset of his days in North Hampton, N. H., where the health-giv- ing air is scented with the breath of the sca, was born in Tilton, N.H., February 17, 1814. His parents were Ebenezer and Hannah (Haines) Gove. The first of his family in this country came from London, and settled in the neighborhood of Boston, Mass. He brought with him two sons, John and Edward, and a daughter. John Govc, it is said, set- tled on the Connecticut River, in the western part of Massachusetts; while Edward located in Seabrook, N. H., founding the New Hamp- shire branch of the family.
The subject of this sketch is the fourth in direct line to bear the name of Ebenezer. His great-grandfather and grandfather were both born in Seabrook. His grandfather, who was a tailor by trade, won the military title of Major and signed the New Hampshire Test of Freedom at the time of the Revolution. Ile passed his last days in Bradford, Vt., where he died at the home of a daughter. Grand- father Gove married Susanna Swain, and lived for a number of years on the Swain farm.
EBENEZER GOVE.
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His wife was one of the patriotic women who aided the Revolutionary cause while attending faithfully to manifold household duties; and many a night she strained her eyes by the light of a pitch-pine knot, sewing clothes for the ill-equipped Continental soldiers. Eben- ezer, second, and Susanna S. Gove had nine children - Jonathan, David, Susan, Sally, Miriam, Nancy, Dorothy, Ebenezer (third), and Richard.
Ebenezer Gove, third, was reared like most of the New England country boys of his day, attending the district school and helping about the farm. He was engaged in agricult- ural pursuits up to the time of his death, which occurred when he was forty-three years old. Five children mourned his loss - Page P., Reuben, Luther C., John C., and George S. - Ebenezer the youngest of the name, being born some time after the sad event.
Ebenezer Gove, who is the only survivor of his family, obtained his education in the com- mon schools of Sanbornton, N. H., an academy near his home, and the academy at Boscawen Plain, where he spent one term. He learned to make brass clocks and scales, and in 1835 he went to what was then the Far West, travelling with a horse and buggy, and making scales on the way. The latter part of his journey he made by canal, making Cleveland, Ohio, his terminus. Settling near Cleveland, he remained there twenty-five years, manu- facturing platform scales and managing a farm of over two hundred acres, conducting a dairy of forty cows. He eventually sold his farm, and moved to Missouri; and in 1874 he returned East, settling in North Hampton.
Mr. Gove's first wife, who was Rebecca C. Cate, of Loudon, N. H., died in Solon, Chio, in 1858. She was the mother of two children - Page M., born April 20, 1842, who en- listed in 1862 in Company D, One Hundred and Third Ohio Infantry, and died of typhoid pneumonia in a military hospital, when only twenty years of age: and Hannah E., who lived less than two years. Mr. Gove was again married in 1860, Miranda E. Fuller, of Concord, N.II., becoming his wife; and the present Mrs. Gove, who is his third wife, was Miss Abbie Philbrook, of North Hampton.
Mr. Gove first appeared at the polls as a
Whig, and the first Presidential canvass in which he took an active part was that of 1836. He has been a Republican since the formation of the party. While a resident of Solon town- ship, Ohio, he was elected Town Trustee several times, efficiently filled the office of Town Clerk, and was at one time County Assessor. He has been a member of the Con- gregational church over sixty years, since 1834.
J OSEPH PINKHAM, a prominent Di- rector of the New Hampshire Trust Company, an ex-Representative, and a well-known inventor, was born in New Market on February 26, 1827. "He is an American of Americans, tracing his ances- try back to the first white settlers of the coun- try, in the paternal line to Richard Pinkham, of Dover Point, the grandmothers of which include the Layton, Tebbetts, Otis, Youngs, and other old and distinguished families. On the maternal side he traces to George Smith, the first Register of Deeds in the State; to John Hill, the Hon. John Hall, the Hon. Peter Coffin, and the first Edward Hilton, of Dover and Exeter; to the Moodys of Ipswich and Newbury; the Wilsons and Dudleys of Exeter and Boston, and the first two governors of Massachusetts - Winthrop and Dudley."
His father having died at the early age of twenty-eight, when young Pinkham was but five years old, he, at the age of eleven, began to earn his own living. Joseph Pinkham, with the exception of two or three years when he boarded in that part of Durham that has since been annexed to New Market, has always been a resident of said New Market. His common-school education was supplemented by attendance at private schools.
In April, 1846, a little more than nineteen years of age, he left the home farm, going to Salem, Mass., to work in a machine shop; but, the times being very dull, a few months thereafter he again found employment upon a farm. In May, 1847, he entered the store of Colonel James B. Creighton, being em- ployed by him and his successor, Z. Dow Creighton, until the latter sold out in March, 1852. He was afterward re-engaged by Mr.
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Creighton off and on, as he was in or out of business for several years more. During the next two years he assisted as railroad station agent in New Market as his services were needed, and also assisted in the post-office, officiating as Postmaster during the sickness of James M. Chapman, Esq., and after his death until the appointment of a new official, who was in touch with the administration then in office.
Mr. Pinkham learned the daguerreotype business while yet a young man, and a little later the ambrotype process, which he followed more or less for about five years. He also started the custom tailoring business and man- ufacture of ready-made clothing for large wholesale dealers in Boston, Mass. ; and in 1860, having bought a store and fitted it up in good style, he purchased a stock of grocer- ies, ready-made clothing, dry goods, carpeting, etc., following this business successfully until his retirement in the fall of 1868. His
own private interests and those of his friends, however, have assumed such proportions that he still leads a very busy life. Mr. Pinkham owns several houses, a dozen or more desirable house lots, and a first-class store lot, all lo- cated in the very centre of the village where he lives. He has manufacturing interests in Concord, banking interests in Manchester, and manufacturing and other industrial interests in Georgia and Alabama, owns a three-hun- dred-acre farm in Virginia, near Washington, D.C., a good farm in Portsmouth, N. H., and other real estate in New Market. He also owns stock in the Pennsylvania coal mines and interests in railroads from the Atlantic to the Pacific as well as from the British Prov- inces in old Mexico.
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