USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Rockingham County, New Hampshire > Part 26
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Gee Pickering, after receiving his education in the district school, went to Nantucket, Mass., and was there apprenticed to a carpen- ter. While here his remuneration was his board and forty dollars a year. He subse- quently worked at the trade in that town, in Fall River, and in Boston. He spent twelve years in Boston, after which, in 1847, he came to Portsmouth, and remained there two years. In the spring of 1849, attracted by the news that gold had been found in California, he em-
barked on the steamer "Crescent City " at New York, and went to San Francisco by the Isthmus of Panama route. The journey lasted about two months, and among the passengers was Mrs. John C. Fremont. Mr. Pickering went prospecting to the mines for six weeks ; then worked claims near San Francisco and San Diego, improving the time to the best of his ability until his return to the East in 1852. He then, in Boston, resumed work at his trade, which he followed for ten years. He again returned to Portsmouth for a short time. Going subsequently to Newington, he bought a farm, and lived upon it until 1877. In this year he moved to the farm which he now occu- pies. This property covers seventy acres. The other farm, containing forty acres, he still owns, and there carries on general farming. In politics he supports the Dem- ocratic party. He has acceptably filled the office of Town Clerk for two terms, and he also served in the capacity of legislative Rep- resentative.
On July 1, 1863, Mr. Pickering and Miss Sophia DeRochemont were united in mar- riage. They have one daughter, Helen, a graduate of the Portsmouth Iligh School and Wellesley College, who is rising to distinction as a teacher in the Manchester High School.
OODBURY SEAVEY, one of the oldest native residents of Rye, was born June 10, 1815, son of John L. and Sidney S. (Seavey) Seavey. His geneal- ogy is traced back to William Seavey, one of the original settlers of this part of the county, who came from England in 1623. Locating on territory now embraced in Rye, then a dense wilderness, he made a clearing, erected a log house, and subsequently reclaimed a farm from the surrounding land. Ilere he reared his family and made his home for the remainder of his life. From his son, William, Jr., who was born in the log cabin, sprung the branch of the Seavey family to which Woodbury Seavey belongs. Amos Seavey, the next in line of descent, was a farmer, and spent his life in Rye. He cleared a portion of the land, and built the house now occupied by his great- grandson, Woodbury Seavey. Of the children
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reared by him and his wife, their son William was the grandfather of Woodbury.
Grandfather Seavey, who was an industrious and thrifty farmer, served in the Revolutionary War, having been Lieutenant of a company stationed at Fort Constitution. He married Martha Trefethen, and of their nine children John L. was the youngest child. The grand- father was a man of prominence and influence in the community, which he faithfully served as Selectman for twenty consecutive years. Jolin L. Seavey, also a native of Rye, followed the occupation of farmer. During the War of 1812, not having been drawn in either of two drafts, he then enlisted as a volunteer. His wife, Sidney, who was born in Rye, daughter of Joseph and Martha (Patten) Seavey, reared him six children. These were: Woodbury, William, Sidney L., Anne Elizabeth, John W., and Caroline B. William died in 1824. Anne E. married Albeit Dow, of Rye; and they with their children have since passed away. Sidney L. married O. Jenness, of this town, and has become the mother of five chil- dren - John W., Rufus, Minerva, Annie, and Florence. John W. Seavey married Emily Seavey, and they died at about the same time. Caroline B. is the wife of William Mathes, and has one child, Willis.
Woodbury Seavey obtained his education in the public schools of his native town and a thorough knowledge of agriculture on the home farm. After having assisted his father on the homestead for many years, he removed to Portsmouth, where he was engaged in farming for some time. In November, 1888, Mr. Sca- vey returned to the homestead, and thereafter managed it successfully until a few months ago. The home of his childhood is the home of his old age. Ile is a stanch Republican in politics, having been identified with this party since its formation. Ile cast his first Presi- dential vote in 1836, for Martin Van Buren, the candidate of the Democrats of that time. He has served the town in the offices of Select - man, Treasurer, and Collector.
On February 21, 1839, Mr. Seavey married Martha A. Philbrick, daughter of Joseph and Martha B. (Knowles) Philbrick. Mrs. Seavey is of pioneer stock on both the paternal and maternal sides. Her father, a son of Jonathan
Philbrick, was one of the many descendants, scattered throughout the country, of the Phil- brick who came with Sir Richard Saltonstall to America, and located in Salem, Mass. Iler mother was a daughter of Nathan Knowles, a representative of a New England family whose founder settled in Rye prior to the Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Seavey have three children - Anginette, John L., and Sarah E. Anginette, who lives at Stratham, N. II., is the wife of Joseph G. Barnard, and has one son, Herbert S. John L., a resident of Greenland, this county, married Fanny N. Goodall, and is the father of three children - Sarah U., Helen L., and Gladys. Sarah E. married James L. Tarleton, and lives in Boston.
ILLIAM H. GLIDDEN, a prosper- ous farmer and stock raiser of Brent- wood township, was born June 13, 1834, at Tuftonboro, Carroll County, son of William B. and Drusilla (Pendexter) Glid- den. William B. Glidden was a native of this State, born October 3, 1810, in the town of Alton, Belknap County. He was bred to a farmer's life; and after some years spent in the place of his nativity he removed to Tuf- tonboro, where he continued at farming for a time. From there he went to Dover, where he remained until his death, January 10, 1842. He married Drusilla Pendexter, who was born in Dover, N. II. She survived him and was again married, becoming the wife of Ebenezer Morrison. She spent her last years in Tufton- boro, dying April 28, 1845. Of her union with Mr. Glidden two children were born - William Il. and Nathaniel B. The latter was married successively to Hannah F. Ilall and Emma Davis.
William H. Glidden was educated in the district schools. After the death of his father, which occurred when he was quite young, he made his home for six years with Eli Hurd, of Alton. He then worked for two years in the employ of Peter Stackpole, of Tufton- boro, after which he spent two years learning the shoemaker's trade in Dover. Thereafter he was employed in a cotton-mill until the breaking out of the late Civil War. In 1861 he enlisted in Troop F, First Battalion, New
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England Cavalry, under Captain John L. Thompson and Lieutenant Arnold Wyman. With his comrades he was sent South, the larger part of his time being spent on Virginia soil. While there he was an active participant in many of the more important engagements, and had some thrilling experiences. At one time his horse was shot from under him. He was discharged January 4, 1864, by reason of re-enlistment same date. At the expiration of his second term of enlistment he was finally discharged, being mustered out at Cloud's Mills, Va., July 15, 1865. For meritorious service he was promoted to the ranks of First Corporal and First Sergeant, and received the commis- sion of Second Lieutenant with his discharge. Returning then to the Granite State, he con- tinued his residence in Strafford County until November 5, 1865, when he went to Tufton- boro, and there engaged in agricultural pursuits for twelve years. Coming then to this county, he bought a farm in the town of Epping, where he lived for a year. Ilis next removal brought him to Brentwood township, where in 1879 he purchased the estate then known as the Kimball farm. This has been his residence since. The property contains one hundred acres of land, which he has managed most successfully, adding valuable improvements, and placing much of it in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Glidden carries on various branches of agriculture, and is much interested in stock raising, besides keeping a small dairy, from which he sells milk.
On December 10, 1855, Mr. Glidden was married to Mary E. Ilall, who was born Decem- ber 15, 1828, in Strafford County. She is a daughter of John Hall, a farmer who spent his life in that county. Mr. and Mrs. Glidden have an adopted son, Frank S., who married Annie G. Miles, and now lives at Brentwood Corner. In politics Mr. Glidden is an active member of the Republican party. Ile has served acceptably as Selectman for three years, as Road Agent for two years, and for the past four years has been one of the Board of Supervisors. He is a member of Sullivan Lodge, No. 19, A. F. & A. M., of Epping ; and of the Keenesboro Grange, No. 172, of Brentwood, in which he now holds the office of Master.
DWIN J. GODFREY, an enterprising contract shoe manufacturer of Candia Village and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in this town, September 8, 1839, son of Jason and Hannah (Dudley) Godfrey. The family descends from early pioneer ancestry. Mr. Godfrey's great-grand- father, Jonathan Godfrey, served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War; and his grand- father, Nathan Godfrey, was a sturdy farmer of Hampton, N. H., who died in that town at an advanced age.
Jason Godfrey, son of Nathan, was a native of Hampton, and was there reared to farm life. He was an energetic and industrious man, whose active period was spent in tilling the soil and as a tanner. He died February 3, 1887, aged seventy-three years. He served as a Captain in the old State militia, acted with the Republican party in politics during the latter years of his life, and in his relig- ious views was a Free Baptist. He married Hannah Dudley, who was born and reared in Brentwood, N. H., and she became the mother of eight children, five of whom are living, namely : Albert M., a resident of Candia; Mary S., wife of J. H. Foster, of this town; Alice M., wife of Frank Frisbee, of North Andover, Mass. ; Samuel D., who occupies the old homestead ; and Edwin J.
Edwin J. Godfrey, the subject of this sketch, acquired his education in the common and high schools of Candia; and after finishing his studies he was employed as a cutter for three years at Dudley's shoe factory in Candia. He subsequently followed shoemaking in Haver- hill, Stoneham, and Lynn, Mass. ; and in 1861 he enlisted as a private in Company B, Second Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers, under Captain Simeon G. Griffin and Colonel Gil- man Marston, of Exeter, for three years' ser- vice in the Civil War, and participated in the first battle at Bull Run. He contracted malaria, on account of which he was finally discharged from the army; and the disease so undermined his health as to prevent him from engaging in any laborious occupation. Upon his return from the service he resumed his connection with the shoe manufacturing busi- ness, carrying on a shop of his own in Candia, where he conducted a prosperous enterprise.
EDWIN J. GODFREY.
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lle is now producing misses' and children's spring-heeled shoes for Haverhill parties, turning out an average of twenty cases per week, which requires the services of seven hands.
On June 21, 1861, Mr. Godfrey was united in marriage with Harriet M. Dearborn, of East Candia, the ceremony occurring after his enlistment in the service, being performed by the Rev. E. M. Ilidden at the Congregational church, in the presence of as many of his fel- low-townsmen as could be accommodated within the edifice. Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey have had four children, two of whom are living, namely: Oscar M., who is now em- ployed as book-keeper for the Davis & Furber Machine Company of North Andover; and Harry E., who is residing at home.
In politics Mr. Godfrey supports the Repub- lican party. He has served as Town Clerk for one term, was Moderator for four years, and has refused other offices. Ile is a comrade of David B. Dudley Post, No. 79, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he was Commander for four years. In his religious views he is a Free Will Baptist.
DWIN G. EASTMAN, of Exeter, the present Attorney General of New Hampshire, was born in Sullivan County, November 22, 1847, son of William H. and Paulina (Winter) Eastman. The fam- ily was founded by Roger Eastman, who came from England in 1642. Benjamin Eastman, a native of Concord, N. II., and a tanner by trade, was great-grandfather of Edwin C. Eastman. His son, Benjamin, Jr., who was born in Fryeburg, Oxford County, Me., in 1788, learned the trade of tanner, but subse- quently became an itinerant Methodist preacher in Vermont and New Hampshire. Ile died in 1858, at the age of seventy years. His son, Charles G., a graduate of the University of Vermont and a man of decided literary ability, was the proprietor and publisher of the Montpelier (Vt.) Argus, and also an author of some note. Charles G. Eastman died in Montpelier in July, 1860. William H. Eastman, the father of Edwin G., and a native of Barnard, Vt., was born in December, 1815,
son of Benjamin and Mary (Gamage) Eastman. He was a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church, but retired from the minis- try, and resided for a time upon a farm in Grantham, Sullivan County. He married Paulina S. Winter; and they had one child, Edwin G. Mr. William Il. Eastman, now an octogenarian, is a resident of Lisbon, N. Il.
Edwin G. Eastman lived on the home farm until he was sent to Kimball Union Academy to be fitted for college. After being graduated from Dartmouth College in 1874, he read law with Judge Carpenter, now one of the judges of the New Hampshire Supreme Court in Bath. Soon after Mr. Eastman's admission to the bar he came to Exeter, this county, where he has been in practice ever since. For four - teen years he was associated with General Gil- man Marston, under the firm name of Marston & Eastman. Since 1890 he has been a mem- ber of the firm of Eastman, Young & O'Neil. Ile is a Republican in politics, and has served one term in each chamber of the State legis- lature. Mr. Eastman was County Solicitor for four years, and in 1892 he became Attorney General. Ile is also a Director in the Exeter Banking Company and a Trustee of the Five Cents Savings Bank.
Mr. Eastman has been twice married. The first marriage was contracted March 14, 1877, with Elma E. Dodge, of Newport, N. II. She died in October, 1880, at the age of twenty- eight, leaving a daughter, Helen M., who is now a student in Robinson Seminary. Five years later, on March 16, 1885, Mr. Eastman entered a second marriage, contracted with Morgie Follansby, of Exeter. They have two children -- Ella F. and Edwin Winter Eastman.
R EV. HENRY EMERSON HOVEY, Rector of St. John's Church at Ports- mouth, was born in Lowell, Mass., November 23, 1844. He prepared for college in the Lowell public schools, and entered Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., in 1862, graduating near the head of his class in 1866. Thereupon he at once entered the Gen- eral Theological Seminary in New York City, and was graduated from that institution in
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1869, being ordained Deacon in the same year. Shortly after his graduation he went abroad, spending much of his time at Oxford, England. He passed the period of his diaconate as Rec- tor of St. John's Church, Fort Hamilton, in New York Harbor. Shortly after his advance- ment to the priesthood, which took place in 1870, he was elected Rector of the Church of the Ascension, Fall River, Mass. He had charge of this large parish until 1872, when he accepted the rectorship of the then new and struggling parish of St. Barnabas, Brooklyn, N. Y. Here he remained ten years, declining all other offers. In 1883 he left St. Barnabas parish firmly established and a centre of power and influence in the Eighteenth Ward of that great city.
In 1880 Mr. Hovey took a vacation on the continent of Europe. In 1882 he was simul- taneously offered the rectorship of the Ameri- can Episcopal Church in Geneva, Switzerland, and that of St. John's and Christ Churches in Portsmouth. He chose the latter, and came here in February, 1883. His work here since is well known. In that time St. John's Church has been largely restored and beauti- fied; St. John's Guild, now so fruitful in good works, has been organized; Christ Church has been placed in a position to maintain itself and to dispense with Mr. Hovey's ser- vices in all but the honorary capacity of Rec- tor Emeritus; and the Cottage Hospital has been founded and partially endowed, Mr. Hovey being President of this corporation, as well as that of the Children's Home.
In 1884 the Rev. Mr. Hovey delivered the address of welcome on behalf of the citizens of Portsmouth to the Greely party coming from the Arctic regions, and in 1885 the civic ora- tion at the local commemoration of the death of General Grant. He was elected a Trustee of the Faith Home in this city in the last- mentioned year, a Trustee of St. Mary's Di- ocesan School at Concord in 1886, in 1887 a member of the Board of Instruction here, and in 1893 President of the New Hampshire So- ciety of the Sons of the Revolution.
With the multifarious duties connected with these various offices, with the care of a large parish and the management of two Sun- day- schools, with the calls made upon his time
by the Cottage Hospital and the Children's Home - which institutions, though wholly un- sectarian, naturally look to him for many of their services - and with a large amount of other work quite outside of his parochial rela- tions, the Rev. Mr. Hovey is probably as busy a man for seven days of the week as there is in our community.
A man of wide reading, of strong convic- tions, and of generous sympathies, an accurate scholar, an admirable organizer, a stanch churchman, and an affectionate rector, the people of St. John's may well be proud to follow his leadership. As a preacher Mr. Hovey is unusually simple, direct, and logical. His sermons, graphic, tender, earnest, are entirely free from sensationalism ; yet he holds the hearer's attention from the first word to the last. No doubt the hope expressed by many is the wish of the townspeople generally - that, so long as he lives, he may remain the incum- bent of the venerable parish of St. John's. In 1871 Mr. Hovey was married to a remote cousin, Miss Sarah Louise Folsom, daughter of the late Charles J. Folsom, of New York City.
ILBERT P. HOYT, Treasurer of the town of Newington, was born there on February 6, 1826, son of Hanson and Olive (Coleman) Hoyt. William Hoyt was the grandfather of Gilbert P. Hanson, a son of William, followed farming throughout his adult years. A Democrat in politics, he was prominent in the affairs of town and State. He served the town as Selectman for fifteen or twenty years, and he was elected Represent- ative to the State legislature five times. He married Olive, daughter of James and Nancy (Piper) Coleman. Their children were: Sarah, Gilbert P., Jackson, Charlotte F., an un- named child that died in infancy, Joseph S., James W., and Thomas B. Sarah, the widow of Colonel Isaac Frink, resides in this town. The father died many years ago, and the mother in 1890. Their remains were interred in the village cemetery.
Gilbert P. Hoyt attended district school, remaining with his parents until he was nine- teen years of age, when he began life for him-
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self. For six years thereafter he was engaged in farming. At the age of twenty-five he went to Great Falls, Strafford County, where he was employed in foundries for seven years. Mr. Iloyt then moved to the farm now occupied by his brother, Thomas Benton. In the centen- nial year he went to Greenland as superin- tendent of the town farm, which position he held for four years. He was then called to the responsible superintendency of the farm of St. Paul's Episcopal School in Concord. At the end of five years he retired to this farm of seventy acres, where he has since.carried on general farming. Mr. Hoyt is an active mem- ber of the grange. Beginning in 1865, he served as Representative for two years in the State legislature. Ile is at present Town Treasurer, which office he has held in all for about six years. In politics he is a Democrat.
In 1861 Mr. Hoyt and Miss Elizabeth La Gro joined hands and hearts at the altar. She was a native of Rochester, N. H. They had two children, namely: Addie J., the wife of Charles Mitchell, of Dover, N. H. ; and Chauncy B., who is a member of the firm of Hoyt & Dow of Portsmouth. After the mother's death the father married Mrs. Louisa (Norton) Fabyan.
Mr. Hoyt, who has a commendable amount of public spirit, has been ever ready to help all well-considered enterprises designed to serve the public.
B ANIEL MACDONALD, the popular janitor of the Portsmouth High School, was born March 17, 1830, in Inverness, Scotland. Ile emi- grated with his parents to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, when he was seven years old. Nine years later, at the age of sixteen, he com- menced a scafaring life on an English vessel in the merchant service. Landing at Boston some three months after, he has resided in the States ever since. For two seasons he was a Newburyport fisherman, after which he went to Seabrook, N. H., where he engaged in shoe- making for two years more. Going thence to the Isles of Shoals, he was employed as a boat- man by the Hon. Thomas B. Leighton. On September 16, 1852, he came to Portsmouth,
where he has been more or less engaged for thirty years in the calkers' gang of the mer- chant service, and also in the navy yard. En- listing in the United States Navy in 1862, Mr. Macdonald served on the "Ossipee," "Aga- wam, " and "Circassian." While aboard the "Agawam" on the St. James River, he shared in what is described as a "continuous engage- ment" for sixteen months, serving as first- class fireman. After he was discharged in April, 1865, he came home, and worked at in- tervals in the navy yard for a number of years. For over twelve years he was intrusted with the responsible position of bank watchman. He served on the police force from 1881 to 1885. He also served as watchman of the Portsmouth Shoe Factory for a number of months, at the end of which failing health compelled him to resign. On February 12, 1891, Mr. Macdonald was appointed janitor of the high school in this city, and has accept- ably filled that position to the present time. In politics he is an Independent with a lean- ing to the Republican party.
In 1854 Mr. Macdonald was united in mar- riage to a daughter of John P. and Olive Mar- den, of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Macdonald have had ten children, of whom a son and a daughter are living - Allen, the son, resides with his father ; and the daughter, who is mar- ried, lives in this city. Mr. Macdonald is a member of Osgood Lodge, No. 48, Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, and belongs to Strawberry Bank Encampment, having passed all the chairs. He has also affiliation with the Union Veterans' Union of Portsmouth. He attends the St. John's Episcopal Church, of which his wife is a member. Ilis faithful discharge of his duties in the various responsi- ble posts he has held has well earned the confidence placed in him.
ESSE P. MARSHALL, a retired car- riage manufacturer of Kingston, now living on his home farm, was born in this town, May 19, 1829, son of James and Mary ( Dudley) Marshall. Mr. Mar- shall's paternal grandparents, James and Lydia (Eaton) Marshall, removed from the vicinity of Boston, Mass., to Landaff, Grafton County,
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N. Il., at an early period of its settlement, and there reared their family and spent their re- maining days.
James Marshall was but a boy when he came to Rockingham County in search of em- ployment. An industrious and ambitious lad, with an aptitude for mechanical work, he learned the trades of blacksmith and carriage- maker. When a young man he established himself in the latter business, and was there- after successfully engaged in it until his death, April 7, 1858. His wife, who was born in Brentwood, this county, died in Kingston, November 30, 1874, having survived her hus- band many years. They had six children, as follows: Moses F., deceased, born June 27, 1813, who married Susan Bartlett, also de- ceased ; James F., born October 18, 1815, who married Mary M. George, both now de- ceased; Samuel C., born May 20, 1818, now living in the village of Kingston, who married Adeline Hurd; John P., born August 11, 1823, who married the late Caroline 'E. Clem- ent, of Claremont, N. H., and has been a pro- fessor in Tufts College, Medford, Mass., since it was founded; Mary S., born September 18, 1825, who died July 26, 1826; and Jesse P., the subject of this sketch.
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