USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Rockingham County, New Hampshire > Part 38
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Manchester ; and, like his father and brother, he affiliates with the Republican party in poli- tics.
HARLES E. KNIGHT, a representa- tive man of Salem, N. H., was born in Shelburne, February 3, 1831, son of Joseph and Sylvia S. (Ketchum) Knight. Josiah Knight, his grandfather, who was of English extraction, fought for five years under Washington and Lafayette in the Revo- lutionary War. Joseph Knight, who spent most of his life in Franklin and Clinton Counties of New York State, was a native of New England. His wife was born in New York.
Charles E. Knight was reared and educated at home until he was about fourteen years of age. He then joined a civil engineering corps on the Ogdensburg & Lake Champlain Rail- road, where he was employed for several years. He spent several years more working in ma- chine shops in various places, and went in 1854 to Manchester, N. H., where he worked in the Amoskeag Locomotive Works. When the Civil War broke out he was for a time em- ployed at the government navy yard at Phila- delphia. After a period of work there he re- turned to the Amoskeag Works, where he was for some time occupied in making rifles for army use. Subsequently he worked in the machine shop of the Stark Manufacturing Company of the same city, and later spent a few months in Milford, Mass., superintending for the New England Steam Engine Company. After this he went to Chicago and found work at the Columbian Iron Works. He was next engaged in a machine shop at Topeka, Kan., and then was employed for several years as an engineer by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé Railroad Company. In 1877 he came to Salem, where he settled on his present farm, preferring the quiet and pleasant life of a farmer to working all round the country at his old trade. He has a neat little place of thirty- five acres.
Mr. Knight married Diantha E. Flanders, daughter of Jacob Flanders. Mr. Knight, having had to earn his own living since he was a boy, is surely entitled to be called a self-
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made man. Besides being a Selectman of Salem, he was for some time Chairman of the Board. He is well known and liked through- out the whole town as a public-spirited, plain- dealing man. He is a stanch Republican in his political belief.
EORGE W. DICKEY, an enterpris- ing agriculturist and a representative and influential citizen of Derry, Rockingham County, N. II., was born in Salem, this county, July 21, 1834, his par- ents being David Woodburn and Mary (Davis) Dickey. He is a direct descendant of one of the early and respected families of the old town of Londonderry, N. H.
llis father, David Woodburn Dickey, was a son of Robert and Hannah (Woodburn) Dickey, born December 25, 1792. He ac- quired his elementary education in the com- mon schools, fitted for college at Pinkerton Academy, and was graduated at Dartmouth College in the class of 1818. He then studied law in the office of John Porter at Derry. A few years after establishing him- self in the legal profession he removed to Salem, in the southern part of his native county, where he became a prominent attorney. His worthy qualities won the respect and con- fidence of his fellow-citizens, whom he served for a number of years in the responsible ca- pacity of Town Clerk. He married Miss Mary Davis, who was born in Derry in 1812. Of the children with whom their union was fa- vored George W. alone survives. David Woodburn Dickey, A. M., died January 26, 1837, aged forty-four years. (See Chapman's "Sketches of Dartmouth College Alumni.") His wife has outlived him many years. She resides now at Milton, N. H., at the advanced age of eighty-four.
George W. Dickey, when he was only two years old, suffered the affliction of losing his father by death ; but his youthful and suscep- tible years were carefully guarded and nurt- ured, and he was privileged in receiving a course of education at Kimball Union Acad- emy, Meriden, N. II., and also at Pinkerton Academy, Derry. At the expiration of his period of schooling he engaged for several
years in school teaching, principally during the winter season. In 1857 Mr. Dickey fixed his residence in the town of Derry, settling on the farm on which he has lived and which he has successfully managed ever since. The estate comprises two hundred acres of excellent land, which Mr. Dickey regularly keeps under cultivation.
March 17, 1857, he was united in marriage with Mrs. Sarah A. Dickey, the widow of his cousin, the late David W. Dickey, who was named for his father, and a daughter of Robert M. Campbell, a former resident of Windham, N. H. By her first husband Mrs. Dickey had six children - Margaret A., Harrison G., Horace G., Robert C., Frank A., and Myron P. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. George W. Dickey, namely : George A., who is now the Principal of the South Berwick (Me.) Academy; Nellie S., who is a teacher in the public schools of Somerville, Mass. ; and Etta G., who also is engaged in teaching in the common schools of South Berwick, Me.
In politics he affiliated with the Republican party. Mr. Dickey has received at the hands of his fellow-citizens appointment to several public trusts. For two years he was a mem- ber of the Board of Selectmen of Derry, and for three terms he ably represented the town in the State legislature. During his period of service at Concord his son, George A. Dickey, who is now Professor Dickey of South Ber- wick, acted first as door-keeper in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and was subsequently promoted to the office of Assist- ant Clerk, and later was appointed to the posi- tion of Clerk of the House. For the long period of thirty-five years Mr. Dickey has held the office of Justice of the Peace. He is a charter member of the Nutfield Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, at East Derry. Mr. Dickey is in a real sense a self-made man, having acquired his present material posses- sions largely by dint of his own energies and personal enterprise and industry. He is an extensive reader, and aims to keep himself informed along the line of the important events and the leading questions of his time. He is public-spirited, and encourages any judicious project that tends to the development and expansion of the town and to the improve-
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ment and elevation of society. His personal qualities and his past relation to the commu- nity have won for him the esteem and confi- dence of all those who have the pleasure of his acquaintance.
OHN H. FELLOWS, who has recently become a resident of the city of Exeter, N.II., has from early manhood been intimately associated with the manu- facturing interests of Brentwood, his native town. He was born August 29, 1850, son of Stephen and Narcissa G. (Sinclair) Fellows, both of Brentwood.
Stephen Fellows was an extensive farmer and lumberman. He established the manu- facturing business now carried on jointly by his sons, Russell H. and John H., by his energetie and able efforts placing it on a pay- ing basis. He was twice married, and by his first wife, formerly Miss Sinclair, had five children, John H. being the youngest. A more extended sketeh of the parents will be found in connection with the sketch of Russell H. Fellows.
John H. Fellows remained beneath the pa- rental roof until his marriage at the age of twenty-one, when he moved on to a farm in the vicinity. For a quarter of a century he was actively engaged in company with his father in the mill business ; and since the death of the latter, June 21, 1895, he has had an equal interest in the box manufacturing busi- ness with his brother, Russell H. Fellows. On December 21, 1895, Mr. Fellows removed to the old Fellows farm, which his grandfather reclaimed from the wilderness more than a hundred years age, and on which his parents lived to the end of their days. This home- stead property of two hundred acres was well improved, much of the land being in a fine state of cultivation. After occupying the place a few months, Mr. Fellows sold it and removed to Exeter, where he is nowresiding. He still retains his interest in the box factory, in which he and his brother are carrying on an extensive business, giving employment to a large number of people, their plant being one of the largest in this part of the county.
In polities Mr. Fellows affiliates with the
Republican party, of which he is an active and influential member. He was Selectman of Brentwood, and was a Representative to the State legislature in 1893 and 1894. He belongs to Gideon Lodge, No. 84, A. F. & A. M., of Exeter, in which he holds a high and important offiee.
Mr. Fellows was married in June, 1871, to Miss Sarah Celia Norton, who was born in Northwood . Centre, Rockingham County. Her parents, Thomas B. and Mary J. (Ben- nett) Norton, are living on a farm in North- wood, which has been their home for many years, both now being quite aged, though ac- tive and hearty. Mrs. Sarah C. Fellows died in 1879, leaving one child, Narcissa G., who is now the wife of Edward Stockton, of North- wood. Mr. Fellows subsequently married Miss Ella M. Wilson, who was born and reared in Exeter, where both of her parents passed their last years. Of this union two children have been born - Willie, who died at an early age; and Ernest R.
TIS H. SLEEPER, of Exeter, a jeweller and a dealer in watches and gold and silver ornaments, was born in South Weare, N.H., October 4, 1865, son of Pike and Roxie (Lufkin) Sleeper. His father was a native of Francestown, N. H., born in February, 1820. Pike Sleeper spent his life in South Weare, engaged in success- ful farming. His marriage with Miss Roxie Lufkin took place in the year 1848. She was a daughter of Cyrus and Mary (Madison) Lufkin, of Acworth, Sullivan County. Their three children were: Almond L., who resides on the old farm in South Weare, the place on which his maternal grandfather settled many years ago; Ida E., now the wife of Perley E. Bartlett, of South Ware; and Otis H., the subject of this sketch. The father died in 1860, forty years of age; and the mother in Deeember, 1895, seventy-seven years of age. They are resting in the South Weare cemetery.
Otis H. Sleeper spent his boyhood on the farm, becoming familiar with agricultural labor from an early age. After attending the district school he studied for one term in the high school. At the age of sixteen years he
JOHN H. FELLOWS.
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went to Goffstown, N. H., where he served an apprenticeship to the jeweller's trade, under A. Lufkin, with whom he remained, in all, four years. He then embarked in business for himself at Northwood, N. H., beginning in a small way with fifty dollars borrowed capi- tal. The show-case, which gave ample. ac- commodation to his stock at that time, twenty inches wide, thirty inches long, and less than a foot in height, is used in his present estab- lishment as a little "catch-all." Eight years later, in May, 1884, he came to Exeter, where in the past twelve years he has built up a good business. He carries a very complete stock of general jewelry, watches, and clocks. His specialty is watches, in the sale of which he spends nearly six months every year on the road. In the special line he has a good trade in New Hampshire and Maine, chiefly among the lumber camps. As a leader for this market he carries the Rockford, Ill., watch in the different grades, and has perhaps bought more of these than any other retail dealer in the East. No doubt his success is to be at- tributed to personal qualities largely. He is a man of commanding figure, six feet four inches in height and weighing two hundred and forty pounds. Being genial and com- panionable, he makes himself a welcome visitor wherever he goes. At the same time he is active and wide-awake, and never slights details.
On May 20, 1883, Mr. Sleeper was united in marriage with Miss Emma C. Hobbs, of Deerfield, daughter of William B. and Caro- line (Moulton) Hobbs. Her father, who re- tired from his farm in Deerfield about nine years ago, is now living with her. Her mother died in December, 1891, fifty-eight years of age. A brother, William F., died in 1882, twenty-one years of age. Mrs. Sleeper for a number of years previous to her marriage was successfully engaged in teach- ing. She has borne her husband four sons, namely: William HI., now ten years of age; Almond L., five years old; Perley B., four years old: and Otis HI., Jr., one year old. Mr. Sleeper is a Republican, and so far has not been an aspirant to official honors. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The
family reside at 2 Front Street, in the time- old residence of the heirs of Thomas Marsh, formerly the property of Dr. Swett.
UGENE D. SANBORN, a prominent resident of Fremont, and the present Town Clerk, was born in this town, September 16, 1868, son of Alvah and Nancy (Page) Sanborn. He comes of good pioneer stock. The homestead property has descended to him from his great-grandfather, Daniel Sanborn, through his grandfather Moses. Alvah Sanborn spent his entire life on the homestead. He married Nancy Page on Sep- tember 6, 1842, and by her became the father of four children; namely, John Page, Susan E., Alden F., and Eugene D. Susan E. died when thirteen years old.
John Page Sanborn, the eldest son of Alvah Sanborn, after graduating from Dartmouth College in 1869, at once entered upon the profession of teaching. He was principal of the high school at Toledo, Ohio, for two years, afterward having charge of the Franklin School at Topsham, Me. In 1871 he resigned this last position to accept the editor's chair of the Daily News of Newport, R.I. He conducted the News until November, 1872, when he became editor and proprietor of the Newport Mercury, which under his able man- agement has become one of the leading jour- nals of the city. He is conspicuous in the politics and society of Newport. He was elected a Representative to the General As- sembly of Rhode Island in 1879, and re- elected in the three succeeding years. In 1 885 and 1886 he served with distinction as State Senator. In 1880 he was a delegate to the National Republican Convention, and in 1882 was a Commissioner on the Northern Pacific Railway. He was made a Mason in St. John's Lodge, No. I, of Newport, March 2, 1874, afterward becoming a charter member of St. Paul's Lodge, No. 14. In the latter lodge he was appointed First Senior Warden; and on June 25, 1878, he was elected Worthy Master. He was exalted September 27, 1874, in Newport Chapter, Royal Arch Masons : was Grand High Priest in 1876 and 1877: was made Knight Templar in Washington Com-
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mandery, No. 4, on January 19, 1876; and was elected Grand Senior Warden of the Grand Lodge of Rhode Island in 1883.
Eugene D. Sanborn remained with his par- ents, attending the public schools and assist- ing in the lighter duties of the farm, until fif- teen years old, when he was sent away for further instruction to a private school. He first spent a year at New Hampton, Belknap County. Then he went to Ashburnham, Mass., where he attended Cushing Academy for three years. Since then he has been en- gaged in agriculture. He is the owner of a highly improved farm of two hundred acres, left him by his uncle, the late Sherburn San- born. The latter was formerly one of the foremost members of the farming community of Fremont and one of the leaders of the Free Baptist church in the town. Mr. E. D. San- born has been very successful in his farming. His farm compares favorably with the best in the vicinity. He makes a specialty of dairy- ing, keeping twelve cows.
Mr. Sanborn was married December 12, 1893, to Miss Lucy May Currier, who was born in this township, July 19, 1873, a daugh- ter of P. R. and Laura A. (Hoyt) Currier. Mr. Sanborn uniformly supports the Republi- can party, of which he is an influential mem- ber. For the past five years he has rendered the town faithful and efficient service as Town Clerk. He is a member of the local grange and a Mason, belonging to Gideon Lodge, No. 84, of Kingston, N.H. Both he and his wife are regular attendants of the Free Baptist church.
ON. JOHN W. WHEELER, a pros- perous manufacturer of Salem, is a native of this town, born August 19, 1827, son of John A. and Mary (Stevens) Wheeler. The latter were born re- spectively in Salem and Boston, Mass. His grandfather, Richard Wheeler, who took part in the War of 1812, was the son of an early settler of this place; and his maternal grand- father was the son of a pioneer Methodist preacher of Salem. The Wheeler family are said to be of Scotch descent. Of John A. Wheeler's children the Hon. John W.
Wheeler and the Rev. A. M. Wheeler are the only survivors. The Rev. Mr. Wheeler, who in past years was a prominent member of the Vermont Methodist Episcopal Conference, now resides at Salem Depot, this county. Both the parents are likewise deceased.
After attending the district schools of Salem, John W. Wheeler was for a year a pupil in the Tilton (N.H.) Seminary. His boyhood and early manhood were spent on his father's farm. At the age of twenty-two he purchased the old woollen-mill of Bailey & Merrill, and engaged in the manufacture of frocking, which he continued successfully for several years. The brick mill, which he then erected, was afterward destroyed by fire, but was soon replaced by the present brick build- ing. To the manufacture of frocking, after a time, he added that of flannel and plain dress goods. When he first started, he was in company with James W. Bailey, forming the firm of Bailey & Wheeler; but at the end of a year the firm dissolved, and both went out of business. A short time after Mr. Wheeler formed a copartnership with George Austin, under the style of Austin & Wheeler. This firm had lasted several years when Mr. Austin withdrew, and Mr. Wheeler became sole pro- prietor. Beginning with limited resources, Mr. Wheeler by his untiring energy and per- severance has taken his place in the world as a successful business man, having won the esteem and confidence of those with whom he has dealings.
On December 27, 1849, Mr. Wheeler was united in marriage with Miss Phebe Dow, who was born in Windham, N. H., daughter of Richard Dow (deceased). They have had three children, namely: Minnie E., now de- ceased; William, who is his father's assistant in the mill; and Ethel M. Mr. Wheeler, who has gained considerable prominence in poli- tics, is a stanch supporter of Republicanism. He was Selectman of Salem for three terms. For four terms he was a Representative to the lower house of the New Hampshire legis- lature; and he served as State Senator from the Second District for two terms, there being at that time but twelve Senators in the leg- islature. During one term of two years he was a member of Governor Bell's Council.
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He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and a communicant of the Methodist Epis- copal church.
OHN AMAZEEN, of New Castle, who has held the commission of pilot for nearly twoscore years, was born in the town, April 1, 1815, son of William and Jane (Jones) Amazeen. The Amazeen family has been represented in this part of the county since Colonial days. Christopher Am- azeen, the paternal grandfather of John, was a native of New Castle, and resided there throughout his life. His principal occupation was that of fisherman, and he died at the ven- erable age of fourscore and ten. William Amazeen, also a native of this place, suc- ceeded his father in business, and for some years dealt largely in fish. Later in life he took to seafaring, and died when eighty-six years old. His wife, whose maiden name was Jane Jones, spent her life in this town, which was her birthplace. She bore him thirteen chil- dren ; namely, Sarah, William, Joseph, Rufus, John, Mary, Olive, Clarissa, Adeline, Nancy, Eliza Jane, Henry, and Frances. Of these Rufus, John, Henry, and Mary are now living.
John Amazeen was educated in the public schools of New Castle. At the age of seven- teen years he went to sea, shipping as a sailor. before the mast. With the lapse of time he rose from rank to rank until he was twenty-two years old, when he became master of a vessel. He followed the sea ten years longer, and then forsook it After this he had worked at shoe- making for several years, when, in 1857, he received a commission as pilot. This he still holds; and he is, presumably, the only com- missioned pilot now in New Castle. In poli- tics he was formerly a Whig, but became a stanch supporter of the Republican party upon its formation. He cast his first Presidential vote in 1836 for the Whig candidate. In 1877-78 he represented his town in the State legislature, and he was Collector of Taxes for thirteen consecutive years. He is one of the oldest members of the New Hampshire Lodge of Odd Fellows, having joined the order in 1845. In religious belief he is a consistent member of the Baptist church.
At the age of twenty years Mr. Amazeen married Miss Dorothy Neal, a daughter of George and Abigail Neal, of Rye, this county. They had twelve children, eight of whom are deceased. Four of these died within the short period of ten days. The survivors are : Ellen ; John, Jr. ; Lucy ; and Isaiah. John Amazeen, Jr., was a soldier in the late war, serving with the Fourth Maine Battery, which was at the front in many of the important engagements.
OHN W. YORK, an enterprising and progressive farmer of Kensington, was born on the farm he now occupies, September 29, 1850, son of Daniel G. and Betsey P. (Nudd) York. The Yorks have been natives of New Hampshire for several generations. Solomon York, grandfather of
John W., was born in Allenstown, Merrimack County, was a hard-working farmer, spent the greater part of his life in Deerfield, this State, and died in Brunswick, Me., at an advanced age. He supported the Democratic principles with his vote. Of his ten children seven at- tained maturity
Daniel G. York was born in Northwood, N. H., April 16, 1818, and grew to manhood in Deerfield. He was a carpenter and a com- petent farmer, and by following both in season he became very well-to-do. When a young man he went to Kensington, and resided for the rest of his life on the farm his wife brought to him when they were married. Ile was a Democrat, and represented the district in the State legislatures of 1864, 1868, and 1876. In religious belief a Baptist, he was a member of the Calvin Church. He was a man of sound judgment, kind disposition, charitable to all, envious of none. Frugal, honest, and industrious, he was respected at home and honored abroad. By his sudden death on November 20, 1881, the town lost a good citizen, and his family a wise counsellor, a devoted husband, and a kind and loving father. Mr. York was married in Kensing- ton, March 23, 1842, to Betsey P. Nudd, who was born March 23, 1819, on the farm now occupied by her son, John W. She is a daughter of John and Mary (Worthen) Nudd and a grand-daughter of Weare Nudd, the
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original owner of the farm. Her family, English in origin, is frequently mentioned in the History of Rockingham and Strafford Counties, which chronicles many interesting facts concerning its members. Weare Nudd was born at Red Oak Hill, Epping, this county, and settled in Kensington in 1780. Here by persevering labor continued for many years he reclaimed a good farm from the wilderness, established a comfortable home for himself and family, and died at the age of seventy-seven years. He was a minute-man in the Revolutionary days. His wife, Jemima, was seventy-four years of age when she passed away. John Nudd, Mrs. York's father, who was born on the Kensington farm, spent his adult life in the cultivation of its broad acres. Daniel G. York and his wife were the parents of two children, namely: Mary A., born September 29, 1848, who is the wife of Arthur Gooch, and has one daughter, Mary Alice; and John W., the subject of this sketch.
John W. York received a good education, attending the schools of his native town and Hampton and Kingston Academies. Since attaining his majority he has given his chief attention to husbandry, following the most improved methods. The greater part of his estate of two hundred and twenty-five acres is under cultivation. With its handsome resi- dence, good farm buildings, high-grade live stock, and choice dairy, it is one of the best farms in the county.
On June 15, 1871, Mr. York was married to Marcia, who was born in Hampton, March 4, 1854, daughter of Jonathan and Theodate (Hobbs) Godfrey. Eight children have blessed the union, namely: Grace G., the wife of Henry Tilton, of Dover, N. H. ; Frank N., who married Grace Atkinson, of Chelsea, Mass., and lives in Dover; Katie E., de- ceased; and Archie T., Mary F., Priscilla M., Daniel I., Marion M.,; all of whom live with their parents.
Mr. York is a Democrat. He was Town Treasurer two years, a member of the School Board three years, a member of the last Con- stitutional Convention, and in 1893 a Repre- sentative in the General Court. He is also a prominent member of the Patrons of Hus-
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