USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Rockingham County, New Hampshire > Part 40
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Arthur M. Chase, who is now the only surviving member of his father's family, was educated in the schools of his native town. When the time came for him to choose his vo- cation he decided on the pursuit of agricult-
ure; and the greater part of his life has been passed on the home farm, of which he is now owner. He spent ten years in Nottingham, this State, and was a soldier in the war for the Union for a while in the South. Enlisting in 1862, he was enrolled as a member of Com- pany D, Fifteenth Regiment of New Hamp- shire Volunteers, in which he served eleven months, being in the New Orleans expedition of 1862, and taking part in the siege and capture of Port Hudson. As a farmer he has been very successful, and he occupies a prom- inent place in the community.
Mr. Chase and Sarah A. Stevens, daughter of Robert Stevens, of Nottingham, were mar- ried in 1860, and seven children have been born to him, namely: Abbie R., who died aged ten months; Stephen R., who married Etta Corson, and has two children - Harry L. and Arthur; Roscoe S., who married Celia Ham, of Lowell, Mass .; Andrew P., who was a brakeman on the Massachusetts Central Railroad, and was killed December 23, 1891, at the age of twenty-two, at Jefferson Mills, by falling between the cars; Lena S., who died at the age of twenty-one; Etta S .; and Arthur F.
Mr. Chase votes the Republican ticket. While in Nottingham he served as Selectman three years and Town Treasurer one year ; and in Deerfield he has been Selectman one year, was Postmaster under Harrison's admin- istration, is now serving his seventh succes- sive term as Town Treasurer, and has been Justice of the Peace upward of fifteen years. He is Commander of Jere E. Chadwick Post, No. 70, Grand Army of the Republic, and belongs to Union Lodge, No. 32, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Silver Lake, Re- bekah Lodge, No. 50.
From Aquila Chase, the immigrant ancestor afore mentioned, to and including Harry L., grandson of Mr. Arthur M. Chase, the follow- ing is the direct line of descendants : --
Aquila Chase, born in England, came to Hampton, 1630 to 1640; Thomas Chase, born July 25, 1654; Nathan Chase, born in 1704; Stephen Chase, born July 5, 1750; William S. Chase, born February 12, 1778; Stephen Chase, born January 21, 1807; Arthur M. Chase, born September 13, 1839; Stephen R.
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Chase, born April 17, 1865 ; Harry L. Chase, born June 5, 1885.
J OSEPH R. CLARK, a prosperous agri- culturist and a prominent and esteemed citizen of Derry, N.H., was born in Beverly, Mass., November 2, 1838, being a son of Reed P. and Elizabeth (Per- kins) Clark.
He is a representative of an old and es- teemed family of the historic town of London- derry, N. H., of which Derry was formerly a part. His great-grandfather, William Clark, was of Scotch-Irish parentage, being a son of Robert Clark, who came from the north of Ire- land and settled in Londonderry, N.H., on the English Range, north-west of Beaver Pond, in 1725. William Clark married in 1764 Ann . Wallace, daughter of John and Annis (Barnett) Wallace, who were the first couple married in Londonderry, May 18, 1721. William Clark and his wife in 1766 settled in New Boston, Hillsborough County, as we learn from the history of that town. Their son Ninian, who was a native of New Boston, removed when a young man to Han- cock in the same county; and he there made his home. His second wife, Sally Warner before marriage, was a descendant of William Warner, a native of England, who settled in Ipswich, Mass., in 1637.
Reed Page Clark, son of Ninian and Sally (Warner) Clark, remained at the paternal home in Hancock until he attained his major- ity. After spending some time in Derry and in other places, engaged mostly in farming, he purchased in 1839 a farm in Londonderry, where, with his wife and family, he took up his abode. He there carried on general agri- cultural pursuits until his decease. He was among the foremost men in Londonderry, and he enjoyed the cordial esteem and confidence of all his fellow-citizens. In response to their invitation he served them in prominent positions of public trust, being for several years on the Board of Selectmen, and for a number of terms representing his town in the New Hampshire State legislature. For two ycars he also officiated as a member of the Governor's Council, and at the beginning of
the Civil War he filled temporarily the office of Adjutant-general of New Hampshire.
Reed l'. Clark married Elizabeth Perkins, who was a native of Essex, Mass. Three of their children still survive, namely: Joseph R .; William, a sketch of whom appears in this volume; and Marianna P., who is now the wife of W. H. Seaman, of Washington, D. C., where he is engaged in the Patent Office. The Hon. Reed P. Clark departed this life in 1882, and in his death the town of London- derry lost one of its most widely known and highly respected citizens. He was in a large sense a self-made man-all that he became, the property that he succeeded in accumulating, and the efficient public service that he ren- dered being much the result of his own vigor and enterprise, his industry and his practical wisdom. His worthy qualities were quite generally recognized; and he became promi- nent, not only in his own town, but also throughout the county.
Joseph R. Clark grew to manhood on the paternal estate in Londonderry, and from his youth onward he engaged in general hus- bandry. He received his rudimentary educa- tion in the common schools of his adopted town, and later enjoyed the privilege of an at- tendance at Pinkerton Academy, Derry, and also at Henniker Academy in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. During his earlier manhood he engaged in school teaching for several terms in the winter season. He set- tled on his present farm in 1862, and he has ever since been successfully engaged in agri- culture. His property is situated in Derry, and comprises one hundred and seventy acres of excellent land.
In 1862 Mr. Clark was married to Miss Emily A. Chase, a native of Hillsborough County and a daughter of the late Otis Chase, of Weare in that county. Their union has been blessed in the birth of eight children, all but one of whom are still spared to them. They are as follows: Otis R .; Edna A., a teacher in the high school of Washington, D.C. ; Warren D .; Joseph R., who is now de- ceased; Harry W. ; Augustus R .; James P. : and Robert S.
Mr. Clark is identified with the Republican party. For many years he has maintained an
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active participation in local politics, and he has been elected by his fellow-citizens to several important offices. For a number of terms he has constituted one member of the Board of Selectmen of Derry, and for one term of three years he has officiated as County Commissioner. He has likewise enjoyed the distinction of representing his town in the State legislature. Socially, Mr. Clark frater- nizes with the order of Masons, being a mem- ber of St. Mark's Lodge, A. F. & A. M., at Derry. Mr. Clark is public-spirited and a representative citizen. He is widely and favorably known throughout his vicinity, and is prominent in both the civic and social life. What he is and has is largely due to his own wisely directed energies and to his thrift and progressiveness, and he lives in the enjoyment of the confidence and respect of the entire social and business community.
REEN CLARK FOWLER, of New- fields, N.H., who was in the employ of the Concord & Portsmouth Rail- road over twenty-three years, and is now liv- ing retired at his home in this village, was born in the town of New Market, Rockingham County, February 27, 1823, son of John Cutts and Mary W. (Nutter) Fowler. He comes of an old and honorable family of Norman origin, which has produced a number of distinguished men in England and America.
Richard Fowler, of Foxby, county of Bucks, England, who was in the holy wars in P'ales- tine, was the first of a family that flourished over five hundred years ago in Buckingham - shire and other parts of England. One of his descendants, Sir William Fowler, of the county of Oxford, was knighted by Edward IV., and was created Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He was a member of Parlia- ment in 1467. He died November 3, 1477, leaving a will, directing that St. Rumbold's shrine be rebuilt; and in the aisle of the chapel Sir William Fowler and his wife Joan were buried. llis eldest son, Sir Richard Fowler, owned a large estate. Edward, the son and heir of Sir Richard, entertained Catharine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII., in September, 1513; and at his home
she received the joyful news of the defeat of the Scottish army at Flodden Field. Many other members of the family were favored by the royalty of carly England. Froude, in his "History of England," mentions one John Fowler, who was a member of the household of King Edward VI., and whose influence was such that he was employed by Lord Seymour to secure the royal assent to his contemplated marriage with the princess, afterward Quecn Elizabeth, and subsequently the royal approval of his already secretly accomplished marriage with Catharine Parr, the widow of llenry VIII.
Mr. Green Clark Fowler represents the eighth generation of his family in this coun- try. The immigrant progenitor was Philip Fowler, said to have been born in Marlbor- ough, England, about 1590, who came to America in 1634, settling in the town of Ips- wich, Essex County, Mass., where he re- ceived a grant of land that is still owned by his descendants. He died June 24, 1679; and his wife, Mary Fowler, passed away November 5, 1694. From him the line is traced through Joseph and two Philips to Philip, the fourth of the name, who was the first to settle in Rock- ingham County, New Hampshire. This Philip Fowler was born in Ipswich, June 21, 1719, and was married to Sarah Shatwell in November, 1760. His son, Philip, fifth, the grandfather of Green Clark Fowler, was born in New Market, N. H., May 25, 1764. He was a hard-working farmer, and hardly lived long enough to reap the reward of his toil. When a young man he was saved from death by drowning : but the shock and the strain to his system weakened him permanently, event- ually causing his death, which occurred No- vember 6, 1807. Philip Fowler was married February 25, 1790, to Hannah Cutts, of Bux- ton, Me., who died November 9, 1859.
John Cutts Fowler, son of Philip and Han- nah (Cutts) Fowler, was born in New Market, Rockingham County, N. H., October 3, 1794. He, too, was an industrious farmer, and was very successful in his chosen vocation. In politics he was first a Democrat, then an anti- slavery man, and last a Republican, and in re- ligion an adherent of the Methodist Episcopal church. He died May 3, 1869. Mr. John
GREEN C. FOWLER.
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tion with the Odd Fellows, the Red Men of Manchester, and the Patrons' of Husbandry in Londonderry. He is a self-made man of more than ordinary ability, and the respect he has gained in the community is amply justified.
OHN FRANKLIN MAGRAW, of Portsmouth, Deputy Collector of Cus- toms and one of the most popular men of the town, was born here, July 26, 1855, son of John W. and Jane A. (White) Magraw. His grandfather, Pierce Magraw, was a native of Newfoundland. He married Sophia Conrad, of Nova Scotia; and they reared a family, and lived in comfortable cir- cumstances.
John W. Magraw, son of Pierce, was born in Port Medway, N.S. In his early manhood he located in New Castle, N. H., and was a master of fishing-vessels. Subsequently he came to Portsmouth, and served efficiently for many years as messenger of the navy yard. His wife, who was a daughter of Nathaniel White, of New Castle, which is in Rocking- ham County, was a descendant in the sixth generation, through her mother, of Renald Fernald, one of the first settlers of Ports- mouth. Her father, Nathaniel White, was engaged in the fishing industry all his life- time, and was Collector of Taxes at New Castle for a number of years. Mr. and Mrs. John W. Magraw were the parents of eight children, of whom five are living; namely, Emma J. W., John Franklin, James M., Annie F., and Gertrude M. Emma J. W. Magraw is a teacher of ability, being at pres- ent engaged at the high school of this city. She also fills the office of Trustee of the Portsmouth Public Library.
John Franklin Magraw was educated in the Portsmouth public schools. Having com- pleted his course of study, he entered the office of the Portsmouth Journal, then con- ducted by Charles W. Brewster & Son, and learned the printer's trade. In time he be- came foreman of the office. His connection with the Journal lasted six years, after which period he worked in several offices, both in Portsmouth and Boston. He then was the
superintendent of the Times office for some years.
An earnest Democrat, Mr. Magraw has al- ways taken an active part in political contests. He was a most worthy Representative of Ports- mouth in the State legislature of 1885 and 1886. He served on the Board of Aldermen from 1885 to 1887, and was County Commis- sioner from 1887 to 1893. The erection of the present court-house and jail was largely the result of his efforts while serving in the latter capacity. In 1893 he was appointed Deputy Collector of Customs, an office which he has since most acceptably filled.
Mr. Magraw attends St. John's Episcopal Church of Portsmouth. His connection with fraternal organizations includes membership in St. John's Lodge, No. I, A. F. & A. M., of which he is Worshipful Master: Sagamore Lodge, No. 258, Knights of Honor, of which he is Past Dictator; in Portsmouth Lodge of B. P. O. Elks; in Massasoit Tribe, No. 16, Improved Order of Red Men; and in Nokomis Council, No. 7, Daughters of Pocahontas. Mr. Magraw was commissioned a Justice of the Peace in 1889 and a Notary Public in 1894 by the Governor of New Hampshire.
HARLES S. GREELEY, a successful farmer in Londonderry, N. H., and for several years past a leader in local politics, was born in Derry, N. H., November 27, 1852, son of George W. and Alice P. (Alley ) Greeley.
George W. Greeley was born in Amherst, Hillsborough County, N. H. He was a son of Dustin and Sarah (Woodburn) Greeley and an own cousin of Horace Greeley, who was a son of his father's brother Zaccheus. The connec- tion between the two families was yet closer from the fact that Mary Woodburn, the wife of Zaccheus Greeley, and Sarah, the wife of Dustin, were half-sisters, both being daugh- ters of David Woodburn, who was twice mar- ried. The Woodburn family is of Scotch- Irish descent. The immigrant ancestor, John Woodburn, father of David, was an early set- tler of Londonderry. Left fatherless when but six years old, George W. Greeley shortly after became a member of the family of John
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Dickey, of Londonderry, with whom he re- mained during the rest of his minority, re- ceiving a practical common-school education. He resided for many years in the towns of Londonderry and Derry, dying in August, 1888.
In political affiliation he was a Republican. In religion he was a Methodist and a church communicant, as is his wife, formerly Alice Phillips Alley, who survives him. She was born in Lynn, Essex County, Mass., January 10, 1824, and came to Londonderry with her parents, Moses and Hannah (Smethers) Alley, in 1836. The Alleys of Lynn are an old Essex County family, descendants, most . of then if not all, of Hugh Alley, who came over in the " Abigail " in 1635. Moses Alley was born in Lynn in 1801, and died March 17, 1879. His first wife, Hannah, died Feb- ruary 23, 1841, aged forty-three years; and his second wife, Jane D. Boyes, of London- derry, died September 12, 1875, aged seventy years. Moses Alley was a son of Moses Breed Alley, who was born January 1, 1770, and died in Lynn, August 7, 1801, and his wife, Alice Phillips, born November 27, 1773, who died October 23, 1801. The par- ents of Moses Breed Alley were James and Lois (Breed) Alley, the former of whom died in 1823, aged seventy-nine, the latter in ISIO. To Mr. and Mrs. George W. Greeley were born five children, as follows: H. Jen- nie, now wife of the Rev. John H. Hillman, of Greenwich, N. Y. ; S. Arvilla (deceased) ; Charles Sylvester, the special subject of this sketch; Herbert A., now residing in Boston, Mass. ; and Franklin P. (deceased).
Charles S. Greeley lived in Derry until about seven years of age, when with his par- ents he went to Acworth, N. H., where they lived some twelve years, the family subse- quently, after a short residence in Goffstown, removing to Londonderry. Besides attending the common schools he was a student for a time at Pinkerton Academy, Derry, N.H. Mr. Greeley has engaged in farming all his active life, and, being a good manager and financier, has been very successful in his undertakings. In 1880 he purchased and moved on to his present place, a farm contain- ing about eighty acres of valuable land, which
he bought of John Dickey. This homestead is very pleasantly located on the south slope of Bartley Hill. The commodious' dwelling was built by Mr. Dickey's father, John Dickey, Sr., in 1804. It is shaded by four noble elms, three of them over one hundred years old. Fruit and milk are the special products of the Dickey-Greeley farm. A dairy of fourteen cows yields annually about forty-five hundred cans of milk, which is marketed in Boston. There is an orchard of one hundred and fifty apple-trees, some pear- trees, and one hundred and fifty peach-trees ; and grapes, raspberries, and strawberries are also cultivated to some extent.
On December 24, 1879, Mr. Greeley was united in marriage with Miss Hattie A. Allen, who was born January 8, 1859, daugh- ter of John Alexander and Charlotte Dorothy (Richardson) Allen, of Jaffrey, N.H. Mr. Allen was born in November, 1812, son of Captain John Allen, a ship-master of Marble- head. His wife, who died when the daughter, now Mrs. Greeley, was only seven years old, was from Reading, Mass.
Mr. and Mrs. Greeley have four children, namely: Howard F., born July 19, 1881; Arvilla M., born October 2, 1883; Katherine, born August 10, 1888; and Edith Allen, born October 30, 1892.
Mr. Greeley's mother, now in her seventy- third year, genial and social, though afflicted with partial deafness, is a cherished member of the family, "Grandma's room," with its pieces of antique furniture and old china, being one of the pleasantest in the house. Among other interesting heirlooms Mrs. Greeley possesses a hall clock, still keeping exact time, and showing the changes of the moon. It formerly belonged to Moses Breed Alley, of Lynn, the children's great-great- grandfather, and was made, says the label inside, "by Simon Willard, at his clock dial in Roxbury Street " (Roxbury, Mass., where the Willards were celebrated clock-makers for over a century).
Mr. Greeley is a stanch Republican and an ardent advocate of the principles of his party. He is deeply interested in the welfare and ad- vancement of his town, and has served three years on the Board of Selectmen, during one
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C. Fowler was twice married. His first wife, Mary W. Nutter, of Rochester, N. H., to whom he was united April 4, 1822, was born October 29, 1798, and died September 21, 1852. She was the mother of his children - Green Clark, the subject of this sketch; John Fletcher, who was born March 2, 1826, and is a farmer, residing on the homestead in New- fields; and Mary Angelina, who was born February 16, 1828, and is now the wife of Mark W. Chase, of Berwick, Me. Mr. Jolin C. Fowler's second wife, who was Susan K. Wiggan, of South New Market, N. H., died December 30, 1864. John Cutts Fowler and Daniel Boynton drew Lot No. 3, Letter A, in Buxton, Me. (formerly Narraganset, No. 1), in the right of Philip Fowler, originally the right of Richard Jacobs, for service in King Philip's War, 1675, the right having de- scended to Mr. John C. Fowler from his father.
Green Clark Fowler acquired his early edu- cation in the schools of Newfields. In 1849 he entered the employ of the Concord & Ports- mouth Railroad, first as a track layer, and gradually worked his way up, acting as fore- man of the section for a while, and later as assistant road master. He resigned his posi- tion on account of physical disability in 1873, and has since lived in comfortable leisure at his home in Newfields. While working for a living he was industrious and energetic: and even now, though one of the oldest citizens of Newfields, he is brisk and active. He takes a deep interest in biographical matters, and has spent much time in research into the history of his own family.
Mr. Fowler was married September 25, 1859, to Sarah M. Hall, who was born at Lee, this State, September 25, 1825. She died August 25, 1877, leaving one son, James E., who was born June 17, 1861, in Raymond, this county. He was married December 31, 1895, to Elizabeth C. Zingraf, a native of Germany, born October 16, 1861. On No- veniber 1, 1882, a little more than five years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Fowler was united in marriage with Ellen A. Locke, who belonged to an old family of English origin. Her first ancestor in this country, John Locke, was born in London, September
16, 1627, and came to this country in 1644, settling in New Hampshire. John Locke married Elizabeth Berry in 1652. He was killed by the Indians in Rye, August 26, 1696. The second Mrs. Fowler died in May, 1893.
Mr. Fowler votes the Democratic ticket. On religious subjects he holds liberal views. He is something of an antiquary ; and one of his most valued possessions is a wooden goblet, nicely turned and varnished, a relic of the old Fowler and Hilton garrison, which was at- tacked by Indians here, June 3, 1695, and again in 1706. (See "History of Rocking- ham and Strafford Counties.")
OHN EDWARD GARDNER, member of the hardware firm of Gardner & Hilliard, the oldest mercantile house in Exeter, was born here in January, 1835, son of George and Jane (Lowell) Gardner. Thomas Gardner, the founder of the family, was one of three to settle in Brookline, Mass., where he owned a large part of the land, then in its primitive wild- ness. John Gardner, the grandfather of Jolin Edward, was born in Brookline in 1771, son of Elisha Gardner. He was at one time a hard- ware merchant in Boston. From that town he came to Exeter, where he married Miss Debo- rah Dean, a daughter of Ward Clark Dean, one of the first merchants of this place. He succeeded to the business of his father-in-law, and conducted it prosperously to the close of his life of seventy-seven years, when he left an ample competence. He was a very social and genial man. His wife bore him four sons and a daughter. His son George, born in the year 1801, succeeded his father in the hardware business. He had as a partner a Mr. Kelly, who had entered his father's em- ploy as a boy. The style of the firm was George Gardner & Co. The marriage of George Gardner and Miss Jane Lowell oc- curred in Portland in the year 1830. She was the daughter of Daniel Lowell, a sea captain, who died in early life. His widow married a Mr. Patten. George died in 1857, at the age of fifty-six years, in Gibraltar, whither he had gone for his health. Ilis
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widow survived him until January, 1886. Their children were: George Lowell, who died at the age of fourteen years; Cordelia Alger, who died in Cambridge, Mass., in Jan- uary, 1896, sixty-three years of age, leaving one son, Wallace Gilpatrick; John Edward; Elizabeth, an artist of note, residing in Paris, distinguished as the only American who had been awarded a medal at the Salon ; and Maria, the youngest child, who resides in Cambridge, Mass.
John Edward Gardner graduated from Har- vard College in 1856, at the age of twenty- one years. He then read law here in Exeter for a time, and subsequently spent a few months in Chicago. In 1857, after his father's death, he returned to Exeter, and took up the business left by his father, with Mr. Kelly as partner, forming the firm of Kelly & Gardner. At Mr. Kelly's death in 1894, Mr. Hilliard, who had for twelve years been a junior member of the firm, and had been asso- ciated with it prior to that as a clerk, took a larger interest in the business, which has since been conducted under the name of Gardner & Hilliard. In 1870 the firm of Kelly & Gardner were the victims of a disastrous fire, which necessitated the building of a new. store. On that occasion the present fine brick block was erected on the site of the old build- ing. The business was first established in 1770, one hundred and twenty-five years ago; and Mr. Gardner represents the fourth genera- tion of Gardners who have been succes- sively connected with it.
On January 13, 1875, Mr. Gardner was joined in marriage with Miss Mariam S. Nightingale, of Boston, a daughter of James Nightingale, now deceased. Three sons have been born of the union, namely: Perley, a young man of twenty years, in the Sophomore class at Harvard College; John E., Jr., thir- teen years of age ; and George N., seven years old.
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