USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Rockingham County, New Hampshire > Part 72
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Wendell & Son. When his father retired in 1874, Mr. Wendell took his brother Henry into partnership, changing the business name to A. P. Wendell & Co., the present form. The brothers have commanded an extensive trade from the beginning. Their establish- ment occupies four floors and a basement, and they have a large and well-selected stock.
Mr. Wendell was married November 26, 1867, to Ruth A., daughter of Stephen Os- good, of Salisbury Point, now a part of the town of Amesbury, Mass. Stephen Osgood, who was a calker by trade, worked in the navy yard on many of the old war-ships. Mr. and Mrs. Wendell have three children: Grace C., wife of Herbert P. Pattison, a commission grocery merchant of Boston; Fannie P., a graduate of the Portsmouth High School; and Ruth A., now studying there, both residing with their parents. The father votes the
Democratic ticket. As a member of the City Council, he was instrumental in passing the sewer bill. In 1893 and 1894 he was Alder- man from Ward 2, and he was a member of the Board of Instruction for eight years. He be- longs to Piscataqua Lodge, No. 6, Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all the chairs; to Damon Lodge, No. 9. Knights of Pythias, in which he has been Chief Master and Past Commander; to Massa- soit Tribe, No. 16, Improved Order of Red Men; to Alpha Council, No. 83, Royal Ar- canum, of which he is P. R. : and to the An- cient Order of United Workmen, of which he is Receiver. He is a prominent member of the Universalist church, and has been Warden for some time.
J OSEPH STOPFORD, a well-known farmer of Newington, was born April II, 1841, in Lincolnshire, England. His parents, Samuel J. and Harriet (Ogden) Stopford, had eight children, six sons and two daughters. He remained with his parents until 1863. Then he came to this country, locating in Salem, Mass., where he worked in the cotton-mills. In the fall of 1864 he went to Illinois. While here, he en- listed as a private in Company C of the Sixth Illinois Cavalry. After serving his
adopted country in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Kentucky, he received his dis- charge on June 26, 1865. For a short time thereafter he was in Newtonville, Mass., going thence to Biddeford, Me., where he was employed in a cotton-mill. Five years later he made another visit to Illinois, returning again to Biddeford. In 1880 he moved to a fine farm of one hundred and five acres in the town of Newington, where he continues to carry on general farming. In politics Mr. Stopford affiliates with the Democratic party. He has officiated on the School Board for two years, and he is a member of a Masonic Order.
On July 15, 1864, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Elizabeth Jones, a native of England. They have three children - Byron M., Joseph M., and Angeline C. Stopford, all of whom are living with their parents, leading a pleasant country life upon the farm.
OSIAH CALEF EASTMAN, M. D., of Hampstead, born in Loudon, N. H., April 22, ISII, is a son of Dr. Joseph and Miriam (Calef) Eastman, grandson of Timothy and Abigail (Gale) Eastman, and a great-grandson of Colonel Gale of East Kings- ton, and of the Hon. Josiah Bartlett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and gov- ernor of New Hampshire, 1790 94. Joseph Eastman, who was graduated from Dartmouth Medical College in 1806, died at Meredith, N. H., at the age of thirty-three years.
Josiah Calef Eastman, M. D., obtained his preliminary schooling at the Kingston and the Atkinson Academies in this State and the Saco Academy in Maine. After teaching in the district schools for some time, he com- menced the study of medicine with Dr. L. S. Bartlett and Dr. T. Bassett, both of Kingston, N. II. He afterward attended three courses of lectures at Dartmouth Medical College, and was graduated M. D. therefrom in 1837. Dr. Eastman practised medicine for a time at New Market, N. H. About 1839 he located at Hampstead, where he has since pursued his profession when not in the military service. In August, 1861, he was appointed by Gov- ernor Berry Surgeon of the Fourth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, with the
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rank of Major. He was in service with the regiment at Washington, Annapolis, Port Royal, Hilton Head, St. Augustine, and Jack- sonville. In 1863 he resigned his commission on account of illness in his family, and re- turned to Hampstead. Soon after this he de- clined the offer of the Colonelcy of a regiment. This was the second opportunity he had of entering upon a military career. When a youth, he was chosen by the Hon. Levi Wood- bury for a cadetship at West Point Military Academy, when the opposition of his widowed mother prevented its acceptance.
Dr. Eastman is one of the oldest members of the New Hampshire Medical Society, and was its President in 1860. He is also a member of the Rockingham Medical Society and American Medical Association, having held the Presidency of the former organization for some time; and he was one of the three representa- tives of New Hampshire at the International Medical Congress held at Philadelphia in 1876. Dr. Eastman has been twice nominated for Councillor for his district, and he was a dele- gate to the national conventions which nom- inated General Mcclellan and the Hon. Horatio Seymour for the Presidency. In 1845 he was County Treasurer of Rockingham County, declining renomination in 1847. He represented Hampstead in the legislature in 1847-50, and was Democratic State Senator in 1853-54. In 1849, while a member of the legislature, Dr. Eastman introduced a bill en- titled "An act providing for the establish- ment of public libraries," which became a law under the signature of Governor Dinsmore; and New Hampshire was the first State in the Union to empower towns and cities to maintain free public libraries by taxation, as a result of the passage of that bill. He was largely in- strumental in the building of the Nashua & Rochester Railroad, and has served as a Direc- tor since its completion.
On May 3, 1841, Dr. Eastman was first married to Miss Ann A., daughter of Captain Leonard and Elizabeth Gregg (Warner) Wil- son. Captain Wilson was a veteran of the War of 1812. Dr. Eastman's children are : Mary Bartlett, the wife of Lavosier Hill, of New York City; and Miss Ella Eastman. His second marriage was contracted February
5, 1860, with Miss Mary Helen, daughter of Dr. Jerome and Mary (Tewksbury) Harris, of Amesbury, Mass. Their children are: Josiah Bartlett and Susie A. Eastman.
B ENJAMIN F. CRAWFORD, one of the oldest farmers of Nottingham, was born here October 27, 1815, son of John and Mary (Furber) Crawford. John Crawford, born January 23, 1785, in Auburn, then Chester, N. H., learned the trade of a hatter in Chester, and subsequently followed it there and in Nottingham, whither he came when sixteen years of age. In 1829 he purchased the farm now occupied by his son. It then contained about seventy acres of land ; and, under his careful management, it yielded a comfortable living for himself and family. In the War of 1812 he served as a private. Having lived to be over eighty years of age, he died in Nottingham in 1865. In politics he was a Democrat, was very active in local affairs, and represented his town in the State legislature in 1840-41. He was twice mar- ried, first on November 2, 1806, to Miss Drusilla Davis, by whom he had one child, Lydia. His second marriage, contracted with Miss Mary Furber, a daughter of Joshua Fur- ber, of Northwood, N. H., took place April 7, 1811. Five children blessed the union, but the only survivor is Benjamin F. The mother died in 1857. Both parents were liberal in their ideas of religion.
Benjamin F. Crawford received his schooling here in Nottingham. Upon leaving school, he went to Manchester, N. H., where he was em- ployed for twelve years. Then he returned to Nottingham, and took charge of the farm of which he later became the owner, and has since carried on with profit. On October 27, 1842, he was married to Miss Tamson Evans, a daughter of Levi Evans, of Barrington, N. H. Two of their five children are living, namely : Olive, born February 18, 1846, who is now the wife of William L. Caswell, of Northwood, and has two children - Arthur and Percy ; and Arabel H., born October 6, 1858, who is the wife of Horace E. Thompson, of Nottingham, and also has two children - Frank M. and Laurace A. Mrs. Crawford died February 22,
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1880, sixty-three years of age. She was a member of the Free Will Baptist church, of which Mr. Crawford is a Deacon, and one of its most active supporters. In political affiliation Mr. Crawford is a Republican. He served on the Board of Selectmen in 1889 and 1890, being Chairman in the latter year. He is a member of Lafayette Lodge, No. 40, A. F. & A. M., of Manchester, N. H.
J OHN A. HOLT, the owner of a large shoe factory in. East Candia, is justly regarded as a public benefactor. Not only does he furnish employment to a number of the residents, but it was chiefly through his influence that the post-office and railway station were established here. At a considerable outlay he has also greatly im- proved the water supply of the village. This he accomplished by erecting a large tank hav- ing a capacity of seven thousand gallons, and by piping the streets in a way to supply a large portion of the village with water.
The founder of the Holt family in this country came from England, and settled in Andover, Mass. The grandfather of John A. located in Bethel, Me., where he followed the occupation of a farmer. He married, and be- came the father of thirteen children, all now deceased. Uriah Holt, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Waterford, Me., and spent his life there, profitably engaged in tilling the soil. Although he took much in- terest in public affairs, he never accepted office. In politics he was a Republican; in religion, a communicant of the Baptist church. His death occurred in May, 1872, when sixty- eight years old. He married Miss Mary Bell, of Albany, Me. ; and of the ten children born of the union seven are living, namely : George H., of Crookston, Minn. ; Sarah G., the wife of John I. Fitts, of Hammond, Wis .; John A., the subject of this sketch; Maria A., the wife of Adelma Brown, of Peabody, Mass .; Elvira I., the wife of George A. Gammon, of Lynn, Mass. ; Lizzie M., residing with her mother in I.ynn; and Helen C., the wife of Edward P. Wagner, also of Lynn.
John A. Holt, born in Albany, Me., No- vember 20, 1846, spent his early years as a
student of the common and high schools of Waterford. He then went to Wisconsin, and for two years was there employed as a clerk in a dry-goods store. Returning to the East, he located in Raymond, N. H., and engaged in the millinery and dry-goods business with A. B. Smith, under the style of Smith & Holt. Three years later M1. Holt sold out, and took up the shoe business on contract. This he closed out after two years, and went to work in the shoe shop of F. M. Hoyt, with whom he remained two years. In 1884 he came to East Candia, and established his present business, in which he has been remarkably successful. At the start the business was carried on in a small building twenty feet square, and but a dozen hands were employed. With the lapse of time and the increased demand for his goods, larger quarters and more hands became neces- sary; and three additions have since been made to the original premises, making them now forty by sixty feet in ground area and two stories in height, while forty-five persons are employed. The business is conducted on a contract basis. After the first two years Mr. Holt received J. F. Holt into partnership, making the firm name J. A. & J. F. Holt.
J. F. Holt sold his interest to his partner at the end of four years, since which time John A. has carried on the business alone. Hle manufactures ladies' slippers exclusively, and sells for the trade in Haverhill, Mass. Al- though, as stated above, this is a contract shop, the proprietor makes yearly between two and three hundred cases of his own.
In August, 1871, Mr. Holt was united in marriage with Miss Myra F. Proctor, of Waterford, Me. Their only child, Helen P. Holt, is attending school in Candia. In politics Mr. Holt is a Democrat. While a resident of Raymond, he was a member of the Board of Selectmen for two terms, serving one term as Chairman ; and he was the Postmaster of East Candia two years. Ilis connection with fraternal organizations comprises member- ship in Rockingham Lodge, No. 76, A. F. & A. M., of Candia; Trinity Commandery, Knights Templars; Junietta Lodge, No. 47, Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows; and Granite En- campment, No. 14, of Raymond. He is an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal church.
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LIJAH SANBORN, of Raymond, who has been engaged in agricultural pur- suits throughout the larger part of his long and honorable life, was born April 27, 1819, in the town of Fremont, this county, a son of Ebenezer and Lydia (Bean) Sanborn, both natives of Danville, N. H. Ebenezer Sanborn was a shoemaker and a tanner by trade, and worked at both callings in his native town for many years. He re- moved to the town of Fremont in the early part of the present century, and there bought the homestead now owned and occupied by his son David.
In September, 1862, Mr. Sanborn enlisted as a musician in Company K, Fifteenth New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Captain Hall under Colonel Kingman. Going to the South with his regiment, he remained until the expiration of his term of service, when in 1863 he was discharged at Concord, N. H. After his return he spent some time in travelling through different parts. of the country, making a stay in the West for quite a while. He then purchased his present farm in Raymond township, where he has since been engaged in its cultivation and improve- ment, his success fully equalling his expecta- tions in this line. He carries on general farming, and is likewise largely interested in fruit-growing, a branch of the business in which he has always been especially interested, finding it both pleasant and profitable. He is a steadfast Republican in politics, and he is a valued member of Chester Post, No. 74, Grand Army of the Republic.
Mr. Sanborn has been four times married. His first wife, in maidenhood Alvira Sanborn, of Chester, this State, died three years after marriage, having had two children, who both died in infancy. His second marriage was contracted with Clara M. Sanborn, a sister of his first wife. She died in 1858, having given birth to a son, Horace, who died in childhood. On the third occasion Mr. San- born married Mrs. Mary F. Bickford Beck, a native of Northwood, who died in 1877, leaving no issue. By his fourth marriage he was united with Miss Lydia Wallace, a native of Raymond township, whose companionship now cheers his declining years. They live in
comfortable ease on their pleasant' homestead, esteemed by all who have the honor of their acquaintance.
EORGE A. BOYNTON, of North Hampton, N. H., at whose pleasant home near Little Boar's Head the summer vacationist may find rest and quiet recreation, was born in Thornton, Grafton County, N. H., February 16, 1845. His par- ents were John and Elmira (Smith ) Boynton.
The founders of the Boynton family in America settled in Essex County, Massachu- setts, upward of two hundred and fifty years ago. An association of their posterity has been formed, which holds periodical reunions ; and it is expected that a Boynton genealogy, which has been in course of preparation for a number of years, will shortly be published. Thomas Boynton, grandfather of Mr. George A. Boynton, was a native of Weare, N. H. From the history of that town we learn that Moses Boynton removed to Weare from An- dover, Mass., in 1782, he having previously served in the Revolution, and that he and his wife Mary had nine children. Their fifth child, Thomas Boynton, was born in 1785. He settled in Thornton, where he had a large farm on which he spent many years of labor, the land being new when he took possession of it. He was a carpenter by trade, and built a commodious and substantial house on his land, with the long sloping roof peculiar to the architecture of that day. He lived to an ad- vanced age. Grandfather Boynton married a Miss Davis, and reared ten children -- Moses, David, John, Chandler, Royal, Sally, Polly, Hannah, Harriet, and Lydia.
John Boynton in his youth made the most of the educational opportunities offered by the district school, and he afterward had some experience in teaching in his native town. Though he never learned a trade, he was a good carpenter ; and he was employed in that capacity in Lowell, Mass., for a number of years. Returning at length to Thornton, he purchased a farm of one hundred acres, which he subsequently sold, removing in 1856 to Hill, Merrimack County, N. H., and buying a | place there. He remained in Hill until 1881,
GEORGE W. BROWN.
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when he went to live with his son, at whose home he died at the age of seventy-four. Mr. John Boynton was a member of the Baptist church, with which his family was prominently identified, one of his brothers being a clergy- man of that denomination, and one of his sis- ters the wife of a clergyman. Mrs. John Boynton was the daughter of Josiah Smith, of Sandwich, N. H. She and her husband reared three children : Solon M., now a resident of Portsmouth, N. H., who married Emma Mor- timer, and has two children - Carrie and Bar- bara ; Clara (deceased), who was the wife of James F. Nelson; and George A., the direct subject of this sketch. Mrs. Nelson left no children.
George A. Boynton in his early years at- tended the district school in his native town, the academy at Hill, and the Georgetown High School. After leaving school, he was for a while in the employ of an optician; and he then served an apprenticeship of two years in the carriage works at Manchester belonging to B. J. Currier. The following year he was in the same work at Merrimack, Mass. ; and in 1871 he settled in North Hampton, and opened a house for summer boarders, which has proved popular and successful.
In 1871 Mr. Boynton was united in marriage with Abbie L., daughter of Michael and Elizabeth S. (Scammon) Dalton, of North Hampton. They have four children-May E., Beatrice A., Blanche, and Dalton.
In politics Mr. Boynton is a Republican. He cast his first Presidential vote for General Grant in 1868. He is actively interested in educational matters, and has served on the School Board of North Hampton for five years.
ON. GEORGE WOODBURY BROWN, a prosperous merchant of Deerfield Parade, N. H., was born in Deerfield, N. II., August 11, 1870, a son of Joseph T. and Mary E. (Batchelder) Brown. His great-grandfather, Moses, who was a son of Joseph Brown, was a native of Kensington, N. H.
Stephen Brown, son of Moses, and grand- father of George W., was born in Andover,
N. H., April 12, 1803. He studied medicine with his brother Thomas, and was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1828. After ob- taining his diploma, he began practice in Not- tingham. He subsequently removed to Ray- mond, and still later to Deerfield, where he spent the greater part of his life. One of the most popular physicians of his locality, he had a large practice, and was well known through- out Rockingham County. Besides attending to his professional work, he successfully managed a tavern in Deerfield for thirty years. He re- tired from practice at the age of seventy-three, and died April 11, 1877, at the age of seventy- four, lacking but one day. He was married in 1830 to Mary Reynolds, of Lee, who died in 1842, at the age of thirty-nine, leaving the following children : Moses, who married Susan R. James, and has two children - Mary L. and Charles S. : his wife dying, he mar- ried in 1893 Esther Wheeler, of Epping ; Joseph T., father of the subject of this sketch; Mary A .; and Martha A. In 1843 the Doctor was united in matrimony to Miriam F., a daughter of Colonel Samuel Collins. The second Mrs. Brown died in 1878. She had one daughter - Sarah C., who died at the age of twenty-six. Though Dr. Brown accumulated wealth, his heart was large; and he showed his love for the Con- gregational church, of which he and Mrs. Brown were members, by his constant support, and lastly by his gift of a valuable, rich-toned bell to the meeting-house, and by bequeathing one thousand dollars to the Congregational society for the support of the gospel. Mrs. Brown also gave the church an organ.
Joseph T. Brown, father of the gentleman whose name begins this article, was born in Deerfield, June 28, 1833. He attended school at Pembroke Academy, and afterward taught hard country schools successfully. He also worked in Boston, Mass. A farmer by choice, he spent most of his life in Deerfield, finding in the cultivation of his fields and the care of his herds occupation for mind and body. In 1862 he was married to Mary E., daughter of Deacon Thomas J. Batchelder, of Deerfield. She died January 15, 1887, at the age of forty- nine, leaving the following children : Cora M., who was born September 3, 1866; George W.,
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the subject of this sketch; and Thomas S., born May 30, 1878. The father died March 28, 1895. He and his wife were among the most useful members of the Congregational church until the Master called them home. In politics he was a strong Republican.
Their son, George Woodbury Brown, was educated in the Deerfield public schools and at Coe's Northwood Academy at Northwood, be- ing graduated from the last-named institution in 1891. After his graduation he taught in private and public schools with success; but, desiring to try mercantile life, he accepted a position as clerk in the store of Morse & Stanley at Centre Harbor, N. H. In 1894 the failing health of his father caused him to give up his position at Centre Harbor; and in 1895, in company with John M. Kelsey, he opened a store at Deerfield Parade, under the firm name of Brown & Kelsey. With a well- selected stock of general merchandise, the firm commands a flourishing trade; and Mr. Brown, though one of the youngest, is one of the most successful merchants in this part of the county. He is a member of the Con- gregational church. In politics he is a strong Republican; and in November, 1894, he was elected Representative to the General Court from his native town. Although the New llampshire house was mostly made up of young men, Mr. Brown was one of the young- est, being only twenty-four years old. His portrait, which appears on a neighboring page, will interest many readers of this volume.
BNER MERRILL was for many years prominent in the business affairs of Exeter, N. H., and for a considerable portion of this century his name was well known in trade circles. He was born in Newbury, Essex County, Mass., April, 1791, a son of Enoch and Temperance Merrill. His father was among the prosperous and thrifty farmers of the town. The early family history of the Merrills in this country dates back to 1636, when two brothers emigrated from Eng- land, and located in Newbury the first year after the incorporation of the town; and it is be- lieved that all the old settled branches of the family in this country at the present day are
descended from the above-named source. At any rate, the descent of the subject of this sketch can readily be traced from one of those two brothers.
Abner Merrill passed his early boyhood upon his father's farm, and at the age of four- teen years he apprenticed to the hatter's trade in Newbury. Soon after reaching his majority, he came to Exeter, N. H., where he estab- lished himself in the hat manufacturing business in the year 1813. This he followed successfully for a period of more than sixty years. In the early part of his business life lie began to deal in wool, in which he devel- oped a large trade, finally making the manu- facture of hats a secondary part of his business. His career, which was marked throughout by ability, industry, and honesty, was a long one ; for he looked after his affairs to the very last, though he was eighty-six years old when called by death to rest from his labors. In the direc- tion of financial matters he evinced such keen- ness of perception and such conservative judg- ment that he had the confidence of all who knew him, and was for many years a Director and President of the Granite State Bank of Exeter. In politics he was originally a Whig ; and, when the Republican party was formed, he naturally entered its ranks. In religious be- lief he was a Congregationalist.
Mr. Merrill married Miss Sally W. Leavitt, a daughter of Major Jeremiah Leavitt, of Exeter, a man somewhat prominent in public matters, and who held in his lifetime many offices of trust in the town. Mrs. Abner Merrill died in 1871, in her eighty-second year. She was the mother of a large family, one daughter and seven sons, all of whom lived to the age of threescore years and up- ward, no death, it is stated, occurring in the immediate family household to sever family ties for more than fifty years. When Mr. Merrill turned his attention to the wool trade, he soon found in his own family capable agents to intrust with his enlarged business ; and three of his sons became associated with him under the firm name of Abner Merrill & Sons. The business continued under the name of Abner Merrill & Sons until 1883, when it was terminated by the death of Ben- jamin L. Merrill, the last surviving member
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