USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Book of biographies. This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Grafton County, New Hampshire > Part 13
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His grandfather, Samuel Wallace, was a native of Farmington, and completed his education in the schools of the above-mentioned town. He followed the pursuits of agriculture all his life and was considered a very prominent man, being esteemed very highly by all of his acquaintances. In his political belief he was a Democrat. He married Nancy Dukwine of Durham, N. H., and to them were born ten children: George, An- drew, William, Joseph, Nancy, Ira, Samuel, Asahel, James, and Elizabeth. They were Free Will Baptists in their religious belief and prefer- ences.
Asahel Wallace, the father of our subject, was born May 16, 1825, in Sandwich, N. H., and was educated in the common schools of that place; he became a farmer, and made it the chief means of obtaining his livelihood, and of obtaining a competence for old age. He was shrewd and keen-sighted in business transactions ; he had an eye for the good points in cattle and horses, and speculated much in them, doing a large and flourishing business. He was a stanch Demo- crat, politically. He married Caroline I. Tappan, daughter of Jonathan and Dolly Tappan, both natives of Sandwich, N. H., and to them were born eleven children, namely: Charles L., Chris- topher T., Emma L., Marcellus C., Margery V.,
Dolly C., Mary H., Asahel H., Fred W., Alonzo M., and Myra R. They were Free Will Baptists. He died March 24, 1896; Mrs. Wallace still sur- vives her husband.
Our subject is a Republican in respect to his political sympathies. Socially, he is a Mason, and belongs to Kane Lodge, No. 64, of Lisbon, N. H .; Franklin Chapter, No. 5, of the same place; he holds the office of Scribe in the Chap- ter. He also belongs to the I. O. O. F., Con- cordia Lodge, No. 64; Ammonoosuc Encamp- ment, No. 34, and has filled all the offices in the subordinate lodge. On Oct. 14, 1888, he was joined in matrimony with Grace Montgomery of Levant, Maine. They are members and regular attendants of the Congregational Church of Lis- bon, N. H. In 1896 he was elected president of the New Hampshire State Teachers' Associa- ation. He is secretary of the Board of Education of the town of Lisbon; member of the executive committee of the New Hampshire Sunday- school Association; one of the board of mana- gers of the New Hampshire Teachers' Reading Circle; one of the State examiners for teachers' certificates; and deacon of the First Congrega- tional Church of Lisbon. His portrait appears on another page.
HENRY DOWSE, a farmer of the town of Landaff, N. H., now retired from active life, was born in Newbury, Vt., Dec. 31, 1833; his parents were John R. and Esther (Coburn) Dowse, both of whom were born in Thetford, Vt.
In 1851, after living in his native town till he was eighteen, and securing a good common school education, Henry Dowse went to Dor- chester, Mass., and worked for the firm of R. Gleason & Sons Britannia Plating Co., with whom he remained seven years, and then re- turned to Newbury, Vt., to take up farm work. In 1862, Aug. 15, he enlisted in Co. H., 12th Reg. Vt. Vol. Inf .; the regiment was then under the command of Col. Asa P. Blunt. Their first objective point was Washington, D. C., where they went into camp at Capitol Hill, being at- tached to the Second Brigade, Casey's Division of the Reserve Army Corps for the defense of Washington. The members of the regiment did
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guard duty and took turns on the picket line at Alexandria, Fairfax Court House, and Wolf Run Shoals, Va., and participated in the battles of Fairfax Court House, Va., Dec. 28, 1862, and Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. Mr. Dowse was pro- moted to the position of corporal Jan. 13, 1863, and was honorably discharged from the service at Brattleboro, Vt., at the expiration of his term of enlistment.
When the war was over and business, which had been at a stand-still, began to pick up, he went to Northampton, Mass., where he became interested in the lumber business; he remained in that connection for three years, and then went into the employ of the Connecticut River R. R. handling freight at the station until 1875, re- turning in that year to Newbury, Vt., where he farmed until 1878, when he moved to Landaff and purchased the farm which he has since been engaged in cultivating.
He was united in marriage to Harriet Clough, daughter of Uzziel and Almira (Sawyer) Clough, the former a native of the town of Lyman and the latter from Bradford, Vt. Since 1888 there has resided with them a daughter of Lyman Bemis of Benton; Lula Bemis was born in Sep- tember, 1882. Mr. Dowse is a Republican and lias served in many of the town offices, such as selectman, etc. He belongs to Col. Emery Post, No. 23, G. A. R., of Lisbon, and has filled nearly all the chairs of that post. He is also enrolled among the members of the Mount Hope Grange, No. 77, of Landaff, N. H. Our sub- ject's wife is a member of the M. E. Church of Landaff.
HAROLD C. MARSTON, the leading drug- gist of the village of Lisbon, Grafton County, N. H., was born in Bangor, Me., Oct. 6, 1855. His parents and grandparents lived in that place, and there our subject passed his youth, and the years in which he learned his present profession of a pharmacist. He was a son of Arlington B. and Caroline (Hurd) Marston, and grandson of Gideon Marston, who was a descendant of two brothers who came from England and settled in the State of Massachusetts. The grandfather of our subject came from that State, and fol- lowed his trade of a sign painter during his later years in Bangor, Me. He was a very skilled
artisan, even going so far as to execute several portraits, that gave him a wide reputation. He married Hannah Blaisdell, and their union was blessed with the birth of two children: Arling- ton; and Fanny, who died when a babe. He was a Universalist in his religious views. So- cially he was a member of St. Andrew's Masonic Lodge, No. 83, of Bangor, Me., in which he held all the chairs that were of any consequence; he was also a member of St. John Commandery.
When the father of our subject became a young man he learned the trade of a sign painter, and engaged in business with his father, the firm being known as G. Marston & Son. Later on he opened up an artists' supply store, which has done a thriving business since under the name of Marston & Gorham. It is one of the oldest establishments of its kind in the city of Bangor, and in the busy season requires the services of from twenty to forty men to accom- plish its contracts for outside work. Arlington Marston has always been a stanch Republican. He is a 33d degree Mason, and belongs to St. Andrew's Lodge, No. 83, of Bangor, Me .; he has been Past Grand Commander, Past Grand High Priest, and Past Grand Senior Warden. In 1854 he married Caroline Hurd, daughter of Benjamin and Caroline Hurd of Bangor, Me .; there were born to them three children: Ernest B .; Cora E .; and Harold C., the subject of this personal history. Our subject's parents favor the Universalist Church, and are attendants of the church of that organization in Bangor.
Harold C. Marston, after completing a very good education in the district schools of Ban- gor, Me., went into the drug-store of J. F. Pat- ten of Bangor, to clerk and learn the business. Being of an ambitious turn of mind, he pur- sued the regular studies of a pharmaceutical course while he was a clerk, and received finally the diploma of the Maine State Pharmaceutical Commission, having passed successfully the examination given him. Nine years were spent in the drug-store of J. F. Patten, and then, after a short stay in Massachusetts, he came to Lis- bon, in November, 1881. From then until 1887, he clerked in a drug-store. Since 1887 he has conducted a drug-store on his own account; he has a large trade in all kinds of drugs, patent medicines, and all other necessary stock and adjuncts of a well-kept drug store.
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Socially, a Mason, he belongs to Kane Lodge, No. 64, Franklin Chapter, No. 5; Omega Coun- cil, No. 9; St. Gerard Commandery; and to the Edward A. Raymond Consistory of Nashua, N. H. He has been through al the chairs of the lodge, and also of the chapter; he is now Captain of Hosts.
In December, 1877, he celebrated his nuptials with Mary E. Clark, daughter of D. L. and Mary A. Clark, both natives of Maine. By this union there has resulted one child: Blanche E., born Feb. 28, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Marston are members of the Congregational Church of Lisbon, N. H. He is a Republican.
SULLIVAN H. GORDON, deceased, was a prominent and influential farmer of the town of Landaff, Grafton Co., N. H., and was born Feb. 5, 1821; he was a son of Savory and Sarah (Powers) Gordon, and a grandson of Phineas Gordon.
Our subject's grandfather was a native of New Hampshire, working at his trade of a black- smith in the town of Bath all his life. His family was composed of ten children, who were as fol- lows: Phineas, Jr., John, Savory, George, Sylva- nus, Hannah, Mary, Abbie, Rosa A., and Sybil. He was devoted to the tenets and dogmas of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Our subject's father was born July 22, 1792, in the town of Bath, N. H., and obtained a some- what limited schooling in the educational insti- tutions of that town. At an early age, when his parents moved to Landaff, our subject went with them, and there learned the trade of a stone- mason. Savory Gordon spent the remainder of his life in Landaff, where he toiled at his chosen trade. His wife, Sarah Powers, also from the town of Bath, bore him ten children, who re- ceived the names of Savory, Jr., Joan, Sullivan H., Frank, Francis, Russell T., Patience P., Dan P., Sarah E., and Jane H. Mr. Gordon was a Democrat, and a member of the M. E. Church.
Our subject, upon the completion of his edu- cation in the district schools of Bath, N. H., hired out as a farm hand, and in a few years was enabled, by good management and habits of economy, to buy a farm in the town of Landaff with his savings. Later on he sold this farm and
with the money resulting from the sale invested in another farm, where he remained about eight years. In 1872 he took a trip west and located in Manchester, Ia., where he engaged in the ice business, remaining there for about four years. In 1876 he returned to his native State to the city of Manchester, and in 1878 moved to Han- cock, N. H., where he bought a piece of farming land and engaged in agricultural pursuits about nine years. In 1887 he sold his farm and moved back to Manchester, N. H., where he owned a small farm till his death, which occurred Jan. 5, 1889. In politics he was a stanch and unyielding Democrat, and most loyal in his hearty support of that party.
In 1851 our subject was joined in wedlock to Cynthia G. Wallace of New Hampton, N. H. She was born March 15, 1829, and was a daugh- ter of Samuel and Nancy (Sanborn) Wallace, the former of Sanbornton, N. H., and the latter of New Hampton, N. H. There having been no children born to our subject and his wife, they adopted a boy and a girl: Fred G. R. and Laura E. Fred G. R. Gordon married Evora Gardner and lives in Manchester. Laura E. married E. W. King of Newport, N. H., and has borne him four children: Walter S., Frances W., Maud L., and Cynthia. Mrs. Gordon still survives her husband, and is living a retired life on the Gor- don homestead at Landaff Center. She is liberal in her religious views and attachments. Mr. Gordon was a member of Kane Lodge, F. & A. M. of Lisbon, and was buried by that order.
JAMES GLYNN, deceased, a late resident of Lisbon, N. H., was born in Tyngsboro, Mass., Aug. 1, 1804. The first member of the Glynn family in America of whom we have any definite knowledge is John Glynn, the grandfather of our subject. His parents were from Ireland, and he was born nine days after their arrival in this country, in Lynn, Mass., April 6, 1730. He mar- ried Thankful Adams, who was born in 1729, and to them were born the following children: Joseph, James, William, Isaac, Phebe, Betsey, Polly, and Sally. It is believed that they were members of the Congregational Church.
Isaac Glynn, the father of James, our subject, was born in Westford, Mass., and educated
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there; Jan. 16, 1775, at the age of fourteen, he enlisted in the Revolutionary Army, serving through the entire war, and served in several battles as orderly sergeant, among which en- gagements was the Battle of Bunker Hill. His service in the army having ended, he learned the cooper's trade, and later on in life moved to Springfiekl, Vt., where he purchased a farm, which he was occupied in cultivating the rest of his life, dying Dec. 30, 1835. He married Sarah Nutting, daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Reed) Nutting, natives of Westford, Mass. There were born to Isaac and Sarah Glynn fifteen children, the record of whose births is as follows: Benjamin, born Sept. 22, 1786, died March 3, 1863; Lucinda, Jan. 17, 1791; Sally, July 6, 1788; Polly, Nov. 26, 1793; Thomas, April 5, 1795; Samuel, April 29, 1797; Joseph, Jan. 24, 1799; Isaac, Nov. 24, 1800; Sophronia, first of that name, July 17, 1803; James, Aug. I, 1804; Sophronia, the second of that name, June 15, 1806; John, Nov. 9, 1810; and three, who did not survive the period of their infancy. Mrs. Glynn died Oct. 27, 1852, in North Haverhill, N. H. They were Congregationalists in the mat- ter of church membership, and were always numbered among the church's warmest sup- porters.
James Glynn was educated in the schools of Springfield, Vt., and made a beginning in life's struggle bý learning the shoemaker's trade. Sub- sequently he learned the blacksmith's trade and followed it a number of years in the town of Moriah, N. Y. He then moved to North Haver- hill in 1835. and worked at his trade, later en- gaging in the luniber business. His later years were spent in agricultural pursuits, which he car- ried on until 1873, when he moved to Lisbon, N. H., and lived in retirement. He was a Re- publican, and was postmaster in North Haverhill in 1849; he was also a justice of the peace sev- eral years, but was not generally considered an aspirant for office.
In Springfield, Vt., Nov. 18, 1823, he was joined in the holy bonds of matrimony with Olive Bemis, daughter of Silas and Beulah (Sartwell) Bemis, the former of Acton, Mass., and the latter from Winchendon, Mass. Eight children were born to our subject and his good wife: Cordelia J., born Jan. 25, 1825, married B. C. Durgin of Limerick, Me., and had one
child, Ruth C., deceased; Gratia A., born Aug. 31, 1827, has been twice married: her first hus- band was O. A. Emerson of Thetford, Vt., her second spouse was Daniel Morse of North Hav- erhill, N. H. Horace H. was born March 16, 1829. Ellen P., born Jan. 8, 1832, married Cal- vin Pennock of North Haverhill, and had one child, Florence E., deceased. Ruth M. was born June 17, 1834; Emily L., first of that name, was born Sept. 5, 1836. Emily L., the second, was born May 24, 1841. Verona A., born March 30, 1845, married George Pennock of North Haver- hill, and has three children by the marriage, namely: Myrtle G., James G., and G. Leslie. The family are attendants of the M. E. Church of Lisbon, N. H. James Glynn departed this life . March 9, 1891. The mother was called hence June 12, 1890.
JAMES W. FOSTER, a manufacturer of patent medicines and making a specialty of the famous Lady Poor Ointment, residing in Bath, N. H., was born in Dorchester, N. H., Jan. 23, 1852, and is a son of David G. A. and Caroline A. (Davis) Foster of Dorchester, N. H.
David G. A. Foster's schooling was of the common school variety and extended till he was fifteen years of age, when he voluntarily went to work to earn his own living. He went to work in the service of the State militia, taking care of the colonel's horse for nearly two years. He was then employed as clerk in Blaisdell's store in Wentworth, N. H., remaining there nearly six years in the firm's employ. He left his clerkship to embark in business for himself, building a store in Dorchester, N. H., where he carried on a thriving business for about six years, when he sold out to Eaton N. Davis. From Dorches- ter he removed to West .Rumney, engaging there in the mercantile business; about 1858 he moved to Bath, N. H., where he carried on a general store until 1888, selling out to his son, James W. He then purchased a farm, and has since given his attention to general agricultural pursuits. About the year 1850 he was married to Caroline A. Davis, whose parents were natives of Dorchester, N. H., and to them have been given the following children: Napoleon B., Scott, Ada, Bessie E., Scott, who is no longer
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
living, and James W., the subject of this itemoir. Politically, Mr. Foster is a firm Democrat, ad- hering to the principles advocated by that party. He is liberal in his religious views.
James W. Foster was educated in the public schools of his native town and in the M. E. Seminary of Montpelier, Vt .; at the age of eigh- teen he entered his father's store as a clerk and remained with him about twenty years, at last buying him out and carrying on a general store until 1890. In that year he turned his attention to the manufacture of patent medicines, which have already acquired a wide reputation, al- though the enterprise is yet in its infancy. In May, 1896, a stock company was formed under the State laws of New Hampshire for the manu- facture of patent medicines; the business is car- ried on under the name of the James W. Foster Co. The company has already opened branch offices in Boston, New York, and Chicago for a ready distribution and advertising of their pro- chríct.
In the fall of 1876 he was married to Mary Weeks, a daughter of Charles and Mary (Bart- lett) Weeks of Bath, N. H., and they have been blessed with the birth of two children: Blanche and Grace, who are attending school. Mr. Foster and his family are Unitarians in religious affiliations. Our subject is one of the leading Democrats of Bath, and was honored during Cleveland's first administration by an appoint- ment to the postmastership. He was appointed again by the present administration, a position he still retains.
DAVID W. SHAW, superintendent of the Lisbon Peg & Bobbin Mill, is the son of Nath- aniel M. Shaw and grandson of David Shaw, who was born in Sanbornton, N. H., where he was reared and engaged in business as a farmer and a lumberman. He departed this life at the age of sixty-six. He married Mary Morrill of Sanbornton, who was over ninety years at her (leatlı. There were born to them twelve chil- dren, whose names are as follows: Polly (Bean), Nathaniel M., John, David, Jr .; Charlotte (Sut- ton), Susan, Sylvester, Watson, Eliza, Andrew, and Sarah (Shaw).
Nathaniel M. Shaw, the eldest son and second child in his father's family, was born and passed his youthful years in Sanbornton, N. H .; soon after marriage he went to Franklin and remained there a few years, going thence to New Hamp- ton, where he lived up to the three years preced- ing his death; these last years were spent in Ashland, Grafton Co. He was a farmer by occu- pation, but like his father dealt considerably in lumber. He married Jemima P. Hursey, daugh- ter of William and Mary (Smart) Hursey of Sanbornton. She died at the age of forty-two, and left the following children: Winthrop D., Nathaniel H., David W., the subject of this per- sonal history; Herbert A., deceased; Martha (Keyes) (Colby), Ai B., and Harriet L. (Graham). The two oldest sons patented an automatic light systeni, and are now associated in business in Boston, devoting their time to the manufac- ture and introduction of their system to the public. The youngest son, Ai B., has lately in- vented a bicycle tire, which is being manufac- tured for the 1897 wheels by the great tire firm of Morgan & Wright Mfg. Co. and will be placed before the public; it is a tire which has many points of excellence, which will benefit the pub- lic, and prove it to be a financial success to its inventor. Nathaniel M. Shaw married as his second wife Mary B. Hursey, a sister of his first wife; she died at the age of seventy-nine. Mr. Shaw was a pronounced Democrat in his politi- cal attachments; he departed this life at the age of seventy. They favored the Calvin Baptist Church.
David W. Shaw was born June 24, 1834, in Franklin, N. H., and when he was one year old his parents moved to New Hampton, and there it was that our subject was reared and educated. When he attained his majority he went to Tamouth, N. H., where he was married in 1856 to Sarah E., daughter of Samuel S. Beede. Mr. Shaw has been associated in the peg and bobbin business the most of his life, beginning when a young man, and continuing till 1873, when he began farming on the old homestead in New Hampton; he was engaged in agri- cultural pursuits till his wife died in 1879; she was aged forty-one years. She left behind her to his care two children: Ralph, who died at the age of twenty-five; and Marion A., who married B. C. Smith of Bartlett,
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
Vt., and became the mother of two children, Mil- dred, deceased, at the age of two, and Ralph H., Jr. Upon his wife's death Mr. Shaw left the farm and accepted a position as superintendent of a peg mill at Bartlett, Vt., where he remained twelve years. While a resident of that place, in 1887, he married Isabella M. Harris, by whom he has one child, Bernice M. In 1891 Mr. Shaw became superintendent of the Lisbon Peg & Bobbin Mill, which position he still holds and has entire charge of the business. He is a Dem- ocrat, politically. He is a member of the North Star Lodge, No. 8, F. & A. M. Mr. Shaw is thorough and painstaking in business, and with his thorough knowledge of commercial methods and details of his manufacturing business, he has proved himself to be a valuable acquisition to the company and to the town of Lisbon. His genial good-humor and open-heartedness of nature have won him many friends who unite in his praise.
DR. CHARLES C. ROUNDS, late principal of the State Normal School of New Hampshire, is a native of the State of Maine. His father, Nathaniel Rounds, was the son Joseph Rounds, who was a soldier of the War of Independence, as was also his father; he was among the first to join the army at Cambridge, and marched thence to Ticonderoga; he was in the first regiment which entered Boston on its evacuation by the British, and was in Gates' army at the surrender of Burgoyne.
Nathaniel Rounds was born in Buxton, Me., in 1799. When a young man he moved to the town of Waterford, Me., where he spent the rest of his life.
He married Betsey, daughter of William Brown of Waterford. Eight children were born to them: Jane (Follett), deceased; Edwin, de- ceased; Cyrus, deceased; Harriet, deceased; Rowena, deceased; Harriet E., deceased; Chris- tina, proprietor of "Miss Rounds's School for Girls," in Brooklyn, N. Y .; and Charles C., the subject of this sketch.
Charles C. Rounds was born at Waterford, Me., Aug. 15, 1831. His early education was received in the common schools of Waterford, in the North Bridgeton Academy, and in Oxford
Normal Institute. After attending the Academy he served an apprenticeship as a printer, work- ing at the trade about four years. He then pre- pared himself for college at the Oxford Normal Institute, eventually entering Dartmouth Col- lege, from which he graduated in the Class of 1857.
Soon after his graduation he began teaching ; his experience as an instructor has been excep- tional, having taught public schools in three New England States, and also in the State of Ohio, where he was principal of one of the city schools in Cleveland for six years. He has served as principal of two academies in Maine, and was principal of the State Normal School at Farmington, Me., for fifteen years. He was prin- cipal of the State Normal School of New Hamp- shire thirteen years until the summer of 1896, and is now residing in New York City.
His interest in school work has not been con- fined. It was through his efforts as president of the National Council of Education, in 1895, that a committee of twelve was appointed from that body, of which committee he is one, to investi- gate the condition of the rural schools of the United States, and to make a special report after two years of investigation and inquiry. Prof. Rounds has been a member of the National Council of Education since its organization in 1882, and has served continuously as a member of that organization by successive elections for terms of six years each. He has been president of the Maine State Teachers' Association. He was twice president of the New England Normal Association, and has twice held the office of president of the National Normal Association. He has been a member since 1869 of the Na- tional Educational Association.
In 1857 Dr. Rounds married Kate Nixon Stowell, daughter of Thomas Nixon Stowell of Paris, Me., whose grandfather, Thomas Nixon of Framingham, Mass., was a soldier in the Colonial wars from 1755. He was in the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, from the latter battle to the close of the Revolution commanded a regiment, and was a charter member of the Society of the Cincinnati. They have four chil- dren. The eldest is Mrs. Agnes I. (Matthews), now a resident of Illinois, her home being in Chicago. She was educated in Miss Wessel- holft's school in Boston, in the Maine State Nor-
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