USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Book of biographies. This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Grafton County, New Hampshire > Part 22
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HON. WILLIAM S. ELA, ex-president of the Lebanon Savings Bank, is one of the oldest of the retired carpenters and builers of Grafton Co .; he possesses the highest esteem of his townspeople of Lebanon, and is counted as one of its most solid and substantial citizens. He was born in West Lebanon, N. H., June 19, .1807, and is a son of Benjamin and Abigail (Emerson) Ela.
Our subject's father was of a sturdy line of Scotch-Irish, noted. for their longevity and hardy endurance. The Ela family in America dates back to the time of the first settlements. Benjamin Ela, who is supposed to have been born in Haverhill, Mass., came from that place with a capital of a skilled knowledge of cabinet- making and settled in Hartford, Vt., where he lived and worked at his trade for a time. How- ever, not finding much demand for the products of his handiwork, he was forced to relinquish it and find a more profitable business. Being of a very ambitious nature and fertile in re- source, he soon found a way in which to court the smilles of dame Fortune. He removed to West Lebanon, and in company with a Mr. Moulton went into the business of preparing corned beef. They bought the fat cattle, con- verted it into corned beef, barreled it, and took it to different points to dispose of it. The busi- ness soon developed great possibilities, and they accordingly built scow boats and freighted them with produce, bought from the country round about, and took the loads thus made up down the river, selling the boats when the cargoes had
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been discharged. They carried this on for sev- eral years and found their efforts crowned with success: the next step of Mr. Ela was to move to Concord, and there to build boats and make similar trips on the Merrimac River. In 1817 he bought some thirty acres of land, where our subject now lives, and in 1818 moved there; he also bought another farm in the town of Le- banon, where William H. Ela resides, and car- ried on farming operations until he retired from active labor. He died at the age of seventy- three: although he was born a poor boy, yet he was enabled by an indomitable will and a strict attention to business to amass a good fortune. His wife departed this life at the age of fifty- seven. Their children were as follows: Susan, Abigail, John, George, William S., Benjamin, and Richard. In politics he affiliated with the Whigs, and with the Republicans for the last few years of his life. He was one of the first men of his time and place, and was sent to the Legisla- ture on several different occasions to represent the town. He was often made the administrator of estates, so great was the confidence reposed in his honesty and good judgment.
The subject of this sketch, at the age of seven- teen years, commenced his apprenticeship to the carpenter's and joiner's trade; previous to this lie had managed to acquire a good education by improving his time in the public schools and in Lebanon Academy. For a number of years he worked at his trade as a journeyman; finally, at the age of twenty-three, he undertook contract work, and many good, substantial buildings of Lebanon to-day show his workmanship and good judgment in the selection of the best ma- terials. His work was invariably done in the neatest and most substantial manner. Many residents of the town to-day are proud in being able to point to their house and say that it was built by William S. Ela.
Mr. Ela inherited his father's homestead on Hanover Street; the house underwent a change minder his skillful hands, emerging much im- proved and beautified and fitted up in a modern manner. He then laid out the land into village building lots, which found a ready sale; it has proved to be one of the prettiest of the streets i11 the village. In addition to his own fine resi- dence, he owns tenements, which he keeps in the best of repair. He is without fail found
among the leaders to agitate and to support needed improvements essential to the true pro- gress of the town. Being a stanch Republican, he has served the town some seventeen years as selectman, for twelve successive years of that time he was first selectman. He represented the town in four sessions of the Legislature, in 1854- 55-56, and in a special session. He was also town treasurer for a number of years.
In 1857 he retired from contracting and build- ing and gave his aid and influence toward the organizing of the Lebanon Savings Bank and was elected its first president and chairman of the board of directors, which office he held until a few years ago. He was also president of the National Bank of Lebanon for twenty odd years. Each year he spends several months in the west looking after his extensive landed interests.
In 1832 he united his fortunes with those of Louise R. Greenough, daughter of Brackett Greenough of Lebanon; she died in 1868 at the age of fifty-seven. Two children were the fruit of this union: Richard, who died at the age of twenty, in 1855; and an infant son. In 1871 our subject married Elizabeth Kendrick, daughter of George Kendrick of Lebanon.
In his younger davs he was a member of the Mascoma Lodge, I. O. O. F., but in later years, because of the extensive interests demanding so much of his time, he allowed his membership to lapse.
At his advanced age Mr. Ela is still able to at- tend to all of his business; he can hear nicely and reads without the aid of glasses. He still retains much of his youthful suppleness and vigor and finds no trouble to get around a good deal. He has never known any severe sickness, perhaps due in great part to the important fact that he has always been very temperate in his habits.
FRANK A. SMITH, M. D., a native of Graf- ton Co. and one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Lebanon, N. IT., was born in Haver- hill of this county Sept. 16, 1855, and is a son of Henry A. and Sarah M. (Pike) and a grand- son of Anson A. and Mary (Rice) Smith.
Our subject's grandparents were both born in Cavendish, Vt. The father of Anson A.
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Smith came from Hartford, Conn., and was among the early settlers of Cavendish, Vt. His occupation was that of a farmer; he served in the War of Independence. Anson A., the grand- father of the subject of this sketch, after his marriage settled in Haverhill, N. H., near the center of the town, where he followed farming for many years; he is now retired at the age of eighty-nine years, and resides at Piermont, N. H. He was deprived of the cheering presence of his wife in middle age. In politics, he was a Whig, and is now a Republican. Four children were born to him: Henry A., George, Harvey, and Melissa.
Henry A. Smith learned the painter's trade, in which he became a skilled workman; the fumes from the paint, however, induced Bright's dis- ease, and his life was cut off at the early age of thirty years, in 1863. His wife, the daughter of Isaac Pike of Haverhill, died in 1886 at the age of fifty-four. Three children were born of their union, who were named as follows: Henry I., who is superintendent of the Pike Manufactur- ing Co. of Evansville, Vt .; Frank A., the subject of this brief memoir; and Fanny M., who mar- ried L. M. Locke of Lebanon.
Our subject, being left a poor boy at the age of eight years, without father or money, went to Wells River to live with Mr. Abiel Chamberlain. He assisted him five years in the farm work in return for his board and keep, obtaining a little schooling at intervals. Then for a number of years, until he took up the study of medicine, he was engaged in the mercantile business; his first employment in this line was at Biddeford, Me., as clerk for Andrews & Co., dealers in general merchandise; after four years of faithful service with them, during which time our subject care- fully saved his wages, the firm started a branch store and took in Mr. Smith as a partner. After one year he disposed of his interest, and with J. H. Cutting, under the firm name of Cutting & Smith, opened and conducted successfully for a year a general merchandise store at Woods- ville, N. H. At the end of the year Mr. Smith disposed of his interest and entered the New Hampton Literary Institute, from which he graduated in 1881. He then entered upon the study of his profession in the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons of New York City; in 1884 he graduated and went to Felchville, Vt., and
succeeded to the practice of Dr. C. W. Lock. He soon developed a nice practice and spent five years of pleasant service, which were invalu- able to him in later practice. Desiring a larger field, he moved to Springfield, Vt., where he remained three years, removing thence to Le- banon, one of the thriftiest towns in the State, where he at once entered upon a practice which has steadily grown with every year of his resi- dence. His experience and ability have won him the confidence and admiration of the people in general. He has made an excellent start in the world and has himself to congratulate for his present high standing in the community and among the members of his profession. He is in every respect a self-made man, and is indebted to no one for his education, having earned every cent of the sum he utilized for entering the ranks of one of the most honorable of professions. He affiliates with a number of influential medical societies, belonging to the following organiza- tions: New Hampshire Medical Society, Ver- mont Medical Society, White River Medical Society, and Connecticut River Valley Medical Society.
Soon after his practice became established in Lebanon he purchased the Colby Benton estate, comprising a large house and extensive lawns on Bank Street, near the Park. The house has been remodeled to suit a doctor's requirements and fitted up with modern conveniences; his fine office and reception room are located in the same. He married Alice M. Warren of Spring- field, Vt., the daughter of Charles P. and Mary (Elliott) Warren.
Charles P. Warren was born in Haverhill and is a son of Luther and Martha (Niles) Warren, who was a wide-awake, progressive man, owning a large farm and mills on the Connecticut River. He carried on the business of rafting lumber down the river on a large scale, until he caught cold and died at the age of forty-two with lung fever. His children were: Martha, Luther P., and Charles P. Charles P., Mrs. F. A. Smith's father, carried on farming and lumbering at Haverhill and Bristol, N. H., and Weatherfield and Springfield, Vt. He died in 1895; his wife preceded him. All their children, who numbered six, were born in Haverhill. This is the record: Roxie L., John, Mary, Alice, Harriet, and Lu- cretia.
1
GEORGE H. TURNER.
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Dr. Smith has been presented by his wife with four as fine children as one would care to see; they are: Mark A., born Sept. 10, 1886; Paul C., born May 12, 1892; Martha R., born Nov. 14, 1894; and Wade Warren, born Jan. 18, 1897. Dr. Smith is a Republican. He was a charter member of the Springfield, Vt., Lodge, No. 45, I. O. O. F., and is a Past Grand of it. He took a demit from it and joined the Mascoma Lodge of Lebanon, No. 6. He is also a member of the Franklin Lodge, F. & A. M., of Lebanon; of the A. O. U. W .; of the Pilgrim Fathers; and of the Langdon Club.
JAMES N. TURNER, a retired farmer of Bethlehem, N. H., was born in the above town, April 18, 1824, and is a son of Timothy P. and Priscilla Ballou (Bullock) Turner, the former of Bethlehem, N. H., and the latter of Westminster, \'t. He is a grandson of James Turner and great-grandson of Samuel Turner. Samuel Turner was a soldier of the French and Indian War and later of the Revolutionary War. He eventually left his home in Bernardston and came to Bethlehem, where he died in 1800.
The grandfather of our subject, named James Turner, was born Nov. 24, 1762, in Bernard- ston, Mass .; he came to Bethlehem, N. H., in 1789, and was the third person to settle in that town. He was a farmer by occupation, and car- ried on that pursuit all of his life; he settled on a farm, which has descended through his son to his grandson, the subject of this personal his- tory. He married Mercy (Smith) Parker of Hanover, N. H., and to him and his wife were born three children, namely: Esther, Mary, and Timothy. James Turner died in 1835, and his wife in 1842. They were Congregationalists in religious belief.
Timothy P. Turner taught school a few terms after the completion of his own education and then turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, which he followed all his life in the town of Beth- lehem on his parents' farm. He was a leading man both in business and in politics. He was a Democrat, and served the town some twelve or fifteen years as town clerk ; represented the town in the State Legislature at Concord; and was
justice of the peace several years. He was mar- ried, Feb. 9. 1818, to Priscilla Ballou Bullock, daughter of Nathaniel Bullock, a native of New Hampshire. There were born to our subject's parents nine children, as follows: Lodema I., Esther Ann, James N., Charles S., Hiram N., Harriet N., Timothy N., William H., and Hiram N. Mr. Turner's death occurred in 1872; his wife preceded him ten years, passing away in 1862. They were members of the Con- gregational Church.
Our subject, having received an education in the schools of Bethlehem, N. H., turned his at- tention to the pursuit of agriculture, farming at first in the summer and teaching school in the winter. Upon his father's death he inherited the paternal estate, which had been in the possession of the family since 1789, when James Turner, the grandfather of the present occupant, settled upon it. In 1864 Mr. Turner opened his spacious farm-house to summer boarders; the facilities have been much enlarged since that time, and they can now accommodate seventy-five people. It is nicely located in the eastern part of Bethle- hem Street and commands an excellent view of the White Mountains. Mr. Turner is a Republi- can and has served as justice of the peace several years, besides holding other minor town offices; he is not of the ambitious type of men who aspire after and long for public offices, but is content to do what is asked of him.
He was married in 1857 to Mary Ann Hall, daughter of Enoch Hall, a native of the Green Mountain State. Three children have been born to them, namely: George H., Fannie B., and William H. George H. Turner married Susan R. White, and they have four children: Mary E., Helen E., James A., and Gertrude W. Fannie married Hiram Q. Ward of Danville, Vt .; they have two children, Robert T. and Henry H. William H. is single and resides at home. Mr. and Mrs. Turner are members of the Congrega- tional Church.
George H., the eldest son of our subject, is engaged with his father in business. He is at present county treasurer, being his own suc- cessor, having been elected in 1894 and again in 1896. He has also served in minor offices, hav- ing been justice of the peace for ten years, and its present incumbent. He served on the board of selectmen, was a member of the board of edu-
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cation several years, and is serving as road commissioner, a position he has held for three years. Mr. Turner and wife are Congregation- ists.
The publishers of this volume take great pleasure in presenting the portrait of George H. Turner, as a prominent politician, and as a young man who has by his efficient work risen from one position of trust to another, until he . now holds one of the most important county offices.
NATHAN HAMMOND BATCHELDER, at present actively engaged in representing first- class insurance companies in the village of Hav- erhill, N. H., was born in Bridgewater, N. H., April 20, 1833. His parents were Deacon David Batchelder and Sally Thompson Willard, and his grandparents on his father's side were Simeon Batcheller and Mary Marston. The following children made up the family of Simeon Bateh- elder: Polly, Benjamin, Caleb, Simeon, David, Betsey, Jemima, Phoebe, Martha, and Nancy. Most of them settled on farms in the vicinity of the place of their birth.
David Batchelder was born Sept. 12, 1798, in Bridgewater, N. H., and devoted his life to agri- cultural pursuits. He was married to Sally Thompson Willard in 1821, and there were born to them these children: Louisa L .; David W., who died at two years of age; Charles W .; David; Lucinda T .: and Nathan H. Sally T. Willard was born in Bow, N. H., Feb. 21, 1802. Her father, Moses Thompson Willard, was a soldier in Col. Carter's regiment of Concord, and was killed in the battle of Plattsburgh, Sept. 11, 1814. On March 19, 1801, Mr. Willard married Mehit- abel Robertson, and five children resulted from the union, as follows: Sally T., Eliza L., Moses T., Roxana, and Nancy. Mrs. Willard was a sis- ter of John Robertson, who, when sixteen years of age, was a drummer-boy at the Battle of Bunker Hill, serving thereafter constantly until the cessation of hostilities, meeting his death at length in 1809 by drowning at Garvin's Falls. A railroad station near the city of Concord still bears his name in that of "Robertson's Ferry". Mrs. Willard died Nov. 28, 1814. less than three months after her husband had fallen, never to
rise, in the defense of vital principles of Ameri- can liberty, leaving five children orphans, all under thirteen years of age. Roxana and Nancy, the two youngest, died in youth. Eliza L. mar- ried John Hammond, and settled in Sanbornton, N. H. Moses T., thrown largely on his own re- sourees when a mere lad, managed to acquire a liberal education, graduating from Dartmouth Medical College in 1833, and immediately be- ginning the practice of dentistry in Concord. He ranked high in his profession and gained distinc- tion as an ardent advocate of temperance and similar reforms, receiving excellent proofs of the esteem in which he was held in the frequent elec- tions that were given him to places of trust and honor. Among a number of offices he held those of Postmaster, Alderman, and Mayor of the city of Concord, where he resided until the close of his life, in 1883.
Deacon David Batchelder died in his native town July 12, 1833, the cause of his death being a druggist's fatal mistake in giving him a deadly poison when only a harmless medicine was ordered. Thus early in her married life was a family of children left to the care of our subject's mother, who scarce twenty years before had been left the eldest of a group of orphan children. She subsequently married Paul Perkins, a de- voted Free Will Baptist preacher, who died in Hebron, April 3, 1843. One child, Ruth, who is deceased, was the sole issue of this union. Fol- lowing is the record of the brothers and sisters of our subject: Louisa L., who married Orrin Gor- don, and after his death married Joseph Kidder, died in Concord, October, 1891 ; Charles W. died in Concord, April, 1890; David, Jr., died in Florida, June, 1890; Lueinda T., who married Levi Nelson, Jr., died in Bristol, April, 1895. The mother died in Concord, February, 1883.
Nathan H. Batchelder, very soon after the death of his step-father, began in a large measure to "make his own way." Until seventeen or eighteen years of age he worked on farms in various localities, and attended sehool in winter. In this way he attended school in Hebron, Ply- mouth, Bristol, Franklin, and Coneord, at the latter plaee pursuing a course of studies in the high school. When in Franklin he learned the carriage-maker's trade, and worked at it until he was twenty years old, when he went to Coneord, and assisted in the dentist's office of his unele,
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Moses T. Willard, but gave it up after two years on account of failing health. In February, 1856, he came to Haverhill, where, with the exception of a few years in Bristol, he has since resided, carrying on in his own interest for a term of years a prosperous business in the manufacture of carriages and sleighs. From 1865 to 1872, he made life insurance his principal business, repre- senting the Continental Insurance Co., of Hart- ford, Conn., as its. special agent for the entire State. From 1872 to 1875 he was in the lumber business in Bristol, where he built a mill, and also devoted some of his attention to carriage- building. In 1875 he returned to Haverhill and engaged in the manufacture of carriages and sleighs. Since 1890 he has been interested in life insurance, being the special representative of the Provident Mutual Relief Association, of Con- cord, N. H.
Mr. Batchelder was married in Bradford, Vt., Dec. 21, 1856, to Isabella B. Hovey, who was born in that place Aug. 1, 1836. Her father was Dudley Hovey, a miller by trade, who was born at Strafford, Vt., of Abner and Lois (Tucker) Hovey. Mrs. Batchelder's mother was Ruby Allen, the daughter of Pelatiah and Lettuce (Knapp) Allen. The other children of Mr. and Mrs. Dudley Hovey made the following record: Simeon A. was a soldier in the Mexican War; Eber D. became a sea captain, and lost his life at sea in attempting to rescue others from drown- ing; Alvin S. served in the Mexican War, and afterward died in Texas; Joseph M. died in Glen- wood, Iowa: Mary L. married Hiram F. Herbert of Haverhill, in which place she still lives; John N. resides in Nebraska; Lewis S. lives in Iowa; George I. died in infancy at Bradford, Vt .; and William B., who lives in New London, Conn.
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Batchelder: Fred Perkins, born Dec. 17, 1864; and Mary Hovey, who was born Sept. 13, 1869, and died Oct. 26, 1869. Our subject and his wife are both members of the M. E. Church. Mr. Batchelder is a Free Mason, a member of Grafton Lodge, No. 46. In politics, he is a Dem- ocrat in national issues, and a firm advocate of prohibition. Good men and sound principles re- ceive his support, no matter what the party.
Fred P. Batchelder was educated at Newbury Seminary, and Haverhill Academy, graduating from the latter institution as class valedictorian.
In 1886 he was graduated in the classical course with the degree of B. A. from Dartmouth Col- lege. While in college he was an ardent "fra- ternity man," and in him Theta Delta Chi ever found a loyal supporter. Both class and frater- nity gave him all the honors within their powers. At graduation he was class poet, and his poem was said to have been the finest given at Dart- mouth for many years. He pursued a post- graduate course under the direction of Andover Seminary, and Boston University, earning the advanced degree of Master of Arts in 1889. He taught school first in Junction City, Kansas, and has since been connected with the educational systems of Nantucket, South Hadley, and Flor- ence, Mass. In politics he is a Democrat, and when in Kansas took an active part in Populist politics; he stumped the county for the party, and was its nominee for county solicitor, but came home just previous to election, owing to his father's illness. While principal of the Nan- tucket High School he was admitted to the Massachusetts bar as a practicing attorney in 1891, but has devoted himself chiefly to educa- tional work, both as principal and superintend- ent, in which capacity he has met with marked success ; he is now at the head of the school sys- tem of Florence, Mass. He has been a contribu- tor to several magazines, and has appeared in the lecture field.
He was married at the Church of the Cove- nant, Junction City, Kansas, Aug. 31, 1892, to Zadie Ethel, eldest daughter of Col. and Mrs. C. H. Purinton. Mr. Batchelder is a member of a number of secret orders, among them being the Knights of Honor, the Orientals, the Grange, the Woodmen, and the Masons.
CHAS. S. WOODMAN, D. D. S., of Ash- land, N. H., born Feb. 6, 1854. He is the son of Charles and Jemima (Avery) Woodman, and grandson of Isaac and Mary (Locke) Woodman. Isaac Woodman was born in Barrington, N. H., and passed most of his years on a farm in Wood- stock, N. H., dying there at the age of sixty. His wife, who was born at West Campton, N. H., made him the parent of five boys and a girl.
Charles, one of the sons of Isaac Woodman, was born in Woodstock, received his education,
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and afterwards taught several terms of winter school there. He was engaged in the grocery business in West Thornton for nineteen years, until his health began to fail, when he bought a farm in Bridgewater, where he lives at the age of seventy-four. His wife was Jennie Avery of Campton; she has passed her sixty-eighth birth- day. The children that have been born to them are: Jacob A., Addie C., Charles S., Lyman B., Corydon E., and Austin E. Mr. Woodman is an ardent Republican, and has served in various town offices.
Charles S. Woodman, D. D. S., was educated in West Thornton. When fifteen years old he went west with his uncle, Joseph Woodman, and assisted him on a stock farm for five years, after which he returned east to Ashland, where he worked as a dyer in a woolen mill for four years. Then after completing a business course at New- hampton, N. H., he went to Chicago, Ill., where he studied dentistry, and graduated from the University of Chicago in 1879.
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