USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Book of biographies. This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Grafton County, New Hampshire > Part 23
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He began the practice of his profession in Elburn, Ill., where he met with gratifying success for three years, when he removed to Ashland. There he started on a modest scale, for the only accommodations for an office that he could obtain was one small room, that he uses now for receiving patients. In such cramped surround- ings did he begin his practice, a practice that has enabled him to fit up the finest working laboratory in the county. His wife's health, which had failed while west, had now recovered and proved a source of much encouragement. His success has been gratifying to all who know him; he has not only been very successful in gen- eral dental work, but he has, by his careful and thorough workmanship, acquired an enviable reputation as an expert in artificial teeth, mak- ing an average of 125 sets per year.
Our subject is the proud owner of a fine estate in Ashland, which he purchased from Esther Shepard. His orchard contains a very choice selection of plums. He is a lover of fancy poul- try, and has a yard of pure-blooded Wyandottes, thoroughbreds, with all the fancy points, which are so significant to the poultry judge, and obtains from $1.50 to $3.00 a dozen for the eggs, for breeding purposes. He is also exceedingly fond of fine horses. One of the finest in his stables is of Hambletonian and Wilkes blood
with a good pedigree. A two-year-old and also a four-year-old that he has raised, are not only beauties in form, but are also among the most promising of the best steppers in the county.
Dr. Woodman was joined in marriage with Rosa P., daughter of John Hill of Ellsworth, N. H., July 4, 1878. They have a family of two chil- dren: Hallie L. and Joseph E.
Dr. Woodman is a Republican, and has served several years as supervisor. He is a liberal sup- porter of the Free Will Baptist Church. He is a member of Mt. Prospect Lodge, F. & A. M., No. 68. He belongs to Grafton Lodge, No. 16, I. O. O. F., and is Past Grand Master of the same, and a member of the Encampment. He is also a member of the A. O. U. W., and has served through the chairs.
ALFRED WEBSTER, one of Campton's prosperous and well-to-do farmers, was born in Campton Village, N. H., Nov. 24, 1837. He is a son of David and Phebe F. (Clark) Webster, and a grandson of Eliphalet Webster. Little is known of our subject's grandfather, except that he was engaged in the pursuit of agriculture all or most of his life.
David Webster was born in Holderness, Sept. I, 1794, and settled in the town of Campton. His most successful venture was transporting freight to and from Boston by horse teams and wagons. The journey took up ten days, five days to Bos- ton and the same time back; his freight to Boston consisted of farm produce, which he ex- changed for merchandise for the several mer- chants in this vicinity. In this work he was very successful, and carried on a large trade; one of his loads he had weighed by the city weigher of Boston, and it tipped the scale at seven tons and 776 pounds. He finally retired from this busi- ness and bought a small farm of J. Keniston; he built a house and barns, and made it his home till his death, which occurred Feb. 28, 1861. He married as his first wife Olive H. Smith, who was born Feb. 22, 1799, and died May 17, 1825. Her children were: William R., born Feb. 19, 1820; Annette G., born May 14, 1821; Erastus, born April 2, 1823. His second wife was Phebe F. Clark, whom he married Nov. 29, 1827; she was
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born April 21, 1806, and departed this life July 16, 1871. Her children were as follows: Olive Jane, born Oct. 19, 1828; Charles G., born Aug. 16, 1830; Jason, born Jan. 10, 1833, and met his death in the late war; David, born April 14, 1835; Alfred, born Nov. 24, 1837; and Emily A., born Nov. 26, 1839. Mr. Webster was a Whig and later a Republican, and took an intelligent inter- est in all matters that pertained to the good of the community. He served as tax collector, and in other of the minor offices of the town.
Alfred Webster received his educational train- ing in the public schools of Campton, and at the age of fifteen began to work at agricultural pursuits. Aug. 15, 1862, he enlisted in Co. C., 13th Reg. N. H. Vol. Inf. He served three years, and was discharged in 1865. Immediately after his enlistment his regiment was sent to the front before Fredericksburg, and was present in the campaign around Suffolk, Richmond and Peters- burg. While helping to unload cannon he re- ceived his only injury, a broken leg, that incapac- itated him from active work for a time. When he returned home from the war he began work- ing in the Mad River Woolen Mills, commenc- ing at the very bottom and working his way to the top. For the past twenty-nine years he has worked more or less at the trade, and for the last fifteen years he has assorted wool for the factory, becoming a very proficient ex- pert at that important branch of the work. He cared for his parents in their old age, and bought the old homestead, remodeling the house and erecting new barns. He bought fifty acres of arable land adjoining, and also 200 acres of tim- ber and pasture land on Hodgman's Hill. His wife owns the old Nason farm of 100 acres of good valley land, where our subject built a new barn, and has otherwise improved. With the assistance of his two sons he cultivates both farms.
Mr. Webster married, in 1866, Elsie Kendall, daughter of Jesse Kendall of Campton. She died about the age of thirty-six, after giving birth to one child, Nettie E., who was born June 29, 1867, and married William Biglow, and has one child, Olive, as the issue. Our subject's second wife was Lydia M., daughter of George and Maria (Durgin) Wallace; he married her June 24, 1870. Mr. Wallace was born in Sandwich, but settled in Thornton, where he made a decided success
of farming after commencing with practically nothing. He used only the latest and most im- proved methods of soil cultivation. He died at the age of sixty-one; his wife passed away at the age of seventy-three. They were blessed with three children: Marcellus, George H., and Lydia M. He was a Democrat politically. He favored the Free Will Baptist Church.
The union of our subject with Lydia M. Wal- lace has been blessed with the following children : Julia M., born April 18, 1872, and married B. F. Carter, and resides in Haverhill, N. H .; Jason, born July 21, 1874, assists his father in the farm work; George W., born Oct. 7, 1875, also assists on the farm; Phebe L., born Sept. 6, 1880, lives at home with her parents. Mr. Webster is a firm Republican, and is well informed in all matters of public interest. He is a member of the G. A. R. Post.
MRS. MARY J. MITCHELL is the widow of the late Timothy W. Mitchell. He was born in the town of Thornton, June 7, 1821, and was a son of Elijah and Eliza (Webster) Mitchell, and grandson of Isaac Mitchell. Isaac Mitchell was born in Hartford, Conn., and came to Grafton Co., settling in Thornton; he afterwards moved to Canada, and died there at a good old age. He was devoted to the pursuit of agriculture all his life.
His son, Elijah Mitchell, bought a farm in Thornton and engaged in farming to a consid- erable extent. He built a carriage shop, and entered upon the manufacture of carriages, being one of the first to engage in this line of industry in Campton Village. He died of heart trouble when sixty-seven years of age. His wife lived to be over eighty-seven years old. The follow- ing children were born to them: Timothy W., Eliza A., Phoebe P., Frederick A., Emily, Elijah, Jr., Sarah, Clara, Marcia, and Harlan P. In politics Mr. Mitchell was a Whig, and later in life, after the dissolution of the Whig party, he was a Republican. He was a colonel in the 14th Regiment of the State militia. In his religious views he was a Baptist.
Timothy W. Mitchell early in his life learned the wheelwright's trade, and worked at it a num- ber of years. Mr. Mitchell had been named after
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Mr. T. W. Webster, and Mr. Webster being in feeble health, and also his wife, they asked Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell to come and live with them. Mr. Webster's honie is known as the Sunset Hill House, where he kept traveling men; he also owned a large quantity of land where the beauti- ful village of Campton is now located. Mr. Mitchell and wife took the best of care of the aged couple till death put an end to their labors. It was found after their death that all the prop- erty was given to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell. From that time our subject's husband carried on farm- ing, and owning the grist-mill operated that profitably. He was one of the most enterprising business men that have ever cast their lot in with that of the village of Campton. He was very active in the improvement of his property, and seemed to have a secret insight and to know instinctively what plan was the best. He was extremely popular with everyone, and gained their good-will in an unassuming, unpretentious way. In politics he was a Republican. He was one of the most active and earnest members of the Baptist Church, and played the bass viol in the church for fifty years. He died July 27, 1879.
He married Mary J., daughter of Luther and Mary (Dickey) Tucker. Luther Tucker was born in Concord and was a son of Eliphalet and Anna (Foss) Tucker. Eliphalet Tucker was a teacher, and very skilled he was at his profession ; he was highly educated, and was a man of marked ability and government. Late in life he settled in the town of Thornton, but died in New York City. His children were: Arthur; John; Delia, who died young; and Luther.
Luther Tucker, our subject's father, bought a farm in Thornton, and followed farming and working at his trade of shoemaker. His two farmns were located on Mad River Street; they are now owned by Alva Morrison and Wesley Dearborn. Luther Tucker died at the age of forty-five from overwork, which wrecked his constitution. His wife was called to join the loved ones gone before at the age of eighty-six; she was very agile and nimble up to a short time before her death. The following children were born to them: Arthur, an infant that died; Elizabeth; Mary J., the subject of this notice; and Jerusha R.
Mrs. Mitchell is the mother of the following children: Luther T., born Jan. 19, 1843, enlisted
in August, 1862, in Co. D., 9th N. H. Vol. Inf. He was taken prisoner in the Battle of the Wild- erness and confined in Andersonville Prison, and in being transferred to Florence he became ex- hausted, and died Dec. 15, 1864. George H. was born Sept. 13, 1844, and died Jan. 9, 1862. Col- lonna H. was born July II, 1847, and died Aug. 26, 1870; he married Lovina Glover. Mary E., born Dec. 22, 1850, married Charles A. Walker, an artist of Chelsea, Mass. They have been blessed with two children, Gertrude M. and M. Leon. Garryt D., born Jan. 15, 1854, married Hannah Howard, and has one son, Howard D. Mr. Mitchell is a contractor and architect of Chelsea, Mass. Charles F., born Feb. 7, 1860, is a steel engraver of Boston, Mass.
In 1890 our subject erected a handsome cot- tage in the old home locality of Campton Village, where she has lived since, with the exception that she spends some winters in Boston; in sum- mer her children come to visit her. She is blessed with a strong and vigorous constitution, and bids fair to live many years yet. She is held in the very highest esteem by a large circle of friends, and is found to favor every worthy cause, and is ever ready to proffer her valuable assistance. She is very popular among all classes of people, and her many nobilities of character are frequently extolled.
JONATHAN M. CHENEY, M. D., of Ash -. land, one of the most successful physicians and surgeons in the county, was born at Ashland, N. H., in 1863. He is the son of Hon. Col. T. P. Cheney, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this book.
Our subject has received a very liberal educa- tion. His primary education was obtained in the schools of Ashland; he then attended New Hampton and Tilton academies and prepared for college. He selected the University of Ver- mont, and graduated from the Medical Depart- ment in 1887, and entered upon the practice of his profession in the same year at Rochester, N. H. In 1888 he came to his native town and opened an office; from the very start he won the confidence and support of his fellow-townsmen. In addition to his local practice, he has country calls from all directions. He is much in demand
HENRY C. PHILLIPS.
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among his brother physicians and surgeons as a consultant. He is a graduate of the New York Post Graduate School and Hospital, and Boston Polyclinic. He gives special attention to surgery and is a careful and skillful operator.
He bought for his home the house formerly owned by Dr. Dana, on the corner of Highland and School Streets. This he has remodeled and fitted with modern appliances; his office is at his house.
Dr. Cheney joined his fortunes with those of Miss Lucy Ashland Hughes, on Dec. 25, 1887. She was the first child born in the town of Ash- land after its division from Holderness, hence her name. She is the daughter of Barnet Hughes of Ashland. Three children have been born to them: Mary E., born Oct. 25, 1888; Thomas P., born Aug. 17, 1891; and Lucy M., born April 6, 1893, and who died May 10, 1893.
Dr. Cheney is a Republican, and has been United States pension examining surgeon seven years, and consulting surgeon at the Soldiers' Home Hospital at Tilton, N. H., for several years. He is a member of the State Medical Society; he is a member of Mt. Prospect Lodge, F. & A. M .; and of Pemigewasset Chapter, R. A. M.
HENRY C. PHILLIPS of Woodsville, N. H., superintendent of the county farm, was born in Alexandria, N. H., Jan. 19, 1865; he is a son of John F. and Sarah A. (Pattee) Phillips, and a grandson of Alva and Ruth (Sleepcr) Phillips. Alva Phillips was born in England and adopted this country as his home and followed the occu- pation of farming here. His wife's father was Peter Sleeper. John F. Phillips was born in Alexandria and followed agricultural pursuits until 1885, when he opened up a store for gen- eral merchandise in the village of Alexandria; he retired from business in 1895, selling his store to his son, W. A. Phillips. John F. Phillips has been a man conspicuously active in local poli- tics. He is a Democrat. He has held all the important offices of the town; he was selectman for several terms, representative for two sessions, moderator at nearly every town meeting, and is at present a member of the school board. He is a Mason and has taken the thirty-second de-
gree. Mr. Phillips is a member of the M. E. Church. His wife was a daughter of William Pattee and Miss Laurie. Nine children were born to our subject's parents; they are as fol- lows: Allie, who died in infancy; Ella R., de- ceased; Henry C., the subject of this sketch; Arthur, deceased; William A., a merchant of Alexandria; May, deceased; Herbert L., who is making his home with his father; Christy, de- ceased; and Lou Belle, a stenographer and type- writer of Ashland, N. H. Mr. Phillips is a vet- eran of the late war.
Henry C. Phillips attended the common schools of his native place until his fourteenth year, when he put a year to good account in the Commercial College of New Hampton. When fifteen years old his mother died and our subject went away to work on a farm in summer and in the lumber woods cutting timber in the winter. Then for about eighteen months Mr. Phillips was employed in Mason & Perkins paper mill at Bristol, finally returning to agricultural life and operating a farm, which he purchased, until he came to Woodsville, April 1, 1893, to take charge of the county farm, succeeding H. R. Morris.
He found the farm very much run down and in serious need of a radical change in its manage- ment. Upon the recommendation of the county delegation of water works commissioners of 1893-94, consisting of Messrs. E. W. Herbert, W. F. Parker, and Henry F. Greene, appro- priated the sum of $4,000.00 to be used in im- proving the water supply. The improvements, made under our subject's direction, were such that the water obtained from a river well is stored in a reservoir situated on the hill, with a capacity of 50,000 gallons. Four hydrants, sup- plied with six-inch cast iron pipes, were put in, thus giving the county buildings adequate pro- tection from fire.
Previous to Mr. Phillips's taking charge of the farm the hay crop had been sold from the farm each season with the false economic idea that by so doing the cost of the maintenence of the institution would be lessened. Mr. Phillips has changed this system by keeping seventy-five head of cows, and producing a monthly income of $200.00 by the sale of the milk to the cream- ery. The hay and the fodder crops of the farm had not been worked to the greatest advantage
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under the former management, and the land had not been kept in a good state of cultivation by frequent fertilizing. In 1893 only eighty-five tons of hay and five tons of corn fodder were produced. In 1894 the yield had been raised to 150 tons of hay and twenty tons of fodder. In 1895, which was a poor year, more stock was pastured than in previous years, and even then the yield was good, there being 129 1-2 tons of (Maston) Clark. The record is as follows: Emma married Laurence Goudie, a carpenter of Lisbon; Cynthia married Japeth Gray, a farmer of Alexandria; Mattie M. is the wife of our subject; Samuel is living at home with his parents; and Jennie, who married Charles Gray of Alexandria. Mrs. Phillips is a faithful and devoted member of the M. E. Church of Alex- andria. Our subject is a member of Grafton hay, seventy tons of ensilage (having built a ยท Lodge, No. 46, F. & A. M. He is a Democrat in politics, and has served as tax collector one year and as selectman for the town of Alexandria two years.
silo in the meantime), and ten tons of corn fod- der. The record for 1896 is one of which our subject may well be proud: 200 tons of hay stored in the barns, 300 tons of ensilage (more silos having been added to the original one, making altogether three silos, each with a ca- pacity of 100 ton), and eight acres of corn still unhusked at the time of this writing.
Not alone were the fields in poor condition; the buildings were in sad want of repair, steam pipes were tied up with rags, roofs were leaking, and a general state of disorder and chaos pre- vailed. Everything has now been placed in ship- shape condition, buildings have been re-roofed and repaired wherever needed; full records are now kept of all business transactions connected with a proper management of the farm. Al- though the cost has been considerable in placing the farm in its present condition, yet the future expenses will be diminished in large part. In 1893 the average cost per inmate per week was $I.14 I-3; in 1894 it had risen because of exten- sive repairs to $1.60; in 1895 it about held its own, still owing to the many improvements not completed in the previous year, amounting to $1.57; in 1896 a considerable diminution will be noticed, for the average cost per inmate per week will only approximate $I.IO. The county commissioners, by whom the work was author- ized, during 1895-96, have been Messrs. Henry F. Green, James F. Huckins and Horace F. Hoyt.
Mr. Phillips was married Oct. 10, 1885, at Alexandria to Hattie M. Clark, who was born in Alexandria, and was a daughter of Aaron Clark, a farmer of Alexandria, and Mary Maston of Epsom, N. H. Aaron Clark was a son of Samuel Clark of Dorchester, N. H., a member of a family of strongly-marked Scotch descent. Samuel Clark's wife was Mary (Swain). Mrs. Phillips is the third child of Aaron and Mary
The publishers of this Book of Biographies have inserted Mr. Phillips's portrait in this work in connection with his biography, as a fitting representative of that rising class of young men who at their chosen vocation of farming have met with the most flattering success.
ISAAC H. SMITH, a prominent farmer and the proprietor of a large summer boarding-house of the town of Holderness, was born in Sanborn- ton, Belknap Co., N. H., Dec. 27, 1831. He is a son of Capt. Elisha and Abigail (Clark) Smith, and grandson of Elisha and Mary (Hoit) Smith.
Elisha Smith, Sr., settled in Sanbornton, N. H., where he followed the worthy occupation of farming. There he cleared a new farm, and be- came a well-to-do man. He was killed in a runaway accident when at the age of sixty-four. His wife lived to be eighty-two years old. Twelve children were born to them: Elisha, Samuel, Benjamin, Betsey, Lydia, Nancy, Bar- nard, Langdon, Polly, Charlotte, Charles, Benja- min.
The eldest son, also named Elisha, learned to make clocks, serving a seven years' apprentice- ship at Concord, N. H .; he worked several years subsequently at his trade. Later he manufac- tured them under his own name; many of the high, old corner clocks of that part of the State that are running to-day are of his make, and bear his name on their faces. This business he followed until the demand for them became too feeble, owing to the introduction of clocks of a more modern style. He then sought employ-
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ment in various machine shops, and readily found it, for he was a skilled workman. He worked in the shops of Dover, Manchester, and Lowell. He died at the latter place of typhoid fever when fifty-two years old. His wife, who was the daughter of John Clark, joined those gathered on the golden shore when seventy-seven years of age. Their family consisted of: Catherine T., Sarah C., Mary O., Isaac H., John C., Van Buren, George E., and an infant.
Isaac H. Smith received a good common school education, and made a start in life by peddling milk in the city of Lowell. He kept at this for seventeen years, when he engaged in the meat business in Winchester, Mass., for twelve years. He then sold his interests and retired from business. Coming to Holderness, he bought the Deacon Andrew Smith place. The house on this property was built on a beautiful elevation and commanded an excellent view of Squam Lake, and the mountains beyond. Just back of the house is a small hill, on which is the pinery, where stands the Lone Pine, a monarch of past days. It is 106 feet high, and four feet through at the base; it may be seen for many miles as a landmark. The side of the hill being cleared, and the summit crowned with pines, the whole makes a perfect picture with no further embellishments. It is simple, but nevertheless eloquent of beauty. The house has two stories and accommodates twenty-five boarders. The lawns are kept in the best shape. There are the requisite barns, stables, carriage houses; all of ample proportions.
Mr. Smith owns 250 acres of land, and keeps a selected herd of blooded cattle; he has a fine orchard of grafted fruit, and many other like im- provements, for which he is responsible, that make his farm one of the finest in the town.
Our subject married Josephine M., daughter of Martin McIntyre, a leading agriculturist of Stoddard, N. H .; he died at the age of seventy- four. Mr. McIntyre's children were: Mary A., Abigail, George W., Laura A., Josephine M., and Horatio.
Mr. Smith and his excellent wife have been blessed with four children, of whom two are now living. Benjamin M., a plumber, married Ella Olin of Jewett City, Conn .; they have two chil- dren, Edward O. and Laurence H. H. Cora A. died when three years old. Abbie J. died at the
age of two. Mabel T., being the youngest and the pride of her parents' hearts, has remained with them at home. She certainly deserves the love and affection lavished upon her, for not only does she excel in beauty of form and face, but she has also those noble traits of character that alone would endear her to her friends. Of a cheerful and sunny disposition, she is the central figure wherever she goes.
Mr. Smith in his political affiliations is a Dem- ocrat; he is liberal in his religious views.
HARRY A. CHENEY, M. D., is the leading physician of Campton, and as such enjoys the confidence and esteem of a large number of patrons scattered throughout the county. He is a son of Col. Thomas P. Cheney of Ashland, and was born in Ashland, N. H., in the year 1870. The Doctor's grandfather and great- grandfather were both natives of Thornton, N. H.
Our subject's father was born in Ashland, and has made that place his home. His early life was full of hardship and unremitting toil, beginning the struggle for a subsistence and an education at the age of ten, working in woolen and paper mills for six years, and receiving at the most $1.50 a week. Even with this miserable pittance he managed to board and clothe himself, and to save up money, with which he attended the Til- ton, N. H., Seminary, finishing the education so rudely interrupted in his youth. When he be- came of age he married Mary Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Jonathan F. Keyes, a highly respected citi- zen of Ashland. From that time till the war broke out he was chiefly engaged in mercantile business. Early in the civil struggle he enlisted and served until 1863 in Co. A., 6th N. H. Vol. Inf., when he was discharged for disability, with the rank of first lieutenant. From that time to this he has been almost continually engaged in political service. He has held the office of Post- master of Ashland, Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms at Washington, from 1864-69; Superintendent of the Railway Service of the New England States from 1869-84; Pension Agent from 1884-86, and again from 1888-92. He served in the State Sen- ate during the session of 1889-90. He has also
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