USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Book of biographies. This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Grafton County, New Hampshire > Part 27
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JONATHAN P. MASON, a well-known rep- resentative farmer of the town of Campton, N. H., was born in the town of Thornton, June 16, 1830, and is a son of James and Mary (Pearson) Mason. Our subject's father was born in Chi- chester, N. H., and entered upon the stern reali- ties of life as a farmer. He went to the town of Thornton, Grafton Co., where he bought 100 acres of practically new and uncultivated land; he cleared the land, erected a house and neces- sary out-buildings. There he reared his family. He was not very strong, physically, nor blessed with the best of health, yet by perseverance and good judgment he so improved his farm and its surroundings as to place him among the most successful farmers of the town. In politics he was a Democrat, but never aspired to any office. He belonged to the Free Will Baptist Church. He died at the age of seventy-six, and his wife also was called to a better land at about the same age. They were blessed with sixteen children, fourteen of whom grew up to noble manhood and womanhood. They were: John, who died young ; an infant son, unnamed; Caleb; Andrew : Samuel; James; Thomas, killed in the late war; Jonathan P .; and Charles were the boys; and the girls were: Rhoda, Mary, Sarah, Martha, Ru- hamah, Mehitabel, and Almaretta.
Our subject and his brother Charles stayed with their parents and cared for them in their old age, inheriting the homestead at their death.
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The homestead is now owned by William Wil- ley; our subject, after the division of the farm, cultivated his portion till 1866, when he sold it. The following eighteen years were spent farming in summers, and during falls he engaged in mak- ing starch. In 1884 he bought the Christopher Smith place of 200 acres of land in the town of Campton, on Cook's Hill, one of the best upland farms in the town. The land is valuable and under an advanced state of cultivation, and everything about the place seems to indicate not only that the proprietor has a thorough and complete knowledge of his vocation, but that he has put that knowledge to practical use; there is a large orchard of the best of fruit, and the build- ings are in excellent repair. The location is un- excelled for fine views of the natural beauties of New Hampshire; it is on the west side of the town and commands an extensive, open view of the Pemigewasset Valley, and Mad River Valley, and the many summer hotels and resorts border- ing their streams. An excellent view of Mt. Lafayette and the Haystacks may also be obtained, and of the Franconia Mountains, and the Notch, which opens to Mt. Washington. Among his farming interests is a large and well- conducted dairy.
He married Mrs. Rebecca Jane Smith, relict of the late Rev. David Smith. Rev. Smith was born on the farm that our subject now owns, and was a son of Christopher Smith. Rev. Smith was ordained a minister of the Christian Church, and followed that sacred calling till he was stricken down in the very prime of life, at the age of thirty-five, by hemorrhage of the lungs. He left five children: Reuben, born in 1863, is an assistant at the Rhode Island State Alms House, and when at home a ready helper of our subject; Mary, born in 1865, married Dr. F. C. Suiter of La Crosse, Wis .; Frances is a teacher, and is at home most of the time; John, born in 1868, married Delma Wilson, and has one child, Richard; David, born in 1869, is a farmer of Waverly, Mass. There were two other children, Maggie L. and Jennie W., who died while in- fants. Our subject's wife was born in Bath, N. Y., and is a daughter of Garrett and Margaret (Coleman) Stout. Garrett Stout began life as a farmer, but later moved to Waterloo, Iowa, bought and operated a grist-mill besides his ordi- nary farming duties. He still lives in Iowa, aged
eighty years. His wife died, aged seventy-one years. Their children were: Rebecca Jane, Sarah Helen, John Coleman, and Frances Eliza- beth.
Mr. Mason has always been a stanch Demo- crat, but has refused to fill any office since he came to Campton; he is fully able to perform the work of any office at the gift of his fellow-towns- men with fidelity and credit, for he bears a good record from the town of Thornton, where he served as selectman. He is a member in good standing in the local Christian Church of Thorn- ton. Mrs. Mason is also a member. Mr. Mason was a firm Union man, and furnished a man to serve in his place during the war.
EDMUND HARVEY ELLIOTT, the larg- est ladder manufacturer of New England, was born in the town of Rumney, May 8, 1834, and is a son of Daniel and Dorcas (Baker) Elliott, and a grandson of Daniel Elliott, whose earliest occupation, that we have any creditable informa- tion concerning, was keeping hotel at Enfield, N. H. He was also a large land-owner, and car- ried on a large farm, being one of the leading business men of his town. He retired rather early in life and sold his property, dying about the age of sixty. He was united twice in the matrimonial bond. By his first wife he had one child, Sally. The children by his second wife were: Jotham, Harvey, Paulina, Daniel, Arnold, Wheelock, Alden, Obadiah, Hiram, Louise, Al- mira, Maria, and Laura.
Daniel Elliott, the father of our subject, was born in Enfield, N. H., in 1806, and came to Rumney in 1822, and bought an unimproved farm by the Stinson Brook, built a dwelling- house, and set to work to clear the land. There were no saw-mills in that locality at that time, and so Daniel Elliott built a saw-mill on the brook, realizing that it would add great value to his timber lands. He at once began lumbering to a large extent, and bought much timber land, especially such as was fit to be used by the lum- berman. He became very active in his lumber- ing and sawing industry, clearing large tracts of land, sawing the logs and marketing the same. He wore out his first saw-mill, and al-
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most wore out the second one. He was
the largest lumberman of this section, and owned 1,800 acres of land, of which he cleared 100 acres as a farm; he also made shingles of the pine logs. He was a very strong man physically, and possessed an extremely good and discriminating judgment; he was a hard worker, and was able to accomplish what two men would ordinarily do. He was kind- hearted, and proud of his large family, and his loving companion of so many years, who reared them to be noble men and women. To the very last he was engaged in his usual hearty work; his death took place at the age of eighty-one; his wife was taken from the midst of a sorrowing family at the age of fifty-two, by heart failure, following a severe case of spotted fever. Daniel and Dorcas Elliott reared the following children : Horatio B., born June 23, 1829; Dorcas M., born Sept. 29, 1830; Phoebe E., born July 12, 1832; Edmund H., born May 8, 1834; Hester M., born Jan. 29, 1836; James B., born Sept. 30, 1837; Clorinda A., born Sept. 5, 1839; Henry B., born Feb. 23, 1841; Perley C., born Dec. 26, 1842; Jerusha A., born Feb. 13, 1845; Helen M., born July 26, 1846; Ruby A., born Sept. 11, 1848; Augustus W., born Oct. 5, 1849; Eugene S., born Jan. 14, 1851; Roxanna J., born Dec. 29, 1851 ; Lemuel S., born Dec. 6, 1852; Celestia A., born Feb. 13, 1854; Thomas O., who died in childhood. In all there were eighteen children in the first family, of whom fifteen grew to ma- turity and twelve are living now. Mr. Elliott's second wife was Sarah Buzzell; one child was born to them, but it died young. He was a Democrat in his politics, and served in office as selectman, and in minor positions of trust. Re- ligiously he was a Universalist.
Edmund Harvey Elliott was educated in the public schools of Rumney, and assisted his father till he finished the years of his minority, when he worked a few years in the saw-mills and in the manufacture of wooden pegs at Ashland, N. H. Later he was employed in the ladder factory at Rumney ; then he bought the Cotton Smart farm of 150 acres, bordering on Stinson Lake, and built a dam and saw-mill opposite the house, and carried on general sawing for about five years. At length he enlarged his business and began the manufacture of the pole ladder of spruce, with oak rounds. This ladder has been on the
market for fifteen years, and has to-day a wide- spread reputation. He manufactures 140,000 feet of ladders annually, and ships ladders by the car-load lots to various points in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, besides' supplying and controlling the home market. In order to obtain timber he has purchased tract after tract of wooded land, until now he owns 1,400 acres in this and adjoining towns. The fine river farm, known as the Davis farm, is owned by him, and is used principally for hay for his splendid teams of horses and oxen. He also owns a large pas- ture lot, bordering on the brook. He is a large employer of labor, both in the mills and in the woods. His residence and other buildings have been altered and enlarged, new barns and car- riage houses erected, so that his home presents a very prosperous appearance. He is one of the largest, as well as most favorably known, of the business men of this portion of the county; like his father, a finer man is rarely to be met; not only in business life is he worthy of emulation, but also in his family and neighborly relations.
He has been married twice; his first wife was Ellen, daughter of Ezekiel and Orissa (Blanch- ard) Cheever of Fort Covington, N. Y. She died at the age of fifty-four. The children were: Wilbur H., born Oct. 26, 1861, married Carrie Page, they lost one son, Wilbur H. Wilbur H. assists his father in the ladder business. Lizzie, born April 12, 1863, died October, 1873. Henry A., born July 27, 1867, married Hattie Smart, and has one child by the marriage, Howard N. He is a physician and surgeon of Barnet, Vt. Frederick H., born June 14, 1876, is head clerk at Craig's general store, at Rumney depot. Our subject married as his second wife Ada N., daughter of Samuel and Mary (Jones) Cheever. Samuel Cheevers was born in Danvers, Mass., and is a son of Nathan and Mehitabel (Porter) Cheevers, who were among the early and suc- cessful tillers of the soil of Dorchester, Grafton Co. Nathan Cheevers died about the age of sixty; his wife lived to be ninety-three years of age before the invisible summons came. They had nine children, all blessed with strong consti- tutions, and living to a good old age; a period of sixty years passed without a death occurring in the family. Their son Samuel was one of the intelligent, wide-awake farmers of the town of Dorchester, and owned a large farm, near where
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the postoffice of Cheevers is now located. Samuel died in 1894, at the age of eighty-seven, and his wife died in 1880, aged fifty-five. Their children were: Ada N., Nathan S., Mary E., George Vernon, and Edson J. The eldest and the youngest children are the only ones surviv- ing to-day.
Mr. Elliott is a strong Democrat, and has the conviction of his beliefs, and is fearless in the ex- pression of his opinions. His business life has given him no opportunity to hold office; time has been too valuable. In his religious views he is a Universalist.
JOHN N. KINNE, a practical machinist and farmer of the town of Groton, was born in Jeffer- son, Coos Co., June 7, 1842; his parents were: Rev. Sewall G. and Henrietta R. (Stevens) Kinne, and his grandparents were Luther and Pasha (Miller) Kinne.
The representative of the Kinne family, who first made his home in this country, settled in Pomfret, Conn., and there the grandfather of our subject was born, or else in Hanover, N. H .; it is not definitely known which place may claim the distinction. He was born Dec. 15, 1799, and owned a farm in Hanover, N. H., but later in life sold his property there and bought a piece of farming property in Canaan, N. H., where he lived till his death, Dec. 7, 1849. His wife de- parted this life Jan. 14, 1850. Their family con- sisted of the following children: Esther, born June 15, 1803; Eunice, Nov. 13, 1804; Amos, June 2, 1807; Sewall G., Nov. 2, 1809; Luther, Jr., May 30, 1812; John M., April 15, 1814; Lovica, Aug. 11, 1816; Esther (second), Jan. 3, 1820; and Horace, March 24, 1823.
Rev. Sewall G. Kinne received the best of a comon school education, and finished his theo- logical course at New Hampton, and was or- (lained a minister of the Baptist faith. His active work in the ministry spanned a period of thirty- four years, twenty years of which was spent in North Groton as pastor of the Baptist Church, at the same time supplying other pulpits. He built him a house in North Groton, where he resided for many years; the house is now owned by L. R. Brown. Rev. Kinne lived to enjoy sixty-two years of useful work before he was
called home to render his account to his Master. His wife, who was born June 30, 1820, is still living, and is making her home with her son; she was a daughter of Moses and Susan (Clark) Stevens. They were blessed with three children: Esther E., born Sept. 16, 1840; John N., the sub- ject of this sketch; and Baron, born March I, 1853. Our subject's father was a Democrat in his early years, until the election of Franklin Pierce to the Presidency, when ile joined the Whig party, and ever afterward supported the Whig and Republican organizations. An inter- esting fact worthy of being noted is that he was the first Postmaster that North Groton had, and the first man to mail a letter was R. H. McClure.
John N. Kinne attended the schools regularly until his seventeenth year, when he learned the trade of machinist, serving one year in Groton and two years in Enfield, when he went to the Manchester Locomotive Works, and worked there eight years. He was married, Dec. 24, 1863, to Miss Tamson B. Mathews, daughter of James and Betsey (Bachelder) Mathews. Our subject's wife was born Oct. 11, 1839; her father was a native of Dorchester, N. H., but when a young man came to Groton and bought the Mer- rill farm of seventy acres, and carried on general farming for the remainder of his life, which came to an end at the advanced age of eighty-four. His wife responded to the invisible summons at the age of seventy-four. Their children were: Mary J., John D., Harriet M., Eliza A., Sarah A., Charles B., and Tamson B.
When Mr. Kinne came to Groton he pur- chased a farm adjoining that of his wife's parents; as his father and mother were getting along in years and wished to retire to a peaceful country life, he let them have the farm he bought and he then purchased the farm of his wife's parents and lived there, taking care of the old folks. He made many improvements of a permanent nature, that have increased the value of the property to a large degree; more farm buildings have been erected, and the old ones repaired and remodeled to suit greater needs. Besides his general farming, he is interested in mining of mica; he has opened a mine on his farm, which is rich in promise and assures him of large future returns. He has also superin- tended other mines, such as the Meriden Mica Mining Co., the Bay State Mining Co., and the
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D. W. Lyman Mining Co., of Providence, the mines being located in the town of Groton. Mr. Kinne has a choice dairy of cows in which he takes a great interest. He is a great lover of fine horses, and has bred and raised some of the best horses ever raised in the town; he still owns some very fine animals.
The children that have been born to our sub- ject and his wife are as follows: Sewall M., born Jan. 3, 1870; and Josie A., born Aug. 23, 1873. Sewall M. married Lizzie Campbell, and owns and operates a farm of 100 acres adjoining his father's property. Josie A. married James Giff, and has borne him two children: Cora, born Sept. 30, 1891; and Rosie, born Sept. 20, 1895. Mr. Kinne is a Republican in respect of his poli- tical views, and has served four terms as select- man, seven years as collector of taxes, besides positions on the school board, as moderator, etc. The entire family are Baptists. '
CHARLES G. WEBSTER, one of the lead- ing farmers and citizens of the town of Campton, Grafton Co., N. H., was born in Campton, N. H., Aug. 16, 1830, and is a son of David and Phebe (Clark) Webster, and a grandson of Eliphalet Webster. Our subject's grandfather was a far- mer, and was engaged in that vocation nearly all his life.
David Webster's birth-place was Holderness, and he first saw the light of day there, on Sept. I, 1794. He settled in the town of Campton. He engaged in a very successful venture, which he pursued for a large portion of his life, of transferring freight from his native town to Bos- ton and back. The journey consumed ten days, five days each way; his load to Boston would consist of farm produce, which he would ex- change there for merchandise for the merchants in this vicinity. He carried on a large trade in this line of work ; one of his loads of merchandise was weighed by the city weigher of Boston and found to weigh seven tons and 776 pounds. He finally retired from this business 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 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 G., born Nov. 26, 1839. Mr. Webster was a Whig, and later a Republican, and took an intelligent inter- est in all matters concerning the welfare of the community. He served as tax collector, and in other of the minor offices of the town.
Charles G. Webster attended the public schools with a boyish determination to acquire an education. He improved every opportunity, but circumstances forced him at the early age of ten years to work for Gardner Spencer, and to begin the life of a farmer. He stayed with Mr. Spencer six years, and then followed agriculture with others for four years, when he tried working on the river for a time. He was then engaged in the Lawrence Mills, then the Three Rivers, Canada, and in the mills at Lowell, Mass., work- ing in these mills ten years. Desiring to settle down to a peaceful, undisturbed life, he adopted the calling of his youth, and made a remarkable success. He purchased a part of the Deacon Goodhue farm of 100 acres, where he has since resided; he has added fifty acres to his original purchase. As a part of his farm he has a tract of forty acres of the best interval land; he has in fact one of the choicest and most desirable farms in Campton. The buildings have been re- modeled and enlarged to suit his practical ideas; he has now a beautiful home, surrounded by splendid shade trees, and with a grand view of the Pemigewasset Valley and the surrounding mountains. For some years he kept city boarders during the summer, as he was urged so hard that he could hardly refuse, but since the noted Maplewood has become a noted sum- mer hotel on the adjoining property, our subject has only roomed a few.
Mr. Webster married Mary B., daughter of Moses K. and Nancy F. (Plumer) Cawley, natives of Sanbornton, N. H. He has two chil- dren, who not only are the pride and the delight
DR. EZRA C. CHASE.
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
of their parents, but are also objects of the high- est esteem of their neighbors and acquaintances. The elder is Clarendon P., born Oct. 14, 1857, and is the leading dentist of Franklin Falls, and enjoys a large and lucrative practice. He mar- ried Miss Ellen E. Hardy. The younger child of Mr. and Mrs. Webster is Mary E., born June 18. 1875. She is a teacher, and resides at home with her parents. Mr. Webster is a Democrat, and has served the town two years as selectman. The family are active and prominent members of the Baptist Church.
DR. EZRA C. CHASE, a regular medical practitioner of the town of Orford, and a special- ist in rectal diseases, is the son of Daniel Chase, and grandson of William Chase, who was de- scended from William Chase, one of three brothers, William, David, and Aquilla Chase, who came from England. The wife of our sub- ject's grandfather, Mercy Leavitt, was a daugh- ter of Amos Leavitt, who was a pensioner of the Revolutionary War, having served seven years in that struggle. Years after the Revolution, when pensions were first granted, he was paid in Spanish dollars, receiving a hat full of them. Our subject's mother was Lavina Clement, a daughter of Jonathan and Prudence (Wil- loughby) Clement. Daniel Chase came from Meredith, N. H., and was a farmer by occupa- tion: the last forty years of his life were spent in Piermont.
Dr. Chase was born in Piermont, Oct. IO, 1857, and was the youngest of a family of nine children, of whom but three are now living. Up to the age of eighteen he had received only the educational advantages afforded by the district school, and there his father thought his educa- tion might as well end. But our subject was ambitious and determined to enter the profession of medicine : so he began a course of self-instruc- tion, which he constantly pursued with a zeal that would have dismayed a less earnest or plucky student. A pocket leather-bound medical dictionary, which he secured and studied at this time, is affectionately regarded by the Doctor as the first step in his professional life prepara- tion. The regular study of medicine he com- menced in 1880, and graduated from the medical
college in March, 1884. He passed with credit the examination of the board of censors, re- ceived his license to practice, and immediately located in Orford, where he has built up an ex- tensive and lucrative practice; his professional calls are not confined to the eastern side of the river, but extend along both sides, and afford him all the work that he can attend to. In 1884 he joined the New Hampshire Eclectic Medical Society, and in the ensuing year was elected its vice-president : in 1891 he became a member of the Vermont Medical Society. He was elected a member of the board of censors in 1886, and still retains that position.
In 1876 he was united in marriage with Miss Margaret E. Brooks, and their union has been blessed with three children: Daniel R., who has attended Kimball Union Academy three years, and is now at the Vermont Academy, Saxon's River, Vt., expecting to enter the medical col- lege in 1897: Eda May; and Bernard Bradley. The father of Mrs. Dr. Chase, Stephen Brooks, was a soldier in the late war, and was drowned in one of the vessels, sunk by the rebel ram Mer- rimac. Mrs. Chase was nine months old when her father was killed. Her mother was Sarah McGowan, who came from Canada; her brother is a piano-maker of Montreal.
Dr. Chase is a very public-spirited citizen, and active in any movement calculated to benefit the town in its growth and development. He was very influential in organizing the Orford Cheese and Butter Manufactory, which has contributed no small amount to the general prosperity of the town; he was also interested in the movement for removing the toll from the bridge across the Connecticut River to Fairlee, and in the exten- sion of the telephone system of connection he has given his active and most efficient support. In addition to his professional practice he is financially interested in the drug firm of F. W. Abbott & Co. of Fairlee, Vt. Dr. Chase is a member in good standing of Mt. Cube Lodge, No. 10, F. & A. M., of Orford, in which he has presided four times as AV. M .: he is also a niemi- ber of St. Gerard Commandery of K. T. of Little- ton, and is a thirty-second degree member of Edward A. Raymond Consistory of Nashua, N. IT. The Doctor belongs to seven different and distinct Masonic bodies, and is a representative to the Grand Lodge.
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Dr. Ezra C. Chase is a splendid example of what a man may do to advance himself in life: he is a self-made man, so far as that term is com- mionly accepted, and has made a lasting impres- sion on the life of the town; he is highly esteemed on all sides as a valuable citizen of the town of Orford, whose energy has done much to give him his present prestige, and to further the interests of his townspeople. We feel rea- sonably certain that the excellent likeness of Dr. Chase, which adorns another page, will add much to the interest that will be taken in this volunie.
HON. ISAAC CALHOUN, a leading busi- ness man of the town of Littleton, N. H., was born in Lyman, May 10, 1832; he is a son of James and Philena (Robbins) Calhoun, and a grandson of James and Sarah (Streeter) Calhoun.
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