USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Book of biographies. This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Grafton County, New Hampshire > Part 37
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Paul Butman, our subject's father, was born in Kingston, N. H. In his early days he com- menced in the grist-milling business. In this business he became very proficient and followed it for some years, working in the Post mills, Thetford, Vt .; Claremont, N. H .; West Lebanon, N. H .; Vershire, Vt .; Washington, Vt .; Chelsea, Vt .; Corinth, Vt .; and White River Village, Vt. His last work was done in running the grist-mill
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
at Canaan, N. H. He then retired, and died at the age of seventy-five. His wife preceded him to the blessed home-land at the age of forty-five. Their children were: Franklin S., died Aug. 14, 1896; John K .; Laura A .; Harriet, who died at the age of two; James was also not permitted to reach maturity; Henry Dexter; Mary Etta, died Aug. 21, 1896; Charles H., who died young; Charles M. Butman; and Ella. John K., our subject, had very few chances for an education, attending the district school when he could and improving his time with home study to the best possible advantage. May 1, 1845, he went from Hartford, Vt., to West Lebanon, N. H., to make a start in life, and arrived in the village with only twenty-five cents in his pocket, which he had found on the way. In West Lebanon, N. H., he found employment in the grist-mill, which was owned by William Osgood, and proved himself a capable and worthy workman; he remained in the service of his employer ten years, and by good habits and excellent work he contrived to save nearly all his earnings, in this manner ac- cumulating enough to buy, in 1871, the grist-mill owned by William Osgood, and did a large cus- tom work and flouring in company with others; he owned a saw-till also, and carried on a large lumber business.
In 1872 he built a large house near by, and in the following year, on the same lot, he built a store, having sold out his mill property. From that time on he devoted his entire time and at- tention to his store, and greatly increased his business until to-day he is doing a good thriv- ing business. On the first floor is a general store, the basement being well stocked with pro- visions: the second floor is devoted to gents' furnishings, ready-made clothing, crockery, glass and tinware, etc. On the same lot he has also erected a warehouse, where he deals in grain. grass seed, feed, and hay; all these products be- ing bought by the carload and kept in large quantities on hand in order to meet the village and country needs; he not only carries a good stock in all lines of his goods, but the quality is . also shown to be of the best by the large patron- age he derives from the vicinity.
He has been twice married; first, to Mrs. Martha P. Smith; she died at the age of twenty- nine, leaving one son, Richard P., who has from an early age assisted his father in the store and
in his other lines of business. Mr. Butman mar- ried as his second wife Ellen M. Colby, daughter of William D. and Sabrina (Smith) Colby of Plainfield, N. H .; by this second marriage he had one child, Mary, who married G. A. Wood. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have one child, Paul G. Our subject was a supporter of the Whig party, and later became a Republican; he served as select- man four years, was representative in 1885, audi- tor a number of years, besides holding several minor offices of the town. He has been a mem- ber of Mascoma Lodge, I. O. O. F., since 1849, and is also a member of the Hanover Canton and Morning Star Encampment, No. 12, of Leb- anon. Both he and his highly respected and esteemed wife are among the first workers and supporters of the Congregational Church. Since Mr. Butman started his store that part of the town in which he is located has increased in population so as to form a small settlement which is known as Butmanville.
FRANK T. CURRIER, the subject of this memoir, is Postmaster and leading merchant of the village of Enfield Center, and a descendant of one of the first families to settle in this town. He was born in Enfield, N. H., Sept. 6, 1857, and is a son of Lorenzo and Elsie R. (Smith) Currier, grandson of Nathan and Rachel (Webster) Cur- rier, and a great-grandson of Daniel and Sarah (French) Currier. The Currier line runs back from Nathan Currier through the following gen- erations to the founder of the American branch, Richard Currier: Nathan and Mariam Currier; Richard and Sarah (Merrill) Currier : Richard, Sr., and Dorothy (Barnard) Currier; Thomas and Mary (Osgood) Currier; Richard, the first of the Curriers to come to America, who was a son of James Currier.
Richard Currier was born in 1617 in Straw- berry Bank, near Glasgow, Scotland; in 1640 he came from his native land to America, and set- tled in Salisbury, Mass. By his first marriage with Ann he had several children. He married as his second wife Joanna Rowell, widow of William Sargent; this union was blessed with two children: Hannalı and Thomas.
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Thomas Currier and his wife, Mary Osgood, had twelve children, namely: Hannah, Thomas, Richard, Samuel, William, John, Joseph, Ben- jamin, Ebenezer, Daniel, Mary, and Ann.
Richard Currier, Sr., was born April 12, 1673, in Amesbury, Mass., and married Dorothy Barn- ard; their union resulted in the birth of eleven children : David, Jonathan, Hannah, John, Dorothy, Richard, Mariam, Aaron, Bemis, Mary, and Moses.
Richard Currier, Jr., was born Feb. 12, 1708, in Amesbury, Mass .; his wife bore him twelve children, six being born at Amesbury and six at South Hampton, N. H .; their names were: Sarah, Richard, Judith, Nathan, Hannah, Rich- ard, James, Hannah, Ruth, Barnard, John, and Richard.
Nathan Currier, the next in the direct line of descent, was born Sept. 16, 1737, and had five children by his wife, Mariam: Sarah, Daniel, Nathan, Ezekiel, and Mariam.
Daniel Currier, the great-grandfather of our subject, was born March, 1765, married Sarah French.
Nathan Currier, Frank T. Currier's grand- father, was born in Enfield, Nov. 2, 1798; early in life he learned the blacksmith's trade and worked in a shop near his father's home on Shaker Hill, where the old Currier homestead is now. In later life he devoted more of his time to farming and less to his trade; he died Jan. 30, 1864. In the War of 1812 he served as a private. His first wife, the grandmother of our subject, was born Jan. 1, 1799, and died Oct. 3, 1838; their children were: Christina, born Dec. 12, 1821; Lorenzo, March 14. 1824; Sarah, Feb. 14, 1827; Thomas, Oct. 31, 1828; and J. Byron, Oct. 15, 1834. Adaline Fogg, Mr. Currier's second wife, was born March 29, 1812, and is living at this date, having borne her husband two chil- dren: Frances, born Nov. 29, 1839; and Samuel, born May 17, 1843.
Lorenzo Currier devoted much of his early life to working in the saw-mill: after his marriage he bought a farm on East Hill, where he carried on farming until 1882, when he sold it and bought a smaller farm at Enfield Center, where he has resided since. He has always enjoyed the best of health till within the past few years, when his age has begun to tell on him, and confine him more and more to the arm-chair and the fire-
side. He has been a sturdy, hard-working man, and generally successful, owning considerable real estate to-day. He is a life-long Democrat, and a Universalist in religious matters. He mar- ried Elsie R. Smith, daughter of Israel Smith of the town of Grafton. She was born Nov. 17, 1828, and is all that could be desired as a help- mate, a mother, and a friend. Three children have been born to them, of whom our subject only is living. The record is as follows: M. Addie, born June 10, 1852, died April 2, 1867; Frank T .; and Georgie C., born Feb. 5, 1864, and died Sept. 8, 1864.
Frank T. Currier, after attending the district schools, and finishing the course of studies there laid down, entered Bryant & Stratton's Business College of Boston, where he graduated in June, 1875. Returning to the farm, he assisted his father five years until 1880, when he bought the vacant store, then a part of the Mark Permort estate, and stocked it with a general line of mer- chandise. This structure was burnt down in Sep- tember, 1889, and very little of the stock was saved. Mr. Currier had built up a large trade that relied on him for their supplies, so after the fire he supplied his customers as best he could from his store in a rented room until November, when he got his new store into such a condition that he could move into it and transact business. It is the best-equipped store in the town, 54 feet long by 24 wide, with an L 42 feet by 34 in the rear; the second floor is fitted up into a fine suite of rooms; the building is heated throughout with steam, and all the rooms are supplied with hot and cold water. Besides using his own very good basement, he is obliged by the magnitude of his business to rent the basement of the church, where he carries on hand a large stock of flour and provisions, besides a surplus of gen- eral mercantile articles. He also does a large fire insurance business, and has been justice of the peace since 1880. He is a Democrat in poli- tics. Socially, he is a member of the Social Lodge, F. & A. M.
Sept. II, 1883, he was united in marriage with Miss Ella J. Jones, a daughter of Emory Jones of Williamstown, Vt. She died March 18, 1892, leaving one child, Myrl, born Feb. 16, 1892. Mr. Currier married again, March 21, 1893, his pres- ent helpmate, Carrie E. Morse; they have one child, Paul Lang, born April 17, 1896.
ALEXANDER WARDEN.
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
ALEXANDER WARDEN, a retired mer- chant and at present a farmer of Monroe, is the son of David and Christian (Backop) Warden, and grandson of Andrew Warden, a native of Scotland. Soon after our subject's grandfather became united in marriage with Miss Harvey he came to this country and settled in Ryegate, Vt. There he built a large tavern of brick and ran it in connection with a small farm to the day of his death. He was actively interested in the welfare of the town, and took a prominent part in all its affairs. He was very much attached to the State militia, and held a commission as major in that organization. He also served in the War of 1812. The children born to him and his excel- lent wife were as follows: William, David, Har- vey, Isabella, and Margaret. Both father and mother had passed seventy years at the time of their death.
David Warden, the second son, was born in Ryegate, Vt., and whiled away many happy hours of his youth in that place; after complet- ing his somewhat limited education he ventured into the mercantile business, following it for several years. He then bought a farm in Bath, N. H., and was an agriculturist for the rest of his days. He married Christian, daughter of John Backop of Barnet, Vt. The father of our subject died at the age of fifty-eight, and his wife at the age of fifty-two. They were Presbyterians in religious belief. Mr. Warden was a Republi- can. Eleven children were gathered about the fireside; they were: John B., Andrew, Alex- ander, Mary J. (Nelson), Julia (Smith), Christie Ann (Sherburne), David, Jr., William H., Oscar, Carlos, and James.
Alexander Warden was born in Bath, March 30, 1834, and received his primary education in the schools of his native town; McIndoe and Newbury academies were the scenes of his further labors in the search for an education. In 1858, after having taught three seasons in a school, he went to California, where he spent three years, mostly engaged in the busi- ness of supplying water for the city of San Francisco. Upon his return to Bath lie made it his home for five years, go- ing from there to Monroe, where he has lived since. In 1876, when he first came to Mon- roe, he was engaged in the butcher business; he finally went into the mercantile business with
Mr. I. F. Page and continued in the same until 1892, when he sold his interest to his partner. Mr. Warden has the personal oversight of three farms, and since 1892 he has devoted his time to looking after his valuable agriculturai interests. During the late war Mr. Warden was a recruit- ing officer for the State of New Hampshire and recruited many men for the army, and has been a justice of the peace for the past thirty years. He has been a great traveler, and has seen much of the most interesting spots in the United States. He has made six trips from New Hampshire to the Pacific Coast, returning each time by differ- ent routes and visiting on the way all the largest cities and stopping at various points of special interest, such as gold, silver, copper, and coal mines. He has crossed the Cascade, Rockies, Sierra Nevada, Sysene, and Colorado Moun- tains, and has gone to an elevation of fourteen thousand one hundred and forty-seven feet above sea level. While engaged in making the jour- neys referred to above Mr. Warden has traveled by rail and water over thirty-two thousand miles, or much more than enough to girdle the earth.
He was married, in 1864, to Lucy A., daugh- ter of Oliver Flint of Bath, She died in 1890 at the age of forty-six, leaving one son, Oliver S .. who is associated with the "Leader" and "Tri- bune" at Great Falls, Montana. He is a gradu- ate of Dartmouth College, in the Class of 1889. He married Etta E., daughter of Dr. Scott of Lawrence, Mass .; they have one child, Alexander Warden, Jr. In 1892 our sub- ject married as his second wife Susie J., daughter of Ransom Fairbanks of New York State. Two children have blessed this marriage: Henry F. and Hazel A. Mr. Warden is a Republican. During the war he was selectman of Bath for four years. He was elected as county commis- sioner in 1863 and served one term of three years. He served as selectman of Monroe seven years, and superintendent of schools one year. and represented his town in the Legislature three terms. He has also been deputy sheriff of Graf- ton Co. for eight years. He is a member of Kane Lodge, No. 64. F. & A. M.
Among the prominent and representative citi- zens of the county, whose portraits we present in this book, we take pleasure in giving that of Mr. Warden.
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
T. DWIGHT SIMMONS, formerly a mem- ber of the firm of Simmons & Freeman, a gro- cery and crockery house of Lebanon, N. H., and one of the largest of its kind in the county, was born in the town of Hanover, this county, April 18, 1842; his parents were Lewis and Lucinda (Goodrich) Simmons, and his grand- parents were John and Susan (Hughes) Sim- mons.
The grandfather of our subject came to this State from Connecticut when a young man, and met and married his life partner in this county. He purchased a lot in the town of Lyme, of the best farming land, practically new and unim- proved. He cleared the farm and was nicely started in life, when his days were ended by an attack of fever, and he died at about the age of forty. He left to the care of his good wife, who survived him, the education of a large family of children; this sacred trust she nobly acquitted herself with, and lived to the age of ninety years to receive the blessings of her sons and daugh- ters who had grown up to manhood and womanhood. Among those of her children who grew up to maturity are the following: John, a successful tiller of the soil; George A., who worked his way through college unassisted, grad- uating from Dartmouth College and settling in Keysville, N. Y., where he became a noted law- ver, and was elected to Congress; when he died a large monument was erected to his memory. He never married. The remainder of the family, who grew up were: Lewis, our subject's father ; Susan; Abigail; Amy; Mrs. Sawyer; and Mrs. Richardson. The others departed this life during their youth. John Simmons, our subject's grand- father, lived in Lyme; at the time of his death, there being no wagon in the town, his remains were carried by four men to Lyme Plains, where his interment took place; many of the women, who attended the obsequies, rode on horseback.
Lewis Simmons was born in the town of Lyme, and after arriving at the age of manhood bought a farm in Lyme, where he started keep- ing house and made it his home for a few years, when he transferred his residence to Canaan, and resided in that town for two years. He then pur- chased a farm in Lyme, and lived there for twelve years, selling at the end of that period and moving to Hanover, where he bought a farm and spent most of the last thirty-six years of his
life engaged in the cultivation of his farm; the last few years of his life, however, were passed with his children in Lebanon. He started in the strug- gle of life with no capital, but by hard work and a frugal mode of living he was able to accumu- late a comfortable competency, dying at the age of eighty-seven, in 1883. In politics he was a Whig and later a Republican, but never a seeker after office. He served in the State militia as orderly, and later on commissioned lieutenant. His wife, who was seven years his junior, de- parted this life in 1890, at the age of eighty- seven. She was a daughter of David Goodrich, and a grand-niece of Daniel Webster on her mother's side. David Goodrich was born in Orange, Vt., and was a resident for a time of Hanover, N. H., giving 100 acres of land to Dart- mouth College, when he left for Smithfield, N. Y. His last residence was in Manlius, New York State, where he settled among the Indians, who were very friendly to him and his family; he be- came a very prominent man in that new country, and was successful in his struggle for a good living. The children born to our subject's parents were as follows: Newton, David, Laura, Annette, Mirinda, Charles, Frank, T. Dwight, Carlos, and Fred. Of all the family only T. Dwight and his brother Frank are living to-day.
Our subject pursued his education in the schools of Hanover and in Meriden Academy until his eyes began to fail him because of over- work; he was then obliged to refrain from further study, and accordingly entered Maj. I. O. Dewey's dry goods store at Hanover, where he clerked for two years; at the end of that time, in company with N. S. Huntington, he bought the store and carried on the business some two years under the firm name of Huntington & Simmons, both members of the firm selling their interests and retiring from business in Hanover. Shortly after this our subject formed a partner- ship with D. P. Quimby, under the firm name of Quimby & Simmons, and engaged in the dry goods and grocery business in Newport, N. H., for three years, at the expiration of which time Mr. Simmons sold out and removed to Lebanon in 1872. Upon his arrival in the last-named place he bought the boot and shoe store of B. T. Tilden, selling at the end of five years a success- ful trade to G. S. Joslin, who is the present pro- prietor. Then after assisting his brother, Frank
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
L. Simmons, in his grocery business for one year he bought a one-half interest, and the firm of Simmons Bros. continued until 1894, when his brother sold his interest to Mr. Freeman, with whom our subject has since been associated in business under the style of Simmons & Free- man; they possess a very fine trade in all lines of groceries and crockery.
Mr. Simmons married Collina Frances, daugh- ter of Deacon Daniel and Harmony (Downer) Bridgman, who were among the prominent agri- culturists of Hanover. The sister of Mrs. Sim- mons was Laura Dewey Bridgman, who was the first deaf and blind mute to be educated, and her life is familiar to many, by reason of the educa- tion she received. and afterwards imparted to other unfortunates of her class. Mr. Simmons has two children: Blanche Frances, born April 19, 1875; and Marion Goodrich, born Sept. 2, 1878. Mr. Simmons is a liberal supporter of the Congregational Church, and may be found among its regular worshippers. He is a firni Republican in his political views. He is a mem- ber of the Franklin Lodge, No. 6, F. & A. M .; St. Andrews Chapter, No. 1; and Mt. Horeb Commandery of Concord, N. H. Our subject is also associated with the A. O. U. W.
FRED W. JONES, a farmer of Enfield, and a descendant of one of the very early settlers of the town, was born in the house he now occupies, Aug. 15, 1864. He is a son of Harvey B. and Ruth K. (Cole) Jones, grandson of Jonathan and Margaret K. (Sawyer) Jones, and great-grandson of Moses and Mariam (Currier) Jones.
Moses Jones, who for many years was a dea- con in the Free Will Baptist Church, was born in Amesbury, Mass., May 21, 1737. He was one of the Colonial soldiers in the French and Indian War, and was taken prisoner and held captive in Canada for many years, being guarded by the Indians. By obtaining the confidence and good- will of his captors he gained considerable free- com of movement, and so one day, when out hunting, he started through the forest in an at- tempt to reach an American settlement, and from there to arrive at his home. When almost ex- hausted by fatigue and ready to give up he came
to the log-house of a Canadian settler, who, tak- ing pity on his distress, gave him food and kept him hid from his pursuers. By a rare chance he was so fortunate as to sight an English vessel, which in response to his signals took him on board and kept him there until the excitement attendant upon his escape had subsided. He then recommenced his journey home, and when he presented himself before his family was not at first recognized by them, for they had supposed him dead for years. He settled at first in his native town of Amesbury, Mass., but later went to Hopkinton, N. H., where he lost his first wife, Mary Fitts; she bore him the following children : Richard, Mehitabel, Sally, Isaac, Moses, and Mary. After her death he married again, and with Ezekiel Stephen came to Enfield, N. H., and bought a large tract of land where the Shaker Village is now located, in 1792, but soon after traded the farm with the Shakers for the farm where his descendant, F. W. Jones, the subject of this sketch, now resides; the house, with few alterations, is as the Shakers built it; the location of the farm has ever since been known as Jones Hill. Moses Jones lived to be eighty- eight years old, dying Dec. 26, 1824. His second wife, Mariam Currier, the great-grandmother of the subject of this sketch, was born in South Hampton in 1747, and died in 1823; the issue of this second marriage were the children named below: Dorothy, Mariam, Hannah, Rhoda, Nancy, Jonathan, Lucy, and John.
Capt. Jonathan Jones was born in Hopkinton, N. H., Jan. 1, 1778; he settled in Enfield with his parents, and owned the farm which his father traded with the Shakers, in 1792, and lived there all of his days, being not only a thrifty farmer, but a very generous, kind-hearted neighbor, a loving husband, and a tender parent. He died at the age of sixty-seven, Aug. 18, 1845. He was a Democrat in the matter of political allegiance, and liberal in his religious views. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and served as a captain of the State militia. His wife, a daugh- ter of Jonathan Sawyer, was born July 20, 1785, and died Jan. 13, 1862. This is a record of their children: Polly C., born Feb. 24, 1803; Betsey M., Aug. 27, 1806; Rebecca, Sept. 20, 1808; Al- vira, June 29, 1811; Moses W., April 8, 1813; Alvira, July 11, 1815; Mariam P., Sept. 16, 1817; Melinda and Matilda, twins, Nov. 24, 1820;
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
Harvey B., April 12, 1823; Horace M., Sept. 4, 1825; James Frank, March 19, 1830; and Mar- garet F., Dec. 22, 1832.
Harvey B. Jones, our subject's father, was born in the house where he lives, and always stayed with his parents. With his brother, Horace, he took care of the homestead and bought 150 acres more of land, on which they have made many permanent improvements, that have greatly augmented the market value of the property. They have not only been progressive and energetic men, but have enjoyed the highest esteem of a large circle of acquaintances. Each year they receive many a friend, who delights to visit them in their hospitable home, which is located on a rise of land called Jones Hill, com- manding one of the finest views in this section, overlooking the valley, Mascoma Lake, and the village of Enfield. Horace M. Jones married Julia M. Gates, daughter of Thomas J. Gates. Our subject's father married Ruth K. Cole, daughter of Nathaniel W. Cole of Newbury Point, Mass., and has one child, Fred W., the subject of this sketch. Harvey B. Jones is a Re- publican, and a member of the Grange, and of the M. E. Church. His wife is a Congregation- alist.
Fred W. Jones was born in the old Shaker house where he lives, and has always remained at home, being the only child. For a number of years past he has carried on the farm for his father and uncle. He married Ella M. Duncklee, and has two children: Ernest B., born July 28, 1890; and Harold C., born June 27, 1894. He identifies himself with the best interests of the town by his hearty co-operation in any public work that has good for its end. He is a member of Mascoma Grange, No. 68, and present Master.
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