USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Book of biographies. This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Grafton County, New Hampshire > Part 38
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MAJOR STEPHEN R. SWETT of Canaan, N. H., probably the most active and best-pre- served man in this county of his age, was born in Salisbury, N. H., .June 18, 1819, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Evans) Swett, and grand- son of John B. and Mary (Hoyt) Swett.
The Swett family spring from three of the carly settlers of America; in early Colonial times, when only the seaboard was populated, John,
Timothy, and Darling came from England and took up homes in as many different colonies, one going to Massachusetts, another to New Hamp- shire, and the third to Maine. Our subject is descended from John Swett, who took up his residence in Massachusetts, in which State, at Kingston, our subject's grandfather, John, was born. When John became able to care for him- self and the home appeared too crowded, he came to New Hampshire, and settled in Salis- bury, being an early pioneer and farmer of that locality. He served under General Prescott in the Revolution, and lived to be seventy years old. His wife died at the age of eighty. Their union was blessed with these children, namely: Tim- othy, Stephen, John, Elizabeth, and Mary.
Our subject's father was born in Kingston, and inherited the homestead in Salisbury, but lived later in Andover, and finally made his home in Wilmot, where he died, having passed the age of ninety; he followed the pursuits of agri- culture, and was extremely active up to the very last. He was a very patriotic man, and upon the outbreak of the War of 1812 at once offered his services, and served through it, but was never wounded. His wife did not live as long as he. did, but preceded him to the better land. She was a daughter of Wiggins Evans, who fought in the Revolution, and was twice taken prisoner and transported to England; each time he man- aged to return, and was at the front with the Continental Army when the last battle was fought. The following children were born to our subject's parents: John, Eliza, Peter, Mary, Lorinda, Stephen R., and Marietta.
Stephen R. Swett removed with his parents to Andover, and was educated in its district schools and in Franklin Academy; much against his parents' wishes and earnest desire, he left home to learn the trade of cloth-dressing, but not lik- ing that well enough to follow it as a life-work, he went to Western New York and taught school, after taking an extended trip down the Mississippi, the "Father of Waters." Then after spending one year in the United States service surveying in the State of Wisconsin, he returned to New Hampshire to Wilmot, where he busied himself some twelve years in the manufacture of shoes, and then lived in Andover Center two years, up to the breaking out of the war. In 1861 he entered the service of the United States
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as captain, and raised the first cavalry company ever raised in the State, and as captain of Co. I., with his own and four other companies, went to Rhode Island, where they joined eight others, called the New England Cavalry, and formed the Ist Reg. R. I. Vol. Cav. In 1862 he was pro- moted to the rank of major, and was honorably discharged in 1864 on account of wounds re- ceived in the left leg at the Battle of Kelley's Ford.
The war being ended, as far as it concerned him at least, he returned to New Hampshire, and having some property in the town of Canaan he at once took up his residence there. He has been one of the most successful of auctioneers, is a surveyor, conveyancer of land, and has had many estates placed in his hands for settlement. In town affairs he has taken a very active part, and held many important offices, such as deputy sheriff for ten years, superintendent of schools for eight years, overseer of the poor, and repre- sentative to the State Legislature in 1885. He took the census in Canaan in 1870-80-90. He resides on Mechanic Street, where he bought a home, which it has been a pleasure for him to ornament and fit up in the most attractive and pleasing manner; he superintends the cultivation of a large farm of 900 acres.
Major Swett has been a Mason since 1850, when he was raised in King Solomon's Lodge of Wilmot, and is now a member of Social Lodge, F. & A. M., of Enfield; and Trinity Chap- ter, R. A. M., of Concord; and has served as Master of the former lodge. He was commander of the old G. A. R. Post, Phil Kearney, which is now extinct.
Our subject has been twice married. His first wife, Sarah H., daughter of Isaac Cheney of Sutton, N. H., died at about the age of forty. 'She bore him four children. Francis, who died at the age of forty-six, married Miss Ruth Emma Stone, and left at his death one child, Wilbur M., who is a very successful physician' and surgeon of San Francisco, Cal. Rosa died at the age of fourteen. Charles H. is a commission merchant of Fresno, Cal .; he married, and has one daugh- ter, Winifred. Herbert B. is a manufactuer and dealer in stoves and tinware of New London, N. H .; he married Grace Rowell, and has one child, Rosa. Our subject's second wife was Mrs. Sarah A. Clough, a daughter of Elijah Whittier.
EDWIN A. CLOUGH, a retired citizen of the town of Enfield, N. H., was born in Tam- worth, N. H., Aug. 14, 1828, and is a son of Theophilus C. and Hannah G. (Boynton) Clough, grandson of Henry and Betsey Ann (Colcord) Clough, and great-grandson of The- ophilus and Elizabeth (Currier) Clough.
Theophilus Clough was born in Candia, N. H., and was among the first pioneers of the town of Enfield, settling in the western part of the town, and owning a large hill farm; afterwards he cleared a farm at the head of Mascoma Lake, since known as north end, and built a small house, replacing it with a larger one in 1812, on the site of Mr. Perley's present residence. Mr. Clough died there of consumption at the age of sixty; his wife lived to be eighty-four. Of eight children born to them, there were but two sons, Henry and Theophilus.
Henry, the elder son, built a tavern near his father's place, and took care of a small farm; he was stricken down with lung fever at the age of thirty-three, leaving the following children: John C., Theophilus C., Helen M., and Betsey Ann. Henry Clough's wife lived to a good old age, and enjoyed many pleasant years with her children and grandchildren.
Our subject's father, being left when a small lad without a father, had very meager chances to secure an education in the schools; but he was blessed with a good mother, and under her tute- lage and instruction did fairly well. When a young man he entered the carding and cloth- making mills, which were operated on the old style, and got a fair start in life. After a while he went to Tamworth, N. H., was in business there for a short time, and then came to Enfield. N. H., and established a woolen manufacturing business at Enfield Center, where the F. B. Morse saw-mills are now, and prospered exceed- ingly well, until 1849, when he caught the gold fever. Leaving his business with his brother he started for California via Panama; in crossing the Isthmus, he with others hired mules and transported the cargo overland to the Pacific Coast; while engaged in this he was taken ill from overwork and died at Panama, April 23. 1849; he was born Jan. 1, 1803. His wife, who was born Oct. 2, 1803, died Aug. 30, 1839, the victim of consumption; she was a daughter of Joseph W. and Jane (Gilman) Boynton. Her
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children were: Edwin A., born Aug. 14, 1828; Angeline B., May 17, 1830; and Mary J., born January, 1832, and died November, 1832. Ed- win A. Clough's father married as his second wife Relief Welch, who died at the age of seven- ty-four, leaving Emily A .; and Warren C., a mer- chant of Enfield, N. H. In politics Mr. Clough was a Whig, and later a Democrat; in the mat- ter of religion he was a Universalist. He was a strong advocate of temperance, and was often called upon to lecture or speak on that subject.
Edwin A. Clough assisted his father until he was twenty-one, at which time his father started for California; he then went to Cambridge, Mass., and worked for his uncle, John L. Boyn- ton, and was later a clerk for Merrill Bros. He became cashier and bookkeeper, and remained with the same house for twenty years, through all its changes of management and personnel of the firm. He was a trusted employee, and high in the estimation of the members of the firm; in 1886 he retired from his work, having accumu- lated by economical habits a comfortable com- petence to support him in the remaining years of his life. He was kindly received by the citi- zens of his native town on his return there; he now makes his home with his sister Angeline, who married, May 15, 1855, Joseph G. Spencer, the son of Joseph G. Spencer, Sr.
Joseph G. Spencer, Jr., was born in Norwich, Vt., July 8, 1828, and was a mechanic by trade in early life. He afterwards came to Enfield and worked in the Shaker grist and flouring-mills, and was later employed in the bedstead factory and the sash and blind factory. In 1862 he en- listed in Co. C., 15th Reg. N. H. Vol. Inf., and served eleven months; while in the army he lost his health, and was never strong again; he died March 28, 1892, leaving his wife and one child to survive him. There were two children born to them: the elder, Mabel E., was born July 8, 1860, and died Oct. 15, 1860; Fred A. Spencer, the younger, was born May 25, 1862, and is one of the stockholders and directors of Dodge, Davis & Co., of Bristol, N. H., one of the largest manufacturing companies of finest grade of flan- nel and woolen goods in New Hampshire. Mr. Spencer is one of the directors, an overseer, and a salesman. He married Miss Grace L. Stanley, daughter of Horace B. Stanley of Enfield, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. They
have one child, Stanley A. Joseph G. Spencer, our subject's brother-in-law, was a Democrat, and prominent in the political circles of the town; in 1870 he was chairman of the board of select- men; in 1890-91 he was collector of taxes; and in 1892 was moderator. Coming to this town at the age of seventeen, he formed many friend- ships, which continued unbroken to the last; he was a loyal, useful citizen, whose memory will be revered for scores of years to come. He was a member of Admiral Farragut Post, G. A. R., No. 52.
DANIEL EASTMAN, a dealer in stoves, tin- ware, and crockery, of Canaan, N. H., was born in the town of Orange, Grafton Co., April 26, 1834, and is a son of Joseph and Hannah (Chase) Eastman, and grandson of Joseph and Betsey (Clough) Eastman. Our subject's grandfather was an agriculturist of the town of Hopkinton, and died at about the age of forty-five; he had six children : Darius, Joseph, Stephen, Ruth, Phebe, and Mary A.
Joseph Eastman was born in Hopkinton,' N. H., and came to the town of Orange, when that part of the county was very sparsely settled, and bought 200 acres of forest land. Energetic and determined, he felled the trees, burning the old native spruce growth to clear the land so that it could be cultivated, and built himself a home. He became a very successful man, and was self- made in every respect; he was one of the hard- est working men ever known in his vicinity. When about sixty-five years old he sold the farm to his son, and moved to Spring Creek, War- ren Co., Pa., where he bought a farm, and died. . His first wife, a daughter of Enoch Chase, a - trader, fell into that last sleep, which is a balm to every mortal pain and sorrow, at the age of fifty-nine. The children by his first marriage were: Betsey; Ruth; Fanny; Enoch; Joseph; Daniel; Randall; Emeline, who died young; Emeline; Polly ; Edna A .; and Henry. Mr. East- man married as his second wife Louise Bowen, who bore him two more children.
Daniel Eastman, the subject of this personal history, helped his father in clearing the farm, and there learned the lessons taught by a hardy
ABNER WESTON LYMAN.
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pioneer to work till the stars appeared, and be- gin another day's work while the stars still twinkled in the sky. At the age of twenty he went to Concord, and worked on the Shaker farm a few years, and then he went to Pennsyl- vania, and assisted his brother-in-law in building a new house on his farm there, after which he worked as assistant in building mills for a period, at last settling down and buying a farm in the town of Orange, where he remained three years. In 1885 he came to Canaan, and in company with Mr. Barns, under the firm name of Barns & Eastman, ran a stove, tin, and crockery store for a year and a half; the partnership was then dissolved, and our subject has been in the busi- ness alone ever since. He owns, besides other real estate, a store and house combined on Me- chanic Street, where he shows a fine line of goods. His undoubted integrity and generous conduct to his patrons has resulted in his build- ing up what is considered a very good trade in that line of business.
At the age of twenty-three he became con- verted in the Adventist faith, and when twenty- six years old began preaching, having been or- dained a minister, and has ever since devoted much of his time to his creed. He has served as a member of the quarterly conference com- mittee, and is one of the councillors at the Alton Bay Camp Grounds; he officiates also at funerals and weddings.
Mr. Eastman's first wife was Hannah A. East- man, daughter of Stephen Eastman; she died at the age of twenty-five, leaving two small chil- dren: Edgar S .; and Adaline G., both of whom did not live to reach maturity. His second wife was Martha Ford, daughter of Kimball Ford; she also died at the age of twenty-five, leaving one child, Edgar, who died young. Mr. East- man married as his third wife, Mrs. Martha Bux- ton, daughter of Joseph Blodgett. His fourth wife was Persis, widow of Samuel H. Clark, and after her death he married Mrs. Lucy L. Mc- Keen, who also is sweetly sleeping. His sixth wife was Mrs. Elsina H., daughter of Aaron Bar- ney. Mr. Eastman in his early days was a Dem- ocrat, but is now a Republican, and has been a very active and popular man, and is a member of the board of health. He is blessed with ex- cellent health, is well-preserved, and has the gen- eral appearance of a man ten years his junior.
ABNER WESTON LYMAN, the miller of Oliverian Brook Village, and dealer in flour, grain, feed, and coal, whose portrait appears on the opposite page, was born in West Randolph, \'t., Oct. 27, 1830. He is a son of Ziba and Lavinia (Weston) Lyman, grandson of Josiah and Eunice (Tiffany) Lyman.
Josiah Lyman was born in Lebanon, Conn., Aug. 11, 1760, and died in Randolph, Vt., Feb. 3, 1831. A farmer by occupation, he was one of the first settlers of Williamstown, Vt., and his wife was one of the first three women to live there. They went there with their belongings on a hand-sled; the goods, including a jug of rum, were packed securely on, and then Mrs. Lyman sat on top, while her husband pulled the sled, and a Frenchman, who accompanied them, was to push. It so happened that it would have been far better for one of the party, at least, if the rum had not been along. At the start the Frenchman worked faithfully, but gradually he pushed less and less, which Mr. Lyman found was caused by his frequent surreptitious pulls at the jug. He finally gave out, and, unnoticed by the rest of the party, laid down in the snow. Mr. Lyman, upon reaching a neighbor's, hurried back with succor, but the poor Frenchman had closed his earthly career in a drunken sleep, re- sulting in being frozen to death. With his three neighbors at Williamstown, Mr. Lyman felled a few acres of the forest, and in the clearing thus made they rolled the logs up into a house for each family; the cabins were covered with hem- lock bark. The house within was furnished in the most primitive manner; for tables, split logs, smoothed on both sides, did very good service, and for chairs benches were constructed in the same manner. Mr. Lyman married his wife in Lebanon, Con11., Sept. 22, 1782; she was born in that town Sept. 19, 1762, and passed to the bright world beyond the skies in Randolph, Vt., Oct. 18, 1843. Their daughter Lois was the first child born in Williamstown. Mrs. Lyman was a typical housewife of the frontier of those times, and was noted for her industrious habits. She carded, spun, wove, and made all the cloth- ing, both flaxen and wool, of the family. Besides her own cooking, she provided bread and other products of the oven for a bachelor settler, who lived five miles away. During her spare hours she even helped to clear the land. Bean por-
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ridge was the staple article of diet, and served its purpose nobly in providing its users with the hardiest of constitutions.
The bark roof on the cabin becoming decayed, Mr. Lyman, in 1792, built the first frame house in the town: it was small, only 16x24, with two rooms, and a stone chimney in the center of the structure. This house was used as a tavern for many years, the sleeping apartments being in the attic and reached by a ladder. The house is still standing, and was occupied until very recent years. On moving into the new house Mr. Lyman purchased half a dozen splint bottom chairs for the best room, which was a great luxury in those days. During fair weather the abandoned log-cabin served as a school-house, adjourning when that structure was untenable to Mr. Lyman's new home; the only school books belonging to the school, which were the property of the teacher, were a spelling-book, psalter, and a testament.
In February, 1793, when Prince Edward of England was on his way from Quebec to Boston, he remained over night in Williamstown. He took up his quarters in the unfinished mansion of Judge Paine, while the remainder of his suite stayed at the house of Mr. Lyman. Thirteen carryalls and sleighs were needed to convey the royal party.
Ziba Lyman was born in Williamstown, Vt., April 9, 1790, was married to Lavinia T. Wes- ton, at Randolph, Vt., Dec. 3, 1818, and died in Hartford, Vt., Jan. 13, 1864. In his early years he was a farmer, in middle life a harness and saddle-maker, and in his declining years a farmer again. He lived in Williamstown, Randolph, Strafford, Sharon, Bethel, and Hartford. In pol- itics, he was a Whig and a Republican. He was a deacon in the Congregational Church. His wife was a daughter of Abner and Hulda (Wash- burn) Weston, who were married at Middleboro', Mass., August, 1786. Abner Weston, a soldier in the Revolution, was a son of Edmund Weston, Jr., grandson of Edmund Weston (2), and great- grandson of Edmund Weston (1), who emigrated to this country from England and settled in Middleboro', Mass., where he married Rebecca Soule. His son, Edmund, married Susanna Jackson as his first wife, and Elizabeth Smith as his second. Edmund, the third of that name, married Mary Tinkham, granddaughter of Isaac
Howland on her mother's side. Isaac Howland was a son of John Howland, an emigrant on the Mayflower in her memorable voyage of the year 1620. John Howland was a son of John How- land, and a grandson of John Howland, who was a citizen and soldier of London, and was born about 1500. To our subject's parents were born the following children: Lavinia, deceased, who married a Mr. Hitchcock; Asa Tiffany, de- ceased, who married Sarah Davis; Abner Wes- ton, the subject of this biography; Charles Josiah; and Mary Weston, the wife of Alonzo Lane.
Our subject's parents moved to Strafford when lie was a babe, and there he lived for thirteen years, going from there to Norwich and Sharon; up to the age of eighteen he attended the district schools of Strafford, Norwich, and Sharon, and then spent one year in the academy at West Randolph. When twenty-one he started out from the town of Sharon to face the world for himself and achieve what success he might. Farm work and other hard manual labor formed his principal means of support at first. He then worked on the railroad and in lumber mills.
In 1858 he began milling at Barton Landing, Vt .; then one year in Irisburgh, Vt., and four more in Hartford, Vt., returning at the end of that time to Barton Landing. In 1872 he came to Haverhill and ran a mill for Louis Barter till the mill was sold and threw him out of employ- ment; for a year he was in the mountains lum- bering, not being able to obtain satisfactory work at his trade. The mill, under the manage- ment at that time had not done well and was proving a very sorry investment for its owners, so they asked Mr. Lyman to return to Haver- hill and take charge of his old job. Accordingly he bought the property, and has conducted it successfully ever since.
Mr. Lyman was married July 26, 1853, to Mary Chilson, daughter of Daniel Chilson, and to them as a result of this union was born one child, Nellie F., who married Richard Gerish, a pattern-maker of Lynn, Mass. After the death of his first wife. Mr. Lyman contracted a second matrimonial union with Mrs. Susan D. Williams, the ceremony taking place April 13, 1870, at Barton Landing. Mrs. Lyman is a daughter of John Stimson, Jr., and Susan R. Brown. John Stimson was a son of Capt. John, Sr., and Debo-
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rah (Winch) Stimson. Capt. John Stimson was one of the first settlers of Melbourne, Canada; his title was derived from his position in com- mand of an old militia company. He moved into Canada from Weathersfield, Vt., when his son John was a babe in arms. He penetrated seven miles into the dense forest, drawing a few possessions on a hand-sled. His log-cabin, which he erected, was covered with bear skins to keep out the wind; it was located on the bank of the St. Francis River, the windows overlook- ing the stream. For two years, while they lived there, his wife saw only one woman, and that was an Indian squaw, who passed in a canoe. Susan R. Brown, the mother of our subject's wife, was a daughter of Ensign James Brown, who married Polly Greenleaf; they moved from Peacham, Vt., to Shipton (now Danville), Canada. Mrs. Lyman was born at Melbourne, Canada; her parents came to Vermont when she was a girl in her teens. She was engaged to Mr. Williams, her first husband, when a resident of Vermont, but returned to Canada, and there married him. They lived at Ascott, where he conducted his business of clothier. He enlisted in the late war, Oct. 15, 1861, at Barton, Vt., in Co. D. 6th Vermont Vol. Inf., and was killed in the first day's fight at the Battle of the Wilder- ness. Mrs. Lyman became the mother of four children by her first husband, of whom one sur- vives, Melbourne S. Williams, who is engaged in farming in Haverhill, and makes his home with Mr. Lyman; he has seen much of the United States, having traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and seeing nearly every State. Mr. Lyman is a strong Republican, but would never accept any proffer of office.
SIDNEY D. TILTON, an extensive contrac- tor in concrete work and lumber, of the village of Woodsville, was born in New Hampton, N. H., Dec. 24, 1866. He is a son of Daniel L. and Laura L. (Pike) Tilton of New Hampton. Laura L. Pike is a daughter of Ezekiel and Sarah (Huckins) Pike of Hebron, N. H. Daniel L. Tilton was a farmer throughout his life; six chil- dren were born to him: Albert and Arthur were by a former marriage: Sidney D., our subject; Charles L., of Plymouth; Sarah, the widow of
Edward Knowlton of Laconia; and Hubert, a resident of New Hampton. Our subject's father changed his residence to Sanbornton, N. H., from New Hampton, when S. D. was an infant of one and a half years. They resided in San- bornton some eight or nine years, when S. D. Tilton returned to New Hampton to make his home with his uncle, S. A. Howard, until he reached his majority. His schooling was obtained in the common schools of Sanbornton and New Hampton, finishing with three terms at the New Hampton Institute.
While living with his uncle he learned the busi- ness of concrete laying, and was able to figure on any kind of a contract, having had experience in that line from his fourteenth year. On reach- ing the age that made him his own master he naturally took up a line of work with which he was perfectly familiar, and soon had work in various parts of the States of Vermont and New Hampshire. His first contract was at Plymouth, followed by work in Woodsville, Lisbon, Welles River, Lancaster, etc. His largest contracts were in Littleton, with St. Johnsbury a good sec- ond. Other important contracts were accom- plished at Bradford, Butler, Haverhill, North Haverhill, Newport, Lindenville, and other places of prominence. Besides a saw-mill at Lyme, and a tract of timber land of some 400 or 500 acres, back of Lyme, he owns a new busi- ness block, constructed in the fall and winter of 1896, which is one of the finest in the village of Woodsville, and reflects great credit upon its owner. It is three stories in height, with plate- glass front, and fitted throughout with all the modern improvements. In 1890 he first made his permanent home in Woodsville.
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