Book of biographies. This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Grafton County, New Hampshire, Part 5

Author:
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Buffalo, Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 612


USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Book of biographies. This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Grafton County, New Hampshire > Part 5


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Of our subject's children Ellen I. is the eldest and was born Dec. 22, 1866, and is an artist by profession. She attended the Normal Art School at Boston, and has taught industrial drawing at Littleton, where her natural talent is highly ap- preciated. Lillian E., born April 20, 1872, be- came an accomplished musician, and married F. E. Green of Littleton, N. H. Catherine F. was born April 7, 1879.


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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.


Dr. Sanger has dealt considerably in real estate, buying property, and, after making valu- able improvements, selling at an advantage to himself. His first home was at the corner of South and Cottage Streets; after living there for a number of years he sold it and bought the Truman Stevens place on Main Street, in 1873. The location was one of the finest in the village, but the house was antiquated and in bad repair, so Dr. Sanger caused it to be taken down and a large house with mansard roof to be erected in its stead. Barns were also built to accommodate the horses and cattle, and the large lot was trans- formed into beautiful lawns with many fine shade trees. His office is located in his home, so that everything is convenient for a comfortable prac- tice of his profession.


It affords us the greatest pleasure to present the portrait of Dr. Sanger in connection with this sketch of his life as a prominent and representa- tive physician and as a pioneer of the Homeo- pathic School in Northern New Hampshire.


HON. HORACE F. HOYT, Jr., a prominent farmer of the town of Hanover, living at Aetna Village, is the great-grandson of Moses Hoyt, who was born March 22, 1738. He married Lydia Gould, who was born July 16, 1746; they probably spent the greater part of their lives in Newport, N. H. The last few years of their lives lived with their son Joseph at Hanover. Moses (lied Feb. 14, 1814, and his wife Dec. 13, 1814. Moses Hoyt came to New Hampshire in the early history of the country, during the Indian troubles, and the red men, when they came to know him, evinced great fear of his power and prowess with the musket. In those days, so in- secure were the conditions of life, it became a custom for the neighbors. to congregate, and cultivate their corn in common, stacking their guns by their sides and hoeing a few rods, and then re-stacking them again nearer their work. When one man's field was finished, they would move on to the next and repeat the same per- formance. After the country became settled, and the Indians observed the peace, an old chief said that he lay for hours behind a log, waiting for an opportunity to shoot Moses, but dared not when the chance came to him, know-


ing that if he missed his mark, that Moses would surely kill him. At one time an Indian, with raised tomahawk, was pursuing a neigh- bor, named Smith, when Moses appeared, and brought down the Indian with one telling shot.


Moses' son, Joseph Hoyt, was born at New- port, N. H., Sept. 27, 1778, and married Mary Patterson Nov. 14, 1802. In 1812, he came to Hanover and bought the farm, now owned by B. F. Plummer, and gave his attention to the raising of sheep; he built himself a house during the course of the war with England which broke out in 1812. He lived for a few years later in life in Stratford, Vt., but returned to Hanover, where he died on the hill which bears his name. His death occurred May 14, 1849; his wife survived him a few years, passing away March 22, 1853. Of their children, Horace F., Sr., the father of our subject, was the second in order of birth.


Horace F. Hoyt, Sr., was born April 11, 1811, and died Jan. 12, 1897, at the age of eighty-six, at the home of his son, Horace F., Jr. He voted at every Presidential election since 1832, voting the Whig tickets as long as that party existed, and then transferring his loyal support to the Republican party. When seventy years old, he walked two miles, chopped ten wagon-loads of pole fire-wood, and walked back home in a day. He followed farming all the active portion of his life. During his boy- hood days he lived in Stratford, Vt., and in En- field, Groton, and Washiington, N. H. He mar- ried Caroline E. Hardy, daughter of Daniel and Betsey (Packard) Hardy, March 22, 1833; she departed this life Jan. 8, 1875. Daniel Hardy, our subject's grandfather on his mother's side of the house, lived to be eighty-seven years old; he was a prominent settler in the early days of the county, and at that time was considered a very wealthy man. He was a merchant, as well as a farmer, and in partnership with Gov. Colby traded in mules. Following are the names of the children, born to Horace F., Sr., and Caro-, line E. (Hardy) Hoyt: Mary J., the eldest, mar- ried S. P. Barry; Horace F., Jr., was the second in age; Ida married Albert F. Brown; Walter; and Eliza, who married Simon Ward of Han- over, whose sketch appears in this book.


Horace F. Hoyt, Jr., was born in Enfield, Oct. 26, 1842, and at the age of three he was taken


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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.


to Hanover by his parents, and that has con- tinued to be his home ever since. 1837. before our subject's birth, his father lost all of his prop- erty, and consequently Horace F., Jr., was forced to rough it, and received but poor educa- tional advantages. However, by application and self-culture, he has made up for what he missed in his early days. Up to the age of nine- tecn, he attended the district school, whenever that was possible, and at the age of twenty-one he taught one term of school, but as other op- portunities promised him better return than teaching, he soon relinquished that profession. Being an only son, he never left the old folks long, but drifted into farming with his father, and afterwards, when his father retired from ac- tive labor, succeeded him in the complete man- agement of the farm. During the winters of his early manhood, he worked out, but in the sum- mier he remained at home. For a number of years he was local agent for a produce buyer in Hanover, buying and shipping farm products to him for that market. He made his home on the old farm until 1887, when he took charge of the Hanover Town Farm, which he managed three years. In 1890. he bought his present home in the village of Actna.


Our subject's marriage took place in Eaton, Province of Quebec, the bride being Miriam Coates; her parents were Simcon and Rebecca (Sanburn) Coates, formerly of Bradford, Vt. Simeon Coates was born in Eaton, P. Q., and was a son of William Coates, an carly settler of Eaton. Rebecca Sanburn was one of twenty- seven children, born to her father, who was twice married. Mrs. Hoyt's childhood was . spent in Eaton, and in the village of Cookshire. When she was eighteen, she came to Hanover and followed teaching for a few years; there she met her husband, and was married to him on the date given above in the Province of Quebec. Mrs. Hoyt has borne her husband two children: Willis P., and Caro E., deceased. Willis P. married Mrs. Ida Richardson, daughter of Rich- ard and Mary Simons; he is now occupying the old homestead on Hoyt Hill. Caro E. married Jolin D. Ayer of Claremont, N. H., a teacher by profession; her death occurred July 5. 1895.


Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt joined the Baptist Church together about the time of their marriage; they are members of the church at Actna, of which


Mr. Hoyt has been Deacon for twenty-five years. Our subject is a Republican in politics; he served as selectman from 1878 to 1883; was tax collector for the town of Hanover for seven years; and in the fall of 1896 was elected to a second term as county commissioner, and in 1893 he represented the town in the State Legis- lature. He has been Treasurer of the Aetna Creamery Co. for six years, since its organiza- tion, and is now the business manager: his efficiency and thoroughness has broadened and increased the business, until it now amounts to as much as $20,000.00 a year. Mr. Hoyt is a member of Franklin Lodge, F. & A. M .; St. Andrews Chapter of Lebanon; and Sullivan Commandery of Claremont. He is a charter member of Grafton Star Grange, No. 60, of Hanover, and also a charter member of Mas- coma Valley Pomona Grange, in which he has held all the official chairs and has served as dis- trict deputy three years. He has been promi- nently identified with almost every matter of public interest that has had its inception in Hanover; his record as a private citizen and as an official will bear the most critical inspection.


DAVID SLOAN, deceased, born Jan. 9, 1780, died June 7. 1860, was a leading lawyer of his time in Haverhill, and well known throughout the entire county. His father was David Sloan, Sr., a resident of Pelhant, Mass, where he was engaged in pursuits of an agri- cultural nature. Our subject's mother was a lady, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Scott. David Sloan, Jr., was one of five sons born to his parents, namely: David, Jr., Jonathan, James, Andrew L., and Gardner. Our subject's birthplace was Pelham, Mass .; he attended school at Leicester (Mass.) Academy, and grad- uated from Dartmouth College about 1806. In Hanover he studied law with a Mr. Woodward. His first introduction to Haverhill occurred in his senior year at college, when he came to Haverhill to finish out the term of the principal of Haverhill Academy, who had been taken ill. He boarded in the family of the principal, and upon his departure gave to the wife of the prin- cipal a gold pin as a token of the pleasant times


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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.


he had there; this pin after his death was given to Miss Sloan, the daughter of David.


David Sloan belonged to a family of lawyers, all of whom were of prominence and celebrity ; his two brothers, next to him in age, were lawyers: one of them, Jonathan, was considered to be among the most talented legal lights of the Ohio bar. One of Mr. Sloan's nephews is at present Dean of the Law School of the Wis- consin State University at Madison, Wis. Upon Mr. Sloan's admission to the bar, he came to Haverhill, where he made himself one of the most distinguished members of the State bar. He was well acquainted with Ezekiel and Dan- iel Webster, who plead at the same bars that he did. He kept up a flourishing practice, until his eyes became disabled from a cataract; when at last this defect to his vision was removed by surgical skill, he did not resume his practice, but led a more or less retired life till his death.


The private practice Mr. Sloan built up proved very remunerative to him, and for this reason he never accepted any judgeship. He was disinterested in politics, never having occa- sion to advance his own interests; in politics that related to the welfare of town, county. state, or nation, he ever took an intelligent and lively interest. He was originally a Whig, and later a Republican; if the committees having such work in charge discovered a doubtful or wavering voter, Mr. Sloan was assigned to the duty of bringing him into the fold, a feat he rarely failed to accomplish. His death took place in Haverhill.


David Sloan, Jr., was married in Newbury, Vt .. Nov. 21, 1811, to Miss Hannah Johnson, who was born in Newbury, Aug. 4, 1785. She was the daughter of Col. Thomas and Abigail (Carlton) Johnson. Col. Johnson was born April 22, 1742, in Old Haverhill, Mass .; he came to Newbury, Vt., in early manhood, and was a resident of that town when the Revolution broke out. His first purchase of land was made in October, 1763, when he, in conjunction with Gen. Bailey, secured the entire tract of land in- cluded in the Ox Bow Meadows of the Connec- ticut River Valley. In the Revolution he dis- tinguished himself under Gen. Bailey as a cap- tain of volunteers at the taking of Ticonderoga, and in the siege of Mt. Independence in the au- tumn of 1777. When the British surrendered.


100 men were put in charge of Col. Johnson, who took them back into the country to pre- vent their recapture, and to husband the ra- tions of the fort. Col. Johnson was captured when an officer of that rank in the spring of 1781, when building a mill at Peacham, Vt. After a long, weary tramp, fraught with the greatest hardships, he and his captors reached the head- quarters. in Canada, with clothes all torn, and ragged. The officers there gave him the best kind of treatment, not thinking anything too good for him, in return for his kindness toward them, when they were prisoners under his charge. He was allowed to go home on parole, and was never treated as a prisoner of war, or confined. His first wife was Elizabeth Lovell, and his second partner was Mrs. Nabby Pool. He married as his third wife, Feb. 17, 1775, Abi- gail Carlton; the second child in a family of three born to Col. Johnson by his third wife was David Johnson, who begun his mortal exist- ence Sept. 13, 1778. Col. Thomas Johnson died Jan. 4, 1819, aged 76 years, 9 months, and 2 days; his father John Johnson, died April 2, 1762, in his 51st year. There were born to Da- vid Sloan, Jr., and his wife, nine children, as fol- lows: Thomas Carlton, Jonathan, David Scott, Charles Story, William, Edward; Henry died in infancy ; Henry, the second of that name, married Frances Buntley of Woodstock, Ill., and makes his home in Chicago, Ill .; Elizabeth Ab- bie lives in Haverhill, and occupies and owns the Sloan property there, for all the family have gone to their long home, with the exception of the one brother, who lives in Chicago. Mrs. David Sloan, Jr., died May 30, 1861.


Miss Elizabeth Abbie Sloan lives in the old residence, to which her father brought his bride. It is filled with old-fashioned furniture, carved and upholstered in the most elegant fashion; one of the most valuable sets is a pair of Chip- pendale tables, inlaid with satin-wood. The old hall clock is encased in solid mahogany. An astral lamp is one of the many articles in the rooms that possess an added value from their oddity and rarity. The book-case, containing on its shelves many rare old books, and in its drawers many interesting letters from noted men, is made of carved rose-wood. All the fur- niture corresponds to what has been already de- scribed in value and general antiqueness.


HON. OSCAR C. HATCH.


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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.


HON. OSCAR C. HATCH, whose portrait appears on the preceding page, is president of the Littleton National and treasurer of the Lit- tleton Savings Bank of Littleton, N. H., and was born at Wells River, N. H., Nov. 11, 1848. Mr. Hatch is a son of George and Hannah (Vance) Hatch, and grandson of Jacob Hatch, who was a leading agriculturist of Groton, Vt., at which place our subject's father was born and reared. Early in life George Hatch mastered the shoemaker's trade and removed to Wells River, \'t., which he made his permanent home, and where he manufactured shoes on a small scale, also running a retail store in connection, dispos- ing of a part of his product in that way. He was one of that class of men whom we meet with in rare instances, who devote their whole time and energies to business; this, however, proved too much even for his robust constitution, and hav- ing severely overtaxed his physical strength and ruined his health, he died at the age of fifty-one. He was successful in business, by reason of his energy and sound judgment, and managed to accumulate some property, mostly in real estate, including his residence. His wife was called home at the age of forty-seven. Four children were born to them, who were named as follows: Oscar C., Fred B., Amelia B., and Martha J.


Our subject, the eldest son, attended the com- mon schools in his youth and select schools, and while still a young man entered the employ of the well known firm of Dunning & Baldwin, where he worked for two years in their store. The following four years were spent in the Na- tional Bank of Newbury, Vt., as the general clerk. He was then chosen cashier of the Orange Co. Bank at Chelsea, Vt., where he put in two years of faithful and efficient service. In 1872 he was elected cashier in the Littleton Na- tional Bank, and treasurer in the Littleton Sav- ings Bank. The Bank of Littleton was organized i11 1871, and through its dealings Mr. Hatch has won the respect and warm friendship of the citi- zens of Littleton and of the adjoining towns. In 1887 he was elected president of the National Bank, and has held this position ever since to the entire satisfaction of its directors and its many patrons. Naturally courteous and affable, lie possesses many of the needed requisites for filling his posts of responsibility and care. His present standing in the commercial world has


been entirely due to his own unaided exertions and furnishes a splendid example for the am- bitious youth of the town and county.


His beautiful home is situated at No. 11 High Street, where lie has not only a well-appointed residence, but also all that could be desired in the way of lawns and like surroundings. Mr. Hatch married Miss Flora L. Adams, daughter of Henry W. Adams of Wells River, Vt. He has been blessed with four children, namely: Leslie A., born Jan. 17, 1875, is a clerk in a wholesale produce house of Boston; Henry O., born May II, 1877, is clerk in the Littleton National & Sav- ings Bank; Margaret E., born Dec. 21, 1886; and O. C., Jr., born May 11, 1890. Mr. Hatch lias from the first warmly espoused the cause of Republicanism, and represented the town of Lit- tleton in the Legislature of 1892-93. He is an enthusiastic Mason, and has since his connection with that organization taken a warm interest in its welfare. He is a member of the Burns Lodge, No. 66, F. & A. M .: Franklin Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M .; St. Girard's Commandery, Knight Templars. He has taken the thirty-third degree at the Supreme Council, and is a member of the Aleppo Shrine of Boston. He is past commander of the St. Girard Commandery of Littleton.


FRANK HUTCHINSON, deceased, was born in Lebanon, N. H., Aug. 18, 1841, and when two years old was taken by his parents with them to Manchester, and later to Law- rence, Mass., in which place he grew to man- hood.


His parents, Williams and Ezra (Creary) Hutchinson, were natives of Norwich, Vt .; Wil- liams Hutchinson's father, was a pioneer of that town. Williams Hutchinson was a man of con- siderable ingenuity ; one of the early evidences of his skill was the laying of a water-pipe from a spring on the east side of the Connecticut to his farm on the west side, in order to obtain a supply of water for domestic purposes. This lead pipe is said to have been the first ever laid across the river, but not the last by any means, for many have followed his example. Before this time, they were obliged to carry water for domestic use across the river, a difficult task, when the water was high on the ford. Williams


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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.


Hutchinson died Jan. 2, 1895, in his eighty- eighth year; his venerable wife lives in Norwich with her son, at the advanced age of ninety years.


When our subject was nineteen years old he left home, going to Manchester, N. H., where he worked for a time in the mills, but shortly apprenticed himself to the carpenter trade with "Uncle" John Maynard, and was at work at his trade when the war broke out.


On the first call for three years' service he was among the first to enlist, his name being en- tered upon the muster-roll of Company A, Ioth Regiment, N. H. Vol. Inf., Aug. 9, 1862. This regiment was known as the Fighting Irish Regi- ment, and was under command of Col. Don- ohugh. Mr. Hutchinson was detailed as train- master, having charge of the ammunition wagons. He was in the engagements at Frede- ricksburg, around Richmond, Petersburg, and during that entire campaign. He was never wounded, but came very near experiencing the shock of bullets. At one time a tree was cut in two by a shot, just as he was moving to untie his horse, which he had a few minutes fastened to it. At another time a shot carried away the pommel of his saddle. He became afflicted with black jaundice, and never saw a really well day after. He remained in the army until the close of hostilities, returning July 10, 1865, his dis- charge being dated June 21, at Richmond, Vir- ginia.


,


After resuming his old place with "Uncle" John, and working there for him a year, he was appointed superintendent in charge of the yards of the Manchester Mills, which place he occu- pied until the day of his death, Aug. 19, 1893.


His home for twenty-four years was a house on the west side of the river bank at Manches- ter, but as he was always in poor health, and thinking a higher location would agree with him better, the company bought for him a house on the highest hill in the city. He had been a sufferer so long, that he survived only a short time, and did not receive much benefit.


Desiring to have a country home, in July. 1888, he bought Grasslands Stock Farm, a mile north of Hanover, a fine tract of four hundred acres, on which are located two complete sets of farin buildings, besides the family residences. The house at the time that he made the pur-


chase was old-fashioned and inconvenient, and not at all suited to the conditions of modern life. Mr. Hutchinson caused it to be entirely over- hauled, remodeling it, and rebuilding parts; he also instituted steam heat with hot and cold wa- ter over the entire house. To the already large barn he added fifty feet to the length, and con- nected it with the house by a series of sheds, and also built a long line of sheds for the young horses. A large spring on the hill-side pasture, far above the house, was caused to flow into an iron main, which carried the water to all the sheds and barns, and to a 500 gallon tank in the attic of the house.


Besides the home farm there are also included in the property a large pasture, extending to the reservoir on the hill, and an undivided half in- terest in a pasture tract at Aetna Village. The entire portion of the farm, that is given over to tillage, is remarkably free from stones and other obstructions. There is a large tract of fine timber belonging to the estate on the river front, from which tim- ber the farm extends up into the hills. The door-yard is inclosed by a handsome evergreen hedge, and stately elms border the highway where it passes the homestead. It is indeed a model farnı, and worth going to see; had Mr. Hutchinson chosen to have allowed it, it would have been represented at the World's Fair, as the Prize Farm of New Hampshire.


Our subject was the owner of Gregoria, a prize-winning coach horse, the first imported an. imal of that breed to be brought to this part of the country. Wherever exhibited, at fair or horse-show, the horse would be sure to win first prize, winning the gold medal at the Boston Horse Show, against many competitors. The farm is capable of producing enough to support seventy-five cows and as many horses, and at one time the number of horses on the place even exceeded that number.


Mr. Hutchinson was married June II, 1865. in Manchester, N. H., to Arabella F. Waterman, who was born in Lowell, Mass .; her parents were Charles M. and Lydia (Greeley) Water- man. Lydia Greeley was born in Canaan, N. H., and was a daughter of Shubel and Lydia (Whitney) Greeley: Shubel Greeley was a son of Matthew Greeley, who followed farming all his life. Shubel was a carpenter by trade, and


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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.


also operated a saw and grist-mill. He lived to be seventy-two years of age; both he and his wife died within a few days of each other, and were buried in the same grave. Charles M. Wa- terman, the father of Mrs. Hutchinson, was an overseer in the mills of Lowell and Manchester, and died when Mrs. Hutchinson was three years of age. He was the son of Shubel and Clarinda (Bliss) Waterman; Shubel Waterman was a far- mer of Norwich, Vt., his parents being among the first settlers.


The union of our subject and his wife was blessed with three children: Charles, who died in infancy; Mattie Belle, the wife of James Brigham, a grain dealer of Hanover, the town in which they were married Nov. 18, 1896; and Arabella, the wife of Thomas Crocker, a horse dealer of Manchester, N. H. Mr. Hutchinson, during his lifetime, was a member of the Grange at Manchester.


JACOB SAMUEL PERLEY, deceased, a former prominent citizen and farmer of the town of Hanover, where he spent his life, was a native of the "Granite State." He was born in Han- over, N. H., June 7, 1818, and died July 10, 1891. In his youth he attended the district schools of his native town, and put in two terms to good advantage at Meriden Academy, after attaining manhood. His father died when he was but two years old, by being crushed against a post by a yoke of steers, which he was driving; he lived only a few days after the accident. Our subject was then taken into the household of his brother-in-law, Isaac Fellows, who gave him the care of a father; our subject's mother also lived in the same house. When Jacob was twen- ty-one years old he worked out a few years on neighboring farms, and then rented the farm. where the family now lives, for two years, buy- ing it at length. It consisted of 150 acres in the valley, near Actna, and was named by our subject Sunnydale Farm, which was most ap- propriate, because of its pleasant location. He farmed there several years before his marriage, his mother and maiden sister keeping house for him; after he brought his wife home, his mother still continued to stay with him, until her death, in 1871, at the age of ninety-one.




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