USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Book of biographies. This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Grafton County, New Hampshire > Part 63
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nent reward of a successful and honorable career. In politics he is a Republican, and has served his village on the board of health, on the school board, as a trustee of the public library, and as a superintendent of the schools of the town. To fraternal orders the Doctor has been quite partial. He is a member of Cardigan Lodge, No. 38, I. O. O. F., of Bristol; Union Lodge, No. 73, F. & A. M., of Bristol; St. Omar Chapter, of Frank- lin; Mt. Horeb Commandery, Knights Templar, of Concord; and Merrill Lodge, No. 23, A. O. U. W., of Bristol; and Bristol Lodge, American Benefit Society.
JOSEPH B. PAGE, a prominent agricultur- ist, whose farm is situated near Grafton Center, was born in Grafton, Feb. 1, 1839. He was a son of Joseph W. and Dolly (Bullock) Page, and grandson of John Page, a hatter by trade, who moved to Grafton in 1808, bought a small place near the Center, and there plied his trade.
The family is descended from the parents of three brothers, who came from England in the early Colonial days, settling in Massachusetts. One of them, a doctor and minister by profes- sion, lost his life by a contagious disease con- tracted while attending a sick patient.
Dolly (Bullock) Page, the mother of our sub- ject, was a daughter of Benjamin and Sybil (Drake) Bullock. Sybil was a daughter of Capt. Daniel Drake, who began his services in the Revolutionary War, at the battle of Bunker Hill, and continued in the army, fighting for freedom and independence until the cessation of hostili- ties. Sybil remembered hearing the guns at that battle, and before her death, at the age of ninety- three, used to relate incidents of the war to our subject when he was a boy. She died April 5, 1864, aged ninety-three years, nine months, and twenty-five days.
Joseph W. Page was born in the town of Hawke (now Danville), N. H., Aug. 20, 1799, and died September, 1879, having passed the eightieth mile-stone in his journey of life. After his marriage he bought the farm on which our subject resides, a fine tract of 300 acres, and con- tinued to make it his home until his death. The final summons came to him unexpectedly, and without warning, at the close of a busy day, just
JASON CLARK.
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after the evening chores had been finished. He was tall, of a commanding figure, and finely pro- portioned, an almost exact prototype of his son, the subject of this sketch.
Joseph B. Page, our subject, was married Jan. I, 1892, to Emma J. Fowler, now deceased, and daughter of William and Melinda (Morrill) Fow- ler of Grafton. Mr. Page is a firm, unyielding Republican, and although living in a Democratic town, has been kept in office almost ever since he attained his majority; he has been postmaster at Grafton Center thirteen years; has served as selectman eighteen years; and has been justice of the peace since 1870. The duties of these vari- ous offices he has discharged in a faithful and conscientious manner, which has met the appre- ciation and wins him the confidence of all his fellow-townsmen. He is a member of Eureka Grange, No. 69, of Grafton Center.
JASON CLARK (deceased) was the son of Joshua Clark, grandson of Satchel Clark, Jr., great-grandson of Satchel Clark, great-great- grandson of John Clark, Jr., and great-great- great-grandson of John Clark.
It is believed that the Clark family first set- tled in Martha's Vineyard, Mass. It is not definitely known where John Clark was born, and where he passed his early manhood years, but we know that he spent his later years and died in Stratham, N. H.
John Clark, Jr., the son of John, was born in Haverhill, Mass., and died at Stratham, N. H.
Satchel Clark, the son of John Clark, Jr., was born in Kingston, N. H., in 1736. He resided and died in Sanbornton, N. H. He married Rachel Cate. He moved to Sanbornton in 1756, and was the ninth family to settle in that town. They reared a family of seven children.
Satchel Clark, Jr., was born in 1774. He mar- ried Betty Fullington in 1794. He changed his residence to Dorchester, N. H., in 1797, but soon returned to Sanbornton and died there in 1854. They reared a family of seven children.
Joshua Clark, son of the preceding, and the father of our subject, was born in 1810, in San- bornton. He devoted his life to agricultural pur-
suits. He married Syrena Palmer. They re- mained in their native town until 1844, when they moved to Campton, N. H., where they spent their last days. Mr. Clark died at the age of seventy-one; his wife was called to her reward at the age of seventy-two. Four children were born to them: Jason, Ann E., Emily J. (Coffin), and Henry M.
Jason Clark, one of the four children of Joshua and Syrena (Palmer) Clark, was born in San- bornton, N. H., Sept. 17, 1832. He was the son of godly parents, and grew up under the influ- ences of a Christian home. As a child and youth he was devout, reverent, and faithful, giving evi- dence that he was a child of God and desirous of pleasing his Father.
While still a boy his parents removed their home to Campton, N. H., and in 1848, when six- teen years of age, he united with the Congrega- tional Church in the neighboring village of Ply- mouth.
Ten years of his early manhood were spent in Lowell, Mass. He carried his pure, simple re- ligion with him to the city, and the decade spent in the midst of its turmoil and sin did not dim his faith nor tarnish his life.
During these years he was a faithful member of the Y. M. C. A., and was constant in his at- tendance upon the means of grace. This was one of the secrets of his beautiful life: the weekly appearing before God in His sanctuary; the reg- ular study of God's word in the Sunday-school; the communion of saints in the mid-week service, were verily to him "means of grace."
He did not transfer his church membership, and in 1858 returned to his church home in Ply- mouth. For nearly half of a century this church has found in him a faithful member, a wise coun- sellor, and a trusty steward. He served for ten years on the church committee; he also acted at various times as warden, treasurer of the society, and church treasurer, and at the time of his death was deacon, which office he had filled with rare efficiency for seventeen years.
For two years prior to his death he had been actively engaged in serving on the building com- mittee of the church. A new chapel was erected and extensive repairs made on the church edifice. To this service of God he devoted his best energies ; his heart and mind, his hand and purse were all given unsparingly. It was while en-
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gaged in work in the church audience room that the chill came upon him which passed into pneu- monia, and three weeks later caused his death.
But not only in religious circles did Jason Clark adorn his profession. It was given him in great measure to be in the world, but not of it.
He was a strictly honest man. He was not without ambition; an abundance of this world's goods seemed desirable to him, but his gain never came to him by another's loss.
His towns-people recognized in him this in- tegrity mingled with sound judgment and execu- tive ability, and at various times elected him to offices of trust.
The church relied on him, the town respected him, and his friends loved him. His pleasant face, kindly manner, and good heart endeared him to all with whom he came in contact. His maxim was that of the old Earl of Devonshire: "I shall pass this way but once; if, therefore, there be any good thing I can do, or any kind- ness I can show to any fellow-being, let me do it now." And many a neighbor and friend can bear witness to his kindly words and deeds.
In 1858 he was united in marriage to Calistia P. Johnson of Campton, N. H., and two children, a son and daughter, blessed their union. For a few years these little ones were lent to their parents to sanctify and make glad their home, and then they were called to the heavenly home to await their parents' coming.
In 1887 a little, motherless girl came under · their care, and in a few months they opened to her their hearts and home, and she became their daughter.
Always a kind and thoughtful husband, he exercised this care to the last. Many and con- siderate were the final arrangements he made for their welfare and happiness of the dear ones he was so soon to leave.
Although not called upon to pass through days and weeks of protracted suffering, the death angel did not come painlessly to him; but over- coming all and robbing even death of its sting, was that peace which the world cannot give or take away. He passed to the realms above on the 8th day of June, 1895. A fine portrait of Mr. Clark, appearing on a preceding page, will serve to call to the minds of his many friends in life his Christian virtues and beautiful traits of char- acter.
WARREN L. ROBINSON, who is engaged in farming near Grafton Center, was born in Roxbury, Mass., Dec. 24, 1859, and is a son of Theodore S. and Jane K. (Kimball) Robinson. Our subject's mother was a daughter of Col. Amherst Kimball, who married Betsey Clark. He was an officer in the old State militia. He was one of those whole-souled, royal, good fel- lows, and in consequence was not so thrifty as his father, a very wealthy man of Sispatchet, R. I., desired, so he was sent to Grafton and given the use of a 1,000-acre tract of land of his father's near where the village of Grafton Center now stands, part of which farm is now owned by the subject of this sketch. He lived to be upwards of sixty years old. He had eight children, all girls.
Theodore Robinson, the father of our subject, was born in Canton, Mass., about the year 1832, and died at the age of thirty-four. He was the only issue of his father's marriage. The mother married again, her second husband being Charles Henry Lawrence. In early life Theodore Rob- inson was a butcher of Roxbury, Mass., and later was superintendent of the Fire Engine & Hose Co., of the village, and chief of the depart- ment in cases of fire. The engine was one of the old style, rarely seen nowadays, for which the power was furnished by the men of the com- pany; the engine was also pulled to the fire by the members of the company, and
many are the amusing anecdotes
told of Mr. Robinson in his efforts in urging his men to exert their utmost strength to beat the rival engine to the scene of the fire. His father, Stephen Robinson, was a blacksmith of an ingen- ious turn of mind, and the original inventor of the trip-hammer.
Warren L. Robinson was reared in East Bos- ton, and attended the ward school and the Rice High School. Having a natural turn for dramatic art he spent three years in the study of elocution, and then for three years filled very creditably a place on the staff of the Boston Museum Co. He is a member of the Actors' Fund, which shows that he stands high in the estimation of the profession. Being of a very social nature, Mr. Robinson's good fellow- ship led him into excesses, to escape which he came to the town of Grafton in 1890, and entered upon the peaceful pursuit of a farmer, on a part
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of the land which formed his great-grandfather's estate. The farm comprises 190 acres, chiefly of interval land, located on the border of the little stream that was known in early days as Smith's River, which flows into the Pemigewasset at Bristol.
On Dec. 24, 1893, he was married at Grafton Center to Susan Bachelor, daughter of Emerson and Carrie (Munyon) Bachelor, of the town of Grafton. In politics Mr. Robinson had until recent years affiliated with the Democratic party, but not being able in late campaigns to support its platforms, he has thrown his influence with the party of protection and sound money with telling effect.
JAMES RILEY YOUNG, deceased. It is proper to put on record some of the salient facts in the life of James Riley Young of Lisbon, New Hampshire. A good part of the business devel- opment of the town and much of its educational and moral advance have been closely identified with his life and are directly traceable to his in- fluence. The town well remembers the shock of his death in 1884, when with failing health he had still devoted himself to the interests of his busi- ness, and as long as it was possible continued his other associations.
He was born on Sugar Hill, Jan. 31, 1828, and was the son of Ithiel and Nancy (Wells) Young, who were both born in Lisbon, the father Sept. IO, 1801, and the mother Jan. 2, 1805. Ithiel was a son of Joseph, who was born in Haverhill, Mass., in 1768, and was a son of Maj. John Young. The other children of Ithiel and Nancy Young were: Susan, born Jan. 8, 1826; Martha, born Feb. 18, 1830; Mary, born Feb. 18, 1830; Artemas W., born Dec. 9, 1831; Zemira, born Jan. 30, 1835: Sarah Jane, born Nov. 28, 1837; Charles, born Jan. 3, 1841 ; Eliza Ann, born Dec. 12, 1842; Carlos G., born Feb. 9, 1845: Millard F., born Sept. 9, 1850.
Riley Young, as he was familiarly called, lived on Sugar Hill during his carlier days. He was away at school in Danville and Newbury Acad- emies, Vermont, two of the best known acade- mies of this part of the country at that time, and he taught a number of terms of school, one at the
age of fourteen. Oct. 24, 1847, he married Emily Harris, a daughter of Houghton Harris of Fran- conia. Shortly afterwards, in 1851, he formed a partnership with Charles Parker, and the two families removed to Lyman, N. H., where the firm of Parker & Young carried on a general store, and gradually developed other interests. They owned several starch mills, which they operated for many years.
In 1856 Mr. Young came to Lisbon and opened a store for general merchandise, which, in a few years, became a well-established busi- ness and drew for patronage upon a large sur- rounding country. It was located in what is known as the Town Hall Block, and had in con- nection with it a tailor-shop. Here also was the postoffice, and Mr. Young was postmaster from 1860 to 1868.
Mrs. Young, who had been an invalid for sev- eral years, died, October, 1864, of phthisis. She was a very attractive woman, beloved by her family and friends.
In 1864 the Lyman business, which had be- come unprofitable in comparison with the flour- ishing Lisbon concern, was disposed of, and Mr. Parker, who had been in charge, came to Lisbon to assist in the store there.
Mr. Young married, April 25, 1865, Susan Gerrish Ayers of Canterbury, N. H., who was for a year a teacher in the public schools of Lis- bon, and had for a pupil Mr. Young's son Lucius. Mrs. Young is a lineal descendant of Revolu- tionary heroes, and of Col. William Pepperell. father of Sir William Pepperell, the captor of Louisburg.
In 1868 Parker & Young withdrew perma- nently from mercantile business and sold their stock to Woodworth Brothers, renting them the store. Several years were spent in settling a large number of outstanding accounts before they embarked upon other enterprises. In 1872 they commenced the manufacture of piano sounding-boards and boxes, in a mill a few hun- dred feet south of the west end of the bridge, using water power entirely for some years. This mill was for a long time one of the two manufac- tories of sounding-boards in the United States, the other one being located in Northern New York. The business enlarged rapidly, and in a few years enjoyed a large amount of patronage from makers of pianos, both in this country and
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abroad. In course of time the making of chair stock and bridges was added to the sounding- board business.
The firm met many losses by fire and flood, but at each and every occasion, when others were disheartened, Mr. Young's quick courage and indomitable will pushed him ahead. When piano manufacturers failed, losing the firm the fruits of its past toil, Mr. Young only worked the harder for the future, and when the mill was destroyed by fire in 1872 no one was surprised to see it go up again almost before the ashes were cold. When the second time came and Mr. Young stood in the early morning on a small bluff overlooking the smoldering ruins of the mill.he had once replaced, he said only, "It's no use crying over spilt milk." He never gave voice to the discouragement he must have felt, but devoted his whole energies to the rebuilding. Land was bought a half-mile south of the bridge, on the east side of the river; a large tract suffi- cient for further extension as the business grew.
Mr. Young's health had been failing now for several years, the result of a series of slight apoplectic attacks. He could not stop work, he could not prevent the almost ceaseless activity of his body and his brain. As long as it was possible he was on the ground, superintending every detail of the building of the new mill, mak- ing his own plans and embodying in the new structure many new features, the results of his own experience and of his observation in other buildings of the kind. When he became so weak that even his own indomitable will could not sus- tain him, he was obliged to spend much of his time at his home. But even then he was not an idle invalid. The employees came to him; for several months he carried on at home the work of "paying off" the men, and they came for orders-everything and anything-so that he should not lose his intimate connection with these interests. He never did. On Monday evening, Feb. 18, 1884, he was long and earn- estly engaged in dictating the articles of agree- ment for the stock company, the Parker & Young Manufacturing Co .. which was to carry on the old business in its new quarters. Perhaps it was this exertion that occasioned an attack of apoplexv during the night. The attack came on, a second one followed, and he died Thursday evening, Feb. 21, 1884.
Mr. Young was certainly closely identified with the industrial development of Lisbon. A number of interests have been developed through his influence directly. A good number of men have been furnished with employment, and, so far as the knowledge of the historian goes, there have been no strikes. The men employed were American citizens and substantial men of the town. They were treated honorably. Mr. Young was a thorough business man with busi- ness instincts that served him well. His good judgment was proverbial, so much so that one often heard after his death, "If Riley Young were only alive!" when a quick, intelligent decision was needed. He was industrious, faithful, and he was courageous in the face of the largest dis- couragements. His indomitable perseverance in all catastrophes excites one's enthusiastic admi- ration.
But it is not alone in this capacity as a busi- ness man that Mr. Young is remembered. He was for five years a member of the board of edu- cation and devoted considerable time to these duties. It is said that he could be depended upon to uphold the authority of the teacher when it was necessary so to do. At all times he was ready to give hiis services to the schools, whether it was a question of discipline, of new building supplies, or of the introduction of improved courses of study. He was serving on the board at the time of his death.
He had been a member of the choir of the Methodist Church for twenty-eight years, and was always in his seat on Sunday and at the re- hearsal Friday evening, even when to be there meant a great effort and the sacrifice of other important interests. He was never a member of the church organization. He was not a man to make many professions ; he went ahead and lived an honest, diligent, and honorable life, and said very little about it. Many acts of charity have come to knowledge since his death, and many acts of self-denial in money and personal comfort have come to light. No one knew them at the time.
Mr. Young early identified himself with the Masonic interésts of the town, being made a Master Mason in Kane Lodge, No. 64, in 1859; and exalted in Franklin Chapter, Jan. 31, 1861. He took the deepest interest in his Masonic re- lations, filling several important offices. The
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services after his death were conducted under Masonic orders.
But it was in his home, with his family, that Mr. Young was seen at his best. He took a great deal of interest in the work and the pleas- ures of his children. They were in his mind and were continually receiving the benefits of some thoughtfulness on his part. He was not too weary with a hard day's work to sit up a good part of the night to take care of a sick child for weeks at a time. He never came home from a business trip without "bringing them some- thing."
The children of Mr. Young and Susan G. Young are Emilie A., Ellen L., and Charles A., besides a daughter Susie, who died Nov. 14, 1873, at the age of seven months. Emilie A. Young, who is a physician, married, Feb. 19, 1895, Robert Lincoln O'Brien of Washington, D. C.
Mr. Young's children by his first marriage were: James Henry, who died in infancy; and Lucius Alfred, born July 10, 1850. In May, 1872, Lucius married Louise Woodworth, a clever woman and a devoted wife. They lived in Lisbon a number of years. Lucius had a general store on the Square; he was town clerk for a number of years, an Odd Fellow, postmaster, and founder of the Lisbon Index in September, 1882. The last eight years of his life were spent in Southern Pines, where he died of phthisis Aug. 23, 1893, leaving many friends north and south.
GEN. PAUL LANG, a practicing attorney- at-law of the town of Orford, N. H., was born in the town of Bath, N. H., July 1, 1860; his parents moved to Orford when he was an infant. Upon finishing the district school course, he attended Orford Academy, St. Johnsbury Academy, and Dartmouth College, remaining one year at the latter institution. He studied law with George W. Chapman of Woodsville, and was admitted to practice at the March term of court, in 1882, having commenced his studies in 1879.
He went into partnership with his preceptor, and continued with him until Mr. Chapman's death. Aug. 11, 1896. Mr. Lang is an attorney for the B. & M. R. R., and much of his time is
taken up in the settlement of railroad business. In the political circles of the State he is widely known. In the campaigns of 1888 and 1890 he was member of the executive committee for Graf- ton Co .; he has also been a member of the Re- publican State Committee. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1889. In 1889 he was appointed Judge-Advocate General on the staff of Governor David H. Goodell, with the rank of brigadier-general. In his profession and in other walks of life he has distinguished himself for his energy, and cool judgment; his legal cases bear the stamp of a man who is familiar with law and legal procedure, and who gives close attention to the small points that go to make success.
His grandfather was Sherburne Lang, an early settler of Bath, coming from the city of Boston; the family is of Highland Scottish origin. Sher- burne Lang married Mehitabel Ricker, daughter of Joshua Ricker, who was born April 9, 1737, and lived to be seventy-six years old; his wife, Betsy Drew, was born Oct. 28, 1740, and was married June 28, 1756.
Hon. David R. Lang, the father of our subject, was born in Bath, May 6, 1830; his general edu- cation was obtained at the old Newbury Semi- nary, and at Dartmouth College. He studied law three years with Hon. Harry Hibbard of Bath, graduated from the Albany, N. Y., Law School, and was admitted to the bar in 1857, at Haverhill. He practiced in Bath until 1864, re- moving at that time to Orford, having previously practiced there to some extent. He was ex- tremely popular among his associates, a man of infinite jest and good humor, making friends by his cheerful and good-natured way of taking life. He was also much esteemed as a man of char- acter and excellent judgment ; he represented the town of Bath in the Legislature of 1859 and 1860, and the town of Orford in 1867-68-60-71. He was appointed Judge of Probate for Grafton Co. in 1870, and held the office four years.
His marriage with Josephine R. Smith was solemnized in 1859: she was a daughter of Asa P. and Mehitabel (Ricker) Smith; Mr. Smith was a merchant of the town of Bath. Mehitabel Ricker (Smith) lives still at the advanced age of cighty-nine, and makes her home with the sub- ject of this sketch. She was a daughter of Eben- ezer Ricker, who was born June 23, 1780, and
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lived to the age of eighty-six. He married Bet- sey Hurd, a daughter of Jacob Hurd, one of the original settlers of Bath; his father owned the en- tire town of Bath at one time, and Jacob came to act as his agent, and sell the land for him. Jacob's father was one of four brothers, who came to America in the early days of the eigh- teenth century. There were born to Judge David R. Lang and his wife seven children, as follows: Paul, the subject of this historical sketch; Hittie R., the wife of Clarence H. Carr of Orford; Ed- ward J., a merchant of Wellington, Kans .; Mary Augusta, deceased; David R., Jr., deceased; Mary J., who married Charles Southard, a mer- chant of North Haverhill; and David R., Jr., the second of that name, who has been employed in a railroad office in Boston for several years.
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