USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Book of biographies. This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Grafton County, New Hampshire > Part 7
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Other institutions have from time to time been associated with or incorporated into the college.
The Dartmouth Medical College dates from the establishment in 1798 of a professorship of medicine in the college, first filled by Dr. Nathan Smith, who was instrumental in its establish- ment. The college is under the general control of the trustees of Dartmouth College, by which body degrees are conferred, but the manage- ment of its affairs is committed to the Medical Faculty. Associated with the Medical College is the Mary Hitchcock Hospital (1893), the me- morial gift of Hiram Hitchcock, Esq., of Han- over.
The Chandler School of Science and the Arts, established in 1851 by a resolution of the trus- tees, in acceptance of a sum bequeathed to them in trust by Abiel Chandler, Esq., "for the estab- lishment and support of a permanent department or school of instruction in the college, in the practical and useful arts of life," was more for- mally incorporated into the college by the joint action of the trustees of the college and the visi- tors of the Chandler School in 1893, and is now known as the Chandler Scientific Course in the college, leading to the degree of B. S.
In 1866 the New Hampshire College of Agri- culture and the Mechanics Arts was established by an act of the Legislature, and located at Han- over in connection with Dartmouth College. Its board of trustees was appointed partly by the Governor and Council and partly by the corpor-
ation of Dartmouth College. In 1892 this ar- rangement between the State and Dartmouth College was discontinued, and the New Hamp- shire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts was removed to Durham. The buildings and land which had been occupied by it became the property of Dartmouth College through the grant of the State or by purchase.
The Thayer School of Civil Engineering, es- tablished in 1867 by the bequest of General Syl- vanus Thayer, is essentially a graduate school, covering a course of two years, and conferring the degree of civil engineer. The funds of the school are in charge of the trustees of tlie col- lege; otherwise its affairs are managed by a board of overseers, which is a close corporation.
The presidency of the college has been held as follows:
Eleazar Wheelock, 1769-1779.
John Wheelock, 1779-1815.
Francis Brown, 1815-1820.
Daniel Dana, 1820-1821.
Bennett Tyler, 1821-1828.
Nathan Lord, 1828-1863.
Asa Dodge Smith, 1863-1877.
Samuel Colcord Bartlett, 1877-1892.
William Jewett Tucker, 1893.
-Copied from Dartmouth Literary Monthly.
WILLIAM JEWETT TUCKER, President of Dartmouth College, was born in Griswold, Conn., in 1839. Fitting for college in Meriden Academy, he graduated from Dartmouth in 1861, and from Andover Theological Seminary in 1866, having taught meanwhile two years in Columbus, O. He became pastor of the Frank- lin Street Congregational Church of Manches- ter, the same church, in which S. C. Bartlett, D. D., his predecessor in the presidency of Dart- mouth College was for five years the pastor. Nine years later, Mr. Tucker was called to the pastorate of the Madison Square Presbyterian Church, New York City, at least the second in importance of the metropolitan churches of that denomination.
An urgent call in 1880 to the chair of homi- letics in Andover persuaded him to leave the pulpit for the somewhat wider field of influence, open to one who trains men for the ministry. The twelve years of his work in Andover have
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
been marked by an effective restlessness in doc- trinal discussions, and Prof. Tucker has taken a decided stand from the first with those who "seek to broaden and adjust the Christian Church." As an influential editor of the "An- dover Review," as a pulpit orator with few equals, as the originator of the famous Andover House in Boston, he has come to be a recog- nized leader of the ethical forces of the day, and Harvard's choice of a Phi Beta Kappa orator in 1892 is only one of many indications of the place he holds in public esteem.
For some years, Prof. Tucker has been a lec- turer upon homiletics in Harvard, but his most earnest efforts and ambitions have been cen- tered in Andover. Hence his declination of the presidency of Dartmouth, until it at length be- came clear to him, as it had long been clear to others, that no one else could so well lead the institution, and join in harmonious activity the trustees and faculty, the alumni, and the under- graduates. Thus his responsibility as a trustee required him to accept the situation, being in- augurated June 28, 1893. The unqualified satis- faction shown by all of the college elements above mentioned is a proof of the wisdom of the final decision.
EZRA B. ALDEN, an agriculturist of Graf- ton County, whose farm is located on East Street, near Bear Hill, in the town of Lyme, lives in the house in which he was born, June 25, 1855. He is a son of Amos B. and Lydia M. (Hall) Alden.
Ezra B. Alden is a lineal descendant of the John and Priscilla Alden, of the early Pilgrim Colony of Plymouth, Mass., who have been made famous in Longfellow's incomparable poem, "The Courtship of Miles Standish." Their son Joseph married Mary Simmons, and among the children born to them was one they named John; John married Hannah White, and their son David married Judith Paddleford. Deacon David Alden, the son of David and Judith Alden, married Rhoda Leach, who bore him Caleb; Caleb married Susanna Dunbar. Of the children born to them, Ezra married Clarissa Beal, and their son, Amos B., was the father of Ezra B.
Amos B. Alden was born in the eastern sec- tion of Lyme, where he reached manhood, mar- ried and farmed a few years, before purchasing the farm, now owned by his son, a tract of some 190 acres. His wife, Lydia M. Hall, was born in Newbury, Vt., of John and Polly (Moses) Hall. A brother of Polly Moses Hall was a sol- dier in the Revolution. Her mother was Lydia Ballou of Warwick, Mass., a sister of the famous Hosea Ballou, the originator of the Universalist Doctrine. From this same Ballou family, Presi- dent Garfield sprung. John Hall was a shoe- maker, and plied his trade in Marchfield, Vt., dying in the adjoining town of Cabot, Vt., at the age of eighty. Our subject's parents reared a family of three girls and two boys: Lydia Ann, deceased; Ezra B., the first of that name, de- ceased; Mary Isabel, deceased; Ezra B., our sub- ject; and Anna A., the wife of Frank L. Camp, a farmer at Lyme Center. Amos B. Alden was a selectman of the town for some three or four years. He lived on what is now our subject's farm until his death, Dec. 10, 1890; he was born March 13, 1819. His wife was born June 4, 1821, and went to her long rest, April 2, 1867.
Our subject grew up on the farm, and has al- ways lived there. Having a finely wrought musical temperament, which, if rightly cultured, might have brought him fame and success, he was not naturally inclined toward farming, but was thrown into it by circumstances, for he was the only son, and felt it to be his duty to remain on the farm with his father. His father man- aged the farm during his life-time, and left it to our subject at his death. His father was an ex- pert sheep-raiser, and was among the best pro- (lucers of staple wool that took their product to the Enfield mills. Our subject runs the farm, principally as a dairy-farm, and makes his own butter, having a complete outfit of the latest and most improved machinery.
On the fifth of September, 1893, in Piermont, Mr. Alden joined his fortunes with those of Luella P. Ames, a daughter of Asa and Mary (Runnels) Ames. Asa Ames was a member of Mt. Cube Lodge, No. 10, F. & A. M., of Orford. Mary Runnels was a daughter of Arthur and Luella (Hall) Runnels, the latter of whom was a daughter of Jesse and Abigail (Smith) Hall. Jesse Hall was a brother of John Hall, a grand- father of our subject on his mother's side. Mr.
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
and Mrs. Alden are among the leading members of the Baptist Church of Lyme. Mr. Alden is a member of the Morning Star Grange, No. 62, of Lyme. He is also a Mason, and belongs to Mt. Cube Lodge, No. 10, F. & A. M., of Orford, N. H. He is a Republican in his political views, but will not have anything to do with practical politics, or run for office.
OLIVER DAVIS EASTMAN, M. D.,a lead- ing physician and surgeon of the village of Woodsville, N. H., was born July 8, 1858, in Senora, Cal., where his parents had removed from Vermont some years previous.
His father died and left him alone in the world when he was quite young, so our subject came east in 1863, to make his home with his grandfather in Newbury, Vt. He attended the common schools in his boyhood days, and when older prosecuted advanced studies in Newbury Academy, preparing for Dartmouth College, from which institution he graduated in 1882. He read medicine and obtained practical ideas in the healing art in the offices of Dr. H. P. Watson of North Haverhill, and Dr. James A. Davis of Lebanon. One year was then spent in the Medical College of Burlington, Vt., fin- ishing his professional education in the Medical Department of Dartmouth College. He began the practice of medicine at Piermont, Vt., and settled in Woodsville, N. H., in 1884.
In the same year Dr. Eastman married Miss Addie B. Davis of Pike Station, N. H. She is a daughter of Darius K. and Susanna (Howe) Davis. The father was born Nov. 7, 1825, in Northfield, N. H., and was for many years en- gaged in the buying and selling of general mer- chandise; he is now retired from active mercan- tile business, and owns and supervises the culti- vation of several large and productive farms. He has been frequently appointed to settle es- tates and transact other business of a similar character. Darius K. Davis was a son of Na- than B. and Abigail (Bachelder) Davis; the for- iner was born in Loudon, N. H., and followed tlie pursuit of agriculture. His wife was a daughter of Moses Bachelder. Susanna Howe, the mother of Mrs. Eastman, was a daughter of Daniel and Phoebe (Eaton) Howe. Mrs.
Eastman was the only child born to her parents. Five children have been born to our subject and his wife: D. K., Oliver M., Burns R., Abel Earl, deceased, and Milo Donald.
Dr. Eastman is a member of Moosehillock Lodge, No. 25, I. O. O. F .; Mt. Gardner Lodge, No. 25, Knights of Pythias; Kane Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M., and Franklin Chapter, No. 5, of the same order, and St. Girard Commandery of Littleton. He intends taking the degrees of the council and consistory, and also of the Tem- ple of the Mystic Shrine in the near future. With his brother practitioners he is associated in the State Medical Society, and in the White Moun- tain Medical Society. Dr. Eastman was one of the originators of the St. Andrew's Benevolent Society of Newbury, Vt., and is its treasurer, and medical director. He allies himself with the Democratic party in political contests, and has for several years been an honored member of the school board. His medical practice is of large proportions and well-established. He is held in high esteem by his townsmen, who place the greatest confidence in his professional ability and skill.
FRANK I. SPENCER, a dairy-farmer, who is engaged in the prosecution of that branch of agriculture on his stock-farm south of the vil- lage of Hanover, was born in Norwich, Vt., Dec. 10, 1857. He is a son of George and Lydia (Pettigrew) Spencer, and grandson of Joseph Gates and Persis (Fuller) Spencer.
Our subject's grandfather was from the State of Connecticut, and followed farming in Nor- wich from the time of his settlement there until his death. Our subject's mother was a daugh- ter of Isaac and Betsey (Howe) Pettigrew, and granddaughter on her father's side of Stephen and Rehepha (Williams) Pettigrew, and on her mother's side of James and Hannah (Phillips) Howe of Sharon, Vt. To our subject's parents were born five children, as follows: Ella Per- sis, deceased; George A., deceased; Frank I., the subject of this sketch, succeeded to the farm. and Lenna B., deceased.
After the death of Mr. Spencer, his widow married Joseph Tilden, a well-to-do farmer of Hanover, and native of Lebanon, who was like
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
a father to the fatherless orphans, and is spoken of affectionately, as only a father is spoken of. On Mr. Tilden's death his widow and her son, the subject of this sketch, succeeded to the farm. Mr. Tilden was a member of the Congregational Church, and a Republican in politics. His first marriage to Elizabeth Virgin resulted in no off- spring, as did his second marriage with Mrs. Lydia E. Spencer.
Frank I. Spencer was six years old when he came to Hanover with his mother to live; he attended the district schools of Hanover and Norwich Academy until his twentieth year. He married when he was twenty-two, and worked on a farm two years, the first year for his step- father, to whom his mother was married when he was 10 years old, and the subsequent year for his father-in-law. He then bought a farm in the town of Lebanon, and began to do for him- self, occupying that farm twelve years. In 1893 he bought his present farm of 100 acres just out- side the village of Hanover; it is devoted to dairy-farming, and supports upwards of thirty cattle.
Mr. Spencer was married March 22, 1880, in Lebanon, to Miss Sarah Mills Barstow, daughter of M. H. Barstow of Lebanon, whose sketch may be found on another page of this volume. One daughter has been born to our subject and his wife, Mabel B., a pupil in the schools of Han- over. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer are members of the Congregational Church of Hanover, and also of Grafton Star Grange, No. 60, of Hanover. Mr. Spencer's preferences, politically, are Re- publican.
BENJAMIN DARWIN HOWE, deceased, who during his lifetime conducted a book-bind- ery and printing establishment and also a book- store in the village of Hanover, N. H., was the son of Benjamin C. Howe. Our subject was born in Pomfret, Vt., in 1814, and spent his boy- hood days in Pomfret and Woodstock, learning his trade of a book-binder at the latter place.
About 1831 he went to Claremont, N. H., and accepted a position as superintendent of a large book-binding establishment, which position he successfully and faithfully filled until he decided to come to Hanover, in 1850. Upon his arrival
in Hanover he embarked in business for himself, keeping a book-store, and conducting a book- bindery establishment until his death in 1867. He was a first-class business man, brimming over with energy and life, and an enthusiastic worker in anything that interested him. He was a strong Republican, and although he never ac- cepted public office, he was found in the front ranks of its hard workers. Socially, he was an active member of Franklin Lodge, F. & A. M. of Lebanon.
He was joined in marriage in December, 1839, to Eliza Hitchcock, daughter of John and Sarah (Webster) Hitchcock of Claremont. Five chil- dren were born to them, namely: Sarah M., died at the age of seven; Caroline G., died at the age of one; John R., died when two years old; Emily H., who resides with her mother at Han- over; and Charles H. W., who graduated at Dartmouth with the Class of '78, and from the Medical Department in the Class of '81; he died in 1881, aged twenty-three.
John Hitchcock, the father of Mrs. Howe, was the son of John Hitchcock, Sr., who was born in 1747 in New Haven, Conn., and became one of the first settlers of Claremont, N. H., locating in that place about 1768, and engaging in his calling of a farmer. He was married in 1774 to Phoebe Tyler, who was born in Wallingford, Conn., the daughter of Col. Benjamin Tyler. They reared a family of twelve sons and three daughters; the father died in 1835. John Hitch- cock, Jr., the fifth child, was born in Claremont, N. H., in 1781. He was a millwright by trade, and followed his chosen vocation until old age prevented him from longer keeping up active work. His last eight years were spent in Han- over, where he died in 1858. He married Sarah Webster, who bore him three children: Eliza, widow of Benjamin D. Howe; John R .; and Thomas W. Mrs. Hitchcock passed away at the age of seventy-seven.
Mrs. Howe resides in Hanover, occupying a house, which was formerly the residence of the > first president of Dartmouth College. Although it is over one hundred years old, it is still in a wonderfully good state of preservation. The in- side finishing has been left as it originally was, and the few modern adjustments that have been made have not interfered with the marked beauty of the interior.
REV. LORIN WEBSTER.
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
REV. LORIN WEBSTER, rector of the Holderness School for Boys, was born in Clare- mont, N. H., and is a son of Lorin A. and Sophronia N. (Pierce) Webster, and grandson of Atkinson Webster, who was the son of Stephen Webster. Stephen Webster was a captain in the Revolutionary War, and was present at the bat- tles of Saratoga, Stony Point, and Dimon's Island. Atkinson Webster was born in Haver- hill, Mass., but settled in Concord, N. H., where he worked at his trade of a carpenter, and culti- vated his farm. He lived to the good old age of seventy-nine. His father's children were: Jona- than, Stephen, Richard, Esther, David, Susan, Atkinson, James, and Lorin A.
Lorin A. Webster learned the carpenter's and builder's trade under his father, and followed it until his sudden death, in Jan. 23, 1857, at the age of twenty-eight. He was at a mill in Con- cord for lumber, and, being startled by a sudden noise, with others rushed to the engine and boiler room to ascertain the cause. They found the engineer engaged in drawing the fire, for the boiler was empty. Mr. Webster at once rendered his assistance, but while he was at work the boiler exploded, killing him instantly and leaving the engineer unscathed. Mr. Web- ster's wife is still living; she is a daughter of June and Sally (Joslyn) Pierce of Claremont, N. H. Our subject's parents had three children, of whom Lorin is the only one living. The other two, Carroll A., and an infant unnamed, died while young.
Rev. Lorin Webster finished the course of education prescribed in the public schools, and entered St. Paul's School, at Concord, from which he was graduated in 1876. He then en- tered Trinity College, from which he received his diploma in 1880, and entered the Berkeley Divinity School at Middletown, Conn. In 1883 he came to Holderness as master in the Holder- ness school and held that post for one year, when he was extended a call as rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church at Ashland, N. H. He ac- cepted and officiated eight years to the entire satisfaction and good of the parishioners; the membership of the parish was built up very much by his efforts.
In 1892 he was elected rector of the Holder- ness School for Boys. It is a diocesan school of the Episcopal Church, and was founded with the
design of giving New Hampshire boys, and others who might choose to avail themselves of the privilege, the maximum advantage in pre- paring for college. The school also has a science course and fits boys for the scientific schools. It was opened, in 1879, with Rev. F. M. Gray as rector and president; he did much to establish it upon a solid and lasting founda- tion. In 1886 Rev. Mr. Gray was suc- ceeded by Rev. F. C. Coolbough, who resigned in 1892, when our subject was elected to the place thus made vacant.
Mr. Webster has secured a corps of masters of exceptional ability, and in their report to the Diocesan Convention, the trustees declare that the school was never in a more satisfactory con- dition. Holderness School has numerous ad- vantages in its unsurpassed location, in point of healthfulness, and picturesque beauty. The fine buildings arise from the midst of a beautiful lawn, which does not lack for shade from the burning rays of the summer sun. All the build- ings are supplied with mountain spring water, are heated by steam and lighted by electricity. The building, in which the school was organized, was once the well-known home of Chief Justice Samuel Livermore; this structure was destroyed by fire in 1882. The following summer wit- nessed the erection of two substantial brick buildings with superior accommodations, and carefully planned to promote the health and comfort of the pupils. Adjoining the school is a picturesque little chapel, in which Sunday ser- vices are held; the location is hardly with an equal, being located upon a bluff 700 feet above sea level, with a broad, open view of the valleys of the Pemigewasset and Baker Rivers to Moos- ilanke and its neighboring peaks, and to the Franconia group of the White Mountains. The view is characterized not only for its beauty, but also for its grandeur. The school is one-half mile from Plymouth Railway Station, making it extremely convenient for those patrons of the school that live at a distance.
Rev. Mr. Webster married Jennie J., daughter of Hon. Daniel N. and Calista (Richardson) Adams. Mr. Adams was one of Springfield's, N. H., business men. He served as Senator in 1850. His death occurred July 2, 1886. Our subject has three children: Harold A., born Aug. 12, 1885; Bertha L., born June 24, 1887; Jerome
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
P., born Aug. 2, 1888. Rev. Mr. Webster is a member of Mt. Prospect Lodge, No. 69, F. & A. M., also of l'emigewasset Chapter, R. A. M., and Omega Council. He is Grand Chaplain of the Grand Council of the State. He is also an active member of the Grange, and is president of the Agricultural Association, now known as the Plymouth Association. He understands music thoroughly, being a composer of no mean abil- ity; he is president of the board of management of the New Hampshire Music Teachers' Associa- tion.
The portrait of Rev. Mr. Webster will be found on another page in connection with this sketch.
JOHN W. BUCKLEY, a rising young en- gineer on the B. & M. R. R., who is on the way to success, was born in Victor, Vt., Feb. 13, 1863, and resides at Woodsville. He is the eld- est of ten children born to his parents, of whom seven survive. His father, Michael Buckley, was a native of Millstreet, County Cork, Ireland; he came to this country in 1860, and took up the pursuit of agriculture, rounding out a well- spent life May 2, 1896. Michael's parents were John and Mary (Mitchell) Buckley, both natives of Ireland, the former of County Kerry, and the latter of County Cork. Both died in the old country. Our subject's mother, Mary Sul- livan, was born in Ireland, County Waterford, and came to this country when nine years of age, about 1845. Her father, Michael Sullivan, was a native of County Waterford; his wife was Margaret Connell; both departed this life in the land of their adoption.
While a boy, our subject attended school in Wells River, Newbury, and in South Ryegate, Vermont, whenever he had opportunity, up to his 18th year. At ten years of age he took up the task of self-support, working on the farm of Robert Nelson, situated some two miles above Wells River, and later for Moses Bucha- nan, attending school in the winter months. In 1879 he began his connection with the B. C. & M. R. R., as a cleaner at Fabian's. During the fall months he acted as emergency fireman, and then returned to Mr. Gibson's home at South Ryegate, District No. 3, Vermont, where he at-
tended school through the winter. At the close of the school term he resumed his position on the road as fireman, and on Feb. 1, 1882, in rec- ognition of his steadiness and. trusty character, he was given charge of an engine, engaged in . shifting in the yards. From that time until 1895, he was spare engineer, except the years 1886-87, when he ran a freight between Concord and Woodsville, and for the Boston & Lowell Railroad. He has now a regular run. Mr. Buckley has been in but one wreck, in which he received any injury; the injuries on that single occasion were caused by broken glass from the cab windows, when running into a snowdrift one winter.
Our subject was married Oct. 4, 1886, to Alice G. Keeble, a native of Plymouth, N. H. She is the eldest of two daughters born to James and Amanda (Kilden) Keeble of Plymouth. Her younger sister Edna married Frank Mer- ritt of Concord. Mrs. Buckley is a mem- ber of the M. E. Church of Woodsville. Mr. Buckley is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Concord Division, No. 335. In politics he affiliates with the Democratic . party.
GEORGE W. JOHNSON, a respected farm- er of the town of Hanover, was born in Cam- bridge, Vt., Aug. 11, 1834. He is a son of Peter J. C. Johnson, who married Triphena Elmore, a daughter of David Elmore, a farmer by occupation, born in Queechey, Vt.
Our subject's father was born in Norwich, Vt., and took up the occupation of a farmer; he lived in Underhill, Vt., twenty years, and then returned to his native town, where he died about 1882, aged sixty-five years; our subject's mother died in 1886, also about sixty-five years of age.
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