USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Book of biographies. This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Grafton County, New Hampshire > Part 8
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George W. Johnson was reared in Underhill, Vt., until he was twenty years old, and then in Norwich until 1868. In that year he went to Winona, Minn., where he lived five years, re- turning to Norwich and renting a farm for two years. About 1875, he bought the farm he now owns in the town of Hanover, the property con- sisting of about 130 acres, of which 25 acres are plow-land.
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Mr. Johnson married as his first wife Siloma Moores, daughter of Benjamin Moores, who married a Miss Campbell. Of our subject's first union were born six children, five girls and one boy, as follows: Ada, who married John Rand, and is living in Minnesota; Emma, the wife of John Raymond of Manchester, N. H .; Nellie married Fred Tenney of Windsor, Vt., and has one child; Nina married Joseph Gove of Bos- ton, and has one child: Edith is the wife of Harry Temple of Boston; Lee, the only son, died when five years old. Our subject's second matrimonial union was made in Union Village, \'t., to Julia Alzina Gibbs, daughter of Charles and Mary (Bryant) Gibbs. Both of Mrs. John- son's grandfathers, Samuel Gibbs and James Bryant, were pensioners of the War of 1812. Mr. Johnson's grandfather on his father's side was a soldier of the Revolution. Our subject and wife are attendants of the Baptist Church at Hanover Center. Mr. Johnson is a stanch Dem- ocrat, and has served as road surveyor a num- ber of years. He is a valuable member of the community in which he resides, and well thought of as a just, honorable man, who would scorn to do a wrong, or inflict an injury on society.
HON. BENJ. F. TRUSSELL, a manufac- turer of bobbins and lumber, with his plant lo- cated in the town of Orford, N. H., was born in the same town, Sept. 9. 1835. His parents were Benjamin Trussell and Asenath (English) French.
The Trussell family, of whom we are writing, sprung from two brothers who came from Eng- land in carly Colonial days. Daniel Trussell, the grandfather of our subject, lived most of his life in Boscawen, N. H., where he cultivated a farmı. His brother Moses lost an arm at the Battle of Bunker Hill. There were several boys in the family. and their father, a genuine patriot, when he realized the impending conflict between the English and the Colonists, took down the old gun, the only fire-arm the family possessed, and told his sons that one of them must take the gun, and go and help in the fighting that was to come. Moses went first, and served through the Battle of Bunker Hill, but while carrying off
the wounded, a stray shot from the British fleet tore away his arm. He brought back the old gun, and another brother took it into the ser- vice of the Patriot Army. Daniel Trussell married Anna Knowlton Dec. 1I, 1790; she was from Boscawen, N. H., and died in Orford.
Benjamin Trussell, the father of our subject, was born in Boscawen, N. H., March 31, 1795, and died Jan. 10, 1882. When a child, his parents moved to Orford, and in that town he spent his youthful years. When fourteen years old, he went to Canaan to learn the millwright's trade from an uncle, remaining there till he was of age, living a part of the time in Franklin, where his uncle had moved. When he attained his majority he returned to Orford and made it his home the rest of his life. Following his trade, he built mills in all the surrounding towns, being away from home on such work nearly every summer. In 1846, he bought the place, now owned by his son, and did not work away from home much afterward. He bought a shingle mill with his residence, and operated that and a turning mill, and repair shop. Up to the latest years of his life, he was always en- gaged in work, the work necessarily being lighter in his old age, for he could not bear to remain idle. His first wife was Sophia Derby, and by their marriage Mr. Trussell became the father of three children, namely: Anna S., de- ceased: Charlotte H., deceased: and Priscilla N., who is married and living in the State of New York. His second wife, the mother of our subject, was a daughter of Andrew and Mary (Goodell) English, who were married May 2, 1797: Mary Goodell, who was born Aug. 30, 1776, and died at the age of 83, was a daughter of John Goodell, who was one of the first set- tlers of the town of Lyme, on Goodell Brook. Andrew English was born in Lyme on the River Road, Aug. 18, 1772, and died at the age of 83; he was a farmer all his life. His father was James English, a farmer by occupation, coming, it is thought, to New Hampshire from Connecticut; he saw a little service in the War of the Revolution in the defense of Plattsburgh. N. Y. Our subject's mother by her first mar- riage with Mr. French had one child, a daugh- ter, Sarah P. French, now deceased; she was the wife of Stillman Richardson. Her union with
-
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our subject's father resulted in the birth of five children, as follows: Martha C., deceased; Lucy B. and Lucia S., both deceased; Benj. F., our subject; and Celinda C., the wife of George W. Lamprey of Orfordville.
till he was twenty-one; at that age he went to Lowell, Mass., remaining there through the win- ter, engaged at the trade of a carpenter. He re- , turned home in the spring, and has lived in Or- ford ever since, making it his home at first to please his mother, who had been made lonely by the death of a daughter. On his return from Lowell in 1857, he went into partnership with his father, and operated a shingle mill until 1866, when our subject built a saw-mill, and in 1887 added a bobbin mill. Up to the year 1882, he used water-power wholly; since then he has had steam power to rely upon, having introduced a steam engine.
He was married Dec. 30, 1862, in Orfordville, to Emma A. Russell, daughter of Nathaniel and Persis (Hancock) Russell; they have one child, George F., born Aug. 17, 1873. They also adopted a daughter, Mary E., who was born Feb. 23, 1882; she is now in the High School in Bristol. Our subject's wife is a member of the Congregational Church of Orfordville. Mr. Trussell is a Republican, and has held for a greater or smaller period nearly every office in the town. He was selectman four years; town clerk twenty-three years, and representative for two terms. He is a member of the Masonic Or- der, Mt. Cube Lodge, No. 10, of Orford. He has been secretary and treasurer of the Orford Creamery and Butter Manufacturing Co. since its organization, also the Orford Mutual Fire Insurance Co., and lias been Justice of the Peace thirty years.
George F. Trussell learned the dairy business, at which he worked some three years at Orford- ville and Bristol. For one summer he worked for Moseley & Stoddard of Rutland, setting up creamery machinery in various towns in several of the neighboring states. He was joined in the holy bonds of matrimony May 21, 1895, in Bris- tol to Grace H. Tilton, daughter of Green L. Tilton of Bristol, whose wife was Sarah Jane Fellows. George F. Trussell is a member of the Bristol Lodge of the Knights of Pythias.
SAMUEL FULLER BALL, a dairy-farmer of the town of Lyme, was born in Thetford, Vt., May 1, 1833. He is a son of Elisha P. and Lydia (Chamberlain) Ball, grandson of John Ball, Jr., and great-grandson of John Ball, Sr.
Benj. F. Trussell passed his youthful years John Ball, Sr., lived to a very old age, and near Orfordville, attending the district schools . our subject remembers him, when he, himself, was six or seven years old; he was an expert stone-cutter, and his principal occupation was carving grave-stones. He married Mary Cham- berlain. His son, John Ball, Jr., was born in Hollis, Vt., and was also a stone-cutter by trade. His death took place unexpectedly at the age of 58; he was afflicted with heart trouble, and dropped dead in the road, after helping a man to get his team and load up the hill. He en- listed in the War of 1812, but peace was declared before he saw actual service; he had proceeded to the front as far as Plattsburgh, N. Y. Hc married Sophia Pomeroy.
Elisha P. Ball was born in Vershire, Vt., Aug. IO, 1810, and lived to be sixty-one years old; he began farming in Thetford, Vt., and died at sub- ject's home; he was also a stone-cutter, but he broke his leg, and had to quit that trade; his wife Lydia A. Chamberlain was born Sept. 18, 1808. Five children were born to our subject's parents: Samuel F., our subject; William Mer- rill, deceased; Lydia Lestina; Amelia R., de- ceased ; and Chiarles Carroll, deceased. His wife was a daughter of Samuel Chamberlain, who married a Miss Dowse. Samuel Chamberlain was the first male child born in Thetford, Vt. The great-grandfather of our subject on his mother's side of the house was named John Chamberlain, but commonly went by the name of "Quail John"; he was an early settler of Lyme, and how well he improved his opportuni- ties is shown by the following verses :
" Old Quail John, when he first came on, Was as poor as a calf in the spring ; And now he's as rich, as old Gov. Fitch, And lives like a lord and a king."
The subject of this memoir was eleven years old when the family came to the town of Lyme, having lived in Hanover, Lebanon, Hartford, and Thetford. He remained at home under the family roof until he was twenty-one, going to the district schools, and assisting his father. He then hired out for three or four years, after which he was employed about five years in a
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
lumber mill in Dorchester, N. H. When he was thirty years old he farmed for himself two years, and then for a year or two kept a boarding-house for the hands at the saw-mill, where he had him- self worked. He finally returned to the farm. where he now resides, and has made it his home ever since, except four years he spent as super- intendent of a large farm in Massachusetts. His farm consists of 100 acres, and under the old tariff, protecting American wool, was devoted to sheep-raising, supporting upwards of 125 sheep. It is now a dairy-farm, and is stocked with from ten to twelve cows.
Mr. Ball was married in Thetford, Vt., Jan. 4, 1863, to Laura A. Gordon, a daughter of Cyrus and Olive (Jesseman) Gordon; a sketch of the Gordon family will be found in this book, incor- porated into the biography of Hon. John H. Derby. Mr. and Mrs. Ball are prominent and leading members of the Congregational Church, and are liberal in their support of all good causes. Mr. Ball was a charter member of the original Morning Star Grange, No. 62, of the town of Lyme. He is a stanch Republican, and was elected selectman in 1894; he has served with efficiency as road surveyor and as a mem- ber of the school committee.
JOHN M. FULLER, a progressive and lead- ing farmer of the town of Hanover, N. H., owns and successfully manages the old State Agricul- tural Farm, near the village of Hanover; the land is intervale of the best quality that can be found in New Hampshire, and is wonderfully productive; the farm and the buildings are in excellent condition, and are so arranged as to be of the greatest service possible to our subject in his special industry of dairy-farming.
Our subject is a son of Milo Marsh, although bearing the name of his step-father, who adopted him. Milo Marsh was born in 1789, and died in 1838, the same year in which his son was born; he married Mary A. Hutchinson and to them were given three children: Frances E. (Brad- bury); Wealthy V. (Atwood), and John M., our subject. Soon after the death of Milo Marsh, his widow married James Fuller, who was born in Vershire, Vt., and was a descendant of a fam- ily that has been represented in this country
since the landing of the Mayflower, for one James Fuller came over in that famous ship, and the family settled in Weston, Mass. The ances- tors of James Fuller moved to Vershire, Vt., where he was born in 1793. He was reared and educated to the vocation of a farmer. His first marriage was to Sabra Tracy, who died and left him two children; one died at the age of eighteen, and Walter, who grew to manhood. Mr. Fuller's second helpmate was Rachel George; at her death, she left one daughter, who died at the age of thirteen. His third wife was the mother of our subject, Mrs. Mary A. (Hutchinson) Marsh; they were married in 1844.
John M. Fuller was born Sept. 2, 1838, in Brashier, Franklin Co., N. Y .; although born in New York State, few of his years have been spent there, for soon after his father's decease, his mother returned to Vermont, her native State, to the town of Norwich, in 1839; from that time till her second marriage she supported herself and children by teaching school. When she married James Fuller, she removed to West Fairlee, Vt., to make her home, and our subject went with her, and in that town he passed the greater part of his early life, and there he se- cured a district school education. His father died in 1860 and his mother in 1865.
John M. Fuller at the death of his father suc- ceeded to the ownership of the farm in West Fairlee, Vt., and remained on it until the death of his mother, he then sold it and purchased the well-known "Grass Land Stock Farm" of Han- over, N. H., settling upon it the same year. The farm lay just north of the village, along the east bank of the Connecticut River; on this fine piece of farming property Mr. Fuller carried on a dairy farm, and conducted a milk route in the village until 1887, when he sold it. The follow- ing year he took charge of the New Hampshire State Farm of the Agricultural College at Han- over, and managed the same most satisfactorily for the State until the change in location of the Agricultural College was made in 1892. He then purchased the farm, which consists of 340 acres of the best land in New Hampshire, well- equipped in the way of buildings. Mr. Fuller is practical and uniformly successful in carrying out his ideas of farming. The milk product from the farm is taken to the Hanover Co-oper- ative Creamery, of which he is president. Every-
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thing about the farm is carried on on a large scale, and yield handsome profits to its very capable owner.
Our subject's nuptials with Martha S. Driggs were consummated Dec. 25 (Christmas), 1865; Mrs. Fuller is a daughter of Hiram C. Driggs . of Fairlec, Vt. Two children have blessed their union: Mary E., and Fred D. Mary E. married Albert 11. Wood, professor in the State Agricul- tural College: they have one child, Kenneth F., and make their home at Durham, N. H. Fred D. is a graduate of the State Agricultural Col- lege, Class of 1892, and spent one year in Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Three years were employed in the New Hampshire Experiment Station; in 1895 he went to the Experiment Station at Geneva, Y.
N. He married Abbie Chamberlin of Dur- ham, N. H., and has one child, Mabel I. John M. Fuller is a Democrat, and at the time of the change of the school system, in 1887, he was elected chairman of the town school board and served efficiently in that capacity for two years. He is a member and master of the Grafton Star Grange.
HARRY E. WEEKS, who departed his life Jan. 3. 1897, was a prosperous and prominent agriculturist of Bath, was born in that town Nov. 9, 1863, and was a son of John and Asenath (Smith) Weeks, both natives of Bath. The grandfather of our subject was a well-to-do farmer of Bath, and was among the leading men, being firmly placed in the affections and esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances. He owned and tilled a large farm during the active period of his life. He was the father of the fol- lowing children: Moses, Jonathan, Alfred, Dudley, Willard, John, Emily, and Eliza. Re- ligiously, they were Congregationalists, and at- tended the church of that denomination in Bath.
John C. Weeks, the father of Harry E. Weeks, was born in Bath in 1800; his education. was confined to what he received in the district schools of his native town. He lived under the parental roof until he married, which was about the year 1822, when he secured a farm, and afterwards made it his home, cultivating his land and engaging in general agriculture. He was a very successful man and was universally
liked by all who knew and appreciated his sterling worth. He married Maria Powers, a native of Bath, and to them were given six chil- dren, namely: Mary, Charles, Luella, David, Luvia, and Maria. After the death of his first wife he contracted a second matrimonial alliance with Asenath Smith, a daughter of Reuben Smith of Lyman, N. H., and to them were born five children. The record is as follows: John F., Isaac S., Ellen F., Moses A., Harry E. Mrs. Weeks died in 1891 ; the father departed this life of trouble in 1874. The family attended the Con- gregational Church of Bath.
Harry E. Weeks, the subject of this brief sketch, after completing his education in the district schools of Bath, at the age of fifteen took upon himself the management of the home farm, where he remained for three years. For four years succeeding this he hired out as a farm hand. He then purchased a farm of 125 acres with his savings, which he tilled with flattering success. He was a young man of marked ability and was striving by honest means to obtain a competence, and so acquire influence in a world where money means so much. He was Republican in his political views and enthusiasti- cally supported the principles advocated by that party.
Dec. 2, 1886, he joined his fortunes with those of Nellie M., daughter of Alden E. and Emily (Woodman) Martin, and into their home have come three children: Alice M., born July 24, 1887; Ethel M., born Feb. 14, 1889; and Mabel E., born Jan. 14, 1890, who is the only one that has been spared by the grim destroyer, Death. They are members of the Congregational. Church of Bath.
Alden E. Martin of Haverhill, N. H., the father of Mrs. Harry E. Weeks, was born in the town of his life-long residence, July 17, 1825; he received his education in the schools of his native town, and at an early age hired out as a farm hand. He has followed farming all his life, and has been quite successful. In politics, , he is a Democrat. He married Emily Woodman of Woodstock, N. H., Nov. 24, 1853, and has be- come the parent of seven children, who are as follows: George W., Alice J., Harry E., Charles E., Willie A., Nellie M., the wife of our subject, and Orrin L. Mr. and Mrs. Martin are Method- ists in religious belief.
HON. JOSEPH ALLEN DODGE.
MRS. J. A. DODGE.
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
HON. JOSEPH ALLEN DODGE, deceased, was the son of John Dodge, and the grandson of John Dodge, Sr. (See history of Dodge family.) Joseph Allen Dodge was born in New Boston, Hillsboro Co., N. H., May 1, 1818. He received his education in the schools of New Boston and New London ; his school days over, he set out to earn his own livelihood by working on his father's farm during the summers, and in the long winter season teaching schools in and about New Boston.
Being a man of lofty purpose, he became dis- satisfied with this sort of a life. Leaving farming and school teaching as occupations uncongenial to his taste, he journeyed to Boston and entered into the service of the Boston & Lowell R. R. as shipping clerk in the city freight depot, under the venerable R. Sherburn, who was at that time master of transportation. When the Montreal road was opened Mr. Sherburn was appointed freiglit agent: he, remembering Mr. Dodge's efficient work as shipping clerk, sent him to San- bornton Bridge (now Tilton) to act as station agent. When the road was completed to La- conia lie was transferred to that station; he also "broke in" agents at intermediate stations. Mr. Dodge took charge of the station at Meredith Village when the road was completed to that point. In January, 1850, the rails were laid to Plymouth, and Mr. Dodge came to represent the road at this place, remaining here until his death.
He was appointed to the office of general freight agent in the spring of 1852, became superintendent in 1860, and was finally chosen to the office of general manager, an office left vacant by the death of John E. Lyon. He held this position till the year previous to his death, when he resigned on account of failing health; he still retained his directorship in the road, how- ever.
It is largely owing to the untiring energies of Mr. Dodge, Jolin E. Lyon, and Joseph P. Pitman that the Boston, Concord & Montreal R. R. and branches enjoy their present prosperity.
Mr. Dodge was no office-seeker, but at the carnest solicitations of his many admirers in the Democratic party, of which he was always an active member, he consented to the use of his name on the ticket and was elected to the State Legislature in the three successive campaigns of 1868-60-70. Hle was a Presidential Elector from
this State on the Tilden ticket in 1876; he was also appointed by Governor Weston a colonel on his staff. In 1859 he became a Master Mason, belonging to Olive Branch Lodge. Mr. Dodge was an attendant of the Congregational Church.
A year previous to his death his health began to fail, and he acordingly took a trip to Califor- nia in the hope of obtaining relief and new strength. His hope was vain, and returning home to his native place, he passed away to the land of rest on Aug. 10, 1883. The community sustained a great loss in his death.
Mr. Dodge was married in 1843 to Mary A., daughter of David and Sally (Hogg) Tewksbury of New Boston, N. H. The three children born to them were: Mary Emeline, died, aged seven months; Lizzie A .; and John Allen, the latter dying in early youth. Lizzie A. married William R. Park, a lumber merchant of Plymouth. They have six children: Mary E., Joseph A., Richard, Ruth A., Esther, Ketharene.
Mrs. Dodge still lives to enjoy the declining years of a well-spent life in a Gothic cottage, the beautiful home of her late husband. The por- traits of Mr. and Mrs. Dodge, which accompany this sketch, add a decided value to the biographi- cal records of Grafton Co.
HON. EDWARD P. STORRS, the gen- tleman whose name heads this brief personal history, is a leading business man of the town and village of Hanover, N. H. He is a pro- prietor of the Dartmouth Book Store, and a member of the firin of Storrs & Weston, dry 'goods merchants and clothiers, with a store in Hanover, and one in Olcott, Vt. Mr. Storrs is a descendant of a family long represented in this country. He was born in the town of Hanover, N. H., May 18, 1842, and at the age of sixteen began to clerk in a store in Lyme, remaining there two years, and then returning to Hanover, where he worked in a store for two years. The next three years were spent in the west, where he was employed on a railroad. When he again took up his residence in Hanover he went into business with Mr. Clough, and was associated with him seven years. He then bought out the Claremont Stationery Co., and conducted a
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES, GRAFTON COUNTY.
very successful wholesale and retail business for seven years. Returning to Hanover, he again entered the commercial circles of that town, and founded the book-store, which he still con- ducts. He also became interested in the cloth- ing business with Maj. H. J. Weston, who has the sole management of their stores in Olcott, Vt., and Hanover.
Our subject's great-grandfather, Maj. Joseph Storrs, as he was always styled, was the largest landowner in North Mansfield, Conn., and a man very active and influential in affairs. He was one of the Mansfield proprietors of the new town of Hanover, N. H., the first town meeting for which place was held in Mansfield at his house in 1761.
He was also among those of the Storrs family who made gifts of land to Dartmouth College, his contributions amounting to II0 acres.
Our subject's grandfather. Augustus Storrs, was born in Mansfield, Conn., and was one of the early settlers of the town of Hanover, where he had a large grant of land, a portion of which he deeded to Dartmouth College. He was much interested in the growth and welfare of the town, and was an earnest advocate of any project which would conspire to its benefit.
Augustus Storrs had been destined by his father for Dartmouth College, but not caring for this, he took the farm in Hanover, N. H., and William went to Dartmouth in his place. He spent his life in Hanover, and was one of its prominent citizens, selectman, justice of the peace, and for eleven years member of the New Hampshire Legislature. He died Aug. 7. 1838. He married Annie Forbes, who departed this life at the age of seventy-four. They reared the fol- lowing family of eight children: Augustus, Abias, Daniel, Royal, Adna, Nancy, Polly, and Laura.
Adna Storrs was born in the town of Han- over, where he was reared and educated to agri- cultural pursuits, and proved by his notable efforts in that direction to be a practical as well as successful farmer. He died at the age of sev- enty-nine. He married Miss Goodell, daughter of Luther Goodell of Lyme, N. H .; her death occurred when she was seventy-eight years old. Their children were four in number: Augustus died at the age of thirty; Helen (Alden): Ed- ward P., the subject of this sketch; and Laura (Foster).
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