USA > New Hampshire > Colony, province, state, 1623-1888: history of New Hampshire > Part 56
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MIS
ENNE BOURNE
KEMMERUNK
510114 1355
LAND M'WALLY.CO.
MOUNT WASHINGTON RAILROAD.
The subject, referred to by Governor Smyth in his message to the legislature in June, 1866, of preserving the documents and early archives of the Province and State, met with the ap- proval of the legislature, and led to the appointment of Rev. Nathaniel Bouton, D. D., as " editor and compiler of Provincial Records." Dr. Bouton was at the time corresponding secretary of the New Hampshire Historical Society. This society was. organized and incorporated in the summer of 1823 by William Plumer, Levi Woodbury, Nathaniel A. Haven, George Kent, Jacob B. Moore, Nathaniel Adams, Parker Noyes, John Farmer,
1867]
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SINCE THE REBELLION.
Ichabod Bartlett, Timothy Upham, Andrew Peirce, Samuel Dana Bell, Richard Bartlett, and others. William Plumer was the first president ; and he was succeeded in office by Levi Woodbury, Ichabod Bartlett, Salma Hale, Matthew Harvey, Charles H. Atherton, Joel Parker, Nathaniel Bouton, Nathaniel . G. Upham, Samuel D. Bell, Charles Burroughs, Levi Chamber- lain, William Plumer, jr., Chandler E. Potter, Edwin D. Sanborn, Joseph Dow, William H. Y. Hackett, Charles H. Bell, and, in 1887, by J. Everett Sargent. The society published, in 1824, their first volume; in 1866, their eighth volume; in 1888, the first volume of " Proceedings."
Dr. Bouton 1 resigned his pastorate of the North Church, in Concord, which he had held since 1825, devoted his time and energy to the work, and edited ten volumes of "Provincial and State Papers." After Dr. Bouton's death, the work was carried on by Isaac W. Hammond, who in 1888 had published six addi- tional volumes.
In 1867 General Walter Harriman received and accepted the nomination of the Republican party for governor, and after a most exciting campaign, during which he engaged in a joint canvass with Hon. John G. Sinclair, the Democratic candidate, he was elected to the chief magistracy of the State, and was re- elected in 1868, after another hard-fought campaign, by a larger vote than had ever been cast for a gubernatorial candidate up to that time.
2 Walter Harriman, of old Massachusetts colonial stock, was born in War- ner, in 1817. He was a forcible and eloquent orator, for some years in early manhood in the ministry ; but afterwards he engaged in commercial pursuits, and became prominent in military and political affairs. He was chosen to the House of Representatives in 1849, and again in 1850, from his native town. In 1853 he was elected State treasurer. In 1858 he was again elected to the legislature by the people of Warner, and was the Democratic candidate for speaker. In 1859 he was elected to the State Senate, and was re-elected the following year, occupying each year a leading position in that body. From his entry into political life he had been an active champion of the prin- ciples of his party upon the stump, and soon came to be regarded as one of the most effective campaign speakers in the State, so that his services in this
I Nathaniel Bouton was born in Norwalk, Conn., June 20, 1799; graduated at Yale College in 1821 ; was ordained at Concord, March 23, 1825 ; resigned March 23, 1867; died June 6, 1878. 2 Rev. S. C. Beane.
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direction were most eagerly sought whenever political issues were occupying the public mind.
In the spring of 1861 he became editor and joint proprietor of the Union Democrat at Manchester. Regarding all other political considerations as of secondary moment, in the great emergency when the perpetuity of the federal Union and the supremacy of the constitution were threatened by armed re- bellion, he unreservediy sustained, individually and in his editorial capacity, the administration of President Lincoln in the measures adopted for the pros- ecution of the war against Rebellion, thereby taking issue with the great ma- jority of his party, who, while they believed in maintaining the Union invio- late, persisted in their right to criticize the policy of the administration, and to oppose such measures as they believed inappropriate to the legitimate end in view. Hence he found himself acting with those distinctively known as "War Democrats," and continued to urge the surrender of all partisan issues, in view of the great contest in which the country was involved.
In August, 1862, he was made colonel of the Eleventh. He led this regi- ment to the field, and was at its head most of the time until the close of the war, except the four months, from May to September, 1864, when he was an inmate of Confederate prisons. With some other captured Union officers, he was, for seven weeks of this time, imprisoned in that part of Charleston, S. C., which was most exposed to the fire of the Union guns from Morris Island, but providentially, though that part of the doomed city was destroyed, no harm came to him from the guns of his fellow-loyalists.
The first set battle in which the Eleventh bore a part was that of Fredericks- burg, in December, 1862, when, with unflinching courage, Col. Harriman and his men faced the dreadful carnage of that long day before Marye's Height, less than three months after their arrival in the field. The loss of the regi- ment in this engagement was terrific. The Eleventh, under their colonel, at the front, was in the battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, when they made a daring and stubborn onset on the Confederate intrenchments, carrying be- fore them two successive lines of the enemy's works. But among the five thousand Union men that were captured in that bloody engagement, the com- mander of the Eleventh was included. Colonel Harriman and the survivors of the charge were present at the final grapple of the war before Petersburg, and on the 3d day of April, 1865, he led a brigade of nine large regiments, a force three times as great as the whole American army at Bunker Hill, into that fated city, on the heels of Lee's fleeing command. Colonel Harriman was appointed brigadier-general, U. S. V., by brevet, "for gallant conduct during the war," to date from March 13, 1865.
On his arrival home, at the close of the war, General Harriman was elected to the office of secretary of state, by the legislature then in session, and he at once entered upon the duties of the office, which he held two years, and until his promotion to the gubernatorial chair.
He was distinguished as a platform speaker. His delivery was fine, his logic clear as crystal, his manner easy and natural, and his physical force tremendous. With a voice clear and distinct as a trumpet, of immense com-
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1867]
pass, volume, and power, his influence over an audience was complete. He affected nothing, but proceeded at once to the work in hand, and from the very outset carried his hearers with him, rising, at times, with the inspira- tion of his theme, to the loftiest flights of eloquence.
During the presidential campaign of 1868, Governor Harriman engaged actively in the canvass, making an extended tour through the Middle and Western States in advocacy of the election of General Grant, the Republican nominee, by whom, upon his accession to the presidency the following spring, he was appointed to the position of naval officer at the port of Boston, which office he continued to hold during the entire eight years of General Grant's administration, retiring therefrom in 1877. His voice has been often heard in many of the States of the Union, and he was widely known as an able and effective political debater.
General Harriman retained his home in Warner until the spring of 1872, when he removed to Concord, where he died July 25, ISS.4.
In 1867 a State superintendent of public instruction was appointed. At first he co-operated with a board consisting of the governor and Council; but later he acted alone. His duties were to cultivate an interest in the public schools and to raise the standard of their efficiency. Amos Hadley was the first to fill the office. Ex-senator James W. Patterson was appointed in 1880. The present system took the place of a county system of supervision called a Board of Education, which had its secretary and went into effect in 1851.
The first effort to organize a State supervision of schools was made in 1846 by the appointment of a commissioner. The first incumbent of the office was Charles B. Haddock, who made the first State report. In 1885 the towns, by law, were made school districts, and the schools were placed under the direction of a board of education consisting of three members directly under the government of the town. In the larger towns there has been for many years a system of graded schools at which the children of the State have been afforded good educational facilities. The New Hampshire State Normal School was established in 1871, at Plymouth, for the education of teachers, and is controlled by a board of trustees. Previously and since, teachers' institutes have been maintained for the purpose of improving methods of instruction in the State.
Besides Dartmouth College and Phillips Exeter Academy there are seminaries, schools, and academies scattered throughout
,
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HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
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the State. St. Paul school at Concord, under the direction of Dr. Henry A. Coit, has become one of the most celebrated schools of America. There is the normal school at Plymouth, the Holderness school for boys; the Colby academy, at New Lon- don ; the seminary, at Tilton ; the institution, at New Hamp- ton (1821); Appleton academy (1789), at New Ipswich ; Pink- erton academy (1814), and Adams female academy at Derry ; Rob- inson female seminary, at Exeter ; Brackett academy, at Green- land ; Valley academy, at Hillsborough ; McGaw normal institute, at Merrimack ; classical institute, at Milton ; McCollom institute, Mont Vernon; Kimball union academy (1813), at Meriden ; Dearborn academy, at Seabrook ; Barnard school, at South Hampton ; and Austin academy, at Strafford. There are acad- emies at Andover, Atkinson (1791), Boscawen, Bath, Canaan, Chester, Colebrook, Contoocook, Penacook, North Conway, Deer- ing, Epping, Francestown (1819), Gilmantown (1794), Hampton, Haverhill (1794), Henniker, Hopkinton, Kingston, Marlow, North- wood, Orford, Pembroke (1818), Pittsfield, Portsmouth, (1808), Sandwich, Salisbury, Washington, and Wolfeborough. There are high schools at Bristol, Charlestown, Claremont, Concord, Dover, Dunbarton, Farmington, Exeter, Franklin, Freedom, Hampstead, Hancock, Hinsdale, Jaffrey, Keene, Laconia, Lake Village, Lancaster, Lebanon, Littleton, Manchester, Marlbor- ough, Milford, Nashua, Newport, Petersborough, Portsmouth, Raymond, Rochester, Rollinsford, Great Falls, Troy, Walpole, Warren, Weare, and Winchester.
The State industrial school, situated on the farm of General John Stark, was chartered in 1855, and opened in 1858.
Col. John B. Clarke, of Manchester, was elected State printer in 1867. He was re-elected in 1868, 1869, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1885, and 1887. John Badger Clarke, son of Greanleaf and Julia (Cogswell) Clarke, was born in Atkinson, January 30, 1820; graduated at Dartmouth College in 1843 ; studied law ; and in 1852 became proprietor of the Mirror and American, and the Mirror and Farmer. His life's work has been the building of these great newspapers from a small beginning to a most influ- ential place among New England journals. In 1888 the Mirror
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John13 Celerke .
Joseph C 20 00r
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was welcomed in about thirty thousand households, its influence felt far beyond the frontiers of the State. Under the manage- ment of the " genial, liberal, enterprising, and able" editor, the Mirror has become a power. Colonel Clarke has been aided in his editorial work by James O. Adams and Henry M. Putney. It has always represented the most aggressive Republican ideas. Its Democratic rival in Manchester is the Union, established in 1851, the daily edition of which reaches nearly fourteen thousand, while of the Weekly Union seventeen thousand are issued. The success of the Union has also largely been due to the efforts of one man, Hon. Joseph C. Moore, M. D. Joseph Clifford Moore, son of Dr. F. and Frances F. Moore, was born in Loudon, August 23, 1845; received a common-school education ; attended the New York Medical College ; and commenced to practise with his father at Lake Village, in 1866. In 1879 he became interested in building up the Union, and splendidly succeeded, soon making it a widely read and influential morning newspaper. In 1884 Dartmouth College conferred upon him the degree of A. M. He was one of the prime movers in organizing the popular New Hampshire Club, and served as its president.
A State news department, arranged by counties, was first started in the People, at Concord, in 1868, by Henry H. Metcalf. In 1877 he started the Granite Monthly, at Dover ; and in 1879 issued it at Concord. From the burden of his editorial work he was obliged to relinquish his interest in the magazine to John N. McClintock, who afterwards carried it on, until, in 1888 eleven volumes had been published, devoted chiefly to historical and biographical matters.
Of the one hundred and seven publications issued in New Hampshire, the Gasette of Portsmouth was established in 1756, the Journal in 1793 ; the Cheshire Republican in 1793 ; the Sen- tinel in 1799, both of Keene; the Amherst Cabinet in 1802; the People and Patriot in 1809, the Statesman in 1823, both of Con- cord ; the Argus and Spectator, of Newport, in 1823 ; the Dover Enquirer and Nashua Gasette in 1827 ; the Exeter News Letter in 1831 ; the Nashua Telegraph in 1832. The Manchester Union and the People and Patriot claim to be the leading Democratic
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journals. The two leading Republican papers are the Statesman and the Manchester Mirror and American.
In the Republican State convention of 1869 no name but that of Onslow Stearns was presented for the gubernatorial nom- ination, which was conferred upon him by acclamation, a cir- cumstance of rare occurrence in the case of a first nomination. He was elected, by a decided majority over Gen. John Bedel, : the Democratic candidate, and was renominated the following ยท year. He sent a letter to the convention, declining the renom- ination, on account of the state of his health and the pressure of business cares, but the convention refused to accept the decli- nation, and a committee was appointed to wait upon him and urge its withdrawal, which was finally successful in its efforts. His re-election followed, and for another year he devoted nc small share of his attention to the interests of the State, not. withstanding the varied demands of the extensive corporate interests under his management. To the financial affairs of the State his care was especially directed, and during his administra- tion the State debt was reduced nearly one-third, while the State tax was also reduced in still greater proportion. He also took a lively interest in the management of the State Prison, and was instrumental in effecting great changes therein, securing more thorough discipline and putting the institution upon a paying basis, whereas it had long been run at a pecuniary loss to the State.
In the discharge of all his public duties, Mr. Stearns always sought to treat the matter in hand in a thoroughly practical and business-like manner, exercising the same judgment and dis- crimination as in the management of his private and business affairs. Although firmly attached to his party, he was less a partisan in the exercise of his official functions than many of his predecessors had been, and was the first Republican gover- nor of New Hampshire to nominate a Democrat to a position upon the supreme bench, which he did in 1870, when Hon- Wm. S. Ladd of Lancaster was made an associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to fill the vacancy caused by the re- tirement of Judge George W. Nesmith.
Juan Martin
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1871]
Governor Stearns was born in Billerica, August 10, 1810; settled in Con- cord in 1845, where he was largely interested in the railroad enterprises of New England ; and died December 29, 1878.
He was a public spirited and generous man, contributing liberally to all that was calculated to advance the interests of his adopted city.
The long and arduous labor of his life was not without its substantial re- ward, and he became the possessor of an ample fortune, enabling him to dispense a liberal hospitality. Among the many distinguished persons enter- tained in his elegant mansion were two incumbents of the chief magistracy of the United States - General Grant and Mr. Hayes, each of whom became his guest when visiting Concord.
In 1871 James A. Weston was chosen governor.
1 James Adams Weston was born in Manchester, August 27, 1827, and was descended from John Weston, one of the founders of Weymouth, Massachu- setts, and James Wilson, one of the Londonderry colonists.
As a civil engineer, he occupies a place in the front rank in his profession in New England ; and his services have been in demand far beyond his ability to respond, in making surveys for proposed railways and water-works.
In his political convictions and associations, Mr. Weston has been a Dem- ocrat from youth.
A devoted supporter of the principles and policy of his party, he has won and held the personal respect of both friends and opponents in political affairs ; so that, when a candidate for public office, he has never failed of strong popular support, measurably exceeding that of his party strength alone. In 1861 he was persuaded to accept the Democratic nomination for mayor of Manchester.
Again, in 1867, Mr. Weston was pressed into service by his party associates in the city, as a mayoralty candidate against Hon. Joseph B. Clark, then mayor, and Republican candidate for re-election. This canvass resulted in his election.
At the next election the Republicans made a strong and determined effort to regain their ascendency in the city; the returns gave Mayor Weston a majority of seven votes over his Republican opponent, Hon. Isaac W. Smith. The " revising " process was resorted to, however, and the latter declared elected by twenty-three majority. In 1869 Mr. Weston defeated Mayor Smith by a good majority, and was re-elected the following year.
Mayor Weston's remarkable success as the standard-bearer of his party in the city of Manchester, and the increased popularity he had secured by wise and efficient administration of municipal affairs in that large and prosperous community, suggested him to the Democracy of the State at large as a most fit and available candidate for the gubernatorial nomination ; and at the State convention, in January, 1871, he was made the nominee of the party for gov- ernor.
The election resulted in no choice of governor by the people,
I H. H. Metcalf.
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though Mr. Weston received a decided plurality of the votes cast, and was chosen governor by the legislature in June follow- ing,- the Republicans thus losing control of the State govern- ment for the first time since their advent to power in 1855. Determined to retrieve their fallen fortunes, the Republican leaders, in 1872, brought to the front, as their standard-bearer and gubernatorial nominee, Hon. Ezekiel A. Straw, agent of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, a man of great resources and unparalleled influence in manufacturing circles, not only in Manchester, but throughout the State. His defeat of Governor Weston in the following canvass was a matter of no surprise to either party ; and his re-election the subsequent year naturally resulted. The Democracy, however, insisted on continuing Mr. Weston as their candidate; and in 1874 he secured a handsome plurality, and was again elected governor by the legislature. In December previous he had received the unusual distinction of a fourth election as mayor of the city, being chosen by a majority much larger than he had ever before received, reaching some six hundred votes. Although there was great partisan excitement in the State during Mr. Weston's second administration, his official integrity and thorough devotion to the welfare of the State were conceded even by his most determined political oppo- nents; and no man holds in fuller measure the respect and esteem of the people, regardless of party, than does James A. Weston, the only living Democrat who ever occupied that position.
Other men in New Hampshire have attained greater wealth and more varied public honors; but when all the elements of substantial success are considered, there are none, certainly, who outrank James A. Weston. Cau- tious, sagacious, and methodical; with a well-balanced mind, and executive ability of a high order; scrupulously exact in the performance of every duty and the discharge of every trust, public or private; uniformly courteous in his intercourse with others, and mindful of every obligation to society and humanity,- the ample measure of success he has attained, and the general esteem in which he is held, are but the legitimate outcome of his life and conduct. 1
Bishop Baker died in Concord, December 20, 1871. Right Rev. Osmand Cleander Baker, son of Dr. Isaac and Abigail J H. H. Metcalf.
1872]
SINCE THE REBELLION.
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(Kidder) Baker, was born in Marlow, July 30, 1812. Entered Middletown University in 1830, and left at the end of his junior year on account of sickness. He was consecrated bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1852.
In 1872, the Republican party, after the defeat of the previous year, selected as their standard bearer Hon. Ezekiel A. Straw, of Manchester, the agent of the Amoskeag corporation, and elected him.
Governor Straw was born in December, 1819, in Salisbury; was educated at the Phillips Exeter Academy, and became a civil engineer. He received employment in July, 1838, from the Amoskeag company, and continued in their employ until his death. He was in the company's service as engineer for thirteen years. In 1851 Mr. Straw was appointed to the position of agent of the land and water-power department of the company. Five years later the machine shops were also put in his charge, and in 1858 the mills were added; so that he became the active manager of the entire business of the company. . He was representative from 1859 to 1863 inclusive, and served efficiently for the last three years as chairman of the Committee on Finance, at that time - the war period -one of the most important of the legislative committees. In 1864 he was chosen a senator.
In the office of chief magistrate of the State, which he filled for two years, being re-elected in 1873, Mr. Straw maintained his independence of character, and acted throughout as his own judgment dictated, looking only to the best interests of the people as viewed from his standpoint. No governor ever brought to the position a higher degree of executive ability and practical knowledge of affairs, or was more universally governed in the performance of his duties by his own convictions of right. After he retired from the office of governor, Mr. Straw was not engaged in public service until his death.
Asa Fowler was speaker of the House of Representatives in 1872.
Asa Fowler was born in Pembroke, February 23, 1811; graduated at Dartmouth College in 1833 ; studied law, and settled in Concord. In 1855 he was nominated by the Independent Democrats, or Free-Soilers, as their candidate for governor, and the same year he accepted the position of associate justice of the Supreme Court. He resigned in 1861. He died April 26, 1885.
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Judge Fowler was one of the most diligent, laborious, and successful lawyers in the State, and for many years he had the largest practice. At different times he was associated with Franklin Pierce, John Y. Mugridge, and William E. Chandler. He drafted more bills for the legislature than any other man.
The beautiful Fowler Library, presented in 1888 as a gift to the city of Concord by his children, may be considered a monu- ment to his memory.
In March, 1873, upon the death of Chief Justice Bellows, Judge J. Everett. Sargent was appointed chief justice of the State, which place he held until August, 1874, when the court was overturned. Chief Justice Sargent, at the time of his ap- pointment as chief justice, had become the oldest judge upon the bench, both in age and date of commission, so frequent had been the changes in its members since his appointment to that bench, less than fourteen years before.
Jonathan Everett Sargent was born at New London, October 23, 1816. He lived at home, working upon the farm until he was seventeen years of age.
He studied at Hopkinton and Kimball Union academies. Entered Dart- mouth College and graduated in 1840. He studied law with Hon. W. P. Weeks, of Canaan, and on a visit to Washington was admitted to the bar in 1842.
After returning home, he continued his legal studies with Mr. Weeks until the July law term, in Sullivan county, in 1843, when he was admitted to the bar. He then went into company with Mr Weeks at Canaan, where he re- mained till 1847, when he removed to Wentworth and opened an office there. He had been appointed solicitor for Grafton county in November, 1844, while at Canaan, and he at once commenced a lucrative business at Went- worth; was reappointed solicitor in 1849 for five years more, thus holding the office for ten years, to 1854, performing the duties to the entire acceptance of the county and the people. He declined a reappointment.
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