USA > New Hampshire > Colony, province, state, 1623-1888: history of New Hampshire > Part 59
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It has been truly remarked of Governor Sawyer that "Nature made him on a large scale." His great interests he wields easily, and carries his broad responsibilities without fatigue. llis re- markable executive ability never seems to be taxed to its full capacity ; there is always an appearance of reserve strength be- yond. He has a large way of estimating men and things. No petty prejudices obscure the clearness of his vision or weaken
the soundness of his judgment. He has the courage of his convictions, and does not shrink from telling an unpalatable truth when necessary ; but he has the rare faculty of giving no needless offence. In the wide round of his occupations he must needs have caused some disappointments ; but his char- acter for justice and fair dealing is so universally understood that censure finds no vulnerable spot to fasten on. Modest and
684
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[1887
unassuming in a remarkable degree, the public positions he has held have come to him through no longing or efforts of his own ; in his case it is emphatically true that "the office has always sought the man." 1
Governor Sawyer is a member of the Congregational society in Dover, and a liberal contributor to its support, as well as to every worthy object of charity and scheme of benevolence that is brought to his notice from whatever quarter. Though his manner is reserved, his heart is warm, and his sympathies are quick and wide ; and his generosity and helpfulness in a good cause are not limited by place or creed or nationality. Gover- nor Sawyer has too great an interest in public affairs to be without decided political convictions. He cast his earliest vote for Abraham Lincoln, and has ever since been unswerving in his allegiance to the Republican party. His experience in the ser- vice of the public has not been inconsiderable. After having served with credit in both branches of the city council of Dover, he was chosen a representative in the State legislature in the years 1869 and 1870, and again in 1876 and 1877. His ability and standing in that body are indicated by the fact of his assignment to the important committees on the judiciary, rail- roads, manufactures, and national affairs. His last political service before election was that of delegate at large to the Na- tional Republican Convention at Chicago, in 1884.1
The Democratic candidate for governor in 1886, Colonel Thomas Cogswell, of Gilmanton, was a veteran of the Union army, a lawyer and farmer, and popular with his party.
Colonel Joseph Wentworth, of Concord, the candidate of the Prohibition party for the office of governor, again called into prominence a member of the historical Wentworth family, who for so many years influenced the destinies of Province and State. He traces his descent from Elder William Wentworth, the pro- genitor of the New England branch of the family, through Ezekiel, of Dover, Benjamin, of Dover, Colonel John Wentworth, a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Hon. John Wentworth, a member of the Continental Congress, and Hon. Paul Went-
1 Ex-Gov. C. H. Bell.
Joseph Wentworth
685
SINCE THE REBELLION.
1887]
worth, a leading citizen of Sandwich in the early half of the present century. In him is united the blood of the Went- worths, the Gilmans, the Frosts, the Cogswells, and the Leigh- tons. His brother, Hon. John Wentworth, of Chicago, has been prominently before the people of Illinois since the settle- ment of that western metropolis.
Colonel Joseph Wentworth, born in Sandwich, January 30, ISIS, at- tended school at the New Hampton, Hopkinton, and Berwick Academies, and settled in his native town, where for thirty years he kept a general country store, looking after his farm and banking interests.
He was aide to Governor Page, the first register of deeds for Carroll county, sheriff for five years, representative to the legislature in 1844-45, and a mem- ber of the constitutional convention in 1850, postmaster fifteen years, also president and chief owner of Carroll County National Bank. In 1870 he moved to Concord and was chosen assessor of ward six, member of the con- stitutional convention in 1876, and a representative to the legislature in 1878. Mr. Wentworth was married in 1845 to Sarah Payson Jones, of Brookline, Mass., and is the father of six children, two sons and four daughters, all now living. His sons, Paul and Moses, entered Harvard College the same day, and graduated the same day, and are both practising law, one in Chicago, and the other in Sandwich.
Mr. Wentworth, since his residence in Concord, has had much influence in social and financial circles. He enthusiastically supports those political doc- rines which he believes to be right, and was the standard bearer of a party, not so strong in numbers, as they are strong in their attachment to what they conceive to be their duty.
One of the earliest and most eloquent advocates of temperance was Jonathan Kittredge, afterwards chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He was son of Dr. Jonathan and Apphia (Woodman) Kittredge, and was born in Canterbury, July 17, 1793. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1813, read law, and settled in Lyme. He afterwards lived at Canaan ; and in 1859 moved to Concord. He died April 8, 1864.
Nathaniel White, of Concord, was a leading advocate of temperance by precept and example.
The successful candidate in the race for the United States senatorship in June, 1887, was the Hon. William Eaton Chandler, of Concord. He was elected June 15, for the term of twenty months. In him New Hampshire had another strong senator. He entered the Senate chamber with a national repu-
686
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[1887
tation for sagacity and wisdom already acquired, with the ex- perience of his whole youth and manhood devoted to public affairs, with the acquaintance and confidence of officials and statesmen of every section, with a thorough knowledge of the wants and needs of the State of New Hampshire and of the citizens of the State of every degree, with a familiarity with the intricate mechanism of all the departments of the government, with a full and discriminating understanding of law-State, na- tional, and international-which would grace the bench of any court, and with judgment almost intuitive.
The following is from Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biog- raphy :-
" Chandler, William Eaton, cabinet minister, born in Concord, N. H., December 28, 1835. He studied law in Concord, and at the Harvard Law School, where he was graduated in 1855. For several years after his admission to the bar in 1856 he practised in Concord, and in 1859 was appointed reporter of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, and published five volumes of re- ports. From the time of his coming of age Mr. Chandler was actively connected with the Republican party, serving first as secretary, and afterward as chairman of the State committee. In 1862 he was elected to the New Hampshire House of Repre- sentatives, of which he was speaker for two successive terms, in 1863-64. In November, 1864, he was employed by the navy department as special counsel to prosecute the Philadelphia navy-yard frauds, and on March 9, 1865, was appointed first solicitor and judge-advocate-general of that department. On 17th June, 1865, he became first assistant secretary of the Treasury. On 30th November, 1867, he resigned this place and resumed law practice. During the next thirteen years, although occupying no official position except that of member of the con- stitutional convention of New Hampshire in 1876, he continued to take an active part in politics. He was a delegate from his State to the Republican national convention in 1868, and was secretary of the national committee from that time until 1876. In that year he advocated the claims of the Hayes electors in Florida before the canvassing board of the State, and later was
Very Truly WIE Chandler
April 1882
687
SINCE THE REBELLION.
1887]
one of the counsel to prepare the case submitted by the Repub- lican side to the electoral commission. Mr. Chandler afterward became an especially outspoken opponent of the Southern policy of the Hayes administration. In 1880 he was a delegate to the Republican national convention, and served as a member of the committee on credentials, in which place he was active in secur- ing the report in favor of district representation, which was adopted by the convention. During the subsequent campaign he was a member of the national committee. On March 23, 1881, he was nominated for United States solicitor-general, but the Senate refused to confirm, the vote being nearly upon party lines. In that year he was again a member of the New Hamp- shire legislature. On 7th April, 1882, he was appointed secre- tary of the navy. Among the important measures carried out by him were the simplification and reduction of the unwieldy navy-yard establishment ; the limitation of the number of annual appointments to the actual wants of the naval service ; the dis- continuance of the extravagant policy of repairing worthless vessels ; and the beginning of a modern navy in the construction of the four new cruisers recommended by the advisory board. The organization and successful voyage of the Greely relief ex- pedition in 1884 were largely due to his personal efforts. Mr. Chandler was a strenuous advocate of uniting with the navy the other nautical branches of the federal administration, including the light-house establishment, the coast survey, and the revenue marine, upon the principle, first distinctly set forth by him, that ' the officers and seamen of the navy should be employed to per- form all the work of the national government upon or in direct connection with the ocean.' "
Mr. Chandler has been twice married,- in 1859 to a daughter of Governor Joseph A. Gilmore, and in 1874 to a daughter of Hon. John P. Hale.
Since the days of Franklin Pierce and Isaac Hill, the Demo- cratic party has had many and able leaders, prominent among whom have been Colonel John H. George, Hon. Josiah Minot, Hon. Daniel Marcy, Hon. Harry Bingham, Hon. Frank Jones, Hon. A. W. Sulloway, Hon. James A. Weston, Colonel Thomas
HOOKSETI,
Harry Bingham
1887]
SINCE THE REBELLION.
689
Cogswell, John M. Hill, Hon. Hosea W. Parker, Hon. Edmund Burke, John H. Pearson, and Charles F. Stone.
Hon. Harry Bingham, born March 30, 1821, in Concord, Vt., of New Hampshire stock ; was brought up on a farm ; educated at Lyndon (Vt.) Academy ; graduated at Dartmouth College in 1843; studied law with George C. Cahoon, David Hibbard, and Hon. Harry Hibbard ; taught school while a student ; was ad- mitted to the bar at the May term, 1846, and settled in Littleton in the practice of the law. In 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, and 1868 he was elected representative, and every term from 1871 until 1881, sixteen terms in all, when he was elected to the State Senate. He has been frequently the Democratic candidate for United States senator, and a member of the State constitu- tional convention in 1876. Mr. Bingham is unmarried, attends the Episcopal church, has been the standard-bearer of the Dem- ocratic party on many a hard-fought field, and is a lawyer, orator, and statesman of national reputation.1
During the session of the legislature in the summer and fall of 1887 the railroad question was very thoroughly discussed, the contest arising between the Concord Railroad and the Boston and Maine Railroad, for the possession of the roads in the central part of the State.
During the extended hearing before the Railroad Committee, certain interesting historical facts were developed. From the address of Hon. Samuel C. Eastman, speaker of the House in 1883, are taken the following : -
When railroads were first chartered the Democratic party, which then controlled the legislature of the State, was exceed- ingly jealous of all corporations. It refused for a long time to recognize the public necessity there was for the incorporation of railroads ; and it was only when they had declared that they should be public corporations and should be compelled to discharge their duties as public' corporations, that the legisla- ture decided to charter one of them. The Concord Railroad, one of the first chartered, it was feared might be a monopoly. It was also feared that there might be a temptation to abuse
TH HI Metcalf.
690
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[1887
the power that had been conferred upon it by the State and to- place more money in the pockets of the stockholders than was right ; therefore two limits were placed upon its powers, for
the purpose of protecting the public. One of them was a pro- vision that at any time, after a certain period, the State should have the right to take the property of the railroad, paying to its stockholders the amount of money they had invested in build-
CONCORD DEPOT.
691
SINCE THE REBELLION.
1887]
ing the road and an annual dividend of ten per cent. on the amount they had so invested, provided it had not already been paid them out of the earnings of the corporation. The other restriction was, in case the corporation should, after a period of five years, earn more money and pay to its stockholders more money than ten per cent. per annum, the legislature should have the right to adjust their tariff so as probably for the next five years to bring their income down to the limit of ten per cent. These two provisions seem very important indications both of the intention of the legislature and of the State in chartering the railroads, for the provision was incorporated in other railroad charters.
The paternal system of the management of railroad corpora- tions was in force in the State down to 1883, when the general railroad law was passed. At that time it was proposed to prac- tically abandon the paternal system of the State exercising jurisdiction over railroads, as a father over the actions of his children ; but leave them to the management of their own affairs in just such a way as seemed best to them, subject of course still to certain general regulations. And if any railroad should ask permission to destroy its own existence or transfer its powers to another corporation, the legislature no longer thought it necessary for them to intervene. The law did not accomplish what was expected, for the court decided that the legislation was insufficient.
The Concord Railroad has accumulated a large surplus, not necessarily divisible nor due to the State. The management have done nothing with their surplus which was not legitimate, praiseworthy, and commendable, devoting it to the development of their ability the better to discharge their public duties to the State.
For various reasons, which the inquisitive antiquarian may discover by consulting the dusty files of contemporary news- papers, the so-called Hazen bill, said to have been in the inte- rest or to the liking of the Boston and Maine Railroad, having passed the legislature, was vetoed by the governor. The Ather- ton bill, which was supported by the friends of the Concord
692
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[1887
Railroad, was killed in the House of Representatives. The supporters of the two bills were not divided according to their political creeds. The members of both the House and the Senate had the advantage of much interested advice from attorneys and local political magnates, assembled at Concord from every section of the State. Feeling ran very high, charges and counter-charges were made, but after adjournment the dis- puted points were referred to the Supreme Court of the State.
Prominent in railroad circles for many years has been Mr. J. W. White, of Nashua.
Jeremiah Wilson White, son of Jeremiah White of Pittsfield (a leading farmer of the town, and one of the founders of the Pittsfield Academy), was born in Pittsfield, September 16, 1821 ; received his education at the Pittsfield Academy, of which James F. Joy was at the time principal ; entered a drug store in Bos- ton, and served an apprenticeship ; and in the summer of 1845 settled in Nashua, and embarked in business for himself. From the first his habits of industry, his sound business judgment, his foresight, and his rare knowledge of men, insured success, and he soon became one of the solid and substantial business men of Nashua. To his efforts are due some of the finest busi- ness blocks of that city and the establishment of the Second National Bank of Nashua. For many years he has been an ex- tensive dealer in coal ; and in 1876 became prominently identi- fied with the management of the Nashua and Lowell Railroad. By prompt, daring, and aggressive measures Mr. White obtained control of the corporation, and secured a recognition of the value of the railroad, and caused its stock to be greatly enhanced in value. Although a Whig and later a Republican, Mr. White has never been active in politics. At the breaking out of the Rebellion private business had necessitated his presence in Charleston, S. C., where he was granted an interview with his friend Captain, afterwards General, J. G. Foster, U. S. A., who was second in command at Fort Sumter before the bombard- ment. In a subsequent interview with General Scott he ex- pressed the opinion that it would require a force of ten thousand men to relieve the fortress, while the authorities considered two thousand men an ample force.
yours truly
IM Smart Biston
Edward Spalding
693
SINCE THE REBELLION.
1887]
1 Mr. White is treasurer of the Nashua and Lowell Railroad, treasurer of the Nashua Savings Bank, president of the Second National Bank of Nashua, and president of the White Mountain Freezer Company and of the Nashua Electric Light Company.
If any one family may be said to have been identified with the inception and growth of the railroad system of the State, it is the Spalding family of Nashua. Isaac Spalding, Dr. Edward Spalding, E. H. Spalding, and John A. Spalding are names well known in railroad circles.
Dr. Edward Spalding, president of the Peterborough Rail- road, and one of the most respected citizens of Nashua, was born in Amherst, September 15, 1813. He was the son of Dr. Matthias and Rebecca Wentworth (Atherton) Spalding, and a descendant of the pioneer Puritan, Edward Spalding of Braintree, Mass., in 1632, Edward Johnson of Woburn, and Joshua Atherton of Amherst. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1833, studied medicine with his father, and settled in Nashua in 1837. He practised his profession for twenty years, until gradually he was obliged to relinquish it to care for impor- tant financial trusts confided to him. President of the Nashua Savings Bank, of the Indian Head National Bank, and of the Pennichuck Water-works, a director of each of the two cotton manufacturing companies of Nashua, a trustee of Dartmouth College, of the Agricultural College, and of the Nashua Public Library, and a patron of literary, historical, and genealogical enterprises, overwhelmed with cares and trusts, he has yet found time to serve his fellow-citizens in important offices. He was mayor of Nashua in 1864, and a delegate to the Baltimore con- vention the same year, a member of the constitutional conven- tion in 1876, and a councillor in 1878 and 1879.
Dr. Spalding was married June 23, 1842, to Dora Everett Barrett. Of their three children, a son, Edward Atherton Spalding, died in boyhood, and two daughters are living.
After the establishment of railroads and manufacturing enter-
I Mr. White was married in 1846 to Caroline G. Merrill, of Pittsfield, who died in 1550. lle mar ried, second, Mrs. Ann M. Prichard, of Bradford, Vt. A daughter died in infancy. His son James Wilson White died in January, 1876, aged 26 vears.
LACONIA, N. H.
695
SINCE THE REBELLION.
1888]
prises throughout the State, a new industry was developed, i. e., the entertainment of summer guests. Such are the attractions of the seaside, mountain, and rural scenery, that a constantly increasing throng of tourists have sought through the summer months to enjoy its advantages ; and sumptuous hotels have everywhere been erected to meet the demands of the travelling public. They are built on mountain summits, in deep gorges, in the valleys, on the hillsides, by the rivers, and on the borders of beautiful lakes. The sea-coast of the State is fringed with hotels and private summer residences.
From an agricultural State, New Hampshire has become a manufacturing centre of great importance,- the Merrimack river turning more spindles than any other stream of water in the world. In its fall of five hundred feet from Lake Winnipi- siogee to the ocean it is nearly everywhere fettered in its course ; and the Lake, a reservoir of over seventy square miles, is of the greatest service to commerce. Manchester, Nashua, Dover. Concord, Portsmouth, and Keene, are all manufacturing cities, Exeter, Rochester, Farmington, Newmarket, Epping, Deering, Franklin, Tilton, Laconia, Bristol, Claremont, Newport, Peter- borough, Lebanon, Lisbon, Littleton, Plymouth, and Berlin, are important manufacturing towns. Suncook, Great Falls, and Lake Village, are flourishing manufacturing communities. Mills and factories are on every stream which affords power ; and shops are in every village.
In Concord, early in the century, Louis Downing and J. Stephens Abbot were making wagons and coaches; the Abbot Downing Co. continued the work. James R. Hill made har. nesses, and was succeeded in the business by George H. Emery and J. E. Dwight. Belting, leather hose, granite work, silver ware, churns, furniture, musical instruments, shoes, machinery, stoves, tools, and many other articles, are manufactured at Concord.
In the State are made cotton and woollen cloths, locomotives, stockings, glassware, and a thousand other things.
George Henry Emery is a descendant of Anthony Emery, of Newbury, Mass., in 1640, and later of Dover ; of James
696
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[1888
Emery, a representative to the General Court in 1676; of Job Emery of Kittery in 1699; of Joseph Emery, of Job Emery, of Ichabod Emery, and of Joseph Emery of Stratham, his father, who was a skilled machinist and a farmer. George H. Emery was born in Stratham, May 12, 1836, received his education in
"HARNESS" ENG.
GEORGE HENRY EMERY.
the public schools of Concord, and in boyhood "went West." He became a professor in Bell's Commercial College in Chicago. During a visit to his old home in Concord in 1859 he was offered a situation, and accepted it. His energy, sagacity, and executive ability were soon recognized. In 1865 he was admitted as a member of the firm, and became the senior in 1884. He
PEMBROKE ACADEMY.
698
HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[1888
was married September 12, 1861, to Abbie W. Clark. Three daughters grace his home.
Mr. Emery is a representative of the active and enterprising younger business men who have been building up and sustain- ing manufacturing enterprises, and reaching for a market for their products to the uttermost parts of the world. He directs a great industry with apparent ease, and finds time to devote to the amenities of life and to social duties.
The writer has endeavored to condense into one volume the history of a great commonwealth from its first beginnings at Little Harbor in 1623 to the year 1888, a period of two hundred and sixty-five years. That he has omitted much of interest will not be denied. The task of enlarging upon historical facts and placing them on record will be continued in the pages of the Granite Monthly. New Hampshire is a charming place to live in. The air is bracing, dry, and salubrious; the climate is in- vigorating ; the scenery is everywhere attractive, in places grand ; the water is pure ; the drainage is perfect ; the women are fair and pure minded ; the men are honest and honorable. In no other State of the Union, perhaps, is a deeper interest mani- fested in the doings of the pioneers. The people of every com- munity live and build as if they were satisfied with the State as a home and did not expect to move on. The Commonwealth for over a century has been a nursery of men and women who have gone forth into other States to build up and improve the homes of their adoption. The West is full of them.
POPULATION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
COUNTIES.
1880.
1870.
1860.
1850.
1840.
1830.
1820.
ISIO.
I Soo.
Belknap,
17,971
17,681
18,549
17,721
-
-
1
-
-
Carroll,
18,291
17,332
20,465
20, 157
-
-
45,376
40,988
38,825
Coos, .
18,615
14,932
13,161
11,853
62,429 9,849
8,388
4,549
3,991
-
Grafton,
38,802
39, 103
42,260
42,343
42,311
38,682
32,989
28,462
23,093
Hillsborough,
75,583
64,238
62,140
57,478
42,494 36,253
37,724 34,614
53,884 -
49,249
43,899
Merrimack, .
46,291
42,151
41,408
40,337
Rockingham,
49, 110
47,297
50, 122
49,194
45,771
44,325
55, 107
50, 175
45,427
Strafford,
35,593
30,243
31,493
29,374
61,127
58,910
51,117
41,595
32,614
Sullivan,
18,162
18,058
19,042
19,375
20,340
19,669
-
-
TOTAL, .
347,311
318,300
326,073
317,976
284,574 269,328
244,022 214,460
183,858
Cheshire,
28,846
27,265
27,434
30, 144
27,016
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