USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Croydon > Croydon, N.H., 1866. Proceedings at the centennial celebration, June 13, 1866. A brief account of the leading men of the first century Together with historical and statistical sketches of the town > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11
٢
J. H. Bufford's Lith. Boston
Me. 8. Precio
81
MARTIN B. BRECK, eldest son of James Breck, Esq., was born Oct. 15, 1812. He was educated at the district school and Newport Academy, after which he turned his attention to mercantile pursuits. He remained with his father at Newport until he attained to his majority. He followed his vocation at Croydon, at Newport, and at Boston until 1841, when he removed to Rochester, N. Y., where his operations have been "eminently successful," and where he now lives enjoying all the blessings which affluence can afford. In 1838 he married Mary Faxon, of Newport, who lived but a year and a half. In 1846 he married Miss Susan E. Waters, of Rochester.
MARGARET A. BRECK, daughter of James Breck, Esq., was born April 24, 1814. She was married to H. H. Per- · kins, Esq., at Newport, in 1837, and removed to St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, where he died in 1850, leaving three chil- dren. The eldest daughter married W. D. Webb, an attor- ney at law at Minneapolis, Minnesota. The son, James Breck Perkins, a member of the senior class in Rochester University, is now traveling in Europe. Mrs. P. is finely educated, has a well balanced mind, and a decided taste for literature.
HENRY BRECK, now eighty-one years of age, was a native of Boston. He came to Croydon in 1807, and was clerk in the store at the Flat, owned by his brothers, William and James. In 1815, he purchased their interest and continued in trade there until 1818, when he removed to Four Corners, where he continued in business until 1837, when he removed to Cornish Flat. On the death of his brother William, in 1848, he removed to Claremont, and settled on the " home-
82
stead" where he now lives. Mr. Breck took an active part in the erection of the Church at the Four Corners, assuming to himself one-fourth part the entire expense of the edifice. He was an active business man, and held many offices. In 1818, married Keziah Marsh, who died in 1826. In 1828, married Sarah Town, of Grantham.
JOHN T. BRECK, eldest son of Henry Breck, established himself as a merchant at Cornish Flat, in 1841. His integrity and fine business qualities have secured to him a handsome fortune, and an honorable reputation among his neighbors. His is a rare case of success in trade and universal esteem among his neighbors and townsmen. After having been in trade 26 years, he cannot be said to have an enemy. He is a gentleman of fine literary taste and varied attainments. He fitted for college, but on account of a trouble with his eyes, abandoned the idea of a college course, and turned his attention to mercantile pursuits. He retired from business in 1866, and is now living upon a farm in Lebanon.
ROBERT BRECK, the second son of Henry, is an active and successful merchant at Ascutneyville, Vt., where he has been in trade for more than 20 years, and, like his brother John T., has succeeded, by his skill and good judgment, in hand- some accumulations, and by his integrity and genial man- ners in securing the esteem and friendship of all who know him.
HENRY BRECK, Jr., third son of Henry Breck, has been a practical farmer and gardener in the vicinity of Boston for several years, and is well known for his skill in his business, and his integrity and intelligence. He now lives
from Broeck
83
at Watertown, Mass., where he has a very fine farming establishment.
WILLIAM BRECK, son of Henry Breck, was born Dec. 17, 1826. At the age of fourteen, he removed with his father to Cornish. At eighteen, he went to Claremont, and was Assistant Postmaster for two years; at the expiration of which time, on account of ill health, he returned to his father's roof at Cornish. At twenty-two, he went into trade with his brother John at Cornish, and continued there four years ; at which time, laboring under a severe attack of asthma, he went to California, where he was in active business eight years, when, having regained his health, and won for himself an independent fortune, he returned to New Hampshire, with the intention of passing the remainder of his life in retirement from active business, among his many relatives and friends. He is a gentleman of unquestioned integrity, of most genial disposition and fine social qualities. As a family, the Brecks have been noted for their honesty, integrity and gentlemanly bearing. A. corin Claremont Not. Br & Sulli! zeeNon io. 1889.
BRISTOL.
AUGUSTA COOPER BRISTOL, daughter of Col. Otis and Hannah Powers Cooper, was born April 17, 1835. She was early distinguished for a vigorous intellect, great fondness for music, and a passion for poetry and literature. She taught school with decided success from sixteen to twenty- one. She gave much attention to music ; and her frequent contributions, both of poetry and prose, to some of the lead- ing journals and magazines of the day, commencing at the
84
age of fifteen, find many admirers. She was married to Mr. Gustavus F. Kimball, of East Canaan, N. H., in August, 1857, by whom she had one daughter, and from whom she was divorced after four years of wedded life. In January, 1866, she married Louis Bristol, a lawyer, and removed to Carbondale, Ill., where she now resides, and where her time is divided between her domestic duties and a free indulgence in her favorite passion for literature and poetry.
COOPER.
DEA. JOHN COOPER came to this town in 1770, and died in 1805. (See speech of John Cooper, Esq.) From him and his two nephews, EZRA COOPER and SAMUEL COOPER, have descended all those in this vicinity who bear the name of Cooper. John settled on the farm of Col. Otis Cooper, Ezra on the Pinnacle west of the old church, and Samuel east of Spectacle Pond. As a family the Coopers were relig- iously inclined, and distinguished for honesty.
DEA. SHERMAN COOPER, son of Dea. John and Mary Sherman Cooper, came to this town when he was ten years of age, and six years after shouldered his musket and joined. the Revolutionary army. He married Mary Powers, by whom he had ten children, six sons and four daughters. On the death of his father he was chosen deacon of the Congre- gational Church, which office he held until his death. He was a farmer in moderate circumstances, honest in his deal, benevolent in his disposition, temperate in his habits, and devoted to his religious faith. He was gifted, outspoken, and full of anecdote and good humor. He died in 1850, aged 88 years.
.
85
WILLIAM FREEMAN COOPER is the fourth son of the late Dea. Sherman Cooper, of Croydon. On his father's side he is descended from the Coopers and Shermans; and on his mother's, from the Powerses and Lelands. His parents having a large family and but little property, his early life was one of toil. While living with them his means of education were small. At the age of eighteen he left the paternal roof and was thrown upon his own resources. . After spending four years at the Newport Acad- emy and in teaching school to improve the state of his finances, he, in 1824, commenced his professional studies with Dr. Elijah Cooper, of Newport. After completing the usual course of preparatory studies, and attending the lectures at the medical school at Bowdoin College, he grad- uated with honor from that institution, in 1826, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He returned immedi- ately to Newport, where he commenced the practice of his profession, and remained there about a year. In 1827 he removed to Kelloggsville, in the town of Niles and County of Cayuga, N. Y. By the successful performance of a very difficult surgical operation he opened his way at once. to professional fame. He has ever since been engaged in an extensive practice, in which he has amassed an ample fortune, notwithstanding his almost princely liberality. In 1850 he received an honorary degree from Laporte Medical College, Indiana.
COL. OTIS COOPER, son of Dea. Sherman Cooper, was born in 1806. He worked on the farm during his minority, and from seventeen to twenty-one taught school during the winter season with much success. He took a deep interest
··
-
86
in military affairs, and rose to the rank of Colonel. He was unanimously chosen deacon of the Universalist Church of Croydon at its organization in 1853. He held the office of Justice of the Peace for twenty years, and was one of the board of Selectmen. He resides on the old farm selected by his grandfather in 1772. He married Hannah, daughter of Ezekiel Powers.
HON. LEMUEL P. COOPER, son of Dea. Sherman Cooper, was born July 18, 1803. He has been one of the most scientific and thorough farmers in town. He was educated at Newport and Claremont Academies, taught school for more than twenty winters, and was long intrusted with the general management of the schools through town. In 1831, 188 he was married to Laura Whipple, and had one son, Dr. Sherman Cooper, and two daughters, MARY and ELLEN. The sisters were educated at Kimball Union Academy, and studied French at St. Marys, Canada East. They became so proficient as to be able to read and write the French with almost the same readiness as their native tongue. Like their father, they were successful teachers. Mary married Col. Alexander Gardiner, of the 14th Regt. N. H. Vols., an eloquent and promising lawyer. Since the death of her husband, who died in the army, she has turned her attention 20 . 1 to the study of the classics. Ellen was invited to become the instructor of French at Brattleboro, Vt., Mr. Cooper was Selectman seven years, Representative in 1844 and 1845, and State Senator in 1862 and 1863.
SHERMAN COOPER, son of Hon. Lemuel P. Cooper, was born Aug. 20, 1833. He received his academical education
87
at Meriden, N. H., studied medicine in New York City, and graduated at the New York Medical College in 1856. The following year he was deputy resident physician of Blackwell's Island Hospital. He settled at Claremont in 1858. He entered the army in 1861, as Assistant Surgeon of the 6th Regt. N. H. Vols., but was promoted to the rank of Surgeon in March, 1863. At the end of three years, in 1864, he returned to Claremont and resumed the practice of of his profession.
JOHN COOPER, son of Dea. John Cooper, came to Croydon in 1770, and died March 20, 1832. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and was active in the affairs of the town-for nine years one of the selectmen.
JOHN COOPER, son of John Cooper and Lydia Dodge Cooper, and grandson of Dea. John Cooper, one of the first settlers of Croydon, was born in Croydon, June 15, 1806, and was educated in the common school and at the domestic fireside. He is a farmer, but has devoted a portion of his time to teaching and other literary pursuits. He has been elected or appointed Superintending School Committee of Croydon sixteen times.
In 1839 he prepared " An Historical Sketch of Croydon," which was published in the 6th Vol. of the Collections of the New Hampshire Historical Society; and in 1852 he revised the same and published it in pamphlet form. His other publications are his annual School Reports and contri- butions for the periodical press.
ALANSON L. COOPER, son of Barnabas, and grandson of Dea. John Cooper, was born Oct. 16, 1804. He possessed
88
intellectual powers of the highest order. He studied medi- cine and graduated at Brunswick, Me., in 1827, after which he went to Europe, and during his absence spent several months attending hospital practice at Paris. He commenced practice at Auburn, N. Y., where he died in 1841. As a poet, the few gems that have been preserved from his pen indicate a rare genius.
ORVILLE M. COOPER, son of Joel, and grandson of Dea. Sherman Cooper, was born July 28, 1821. He studied medicine and graduated at Hanover in 1845. He com- menced practice at Hollis, N. H., where he died in 1847.
ALANSON COOPER, son of Silas and great-grandson of Dea. John Cooper, a Methodist clergyman of much talent and influence, is a Presiding Elder in the Montpelier Dis- trict, Vt., and is one of the Commissioners to locate the Methodist school.
ELIJAH COOPER, an intelligent physician, was son of Hora- tio Cooper, and grandson of Nathaniel Cooper, the oldest son of Dea. John Cooper. He graduated at Dartmouth College. After completing his studies, he practiced for a while with decided success at Newport, N. H., but subse- quently removed to Columbus, Ohio, where he had an extensive practice for two years, when he removed to New- ark, in the same State, where he also had a practice extend- ing over a large section of country, but which so wrought upon his health that he abandoned it altogether in 1833, entered into a large mercantile business, and amassed a con- siderable fortune. He married the eldest daughter of Nicho-
89
las Farwell, of Claremont, by whom he had seven children. She died in 1847, and he married her sister, the second daughter of Nicholas Farwell. In September, 1854, Dr. Cooper, his wife, a daughter four years old, and a servant in his family, died of cholera. The second daughter of Dr. Cooper married Maj. John L. Farwell, Cashier of Claremont National Bank.
REUBEN COOPER, son of Reuben, and grandson of Ezra Cooper, one of the first twelve settlers of the town, was one of the Committee of Arrangements, and is a thriving and industrious farmer. Married Cynthia, daughter of Joel, and granddaughter of Dea. Sherman Cooper. Head, Am 5188 a92 81.
NATHANIEL COOPER, son of Ezra Cooper, married Phebe Barton, eldest daughter of Benjamin Barton, Esq., and removed to Leon, Cattaraugus County, N. Y., where he occu- pied a prominent position, for a long time, doing the larger share of public business. His son JOHN has many of the characteristics of his father,-has been Representative, Supervisor, and held other offices.
CARROLL.
DR. REUBEN CARROLL, a native of Sutton, Mass., came . to Croydon in 1792, and settled near the Four Corners. He was the first physician in town, and for more than forty years was a successful practitioner. In 1840, he was thrown from his carriage and killed. (See Oration of Dr. Stow.)
ALBERT CARROLL, son of Charles, and grandson of Fol- lansbee Carroll, one of the early settlers, is a physician now in practice at South Boston, Mass.
.
90
CUTTING.
JONAS CUTTING, BENJAMIN CUTTING and JONATHAN CUTTING, Sons of Francis Cutting, came early to this town from Worcester, Mass., and settled on the banks of Sugar River, near the Newport line. From them have descended the Cuttings.
FRANCIS CUTTING, son of Benjamin Cutting, has been an extensive dealer in cattle, sheep and horses. He was born May 14, 1793. He is one of the largest tax-payers in town and has raised up a large family of prosperous boys, all of whom have settled near him.
FREEMAN CUTTING, son of Francis Cutting, was born July 19, 1821. He was one of the Vice-Presidents on the day of Celebration, has raised up a large family, and been one of the most energetic and prosperous farmers in Sulli- van County.
FRANCIS M. CUTTING and SHEPHERD H. CUTTING, broth- ers of the above, both married daughters of Dimmick Baker, Esq., of Plainfield, and are among the most thriving farmers of Newport. Francisd. 1889
JONATHAN CUTTING, son of Jonathan Cutting, early in life removed to Newport where he was extensively engaged in town business, and was an active and worthy deacon in the Baptist church. He was a man of "infinite jest." I will relate only one of the many anecdotes told of him. Once laboring for a man whose love of gain required his hands to be up, eat breakfast, and be miles away to the woods with an ox team before light, he wished to give him a gentle re-
J. H. Bufford's Lith. Boston.
Jonas Cutting.
91
minder that he was asking too much-which was done in this wise: When asked to pray one morning, he commenced thus: " We thank thee, O Lord, that thou hast brought us in safety thus far through the night, and if in thy providence we are permitted to see the light of another day, may we go forth to its duties with a cheerful heart and in thy fear," &c. The next morning he was permitted to eat his breakfast by daylight.
JONAS CUTTING, LL. D., son of Jonas Cutting and Betsey Eames Cutting, and grandson of Jonas, senior, was born in Croydon, on the 3d of November, 1800. He prepared for college, principally under the tuition of Otis Hutchins, then Principal of Kimball Union Academy in Plainfield, and entered the Freshman Class at Dartmouth College in 1819. He graduated in 1823, and subsequently read law, first with the late Hon. Henry Hubbard, of Charlestown, and the third year with Hon. Reuel Williams, at Augusta, Maine, where he was admitted to the bar in 1826. Thence he removed to the town of Orono, in Penobscot county, where he remained in the practice of his profession until October, 1831, when he removed to Bangor, the shire town of the same county.
In 1833 he was married to Lucretia H., daughter of John Bennoch, Esq., of Orono. They had three daughters and one son,-the eldest, Rebecca D., died in infancy; the second, Elizabeth J., at the age of 15, and his son, Frederick H., in his 21st year. His only surviving child is Helen A., who is married to Dr. Augustus C. Hamlin, only son of Hon. Elijah L. Hamlin, brother of the late Vice-President.
His wife, Lucretia, died in 1842. In 1843 he was again married to Ann R., youngest daughter of the late Hon.
92
Samuel Fales, of Taunton, Mass., with whom he now lives and resides in the city of Bangor.
In 1854 Mr. Cutting was appointed Judge of the Supreme Judicial Court of his adopted State, and at the end of seven years, the duration of the judicial tenor, was re-appointed, which office he now holds. In 1858 his Alma Mater confer- red upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. The following is his letter to the Committee of Arrangements :
Bangor, May 7, 1866.
OTIS COOPER, Esq .-
MY DEAR SIR:
Your letter, extending an invitation to me to be present at the Centennial Celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the settlement of my dear old Croydon, has been received.
I cordially thank the Committee of Arrangements for their kind remembrance of one who will be present on that occa- sion, unless his official duties should call him elsewhere. A few of the committee I know personally, and the fathers of them all. The person selected to address you on that occa- sion I well know. He was a Samuel in his youth, and is a St. Paul in his maturity, " without these bonds." And how could it be otherwise ? He was born at the base of Croydon mountain, he on one side and the present Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court on the other. There is no such mountain in New Hampshire. To say nothing of other natives whose eyes first opened to behold its grandeur and beauty, those two individuals do less to immortalize the mountain, than the mountain to immortalize them. Dear old mountain !- had you been originally selected for the " garden of Eden," man would never have fallen.
Yours truly, JONAS CUTTING.
93
ADOLPHUS CUTTING, a younger brother of Hon. Jonas Cutting, of Maine, studied medicine, and after graduating went West, where a decided success has attended both his professional and pecuniary efforts.
CLEMENT.
SOLOMON CLEMENT married Lucy, daughter of Dr. Reuben Carroll, and was for a while a successful merchant at the Four Corners, and a prominent citizen. He removed to Spring- field, N. H., where he occupied a leading position,-was chosen Representative. He subsequently engaged in manu- facturing business at Springfield, Vt. He died at Plainfield, N. H., in 1866.
CLARK.
CAPT. NATHAN CLARK, a joiner by trade, came to this town from Franklin, Mass., with a pack on his back, in 1787, and purchased him a farm on Baltimore Hill, and in 1788 married Sabrina, eldest daughter of Samuel Metcalf of Fram- ingham. He made the first panel-door and window-sash in town. He gave much time and labor towards erecting the church in 1794, and was ever an active and liberal support- er of the gospel. He died in 1855, at the advanced age of ninety years. NATHAN, his second son, married Zelinda, daughter of Louis Vickery, an Italian, having much of the musical skill of his countrymen; and in 1824 erected the Woolen Factory at the East Village. AMANDA, only daugh- ter of Nathan, Jr., married Oscar F. Morril, a native of Deer-
94
ing, N. H., a man possessed of much inventive genius. He has taken out twenty patents, embracing nearly one hundred distinct claims.
CROSBY.
CAPT. PRINCE CROSBY, the father of the Crosbys, came to this town early, from Sturbridge, Mass., and settled near Newport line, south of the Flat.
HON. ORRA CROSBY, son of Prince Crosby, was born Nov. 14, 1793. He was the eldest of seven sons. Atsixteen he was apprenticed to Nathan Hurd, of Newport, to learn the cloth-dressing trade. At the expiration of his term of ser- vice, having attained his majority, he started on foot, with his pack on his back, for Hardwick, Vt. After laboring there at his trade for three years, he bought out the establish- ment and commenced business for himself. At which time, April 28, 1818, he married Miss Julia Stevens. By indus- try, frugality and integrity he prospered in business and laid the foundation of a large fortune. He has been Representa- tive, Justice, Judge of the County Court, and a Director of the Danville Bank, and is now President of the National Bank of Caledonia. As a financier, Judge Crosby has few equals.
His eldest son, a much respected citizen, was engaged to some extent in public business, was a sheriff of the county, and died in 1866, deeply lamented. His third daughter married S. L. Wiswell, a physician of note at Cabot, Vt. His fourth daughter married A. J. Hyde, also a physician, who is doing a successful business in her native village.
95
FREEMAN CROSBY, son of Capt. Prince Crosby, is a sub- stantial farmer, residing at the Flat, was Representative in 1855 and 1858, and Selectman in 1842. He married Betsey, daughter of James Whipple, of Newport.
DARLING.
DR. WILLIAM W. DARLING, son of William Darling, was born Nov. 20, 1834. He obtained his education at Kimball Union and Thetford Academies; studied medicine with Dr. Thos. Sanborn, of Newport, and graduated at Dartmouth College, Nov. 9, 1859. Located at Sutton, N. H., April 9, 1861, and removed to Goshen, N. H., Sept. 26, 1863. On the 21st of March, 1860, he was connected by marriage with Salona A. Pike, of Newport, N. H.
LUCIUS WESLEY DARLING and ELI DARLING, sons of Elijah Darling, a soldier in the war of 1812, and descendants of James and Huldah Cooper Hall,-the former residing at Newport and the latter at Hanover, now in the prime of life,-are among our most enterprising and prosperous farmers. Elidi fum16/97
DODGE.
WILLIAM DODGE, son of Perley and Helena Cooper Dodge, and grandson on the mother's side of Dea. Sherman Cooper, was born in 1814. He was for a long time a Dep- uty Sheriff and Postmaster at the East Village. He re- moved to Claremont in 1854, where he now resides.
96
.
DUNBAR.
AMASA H. DUNBAR, son of Sylvester and Hannah Powers Dunbar, born in 1807, early in life removed to Moravia, N. Y., where we have the amplest testimony of his neigh- bors showing he has been a most successful and popular teacher, and is a respected and influential citizen. He has always taken a deep interest in educational matters, and has long been the director in the Moravian Institute. He is gifted with fine intellectual powers, is a good scholar, social . and humorous. He became connected by marriage with one of the best families of his adopted village, and has two sons. His eldest son, GEORGE WARD DUNBAR, graduated at Ho- bart College, Geneva, N. Y., and at the General Theological Seminary, N. Y. City, and is a successful clergyman of the Episcopal Church. The younger son is a trader in Buffalo, N. Y. Mr. D. is now engaged in improving text-books for the schools.
OTIS DUNBAR, fifth son of Sylvester, born in 1812, is a talented clergyman at Holderness, N. H. Married Julia M. True.
DURKEE.
RUFUS DURKEE, from whom have descended the Durkees, was son of Robert Durkee, and came from Brimfield, Ct. He married Polly, daughter of Thomas, and granddaughter of Moses Whipple, the early settler. He was a tanner by trade, and an original genius.
RUEL DURKEE, son of Rufus and Polly Whipple Durkee, and a descendant of Moses Whipple, Esq., was
John H. Bufford's Lith .. Boston
Very truly yours. A. H. Durban
97
born in Croydon, July 14, 1807. He has ever resided in his native town. His early years were spent in obtaining an education in the common school, and in assisting to carry on a tannery. Later in life he has carried on extensive farming operations, besides attending to much other business.
In addition to the management of his own private con- cerns, he has acted a conspicuous part in the affairs of the town, and in the politics of New Hampshire. His native shrewdness and knowledge of human nature render him a valuable counselor among his neighbors and townsmen. He has represented the town twice in the State Legislature; and has been elected Selectman eighteen times, fifteen of which he has been chairman of the board. During the rebellion, the financial affairs of the town were managed with so much success by him and his associates, that the war expenses of Croydon were comparatively less than those of any other town in the State. In 1846 he was elected Road Commissioners, and in 1864 he was appointed Messen- ger to carry the electoral vote of New Hampshire to Wash- ington.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.