Gazetteer of Cheshire County, N.H., 1736-1885, Part 14

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 1034

USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Gazetteer of Cheshire County, N.H., 1736-1885 > Part 14

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).

It was about the year 1805 that Mr. Britton purchased and removed to the large old house in Chesterfield village, where his daughters were educated and married, and where he lived during the most active part of his life. Some now living remember its long facade, its gambrel roof, and dormer windows. It was a relic of Revolutionary days, full of queer angles, cor- ner cupboards and fire places, with a lovely view of Green mountain scenery from the west windows. The house was torn down some years ago. Here Mr. Britton grew to be a man of wealth and influence. His unus- ual business capacity, together with an active and energetic temperament, impelled him to numerous business ventures, which were for the most part successful. He had a large farm which was carried on under his own man- agement. He had several mercantile establishments in different places.

Rubenry Gofikain

II7

TOWN OF CHESTERFIELD.

He was postmaster, and justice, and high sheriff in early days. He was fond of history and general reading, and his conversation drew around him the intelligent and educated of the vicinity, so that his house was the resort alike of the preceptors and pupils of old Chesterfield academy. It was also the home of four of his orphan nephews and nieces. Among them was Hosea Snow, later Judge Snow, one of the founders of the city of Quincey, Illinois, an enterprising, educated and christian man.

Of Mr. Britton's four children, three grew to maturity. Sarah, born June 28, 1791, married January, 1815, Asa Keys, then of Putney, Vt., later of Brattleboro, Vt., who graduated at Dartmouth in 1810, taught Chester- field academy two years, studied law in Boston, and became a prominent lawyer and citizen of Brattleboro. One daughter, (thus a granddaughter of Mr. Britton), married Judge Royal Tyler, of Brattleboro. Another mar- ried Dr. F. N. Palmer, of Boston, Mass. A son, Judge George B. Keyes, died in California in 1878. Mrs. Keyes died in 1859. Laura, born 1796, married April, 1827, Josiah W. Fairfield, of Hudson, N. Y., a graduate of Dartmouth, afterwards a preceptor of Chesterfied Academy, a lawyer, a wealthy and influential man. Their only daughter, Sarah, died at twenty- one. George B., the oldest of their two sons, was a prominent business man of Hudson, N. Y. The second son, William, became a judge of the circuit court in Iowa, and both brothers died within a few yeara. Mrs. Fair- field died in 1864. George, who studied law, went West, and settled in Gal- ena, Illinois, where he died about 1830. Asa Britton died in Chesterfield, June 30, 1849. Mrs. Britton died at the house of her daughter, in Brattle- boro, October 19, 1859, and both were buried in Westmoreland, N. H.

Waitstill Scott was in Westmoreland at the time of the Revolution, and commanded the company that marched from that town on the occasion of the alarm at Ticonderoga. He probably came to Chesterfield between 1815 and 1819. His children were Eunice, Lydia, Waitstill, Rufus, Rhodolphus, Lucy, Lyman, Chester, and Justus. Rhodolphus, born January 7, 1780, mar_ ried twice, first, Lydia Haven, and second, Mrs. Diantha Hopkins. He had born to him eight children, as follows : Noyes, born October 7, 1803 ; Hor- ace ; Alonzo, born in 1807 ; Cordelia, born August 9, 1809 ; Rhodolphus, died in infancy ; Otis H., born May 14, 1826; Romanzo J., born July 9, 1841, married Sarah M., daughter of Benjamin B. Faulkner, May 15, 1870, and is a mechanic in Chesterfield ; and George D., born August 20, 1842. Horace, son of Rhodolphus, married twice, first, Miranda Herrick, and sec- ond, Jane Marmeir, of Westmoreland, and had born to him eight children, Persis M., who married Alonzo Wilson, Horace P., James W.,. Cordelia L., Sarah A., Elizabeth A., Marcia A., and George F. Horace P., born January 18, 1830, married Syrena, daughter of Ebenezer Perry, of Keene, July 4, 1852. James W., son of Horace, and brother of Horace P., was born Sep- tember 18, 1834, and married Mrs. Lydia (Perry) Field. Otis H., son of

118

TOWN OF CHESTERFIELD.

Rhodolphus, married Maria N., daughter of Jonathan Hill, of Swanzey, No- vember 13. 1848. He has had born to him eight children, as follows: Stella M., born June 6, 1850 ; Frank O., born September 14, 1852 ; Letta G., born February 12, 1857 ; Herbert W., born January 18, 1859 ; Mary E., born Jan- uary 28, 1864 ; Alice G., born October 20, 1865 ; Emma A., born November 3, 1867 ; and Nora C., born September 16, 1869.

Barton Skinner, son of Timothy Skinner, of Westmoreland, was born De- cember 19, 1801, and resided in Chesterfield from 1853 till April, 1863. He was a manufacturer at Factory Village, and was town representative in 1857- '58. He removed to Keene, where he died February 11, 1865.

Joseph Titus cames to Chesterfield in 1777, from Douglas, Mass., soon after his marriage there to Mary Bigelow, and cleared and put in thorough cultivation one of its most rocky, hill-side farms. He was fourth in descent from Robert Titus, who came from near Stanstead Abbey, Hartfordshire, England, in 1635, and finally settled on Long Island. The immigrant was of a family of some note ; a brother was the Colonel Titus, of Cromwell's army, who afterwards espoused the cause of King Charles II., and on the occasion of an attempt upon the life of the Lord Protector, wrote anonymously the fa- mous tract entitled "Killing no Murder," which created such a sensation at the time, and is characterized in the State Trials as "that most able, logical, arti- ficially constructed, and occasionally eloquent treatise." The children of Joseph were Lucy, Lydia, Joseph, Martin, Mary, Demniis, Isaac, Samuel, Anna and Ezra, but two of whom settled in this town or state. Ezra, born Janu- ary 15, 1789, married Electa, daughter of John Kneeland. A quiet, methodi- cal man, of few words, carefully considered, apt in illustration, and of great firmness of character, as a teacher he left his impress upon a generation few of whom now remain. From rural homes, in those days of large families, from seventy-five to a hundred, where now perhaps scarce a tenth of that number is to be found, they gathered for a winter term in school-houses far too small for their accommodation, many of them men and women grown and some married, and he taught them in a thorough-going, stern, old-fashioned way, and ruled them as with a rod of iron. Himself self-taught, he was in his locality and his sphere, the famouse teacher of his time. He had a taste for military affairs, and as a colonel of a militia regiment was well known in the county. Selectman in 1836 and 1847. He died March 25, 1869. His children were Elvira E., Ezra B., Alfred W., Arvilla E., Marion M., John O., Herbert B., Adele E., and Eleanor M., but three of whom are now living.

Herbert B. was born in the old farm house built by his grandfather, and long since demolished. At the age of fourteen he taught his first school of forty scholars, sixteen of whom were older than himself, and with such suc- cess that his services were again sought for the same school. Teaching and work upon the farm alternated with study at the academy at West Brattle- boro, Vt., Chesterfield and Meriden, until 1854, when he entered Yale col- lege where he remained but a single term, the death of a relative who had

A. BLitus.

119

TOWN OF CHESTERFIELD.

promised pecuniary assistance, leaving his way not clear at so expensive an institution. He resumed teaching and farming, and in 1859 was appointed county commissioner of common schools. In this position he was an earn- est worker, and his interesting and practical addresses throughout the county showed much force and originality of thought. In April, 1861, he was holding a teachers' institute in Keene, when, at the call of President Lin- coln for troops, his name was first upon the list for a volunteer company it was proposed to raise under Capt. T. A. Barker, of Westmoreland. This company became Co. A, of the 2d N. H. Regt., and re-enlisting for three years, he was commissioned its second lieutenant. After the battle of Bull Run, in which his bravery and perfect coolness under fire were conspicuous, he was promoted to Ist lieutenant and assigned to command of another company. Served as judge advocate of a general court martial, and from January 1, 1862, as a signal officer, until July following, when notified of his appointment, June 14, 1862, as Major 9th N. H. Vols., then being raised. Promoted to Lieut .- Colonel, August 26th. At the battle of South Mountain he directed a charge of his regiment which broke the enemy's line and decided the fate of the day on that part of the field. The last words of General Reno, the Corps Commander, before he fell mortally wounded, were spoken to him in high commendation of the movement as "a most gal- lant charge." Promoted to Colonel November 22, 1862, his subsequent ser- vices, with those of his regiment, are part of the military history of the state, and quoting summarily from the author of " New Hampshire in the Rebel- lion," "he was often in command of a brigade and rendered valuable service in every position in which the fortunes of war placed him." Volunteering as a private soldier, and never seeking promotion in any way, he was, at Appo- mattox, in command of a brigade of ten regiments, including the sixth, ninth, and eleventh New Hampshire. Declining a proffered appointment in the regular army, the object for which he had became a soldier being accom- plished, he was commissioned Brigadier General U. S. Vols., by brevet, from March 13, 1865, "for gallant and meritorious services during the war." After the close of the war he was employed for nearly three years as a special agent of the government, mainly in connection with the collection of captured and abandoned property in the Southern states, and the recovery of Confederate ships in England and France. Still suffering from the exposures of army life, he engaged in his favorite occupation of farming for two years in Virginia, and then commenced the practice of law. He has been specially employed on behalf of the Government in some important cases, and by the French government in cases before the French and American claims com- mission. The firm is Hovey & Titus, Washington, D. C., with an office in New York city, where he has resided for the last three years. He has also been interested in mining operations in the Black Hills, and New Mexico, where he has spent several months, and in other business enterprises.

Josiah Torrey, born October 7, 1758, came here from Upton, Mass., about

I20

TOWN OF CHESTERFIELD.

1785, and settled in the eastern part of the town on the farm afterwards owned and occupied by his grandson, Levi Torrey. He married twice, first, Lydia Fisk, who died in 1806, and second, Anna, daughter ot Israel Amsbry. He died January 25, 1832. He had born to him eight children, namely : Samuel, Joel, Anna, Levi, Jemima, Polly, Nathaniel, and Fanny. Samuel, born August 12, 1782, married Mary Cook, November 21, 1815, who bore him seven children, as follows: Maria, Levi, Lucius, Mary M., Marshall, Lucretia, and Elvira. Levi, born March 2, 1820, married Polly, daughter of Squire Spaulding, May 3, 1847, and had born to him three children, as fol- lows : Mary M., born January 26, 1848; Lucius L., born May 1, 1853 ; and Frank W., born November 5, 1856.

Peter Wheeler came to this town about 1762, and settled where Russell H. Davis now lives, not far from the brook that bears his name. His children were Lydia, Peter, Jane, John, Ephraim, Jonathan, Olive, Samuel, and Sally. Peter, born in 1762, married Sarah, daughter of Amos Hubbard, who bore him twelve children, namely: Hubbard, Sophia, Maria T., Sally, Samuel, Laura, Philena, William, Warren, Ward, Watson, and Arminda. Jonathan, son of Peter, Sr., was born September 30, 1770, and married Lavina, daughter of Aaron Fisk, in 1802, who bore him three children, John, Louisa, and Addi- son. John, born August 6, 1802, married Rosea Hall, daughter of Demmis, and niece of Ezra Titus, in whose family she lived until her marriage. His children are Olive D., John A., Jonathan F., Hoyt H., Francis W., Ann V., and Norman F. Jonathan F., born May 22, 1827, married Mary A., daugh- ter of Elias Brown, and has had born to him five children, as follows : George B., September 12, 1848; James F., May 5, 1852 ; Elias E., February 24, 1855 ;. Gustina M., August 11, 1859 ; and Norman F., February 2, 1861. Hoyt H. was born on the home farm, August 30, 1833. He taught school for several years in this and in neighboring towns, was admitted to the bar of Windham county, Vt., in 1859, and commenced the practice of law with the late Hon. John E. Butler, at Jamaica, Vt. He was representative from that town to the Vermont assembly in 1867, and was a member of the senate of that state in 1868 and '69. In 1869 he was also elected judge of the supreme court of Vermont, which office he held by successive elections till he was appointed by President Hayes judge of the United States district court, for the district of Vermont, March 16, 1877. He now resides in Brattleboro, Vt.

Benjamin Wild came here from Norton, Mass., in the autumn of 1801,. and settled in the eastern part of the town. His wife was Sarah Babbitt, who died in Chesterfield in 1826, in her seventy-fourth year, he dying soon after in his seventy-ninth year. His children were Sally, John, Nancy, David, Nathan, Abigail and Elsie. Nathan, born June 14, 1787, married Rachel Newcombe, August 18, 1814. In his youth he had a fondness for mathematical studies, which he pursued at home, with the assistance of his brother David. He applied himself assiduously to the. study of surveying and astronomy, and soon became one of the most skillful.

CROSSCUP&

12I

TOWN OF CHESTERFIELD.

surveyors in the state, and an astronomer of considerable proficiency. After his marriage he settled on a farm near the present stage-road leading from Factory Village to Keene, about one mile from the former place. He is now engaged not only in practical farming and surveying, but in the publication of an almanac, known for a while as "The Improved New England Almanack and Ephemeris," and afterwards as the "Farmer's, Mechanic's and Gentle- man's Almanack." He appears to have begun the publication of his almanac about 1819, and they were generally, though not always, printed by John Prentiss, at Keene. Mr. Wild was selectman from 1820 to 1825, and repre- sentative to the general court in 1831 and '32. In 1833 and '34, he was a member of the New Hampshire senate. He died March 5, 1838.

Sergeant Thomas Pierce, the emigrant ancestor of the Pierce family, came to this country, from England, with his wife, Elizabeth Pierce, and settled in Charlestown, Mass., in 1634-35. From him was descended, in the sixth gen- eration, Captain John Pierce, born in Groton, Mass., January 26, 1743. He married Tabitha Porter, of Groton, and came to Chesterfield about 1770, and located at the Center Village, where he kept a store near where the stone store now stands. He served under General Ruggles, in the French and Indian war. When the Revolutionary war broke out, he owned a large quan- tity of land, including five nice farms, much of which, it is said, he sacrificed to the cause of liberty. Under the order from General Stark, he promptly volunteered and went to Bennington, taking part in the battle. Tradition states that he and his two lieutenants started ahead of the company, and as they neared the British forces at Bennington, they found themselves between a company of Hessians, who were bathing in a stream, and the main body of the British. Carefully crawling upon the bathers, who had their arms stacked, they separated, and representing themselves as three companies, called upon them to surrender, which they did, and they marched them as prisoners into the American lines. In 1782 he purchased the western half of lot twelve, in range ten, of Samuel Davis Converse, on which he built a house where he spent the remaining part of his life. He died July 7, 1812, aged sixty-nine years. His widow died April 23, 1831, aged seventy-four years. He had nine children, as follows : William, born 1776; twins, born 1779; John, born 1780; Silas, born 1781; Ezekiel P., born 1785; Ebenezer, born 1788; Esther, born 1791 ; and Lucy, born 1799. All were born in this town, and none are now living.

Ezekiel Porter Pierce, fifth son of Captain John Pierce, was born in Ches- terfield, April 20, 1785. He lived at home, working on his father's farm, attending the common schools and Chesterfield academy, until he learned the carpenter and joiners' trade. At the age of twenty-one he left home, going to Farmington, Me., where he engaged in drafting and architecture. March 1, 1808, he married Susanna, daughter of Colonel Ezekial Porter, of Farmington, Me., who was born May 4, 1785. He moved here from Maine, to live with his mother, on the John Pierce homestead, in October, 1814.

122

TOWN OF CHESTERFIELD.

Here he attended to farming, trading, and manufacturing, entering largely into the manufacture of "patent acceleratory wheel-heads," at the Factory Village, and the manufacture of bits and augers at West Chesterfield. About 182 1 he purchased the so-called Cook Stand, at the Center Village, and kept a store and tavern there until, in 183 1, when he built the large stone tavern near the lake. Here he lived the remaining years of his life, keeping the E. P. Pierce Temperance Lake House, and which is still a temperance place.

Nhà

LAKE HOUSE-ERECTED 1831.

He had born to him ten children, viz .: Susanna P., Theresa J., Ezekiel P., Julia A., Lucius D., Horace T. H., Lafayette W., Andrew Jackson, Augusta E., and Benjamin F. Susanna P. married Colonel Bethuel Farley, of Marlow, November 12, 1840, and had two children, Lucius P. and Dallas J. He died February 9, 1864, and she died July 9, 1881. Ezekiel Porter, Jr., married Sarah E. Webster, of Salem, Mass., May 1, 1844, has had two children, Georgie C. and Edward E., and resides in North Woburn, Mass. Julia Ange- line resides in Chesterfield. Horace Truman Hanks married Sophia C. Dickinson, of Hinsdale, June 12, 1850, and his children were Julia L., Will- iam E., and Frank D. Lafayette Washington, seventh child of E. P. Pierce, married three times ; first, Cleopatra S. Barry, who bore him one child, Charles L .; second, Mrs. Lydia M. Brooks, who also bore him one child, John A .; and third, Harriet E. Derby, and has had one child, Thirza B. He practices law in Winchendon, Mass. Augusta E. and Benjamin F. reside in Chester- field. Ezekiel P. Pierce, Sr., died May 23, 1865, in the eighty-first year of his age. ! 'is widow died January 11, 1866. Mr. Pierce was, during his life, a leading representative man in his county, and will long be remembered as an active, resolute, self-denying and industrious business man, and a helper in every good work. Being of the Jeffersonian school of politics, he was, to the day of his death, a zealous advocate of republican democracy, a believer in the sovereign right and ability of the people to govern themselves ; was an

I23

TOWN OF CHESTERFIELD.

ardent supporter of President Jackson, both in his own vicinity and in the leg- islature of New Hampshire, of which he was a member. Though he met with ridicule and opposition from some in the advocacy of his political principles, he rejoiced in their triumph, the discomfiture of his opponents, the defeat of the enemies of his country and of free government. He lived to glory in the death of American slavery and the overthrow of the great Southern rebellion, and to see the successful solution of the great problem of self-government, as a fixed and undeniable fact. He was an active laborer in the causes of edu- cation and morality, and, during his lifetime, in principle and practice an earnest temperance man ; ever an opposer of wrong, and an unflinching, fear- less advocate of what he believed to be right.

Lucius Darwin Pierce, son of E. P. Pierce, Esq., was born at Chesterfield, August 9, 1820. In boyhood and youth he enjoyed such limited advantages for acquiring an education as the common schools and Chesterfield academy afforded. In 1841 he entered Norwich university, Vt., gained a commenda- ble proficiency in the ancient languages, and while yet an undergraduate, was appointed to and accepted the position of Professor of Languages, in a sem- inary in Portsmouth, Va. He served in that capacity until he found the climate did not agree with his constitution, when he resigned and returned, graduating as A. B. in a full collegiate course, at Norwich university, in the class of 1846. He studied law in the office of Hon. William P. Chamber- lain, at Keene, was admitted to the bar in 1849, successfully practiced law at Marlow, till November, 1853, when he moved to Winchendon, Mass., and formed a law partnership with Benjamin O. Tyler, Esq., a lawyer of ex- tensive practice. He continued with him one year, then withdrew and opened an office by himself, and, from the first, did an extensive, increasing and lucrative business, and continued in his profession to the time of his death, May 8, 1858. He was a gentleman of high culture and refinement, had a genial, affable disposition, courteous, obliging address, and studious, industrious habits. While in practice in New Hampshire he held a commis- sion as justice of the peace, and at the time of his death held commissions as justice of the peace and notary public for Massachusetts. He married Lucy C., daughter of Major John H. Fuller, of Keene. His remains are in- terred in the Joslin cemetery in Chesterfield.

William Bennett married Sally Pierce, and came from Harvard, Mass., about 1788, settling near Chesterfield line in the southern part of Westmore- land, near the farm which George Bennett now owns. He was a Revolution- ary soldier and was at the battle of Lexington. His grandson, George Ben- nett, has in his possession a bullet which his grandfather made. Tradition says he run the bullet and passed it to the soldier who stood beside him, which killed the first British officer in the Revolutionary war. William Ben- nett, 2d, born in Westmoreland, married for his first wife, in 1807, Catharine Smith, born July 9, 1782, and who bore him three children, Edon, Eliza and Caroline. He married for his second wife, Rhoda, daughter of Caleb Howe,

124

TOWN OF CHESTERFIELD.

who bore him eight children, namely: Catharine S., William, Shubael, Hol- land, Cordelia, Sally, Jotham, and Lucy. William, 3d, born in Westmore- land, September 1, 1817, married, August 18, 1841, Caroline W. Fisk, who was born December 10, 1820. She was the daughter of Ezra Fisk, and granddaughter of Aaron Fisk. The latter settled in Chesterfield at an early day, on the hill west of the lake. William Bennett, 3d, has one child, Ange- line M., born March 15, 1846, and who married David H. Pierce, a mer- chant of Chesterfield, and who now lives in Fitchburg, Mass. Mr. Bennett acquired his education at the common schools and Chesterfield academy. He taught school winters and worked on his father's farm-spending his leisure time acquring knowledge which has been a source of real benefit to him. He held a commission in the militia, attaining the rank of colonel under Maj .- Gen. E. P. Pierce, Jr. He holds the office of justice of the peace, the duties of which he has faithfully performed for more than thirty years. He is quite extensively engaged in farming and agriculture, owning a large tract of land, including three nice farms. He is a public spirited citizen and an earnest supporter of every commendable enterprise.

Frank A. Pierce, son of Alson and Susanna (Wheeler) Pierce, was born in Chesterfield, April 20, 1854, and married October 25, 1870, Persis M., daughter of Snow Printice. Previous to her marriage she taught several terms of school with good success. She died June 12, 1883. Mr. Pierce is a farmer, residing on the Ebenezer Pierce homestead, and has had four children, as follows : Earl, born January 8, 1872; Anna L., born October 26, 1874; Guy L., born January 14, 1878 ; and Ida M., born January II, 1880, died March 6, 1881.

Benjamin F. Pierce, youngest son of Ezekial P. Pierce, was born in Ches- terfield, August 1, 1833. He attended the district school and the academy in his native town, fitted for college under Professor Lafayette W. Ward, of Westminster, Vt., and afterwards attended Corner's Commercial college at Boston. In 1859, he was employed in the counting-room of Gilson's last factory, in Boston, was in trade in Winchendon, Mass., during the following year, and has since resided in Chesterfield. He owns about 170 acres of land, a large share being timber land, and a saw-mill. The making of cider vinegar is a specialty with him, a fact which is widely known. He manufactures cider jelly, and cultivates choice grafted fruit for market. He was the first suc- cessful navigator of Spafford's Lake, having sailed it about ten years, no noteworthy accident having occurred during the time.

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.

Gazetteer of Cheshire County, N.H., 1736-1885, Part 14

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 1034