USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Gazetteer of Cheshire County, N.H., 1736-1885 > Part 16
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John F. Butler is the youngest of the children of Jonathan and Martha (Russell) Butler, and was born in Marlow, June 14, 1831. His father, who
Yours Truly, John M. Richarelson
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was a farmer, died when John was twelve years of age, leaving him chiefly to his own efforts to provide the means for his support and education, which he accomplished by jobbing, teaching district and writing schools during his vacations, receiving also substantial aid from the best of mothers. He re- ceived his preliminary training in the district school and at Marlow academy, " Tubb's Union " at Washington, and under the private instruction of Prof. Wood, of Marlow, and was fitted to enter college when about nineteen years of age. He then reluctantly decided not to pursue a collegiate course, and commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Marshall Perkins, of Marlow, attending a course of medical lectures at Dartmouth college in 1852, and in 1853 entered Fremont medical school, in Boston, Mass., visiting the hospitals in and around the city daily. In the ensuing winter he attended a course of lectures, and graduated in the spring of 1854, from the medical department of Harvard university. He commenced the practice of medicine and surgery at Chesterfield Factory, where he is still actively engaged in his profession. December 17, 1857, he married Julia Quimby, daughter of Rev. Silas Quimby, of Lebanon, N. H. She died August 19, 1861, followed in a few weeks by her infant son, Arthur. January 17, 1863, he married Celia A. Brewster, of Lowell, Mass. Both ladies were educated at Tilton seminary, and were persons of refinement and worth. During the Crimean war, soon after he commenced the practice of his profession, he was offered the appointment of surgeon in the medical staff of the Russian army, by the Russian ambassador to the United States, but declined the service. In the spring of 1864 he was commissioned by Gov. Andrews Asst. Surgeon of the 39th Regt., Mass. Vols., of the 5th Army Corps, then moving on Richmond through the Wilderness, and joined his regiment before Petersburg, Va., serving in the field till the war closed, being present at the surrender of General Lee and his army at Appomattox. He was also for a time acting sur- geon of the 16th Regt., Me. Vols., and surgeon in charge of the 88th Regt., Penn. Vols. In politics he is a decided Democrat. At the annual election in 1874, his fellow-townsmen elected him representative to the general court, and re-elected him in 1875. During his thirty-four years of medical practice in Chesterfield Factory and vicinity, with generous sympathy he has rendered his services as readily to the poor as the rich, never asking, but often refusing, remuneration. With due appreciation for his many favors, he was sent the following : " With your permission, your many friends from this village and vicinity would be pleased to put a portrait of youself in the forthcoming Gazetteer of Cheshire County, not only as a tribute of the regard we have for you, but as a deposit for ourselves."
Silas Richardson, a descendant of John Richardson who came from Eng- land previous to 1636, was born in Medfield, Mass., 1748, married, in 1771, Sileme Daniels, of Medway, Mass. In 1776 he came to Chesterfield and settled on land one mile north of the Factory Village. The deed of his pur- chase under colonial government, still preserved, is dated in May, 1776. He
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was a soldier of the Revolution, and was called "Lieutenant" Richardson ; was one of the original trustees of the academy, selectman in 1788, '93 and '96, and died in 1803. His children were: Wilkes, born December, 1772, married Mehitabel Clark, resided in Chesterfield till 1808, when he removed to Champion, N. Y. He was selectman in 1804, '05. Sarah, born Septem- ber, 1779, married Calvin White, of Westmoreland. Orlo, son of Silas, mar- ried Nancy, daughter of Benjamin Wild, who died April 4, 1872, aged nearly ninety years. He lived in Chesterfield all his life, was a justice of the peace, and an active business man, was selectman in 1826, '28, '34 and '35, repre- sentative in 1828, '29, and died May 27, 1852. His children were, John Milton, born November 25, 1807. Laura, born January 25, 1809, married Ebenezer Culver, of Barre, N. Y., and died March 28, 1861; Nancy, born September 20, 1810, died December 1, 1857 ; Edwin, born August 24, 1812, married Sarah B. Wheeler, of Westmoreland, was a manufacturer of scythes in Fitchburg, Mass., the most of his life ; Sarah Wild, born August II, 1814, married Col. Charles Butterfield, of Westmoreland, who was a graduate of Kimbal Union academy, and a prominent teacher ; Silas D., born December 10, 1816, married Lura M. Choate, in Orland, Ind., has been a practicing physician in Indiana, Michigan, and Iowa, and resides in Chicago ; Diana, born January 1, 1819, married George F., son of Wilder Harris, of Chesterfield, and died September 14, 1871, at St. Albans, Vt .; Julia A., born September 16, 1821, married J. W. H. Baker, M. D., son of Dr. Oliver Baker, of Chesterfield ; and Lucretia Adeline, born October 4, 1824, died October 8, 1828. John Milton, son of Orlo, married May 31, 1837, Bathsheba D. Hemenway, of Framingham, Mass. Previous to 1847 he lived fifteen years in Fitchburg and Leominster, Mass. Since then he has lived in Chesterfield, has done considerable business as justice of the peace, was selectman in 1851, '56 and '57, representative in 1861, and '62. He has always been interested in all things that tend to advance the best interests of society, is a firm and consistent friend and advocate of the temperance cause, and all that tends to awaken the minds of the young to a higher stan- ard of educational advancement, also a kind and consistent friend and neigh- bor. An adopted son, John Milo Richardson, born in 1843, married Laura Maria, daughter of J. W. H. Baker. She resided in Chesterfield some time, and has been a teacher in Davenport, Iowa, for several years. He died in St. Albans, Vt., of consumption, October 31, 1871, and was buried in Chesterfield. Their daughter, Julia B., was born in Chesterfield, December 3, 1871.
Nathan R. Symonds, son of Thomas and Lydia (Pratt) Symonds, was born in Rindge, July 6, 1807, on what is known as the "Symonds farm." He is a descendant of John Symonds, who came from England, and was residing in Salem, Mass., in 1636, being of the seventh generation counting John Sy- monds as first. Nathan was brought up under religious influences, his mother being a devout woman, whose every advice would be for his spiritual as well as temporal benefit. He married Eliza Herrick, July 3, 1831. They came
Nathan R, Symonds,
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to Chesterfield, March 31, 1837, settling near the "Channel," south side, where Dr. Butler now lives. He worked at forging bits, for Richardson & Huggins, continuing the work for the different firms, until two or three years before his death, which occurred suddenly of apoplexy, on the morning of December 26, 1882. Mrs. Symonds died Maich 2, 1881. They were a united, home-loving couple. Mr. Symonds gave of his means for worthy objects, was a supporter of the gospel, and in addition to his money dona- tions, practiced cutting and putting away his load of wood for church use. Eddie Buzzell, who married their granddaughter, M. Lizzie (daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Chase, of Westmoreland,) lives on School street, in the house where Mr. Symonds died, and where they lived about twenty years. Charles T. Symonds, born in Keene, February 21, 1835, went to Chelsea, Mass., in 1858, where he was in the employ of the gas company, sixteen years, being for eleven years treasurer, and of which company he was a prominent stockholder. He died September 16, 1871. Ann F., born June 14, 1847, died in infancy. Amelia A., born in Rindge, February 17, 1833, went to Chelsea, Mass., in 1858. She lives in the family of the Hon. Erastus Rugg, who married her father's sister, and to whom she stands in their affections as daughter. She is a consistent member of the Methodist church. She has for many years been saleswoman in the establishment of A. B. Richardson, much of the time having charge of a portion of the business.
The ancestors of the Field family, of Chesterfield, were of old Puritan stock, who settled in Taunton, Mass., early in colonial times, where many of their descendants still live. Bethuel, son of Nathaniel Field, of Taunton, married Sally Lincoln, of Norton, Mass., and settled in Chesterfield, in 1819 or '20. "He was somewhat given to accounts, being a 'Squire,' and a prominent man in town matters." He died in 1847, Mrs. Field surviving him until 1867. Jessie Field, one of their ten children, born November 3, 1811, inherited his mother's refined sensibilities and his father's good sense and mental acumen ; while Hannah J. Streeter, whom he married in 1838 possessed tact, energy and executive ability. An unfortunate fall, resulting in permanent lameness, blighted Mr. Field's future prospects, and necessitated his removal from the farm, in 1846, to Factory Village, to engage in a less active occupation, and finally caused his death, in April, 1851, at the early age of thirty-nine years. His wife still lives, and resides at Wilmington, Vt. This is also the residence of her youngest daughter, Mary E. Field, born October 6, 1845, who married John R. Buell, a worthy young man of business ability, and a native of Wil- mington. They have three children, Orrin R., a bright, scholarly lad of thirteen, and Helen M. and Albert J., born in June, 1882 and '84, respec- tively. Helen M. Field, born September 3, 1840, married Ransford A. Com- stock, of Shelburne Falls, Mass., where they lived until they moved to Rochelle, Ills., in 1871, their present residence. Their children, born in Massachusetts, are Delbert A. Comstock. now twenty-two, possessing good natural business qualifications, and Percy Field Comstock, born October 29, 1867, who is
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truly a Field, and inherits his mother's mental characteristics and literary tastes. Mrs. F. M. Leonard, of Taunton, Mass., Jesse Fields youngest sister, also possesses literary ability, having won quite a reputation as a dramatic and poetical writer. Albert O. Field, born March 15, 1842, has risen unaided, studying the mercantile business, while holding positions of trust, until quali- fied as a professional expert accountant. This work he followed for some years, until his connection in 1876, with the large clothing firm of Naumburg, Kraus, Lauer & Co., of New York, in which he is now a partner. He is president of the Book-keepers' and Accountants' Institute, of the city of New York, and highly respected in social and business circles. In 1865 he mar- ried Susie Daniels, of Keene, who survived only a year. and was buried with her infant son, born in January, 1866. In 1868 Mr. Field married Eva H. Swan, of Chesterfield Factory, a refined, cultivated, intellectual lady, a grace- ful writer, and at one time a contributor of poetry and fiction to Boston periodicals. Of five children, they have lost their two sons. Their three in- teresting daughters give promise of rare mental endowments, Grace, the eld- est, being, at thirteen, a good Latin and French scholar. Their pleasant home is at Orange, N. J. Near them lives Mrs. Field's mother and sisters. Mrs. Chamberlain, a native of Chesterfield, who lived many years at the Fac- tory Village, is a lady of refinement and excellent ability. Her daughters, Eva and Abbie, graduated with high honors from Westbrook seminary, near Portland, Maine, in 1866. Abbie M. Swan married George Morse, a native of Stoddard, N. H. They have one child and are both medical practitioners at Gloucester, Mass., where they reside. Benjamin Herbert Swan, a graduate of Columbia Veterinary college, N. Y., married Sarah, daughter of Rodney Fletcher, of Chesterfield Factory, and is at present in Colorado. May Ella Swan is a successful teacher in the schools of Orange, N, J., where,. also, Anna P. Chamberlain is a teacher of music.
George Pierce came from Smithfield, R. I., to Chesterfield about 1816, and settled upon the farm now owned by Mrs. Joseph W. Pierce, on road II, where he carried on farming. He married Sophrona Mann, of Smithfield, R. I., who was born June 14, 1785, and is still living in Chesterfield a venerated centenarian. The one hundreth anniversary of this aged lady's birthday was. observed in proper form by her relatives and friends, about 200 guests being present, and on which occasion the Rev. Mr. Fowler read a history of the family, written in rhyme. Others of those present made short speeches, read ap- propriate poems, etc., and Mrs. Pierce, in whose honor her friends had gath- ered, entertained the company with vocal selections, which were enthuiastic- ally received. Mr. Pierce lived on the farm about nine years and then went. back to his native town, to take care of his mother, and after her death he came again about 1825 on to his farm, where he lived until his death, August 14, 1876, aged about eighty-three years. He had eleven children,-six sons and five daughters,-eight of whom are living.
Benjamin Pierce, son of George, was born in Smithfield, R. I., February 26,
0
Very Respectfully yours Benjamin Pierce 11
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1815, and in early life lived with his father on the farm. He obtained his ed- ucation at the common schools and at the Chesterfield academy, taught school winters until his marriage, which took place November 15, 1842, to Caroline A. Gale, of Pertersham, Mass., when he settled at Chesterfield Factory. Here he was engaged in selling goods manufactured by Richardson & Hug- gins, also goods made by Pliny Merrill, of Hinsdale. In 1853 he bought the bit and auger factory of Barton Skinner and commenced the business of man- ufacturing Pierce's celebrated boring implements. He followed this till 1882, when he sold out to Currier Brothers. By his business tact Mr. Pierce has accumulated a large fortune. He also manufactured spinning wheels and wheel- heads, which he still continues. His business has been one of the most ex- tensive of any in Chesterfield. His wife died October 30, 1882, having had six children born to her, viz: Fred B .; Caroline M., married and living at Atchison, Kan .; Nellie K., living with her sister at Atchison ; Gracie M., born December 30, 1854, died October 3, 1873 ; Alice H., born November, 14, 1858, and died September 5, 1860 ; and one son died in infancy.
Joseph W. Pierce, son of George, was born in Smithfield, R. I., and came to this town with his parents when an infant. He married Sarah J., daugh- ter of Davis Arnold, who bore him six children, namely, Ansel J., Harry A., John M., David W., S. Jennie, and Josie M. Mr. Pierce died February 27, 1 884.
Fred B. Pierce, son of Benjamin, was born at Chesterfield Factory, April 20, 1845. He married Emma F., daughter of Josiah W. Cook, of Alstead, December 16, 1868, and has one daughter, Maude E., born May 23, 1871; a son, Frank M., born May 17, 1875, died September 18th of the same year .- From 1868 to 1882 he was interested with his father in the manufacture of bits and augers. In 1877, however, he established the business of manufac- turing brush-handles, in which he is still engaged, doing the largest business in Chesterfield Factory. He has done much to build up this village to the standard of prosperity it now enjoys.
Sumner Warren, son of Increase Warren, of Westmoreland, married Lu- thera Willard, of Charlestown, N. H., September 30, 1841. He resided many years in Chesterfield Factory, was a tanner, and very successful in business ; was noted for promptness, probity and liberality in all his dealings. He was town clerk in 1845 and contributed largely toward the building of the Union church, and lately resided in Keene. He had five children, three of whom died young. The eldest, Lyman H., born June 26, 1842, enlisted, in Sep- tember, 1861, in the 17th Regt., U. S. Infantry, distinguished himself for cool- ness and indomitable bravery and courage in battle, and was rapidly pro- moted to a captaincy. He was wounded in the foot at the battle of Chancel- lorsville. After the war he was stationed at Houston, Texas, where he died, September 18, 1867, and was buried in Chesterfield Factory.
Sanford Guernsey, son of Cyril, was born in Richmond June 23, 1820. He married Lydia, daughter of John Starkey, of Richmond, January 20, 1846,
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she being born October 11, 1822. Mr. Guernsey moved to this town in 1867, and kept the hotel at Chesterfield Factory for thirteen years, where he now resides. He has an adopted daughter, Lydia S., born January 23, 1868.
Francis Tuttle came here from Winchester, about 1859. He married Sarah J., daughter of John Beal, of this town, October 6, 1857, and has had a family of six children, as follows: George A., born September 7, 1859 ; Frankie, born February 22, 1863, and died May 22, 1864; Fred M., born March 27, 1867 ; Willie R., born April 29, 1870 ; and Charlie A., born Janu- ary 27, 1876.
Aaron Royce came from Rhode Island at an early day. He has four chil- dren,-one son and three daughters. His son David was born in town, mar- ried Harriet Streeter, of Hinsdale, N. H., and located in Hinsdale. After living here and in different parts of New Hampshire and Vermont for several years, he moved to Charleston, Vt., where he and his wife both died. He reared a family of nine children, six of whom are living. Of these, Burnham lives in Boston ; Harriet married H. Osman, and lives in Vermont ; Cynthia in Lyndon, Vt .; Charles and Clark in Charleston, Vt .; and Lyman, a farmer, resides in Chesterfield. The latter married Eveline C. Hildreth, and has had born to him six children, as follows : Ellis D., of this town ; Harriet L., Anna J., and Adelar, who are dead ; Isabel, who married H. M. Butler, and Herman D., who is also dead.
George Hawes, son of John, was born in Barre, Mass. He married Eu- nice M., daughter of Joseph Day, of Chesterfield, N. H., in 1858, and lived in Worcester, Mass., where he was engaged in railroad business about twenty years. He removed to this town in 1870, where he now resides. He has an adopted daughter, Bessie B., who was the daughter of Willis Bemis, of Brat- tleboro, Vt.
The Congregational church of Chesterfield was organized in 1771, and the Rev. Abraham Wood, a graduate of Harvard, was ordained its first pas . tor the following year. The ministry of Mr. Wood continued until his death in 1823. A few months previous to Mr. Wood's death, Rev. John Walker, a graduate of Dartmouth, was installed as colleague pastor. Mr. Walker remained six years, and was succeeded by Rev. Elisha Smith, who was also a graduate of Dartmouth, and who remained here four years, when he was succeded by Rev. Josiah Ballard, a graduate of Harvard, and who remained for a single year, to be succeeded by Rev. Hosea Beckley, a graduate of Dartmouth, and who preached here three years. Following Mr. Beckley came Rev. B. E. Hale, not a graduate, who continued in the ministry here six years, and then gave place to Revs. Patten, Marble and Newhall, each of whom were collegiates, and graduates of theological seminaries, and whose ministries here were each less than three years. Succeeding these came Rev. J. Hall, who was a graduate of Andover, and whose ministry here covered a period of eight years. Mr. Hall is still a resident of the town. After Mr. Hall's retirement, the church was supplied two years by Mr. Thying, of
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Vermont, when succeeded a period of a dozen years in which there was no stated ministry, and next to no preaching. In the summer of 1882 an effort was made to revive the worship of the sanctuary in the old house, and Mr. Shaw, a student at Andover, was employed for a short time, and, after an interval of a few months, was succeeded by Rev. A. E. Hall, who still remains. The original house of worship at the Center Village was burned by an incendiary many years ago. The present building was erected of wood in 1834, and will comfortably seat 250 persons. The present value of the church property is about $1,200, and the membership is twenty-six. Most of the ministers have been collegiates, and four were ordained by this church.
The Universal Restoration Society is the corporate name of the Universal- ist society at West Chesterfield. This society was organized as early as 1798, or earlier. In June, 1818, fifty-five members of the society petitioned the legislature to be incorporated into a society, under the name that had already been adopted. The petition was granted, and an act was passed incorporat- ing Oliver Baker, Stephen Streeter, Jonathan Cochran, with their associates and successors, into a society to be known as the Universal Restoration Soci- ety. Rev. Robert Bartlett, from Langdon, was their first pastor. Previous to their building, in 1830, the meeting-house now in use, the society held its meetings for the most part in private houses and school-houses, for the town would not vote them the use of the meeting-house at the Center Village, for any purpose whatever, till 1816, when they allowed them to hold a conven- tion in it. January 2, 1830, the town voted to allow the Universalists to use the meeting-house every alternate Sabbath, for one year. The same year, the house now occupied by them was built. The money for building it was obtained mostly by the sale of pews. Several persons of the Baptist persua- sion also bought pews, on condition that they be allowed the use of the time for worshiping in their own way. The present pastor is Rev. U. S. Williams. The society also has a flourishing Sabbath-school, with sixty-two members, Miss Mary A. Cobleigh is superintendent.
Methodism in Chesterfield .- According to tradition, the first Methodist ser- mon preached in the town, and probably in New Hampshire, was in 1772, at the house of James Robinson, a Scotch dissenter, who settled in Chesterfield on the farm where his grandson, T. N. Robinson, now resides. Mr. Robinson, hearing from friends in New York of the zealous and devoted Philip Embry, sent a message desiring Mr. Embry to come and preach at his house, setting forth the good he thought might result from his labors. Mr. Embry saw fit to respond, and in the fall or early winter 1772, he came to town, the same year the Rev. Abraham Wood was settled pastor over the Congregational church. The result of Mr. Embry's preaching was a revival, and a number professed a change of heart, among whom were the older persons in the neighborhood, and doubtless a class was formed, as they were reported to hold exclusive meetings, which gave to the neighborhood the name Christian
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street, which it retains to the present time. The little band looked forward with great anxiety to the return of Mr. Embry the following year, but they were doomed to be disappointed, as in August, 1773, he died. The effect upon the Robinson family was lasting and they were prepared to receive the itinerant at his first approach. Three of the daughters married Methodist ministers-Sarah married Rev. Ebenezer Bromby, of New York; Sybil mar- ried, in 1805, Rev. Martin Rutter, Mr. Rutter having preached his first ser- mon in the house of Mr. Robinson, and in Chesterfield his labors as preacher commenced ; and Hannah married Rev. John Nichols, of Thomson, Conn. He was one of the early preachers of Chesterfield. George B. Robinson, a grandson, was a local preacher, and two of the granddaughters married Rev. Orrin Fairbanks. Hannah, married first, died September 18, 1845, and Martha G. married Mr. Fairbanks after her sister's death in 1846. The early labors of Mr. Embry formed a nucleus for Methodism. Jesse Lee came to Portsmouth in 1791, and the same year he visited Chesterfield. In 1792 and 1793, Lozenzo Dow often visited here, preaching wherever he found hearers. In 1794 Joshua Hall was appointed to preach in New Hampshire, and was in Chesterfield during the year, but he sought to establish Metho- dism in the central and eastern parts of the state, to the neglect of Chester- field. So little was accomplished that the appointment was withdrawn the following year. In the later part of this year, 1795, the first Methodist Epis- copal society was organized in the state, at Chesterfield, with sixty-eight. members. The following year Philip Wager was the first stationed preacher, and reports Chesterfield circuit to be more than fifty miles square. From this time up to 1839 the records were lost, or are in the archives of the New England conference. The records of this station commence this year, (1839). Rev. C. L. McCurdy was preacher from June, 1839 to June, 1841 ;. Alonzo Webster from June, 1841, to June, 1843 ; John Jones, from 1843 to June, 1845. This year the present church edifice was built. It was dedicat- ed in November, 1844. Prior to this, meetings were held in private houses, school-houses, and sometimes in the old academy building and in the Con- gregational church. The society has had regular preaching since, except in 1857-'58, having had twenty-one pastors during that time. T. L. Fowler is the present pastor.
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