USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Gazetteer of Cheshire County, N.H., 1736-1885 > Part 46
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"II. It is the opinion of the Committees that sd Parker is so notoriously disafected that he, the said Parker, be Emediately Disarmed from all instru- ments of war :
"III. That the said Parker be confined to the lot of land his house stands on, on penalty of being sent to the Common Goal of the county of Cheshire or find good bonds to the satisfaction of the Committee of Safety in the town of Stoddard.
"IV. All persons are forbid to have Dealings with ye said Parker on ye pen- alty of being considered Enimies to America.
"Attest, Samuel Gustin, Chairman, "Stoddard, June 5, 1776."
It was also stated by the committee that "John Mather, Joel Gilson, Zacha- riah Adams, Eli Adams and William Dutton * * seem abettors of sd Parker by their denying the authority of the committee-treat- ing the committee with scurulous language."
A part of the evidence adduced against Parker was the following letter, which he acknowledged having written to a Mr. Boynton :-
"Receipt to make a Whig .- Take of conspiracy and the root of pride, three handfulls ; two of ambition and vain glory ; pound them in the mortar of faction and discord ; boil in two quarts of dissembling tears and a little New England rum, over the fire of sedition till you find the scum of folly arise to the top ; strain through cloths of rebellion ; and put in bottles of envy ; stop with the cork of malice, then make into pills called conspiracy ; of which take nine on going to bed; say over your hypocritical prayer ; curse your honest neighbor in your bed-chamber, and then go to sleep-if you can. It will have so good an effect that, all the next day you will be thinking how to cozzen, cheat, lie, get drunk, abuse the minister of the Gospel, cut the throats of hon- est men and plunder the nation."
Parker was committed to jail at Exeter, November 2, 1778, and was later kept under bond not to leave the county. In 1780 a vote was passed to raise f120 to buy beef for the Continental army. The records for 1781 af- ford illustration of the great depreciation in the value of paper money. In that year £4,000 were voted for repairing highways, men being allowed £12 pound per day for services and for a yoke of oxen £8 per day.
John Taggard came here from Peterboro, in June, 1768, felled the trees upon the land where Henry W. Reed's store now stands, and returned to Peterboro. In the fall he burned the trees, sowed the land with grain, and left it until the following spring, when he took his wife and came here through the woods, a distance of seventeen miles. He brought an old fashioned wooden plow, and his wife a bag of corn-meal on her back. He first built a bark house, but soon after built a framed house about fifty rods from the house of the late Deacon Pitchers. He set out a white rose bush, which is still living, and which is about the only thing left to mark the spot of the lo-
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cation of the first settler. Two children were born to him, a son and a daughter. The son, John, Jr., was the first child born in the town.
James Scott, whose father was an early settler of the town, was born here in 1782, and died in 1864, aged eighty-two years. John, son of James, served three years in Co. K, 6th N. H. Vols., married Lizzie Webber, and reared a family of eight children, viz .: Ada S., Helen, John A., Carlotta, Mary, Everett E., Clara E., and Elton.
James Robb, of Scotch descent, moved to Peterboro, where his son Sam- uel and other children were born, from Lunenburg, Mass., and came to Stod- dard when Samuel was a youth, locating upon what is now called Morrison Hill. Samuel served in the Revolution, and in 1802 moved to the farm where his grandson, James M., now lives on road 41 corner 43. He mar- ried Abigail Alexander, of Woburn, Mass., and reared a large family of chil- dren. James born here in September, 1805, married Esther Nahor, of Han- cock, in 1834, and always resided on the same farm. He reared a family of seven children, six of whom are now living, five of them residing in Stod- dard. He died November 15, 1884. His widow, who was born at Han- cock in 1804, was the sixth child of David and Esther (Peabody) Nahor. She has still in her possession an arm-chair which has descended to her from James Nahor, who brought it from Scotland soon after 1700. Moore, son of Samuel, was born here September 23; 1796, and is now the oldest person in town. He married Drucia Barden, who died in November, 1857, and had born to him three sons and one daughter, viz .: James A., of California, Otis G., of Iowa, Christopher, of this town, and Lucretia, who died in 1881. He has always voted the Democratic ticket, and has never used tobacco. He left home at the age of twenty-one, and worked four years for James Wilson, a lawyer at Keene, when he returned to his native town. He has occupied himself with farming, was one of the first in town to take an inter- est in the manufacture of glass, and helped build the old " Box Tavern." He now owns a farm in Bedford, N. H., and 600 acres of land in Stoddard. His son Christopher, who represents about half the town in valuation, was born November 27, 1827, and married Phebe, daughter of Levi Wheeler, of Richmond, N. H., in 1852, who bore him two children. His son died at the age of twelve, and his wife died in June, 1876. His daughter Myra, aged twenty-six, cares for her father's boarding-house, near his extensive mills in Cherry Valley. Mr. C. Robb owns about 2,000 acres of land, has large mills in Cherry Valley, where he employs thirty hands, annually taps 6,000 sugar trees, and keeps a large stock of cattle and horses. He has always worked for the interest of the town, being the foremost among the enter- prising men. The mills are the second ones built upon the spot, the former one having been burned before they were completed. They turn out cloth- boards, pail-handles, chair stock, bedstead-slats, oil-cans, pails, and all kinds of lumber. The grist-mill is located in the basement of the building.
Asa Davis came here at the age of sixteen, was a well-to-do farmer, and 25*
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died in 1873, aged ninety-one years and ten months. His son Asa was born in 1816, and now resides upon road 34.
Samuel Messenger and his wife came to Stoddard, from Rynham, Mass., about 1799, and settled in the southwestern part of the town. They reared a family of eight children-four sons and four daughters. Mrs. Delia Dodge, the only surviving daughter, resides in Marlow, aged eighty-four years. Silas, son of Samuel, was born in 1803, married Arvilla L. Copeland and reared eleven children. One son was killed in the late Rebellion, in which two- served. Silas died in 1870, and his widow resides in Connecticut.
Zebulon Barrett, a native of Carlisle, came to Stoddard about 1805, with his wife and two sons, Luther and Calvin. He bought the farm where his. son Calvin now resides, on road 23, spent the remainder of his life there, and died at the age of eighty-seven years. After his settlement here he had born to him one son, Benjamin F., who lives in Pepperell, Mass. Calvin Barrett was born in September, 1804, married, for his first wife, Julia A. Howard, of Antrim, who bore him one son, Albert F., and for his second wife, Mrs. Nancy Boutwell, of Stoddard.
Ebenezer Stacy, a sailor in the early part of his life, came here from Groton, Mass., about 1800. He had four sons and two daughters, all prob- ably from Massachusetts. Three of his sons, William, Abel and Samuel, and one daughter, Sally (Mrs. Lewis Barden), spent their lives in Stoddard. Gilman and Nathan, sons of Samuel, now live in Stoddard. Abel married Anna Hardy and reared a family of ten children, of whom Daniel and Eben- ezer reside in town. Lyman Barden is a son of Lewis and Sally (Stacy). Barden.
Jacob Copeland was an early settler in the northern part of Stoddard. He married three times and reared a large family of children Five of his- sons spent their lives in Stoddard. Huldah (Mrs. Nathan Stacy) and Pamelia (Mrs. Gilman Stacy), daughters of Samuel Copeland, now reside in town.
Ziba Richardson came here, with his wife and two children, from Franklin, Mass., about 1796. Eight children were born to him in Stoddard. His daughter Susan, who was five years of age when the family came here, mar- ried Samuel Copeland. They reared a family of ten children.
George L. Curtis was born in Windsor, N. H., November 22, 1825. In 1847, he came to Stoddard and worked as shipper (by contract) for Scripture, Whiton & Curtis, who then manufactured glass bottles at Mill Village. He- continued with them until 1856, when, upon their failure, he formed a part- nership with B. F. Messer, and, as Messer & Curtis, manufactured glass bottles three or four years. They also kept a store, and, after the dissolution of the partnership, Mr. Curtis continued the business alone until 1872, when he leased the real estate in Stoddard, went to Nashua and engaged in the wholesale and retail grocery business. His health failing, he returned to Stoddard in 1879, and died December 29, 1882. He held many offices of trust, including town representative. He also dealt largely in real estate. He-
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married Alma L., daughter of Silas Messenger, of Stoddard, January 19, 1850. He had born to him five children, of whom four, Frank P., Lester B., S. Grace (Mrs. Mortimer W. Bond), and David S., are now living. Frank P. was educated at Dartmouth Agricultural college, is married and resides in Greenfield, Mass. Grace was educated at Nashua and taught school three years.
Dr. Asher Loveland, the first physician who located in Stoddard, was a self-educated man and was considered an excellent physician. He was chosen to various town offices and died at the age of eighty-three. His son Samuel W., of Munsonville, aged ninety, was many years a teacher of public schools.
William Dexter Wilson, D. D., LL. D., L. H. D., is one of the natives of Stoddard who have made a decided mark in the world. He was born here February 28, 1816. After the usual training in the common schools of his native town, he entered the academy at Walpole, in the autumn of 1831. In the autumn of 1835 he entered the Divinity school connected with Har- vard university, and graduated in 1838. In 1849, Geneva college gave him the degree of Doctor of Divinity (D. D.); in 1868, Bedford university of Tennessee (now extinct) gave him the degree of Doctor of Laws (LL. D.); in 1872, the regents of the University of the State of New York gave him the additional honorary degree of Doctor of Literature (L. H. D.). Dr. Wilson has long been one of the most prominent lights in theological and educational circles.
Joseph Dodge was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and died of small- pox, in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1782. His son Elijah, born in Winchester, N. H., in 1769, came to this town when a small boy, and always resided here. He married Sarah Jackson, in 1793, and reared a family of twelve children, as follows : Elijah, born 1795 ; Sally, 1796 ; Phebe, 1798 ; Asel, 1799; Lydia, 1801 : Meroa, 1803 ; Alura, 1805; Nahum, 1807; Warren, 1809; Lyman, 18II ; Hosea W., 1813 ; and Rhoda A., 1815. All of these, with the ex- ception of Elijah, Nahum, and Meroa, are living, making their aggregate ages over seven hundred years.
Dr. Nathaniel Worcester came to Stoddard, from Jaffrey, N. H., married Lucy Fox, and practiced medicine in this town for several years. He died at the age of forty-two years, leaving a family of four children, as follows : George, Charles, Mary, and Abbie. George lived here all his life. Mary married Azel Hatch, and lives in Alstead ; Abbie married Jonathan Green, and lives in Griggsville, Ill .; and Charles married Harriet N. Barker, of Stoddard, and now resides in Walpole. The latter has one son, C. C., who inarried Mary A. Grant, of Goffstown, and has two children, George L. and Clarence G.
Israel Towne came to Stoddard with his wife and two children about a hun- dred years ago, and settled about a mile south of the center of the town. His father, Israel, also came with him. He reared a family of nine children, two of whom, Ebenezer and Lucy, are living, the former in Boscawen, N. H., and
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the latter, Mrs. Samuel Upton, in Marlow, with her daughter, Lucy T. Down- ing.
Nathaniel Joslin came here from Leominster, Mass., about 1786, and set- tled in the western part of the town, upon the farm now owned by his son, Stephen C. He married Susannah Burr, and reared a family of nine children, as follows : Prudence, John, Susanna, Lucy, Dorothy, Nathaniel, Nancy, Betsey and Stephen C. Only two of these are living, Nancy, residing in Athol, Mass., and Stephen C., of this town. Nathaniel was a deacon of the Congregational church, and died July 9, 1851. aged ninety years.
Samuel Foster came to Stoddard, from Ashburnham, Mass., in 1799, and settled in the western part of the town. He was a blacksmith and farmer, married Lydia Stearns, of Ashburnham, reared eight children-three sons and five daughters.
Luman Weeks was born in Peru, N. Y., March 26, 1818, married Cynthia M. Pike, of Marlow, N. H., and located in Stoddard, in 1840. He drove the stage from Marlow to Hancock, until March, 1844, then from Stod- dard to Boston, until 1850. He then built his glass-works at South Stod- dard, and carried on the business for twenty-three years, manufacturing bot- tles, demijohns, etc., and giving employment to a number of hands. He moved to Keene in the fall of 1873, where he has since resided. He has been selectman of Stoddard several times, and represented that town in 1864-'65, and in 1873.
Edmund Rice came from England to Sudbury, Mass., in 1594, and had eleven children and seventy-seven grandchildren. Peter Rice, who was of the fifth generation after Edmund, was born August 24, 1791, in Auburn, Mass., married Sally Moore, of Worcester, Mass., March 9, 1815, lived in Worcester, blacksmithing, until July, 1819, and then came to Stoddard and bought a farm of 200 acres of Amasa Fairbanks, where he carried on farming and blacksmithing until he died, November 13, 1829, leaving seven children. He was captain of the 5th Company, 28th Regt., several years, and major of the same regiment one year, was deacon of the Congregational church at the time he died. His widow and children carried on the farm until the youngest boy was twenty-one years old, and then the oldest son, Josiah M. Rice, who was born January 15, 1820, bought the farm and added 200 acres more to it. He still owns and occupies it. He was one of the selectmen in 1857 and 1858, and has held some of the different town offices nearly every year since. Was captain of the 5th Company 28th Regiment six years, had a lieutenant- colonel commission sent him in 1880, and is now a justice of the peace. He married Mary Ann Robinson, of Oakham, Mass., June 4, 1845. They have had no children.
Daniel Locke, about a hundred years ago, came from Chelmsford, Mass., and made a home on a hillside covered with beech and maple, near what was known for many years as Leominster Corner. His children were Enos, and five daughters. Enos married Anna Keyes, and the names of the sister's
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husbands were, Green, Adams, Towne, Wilson and Hodgman. Enos settled on the old homestead, had eleven children, Enos, Daniel, Gilman, Francis, Abigail, Sally, Mary, Anna, Lucy and two twins that died in infancy. Enos was noted for his great industry, and was not only a good farmer, but an excellent cooper, a mechanic in great request in those days. Some old men and women remember hearing him play the "cooper's march," so-called, on his barrel while hooping it, with his adze and "driver," a piece of seasoned oak one and one-half inches square by fifteen long. He and some of his sisters lived to a great age. Of his children there is but one living, Francis, who became wealthy by farming before he was fifty, and is now one of the solid and much respected citizens of Claremont. Enos, Jr., as he was called for nearly sixty years, was quite noted in his early manhood as a school-mas- ter, and quite a number of the eminent men of the country took their first lessons in the "Art of Reading" and "Lindley Murray" from him, the most dis- tinguished of all of them being Franklin Pierce, one of our presidents. He married Harriet Wilson and settled on the old homestead, and both of them lived to be over seventy. Their children were Elbridge W., Susan W., and Edwin R. Susan died in early womanhood, and was noted for her deeds of charity, and acts of kindness to the suffering. Edwin R. has been a promi- nent citizen of Keene for twenty-five years or more. He will be remembered for his kindly demeanor towards all with whom he has intercourse, and for his many enterprises. He was one of the most prominent dry goods mer- chants of Keene for many years. He is at present city marshal, a position he has filled quite a number of years. He has three children, Ida M., Hattie E. and Edward E., who, unless he should have male heirs, will be the last of the Locke family of Stoddard. The most widely known member of this fam- ily is Elbridge W., who, as a writer of short poems and songs, a composer of music, and a public singer, has a reputation the family may well be proud of. His songs have reached a sale of six hundred thousand copies. Sent to the army by President Lincoln to sing for the soldiers, he became army postmas- ter and often officiated as nurse in the hospitals at the front, and long before the three years of his time with the soldiers had expired, he was probably known to more soldiers than any other civilian in the country. His book "Three years in Camp and Hospital," had a large sale, and is more read to- day than when first published, nearly twenty years ago. The "boys in blue" who saw him mounted on a stump of a tree, with a brigade of three thousand men packed around him, listening to his stirring songs and amusing stories, will never forget him. Always at the front and ready for any duty, he was known as Father Locke and still retains the title among civilians as well as soldiers. His father and mother were excellent singers and no day was long enough to weary the mother of labor or of song. A leader in the church choir, her house was the rendezvous for all musicians, and when Blind Rice, the fid- dler, made his annual visit to the town, her house was, for the time being, the academy of music for the town, with free tickets and free suppers to all. His
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boyhood home was a free tavern for all beggars, no matter how degraded, there was a word of pity, and a good meal for all who came. Such being the home of his youth, no wonder he has spent his life in song and ministering to the unfortunate. A portion of thirty years of his life has been devoted to visiting prisons, and giving free concerts. He is spending his last days in a pleasant home near the soldier's home in Chelsea, four miles from Boston, enjoying the fruits of his industry in the years that are past. He has one child, Emma, who is the wife of the Hon. Albert Rowe, of Genesee county, N. Y.
Samuel Foster was born in Ashburnham, Mass., February 9, 1776. He was by trade a blacksmith, and married Lydia Stearns of the same town, February 5, 1799. The young couple moved to Stoddard. March I, of the same year, and settled on a farm on some of the highest land in the town, where they lived together sixty-eight years. She died July 1, 1867, aged eighty-six years, and he died April 24, 1868, aged ninety-two years. They had eight children-three sons and five daughters. Stearns Foster was born December 26, 1799, married February 3, 1825, Cynthia Willson, of Stoddard, who died in 1844. In December, 1845, he married Mary Fuller, of Han- cock. He lived in Stoddard many years, following the trade of his father. In 1860 he moved to Keene, where he died, August 23, 1882. His wife, two sons and a daughter survive him. Lydia Foster was born August 22, 1801, married Dea. Luke Joslin, of Stoddard, November 24, 1824. They lived in town until April, 1855, when they moved to Keene, where he died June 3, 1875. His widow is still living, at the age of eighty-four years. Maria Foster, born April 29, 1804, married, November 24, 1824, Stephen Wood, of Hancock. Hosea Foster, born April 13, 1806, married Mary Rice, of Stod- dard, November 7, 1833. They lived on the old farm, taking care of his father and mother until their death, when they also removed to Keene. He was killed while after a load of wood, February 7, 1872. His wife, three sons and a daughter survive him. Selina Foster, born July 5, 1809, married Mark Bowers, of Hancock, February 16, 1830. Emily Foster, born Decem- ber 19, 1811, married Dea. Edward Haywood, of Hancock, October 10, 1833. They lived in Hancock until 1869, when they removed to Keene, where they remained twelve years, when, by reason of failing health, they re- moved to Hyde Park, Mass., to live with their children. Samuel Foster, born November 29, 1815, married Mary Palmer, of Boston, November 5, 1845, and died in Boston, August 5, 1850. Electa Foster, born July 10, 1825, married James Downing, of Marlow, July 15, 1850. They have three sons and one daughter, all of whom are living in Marlow.
Simeon Gould, Jr., was of the sixth generation from Thomas Gould, who settled in Charlestown, Mass., previous to 1640. He removed from New Ipswich, where his parents had been among the early inhabitants, to Stod- dard about 1790, locating upon the fourth lot in the eighth range. He was a prominent man in town, filling, for many years, the offices of town clerk
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and selectman, besides serving in other capacities where sound judgment and clear foresight were requisites. He married, in 1789, Rhoda Lane, who bore him six children, as follows : Nathan (1790-1879), Isaiah (1793-1858), Rhoda (1795-1872), Louisa (1800), Stephen Lane (1803-1872), and Elizabeth (1803-1803). Nathan was a farmer and mechanic, was always a resident of town, and for many years lived on lot fifteen, range eleven, but later removed to the village. He followed for many years the occupation of yoke-maker. He was postmaster from 1861 to 1863. He married, in 1817, Zilpha Corey, who bore him four children : Alonzo (1818-1870), who mar- ried, in 1846, Frances M. Harris ; Cynthia (1820), who married John Q. Jones, of Marlow ; Rhoda (1822-1844), and Maria C. (1831-1835). Isaiah remained on the homestead for many years, where he was employed in the manufacture of yokes. About 1850 he removed to Keene. He was a man of ability, and was always found exerting his influence in the cause of right. He married, in 1716, Susan Joslin, and their family consisted of eight children : George W. (1817) ; Lyman (1819); Sophronia L. (1820), who married Asa Davis, being the only representative of the family now living in town; Simeon (1822); Susan (1824), who married Brigham Nims, of Roxbury ; Maric. (1827), who married Allen Griffin, of Keene; Caroline (1832), who married C. H. Carr; and Augustus (1834). George W., Lyman, and Augustus removed when young men to Norwich, Conn., where they re- side. They have been actively engaged in the manufacture of wood-work- ing machinery for many years. Rhoda married, in 1813, William Wilson, an extensive farmer, and their family numbered ten : Lydia (1814), who married Marcus Davis ; William D. (1816), who is at present a member of the faculty of Cornell university ; Daniel M (1818-1850) ; Stilman (1820-1883) ; Frederick A. (1822), who resides in Sullivan ; Louisa A. (1823), who married Franklin Jones of Marlow ; Martha M. (1826-1857), who married Levi Grant ; Rhoda (1829 --- 1855), who married Ebenezer Jones ; Samuel D. (1831), who resides in Springfield, Mass .; and Francis L. (1837-1856). Louisa married, in 1824, Stephen Wilson, and removed to Tyngsboro, Mass., where they reared a family of nine children. Stephen L. married, in 1829, Mary A. Brooks, and located in Providence, R. I. Their family consists of six children.
Aaron Matson was a native of Plymouth county, Mass. He came to New Hampshire when a young man and settled within the present limits of Stod- dard, though at the time he supposed himself within the jurisdiction of Mar- low, where he had become an extensive landowner. In the difficulties which arose between the two towns, he gave his influence toward establishing the claim of Marlow, but after the final settlement of the boundary he was a faithful supporter of his town's interests, and became an honored and re- spected citizen. Being a man of wealth ability, and influence, he soon be- came well known as a public officer, both in town and state. He was for many years town clerk and selectman, also representative ; a member of the
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governor's council in 1819 ; member of congress from 1821 to 1825; judge of probate 1831-1835. For many years his home was where A. H. Corey resides, but later, with his son, he lived on the " Knowlton Place," where they had erected the present house, keeping it open as a "tavern " for years. He married Frances Carpenter, a lineal descendant from Peregrine White, who was born on the " Mayflower," on its passage to America in 1620. She was a woman gifted with more than ordinary abilities. Their possession enabled her to render her husband efficient aid in the discharge of his public duties. Only one child, Francis, was born to them. He married Susan Gilson, who bore him one child, Ann, who married Hon. Edmund Burke, of Newport. Aaron and his wife passed their later years near Mrs. Burke, both dying in the year 1855.
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