Gazetteer of Grafton county, N. H. 1709-1886, Part 71

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., Syracuse Journal Company, Printers
Number of Pages: 1266

USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Gazetteer of Grafton county, N. H. 1709-1886 > Part 71

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).

Dr. Anthony Burgoyne, an Englishman by birth, resided in the north part near the Rood families, was somewhat advanced in years, and had a family of three daughters when he came. One of these became the wife of Serell Bixby.

Dr. Amherst Coult lived in the south part of the town. Was on the board of selectmen, 1789-'90, with Jonathan Franklin and John Fairfield. He was here in 1808-11, but at what time he came or moved away we have not learned. His practice was large for the time, and he was a very extensive owner of landed property. His later life was spent with a son in Chester, N. H. Five daughters and four sons constituted his family, one of the daughters being the wife of Joel Converse.

Dr. Cyrus Hamilton, born in Brookfield, Mass., in 1765, studied medicine with a brother-in-law in Sommers, Conn., came to Norwich, Vt., practiced a few years and married Miss Lovina Bush, afterward located in Hanover, where he erected a two-story house. About this time his wife died, and he removed to Lyme, where a large part of his practice was located. That he

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was here in 1798, we infer from charges found in an old account book of Libeus Washburn, August 25, 1798. He occupied a house standing on what is now Dr. Kingsbury's garden, acquired a large practice in Lyme and adjoin- ing towns, which called him forth to long drives on horse-back in all weather, day or night. In these times when streams had to be forded for want of bridges, and the roads were foot paths, the hardships and dangers of a doc- tor's life were something appalling. Dr. Hamilton is said to have been a fine looking man, of medium size, and always wore the "queue" we now see only in the portraits of gentlemen of the last century. The year 1817 found him in the legislature of New Hampshire, as representative from Lyme. His death was occasioned by paralysis January 24, 1826.

Dr. Daniel Hovey succeeded Dr. Hamilton, having studied his profession with him and been his assistant. He was born in Lyme, on the river road near Hanover line, March 25, 1792, son of Daniel and Beulah Hovey. Be- sides his study with Dr. Hamilton, he attended medical lectures at Dart- mouth, and about 1814 located in practice in Guildhall, Vt. After about two years he removed to Canaan. N. H., where he remained until his re- moval to Lyme in 1826. In Canaan he was married in 1817 to Hannah H., daughter of Joshua Harris, Esq., one of the early settlers of that town. His residence and practice in Lyme continued until the fall of 1842, when he re- moved to Greenfield, Mass., where he lived and died, his death occurring May 6, 1874, at the good old age of eighty-two.

Drs. Brown and Abbott practiced in Lyme for a season previous to 1845. Dr. Brown afterward settled and died in Thetford, Vt., a physician of some note.

Dr. Cyrus B. Hamilton, son of Dr. Cyrus Hamilton, was born in Hanover in 1789, studied with his father, attended lectures and graduated from Dart- mouth. He began practice with his father, later removed to Canaan, and afterward returned to Lyme, where he continued until his death, April 4, 1863.

Dr. William Wallace Amsden was born in Henniker, N. H., August 31, 1796, came at the age of about seventeen to study medicine with Dr. Cyrus Hamilton, with whom he remained as pupil and assistant about ten years, when he located at " Cook City," now Lyme Centre, where he practiced until 1846. At this time, becoming unable to ride, he relinquished his practice and devoted his remaining life to the affairs of his farm and home. He mar- ried, February 13, 1828, Miss Mary, danghter of Maj. James Cook, of Lyme, who is still living with her son, G. P. Amsden, in Lyme. Dr. Amsden died of cancer October 11, 1872. Of their family of four sons and one daughter, George P. is the only survivor.

In the spring of 1842 Dr. Adoniram Smalley bought out and occupied the stand of Dr. Hovey, where he remained until the spring of 1861. He was born in Randolph, Vt., September 14, 1803, studied with Dr. Shaw at. Water- ford, N. Y., attended lectures and received his diploma at Dartmouth. After graduating he married Rosamond Wood, of Lebanon, and established a prac-

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tice at Brookfield, Vt., where he met with marked success for seven years. He then removed to Corinth, where he spent five years, when he came to Lyme. From this place he removed in 1861 to Lebanon, where he died May 14, 1876, at the age of seventy-two years.

Dr. Abram O. Dickey located in Lyme about 1840, engaged in the prac- tice of medicine and dentistry, removed to Massachusetts in 1869, but often revisited Lyme, and on one of these occasions met his death by drowning in Fairlee lake, with Dr. Marshall, September 3, 1882. His wife was the daugh- ter of Governor John Page, of Haverhill.

Dr. Charles O. Gordon, from Maine, took up Dr. Dickey's practice in 1869, which he relinquished after about three years and removed to Brickburg, N. J. Succeeding him Dr. John C. Marshall settled in Lyme in 1872. He was born in Weare, N. H., studied and graduated at Dartmouth Medical college, November, 1871, located in Lyme in 1872, and was drowned in Fairlee lake, September 3, 1882. He married Kate G. Perkins, of Lyme, who survives him. He served this town as school superintendent several years, acquired a large practice, and but for his untimely death would have achieved a posi- tion second to none in this place. It is eminently proper to say of him, that no one applied in vain for his aid, and whether able to pay or not, received the best attention he could render.

Dr. Charles Franklin Kingsbury, the senior practitioner now in the profes- sional field, was born in Gilsum, N. H., June 11, 1824, where his father still lives. His father, a practical farmer, brought up his sons with a thorough knowledge of his own independent avocation ; so until twenty years of age Charles F. had only the advantages for instruction afforded by the district school. At this age, when the school life of most young men is ended, he determined to begin, depending upon his own resources, the pursuit of the higher course of study which was to fit him for the professional place he has so long and successfully filled. Working upon a farm, teaching school. or performing any labor which offered, he earned the money which carried him through the academy and enabled him to pursue his course at Norwich (Vt.) University, which he entered in 1848. While engaged in the study of medicine with Dr. J. G. Murphy, of Brattleboro, Vt., and Dr. L. J. Graves, of Langdon, N. H., he defrayed his expenses in a similar manner. The in- struction received from them was supplemented by courses of medical lec- tures at the Vermont Medical college, then located at Woodstock, and at Dartmouth Medical college, from which he graduated in 1855.

Beginning his practice in his native town, he remained one year, when he removed to Stoddard, where he remained four years. He came to Lyme in 1860, succeeding to the practice of Dr. Smalley. Since that time his career is well known in the neighborhood. He has continued here while others have come and gone, attended carefully to the duties of his calling and the needs of his patients, built up a large and lucrative practice, which, while it calls for constant toil and great physical endurance, is a gratifying tribute to his

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skill as a practitioner, and proves the confidence which is reposed therein. Politically a strong Democrat, he has filled few local offices, but was, from 1883 to 1885, an efficient member of the board of county commissioners for Grafton county, and for seven years he did his duty as a member of the State Board of Agriculture. His amiable wife, with whom he was united in 1857, was formerly Sarah A. Pierce, of Cavendish, Vt. Their only child, Ella S., born October 29, 1858, is now the wife of Dr. J. W. Bean.

`Dr. J. Walter Bean was born in Sutton, N. H., June 7, 1855, pursued his academic studies at Colby academy, New London, N. H., and New Hamp- shire Conference seminary, Tilton, studied medicine with Dr. M. W. Russell, of Concord, attended lectures at New York university and medical department University of Vermont, at Burlington, where he graduated June, 1882, and during the same year located in Lyme. Here he entered into the now exist- ing partnership with Dr. Kingsbury.

Dr. W. R. Barnes, born in Chelsea, Vt., January 13, 1854, was graduated from the medical department University of Vermont, at Burlington, July 3, 1882, located in Lyme in the following September, and was married January 2, 1883, to Miss Olive E. Vance, of Albany, Vt.

SETTLEMENTS.

Upon a broad marble slab near the southern entrance of the cemetery at Lyme Plain is the inscription " John Sloan, Died June, 1824, aged ninety- six. Esther (Spencer), wife of JohnSloan, Died December, 1828, aged ninety- six." They were natives of Palmer, Mass., and were the first settlers of this town.

According to Moore and Farmer's Gazetteer of New Hampshire of 1823, "Walter Fairfield, John and William Sloan, and others from Connecticut" made the first settlement in Lyme, May 20, 1764, and in the old burying ground we find stones erected in memory of William and David Sloan, broth- ers of John, both of whom probably died before 1790. The first habitation of Capt. John Sloan in Lyme was built of logs, and stood upon the high river meadow north of Fairfield brook, but this was accidently burned after a few years, and he next located upon the present farm of B. T. Washburn, where he spent his life. He and his wife were married over seventy years, and reared children as follows : Matthew, David, William, Spencer, Sarah, Betsey and Polly.

William Spencer Sloan, born August 26, 1770, was the first male child born in Lyme who lived to maturity, and Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. John Sloan, "who died March ye 16, 1766," aged nine years, was the first person buried in the first cemetery, over whom a monumental slab now stands. William Spencer Sloan married Martha Palmer, of Orford, who bore him seven children-William S., Hiram B., Naomi W., Martha P., Asenath B., Mary W. and Esther S. Martha P. became the wife of Jonas Rolfe,

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and removed to Colebrook. The second wife of William Spencer was Lydia (Felshaw), widow of Aaron Post, who reared three children-Henry C., Har- riet G. (wife of John Clark), and John L., of Cornith, Vt. John Clark was born in Orange, Vt., and located in Lyme in 1854.

Probably the first settler in the extreme south part of the township was Nathaniel Hewes who in 1766 at the age of nineteen came from Brookfield, Mass., made a clearing, and built a log house, where D. A. Warren now lives. He was unmarried and his sister kept his house. Not more than seven families were then in Lyme. In 1773 he met with a severe loss. He had accumu- lated a fund of seven silver dollars, which he left in the house while he with his sister went to meeting. When he returned he found his house in ashes, the most diligent search failed to reveal traces of the silver. They supposed three strangers who disappeared from the neighborhood about that time pil- laged the house and set fire to it. From the inventory of polls in 1773 it appears that his father had come to the place, the names of Nathaniel Hewes and Nathaniel Hewes, Jr., being given.

In the spring of 1774 Sarah Freeman came to Hanover from Mansfield, Ct. to the home of her sister. She soon after married Nathaniel Hewes, and bore him ten children, lived over seventy-five years on the same farm and died March 26, 1851, aged 101 years, four months and ten days. Some years after his brother, Reuben Hewes, came and settled. His son Cyrus was born in Lyme, January 20, 1790, and died September 5, 1865. He was a car- penter, was twice married and reared eight children by his first wife, Margaret Pelton. Sewell Hewes, son of Cyrus, a painter resides in Lyme. He married first, Mary E. Drake, and second, Sarah M. Webb, has one son, Fred L., and one daughter, Alice S. John Freeman Hewes, eldest son of Nathaniel, born March 15, 1784, cleared the farm his son John R., now owns, which was once an immense beaver meadow, and when it was bought by Mr. Hewes was cov- ered with a dense growth of large hemlock trees. He built saw-mills thereon, and was also a drover. He died June 20, 1853. John R. married a daughter of Albert Stark and reared ten children. His daughter Kate V. is the wife of John F. Elliott. Sylvanus, the seventh child of Nathaniel Hewes, born May 8, 1789, early engaged in trade at Lyme Plain, and was afterward a partner with Asa Shaw, Abel Kent and others. They had an establishment for boiling pot- ash, a cloth mill, carding machine, and grist and saw-mill on Fairfield Brook, where they also kept store. Sylvanus Hewes was state justice, state senator two years and county treasurer two or three years. He died August 28, 1880, aged ninety-one. He married Miriam, daughter of Nathan Wright, and had three daughters and one son-Eunice M., widow of Joseph W. Gerrish, of Leb_ anon; Sarah F. (Mrs. F. W. Baker); Caroline M. Hewes, of Labanon, and Nathan Wright Hewes, of Lyme.

Benjamin Grant came from Bolton, Conn., between 1764 and 1770. He and his wife were among the founders of the Congregational church, in 1771. The first grist-mill in town was erected by him, on the brook bearing his

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name, upon the present farm of his great-grandson, S. S. Grant, before 1777. Lieut. Benjamin Grant, his son, fought in the Revolution, going in the expe- dition to Canada, where he died while recovering from small pox, and it is supposed he was poisoned. He married Sarah, daughter of Capt. John Sloan, who bore him two sons-Abdon and Alanson. Abdon was accidentally killed in his grandfather's mill, July 25, 1777, when about four years old. Alanson became a respected citizen and reared several children, of whom Dea. Sidney S. alone remains in town. Justus Grant was another early settler in Lyme, but at what date or from what place he located we have been unable to learn. John H. Grant, the present proprietor of the hotel, is his grandson.

Edward Howard was one of five brothers who came from Tolland, Conn., to Thetford, Vt. He with his family moved to Lyme about 1772. His- grandson, Edward, born in Lyme March 1, 1791, went in Captain Edward Freeman's company and served five months and twelve days in the war of 1812, being stationed at Stewartstown. When the company disbanded he went to learn the carpenter and wheelwright's trade with Walker Perkins, and afterward established himself at Lyme Center, where he spent his life, doing a successful business despite the early loss of a leg. He lived to be known as the "oldest man in town" dying at the age of 90 years The farm on which the Howards settled was sold in 1824 to Lieutenant Caleb Bailey, who spent his after life there, and whose son, Dea. Amos Bailey, still occupies the home- stead. Lieutenant Caleb was a son of Maj. Asa Bailey, born in Bath, N. H., in 1777. He married Deborah Fitch and reared eight children, all of whom are living. He came to Lyme in 1821, and for two or three years tended the ferry, which then crossed the river south of the farm now owned by John L. Norris. Dea. Amos Bailey has filled the offices of selectman, representa- tive, and deacon of the Congregational church since 1879. He married Mary Aiken, a native of Chesterfield, N. H., and has had eight children born to him, six of whom are living. Calvin F. Bailey, youngest son of Caleb, is a minister of the Methodist church, New Hampshire conference. Asa F., the second son, is a farmer in Claremont. Emily, widow of Edward Howard, and Ethelinda reside at Lyme Center.

" The Honorable Colonel Samuel Gilbert, Esq.," is the inscription upon the slate stone tablet standing at the foot of one grave in the old burying ground at the river. The " Turner Genealogy " has " Lydia Gilbert. Her grand- father, Col. Samuel Gilbert, was one of the first settlers of Lyme, N. H., and one of the original proprietors of the town. His son, Col. Thomas Gilbert, with his wife, Lydia Lathrop, and children, removed from Hebron, Conn., to Lyme, in 1773. They had seven daughters and one son, viz. : Clarrissa, married Maj. James Cook ; Anna, married James Pearson ; Abigail, married John Dimick ; Thomas Lathrop married Sally Dimick and widow Deborah Waite ; Lydia, married Jeremiah Bingham ; Sally, married Joseph Porter ; Betsey, married Dea. Adolphus Dimick ; and Polly, married Ezra Conant, all of whom reared families and died in Lyme, except Lydia and Polly, who removed to New York."

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The manual of the Congregational church of Lyme has "Samuel Gilbert's" name the 9th on the list of members of the year 1771 and the first on the list of " deacons and Ruling Elders " 1774, making an apparent error in one of them regarding the date of immigration. From his descendants we have learned that he was born in Gilead, Conn., October 16, 1711, and came to Lyme from Hebron, Conn., with his son Thomas to assist him in clearing land and preparing a home for his family ; purposing when this was accom- plished to return to his remaining sons in Hebron. It has been generally sup- posed that his death occurred about one year after his first coming to Lyme, but from the dates above quoted we can but believe that he lived at least three or four years after. His wife Abigail died in 1764, aged forty-nine. That he was a man of considerable distinction is proven by the titles he bore, which were earned in public service. He was also the possessor of wealth which enabled him to aid his sons generously in establishing themselves. The original dwelling of the son, Col. Thomas Gilbert, was upon the terrace about twenty rods back from the river, near the present house of B. F. Gil- bert, out of reach of the annual inundations to which the lower land was sub- ject, and commanding a fine view of the valley to the south.

The present house was erected by Maj. Thomas Lathrop Gilbert, son of Thomas, in 1819, and with its high ceiling, deep, shuttered windows, large rooms and broad fire-places, is a good representative of the noble family man- sions of that period.

Major Thomas L. Gilbert was a man of commanding presence, being six feet tall, weighing 200 pounds, with a powerful voice, and possessing a hearty, hospitable nature. While his farming interests were large he devoted his at- tention chiefly to marketing cattle and sheep, making long excursions through New Hampshire and Vermont to buy and driving them on the highway to Brighton, Mass., to sell. He at one time took a flock of 1,600 sheep into that market, which was then the largest drove ever taken there. His wife was Sarah, daughter of Shubael Dimick. Children, three sons and three daughters.

James English came from Connecticut, and located near Thomas Porter's before 1773. He spent his life in Lyme and reared a family. His eldest son was Andrew, who married Mary, daughter of Dea. Jonathan Goodell, and had children-Asenath, Eunice, Lois, Mary, David, John, Andrew, Lewis and Rebekah. He lived to the age of eighty-four, spent most of his life in Lyme, but died in Lisbon, where Lewis now lives. John was a Methodist clergy- man, and died in Newbury, Vt. David died in Newport. Andrew lives in Thetford, Vt. Asenath married Daniel French, second Benjamin Trussell. Eunice married Moses Enery and died in Lisbon. Lois married Isaac W. Hall, and died in Haverhill, where their son Damon B. now lives. Mary married George Pierson and resides in Lisbon. Rebekah married James P. Webster and resides in Haverhill.

Dea. Joseph Skinner's name is included in the inventory of polls for April 26,

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1773; but from what place he came we are not informed. He became a dea- con and ruling elder in the Congregational church in 1784. In 1773 he, with Joseph, Jr., Ephraim and Abel, probably his sons, signed a petition for a ferry. Captain Cyrus Skinner, son of Joseph became a drover, was widely known and is well remembered throughout this and adjoining counties. He was thrice married, and reared five children-Heman, Thirza, Mary E., Joshua G. and Cyrus B.,-and arrived at the ripe age of ninety-one years, his death occur- ring in 1876. Joshua G. is the last of his children, but several grandchildren and great-grandchildren represent the family. Mary E., daughter of Captain Cyrus Skinner, married Royal Storr's, who came to Lyme to work on a farm in 1828, since when he has been a respected citizen, chosen to the board of selectmen and officiated as deacon of the Congregational church from 1850, to 1876. Dan Storrs, his brother, located in Lyme about 1830, and engaged in farming. He was three times married, first, to Mary Hurlbutt, second, to Marcia and third to Caroline H. Haskell. sisters. Marcia bore him four chil- dren, two of whom are farmers in Iowa. Caroline H. had two sons, with one of whom, Homer H., she now lives in Lyme. Dan and Royal Storrs were sons of Augustus, who was born in Mansfield, Conn, December 18, 1762, and became an early settler in Hanover.

Dea. Jonathan Goodell came to Lyme in 1773, probably from Connecticut and made the first settlement on the farm now occupied by John S. Goodell He joined the Congregational church in Lyme during that year, and was chosen its deacon in 1777. Besides clearing and cultivating his farm, he was the neighborhood shoemaker. He reared a large family, all of whom settled near him, and lived to a good old age. John Goodell, his son, succeeded to the homestead, was a lieutenant of militia, justice of the peace, and selectman. He married Lucy, daughter of Augustus Storrs, of Hanover, and raised a family of eleven children, of whom nine survive, -Lora, resides in Bulkley, Ill., Persis married O. S. Flint, and resides in Hanover ; Mary married David Hurlburt, deceased ; Emeline L., married Elihu Hurlburt and resides in Hanover; Nancy B. married John W. Bliss of Lyme; John S., who has been selectman etc., in Lyme, married first, Maria H. Cowell, and second, Anna L. Case, and has three sons; Maria, deceased, Marinda, Dolly P., married George W. Bliss, of Lyme; Augusta, married John Stump, of Kansas ; Harriet N., mar- ried John McClave, of Colorado. David Goodell, son of Dea. Jonathan, was also a selectman, and with his brother Luther built and operated a saw-mill on Fairfield brook, below road 43. Luther Goodell, Sr., married Patty Water- man and had two sons and six daughters. He cleared up the farm where Alvin now lives. He was the father of Luther Goodell, who died in 1885, the old- est man in Lyme. Alvin, Levi O., and Louisa are the children of Luther Goodell, Jr. Three daughters of Luther, Sr., are living-Patty, widow of Na- thaniel Kendrick, Fanny (Mrs. Samuel Flint), and Clarrissa (Mrs. John W. Flint), of Hanover, and Dolly (Mrs. E. W. Bradbury), died in January 1886.

Thomas Porter, from Coventry, Conn., came to Lyme previous to 1773, locat-

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ing about a mile north of the present toll-bridge from Lyme to North Thetford, upon the meadow near the river. His name is recorded ,as a member of the Congregational church in 1773, and as deacon in 1774. William Porter, his nephew, enlisted from Connecticut and served nine months in the Revolution- ary war, towards its close. His father, hearing he was sick in camp, went to seek him, and, taking the small-pox himself, died before reaching home. After his discharge, William, being about twenty-one years of age, left his mother, brothers and sisters in Coventry, and came to visit his uncle in Lyme. Finding excellent land near by, he decided to make his home here, and began a clearing, but soon after exchanged it for the land and house of his cousin Elijah, the farm he received being the present homestead of Col. Francis Porter. William Porter was elected, in 1794, deacon of the Congregational church, with which he united in 1782. He also bore the military title of cap- tain. He was three times married and had seven children, all by his first wife, Clarissa Kingsbury. His death occurred in March, 1848. Three brothers of William Porter, Benjamin, Joseph and Eleazer, came later to Lyme, but Benjamin and Eleazer moved away after a short sojourn. Capt. Oliver Kingsbury Porter, son of William, was born in Lyme, married Betsey Franklin, and had a family of ten children, six of whom married. Col. Fran- cis and Isaac Newton Porter still occupy the farm on which Capt. William settled. 'Coi. Francis Porter served as selectman in 1858, '60, '61 and '69 ; was United States enrolling officer in 1862-63 ; representative two years, and justice twenty-five years.

Samuel Bixby, born in Tolland, Conn., in 1754, came to Lyme about 1776 and took up land in the north part of the town. He had as a companion in the enterprise a young friend named William Davison, who came from the same vicinity. Both were unmarried, and while clearing lived in a log hut together, getting bread baked at Major Gilbert's, five miles distant, and going two or three times a week to get it. Samuel Bixby went from Lyme to serve in the war for independence, and after its close married and brought his bride to Lyme. His first wife was Elizabeth Strong, who bore him four children ; his second, Sarah Nelson, who bore him five children ; and his third, Martha Ketchum, who became the mother of six children. Persis, widow of Capt. Thomas R. Ames, is a daughter of the third wife. Alfred, a son of Eliza- beth, graduated at Union college, studied law and practiced in New York city. Lewis, a son of Sarah, graduated at Yale, became an Episcopal clergy- man, and a teacher in New York. Samuel, his brother, studied medicine and practiced in Illinois. Zophar and Alpheus, sons of Martha, became teachers in New York, and Willard and William were farmers in Lyme, where Salmon, son of Willard, is now the only one of the name.

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Gazetteer of Grafton county, N. H. 1709-1886, Part 71

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., Syracuse Journal Company, Printers Number of Pages: 1266

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., Syracuse Journal Company, Printers
Number of Pages: 1266