Gazetteer of Grafton county, N. H. 1709-1886, Part 72

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 72

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).

William Davison, after making his clearing and building a house, returned to Connecticut, married Lura Cutting, of New London, and brought her to her new home where they reared a family. Most of their descendants have emigrated to other places. Lucinda R., wife of G. S. Young, the young-

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est of seven children of Jedediah Davison and Anna Rood, his wife, is all the one now living in town. Frank W. Davison, now a successful merchant in Hanover, was born in Lyme in 1850. His father was William Harris, son of William, born in Lyme January 26, 1809, and married Almira Hurl- burt, of Hanover. He removed to Hanover in 1863, and died there in 1865.

Nathaniel Martin, from Portsmouth, became an early settler in Dorchester before 1793. He brought up'two sons, Simeon and Nathaniel, and one daugh- ter. Simeon had four sons and two daughters. Only two of the sons are now living-Rev. Nathaniel Martin of the Massachusetts M. E. conference and Ezekiel Martin, of Lyme.

John Simmons was an early settler in Lyme, locating near the Hanover line. He reared a large family, some of whom were life-long residents of this town.

Esq. Jonathan and Dea. Abel Franklin were here after 1776. The former was a blacksmith, farmer, surveyor, and probably the largest land-holder of his time. He was also proprietor's clerk, justice, representative and member of the Governor's council.

Zachariah Jenks came from Rhode Island to Lyme about 1778 with his wife, Ruth ( Jackson), and an infant son, Elias. His first wife died in 1785, and his second wife was Sarah Tyler, by both of whom twenty-one children were born to him. Erastus Jenks, his second son, married Lucy Cray, and reared Prin- gle, who became one of the wealthiest farmers in Lyme; Semantha, who became the wife of Erastus Grant, and Sophronia C., who became the wife of David Thompson, a native of Sanbonton, and died in 1885, leaving one daughter, Nellie (Mrs. W. H. Guy).

David Pushee was the paternal ancestor of the Pushee family in Lyme, and is thought to have come from Fitzwilliam, N. H., about 1787 or '88. He served in the Revolution. His homestead was in the east part of the town. His son David P. served as a drummer in the militia and used to be a deputy sheriff. He married Amy Carpenter and reared children-Sylvester, Lucy, David C., Miriam, Jesse C., Sidney A., Mary, David P., Jr., Alfred W., and Albert J., twins. Jesse C. and Sidney A. were soldiers in the late war. Albert J. was a farmer and a justice of the peace several years. He died in 1878. Alfred W. married Edna, daughter of David Steele and has five children. From David Pushee have descended several gifted musicians, of whom Abram was widely known as a teacher of dancing ..

Solomon Smith and Solomon Jr., came from Lyme, Conn., to this town, took up land and made a clearing east of Lyme Center, where J. N. Holt now lives, about 1779, bringing with them a young elm tree which they set out near the site of their new house. This tree still waves its graceful boughs above the road near the house of Mr. Holt, which was erected by Solomon Smith, Jr., about 1796. Solomon Smith, Jr., was a soldier in the Revolution, a man of deep piety, and was elected a deacon of the Congregational church in 1794. His wife was Esther Porter, who bore him three sons, Lyman, Por-

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ter, and Joseph and two daughters, Esther (Mrs. Thomas Hall), and Ebeta (Mrs. George Franklin). Mrs. J. N. Holt, formerly Adeline A. Hall, is a daughter of Esther.

Nathan Stark was one of the several brothers who were early settlers in the south part of Lyme. His grandson, Isaac D., born there in 1805, married Rhoda Fitts, of Hanover, and reared four sons and one daughter. His sons all served in the late war, and two of them, Alonzo and Irenus, died in their country's service. Isaac G. returned to Lyme, where he still lives. Alfred D. has been many years a resident of Manchester, N. H., having served as city marshal in 1881-82, and being now one of the representatives to the legisla- ture. He married in 1853 Diadema Quint, of Lyme. His military service was as a musician in Co. A., 16th N. H. Vols.

Isaac Perkins, from Middleboro, Mass., came to Lyme about 1780, leaving his wife-formerly Olive Leonard-to come on after he had time to erect a log cabin and make a clearing. While doing this he boarded with the family of Lemuel Sturtevant, near the Goodell family. When his first wife came she rode on horseback, bringing in a pocket snuff-box some apple seeds to start an orchard. Some of the trees which grew from them still bear fruit. Mr. Perkins soon erected a frame house, which is the ell of that now occu- pied by Adna, his great-grandson. He reared four daughters and five sons. This farm has never been out of this family's possession since they first set- tled upon it, in 1780. Walker Perkins was long the carpenter and cabinet maker of the neighborhood, and also engaged in trade.

Arthur Latham, Libeus Washburn, Rufus, David and Solomon Conant, Mitchell, David Whitman and Zenas Stetson, from Bridgewater, Mass., located here in 1780. Arthur Latham was a carpenter and brought some tools with which he began work at his trade. The settlements were then rapidly increasing, and he was very successful. In May, 1782, he mar- ried Mary, daughter of Peter Post, and settled upon a farm in the east part of the town and built a house and carpenter shop. Rufus Conant, who had been a peddler in Massachusetts, induced him to join in buying a stock of merchandise, which they placed in the carpenter shop for sale. This was the first store in Lyme east of the river road. About 1790 they removed to Lyme Plain, and, in what is now a part of D. C. Churchill's warehouse, established the first store here, under the title of Latham & Conant. In 1800 the firm dissolved, Conant retaining the stand, and Latham opening in a building near by. Conant afterwards built a store at the southeast corner of the common, and Latham, in 1810, took the old meeting-house of the town, agreeing to furnish a town hall, fitted the ground floor for a store, in which he continued to trade until 1828, when, being seventy years of age, he retired. He died in 1843, the wealthiest man in Lyme. He possessed a kind heart, sterling character, and was honored and trusted far and near. In 1824 Bezer Latham and Arthur, Jr., his sons, had formed a partnership in trade, and when he re- tired they took the whole business, which they continued until 1847. Bezer

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then removed to Missouri, where he died in 1863. Arthur removed to White River Junction, Vt., erected shops and engaged in the manufacture of cars and locomotives for the Central Vermont and Passumpsic railroads, in which he continued until 1855. He then removed to Missouri, but in 1871 re- turned to White River Junction, where he still lives. He was a civil magis- trate, and representative five years in Lyme, and also in Missouri. He was born September 7, 1802, graduated at Middlebury college, married Caroline, daughter of Col. Oramel Hinckley, had ten children, three now living, all at White River Junction-Arthur, W. C., Caroline H., wife of Noah B. Safford, Esq., and Mary L., wife of James M. Wilson, ex-consul to Milan. The other children of Arthur Latham, Sr., were Robert, born in 1783, who spent his life, except eight years, in Lyme, and died in 1871 ; William Harris, born in 1788, and died in 1868, was a farmer and merchant in Thetford, Vt., and reared seventeen children; Mary, born in 1790 and died in 1814, married Dr. Thomas Kendrick, had one daughter, who married Rev. Erdix Tenney, and their son, Allan Tenney, became secretary of state, of New Hampshire, now resides at Norwich, Conn .; Allen, born in 1792, died in 1871, graduated at Dartmouth college, and was a lawyer at Cincinnati, O .; Bela, born in 1794 and died in 1848, was a lawyer, bank commissioner and postmaster in Ohio, and one of his sons, Milton S., was governor of California, and a United States senator ; and Nehemiah, born in 1796, died in 1818.

Libeus Washburn was born in Massachusetts and came from Bridgewater to Lyme in 1780, before two years of age, with Arthur Latham. He followed the trade of carpenter and joiner, and did considerable in making the simple furniture in common use at that day, an old account book of his which we have examined showing frequent charges for such articles. He served as selectman, and married Mary, daughter of Captain John Sloan, by whom he reared three daughters and ten sons. Salmon Washburn, their eldest son, was in Lyme February 28, 1786, and died here January 4, 1847. Libeus, Jr., married Anna Culver and had three children. Clarrissa, the youngest, married Joseph H. Peters, of Bradford, Vt. and for his second wife Mahitable Gan- nett, whose children were Allen G., of Lyme, Caroline A., Lucy L., (Mrs. W. F. Jewett, of Haverhill,) and Louisa M., (Mrs. W. Gardner, of Bradford, Vt.) He died June 23, 1864. Allen G. Washburn married Pauline D. Dimick, resides on the farm originally settled by Amasa Bugbee and has five daugh- ters and one son. He was chosen a deacon of the Congregational church in 1886. John Washburn, the fourth son of Libeus, Sr., while yet under age, served in the war of 1812. He afterwards spent a few years in Virginia, but returned of Lyme, married Sarah Tucker, and settled down upon the pater- nal homestead, where he reared two sons and a daughter, John, Jr., Benjamin T. and Mary E., and died January 6, 1872. John Washburn, Jr., is a trader in Decatur, Ill. Benjamin T. married K. Josephine Oakley. He has been for several years upon Lyme's board of selectmen, and ever a successful far- mer. Mary E. is Mrs. L. H. Richards, of Westfield, Mass. Besides the

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three above named the children of Libeus Washburn, Sr., all moved from Lyme, and but one, William, the youngest son, is living.

James Cook came to Lyme, from Connecticut, a young man, unmarried, purchased land upon Grant brook, about three miles from the river, and went to work to clear away the forest and improve his property. Selecting a good water privilege on the stream, he erected a saw-mill and a mlll for the clean- ing of cloverseed, of which many farmers then raised a supply for themselves, and some to sell. The settlement which grew up about these mills, was for years, called "Cook City," afterwards "East Lyme," and now "Lyme Center." James Cook was born January 12. 1760, and married Clarrissa, daughter of Colonel Thomas Gilbert, February 13, 1783. They became parents of fourteen chil- dren, of whom three are living-Gilbert Cook, of Palmyra, N. Y .; Mary, widow of Dr. W. W. Amsden, in Lyme, and Nancy (Mrs. Irwin), in Michi- gan. James Cook erected the first hotel at Lyme Center, which was kept by his son, James, Jr. Lewis Cook, his fourth child, married Rhoda Conant, and went with a party of pioneers to Jay, Vt., to make a home, where two children were born to them; but the settlers were driven southward by the fear of Indian outrages in the war of 1812, Lewis, with his family, returning to Lyme. Here he bought a portion of his father's land and the mills, and built the house now occupied by his son, John Adams Cook. Thomas Cook, James' tenth child, became a farmer, and spent his life in Lyme, married Betsey Flint, and had a family of eleven children. He was a member of the Baptist church from his youth. His children still living are Nancy E. (Mrs. William Thomas) ; Harriet F. Adams, Elizabeth M. (Mrs. A. P. Colby), Matilda P. (Mrs. E. G. Parker), and Hannah F. (Mrs. Sylvester Stockwell.

Jacob Turner, a descendant of Humphrey Turner, who came from Eng- land to Massachusetts in 1628, was born in Scituate, Mass., in 1749, married Rachel Cushing, in 1779, and came, soon after, to Lyme, where he died January 22, 1804. They reared seven sons and three daughters. David Turner, brother of Jacob, came to Lyme, and here married Rhoda Porter, in December, 1781, and reared six sons and three daughters. Jacob Turner, son of Jacob, was a man of prominence in business and town affairs, a justice twenty years, selectman eight years, and representative two years. He moved from Lyme to Massachusetts in 1833. Colonel Philip Turner, son of David, was an active and useful citizen of Lyme, a town officer many years, and commander of a regiment of militia. In his early years a successful teacher, he was, for fifteen years, superintendent of schools. David, son of David, and grandson of David above named, graduated from Dartmouth col- lege, class of '41, and for many years conducted a classical and English school in Richmond, Va. After the Rebellion he returned North and spent the last years of his life as principal of Thetford academy. Though many descend- ants of this family are still to be found, the name is extinct in Lyme.

Dan Shaw, in 1780, settled on the place where J. P. Westgate now lives. He was born in Bridgewater, Mass., November 15, 1758, and learned the trade

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of a tanner and currier. He married Joanna, daughter of Dea. Isaac Per- kins, of Middleboro, Mass., in March 1780, and came at once to Lyme, where he established the first tannery or "bark-mill." He was a selectman, and held other offices. Taking a great interest in military affairs, he was successively promoted from the ranks to a colonelcy of militia. His religious views were of a liberal character. He joined the church when he settled in town, but dis- senting from some of the tennets preached by Rev. William Conant, he pub- lished a pamplet advocating a more liberal doctrine. To his enterprise and per- sistence is due the laying out and building of the present "County road" from where he lived to Lyme Plain. He reared a family of whom one son and two daughters spent their lives in Lyme, but he, with the other children, moved soon after 1800 to Bradford, Vt., where he died November 14, 1814. His son Asa married Elizabeth T. Slade, of Hanover, and followed mercantile business at Lyme Plain in the firm of "Shaw, Hewes & Perkins," and "Shaw & Churchill." For more than forty years a member of the Congregational church, his life was that of an exemplary christian, and he was held high in the esteem of the Masonic fraternity, of which he was for many years a worthy member. For a period of thirty-seven years he faithfully performed the duties of town clerk, and for many years was postmaster. In 1832, '33 he was sent to the legislature from this town. He died July 4, 1861, and his widow, at the age of eighty-four years now resides in Worcester Mass., with her only surviving child, Thomas Asa Shaw, who is a merchant doing business in Hartford, Conn. Eliza T., her only daughter, died in Lyme in Feburary 1884.

Shubael Dimock, from Tolland, Conn., settled in Lyme in 1783. A deed from Thomas Bissell to him dated January, 9, 1781, speaks of him as living in Tolland, Conn , while another from Ebenezer Green, January 21, 1788, locates him in Lyme, and Shubael and Lydia Dimick were among the five persons admitted to the Congregational church of Lyme in 1783. He was elected a deacon in 1784. His first wife was Lydia Stearns, who bore him eleven chil- dren, seven of whom came to Lyme and were the progenitors of the numerous family of this name, who have gone out from or still remain in the town. His second wife, Lydia Polk, had no issue. Five of the seven children of Shubael who came to Lyme were sons-Shubael, Jr., John, "Capt." David, "Dea" Adolphus and Samuel. Shubael, Jr., emigrated to Canada, John mar- ried Abigail Gilbert and reared a large family. Captain David was twice mar- ried, to Sally Perkins and Rachel Allen respectively. Deacon Adolphus, born in 1775, married Betsey Gilbert in 1800, built a house on the present homestead of William H. Dimick, joined the Congregational church in 1821, was chosen deacon in 1822, and had twelve children born to him, of whom nine grew up and six are still living. He gained an education fitting him to teach common schools, which he did several terms, and also served the town in public trusts. His death occurred in 1846. Alfred Dimick, his son, was a captain of militia in his early life. He married Lydia H. Davison and reared three children -William Harris, who represented Lyme in the legislature of 1885 ; Lucinda

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D., wife of G. P. Amsden; and Maria E. Densmore, of Lebanon. Shubael Dimick, son of John, carried on the grave-stone business many years near Post pond and at the Plain. He married a daughter of William Gardner. One daughter, Mrs. L. H. Horton, resides in Lyme. Daniel Dimick, son of John, carried on blacksmithing at the Plain, reared a large family of sons, who are active and prominent professional and business men in Massachu- setts. James P. Dimick, son of John, was born in Lyme, November 20, 1804. Most of his life was spent as a farmer near Lyme Center. He lived to be nearly eighty years of age, highly esteemed as a citizen and a neighbor. His wife, Pamelia A. Blanchard, of Vershire, Vt., whom he married March 6, 1830, reared six children, viz. : Abbie A., now living in Lyme ; Paulina D. (Mrs. A. G. Washburn); John G., of Providence, R. I .; Mary E., who died in infancy ; Charles H., of Lyme; and James A., deceased. John G. and Charles H. Dimick served in the late civil war.

"Captain " John Nelson gained his rank as a soldier in the Revolution. He came to Lyme from Norton, Mass., before marriage, bought land and cleared the farm now occupied by Mrs. J. N. Wells, his granddaughter. He is supposed to have come on with Esq. Jonathan Franklin, whose sister Rachel became his wife. They had five daughters and two sons. William C., the elder son, married Sarah, daughter of John Chapin, and brought up seven children, of whom five are living. George, the younger son, graduated from the classical and medical departments of Dartmouth college, became a physician, and located in Bellingham, Mass., about 1850. He died in 1875. John Nelson, son of William C., served in the late war and was wounded by a falling branch of a tree in the Appomattox swamp. Sarah, widow of Will- iam C. Nelson, is now (November, 1885) the oldest person living in Lyme. Her father, John Chapin, came from Milford, Mass., about 1797, and located near the river in the northwest part of the town, but subsequently removed to New York, where he died.

Ezra Warren, by occupation a " cordwainer," came to Lyme about 1783, his deed of land bearing that date. From him descended a numerous family. Asa Warren, grandson of Ezra, married Mary A. Derby. Their children are Martha A. (Mrs. H. H. Holt), Leander D. and Lewis W., who constitute the firm of Warren Brothers, Arad J., of Melvin & Warren, Mrs. George Mel- vin, and Mrs. Charles Stetson. L. D. Warren has been town clerk and treas- urer since 1878, and postmaster ten years. L. W. Warren became post- master at Lyme, and Arad J. Warren at Lyme Center, in 1885.

Joshua Warren came from Bridgewater, Mass., about 1789, in which year he bought land on West street, Plott hill. His children numbered seven, of whom five remained in Lyme and brought up families. Frank G. Warren and Mrs. B. C. Newell are descendants of this family.

Thomas Baker was the first of the name in Lyme. He had sons Daniel, David, Thomas, Edward C. and Samuel. He was a painter and glazier. His son David was born in Lyme in 1784, learned the clothier's trade of his

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brother, Edward C., who had a cloth factory where F. B. Palmer's shop now is. Before 1818 he moved to Vershire, Vt., and engaged in the same busi- ness, but later removed to Thetford, Vt., where he reared three sons and a daughter. Francis W. Baker, the youngest and only surviving son, married Sarah F., daughter of Sylvanus Hewes, and now lives near Lyme Center.

When the Cutting family first came to Lyme is uncertain. It is said that four brothers, Colonel Zebedee Billa, Isaac, and Lathrop, came about the same time. Zebedee Cutting's name appears in a list of fifty petitioners in Lyme for a ferry, October 8, 1784. He settled east of Post pond, on the road which extended north and south, about half way up the hillside, and his brothers not far from him ; from which fact this hill is still called "Cutting hill." The most definite information we possess points to Hebron, Conn., as the place of their origin. Colonel Zebedee Cutting was a noted horseman in his day, aways owning a stable-full of fine horses. His wife was Phebe Strong and they reared a large family of children. Dudley Cutting, his son, born May 10, 1796, married Mary Bixby. Horace Cutting, another son, married Sophronia Dimick, and reared five sons and five daughters. Three of the daughters and one son died within a single year. The sons' names were Adolphus D., Ezra F., Henry P., Alfred, and Clark T. Ezra F. now owns and occupies the farm bought by his father about 1840, on road 17. He married Fannie P. Mead, and his children were as follows : Henry P., Frank, Ada M., Annie B. and Edd M. Clark T. Cutting has for twenty-five years resided in Lowell, Mass., engaged in the dry goods trade. Isaac Cutting, one of the first mentioned brothers, was twice married and reared a large family. His son Isaac married Acksah Allen, and their eldest son, David, was born in Lyme, in 1817. In 1818 they moved to Vermont, and later to Canada, where they brought up three sons and two daughters, and where Isaac died. Two sons, David and Hollis A., with their families and their sisters, Eliza Townsend and Rachel Dimick, widows, have since returned to Lyme.

Benjamin Morey, a native of Norton, Mass., who had spent several years in the struggle for American independence, came with his family to make a home in Lyme soon after the close of the Revolution, first locating where his grandson now lives, on the east shore of Post pond, but soon built a house on the hillside, upon the road farther east. Subsequently they returned to the first location, and it has now been the home of the family one hundred years. Benjamin Morey had one son, Gideon, and one daughter, Lucinda. She married James Dayton, of Orford. Gideon was born in 1777 and was a child when they came to Lyme. He married Ada Cutting, by whom he reared seven children. Bethiah Clarke, oldest of the three living, aged seventy-six, resides at Lyme Plain, while Benjamin and Fanny (widow Carpenter) occupy the original homestead.

James Beal was an only son, orphaned when three years old, by the acci- dental death of his father. He came from Woodstock, Conn., to Lyme, about

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1784, when twenty-two years old. He was given a right of land in Lyme by his sister's husband, David Rawson. This lot, when drawn, comprised a part of the site of Lyme Plain, but he exchanged it for a lot at the east part of the town, and made his home there. He gave the town land for the burying- ground, on road 30. The first persons buried there were a negro and his wife, slaves, who were the property of Mrs. Beal. This negro was over one hundred years of age, and according to his own reckoning 127, when he died. James Beal had fourteen children, of whom Colonel Selah is now the sole survivor. He has been active as a farmer, teacher, and business man, and as a public officer, holding nearly every office in the gift of the town, and the same in a military capacity.

Peter Post, from whom Post pond derives its name, came from Hebron, Conn., in 1785, and settled upon its shores. He purchased of Samuel Gil- bert 1,000 acres of land, with a saw and grist-mill upon the stream which forms the pond's outlet, paying for the property £800 sterling. It is related of him, that while upon his journey hither with considerable money in gold in his possession, three highwaymen attempted to rob him, and he only es- caped by the fleetness of his horse. He was twice married and reared nine children, of whom four were sons. Winthrop F. Post, son of Aaron and grandson of Peter, alone represents the name in the town.

John Culver was born October 3, 1760, and married Dinah Post, in 1782. He came to Lyme, probably, in 1786. In the struggle for American inde- pendence he did honorable service, after which he spent his life in Lymne, upon a farm near Post pond. He died in 1852, having had a family of ten chil- dren. His youngest son, David, born May 22, 1797, became a member of the local militia, and rose to the rank of general, by which title he was known, and is now remembered. He married Mary Miller, acquired a good prop- erty, and bequeathed a large sum for the purpose of assisting young men to acquire an education in the principles of agriculture, which led to the found- ing of the "New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts." The principal building of this institution bears the name of "Culver Hall." David Culver died June 14, 1865.

Joel Converse, son of Thomas, born in Thompson, Conn., in 1750, came to Lyme with five children in March, 1789, having been here the previous year, made a clearing and built a frame house. He married Demaris, his first wife. in Connecticut, and she died there, leaving him three children-Lyman Otis, and Demaris. He afterwards married Betsey Bixby, about 1785, and reared Joel, Jr., Theron, Marquis, Betsey, Amasa, Sally and John K. From these large families have sprung, and whether residents of this or other places, have been reckoned among the substantial and respected citizens. Many of them have become teachers of much ability and extensive learning. The orig- inal farm has continued in direct descent in the family since its settlement, from Joel to Theron, and from him to his son, Benjamin P. His son, Sidney A., still occupies the place, and the original house forms a part of the- present dwelling. Benjamin P. died March 2, 1886.

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Gazetteer of Grafton county, N. H. 1709-1886, Part 72

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