USA > New Hampshire > Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol. I > Part 107
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(I) Peter Butler, presumably the emigrant, who was born in , in 1792, settled in St.
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Athanase. Province of Quebec. The maiden name of his wife was Josephine F. Goyette.
(II) Charles Butler, son of Peter and Josephine F. Goyette) Butler, was born in St. Athanase March 18, 1813. He was a miller by trade and followed that calling at various places in Canada and Vermont. While residing in llighgate, Ver- mont. he assisted in operating the first steam grist mill to be established in that section. The last four years of his life were spent in retirement in Keene, and he died there August 4, 1896. Ile married Flavia Boudry, and had a family of twelve children : Joseph, Charles, Ely (?) (who died young), Lucy (also deceased), Frederick, Ely ( ?) T., David, Flavia, Mary. Henry, Julia and Louis A.
(III) Louis A. Butler, youngest son and child of Charles and Flavia (Boudry) Butler, was born in Henryville, Province of Quebec, February 23, 1861. He began his education in Highgate, and sub- sequently attended schools in Bedford and Pike River, Province of Quebec. In 1879 he went to Keene, and finding employment at the Hale Chair Manufactory in South Keene, he remained with that concern for about three and one-half years. For the succeeding five years he worked at steam-fitting with D). D. Kepple, and he was for an equal length of time connected with the John Shaw Shoe Company, which is now the Lancaster Shoe Company. He next became proprietor of a billiard parlor in Keene, which he relinquished four years later in order to engage in the hotel business at Stoddard, New Hampshire, and upon his return to Keene he became manager of a local club. Resuming the hotel busi- ness in Albany, New York, he remained in that city for a year, at the expiration of which time he again returned to his home in. Keene and is now residing there in retirement.
Mr. Butler is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men and the Benevolent and Protective Or- dler of Elks. He was married April 26, ISSo. to Miss Louise Angeline Banyca, daughter of Louis and Adelaide (Bouriez) Banyca. His children are : Martile F., Corrine A., Benjamin H. C., Margaret L., Helen V., Oliver B., James S., Joseph L. and Pauline E. Butler.
STEARNS Five hundred years ago, more or less, when the population of England had become sufficiently dense to make surnames necessary, some Englishman assumed the name of Sterne. He may have taken it from the sign of the Sterne, or starling, ( which is the symbol of industry ), which he displayed in front of his place of business, or it may have been taken from some event in which a starling was concerned ; but of this there is now no record or means of knowing.
In England the name was, and it seems still is, spelled Sterne, two notable instances of which are the names of Richard Sterne, Lord Archbishop of York, and Lawrence Sterne. the distinguished novel- ist, author of "Tristam Shandy" and other works ; but in America it is spelled Stearns, Sternes, Sterns, or Starns, and Starnes, the last two forms being dis- tinctly southern. The changes probably commenced in the pronunciation, and extended to the writing of the name, which, in Winthrop's journal and in the early town and county records of Massachusetts, appears as Sterne.
In every instance where the lineage of this family has been traced back it has been to one of the fol- lowing : Isaac, Charles, or Nathaniel. What rela- tionship existed between the three is not known. Isaac in his will calls Charles "My kinsman." It is
noticeable, however, that all three named their sons Isaac, Samuel and John, while the sons of Isaac named their sons Nathaniel. The belief is enter- tained by many of the Stearns descendants that three Sterne brothers Isaac, Daniel and Shubach- came to America together ; that Daniel died unmar- ried, or without issue ; that Shubael and wife leav ing two sons, Charles and Nathaniel, to the care of their uncle Isaac. Research in England has thus far failed to find parents, brothers, or sisters of Isaac Stearns, the emigrant from England.
In the genealogy of the Stearns family published in 1901, over eleven thousand persons were men- tioned. Among these were one hundred and thirty- two graduates of colleges, universities, etc. ; eighty- three clergymen ; eighty physicians ; fifty-nine law- yers ; twelve principals of academies and high schools; twelve professors of colleges; one chan- cellor of a state university : one dean of a divinity school; three presidents of colleges; one superin- tendent of instruction ( Argentine Republic) ; eleven authors; five editors; one bishop of Pennsylvania; one general manager of railroads ; one president of railroads; one president of a telegraph company ; twenty farmers; two governors; three lieutenant governors ; two secretaries of state : eleven state sen- ators ; thirty-six colonial or state representatives ; two speakers of the house; two supreme court judges ; five mayors; two generals; twenty-two col- onels : eleven majors; fifty-six captains; and one hundred and eighty-two private soldiers.
(1) Isaac Stearns, the immigrant ancestor, en- barked at Yarmouth, England, in the ship' "Arabella," April 12, 1630, and arrived on the Massachusetts coast in company with Governor Winthrop, Sir Richard Saltonstall, and Edward Garfield, ancestor of the martyr president. He came from Nayland, England, and was accompanied by his wife Mary and two daughters; Mary and Ann. Mr. Stearns settled at Watertown, Massachusetts, and was among the first freemen established there in 1631. He was selectman several years, and died June 19, 1671, being survived nearly six years by his widow, who passed away April 2, 1677. Beside the children above named they had John, Isaac, Sarah, Samuel, Eliza- beth and Abigail. John is supposed also to have been born in England. (Mention of Isaac (2) and Samuel and descendants appears in this article).
(11) John, eldest son and third child of Isaac Stearns, was one of the first settlers of Billerica, Massachusetts. He was married (first), in 1653, to Sarah, only daughter of Isaac and Sarah Mixer, of Watertown, who inherited from her father one-half of the vessel "Dilligent." She died June 14, 1650. leaving one son. lle married (second ), December 20, 1656, Mary Lothrop, who was born October 4, 1640, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Learned ) Lothrop, of Barnstable. He died March 5, 1668, and his widow was married May 6, 1669. to Captain Wil- liam French, Esquire, of Billerica. He died Novem- ber 20, 1681. aged seventy-eight years, and she mar- ried (third), June 20, 1684, Isaac Mixer, Junior, of Watertown, being his third wife, and he being a brother of John Stearns', first wife. She was still living, very aged, in 1735. She was the mother of four daughters by Captain Franch and of four sons hy Mr. Stearns. The estate of the last named was inventoried March 23, 1680, at three hundred nine- teen pounds eighteen shillings four pence. He had six sons in all, namely: John, Isaac (died one year old ). Samuel, Isaac, Nathaniel and Thomas.
(111) Lieutenant John (2), son of lohn (r) and Sarah (Mixer) Stearns, was born in May, 1654, in
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Billerica. He was a respected and influential citizen of that town, and died there October 26, 1728. Ile was married (first), September 6, 1676, to Elizabeth Bigelow, who was born June 15, 1657, daughter of John and Mary (Warren) Bigelow, of. Watertown. She died April 18, 1674. and Mr. Stearns was mar- ried (second), April 22, 1696, in Malden, to Mrs. Joanna ( Call) Parker, widow of Jacob Parker, and daughter of Thomas, Junior, and Joanna ( Shepherd- son) Call. She died December 4, 1737, aged seventy- eight years. There were eight children of the first marriage and one of the second, namely : Elizabeth, John (died in infancy). Sarah. Mary, John, Isaac. Abigail, Samuel and Joanna. (Samuel and descend- ants receive mention in this article).
(IV) John (3), second son and fifth child of John (2) and Elizabeth (Bigelow) Stearns, was born November 26, 1686, and died August 2, 1776. Ile was married in 1715 to Esther Johnson, who was born in January, 1691, and died April 13, 1786. She was a daughter of Captain Edward Johnson, of Wo- burn, granddaughter of William and great-grand- daughter of Captain Edward Johnson, of Woburn. who was the author of a quaint history of New Eng- land, entitled "Wonder Working Providence of Zion's Savior in New England." Mr. and Mrs. Stearns were the parents of children, named as follows: Esther (died at three months). John. Isaac. Joanna, Edward, Benjamin, Josiah, William and Timothy. (Josiah and descendants receive men- tion in this article).
(V) Hon. Isaac, fourth child and second son of John (3) and Esther (Johnson) Stearns, of Billerica, was born June 16, 1722. and died April 23. 1808. He was a soldier in the French war, represen- tative and senator in the state legislature : highly re spected as a soldier, a civil magistrate, a legislator and a Christian. "The old house in South Billerica, where he lived, is still well preserved and halfway up the front stairs is the closet where he retired daily to pray, thus literally fulfilling the divine man- (late, 'When thou prayest, enter into thy closet,' etc." Ile was a man of more than ordinary ability and education. In recognition of his services to country and state during the Revolutionary war his admir- ers had made for him in England a beautiful pitcher. which has descended by the law of primogeniture to the present day. February 1I, 1748, he married Sarah Abbot, born April 22, 1720, daughter of Obed and Elizabeth Abbot, of Bedford. She died January 0. 1815. They were the parents of twelve children : Esther: Isaac: William: Benjamin, died young : Sarah, died young: Benjamin : Sarah: Mary: Tim- othy: John: Elizabeth: and Dr. Obed.
(VT) John, tenth child and sixth son of Isaac and Sarah (\bbot) Stearns, was born in Billerica, September 18, 1765. and died November 5. 1836. He was a farmer of Billerica, and lived beside the Con- cord river in the south part of the town." " "The Stearns property in Billerica has been for more than two centuries in the family. On these acres four Stearns families located, in different generations, and erected dwellings for their own accommodation. John Stearns, born 1765, built the present Stearns
homestead and established a home on one quarter of the farm, where his grandson was a late owner." Mr. Stearns was killed, November 5, 1836, by the lo- comotive "Phoenix," on the Boston & Lowell Rail- road at Woburn, Massachusetts, where he was then residing. He married (first) February 10. 1801, Mary Lane, born August 15, 1776, daughter of Sam- nel and Elizabeth (Fitch) Lane, of Bradford. She died November 30, 1815, and he married second, May 13. 1817, Susanna Wiun, born November 2, 1771, daughter of Joseph Winn, of Burlington. She died
January 28. 1842, in the Stearns homestead in Bil- lerica. There were eight children, all by the first mar- riage : Franklin; Mary: John Owen; Onslow, died young : Eliza Ann; Onslow : Lorenzo ; and Bernard.
(VII) Governor Onslow, sixth child and fourth son of John and Mary (Lane) Stearns, was born in Billerica, Massachusetts, August 30, 1810, and died in Concord, New Hampshire, December 29, 1878. Hc lived in his father's farm and attended the public schools until he was seventeen years of age, and then went to Boston. where he spent three years in a clerical capacity. In 1830 he joined his brother Johan, a famous railroad contractor in Virginia, in the con- struction of the Chesapeake & Ohio canal. Subse- quently he became interested with his brother in the construction of various railroads about Philadelphia and Baltimore, and in the states of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, in which he was en- gaged until the summer of 1837, when he returned to New England and soon after engaged in the work of completing the Nashua & Lowell Railroad. IIc was made its superintendent in the latter part of 1838, and filled the place until 1846, when he resigned to become agent of the Northern Railroad, being con- nected with this corporation from its very inception, securing the necessary legislation and personally su- pervising its construction. IIe became manager of the road upon its completion, and held that position in- til 1852, when he was elected president, continuing his service in that capacity until his death. His other railroad connections embraced the superintendency of the Vermont Central : directorship in the Ogdens- hurg. in the Nashua & Lowell, in the Northern Pa- cific ; and the presidency of the Old Colony and Con- cord railroads and the Old Colony steamboats.
Mr. Stearns took up his residence in Concord, New Hampshire, in 18-, and ever afterward made that place his home. His extensive railroad opera- tions brought him into direct contact with the lead- ing men of the state, who, recognizing his unusual ability in organization and administration, soon made use of his talents in the political field. He was an un- compromising Republican, and thoroughly in accord with the party in state politics. In 1862 he served as state senator, and again in 1864, being president of the senate in the latter year. In 1864 he was a delegate to the Republican National convention, and assisted in the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for the presi- dency. In 1867 he was unanimously nominated for governor of New Hampshire and was elected by a decided majority. In the following year, though de- clining a renomination. the convention refused to ac- cept his refusal and he was again called to the gub-
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ernatorial chair where he served a second term.
Governor Stearns early displayed those adminis- trative and constructive faculties which distinguished his later life. Method and management were as natural to him as respiration. These qualifications, coupled with stanch integrity and strong will power, were the foundation of his successful life work. In all positions his sagacity, ability, and integrity were conspicuous, and commanded the confidence of the public. During his administration Governor Stearns, by a display of the eminent business qualities that had made him so signally successful in private life. added to his renown and greatly benefitted the state. His administration of the affairs of the state were practical, non-partisan, and highly successful, partic- ularly so in managing the finances. To the perform- ance of all his duties he brought a more thorough equipment than was possessed by any other man in New England, and surpassed in completeness by few men in the country. Beginning at the foundation of railroad construction, there was no department in railroad management with whose details he was not familiar. Few men have had imposed on them more arduous labors. To the performance of these he devoted not only his days but also many hours of the night, and to the pressure of their burden may be attributed his comparatively early death.
He married, June 27. 1845, Mary Abbott Hol- brook, daughter of Hon. Adin Holbrook, of Athol, and later of Lowell, Massachusetts. To them were born five children, all in Concord: Charles Onslow, born May 31, 1846, is a partner in the firm of J. A. Lowell & Company, engravers and printers, Boston ; Mary Laurinda, April 2, 1849, married General John R. Brooks, United States army; Margaret Abbott. January 21, 1855. married S. W. Ingalls, and settled in New York city: Sarah, January 14, 1857; Grace, November 21. 1860, married first, Solon Hill, second, Robert H. Rolfe, and settled in Concord.
(IV) Samuel, fourth son of Lieutenant John (2) Stearns, and eighth child of his second wife, Joanna Call, was born January 8, 1694, in Billerica, and died before 1730. He was married in 1719 to Rachel Crosby, who was born April 18, 1695, daugh- ter of Joseph and Sarah (French) Crosby. She was married (second), in 1730, to Thomas Wyman. Samuel Stearns' children were: Racliel, Elizabeth, Prudence, Samuel, Maria and Benjamin.
(V) Rachel. eldest child of Samuel and Rachel (Crosby) Stearns, was born June 6, 1720, in Billerica and became the wife of Nathan Hutchinson (see Hutchinson, XIV).
(V) Prudence, third daughter and child of Sam- uel and Rachel (Crosby) Stearns, was born March 30, 1724, in Billerica, and was married January 21, 1742, to John Needham, of Tewksbury.
(VI) Stearns Needham, son of John and Prudence (Stearns) Needham, was born February 25, 1754, in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, and married (first) Alice Kidder. He was married (second) to Hannah (Kittredge) Bailey, who was born Decem- ber 7, 1759, in Andover, Massachusetts, and died in Milford, New Hampshire, March 2, 1857, in her ninety-eighth year. Stearns Needham resided in
Milford. where he died February 5, 1830. There were three children of his first wife, and twelve of the second.
(VII) ·Harriet, daughter of Stearns and Hannah (Kittredge) Needham, was born November 19, 1805, in Milford, and was married December 31, 1830, to Samuel Hayden, of Milford (see Hayden, VII).
(II) Isaac (2), second son and fourth child of Isaac (I) and Mary Stearns, was born January 6, )633. in Watertown, where he was made a freeman in 1665. He settled in Cambridge Farms, now Lex- ington, and died there August 29, 1676. He was married June 24, 1660, to Sarah, daughter of Captain Richard and Elizabeth Beers. Captain Beers was one of the original proprietors of Watertown, com- manded a company in King Philip's war, and was killed in battle with the Indians at Northfield, Massa- chusetts, September 4, 1675. After the death of Mr. Stearns his widow married (July 23, 1677) Thomas Wheeler. of Concord, Massachusetts. Isaac Stearns left an estate inventoried at three hundred pounds. His children were: Sarah, Mary, Isaac, Samuel, Abi- gail and John.
(III) John, son of Isaac (2) and Sarah (Beers) Stearns, was born 1675, in Lexington, and resided in Concord and Bedford. He is of record as a land- owner in Bedford in 1729, and died there June 14, 1734, aged about fifty-nine years. Following is an item from his will, which was dated May 29. 1733: "I give and bequeathe to my daughter, Mercy Ken- dall, five pounds and all the right I have in a mulatto girl, named Mary, now living with me." He was married April 26, 1699, to Mercy Davis, who was born August 12, 1677, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Meadow's) Davis, of Concord. Their children were : John, Zachariah, Eleazer. Mercy, Abigail and Ben- jamin.
(IV) Zachariah, second son and child of John and Mercy (Davis) Stearns, of Concord, was born in Bedford, Massachusetts, February 6, 1702. He was in Merrimack, New Hampshire, in 1746, and settled there. He enlisted in the public service in 1760, and was in Captain Butterfield's company in 1772. He married in 1727, Sarah (surname un. known) and they were the parents of the following children : John, Zachariah, Daniel, Sarah, Nathan, and a daughter whose name is faded from the Merri- mack, New Hampshire, records.
(V) John, eldest child of Zachariah and Sarah Stearns, was born in Concord, Massachusetts, Febru- ary 17, 1728. In 1772 he removed to Amherst, New Hampshire. May 1, 1775, John Stearns was enrolled in Archelaus Torus' Company, Twenty-seventh Regi- ment, Foot Soldiers, Continental army. On April 15. 1776, he was in Timothy Clement's Company, Colo- nel David Gilman's Regiment. December 20, 1778, he was in Captain Simon Marston's Company, Colonel Stephen Peabody's Regiment, which was raised by New Hampshire for the Continental service in Rhode Island. John Stearns died in Amherst, October 2, 18ro, aged eighty-two years. He was married in 1751 to Rachel Codman, and the following is a list of their children, all born in Amherst: Rachel. John,
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Rebecca, Jotham, Relief, Dolly, Nathan, Elijah, Ebe- nezer, Reuben, Elizabeth, Sally and James.
(VI) Nathan, seventh child and third son of John (2) and Rachel (Codman) Stearns, was born July 22, 1761. in Merrimack. He bought, March 22, 1800, of John McDale, land and buildings, including a saw mill and water privilege, and January 27, 1801, he sold the same property to Henry Blaisdell, his wife's brother. In the War of 1812 he was' in Cap- tain M. C. Mills' company, Eleventh United States Infantry, and on the rolls is reported "prisoner of war." He died in the service "in the barracks, of fever," previous to May II, 1813. when his widow was appointed administratrix of his estate, and later David L. Morrill was appointed guardian of his three children. He married, about 1790, Miriam Blaisdell, daughter of Henry Blaisdell, of Goffstown. Their children were: Henry B., Elizabeth, and Nathan, whose sketch follows.
(VHI) Nathan (2), third and youngest child of Nathan (1) and Miriam (Blaisdell) Stearns, was born May 2, ISO1, and died April 15, 1877. He was a farmer by occupation, and resided in Goffstown. When not busy with farm labor he finished by hand the stockings which the machines of his day could not complete, and hence was known as a stocking- man. He married, in 1830, Polly Martin, who was born August 27, ISIO. They were the parents of four children: Augustus, Elvira W., Mary Ann, and Lucian E.
(VIII) Augustus, eldest child of Nathan (2) and Polly ( Martin) Stearns, was born in Goffstown, July 26, 1832, and died in West Derry, February 14, 1881, and was buried in Goffstown. He was a shoe- maker and lived in Goffstown, New Hampshire, and in IS51 moved from there to Lynn, returned to the old place in 1855, and in 1860 went to Manchester, where he followed the trade of a finished custom shoe maker, which he continued until 1878. One of his eyes was injured by a chestnut burr, and from this injury he gradually became totally blind. About two years before his death he went to Derry to live, and there spent his last years. He died February 14, ISSI.
He married, in 1850, Sarah H. Emerson, who was born in Weare. September 12, 1832, daughter of Obadiah Emerson. Her ancestor, Stephen Emerson, was an early settler of Weare. They had five chil- dren : Ellen, Mason William, Lyman M., Carrie E., and Frank Leslie.
(IX) Lyman. Marshall, third child and second son of Augustus and Sarah (Emerson) Stearns, was born in Goffstown, New Hampshire, on the home- stead farm, March 4, 1858. He was named for Rev. Lyman Marshall. of Weare, who promised that he would give him a Bible when he was twenty-one years of age. The minister died before that time and the gift was not then made, but on the anni- versary of his thirty-fifth birthday Mr. Stearns was surprised to receive from Mr. Marshall's widow. then in St. Louis, a handsome Bible fittingly inscribed. Lyman M. Stearns was brought up on the farm. He was educated at home and in the public schools, and from twelve to fourtecn years of age attended school
at Amoskeag. At the age of fourteen he left Amos- keag and moved to Londonderry, and then learned shoemaking, at which he worked twenty-six years. In 1901 he was made foreman of the lasting depart- ment of the Pillsbury Shoe Company at West Derry. In 1872 he removed to Londonderry, and on Novem- ber 4, 1879, went to West Derry to live, and resided there until December 1, 1905, when he returned to Manchester. During his residence there he was elected selectman of Derry, and served one term, but declined further honor of a political nature.
Mr. Stearns has been an enthusiastic checker player from boyhood, and at a very early age dis- tinguished himself by his knowledge of the game and skill in play. It has recently been written of him: "No problem in draughts was too subtle for his rare powers of analysis." Devoting himself seriously to the study for twenty-five years, he pored over checker manuals and literature devoted to the game. One by one he met cross board, and scored favor- ably with the greatest prodigies of the day. For ten years previous to 1896 Mr. Stearns was editor of the checker department of the Derry News, and since the first issue of the Magnet Magasine he has con- ducted a checker department on that publication with credit to himself and to the gratification of its thousands of readers. From 1896 to 1901 he was editor and publisher of the North American Checker Board, and since that time has frequently been re- ferred to as the "problem king," "greatest problem of our time," and so forth. In June, 1906, he began the publication in Manchester of the Checker World, which under his able editorial management has made rapid strides in the field for which it was designed. It is bright, well-printed. and is meeting with pop- ular favor in all quarters of the globe. He has pub- lished thirteen standard checker books, the most pop- ular of them being "Portrait Books," volumes i-ii ; "World's Problem Books," parts one and two; "Granite Checker Series," parts one, two and three; "Bradley's Bristol," and "Stayman's Black Doctor and Supplement." In 1891 he won a gold medal at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, against four hundred con- testants, most of whom were experts of many years" experience. In 1885 he took first prize in the New- castle (England) Chronicle game problem contest with what was at that time considered to be the most beautiful problem in the nineteenth century. In the spring of 1901 he toured his own state, playing fifty games in Manchester and Concord. His progress was almost triumphal, and his score was twenty-five winnings and twenty-five draws, although he was pitted against the best talent the state afforded. He defeated the state champion five to nothing. with three draws. He is one of the greatest checker problematists the world has ever seen, and the author of over three thousand problems, winner of several gold medals, cups and book prizes without number, and today stands before the world as one of the most unique figures in draughts. He poss- esses the remarkable gift of playing blindfold draughts. He has even engaged in a game of whist and checkers simultaneously, the latter game being played in another room, and Mr. Stearns having no
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