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 108
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opportunity to see the board. As a cross-board ex- pert he met the greatest New York players, notably Dr. Schaefer and John McEntree, and played against them with success. His victory over the Jersey City champion, M. F. Clowser, caused the New York IV'orld to say that "Stearns had proved himself a mighty analyst and one of draughts' keenest critics." He also defeated the Newark champion. Mr. Stearns was the first president of the New Hamp- shire Checker Association, and has been vice-presi- dent of the New England Association. He married, in Manchester, June 5. 1878, Alnora M. Chase, of Londonderry, who was born May 11, 1854, daughter of Trueworthy D. and Nancy (Pittingill) Chase, of Londonderry.
(VI) James, youngest child of John and Rachel (Codman) Stearns, was born in Amherst, New Hampshire, August 30, 1774. He spent all his life in Amherst, and died there January 14, 1854. He was married in 1798 to Lydia Glover, of Nottingham West. who was born July 29, 1780, and died May 2. 1854. The following is a list of their children: Abi- gail, Harriet A., Hiram D., Solomon Granville, James. Betsy, Adeline, Caroline R., Mary, Frances, Charles and Jane.
(VII) Caroline R., fifth daughter and eighth child of James and Lydia (Glover) Stearns, was born in Amherst, New Hampshire. August 13, 1812. She was married December 2, 1834. to Alexander McC. Wilkins, of Merrimack. (See Wilkins, VII).
(IV) Eleazer. third son and child of John and Mercy (Davis) Stearns, was born September 4, 1704. and was a clothier at Newton in 1734, and was later of Concord. His first wife Abigail, to whom he was married in 1733, was the mother of three of his chil- ren. His second wife's name was Mary, who also bore him three children. The names of all were as follows: William. Eleazer, Mary, Mercy, Jonathan and David.
(V) David, youngest child of Eleazer and Mary Stearns, was born 1750, and resided at Boxboro, Massachusetts, and later in Hollis, New Hampshire. where he died. His wife Lois died December 29, 1789, in Boxboro, where she was admitted to the church September 20 of that year. Their children were : Lucy, Nathaniel, Simeon and Molly.
(VI) Simeon, second son and third child of David and Lois Stearns, was born December 2, 1784. in Boxboro, and removed when a child with his father to Hollis, New Hampshire. He was married there August 18, 1812, to Lydia, daughter of Captain Daniel Bailey, of that town, and his first wife, who was a French, of Bedford. Mr. Stearns immediately removed to Winchendon, Massachusetts, where he died October 5. 1837. His children were: Simeon (died in infancy). Simeon, Lydia (died an infant), Daniel, Mary, Elizabeth. Rebecca, Lucy, Benjamin Franklin, and Lydia. The last, born February 13, 1825, married Joseph T. Goss, and (second) Rev. Moses Patten (see Patten, IV).
(II) Corporal Samuel, sixth child and third son of Isaac and Mary (Borker) Stearns, was born April 24, 1638, and died August 3, 1683. He was born and lived at Watertown. His farm or "home-
stead" fell into the possession of his son John, then to his grandson Josiah, then his great-grandson Phineas Stearns, and did "lately" belong to heirs of Mr. Abijah White, his great-great-grandson. His inventory, October 9, 1683, was four hundred and eighty-one pounds, four shillings. He married, Feb- ruary 1, 1663, Hannah Manning, born June 21, 1642, died February 26, 1724, eldest daughter of William and Dorothy Manning, of Cambridge. Massachu- setts, and sister of Samuel Manning, who married Elizabeth Stearns. To Samuel and Hannah Stearns ten children were born: Samuel; Hannah; Nathan- iel; Sarah; Samuel; Isaac; John; Mary; Abigail and Joseph. (John and descendants are mentioned in this article).
(III) Nathaniel, third child and second son of Samuel and Hannah (Manning) Stearns, was born December 13, 1668, and died August 24, 1716. In the division of his father's estate he received the farm which had been the residence of his grand- father, Isaac Stearns. He was a man of substance and business capacity, and was selectman of Water- town in 1716. He married, first, 1694, Elizabeth Dix, born December 4, 1761, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Barnard) Dix. She died June 16, 1712, and he married second, October 29, 1713, Sarah Nevinson, born July 22, 1672. After his death his widow married, April 24, 1718, Samuel Livermore, whose third wife she was. Nathaniel and Eliza- beth (Dix) Stearns were the parents of twelve children : Nathaniel, died young; Nathaniel, second ; Elizabeth ; Hannah; Daniel; Lydia; Isaac; David; Ebenezer and Mercy, twins; Deborah and Phoebe.
(IV) Daniel, fifth child and third son of Na- thaniel and Elizabeth (Dix) Stearns, was born in Watertown, March 1, 1701, and died 1747. He was a cordwainer, and probably lived on the homestead of the first Isaac Stearns, near the Cambridge line. He married first, 1722, Anna -, by whom he had one child, Anna. He married second, Mercy Grant, born September 20, 1702, twelfth child of Joseph and Mary (Grafton) Grant, and they had nine children. His widow married second, Novem- ber 8. 1753, William Godding, born 1703. The chil- dren of Daniel and Mercy (Grant) Stearns were: Elizabeth, Stephen, Isaiah, Mercy, Daniel, Ruth, Nathaniel, Sarah and Mary.
(V) Isaiah, third child and second son of Daniel and Mercy (Grant) Stearns, was born in Water- town, January 22, 1728, and died March 11, 1768. He and his wife were admitted to the Precinct Church, Cambridge, September 16, 1750. His estate, one hundred and thirty-nine pounds, was admin- istered by his widow. He married, 1750, Elizabeth who married second, December 7, 1775, Edward Fillebrown, who died June 16, 1793. Isaiah and Elizabeth Stearns had nine children: Ben- jamin; Isaiah, died young; Peter, died young; Isaiah; Peter; Daniel; Joshua; Isaac and Henry.
(VI) Daniel, sixth son and child of 1saialı and Elizabeth Stearns, was born in Arlington, December 17, 1760, and was baptised December 23. of the same year. He was a private in the Revolutionary war, and carried through the remainder of his life, an
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injured wrist, the result of a sword cut received in the service. Daniel Stearns was entered on the United States pension roll August 8, 1818, on ac- count of service in the Massachusetts Continental Line, pension being ninety-six dollars per annum, beginning April 10, 1818. He died, as shown by the pension records, June 19, 1824, and the whole amount of his pension was four hundred and ninety- eight dollars and sixty-six cents. He lived some years in Boston, Massachusetts, removed in 1795 to Dummerston, Vermont, and in 1809 to Brattle- boro, Vermont, where his wife died. He married September 7, 1783, Elizabeth Knowlton, born March 17, 1764, in Sudbury, Massachusetts, died August 6, 1820, daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Parks) Knowlton, of Cambridge, Massachusetts. They had twelve children: Isaac, Sally, Abigail, Daniel, Lydia, Betsey, Lucy, Charles, Charlotte, Samuel, Selinda and Harriet.
(VII) Samuel, fourth son and tenth child of Daniel and Elizabeth (Knowlton) Stearns, was born in Dummerston, Vermont, August 27, 1802, and died in Rindge, New Hampshire, April 6, 1871. In ISog, when he was seven years old, his father removed with his family to Brattleboro, Vermont, where Samuel grew up and was educated. About 1824 he went to Jaffrey, New Hampshire, where he was in the employ of Colonel Oliver Prescott until his marriage. "Samuel Stearns was selectman for eight years; town clerk by appointment to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Thomas Ingalls, in 1863; representative in 1850 and 1851; and often appointed on committees. He was a member of the Congregational Church in Rindge from 1842 until his death and for many years one of the standing committee." He was a man of good judgment, of a religious disposition, correct deportment and moral stamina, one whom his neighbors sought when they required council and advice. He married first, March 4. 1830, Mary Fitch Moore, born April 20, 1807, daughter of William and Mary (Fitch) Moore, of Sharon, New Hampshire. She died August 28, 1849, and he married second, September 26, 1850, Almira Hall, born October 30, 1803, daugh- ter of John and Betsey (Bennett) Hall, of Ash- burnham, Massachusetts. She died 1877, in New Ipswich. There were seven children of the first marriage : Mary Elizabeth, died young; Mary Eliz- abeth, a successful teacher, married James Van Derveer, a prominent citizen of Chester, New Jersey ; Samuel Augustus, died in childhood ; Al- mira, died young; Ezra S., mentioned below; Sam- uel, served three years in the Civil war, was en- gaged for nearly twenty years in mining in New Mexico, and from 1893 to the present time (1906) has served as deputy secretary of state at Con- cord, New Hampshire; George, was a soldier in Company 1, Ninth New Hampshire Volunteers, was at South Mountain and Antietam, and died in the hospital at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Decem- ber 24, 1862.
[Arranged by J. C. Jennings.]
(VIII) Ezra Scollay, second son and fifth child of Samuel and Mary Fitch (Moore) Stearns, was
born in Rindge, September 1, 1838. The following biographical sketch of Mr. Stearns found in Volume Three of "The New England States" was written by George H. Moses, of Concord.
"As a boy Mr. Stearns enjoyed no special priv- ileges and suffered no extraordinary privations. His advantages were neither better nor worse than those of his associates, and his school days carried him to the point of preparation for college, though his circumstances prevented him from securing a university training. They did not limit his study, however, and long after the doors of the rural academy had closed upon him as a pupil he was found plotting his own chart of learning and pur- suing the studies and researches which he deemed most necessary for his life work.
"From the life of a student he was turned by his natural inclination and developed tastes to a literary career, in which the opportunities of jour- nalism were the first that appeared to him; and he served an apprenticeship that led him to the mastery of the newspaper profession in Fitchburg, where he was the manager and editor of the Daily Chron- icle, and where he entered upon those historical studies which were destined to afford him the most lasting honors of his later life, and which led him easily across the shadowy line which separates the ephemeral from the permanent, finding their first expression in 1876 through the public action of his 'History of Rindge.' This volume, in character. arrangement and style, has commanded the respect and won the approval of the historical student and the general reader, and has in not a few instances served its purpose as the model town history of New England. Eleven years later the 'History of Ashburnham, Massachusetts,' came from his pen, a work of literary and historic excellence not less in value than the history of Rindge, but lacking the enlivening influence of affectionate regard which the author had written with every line of his nar- rative of his native town. These noble volumes have established Mr. Stearns in a firm place among New England historians, and easily led the way to academic honors, the appearance of the 'History of Ashburnham,' being signalized by Dartmouth College in adorning its talented author with the degree of Master of Arts in the class of 1887.
"Through these historical labors, also, Mr. Stearns has come to other recognition, and has for years been an active member of the New Hamp- shire Historical Society; a member of the Fitch- burg Historical Society, a member and vice-presi- dent of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society of Boston, member of the American Anti- quarian Society of Worcester, and corresponding member of several state historical societies.
"Into the records of public life Mr. Stearns' name and achievements have been permanently written as well. He came to manhood while the Republican party was in its primitive formative days. As an ardent first voter he thrust himself into the campaign of 1860, and gave his support to- Lincoln, the liberator, and identified himself with the great party in whose annals in his own state
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his name was destined to have a permanent place. Four years later, when but twenty-six years of age, he was sent as Rindge's representative to the general court, and served again and again and again, al- ways commanding the warmest respect of his col- leagues, and occupying commanding positions in the make-up of the committees of the house. During this period of Mr. Stearns' legislative service arose the most important financial question that has ever entered into the legislature of New Hampshire, relating to the assuming by the state of the debt incurred by the towns and cities in prosecuting the war of the rebellion. It was a vexed question, in which were involved not only the local and state credit, but even the stability of the commonwealth. Its solution was sought through the appointment of a commission who should ascertain the war expen- ditures of the several towns and cities in the state.
"Mr. Stearns was one of the three members of this commission appointed early in the year 1866. In their report to the legislature he joined with his associates in a recommendation that the gross ex- penditures of the several towns should not be as- sumed by the state. As the only member of the com- mission who was a member of the legislature, Mr. Stearns was charged with the chief labor in the debate for securing the adoption of the recommend- ation of the commission, a contest which was crowned with success, but is memorable as having been warmly contested and fairly won.
"Following his fifth term in the legislature in 1870, Mr. Stearns withdrew from public life so far as it demanded his own occupancy of political posi- tions and devoted himself to the fruitful literary and historical studies outlined above. The com- parative leisure which followed the completion of the 'History of Ashburnham' in 1886 afforded the opportunity for his constituents again to pay him political honor ; and in the fall of that year he was clected a member of the state senate from the Cheshire district, serving with such distinguished credit through the long and famous session of 1887 that he was awarded the unusual honor of a re-election in the following campaign. Two years later he was again sent to his old seat in the house of represen- tatives, and from this place, in 1891, he was taken by his colleagues and chosen secretary of state to succeed the late llon. A. B. Thompson. This place he still fills through repeated successive and unani- mous re-elections.
"The exacting duties of this position have found in Mr. Stearns a most efficient officer. With multi- plied powers and responsibilities he has grown in capacity and worth. Too deeply engrossed to devote continuous effort to the literary and historical work in which he delights and in which he has delighted so many, he has found time, nevertheless, to publish several historical addresses and brochures of re- markable felicity of expression, wealth of historic knowledge and an enduring literary value. His oration at the dedication of the monument to John Fitch, founder of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, deliv- ered July 4, 1895, ranks as a literary, historical and forensic gem. In felicity of style, in tenderness of
expression, in accuracy of statement, it is the peer of any similar production anywhere, and added pleasure is derived from its perusal in the knowl- edge that the author stands in the fourth generation from the brave and hardy pioneer whose virtues he not only recounts, but has inherited. As the orator of the occasion upon the dedication of the Ingalls Library at Rindge, New Hampshire, in 1896, Mr. Stearns again produced a master-piece-pol- ished, scholarly, eloquent and effective; while his oration on Mesheck Weare, delivered at the annual meeting of the New Hampshire Sons of the Revolution the preceding year, is an epitome of Revolutionary history and an epic of biography.
"The record of his public positions, however, do not alone discover the extent of his political in- fluence. For more than thirty years he has been the trusted counselor of the political party to which he has adhered. Alert and sagacious, he has turned every opportunity of statecraft to account, yet al- ways maintaining absolute rectitude in all political affairs. His advancement in office has not kept full pace with his deserts, and his continuance in the place which he now adorns is small return for what he gave without expectation of reward.
"Aside from its suggestiveness of power, this brief outline of a busy and honorable life affords little to differentiate the man who has lived it, and the task of characterizing him defies depiction. The subtle charm of his personality prevades all his daily relations with men and events, enhances the wealth of his scholarship, multiplies his value as a public officer, and stamps itself upon even the least of his duties. His alert mental powers do not yield readily to description, his culture is too broad for condensed delincation ; yet they all combine to form . a type of self-centered manhood, poised for instant action amid all circumstances, and yielding no field until success has crowned effort, or effort has been exhausted."
To the foregoing, which was penned in 1896, it is necessary to add that Mr. Stearns continued to hold the office of secretary of state until Marchi, 1899, when he resigned. Besides writing the his- tories of Rindge and Ashburnham, mentioned above, Mr. Stearns has written large portions of numerous histories in both New Hampshire and Massachu- setts. Since 1899 he has contributed much to his- torical literature, writing among other things the early and more difficult portions of the genea- logies in the "History of Littleton." published in 1905, and completed in 1906 the "History of Plym- outh;" and filling the position of editor-in-chief of this work. The "History of Plymouth" brought added lustre to Mr. Stearns' reputation as a his- torian ; the preparation of the present work has en- tailed on him three years of arduous labor.
(III) John, fifth son and seventh child of Sam- 11el and Hannah (Manning) Stearns, was born June 24, 1677. in Watertown, and resided on the paternal homestead, which he inherited. Ile died in 1729 and his estate was administered by his widow in 1735. It amounted to nine hundred and fifty-two pounds, three shillings, ten pence. He married Feb-
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ruary 21, 1701, Abigail Fiske, who was born June 12, 1684. a daughter of John and Abigail ( Parks) Fiske. They had a family of fifteen children : John, Josiah, Joseph, Abigail, Rev. David, Thomas, James, Hannah, Benjamin, Peter, Deacon William, Lydia, James, Lois and Colonel Abijah.
(IV) John (2), eldest child of John (1) and Abigail (Fiske) Stearns, was born November 18, 1702, in Watertown, and resided in his native town until 1741, when he removed to Winchester, Massa- chusetts, where he died in 1775. He purchased a tract of land in Westminster, known as lot No. 41, June 5. 1741, and occupied this until his death. He was married February 15, 1725, to Anna Coolidge, who was born July 23, 1706, daughter of Deacon John and Margaret (Bond) Coolidge. Their chil- dren were: Moses, Jerusha, Anna, Abigail, Hep- sibah. Aaron and Elias.
(\') Elias, youngest child of John (2) and Anna (Coolidge) Stearns, was born September 30, 1753, in Westminster, Massachusetts, and was a clothier by occupation, residing successively in Walpole, New Hamphire, Hartland and Bradford, Vermont, and Haverhill, New Hampshire, dying in the last named place April 2, 1845. He was married Decem- ber 12. 1776, in Westminster, Massachusetts, to Sarah Keyes, who was born December 21, 1756, in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. They had nine chil- dren, namely: Sally, Billy, Asa, Ezra, Amos, Mary, Rufus. Roxana. Lucy.
(VI) Rufus, fourth son and seventh child of Elias and Sarah (Keyes) Stearns, was born March 19, 1791, in Bradford, Vermont, and was a farmer, residing in Haverhill, New Hampshire. In connec- tion with farming he followed the occupation of wool- picker. He was prominent in local civil affairs, and was an ardent Methodist in religious faith. His death occurred in Haverhill, in July, 1861. He was married. February 22, 1815, to Sarah P. Davis, who was born November 18, 1794, and died Febru- ary 4, 1877 at Haverhill. They had thirteen children, namely : James A .. Maria, Horace. Ezra B., Hiram, Warren, George \V., Damon Y., Elizabeth D., Mary L., Amos, John S. and Sarah B.
(VII) Horace, second son and third child of Rufus and Sarah P. (Davis) Stearns, was born November 28, 1818, in Haverhill, and was a car- penter by trade and also a merchant, residing in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he died August 9, 1895. He was an able mechanic, and in early manhood settled in Manchester, where for many years he was employed as a carpenter in the cotton mills of that city. He took a lively interest in po- litical affairs, and at one time was a member of the city council. In politics he supported the Re- publican party from the time of its formation. In religious belief he was a Universalist. He was mar- ried, May 6, 1841, to Eliza P. Dow, of Goffstown, who was born October 31, 1813, and died February 6, 1879. She was a daughter of Samuel Dow, of Goffstown. She became the mother of six children, namely: Charles H., now deceased, of Manchester ; William H. and Harriet Elizabeth (twins), the former of whom receives further mention in this
article; Sarah E., wife of C. H. Farnham, of An- dover, Massachusetts; Arthur E., who married Alice Hibbard of Manchester; and Harriet J., who is the wife of Frederick G. Henderson of that city. Horace Stearns died August 9, 1895, surviving his wife, whose death occurred February 21, 1879.
(VIII) William Henry, second son of Horace and Eliza (Dow) Stearns, was born in Manchester December 26, 1846. After concluding his attendance at the Manchester public schools he learned the machinist's trade, which he followed for a period of thirty years. In 1893 lie purchased a piece of agri- cultural property in Bedford and was engaged in general farming with prosperous results, up to his death. March 13, 1907. In 1882 he was made a Mason, and was well advanced in that order, a member of the blue lodge, Adoniram Council and Trinity Commandery. He was a member and treas- urer of General Stark Grange, Patrons of Hus- bandry ; and formerly affiliated with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, passing all the chairs. Politically he was Republican. He attended the Universalist Church. June 28, 1893, Mr. Stearns was united in marriage with Josephine R. Plummer, born in Manchester, daughter of Frederick and Rebecca (Worthley) Plummer of Bedford. Mr. and Mrs. Stearns has one son, Sam L., born June 30, 1895. Frederick Plummer, son of Henry J. Plummer. was born in Goffstown, and was a team- ster in Manchester until his death in 1893, at the age of sixty-six. Henry J. Plummer was a farmer, and passed his last years on the place later resided on by Mrs. Stearns' father, and later by William H. Stearns. Rebecca (Worthley), Plummer was born in Goffstown, and is still living, at the age of seventy-eight years. By her marriage she had three children, of whom the only one living is Mrs. William H. Stearns.
(V) Reverend Josiah, eighth child and fifth son of John (3) and Esther (Johnson) Stearns, was born January 20, 1732, in Billerica. He graduated at Harvard College in 1757, and was ordained pastor of the Congregational Church at Epping, New Hampshire, March 8, 1758. He continued in the pastorate there until his death, July 25, 1788, as result of cancer on his lip. He was a close student of the original Scriptures, and could cite almost any verse or chapter in the Bible. He was ardent in the cause of the colonies during the Re- volution, and gave his sons and most of his property to its support. He was a member of the state con- vention at Exeter which formed the first state gov- ernment. He was tall and impressive in appearance, an eloquent speaker, and his church was frequently filled to the standing room in the aisles, while yet others stood by the open doors and windows to listen to his discourse. He was held in awe by the profane, and was universally respected and es- teemed, and received very high encomium from Rev. Dr. Tappen, divinity professor of Harvard. He was married (first), December 4. 1755, to Sarah Abbott, who was born December 4, 1726, daughter of Uriah and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Abbott, of Andover, Massachusetts. She died November 5,
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1766, and he married (second), August 13, 1767. Sarah Ruggles, who was born November 6, 1731, and died April 2, 1808. She was a daughter of Rev. Samuel and Elizabeth (Williams) Ruggles, of Billerica. Mr. Stearns had twelve children, each of his wives being the mother of six. They were named as follows: Sarah, Betsey, Dudley, John, Jonah, Esther (died in infancy), Esther, Samuel, Timothy, Mary and Elizabeth, and one other.
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