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 27
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126
94
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
in New Hampton; Lydia, born April 22, 1784, died in childhood; Jacob, born February II, 1786, resided in Nottingham, where he died June 4, 1840; Asa, born December 8, 1787, died October 7, 1834, 111 Northwood; Nathan, born March 27, 1790, resided in Windham, New Hampshire, where he died in March, ISSI, at the age of ninety-one years; the ninth died in infancy; Miles, receives further men- tion below; Noah, born November 30, 1795, died August 27, 1857, in Concord; Daniel, born Novem- ber 30, 1798, died in February, ISS5, in Portland, Maine; Betsey, born April 19, 1801, was the wife of David Marsh of Nottingham, and died there; Sabra, born September 4, 1803, became the second wife of Benjamin Magoon, and died in May, 1852, in New Hampton; Irene, born June 23, 1809. died in Epping, August 3, 1874, while the wife of David Fogg; Pamelia, born December 6, 1814, died unmar- ried, in 1858. The first of the five mentioned above were children of the first wife, Lydia Burnham.
(VII) Miles, fourth son of Jacob and Mary (McDaniel) Burnham, was born May 24, 1793, 111 Nottingham, and received the meagre education supplied by the schools of his time and locality. He was apprenticed as a boy to Moses Hesselton of Derryheld, to learn the trade of carpenter and builder, and in due time became a journeyman and was thus employed in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He subsequently went to that part of Chester which is now Auburn, New Hampshire, and opened a country store in partnership with his brother Noah, and also carried on contracting and building in the surrounding towns and in Manchester during the early forties. He died there September 30, 1850. He was a successful merchant and builder, and in addition to his other work built for himself a hand- some residence in Auburn. In religious faith he was a Universalist and was active in support of the church, and in politics a Democrat. He was a popu- lar citizen of the town and was the second in wealth in it. He was captain of militia. He usually at- tended worship at the Presbyterian Church which was more convenient, and when the parish was di- vided in factions on account of the salary issue previous to the Civil war, he furnished a house for the clergymen who had been deposed by the Pro- slavery faction, and also a hall in which religious services were held by the Anti-Slavery wing of the Church. This faction, in time became a strong body and was organized as the Second Congrega- tional Church of Auburn, to which Mr. Burnham gave the site for a building and contributed one hundred dollars toward the erection of its house of worship. He was an energetic and industrious man and his success was secured through his own prudence and thrift. He married, August 13, 1823, Salome Hall, who was born April 7, 1803, in Auburn, and died September 29, 1881, in Epping, New Hamp- shire. She was the daughter of David and Martha (Graham) Hall and was born in Chester, now Au- burn. David Hall was a son of Caleb Hall, who was a soldier at the battle of Bunker Hill and son of Isaac of Bradford, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Burnham were the parents of six children. Harri- son, born August 13, 1824, the eldest, died May 22, 1903, on the old homestead, in Auburn; Elizabeth Ann, July 23, 1827, the second, died January, 1829. was fatally burned by the overturning of a pot of tea; Hosea Ballou is the subject of the succeeding paragraph; Farnsworth, born October 16, 1831, was a machinist and died February 12, 1856, in Epping ; Martin V. B., born February 14, 1835, died March II, 1899; and Daniel, born November 30, 1841, died April 4, 1842.
(VIII) Hosea Ballou Burnham, M. D. was born October 15, 1829, in Chester (now Auburn) and grew up there. He attended the common schools, Gilmanton Academy and Pembroke Literary Insti- tute. He was also a student at the New Hampshire Conference School, now Tilton Seminary, and Wes- leyan University, at Middletown, Connecticut. He lett the latter institution in his junior year on ac- count of ill health and subsequently took up the study of medicine at Manchester with Dr. William D. Buck. He was later a student at the Berkshire Medical Institute, at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, then at Harvard Medical College of Boston, and was graduated from the Vermont Medical College, at Woodstock in 1853. He afterwards pursued a post graduate course at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. Dr. Burnham began the practice of his profession at Epping, New Hamp- shire, and continued there for a period of thirty- three years, during which time he rode over a wide extent of country, and had a large practice. In 1887 he removed to Manchester, where he has already built his residence in Brook street. For a period of seventeen years he was the county physician of Rockingham county and for twenty years served on the examining board of the United States Pen- sion Department. For eleven years he was the sup- erintendent of schools in Epping, and represented that town in the state legislature in 1885. He has always taken a warm interest and pride in the prog- ress of his state and has contributed liberally there- to. He is past master of Sullivan Lodge, No. 19. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Epping, and is now affiliated with Lafayette Lodge, of Man- chester, with Saint Alban's Chapter, No. 15, Royal Arch Masons, of Exeter. He is a member of the Rockingham and Hillsboro County Medical Asso- ciations and was president of the former. He has been a member of the New Hampshire Medical As- sociation since 1856 and of the American Medical Association about thirty years. He was a member of the first staff of physicians of the Elliot Hospital, of Manchester, the oldest in the state, and for some years was president of that board. He is at present examiner for six life in- surance companies doing business in that city. Dr. Burnham is a Unitarian in religious belief. Like his ancestors, he has adhered continuously and con- sistently to the Democratic party. Dr. Burnham is still the owner of the paternal farm in Chester. He ,is a genial and affable gentleman, well informed upon the leading questions of the time and may well be counted among the foremost citizens of Man- chester. He was the first treasurer of the Epping Savings Bank and then vice-president and chairman of the investments committee until leaving the town. He was made justice of the peace in 1855 and served in that capacity for some time. He has achieved considerable reputation as a surgeon, having per- formed many difficult operations. He has always been a dilligent student and has kept abreast of ilie progress made in medical science, through reading the best literature bearing on this subject, and for some years had entire charge of the Rockingham County Institution and the Insane Asylum con- nected therewith. During his student days he was a teacher, and was employed in the public schools of Manchester. As a business man, as well as a physician, he is shrewd and successful, entertaining broad and liberal views, and conceding to others the right to their opinions but holding with firmness to his own. He married, January 29, 1892, Lilla D. True, widow of George M. True, and daughter of Anson H. and Esther M. (Brown)
H.B. Burn ham.
95
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Hartshorn. She was born October 3, 1855, in Nashua, New Hampshire. Anson H. Hartshorn was born March 8, 1827, in Lunenburg, Vermont, and Esther M. ( Brown) Hartshorn was born June 14, 1827, in Manchester.
(II) Thomas, son of Robert Burnham, was born in Norwich, England, about 1619. He deposed that his age was about forty, March 29, 1659. He calls Simon Tuttle brother (i. e. brother-in-law), and mentioned his uncle John Tuttle (probably his wife's) in England. His wife Mary, aged thirty- five, deposed concerning her mother, Mrs. Tuttle, at the same time. He was a carpenter by trade, and became lieutenant of the militia company ; was Deputy to the General Court in 1683, 1684 and 1685; was selectman in 1647 and on various town com- mittees ; in 1664 was sergeant of the Ipswich com- pany, ensign in 1665, lieutenant in 1683. 1n 1667 he was granted the privilege of erecting a saw mill on the Chebacco river, near the falls. Ile was a freeman and commoner of Ipswich. His houses and farms were divided between his sons Thomas and James. His land in 1648 adjoined that of his brother John. His will was dated January 10, 1693-94, and proved September of the same year. He married, 1045, Mary, daughter of Richard Tuttle. He bequeathed to his wife Mary the residue, and to his surviving children : Thomas, John, James, Mary, Hannah, Abigail, Ruth ( died young), Ruth, Joseph, Nathaniel, Sarah and Esther.
(III) John, son of Thomas Burnham, was born in Chebacco, in 1648, and died January 12, 1704. He married, June 6, 1668, Elizabeth Wells, who died in 1717. From him . descended most of the Essex Burnhams. He settled in Chebacco, first near the head of Whittridge creek, and afterwards at the Falls. He became in 1689 proprietor of the grist mill at the falls, and much of this property that he owned in the vicinity has remained to the present time in the possession of his family. In 1687 he was given permission to move his mill. His chil- dren were: John, Thomas, Jacob, Joseph, Abigail, Jacob, Jonathan, David and Mary. ( Mention of David and descendants forms a part of this article.) (IV) Thomas, second son of John and Eliza- beth (Wells) Burnham, was born in 1673 and died in 1748. The land on which he settled was a part of his father's estate in Essex, and still remains in possession of his descendants. The family name of his wife is not known, but he married and had six children.
(V) Stephen, son of Thomas Burnham, mar- ried Mary Andrews, and settled in. Gloucester, Mas- sachusetts. The dates of his birth, marriage and death or unknown, but he had a large family of thirteen children, some of whom came to New Hampshire and were among the first settlers there.
(VI) Joshua, son of Stephen and Mary (An- drews) Burnham, was born in Gloucester, Massa- chusetts, in 1754, and afterward lived in the town of Milford, New Hampshire. Ile had ten children, among them a son Thomas.
(VII) Thomas, son of Joshua, was born in Milford, New Hampshire, in 1783, and died in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, in 1856. He was a substantial farmer and a man of considerable consequence in the town, although he appears not to have taken much interest in public affairs. He continued to live in Milford until 1821, then re- moved to Antrim and occupied what was known as the Madison Tuttle farm until 1837, when he moved ยท to Hillsborough. In ISo; Mr. Burnham married Rachel Conant, who died in Nashua, New Hamp- shire, in 1871, at the age of eighty-seven years.
They had eight children: Albert G., Selina D., Dr. Abel C., Orna B., Henrietta B., G. Erickson, E. Hatch and Oramus W. Burnham.
(Vill) Dr. Abel Conant Burnham was in many respects one of the most notable and noble char- acters in Hillsborough history. A selfmade man himself, and knowing by his own experience some- thing of the obstacles to be met and overcome in establishing a comfortable condition of things in domestic life, he was ever considerate of the cir- cumstances of those about him and very frequently during the course of his long and honorable career as a physician gave medical attention and often material aid with no thought of compensation or reward other than the consciousness of having done some good.
Dr. Burnham was the third child and younger of the two sons in the family of Thomas and Rachel (Conant) Burnham, and was born in the town of Amherst, New Hampshire, May 12, 1812; and he died in the town of Hillsborough, New Hampshire, May 26, 1896, in the house now occu- pied by his adopted daughter. Much of his young life was passed in the family of his mother's brother, Rev. Abel Conant, of Leominster, Massa- chusetts, under whose direction he was given pre- liminary instruction in order to lay the foundation of his later education. He afterward was a stu- dent in the academies in Francestown, Pembroke and Hillsborough, and having acquired a good edu- cation lie went to Watervliet, New York, and taught school there for a year, then returned to Hills- borough and took up the study of medicine with Dr. Elisha Hatch, in winter seasons devoting his attention to school teaching. After two years he placed himself under the immediate instruction of Dr. Amos Twitchell, of Keene, New Hampshire, a surgeon of wide renown, and with whom he had the best of opportunities for gaining a thorough knowledge of surgery, and often accompanied his preceptor when the latter was called to operate and acted as his assistant. In after years Dr. Burnham himself became a skillful surgeon and was called to operate in many difficult and sometimes serious cases, requiring not only surgical ability but much courage ; but in this quality he never was wanting, and while he was perfectly fearless in his opera- tions in capital cases he always vigorously opposed reckless use of the instruments. His knowledge of anatomy was remarkable and in the study of that branch he was much of the time in the dissect- ing room. He studied modern works and methods, both in medicine and surgery, and employed every opportunity to be present at demonstrations and clinics, although his time was earlier than that in which clinical instruction became a leading part of the medical college course. Dr. Burnham's medi- cal education included three courses of lectures- one at Woodstock, Vermont, and two at Dartmouth Medical College, Hanover, New Hampshire, where he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in November, 1839. After leaving college with his prized "sheepskin" he went to Lowell, Massachut- setts, and spent one winter in the office of Drs. Kimball & Bartlett, then returned to Ihillsborough, and in February, 1841, began active practice as assistant to Dr. Hatch, his old preceptor. In the following fall he located at the village known as Hillsborough Bridge, and after six years there took a post-graduate course in the medical department of the University of New York, and also attended at several of the large city hospitals. He then came back to Hillsborough Bridge and established himself in the practice which continued through a
2
96
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
period of fifty-five years, until the time of his death, in 1896. In connection with a large general practice Dr. Burnham was for many years promi- nently identified with the history of the town of Hillsborough and its institutions. For four years he held the office of superintending school commit- tee, and for fifty years held a commission as justice of the peace. He was twice elected representative of Hillsborough to the general court, three years a member of the Hillsborough Board of Education, thirteen years a member of the board of directors of the First National Bank of Hillsborough, many years a member of the American Medical Associa- tion and the New Ilampshire State Medical So- ciety. He was made a Mason in Harmony Lodge of Hillsborough in 1860, and for several years was secretary of that body.
Dr. Abel Conant Burnham married, November 9, 1849, Caroline Dascomb, daughter of George and Mary (Steele) Dascomb of Hillsborough. She was born July 27, IS23, and died December 24, 1898. Their daughter by adoption, Emma Jack- man, of Hillsborough, was born in Brighton, Illi- nois, March 6, 1870, and from the time she became a member of the Burnham household was the doc- tor's efficient helper and chief dependence in his later professional and domestic life. She mar- ried, December 31, 1895, John Conway Warne, who was born in Birmingham, England, Angust 12, 1872, and came to this country in 1893. In England he served a full apprenticeship to the tailor's trade, and now is engaged in business in Boston. Mr. and Mrs. Warne have two children: Alma Monroe Warne, born April 17, 1899, and Nerine Warne, born February 18, 1901.
(IV) David, sixth son of John and Elizabeth (Wells) Burnham, was born in Chebacco, October 20, 1688; died February 2, 1770; married ( first), July 2, 1711, Elizabeth Perkins ; married (second). August 18, 1740, Elizabeth Bartlett, born 1703; died Oc- tober 16, 1794. Children of David and Elizabeth (Perkins) Burnham: I. Elizabeth, born June 3, 1712; married February 25, 1733, Samuel Webster. 2. David, born June 17, 1714; mentioned below. 3. Sarah, born December 28, 1715: married De- cember 9. 1736, Solomon Giddings. 4. Abigail, born August 31, 1717; married 1740, Daniel Danc. 5. Westley, born October, 1719. Children of the second wife: 6. Isaac, born August 31, 1741; died August 8, 1819. 7. Joseph, born January 3, 1743. 8. Wil- liam, born August 10, 1746.
(V) David (2), son of David (1) Burnham, was born at Essex, Massachusetts, June 17, 1714; died December 27, 1802; married September 25. 1734, Elizabeth Marshall, born 1715, died 1801. Children, born in Essex: I. Amos, born 1735, mentioned below. 2. Benjamin, baptized December 5. 1736. 3. David, baptized November 19, 1738, died in infancy. 4. David, baptized August 10, 1740; married December 21, 1764, Ann Grover. Elizabeth, baptized October 10, 1742. 6. Moses, baptized January 6, 1745, died young. 7. Han- nah, baptized March 25, 1747; married November 3, 1768, Thomas Story. S. Enoch, baptized 1749; married February II, 1779, Hannah Bennett. 9.
Susannah, born 1750. 10. Benjamin, born 1755: married May 24, 1778, Susanna Day; died April 14, 1847. II. Moses, born 1757: died April 22, ISO1; married March 9, 1799, Eunice Andrews. 12. Parker, baptized in 1764; mhurried March S, 1787, Tabitha Day, second November 16, 1804, Martha Lufkin; he died February 20, 1856.
(VI) Amos, son of David (2) Burnham, was born in Essex, 1735, and died at Ipswich, November
28, 1788. He married first, January 27, 1757, Sarah Giddings, who died January 20, 1782. He married second, October 4, 1782, Mehitable Foster. He was drowned while fowling in Chebacco Pond. Chil- dren: I. Amos, married January 3, 1782, Abigail Goodhue; he died April, 1834. 2. Thomas M., born about 1760; married November 28, 1784, Mary Marshall. 3. Sarah, married November 27, 1783. Charles Burnham; she died May 3, 1851. 4. Eliza- beth, born about 1765; died August 11, 1846. 5. Aaron, born May 25, 1767; died December 16, 1835; married October 26, 1790, Lucy Poland. 6. Daniel, born September 6, 1768; died April 29, 1849; married June 29, 1789, Elizabeth Giddings. 7. David, born June 10, 1770; mentioned below. 8. Robert, born 1772; married January 3, 1793, Eunice Emerson. 9. Susan, married September 13. 1794, Jonathan Burnham. 10. Martha, married April 21, 1806, Ira Percival. 11. William, mar- ried August 10, 1798, Eunice Story; he died No- vember 29, 1848. 12. Judith, married April 5, 1799, Joseph Allen. Child of second wife: 13. Rosanna, born about 1783, married July 14, 1804, Phineas Story.
(VII) David (3), son of Amos Burnham, was born in Essex or Ipswich, Massachusetts, June 10, 1770, and died December S. 1863. He was a sea captain. He married first, December 19, 1789, Polly Noble. Children: May, born 1790; Olive, Hepze- bath, Fidelia, Lucinda, Elinor, Thomas Choate, mentioned below, and Matilda.
( VI11) Thomas Choate, son of David Burnham. was born in Essex, September 1, 1810; died October, 1895. He married Sallie Gove. He resided in Enfield, New Hampshire, where many of the Burn- ham family have settled. Children: I. Elijah Gove. born June 9. 1841, mentioned below. 2. Mary Jane, born February 28, 1848, died March 11, 1862.
(IX) Elijah Gove, son of Thomas Choate Burnham, was born in Enfield, New Hampshire. June 9, 1841, and died August 19, 1900. He was educated in the public schools of his native town, and learned the trade of tinsmith in his youth, following it as a trade and business during his active life. At one time he carried on a hardware business also. In politics he was a Republican. He enlisted in 1862 in the union army in the Eleventh New Hampshire Volunteers, and owing to bad health was detailed to do special service, such as clerking, etc. He was a man of much natural ability and achieved success in business by constant in- dustry and untiring energy. He married Addie Lorentine Moody, born at Stowe, Vermont, Sep- tember 2, 1841, daughter of John and Louisa (Towne) Moody. Her father was born at Stowe. February 28, 1816, and died January 10, 1881; her mother was born July 5, 1819, and died June II. 1849. Children of John and Louisa Moody: Jessie Towne Moody; Addie Lorentine Moody; Priscilla R. Moody; Erminie L. Moody and Nathaniel R. Moody. John Moody was a farmer and stone ma- son; a Republican in politics; a Universalist in re- ligion. He was the son of John Moody, also of Stowe.
(1) John, son of Thomas Burnham, was born at Scarborough, Maine, in 1779. He was educated at Phillips Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire, af- terwards settling in Limerick, Maine, where he was the first lawyer and a member of the legislature which set off Maine from Massachusetts. John Burnham married Susannah Hill, daughter of Cap- tain Jeremiah Hill, of Biddeford, Maine. Her father, Jeremiah Hill, was commissioned a captain by John Hancock about the time the Declaration
97
NEW HAMPSHIRE
of Independence was signed. John and Susanna (Hill) Burnham had eleven children, among them Mark L., whose sketch follows.
(11) Mark L., son of John and Susannah (Hill) Burnham, was born at Limerick, Maine, in July, 1815. He spent three years in Boston in early life, and then returned to Limerick, where he be- came a farmer. He was an active member of the Congregational Church, a Democrat in politics, and served as deputy sheriff a number of years. He married Susan Lord, daughter of Thomas Lord, of Limerick. They had seven children: John, de- ceased; Charles Henry, whose sketch follows; James O., deceased; Sarah Bradbury, deceased ; Susannah, widow of John Forber, of Limerick; Oscar D., who lives at Limerick; Abbie H., widow of Thurston Day, who lives at Revere, Massachu- setts. Mark L. Burnham, and his wife died in 1895.
(III) Charles Henry, second son and child of Mark L. and Susan (Lord) Burnham, was born at Limerick, Maine, January 20, 1837. He was edu- cated in the common schools and at the academy, and was graduated from Bowdoin Medical College in 1867. He practiced medicine at Weston, Maine, one year, and at Denmark, Maine, six years, and came to Jefferson, New Hampshire, in November, 1875. Dr. Burnham is a Democrat in politics, and was chairman of the board of selectmen in Jeffer- son from 1878 to 1900. He represented his town in the New Hampshire legislature during 1889 and 1890. He is now a member of the school board (1907). Dr. Burnham belongs to the . Coos County Medical Society, and to the Masonic fraternity, be- ing a member of North Star Blue Lodge at Lancaster, New Hampshire. He has an attractive home at Jefferson Hill, and is one of the most valued citi- zens of the town.
Dr. Charles Henry Burnham married, 1871, Jen- nie S., daughter of Lorenzo D. and Angeline ( Howard) Berry; of Denmark, Maine. There are no children.
This old Scotch name has long MITCHELL been conspicuous in the history of New England, and its bearers have been noted for those Scotch qualities of industry, thrift and stern adherence to principle which are proverbial. In the early settlement of New Hamp- shire and the development of its industries past and present, it has borne no mean part, and is now known honorably throughout the United States, many of its representatives being descendants of those stern old New Hampshire pioneers. These last mentioned, as well as their progenitors, have been noted for their feats of physical strength and qualities of endurance.
(I) The founder of the family in America was a native of Scotland, and Captain Mitchell (probably hamed Philip) held a commission under the Duke of Marlboro in the British army. He was sent to America in Queen Anne's reign to assist the colonists in their struggles with the In- dians. This company consisted of one hundred men, and included a contingent of axemen who cut their way through the wilderness along the frontiers under guard of their companions in arms. This Captain Mitchell received from the colony of Mas- sachusetts, in compensation for his services, a grant of one thousand acres of land. He settled in what is now Haverhill, and built a block house for the protection of himself and neighbors in case of li- dian outbreaks, and this continued a long time a landmark of the locality. His residence was on 1-7
the north side of the Merrimac river, in the west parish of Haverhill, and he built a house about 1730 which is now standing. This was at Mitchell's Falls, formerly known as "Mitchell's Eddy," near Scotland Hill. This hill was so named in honor of the native land of Captain Mitchell. He had sons John and George.
(11) John, elder son of Captain Mitchell, re- sided through life in Haverhill, and had sons : Nathaniel, Ebenezer, Thomas, Daniel and one who was accidentally shot in childhood. One of the sons married a Johnson, of Hampstead, and the other a Gordon.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.