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 28

Author: Stearns, Ezra S; Whitcher, William F. (William Frederick), 1845-1918; Parker, Edward E. (Edward Everett), 1842-1923
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: New York : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 858

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 28

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(III) Nathaniel, eldest son of John Mitchell, was born 1732, of Scotland llill, near "Mitchell's Eddy," and died there in 1797. lle was a tanner and currier, and resided in what is now Dracut until 1767, when he removed to the eastern part of Bradfort, transporting his family and effects down the Merrimac River on a raft. He married Abigail, daughter of Deacon John and Abigail (Bailey) Day, who was born January 24, 1733 (sec Bailey, 111). Their sons were: Nathaniel, Captain Day, Joseph and Peter. There were also two in succession named James who died in infancy and also twin daughters, who died young.

(IV) Nathaniel (2), eldest son of Nathaniel (1) and Abigail ( Bailey ) Mitchell, was born Au- gust 23, 1758, in Haverhill, and resided in Brad- ford, Massachusetts, until after two of his children were born. He subsequently lived twenty years in Hampstead, whence he removed to Hooksett, and died there August 31, 1838. He was a soldier ot the revolution, serving under Stark at Bennington, and after the war was over he was a partner of Stark in theoperation of a saw mill at Amoskeag. and lived in that village for a time. He married, about 1790, Ellice; daughter of Abraham and Su sannah Parker. The latter was a daughter of Timothy Burbank, and widow of Benjamin Green- ough. Mrs. Mitchell was born August I, 1769, and survived her husband about seventeen years, dying in August, 1855, at Manchester. Their chil- dren were: James, Abraham, Nathaniel, Benjamin, Joseph, Retier and Peter. (Retier and descendants are noticed in a later paragraph in this article. )

(V) James, eldest child of Nathaniel (2) and Alice (Parker ) Mitchell, was born November 25, 1788, in Bradford, Massachusetts, and removed with his father to Hampstead, and thence to Hooksett. For some years he lived at Amoskeag, now a part of Manchester, and with his brother Nathaniel owned a water power there, on which they operated a saw mill for two years. In 1819 he removed te Hooksett and engaged in farming on the River road, on land now owned by Scott S. Eastman. In 1838 he removed to Manchester, and in 1839 built a house on Merrimack street. He sub-equently built at the corner of Merrimack and Pine, and afterward resided on Central street, From 1828 to 1840 he kept a boarding house. fle was an active member of the Methodist Church, and a vigorous opponent of human slavery. He was politically identified with the Whig and Free Sol parties, and was naturally among the founders of the Republican party. He was married in 1814 to Isabel Mitchell, of Kittery, Maine. Their chil- dren are as follows: Martha Ann, the eldest, mar ried Luther B. French, and resided in Du Quoin, Illinois. James established one of the earliest shor stores in Manchester, where he lived and died Nathaniel is the subject of the succeeding para graph. Isaac resided in St. Louis, Missouri. Alice became the wife of Isaac Noyes, and died in Man

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chester, New Hampshire. George was a soldier in the civil war, and gave up his life in the battle of Shiloh. Emily married Horatio Stevens, a sea Captain, and died at Malden, Massachusetts, June 2, 1894. Elizabeth married Rev. James Gridley, a Presbyterian. clergyman, and resided in Illinois. Abraham is a prominent railroad man, whose home is at Hyde Park, now in the city of Chicago, Illi- nois. Jacob resides at Englewood, also in Chicago. Beside these one died in infancy.

(VI) Nathaniel, second son and third child of James and Isabella Mitchell. was born October 22, 1817, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and reared in Manchester and Hooksett, receiving his education in the common schools. He was a farmer on the River road in the latter town, on the home- stead formerly owned by his father-in-law, William Parker, and continued in that occupation until ad- vancing years compelled his retirement. His last years were passed at the home of his daughter in Amesbury, Massachusetts, where he died November 22, 1900, aged eighty-three years. He was a regular attendant and supporter of the Methodist Church, and a steadfast Republican, having accepted the foundation principles of his party long before its organization. He was married, about 1845, to Ade- Jine Parker, second daughter of William Parker (see Parker, VI). She was born in 1824, in Hook- sett, and died July 1, 1884, at the age of sixty- two years. Their children were: William, died at the age of thirty-two years; Henry Clinton, last heard of in Colorado; George Edward, a resident of Sacramento, California; Frank Albert, who re- ceives further mention below; Elizabeth Belle, wife of Arthur Congdon, residing in Amesbury, Massa- chusetts; Charles Everett, a resident of Hooksett; and Frederick, who died at the age of one year.

(VHE) Frank Albert, fourth son and child of Nathaniel and Adeline (Parker) Mitchell, was born May 26, 1858, in Hooksett, and was reared on his father's farm in that town. He attended the common school at Hooksett Village, continuing dur- ing the winter terms until he was seventeen years old. In the meantime he was early introduced to the duties and labors of a farmer's son, and con- tinned an active assistant of his father until he was twenty years of age. At that time he went to Hannibal, Missouri, and began his railroad career as a fireman on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad. Before three years had rolled around he was promoted to the position of locomotive engineer. In 1882 he came to Manchester, this state, and was employed four years in Blood's locomotive shops, becoming thoroughly familiar with the con- struction of the machines which he formerly oper- ated. In 1886 he went to Duluth, Minnesota, and was employed on the Northern Pacific railroad, and ·operated a locomotive used in the construction of che Ashland branch of that road. At the end of itwo years he returned to Manchester and has been a resident of that city during the last seventeen years. For some time he was employed in operat- ing a stationary engine for the electric light com- pany of that city, and for twelve years past has been employed by the Amoskeag Corporation. He now controls an engine of forty-five hundred horsepower which drives the electric motors used in the enor- mous plant of that concern. Mr. Mitchell is a mem- ber of Friendship Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Hooksett, and is an attendant of the Christian Science Church at Manchester. Like his father and grandfather, lie is an ardent be- liever in the principles and public policy of the Republican party. He was married, June 1,. 1893,

to Susie Brown, born March 19, 1872, at St. Johns- bury, Vermont, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Murtage) Brown, of Scotch ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have one son, Frank Edward, born October 13, 1900.

(\') Abraham, second son and child of Na- thaniel (2) and Alice (Parker) Mitchell, was prob- ably a native of Hampstead. He settled opposite Martin's Ferry, in the town of Hooksett, where he had an intervale of farm of two hundred acres. His wife Judith Moulton, of Hampstead, was born January 4, 1790, in Hampstead. She survived him, and died at the home of William H. Wheeler, in Hooksett. Mr. Mitchell was a deep student of theology, and pursued the study so far that his mind became unbalanced. Following is a brief mention of his children. Nathaniel, the first, is noticed in the next paragraph. William died at the age of thirty-eight years. Sarah became the wife of Rev. Joseph Hayes, a Methodist clergyman who attained great age, dying at Newburyport, Massa- chusetts, when about one hundred years old. John was a merchant at Hooksett and Manchester, and died at the latter place. Jane, the wife of Wallace Rogers, resided in and died in Bow, as did, also, Abigail, the wife of Charles Wheeler. Alice mar- ried Ira Prescott, and lived and died in Deerfield. Abraham died in Hooksett.

(VI) Nathaniel, eldest child of Abraham and Judith (Moulton) Mitchell, was born May 20, 1814, in what is now Hooksett. He was married, November 13, 1836, to Sallie Leavitt, who was born December 10, 1810, daughter of Josiah and Susan J. (Copp) Leavitt. Josiah Leavitt was born March 14. 1783, and his wife November 25, 1786. They were married August 9, 1804. Nathaniel Mitchell owned and operated flatboats on the Merrimack river, and with his brother, J. H. Mitchell, kept a large country store from 1838 until 1844. He was a selectman and tax collector for many years in his native town. He was engaged to some extent in the lumber business, and owned and managed a farm. He died November 18, 1867, and his wife

died July 30, 1902. Their children were: Hope, Annie H., Ruth, Seth, Mary and Fred.

(VII) Annie H., second daughter of Nathaniel and Sallie (Leavitt) Mitchell, became the wife of Norris C. Gault (see Gault, VI). She died January 18, 1900.

(V) Rev. Retier, fifth son and child of Na- thaniel and Alice (Parker) Mitchell, was born July 30, 1798, in Hampstead, New Hampshire. His early education was obtained in the common schools, and supplemented at Wilbraham Academy and by private study and extensive reading, and he was widely known as a cultivated man. He became a deacon of the Methodist Church, a rank which is seldom accorded to laymen in that organization. He was a farmer in Hooksett, and engaged largely in rear- ing cattle and sheep. His farm was on the .west side of the river, on what is known as the River road. He removed to Manchester about 1840 and purchased a tract of ground on which he engaged in gardening and fruit culture, and also realized an income from the sale of city lots. He often supplied the pulpit in churches of the vicinity, and hield membership with St. Paul's Methodist Episco- pal Church of Manchester. In politics he was an old-line Whig, and affiliated with the Republican party upon its organization. He was a representa- tive. Of studious and domestic tastes, he attained the great age which is usually the result of temper- ate living and non-participation in strifes. He died at Manchester, 1881. He was married to Nancy

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Hayes, who was born in Allenstown, the eldest of five famous sisters in the family of John Hayes of that town. Their children were Oliver N. and Emma F. The latter became the wife of M. V. B. Smith, and died in Manchester, childless.

(VI) Oliver Newland, only son of Rev. Retier and Nancy ( Hayes) Mitchell, was born January 29, 1831, in Hooksett, and was about nine years old when his parents removed to Manchester. His education was supplied by the public schools of that city, and he early began to assist his father in gardening and horticulture, and continued that busi- ness after his father's death until old age compelled him to cease his activity. He died March 12, 1905. He was a man of quiet tastes, and did not mingle in public life, although he was was a man of settled convictions and sustained the principles of the Re- publican party. He was fond of his home, was well-read, and universally respected. Although his name was not on the roll of any church, he was a regular attendant and supporter of St. Paul's So- ciety of Manchester. Mr. Mitchell was married, November 7, 1854, to Sarah P. Thompson, who was born March 14, 1829, in Burrellville, Rhode Island, a daughter of Lewis and Sarah B. (Ald- rich) Thompson. She survives her husband, and how resides in South Manchester. She is a mem- ber of the Society of Friends, or Quakers. Fol- lowing is a brief account of their children: Mary Wing, the eldest, is a teacher in the public schools of Manchester. Park, the second, is the subject of the succeeding paragraph. Lewis Thompson is a resident of Candia, this state, Hiram Wing is somewhere in the west, and was, when last heard from, in British Columbia. Peter Olney and Wil- fred S. Thompson are residents of South Man- chester.

(VII) Park, eldest son and second child of Oliver N. and Sarah P. (Thompson) Mitchell, was born November 16, 1856, in Manchester, where he grew up, beginning his education, so far as schools may go, in the primary and grammar schools of South Manchester. Extensive travel, together with reading and observation during the years that have since passed, have made of him a well-informed man, and this coupled with his native intelligence have made him a worthy descendant of worthy sires. For a short time he attended the Friends' boarding school in Weare, known as Clinton Grove Seminary. His school days were over at the age of sixteen years, when he entered the office of The Manchester Union to acquire the printer's trade. Since that time he has been a newspaper com- ·positor, and has worked in many states of the Union. At one time he was one of the proprietors of a morning paper at Lynn, Massachusetts, whose plant was destroyed in the great fire of Lynn. For some years he has been settled down in Man- chester and held up to 1907 a desirable position in the office of the Union, where he first began his career. Since then he has been editing and pub- lishing the New Hampshire Trades Union. Since 1880 he has been a member of the Typographiical Union, which he joined in New Haven, Connecticut, and has held all the offices in that body. He was three years president of the Central Labor Union of Manchester, and in 1904, was president of the State Federation of Labor. He is also a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, Mr. Mitchell has done much speaking in the interests of organized labor in many parts of the state, and has been pleasantly received, " In the spring of 1906 he was appointed state organizer of the American Fed- eration of Labor, and has since given his time to

the interests of that organization, with much suc- cess. He was married, June 25, 1885, to Flora A. Ilartwell, who was born in Claremont, New Hamp- shire, daughter of Rev. Henry H. and Sarah ( Sar- gent) Hartwell. The latter was a daughter of Sterling Sargent (see Sargent, VII). Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell are the parents of three children, namely : Emma Mary, Florence Sargent and Henry Oliver. The family attends the Friends Church.

( Second Family.)

(1) Experience Mitchell and his MITCHELL brother Thomas were members of the original company of worship- pers who went from England to Leyden, Holland, prior to establishing themselves in New England, but neither of them accompanied the pilgrims in the "Mayflower," and Thomas died in Holland. In 1623 Experience Mitchell sailed in the "Anne,' which was the third ship to arrive at Plymouth, Massachusetts, where he shared in the first division of land the same year, and he also received his portion of the live-stock which was distributed in 1627. In 1037 lie sold his land on Spring Hill, Plymouth, to Samuel Eddy, and moving to Dux- bury, he purchased the William Paybody farm on Blue Fish river. He was one of the original pro- prietors of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, selling his proprietory rights to Thomas Hayward, but in his declining years he went to reside in that town with liis son Edward, who settled in the locality known as Joppa, where he died in 1689, aged eighty years. He is said to have had a sister Constant, who be- came the wife of John Fobes. He is supposed to have married for his first wife Jane Cook, daugh- ter of Francis Cook, who was one of the original "Mayflower" pilgrims, and the christian name of his second wife was Mary. The names of his chil- dren, as gathered from his will, deeds and other recorded documents, were : Thomas, John, Jacob, Edward, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah and Hannah. As it is impossible to identify with certainty the parents of Joseph Mitchell, said to have been the founder of the family in New Hampshire, it has been found necessary to omit the second generation.

(III) Joseph, probably a grandson of Ex- perience Mitchell, was a native of Duxbury and an early settler in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He was a charter member of the first church in that town. The maiden name of his wife is un- known, but her christian name was Mary.

(IV) Joseph (2), son of Joseph (1) and Mary Mitchell, was born in Portsmouth. lit 1720 he married Isabel Bragdon, and about the year 1730 removed from Portsmouth to Kittery, Maine. His children were: Sarah, John and Jeremiah.

(V) Captain Jeremialı, youngest son and child of Joseph (2) and Isabel ( Bragdon) Mitchell, was born (probably ) in Kittery in 1731. He became a master mariner, and was lost at sea in 1785. li- formation at hand states that Jeremiah and his wife Mary were the parents of Joseph, Maisie, Eunice, Sarah, Hannah and Lucy.

(VI) Joseph (3), eldest child and only son of Captain Jeremiah and Mary Mitchell, was born in Kittery in 1768. He married Dorothy Blaisdell, and reared a family of eight children, namely : Mary, Jeremiah, Ezra, Joseph, Hannah, Theodore, Elijah and Benjamin. All lived to a ripe old age and when Benjamin, the youngest, was seventy-two years old, all of his brothers and sisters were in good health.

(VII) Ezra, second son and third child of Joseplı (3) and Dorothy (Blaisdell) Mitchell, was born in Kittery, November 18, 1799. He learned

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the tanner's trade, which he followed in Water- ville, Maine, for a time, and removing to Mechanic Falls, same state, he established himself in busi- ness in that town. He subsequently sold his tannery. and erecting the first paper mill in the Pine Tree state he was identified with that industry for many years. The latter portion of his life was spent in retirement on a farm; he died at the age of ninety years. He married Mary Perry, of Sidney, Maine, and she died in 1851, leaving one son, Ezra.

( VIII) Ezra (2) Mitchell, M. D., only son of Ezra and Mary (Perry) Mitchell, was born in Minot, Maine, November 12, 1841. After graduating from the Maine State Seminary, Lewiston (110W Bates College), he entered the Harvard Medical School, from which he withdrew at the breaking out of the Civil war and enlisted as a private in the Eighth Regiment, Maine Volunteer Infantry. He was, however, appointed a medical cadet in the United States army, and he served as such until mustered out in November, 1865, on account of a serious pulmonary affection which threatened to cut short his career of usefulness. Firmly believing that he would ultimately recover, he became a medi- cal student at Dartmouth College, from which he was graduated in 1867, and luis determination to conquer his malady, as well as the diseases of his fellowmen, seems to have been realized, as he is now practicing his profession in Lancaster, where he located shortly after his graduation. The hand- ling of his own case, necessitating an exhaustive investigation as to the most effectual means of treating what has since been termed the "great white plague," naturally prompted him to become a specialist in tuberculosis and kindred diseases, and liis success in this particular field of practice attests the fact that he has not labored in vain. He does not, however, confine his practice exclusively to this specialty, having attained substantial success as a general physician and surgeon, and he ranks among the most able medical practitioners in the state.

In 1903 Dr. Mitchell was elected to the lower branch of the state legislature, solely for the pur- pose of assisting in the passing of an act appropriat- ing a large sum for the building of a state sani- tarium, and the bill passed both houses without opposition, but was vetoed by Governor Batchelder. Re-elected in 1905, he renewed his efforts in behalf of the sanitarium bill with increased vigor, and once more secured its passage in the lower house. This time the act was opposed in the senate, but a compromise, in which the Balch estate figured prominently, was finally effected, stipulating that the bill become a law on May 1, 1907. Having thus accomplished his purpose he declined further nomi- nation for public office, and retired permanently from politics. He was appointed chairman of the board of trustees to locate and build the sanitarium. Dr. Mitchell is a member of the Coos County, the New Hampshire and the National Medical societies, and of the Masonic Order. From 1882 to 1885 he served as surgeon-general of the state militia, and attended as a delegate the dedication of the national monument at Yorktown, which took place on the centennial anniversary of that decisive battle. He is now president of the Lancaster Savings Bank, and vice-president of the Lancaster Trust Company. In his religious faith he is an Episcopalian, and is junior warden of St. Paul's Church.

Dr. Mitchell married Abbie E. Potter, Decem- ber 5, 1867, daughter of Albert Potter, of Gardiner, Maine. Dr. and Mrs. Mitchell have had three chil- dren, only one of whom, Ernest H., is now living.

A daughter died in infancy and a son met an ac- cidental death at the age of two years.

SAWYER Within a few years after the landing

of the Pilgrims at Plymouth there

appears in the records. of the settle- ments of Massachusetts Bay Colony the name Saw- yer, a name which for centuries in the United States has been borne and honored by men who have been successful leaders in nearly all the walks of life. As governors, congressmen, and senators, as lawyers and jurists, as manufacturers and mer- chants, agriculturists and skilled artisans, as pio- neers they have shown those qualities of character which planted civilization in a land inhabited by savages, and under conditions that would have dis- heartened any but the strongest and bravest. Their hardihood and christian fortitude made them the fit instruments for the advancement of civilization upon the underlying foundation principles, the ob- ject which is the enjoyment of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." As defenders of these prin- ciples there were ever ready to face death, as the records of the carly Indian wars in New England show, as well as those of the Revolution, and in later years when their country required defenders. It is a matter of record that eighteen members of the Sawyer family from Lancaster, Massachusetts, alone were in the military service at the same time during the Revolution, and that one company re- cruited in that town was officered from captain down by Sawyers.

John Sawyer was

a farmer in Lincoln- shire, England, where he is supposed to have been a landholder also. He was the father of three sons : William, Edward and Thomas, who left England on a ship commanded by Captain Parker, and settled in Massachusetts about 1630. (The last named and descendants receive extended men- tion in this article.)

(I) William Sayer, the immigrant ancestor, was born about 1613, probably in England. He was in Salem, Massachusetts, and later in Wenham, from 1640 to 1645. His name at that time was spelled Sayer. He subscribed to the oath of allegiance in 1678, and became a member of the First Baptist Church in Boston, with his wife and several others of Newbury in 1681. It is probable that he had then resided in Newbury for forty years. A branch of the First Baptist Church was formed in New- bury in 1682, and William and John Sayer and others were among its members. He was still living in 1697, and his estate was administered by his son-in-law. John Emery, in March, 1703. The name of his wife was Ruth, and his children were: John, Samuel, Ruth, Mary ( died young), Sarah, Hannah (died young), William, Frances ( died young), Mary, Stephen A., Hannah and Frances. (Mention of William and Stephen and descendants "forms a part of this article. )

(II) Samuel, second son of William and Ruth Sawyer, was born November 22, 1646, in Newbury, where he lived. He was made a freeman, May 12, 1675, and died February 11, 1718. He was married in Newbury, March .13, 1671, to Mary, daughter of George Emery. Their children were : Mary, Samuel, John (died young), Joshua, Hannah, Jo- siah, John, a daughter who died in infancy, and Benjamin.

(III) Joshua, third son and fourth child of Samuel and Mary (Emery) Sawyer, was born about 1677 or 1678 in Newbury and there lived. No record of his death has been discovered. The name of his wife was Elizabeth, as shown by the record

LEVI D. SAWYER.

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of the births of their children, who were: Joseph, Mary, Joshua, Nathan, Sarah and Anne.

(IV) Joseph, eldest child of Joshua and Eliza- beth Sawyer, was born November 19, 1706, in New- bury, and settled at Falmouth, Maine. He mar- ried Joanna, daughter of Ebenezer and Mary Cobb, and lived in what is now known as Cape Elizabeth. From him is descended nearly all of the Saco val- ley families of that name. His children were : Ebenezer, Mary, Jabez, John, Rachael, James, Mercy, Lemuel and Rebecca,

(V) John, third son and fourth child of Jo- seph and Joanna (Cobb) Sawyer, was born De- cember 24, 1745, at Cape Elizabeth, and settled with his brother near Duck pond in that town. He is described as a large inan, having curly hair. He died December 3, 1805. He married Isabella Martin, of Buxton, who survived him thirty-four years, dying December 6, 1839. Their children were: Rebecca, Hannah, John, Robert, Abigail, David, Molly, Rachael, Joanna, Sally and Lemuel. (VI) David, third son and sixth child of John and Isabella (Martin) Sawyer, was baptized Oc- tober 3, 1783, and settled in Standish, Maine, and there owned a farm of four hundred acres which he cultivated. He married Betsy Allen and they had several children, including Thomas, Lemuel and George A.

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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 28

Author: Stearns, Ezra S; Whitcher, William F. (William Frederick), 1845-1918; Parker, Edward E. (Edward Everett), 1842-1923 Publication date: 1908 Publisher: New York : Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 858

Author: Stearns, Ezra S; Whitcher, William F. (William Frederick), 1845-1918; Parker, Edward E. (Edward Everett), 1842-1923
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: New York : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 858