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 39
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
(VIII) Byron Gustavus, second son and child of Jeremiah and Mary Ann (George) Merrill, was born in Rumney, April 21, 1834, and died at Frank- lin, Pennsylvania, May 12, 1902. He was born and grew up on a farm, and was educated in the com- mon schools. It is said that he was a well grown boy before he saw a locomotive, and at the first sight of one his mind was instantly made up as to what his life work should be-employment con- nected with railroads. When the Boston, Concord & Montreal railroad was surveyed he entered the employ of that road as a rodman, and later served as a fireman on an engine and machinist in its shops at Lakeport, where he was associated with James T. Gordon, later master mechanic of the Boston & Maine. In 1862 he was employed by the Boston Back Bay Company, under James Foss, on the work of filling in the Back Bay district in Bos- ton. From July 1, 1865, he served as master ine- chanic of the Syracuse & Binghamton railroad for a few years. In 1871 he became interested in oil wells at Franklin, Pennsylvania, and in June, 1872, he was in partnership with Dr. Gibson ("Doc", in Mark Twain's "Innocents Abroad"). In 1875 he became superintendent at Franklin of the mechani- cal department of the Galena Oil Company. Being one of the best qualified experts on lubricating oils and their proper use, he travelled and sold very large quantities of oils for his employers. His last service for the company was as consulting mechani- cal expert. For thirty years preceding his death Mr. Merrill was a legal resident of Concord, New Hampshire, and during that time took an active part in municipal affairs, and was elected a member of the board of aldermen from ward six in 1876 and 1877. Together with Mayor George A. Pills- bury and Hon. George A. Cummings he was charged in 1876 with superintending the construc- tion of the sewerage system, expending some fifty- two thousand dollars in that work. Mr. Merrill considered Concord his home, and regularly re- turned there to vote until 1899. He began life as a farmer boy, and achieved success by his own efforts. Mr. Merrill married (first), January 23, 1856, Esther Houston, of Plymouth, born July 6, 1835, died September 29, 1861, daughter of Gilmore and Sarah (Griffin) Houston; and (second), August 8, 1869, Martha J. Hall, of Belmont, born December 23, 1842, died May 18, 1874. There was born to the first wife one child, Adelaide Louisa, whom her father cherished with deep and unfailing tender- ness, and who has erected and given to his native town a handsome and costly library building, as a monument to his memory.
The following tribute to the character and worth of Mr. Merrill is taken from the resolution adopted by his co-workers of the Galena-Signal Oil Com- pany, immediately after his decease:
"His nature was cast in no common mould. He began life in poverty, and by his own efforts gained great wealth. Injustice never tainted his business transactions, and he had an honest title to all he gained. The secret of his business success lay in the fact that nature gave him a clear and discern- ing mind and an inflexible will. His industry was tireless and obstacles in his path only urged him forward. He admitted few men to his confidence and friendship, and his true qualities were known only to his close friends. He was absolutely honest and scorned flattery and deceit. He knew his rights and maintained them, but his nature was kindly. Bereft of his wife in early manhood, he cherished his daughter, his only child, with deep and un- failing tenderness. He took leave of life as be- comes a brave man. In his final illness when sut- fering with pain, he kept a cheerful temper and a smile often lighted his face. We offer this tribute to our departed brother and have comfort in the knowledge that we do it in absolute sincerity and truth."
(I) James A. Merrill was born in Corinth, Ver- mont, September 13, 1835. After the conclusion of his studies he served an apprenticeship at the cooper's trade, and locating in Brookline, New Hampshire, he followed it as a journeyman until the commence- inent of the Civil war. Enlisting as a private in Company C, Sixteenth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, he spent the major part of his term of service in Louisiana, and after his return from the army he resumed his trade in Nashua. In Masonry he had advanced as far as the Blue lodge. He married Mary Law, daughter of John and Ellen Law, and had a family of six children, four of whom are living, namely: Ida, wife of H. G. Manville, of Nashua; Kate F., wife of Bert Harwood, also of Nashua; Fred C., of Nashua; and Frank H., who is at the present time serving as secretary of the Young Men's Christian As- sociation in Norwich, Connecticut.
(Il) Fred Corydon, son of James A. and Mary (Law) Merrill, was born in Nashua, December 9, 1872. He attended the public schools, including the high school, and after completing his studies entered the service of the Boston & Maine Rail- way Company, in the office of the freight depart- ment, in which he remained for a period of four years. He became bookkeeper for the Roby & Swart Manufacturing Company, and later secretary and superintendent of the company, who conduct an extensive box factory and are dealers in dressed lumber, and still retains that position. Mr. Merrill is one of the most active and progressive young business men in Nashua, and is highly esteemed by his associates. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
He married Rosy Clement, daughter of C. H. Clement, of Derry, this state.
This is one of the many Scotch-Irish COX families which have contributed to the general development of New Hampshire, and its descendants arc now widely scattered throughout the country.
(I) Edward Cox, the immigrant ancestor, set- tled in Londonderry, New Hampshire, and was sub- sequently a resident of Nottingham West, now Hudson. His wife's name was Molly Mitten.
(Il) Charles, son of Edward and Molly (Mit-
BYRON G. MERRILL
Quy Nr. Ceux.
I 39
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
ten) Cox, was born in 1746, presumably in Hudson, and was one of the early settlers of Holderness, New Hampshire. He married Mary Elliot, who was probably a member of the old Chester family of that name. (III) Thomas, son of Charles and Mary (Elliot) Cox, was born August 11, 1782, in Holder- ness, and was a farmer residing in that town, where he died May 3, 1830. He was married May 28, 1807, to Miriam Dearborn, daughter of Samuel and Abigail (Ward) Dearborn, of Plymouth, New Hampshire. She was born August 10, 1787, and died April 1, 1873, in New Hampton, New Hamp- shire. After the death of Thomas Cox, she mar- ried (second), in 1834, Ezekiel Hoyt, of Sandwich, whom she survived more than eleven years. The children of Thomas Cox were: Mary (died young), Daniel Harris, Mary, Charles, Abigail, Walter Blair, Eliza Ann, Caroline, Abigail Dearborn and Amanda.
(IV) Walter Blair, third son and sixth child of Thomas and Miriam (Dearborn) Cox, was born April 15, 1816, in Holderness, and lived in Barn- stead and later in his native town, where he died October 5, 1878. He was a prosperous farmer, and for years took an active part in the management of public affairs in Holderness, and was at one time representative of that town in the state legislature. He was married, June 21, 1842, to Nancy Nutter, who was born July 24, 1823, in Barnstead, daugh- ter of Eliphalet and Love (Locke) Nutter. The children who attained years of maturity were : Charles Edson, mentioned below. Nellie, married Levi Fifield, of Worcester. Annie B. Harry. Sines. Ernest.
(V) Charles Edson, eldest son of Walter B. and Nancy (Nutter) Cox, was born in Holderness, in December, 1848. After concluding his studies at the New Hampshire Institute he turned his atten- tion to mercantile pursuits, and for a number of years was a produce commission merchant in Man- chester, devoting his energies principally to the handling of beef. For four and one-half terms or a period of nine years he served as warden of the New Hampshire state prison, and resigning that position he retired permanently from active busi- ness pursuits. Mr. Cox resides in Manchester, where he is highly esteemed for his unimpeachable integrity as well as other commendable qualities, and he was at one time the Republican candidate for mayor. He is far advanced in the Masonic order, affiliating with several of the higher bodies, including the Order of the Mystic Shrine, and he is a prominent member of the Free Will Baptist Church, contributing liberally toward its support. He married Evelyn Mary Randall, daughter of Thomas B. and Mary ( Pickering) Randall, the latter a daughter of John Pickering, was descended from one of New Hampshire's most prominent colonial families. Mr. and Mrs. Cox are the parents of four sons, namely: Walter, a resident of Manchester and a well-known equine expert; Louis S., who is residing in Lawrence, Massachu- setts, an ex-senator: Channing, a successful Boston lawyer; and Guy W., who is referred to at greater length in the succeeding paragraph.
(VI) Guy Wilbur Cox, A. M., LL. B., son of Charles Edson and Evelyn M. (Randall) Cox, was born in Manchester, January 19, 1871. While pursuing his preliminary branches of his education he gave evidence of an inherent capacity for learn- ing which he afterward displayed during his Collegiate and professional studies. At Dartmouth
College, where he took his Bachelor degree in 1893, and that of Master of Arts in course, he not only acquired distinction for general scholarship, but at- tained high rank in Latin, physics and chemistry, won special honors in mathematics and was vale- dictorian of his class. For some time after con- cluding his classical studies he was a member of the force of instructors in the Manchester high school, but educational pursuits merely served him as a stepping-stone to the legal profession, and he relinquished them entirely after having taught for one or more terms at the evening high school in Boston. His diligent application to his studies while a law student at the Boston University, with the class of 1896, resulted in his receiving, in ad- dition to the degree of Bachelor of Laws, the coveted Magna cum Laude, and his graduation was followed immediately by his admission to the Suf- folk county bar. Becoming a partner in the Boston law firm of Butler. Cox & Murchie, the senior member of which, Hon. William M. Butler, was for several sessions president of the Massachusetts senate, he began the practice of his profession with the spirit of energy which must invariably lead to a substantial success, and although fully equipped for the transaction of a general law business he devotes his particular attention to corporation, in- surance and street railway laws.
In politics Mr. Cox is a Republican. In 1902 he served in the Boston city council from ward ten and was re-elected for the following year; was representative to the lower branch of the state legislature in 1903 and again in 1904, and in 1906 he was elected a state senator from the tenth Suf- folk district, and was re-elected for 1907. In the lower house he was chairman of the committee on probate and chancery, also a member of a special committee on relations between employees and em- ployers, and as a member of the committee on cities, one of the busiest committees in that body, he not only took charge of its principal measures, but acted as its spokesman on the floor of the house. While a first year member he was accorded the unusual honor of being selected by the leaders of both parties as one of the speakers at the closing exercises. In the senate he was assigned to the chairmanship of the committees on election laws. metropolitan affairs and taxation, and to member- ship of those on military affairs and education. At the close of the session, 1907, he was appointed chairman of the state commission on taxation to certify and revise the laws on taxation. Later he was appointed by the governor chairman of the commission to represent Massachusetts at the Na- tional Tax Conference. Mr. Cox is secretary of the Dartmouth Alumni Association, and a member of Putnam Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Boston, the Republican Club of Massachusetts, the Republican League of Ward Ten, Boston, the Uni- versity Club of Boston, the Wollaston Club, the New Hampshire Club and the University Club.
DUTTON This name has been honorably as- sociated with the history of New Hampshire from a very early period and is found among the pioneer settlers of Massa- chusetts, being especially prominent in the town of Billerica. In the early Colonial wars with the Indians it bore conspicuous part, and it has been no less worthy in the civilizing arts of peace.
(I) Thomas Dutton, probably a native of Eng- land, was among the early residents of Reading, Massachusetts, and was a short time in Woburn.
140
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
He is supposed to have been a son of John Dutton, and to have been born soon after 1620. He was accepted as an inhabitant of Billerica, November 22, 1669, and lived on the south side of Fox brook by an old road long since abandoned, leading to the "great plain." His first wife, Susannah, died August 27, 1684, and he married (second), Novem- ber 10, 1684, Ruth Hooper, said by one authority to have been a daughter of William Hooper, of Reading, and by another to have been his widow. Hooper died about 1678, and left both widow and daughter by that name. All of Mr. Dutton's chil- dren were born before his arrival in Billerica, the last five in Woburn. They were: Thomas, born September 14, 1648; Mary, Susannah, John, Eliza- beth, 1658-59; Joseph, Saralı, James, and Benja- min, 1667.
(II) John, second son and fourth child of Thomas and Susannah Dutton, was born March 2, 1656, probably in Reading, and lived in Billerica, on the north side of the Andover road. He died April 7, 1735, and was survived more than three years by his widow. He married. September 20, 1681, Sarah, daughter of Daniel Shed, one of the early residents of Billerica. She died February 27, 1721, and he married in May, 1721, Ruth Frost, probably widow of Dr. Samuel Frost. She died July 18, 1738. His children were: Sarah. John, died at three days old; Hannah, Abigail, Samuel, John, Jonathan and James.
(III) Jonathan, fourth son and seventh child of John and Sarah (Shed) Dutton, was born February 10, 1700, and resided in Billerica. He married, June 22, 1722, Sarah Levistone, daughter of John and Margaret ( Ross) Levistone, natives of Scotland. His children were: John, Sarah, Jona- than, David, Mary and Joshua.
( IV) Jonathan (2), second son and third child of Jonathan (I) and Sarah (Levistone) Dutton, was born March 29, 1727, and resided in Billerica. (V) Jonathan (3), son of Jonathan (2) Dut- ton, was born July 4, 1750, and was drowned in the Merrimack river in 1785.
(VI) Deacon Roger, son of Jonathan (3) Dutton, was born September 8, 1785, and died May 28, 1855, in Hooksett, where it is supposed that he was also born. He was a cooper nearly all his life, and resided first in the southern part of the town of Hooksett, and later settled in the village of Hooksett. During the last years he attended the toll bridge at that point. He was one of the first deacons of the Congregational Church of that place, and was a highly respected citizen. His wife, Rachael (Sawyer) Dutton, died there March 22, 1850, at the age of sixty-four years. She was born Oc- tober 5. 1785. Their eldest child. Rachael, mar- ried Seth K. Jones, and has descendants now re- siding in Concord. Jacob S., the second, is the subject of the succeeding paragraph. Eben died in Epsom, where some of his descendants are now living. Rebecca died unmarried. Betsey hecame the wife of Rev. Joseph W. Tarleton, a Congre- gational clergyman, and died in Epsom.
(VII) Jacob Sawyer, eldest son of Deacon Roger and Rachael ( Sawyer) Dutton, was born May 29, 18II, in that part of Chester which is now Hooksett, and died January 18, 1863. He married, October 25, 1829, Alice Hanscomb, of Barrington, this state, born November 25, ISIo, in Dunbarton, New Hampshire, and died March 21, 1882, in Hook- sett. Their eldest child, Roger, is now a resident of Cadyville, near Plattsburg, New York. Daniel Sawyer, the second, receives extended mention be-
low. Jacob Sylvanus is further noticed in this article. Mary E. is the widow of Benjamin A. Ham, and lives at Winthrop Beach, Massachusetts. Alr. Dutton was a farmer, his land lying south of the present Pinnacle Park, and he resided in the house now occupied by Nathaniel Clark in Hooksett, which was built more than a hundred years ago. He was an attendant of the Congregational Church, and a straightforward Democrat in political affilia- tions.
(VIII) Daniel Sawyer, second son and child of Jacob S. and Alice (Hanscomb) Dutton, was born November II, 1834, in Hooksett, where he passed his life and died January 14, 1889. He learned the trade of collar-maker, and was em- ployed at it during liis active life. He was an industrious and successful man, and engaged in the manufacture of horse collars upon his own account for many years. He was an attendant of the Congregational Church with his wife, though a Universalist in religious faith. He was a steadfast supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and did some service to his native town in various capacities, being many years prudential school com- mittee of the town. He married, November 1, 1855, Susannah Dorman Ham, born August 15, 1837, in Newfield, Maine, daughter of John. Jr., and Paulina H. (Dorman) Ham, both of whom were natives of that town (see Ham, VII).
(IX) John Calvin, only child of Daniel S. and Susannah D. (Ham) Dutton, was born De- cember 19, 1860, in Hooksett, and has always re- sided in his native town, receiving his education in the local schools. At any early age he was accustomed to assist his father and thus acquired habits of industry which have formed the foundation of his success, and his intelligent observations and persistent efforts have enabled him to take up and successfully fill the responsible positions which he now holds. For ten years he was employed by S. D. McAfee & Company in a grocery store, and for the succeeding seven years was employed by the Hooksett Manufacturing Company about its mills. With a natural taste for machinery, he observed the working of the inills and became fa- miliar with the operation of various heavy ma- chines. Under several employers he has been en- gaged about the electrical plant at Hooksett, and helped install what is now the plant of the Man- chester Traction, Light & Power Company, and for the last nine years has had charge of its dynamos. Mr. Dutton has always taken an intelli- gent interest in the progress of affairs, and has been active in furthering the best interests of his native town to the extent of his ability. In 1886 he served as selectman, and has been town clerk continuously since 1887. During the last three years he has also acted as treasurer of the town, and treasurer of the school district in which
he resides. He has been a member of the town board of health from its organization, and repre- sented the town in the legislature in 1907-0S. He is a supporter of the Congregational Church, and was a regular attendant upon its worship until the duties of his present position prevented. He is a member of Friendship Lodge, No. 19, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Hooksett. having been in- itiated in January, 1882, and has passed the principal chairs, and is now serving as treasurer of the Lodge, having filled that position since April 24, 1889. For about twenty years he has been a member of Jewell Lodge, No. 94, Free and Accepted Masons, of Suncook. Mr. Dutton is an enthusiastic be-
I41
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
liever in and supporter of the political principles promulgated by the Republican party. He is a well- informed and intelligent citizen, and his services as a citizen and officer are appreciated by his con- patriots.
(VIII) Jacob Sylvanus, third son and child of Jacob S. and Alice (Hanscomb) Dutton, was born in Hooksett, December 30, 1837. He left school at fifteen years of age and took employment in the cotton factory at that place and worked there a number of years. In 1858 he became an employe in Hill's harness shop in Concord, where he re- mained seven years. At the end of that period he bought the Elm House, an establishment of forty rooms, which stood on the corner of Maine and Pleasant streets, where he provided "bed and board, for the traveling public for twelve years. Subsequently he resided in New York six years and again kept the hotel two years. For the pur- pose of widening Main street the building was then condemned and torn down. He then built on the site of the old hotel the present Dutton Block. The same year he also built a block on Beacon street, and in 1887 purchased his present residence on Lyndon street. In 1905 he built another resi- dence on Lyndon street. Mr. Dutton is a Republi- can, but occasionally, in a spirit of fairness and liberality, casts a ballot for a candidate on the Democratic ticket. He was made an Odd Fellow in 1866, joining White Mountain Lodge, No. 5, of which he is still a member, and was one of the first members in Concord of the Patriarchs Militant of that order. He attends the North Congregational Church.
September 18, 1856, he married Nancy L. Dow, daughter of Israel and Abigail Dow, born Febru- ary 27, 1838, near Wilmot. Three children were born of this marriage: 1. Hattie, January 20, 1866, died young. 2. Edward William, September IS, 1868, is a nurse in Concord. He married Grace Ordway, daughter of John Ordway, of Loudon, and they have a son Earl and a daughter Louise, botlı living in Concord. 3. Nancy Bertha, born July 5, 1877, at Corning, New York.
Tradition states that Roger Ama- AMIDON downe was a French Huguenot, who. after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, was compelled to flee from France, and that he went to England and spent several years, and finally emigrated to America. Nothing is known of the place or date of his birth or of his parentage. The majority of his descendants spell the name Amidon, while others of the family spell it Amadon, Amedon, Amidown, Ammidon and Ammidown. In the records of Plymouth Colony and Rehoboth the name generally appears in the form of Amadowne.
(I) Roger Amadowne is first mentioned in the records of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1637, where on the 25th day of the ioth month he is allotted halt an acre of the marsh and meadow land then divid- ed among two hundred and twenty-four persons. He is next found in Weymouth in 1640, where a portion of the town record reads: "Sara, daughter of Roger Amadowne, born 10(6) 1640." Three years later he is next noted in Boston as follows : "Lida, daughter of Roger and Sara Amadowne 27 Feb. 1643."
In the year last mentioned a company of per- sons from Weymouth formed a settlement at Reho- both. In 1648 Roger Amadowne appears at Reho- both, being the forty-third on the list of proprietors. He resided in that part of the town which after
the division was called Seekonk, and in the record he is referred to as "Goodman" Amadowne. July 18, 1648, he was granted by Rehoboth a house lot between Walter Palmer's house lot and the mill. June 3, 1662, he was granted a tract of land by the Plymouth court, and June 7, 1665, he was granted fifty acres lying at a place called the Ien Nile river. In 1658 he was granted more land, and in 1671 had a grant of one hundred acres. In 1057 his name appears on the list of freemen, and in 1658 he first served on the coroner's jury, in which capacity he afterwards served several times.
The name of Roger Amadowne's first wife was Sarah, and she died at Rehoboth, June 30, 1008. He married (second), December 27, 1608, Joanna, daughter of George and Jane Harwood. He died (probably ), November 11, 1073, and was buried November 13, 1073. His wife Joanna survived him and died July 1, 1711. His children by the first wife were: Ebenezer, Sarah, Lydia, Hannah; and by the second wife: Philip, Henry and sle- hitable.
(II) Philip Amidown, eldest child of Roger by his second wife, Joanna, was born at Rehoboth, January 26, 1670, and died at Oxford. March 15, 1747, aged seventy-seven. He resided at Rehoboth until after the death of his first wife, when he removed to Mendon. In 1704 his minister's rate at Mendon was one shilling, and he had a share in the sixth division of the lands there in 1713. In 1717 he removed to Oxford, where he died ten years later. In 1720 he and his wife united with the church on its organization in Oxford. In 1730 he served as selectinan, and in 1735 as constable. He married (first), at Rehoboth, May 27, 1098, Mehitable Perry, born at Rehoboth, April 30, 1680, and died there July 4, 1099, daughter of Samuel and Mary ( Millard) Perry. He married (second), Sep- tember 16, 1700, Ithamar Warfield, born March 28, 1676, daughter of Deacon John and Hannah ( Ran- dall ) Warfield, of Mendon. Philip Amidown had by his first wife one child, Henry; and his second wife, eight: Roger, Ichabod, Mary, Philip, Ephraim, Ithamar, John and Hannah.
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.