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 6

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 6

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).

(VII) John E., sixth child and third son of Moses and Sally (Eastman) Kimball, was born in Pembroke, April 20, 1819, and died in Saco, Maine, January 7, 1892. He was graduated from the Ver- mont Medical College in 1847, served as surgeon of the Twenty-seventh Maine Regiment during the war, and was one of the most eminent physicians in Maine. He was a Democrat, and a member of the Congregational Church. He married, January 16, 1880, Emma Staniels, died June 17, 1881. They had one child: Sarah Eunice, born June 3, 1881, in Pembroke, who, in December, 1902, married George T. Hillman, of Pembroke (see Hillman).

WIGHTMAN This name is found early in the Colonies of Rhode Island, that community established upon the broadest foundation of religious liberty, which has contributed so much to the moral, intellectual and material development of the United States. It is the home of the busy spindle and other tools of industry, as well as the abode of institutions of learning, and exercises an influence in the history of the nation far beyond its territorial importance or relative numbers in population. The family herein treated furnished some of the pioneers of western New Hampshire, and has been well and favorably known in the development of this sec- tion.

(I) George Wightman is of record in Rhode Island as early as 1669. He was an inhabitant of Kingstown, and took the oath of allegiance to the colony May 20, 1671, and was made a freeman in 1673. He was constable in 1686, was a member of the grand jury in 1687, and for some years was a member of the town council. He was one of the cighteen persons who bought seven thousand acres of land in Narragansett, sold by the general as- scmbly in 1710. Tradition makes him a descendant of Edward Wightman, who was burned for heresy at Litchfield, England. April 11, 1612, being the last to suffer death for religion's sake in that country. He was a relative (perhaps a brother ) of Valentine Whitman, who settled early in Provi- dence. The descendants of George have more gull- erally preserved the spelling of the name as Wight- man, though they occasionally use the cther form, Whitman. George Wightman was born in Jai '-

1-2

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

ary, 1632, and died in January, 1722. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Gilbert and Catherine Smith Updyke. She was born in 1699, and was the mother of the following children : Elizabeth, Alice, Daniel, Sarah. John, Samuel and Valentine.

(II) George, second son and fifth child of George (1) and Elizabeth ( Updyke) Wightman, was born January 8, 1675, in Kingstown, and was an inhabitant of Warwick, Rhode Island, becoming a freeman in 1716. In 1719 he bought one hundred and fifty acres of land in the town of East Green- wich, Rhode Island, and was a deputy from that town in 1729. His will was made September 1, 1759, and a codicil was added March 1, 1760. He probably died about the beginning of the succeeding year, as his will was proven January 16, 1761. He inarried (first) Elizabeth (surname unknown), and ( second), August 30, 1738, Sarah Todd. His chil- dren were : George, John, Samuel, Elizabeth, Phoebe and Deborah.

(III) Samuel, third son of George (2) Wight- man, was married, November 11, 1729, to Margaret Gorton. and their children are given upon the War- wick town records as: Samuel, Benjamin, Pene- lope. George, Freedom, Margaret and Asa.

(1\) Samuel (2), son of Samuel (I) and Margaret (Gorton) Wightman, was born January 23, 1738. in Warwick, Rhode Island, and resided in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, at the time of his marriage, December 4, 1760, to Amy Lawton, also of East Greenwich. Their children appear on the record of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, where it is probable they afterward lived. They were: Sarah, Israel. Mary, George, Amy, Lydia and Samuel. Samuel Wightman came to Walpole in 1801, and purchased of Isaac Redington three hundred and fifty acres of land, lying in the vicinity of the mouth of Cold river. The land had been owned previously by Colonel John Bellows, and he had erected on the site of the residence of Thomas Keyes a public house. To this house Mr. Wightman moved with his family, and remained two or three years. In the meantime he built what is now known as the Carpenter stand. He died in 1827. in the eighty- ninth year of his age, and his wife Amy died in 1837, aged ninety-eight years. Deacon Samuel Wightman's family consisted of seven children, three sons and four daughters. of which Israel was the second, who died in 1838, aged seventy- four. The father gave his son Israel the place on the plain, which was the largest portion of his estate, where he lived during life, after coming to Walpole, New Hampshire.

( V) Israel, eldest son and second child of Samuel (2) and Amy (Lawton) Wightman, was born December 12, 1765, in Rehoboth. Massachu- setts, whence he moved to Walpole, New Hamp- shire, and died there March 21. 1838, in his seventy- fourth year. The records of Rehoboth, Massachu- setts, show that the intentions of marriage of Israel Wightman and Frances Allen were published March 30, 1788. She was the sister of William H. Allen, whose son, Daniel B. Allen, married Ethe- linda Vanderbilt, the daughter of the Commodore, and was for many years at the head of the Pa- cific Mail Steamship Company. They had ten chil- dren : Samuel Allen Wightman, who married Ma- tilda, daughter of Solomon Bellows, who was a brother of Alexander Hamilton Bellows, the father of Dr. Henry W. Bellows, the noted Unitarian divine. Samuel Allen Wightman went to Ashta- bula. Ohio. He served in the war of 1812. John, Maria. Herman, Sarah, Hannah, Frances, Pamelia, Content and Herman Allen.

(VI) Herman Allen, the youngest child of Israel and Frances (Allen) Wightman, was born in 1808. He married Maria Retsey Lovell, of Clare-" mont, New Hampshire, in 1834, and removed to the old homestead in Walpole, New Hampshire. They had five children : Frances M., Nellie S., Martha L., Mary J. and Caroline E.

(VII) Mary J., the fourth child of Herman Allen and Maria Retsey (Lovell) Wightman, was born January 19, 1843, in Cambridgeport, Vermont, and married Dr. Osman B. Way, February 22, 1882 (see WVay, VIII).

This is one of the most distinguish-

WEBSTER ed names in the annals of New Hampshire, having been especially honored by that distinguished patriot and states- man, Daniel Webster. It has furnished many good citizens, who, though not nationally known, like their compatriot and relative, have supported the cause of human liberty in all struggles, and per- formed well their part in the various walks of life.

(I) Thomas Webster, first known ancestor of the New Hampshire family. resided with his wife Margaret in Ormsby, Norfolk county, England, where he died in April, 1634. His widow subse- quently married William Godfrey, with whom she came to America, bringing her son, Thomas Web- ster (2).

(Il) Thomas (2), son of Thomas (I) and Margaret Webster, was born in November, 1631, in Ormsby, England, and came to Watertown, Mas- sachusetts, in company with his foster father and other early settlers of that town. He removed with the pioneers to Hampton, New Hampshire. where he died January 5, 1715, aged eighty-three years. He was married, November 2, 1656, to Sarah, daughter of Thomas Brewer, of Roxbury, Massa- chusetts, and had the following children: Mary, Sarah, Hannah. Thomas, Ebenezer, Isaac, John, Joshua and Abigail. (Mention of Ebenezer and John, with descendants, is a feature of this article.)

(]]]) Ebenezer, fifth child and second son of Thomas (2) and Sarah (Brewer) Webster, was . born August 1, 1667. He served in the Indian war, and was pilot to Captain Gilman's company, August, 1710, which went in pursuit of Indians. He was one of the proprietors of Kingston, New Hampshire, and a settler there. Hle married. July 25, 1709, Hannah Judkins, who died February 21, 1756. Their children were: Rachel. Susannah. Ebenezer, William, John, Hannah, and Mary and Joseph, twins.

(IV) Ebenezer (2), third child and eldest son of Ebenezer (1) and Hannah (Judkins) Webster, was born October 10, 1714, and lived in Kingston, where he was identified with the clearing up of that portion of the wilderness. He married, July 20, 1738, Susannah Batchelder (see Batchelder, V), of Hampton.

(V) Ebenezer (3). son of Ebenezer (2) and Susannah ( Batchelder ) Webster, was born April 22, 1739, in Kingston. Here he grew up without a day's schooling, knowing almost nothing of books, but fully equipped to fulfill the mission of life on the frontier of civilization, where strong bodies, sound sense, and courage were required to cope with physical impediments, want of learning, and the lurking foe that haunted the hundreds of miles of unbroken wilderness which lay between his home and the French settlements in Canada. He came of age during the great French war, and about 1760 enlisted in the then famous corps known as

Daniel Webster's Birthplace

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

"Roger's Rangers." In the dangers and successes of desperate fighting, the "Rangers" had no equal ; and of their hard and perilous experience in the wilderness in confict with Indians and Frenchmen, Ebenezer Webster, strong in body and daring in temperament, had his full share. He served under General Jeffrey Amherst in the French war, and re- turned to his native town with the rank of cap- tain. After eleven years spent in clearing his farm, in the northernmost part of Salisbury, where he settled in 1763, there being no white man's abode between him and Montreal, the Revolution broke out, and Ebenezer raised a company of two hundred men and marched at their head to join the forces at Boston. At Dorchester, Washington consulted him about the state of feelings in New Hampshire. He served at White Plains, and at Bennington was one of the first to scale the breastwork, and came out of the battle with his swarthy skin so blackened with dust and gunpowder that he could scarcely be recognized. He was at West Point at the time of the discovery of Arnold's treason,. and when on guard before the general's tent Washington said to him, "Captain Webster. I believe I can trust you!" That was the sentiment ever felt by those who knew him. He was uneducated and silent, but strong and unquestionably trustworthy. His ser- vices brought him the rank of colonel. After the war he returned to his farm, and his neighbors elected him to every office within their gift, in- cluding the offices of representative, state senator, and judge of the common pleas court, of Hills- borough county. This last office he held from 1791 until his death, which occurred April 14. 1816. Judge Webster filled one other office, in the per- formance of whose duties he probably derived more pleasure than from any other. He was one of the electors of the president in New Hampshire, when Washington was chosen to that office. In the intervals of his toilsome and adventurous life, he had picked up a little booklore, but the lack of more barred the way to higher honors, which would otherwise have been easily his.

Ebenezer Webster married, January IS, 1761, Mehitable Smith, born at Kingston, and who died March 28, 1774. Of this marriage there were five children : Olle, a daughter, and Ebenezer, a son, who died young: Susannah, born October, 1766, married John Colby; David, a farmer who reared a large family, and died at Stanstead. Canada; and Joseph, who died in 1810. Mr. Wehster married (second), October 13, 1774, Abigail Eastman (see Eastman), in Salisbury, New Hampshire, who was born July 10, 1737, and died April 14, 1816. Her father was Thomas Eastman. The children of the second marriage were: Mehitable, Abigail, Ezekiel, Daniel and Sarah. Mehitable died unmarried. Abigail married a Mr. Haddock. Ezekiel and Daniel are mentioned below. Sarah married Colonel Ebenezer Webster, of Hill. (See Webster, second family, VII.)

(VI) Ezekiel, third child and eldest son of Colonel Ebenezer and Abigail (Eastman) Webster, was born in the log house of his father in Salis- bury, April 11. 1780, and died in Concord, March IO, IS29. After various struggles with poverty, he graduated from Dartmouth College in August, 1804. For a time he taught school, and read law in Boston, but in the autumn of 1807 he took charge of the paternal farm. his father having died in 1806, and in conjunction with Daniel assumed the support of his mother and sisters. He was admitted to the bar in September, 1807, and succeeded to the busi- ness of his brother Daniel, in Boscawen, when the

latter moved to Portsmouth. Although intellectual- ly not the equal of his gifted brother, Ezekiel Web- ster was one of the leading men of the state, and an uncompromising Federalist. Had he been less rigid in his political belief, he might easily have been elected to congress, but he would never com- promise principle. He dropped dead March 10, 1829. at Concord, while addressing a jury in the court house. "He was a man of high talent, much professional learning, and great solidity of charac- ter." From their earliest youth Daniel depended on Ezekiel's sound judgment while he lived. "He has been my reliance through life," was the testi- mony borne of the elder by the younger brother. He married, ( first), January 15, 1809, Alice Bridge, of Billerica, Massachusetts, who died in 1821. He married ( second), August 2, 1825. Achsah Pollord, born at Dunstable (now Nashua). Two children were born to Mr. Webster: Alice, married (first), June 1, 1836, Professor Jarvis Gregg, the first pre- ceptor of Boscawen Academy, and after his death Rev. George Whipper, of Oberlin, Ohio. . She died March 6, 1876. Mary, married, December II, 1837, Frofessor Edwin D. Sanborn, LL. D., of Dart- mouth College. She died December 30, 1864.

(VI) Daniel, fourth child and second son of Ebenezer and Abigail (Eastman) Webster, was born in a "frame" house, near the original log house of Ebenezer, in Salisbury, January 18. 1782. About a year after the birth of Daniel, his father removed to what has since been called the "Elens Farm," situated in the present town of Franklin, and here Daniel grew to manhood. He was a sickly child, and had but limited educational advantages in child- hood. He was a few months at Phillips Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire, hastily completed his preparation for college as the private pupil of Rev. Samuel Wood. of Boscawen, and in 1799 entered Dartmouth College, where he partially supported himself by teaching in winter and by local news- paper work. He soon made up the deficiencies of his earlier education, distinguishing himself as a de- bater in the college societies, and became the fore- most scholar in the institution. Graduating in Au- gust, ISoI, he commenced the study of law in the office of Thomas W. Thompson, Esq., a lawyer of Salisbury, his father's neighbor and friend. While reading his law course, he also read a great deal of general literature, and filled up his leisure hours with dog and gun and fishing-rod. In order to obtain means to keep his brother Ezekiel in col- lege. Daniel pursued the study of law but four months before going out as a wage-earner. He was offered and at once accepted the charge of an academy in Fryeburg, Maine, where he was to re- ceive one hundred and seventy-five dollars for six months' labor. Four evenings each week he copied deeds for the registrar of the county, earning by this means two dollars a week, which paid his board. His serious and high-toned deportment, and his success as a teacher, secured him many friends ; he was offered a large increase in salary, and could have been clerk of the common pleas court, but the mysterious power which operates unconsciously upon men of great intellect in their youth, leading them toward the destiny which genius creates for them, took him away from Fryeburg and back to the law office, where he remained until February or March, 1804, and then went to Boston, Massa- chusetts. He he entered the office of Hon. Chris- topher Gore, afterward governor of Massachusetts, where he remained from July until the following February, and was admitted to practice in March, 1805. Soon afterward hic established himself in

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

the village of Boscawen, New Hampshire, and be- gan his professional practice, spending the next two and a half years at that place. In May, 1807, he was admitted as a counsellor in the supreme court of New Hampshire, and soon after removed to Portsmouth, where he at once took rank as a lead- ing lawyer. In 1812 Mr. Webster was nominated as a representative to the thirteenth congress, to which he was subsequently elected, and in which he took his seat on the 24th of May, 1813. He succeeded to the office in the fourteenth congress. After a residence of nine years in Portsmouthi, he removed to Boston, 1816, and for several years devoted himself to liis profession. In 1822 he was almost unanimously elected to congress to repre- sent the district of Suffolk. He was re-elected in 1824, and in 1826 as the representative of the Boston district. In June, 1827, he was chosen United States senator. At the end of his term lie was re-elected, and continued in office by re-election until 1841, when he resigned to become secretary of state in General Harrison's cabinet, a position he held till the 8th of May, 1843, when he resigned and retired to his home at Marshfield. In the winter of 1844-45 Mr. Webster was again elected to the senate of the United States by the legislature of Massachusetts to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Choate. Immediately after the accession of Mr. Fillmore to the presidency, hie offered the department of state to Mr. Webster, and a second time Mr. Webster resigned his seat in the senate, to accept the place, which he held until his death, October 24, 1852. Mr. Webster's offices were not all great offices. He was a member of the Massachusetts constitutional convention, and gave it the benefit of his great knowledge of constitutional questions. He was once a presidential elector, and also sat ten days in the Massachusetts legislature. The above mere enumeration of the places Mr. Webster filled is all that the scope of this article permits. The writing of details has been left to his biographers. His forensic ability, his exalted statesmanship, his knowledge of constitutional law, his wonderful influence over men, and his illus- trious record in general, are too well known to need mention here.

Daniel Webster married in Salisbury, May 29, 1808, Grace Fletcher, born January 16, 1781, daugh- ter of Rev. Elijah Fletcher, of Hopkinton, New Hampshire. She died in New York while on the way to Washington with her husband, January 12, 1828. They were the parents of five children : Grace Fletcher, the eldest child, died young. Daniel Fletcher, born July 23, 1813, was a colonel in the Twelfth Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, and fell in the service of his country, August 30, 1862. Julia, married, September 24, 1839, Samuel A. Appleton, a member of the Boston family of that name, and died April 28, 1848. Edward, died of disease while serving in the Mexican war. Charles, died in infancy. In December, 1832, Mr. Webster married in New York, Caroline Bayard Leroy, sec- ond daughter of Herman Leroy, a wealthy merchant, descended from one of the early settlers of New York.

(III) John, fourth son and seventh child of Thomas (2) and Sarah (Brewer) Webster, was born February 16, 1674, in Hampton, and settled in Rye, where he passed his life as a farmer. He was mar- ried September 21, 1703, to Abiah Shaw, and they were the parents of the following children: Jere- miah, Charity and Josialı (twins, the first of whom died young), John, Thomas, Caleb, Abiah, Elizabeth

and Charity. (Mention of Josiah, John and Thomas and descendants follows in this article.)

(IV) Jeremiah, eldest child of John and Abiah (Shaw) Webster, was born December 21, 1704, in Hampton. He was among the few of the original grantees of Stevenstown (1749), now Salisbury, New Hampshire, who settled with their families. Most of the grantees did not remove to the town. At the first meeting of the proprietors it was voted that "Jeremy Webster shall be the surveyor to assist and join with the s'd com'te in laying out the land, as above s'd." In 1760, at a meeting of the proprietors, Jeremy Webster was moderator.

(V) Jeremiah (2), son of Jeremialı (1) Web- ster, was a prominent man in the early settlement of Salisbury. He came previous to 1769, and set- tled on the site now occupied by Phineas Clough. He married, June 9, 1774, Anne Sleeper, who died January 10, 1841, aged eighty-six years. He died March 4, 1817, aged seventy-four years.

(VI) Jeremy (3), son of Jeremiah (2) and Anne (Sleeper) Webster, was born June 19, 1775. He built the Clougli House and was a famous singing master. He married Phebe Wardwell. He died August 20, 1841, and she January 20, 1847. Their chil- dren were: Amos, born November 24, 1801, died August 30, 1821. James R., March 20, 1804, removed to Georgia, where he died September, 1841. Phebe, March 4, 1806, married Hubbard Hutchinson, of Merrimack, and died in that town. Nathaniel F., March 4, 1808. Mary A., May 20, 1810, married (first) Joshua Burpee, of Boscawen, and (second) Samuel Gilman, of Lake Village, where she died about 1850. Joseph W., November 12, 1812, a merchant . of Savannah, Georgia, where he died March, 1860. Emily, December 20, 1815, died February 26, 1838. Elizabeth, August 28, 1818, died June 10, 1839, unmarried. Eliphalet. January 4, 1821, died January 16, 1822. Amos E., September 17, 1828, died in Georgia, August, 1860, where he mar- ried Eliza Savage.

(VII) Nathaniel F., third son and fourth child of Jeremy and Phebe (Wardwell) Webster, was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire, March 4, 1808, died in Georgia, September 24, 1854. He married Miriam Couch, daughter of John and Lydia Ann (Bean) Couch, of Salisbury, who married (second), Jonas Merriam ; she was born March II, ISIO, and died April 6, 1887. The issue of this marriage was one child, John Francis Webster, born November 18, 1837. En 1842 or 1843 Nathaniel F. Webster, who was a cabinetmaker by trade, went to the state of Georgia and became a partner with Isaac \V. Morrill, of Savannah, under the firm name of Isaac W. Mor- ril & Company, wholesale and retail furniture and pianos. Mr. Webster's three brothers, James R., Joseph W. and Amos E., also settled in Savannah. James R. and Joseph W., were partners in the wholesale grocery business, and Amos was a book- keeper. Nathaniel Webster was prosperous in busi- ness and became a man of means. It was his custom to send his wife and son north in the summmer. and join them in the fall when he went north to buy goods. In the summer of 1854, while the wife and son were absent, Mr. Webster was attacked by yellow fever, and died September 24, aged forty- six years. Mrs. Webster survived until April 6, 1887, dying in Concord at the age of seventy-seven years.

(VIII) John Francis, only child of Nathaniel F. and Miriam (Couch) Webster, was born in Dor- chester, Massachusetts, November 18, 1837. His education began when he was about seven years

WI DAT .٨

he - it: when

Benja Dr. Webster

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

old, and attended Chatham Academy, at Savannah, Georgia, till he was seventeen years old. Subse- quently he attended Professor Barnes' Academy at Concord, obtaining a commercial education with Rodney G. Cutting. He began his business life with the hardware firm of Moore, Cilly & Com- pany, where he remained a year. He then entered the employ of the Concord Railroad Corporation, assuming the duties of way-bill clerk, March 14, 1857. In one month he was promoted to local freight cashier, filling that position till 1862, when he was made chief clerk of the general freight office of the road. May 1, 1865, he was appointed cashier of the Concord Railroad system, and retained that position until September, 1889. He was appointed cashier of the Manchester & Lawrence railroad, August 1, 1867, and remained with that company until its absorption by the Boston & Maine rail- road. When the Concord railroad and the Boston Concord & Montreal railroad united, forming the Concord & Montreal, September, 1889, he was then elected treasurer, a position he has ever since held. Mr. Webster was elected as a Republican to the state legislature in 1889, representing ward 4, and serving as chairman of the finance committee. Besides be- ing treasurer of the Concord & Montreal railroad, Mr. Webster fills a similar position for the Mount Washington Railway Company, the Nashua Acton & Boston railroad, New Boston railroad, and is assistant treasurer of the Boston & Maine rail- road. Mr. Webster is a trustee of the Loan & Trust Savings Bank and a director in the Me- chanics' National Bank. Mr. Webster became a Mason in the year 1866, and is now a thirty-third degree member in that order. He has held almost every office in the gift of his jurisdiction, and is one of the most prominent members of the Masonic fraternity in the Granite state.

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.

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 6

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