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 86
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
(IV) Holman Arthur, fourth son and sixth child of Amos Webster and Esther (Lovering) Drew, was born in Stewartstown, August 21, 1857. He prepared for college at Colebrook Academy and afterward entered Dartmouth College, from which he was graduated in 1883. Following that he read law in the office of Drew, Jordan & Carpenter, at Lancaster for two years, and thence went to Omaha, Nebraska, where he was admitted to the bar in 1885, and practiced until 1888. He then returned to New Hampshire and engaged in the retail hard- ware business in Colebrook, and has since remained in trade. Formerly a Democrat he left the party of Bryan and free silver to support Mckinley and the gold standard in 1896, and has since been a staunch Republican. In 1904 he was nominated for the shrievalty of Coos county, and elected, and in 1906 was again elected to that office. Mr. Drew in- herits from his paternal ancestors the quality of executive ability, and has discharged the duties of his office with promptness and commendable fidelity. He is prominent in Masonic circles, and a member of Evening Star Lodge, No. 37, of Colebrook ; North Star Royal Arch Chapter, No. 16, of Lan- caster, North Star Council, No. 13, Royal and Select Masters, of Colebrook; North Star Commandery, Knights Templar, of Lancaster; and is senior grand deacon of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire. He is also a member of Knights of Pythias, and of the Independent Order of Foresters. He married, April 22, 1892, Mary Bedell, who was born March 7, 1860, daughter of Hazen Bedell, of Colebrook (see Bedell).
(111) Warren Edwin, youngest child of Benja- min and Sally H. (Harriman) Drew, was born in Stewartstown, December 10, 1827, and died on the homestead where he had spent his life, March 10, 1894. He was educated in the district and private schools of Stewartstown, receiving about the same amount of mental training that other boys of the neighborhood in similar circumstances received. Being studious and having a retentive memory he qualified himself to teach, and in the course of a few years taught eight terms of school. He had been a farmer boy, and as a man he loved to till the soil.
and while not engaged in teaching gave his attention to agriculture. There was no time in his life when he was not a farmer, and in following that vocation he made a good living and always had his farm in a fine state of cultivation; but his qualifications- for other affairs were well known to those who knew him, and he was called to fill various political offices, which he did in a manner so efficient as to receive the approbation of those he served. He was su- perintendent of schools of Stewartstown for eight years, 1849 to 1857; town clerk three years, 1851 to 1854; selectman 1863-64-67-68-69-70-83-85; repre- sentative in 1857-58; county commissioner from 1861 to 1864; county treasurer from 1868 to 1870; a member of the state board of equalization from the time of its organization until the time of his death; and a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1876. In political faith he was a Democrat, a be- liever in the precepts and traditions of Jefferson and Jackson. Liberal in religious opinions and affiliating with no church, he was yet a moral man of strictly temperate habits. When the grange was instituted he saw the benefit it might bring to the farmer, and became a member of the organization and later master. He married, March 28, 1852, Marietta Hall, who was born July 7, 1833, daughter of Luther F. and Mary ( Piper) Hall, of Stewartstown. Six children were born of this union : John W., Walter, Carrie, Byron, Alice and Hattie H. John W. and Walter are mentioned below; Carrie married Fred H. Noyes; Alice is the widow of Allen Dudley, and resides in Colebrook; Byron receives further mention in this article; Hattie H. married James F. Carr, and lived in Colebrook.
(IV) John Webster, eldest child of Edwin W. and Marietta (Hall) Drew, was born in Stewarts- town, April 25, 1854. After leaving the common schools where he acquired his education, he became a clerk in the general store of Crawford & Frye, of Colebrook, where he was employed about one and a half years, and then for J. W. Cooper & Son in the same capacity for an equal length of time. Having. obtained a practical idea of merchandising, he then bought an interest in the firm of Wentworth & Capren, which two years later became Wentworth, Capren & Drew. This partnership continued three years, and then Mr. Drew became sole proprietor and carried on the business for the next five years. He then admitted his consin, Warren Edwin Drew, as a partner, and the firm became J. W. Drew & Company, later W. E. & J. W. Drew, and in 1901 John W. Drew again became sole owner of the business which he has since carried on alone. Mr. Drew has been in the mercantile business for a num- ber of years and has experienced the changes incident to a long period of time, and is now a prosperous merchant and one among the old and time-tried traders of the town. Following the ex- ample of his ancestors, he has always voted the Democratic ticket, but has never held public office. He is a member of the three great fraternal societies : is a member of Evening Star Lodge, No. 37, Free and Accepted Masons, of Colebrook, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Knights of Pythias. He married, November 11, 1882, Bessie G. Marshall, of Colebrook, who was born July 6. 1862, daughter of John C., and Sarah (Gilman) Marshall.
( IV) Walter, second son and child of Edwin W. and Marietta ( Hall) Drew, was born March 27, 1857. He obtained his education in the public schools of Stewartstown, at Colebrook Academy, and at Kimball Union Academy, at Meriden. Later he began the study of law in the office of William H. Shurtleff. which he continued there for two
.
309
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Scars, and then three years more in the office of James I. Parsons, of Colebrook, and for two years he was a clerk to Mr. Parsons. At the age of twenty-one lie was chosen superintendent of the public schools of Stewartstown, and occupied that position from 1878 to 1882. Three years later he was appointed deputy sheriff of Coos county and dis- charged the duties of that office five years. For fifteen years he was a member of the school board, and member of the board of selectmen five years, two years of which time he was chairman. Dur- ing President Cleveland's first administration he held the office of deputy collector and inspector of cus- toms at Colebrook four years. He was appointed member of the board of trustees of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, a position he still occupies. He is also a mem- ber of the Democratic state central committee. He owns one-half the stock of the Colebrook Electric Company, and the entire plant which furnishes the power. He is an insurance broker and lumber dealer and the agent of corporations, chiefly the Maine Central and Boston & Maine railroad companies, in cases in which they are parties in litigation. Mr. Drew's business ability is well known, and in the councils of his party his opinions are of weight. He is a member of Patrons of Husbandry, and also of Knights of Pythias and of Uniform Rank Knights of Pythias, in which he is prominent. He mar- ried, March, 1873, in Colebrook, Iva Hortense Hurd, who was born in Maidstone, Vermont, September 19, 1861, daughter of Dr. Stephen and Mary Lovilla (Morris) Hurd (see Morris, IX). She completed her education in Colebrook Academy, and was a teacher at the time of her marriage. She is an able elocutionist, and taught that art in the public schools of Stratford. Two children have been born to this union: Lucy Abby and Marietta. Lucy A. graduated from the Colebrook high school, and at sixteen years of age began teaching. She after- ward attended Colebrook Academy one year; Lan- caster Academy one year; Portland (Maine) one year; and completed the three year course in the Boston School of Speech and Expression in one year, and is now a teacher of elocution. Marietta graduated in 1907 from the Colebrook Academy, where she had the honor of being the valedictorian of her class. Lucy A. and Marietta entered the New Hampshire College at Durham in the fall of 1907, the latter being the youngest student in college.
(IV) Byron, third son and fourth child of Edwin W. and Marietta (Hall) Drew, was born on his present farm at Stewartstown, New Hamp- shire, March 30, 1863. He was educated in the com- mon schools of his native town and at Colebrook Academy. Being the youngest son he remained on the home farm, which contains about four hundred acres. Like most of his kin he is a Democrat in politics, and served as selectman in 1888, and from 1901 to 1906. He attends the Methodist Church, and belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Grange. Byron Drew is a man of whole-souled and generous disposition with a cheerful temperament which makes him a general favorite in the community. Byron Drew married, July 2, 1887, Cora, daughter of John and Julia (Gansby) Gould, of Colebrook. They have two children: Eva B., born March 29, 1888, and Edwin Warren, June 2, 1902.
(Second Family).
The origin of this name cannot be ac- DREW curately determined. It is to be met with in England, Scotland and Wales, and appears in the early records of New England.
The family now in hand was established in New Hampshire subsequent to the American Revolution, and is not the posterity of an early immigrant.
(I) Tradition says that Abednego Drew came from England at about the beginning of the nine- teenth century, and settling in Barrington, New Hampshire, engaged in tilling the soil. The maiden surname of his wife was Swain, and his children were: Swain, Mary, married N. Brock, and Sarah Ann (who became the wife of Andrew Meserve). (II) Swain Drew, eldest child and only son of Abednego Drew, was born at Barrington in 1816. He was a blacksmith by trade and also cultivated a farm. He married Matilda Hall, daughter of David Hall, of Barrington, and she bore him four children, namely: Alice, died at the age of two years. Richard A., who will be again referred to. Abednego, born May 19, 1839, died November 9, 1900. Elizabeth (Mrs. C. O. Baker, of Dover).
(III) Richard A. Drew, second child and eldest son of Swain and Matilda (Hall) Drew, was born in Barrington, February 12, 1838. The major por- tion of his active life has been devoted to the car- riage maker's trade in his native town, and he is still living. He is a Republican in politics. In 1859 he married Elizabeth Tibbetts, daughter of John Tibbetts. She died in 1884, and he subse- quently married for his second wife Nellie Ford, of Dover. His first wife was the mother of three children, namely: Jolin S., who is mentioned at greater length in the succeeding paragraph. Annie, wife of Albert Hayes. Herman, died young.
(IV) John Drew, eldest child of Richard A. and Elizabeth (Tibbetts) Drew, was born in Bar- rington, January 4, 1862. He was educated in the publie schools of Barrington and Durham, and ac- quired a knowledge of carriage-making under the direction of his father. For a number of years afterward he was employed as a journeyman car- riage-maker, and he has also worked at the car- penter's trade to some extent. In 1901 he pur- chased the carriage manufacturing establishment of Jasper Randlett. which has been located at No. 223 Centre avenue, Dover, for about forty-five years, and he is now transacting an extensive bus- iness, producing vehicles of a superior quality and also giving his special attention to repairing. Mr. Drew is well and favorably known in business eir- cles, and among the members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with whom he affiliates. In politics he is a Republican. He married Martha Rundlett, daughter of Samuel and Sarah Ann (French) Rundlett, of Durham.
DENISON Among the finest families that first trod the soil of New England and bore a conspicuous part in subduing the savage and the establishment of the civilization of its time, was that of Denison. Its representa- tives are now found in every part of the United States, and are noted for fine minds and fine ehar- acter. The ancestor of most of these bearing the name had a most romantic career, and left an indelible impress upon the formative history of New England. He was of vigorous physical, as well as mental makeup, and his posterity is numerous and of credit to its noble origin.
(I) John Denyson was living in Stortford, in Hertfordshire, England, in 1567, and died there, of the plague, in 1582.
(II) William, son of John Denyson, was bap- tized at Stortford. February 3, 1571, and was mar- ried, November 7, 1603, to Margaret (Chandler) Monck. He was well seated at Stortford, but hear- ing of the promise of the New England colonies decided to cast his lot with the Puritans there. His
310
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
eldest son, James Denyson, was a clergyman, and remained in England. The parents. with three sons, Daniel, Edward and George, crossed the ocean in 1631 and settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1634. They bore a prominent part in social and religious life there. John Eliot, the apostle, was a tutor in their family. William Denison died at Roxbury, January 25, 1653, and his wife, February 23, 1645.
(III) Captain George. fourth son of William and Margaret C. (Monck) Denison, was born in Stort- ford in 1618, and was baptized there December 10, 1620. He married (about 1640) Bridget Thomp- son, who was born September II, 1622, daughter of John and Alice Thompson, of Preston, North- hamptonshire, England. Bridget died in 1643, leav- ing daughters. Sarah and Hannah, born 1641 and 1643, respectively. After the death of his wife Cap- tain Denison went to England and joined Crom- well's army. He was severely wounded in the bat- tle of Naseby, and was nursed back to health by Lady Ann Borodel, at the home of her father, John Borodel. As soon as his strength was restored he married hier, and in 1645 they came to New England and lived in Roxbury. Massachusetts, continuing their residence there until 1651, when they located with their family in New London, Connecticut. Captain Denison distinguished himself as a soldier in the Pequot war, and again rendered valuable service to the colony after his return from Eng- land, rising to the rank of colonel. He was also prominent in civil life. His children, born of the second marriage, were: John, Ann, Borodel, George, William, Margaret and Mary. (Mention of William and descendants follows in this article). (IV) John, eldest son of Captain George Deni- son and his second wife, Ann Borodel, was born July 14: 1646, and died in 1698. He was married November 26, 1667, to Phebe Lay, who died in 1699.
(V) Robert,. son of John and Pliebe (Lay) Denison, was born September 7, 1673. in Stoning- ton, and died there in 1737. He was married (first ) in 1696, to Joanna Stanton, who died in 1715. and he was married (second) in 1717, to Dorothy Stan- ton, a widow.
(VI) Thomas, son of Robert and Joanna ( Stan- ton) Denison, was born October 20, 1709, in Ston- ington, and was a clergyman. He affiliated first with the Congregational Church, then became a Sep- aratist. and subsequently a Baptist, and ended his life in the Congregational affiliation. He preached in New London and Windham Center, Connecticut, and died in Pomfret, that state, October 24, 1787. His wife was Elizabeth Bailey.
(VII) David, son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Bailey) Denison, was born October 30, 1756, in Stonington, and lived in Pomfret, Connecticut, and Guildhall, Vermont, and died in the latter town May 23, 1838. He was married (first), December 9, 1779, to Sarah Spaulding; and (second). to Ann Paine. His daughter Ann became the wife of Anderson Dana ( see Dana VI).
(VIII) John P., son of David and Ann ( Paine) Denison, was born September 8, 1808, in Guildhall, Vermont, and passed the latter part of his life in Wyandotte, Kansas. where he was still living in 1880. In early life he was an associate judge in Vermont, and a successful farmer. He was mar- ried May 9, 1841, to Mary S. Cooper.
(IX) Henry Willard, son of John P. and Mary S. (Cooper) Denison, was born May II, 1846, in Guildhall, Vermont. He worked on the farm, at- tended the common schools, and also the academy at Lancaster on the removal of the family to New
Hampshire. As a school boy he gave no evidence of future greatness, leading the life of the com- mon boy in games. pastimes and frolics. When about fifteen years of age he entered the printing office of The Coos Republican, and served his ap- prenticeship at the case, and afterwards worked a brief time in Philadelphia as a compositor. At this time Charles A. Dana was 'Assistant Secretary of War. Dana and Denison's father were cousins, and Dana had spent a season during his college days at the Denison homestead : and, when young Deni- son, becoming sick of his occupation, wrote Dana for a job in Washington, he received this reply: "Come on at once; no son of John P. Denison shall want for a position here if I can secure one for him." On reaching Washington he entered the Treasury Department at once. While a government clerk he read law by night until he fitted for prac- tice and was admitted to the bar.
While attending school in Lancaster he had formed an attachment for Miss Nellie E. Cross, the youngest daughter of Colonel Ephraim and Ab- igail (Everett) Cross. Colonel Cross was a man of some military reputation, acquired in the days of Andrew Jackson, when the martial spirit of New England was more apparent than prior to our civil war, and then it was the colonel commanded the Forty-second Regiment of New Hampshire state militia.
Mrs. Ephraim Cross, the mother of Nellie Cross. was a daughter of Judge Richard Clair Ev- erett, of the New Hampshire bench, who as a boy of seventeen had served as one of Washington's body-guard and was also one of the General's mil- itary family throughout the Revolutionary war.
Her three sons were all in the civil war. Colonel E. E. Cross was colonel of the Fifth New Hamp- shire Volunteer Infantry, long acting as a brigadier and fell at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, at the head of his command, First Brigade, First Division, Second Army Corps; Richard E. succeeded to the com- mand of the regiment. Frank was a lieutenant in the same regiment. A son also of Colonel Ephraim by an earlier wife (Nelson Cross) rose to the rank of major-general by brevet.
Miss Nellie Cross was a bright, attractive young lady, and possessed considerable poetic talent. In the fall of 1868 young Denison received the ap- pointment of marshal to the consular court at Yo- kohama, Japan. and in 1872 was made consul to that port, and at the expiration of his consulship about 1876, upon recommendation of Honorable John A. Bingham, U. S. minister to Japan, was admitted to practice before the courts in that country. Dur- ing the term of his practice he returned to this country and was united in marriage to Miss Cross, at the home of General Nelson Cross, in Brook- lyn, New York. Soon after marriage they returned to Yokohama where after a lucrative practice at the bar of four years, he was called by his Emperor to the office of legal adviser to the foreign office. By some it is presumed that his success in the set- tlement of a suit against the government regarding a mining claim was the reason for his being soon thereafter called by the government to this prosition. This office he has held since 1880, and although he has three times tendered his resignation it has been refused each time. He is now (July, 1907) on a two years' vacation, during which he will attend The Hague conference as one of the judges of that trib- unal serving his Emperor his second term, having received his second appointment last November as the legal adviser of the foreign office. He has been influential in directing the foreign policy of Japan
31I
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
for a quarter of a century and to his efforts the wonderful progress of the nation is more due than to that of any other man. He is one of the best authorities on International law of any living man today. He has received first-class decorations of all the orders which the Japanese government can con- fer, and has refused three decorations tendered him by foreign governments.
The man and the influence he exerts is best given by an English correspondent of a London journal, made at the close of the Portsmouth con- ference: "He is a modest man, this Denison, one who has always kept himself in the background, and his work for a quarter of a century is merged, unidentified, in the general accomplishment of the government which he serves. Denison prefers the satisfaction that comes from work well done, rather than the praise of the world. He lives quietly in one of the smaller official residences in Tokio, al- most a recluse save to his intimate friends, to whom he is said to bring a charming simplicity of man- ner, a splendid measure of warmth and geniality, and a delightful form of wit and humor.
"It is difficult to single out the particular achieve- ments of this wonderful, silent, reserved inan, who stands forever in the background, but there has not been an important foreign office for twenty years in which he has not been consulted.
"At the close of the war with China, Denison received a gift of ten thousand dollars from his Emperor, and the thanks of the royal family. Mr. Denison's work in the affairs of the Japanese gov- ernment with foreign powers will never be known, nor will his influence among nations in bringing about the late Russo-Japanese treaty ever be di- vulged, but it is well known that his advice has been adhered to in most cases of complications with foreign powers and also in the late treaty of alliance with Great Britain. He is one of the very few for- eigners ever admitted to intimate approach of the Emperor, and his house is filled with costly presents from his Imperial Majesty."
In person Mr. Denison stands a trifle over six feet ; of commanding presence, one shoulder slightly depressed. His face is rather mobile, but exceed- ingly pleasant when lit up by a smile. He is as gentle as a child, but very reserved and circum- spect in his intercourse with strangers. His weight is about 180 pounds. He uses a cane in walking. He has no children. His wife is an invalid and spends much of her time at the baths in Germany. while her husband is busy "sawing wood," as he terms his daily labors. He is thoroughly versed in the history of Japan and full of Japanese reminis- censes.
(IV) Captain William (2), fourth son of Cap- tain George and Ann Denison, was born in 1655, and married Mrs. Sarah ( Stanton) Prentice, wid- ow of Thomas Prentice ( 2), and daughter of Thom- as Stanton. Captain Denison served in King Phil- ip's war, and died March 2, 1715, and his wife died August 7, 1713. Their children were: William, Sarah and George.
(V) William (3). eldest son of William (2) and Sarah Denison, was born March 24. 1687. and was married May 10, 1710, to Mercy Gallup. He re- sided in Stonington, where he died February 24. 1724. anl his wife March 2, 1724, just a week apart, aged thirty-seven and thirty-five years, respectively. Their children were: Mercy. Sarah, Esther, Wil- liam. Hannah, Benadam, Jonathan and Martha.
( VI) Benadam, second son of William (3) and Mercy ( Gallup) Denison, was born February 6, 1721, in Stonington, and passed his life in that
town. He was married (first), February 3, 1742, to Anna Swan, who was born March 10, 1727, and died November 29, 1751. He was married ( second). October 18, 1752, to Mrs. Sarah Avery Denison.
(VII) James, son of Benadam and Anna (Swan) Denison, was born August 26, 1745. in Stonington, and died April 26, 1813, in the same town where his life was spent. He was married September 20, 1773. to Eunice Stanton. who died April 19, 1813.
(VIII) Joseph Adams Denison, M. D., eldest son of James and Eunice ( Stanton) Denison, was born at Stonington. Connecticut, December 22, 1774. He studied medicine with Dr. Gallup, one of the best known early and most influential of the early settlers of Vermont. He became a resident of Bethel, Vermont, in 1797, and practiced his profes- sion in that town till 1815, when he removed to Royalton, where he died September 5, 1855. He was married, June 9, 1802, in Cornish, New Hamp- shire, to Rachel Chase, who was born January 10, 1774. and died August 3, 1858, in her eighty-fifth year. She was a daughter of Dudley and Alice (Corbett ) Chase (see Chase IX). They had nine children, three of whom died in childhood. The six who reached adult age were : Joseph A. George, an Episcopal minister, who died at Keo- kuk, Iowa; James, an attorney, who died at San An- tonio, Texas ; Alice (deceased), who married David WV. Grant ; Rachel C., who resided in Royalton, and Dudley C., a prominent lawyer of Royalton.
(IX) Joseph Adams (2) Denison. M. D., was born in Bethel, Vermont. He studied medicine with his father, attended the medical school at Wood- stock, Vermont, took a classical course at the Uni- versity of Vermont, and a course of lectures at the medical department of Yale College. He spent all of his professional life in Royalton, where he died. He married Eliza Skinner and had twelve children : Eliza, Philander Chase, George Stanton, Eleanor Porter, James, Alice, Lucy, Franklin, Clara, Charles, Susan and Fanny.
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.