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. II, Part 18

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: 874

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. II > Part 18

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(VII) John Webster. son of Asa and Rhoda (Webster) Severance, was born in Sandwich, Feb- ruary 3. 1822. He attended the schools of his na- tive town till 1832. when he came to Chichester to reside with his uncle, who was his guardian till of age. In his early manhood he learned the trade of edge-tool maker, which occupation he followed for a time in Chichester. He then went to Lowell and worked awhile in a machine shop, and later was a practical machinist in Manchester for more than twenty years. Finally he relinquished his trade and returned to Chichester and settled on the homestead farm of his wife's parents, where he ever afterward resided. He is a Republican in politics, and ably represented Manchester in the legislature in 1855 and 1856 and again in 1876 and 1877. He is a mem- ber of Mechanics Lodge, No. 13, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Manchester, and has served sev- eral years as its chaplain. He is also actively in- terested in the Patrons of Husbandry, and was one of the organizers of Catamount Grange, of Pitts- field. By his fellow townsmen he is highly esteemed as an industrious and successful farmer, and an honest and upright man and citizen. Mr. and Mrs. Severance are members of the Free Baptist Church. He married, November 25. 1841, Hannah Jane, daughter of Deacon Benjamin and Sally (Watson) Kaime, of Pittsfield (see Kaime, VI). John W. Severance died in Chichester, May 19, 1901.

According to tradition. the Nourse NOURSE family of New England are descended from three brothers who were early

immigrants from England. The carly town records of Westboro. Massachusetts, show that several of this name resided there and were prominently identi- fied with its progress and social welfare. It is therefore quite probable that one, if not all of the above-mentioned immigrants, settled there or in Marlboro, which was the parent town.

(1) Daniel Nourse, Sr., the first known ances- tor of the family now in hand, was born in West- boro in 1760. Ile was a Revolutionary soldier, and marched from Westboro with a company of minute men at the Lexington Alarm. In 1785 he went to Acworth, New Hampshire, locating upon wild land at what was known as Indian Camp. in the region of the West Woods, and lie cleared a large tract, realizing a productive farm as a reward for his labor. His death occurred at Acworth. in 1815. He was a Congregationalist, and a member of the church. The maiden name of his wife was Anna Wilcox, who was of Surry, New llampshire, and she died in 1826. Their children were: Daniel, Jr. and Anna. (II) Daniel, Jr., son of Daniel and Anna (Wil-

cox) Nourse, was born in Acworth, in 1792. He resided at the homestead until 1855, when he sold the property and with his wife went to Wisconsin. Both died in Fox Lake, that state, in 1869. Daniel possessed considerable musical talent, and officiated as choir director. In April, 1814, he married Mar- garet Wilson, born in 1794, daughter of John and Polly (McCoy) Wilson, natives of Londonderry, New Hampshire, who settled on Derry Hill. Ac- worth. "Big" John Wilson served in the Revolu- tionary war. He married Margaret McFarland. The McFarlands came from Londonderry, Ireland. The Wilsons, who were also descendants of the Coven- anters, suffered persecution on account of their re- ligious faith. and in memory of an ancestor, Mar- garet, who is said to have been subjected to per- sonal cruelty, this name has ever since been pre- served in the family. John Wilson was the father of twenty-one children. Early in the last century he and his family journeyed on an ox-team from New Hampshire to a point in the vicinity of the present city of Cleveland, Ohio. Mrs. Margaret Nourse became the mother of ten children, namely : Mary Louise; Solon, died in Iowa : Julia Ann, died young; Daniel Hammond, deceased : William. see succeeding paragraph; Nancy, married Joel Hub- bard, and is no longer living: Julia Antoinette, widow of Samuel Edes; Helen, wife of George II. Fairbanks; George W., mentioned later; and Free- man W., who was a musician in the Sixteenth Regi- ment, New Hampshire Volunteers during the Civil war. George \V. Nourse was born August 19, 1831. In the carly days of the California gold fever he tried his fortune in the mines with good results, and after his return engaged in mercantile busi- ness at Newport, where he is still residing. He was town clerk in 1863-64; first selectman from 1865 to 1873; moderator from 1868 to 1872 and postmaster for twelve years. He was married May 2. 1861, to Juliette E. Woodward, who was born May 2, 18.42.

(III) William, third son and fifth child of Dan- iel and Margaret (Wilson) Nourse, was born in Acworth, May 10, 1822. At the age of twenty-two years he left the homestead farm and found em- ployment in a woolen mill at Gilsum. Two years later he went to Newport. where he worked in a similar establishment conducted by Thomas A. Twichell, and in 1854 he became associated with Albert Wilcox in general mercantile business under the firm name of Wilcox & Nourse. He later sold his interest in that concern to his brother. George W., who had recently returned from California, and in 1858 purchased the Twichell mill, which he op- erated as the Eagle Mills until 1866, when he dis- posed of it to Samuel Eades. In the latter year he entered into partnership with Perley S. Coffin, and the firm of Coffin & Nourse erected the Granite State Woolen Mills at Guild, which they operated successfully until 18So, employing an average of one hundred hands, and supplying the market with products of superior quality. In 1882 Mr. Nourse succeeded Calvin Wilcox & Son in the general hard- ware business at Newport, and conducted it alone until admitting his son William H. to partnership, when the business was incorporated as the Nourse Hardware Company, William Nourse. president. For more than half a century he has lxen prominently connected with the business interests of Newport and vicinity, and although now an octogenarian his activities continue unabated. He united with the Congregational Church in 1852, and was made a

WILLIAM NOURSE.

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Free Mason in 1854. He was formerly a leading spirit in local politics, having cast his first presi- dential vote for llenry Clay in 1844, and he has sup- ported every Republican candidate for that office from the formation of the party to the present time. For the years 1855-6 he served as town clerk, and was representative to the legislature in 1861-62. In 1848 he married for his first wife Rebecca Mor- rison, who died in 1852, and in 1855 he married Ellen M. Hatch, daughter of Dr. Mason Hatch, of Newport, (see Hatch VIL). She was born Sep- tember 19, 1832, and died February 27, 1872. His third wife, whom he married January 15, 1874, was Mrs. Mary E. Jones, born in Wilton, New Hamp- shire, May 17, 1839. His children are: Mary E., born June 13, 1856, died August 6, 1874: Emma L., born November 6, 1860; Marcia B., born October 12, 1864, married Charles B .. Spofford: William H., who will be again referred to (all of his second union) ; and Elizabeth, born May 16, 1875, who is the only child of his third marriage.

(IV) William Hatch, youngest child and only son of William and Ellen M. (Hatch) Nourse, was born in Newport, April 20, 1867. After graduating from the high school he entered his father's store, and is now junior member of the Nourse Hardware Company. He is a member of the Masonic order and has advanced to the commandery. His first wife, who was before marriage Mabel Hunton, bore him one daughter, Beatrice. For his second wife he married Belle E. Gunnison, daughter of High Sheriff John U. Gunnison (sec Gunnison).

MANN The representatives of the old English family of this name seem to be de- seended in a great measure from an an- cestor who emigrated to America in 1645. The family has always manifested many of the traits of character found in the Briton. The Manns have been sturdy men and independant thinkers, more inclined to follow the dictates of conscience than to gain in any way any sacrifice of what they believe to be right. The majority of them have been what the demands of their times required-agriculturists -yet in later years they have shown an aptitude for executive positions, and one in the last century was a leading educator in the United States.

(I) Richard (1) Mann, born in Cornwall, Eng- · land, emigrated to America and settled in Plym- outh, Massachusetts, in 1645, and was one of the Conihassett partners in Scituate, 1646. His farm was at Man hill (a well known place to this day). south of the great Musquasheut pond. A deed of the land to Richard Man, planter, Scituate, bears date 1648. There is no record of his marriage in Scituate, but he is said to have married Rebecca, daughter of Elder William Brewster, one of the Mayflower Pilgrims. His children were: Nathaniel, Thomas, Richard and Josiah.

(IL) Richard (2), third son of Richard (I) and Rebecca (Brewster) Mann, was born at Plymouth, February 5. 1652. He married Elizabeth South- worth, and they were the parents of John, Rebecca, Hannah, Nathaniel, Richard, Elizabeth and Abigail. (III) Nathaniel, son of Richard (2), born in Scituate, Massachusetts, October 27, 1693, married Mary Root, and resided in Hebron, Connecticut.

(IV) John, son of Nathaniel, born in Scituate, Massachusetts, November 20, 1720, married Mar- garet, sister of Rev. Samuel Peters, D. D.

(V) Matthew, son of John and Margaret (Peters) Mann, born in Hebron, Connecticut, De- 11-10

cember 20, 1741, married Sarah Moody. He set- tled in Oxford about 1765, with his brother Jolin, and died in that town in 1825.

(VI) Major Samuel, son of Matthew and Han- nah ( Moody ) Mann, was born in Oxford in 1773, and died in Benton, July 19, 1842, aged sixty-nine. After his marriage he lived in Landaff until 1835, when he moved to Coventry, where he purchased a farm of his brother-in-law, Nathaniel Howe. Major Mann was a man of marked peculiarities. He did his own thinking, acted independently, and never went with the tide. In 1840, when the town voted for a change of name from Coventry to Ben- ton, Major Mann cast one of the two votes against the proposition. Coventry was a Democratic town, and Major Mann was a Whig. He was interested in political affairs. hut was never a candidate for office. Of his six sons who grew to manhood and lived, as all did, to a good old age, three-Jesse, Moody and George W .- were born politicians and ardent partisans. In caucuses, conventions, and campaigns they were in their natural element, and always voted the straight ticket. Samuel Mann married Mary Howe, daughter of Peter Howe, of Landaff. She died November 15, 1866, aged eighty- six years. They were the parents of seven sons : Jesse, Moody, Amos C., Samuel, James A., Edward F. and George W., whose sketch follows.

(VII) George W., youngest child of Major Sam- uel and Mary (Howe) Mann, was born in Benton, 1821, and died January, 1901. He removed with his father's family in 1835, to Coventry (now Benton), and spent the remainder of his life there. His edu- cation was obtained in the district schools and in Newbury Seminary. He was actively engaged in agriculture for many years, but for thirty years pre- ceding his death he was more directly engaged as a contractor and builder. In politics he was a Dein- ocrat, of whose orthodoxy no question was ever raised. For half a century he was a leading citizen of Benton, and long prominent in public life in Grafton county. He was repeatedly moderator of the town meetings, and held the office of justice of the peace from 1855 to his death in 1901, a period of forty-six years. He was collector of taxes of Benton for five years from 1844, and selectman eight years from 1846. He also served four years as town clerk. and ten years as superintending school committee. He represented Benton in the Legis- lature in 1857, 1860, 1875, 1876, 1881 and 1883, taking a prominent part in the deliberations of the house in later years. He also served in the constitutional convention of 1876, and was long prominent in con- vention and committee work in the Democratic party. In 1892 he was appointed by Governor Tut- tle a member of the State Board of Agriculture for Grafton county, a position he held several years. In religious faith he was a Universalist, and as ardent in religion as he was in politics. He mar- ried (first), April 13, 1843, Susan M. Whitcher, born 1825, daughter of William and Mary Whitcher. She died October 6, 1854; and he married ( second), March 4. 1855, Sarah T., daughter of Gad Bisbee. The children by the first wife were: Ezra B., now a resident of Woodsville; Edward F., mentioned below; George Henry, a merchant in Woodsville ; Orman L. and Osman C. (twins) ; and by the second wife: Melvin J., Hosea B., Susan M., Minne S. and Moses B. The second of the twins is deceased, and the others reside in Benton.

(VIII) Hon. Edward Foster, second son and child of George W. and Susan Marston ( Whiteher )

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Mann, was born in Benton. September 7, 1845. and died in Concord, August 19. 1892. His birth place was the old homestead where his grandfather Samuel Mann settled when he removed to Benton. and the same upon which his father, George W. Mann, spent his life. He attended the public schools of his native town until he had completed the usual line of study there, and then attended the seminary at Tilton for several terms. When about twenty- one years of age he entered the employ of the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad Company, his first work being about the station at Tilton. In 1867 he went into the train service and served as brakeman on a passenger train for a time, and was then promoted to baggage-master, and a few years later made a conductor. He filled the last named position until the fall of 1881, and then became sta- tion agent for the company at Concord. He was thoroughly qualified to discharge the duties of this position, since he had had fourteen years of varied experience along the road in the company's service and was familiar with its needs as well as with it methods of doing business. In 1884. after the lease of the road to the Boston & Lowell line. he was made assistant superintendent. He continued in this posi- tion while the road was operated by the Boston & Maine corporation, under the lease of the Boston & Lowell, and when it finally passed under the con- trol of the former he was made superintendent. January 1. 1800, the Concord and the Boston, Con- cord & Montreal roads were formally consolidated, and the train service of the entire system was placed under his efficient superintendency, and April I, 1892, he was made general superintendent. and again became a resident of Concord. Mr. Mann never did things by halves, and in the performance of the duties of his position as superintendent he gave his entire attention to the work of his office. Nat- urally inclined to pulmonary affection, his labors developed them under his persistent and unremitting attention to duty, and for two or three years before his death he frequently had attacks of illness of a very serious nature. These attacks necessitated a cessation of labor and a period of rest, but as soon as he was in a manner recovered he returned to his duties This alternation from confinement at home to office work continued until a short time before his decease, the attacks from illness became more serious and prolonged until his death August 19. 1802.

Mr. Mann was abundantly endowed with those qualifications necessary to the highest degree of efficiency in his chosen line of employment. He was industrious, sober, frugal, quick of perception and rapid in execution, familiar with the needs of the place- he was called to fill. possessing a large ac- quaintance and commanding the confidence and esteem of the patrons of the road and the public generally With these favorable endowments, he was able to accomplish as much in the years of his life as many other men in similar positions would have been able to accomplish in a long life. Though having the interests of a large corporation to look after. yet he had a warm sympathy and was an carne-t worker in many matters of public concern.

He was an ardent Democrat, and served his town and district and the state at large in the legislature. representing Benton in the house in 1871 and in 1872. and heing a member of the committee on Agricultural College in the former and on reform schools in the latter year; and the Grafton district (No. 2) in the senate in 1879 and 1881, serving in

I870 upon the committees on education, claims, roads, bridges, and canals, and engrossed bills ; and in 1881 upon those of elections, roads, bridges, and canals, and reform school, being chairman of the latter committee. In I888 he was the candidate of his party for the representative in congress from the second New Hampshire district, and, though defeated, ran largely ahead of his ticket.

During some of his most active years his home was at Woodsville, and in all the enterprises re-' lating to the prosperity of that place he took a lively interest and was a mover in all its important local enterprises. He was one of the promoters of the Woodsville Aqueduct & Electric Light Company, and after its incorporation one of its directors. His relations to the Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank were the same as with the light company. In the mat- ter of the transfer of the county seat from Haver- hill Corner to Woodsville, he gave his earnest sup- port to his home town. He was an active member and vice-president of the Providence Mutual Re- lief Association, and at the time of his decease a director of the New Hampshire Democratic Press Company. He was a member of Burns Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Littleton, and of Franklin Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, at Lisbon. In religion he was a Universalist. In the death of Edward F. Mann the state of New Hamp- shire lost a good citizen; society lost an able, ener- getic and faithful supporter of all those measures that are intended for the public good; and the great corporation which he had so long served lost one of its most efficient executive officers. In the social and family circle he will always be remembered as one who was ever warm hearted, helpful, sincere and faithful.

He married. January 13. 1881, at Providence, Rhode Island, Elvah G .Whitcher, born in Benton, October 5. 1851, daughter of Chase and Susan (Rouse) Whitcher, of Benton. They had one child, Marion, now deceased.

RAND In the Anglo-Saxon. Dutch, Danish, and German languages the word "rand" sig- nifies a border, margin or edge. It was probably first taken as a surname by some one who lived on the border of some territorial division to designate his place of residence. It first appears in print in England as a surname in the early part of the fifteenth century when there were Rands at Rand's Grange, a small township near Bedale, and in York, in 1475. Subsequent to that time the name appears in various parts of England.

(1) Although the records of ships arriving in Massachusetts in 1635 are not in existence, it is thought that Robert Rand came at that time, be- cause his wife Alice was admitted to the church in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in that year. In the town Book of Possessions, dated 1638, mention is made of the property owned by Robert Rand, in- cluding one house on the west side of Windmill Hill, sixty-six acres and three commons. He died in 1639 or 1640. although the exact date cannot be ascertained, owing to the incompleteness of the records for both those years. Alice Rand was a sister of Mary, wife of Captain Richard Sprague, who was said to be a daughter of Nicholas Sharp. Both Captain Richard and his wife left legacies in their wills to various members of the Rand family. Alice Rand died August 5. 1691, at the age of ninety- eight years. Robert and Alice brought several chil- dren with them, but just how many or how many

John S. Rand

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children they had is not certain. The names of children supposed to be theirs are: Robert, Mar- jery, Thomas, Susanna, Alice, Nathaniel and Eliza- beth. (Thomas and descendants receive extended mention in this article).

(II) Robert (2), eldest son and child of Robert and Alice ( Sharpe) ( ?) Rand, probably came with his parents from England, was a farmer at "Woodend" in the northerly part of Lynn; was living there in 1649. and died there November 8, 1694. His wife Elizabeth dicd August 29, 1693. Their children were: Robert, Zechariah, Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary and Sarah.

(III ) Zechariah, second son and third child of Robert and Elizabeth Rand, was born probably in Lynn. His estate was administered by his widow in 1706. He married, April 2, 1684, Ann Ivory, who married (second), published September 15, 17II, Samuel Baxter. The children of Zechariah and Ann ( Ivory) Rand were: Daniel, Thomas, Eliza- beth, Mary, Anna and possibly John.

(IV) Anna, fifth child and third daughter of Zecharialı and Ann (Ivory) Rand, was born in Lynn, and married, May 21, 1730, Benjamin Eaton, of Lynn. ( See Eaton, second family, IV).

(IV) John Rand was a resident of Newburyport and Rye, New Hampshire. His wife's name was Isabella, and they were the parents of Moses, the subject of the next paragraph.

(V) Moses, son of John and Isabella Rand, was born in Newburyport, lived in Piscataqua, and in 1772 settled on the high forest land near Beauty Hill, Barnstead, where he made a fine farm which he left to his sons. He was selectman in 1787. He married Abigail Wentworth, a first cousin of Gov- ernor John Wentworth, and they had three sons, Samuel, Wentworth and Jonathan, the two latter serving in the War of 1812.

(VI) Samuel, eldest son of Moses and Abigail (Wentworth) Rand, was born in Barnstead, April 12, 1776, and died October 3, 1836. He received from his father a tract of land in Barnstead, upon which he settled and resided the greater part of his life. He was a man in comfortable circumstan- ces and respected by his neighbors. He married Mary Hill, who was born September 19, 1774, a daughter of Andrew Hill, of Strafford. She died June 21. 1852, aged seventy-eight. Their children were : Moses Hill, Pamelia, Ruth E., Lydia A. W., Phebe, Mary and Samuel. Moses is mentioned below. Pamelia was the second wife of Deacon John Kanne. Ruth E. and Lydia A. W. never mar- ried. Phebe became the wife of Benjamin White, of Chester. Mary married Henry Hunkins, of Bos- ton. Samuel married Mary ,and lived and died in Lowell, Massachusetts.

(VII ) Moses Hill, eldest child of Samuel and Mary (Hill) Rand, was born June 29, 1803, and died April 4, Barnstead, the ancestral farm which ISS5. He spent his life in he owned. He was an independant and prising man, had political aspirations, and never held an office. He was a member of the Free Will Baptist Church. He married Anna, eldest daughter of Joseph Bunker, of Barnstead Parade. and granddaughter of Eli Bunker, who donated the . land for the Parade in 1791. She was born January 14, 1804, and died August 13, 1888, aged eighty-four. The children of Moses and Anna Rand were: Josepli Bunker, Hiram, Mary E. and Lydia A. Joseph B. graduated from Dartmouth College, and was a successful physician at Hart-

ford, Vermont. Hiram is the subject of the next paragraph. Mary E. married Isaac A. Fletcher, a inerchant of Lowell, Massachusetts. Lydia A. mar- ried Jolin L. Woodhouse, and lived in the state of Iowa.

( VIII) Deacon Hiram, second son and child of Moses H. and Anna (Bunker) Rand, was born 1827, and died June 14, 1903, aged seventy-six. He acquired his education in the district schools and at private institutions. He spent three years of his young manhood in Lowell, Massachusetts, where he was employed as an engineer in a saw mill. After his return to Barnstead he was in partner- ship with Joshua B. Merrill in the grocery business for two years. He then returned to the farm on which he was born, which lie inherited from his father. In 1885 he removed to a place on what is known as the Province road, and later from there to Barnstead Parade, where he died. Mr. Rand joined the Congregational Church at the age of twelve years, and was a man of prominence in church and town affairs for many years. For thirty- five years preceding his death he was a deacon, and for a long time was chorister and superintendent of the Sabbath school. Besides being a farmer he was a trustee of the Pittsfield Savings Bank. He mar- ried in Lowell, Massachusetts, 1851, Harriet N. Hoitt, who was born in Barnstead, 1826, daughter of Benjamin and Mehitable (Babson) Hoitt. She died February, 1901. (See Hoitt, VII). Two chil- dren were born to them: Florence, 1852, married Dr. C. B. Sturtevant, of Manchester, and died Sep- tember 30, 1878; and John S., the subject of the next article.

(IX) Hon. John S., second child and only son of Hiram and Harriet N. (Hoitt) Rand, was edu- cated in the common schools and at Pittsfield Aca- demy. For two years he was engaged in teaching at Alton, New Hampshire, and on Deer Island, Boston Harbor. He was also connected with the manufacture of shoes in Boston. Since 1884 lie has been a dry goods merchant at Barnstead, where he has attained an influential position in business and social circles. He is president of the Pittsfield Shoe Company, and a director of the Farmers' Savings Bank. His political creed is Republican, and he was elected by that party to the New Hampshire house of representatives in 1896. He is a leading member of the Congregational Church, and has been super- intendent of its Sunday school. He is a member of Suncook Lodge, No. 10, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. November 30, 1879, he married Hattie M. Foote, born in Pittsfield, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Eastman) Foote, of Pittsfield.

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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. II, Part 18

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: 874

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: 874