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 55

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 55

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).

(IV) Matthew, third son and fourth child of David (2) and Hannah (Smith) Mead, was born August 9, 1717, in Watertown, and was admitted to the church in Lexington in 1742. He resided near the town hall, and was frequently elected to office, such as constable, school committeeman and tithing- man. On the 19th of April, 1775, when the British made their raid upon Lexington and Concord, his house was ransacked and much of the furniture de- troyed. He died April 1, 1796, at the age of sev- enty-eight years. He was married January 23. 1754. to Martha Danforth, of Billerica, who died August 8, 1792, aged sixty-three years. Their children were : Ward, Martha, Rhoda. Levi, Josiah and Elias.

(V) Levi, second son and fourth child of Mat- thew and Martha (Danforth) Mead, was baptized .August 14. 1759, in Lexington, Massachusetts. He was a boy of sixteen years when the British ran- sacked his father's house in Lexington, and he with a younger brother watched the operation from a safe distance. He afterward joined the Colonials in their pursuit of the British on the march to Concord and shared their glory as a powder horn bearer. He later enlisted and served to the end of the Revolu- tionary war, closing with the captain's commission on the staff of General Washington. He continued to reside with his father in the ancestral mansion at Lexington until 1801, when he removed to Chester- field. New Hampshire. In October, 1800, he pur- chased of Asa Britton what is still known as the Mead farm in that town and removed thither the following spring. This is located on the main street of the village in Chesterfield. He kept tavern there for many years, and in 1800 erected a building there for that purpose, to which it was still devoted as late as 1882. In 1832 he was appointed deputy sheriff of Cheshire county and continued in that office for many years. He died April 28, 1828. and was buried with Masonic honors. He was married at Boston, September 16, 1782. to Betsy Converse, of Bedford, Massachusetts. They were admitted to the church at Lexington. May 30, 1784. She died Decemher 4, 1842, having survived her husband

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more than fourteen years. Their children were: Levi, Joseph, James. Bradley, Larkin, Elias, Mar- shall and Betsy. The last two were born in Ches- terfield.

(\]) James, third son and child of Levi and Betsy (Converse) Mead, was born October 26, 1788, in Lexington, Massachusetts. The New Hampshire records say that he was born August 4. In carly manhood, he removed to Jefferson, New Hampshire. and thence to Bartlett in Carroll county. He was married in Chesterfield to \'elona (or Vellonia), daughter of Nathan Farlow. She died before 1836. The records of New Hampshire show that he was married June 23. 1836, in Bartlett, by Nathaniel P. Davis, justice of the peace, to Comfort Rogers, and also show the birth of two children of this mar- riage. Ile died May 30. 1841. Those of his children who grew to maturity were: Charles, John, Louis, Willis. James, Etta. Frank and Joseph.

(VII) Joseph, son of James Mead, was born De- cember 31. 1838, in the town of Jefferson, Coos coun- ty, and removed with his father's family to Bartlett. Carroll county, where he was educated. Soon after the beginning of the Civil war he enlisted in the Sixth New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry for three years' service. His wife, whom he married July 29, 1865. was Adelaide Gray, of Jackson, Carroll coun- ty. She was born March 29, 1841, a daughter of Samuel Gray. They had two children, Sumner Clarence and Gertrude May Mead, the latter of whom became the wife of Dr. Merry. of Glenn, New Hampshire, and formerly of Nova Scotia.

(VIII) Summer Clarence, elder of the two chil- dren of Joseph and Adelaide (Gray) Mead, was born at Bartlett, May 29. 1873, and received his carly education in the public schools of Glen, Jack- son and Upper Bartlett. After he came of age he Began business as a teamster and truckman, and also carried on a livery but later on he gave up that oc- cupation and removed to Hillsborough. New Hamp- shire, where his chief pursuit has been farming, and in which he has met with gratifying success. ITis lands are not extensive, but are well cultivated and show evidences of care and thrift on the part of their owner. Besides the management of his farm Mr. Mead deals in agricultural implements and ma- chines and fertilizers.

He is a member of Saco Valley Lodge, No. 21. Independent Order of Odd Fellows, attends the Congregational Church and in politics is a Republican. He married. October 4. 1803. Addie B. Williams, of Augusta, Maine. She was born February 4. 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Mead have had two children: Lewis Clarence, born in Glen. New Hampshire. August 17. 1894, and met an accidental death by burning in his father's barn. August 30. 1800. Mildred Belle, born in Glen, Jan- Hary 10. 1807.

(I) Thomas Mead was born 1;89, at Meredith Bridge, now Laconia. New Hampshire. He was a farmer. and soon after his marriage settled in New Hampton, where he resided until his death in 1840. when he was sixty years of age. He was married by John D. Knowles. April 8, 1821. in that part of Gilmanton, now Belmont, to Mary Gilman, the resi- dence of both being given as Gilmanton. They were the parents of eight children: John T .. Sarah R., Thomas J., Charles E., Nicholas G., Nathaniel J .. Mary A .. and Samuel H. All but the youngest of these, also all the widows of the sons, are now dead. Sarah R. married William G. Mason : Mary A. married John S. Mason. The mother of these children died 1854.

(11) Samuel Hercules, youngest child of Thomas

and Mary (Gilman ) Mead, was born in New Hamp- ton, October 31, 1843. His father died when he was six years old. His mother being a woman of more than ordinary strength of mind and executive ability, reared and trained her children in the way they should go, and cach became a good citizen and a comfort to her in her later life. Before 1850 Charles E., Nathaniel J., and Thomas J. Mead. skillful car- penters, formed a partnership under the firm name of Mead Brothers, later Mead, Mason & Company. and became contractors and builders in Concord, where they carried on a flourishing business. After acquiring what education the common schools afford- ed him, Samuel H. Mead, at eighteen years of age, went to work at the carpenter's trade at Lebanon. He went to Ohio, in 1862, and worked in that state until 1865, and then returned to New Hamp- shire, and the next five years he spent partly in the employ of his brothers at Concord. He then went to Ashland, in company with John F. Mead, remain- ing three years; then to Laconia, with Arthur L. Davis, remaining two years, carrying on the business of contractor and builder. In 1873 the firm of Mead, Mason & Company, which was composed of the Mead brothers. above mentioned, and their two brothers-in-law. the Masons, observing the growth of Manchester, sent Samuel H. Mead, then a men- ber of the firm to Manchester to start a branch busi- ness there. The field proved a good one, and Mr. Mead an accomplished business man and mechanic, was made manager. He soon had all the work he could attend to; the firm had ten churches under construction or contract the first year. Church con- struction soon became a specialty with this branch of the company, and in the next ten years they built more churches in New England than any other contractor, or firm of contractors. in all the New England states. The business of this company has been principally the construction of churches. busi- ness blocks and dwellings, of which it has built a large number. It also has the credit of erecting the largest and finest building ever put up in the city of Manchester, the old Kennard, erected in 1892. This building was built for the New Hampshire Trust Company of Manchester, the contract price being about $215.000. Financial difficulties came on before the building was in condition to pay much, and the trust company broke, and Mead, Mason & Company had to take the building for an unpaid balance of over $100.000 due them. They carried it some time, but January 14, 1902, the building took fire and was totally consumed.

Charles and Nathaniel Mead started another branch of the company in Boston, in 1878, and con- ducted a large and flourishing business. In 1902 the old firm of Mead. Mason & Company, of Manches- ter, New Hampshire, was incorporated under the name of the Manchester Real Estate and Manufact- uring Company, of which Samuel H. Mead became treasurer and manager, and was a large factor in the building world of Manchester and vicinity up to 1007, when he retired from the building line and is now interested in a large brick yard at Epping, New Hampshire.

Samuel H. Mead has been a busy man all his life, and as energetic as industrious. Ile is a mem- ber of the First Baptist Church, and for twenty-five years has been a member of its board of directors; he is also a director of the Young Men's Christian Association for a number of years. He is a Re- publican, but thinks so much more of the person- ality, honesty and qualifications of the candidate for office, that he may better be classed as an Indepen-

Samuel H. Wead

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dent, for no one whom he believes to be unfit for office ever receives his support. In 1868 he joined Mt. Prospect Lodge of Ashland. New Hampshire, and later transferred to Lafayette Lodge, No. 41, Free and Accepted Masons, of Manchester, but clos- attention to business has left him little ''me for purely personal pleasures or minor social obliga- tions.

He married (first). at Ashland, 1869, Sarah J. Batchelder, born in Woodstock. New Hampshire, 1849, and died in Manchester, 1896. She was the daughter of Josiah and Sarah ( Hill) Batchelder. He married (second), in Manchester, 1899, Sarah J. Brown, daughter of Oliver Gould, and widow of Charles Brown, of Manchester. She was born in 1837. and died May 27. 1904. His children, both by the first wife, are Harry T. and Mary B., who married, 1899, Fred W. Newry, who was in the grocery business formerly, now a farmer of Man- chester. One son. Clinton Mead Newry.

(III) Harry Thomas, only son of Samuel H. and Sarah J. (Batchelder) Mead. was born in La- conia. August 30, 1870. He was educated in the schools of Manchester, and at Bryant & Stratton's Business College in Manchester. After leaving school he took the position of clerk of the firm of Mead, Mason & Company, and has since discharged the duties of that position to that firm and its suc- cessor. In politics he is an Independent Republican. He is a member of Lafayette Lodge. No. 41, Free and Accepted Masons : Mount Horeb Royal Arch Chapter, No. II. and Adoniram Council. No. 3. Royal and Select Masters : and also a member of Mechan- ics' Lodge, No. 13, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows. He married, October 31. 1893, Mary R. Ben- nett, born in Manchester, daughter of Stephen M. and Caroline (Williams) Bennett, of Manchester.

MELVIN This name is said to be a corruption of Melville, a surname started as Es- malevile .or Malevilla, from a haron in the Pays de Caux, Normandy, France, and going to England when William de Smalavilla held lands in Suffolk, as was recorded in Domesday Book, 1086. It has been written Malavilla. Malvill, Meluim, Melville, Melvin, and many other different ways, ac- cording to the various clerks and scriveners, who inclined to spell as the name met their ears. Roger de Malavilla, in the time of Henry I. witnessed a charter in Yorkshire and held a fief from William de Ros in 1165. Other branches were seated in Bucks county and in Scotland, where Geoffrey Mel- ville was grand justiciary in the time of David I, whence the earls of Melville. In the thirteenth cen- tury this name was known as Malavilla, meaning a bad township. By 1260 the families had become so numerous in Scotland that it was not easy to distinguish the separate branches. From the time of their establishment in Scotland to the present there have been many distinguished Melvilles. among whom are Walter de Melville, who was one of the principal men of Scotland who agreed to the marriage of Queen Margaret with Prince Edward of England in 1290; Richard of Fife. the son of Walter, who was the ancestor of the line of Raith in Fife; Sir James Melville, who was knighted by King James, and was often entrusted with diplo- matic missions : Andrew Melville, the head of the University of Glasgow, and others.

(I) John Melvin is first mentioned in the Massa- chusetts records as far as known, as as a "taylor." living in Charlestown, Middlesex county, and serv-

ing as a private under Captain Joseph Sill, in the company which joined that of Captain Thomas Henchman and marched to Patchouge (now the southeasterly part of the town of Worcester, Mas- sachusetts). and camped for that night in a large wigwam which had been very recently occupied by a band of hostile Indians. The next morning the companies marched back to Hassanamisco and there separated, the captain and part of the men tramping on to Marlborough, and then on November 16 to Springfield, where thirty-nine of the men were left as guards. As John Melvin's receipt was dated November 30, 1676, he must have quitted his com- pany at that date. On September 23, 1676, he signed another receipt for pay for services under Captain John Cutler, whose company had served under Cap- tain Thomas Henchman. at Hassanamisco. Jan- uary 3, 1681, John Melvin, "taylor," bought from Matthew Smith, for thirty-eight pounds, a house and land in Charlestown, Massachusetts. October 25, 1684, John Melvin. "taylor." and Robert Melvin, carpenter, each paid his first rate as a member of the Scots Charitable Society of Boston, a charitable organization founded for the purpose of assisting distressed prisoners who were shipped by the Eng- lish government to America after the disastrous battle of Dunbar. Scotland, where the Scotch were defeated. John Melvin's subscriptions to this so- ciety went on until May 4, 1696. In 1691 John Mel- vin made another purchase of lands, and later bought or sold other lands. About 1696 he removed to Concord, Massachusetts, and on April 3, June 3 and July 3. 1701, he sold lands in Charlestown, Con- cord. and Malden. August 30, 1727. he deeds thirty acres of meadow and upland in Concord to his son David. In one of the deeds the name is spelled Melville. Jolin Melvin's will was drawn August 18, 1726, in Concord. He died in Concord. August 21. 1726, "in the 74th year of his age." as stated on his gravestone. He married ( first), in Malden, Han- nalı, daughter of John and Mary (Brown) Lewis, who was born about 1655, and died in Charlestown, May 23. 1696; he married (second), published in Boston, August 27, 1696, Margaret Shamesbury. The children by the first wife. all born in Charlestown, were : John, Hannah. Robert, James, Jonathan, David and Benjamin. By the second wife: Eleazer and Margaret.

(II) Benjamin, seventh and youngest child of John and Hannah (Lewis) Melvin, was born Feb)- ruary 19, 1695. In 1717, as Lieutenant Benajmin Melvin, he was recorded as one of the proprietors of Ashford, Windham county, Connecticut. April 19, 1718, Anthony and David Stoddard, of Boston. as attorneys, sold for twenty-seven pounds eight shillings. to Benjamin Melvin, blacksmith of Ash- ford, one hundred and thirty-seven acres of land in Ashford. June 7, 1718, Benjamin Melvin sold to his father, John Melvin, of Concord, four acres of land in Concord. April 5. 1725, he. then of Ashford, sold for ninety-one pounds the tract of one hundred and thirty-seven aeres. In a deed dated January 10, 1726, lie is described as "now of Concord, Massachiu- setts." In 1726 Benjamin Melvin was one of the petitioners for the separation of the Carlisle, or north part of Concord. from the older part of the town, that the inhabitants might set up their own town meetings. July 23, 1740. "Benjamin Melvin, born in Charlestown, a blacksmith, aged forty-five years," volunteered for the Spanish war in the West Indies, under Captain John Prescott. In all proha- bility this enlistment was from Concord, where his

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last registration is found, and he must have been among those eighteen or more men who marched from that town of whom only a very few ever re- turned. He probably died while away, as no further res rd of him appears. The Ashford town books record that Benjamin Melvin and his wife Hannah hall children born there: Lydia, and a daughter Mary? ). It is almost certain that he was the father of Benjamin, whose sketch follows.

(IJI) Benjamin (2), most probably a son of Benjamin (1) and Lydia Melvin, was born in 1728, according to the date of his death recorded on his gravestone in the town of Hudson, formerly a part of ancient Dunstable, Massachusetts. He owned a farm in Chelmsford, Middlesex county, Massachu- setts, and another in Hudson. Grafton county, New Hampshire. February 27, Benjamin Melvin, of Londonderry, Rockingham county, New Hampshire, bought for £3 fifteen acres of land in Old Dunstable. Massachusetts. In 1754 Benjamin Melvin owned land on the borders of Little Massabesic Pond, in the eastern part of "Ancient Dunstable," afterward called Nottingham West, and still later was set off as part of Londonderry, New Hampshire. When Captain Eleazer Melvin's estate was settled, in Feb- ruary, 1756, a stated sum of money was paid to Benjamin Melvin. April 27. 1761. Robert Melvin, of Concord, Massachusetts, gave to Benjamin Mel- vin, of Londonderry, a quitclaim deed to land in that part of Londonderry, New Hampshire, formerly called Old Dunstable, Massachusetts. In May, 1899, Miss Smith, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, wrote L. M. Palmer, the genealogist of the Melvin family, "Now I write you what my mother told us Several years ago, as we have it in writing, in re- gard to her grandfather, Benjamin Melvin. That Benjamin Melvin married Mary Marshall, and they were the parents of Reuben Melvin; they belonged in Hudson, New Hampshire." She then adds that the historian of Peterborough was in error when he recorded that Reuben Melvin of Peterborough, was a son of Reuben of Pelham. Benjamin Melvin was buried in Hudson, New Hampshire, and his gravestone is inscribed : "Erected to the memory of Mr. Benjamin Melvin, who died March 19. 1797. aged sixty-nine years." His children were : Benja- min. Lydia, Reuben, John, a daughter (name tin- known), George, Philip and David.

(IV) John (2), fourth child and third son of Benjamin (2) and Mary ( Marshall) Melvin, was born in Hudson according to the report of one of his grandsons. He settled in Londonderry, New Hampshire, and engaged in farming. lle was also a ship carpenter, and hewed timber in the Charles- town navy yard. In later life, while hunting, hc had one shoulder destroyed by the accidental dis- charge of the gun he carried. He married, in Lon- donderry. April 20, 1707, Elizabeth (Betsy) Smith, who was born in Hudson. The children of this union were: Ilctty, Prescott. Noise, Betsy, John, Parker, Gilman, Reuben and Sally.

(V) Reuben Melvin, born in Londonderry, July 7. 1812, died in Merrimack. June 3. 1887, aged seventy-five. He was brought up a farmer, and got hi- education in the district schools. For ycars he had a farm which he cultivated in the milder por- tion of the year, and during the remainder carried on shoemaking, employing four or five assistants. In 1845 he removed to Merrimack and bought a farm upon which he lived for some time. Fle sold this before the Civil war, and for about a year he kept hoarders. lle afterward purchased another

farm upon which he lived until he died. He was a Democrat in political faith, and attended the Con- gregational Church. He married (first), Novem- ber 15, 1836, Gizza McNeal Smith, of Antrim. She was born November 7, IS14, and dicd April 12. 1846; and he married (second), Mary Butler, of Pelham, who was born October 15, 1814. She died May 25, 1851, and he married (third), Hannah E. Emery, of Newbury. She was born January 9. 1813, and died October 10, 1901. The children of the first wife were: William P., Weltha Ann, Martha J. and Reuben; of the second wife, Mary 1. and Angelina E.

(VI) William Prescott, oldest child of Reuben and Gizza McNeal (Smith) Melvin, was born in Londonderry, April 21, 1837. He worked on his father's farm summers, and attended school winters until he was twenty-two years old. He then worked on a farm for Isaiah Herrick. of Merrimack, six years, and then traveled over Rockingham and sold jewelry four years. In 1870 he engaged in farming for himself, and has continned until the present ( 1907). He first owned a farm at Read's Ferry, which he sold in 1902, and removed to Thornton's Ferry, where he is now living retired. Besides his farm in Merrimack, Mr. Melvin owns real estate in the city of Nashua. For twenty years he was agent for the Rockingham Mutual Insurance Com- pany. He is a Democrat in politics, and has served as selectman four years, and was a representative in the legislature in 1801. and has served on the agricultural committee of the Agricultural College. He is a charter member of Thornton Grange No. 31, Patrons of Husbandry, which was organized in 1876. He married, June 13. 1877. in Summerville. Massachusetts, Jane Adams, who was born in Bathurst, New Brunswick. November 21, 1845. daughter of Benjamin and Mehitahle (Hoyt) Adams, of Bathurst, New Brunswick, who was edu- cated in the common schools and at Adams Female Seminary at East Derry. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church. They have had three chil- dren : A daughter, died young ; a son, died young ; and Mary Elizabeth, born July 4. 1882, in Derry.

This family, which is rather limited in

TOGUS the number of its members. is of French extraction. Several generations lived in the province of Quebec, and only three gen- erations have resided in the United States.

(I) Nicholas Togus was born in the province of Quebec, in 1798, and died there in 1860, aged sixty-two years. He was a farmer, brick mason and carpenter. He had five children among whom were Nicholas and Edward IJ., the subject of the next paragraph.

(II) Edward Henry, youngest son of Nicholas Togus, was born in the township of St. John on the Richelieu river in the province of Quebec. in 1822, and died in Montreal, province of Quebec, while on a visit there in 1887, aged fifty-seven. Ile was buried at Taunton, Massachusetts. IJc was a farmer and dlevoted considerable attention to the culture of cran- berries. In 1868 he removed from Canada to Ben- nington, Vermont, and afterwards lived at Blacking- ton. Lowell, Fall River and Taunton, Massachusetts, where he made prolonged visits to his children, but regarded his place of residence as llookset, where he lived with his son, Dr. Theodore. He married Josephine Maynard, who was born in St. John, province of Quebec, in 1834, and who died and was buried in Blackington, Massachusetts, in 1871. She

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was the oldest daughter of Charles Belrose May- nard, who was a wealthy and influential citizen liv- ing about St. Gregorie, province of Quebec. He be- gan life as a poor boy, and by superior management and industry accumulated a large property. He was a farmer on an extensive scale, and also dealt in real estate. At one time he owned and cultivated, principally by tenants, twenty-six farms. He re- garded the payment of tithes to the Catholic churches as oppressive and unjustifiable. and re- fused to render them. This led to trouble between him and the church authorities, and he renounced Catholicism and became a Protestant. Most of his sons followed the father's example, but his wife and daughters were inclined to adhere to the Catholic faith and customs. He had a family of fifteen chil- dren, seven sons and eight daughters, all of whom grew up. One son was killed by accident at the age of eighteen. Each son received a farm from his father, and each daughter, at her marriage, was well dowered. The children of Edward H. and Jose- phine Togus were twelve in number, four of whom died young. Those who grew up were: Theodore M., Jennie, Edward H., Julia, Charles, John, Alice and Mary.

(III) Dr. Theodore Maygloire Togus, son of Edward H. and Josephine (Maynard) Togus, was born in province of Quebec, April 21, 1853, on the old homestead where his grandfather had lived and died. At the age of nine years he came with his father's family to the United States, where he has since resided. He was educated in the public schools of Concord, from which he went to Burlington, Vermont, where he studied medicine a year, and then went to Baltimore where he pursued liis medi- cal studies for the following year in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and then returning to Burlington, finished his course and took his degree in 1886. After practicing a few months each at Lowell, Massachusetts, and Concord, New Hamp- shire, he settled in 1887 in Hooksett, where he has since resided, and now enjoys a large practice. He is a well read man, affable in his manner, quick to observe, correct in his diagnosis of cases, and suc- cessful in his treatment. For nineteen years he has been a member of the Central District Merrimack County Medical Society, and is now (1906) its president. He is also a member of the New Hamp- shire Medical Society, the New Hampshire Sur- gical Club, and the Manchester Medical Society. Among the fraternal orders in which he has mem- bership are Jewell Lodge, No. 64, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Suncook, and Friendship Lodge, No. 19, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Hooksett, of which he is past grand, and Hook- sett Grange, No. 148, Patrons of Husbandry. He affiliates with the Republican party, and has held the offices of member of the school board three years, supervisor of the check list three years, jus- tice of the peace seven years. and has been one of the trustees of the public library since it was organ- ized, also secretary of the board of health.

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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 55

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