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 69
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After the death of his father. Dr. Morrill ceased to consider himself bound to the school of homeo-
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patlıy, and became a member of the New Hamp- shure Medical Society. He was author of the move- ment that led to the establishment of the Margaret Pillsbury General Hospital in Concord, and it is due to him to say that the success of the undertaking was largely the result of his persistent efforts. He contributed to it both time and money, was always in full sympathy with its plans, and was a member of its staff from its foundation until his death. He was also the founder of the district nurse sys- tem of Concord, and started the subscription which finally resulted as he had wished. In speaking of his work in this connection, a writer in the Concord Evening Monitor says: "I suppose no other doctor in Concord had so large a charity practice as Dr. Morrill, or was more keenly alive to the needs and sufferings of the sick poor. For years their great need of skillful, intelligent nursing in their own homes weighed upon him heavily, and his active mind busied itself trying to devise some scheme whereby it could be given to them."
Dr. Morrill was greatly interested in educa- tional matters, and no one was more active than he in promoting both the physical and mental welfare of the public school pupils. He brought to the at- tention of the board of education and, it might be said, forced upon that body the establishment of the kindergarten, and to secure the services of a suit- able teacher contributed of his private funds the sumn of one hundred dollars per year to eke out the compensation of the first incumbent. During his nine years' service as a member of the board of education of the Union School District, Dr. Mor- rill advocated and secured the establishment of the manual training school. He paid careful attention to the provisions for heating, lighting and ventila- tion, and would not be satisfied until the best pos- sible facilities were provided.
Though frequently obliged, during the last ten years of his life, to lay aside his work and seek relief abroad for failing health. Dr. Morrill imme- diately resumed practice on his return, and so continued until exhausted nature refused to go farther, and he was universally mourned, not only as a good physician but as the kind friend. He gave the best that was in him for his fellows. Well may be it said of him:
"In thy higher sphere
Thy spirit bends itself to loving tasks ; And strength to perfect what it dreamed of here ls all the crown and glory that it asks."
Dr. Morrill was married, May 12, ISS3, to Osma C. Baker, daughter of the late Bishop Osmon C. Baker, of the Methodist Episcopal Church (see Baker). Four children resulted from this marriage, namely: Ashley Baker, Margaret, Gladys, and Mary Stearns.
(VII) Luther M., son of Ezekiel and Betsey (Stevens) Morrill, was born in Canterbury, in 1814, died in Concord, June 7. 1880. Ile came to Con- cord in 1831 to learn the bookbinder's trade of Oliver M. Sanborn. After his apprenticeship he commenced the business of bookbinding with Lucius B. Morrill, and the firm then formed continued for' a short time. January 1, 1840, the firm of Morrill & Silshy was founded, then consisting of four partners Luther MI. Morrill, George H. H. Sils- by, Lucius B. Morrill and Charles H. Stearns-and they conducted book printing, binding and stationery business. In a few months Mr. Stearns left the firm
and soon afterwards William Kelsea was admitted to the firm, when they added general job printing and stereotyping to their business. Mr. Kelsea left the firm in 1849, and from that time forward Morrill and Silsby continued business together until the death of Mr. Morrill, which broke the longest established business firm in Concord. He was a member of White Mountain Lodge, No. 5, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. to which he was admitted at its first meeting, February 7, 1844, and was also a mem- ber of Penacook Encampment. His Masonic rec- ord is as follows: Luther Mastin Morrill was made a Mason in Blazing Star Lodge, June 23, 1858; was exalted in Trinity Chapter, March 29, 1859; re- ceived the several degrees in Horace Chase Council soon after its formation, and on August 29, 1859, he received the orders of Knighthood, and was ad- mitted a member of Mount Horeb Commandery of Knights Templar. As a business man, citizen, friend, and neighbor. during his long residence in Concord, he stood without a superior. Possessing
a cheerful and kindly nature, he made friends of all who knew him. Modest and quiet by nature he never sought or accepted political or other honors, but performed all the duties of a good, true, manly man in a manly manner. He was eminently domestic in his tastes, and always happy in his home and its surroundings. He married, in 1836, Louisa M. Osgood, of Gilmanton, by whom he had three children, two of whom survived him: Dr. George H. Morrill, of St. Louis, Missouri; Luther S .. whose sketch appears below; the third died in infancy. Mrs. Morrill died in 1857, and in 1859, he married (second) Mary R. Elliott, formerly of Boscawen, but then residing in Ohio, who survived him.
(VIII) Luther Sullivan, son of Luther M. and Louisa M. (Osgood) Morrill, was born in Concord July, 1844. He was primarily educated in the Con- cord public schools, graduating from the high school with the class of 1861, and afterward attending Dartmouth College, graduating from that insti- tution in the class of 1865. Returning to Concord he entered the law office of John Y. Mugridge, and after reading three years was admitted to the bar. He held several important offices soon afterwards. being clerk to the committee on the revision of the statutes in 1867. assistant clerk of the senate in 1869-70, and clerk of the same body in 1870-71. In November, 1869, he was appointed clerk of the su- perior court of judicature, which position he held until the court was reorganized in 1876. when he was made clerk of the supreme court, and served as such until August, 1882, a period of thirteen years, discharging all his duties with promptness and fidelity. He was also special police justice of Concord police court from July. 1877, to August, 1882. After relinquishing the office of the clerk of courts he resumed the practice of law. He took an active part in the organization of the home insur- ance companies after the foreign companies withdrew from the state, and held the position of vice-presi- dent in the Fire Underwriters' Association, and was also an 'active director and a member of the exe- cutive committee of the Capital Fire Insurance Com- pany at the time of his death. He was president of the Phenix Mutual Fire Insurance Company while it existed. Mr. Morrill was a Republican in poli- tics. in which he always took an interest. desirous as he always was of having government the instru- ment of the greatest good to the greatest number. He was elected to the legislature from ward 4 in the November election of 1886, and served with
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credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his con- stituency. He was a man social in his disposition and inclined to fraternize with his fellow men. He was a member of Eureka Lodge, No. 70, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. In an obituary sketch of Mr. Morrill in the "Publication of the Southern New Hampshire Bar Association," it is said of him: "His private life was of the highest moral standard, and was replete with devotion to his mother and family. He ever held their interests and welfare as paramount to all others, and his faithfulness to cach was the most sincere. His appointment to the clerkship of the supreme court prevented the active practice of his profession, but he was frequently chosen to act as referee in cases of magnitude and importance by members of the bar, and selected to perform such duties by the several judges. His con- duct in such cases was characterized by that degree of integrity and sound judgment that made his conclusions highly respected." "He was a good lawyer, diligent, painstaking, and faithful to each and every interest entrusted to him, and died, as he had lived, an honest man and one of credit to his profession." November 26, 1872, he married Agnes Gage, only daughter of Dr. Charles P. and Nancy (Sibley) Gage, of Concord. Of this marriage two children were born: Sibley Gage and Mary Agnes. The latter resides with her mother in Concord.
(IX) Sibley Gage Morrill, M. D., only son of Luther S. and Agnes (Gage) Morrill, was born in Concord, October 3, 1873. He received his early education in the schools of his native town, gradu- ating from the high school in 1892. He attended the Harvard Medical School, from which he grad- uated in ISS. After the usual experience in the Boston Hospital as house surgeon, he returned to Concord and began practice, in which he has suc- ceeded well, making a specialty of heart and lung diseases, and having a large clientele. He is a member of the staff of the Margaret Pillsbury Hos- pital, is one of the examining surgeons of the United States Pension Department. member of the New Hampshire Medical Society, and the Centre Dis- trict Medical Society, and Blazing Star Lodge, No. II, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Con- cord. He was married in October, 1905, to Georgia Sherman, youngest daughter of Roger and Mary (Giles) Sherman, of Lincoln, Massachusetts.
LIBBEY Is a name which seems to have come to America from the west of England, probably Cornwall or Devon; and in the ancient records and in present use has about the same number of variations in its orthography as most other surnames. The family has been dis- tinguished rather for those substantial virtues that make their possessor happy in himself and helpful to mankind, rather than by the possession of wealth and those more showy and less laudable character- istics not unfrequently in evidence to every observ- er of men. As a family the Libbeys have been re- spected by their neighbors as men of sterling worth, and uprightness and honesty of character. They have generally belonged to that law abiding class which forms the bone and muscle of the nation, content to render the wise efforts of others effective by a hearty support, and willing to concede all the glory to the leader. The family numbers its revo- lutionary soldiers by scores, and many hundreds risked their lives for their country in the war of the rebellion. In Maine alone there were two hun- dred and fifty-six enlistments. They are, as a fam- ily, very devout, and have figured much more large-
ly in the religious than in the civil institutions of the communities in which they have lived. The fam- ily has abounded in Christian ministers, elders, and deacons, while generation after generation has died in the faith. Very few have been guilty of bring- ing any reproach upon the name, and even in Maine, where the family is so numerous as to rank with the Smiths and Browns, it has been remarked by many that they never knew of a criminal or a pauper named Libby.
(I) John Libby, born in England about the year 1602. came to New England and was employed in the fisheries by Robert Trelawney who had a grant of land embracing Richmond's Island and other land about Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The records of this industry show that John Libby was in the en- ploy of Trelawney four years from the summer of 1635 to the summer of 1639. He had a grant of land in Scarborough, on the bank of a stream since called Libby river, and there built a house. Here he is supposed to have divided his time between fishing and agriculture. In 1663, lie is described in a docu- ment as a "planter" and in the history of Scarbor- ough he is said to have been "for many years one of the town's principal planters." He was constable in 1664, and his name stands first of the four select- men in a town grant bearing date 1669. In King Philip's war (1675) he lost everything he had except his plantation. Captain Joshua Scattow's diary says: "Eiglit or nine deserted houses be- longing to Libby and his children" were burned by the Indians September 7, 1675. John Libby and his wife and younger children were in Boston, July 10, 1677, and on his petition at that time his two sons Henry and Anthony were discharged from Black Point garrison. He probably soon after returned to Black Point, his old home in Maine, where he ac- quired a comfortable property, and died at the age of eighty years. He had two wives. Of the first, nothing is known except that she was the mother of all of his sons except Matthew and Daniel, and probably all his daughters. Of the second nothing is known but her Christian name which was Mary. The children of John Libby, probably all born in this country except the eldest, were: John. James, Sam- tel, Joanna, Henry. Anthony, Rebecca, Sarah, Han- nah, David, Matthew and Daniel. (Mention of Henry, Anthony, David and Matthew and descend- ants appears in this article.)
(II) John (2), son of John (1) Libby. was probably born in England, in the year 1636. and was reared in Scarborough. 111 1668, he bought filty acres adjoining his father's plantation at Black Point, where he resided. Subsequently he received several other grants from the town. He took an active part in the public matters of the town, and served as selectman in the years 1670-74-83-87. In 1690 Fort Loyal, a few miles north of Black Point, was captured by the French and Indians, and the inhabitants of Scarborough left their homes and went to safer localities. John Libby with his whole fam- ily fled to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. There he lived the remainder of his life. He followed the vocation of miller, and during the earlier years of his residence there was frequently chosen to fill the minor town offices. He lived to be very old, and probably died soon after 1720. His wife Agnes, was living in March, 1717, but probably died before her husband. Their children, all born in Scarborough. were: John, Joseph, Samuel, James, Daniel, Benja- min and Jeremiah. (Benjamin and descendants receive mention in this article).
(III) Captain John (3), eldest child of John (2)
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and Agnes Libby, was born in Scarborough, prob- ably as early as 1665, and went with his father to Portsmouth in 1690. He was a mechanic, and is mentioned at different times as housewright, mill- wright, and wheelwright. With his uncle, Matthew Libby, and others he went to Scarborough and built a saw mill some years before 1720, and in the win- ter of 1729-30 transferred his residence to that place, and settled on the homestead of his grandfather. He was part owner and probably the builder of the grist mill on Libby river, a little below the bridge, afterward known as Fogg's mill. He acquired the title of captain in New Hampshire, and ever after- wards retained it. He died between August, 1746, and December, 1751. The last time his wife's name appears in any record is in January, 1734. He mar- ried, December 29, 1710, Eleanor Kirke, daughter of Henry and Ruth (Glanfield) Kirke, of Ports- mouth. Their children were: Elizabeth, James, John. Eleanor, Jonathan and Josiah.
(IV) Josiah, fourth son and youngest child of Captain John (3) and Eleanor (Kirke) Libby, was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1715. He was only a lad when his father removed to Scar- borough. He grew up on the Libby homestead, and then settled on Oak Hill. He was a trumpeter in the French wars, and was known as "Trumpeter 'Siah." He died at the age of thirty-five, February 2, 1751, leaving a great property. He married March 23, 1737. Anna Small, who was born September 10, 1720. daughter of Deacon Samuel Small, grand- daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Heard) (Chad- bourne) Small, and great-grandaughter of Francis Small, who seems to
have been the an- cestor of a
great portion of the Smalls and Smalleys of New England. Francis was born in 1627, and was probably a son of "Mr." Edward Smale. who was of Kittery as early as 1640. Anna married ( second), January 10, 1755. Nathaniel Mil- liken, by whom she also had children, and died January 12, 1784. The following narrative, of her telling, is found in the genealogy of "the Libby Fam- ily in America": "It was during an Indian trouble when, in their exposed position on Oak Hill, it was not safe to pass the night in their own home. and they were accustomed every day, at nightfall to seek the protection of the garrison. One day her husband, the trumpeter. was away from home. He was ex- pected back, but did not return at the appointed time. Darkness came on, the calls of the Indians were heard in the surrounding woods, but the hus- band did not appear. Nothing had been seen of the Indians for a few days previous, and he had allowed himself to be delayed, little knowing the danger his family was in. The wife, and mother, not daring to have a light, sat trembling with her children in the darkness. At last her husband ap- proached his home, and he, too, heard the calls of the Indians. Stealthily he made his way to his house, and in whispers directed the departure of his family. With the cries of the Indians on all sides of them, they crept through the Flaggy Meadow, and by good fortune reached the garrison in safety. The next day they returned to their house and found it pillaged." In suchi dangers, the days of that genera- tion were passed. The children of Josiah and Anna were : Lucy, Jane, Joel, Josiah, Phineas and Anna.
(V) Major Josiah (2), fourth child and second son of Trumpeter Josiah (1) and Anna (Small) Libby, was born in Scarborough, February 16, 1746, and died March 1, 1824. He took care of Joseph Fogg. his uncle by marriage, and his wife, in re-
turn for which he received Mr. Fogg's farm. This homestead he increased by purchase and always made it his place of abode. He was a well-to-do farmer, was a captain in the Revolution, and later a major in the militia. He married (first), February 28, 1729, Eunice Libby, who died March 23. 1776, (second ), November 28, 1776, Elizabeth ( Porcher ) Foss. She died January 21, 1810, and he married (third). June 19, ISio. Mary, widow of John Jones, daughter of Deacon Chase, of Saco. She died July 16, 1843, felo de se. Major Libby's children by his first wife were: Anna, Rhoda, Phineas and Joseph. His children by the second wife were: Cyrus. Dan- iel, Eunice and Caroline.
(V]) Captain Cyrus, eldest child of Major Jo- siah (2) and Elizabeth ( Porcher) ( Foss) Libby. was born in Scarborough. October 15. 1778, and died August IS. 1838. Ile went to sea while yet a boy, and rose rapidly to the command of a ship. He was in the East India trade until the war of 1812. In the course of that war he commanded the "Juno." a privateer. and the "Leo," under a letter of marque. After the war he was engaged in the European trade, and continued, with some intermissions, until the vear before his death. He represented Scarborough in the first legislature of Maine, in 1820. and after- wards in 1832, and was four years a selectman of the town. Ile married Lois Libby, who was born October 2. 1782, daughter of Seth and Lydia (Jor- dan) Libby, of Oak Hill, Scarborough. She died in Portland. April 22. 1866. Their children, all born in Scarborough, were: Phineas, Cyrus, Dru- silla, Foxwell Cutts, Dorville, Lydia, Josiah, Eliza- beth and Susan Caroline.
(VII) Phineas, eldest child of Captain Cyrus and Lois (Libby) Libby, was born in Scarborough. September 30, 1801. After his marriage he worked one year on the farm of his wife's father; four years in Lagrange, where he took up land and cleared a farm: two years on his father's farm: eleven years in Portland. nine years as a truckman. and two as a stevedore; a few years in the employ of the Saco Water Power Company, as foreman of the outdoor laborers: and then removed to Saco, where he bought a small place on which he spent the remain- der of his life as a market gardner. Ile was a dep- uty sheriff of York county. 1853-1861. and fourteen years a constable of Saco. He married. May 16, 1824, Lucinda Harmon, daughter of Zachariah and Elizabeth (Milliken) Harmon. Their children were : Cyrus. Lorinda, Drusilla, Lucinda. Granville, Fox- well Cutts. Elizabeth Ellen, Dorville, Aurelius (died young), Ernestine (died young), Lorinda. Ernestine and Aurelius Eugene (twins), and Augusta Melver- clia.
(VIH) Adin, third son and child of Phineas and Lucinda (Harmon) Libby, was born in Saco. Maine. February 11. 1855. He was a molder and has resided in Dover since 1889. He married, May 23. 1879. Clara E. Foot, who was born in Bidde- ford, Maine. daughter of John and Sarah (Joy) Foot, of Biddeford. They have had four children: Mabel Foot (Mrs. Melvin Witham, of Dover). Flor- ence Carter (deceased), Mildred Frances (sce next paragraphı), Merton Rudolph, teacher of manual training in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
(IX) Mildred Frances, daughter of Adin and Clara E. (Foot) Libby, was born in Saco, May 27, 1881, and married, May 20. 1808. Dr. Harry Alton Moody, now of Sanbornville, New Hampshire. (See Moody IV.)
(III) Joseph, second child and son of John (2)
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and Agnes Libby, was born in Scarborough, prob- ably as early as 1670. He lived in Portsmouth thirty-five years or more, but whether or not he died there is not certain. His wife's given name was Rebecca : and their children were: Benjamin, Jos- eph. Joshua, Sarah and Nathaniel.
(IV) Benjamin, eldest child of Joseph and Re- becca Libby, born in Portsmouth. New Hampshire, in 1693, was a cordwainer by trade, and lived in Dover, where he died August 3, 1781. He married Elizabeth Ham, daughter of Joseph and Tamson (Meserve) Ham of Dover. She died August 17, 1788. Their children were: Ham, Benjamin, James and Joseph.
(V) Ham, eldest child of Benjamin and Eliza- beth ( Ham) Libby, was born in Dover about 1735. was a farmer, and settled in Nottingham, where he died about 1790. He was a sergeant in the expe- dition against Crown Point. He married (first) Esther Drew. and (second) Sarah, daughter of Benjamin and Deborah (Stimpson) Wentworth. His children, all by the first wife, were: James, Elizabethi and Esther.
(VI) James, eldest child of Ham and Esther (Drew) Libby, was born in Nottingham, New Hampshire, January, 1765. He lived on his father's homestead in Nottingham, until the winter of 1799- ISoo, when he removed to Parsonsfield, Maine, where he settled on a farm near the pond. In 1816 he sold this farm, and during the rest of his life lived on a farm farther north in the same town, where he died April 28, 1828. He married Nancy Crockett. daughter of David and Sally (Thompson ) Crockett, of Ossince, New Hampshire. She died February 19, 1831. Their nine children were: Jos- eph, William, Andrew, Ham, Sally, Jolin, David, Alvah, and Martha Crockett.
(VII) Ham (2), fourth son and child of James and Nancy Crockett, was born in Nottingham, No- vember. 1795. After his marriage he lived on the farm of his father-in-law until 1833. In that year he moved to Effingham, New Hampshire, and lived there until 1846. After two years spent in Parsons- field he returned to Wakefield, New Hampshire, and later to Ossipee, and lived in that place until 1865, and then went to live with his son in Wolfborough, where he died March 16, 1866. He married (first) September, 1819, Saralı Batchelder, daughter of Ben- jamin and - (Brown) Batchelder, of Parsonsfield Maine. She died June 22, 1856, and he married (second) in 1857, Mary A. Fogg, of Ossipee, New Hampshire, who died in 1865. The children of Ham and Sarah (Batchelder) Libbey, all born in Parsons- field, were: Hannah Batchelder, John B., Nancy Y., James H., Alvah S., Ira, Edward J., Mary C. and Louisa.
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(VIII) Captain Alvah S .. third son and fifth child of Ham (2) and Sarah (Batchelder) Libbey, was born December 5, 1830, on his grandfather Batchelder's homestead, in Parsonsfield. When he was four years old his father removed to Effingham, New Hampshire, where the son received his educa- tion in the town school and in the Effingham Acad- emy. He left home in 1846 and went to Haverhill. Massachusetts, to work on a farm, and from that time until 1850 he lived in Haverhill, Brookline and Boston. After working at farming a year he se- cured employment as a clerk on a lumber wharf in Boston, where he remained three years. From 1850 to 1858 he lived in Wakefield and Ossipee, New Hampshire, and then settled in Wolfborough. From about 1850 until his death he was engaged in the
mill and lumber business, except when he was absent during his service in the army,
He enlisted from Wolfboro. September 20, 1862, in Company B, Sixteenth Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers : was mustered in as first sergeant, Octo- ber 18, 1863; appointed second lieutenant February 5. 1863, and mustered out August 20, 1863, having served in the campaign for the reduction of Port Hudson under General N. P. Banks. In 1864 he re-enlisted in Company G, First Regiment New Hampshire Heavy Artillery, was appointed first lieu- tenant September 7, and the following day was ap- pointed captain, and mustered out June 15, 1865. His company consisted of one hundred and forty- seven men and four lieutenants. He commanded at Fort Scott, Fort Sumner, and Battery Garesche in 1864 and in 1865, in the defences of Washington, District of Columbia.
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