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. III, Part 35

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: 876

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. III > Part 35

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(XXX) Hira Ransom, son of Ransom P. and Emily (Parker) Beckwith, was born Sep- tember 28, 1852. in Lempster. New Hamp- shire. After receiving

the usual district school advantages of his town he attended the

Stevens high school in Claremont one term. and Marlow Academy two terms. He early mani- fested marked talent for draughting, and studied one year with O. F. Smith, architect, of Devonshire street, Boston. He later opened an office in Clare- mont Mr. Beckwith as architect and builder has a very extensive business. having erected a large num- ber of public and private buildings in New Hamp- shire, Vermont and Massachusetts. He is clerk and director in Union Block Company, and one of the three owners of Union Block. He was also active in raising money to build Hotel Claremont, and was a charter member of the Claremont rail -- way and light company. In addition to this he was one of the executive committee to raise money to build the street railroad, and has been the president and a director of the company since its organization. Mr. Beckwith is an attendant of the Universalist Church, and is a Democrat in politics. He is con- nected with various Masonic bodies-Hiram Lodge .. Webb Chapter, Sullivan County Commandery. Clare- mont, and is a member of Bektash Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Concord. Hira Ransom Beckwith married, January 20. 1878, Libbie A. Martin, daughter of David A. and Nancy F. (Brown) Martin, of Springfield. Ver- mont. She was a graduate of the Springfield high school, and later attended Goddard Seminary at Barre. Vermont. She died in Claremont, February 13, 1902.

The name of Gile, Guile and Guild arc GILE doubtless of one common origin, and the variation in their orthography is not a modern innovation. Three immigrants of this name, Samuel and John, brothers, and their sister Ann, arrived from England in 1636. Samuel spelled

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his name Guile, while John wrote it Guild, and it is quite probable that the latter, meaning a society or corporation, was the ancient or original form of spelling. The above mentioned immigrants settled in Massachusetts, and the branch of the family now under consideration is descended from Samuel Guile. In the carly town records the name appears to have been spelled according to the judgment or fancy of the town clerks or recorders, and the changes which it was subjected to at their hands are given here precisely as found in those records. From the two Guild brothers, men noted for their modest and retiring dispositions, a numerous pro- geny have descended, some of whom have held prominent positions in public life, and many have made enviable reputations in humbler but' no less honorable places.

(1) Samuel Guile, his brother John and sister Ann, all supposed to have been born in England, not later than 1620, came to America in the year 1636, and settled in Dedham, Massachusetts. Sam- uel 'was for a brief period at Dedham, and seems soon to have been one of the first settlers of New- bury, but did not remain long, for in 1640 he was one of the twelve who settled Pentucket, now Haverhill. He became a freeman by permission of the general court in 1642, but careful examination of the records fails to show that he took any part in town or church affairs. In 1650, Samuel Gild made choice of land at Little river ; in 1652 received ten acres of the second division; in 1658 Samuel Guile enters into a contract for the support of a black-mith, and receives land in the third divi- sion. Samuel Gilde, senior, built a cottage about 1660. and in 1663 received land in the fourth divi- sion. He died February 21. 1683. Part of his homestead remains in the possession of his descend- ants. By the terms of his last will and testament, dated February 16, 1683, he disposes of his property, in the inventory of which are mentioned : eight neat cattle, ten sheep, twenty-two acres of oxe common land, twenty-five acres of pond plain, eighteen acres of pond meadow, a dwelling house, barn and or- chard. three acres by the orchard. six commonages or common rights, one hundred acres of third divi- sion, upland and meadow, the fourth division to be laid out one hundred and eighty acres, loom, etc., one bible, appraised value £336, Os. He married, September 1, 1647, Judith Davis, daughter of James Davis, one of the original settlers, and an emigrant from Marlborough, England. Their children, all born at Haverhill, were: Samuel. Judith, John, Hannah, Sarah, James and Ephraim.

(II) Ephraim Gile, eighth and youngest child of Samuel and Judith (Davis) Guile, was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, March 21, 1662. He re- sided at Haverhill, and in 171I was "one of the soldiers supplied with snow shoes for emergency in case of attack by Indians." He was probably the Ephriam Gile who cut the first way to Cheshire, and was admitted an inhabitant of Chester in 1720. He married, January 5, 1086. Martha Bradley, by whom he had nine children : Mary, Hannah, Me-

hitable, Sarah, Daniel, Judith, Samuel, Ephraim and Ebenezer. (The last named and descendants receive mention in this article. )

(III) Samuel Guile, second son and seventh child of Ephraim and Martha (Bradley) "Gile," was born in Haverhill February 13, 1702-3. He was of Chester in 1723, of Haverhill in 1731, and died in the last named town December 1. 1775. He mar- ried Sarah Emerson, probably a daughter of Ben- jamin and Sarah ( Philbrick) Emerson, and she died in 1804. She was the mother of eleven chil- dren, all of whom were born in Haverhill, namely : Hannah, Ephraim. Benjamin, Asa, Samuel, John, Reuben, Abigail, Anne, Amos and James.

(IV) James Gile, seventh son and youngest child of Samuel and Sarah (Emerson) Guile, was born in Haverhill, June 10, 1749. He married Ruth Foster, daughter of Moses Foster, of Pembroke, New Hampshire, and having sold his homestead in Haverhill he settled upon a farm in Pembroke. His children were: Timothy, Rhoda and Moses F., who were born in Haverhill; Ruth, Daniel and Mary, who were born in Pembroke.

(V) Deacon Timothy, eldest child of James and Ruth (Foster) Gile, was born in Haverhill, Septem- her 27, 1788. He became a prosperous farmer in Pembroke, owning in all some two hundred and fifty acres of land, seventy-five acres of which constituted his homestead farm, and he also carried on lumber- ing operations to some extent. His death occurred in Pembroke, January 1, 1867. He married Lydia Cushing, who was born in Halifax, Massachusetts, March 21, 1790, and had a family of five children- Mary, Foster, Brainerd, Elizabeth Boardman, Jer- ome Cushing and Abraham Burnham. The father of these children was a leading member and a deacon of the Congregational Church.

(VI) Deacon Brainerd, second child and eldest son of Timothy and Lydia ( Cushing) Gile, was born in Pembroke. September 6, 1820. He was graduated from the Pembroke Academy, and taught school for a time prior to engaging in agricultural pursuits at the homestead, which he inherited. His intellectual attainments and natural ability in other directions made him eligible to public office, and in addition to serving as town treasurer and as a member of the school board he rendered valuable services in other ways, being always called upon to agitate and secure the enactment of any ordi- nance or improvement desired by his fellow-towns- men. Like his father he participate actively in the affairs of the Congregational Church, and was for many years a deacon. On November 21, 1861. he was married at Brighton, Massachusetts, to Mary Newell Kimball, who was born in Pembroke, Jan- tary 10, 1825, daughter of John Carlton and Pa- melia (Hutchinson) Kimball. Deacon Gile died in 1900, and is survived by a widow and five children : Charles Abraham, born April 2, 1863, and now occupies the homestead; John Martin Gile, M. D., who will be again referred to: Lottie May, born December 3, 1868, is now the wife of Harry Head, of Pembroke; Millie Kimball, born February 23,

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1873. became the wife of Augustus Clough, of Lis- bon, New Hampshire, and Henry Brainerd, born December 5, 1874, now residing in Concord.

(VII) John Martin Gile, M. D., second son and child of Deacon Brainerd and Mary N. (Kimball) Gile, was born in Pembroke, March 8, 1864. He was graduated from the Pembroke Academy in 1883. from the academic department of Dartmouth Col- lege in 1887, and from the Dartmouth Medical School in 1891. After spending six months as as- sistant physician at the State Hospital in Tewks- bury, Massachusetts, he went to Idaho Springs, Colorado, where he practiced medicine for a year, and returning to the State Hospital at Tewksbury as assistant superintendent he retained that posi- tion for the succeeding five years. In 1896 he was chosen instructor in medicine at Dartmouth, was two years later appointed professor of the theory and practice of medicine, also taking the chair of clinical surgery, and has ever since retained these posts. His private practice is devoted exclusively to surgery, and he makes a specialty of gynæcology. From 1896 to the present time he has served as surgeon to the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, Hanover. Professor Gile is an ex-president of the White River Valley Medical Society and the New Hampshire State Surgical Club, and is now vice- president of the New Hampshire Medical Society, and is a member of the Massachusetts State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. IIe has been a delegate from the County to the State Medical Society, and is at the present time serving in a similar capacity from the latter to the American Medical Association. As an undergraduate at Dart- mouth he affiliated with the K. K. K. fraternity. Politically he is a Republican, and has served as a delegate to district and state conventions. On June 8, 1892, Professor Gile married Vesta Grace Fow- ler, who was born at Epsom, this state, in Feb- ruary, 1865, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah M. (Brown) Fowler. Professor and Mrs. Gile are both members of the Congregational Church in Pem- broke. They have four children, namely: John Fowler, Archie Benjamin, Madelaine and Dorothy.

(III) Ebenezer Gile, youngest child and fourth son of Ephraim and Martha (Bradley) Guile, was born at Haverhill, Massachusetts. September II, 1708, and died in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, about 1775. He moved from Haverhill to Hampstead, New Hampshire, in 1740; thence to Henniker in 1765; thence to Hopkinton where he died. In 1743 he signed a petition to be set off from Kingston to Hampstead. He was a speculator in lands, and in deeds is called a "trader." He married, June 6, 1731, Lydia Johnson, whose father and mother were both killed by the French and Indians at the attack on Haverhill, August 29, 1708. When the mother was slain she held in her arms her only child, Lydia. a year and six days old. born in the second year of her marriage. The child, concealed perhaps within the folds of her mother's dress, escaped the toma- hawk, grew to womanhood, and in her twenty-fifth year married Ebenezer Gile. She died at Enfield

in 1781, aged seventy-four. Their children were: Timothy, Ruth, Thomas, Anna, Abigail, Joshua, Noah, Lydia and Johnson.

(IV) Noah, seventh child and fourth son of Ebenezer and Lydia (Johnson) Gile, was born at llampstead, New llampshire, about 1743. He was a soldier of the Revolution, a member of Captain Adam's company from Henniker, in 1776. From Henniker he removed to Enfield and several other places in New Hampshire. He married Elizabeth Howe. Their children were: John, Nathaniel, Susan, Timothy, Peter, Jesse, Aaron, Elizabeth, Polly and Lydia.

(V) Timothy, third son and fourth child of Noah and Elizabeth (Howe) Gile, was born in En- field, December 30, 1785. He was a farmer in Bethlehem, Wentworth, and Littleton, and died December 27, 1862. He removed from Wentworth on horseback with his wife on a pillion behind him, and located in Bethlehem, where he spent eight years in clearing land. He then returned to Went- worth, where lie was a farmer and lumberer for ten years. In 1833 he removed to Littleton where he farmed until the end of his life. He married, January 10, ISII, Dolly Stevens, who was born in Wentworth, May 18, 1790. After the death of her husband she lived with her son Nelson in Kansas, but desiring to spend her last days in New Hamp- shire, she returned and died in Littleton, December 25. 1886, aged ninety-six years. Their children were: Nelson, George, Timothy and Dolly.

(VI) Captain George, second son and child of Timothy and Dolly (Stevens) Gile, was born in Wentworth, September 27, 1824. He was a farmer in Littleton, where he . served as selectman 1873, chairman of the school committee, surveyor of highways 1870-1-3, and captain in the Fifth Com- pany, Thirty-second Regiment, New Hampshire Militia, commissioned May 1849; commission va- cated, May 1, 1852. He removed to Glover, Ver- mont, where he resided several years, and then returned to Littleton, where he has since lived. In political faith he is a Republican, in religious belief a Methodist, and is a trustee of the Methodist Church. He married, in Lyndon, Vermont, De- cember 21, 1850, Rozilla Janett Randall, who was born March 8, 1831, daughter of Daniel and Ruth (Burleigh) Randall of Lyndon. They have one child, Ray T., next mentioned.

(VII) Ray Timothy, only child of George and Rozilla J. (Randall) Gile, was born in Littleton, May 27, 1852. He received his primary education in the public schools of Littleton; prepared for col- lege at Wilbraham Academy, Wilbraham, Massa- chusetts, graduated from the Chandler Scientific de- partment of Dartmouth College in 1877, and from the Thayer School of Civil Engineering in 1879. After completing his school life he was in the em- ploy of the Bell Telephone Company in Rockingham and Stafford counties for a year. In 1881 he re- turned to Littleton where he has since been engaged much of the time in surveying and engineering work. From 1891 to 1896 he was employed as the

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surveyor for the state of New Hampshire to ascer- tain and establish the true jurisdictional boundary line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He is a Republican and a Methodist, a member of the Thayer Society of Engineers and of the Beta Theta Pi Society. He married. October 23. 1879. Hattie E. Titus, who was born in Bath, October 8, 1848. daughter of Jereny and Cynthia ( Ward) Titus, of Bath. They have an adopted child, Annie Peterson, who was born in Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, July 21, 1878.

The Spragues of New Hampshire SPRAGUE are of English origin, and their an- cestors were among the founders of New England.

(1) Edward Sprague, of Upway. England, was a fuller by trade, and died in 1614. His children were: Ralph, Alice, Edward. Richard, Christopher and William.

(II) William, youngest child of Edward Sprague, was born in Upway, and with his two brothers, Ralph and Richard, emigrated to New England, settled in Salem in 1632. He was residing in Charlestown in 1636, and subsequently removed to Hingham. He married Millicent Eames, and had a large family.

(III) Anthony, eldest son of William and Milli- cent (Eames) Sprague, was baptized in Charles- town, 1636. and resided in Hingham. He was a se- lectman in 1688-92-1700. His house was burned by the Indians, April 19, 1676. He died September 3. 1719. He married, December 26, 1661, Elizabeth Bartlett, daughter of Robert and Mary (Warren) Bartlett, of Plymouth. She died in Hingham. Feb- ruary 17, 1712-13. His children were: Anthony, Benjamin, John, Elizabeth, Samuel, Sarah, James, Josiah. Jeremiah, Richard and Matthew. all of whom were born in Hingham.

(IV) Richard, eighth son and tenth child of Anthony and Elizabeth (Bartlett) Sprague, was born in Hingham. April 10, 1685. He settled in Provi- dence, Rhode Island, and was an ancestor of the Spragues of that state.

(VI) Obadiah, probably a grandson of Richard Sprague, was born in Providence, August 22, 1770. He married Betsey Mann on April 10, 1794. She was born in 1764, daughter of Gideon Mann. He settled in Richmond, New Hampshire, and resided upon the farm now owned by his grandson, Hiram C. Sprague. His first wife died April 17, 1815. and he married for his second wife. Widow Anna God- dard, a sister of Thomas Mallard, of Warwick. She died March 2, 1848. Obadiah died in 1858, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. The children of his first union were: Enoch, Hannah, Samuel, Sarah. Mercey, died young; and another Mercey. Those of his second marriage were: Nathaniel and Obadiah.

(VII) Samuel. second son and third child of Obadiah and Betsey (Mann) Sprague, was born in

Richmond. November 22, 1797. In December, 1822. he married Melinda, born in May, 1801, daughter of Benjamin Kingman, and resided on the farm until recently owned by Lysander Ballon. He removed to- Winchester, about 1850. and died September 28, 1881. He was the father of five children: Leander. born June 4, 1824. Obadiah, who will be again referred to. S. Angela, born January 25, 1830, married Dar- ling S. Swan. M. Juliette, born October II, 1832. married (first) George B. Kelton, and (second ) J. W. Herrick. S. Henry, born March 2, 1841, died August 18, 1863, during the Civil war. He was on General Nagle's staff in charge of the commissary department. He died of malaria at Vicksburg Land- ing.

(VIII) Obadiah, second child and son of Samuel and Melinda (Kingman) Sprague, was born in Richmond. May 21, 1826. He attended the public schools. and clerked thereafter for a year with Uberto Bowen, Richmond. He then entered and was graduated from Winchester high school. Subse- quently he accepted a position as clerk with Messrs. Humphrey and Kingman, of Winchester. He was next engaged for a period as a traveling salesman, representing palm-leaf hat manufacturers, and was still later in Bridgman's grocery store. Keene. For five years he held the responsible position of cashier of a bank in Winchester. Seeing a good opportunity to engage in the manufacturing business, he pur- chased the Stratton Woollen Mills at West Swan- zey. which he enlarged and refitted. and operated the plant successfully for twenty-seven years. at the expiration of which time he retired from active business pursuits. Mr. Sprague has had quite ex- tensive operations in lumbering. He also established at what is known as Spragueville a woolen mill and a box manufacturing plant. In politics Mr. Sprague is a Democrat, and was formerly a leading spirit in local public affairs. having represented Swanzey in the state legislature in 1870-71. His fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic Order. He attends the Baptist Church, and takes an earnest interest in the moral and religious welfare of the community.

On January 3, 1877, Mr. Sprague married Martha Elizabeth Mason, born in Marlboro, New Hamp- shire, March IS, IS41, daughter of Clark and Elmira (Towne) Mason. The children of this union are: Bernice A., deceased. Bertha E .. married. Septem- ber I. 1903, Harold Foster. They have a son Paul Sprague Foster, born July 3, 1904. Florence MI .. deceased. Mary M.

The first mention of Upham as a sur-

UPHAM name is met with in a deed of lands to the church of Saint Maria de Braden- stock. which was a small monastery in Wills, England, founded by Walter. son of Edmund. of Salisbury. The document bears the name of Hugo de Upham, date 1208. Upham as the name of a place occurs in records previous to the introduction of surnames. That Hugo. the first of this name, is designated Hugo de

Sprayces

Ofadich

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Upham (of Upham ) naturally indicates that he de- rived his name from his estate, but the lands belong- ing to him are expressly referred to in the same doc- ument as bearing the name of Upham. The "de" was carly dropped, and the name passed through various forms of spelling. Although many documents have been found in which the name appears, three cen- turies pass from the time of Hugo before the advent of Richard Upham, from whom an unbroken line is traced to the present day. The Upham family held a copyhold estate at Gettington, in the parish of Bicton, in the eastern division of the county of Devon, and were associated with this parish for up- ward of three hundred years.

(I) Richard (1) Upham (spelled Uppam), the first of the name found mentioned at Bicton, was living there in 1523. No date of his birth is given, but according to the records he died in 1546. As he left no will there is little information concerning his immediate family, but from other sources it is con- clusive that he left three children, one of whom was John.

(II) John, son of Richard Upham (no date of birth ) died in Bicton, in 1584. Only the first name of his wife is given, Joan (or Johan). The names of three children appear: Richard. his successor at Bicton, Katherine and Thomas.

(III) Richard (2), yeoman, son of John and Joan Uppam, date of birth not given, died in Bicton, in December, 1635. His wife, Maria, died in July, 1634. Children: Thomas, his successor at Bicton; Joan, married Robert Martin, and both immigrated to New England with her brother John; John, the im- migrant ; Sara. who also accompanied her brother to New England, and may have become the wife of Richard Webb; Judith, Frances and Jane. The will of Richard Uppam is a lengthy and interesting docu- ment in which there is mention of certain conditional bequests to his daughter Sara and son John.

(IV) John Upham (again spelled Upham), son of Richard (2) and Maria Upham, was the first to bear the name in America, and so far as is known was the ancestor of all who have since borne the name in this country. He was born in Bicton, county of Devon, England, probably in 1600. IJe married, at Bicton, November 1, 1626, Elizabeth Slade. The names of six children are given in the following or- der: John, Nathaniel. Elizabeth, born in England ; Phynchas, Mary and Priscilla, born in New England. John Upham, accompanied by his wife, three chil- dren and two sisters above mentioned, emigrated to New England with the Hull colony, which set sail on the 20th of March, 1635, from Weymouth, in old Dorset, for the lands of the Massachusetts Bay colony. The ship cast anchor before Governor Winthrop's infant city of Boston, May 6, but it was not until July 2 that the colonists. with the per- mission of the general court, finally settled in Wessa- guscees as their future home. On September 2, 1635, John Upham was admitted freeman, and on this date the name of the place was changed to Weymouth. It was made a plantation, with the privilege of a

deputy to the general court, and this company be- came an important element in the community. In 1642 John Upham was one of six who treated with the Indians for the lands of Weymouth, and ob- tained a title from them thereto. After being closely identified with the town for thirteen years he removed to Malden, becoming one of the early settlers, and continued through life a leading citizen of that place. He was repeatedly elected to its var- ious offices, and the general assembly appointed him six times commissioner to settle the lesser legal mat- ters of Weymouth and Malden. He was also ac- tively interested in the settlement of Worcester (Lin- coln's "History of Worcester"). John Upham held the office of deacon in the church for at least twenty- four years. Through his long life he retained his vigor of mind and body. He sustained himself well as an efficient collaborator among those who in time of great peril laid the foundation of a free state. He died in Malden, February 25, 1681. His grave-stone may still be seen in the old burying ground at Malden. There is no record of the death of his wife Elizabeth, but it is suggested that she must have lived to be sixty-four years of age. In 1671 John Upham married (second) Katherine Holland.

(V) Phineas (1) was the only son of John Up- ham that left posterity, consequently he. as well as his father, was the ancestor of all the American Up- hams. He was born in Weymouth, probably in 1635. He married. April 14. 1658. Ruth Wood. Nothing is known of her ancestry. According to an inscription on her gravestone, which has been identified in the old burying ground above referred to, she died Jan- mary 18, 1696-7. There were conveyances of land to Phineas Upham in 1663. 1664 and in 1672. In 1673 he was appointed with three others to survey a road from Cambridge to Malden, and as early as 1672 hie was interested in the settlement of Worcester. It ap- pears that he possessed in a high degree the energy and activity that characterized his father. In the military serivice of his country it is manifest that he was esteemed an efficient officier. He held the rank of lieutenant, and rendered important service in the war with King Philip. He was at the storming of Fort Canonicees, December 19, 1675, and was wound- ed in the battle, from the effects of which he never recovered. The government was not unmindful of his great sacrifice, and bore testimony upon the records to his long and good service for his country. His death is recorded as having occurred October 8, 1676. Children : Phineas, Nathaniel, Ruth, John, Elizabeth, Thomas and Richard.

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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. III, Part 35

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: 876

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: 876