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 37

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 37

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He was married September 11, 1803, to Bertha Olive Cawley, of Hill. New Hampshire, a daugh- ter of William B. Cawley, a lumber manufacturer of that town. She is a talented musician and her fine contralto voice has made her for many years past a very welcome addition to the church choirs of Con- cord and Manchester. They have one son, Ilamil- ton Cawley Rolfe, born, December 6, 1894, in Con- cord.

Mr. Rolfe is a man of genial nature and cordial

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and affable manners, and has the faculty of mak- ing and retaining friends. His interest in the af- fairs of humanity has led him to an affiliation with the church and various fraternal bodies, and lie is a citizen in whom his fellows repose confidence and esteen.

(III) Henry, fourth son and eighth child of Benjamin and Apphia ( Hale) Rolfe, was born Oc- tober 12, 1677, in Newbury, where the early years of his life were passed. He was among the original proprietors of Penny Cook (Concord), where he died. He married Hannah Tappan, and their chil- dren were : Benjamin, Nathaniel, Henry, Betsey, and Mary.

(IV) Nathaniel, second son and child of Henry and Hannah (Tappan) Rolfe, was born January 6, 1713, in Newbury, Massachusetts, and died in Con- cord, New Hampshire, in 1808, in his ninety-sixth year. He lived on what was subsequently the poor farm, in West Concord, and reared a large and re- spectable family. He married Hannah, daughter of John and Judith (Dole) Rolfe, his cousin ( see John (2). IV of other line), and they had the following children : Hannah, Nathaniel, William, Judith, Ben- jamin, Polly. Jane, Henry and Elizabeth.

(V) Nathaniel (2), eldest son and second child of Nathaniel (1) and Hannah ( Rolfe) Rolfe, was born August 29, 1744, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and died November 15, 1829, in Concord. He set- tled on the land now occupied by his descendants, in the present village of Penacook, and was a large farmer. His land extended from the Boscawen line one and one-half miles southward, and from the Merrimack river to the present Main street. Pena- cook, including more than a square mile. The rail- road station at Penacook is on this land, and the several handsome residences in the neighborhood shelter his great-grandsons and their offspring. One of these was built by him about 1775-80. He mar- ried Judith, youngest daughter of Rey. Timothy Walker (See Walker. V) and widow of Captain Abiel Chandler (sec Chandler, VI). His eldest child, Abiel, born April 6, 1781, was long a deacon of the church and died, unmarried, in 1840. Jane. the second was the wife of Nathan Chandler of Boscawen.

(VI) Henry, second son and youngest child of Nathaniel (2) and Judith (Walker) Rolfe, was born August 31, 1785, in Concord, on the paternal home- stead. passed all his life there, and died, May 29. 1857, in the house built by his brother in 1834. He was an extensive farmer and lumberman, and in 1825 built a saw mill, the first on the estate, on the south side of an island in the Contoocook river. where his grandsons now operate a wood-working shop. He was an active member and one of the stays of the Congregational Church of Penacook, in which his elder brother was a deacon, and was a leading citizen of his district. He was married in 1808 to Deborah Carter, daughter of Ezra and Phebe Carter (sce Carter. VI). She was born April IS, 1786, and died January 11, 1849. Their children are accounted for as follows: Judith Walker, mar- ried Jacob Whidden and died in Concord. Jane. died unmarried. Rhoda became the wife of David Farnum, son of Stephen Farnum (see Farnum IV). and lived in West Concord. Nathaniel is mentioned further below. Phobe Whittemore married Hora- tio Harvey and died in 1862 at Ottawa, Canada. Timothy Carter, receives further mention in this article. Henry died in Winchester, Massachusetts.

Deborah was the wife of John A. Holmes, and died in Beloit. Wisconsin. Abiel died in 1902, at Pena- cook. Lydia died at the age of twenty-three years. Martha Farnum died at Manchester, Iowa, while the wife of Rev. Anson A. Baker, a Congregational clergyman.

(VII) Nathaniel (3). eldest son and fourth child of Henry and Deborah ( Carter) Rolfe, was born January 1. 1814. on the homestead at Penacook, and died in his eighty-seventh year, April 26, 1900. He received a fair education for his time, attending the local school and Franklin Academy. At the age of twenty-one years he went to live with his bach- elor uncle, Abiel, with whom he was associated in manufacturing articles made of wood, especially fit- tings for dwellings, thus founding the industry now conducted by his sons, who have greatly extended it. He resided over fifty years in the house built by his uncle, the first south of Penacook railroad sta- tion, and was active in church affairs. He was a strong Democrat, and was honored with numerous offices in the gift of his townsmen. He was married January 1. 1839. to Mary Jane Moody, daughter of Joseph and Hannah ( Foster) Moody. She was born January 21, 1817, in Canterbury and died August 8, 1876, at her home in Penacook. The eldest child of Captain Nathaniel and Mary J. (Moody) Rolfe, Charles Moody, receives further mention hereinafter. Joseph Ifenry resides in Pena- cook. Abiel Walker is the subject of a succeeding paragraph. John Holmes is a resident of Pena- cook. Mary Lancaster died when ten years old. Arthur Foster resides in Boscawen. The maternal grandfather of these, Joseph Moody, was a son of William and Sarah (Kimball) Moody. Joseph Moody was born May 20, 1788, in Newbury, Massa- chusetts, and was in his sixth year when his par- ents came to Canterbury, this state. He was en- gaged in farming in Canterbury and Concord until 1862, and represented Canterbury in the legislature in 1828. He was married November 22. 1815. to Hannah, daughter of Jonathan Foster of Canter- buiry ; she was born April 26, 1784, and died Decem- ber 3. 1873. He died at Penacook, March 2, 1879. (VIII ) Charles M. Rolfe, eldest child of Cap- tain Nathaniel (3) and Mary J. (Moody) Rolfe, was born August 18, 1841, at Penacook, and was cducated in the local schools and Kimball Union Academy at Meriden. At the age of twenty one he left school and thereafter devoted his energies to the mill business of his father, to which he suc- ceeded in part ownership March 8, 1866. His me- chanical genitis and business ability have contributed to a great enlargement of the business, which now covers all sorts of interior fittings for buildings, as well as sash, blinds and doors and kindred wares. Mr. Rolfe has not given much attention to public affairs, though he entertains settled convictions and acheres to Democratic policies, which are not in majority in his town. He has served on the board of education, but prefers business environment to public life. He is a member of the Penacook Congregational Church and of Contoocook Lodge, No. 26, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Fle was married February 3. 1869. to Maria Loui-1. daughter of Leonard and Sally ( Cole) Morrison, of Boscawen, and has three living children. The eldest, Mary Louise, is the widow of Samuel H. Farnum, and is a successful medical practitioner at Penacook. Harlow Foster and Henry Chandler are residents of the village of Penacook, the former in

Chas. M. Rofe.

arial W. Rouge.

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Concord and the latter in Boscawen. Ben Morrison, the youngest, died at the age of twenty-five years. Harlow F. has a son, Franklin Prescott. At thic time of his marriage, C. M. Rolfe took up his resi- dence on the north side of Contoocook river, on Water street, and is thus a citizen of Boscawen. In 1884 he purchased his present homestead. with house built over sixty years ago, by Calvin Gage.

(VIII) Abiel W., third son and child of Na- thaniel and Mary J. (Moody) Rolfe, was born January 21, 1814, on the farm, where he still re- sides, and has lived since about seven years old in the same house, near the railroad station at Pena- cook, built in 1834. He attended the local school and Elmwood Academy in Boscawen, and bade adieu to the schoolroom at the age of twenty years. His entire business life has been associated with the sash and door mills now owned and operated by C. M. & A. W. Rolfe, who purchased them of their father and uncle March 8, 1866. Long before hie was through with school, young Rolfe was accustomed to make himself useful in the mill, and he was familiar with many details of its operation before his majority. He is still to be found actively engaged in the same occupation every business day, and his habits of industry have contributed in no small way to the success of the brothers in operating and extending the business founded by their fore- bears. They employ over fifty people on an average, and contribute largely to the prosperity of their home village. His public services have been numer- ous, and he takes an active interest in every move- ment for progress. As a member of the board of e6ducation, he has shown a desire to foster schools, and he is now assistant engineer of the fire de- partment. In 1891-92 he represented ward I in the legislature. He is a member of the Congregational Church; of the Veteran Firemen's Association; of Horace Chase Lodge, No. 72, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; of Contoocook Lodge, No. 26, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and Hannah Dustin Lodge. No. 49. Daughters of Rebekah. Like his fathers, he adheres to the Democratic party in politics. He was married February 17, 1870, to Georgiana Judith Gage, who was born January 16, 1848, in Boscawen, daughter of Isaac Kimball Gage of that town (sce Gage, XVI). Mr. and Mrs. Rolfe are the parents of three sons. Harry Gage, the eldest, born July 5, 1872, resides at Penacook. He was married June 15, 1898, to Mary Florence Symonds, who died April 7, 1904, aged twenty- eight years, and left a son, Richard Symonds, born October 16, 1899. Herbert Wilson. the second, married Lucy E. Huff, and has two daughters, Helen Louise and Mary Florence. Frederick Isaac resides with his parents.

COFFIN The immigrant ancestors of this family came early to the colony of Massachusetts Bay, and many of their descendants have been leading men. Their revolu- tionary war record is an honorable one.

(I) Peter Coffin, of Brixton, near Portledge, died in 1628. His widow. Joanna Thember Coffin, with her children-Tristram, Mary, and Eunice- emigrated to Salisbury, Massachusetts, in 1642, and settled in Newbury, whence they finally removed to Nantucket. She died in May, 166r. aged seventy- seven. She was a woman of remarkable strength of character.

(II) Tristram, eldest child of Peter and Joanna

(Thember) Coffin, was born in Brixham or Briston parish, Plymouth, Devon, England, about 1605 or 1609, and died in Nantucket, October 2, 1681. He removed to Salisbury, thence to Haverhill the same year, thence to Newbury about 1648, thence in 1654 or 1655 to Salisbury again, where he signed his name "Commissioner of Salisbury." He was taxed in Salisbury in 1652 and 1659. In 1659 a company was formed which purchased nineteen-twentieths of Nantucket Island, whither he removed in 1660 with his wife, mother, and four children. He mar- ried Dionis Stevens, of Brixton. Their nine chil- dren were: Peter, Tristram, Elizabeth, James, John (died young), Deborah, Mary, John and Stephen.

(III) Tristram (2), second son and child of Tristram (1) and Joanna (Thember) Coffin, was born in England in 1632, and came to America with his parents at ten years of age. He died February 4, 1704, aged about seventy-two. He was the ancestor of all the Coffins originating from New- bury. He married, March 2, 1653, in Newbury, Judith Greenleaf, daughter of Edmund Greenleaf. the emigrant, and widow of Henry Somerby, of Newbury. She died December 15, 1705. They had ten children.

(IV) Nathaniel, tenth and youngest child of Tristram (2) and Judith (Greenleaf) Coffin, was born in Newbury, March 22. 1669. He resided in the house erected by his father, which was stil! standing a few years ago. He married Sarah, widow of Henry Dole, whose name before marriage was Sarah Brocklebank, of Rowley. They had eight children : John. Enoch, Apphia, Samuel Brockelbank, Joseph, Jane. Edmund and Moses.

(V) Jolin, eldest child of Nathaniel and Sorah (Brocklebank) Coffin, was born in Newbury, June I, 1694, and died September 30, 1762. in the sixty- ninth year of his age. He married Judith Green- leaf, of Newbury, and they were the parents of ten children: Richard, Nathaniel, Abigail, Mary, Peter, Apphia. William, Samuel, Judith and Sarah.

(VI) Captain Peter, third son and fifth child of John and Judith (Greenleaf) Coffin, was born in Newbury, Massachusetts, May II. 1722, and died in Boscawen, New Hampshire. December 15. 1789 He moved to Concord in 1766, and to Boscawen in 1768-69. He settled on Water street, crecting the house occupied through life by his son Thomas. The following account of Captain Coffin and his wife is taken from Charles Carlton Coffin's "History of Boscawen."

"At that time (1769) there were but two or at most three houses in what is now the town of Webster. His house hecame the convenient stopping place for all new settlers. Captain Coffin soon had corn to sell; and no matter how scare the grain, or how high the current price, he never made a man's necessity his own opportunity. He was known as the poor man's friend. He had no desire for public office, and when chosen constable, when the town would not accept his declination, hired Ben'a- min Eastman to perform his duties. He wis un ardent patriot during the revolution, and although there is no record of his election to the provincial congress held at Exeter, April 21. 1775, yet his name appears on the list as a member of that all- important body. He served in the campaign of 1777, upon the approach of Burgoyne. He was ever ready to support the religious institutions of the day, was a liberal. large-hearted man. respected and beloved. He died suddenly. December 15. 1789.

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

He married. in the fall of 1768, Rebecca Haseltine, who was born in Chester.

"During the summer (of 1768) Captain Coffin had erected the frame of a house now occupied (1878) by Mr. Colby, on Water street. The masons had constructed the chimney, the boards and shingles were on the sides and roof, and the southwest corner room had been partitioned off. when the young bride, seated on a pillion behind her husband. reached her future home. Their house was on the frontier of civilization. Possibly two individuals had gone beyond them, to Corser hill and Blackwater, but the only road was a cart path over the rocks and hillocks, corduroyed upon the marshy places. The newly married couple were beginning life. They had few household arti- cles-a bed, kettle, frying-pan, wooden or pewter plates, a knife and fork each, and a few other house- hold articles-all of which were packed upon a led horse ; but they had strong hands, and were undaunted by the hardships and trials before them. "While the husband was making the woods bow before his sturdy strokes, the wife kept the wheel humming or the loom in action from morn till night. She was a thrifty woman, looking ever after the savings as well as the earnings. She was at the same time liberal and kind, relieving the wants of those who were having a hard time in life. Deacon Enoch Little, who often when a boy ate a bowl of bread and milk at her house, was accustomed to say that if it had not been for the kindness of Captain and Mrs. Coffin his father's family would have found it hard to get through the first year in Boscawen.

"Mrs. Coffin was intensely patriotic, and when the stamp aet imposed a duty on tea she resolutely put away the few ounces in her caddy, and would not have any of it used until the act was repealed. In 1777, when the order came for Captain Peter Kimball's company to march to Bennington, there were two soldiers who had no shirts to wear. Mrs. Coffin had a web partially woven in the loom. Seizing the shears, she cut out what she had woven, sat up through the night, and made two shirts; and in the morning the soldiers, thus provided for, took their places in the ranks. That was the morning of July 4th. On the 15th of the same month she gave birth to her second son Thomas. A month passed. On the 16th of August the victory of Bennington was won. Messengers brought the glad news, and Captain Coffin, who had been out in the previous campaign, started once more, leaving his energetic wife with five children-the oldest a boy of seven years, the youngest an infant of five weeks. The wheat was dead ripe; the birds were devouring it: the winds were scattering the grains. It must be gathered ; but who could gather it, when nearly every able-bodied citizen was hastening to drive back the enemy ? She remembered that Encch Little, who had moved to the Little hill a few months before, had several sons, for she hal -up- plied them with bread and milk the previous suni- mer, while Mr. Little was rearing his cabin. Possi- bly she might obtain one of the boys. She leaves the four oldest children at home, in care of the eldest, Enoch ( Peter? ), the boy of seven years, mounts the mare, takes her infant of five weeks in her arms, rides through the forest, along the blazed path fording Beaver dam brook, climbing Corser hill, fording the Blackwater, making her

way to the log cabin ot Mr. Little, to find that the three eldest sons are in the army-that the only boy who can aid her is Enoch, fourteen years old. 'Enoch can go, but he has no clothes,' is the answer of Mrs. Little to Mrs. Coffin's request. The boy has no coat, vest, hat, stockings, or shoes. His only garments are a ragged pair of tow-and-linsey pants, and a ragged shirt.' 'I can provide him with a coat,' is the reply. The boy leaps upon the pillion, and the mother, with the infant in her arms, rides back through the forest to her home. Enoch Little is no ordinary boy. He hears the birds in the woods. but he has work to do, and plies the sickle, while Mrs. Coffin in the house is making him a coat. She has no cloth, but she has a meal-bag : and cutting a hole for his head, two holes for his arms, and sewing on the legs of a pair of her own stockings for sleeves. the garment is complete! Then going to the field, she lays her infant beneath the shade of a tree and binds the sheaves! So she serves her country ; she does what she can for human free- dom. She survived her husband many years. She was a woman of great energy of character; and trained her sons to prize character above every- thing else. All honor to her memory."

The children of Captain Peter and Rebecca ( Haseltine) Coffin were: Peter. Rebecca, Joanna, Abigail, Thomas, Moses and Apphia.

(VII) Captain Moses, sixth child and third son of Captain Peter and Rebecca ( Haseltine) Coffin, was born in Boscawen, July 22, 1779, and died in Boscawen, September 5, 1854, aged seventy- five. He was a farmer, and lived in a house which he erected east of Water street, on the road lead- ing to Boscawen plain. He was an energetic citi- zen, respected, and a consistent member of the Congregational Church. He married Susannah Farnum, of Concord, who died May 4, 1843. Their children were: Rebecca. Lucy, Peter, Judith, Far- num, Nehemiah Cogswell, Susannah and Esther.

(VIII) Farnum, fifth child and second son of Moses and Susannah (Farnum) Coffin, was born in Boscawen, March 13, 1813, and died September 21. 1855, aged forty-three. He resided on the home- stead, and was a prosperous farmer and a re- spected citizen. He married Judith Gerrish, who was born in Canterbury, May 21, 1824, daughter of Captain Joseph and Sarah (Church) Gerrish, the latter a daughter of Deacon John Church of Dun- barton. (See Gerrish VI). At the age of thirty- two Mrs. Coffin was left a widow with four chil- dren, the eldest only ten years old, but with that capacity for management that marked some of her ancestors, she assumed full charge of her late husband's property until her son Henry was old enough to take charge of it, and now, though eighty- three years of age, she has a personal knowledge of the work done and the results obtained. The names of the children of this marriage are: John, Clara A. and Joseph and Henry (twins). John. horn June 9. 1846, married. March 21, 1872, Nellie Sleeper, of Bristol, who died May 24, 1890. John Coffin died at Fort Pierre, South Dakota, Novem- ber 18, 1905, leaving three children: Lura; George H., who married Anna E. Sadler, of Rockwell, Iowa; and Frank J. Clara A., January 18. 1850. died April 16, ISSI; Joseph, February 4, 1853, died June 6, 1858.

(IX) Henry, fourth child and third son of Farnum and Judith (Gerrish) Coffin, was born

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February 4, 1853, on the farm on Water street, where he always resided. Ile was a hard-working, honest man, and had made many improvements on the estate, one being a large apple orchard which has proved the wisdom of his foresight by supplying a profitable source of income for some years past. He also had other fruits in abundance, besides keeping a good stock of cattle. Mr. Coffin was always ready to help those who were in need, and many times assisted the sick to an extent almost beyond his strength. He was a popular man with his farm help, all of whom had a good word for him. He was a kind-hearted father and a worthy citizen. He was a Republican in politics, and never sought office, but his vote was always intended to be on the side of right and to advance what was best for his fellow men. At the time of his death he had been for forty-two years a member of the Congregational Church, and for eight years had held the office of deacon. He married, December 9, 1888, Loie Grace Crosby, daughter of James J. and Emiline E. (Buell) Crosby, of Hebron, New Hampshire, and their children were: Cora Grace, born November 16, 1889; Alice V., born June 14, 1893 ; and Charles Carlton, born January 13, 1895.

Alr. Coffin died very suddenly, of heart failure, August 29, 1907. The funeral was held at the house and was largely attended by relatives and friends. The Rey. J. H. Bliss conducted the services in the absence of the pastor of the church at Boscawen, assisted by the Rey. Arthur Little, D. D. Singing was by a local quartette, and the bearers were Frank L. Gerrish, George H. Folsom, Frank B. Folsom, and George P. Chadwick. Interment was in the Beaver Dam cemetery. Mr. Little spoke very feelingly of the one who was gone, referring to his long acquaintance with the families represented, and to the many years that their names had been household words in the two towns of Boscawen and Webster. The character of Mr. Coffin can, perhaps, be best described by the following extract from a tribute to his memory, written by one of his intimate friends and published in a local paper :

"His native town lost one of its most sub- stantial, enterprising and useful citizens ; his neigh- borhood lost an accommodating, social and sympa- thetic neighbor; the local Congregational Church lost a liberal supporter : his immediate family lost a self-sacrificing head who knew no limit in efforts to add to their bountifully supplied necessities all privileges, comforts and luxuries possible, and his death removed a model son, husband and father. while a large circle of associates lost a consistent friend and agreeable companion."

This name can be traced to Sir Guy De Briant, who lived in the time of BRYANT Edward III, and whose descendants had their seats in the castle of Hereford, in Wales, No connection has been established between this family and the first of the name who came to America, but there is little doubt that there is such connection which might be revealed by de- termined effort. About the year 1640 the Plymouth Colony contained four families of the name, all of whom spelled it Briant. There is no documen- tary evidence that these families were related to each other, except as shown by a deed which indi- cates that Lieutenant John Briant, of Plimpton, was a son-in-law of Stephen Briant, of Plymouth.

Tradition declares that Stephen, of Plymouth, and John (1) of Scituate were brothers.

(I) John Briant was a resident of Scituate, and was a prominent person in the early history of the Plymouth colony. Throughout his life he was active in public affairs, was a land owner, and was actively engaged in the survey of public lands. Ile was a member of the general court at Plymouth in 1667, and again in 1677-78. The date of his arrival in America has not been discovered, but tradition says that he came from Kent, England, in the ship "Ann." It is known that he lived in Barnstable previous to removing to Scituate. The first appearance of his name in the records of the colony appears in the list of one hundred and five men of Scituate who were able to bear arms. He was married three times. His first wife Mary was a daughter of George and Mary (Jenkins) Lewis, of Barnstable. to whom he was married November 4, 1643, and by whom he had seven children. She died July 24 1665, and he was married ( second) to Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. William Witherill, of Scituate. He was married ( third) April 1. 1664. to Mary, daughter of Thomas Highland. of the same town. He died November 20, 1684. sixteen days after making his will. His children, born in Scitu- ate. were: John, Hannah. Joseph (died young ), Sarah, Mary (died young), Martha, Samuel. Eliza- beth, Daniel, Mary, Benjamin, Joseph. Jabez, Ruth, Thomas, Deborah, Agatha, Ann and Elisha.

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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 37

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