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 49

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 49

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(VI) Horatio W., eldest son and second child of George H. and Mary ( Westney) Colony, was born in Keenc, September 26, 1877. He was edu- cated in the public schools of Keene, at Holderness, New Hampshire, the Burdett Business College of Boston, and the Textile School in Lowell, Massa- chusetts. After filling a term of service of about a year with the Sawyer Manufacturing company of Dover, he returned to Keene, and shortly after- wards took a position in the Harrisville Mills, where he has since been engaged.

(VI) George T .. second son and youngest child of George Henry and Mary ( Westney) Colony, was born in Keene. June 24, 1882. He received his education in the schools of Keene and at the Norfolk School for Boys. at Leominster, and at Brown University. Soon after leaving the last named institution he went to Mexico for experi- ence and adventure, and is now assistant superin- tendent of the Hacienda Bella Vista Juanita de Vera Cruz. a rubber plantation.

(IV) Alfred T., fifth child and fourth son of Josiah and Hannah (Taylor) Colony, was born in Keene, May 7. 1828, and died December 15, 1876, aged forty-eight. He got his education in the com- mon schools. He went to Harrisville, where after acquiring a knowledge of cloth-making he became superintendent of the Cheshire Mills. He held this position until 1873, giving up active work at the latter date, but retaining his financial interest there. He lived in Harrisville thirty years, then removed to Keene and built a residence on property his father had owned. He married Fanny Hawkins, who was born in Troy, New York. September 9, 1832 and died May ir, 1880, aged forty-seven years. Three children were born of this marriage: Alfred. Harry H., and Lawrence D., the subject of the next para- graph.

(V) Lawrence Dana, youngest of the three sons of Alfred T. and Fanny ( Hawkins) Colony. was born in Harrisville. New Hampshire, July 14, 1872. His education was obtained in the public schools of Harrisville and Keene, and at Worcester, Massa- chusetts. He resides in Keene. in the house built by his father. He is a member of the Masonic Order and fraternally connected with the Lodge, Council of Royal and Select Masters, and Commandery of Knights Templar. He is als a member of the Wentworth Club. He married. September 1I 1805. Laura May Maxham, daughter of Henry C. and Lilla J. (Perry) Maxham, of Berlin, Vermont. They have one child, Lawrence Dana, born Ang 17, 1004. (IV) Horatio, youngest child of Josiah and Hannah (Taylor) Colony, born in Keene, No-

vember 14. 1835, received his early education in the public school and Keene Academy, studied un- der a private tutor, read law in the office of llon. Levi Chamberlain in Keene, and attended the Al- bany Law School, from which he graduated in 1860. He was admitted to the New York bar at Albany and to the bar of New Hampshire in the same year. He practiced law successfully until 1867. Having a short time previous to his father's decease acquired an interest in the manufacturing firm of Faulkner & Colony. he abandoned his pro- fession in 1867 to devote his time to manufacturing, and upon the incorporation of the company he be- came its first president and treasurer. Subsequent- ly he became interested in the Cheshire mills of Harrisville, and has since been president and treas- urer of the company that owns them. He is a direc- tor in the Cheshire and Citizens' National banks of Keene, and of Winchester National Bank, and is president of the Keene Steam Power Company. Al- though he has a large volume of private business to transact, yet he has found time to fill public po- sitions. He was a member of the board of labor statistics under Governor Weston, was the first may- or of the city of Keene, was re-elected at the close of the first term, was a delegate to the Demo- cratic National Convention in 1868, when Horatio Seymour was nominated for the presidency, was a representative to the legislature from ward 5, Keene, in 1877, at which session he was the Dem- ocratie candidate for speaker of the house, and served on the judiciary committee. Mr. Colony was named by Mr. Thayer for trusteeship in Thayer Public Library. and is now (1907) president of the board of trustees. He was president of the Cheshire of the County Humane Society of which he was an incorporator, and a member of several Masonic bodies, including Social Friends Lodge, Hugh de Payen Commandery, Knights Templar, etc.

He married. December 10. 1863, Emeline Eames Joslin, born November 28, 1842, daughter of Elias and Maria ( Eames) Joslin, of Keene. They have three children: John Joslin, born November 14, 1864; Charles Taylor. born April 20, 1807: and Kate, born March 31. 1871, wife of Adjutant General James A. Frye, of Boston, Massachusetts. Charles Taylor Colony married Ellen Luctera War- ren. of Keene, and they have a son Horatio, born September 22, 1900.

This name was originally used BLACKWOOD to designate a dark or evergreen forest. In the days before sur- names. "atte the Blackwood" was added to the name of some man to denote his place of residence. Still later descendants of that man took the name Blackwood as a surname, which has been handed down from generation to generation for probably four hundred years.

(I) James Blackwood was a native of Maine. He lived most of his life in Pembroke, in that state, and died there. Ilis wife's Christian name was Hannah.

(II) Josiah, son of James and Hannah Black- wood. was born in Pembroke, about 1808. He in- herited a large farm from his father, which he cultivated a part of the time and at other times worked in saw mills. He lived and died in Pen- broke. He married (first) Hannah Smith, and ( sec- ond) Mary Norwood, and had by the first two sops: Benjamin L. and Ira.

(III) Benjamin Lufkin, eldest child of Josiah

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and Hannah ( Smith) Blackwood, was born in Pembroke, Maine, June 15, 1841, and got his edu- cation in the common schools of that town. He was left an orphan at an early age, and went to Eastport and entered the employ of his uncle. Andrew Jackson, who was the proprietor of a fish market. After a short service there he apprenticed himself to a blacksmith, whose trade he learned and followed as a vocation until 1861, when he enlisted and served two years in the war of the rebellion as a private in Company B, Tenth Maine Volunteers. Subsequently he pursued his calling as a smith one year in Boston. From that place he removed to Nashua. New Hampshire, where he became a manu- facturer of furniture. In 1869 he gave up business and became the general manager of the state prison workshop at Concord, which place he filled twenty- five years. In 1897 he engaged in the manufacture of plumbers' woodwork supplies at Concord, under the name of the Penacook Manufacturing Com- pany, which after some reverses of fortune contin- med the business under the style of the Plumbers' Woodworking Company. Some years later other changes occurred, and the style of the concern was changed to the Concord Woodworking Com- pany, which is still in business, and occupies the site of the original plant on North State street. Mr. Blackwood is general manager. He is a Democrat, and attends the Unitarian Church. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, and belongs to the following named Masonic organizations: King Solomon Lodge, of Charlestown, Massachusetts ; Trinity Chapter, No. 2. Royal Arch Masons; Hor- ace Chase Council, No. 4. Royal and Select Masters : Mount Horeb Commandery, Knights Templar, all of Concord; and Edward A. Raymond Consistory. of Nashua.

He married, April 5, 1866, Ellen J. Pettengill. born in Manchester, New Hampshire, July 18, 1838. daughter of Benjamin and Frances ( Currier) Pet- tengill. They have three children: John Aldine, born January 8. 1867. in Nashua; is in business with his father. Frederick Irwin, born in Concord, June 18, 1874, is claim agent for the Boston & Maine Railroad Company: George Thomas, born in Con- cord. November 10, 1876. married Gertrude Hop- kins, and they have a daughter. Eveline Pearl.

COURSER The surname Corser or Courser, as it was originally spelled, is of inter- esting origin. The word is evident. ly of Latin derivation from currere, to run. whence cursor. a runner. The Cursores are mentioned by Livy. One of these was five times consul and after- wards dictator. The name passes through various Italian and French forms. In middle-English the word means a war-horse or a horse-dealer. There is an allied Danish Korsor and a similar Scotch Corsar and Cossar. It is conjectured that the fam- ily in England is of Norman-French origin, but the first coat of arms is recorded at Edinboro. The distinguished feature of this device is three horses' heads, sable with white bridles, on a white field. On the crest is a white Pegasus with black wings. The motto is Recta Cursu, which may be freely ren- dered. "On the right track."

The earliest known use of the Corser name in England was in 1547. The Corser family is not numerous in England, Scotland or America. In England the name is chiefly found in Salop or Shropshire county. The first known American ancestor of the family is William Courser, cf Bos-

ton, who was born in England in 1809, and came over in the bark "Elizabeth and Ann," which sailed from London in May, 1635. He purchased a house near Boston Common. He was a cordwainer by trade. and at one time of the first town-meetings in Boston was chosen sealer of leather. It is thought that the New Hampshire Coursers are de- scended from this immigrant, but positive proof is lacking. The authenticated ancestor of the family is John Corser, who came to Boscawen, New Hampshire. about 1734-36. His son John settled on Corser Hill (now in Webster), which has been the dwelling place of six generations of the fam- ily. With the first John Corser this record begins.

(I) John Corser, who came to Newbury. Mas- sachusetts, in his boyhood, was born, according to family tradition, in Scotland about 1678. He mar- ried Tabitha Kenney, of Newbury, March 8, 1716- 17. He came to Boscawen, New Hampshire, in the early settlement of the town, probably about 1736. There he tended a sawmill, near what is now the head of King street, till 1745. when he was dis- abled by a frightful accident which deprived him of his sight. After that he went to live with his son John on Corser Hill. where he died in the fall of 1776. He was buried in the old cemetery on Boscawen Plain near his son Willis, who had been drowned a few years earlier. John and Ta- bitha (Kenney) Corser were the parents of eight children : John, Nathan, Tabitha. Elizabeth, Polly, Sarah. William and Hannah. William was a mem- her of Captain Goffe's company, raised in 1754 to protect the inhabitants of Contoocook and its neigh- borhood from the Indians. William, with his son William, was drowned in Great Pond, Boscawen, in 176;, by the bursting asunder of a birch bark ca- noe. Another son, Asa, who was with them, escaped.

(11) John. eldest child of John (I) and Tabitha ( Kenney) Corser, was born in Newbury. Massa- chusetts, about 1718. He settled on a farm in King- ston. New Hampshire, and afterwards moved to the west part of Chester. now Auburn. He did not come to Boscawen till 1764. many years after his father. He settled tipon Corser Hill (which was named for him) in the west part of the town now Webster, where he died about 1701, aged sev- enty-three. He was twice married: First to Jane Nichols at Newbury, Massachusetts, on November 24. 1742. They were the parents of nine children. His second wife, whom he married in 1780, two years before his death, was Mrs. Hepzibah Chase, of Dunbarton, New Hampshire, who survived him. The children of John and Jane (Nichols) Corser were Thomas. Samuel. Jonathan. John, David. Jane William. Abbyneezer (a girl, who married Lieuten- ant Edward Fitz Gerald and became the mother of fifteen children) and Molly.

(III) Thomas, eldest of the nine children of John and Jane (Nichols) Corser was born in 1743. He first settled on a farm at Corser Hill in Bos- cawen. now Webster, and later removed to a farm on Pond Hill. He served four and one-half months in the Ticonderoga campaign, receiving twelve shillings per month for his services. He was drowned December 11. 1820, in Long Pond. Bos- cawen. while attempting to cross the ice during a dark and rainy night. He was twice married. His first wife was Ann Dunlap, of Chester. and their nine children were: James. Polly. Jane, Jona- than, Anna or Nancy. Thomas. Sarah. Tabitha and Moses. His second wife was Mrs. Mary Downing. of Kingston, whom he married about 1782. She

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survived her husband eleven years, dying May S, 1840, aged ninety-five. The four children of the sec- ond marriage were: Elsey, Caleb, Dolly and Miriam. There is an interesting fact connected with the Pond Hill farm upon which Thomas Corser lived. There was a division of the land between Thomas and his brother David, and the former sold a portion of his lot to their brother Samuel. A dis- pute arose as to the boundary line between Sam- uel and David Corser. The result was suit at law with David as plaintiff. The case was tried before Judge Ebenezer Webster, father of Daniel, at the term of court held at Hopkinton in September. 1805. Parker Noyes, of Salisbury, now Franklin, appeared for David Corser; and Daniel Webster, who that year had opened an office in Boscawen, was counsel for Samuel. This is believed to be one of the first two causes argued by Daniel Webster before a jury. and he lost the case.

( IV) Moses, youngest of the nine children of Thomas and Ann (Dunlap) Corser, was born in Boscawen, September 25, 1781, and lived in that town on "White Plain," so called. He moved from there to Vermont, but returned to Boscawen, where he died April 19, 1830. at the early age of forty- eight. In 1798. when trouble with France was im- minent, he enlisted in the army with seven other from Boscawen, but was discharged when the war cloud blew over. Like his father and his grand- father, he was twice married. His first wife was Ruth Clough, of Warner, New Hampshire, to whom he was united in 1804. They had six chil- dren: Mittie, Martha, Sally, Roxena, William B., and Charlotte. His second wife was Betsey (Burgess) Corser. of Chelsea, Vermont. Their four children were: Benjamin, Betsey, Mercy and Benjamin F.

(V) William Barnard, who spells his name Courser, was the fifth child and only son of Moses and Ruth ( Clough) Corser. He was born in 1814 and was a farmer at Warner, New Hampshire. He was thrice married. His first wife was Nancy ( Morey) Courser, who died young, leaving two children-Thomas Jefferson and Nancy. His sec- ond wife was Mary Ann ( Whipple) Courser, of Lisbon, New Hampshire. She had five children : William M., James II .. Mary F., Ella J. and Anna. William B. Courser's third wife was Ellen (Thomp- son) Courser.

(VI) Thomas Jefferson, eldest child of William Barnard and Nancy ( Morey) Courser. was born in Wilmot, New Hampshire, July 20, 1837. He was educated in the common schools of Warner, and attended a few terms of school at Contoo- cook Academy. He began at the age of nine years to earn his own living. Ile undertook farming, and when he was twenty-one entered the employ of Dr. Robert Lane, of Sutton, remaining there for eight years. Mr. Courser in time laid by a little money and moved to Webster, where he engaged in farm- ing on his own account. In this he was very suc- cessful, and he became also an extensive dealer in lumber and cattle. For the year preceding June, 1885. he shipped twenty full car-loads of cattle out of the state, paying the farmers in the neighbor- hood over $12,000 for the stock. Mr. Courser has been justice of the peace for many years. He was Democratic candidate for county commissioner in 1884. and was elected in 1886 and 1888. He was a member of the New Hampshire legislature from Webster in 1803, and was for two years deputy sher- iff of Merrimack county.

Thomas Jefferson Courser has been twice mar- ried. His first wife was Sarah E. ( Todd) Courser. daughter of Eli and Elizabeth (Nelson) Todd, of New Lebanon, New Hampshire. They were mar- ried May 1, 1865; she died March 8, 1876, leaving four children-Emma Jeanette, George Woodbury, Fred William and Sarah Abby. His second wife was Addie E. (Marden) Courser, daughter of Jon- athan and Eliza (Norton) Marden, of New Boston. New Hampshire. They were married October 24, 1876, and have one child-Charles Henry, Mrs. Addie E. (Marden) Courser belongs to the Daugh- ters of Rebekah, and for five years has been treas- urer of the state assembly and for sixteen years treasurer of the home lodge. Mr. T. J. Courser has been master of the Grange. They attend the Congregational Church.

Mrs. Addie E. (Marden) Courser's genealogy has been traced through three generations. (1) Lemuel Marden was born August 26, 1745, and came from Bradford, Massachusetts. to New Boston, New Hampshire, about 1786. He married at Brad- ford. in 1769, Hannah Greenough, the youngest of six daughters. She was born May 21, 1750, and died October 20. 1823, aged seventy-three. They had nine children: Hannah, Greenough, Solomon, Nathan, Francis, Samuel, Mehitabel, Jonathan and Sarah. Lemuel Marden died January 9, 1819, aged seventy-four.

(II) Jonathan, eighth child and youngest of the six sons of Lemuel and Hannah (Greenough) Mar- den, was born July 5, 1788, and married Sally Fos- ter, December 31. 1815. She was born at Ashby. Massachusetts, February S, 1703. They had seven children: Elizabeth Foster, John Foster, Jonathan, Harriet Newell, Alfred, Charles and George Water- man.

(III) Jonathan. second son and third child of Jonathan and Sally ( Foster) Marden. was born September 26, 1820. He married Eliza Jane Nor- ton. of Canada, March 9. 1847. They had two children: Addie E. and General H .: the former married Thomas Jefferson Courser, October 24, 1876. She was born September 12, 1848. ( See Courser.) Jonathan Marden's second wife was Louisa E. (Moore) Marden, who died Jan. 4, 1864. (VII) Emma Jeanette, eldest child of Thomas Jefferson and Sarah E. (Todd) Courser, was born October 30, 1867. She was graduated from New Hampton Academy. became a nurse and is located in Concord, New Hampshire. George Wood- bury, their second child, was born April 7, 1871. and died January 16, 1886. Fred William, their third child, was born in Webster. September 19, 1872. He was educated in the common schools and at the high school. He owns three thousand acres of land, and is a large farmer. He conducts a big cattle business. and has extensive lumber interests. lle married Lora E. Brown, of Concord. New Hampshire, April 30. 1901. They have one child, Edith Jeanette, born July 1. 1004. Sarah Abby, their youngest child was born February 22, 1876. She was graduated from the Simonds Free Iligh School in Warner, receiving the first honor. For several years she was bookkeeper in Harry G. Emmon's dry goods store of Concord, New Hampshire. She was married September 5, 1904. to William D. Murray, of Concord, New Hampshire. They live in Los Angeles, California, and have one child, Thom- as Courser. born April 7, 1906.

Charles Henry, only child of Thomas Jefferson and Addie E. ( Marden) Courser, was born in

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Webster, April 14, 1878. He attended the Simonds Free High School at Warner three years and grad- uated from the New Hampshire State College at Durham in 1001. He was chief engineer for the Wheelwright Racer Company, of Wheelwright, Massachusetts, for three years. He married May Robbins, daughter of Henry and Betsey Marden of Concord, New Hampshire. They have two chil- dren: Ruth, born October 1, 1903; Thomas Jeffer- son, November 22, 1905.

AMEY The first of this name in New England was William Amey (or Amce) of Lynn, Massachusetts, who with others was given liberty to begin the settlement of Sandwich in 1637. John Amey, who may have been a rela- tive of William, was a resident of Woburn in 1649, and in 1053 removed to Boston, where he followed the trade of ship carpenter. He married Martha Johnson, daughter of Edward Johnson, the histor- ian, and was the father of Mary, John, Martha and William. It is reasonably certain that William of Lynn and Sandwich and John of Woburn and Boston were the progenitors of all who bear the name of Amey on this side of the ocean.

(I) John Tillotson Amey, who was born at Randolph, Vermont, in 1823, acquired a good edu- cation, and in his younger days he taught school. About the year 1853 he settled in Pittsburg. New Hampshire, where he engaged in farming, and he- came quite prominently identified with public affairs in that town, serving as a member of the board of selectmen, also as town clerk, and represented his district in the lower house of the state legislature for two years. Politically he acted with the Repub- lican party. He was an ardent believer in the Sec- ond Advent doctrine, and a leading member of that church. His death occurred in 1880. He married Emily Haynes, daughter of Timothy Haynes, of Pittsburg, and reared six sons, namely: Charles Henry, who died in 1894: John T., who will be again referred to; Edward C., who is residing at Island Pond, Vermont; Alfred E .. who is now liv- ing on a farm in Pittsburg: Harry B., a member of the law firm of Dale, Amey and Hunt of Island Pond, and Thomas E, a farmer in Clarksonville, New Hampshire.

(11) John Amey, second son of John T. and Emily (Haynes) Amey, was born in Pittsburg, Oc- tober 16. 1858. He attended school in his native town and resided at home until eighteen years old. when he entered the employ of the Hilliards as surveyor and bookkeeper, remaining with that con- cern some three years. He was next employed in a similar capacity by Charles Weeks for two years, and for the ensuing five years was in charge of the Turners Falls Company, buying lands. exploring, and performing other duties of a responsible char- acter. 1le has ever since been actively connected with the lumbering interests of northern New Hampshire, and from 1002 to the present time he has occupied the position of agent of the Connecti- cut Valley Lumber Company, and also manages some of Mr. Van Dyke's personal lumbering inter- ests. Mr. Amey resides in Lancaster. He is one of the most prominent Democrats in New Hamp- shire, having served as chairman of the state com- mittee for a period of eight years, and from 1802 to 1805 was sheriff of Coos county. Ile is also well known in Masonic cireles, being a member of North Star Lodge. North Star Chapter, and North Star Commandery, all of lancaster, and of Mt. Sinai

Temple, Order of the Mystic Shrine, of Montpelier, Vermont. He has been twice married, and his first wife, who was before marriage Emeline Huggins, daughter of O. P. Huggins, of Pittsburg, bore him three children, namcly: Everett E., a graduate of Dartmouth College, class of 1904. and a civil en- gineer, Alice, and Blanche. Mr. Avery married for his second wife Miss Elsie Dollof, daughter of Daniel Dollof, of Lancaster.

Many New Hampshire people bear in

GREER their veins the sturdy Scotch blood which has contributed no little to the stability of character, industry and thrift of her citizens. While not as early in this country as some of the immigrants, they have taken quite as con- spicuous places in the development of the coun- try, especially since the Revolution, and their de- scendants may well be proud of their ancestry.

(I) The first of this line. John Greer, of whom record is found was probably born in Scotland. Like many of the name lie was a mariner, and he was first found on record in Marblehead, Massachusetts, in 1757. In that year, on July 14, he was married at Boston, to Margaret Mckay. They lived in Boston seven years, and their four sons, Jolin, Willliam, Matthew and David, were born there. In 1764 the family removed to Charlestown, Mas- sachusetts, and a few years later to Londonderry.

(11) David, fourth son of John and Margaret ( McKay) Greer. was born about 1762, in Boston. Massachusetts, and settled in Goffstown. New Hampshire. He was married in that town in 1785 by Rev. Cornelius Waters, of Goff-town, to Rachel Richards, daughter of Benjamin Richards, of that tow11. Their children were : John, Susannah Ea- ton, and Benjamin Richards.

(III) John (2), eldest child of David and Ra- chel ( Richards) Greer, was born September 23, 1786. in Goffstown, and was a merchant in San- bornton, and was an active and successful business man. He was prominent in local affairs, and held several town offices. He was a member of the Baptist Church.

(IV) Benjamin, son of John (2) Greer, was born in 18t, in Goffstown. He was educated in the district schools, early acquired the occupation of stone cutting and was employed some three years in this way at Gloucester, Massachusetts. Re- turning to Goffstown he engaged in farming and lumbering, and also dealt to some extent in real estate. Ile was a member of the Baptist Church. always sang in the choir, and was one of the first seven men in Goffstown to vote the Republican ticket. He held nearly all of the town offices, and was a representative to the legislature. He was a member of the Amoskeag Veterans, one of the strongest and most popular independent military companies in the New England states, and one of the oldest and most influential, composed of the best men of the state, lle was a liberal man and highly respected, and a man of sterling integrity who took an active part and interest in all the af- fairs of his day and time. During the early days of the Republican party the Democrats carried mat- ters with a high hand and refused to recognize the minority party. Mr. Greer, who was a warm per- sonal friend of Governor Smith, went to Manches- ter and invoked the aid of the governor to protect the ballot box, and give the minority party their just rights. As a result the governor sent up a military company to preserve order, which had a

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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 49

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