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. IV, Part 103

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: 878

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. IV > Part 103

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

(\') David Furber, tenth child and sixth son of Captain Joshua and Betsey Page, was born in Northwood, September 12, 1787, and died December 31. 1858. He was engaged in farming and saw milling. About 1814 he built the house at Furber's Corner, which is still in possession of a member of the family. He married Sally Haley, of Epping. Their children were: Samuel H., mentioned below ; William H., twin brother of Samuel: Franklin. Methodist clergyman; and Martha, who marrie I Samuel F. Leavitt, of Northwood.

(VI) Samtel H., eldest child of David and Sally (Haley) Furber, was born in Northwood, August I, 1814, and died 1899, aged eighty-five. He always lived on the old homestead, to the ownership of which he succeeded after the death of his father. He married Mary Leavitt, who was born 1814, daughter of Rev. Dudley Leavitt, of Northwood. Seven children were born of this marriage: died in 1906: Frank, born in 1842, Mary, born in 1844. died in 1861: William M., born in 1846, is cashier of the Craft Shoe Manufacturing Company of Manchester; Sarah E., born in 1847, is the wife of George W. Hill, of Concord ; Dudley L., mentioned below ; Rev. Harrison W., pastor of the Baptist Church at Pittsfield, was born in 1850, and died in May, 1898; Carrie F., born May, 1852, married Frank M. Knowles, of Concord.

(VII) Dudley L., fifth child and third son of Samuel H. and Mary (Leavitt) Furber. was born in Northwood, August 18, 1848. At an early age he left the homestead and went into the employ of Pillsbury Brothers, manufacturers of shoes, at Northwood, and was afterward employed in the same business in Lynn, Massachusetts, and New York City. In 1872 he took charge of a department in the establishment of John F. Cloutman, and was employed there thirteen years. He then began the manufacture of shoes on his own account at Northwood, and carried on that business eight years. In 1893 he established himself in Dover. where he has since been successfully engaged in the manufacture of ladies' and gentlemen's special shoes. In politics Mr. Furber is a Democrat, and as such represented Farmington in the legislature in 1883. He is now a member of the board of wa- ter commissioners of Dover. He has been a mem-

ber of the Masonic order since 1872, having taken the first three degrees in Tucker Lodge, in North Bennington, Vermont. He is now a member of Moses Paul Lodge No. 96. of Dover, and also of the Knights .of Pythias. He married, 1874, Cora C. Carlton, of Farmington, who was born in Farm- ington, daughter of Captain Ralph and Amanda ( Pearl) Carleton.

MUDGETT

The first of this name mentioned in the Colonial Records is Thomas Midget, of Salisbury, Massach11-

setts, who married (perhaps for his second wife), October S, 1665, Sarah Morrell, eldest daughter of Abraham (1). - Their children were Mary and Tem- perance. Another Thomas of Salisbury was per- haps a son of this Thomas. The family is one com- paratively limited in number. None were in the Revolution from Massachusetts ; and only four from New Hampshire.

(I) Elisha Mudgett, a native of Massachusetts, settled in Sandwich, New Hampshire, and engaged. in farming.

(II) Samuel, son of Elisha Mudgett, was born in Sandwich, New Hampshire, in 1805. He was educated in the common schools, and in early life learned the dyer's trade, and was employed in mills in Lowell and Lawrence, Massachusetts, and be- came an expert in his business. In 1885 he bought a farm of one hundred acres in Meredith, where he lived the remainder of his life. He was a deacon in the Free Will Baptist Church, and was a highly respected and influential man. In politics he was a Democrat, and was elected by his fellow towns- men as road surveyor, justice of the peace, and se- lectman. He married Sarah Eaton, who was born in Alton. Her parents were Josiah and Hannah Eaton. The children of Samuel and Sarah M. (Eaton) Mudgett, were: Rhoda, Hannah, Hora- tio, and George M., whose sketch next follows.

(III) George M., youngest child of Samtiel and Sarah M. (Eaton) Mudgett, was born in Sandwich, February 3, 1846. He was educated in the public schools of Lawrence, and at Comas Business Col- lege in Boston. After the settlement of the family in Sandwich, Mr. Mudgett worked on the farm tin- til November, 1862, when he enlisted in Company B, Fourth Regiment Volunteer Infantry. He was tinder command of General Banks, and saw service at Port Hudson, Louisiana, where he was under fire forty days. After leaving the army he was en- gaged in shoe manufacturing in Danvers and Hav- erhill, Massachusetts. In 1869 he went to Colorado, and was engaged in mining in the vicinity of Den- ver, being superintendent of a mine and proficient" as an assayer. His father being advanced in years and in feeble health, Mr. Mudgett returned to New Hampshire, and took charge of the farm until his father's death, and has since resided there. He is still interested in mining, and owns a one-half in- terest in the Uncle Ned Mine, in Novia Scotia. He is a member of the American Mechanics in which order he has held minor offices, and is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, in which he lias filled the office of Sir Knight. He married Cora D. Dodge. They have one child, Charles.

Family tradition states that the im- BOSTON migrant ancestor came from England to American and settled in or near Wells, Maine, in the eighteenth century. Another version of the carly history of the family is that the immigrant came from Scotland. Deficient rec- ords preclude the possibility of a complete early

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record of the race. Hannah Boston was a member of Rev. Mr. Emery's church in Wells. His pastorate of twenty years began in 1701. Major John Storer enlisted a company of men in Wells to be a part of Sir William Pepperell's force in the expedition which captured Louisburg, the stronghold of France in America, in 1744. Gershom Boston, Joseph Bos- ton. Shebuleth Boston and Thomas Boston were of this company. Shebuel and Thomas Boston were left in Louisburg, but probably returned after their companions.

(I) Joseph Boston, according to family tradition, was born in England, and settled in Wells, Maine, in the eighteenth century; it is more probable that he was born in Wells. He followed the sea and was drowned. He married an Indian girl named Newell, and they had one or more children.

(II) Oliver F. Boston, son of Joseph and (Newell) Boston, was born in Wells, in 1808, and died in 1894. He was a shipbuilder. For many years he was an active member of the Baptist Church. He married Dorcas Moody. Their chil- dren were: Lydia, who married Sylvester Grant: Catherine, who married Ransom Crook : Margaret, who married Seth Rowe: Oliver F., who settled at Barrington, New Hampshire : Stephen, mentioned below ; Fannie, who married Harrison Foss ; Agatha ; and Hannah, wife of George Marble.

(III) Stephen A., fifth child and second son of Oliver F. Dorcas (Moody) Boston, was born in. South Berwick, Maine, May 17. 1841. He was en- gaged in saw milling until 1893, when he removed to Bennington, New Hampshire, and bought a farm and has since been engaged in agriculture. He mar- ried Hannah Giles, who was born in Dover, daugh- ter of Daniel Giles. Twelve children have been born to them: Frank H .. of Rochester: Ida, de- ceased : Charles Henry, of Haverhill, Massachu- setts : Millie B., wife of Herbert Trafton; Stephen A., deceased: Oliver, deceased ; Stephen A., men- tioned below ; Harry E., of Exeter; George Wilber, of Dover: Dorcas: Almira ; and one who died in infancy.

(IV) Stephen A. (2), seventh child and fifth son of Stephen A. (I) and Hannah (Giles) Bos- ton, was born in South Berwick, Maine, February 10, 1872. He was educated in the public schools and at the academy at Somersworth, New Hamp- shire. At eighteen years of age he went to Bosto1 and learned the trade of painter and decorator, re- siding there seven years. He then entered the em- ploy of the American Painting and Decorating Company as foreman, and filled that place two years. While with that company he had charge of the work on the Mt Washington Hotel, and on several other important structures. In 1903 Mr. Boston started in business for himself in Dover, and later admitted his brother, George W., to a partnership, the firm assuming the style of Boston Brothers. They have been successful in business. One of their latest pieces of work was the painting and decorating of the Wentworth Hospital ..

Mr. Boston married (first), 1895. Mamie Rich- ardson. He married (second), 1900, Alvina Mars- ton, of Exeter ; (third), 1904, Julia Vatcher. who was born in Dover, England, March 12, 1885. By his first wife there was one child, Alfred Noali, born July 3, 1896; by the second wife one child. Nellie E., born January 22, 1901.

George Wesley was born in the city WESLEY of New York. December 25, 1849, and was a son of Benjamin Wesley, who went south with his family when George was

an infant, and remained there until after the end of the late Civil war.

About the time of the close of the war, George Wesley, then a young man, returned to the north and went to the state of Maine, where he took up his residence at South Berwick, and for several years afterward was an employee and foreman in the Salmon Falls cotton mills. In1 1869, while liv- ing in that town, he married Katherine McGraw, by whom he had eight children. In 1878 Mr. Wes- ley moved with his family to Dover, New Hamp- shire, and for a time was employed as a watchman, and he also engaged in various other occupations, for he always was a man of modest means, a wage earner, but industrious, frugal and of good habits. Of his eight children four died young and one after marriage. The children of George and Katherine (McGraw) Wesley are as follows: Susie, married, and is now dead: Charles Henry, died at the age of six years; Jolin H., now of Dover ; Katherine, died in childhood; Sarah, died in infancy; George B., died at the age of eight years ; and Maggie, wife of Hubert Millen.

John H. Wesley, present representative of ward five of Dover in the New Hampshire legislature. is third in the order of seniority, and eldest surviv- ing son of George W. and Katherine (McGraw) Wesley. He was born at South Berwick, Maine, October 16, 1873, and was five years old when his parents moved from that town to Dover. He was educated in public schools and Franklin Academy, and after leaving school at once turned his attention to business pursuits. For the last twelve or more years he has been popularly identified with the man- agement of various theatrical and amusement enter- prises, and during the last three or four years has gained special prominence as one of the leaders of the Democratic party in Dover, and also has come to be recognized as an active figure in the councils of that party in Strafford county. His de- mocracy is of the true Jeffersonian order, and his courageous advocacy. of party principles and his unyielding loyalty to the cause of the workingman has won for him a warm place in the hearts of the people of his county, and rewarded his aspirations for public office with unvarying success. He has served several times in both branches of the 11111- nicipal government, and left the board of aldermen in 1903 to occupy a seat in the lower house of the state legislature. He is still a member of that body by successive re-elections, and on the floor of the house has ably championed the principles he has stood. for before his constituents; and it was he who introduced the bill amending section four- teen of chapter one hundred and eighty of the pub- lic statutes regulating the hours of labor of women and minors. In 1904 he was elected a member of the board of education of Dover, to serve for two years, and received the unanimous vote of the council and board of aldermen, which joint body comprised five Democratic members and twenty from the opposite political party. In 1906 he organized what is known locally as the John W. Wesley Hand Tub Association, a social organization for advancing the interests of its members. He is chairman of the executive committee of ward five of Dover, ward clerk, member of the board of se- lectmen and member of Portsmouth Aerie of the Fraternal Order or Eagles.

The name Hawkins is one of the HAWKINS most common among the earliest settlers in Massachusetts. Among the heads of the families of this name in New Eng-

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land before 1650 are: Abraham, of Charlestown, 1642: Anthony, of Windsor, before 1644; George, of Boston, 1644: James, of Boston, 1635; John, of Boston, 1630; Richard, of Boston. 1637: Robert, of Charlestown, 1635, and many others. The number of persons of this name in New England in the carly Colonial times suggests that the Hawkins fam- ily must have been mainly composed of Puritans.

(I) Amos A. Hawkins resided in Grafton, Mas- sachusetts, where he was employed in the cotton mills as a ring spinner. He died July 12, 1879, aged fifty-nine. Hle married Angeline Davis, who was born in Patchogue, Rhode Island, and died in War- ren, Rhode Island, February 29, 1904, aged eighty- two. Six children were born to this union: Fan- nie C., Garophelia, Eliza Ann, Jessie, Franklin A., and William H. Fannie C. is single and resides in Warren, Rhode Island. Garophelia (now de- ceased), married Thomas Foshay, of Grafton Cen- ter. Eliza Ann married Truman P. Fenton and lives in Warren, Rhode Island. Jessie married John Wilson, and resides in Taunton, Massachu- setts. Franklin A. is mentioned below. William H. resides in Providence. Rhode Island, where he is an overseer of ring spinning in the Nantic mills.

(II) Franklin A., eldest son and fifth child of Amos A. and Angeline (Davis) Hawkins, was born in Grafton, Massachusetts, July 23, 1860. He acquired his education in the schools of Grafton, and at the age of eighteen became a spinner in the cotton factories of Grafton. In 1889 he removed to Lawrence, where he remained until 1899, as overseer of the spinning department of the Atlantic cotton mills. In 1899 he removed to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he became overseer of the ring frames, which position he still holds. He has charge of one hundred and twenty employes who operate twenty-five thousand spindles. It is a fact that hardly needs to be mentioned that men who hold responsible positions in the employ of great corpora- tions like the Amoskeag are men of ample qualifica- tions and always to be relied on. Mr. Hawkins is a man of that character. His record is an honor- able one. Mr. Hawkins and his wife and daugh- ters are members of Congregational Church. He is a Republican but has nothing to do with politics. He married, February 18, 1879, at Grafton. Massa- chusetts, Eliza J. McHenry, born May 7. 1858. daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth .( Barr) McHenry, of Grafton, Massachusetts. Both her parents were born in Scotland. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins are: Elizabeth A., born March 31, 1881 ; Mildred I., August 26, 1883: Harry F., April 17. 1886, assistant overseer of ring spinning in the Amoskeag mills : Joseph A., July 4, 1888, died Jan- uary 28, 1803: Sadie E., August 10, 1890: Florence M .. November 9, 1802; Hazel J., November 28, 1806.

This family, though Ger- RÖDELSPERGER man in both name and na- tionality, is descended from Huguenot ancestors who were driven out from France at the time of the Huguenot expulsion.

(I) Sebastian Rödelsperger, was born in Hen- bach, in 1771, and died September, 1840, aged sixty- eight years. He was a farmer and had a farm of one hundred acres which in most parts of Europe is considered a considerable estate. He had three children : Sebastian, Mary and Johann, the sub- ject of the following paragraph.

(II) Johann, second son and third child of Se- bastian Rödelsperger, was born in Henbach, Ger-

many, in 1817, and died in Giessen, 1890, aged sev- enty-three years. He was educated at Freiburg, Germany, and devoted his life to teaching, con- tinuing until he was sixty-eight years old. He was a thoroughly competent man and according to the German custom spent most of his life in teaching at one place, Lollar, where he taught forty years. He attended the Presbyterian Church. He mar- ried, at Gruenberg, in 1849, Elizabeth Buck, of Gruenberg, who was born at Gruenberg, 1819, and died August, 1872, aged fifty-three. They had three children : Emma, Herman and Sophia.

(III) Herman, second child and only son of Johann and Elizabeth (Buck) Rödelsperger, was born in Giessen, Herren, April 19, 1853. After completing the course of study in the high school of Giessen, from which he graduated in 1870, he kept books for a large cigar manufacturing estab- lishment for a time. In 1873 he came to the United States, landing at New York from the steamship "Deutschland," April 19, 1873. He engaged in the sale of sewing machines for several years in dif- ferent states. In 1876 he entered a village school in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he studied one term to acquire a knowledge of the English language. In 1879 lie removed to Manchester, New Hampshire. where he was the representative of the Davis Sewing Machine Company for a year. The following year he became a teacher in the Man- chester German School, where he taught until 1889, the last years of the time being principal of the school. He then formed a partnership with Rein- hardt Hecker, under the firm name of Rödelsperger & Hecker, grocers, and carried on that business tin- til 1890. Since 1800 Mr. Rödelsperger has con- ducted a concert hall in West Manchester. He is also engaged in the real estate and insurance busi- ness, and is agent for the sale of steamship tickets. He is a justice of the peace and a notary public. Mr. Rödelsperger is one of the most active and energetic among the German population of Man- chester, and takes a sincere interest in promoting their welfare. He has been president of the Ger- man school board for three years past. He is pres- ident of the Turner Society and is a member of every German society in the city, in all of which he is or has been an officer. In politics he is an in- dependent.

He was a member of the New Hampshire legis- lature of 1907 and now is a member of the commit- tee on education. He married, October 10, 1887, in Manchester, Anna Winkler, who was born in Lieb- enstein, Austria. 1865, daughter of Johann and Elizabeth Winkler, of Liebenstein. They have six children : Emma, Bertha, Minnie, Maria, Agnes and Anna.

This family is of Welsh origin and its

COIT American branch was established in Con- necticut. Some of its representatives have acquired distinction as preachers, and a large number of them have been closely identified with re- ligious work.

(I) John Coit, the immigrant, who was proba- bly of Glamorganshire, Wales, arrived in New Eng- land between the years 1630 and 1638, going first to Salem, Massachusetts, where land was granted him the latter year. and in 1641 he removed to Gloucester. He was made a freeman in 1647: was a selectman in Gloucester in 1648, and the name of his son John appears in the records of that town at the same period. With other Gloucester residents he went in 1640 to New London, Connecticut, where he acquired land on the water front and there he

F. A. Hawking

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followed his trade, that of a ship-carpenter. The "History of New London" states that he died there August 29, 1659. He was married in Wales to Mary Gammers, or Jemmers, and she died January 2, 1676, aged eighty ycars. His son John, previously mentioned, remained in Gloucester. His will, made in August, 1659, provides for his son Joseph, his daughters Mary and Martha, and mentions two sons and two daughters as being "absent from him." One of these was John, and as the names of the other three do not appear in the records of Gloucester or New London, it is quite probable that they remained on the other side of the ocean.

(II) Deacon Joseph, son of John and Mary (Jemmers) Coit, was probably born in Salem, and followed the trade of a ship-carpenter in New Lon- don. In company with his brother-in-law, Hugh Mould, he engaged in building vessels, and among those launched by them were the "New London," 1666, and the "John and Hester," 1681. The "New London" made a voyage to Europe in 1689, and on her return she brought as a part of her cargo. two large brass church bells with wheels, one of which was the first church bell ever used in eastern Con- necticut. In 1645 Joseph Coit was elected constable, and in 1683 was appointed one of a committee to procure a minister. . July 15, 1667, he married Mar- tha Harris, of Wethersfield, daughter of Willliam and Edith Harris. He and his wife were admit- ted to the church at New London, April 3, 1681, and the records mention him as a deacon in 1683. He died March 27, 1704, and his wife died July 14, 1710. His estate, which was inventoried at three hundred and twelve pounds, seventeen shillings and four pence, was divided between his widow, his son John, who received a double portion; his son Jo- seph; the heirs of William, a deceased son; and Solomon. His other children, not mentioned in his will, were Daniel and Samuel.

(III) Rev. Joseph, second child and son of Dea- con Joseph and Martha (Harris) Coit, was born in New London, April 4, 1673. He took his bachelor's degree at Harvard College in 1797, and was made a Master of Arts at the first commencement at Yale College in 1702. He was first called to the church in Norwich, Connecticut, but shortly afterward (1698) went to Plainfield, same state, where he continued to preach until 1748, in which year he was dismissed at his own request. His death occurred in Plainfield, July 1, 1750, at the age of seventy- seven years. His estate included one male and two female negro servants. September 18, 1705, he mar- ried Experience Wheeler, daughter of Isaac Wheeler, of Stonington. She died January 8, 1759, aged sev- enty-nine years. His children were: Elizabeth. Samuel, Joseph, Martha, Isaac, Abigail. Mary, Wil- liam, Experience and Daniel.

(IV) Colonel Samuel, second child and eldest son of Rev. Joseph and Experience (Wheeler) Coit, was born at Plainfield in 1708. He settled in what was then known as the North Society of Preston, now the town of Griswold, Connecticut, and his de- scendants have been designated the "Preston Coits." He derived his military title from his long and hon- orable connection with the Connecticut militia, and in 1758 he commanded a regiment raised in Nor- wich and vicinity for the defense of the colonies against the threatened French and Indian invasion. This regiment served as garrison at Fort Edward for several months. For the years 1761, '65, '71, '72 and '73 he represented Preston in the general as- sembly ; was judge of the county court. and also of a maritime court during the Revolutionary war ; was in 1774 chosen moderator of a town meeting

which took action relative to the "Boston Port Bill ;" and was a member of the Preston committee on correspondence. In 1761 he was selected by the proprictors of Amherst, Nova Scotia, to serve upon a committee formulated for the purpose of forward- ing the interests of that enterprise. Colonel Coit clied in Preston, October 4, 1792. March 30, 1730, he married Sarah Spaulding, daughter of Benjamin Spaulding, of Plainfield; she died July II, 1776, aged sixty-five years. His second wife, whom he married March 22, 1779, was Mrs. Jemima Hall. In 1742 he joined the church in Preston, to which his first wife had been admitted in 1733. His children, all of his first union, were: Benjamin, Samuel, William, Oliver, Wheeler, John, Sarah, Joseph, Isaac and Olive.

(V) William, third child and son of Colonel Samuel and Sarah (Spaulding) Coit, was born Feb- ruary 13, 1735. He became a sea captain and a merchant in Norwich, where he established his residence, and in 1761 he advertised for horses suit- able for shipment. In 1771 he was one of the man- agers of a lottery. the proceeds of which were used for the construction of a bridge over the Shertucket river, and in 1778 was interested with Whitelaw and Savage in developing what is now Waterville, Vermont. He was one of an association to take action against illicit trade in 1782. In 1800 the firm of Coit, Lanman & Huntington was established and their ship, the "Three Friends," brought merchan- dise direct from Liverpool to Norwich. His hon- orable career as merchant closed November 16, 1821, and his remains were interred in the old cemetery at Norwich. His first wife, whom he married March 21, 1735, was Sarah Lathrop, who was born October 2, 1735, daughter of Ebenezer Lathrop, of Norwich. and she died February 21, 1780. On Octo- ber 15, of the latter year he married for his second wife Mrs. Elizabeth Coit, widow of Joseph Coit, of Hartford. Her death occurred August 29, 1803. His children were: Abigail, William, Elisha, Sarah, Lydia, Daniel, Levi, Eliza and Lucy, all of whom were of his first union.

(VI) Levi, fourth son and seventh child of Wil- liam and Sarah (Lathrop) Coit, was born in Nor- wich. April 24, 1770. When a young man he en- gaged in mercantile pursuits in New York City, and for many years was a member of the firm of Coit & Woolsey, which was one of the prominent mercantile houses of the metropolis during the early years of the last century. In his latter years he was a. stock broker in Wall street. He lived to be nearly eighty years old, and died in New York City, January 6, 1850. He was married, February 5, 1794, to Lydia Howland, who was born October 3, 1773, daughter of Joseph Howland. She sur- vived her husband but a short time, dying January 8, 1851. She was the mother of seven children,

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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. IV, Part 103

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: 878

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: 878