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 72

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 72

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(III) Albert Dodge, son of Frank H. and Mar- tha A. (Dodge) Jones, was born in Rochester, June 28, 1875. He graduated from the high school of his native town in 1894, and the same year matri- culated at Dartmouth College, where he was grad- uated with the class of 1898. The following seven years he read law in the office of Daniel Hall, Esq., and other lawyers, and was admitted to member- ship in the New Hampshire bar, June 22. 1905. Soon afterward he established himself in business at Rochester, where he has since been busy in building up a successful practice. He is a Repub- lican in politics and liberal in religious ideas. He is a member of the Humane Lodge, No. 21, Free and Accepted Masons, of Rochester; the Royal Arch Chapter, Council of Royal and Select Masters ; Commandery of Knights Templar; and Bektash Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine of Concord. He married, September 21, 1898, Sarah Amanda Warren, daughter of Joseph and Adelaide (Elliott) Warren. They have one child, Warren Dodge, born October 16, 1899.

JONES Hon. Frank Jones, fifth son of Thomas and Mary (Priest) Jones, was born in Barrington, September 15, 1832, and died in Portsmouth, October 2, 1902. He spent his child- hood and youth on his father's farm, which was one of the best in the township, and had been in- herited by the father from his father. Frank was a sturdy, self-reliant boy, and even when but a youth took charge of affairs at home in the absence of his father and older brothers. At seventeen years of age he decided that there was no reward sufficient to keep him on the farm, and in spite of every in- ducement offered by his father for him to remain at home, the young man went to Portsmouth where his elder brother Hiram had a general hardware store, and entered into his employ. It was the custom in those days to send loads of goods into the country to be sold throughout the rural districts; and to be a successful salesman required more accomplish- ments than are now necessary to the sale of goods in stores where the customer goes when he wants to buy. The salesman had to be strong, hardy and full of pluck, to be out in all kinds of weather and travel over all sorts of roads; he had to be good natured, shrewd, alert, a good reader of human nature, and full of commercial enterprise. Into this business the young man entered, and the quality of his ability as a merchant, and the extent of his success as a salesman is attested by the fact that at the end of four years he had saved sufficient capital to buy an interest in his brother's business, so that at twenty he was one of the business men of Ports- mouth. Not long afterward he became sole pro- prietor of the business, which he continued on an enlarged scale until 1861, when he disposed of it

to his younger brother, True, who was an employe in the establishment. Meantime, in 1858, he bought an interest in the brewery established by the Eng- lishman, John Swindels, in 1854. For a few years after Mr. Jones became interested in this establish- ment it was conducted under the firm name of Swindels & Company. Then Mr. Jones became sole proprietor, and inaugurated those improvements and reforms in the methods and processes of manufacture which resulted in brilliant success. The buildings of the little brewery of 1858 were replaced by larger ones from time to time, until nothing of the original was left, and new structures covering five acres of ground succeeded them, and the establishment be- came one of the largest in the country, furnished with all modern improvements and requiring one hundred men to operate it. The old idea that first class ale and porter could not be brewed in America was quickly disproved by Mr. Jones, and those products of quality equal to any brewed in England or Ireland were produced in this brewery. Great care was exercised as to the quality of the product, and nothing of an inferior grade was ever per- mitted to be sent out. In 1863 a large malt house was built, the present brewery was erected in 1871, and a second and still larger malt house was constructed in 1879, giving the brewery a producing capacity of two hundred and fifty thousand barrels, and a malting capacity of three hundred and seventy-five thousand bushels, annually. In 1875 Mr. Jones be- came the leading member of a company which pur- chased the wellknown South Boston Brewery of Henry Souther & Company, under the firm name of Jones, Johnson & Company, Honorable James W. Johnson, of Enfield, being a member of the firm. Changes in the personnel of the company, and the style of the firm occurred, and finally the title be- came Jones, Cook & Company, Mr. Jones retaining the position of senior partner. The production of this establishment was nearly equal in quanity and quality to that of the Portsmouth brewery.

The residence of Hon. Woodbury Langdon, judge of the supreme court of New Hampshire, and brother of Governor Langdon, was burned in the first great fire in Portsmouth in 1781. The house was rebuilt on the same spot in 1786, and in 1830 the house and lot were purchased by a joint stock company, and converted into a house of public entertainment. This house was enlarged and remodelled by Mr. Jones in 1870, and burned in 1884. The "Rock- ingham," for that was and is the name of the hotel, was rebuilt by Mr. Jones and opened to the public February 3, 1886, and had he done nothing else for the credit of Portsmouth than to erect this magni- ficent hotel, he would have earned the gratitude of every citizen. The structure is of brick and free stone, five stories high, with a frontage of upwards of one hundred and fifty feet, and has first class accommodations for about two hundred guests, with all up-to-date conveniences, and is sumptuously furnished throughout. Besides this great public house, Mr. Jones built the Wentworth Hotel, in Newcastle, which is acknowledged to be the leading seaside hotel in New England. These two most famous hostelries were built from plans of Mr. Jones's own designing, and erected and equipped under his own direction. Mr. Jones's great suc- cess in everything he undertook made him a man much sought for as a business associate, and in consequence he became closely identified with the leading banks, railroads and other great corpora- tions. He was a director of the Lancaster Trust Company; the Wolfboro Loan and Banking Com- pany, and the New Hampshire National Bank of

Fund Jones

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Portsmouth; president of the Portsmouth & Dover railroad; the Granite State Fire Insurance Com- pany ; the Portsmouth Fire Association, and the Portsmouth Shoe Company. For many years he devoted much of his time to the active duties of the presidency of the great Bostin & Maine railroad.

His prominence in business affairs and his inter- est in all that concerned the city of Portsmouth, led his nomination as the candidate of the Demo- cratic party for the mayoralty of that town. He elected in 1868 and re-elected the following year. His administration was marked by progress and improvement without excessive taxation. He had 110 need of the salary of the office, and devoted it to public purposes. The first year's salary he gave as a trust fund, the interest of which was to be used annually for the purchase of books for the library of the high school. The salary of the second year he put in the hands of trustees on the condition that if $5,000 more could be raised in five years, he would then add another thousand dollars for the purpose of establishing a public library to be pre- sented to the city. Subsequently he was a candi- date for presidential elector, but the normal Re- publican majority could not be overcome, though he received vote nearly as large as that cast by the Republicans in the district. In 1875 he was the nominee of the Democracy for congressman, and though the district had been carried by the opposi- tion at the previous election, he was elected by a plurality of three hundred and thirty-six votes. Two years later he was renominated, and the Republicans put in opposition to him a candidate who had won distinction both as a civilian and as a soldier, and had been elected three times to the same office in past years; yet Mr. Jones's popularity prevailed, and he was returned to congress by a plurality of forty votes. At the end of his second term in this office he refused to be a candidate again, since the demands of his business were such that they could no longer be neglected. He regarded this as his final withdrawal from politics; but in 1880, against his emphatic protest, and with a unanimity never before equalled in New Hampshire, he was nominated for governor; and though the defeat of his party was known to be certain as the national campaign proceded, he received a larger vote than any Democratic candidate had ever before received, and a greater number of votes than had ever been given to the candidate of any party in a state election. His services were marked by fidelity to the interests of the people, and in committee work he was par- ticularly efficient, his knowledge of business and business methods making him especially strong in that field. His residence, about a mile from the Rockingham Hotel, is situated on property known as "The Farm," containing about one thousand acres, and is enclosed with hedges, charming grounds, conservatories, and other appendages, and is by courtesy called the "Public Garden of Portsmouth."

Phenomenally successful in his enterprises and busy with the cares and responsibilities of a multi- tude of business ventures, he seemed to enjoy his wealth and his work, and took pleasure in dis- charging his duties to his fellow citizens in both his public and private relations. "In all his successful business career," it has been written, "he never for one moment forgot his duties to his fellow men, nor the claims his native state and adopted city had upon him; he did all in his power to promote the welfare and obtain the good will of all men, and most strenuously labored for the health, wealth and prosperity of the city of Portsmouth and its neighborhood." His social and genial nature and

innumerable acts of kindness and courtesy caused him to be held in the highest esteem by the people at large, regardless of party or condition.

Mr. Jones married, September 15, 1861, Martha S. (Leavitt) Jones, daughter of William B. and Louisa D. Leavitt, and widow of his brother, Hiram Jones, who died in July, 1859, leaving one child, Emma I. Jones, who became the wife of Colonel Charles A. Sinclair, of Portsmouth. Colonel Sin- clair died in Brookline, Massachusetts, April 22, 1899. To Colonel and Mrs. Sinclair were born four daughters: Grace J., married Parker W. Whitte, more; Martha S., married Sherburn M. Merrill; Mary Louise, married John C. Spring; Ellen Marie, unmarried.

JONES The Jones name is so numerous and contains so many different branches that it has been found impossible to trace the connection of this family.

(I). John Jones was born in Chichester, New Hampshire, in 1842. He married Martha L. Wales, who is now living in Concord.

(II) Dr. Edwin Emery, son of John and Martha L. (Wales) Jones, was born at Loudon, New Hamp- shire, January 4, 1870. He was educated at Pem- broke Academy, spent one year at Dartmouth Col- lege, and was graduated from the Dartmouth Medi- cal School in 1894. While a student he was dis- tinguished in athletics, and played on the foot ball team, where he was captain in 1893. He practiced three years in Norwich, Vermont, also doing hos- pital work a year and a half at Hanover Hospital, and in 1898 came to Colebrook, New Hampshire, where he is permanently located. During the time he spent in Vermont he served as health officer. He was a member of the board of health in Cole- brook for six years. He is a Mason, belonging to the Blue Lodge, Eastern Star, and to North Star Chapter, Eastern Star Council. He is a trustee of the Methodist Church, and was its treasurer until January I, 1907. He is a Republican in politics. On July 3, 1894, he married Maude, daughter of Edwin P. and Diantha Northrop, of Suncook, New Hampshire. They have one son, Ralph Northrop, born at Concord, January 16, 1898.

This ancient and respectable family FRENCH established itself in America about the end of the first decade of coloniza- tion in Massachusetts, and has furnished many valued citizens. The name comes either from a French ancestor who settled in Britain and was called "the French," in reference to his nationality, or from his having lived in France.

(1) Edward French was born about 1590, in England, and died December 28, 1674, in Salis- bury, Massachusetts. With his wife Ann and two or more sons he came to America about 1637, and received land in the first division at Salisbury, where he also bought land in 1642. He was a tailor by trade, and probably possessed means when he left England. He was a selectman in 1646-47-48, and his name appears on most of the early town lists as "commoner," taxpayer, etc. His will was made April 10, 1673, and proved two years and three days later. His widow, who was probably a sister of Richard Goodale (1), died March 9, 1683, in Salisbury. Ed- ward French is listed among the settlers of Ips- wich in 1637-38. His children were: Joseph, John, Samuel and Hannah. the second born before 1633. (Samuel and descendants receive notice in this article. )

(II) Joseph, eldest child of Edward and Ann

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(Goodalc) French, was born in England, and was reared to his father's trade. He and his wife Su- sannah were members of the Salisbury church in 1687. He was taxed in Salisbury as early as 1652, and received land there in 1654. His wife died February 16, 1688, and he survived her over twenty- two years, passing away June 6, 1710. Their chil- dren were: Joseph, Elizabeth, Simon, Ann, Edward (died an infant), Edward and John.

(III) Joseph (2), eldest child of Joseph (I) and Susannah French, was born March 16, 1654, and died December 14, 1683, in Salisbury, where he was probably a farmer. He subscribed to the oath of allegiance and fidelity in December, 1677. He was married June 13, 1678, to Sarah, eighth child of Roger Eastman (q. v.), who survived him and was married August 4, 1684, to Solomon Shepherd. Jo- seph French's children were: Joseph, Timothy and Simon.

(IV) Joseph (3), eldest son of Joseph (2) and Sarah (Eastman) French, was born March 26, 1679, in Salisbury, and was known as "junior" while he lived in that town. He appears in Salis- bury records as a carpenter in 1728 and 1739, and as husbandman in South Hampton in 1747. He probably did not change his residence, at least, for a great distance, as the establishment of the province line in 1741 set many residents of Salisbury into New Hampshire, in what was organized as the town of South Hampton in 1742. He was married, De- cember 20, 1699, to Abigail, daughter of Philip and Mary (Buswell) Brown, and granddaughter of Dea- con Henry Brown of Salisbury. Mary was a daugh- ter of Isaac and Susanna Buswell. Joseph (2) French died December 27, 1756. His children were : Sarah, Joseph, Ebenezer, Daniel, Abigail and Oba- diah. (Daniel and descendants receive mention in this article.)

(V) Joseph (4), eldest son of Joseph (3) and Abigail (Brown) French, was born February 27, 1702, in Salisbury and remained in that town until after 1740, probably all his life. He was married in Salisbury, Massachusetts, February 22, 1731, to Ruth Knowles.

(VI) Simon, son of Joseph (4) and Ruth (Knowles) French, was born in Salisbury, October 27, 1740. In 1764 he came to New Hampshire, set- tling upon a farm in Candia, where he resided for the remainder of his life, which terminated Au- gust 3, 1823. He married for his first wife

Shackford, daughter of John Shackford, of Chester, and his second wife was Comfort Weeks Moore, widow of Dr. Moore. His children were: Ruth, who became the wife of Samuch Colby ; Dolly, mar- ried Andrew Rankin ; and John, who was the next in line of descent. All were of the first union.

(VII) John, youngest child and only son of Simon and ( Shackford) French, was born in Candia, March 25, 1770. He was an industrious and energetic farmer, residing for the greater part of his active life upon a farm in the immediate vicinity of the property now owned and occupied by his grandson, John P. French, and he was re- garded as an eminently useful citizen, who fully merited the esteem and good will which was ac- corded him by his fellow-townsmen. His church affiliations were with the Congregationalists. He died in Candia, December 24, 1845. His wife was before marriage Comfort Moore, daughter of Dr. Moore, a native of Stratham, New Hampshire. She became the mother of five children, namely : Martha, Simon, Coffin Moore, Lucinda and Evelina.

(VIII) Deacon Coffin Moore, third child and youngest son of John and Comfort (Moore) French,

was born in Candia, April 6, 1799. In early man- hood he settled upon the farm which is now owned by his son, John P., and a considerable portion of his long and useful life was devoted to the service of the town in a civic capacity and also to teaching school. For a number of years he served with ability as a member of the board of selectmen, and he held other town offices. Politically he was in his latter years a Republican, having united with that party at its formation. He lived to be eighty- two years old, and his death, which occurred in 1881, was not only the cause of general regret, but was especially deplored by his fellow-members of the Congregational Church, which he had served as deacon for many years. In 1825 he married Dolly Pillsbury, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Currier ) Pillsbury, of Sandown, or Hanover. In her younger days she was a school-teacher, and for many years prior to her death, which occurred in 1879, she was an earnest member of the Congregational Church. Deacon and Mrs. French were the parents of four children, namely : John Pillsbury, who will be again referred to; Mary Celinda, born May 6, 1832, mar- ried Rev. James H. Fitts; Samuel Franklin, born December 22, 1835, graduated from Dartmouth Col- lege and from the Andover Theological Seminary, married Martha J. Upton, of Andover, Massachu- setts; and George Henry, born July 27, 1838, died October 2, 1906. The latter, who was also a gradu- ate of Dartmouth and of the Andover Theological Seminary, married Fannie E. Kilburn, of Holden, Massachusetts, who bore him three children- Warren Kilburn, Irving Joseph and George Frank- lin.

(IX) John Pillsbury, eldest child of Deacon Coffin M. and Dolly (Pillsbury) French, was born in Candia, September 14, 1826. Having concluded his education with a course of advanced study at the Pembroke Academy, he turned his attention to agriculture, and for many years was associated with his father in carrying on the homestead farm, which he inherited at the latter's death. He also inherited the spirit of energy and thrift which pre- dominated in the character of his progenitors, and has made excellent use of these essential qualities, keeping well abreast of the times in the line of im- provements and taking advantage of every available means of preserving the fertility of his land. The major portion of his farm, which comprises one hundred and fifty acres, is divided into pasture and woodland, while the remainder is devoted to the usual products of that locality, and he keeps an aver- age of ten head of cattle, six cows and three horses. Mr. French has not only adhered in his daily life to the traditions of his family, but has also preserved their allegiance to the cause of morality and religion. For more than thirty years he has been a deacon of the Congregational Church, and for a period has served as superintendent of the Sunday school. In politics he is a Republican. In 1861 he married Edith Knight, of Atkinson, New Hampshire, who died in 1863, and on February 20, 1872, he mar- ried for his second wife Mary E. Craig, daughter of Leonard and Betsey (Stone) Craig, of Leicester (or Auburn), Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Abbott Academy, class of 1859, and was formerly engaged in educational pursuits.

(V) Daniel, son of Joseph (3) and Abigail (Brown) French, born in Salisbury, August 21, 1708, died September 1, 1783, aged seventy-five. He married, May 28, 1730, Sarah Gould, born 1710, died January 25, 1773, aged sixty-three, daughter of Samuel Gould, born February 3, 1668. died 1725, and Sarah (Rowell) Gould, born March 1674, and

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granddaughter of Valentine Rowell (q. v.). The children of Daniel and Sarah (Gould) French were : Abigail, Sarah, Barzillai, Daniel, Gould, Elihu, Daniel, Sarah and Judith, the first five born in Salis- bury, Massachusetts, the other four in South Hamp- ton, New Hampshire.

(VI) Gould, third son and fifth child of Daniel and Sarah (Gould) French, born in Salisbury, Mas- sachusetts, September 17, 1741, died May 12, 1823, in St. Albans, Maine, aged eighty-three, and was buried in Palmyra, with his son Dr. Benjamin's family. He resided in Epping, New Hampshire, where he was a farmer, living on a farm given him by his father. He served as a private in the revo- lution in Captain Joseph Chandler's company, of Colonel Isaac Wyman's regiment. He moved to Maine about 1802. He married, November 24, 1763, Dorothy (Dolly) Whittier, of Amesbury, Massachu- setts, born November 30, 1745, died December 13, 1804, daughter of Joseph and Martha (Evins) Whittier. Their children were: Sally, John E., Daniel and Dorothy (twins), Benjamin, and Joseph (twins) Deborah and Martha.

(VII) Daniel, second son and third child of Gould and Dorothy (Whittier) French, born at Epping, February 22, 1769, died in Chester, October 15, 1840. He was a student at Exeter under Dr. Abbot two years, and also was under the tuition of Rev. Robert Gray, of Andover, some time. He studied law with Hon. William K. Atkinson, of Dover, was admitted to the bar in 1796, and im- mediately afterward proceeded to Deerfield Parade, where he practiced two years. He then went to Chester and succeeded Hon. Arthur Livermore, who was appointed judge of the superior court, December, 1799. He was appointed solicitor June, 1808; was admitted to practice in the United States court in 1809; and appointed attorney general, February, 1812, and resigned in 1815. He was appointed post- master of Chester, April, 1807, and retained the place through all the changes of administration till 1839, when he resigned, and his son Henry F. Snc- ceeded him. Loammi Davidson, Edmund Flagg, Abner Emerson, Stephen Crooker. Jabez Crooker, B. B. French, Eben French, and Henry F. French were students at law in his office. "He was in- doubtedly a lawyer of more than ordinary ability and attainments." He owned lands and was inter- ested in cultivating them, but continued to practice his profession and to attend the courts with regularity until within a few years of his death. He married (first), September 15, 1799, Mercy Brown, died March 8, 1802, daughter of Benjamin and Prudence (Kelly) Brown, of Chester; (sec- ond), June 30, 1805. Betsey Van Mater Flagg, born February 12, 1778, died April 23, 1812: and (third), November 6, 1812, he married the sister of his late wife Sarah Wingate (Flagg) Bell, widow of Jona- than Bell, born May 31, 1782, died December 18, 1878, aged ninety-six. By these marriages he had eleven children. By the first wife there was one child, Benjamin B .; by the second four children : Arthur Livermore, Ann Caroline, Catherine J. and Sarah; and by the third wife, six: Henry F., Har- riette Van Mater, Elizabeth Jane, Edmund Flagg, Arianna and Helen Augusta.

(VIII) Henry Flagg. eldest child of Daniel and Sarah W. (Flagg) French, born in Chester, New Hampshire, August 14, 1813, died in Concord, Massachusetts, November 29, 1885, was educated at the Pinkerton Academy, at Derry, and at Pembroke, and at Hingham, Massachusetts. where he went to study French. He studied law in his father's office in Chester, and at the Harvard Law School, and

was admitted to the bar August 14, 1834. He practiced law with his father till the death of the latter, 1840, was at Portsmouth one year, then removed to Exeter, and held the office of county solicitor ten years from 1838; and that of bank com- missioner four years from 1848; and practiced law in Exeter until appointed a justice of the court of common pleas, August 15, 1855, which office he held till August 1, 1859. He opened an office in Boston, September, 1859, and removed his family to Cambridge in 1860; was appointed assistant dis- trict attorney for Suffolk county, November 19, 1862, and held that office (at the same time practic- ing law) until June, 1865, when he was elected the first president if the Massachusetts Agricultural Col- lege. He removed to Amherst, where the college was established, September, 1865, having resigned his office in Boston. Being unable to organize the college according to his ideas of what such an insti- tution should be, he resigned his position there October 17, 1866, and resumed the profession of law in Boston in the spring of 1867, where he practiced until 1876, when he was appointed second assistant secretary of the United States treasury, at Washing- ton, which office he held till 1885, when he returned with impaired health to Concord, Massachusetts, where he remained till his decease, the following November. Charles H. Bell, in "The Bench and Bar of New Hampshire," says: "Judge French was a man of ability and sense, of great readiness, and superior professional attainments. His knowledge was always at his tongue's end. It was said of him that his opinion given at sight was as much to be relied upon as if he had taken days for consideration. He was prompt in all his business methods. While he occupied the bench he never left questions over to be decided in vacation, but had every transfer drawn out, submitted to counsel, and settled, be- fore the term ended. His sense of humor was keen, and he uttered many a bright saying to enliven the tedium of long trials. He never lost his balance whatever happened. One one occasion, in a hear- ing before a jury, his opponent introduced a crush- ing piece of evidence. With perfect presence of mind Judge French turned to his associate counsel and in a whisper inquired, 'Had we better be sir- prised ?' "

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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 72

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