History of Carroll County, New Hampshire, Part 75

Author: Merrill, Georgia Drew
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Boston : W.A. Fergusson & Co.
Number of Pages: 1124

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LEIGHTON'S CORNERS takes its name from the pioneer settler, Ephraim

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Leighton, who came from Rochester in 1791 and made his settlement on Leighton hill, on the place now occupied by Albert W. Leighton. He came with oxen (through a wilderness for the last two miles) from Wakefield, and his axe was the first to attempt the clearing of the immense hard-wood growth that prevailed here. He reared a family of hardy children : Susan (married first a Drake; second, Rev. Joshua Roberts) ; Abigail (married a Beaman and ultimately settled in Canada) ; Mehitable (married first a Drew, second a Sanborn) ; Nancy (married a Killham) ; Olive; Sally (married Oliver Scates). Jacob, his only son, was born in 1787 and died in 1875. He, when of age, began clearing the farm where his long life was mostly passed, and it is now occupied by his grandson, Charles B. Leighton. He made the first clearing between Ossipee and Newfield on the present road between those places. The massive red oaks he cut down and burned would be of greater value to-day than the cleared land he brought into cultivation. He was a prominent man in town and section and much in public affairs. He held a justice's commission for years, combined merchandising with farming for a time, and was a successful business man. He secured the establishment of Leighton's Corners postoffice, and was one of the pillars of the Freewill Baptist church. He married Sarah Wentworth, of Dover, and had a family of eleven children, of whom six attained mature age: Ephraim, Charles, Elizabeth (married Israel L. Sanders), Jacob, Leonard, and Elvira (married Benjamin B. Smith, and later three other husbands). Of these Ephraim had nine children, three of the boys serving in the Union army of the Rebellion. Charles, born August, 1815, died April 1, 1857, married Sally Wentworth and lived on the farm of his grandfather. Their children were Elizabeth (Mrs I. L. Sanders), Jacob (a surgeon in the One Hundred and Sixty-eighth New York Volunteers), Leonard (a surgeon in the Civil War, now practises medicine at Shapleigh, Maine), and Charles, who had four children, Olive .J., Albert W., George H., Charles B. He was a lifelong Whig and Republican, and a Freewill Baptist. His widow married Benjamin R. Lyons. Albert W. Leighton is now a farmer on the old homestead and an active and valuable citizen ; from 1860 to 1875 he was in business in Boston, New York, and Pittsburgh, and served in the Forty-fourth Regiment Massachusetts Volun- teers. George H. is a successful shoe manufacturer in Haverhill, Mass. Charles B. is a farmer on his father's homestead.

The first schoolhouse in this part of the town was built about 1800 in the " old swamp."

Marston Ames came from Parsonsfield, Maine, settled on what is known as Fogg's Ridge in November, 1828, and lived on the same farm until his death in June, 1887. He had six children that attained maturity : Mary, Samuel and William (twins), Martin L., John C., and David M. Martin L. served in the Civil War; he enlisted in the Thirty-second Regiment Massachusetts

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Volunteers, September, 1861, and died in Andersonville prison September 8, 1864. John C. Ames, Ossipee's present representative, resides on the old homestead. Mr Ames has been much in town affairs for the past ten or fifteen years, having been representative and selectman for several terms. His politics are of the Jeffersonian type.

The Hamm brothers, A. J. and W. B., are sons of Hiram Hamm, who came from Wolfeborough about thirty years ago. Mr Hamm died in March, 1887. A. J. Hamm is connected with a Philadelphia publishing house.

John T. Hurn came from Boston to Ossipee eighteen years ago. He is a native of Freedom, and resides on the farm formerly owned by Jonathan Wentworth, one mile from Leighton's Corners. He is a Democrat.

The Beacham family is of English origin, having for its first American ancestor Richard Beacham, of London, who was impressed on board a British man-of-war in the latter part of the last century. When nearing the American coast, Richard, a good swimmer, quietly tied up his little bundle of clothes, and, taking a Bible his sister had given him, dropped overboard, swam to the shore, and landed near Portsmouth. When Ossipee was needing settlers, Richard Beacham availed himself of the offer of the proprietors to give a lot of one hundred acres to a permanent settler, and with his wife, whose maiden name was Wadleigh, located here, and cleared up a valuable farm. His chil- dren were : Richard, Hannah (married Benjamin Gilman, of Brookfield), and Mary (Mrs Joseph Peery). Mr Peery was killed by a falling tree. Richard married a Pitman. Their children were: Asa, Richard, Moses, Simon, John C., Sally, Betsey (Mrs James Canney), Hannah (married Theodore Thompson, of Tuftonborough), Sabrina (married Washington Thompson), and Joanna (mar- ried Hiram Thompson). The homestead farm was divided between Richard and Moses. John E. Beacham, proprietor of the Pine River House in 1888, is son of Simon. John H. Beacham, insurance agent, of Wolfeborough, is son of John Coleman Beacham.

Asa Beacham, one of Ossipee's most esteemed citizens, is son of Richard and Hannah Beacham, and was born in Ossipee, September 19, 1809. He was the oldest son of an active farmer and stockraiser, and was brought up as a working farmer with all the labor the name implied in that day. When he was twenty-one, his father sold him fifty acres of new land (where George Beacham now lives) and helped him ercet a small house. Into this house he moved his young wife before it had doors or windows. To obtain the latter he bought a box of glass on credit, and worked out at two shillings a day to get the money to pay for it. It will be seen that his was not an easy lot in life. Soon after this he commenced buying lambs for market, and developed an extensive busi- ness in cattle and stock, which he pursued for eighteen years with success. For many years he wielded the strongest influence of any man in town, and with iron will, strong tenacity of purpose, and great brain power rarely failed

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in the accomplishment of his purposes. During fifty years he held the town's most responsible positions, and always did the best of service. A plain, direct man, without ostentation, careless of personal appearance, his rugged honesty, great ability, and financial skill gave him recognition and position. When the town had need of a particularly able man, Asa Beacham was called for. As selectman for many years, representative at varied periods, and in various other official positions, his townsmen have honored his merits, and he has always done well for the town. To him is due the existence of the county-seat at Ossipee, as related elsewhere. Originally a Democrat, he went with John P. Hale into the Freesoil party, and was one of its strongest forces in this section. He was steadily anti-slavery, became a Republican, and was town agent in filling quotas, and one of the representatives in the war period. He is now living at the advanced age of eighty-eight, with vigorous memory and a wondrous vitality. His reminiscences and intimate knowledge of the past and present have enabled us to preserve much that otherwise would have been lost. By his first wife, Aphia Canney, he had three children : George, Eunice C. (Mrs Elisha P. Allen), and Annie A. Mr Beacham married his present wife, Abigail Ann Caroline Quarles, March 23, 1845.

Jacob Brown, one of the first settlers of Ossipee, was a native of Wenham, Mass. John Brown, son of Jacob, was born July 7, 1785, and married Sally S. Goodwin, of Milton, about 1806; his family consisted of eight sons and two daughters ; he died April 8, 1838. He was a farmer and proprietor of one of the first hotels in the town. Jacob F. Brown, son of John and Sally S. Brown, born October 19, 1821, married Betsey Emeline Willey, of Wakefield, Decem- ber 25, 1844; his family consisted of four children : Eugene F., Dana J. (deceased), Herbert H., and Ida (Mrs L. M. Chadwick). In early life Mr Brown was a carpenter; in 1854 he engaged in mercantile pursuits, in which he continued until 1880 ; 'in politics he is a Democrat, and was a member of the legislature in 1872-73. He held the office of selectman for several years. Captain John Brown, son of John and Sally S. Brown, was born September 19, 1811 ; married Lydia Quint, of Ossipee ; his family consisted of two sons and one daughter; he served in the Florida war ; afterwards was engaged in mer- cantile pursuits, and was a member of the legislature several years. At the commencement of the Rebellion he recruited a company for the Seventh New Hampshire Regiment ; he was afterwards promoted to captain, in which office he was serving at the time he received wounds from the effects of which he died, June 25, 1864, at Washington. Jeremiah Quincy Brown, brother of Jacob F. Brown, enlisted in the Twelfth Regiment of New Hampshire Volun- teers, Company A, in the summer of 1862. He served in this regiment but two or three months before his health failed, and he was obliged to go into hospital. Later he was transferred to the Invalid Reserve Corps, in which he remained till the close of the war. When honorably discharged he returned as

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far as Chicopee, Mass., where he died. Dana Jacob Brown, son of Jacob F. and Betsey E. Brown, was born in Ossipee, June 8, 1859. He was educated at the schools at Ossipee Corner; was graduated from Bryant & Stratton's Business College at Manchester in 1877. He commenced keeping a general store at Ossipee in 1880, and has been in trade since that time. He married in 1879 Nellie, daughter of Elisha P. and Eunice (Beacham) Allen, and has a son, Fred H. Brown. In politics a Democrat, he has served as clerk of Ossipee from 1881 to 1887. He was elected registrar of probate to serve two years from July 1, 1887, and reelected to serve two years from July 1, 1889. He is a young man of character, and an efficient and popular official.

John and Robert Sanders moved to Ossipee from Epsom in 1813. The farms now occupied by their descendants, and the two adjoining, were originally cleared by Samuel Tasker, of New Durham. John Sanders, a soldier of the War of 1812, married Betsey Buzzell, niece of Elder Benjamin Randall, and bought the farm now occupied by his son Israel L. in 1821. His son John B. was a captain in the Sixth New Hampshire in the Civil War. Robert Sanders married Comfort Philbrook. His farm is now occupied by his son Daniel. Deacon William Sanders came from Strafford to Ossipee in 1822. His farm has been divided. Part is occupied by his sons Obed and Robert. The house he built is now occupied by Arthur Young.

Isaac Demeritt bought fifty acres of woodland in 1795 from Samuel Tasker, paying him therefor one hundred forty-eight Spanish milled dollars. He then cleared the land for his home farm. It was the second farm settled in the neighborhood, the first being the "Tucker " farm, now owned by Mrs H. T. Brintnall. Isaac was succeeded in possession by his son Isaac. Of his nine children five are now living. One of them, Calvin S. Demeritt, now owns the farm which has been " in the family " for ninety-four years, and is a merchant at the Pocket. He was postmaster of Granite postoffice, now discontinued. He has recently opened a stock of goods for sale at Ossipee.

Daniel Smith, from Brentwood, was an early settler. He died January 11, 1864, aged eighty-nine years, five months. He located, in 1794, on the interval at the mouth of Lovewell's river on the land where was the fort made by the Ossipees in very carly times as a defence against the Mohawks, and later the rude fort erected by Captain Lovewell in 1725. The burial mound of the Pequawket tribe was on his land, and at the time of his occupancy was twenty- five feet in height. In 1802 Mr Smith was taxed on one hundred acres of land and quite a stock of cattle. He was one of the founders of the Congregational church, a deacon, and one of its pillars for years. The Smith family became prominent in civil and religious affairs, and were leaders. John lived on the old family home, was well educated, a surveyor, and justice of the peace. Henry was a Congregationalist elergyman, ordained at Centre Ossipee, and

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preached in Industry and Bingham, Maine. Levi lived at Centre Ossipee, owned a mill, and died on a visit to his daughter at Great Falls. Samuel H. lived at Centre Ossipee, later in Maine and Wakefield. "John Smith, son of Deacon Daniel, lived a mile north of Centre Ossipce. He was a man of great kindness of heart, liberal to a fault, and gave employment to many. He was selectman, representative, and, as one of the old citizens recalls hin, ' was one of the fathers of the town.' His son, Daniel, is a generous contributor to missionary work. His daughter married Dr S. W. Roberts, of Wakefield. Mr Smith died May 5, 1864, aged sixty-seven. His epitaph tells his character. ' The Christian who let in sunlight on the poor man's door.'"

Ebenezer Hodsdon, son of Elder Thomas Hodsdon, of Berwick, Maine, married his cousin Sally, daughter of Lieutenant Timothy and Amy (Hodsdon) Wentworth, and moved to Ossipee soon after his marriage in 1797. Of their ten children, Betsey married, first, Rev. Henry Smith, second, Rev. Sydney Turner, of Bingham, Maine ; Olive H. married Deacon Jonathan Ambrose, who died in 1863, surviving her nine years; Thomas ; Sally married, first, Andrew Folsom, second, John Burley, of Sandwich ; Belinda married Hollis Burleigh, of Ossipee ; Amy W. married Calvin Sanborn, of Wakefield; her son, Henry S., was a soldier in the Thirteenth Massachusetts Volunteers, and was killed at Manassas August 3, 1862; another son, Asa F., was in the Third New Hampshire Volunteers, and died November 27, 1861, at Hilton Head, S. C .; Ebenezer, born March 8, 1811, married, March 16, 1834, Catherine, daughter of Lieutenant George and Sarah (Giles) Tuttle, of Effingham. They had three children : John W., a soldier in the Thirteenth New Hampshire Volunteers in the late war; Edward P. (married Emma B., daughter of Mark Demeritt, of Effingham, was railroad commissioner of New Hampshire for three years, and, later, mayor of Dover for two years, and is now of St. Louis) ; Sarah E. (married Alphonzo A. Spear, now a merchant in Ossipee). Mr Ebenezer Hodsdon is seventy-eight years of age, and well preserved.

The Manson family is represented in the county by Jacob Manson. His grandfather, George Manson, was a pioneer settler of Limington, Maine. His father, Deacon John Manson, moved to Effingham as early as the first of the century, and was a drover. During the War of 1812 cattle brought high prices; when peace was declared Mr Manson was at Brighton with a large drove, but the fall in prices was so great that he lost largely ; this, in con- nection with other misfortunes, deprived him of most of his property. About 1814 he moved to Eaton and located on what became Manson's Hill. He was a Freewill Baptist, an agreeable social man, and had an extensive acquaintance. He was married twice and had a family of eleven children, of whom Jacob is the only resident in Carroll county. Jacob Manson was born in Eaton, February 11, 1828, and lived there until 1839. He was a drover, a farmer, and trader,

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and quite conversant in the municipal affairs of the town; collector of taxes for two years, selectman two years, representative two years. In 1863 he formed a partnership with Robert Fulton, with firm-name Fulton & Manson, and engaged in woolen manufacture ; the mill was located at Effingham Falls, and thither he removed. He also carried on merchandising here for eleven years ; he was selectman two years, representative two years, and county treasurer in 1870 and 1871. In 1874 he came to Ossipee and took charge of the county farm, remaining three years, removed to Freedom for a time, then returned to Ossipee, and in 1884 was made superintendent of county farm.

Simeon Moulton, of Hampton, married, first, Sally Parsons, of Parsonsfield, Maine, and settled in Newfield, Maine. Their two sons, Mark and John, settled in Ossipee, as narrated elsewhere. By a second wife Simeon had seven children : Simeon, Samuel, Lyrena, William, Charles, Joseph, and Francis. William Moulton settled on the hill at Centre Ossipee near the church, and married Sally, daughter of Deacon Daniel Smith. They had Jabez S., Mary C. (married Deacon E. W. Ambrose), Luther, Daniel S., Rhoda M., William H., and Alvin A. This family of Moultons represents the Ossipee Moultons nearly in full, and descendants are scattered in many other localities.

Mark Moulton and his wife, Sophia (Tibbetts) Moulton, natives of New- field, Maine, came to Ossipee in the early part of the century and settled in Moultonville. For several years Mr Moulton conducted the "Dan Hole " mill ; subsequently he removed to the Corner, located on the beautiful spot where his grandson, Ausbry C., now resides, and carried on the business of an undertaker. He died June 6, 1854, aged sixty-two years ; his wife

died March 7, 1879, aged eighty-nine years. Of their children Lewman G. remained on the homestead, continued the business of his father, and also attended to trading in other ways, and built the fine residence where he died October 11, 1888, at the age of seventy-two years. He married Mary, daugh- ter of Jeremiah Marston, of West Ossipee ; of their children only Mary E. (Mrs Charles Ayers, of Wolfeborough) and Ausbry C. are living. Mr Moul- ton was a Democrat in politics and represented the town in the legislature in 1865 and 1866; a charter member of Ossipee Valley masonic lodge, he did honor to masonic tenets. Ausbry C. Moulton married Minnie Parsons, of Freedom ; they have one child, Lisle O.

John Canney lived in the west part of the town early. He had two sons, John (killed in the War of 1812) and Burritt. Theodore Thompson lived a neighbor, and as a result of this propinquity Burritt Canney married a daughter of Mr Thompson, and Samuel, son of Theodore, married one of Mr Canney's daughters. This Samuel located at the Garland Mills and became their owner. Ilis son, Samuel J., succeeded him in possession and occupancy, and has been the proprietor of the mills for thirty-four years.

Benaiah Dore, a large, stout, athletic man, lived early about half a mile from the Chick meeting-house.

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Ezekiel Dore came from Wakefield, and was connected with Elder Mayhew Clark in family relationship. Clark came about 1820 and Mr Dore about 1824. He had an interest in Clark's mill at Moultonville and later built a shingle-mill on the stream on the place where he settled, called Dore's Corners. Here he passed the rest of his life, and his sons, Hermon R. and Jacob C., are now in occupancy. Hon. John C. Dore, of Chicago, Ill., has attained honors in his adopted city, and yet holds high regard for the beautiful home of his childhood under the shadow of the Ossipee hills. Satchel C. is also a resident of Chicago.

Nathaniel Hobbs came from Hampton at the close of the Revolution, in which he lost his property, and settled in Effingham, where Hobbs' mills perpetuated his name. He married a Leavitt, and had children: Benjamin, Nathaniel, Jonathan, Joseph, and Reuben. Benjamin settled in Tamworth. near Chocorua lake, and dropped dead about 1835, at an advanced age, at Bear Camp, while sitting in his wagon. Joseph married Dorothy Cooley and settled in Ossipee Valley on four hundred acres of land on which Bear Camp railroad station is located. He was a farmer and lumberman, and represented Ossipee in the legislature in 1832 and 1833. He went into the eastern lands' speculation, endorsed heavily for others and lost his property. He had several children : Samuel, Lavina, Dorothy, Joseph T., Larkin D., Anna, Oliver F., Wentworth H., and Ezra T. Samuel was a farmer and lived half a mile west of Bear Camp station. He had eleven children, of whom only remain Joseph W., of Tamworth, and Christopher C., on the homestead. Lavina married Joseph Doe, of Tamworth. They lived on the Captain Smart farm in West Ossipee. Dorothy married Mark F. Jewell. of Sandwich, and lived at Birch intervale. (E. P. Jewell, of Laconia, and Jefferson H. are her sons.) Joseph T. was a millman. He married Nancy Pinner, whose father built and owned Pinner's mills. His son, Joseph Pinner, and Mr Hobbs inherited the mill prop- erty. Joseph Pinner died soon after, and after conducting them alone for a long time he sold them to Adam Brown, whose heirs now own the place. Both saw and grist mill have gone to decay. Larkin D. was a farmer in West Ossi- pee, married Dorothy C., daughter of John Hobbs (son of Benjamin), and has two sons now living : Warren J., a prominent clergyman of the Second Advent faith in Minnesota, and Wentworth B. Anna married Benjamin F. Fellows, of Tamworth, and lives in New York. Oliver F. lives at Bear Camp station, is a farmer and lumberman, married Deborah Jenness, and has four children : Frank K., Orodon P., Elizabeth (Mrs Edward Hersey), and Lucinda (Mrs Jeremiah Conner). Frank K. Hobbs has been a prominent man of the town. He has been a farmer and merchant, commencing trade as a member of the firm of F. K. & W. H. Hobbs in 1859, and conducting it alone since 1861. He was a member of the lumbering firm of O. F. & F. K. Hobbs for several years, was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, and orderly sergeant of his company,

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and has held various town offices, selectman, representative, etc. He married Sarah Atwood and has two children. Wentworth H. Hobbs lived at Ossipee Valley as a farmer and merchant until 1874, when he moved to West Ossipee, where he built the store he now occupies. He was postmaster at West Ossipee under Cleveland's administration, has been selectman many years, and repre- sentative. He married a daughter of Daniel Hall. They have three children : Ora A. (Mrs Ernest Hall), Frank O., and Charles E. Ezra T. Hobbs lived at West Ossipee on place now occupied by George O. White. Frank P. Hobbs, of Wolfeborough, is his oldest child. Reuben Hobbs was a farmer, first at West Ossipee, later at Ossipee, where he died about 1876. He has descendants in Tamworth and Conway.

Edward Knox, son of John and grandson of Jonathan Knox, of Berwick, Maine, was the first of the family in Carroll county. He was born April 25, 1780, and settled in 1808 in West Ossipee, on the farm now occupied by his youngest son, Joseph, and lived there until his death in 1852. In early life he was a seaman for fourteen years and was twice shipwrecked and given up as dead. He was a sturdy, thick-set man of dark complexion, a Freewill Baptist in religion, and an intimate friend of Captain Winthrop Smart, his neighbor, in whose militia company he appears to have been ensign. . He had six sons and five daughters : Alvah, Daniel, Edward, Ephraim, Charles O .. Joseph, Maria, Elizabeth J., Sarah, Almira, and Mary. Edward Knox, son of Ensign Edward, farmer, has children living: Orrin and Monroe, spool manufacturers of Conway ; Albert, farmer in Albany ; and Hiram, of Conway. Ephraim, son of Ensign Edward, has been a lumberman, and resides in West Ossipee. Among his children are Charles E., a carpenter ; Alvah W., a section man on Boston & Maine railroad ; Herbert E., an apiarist ; Manville E., baggagemaster at West Ossipee station, Boston & Maine railroad (all of West Ossipee), and William O., shoemaker, Wolfeborough. Charles O., son of Ensign Edward, farmer, has one son, Lewis N., a section foreman, Boston & Maine railroad, residing in Madison. Joseph, son of Ensign Edward, lives on the old homestead. He is a farmer, and served as a soldier two years in the Civil War.

Robert Lord was an early settler in the Bear Camp valley. He had one son, Robert, and daughters, one of whom married a Mason of Tamworth.

William Nutter settled next to Reuben Hobbs, and is living, aged eighty- seven, on the same farm where he located.

Timothy White settled at West Ossipee early. His son, Josiah G., and a daughter, Mrs Lucinda Tibbetts, are his surviving children. Miss Irma White, a teacher, is a daughter of Josiah.

Rook Stillings came from Sanford, Maine, to Ossipee about 1810, and settled on two hundred acres of land where is now the county farm. He had five children, four of whom made homes here. He was a good type of the industrious, hard-working pioneer. At his death, about 1820, his home farm

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was divided between Richard and Isaac G., Richard taking the homestead, and Isaae erecting a set of buildings near the others. Richard was of Congrega- tional affiliations. He died in 1845. Isaac G., born in 1799, died in 1860, was a Christian Baptist. His wife was Mary G., daughter of Ichabod Colby. They had a large family, of whom Rev. Alonzo Stillings, now in trade at Ossipee, was one. He is also a preacher of the Second Advent church. He has been in merchandising here for nearly thirty years, and is a good citizen. He mar- ried Mary J. Hyde, daughter of William and Joanna (Mason) Hyde. Her paternal grandfather, Samuel Hyde, was one of the early settlers on Brown's Ridge, and the first to build a camp there. He had nine sons and one daughter. About 1820 he removed to Tamworth, and located on the bank of Bear Camp river two or three miles distant from Tamworth village, where he resided until his death. Two of his sons, Levi and Samuel, remained on the ridge engaged in farming, but eventually settled in Ossipee in the east part, as neighbors. William, the youngest, also a farmer, came from Tamworth to Ossipee, and located near the others. His two surviving children are Alonzo Hyde and Mrs Stillings. Mrs Stillings is an industrious helpmeet to her husband.

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History of Carroll County, New Hampshire, Part 75

Author: Merrill, Georgia Drew Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Boston : W.A. Fergusson & Co. Number of Pages: 1124

Author: Merrill, Georgia Drew
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Boston : W.A. Fergusson & Co.
Number of Pages: 1124