History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 115

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1200

USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 115
USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 115

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Thus fitted, Dr. Tolles commenced the practice of his profession in Reading, Vt., September, 1831, and, until March, 1841, was in continuous medical work. His field of labor was too far removed from any physician able to render him much aid in an emergency, or with whom he could advise ; consequently, he was obliged to depend upon him- self, and seek counsel of the learned and wise authors, many of whose publications were in his library. Thus being forced to self-reliance at this epoch of his medical career was the best school for him, as it developed his latent powers and was the key to his success. He studied, thought and practiced much in these ten years, and it was a valuable experience, and aided him in preparing for the wider and more important field he was destined to occupy as a physician and surgeon. In October, 1841, after six months of rest and recrea- ation, Dr. Tolles went to New York in order to prosecute his studies in the public institutions there. He witnessed hospital practice, and attended lectures in the University Medical College. In March, 1842, he located in Claremont, and was soon in possession of a large and lucrative practice, which he retained for nearly forty years. His reputation as a surgeon was quickly established, and he performed most of the surgical operations in this vicinity, and was often called as counselor with his brethren in the more important eases, both surgical and medical, coming under their care. A large number of young men pursued their medical studies under his direction, and their success reflected credit on their teacher.

In his profession Dr. Tolles possessed all the traits and qualifications essential to its successful pursuit. Well grounded in its study, and keep- ing himself informed of the latest methods of diagnosis and treatment, he also possessed and retained those intuitive perceptions of disease

without which, however well read, no physician can become a brilliant practitioner, and which formulated rules and the fashionable methods of modern professional education are doing so much to obliterate. With keen powers of observation and generalization, as the pilot foretells the weather from signs which his own experience has detected, but which he cannot describe, he skillfully read the character of a case under treatment, and often irrespective of the laws, which must neces- sarily be fallible as long as the medica scientia remains doubtful and imperfect. As it had been one of the great aims of his life to conquer disease, he strove to be definite in his observations, and diligent in the use of his leisure moments, and as a surgeon as well as physician he attained recog- nized eminence. Cool, bold, self-reliant, and strong in nerve, he only needed a wider field of action to win the highest honors in this department of his profession. He died with his armor on, only ceasing his labors a short time before his death, which occurred on the 24th of June 1879, in the seventy-fourth year of his ago.

The high regard in which Dr. Tolles was held by his medical brethren will be best given by an extract from the resolutions adopted by the phy - sicians of Claremont, June 26, 1879 :

"Resolved, That in the professional life, labors and character of Dr. Tolles, which extended over a full half a century, we have a commendable example of industry, of zeal, of usefulness and professional honor not often combined in a single life."

Dr. Tolles was never a political or official aspi- rant, and yet he served in other capacities than professional, as his marked abilities and services were demanded by his fellow-citizens in represen- tative places of trust and financial responsibility, but he never suffered any official duties to inter- fere with his life-work. He was chosen Presiden- tial elector at the first nomination of President Lincoln (1860), and was a member of the Con- vention in 1876 to revise the Constitution of New Hamphire. He was elected a member of the first Board of County Commissioners (1858), and served one year as its chairman. He was one of the pro-

Leland J Graves M.D.

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jectors and committee of the Stevens High School building, was four years on its board of manage- ment, and one of the three trustees of the Stevens fund; he was one of the directors of the old Claremont Bank, and was chosen a director of the National Bank in 1864, and re-elected annually until his death ; he also held an official position in the Sullivan Savings-Bank from its foundation. In all these business and political relations he bore a character of fidelity and integrity, and ever retained the confidence and esteem of his fellow- townsmen. When a young man, he became a member of the Masonic fraternity, and ever after evinced the strictest fidelity to its obligations, and a very high regard for the order. His religious views were Scriptural, and though not associated with any body of Christian believers, he was a worshipper at the Protestant Episcopal Church, and a generous supporter of the institutions of religion.

Dr. Tolles married, first, Frances J. Upham, of Weathersfield, Vt ; second, Jane Weston, daughter of Ezekiel Weston, Esq., of Rockingham, Vt., who survives him. She was a worthy companion, friend, counselor and assistant to her husband, and her many estimable qualities and Christian char- acter have endeared her to the community. Their two surviving children are Dr. C. W. Tolles (see notice elsewhere) and Frances J. Tolles.

LELAND J. GRAVES, M.D.

"The old school country doctors are rapidly passing away, and it is well that memories of their hardships, their toils and their efforts to give us and ours health, should cluster about them, as ivy gently shields the venerable abbeys of our mother- country, and that the autumn of their lives should be a golden Indian summer, and that a niche should be kept for them in the history of the county and State where their laborious lives have been passed."

Leland J. Graves, M.D., son of David J. and Mary (Leland) Graves, was born in Berkshire, Franklin County, Vt., May 24, 1812. His

father was a native of Massachusetts, and settled in Berkshire as a farmer. His lot in life was hum- ble, his family was large, consisting of nine chil- dren, and living in a section distant from business and educational centres, the opportunities for the advancement of the children were necessarily lim- ited. They were all obliged to labor, and, until he was nearly seventeen years old, Leland partici- pated in the farm-work with no school privileges. This, however, instead of quenching his desire for an education, only made him long all the more ar- dently for the means of acquiring such knowledge as would lift him above the daily struggle for bread. In April, 1829, he let himself to his uncle, Cyrus Boynton, of Weathersfield, a farmer, with the stipulation that he should have three months' schooling per year. This life of hard labor, accom - panied by the utmost economy, was carried on, for four years, his father receiving all wages beyond what Leland needed for clothes. On attaining his majority, his first thought was school, and having made a good use of his scanty advantages, he was able to teach, which he did for nine successive winters, working at farming in the summer, and during the intervals attending academies at Ches- ter, Cavendish and Ludlow, and was fitted for col- lege at Ludlow. But this brave youth who had so manfully fought against poverty and hindrances, and was now just at the time when his hopes seemed about to be fulfilled, was doomed to a more bitter trial. His untiring labor and unceasing exertions, both in his school and on the farm, proved too much for his health, and a long disease held him prisoner during the four years " he had proposed to pass in college." On his recovery, having had am- ple time for counsel and deliberation, he decided to become a physician. He entered the office of Dr. Lowell, remaining with him for a year, and at- tending medical lectures at Woodstock, Vt. He then, in order for the more speedy advancement of his studies, became a private student under the charge of the eminent Drs. Crosby, Peaslee and Hubbard, and was graduated from the Medical De- partment of Dartmouth College, May 10, 1842.

Dr. Graves, at once, May 24, 1842, located for

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HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

the practice of his profession at Langdon, N. H., and commenced the arduous duties of a physician. But his labors were not confined to the little town of Langdon ; his services were in demand, as his skill became known, through a large extent of country, and he had an extensive practice in Langdon. Al- stead, Acworth, Walpole, Charlestown and else- where. His life was oft-times hard and dreary, toiling through summer's heat and winter's cold, with long, cheerless rides upon rough roads, over high hills, going without his needed rest in order to relieve the sufferer. The life of the true physician must necessarily be a self-sacrificing one, and he who justly claims this honored name must be en- titled to the esteem and appreciation of the com- munity, and for more than a quarter of a century Dr. Graves spent his time and strength in minis- tering to those in need of his skillful care and knowl- edge. He began life at the right end of the ladder, and had a good deal of capital in the shape of courage, faith and energy. He was honest, patient and manly, and was prospered, and also won the respect, friendship and love of the people among whom he had made his home, and after over a quarter of a century devoted to the welfare of the community, he concluded to take a rest from such incessant work, and in 1868 came to Claremont and purchased the home where he has since resided. It was his intention to retire from general practice, but he has attended the calls of some of his old families.

Dr. Graves married, May 24, 1843, Caroline E., daughter of Reuben and Elizabeth (McEwen) Strow. Their children are Mary E. (now Princi- pal of the Acadia Female Seminary, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, a position for which she was unusually well qualified, and which she has held for six years) ; Hattie M. (Mrs. James M. Coburn, of Kansas City, Mo .; their two surviving children are Mary A. and Grace E.) and Agnes J. (who married Pascal P. Coburn, senior partner of Coburn & Dean, merchants of Claremont ; they have one child, Elizabeth A.)

Mrs. Graves was a woman of superior mental endowments, and previous to her marriage was a | achieved distinction.

successful teacher in the Unity "Scientific and Military School," where she gave great satisfaction. She was a highly conscientious and religious work- er, and had many of the Christian virtues which so round and complete character, and was universally esteemed, and when she died (August 29, 1885) a large circle mourned her loss.

Dr. Graves is a member of the Connecticut River Medical Association and New Hampshire Medi- cal Association. Whig and Republican in politics, he represented Langdon in 1867 and 1868 in the State Legislature. He was not only a physician. As a laborer in scientific fields, Dr. Graves is known full well. He has pursued the study of geology and of botany with zeal. His botanical researches have been conducted from the forests of Maine to the Rocky Mountains, and few have been more conver- sant with the practical details or the scientific analysis of plants. He has made a large geological collection, which has taken years to gather. His eldest daughter inherits this taste, and has a col- lection of rocks, minerals, etc., systematically ar- ranged and labeled, which has been valued at sev- eral thousand dollars.

Dr. Graves has impressed himself in numerous ways upon the community. He was a leading man in Langdon ; always took a prominent part in its public enterprises ; particularly promoted the cause of education, and was superintendent of schools for fourteen years. In religious belief he is a Baptist, and a valuable and consistent member of that church, in Springfield, for fifty years, but is now connected with the Claremont Church.

Dr. Graves stands well among his professional brethren, has honored his social and official rela- tions, and enjoys the esteem of his many friends and acquaintances, and now, at the age of three- score years and ten, can enjoy the competency he has acquired.

JOSIAH RICHARDS, M.D.

The name Richards is of Welsh nationality, and in Europe it has long been illustrious, and the American family has produced many who have Edward (1) was the

Josiah Richards

Leonard &Fishes

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CLAREMONT.

founder of the branch now resident in Claremont. He was one of the proprietors of Dedham, Mass., in 1636-37, a man of importance and estate, and "lived a blameless life." He bequeathed the greater part of his estates to his second son, Nathaniel (2). His son Edward (3) inherited the homestead in Dedham, bore the title of lieutenant, and was a leading member of the church. Josiah (4), his second son, born in 1713, married Hannah Whiting. They had fourteen children,-eight sons and six daughters; four of the sons were soldiers in the Revolutionary War. Josiah (5) was in the battles of Bunker Hill and Monmouth, and served faithfully; was promoted and received a pension. He married, 1778, Sarah Shuttle- worth, of Dedham ; settled in Washington, N. H .; afterwards returned to Dedham, where he died, aged eighty-four years.

Josiah Richards, M.D., son of Josiah and Sarah (Shuttleworth) Richards, was born at Washington, N. H., May 30, 1784; married, December 17, 1816, Emily Haskell, of Weathersfield, Vt., and had two children,-Marion and Helen (Mrs. Sullivan W. Healy). Dr. Richards died at Claremont January 29, 1871, in his eighty-seventh year. Mrs. Richards died November 17, 1882, aged eighty-seven years and three months.

Dr. Richards was endowed with an active mind, of much more than ordinary strength and vigorous bodily powers, and, cognizant that his future standing in the busy world was dependent upon his own exertions, at the age of ten years he left New Hampshire for Massachusetts, where he made his home among his relatives, and availed himself of every opportunity to acquire an educa- tion. During his residence there he was especially favored with the acquaintance of a physician (Dr. Ames) of Dedham, who took a great interest in him, encouraged him in his studies, and to him he was probably indebted for the thought of making the profession of medicine his life-work. He had a natural taste for music, was a fine singer, and, by his aptness in teaching, was able to acquire the means for the thorough academic education which he received at Atkinson Academy. His medical studies were conducted under the charge of and with Dr. Cogswell, of Atkinson, and he acquitted himself with honor to his teacher and himself. Young, ardent and fond of his profession, he became known, and soon obtained a situation under the United States government, in the land and naval hospital at Portsmouth. After faithful labor for a while, he was appointed assistant-

surgeon in the naval service at Newburyport. This was during the War of 1812. The monotony of this service being hardly compatible with his active temperament, he secured a discharge, and entered the privateer service, where, on board of a daring cruiser, he found more congenial rela- tions. With two years of profitable experience, he returned to New Hampshire and attended the Medical Department at Dartmouth College, in order to complete his professional education, and was graduated in 1815. In 1816 he came to Claremont, and soon was in possession of a large and successful practice, in which he enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his patients, and, for nearly half a century, was engaged in arduous medical labors, going in and out among the citizens as the trusted family friend and skillful, energetic and successful family physician. It is worthy of note that, in a large obstetric practice of years' duration, he never lost a case. In 1823 he built the house which he occupied until his death, and where his daughters now reside.

Dr. Richards was a strong Federalist and Whig in his early years, and as strong a Re- publican during the latter part of his life, and represented Claremont three terms in the General Court. He was a member of the Episcopal Church for a long period, and a sound and logical reasoner as to his faith. When a young man he took great interest in Masonry, and gave it con- siderable attention. He possessed great mental powers, his range of reading was extensive, and he was an independent thinker. He was an active advocate of the cause of education, constant in attendance upon school meetings, and served for several years as prudential and superintending committee. In all the social relations of life, and in everything pertaining to the interests and ad- vancement of the local prosperity of the town, he was esteemed, and his influence was of value. He was a reliable citizen, a stanch friend, a kind neighbor, a devoted husband and father and a good man.

This is a brief outline of the work and exper- ience of one whose services were appreciated, whose memory is revered by all of the old inhab- itants of Claremont, and whose life marks a prosperous epoch of her existence as a town.

LEONARD P. FISHER.

The ancestors of the Fisher family have for centuries, in England, held a good position in the great middle-class of society. Its members are entitled to bear arms. The name is derived from a common occupation, and found in several lan-

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HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

guages, may have been a family name in England before the Norman Conquest. Anthony Fisher, son of Anthony Fisher, of Syleham, Suffolk County, near the borders of Norfolk, England, settled in Dedham, Mass., in 1637. He had a wife and five children. It is said of one Thomas Fisher, who died in 1638, " that he contracted to build the first meeting-house in Dedham."

Abram Fisher, a descendant of Anthony, of Dedham, a native of Natick, Mass., was born November, 1764, and emigrated to Claremont, N. H., about 1785. He came on horseback, accom- panied by his wife, Lucy Parkhurst, having lost nearly all of his property by the burning of his house in Natick. He engaged board for himself and wife, and at once set to work to make kitchen chairs. The money obtained from the sale of these was his capital to begin life here, and the sale of his only cow to pay for a frame, which he completed for a home, gave him an establishment in the town. He was a cabinet-maker by trade, and pursued that avocation for years, living in a plain, unpretending way, and brought up many apprentices. He had a small farm and a cider- mill, which ran by water-power, and at his death, February 3, 1851, left a moderate property (about nine thousand dollars). He was a very indus- trious and ingenious man, could " turn his hand " to anything, and in his ways was quiet, social and cheerful, with a happy, quaint philosophy. In politics a Democrat, he, it is said, cast the second Democratic vote in the town. A Universalist in religion, it is said he paid one sixth of the cost of erecting the first Universalist Church in Claremont.

He once told his grandson, Leonard, " When you hire a boy to plow out corn or anything else, always pay him a little more than the regular price It will cost but a few cents, and he will respect you, and remember it when he grows to be a man."

Mrs. Fisher died in 1815. They had one son, Josiah, born in 1784. Josiah was fond of me- chanics, and became a carpenter. He married, about 1805, Orena, daughter of Nathaniel and Rachel Goss. They had ten children, of whom seven are now living. By becoming responsible for the erection of a church, Josiah found his business much involved, and although an ener- getic man, he was not very stable in his plans ; so he determined to improve his condition in the far west of the Gencsee Valley, N. Y., and went to Rochester, where he was offered a piece of land, now in the heart of the city, for five hundred dol-

lars ; but he did not remain long there on account of the prevailing ague, and removed to York, Livingston County, which was ever after his per- manent home, and where he died, in September, 1854. His wife survived him some years.

Leonard P. Fisher, son of Josiah and Orena (Goss) Fisher, was born October 6, 1807, in the old-fashioned house in Claremont, N. H., now oc- cupied by him. Leonard joined his father in the wilderness of Western New York when about ten years old, and was brought up to be more familiar with work and tools than with books, and to know about dealing with logs and lumber, machinery and hard labor than with the learning of schools, of which he had but a limited acquaintance. When about twenty-two (June 2, 1829) he came to Clare- mont to make his home with his grandfather, and for over half a century has been a resident of the town, a producer, in an unpretentious way, and not a mere consumer of the results of the labor of others. He inherited his grandfather's estate, and has, in a large degree, preserved the old-time quaintness of the home-place. The old-fashioned clock, the large open fireplace, and many other features show the manner of life of those of other days. He has kept with advancing life a cheerful disposition and a kindly heart, together with a fund of tradition and stories of the early days, which he delights to recount to appreciative listeners.

Mr. Fisher married Nancy, daughter of Tisdale and Elizabeth (Fisher) Lincoln, who was born in Pittsfield, Vt., May 17, 1815. Their six children are Nancy J., married Marvin S. Blood (deceased), has three children and resides in Charlestown, Mass. ; Charles A., resides in Claremont and has one child ; George L., a commission merchant in New York City ; Arba C., in the same business in Boston ; Albert F., of Worcester, Mass .; and Ed- win C., a photographer, now residing in Hinsdale, N. H., has three children.

Mr. Fisher, like his grandfather, is a Democrat and a Universalist. He cast his first Presidential vote for Andrew Jackson. He has been greatly interested in the welfare of the Universalist Church, and has contributed liberally to its support. He is very ingenious, can do a little of many kinds of practical business, has done much in his life in lumbering, has built several houses for himself and others, and always has been a busy, active, hard- working man, who will long be cherished by his descendants, and is a good type of the keen yeomanry of New England.

HISTORY OF CORNISH.

CHAPTER I.

CORNISH lies in the northwestern part of the county and is bounded as follows: North by Plainfield, east by Croydon, south by Claremont, and west by the Connecticut River, which sepa- rates it from Vermont. The township was granted June 21, 1763, to Rev. Samuel McClintock, of Greenland, and sixty-nine others. A proprietors' meeting was held in Greenland in August follow- ing, and the first meeting of the inhabitants was held in the town March 10, 1767. In 1765 several families, who came from Sutton, Mass., settled in the town. Captain Daniel Putnam and a family by the name of Dyke had lived there, the winter previous, in a camp built for the use of men who had been cutting masts for the royal navy. At a meeting of the inhabitants, held June 2, 1778, they voted to join the State of Vermont, in accord- ance with a vote of the convention held at Leb- anon, May 2, 1778. The first meeting-house was erected by the town in 1773, and occupied by the Congregational and Episcopal societies. By an act approved December 3, 1808, the line between this town and Grantham was established ; and by an act approved June 24, 1809, some territory was severed from Croydon and annexed to this town ; December 25, 1844, the town was enlarged by the annexation of a portion of Grantham.

General Jonathan Chase was for many years a leading citizen of this town. He was muster-mas- ter for the men raised from his regiment for the Continental service, and held many important offices in the town.

Settlements commenced in 1765, and in 1767 there were thirteen families in the town. It was

named from Cornish, England, from whence the ancestors of some of the proprietors and first set- tlers came.

DOCUMENTARY HISTORY.

James Vinton's Enlistment.

" I James Vinton due Voluntairly Ecknowlege my Selef to have Inlisted as a Solgear Sarve in the State of New hampshirer the Command of Capt Sam1 Pain for the tearm of Sex munth and acknowleg my selef to bee under the Rules and Regelation of the mearlity Laws as wetness my hand this 28 day of June 1780 " JAMES VINTON

"Sª Vinton is seventeen years of age 5 feet 5 inches high Jugª to be fit for the sarvis by Jonth Chase Colo

Cornish Men at Saratoga.

" A Return of Officers and men with their Names Inrold Belonging to Colo Jonth Chases Rigt which marched from Cornish Sept. 26th 1777

" Lieut Abel Spalden Cornish

Segt Sam' Chase do

Segt Joseph Spalden do

Corp1 Steph Childs do

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History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 115

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1200

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1200