History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 3

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 3
USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 3

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).

Farnum Fish Lane commenced life without any

of the adventitions aids that are usually supposed to assist in gaining distinction. A farmer's boy, his early years, until he reached the age of six- teen, were passed on the farm assisting in the work. Then his aspirations for an education could no longer be restrained, and, leaving home, he engaged as a farm laborer and com- menced working and saving for that object. After attending various academies, principally at New Ipswich and Hancock, he taught school for six winters, and, thinking, with Sydney Smith, that " the law is decidedly the best pro- fession for a young man if he has anything in him," he entered the office of Thomas M. Ed- wards, of Keene, as a law student. He ap- plied himself with diligence and assiduity to the study of his chosen profession, and, in July, 1843, was admitted to the bar, and since that time has been actively employed in the labors of the law.

He commenced practice in Winchester, and, in 1846, moved to Walpole and was there for three years. In 1849 he became a resident of Keene, and has advanced agreeably and pros- perously. He is a member of Social Friends Lodge, F. and A. M., and of Cheshire Royal Arch Chapter of Keene.

Mr. Lane married, October 30, 1846, Harriet Locke, daughter of John and Harriet (Locke) Butler, of Winchester. Their children are Helen L., who married Augustus Lucke, of Sherbrooke, Canada, and Emily B.

Mr. Lane was a Whig until the organization of the Republican party, with which he has ever since acted, but never as a mere partisan, or a politician using politics for personal euds. The law has been his sole profession. He has never sought a public office, and yet he has been rewarded with the fullest trust and confi- dence of the people. For ten years he held the office of county solicitor, and was also county treasurer. He was elected to the Legislature from Walpole in 1847 and 1848, and then again from Keene in 1862 and 1863, that eriti- cal period in the country's history when the war-clouds darkened the horizon and legislative responsibilities were heavy. He is probably best known as a sound and wise counselor, one who labors diligently on his cases, making the

HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

most complete and exhaustive research before attempting to present his case or give an opinion. As an advocate, he uses nothing like splendid action or boisterous demonstration, but, what is of far more account, clear, potent, sober thought, carrying conviction to the mind that can or cares to think There comes with what he says the feeling always of an carnest, candid man, saying nothing for mere effeet, and only what the case justly warrants. By reason of this gen- eral confidence, inspired by manner and method, he is always a powerful antagonist, who has the car and confidence of both judge and jury. Al though, as before mentioned, the oldest member of the Cheshire County bar, he is still in full practice, with more vigorons health than he has enjoyed for years.

FRANCIS A. FAULKNER .- The Faulkner family occupies quite an historie place in New England annals. "Mr. Edmond Faulkner, the emigrant, was one of the purchasers and first settlers of Andover, Mass., which was bought from the Indians about January, 1646, for £6, and a coat." The following extract from the will of Francis Fauconee, Gent., of King's Cleave, Southampton, England, made September 1, 1662, and proved 21st May, 1663, connects him beyond doubt with this honorable English family. " Item : I give and bequeath to my brother, Edmund Fauconor, that is living in New England, £200 of lawful money of England." This family is entitled to bear arms as follows : " Arms-Sable, three falcons argent, beaked, legged and belled or Crest-A garb or (or gules), banded, argent. The name Faulkner was va- riously spelled in those days, and in this will it has as many spellings as the word occurs times.

The " Mr." was of significance as a title of respect, and showed the possessor to be of an English family of consequence. But three or four in Andover were entitled to bear it. Edmond Faulkner was married by John Win- throp to Dorothy Robinson, February 4, 1647, at Salem. This was the first marriage recorded of an Andover citizen. He was a man of edu- cation, energy and distinction, and connected closely and prominently with all public affairs. He was one of the ten freeholders who founded the church in Andover in 1645. He kept the

first inn, which was burned in 1676 by the In- dians, and died January 18, 1686-87. His son Francis, "husbandman," named doubtless from the maker of the King's Cleave will, born 1657, died 1732; married, October 11, 1675, Abigail, daughter of Rev. Francis Dane, who was min- ister of Andover for nearly half a century. Her name is prominent in connection with the witch- craft delusion. She was accused of "The felony of witchcraft," found guilty and condemned to death, but through the efforts of her many powerful friends was not executed, although for more than eleven years the sentence of death hung over her. She stands out one of the brightest and strongest figures on that dark page of history. [See for full account "Bailey's His- torical Sketches of Andover, Mass."] This worthy and sorely-tried couple left three sons, Edmund, Ammiverhammah and Paul, of whom the second removed to Acton, Mass., in 1735, erected mills, and became a manufacturer, dying August 4, 1756. His son, Francis, born in Andover September 29, 1728, died in Acton, Mass., August 5, 1805. For thirty-five years town clerk of Acton, member of the Provincial Congress of 1774, a member of the Committee of Safety, and several important conventions of the Revolution, in all these positions he proved himself a man of sound judgment and culti- vated mind, and an able legislator. He held a military commission under George III., but be- came an ardent patriot, and one of the foremost opposers of the oppressive acts of Great Britain. Early in 1775 he was elected major of a regi- ment organized to oppose English invasion. At sunrise of the ever memorable 19th of April, he marched with a considerable number of men to resist the British troops then on their way to Concord. He participated in that historie engagement, and the pursuit of the British to Charleston. [Sce Shattuck's " History of Concord."] He was lieutenant-colonel of the Middlesex militia, which reinforced the Con- tinental army at the occupation of Dorchester Heights, March, 1776, and commanded the regiment which guarded the prisoners of Bur- goyne's surrender on the march to Cambridge. By his second wife, Rebecca, daughter of Cap- tain Kies, of Brookfield, a participant in that

J. A. Funkce

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bloody engagement known as Lovell's fight, he had eleven children, the oldest of whom was Francis, of Billerica, one of the pioneer woolen manufacturers in New England. He was born January 31, 1760, died February 12, 1843. He was twice married and had twelve children. By his first wife, Elizabeth Jones, were Charles, born September 6, 1785, died in Calcutta, August, 1809, and Francis, who was born at Watertown, Mass., February 29, 1788, came to Keene in 1809 or 1810. June 10, 1818, he married Eliza, daughter of Eli Stearns, of Lancaster, Mass. He died November 29, 1842. His wife died October 5, 1869. Their children who lived to maturity were Charles S., born May 17, 1819, died July 28, 1879; Elizabeth J., born May 25, 1822; Francis A .; William F., born July 7, 1831, died May 1, 1874. Francis Faulkner was one of the early manu- facturers of New Hampshire, in which business he continued until his death, in 1842. He was a man of sterling integrity, generous and wise in public matters, as in private. He was loved and respected by all; an ardent supporter of the Unitarian Society, of which he was one of the founders.

HON. FRANCIS AUGUSTUS FAULKNER, SON of Francis and Eliza (Stearns) Faulkner, was born in Keene, N. H., February 12, 1825. As a youth he was studious, and, in 1841, went to that celebrated preparatory school, Phillips Ex- eter Academy, where he acquitted himself with ability and was fitted for college. He graduated with honor at Harvard University in the class of 1846, which numbers among its members such distinguished names as Hon. George F. Hoar, Prof. Francis J. Child, Prof. George M. Lane, Dr. Calvin Ellis and Henry A. Whitney. The friendships and associations thus formed were among the warmest and highest of his life, and his love for the classics and general literature there acquired continued all his days, and showed itself in his public and private life. Choosing the law for his profession, he began its study in 1847 in the office of Hon. Phinchas Handerson, of Keene, and, in connec- tion therewith, attended the Harvard Law School. He was admitted to practice at Keene, at the September term of court in 1849, and

immediately formed a partnership with William P. Wheeler, which firm, as Wheeler & Faulkner, first appeared upon the docket at the May term, 1850, and from that time for nearly thirty years enjoyed a remarkably extensive and successful practice, and was engaged in nearly every case of prominence or importance tried in Cheshire County. To the honorable and leading position taken by the firm much was due to Mr. Faulkner.

During his active practice Mr. Faulkner ac- complished an amount of work which excited the wonder and admiration of the court and his asso- ciates at the bar. To a finely-organized brain was united robust, health and untiring industry, and an ardent love for his profession. These, with his correct and methodical habits, made labor almost a pleasure, which success only in- creased, while defeat did not diminish it. During the life of Mr. Wheeler the unassuming nature of Mr. Faulkner, acknowledging the high ability of his partner as an advocate (and he was rarely, if ever, excelled in this county), preferred to take the more laborious, but unpre- tending, work of preparing their causes, both for trial of facts and .on questions of law, and of drawing all pleadings and formal papers, leaving Mr. Wheeler to present them to the court. He was always thoroughly prepared in season for every cause in which they were engaged, whether before the jury or the court, and his patient research, accurate knowledge and pains- taking care made his papers and briefs models of skill and learning, and of great weight with the court.

When circumstances caused him to appear as an advocate, it was at once seen that he had far more than ordinary power in that capacity. Always dignified and courteous, he depended upon fairness and ability to win his causes, never resorting to anything like a trick. He displayed a peculiar power of sifting evidence and dis- closing the truth, and knew where his strength lay and how to use it.

His memory was retentive, his knowledge of human nature quick and accurate, and in his judgment of the character of a client or witness he was seldom at fault. His arguments to court or jury were concise and vigorous, abounding in

HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

apt illustrations and citations, expressed in earnest, simple language, but conveying a logie which was convincing. When once engaged in a case he made his client's cause his own and served him with rare fidelity to the end. As an advisor he was careful in forming his legal opinion, often giving to a question time and critical study entirely out of proportion to its pecuniary importance ; but when his opinion was formed he firmly adhered to it, and was rarely obliged to modify it. His temperament and cast of mind were pre-eminently judicial, and if he had found it compatible with his wishes to have accepted the position on the bench of the Supreme Court, to which he was appointed, and again solicited to take, his in- timate knowledge of all matters of practice and procedure would have been found of great use and his decisions have been a valuable addition to the legal literature of the State.

Mr. Faulkner represented Keene in the State Legislature in 1851, 1852, 1859 and 1860; was chosen moderator twenty-two times, successively, in town-meeting, from 1857 to 1863, and was an alderman in the first city government ; was county solicitor from 1855 to 1860; commissioner of enrollment during the Rebellion; was ap- pointed associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1874, but declined to serve; was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1876, and held various other positions of honor and trust.

He was largely interested in the social busi- ness and financial life of Keene; was a director of the Cheshire National Bank and the Ashuelot National Bank, and succeeded Mr. Wheeler as president of the Cheshire Provident Institution. Highly valued asa financial advisor, many sought and were profited by his judicious counsel.

In politics he was a stanch Republican, one of the strongest local leaders of that party, and a prominent member of the State and County Committees. His upright character, strong per- sonality, positive convietions and popularity gave him influence in all circles, and there was no one whose counsel was more sought in emer- gencies and whose judgment and foresight did better service in seasonably detecting threatened evils and in devising the best means for the general good. During the years of anxiety and

sacrifice of the great Civil War he labored loy- ally for the cause of the Union, and, by his un- tiring enthusiasm, able counsel and personal ef- forts, did much more for the cause than he could have done in any other way.

In religion he was a Unitarian and an active member of the society at Keene, whose liberality in all channels of religious influence was never found wanting.

Mr. Faulkner married, December 18, 1849, Caroline, daughter of Hon. Phinehas Handerson. He was very happy in his domestic life, and those who did not see him in his home can hardly be said to have really known him. It was there that he threw off the burdens and per- plexities of his busy life and found the only re- laxation he ever allowed himself-in the society of his wife and children.

They lovingly remember how his natural buoyancy and love of fun, repressed by hours of exacting business, at home showed itself in play- ful jokes and in humorous anecdotes, and in join- ing, with the spirit of a boy, in all the games and sports of the children.

His house was always open and he enter- tained with a generous hospitality. His wide circle of friends and acquaintances brought many distinguished people as his guests, and Mrs. Faulkner, a lady of culture, who survives him, presided with a quiet dignity over his household and made the charm of the home circle com- plete. Their surviving children are Francis Child, Arthur and Charles Henry. Mr. Faulk- ner died at his residence in Keene May 22, 1879.

The following preamble and resolutions were adopted by the Cheshire County bar as a tribute to his memory :

" In the course of Divine Providence, a most useful and honorable member of our profession, Mr. Francis A. Faulkner, has been taken from us by death. The occasion is such as excites in us much and deep feel- ing, which it is natural and right should find some appropriate expression, and, therefore, according to the usage which has long prevailed, the bar gives ex- pression to such feelings by the following resolutions :

"1. That in the death of Mr. Faulkner the profes- sion has been deprived of one of its ablest and most useful members, whose learning and ability, inspired and guided by the truest integrity, have singularly illustrated and adorned the bar of the State and coun- try. His modest and unassuming manners have had

William A. Burt

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no small influence in cultivating the professional amenities and courtesies, which add so much to the pleasure of professional life, and redeem it from the opprobrium which in other times and places has been brought upon it by the unrestrained excesses of pro- fessional zeal.

"2. That we tender to the family of Mr. Faulkner our most respectful and earnest sympathy."

LIEUT-COL. WILLIAM HENRY BURT, son of Willard and Martha (Wood) Burt, was born in Westmoreland, N. H., May 24, 1824. He was descended from New England families of honor and respectability. His paternal line of descent is derived from James Burt, who sailed from London, England, to the Barbadoes in 1635, and from there to Newport, R. I. (1639), afterwards to Taunton, Mass., where he was surveyor of highways in 1645, and took the oath of fidelity in 1654. His will was proven March 2, 1681. The line to Colonel William H. is James (1), James (2), Thomas (3), Henry (4), Samuel (5), Willard (6), William H. (7). On the maternal side he derived from the Wood family, well known in the Plymouth colony, and through his maternal grandmother, Martha (White) Wood, he was connected with one of the White families so prominent in New Eng- land history. Family tradition gives him as .a lineal descendant of Peregrine White, of May- flower fame, but the stern realities of record seem to deny this, and to show his real White pro- genitor to be one who, in point of worth, character and position, stood even higher,-John White, the wealthiest pioneer and proprietor of Lan- caster, Mass., an Englishman of education, who was in Salem in 1639. " His descendants have almost universally held a respectable po- sition in society and in the church. Some have risen to distinction in military and civil life." 1 The line of descent is most probably John (1), one of the first planters, captain, etc .; Josiah (2), selectman, deacon, captain, etc .; Josiah (3), representative, selectman, moderator and dea- con ; Jotham (4), probably the Major Jotham White mentioned in " History of Charlestown, N. H.," as quartermaster in Revolutionary War ; Martha (5), married Jonathan Wood, of Westmoreland, formerly of Fitchburg, Mass.,

1785; Martha (Wood) Burt (6) ; William H. (7).

Colonel Burt inherited a strong vitality from his ancestors, who, for several generations, were quiet agriculturists. [His grandfather, Samuel Burt, married Olive Lincoln, in Taunton, Mass., in 1787 (she was descended from two leading families of that place, Lincoln and Leonard), and settled in Westmoreland, N. H., as a pioneer, accompanied by a brother and a sister. These all attained great ages, Samuel dying in 1850, almost ninety, and Olive in 1843, in her eighty-third year.]

William passed his early years with his parents, who lived with his grandparents on the old homestead. He had the privileges of the district schools of those days, which, for the re- sult attained in self-reliance, mental discipline and strength of thought, have had few equals, and, attended as they were by scholars ambi- tious to excel, instructed by capable teachers, and aided by the healthful discipline and at- mosphere of home-life, brought forth good fruit. His brother and sisters ranked high as scholars, and the children were stimulated by their mother's influence to improve all oppor- tunities for intellectual culture. She, a woman of rare intelligence and ability, especially de- sired her sons to be liberally educated, and labored untiringly to guide and direct them in the paths of knowledge and virtue. Her warm sympathy and influence encouraged their aspira- tions for higher education, and her impress was beneficial in no common measure to her chil- dren.

When he was nineteen, William began teach- ing winter terms of schools, and also became interested in the study of phrenology and phys- iology, and qualified himself to lecture in the smaller places adjacent to his home, and was quite successful. He carved, from a rough piece of sandstone, with his jack-knife, a speci- men head, which was creditable alike to his ar- tistie skill and his understanding of phrenology. He cherished a hope that he might fit himself for a professional life, and attended three terms at Mount Cæsar Academy, at Swanzey, N. H., after he was twenty-one, engaging in the in- terim in farm labor and as a daguerrean artist.

1 History of Lancaster.

HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

His ardor for professional honors was lessened, however, by the experience of his older brother, Charles, who found his way as a law-student steep and difficult. The frugal life of the home circle did not avail to eke out the slender re- sources of the farm sufficiently to pay the ex- penses of college-life. When twenty-two, Wil- liam, after carefully considering which of the two courses he should choose,-a college educa- tion, which would leave him heavily in debt, or a mechanical pursuit, which would give him personal independence,-reluctantly decided for the latter, at once went to Worcester, Mass., ap- prenticed himself to a carpenter and worked at house-carpentering and in a car-shop until 1850. In the mean time, October, 1848, he married Hannah L. Williams, of Amherst, Mass., who died in 1852.

Anticipating greater opportunities in the new land of California, Mr. Burt, with money loaned by friends who had learned the honesty and firmness of his character, sailed from New York, April 1, 1850, for San Francisco. Here he had varying changes, ill health, and, finally, good business success. After the death of two of his sisters,-Mrs. Martha M. Goodnow, Feb- ruary 3, 1852, and Mrs. J. Elizabeth Beals, August 10, 1852,-Mr. Burt decided to return to New Hampshire, study law and be near his grief-stricken parents. He had, through his industry and prudence, acquired sufficient prop- erty to admit of his doing this, and, in Septem- ber, 1852, he came to Keene. Receiving kind encouragements from the lawyers whom he con- sulted, he became a student of Hon. Levi Chamberlain, a leading member of the bar, and passed a creditable examination in April, 1854. California offering more favorable opportunities for advancement, he sailed thither again in May, 1854. Here he enjoyed the advantages of the extensive practice of the Hon. James Wilson, in whose office, at San Francisco, he was domiciled, and was admitted to practice as attorney and counselor-at-law February 9,

1855.

He returned East, after a year and a half, by the Nicaragua route. On the Isthmus an epi- sode occurred which shows the character and self-reliance of Mr. Burt, and the impression he

made upon others. The Nicaraguans deemed the disembarking and unarmed passengers a band of Walker's filibusters, and attacked them fiercely. Eight persons were killed, sev- eral were wounded. Mr. Burt received bullet- holes in his clothing, but no wounds. At their request, he at once assumed the leadership of the passengers, and, by his efforts, imposing appearance and persistent exertions, succeeded in getting the company to the Atlantic without further molestation.

On his arrival in Keene he married Ann Lonisa Davis, of Dublin, November 8, 1855, and passed the winter with his parents, who had removed there from Westmoreland in 1854.

He was admitted to practice at the Novem- ber term of the Supreme Court, in Keene, 1855.

The wonderful tide of emigration to the West interested him, and before returning to the Pacific coast he concluded to enjoy a pleasure- trip with his wife in the Western States. Leav- ing Keene, April 19, 1856, they visited his brother in Detroit, and from there went to Dav- enport, Iowa, visiting old friends along the way. In June they started up the Mississippi and stopped at various points, arriving at last at Stillwater, Minn., where resided a brother law-student. This was a pleasant summer resi- dence, and, to oblige his friend, who was called away for a brief period, he consented to attend to his practice until his return. The absence was prolonged by illness, and Mr. Burt became so much connected with the business as to be unable to leave, and continued in a steadily in- creasing and valuable practice until the break- ing out of the great Civil War. He was ad- mitted as counselor-of-law and solicitor in Chancery at St. Paul, Minn., January 13, 1857. He was a member of the State Legislature of Minnesota in 1862; served on committees- Federal relations, military affairs-and was chairman of the judiciary committee.

From the time that Fort Sumter was at- tacked Mr. Burt believed that his duty lay in joining the defenders of the Union, but val- uable interests were in his keeping, and he could not desert his clients. He, however, took no new cases unless the stipulation was made

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that he could give them up at any time. Un- der the call for six hundred thousand men, August 6, 1862, Governor Ramsey divided Minnesota into districts and appointed recruit- ing officers. One of his commissions named William H. Burt as recruiting officer for the farming districts of Washington and Chisago Counties, with rank of second lieutenant. This was accompanied by orders to enlist a company for the Seventh Minnesota. Mr. Burt was on his way to dinner, August 7, 1862, when he received the notice of the appointment. He did not return to his office, but assigned to his wife the care of his papers and went at once to duty. He was enrolled and mustered into ser- vice at St. Paul August 8th, and August 9th began to form his company. He enlisted a full company-ninety-eight men-and reported for duty at Fort Snelling August 17th. His com- pany elected him captain August 19, and he was commissioned August 21, 1862. His was appointed color company (C), and ordered into immediate service.

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History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 3

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