History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 59

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 59
USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 59

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On the 9th of August, 1862, immediately following the call for three hundred thousand men, the town voted to pay a bounty of two hundred dollars to all who would enlist under that call, and to raise eight thousand dollars to meet the expense, thinking that the quota of the town was about forty. It was soon learned that the quota was only twenty. In the mean time the forty had enlisted, thirty-seven of

2 By C. P. Hall.

William Haile

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them in one day. Then came the questions, "Who shall go?" "Shall the whole bounty be paid ? "

Many of the soldier boys had enlisted to go together, and said so in words not to be misun- derstood. After a somewhat heated discussion of the questions at issue for a few days, wiser counsels prevailed, and it was voted to pay the bounty to all who had enlisted. This satisfied the boys and proved the best course for the town in every way, for the extra men were set down to the credit of the town when it was not so easy to get men. Here, as throughout the North, the pulse of patriotism beat with a flush of fever during these days of a nation's peril.

In October seven thousand three hundred and fifty dollars was raised to aid the families of soldiers, and in the March following two thousand dollars ; and this aid continued to the close of the war. In the fall of 1863 the town voted a bounty of three hundred dollars to any who were mustered into the service of the na- tion.

The whole number of men enlisted from this town is eighty-nine, who served in the following regiments : Fourteenth New Hamp- shire, 42; Eighteenth New Hampshire, 9; First United States Sharpshooters, 6; Fifth New Hampshire, 5; Second New Hampshire, 3; Sixth New Hampshire, First New Hamp- shire Cavalry and Eighth Vermont, each 2; Third New Hampshire, Second Vermont, Fourth Vermont, Ninth Vermont, Tenth Mas- sachusetts, Twenty-seventh Massachusetts, Sev- enty-ninth New York, Eighth Louisiana, Sev- enteenth United States Infantry and the Navy, 1 each ; and in unknown regiments, 8.

NEWSPAPERS .- The Star-Spangled Banner was established here by Hunter & Co. in 1863, and was published until April, 1883.

The Progress was started in 1884, and dis- continued in 1885.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

WILLIAM HAILE.

William Haile, son of John and Eunice (Henry) Haile, was born in Putney, Vt., in May, 1807.

In 1821 the family moved to Chesterfield, N. H., where the son attended school till he was sixteen years of age, when he entered the store of Ezekiel Pierce as a clerk. At the age of twenty-one, having borrowed a small sum of money, he opened on his own account a store in the Centre village of Chesterfield. Here he carried on business for the next seven years with success.

While the population and trade of the town were continually diminishing, his own trade constantly increased. In 1834, with the little capital he had accumulated and a credit which greatly exceeded his capital in money, he opened a general country store in Hinsdale, in which he remained for the next fifteen years. His mercantile business in such a small village and trade centre was necessarily limited, but it is safe to say that few men in the same circum- stances and conditions could have accomplished more. He possessed qualities which in a mer- chant almost insure success and gave him credit which was not dependent on his possessions. With his strong personal attractions, his train- ing and natural aptitude for trade, his honesty and untiring devotion to business, it is not strange that he succeeded and prospered finan- cially in all his undertakings. From 1847 till his death he was actively engaged in the manu- facture of cashmerettes, repellents, flannels and other goods in Hinsdale, having for his part- ners at different times Caleb Todd, Daniel H. Ripley, John D. Todd and Rufus S, Frost. He was also interested in other enterprises and was an efficient officer in various local institu- tions. He took an active and prominent part in church affairs and was a member of a number of the principal benevolent societies. Though ex- tensively engaged in business, he took a promi-

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nent part in political affairs. With the exception of two years, he represented Hinsdale in the State Legislature from 1846 to 1854; was elected to the New Hampshire Senate in 1854-55, of which body he was also president the latter year, and was again elected Representative in 1856. The next year he was elected Governor, to which office he was re-elected in 1858. He was the first Governor of the State elected by the Republican party.

In 1873 he removed from Hinsdale to Keene, where he had built a fine residence. He did not cease, however, to take an active part in business till his death, which occurred July 22, 1876.

FREDERIC BOYDEN, M.D.1

The life-record of a physician, however dis- tinguished, is at best imperfect and fragmentary. The best years of manhood are spent in the practice of a laborious profession, among a limited circle of friends and patrons, and his fame and memory are often embodied in the simple but impressive words, " the beloved physician." It is only now and then that a physician like him whose virtues we commemo- rate, by his long residence, by his talents and integrity, by his individuality and strong points of character, comes to be regarded as a promi- nent man in the community, not only within but outside of his profession, and his loss to be widely and deeply felt.

Frederic Boyden was born at Deerfield, Mass., in the year 1810, and was therefore sixty-one years of age at the time of his death, which occurred November 11, 1871. An accident in early life prevented him from en- gaging in agriculture or mechanic arts and caused him to turn to the more thoughtful pur- snits of the student and scholar.

Having selected the profession of medicine, he studied the prescribed time, and took his diploma at the Medical School of Harvard

University, then, as now, one of the first and best New England medical colleges. He located in Hinsdale, and commenced practice about fifty years ago. For a quarter of a cen- tury he was the only physician permanently located in town; other doctors came and went away, some of them remaining for a year or two, but he had no competitor for any length of time. The requirements and the standard of medical education have changed much in the last third of a century, yet there can be no question but Dr. Boyden stood in the front rank among physicians of the time as a sound, well-read, self-reliant and skillful practitioner. In the best and busiest years of his practice he was associated more or less intimately with such men as the elder Dr. Twitchell, at that day one of the first physicians and surgeons in New England, also with Dr. Adams, of Keene, a physician of much eminence and skill. The co- temporary of such physicians, Dr. Boyden, in addition to his extensive knowledge, doubtless gained something from the great stores of ex- perience garnered up by these eminent men.

Dr. Boyden was considered to have special skill in what is technically called diagnosis, or " the art of distinguishing one disease from an- other," and in prognosis, the judging of the progress and termination of disease by symp- toms. In these departments his judgment was particularly good. It has been said of him that it was very rare for a patient to recover when the doctor had pronounced the case hopeless, and on the other hand, a favorable opinion from him, as to the chances of recovery in a seem- ingly desperate case, gave encouragement and hope alike to patient and friends.

It was thought the doctor had unusual sue- cess in the treatment of acute inflammatory diseases, in typhoid fever, as it prevails in the Connecticut and Ashuelot Valleys in autumn, in pneumonia and lung affections generally. The type and character of the same disease varies much in different sections of the country, and even in different localities in the same State,

1 By W. S. Leonard, M.D.

F. Boydlen

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HINSDALE.

but Dr. Boyden, by his long experience and observation, understood perfectly every phase of the acute diseases which visit the Ashuelot Valley, and knew how to combat them. So far as the minor " ills which flesh is heir to " were concerned, the aches and pains which are un- comfortable but not dangerous, the doctor (especially in the later years of his practice) rather avoided the treatment of these. He did not want anything to do with them, but left them to be treated by younger and more en- thusiastic practitioners, who needed the ex- perience more than he; but in severe cases, where life and death were balanced almost equally in the scale, here he was at home. He put his whole mind and energy upon the case, he selected his remedies with care, he gave his directions with precision, and he expected these to be followed out to the letter. It was in such emergencies that his skill and judgment were most clearly seen.

Of all quacks, delusions and shams, of fancy practitioners who put on the livery of the regular physician to serve the purposes of em- piricism, Dr. Boyden had a wholesome ab- horrence. He would not fellowship with them, and by his practice and his influence he did all in his power to put down ignorant pretenders, yet no man was ever more free from a desire to have the reputation of making great cures thau he. Like Dr. Biglow, he recognized the wonderful recuperative power of " nature in disease." He was never a great medicine-giver, but aimed in his treatment to assist nature rather than to drown out the ailment by heroic doses of drugs.

Had the doctor given his whole attention to the profession of medicine he would undoubt- edly have ranked among the first physicians of the State, and as it was, though gradually be- coming more and more absorbed in other pur- suits, as the years went by, and reading com- paratively little of modern medical literature , it was surprising to see how fresh he was upon all points, and how he frequently wrought out

in his own mind new methods and plans of treatment, which he could by no possibility have read in the books, and still were almost identi- cal with the latest and best modern authorities. Within three or four years of his death the doctor withdrew from the active duties of the profession, retaining only his consultation practice, and devoted himself more exclusively to his business as a manufacturer; yet he re- tained to the last his interest in medicine as a science, and in the rational treatment of disease.

It must be not very far from forty years since Dr. Boyden made his first venture in business, outside of his profession as a physician. We learn that he was associated for short periods with several individuals, but his career as a manufacturer will perhaps date from the time when he formed a partnership with the late Sylvester Bishop, and carried on the manil- facture of cashmerett goods in a limited way, in a small building near the site of Amidon's factory.

Mr. Bishop was a man of untiring industry and perseverance, conjoined to a remarkable up- rightness and probity of character. With- out doubt, there were seasons of discouragement to this firm, and the " hard times " pressed heavily upon them occasionally, as it does upon larger corporations ; yet this partnership con- tinued without interruption up to the date of Mr. Bishop's death, in 1864,-C. J. Amidon having previously been admitted as a partner in the firm, so that the business continued under the name of Boyden & Amidon. As a busi- ness man the doctor was prompt and energetic, bringing to bear upon the minutiæ of business transactions the same nervous energy which characterized his actions in everything else. He was a rigid economist, looking carefully after the details of his business personally rather than trusting this to others. It is a gratifying fact that he was successful pecuniarily, amassing a handsome fortune, and that he came to be regarded as a good manufacturer as well as a successful physician.

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HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Dr. Boyden ever took a great interest in politics. He was first, last and always a Demo- crat. At a time when men were changing their political views for the sake of office or emolu- ment, the doctor stood firm as a rock by his original creed. He was not illiberal nor an extremist, unless we count it illiberal and ex- treme for a man to stand up boldly and fear- lessly for what he deemed the right, whether in religion or politics. He was one of the ac- knowledged leaders of his party, not only in his own town, but in this part of Cheshire County ; he served as postmaster under two or three Democratic administrations, the last time for four years under James Buchanan. He also represented the district in the Senate of New Hampshire a number of years ago. Irrespec- tive of party, he at one time or another filled almost all the offices within the gift of the town, and was ever considered a most able and effi- cient town officer, and those who differed most from him politically could but admire the sin- ccrity of his convictions and the steadfastness of his faith in his own party.

He became a member of the Masonic frater- nity about twenty-eight years ago, joining the Philesian Lodge, at Winchester, in company with several of his fellow-townsmen. He was one of the founders of the Golden Rule Lodge, in Hinsdale, and signed the petitions for a charter. He ever took a deep interest in Masonry, and especially in the prosperity of the lodge which he had helped to establish, and though declining all offices of honor and trust, yet there was no post within the gift of his brethren which he might not have received if he would have consented to accept promotion.

Dr. Boyden was thrice married. His first wife was Charlotte Stearns, daughter of Walter Stearns. She died September 5, 1848, aged twenty-nine years. His second wife was Julia K. Merrill, daughter of Pardon Merrill, an old resident and much esteemed citizen. The fruit of this union was one son, Freddy, who died in infancy. Julia died April 1, 1854, aged twenty-

six years. His third wife was Delia H. Taylor, daughter of William Taylor, Esq., whom he married May 1, 1856. They had three chil- dren,-Ida Louise, James Everett and Alice. The two last-named died in infancy. Ida mar- ried, September 11, 1877, Robert W. Day, a prominent citizen of Springfield, Mass., and a member of the widely-known firm of The Morgan Envelope Company. They have two living children,-Pauline Boyden and Robert Frederic ; another daughter, Alice Louise, dicd in infancy. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Boyden removed to Springfield, Mass., where she now resides.

In social life Dr. Boyden, was remarkably genial and fond of mirth. He enjoyed a joke and a good story, and knew how to tell one effectively. There were those who thought him reserved and austere in manner, a few people who feared him, but it was because they did not know him well, for underneath a manner a little abrupt, the result of a peculiar nervous temperament, he possessed a genial disposition and a kindly heart :

" For the lives that look so cold, If their stories could be told, Would seem cast in gentler mold, Would seem full of love and spring."

The doctor never seemed to grow old. He was alike the companion of old and young men, adapting himself with equal facility to either, but remaining young and fresh in all his feel- ings and sympathies to the last. It is needless to speak of his integrity of character. of his un- swerving honesty, of his honorable and upright dealing with his fellow-men, of his great per- sonal influence for good in the community, ever increasing as the years rolled by. In the good life which he lived was embodied his religion,- a religion eminently vital and practical, a re- ligion above all creeds and dogmas :

" For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight, His can't be wrong whose life is in the right."

In the summing up of a character so rounded

George Robertson

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and perfected by the virtues of an honorable and useful life, we can exclaim with truth that

" The elements So mixed in him that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, This was a man."

GEORGE ROBERTSON.1

The Robertson family is of Scotch descent. The father, William Robertson, was born in Lasswade, Scotland, July 21, 1793. Little or nothing of his early life is known except that he served as an apprentice at the trade of a paper-maker for seven years, according to the old custom. He married Christenna Ross, of Edinburgh, February 14, 1817, and in 1818 or 1819 emigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he resided about two years, working at his trade very likely, and then removed to Hartford, Conn., living there till the autumn of 1823, when he removed to Putney, Vt., engaging in the manufacture of paper in that little Vermont town, and this was his home for most of the years following until, in his old age, he moved to Hinsdale, N. H., with his good wife, where they passed their declining years near the home of one of their sons. They are remembered by the present generation as most charming old people, whom age failed to render morose or querulous, enjoying the society of the young,-retaining always the Scotch dialect and the sturdy virtues of their Scotch lineage. Mrs. Robertson par- ticularly was one of the most delightful old ladies we ever recollect to have seen,-so brisk, so cheery and sympathetic, so fresh and young was she in all her feelings and impulses to the last. Seven children were the fruit of this union, viz .: Ann, Marion E., George, John, Jean N., Edwin R. and Christenna C. It is not our purpose to follow the fortunes of each of these descendants more than to say that they have all filled bravely and well their positions of duty in the world and preserved the honored name of Robertson

intact from dishonor,-worthy descendants of an honored father and mother ; but we desire to put on record a brief sketch of one of the sons, George Robertson, whose portrait appears in this history and who passed many years of a success- ful and honorable business life in Hinsdale.

George Robertson was born in Hartford, Conn., April 19, 1822. The family moved to Putney, Vt., when he was less than two years of age. His boyhood and early life were un- marked by any unusual events. The common schools of the period were brief and the oppor- tunities of acquiring an education were very limited, and Mr. Robertson was wont to regret that better opportunities were not afforded him for acquiring an education ; as a young man, he was full of life and energy, fond of athletic sports, mirthful and endowed with a fair share of true Scotch grit and pluck. At an early age he began to work in his father's paper-mill with his brothers, so that he may almost be said to have been a paper-maker from the cradle to the grave.

Before the older boys, George and John, were of age the father removed temporarily to Co- hoes, N. Y., and leased a paper-mill there ; after a short time, not satisfied with the outlook, he proposed to the sons that they should return to Putney, that he would re-buy the paper-mill there, give the young men their time, as was the fashion in those days, and transfer to them the whole charge of the mill, under the firm-name of George & John Robertson. This was ac- cordingly done, and the young men, not yet hav- ing attained their majority, went into business for themselves, and it is proof of the foresight and sagacity of their father that this firm con- tinued undisturbed for many years, and to-day John Robertson, the younger of the two sons, owns the same paper-mill. George Robertson moved to Hinsdale in 1849, but continued to be in partnership with his brother John at Putney until 1856, and his brother was in like manner a partner with him in the paper industry which George built up at Hinsdale.

1 By W. S. Leonard, M. D.

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HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

On locating in Hinsdale, Mr. Robertson bought, in company with others, a paper-mill which had been built by Thomas & Cutting in 1845, and at once commenced the manufacture of paper. This was destroyed by fire in 1851. He immediately rebuilt and resumed business ; again, in 1863, a destructive fire consumed the mill and machinery. After an interval he put up another mill and had it in working order in 1865, but in 1881 an accident almost as serious as a conflagration overtook the firm; by the bursting of what is called a rotary bleach the mill and a large portion of the machinery were laid in ruins. Such a series of misfortunes, which would have driven to despair many a brave man, had no effect to dishearten Mr. Rob- ertson. He knew no such word as fail. He commenced to rebuild at once, although it was late in the autumn, and the next spring found him ready for business again with a better mill and more extensive machinery than ever before ; so that, whereas in the early years of his business he could manufacture only about eight hundred and fifty pounds of paper a day, he could now, in 1882, turn out from four to five thous- and pounds in the same length of time. But this stout-hearted man of such indomita- ble energy and perseverance, who had the iron will and steadfastness of purpose to build up time and again a new business out of the ruins of the old, was overtaken at last by a most grave and lamentable accident, which ended his life in the midst of its best and busiest years. Two of his sons were building a new paper-mill on the Ashuelot River,in the town of Winchester three miles above. On the after- noon of the 24th of May, 1882, he rode up to the site of the new works in process of erection, and while talking with his son, by some strange mishap, a huge derrick fell, and in its down- ward course struck him upon the head, fractur- ing the skull and causing injuries from which death ensued in a short time.

So passed away, in the full maturity of his life, with strength unabated and the prospect of

many years of usefulness in store for him, a man who for thirty-one years had pursued an honorable and upright business career in Hinsdale and won for himself a high position in all the re- lations of life. In glancing at his life record and the various accidents and casualties therein recorded, one might naturally get a wrong im- pression of the every-day life of this good man and prominent citizen. The misfortunes which occasionally overtook him were, after all, mere specks in the pathway of a successful career, so speedily did he rise above them, and there came to him in the intervals many years of uninter- rupted business prosperity and happiness. He was exceedingly happy in his family relations. He married, May 13, 1844, Abigail Wyman, of Jamaica, Vt., and the union was blest with six children ; two sons died in early childhood, and four are living, viz .: Frank W., George A., Edwin C. and Orren C., all of whom are married and follow the profession of their father.

In reviewing the salient points in Mr. Rob- ertson's character we are impressed, first of all, with his intense energy, his grit, pluck and per- severance under difficulties. His life in this re- spect conveys an important lesson to all those who are disposed to give up and fold their hands because fortune seems against them. Ob- stacles and hindrances only made him put forth the more determined efforts to overcome them, and his success should be a means of inspiration to all young men who are compelled to be the architects of their own fortunes. Mr. Robert- son was ever a public-spirited man ; anything that was for the public good always received his cordial approval and aid ; without seeking office, he at one time or another filled many im- portant posts within the gift of the town. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and prominent in the councils of Golden Rule Lodge. In politics he was originally a Whig ; but when the wave of Know-Nothingism swept over New England, the sturdy Scotch instincts which he inherited from his ancestors could ill

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brook the dogma that a man must be born in any particular country in order to be of good standing in a party, and he sundered the old ties and united with the Democratic party, to which he adhered as long as he lived.

He was a generous man, kind to the poor and ever ready to give to any benevolent object ; his sympathies were easily enlisted and he never stopped to measure the length of his purse when any worthy enterprise called for aid. Said he to a gentleman who solicited a subscription for some meritorious project, " Put me down for such a sum as you think I ought to pay."

Two or three instances have come to light when Mr. Robertson assisted worthy young men who were struggling to get a start in life, simply because he saw that they were worthy and needed aid, and in every case this assistance on his part was the means of insuring success in after-life to these young men, who remembered his timely generosity with gratitude.

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History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 59

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