History of Coos County, New Hampshire, Part 81

Author: Merrill, Georgia Drew
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Syracuse [N.Y.] : W. A. Fergusson
Number of Pages: 1194

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Education was of vital importance to the first settlers as the following extracts show :-

1803. Voted to raise forty dollars for schools, $60 for all other purposes.

1804. Raised eighty dollars for schools, and eighty dollars for all other uses of town.

1806. $80 for schooling, $80 for school house, $100 for highways and town expenses.

1808. $100 for schooling, 850 for school house, $25 for town expenses,

1818. Voted to divide Town into school districts, chose Jeremiah Eames, Jr., Barzilla Brainard, Gilman Folsom. Charles S. Wiggin and Richard Tibbetts commiteee to district the town, which they did as follows:

"District No. 1. to contain all lots and gores of lots within following roads, beginning at mouth of Back pond (or Dearth pond) brook, running up the Brook to the south line of thence N. 20° E. on back line of sd lot to line of settlers lot 14, thence south on said line to the N. E. corner of sd lot, thence to N. W. corner of No. 21 in 10 Range, thence on Range line between 10 and 11 to N. E. corner of Lot 16, in 10 Range, thence North on check line to College grant on north line of Town, thence on town line to River thence down River to first mentioned bound. Distriet No. 2 to contain Lots 16. 17, 18, 19, in 4th Range, 16, 17, 18, and 19, 5th Range. 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, in 6th Range, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 10th Range, 16, 17, 18. 19, 20, in 8th Range, 16, 17. 18, 19, 20. 9th Range and same in 10th. Distriet No. 3, Settlers Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 14 with all gores adjoining them, also 16, 17, 18 and 19, in first Range, No. 16, 17, 18 and 19, in 2d Range. No. 16, 17, 18 and 19, in 3d Range. District No. 4, Lots No. 1 to 16 in Ranges 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Lots 1 to 8 in Ranges 6 and 7. District No. 5, Lots 8 to 16 in Range 6 and all lots in Ranges 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. 13, from No. 1 to 16. the above sett off Monday the 30 day of March 1818."

This division was accepted by the town March 31, 1818.

In 1822 and '23 the school tax was paid in wheat at $1 per bushel. 1825, "chose Caleb S. Dalton. Jere Eames, Jr., David Kent, Howard Blodgett, Jr., inspectors of schools. 1833, sett off Diamond Pond District.

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HISTORY OF COOS COUNTY.

1843, voted to sett off a new school district to be called the 'Hollow District,' granting leave for all to join it who wish. 1859, the town was again redistricted and contained seven districts. 1865, voted to raise three hundred dollars for schools in addition to what the law requires. 1867, voted to raise five hundred dollars for schools above the demands of the law."

Resolution of 1874. "Whereas it is a prevailing practice of some, if not all, of the Prudential committee in the town of Stewartstown to pay the school Teachers at the end of their term the sum agreed upon, whether said Teachers present a certificate of the proper return of their Registers or not, and, whereas, if said registers are not returned properly it is impossible for the superintending school committee to make a proper report of the schools to the State Board of Education, therefore be it resolved that the superintending school committee be instructed to commence legal proceedings against all such Prudential Committees who shall here- after pay any money, belonging to any school district in Stewartstown, to any Teacher who has not produced a certificate from the Superintending Committee that they have returned their Registers properly filled for the District under their charge. (Adopted.)"

Orders Adopting School Books .- " I hereby order that all the reading books of every kind in use of the schools of this town be withdrawn, and the series known as "Franklin's " be used in their stead, commenc- ing with the next summer term, Given under my hand this 18th of January, 1878.

" Lorenzo Farnham, Supt. Sch. Committee."

1880. "This certifies that I have adopted for the use in the schools of this town for the term of five years the following books, Monteith's Elementary Geography and Monteith's Comprehensive Geography.

"Walter Drew, S. S. C."

1881. "I have adopted Fish & Robinson's Complete Arithmetic and Fish & Robinson's first book in Arithmetic. Walter Drew, S. S. C." 1883. " Adopted Meserve's Book-keeping for term of years required by Law. "John C. Poor, S. S. C."

In 1884 the town adopted the following :-

"Resolved, That the superintending committee arrange a course of study for our schools, at least in Reading & Arithmetic, and classity the Pupils in those branches."

No high schools or academies have ever been in operation here, the means of education being limited to district and private or select schools.

The town, as last divided, had thirteen school districts with 206 scholars, and $965.02 as money expended for teaching.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

HON. AMOS WEBSTER DREW .*

For more than half a century one of the prominent characters in the history of Coos county has been Amos W. Drew. During that time he has been identified with her interests, has carefully noted her progress, and rejoiced in her development and prosperity. Under his observation many of her towns have been almost wholly built up. When he first knew the county, much of it was a dense forest. Then there were but two framed houses between the line of Colebrook and the north line of Pittsburg. In this long period his acquaintance has embraced all the prominent men of his county, and many of the more active ones throughout the state. For nearly seventy years in this section he has closely watched events as they

*By Hon. C. B. Jordan.

Amor'n, Drew

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have come, gone, and passed into history. A keen scrutinizer of men and things, of receptive mind and retentive memory, he has long been a store- house of valuable information. A good conversationalist, his home and society have been much sought by those in quest of historic facts and a friendly chat. He comes of a strong. long-lived race, and has a sinewy frame that has well withstood the toils and cares of four-score years.

[The Drew (Drewe) family of England descend from an early noble Norman, tracing the line through centuries. Members of the family accompanied William the Conqueror to England. participated in the memor- able battle of Hastings (1060), and were granted lands in Devon, Here. ford, and elsewhere, which are enrolled in the Doomsday Book. Accord- ing to a preamble to the Drew pedigree, given by the King of Arms, "The ancient and knightly family of Drew of Devonshire are lineal descend- ants from Richard, Duke of Normandy, grandfather of William the Con- queror. (Descendants of this line are now residents at Drewscliffe, Devon; a younger branch was transplanted to Ireland. This has had representa- tives in the counties of Cork, Kerry, and Waterford, notably at Mocollop Castle, Waterford.) On their escutcheon is an ermined lion passant gules, langued and armed. The quarterings show intermarriages with the Clif- fords and other noble families. Crest: a bull's head erased sable; in his mouth three ears of wheat, or, Motto: Drogo; nomen et virtas arma dedit." -- EDITOR.]

The first American ancestor was John Drew, son of William, and grandson of Sir Edward Drew. He was born in England in 1642, came to Plymouth, Mass., in 1660, where he married. Of his descendants many may be found in New England. Several went to Maine and became resi- dents. Samuel Drew, born in Shapleigh, Maine, married Betsey Webber, a native of Rumney, N. H. They made their home in Plymouth, also in Bridgewater, and attained a ripe old age. Their son, Benjamin, born in Plymouth, April 17, 1785, married Sally, daughter of John and Sally (Heath) Harriman, of Hampstead. "Squire " Benjamin Drew was a notable citizen. He was promoted to all the offices within the gift of his townsmen; was representative in 1830-31, and selectman for many years. He was liberal and charitable, and his creed and action was " Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you." His wife was his equal in strength of mind, and in every virtue. They had four sons and three daughters. Of these children Amos W., Edwin W., and Benjamin now remain.

Amos WI. Drew was the eldest, and was born at Bridgewater. April 3, 1808. His parents moved to New Hampton in 1811, and resided there until January 2, 1521. when the family started for Stewartstown, Amos going on foot to drive the stock. November 15. 1835, he married Julia Esther, daughter of Hubbard and Abigail (Bumford) Lovering, a woman of strong

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HISTORY OF COOS COUNTY.

mind and most amiable disposition. She was born in Loudon, June +, 1815. (Her father was born in Loudon, January 14, 1791, and her mother in Wakefield, December 21, 1791. They were thrifty farmers, and Julia was the second of their eight children. They moved to Colebrook when she was but three years old.)

Immediately after marriage Mr. Drew established a home in Stewarts- town. He possessed more than average scholarship and ability, and his business capacity was soon recognized by his fellow citizens. They elected him town clerk two years, and selectman several terms before he moved to Colebrook in 1843. Here, too, his services were soon called into requisi- tion; for, although he moved back to Stewartstown (near the ola home- stead on South hill) in 1850, he had served as selectman six years, and as representative in the General Court for 1847 and 1848.

At that time Mr. Drew, though a strong Democrat, voted for the anti- slavery resolutions that for the next twenty years were much talked of in New Hampshire political circles. Indeed, Mr. Drew was never of the pro- slavery wing of his party. His impulses, his reason, and his humanity, were all against bondage and oppression. He was a conscientious believer in the Constitution, and could hardly see how, under that instrument, we had any right to forcibly meddle with slavery in the states where it existed, but believed that the slaves should be liberated by purchase, and that the rights and powers of the general government and of the states should be care- fully defined and maintained. He also believed fully in the right and duty of the national government to protect and preserve itself under all cir- cumstances, and that the allegiance of every citizen was due to the Nation without regard to state or party. When secession asserted itself, his hand and voice were for his country. We remember and shall not forget his speech, at Colebrook town-hall in the spring of 1861, when swords were presented to Capt. Smith and Lieut. Hutchinson. It was full of good feel- ing, fervor and patriotism. From then to the close of the Rebellion Mr. Drew was a hard worker in the Union cause, and had it not been for his age, no doubt his military spirit and his devotion to the interests of his country would have early carried him into the struggle. As it was he kept full the quota of his town, and, November 11, 1863, was appointed special recruiting agent for Stewartstown, Pittsburg, and Clarksville.

In his earlier years he had a liking for military affairs. March 25, 1834, he was commissioned ensign by Gov. Samuel Dinsmore; August 17, 1836, lieutenant by Gov. Isaac Hill; March 2, 1838, captain by the same; July 19, 1542, adjutant of the Twenty-fourth regiment by Gov. Henry Hubbard. Mr. Drew was an excellent officer, understood "tactics " thoroughly, and was a good disciplinarian. He participated in the " Indian Stream war." [See County History. ] Yet his pursuits were those of peace,

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and, as a loyal citizen in the civil walks of life, he has made the name and fame for which his many friends most delight to remember him.

He became the business man of the community; drew many wills. deeds, and other papers; was frequently called upon to act as commissioner, ad- ministrator, or executor in the settlement of estates. In 1552-53 he was elected county treasurer: in 1862-63 he was state senator from the "old Twelfth district"; in November, 1871, he was appointed county commis- sioner to succeed to the unfinished term of Isaiah H. Pickard, and was afterward elected twice to this office, serving in it until May, 1876. He was justice of the peace from 1848 to 1886, and coroner from 1842 to 1873. In all these positions he performed his duties with much more than aver- age wisdom and judgment. In neighborhood difficulties his services and counsels have been often sought and followed with beneficial results.

He has a high appreciation and regard for personal integrity. and is scrupulously honest. He has always been public-spirited and hospitable; has done much for the schools, public and private: encouraged and aided all local schemes for the promotion of educational interests, and is ever on the side of law. order, and good government. During his active life he was a logical, earnest talker when occasion demanded, and always com- manded the attention of his listeners. He read much, and by the fireside discussed with his wife and children politics, morals. religion, and other questions of the day. Though a strong believer in the ultimate sal- vation of all men (through the goodness of a God who makes no mistakes) he is tolerant of the beliefs of others, and no one, old or young, ever received from him other than good advice.

He was fortunate in his domestic relations. Mrs. Drew possesses in a marked degree those qualities of mind and heart that most adorn a wife and mother. Of their thirteen children, six sons died in infancy and childhood; five sons and two daughters grew to maturity: Lucy Abigail. Irving W. (see Bench and Bar), Benjamin F .. Warren E., Ellen J., Hol- man A., and Edward Everett. All except Ency, the elder daughter, are living. She was born May 4, 1843, and died October 23, 1886. Her life was so closely interwoven with the lives of her father and mother that a word here is due to her memory in the history of the county where she was so well and so favorably known. Her excellencies of character can not all be portrayed. She had a strong, logical mind. a mental grasp of remarkable comprehension and tenacity, and a disposition that deservedly won and kept warm friends to the day of her death. She was an apt, thorough scholar. Beginning school-keeping when she was only fourteen, she followed it successfully until disabled by disease, and was a wise, pleas- ing instructor and a safe counsellor. She graduated at Kimball Union academy in 1563. She was a good disputant, wrote well and easily on any subject commanding her thought and study, had positive convictions on

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all questions of right and wrong, and maintained the right, when assailed, with a modesty and a power that were always fascinating and irresistibly convincing. She was of great help to her parents, and rendered valuable assistance in directing the minds of the other children in the right chan- nels. Her offices of kindness wherever she moved were many and appro- priate. More than twenty years before her death she suffered an attack of diphtheria, followed by partial paralysis, which gradually brought an active and promising young life to an invalid's chair. But through all these years the light of a fine intellect and a noble christian character shone out in words and deeds to make better and happier those around her.

Mr. Drew, now in his eightieth year, has passed beyond his days of busi- ness activity, but hestill watches with keen interest current events-foreign, national, and local. He and his venerable wife are now contentedly living at their home in Colebrook, where kind friends are ever welcome. and where the ripeness and mellowness that crown advancing years never sat more royally than upon their heads.

EDWIN W. DREW.

Edwin I'. Drew, youngest child of Benjamin and Sally H. Drew, was born in Stewartstown, December 10, 1827. He was educated at the district and private schools of Stewartstown, and, aside from what he has learned by observation and private study, had no educational advantages equal to those enjoyed by the boys of Stewartstown to-day. He taught eight terms of school successfully. He was brought up a farmer, and such he has always remained, getting a comfortable living, and keeping a farm in good productiveness which has been cultivated nearly a century, paying little attention, however, to "fancy " breeds or crops, and has always lived " within a stone's throw " of his birthplace.

Mr. Drew married, March 28, 1852, Marietta, daughter of Luther F. and Mary (Piper) Hall, also a native of this town. They have six children: John W., a merchant of Colebrook; Walter, now deputy collector of cus- toms; Carrie, (Mrs. F. H. Noyes); Byron; Alice; Hattie H.

Mr. Drew has been much in official position, and with considerate judg- ment and conceded ability has filled well each station to which he has been called. He was superintending school committee of Stewartstown from 1849 to 1857; town clerk from 1851 to 1854; selectman in 1863, '64, '67, '68, '69, 70, 183, '55; representative in 1857-58; county commissioner from 1861 to 1864; county treasurer, 1868 to 1870; a member of the state board of equalization from the creation of the office to the present; a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1876. He is a Democrat in politics, a liberal

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in religion, and a man of strictly temperate habits. He has never belonged to a secret society except the Grange; in this he has been "Master."

A man of strong physique and endurance, he has accomplished much labor and has proven himself equal to any sudden emergency: e. g. Janu- ary 1, 1874, while cutting timber alone over a mile from his house, he frac- tured both bones of his right leg below the knee. Cutting a crotched sap- ling for a crutch, he went forty rods to his horse, mounted it and rode home.

He has never made distinctions in his treatment of men, treating the poor with the same consideration as the rich, and always from the stand- ard of equity. He is a good debater, holds pronounced opinions which are formed after careful consideration, and his counsels have weight in town, county and state affairs. Socially he is unpretending, neighborly and kind; in the family, enjoys his children's respect and love: in the com- munity, the esteem of all.

LYMAN WILLIS ALGER.

In 1749 twenty-eight persons applied for dismission from the Puritan church of Bridgewater, Mass., on account of difference of religious opinion. They were not dismissed, but suspended. These were people of deep re- ligious faith, tender conscience, and strong tenacity of opinion, and were the nucleus of the First Baptist church in Bridgewater. Among these "Separatists" were members of the Alger, Lothrop, Ames, Hayward and Willis families, all prominent and representative Massachusetts people.

The Alger family is well-known in New England for its connection with iron manufacture. Thomas Alger' settled in America during the seventeenth century, and was one of the first of his name in this country. He made his home in Taunton, Mass., near the Three Mile river, and mar- ried Elizabeth Packard. His son, Israel2, was a farmer in Bridgewater, and a man of influence and wealth. His wife was a granddaughter of Thomas Hayward. one of the original proprietors and first settlers of Bridgewater. They had five sons, of whom Josepha was the second. His son. Joseph4, was one of the original members of the First Baptist church of the town.

Edmund Alger' (grandfather of Lyman W. Alger) was born in Bridge- water. Mass., in 1763, married Huldah Lothrop, and had seven children. Mr. Alger carried on merchandizing for some years in Massachusetts: but, losing his property by the failure of others. he determined to leave New England, and emigrate to some place where he could provide an inherit- ance of land for his five sons. Accordingly, in 1801, he became a resident of Eaton, P. Q., a place then thirty miles from civilization: but land was plenty, and capable. persevering, energetic men were needed to develop

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and improve the resources of that section. Mr. Alger proved equal to the emergency: as a carpenter and farmer he did much to build up the new settlement. He inherited the strong religious nature of his progenitors, and was instrumental in forming a Baptist society in the town of his adoption, and, by his character and influence, the better element of human nature in these forest wilds was fostered and nourished and brought forth good fruit. In this good work he was aided by his strong friend and companion, Capt. Josiah Sawyer, a native of Lancaster, Mass., born in 1756. Capt. Sawyer, with his father and five brothers, served in the Colo- nial army, where he received his title. The English government to settle the Canadian country offered to give a township to any one obtaining forty families to settle in any locality which they should select, and Capt. Sawyer, having complied with the requirements, selected Eaton, and there made his home, and here the two men were the propelling forces in the com - munity. Capt Sawyer was an Orthodox Congregationalist, and the prime factor in the church of that denomination. He was a man of great energy and practical common sense. He built saw and grist-mills, and his name is perpetuated in that of the village of Sawyersville. Edmund Alger died in Eaton, P. Q., in 1836, aged seventy-four years. His third son, Asa, born in Bridgewater, Mass., February 7, 1796, came to Eaton when only five years old, and lived the life of the pioneer. He labored with his father and brothers, working earnestly, and the forest-clad hills were converted into smiling fields, and, after many years, they gathered around them property and conveniences. He married Abigail, daughter of Capt. Josiah and Susanna (Green) Sawyer. and had seven children, six of whom attained maturity: Emily (married William Lindsey): Horace (deceased): Henry, (deceased); Ruth: Lyman J' .; Persis (married Eben Goodwin).

Asa Alger was a strong, energetic man, of indomitable will and great endurance. His early life had served to develop rather than diminish his mental and physical nature. He was a man of clear and good judgment, and retained his mental faculties to a remarkable degree until his death, May 10, 1852, at the age of eighty-six years, but for thirty years he had been totally blind. Mrs. Alger died June 2. 1555, at Eaton, in her nine- tieth year, after an illness of but three days-" tired Nature going to rest." Her mind was clear, and memory retentive to the last of her long life. Born and bred in a religious home, her children were brought up in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

Lyman Willis Alger, son of Asa and Abigail (Sawyer) Alger, was born in Eaton. P. Q .. June 29, 1831. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-one: attended school about three months a year until he was nineteen: and labored on the farm, and learned the full import of the words "Thou shalt earn thy bread by the sweat of thy brow." He then attended school two terms at the academy at Derby. Vt., and, after attain-

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ing his majority, two terms at Colebrook academy. He worked in the summer of 1552 in the Nulhegan lumber-mill at Bloomfield. Vt .. earning money to defray his academic expenses during the fall term: he then taught school in the winter in Bloomfield, and the next spring term fin- ished his school education at the academy. Here he made the acquaint- ance of Marion Wallace, daughter of Gen. Lewis and Rispah (Beach) Loomis, whom he married January 3, 1556. Mrs. Alger is a most estima- ble lady, of artistic tastes and intellectual culture: she is also a practical worker, and able assistant of her husband. July 15. 1553, Mr. Alger ro- ceived the appointment of station agent at North Stratford, which he held until April 6. 1856 He then removed to Colebrook, and carried on the homestead farm of (fen. Loomis, now occupied by J. L. Loomis. for four years. He then returned to North Stratford intending to engage in manu- facturing. but was taken ill with a rheumatic fever, which, after long months of suffering, left him physically enfeebled, and with exhausted means. Now his traits of pluck. perseverance, and persistency, inherited from a long line of goodly ancestors. "stood him in good stead." and as- sisted and encouraged by his sympathetic wife. he commenced anew the battle of the world. In the spring of 1861 he became the agent of the Pro- tective Union store. a co-operative mercantile establishment at Canaan, Vt .. and was in charge of it five years. He then purchased a store in West Bethel, Me., and was in trade there from June, 1866, until 1569, when he removed to West Stewartstown on account of his wife's health. and en- gaged in merchandizing with Dr. Annable as "Alger & Annable," uniting Dr. Annable's stock of drugs with a general variety of goods. This firm continued three years: then Dr. Annable moved the drug business to another building, and Mr. Alger has since carried on trade alone.

Mr. Alger has been prospered. He says the key to his success was the advice given him by that veteran merchant. F. G. Messer. "Spend your money, but not your credit." As a Republican in politics, he was appointed postmaster of West Stewartstown. August, 1572. and held the office until October, 1886. He is a member of the State Temperance Society, and has been actively connected with the Young Men's Christian Association of New Hampshire since 1876. and has been a member of the State Execu- tive Committee from that date. Both Mr. and Mrs. Alger, by their Chris- tian kindness and sympathy. have exerted a strong and beneficial influ- ence, and they have been the means of helping many to lead a better life. Mr. Alger joined the Calvinistic Baptist church when he was fourteen years old, and now holds his membership at North Stratford. In 1584 this church voted him a license to preach, which he declined. preferring to work in connection with the Y. M. C. A.

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History of Coos County, New Hampshire, Part 81

Author: Merrill, Georgia Drew Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Syracuse [N.Y.] : W. A. Fergusson Number of Pages: 1194

Author: Merrill, Georgia Drew
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Syracuse [N.Y.] : W. A. Fergusson
Number of Pages: 1194