History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 31

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168

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In 1867 he was again brought forward by his party, and. although their relative strength was about the same and a determined effort was made by the Re- publican party to defeat him, he was elected mayor by a handsome majority, and entered upon his official duties in January, 1868. In 1869 he was the candidate of the Democrats for the same position, and, although not successful, it took a carefully revised official count to determine the result. In 1870 he was re-elected mayor, and again in 1871.

In 1874 he was a third time chosen mayor by an overwhelming majority, which office he held when elected Governor. It must be borne in mind that Manchester has been a strongly Republican city, the majority of that party often running from six to seven hundred. Nor have the opponents of Mayor Weston been unpopular or unfit candidates. On the contrary, they have been uniformly selected for their great popular strength and fitness for the position. The Republican leaders have not been novices, and it has not been their intention to suffer defeat; but whenever victory has been wrung from their unwilling grasp, it has been done against great odds, and because the Democrats had unusual strength, one of its most important elements having been the superior qualifi- cations and fitness for the place which Mr. Weston was acknowledged on all sides to have possessed.

In the matter of a water supply has Mr. Weston been of inestimable service to his fellow-citizens. In this important enterprise he took a leading part. No one realized more fully the great benefit which an adequate water supply would be, and few compre- hended as well the embarrassments connected with the undertaking. The question had been agitated considerably and various surveys had been made, and the people were divided upon different plans and theories. Popular notions fell far short of the full comprehension of the subject, and while he was sup- ported by many of the leading and most influential citi- zens it was a very difficult matter to accomplish. Mr. Weston had made his own surveys and was thoroughly informed upon the whole subject, and engaged in the work with zeal and determination. The nece -- sary legislation having been obtained, he prepared and carried through the city government the appro- priate ordinances by which the enterprise took shap e and the plan for placing the whole matter in the hands of a board of commissioners.

To his foresight and intelligent view of this subject, and earnest devotion to carrying out and completing the scheme, the people of Manchester owe their most excellent water supply more than to any other influ- ence, and it is a monument to his good name, more and more honorable as time proves the inestimable value of a pure and adequate supply of water to the people of our city.

Mayor Weston was the first officer of the city to recommend the erecting of a soldiers' monument, and, by his earnest advocacy, and finely-educated taste, was largely instrumental in deciding what style should be adopted, and bringing that worthy and patriotic enterprise to a successful completion. The noble shaft which now and ever will, we trust, com- memorate the glorious deeds and the fearful sacrifices of the soldiers from Manchester in the War of the Rebellion, speaks a word as well for those who at- tempted, in a small measure, to show the high appreciation in which their gallant services are held.

During the period of his mayoralty a great advance- ment of the material interests of the city took place, and marked improvements were inaugurated and suc- cessfully carried on. An improved system of sewerage was established and, so far as practicable, completed, which proved of incalculable benefit. A general plan for establishing the grade of streets and side- Frequent mention of Mr. Weston as a candidate for Governor had been made, and in 1871 he became the nominee of the Democratic party for that office. In the gubernatorial contest he was met by the de- termined effort of his opponents to defeat his election. He would have undoubtedly been elected by the peo- ple but for the strategical movement of his adversary to have a third candidate in the fight. This scheme was partly successful, preventing an election by the people by only one hundred and thirteen votes, although Mr. Weston had a large plurality. He was elected Governor by the Legislature, and inaugurated on the 14th day of June, 1871. walks was arranged, and steps taken to obviate many difficulties which had arisen in connection with this important part of municipal government. Improve- ment in the public commons was commenced and carried on as far as economy and fair expenditures of each year seemed to warrant, and the foundation was laid in public policy, adopted under his management, for permanent and systematic ornamentation of the parks and publie grounds. The matter of concrete walks received its first encouragement from Mayor Weston. It was a subject about which much differ- ence of opinion existed, and when the mayor author- ized the covering one of the walks across one of the commons at the publie expense it received much severe criticism, but the popular view soon changed, , official honor and integrity. Even the most zealous and the experience of the city since that time shows the wisdom of the first step in that direction.

The Governor's administration was characterized by economy and the most conscientious observance of partizan never questioned his faithful discharge of duty, and his official term elosed with the highest

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respect of the whole people. In 1872 the Republican party put in nomination their "great man," the Hon. E. A. Straw, agent of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, and placed their campaign upon the sup- posed issue between manufacturing interests and other branches of business in the country. Mr. Straw was elected, and again in 1873, but in 1874, Mr. Weston was the standard-bearer of the Democratic party and defeated the Republicans. Although he failed of election by the people, he received a large plurality, and was elected by the Legislature in June following.

In every instance where Mr. Weston has been the candidate of his party for public office it has been when his opponent started in the race with a major- ity and with numerous party advantages. Mr. Wes- ton has fought his campaigns against numbers and against prestige. He has contested the ground with opponents who were no mean adversaries, and his successes have been alike honorable to him and the party to which he belongs.

During the years of his public life and since, Gover- nor Weston has kept apace with the times in the many enterprises and business projects of his vicinity and State, and has held many places of trust and impor- tance. In 1871 he was appointed a member of the New Hampshire Centennial Commission, of which body he was chairman, and as such worked with great

Governor Weston is not a man of impulse and sud- den conclusions. He is rather of the deliberate and cautious habits of thought and action, and inclined to the analysis and investigation of all matters in zeal and efficiency to promote the success of New which he may be interested to an unusual degree. Hampshire's exhibit. He was also made a member The natural counterpart of such characteristics-an abiding confidence and disposition to adhere tena- ciously to well-matured plans-is the leading feature of his mind. His achievements have been true suc- cesses, and he has never had occasion to take the "step backward " so common to men in public life. Better for the world and better for himself is he who builds slowly, but safely ! of the Centennial Board of Finance by Congress. He has been chairman of the Board of Water Com- missioners from its beginning. For several years he has been a member of the State Board of Health ; also treasurer of the Elliot Hospital corporation, chairman of the "Trustees of the Cemetery Fund," treasurer of the Suncook Valley Railroad, treasurer of the Franklin Street Church Society, one of the directors and clerk of the Manchester Horse Railroad PHINEHAS ADAMS. corporation, president of the Locke Cattle Company; but his main business is the management of the Mer- chants' National Bank, of which he has been the president since its organization, and the Guaranty Savings-Bank, of which he has been the treasurer since its incorporation. These two banks, although not so old as their neighbors, are, nevertheless, equally successful, and stand second to none in sound finan- cial reputation. Governor Weston is the president, and has actively been concerned in the management, of the New Hampshire Fire Insurance Company. devoting a large portion of his time to its affairs.

Governor Weston has been a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity since 1861, and has taken a deep interest in its prosperity. He has received all the grades, including the orders of knighthood, and has held many places of trust and responsibility, notably among them that of treasurer of Trinity Commandery for twenty-two years,-a fact which shows the conti- denee and esteem which his brethren have for him.

In 1854 he married Miss Anna S. Gilmore, daughter of Mitchel S. Gilmore, Esq., of Concord. They have five surviving children,-the eldest born, Herman, having deceased at the age of four and a half years; Grace Helen, born July 1, 1866; James Henry, July 17, 1868; Edwin Bell, March 15, 1871; Annie Mabel, September 26, 1876; and Charles Albert, November 1, 1878.

We find him surrounded by his family, living in his elegant and tastily-arranged home, blessed with all that life can afford. So far his journey has been suc- cessful and happy. Few shadows have crossed the way, and his course has been one of honor and dis- tinction.

In the estimate of character the world is often led astray by looking at results and not observing the conditions under which they are gained. Accident often determines a whole life,-some unlooked-for and unmerited fortune builds castles for men, and, in spite of themselves, makes them noted. Not so with the subject of this sketch. His good fortune is the well-deserved result of sound business principles and their careful and systematic application to every undertaking.

The first of the name of Adams to come to this country was Henry, who left Devonshire, England, about 1630, and settled in Braintree, Mass. He brought with him his eight sons, one of whom, Joseph, was the ancestor of that branch of this illustrions family, which has been so promi- nently connected with the civil and political history of this country. The line of descent of the subject of this sketch was through Edward". John3, Eleazer', John5, Phinchas6, Phinehas to Phinchas", who was born in Medway, Mass., June 20, 1814. His grand- father and great-grandfather participated in the battle of Bunker Hill, and served through the Revo- lutionary War. He had three brothers and seven sisters. Three sisters only are now living .- Sarah Ann (born in 1816, the wife of E. B. Hammond, M.D., of Nashua), Eliza P. (born in 1820, widow of the late Ira Stone) and Mary Jane (born in 1822, widow of the late James Buncher),-the others having died prior to 1831. Phinchas married Sarah W.

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HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Barber, of Holliston, Mass., in 1811. Her father was an Englishman, and came to America during the Revolutionary War, and married a lady who came from Edinburgh. Phinehas? was a farmer and a mechanie, and became an extensive manufacturer. At an early date he manufactured hand-looms, and at Waltham, Mass., in 1814, started up successfully the first power-loom in this county. In 1827 he became agent of the Neponset Manufacturing Company, at Walpole, in which he was also one of the principal owners.

Phinehas" passed his boyhood in Medway and Wal- pole and attended the common schools, but showed little fondness for books. At the earnest request of his father, however, he applied himself more closely to his studies, and, attending the academy at Wren- tham, Mass., for a year and a half, made rapid and successful progress in his studies. At this time, ow- ing to the failure of the company of which his father was agent, he was obliged to leave the academy, re- linquishing the hope of a thorough education, and commence work. Circumstances seemed to direct him to the manufacturing business, and, with the de- termination to master the business in all its details, he, at the age of fifteen years, entered the large mills of the Merrimack Company, at Lowell, Mass., as bobbin-boy. Mr. Adams was early possessed of an ambition to become an overseer, and to this end labored hard and faithfully, never thinking, however, that he would become agent of a large mill. By his intelligent performance of the duties of his humble position he drew the attention of his employers, and was promoted in a short time to the position of second overseer in the weaving department, a position he filled until 1831, when he went to fill a similar posi- tion at the Methuen Company's mill, of which his uncle was agent. Here he remained two years, when he was called to take the position of overseer in the mills of the Hooksett Manufacturing Company, of which his father was then the agent. From Hook- sett he went to Pittsfield as overseer in the mills of the Pittsfield Manufacturing Company, where he re- mained until March 7, 1835, when he returned to Lowell as overseer in the mills where he began his career as manufacturer, and there remained until 1846, when he came to Manchester.

In 1841, John Clark, the agent of the Merrimack Mills, in Lowell, proposed to Mr. Adams that he should enter the office as a clerk, in order to acquaint himself with the book-keeping and general business of the mills preparatory to filling a higher position, which Mr. Clark then predicted he would some day be called upon to fill. After some hesitation he did so, and for a period of five years filled this responsi- ble position, which in those days was equivalent to the present position of paymaster.

Upon his arrival in Manchester he was given the position of agent of the Old Amoskeag Mills, then located on the present site of the P. C. Cheney Paper

Company. The building of the Amoskeag Mills was the beginning of Manchester's wonderful career of prosperity. Mr. Adams remained with the Amos- keag corporation until November 17, 1847, when he became the agent of the Stark Mills. Of the great manufactories of Manchester, that of the Stark Mills Company ranks third in magnitude and second in age, having been organized September 26, 1838.

Under the management of Mr. Adams, large suc- cess has been achieved by the Stark Mills, which sue- cess has been largely due to his sagacity and business integrity, and while, requiring faithful performance of duty on the part of each employé, he also had the confidence and esteem of each of them in an unusual degree. Mr. Adams traveled extensively through England, Scotland, Ireland and France, securing for the benefit of the Stark Mills information relating to the manufacture of linen goods and the securing of machinery necessary for that manufacture.

In politics Mr. Adams was a Republican, but was not an active participant in political contests, nor was he from choice a candidate for political office, having only served as ward clerk, when a young man, in Lowell, and later as a Presidential elector for General Grant, and was also chief-of-staff for Governor E. A. Straw. He was four years a director in the Concord Railroad, was chosen one of the assistant engineers of the Manchester Fire Department, in which capac- ity he served with peculiar fidelity for twelve years, invariably acting for the best interests of the city. Mr. Adams was for many years closely identified with the financial institutions of Manchester, having served as a director in the Merrimack River Bank from 1857 to 1860, and in the Manchester National Bank from 1865 to 1883, and was also one of the board of trustees of the Manchester Savings-Bank, and one of its committee on loans. He was one of the directors of the Gas-Light Company, a trustee of the Public Library, and in 1865 was elected one of the original directors of the New England Cotton Manufacturers' Association. In numismatics Mr. Adams was quite an authority, and made a fine and very complete collection of coins and medals, some of which are of great value, being very rare. During the administration of Colonel Adams, which covered a long series of years, many changes took place. In what may be called, more particularly, the manufac- turing world, was this true. Hand-power and crude methods of business gave place to water and steam- power and progressive, wide-reaching business con- nections. Colonel Adams was the oldest agent, and held that position for a longer period than did any man in the Merrimack Valley, and of those holding similar positions thirty-five years ago nearly all have passed away.

September 24, 1839, Colonel Adams married Eliza- beth, daughter of the late Deacon Samuel Simpson, of Deerfield, a veteran in the War of 1812. From this union there were two children,-Elizabeth9, born

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HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

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June 15, 1842, and Phinehas9, born December 26, 1844, both in Lowell, Mass.

September 10, 1868, Elizabeth9 was married to Col- onel Daniel C. Gould, of Manchester, N. H. Oeto- ber 8, 1873, Phinehas9 married Anna P. Morrison, of Belfast, Me., and resides in Manchester, N. H.

In religion Colonel Adams was a Congregationalist, and a member of the First Congregational Church in Lowell, Mass., as was also his wife. On removing to Manchester, they transferred their church relations to the Franklin Street Church of that city. Colonel Adams received many evidences of affectionate regard at the hands of the citizens of the places where he had lived, and enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his business associates to an extent rarely attained. On the thirty-second anniversary of his connection with the Stark Mills as agent he was presented by the directors of this corporation with an elegant gold watch, appropriately engraved, and a chain and seal, as an expression of great respect for his character and a high appreciation of the service rendered the corporation during a third of a century. Colonel Adams was a total abstinence man; he could truth- fully say that never in all his life had he made use of liquor or tobacco. Of a commanding presence and dignified bearing, he was at all times a gentleman. His life was a successful one and his example a good one. He died at his home in Manchester, July 25, 1883, beloved and respected. His wife died June 23, 1884. They had lived together nearly forty-five years.

JOSIAH CROSBY, M.D.

In April, 1753, from Tewksbury, Mass., there came with Colonel Fitch a millwright who had purchased seventy-seven acres of land upon the Souhegan River, in Monson (as then called), and afterwards Amherst, now Milford, N. H., the grand- father of Josiah Crosby. These young people took possession of the lot "to subdue the forest, build a house and rear a family." They found their way to their wilderness lot on horseback, guided by "spotted trees," and there built a rude habitation. At this place was born, in 1765, Asa Crosby, who for about fifty years practiced medicine in this State, and to whom, in Sandwich, where he then resided, was born, in February, 1794, Josiah Crosby, the subject of this sketch, also Judge Nathan Crosby, of Lowell, and Dixie, Thomas and Alpheus Crosby, professors at Dartmouth College. Josiah was handsome, genial and gentlemanly, quick to learn and early graceful in manners. He was started early for preparation for his father's profession. From the town school he was placed under the private instruction of Rev. Mr. Hidden, of Tamworth, and afterwards sent to Am- herst Academy. He took lessons in Gifford's system in penmanship and became an elegant penman, kept school and taught private classes in penmanship, studiedhis pro essien with his father, attended lec- tures three terms at Dartmouth College and spent a

year's term of pupilage and riding with the distin- guished Dr. and Professor Nathan Smith, to learn his practice. He took his medical degree in 1816 and immediately commenced practice in Sandwich, but the next year he moved to Meredith Bridge, and although he made very pleasant acquaintances and had some practice, he moved to Deerfield, and in December, 1819, he again changed his field to Epsom, where he remained till 1825, when he established himself in Concord. After three years of success- ful practice there, he was induced, upon solicita- tion of Mr. Batchelder, agent of mills in Lowell, to remove there.

Here, in 1829, he brought as his bride, Olive Light Avery, daughter of Daniel Avery, Esq., of Meredith Bridge (now Laconia, N. H.), who was a wealthy merchant and manufacturer, a prominent and lead- ing citizen, unostentatious, but energetic and decisive in personal character and business habits.

By this marriage were born three sons and two daughters, the only one now living being Dr. George A. Crosby, of Manchester. His letters make quite a history of the trials and disappointments of the young physician of those days, who was obliged to present youth and inexperience upon ground pre- occupied and tenaciously held by those who could claim possession, if not much else, in the way of title; but increasing years and experience, accompanied with efforts and study, carried the young man to a leading member of the profession in Lowell, in fifteen years from his starting-point in Sandwich. He was honored with public offices in Lowell, and assisted in devising and organizing the various institutions of the town for its moral and intellectual prosperity.

After about five years' successful practice in Lowell, having passed through the land speculations and becoming somewhat enamored with manufacturing, he left Lowell to take charge of the Avery cotton- mill, at Meredith Bridge, Mr. Avery having deceased and the property of the family seeming to require his personal supervision. He enlarged the power of the works, and was just ready to reap his anticipated reward, when the mercantile and manufacturing dis- asters of 1836 and 1837 broke down his business and turned him back to his profession. In 1838 his brother Dixie, who had been in practice at Meredith Bridge several years, was appointed a professor in the medical college at Hanover and removed there, leav- ing his practice to Josiah, who now devoted himself to the profession again with his early love, zeal and labor. In March, 1844, he removed to Manchester, which had then become an interesting manufacturing town.

His professional life-work now assumed great use- fulness, great skill and inventive progress. Here for thirty years he was the unrivaled head of the profes- sion. Here he originated and introduced the method of making extensions of fractured limbs by the use of adhesive strips, which gave him a high reputation

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with surgeons in Europe as well as at home, and later he invented the " invalid bed," which has so tenderly held the patient without a strain or jar while the bed- clothes could be changed or wounds cared for, or, by dropping a belt or two, prevent painful local pressure and irritation. The skillful physician, the Christian gentleman and sympathizing friend were combina- tions of character in him rarely excelled. "His religious life," said Professor Tucker, of Andover, "was simple, real, true; with him there was no pre- tense; he had no beliefs except those which were thorough; no little questions vexed him; he loved God, trusted his Saviour and worked for the welfare of his fellow-men. Such was his record from first to last. He looked with a calm, clear eye into the future, and, so far as we know, was troubled with no doubts."

He was one of the founders of the Appleton Street Church in Lowell in 1830, and of the Franklin Street Church in Manchester in 1844. He held city offices, was several times in the Legislature and was a member of the convention for revision of the constitution.

In early manhood, from cough and feebleness, he had not much promise of long life, but after a severe typhoid fever during his residence in Concord, he had great general good health to the last two years of his life, when paralytic tendencies appeared. On Satur- day, the 2d day of January, 1875, after setting a broken arm in the morning, and after sitting in his own parlor for the finishing touches of the portrait- painter in his usual cheerfulness of spirits, in fifteen minutes after the artist had left him, at three o'clock P.M., he was stricken with paralysis, from which he did not rally, but passed away on the 7th, at four o'clock in the morning, almost eighty-one years of age.

WILLIAM D. BUCK, M.D.

William D). Buek was born in Williamstown, Vt., March 25, 1812, where his early boyhood was passed. In 1818 his parents moved to Lebanon, N. H., and he here enjoyed the advantages of the common schools of the time, and by the exercise of will-power and aided by his vigorous intellect he made rapid pro- gress in his studies. Not being able to take a col- legiate course, he, at an early period, went to Concord and engaged in the occupation of carriage-painter with Downing & Sons.

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History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 31

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1168

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168