History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire, Part 133

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia [Pa.] J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1520

USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire > Part 133
USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire > Part 133

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).

Lucian commenced teaching when sixteen years of age in the Bay Hill District, Northfield. After a second winter here, he taught in succession one winter at Webster, three in Centre Northfield, three in Natick, Mass., and one at Kingston. During all Yielding to the urgent request of the trustees of McCollom Institute, Mount Vernon, N. HI., Professor Hunt took charge of their institution, which, after pursuing his vocation two years longer, he recently this time he was ardently prosecuting his studies. He had read Latin, his favorite study, far beyond the college course, a suitable amount of Greek, many volumes of French and German, besides most of the | resigned, in order to carry out a purpose of his, formed

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HISTORY OF MERRIMACK COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

many years ago, to devote what might be left of his life to literary pursuits.

He is a trustee of McCollom Institute, and of the New Hampshire Conference Seminary at Tilton. In 1880 he delivered an historical address at the North- field Centennial, which was published in the Granite Monthly. Also, in June, 1885, he gave an address before the alumni of the Conference Seminary at Tilton.

Professor Hunt furnishes an example of the teacher, student and financier combined, and in all has achieved success. His favorite studies have been the ancient and modern languages-especially the Latin, French and German-ancient and modern history, English literature and elocution.

And now, having wielded the pedagogue's sceptre for a third of a century, blessed with good health and a competency, and possessing one of the most valu- able private libraries in New Hampshire, containing nearly three thousand volumes of well-selected works, and among them several hundred in the French and German languages, he proposes to realize his long- cherished design to retire and pass the remainder of his days in rural employments and the companion- ship of his books, where himself and lady would be most happy to receive the visits of their many friends in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. May the blessing of heaven rest upon them in their re- tirement !

DR. A. B. HALL.

Adino Brackett Hall was born in Northfield, N. H., October 17, 1819. He was the son of Jeremiah and Hannah (Haines) Hall, and the seventh in descent from Richard Hall, of Dorchester, whose son Richard settled in Bradford, Mass., in 1673, and was made free- man in 1676 ; he was chosen one of the first deacons of the church of Bradford, and held that office till his death, March 9, 1730. His son Joseph, born Feb- ruary 19, 1680, was a deacon of the church in West Brad- ford, and had nine children, of whom Ebenezer, born 1721, removed to Concord, N. H .; was a farmer and selectman, and married Dorcas Abbott, the first white girl born in Concord.

Of Ebenezer Hall's twelve children, Obadiah, born October 13, 1748, married Mary Perham, of New Ips- wich, N. H , November 3, 1770, and had seven chil- dren. Jeremiah Hall, their fourth child, born Octo- ber 18, 1777, married, September 15, 1801, Hannah Haines, of Northfield, N. H. ; was forty years a deacon in the Congregational Church, and had six children. Adino Brackett Hall was the youngest of this family.

Dr. Hall was also seventh in descent from George Abbott, one of the first settlers of Andover iu 1643. George Abbott lived and died on the farm owned now by John Abbott. "His son, Thomas Abbott, (born May 6, 1666, died April 28, 1728), lived on the west side of Shawshene River. The farm remained in the family a century. He taught his children to rever-

ence the Sabbath and keep it holy, and make the Bible their only rule of faith and practice.

"Edward Abbott, son of Thomas, was one of the proprietors of Pennacook, now Concord, N. H., one of the first selectmen and useful in town business. His house was a garrison, and stood on the west side of Main Street, south of the brook that runs between the State-house and court-house. The first white female and the first white male born in town were his chil- dren."1 Of these children, Dorcas, born February 15, 1728, married, June 17, 1746, Ebenezer Hall, and be- came the mother of Obadiah Hall, grandmother of Jeremiah, and great-grandmother of Dr. Hall, the subject of this sketch.

Dr. Hall was educated at the academy of Dyer H. Sanborn and at Dartmouth College. After leaving the medical school he hegan directly to look for a place to begin practice, and used often in later years to tell, with infinite relish, the difficulties attending his first settlement. He had heard of an opening in Kingston, Mass., for a young physician, and, taking a sleigh, he proceeded, with a friend, to investigate the town. Half-way on their journey they came to bare ground; but, borrowing a buggy, they went on. Ar- riving at Kingston, they called on the various poten- tates, and met the encouraging response that if the new doctor could practice homeopathy, he might succeed. Nevertheless, he settled there, and, though he remained but three years, he won such confidence that critical cases in Kingston were submitted to his care until the close of his life. His desire to relieve suffering gave him courage to allow cold water, in teaspoonfuls, to his first case of typhoid fever. The older doctors were aghast at such frightful presnmp- tion, and said he had killed the patient; but the man recovered, and the comfort of the new treatment was so great that he was called to all the typhoid cases the next year. He was also one of the first to admin- ister ether, and he was never afraid of anything be- cause it was new. From Kingston he went to Natick, where he had previously taught, and in 1852 he be- gan study in the hospitals of Paris. For two years he followed Nelaton, Roux, Rostan,-those great physi- cians and surgeons who have made this century illus- trions by their services to mankind.

October 7, 1854, Dr. Hall settled in Boston, where, for twenty-six years, he lived the active and self-deny- ing life of a physician in full practice. He was born for a doctor, his uncles were doctors, his older brother was of the same profession, and he himself, in his childish plays, was always beside a sick-bed, Joined to this love of medicine, he had courage, good sense, great kindness of heart, a genial presence and unfail- ing courtesy. He was destitute of that quality which bears the name, in America, of "brass," and one of his brother physicians said of him that "he didn't know what conceit was." He was satisfied to be

1Register of the Abbott family, 1847.

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quietly and continually doing good, and receiving the constant love and trust of many whose dearest friend he was. None but a physician can know the toil of such a life; and perhaps no one else ean know such a reward.

Dr. Hall volunteered to go to MeClellan's army be- fore Richmond, when surgeons were needed in the spring of 1862. He contracted malarial fever in those swamps, from which he was never entirely free. He served the Massachusetts Medical Society as councilor for twenty-five years, and the same length of time he was an active member of the school committee. Dr. Hall married, in 1864, Mary, eldest daughter of Rev. J. P. Cowles, of Ipswich.

Friday, April 16, 1880, he attended three cases of labor, leaving the last one at 5.30 P.M. Heated and fasting since morning, the east wind gave him a fatal chill. He died of pneumonia the following Wednes- day, April 21st. His fatal illness made apparent the sense of what he was, and what was lost by his death. Dr. Hall, like his mother, was proverbial for his kindness to the poor; it is still told of her that the saddest sight at her funeral was the group of poor women looking into her open grave. Each morn- ing of Dr. Hall's illness a crowd gathered on the side- walk, and refused to move on at the policeman's bid- ding till he had asked how the doctor was. Some waited patiently, like beggars, before the back win- dows, only to say, "My wife wants to know how the doctor is."

" And after he had served his generation, by the will of God, he fell on sleep."

JEREMIAH SMITH, ESQ.1

Probably no name is more familiarly known among English-speaking people than that of Smith ; and poor indeed is that town, especially in the United States, that cannot number one or more among its inhabitants. It also has the flavor of antiquity about it, since it must have sprung into being while the Teutonic raee was as yet undivided, perhaps before it left the heights of Armenia, as it is found in a direct or modified form in all the various subdivisions of that most energetie of the national families of the world. If Darwin's theory of the survival of the fittest be correct, it follows that the originators of the name Smith must have been not only the fittest, but the strongest among all who have heen honored as founders of family appellations, as, so far as we know, the name is more common than any other among the whole Caucasian race.

New Hampshire is no less favored than her sister- States with a generous sprinkling of the time- honored name, more or less abundant in nearly every town within her borders.

But among them all, no one is more deserving of mention by the town historian, or more worthy of remembrance in an especial degree by the citizens of Northfield, as one of its model farmers, earlier set- tlers, its oldest inhabitant, an upright cititzen and one whose official record in town was second to none, than the subject of this sketch.

Jeremiah Smith was the son of William and Dilly (Clough) Smith, and born in Old Hampton, N. H., March 10, 1770. His father originated in Canterbury, N. H., and mother in Kingston, N. H., so that the family is of true New Hampshire stoek several de- grees back.

He came to Canterbury when a boy, and lived with Colonel Jeremiah Clough till twenty-one years of age, when, having reached his majority, and consequently become his own master, he concluded to follow the example set by so many other Canterbury people, and seek his fortune further north, in what then seemed to be the land of promise to the Canter- buryites,-the sunny and bonny hills of Northfield. This was in 1792, two years before the great raising of the old meeting-house, in 1794, of which a full ac- count is given in the history of Northfield.

Northfield then was in the full flowing tide of grow- ing prosperity, and no doubt held out great attractions to the young adventurer; but little did he imagine, I surmise, when his walk from Canterbury had brought him to Bay Hill, that he had so soon found his life- haven, where he was to be anchored safely and hap- Squire Chas Ili b-1744 main pily for seventy-seven long years additional to those with which his manhood began. And little did he guess, when he called at Squire Glitten's, and en- gaged to work for him at seven dollars a month, and saw the sprightly Betsy of thirteen, that he had m. alice We found his life companion, who for nearly three- quarters of a century was to share with him whatever, weal or woe, Northfield had to bestow. But so it was to be. She was horn February 17, 1778, and after five years of faithful service on his part, when she was eighteen and he twenty-six, the father, Squire Glidden, and his daughter, Betsy, were so well satisfied with him and his work that the latter and he were united in marriage in the year 1797.

They first established their home at Bean Hill, on the farm afterwards owned by Messrs. Mills Glidden, Anthony C. Hunt, Morrill Moore, and which at present is in the possession of Mr. Clark. It was a rugged farm of about sixty aeres, with a hard wood and hard, compacted soil, with a plentiful sprinkling of rocks, a rather steep slope to the north, and in a region of powerful thunder-storms. Neighbors were few and far between, for this was in the earlier days, and the roads were rough and the passers-by few. But Mr. Smith and his young wife had two talismanic virtues, which, ever since man learned the art to accu mulate, have been powerful agents to evoke wealth from the hardest soil, and amid the most forbidding circumstances,-industry and economy.

1 By Prof. Lucian Hunt.

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HISTORY OF MERRIMACK COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

They worked early and late, reduced expenses, saved the pennies, enjoyed perfect health, and, as a consequence, rose slowly, it may be, but surely, in the scale of social, financial and political importance as the years went by. Would that the young of the present day-alas ! too many there are who need it --- might profit by the yery worthy example set before us by our hard-working and closely-saving ancestors! His was one of the big barns of the town,-an aristocratic barn for the times,-and yet the writer has been told, that this barn used to be filled, year after year, to the very eaves with hay and grain; and it is but fair to presume that a rich herd of stately oxen, cows, young cattle and sheep filled the spacious south-side yard, and were bountifully fed from its high-heaped con- tents. At Bean Hill all their children were born, except Warren H. and Mary Elizabeth.

Here they lived abont sixteen years, till the deatlı of Esquire Glidden, when, the homestead falling to Mrs. Smith by inheritance, they transferred their residence from Bean to Bay Hill, built a new house, made additions to the already extended barn, and there, on the ancestral fields, passed their years of strength and decline, prolonged to a period vouch- safed to few, enjoying in full measure the blessings that flow from agricultural pursuits, the hopes and fruition of seed-time and harvest, pride in their grow- ing family, and the increasing respect and town- honors bestowed by their fellow-citizens. The farm, -formerly called the Robert Perkins farm, as he was its first settler and the first clearing on it was made by him, still in possession of the family,-with its abundant timber and wood and extensive meadow, is, I suppose, considered the most valuable within the present limits of the town, and in those early days must have poured forth overflowing harvests.

Though Mr. Smith, through mistaken kindness or friendship, by becoming bondsman, lost all his prop- erty at two separate periods of his life, yet, by the force of a strong will and unflinching perseverance, assisted by conjugal energy, he rallied, regained the lost ground, and at the end of life left a handsome property to his children. The confidence of his fel- low-townsmen in his integrity and business capacity is shown by his election as selectman, year after year, and representative, and to other offices.

Mr. Smith, as we remember him, was rather strik- ing in his personal appearance, with a presence well calculated to arrest the attention of the most casual observer,-stalwart in form, with marked features, and an expression pleasant, yet showing a decided character. He was a man of excellent habits in every respect, and never knew the meaning of sickness, as he lived straight along, from childhood to old age, without the least interference from the thousand ails and ills that harass ninety-nine-hundredths of the human race. He never was obliged to call in the aid of an M.D., and, in short, enjoyed perfect health to the very last.

Over and above the treasure of health, moreover, he was blessed with a cheerful disposition, which rendered him a favorite with rich and poor, and made him delight in hearing and telling merry stories ; and, with the rich fund of anecdote and story, gathered in a long and active life, and held fast in a retentive memory, he could not be otherwise than an entertaining talker. The writer remembers well, when Mr. Smith's age was among the nineties, that an old Revolutionary soldier-we think his name was Dan- forth-from a distant part of the town, used to make him an occasional visit, for the express purpose, it would seem, of reviving memories of the olden times, when both were in their prime. And they succeeded thoroughly. The past lived again. The Revolu- tionary War was a fruitful theme, and especially the battle of Bunker Hill, in which the old soldier had been a participant. At such times their warlike enthusiasm would be roused almost to a white heat. Once, when the question of the emancipation of the . slaves was pending during our last war, Mr. Danforth, -if that was his name,-at one of these meetings, while the writer was at the house, asserted stoutly, that the negroes made as good soldiers as the whites ; said there were several at Bunker Hill, and their bullets dropped the red coats as fast as anybody's. One stood near himself, and " his gun went bang! as loud as the best."

Mr. Smith's opportunities for acquiring an educa- tion were, of course, very limited ; yet he seems to have had a natural turn for mathematics, arithmetic especially, of which a convincing proof exists in the form of an old blank-book with sheepskin covers, still treasured in the family, into which his examples were copied, some of which are " exceedingly diffi- cult."

He had decided views in regard to his duty as a citizen, and voted for every President from Washing- ton to Lincoln.

No kinder man in his family ever lived, and, as an unfailing consequence, the respect paid to him per- sonally by his children during life, and to his memory since he passed away, has been of the tenderest and most devoted kind. The last day he lived, he said to his two daughters, who were present,-" My family I have governed by love; never struck but one blow, and that was an accident."

The years moved on, and Mr. Smith became old and "well stricken in years," but for a long period Providence kindly withheld the stroke. Generations passed away, but still his gait was erect and his eye strong. The writer has his autograph attached to a legal instrument, firm and legible, written when he was approaching a hundred. Old acquaintances dropped, one by one, from sight, till, of all who began with him the journey of life, not one man or woman remained. And still his health was good. Much of this was due in his later years to the excellent care and unflagging attention of his daughter, Mrs.

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b 1806

Nancy C. Gilman, who, with her husband, ministered to every want of her parents, watching every phase of health,-all to such good effect that Time's fingers seemed to lose their power as the years went by. And thus her father's life was lengthened out to within three years of a century before he was laid to rest,-the oldest man that Northfield has as yet pro- duced.

Mrs. Smith, whose birth took place February 17, 1778, survived her husband nearly a year, dying at, the age of ninety-one, January 1, 1868. She was a woman of strong mind, great independence, deter- mined will, one who ruled her household well, " mov- ing therein as queen," and whose orders were obeyed ; and to her energetic assistance and inherited prop- erty, no doubt, much of Mr. Smith's financial pros- perity was due. Their remains lie in the new ceme- tery in Tilton.

Mr. Smith had nine children, of whom five are still living or recently deceased.

1st. His oldest daughter, Alice G., born March 19, 1804 ; married Mr. Charles M. Glidden, and re- sided many years in Southern Ohio, dying December 28, 1873. She had a daughter, Mary Y., and a son, Steven S., now living. The former married George Crawford, of Portsmouth, Ohio, and has two sons and one daughter,-namely, George W., who, after gradu- ating at West Point, studied law and is now practic- ing in Minnesota; John G., who, after studying in Germany, settled in Portsmouth, Ohio, and is now a leading physician there ; and Minnie Alice, who, after graduating at the Boston Conservatory of Music, spent three years in study at Ann Arbor, and received a diploma of M.D. Mrs. Glidden's son, Steven S., married Susan Gannet, of Ironton, Ohio, and has five children,-namely, Aingia A., a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston ; Jesse, a graduate of College Hill, Cincinnati, both married ; two sons now in a military school ; and Susan G., an infant.

2d. Mr. Smith's second daughter, Nancy C., mar- ried Mr. William Gilman, of Northfield, whose only daughter, Joan D., married Mr. H. A. Morse, a lead- ing shipper and commission merchant of Boston. They have three daughters,-two, Ruth and E. Ger- trude, brilliant scholars and accomplished musicians ; and Abba C., recently returned from Europe, an ama- teur artist of much promise.

Mrs. Gilman was born May 2, 1806. At an early age she engaged in teaching, for which she had a great liking and special aptitude,-teaching private schools in her own house, having charge of a select school in Ohio, with one season in the seminary, making in all some twenty years in the profession. She studied medicine at the Boston Female Medical College, and has been in its practice more or less for thirty years. But beyond her reputation as a teacher or physician, she is better known as a philanthropist, a pioneer in all the most prominent moral questions of

the day. She has ever been a thorough-going tem- perance advocate, a whole-souled champion of the anti-slavery cause, has lectured on the social vices and virtues, and is a stanch supporter of woman's enfranchisement, and through a long life the powers of her mind have beeu exerted and her influence felt for good, both in her native town and abroad.

3d. Joseph M. G. Smith, a retired iron-master, born December 28, 1807 ; has four children,-two sons and two daughters. The oldest, Joseph W., is con- nected with steamboating on the Ohio River. Jacob H., second son, with his two cousins, raised and equipped a company of soldiers, and served during the Rebellion ; was once dangerously wounded by a ball, which struck his watch, and, glancing, entered his hip; and is now major, and stationed at some frontier fort on the borders of Mexico. His oldest daughter, Mary E., married a prominent lawyer, who is now a judge in Portsmonth, Ohio. Josephine, the youngest, married Orin Murfin, a young man of much promise, and holding a responsible position, who, while conducting the funeral of a brother-Mason, dropped dead in front of the altar.

4th. Warren H. Smith, the youngest son, a shrewd and energetic man of business, born April 6, 1817, in his earlier days was actively engaged in railroad- building, having been a prominent contractor on the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad, when in process of construction, and afterwards on Southern railways-wethink in Kentucky. These and other simi- lar stirring enterprises ended, he considered himself entitled to a more quiet life, and accordingly hasset an excellent example to other Northifielders in settling down permanently on the paternal acres. While too many natives of the good old town have deserted it for the West or the city, he has chosen to make his father's home his own home and that of his children, and has increased its attractions in many ways. He

has remodeled the ancestral house, built a new and capacious barn, beautified and improved the grounds, so that this historic farm, originally a part of the Blanchard lot, we believe, in pleasantness and value combined, has not its equal on Bay Hill certainly, and perhaps not in town; and here Mr. Smith has wisely decided to pass the evening of his days, as a prosperous farmer and retired country gentleman ; and here may his age be prolonged till it shall reach or excel " the days of the years of his father."

The maiden-name of his wife was Miss Elizabeth Glines, one of Northfield's noble women, an excellent scholar, successful teacher and a lady of rare executive ability, well known for her labors of love in her neigh- borhood and church. Mr. Smith has two sons,-Charles Glidden and Jeremiah Eastman. Charles manages the farm. Jeremiah has been in business at the White Mountains the past five years, employing some fifty horses; is very popular in town, having been representative two years without any opposi- tion.

Garret

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HISTORY OF MERRIMACK COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

5th. Mary Elizabeth, born November 6, 1822; married Ephraim S. Wadleigh, the fortunate pos- sessor of the original farm of Benjamin Blanchard, the earliest pioneer, and first settler of Northfield. She died two years since, leaving one son and four daughters, who are all interested and actively engaged in agricultural pursuits. Three of the daughters-Ad- die P., Annie E. and Charlotte B .- reside at home; Olive A. married Peter Gile, of Franklin Falls ; and Smith G. is married and living at Tilton.

Such, in brief, is the imperfectly written sketch of Jeremiah Smith, Esq., and his descendants, whose lives, independent thought and energy have had a marked influence on the policy and fortunes of the pleasant and prosperous township of the children's nativity and their father's adoption. May North- field in the future produce many such.

WILLIAM F. KNOWLES, ESQ.1

Among the prominently worthy and enterprising sons of Northfield is the subject of the following sketch.

His grandfather, Joseph Knowles, was born June 15, 1758, and his grandmother, Sarah (Lock) Knowles, December 13, 1761. His death occurred February 16, 1815, when he was fifty-six years of age, and that of his wife August 30, 1841, in her eightieth year.

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History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire, Part 133

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia [Pa.] J. W. Lewis & co. Number of Pages: 1520

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia [Pa.] J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1520