History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire, Part 151

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 151
USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire > Part 151

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).

William T., A.M., although a brother of Charles B. Haddock, spelled and pronounced his name Hey- dock; born April 4, 1798; graduated at Dartmouth, 1819; read law with his uncle, Daniel Webster, at Boston; admitted to the bar in 1822; began practice at Hanover. Two years later removed to Concord, where he published the Probate Directory ; re- moved to Boston in 1829 and took the editorial chair of the Jurisprudence, a law journal published weekly. In 1831 removed to Lowell, and died No- vember 6, 1835, unmarried.

Lorenzo Haddock, M.D., a younger brother, was a physician at Buffalo, N. Y., where he died.

George H. Hutchings, M.D., born at Charlestown, Mass., February 3, 1840, and was very small when his parents removed to Salisbury. He received his edu- cation in Salisbury, and until after marriage his home was among us. He entered Harvard Medical Col- lege in 1857, and graduated at the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, Ohio, 1861, eventually set- tling at Woburn, Mass., where he continues engaged in a large and lucrative practice. He is connected with several medical societies and has published a number of works on special discases. Married Emily M. Lathrope; two children.

Albert L. Kelly, son of Hon. Israel W. and Rebecca (Fletcher) Kelly, born August 17, 1802; graduated at Dartmouth in 1822; read law and began practice at Frankfort; resides at Wintersport, Me .; married Caroline Pierce.

Israel W. Kelly, a brother of the former, born Janu- ary 1, 1804 ; graduated at Dartmouth in 1825 ; he was known as Webster Kelly; read law with Hon. Joseph Bell at Haverhill, Mass .; practiced for a time at Boston; married Lucella S. Pierce, of Frankfort, Me., in which State he continued to practice; died July 5, 1855.

Benjamin Loverin, M.D., born June 1, 1786 ; mar- ried Abigail Greeley; practiced his profession, and died at Sutton July 25, 1825.

John Webster Little, M.D., D.D.S., born April 7, 1818; read medicine and graduated at Dartmouth Medical College in 1845. Impaired health prevented him from riding, and he turned his attention to dentistry, which he practiced at Concord, winning an enviable reputation. Died December 21, 1877 ; married, first, Sarah P. White; married, second, Eliza- beth J. Goodwin.

Rev. Valentine Little, A.B., a brother of the former, born February 21, 1790; graduated at Dartmouth in 1811; studied divinity with Rev. Joseph Dodge, of Haverhill, Mass. ; served on a mission and supplied

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vacancies until he was ordained pastor of the Con- gregational Church at Lowell, Me., in 1826; returned to his place of nativity (Salisbury), in 1836, where he died June 4, 1852; married, first, Mary Clark, of Maine; married, second, Miranda C. Church.

Rev. Ebenezer L. Little, A.B., born April 30, 1837 ; took a course of study at the University of Michigan in 1861, and completed at the Theological Seminary at Rochester, N. Y., in 1866 ; was ordained pastor of the Baptist Church at Clifton, N. Y., in 1866. In July, 1871, he accepted a call from the Baptist Church at Lapeer, Mich., remaining six years. In 1878 became pastor at Alpena, Mich., and continnes; married, Susan C. Lamson.

Rev. Frank R. Morse, A.M., D.D., graduated at Dartmonth, 1861 ; immediately entered the Newton (Mass.) Theological Institute, from which he gradu- ated in 1865. Dr. Morse is a brilliant and easy speaker and a laborions worker in Christ's vineyard. At present pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist Church at Brooklyn, N. Y. ; one of the professors in the Brook- lyn Lay College and Bible Institute; one of the owners and editors of the Watch Tower. Married Emma B. Giles, of New York.

Thomas J. Noyes, M.D., son of Joseph, born No- vember 20, 1805.

Hon. Moses Pettengill, born April 16, 1802; one of Salisbury's self-made men; began mercantile husi- ness at Rochester, N. Y., in 1827 ; thence to Brockport, N. Y. In 1834 removed to Peoria, Ill., and in com- pany with Jacob Gale opened the first hardware-store at that place, where he continued in a number of enterprises. He held a large number of city offices, and was a member of the State Senate. He was one of the originators of the Presbyterian Church at Peoria, and gave largely of his time and funds for the support of Christianity, being a trustee and deacon of the church since 1834-35. He gave princely sums in aid of the negro and the soldiers, and was one of the sup- porters of Wheaton College. He built a day and boarding-school, costing some thirty thousand dollars, which is meeting with good success. He died No- vember 9, 1883 ; married, first, Lncy, daughter of Amos Pettengill ; died February 29, 1864; married, second, Mrs. Hannah W. (Bent) Tyner.

Hon. James O. Pettengill, born April 17, 1810; early removed to Rochester, N. Y., and there con- tinues. Married, first, Emaline Woodbury ; married, second, Mrs. Harriet B. Howard. She died October 13, 1882. A man of great business capacity, highly respected, and has held many offices of public trust and of private corporations with fidelity; one of the founders of the Rochester Theological Seminary, and established the chair of church history.

Thomas Hale Pettengill, Esq., born November 20, 1780 ; married Aphia Morse; she died at Portland, Me., November 10, 1861. He died at Salisbury ; graduated at Dartmouth College, 1804; read law and admitted to the bar in 1808, opening an office at

Canaan, where he remained until 1822, when he re- turned to Salisbury and continued in the practice of his profession, in which he sustained an enviable reputation.

Benjamin Pettengill, A.M., born September 17, 1789; graduated at Middlebury College in 1812; was a merchant and hotel proprietor, remaining in his native town. He could only be induced to hold the office of representative for three years; married Betsey, daughter of Lieutenant Benjamin Pettengill.

Hon. John W. Pettengill, son of the above, horn November 12, 1835; entered Dartmouth College in 1852; began the study of law under Hon. Asa Fowler at Concord ; health failing, he returned home, and in the spring of 1858 removed to Charlestown, Mass., completed his lawstudies under Hon. J. Q. A. Griffin, and at the April term in 1859 was admitted to the bar, opening an office at Charlestown immediately after, and for three years was city solicitor, during which time he lost but three cases. In 1874 he re- moved to Boston. Under the administration of Gov- ernor Talbot he was made judge of the District Court, having jurisdiction over nine towns, and is assistant judge of the Charlestown Police Court. Married, first, Margaret W. Dennitt; married, second, Emma M. Tilton ; married, third, Mary Dennitt.

Solomon M. Pingrey, born November 12, 1820; graduated at Dartmouth College in 1840 and died the following October.

Hon. William M. Pingrey, A.M., born May 28, 1806; read law with Samuel I. Wells (see Lawyers) and with Shaw & Chandler at Danville; was ad- mitted to the bar in June, 1832, and the following month opened an office at Weathersfield, remaining nine years ; removed to Springfield, thence to Perkins- ville. While at Weathersfield he held the office of town clerk, treasurer, selectman and county surveyor; a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1850; county commissioner and State auditor from 1853 to 1860; a member of the Legislature in 1860, '61, '68; a member of the Senate in 1869, '70, '71, and later as- sistant judge of Windsor County Court, and for forty- five years deacon of the Baptist Church. He died May 1, 1885. Married, first, Lucy G. Brown ; second, Mrs. Lucy C. Richardson.

Colonel Samuel E. Pingrey, A.M., born August 2, 1832; graduated at Dartmouth College in 1857; read law and admitted to the bar in Windsor County, Vt., in 1859; began practice at Hartford, Vt. ; enlisted in the United States service in 1861 and, at the ex- piration of three years, returned as colonel; resides at Hartford, where he enjoys a large and lucrative practice ; has been county solicitor two terms ; elected Lieutenant-Governor in 1883 and chosen Governor the following year.

Colonel Stephen M. Pingrey, a brother to the former, was born March 21, 1835; read law with Hon. A. P. Hunton at Bethel, Vt., where he was ad- mitted to the bar in 1860; enlisted as a private in

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1861 and came home in command of his regiment at the end of three years; resides and practices his profession at Hartford; married Mary Foster, of Bethel, Vt.

William W. Proctor, M.D., born May 9, 1807; read medicine with Dr. Bartlett; graduated at Dart- inouth Medical College in 1833; began practice at Hill; removed to Pittsfield, where he died April 23, 1861 ; married Mary Hale.

Hon. Nathaniel Parker, born January 31, 1807; re- moved to Williston, Vt., and represented that town in the Legislature in 1839-42 ; removed to Burlington, Vt., where he was appointed deputy collector, serving six years ; a director of the Merchants' and Commercial Banks ; he held the same position in the Vermont Life Insurance Company since its organiza- tion ; president of the Burlington Glass Company. He was appointed assistant judge of the County Court in 1870, holding the office six years. Married, first, Cynthia L. Haines; second, Julia B. Hoswell.

Rev. Moses Sawyer, A.M., born March 11, 1776; graduated at Dartmouth College in 1799, taking first honors; studied theology with Rev. Asa Burton at Thedford, Vt., until 1801; ordained pastor of the Congregational Church at Henniker May 21, 1802; dismissed in 1826; installed at Scarborough, Me., Gloucester, Mass. ; preached at Saugus and Ipswich, Mass., where he died August 26, 1847. Married Fanny, daughter of Captain Peter Kimball, of Bos- cawen.

Nathaniel Sawyer, A.M., brother of the former, born April 10, 1784; graduated at Dartmouth Col- lege in 1805; read law at Concord and at Salem, Mass. ; began practice at Newburyport, Mass .; thence went to Boston, where he enjoyed a large and lucrative practice. Removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he died, October 3, 1853. Married at Frankfort, Ky., Palemia Bacon.

Colonel George W. Stevens, A.M., born November 16, 1814; read law with Hon. G. W. Nesmith and practiced at Lebanon. Married Sarah A. Daven- port. He died October 2, 1877.

Elder Hiram Stevens, born December 12, 1803; a preacher of the Free-Will Baptist Church in Salis- bury, Meredith, Ohio, and several other places. He was an eloquent, powerful speaker. Died June 6, 1880. He married three times.

Lieutenant Robert Smith removed to Salisbury pre- vious to 1768, and was one of the town's most prominent men, serving throughout the Revolutionary War and was one of her prominent churchmen. Married, 1768, Sarah Eaton. He died November 11, 1801.

Robert Smith, M.D., grandson of the former, studied medicine at Dartmouth Medical College, re- ceiving his degree in 1847. Married, first, Susan, daughter of Joshua Fifield; second, Hannah Mars- ton; third, Abigail Pettengill. He practiced his profession at Amesbury, Mass., and Hampton, N. H. Died in Salisbury, April 13, 1873.

Hon. Peter Swett, born March 27, 1801; removed to Brockport, N. Y., in 1830, and for six years was engaged in mercantile pursuits; removed to Peoria, Ill., and became extensively engaged in vintage busi- ness, where he died in 1868. He served in the State Senate, was postmaster, and reappointed by Presi- dent Buchanan, and served as city treasurer ; married Frances Trumbull. She died in 1872.

John P. Townsend, living in New York City since 1850; vice-president of the Bowery Savings-Bank, the largest institution of the kind in the country having assets of over forty millions ; president of the Municipal Gas-Light Company, of Rochester; vice- president of the Maritime Exchange ; director of the Long Island Railroad Company; secretary and man- ager of the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled, and a trustee and manager in a number of other he- nevolent and charitable institutions. Married Eliza- beth A. Baldwin.

Patrick Henry Townsend, horn October 20, 1823; entered Phillips Exeter Academy. In the fall of 1848 he entered the junior class at Bowdoin College and graduated with honor in 1850; read law with Hon. Amos Tuck, Hon. E. B. Washburn and was ad- mitted to the bar. His was a very eventful and noted life. He died very suddenly at Washington in May, 1864.

Dr. John Trne, A.B., son of Deacon Jacob True, born April 9, 1789; graduated at Dartmouth College in 1806; read medicine at Concord and at Dartmouth Medical School ; began practice at Haverhill, Mass .; thence removed to Tennessee, where he died in 1815.

Walter Wells, son of Samuel I. Wells, Esq., horn in 1830 ; graduated at Bowdoin College in 1852 with high honors; died at Portland, Me., April 21, 1881; married Mary Sturdivant. He was a teacher and lecturer on educational topics, particularly of a scien- tific nature. In 1867 he took charge of the hydro- graphic survey of Maine. He wrote a work entitled, " Water-Power of Maine: an Elementary Physical Geography," an elaborate and exhaustive report on the relation of the tariff to the growth and manufac- ture of cotton in the United States.

William Coombs Thompson, son of Hon. Thomas W. Thompson, born March 17, 1802; graduated at Dartmouth in 1820; read law and admitted to the bar in 1824, beginning practice at Concord; removing to Plymouth in 1826. In 1852 he removed to Worces- ter, Mass., where he died April 27, 1877. Married, first, Martha H. Leavett; second, Susan B. Nelson.

Charles E. Thompson, a brother of the former, born June 19, 1807; graduated at Dartmouth College in 1828 ; read law one year ; traveled in South Amer- ica and the South Seas for three ycars ; returned to Mobile, Ala., where he was in trade; completed his law studies with his brother at Plymouth and admitted to the bar in 1838; began practice at Haverhill, con- tinuing till 1854; resides at Cresskill, N. Y .; mar- ried Mary, daughter of Hon. Miles Olcott.

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Henry Lyman Watson, M.D., read medicine with Hon. Leonard Eaton, M.D., at Warner; graduated from the Vermont Medical School in 1848 ; has prac- ticed at Stewartstown, Guildhall, Vt., and for the last fourteen years at Littleton ; has been a member of the Legislature and postmaster ; also filled numerous positions of honor and trust, both public and private ; married, first, Roxana Hughes ; married, second, Mary J. Hardy.

Irving A. Watson, M.D., born September 6, 1849; read medicine and graduated from the Vermont Med- ical University in 1871; practiced at Northumberland ten years, representing that town in the Legislature. In 1881 he removed to Concord, where he was made permanent secretary of the State Board of Health, filling the position with great satisfaction; married Lena A. Farr, of Littleton.

government, and at the second convention voted for its adoption, prefacing his vote by a speech charac- teristic of the man. He was the town's first justice of the peace. In church matters he exercised great influence, and was a member in good standing. No citizen of the town did more valiant fighting or was in the service longer than Colonel Webster. As an officer, he was beloved by his soldiers, and set the good example of being found in the front of his men, and in the thickest of the fight. He was born to com- mand, of cool, steady nerve, and possessing good judgment. Many pages might be written of the doings of this noble man.

Hon. Ezekiel Webster, son of Colonel Ebenezer, born March 11, 1780. The first nineteen years of his life were spent upon the farm. When it was decided that he should enter Dartmouth, two terms were spent at the Salisbury Academy ; thence to Dr. Wood's, where in nine months he fitted for college, entering Dart- mouth in 1801 and graduating in 1804. Read law with General Sullivan and Parker Noyes, entering the profession in September, 1807, at Boscawen, where he continued. He was finely proportioned, six feet tall, and of light complexion. As a lawyer he possessed few equals. A wise counselor and an able advocate. In debate he was dignified and courteous. His weapons were strong arguments clothed in simple yet elegant language. While arguing a case in court at Concord, he suddenly fell back and immediately expired, April 10, 1829; married, first, Alice Bridge; married, second, Achsah Pollard, who still resides at Concord.

Hon. Ebenezer Webster, also known as Captain, Colonel and Judge; son of Ebenezer Webster; born at East Kingston, April 22, 1739 (O. S.) ; married, first, Mehitable Smith; married, second, Abigail Eastman, a woman of clear and vigorous understanding, of more than ordinary common sense, and took great delight in debating any subject ; a woman of high spirit, proud of her children and ambitious of their future distinction. Young Webster, like many young men, was bound out to learn a trade, but his master prov- ing a tyrant in every sense of the word, young Web- ster ran away and went to live in the family of Colonel Ebenezer Stevens, for whom the town was named (Stevenstown). Mr. Stevens dying soon after, Webster continued in the son's (Major Ebenezer Ste- Hon. Daniel Webster, born in Salisbury January 8, 1782, brother of the former. So many volumes have been printed, orations and memoirs delivered on this great man, that we do not feel competent to say any- thing farther. As a child Daniel was weak, and it was thought by his parents that he never would be able to perform manual labor; consequently, from the first his education was begun; his first public instructor was Master Robert Hoag; his second, James Tappan. When fourteen years of age he spent six months at Phillips Academy, Exeter; after his return he went to Dr. Wood's, at Boscawen ; here he fitted for Dart- mouth College, entering in 1788 and graduating in 1801, with high honors. After teaching at Fryeburg, Me., he returned to Salisbury in September, 1802, and began the study of law with Hon. Thomas W. Thompson, continuing till July 1804, when he went to Boston, completing his studies under Hon. Christopher Gore, and in the following March (1805) was admitted to the bar; he immediately returned to Boscawen, opened an office, continuing till September, 1807; turning his business over to his brother Ezekiel, he removed to Portsmouth, and was admitted to the Superior Court of New Hampshire. Continuing at Portsmouth until 1816-17, he removed to Boston, Mass., where he con- tinued. In 1822 he was elected to Congress from the Boston District, and re-elected in 1824. In 1827 sent vens') family. When Webster became of age (1760) he located in the town and built him a log house; marrying in 1761, he brought his wife to the new set- tlement, where they continued to reside, and eventu- ally became the owner of some two hundred and twenty-five acres of land. About 1785-86 he removed to the Lower village and built a two-story tavern, with a two-story ell; here he remained till 1799, when he exchanged his tavern with William Haddock for the latter's dwelling on the opposite side of the street, where he died in 1806, and now known as part of the Orphans' Home at Lower Franklin. The first saw and grist-mill was located on Mr. Webster's land, just east of his log house. On the expiration of the proprietors' lease, Mr. Webster became the owner, and conducted them a number of years. He held his first public office in 1764. At the first meeting after the town's incorporation he was chosen moderator, hold- ing the office forty-three times. In 1769 he was chosen selectman, and held the office nine years. In 1778-80 he was elected representative of the classified towns of Salisbury and Boscawen, and from Salisbury in 1790-91, and Senator for the years 1785, '86, '87, '88, '89, '90, '91; judge of the Court of Com- mon Pleas from 1791 until the time of his death, in 1806. He was one of the delegates to Exeter to the convention which met to form a permanent plan of to Congress, remaining till 1840, resigning the office

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to accept that of Secretary of State under General Harrison; this office he filled with marked ability until 1843, when he resigned. In 1845 he was again chosen Senator. In 1850, on the death of President Taylor he resigned the Senatorship and became Sec- retary of State under President Fillmore, continuing until his death, in 1852. His public life may thus be summarized,-Representative in Congress eight years, a Senator in Congress nineteen years, a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, and five years in the President's Cabinet as Secretary of State. During most of this time his party was in the minority. In the spring of 1839 he visited England, Scotland and France. Dartmouth College conferred the degree of LL. D. He united with the Congre- gational Church at Salisbury September 13, 1806; married, first, May 26, 1808, Grace Fletcher, died January 21, 1828; married, second, 1832, Caroline Bayard Le Roy.

Captain John Webster, a cousin of Hon. Ebenezer Webster, born 1710; a very prominent man of the town, to which he removed very early; he kept the fort at Boscawen, the principal owner of the first mill erected in Salisbury and procured the town's char- ter; he was very closely connected with the town's affairs, a man universally respected and honored. He died April 29, 1788 ; married Susannah Snow (?), died 1801, aged ninety-one years.

Humphrey Webster, born December 12, 1789; grad- uated at Middlebury College (?) ; served in the War of 1812; removed to Virginia, where he practiced law and died in 1820 (?)

Humphrey Webster, born February 19, 1821 ; grad- uated at Dartmouth College, 1844; became a teacher at Springfield, Mass., then at Worcester, then in North Carolina. Previous to the war he took a plantation in that State and died there in 1866; married Eliza Hamilton, daughter of Lucius A. Emery.

Rev. David R. Whittemore, born July 31, 1819 ; at- tended school at Dracut Academy. In 1842 he re- moved to Rhode Island, where he was ordained and became pastor of the Free Baptist Church at North Providence. In 1846 he filled the same position for the South Free Baptist Church, at Newport. Resides at Providence. He is extensively known as a great Christian worker and has formed a number of churches. Brightness of intellect, correctness of judgment and positiveness of opinion are traits which make him a wise counselor and a bold leader ; married Eliza J. Gilbert.

Rev. Joseph Whittemore, M.D., born in 1813, was ordained pastor of a Baptist Church in Rhode Island, but for twenty years he has practiced medicine at Osage, Iowa.

Jeremiah W. Wilson, M.D., son of Dr. Job Wil- son, born January 11, 1816 ; read medicine and grad- uated at Castleton (Vt.) Medical School; locating in the village of Contoocook, at Hopkinton, where he continues in a large and successful practice.

Ephraim F. Wilson, M.D., born October 30, 1817 ; read medicine and graduated at Castleton (Vt.) Medi- cal School in 1845 ; opened an office at Sanbornton ; removed to East Concord in 1849; in 1854 removed to Rockville, Conn., where he enjoyed a large and lucrative practice; married Rhoda Barnard.

Thomas W. Wilson, M.D., born February 16, 1806 ; married Amanda M. Sawyer ; he died in 1861 ; he com- pleted his medical education at the Dartmouth Medi- cal School; returned to Salisbury and had a large and extensive practice. He first joined the Baptist Church, later the Congregational Church, and was highly respected.

Moses S. Wilson, M.D., read medicine with his father, Dr. Thomas W .; attended medical lectures at Dartmouth, Castleton, Vt., and Harvard Medical Schools, where he graduated in 1849. Opening an office at Warner, he continued until the death of his father, in 1861, when he returned to Salisbury, re- maining until his appointment as assistant surgeon of the Seventh New Hampshire Regiment; resigning in the summer of 1864, he removed to Galesburg, Ill., where he died in 1873. Married Mary S. Harvey.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

THOMAS DEARBORN LITTLE.

Thomas Dearborn Little was born in Salisbury, N. H., August 14, 1823. He is a son of Thomas Rowell Little, a native of Newburyport, Mass., and Nancy (Webster), daughter of John Webster, one of the early settlers of Salisbury.

He married, first, November 27, 1851, Susan E., daughter of Robert Smith, M.D. She was born Oc- tober 2, 1828, in Amesbury, Mass., and died January 31, 1875.

He married, second, Lucy L., daughter of Andrew Davis, of Rutland, Vt. She was born December 26, 1844.

Mr. Little received his education principally at Salisbury Academy, and he subsequently taught school in winter for ten years.

Having a liking for mathematical studies, he studied surveying with his uncle, Rev. Valentine Little, and assisted in the preliminary survey and

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location of the Northern New Hampshire Railroad, in 1845. He has continued the practice of surveying since that time, as his services have been required.

Although he desired to enter college and get a more liberal education, he yielded to the wish of his parents and remained at the old homestead as a farmer and mechanic.

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History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire, Part 151

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