History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire, Part 186

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 186
USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire > Part 186

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During one term, while other students were en- gaged in recreation, he cultivated the soil, giving the proceeds for a copy of " The Religious Encyclopædia." But these struggles with adverse elements were not without reward. He never grew discouraged, and these fierce contests were daily developing into a sturdy manhood. With self-reliance came firmness and moral strength. He was sedate-perhaps a na- tive feature of his character, enhanced by the sur- roundings of his boyhood and his earliest recollec- tions, mingled with poverty and the laborious toil of his mother's needle. Still, he was always cheerful, and had a host of friends.

The frivolities and merry-makings, in which too many of the young men engaged, had no allurements

1 By S. H. Quincy, Lancaster, Mass.

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HISTORY OF BELKNAP COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

for him. His aims in life were too serious, his efforts too arduous, his time too precious to give to auy hours spent in such amusements, the glitter of even a passing pleasure.

In the first term of his academic course he had be- come deeply interested in a religious life, and, in November, 1839, he was haptized and received into the Baptist Church in Rumney, and by the same licensed to preach iu September, 1840. During this period of his life he had the aid of high religious convictions, and in his greatest straits found comfort and strength from the Father, who, out of this severe discipline, was to raise an efficient helper in his earthly vineyard. The same patient study was continued. No subject was left until thoroughly understood; and what had been somewhat slowly acquired was not forgotten. He graduated with credit to himself and with the confidence and well-wishes of the entire faculty. His after-life helongs to the Baptist denomination of the State. He was ordained a pastor of the Baptist Church in Hopkinton, N. H., April 22, 1846, having supplied them regularly from the September previous.

On the 30th of July, 1847, at Warner, he was mar- ried to Ann Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Caleb and Eliza Follansbee Buswell. He was dismissed Septem- ber 30, 1851 ; settled with the church at Lake village October 1, 1851; dismissed February, 1859; with the Merrimack Street Church, Manchester, March 30, 1859; dismissed October 1, 1862; with the church at Methuen, Mass., October 1, 1862; dismissed April 30, 1867; with the church at Lake village May 1, 1867; dismissed August 1, 1880; with the church at Rumney April 17, 1881; dismissed October 1, 1883.

It is safe to say that, during this long period of thirty-seven years of active pastoral work, the minis- try of Mr. Hall was remarkably successful. He was thoroughly devoted to his calling, and his whole heart was enlisted in the salvation of mankind. He was warmly welcomed to the several churches at his settlements, and when the stern decree of duty called him away there were very many grieving friends.

The amount of good that he accomplished will never be known until the veil is lifted from the future.

He will have many stars in the crown of his re- joicing. As an illustration applicable to all his parishes, I quote from the history of the First Bap- tist Church in Methuen, published in the Minutes of the Association for 1880; after speaking of especial trials, it says :

" The coming of Mr. Hall at this time was very opportune, and gave encouragement to the church to renew their diligence and reconsecrate themselves to the work of God. He was especially adapted to the field, and by bis genial manuer, dignified bearing and sympathetic heart won not only the hearts of his church and congregatino, but the respect of the community. His labors are frequently referred to now among the older members of his church, and his kindness is cherished with tender recollection by those who shared it in times of trials and sorrow.

His labors were blessed to the strengthening of the church and a con- tinuance of harmony and spiritual activity. In the spring of 1866 there was a quickening of the church and mauy were added, who became use- ful and efficient helpers. . . . Having labored earnestly and successfully for about five years, Mr. Hall resigned his pastoral care March 27, 1867. The church, being anxious to have him continue his labors, urgently re- quested him to reconsider his determination and remain with them. Still adhering to his purpose, the church very reluctantly accepted his resignation."

But the labors of Mr. Hall were not by any means confined to those pertaining strictly to his profession. His reputation extended far beyond his pastorates, and he became a power in the denomination through- out the State. His advice was widely sought. He was deeply interested in educational institutions, and his keen insight and patient endeavor fully equipped him to be of great service in this direction. All charitable organizations of merit found in him an active helper. His has been truly a busy life. Among his published works are some twenty or more reports as school committee of various dates for the towns of Hopkinton, Meredith and Laconia, N. H., and Methuen, Mass. ; reports as school commissioner for Belknap County for 1854, 1855, 1858 and 1859; re- port of the New Hampshire Board of Education to the Legislature, 1855; seventh and eighth annual reports of the board of trustees of the New Hamp- shire State Normal School ; seventeen reports as sec- retary of the New Hampshire Baptist Convention ; discourse delivered at the funeral of Mrs. Martha R. Herrick, wife of Rev. J. S. Herrick, Rumney, N. H .; the first half-century of the First Baptist Church in Methuen, Mass., 1865. The honorary degree of A.M. was conferred on him by Dartmouth College in 1860; that of D.D. by Central University, Iowa, in 1882. Mr. Hall was a member of the New Hamp- shire Board of Education for Belknap County for four years ; secretary of the board in 1855, and chair- man in 1858. He was for several years a trustee of New Hampton Academical and Theological Institu- tion, previous to its removal to Vermont; and for twenty years held the same position in regard to the New London Literary and Scientific Institution (now Colby Academy). He was also a trustee of the New Hampshire State Normal School for seven years, from 1872, and for two years secretary of the board. He was secretary and treasurer of the New Hampshire Baptist Pastoral Association from 1851 to 1861 inclu- sive. He was a trustee of the New Hampshire Bap- tist Convention from 1849 to 1862 and from 1867 to 1878, and secretary of the same from 1856 to 1862 and from 1867 to 1878-in all seventeen years. In all these various trusts, strict fidelity to duty, an un- swerving integrity and an unvarying courtesy were the marked characteristics of his office.

The great measure of success which has attended his career, Mr. Hall cheerfully claims is largely due to his wife, who, by her ability and liberal culture, combined with strict economy, industry and tact, has proved a helpmate in so many ways for nearly forty years.

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GILFORD.

Mr. Hall does not possess the qualities that make what the world would call a brilliant man. Conclu- sions do not come to him as intuitions or startling revelations.

His grasp of mind, always comprehensive, is too massive to move by electricity.

Results are rather worked out by careful investiga- tion. Conscientious in every fibre of his being, he desires clearly to see the right. Consequently he has always been a safe counselor, and his judgments have seldom failed. As a pastor, he has been prudent and watchful, pure and dignified in his daily life, always casting oil upon troubled waters. His heart has always been open to the anguish of suffering or the wail of sorrow.

In his religious views, it seems unnecessary to say that he has always been a Baptist to the core. To him the doctrines of the Bible are clear and explicit and a living truth.

But he is exceedingly catholic and tolerant of the views of others, as it would be a part of his nature to be. Firm and uncompromising in what he believes to be the teachings of the Scriptures, and in his preaching never withholding them, he would not willingly injure the feelings of a single human being.

Mr. Hall is not a controversialist for the sake of argument. There is nothing pugnacious in his na- ture. He loves those things that tend to peace. Still, when principle is involved, he is firm and even aggressive. An indomitable perseverance is one of his marked characteristics. Without this quality, he never would have achieved success. Indeed, his better aspirations would have been utterly crushed in early life ; and by this alone he has borne the most serious responsibilities and carried through the greatest enterprises of his life.

Mr. Hall has, from his earliest boyhood, been a stanch temperance advocate, having never drunk a glass of intoxicating liquor as a beverage, nor used a particle of tobacco in any form. Besides lecturing on temperance, he has always sought to persuade young men to abstain from the use of these stimu- lants, and he has joyful reason to believe that, through his earnest efforts, many children and youth have been saved from the terrible evils of intemper- ance.

Since his return to Lake village, Mr. Hall has found recreation and pleasure in fruit-culture, par- ticularly that of grapes and pears, of which he has had on his grounds about fifty varieties of each. Premiums for the best show of these fruits have been repeatedly awarded him by the Grafton and Belknap Counties Agricultural Fairs.

Long-continued illness alone compelled him to relinquish the active work of the ministry; with returning health, many pulpits would be gladly opened to him. But it is not probable that he will enter upon another pastorate. He and his worthy wife are living quietly in their pleasant home at Lake

village, where so many hope that the evening of their days may be spanned with the bow of promise.

He is still frequently called to the bridal and the funeral. His interest is in no manner relaxed in the success of Christian effort ; and as the shadows begin to gather, a long life devoted to the welfare of his kind grows luminous with a brightness which merges into the glories of the hereafter. This hastily- prepared sketch is the tender testimonial of an old schoolmate and a life-long friend. To those, so few of whom are living, who know the privations of his childhood and youth and the heroic struggle of his early manhood, out of which came ultimate success, it will not seem like words of adulation, but a calm and dispassionate rehearsal of some of the events and characteristics of a valuable life.

MARTIN ALONZO HAYNES.

Martin Alonzo Haynes comes from old Puritan stock, being a descendant, in the eighth generation, from Samuel Haynes, who came over from England, in 1635, in the ship "Angel Gabriel ;" was wrecked at Pemaquid (now Bristol) Me., in the great hurricane of 15th of August, same year; finally settled at Ports- mouth, N. H., in the parish of Greenland, in 1650; was one of the nine founders and a deacon of the First Congregational Church of Portsmouth; was a selectman from 1653 to 1663, and ;held many other offices of trust.

The subject of this sketch was born at Springfield, N. H., July 30, 1842, and four years later his parents removed to Manchester, N. H.

His father, Elbridge G., was for thirty years a prom- inent figure in the city's history, noted for his un- swerving convictions, his old-fashioned integrity and sound judgment and his interest in public affairs.

He was anxious that his children should enjoy better advantages than had been his in youth, and the outbreak of the Civil War found Martin, his oldest child, with a good High-School education and the printer's trade acquired. But President Lincoln's first call for troops found the boy of eighteen ready, and he enrolled his name and was mustered into the "Abbott Guard," the first company to enter the camp of the First Regiment at Concord. Before leaving the State the company was transferred to the Second Regiment and re-enlisted for three years.

Shortly after the regiment's arrival at Washington he was appointed clerk to the regimental commissary ; but when the first advance was made into Virginia, learning the arrangements contemplated his remain- ing back in camp, he threw up his clerkship in dis- gust, demanded his musket and took his place in the ranks of his company.

It is his boast that he served as a private soldier for three years, that he participated in every engagement of the regiment from Bull Run to Cold Harbor, that

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HISTORY OF BELKNAP COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

he never answered to "surgeon's call " and was never a day off duty.

He was three times slightly wounded,-at First Bull Run, in the neck by a splinter from a fence-rail, while defending, late in the day, the sunken road, immediately in front of the Henry house; at Glen- dale, receiving a severe contusion in the groin from a spent ball; at Second Bull Run, in the famous bay- onet charge of Grover's Brigade, when the Second Regiment pierced two rebel lines of battle, he re- ceived a savage blow in the face and bled profusely, but carried out of the mêlée the wounded Lieutenant Rogers, who died in his arms.

In this affair the regiment lost 132 out of 332 men. At Gettysburg, where the regiment rendered the " Peach Orchard" famous and suffered the terrible loss of 193 out of 354 engaged, the three men nearest him in line were all wounded by fragments from one shell, but he escaped unmarked.

Upon his return from the war he resumed news- paper work at Manchester for a while, serving upon the editorial staff of the Daily Mirror and Daily Union, until he left to take the position of clerk and paymaster of the Rockingham Mills, at Portsmouth, N. H. He remained there until the suspension of the mills-about a year.

In January, 1868, in company with Benjamin F. Stanton, he founded the Lake Village Times newspa- per, and has retained control of the paper ever since, with the exception of the first three years, as sole proprietor.

He represented the town of Gilford in the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1872 and 1873, in the first year serving as chairman of the committee on fisheries, in the latter as chairman of the military committee. He was an aide-de-camp on the staff of Governor Prescott, with the rank of colo- nel. In 1876 he was appointed clerk of the Circuit Court and the Superior Court of Judicature for Belk- nap County, retaining the position until 1883, when he resigned to take a seat in the National Congress. In 1881 and 1882 he served as president of the New Hampshire Veteran Association, which he turned over to his successor not only free from debt, but with several thousand dollars' worth of buildings for the accommodation of its annual reunions at Weirs. He was also Commander of the Grand Army of the Re- public, Department of New Hampshire, during the same years.

Upon the approach of the fall elections of 1882 his old comrades-in-arms brought his name forward for the Republican nomination to Congress from the First New Hampshire District, and after a canvass which is memorable in the history of New Hampshire poli- tics he was nominated in the convention, at Dover, and elected in November by an unprecedented plu- rality of nearly thirty-eight hundred. In 1884 he was renominated by acclamation in the convention held at Wolfeborough, and received nearly twenty-five

hundred plurality at the polls, his opponent being Rev. L. F. Mckinney, of Manchester, one of the ablest and most popular men of his party in the State. In both elections heran very far ahead of his ticket, re- ceiving hundreds of Democratic votes.

He was married, in 1863, to Miss Cornelia T. Lane, of Manchester, and two daughters survive to bless their pleasant home, which is delightfully situated in Lake village, surrounded with fruit and forest-trees and looking down upon the waters of Lake Winni- pesaukee.

He has delivered many addresses and poems at sol- diers' reunions and gatherings; but his chief literary work was a "History of the Second Regiment," copies of which are now eagerly sought for by collectors. He is decidedly a man of the people, makes friends and keeps them, and delights in the sports of gun and rod

JOHN S. CRANE.

Among the vigorous, active and successful men of Belknap County must be mentioned John Summer- field Crane, of Lake village. He was born in Spring- field, Mass., February 3, 1834, and was son of Luther and Rebecca (Manter) Crane.

The Crane family has been a representative one in various spheres, in New England from the days of its first settlement. Jasper Crayne was one of the founders of the New Haven colony, signed its " fundamental agreement" June 4, 1639, and became one of its leading and influential members. Another branch of the same family settled in Berkley, Mass., at its first settlement, and the descendants of this pioneer have ever held positions of responsibility, and been represented in every generation in medicine, law and theology. Henry Crane settled in Dorches- ter early. His descendants are numerous. One of them, John, was a pioneer of Taunton, and he is the progenitor of the numerous families of that name in Norton and Canton. Luther Crane was a native of the latter town, but, owing to the incompleteness of the records, we find it impossible to give the exact line from Henry.

John S. Crane not only descends from good paternal stock, but his mother, a native of Plymouth, Mass., was a lineal descendant of the famous Gover- nor and writer of "Plymouth Colony," William Bradford. From such a stock we should expect good offspring, and when we see the odds against which Mr. Crane has been compelled to battle, and the signal success that has attended his career from the humble condition of his boyhood up to the station he now occupies of a leading and wealthy manufacturer, we must concede to him his full share of the ability of his strong progenitors, and acknowledge him as one who, in the highest sense of the term, is a " self- made " man.

Luther Crane was a hatter, of an ingenious and

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RESIDENCE OF J. S. CRANE, LAKE VILLAGE, N. H.

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GILFORD.

mechanical nature, and was employed by the Hamil- ton Cotton Manufacturing Company as a spinner in the first cotton-mill in Lowell. He then removed to Ohio, and when John was nine years old came to Salmon Falls, N. H., where he became a resident. John was a lad of quick conception, and made good progress during his attendance at the district school and South Berwick Academy. His skill in drawing was so great that a gentleman voluntarily offered to educate him as an artist ; but, with the impulsiveness of youth, he did not avail himself of this offer, and at fifteen years of age shipped as a boy before the mast on a clipper ship bound for India. The voyage lasted twenty-two months, and the vessel circumnavi- gated the globe. On the return from the Sandwich Islands Mr. Crane was the ship-carpenter. The hard actualities of a sailor's life dispelled his romantic dreams, and, during the long hours in which there was nothing to do but think, he decided to "make a man of himself" by honest industry and patient ap- plication. So, returning to Salmon Falls, he entered a shop to learn the trade of machinist, which was his choice from his aptitude for mechanics. Remaining here one year, he went to Lawrence for six months' labor, then to the Lowell Machine-Shop, in Lowell, conducted by Lucius Cutter. By this time he had attained proficiency in his calling, and, after six months' service here, was engaged by Lucius Waite to fit up and take charge of a sewing-machine manu- factory for one year. This business was then discon- tinued, and Mr. Crane, after working a short time in Manchester, concluded to visit the West, and see if he could find a suitable place to establish himself with the small capital acquired by his industry and careful savings. Not finding a situation to his mind, he re- turned to Lowell and became the superintendent of a pattern and model-shop for one year. In 1855 he removed to Franklin, N. H., to complete and place in running order some knitting-machines for a Lowell house. This kept him busy for only a short period, and, in the spring of 1856, he began the connection with the manufacturing interests of Lake village, which has been of such value to him, and which links him with every step in the rise of an important industry in this place. He was employed by B. J. Cole to build knitting-machines for Thomas Apple- ton, the manufacturer. This was the introduction of this branch of manufacturing to this vicinity, and began a new and successful era in its progress. He worked for Mr. Cole six months, and then made a contract with Mr. Appleton to build knitting-ma- chines at his mill, and, about the same time (fall of 1857), became his superintendent. These positions he occupied until the spring of 1862. Designing and perfecting, in connection with John Pepper, what was called the "Pepper Knitting-Machine," he then took the contract to build the machines, and, with William Pepper, formed the firm of Crane & Pepper. They began work with fifteen operatives,

in a building owned by B. J. Cole, and constructed from fifteen to twenty machines per month. They were burned out about 1863, and John Pepper built a new shop for the firm on the site of the old Small mill. About this time Mr. Crane, Benjamin F. Peaslee, of Lake village, and Thomas Joyce, of Boston, formed the Winnipesaukee Hosiery Company, purchased the machinery of the Pulsifer mill, and, in 1864, began the manufacturing of hosiery, employing thirty hands, with Mr. Peaslee in charge and Mr. Crane as superintendent. In December, 1864, Mr. Crane purchased the interests of his partner, and after running the works till March, 1865, sold the whole to R. M. Bailey. The manufacture of knit- ting-machines continued until about 1869, when Mr. Crane sold out this business and became connected with Walter Aikin, of Franklin, in the proprietorship of the "Gilmore Revolving Diamond Stone-Dressing Machine," for dressing mill-stones. Mr. Crane spent most of his time in Franklin, and for two years was engaged in introducing this invention to the public. Returning to Lake village, he purchased, for two thousand dollars, the interest of Charles H. Young in the firm of Young & Peaslee, engaged in manu- facturing circular knitting-machines under Young's patent, and, in the spring of 1872, the firm of Crane & Peaslee began its existence with six men, and for two years made one hundred and fifty hosiery-ma- chines a year.

In 1873, Mr. Crane designed and perfected a ma- chine for making shirts and underwear on the same principle, which he secured by patents, and in Sep- tember, 1874, moved his manufactory to its present location. The new machines became an important addition to this business, as they were rapidly called for. In January, 1875, the firm employed ten men, with a monthly pay-roll of four hundred dollars, and, in spite of the depressed times, they continued to do a muost prosperous business. In November, 1878, Mr. Peaslee sold his half-interest to Mr. Crane for four thousand dollars. B. F. Drake purchased one-third interest, and the firm hecame J. S. Crane & Co., and they carried on the business until July, 1884, employing as high as sixteen men, and, from a pro- duction of five thousand dollars, in 1868, the business steadily increased until it amounted to fifty thousand dollars annually. Purchasing Mr. Drake's interest at the above date, Mr. Crane has since continued manufacturing under the same name, with his son as partner. They now employ from twenty to twenty- five men, and have a yearly business of seventy-five thousand dollars. Their specialties are circular knitting-machines, for hosiery, underwear, Jersey cloth and stockinet.

About 1883, Mr. Crane became jointly interested with R. F. M. Chase in a patent knit fabric,-the "stockinet,"-which bids fair to become one of the leading features of this class of goods in the country, and to assume enormous business proportions. To

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HISTORY OF BELKNAP COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

this Mr. Crane has given his whole attention, has in- vented and improved inventions, patented improve- ments, and also constructed machines for making Jersey cloth and stockinet. The machines of his manufacture are in nse in all parts of the United States, but to the greatest extent in New England. He has taken orders for this class of machinery as high as fifty thousand dollars' worth at one time.

Mr. Crane married, in 1856, Clara J. Smith, of Nashua, a lady well fitted to appreciate and promote the artistic ideas of Mr. Crane and be an efficient associate of his life. Their only child is Mazellah L.

In politics, Mr. Crane is a pronounced Republican. He represented Laconia in the State Legislature of 1875, and Gilford in that of 1878. He was one of the incorporators and is now a director of Lake Village Savings-Bank, and belongs to the various Masonic bodies to the commandery.

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History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire, Part 186

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