History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire, Part 205

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 205
USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire > Part 205

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).

Mr. Ladd married, first, Susan Tilton, of Meredith, March 24, 1840. She was a most estimable and Chris- tian lady, and at her death, Angust 14, 1850, the whole community was wrapped in gloom. Their children were Fannie C. A. (Mrs. D. W. Coe) and Charles F. A. (deceased). He married, second, Cather- ine S., daughter of William Wallace, Esq., of Henniker, June 1, 1852. They have one child, Virginia B.

Mr. Ladd is an earnest student of geological and meteorological science. He has kept meteorological records for eighteen years. He has devoted much time to the study of geology, mineralogy and nature, and has acquired one of the finest private collections of minerals, antiquities and Indian relics in New Hampshire. Notwithstanding his penchant for sci- ence, he is a thorough New Englander in practicality and enjoys himself in constant occupation.

Rev. I. F. Holton, an eminent scientist and a strong personal friend, gives, in the Boston Daily News, this graphic picture of Mr. Ladd and the bank : "This gentleman of boundless courtesy and leisure is very hard of hearing, a man of great reflection, remarkable observation and unusual originality. The establish- ment looks like a professor's cabinet; there are no signs of a bank, external or internal. Cases of books, minerals, coins, gems and antiquities, a few pictures, a ' Novelty' printing-press, a moderate safe and a lounge or two, with easy-chairs, complete the estab- ment. Clay-stones and other concretions and results of frost have been an especial study, and also stone arrow-heads of both the Old World and the New. Sev- eral specimens are of flint and probably came from Europe." (For the description of the stone " egg," the gem of his collection, see "History of Meredith.")

Mr. Ladd, through partial loss of hearing, has been compelled to labor in a more circumscribed field than otherwise would have been the case; but the same fixed integrity, persevering diligence and mental qualities which have in so conspicuous a manner won success iu the nnassuming vocation to which he has given his attention could have wrought only the same successful result in a broader sphere. He is an honorary member of the New Hampshire An- tiquarian Society, resident member of the New Hamp- shire Historical Society, member of the Pilgrim So- ciety of Plymouth, Mass., and life-member of the New

Hampshire Home and School of Industry. Many of his pithy sayings and expressions are worthy of being pre- served as comparing well with those given by Frank- lin in "Poor Richard's Sayings." They have a dry, pleasing, Yankee terseness which goes at once to the essence of the subject. We regret we have space for but few,-

" Life-possessors, the world over, are artists. Mind, however high or low, is the canvas. All labor is merely the placing of colors and tints. The picture . exhibits nature improved by art. Life was not created for life's sake, but as a means of perfecting nature, and thus form the basis of perfect bliss, the apparent aim of all sensible beings." "The active youth, hav- ing a good physique, who shuns idle labor, will build up a beautiful and perfect body, a wise and powerful mind, and among men will be as a towering pyramid among chafing pebbles." "It is common for some persons to go back to rectify mistakes, and for others to go forward after duty; both are in error, as there cannot be any duty back or forward of the present."

Most kind and attentive in his family relations, liberal in all matters of public improvement, no man in Meredith has stronger friends. Confucius, in his five classes of men, describes one as "philosophers." "They are they who, in their words, their actions and in the general conduct of their lives, never de- part from the line of strict rectitude; who do right because it is right; whose passions are subdued ; who are always the same in adversity and prosperity ; who speak when they ought to speak, and are silent when they ought to be silent ; having firmness enough not to conceal their sentiments when it is proper to utter them, although they should lose thereby their fortunes or their lives; who despise no one, nor prefer themselves to others; who are not content to derive their knowl- edge from ordinary sources, but push their investi- gations to the fountain-head, so as to free their knowledge from all mixture of error ; not discouraged when they fail, nor proud when they succeed."

In placing Mr. Ladd in this class we will receive the approval of those who understand him best.

SAMUEL HODGSON.

It is a pleasure for the historian to turn aside from the narration of events to chronicle the record of a self-made, industrious and useful person, who, by his own ability and honest dealing, has placed himself high on the list of business men, as having achieved a justly-merited success. And of such a man we write when we write of Samuel, or "Sam " Hodgson, as he is familiarly called.

Samuel Hodgson was born January 19, 1842, in Halifax, Yorkshire, England. He comes of a family of respectability, his parents, Ellis and Sarah (Lassey) Hodgson, being in comfortable financial circum- stances. His school-education was acquired before he was fourteen years old at the boarding-school of

Pam.

Hodgson

861

MEREDITH.

Mytholmroyd and Farrar's Academy at Halifax. His great-uncle, George Wilcock, manufacturer of cotton yarns and warps, needing a clerk, Sam took the place and rapidly developed a practical knowledge of both manufacturing and financial departments. He re- mained here eight years, having full charge the last four, conducting the business successfully. His

father afterward established him in manufacturing for himself, but he was so hampered by conditions, which gave him little opportunity to carry out his own ideas, that he gave up the concern to his father and, in 1866, crossed the ocean to America. Here he arrived with a strong and healthy physique and a de- termination to conquer all obstacles. His eyes were turned naturally to the manufacturing town of Lowell, and his first employment was found in the dye-house of one of the large corporations there. The quick observation of Mr. Hodgson, his deter- mination to do his work well and his obvions atten- tion to the interests of his employers gained him the hearty friendship and confidence of the agent and superintendent, and was the foundation of his suc- cessful business career. One of these gentlemen, Mr. Appleyard, in a few months went to Lake village to establish a dye-house, there being a demand for one at that place. He soon had an opportunity to secure Mr. Hodgson's services and gladly accepted them, giving him at the same time an interest in the busi- ness. Before policies had been issued on their appli- cation for insurance to cover their own property and goods left there to be colored, a fire destroyed the entire plant, with the exception of a few chemicals hurriedly drawn from the burning building. The little capital economy had acquired for Mr. Hodgson was thus swept away, but the firm of Appleyard & Hodgson was soon at work in a new building on the same spot. Mr. Appleyard soon formed another busi- ness connection at Ashland, and the dye-house was left in Mr. Hodgson's control. Taking personal charge of the practical part of the business and ex- posing himself in the wet dyeing-room, thus depriv- ing himself of needed rest and sleep, a rheumatic fever seized him, and with such strength that his re- covery was considered impossible by his physicians. His robust health heretofore, the careful nursing of kind friends and an invincible will wrought a cure, however, and in the intervals of delirium he gave directions to an unskilled workman, which enabled the business to go on its regular course. The dye- house was conducted to the satisfaction of his patrons and with profit for four or five years ; but as the mills in Laconia and Lake village for which he did busi- ness began to add, gradually, dyeing to their own establishments, the demand arose for something to take the place of the waning industry, and Mr. Hodg- son, in 1870, began the manufacture of cotton and merino hosiery. In 1872 the cotton hosiery business was in a very unsatisfactory condition, and by a falling market Mr. Hodgson lost nearly all his ae-

cumulated capital, which necessitated the temporary closing of his works. During this year (1872) Wm. H. Abel, an ingenious mechanic, came to Lake village and, at Mr. Hodgson's suggestion, began to experi- ment on the construction of an automatic loom which should take the place of the old-style hand-loom for knitting stockings ; for Mr. Hodgson was convinced that before this manufacture could become largely profitable an improvement in the machinery used would have to be made. While at work on this, Mr. Abel invented a machine for knitting mittens, with which, in 1874, Mr. Hodgson began the manufacture of mittens on contract, with good success. In 1876 he removed to Meredith village, leased the power and mills of the Mechanics' Association and continued manufacturing mittens until 1877. By this time Mr. Abel had perfected and patented his automatic ma- chine for knitting stockings, which made a full- fashioned stocking that possessed great advantages over the common sewing-machine work. This won- derful invention, doing by machinery that which be- fore had to be done by hand, entirely revolutionized the manufacture of knit goods, furnished a new in- dustry to the country and gave an impetus to this branch of business, which added largely to the wealth of, and built up rapidly, Laconia, Lake village, etc. In 1877, Mr. Hodgson began manufacturing stockings with the new machines, putting them in as fast as possi ble and to the full capacity of his power. Since com- ing to Meredith he has erected new buildings, trebled the floor-room and capacity of the mills, and has been largely engaged in the manufacture of his spe- cialties, woolen hosiery and knit mittens, and is to-day the principal motor of activity in the village and town. He employs from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty operatives, the greater number of whom are women and natives of the vicinity. Mr. Hodgson, believing that good wages secure good workmen, acts on his belief, and this industry has added much to the prosperity of Meredith. A visit to these mills shows one secret of his success. Abso- lute purity is required in every article ; even so simple a thing as the soap used is manufactured here, and the exact strength of cach dye is known, so an exact re- sult can be exactly predicated. All material is of the best of its kind, the machinery, made under special patents, some of them being entirely the property of Mr. Hodgson, is of the latest improved designs and almost automatic in the perfection of its workman- ship. The mill is fully ventilated; perfect cleanliness is observable in every department. Mr. Hodgson has a keen eye to read human nature, and calls into his service the best adapted persons. His superintend- ent, W. H. Hurst, an intelligent gentleman, formerly a practical knit-goods manufacturer of England, is thoroughly at home in the mill, and, with an expe- rienced overseer, carries on the daily programme of labor so well that Mr. Hodgson knows in his absence that all is going on properly. The mill is protected

862

HISTORY OF BELKNAP COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

from fire by good force pumps, with hydrants in each room.

Mr. Hodgson is now a naturalized American, and cast his first vote last fall for President, and is as fully devoted to the welfare and prosperity of this country, and as fully in accord with American man- ners and customs, as if he were a born New Eng- lander, and with characteristic good judgment has taken one of the daughters of New Hampshire for a wife, Elizabeth A. Dow, of Ashland. She has been and is truly a help-meet, and now superintends the finishing department of the mill. Her practical common sense, industry and frugality have been im- portant factors in his success.

A kind, social and agreeable companion, a public- spirited citizen of unostentation and without pre- sumption, it goes without saying that Mr. Hodgson is immensely popular, not only among his workmen and in Meredith, but throughout a wide range of ac- quaintance. He is a member of the New Hampshire Club, of the Amoskeag Veterans, and has taken the various Masonic degrees to Knight Templar.

Looking forward to some period of retirement from manufacturing, Mr. Hodgson is at work on a farm of two hundred acres with the same system and " push " that characterize all his undertakings, and although rapidly putting this place into permanent improve- ment by a force which seems large to the old-fashioned farmer, yet his expenditures would be considered in Boston only a fair salary for a confidential clerk or a "super" of a first-class manufactory, and the work is done in accordance with true business principles, and is an investment which will pay.

Mr. Hodgson's success should be an incentive to every young man who, like himself, has brains, ener- gy and a capacity to carry ideas into practical work- ing. He has been successful because he deserves to be, and enjoys the friendship and esteem of the leading men of this section. A citizen of sterling integrity, kind and generous impulses, and frank and manly bearing, there is not one who does not heartily wish him a long continuance of the prosperity which has in no wise changed his genial and cordial nature.

JOSEPH W. LANG.

None of the present generation of Meredith has been more identified with every phase of its business for the last half century, or has to-day a higher place in the esteem and love of the people of the town, than the honored and venerable Joseph W. Lang. He was born June 21, 1798, at Portsmouth, N. H., and is descended from early settlers of Rock- ingham County. His grandfather, Josiah Lang, born in Greenland, N. H., had three brothers, one of whom lived in North Hampton, one in Concord, and one in Sanbornton. His parents were Josiah and Sarah (Whidden) Lang, and they had those frugal and honest virtues for which the New Englander of

that day was noted. Josiah was a farmer with but limited capital, and to provide a more efficient home he moved to Tuftonborough, when lands were cheap, and purchased six hundred acres of land. He was a quiet, pleasant man, whom every one liked. His wife was one of those industrious Christian mothers whose influence was for good upon her children. They had three children, Joseph W., Thomas E., and Josiah, who died young. The loss of this, her youngest son, affected Mrs. Lang's sensi- tive nature, and she never fully recovered from the blow. In later life they removed to Meredith, where Mr. Lang died, in 1857, aged eighty-three. Mrs. Lang survived him three years, dying in 1860, aged eighty-seven. Both were mourned by many friends.

Joseph W. Lang was, from very early years, accus- tomed to labor, and grew to the age of seventeen amid the healthful country air and pleasant rural life of his father's farm. At this age he had a conference with his father concerning their financial condition. The conclusion was this : there was then due on the farm six hundred dollars, that could never be paid by labor on it, and the only way to extinguish the debt was to get money from outside; so it was de- cided that Joseph should go from home to earn what he could for that purpose. He went to Portsmouth. Wages were at that time eight dollars per month ; but the young man deemed his services worth at least ten, and soon obtained employment as a ped- dler. Knowing his mother would scarcely approve the associations he would be subjected to, he at once wrote her not to be worried, as he would drink no spirits nntil he had seen her. He kept his word, not only by keeping his promise, but drinking nothing that would intoxicate while in the business, and has always held to strong temperance principles. Work- ing eight months the first year, without losing a day or drawing a dollar, he returned home with eighty dollars in his pocket. Eleven weeks of the ensuing winter were passed in "Master" Leavitt's school in Meredith, from which he graduated. He peddled three years, cleared the debt from the home farm, and developed those qualities of business acumen and thrift which have accompanied him through life. Adding one hundred more acres to the home farm, he taught school for three years, both winter and summer terms, and boarded at home. The pay contrasts strongly with the present wages of teachers, ten dollars a month being considered ample remune- ration for superintending the researches of a hundred (more or less) boys and girls in the mysteries of reading, writing, arithmetic and the rudiments of grammar. The board was from one dollar to one dollar and a quarter a week. Mr. Lang was a suc- cessful teacher, and much loved by his pupils.

Mr. Lang had now fully decided to become a set- tled farmer, and had about fifty acres of the home farm set off to him, on which he erected a substantial house and barn, and married, June 20, 1824, Mehita-

Joseph W. Swing

863

MEREDITH.

ble Clark Young, daughter of Benjamin Young, Esq., and her counsel and assistance were very helpful to the young agriculturist. But the farmers of Tuf- tonborough were not long to claim, among their number, such a promising recruit. Mr. Joseph Smith, of Dover, was the chief business man of the Lake County,-an extensive merchant, who had stores at these places : Farmington, Alton Bay, Mer- edith, Wolfborough, Centre Harbor and Moultou- borough. In 1826, wishing an honest and reliable clerk, his attention was attracted to Mr. Lang. Mr. Crosby, one of his employés, went to Tuftonborough and offered the young farmer a salary of two hundred and fifty dollars and the use of a house for the first year.

Upon due consideration, the offer was accepted, and Mr. Lang was placed in charge of the Wolfbor- ough store. Remaining here about two and one-half years, he succeeded Mr. Crosby in the charge of the store at Meredith, and held that position until the failure of Mr. Smith, in 1830, when Mr. Lang was induced to take the Meredith business as his own, which he did, assuming the liabilities, which amounted to six thousand dollars, and from that time until 1869, when he retired,-a period of about forty years,-he was in active business, alone and with various partners, being the principal merchant of the town. He was also connected with every en- terprise tending to the improvement and the further- ing of industries in Meredith. Prior to 1835, Mr. Lang, together with Captain Daniel Smith, Mr. Dav- enport, Mr. Woodman and Abel Philbrick, purchased a grist-mill, two stories in height, fitted it up as a cotton-factory, and formed the Meredith Village Cotton-Factory Company, and carried on business for a few years. He was the first agent and one of the incorporators of the Belknap Steamboat Company, which built the first steamboat in the State, "The Belknap," at Lake village, and was the only member of the company from this section. He was one of the first stockholders of the Belknap, Concord and Meredith Railroad, and for nineteen years a director, closing his connection with the road, as such, on reaching his eightieth year. He, with Joseph Ela, Colonel Stevens, F. Smith and others, purchased the mills and privileges at Meredith village and formed the Mechanics' Association, with a capital of thirty thousand dollars, and was its first treasurer, which position he held several years. He was one of the incorporators of the Meredith Village Savings Bank, and president from its organization.

In February, 1863, Mrs. Lang died, and November 8, 1866, Mr. Lang married Mrs. Julia A. Taylor, daughter of Captain John B. and Comfort (Sanborn) Perkins, of Sanbornton, a lady with whom his decli- ning years are passing most happily. [Captain Per- kins, her father, lived to be ninety-six years old, retaining his remarkable memory to the last, and his clear understanding of occurrences and men of the

past was of inestimable service to Rev. Mr. Runnels in preparing his history of Sanbornton.]

In all of the public affairs of the town, Mr. Lang has been closely allied, and he has been often called to offices of trust and honor by his townsmen. He was town treasurer for six, and moderator for many years. Politically, he has been Whig and Republi- can, and, in the State Legislature of 1856-57, he rep- resented Meredith. A faithful and active member of the Congregational Church, giving freely and liber- ally to its support, and living a life based on the pre- cepts of the "Golden Rule," Mr. Lang feels and acts as if the competency which he has acquired by his constant and unremitting industry is only intrusted to his care for the good of others. Goodness and benevolence are stamped upon his face, and, on every side, through all the years of his life, his kind acts have been continuously, quietly and unostentatiously done, he scarcely letting his "left hand know what his right hand did."

" And wisest he in this whole, wide land Of hoarding till bent and gray ; For all you can hold in your cold, dead hand Is what you have given away."

In the fullness of years, honored by the confidence and love of the better part of the community, Mr. Lang can have the satisfaction of knowing that he has worthily and honorably passed a useful and laborious career, and that his memory will be a sweet remembrance in the hearts of a large circle of friends.

COLONEL EBENEZER STEVENS.

Among the leading business men whose activity, enterprise and persistent industry have been powerful motors in furthering the growth and developing the physical and moral interests of Meredith must be mentioned Ebenezer Stevens. He comes from sturdy ancestry, his great-grandfather, Major Ebenezer Stevens, being one of the early settlers of Kingston, N. H. He was a brave man and gallant soldier, and received his title from services rendered in the French and Indian War. Major Stevens married, December 5, 1710, Elisabeth Colcord and had four sons. He died November 1, 1749. He was a very distinguished and useful citizen, and such was his integrity and be- nevolence that differences among the people were submitted to him with perfect confidence in a just decision. He sustained many important functions and discharged every duty with ability and faithful- ness and left the beneficial impress of his strong character upon the community where he lived for many years.

The second son of Major Stevens was Colonel Ebenezer, born June 10, 1715; married, first, 1736, Mary Colcord ; second, 1768, Dolly Stevens, of New- buryport. His children were Ebenezer, Jr., born in 1739, a deacon of the church in Kingston; John, born in 1770; Moses, born in 1771; Peter C., born in 1773; Paul, born in 1775.

864

HISTORY OF BELKNAP COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

A romantic instance of Colonel Ebenezer Stevens' early life is given in our history of " Rockingham and Strafford Counties, N. H.,"-

"When seven years of age, he, with others, was taken captive by the Indians, and carried through Lake Winnipesaukee to Canada. Here he remained for one year, when he was ransomed by his father paying 100 silver pistareens ($17). It is said that they demand- ed a higher price because he wore a better hat and better clothing than his companions."

He received a common-school education and be- came a farmer and successful business man, owning much real estate. He was for many years proprietors' clerk and also transacted important business for the State, and Stevenstown (now Salisbury) was named for him. He died July 19, 1800, when nearly ninety years old.

Colonel Stevens was a very polite gentleman of the old school, and it is related of him, that, on riding on horseback from meeting, he would carry his cocked hat under his arm, a distance of two miles, bowing to the people on the way. He took the father of Daniel Webster, as a boy of nine, to "bring np," and prom- ised that he should learn a trade. But, conceiving a liking for the boy, he kept him on his farm until he was twenty-one and then started him in life by giving him a farm in Andover. Years passed; Colonel Stevens began to succumb to the infirmities of age, and both mental and physical powers were weakened, when Mr. Webster, taking advantage of his condition, insisted that more remuneration was due him as dam- ages for not being taught a trade, and the colonel gave him the farm in Salisbury where Daniel Webster was born.

Paul Stevens, the youngest son of Colonel Ebenezer and Dolly Stevens, was born in Kingston in 1775 and received the usual education and did the work of farmers' hoys of that day. He learned the shoe- maker's trade and was also a farmer, his father's prop- erty enabling all the children to own some land; but his share was a small farm in New Chester, worth about six hundred dollars. Here he settled, about 1796, with his wife Sally, daughter of Dr. Howe, an eminent surgeon in the American army of the Revo- lution, who was disowned by his family for his rebel affiliations. His father was Lord Viscount Howe, at one time Governor of Barbadoes, and his mother, Mary Sophia Charlotte, daughter of Baron Kilman- sigge, Master of the Horse to George I., when Elector of Hanover, by a daughter of Count Platen, of the empire. Lady Howe was afterward created Countess of Darlington by George I. This worthy couple had four sons,-George A. (killed in the French and In- dian War in America), Richard (Lord Admiral Howe, commander of the British naval forces of the Ameri- can Revolution); William (General Sir William Howe, who commanded the British army during the same war) and Surgeon Howe (the father of Mrs. Stevens).

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History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire, Part 205

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