History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire, Part 37

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 37
USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire > Part 37

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The branch of the family to which this sketch directly relates has been traced back to William Pillsbury (sometimes spelled Pillsberry and Pills- borough), who was born in the county of Essex, in England, in 1615. He came to Dorchester, in the colony of Massachusetts Bay, in 1640, where he married Dorothy Crosby. In 1651 he settled on a farm in Newbury, Mass. (now a part of Newburyport). The same property has remained in possession of the Pillsbury family from 1651 to the present time. In England the coat-of-arms of the Pillsbury family is described in heraldic terms thus : "Per fesse sable and azure on an eagle displayed argent ; three griffins' heads erased of the second." Crest, an esquire's hel- met ; motto : "Labor Omnia Vincit. " William Pills- bury died at Newbury, June 19, 1686, leaving ten children,-seven sons and three daughters. Moses Pillsbury, second son of William and Dorothy (Crosby) Pillsbury, was born in Dorchester, Mass., and in 1668 married Mrs. Susanna Whipple, of Newbury. To them was born six children. Caleb, second son of Moses and Susanna, was born in Newbury in 1681, and married Sarah (Morss), in 1703. Caleb, son of Caleb and Sarah (Morss) Pillsbury, was born in New- bury, January 26, 1717; he married Sarah Kimball, of Amesbury, Mass., July, 1742; to them were born seven children. Caleb Pillsbury, Jr., was, for several years, and at the time of his death, a member of the Massachusetts General Court. Micajah, fourth son of Caleb, Jr., and Sarah Kimball, was born in Ames- bury, Mass., May 22, 1761, and in 1781 married Sarah Sargent, of Amesbury. Sarah Sargent was born in 1763. To them were born eight children,- four sons and four daughters. Micajah Pillsbury and family moved from Amesbury, Mass., to Sutton, N. H.,

in February, 1795, where he remained until his death, in 1802, occupying various offices of town trust. His wife survived him several years. Stephen, the oldest son, was a Baptist clergyman ; the other brothers, in- cluding John, the father of the subject of this sketch, were all magistrates of the town of Sutton, N. H.

John Pillsbury, who died in Sutton in 1856, aged sixty-seven years, was a prominent man in that town, having held the office of representative and select- man, and filled other positions, always acceptably. He held a captain's commission in the militia, and was known as Captain Pillsbury. On the 2d of April, 1811, he married Snsan, youngest daughter of Ben- jamin Wadleigh, of Sutton, who settled in that town in 1771. She was born March 23, 1793, and died in 1877, at the age of eighty-four years. She was a de- scendant of Captain Thomas Wadleigh, of Exeter, a son of Robert Wadleigh, of the same place, who was a member of the Provincial Legislature of Massachu- setts.

The maternal grandmother of the Pillsburys was a daughter of Ebenezer Kezar, whose father hid the girl he afterwards married under a pile of boards at the time of Mrs. Duston's capture in Haverhill, Mass., in 1697. Ebenezar Kezar, the great-grandfather, lived in Rowley, Mass., in 1752, where he was a black- smith, shoemaker, tavern-keeper, wig-maker and dealer in earthenwarc and other merchandise. The old wig-box and implements, which have been in disuse for more than a century, are now in the town. Ebenezer is said to have been a relative of "Cobler Keyser," referred to in one of Whittier's poems as possessing the " magic stone." He was of German origin, probably. In Harriman's "History of Warner," Mr. Kezar is spoken of as being moderator of a meeting held in that town, in 1778, for the choice of representatives from the classed towns of Fishers- field, Perrystown, New Britain and Warner. He called the first meeting of Sntton, after its incorpora- tion, in 1784, and presided over it. He went to Sut- ton in 1772, and worked as blacksmith, shoemaker, farmer and trapper. The first bridge in Sutton of which there is any record was built by him. His descendants, who are numerous there and elsewhere, own most of the pond in the town mentioned, which bears his name, and nearly a thousand acres of land in its vicinity, extending to and embracing the upper falls and mills above Mill village.

Both John and Sarah Pillsbury were professors of religion, and lived exemplary lives. They had four sons and oue daughter,-viz. : Simon Wadleigh Pills- bury, born at Sutton, June 22, 1812; George Alfred, born at Sutton, August 29, 1816 ; Dolly W., born at Sutton, September 6, 1818 ; John Sargent, born at Sutton, July 29, 1827; Benjamin Franklin, born at Sutton, March 29, 1831.

All the brothers had a good common-school educa- tion. Simon W., the oldest, was a remarkable young man, both physically and mentally. He was a supe-

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rior scholar, being considered one of the best mathe- maticians in the State at the time of his death, which occurred in January, 1836, and which was superin- duced by close application to study. When attacked by the sickness that caused his death, he was pre- pared to enter college two years in advance. He gave the first public lecture on temperance in an old school-house in Sutton, it being considered, fifty years ago, sacrilegious to use the meeting-house for such a purpose. His success was most marked, for nearly every sober man was ready to sign the pledge.

At the age of sixteen, John Sargent Pillsbury went to Warner as a clerk for his brother, George Alfred, who was then engaged in business in that place. He remained there till about the year 1848, when he en- tered into a business partnership with Hon, Walter Harriman in the same town. He was subsequently in trade at East Andover and Concord. In the year 1854 he visited the West, spending nearly a year in Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. He finally established his home at the Falls of St. An- thony, and at once went into the hardware trade, and by his energy and honorable dealing he succeeded in building up the largest hardware trade in the State. He took an active interest in the prosperity of the then Territory of Minnesota and the city of his adoption. From 1863 to 1875 he served as Senator from his district, notwithstanding the fact that the politics of a majority of the district did not accord with his. In 1875 he was elected Governor of the State, was re-elected in 1877 and again in 1879.

The elections in Minnesota occur biennially, and this is the only instance in which a person has been elected to the office of Governor for a third term.

Dolly W. Pillsbury married Enoch P. Cummings, and their son, Charles P. Cummings, was recently sergeant-at-arms of the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

Benjamin F. Pillsbury remained in his native town till 1878, when he removed to Granite Falls, Minn., where he is conducting an extensive business in build- ing and dealing in real estate and lumber.

During his residence in Sutton he filled many offices of trust and responsibility. He was select- man and town treasurer quite frequently, and in 1877- 78 he was a Representative to the General Court. He has always been an active business man, and is a highly- respected citizen in his adopted home.

The subject of this sketch, George Alfred Pills- bury, a son of John and Susan (Wadleigh) Pillsbury, was born in Sutton, Merrimack County, N. H., on the 29th of August, 1816. He received a thorough common-school education in his native town, and be- ing of an active temperament, manifested a desire to enter business at an early age. Accordingly, at the age of eighteen years, he went to Boston and ob- tained employment as a clerk with Job Davis, who was doing business at that time as a grocer and fruit- dealer under the Boylston Market. He remained

in Boston but little more than a year, when he re- turned to Sutton, and engaged in the manufacture of stoves and sheet-ironware in company with his cousin, John C. Pillsbury. He continued there for a few years, doing an extensive business.

On the 1st of February, 1840, Mr. Pillsbury went to Warner as a clerk in the store of John H. Pear- son, in which capacity he served till July of the same year, when he purchased the business ; and from that time, through nearly eight years, he was actively en- gaged, either on his own account or in partnership with others. His partners during this time were Henry Woodman and H. D. Robertson.

In the spring of 1848 he went into a wholesale dry-goods house in Boston, and in 1849, having leased the store of Ira Harvey, in Warner, and bought his stock of goods, he returned to that town and engaged in business, where he remained till the spring of 1851, when he sold back his interest to Mr. Harvey, and went out of mercantile business entirely.

In 1844 he was appointed postmaster at Warner, and held the office till 1849, there being at that time but one office in the town. In 1847 he served the town as selectman, in 1849 as selectman and town treasurer, and in the years 1850 and 1851 he was elected Representative to the General Court.

During the session of 1851 Merrimack County de- cided to build a new jail at Concord, the old one at Hopkinton having become dilapidated and unfit for nse. The convention appointed Mr. Pillsbury chair- man of a committee with full authority to purchase lands, perfect plans and erect the building. The site selected by the committee was that occupied by the jail in present use. This lot contained ten acres. The general superintendence is given to Mr. Pills- bury by the other members of the commitee, and he devoted his whole time to the work, which was not completed till the spring of 1852. At the time of its erection it was considered one of the best build- ings of the kind in the State, and the thoroughness of its construction is shown by the fact that now, after twenty-eight years of service, it will compare very favorably with other like institutions.

In November, 1851, Mr. Pillsbury received from the Concord Railroad corporation an appointment as purchasing agent for the road, and entered upon the duties of the position in December of the same year, having, meantime, moved his family to Concord. He occupied this position continuously until July, 1875, a period of nearly twenty-four years. During his administration of the office, which was always most satisfactory, his purchases amounted to more than three millions of dollars, and he settled more cases of claims against the road for personal injury, result- ing from accident and fire, than all other officers combined. In all his long term of office his relations with the officers of the road were of the most agree- able character; no fault was ever found or com- plaint made of his transactions by the management.

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During a residence of nearly twenty-seven years in Concord Mr. Pillsbury was called upon to fill many important positions of honor and trust, and he did much toward building up and beautifying the city. He was one of the committee appointed by Union School District to build the High School building and several other school buildings that now stand monu- ments of credit to the enterprise of our people. He was interested in the erection of several of the hand- some business blocks upon Main Street, and several fine residences iu the city were built by him.

In 1864, Mr. Pillsbury, with others, organized and put into operation the First National Bank of Con- cord. He was elected a member of the first board of directors, and in 1866 became its president, and continued in that office until his departure from the State. He was also instrumental, more than any other person, in securing the charter and getting into operation the National Savings-Bank, in 1867. He was the first president of this institution and held the position till 1874, when he resigned. Dur- ing his connection with the First National Bank that institution became, in proportion to its capital stock, the strongest of any bank in the State, and its stand- ing is equally good to-day. Up to December, 1873, when the treasurer was discovered to be a defaulter to a large amount, the National Savings-Bank was one of the most prosperous institutions of its kind in the State; but the defalcation, coupled with a general crash in business, necessitated its closing up. During the first year of its existence it received on deposit nearly seven hundred thousand dollars, and at the time of the defalcation of its treasurer it had nearly one million six hundred thousand dollars on deposit; its total deposits during the first five years of its existence, up to the time mentioned, amounted to more than three millions of dollars. The bank eventually paid a large percentage of its indebtedness.

While a resident of Concord, Mr. Pillsbury was identified with most of the benevolent and charitable institutions of the day, and he was always ready to assist, by his advice and contributions, all organiza- tions that had for their object the relief of the unfor- tunate and suffering. He was ever a liberal supporter of all moral and religious enterprises.

To his generosity is the city of Concord indebted for the fine bell which hangs in the tower of the Board of Trade building, and for this donation he was the recipient of a vote of thanks from the City Council.

The large, handsome organ in the First Baptist Church was a gift from Mr. Pillsbury and his son, Charles A., both gentlemen being at the time mem- bers of that church.

He was actively engaged in instituting the Cen- tennial Home for the Aged, in Concord, made large contributions to aid in putting it into operation and was a member of the board of its trustees. He also

contributed largely to the Orphans' Home, in Frank- lin, and was one of its trustees from the time of its establishment till he left the State. Mr. Pillsbury was, for several years, a member of the City Council of Concord; was elected mayor in 1876, and re- elected the following year. During the years 1871- 72 he represented Ward Five in the Legislature, and in the latter year was made chairman of the special committee on the apportionment of public taxes.

In 1876 the Concord City Council appointed him chairman of a committee of three, to appraise all of the real estate in the city for the purposes of taxation, and in the discharge of the duties thus devolving upon him he personally visited every residence with- in the limits of the city. The position is a very responsible one, requiring the exercise of sound judgment and great patience, and the report of the committee gave very general satisfaction.

In the spring of 1878 he determined to leave Con- cord and take up his residence in Minneapolis, Minn., where, with his two sons and brother, he was extensively engaged in the manufacture of flour. Probably no person ever left the city who received so many expressions of regret as Mr. Pillsbury. Complimentary resolutions were unanimously passed by both branches of the city government and by the First National Bank, the latter testifying strongly to his integrity, honesty and superior business qualities. Resolutions passed by the First Baptist Church and Society were ordered to be entered upon the records of each organization. The Webster Club, composed of fifty prominent business men of Concord, passed a series of resolutions regretting his departure from the State. A similar testimonial was also presented to Mr. Pillsbury, which was subscribed to by more than three hundred of the leading professional and business men of the city, among whom were all the ex- mayors then living, all the clergymen, all the members of both branches of the city government, all of the bank presidents and officers, twenty-six lawyers, twenty physicians and nearly all the business men in the city. On the eve of their departure Mr. and Mrs. Pillsbury were presented with an elegant bronze statuette of Mozart. Such tributes, however worthily bestowed, could but afford great gratification to the recipient, showing as they did the great esteem in which he was held by his fellow-citizens.

Mr. Pillsbury is now very pleasantly located in the beautiful city of Minneapolis, having built one of the most elegant residences in the city, and during the short time that he has been there he has fre- quently been called upon to fill places of honor and trust.

Mr. Pillsbury is a member of the firm of Charles A. Pillsbury & Co., of Minneapolis, Minn., the largest flour manufacturing firmn in the world. This firm have in operation three mills, with a capacity of nine thousand barrels of flour per day. One of these mills has a daily capacity of six thousand

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barrels, and mannfactures more flour each day than any other two mills on the globe. The three mills grind each day forty-four thousand bushels of wheat, which is equal to the production of about three thousand acres of land. The annual consumption of these mills is eleven million bushels of wheat, which is equal to the production of one million acres of land. It requires about two hundred cars each day to take wheat into, and flour and offal out of these mills. The firm has a world-wide reputation as honorable and fair-dealing men, and their brands of flour are well known in all the markets of the world.

The following extract, taken from the January, 1885, number of The Northwest, a popular monthly magazine published at St. Paul, Minn., will perhaps best show the estimation in which the subject of this article and the Pillsbury family are held in Min- neapolis and in the State of Minnesota :

" THE MAYOR OF THE CITY .- More than a year ago, the writer said in the columns of The Northwest, that if any man in Minneapolis was asked to whom the city chiefly owed its prosperity, there would be no hesita- tion in his answer-' tho Pillsburys.' Since then the people of Minne- apolis have had no cause to change their opinions, while last spring they gave a somewhat emphatic utterance to them by electing one of the members of this remarkable family-the Hon. George Alfred Pillsbury- to the mayoralty of the city by an overwhelming vote. A liking for hard work and a belief in its virtues seem to have been early rooted in the Pillsbury family, for, in England, more than two centuries and a half ago, they bore for their motto the words 'Labor Omnia Vincit.' But in all the generations of Pillsburys since then who have lived and worked from English Essex to Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Min- nesota, it may be doubted whether any one of them has better deserved to bear the motto than the present mayor of Minneapolis. It was Lord Brongham who was advised by a friend to 'confine himself, if possible, to the work of five ordinary men ;' but his toil-loving lordship himself might have been envious of the amount of downright hard work which Mr. Pillsbury hae got through in his life. Setting his early life aside for the present, the mayor has only been in Minneapolis six years as yet. During that time he has been president of the Minneapolis Board of Trade, of the City Council, of the Homoeopathic Hospital and the Minne- apolis Free Dispensary ; and is still president of the Chamber of Com- merce, of the Pillsbury & Hulbert Elevator Company, of the Board of Water-Works, of the St. Paul and Minneapolis Baptist Union and the Min- nesota Baptist State Convention ; vice-president of the Minnesota Loan and Trust Company ; member of the Board of Park Commissioners ; di- rector of the North western National Bank, the Manufacturers' National Bank, the Minneapolis Elevator Company and a trustee of institutions innumerable. All this besides mayor of the city ! 'Here's a small trifle of work ! Eleven trusteeships and nine presidencies ie a simple coming- in fur one man.' And in spite of the diversity of his duties, there has not been one posl among all those which he has filled wherein he has failed to win the heartiest respect and approbation of all who have been brought into connection with him. The more difficult kinde of work he has to do, the more he appears to be able to give hie undivided attention to each one.

" Mr. Pillsbury has shown a capacity, almost a genius, for hard and honest work almost incomprehensible to most men. This alone would compel the respect of his fellow-citizens; but, by his generosity, his warm-heartedness and unostentatious charity, he has also won their affection. No stranger can read his public record without admiring the man who could live such a life ; but it is a stronger tribute to his char- acter that no acquaintance can see the details of his private life withont hie admiration growing to something warmer. Mr. Pillsbury is yet only sixty-eight years of age, and it is safe to predict that Minneapolis will yet he grateful to him for much good work done for her and many benefits received at his hands."

Mr. Pillsbury married Margaret S. Carleton, May 9, 1841. To them were born three children,-Charles

A., born October 3, 1842 ; Mary Adda, born April 25, 1848; Frederick C., born August 27, 1852. Mary Adda died May 11, 1849.

Both sons are now associated with him in busi- ness, and are excellent business men. Charles, the elder son, graduated at Dartmouth College in the class of 1863, and has been a member of the Min- nesota State Senate.

George A. Pillsbury is a gentleman of great per- sonal magnetism, genial and affable in manner and possessed of entertaining and attractive conversa- tional powers. Warm-hearted and generous, he was ever ready to respond to calls of distress, not only with good counsel, but with more substantial aids, as many an unpublished charity in Concord will attest. All who approached him were sure of a kindly greet- ing, and any petition for favors received a patient consideration and a courteous reply. With the young he was very companionable, and with his conserva- tive and liberal views of life, he was able to impart much valuable advice and information. His mind was well disciplined and evenly balanced, and his habits very systematic. He was possessed of sound, practical judgment and great executive ability. Quick to grasp a point he seldom erred in action, and by a faculty of reading character, he seemed always ready to meet any emergency that might arise. In early life he received a thorough business training, and in his dealings with men he was straightforward and lib- eral. In his enterprises he looked beyond the present, and results seldom disappointed him. In public life his administration of affairs was most satisfac- tory and able, and won for him the esteem of all with whom he came in contact.

ELIPHALET SIMES NUTTER.

Eliphalet Simes Nutter was born in Barnstead, N. H., November 26, 1819, being the second son of Eliphalet and Lovey (Locke) Nutter. His grand- father, Johu Nutter, settled in Barnstead in 1767, and served in the Revolution as major of Colonel George Reid's regiment. Major John Nutter's son Eliphalet-father of the subject of this sketch- was a farmer, living in the southeast part of the town, and owning a large amount of real estate. Like his father, he was an influential citizen, prominent in town affairs, and held varions offices conferred by the confidence of his townsmen. He was, in his time, the principal trial justice at Barnstead, and, with clear head, pious heart and upright intention, adjusted the controversies of his neighborhood. In 1807 he married Lovey, daughter of James Locke, one of the first settlers of Barnstead. The worthy pair left, at decease, a large family.

Their son, Eliphalet S., spent his boyhood on his father's farm, where he was trained to those habits of industry and thrift which were to characterize so eminently his maturer years. He enjoyed the advan-

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tages of the common school, and improved them so well that he became an efficient and acceptable teacher.

He inherited military tastes, and, at the age of eighteen-in the year 1837-he received from Gov- ernor Isaac Hill his commission as lieutenant of a company, under the militia system of the period, and, in 1839, from Governor John Page, that of captain.

In 1844, he commenced that active business career, in which he still continues, by opening a country store at Barnstead Parade, where he carried on a prosperous trade for eleven years. During eight of these years he was postmaster. In 1855 he moved to Concord, which has ever since been his place of residence. In course of the time since his removal to the capital of the State he has been five years in business in New York City; has owned, for seven years, a leading grocery-store in Lawrence, Mass .; has been engaged five years in the drug business in Concord, and also has had a store in Boston. He was formerly president of the New Hampshire Central Railroad. He is now (1885) engaged in several im- portant business enterprises : being one of the direc- tors of the Franconia Iron Company, with capital stock of $200,000; a large owner in the Atlantic and Pacific Railway Tunnel Company, Denver, Colorado, capital stock, $7,000,000; president of the New Hamp- shire Democratic Press Company, capital stock, $25,000; president of The National Railway and Street- Rolling-Stock Company, capital stock, 8500,000.

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History of Merrimack and Belknap counties, New Hampshire, Part 37

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