USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > New Boston > History of New Boston, New Hampshire > Part 15
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Of Josiah W. Fairfield, I need not speak. He has spoken for himself, in your presence, as no man can without commanding profound respect. Of Clark B. Cochrane this community will never be ashamed, so long as they can appreciate eloquence and approve of what is excellent. James Crombie, of New York, Lorenzo Fairbanks of Philadelphia, and Christopher C. Laug- dell, of New York, have already gained, or are rapidly gain- ing, eminence in the profession. Of my humble self I have nothing to say. /Of the rest I can speak with pride. I am proud to know that the sons of New Boston adorn all the profes- sions, and not least, the legal. Other communities delight to do them honor. And it is not a little grateful to know that . they are appreciated at home. And rest assured, Mr. President, that we will endeavor, in all coming time, to do credit to the
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place of our birth, and give no occasion for the " old folks" at home to be ashamed of those whom they have sent forth upon the broad theatre of activity.
Mr. Dodge prepared interesting biographical sketches of most of the legal gentlemen to whom he refers ; but as similar sketches precede their papers in this work, they have been omitted in his, while we append other names, with such facts as have come to hand.
John Gove, son of Dr. Jonathan Gove, was born in New Bos- ton, Feb. 17, 1771, graduated at Dartmouth College in 1793, read law with W. Gordon, commenced practice in Goffstown in 1797, and removed to Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1802, and died the same year, aged 31.
Charles Frederick Gove was the son of Dr. Jonathan Gove by his second wife. He was born May 13, 1793, graduated at Dartmouth College in 1817, read law with J. Forsaith, Dane Law School, commenced practice in Goffstown in 1820, where he remained till 1839, when he removed to Nashville, now Nashua, and represented that town in the State Legislature in 1830, '31, '32, '33, '34. He was President of the State Senate in 1835, was Solicitor from 1834 to 1837, Attorney General from 1837 to 1842, and appointed Circuit Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1842. Subsequently, he resigned his judge- ship, and became Superintendent of the Nashua and Lowell Railroad, and died in 1856, aged 63.
Judge Gove married Mary H. Gay, of Nashua, but left no children.
Robert Clark Cochran is the son of the late John D. Coch- ran. He was born Nov. 4, 1813, and married Mary Means, daughter of Rev. E. P. Bradford, and lives in Gallatin, Miss., practising law.
Jesse MeCurdy is the son of the late James McCurdy ; his mother is the youngest child of the Rev. Solomon Moor. He graduated at Dartmouth College in the Class of 1852. He taught school several years in Mississippi, and is now practising law in Quitman, of that State.
Christopher C. Langdell is the son of John Langdell ; his mother was Lydia, daughter of the late Joseph Beard, and sis-
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ter of Jesse Beard, Esq. He fitted for college at Exeter Acad- emy, and graduated at Harvard, and is now practising law in the city of New York.
Seth Fairfield is the son of Benjamin Fairfield, Esq., and a graduate of Waterville College, Me. He went into Mississippi, taught school some years, and is now in the practice of the legal profession in that State.
Ninian Clark Betton was son of Samuel Betton, who came to New Boston from Windham, and married Anna Ramsey, sister of the wife of Ninian Clark, Esq., near whom Mr. Betton re- sided until his death, which occurred Oct. 9, 1790 ; and his wife died Nov. 23, 1790. These parents left two sons, Ninian Clark and James, the oldest being less than four years of age. James died in early manhood. Ninian, at the age of about five years, was placed under the care of Robert Boyd, whose wife was a kind-hearted woman, who, having no children of her own, loved those of other parents, and took great pleasure in caring for the orphan and needy. Here young Betton spent ten years of his childhood, always expressing great gratitude for the kindness of heart and the wise counsels of Mrs. Boyd.
After his removal from New Boston, at the age of fourteen, he was sent to school for a while, and subsequently placed in a store, as clerk. But, having no taste for mercantile life, he re- solved to obtain a liberal education. He studied at Atkinson Academy, and entered Dartmouth College, whence he gradu- ated with the reputation of high scholarship, having the late- Rev. Samuel Clark for his classmate.
The following notice of Mr. Betton was written by a member of the Suffolk Bar, and appeared in one of the Boston news- papers on the day of his death, Nov. 19, 1856 : -
" DEATH OF A MEMBER OF THE SUFFOLK BAR. - Died in this city, this morning, Ninian C. Betton, Esq., counsellor-at- law, aged 68 years.
" Mr. Betton was a native of New Boston, N. H., and studied his profession under the direction of the late Hon. Ezekiel Webster, and afterwards under the direction of his distill- guished brother, Daniel Webster.
" Mr. Betton was admitted to practice in this city in October,
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1817, since which time, with a short interval spent in New Hampshire, he has resided with us in Boston. He was a well- bred lawyer, and an honest, upright man. He has performed all his duties, in every relation of life, faithfully, and goes to his tomb with the sincere regret and undissembled respect of a large circle of friends, who have long known and valued him for his sterling good sense and honest independence of charac- ter. Mr. Betton was well read in his profession, and was a skilful and safe counsellor. He never delayed an honest claim- ant in obtaining his just claim, and never aided a dishonest man in prosecuting an unjust demand."
Mr. Betton, January 10, 1821, married Miss W. J., daughter of the late Silas Betton, whose wife was Mary, daughter of the distinguished Matthew Thornton, signer of the Declaration. They had three sons ; of whom one, George E., survives. He succeeds his father in the successful practice of the legal pro- fession in Boston.
DR. JAMES H. CROMBIE.
His father was Dr. James Crombie, who practised in Fran- cestown and Temple, and died in Derry. Dr. James H. Crom- bie studied medicine with his father and the late Dr. Amos Twitchell, of Keene, attending lectures at Woodstock, Vt., and Boston, Mass., and graduating at the medical department of Dartmouth College, 1838. He commenced practice the same year at Francestown, with his father, but removed to Derry, in 1850, where he now resides, having an extensive business. He married Sarah Frances, daughter of Alexander Wilson, Esq., of Francestown, in 1844.
RESPONSE OF DR. CROMBIE.
NEW BOSTON PHYSICIANS, AT HOME AND ABROAD. - Their skill to heal and power to console have made them welcome visitors in chambers of sickness.
MR. PRESIDENT, -
I cheerfully respond to the sentiment just announced. Though I cannot claim the honor of being born in New Boston, yet my father did, and here his fathers' dust reposes, and here " my. best friends and kindred " were born, and here many of them yet live. And so identified are all my associations and feelings with this town, that I find it difficult to realize that I was not born here. Born here or not, I love New Boston with all the affection of a dutiful son. And I thank you, Mr. President, for allowing me the privilege of enjoying and contributing something towards the interest of this hour. With so many familiar and loved faces, with so many cordial greetings, and such glorious memories as have been arrayed before us to-day, it may seem unkind to call up before you a succession of men with whom you associate all mortal diseases and nauseating remedies. And yet, the history of the physicians of this town is an important part of its whole history. Nor, I am constrained to believe, can it be denied that most of them had power to heal and to console. Many a chamber of sickness has been cheered by their presence, and many an aching heart has been com- forted by their words of sympathy. Indeed, it is this skill to heal and power to console which always makes the honest, christian physician a most welcome visitor at the bedside of the sufferer. And no other physician is worthy the confidence of the sick. A physician without respect for divine truth, and reverence for God, with no sympathy for the sufferer, is un- worthy the trust committed to him, however great his skill. Matthew Thornton was a christian physician, and is believed to be the first who practised in this town. He was born in
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Ireland, 1714, the son of James Thornton, who emigrated to this country about 1717. Dr. Thornton commenced the prac- tice of medicine in Londonderry, and "acquired a high and extensive reputation as a physican, and, in the course of several years of successful practice, became comparatively wealthy." He became a proprietor of New Boston, and purchased a farm east of that now owned by Mr. George W. Clark, where he re- mained some years, and greatly endeared himself to the people. It will be remembered that, in 1745, Dr. Thornton joined the expedition against Cape Breton, as a surgeon in the New Hampshire division of the army, consisting of five hundred men ; and that at the commencement of the Revolutionary war he held the rank of a colonel in the militia. He was also com- missioned justice of the peace under the administration of Benning Wentworth, and was appointed president of the Pro- vincial Convention in 1775, and the following year was ap- pointed to represent the State of New Hampshire in Congress, and signed the Declaration of Independence. He removed to Merrimack, and died June 24, 1803, aged eighty-nine years.
Dr. Thornton had great native wit, and loved a joke. Riding past an old man whose occupation was the making of grave- stones, he said, " Well, Wyatt, do you not sometimes pray that people would die faster, that your business might increase ?" The old man calmly replied, " I cannot say but I have done a thing of the kind in my life, but there is no need of doing it any longer, for there is a fop of a thing by the name of Thoril- ton come to town, and he will kill off two while I can make gravestones for one!" Of course Thornton put spurs to his horse.
Mrs. Webster, of Boscawen, a granddaughter of Dr. Thorn- ton, relates the following incidents : Daniel Webster once called her attention to a story he was about to tell to a party of ladies and gentlemen in the orchard at the Elm Farm, in Frank- lin. Said Mr. Webster, "When I was a little boy I was very feeble, hardly considered worth raising ; but Judge Thornton came to my father's, on his way home from Thornton, where he had been to look after his farms, and in the morning the two walked into the orchard, sat down on those primitive rocks, to enjoy the pleasant prospect of Elm Farm and the
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Merrimac River, and I lingered near to enjoy their conversa- tion. At length my father asked Dr. Thornton what he could do for his boy, Daniel. Dr. Thornton professionally examined me, and then pieked from the rock some moss, and said, 'Let his mother boil it in milk, and the lad drink freely of it.' It was done, and here I am, an able-bodied man, stout enough to wield a sledge-hammer. How much I am indebted to the hon- orable signer of the Declaration for my present health, God only knows ! "
" Judge Thornton married Hannah Jackson, a beautiful young girl of eighteen years, whom he promised, when a child, to wait for and marry, as a reward for her taking some disagreeable medicine."
Dr. Jonathan Gove came here about the year 1770. He was an excellent physician, and highly esteemed. Dr. Gove was a nervous, energetic man, fond of fun, and enjoyed a joke. He was riding on the Sabbath, at the time the Sabbath law was in operation, on business not connected with his profession, and was stopped by a tything-man, and asked where he was riding on the Sabbath ? His reply was, " Sir, I am a doctor, and that man is after me !" referring to a man who happened to be riding behind him. The result was, both went on unmolested. He was a Tory, yet was promoted to all the offices at the dis- posal of the town. He passed through a scene of great excite- ment relative to small-pox, and finally removed to Goffstown, where he died. His son John graduated at Dartmouth Col- lege in 1793, and became a lawyer. His son Frederick was the late Judge Gove.
Dr. MeMillen was contemporary with Dr. Gove, and possessed some skill, and was followed by his son, Dr. Abraham MeMillen, both dying in town.
Dr. Eastman studied with Dr. Gove, and succeeded him for a few years, and then removed to Hollis.
Dr. Lincoln succeeded Dr. Eastman ; was a pleasant man but not very skilful ; was an enterprising citizen, built a store and mills, but, becoming intemperate, met with reverses, and left town.
Dr. William Cutter, from Jaffrey, succeeded him. His wife was an Evans, of Peterboro'. He had something to do with
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the digging up of the dead body of a child, and roused the indignation of the community. He returned to Jaffrey.
Dr. John Whipple was son of John Whipple, and was born April 29, 1776. He studied with Dr. Samuel Shepherd, of Brentwood, commenced practice in New Boston in 1800, and married, June 29, 1800, Hannah, daughter of Solomon Dodge. He was a successful practitioner, and a man of considerable business capacity.
Dr. Winthrop Brown, from Maine, came here in the year 1813 or 1814. He was one of three children at a birth. He stayed some four years, and had some practice.
Dr. Dalton succeeded Dr. Brown. He came to town in the year 1818 or 1819, from Newburyport, Mass. He was a large, tall, fine-looking man, and won the favor of all. He was the only child of a sea-captain, his father dying when he was young. He was a christian man.
Dr. Perkins succeeded Dr. Dalton. He married a daughter of John Cochran, Esq. He practised a few years, and aban- doned the profession for the ministry, and is now preaching in Wisconsin.
Next came Dr. David Bradford. He was son of Rev. Moses Bradford, of Francestown ; he practised successfully some two or three years, and then removed to Montague, Mass., where he now resides. Then came Dr. Francis Fitch, son of Dr. Fitch, of Greenfield. He practised satisfactorily to his employers for several years, when he removed to Amherst, where he con- tinues a respectable practice. Dr. James Danforth is next in course. He is son of a very respectable lawyer in Tyngsboro', Josiah Danforth, formerly of Weare ; he graduated at the medical college at Hanover, very acceptably, in 1838, and commenced the practice of medicine in 1841, in which he has continued successfully ever since. In 1843, he married Margaret, daughter of Mr. William Clark ; she deceased some years since. Dr. Moses Atwood came next to town. He was son of Mr. David Atwood, of Lyndeboro'. He practised homeopathy, and was removed by death after a few months. Dr. Nelson P. Clark, who now practises in town, came last. He was born March 8, 1824. He is son of Samuel Clark, of Hubbardstown, Mass. He studied medicine at Concord, N. H., with George
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Hains and Edward H. Parker, commencing practice in 1850, at Andover, N. H., and came to New Boston, 1857. January 15, 1859, he married Susan F., daughter of Mr. W. W. Knowlton, of Northwood, N. H., and has an increasing business.
We have now completed the list of physicians who have practised in this town. We now glance at those who have gone into other places.
Dr. James Crombie, whose history is familiar to many of this audience, studied medicine with Dr. Benjamin Jones, of Lynde- boro', whose daughter he subsequently married, and commenced practice in Temple, N. H., in 1798. In 1820, he removed from Temple to Francestown, where he continued to practice until 1850, when he removed to Derry. February, 1855, he died. Samuel Crombie, brother of the foregoing, studied medicine and practised in Waterford, Me., for a few years, and there died, a young man.
Dr. William Ferson was son of James Ferson, and grandson of the early James Ferson, and graduated at Dartmouth Col- lege, in 1797 ; he practised medicine in Gloucester, Mass., and died there. I saw a gentleman, a resident of Gloucester, yes- terday, who told me that Dr. Ferson was a very successful practitioner in that place for several years ; that he held many responsible offices in town, and was treasurer of the Glou- cester Savings Bank, with a capital of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars ; that he was considered a man of strict vera- city, and highly respected. He died in 1853, aged seventy-nine.
Dr. Alexander MeCollum practised medicine in Pittston, Maine, where he yet resides. Dr. Samuel Gregg studied med- ieine with Dr. Dalton, went to Medford, Mass., subsequently became a homeopathist, and removed to Boston, where he now enjoys an extensive practice. Dr. Jeremiah Cochran, son of Jolin Cochran, Esq., studied medicine with Dr. Dalton, and removed to Sandusky, Ohio, where, after some years of success- ful practice, he died. His brother Charles succeeded him, and is now favorably known in the practice of medicine in Toledo, Ohio. Dr. Horace Wason, son of James Wason, was born December, 4, 1817, and died November 13, 1847. He studied with Dr. Fitch, attended a course of lectures at Han- over, and graduated at Castleton, Vt. He commenced the
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practice of medicine at Manchester, Mass., but soon abandoned the field, and died. He was a young man of much promise. Dr. Thomas Hamilton Cochran, son of John D. Cochran, took his degree of doctor of medicine at Hanover in 1840, com- menced practice in New Ipswich, in September of the same year, and continued there until 1853, when he removed to West Rutland, Vermont, and in the winter of 1862-3, was ap- pointed Assistant Surgeon United States Army, in the hospital of Louisville, Kentucky.
Dr. Daniel Marden, son of Solomon Marden, studied medicine with Dr. Danforth, graduated at Hanover, and commenced practice at Goshen, N. H., and is now practising in Peru, Vt.
We have good assurance that most if not " all these have obtained a good report," and have honored the place of their nativity. At home and abroad, their skill to heal and power to console have made them, not only welcome visitors in chambers of sickness, but blessings to those who have come within the range of their influence. And, in closing, permit me, Mr. President, to offer the following sentiment: -
New Boston - a venerable centenarian ! - All honor to her ; to her worthy matrons and her noble sires. Her daughters have cheered and made happy many a fireside ; and her sons, like the sturdy oaks and majestic pines of their native forests, have nobly borne themselves against the winds and storms of life's conflict, successfully rising above what is base, and aspir- ing to what is ennobling.
In addition to the interesting sketches above given by Dr. Crombie, we subjoin the following : -
Nathaniel Peabody was the son of Francis Peabody, who, about 1779, settled on what is now the Town Farm. Nathaniel studied medicine, graduating at Hanover in 1800, and practised in Massachusetts, and died in New Jersey. He married Eliza Palmer, and left four children : Nathaniel, now in Boston ; Elizabeth, who is unmarried, greatly distinguished as a teacher and authoress ; Mary Taylor, who became the wife of the Hon. Horace Mann, late president of Antioch College, and has her residence in Concord, Mass. ; and Sophia, who became the wife of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the celebrated poet.
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Dr. Moses Atwood, it may be added to what Dr. Crombie has said, was born in Pelham, April 6, 1801, and died in New Boston, April 28, 1850. He married, for his first wife, Mary Lewis, of Francestown, November 24, 1835 ; and she died June 21, 1844. His second wife was Julia Ann Chickering, of Am- herst, to whom he was married May 5, 1846.
Dr. Atwood studied medicine with Dr. Israel Herrick, of Lyndeborough, and Dr. Luther Farley, of Francestown.
He began the practice of medicine in North Lyndeborough, in 1827 ; thence he removed to Deering, and thence to Frances- town.
His practice was allopathic until 1841, when he studied homeopathy with Dr. Samuel Gregg, of Boston, and was the first American who practised homeopathy in New Hampshire, and the tenth in New England.
In 1837, he removed from Francestown to Concord, where, under excessive labor, his health became impaired, and he re- tired to the quiet village of New Boston, where he died, greatly lamented. As a physician he ranked high, and was not less esteemed for the many excellences of his character. He left a widow and one son ; the son now lives in Francestown, and his widow is now the estimable wife of the Rev. Benjamin Clark, of Chelmsford, Mass.
Dr. E. G. Kelley is the only child of John Kelley, who at the time of his son's birth lived on the farm where Luther Colburn resides, but is now living in Newport. Dr. Kelley was born September 29, 1812 ; his mother's name was Betsey, daughter of Nehemiah Dodge, of New Boston. He studied medicine two years with Dr. Muzzy, then of Hanover, and one year at Phila- delphia, where he graduated at Jefferson Medical College in March, 1838. Since which time he has lived and practised dentistry chiefly in the city of Newburyport, Mass., where he now resides, devoting himself to horticultural pursuits, his residence being known as the "Evergreens" of Lord Dexter notoriety. Dr. Kelley married Hannah P., daughter of the Hon. E. S. Rand, of Newburyport, October 21, 1840, and has four children : Emily R., born August 11, 1841 ; Edward A., born March 18, 1845, now a member of the second class in Dart- mouth College ; Mary H., born March 8, 1853; and George Wallace, born November 7, 1856.
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Dr. Jonathan Gove was born in Lincoln, Mass. His parents were John Gove and Tabitha Livermore, their children being three sons and one daughter. Jonathan was born September 3, 1746; graduated at Harvard College, studied medicine in Groton Mass., and settled in New Boston. He married Mary Hub- bard, of Groton, Mass., by whom he had five children : John, born February 17, 1771, and died in Chillicothe, Ohio ; Lucinda, born May 25, 1772, and died May 7, 1775; Frances, born November 27, 1773, and became the wife of Capt. John Cochran, known in later years as Esquire John Cochran, of New Boston ; Mary B., born January 7, 1775, and became the wife .of Thomas Stark ; George Brydges Rodney, born December 20, 1781, married Hannah Woodbury, of Weare, and is now living in Fort Covington, New York.
After the death of his first wife, Dr. Gove married, for his second, Polly Dow, Jan. 6, 1791, by whom he had children as follows: Clarissa, born March 17, 1792, who became the wife of William McQuestion, of Bedford, and had three children, subsequently marrying, for her second husband, John Richards, of Goffstown, by whom she had three children ; Charles Frederick, who was born May 13, 1793, married Mary K. Gay, of Nashua, and died leaving no children ; Wil- liam Clark, who was born July 8, 1796, married Sally Neal, by whom he had three children, himself dying when a young man ; Lucretia, who became the wife of Dr. John Gilchrist, and died in Canada, leaving six children.
Dr. Gove removed to Goffstown in 1794, consequently all his children but the last two were born in New Boston. Dr. Gove died in 1818, and his widow in 1837.
Alexander McCollom was born Feb. 5, 1795. He fitted for the sophomore class in college, under Rev. E. P. Bradford, at Andover, Mass., and at Bangor, Me., under Professor Fowler. Here he commenced the study of medicine, under the instruc- tion of the celebrated Dr. Hosea Rich, and subsequently under Dr. Chandler, of Belfast, and yet later under Dr. Manning, of Merrimac, N. H. He attended a course of lectures at Bow- doin College, Me., and graduated at Dartmouth College. He commenced the practice of medicine in Windsor, Me., subse- quently removed to Palermo, and for nearly thirty years has resided at Pittston.
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Dr. McCollom married, Oct. 19, 1830, Sarah Kimball, an adopted daughter and niece of the late Dr. Goodrich, of Mer- rimac, N. H. She was born Sept. 20, 1795.
Their children are: Mary G., born Sept. 21, 1831; Cath- erine E., born Feb. 28, 1833, and died an infant ; Abel G., born Sept. 12, 1837. Of their two surviving children, Mary became the wife of Dr. Edward Mead, of Cincinnati, Ohio, Oct. 18, 1860, and in that city resides. Abel married Annie J. Da- vidson, of Wiseassett, Me., Aug. 4, 1861.
For a more extended notice of the. McCollom family, the reader may consult Biographical and Genealogical Sketches.
Samuel Lynch is son of the late John Lynch, his mother be- ing a Kelso, sister of our worthy townsman, Robert Kelso. He was born April 6, 1837 ; he graduated at the Mercantile Acad- emy, at Boston, but subsequently read medicine in Norwich, Conn., and graduated from the University Medical College, in New York city, March 4, 1863. His residence is Saxonville, Mass.
MILLS.
In the year 1631, Belknap says that Capt. Mason sent eight Danes over into New Hampshire, " to build mills, saw timber, and tend them." And the first saw-mill in this State was built by them on Mason's plantation, at Newishewannock, in 1634, near Portsmouth.
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