USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > New Boston > History of New Boston, New Hampshire > Part 33
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CAPT. GERRY WHITING. - He came from Francestown, mar- ried Abigail, daughter of Dea. Wm. Starrett, September, 1798. Their children were: Julia, who became the wife of Oliver Cochran November, 1822 ; Roxanna, who was married to David Stone February, 1825; Dexter, who married Mary
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Stone April, 1828; Harris, who married Mary Dodge in 1832 ; Louisa D:, who died; Calvin, who married Abby Burnham ; Emily, who married, June, 1855, Dea. Summer L. Cristy ; Mary, who died July, 1830 ; Hannah O., who married James Clark ; and Abby, who 'married Walter J. Jaquith in 1849. These children all located for a time in Johnson, Vt., except Emily and Abby. Capt. Whiting was a man of great business capa- city, and was long respected as an upright and worthy citizen, and had a highly interesting family of children. He died Nov., 1827. His wife was an exemplary christian woman ; she died April, 1831.
WIILLIAM WOODBURY. - Three brothers came from England, and settled in Beverly, Mass. Mr. William Woodbury de- scended from one of these brothers, and came to New Boston about 1785. He settled in the north part of the town, marry- ing, and having five children who came to maturity : Dorathy, who became the wife of Mr. Walker, and lived in Ackworth, and had children ; Hannah, who also married a Mr. Walker, and lived in New Boston, and had children, one of whom is Mrs. Joshua Woodbury ; Joshua E., who married and settled near his father, and had children : Ebenezer K., Joshua E., Hittie, who married a Mr. Thomas, of Middleton, Mass., where she now resides ; David, who removed to Mobile, Alabama ; Sallie, who married and lived in Wisconsin ; Benjamin Smith, who lives in New Boston ; Sallie (daughter of William) died un- married ; Benjamin S., who married Sallie B. Jones, daughter of Joshua Jones, and lived on the old homestead and had twelve children ; Sabrina, who married Jason Philbrick, of Weare, and lives in Sanbornton ; William, who married Rachel P., daughter of the late John Shirley, and lives where her father died, being the farm formerly owned by Hugh Blair, and has two children : Lucetta, who married William B. Symonds, of Weare, and has four children ; Benjamin F., who married Caroline H., daughter of Richard Webster, of Concord, and has one daughter, Hettie R. W. ; Joshua J., who married Harriet McClure, and resides in New Boston, and has two children ; Eliza Jane, who mar- ried Luther M. Brown, and lives in Minnesota, and has four children ; Elizabeth Ann, who died young; Harriet R., who married Thomas Holmes, and lives in Minnesota ; Frances Ann
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who married Squire G. Eastman, of Weare, and has had five children ; Caroline, who married Jesse Clement, of Weare, and has two children ; Levi, who married Maria Whitcomb, of Warner, and lives in Weare ; Maryett.
Mr. Benjamin S. Woodbury died December 25, 1846, and his widow lives in Weare.
SAMUEL GREGG, EsQ. - He was the youngest son of Hugh Gregg. Was born at New Boston June 9, 1764. In the early part of his manhood he was an apprenticed mechanic, his father having died when he was quite young. For several years he pursued his trade of carpenter and cabinetmaker, but relinquished his trade, and gave his attention to farming. He occupied many responsible positions in town affairs, and was many years Justice of the Peace.
He married for his first wife, Jane W., daughter of Alex- ander Wilson, of New Boston. She was born Nov. 20, 1770, and died Dec. 25, 1800.
They had six children : Jenny, who married Daniel Dodge, and lived in Johnson, Vt .; Elizabeth, who married Robert Wilson, and lived in Deering; Mary, who married Samuel B. Waters, and lived in Johnson, Vt. ; Sarah, who married Rob- ert McPherson, and now lives in Michigan ; Alexander, who married Jane M., daughter of Dea. Robert Clarke, of New Boston, and now lives in Medford, Mass.
He married for his second wife, Lydia Bartlett, of Newbury, Mass. ; they had one son, James Bartlett, who married Mary Bailey, of Newbury, Mass. His second wife, Lydia B., died in New Boston Nov., 1835, and he died in Deering, New Hamp- shire, May 6, 1839. Of the above children there are now living, Sarah, Alexander, and Samuel.
DOCTER SAMUEL GREGG. - He was born at New Boston July 1, 1799. He studied medicine with John Dalton, M. D., of New Boston. He graduated M. D. at Dartmouth College in 1825, and commenced practice in medicine the same year in Medford, Mass. He married for his first wife Ruthey W. R., daughter of Luther Richards. She was born at New Boston June 5, 1802, and died in Boston, Mass., Feb. 20, 1853.
She had nine children : Mary Josephine W., who died in Medford, Mass., May 6, 1838; Martha D., who married Ed-
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J.F. Bufford's Lith
Jammu Gregg M. D.
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ward G. Tileston, Esq., and now lives in Brookline, Mass .; Samuel W., who died in California in 1850, aged 23 years ; Caroline A., who married W. R. Stockbridge, and now lives in Cambridge, Mass. ; Abbie Maria, who died in 1836, aged three years ; Anna, who married Joseph Howard, Jr., and now lives in Brooklyn, N. York; Abby H. T., who married I. B. Woos- ter, and now lives in San Francisco, California; Franklin Hahneman, who died in infancy, and Josephine Maria, now living in Boston, Mass. Dr. Samuel Gregg's present wife was Mrs. Sophronia C. Hills, of Leominster, Mass.
Doctor Samuel Gregg continued the practice of medicine, after the teachings of the Allopathic School, for nearly fourteen years ; when, in 1838, he was induced to examine the teachings of Hahneman, who had promulgated a new, or Homeopathic system of therapeutics. Being satisfied of the truth of the prin- ciple announced by Hahneman, he has continued in successful practice ever since. He thus introduced the "New School " system into New England, and was the only practitioner of that system for nearly a year in all that region. In 1840 he re- moved to Boston, where he continues in successful practice, and can now enumerate his colleagues by hundreds, throughout New England, who have adopted the motto, " Similia Similibus Curantur " of the immortal Hahneman.
DANIEL DODGE. - He was born in Hamilton, Mass., Oct. 24, 1766 ; married, Elizabeth, daughter of Luke Dodge, who was born Feb. 27, 1764. They had nine children : Daniel, born Dec. 9, 1785, married, Dec. 28, 1810, Joanna, daughter of Daniel Dane, who was born Sept. 16, 1789 ; their children are : Albert, born Nov. 13, 1812, died Feb. 14, 1823 ; Hiram, born April 3, 1813, who married Olive Butterfield for his first, and Abigail Marden, for his second wife ; Polly, born Feb. 28, 1819, who became the wife of Cummings Cross; Sarah, born Dec. 1823, who became the wife of James Hovey ; Lydia, born Dec., 1828, died 1849.
Betsey, born Jan. 28, 1788, died young.
Betsey, born Oct. 28, 1789, became the wife of Daniel Whit- termore, and resides in Wisconsin, having had eleven children, four of whom survive.
Polly, born March 16, 1793, died April 16, 1814.
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Luke, born Feb. 19, 1795, married Rachael Dodge, lived in town, and died April, 1863, leaving three children : Ephraim, who died June, 1863, William, and Daniel.
Ephraim was born March 16, 1797, married Catherine Luce, and resides in South Boston, having five children.
Lydia, born Jan. 28, 1798, died July 16, 1806.
Jonathan, born Sept. 6, 1801, married Mary Dodge, died in New Boston Sept. 6, 1801, having had seven children.
The first Daniel Dodge died April 26, 1843 ; his wife died July 20, 1851. Mr. Dodge was one of the most thrifty farm- ers in town ; upright in his transactions with others, and a friendly neighbor, having regard to the law of the Sabbath and the institutions of religion, knowing how to bridle his tongue.
JOSHUA JONES. - He came from Dracut, Mass., about 1780, and settled in the south part of the town, buying of John Mc- Allister. He married Sarah Burns, of Dracut, Mass. Their children are Betsey, Nathaniel, Joshua, Peter, Samuel, George, Sally, and Jefferson.
Betsey married Benjamin Butterfield, of Goffstown, where she lived and died.
Nathaniel married a Miss Butterfield, and settled in Dracut, Mass., and died in the West Indies, leaving several children.
Joshua married Irena Perkins, and died in New Boston in 1863, leaving one son.
Peter married for his first wife Mary, daughter of Peter Cochran, sister of the late Peter Cochran, by whom he had seven children: Mary Jane, Peter C., Nancy, Letitia, Jennette, James C., and Allen W. Mary Jane married Daniel Ayers, Esq., of Albany, N. Y. ; Peter C. resides in California, and has two children ; Nancy died young. Letitia married Perry Richards, of Goffstown, for her first husband, and Richard Pattee, also of Goffstown, for her second husband, and has two chil- dren ; Jennette died young; James C. married Jerusha, daughter of John G. Dodge, of Goffstown, and has two chil- dren ; Allen W. died in California in Feb., 1858. Mr. Jones married for his second wife Mrs. Nancy Hill.
George married Sarah Battles, of Mont Vernon, and had six children.
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Sally married Capt. Benjamin Woodbury, lived and died in New Boston, having had several children.
Jefferson married Mary Fisher, of Francestown, lived in Goffstown, and died some years ago.
CAPT. EPHRAIM JONES. - He was son of Jonathan Jones, of Dracut, Mass. ; he married a Miss Hildreth, daughter of Gen. Hildreth, of Dracut, of Revolutionary memory. He had two daughters, Mercy and Prudence. Prudence married Mr. Co- burn, and settled in Dracut. Mr. Jones was a blacksmith, and made scythes and other edge tools, and was one of the most useful men in town ; highly respected, and promoted to all the offices in the gift of the people ; and an active friend of the Presbyterian Church until his death.
THOMAS OTIS. - He was born in Barrington Feb. 9, 1783. At the age of twenty-one he removed to Wenham, where he married Mary, daughter of Aaron Lee. He came to New Boston in 1819, and settled in the east part of the town. Their children are Peter Y., Hannah, Sarah L., Thomas, Mary Jane, Harriet Newell, William Luke, James L., and Elizabeth.
Peter married Frances A. Center, and has three children : William Henry, Harriet Frances, and Charles.
Hannah became the wife of William A. Flint, and resides in Merrimack.
Sarah married Jonas Holden, lives in Rollinsford, and has three children.
Thomas married Mary Mulligan, lives in Watertown, Mass., and has four children.
Mary Jane married Henry F. Straw, lives in Manchester, and has two sons.
Harriet N. married Elijah Parkhurst, and lives in Merrimac, having one daughter.
William L. married Paulina Balch, of Goffstown, and is now a member of the 11th Regt. N. H. V.
James L. married Louisa Manuel, and lives in Chicago, Ill., having one daughter.
Elizabeth married George Austin, of Goffstown, and lives in Springfield, Mass.
Mr. Otis died Jan. 4, 1855; his wife died Aug. 25, 1854. He was an excellent man, greatly beloved as a neighbor, and
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honored as a christian. He found a ready helper in his wife in every good purpose, and they reared a happy, industrious, and virtuous family of children.
DR. JEREMIAH S. COCHRAN. - He was son of John Cochran, Esq. His mother was Frances, daughter of the late Dr. Jona- than Gove. He was born in New Boston Jan. 16, 1805. His youth was spent at home on a farm. Serving as a clerk in a store in Billerica, Mass., in 1822, he began the study of Latin, under Rev. E. P. Bradford, in the year 1823. In 1825 he began to read medicine with Dr. John Dalton. In 1826 he attended a course of lectures at the Medical College at Han- over. Subsequently he attended lectures at Bowdoin College, and graduated as a physician in May, 1829 .. He commenced the practice of medicine at Massena, in Northern New York, Oct. 6, 1829, where he remained about a year, and then re- moved to Waddington, and subsequently to Fort Covington, of the same State. At length he went to Sandusky, Ohio, during the prevalence of the cholera at the West. Here he directed all his energies to his profession, and rose rapidly in it, treating cholera with marked success. He spent three months of the winter of 1835 in attendance on lectures at the Cincinnati Medical College, and, with this exception, he never slept a night away from his place of business from 1832 to 1845. He was a skilful physician, because he studied his cases thoroughly, and rarely failed in diagnosis. He gained clear and distinct ideas of the nature of the disease, and then promptly and boldly applied the remedies. There was no vacillation in his treatment of his patients. Having prescribed the remedies, he required a strict adherence to the directions given, any devia- tion was visited with severe rebuke.
In 1837 Dr. Cochran married Sarah T., daughter of Hon. M. Farwell, of Sandusky. She was an estimable lady, and died in 1842. They had four children : Charles, who died in 1842 ; Sarah Frances, who died 1849, whose remains lie in the centre graveyard, in New Boston. Of their surving children, one is the wife of J. M. Osborn, Esq., of Dayton, Ohio, and the other is a soldier in the army of the Cumberland.
In politics Dr. Cochran was a republican, vigorously opposing every measure for slavery extension. As a christian he was
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sincere and earnest, being a constant attendant on the services of the sanctuary upon the Sabbath. He believed that a physi- cian could arrange his business so as to attend church on Sunday, unless there were unexpected calls at the time which could not be postponed till after service. He was also a constant attendant at the evening meetings of the church for prayer, taking part in them. He contended that a physician was not worthy to be trusted who trifled with religion and outraged the moral sense of a christian community by trampling upon the law of the Sabbath, and by identifying himself with the workers of iniquity. Dr. Cochran early identified himself with the religious community, and was ever ready to cooperate with them in any effort to do good, and thus secured the confidence of all right-minded men, and was enabled to exert an influence over them for good, and when he died they mourned for him as for a friend and benefactor.
Three years before his death he was attacked with fever, which was followed by a succession of fevers of the same character every summer, and continued until autumn. In June, 1845, he had an attack as in former years, and from it was slowly recov- ering when a night exposure caused a relapse, and he expired July 6, 1845, when it was said of him, " The good physician is dead."*
REV. SAMUEL CLARKE. - He was born in New Boston, N. H., April 21, 1791. All the early circumstances in which he was placed conspired to impart unwonted sobriety to his character. His home was in a wild, mountainous region, remote from the dissipations and distractions of the city. There, instead of the sights and sounds of man's creating, he listened to the many- toned voices of nature heard in glade and forest ; and was taught to commune with the mysteries and wonders of the in- visible world, written on the earth and sky, and revealed to the lonely heart of man. The distinctive character of that home, too, could not fail to have a commanding influence over him. His family belonged to a strongly marked class of immigrants, who took up and reclaimed the townships along the upper Mer-
For family history De p.373.
* Condensed from a more extended sketch, by his brother, Dr. Charles Cochran, of Toledo, Ohio.
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rimac and its tributary streams. They were originally from Scotland, full of Scotch blood, and trained in the sternest dogmas of the Presbyterian Church. They had removed in a body to the north of Ireland ; had been involved in the priva- tions, hardships, and woes which befell this part of the coun- try a century and a half ago. They had shared in the hunger, nakedness, and cruel sufferings, of the siege of Londonderry, - so full of strange incident, so bloody, and so barbarous; and when once more they took up the line of their pilgrimage, and at length pitched their tents on the hills of New England, there again to engage in a border warfare with the savages of the New World, the story of their sufferings - wild and heart-stir- ring traditions, could not fail to leave a profound impression upon the minds of their descendants. A marked seriousness and thoughtfulness, the old Scottish reverence for the clergy, sobriety of demeanor, and strictness of discipline, lingered long in the Colony, and went down from generation to generation.
Mr. Clarke was born and reared in the midst of these influ- ences. He was trained in their precise school of manners, and was exact in the little proprieties as well as in the essential duties of life. His father, Ninian Clark, was an extraordinary man, of large sympathies and a noble spirit, trusted by every one, and famed all the country around for unflinching integ- rity. He was a man of thought and considerable reading ; such men as Dr. Samuel Clarke and Archbishop Tillotson were among his favorite authors. The son, then, in addition to those peculiar influences which served to awaken a profound reverence for things sacred and to bring God very near, re- ceived those also which helped to expand and ennoble him.
He was prepared for Dartmouth College by the Rev. Mr. Beede, of Wilton ; entered, and was graduated in 1812. Here he enjoyed the respect and affection of his classmates ; a feeling which had continued to such extent, that when, forty-two years after graduation, the survivors once more met at their Alma Mater, they appointed him to collect the statistics, and prepare a biography of each member of the class ; which trust he execut- ed with fidelity, and to the satisfaction of his fellows. After leaving college, he returned for a few months to his old tutor in Wilton ; but was afterwards induced to repair to Cambridge,
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when, at the same time, he took charge of the grammar-school in that place, and became a pupil in theology of the Rev. Dr. Channing. Here new scenes opened before him, and new in- fluences were exerted which never ceased to be felt. He had come from the quiet seclusion of the country ; and now, for the first time became familiar with the social activity and tlie in- tellectual and spiritual wealth of the metropolis. Young Buck- minister was at the height of his fame ; Kirkland occupied the presidency of the neighboring university, and Channing was making his influence widely felt.
Amid such influences Mr. Clarke was ordained June 18, 1817, over the Unitarian Church in Princeton, Mass., where he remained fifteen years. He was installed over the Unitarian Church in Uxbridge, Mass., January 9, 1833, where he re- mained twenty-seven years, making a ministry of forty-two years.
Mr. Clarke married Miss Sarah Wigglesworth, who appears to have been adapted to exert a large and beneficent influence ; gifted with genius, refined tastes, and an active intellect, Mrs. Clarke could not fail to win to her home even those whom no parochial ties could have drawn thither. She was a woman to win ; for she combined to a rare extent large mental endow- ments, with a capacity for the homeliest duties. She would conduct the affairs of her household in a manner to satisfy the most fastidious, and the while revel amid the creations of an exuberant imagination, and engage in speculations the most profound. She would dignify her home-cares by a discussion of the abstruse metaphysics of Reid and Hamilton, and throw over them the hue of poetry by seizing and holding whatever might catch her fancy. It was no burden to her to rise before the dawn on Monday mornings, and to do the drudgery of the week ; for she would find ever fresh enjoyment in the unspeak- able beauty and glory of the morning hour. She would linger late on Saturday night over the humblest and most distasteful work, and find no weariness in it; for she already had foregleams of the enjoyment of the coming Sabbath ; and, while it was yet midnight, would, like Petrarch, begin her great hymn of wor- ship. So also in the often hard and irksome duties of the par- ish, how difficult soever at first, she so schooled herself that,
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whatever they might be, they would afford her only pleasure and profit. In her walks, she would seize on a beautiful sun- set, or a way-side flower, and transfer it to her portfolio. She would find sunlight and flowers in the homes of others ; and the more desolate and forlorn those homes were, the more sure she would be to see what others could not see, and invest them with a sanctity and loveliness all their own.
Thus Mrs. Clarke lived and died ; a blessing to her husband and family, and a blessing to the people. Mr. Clarke survived his wife but a few years. The blow which removed such a companion left a wound that time could not heal. Always frail, his whole life interrupted by frequent sicknesses, he could bear the strain upon his faculties no longer. He fell, as the good man would wish to fall, at the altar at which he served. He was arrested in the midst of his discourse, and never preach- ed again. Feeling that his work was done, he sent a letter, resigning his office, and requesting the society to accept his resignation, - a request which, to their honor, they promptly declined ; not only voting to supply the pulpit, but to continue the salary of Mr. Clarke. From that time, although the seal of coming death was on his brow, it brought no terrors ; and the kindly voice and the beaming smile seemed to speak of a heaven within. And November 19, 1859, he fell asleep " like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." *
REV. SAMUEL WALLACE CLARK. - He was born in Hancock Dec. 15, 1795, son of John Clark, Esq., who was the son of William, of New Boston. He was, by birth, the second of ten children, eight of whom, four sons and four daughters, lived to mature age. His youth was spent with his father on a farm and preparation for college. He graduated from Dartmouth in the Class of 1823, and studied theology in a regular course at Andover Seminary, graduating in 1827, and was ordained pas- tor of the Congregational Church in Greenland, Rockingham County, Aug. 5, 1829. He married, Oct. 13, 1829, Frances Moor, daughter of Dea. Robert Clark, of New Boston.
* See " Commemorative Discourse," preached December 11, 1859, by Rev. Alonzo Hill, of Worcester, Mass., from which the foregoing is chiefly taken.
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Mr. Clark was a man of a high order of intellect, the native gift of God. This gift was increased and chastened by cultiva- tion through a long, faithful, and regular course of study and discipline. The pursuit and contemplation of truth was his delight: of all truth, -truth in nature, truth reduced to science, truth in life and in Providence. Especially was the truth of God, as revealed in his word, his highest joy, and until his death he retained his inquisitive, studious tastes and habits of mind, so that he could say, with the Roman orator, " These studies occupy our youth, make our riper years happy, are an ornament in prosperity, a refuge and solace in adversity, delight us at home, and are no hindrance to us abroad, spend the night with us, go with us in our travels, and pass the time with us in our country abodes."
The natural cast of his mind was reflective, meditative, in- trospective ; truth, in his mind, did not lie in parcels and frag- ments, but was logically connected, disposed in system and in the order of sequence. His mind was equally removed from a conceited and dogmatic conservatism on the one hand, and from a rash and empiric radicalism on the other. Neither the bigot, the superstitious, nor the fanatic, found anything in him answer- ing to their own wishes and character.
There was in Mr. Clark, pervading and tinging the opera- tions of his mind, a rich, salient vein of playful humor, - that quick, brilliant reason, which, as Barrow has said, consisteth in one knows not what ; " Its ways are unaccountable and inex- plicable, being answerable to the numberless rovings of fancy, and windings of language." He was apt, and wont himself to say many apt and pleasant things ; and he enjoyed, with a keen zest, anything of the kind in his associates and friends, if so be it were pure and innocent. It is matter of observation that this property of mind, while it often delights, sometimes offends and wounds. In him it was baptized and purified in the clear, transparent flowings of a pure love. Nothing biting, nothing sarcastic, or ironical, escaped his lips. He made fun and mock of no creature, of God. His wit and humor conversed with things and thoughts, and not so much with men and characters. " Sometimes it lie in a pet allusion to a known story, or in a sensible application of a trivial saying ; sometimes it played in
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words and phrases ; sometimes it lodged in a sly question, in a shrewd intimation, or in closely retorting an objection ; " hence, while you saw its glare and brightness, it was never with the foreboding fear that its stroke might ere long fall upon you or yours, smiting, prostrating, and humbling you in the dust. This trait and grace of mind he had rightfully and by inheri- tance, being descended of the Scotch race, in whose character it is proverbially prominent. And amid all the solemnities of a death-bed, - in the undressing of his soul, - the reverential and earnest abiding of the quick-coming scenes of eternity, -the patient expectation of heaven and its glories, which were the objects of trust and faith in Christ only, his pleasantry and humor did not forsake him; and these, with the other and spiritual exercises of his mind, gave a very pleasant and grate- ful air to the sick-chamber and the death-bed, where the good man meets his fate, making less frightful, pleasant and joyous even, the noiseless approach of the king of terrors. Thus was he natural and himself, up to the last hour of life and in the solemn moment of death ; a devout, confiding christian indeed, but no less a man gifted and endowed as well by nature as by grace. His life of great excellence was crowned by a graceful, dignified, and sacred period.
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