USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Plymouth > History of Plymouth, New Hampshire; vol. I. Narrative--vol. II. Genealogies, Volume I > Part 39
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regiment. He was severely wounded in the right arm, May 27, and again wounded in the same arm, June 14. With decimated ranks the regiment was mustered out at Concord, Aug. 13, 1863. Colonel Blair resumed the practice of his profession in Plymouth and, suffering from the exposures of army life, in feeble health, he gathered the unravelled threads of his former practice. In 1875 he formed a partnership with Alvin Burleigh, who had been a student in his office, and under the firm name of Blair & Burleigh he continued in active and successful practice until his election to the United States Senate in 1879.
At the annual election in March, 1866, he was elected a rep- resentative of Plymouth in the New Hampshire house of rep- resentatives, and was appointed chairman of the committee on incorporations. In 1867 and 1868 he represented the eleventh district in the State senate, serving, 1867, chairman of the com- mittees on Military Affairs and Towns, and upon the Judiciary Committee. The following session he was chairman of the Rail- road Committee and a member of the Committees of Elections and Military Affairs. In March, 1875, and March, 1877, he was elected a representative in congress from the Third New Hamp- shire District, comprising the towns in Cheshire, Sullivan, Graf- ton, and Coos counties.
At the June session, 1879, he was elected to the United States Senate, and re-elected at the June session, 1885. He removed from Plymouth to Manchester in 1884. He was generously supported for re-election at the January session, 1891, but failed to secure a nomination in the caucus of his political party.
At the November election in 1892 he was elected to the Fifty- third Congress from the first district, and declined a re-election.
In 1891 he declined an appointment of Judge of the United States Court for the district of New Hampshire, tendered by President Harrison, and soon after accepted the appointment of Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to China, and on account of the sentiment of China concerning the position of Senator Blair upon some minor international issues, the appoint-
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ment was withdrawn. Since the adjournment of the Fifty-third Congress in 1895, with a residence in Manchester, he has been engaged in the practice of law. In this condensed outline of the career of Senator Blair there are added no words of eulogy. The record is eloquent of achievement. As a lawyer he has ably served his clients and has been successful in many encounters with learned and vigorous antagonists. As a soldier he was respected by his superiors and beloved by the men of his command. As a statesman he has originated and ably supported humanitarian and educa- tional measures. In all the phases of his lifework he has made his name a synonym of integrity, of pure and lofty purpose.
JOHN W. ELA, son of Joseph and Sally Miller ( Moulton) Ela, was born in Meredith, Sept. 26, 1838. He was educated at the New Hampton and Northfield academies and the Dover High School. He pursued his legal studies in the office of Samuel W. Rollins of Meredith and at Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the Bar of Belknap County in 1859, and practised his profession one year in Meredith, removing to Plymouth, 1860, and practised two years in company with Joseph Bur- rows. He enlisted in the Fifteenth New Hampshire Infantry, Sept. 5, 1862, commissioned captain of Company B, Nov. 3, 1862, and mustered out with the regiment, Aug. 13, 1863. Returning to Plymouth, he resumed practice and remained one year, when he removed to Chicago, Ill. He is remembered in Plymouth as a young man of pleasing address and accomplished in mind and manner. In his chosen field of labor he was recognized as one of the most able and successful lawyers of the State, and for many years he was a prominent and influential factor in civil affairs. He framed the civil service law of Illinois, and was the counsel for the commission before the Supreme Court in a suit to test the constitutionality of the statute, and also in several important suits concerning the application of the law. He was president of the police commission of Chicago and accomplished a conspicuous reform in the government of the city. For several years he was an active member of the executive committee of the National Civil
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Service Reform League, of which Carl Schurz was president. He was taken suddenly ill in Philadelphia while attending the annual meeting of this organization, and died in that city, Dec. 15, 1902.
JOSEPH MANDEVILLE BURROWS, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Dearborn) Burrows, was born in Effingham, May 20, 1840. The family removed to Plymouth, 1858. He read law with his hon- ored father, and was admitted 1864. He practised his profession in connection with his father in this town between one and two years, when he removed to Chicago, Ill., where he has maintained an extensive and lucrative practice.
ALVIN BURLEIGH, son of Samuel C. and Sally Leavitt (Whipple) Heath, and an adopted son of Alvin Thompson Burleigh, was born in Plymouth, Dec. 19, 1842. In youth he was employed in this town in dressing stock for the manufacture of the Plymouth gloves. In 1862 he enlisted in the Fifteenth New Hampshire Infantry, and served until the regiment was dismissed, in August, 1863. At this date young Burleigh was less than twenty-one years of age. With no funds except the reward of toil, and with the resolution of a stout heart and the courage of a veteran, he enlisted again in the war for a liberal education. He was a student at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, and was graduated at Dart- mouth College, 1871. Among his classmates were William W. Flint of Concord, Charles W. Hoitt of Nashua, Lewis Ward Holmes of Keene, the late Alfred T. Balchelder of Keene, Edward G. Leach of Franklin, and Samuel T. Page of Manchester, all lawyers in this State, and Melvin O. Adams of Boston, Mass., and Prof. Marvin D. Bisbee, the librarian of Dartmouth College.
Mr. Burleigh was principal of the high school in Woodstock, Vt., one year, and became a student at law in the office of Henry W. Blair in Plymouth. He was admitted to the Bar in Novem- ber, 1874, and immediately formed a partnership with his legal preceptor under the law firm of Blair & Burleigh, which was continued five years. Mr. Blair having been elected to the United States Senate, retired from active practice, and George H. Adams
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became associated with Mr. Burleigh in the law firm of Burleigh & Adams. Mr. Burleigh is a successful lawyer. Calm, prudent, sagacious, of keen discrimination, earnest and honest, he pos- sesses eminent qualifications for his profession. He merits the excellent reputation which his unblemished character and untir- ing labor have won.
His service in public affairs has been frequently sought and efficiently rendered. He has been a member and the chairman of the school board of Plymouth, a trustee eleven years of the State Normal School, and an earnest promoter of the Emily Balch Cottage Hospital. He was one of the founders and a trustee several years of the Plymouth Guaranty Savings Bank. In the session of 1887 he represented Plymouth in the State legislature, and was elected speaker of the house, filling an exacting position with ability and tact.
A friend of Mr. Burleigh has written: "He has been called as counsel in some of the most noted cases that grace the records of the Bar, and as an advocate, as well as a counsellor, his fame is secure; a large practice attests his success, but above all rests the knowledge of the confidence of those who know him, a dearer and a sweeter reward than can come from any measure of honor."
CHARLES ADAMS JEWELL, son of Samuel French and Almira Smith (Keniston) Jewell, was born in Campton, Nov. 10, 1844. The family removed from Campton to Plymouth when he was ten years of age. He attended the public schools and the Academy of Plymouth, and after two years at Kimball Union Academy he entered Dartmouth College, 1868, and graduated in course, 1872. He was principal of Franklin High School one year, and at same time studied for his profession in the office of Pike & Blodgett, remaining in that office about three years. He was admitted to Grafton County Bar, May 5, 1875, and immediately began prac- tice in Plymouth with Hon. Joseph Burrows, under firm name of Burrows & Jewell. He was assistant clerk of the State senate, 1874, county solicitor, 1883-85, representative from Plymouth, 1875 and 1876. He was chairman of the board of education,
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and at all times interested in the welfare of the public schools of Plymouth.
He was appointed a trustee of the State Normal School in 1876, and was an active member of the board ten years and treasurer of the board five years. In June, 1886, he was appointed Chief Clerk and Assistant Deputy Naval Officer of Customs, Boston, Mass., which position he held until 1900, when he resigned and engaged in the practice of law in Boston, where he continues to reside.
GEORGE HERBERT ADAMS, son of Isaac Lamson and Louisa Cox (Blair) Adams, was born in Campton, May 18, 1851. He pursued a preparatory course of study at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, and was graduated at Dartmouth College, 1873. He was principal of the high school of Middleboro, Mass., one year, and in 1874 he became a student at law in the office of Henry W. Blair in Plymouth. He was admitted to the Bar at the Sep- tember term of the Supreme Court, 1876, and immediately began the practice of his profession in this town. At the dissolution of the law firm of Blair & Burleigh in 1879 he associated with Alvin Burleigh in the firm of Burleigh & Adams. The continued busi- ness and fraternal relations, strengthened with prosperity and cemented by mutual friendship, are features in the good fortunes and professional life of the firm.
Mr. Adams is a successful office and trial lawyer. He is fond of his profession and never disappoints the expectations of his friends. His cases are prepared with care and tried with tact and conscientious fidelity. His manner is winning, and his friend- ships are many and enduring. He has won and firmly holds the esteem of the community and of his brethren of the profession. He is a good townsman, and in a larger field he has been called to many positions of honor and responsibility. In the year that he was admitted to the Bar, and a few months before he removed to Plymouth, he was the delegate of his native town in the con- stitutional convention of 1876. He was a representative of Ply- mouth in the legislature of 1883, a State senator, 1889, and again, 1905, and president of the senate in the latter session. He has
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been Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, and was Judge Advo- cate General on the staff of Gov. John B. Smith, and beginning April 1, 1895, he was four years an efficient solicitor of Grafton County.
General Adams is a director and president of the Pemigewasset National Bank, a trustee of the Plymouth Guaranty Savings Bank, and is serving his eighteenth year as treasurer of the State Normal School. In September, 1905, he was appointed insurance com- missioner for the term of three years.
JOSEPH CLEMENT STORY, son of Otis J. Story, was born in Sutton, Aug. 20, 1855. In his childhood the family removed to Canaan. He pursued a course of study at Kimball Union Acad- emy, Meriden, and at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. Sub- sequently he was principal two years of Union Academy, Canaan. Having determined to adopt the law as his chosen profession, he became, in 1877, a student in the office of George W. Murray in Canaan. Subsequently he continued his preparation in the offices of Pike & Blodgett and of Edward B. S. Sanborn in Franklin. He attended the Boston Law School one year, graduating in 1880, and was immediately admitted to the Bar of Grafton County. He practised three years in Wentworth, removing to Plymouth in the autumn of 1883. His cases were well prepared and he tried them with considerable ability and skill. His ability and faithfulness were rewarded with a good measure of legal busi- ness and his career as a lawyer was assured.
In 1886, upon the organization of the Pemigewasset Mutual Relief Association, he accepted the proffered position of secretary and manager. Like other companies organized and conducting business upon the assessment plan, this company in a few years became embarrassed and was dissolved. Mr. Story, retaining the sympathy of many friends, died in a sanitarium at Burlington, Vt., Jan. 27, 1894.
ALVIN F. WENTWORTH, son of Samuel Going and Adelia Ann (Wentworth) Wentworth, was born on Long Island in
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Moultonborough, June 6, 1867. He attended the schools of Moultonborough, and graduated at the New Hampton Literary Institution, 1889. He read law with Ellery A. Hibbard in Laconia, and graduated at the Law School, University of Michi- gan, 1892, and was admitted to the Bar, March term, 1893. With a liberal preparation for the exacting labors of his profession he opened an office in Plymouth in July, 1893. He has been a member of the school board nine years, and was a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1902. In his professional labors he has been industrious and successful.
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XXX. PHYSICIANS.
D URING one hundred and forty years, since the settlement of Plymouth, twenty-seven physicians have been resident and have attended the sick of this town and vicinity. After years of labor in sunshine and in storm, in the day and in the night, calling in the neighborhood or riding over long and weary roads, nine have died in this town, thirteen have removed to other fields of labor, and five at this time are resident physicians. Of the whole number twenty-one are included among the representatives of the regular school, nine among the graduates of the Dartmouth Medical School, and twelve are enrolled as fellows of the New Hampshire Medical Society. The Homeopathic School has one, the Eclectic School has three, and the Botanic School has two representatives. The town has been fortunate in the professional skill, the established character, and the good citizenship of the physicians who have lived and practised here.
ABIJAH WRIGHT, son of Capt. Joshua and Abigail (Richard- son) Wright, was born in Hollis, Aug. 15, 1746. He studied medicine with Col. John Hale, a distinguished physician of Hollis, and came to Plymouth before 1770. He was the first physician of Plymouth. Like other professional men of his time, he was a farmer and a physician. When summoned from the field he made his professional journeys upon horseback and in the winter season upon snowshoes. He lived in a remote part of Plymouth, and he was not prominent in town affairs, but he was a man of fair ability and character. In the Revolution he was a private, serving seven weeks, in 1776, in Capt. Jeremiah Eames' company upon the Upper Coos. In 1777 he was a surgeon of VOL. I .- 30
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Col. David Webster's battalion, which was called into service for the relief of Ticonderoga. At the incorporation of Hebron in 1792 his homestead was severed from Plymouth, but his relations with the families in this vicinity were unchanged. He continued a residence in Hebron, and there died, 1828.
PETER EMERSON, son of Rev. Daniel and Hannah (Emerson) Emerson, was born in Hollis, Nov. 7, 1749. His father, Rev. Daniel Emerson, was pastor fifty-eight years of the church in Hollis, where many of the early settlers of Plymouth had been accustomed to worship. Dr. Peter Emerson studied medicine with Col. John Hale of Hollis, and came to Plymouth in 1770, where he remained eight years. His wife, a daughter of Col. David Hobart, died in the summer of 1778, and a few months later he removed from this town. In August, 1779, the com- mittee of safety appointed "Dr. Peter Emerson late of Ply- mouth " the surgeon of the regiment commanded by Col. Hercules Mooney, and raised for the defence of Rhode Island. He was in the service with his regiment five months. A few years later he settled in Hillsborough, where he labored with a reasonable measure of success and where he died, Feb. 21, 1827.
JOHN ROGERS, son of Rev. John and Relief (Prentice) Rogers, was born in Leominster, Mass., March 27, 1755. He was grad- uated at Harvard University, 1776. With whom he studied medicine is not known. In January, 1782, the month of his marriage, he settled in Plymouth. He built and occupied the house on South Main Street, since known as the Robie House, and several years later he removed across the street to a home he had erected, now the homestead of Van Ness Bass. Dr. Rogers was the first college-bred man and the third physician in Ply- mouth. His acknowledged skill and his accomplished manners, his superior education and unfailing public spirit won for him the confidence and affection of his patients and the unqualified respect of the community. A man of superior native and cul- tured abilities, gentle, refined, and compassionate, Dr. Rogers
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would have been a bold and striking figure in any walk of life. As a physician, while healing the disease of the patient he touched the mind with the wand of sympathy, and often the most potent remedy at his command was the healing of his presence.
In town affairs he was an influential and intelligent citizen and an able promoter of the reforms of his time. He was many times called to preside in town meetings and was appointed fre- quently upon special committees. He was the first postmaster in this town and a member of the first board of school supervisors. He was one of the incorporators of Holmes Plymouth Academy, a trustee, and the efficient secretary of the board. He was deeply interested in the academy and in the town, supporting every public enterprise with zeal and conspicuous ability. In 1791, at the meeting of organization, Dr. Rogers became a Fellow of the New Hampshire Medical Society, and while he lived he remained a prominent member of that honored society. He was Register of Deeds for Grafton County, 1793, 1796, 1797, 1800, and 1801, conducting the business of the office at Plymouth. He died March 8, 1814. A contemporary has written :
Died in Plymouth, Dr. John Rogers, of the same fever, aged 59. He was a native of Leominster, Mass. Descended from ancestors eminent for their piety and learning, and who were, for many generations before him, ministers of the gospel. He was educated at Harvard College and graduated 1776. The virtue, talents, and usefulness of his fathers were eminently conspicuous in his character and generously displayed in a laborious life devoted to the service of his God and his fellow men. When we consider his general character, we behold a combination of ex- alted virtue and refined talents, of public and private excellencies rarely united in one man.
His mind was enlightened by science and tempered by philosophy and religion, he was modest yet dignified in his manners and truly polite. As a physician he was excelled by few of his time. His professional knowledge was extensive and improved by long practice and experience. His heart, naturally tender, was softened to gentleness by acquaintance with distress. His friends were many, - every honest man from the highest to the lowest grade of his acquaintance. His enemies were few, and all political ones. His professional business was extensive and lucrative, his prudence and economy remarkable, yet his compassion for
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the unfortunate and his liberal donations in public matters kept him poor. The beggar never returned empty from his gate, he had ever a tear for his sorrows and a shilling for his need. He was a firm friend and supporter of the liberties of his country, could discern her real interests, had attentively studied the history of former republics and saw by their measures and their fortune the fate of our own. Though con- tinually rebuked for his zeal by his shortsighted countrymen, he warned them unceasingly of their danger and foretold the coming storm ere yet the clouds had gathered in the sky. Faithful to his country while living, his last prayer went up for her when he closed his eyes and left her for- ever. He met death with firmness and composure of mind in the strength of virtuous resignation.
His affectionate wife and family are left to mourn his departure. If any consolation can reach them at so melancholy a time, it is the excel- lent name he left behind him, and the thought that he greatly fulfilled the end of his creation by a life devoted to duty. They must mourn. Weep with them, son of Science, for he was your brother ; son of Virtue and In- dustry, for he was your brother also. Pause, son of Want, drop a tear of gratitude upon his grave, for he was your benefactor.
JONATHAN ROBBINS, son of Lieut. Jonathan and Mary (Fletcher) Robbins, was born Sept. 5, 1765. At the date of their marriage his parents were residents of Westford, Mass., and after living a few years in New Ipswich the family removed to Ply- mouth in the autumn of 1776. In the Revolution he served at Coos from July to November, 1781, in Lieut. Peter Stearns' com- pany. With whom he studied medicine is not known, but after a brief absence from this town he returned in 1788 and entered upon the professional labor of a lifetime. He lived in the south part of the town, and after a few years he removed to the village.
In addition to his practice in Plymouth he attended many fam- ilies in Bridgewater and Hebron. He was a reputable practi- tioner and a good citizen, and the second postmaster of Plymouth. He died July 26, 1833.
THOMAS BURNSIDE graduated at Dartmouth Medical School in the class of 1807. He came to Plymouth in the summer of that year, and entered upon the practice of his profession under favor- able auspices. He remained nearly two years, when, on account
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of failing health, he removed from this town. He died 1815. Dartmouth College conferred the degree of A.M., 1812.
Dr. Burnside was a son of Capt. Thomas Burnside, an early settler and prominent citizen of Northumberland, and a grandson of David Burnside, who died in Londonderry, Oct. 10, 1757, aged forty-one years. Samuel McGregore Burnside, a lawyer of Worcester, Mass., and Alexander Burnside, a physician of Toronto, P. Q., were brothers of Dr. Thomas Burnside.
SAMUEL ROGERS, son of Dr. John and Betsey (Mulliken) Rogers, was born in Plymouth, Oct. 27, 1785. He studied medi- cine with his father, and began practice in this town in 1817. In 1824 he was admitted a Fellow of the New Hampshire Medical Society. No other physician has practised in this town as many years, and probably none other has ridden as many miles. He was a man of good ability and a good physician. He acquired a large practice, which extended into the surrounding towns. He was of medium stature, quiet and unassuming in manner. Many are living who remember Dr. Samuel Rogers with affection and esteem. He died in Plymouth, Aug. 29, 1858.
BENJAMIN F. SIMPSON, son of George and Mary (Lang) Simp- son, was born in Windham, July 21, 1799. The family removed to Rumney, 1809. By peddling dry goods in summer and teach- ing school in winter he was enabled to pursue a course of pro- fessional study. He read medicine with Dr. David Gibson of Rumney, and was graduated at Dartmouth Medical School, class of 1825. He practised in this town from 1825 to 1829. He was associated with Dr. Jonathan Robbins, Dr. Samuel Rogers, and Dr. John Bailey. He was a successful physician in Windham from 1829 to 1841, and in Lowell, Mass., from 1843 to 1879. He died April 10, 1883, and was buried in Windham.
JOHN BAILEY, son of Samuel and Mary (Tenney) Bailey, was born in Brattleborough, Vt., Oct. 28, 1802. He attended Castle- ton, Vt., and Dartmouth Medical schools, and was graduated at Dartmouth, class of 1827. He practised in this town from 1827
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to 1835. He was associated in business with Dr. Jonathan Rob- bins, whose daughter he married, and he remained about two years after the death of his worthy associate. He was a good physician and a worthy man. He rode an extended circuit as long as his failing health would permit. In 1835 he removed to Brattleborough, Vt., and two years later to Macon, Ga., where he died of chronic pulmonary disease, Oct. 19, 1841.
SAMUEL LONG, son of Samuel and Mary (Clement) Long, was born in Hopkinton, Oct. 4, 1803; Dartmouth College, 1824; Dartmouth Medical School, 1829. He was a brother of Clement Long, D.D., LL.D., the eminent lecturer and professor of intel- lectual philosophy and political economy at Western Reserve and Dartmouth colleges. He was a physician in Hopkinton, Mass., two years, and removed to this town in the summer of 1832. He became a Fellow of the New Hampshire Medical Society in 1834. He was an eminent physician, and a man of culture and refine- ment. Possessing superior and amiable traits of character, he was greatly beloved by his friends and respected in an unusual degree by the community. He died, in the midst of his usefulness, Nov. 28, 1857. His pastor, Rev. William R. Jewett, paid tribute to his friend and physician in fitting terms. "Having thoroughly mastered the principles of medical science, possessing a clear mind and a sound judgment, he quickly took and ever retained a high rank in his profession. Few physicians ever had such unlimited confidence reposed in them. Few men ever passed so unruffled through the tumult and collisions of life. The character of Dr. Long was distinguished for blandness, amiableness, and harmony of the elements, which composed it. Its symmetry was the admiration of his friends. To mildness of temper he added a quiet dignity, so that the affection which was entertained for him was tempered with respect. It was owing, in a measure, to his mental as well as his moral qualities that he possessed the public confidence in his integrity to a degree that it was never even sus- pected. As a husband, a father, a member of the medical pro- fession, it is hard to say which relation he best adorned. He
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