History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 155

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1714


USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 155
USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 155


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143 | Part 144 | Part 145 | Part 146 | Part 147 | Part 148 | Part 149 | Part 150 | Part 151 | Part 152 | Part 153 | Part 154 | Part 155 | Part 156 | Part 157 | Part 158 | Part 159 | Part 160 | Part 161 | Part 162 | Part 163 | Part 164 | Part 165 | Part 166 | Part 167 | Part 168 | Part 169 | Part 170 | Part 171 | Part 172 | Part 173 | Part 174 | Part 175 | Part 176 | Part 177 | Part 178 | Part 179 | Part 180 | Part 181 | Part 182 | Part 183 | Part 184 | Part 185 | Part 186 | Part 187 | Part 188 | Part 189 | Part 190 | Part 191 | Part 192 | Part 193 | Part 194 | Part 195 | Part 196 | Part 197 | Part 198 | Part 199 | Part 200 | Part 201 | Part 202 | Part 203 | Part 204 | Part 205 | Part 206 | Part 207


Mr. Coburn is essentially a self-made man, and his life has been one of steady and active devotion to business, snecess being the natural result. In religion Mr. Coburn is a follower of Paine, Huxley, and In- gersoll. His convictions are liberal, believing that each man should worship as his conscience dictates.


CHAPTER C.


ROLLINSFORD.1


Geographical-Early History-Incorporation-Village of Salmon Falls -Boston and Maine Railroad-Great Falls and Conway Road- " Sligo" - Population - Highways - Agriculture - Various Farms- Prosperity-Old Wentworth House-Old Pike House-The Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company-Somersworth Machine Company- Lawyers-Physicians.


ROLLINSFORD, in the southeastern part of Straf- ford Connty, adjoins South Berwick, Me., from which it is separated by the Salmon Falls River, forty-five miles from Concord. Its territory was formerly a part of Somersworth, from which it was separated and in- corporated July 3, 1849. With Somersworth it was originally a part of Dover, and was settled at a very early date, being occupied by the settlement made as early as 1630. At the falls here certain persons sent over by Mason " built a saw-mill" and a "stamping- mill for corne" about 1634, but the mills were burned before 1644. Prior to 1700 the falls came into pos- session of Judge Thomas Tuttle, of Dover, who owned large tracts of land adjoining and resided there, and who erected mills.


There is one village in the town situate in the south- eastern part, called Salmon Falls. It received its name from the fact that before manufacturing was extensively carried on there some small quantities of salmon were caught near the falls. It is now a vil- lage of about one hundred houses, a great part of which are owned by the Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company, whose mills and shops are located there.


For a time this village was in an exceedingly flourish- ing condition. Then there were but few French worthy of mention, and but few foreigners of any nationality connected with the mills. A good class of people, thrifty, intelligent, and industrious, were brought together in this promising little place: A public library was started, and a good class of litera- ture was put in circulation. Lyceums and lecture courses were regularly held. Besides this, a spirit of enterprise was particularly marked in the business part of the village. But since the war, whose devasta- ting hand so prostrated the business interests of more than one little village in our enterprising New Eng- land, and the introduction of the French element into the mills, the life and energy of the village has seemed to flag, and the general tone of society to depreciate.


The streets of Salmon Falls are laid out with all the regularity of one of the new-born cities of the West, most of them running at right angles to each other, and for several years they were lighted by gas.


The Somersworth Machine Company's foundry and shops are about one-third of a mile down the river from the mills of the Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company.


The only post-office in the town is here, and is the Salmon Falls Post Office. All the town-meetings and general gatherings of the town are held in the village hall. Jones's Ilotel, just across the way from the Boston and Maine Railroad depot, is a house well condueted and of good repnte. The Boston and Maine Railroad and the Great Falls and Conway Railroad run through this village and have depots here.


The Boston and Maine Railroad has about four miles of road in Rollinsford, runs across the town from east to west, erossing the Salmon Falls River into Maine. At present this road has only a single track through Rollinsford, but a double track is being laid on other parts of the road, and in a few years at furthest it will be laid through this town. At Rol- linsford Station the Boston and Maine has a branch track which runs to Great Falls, a distance of about two and one-half miles, where passengers can connect with the Great Falls and Conway Railroad for points farther north.


This latter railroad, as before mentioned, runs through the town. It crosses the northeastern part, having here about one mile of road, and at Salmon Falls crosses the river into Maine. In the sunimer season there is a great deal of travel over this road to the mountains. It connects at North Conway with the Portland and Ogdensburg, and is controlled by the Eastern Railroad.


In the southern part of the town, near what is called the Point, is a locality called Sligo. This part of the town was settled first, and, it is held, derived its name from the fact that the first settlers came from Ireland, and named it in fond remembrance of the Sligo they had left in the Emerald Isle. However


1 By Amos W. Pike.


661


ROLLINSFORD.


this may be, it has long gone by this name, and, as spoken of in another part of this history, is an ex- cellent farming locality.


Since the organization of the town the population has somewhat varied. In 1850 there were 640 males, 1217 females, equals 1857, and 5 colored persons ; total, 1862. In 1860 there were 752 miales, 1316 fe- males, equals 2068, and 1 colored person ; total, 2069. In 1870 there were 1251 natives, 249 foreigners, and 2 colored, equals 1500. In 1880, 1712.


Rollinsford is not without its picturesqueness. Nature has done much for it in this direction, and has rendered it a delightful place to journey through, by reason of its varied and attractive scenery. Here the verdure of the trees and shrubbery in the leafy month of June, and the many hues and tints which the foliage assumes when frost lays its magic hand thereon, add a charm to the face of nature which one is never tired of gazing on.


The general surface of the town is even, yet enough of hills and dale to call attention to the fact that it is an element of the "Old Granite State," and these seem needed to make it the delightful place it really is.


Riding from Dover to Salmon Falls over what is called the "old road" just at sundown is a pleasure often indulged in by those who seek that rest and recreation which only nature in its most lovely aspect can give. In this you pass Garrison Hill, whose summit is just within the limits of Dover. It is a noted locality, covered with legends and authentic historie events, which date way back to the early Indian history of this region.


It is a fine old hill and overlooks the city, giving one a delightful view from the observatory on its summit.


A little farther along you pass the new and elegant residence of Senator Rollins, and all the way plenty of well-cultivated and fertile farms on either side. The road is somewhat winding, and this, together with the brooks, the large over-hanging elms, and rows of shady willows serve to keep the expectation of the traveler kindled as he continually beholds something new and different at every turn.


A very pleasant drive is over the Great Falls road from " Rollinsford Plains." For a mile here the road is nearly straight and very even, and on either side are dense woods with sufficient variety of trees to in- sure in October all the beauties which can be wrought by the changing hues and tints of autumnal foliage.


A drive somewhat less frequented than those al- ready mentioned, yet not less attractive, is to start from the summit of Rollinsford Hill, in that part of the town called Quamphegan, and, passing the de- lightful situation of the residence of Frank Hale, follow the winding road to Style's Cove, and still farther along through "Sligo" towards "Elliott Bridge," entering Dover over the "Gulf Road." By so doing you pass through the best farming locality in the town, and have variety enough of steep hills,


of sudden turns, and river views. The Salmon Falls, flowing just at your left, broadens as you go, and long before it unites with the Cocheco to form the Pisca- taqua becomes a truly majestic stream of water.


The old Twombly Brook is quite a noted little stream, and is a favorite resort of amateur fishermen. It winds down from the hills in the vicinity of Somers- worth, and shortly after uniting with Rollins' Brook empties itself into Fresh Creek. A very romantic locality in this delightful stream is "The Falls," which are located in dense woods on the land of the estate of the late William W. Rollins, and nearly down to the turnpike which leads from Dover to South Berwick. The brook here spreads out and be- comes quite wide, and it dashes and foams over the rocks in a very wild and pleasing manner. It is a very shady and attractive spot. Quite a quantity of fish have in years gone by been taken from this brook, including trout of no mean proportions, horn pout, and even pickerel.


Agricultural .- Rollinsford has always been re- garded as a thrifty farming town. Some of the best farms in the State are here, and are carried on in the most approved and modern way. The soil is naturally fertile and productive, and along the Salmon Falls River and by the shores of Fresh Creek the grass and other vegetation grow with something like a tropical luxuriance. The best farms are in this locality, and are owned by Frank Hale, William R. Garvin, Tobias Garvin, Aaron Roberts, and James Garvin.


However, in the central portion of the town are some most excellent farms and some very attractive residences. The old Hiram R. Roberts place, now occupied by his widow and oldest son, has always beeu kept in a high state of cultivation. The farm build- ings are ample and commodious, having attached to them everything which modern convenience can sug- gest. The land has been made to yield profitable returns for the labor bestowed upon it for many years.


The William W. Rollins estate, now carried on by his two sons, William and Samuel, is a farm of no small proportion, containing something over three hundred acres. It is a pleasure to gaze over its broad, smooth fields near harvest-time and see the waving of the ripening grain, or, still later, see the busy gleaners gathering their rich harvests to their winter stores. Lately new and commodious farm buildings have been erected by these industrious and successful farmers.


The old Daniel Rollins place, now the summer residence of Senator Edward H. Rollins, is a beautiful retreat, situated on the old road leading to Dover, about a mile from the city. The house is of the Queen Anne style of architecture, large, and very striking in appearance, and is by far the finest residence in town. Each room is finished with a different kind of wood, and the details of the architecture throughout are in perfect keeping with the whole.


The farm is a good one, very productive, and worked in such a way as to yield the greatest returns.


662


HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.


Just across the way is the old Augustus Rollins place, an estate of many fertile acres, with a fine stand of farm-buildings thereon. It is carried on by three daughters of the late Augustus, who, by their shrewdness, skill, and good judgment, demonstrate the fact that good management in farm matters may be attained as well by women as by men.


One, in passing through the town, misses much if he does not visit the garden-farm of Edmund C. Goodwin. It is in the vicinity of Otis Hill, on the road leading from Dover to Great Falls. It is not of many acres, yet by skill and labor it is made to blos- som like a garden in the tropics. It is devoted almost entirely to the raising of fruit and vegetables for the markets, and has proved very profitable to Mr. Good- win. A wind-mill pumps water into a reservoir, from which it is carried over his whole establishment through pipes, and by this arrangement he can irri- gate his whole land in dry weather in a few moments.


There are other good farms in town yielding good returns, through skillful management, for the labor be- stowed upon them, among which may be mentioned Leavitt H. Yeaton, William Plumer, Luther P. Horne, Nicholas F. Richer, George W. Roberts, Jo- seph D. Roberts.


A person riding through the town can hardly help being struck with the evident prosperity of the people. The farms show by the rich green of their vegetation and their ample returns, by their well- trimmed hedges and rock walls and fences in good repair, by the neat, commodious, and even elegant houses, and by the thousand-and-one ways by which such knowledge comes to us, that Rollinsford is a town which ranks high as a farming community, and one of the pleasantest in the State.


"Old Wentworth House."-In this town, at what is called Salmon Falls, stands an old mansion house, located a little northwest of the Boston and Maine depot, which was built about the year 1710 by Col. Paul Wentworth, a very wealthy and enterprising citizen of the town. This is the oldest house in Rol- linsford, and quite a history is connected with it, es- pecially during the Revolutionary war period. Within its well-preserved walls stands an old clock, still run- ning and keeping good time, which was manufactured in England and brought to this country and placed in this old mansion, where it was erected and fur- nished, and it bids fair now to need but little repair- ing to make it good for a hundred years to come. In speaking of this house more than a quarter of a cen- tury ago in a historical poem by a citizen of this town he describes it thus :


" Among the dwellings of that day Which here and there are strewn, One has survived the shock of time, And only one alone.


"Firmly that reverend mansion stands, That relic of the past,


Borne down to us through rolling years, With shades upon it cust.


" And could it speak, what tales 'Iwould tell,- Tales of another age ;


Those that were never sung in song, Or penned ou history's page.


" Long may it stand in years to come, On it we love to gaze.


The moss of time has gathered there, And dust of ancient days."


"Old Pike House."-On the old road leading to Dover, a few rods west of the Boston and Maine Railroad depot, stands another old mansion-house, kept in good repair, built by the Rev. James Pike, first minister of the town, in the year 1730. At one time this house was used for a garrison, and many trusting families slept securely within its walls. It is also made memorable from the fact that Whitefield, during one of his visits to this country, chose it as his residence for many days. Directly in front of it stood three gigantic elms, planted there at the time the house was erected, but time and the lightning's stroke has destroyed two of them, and one still lingers, though the electric fluid has dealt heavy strokes on it many different times.


It is now owned and occupied by Amos W. Pike. the great-grandson of the Rev. James, and has come down to him direct through three generations.


The old oaken timbers which form its frame-work are still firm and sound, and, though they have defied the winds and storms of a century and a half, still seem well fitted for a similar work another century to come. Around such old houses as we have spoken of must cluster associations and reminiscences dear to those whose heads their venerable and protecting roofs have covered. Historic remembrances, fond traditions, all must serve to hallow such spots, and cause those who have gone from thence out into a busy world to make periodic pilgrimages to where, in early youth, they were told of those whose names by the kindred ties of humanity have become dear to them, and shown by some evidence of physical toil where they have wrought.


Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company .- The Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company was incorpo- rated June 17, 1822, when James Rundlett, Jeremiah Mason, John Haven, and others, were empowered by the Legislature of the State of New Hampshire to carry on the manufacture of cotton, woolen, and other goods at Salmon Falls, in the town of Somersworth. They erected a mill where No. 1 now stands, for the manufacture of woolen cloths, and ran it with vary- ing success until Aug. 7, 1834, when it was totally de- stroyed by fire. The loss so discouraged the proprie- tors that it was not until Aug. 20, 1836 (two years Jater), that they would vote to rebuild; and after they had rebuilt, they could not agree among themselves what kind of goods should be made, and the mill re- mained idle until 1844. At this time a number of Boston capitalists, among whom were Abbott Law- rence, Amos Lawrence, Mason & Lawrence, William Appleton and others, bought a controlling interest in


CG3


ROLLINSFORD.


the mill, and started it on heavy cotton drillings and sheetings. They succeeded so well that they felt en- couraged, in 1848, to build another mill of sixteen thousand spindles, and to increase their capital stock from $500,000 to $1,000,000.


The company sustained a severe loss in the total de- struction, by fire, of No. 1 mill, agent's house, machine- shop, cloth-room, and other property, which took place July 8, 1864; but, in no wise discouraged by their losses, they commenced to build, in the spring of 1865, a mill to contain fifteen thousand spindles. After it was completed the company had two mills, containing thirty-one thousand spindles. In 1876, by judicious alterations and improvements, the num- ber of spindles was increased from thirty-one thou- sand to fifty-four thousand three hundred and four.


The Salmon Falls River furnishes the motive-power by which the mills are run. There are two dams, with a fall of nineteen and twenty-three feet respectively. It has not been found necessary to use steam or any other auxiliary to the motive-power, the river so far having proved amply sufficient.


This company have two mills, both in Salmon Falls, and are known as No. 1 and No. 2. The former was built in 1865; is three hundred and sixty-three by fifty feet, and five stories high. The latter was built in 1848, is three hundred and sixty by sixty feet, and is also five stories high. There is also a picker-house, seventy-four by forty-two feet, and three stories high, a machine-shop and cloth-room, one hundred and eighty by thirty feet, and three stories high, a cotton-house, one hundred and forty- seven and a half by fifty and a half feet.


They make their own gas from petroleum, and own stores and dwelling-houses for their help.


The company operates 54,304 spindles and 1143 looms, and manufactures annually 1,844,226 pounds, or 8,912,702 yards, of cotton fabrics. They employ 600 operatives, and disburse to them $16,000 per month.


The different agents of the company have been :


James Rundlett, from Nov. 21, 1822, to July 14, 1823.


Ebenezer Ball, from Aug. 21, 1823, to Jan. 1, 1825. Joshua W. Pierce, from Jan. 1, 1825, to May 14, 1844.


Pliney Lawton, from May 14, 1844, to July 14, 1854. Varnum A. Shedd, from July 14, 1854, to April 2, 1859.


Joshua Converse, from April 20, 1859, to July 15, 1875.


O. S. Brown, from July 31, 1875, to present time.


dollars of the capital stock has been returned to the stockholders; and it is now paying them dividends at the rate of eight per cent. per annum.


The Somersworth Machine Company have a foun- dry and machine-shop about one-third of a mile down the river from the mills of the Salmon Falls Manu- facturing Company. They have also another foundry and machine-shop in Great Falls. Both of them are, and have been for many years, doing a profitable busi- ness. The foundry in this town has for several years past been under the direct management of Edwin A. Stevens. About sixty hands are here employed, en- gaged in the manufacture of stoves. Additions have just been made to the main part of the foundry, owing to the increasing business of the establishment. C. II. Wright is agent, and O. II. Lord is treasurer of the corporation, both of them residing at Great Falls.


Rollinsford has never for any length of time sup- ported a lawyer. John W. Woodman, who subse- quently became a distinguished professor at Dart- mouth College, opened a law-office here when a young man, but, receiving but little encouragement, aban- doned it after a fair trial. William J. Copeland, now a successful and eminent lawyer in Great Falls, tried a similar experiment, but after waiting a reasonable time for clients, " folded his tent" and departed to other fields.


Physicians .- The following is a sketch of the dif- ferent physicians who settled and practiced medicine in this town :


John E. Tyler, M.D., was born in Boston, Dec. 9, 1819. He entered Dartmouth College in the year 1838, and after graduation opened a private school in Newport, R. I. While there he commenced the study of medicine. He attended one course of lectures at Dartmouth Medical College, and two courses at Medi- cal Department of University of Pennsylvania, grad- uating at this latter university iu 1846. He at once began the practice of medicine in the village of Sal- mon Falls, and remained here till he was appointed superintendent of New Hampshire Asylum for In- sane, Oct. 5, 1852. In 1858 he was elected superin- tendent of McLean Asylum for Insane, and remained there till 1871, when he resigned. After this he trav- eled a while in Europe. He died in April, 1878. While in Salmon Falls he took an active interest in all of the public institutions of the place. Ile was the first representative sent to the Legislature from Rollinsford, and was one of the founders of the Sal- mon Falls Bank.


John G. Pike, M.D., son of Nathaniel G., grandson of John, and great-grandson of Rev. James Pike, was born in this town, in the old house built by the Rev. James, the 17th of August, 1817. He fitted for col- lege at Berwick Academy, and completed his educa- tion at Bowdoin. After leaving college he studied medicine with Theodore Jewett, of South Berwick, Me., late professor in Bowdoin Medieal College, grad-


The Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company has been very successful; while many cotton-manufac- turing corporations have arbitrarily reduced or cut down their capital stock from fifty to seventy-five per cent. and then calculated dividends on the reduced capital, nothing of the sort has been done by this company. On the contrary, four hundred thousand : uating from Bowdoin Medical College in 1847. He


664


HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.


commenced the practice of medicine the same year in Durham. In 1848 he left Durham, and began prae- tice in the village of Salmon Falls, in this town. In 1868 he left Salmon Falls, and began practice in Bos- ton, Mass., remaining there until 1871, when he moved to Dover, where he now lives.


Jonathan S. Ross, M.D., was born in Lisbon, N. Il., April 12, 1822. He fitted for college at Holmes Acad- emy, Plymouth, N. H., and graduated from Dartmouth in the class of 1843. After graduating he began the study of medicine. He attended a course of lectures in University of Pennsylvania in winter of 1844 45, another course at Hanover in 1845, and in April, 1846. he received the degree of M.D. from the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania. Ile soon after went to Bos- ton and opened an office, pursuing his studies in the hospitals. From November, 1846, to fall of 1852 he was located in Bath, N. H. From fall of 1852 to 1855 he practiced his profession in the town of Rol- linsford. In 1855 he commeneed practice in Somers- worth, where he continued until his death, Nov. 22, 1877. He represented the town of Rollinsford in State Legislature in 1855. In August, 1862, he was appointed surgeon of the Eleventh Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers, and afterwards brigade sur- geon of the Second Brigade, Second Division, Ninth Army Corps, Gen. S. G. Griffin. In 1865 he was stationed post-surgeon at Concord, N. H.


Alphonso Severanee, M.D., was born in Orrington, Me., March 27, 1825. When quite a young man he taught school for several terms, but began the study of dentistry when about nineteen years of age, and the practice of the same at twenty-three in South Berwick, Me. Ile remained here a few months, when he removed to Great Falls. Here he remained till 1863, during a small part of which time he had a branch office in Salmon Falls. In 1863 he removed to Salmon Falls, where he remained in active practice till his death, which occurred Sept. 26, 1881. While he lived in this town he showed an interest in the school affairs, and for many years was one of the committee for the schools in the village. Some two or three years before his death, on account of failing health, he purchased some real estate in Florida and built him a house thereon. Here he spent the cold months of the year among his orange groves. Not- withstanding this, his health still continued to fail him, and he returned to New Hampshire to die.


William H. Horr, M.D., was born at Lancaster, Coos Co., N. H., July 3, 1845. He commenced the study of medicine with his brother, Dr. O. A. Horr, of Lewiston, Me., in September, 1867. In 1869 he was appointed assistant superintendent of the Maine State Reform School, at Cape Elizabeth, where he re- mained two years; took the degree of medicine at Bowdoin College in June, 1872, and commenced prac- tice in Salmon Falls, November, 1872. He was in active practice in this place a little less than eight years. He died Oct. 21, 1881.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.