History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 158

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 158
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 158

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).

John Shepard, September, 1863. Samuel II. Rollins, May 5, 1863; substitute.

Men who served four years ... $133.34 3

three years .. 108 10,800.00

200.00

one year ....

two months. 1

5.55

Total. $11,138.89

FIRST REGIMENT VOLUNTEERS-Three Months.

George Guppey, Ist sergt. Co. A.

George R. Shapleigh, Co. A.

Minot R. Bedell, Co. .. Josinh Whitehouse, Co. A.

George Boncher, Co. A.

George II. Jenkins, corp. Co. B.

Charles E. Colcord, Co. A.

James Daniels, Co. A.

George R. Downing, Co. B. Jones Reynolds, Co. B.

Webster Miller, Co. A.

Jacob W. Yeaton, Co. B.

Henry Nichols, Co. A.

Lewis K. Litchfield, corp. Co. B.

Ivory Pray, Co. ..

George 11. Robinson, Co. A.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

BARTHOLOMEW WENTWORTII.

Prominent in the annals of this section of New England from its earliest settlement to the present time, and thoroughly identified with its moral, reli- gious, and material development, stands the name of Wentworth, honored and respected. The family dates its ancestry in this country to Elder William Went- worth, who with Rev. John Wheelwright and thirty- three others formed a " combination for a government at Exeter, N. H.," Oct. 4, 1639.

Bartholomew Wentworth, the subject of this me- moir, was the great-great-grandson of Elder William, and was born in the present town of Rollinsford, Jan. 7, 1788. Here he lived and died on the estate which for more than two hundred years had been in the possession of the Wentworth family. He was the twelfth child and seventh son in a family of fourteen children, ten of whom arrived at maturity. He was an active citizen of Rollinsford, and held various town offices, the duties of which he discharged with acceptability and credit.

July 28, 1811, he united in marriage with Nancy, daughter of Capt. William and Sarah Roberts Hall, and their family consisted of the following : Arioch, who resides in Boston ; Catherine (deceased), married Charles Ela, of Dover; Ruth, wife of John B. Grif- fithis, of Durham ; William Hall is a resident of Cam- bridge, with business in Boston ; Selucus (deceased) ; and Sally and Rebecca Ann live on the old home- stead.

Bartholomew Wentworth was a son of Bartholomew and Ruth Hall Wentworth. His father died May 25, 1813, and his mother in January, 1840.

Mrs. Wentworth's father was a descendant of Dea- con John Hall, who was the first of the name in this country, and came to Dover from England in about the year 1639. He was a man of prominence, and deacon of the first church in Dover for nearly forty years, while William Wentworth was an elder. He

William Yeaton, Co. B.

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HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

was a seleetman and also town clerk, holding the latter office sixteen years, closing with 1685. He died in about the year 1693 or 1694.

Mrs. Wentworth was born April 12, 1793, and although now in her ninetieth year retains in a re- markable degree the vigor and elasticity of youth, and vividly relates scenes and incidents of “ ye olden time." She resides on the old homestead with her daughters in the town of Rollinsford.

HIRAM R. ROBERTS.

Hiram R. Roberts was born in Somersworth (now Rollinsford), May 16, 1806. In 1820 his father died, leaving young Hiram the sole support of his widowed mother, whom he aided in the management of the farm and the maintenance of a family of younger children. Under these circumstances he was unable to gratify any desire he may have had for acquiring a liberal education ; but he made the most, however, of the advantages afforded by the district school, and also found opportunity to attend the academy at South Berwick, Me. Ile secured a good English education, and qualified himself for teaching in the common schools, which occupation he followed for several winters, when farm-work did not require his presence at home. After coming of age he purchased the interest of the other children in the farm, and set out in earnest upon his life-work as a thorough and successful farmer; and it is but justice to add that Judge Roberts became one of the leading agricul- turists in the State.

The original homestead was settled by Judge Rob- erts' great-grandfather in 1743, and has since re- mained in the family. Ile was ene of the organizers of the Strafford County Agricultural Society, and was its first president. He was also a member of the State Board of Agriculture for Strafford County.

Judge Roberts was never a politician in the general sense of the term, although strongly interested in pub- lic affairs and thoroughly identified with the Demo- cratic party, for whose success he always earnestly labored. He held the office of selectman, represented the town in the Legislature in 1837, and in 1839 was appointed by Governor Page associate justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Strafford County, then embracing Strafford, Belknap, and Carroll Counties. He held this position thirteen years, and in 1852 he was appointed by Governor Martin to the office of judge of probate, in which capacity he served until 1857. In 1875 he received the gubernatorial nomina- tion, and in one of the closest political contests ever known in this State he received the largest vote ever cast for a Democratic candidate for Governor of New Hampshire, there being no choice by the people, and the vote of his opponent, Governor Cheney, being less than two hundred greater than his ; but the Repub- licans having secured a small majority in the Legis- lature elected their candidate.

Judge Roberts was one of the incorporators of the Salmon Falls Bank and the Rollinsford Savings- Bank, and was president of both from their ineorpo- ration until his death, and was a most skillful and judicious financier. He manifested a decided inter- est in educational matters, and was school superin- tending committee several years. lle regarded the claims of morality and religion, and his life through- out was a shining example of Christian faith and practice. For more than forty years he was a mem- ber of the Baptist Church at South Berwick, Me., and a large portion of that time superintendent of the Sabbath-school.

In November, 1831, he united in marriage with Miss Ruth Ham, daughter of John Ham, of Dover, and their family consisted of nine children, -John Ham, who resides on the old homestead ; Stephen, deceased ; Elizabeth, deceased ; Edward H., deceased; Walter S. Ilall, and Frank W., reside in Iowa; Susan J., is the wife of Samuel H. Rollins of this town ; and Jo- seph Doe, who also is a resident of Rollinsford.

Judge Roberts was one of New Hampshire's most honored citizens, and his home was pre-eminently the abode of substantial New England comfort. His death occurred May 30, 1876, on the farm where he was born, and where several generations of the family had lived and died.

HON. EDWARD II. ROLLINS.1

The Rollins family is one of the oldest and most numerous in the State. In Southeastern New Hamp- shire, from the seaboard to Lake Winnipiseogee, the Rollins name is prominent in the history of almost every town. Most if not all the representatives of the name in this region, and among them the subject of this sketch, are the descendants of James Rollins (or Rawlins, as the name was then and for a long time after spelled, and is now by some branches of the family), who came to America in 1632, with the first. settlers of Ipswich, Mass., and who, ten or twelve years afterwards, located in that portion of old Dover known as "Bloody Point," now embraced in the town of New- ington, where he died about 1690. The representa- tives of the family suffered their full share in the privations and sacrifices incident to the firm estal)- lishment of the colony, and performed generous pub- lic service in the early Indian and French wars and the great Revolutionary contest. Ichabod, the eldest son of James Rawlins, and of whom Edward H. is a lineal descendant, was waylaid and killed by a party of Indians while on the way from Dover to Oyster River (now Durham), with one John Bunker, May 22, 1707. Thomas, the second son of James, who subsequently became a resident of Exeter, was a member of the famous " dissolved Assembly" of 1683, who took up arms under Edward Gove and endeav-

1 By Hon. Daniel Hall.

M. R. Roberts

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ROLLINSFORD.

ored to ineite an insurrection against the tyrannical royal Governor, Cranfield. For this attempt Gove and others, including Thomas Rawlins, were pre- sented for high treason. Gove was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death, but was subsequently par- doned. We do not learn, however, that any of the others were tried. Others of the family fell victims to the murderous malignity of the Indians.

There were from twenty-five to thirty descendants of James Rawlins, of the fourth and fifth generations, engaged in active service, and several of them in dis- tinguished capacities, in the patriot cause during the Revolutionary war.

Among the first settlers of that portion of Dover which afterwards became Somersworth was Jeremiah Rollins, the only son of Ichabod, heretofore men- tioned as słain by the Indians. He was one of the petitioners for the incorporation of Somersworth as a separate parish. He died a few years previous to the Revolution, leaving several daughters, but only one son, Ichabod Rollins, who became an active champion of the Revolutionary cause, was a member of the con- ventions at Exeter in 1775, and served as a member of the committee appointed to prepare a plan of pro- viding ways and means for furnishing troops, and also as a member of the committee of supplies, the principal labor upon which was performed by him- self and Timothy Walker, of Concord. He was a member of the convention which resolved itself into an independent State government Jan. 5, 1776, and served in the Legislature in October following. He was the first judge of probate under the new govern- ment, holding the office from 1776 to 1784. He was subsequently a member of the Executive Council, and died in 1800. From this eminent citizen the town of Rollinsford, formed from the portion of Somers- worth in which he resided, received its name. He stands midway in a direct line of descent from James Rawlins to Edward H., the great-grandson of James, and great-grandfather of Edward H. He had four sons, of whom John, the oldest, was the grandfather of Hon. Daniel G. Rollins, who was judge of probate for the county of Strafford from 1857 to 1866, and whose son, Edward Ashton Rollins, was Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1861-62, commissioner of Internal Revenue under President Johnson, and is now president of the Centennial Bank at Philadelphia ; and another son, Daniel G. Rollins, was recently district attorney, and is now surrogate of the city and county of New York. James Rollins, the third son of Ichabod, and grand- father of Edward H., settled upon the farm in Rol- linsford, which has since remained the family home- stead. He was the father of thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters. Of these, Daniel Rollins, the eighth child, born May 30, 1797, and who married Mary, eldest daughter of Ebenezer Plumer, of Rol- linsford, was the father of Edward H. He succeeded to the homestead, but sold out and went to Maine

with a view of making his home there. Ife soon re- turned and repurchased that part of the homestead lying east of the highway, and erected a dwelling op- posite the old family mansion, where he lived a life of sturdy industry, rearing a family of six children, four sons and two daughters, and died Jan. 7, 1864.

Edward Henry Rollins, the oldest of the children, was born Oct. 3, 1824. He lived at home, laboring upon the farm in the summer season, attending the distriet sehool in winter, and getting an occasional term's attendance at the South Berwick Academy and Franklin Academy, in Dover, until seventeen years of age, when he went to Concord and engaged as drug- gist's clerk in the well-known apothecary-store of John McDaniel. He retained his situation some three or four years, industriously applying himself to the details of the business. He then went to Boston, where he was engaged in similar service until 1847, when, having thoroughly mastered the business, he returned to Concord and went into trade on his own account, soon building up a large and successful busi- ness. Having bought and improved the land on Main Street, just north of the Eagle Hotel, the great fire of 1851 destroyed the building, which he had but recently finished. He rebuilt the stores known as " Rollins' Block," one of which was occupied by his own business for so many years. This property he sold a short time since to the New Ilampshire Savings- Bank.

In politics, Mr. Rollins was originally a Webster Whig, but voted for Franklin Pierce in 1852, and for Nathaniel B. Baker, the Democratic candidate for Governor, at the next March election. The aggres- sions of slavery, however, culminating in the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, dissolved his brief connection with the Democratic party. Strongly opposed to the extension of slavery or any measures rendering its extension possible, though he had previously taken no active part in polities, he enlisted in the American or Know-Nothing movement in the winter of 1854- 55, with the hope that it might, as it did, prove in- strumental in the defeat of the Democracy.

From this time Mr. Rollins was an active politician. He labored effectively in perfecting the new party organization, taking therein the liveliest interest. At the March election, 1855, he was chosen to the Legis- lature from Concord, and served efficiently in that body as a member of the Judiciary Committee. The next year witnessed the merging of the American party in the new Republican party, which object Mr. Rollins was largely instrumental in securing. Re- elected to the Legislature in March, 1856, Mr. Rollins was chosen Speaker of the House, ably discharging the duties of the office, and was re-elected the fol- lowing year. The talent which he had already de- veloped as a political organizer made his services eminently desirable as a campaign manager, and he was made chairman of the first State Central Com-

676

HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

mittee of the Republican party, a position which he held continuously until his election to Congress in 1861, and in which he exhibited a capacity for thorough organization, a mastery of campaign work, in general and in detail, seldom equaled and cer- tainly never surpassed.

He was chairman of the New Hampshire delegation in the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1860, having been chosen a delegate at large by the State Convention, with but a single vote in opposition. In the close contest between the friends of Lineoln and Seward in that convention the New Hampshire delegation, under his lead, supported Lincoln from the first, and was strongly instrumental in securing his nomination.

In 1861, Mr. Rollins was elected to Congress from the Second District over the Democratic candidate, the late Chief Justice Samuel D. Bell. He was re- elected in 1863 over Col. John II. George, and in 1865 over 1Ion. Lewis W. Clark, now associate justice of the Supreme Court. Mr. Rollins' congressional career covered the exciting period of the late civil war and subsequent reconstruction, and he was throughout a zealous supporter of the most advanced Republican measures, such as the abolition of slavery in the Dis- triet of Columbia and the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution, abolishing slavery throughout the Union, conferring citizenship and civil rights upon colored men, fixing the basis of represen- tation in Congress upon all citizens without regard to color or previous condition, imposing political dis- abilities upon such eivil and military officers of the government as had violated their oaths by engaging in the Rebellion, declaring the inviolability of the public debt, and prohibiting forever the payment of that ineurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States. To this entire policy Mr. Rollins gave a most earnest support, and took part zealously and efficiently in all the important legislation of those days. He was an industrious member of the com- mittees to which he was assigned, serving on the Com- mittee on the District of Columbia, as chairman of the Committee on Accounts, and a member of the Com- mittee on Publie Expenditures, by which latter com- mittee, during his service, a vast amount of labor was performed, especially in the investigation of the man- agement of the New York and Boston custom-houses, involving the operations of the " blockade runners" during the war. He was also, on account of his well- known parliamentary knowledge and skill, frequently called to the chair to preside over the House on turbu- lent occasions.

was chosen secretary and assistant treasurer of the Union Pacific Railroad, having for some time previous, after the expiration of his congressional service, aeted as agent of the company at Washington in the transac- tion of business with the government, especially in receiving the subsidy bonds. In 1871 he was elected secretary and treasurer, and officiated as such in the office of the company at Boston until March, 1877, though retaining his residence at Concord, and de- voting considerable attention to New Hampshire poli- tics. He had, after retiring from Congress, been again called to the chairmanship of the State Committee, and served from 1868 to 1871, inclusive, with his usual ability and success. As chairman of the committee, and ex-officio commander-in-chief of the Republican forces in New Hampshire for ten years, he was a tire- less worker,-the very incarnation of energy and per- sistent industry. He had a genius for political or- ganization and warfare. His vigor and magnetism surmounted all obstacles and swept away all opposi- tion. His enthusiasm was contagious. Undaunted by suggestions of danger or defeat, he inspired all around him with his own indomitable courage and spirit. This was the secret of his extraordinary power, as it ever is in the world's affairs, and made him master of every field where he contended.

Mr. Rollins' name was presented by his friends for United States senator in 1866, when Hon. James W. Patterson was nominated and elected; in 1870, when Senator Cragin was re-elected; and again in 1873, when the choice fell upon Hon. Bainbridge Wadleigh. At the expiration of Senator Cragin's second term, in 1876, Mr. Rollins was nominated by the Republican caucus, and elected as his successor for the full term of six years, commencing in March, 1877. Ile took his seat in the Senate at the extra session, in the spring of 1877, and was assigned to the Committees on the District of Columbia, Contingent Expenses, and Manu- factures, being for a time chairman of the latter. He is now a member of the Committee on Naval Affairs, on the District of Columbia, on Retrenchment and Reform in the Civil Service, on Enrolled Bills, and is chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds. As a senator he has exhibited constantly his peculiar traits of industry, energy, and fidelity to duty. Engaging in debate less than some other sena- tors, and never parading before the country for effect, he yet speaks on all proper occasions, and always to the business in hand, and with characteristic force, point, and effectiveness. He is seldom absent from his seat, responds to every roll-eall, and but few ques- tions have arisen since his service began on which his vote is not recorded. It is a noteworthy fact that during more than five years' service in the Senate he has been absent but two days when both branches of Congress were in session, and then was siek in bed with malarial fever. No senator has a clearer or cleaner record in this respect. His devotion to his

In view of Mr. Rollins' subsequent intimate con- nection with the Union Pacific Railroad Company, it is proper to remark that in Congress he was a firm opponent of, and voted against, the measure adopted in July, 1864, doubling the land grant of this eom- pany, and making the government security a second instead of a first mortgage upon the road. In 1869 he ; State and constituents is very marked. Every letter

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ROLLINSFORD.

is answered, every call responded to, and every New Hampshire man dwelling in or visiting Washington is treated by him with courtesy, and his business with the government carefully attended to and furthered by his active assistance. Among the measures of special interest to the people of New Hampshire in which he has taken a leading part are those for the relief of savings-banks from national taxation, and appropriations for the improvement of Cochecho, Exeter, and Lamprey Rivers. At the session of 1881- 82, Senator Rollins, by untiring effort, secured a lib- eral appropriation for the erection of a national build- ing at Concord, the capital of the State. No senator in the chamber gives more assiduous attention to the work of the committees, where measures are matured, or has a more useful influence upon general legisla- tion ; and his friends feel a just pride in the fact that in a somewhat venal and very suspicions age his name is untainted by any schemes of corruption or jobbery, or scandals touching the use of public money.

Such are the outlines of Mr. Rollins' conspicuous public career. His influence may be truly summar- ized by saying that during the last twenty-five years no man in New Hampshire has been more prominently known in the politics of the State, and well-informed men in all parties concede that the Republican party owes more for its almost unbroken successes in the closely-contested elections from 1856 to the present time to his labors in the committee, in Congress, and before the people than to those of any other man.

Mr. Rollins was active in the organization of the First National Bank at Coneord, a large stockholder, and a member of the first board of directors, but with- drew and disposed of his stock some time since. He sold his drug business at Concord to his brother, John F. Rollins, many years ago, when his congressional and other duties required his entire attention. The latter also has since disposed of the business, and now resides upon Fort George Island, at the mouth of St. John's River, on the coast of Florida, of which Sen- ator Rollins is the proprietor. This island is a most romantic locality, and is the subject of a very inter- esting illustrated sketch in Scribner's Magazine, by Julia B. Dodge. It embraces twelve hundred acres of land, and is admirably adapted to orange-raising, and is under cultivation for that purpose. The cli- mate is delightful, far superior to that of the main- land, and Mr. John F. Rollins, by a long residence there, finds his health much improved.

Mr. Rollins was united in marriage, Feb. 13, 1849, with Miss Ellen E. West, daughter of John West, of Concord. Her mother, Mrs. West, was the daughter of Gen. Jolin Montgomery, a prominent citizen of Haverhill, well known in public affairs. To this union have been born five children,-Edward W., born Nov. 25, 1850; Mary Helen, Sept. 4, 1853 ; Charles Montgomery, Feb. 27, 1856; Frank West, Feb. 24, 1860; Montgomery, Aug. 25, 1867. The second son, Charles Montgomery, died at the age of

five years. The other children survive. The eldest son, Edward W., is a graduate of the Institute of Technology at Boston, and was for five years the en- gineer and cashier of the Colorado Central Railroad. He is married, and now engaged in business as a banker in Denver, Col. Mary Helen, the only daughter, is married to Henry Robinson, a lawyer, and prominent member of the present Legislature, and resides in Concord. Frank W., the second sur- viving son, after prosecuting a three years' course at the Institute of Technology, attended the Harvard Law School, and is now about completing his legal studies in the office of Ilon. John Y. Mugridge, at Concord. Montgomery, the youngest son, is fitting for college. It will thus be seen that Mr. Rollins believes in practical education for his sons.

Retaining his home in Concord, where he has al- ways lived the greater portion of the year, Mr. Rol- lins has for several years past had his summer home at the old place in Rollinsford, where he was reared, and which came into his possession after the death of his father in 1864. Here he has made many improve- ments, and brought the land into a superior state of cultivation. He thoroughly repaired and remodeled the house some six years ago, and made it a very at- tractive summer residence. In the spring of 1881, however, while he was absent in Washington, the house and all the buildings on the farm, with most of their contents, were completely destroyed by fire. Without delay Mr. Rollins proceeded to rebuild, and has erected a very large and finely-appointed barn and stable, with carriage-house, ice-house, and other buildings; and a fine house, on the old site, is very near completion. The house is in the Queen Anne style, most conveniently arranged, and finished prin- cipally in hard native woods, with ornamental fire- places, elaborately carved fire-frames, and frescoed ceilings. It is heated by steam and lighted by gas, has hot and cold water conveniences, spacious halls, and is fitted up with every modern improvement. In a few weeks it will be ready for occupation, and will be one of the most beautiful dwellings in this region, combining all the substantial conveniences of a farm- house and an elegant home for summer and winter also. The place is located but little more than a mile from the city of Dover, where Mr. Rollins goes for post-office aud other business accommodations, so that in the summer-time he is regarded as a Dover citizen. Telephonic communication has been estab- lished between his house and the telegraph-office in Dover. Mr. Rollins' mother is still living, at an ad- vanced age, at her old home, and her youngest daugh- ter, Miss Elizabeth W. Rollins, resides with her.

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History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 158

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

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