History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 45

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 45
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 45

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Mr. Parker was a man of ardent piety, and his Christian character was eminently consistent and exemplary. The circumstances of his death were peculiarly sad. He was a man of strong and vigor- ous constitution, which he retained in an unusual de- gree till nearly the close of his life. For four years before his death he was troubled with pains in the region of his heart, which caused him little anxiety.

On the Sabbath, July 14, 1850, he exchanged with the Rev. Mr. Day, pastor of the church in the lower vil- lage. He preached two sermons, and at the close of the second he returned home. Later in the afternoon he went to a third service at one of the school-houses in a distant part of the town. At the close of the meet- ing he started to return. When within one and one- half miles of home his horse stumbled and fell. He ran back a few rods to the nearest house for assistance, and on returning to his carriage and while stooping over his horse, Mr. Clark heard him groan and saw him in the act of falling forward; he caught him in his arms, when he expired without a struggle. Thus ended the days of the faithful minister of the gospel .. A granite monument, erected by his friends, marks the spot on which he died.

In 1811 he married Miss Mehetable Kimball, daughter of Deacon Stephen Kimball, of Hanover, N. H., by whom he had four children,-Edward Pin- kerton, Charles Coffin, Caroline P., and Harriet, who died young.

Of his children, Charles C. married Sarah J. Taylor, to whom two children were born,-Frank W. and Ed- ward T.

Charles C. began trade as merchant in the town of Derry in 1840, and continued in that business to the date of his death, June 17, 1869. He was a Republi- can; was deacon of a Congregational Church ; was town clerk many years ; was a member of the Legis- lature in 1857 and 1858.

His two sons, Frank W. and Edward T., are exten- sively engaged in merchandising in their father's old store in Derry. They enjoy the confidence of their large circle of friends, and their devotion to their worthy ancestors prompted them to the insertion of the portrait and memoir in this work of their esteemed grandfather.

COL. WILLIAM S. PILLSBURY.1

William Staughton Pillsbury, the successful business man, the approved citizen, and the man whose unusual capacity for affairs and in office has shown him to be the possessor of the highest and best traits of the "leader," although well known in New Hampshire and New England, deserves a permanent recognition in the pages of this work. Such men as he hold the reins of national destiny. They are the men of prac- tical affairs. They build or enlarge manufacturing establishments, construct railways, develop the agri- cultural and mining resources of our States, increase the facilities for education, and promote not only lit- erary and artistic culture but the numberless graces of a progressive civilization. Especially to be com- mended among the natives of the Granite State are those men who prove themselves able to win success and honor in what are popularly considered the over- crowded fields of enterprise in the Eastern States.

1 By George E. Emery.

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HISTORY OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

The public is not slow to recognize the value of worthy example in industry, intelligent enterprise, efficient executive and business ability, combined with high general intelligence. Practical talent or common sense duly applied deserves approval and is sure to win recognition.

Col. Pillsbury is a son of Rev. Stephen Pillsbury, a Baptist clergyman, who died at Londonderry after a life devoted to faithful Christian work. He is de- scended from William Pillsbury, who came from England to Dorchester, Mass., in 1641, and a little later settled in the locality of the present city of New- buryport. William Pillsbury's ancestor here men- tioned was from Essex or Staffordshire. The English Pillsburys, to which those of America are related, have a coat of arms described in heraldic terms as follows : " Per fesse sable and azure," on an eagle-displayed argent : three griffins' heads, erased of the second. Crest, an esquire's helmet; motto, " Labor omnia vincit."

Col. Pillsbury's mother was Lavinia Hobart, daugh- ter of Deacon Josiah Hobart, the first English male child born in Plymouth, N. H. The Hobart ancestor was Rev. Peter Ilobart, founder and first minister of Hingham, Mass., and preacher there forty-three years. The Ilobart genealogy is traced back into the four- teenth century.

Rev. Stephen Pillsbury, father of the subject of this sketch, was the son of Micajah Pillsbury, and was born at Amesbury, Mass., Oct. 30, 1781. He was ordained to the ministry June, 1810. Subsequently he preached in Hebron, Sutton, Dunbarton, and Londonderry. He died Jan. 22, 1851. Mrs. Lavinia Hobart Pills- bury was born at Hebron, N. H., Oct. 31, 1795.

She was the possessor of rare gifts as a writer, while her husband was not only a sound preacher but an advocate of temperance, and one of the original members of the Free-Soil party in New Hampshire.

The children of Rev. Stephen Pillsbury were Mary Bartlett (now Mrs. Mary B. Weston), an artist of note, living at Lawrence, Kan. ; Lavinia Hobart, who married Samuel Andrews, of Bradford, N. H .; Hon. Josiah Hobart, who married Elnora Pevear. He was editor and publisher of the New York Eagle, afterwards editor and publisher of the Man- hattan (Kansas) Independent, and held many of- ficial positions of trust and honor. Stephen, Jr., who married Sarah A. Bailey, is a merchant at Manhattan, Kan. Edwin, who married Mary Ann Reid, is a farmer and contractor at Leavenworth, Kan. Ann Judson married Andrew B. Marshall, of Weare, N. H. A. Judson died unmarried. Col. William Staughton Pillsbury, to whom this sketch chiefly relates, born at Sutton, N. H., March 16: 1833, married Sarah A. Crowell, of Londonderry, May 8, 1854. She died June 22, 1854. He married, second, Martha Silver Crowell. The children of Wil- liam S. and Martha S. Pillsbury now living are Rose- crans William, born Sept. 18, 1863; Charles Hobart,

born March 16, 1866; Hattie Lavinia, born Oct. 27, 1870; Ulysses Grant, born Nov. 24, 1876.

Capt. Leonard Hobart, who married Evelyn San- born, is a merchant and postmaster at Derry Depot, N. H.

The ancient motto of the Pillsbury family, Labor omnia vincit (labor conquers all things), is practically illustrated by many hearing the name in modern times as well as of old.

Col. William Pillsbury, of Londonderry, evidently has reason to conclude that it is a good motto to live by and cling to, and his near relatives, the Hon. George A. Pillsbury, late popular mayor of Concord, N. H., and now a prominent capitalist of Minnesota, as well as ex-Governor John S. Pillsbury, the million- aire flour manufacturer of Minneapolis, seem to be men after his own heart and fashion, active, honorable, generous, and winners of the golden opinion of the pub- lic as well as of this world's bounties. Col. Pillsbury's education has been gained chiefly in the school of practical life ; a keen student of the world's affairs and men, his judgment has become accurate, his tact remarkable, and his knowledge is useful in all di- rections. He learned the shoemaker's trade at the age of fourteen years, and subsequently became a skillful cutter of stock. At'twenty he started a shoe- factory at Cilleysville, Andover, N. H., for his brother Stephen, and was superintendent of the extensive es- tablishment for a year or more. He was afterwards employed at Marlboro', Mass. Up to the age of legal manhood he gave all his earnings over a plain living for himself for the support of his widowed mother, and to aid others in need at the time. When twenty- one years of age he consequently did not possess a dollar in money. Soon, however, he was engaged with a firm of shoe manufacturers just starting busi- ness at Derry Depot. About a year later he had the entire charge of the business as agent, and so con- tinued during the existence of the firm. When this firm went out of business Col. Pillsbury made a journey to Kansas, where he used what money he had saved up to advantage.

Returning East, and having married, as already stated, he remained occupied in business affairs until the opening of the war of the Rebellion. He en- listed in his country's service, and was commissioned first lieutenant, Company I, Fourth New Hampshire Regiment, and left for the seat of war, September, 1861. Having reached Annapolis, he met with such a serious accident that he resigned and returned North. A few months later, his health having im- proved and the call for three hundred thousand men being issued, he was appointed recruiting officer for the Ninth Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers. He was commissioned first lieutenant of Company " A." His regiment proceeded to Washington, and was in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. Disabled by a severe attack of pneumonia he resigned his commission, and as soon as he was able to perform

الكوميدياب

183

DERRY.

a little service in business he was engaged at Wheel- Col. Pillsbury is a member of the well-known New Hampshire Club, its membership including many of the leading men of the State. Whenever an oppor- tunity offers, Col. Pillsbury expresses the liberality of his heart in quiet, practical ways that are not all known to the general community. A more public- spirited man in general affairs is not known by the citizens of Rockingham County or perhaps the State. His notable success is due, among other reasons, to his industry, his high sense of honor, his heartiness, and his especially remarkable talent for systematiz- ing, Va., superintending a party of experts in train- ing men there in the art of manufacturing shoes by the most desirable New England methods. As soon as his health seemed well restored he returned to Lon- donderry, raised for the town its quota of thirty men under the last great call (1864), and was commis- sioned first lieutenant of Company D, Unattached Ar- tillery, Capt. George W. Colbath, of Dover (a cousin to Gen. Wilson), commanding. The company served in several of the forts in the first and second divis- ions of the defenses of the capital. He commanded ' ing, and for the organization and ready execution of for a time the battery "Garryshay" in De Russe's plans. The almost invariably accurate judgment of men that he manifests is the secret of his power to fit the right man in the right place where positions of responsibility and importance are concerned. Per- sonally Col. Pillsbury is exceedingly attractive and cordial in manner. A true, gentlemanly feeling char- acterizes his association with all so fortunate as to meet him either in business or society. division. Later he was appointed ordnance officer of the First Brigade, Harding's division, and was stationed at Fort Reno, Md., where he remained until the close of the war. He was " mustered out" at Concord, N. H., June 15, 1865. A month later he engaged in manufacturing shoes at Londonderry, and successfully prosecuted the business there until the need of larger buildings induced him to remove his machinery to Derry Depot. In 1868 he was elected commissioner for Rockingham County on the Repub- lican ticket. In this position he performed extremely valuable service in organizing the system of conduct- ing county affairs, embracing the institution of a new method of caring for the paupers at the county farm. His tact and good judgment seem to be equal to every requirement that presents itself. Chiefly through his influence and zealous effort came the appropriation for the erection of the asylum building for the ac- commodation of the insane poor of the county; with results as good as at the asylum at Concord, while saving largely in expense, the enterprise has proved the soundness and practicability of the plan. In fact, while patients were as well treated as at extrava- gant expenses previously, the cost of the asylum building was saved the first year it was occupied.

Col. Pillsbury was the original mover in the effort to check the overwhelming extent of the "tramp nuisance" in New Hampshire. The action he inaug- urated culminated in the law for the suppression of trampage that has accomplished such good in the Granite State, and that has been so generally copied in other States. In Londonderry Col. Pillsbury has served as moderator at town-meetings about nine- teen years. He has also represented his town in the Legislature, is a justice of the peace, chairman of the board of trustees of the Leech Library at London- derry, and a Mason. He is a Republican of lifelong affiliation. Religiously he is a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church, and for many years a trus- tee of the society of that denomination in London- derry. He is not a sectarian. His spirit is liberal and broadly tolerant as his all-true Christianity .. He once paid the expense of frescoing and paint- ing a Methodist meeting-house, when the society little expected such aid from a religious brother of another denomination.

After the removal of Col. Pillsbury's manufacturing interests to Derry Depot, he formed a business con- nection with the Boston house of E. P. Philips & Co., which continued until the dissolution of the firm. Soon after this event he became agent for the noted firm of Clement, Colburn & Co., of Boston, now Col- burn, Fuller & Co., shoe manufacturers at Derry Depot. During this agency the business has increased until, from an annual trade of seventy-five thousand dollars, it has reached the sum of over half a million dollars per annum. About four hundred and fifty per- sons are now employed in the immense establishment of the firm at Derry Depot. Additions to the factory buildings afford room for about one hundred more hands as the pressure of trade may require. Nearly six hundred different styles of ladies' boots and shoes are made in this great establishment, for American and foreign trade. These goods seem to be for real service superior to any known in the country. The especial effort in production is to attain all service- able qualities and durability. These goods conse- quently find a ready sale not only all over the United States, but in the West Indies, along the east and west coast of South America, in Egypt and South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, as well as in several European ports.

In June, 1877, Col. Pillsbury was appointed aide-de- camp, with rank of colonel, on the staff of Governor B. F. Prescott.

To the energy and enterprise, integrity and tact of Col. Pillsbury, New Hampshire people rightly credit the remarkable growth of the village of Derry Depot from an insignificant hamlet to one of the most thriving and beautiful inland villages of New Eng- land.

As an illustration of the alertness and power of ready judgment of Col. Pillsbury, I cannot neglect to note the adroit movement by which he saved a portion of the companies of the Ninth New Hamp-

184

HISTORY OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

shire Regiment at the memorable battle of South Mountain from almost sure destruction. His com- pany, "A," was leading in a charge upon a large number of rebels, who were driven through a piece of woods and disappeared while the Union men moved into an open field adjoining. The enemy re- formed under the protection of a battery, and their movement was discovered by the colonel, who halted his men and fell back sufficiently to hold connection with support just at the moment when Maj .- Gen. Reno rode along the line into the ambush, and re- ceived the terrible volley from rebels screened by the woods, and was instantly killed while on the very ground left a few moments before by Col. Pillsbury and others.

CHAPTER XXVII.

EAST KINGSTON.1

desirous of having a gospel ministry among them," they pray " to be exempted from paying taxes for the support of schools and the ministry to the said town of Kings- ton after the year 1738, and to choose their own par- ish officers and assess and collect taxes." These privileges were all granted in their charter, " pro- vided the said petitioners maintain an authorized minister of the gospel among them." The parish was incorporated Nov. 17, 1738. Jeremy Webster was authorized to call the first meeting, which he did, and an organization was effected Jan. 10, 1738-39. Joseph Greele was chosen moderator, and Jeremy Webster, clerk. A call was then extended to the Rev. Peter Coffin to settle with them as their minis- ter, which was accepted Aug. 31, 1739.

By an act of the Provincial Council in August, 1740, the boundaries between the East Parish of Kingston and the town of Kingston were established as follows: " Midway between the meeting-houses of Kingston and the East Parish in a straight line a stone was set up on the highway called Salisbury road. . . .

Early History, etc .- The charter of Kingston was granted by the Provincial Assembly, under the ad- " From said stone north by compass to Exeter line, and from the stone aforesaid south to the path going from Kingston to Amesbury by the way of Trickling Fall; there a beech-tree was marked, not knowing the bounds of Salisbury or Amesbury." The bound- ministration of Lieutenant-Governor John Usher, Aug. 6, 1694, embracing a tract of land commencing seven miles west of the meeting-house in Hampton, which is the line between East Kingston and Kensing- ton, and extending ten miles west and by north into the aries of East Kingston are north by Kingston and country. Its breadth was four miles north from Shap- Exeter, east by Kensington, south by South HIamp- ton and Newton, and west by Kingston. Whoever is inclined to look at the county map will see that the town is in the form of a parallelogram, the longest sides being from north to south. From the north- west angle is a large area taken off and attached to Kingston. This is known as " Exeter road." The question is raised how this portion came to remain as Kingston, as the boundary according to the act would be on the north by Brentwood, leaving this territory in the East Parish. In the act authorizing the running of the boundary line in 1740, any person so disposed was allowed to poll off to the town of Kingston. ley's line, the present boundary between East Kings- ton and South Hampton. This line was represented in the charter as three miles north of Merrimac River, though it was really nearer five miles. This territory comprised what now constitutes East Kingston, Dan- ville, Sandown, and the larger part of Kingston. In 1738 fifty-three persons in the town of Kingston united in a petition to the General Assembly to be set off into a separate parish. The petitioners were Jeremy, Ebenezer, John, Thomas, and Andrew Web- ' ster, Nathan, Phinehas, Josiah, and Ebenezer Batch- elder, Ichabod, Caleb, and Theophilus Clough, Wil- liam and Abraham Smith, Jacob Gale, William Whickee, Benjamin Morrill, Joseph Greele, James Tappan, Isaac Godtrey, and Josiah Tilton.

Of the remaining thirty-two there is not one of whom anything is known, or whose known descend- ants live in the town. Of most of them their names are not recognized by the present generation. They prayed to be set off " into a separate parish, with their families and possessions, to enjoy all the rights and privileges that other parishes have and do by law en- joy." The reason they assigned for wishing to be incor- porated into a distinct parish were " their great distance from the place of public worship in the said town of Kingston, and attending on the same; have built a meeting-house in that part of the town where they live convenient for themselves and their families, and being

Forty-three persons availed themselves of this pro- vision. Among these were a number of names of per- sons well known in the district at the present time, such as Eastman, French, Sanborn, Long, and Jud- kins. These persons not wishing to be included in the new parish, and having polled off to the town of Kingston, the line was drawn as it now exists for general convenience.

Since that time a number of efforts have been made to restore the boundaries as originally enacted.

In 1795 it was proposed " to build a new meeting- house twenty rods north of Capt. John Currier's, on the road to Exeter." The town voted "they were willing to receive all who had polled off." Nothing came from it.

In 1826 the reannexation of Exeter road to this town, so as to restore the original parish lines, was

1 By A. R. Brown.

185

EAST KINGSTON.

again agitated, and the town voted "to receive the inhabitants of Kingston, on Exeter road, so called, into the town of East Kingston, as by their petition, and the order of the Legislature thereon for a day of hearing." Many were anxious to be reannexed, and others in this town were desirous they should be ; but some influential men, particularly the late Morel Sanborn, of Kingston, were so decidedly, not to say violently, in opposition to the project that it failed, and the " day of hearing" had no favorable result. No propositions of the kind have since been made.

Misunderstandings arose between the two parishes in relation to the parsonage, maintaining the poor, and various other matters, The contentions were such as came near bringing on a lawsuit; but wiser counsels prevailed, and it was decided "that each parish must maintain their own poor and support their own schools." But such were their remaining and continued difficulties, and so far were they from a settlement, that the town voted, in 1750, " that we are willing the Rev. Mr. Coffin request the Rev. Mr. Se- combe that the parsonage land be divided between them, and in case such division cannot be obtained peaceably, we will support the Rev. Mr. Secombe to obtain such division." No lawsuit followed, but after long controversy and strife the whole matter of par- sonage was settled in March, 1761, in articles of agree- ment, drawn up by committees from each of the towns of Kingston, East Kingston, Hawke, and Sandown. Thus it was twenty-two years before this controversy was concluded. Mr. Coffin continued here as the minister of the town thirty-three years. In 1772 he was dismissed after much contention. That there was great fault on both sides the impartial reader at this time, more than a century afterwards, can have no doubt.

The salary of Mr. Coffin for the first nine years after his settlement in 1739 was an average of forty- five pounds, New England currency, annually, or the equivalent of one hundred and fifty dollars. To this was added the use of the parsonage, twenty-five cords of wood, and other perquisites. In 1748 it was three hundred and twenty pounds, old tenor, which at that time was worth not far from fifty cents on the pound silver money. In 1760 he received sixty pounds law- ful money, or two hundred dollars. A pound lawful money was twenty shillings New England currency, equal to three and one-third dollars. At the close of his ministry in 1772 he was receiving seventy pounds. To these sums add an acre of land given him on which to build a house, one hundred pounds to aid him in building the house, assistance in building the barn, wood supplied by the parish from the parsonage wood lot, with some other gifts and allowances, and sixty pounds when he was dismissed in payment of constructive services, with various other allowances amounting to fifty pounds, and we have a pretty cor- rect idea of his income for the thirty-three years he was their minister. These payments were generally

made in paper money, but there seem to have been reasonable efforts to pay him in a fair circulating currency.

Soon after the dismission of Mr. Coffin there was an effort to obtain a successor. The town voted in October, 1772, to call and settle a minister, with a salary of eighty pounds and the use of the parsonage. A number of candidates were tried, but upon none of them could there be an agreement for settlement.

With the opening scenes of the Revolution the at- tention of the people was turned somewhat from ecclesiastical to political duties. In patriotism East Kingston was not behind her sister towns. A com- mittee was chosen to meet committees from other towns in Exeter, July 9, 1774, in convention, to choose delegates to represent this province in a con- gress proposed to be held by delegates from the sev- eral colonies and provinces in North America, and agreed " That they will pay their part of the expenses and charges in sending delegates, and will draw the money out of the Parish Treasury." 1775, May 8th, a committee was chosen to meet at Exeter on the 17th inst., with delegates from the several towns of this province, "who, when met with the other dele- gates, shall be fully empowered and authorized to pursue such measures as may be judged most expe- dient to preserve and restore the rights of this and the other colonies, and that such deputies shall be empowered to act in behalf of themselves and their constituents." They also voted at this meeting "to raise thirteen men, called 'minute-men;' who shall be ready at any sufficient alarm for the defense of the colonies, ' each man when called for to join with the army of observation.'" They were to be provided with a "coat and blanket, arms, ammunition, and provisions, and paid for their services from the town treasury." A "Committee of Safety" of nine persons was chosen, which was continued through the war, though its members were a number of times changed. It embraced during its existence most of the princi- pal citizens.

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History of Rockingham and Strafford counties, New Hampshire : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 45

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