USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > History of Strafford County, New Hampshire and representative citizens > Part 27
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Henry B. Philpot, Aug. 15, 1864.
John Drury, Aug. 10, 1864. Thomas Kearns, Aug. 12, 1864. George W. Brooks, September, 1863.
Patrick O'Grady, September, 1863.
C. J. Collager, September, 1863. Richard Proctor, September, 1863.
Alexander G. Anderson, September, 1863.
John Shepard, September, 1863. Samuel H. Rollins, May 5, 1863 ; substitute.
Men who served four years.
I
$ I33.34
Men who served three years.
108
10,800.00
Men who served one year
6
200.00
Men who served two months
I
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. A.
Josialı Whitehouse, Co. A.
George Boncher, Co. A.
George H. Jenkins, corp. Co. B.
Charles E. Colcord, Co. A.
George R. Downing, Co. B.
James Daniels, Co. A.
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. A.
William Yeaton, Co. B.
George H. Robinson, Co. A.
CHAPTER XXVII HISTORY OF ROLLINSFORD (III) 1 NOTABLE CITIZENS OF THE TOWN
In the Rollinsford part of Old Somersworth lived a good number of notable persons whose record is given under the head of that city, but Rollinsford, since it became a separate town, has kept up the reputation that was established in former years. Among the number are the following :
Bartholomew Wentworth, born January 7, 1788, lived and died on an estate which was granted to his great-great-grandfather, Elder William Wentworth, December, 1652, and on which he lived and where he died and was buried, when past four-score years of age, March 16, 1696-7, the eighty-first anniversary of the day of his baptism. Bartholomew was the twelfth child and seventh son of a family of fourteen children, ten of whom arrived to maturity. He was a son of Bartholomew and Ruth ( Hall) Went- worth; grandson of Lieut. Benjamin and Deborah (Stimpson) Wentworth ; great-grandson of Benjamin and Sarah (Allen) Wentworth, who was the youngest son of Elder William Wentworth, and all of these, in succession, lived on the elder's homestead of 1652, and which yet remains in possession of Bartholomew's grandson, John Wentworth.
Bartholomew Wentworth, Sr., died May 25, 1813, and his wife died in January, 1840. She was a descendant of Deacon John Hall of Dover, who came from England about 1639. He was a man of prominence in the settlement on Dover Neck, and for forty years was deacon of the First Church in Dover.
Bartholomew Wentworth, Jr., on July 28, 1811, was united in marriage with Nancy Hall, daughter of Capt. William and Sarah ( Roberts) Hall. Their children : Arioch, born June 13, 1813 : Catherine, born April 28, 1815; Ruth, born April 25, 1818; Sally, born December 12, 1822; William Hall, born March 30, 1824; Rebecca .Ann, born March 2, 1826; Seleucus, born March 3, 1831. All these are dead; the last survivor was Rebecca Ann, who died in 1910. One of this group of children has a remarkable record. Arioch Wentworth, born in 1813; died in Boston. 1904. a multi-millionaire.
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He was educated in the schools of Dover and Franklin Academy; learned the trade of marble cutter; commenced work at his trade in Boston when a young man; saved his earnings and became boss of the marble establishment in which he commenced as a day laborer; enlarged the works, doing an immense business; invested his surplus earnings in real estate in Boston; by shrewd, careful and honest business management he had become pos- sessed of several million dollars' worth of property when he was past four score years of age. He lived to be past ninety-one years. He founded the Wentworth Home for the Aged, near Garrison Hill, Dover, and endowed it with $200,000. He founded the Wentworth Hospital, in Dover, close by the Wentworth Home, giving the city of Dover, for that purpose, $100,000. All this in his life time; and by will he founded a workingmen's college in Boston, endowing it with several million dollars, which is now in fine work- ing order and is doing a vast amount of good in training experts in all departments of mechanics.
Bartholomew Wentworth, Jr., was a man tall of stature, powerfully muscular, keen of mind, a great worker. Being a giant in strength, he was never weary until old age bade him cease from active labor. He was a good father, worthy citizen and esteemed by all who knew him.
Judge Hiram R. Roberts, born May 16, 1806, in Somersworth, now Rollinsford; son of Stephen and Deborah (Wentworth) Roberts, and grand- son of John and Elizabeth (Hodgdon) Roberts, who was a great-grandson of Gov. Thomas Roberts of the Dover Combination of 1640, at Dover Neck. Judge Roberts was educated in the public schools of Somersworth and at South Berwick Academy; when a young man he taught district schools in the winter. His father died when the son was fifteen years old. He inherited the Roberts homestead in Somersworth, now Rollinsford, which was first settled on by his great-grandfather, Roberts, in 1743, and has now been in the Roberts family 170 years, the present owner being his youngest son, Hon. Joseph D. Roberts, of whom a sketch is given elsewhere in this book.
Judge Roberts was an Andrew Jackson democrat, but he never let politics interfere with business. He was not a lawyer by profession, yet he was a wise and esteemed judge for many years. He was above all a first class, progressive farmer and a Christian gentleman, in every way a credit to his town and a helpful neighbor.
Judge Roberts was an excellent farmer, but he was more noted as a leader of the Democratic party in Strafford county: he led, others followed. He was one of the first selectmen of Rollinsford; he was its Representative in the Legislature several times, first in 1837; in 1839, when he was thirty- three years old, Governor Page appointed him Associate Judge of the Court
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of Common Pleas for Strafford county, which then included Belknap and Carroll counties. He held this office thirteen years, performing the duties in a manner satisfactory to those who had anything to do with the courts. He resigned in 1852 and Gov. Noah Martin of Dover appointed him Judge of Probate for Strafford county, which position he filled with credit to himself and the satisfaction of all who transacted probate business. He served in this capacity five years, and then resigned. The great political battle of his life was in 1875, when he was the Democratic candidate for Governor. Ile conducted a red hot campaign and gave the Republican leaders a race they found it difficult to keep up with. His opponent was P. C. Cheney, who received less than two hundred more votes than Mr. Roberts. There was no election by the people, so the question was decided in favor of Mr. Cheney by the Legislature, which was controlled by the Republican party.
Judge Roberts was one of the incorporators of the Salmon Falls Bank and the Rollinsford Savings Bank and was their president from the date of organization until his death, May 30, 1876. He was a good financier and his judgment in matters of business was an important factor in the success of those institutions while he was in office.
For more than forty years he was a member of the Baptist Church at South Berwick, and for many years was superintendent of the Sunday school. For several years he was superintendent committee for the public schools of the town and always took a keen interest in promoting popular education among all classes.
His wife was Ruth Ham, daughter of John and Mercy (Wentworth) Ham of Dover; they were married in November, 1831; they were cousins. Their children were: Stephen; Elizabeth; Edward H .; Walter S. H. and Frank W., who settled in Iowa when young men: Susan J., who married Samuel H. Rollins; and Joseph Doe, who inherited the homestead, a biograph- ical sketch of whom appears in another part of this book.
Augustus Rollins was born August 29, 1797; he was son of Capt. Hiram and Joanna (Wentworth) Rollins. He lived on the farm north of Garrison Hill, opposite the Senator Rollins farm. He held various town offices and represented Rollinsford in the Legislature, but he was not a poli- tician; on the other hand, he was one of the best farmers in the town and kept his farm and buildings in first class condition. He believed in higher educa- tion for his children and gave all the best advantages for obtaining it that the times afforded. His eldest son, Samuel Winkley Rollins, was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1846 and was one of New Hampshire's noted lawyers and jurists, who resided at Meredith village. For many years he was Judge of Probate for Belknap county. Mr. Rollins' youngest son, Augustus W.
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Rollins, entered the service of the Union army, in the Civil war, November 7, 1861, as captain of Company F, Seventh New Hampshire Regiment ; he was promoted to major July 23, 1863; to lieutenant-colonel September 30, 1864; and for his skill and bravery as a commander at the storming of Fort Fisher was breveted colonel March 13, 1865; and later was appointed colonel of the New Hampshire Second Regiment, which office he held at the time of his death, February 16, 1870. The father of these two worthy sons, Augustus Rollins, did not go to the war himself, but he was a Republican in politics and contributed liberally of his time and money in support of "the boys at the front." He was one of the most active and influential citizens of Rollins- ford.
Mr. Rollins married, 24th of May, 1824, Miss Abiah Winkley, of Bar- rington; their children were: Samuel Winkley; Oliver E .; Augustus . W .; Mary Ellen and Lydia Hale.
William H. Morton was born at Portsmouth, February 14, 1814: died June 4, 1903; he was son of William and Sarah (Griffith) Morton: his parents removed to Salmon Falls in 1823, when the son was nine years old, and that became his home until his death in 1898. He was educated in South Berwick Academy, in which he had the record of being a good student, and he was amply fitted for success in his future career.
When he was sixteen years old he entered the employ of the Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company to learn the business; he began as a wool sorter at which he worked four years and became master of that department of the work. In 1834 the mills were destroyed by fire and he went to Grafton, Mass., and worked in a woolen mill there for two years. He then engaged in mercantile business in the same town. When he was twenty-eight years old, 1842, he went to Blackstone, Mass., and continued in trade as at Grafton. In 1845 he returned to Salmon Falls and opened a store for general trade, in which he continued until elected cashier of the Salmon Falls Bank in 1851 ; he then disposed of his store and devoted all his time to banking. When the savings bank was organized he was elected secretary and treasurer; all of these offices he held up to the time of his death, June 4, 1903. He proved to be one of the best banking officials in New Hampshire, as the records of the bank show, and was vigorous up to his eighty-ninth year.
Mr. Morton was not only a good banker, but a good citizen in every way. He was town treasurer for Rollinsford from organization in 1849; town clerk fromn 1853; both of which offices he held for life; his townsmen had such confidence in him they did not want any one else as long as Mr. Morton could serve them. Before the towns were separated he was one of the select- men of Somersworth two years; and for Rollinsford he was selectman three
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years. He was a republican in politics after that party displaced the old whig party. He was a Congregationalist and was a liberal supporter of that church in the Salmon Falls village. Rollinsford had no better or more highly esteemed citizen.
Mr. Morton was thrice married; (1) in 1841 to Sarah P. Merriam, of Grafton, Mass .; they had three children, only one of whom survives, Etta, widow of John Merriam. Mrs. Merriam died in 1849. (2) He married Armine Leavitt, of York, Me., in 1851; children: Frederick H., deceased ; William A., a merchant in Portland, Me .; and Sara J., a highly educated and most competent woman for all good, patriotic work that may fall to her lot to dlo. She is one of the leaders in Margery Sullivan Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and has been one of the managers of the Wentworth Home for the Aged, since its organization in 1898. Her mother died in 1866 and Mr. Morton took for his third wife Miss Mary Shackford, of Ports- mouth, in 1867.
Joshua Converse was born June 15, 1813, in Ringe, N. H .; died in Rol- linsford, April 4, 1891. He was son of Joshua and Polly ( Piper ) Converse. He was given a good common school education by his parents and then set to work in one of the cotton mills of Lowell, Mass. He was an apt pupil in the business and worked his way up quite rapidly and for several years before he was forty he became superintendent for the Suffolk Manufacturing Cor- poration in that city. In 1859 he was appointed agent for the management of the mills at Salmon Falls and removed from Lowell to that village; in this position Mr. Converse was eminently successful.
While a resident of Lowell, he took a hand in public affairs as well as in the manufacture of cotton goods. He began as member of the common council, of the city government ; he served the customary two years and then was promoted to alderman and served two years. His record as a city official was clean-handed, high-minded and efficient. There was no "graft" permitted in any department he controlled. Next he served two years as Representative in the Massachusetts Legislature. He was director and subsequent president of the Travelers' and Mechanics' Insurance Company; a director of the Prescott Bank, and a trustee of the Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank, from the organization of these institutions until he removed to Salmon Falls. While he was agent of the mills in that village he was director in the Salmon Falls Bank, and vice president of the Rollinsford Savings Bank. In his management of the mills and in the performance of his official duties in con- nection with the banks, Mr. Converse manifested great ability and integrity and held the unqualified respect of his associates.
In 1875 Mr. Converse purchased a tract of land on the eastern slope of
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Garrison Hill, in Rollinsford, on which he built a beautiful and commodious dwelling from the windows of which can be seen a very fine view of the city of Dover and the surrounding country. He removed from Salmon Falls village to this elegant residence. He purchased a wharf on the Cochecho river at Dover Landing, and put it in good shape to engage in the lumber business, shipping his lumber from Maine and the British Provinces. At first he conducted the business alone; the business venture prospered and he took in company Charles C. Hobbs; the firm name for a number of years was Converse & Hobbs. Later Mr. Hobbs retired and Mr. Converse took as his partner Mr. Marshall B. Hammond in 1883, and the firm name became Converse & Hammond. This partnership continued until severed by the death of Mr. Converse, April 4, 1891. He left the business in a flourish- ing condition, and at the age of seventy-eight years ended a long, active and honorable career. After he engaged in the lumber business he was elected Representative from Rollinsford in the State Legislature in 1877 and 1878. He was a staunch Republican.
October 18, 1835, Mr. Converse was united in marriage with Jane B. Damon, daughter of Galen and Jane (Barker) Damon. Children: William Henry, Josephine and Mary Jane; the son and oldest daughter died young ; the other daughter became the wife of James A. Place, of South Berwick, Me. Mrs. Converse died March 4, 1868, and August 30, 1870, he married H. Jennie Dearborn, daughter of Joseph and Harriet (Drew) Dearborn. They had no children.
William Roberts Garvin was born March 15, 1830, in what is now Rol- linsford; died May 16, 1910; son of Samuel and Susan ( Roberts) Garvin, a great-grandson of the immigrant ancestor, James Garvin, who settled in the "Sligo" section of the town about 1700. Mr. Garvin was educated in the common schools of Somersworth and Berwick Academy. When he had completed his academy education he engaged in school teaching several winters and was successful in the work, keeping the big boys under control and thoroughly instructing in the use of the "three R's." But Mr. Garvin's chief ambition was to be equal if not a little ahead of the best farmer in town or county. For this reason he soon became an active member of the first agricultural society that was organized in the county of Strafford and gave it his earnest support. From discussions in the meetings of the society he became the leader in improving the stock of his farm and the whole town; later he won fame and many premiums at cattle fairs by his successful breed- ing of the celebrated Ayreshire cattle. Mr. Garvin was systematic, energetic and progressive in the management of his excellent farm and splendid stock.
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He stood in the front rank of good farmers in that best of farming towns in the state.
Being a Democrat in politics he was not always successful in his political ventures, but his townsmen honored themselves by electing him to local offices, selectman, school committee, road surveyor, etc., and he was once the Demo- cratic candidate for county commissioner, but failed of election after making a very strong canvass.
Mr. Garvin was a member of the Baptist Church of South Berwick, and was an active worker in its Sabbath school, holding official positions and lending a helping hand in the church work in every way.
Mr. Garvin was united in marriage with Frances H. Yeaton, of Rollins- ford, April 2, 1862; they had a family of seven children, three sons and four daughters : Annie Bertha; Clara W .: William Roberts; Susie Homer; Gertrude and Samuel R.
John E. Tyler, M. D., was born in Boston, December 9, 1819; died in .April, 1878; graduated from Dartmouth College in 1841; then engaged in teaching in Rhode Island a few years; studied medicine at Dartmouth Med- ical School and medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, from which he received his diploma in 1846. He then came to Salmon Falls and began practice of his profession, in which he was very successful; he remained here until his appointment, October 5. 1852, superintendent of the New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane. He held this office successfully until 1858, when he resigned to accept the position of superintendent of the McLean Asylum for Insane, which important position he held until he resigned on account of ill health in 1871. He then travelled in Europe for quite a while. He died in 1878.
Doctor Tyler was a gentleman of marked ability ; he not only stood high in the ranks of his profession, but he possessed good business capacity in other ways. When Rollinsford was separated from Somersworth in 1849, and held its first state election in March, 1850, Doctor Tyler was elected its first Representative in the Legislature. He was one of the directors of Salmon Falls State Bank.
John G. Pike, M. D., was born in Somersworth, August 17, 1817; died in Dover, 1907, aged ninety years. He was son of Nathaniel G. Pike, grand- son of John and great-grandson of the Rev. John Pike, first minister of the Parish of Summersworth. He was fitted for college at Berwick Academy, from which he entered Bowdoin College and was graduated from that insti- tution in 1843. He studied medicine with Dr. Theodore Jewett of South Berwick and was graduated from Bowdoin Medical College in 1847. He commenced practice of medicine that year in Durham village. In 1848 he
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removed his office to Salmon Falls village, where he continued in practice of his profession twenty years. Dr. Pike then sought a wider field of work and opened an office in Boston in 1868, where he continued in successful practice until 1871, when he removed to Dover, N. H., where he resided until his death in 1907, at ninety years of age. Doctor Pike was a large man, physic- ally, and had a commanding presence, and ranked well up in his profession. He remained in practice until past four score years. During the last decade of his life he was blind, but his mind was as keen and active as in his younger years.
Jonathan S. Ross, M. D., was born in Lisbon, N. H., April 12, 1822; died in Concord, 1877. He fitted for college at Holmes Academy, Plymouth, and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1843. He studied medicine in Dart- mouth Medical School, and in the Medical College of the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1846. He commenced practice in Boston, but went to Bath, N. H., and opened an office in November, 1846, where he remained until the fall of 1852, when he came to Rollinsford and opened an office in Salmon Falls village and practiced his profession three years. He then opened an office in Som- ersworth at Great Falls village and was in practice there twenty-two years. He died November 22, 1877. He was Representative from Rollinsford in 1855. in the State Legislature. August 14, 1862, he was appointed surgeon for the Eleventh New Hampshire Regiment of Volunteer Infantry. He served in the army continuously until the fall of 1864, when his health failed, and he was discharged December 7, 1864. While in the army he was pro- moted to surgeon of Second Brigade, Second Division, Ninth Army Corps, Gen. S. G. Griffin. In 1865 he was appointed post-surgeon and stationed at Concord, and served to the close of the war, when he returned to his home in Somersworth. Doctor Ross was an excellent surgeon and a highly esteemed gentleman.
Edwin D. Jaques, M. D., was born in Machias, Me., March 9, 1841 ; he graduated from Wesleyan Seminary, Kent's Hill, Me., and studied medicine in Bowdoin Medical College, from which he received his degree of M. D. in June, 1869. After one year in practice at Norway, Me., he came to Rollins- ford and opened an office in Salmon Falls village and continued in successful practice until June, 1872. The next two years he was engaged in hospital work in Boston, and the experience he obtained was of great value to him in his later career. In the fall of 1874 he opened an office in South Berwick, Me., and has practiced his profession continuously to the present time. Besides being a good physician and surgeon, he is one of the honored citizens of that town.
CHAPTER XXVIII IIISTORY OF DURHAM (I)
THIE PARISH OF OYSTER RIVER
From 1633 to 1732, May 15, when it was incorporated as the town of Durham, the territory was a part of Dover, and was known and called "Oyster River in Dover." An act of the Provincial Assembly made it the "Parish of Oyster River in Dover," May 4, 1716. U'p to that time there had been separate ministerial services in that section from 1655. The first settle- ments in the Oyster River parish had been commenced before 1640. As soon as the settlement on Dover Neck got well started the enterprising pioneers searched for good spots to locate along the banks of all the rivers; one of these was Durham Point ; from there the settlements gradually crept up the river, on both banks, to the falls, "Oyster River freshet." Hill, Smith, Mathes, Meader, Bunker, Burnham, Williams, Bickford, Edgerly, Woodman, Jones, Davis, Chesley, Pitman, Tasker, Jenkins, Durgin, Cretchett, Doe, Willy, Demerett, Jackson, are among the names of the earliest settlers, and descend- ants of these are dwellers in that good old town today.
It was the common law of the town that all grown persons must attend church on the Lord's Day. They did not call it Sunday or Sabbath. The meeting-house was on Meeting-house Hill, Dover Neck. It was quite a dis- tance for the Oyster River farmers to travel in their boats to the Cove on Back river and climb the hill, going by "Deacon Hall's Spring," to the meet- ing-house and get there before Richard Pinkham finished "beating the drum," as a warning for all to attend. Being a tedious morning journey, soon after 1650 they began to petition for the town to provide a special service to be held at Durham Point, for the convenience of all. So 16, 2 mo., 1655, in town meeting the following is the record: "It is agreed upon concerning setting comfortable maintenance of the ministry of Dover and Oyster River, all the rent of the saw mills shall be set apart into a Towne stocke, with two pence upon ye pound to be rated upon the estates of all the inhabitants, and all such estates so appointed are to be put into the hands of any that shall be chosen Treasurer by ye sd. Towne to receive the same, which sum hath
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respect to the Rate is to be paid in Money, Beaver, Bief, Poarke, Wheat, Pease, Mault, Butter, Cheeise, in one or any of these. This order to take place 25th of June next and continue one whole yeare."
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