USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > History of Strafford County, New Hampshire and representative citizens > Part 57
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HON. FRED A. HOULE, city clerk of Somersworth and formerly a member of the New Hampshire legislature, has practically spent his life in
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Strafford county and is well and favorably known. He was born at Somers- worth, N. H., in 1879, and is a son of the late Archie Houle, a native of Canada who came to the United States when seven years of age. During the greater part of his life he was connected with the grocery business. He was one of the party that left Strafford county to investigate the reputed wealth to be easily secured in the Klondike region but returned to Somers- worth and died here in 1901, at the age of forty-four years. He married Jessie Bourque and they had thirteen children, eight of these yet living, Fred A. being the eldest.
Fred A. Houle attended school at Somersworth and afterward followed clerking, mainly in grocery stores, and has an expert knowledge of this line of business. In politics he is a Democrat and in 1907 he was elected a member of the General Assembly, where he performed his duties very creditably. In 1912 he was elected city clerk and his efficiency is acknowl- edged by all who have to transact business with him.
Mr. Houle married Miss Odila Vachon and they have four children : Dolor, George, Fred, Jr., and Violet. The family belongs to the Catholic church. Mr. Houle is identified with the A. C. A. association and with the Knights of the Maccabees.
EDGAR I. CARTER, one of the leading business men of Somersworth, proprietor of the largest dry goods and carpet stores of the place and well known all over Strafford county as a dependable merchant, was born at Somersworth, N. H., April 15, 1856, and is a son of Alfred and Abbie L. (Wentworth) Carter.
For many years the name of Carter has been associated with the mer- cantile interests of this section. Alfred Carter, father of E. I. Carter, was one of the pioneer merchants of Strafford county. He was born at Wakefield, Carroll county, N. H., in 1828, and died at Somersworth in 1910, when aged eighty-two years. He was the senior member of the old firm of Carter & Merrill. In 1852 he entered into partnership with his brother, Charles P. Carter and they continued together until 1876, when Charles P. moved to Franklin, Mass., and four years later A. Carter admitted his son, E. I. Carter as a partner.
Edgar I. Carter, an only child, had excellent educational advantages and as soon as his school days were over gave his father assistance in his business, becoming identified with the same in 1873 and a partner in 1880. In 1886 occurred a loss of stock and buildings by fire but the buildings were imme- diately rebuilt and the business scope enlarged, E. I. Carter taking entire charge when his father died. A large and carefully selected stock is carried
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and the trade territory extends over the city and surrounding country, the location at Nos. 32-34 Market street being convenient to all transportation lines. Mr. Carter is a director of the Somersworth Savings Bank.
In 1885 Mr. Carter was married to Miss Margaret M. Shaw, of Austin, Minn. They have one son, Warren Shaw Carter, who is a graduate of Dartmouth College and of the law school at Ann Arbor, Mich. He is now employed by the Kellog and Severance law firm of St. Paul, Minn. Mr. and Mrs. Carter are members of the First Congregational church at Somersworth. In politics he is a Republican.
DANA B. MAYO, M. D., physician and surgeon at Somersworth, came to this city from Vermont in June, 1911, establishing himself at No. 68 High street, and through professional ability has built up a very satisfactory practice. He was born in 1879 in Massachusetts, and is a son of N. D. and Addie (Penney) Mayo. The father now lives retired after years of business activity. The mother died when Dr. Mayo, the only child, was but four years of age.
Dana B. Mayo attended Wakefield academy at Wakefield, Mass., and completed his medical education at Boston, being graduated in June, 1905, from the medical department of the Boston University. He immediately entered upon the practice of his profession, locating in northern Vermont, in 1911, as above mentioned, coming to Somersworth. Dr. Mayo is a member of the New Hampshire State Homeopathic Society, the Vermont State Homeopathic Society, the American Institute and the Somersworth and Ber- wick Medical Society.
Dr. Mayo married Miss Mable G. Clark, of Melrose, Mass., and they have two children : Francis Clark and Dana Bartlett, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Mayo are members of the Congregational church. Politically he is a Republican. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Foresters and the Masons and is identified with the local Grange, Patrons of Husbandry.
JOSEPH LA BONTE, proprietor of a general store at Somersworth, N. H., was born in 1878, in Canada. His parents were people of ample means and thus he had educational advantages which included attendance at Levy College, in the city of Quebec, where he became a student when nine- teen years of age and remained for two years.
After completing his education in his native land, Mr. La Bonte came to Strafford county and embarked in the bakery business in which he con- tinued for six and a half years at Somersworth. He has always been in business for himself with the exception of four years during which time he was employed by Mr. Gregoire. In 1899 he opened his present business
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at Nos. 159-163-167 Main street, Somersworth, where he handles general merchandise, especially hardware, meats and groceries, carrying the heaviest stock in these lines in the place. He has built up a fine business through honest methods and first class goods.
Mr. La Bonte married Miss Anne Dion and they have five children : Clare, George, Evan, Wilfred and Jadiasse, the three eldest being graduates of the local schools. Mr. La Bonte and family are members of St. Martin's Catholic church. He belongs to the Catholic Order of Foresters, the St. Jean Baptiste Union and other organizations. In politics he is a Democrat.
FRANK A. HARVEY, who is proprietor of the leading hardware store at Somersworth, is one of the progressive young business men whose enter- prise and energy bespeak continued prosperity. Every town and city has need of active and interested young men to push business activity to the front and thus add to the general welfare, and such is the subject of this sketch. Mr. Harvey was born June 3, 1883, at Dover, N. H., and is a son of Frank B. and Hannah S. ( Fife) Harvey. Frank B. Harvey was born about 1848 in Maine, but has been a resident of Dover since he was twenty years old. He has been in the mill business all his life and is overseer of a woolen mill.
F. A. Harvey, an only child, attended the Dover schools. He began his own business life as a mill man, continued thus for four years and then became a clerk in a hardware store. Finding this line of business congenial, in 1905 he bought his present place from the S. Augustus Seavey estate and has continued in business at Somersworth, although he lives at Dover. He carries a full line of general hardware and also builders' supplies. He is a member of the order of Elks.
FRANK LESLIE TIBBETTS, who has been identified with the jewelry business at Somersworth for a quarter of a century and during all this time has been numbered with the stable and reliable citizens of the place, is a native of New Hampshire, born at Wakefield, September 23, 1869, and is a son of Benjamin F. and Emily J. (Roberts) Tibbetts.
Benjamin F. Tibbetts was born in Maine but passed fifty years of his life in New Hampshire, first as a railroad man and later as a farmer. His death occurred at Wakefield, N. H., when he was sixty-seven years old. He married Emily J. Roberts and six of their seven children are living, the other survivors in addition to the subject of this sketch, being Fred, Henry C., Chas. R., Susie, wife of Edwin A. Seavey of Portsmouth; and Imogene, wife of Ormand Junkins of Kittery, Me.
Frank Leslie Tibbetts attended the schools of Wakefield, where he had
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academic advantages, after which he entered the store of James J. Woodward in order to learn the jewelry business. He remained with him from April 23, 1888, until February 15, 1908, when he opened his own jewelry establish- ment at No. 80 Market street, Somersworth. Mr. Tibbetts carriers a full line of jewelry, selected with careful discrimination, offering to the public articles beautiful in design and of exquisite workmanship; he also does watch and clock repairing.
Mr. Tibbetts married Miss Ruth A. Simmons, of Bloomfield, New Bruns- wick, and they have three sons: Calvin B., who is in college at Durham, N. H .; Percy F., a student in the high school at Somersworth; and Robert F., an infant. Mr. and Mrs. Tibbetts attend the Methodist Episcopal church. He is identified with the Odd Fellows and in politics is a Progressive.
THOMAS J. DOUGHERTY, M. D., who for nineteen years has been engaged in medical practice at Somersworth, enjoys a professional reputation all over Strafford county, while at Somersworth he is also looked upon as one of the most progressive and useful public men. For three years Dr. Dougherty served the city in the office of mayor and gave an administration that resulted in many reforms and corrected many civic abuses. He was born in 1868 at Schaghticoke, N. Y., and is a son of William and Catherine (Gregg) Dougherty.
Thomas J. Dougherty attended the public schools, afterward studied for a medical career and when prepared for collegiate instruction entered the Baltimore Medical College, now the University of Maryland, where he was graduated in 1894. He immediately entered upon practice at Somersworth and has continued to make this pleasant city his home. With the enlightened understanding of a trained medical man, Dr. Dougherty is particularly well qualified for public offices of responsibility and when able to give time and attention to the same has been willing to serve. For three years he was chair- man of the school board and for five years was city physician and at all times has been ready to give scientific advice on such questions as the water supply or public sanitation. He has always kept thoroughly abreast with the times, holding membership in numerous professional bodies including the American Medical Association and the state and county medical societies, in 1910 serving as president of the last named.
Dr. Dougherty was married to Miss Alfreda McLean, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He belongs to Holy Trinity church and fraternally is identified with the Elks, the Foresters and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. In politics he is a Democrat.
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L. E. GRANT, M. D., who is engaged in medical practice at Somers- worth, N. H., with office in his residence at No. 85 Market street, was born in 1859, at North Berwick, Me., and is a son of Lindsey W. and Martha C. (Farman) Grant. The father was born at Berwick, Me., followed an agri- cultural life and died at North Berwick when aged sixty-six years. He married Martha C. Farman, who passed away at the age of sixty-three years. They were parents of nine children.
L. E. Grant attended the common and high schools at North Berwick and pursued his medical studies in the medical department of Bowdoin College, where he was graduated in 1882. He began practice at Raymond, N. H., removing one year later to Candia and from there, four years afterward, to Somersworth and here he has been in active practice for over a quarter of a century. Dr. Grant's medical skill and professional standing are well known and recognized all over the county and for twelve years he served as county physician of Strafford county. He belongs to the Strafford County and to the New Hampshire State Medical Societies.
Dr. Grant was united in marriage with Miss Georgie E. Ricker, a native of Maine, and they have one daughter, Olive E., who is a student at Wellesley College. In politics Dr. Grant is a Republican. For twelve years he served as county coroner and for four years was a. very useful member of the town council. He is identified with both the Masons and the Odd Fellows. With his family he belongs to the Congregational church.
HON. ELISHA C. ANDREWS, superintendent of the Strafford-York Gas Company, and a prominent Democratic politician of Strafford county, was born at Somersworth, N. H., September 16, 1876, and is a son of Alonzo H. and Mary E. (Huchins) Andrews. The father was also a native of Somersworth and was a merchant here until his death in 1884.
E. C. Andrews was one of a family of six children and was seven years old when his father died. He was educated in his native town and began his business career in the line of newspaper work, later was interested in insurance and real estate, and since then has filled his present position and has also been elected to numerous public offices. For four years he served as city clerk, from 1901 to 1903 he served in the New Hampshire legislature and on February 19, 1907 he was made superintendent of the Somersworth, Berwick and Rochester District.
Mr. Andrews married Miss Emma N. Jorde, and they have three children : Erma, Pauline and Muriel. With his family Mr. Andrews belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. He is identified with the Royal Arcanum and is locally prominent in Masonic circles, being a member of Libanus Lodge
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and Edwards Chapter, Royal Arch Masons and the Council at Dover. His good citizenship has often been proved and he stands high in public regard.
B. F. HANSON, proprietor of the only livery stable in Somersworth, N. H., who also holds the position of police judge, was born in this place, December 12, 1848, a son of Benjamin F. and Mary E. ( Libby ) Hanson. The father, a farmer, was a native of Sanford, Me., where he died at the age of 72 years, but for many years it was his custom to spend the winters in Somersworth. His wife Mary was also of Sanford. They had four children, namely : Luther L., who died in the fall of 1912, in Malden ; Benjamin F., the subject of this sketch; Charles H., who resides in Sanford, Me., and George W., also a resident of Sanford.
B. F. Hanson, the present bearer of the name, was educated in the schools of Sanford, Me., and Lebanon, N. H. He then took up the horse and livery business, in which he has been engaged continuously for the last 45 years, having now the oldest livery establishment in the state. He also deals in harness to some extent, and was formerly more extensively engaged in that branch of his business than at present. A Democrat in politics, Mr. Hanson has taken an active interest in public affairs and has served since July 1, 1913, in his present office as police judge. He was also county commissioner six years, city treasurer three years, and mayor of the city for five years, making a good record in all these important offices. He is also a director in the Somers- worth National Bank. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Grange and the Masonic order.
Judge Hanson married Miss Fannie T. Thompson, of Chepley, Me., and they are the parents of one child, Bert, who is a graduate of Yale College and the Cornell Law School, and is now practicing law in New York City, having an office at No. 42 Broadway.
DAVID W. HERRETT, who, with his business associate, Charles E. Burnham, conducts a coal and wood yard at No. 19 Cocheco street, Dover, under the firm name of the Herrett & Burnham Coal and Wood Company, is one of the substantial business men of this city, his concern being one of the largest in this section. He was born in 1850, in Cumberland, Nova Scotia, and is a son of William A. and Roxann (Totten) Herrett, an only child. The father was a farmer in Nova Scotia and died there when aged forty-five years
David W. Herrett completed his school attendance before leaving his native place, coming then to Dover and shortly afterward embarking in his present line of business. In 1906 he formed his partnership with Charles E.
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Burnham and the firm deals in coal and all kinds of fire wood, giving employ- ment to several teamsters. Mr. Herrett is the oldest man in the business at Dover. He has been more or less active in civic matters and has served with efficiency and honesty in numerous public offices, as councilman, alderman and street and park commissioner. He votes with the Republican party.
Mr. Herrett married Miss Margaret Stewart. They attend the Methodist Episcopal church. He is prominent in the order of Odd Fellows and belongs also to the Elks, the Red Men and the United Order of the Golden Cross.
THOMAS J. MORRISON, M. D., who is engaged in the practice of medicine at Somersworth, N. H., with offices at No. 2 Elm street, was born in Canada, in 1882, and is a son of Michael and Ellen (Demers) Morrison. The father was born in Ireland. After coming to Somersworth he worked as a laborer and died here in advanced age. There were four children in his family.
T. J. Morrison attended the public schools of Somersworth and afterward the University of Vermont and in 1909 he was graduated with his medical degree. He then opened his office in Somersworth and has since built up a very satisfactory practice. He is a member of the medical fraternity, Alpha Kappa Kappa. June 14, 1911, he married Miss Helena T. Bresnahan of Burlington, Vt. They are members of the Catholic church.
MRS. MARILLA M. RICKER. In these days of advanced thought, when the mental horizon of mankind is broadening more rapidly than ever before, when scientific discovery and higher criticism have in large measure upset ancient traditions and given many a bewildering shock to the time-hon- ored creeds of our forefathers; when Woman is at last arousing to a sense of what is due her and is demanding it in no uncertain tones-in these epoch- making times, in short, it is interesting to review the career of one who, like the subject of this sketch, has been to some extent a pioneer along the lines referred to, having long held and advocated those ideas of free thought and political equality for the sexes which are now causing so much unnecessary consternation among many good people who, owing to early training, mental lassitude, or other causes, find difficulty in keeping abreast of the car of progress.
Advanced thought, in regard either to politics or religion, has no terrors for Mrs. Marilla M. Ricker; nor has she been hampered by heredity. She comes of a long line of ancestors who were members of the legal profession. Her father, Jonathan B. Young, was born on the farm settled by his grand- father. He was a distant relation of the noted Brigham Young, but, though
MARILLA M. RICKER
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possessing all the latter's astuteness, was, unlike him, a broad, liberal-minded man, a stanch Whig, and-what was a good deal more rare in those days-a believer in equal suffrage. This latter fact, of itself, is enough to mark him as having been a strong and independent thinker. With the political doings of the world he kept himself in touch through the columns of the New York Weekly Tribune and the Boston Cultivator. The influence of her father's lib- eral spirit must be counted as one of the chief factors in the bent of Mrs. Ricker's genius and its later development.
Mr. Young and his wife, Hannah (her maiden name was Hannah D. Stevens) had four children-Joseph D., Marilla M., Helen Frances and Ade- laide. Joseph D., the only son, enlisted in the War of the Rebellion in the Third New Hampshire Regiment, Company I. He was a gallant soldier and lost his life on Edisto Island, South Carolina, in 1862. This was Mrs. Ricker's first great grief, and its memory has never been quite effaced. Helen Frances Young married Samuel G. Jones, of New Durham. She died in 1870. Adelaide Young, who is unmarried, is a professional nurse in Con- necticut.
Marilla M. Young acquired her elementary education in the district schools of New Durham. Mrs. Hannah D. Young was a devout church woman, and three of her children were accustomed to attend church with her on Sunday. Marilla always refused to go. Says Josephine K. Henry, "She stayed at home with her father, who was her chum and comrade, and in the summer they spent the 'Lord's Day' salting the cattle, looking after the fences, etc. As a child she could run faster, climb trees quicker, and make more noise than any other boy or girl in the neighborhood. She rode all the horses bareback, loaded hay, dropped corn, beans, potato and pumpkin seed. She was pas- sionately fond of books and when only four years old she cut the large letters out of the newspapers and followed her father around the farm asking him what they were. She could read at five."
When older she entered Colby Academy, where she fitted to be a teacher, paying her expenses by teaching in the district schools. Beginning this work at the early age of sixteen, she showed marked talent and for seven years was one of the most successful instructors in the state, although on several occasions she came into conflict with the school committee on account of her disinclina- tion to make Bible reading a part of the daily exercises. She has always held to the belief that a natural adaptation to the work is the most essential part of a teacher's equipment-in other words, that "teachers are born, not made," and still looks back with pleasure to her "school marm" days.
In 1863 she married Mr. John Ricker, of Dover, N. H., who lived only five years after. She was now twenty-eight years old, a widow with no chil- 36
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dren, and with means sufficient to enable her to devote her time and her heart to any work in which she felt called upon to engage. After traveling for some years in America she went abroad, remaining three years, spending much of that time in Germany, where she acquired a perfect command of the Ger- man language.
After her return home she began the study of law in the office of A. B. Williams, in Washington, D. C., and in 1883 was one of a class of nineteen to apply for admission to the bar in the District of Columbia. She received first rank in the examination, and was said to give evidence of possessing more extensive legal knowledge than had ever been displayed by any other candidate. She began the practice of law in the courts of Washington and has practiced there ever since. She has, however, been admitted to the bar in New Hamp- shire and in Utah, and in 1891 she was admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court. She was appointed a notary public by President Arthur, in 1884, by the judges of the District Supreme Court, United States Commissioner and Examiner in Chancery, both of which offices she still holds.
Aside from her profession, Mrs. Ricker is chiefly interested in politics. Inheriting Whig principles from her father, she naturally became a supporter of the Republican party, and on many important occasions has ably upheld its principles by voice or pen. Her work on the stump during National cam- paigns has often aided in the triumph of Republican principles. During the campaign for Harrison she made lecturing tours through California and Iowa and she made many stump speeches and wrote many articles for the Mckinley campaign. She has also written ably on the tariff. On the success of her party in 1896 Mrs. Ricker conceived the worthy ambition of representing the United States of America as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the Republic of the United States of Colombia, a position for which she was in every way well qualified. Her application for that or "some other diplomatic position of equal rank and importance" was strongly indorsed by influential men, not only in New Hampshire but elsewhere, the states of California, Iowa, Illinois, Colorado and Massachusetts being represented in the petitions presented to the President in her behalf. Ex-senator Henry W. Blair had a personal interview with President Mckinley on the matter, and also wrote him a forcible letter calling attention to the strength of Mrs. Ricker's claim to the appointment, "so far as character, ability, education, professional acquirements, experience, culture, and all the varied accomplishments which would adorn the position and reflect honor upon her country are concerned." His letter was referred to by the Boston "Investigator" as "a very strong 'Woman's Rights' document from a somewhat conservative source." Not- withstanding such substantial support, her application was rejected, the ap-
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pointment going to Mr. Charles B. Hart. Mrs. Ricker accepted the result in a calm and philosophic spirit and immediately wrote a congratulatory letter to the appointee. To others she said: "I am still a Republican and still a Mckinley woman. I am well satisfied with this administration and expect to work for McKinley's re-nomination and re-election in 1900."
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