USA > New Hampshire > Carroll County > Wolfeborough > History of Wolfeborough (New Hampshire) > Part 18
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
Benning Brackett, a brother of Dr. Joshua Brackett, of Ports- mouth, a town proprietor of Wolfeborough, was born in New Market in 1745. He married Sarah Bennett of the same town, and had a family of sixteen children, John, Sally, Elizabeth, Ben- ning, Daniel (died an infant), Nancy, Comfort, Daniel 2nd, Joshua, Polly, Huldah, Catherine, Hannah, Purney, George, Lydia. Fifteen of these reached an average age of seventy years. None of them were dissolute or poor or very wealthy. They were great readers. Brought up in the same neighborhood as was the New Market Folsom family, they possessed similar charac- teristics, not being especially distinguished for brilliancy, but having sound judgment and probity-the essential qualities of good citizenship. The two families, although resembling each other in mentality, were strikingly dissimilar in physique, the
228
HISTORY OF WOLFEBOROUGH.
Folsoms being spare, the Bracketts corpulent. Some of them were very obese, Benning weighing about five hundred pounds and Daniel, 2nd, six hundred.
John, the first-born of Benning's children, having received a settler's lot from his Uncle Joshua, came to Wolfeborough, and, marrying Betsy, daughter of James Folsom, located where the hamlet Brackett's Corner now is. Here he remained during his lifetime. His children were: William, born 1802; Joshua, born 1804; John M., born 1807; Betsy, born 1809; Hannah, born 1815. Two of these reached the age of seventy years. Joshua was ninety- six years old when he died. He and his sister Betsy were never married. William spent a portion of his life in Ossipee ; he had three daughters.
John M. Brackett was born in 1807, and always resided in Wolfeborough. In earlier life he was an extensive farmer, but for many years was officially connected with banking and other corporations, being long president of Lake National Bank and treasurer of Carroll County Savings Bank. For many years he was one of the most prominent republicans in the state, and was frequently mentioned as candidate for governor. He was repre- sentative to the legislature in 1855 and 1857, a messenger (1858) to carry the electoral vote for Fremont and Dayton to Washing- ton, a member of the council of Governor Gilmore in 1864, and a member of the council of Governor Smythe in 1865. No mem- ber of the council during these two important years rendered more faithful service. Mr. Brackett was injured in a railroad accident which occurred at the Weirs in 1852, and was ever after- ward a cripple. He married Sarah, daughter of Moses Thomp- son. They had two daughters, who lived to maturity, one of them, Sarah, marrying, but both dying before the decease of their father, which occurred in 1887.
Jesse Whitton was born in Brentwood, March 18, 1766. His father early deceased, and his mother, with her son, came to Wolfeborough. She married Benjamin Evans, and they came
JESSE WHITTEN
229
HISTORY OF WOLFEBOROUGH.
into the possession of the John Sinkler lot, now the farm of G. B. Clark. Here were born to them five children: Benjamin, born March I, 1777, settled in Alton ; Lydia, born Aug. 8, 1778, mar- ried Elder Isaac Townsend; Elizabeth, born May 21, 1780, mar- ried Dr. Thomas Saltmarsh, of New Durham ; Mary, born Aug. 18, 1782, married Samuel Connor; Rebecca, born June 27, 1784. Mr. Evans died previous to 1788, and his widow continued to manage the farm and keep tavern. She subsequently married again.
Jesse Whitton, at the age of sixteen years, shipped on board a privateer, and sailed a cruise of eight months. At about the time of reaching his majority he married Hannah Allard, who was born Feb. 19, 1768. He settled on a fifty-acre lot included in the Torrey right. It lay on Smith's River, perhaps on both sides of it. He first erected buildings on a point which projected into Crooked Pond, but afterwards removed them farther from the shore to the spot where now stand those occupied by Howard B. Willey. He afterwards purchased more land, at one time own- ing all or nearly all on the southerly side of the highway from the farm of Charles Morgan to the mill-lot. He also owned some on the northerly side of the road, on which he erected two small houses, one now enlarged and owned by Alonzo Avery, and the other occupied by Mrs. I. E. C. Pratt. The former was for the eldest son, Stephen, and the latter for the widow of the same.
Before the construction of the Wolfeborough railroad, most of the winter travel from the easterly part of the town to the village was across Lake Wentworth, Jesse Whitton's farm, and Crooked Pond. When Mr. Whitton was disposing of his land between the highway and the river, he intended to reserve a free public passage from the street to the water at Mast Landing, but failed to have the reservation legally made, and several years after the owner of the land forbade people crossing over the passage-way. This was an inconvenience, not only to the general public, but also to the Whitton families then residing on the "Neck," as it
230
HISTORY OF WOLFEBOROUGH.
was called. At the petition of the father and married sons, the selectmen laid out the passage as a public highway, the Whittons paying the land damages awarded. As the owner of the land re- quired the award to be paid in coin, the short passage to the water has since been called "Silver Street." As the public were still allowed a free winter passage across the Jesse Whitton farm, the town subsequently voted to assume the cost of the land dam- ages.
Mr. Whitton was a charter member of the first church or- ganized in Wolfeborough, and for half a century most of its meet- ings were held at his house. He was an enthusiastic and quite demonstrative religionist. Although lacking an education, he claimed some knowledge of the healing art, and not unfrequently his plasters and decoctions of roots and herbs were more ef- ficacious than the lancet and mercurial preparations so much used by the medical profession of his time. He could not ex- hibit the diploma, but bore the title of Doctor, and had a limited practice for many years in some ailments. He was a person of small stature and remarkably agile. Many stories are told of his prowess as a wrestler, even when advanced in years. He was an adept at capturing rattle-snakes, and frequently visited the island in Lake Winnipesaukee, so noted for the propagation of that rep- tile for the purpose of securing them, valuing very highly for external applications the oil which he extracted from their bodies.
Mr. Whitton's children were: Stephen, born Oct. 19, 1788, married Eunice Earle; Henry, born March 26, 1791, married Abigail Triggs; Lydia, born March 26, 1793, married Isaac Clough ; Miriam, born Feb. 23, 1795, married Thomas Baker, of Brookfield ; Betsy, born Nov. 24, 1796, married James Ricker, of Alton; Hannah, born Jan. 23, 1799, married Charles Baker of Brookfield; Jesse, born March 18, 1801, married Betsy Drew; Nancy, born Feb. 28, 1803, married Samuel Nudd, Jr .; Daniel, born Jan. 25, 1805, married Sarah Dore; Lurannah, born May 3, 1808, married Joseph Johnson ; Polly, born Feb. 9, 1810, mar-
231
HISTORY OF WOLFEBOROUGH.
ried Benjamin F. Garland; Harriet, born July 12, 1813, died young.
He lived to the age of ninety-three years. The farm, which was divided between the two youngest sons, was somewhat en- larged by the purchase of land that originally belonged to the King lot, and is now owned by Howard B. Willey and his son, Alexander H. On it Mr. Willey has erected fine farm-buildings, and has greatly increased its producing capacity.
Masonian proprietary lot numbered six, which was situated at the eastern corner of the Lords' Quarter division, fell to Thomas Packer. It was one hundred and sixty-seven rods wide and about three hundred rods long, containing three hundred acres. Sheriff Packer donated a settler's lot of one hundred acres to Abram Prebble. (This afterward came into the possession of the Haines family.) In 1772 he deeded one hundred acres to Joshua Haines, of Greenland, who twelve years after came to Wolfeborough with his three sons-Jacob, Matthias, and Joseph, all of whom settled on the Packer lot.
The earlier members of this family were inclined to longevity. The father, Joshua, died at the age of ninety years, and Jane, a sister of his, at ninety-four. His son Jacob lived to be eighty- nine years old and his son Joseph to be eighty-six ; a daughter, Mehitable, was ninety-four years at the time of her death. Ruth, the wife of Jacob Haines, lived to the age of eighty-five years.
After the death of his father, Jacob Haines came into the pos- session of the easterly portion of the lot, which was quite ele- vated, and is still called Haines Hill. From this height and an- other prominent elevation, Martin's Hill, the proprietors estab- lished signals for their own convenience and that of the surround- ing inhabitants. After the division of the training-band into two companies, Jacob Haines became captain of the soldiers in the northern part of the town. He served as selectman, moderator, and representative.
His children were five in number : James, served as moderator
232
HISTORY OF WOLFEBOROUGH.
and selectman. Most of his life was spent in Wolfeborough, but during his last years he made his home with his son, James Mon- roe Haines, a very respectable and quite influential citizen of Dover. Matthias, born in 1796, married Eliza Wiggin. Jacob went to Chelsea. Ruth married Richard Bickford. Mary mar- ried Joseph Ney, of Ossipee.
The children of Matthias Haines, the son of Jacob, were : Betsy W., born Nov. 6, 1823, married Alonzo F. Tebbetts; Ruth, born Nov. 4, 1825, married Nicholas Abbott, of Manchester; Mat- thias, born March 26, 1828, went to Weston, Vermont ; Mary J., born Nov. 15, 1832, married Frank Knight, of Portland, Me .; Lydia, born July 21, 1835, married John Boothby of Waterville, Me .; Joseph A., born Feb. 15, 1840, went to Pawtucket, R. I .; Jacob A., born Oct. 13, 1843, resides in Portsmouth.
Joseph Haines the youngest son of Joshua, purchased the northerly part of the Packer lot, working for five dollars a month to pay for it. His children were: Polly, married Phineas John- son ; Eleanor, married Richard Nudd; Hannah, married Elijah Hersey ; Sally, married Joshua Goldsmith ; Joseph, 2nd.
Joseph, 2nd, remained on the home farm, and there reared four sons, George, John L., Joshua B., and Joseph R. (better known as Rodney). The oldest and youngest of these spent their entire lives on the farm. George married a daughter of George W. Lord, of Ossipee, by whom he had two children, George A. and Susan, the wife of William Whitton.
George A. Haines was formerly a teacher, and has been for several years a member of the school board. He has charge of the Haines farm, which includes the whole Packer lot and an ad- ditional hundred acres. It is very productive and finely stocked, being accounted the best in Wolfeborough. Mr. Haines is of the fifth generation that has occupied it.
John L. married a sister of George's wife. He erected the house in Wolfeborough village now owned by Mrs. Henry Jones. Joshua B. married Hannah, a daughter of Jonathan Fernald. His
JOSEPH R. HAINES
233
HISTORY OF WOLFEBOROUGH.
son, Herbert E., is a Wolfeborough merchant, and occupies a house erected by his father situated near the Brewster Free Academy grounds. Joseph R. married the widow of his brother George. He was four times elected a member of the New Hamp- shire House of Representatives and was frequently the candidate of a minority party.
John Haines, who occupied the farm in North Wolfeborough cleared by Isaac Poor, was a brick mason. He served two years as town clerk. Here is a record of the births of his family of twelve children: Lucy M., born Oct. 4, 1806; William, born Sept. 1, 1808; Joshua, born Aug. 24, 1810; John, born Aug. 17, 1812; Mary B., born June 1, 1815; Matthias M., born May 23, 1817; Hannah, born May 21, 1819; Charles F., born Oct. 2, 1821; Martha J., born Oct. 5, 1823; Sarah A., born Aug. 18, 1825 ; Arvilla B., born Aug. 8, 1827; Daniel J., born June 2, 1829.
Robert Hardy came from Exeter to Wakefield in 1792, and set- tled near the locality where Union village is now situated. There he became interested in building a mill. His son, Dudley, who bore the name of one of his ancestors, Rev. Samuel Dudley, of Exeter, came to Wolfeborough in 1788, and purchased of James Sheafe, of Portsmouth, one hundred acres of land for three hun- dred and sixty dollars, payable in beef and cash. He seems to have taken quite an interest in mills, having at one time a small grist-mill near the Frost meadow and afterwards one at the Isaac Willey mill privilege. He established a carding and fulling mill at Water Village in 1814, which in 1821 came into the pos- session of George W. Lord. In 1795 he was commissioned lieu- tenant in the militia company, and finally rose to the rank of major, a title by which he was thereafter designated. He served as selectman ten years. He married Hannah Johnson. Their children were: Hannah, born Dec. 7, 1793, married Mark Wig- gin, 2nd; Sally, born Aug. 9, 1795, married Isaac Stanton, of Brookfield; Robert, born Sept. 6, 1797, settled in Kennebunk, Me. ; Nabby, born Aug. 17, 1799, married Thomas Blake ; Dudley, .
234
HISTORY OF WOLFEBOROUGH.
born Oct. 5, 1803, went to Iowa; Loammi, born Aug. 6, 1805, married Mary B. Haines ; Ezra, born Feb. 9, 1808, married and remained on the farm; Charles, born June 20, 1819, went to Ossipee.
Loammi Hardy became a cripple in early life from rheumatism. He learned the tailors' trade, but soon gave up the business on account of his infirmities, becoming a clerk for Samuel Avery. In 1838 he was elected town clerk of Wolfeborough, and in 1839, 1840, and 1842 was re-elected. In 1843 he was elected register of deeds for Carroll County, and by repeated elections retained the office thirty years, or until the time of his death. He had six children born in Ossipee, the place of his residence after becom- ing register of deeds. His daughter, Arvilla, who is the wife of Rev. A. H. Thompson, of Raymond, N. H., is the only one of his children residing in New Hampshire.
Ezra Hardy remained on the home place. He had one son, who reached manhood. Both father and son have deceased, and the farm is in the possession of Henry Nute. The large elm standing near the dwelling-house was planted there in 1799 by Isaac Poor, a neighbor.
John Edmonds resided in Portsmouth, and possessed consider- able real estate in that town. In 1786 his son Joseph, born in 1730, came to Wolfeborough, and purchased of Matthew S. Parker the entire "Neck," with the exception of Reuben Libbey's settler's lot. Joseph Edmonds died in 1811, and his wife, Ruth, two years later. Their graves and that of their son Jonathan are in a hillside pasture on the "Neck," miles from any human habitation, surrounded by a neatly-built wall of cobbles, and marked with engraved headstones.
The children of Joseph and Ruth Edmonds were John, Jane, Jonathan, and Molly, who became the wife of David Piper. The "Neck" property was divided between the two sons, John and Jonathan. The children of John were Joseph, 2nd, Isaac, and Stephen. The last mentioned died of yellow-fever at Ports-
RESIDENCE OF JOSEPH W. GOODWIN
235
HISTORY OF WOLFEBOROUGH.
mouth in 1814, while he was serving as soldier at the fort. His brother Isaac had been drafted, but he volunteered to act as his substitute.
Isaac married Betsy Calder. He became a blacksmith, and set up business in what is now Wolfeborough Falls. There he erected the house now owned by Timothy Young, and built a shop on what is now the Freewill Baptist meeting-house lot. This was afterwards removed to the easterly side of the highway by Lindley M. Hoag and used for manufacturing oilcloths. It was afterward occupied as a store by Parker & Wiggin, and is now attached to the house of the late B. F. Parker. Isaac sub- sequently returned to his farm on the "Neck." He had one daughter, Lydia, born in 1814, who married Thomas Johnson.
Joseph Edmonds, 2nd, became a carpenter, and was able to accomplish a great amount of work. He built many houses in Wolfeborough and its vicinity. For one hundred dollars he would perform all the labor necessary to construct a good-sized two- story house, hewing and framing the timber, and planing the ceil- ings, floors, and clapboards without any machine work what- ever. That was the price which he received for constructing the house that has been occupied by several generations of the Rich- ard Rust family. He purchased a few acres of the Folsom farm, severed from the main body by the road laid out in 1799, and some adjoining lands, on which he erected buildings, and estab- lished a home. He married Mary, the daughter of Jacob Fol- som.
The children of Stephen, the youngest son of Joseph Edmonds were: Serepta J., married William Morrell, of Dover; Lydia, married A. J. McDonald ; Laura, married Charles A. Ellis.
The first Goodwin to settle in Wolfeborough was Elisha, who was born in Kittery, Me., Dec. 7, 1793. He married Betsy Gil- man, of Milton, and for several years lived in New Durham, from which town he came to Wolfeborough. He was a veteran of the War of 1812. Mr. Goodwin was the miller of what is now known
236
HISTORY OF WOLFEBOROUGH.
as Wolfeborough Falls, and raised a large family of children. He died Aug. 7, 1881. The children were: John Rimick, born Oct. I, 1815, died March 10, 1832, Sarah Leavitt, born Feb. 20, 1817, died Aug. 5, 1839 ; Elisha, born Feb. 4, 1819, married Martha A. Smith, 1869; Hannah Colby, born May 29, 1822, married Capt. Silas May, Aug. 31, 1847, died 1864; Jeremiah Fogg, born July 16, 1823, died in West, March II, 1852; James William, born May 9, 1825, died young; Augustine Decatur, born April 5, 1827, died in Boston, March 9, 1855; Maria Pauline, born Dec. 9, 1829, died Sept. 18, 1846; John Wesley, born Feb. 12, 1832, died July 15, 1857 ; James Franklin, born June 5, 1834, was a soldier in the War of the Rebellion, died 1869; Arvilla Jane, born April 21, 1836, married Roscoe G. Holmes, Aug. 31, 1857 ; Joseph William, born May 13, 1838, married Ellen A. Furber, June 19, 1867; Sarah Ellen, born March 23, 1841, married William W. Page.
Elisha Goodwin, second, acquired a considerable property, and his fine residence is now occupied by his widow. He built Good- win's block and was a famous breeder of fine horses. He died Jan. 26, 1877.
Joseph W. Goodwin, another son, has held many positions of trust and was postmaster during the first Cleveland administra- tion. One of his sons, Elisha, is storekeeper for the B. & M. railroad. Joseph W., Jr., and Martin F. are both Harvard grad- uates. Joseph W.'s children are: Elisha, born Aug. 22, 1868; Rosa Gertrude, born Apr. 9, 1870, married Herbert P. Haywood ; Nellie, born March 19, 1872, died in infancy; Joseph William, born July 5, 1873; Martin Furber, born Sept. 12, 1875; Arthur Rendall, born Jan. 18, 1880.
Abram Guptill was the son of William Guptill, of Berwick, Me., and was born Aug. 5, 1808. He spent a portion of his life at sea, having command of a vessel plying for ports in the North Sea. He came to Wolfeborough in 1839 as superintendent of the woolen mills of the Pickering Manufacturing Co., then located
DANIEL CHAMBERLAIN
237
HISTORY OF WOLFEBOROUGH.
on Smith's River. He continued in this capacity until the fac- tory was burned in 1842. He then engaged in lumbering, mill- ing, and steamboating on the lake. He owned the once famous craft, the "Dolly Dutton." Soon after the Wolfeborough rail- road was built, he became station agent at Wolfeborough Falls, then Mill Village, which position he held until a few years before his death, which occurred Jan. 17, 1898. "Uncle Abram" Guptill, as he was known to the present generation, was a man cordially esteemed by the community in which he lived. Somewhat irascible in manner in his latter days, he nevertheless possessed a heart even more generous than his physique, which was far from slender. The writer has often remarked the uniform kindness with which all who knew him spoke of "Uncle Abram." Mr. Guptill had four children : Martha A., born Feb. 9, 1834, died young ; Harriet F., died young ; Georgianna, born May 4, 1835, married Winthrop D. Hersey, Charles H., born Jan. 13, 1838, died Dec., 1889, married Susan J. Thompson.
John Chamberlin was a resident of Brookfield, where he was selectman for many years, and several times representative to the legislature. He married, in 1774, Mary Jackson ; in 1794, Joan- na Banfield. He came to Wolfeborough in 1822 and purchased of William Triggs the farm now occupied by Mrs. David Cham- berlin. He had a large family of children, and many of his descendants are now living in Wolfeborough. David, his eleventh child, was a farmer, tanner, and shoemaker, and lived on the place until his death. His son, George E. Chamberlin, is a farmer, tanner, and shoemaker, and resides on the old homestead. Ira, tenth child of John Chamberlin, was a farmer, which avocation his son, John A. Chamberlin, follows. John A. has been super- visor several years, and has served one term as representative. Jason Chamberlain, a former resident of this town, removed to Marblehead, Mass .; at his death he bequeathed five hundred dollars for the poor of Wolfeborough and five hundred dollars for those of Tuftonborough. Dudley Chamberlain, son of John,
238
HISTORY OF WOLFEBOROUGH.
came to Wolfeborough about 1800, settled on a farm near Frost's Corner. His son Daniel, who became the most prominent mem- ber of the family was born in Wolfeborough, April 12, 1812.
He was the sixth of a family of twelve children and at the age of seventeen, although his father was well-to-do, "bought his time" and proceeded to carve out a career for himself. In those times, as today, Boston was the Mecca of the country-born youth, and thither young Chamberlain turned his steps. He first went to Charlestown, Mass., and engaged in a variety of work, including blacksmithing, until he at length embarked in the hotel business. This he followed until his death, which occurred in Boston, July 13, 1879.
Mr. Chamberlain chose wisely when he decided upon his life vocation. He successfully conducted many notable hostleries, among them being the old Natick stage tavern and the old Pearl Street House in Boston. He was best known, however, as the proprietor of the Adams House in Boston, with which he was identified for some forty years and which is still one of the city's leading hotels.
His success in life was largely attributable to three things. First, his natural kindness of heart, expressed in a marked geniality of deportment. He was the ideal Boniface. Second, his proverbial honesty and jealous regard for his word. Third, and most important of all perhaps, he had the encouragement and support of a Wolfeborough girl as his wife. This was Maria, a daughter of Isaac Martin. She was known for her strong Chris- tian character, her unswering devotion to her family and friends, and her liberal benefactions to the needy. She was also a promi- nent figure in the best social life of Boston and was in every sense an admirable helpmeet to her husband.
Mr. Chamberlain's second wife was Miss Chapman, of Tewks- bury. Five children, two sons and three daughters, all by his first marriage, survived him. While he lived, Mr. Chamberlain always visited his old home as often as circumstances permitted.
JAMES BICKFORD
239
HISTORY OF WOLFEBOROUGH.
A daughter occupies, each summer, a charming residence on the lake shore.
Cornelius Jenness came from Rochester to Ossipee; in 1791 removed to Wolfeborough, and settled on the farm now occupied by his great-grandson, Cyrus Jenness. His son John had twelve children, and his son Joseph eleven. There are several repre- sentatives living in the northeast part of the town. Sarah A. Jenness, a descendant of Cornelius, enjoys the honor of being the first daughter of the county to graduate as a physician.
Jotham, Stephen, and Nicholas Nute, brothers, came from Milton in 1798, and settled on what is now known as Nute's Ridge. Their descendants still reside there. Tristam, Paul, and James Nute, brothers, came from Madbury about 1800, and set- tled in the Lords' Quarter. George W. Nute represented one branch of this family.
John Bickford was the pioneer of the family in America. He left England to avoid conscription, came to Wolfeborough early, and was a weaver. His son Jonathan was a millwright and far- mer ; he settled on land now occupied by his grandson, Joseph H., son of James Bickford. The family have served the town as selectmen and representatives. Wilmot Bickford settled on the farm where Thomas J. Bickford until recently resided.
James Bickford, son of Jonathan, was born Aug. 26, 1802. He was born and always lived on the farm occupied by the settler. He was a man of considerable importance in his time, serving as representative twice and selectman four years. He married Eleanor, the daughter of Phineas Johnson and had two children, Mary E., born April 17, 1831, who married Ira O. Severance, of Brockton, Mass., and Joseph H., born Feb. 1, 1833, who mar- ried Eliza A., the daughter of David Cotton. Joseph H. has held the offices of selectman and tax collector.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.