USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Gilsum > History of the town of Gilsum, New Hampshire, from 1752 to 1879 > Part 27
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AARON R. GLEASON attended lectures at Georgetown Medical College and received the degree of M. D. there in 1864. After four years medieal service in the army, (page 44,) he attended an additional course of lectures in New York City, and was for a time in the N. Y. General Hos- pital. He settled at Fitzwilliam where he has a large and successful practice.
ISRAEL ALBERT LOVELAND obtained his preliminary education at Marlow Academy, after . which he taught school a few terms. He pursued his medical studies under the direction of Dr. G. C. Hill of Keene, and Prof. C. P. Frost of Hanover. Having attended lectures he received the degree of M. D. at Dartmouth Medical College in November, 1374. He began practice at Nelson, but in September, 1875, removed to Westmoreland, where he is physician to the County Alms House, and enjoys " a good and steadily inereasing private practice." He has served four years as a member of the School Board, and has been Treasurer of the Westmoreland Insurance Association from its beginning. He and his wife are members of the Congregational Church.
Among the descendants of Justus Hurd were the following.
WILLIAM HENRY HURD fitted for College at Meriden, and then entered upon the study of medicine with Dr. McQuestion of Washington. He attended medical lectures at Cincinnati, Ohio, and afterwards at Hanover, where he received the degree of M. D. in 1855. He commenced practice at Wells River, Vt., but soon removed to Canada, where he died.
WILLARD OTIS HURD (brother of the preceding,) studied medicine with him in Canada, and graduated at Albany Medical College in 1860. He went into practice in company with his brother at Carlton Place, C. W., for about three years. He then enlisted in the 83d N. Y. Regiment, - was appointed Assistant Surgeon, and after- wards transferred to the 97th N. Y. Regiment. At the close of the war, he settled in the practice of his profession at Grantham, where he still resides.
YORICK GORDON HURD, (second cousin of the preceding, ) having only the usual advantages of a farmer's boy in the public schools, began to teach at the age of 17. By teaching winters and attending " Select Schools " in the Fall for several years, he fitted himself to take charge of Peterboro' Academy, which he managed successfully for three years. Meanwhile he began the study of medicine with Prof. Albert Smith, M. D., of that place. Having attended lectures at Woodstock, Vt., and Hanover, he received the degree of M. D. from Dartmouth Medical Col- lege in 1853. He settled in practice at Amesbury, Mass. In September, 1862, he was appointed Post Surgeon of the Camp at Wenham, Mass., and the December following was commissioned Surgeon of the 48th Regiment of Mass. Volunteers, which was ordered to the Department of the Gulf. He resumed practice at Amesbury in 1864. Three years after, he was appointe l Medical Director of Division of Mass. Volunteer Militia, ou the Staff of Maj. Gen. B. F. Butler, and held the position nearly ten years. He was a member of the School Committee of Ames- bury for ten years. He was twice elected to the Mass. State Senate. He was appointed Superintendent of Essex Co. House of Correction, and Insane Asylum Jan. 1, 1866, and still holds the position. Under the law of 1877, relating to Coroners in Mass., he was appointed Medical Examiner for Essex District No. 2. He is also
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President of the Board of Trustees of Manning School, Ipswich. In 1876, Bowdoin College conferred on him the honorary degree of A. M. great-
George Clinton Fuller, grandson of Capt. David, (Genealogy,) attended two courses of lectures at Hanover, and one at Castleton, N. Y., where he took his degree; settled in practice at Sutton, and after four years was appointed Surgeon of the City Hospital at Utica, N. Y., where he resides.
LAWYERS.
HON. THERON HOWARD removed from Gilsum to Danville, Vt., at the age of 22, in Septem- ber, 1821, at which place and at Peacham, Vt., he followed his trade of shoemaking for nearly three years. In June, 1824, he entered the office of George B. Shaw, a prominent lawyer in Dan- ville, where he studied faithfully for three years, and was admitted to the bar in September, 1827. He resided at Cabot for a few years, when he returned to Danville, and entered into partnership with his fellow-student, George B. Chandler. He was elected State's Attorney for the County by the Democracy, of which party he was for many years an active member. He, however, carly recognized the importance of the " irrepressible conflict," and became a zealous pioneer in the Anti-slavery movement, and never swerved from his fidelity to that cause. He was a delegate from Vermont to the National Convention of the Free Soil party, which nominated Van Buren and Adams, at Buffalo, in 1848. The same year he was elected Judge of Probate, which office he held four years. In 1854, he represented Danville in the Legislature. In 1862, the County seat having been removed from Danville, he followed it to St. Johnsbury, where he spent the remainder of his life, with the continued and increasing esteem and confidence of a large circle of acquaintances.
Judge Howard was a representative man of the people. With few early advantages, he worked his own way into a publie life of honor and usefulness. Having experieneed the trials, temptations, and struggles incident to a life of poverty and labor, he always warmly espoused the cause of the burdened and oppressed.
He was eminently social in his tastes, a delightful friend, fond of anec lote, of inexhaustible cheerfulness, spreading genial sunshine wherever he went. But his geniality never degenerated into weakness. His principles were established, and no influences could turn him from the path of duty. He united with the Methodist Church in early life, and remained till its close a faithful and consistent member, always throwing his influence by example, as well as words, on the side of the Master in whose cause he had enlisted. An honest man, a true Christian, the value of his life is greater and more permanent than can be recorded in words. No more fitting tribute can be applied than the words of St. Paul, " I have fought a good fight ; I have finished my course ; I have kept the faith. "-Caledonian.
HON. GEORGE WHITMAN HENDEE, son of. Rev. Jehiel P. Hendce, (page 122,) was born in Stowe, Vt., and resided in Gilsum with his parents when a boy. His father was poor, and like most New England boys he was brought up to hard work. Having obtained a good academical education, he read law, and was admitted to the bar, in Lamoille Co., Vt., at the age of 22. Three years later, he was elected State's Attorney for the same County, and held the office two years. In 1861 and 1862, he was a member of the lower House in the Vermont Legislature. Two years following, he was deputy Provost Marshal of the 3d Vermont District, with his head- quarters at Burlington. In 1866, he was chosen State Senator from his County and was twice re-elected. In 1869, he was chosen Lieut. Governor of Vermont, and by the death of Gov. Washburn in February, 1870, he became Governor. Declining a re-election, in 1872, he was chosen to represent his Distriet in the 43d Congress, and has been twice re-elected.
He was an "industrious and faithful member " of the House, engaging frequently and skilfully in debate, and enjoying the confidence both of his associates in Congress, and his constituents at home. In his profession as a lawyer he stands high, being " a good speaker, and extra as a jury advocate." Ile is a man of commanding pres- ence being six feet tall and weighing 250 pounds. His residence is Morrisville, Vt. In April, 1879, he was appointed a National Bank Examiner for the State of Vermont.
STEPHEN WARREN HORTON having obtained a fair Academy education at Marlow, went to Effingham, Ill., and read law. After being admitted to the bar, he removed to Louisville, Ky. Naturally gifted with energy and taet, and fluent in specch, he was rapidly rising into a first- class praetiee at the bar, when he died at about forty years of age.
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OSCAR MACK METCALF was in Dartmouth College three years, was a teacher in Maine for a few years, and then read law with Butler and Libby of Portland, Me., where he was admitted to the bar, and entered upon practice about 1875.
HENRY W. FULLER, grandson of Capt. David, (Genealogy,) graduated at Dartmouth College in 1857, at Harvard Law School in 1859, taking the first prize. Began the practice of law at Concord, but soon enlisted in the first N. H. Regiment. He is said to have been the first man in N. H. who enlisted as a private soldier. (Chap. 32.) He was promoted to Ist Lieut. and afterwards to Adjutant in the 4th Regiment. In 1862, he was commissioned as Lieut. Colonel in the 16th Regiment. He was afterwards Colonel of the 75th Regiment of col- ored troops, and was brevetted Brig. General. He is now a lawyer in Boston.
MISCELLANEOUS.
HON. ALVAH SMITH of Lempster, a grandson of Justus Hurd, was a tanner by trade. With only a common education, his business capacity and his sterling integrity won the confidence of his fellow-citizens. He served in both branches of the State Legislature, was also a member of the Council. He was Judge of Probate for eleven years, and was afterwards U. S. pension agent.
HARVEY ADAMS BILL was brought up on his father's farm, but having a taste for literary pursuits, " strove to fit himself by reading and study for an intelligent and useful citizenship. " He learned the trade of a printer in the office of the "Farmer's Museum," afterwards the " Cheshire Republiean," at Keene. By persevering diligence he rose to the position of business manager in the office, and eventually became the cditor.
" His editorial labors extended over a period of ten years, during which time the paper maintained a high repu- tation for truth and honesty. Few editors have labored more faithfully than he, and fewer still are they who have written so little that upon a death-bed they might desire to blot out. Unswerving in his principles, a mind pecu- liarly disciplined to investigation and rigid criticism, his labors for the cause in which his heart was enlisted were acknowledged by all with whom he was engaged. "
" There are very few men in our midst who command the universal respect that was awarded to Mr Bill. In his dealings with his fellow-men he was guided by the strictest integrity ; in his capacity as a public officer, no one ever had reason to complain of any unfaithfulness ; as an editor, his ability and discretion were acknowledged as well by his patrons as by the editorial fraternity."
" While we remember the more public virtues of our friend, we would not be forgetful of
' That best portion of a good man's life -
His little, nameless, unremembered acts Of kindness and of love,'
that were only witnessed and felt by those who were his most intimate acquaintance. Kind, affectionate, and genial in his disposition, it was in the inmost recesses of private life that his true nature was unfolded, and it is there that his loss will meet with the most heartful sorrow."
MARIA T. WARE sailed for Oregon from New York, Oct. 9, 1839, by way of Cape Horn with a large re-inforeement for the Methodist Mission to the Indians. They arrived at the Columbia River the 23d of May following. She shortly after married Rev. Daniel Lee.
He was the second of thirteen children of Elias Lee of Stanstead, C. E. He worked with his father on the farm till 21 years of age. He then went to the Academy at Peacham, Vt., and afterwards to Wilbraham, Mass., working his way by teaching school in the Winter.
He received his first appointment as a minister of the M. E. Church at Goshen, in 1831. The next year hc preached in Vt., and in 1833 was ordained by Bishop Hedding. He and his uncle, the Rev. Jason Lee, were the first missionaries to Oregon. They crossed the country with the American Fur Company taking with them two cows, the first ever introduced there. They arrived there Sept. 1, 1833.
In 1843 Rev. Daniel Lee and his wife returned by ship around the Cape. He was afterwards stationed at various places in N. H. and Mass., till 1857, when they removed to Hillsboro', Ill., and are now residing in Caldwell, Kansas. Two of their sons were given for the Union in the late war.
AARON DAY, JR., obtained his preparatory education at Chesterfield (?) Academy, and gradu- ated from Dartmouth College in 1842. The following Autumn he taught a High School at Westmoreland, " then at Coneord Academy to September, 1845 ; was next private Tutor in Prince George's Co., Md., fifteen months ; after that taught in Upperville, Fauquier Co., Va., to 1849; was assistant at the Rittenhouse Academy, Washington, D. C., one term ; then at Eldorado, Union Co., Ark., to 1852." He then taught at Marion, Union Parish, La., till, his health failing, he went to his brother's in Whitewater, Wis., in the Fall of 1854, and dicd there. at the age of 35. A friend writes : -
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" Ile was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church and died in the triumphs of faith, Thus passed from earth one of the noblest, of men, - one who was kept in alnost constant pain by his weak and suffering body, but whose mind was clear and strong and well calculated to be one of the foremost men of his time, had his strength of body been equal to his aspirations. His fine mind, gentle and unassuming manners, and patient endurance of suffering, endeared him to all who knew him."
AMASA MAY resided on the farm with his father till 1858, teaching school with eminent suceess for fourteen winters. He then removed to Philadelphia, Penn., where he was employed by Lippincott & Co. in introducing their text books through the Middle States. In 1865, he went to Kansas. hoping to establish a home there. After a year's labor, he lost all he had gathered, by a prairie fire. He returned to his former employment at Philadelphia, traveling continuously through Pennsylvania and New York. In 1867, he settled at Haddonfield, N. J., where he remained for six years, when he removed to Stamford, Conn. While at New York on business, he was suddenly attacked with diphtheria and died in six hours, at the age of 53.
Wherever he resided he became an active and earnest advocate of good schools. It was to this branch of reform that he specially directed his attention, and in spite of great opposition he achieved much success. He was asso- ciated with Epes Sargent as joint author of a valuable series of readers. An obituary notice in the " West JJersey Press," from which the above facts are largely taken, says : "Mr. Amasa May was a man endowed with many excellent qualities of head and heart, interested in the advanced thought of the day, alive to the spirit of progress." He had already become one of the leading citizens in his native town, where lie served three years as Moderator and two years as Selectman.
His only son Sidney H. May graduated from the Naval Academy in 1869, and received a Lieutenant's com- mission in 1879.
LYDIA E. M. ABBOTT graduated at Mount Holyoke Seminary in 1846. She engaged in teaching at Westfield, N. Y., where she died the year following.
OSCAR ADDISON MACK though not born in Gilsum, eame here at a very early age. Here his ancestors for three generations had made their home. Considering the shortness of his life, it would be difficult to mention a name that brings more honor to Gilsum than his. He inherited from his father a natural aptitude for learning, and from his grandmother, Rachel Hnrd, a taste for military life. His mother dying while he was yet an infant, and his father, when he was about five years of age, he was brought up in the family of Capt. True Webster. While yet a boy, in his eagerness to learn, he would spend a large portion of the night in study. Rev. James Tisdale seeing his aptitude for study took a great interest in his success, and it was largely due to his influence that he applied for and received an appointment as Cadet at West Point, where he graduated in 1850. He ranked No. 8 in a elass of 48.
His Military Record, as taken from the Files of the War Department at Washiington, is as follows : -
" Graduated from the U. S. Military Academy and appointed Brevet 2nd Lieutenant, 3d Artillery . 2nd Lieutenant 4th Artillery 1st Lieutenant
July 1, 1850. January 9, 1851.
February 14, 1856. .
Captain, 13th Infantry Major, 9th Infantry
. May 14, 1861.
June 19, 1866. ·
Assigned to 1st Infantry Lieutenant Colonel, 21st Infantry
Dec. 15, 1870. .
. Dec. 15, 1874.
[Brevetted Major, U. S. Army, Sept. 10, 1861, for gallant services at the battle of Carnifex Ferry, Virginia; Lieut. Colonel, Dec. 31, 1862, for gallant and distinguished services at the battle of Murfreesboro', Tenn .; and Colonel, March 13, 1865, for gallant and meritorions services during the War.]
Served as Major and Aide-de-Camp of Volunteers from April 16, 1863, until honorably mustered out of service, July 1, 1866.
Service : On graduating leave to Sept. 30, 1850. With regiment on duty to Sept. 7, 1852. On leave of absence to Oct. 2, 1852. With regiment to Sept. 13, 1855 ; on leave to Oct. 5, 1855; with regiment to Nov. 20, 1856 ; on detached service as Asst. Commissary Subsistence at Fort Myers, Fla., to Dec. 20, 1856; on duty with regiment in the field, Fla., to Jan. 18, 1857 ; on detached service as Asst. Commissary of Subsistence at Forts Brooke and Myers, Fla., to Jan. 6. 1858 ; on leave of absence to April 1, 1858, and absent sick to June 22, 1860. With regiment and command- ing Co. "I" 4th Artillery in the field to May 1, 1862. On staff of General Geo. H. Thomas until wounded at battle of Stone River, Dec. 31, 1862 ; absent wounded to June 15, 1863 ; on duty as Asst. Provost Marshal General, at Concord, N. H., to Nov. 9, 1863, and on duty as Secretary and Treasurer U. S. Soldiers' Home, District of Columbia, to Nov.
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THE HELIOTYPE PRINTING CO. 126 PEARL ST. BOSTON
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30. 1867. Before Retiring Board at N. Y. City ; permission to delay joining regiment ; on Court Martial duty at Wash" and Commanding Camp Gaston, Cal., to May 14, 1869, and on duty in War Department from June 11, 1869, in addition thereto engaged in inspection of National Cemeteries from January 16, 1871, to date of death.
Died (while on special duty to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and return) Oct. 22, 1876, on the cars at Brunswick, Missouri.
One of his most intimate friends writes : -
It was impossible for any one to know Col. Mack, without admiring him, he was so perfectly unselfish, and such a consistent Christian in every position in life, and such a true and loyal soldier to his country that he will- ingly gave up everything to advance the interest of the service he loved so dearly. He was a great lover of nature, and all of his leisure time for years he had devoted to the study of Botany, so he was peculiarly fitted for the care of the National Cemeteries, which he took unwearied pains to render beautiful. He was always very proud of his native State and glad to proclaim himself a native of New Hampshire. He was confirmed as a member of the Episcopal Church in Germantown, Penn., in 1857, and his whole life was full of good deeds, doing kindness without number, never letting his left hand know what his right was doing. His good example was felt by every one. Among his soldiers he was beloved and respected, and his own immediate family and friends were devoted to him. He was buried from the Church of the Epiphany of which he was a member, and sleeps in the Congressional Cemetery at Washington, D. C.
ALICE M. WARE, afterwards the wife of Rev. Ezra Adams, (page 114,) graduated at Mount Holyoke Seminary in 1858. Since her husband's death in 1864, she has been engaged in teaching. At present, she has charge of the Female Department in Wilberforce University, Xenia, Ohio.
CHARLES EDWIN HURD, great-grandson of Justus, is a newspaper man. He was two years editorially con- nected with a semi-weekly called " The Tribune," at Yarmouth, N. S. Was for a time connected with "The Leader " in Boston, Mass. In 1865 he became city editor of the " Erie Dispatch " at Erie, Penn. He now resides in Boston, Mass., and is the literary editor of the " Transcript."
SARAH JANE HAYWARD graduated at Mount Holyoke Seminary, July, 1858. She intended to make teaching her profession, but her hearing becoming somewhat impaired, she was obliged to relinquish the design. She resides with her mother in Gilsum.
ABRAM BROWN was in Gilsum with his brothers (Chap. 36,) about 1860. He enlisted, Aug. 19, 1862, in the 9th N. H. Reg't, Co. K, - was promoted to Corporal, - had three fingers shot off at Antietam, - " wounded severely Dec. 13, 1862, and discharged for disability March 4, 1863." He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1867, - taught for several years in Ohio, and is now agent for Seliool Books in Chicago, Ill.
WILLIAM BIGELOW ADAMS, oldest son of Rev. Ezra Adams, fitted for College at Kimball Union Academy. He graduated at Amherst College in 1863, - then taught the Academy at Westminster, Mass., two years, and the High School at Edgartown, Mass., one year. In March, 1869, he went to Xenia, Ohio, where he became Professor in Wilberforce University. In the Spring of 1880 he returned to Gilsum and opened a High School.
WHITNEY D. FOSTER " entered the ' Herald' office in 1870 as a compositor, and afterwards went to Norwich, Conn., where he was employed on the 'Norwich Bulletin.' Subsequently he returned to this office and obtained a situation as proof-reader, which he held at the time of his death. He was possessed of a large share of those mental acquirements which gave promise of earning him a high rank in the profession which he had adopted and for which he seemed emi- nently fitted. His many good qualities of mind and heart had won for him a large place in the affections and respect of his associates, and the loss which they have sustained in his death is deeply felt." - Boston Herald.
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CHAPTER XXXII.
RESIDENTS IN DISTRICT NUMBER THREE.
1. JOSIAH KILBURN built a log house here in 1762. (Page 169.)
2. A few years later, Mr. Kilburn built the first framed house in Gilsum, on this spot. It is designated in the picture by the white flags a little in the background and to the left of the present buildings. This house was " an English Cottage with two parlors, two sleeping rooms, with a large cook-room, and large store-room and pantry on the lower floor."
Mr. Kilburn became infirm at an early age, probably owing to the exposures of the first years in a new country. At the time his son was in the army, he was unable to leave the house. He was Moderator of the first meeting of the proprietors, and was one of the first Selectmen in 1762.
3. EBENEZER KILBURN moved the house to this spot. He was a large man over six feet in height, weighing 230 pounds, and of great energy and courage. He served as Lieutenant in the army, (page 38,) and was afterwards Captain in the militia. He was Deacon of the Con- gregational Church for many years.
His first wife, Jemima Ford, belonged to "one of the wealthiest families in Connecticut." The hardships and exposures of those early times were too severe for her delicate constitution, and she died of consumption, about a year after marriage. (Page 62.) Her daughter Jemima, the first white child born in Gilsum, became blind in early childhood, and died in Plattsburg, N. Y., at the age of 96.
Dea. Kilburn's second wife was Sarah, sister of Maj. Bill. "She was a very handsome woman, amiable, kind to the poor, and beloved by all her acquaintance " She was of strong constitution, and a great amount of energy and determination. When her husband went to the war she was left with four children under ten years of age, one being an infant, a blind girl of about twelve, an old man so infirin as hardly to move from one room to another, besides a large stock of cattle and sheep. Her only help and protection were two large dogs, that had been trained to drive the cattle, and kept off the wild beasts. When Sunday came she went to meeting, where she was taunted by Tory women telling her that her husband was a fine mark for the British, and would never come home alive. She simply replied that he had the same keeper in battle as at home, and bore all with unflinching courage. Her characteristic energy was shown in later years, when the family having all left their former Church to attend the services of another sect, and the Communion season at the Congregational Church having arrived, she mounted her horse, and taking the bread and wine in a basket in her lap, brought it to the meeting at the appointed time.
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