USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Haverhill > History of the town of Haverhill, New Hampshire > Part 74
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8. EBENEZER BREWSTER NELSON b. 1828; d. in Union Army 1865; merchant; m. 1855, Frances Jeannette Watson, b. 1839; one child, Lois Leverett Watson, M.D., b. 1857.
9. WILLIAM NELSON b. 1829; d. 1891; merchant; m. 1862 Sarah Jane Munger, b. 1836, d. 1903; one child, Harry Montgomery Nelson b. 1862, m. 1884 Helen Leone Conroy, b. 1865.
10. SARAH NELSON b. 1830; d. 1860; m. 1850 first wife of Samuel Hutchins Goodall, s. Ira Goodall of Bath, b. 1823; Dartmouth; lawyer Portsmouth; one child, Frances Nelson Goodall b. 1851; m. 1875 John Langdon Seavey of Portsmouth, b. 1841; three chil .: (1) Sarah Nelson Seavey b. 1871; (2) Helen Langdon Seavey b. 1878; (3) Helen Gladys Seavey b. 1882.
11. FRANCES NELSON b. 1832; d. Dec. 6, 1904; m. 1851 William R. Hooper of Worcester; his second wife (see No. 4 above); Harvard; lawyer; editor. Seven chil .: (1) Martha Nelson Hooper b. 1853. (2) Frances Nelson Hooper b. 1854; m. 1888 Rev. Jerome Jean Davis, D.D., b. 1838; missionary to Japan; 2 chil .: (a) Louis Leverett Davis b. 1889; (b) Dwight Davis b. 1891. (3) Francis Henry Hooper b. 1856; d. 1858. (4) Leverett Nelson Hooper b. 1857; d. 1872. (5) Horace Everett Hooper b. 1859; m. 1882 Alice Woodbury b. 1860; two chil .: (a) William Everett; (b) Roger Woodbury. (6) Franklin Henry b. 1862; m. 1887 Grace Martin Sessions b. 1858; Harvard; two chil .: (a) Catherine Baker b. 1889; (b) Leverett Franklin b. 1893. (7) Louis Leverett b. 1867; Harvard; teacher.
12. JOHN NELSON b. 1833; d. 1839.
13. ELIZABETH SALISBURY NELSON b. 1835; d. 1896; m. 1867 the second wife of Samuel Hutchins Goodall. Dartmouth; lawyer. (See No. 10 above.)
14. ANNA ROBIE NELSON b. 1836; m., 1st, 1856 William B. Fox, b. 1823, d. 1861; 2d, 1869 George T. Rice, banker and broker; b. 1830; d. 1884.
NEWELL
SOLOMON S. NEWELL1 born Orford Dec. 8, 1816; married Newbury, Vt., Oct. 3, 1841, Emily Gage, born Orford Nov. 16, 1819. He died in Haverhill May 31, 1885. She died in Haverhill Dec. 27, 1891. Farmer. Lived in Orford, Newbury and Haverhill; for many years just below Woodsville, on the Cobleigh place, now the Cottage Hospital. Five children:
1. JAMES A.2 b. Orford May 11, 1843. Enlisted N. H. vols .; discharged for disability; d. Newbury, Vt., Oct. 26, 1863.
2. CHARLES S.2 b. Orford Aug. 24, 1845.
3. SOLOMON S.2 b. Orford Jan. 23, 1849; m. Mar. 6, 1877, Estella E., dau. George and Caroline (Morse) Wells, b. Benton July 6, 1854. Farmer; lives on County road, school district No. 10, on what is known as the Daniel Morse place. No chil.
4. SIDNEY C.2 b. Newbury, Vt., May 11, 1853; d. unm. July 9, 1910.
5. GEORGE H.2 b. Newbury, Vt., June 28, 1859.
CHARLES S. NEWELL2 (Solomon S.1) born Orford Aug. 24, 1845; died July 1, 1918; mar- ried, first, at Wakefield, Mass., Feb. 15, 1872, Eliza B., daughter of William P. Siddons, born Jan. 22, 1846, died Sept. 17, 1882; married, second, Jan. 10, 1889, Edith May, daughter Moses P. and Mary B. (Manson) Boswell, born Benton May 16, 1863, died Sept. 12, 1919. Lived in Newbury and Stoneham, Mass., when he was pro- prietor of a bakery for several years. Came to Woodsville in 1890; was collector of taxes for nineteen years (1916) and gained an enviable reputation of being a collector who collects, never failing to close his accounts with the selectmen and town treasurer
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
before the end of each fiscal year. Auctioneer, and police officer; recognized as one of the most useful citizens of the town. Three children by first marriage:
1. EMILY J.3 b. Mar. 18, 1873; m. Aug. 8, 1894, Charles W. Chase; d. Hav. Aug. 29, 1902. (See Chase.)
2. CHARLES E.3 b. Sept. 1, 1882; d. July 13, 1883.
3. ORRIN H.3 b. Jan. 9, 1879; d. Aug. 8, 1879.
NICHOLS
JONATHAN S. NICHOLS born Kingston 1809, son of Nicholas and Catherine (Sanborn) Nichols; married, first, Nov. 23, 1834, Myra, youngest daughter of Gen. John Mont- gomery, born May 24, 1818; married, second, June 10, 1852, Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Swasey) Page, born Jan. 13, 1826, died in Bellingham, Wash., in 1904, at the home of her daughter. He died Nov. 1901.
Mr. Nichols came to Haverhill in 1828 and established himself as a carriage manufac- turer at the Brook, conducting a successful business. Later he was for many years in the employ of the Fairbanks Scale Company of St. Johnsbury, Vt., as a travelling salesman, and also in charge of the company's warehouse in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Nichols resided on the right of the road leading from the Brook to the Corner, the second house south of the store, and nearly opposite the Montgomery house. He was well informed; a Republican in politics, and a member of the Congregational Church. Five children by first marriage:
1. CLARA ANN b. Hav. 1836; d. 1843.
2. MARY MONTGOMERY b. Hav. May 13, 1839; m. 1864 Lieut. Charles H. West, U. S. N .; d. Mar. 5, 1876. One child, Helen May.
3. GEORGE EDWARD b. Hav. Aug. 18, 1845; m. 1877 Mary Louise Tourtellette of Web- ster, Mass .; d. Jan. 7, 1905. He prepared for college at Haverhill Academy and Kimball Union, Meriden. Entered Dartmouth, but left before graduation and engaged successfully in teaching in Webster, Nantucket and Somerville, Mass., in the last named city for twenty-eight years. He had four chil .: (1) Courtlandt Tourtellette; (2) Mildred Agnes; (3) Robert; (4) James Wesley.
4. ELLEN PACKARD b. Aug. 12, 1847; educated at Haverhill Academy and Mt. Holyoke; has been, since graduation, a successful teacher, for many years in Somerville, Mass., and Boston. Resides in Boston.
5. MYRA MONTGOMERY b. Jan. 30, 1849; d. Feb. 6, 1860. One child by second marriage:
6. CLARA I. b. Jan. 3, 1858; educated at Haverhill Academy and State Normal at Ply- mouth; m. Apr. 29, 1888, John J. Donovan of Plymouth, civil engineer. Three chil .: (1) Helen Elizabeth b. Dec. 28, 1890; (2) John b. Nov. 19, 1892; (3) Philip b. Nov. 19, 1892. Resides in Bellingham, Wash.
NOYES
TIMOTHY NOYES4, fourth in descent from Timothy and Sarah (Richards), was born in Haverhill, Mass., Nov. 8, 1745. He married, first, -; second, Charlotte Bradish, and third, Mary Noyes. Resided at first in Portland, Me .; came to Haverhill and lived near the Isaac Pike place. He had fifteen daughters and one son. Have not been able to secure the names of all the daughters. With his son he discovered the whetstone quarry on Cutting hill and they were the first manufacturers of scythestones in Haver- hill. Children born in Portland, Me., and Haverhill:
BETSEY5 m. Samuel Noyes".
MARY5 m. 1815 Edward Bradish.
ASEBATH5 m. 1811 Henry Noyes5.
JANE5 m. Jeremiah Wallace.
PERSON5.
CHARLOTTE5 m. Kimball Tyler May 13, 1829.
SUSAN5 m. 1805 Curtis Chute. RACHEL5. ANNE5.
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
PERSON NOYES" born Sept. 1800; married Sept. 29, 1824, Sally Morse. He died 1827. His widow married Isaac Pike. Two children:
1. HORACE® b. Dec. 19, 1825; m. Philanda Spooner 1844.
2. PERSON6 b. July 28, 1827; m. Adelaide Closson.
HORACE NOYES6 born Haverhill Dec. 19, 1825; married Philanda M. Spooner 1844; died in Haverhill Nov. 26, 1884. Lived on farm at East Haverhill. Spent some time in oil fields, Pa. Five children:
1. HORACE E.7 b. Jan. 22, 1845; m. Addie J. Knight 1870.
2. ROYAL H.7 b. Oct. 27, 1846; m. Nancy A. Dunkley 1867.
3. ELMIRA J.7 b. May 26, 1851; m. Gilbert Wright.
4. LAURA E.7 b. Sept. 20, 1855; m. Benjamin R. Deane.
5. ADDIE B.7 b. Feb. 14, 1865; m. Caleb M. Morse.
PERSON NOYES6 born July 28, 1827; married Adelaide Closson; went to Lowell and was at the head of the Noyes Manufacturing Company, makers of mill and railroad specialties. Four children born in Lowell: 1, Fred P.7; 2, George W.7; 3, Adelaide E.7; 4, William E.7.
HORACE E. NOYES7 and Addie J. (Knight) were married in 1870; he died June 12, 1910. Served as tax collector, and selectman, 1875, '76, '77, in Haverhill. Moved to Lowell and had a large success in automobile business. One child:
1. HARRY K.8 b. Hav. May 22, 1871; m. Feb. 17, 1896; K. Hope Pike. They had two chil., both b. in Lowell: Harry E.9 b. May 28, 1898; (2) Katherine b. Sept. 20, 1900. Mrs. Noyes d. June 10, 1911. In 1912 Harry m., 2d, Edith B. Pike.
ROYAL H.7 and Nancy A. (Dunkley) had four children:
1. ORPHA L.8 b. Jan. 13, 1869.
2. AVA W.8 b. Dec. 3, 1871.
3. CHARLES A.8 b. Jan. 25, 1877.
4. SYBIL C.8 b. Apr. 24, 1882.
NOYES
MOSES NOYES6 was the eighth of the eight sons of Samuel5, born Plaistow Sept. 12, 1760; died in Landaff Feb. 27, 1846. He married Sarah Collins. He was born in Landaff 1806; married, first, Mary Howe, daughter of David Howe of Coventry; second, Apr. 23, 1845, Lydia Royce, daughter of Samuel Royce of Haverhill, and, third, June 11, 1857, Zelpha Clark of Bath. He died Apr. 19, 1852. She subsequently mar- ried Jefferson Pennoch of Haverhill. Five children born in Lisbon, though family . removed to Haverhill about 1842:
1. NELSON F.7 b. May 12, 1831.
2. BETSEY M.7 b. Oct. 10, 1834.
3. HULDAH7 b. 1837.
4. HENRY W.7 b. Feb. 3, 1840.
5. ONE d. young.
NELSON F.7 born May 12, 1831; married Mar. 7, 1852, Hannah, daughter of Israel and Polly Flanders of Benton. Lived for most of his life in Haverhill; served in Civil War in Company M, Heavy Artillery, Massachusetts Volunteers. They had five chil- dren: May married Lorenzo Heath; Emma; Nettie; Bell; Hayden. He died in 1880. She is living in St. Johnsbury.
HENRY W.7 married 1862 Lucy R. Darham. They lived in Franconia. Had three children.
NOYES
DAVID NOYES6, fifth in descent from John Noyes of Newbury, son of Samuel and Hannah B. Noyes, was born in Pembroke 1784; married Mrs. Ruth (Fiske) Stafford in
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
1812; died Jan. 5, 1854. He moved to Landaff in 1813. Served in War of 1812 in Col. Fisk's regiment. Came to Haverhill in 1828. Three children:
1. SAMUEL7 b. Oct. 8, 1813; m. Elizabeth Libbey 1840; d. 1893.
2. BENJAMIN7 b. Oct. 8, 1813.
3. CHARLES L.7 b. 1818; m., 1st, Delilah Gatterson 1844; 2d, Mary C. Gatterson Mar. 6, 1864; 3d, Mrs. Miranda Lamson 1885.
BENJAMIN7, son of David and Ruth (Stafford) Noyes, born in Landaff Oct. 8, 1813; married, first, Nancy Libby 1835; second, Mrs. Sarah Blood Mar. 6, 1848; third, Mary C. Wheeler Apr. 7, 1869. Came to Haverhill in 1828. Died in North Haverhill Dec. 1897. Six children born in North Haverhill:
1. GEORGE H.8 b. Oct. 15, 1836; m. 1863 Sarah Clark. Had two chil. b. in Shawano, Wis .: Adelia M.9; George H.9. He died of wounds received at Vicksburg, Miss., 1863.
2. HELEN A.8 b. June 25, 1838; m. Charles Pillsbury; d. 1901.
3. MARK F.8 b. Sept. 18, 1840. Moved to Washington 1898.
4. HENRY L.8 b. Oct. 8, 1842. Moved to Washington 1898.
5. EDMUND B.8 b. Apr. 11, 1848; m. Martha Clough; d. 1895.
6. GEORGE H.8 b. Sept. 5, 1870.
NOYES
JOHN NOYES was sixth in descent from James Noyes of Newbury and was the son of Henry and Asenath Noyes, born in Haverhill Oct. 10, 1813. He married in 1834 Lydia Keyes, and died Apr. 23, 1891. He lived on the Isaac Pike place. Four children born in Haverhill and Richford:
1. ROYAL H.7 b. Sept. 12, 1836; m. Mary L. Pope.
2. JOHN R.7 b. Apr. 17, 1840; m. Ruth L. Meltmore.
3. ELLEN M.7 b. Mar. 20, 1845; m., 1st, John V. Oliver; m., 2d, M. M. Mckenzie; d. 1895.
4. LAURA M.7 b. Mar. 15, 1851; m. Murdock M. Mckenzie; d. 1891.
ROYAL H.7 and Mary L. (Pope) had children born in Barnston, P. Q .: Lillian E.8 born May 18, 1870; Maude born July 29, 1874; Cecil born Aug. 5, 1889.
JOHN R.7 and Ruth L. (Miltmore) had children born in Barnston, P. Q .: Leota A.8 born Mar. 30, 1872; John O. born Nov. 24, 1879.
OSGOOD
JOHN OSGOOD, sixth in descent from John the emigrant, born Andover, Mass., June 20, 1770; married at Haverhill Mar. 4, 1797, Sarah, daughter of William and Mary (Adams) Porter, born Haverhill Apr. 22, 1777. He died in Haverhill, July 29, 1840; she died at home of her daughter in Hanover Oct. 5, 1859. Both are buried in Ladd Street Cemetery.
He came to Haverhill prior to 1795, since in that year he was elected sealer of weights and measures. He was also town clerk and treasurer for several years. He was well known as a silversmith, and a maker of the old style high brass clocks, some of which, after a century of wear, are still in service marking time as accurately as when they came fresh from his hands. Mr. Alfred O. Blaisdell of Brooklyn, N. Y., writes of his grand- father, Mr. Osgood of whom he has boyish remembrance:
"He was rather below the medium height, very quiet and unobtrusive, but genial and sociable; a devoted Christian desired by the Congregational Church for the office of deacon, a proffered honor which he declined, because of a slight lameness which he deemed unfitted him for the duties of the position. He was a devoted disciple of Isaac Walton, and Tarleton Pond, as it was then called, had great attractions for him."
He lived for a time in the Nathaniel Bailey house, where he carried on his work until the demands of his business led him to build a shop across the way, almost directly west
40
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
of the Bailey house. This was a square, one-story building, with two windows in front between which was a "Dutch" door, on the lower half of which he used to lean to chat with passersby. "The shop," as Mr. Blaisdell remembers it, "had two rooms, the front one a salesroom, and the rear one a workshop where was a forge for melting the brass for the clocks, and the old Spanish dollars for the spoons, shoe and knee buckles," etc. These were all made on the premises and stamped "J. O." In later years he built the house which stood north of the Exchange Hotel on Main Street, and which was burned in the fire which destroyed the hotel and other buildings. They had seven children all born in Haverhill:
1. JOHN H. b. May 29, 1798. He engaged in the watch and jewelry business in Boston where he d. Dec. 6, 1861.
2. PAMELA b. July 20, 1800; d. Apr. 19, 1804.
3. ALFRED b. July 2, 1802; unm .; went to St. Louis, Mo., where he successfully en- gaged in the hardware business, and was killed in a steamboat explosion Jan. 9, 1852.
4. PAMELA b. Aug. 25, 1804; m. Jan. 7, 1826, Thos. G. Hiler of Boston; d. Aug. 16, 1858. They had one s., Thomas G., b. Nov. 30, 1827. Lived at Jamaica Plain. Had two chil.
5. MARTHA b. July 27, 1806; d. Mar. 21, 1816.
6. CHARLOTTE b. Aug. 25, 1810; m. May 30, 1832, Daniel Blaisdell, b. Pittsfield, 1806, s. of Elijah B. and Nancy Fogg Blaisdell; d. Hanover 1875. Mr. Blaisdell grad. from Dartmouth in 1825; came to Haverhill and read law with Joseph Bell; was admitted to the bar in 1830, and began practice in Haverhill in partnership with John Nelson, but in 1832 removed to Hanover where he resided until his death. As a lawyer he was painstaking and well read, excelling in judgment as a counsellor. A man of exemplary habits and high character, deliberate and exact in speech, courteous and refined in manner, he was a typical gentleman of the old school. He was five times a member of the House of Representatives from Han- over; was presidential elector in 1860, casting his vote for Abraham Lincoln; was state senator in 1863 and 1864, and for a period of forty years was treasurer of Dartmouth College. They had two chil .:
(1) ALFRED OSGOOD b. Lebanon Mar. 13, 1833; grad. at Dartmouth 1855; m. Dec. 31, 1860, Mary E. Martin of Providence, R. I., b. May 20, 1832. They reside in Brooklyn, N. Y., where for many years Mr. Blaisdell was consulting engineer in the U. S. Navy Yard. They have two chil .: (a) Ralph, b. Hanover Aug. 23, 1864; has been engaged all his life in railroad business in which he has been an enthusiast from childhood and is, at the present, auditor of the Oregon R. R. and Navigation Co. He m. Oct. 11, 1888, Lillian La Dow of Mechanicsville, N. Y., and has two chil., Jerome b. Dec.[14, 1890; and Eunice b. June 3, 1893. (b) Edith b. Brooklyn, N. Y., Feb. 24, 1874; unm .; resides with her parents.
(2) CHARLOTTE b. Hanover Feb. 12, 1839; m. July 30, 1868, Prof. Edward Rush Ruggles of Dartmouth College, b. Oct. 22, 1836, d. Oct. 29, 1897. They had five chil. all b. in Hanover: (a) Daniel Blaisdell b. Jan. 11, 1870, a lawyer in Boston; (b) Edward b. Jan. 28, 1872; with Department of Highways, Baltimore, Md .; (c) Mabel b. Apr. 13, 1873, m. July 10, 1895, Valentine Eaton, d. Mar. 3, 1912; (d) Helen Osgood b. Jan. 28, 1877, m. Aug. 15, 1901, Willis B. Hodgkins, lives Ballardvale, Mass .; (e) Arthur b. Jan. 26, 1881, physician, Butts Asylum, Providence, R. I.
7. GEORGE b. Nov. 22, 1814; d. Dec. 4, 1840.
PAGE
In any account of the affairs of Haverhill the name Page will be found to appear fre- quently. Families bearing that name do not as in most cases trace their ancestry to some single emigrant, but there seem to have been several bearing the name of Page who left the old England for the new in the first half of the seventeenth century. Two of these bore the Christian name of John; they came to America about the same time- the same year, in fact-one settled in Hingham, Mass., the other in Watertown, Mass., and both have had and still have descendants bearing honorable part in the history of the town.
611
HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
The family traces its ancestry to one Hugo de Paghan, who lived in Eber, Yorkshire, England, in 1257, and was knighted by Henry III in 1260, as Sir Hugo Page. Dates of births, marriages and deaths are unavailable until 1490, when we find a Nicholas Page living in Essex. He had a son Henry born in 1492. Henry had John born 1521; John married Audry Redding 1553; they had two sons, one of whom, Richard, born 1556, married Frances Mudge of London. They had ten children, one of whom, John, became an emigrant.
JOHN PAGE1 born at Middle Temple, London; married 1620 Phoebe Paine and re- moved to Dedham, England. In 1630 he came to America with his wife and three chil- dren in the ship "Jewel"-one of the ten in command of Gov. John Winthrop. He was one of the company which purchased of William Blackstone the peninsula on which Bos- ton was built, but finding the soil unsuited to farming he removed to Watertown, where he died Dec. 15, 1676. They had five children.
JOHN PAGE2 (John1) born Watertown 1639, third son, fourth child John and Phoebe; married May 12, 1664, Faith Dunston, named in will of President Dunston of Harvard College as cousin. Removed to Groton, Mass., where he was active in town affairs but returned to Watertown about 1676, and was probably the John Page who represented Watertown in the General Court of 1700. His wife died Apr. 3, 1699, and he married, second, Sept. 5, 1699, the widow of Emery Lamb of Boston. He died Mar. 14, 1711. Four children.
SAMUEL PAGE' (John2, John1) born Groton Jan. 4, 1672; married Sarah Lawrence and was first settler of Lunenburg, Mass. For several years he and his family were the only residents of that town, and he was known by the title of "Governor."
LIEUT. NATHANIEL PAGE' (Samuel3, John2, John1) born Sept. 4, 1702; married Dec. 25, 1733, Mercy Gould of Lunenburg; was one of the original proprietors of Rindge under the Masonian charter and was one of the pioneer settlers of the town. He died in 1779.
* JOHN PAGE5 (Lieut. Nathaniel4, Samuel', John?, John1) born July 16, 1741, came from Rindge to Haverhill or Coos Meadows in Sept. 1762. He spent the winter in the Great Oxbow with one other man and a boy taking care of the cattle of Gen. Jacob Bayley which had been driven up from Newbury, Mass. He brought with him an ax and a small bundle of clothing. In payment for his work Gen. Bayley arranged that he should be named as one of the proprietors of Haverhill on condition that he would settle there. Later he went to Upper Coös (Lancaster) and earned enough by working there for his Uncle David Page to secure another right of land in Haverhill. Returning from Lan- caster he established himself as a settler in the town which became his life home. He was a man of strong character, of great physical strength, prudent, thrifty and of indom- itable perseverance. The homestead he established has been in the family in all the subsequent years, and is now owned by the widow of his grandson, Mrs. Edward L. Page. He married, first, Dec. 18, 1766, Abigail Sanders of Haverhill, who died without issue Feb. 16, 1783, in her 38th year. He married, second (published Sept. 23, 1783), Abigail Hazeltine of Concord, who died Apr. 18, 1785, in her 29th year. Their one son born Apr. 11, 1785 lived but two days. He married, third, Jan. 7, 1786, Mrs. Hannah Green, widow of William Green, and daughter of Samuel Royce, Esq., of Landaff. She was a woman of great superiority of mind and character, leaving a lasting impress on the minds and character of her children and exercising a moulding moral influence in" the community. Four children, all born in Haverhill:
1. JOHN b. May 21, 1787.
2. WILLIAM GREEN6 b. Feb. 5, 1791; d. Nov. 26, 1820.
3. SAMUEL® b. Dec. 19, 1793.
4. STEPHEN ROYCE® b. Aug. 20, 1797; d. Jan. 9, 1820. He was a young man of great promise, and had at the time of his death but recently graduated from Dartmouth.
* See Chapter on First Settlers.
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
In the old cemetery at Haverhill Corner in the Page family lot may be read these epitaphs, which have at least the merit of truthfulness, something which cannot always be said of tombstone inscriptions:
Here lie the Remains of Mr. John Page who was Born in Lunenburg Mass. July 16 1741: Came to this Town in 1762 and was one of its First Settlers He bought the Land on which he Labored Nearly Sixty Years, and of which he Died Possessed October 15, 1823. Industry, Sobriety and Integrity Characterized his life Under his hand and the Blessing of God the Wilderness became a fruitful Field He enjoyed many years of domestic, civil and religious life, and died in full hope of Blessed Immortality.
Here lie the remains of Mrs. Hannah Page widow of Mr. John Page, and daughter of Samuel and Deborah Royce who died July 29, 1827 aged 70 years. In her eighteenth year she embraced the religion of Christ, united with the Baptist Church, continued through life an humble persevering follower of the cross, and distinguished patronage of the Missionary and other Benevolent Societies.
JOHN PAGE6 (John5, Nathaniel4, Samuel3, John2, John1) born May 21, 1787; was one of Haverhill's most honored and respected citizens, and attained deserved prominence in both town and state. His school life was interrupted at the age of 15 years by the financial embarrassment of his father, and he set to work to aid in redeeming the home- stead from debt. He served his town in all the important offices, as town clerk, four- teen times as selectman, and three times as representative to the General Court. He was register of deeds for Grafton County five years and the records are models of neatness, accuracy and penmanship. He saw active service as lieutenant in the War of 1812. He was elected to the governor's council in the years 1836 and 1838. In June, 1836, he was elected United States senator to fill the unexpired term of Isaac Hill, who had resigned to become governor, and served till Mar. 4, 1837. He was defeated for reelection by Franklin Pierce, but was elected governor in 1839, 1840 and 1841. He served as one of the selectmen in 1842 after retiring from the governorship, but after that, did not hold public office. He devoted himself to his farming interests, and took an active part in promoting the building of the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad. In politics he was an active and influential member of the Democratic party until the Free Soil movement was accelerated by the annexation of Texas, when he identified him- self with it, and was one of the organizers of the Republican party in his state. He was a man of deep piety, and was an active and devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died Sept. 8, 1865.
His administration as governor was a most creditable one. He was not a brilliant man, but was endowed with sturdy common sense, was of unquestioned integrity, a man of the people, whom the people appreciated and trusted. His vote when elected the first time was a record one. In 1838, when the Whigs made a desperate attempt to defeat Gov. Isaac Hill for a third term by placing in nomination the most popular man in their party, James Wilson, Jr., of Keene ("Long Jim") the total vote was 54,570, and Gov. Hill received 28,607. The largest previous total vote was in 1830, 42,441. In 1839 in a total vote of 54,601, and with "Long Jim" Wilson again the Whig candidate, John Page
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
received 30,518 the largest ever cast for a gubernatorial candidate in New Hampshire up to that time, and this was not exceeded till 1847, when Jared W. Williams received 30,806 in a total vote of 60,500. In 1840 Gov. Page polled 29,521 in a total vote of 50,790, and in 1841, 29,716 in a total of 51,689. His record as a vote getter was a remark- able one.
During his administration through his recommendation and influence the Geologic Survey of the state by Dr. Charles T. Jackson of Boston was secured. He paid special attention in his messages to banking. He believed that the twenty-eight banks in the state were more than enough, at a time when specie payment was suspended, and many of the banks were more intent on making money by speculation and over issue of bank notes, than in meeting the real needs of the people. He successfully opposed the grant- ing of further bank charters. He cautioned against excessive legislation, and was the constant foe of special legislation. He secured the repeal of the law allowing imprison- ment for debt in 1840 and in 1841, in his annual message recommended the exemption of some portion of the wages of the laborer from the trustee process, a recommendation which was carried into effect years later.
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