USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Haverhill > History of the town of Haverhill, New Hampshire > Part 83
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1. ALBINUS MORSE3 b. Benton July 17, 1850; m. July 25, 1883, Harriet Gray of White River Junction, Vt. Two chil .: (1) Flora Gertrude4 b. 1885; (2) Ernest Rock- wood4 b. 1889. Veteran passenger conductor on Vermont Central Railroad. Lives in St. Albans, Vt.
2. STELLA ELLA3 b. Benton July 6, 1854; m. Mar. 6, 1877, Solomon Newell of Hav. (See Newell.)
3. FLAVIUS M.3 b. Benton Nov. 20, 1860; m. Apr. 5, 1884, Nellie Drake. Farmer at Center Hav. Two chil .: (1) Carrie Glayde b. 1886; (2) Eva May b. 1890.
4. FRANK EUGENE3 b. Benton Feb. 16, 1863; m. Aug. 10, 1887, Martha P., dau. Lyman and Hittie Southard of Hav., b. Hav. 1862. Three chil .: (1) Mabel Hattie4 b. Feb. 7, 1891; (2) Earl Eugene4 b. June 14, 1893; (3) Hazel4 b. July 5, 1895. Reside Lynn, Mass. City marshal, deputy sheriff, sheriff.
5. ARTHUR GEORGE3 b. Hav. Sept. 25, 1867; m. June 12, 1893, Jean G. Brown. Child: (1) Frank Forest4 b. Mar. 25, 1894. Resides Lynn, Mass. Police official.
6. FRED PERCY3 b. Hav. Aug. 31, 1870; m. June 24, 1894, Flora, dau. William and Maria Burnham of Bath. Child (1) Madeline Eunice b. Feb. 24, 1895; m. James W. Young, automobile dealer, N. Hav. F. P. Wells conducts general store in Bath (Swiftwater).
ENOS CLARK WELLS2 (Enos1) born Mar. 30, 1830; married Jan. 1, 1852, Annette, daughter Jacob and Hannah (Lovejoy) Morse (see Morse). Resided in Lynn, Mass.,
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
and Manchester. Dicd Manchester 190 -. Theatre manager. Four children: 1, Arresta Malvina4 born Mar. 14, 185 -. 2, Fred Enos4 born Lynn, Mass., Aug. 16, 1857; married Martha Ellen Newcomb. Resides in Syracuse, N. Y. Mr. Wells has purchased the homestead farm of his grandfather, Jacob Morse, in School District No. 10, and has recently erected up-to-date buildings, intending, it is said, to make it his home in the not distant future. 3, Etta Blanch4 born Lynn, Mass., -; married George K. Poole. 4, Maude Arlie4 born Lynn, Mass., Dec. 13, 1873.
WESTGATE
JOHN WESTGATE1 married Grace Church of Tiverton, R. I. Later removed to Plain- field, N. H.
EARL WESTGATE2 married Elizabeth Waite and settled on a farm in Plainfield.
NATHANIEL WAITE WESTGATE3 was born in Plainfield Jan. 26, 1801. He was educated in the common schools and graduated at the Kimball Union Academy in 1820. He did not enter college on account of his health, but taught school winters, read law with Charles Flanders of Plainfield, and was admitted to the bar in 1827. He began practice in Enfield, where he lived till 1856, when he was appointed register of probate and re- moved to Haverhill. While in Enfield he held the office of school superintendent, was town clerk, and was postmaster. He filled the office of register of probate for a period of five years when he was appointed judge of probate. He retired in 1871 on reaching the age limit. He represented Haverhill in the legislature of 1861. In all these positions of trust and honor he was a faithful and trustworthy officer, bringing to his public duties a patience, fidelity and integrity which made him justly esteemed in the community in which he lived, as well as by the larger public which he served so long. He built up in Enfield a large practice, which he continued as far as his official duties would permit. He always felt a deep interest in all public matters, and shared with his fellow townsmen in all burdens for the advancement of society. He was a Republican and attended the Congregational Church. He died Dec. 16, 1890. He married, first, Lydia Jane Prentiss, daughter of Dr. Prentiss of Springfield. She was born in 1808, married in 1835. No children. He married, second, Louise Tyler, daughter of Austin Tyler of Claremont, Mar. 14, 1842. She was born Mar. 30, 1818, and died Mar. 6, 1895. Six children born in Enfield :
1. TYLER4 b. Dec. 2, 1843; d. June 6, 1917; m., 1st, Aug. 30, 1881, Malone, N. Y., Lucretia M. Sawyer, b. 1842, d. Jan. 16, 1884; m., 2d, Phebe Jane Bean, Aug. 15, 1888. She was b. Sept. 27, 1860, and d. Jan. 28, 1894. There were two chil. by second wife: (1) Louise Bean5 b. Hav. July 17, 1890; (2) Elsie Mae5 b. Hav. Apr. 18, 1892. Both daughters were educated at Hav. Academy and the Bradford Academy for Young Ladies at Bradford, Mass. They received their musical education from private teachers in Boston, Mass. They are members of the Eastern Star, and are both members of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Mr. Westgate was educated at Hav. and Kimball Union academies, graduating from the latter in 1864. He was assistant clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for Grafton County from Apr. 11, 1865, to 1871; registrar of probate from 1871 to 1874, when he was dropped by the Democratic ascendency, again registrar from 1876 to 1879. He was clerk of the New Hampshire Senate from 1876 till 1877; postmaster at Hav. from 1881 to 1885 and was registrar of probate from 1889 to 1890, when he was appointed judge of probate, which place he held till 1913 when he was retired on reaching the age limit. He was in trade for a time in company with Joseph Poor. He held various town offices, was town auditor for several years and delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1902. While he was not a lawyer, he made a most excellent judge, his long training under his father giving exceptional facilities for his duties as judge almost from the start. His retirement was deeply felt by the entire county. He devoted himself for the next few years to the business of insurance and acting as trustee and administrator of estates. He was a Republican and Mason.
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
2. NATHANIEL WAITE, JR.4 b. Jan. 19, 1846; d. Jan. 7, 1865; studied at Hav. and Kimball Union academies. Mar. 24, 1864, he enlisted in the 1st N. H. Cavalry, Co. I; taken prisoner Aug. 11, 1864, "at night on the skirmish line" on Wilson's raid, near Winchester; taken a prisoner to Lynchburg and on Oct. 28 taken to the prison at Danville, Va., where he d. Jan. 7, 1865. The G. A. R. Post in Hav. bears his name. 3. JENNIE LOUISE4 b. June 24, 1848; d. July 7, 1917. She was left with the care of the children of her brother, Tyler, and became first and foremost the lady of the house. In connection with her brothers, Tyler and William F., she became interested in local history, and has been to the compiler of these pages a veritable help in furnishing notes and manuscripts. She was a member of the Eastern Star; her latest work was in connection with organizing the Hav. chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was the first regent. She was a member of the Congregationalist Church.
4. FREDERICK AUSTIN4 b. Aug. 7, 1850; d. Aug. 27, 1861.
5. WILLIAM FRANCIS4 b. July 5, 1852; d. Apr. 23, 1902. Educated at Hav. Academy, and grad. from the Chandler Scientific School of Dartmouth College in the class of 1875. Studied law with his father and G. F. Putnam and admitted to the bar in 1880. Represented the town in the legislature of 1883 and was superintendent of schools. He was register of probate in 1885-89 and was re-elected in 1890. At the time of his death he had been justice of the Hav. Police Court since its establish- ment in 1885. He was also a surveyor of lands, and had an active part in the leadership of his party.
6. GEORGE HENRY4 b. May 9, 1854; farmer; resides at home.
WETHERBEE
CHARLES WETHERBEE died Nov. 14, 1876, aged 84 years. Abigail Woodward, wife, died May 29, 1873, aged 73 years. Mary Lydia, daughter, died Aug. 3, 1848.
DR. M. S. WETHERBEE died Oct. 29, 1890, aged 63 years, 5 months. Eliza R. Vose, wife, 1827-1903.
WHEELER
COL. ABEL WHEELER, son of Dea. Abel and Prudence (Warren) Wheeler, was born in Newport Mar. 13, 1793, the second of twelve children. He married, first, Zilpha Wakefield of Newport; second, Mehitable Calif of Plainfield, born Mar. 6, 1793. He died in Haverhill Mar. 13, 1870; she died June 22, 1878. He came to Haverhill in Apr. 1831, and settled on the County road near the four corners. He was interested in military affairs, and held a commission as colonel in the state militia. Baptist, and while never holding a regular pastorate was an ordained Free Baptist minister. One child by first marriage:
1. ZILPHA b. 1817; m. Eliab Metcalf; d. 1879; lived in Boston.
Children by second marriage:
2. ALBERT CARLOS b. Nov. 27, 1819; d. Nov. 1894; lived in Lowell, Mass.
3. ELIZABETH b. Feb. 15, 1821; m. 1844 James B. Smith; d. Royalton, Vt., 1900.
4. PRUDENTIA b. July 14, 1822; m. Onias Harris in 1848; d. in Fitchburg, Mass., 1901.
5. SARAH MARIA b. Nov. 1823; m. 1847 J. F. Manahan; d. Lowell, Mass., 1809.
6. MARY b. 1825; d. in infancy.
7. MARY b. June 1827; m. 1869 Benj. Noyes; d. Feb. 2, 1901. (See Noyes.)
8. MANTIA b. Nov. 6, 1829; m., 1st, 1853, Willard Wetherbee; he d. 1855; m., 2d, 1858, Wilbur Waugh; she d. 1909.
9. CHARLOTTE C. b. Hav. Feb. 1, 1832; m. May 5, 1854, Jacob G. Marcy; lived on Brushwood road near four corners. He d. 1891, ae. 62 yrs .; a dau., Alice J. Marcy, b. 1859, d. 1864.
10. LAVINIA M. b. Hav. Sept. 9, 1836; m. 1858 Chester Phelps; lived in Lowell, Mass.
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
WHITAKER
EBENEZER WHITAKER1 born 1753 (?); m. Lucy -. He died 1842; was a Revo- lutionary soldier; lived on Coventry Meadows and later in Haverhill District No. 6. She died Mar. 3, 1833, aged 78 years. Children:
1. PHEBE2 m. Dec. 31, 1810, Stephen Jeffers.
2. LYDIA2 m. Dec. 31, 1810, Thomas Davis.
3. PETER2 b. 1789; m. Nov. 7, 1816, Anna Mead of Coventry, b. 1795. She was a sister of the wife of James J. Page. He d. 1862; she d. 1838. M., 2d, Ruth Kendall of Piermont. Three children by first marriage:
(1) LAURA ANN3 b. 1817; m. Mar. 22, 1839, Eben F. Morse. (See Morsc.)
(2) MARY3 b. 1820; m. Oct. 20, 1842, Franklin Crouch.
(3) EZRA3 b. June 1825; d. Aug. 10, 1830.
Peter Whitaker lived and died in a house adjoining that of his son-in-law, Eben Morse, on what was known as the Coventry road leading over Morse Hill, through Coventry Meadows to Warren.
WHITE
WILLIAM WHITE2, son of WILLIAM1 and Mary, born in England 1610; died 1690.
JOHN WHITE3 (William2, William1 born -; married Hannah French; died 1668.
JOHN WHITE4 (John3, William2, William1) born 1664; married 1687 Lydia Gilman; died 1727.
JOHN WHITE5 (John4, John3, William2, William1) born 1707; married Martha Appleton; died May 10, 1745.
JOHN WHITE6 (John5, John4, John3, William2, William1) born in Haverhill, Mass., Dec. 31, 1740; married 1772 Ruth Emery; was one of the grantees of Haverhill; was among the first settlers, but soon removed to Lebanon.
JACOB MARCH WHITE7 (John6, John5, John4, John3, William2, William1) born 1775; married Nov. 14, 1799, Fanny Cook. Lived in Lebanon, and later after 1810 in Haver- hill on Brier Hill just above Swiftwater on what was known as the Sly farm. Six children:
1. JACOB MARCH8 b. Sept. 9, 1800.
2. SUSANNAH8 b. Apr. 29, 1802.
3. FRANCIS8 b. Aug. 31, 1805.
4. BETSEY E.8 b. Apr. 1, 1807.
5. JOHN GILMAN8 b. Feb. 20, 1809.
6. NANCY8 b. Jan. 12, 1811.
JACOB MARCH WHITE8 (Jacob March7, John6, John5, John4, John3, William2, William1) born Lebanon Sept. 9, 1800; married, first, Dec. 25, 1824, Nancy A. Southard of Bath; died June 22, 1826; married, second, Malinda Cox, Apr. 9, 1831; died Landaff June 15, 1863. He lived in Bath (Swiftwater) after his marriage till about 1834; then he lived for the next twelve or thirteen years in Haverhill (except for two or three years spent in Irasburg, Vt.) when he removed to Landaff and lived in that town and in Benton till his death, which occurred in Landaff in 1860. Much of his life he was engaged in run- ning a sawmill. He was a staunch Democrat and in religious belief was liberal. Nine children:
1. NANCY ANN8 b. Bath (Swiftwater) Feb. 6, 1832; m. Aug. 10, 1852, C. E. Jewett; lived Georgetown, Mass .; d. Stoneham, Mass., Nov. 14, 1914. One s., Charles E. Jewett, Jr.9
2. EMERY BARNES8.b. Bath (Swiftwater) Oct. 26, 1833; m. Jan. 14, 1862, Amaret A. Whitcher; lives in Stoneham, Mass. Three chil.
3. LAURA Cox8 b. Hav. Sept. 25, 1835; m. Sept. 9, 1852, Moses W. Howe, who d. July 7, 1869; m., 2d, Sept. 15, 1874, George W. King of Cambridgeport, Mass. He d. in Stoneham, Mass., where she still (1917) lives. Two chil. by first husband.
4. EDWIN GEORGE8 b. Hav. Sept. 26, 1837; m. Sarah W. Smith of Machias, Me .; now living in Enumclaw, Wash. Seven chil.
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
5. JOHN M.8 b. Irasburg, Vt., Oct. 4, 1839; m. Carrie Murray of Groveland, Mass .; lived in Lawrence, Mass .; served three years in Union Army; d. June 24, 1916; she d. Jan. 24, 1916. One s. living, John E.9, former state auditor, Massachusetts; bank president, Worcester, Mass.
6. CHARLES KIMBALL8 b. Irasburg, Vt., Dec. 5, 1841; m. Eliza A. Kempton; soldier in Union Army; d. Stoneham, Mass., Feb. 11, 1917. One s., Charles March9.
7. MARY VIOLA8 b. Hav. Feb. 26, 1844; d. unm. Stoneham, Mass., Dec. 19, 1906.
S. FRANKLIN PIERCE8 b. Hav. Aug. 30, 1847; d. in infancy.
9. SUSAN BARRON8 b. Landaff Dec. 20, 1849; m. Luther Martin of Stoneham, Mass .; d. Nov. 13, 1907. One s., Edwin G.9, lives in Toledo, O.
JOHN GILMAN WHITE8 (Jacob March7, John6, John5, John4, John3, William2, William1) born Lebanon Feb. 20, 1809; married Mar. 1, 1837, Susan, daughter of John S. and Clarissa (Morse) Sanborn of North Haverhill. He died Apr. 30, 1890. She died Sept. 30, 1882. He came to Haverhill with his parents in 1814; lived on Brier Hill; was farmer on the homestead of his father till about 1851, when he removed to Wells River, Vt., and en- gaged in the meat and provision business, and the purchase and sale of cattle in Boston. Five children all born in Haverhill:
1. ELLA A9. b. Jan. 18, 1838; m. Oct. 7, 1863, Alexander H. Burton. (See Burton.)
2. CLARA A.9 b. Mar. 23, 1840; m. Dec. 24, 1863, Moody C. Marston; d. Sept. 12, 1915. (See Marston.)
3. MELISSA W.9 b. Jan. 14, 1842; m. Dec. 7, 1869, Barzillia M. Blake. He d. July 8, 1913, in California; four chil .: Gillman, Sanborn, Annie, George. Mrs. Blake now living in Los Angeles, Cal.
4. HARRIET F.9 b. Feb. 6, 1845; m. July 16, 1867, George F. Smith; d. Feb. 2, 1913. (See Smith.)
5. MARY BELL9 b. May 19, 1847; m. Sept. 20, 1876, William H. Goodwin of Wells River, Vt., b. Newbury, Vt., Oct. 25, 1840; served three months in 2d N. H. Vols .; mustered out July 20, 1861; entered Aug. 5, 1861, in 3d N. H. Vols .; wounded at battle of James Island June 16, 1862; discharged for wounds Sept. 11, 1862; m. 1st, Eva M. Dexter. One child by second marriage, Muriel E., b. June 17, 1887. Mrs. Goodwin d. May 19, 1915.
WHITE
GEORGE E. WHITE born Halifax, N. S., Aug. 20, 1845, son of Charles and Lorania (Thorn) White; married Oct. 10, 1868, at Lowell, Mass., Deborah, daughter of Joseph and Marian (Lampson) Hilt. At the age of 17 Mr. White came to Boston and was employed there and in Lowell until he enlisted in Company M, Third Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry, in which he served with credit until after the close of the war. He came to New Hampshire about 1877, bought a farm in Benton, near Warren Summit, on which he resided till 1889, when he came to North Haverhill, where he has been successfully engaged in dairy farming. Member Nathaniel Westgate G. A. R. Post; in politics a Republican. Seven children:
1. SERENA b. 1869; m. 1894 Norris Wright. Four chil.
2. CORA b. 1872; m. Sam, s. of Daniel and Susan Clough Howe of Benton. He d. about 1909; four chil .: Edith, Olive, Susie and Frank E .; m., 2d, Otis Chute; four chil. A dau., Susie Howe, m. Ernest Needham; twin boys b. Aug. 20, 1915. 3. WESLEY G. b. 1874; m. 1899 Gertrude Trevena; three chil.
4. WILLIAM N. b. 1876; m. 1902 Maude Wilmot; five chil.
5. CHARLES F. b. 1879; m. 1907 Leona Bowles; two chil.
6. LULU B. b. 1883; m., 1st, 1906 William Greenley; one child; m., 2d, 1912, Michael Keith; two chil.
7. JOHN P. b. 1890; m. 1908 Mabel Sealey.
44
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
WHITTIER-WHITCHER
By recent investigations made in England by C. C. Whittier of Boston the parentage of Thomas Whittier, the emigrant ancestor of those bearing the name of Whittier and Whitcher, has been discovered, and was published in the July number for 1912 of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.
RICHARD WHITTIER of Sarum (Salisbury) married Jan. 23, 1608/9, Mary, daughter of John Rolfe of White parish, born 1582. Their children were Richard, John, Thomas, the latter born about 1620, and came to America with his uncle, John Rolfe, in the ship "Confidence" which sailed from Southampton Apr. 24, 1638.
THOMAS WHITTIER1, son of Richard and Mary (Rolfe) Whittier, emigrant ancestor, settled first in Salisbury, Mass., where he lived till 1649, when after a brief residence in Newbury he took up; his residence that same year in Haverhill, where he lived until his death, Nov. 26, 1696. In 1688 he built and occupied as his home the house still standing, in which his distinguished descendant John Greenleaf Whittier, was born, and which is now the property of the Whittier Memorial Association. There is a tradition that as a young man he was of gigantic size, weighing more than three hundred pounds before he was twenty-one years of age, and that he was possessed of proportional physical and muscular strength. From facts obtained from the early records it is certain that he pos- sessed both physical and moral courage in a high degree. Honored by his townsmen, he was also trusted by the Indians who never molested him. Married 1646 (?) Ruth Green, who died in the Haverhill homestead in 1710. His ten children were born in Haverhill, except Mary, the eldest, who was born in Salisbury Oct. 9, 1647.
NATHANIEL WHITTIER2 (Thomas1) born Haverhill, Mass., Aug. 11, 1658; married Mary Osgood; second, widow Mary Ring. Lived in Salisbury. Two children.
REUBEN WHITTIER or WHITCHER3 (Nathaniel2, Thomas1) born Salisbury; married Deborah Pillsbury. The name is spelled both Whittier and Whitcher. Grafton County, New Hampshire, descendants have adopted the latter spelling. Lived in Salisbury. Seven children.
JOSEPH WHITCHER4 (Reuben3, Nathaniel2, Thomas1) born Salisbury May 2, 1721; married Martha Evans; lived in Salisbury. Seven children.
CHASE WHITCHER5 (Joseph4, Reuben3, Nathaniel2, Thomas1) born Salisbury Oct. 6, 1753. (See Descendants of Chase Whitcher, by W. F. Whitcher, Woodsville, 1907.) Settled in Warren, N. H., his father, Joseph, being one of the grantees of the town; married Hannah Morrill of Amesbury, Mass. Eleven children born in Warren.
WILLIAM WHITCHER6 (Chase5, Joseph4, Reuben3, Nathaniel2, Thomas1) born May 23, 1783; married, first, Feb. 15, 1807, Mary, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Collins) Noyes of Landaff, born Nov. 5, 1787, died Benton Sept. 27, 1848; married, second, Oct. 3, 1849, Catherine, widow of Francis Wright of Bath. She died Oct. 19, 1874. Sixteen children born in Benton:
1. MosEs7 b. Dec. 26, 1807; m. Sarah Royce; d. Mar. 18, 1846.
2. WILLIAM JR.7 b. Dec. 26, 1808; m. Lucien Noyes; d. Oct. 16, 1839.
3. AMos7 b. May 18, 1810; m. Polly Young; d. May 22, 1881.
4. LOUISA7 b. Dec. 22, 1811; m. Sylvester Eastman; d. May 4, 1889.
5. WINTHROP CHANDLER7 b. Feb. 20, 1813; m. Mercy (Priest) Noyes; d. Mar. 20, 1844.
6. SAMUEL7 b. Aug. 24, 1814; m. Emily Quimby; d. Oct. 8, 1879.
7. IRA7 b. Dec. 2, 1815.
8. SALLY7 b. May 25, 1817; m. Amos Wilson; d. Mar. 12, 1893.
9. HANNAH7 b. Apr. 4, 1819; m. James A. Mann; d. July 21, 1896.
10. JAMES7 b. Oct. 1, 1820; d. Aug. 20, 1838.
11. CHASE7 b. Jan. 20, 1822; m. Sarah (Royce) Whitcher, widow brother Moses; d. May 4, 1883.
12. MARY7 b. Oct. 28, 1823; m. Jason Titus; d. Mar. 31, 1895.
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
13. SUSAN7 b. May 20, 1825; m. Geo. W. Mann; d. Oct. 6, 1854.
14. DANIEL7 b. Jan. 20, 1827; m. Nancy R. Knight; d. Mar. 2, 1894.
15. DAVID7 b. June 17, 1828.
16. PHEBE7 b. Feb. 24, 1831; m. Moseley N. Brooks; d. June 4, 1870.
IRA WHITCHER7 (William6, Chase5, Joseph4, Reuben3, Nathaniel2, Thomas1) born Benton Dec. 2, 1815; married Haverhill Nov. 27, 1843, Lucy, daughter Samuel and Dorcas (Foster) Royce, born Landaff Oct. 11, 1814; died Woodsville Sept. 26, 1885. He died in Woodsville Dec. 9, 1897. Ira Whitcher had only the educational advantages of a backwoods town, and but limited use of these, his school education ending with five weeks in each of two or three winters. He had access to few books, the Town Officer, the Bible, the New Hampshire Statutes, Webster's Spelling Book and one or two of the old readers, and these he knew, and with their aid obtained a practical if not a liberal education. On reaching his majority he entered the employment of his brother, Moses, for whom he worked for six years for the compensation of twelve dollars and a half a month and board. Clothing himself by extra jobs, he saved his entire wages, purchased the farm in Benton on which he lived till the spring of 1870, and built the house in which he established his home in the autumn of 1843. Becoming the administrator on the es- tate of his brother, Moses, on the death of the latter in 1846, he naturally became engaged in the lumber business which he followed successfully during the remainder of his life, farming becoming a secondary consideration. He was a believer in the gospel of hard work, and practiced his belief. He was farsighted, thrifty, practiced rigid economy, but at the same time was open-handed and public-spirited. He advocated liberal appro- priations for roads, schools and whatever was for the benefit of his town. He was a liberal supporter of the institutions of the church, not only of that with which he was actively identified, the Methodist Episcopal, but other communions as well. He was elected one of the selectmen of Benton in 1842, and during the next twenty-nine years was constantly in the service of that town, holding at various times every possible office except that of superintendent of schools. He was a member of the legislature from Ben- ton in 1845, '46, '50, '51, '63, '64 and of the Constitutional Convention of 1850, and from Haverhill 1891-93. He was county commissioner for six years (1867-73); was appointed by the governor one of the commission to investigate the condition of insane paupers, and was elected by the legislature as one of the commissioners to supervise the rebuilding of the State House in 1864. Benton had no resident lawyer and he did for his townsmen much of the work for which, in the larger towns of the state, legal talent is employed. He was conveyancer, writer of wills, administrator and executor, guardian of minors and insane, legal adviser in cases involving both large and small interests, and all this for the most part, for little or no compensation. He came to Woodsville in the spring of 1870 and entered at once into the activities of the life of his new town.
The erection of the court house, the establishment of savings and national banks, the Free Public Library, a Methodist Episcopal Church property free from debt, a fine pipe organ in memory of his daughter, a permanent fund for the support of church services, are among the monuments he left to his memory. In his political affiliations he was a life-long Democrat. Reserved and quiet in his manners, severely unostentatious in his mode of life, hating pretence and indolence alike, his long life was one of ceaseless activity. His integrity was never questioned, and his tenacity of purpose was such that he knew no such word as failure in the accomplishment of his plans. (See Coventry- Benton, descendants of Chase Whitcher, etc.) Four children born in Benton:
1. WILLIAM FREDERICK8 b. Aug. 16, 1845.
2. MARY ELIZABETH8 b. July 17, 1847; d. Apr. 15, 1897; m. Nov. 1, 1877, Chester, s. of Moses and Lucia Eastman Abbott of Bath, b. Oct. 13, 1850. She was educated in the schools of her native town and at Newbury and Tilton Seminaries. Devoted-
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
ly attached to her home she remained a member of it after her marriage, her husband entering the employ of her father. She gave her parents untiring care and service, and was a deserved favorite in the social and religious circles of the village. A lover of music, she was the leading spirit of the church choir, and aside from her home duties was active in charitable work. Childless herself, her home was a favorite resort for children, who cherished for her the warmest affection. Her death followed an illness of but a few days, and was a blow most sadly felt by her aged father and by her wide circle of relatives and friends.
3. FRANK8 b. June 21, 1849; d. Nov. 7, 1875; m. Apr. 27, 1875, Lizzie A., dau. of Russell and Ann (Walker) King of Hav., b. Feb. 5, 1848, d. Jan. 9, 1881. After a short time spent in the business department of New Hampton Institution, he entered into business with his father, but fell a prey to New England scourge, con- sumption, and d. in his 27th year a few months after his marriage. He had erected for his home, the house on Court Street, Woodsville, opposite that of his father, now the home of Joseph M. Howe, but he never occupied it.
4. SCOTT8 b. Nov. 2, 1852; d. Jan. 22, 1875. Was educated at Tilton Seminary and the State Normal School; became clerk in the National Bank of Newbury at Wells River, Vt., retiring some months before his death, on account of failing health. The summer of 1874 he spent in the Adirondacks, going to Florida in the late fall with the hope of warding off what proved to be pulmonary consumption. His life was full of promise but he lived but a brief month after his return home in Dec. 1874.
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