USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Keene > History of the town of Keene, from 1732, when the township was granted by Massachusetts, to 1874, when it became a city > Part 51
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Mr. Cooke married for his second wife, Mrs. Moore, of Bolton, Mass.
HENRY COOLIDGE.
Henry Coolidge came from Massachusetts when a young man and entered Abijah Foster's store at West Keene as a clerk; married Calista, daughter of Abiathar Pond, of Keene; with his brother-in-law (Pond & Cool- idge) bought out Mr. Foster in 1809; was afterwards the popular-and the last-landlord of the old Ralston tavern; did much business in the town and county as a surveyor of land; was for many years clerk of the court and held that office at the time of his death; did a large amount of legal business as magistrate; was state senator in 1837; had six children, one of whom, Jane F., married Dr. A. S. Carpenter of Keene; died in 1843, aged fifty-six.
KENDALL CROSSFIELD.
Kendall Crossfield, son of Samuel and Hannah Cross- field, was born about 1808; married Rebecca Graves, of
COOKE HOUSE AND ELM. WEST STREET. HOUSE BUILT 1791.
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Walpole; came from Peterboro to Keene in 1835; lived first on Beech hill, then in the house now No. 33 Marlboro street; had nine children; married, second, Rebecca Martin of Walpole. He was an excellent mechanic, contractor and builder, public spirited and active in general affairs, and had an unusual talent for music. His son, Wm. K., enlisted in the Sixth New Hampshire Volunteers in 1861, rose to the rank of captain and was killed at Petersburg, Va., July 30, 1864.
SAMUEL AND EBENEZER DANIELS.
Samuel and Ebenezer Daniels came to Upper Ashuelot, from Wrentham, Mass., previous to 1740, and settled on the hill in the southwest part of the town; and for many years it was called Daniels' hill, now West mountain. They and some of their descendants lived there for more than one hundred years-until about 1850.
CHARLES BELDING DANIELS.
Capt. Charles Belding Daniels, son of Jabez and Eleanor (Chapman) Daniels, was born in Keene, in 1816; entered West Point Military academy from Rutland, Vt .; gradu- ated in 1836; was in the Florida war; in the Second U. S. artillery in the Mexican war; on staff duty in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma; on staff of Gen. Worth at the battle of Monterey and was mentioned for gallant services; was in the battle of Buena Vista; mortally wounded at Molina del Rey, and died at the city of Mexico, Oct. 26, 1847; a man of high character and genial man- ners, and a notably fine soldier. His remains were brought to Keene and buried from the First Congregational church.
AARON DAVIS.
Aaron Davis, son of Aaron, a Revolutionary soldier (who lived with his son here in Keene), was born in Peacham, Vt., in 1788; came to Keene when a young man; was a blacksmith, large and muscular; married Re- becca Nourse, of Keene; partner with John Towns in a shop on Main street near the present railroad station; bought the water privilege at South Keene in 1824; built
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a shop with a trip-hammer (first in this vicinity) and made hoes, axes and other tools; built an iron foundry and made ploughs, and, later, took William Lamson in as partner in the manufacture of firearms. Charcoal was the principal fuel, but anthracite was used for melting iron-brought up the Connecticut river in vessels and hauled thence with teams. Iron ore was hauled from Vermont at a cost of $60 per ton, delivered. About 1836, he formed a partner- ship with Thomas M. Edwards and George Page; turned his hoe factory into a machine shop; J. A. Fay and Ed- ward Joslin joined, and the manufacture of wood-working machinery, which has since been so profitable and so largely developed, was begun. Messrs. Davis, Page and Edwards afterwards sold out, and Fay and Joslin, under the firm name of J. A. Fay & Co., continued the business.
Mr. Davis had nine children, born between 1816 and 1835. Francis, the fourth, married Sophronia Nourse, of Keene; Ellen Rebecca married Francis E. Keyes, of Keene. Mr. Davis died in 1857, aged sixty-nine.
EBENEZER DAY.
Ebenezer Day was one of the early settlers; an original member of the church at its formation in 1738; served in Capt. Willard's company of soldiers here in 1747-8; lived on the farm recently known as the Carpenter farm, the last but one in Keene on the old road to Surry, east side of the river, where he and his sons kept tavern for many years. When the Indian war broke out in 1755, he and his neighbor, Peter Hayward, who had settled a few hun- dred yards north of him, were "hurriedly warned of an attack by the Indians at Upper Ashuelot. My father (Mr. Day) came in great haste from his work, saddled his horse and told m'y mother to get ready quickly to ride to the fort. They started at once-father in the. saddle (doubt- less with little Ruth, four years old, in his arms), mother on the pillion behind, clinging with one hand to her hus- band and with the other grasping the meal sack into which the baby (Bathsheba, about one year old) had been hastily dumped for greater convenience in transportation (carry- ing it dangling beside the horse). The fort was reached in
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safety, but, on alighting from the horse, the sack was opened and the baby was found with her head down- wards, having made the journey of four perilous miles in that abnormal position. No ill consequences, however, resulted from the baby's inversion." (Mrs. Adin Holbrook -Hannah Day-sister of the baby.) That baby lived to marry Nathan Blake, Jr., in 1780, and to have eight chil- dren.
Mr. Day died in 1776, aged sixty-three, and was the first to be buried in the north burying ground. His wife, Bathsheba, died in 1798. Two of their sons, Ebenezer, Jr., and Daniel, were volunteers in the Revolutionary army in 1777, and Daniel again volunteered in 1779 and in 1780. Their daughter Hannah married Adin Holbrook in 1780.
SAMUEL DINSMOOR.
Samuel Dinsmoor, (commonly spoken of as "the elder Governor Dinsmoor") son of William and Elizabeth (Coch- rane) Dinsmoor, was born in Windham, N. H., in 1766, and was the fourth son in a family of ten children.
His father was third in descent from a sturdy Scotch- Irish pioneer-one of the band that settled Londonderry and Windham-and was a typical representative of that noble race, inventing and constructing most of the imple- ments with which he cleared and successfully cultivated his inheritance of 1.400 acres of primitive forest. Notwith- standing the hardships of such a life, with its limited sup- ply of books, he displayed a taste for literature and a gift for versification which was further developed in his son, Robert, who achieved celebrity under the name of the "Rustic Bard."
Having a strong desire for an education, young Dins- moor readily obtained the consent of his parents, studied for a while under Rev. Simon Williams-walking eight miles each day for that purpose-and entered Dartmouth college in 1785, his father sending an ox team to carry his small outfit. To aid in paying his expenses he taught school in winter, and, with the consent of the faculty, opened a small store for the sale of goods bought in Bos- ton and hauled to Hanover by his brothers with ox teams.
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He graduated in 1789, studied law with Hon. Peleg Sprague, in Keene, and by Mr. Sprague's advice and en- couragement made this town his permanent home.
He married, in 1798, Mary Boyd Reid, daughter of Gen. George and Mary (Woodburn) Reid of Londonderry. She was noted for her lovely character and agreeable manners, and as being the wife of one governor of New Hampshire and the mother of another. Her father was a distinguished commander of one of the three Continental regiments of New Hampshire in the Revolutionary war.
The Dinsmoors first lived in a house which stood on the site now occupied by the rear of the south end of Gurnsey's block. After the death of Mr. Sprague in 1800, Mr. Dinsmoor bought the "Sprague house," on the west side of Main street, now (1902) Mrs. Laton Martin's, and they spent the remainder of their days there.
His first law office was a small building just north of his first residence, but he afterwards succeeded Judge New- comb in another small building where the railroad track now lies, on the east side of Main street. That building was removed when the railroad was built and is now the residence of Mr. George E. Poole, 320 Roxbury street.
In 1804-5 he was active in the reorganization of the celebrated Keene Light Infantry, was chosen captain, and commanded it with brilliant success until 1809, when he was promoted to major in the Twentieth regiment of militia; and the same year was appointed quartermaster general of the state, with the rank of brigadier general, which office he held during the war of 1812, and until 1816.
In 1808 he was appointed postmaster, succeeded in 1811-when he took his seat in congress-by his partner, Booz M. Atherton. He was reelected to congress in 1812, and his votes there in support of the administration and in favor of the war with England so exasperated those of the opposite party in Cheshire county that upon his return from Washington, fearing for his personal safety, his friends in Keene formed themselves into a bodyguard for his protection. In 1821-2 he was a member of the state council; in 1823 a candidate for governor, but there was
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no choice by the people, and Levi Woodbury was elected. In 1830 he was the Democratic candidate for governor, and was elected in 1831 and for three consecutive terms -for the second and third terms almost without oppo- sition.
"His official career was characterized by a spirit of impartial and disinterested thought for the welfare of the state. A conspicuous instance of this was his appointment of the late Chief Justice Joel Parker, a Whig, to a vacancy on the bench of the supreme court." It was he who first recommended to the legislature the establishment of a state asylum for the insane.
He was the first president of the Ashuelot bank, in 1833, holding that office until his decease; and he filled many responsible positions in town and state, always with ability and strict integrity, and was a leader in all enter- prises for the public good. He entertained much and very handsomely; and in his private life his geniality and win- ning manners made him loved and honored by all who knew him.
He died March 15, 1835, surviving his wife about three months. His children were Samuel, born in 1799; Mary Eliza, born in 1801, married Robert Means of Amherst, N. H .; George Reid, born in 1803; and William, born in 1805.
SAMUEL DINSMOOR.
Samuel Dinsmoor, LL. D .- "the younger Governor Dinsmoor"-son of Samuel and Mary B. (Reid) Dinsmoor, was born in 1799; entered Dartmouth college at the age of eleven and graduated at fifteen. While yet very young he was sent to Europe on business for the family, giving him access to the best society and a thorough knowledge of the French language, then a rare accomplishment. He read law with his father; was admitted to the bar at the age of 19; in the next year, 1819, was appointed secretary to Gen. James Miller, then governor of Arkansas territory ; returned to Keene after three years; practiced law; was chosen cashier of the Ashuelot bank and held that position until the death of his father, whom he succeeded as presi- dent, and continued in that capacity until he died, in 1869.
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His polished manners and elegant handwriting led to his election as clerk of the state senate in 1826, and he held that office four terms. In 1849 he was elected governor of New Hampshire and served with great popularity through three successive terms. His administration, like that of his father, was honorable and statesmanlike; and he was dis- tinguished for his fine presence, his genial and courteous manners and his cultivated mind.
In 1844 he married Anne Eliza, daughter of Hon. William Jarvis, of Weathersfield, Vt., by whom he had two children, Samuel and William. Mrs. Dinsmoor died in 1849. He afterwards married Mrs. Catherine, widow of Hon. Charles J. Fox, daughter of Daniel Abbott, Esq., of Nashua, a lady remarkable for elegance and dignity of manners and high character. After his first marriage he lived in the Phineas Fiske house, and bought the place in 1849. After his second marriage he moved that house back to the corner of Winchester and Madison streets, where it still stands, and built the present mansion on the Fiske lot, corner Main and Winchester streets. To enlarge his lot he also bought the Widow Newcomb cottage, next south, and moved that back, and it stands next to the Fiske house, on Madison street.
WILLIAM DINSMOOR.
William Dinsmoor, son of the elder governor, was born in 1805; attended the Norwich Military academy, in Ver- mont, under the celebrated Capt. Partridge; was post- master at Keene under President Jackson; and was director and president of the Ashuelot bank. He married, in 1835, Julia Anne, daughter of Phineas Fiske, of Keene, who died Jan. 5, 1854, leaving three children, Mary B., George R. and Frank Fiske. He lived in the brick house built by his father next his own on Main street, until 1880, when he removed to the present family residence on Washington street, where he died in 1884.
EPHRAIM DORMAN.
Capt. Ephraim Dorman, son of Lieut. Ephraim, of Topsfield, Mass., was born in 1710; married Hepzibah
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Peabody, of Boxford; came to Upper Ashuelot as early as 1738; gave the alarm when the Indians attacked the place in 1746, and had a personal encounter with one of the savages; was lieutenant in the militia in the last French and Indian war; captain of the military company in Keene in 1773-5; owned much land in the township and was a leading man in the community. After his wife died, Jan. 16, 1781, he gave his property to his friend, Thomas Baker, Esq., who came from the same town, for his support and maintenance, lived with him in the Dorman house, which is still standing on the sand knoll, Baker street, died there in 1795, and was buried in the old south yard. His homestead is shown on the map of 1750, on the east side of Main street, just north of the Boston road, where Mr. E. A. Fox now lives. He had one son, Benja- min, and one daughter, Mary.
Wm. S. Briggs, in his "mortuary" on the old burying ground in Ash Swamp, says that Isaac Clark "married Mary Dorman, daughter of Ephraim Dorman, December 22, 1751." He then goes on to repeat Mr. Hale's story in his Annals of Keene of Mrs. Clark's race with the Indian in the massacre of 1746, saying that the woman was Mary Dorman before she married Mr. Clark. But her father, Ephraim Dorman, was only thirty-six years old at that time, and it seems hardly probable that Mr. Hale, who wrote seventy-five years afterwards, should have called so young a girl as she must have been "Mrs. Clark," even if she afterwards married Mr. Clark. It is much more probable that that race was run by a previous Mrs. Clark.
JOHN DRAPER.
"John Draper and his wife came from Watertown to Keene, about this time, (1795) and established themselves in West-street .- They were once rich, and it is related of her that, when the British had possession of Boston, in 1776, she several times rode into Boston, in a chaise, and brought back kegs of powder concealed under her cloak. She was a little startled when, on one occasion, her horse being frightened, a British officer took hold of the bridle, and led him along until he became calm. It is also said that a portion of her time was occupied in running bullets for the rebels, which, until wanted for use, were hid in the hay-mow." (Annals, page 79.)
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John Draper lived and had his shop as fancy butcher, baker and candle maker on Pleasant street (in the little old yellow house mentioned in this history; see map of 1800), succeeding Ichabod Fisher, the first trader in Keene.
Another version of the story of Mary Draper, his wife, is, that when the Revolutionary war broke out she was living with her family on a large farm near the Dedham line. When the Lexington alarm came, she started all the men on the farm off to join the patriot army, and heated her two great brick ovens red hot. Then she and her daughter Kate went to baking bread. They set out tables in front of the house and kept them spread with bread and cheese and buckets of cider. Soon the minute men began to pass, and for two days they kept it up, and all ate, drank and were refreshed with her "good cheer." Among the last to be served were Gen. Putnam and his soldiers from Connecticut. When the call for bullets came, she pro- cured bullet moulds and with her own hands melted every piece of pewter in the house and ran it into bullets. Then she took the bullets, with some powder, on horseback and carried them to the patriot army. She was stopped by the British guard, but answered questions so adroitly as to escape detection. Later, when the "rebels " needed blankets and clothing, she spun and wove all the wool from her ample flocks for their benefit. Those bullet moulds and a family Bible printed in 1769 are still in possesion of her descendants.
When the organization called the Daughters of the American Revolution was formed in Boston, they named one of their chapters "The Mary Draper Chapter" of the D. A. R.
ASA DUNBAR.
Asa Dunbar, son of Samuel of Bridgewater, Mass., was born in 1745; graduated at Harvard in 1767; preached a short time at Bedford, Mass .; settled in the ministry at Salem, Mass .; was a preacher of superior ability; his health failed, and he was dismissed at his own request in 1779; read law with Joshua Abbott of Amherst; settled as a lawyer in Keene in 1783; excelled as an advocate; married Mary, sister of Daniel Jones, the noted
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lawyer of Hinsdale; was a prominent Mason, master of Rising Sun Lodge; died while town clerk, June 22, 1787, highly esteemed; was buried with Masonic honors. His children were; Polly, born in Salem, 1773; William, born in Weston, 1776; Charles, born in Harvard, 1780; Sophia, born in Harvard, 1781; Louisa, born in Keene, 1785; Cynthia, born in Keene, 1787, married Thoreau, and was the mother of Henry D. Thoreau, the celebrated writer of Concord, Mass.
ELIJAH DUNBAR.
Elijah Dunbar, son of Samuel of Bridgewater (who was the elder half-brother of Asa above), was born in Bridgewater in 1759; graduated at Dartmouth in 1782; took deacon's orders in the Episcopal church; came to Keene soon after graduating, and, with Ithamar Chase, held the first Episcopal service in town; married Mary, daughter of Alexander Ralston; read law with his uncle Asa, and was a leading lawyer in the county for many years; at one time partner with Samuel Prescott, at an- other with Joel Parker; first cashier of the Cheshire bank ; built the present residence of W. H. Elliot, but never lived in it, and sold to Nathan Bixby and John Elliot; lived in the "plastered house," formerly the Bullard Coffee House, where Isaac N. Spencer now lives, and had a large garden extending down to Water street; Dunbar street was named for him; lived in Claremont, 1797-1804; returned to Keene; represented Keene in the legislature in 1806 and 1810; died in 1847, aged eighty-eight. His children were: George Frederic, born in 1794, married Catherine Fisk, of West- moreland; Laura Elizabeth, born in 1813, married Robert Ralston (her cousin), still living in Washington, D. C. (1900), a bright and interesting woman.
JOSHUA DURANT.
Capt. Joshua Durant-of Huguenot descent-was in the company of Capt. Joseph Whitcomb of Swanzey, at the Lexington alarm, April 21, 1775, and marched to Cambridge; enlisted for eight months; reenlisted for the following winter and served one year, in all, at that time; came to Keene; enlisted as a private from Keene in the
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company of Capt. Elisha Mack, July 22, 1777, and was in the battle of Bennington; joined Capt. Nehemiah Hough- ton's company, Nichols' regiment, as ensign, June 29, 1780, and served at West Point under Gen. Arnold; was dis- charged in October of that year; was afterwards captain of militia. When he first came to Keene he lived on the "Ben Gurler farm," West Keene, now T. M. Aldrich's. In 1793 he bought of Joseph Brown the farm now owned by Prof. Bracq, and sold it to Thomas Baker in 1807. He married, in 1780, Unity, daughter of Deacon Simeon Clark, of Keene. They had five children.
THOMAS EDWARDS.
Dr. Thomas Edwards, son of Thomas and Mary (Mc- Key) Edwards, was born in Middletown, Ct., 1757, and spent most of his boyhood on a farm at Springfield, Vt. His great grandfather, Thomas, came from Wales, Eng., and settled in Boston, whence his son removed to Middletown. In January, 1776, young Edwards volunteered in the pa- triot army, was in the siege of Quebec and the disastrous retreat that followed, and was mustered out of service in the fall of that year. He then began the study of medi- cine, reading all the books he could get at Springfield; came to Keene and studied under Dr. Thomas Frink; went to Providence, R. I., and completed his studies, and was for two years a physician and apothecary there. He came to Keene soon after 1780, and for many years was the leading physician of the town, taking long rides on horseback, over trails and rough roads, with his medicines in his saddlebags, at twenty-five cents a visit.
In April, 1784, "Thomas Edwards of Keene, Physician," bought of Oliver Hall the place now known as the "Cooke place" on West street-then three and one-half acres-for £180. Four years later he sold the same-"the Farm or Tract of Land whereon I now dwell"-to Daniel New- comb, for £200.1 In 1787 he married Matilda, sister of Lemuel Chandler, who came from Pomfret, Ct., and kept the Chandler House, then a popular inn, on the site of the
1 Daniel Newcomb sold the same place, two years later, to Noah Cooke, for the same price, which makes it evident that Cooke built the present house, although there must have been a smaller one there before.
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present Cheshire House. In her youth, Miss Chandler was noted for her personal beauty. Mr. Chandler died in 1789, and in 1795, Dr. Edwards bought the Chandler House and was its landlord until 1804. In 1795, he bought 100 acres lying on both sides of Roxbury street, devoted much time to his farm, made bricks on the meadow where Frank- lin and Dover streets now are, and in 1805, or previous to that year, built the house on Roxbury street, now the res- idence of Mrs. Josiah Colony, and died there in 1837, aged eighty. Mrs. Edwards died in 1843, aged eighty. Their children were: Mary, who married Benjamin Kimball; Sarah, who married John Hatch; and Thomas McKey. It is related of Dr. Edwards, who was an excellent citizen, kind and obliging, that after he was seventy-five years old he thrashed a stalwart young farmer weighing 200 pounds for using insulting language towards him; and that the farmer was ever afterwards his staunch friend.
THOMAS M. EDWARDS.
Hon. Thomas McKey Edwards, son of Dr. Thomas and Matilda (Chandler) Edwards, was born in Keene in 1795; prepared for college under Rev. John Sabin of Fitzwilliam; graduated at Dartmouth, 1813; read law with Foster Alexander, Esq., of Keene, Hon. Thomas Burgess, of Prov- idence, R. I., and Hon. Henry Hubbard of Charlestown, N. H .; began the practice of his profession in Keene in 1817, and continued it for about thirty years; succeeded his father in the homestead on Roxbury street; was post- master at Keene 1817-1829; member of the New Hamp- shire legislature eight years between 1834 and 1856; was presidential elector in 1856; served two terms in congress, 1859-1863, where he was appointed on important com- mittees, and was frequently called to the chair by the speaker; "and his services at Washington were dis- tinguished by unwearied industry, the strictest integrity, and great fidelity to his constituents." (Boston Journal, obit.)
In 1845 he was chosen president of the Cheshire rail- road; and he gave up the practice of law-except as con- sulting attorney and referee in important cases-and
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devoted all his time and energies to the interests of that road. The route was a difficult one, funds were scarce, contractors failed, riots among the laborers had to be quelled, and it required all of his great executive ability to carry the work along. But he was virtually counsel for the road as well as its president, and his keen intellect, sound judgment, and untiring industry. overcame every. obstacle and ensured success. He has been called the father of the Cheshire railroad, and it was by his influence that its shops were built in Keene.
In town affairs he was closely identified with all those measures that were for the best interests of the people; and for many years he was counsel and agent for the town. In 1869 he was chosen president of the Ashuelot bank and held that office until his death, and he was con- nected with many other institutions.
In 1840 he married Mary H., daughter of Phineas Fiske, of Keene, and they had five daughters and two sons-Thomas C. and one who died young. Their daugh- ter Isabella married Gen. Thomas Sherwin of Boston. Another daughter, Mary, married William H. Elliot of Keene.
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