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 55
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DAVID NIMS.
David Nims, of Huguenot descent, was the son of Ebenezer and Sarah (Hoyt) Nims, both of whom were among the captives taken from Deerfield, Mass., to Canada
1 Before the judge's grounds were graded there was a slight depression in his yard, where water stood after a heavy rain. One evening a party of the legal profession and others dined with the judge and partook of his excellent wine. Among the number was Dr. Philip Carrigan, who published an excellent map of New Hampshire near the close of the eighteenth century. A rain had made the ground slippery and filled the depression, and as the party came out one of them slipped, lost his balance, and plunged into the pool of water. Be- fore attempting to rise he called out, "Carrigan! Carrigan!" " What do you want?" asked the doctor. "Put down on your map of New Hampshire a thundering great mud puddle right in front of Judge Newcomb's house."
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in 1704, and were married while in captivity. He was born in Deerfield, in 1716; came to Upper Ashuelot in 1736-7; was chosen "scribe" of the proprietors in July, 1737; a member of the church at its formation in 1738; one of the thirty-nine settlers who received grants of ten acres of land from the proprietors in 1740 "for hazarding their lives and estate by living here to bring forward the settling of the place." In 1742 he married Abigail, daugh- ter of Eliezer and Abigail (Wells) Hawks of Deerfield, niece of John Hawks. He had bought, in 1739, of Daniel Haws, one of the original proprietors and first settlers of Upper Ashuelot, a part of the farm east of our present Washing- ton street, since known as the Lucien B. Page farm,1 adding to it later, and built his log cabin there-which was burned by the Indians when the place was abandoned in 1747. Very soon after the settlement was broken up he enlisted in Capt. Josiah Willard's company of regular troops of Massachusetts stationed at the two Ashuelots, and served in that company through the seasons of 1747, '48 and '49. He was one of the first to return to the settlement, doubtless as early as 1750 (he may have built a log cabin and brought his wife back earlier, for troops were "billeted" on families here in 1749), and soon afterwards built his house on the site of the present resi- dence of Charles Wright, 2d, and lived and died there. (The Nims house was removed about 1884-5 to Page street, No. 39, and is one of the oldest houses in town).
At the first town meeting under the New Hampshire charter, in May, 1753, David Nims was chosen town clerk, and he held that office for seven consecutive years, ten in all; was town treasurer six years; moderator of annual town meetings six years; selectman nine years; and for more than twenty years was otherwise prominent in town affairs.
By one of the proprietors' divisions of land he received 104 acres of land near the east line of the town, in what is now Roxbury, conveyed it to his son, David, Jr., in
1 " The meadows on Beaver brook were a part of his farm, and in the early days he used to employ Thomas Wells, who was a great hunter-the 'Farmer Wells' who furnished Hon. Salma Hale much material for his 'Annals of Keene' -to watch with his gun for Indians while he worked on his farm." (William S. Briggs.)
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1763; and it is still in possession of his descendants. In the military organizations in Keene in 1773, David Nims was on the alarm list, and his five sons, David, Jr., Asahel, Eliakim; Zadock and Alpheus, were in the ranks of the regular militia company; and Asahel, Eliakim and Alpheus were in the Revolutionary army.
He died July 21, 1803, aged eighty-seven. Forty of his descendants followed him to the grave. His wife, Abigail Hawks Nims, died in 1799, aged eighty, and at that time their descendants numbered-children, ten ; grandchildren, fifty ; great grandchildren, twenty-one. From them "descended all of that name now living in this vicin- ity, and the whole number of their progeny is about two thousand." His portrait, painted by Jeremiah Stiles1 (see Stiles sketch), presented to the city of Keene by one of Mr. Nims's descendants, hangs in the Thayer library building.
ASAHEL NIMS.
Asahel Nims, third son2 of David Nims, was born in 1749. Upon reaching his majority he bought of Lieut. Benjamin Hall 114 acres of land in the north part of the town-now a part of Sullivan-set to work to clear it, built a house, and became engaged to be married. When the Lexington alarm reached Keene, on the 20th of April, 1775, he joined his neighbors at the meeting on the com- mon that afternoon. Thirty men volunteered to go "to oppose the regulars." Tradition says that one of them grew faint-hearted and skulked away, and that Asahel Nims offered to take his place. He was accepted, was made a sergeant at the organization of the company, and at the battle of Bunker Hill was instantly killed.
ELIAKIM NIMS.
Eliakim Nims, brother of Asahel, was born in 1751; lived with his father when a young man; one of the thirty patriots who marched from Keene with Capt. Wyman on the 21st of April, 1775, and was in the battle of Bunker Hill; was in Col. Isaac Wyman's regiment in the northern army in 1776; member of the committee of safety in 1776;
1 The portrait was restored for preservation by Mr. Geo. H. Tilden.
2 David, Jr., was the eldest. Asahel, the second, died in infancy.
LANMON NIMS.
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married Abigail, daughter of Nathaniel Briggs of Keene; removed to the north part of the town, now a part of Sullivan (probably took his brother Asahel's farm); was given the title, and possibly held the rank in the militia, of captain; was selectman of Sullivan in 1795; died in that town, aged about ninety-five.
EBENEZER NIMS.
Ebenezer Nims, elder brother of David, was born in Canada in 1713; married, 1735, Mercy, daughter of Samuel Smead; came to Upper Ashuelot in 1736-7; was chosen collector of taxes for the proprietors in May, 1737; one of the original members of the church in 1738; one of those to receive a grant of land from the proprietors in 1740 for hazarding his life to bring forward the settle- ment of the town; returned with the settlers and was town treasurer in 1754 and selectman in 1757 and '58; lived in the fort; had a daughter Mary, born in 1756. He was on the alarm list in 1773; and removed to Deerfield, Mass.
LANMON NIMS.
Lanmon Nims, son of Asahel and Mary (Heaton) Nims, and grandson of David, Jr., was born in Sullivan, N. H., 1811; was carpenter, contractor, miller and wheelwright. After a few years in business at Peterboro, Swanzey, and on Ferry brook in Keene, he came to the village, and in 1850 bought the small mills then in operation on Mechanic street, enlarged them and established the sash, door and blind business, taking in Daniel Buss, and later Cyrus Woodward, as partners. The plant was again enlarged, and in 1859 Mr. Nims sold to Buss & Woodward. After four years spent at White River Junction and in the Fair- banks mills (on Ralston street) in Keene, he returned (1863) to the Mechanic street mills, and, with Samuel B. Crossfield (Nims & Crossfield) leased power and continued his former business there. In March, 1864, the boiler ex- ploded, killed two workmen, injured five others, and wrecked the buildings. In the spring of 1867 the firm bought the property and rebuilt, but in August of the same year all was destroyed by fire. In 1868 the present
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mills were built by the Keene Steam Power Company and leased to Nims, Crossfield & Co. In 1873 the firm became Nims, Whitney & Co., and still continues the same, although Mr. Nims died in 1887. He built the present city hall, under Mr. Charles E. Parker, architect, the first Methodist meetinghouse, and about fifty other buildings in town, some of them houses of the best class.
With only a common school education, but with a love of books, particularly those on history, science and me- chanics, he became a remarkably well-informed man.
He was twice married and had eleven children-three sons and eight daughters.
BENJAMIN NOURSE.
Benjamin Nourse-original name Nurse-was born in Rutland, Mass., 1744; married Mercy Stevens, an English girl; was a Revolutionary soldier from Packersfield, in 1775; sold his farm in Packersfield-in the part that is now Roxbury-towards the close of the Revolutionary war, taking his pay in Continental money which proved to be almost worthless, and came to Keene; had thirteen children, Phineas, Silas, Isaac, Benjamin, Jr., Francis, and eight girls; lived with his son Phineas; made baskets, some of which are still in existence, on the same farm. He and his wife died on the same day, in 1840, at the house of their daughter, Charity, second wife of Ephraim Wright, 2d. His age was ninety-six; his wife's, ninety-three.
PHINEAS NOURSE.
Phineas Nourse, son of Benjamin and Mercy (Stevens) Nourse, was born in 1775; married Anna Thompson of Keene, sister of Aaron, Daniel and Thomas. After living about fifteen years in Littleton, N. H., he returned to Keene, and with his son Calvin, in 1823, bought of the heirs of Peleg Sprague the farm on Beech hill now known as the Luther Nourse farm. Jacob Stiles had owned the place in early days, and had sold to Abraham Wheeler, Jr., in 1771. The house and barn, both still standing, were built by Wheeler, who was afterwards colonel of militia and tavern keeper in Ash Swamp. The house was
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built in 1773, and the barn was raised on the day of the battle of Bunker Hill. Wheeler sold to Sprague, who died in that house.
The house is of the usual farmer's pattern of the old style, showing heavy oak timbers below and pine ones above, a large chimney in the middle with its ample fire- place (though now partly rebuilt) provided with crane and pot-hooks, and its brick oven and ash hole. Some of the finish still remaining is of pine boards three feet in width, with doors made of a single board hung on wooden hinges and fastened with wooden latches, as in the olden time.
Like his father, Phineas Nourse had thirteen children, Calvin, Luther, George, Phineas, Jr., four other sons, and five daughters.
The history of this Nourse family is a remarkable one. They are descendants of Rebecca Towne,1 wife of Francis Nourse, who was hanged as a witch at Salem, Mass., July 19, 1692, at the age of seventy-one. Her body was thrown among the rocks, but was rescued by her family and buried in the family lot at Danvers, Mass. Many years after- wards a monument was erected to her memory and dedi- cated with memorial services. Whittier wrote for that occasion the lines :
"Oh, Christian Martyr, who for truth could die When all about thee owned the hideous lie, The world redeemed from superstition's sway Is breathing freer for thy sake today."
DAVID OLIPHANT.
Rev. David Oliphant was born in Waterford, N. Y., in 1791; graduated at Union college, 1809, and Andover Theological seminary in 1813; came to Keene as a can- didate in November, 1814; ordained May 24, 1815; mar- ried in September, 1815, Mary, daughter of Dr. Abiel Pearson, of Andover, Mass .; dismissed from Keene in the autumn of 1817. It was said that one cause of his un- popularity and dismissal was that he took strong ground against the prevailing intemperance. His ministry here was "somewhat less than three years, and yet he made a
1 The greatest American woman artist (painter) in Paris in 1900 was Miss Elizabeth C. Nourse, of Cincinnati, Ohio, a direct descendant of this Rebecca Nourse who was hanged at Salem. (Vance Thompson, in Cosmopolitan Maga- zine, 1900.)
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great and lasting impression upon the people." Ninety-one were added to the church, and he baptized 129 persons.
After leaving Keene he was soon settled over the Third church in Upper Beverly, Mass., where he was a successful minister for sixteen years. He was then dismissed, and soon settled again in Wells, Me. He died in 1872. Many pages of the old church records are in his clear, elegant handwriting.
ELIJAH PARKER.
Elijah Parker, Esq., son of Capt. Stephen and Mary (Morse) Parker of New Ipswich and Packersfield, N. H., was born in New Ipswich in 1776, but the family removed to Packersfield when Elijah was about two years old. Capt. Parker commanded his company in the Revolutionary war, and had somewhat intimate relations with Washing- ton. Elijah gained his education by his own efforts; gradu- ated at Dartmouth, 1806; read law with George B. Upham of Claremont, and Foster Alexander of Keene; began prac- tice here in 1813; married, 1814, Sally, daughter of Rev. Aaron Hall. He was at one time in partnership with Joel Parker (E. & J. Parker), and later with Salma Hale. Mr. Parker did a large office business, and settled many estates, but seldom appeared as an advocate. In 1814, the year of his marriage, he bought of Luther Smith, the clock- maker, the house on the north corner of School and Court streets, which was replaced a few years ago by the present residence there, and lived there until his death, in 1858, at the age of eighty-two. His widow lived there until 1875, when she died at the age of ninety-two.
His children were: David Hall, born in 1815, married Elizabeth Britton, died in 1868; Mary Morse, born in 1817, married Hon. Joel Parker; Elijah Wellman, born in 1819, died in infancy; Henry Elijah, born in 1821, pastor of a Congregational church in Concord, N. H., chaplain of the Second New Hampshire Volunteers in 1861, professor in Dartmouth college; Horatio G., born in 1823, an emi- nent lawyer in Boston; Charles Edward, born in 1826, architect in Boston, designed St. James's church, the city hall and several residences in Keene. The celebrated musi- cian, Horatio W. Parker, is the son of Charles Edward.
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JOEL PARKER.
Hon. Joel Parker, LL. D., son of Abel and Edith (Jewett) Parker, was born in Jaffrey, N. H., in 1795; fitted at Groton academy, Mass .; graduated at Dartmouth, 1811; read law with his brother Edmund, at Amherst, N. H .; began practice in Keene in 1816; spent one year in Columbus, Ohio; returned to Keene and was for several years a partner with Elijah Parker, Esq .; represented Keene in the legislature in 1824, '25 and '26; was appointed judge of the superior court of judicature of New Hampshire in 1833; and chief justice of the same in 1838; and he is acknowledged to have been one of the most able and learned of all the chief justices New Hampshire has had. In a conflict of opinion between.him and Chief Jus- tice Story of Massachusetts, Judge Parker was sustained by the supreme court of the United States. In 1840 he was chairman of the commission to revise the statutes of New Hampshire. In 1847 he was appointed Royal pro- fessor in the Harvard Law school, removed to Cambridge, and held that position for twenty years. In the same year of this appointment he was also appointed professor of jurisprudence in Dartmouth college; and after his resigna- tion from the chair at Harvard he was non-resident pro- fessor of law at Dartmouth, and left a part of his fortune to establish a law department in that institution. He received the degree of LL. D. from Dartmouth in 1837, and from Harvard in 1848. He was a member of the Massachusetts constitutional convention in 1853, and of a commission to revise the statutes of that state in 1855; and he contributed many learned and valuable papers to various publications, and to the Massachusetts Historical Society and other organizations.
In 1848, he married Mary Morse, daughter of Elijah Parker, Esq., of Keene, by whom he had two sons and two daughters. He died at Cambridge, Mass., August 17, 1875.
His father, Hon. Abel Parker of Jaffrey, for many years judge of probate for Cheshire county, was a Revolutionary soldier and paid a comrade to exchange places with him and give him the privilege of going into the fight at Bun- ker Hill, where he was severely wounded.
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In private life Judge Joel Parker was dignified in his deportment, yet genial and even fascinating in conversa- tion; and his character was of the highest. He was espe- cially fond of flowers and the cultivation of them, and he set many rare plants and shrubs in the garden of the Hall parsonage, which is now occupied by the Pond residence on West street. He also planted and cultivated an orchard of rare fruit in the west part of the town.
JUSTUS PERRY.
Gen. Justus Perry, son of Dr. Justus and Martha (Frost) Perry, was born in Marlboro, N. H., in 1788; educated in the public schools; apprenticed to David Wil- kinson of Marlboro to learn the saddler's trade; bought his minority at the age of nineteen and set up in business for himself in a small store at old Marlboro Centre on the hill; came to Keene in 1812 and succeeded Sparhawk & Davis in a store on the east side of the Square, formerly John G. Bond's. He brought his mother and her young children with him and supported them. When the manu- facture of flint glass on Marlboro street failed-from the influx of foreign goods after the war of 1812-he bought the property at a low price, and when the business revived made it very profitable.
He married first, Mary H. Edwards of Boston. The children by that marriage were: Horatio Justus; Mary Olivia, married Edward Parkman Tuckerman, a noted musician. He married second, Hannah Wood, of Concord, Mass. The children by that marriage were: Ellen Eliza- beth, married Dr. Edward Pearson, of Salem, Mass .; Martha Ann-author and poetess-married Rev. Charles Lowe, of Exeter, N. H .; Henry, who died young.
He was successful in business; popular among the people; commanded the Ashuelot Cavalry, and rose to the rank of major general of the militia; built the fine house which stands on what is known as the Coolidge lot, just north of city hall; collected a valuable library; and was a leading and influential man in all good works. He died in 1840, aged fifty-two.
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JUSTUS PERRY.
(Both tombstone and town records say that Gen. Perry died Dec. 10, 1842, aged 53. The sketch on opposite page should be corrected accordingly.)
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HORATIO J. PERRY.
Horatio J. Perry, son of Justus and Mary (Edwards) Perry, was born in Keene in 1824; graduated at Harvard in 1844; studied law with Wm. P. Wheeler, in Keene, and completed his course at the Harvard Law school. While the Mexican war was in progress he joined the United States forces at Vera Cruz and was appointed volunteer aid on the staff of Gen. Shields, with the rank of captain. He was called home by the death of his sister, Mrs. Tuck- erman; travelled in Europe and spent a winter in the West Indies on account of his health. His ability, and his knowl- edge of the Spanish language, brought him the appoint- ment of secretary of legation at the court of Spain from President Taylor, in 1849; and he held that position for twenty years, through several changes of administration- under Ministers Barringer of North Carolina, Pierre Soulé of Louisiana, Carl Schurz and Gustav Koener-sometimes acting as chargé d'affaires; and from 1861 to 1865, he was acting minister.
In 1852, he married Carolina Corenado, "poet-laureate of Spain," a lady much admired for her genius and social qualities, and his home was a notable resort for statesmen and men of letters and position in Madrid. He and his wife "were on the most cordial terms with the queen mother, Christiana," and they occupied a country residence which had belonged to her, which he fitted up with choice pictures and works of art. "His hospitality to Americans was unbounded."
In 1854, in the absence of Mr. Soule, he managed the settlement of the Black Warrior affair in a way to break up the scheme of Southern politicians to bring on a war with Spain and thus secure the island of Cuba for the extension of slavery. During our Civil war he was nearly all the time in charge of the legation, and by his adroit and statesmanlike diplomacy he induced the Spanish gov- ernment - which was inclined to take the side of the South -to issue a proclamation of neutrality, compelling the Rebel cruiser, Sumpter, to withdraw from the harbor of Cadiz. For that skillful diplomacy he twice received from Mr. Seward expressions of the entire confidence of
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President Lincoln, for his "loyalty, ability and diligence," and the "greatest satisfaction" with his delicate and suc- cessful management of the whole affair. Only political intrigue at this time prevented his appointment as minis- ter, undoubtedly the most fitting appointment that could have been made. He died in Lisbon in 1891.
SILAS PERRY.
Silas Perry, a Revolutionary soldier, was born in Leominster, Mass., in 1763; was one of the guard that escorted André to the gallows. In December, following, his term expired and he returned on foot through the snow to his home in Leominster, Mass .; married Catherine Hale; came to Keene in 1800, or earlier, and settled on the farm on the old Walpole road, four miles from town, still owned by his grandson, Joseph G .; died in 1852, aged 89.
JOSEPH PERRY.
Joseph Perry, son of Silas and Catherine (Hale) Perry, was born in 1788; graduated at Dartmouth in 1811; preceptor of academy connected with that college until 1816; teacher of mathematics in New York city until 1832; appointed to a clerkship in Washington, afterwards to a principal clerkship in the postoffice department until 1841; retired to his farm in Keene; appointed by Gov. Dinsmoor the first school commissioner for Cheshire county, in 1850-1; died in 1865.
JOHN PRENTISS.
Hon. John Prentiss was born in Reading, Mass., in 1778; learned the printer's trade; came to Keene in March, 1799, and established the New Hampshire Sentinel. To do that he bought the old type and hand press of a job printing office here in town, paid five dollars down, and started his paper with seventy subscribers at one dollar and fifty cents per annum. That paper has been published every week since that time, and is now a very valuable piece of property; and the grandson of the founder, William H. Prentiss, is now city editor and one of the owners of the paper. At type setting and all office work Mr. Pren- tiss was remarkably expert, and he did a large job printing
HORATIO J. PERRY.
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and publishing business for those times, sometimes print- ing and selling a hundred thousand copies of Adams's arithmetic in a year, and still larger numbers of spelling and other school books, besides standard historical works, such as Hale's History of the United States, and many others; and they were bound by George Tilden and others here in Keene.
When Mr. Prentiss first came to Keene he boarded at the old Wyman tavern, then kept by William Ward Blake, who had married Col. Wyman's daughter, Roxana. He married, in 1802, Diantha Aldrich, of Westmoreland, and they had eight children: Diantha, born in 1803, married Rev. Charles Robinson, of Groton, Mass .; Corinna, born in 1805, married Judge Hopkinson, of Lowell, Mass .; John W., born in 1806, married Eleanor May, was at one time principal owner of the Sentinel, and died in 1863; George A., born in 1809, a commodore in the United States navy, died in 1868; two daughters who died in childhood; Edmund, born in 1820 and died in 1846; Pamela, born in 1821, married Hon. Henry F. French, of Concord, Mass.
For more than fifty years Mr. Prentiss wielded a pow- erful influence in the town and county. He was often rad- ical in his views, but no one doubted his honesty. He was an earnest advocate of temperance and prohibition, fore- most in religious discussions and controversies, and in movements for the advancement of education. He was one of the active and aggressive spirits in the secession and organization of the Keene Congregational Society (Unita- rian), and an earnest supporter of its earlier ministers. He held the offices of town clerk, town treasurer, representa- tive, state senator and other responsible positions; and for sixty-seven years was a prominent Mason.
In 1808 he established a homestead on the New Hamp- shire turnpike-on the site of the present residence of Ma- jor O. G. Dort, Court street-and built a business block in 1825 on the west side of the Square, now owned by the heirs of E. G. Whitcomb. In 1750 he was a delegate to the peace convention at Frankfort-on-the-Main, and trav- elled extensively in Great Britain and on the continent, writing letters which were published in the Sentinel. He died in 1873, aged ninety-five.
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ALEXANDER RALSTON.
Alexander Ralston was born in Falkirk, Scotland, in 1755; married Janet Balloch, of the same place. Her family was one of rank and they opposed the match, but she escaped with her lover, and they were married "by the Rev. Mr. Etiherson, of Falkirk, Dec. 10, 1767." (Fal- kirk records.) She was then eighteen years old. They came to this country in 1773, and to Keene in 1775. He owned and kept-probably built-the Ralston tavern, elsewhere described, and he also owned several farms and much other real estate in and about the village, had a distillery on Packersfield road, and for several years was the largest taxpayer in town. Ralston street was named for him.
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