USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > Rochester > History of the town of Rochester, New Hampshire, from 1722 to 1890, Vol. I > Part 33
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Several others of the seven sons of Hon. Nathaniel Upham attained considerable distinction. The writer of the above sketch, Francis William Upham, LL. D., a lawyer of some note, and for- merly partner of Robert Rantoul of Boston, is now Professor of Mental Philosophy in Rutgers College.
Dr. Alfred Upham graduated at Dartmouth Medical College in 1833, and was for more than forty years a successful physician in New York City. He died in November, 1878, and " his funeral brought together a large number of persons of solid worth as well as venerable age." Dr. Upham was highly esteemed by his many acquaintances, one of whom says that "his house was a fountain of healing, and also of kindness and sympathy to all who knew hin."
Dr. Albert Gallatin Upham studied his profession in Paris, was elected Professor of Pathological Anatomy in the Medical College of Castleton, Vt., and was corresponding member of the National Institute of the United States. He died in Boston in the spring of 1847, of typhus fever contracted in discharge of his professional duties. He was a man of high moral worth and of great promise in his profession.
Timothy Upham was also a physician.
Joseph Badger Upham was a merchant.
Hon. Nathaniel Gookin Upham was born in Rochester in 1801, and graduated in 1820 from Dartmouth College, from which he received the degree of LL. D. in 1862. He began the practice of law in Bristol but removed to Concord in 1829. He was for twelve years judge of the Superior Court of New Hampshire. In
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1836 he was appointed by Governor Badger to deliver a eulogy on Lafayette before the State Legislature. He was for several years president of the Concord Railroad. In 1853 he was appointed commissioner to England for the adjustment of claims between Great Britain and the United States, which position he filled with honor to himself and full satisfaction to our government. He died at Concord in 1869. "Judge Upham was a man well known, and of large influence throughout New England for many years. He was a Christian, a scholar, a statesman, a man without reproach."
MOSES HALE.
MOSES HALE, the second son of Eliphalet and Rachel Hale, was born in Bradford, Mass., July 23, 1775. He was a direct descend- ant of Thomas and Thomasine Hale, who came from Hertfordshire, England, and settled in Newbury, Mass., in 1635, afterwards removing to Bradford.
About the year 1800 Moses went to Durham, and in April, 1804, was married to Elisabeth De Merritte of that village, and settled in Rochester, where he continued to reside till his death. Here he established a leather business - tanning and currying - which he carried on with great success for over thirty years, fur- nishing a large part of the leather used in the adjoining towns and counties, and indeed all over the State. He also dealt largely with several Boston houses, carrying the goods ordered in two- horse teams, which occupied a week in making the round trip. In this business he acquired what in those days was considered a fortune, and retired from active life before he was sixty years old. His two sons, Luther and Moses, Jr., continued the busi- ness till the death of Luther in 1842. The store on Market street owned by the late Lewis Hanson, with the house in the rear occupied by him, was built by Mr. Hale for leather storage, and used for that purpose till the business was closed. The other buildings were taken down or removed, and the tannery converted into a fruit garden.
Mr. Hale also carried on farming to quite an extent, owning and working several farms in Rochester. He was a kind, devoted husband, an indulgent father, believing it his first duty to care for
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those nearest him. He was always a friend to the needy, and the occasions were not rare when in some snowstorm such as were frequent in those days, he would request " the boys " to harness up, and taking with them food and fuel, would go to some lone widow or spinster, shovel away the snow from her door, and replenish her wasted stores. The widow and orphan found in him a true friend, and a wise adviser. He was an honest man, and much relied on for his sound judgment and his conservative policy. He held offices of trust at home, and represented the town in the State Legislature. He was always interested in the prosperity of the town. When it was proposed to locate a woolen mill in Rochester there was much opposition, but Mr. Hale encouraged it by his word, and leased, at a low rate, land on which to erect some of the buildings.
Though not a member of any church, he was a religious man, a striet observer of the Sabbath and its institutions, regular in attendance at church, and requiring the same of every member of his household. Bible reading occupied the entire day, and he was never seen with any other book on the Sabbath. He was never heard to criticise the creeds or opinions of others, but accorded to them that which he desired for himself - liberty.
He contributed generously to the support, not only of his own society, but of each in town. He died in 1839. His wife, Elisa- beth, was the daughter of Israel and Lois De Merritte of Dur- ham, and grand-daughter of Major John De Merritte of Madbury, who rendered valuable service in the taking of Fort William and Mary in 1775.
They had nine children. Alfred, Luther, and Moses, Jr., were never married, and lived to the ages of forty-six, thirty-five, and twenty-nine respectively. Clara died in infancy. Caroline married Louis Turner of Bangor, Me., and upon the death of Mr. Turner, about six years later, she removed to Rochester. She was greatly respected and beloved, a woman of strong, decided convictions, always found on the side of truth and justice, whether popular or unpopular, and never afraid of expressing her convictions to others. At the commencement of the anti-slavery struggle she came out boldly on the side of the oppressed, and was active in forming the first anti-slavery society in Rochester, of which she was the first secretary. " Kind, genial, sympathetic, and strong,
-
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all within her circle sought her counsel, and none were refused its benefits. For strength of judgment, liberality of sentiment, broad charity, general knowledge, courageous expression, just discrimination, tact, command, and executive ability she had few equals." She was foremost in all works of benevolence, and greatly appreciated by the church of which she was a member. She died in 1873.
Elisabeth married Richard Kimball in December, 1843. She possessed rare beauty of face and feature, and in character seemed almost faultless. Though never possessing strong health, she was always forgetful of self, and helpful to others. To several lone women she was sole provider, and to her they always looked for food and raiment, which never failed. Her sweetness of temper and disposition, her loving thoughtfulness for the feelings of others, won her friends everywhere. Her life, counting it by years, was short - for she died at the age of twenty-seven - but it was. filled with tender ministry to others.
Calvin was for a time a clerk in the dry goods store of Jona- than H. Torr of Rochester, and afterwards opened a store at Dover, where he continued business till elected cashier of the Langdon bank, and later of the Dover National Bank and treasurer of the Dover Savings Bank. He married Martha Chace of Berwick, Me., and died at Dover, May 16, 1887.
Harrison remained a farmer at the homestead. He married Abby Wadleigh of Union, and died in 1879.
Sarah married, in 1850, J. A. Newell of Boston, Mass., and took up her residence in that city, but latterly has lived in West Newton, Mass.
WOODMAN.
Rev. Joseph Woodman, the first settled minister of Sanbornton, was the son of John Woodman of Newbury, Mass., and gradu- ated at Nassau Hall in 1766. His wife was the daughter of Rev. Aaron Whittemore of Pembroke. He was a distinguished divine, and a fearless patriot. His name stands at the head of the list of signers to the test declaration sent out by the committee of safety in 1766. He had a small salary, with the farm set apart for the first minister, and it was with difficulty he reared and
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educated his family of nine children, sending the oldest son to college.
JEREMIAH HALL WOODMAN, the eldest son of " Parson Wood- man," was born in Sanbornton April 18, 1775. He prepared for college nnder the tuition of his father, and the Rev. Dr. Woods of Boscawen. At the age of fifteen he started for Hanover on horseback, with saddle bags to hold his scanty outfit of books and clothing. Dartmouth College was then literally "vox clamantis in deserto." Mr. Woodman was very studious and graduated in 1794, holding the second rank in his class of forty-five. His
democratic principles did not affiliate with the Phi Beta Kappa Society, and he joined a large number of students in raising an opposition to it. He opposed it because of what he thought were its aristocratic tendencies, and not because of its secrecy, for later in life he was one of the founders and the first Master of the Humane Lodge of Masons in Rochester.
After leaving college, Mr. Woodman taught the Academy at Hallowell, Me., for two years. From there he went to Franklin, then a part of Salisbury, and read law with Hon. Thomas W. Thompson, and afterwards with Judge Jeremiah Smith at Exeter, where he was admitted to the bar. About this time he traveled through Vermont and a part of New York, looking for a desirable location, but concluded to return to New Hampshire, and in 1799 began practice in Warner. After one year he removed to Mere- dith Bridge, now Laconia, where he soon had a large practice, and was highly esteemed for fidelity, uprightness, and ability.
In 1806 he came to Rochester, where he was a prominent lawyer for nearly fifty years. He had a large circle of warm friends, particularly among the leading men of the Federal party with whom he associated. Distrusting the policy of Jefferson, he was conspicuous for his ardent and vigorous support of the Federal, and, afterwards, of the Whig party. In middle life he took active part in their conventions, but residing in a strong democratic town, county, and State, he was called to few elective offices. In 1824-25 he was elected representative to the Legislature. In town affairs, apart from politics, he was much consulted and trusted by the people, and in their meetings was listened to with great respect and confidence. Particularly in everything relating to the schools, he was a directing spirit, and with other sound men of
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the village, insisted upon procuring teachers who were thoroughly educated, and most of whom were college graduates. The good results of this policy are plainly seen in the distinguished men whom Rochester has sent out, many of whose names appear in the sketches of this chapter. Mr. Woodman was one of the founders of both Wolfeborough and Rochester academies. He gave much attention to farming, and was one of the originators of the County Agricultural Society, of which he was also president.
Mr. Woodman was distinguished for his urbanity and kind and familiar intercourse with people of all classes. He was a social man, fond of humor, and exceedingly hospitable. There are few private houses where so many guests have been entertained, not grudgingly, but with a genial kindness that made them feel at home.
Soon after settling in Rochester, Mr. Woodman bought the large Mansion House which had been erected by Captain Storer in 1799. This was his life-long residence, and here he died in 1854. His widow occupied it till her death in 1866, at the age of eighty-six. It is now a hotel, on the west side of Main street, just north of Liberty street.
About the time he came to Rochester, Mr. Woodman married Sarah, daughter of Rev. Stephen Chase of Newcastle. Descended from distinguished ancestry, Col. Joshua Wingate of Hampton, Hon. John Frost of Newcastle, and the elder William Pepperell, she was eminent for her christian character, her genial hospitality, her refined intellect, and her helpful sympathy for the sick and the needy. She instilled into her children a laudable ambition to be useful and honorable in every position in which they might be placed.
The children of Jeremiah H. and Sarah C. Woodman, who survived infancy, were the following, all of whom were married and had children : -
1. Mary Esther, wife of Judge Noah Tebbets, born Jan. 12, 1808, died Jan. 8, 1879.
2. CHARLES WILLIAM, born in Rochester Dec. 7, 1809, gradu- ated at Dartmouth College in 1829. He read law with his father, Hon. Ichabod Bartlett of Portsmouth, and Hon. Richard Fletcher of Boston, and was admitted to the bar in 1833. After one year's
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practice in Somersworth he removed to Dover, where his remaining life was spent. He was solicitor for Strafford county from 1839 to 1844; judge of probate from 1846 to 1853; judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1854, the office being abolished in 1855. In 1861, '62, '78 and '79, he represented Dover in the Legislature, following his first term with service in the army as United States paymaster. For many years he was commissioner of the Circuit Court of the United States. He was always a prominent citizen, highly respected and honored. He was for a long time law partner with Hon. John P. Hale, and in later years with Arthur G. Whittemore. He was a member of Sawyer Post, G. A. R., and also of Strafford Lodge of F. & A. Masons, and Wecohamet Lodge of Odd Fellows. Judge Woodman married, first, in 1840, Charlotte, daughter of Stephen Pierce of Portsmouth, and second, in 1866, Frances J., daughter of John J. Loren of Roxbury, Mc. He died Jan. 24, 1888, leaving a widow and two daughters.
3. Jeremiah Hall, born Aug. 1, 1811, resides in Ashtabula, Ohio.
4. THEODORE CHASE, born in Rochester April 10, 1815, fitted for college at Exeter, and graduated at Dartmouth College in 1835. He read law with Hon. Daniel M. Christie and Hon. Noah Teb- bets of Dover. He began practice in Haverhill, but removed to Bucksport, Me., in 1839.
In the earlier part of his professional life Mr. Woodman took an active interest in politics, though he never sought office, only serving the public faithfully and honestly when duty seemed to call. He was a member of the Legislature in 1857-58, 1866-67 -68, being speaker of the House the last year. From this time he retired definitely from public life, steadfastly refusing every office except that of moderator of town meeting, to which he was elected thirty-four times, and in which he exhibited rare talents and tact. The confidence of his fellow-townsmen shown in the constant regularity of conferring this office upon him was a special gratification to Mr. Woodman, and he frequently referred to it in his later years as the acme of his political ambition. He was always regarded a safe counselor in matters of law and business, and a great discourager of litigation. Pre-eminently a peace-maker, he habitually urged would-be clients to settle their differences without recourse to law, if possible, consequently his court prac-
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tice was never large. His principal business was office practice, and the settlement of estates. His reputation for financial sagacity and faithfulness brought him many trusts, which he administered with that high sense of honor and integrity which characterized the whole course of his life. The widow, the orphan, and the needy found in him a wise adviser, a sympathizing, generous friend, a courteous gentleman, to whom a selfish motive or an unkindly act seemed impossible. "He left behind him memories of a clear, strong mind, a sparkling social wit, an unselfish, gen- erous character, an upright, noble life."
Mr. Woodman married the daughter of Dea. Henry Darling of Bucksport, Me., whom he left a widow with three daughters and one son, the Rev. Russell Woodman of Albany, N. Y.
5. Sarah Jane, born Nov. 5, 1816, married Russell Bradford, Esq., whom she survives, and resides at Cambridge, Mass.
6. Harriette Crosby, born May 31, 1818, married Dr. Jeremiah H. Garland, and resides at Nashua.
7. Maria Barker, born Dec. 31, 1819, married John P. Rogers, a merchant residing in Boston, Mass.
8. Charlotte Cheerer, born Oct. 10, 1821, married Hon. Moses Howe of Haverhill, Mass.
9. Samuel, born June 27, 1824, in trade at Haverhill, Mass.
CHARLES DENNETT.
The ancestry of the subject of this sketch is traced back through five generations in this country. In tracing the Dennetts in Eng- land, it is found that they originated in Sussex county. A coat of arms belonging to a soldier of the name is described in Guil- lium's Heraldry, edition of 1638. For those interested in such things an engraving of the coat of arms is here given with the description in its quaint old English spelling.
Description of the Coat of Arms of the English Dennetts.
"HE BEARETH SABLE, GUTTE D'EAU, ERMYNE, BLACK UPON WHITE, BY THE NAME OF DANNET. THE WORD EAU IS A FRENCH WORD, AND SIGNIFYETH THE SAME AS AQUA DOTH IN LATIN, WHICH IS AS MUCH AS TO SAY HE BEARETH DROPS OF WATER; IF HE SHOULD BLAZON IT IN ENGLISH THE PROPER COLOUR THEREOF IS ARGENT.
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" THIS HAS BEEN A WORTHY ESCUCHEON FOR A SOULDIER OF THAT CHRISTIAN LEGION CALLED THE FULMINATRIX, AT WHOSE PRAYERS IN A GREAT DROUGHTH, GOD POURED DOWNE RAINE IN THE SIGHT OF THE HEATHIEN, AS EUSEBIUS TES- TIFYETH ; AND YET THEY WERE NO FRESH WATER SOULDIERS, BUT WERE AS READY TO HAVE EMBRUED THEIR ESCUCHEONS WITH DROPS OF BLOOD AS TO HAVE THUS SPRINKLED THEM WITH DROPS OF RAINE."
BY THE NAME OF DENNETT.
An English authority of modern date says, " The family arms of Dennet or Dennett, agreeably to the fashion of the time, -le temps Elisabeth, - is - sable, gutte d'eau, a canton Ermine ; crest, boar's head, .erased proper ; motto, Per Dei Providentiam."
The name is Normandie French, and was originally D' Anet ; then Danet, then Dannet, then Dennet, and finally Dennett.
Two brothers, Alexander and John Dennett, came from England somewhere about 1660, settling in Portsmouth, N. H. Alexander, born about 1635, died in Newcastle in 1698. John died May 1, 1709, and was buried in Portsmouth.
Alexander, Jr., born about 1660, died June 7, 1733, at Ports- mouth, leaving seven children; he married, as second wife, Esther Cross, Dec. 2, 1728.
His oldest son, Moses, born 1695, married Lydia Fernald of Kittery, Me., Feb. 11, 1723, and died in 1749. A copy of his will, dated 1745, and the inventory of his property after his de- cease, valued in pounds, shillings, and pence, and dated at Ports- mouth, province of New Hampshire, shows that he left an estate of $26,000. His name is on record as selectman, justice of the peace, etc. Five of his nine children died in early childhood. His oldest son, David, born March 15, 1727, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and died in hospital at Falmouth, Me., in 1778.
Charles, second son of Moses, born April 21, 1729, married Hannah Nutter of Newington, Sept. 13, 1753, and died April 6,
Eng ยช by AH Pastae
Charles Dennett
Amed.75.
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1763, leaving two daughters and a son, Moses, born in 1758, in Portsmouth, died in Barnstead Dec. 28, 1810. Moses married, in 1781, Betsey, daughter of Samuel Nutter of Portsmouth, where she was born May 3, 1762. She died in Barnstead, Jan. 19, 1852, nearly ninety years of age. She was a woman of very strong and positive traits of character, many of which were inherited by her son Charles, the subject of this sketch, and the fourth of the eight children of this marriage.
CHARLES DENNETT, sixth in descent from the first Alexander, was born in Barnstead, Sept. 28, 1788. The younger son, Oliver, remained upon the home farm, which is still in possession of the family. Charles, who had much mechanical ingenuity, was appren- ticed at the age of fourteen to a cabinet-maker in Gilmanton, where he remained through the period of seven years, which was then considered requisite to mastering any trade. An incident which occurred during his apprenticeship foreshadows the future man. He learned to play cards, but finding they were absorbing too much of his time and attention, he decided to give up playing, and never touched cards again.
When he had completed his time, he was hired by his master at the munificent sum of eight dollars per month, and board, having to take his pay partly in clock-cases, and trust to selling them if he could !
In 1812 he came to Rochester, and soon began cabinet-making for himself. It was then considered a difficult task to veneer with mahogany, but he laid his first veneer successfully without ever having seen it done. He was a very nice and tasteful work- man. Many inlaid clock-cases, sideboards, secretaries, bureaus, and tables, with exquisitely carved and twisted legs, still exist to testify to his skill and thorough workmanship, being hand-made by himself and his apprentices.
His upright habits and steady industry soon won the respect of his townsmen. He had been in Rochester but a brief time when Mr. Upham, one of his neighbors, came and offered him a loan of money; he replied that he " would like it very much, but could give no security." Mr. Upham responded, "So long as I hear you at work every morning at four o'clock I wish no other security."
Nov. 11, 1813, he married Abigail Ham, daughter of Israel
23
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Ham of Rochester Neck and Mehitable, daughter of Daniel Hayes of Madbury. She was born Jan. 8, 1792.
Just before his marriage Mr. Dennett erected the dwelling- house on Main street, which was his home for nearly fifty-four years. There nine children were born to him, and there he celebrated his " golden wedding." The brick building, which he used for a shop, was built about two years later than the dwelling- house.
Their children were as follows: - 1. Israel Ham, born Dec. 5, 1814, died Dec. 3, 1817. 2. Eliza, born Sept. 19, 1816, died Aug. 14, 1817. 3. Charles, Jr., born Aug. 4, 1818, died Oct. 19, 1829. 4. John Plummer, born Oct. 15, 1820, died Feb. 24, 1836. 5. Adaline, born Aug. 19, 1822, now living in Concord, is the wife of G. S. Dennett. Of her three children, Herman W., Ida F., and Lyford P., only one is living, viz., Herman W. Ida F., wife of Dr. H. A. Dalrymple, left three children, one of whom, Albert H., lives in Concord with his grandmother; Alice E. resides in Rochester; and Bertha has died. 6. Oliver, born March 21, 1825, died April 10, 1843, at Union College, Schenec- tady, N. Y. Entering college at sixteen years of age, he died at eighteen of brain fever. He was an exceptionally fine scholar, unusually modest, retiring, and amiable. His death was a heavy blow to his parents, and they never fully recovered from its effects. 7. George Henry, born May 8, 1827, is a successful merchant in Rockford, Illinois, where he has resided over thirty years. He married Climena M. Kelly in 1853. 8. Abbie Ham, born Feb. 24, 1831, graduated at New Hampshire Conference Seminary in 1851, taught a year in Manchester High School, and afterwards in a family school in Virginia. She now occupies the homestead on Main street, having adopted Alice Edissa, great-grandchild of Charles Dennett. 9. Harriette Frances, born Nov. 16, 1833, died Nov. 30, 1868. She possessed rare traits of character, but was so retiring that her virtues were fully appreciated only by those who knew her most intimately.
The above record shows that time brought many sad burdens to the heart of Charles Dennett; but such was the elasticity and natural cheerfulness of his disposition, that he always impressed those with whom he came in contact as being uncommonly happy
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and free from care; his vivacious manner, and merry laugh as he poured forth a rich fund of anecdotes, ever made him a welcome addition to any circle, whether of old or young. His early advantages were limited, but he was a close observer, fond of reading, and keenly interested in all modern discoveries. Even after his marriage he attended writing-school, and to his latest days his legible penmanship was remarkably fine.
From his first coming to Rochester he identified himself with the moral interests of the town, and was deeply anxious to do all in his power to uplift the community. He was greatly inter- ested in the schools, and did much in sustaining the old academy during its existence.
He became a Methodist soon after coming to Rochester, and was largely instrumental in establishing the church there in its infancy. He, with James C. Cole and Simon Chase, took charge of building the first Methodist Episcopal Church, erected in 1825 (p. 263). He always contributed largely, for his means, toward its support. His house was a home for the ministers who traveled horseback " on a circuit," before the church was able to support a settled pastor. Many times did he and his self-sacrificing wife, who emulated his example in devotion to the church, arise from bed near midnight to admit some weary itinerant, and provide for the wants of man and beast. Mr. and Mrs. Dennett were literally pioneers in the early days of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Rochester. Just beginning life, with limited means, they denied themselves in manifold ways, and labored hard to aid the church they loved so tenderly.
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