USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Wilton > History of the town of Wilton, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, with a genealogical register > Part 26
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REV. JACOB ABBOT.
He was born in Wilton, January 7, 1768, and was the second son of Major Abiel Abbot. Ile had the common school education of that period, was fitted for college at Andover Academy, and by a Mr. Birge, a teacher in Wilton. He graduated at Harvard College in 1792, and tanght school in Billerica, at the same time studying theology with the assistance of Rev. Dr. Henry Cumings, one of the noted divines of that day. He continued his studies at Cam- bridge until he was admitted to the ministry, and preached for a time in Gilead, Connecticut. But eventually he received a call to Hampton Falls, and was ordained there August 15, 1798. In 1809 he was invited to take charge of Dummer Academy, Byfield, Massachusetts, but, by the advice of his brethren in the ministry, he declined the appointment. Ile continued as the minister of the Hampton Falls society until April 1, 1826, when he resigned his office and removed to Windham. Mr. Abbot was greatly respected and beloved, not only by his own church, but by the societies and the people of the vicinity. Ile was a trustee of Phillips Exeter
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Academy for many years, and of the Adams Female Academy in Derry, New Hampshire. He received, as pupils and boarders in his family, many young men who had been suspended from college, and his instruction and influence in these cases were of a most beneficial character. Many testimonials of recognition and gratitude from them and their friends proved their appreciation of his services. After his removal to Windham he continued his useful and active life by preaching in neighboring parishes, and to a society formed in Windham. He also superintended the schools of the town.
The circumstances of his death were deeply afflictive. On Sun- day, November 2, 1834, as he was crossing a pond on his return from meeting, the boat was upset, and he and a neighbor who was with him were drowned. The event carried deep sorrow into every community in which he had been known. Dr. Sprague, the chron- icler of the American pulpit, says of him that " his sermons were written with great logical correctness, luminous simplicity and class- ical purity." " In his family he was a model of conjugal and parental dignity and tenderness." He married, in 1802, Catharine Thayer, a daughter of Rev. Ebenezer Thayer of Hampton, and they had a family of ten children, of whom nine were married, and five still survive.
DEACON JOSEPH SMITH. - · WRITTEN FOR TILE WILTON JOURNAL BY 1. S. LINCOLN.
Died in Wilton the 16th instant [March 16, 1883, ] Deacon Joseph Smith, aged ninety-five years and five months. Ile was buried from the Baptist Church Sunday afternoon, the services being con- ducted by the pastor, Rev. George C. Trow, assisted by Rev. I. S. Lincoln and Rev. Henry D. Dix. Very many were present to pay their hearty respect to the moral worth of this oldest fellow-citizen. Ile was one of the original members of the Baptist Church of this town some seventy years ago, and for many years a worthy deacon of the church. He had strong religious convictions, strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as his precious Saviour, to whose cause he consecrated his talents and the material wealth which he labored earnestly and honestly to acquire. Few men have thus earned and given so much for the support of gospel preaching. In his last days his most earnest word of exhortation to his fellow-disciples was, " Brethren, love one another." For a few years past he was blind, but his organ of spiritual vision was clear and bright. With
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the eye of ('hristian faith and hope he looked on heaven with all its attractions as his sweet, eternal home. The light and hope of this faith impressed itself on his countenance as his silent remains lay in his coffin, reflecting the serenity and beauty of heaven. The good fruits of his long cherished Christian faith commend his useful life to the imitation of all.
REV. URIANI SMITII.
He was born in Wilton, May 2, 1832. In early life one of his limbs became diseased, and it was amputated by Dr. Twitchell of Keene. By request he has furnished the following biographical sketch, dated November 27, 1884 :
" I remained in my native place, West Wilton, with the exception of two terms of schooling I took at the academy at Hancock in the autumn of 1845 and the autumn of 1846. From 1848 to 1851 I was at Phillips Academy at Exeter, where I completed my studies fitting me to enter the sophomore class at Harvard, which I intended to do, after working one year to improve my finances. My father's siekness and death, in 1852, somewhat interfered with my plans, and after that I was solicited to take a position in the Review and Herald office. I concluded to do so, and connected myself with the office, then located at Rochester, New York, in the spring of 1853. In 1855 the office was moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, and I was elected editor of the paper, and, with the exception of a few brief intervals, have occupied the position to the present time. Beside my editorial work, I have prepared several books for the press, and now have upon the market, in the line of bound books, beside some tracts and pamphlets, the following : . Diagram of Par- liamentary Rules ; ' 'A Word for the Sabbath ;' ' The United States in Prophecy ;' 'Synopsis of the Present Truth ;' 'The Sanctuary and its Cleansing ;' . Man's Nature and Destiny,' and ' Thoughts on the Books of Daniel and the Revelation.' This last is a volume of 848 pages, sold by subscription in styles of binding ranging in price from $3.50 to $5.00. The aggregate number of copies now printed is 35,000, and the sale is rapidly increasing. In 1873 I invented, for the use of our college in this city, an antomatie folding school seat. It met with such favor that a company was organized in this place for its manufacture, 'The Union School Furniture Com- pany,' to which I sold my patent on very good terms to myself, and the company are making an immense success of it. My life is at present an exceedingly busy one. In addition to my office work, I
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am secretary of our General Conference, secretary of our Educa- tional Society, a member of our Publishing Board ; I occupy the chair of Biblical Exegesis and Ecclesiastical Ilistory in Battle Creek College, beside supplying the Tabernacle pulpit, when no other help is present. Since the 15th of August I have attended camp meetings at Syracuse, New York ; Worcester, Massachusetts ; Bur- lington, Vermont ; Portland, Maine ; Columbus, Ohio : Jackson, Michigan ; Omaha, Nebraska ; and at Independence, Missouri. In October I attended the dedication of South Lancaster Academy, South Lancaster, Massachusetts. But my health is excellent and I enjoy my labor."
HON. CHARLES IL. BURNS .- BY R. M. WALLACE.
Charles II. Burns, son of Charles A. and Elizabeth ( Hutchin- son) Burns, was born in Milford. January 19. 1835. Mr. Burns spent his early years upon his father's farm, and there developed that strength and good constitution with which he is so admirably equipped for the battle of life. Ile early evinced a desire for an education, and after getting what assistance he could from the common schools of Milford, which were always of a high order, he entered the Appleton Academy of New Ipswich, at that time under the management of Professor Quimby, from which institution he graduated in 1854.
For some time he had entertained the purpose of entering the legal profession, for which he had already exhibited an aptitude. lle read law in the office of Colonel O. W. Lull, in Milford, and subsequently attended the Ilarvard Law School, where he graduated in the class of 1858. In May of the same year he was admitted to the Suffolk bar in Massachusetts, and in October following he was admitted to the New Hampshire bar. In January, 1859, Mr. Burns commenced the practice of the law at Wilton, where he has since resided, although of late years his extended practice through Ilills- borough County and the state has necessitated the removal of his office to Nashua. He commenced his professional labors, as every young man must who has no one to rely upon but himself, with the smaller and more ordinary kinds of legal work ; but by slow degrees he has risen, until today he is one of the most successful lawyers in New Hampshire, and his practice includes the highest order of cases. Mr. Burns, although a good lawyer in all branches of his profession, especially excels as an advocate. Ile is, what most of our lawyers and even public speakers are not, a natural orator.
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The whole bent and inclination of his mind has, from his earliest years, always been in this direction. He has given himself a thorough training and practice, at the bar, on the stump and on all those varied occasions when a public speaker is called upon to address the people. This natural talent, thus trained, has made him a clear-cut, incisive and polished orator, who never fails to hold and impress his andience. It can be said of him, what can be said of very few men, that he excels in advocacy and general oratory. His arguments before juries best illustrate his power as a speaker, while his publie addresses exhibit his peculiar charm as an orator. As an advocate he ranks among the first in the New Hampshire bar. As an orator he compares favorably with our best public speakers. He has held various important offices in the line of his profession. In 1876 he was appointed by Governor Cheney county solicitor for Hillsborough County, and was subsequently reëleeted to that office by the people ; the constitution in the meantime hay- ing been changed so as to make the office elective instead of appointive. He held this office in all seven years, and discharged satisfactorily the difficult and delicate duties of a prosecuting officer in a large county. In February, 1881, he was appointed United States district attorney of New Hampshire, and in February, 1885, was reappointed to that office, bringing to the performance of its duties the same zeal and fidelity which he does to all his pro- fessional labors.
Mr. Burns has been a life-long Republican. His father, Charles A. Burns, was an active and prominent anti-slavery worker in that little band of anti-slavery agitators which existed in Milford. Young Burns, when a boy, was brought in contact with such men as Parker Pillsbury, Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison and Frederic Douglass, and imbibed the sentiments with which they were animated, so that by force of these influences he was naturally a Republican, welcoming this party as the means to carry out the principles of emancipation and freedom. When quite young his interest in the Republican cause, together with his aptitude for public speaking, led him to take the stump. for his party. For years he has performed in this way the most efficient service for the Republican party, and today is one of its ablest and most eloquent stump-speakers. Mr. Burns was elected county treasurer of Hills- borough County in 1861 and 1865. He was also a member of the New Hampshire State Senate in 1873 and again in 1879, and in both years was chairman of the Judiciary Committee and took a
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prominent part in directing and shaping the legislation of those . years. In 1879 he was appointed by Governor Head on his staff as judge advocate general, with the rank of brigadier general. He was a delegate at large to the National Republican Convention at Cincinnati in 1876, and represented the New Hampshire delegation on the Committee on Resolutions. He was one of the three New Hampshire delegates who strenuously opposed Mr. Blaine's nomina- tion for presideney, at first voting for Mr. Bristow, and finally for Mr. Hayes. He was selected to preside at the Republican State Convention held at Concord September 10, 1878, and upon assum- ing the chair made one of his characteristic speeches. The speech was delivered just after the Greenback party had won a victory in Maine, and when the public mind was full of false theories, and the high ground taken by the speaker in favor of honest money and national faith created a deep impression throughout the state. It was everywhere commended as a strong and forcible presentation of the issues of the hour.
Mr. Burns is a man of scholarly tastes and habits ; he has a fine law library, one of the best in the state, and a choice and valuable collection of miscellaneous books. He is an honorary member of the New Hampshire Historical Society and also of the New Eng- land Historical and Genealogical Society. In 1874 Dartmouth College conferred on Mr. Burns the honorary degree of A. M. Ile is a life-long and prominent Mason, having taken thirty-two degrees in that order. He has also been master of the lodge with which lie is connected.
DAVID WHITING .- BY CHARLES H. BURNS.
David Whiting is the son of Oliver and Fanny (Stiles) Whiting, and was born at the old Whiting homestead, now the county farm, in Wilton, August 26, 1810. Oliver Whiting was a native of Temple, and a successful farmer. He was a strong, sensible, reso- lute man, and acquired a competence. He had four children, of whom David was the only son. He located upon a large farm in Wilton, and carried it on until declining years prevented his giving active attention to it, when David took control, and ultimately snc- «ceded to its ownership. 'David Whiting is, therefore, a native of Wilton, and, with the exception of a few years, has always lived there. ITis life has been one of great usefulness. He received the ordinary instructions of the district school in his neighborhood, but
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the school was seldom, if ever, kept for more than two months in the year, and then in the winter. In summer he did not attend, but worked on his father's farm. He began to work almost as soon as he commenced to walk, and he has never been idle since. At the age of eight he did the chores and took care of the cattle. Although his school days and the hours spent in reading and studying books were few, he has, through his keen observing powers, acquired a large store of practical information. and has become a business man of unusual intelligence. With a body aglow with health, knit together with muscles as strong as steel, and which has never been hurt by intemperance or abuse, and with a mind as clear and bright as sunlight, it is not strange that we find him, at the age of seventy- five, full of vigor and enterprise, pushing along with all the enthusi- asm of youth. It is useful to record the life of such a man. It affords an instance of what perseverance, enterprise, courage and fidelity will do. Mr. Whiting possesses all these traits, hence his success.
Before he was twenty years old he kept a store in Temple, for awhile, belonging to his father ; subsequently he went to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and there erected a building in which he carried on trade for some three years, and in the meantime built and sold three dwelling-houses. He then sold out at Fitchburg, and returned to Wilton and his father's farm. Ile bought the farm and carried it on for many years. Mr. Whiting married, October 5, 1830, Emma, daughter of Isaac Spalding of Wilton. Ile was more than fortunate in his marriage. In all of his years since and in every undertaking he has been aided by the intelligent assistance of his wife, who is a lady of rare beauty of character, and whose domestic life has been the chief charm of Mr. Whiting's beautiful home.
About two years after his purchase of the old homestead, the barn, with one hundred and fifty tons of hay, was burned. This was a severe loss. He had from fifty to seventy-five head of cattle, and winter was approaching. There was no time to be lost. In this emergency Mr. Whiting's grit and courage were manifest. Storms test ships ; so difficulties and trials test men. He secured a company of men, went into the woods and cut the trees and turned them into lumber, and in about one month completed a barn one hundred and twenty feet by forty, which still stands, a monument to his courage and perseverance in the most trying circumstances. Mr. Whiting in time made his farm one of the most valuable in
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the state. It was one of the largest, and possibly the largest dairy farm in the state, but it did not satisfy him. He wanted more business .*
The visitor to the thrifty town of Wilton can see on every hand the evidences of the enterprise of David Whiting & Sons. It is fair to say that to the indomitable enterprise of David Whiting the town owes more than to any other person. His force and industry have, for a full half-century. been a source of encouragement to all with whom he has associated. In 1866 Mr. Whiting erected a large hotel in Wilton. For years he was its landlord. He was a model one. Under his management the Whiting House became a famous summer resort. In 1874, in a disastrous conflagration which visited the town, it was burned, and was never rebuilt. The site was subsequently presented to the town by Mr. Whiting, and is now occupied by the new Town House. He has twice represented the town in the state Legislature.
Mr. and Mrs. Whiting, October 5, 1880. celebrated their golden wedding. He was seventy : she was sixty-seven years old. It was a memorable occasion. Children, grandchildren and friends from far and near gathered to the charming home of the worthy couple in Wilton, and all were received with that genuine hospital- ity for which Mr. and Mrs. Whiting are so well known. More than three hundred were present and entertained. The day and evening were spent in pleasant reminiscences. in merry-making, song and dance. Many were the tokens of love and respect that were left with them; and these, with the earnest words spoken, indicated the esteem in which they are held by their kinsmen, townsmen and friends. David Whiting is a strong, earnest man. The world needs such men.
HON. JOSEPH NEWELL.
Joseph Newell was born in Reading, Massachusetts, in the year 1794. His father died soon after, so that he had no recollection of him. Ilis mother married, for her second husband, JJolm Cofran of Charlestown, Massachusetts, where the family, consisting of two sons and two daughters, were brought up. After leaving school. Joseph was placed in a store, and afterwards went into the West
* We omit here the account of the milk business, for which see Chapter XXVI. of this History.
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India goods business in Charlestown Square under the firm-name of Newell & Thompson, where the firm carried on an extensive business with the country towns of Vermont and New Hampshire, exchanging goods for the country products, which in those days were brought down by the slow process of teaming.
In 1823 he felt obliged to make a change, on account of ill health, to a climate free from east winds and salt air, and his step-father, John Cofran, who had been obliged to take a place in Wilton for debt, advised his son to go to this place as an experiment, and see how it might agree with him. He had married Lavina Hopkins, daughter of Colonel Samuel Hopkins of Wilmington, Massachusetts, the year previous, and with his young wife he started for New Hampshire, never once thinking that his stay would be more than temporary ; but his health became so much improved by the pure air that he conchided to remain for a time, and commenced business in the middle of Wilton. At that time all the business of the town centered there, and the country store was the grand rendezvous for all the town's people to exchange, not only their products, but their sentiments and opinions on all important questions of the day. The hall over the store was the cauens room ; adjoining was a large Free Masons' hall ; the post-office was connected with the store ; therefore one may readily see the many attractions of the central store of one of those old New England towns, where not only the affairs of the town, but those of the state and nation as well, were discussed, oftentimes in a most exciting manner.
At this period New Hampshire seemed to have taken a life lease of the Democratic party. Democracy was the law, if not the gospel, of both town and state for many long years, while the struggling minority were ever working to free themselves from the bondage of the dominant party, occasionally encouraged but only to be defeated. Joseph Newell was always one of the staunch, hopeful opposition, -a Webster Whig from the start. In this he was decided and fear- less, but annually on town meeting day was obliged to sneenmb to the will of the majority. It will be seen that he occupied a barren field for political promotion. Ile elung to the Whig party, while it lasted, with the tenacity of life, but when the dissolving elements set in he took to what he considered the next best landing, the Republican party, although with many regrets. In 1865 and 1866 he was elected to the state Senate, which was the only political office he ever held; and perhaps here I cannot better illustrate
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a point in his character than by an extract taken from the Nashua Telegraph :
The late Hon. Joseph Newell of Wilton was a positive man. He had a mind of his own, as the saying is, and trusted in his own judgment. It is related of him that when in the Senate, counsel desired to argue a pend- ing measure ; " Yon may argue it all day," said Mr. Newell, "my mind is made up." And it turned out that it was made up against the counsel.
He was a constant attendant and supporter of the Unitarian So- ciety of the town, and in former days his house was always open to the gatherings of the elergy, which were frequent in those times ; and if he did not fully endorse the creed or belief of that denomina- tion at that time, it must be confessed that the gulf was not wid- ened as time went on with the development of more liberal ideas.
When the railroad from Nashua was extended to Wilton, it com- pletely changed the old town, and all the business forsook the old haunts of trade for the terminus of the railroad on the bank of the river in the eastern part of the town. The subject of our sketch was not long in determining the only course left for him to take. Ile at once erected a store and house and afterwards other build- ings, and removed his business to this more thriving situation, where he continued to take an interest in the many enterprises of the town until 1857, when his wife died, and he then commenced to close up his business. While the old town was fast going to decay on account of its new rival, till it might have almost reminded one of Goldsmith's Deserted Village, yet he could never entertain the thought of parting with his old home, surrounded as it is with charming scenery of woods and streams and with a bold outlook on the grand old Temple hills, which he so much enjoyed to look upon in after life. Besides, in this house, built in 1800, his four chil- dren were born and the best and happiest days of his life were spent. With these feelings he was prompted to offer the old store and the adjoining buildings to his younger son, C. II. Newell, who immediately altered it into a spacious summer residence. The old homestead he gave to his eldest son, George A. Newell, who made extensive repairs and alterations, and still occupies it during the summer months. These, and other improvements, made the place an attractive home during the last days of the old gentleman's life, and one which he never failed to enjoy.
Joseph Newell in any position in life would have been called a character. He was, as has been said, a positive man. His nature was not of a frivolous kind ; of deception he had none, but he had
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a firm determination and decided opinions, strongly tinctured with a true sense of justice. He might be regarded among men like a bowlder on the landscape, firm and immovable. An extract from an obituary. printed in the Nashna Telegraph at the time of his death, may not he inappropriate in closing this brief sketch :
DEATH OF HON. JOSEPH NEWELL. FEBRUARY 17. 1881.
Hon. Joseph Newell died at his honse in Wilton at half-past three this [Thursday] morning at the advanced age of more than 90 years, The deceased was a native of Charlestown [Reading]. Massachusetts. He came to Wilton at an early age and was a progressive citizen and a promi- nent merchant for more than fifty years. His popularity was such that he could have held almost any office in the gift of his town or district. but he steadily refused. until. after the close of the war, he was prevailed upon to accept the nomination of state senator for the old seventh dis- triet. which included Nashua. He was triumphantly elected. and his course was such as to give him a second. nomination and election. Mr. Newell was the founder and one of the heaviest owners in the Newell Woollen Mill. and at different times was concerned in other enterprises which he believed to be for the advantage of his town. A few years ago he met with a railroad accident at Lowell. while attending an agricultural fair, by which he lost an arm. He did much to beautify and adorn his town and to encourage those who have struggled to build better homes for themselves. Mr. Newell was an old-school gentleman : a man " whose word was as good as his bond :" a man who made friends and kept them to the very end of his life. Honest, industrions, cheerful, ready to bear his part in all the burdens of his townsmen, seeking to be useful and to . encourage and foster a reciprocal feeling in those whose paths in life were parallel, he was a good citizen, whose influence will be felt in years to come, for his example was worthy of emulation. He leaves a son and a daughter.
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