USA > New Hampshire > Men of progress; biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in and of the state of New Hampshire > Part 10
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of Somersworth, October 26, 1730 ; and he preached his last sermon, October 31, 1790. Of his sons, Nicholas, a celebrated teacher, was graduated from Harvard in 1766, and was the author of a famous arithmetic. Another son was John Pike, who was the great-grandfather of the subject of this' sketch. On his mother's side, Judge Pike traces his descent from Humphrey Chadbourne, who came to this country about 1631, and who died in 1666. He attended the common schools of Rollinsford, and Berwick Academy at South Berwick, Maine, and then entered Dartmouth College in the Scientific Department, being graduated in 1872. Upon leav- ing college, he engaged in civil engineering, and
ROBERT G. PIKE.
was one of the surveying party who ran the lines of the Dover and Portsmouth Railroad, in 1873. He was an Assistant Engineer on the Waltham Water Works construction, and in 1874 entered the office of Shedd & Sawyer, civil engineers, in Boston. He taught the three following years in a South Berwick Grammar School, beginning the study of law in 1878, with the late Chief Justice Doe. He was admitted to the Bar of the State Courts in March, 1881, and to the Bar of the Circuit Court of the United States in November, 1894. Immediately upon his admission to the Bar in 1881, he began practice at Dover. He was appointed Judge of the Probate Court for Strafford county, the appoint-
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ment taking effect December 28, 1893, and was City Solicitor in 1887-'89. and for two months in 1893. He was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the State April 14, 1896. From 1877 to 1882 he was Superintendent of Schools in Rollinsford, and then declined a re-appointment. He was Trustee of Strafford Savings Bank (orig- inally known as Savings Bank for the County of Strafford) from 1890 to July. 1896. when he resigned the office. When the Dover Water Board was established. he served as a member for a short time. He has been a Trustee of Franklin Academy since September 1, 1883, and Treasurer from Au- gust 5. 1884. to August 5. 1896. when he resigned. For over two years he was a member of the School Board of the City of Dover. declining a re-election. In politics he is a Republican.
PEASLEE. BENJAMIN DODGE. Physician, Hills- borough Bridge, was born in Weare, New Hamp- shire, April 18. 1857, son of Robert and Persis Boardman (Dodge) Peaslee. He is a descendant of Joseph and Mary Peaslee, who came from Eng- land in 1638 and settled in Newbury. Massachu-
BENJAMIN D. PRISIEK ..
setts. Joseph Peaslee was a physician of much repute, and was the first Quaker preacher, whose influence resulted in the formation of the first Society of Friends in 1653. Dr. Peaslee received his education in the New Hampton Literary
Institution and at the McCollom Institute, Mont Vernon, New Hampshire. He pursued his profes- sional studies in the Boston University Medical School, in the Pulte Medical College. Cincinnati, Ohio, and in the New York Ophthalmic Col- lege and Hospital. In 1879, he began practice at Meredith, New Hampshire, and practiced for a time in Bradford and Concord. New Hampshire. and Melrose, Massachusetts. For two years he was Superintendent of the dry-goods house of Hough- ton & Dutton, Boston, Massachusetts. Owing to ill health, he was obliged to give up active practice and business life, and now resides in Hillsborough Bridge. and devotes his time to special work of the eye and ear. being obliged to spend the winters in the South. He is a lover of fine horses and of all outdoor sports, especially trout fishing, and is well acquainted with all the brooks in the vicinity. He is a member of Melrose Club, of Melrose, Massa- chusetts, and of the New Hampshire Medical So- ciety. Ile is a Mason, a member of Harmony Lodge No. 38, and of Woods Chapter No. 14. Royal Arch Masons. Dr. Peaslee was married February 11. 1880, to Alice M. Hammond, and June 11. 1889. to Hattie Dutton. He has one son : Karl Hammond Peaslee, born January 7, 1881.
REYNOLDS, THOMAS OSGOOD, Physician, Kings- ton, was born in Chester, New Hampshire, Decem- ber 24, 1842, son of Thomas F. and Mary (Currier) Reynolds. His ancestors came to this country from the north of England. He received his early education in the public schools and Academy at Chester. He spent three years and a half in the Army, the last two and a half in the Medical De- partment, acting as clerk, steward, cadet, and for seven months as Assistant-Surgeon on the Freed- man's Bureau. In the course of his professional studies he attended Long Island Medical College. Brooklyn ; Bellevne Medical College, New York city ; and Albany Medical College, from which he was graduated December 24. 1866. He travelled extensively in the West and South, but in 1870 set- tled in Kingston, where he has since remained. He was a Trustee of Kingston Academy for five years in the 'So's, being President of the board one year. Ile is a Director of a Western Real Estate Com- pany and of an extensive book concern in Boston. In war time he was made a Free Mason in Ion Lodge, Kentucky, and since 1871 has been a mem- ber of Gideon Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Kingston, in which he has held various
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offices, having been Worshipful Master in 1879, 1880, and 1881. He is a member of St. Albans Royal Arch Chapter of Exeter, Past Commander of Gen- eral Patten Post, Grand Army of the Republic of Kingston, and a member of Burnside command,
THOMAS O. REYNOLDS.
Union Veteran Union, of Haverhill, Massachusetts. He is a Republican. July 13, 1870, he married M. Fanny Smith of Raymond. They have one daugh- ter : Mabel, born May 5, 1871. Dr. Reynolds has been in active practice for thirty-one years, and is about to retire. He has written considerably on microscopy and astronomy for scientific magazines.
SARGENT, HARRY GENE, City Solicitor, Con- cord, was born in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, Sep- tember 30, 1859, son of Samuel Merrill and Cyrene (Mitchell) Sargent. His father was for many years an engineer on the Concord Railroad. On the paternal side he traces his ancestry to William Sargent, son of Richard Sargent, barrister-at-law in London, England, born in 1602. William was appointed Midshipman in the navy, and in 1614 sailed with Captain John Smith to Jamestown, Vir- ginia. He left Virginia and went to Massachu- setts ; the exact date is not known, but his name appears in the Massachusetts Colony records for April, 1633. Harry Sargent attended the public schools of Concord and was graduated from the
High School of that city in June, 1878. He studied law in the office of W. T. & H. F. Norris in 1878- '79. He attended the Boston University Law School in 1879-'So, and again read in the office of J. Y. Mugridge in 1880-'81. He was admitted to the Bar in 1881, passing a highly creditable examina- tion, and began the practice of his profession in Concord. In July, 1893, he formed a partnership with Henry F. Hollis under the firm name of Sargent & Hollis, and May 1, 1896, Edward C. Niles was added to the firm, which then became Sargent, Hol- lis & Niles. Mr. Sargent has had extensive practice before legislative committees and the various courts in New Hampshire. He was associated with Gen-
Il. G. SARGENT.
eral Wayne MacVeagh as counsel for Austin Corbin of New York before a committee of the legislature and in the Supreme Court in the matter relative to the state's interest in the Concord Railroad. Dur- ing the session of 1891 he made an argument in Representatives' Hall in opposition to the Mount Washington bill, and after that was counsel for Coe & Pingree in suits in the State and Circuit courts which involved the title to the summit of Mount Washington. He served as County Solici- tor from January, 1885, to January, 1887, and has been City Solicitor of Concord from January, 1887, until the present time ; is a Trustee of the Margaret Pillsbury General Hospital in Concord, and a
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Trustee of the Protestant Episcopal Church in New Hampshire ; President of the Snowshoe Club. and a member of the Passaconaway Club. He married, December 14, 1881, Elizabeth Dudley. They have one daughter : Margaret Dudley Sar- gent, born June 10, 1883.
ROLLINS, FRANK WEST. Lawyer and Banker of Concord. was born in Concord. New Hampshire. February 24. 1866, son of Edward Henry and Ellen (West) Rollins. His family has been prominent in the affairs of the state for more than two centuries : his father represented New Hampshire in both houses of Congress. He was educated in the schools of Concord, by Moses Woolson, at the Mas- sachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a member of the class of '81, and at the Harvard Law school. His law preceptor was John Y. Mugridge, and he was admitted to the Bar in August. 1882. After practicing his profession for a year he entered the banking house of E. II. Rollins & Sons, becom- ing Vice-President of the house after its incorpora- tion and taking charge of the Boston office, although
FRINA W. ROLLINS.
he retained his residence in Concord. In politics he is a Republican. In 1895 he was elected to the State Senate, of which he was chosen President. He has served in various capacities in the National Guard from Private to Assistant Adjutant General
with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He is an attendant of the Episcopal church and a Trustee of St. Mary's School for Girls. He has written much and well, his published works including, " The Ring in the Cliff." .. Break O'day Tales," " The Twin Hussars," aud " The Lady of the Violets," besides many magazine articles and short stories. In 1893 Dartmouth conferred upon him the degree of M. A. Mr. Rollins, who is an able speaker, made the address for the New England delegation which journeyed to Canton to visit Mr. McKinley in 1896.
SMITH, CHARLES STEWART, long one of the leading merchants of New York and connected with many of its financial institutions, was born in Exeter. New Hampshire, March 2, 1832, son of John and Esther Mary (Woodruff) Smith. His father was a Minister of the First Congregational Church of that place. His mother was a daughter of Aaron D. Woodruff, Attorney-General of New Jersey. On the paternal side, Mr. Smith is of English descent, the family having settled in the valley of the Connecticut in 1641. He was edu- cated at the Exeter public and High School, and was taught Latin and Greek by his father. At fifteen he taught school in Connecticut, and a year later he went to New York, becoming clerk in a dry-goods house. Upon attaining his majority, he was admitted to partnership with S. B. Chittenden & Company, and for several years lived abroad as their European buyer. Later he formed the firm of Smith. Hogg & Gardner, which succeeded to the dry-goods commission house of A. & A. Law- rence of Boston. Mr. Smith retired from active business in 1887. In 1884 he was elected Vice- President of the Chamber of Commerce of New York, and three years later was elected its Presi- dent, which position he held for seven years. He has been prominently connected with a number of great corporations. He was one of the founders of the Fifth Avenue Bank, and of the German-Amer- ican Insurance Company: is a Director of the United States Trust Company, Fourth National and Merchants' Banks, Greenwich Savings Bank. and Equitable Life Assurance Society. He is also Trustee of the Presbyterian Hospital. He is Vice-President of the Union League Club, a mem- ber of the Merchants', Metropolitan, City, Law- yers', Players', and Century clubs of New York, and of the New England Society. He is an occa- sional contributor to the North American Review.
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and is the fortunate possessor of a choice and well- known collection of paintings, including fine exam- ples of the old masters. He is a life member of the National Academy of Design, and Trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the course of a recent visit to Japan, he purchased the remark- able collection of Japancse porcelains and other objects of art made by Captain Brinkley, during a residence of twenty-five years in Japan, and prc- sented it to the Metropolitan Museum. In politics he is a Republican. He was tendered, in 1894, the nomination of his party for Mayor of New York, but declined the honor. Mr. Smith has for many years been active and prominent in reform movements in New York. He was Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Railroad Committee, which after a long struggle and public investiga- tion made by the Hepburn Committee, secured for New York state the benefit of a Railroad Com- mission. He was Chairman of the Executive Com- mittee of the Committee of Seventy that overthrew Tammany Hall and elected Mayor Strong in 1894, and was also chairman of the Executive Committee of the Citizens" Union in 1897 that nominated Seth
CHARLES S. SMITH.
Low for Mayor, and with an organization existing but six months, cast one hundred and fifty thousand votes for its candidate, and was only defeated by the hostility of the Machines who feared a muni- cipal government untrammelled by party obligations.
STARK, GiLins, Physician, Manchester, was born in that city, February 9, 1865, son of Freder- ick G., and Anna B. (Hutchinson) Stark. He is a great-great-grandson of General John Stark. He received his education in the schools of his native place, graduating from the High School in the class of '83. Later he attended Dartmouth Medi- cal College and was graduated June 27, 1889. He
GILLIS STARK.
began practice in Rockland, Massachusetts, but the following February removed to Northwood, New Hampshire, where he remained fifteen months. At the end of that time he settled in Manchester, where he is now in practice. He was clected Alderman in November, 1896, for a term of two years. He is an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, a Knight of Ancient Essenic Order, and a member of the Foresters of America. In politics he is a Democrat. Dr. Stark married, April 4, 1893, Ger- trude M. Hall.
TOWNE, GEORGE DANA, Physician, Manchester, was born in Newport, New Hampshire, January 12, 1854, son of Daniel Dana and Betsey Bcan (Robin- son) Towne. His parents were both of English de- scent, his father's ancestors coming from Yarmouth. He is in the ninth generation from William and Joanna (Blessing) Towne, who settled in Salem, Massachusetts, and removed to Topsfield, Massa-
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chusetts, in 1656. Dr. Towne was educated in the public schools of Manchester and later at Dart- mouth, where he was graduated in 1875. He pur- sued his medical studies at the University of the City of New York, being graduated in 1878. He
GEORGE D. TOWNE.
has been engaged in the practice of medicine in Manchester since that time. He has been Surgeon of the Elliot Hospital since 1890, and Chairman of its Medical Board. He has served as City and County Physician, member of the Health Board of the city. Chairman of the Board of Education, local Medical Examiner for fifteen different life insur- ance companies. Surgeon of the Amoskeag Veter- ans and Consulting Surgeon of the Hillsborough County Farm. Dr. Towne is a member of the New Hampshire Medical Society, the Manchester Med- ical Association, the Medico-Legal Society of New York. the Center District Medical Society and an honorary member of the Dartmouth Medical Mumni Association. He is also a member of the Derry- held Club, Manchester, of which he has been Pres- ident.
THOMPSON, JAMES, Lumberinan, Hooksett, was born in Merrimack. New Hampshire, October 22, 1826, son of James and Priscilla (Woods) Thompson. He takes pride in the fact that he bears the name of the founder of the family in
America. James Thompson, from whom he is a descendant in the eighth generation, one of the original settlers of Woburn. Massachusetts, who was a leader of a band who settled in that part of the place now known as North Woburn. James Thompson, the first. when he landed in this coun- try, was thirty-seven years old, married, and had four children, and he is believed to have been con- nected with families in London eminent in social, intellectual, and religious spheres, a considerable number of whose members received the Order of Knighthood. For many years he was a great force in the community, and was largely connected with the management of its public and religious affairs. His numerous descendants are found in nearly every section of the United States, and in several foreign countries. Their genealogy includes, among the dead and living. the names of many men prominent in the different walks of life, among them being Benjamin Thompson, better known as Count Rumford. Jonathan Thompson. grandfather of the subject of this sketch. was a brave soldier in the Revolution, who had a part in the battle of Bunker Hill, where he used bullets which he had " run " just before that contest began. James Thompson is connected on the maternal side with the Reed family. one of whose members is the Ilon. Thomas B. Reed, Speaker of the House of Representatives. He attended the district school of Merrimack, and there studied industriously, and as he grew older assisted his father in the regular work on the farm. One autumn, when he was about thirteen, he was greatly elated to have the chance to pick apples at twelve and a half cents a day. for a neighboring farmer. It was the first opportunity he had to earn ready money, and he improved it to the best of his ability, working from daylight to dark each day. When his employer paid him, he remarked : " You have done well; you will make a smart man." This incident is mentioned as illustrating the push. energy, and ambition of the boy, and also because it proved the first stepping-stone in a career that has made him one of the wealthiest men in the valley in which he was born. His father, whose means were limited, appreciated the son's ability, and when the boy was nearly sixteen urged him to seek a field of greater opportunities, saying : " James, you have been a faithful son to me, but this is not the place for you to get your start in the world. You have ability, and can do much better than you are doing here, and I want you to go somewhere, and strike out for yourself.
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I freely give you your time, and I am sorry that I am so situated that I cannot do more for you." Accepting the kind advice of his father, the son " hired out" to an uncle, Jeremiah Woods, a farmer of Merrimack, where his first year's earn-
JAMES THOMPSON.
ings amounted to about a hundred dollars in cash, besides his board, which for those days was do- ing remarkably well for a boy in his teens. He remained there three years. A part of his work was to assist his uncle in catching wild pigeons, and there he got his first lessons in an industry that he pursued extensively in later life. After- wards, he was employed at lumbering by Gilman Palmer, a stage-driver between Nashua and Con- cord. He next worked for the Kittredges at brick- making, and stayed with them until he learned to do the "striking." Then for several seasons he worked as a " striker" in the brick-yards of vari- ous proprietors, and received handsome wages. Subsequently, while lumbering for Captain Nathan Parker, in Merrimack, he had the pluck to buy, on his own account, with cash and on credit, a timber lot which was sold by auction, and which he cleared, making a good profit. That transaction was the beginning of a business which he has followed to the present time, and the extent of which has been such as to justly include him among the " Lumber Kings " of New Hampshire. He has owned and operated upon forest tracts in
twenty-one towns in the Granite State, mostly in Merrimack and Hillsborough counties. In some winters, ninety-two horses, fifty-six yokes of oxen, and several hundred men were required in prose- cuting the work. In addition to the manufacturing of lumber and forwarding it to the markets' by rail, Mr. Thompson has sent many millions of logs down the Merrimack river, and has also dealt largely in the finest of ship timber. For many years in the open season, he was busily engaged in catching wild pigeons, and consigning them to commission merchants in Boston, New York, and Chicago, following this occupation not only in New England but in New York, Pennsylvania, and in the far West, including Minnesota, and thus earn- ing the sobriquet of the "largest pigeoner " in the United States. Mr. Thompson has always taken great pains in his agricultural efforts, and his home farm in the sun-lit valley of the Merrimack em- braces four hundred acres of the choicest alluvial land. His spacious and ancient farm-house, large and well arranged barns, splendid cattle and well- tilled fields, constitute one of the model farming establishments of his native state. Although always keenly interested in civil and political affairs Mr. Thompson has never been a politician in the general acceptation of the term, yet while a resi- dent of Bow he was elected a Representative to the Legislature in 1860 and 1861, and also in 1870 and 1871. During those four terms of service in the General Court he was a member of several impor- tant committees, and by his voice and votes exerted a strong influence upon the character of the legisla- tion enacted in those years. Ile has often been urged to allow the use of his name in connection with other responsible public positions, but has always emphatically declined on the ground that his private affairs demanded all his time. In the financial world he is widely known, being inter- ested in many monied and textile corporations. He is a Director of the Manchester and North Weare Railroad, and also a Director of the recently organ- ized Hosiery Mills Company of Hooksett. Offices in other similar corporations have often been tendered him, but he declined them. The only secret body to which he belongs is the Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry of Hooksett, where he has resided since 1871. On November 11, 1852, he was married to Miss Susannah M. Colby of Bow, who died in April, 1897. James Thompson, 2nd, a nephew of Mr. Thompson's, resides with him and assists him in the management of his varied busi-
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ness interests. He has one brother, Luther W. Thompson of Montana, and four sisters : Mrs. Sophia R. Jones of Chelsea, Massachusetts ; Mrs. Clarissa A. Parker of Nashua ; Mrs. Lucinda .1. Jackman of Wilmington, Delaware: and Mrs. Elizabeth E. Rolfe of Newburyport. Massachu- setts. Mr. Thompson is a gentleman of frank and pleasing manners, easily makes friends and holds them, advocates temperance and strictly practices it, prides himself upon his integrity and honorable dealings in all his transactions, contributes liber- ally to the support of religion and all other good causes, and is recognized throughout New Hamp- shire as a progressive. public-spirited. and influen- tial citizen.
TUTTLE, JAMES PATTERSON. Lawyer. Man- chester, was born in New Boston. New Hampshire, July 17, 1856, son of James Moore and Rachel Patterson (McNeil) Tuttle. On the paternal side he is of English descent. tracing his ancestry to John Tothill, who came from Devonshire in the early days of the Colonies and settled in Dover. His
JAMES P. TUTTLE ..
mother's ancestors came from the north of Ireland and settled in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Mr. Tuttle received his education in the common schools of his native town, in the Academy at Francestown, New Hampshire, and in the Cushing Academy at
Ashburnham, Massachusetts. He read law with David Cross and John H. Andrews, of Manchester. attended the Law School of Boston University. graduating from that institution in June, 1885, and was admitted to the New Hampshire Bar, July 29. 1885. Since September of that year he has been engaged in the practice of his profession in Man- chester. He was a Representative to the General Court from New Boston in 1887 and has been Solicitor of Hillsborough county since April, 1893. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and of the Ridgley Lodge of Odd Fel- lows. In politics Mr. Tuttle is a Republican. Ile married January 1. 1887. Lizzie J. Bunten of Dun- barton, New Hampshire. They have four daugh- ters : Dora Morton, Rachel Winifred. Florence Elizabeth, and Margaret Esther Tuttle.
UPTON, PETER, Bank President, East Jaffrey, was born in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, October 1, 1816, son of Jonathan and Nancy (Whittemore) Upton. He is sixth in descent from John Upton, who was one of the Scottish prisoners taken by Cromwell either at the Battle of Dunbar or Worces- ter, and who came to this country early in the last half of the seventeenth century. Mr. Upton was educated in the common school at Tyngsboro and at Dunstable and at the Academies in Pepperell and New Ipswich. He then entered the store of Samp- son Fletcher at New Ipswich, remaining there until 1837, when he went to East Jaffrey and became clerk in Hiram Duncan's store. After two years, he entered into partnership with Mr. Duncan. In 1851 the first State Bank began business in Jaffrey and Mr. Upton was made Cashier. In 1865, it was changed to a National Bank and he continued as Cashier until 1881. He was then made President, which office he still holds, and his son Hiram was chosen Cashier. He was Treasurer for twenty-six years of the Monadnock Savings Bank at East Jaf- frey. In 1861 President Lincoln appointed him Postmaster at the same place and he held the posi- tion until 1884. He was a member of the Legisla- ture of 1848 '50 and was in Governor Currier's Council in 1885 '87. It was largely through his exertions that the Monadnock Railroad from Win- chendon to Peterboro was built in 1872, and he was a stockholder and Director from that time until the road was bought by the Fitchburg Railroad. Mr. Upton has probably done more than any other per- son toward building up and improving East Jaffrey.
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