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 13
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schools, and was fitted for Harvard. He did not enter college. however, and instead of remaining at his books, enlisted in the Union Army, at the age of sixteen. He served as private in the Fifth Massachusetts Regiment, during the war. At its close he studied law and was admitted to the Mas- sachusetts Bar, May 8, 1868, and the New Hamp- shire Bar. April, 1878. Ile practiced his profes- sion with success in Boston, Washington, and Con- cord. In 1882. he gave up law for newspaper work. For several years he was connected with the New York Herald and Boston Globe. In 1888, he became Editor of the Portsmouth Times, and its weekly edition, The States and Union. In 1893, he purchased the plant, and has since then given it his undivided attention, making the paper of wide circulation and of great influence in the state. He was elected a member of the Governor's Council in 1892, resigning the position a year later to accept the position of Collector of Customs for the Dis- trict of New Hampshire under President Cleveland, a position he held four years and four months. In politics he has always been a Democrat. In 1896,
TRUE L. NORRIS,
he was chosen the New Hampshire member of the Democratic National Committee, and still holds the position. He is also a member of the state. county. city, and ward Democratic committees. From his boyhood he has taken a very lively inter-
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est in political affairs. Mr. Norris is a Mason, and Odd Fellow, an Elk, and a member of the Grand Army. He was married May 20, 1890, to Lilian G. Hurst, of Eliot, Maine.
MARTIN, NATHANIEL EVERETT, Lawyer, Con- cord, was born in Loudon, New Hampshire, Au- gust 9, 1855, son of Theophilus B. and Sarah L.
NATHANIEL E. MARTIN.
(Rowell) Martin. He was educated in the common schools of Loudon and Concord, and later studied law in the office of Sargent & Chase in Concord. He was admitted to the Bar August 14, 1879. Since May, 1885, he has been a partner of John H. Albin. He was Solicitor of Merrimack county from July 1, 1887, to July 1, 1889. Mr. Martin takes an active interest in agricultural pursuits, particularly in stock breeding. He is extensively engaged in real estate and other business opera- tions.
NASON, WILLIAM FRANCIS, Lawyer, Dover, was born in Sanford, Maine, November 22, 1857, son of Joseph T. and Susan (Frost) Nason. His father was interested in educational matters, was Princi- pal of several leading schools, and later in life engaged in navigation, being master of vessels in the foreign trade. His grandfather, Daniel Nason, was a shipbuilder and owner. William F. Nason
attended schools in South Berwick and Kennebunk, Maine, being graduated from the High School of the latter place, where for two years he studied law, subsequently continuing his legal studies with Buel C. Carter of Wolfboro, New Hampshire. Being admitted to the Bar in 1879, he removed to Dover, and formed a law partnership with Mr. Carter. He was chosen City Solicitor in 1883 and again in 1884, serving in all seven years in that capacity. He was a member of the legislature in 1887-'88, serving on the Judiciary Committee and as Chair- man of the Committee on Elections, taking an active part in the work of the House, and winning a reputation as an able debater. In 1892, he was elected County Solicitor by a flattering majority,
WILLIAM F. NASON.
and in 1894 and again in 1896 was re-elected. In 1895, he was nominated for Mayor of Dover, and elected without opposition, receiving in 1896, a re-election to the office. Mr. Nason enjoys great popularity with his fellow citizens, and has very successfully administered the public trusts placed in his hands.
PAGE, SAMUEL BERKLEY, Lawyer, Woodsville, was born in Littleton, New Hampshire, June 23, 1838, son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Berkley) Page. In the paternal line he is of English stock, and on the maternal of Scotch. He received his
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early education at the Kingston (New Hampshire). Lyndon (Vermont), and MeIndoes Falls (Vermont) Academies. He studied law at the Albany Law School, from which he was graduated in April, 1861, at which time he was admitted to the Bar. Previous to his studies at Albany he had read law at the office of Woods & Binghams. Littleton, from 1857-'60. He began the practice of his profession in Warren, New Hampshire, in August. 1861, but in 1871 removed to Concord. Seven years later he removed to Woodsville, where he has since resided. In 1868. he received the honorary degree of A. M. from Dartmouth College. Mr. Page has held many town offices. He was Trustee of the State Normal School for eight years : a member of the Constitu- tional Convention of 1876 : a member of the House of Representatives in 1864-'65-'66-'67-'68-'69-'70-'83- '85-'87-'91-93: Chairman of the Democratic State Committee in 1875-76 ; and is now President of the New Hampshire Legislative Association. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, P. E. R .; of the Knights of Pythias, G. I. G .: of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
SAMIFEL P. PAGE.
lows, P. G. W .; Patriarchy Militant, Lieutenant Colonel ; of the Independent Order of Foresters. and Red Men; is a Knights Templar, a Thirty- second degree Mason, and is connected with other societies. In politics he has always been a Demo-
crat, and an active one. He has participated in council and upon the platform since 1863. During all that time, he has been a member of the State Committee, and has declared the faith in nearly every town in New Hampshire, as well as cam- paigning in Vermont and Maine. Mr. Page is an ardent Episcopalian and for many years and now a member of the Diocesan convention. Mr. Page married in August, 1860, Martha C. Lang of Bath, now deceased. Of his six children, only one sur- vives, Martha Sophia Page.
PLUMMER, CHARLES HENRY, Agent of the Great Falls Manufacturing Company, was born in Somersworth, New Hampshire, April 23. 1842, son of Eri G., and Elizabeth (Kincaid) Plummer. He is of good old New England stock, being descended from Revolutionary heroes. He attended the com- mon schools and grammar school of his native town. At an early age he began to gain practical experience in manufacturing, and soon made him- self master of every detail of importance in regard to the manufacture of cotton goods. He rose step by step from the position of bobbin boy to that of agent for the corporation. The Great Falls Manu- facturing Company, in whose administration Mr. Plummer bears so important a part, was organized June 11, 1823, with a charter capital of a half mil- lion dollars. It obtained the privileges of Great Falls as well as those on both sides of the Salmon Falls River, by purchase from Isaac Wendell of Dover, who had built some buildings for the manu- facture of cloth on land opposite the present rail- road station. In 1824. what is now the upper sec- tion of Mill No. I was built, and the next year the manufacture of woolen goods and carpets was started in a building standing near by. This branch of the company's manufactures was stopped in 1834. In 1826 the capital was increased to one million dollars, and in 1827 it was brought up to one mil- lion, five hundred thousand dollars, the present nomi- nal capital. In 1835 a new dam was built nearly opposite the present cloth room. In the same year a dam at Mast Point on the Salmon Falls was built and the storage at Milton was increased. Additions to the reservoirs were made in 1841, by the pur- chase of Cook's and Lovell's Ponds, and in 1851 by the purchase of Horne's and Wilson's Ponds, and later the Great Rast Pond, thus giving the company one of the finest water privileges in the state with a flowage of more than hve thousand acres. In 1812 the southerly section of Mill No. 3
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was built, in 1843 the northerly section, and in 1853 the middle section of the same mill was con- structed, while in 1871 the three were consolidated and a complete set of new machinery and turbine wheels was supplied. Improvements had been made in the power, a one hundred and eighty horse-power engine having been added, which was replaced in 1872 by a four hundred and fifty horse- power Corliss engine for reserve power. In 1894 and 1895 the total horse power was increased to five thousand, by twelve hundred horse power being steam in case of low water. In 1869 the present No. 2 mill was formed by the consolidation of old buildings, and this was furnished with new
CHAS. H. PLUMMER.
machinery and turbines for power. In 1872 the stone dam on the upper level was built, and re- cently the bleachery has been made one of the largest in the country. As this record shows, the business of the company has steadily grown. There are now in the three large mills one hundred and twenty-six thousand spindles and three thousand looms in use, giving employment to sixteen hun- dred hands of all grades, and paying out in wages each month forty thousand dollars. The fabrics manufactured are sheetings, shirtings, twills, drills, satteens, and fancy goods, Minot, Hooper & Co., Selling Agent, New York and Boston. Mr. Plum- mer is a Mason; a member of St. Paul's Com-
mandery, Knights Templar; of the Blue Lodge, Lewiston, Maine, and the chapter of Somersworth. In politics he is a Republican. He married July 5, 1868, Martha A. Guptill. He has one son, Joseph O. Plummer.
PERKINS, GEORGE HAMILTON, Commodore (re- tired) United States Navy, of Webster and Boston, was born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, October 20, 1835, son of Hamilton Eliot and Clara Bartlett (George) Perkins. In the paternal line he is de- scended from the Rev. William Perkins, who came from England and settled in Topsfield, Massachu- setts, early in the seventeenth century. On his mother's side he is descended from John George who settled at Watertown, Massachusetts, and he is also a great-great-grandson of Captain Benjamin Emery of the Revolutionary Army. He was edu- cated at the Academies in Hopkinton and Gilman- ton, and by private tutors. For four years he was at the Naval Academy at Annapolis, being gradu- ated in 1856, and receiving his Midshipman's war- rant October 11, of that year. This proved to be the first step in a long and brilliant naval career. He was first ordered to the Cyane sloop of war, but in January, 1858, he was detached from that and ordered to the storeship Release, where he served as Acting Master, but was transferred in January, 1859, at Montevideo, to the Sabine. He received his Past Midshipman's warrant July 12, 1859, and August 2 following, was ordered as Act- ing Master to the United States steamer Sumpter for service on the west coast of Africa. He was Acting Master, and afterwards acting First Lieuten- ant of this ship, which captured the slaver Fal- mouth, and made the quickest passage on record from Africa to the United States. September 8, 1859, he was appointed Master, and in March, 1861, was commissioned Lieutenant. In Decem- ber of that year he was ordered as First Lieutenant to the gunboat Cayuga of the West Gulf Squadron under Commodore Farragut. On April 20, 1862, Captain Theodorus Bailey took the Cayuga for the flagship for the division of gunboats assigned him, for the passage of the Forts Jackson and St. Phillip in the advance on New Orleans. The Cayuga led the advance and destroyed three gunboats, proceed- ing up the river and cutting the telegraph to pre- vent rebel communication, and captured the Chal- mette regiment. Upon the vessel's arrival at New Orleans, Lieutenant Perkins went with Captain Bai- ley to demand the surrender of the city, in accom-
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plishing which task their lives were in great danger. The Cayuga went to New York for repairs, and then returned to the Mississippi, ascending the river and engaging in a number of skirmishes. Lieutenant Perkins was ordered June 18. 1862, in command of the New London, to convey powder to the Union troops at Fort Hudson. The duty was extremely dangerous, as the river banks were lined with rebel batteries and sharpshooters, but the boat passed them successfully three times. On the fourth trip she was riddled with shots and the boiler exploded. July 31. 1863. Lieutenant Per- kins was given command of the gunboat Sciota on blockade duty off the coast of Texas, and April 15. 1864. he captured the blockade runner Mary Sorley loaded with cotton. He was detached from the Sciota in April. 1864, with leave to proceed north. He voluntered for the fight in Mobile Bay, and was given command of the ironclad Chickasaw, enter- ing Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. with Farragut's fleet. His ship took a prominent part in the attack on the Tennessee, shooting away her smokestack, wounding her commander, and hitting her with fifty- two shots, as shown by actual count. Her sur- render was attributed to the good work of the Chickasaw, which afterwards shelled Forts Powell and Gaines, and compelled them to surrender, and made constant attacks on Fort Morgan, which sur- rendered August 24. Lieutenant Perkins remained in command of the Chickasaw before Mobile until July to, 1865. In November of that year he was appointed Superintendent of the ironclads at New Orleans. May 17, 1866, he was ordered as execu- tive officer to the Lackawanna, Captain William R. Reynolds, which during her cruise in the North Pacific took possession of the Midway Islands for the United States. On June 2. 1869. Lieutenant Perkins was ordered to the Boston yard on ord- nance duty. He was appointed Commander Janu- ary 25, 1871, and in March of the same year was given command of the ship Relief. which carried stores from the United States to starving France. April 17. 1872, he was ordered as Lighthouse In- spector for the second district. He was sent in February, 1877, to China, to take command of the Ishuelot. The chief event of this trip was the use of his ship for the reception and entertainment of General Grant and party on their visit to the East. On March 10, 1882, he was appointed Captain in the Navy by regular promotion. In May. 1884, Captain Perkins was ordered to connnand the Hartford for a cruise in the Pacific. He retired
from the service April 23, 1891. Congress in rec- ognition of his long and brilliant record and his great gallantry, conferred upon him by special act in May. 1896, the rank of Commodore, the ap- pointment dating from May 9th. The pay of the rank was declined. Commodore Perkins was mar- ried September 15. 1870, to Anna Minot Weld, daughter of William F. Weld of Boston, Massachu- setts. He has one child : Isabel Weld, who is mar- ried to Larz Anderson. His present residences are at 125 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachu- setts ; De Rham Cottage, Bellevue Avenue, New- port, Rhode Island, and Winnepauket Farms, Web- ster, New Hampshire. He is a member of the
GEORGE II. PERKINS.
Army and Navy and Metropolitan Clubs of Wash- ington, and of the Union, Somerset and Country Clubs of Boston, the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and the United States Military Historical Society of Massachusetts.
PARKER, HENRY RUST. Physician, Dover, was born in Wolfboro, New Hampshire, January 24. 1836, son of John Tappan and Sally Levitt (Seavey) Parker. He is of English descent, and his ances- tors were very prominent in the carly history of the state. He traces his descent to William Par- ker of Portsmouth, whose son was Matthew Stan- ley Parker of Wolfboro, who was advisor of
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the Governor at the time of the Revolutionary War. Doctor Parker is grandson of Henry Rust Parker who was a grandson of Matthew Stanley Parker. The Parker family have been very prominent on the bench in Rockingham county. Doctor Parker was educated in the common schools, and at Wolf- boro and Tuftonborough Academy, now Brew- ster Free School, in his native town. Ile after- wards attended Dartmouth Medical College, and was graduated in 1866. Previous to his gradua- tion he taught for three years in the Wolfboro and Tuftonborough Academy and also taught in the High School at Farmington from 1859 to 1865. He served for eighteen years as Superintendent of
JIENRV R. PARKER.
Schools in his native town. Beginning practice in Wolfboro in the year of his graduation, he remained there until the year 1881, when he removed to Dover where he has since resided. In politics Doctor Parker is a Democrat. In November, 1890, he was elected Mayor of the city against a large Republican majority and was re-elected the follow- ing year. He was President of the Dover Medical Society and of the Strafford County Medical Soci- ety, and a member of the New Hampshire Medical Society. He was President of the Board of Examining Surgeons for Strafford county during President Cleveland's administrations. Doctor Parker was appointed Co-executor and Trustee
under the will of Hiram Barker, late of Farming- ton, in which capacity as Trustee he still serves. He is a member of the Dover Historical Society ; a Thirty-second Degree Mason, and a member of St. Paul Commandery. Doctor Parker married in 1866, Ella Maria Thompson, of Wolfboro. They have had three children : Nathalie Sally and Alberta Thompson Parker now living, and Henry Rust Parker, deceased.
POWERS, WILBUR HOWARD, Lawyer, Boston and Hyde Park, Massachusetts, was born in Croy- don, New Hampshire, January 22, 1849, son of Elias and Emeline (White) Powers. On the pater- nal side he is of Norman descent. His first ances- tor of whom he has any record went from Nor- mandy to England with William the Conqueror, and was a commanding officer at the Battle of Hastings. At that time the name was Le Poer. It was later anglicized and called Poer, and still later was spelled Power and sometimes Poore. His first ancestor in this country was Walter Power, who came to Massachusetts soon after 1620, set- tling in Middlesex county. His sons added (s) to the name and it has since been spelled Powers. Ezekiel Powers, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, moved from Massachusetts to Croy- don, being among the first settlers of that place. He was noted for his strength of mind and body, and for his inventions, which included a side-hill plow, loop sled, sap pan, and other articles of use- fulness. Three of the great-grandfathers of Wilbur H. Powers served in the Revolution ; the records at Concord, New Hampshire, show that Captain Joseph Taylor, a great-grandfather on his mother's side, was an officer in the Continental War and a Captain during the Revolutionary War; Ezekiel Powers was in the army and the tradition is passed down from generation to generation that he was at the surrender of Burgoyne. The third great-grand- father in the maternal line was in the Continental War and the War of the Revolution. Abijah Powers, son of Ezekiel Powers, was a Major in the War of 1812. Elias Powers was a farmer, and held the position of Selectman of his town, County Com- missioner, and other offices. He was a man of great influence and was frequently consulted for advice on all subjects by his neighbors for many miles around. There is a branch of the Powers family in Vermont, of which Hiram Powers, the sculptor, and Congressman H. H. Powers are the most distinguished ; and in Maine, of which
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Governor Powers, the present executive, is the best known. In the New York branch are included the wife of President Fillmore, and Congressman Gres- ham Powers. A member of the family owned Powers Hill, one of the hills on which the Battle of Gettysburg was fought. and he was present at that battle. Wilbur H. Powers attended the public schools of Croydon, spent one year at Olean Acad- emy, Olean, New York, and graduated from Kim- ball Union Academy in 1871. He took a regular classical course at Dartmouth College and gradu- ated in 1875. In 1878 he graduated from the Boston University School of Law, being admitted to the Bar in August of that year. In the course of
WILBUR H. POWERS.
his professional career. he has been Counsel for the town of Hyde Park, for the Old Colony Rail- road, until it became a part of the Consolidated System, and for the New Haven Railroad, 1894 o7 ; and has always had a large general practice since he opened his office in Boston, January 22. 1379. He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon in college and joined the Masons in his student days. He is a member of the Supreme Commandery. United Order Golden Cross ; a Royal Arch Mason, Royal Arcanum, Royal Good Fellow, society of the Sons and Daughters of American Revolution, and a member of the Wa- verly ( lub, of which he was President. 1894 '98.
In politics he has always been a Republican. He was a Representative of the town of Hyde Park in the General Court of Massachusetts in 1890-'91 '92 : a member of the Republican State Committee, 1893-'94: and of the Republican Congressional Committee, 1887-'97. and Presidential Elector in 1897. He married. May 1. 1880, Emily Owen. He has two children, Walter and Myra Powers.
PULSIFER, CHARLES LEROV. Mayor of Laco- nia, was born in Lakeport. January 1, 1849, son of Lyman B. and Sarah (Sawyer) Pulsifer. His father for many years was a manufacturer of yarns at Lakeport, and was a native of Gilmanton, whither his grandfather removed from Brentwood in March, 1795. The family was of Scotch-Irish descent, having come to this country in 1766. In the mater- nal line Mr. Pulsifer is descended from some of the earliest settlers of Gilmanton, his grandfather, Isaac E. Sawyer, having been an extensive farmer of that place. Mr. Pulsifer attended the public schools of Lakeport, and the Tilton, New Hamp- shire, Seminary, and was graduated from Colby Academy, New London, in 1874. He was gradu- ated from Brown University, in the class of 1878. From 1879 to 1894 he was Principal of the Lake- port High School and Superintendent of Schools. This position he resigned, and entered the Lake- port Savings Bank in 1895 as Vice-President and AAssistant Treasurer, positions he still holds. He has been a member of the Board of Education for Lakeport and Laconia almost constantly since 1879, his present term expiring in 1901. From 1886 to 1892 he was Selectman of Gilford, which then in- cluded Lakeport. He was a Representative in the Legislature in 1890-'91. He is a Director in the Lakeport Savings Bank. Lakeport National Bank, Lakeport Building & Loan Association, and Winni- pesaukee Gas & Electric Company. He is a Past Officer in Chocorua Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Lakeport, and of the Laconia Encampment, and is a member of Canton Osgood. He is a member of Mount Lebanon Lodge, No. 32. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Union Chap- ter No. 7. Royal Arch Masons, Pythagorean Coun- til No. 6. Royal and Select Masters, Pilgrim Commandery Knights Templar, Mount Washington Chapter. Order Eastern Star, and the Edward A. Raymond Consistory. Thirty-second Degree. Nashua. He is an attendant of the Union Avenue Baptist church of Lakeport. In politics he has always been a Republican. He was a member of
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the Laconia City Council from organization May 3, 1893. to March 9, 1897. when he was elected Mayor unanimously. He was re-elected by a heavy ma- jority. Mr. Pulsifer was married July 30, 1885, to Susan E. Smiley, daughter of Dr. J. R. Smiley,
C. L. PULSIFER.
of Sutton, New Hampshire, who died April 2, 1890. Mr. Pulsifer had two sisters, the elder Arianna H. Pulsifer, born June 3, 1844, and died January 27, 1883. She was a graduate of Colby Academy and Grand Ligne, Canada, School, and a specialist in Latin and French. She was for several years a teacher in Colby Academy, and for eight years Lady Principal of Worcester, Massa- chusetts, Academy. The younger sister, Adela L., was born May 12, 1851, and died October 12, 1860.
QUINBY, HENRY BREWER, Manufacturer, Lake- port, was born in Biddeford, Maine, June 10, 1846, son of Thomas and Jane E. (Brewer) Quinby. Mr. Quinby comes from good old New England stock, on both sides of his family. Through his father, he is a direct descendant of John Rogers, fifth President of Harvard College, of Major-General Daniel Dennison, the famous colonial officer, of Governor Thomas Dudley of the Massachusetts colony and of many other colonial celebrities. On his mother's side Mr. Quinby descended from Major Charles Frost, the famous Indian fighter, and
numbers among his great-great-great-grandmothers two sisters of Sir William Pepperell, the colonial baronet who won renown at the siege of Louisburg, and is a direct descendant of the Reverend Jose Glover, in the ninth generation, at whose charge the first printing press was established in America. He attended the Biddeford schools and Nichols Latin School of Lewiston, as well as Bowdoin Col- lege, Brunswick, Maine, being graduated from the latter in 1869. He received the degree of A. M., in 1872, and in 1880 was graduated in medicine at the National Medical College, Washington, District of Columbia. He is Manager and Assistant Treas- urer of the Cole Manufacturing Company of Lake-
HENRY B. QUINBY.
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