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 24
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shire in the same year. Mr. Colony carried on a successful legal practice until 1867, when he took an interest in the manufacturing firm of Faulkner & Colony, and upon this firm becoming a corpora- tion he was its first President and Treasurer. Sub-
HORATIO COLONY.
sequently he became interested in the Cheshire mills of Harrisville, and he has since been the Company's President and Treasurer. He is a Director in the Cheshire, Winchester and Citizens' National Banks, and is President of the Keene Steam Power Company. Notwithstanding the demands made upon his time by his private interests, Mr. Colony has served with distinction in the conduct of public affairs. He was a member of the Board of Labor Statistics under Governor Weston. When Keene became a city he was its first Mayor, and was re-elected at its next munici- pal election. He was a delegate to the Demo- cratic National Convention in 1868; was a Representative to the Legislature, from Ward 5, Keene, in 1877, at which session he was the Dem- ocratic candidate for Speaker, and served on the Judiciary Committee. Mr. Colony is President of the Cheshire County Humane Society. He is a member of several Masonic bodies, including Social Friends Lodge, and Hugh de Payens Command- ery, Knights Templar, etc. He married, Decem- ber 10, 1863. Emeline Eimes Joslin. They have
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three children : John Joslin, Charles Taylor, and Kate, wife of Colonel James A. Frye of Boston, Massachusetts.
EDGERLY, FRANK GILMAN, High Sheriff of Merrimack County, Concord, was born in Mere- dith, New Hampshire, February 19, 1853, son of William M. and Lydia (Fogg) Edgerly. He is of English descent. In 1664, Thomas Edgerly emi- grated to America and settled in that part of New Hampshire now known as Durham. He was a well educated man and, in the early history of the state, was a Justice and tried many important cases in which he manifested a strong and sound
F. G. EDGERLY.
judgment. Frank G. Edgerly's parents were among the most substantial people of the northern part of Belknap county. He attended the public schools of his native town up to his sixteenth year, when he went to Concord and served an appren- ticeship in the office of the Independent Demo- crat, afterwards the Independent Statesman. He was connected with these papers as a printer for fourteen years. In 1883, he started a printing establishment for himself, in which he continued as owner until 1889. While engaged in that busi- ness, he gained a reputation throughout the state for artistic work. Subsequently, he became a real estate broker in which he was very successful. In
1893, he was appointed Deputy Sheriff, for Merri- mack county, and on April 1, 1895, assumed the office of High Sheriff, which office he still retains. When Mr. Edgerly was re-elected in 1896, he received the largest plurality vote ever given to any High Sheriff in his county. In the adminis- tration of his office, he has manifested fine execu- tive ability, and has demonstrated that the voters of Merrimack county exercised good judgment in placing him in the position. He is also jailor and in the management of that institution, has always preserved the interests of the people in every particular. In 1889-'90, he was a member of the Legislature. Mr. Edgerly is a Thirty-second Degree Mason in the Ancient and Accepted Rite, a member of Blazing Star Lodge, No. 11, Free and Accepted Masons, in which he has officiated as Worshipful Master for two years; of Trinity Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons, which he has served as High Priest for two years ; Horace Chase Council, Royal and Select Masters, officiating as Thrice Illustrious Master for two years; Mt. Horeb Com- mandery, Knights Templar, and of Aleppo Temple, Order of the Mystic Shrine, of Boston. Of the benevolent organizations, he is a member of the White Mountain Lodge, No. 5, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Concord Lodge, No. 8, Knights of Pythias, being a Past Chancellor and a life member of the Grand Lodge of Knights of Pythias, of New Hampshire ; and is a member of the Manchester (New Hampshire) Lodge No. 146, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Also, of the higher degrees of Freemasonry, he is a life member of the Order of High Priesthood of New Hampshire ; of the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of New Hampshire, and of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of New Hampshire. He is a member of the Derryfield Club of Man- chester, of the Wonolancet Club of Concord, of the New Hampshire Press Association, and of the New Hampshire Historical Society. In politics he is a Republican, and for a number of years has been prominent in the councils of that party. He is a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and has been vestryman of the church for several years. Mr. Edgerly married, April 1, 1893, Anna M. Swasey of Lisbon, New Hampshire. They have one child, Lydia Edgerly, born July 4, 1894. -
EMERY, GEORGE HENRY, Harness Manufac- turer and Merchant, Concord, New Hampshire, was born in Stratham, New Hampshire, May 12,
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1836, son of Joseph and Sophronia (Moore) Emery. In the paternal line he traces his descent through Ichabod Emery, born AApril 21, 1771 : Job, born January 29. 1745 ; Joseph, born February 24, 1702 ; Job, born in 1670 ; James, born in England about 1630 ; to Anthony, born in Ramsey, Hants, Eng- land, about 1600, who, on April 3. 1635. in com- pany with his brother, John, sailed from South- ampton for America in the ship James of London, William Cooper, Master, and arrived in Boston June 3. Beyond Anthony, the line is traced to Gilbert D'Amory, who came to England with Wil- liam the Conqueror. George H. Emery lost his father in 'infancy, but the boy was carefully nur- tured by a devoted mother, until at the age of eleven he went to live with an uncle at Concord, New Hampshire, where he passed through the graded schools. At fifteen he resolved to learn a trade, and, accordingly, entered the shop of his cousin. James R. Hill, a successful harness maker. He thoroughly mastered the trade, and evinced a great aptitude for the business. When he had served his time, he again took up his studies and made great progress, devoting much of his time to bookkeeping. When about nineteen he went to Chicago, where after a time he entered Bell's Com- mercial College and graduated with honor. Soon after, he entered the employ, as bookkeeper, of a large wholesale and retail establishment of sad- dlery and leather goods, representing the senior partner's interest in the business. This relation continued until the firm closed its business, when Mr. Emery entered Bell's College as Tutor, soon being called to the professorship of the bookkeep- ing department. He came East in the summer of 1859 with the intention of making a short visit, but a very flattering offer from his old employer, Mr. James R. Hill, induced him to remain. His energy was soon manifested in the management of the affairs of the concern, where he introduced the most modern system. When the War of 1861 broke out, he obtained large government contracts for his employer. At the close of the war, a Co- partnership was formed, composed of James R. Hill, George H. Emery, and J. F. Dwight, under the firm name of James R. Hill & Company, and Mr. Emery was constituted the managing partner of the firm. Since that time indomitable energy and perseverance have made the name of " The Concord Harness" well known all over the world. At the death of the senior partner in 1884. the sur- viving partners, who became sole owners, continued
the business under the same firm name until 1888, when a stock company was formed with Mr. Emery as President. The firm has long competed for England's trade among her near and distant colo- nies. Mr. Emery received the three first degrees in Free Masonry in Cleveland Lodge, Chicago, in 1858; was a projector and charter member of Eureka Lodge ; is a member of Trinity Royal Arch Chapter, of Mount Horeb Commandery of Knights Templar, and is a Thirty-second degree Mason. He is also a member of White Mountain Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Wonolancet Club. In politics he is a Repub- lican. He was a member of the City Council for
GEO. H. EMERV.
six years, and for two years the President of that body. Mr. Emery married on September 22, 1861, Abbie W. Clarke, a descendant of Nathaniel Clarke, who settled in Newbury, Massachusetts, about 1640. They have three daughters : Elizabeth Cyrene, Lil- lian Abbie, wife of Charles W. Walworth, of Law- rence, Massachusetts, and Hattie Sophia, wife of . George R. Cushing, Jr., of Concord, New Hamp- shire.
GREENLEAF, CHARLES HENRY, State Senator and Proprietor of the Profile House, Franconia, New Hampshire, and Hotel Vendome, Boston, Massachusetts, was born in Danville, Vermont, July 23. 1841, son of Seth and Lydia Hall (Burn-
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ham) Greenleaf. He comes of a family long resi- dent in northern New Hampshire, and he himself has been a resident of the state since a very early age, his parents removing from Vermont to Haver- hill when he was less than three months old. Sub- sequently, they changed their residence to Concord, where the son was educated in public and private schools. Colonel Greenleaf developed an early liking for hotel life, and gained practical experi- ence in the business in leading hotels in Washing- ton, New York, Boston, and the White Mountains, where, after two seasons at the Crawford House, he joined his fortunes with those of the Profile House, with which he has been connected for thirty-eight years. In 1865 the opportunity came to him to assist in the management of the house, the firm being Taft, Tyler & Greenleaf. In 1868 the firm was changed to Taft & Greenleaf, the partnership continuing until the death of Mr. Taft in 1881, since which time Colonel Greenleaf has been in sole charge of the house. From its begin- ning, his career has been marked by great success, and not only has he advanced the interests of his
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C. H. GREENLEAF.
house, but he also has done much in building up the tourist and summer visitor business in the White Mountain regions. He had received many flattering offers to take the management of other great hotels in various parts of the country, but it
was not until twelve years ago that he decided to extend his interests outside of the state, and as the senior partner in the firm of C. H. Greenleaf & Company, leased the Hotel Vendome in Boston. Among other enterprises in which he has engaged is the Profile and Franconia Notch Railroad, of which for eleven years he was Treasurer and Mana- ger. Colonel Greenleaf has been an important factor in Republican politics for a number of years. He was a delegate to the National Convention which gave Benjamin Harrison his first nomination for the Presidency ; in 1895-'96 he was a member of the Legislature from Franconia, and in 1897-'98 a member of the State Senate. He took an active part in the deliberations of that body, and made an enviable record ; and in the spring of 1898 he was induced to enter the lists for the nomination for the Governorship, a candidacy which brought him flattering evidences of his popularity. He with- drew, however, as his business interests would not permit of his making an aggressive canvass. Colo- nel Greenleaf gained his title as a member of Gov- ernor Prescott's staff. He is a member of the Art Club of Boston and of the Derryfield and Calumet Clubs of Manchester. He is Vice-President of the New England Summer Resort Association. Colo- nel Greenleaf was married May 17, 1867, to Abbie Frances Burnham. They have no children.
GERRISH, ENOCH, Retired Farmer and Lumber Dealer, Concord, was born in Boscawen, July 28, 1822, son of Isaac and Caroline (Lawrence) Ger- rish. He is in the seventh generation from Wil- liam Gerrish, who came to Newburyport in 1635. His grandfather, Enoch Gerrish, was a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary War, and his great-grand- father, Stephen Gerrish, was one of the first set- tlers of the town of Boscawen, going there in 1735. Mr. Gerrish was educated at the academies in his native place, and at Meriden. He then engaged in farming, and dealt in wood and lumber. He has been one of the Trustees of the New Hamp- shire Savings Bank for thirty-five years, being one of the Investing Committee for twenty-one years. He is a charter member of the Rolfe and Rumford Asylum. He held all the offices in the Twenty- First Regiment of the New Hampshire militia, from Ensign in 1840 to Colonel 1848-'49, and has been Justice of the Peace for fifty years. Mr. Ger- rish is a Mason, a member of Mt. Horeb Com- mandery. In politics he is a Republican. For
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five years he was Moderator in Boscawen, and for four years served as Selectman and Overseer of the Poor. He was a member of the Legislature in ISSo-'S I, and of the State Senate in ISS7-'SS. For two years he has been Assessor in Concord.
ENOCH GERRISH.
He married, May 23, 1854, Miranda O. Lawrence. They have two children : Frank L., of Boscawen, and Lizzie M. Gerrish, wife of E. W. Willard, Con- cord, New Hampshire.
HARDY, SILAS, Lawyer and Merchant, Keene, was born in Nelson, New Hampshire, April 3, 1827, son of Noah and Jerusha (Kimball) Hardy. His father was a Captain in the militia, and was born in Nelson, September 16, 1789, and died there November 28, 1862. His mother was born in the same town August 13, 1790, and died there January 11, 1854. His paternal grandfather, also Noah Hardy, was born in Hollis, New Hampshire, in 1758, and died in Antrim, December 12, 1835. He removed from Hollis to Nelson just after the Revolution, and became a Deacon of the Orthodox church. Early in the war, when a mere boy, he was enrolled as a minute man in the cavalry reserve at Hollis, and was twice called out to go to Bennington, Vermont, and once to Rhode Island, but never participated in an actual battle. Through his paternal grandmother, Sarah (Spof-
ford) Hardy, he is descended from John Spofford who came to Rowley, Massachusetts, from York- shire, England, in 1638, and who was the ancestor of all the Spoffords in the United States and Can- ada. The old farm at Georgetown, Massachusetts, is still in the Spofford family, and periodical reunions are held there. Mr. Hardy's maternal grandfather, David Kimball, was born in Boxford, Massachusetts, served over three years in the Rev- olutionary War, enlisting in that town in April: 1777, in a Massachusetts regiment, under Captain Daniel Lane and Col. Ichabod Alden. He was in the battle of Stillwater and wintered at Valley Forge. At the expiration of his service, he again enlisted as a substitute for six months, and served under Captain Wilder in Colonel Jackson's Massa- chusetts regiment. He was present in the camp at West Point at the capture of Major Andre, being on detail at Washington's headquarters. He saw Washington when he read the papers taken from Andre's boot. His name was entered on the pension roll in 1820, and his military record is on file in the pension department. He married Lydia Simmons of Boxford, Massachusetts, whose father and brother were killed at the battle of Bunker Hill. David Kimball settled in Nelson soon after the close of the war, and died there October 18, 1842, at the age of ninety-two. Noah Hardy, the father of Silas, was a farmer for a few years until by an accident he lost a leg, when he learned the trades of shoe and harness-maker. He had ten children, all living to mature age. The subject of this sketch, the eighth child, spent his early life on the farm and in the shop. Owing to the large family and the limited means of his father, he was "put out " to a farmer at the age of eleven, and worked away from home until of full age, except for a few months in cold weather. His earnings during this time were over seven hundred dollars. The people among whom he lived were honest and industrious but illiterate, and the only opportunity he had for an education in boyhood after eleven years of age, was from six to twelve weeks each year in a country school. He had but little access to books or papers, but improved every opportunity. The winter before his majority he taught a district school. He had a strong desire for an education. The next four years he spent in hard work, and in teaching and fitting for college, receiving no pecuniary aid. In 1852 he entered the Sophomore class in Dartmouth College, graduating in 1855 with the degree of A. B. He
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had the honor of being a selected speaker at the commencement. In his class were Hon. Nelson Dingley, Chief Justice Field of Massachusetts, and Judges Allen and Ladd of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. For one year after his graduation Mr. Hardy was Principal of Foxcroft Academy, Maine, and then entered the office of Hon. Levi Chamberlain at Keene as a law student. During this time, and until admitted to the Bar, he was compelled to struggle with poverty, having no rela- tives of means to aid him, but he pressed steadily forward with eye on the goal, never looking back. In September, 1858, he was admitted to the Bar of New Hampshire, at the term in Sullivan county, of the Supreme Court. He began practice in Keene at once. From March, 1859, to March, 1864, he was Register of Probate, by appointment of the Governor, and from 1864 to 1874 he was Judge of Probate for Cheshire county. Since then he has confined himself to his regular profession, and has been very successful. He has done a large busi- ness as a pension attorney, and many a veteran in his section of the state, and many widows and
SILAS HARDY.
orphans of veterans have occasion to be grateful to him. He has settled many estates. Though his charges as attorney have been proverbially low yet, being industrious and economical, he has accu- mulated a comfortable estate. He served as
Engrossing Clerk of the New Hampshire Legisla- ture in 1860 and 1861, and was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1876. During the last six years he has owned a dry-goods store in Keene in addition to attending to his professional duties. He has always taken an interest in public affairs and politics, and has held a number of offi- cial positions and various offices in banking institu- tions, and is now President of the Winchester National Bank. In politics Mr. Hardy has been a Republican since the organization of the party in 1856, and has voted for all its presidential nom- inees, and attended many state conventions and many lesser ones. He has been City Solicitor, Alderman, and a member of the School Board. Mr. Hardy was married December 31, 1863, to Josephine M., daughter of Alonzo and Sophia H. Kingsley of Winchester. She was a graduate of Mt. Holyoke Seminary in the class of 1857. Mrs. Hardy died June 19, 1871, leaving one child ten weeks old, Ashley Kingsley Hardy. This son was instructed by his father at home until he entered Keene High School at the age of sixteen, where he prepared for college. He entered Dartmouth Col- lege in 1890 with a high rank, and was graduated in 1894, being the Valedictorian of his class. He then spent three years in Germany at the Berlin and Leipzig Universities. Returning in October, 1897, he took a position at Dartmouth as an Instructor in German. He has since been elected Instructor for three years, with leave of absence for one year, and has returned to Leipzig to complete the course marked out and receive the degree of Ph. D. This son, having been thus early deprived of his natural mother, came under the care of Miss Esther Hills-a member of the family, who acted as his foster-mother through his minority- whose excellent teaching and discipline contributed largely to the moulding and shaping of his high character. They are to each other in their mutual feelings and respect as parent and child.
HAMBLETT, CHARLES JUDSON, was born in Nashua, January 31, 1862, son of Judson A., and Mary J. (Perkins) Hamblett. When he was five years of age, he removed with his family to Mil- ford, where he attended school, graduating at the Milford High School in 1880. He then attended a private school for a year, after which he pursued his studies at Francestown Academy, a preparatory school, taking the four years' course in two years. After being graduated from Francestown Academy
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in 1883, he commenced the study of law in the office of Robert M. Wallace of Milford, and the office of Bainbridge Wadleigh in Boston, and was graduated from the Boston University of Law in 1889. He began the practice of law in Nashua, on
C. J. HAMBLETT.
the 15th of October, 1889. In 1887 he was elected Assistant Clerk of the New Hampshire Senate, and was re-elected in 1889. In 1891 and 1893 he Was elected Clerk of that body. In 1891 he was elected City Solicitor of the city of Nashua, and was re-elected to that office in 1892, 1893, and 1894. He was married October 4, 1894, to Geor- gie Ellen Stevens, daughter of David and Cornelia Stevens. He has one child by this marriage, a daughter : Mary Stevens Hamblett. Mr. Hamb- lett was appointed United States District Attorney by President Mckinley in March, 1898, and assumed the duties of his office on March 16.
HASTINGS, THOMAS NELSON, Walpole, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 23, 1858, son of T. Nelson and Harriet M. (Holland) Has- tings. His grandfather, Thomas Hastings, was a very successful merchant of East Cambridge, being for a number of years in the firm of Hast- ings & Dana, wholesale grocers. T. Nelson Hastings, Sr., who died when his son was only nine months old, was a man of much influence,
and was for years a member of the Commercial Exchange of Boston. Mr. Hastings's great-grand- father on his mother's side was Doctor Abraham Holland, a graduate of Dartmouth College, and the third physician to practice in Walpole where he was very prominent in his profession for forty years. His son Ephraim, born in 1790, was in the War of 1812, and his grandson, Henry E., was a Surgeon in the Civil War. The subject of this sketch acquired his elementary education in the public schools of Walpole, whither his mother removed upon the death of his father. He after- ward attended Warren Academy at Woburn, Mass- achusetts, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he pursued a course in archi- tecture. From 1882 to 1888 he lived in Cambridge, and was engaged in various business enterprises in Boston. In 1882 he built the Bijou Theatre in that city, and conducted it with George Tyler as Mana- ger. While owner of the Bijou, he introduced the electric lighting system. Being a warm personal friend of Mr. Edison's, he became a pioneer in introducing his new invention to the public, putting in over seven hundred lights. He also placed in the theatre, six magnificent chandeliers that had been made to send to Egypt. During this time, he was interested also in the Boston Tobacco Com- pany, and was for three years its President. He was a charter member of the old Boston Bicycle Club, and at the first bicycle race ever held in Suffolk county, took the first prize. In 1880, with four other members, he made a cycling trip abroad, the first trip of the kind ever made, and the " Fortu- nate Five," as they were termed, were entertained by the Bicycle Club of London, then composed exclusively of men of wealth and noble family. They were made members of the Bicycle Touring Club of England. Mr. Hastings extended his trip, making a pleasure tour in Germany, Switzerland, and other countries. In politics he is an earnest Republican. Serving in the State Senate during the biennial term, 1897-'98, at his election receiv- ing the largest vote in the town. He was Chair- man of the Committee on Agriculture, Secretary of Education Committee and of the Committee on Incorporations, and a member of the Committee on Labor. He is extremely popular on account of his genial and amiable qualities and his liberal hospitality, and with his commanding height and presence he makes a notable figure at the State Capitol. Mr. Hastings is a good judge of horse flesh, and is said to be one of the most skillful of
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four-in-hand whips, his coal black horses constitu- ting one of the finest four-in-hand teams in the state. He has always taken a most active interest in the affairs of Walpole, and has identified himself in every way with its social and educational life. He has been a member of the School Committee for several years, is a liberal supporter of the Unitarian Church, and is Chairman of its Execu-
T. N. HASTINGS.
tive Committee. In 1896 he presented the Uni- tarian Society with the Hastings Memorial Parish House. He was an interested mover in placing in the church the fine organ which was the gift of G. A. Stearns. He is a loyal and active member of the Masonic fraternity. Is a Thirty-second degree Mason, and a member of Hugh de Payens Commandery, Knights Templar, of Keene, New Hampshire. On July 14, 1882, Mr. Hastings mar- ried Amy, daughter of the late Hudson E. Bridge of St. Louis. Five children were born to them, of whom four are living: Thomas N., Jr., Hudson Bridge, Russell, and Henry Winthrop Hastings.
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