Men of progress; biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in and of the state of New Hampshire, Part 26

Author: Herndon, Richard, comp
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Boston, New England magazine
Number of Pages: 246


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 26


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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32


MARVIN, WILLIAM EDWARD, Lawyer, Ports- mouth, was born in that town, January 1, 1872, son of William and Eliza Salter (Anderson) Mar- vin. He attended the private and public schools in Portsmouth, went to Harvard University, and was graduated from its Law School in 1893 with degree of LL. B. He was admitted to the Bar of New Hampshire at the July term of that year. From the beginning his practice has been asso- ciated with Frink & Batchelder, being taken into partnership in the spring of 1894, when the firm became Frink, Batchelder & Marvin. In Septem- ber of that year, upon the death of Charles E. Batchelder, Mr. Marvin formed a partnership with the Hon. J. S. H. Frink, under the firm name of Frink & Marvin, which still continues. He was admitted to practice in United States Courts in September, 1896. Mr. Marvin was Chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Newcastle for three years, 1894-'97, Corporation Counsel for the town, and he is a member of the Southern New Hamp- shire Bar Association ; Powwow Club, Harvard University Law School; Warwick Club of Ports- mouth, and a life member of Harvard Law School


W. E. MARVIN.


Association. He is a Communicant of St. John's Episcopal Church, Portsmouth. He was married, June 24, 1896, to Susan Roby Bent of Wayland, Massachusetts. He has one son : William Bent Marvin.


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MEN OF PROGRESS.


MEAD, EDWIN DOAK, Editor of the New Eng- land Magazine, Boston, was born in Chesterfield, Cheshire county, New Hampshire, September 29. 1849, son of Bradley and Sarah (Stone) Mead. He was a farmer's boy, with a keen liking for books and a taste for study, which stood him in good stead not only as a pupil in the country schools, but also when, upon quitting school, he became a clerk in the store of his brother-in-law in Chester- field. There his duties did not occupy all his time, and his leisure was devoted to reading and study. Moreover, he soon took to writing, one result being a little magazine written out each month. made up of original essays and tales. Among his relatives in the neighboring town of Brattleborough, Vermont, were Larkin G. Mead, who became a noted sculptor, William Mead, sub- sequently one of the well known architects, McKim, Mead & White, and Eleanor Mead, who married William Dean Howells. Edwin Mead and the novelist first met soon after the return of the latter from his consulship in Venice. They became warm friends, a fact which had much to do with shaping the subsequent life-work of Mr. Mead, for Mr. Howells secured for him a place in the Boston counting room of Ticknor & Fields, where he remained for nine years, and not only gained a practical knowledge of business, but made the acquaintance of many of the literary men of Bos- ton. In 1875 Mr. Mead went abroad to prepare himself for the ministry of the Episcopal Church ; but his theological views undergoing a change through fuller acquaintance with New England Transcendentalism and English Broad Church teach- ings, he withdrew from the Church in 1876. Much of the time of the five years he spent in Europe was devoted to study at Oxford, Cambridge, and Leipzig, and to work in the British Museum. During this time he contributed a number of arti- cles to American magazines on the English Broad Churchmen, and he wrote much on other topics. After his return to this country, he edited, in 1881, " Faith and Freedom," a collection of sermons by Stopford Brooke in England, and in the same year published his first book, " The Philosophy of Car- lyle," followed three years later by "Martin Luther : a Study of Reformation." Mr. Mead also lectured in the Fast and West on literary, histori- cal, philosophical, and political subjects. He be- came one of the most active members of the Free Religious Association, and took an active part in the forwarding of popular educational movements.


Among other things he developed the famous Old South Work, lectures and studies in history and politics for young people, in the Old South Meeting- house, a work founded and maintained by the late Mrs. Hemenway, and he has prepared the " Old


E. D. MEAD.


South Leaflets " published in connection with the work, chiefly reproductions of original papers, with historical and biographical notes of much value. These leaflets have had a wide circulation through- out the country, and attracted much favorable comment from educators, writers, and students. Mr. Mead joined the New England Magazine in 1889 as its Associate Editor, with Rev. Edward Everett Hale, who had undertaken its conduct with a view to making it a popular vehicle for spreading a knowledge of New England history. Upon Dr. Hale's retirement at the end of the year, Mr. Mead became Chief Editor, a post he has held ever since. In his service with this magazine he has broadened his reputation and shown high capacity for editorial work, while he has found time in addition for contributions to other periodicals. He was one of the founders of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Good Citizenship, and has served for several years as its President. He was one of the founders of the Twentieth Century Club of Boston, and is President of its Council. He has been active in movements for municipal


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MEN OF PROGRESS.


reform, has borne a part in national as well as local conferences, and was the first Secretary of the Boston Municipal League. Besides his con- tributions to magazines, Mr. Mead's later publica- tions include "The Roman Catholic Church and the Public Schools," 1889; "The Constitution of the United States with Historical and Bibliograph- ical Notes and Outlines for Study," and " Outline Studies of Holland," published by the National Bureau of Unity Clubs. He is a constant speaker upon the platform. His lectures have dealt with a wide range of subjects including "Puritanism," "The American Poets," "The English Common- wealth," "Dante," " Immanuel Kant," "Carlyle and Emerson," "The Study of History," and " Representative Government."


NASH, JOHN B., Lawyer, Center Conway, was born in Windham, Maine, May 17, 1848, son of Barzillia and Lavinia (Hicks) Nash. He attended the public schools of his native town and later took a course at the Academy in Gorham, Maine. He then read law with Joel Eastman, and was admitted


JOHN B. NASH.


to the Bar at Concord in August, 1878, being one of the first applicants coming under the rules for examination and admission of students. Since his admission, he has practiced in Center Conway, be- ing active in all the courts of the county and state.


He is one of the most eloquent political speakers in the state. He has long been a member of the Board of Education and has been most earnest in advancing the educational interests of his town. In politics he is a Democrat, and has been twice a candidate for Congress. He was County Solicitor for four years and a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1889. Member of the New Hamp- shire Legislature in 1891 and '93.


MURKLAND, CHARLES SUMNER, President of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, Durham, was born in Lowell, Mas- sachusetts, May 20, 1856, son of John and Jane (Lambert) Murkland. He received his early edu- cation in the public schools of his native city, grad- uating from the High School in 1872. From this


C. S. MURKLAND.


time until 1877, he worked as an engraver in the Hamilton Print Works. He then entered Middle- bury College, and received the degree of A. B. in 1881, and of A. M. in 1884. He was graduated from the Harvard Divinity School in 1883, with the degree of B. D., and took a post-graduate course at Andover Seminary the following year. He was ordained for the ministry at the Third Congrega- tional church, Chicopee, Massachusetts, in June, 1884, and two years later, in June, 1886, was in- stalled as Pastor of the Franklin Street church of Manchester, New Hampshire, where he remained


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MEN OF PROGRESS.


until called to the Presidency of the New Hamp- shire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. He was inaugurated in July, 1893. Mr. Murk- land received the degree of Ph. D., from Dartmouth College in 1893. On July 30, 1884, he was mar- ried to Helen Mary Tupper. They have one daughter : Marie Murkland, born December 16. ISS7.


PEIRCE, GEORGE WALTON, Physician, Winches- ter, was born in that town, April 24, 1833, son of Hosea and Verlina (Putnam) Peirce. His father


C. W. PEIRCE.


was a physician and practiced in Winchester from 1828 until his death at the age of ninety.two. The subject of this sketch was educated in the schools of his native town, in the Academies at Townshend, Vermont, and Sherburn Falls, Massachusetts, and at the New England Institute for young men at New York city. He was graduated from Berkshire Medical College in 1854, and in the same year began practice in Winchester, where he has since remained. From April 18, 186;, until the close of the Civil War, he was Surgeon of the First New Hampshire Cavalry, and Surgeon.General on the staff of Governor Moody Currier. He is President of the town Board of Health, President of the Board of Trustees of the Public Library, President of the Board of Education and of the Ashuelot


Valley Electric Light, Heat, and Power Company. He was a member of the state Legislature in 1875, and of the Senate in 1891. While in the latter body he was Chairman of the Committee on Rail- roads. He is a Trustee of the New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane, and Past Commander of Post No. 19, Grand Army of the Republic, Depart- ment of New Hampshire. Doctor Peirce is a Repub- lican, and has been active in politics since the cast- ing of his first ballot for John C. Fremont. He married Maria C., daughter of William Follett of Winchester. They have four children : Alexander F., Susan Putnam. now Mrs. Walter O. Stebbins of Hinsdale, Abbie E .. now Mrs. Edward C. Thomp- son of Winchester, and Philip W. Peirce.


ORDWAY, NEHEMIAH GEORGE, Ex-Governor of Dakota, Warner, was born in that town, November 28. 1828, son of Nehemiah and Mary (Flanders) Ordway. His father was a farmer, and his mother the daughter of Isaiah Flanders, who owned a large farm, included in which was much of the territory now occupied by Warner village. It was upon this farm that Mr. Ordway passed many of his early years, soon becoming the active manager of the property. He still owns a large share of the homestead. Before he had attained his major- ity, Mr. Ordway had sought other outlets for his energy, and had engaged in mercantile business in Warner, where he rebuilt stores in Union Block. He remained in business in Warner for several years, and took an active part in the affairs of the town. In 1855 and '56 served as Assistant Clerk and Sergeant at-Arms of the New Hampshire Legisla- ture. At the close of these sessions was appointed by Governor William Haile, Sheriff of Merrimack county for the term of five years, and thereupon he removed to Concord, where he also served as City Marshal and Collector of Taxes. In carly man- hood, Mr. Ordway was a Democrat, but when the Republican party was organized, he became identi- fied with it, and was for many years associated with William F. Chandler and the late Edward H. Rollins in the management of the party affairs, serving as Chairman of the Republican State Com- mittee. In the Lincoln campaign of 1860, as Chairman of the Republican State Committee and Chief Marshal, he took ten thousand men from this state to participate in the great " Wide Awake " campaign demonstration in Boston. When the war broke out, Mr. Ordway was Sheriff of Merri- mack county, but his services were called for by


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MEN OF PROGRESS.


the Governor, who commissioned him Colonel, and detailed him to make arrangements for forwarding the first regiments raised in the state. In 1861, President Lincoln appointed him General Agent of the Post-office Department and Superintendent of Mail Transportation for the Six New England States, which duties he performed until December, 1862, when he resigned to accept the office of Sergeant-at-Arms and Paymaster of the National House of Representatives at Washington. He was elected to this important position at the open- ing of the Thirty-eighth Congress, and was five times re-elected, serving for twelve years, and during this historic period becoming intimately


N. G. ORDWAY.


acquainted with no less than twelve hundred Sena- tors and Representatives. At the same time Mr. Ordway became interested in the affairs of the Dis- trict of Columbia and business matters of the Dis- trict. He aided in organizing and became one of the principal stockholders in the Washington Mar- ket Company, of which he was for eight years President, and still spends a large share of each year in the capital city. In the spring of 1875; he was elected Representative to the State Legislature from Warner, being the first Republican sent from that town. He was again elected in 1876 and 1877, was a Delegate to the Constitutional Con- vention of 1876, and was elected a State Senator in 1879. President Hayes appointed him Gov-


ernor of the Territory of Dakota in May, 1880, and this office he held for four busy years, being actively engaged not only in conducting the official affairs of the territorial government, but in superin- tending the erection of many public buildings, including the State House at Bismarck and peni- tentiaries, asylums, schools, and universities at dif- ferent places. He established the First National Bank at Pierre, and afterwards the Capital National Bank at Bismarck. His early experience in the organization and management of the Kear- sarge National and Savings Banks in Warner stood him in good stead, and he was the first President of each of these new banks in the West. So ener- getic was he while in Dakota that his health was considerably impaired by his labors, and upon his return to his old home, he was obliged in a measure to curtail his activities. Nevertheless, he is still a pretty well preserved busy man, for besides his large interests in New Hampshire and his interests in Washington, he has important busi- ness interests in both the Dakotas, and owns a residence in Bismarck as well as one in Washing- ton. Governor Ordway has always been interested in agriculture, and has developed his estate of four or five hundred acres, which stretches for nearly two miles along the Warner river, and includes the " River Bow Park," one of the oldest fair grounds in New England. Ex-Governor Ordway has been an enthusiastic breeder of fine horses, has taken a very important part in forwarding the interests of agricultural societies, for whose annual fairs he furnishes accommodations at his "River Bow Park," and organized the Merrimack County Grange Fair, which is held on the saine grounds. He is a Mason of the Thirty-second Degree and Knights Templar, and a member of Warner and Merrimack County Pomona Granges. In religion he formerly was affiliated with the Universalists, but while a resident of Washington in war times became a strong adherent of the Rev. Dr. Byron Sunderland of the First Presbyterian Church, with which he has since retained his connection, and has served as President of the Congregation since Dr. Talmage became Associate Pastor. Governor Ordway was married, October 9, 1848, to Nancy Ann, daughter of Daniel Bean, a prominent resi- dent of Warner, who was the owner of large lumber interests, and who built and operated the mills near the present Waterloo Railroad station, other- wise known as Bean's Mills. The Governor had three children : Mabel, wife of Colonel E. L. Whit-


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MEN OF PROGRESS.


ford, formerly United States Pension Agent for this district ; Colonel George L. Ordway (deceased), who married a niece of the late Vice-President Colfax, and was an attorney at Warner; and Florence (de- ceased), wife of Frank G. Wilkins, an attorney of Washington, District of Columbia. Governor Ord- way was admitted to the Bar in the Supreme Court of what now comprises the new states of North and South Dakota, and gave his personal attention to the construction and financial management of all the Public Buildings in both these new and prosperous states, as will be seen by his business cards printed herewith.


OFFICIAL SERVICE.


IS55 .-- Clerk New Hampshire Legislature.


1856 to '60 .- 1ligh Sheriff and Marshal.


1860 to '62 .- U. S. Inspector and Colonel. IS62 .-- Elected Sergeant-at-Arnis and Paymaster, 38th Con- gress ; re-elected 39th, 40th, 4Ist, 42d, and 43d Con- gresses.


$75 to "So .- Elected N. H. House, Constitutional Convention and State Senate.


ISSO .- ---- Appointed Governor of Dakota in May, ISSo, served until July, ISS4. Recommended and approved acts for locating and erecting Insane Hospitals at Yankton and Jamestown; Penitentiaries at Sioux Falls and Bismarck ; Universities at Vermilion and Grand Forks; Normal Schools at Spearfish and Madison ; Deaf Mute Schools at Sioux Falls ; Agricultural Colleges at Brookings and Fargo ; Reformatory Institution at Plankington, and Cap- itol Buildings at Bismarck.


ROLLINS, MONTGOMERY, Banker, Boston, was born in Concord, New Hampshire, August 25, 1867, son of Edward H. and Ellen Elizabeth (West) Rollins. He comes of a family which is one of the oldest and most distinguished in the state, the name Rollins being prominent in the records of almost every town in southeastern New Hampshire. Most if not all of the bearers of the name are descendants of James Rollins (or Raw- lins, as the name is sometimes spelled), one of the pioneers of Ipswich, Massachusetts, who came to America in 1632 and settled at " Bloody Point " in old Dover, a dozen years later, where he died about 1690. In the early Indian-French wars and the great Revolutionary contest, his descendants bore their full share. Ichabod, the eldest son of James Rol- lins, an ancestor of Edward H., was murdered by Indians while on the way from Dover to Oyster River (now Durham), in 1707. The second son of James, Thomas, afterwards a resident of Exeter, was a member of the "dissolved assembly " of 1683, which took up arms under Edward Gove and attempted to begin an insurrection against the royal


Governor, Cranfield. Thomas Rollins was one of those subsequently tried for treason and sentenced to death, but was eventually pardoned. In the Revolutionary Army a score and a half of the descendants of James Rollins were engaged in active service. Jeremiah Rollins, the only son of Ichabod, was one of the petitioners for the incor- poration of Somersworth as a separate parish. He died a few years before the Revolution, and his son, Ichabod, became an active champion of the peo- ple's cause, was a member of the Convention at Exeter in 1775, served on the committee to prepare ways and means for furnishing troops, and on the committee of supplies ; was a member of the Con-


MONTGOMERY ROLLINS.


vention which resolved itself into an independent state government in 1776, and sat in the Legisla- ture in October following. From 1776 to 1784 he was Judge of Probate, being the first to hold this office under the new government. Subsequently he was a member of the Executive Council. He died in 1800. From him the town of Rollinsford, which was made from a portion of Somersworth, received its name. John, the eldest of his four sons, was grandfather of Daniel G. Rollins, Judge of Probate for the County of Strafford, from 1857 to 1866. Edward Ashton Rollins, son of Daniel, was Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1861 and 1862, Commissioner of Internal Reve-


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MEN OF PROGRESS.


nue under President Johnson. James Rollins, third son of Ichabod 2d, and grandfather of Edward H., settled upon the farm in Rollinsford, which has since remained the family homestead. Daniel Rol- lins, his eighth child, married Mary, eldest daughter of Ebenezer Plumer, and was the father of Edward H. Rollins, who was the father of the subject of this sketch. Montgomery Rollins attended the public schools of Concord, the district school in Rollinsford, private schools in Washington, District of Columbia, and studied for three years under Moses Woolson at Concord, fitting for the Institute of Technology, Boston, where he subsequently took a three years' course, completing it in 1888. His first business venture was as a clerk in the banking house of E. H. Rollins & Son of Concord, and after six months he went West, entering the Denver office of the same firm. He returned East to take part in the settlement of his father's estate, and about the first of January, 1890, went to Boston, taking the management of the Boston branch of the house of E. H. Rollins & Sons, and becoming at that time a Director and Secretary, offices he still holds. In 1892 the Boston office became the main office of the banking house, and so remains. Mr. Rollins is the author of a number of publications of great interest to the banking fraternity. Among them is the " Rollins Tables of Bond Values," now in its eighth edition, and the " Montgomery Cipher Code," now in its fourth edition, both of which have met a very hearty reception and have proved of great value. Mr. Rollins is Secretary of the Chestnut Hill Golf Club, and a member of its Executive Committee. He is a member of the Chestnut Hill Club and the Technology Club. He was married October 28, 1891, to Grace Webster Seavey, daugh- ter of the Hon. J. Frank Seavey of Dover. They have one daughter : Ellen West Rollins.


STREETER, FRANK SHERWIN, Lawyer, Con- cord, was born in Charlestown, Vermont, August 5, 1853, son of Daniel and Julia W. Streeter. He received his education in the public schools in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and at the Academy in the same place. He entered Dartmouth College as a Sophomore, being graduated in 1874. After hold- ing for a time the position of Principal of the Ottumwa (Iowa) High School, he read law with A. P. Carpenter of Bath, and was admitted to the Bar in March, 1877. He practiced six months at Orford, then removing to Concord and forming a partner- ship with J. H. Albin, which continued one year.


He next entered into partnership with W. M. Chase, and when the latter was appointed to the Supreme Bench, the firm became Streeter, Walker & Chase. Mr. Streeter is a legal specialist, dealing in cases involving large corporate interests, and was the


FRANK S. STREETER.


General Counsel of the Concord & Montreal Rail- road, prior to its lease to the Boston & Maine Railroad, and is now actively engaged as Counsel for that corporation. He is a Trustee of Dart- mouth College. In 1885 he represented the Fourth Ward of Concord in the Legislature, and presided at the Republican State Convention in 1892. Mr. Streeter was married November 14, 1877, to Lillian, daughter of A. I'. Carpenter, then of Bath, subsequently Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. They have two children.


SULLOWAY, CYRUS ADAMS, Member of Con- gress, Manchester, was born in Grafton, New Hampshire, June 8, 1839. He received a common school and academic education, and studied law with the late Austin F. Pike, at Franklin, being admitted to the Bar in 1863. In January of the following year he began the practice of law in Manchester, which has since been his home. Mr. Sulloway has long been active in politics. He was a member of the New Hampshire House of Repre- sentatives in 1872-'73, and from 1887 to 1893,


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MEN OF PROGRESS.


inclusive. He was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress, and was re-elected to the Fifty-fifth, receiving twenty-five thousand, six hun- dred and sixty-one votes, against thirteen thousand, nine hundred and twenty-eight cast for John B. Nash, Democrat; six hundred and fourteen for Henry E. Brawn, Prohibitionist ; three hundred and twenty-six for Benjamin T. Whitehouse, Socialist Labor ; one hundred and twenty-one for Charles W. Coolidge, National Democrat : and one


C. A. SULLOW.W.


hundred and eleven for Josiah .\. Whittier, Peo- ple's Party. Mr. Sulloway was one of the strong- est advocates in Congress of War with Spain, for the liberation of Cuba.


SARGENT, FRANK HENRY, Physician, Pitts- field, was born in that town October 31, 1861, son of Charles IJ. and Almira (Ring) Sargent. The first ancestor of his family in this country was Wil- liam Sargent, who emigrated to this country from England in 1638. Benjamin Sargent, great-great- grandson of William, who served as a corporal in the Revolutionary War under Washington, was born March 27, 1760, and was ordained as a Bap- tist minister of Bow, New Hampshire, October 11, 1797, removed to Pittsfield, and settled over the Congregational Church, March 10, 1801. He united this church with the Baptist Society, and


continued to preach for the two until March 15, ISIS, when he was seized by apoplexy while in the pulpit, and died from the effects of the attack. He left two sons and one daughter, one son becoming a well-known clergyman. The daughter married Frederick Sanborn, and her son, Major-General John B. Sanborn, commanded all of the United States forces west of the Mississippi River, during the great Rebellion. Walter Sanborn, his grand- son, a cousin of the subject of this sketch, is the United States Judge whose recent decision in the l'acific Railroad cases saved the Government seve- ral million dollars. Moses L. Sargent, the other son of the Reverend Benjamin Sargent, had two children. His son, Charles H. Sargent, born Sep- tember 15, 1825. had six children, the youngest of




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