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 8
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of rugged health, though he lived to the age of eighty-six. In consequence of his illness the care of the family of seven children fell chiefly upon his wife, one of the loveliest of women in person and character, and one of those noble mothers who bless the world by living in it, and her wise coun- sels and careful training had a most benign and happy influence upon her son. She died at the age of ninety-four, her eye undimmed and her mind unclouded to the last. At the age of six, the sub- ject of this sketch, owing to his father's ill health, went to live for some years with his uncle, General Samuel Griffin, in the adjoining town of Roxbury. His uncle had decided talents for military affairs, and had been a volunteer in the War of 1812, but not called into active service, and attained the highest rank in the State Militia. His fondness for military affairs and his habit of talking about military history and of repeating descriptions which he had read of battles and campaigns, made a deep and lasting impression upon the mind of his nephew. The old general's favorite diversion was to attend the annual muster of the division of militia which he commanded, and to accompany him on such an occasion, was a privilege his nephew prized highly and looked forward to with long and eager anticipation. Ile was a successful farmer, a man of great industry and energy himself. and believed firmly in hard work and frugality for all his household as a means of success. Never, after seven years of age, could the boy be spared from the farm to attend school, except for ten or twelve weeks in the winter. This was all the schooling he ever received, but his natural ambi- tion and eagerness for knowledge led him to spend what leisure he had in reading and study, so that at eighteen he was able to obtain employment as a school teacher, a vocation in which he attained marked success. He continued his studies while he taught each winter, working on the farm in sum- mer, until he had mastered all the higher English branches, and became proficient in Latin and French, and traversed a wide field of miscellaneous reading, making a specialty of history and the lives of military chieftains. Thus by inheritance, train- ing, and self-education, he had become uncon- sciously fitted for the work that lay before him, and cultivated that patriotic devotion and aptitude for military affairs which have won for him an eminent place among the soldiers of his own state, and made him one of the best volunteer officers in the War of the Rebellion. In 1850 he married Ursula,
daughter of Jason Harris of Nelson. She died soon after the birth of a son who did not long sur- vive her. After this bereavement he went to Exe- ter, where he began the study of law. He had previously represented his native town in the Legis- lature for two years, serving in his second term as Chairman of the Committee on Education. He was admitted to the Bar at Concord in 1860, and had just begun his practice when the war broke out. A recent trip to Washington had convinced him of the approach of the conflict, and of its awfulness and long continuance when it should come. Giving up his practice, he joined a com- pany of young men then forming at Concord under the first call of President Lincoln for seventy-five thousand men, and devoted himself assiduously to the study of military tactics. He volunteered as a private and was chosen Captain of the company. New Hampshire's quota of "three months' men " being already full, he and his company volunteered immediately under the second call for three years or the war. This company was the celebrated " Goodwin Rifles." so called out of compliment to Governor Ichabod Goodwin. Company B, Second New Hampshire Volunteers, was armed with Sharp's rifles, and was the only company sent out from the state armed with breech-loading weapons. It was assigned to the Second Regiment with head- quarters at Portsmouth, and there its officers and men were mustered into the service of the United States, June 4. 1861. It was detailed under Cap- tain Griffin's command at the first battle of Bull Run, for skirmish duty, and was handled with remarkable coolness and bravery, though it was under a heavy fire and lost twelve men, killed and wounded. After that battle the Second New Hampshire with other regiments was brigaded at Bladensburg under General Joseph Hooker. His attention having been called to the effectiveness of Company B's armament, he obtained for Captain Griffin a leave of absence and gave him letters of recommendation to the Governor of New Hamp- shire with a view to having him raise a regiment or battalion similarly armed. The state authorities, however, like those at Washington and many regu- lar army officers, ultra-conservatives and timid and opposed to innovations, refused to sanction the project, on the ground of the great expense in- volved. Captain Griffin was promoted to be Licu- tenant-Colonel of the Sixth New Hampshire Volun- teers on the 26th of October, 1861, and soon joined the regiment at its rendezvous. That regiment
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proceeded to Washington, and was assigned to Burnside's expedition to North Carolina, and landed on Hatteras Island in January, 1862. On the second of March, it removed to Roanoke Island, and on the Sth, six companies, under Lieu- tenant-Colonel Griffin, were detailed to assist Gen- eral J. G. Foster in an expedition to Columbia. Upon his return to camp, the Lieutenant-Colonel found himself in command of the regiment, its Colonel having resigned. April 7, he commanded an expedition made up of four companies of the Sixth New Hampshire, and two of the Ninth New York, about six hundred men in all, with five gun- boats and one steam transport, sent to break up a rendezvous of rebels near Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Arriving at the point designated just before daybreak on the eighth, he ordered Major Jardine, with the two New York Companies, to land at Elizabeth City below the rebel camp, which was near the river, while with his own four companies he ran beyond in the darkness, and landed above to cut off the enemy's retreat. The attack was made simultaneously, and the rebels fled at the first fire ; but several of the latter were killed and wounded, and seventy-four were captured, together with three hundred and fifty stands of arms and a quantity of ammunition. At the battle of Cam- den, North Carolina, April 19, Colonel Griffin com- manded his regiment, nearly one thousand strong. His command being held in reserve, was ordered to attack at the critical moment of the battle when the enemy, from a strong position behind earth- works, rail fences, and buildings, had repelled a charge of part of Hawkins's brigade, and thrown the Union lines into some confusion. Advancing in line of battle, Griffin's troops faltered somewhat under a sharp fire of artillery, but assured by his coolness and courage, halted in perfect formation, and at command, fired in a volley with such pre- cision that the enemy broke and fled. It was reported that men of the Third Georgia declared that " they did n't care much for those red-legged Zouaves, but when the regulars poured in that volley, they thought it time to git." This splendid achievement was chiefly due to the discipline, instruction, and drilling maintained by Lieutenant- Colonel Griffin while commanding at Roanoke Island, which gave it a high reputation for smart- ness in appearance, proficiency in drill, and effec- tiveness in action. On April 22, 1862, he was commissioned Colonel of his regiment, and in July was assigned to Reno's Division of the Ninth Army
Corps, and sent to General Pope's aid for the Vir- ginia Campaign. During the second battle of Bull Run, Colonel Griffin and his regiment were almost surrounded, receiving a murderous fire in front, flank, and rear. Thinking the Union troops were firing upon them by mistake, he seized the colors, and waved them in the direction whence the fire was hottest, only to increase it. Then he gave the order to retreat, and brought off the remnant of his men. Six of the color guard were shot down while bearing the colors, and the Colonel himself at last took them again and carried them off the field. He participated in the battles of Chantilly, South Mountain, Antietam-where his regiment was the
S. G. GRIFFIN.
first to plant its colors on the heights above the Stonebridge of sanguinary memory, and where for gallantry in action General Burnside recommended him for promotion-and Fredericksburg. In 1863, he was placed permanently in command of the First Brigade, Second Division, Ninth Army Corps, and was transferred to Kentucky, and thence to Mississippi, and participated in the campaign against Vicksburg. Upon his return to Kentucky, he was placed in command of Camp Nelson, an important recruiting station, and depot of supplies. While there, his regiment re-enlisted for three years or the war, and Colonel Griffin was ordered to superintend the re-enlistment of New Hampshire
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veterans in the departments of Virginia and North Carolina. He was assigned, in the spring of 1864. to command the Second Brigade of the Second Division of the Ninth Army Corps in the Wilder- ness Campaign. He left Alexandria with six regi- ments, reporting twenty-seven hundred fighting men. At the close of that great campaign, he had lost, in killed and wounded. three thousand men, three hundred more than his original number, regi- ments and recruits having been constantly added to his command. At Spottsylvania Court House, May 12. 1864. he won his star by bringing up his brigade to Hancock's support after a successful charge by the latter, which left his troops with broken formations in the excitement of victory. The brunt of a counter-charge of three Confed- erate divisions was borne by Griffin's command until other troops could be brought to his aid. For this gallant act. Colonel Griffin, upon recom- mendation of Generals Grant and Burnside, was nominated to be a Brigadier-General of Volun- teers, the nomination being confirmed by the Senate, without debate, reference, or a dissenting vote. In the engagements before Petersburgh. General Griffin bore a conspicuous part, and his troops never failed to give a good account of themselves. In the spring of 1865 he had com- mand of that part of the Union line near the Jeru- salem Plank Road, and at the final assault with his brigade made two separate attacks, at points a mile apart, between midnight and daybreak, a feat almost without parallel in the history of the Civil War. In the last of these attacks. the division commander having been severely wounded. Gen- eral Griffin Succeeded him and retained command through the campaign, ending with Lee's surrender. and until the close of the war. Other troops made attacks on that Sunday morning, and some of them broke through the outer line of the enemy further away from l'etersburgh, but this charge of General Griffin, made side by side with that of General Hantranft, commanding a division of Pennsylvania troops, with pioneers in advance to tear away the abatis, was the principal assault of that morning and did the hardest fighting, and was the only one that broke through the enemy's main line near the city. In that charge seven hundred and twenty- hve men of General Griffin's division fell. For chstinguished gallantry in that assault, which he formed and he himself led. General Griffin was brevetted a Major-General of Volunteers, this attaining the highest rank of any volunteer officer
in his state. He led his division in the grand review at Washington May 23, and was mustered out in August. 1865. His services had been active, arduous, and honorable to a high degree ; brave. ready, of sound judgment and discretion, he was always in demand at the front ; and he was always with his troops when they were in battle or under fire. He took part in twenty-two great battles, as well as in numberless skirmishes and lesser fights. For months in front of Petersburgh he was under fire so sharp and constant that his brigade lost at times five per cent. of its members each week. He had two horses killed and five wounded under him in action, and had his clothing and equipments frequently cut by hostile bullets. Yet he never received a scratch, and never lost a day's duty from sickness, owing largely, no doubt, to his tem- perate habits. He was tendered a commission as Major in the regular army at the close of the war, but he declined to accept it. During the war he married Margaret Lamson of Keene, New Hamp- shire, and at its close took up his residence there. Ile represented the town in the Legislature in 1866-'68, serving two terms as Speaker of the House. Twice he received the Republican nomi- nation for Congress, but at each election his party was defeated, and he was swept away with the other candidates. In 1867 the honorary degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by Dart- mouth College. For several years after the war he engaged in manufacturing near his home, but later on he turned his attention to pacific pursuits in the South, and became largely interested in the development of Texas, spending with his wife and two sons much time in that state. More recently he has been engaged in writing the history of Keene, for which his scholarly tastes, broad learn- ing, and habits of study peculiarly qualify him. lle has a wide reputation as a public speaker. Ile is a member of the Massachusetts Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and for the years 1887 and 1888 was its Commander.
GREENFIELD, CHARLES, Farmer, Rochester, was born in that place, February. 18. 1826, son of John and Phobe (Wentworth) Greenfield. Hle comes of good old New England stock, his ancestors being among the early colonists. He received his education in the common schools of Rochester and at the academy in the same place. Upon leaving school he chose agriculture as his life work, and
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has engaged in that pursuit ever since. He is President and Trustee of the Rochester Savings Bank and a Director of the National Bank. Mr. Greenfield possesses quick perception, clear judg- ment, and sound reason. His accuracy in matters
CHARLES GREENFIELD.
financial has made his word as good as his bond. In politics he has always been a strong Republican, but has ever refused public office. Mr. Greenfield was married July 5, 1846, to Aroline B. Downs. They have six children living : Millie A., John, Ella S., Sarah E., Hattie A., and Frank Greenfield.
HALL, GEORGE EDWARD, D. D., Pastor of the First church in Dover, was born in Jamaica, West Indies. February 23, 1851, son of the Reverend Heman B. and Sophronia (Brooks) Hall. In the paternal line he traces his descent from John Hall of Medford, Massachusetts, an emigrant from Eng- land, who was born in 1627; through Percival, Cambridge, Massachusetts, born in 1672 ; Stephen, Medford, Massachusetts, born in 1709 ; Samuel R., Sutton, Massachusetts, born in 1755 ; Josiah B., Croyden, New Hampshire, born in 1790; Heman B., Guildhall, Vermont, born in 1823; George Ed- ward Hall was the eldest of eight children. He was fitted for college at the preparatory school in Oberlin, Ohio, and graduated from Oberlin College in 1872, beginning the study of theology in Yale
Divinity School in that year, and graduating in 1875. He was ordained Pastor of the Congrega- tional church in Littleton, Massachusetts, Septem- ber 2, 1875, resigning that pastorate March 1, 1877, to accept a call to the Congregational church in Vergennes, Vermont, where he was installed May 2, 1877. His pastorate in Vergennes was highly successful, but he resigned in October, 1883, and was installed Pastor of the First church in Dover, January 2, 1884. This church is the oldest in New Hampshire, having been organized in 1638, and the First parish dating back to October, 1633. Dr. Hall is the twenty-third on the roll of Pastors of this historical church. Among the list are : Jeremy Belknap, D. D .; Hubbard Winslow, D. D., LL. D .; David Root; Elias H. Richardson, D. D., and George B. Spaulding, D. D., LL. D. This church is one of the most influential in the state, and in the report of benevolent contributions is third in New Hampshire. Dr. Hall's successful pastorate of more than fourteen years, continues with unabated harmony and strength. During this time a beauti- ful and commodious chapel has been erected at an
GEORGE E. HALL.
expense of more than thirteen thousand dollars. The church in 1895 voted Dr. Hall six months' vacation to visit Egypt and the Holy Land, and a further manifestation of regard was a testimonial by voluntary gifts of eight hundred dollars, pre-
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sented to him on the eve of his departure. He has been five times a delegate to the National Council of Congregational Churches, and has been elected. for the sixth time, to the Tenth Triennial Session of the Council at Portland, Oregon, July 7-12, 1898. Ile was chosen a Trustee and one of the executive committee of the New Hampshire Home Mission- ary Society in 1895. and still retains the position. He was elected a corporate member of the Ameri- can Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1897. He received the degree of Doctor of Di- vinity from Dartmouth College in 1893. By com- mission of Governor John B. Smith, Dr. Hall was appointed in 1894 Chaplain of the First Regiment of the New Hampshire National Guard, a position he now holds. He became a member of the School Committee in Dover in 1897. Dr. Hall has been a member of the Winthrop Club of Boston since 1892, and of the Monday Club of Boston since 1896. He married Alice Monroe, daughter of the late James Monroe Peabody of Lowell, Massachu- setts. Her mother. Miriam J., was the daughter of Joseph Niles of Chester. New Hampshire. Mrs. Hall died April 6, 1883. leaving two children. Alice Miriam and Henry Monroe. Dr. Hall married April 16. 1890. Elizabeth Kneeland, daughter of the late William McFarland of Salem, Massachu- setts, whose father was the Rev. Asa MeFarland. D. D., of Concord. New Hampshire. Her mother was Susan Dorothy, daughter of Aaron Perkins of Salem, Massachusetts. By his second marriage he has two children, John McFarland and George William Hall.
HAYES, JonN ALFRED. Physician and Surgeon, somersworth, was born in Berwick, Maine, March 27. 1839. son of Frederick and Sara (Hurd) Hayes. On the paternal side he is of Scotch-Irish descent, on the maternal of English ; and among his ances- tors were many who possessed in a marked degree the characteristics of these stocks. He attended the common schools of Berwick, West Lebanon Academy, West Lebanon, Maine, and the New Hampton Institution, He began the study of med- icine in 1868, his preceptor being Dr. J. S. Ross. He took three courses of lectures at Dartmouth Medical College and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, being graduated from Dartmouth Medical College in 1861. He began the practice of his profession in the New Hampshire Insane Asylum at Concord, as Assistant Physician. There he remained from the autumn of 1861. until Angust
26. 1862, when he entered the army as Assistant Surgeon of the Eleventh New Hampshire Volun- teers, and was subsequently made Surgeon of the regiment. Dr. Hayes saw some very active service and participated in the battles of Fredericksburg,
J. A. HAVES.
Vicksburg, Jackson, the siege of Knoxville, Wilder- ness, Spottsylvania, North Anna. Cold Harbor. Pet- ersburg. Poplar Spring Church. Weldon Railroad. Hatcher's Run, Sailor's Creek, and the engagements until the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. He had charge of the Second Division, Ninth Army Corps. Field Hospital at Fredericksburg, White House and City Point about eight months ; and he also had charge of the Provisional Camp at Alexandria, Vir- ginia, after the surrender at AAppomattox. The camp contained about seventeen thousand invalid soldiers from the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the Cumberland. Dr. Hayes was brevetted Lieutenant-Colonel of United States Volunteers, March 13, 1865. for faithful and meritorious ser- vices upon the following recommendation : " This is to state that Dr. John A. Hayes, late Surgeon of the Eleventh New Hampshire Volunteers, served for a year under my immediate supervision in con- nection with the Depot Field Hospital of the Army of the Potomac, at Fredericksburg. White House and City Point, and that he finally acted as Execu- tive officer at Burkeville, Virginia. He was a first-
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rate officer and was entrusted with most responsible duties, in the performance of which he was most reliable and untiring. I cordially recommend him as deserving the brevet of Lieutenant-Colonel. (Signed) Ed. B. Dalton, late Surgeon, U. S. Volunteers, Brevet Colonel, formerly in charge of Depot Field Hospital, Army of the Potomac." After the war, Dr. Hayes established himself in the practice of his profession in Biddeford, Maine, where he remained from the autumn of 1865 until 1869, when he re- moved to Somersworth, where he now resides. He was United States Examining Surgeon for Pensions from 1867-'90, and served as Town Physician for fifteen years. He is a member of the Somersworth Medical Society, the New Hampshire Medical Soci- ety, and of the Grand Army of the Republic. In politics he is a Republican. Dr. Hayes was mar- ried March 11, 1869, to Mary A. Rollins. He has four children, Frederick L., M. D., John E. R., Mary, and Helen L. Hayes.
HODSDON, ARTHUR LYCURGUS, President of the A. L. Hodsdon Lumber Company, Center Ossipee, was born in that town, October 13, 1844, son of Joseph and Dorcas (Gowell) Hodsdon. He is of English descent. His great-grandfather, Thomas Ilodsdon of Berwick, Maine, who served in the Revolution as Captain of the Tenth (Fifth Ber- wick) Company of the Second York County Regi- ment, married Margaret Goodwin of Berwick, who bore him eight children : David, James, Ebenezer, Ichabod, Mollie (Twombly), Sally (Ricker), and Peggy (Fogg). David, the eldest son, who settled on the old homestead in Berwick, took a prominent part in town and county affairs and was one of the leaders in the Methodist Church. His second son, Joseph, born July 14, 1816, learned the tanning and currying business, and upon attaining his majority began business for himself at Center Ossipee. In this undertaking he was highly suc- cessful, his tannery becoming one of the largest and best in the country. He was active in politics as a Republican, and though he did not seek office, served two terms. (1855-'57) in the New Hamp- shire Legislature; was interested in the militia, in which he held the rank of Colonel; was a Master Mason ; and was one of the firm supporters of the First Congregational Church of Ossipee, of which he was for thirty-three years a Deacon, and for over forty years Superintendent of its Sunday- school. He died April 15, 1897. Arthur L. Hodsdon, bis second child and eldest son, was
educated in the public schools of Ossipee and the Academies at Effingham, New Hampshire, and Fryeburg, Maine. At the age of twenty-one he went into business with his father in the manufac- ture of leather, also engaging in the lumber trade. In 188; he discontinued his tannery ; and in 1887 he was elected President of the Pine River Lumber Company. Two years later he bought out the company, reorganizing it as the A. L. Hodsdon Company, of which he remains President and Agent. In politics he is a Republican. He has been a member of the State Committee for twelve years, and for many years he has been chairman of the Town Committee. He was elected to the State
A. L. HODSDON.
Senate in 1890-'91. He is a Mason, Odd Fellow, and Knight of Pythias. Mr. Hodsdon married, September 4, 1870, Charlotte M., daughter of Dr. Nathaniel and Charlotte S. (Hobbs) Grant of Ossipee. They have three children : Dr. Walter Grant, Herbert Arthur, and Mary Ellen Hodsdon.
JONES, JOHN FRANKLIN, Banker, Concord, was born in Hopkinton, March 31, 1835, son of Jona- than and Sarah (Currier) Jones. He is a grand- son of Jonathan Jones, a well-known resident of Boscawen. On the maternal side he can trace his descent from Richard Currier, one of the original settlers of Salisbury, born in 1617 and died in
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1687. Mr. Jones attended the common schools at Hopkinton and Hopkinton Academy. He lived on the home farm until he was fifteen years old, when he was stricken with illness. Ile was an invalid for six years, but at the age of twenty-two went to Massachusetts, and took a position in a drug store. This business not agreeing with him, he returned to Hopkinton, where he worked in a general coun- try store until 1861. when he opened a store in Contoocook, in company with R. T. Crowell, and did a successful business until 1867. when. his health again failing. he sold out his interest to his partner. From 1867 to 1885 he lived in Contoo- cook, acting as Justice and settling estates. In
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