USA > New Hampshire > New Hampshire agriculture : personal and farm sketches > Part 12
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about five acres of Northern corn is usually raised, and cut into the silo, ears and all, at the proper time. Three horses are also kept on the place.
The stock kept is mostly of the Holstein breed, and includes some superior animals. Mr. Clough has been a successful exhibitor at the fairs, and at the last state exhibition, at Tilton, won a first prize on bull, and also on milch cow. A good amount of fruit is produced, and in bearing years several hundred barrels of apples are sold. Mr. Clough also buys apples quite ex- tensively for the mar- ket, and owns a half interest in the Canter- bury Store Co .; and here it may be said that he has also for many years sold agri- cultural implements of various kinds, being the agent of the well- known Boston firm of George Tyler & Co. Believing in the best tools of all kinds for his own use, he has PHILIP C. CLOUGH. thus been instrumental in furnishing superior implements to others.
Mr. Clough married, August 30, 1866, Mary E. Batch- elder, daughter of Eleazer Batchelder, of Canterbury. Two children were born to them, but both died in in- fancy. About fifteen years ago they took to their home two children-Katie and Henry Gleason-giving them a good, practical education at the town school and Tilton Seminary. Katie is now engaged in teaching, while
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Henry is still at home, caring for the interests of the farm.
Mr. Clough is a member of the Congregational church, and in politics Republican. He has been several times a member of the board of selectmen in Canterbury, and two years chairman, and in November, 1896, was chosen representative to the legislature by seventy-eight major- ity, though the town has ordinarily been Democratic. He is a member of Doric lodge, F. & A. M., of Tilton, was a charter member of Merrimack River grange, of Canterbury, of which he has been master, and a charter member and first steward of Merrimack County Pomona grange. He was an active promoter of the Grange State fair, and has been superintendent of different depart- ments and a member of the executive committee. He is also president of the Canterbury & Boscawen Telephone company.
NOAH FARR,
LITTLETON.
One of the best farms in the thriving town of Littleton, which, although better known as a summer boarding resort and mountain-travel centre, also ranks among the leading agricultural towns of the state, is owned and occupied by Noah Farr. This was formerly known as the Timo- thy Gile place, and is located on the Ammonoosuc river, a mile or more below the village. It was on this farm that the first settlement was made within the town limits, a party of temporary settlers having built a rude log barn on the meadow in 1769, and the first permanent settler, Nathan Caswell, coming here with his family in the following spring. In this log barn, the night after their arrival, April 11, Mrs. Caswell gave birth to a son, the first white child born in town.
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Mr. Farr is a native of Littleton, a son of Gilman and Philena (Allen ) Farr, born December 10, 1836, on what is known as " Farr hill." He received his education in the town schools, and when eighteen years of age, his father having purchased this farm, he removed with him hither, where he has since had his home, pursuing the farmer's calling, in which he has taken much interest and been quite successful. He worked for his father until thirty years of age, and then in com- pany with a brother-in- law,-B. F. Lane, now of Whitefield, purchas- ed the farm. Two years later, he bought Mr. Lane's interest, and has since been proprie- tor.
The farm at present embraces 225 acres, of which 50 is in mowing and tillage, most of this being Ammonoosuc River meadow, of great fertility, six tons of hay NOAH FARR. having been cut in one season on a single acre, in two cuttings.
Dairying is Mr. Farr's specialty, comparatively little land being devoted to tillage. He was for a time en- gaged in retailing milk in the village, when he kept as many as thirty cows. At present, he is selling cream to the White Mountain creamery, and has reduced his number of cows. He keeps half a dozen horses, and for the past few years has had a number of summer board- ers. His buildings are in first-class condition, a new
FARM BUILDINGS OF NOAH FARR, LITTLETON.
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barn-90x47 feet, with cellar under the whole, without a post, it being supported by iron rods-having been built in 1877. House, stable, and basement are all sup- plied with pure running water. There is also a shop which contains the best equipment of mechanical tools possessed by any farmer in the state, in which Mr. Farr spends much time both pleasantly and profitably. The buildings, as a whole, are generally regarded as the best set of farm buildings in the county. Mr. Farr is an ad- mirer of Holstein stock, and was the first man to intro- duce this favorite milk-producing breed into Littleton, procuring a fine blooded bull of 2,000 pounds weight, some years since, through which the stock of the neigh- borhood was greatly improved.
Mr. Farr married, first, Mary B. Griggs, of Littleton, in December, 1868, who died in May, 1870. October 10, 1871, he was united with Sarah, daughter of Jerediah Farmer, of Bethlehem. They have two sons, Arthur N. and Albert L., the former living at West Milan, and the latter at home. Mr. Farr was a charter member and first steward of White Mountain grange, and has served as overseer and treasurer ; also as treasurer of Northern New Hampshire Pomona grange. He has also been treasurer of the town school district. He is a Republi- can and a Congregationalist, and has been several years librarian of the Sunday-school.
PROF. J. W. SANBORN,
GILMANTON.
No man in this country is better known for his connec- tion with educational and experimental work in agricul- ture than Jeremiah W. Sanborn of Gilmanton, son of George W. and Mary Ann (Brown) Sanborn, born February 4, 1847, on a farm in that town which de-
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scended in the family from the original proprietor. Educated at Pittsfield and Gilmanton academies, and Concord high school, he was made superintendent of schools in Gilmanton at twenty-one, and a member of the state board of agriculture at twenty-six. Subsequently he served as a representative in the legislature. He was for some years superintendent of the Agricultural college farm at Hanover.
He removed to Missouri and became dean of the agricultural department of the University of Missouri, secretary of the Missouri state board of agriculture, United States statistician for Missouri, secretary of the Kansas City Fat Stock Show, and director of the Missouri state experiment station. From here he was called to Utah, where he aided in the establishment of the Utah Agricul- tural college, of which he was the first president. He was also director of the Utah experiment station, and held other positions in that territory. He collected the agricultural exhibits of Missouri for the New Orleans exposition, and those of Utah for the Columbian exposi- tion at Chicago.
Later he returned to New Hampshire and became agricultural editor of the Manchester Mirror. He was one of the first, if not the first, among the agricultural college workers to conduct and publish systematic experi- ments, and has been a prolific writer for the agricultural press. He wrote the agricultural section of Gateley's "World's Progress," the publisher searching Europe and America for an author for this department. He has been widely called upon in the lecture field, his experience covering New England, the Mississippi valley, and Utah. Many of his experiments are original, and have attracted attention on both sides of the Atlantic. At present, he is conducting his farm of 1,700 acres in Gil- manton on original lines, partly in the public interest.
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He was recently appointed a trustee of the New Hamp- shire Agricultural college.
Prof. Sanborn married, June 4, 1872, Belle G. Osborne of Loudon. Their children are Harry W., Alice, and Carl J.
JOHN ALBERT PEASLEE,
BRADFORD.
Bradford and Newbury are among the rugged towns in the backbone region of the state, but there are good farms and thrifty farmers within their limits, as has been evidenced by the exhibitions of the Bradford and New- bury Agricultural Soci- ety during the past 20 years, with which John Albert Peaslee of the former town has been prominently identified from the start.
Mr. Peaslee, son of John and Betsey (Pres- by) Peaslee, was born December 14, 1845, on the old homestead upon which his father was the original settler, clearing it up and residing upon it for sixty-two years. Here he was reared and JOHN ALBERT PEASLEE. has spent the greater portion of his life. He was educated in the town schools and has always been actively identified with the town's interests. November 22, 1871, he married Miss Maria R. Smith, daughter of Ira Smith of New London. They
BRADFORD AND NEWBURY FAIR GROUNDS, J. A. PEASLEE, SUPT.
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have one child, a daughter, Lura M. Peaslee, now 22 years of age, who remains at home.
The Peaslee farm, which originally contained about 175 acres, and to which additions, increasing the acre- age to over 300, have been made, has always been noted for superior stock, especially neat cattle, its oxen being particularly fine. Grade Holstein and Ayrshires are now mainly kept, the cows, whose milk is sold at the cars, numbering about forty the past season. Sometimes as many as eighty head of cattle, altogether, have been win- tered, and from three to five horses are also kept. About eighty-five acres of land is in grass, and from five to six hundred bushels of corn on the ears produced in an average season. The farm has also a good variety of fruit. The grounds occupied by the Fair Association are a part of the Peaslee farm, and the free use of the same, on which there is a good half-mile track, has been given by Mr. Peaslee to the society since its organiza- tion in 1875, during all of which time he has served as superintendent.
In politics Mr. Peaslee is an active Democrat, and has been prominent in the party councils and in public af- fairs. He was elected a member of the board of select- men in 1872, and reelected the three following years. In 1876 he served with John W. Morse and Horace Martin on a commission to fund the town debt. In 1878 he was again elected as a selectman, but did not serve, accepting that year the position of superintendent of the Merrimack County Farm at North Boscawen, at the hands of the county commissioners, the responsible duties of which place he discharged with such excellent acceptance that he was continued in charge during two years of Republican control, until 1881, when he was himself elected upon the board of commissioners, and subsequently returned to his home in Bradford. In 1884
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he was chairman of the board of selectmen, and repre- sentative in 1885-'86; was chosen a member of the board of education for three years in 1888, and select- man again in 1891, 1892, and 1893.
Mr. Peaslee is a member of the Masonic fraternity and secretary of St. Peter's Lodge of Bradford. He has been a justice of the peace for twenty-five years, and does a large amount of business in that capacity, and in the settlement of estates. He is also agent of the Merrimack County Fire Insurance Company. Since 1894 he has resided at Bradford village, but retains the active man- agement of his farm.
ALONZO W. GIBSON,
RINDGE.
Alonzo W. Gibson is of the eighth generation of the descendants of John Gibson, who came to America in 1639. Born in Salem, Mass., September 23, 1852, when two years of age his parents, John A. and Mary (Davis) Gibson, moved to Rindge, N. H., which has since been his home. At the age of fourteen years he started out to make his own way in the world, being em- ployed by farmers through the summer, and working for his board and schooling winters, until manhood, attend- ing the district schools and one term at an academy. Called home by his father's failing health, he assumed charge of the family, tenderly caring for his father dur- ing the remainder of his life, as he was also the support and dependence of his mother and younger brother and sisters.
After his father's death he purchased the home farm. Subsequently an adjoining farm was added, making one hundred and fifty acres in all, of which thirty is mowing, the balance pasture and woodland. His specialty is
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dairying, forty pounds of gilt-edged butter being pro- duced weekly, which he delivers to private customers in Winchendon, Mass., who also furnish a market for eggs, milk, cream, vegetables, and all farm products. Though not large, the farm is a productive one, and is run on the intensive plan, Mr. Gibson doing most of the work himself with the best attainable machinery, the addi- tional labor required being hired by the day. No farmer in the region is better supplied with machin- ery, some of which, being quite a mechan- ic, he has manufac- tured himself. He has just added to his equip- ment a building con- taining blacksmith and carpenter shops, and mill with a six horse- power Baxter engine and saw for cutting wood, of which he has a large amount and which finds a ready market. The pleasant ALONZO W. GIBSON. home, an engraving of which is here given, is largely the work of his own hands, he having thoroughly re- modeled the same about the time of his marriage, Jan- uary 19, 1887, with Mrs. Idella (Converse) Norcross, daughter of Zebulon and Ann (Mixer) Converse of Rindge.
At the time of her marriage with Mr. Gibson, Mrs. Norcross, who came of a family long prominent in this region, had a little son, eight years of age, to whom Mr. Gibson has been a most indulgent father. This son,
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Arthur Z. Norcross, is now a student in the State college at Durham, class of '99. One daughter, Florence Idella, now five years of age, has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Gibson.
" Meadow View Farm," as the Gibson place is known, is situated on a hill overlooking the Converse reservoir, or meadow, and some of the finest views in the beautiful hill town of Rindge are obtained from different points on the place, making it a most delightful residence.
RESIDENCE OF A. W. GIBSON, RINDGE.
Mr. Gibson is a thorough believer in the principle of doing business on the cash basis, " owing no man any- thing." He is also a strict temperance man, using neither spirituous liquor nor tobacco in any form. As an earnest temperance worker, he has done all in his power to aid in enforcing the prohibitory laws in the town of Rindge. He is a member of the Congregational church and Sunday-school, and an active member of the Christian Endeavor society, of which he has been presi- dent. Politically he is a Republican, but has never sought public office at the hands of his party or towns- men.
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He is an enthusiastic Patron of Husbandry, and his voice is often heard in the discussions at the meetings of Cheshire County Pomona grange, of which he is a mem- ber. Both he and Mrs. Gibson were charter members of Marshall P. Wilder grange, No. 134, and both have worked long and faithfully to promote its prosperity. Mr. Gibson has served as steward, overseer, lecturer, and master, and Mrs. Gibson has been chaplain, lecturer, and master, being the first lady master in Cheshire county. Both received the seventh degree of the order at the meeting of the National grange in Concord, in November, 1892.
MAPLE VIEW FARM, HOPKINTON, WILLARD T. GREENE, PROPRIETOR.
Delightfully located upon the highlands overlooking the Perkins Inn and the business square in Hopkinton village, is " Maple View Farm," the home of Willard T. Greene, whose fame as a breeder and trainer of fine horses is only equalled by his reputation as a breeder of fancy poultry.
Mr. Greene is a son of the late Hon. Herman W. and Fannie (Willard) Greene, his father having been a prominent figure in New Hampshire politics for many years. He was born in Hopkinton, June 9, 1856, and has ever had his home in that town. He was educated in the district school, at Hopkinton academy, and the New Hampshire Conference seminary at Tilton. With a natural love for horses, he became a successful trainer and driver in early life, and for the last fifteen years or more, since his marriage and occupancy of " Maple View Farm," he has been engaged in breeding fine-blooded horses, mostly of the Wilkes strain. Among the best known of these are " Lady Helen "-2 :254, with a trial
" MAPLE VIEW FARM," HOPKINTON, W. T. GREENE, PROPRIETOR.
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of 2 : 142, and "Simbrino"-2 : 224. He was the first man in the state, it is believed, to breed and develop a horse to trot in 2 : 20 over a half-mile track in New Hampshire, and he has brought out a number that have beaten 2 : 30. He has personally given up track driving of late on account of the danger involved, and is devoted exclusively to the breeding of gentlemen's high- class road horses and fancy poultry.
He has bred fan- cy poultry since 1874. Plymouth Rocks were his spe- cialty for some time, of which variety he bred birds selling at $25 each, and some of which have won prizes at leading ex- hibitions all over the country. Of late, he has taken up the Black Lang- shang, which he re- gards as superior to any other of the Asiatic class for winter egg produc- WILLARD T. GREENE. tion. He has a finely appointed, two-story henhouse, with ample yards, and keeps some 300 birds. He breeds about 500 chickens annually, and sells chickens and eggs all over the country, shipping the latter to every state in the Union.
" Maple View Farm" contains about fifty acres of excellent land. The buildings are in first-class condi- tion and the house fitted with all modern improvements.
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Mr. Greene is a Republican in politics and Episco- palian in religion. He has served three years as deputy sheriff, and twice as a member of the board of supervis- ors. Of late he has done considerable business as an auctioneer. He married, January 1, 1880, Etta Comer, daughter of the late George G. Bailey of the Boston Herald. They have three children-Fannie E., Sadie R., and Gardner B.
P. M. LORD,
DUNBARTON.
P. M. Lord, son of Thomas and Solinda (Messer) Lord, is one of the successful farmers of the town of Dunbarton. He was born August 6th, 1850, and in 1859 removed with his parents to Hopkinton, where he received his education in the district schools and the Hopkinton academy. December 22d, 1870, he was married to Miss Ellen L. Kimball, youngest daughter of Moses T. Kimball, a prominent farmer of the same town. They have one daughter, Neva B., now nearly twenty- one years of age, a teacher by occupation.
In 1874, in company with his father, he returned to his native town and purchased the large and extensive farm upon which he now resides, which, with out- lands, consists of upward of three hundred and fifty acres of woodland, pasturage, and tillage. The buildings have nearly all been rebuilt, and about fifty acres have been thoroughly cleared of stone and are now suitably adapted to the use of all kinds of farm machinery, by the use of which the work of the farm is now carried on. Mixed farming is practised, but the leading productions are corn, oats, and hay, of which seventy-five tons are cut annually. Dairying is also made a specialty, upwards
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of a ton of butter having been marketed to customers in Manchester during a year.
Mr. Lord is a member of the Congregational church and was superintendent of its Sunday-school for several years. Has also served as selectman two years, and was a member of the school-board six years, and treas- urer of the town school district six years. He became a member of Stark grange in 1874, and was at that time elected secretary, and held the position for several years ; was also master two years, lecturer two years, and is now serving as district deputy in the State grange.
ADDISON S. CRESSY,
BRADFORD.
"Meadow Brook Farm " is one of the most pleasantly located and productive places in the town of Bradford. Located a mile or more out of the village, toward the " Centre," in the midst of delightful scenery, it is a most eligible resort for summer boarders, numbers of whom have here been entertained for several years past.
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RESIDENCE OF A. S. CRESSY, BRADFORD.
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This is the home of Addison S. Cressy, who was born on the adjoining farm, now owned by a brother, December 20, 1825. His parents were Cyrus and Han- nah (Sawyer) Cressy, and his grandfather, Richard, who removed from Hopkinton in 1794, was one of the early settlers of the town. This Richard Cressy was a soldier in the Revolution, and fought at Bunker Hill, and his grandson, Addison S., has now in his possession two passes signed by Gen. John Stark, giv- en him during his ser- vice.
Mr. Cressy has al- ways been a resident of Bradford, and en- gaged in agriculture. He first had a small farm near Bradford Centre, but for more than a quarter of a century has owned and occupied his present farm, which contains 240 acres. He cuts ADDISON S. CRESSY. about seventy tons of hay per annum, puts in seventy-five tons of ensilage, raises several hundred bushels of corn, and plenty of fruit and vegetables. His stock consists of five horses, and twenty-five to thirty head of cattle, including fifteen good dairy cows, the milk from which he has of late sold at the cars. The buildings are well appointed and in good repair, the spacious house being admirably adapted for the accom- modation of summer guests.
Mr. Cressy is a Democrat in politics, and has filled
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most of the town offices, including that of collector, selectman for several years, supervisor, also for a long term, and representative in the legislature in 1878. He has also served as treasurer of the town school district, and has been for several years a justice of the peace. He is a member of St. Peter's lodge, F. & A. M., of Bradford, and was a charter member and several years lecturer of Bradford grange. May 29, 1855, he married Mary E. West. They have five children living ; Milner A. is a farmer in Newbury, Abbie M. is the wife of George Hackett of Claremont Junction, George F. is postmaster at Bradford, while John W. and Nettie H. are still at home.
PINE GROVE FARM, HAVERHILL,
HENRY W. KEYES, PROPRIETOR.
Among the best known stock farms in New Hampshire for many years past, "Pine Grove Farm," at North Haverhill, has held a conspicuous position. This farm, originally owned by Moses Dow, a distinguished citizen and one of the first lawyers in Grafton county, who set- tled here before the Revolution, and held various impor- tant offices, but modestly declined an election to congress, because he felt incompetent for the position, was pur- chased more than thirty years ago by the late Henry Keyes of Newbury, Vt., president of the Connecticut & Passumpsic Rivers railroad, who carried out extensive improvements, and engaged in stock-raising, breeding fine-blooded Durham cattle and Merino sheep on a large scale.
Mr. Keyes died in 1870, leaving a wife-formerly Miss Emma F. Pierce-and five children, three sons and two daughters. The eldest of the sons-Henry W. Keyes-who was born in Newbury, May 23, 1863,
PINE GROVE FARM, NORTH HAVERHILL, H. W. KEYES, PROPRIETOR.
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though still pursuing his studies, assumed the manage- ment of the farm when eighteen years of age, and it has since been in his hands, and its reputation as a superior stock farm maintained and largely extended.
The farm contains about 1,200 acres of land in all, of which about two hundred and twenty-five acres are mowing and tillage, including a magnificent tract of Connecticut river intervale, with a large amount of higher meadow and plain land. About two hundred and fifty tons of hay are cut annually, while from fifteen to twenty acres of corn are ensilaged. In the season of 1896, ninety acres of land were under the plow, fifty acres in oats, and forty in corn, the latter being half ensilage and half field corn. All the crops produced are fed on the farm, to the splendid stock of Holstein and Jersey cattle, fine-blooded trotting and French coach horses, Shropshire sheep, and Yorkshire swine, all of which have been selected, or bred, with great care from the best imported animals. The stock the past season embraced about one hundred head of cattle, twenty fine horses, one hundred and twenty-five sheep, and fifty swine. Of late, Mr. Keyes has been crossing the Hol- stein and Jersey with great success, for dairy purposes. His Shropshire sheep have become noted all over the country, and have included the best premium animals in New England ; and the same may be said of his cattle and swine. Indeed, a more extensive display of prize ribbons than is to be seen in his office can with difficulty be found, the same having been won at the New England, Bay State, Vermont, Rhode Island, Grange State, and various other fairs in New England and Canada.
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