USA > New Hampshire > New Hampshire agriculture : personal and farm sketches > Part 17
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CHARLES F. KIMBALL,
SALEM.
One of the best farms in Rockingham county is the Kimball farm, located about half a mile from the railway station in the town of Salem. This farm, or a portion of it at least, has been in the Kimball family for more than one hundred and sixty years, and has never been en- cumbered by mortgage. The land was originally pur- chased by Robert Kimball of Bradford, Mass., from Ebenezer Eastman and Josiah Peasley of Methuen, and was sold by him to his son, Oliver, in 1743, for forty pounds. Rob- ert Kimball was a grandson of Richard, the first of the family to settle in America, who came from the parish of Rattlesden, county of Suffolk. England, in 1634, in the ship Elizabeth, and settled in Watertown, Mass., but removed to Ipswich in 1637, where he was the town wheel- CHARLES F. KIMBALL. wright. His son, Ben- jamin, father of Robert, was a farmer and carpenter, and lived in Ipswich, Mass., Exeter, N. H., and Salisbury and Rowley, now Bradford, Mass. Oliver, son of Robert, who was the first to settle on the place, was born in Bradford, May 24, 1724 ; married Mary Ober in 1745, and died in Salem November 3, 1801. His son, Oliver, who succeeded to the farm, was born in Salem,
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December 7, 1745, married Mary Allen, and died April 20, 1821. He was a soldier of the Revolution, and fought at Bunker Hill. He was a selectman of Salem in 1793. He was succeeded by his son, Joseph, born December 25, 1786, who married Rebecca Hazeltine, February 2, 1815, and died April 28, 1867. He was a prosperous farmer and also a selectman of the town. His son, Charles, father of Charles F., was the next in succession. He was born April 18, 1822, and married, in August, 1844, Celinda J. Hazeltine, born July 31, 1825. He has been a successful farmer, has served as selectman and represented his town in the legislature in 1891 and 1893.
Charles Franklin Kimball, son of Charles and Celinda J. (Hazeltine) Kimball, was born on the homestead, March 15, 1853, and has ever resided there. He was united in marriage, September 3, 1874, with Martha Ella Copp of Methuen, Mass., born September 3, 1855. They have one son, Charles Allen Kimball, born July 17, 1876. In 1887 his father deeded him a portion of the farm, and he continued for a few years, successfully, the business of market gardening, in which his father had for some time been engaged, though mixed farming had been the practice of their ancestors. Latterly, the raising of milk, eggs, and chickens for the Lawrence market has engaged his attention, special pains being taken in the breeding and selection of dairy cows. He has also been extensively engaged in lumbering for a number of winters. When deeded to him, the farm con- tained one hundred and fifty acres, a new two-story house and ell having just been erected. He has added two hundred and fifty acres of land and has recently erected a fine barn with a capacity of one hundred tons of hay, a horse barn 18x48 and a shed 16x30 feet, and has made other improvements. He has a silo of one
RESIDENCE OF CHARLES F. KIMBALL, SALEM.
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hundred tons capacity. The stock consists of thirty head of cattle and three horses. The farm is equipped with the best of modern machinery, and the roofs of the buildings have recently been coated with asphalt roofing, which gives them a very fine appearance.
Mr. Kimball is a member of the school-board and of the present state legislature. He is a Republican in politics, and he and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum.
CHARLES WINCH,
LANGDON.
Although small in extent, Langdon is one of the best agricultural towns in the state, and one of the wealthiest in proportion to population. One of the most progressive and successful farmers in this town is Charles Winch, son of Thomas and Clarissa (Towne) Winch, born in Sullivan, November 13, 1845, and there residing until 1855, when he removed with his parents to the farm in Langdon which is now his home, which had been pur- chased in 1846 by his grandfather, Archelaus Towne.
Mr. Winch lived at home until twenty years of age, enjoying ordinary common school advantages. He then worked one summer in a Keene brickyard, and subse- quently attended Kimball Union academy, Meriden, two or three years, working his way ; but, health failing, he returned home, and for several years worked for his father in summer and elsewhere in winter, two winters being spent in teaching in Westford, Mass. He then became a joint owner, with his father, of the farm.
This place, sometimes known as the "silk farm," because the former owner, Mr. Jennison, once set out the mulberry, procured silkworms, and produced silk to
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some extent, though not successfully, is beautifully lo- cated on a hillside, sloping to the east and south, in the northwestern portion of the town, two miles from Alstead, and is now known as "Sunnyside." It contains two hundred and twenty-five acres, of which forty-five are in mowing and tillage, the balance pasture and forest. About fifty-five tons of hay are cut yearly, while about ten acres of land are kept under the plow, five being in oats, four and a half in corn, and half an acre in potatoes. The average produc- tion of corn is about 55 bushels, shelled, an acre, and of oats 60 bushels, though a rec- ord of 84 bushels of the latter has been made. The stock consists of about 25 head of grade Durham cattle, 40 Mer- ino and Southdown sheep, and four horses. × The product of ten cows is sold in cream, at the door, to the Westminster, Vermont, CHARLES WINCH. creamery. A good apple orchard produces about one hundred and fifty barrels annually, and a sugar orchard of six hundred trees furnishes a large amount of choice sugar and syrup, which finds a ready market. A poultry house, stocked with barred Plymouth Rocks, is also an adjunct of the place.
Mr. Winch is a Republican politically and has filled most offices in the gift of the town, including those of auditor, collector, selectman, superintending committee
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and member of the school-board. He also represented the town in the legislature of 1895-6, serving on the com- mittee on agriculture. He is also a justice of the peace and quorum. He is a member of the Congregational church and has been superintendent of the Sunday- school seventeen years. He is a charter member of Alstead Commandery, U. O. G. C., instituted February 12, 1894.
December 8, 1875, Mr. Winch was united in marriage with Abbie L., daughter of George F. and Betsey (Ward- well) Hubbard, of Sullivan. They have five children,- Elton W., born January 7, 1877 ; Walter T., June 27, 1879, now attending Cushing academy, Ashburnham, Mass. ; Clara A., February 14, 1881, attending Peter- borough High school; Bessie E., May 24, 1883 ; and Helen L., April 4, 1892. The children, who are the life of the household, are musically inclined, all but the youngest playing on some instrument, and the evenings at home are largely spent in the music room.
GRIFFITHS BROTHERS,
DURHAM.
The Griffiths farm in Durham, three miles from the village, and an equal distance from Newmarket, contains 200 acres of land, of which 70 are mowing and tillage, nearly all in a single level field. This farm is equipped with the finest and best-arranged set of farm buildings in Strafford county, a handsome two-story residence being connected by an ell with a spacious barn, 41 X IIO feet, with eighteen-foot posts, and a capacity for 100 tons of hay, while all necessary out-buildings are conveniently provided. This farm was originally a part of what was known as "Moharimet's Marsh," from Moharimet, a
RESIDENCE OF GRIFFITHS BROTHERS, DURHAM.
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noted Indian sagamore of the seventeenth century. Cap- tain Edward Griffiths, a noted sea captain, and a native of London, England, settled here in 1820. His son, John B. Griffiths, born June 14, 1814, bought the farm, . and here spent his life in the successful pursuit of agri- culture. He dealt largely in neat cattle, and his ox teams were noted for their excellence. He married Ruth Wentworth (a sister of Arioch Wentworth, the well-known Boston multi-millionaire ), who still survives. John B. Griffiths died June 8, 1896; but the farm had previously passed into the hands of his two sons, Edward B. and Arioch W., who were admitted to part- nership in 1874, and who, in addition to the regular farm work, have been extensively engaged for the last twenty-five years in the manufacture of cider and vinegar. They have a steam mill with EDWARD B. GRIFFITHS. all the latest improve- ments, and a capacity for one hundred barrels per day.
Edward B. Griffiths was born January 13, 1842. He was educated in the common school, Durham academy, and Newmarket High school, and has spent his life on the farm, except three years in Boston, in the foreign and domestic fruit trade. May 24, 1876, he married Clara A. Chapman of Newmarket, who died April 4, 1881, leaving one son, David F., born March 27, 1881, who, since attending the Newmarket grammar schools,
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is a student at the Bliss Commercial college, Dover. July 2, 1884, he married M. Effie Furber of Greenland. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, being a direct descendant of Revolutionary soldiers, one of whom, Eleazer Bennett, was with General Sullivan at the capture of the gun- powder at Fort William and Mary.
Arioch W. Griffiths was born August 31, 1851. He attended the common school, Newmarket High school, and Franklin acade- my, Dover. June 14, 1876, he married Sadie B. McDaniel of New- market. They have one son, John H., born September 20, 1877, educated at Newmar- ket High school, and the Bryant & Stratton Commercial college, Boston, and now book- keeper for the B. F. Haley Co. of Newmar- ket. Like his brother, Arioch W. is a Repub- lican and belongs to ARIOCH W. GRIFFITHS. the Sons of the American Revolution. He is also an associate member of the G. A. R., and quite prominent in the order of Knights of Pythias, being a mem- ber of Pioneer lodge, No. I, of Newmarket, and was actively instrumental in the organization of the new lodge at Durham recently. He passed the chairs and became a member of the grand lodge in 1891. He was a charter member of William A. Frye Co., No. 5, U. R. He was for four years first lieutenant of his company and
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was promoted from that rank to that of major on the reg- imental staff. He was made lieutenant-colonel of the First regiment March 28, 1895, and holds the position at the present time. He has been quite active in public affairs, serving as census enumerator in 1890, as select- man two years, and as road agent in 1896.
SOLOMON MANNING,
BEDFORD.
A typical representative of a large class of New Hamp- shire farmers who have achieved success by patient in- dustry in the cultivation of the soil, is Solomon Manning, whose home is on the Bedford farm where he was born, situated about one mile from the village and five miles from Manchester, upon the highway leading from that city to Amherst. Mr. Manning is the fifth of eight children of Solomon and Mary (Fletcher) Manning, born August 29, 1831. He is a descendant of William Manning who came from England and settled in Cam- bridge, Mass., in 1635. His mother was a descendant of Robert Fletcher of Yorkshire, England, who settled in Concord, Mass., in 1630, coming over in one of the seventeen ships that arrived in Plymouth harbor that year. Several of Mr. Manning's ancestors have been engaged in the wars of the country, a grandfather having been at the Concord fight, April 19, 1775, and a great- grandfather at Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga, who died at the advanced age of one hundred and one years, seven months and seven days.
Mr. Manning's father located upon this farm in 1825, which is one of the best in this excellent agricultural town. It contains about 300 acres, and is noted as hav- ing been the first farm in town upon which hops were raised. Here Mr. Manning spent his youth in active
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labor, except such time as he was allowed for study in the district school and at McGaw Normal Institute at Reed's Ferry. At the age of twenty-one years he com- menced work for himself, with no capital but courage and industry, purchasing the farm of his father, and buy- ing out the other heirs. Milk production has been his specialty for nearly forty years, though he was also for many years quite extensively engaged in market garden-
ing. For more than twenty years he sold milk in the Manches- ter retail market; but now sells at home to other dealers. For many winters he was also quite extensively engaged in lumber- ing. His farm pro- duces about 80 tons of hay per annum, and he has silos of 80 tons capacity. His stock consists of some thirty cows and three or four SOLOMON MANNING. horses. The buildings are substantial and convenient, two fine barns, ninety and forty-four feet in length, connecting at right angles.
Mr. Manning has been twice married-first to Hannah M. Jones of Andover, Mass., Nov. 29, 1855. Their children were Frank E. and Mary E. Manning. The former is settled on an adjoining farm ; the latter, edu- cated at the Framingham, Mass., Normal school, was for several years a teacher in Massachusetts, but has been for some time past at home, and a member of the Bedford school board. On December 17, 1863, he was
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married to his present wife, Miss Anstress P. Flint of Bedford. Their children are Harriett F., William S., Julia L., and Margie A. The son is married and resides at home in a new house near the family residence. Julia and Margie, educated at McGaw Institute and the Man- chester Business college, are filling desirable positions in business life, while Harriett is a dressmaker.
RESIDENCE OF SOLOMON MANNING, BEDFORD).
Mr. Manning is an active member of the Presbyterian church in Bedford. He is a Republican in politics, and has filled the office of selectman and other positions of trust. He was a charter member and first master of Narragansett Grange, of which organization his son Wil- liam was master when it celebrated its twentieth anni- versary.
HENRY F. CATER,
BARRINGTON.
Although Barrington does not take as high rank among agricultural towns as some others in Strafford county, there are some good farms and some excellent farmers within its limits. Prominent among the latter is Henry
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F. Cater, who resides on the old homestead, settled by his grandfather, Joel Cater, ninety-five years ago, and ever since remaining in the family. Daniel Cater, son of Joel, spent his life upon this farm and established a wide reputation as an enterprising farmer and successful stock breeder. He married Sarah A. Foss, and they reared a family of five children, two sons and three daughters, Henry F. being one of the sons. John W. Cater of Bow Lake, Strafford, a pros- perous merchant and farmer, is the other son, and the daughters are Mrs. J. D. Philbrick, Mrs. C. E. Smith, and Mrs. H. F. Brock of Rochester.
Henry F. Cater was born June 4, 1856, was educated in the district school and at Austin academy, in Strafford, and Franklin academy, HENRY F. CATER. Dover, and has devoted his attention to agriculture at the old home up to the present time.
This farm, which now embraces about ninety acres of land, though originally containing one hundred and fifty, has been noted many years for its excellent cattle, par- ticularly fine oxen and steers, and the present stock com- pares favorably with the best in the region, it being com- posed of fine Durhams, several of which, including a superior bull, are registered full bloods, bred from repre- sentatives of the famous Sutton herd at Center Harbor. The cows are superior milkers and their product is now
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sold to retail dealers for the Rochester market, but up to the fall of 1896 had been sold to Hood & Sons for several years, by whom it was pronounced the best re- ceived along their entire route, testing for a year 4.60 per cent. of butter fats.
The farm produces about sixty tons of hay, and a silo of eighty-five tons capacity is also filled. Eight hundred bushels of ears of corn have been raised in a year. The stock now kept includes some twenty-five head of cattle, of which eighteen are cows, and three horses. The
FARM BUILDINGS OF H. F. CATER, BARRINGTON.
location is about four and a half miles from Rochester, and the North Barrington post-office has been kept on the farm for thirty-four years continuously, except for the interruption of a short period during the last ad- ministration. The buildings, which include a substantial two-story house, and barn 40x96 feet, with cellar under the whole, and all necessary outbuildings, are in ex- cellent condition, and abundantly supplied with pure water. Modern farm methods are pursued and a full complement of superior implements is to be found on the farm. Ayers' pond, a delightful sheet of water, borders
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the farm on the west, and in a charming pine grove on the shore, a favorite resort of picnic parties, Mr. Cater has erected a tasty summer cottage, where the family are enabled to enjoy the beauties of the lakeside without going away from home, and many friends are hospitably entertained.
On November 17, 1877, Mr. Cater married Miss Augusta F. Rollins of Strafford. They have one son, Harry Burton, born October 10, 1880, who has been educated at Northwood Seminary and the Bliss Com- mercial college at Dover, and who is strongly interested in agriculture and will make the same his vocation in life. Mr. Cater is a Republican in politics. He was town clerk of Barrington seven years successively up to 1892, and is the present postmaster at North Barrington. He was a charter member and the first master of Cen- tennial Grange, No. 185, of Barrington, but withdrew in 1896 and united with Rochester Grange as a matter of convenience. He is now treasurer of the latter grange, while Mrs. Cater fills the chair of Flora, and their son is assistant steward. Mr. Cater was also chosen secretary of Eastern New Hampshire Pomona Grange in 1896. Both he and his son are seventh degree members of the order. He is a member of Humane Lodge, No. 22, A. F. & A. M., of Rochester, and of Palestine Com- mandery, K. T. He is also a Knight of the Golden Eagle.
HEZEKIAH SCAMMON,
EXETER.
The Scammons were conspicuous in the early history of New Hampshire, the first of the name in the colony being Richard Scammon, who came to Boston from the mother country, and subsequently settled in Portsmouth,
22
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where he is known to have been a resident as early as 1640. His eldest daughter, Anne, was the wife of the celebrated Major Richard Waldron of Dover, who was killed by the Indians, and his son Richard married Pru- dence, the daughter of William Waldron, and in 1665 settled on a tract of land in the southern part of the pres- ent town of Stratham, which had come into the family possession by royal grant, and has been held therein, a portion of it at least, up to the present time. William, son of Richard and Prudence Scammon, was a soldier in the Indian war of 1696, was a selectman of Exeter in 1699 and 1700, and was one of the first board of se- lectmen of the town of Stratham, incorporated in 1716.
Richard Scammon, a great-grandson of William, to whom the ancestral home de- scended, married Abi- gail Batchelder, and HEZEKIAH SCAMMON. was the father of four children, Hezekiah, James, a prominent lawyer of Kansas City, Sarah C., and Col. Richard M., the latter now residing on the homestead.
Hezekiah Scammon, the eldest of these children, was born in Stratham, January 31, 1843. He was educated in the district school and at Andover, New London, and Exeter academies, and taught school himself a few terms in early life. January 9, 1867, he was united in mar- riage with Mary E. Jewell of Stratham, when they
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established their home upon a farm which he had pur- chased, located about one mile from the village, in the town of Exeter, in the cultivation of which he actively engaged, pursuing the same continuously until 1893, with the exception of two years, when he was engaged in mercantile business.
His farm contains about 135 acres of excellent land, and has been principally devoted to dairying. For a time he was extensively engaged in the retail milk busi- ness in Exeter, and kept a herd of about twenty cows. Four years ago he took up his residence in the village, retaining the ownership of the farm and looking after its management, but subsequently leasing it to another.
Mr. Scammon stands in the first rank among Patrons of Husbandry in New Hampshire, by virtue of charter membership in Gilman Grange No. I, the first grange instituted in the state. He is also a charter member of East Rockingham Pomona Grange, and was four years master of the same, declining a fifth election. He was for three years a district deputy, and was chosen lecturer of the State Grange in December, 1895. He is well skilled in the work of the order, a thoughtful and force- ful speaker, and a strong and determined advocate of the principles for which the grange organization stands.
He is a member of Star in the East Lodge, No. 59, A. F. & A. M., of Exeter, and has held most of its chairs, including that of W. M .. and is also a member of St. Albans Chapter, No. 15. Politically, he has always been a stanch Democrat, and therefore out of sympathy with the majority of Exeter voters, but he has served eight years as a member of the school-board, as auditor and in minor offices.
He has two sons, Everett, who holds a promising posi- tion in the Print and Dye works at Medford, Mass., and James, who is in the telephone business at Newburyport.
JOSEPH D. ROBERTS.
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PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES.
JOSEPH D. ROBERTS,
ROLLINSFORD.
Although embracing less than ten square miles of ter- ritory, in which is also located a thriving manufacturing village, Rollinsford is one of the best agricultural towns in the state, being favored with a rich, strong soil, ad- mirably adapted to hay, corn, and fruit production, while it has scarcely any waste land. Its proximity to Dover and Somersworth insures ample market advantages.
Among the most prominent and successful farmers of this town is Joseph Doe Roberts, the sixth of seven sons of the late Hon. Hiram R. and Ruth (Ham) Roberts, of that town, born November 12, 1848, on the old Roberts homestead, about half a mile from Rollinsford Junction, which was settled by his great-great-grandfather in 1743, and has ever since remained in the family.
Hiram R. Roberts was a New Hampshire farmer of the best type,-a man of excellent character and wide influence-who commanded the respect of his fellow cit- izens, and was, without self-seeking, accorded a liberal share of public honors ; but who, above all else, honored and dignified the calling of agriculture. He taught his children the lessons of industry and integrity, and Joseph D., with the others, profited thereby. Although early instructed in the labors of the farm, he was afforded op- portunity to secure a fair education, and improved the same in attendance at the district school, and at the fa- mous academy of the adjacent town of South Berwick, Me. He also developed a fondness for teaching and pursued the same for a dozen winters, commencing at the age of sixteen, seven winters being spent in the dis- trict wherein resided the late Chief-Justice Doe, for whose father, Joseph Doe, a warm personal friend of his own father, he had been named.
RESIDENCE OF JOSEPH D. ROBERTS. ROLLINSFORD.
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In 1870, having attained his majority, he bought the fine farm of 120 acres, which is now his home, located on the old Dover and Portland turnpike, about half a mile from his birthplace, and devoted himself to its culti- vation and improvement, although making his home with his parents, until his marriage, July 31, 1873, with Miss Addie E. Littlefield of Wells, Me., when he established a home for himself on the farm, where he has since resided. Dairying, or milk production, fruit raising, and market gardening have been Mr. Roberts's special- ties. The latter was pursued quite extensively for a number of years, but of late has been followed only inci- dentally, to the extent of supplying vegetables for his milk customers. Of fruit he raises a large amount of all kinds, including sixty or seventy varieties of apples and nearly as many of pears. In the prolific and unprofit- able season of 1896, he harvested 4,650 bushels of hand- picked apples, from his own farm and the old home- stead, which latter he has had charge of since the death of his brother, John H., in 1889, his venerable mother still residing there.
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