USA > New Hampshire > New Hampshire men. A collection of biographical sketches, with portraits, of sons and residents of the state who have become known in commercial, professional, and political life > Part 28
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374
HON. GEORGE E. TODD.
H ON. GEORGE E. TODD, whose life for forty-five years was devoted to railroad business, was born in Cambridge, Mass .. February 6. 1830, the son of Moses Todd and Rebecca Turner. He was educated in the public schools, and when barely eighteen years of age came to Lebanon as a clerk in the office of the Northern railroad. removing in July, 1848, to Concord, where he held various positions in the same employ, and became in 1866 superintendent of the road. This position he held until 1884 when the Northern railroad became part of the Boston & Maine railroad system, and Mr. Todd was then appointed division superintendent and held that position until November. 1891. His health failing him at that time he was granted a vacation and spent several months in Europe, returning home only to die Novem- ber 16, 1892, sincerely and devotedly mourned by those whom his faith- ful service, constant friendship, and untiring zeal had taught to value him at his true worth. Mr. Todd from 1879 until his death was a director in the Northern railroad, and was also a director in the Con- cord & Claremont and in the Peterborough & Hillsborough roads. He was elected to the house of representatives in 1872 and 1873, and was a senator of the state of New Hampshire in 1874 and 1876. Through the years of his service to these railroads Mr. Todd saw the growth and development of the railroad systems of New Hampshire and under his direction the Northern railroad was kept fully abreast of modern progress. Thoroughly devoted to the interests of his road Mr. Todd was always eager to enhance its prosperity. In touch with the modern idea of concentration, he was interested in bringing about its consolidation with the Boston & Maine railroad system, and his reten- tion as division superintendent in the employ of that corporation indica- ted the value of his services and the esteem set upon them by those familiar with railroad management in New Hampshire.
375
JOHN DEMERITT.
B UT few young men are better known in New Hampshire than John Demeritt. He is a descendant of Huguenot ancestry and was born in the old historic town of Madbury, Strafford county, August 8, 1856, and has always lived in that town. He is the sixth John in direct descent, and amply sustains the worth of his name. Like all farmer boys, he received the first rudiments of his education in the district school, and afterward attended Coe's academy at Northwood, and Phillips Andover academy from 1875 to 1877, and later was a student at Colby academy, New London. During his school years he developed a de- cided taste for business pursuits, in preference to a profession, and at the close of his studies he entered the employ of the Boston & Maine rail- road, serving in various capacities continuously up to this date, Novem- ber, 1893. In recognition of his earnest and faithful service, he was advanced, step by step, to the highly responsible position of city pas- senger agent at Boston, with headquarters on Washington street, which position he now holds. Mr. Demeritt was chosen to represent his native town in the legislature of 1887, where he served with marked distinction upon the committee on finance, and with characteristic en- ergy he won renown for his zeal in general legislative work. In all the walks of life he is honest, conscientious, upright and faithful to a remarkable degree, and has earned the honors which have come to him by his own untiring industry. There may be other and brighter posi- tions to which he may aspire, and in which his friends would wish him success, but he fully recognizes the measure of credit that is recorded for him. The career of Mr. Demeritt furnishes a most happy illustra- tion of the recognition of faithful service, modestly and courteously rendered.
376
CAPT. CHARLES B. GAFNEY.
A MAN in a mask. A brave and battle-scarred soldier, who has never been heard, since the war closed, to mention his connection with the army. A sound and successful lawyer, who never talks law or practises outside his office and the court-room; a tireless worker, who never appears to be busy ; a man of excellent judgment and rare sagac- ity, who proclaims no opinions and forces advice upon no one ; a stanch friend, who never advertises his friendship for anybody; a generous giver, who never promises to give anything ; a man whose sincerity, sympathy, and earnestness are so cloaked in the exuberance of his good- nature that few know how genuine and strong they are ; whose greeting is always a laugh, who parries all attacks with jests, illustrates all points with parables, and demolishes opponents' contentions by exploding against them grotesque imaginings ; who quarrels with no one, allows no one to quarrel with him, and yet generally has his own way. was born at Ossipee, September 17, 1843. When but eighteen years of age, he was enrolled in Company A, Thirteenth New Hampshire vol- unteers, and was mustered in as a lieutenant. He served in that posi- tion until he was severely wounded at Petersburg, June 15, 1864, by a bullet which he carried in his body for many years. When his wound had partially healed he returned to the front, and was aide to Generals Raulston and McCullom, of the First division, Eighteenth army corps, and General Ripley, of the First brigade, Third division, Twenty-fourth army corps. Subsequently he was commissioned captain, and was mus- tered out at the close of the war. He was then clerk in the treasury department at Washington, and for eight years clerk of the naval com- mittee of the United States senate. He read law at Ossipee, and Dover, and graduated at the Law school of Columbian college. at Washington. He resides at Rochester, and is a member of the law firm of Worcester, Gafney & Snow, of that city. For the last few years he has been sec- retary to the president of the Boston & Maine railroad.
377
HON. EDWARD F. MANN.
H ON. EDWARD FOSTER MANN, born in Benton, Grafton county, September 7, 1845 ; died in Concord, August 19, 1892. Upon a rugged New Hampshire farm, within the shadows of her granite hills, he passed his boyhood days ; and while compelling her reluctant soil to yield the fruits of earth, acquired those habits of industry and steady perseverance that so well stood him in hand in later years. Breathing her pure air amid the grand scenery of her majestic moun- tains, his mental strength and bodily vigor grew together. In the midst of these stimulating surroundings his youthful ambition was aroused, and he early conceived the idea of gaining that honorable dis- tinction which he afterwards attained. Educated in the schools of his native town and the N. H. Conference seminary at Tilton, he, upon leaving his mountain home, entered the service of the Boston, Concord & Montreal railroad, where he filled the various positions from brakeman up to superintendent and in 1892 became general superintendent of the entire railway system of the Concord & Montreal railroad. During the years of his railway service the phenomenal village of Woodsville devel- oped, and most of its local enterprises matured under his watchful care. He was director in the Woodsville Aqueduct and Electric Light company, and in the Woodsville Guaranty Savings bank. Reared in the faith of Democracy, he was ever an earnest worker in its cause, representing
his native town in the legislatures of 1871-'72, and was a member of the state senate of 1879-'81. He was a member of Burns lodge of F. & A. M. in Littleton, and of Franklin chapter, Royal Arch Masons, at Lisbon. The religious convictions of Mr. Mann were broad and liberal -a firm believer in the universal fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man. He was frank, sincere, earnest, and outspoken, faithful and true in all relations of life, and loyal to every obligation of manhood and citizenship.
378
JOHN H. PEARSON.
A LIFETIME of persistence has placed John H. Pearson in the front rank of New Hampshire business men. Mr. Pearson was born at Sutton, N. H., March 17, 1818. With scanty advantages he started out in life and sturdily exchanged blows with the world. lle did not gain his present eminence at a bound. Men are not born into the centre of great financial institutions, nor do they inherit the manage- ment of great railroads, or stumble upon mastery in finesse if occasion requires it. They win supremacy in all these, and Mr. Pearson won his supremacy in all these by his persistence : so, too, he has mastered all the obstacles in his life .. How many these obstacles have been, and their nature, none can testify so well as he who overcame them all. But what they taught him his daily habit of life reveals. They taught him the chief secret of all success-perseverance. They taught him the noblest attribute of man-honesty. And perseverance and honesty have no better exemplars than he. These characteristics he brought into his earliest business enterprises-into his mills, later, as if for a trade-mark ; into his newspaper, as if for a motto ; into his railroad, as if for a code of rules. And in these signs he has conquered. In them he has fought his way to the front and has maintained his place against both sedition and attack. The tumultuous years of his life sit easily upon him. He has shaken off disease and laid a firmer hold on the responsibilities of his existence, finding care almost a tonic and labor a balm.
379
BENJAMIN A. KIMBALL.
B ENJAMIN A. KIMBALL, railroad man, manufacturer, and banker, was born in Boscawen, August 22, 1833, and was gradu- ated from the Chandler Scientific department of Dartmouth college in 1854, at once entering the employ of the Concord railroad as a draughtsman. After two years he became foreman, and at twenty-six was master mechanic of the road, resigning in 1865 to engage in busi- ness under the firm name of Ford & Kimball. In 1879, he returned to the railroad as a director, to succeed Governor Onslow Stearns, and has since been actively connected with the road's management, becom- ing, in 1889, a member of the executive committee of the Concord & Montreal railroad. During nearly all his residence in Concord, Mr. Kimball has been prominent in public affairs. For six years he served as a member of the water board, was for four years its president, and was chiefly instrumental in procuring the construction of the city's water-system. He was trustee of the old Concord Savings bank, and is president of the Mechanicks National bank. He is president of the Franklin & Tilton railroad, and a director in a number of similar corpo- rations. In 1870 he was a member of the legislature, and declined a second term. From 1885 to 1887 he was a member of the governor's council, and for some years has been chairman of the board of visitors to the Chandler Scientific department of Dartmouth college. In all the affairs of the community he has had a prominent part, and his activity has always been for good. His rise in life has been due to his own prudence and foresight, and in his successes he has not lost sight of the sound principles which guided his struggles.
380
HON. CHARLES A. BUSIEL.
H ON. CHARLES ALBERT BUSIEL, the first mayor of Laconia. was born in Meredith ( Village), November 24, 1842. the son of John W. and Julia (Tilton) Busiel. When he was but four years of age his family removed to Laconia, and there he has since resided. There he was educated, and there, upon coming of age, he embarked in the hosiery business, which he had first practically learned in his father's mill. In 1868 he disposed of his first plant and became interested with his brother, John T., under the firm name of C. A. Busiel & Co. This continued until 1871, when the brothers' father was admitted to the firm and the name became J. W. Busiel & Co. Mr. Busiel's only political office, prior to 1892, had been a membership in the legislatures of 1878 and 1879, yet when the new city of Laconia cast about for its first mayor. no name was so spontaneously mentioned as Mr. Busiel's. Ilis nomin- ation was followed by a triumphant election, and that by a wise and care- ful administration, the mayor's directing hand and warning voice being of great service to the new city in its first days. Besides the attention claimed by his private business, Mr. Busiel's time is filled with the work of the affairs of life. He is a director of the Concord & Montreal railroad and a member of the executive committee of that road. lle is also a director of the Boston, Concord & Montreal. the Meredith & Conway, the New Boston, the Franklin & Tilton, the Moosilauke, and the Profile & Franconia Notch railroads, and is president of the Lake Shore railroad. Mr. Busiel is a man of large business interests. lle is, moreover, a man of large friendships. Few men are more winning ; and none hold their friends more closely.
381
CHARLES E. MORRISON.
N EW Hampshire men have gone out to win their way in every field of endeavor, and among those who have won the highest rank in the commercial field claiming New Hampshire as their birth- place may be named Charles E. Morrison, who was born at New Hampton, August 14, 1833, the son of Thomas W. Morrison and Dorothy Gordon. He was educated in the schools at New Hampton and Franklin, and forty years ago, under the firm name of Charles E. Morrison & Co., established himself in business, in Boston, as a com- mission merchant and dealer in foreign and domestic fruit and produce in the Faneuil Hall market. This house from the start has won and held an enviable reputation ; its trade area covers the entire country, and its export business is among the heaviest in Boston commission circles. The promptitude with which it has conducted its affairs is in no small measure due to Mr. Morrison's active and untiring efforts, his personal attention being given to almost every detail of the business. Mr. Morrison has grown in another world than the commercial also. and at the present time is a director in the Faneuil Hall National bank, in the North American Fire Insurance Co., in the Concord & Montreal railroad, and his rectitude is affirmed by a position as trustee of Tufts college. He also holds many other positions of responsibility and trust. Mr. Morrison has fought his way to the top almost unaided. His extended business relations draw him frequently to his native state, and his affection for the interests of New Hampshire still glows bright and warm within his breast.
382
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HIRAM N. TURNER.
H IRAM N. TURNER has won prominence in two distinct lines of work, as will be seen from the outline of his career. Mr. Turner was born at Bethlehem, December 20, 1839, and very early in life entered upon a railroad career, and served in it until 1889. From subordinate places he rose to become successively travelling agent of the Worcester & Nashua railroad, freight and passenger agent of the Portland & Worcester road, manager of the Quebec, Ottawa & New England air line, general freight agent of the Boston & Lowell rail- road, and general traffic manager of the same system. Thus he was occupied until his fiftieth year. He then stepped aside from the path in which he had so steadily mounted and turned himself to a manu- facturing pursuit. With most men the change would have been dan- gerous or even disastrous ; but the ability that had carried him successively and successfully forward in railroad life, was his reliance now, and in his new position, as general manager and a director of the E. & T. Fair- banks & Co. scale manufactory at St. Johnsbury, Vt., he found new victories. In the village of St. Johnsbury Mr. Turner became prom- inent, and now holds the position of president of the board of trade in that place. His connection with the railroads of New England did not cease with his entrance upon another field of continuous application. and he is now a director of the Concord & Montreal system, where he is a valued and effective officer. Mr. Turner was married, January 12, 1861. to Miss Ellen Brewster, of Whitefield. The record of his life is the story of enterprise, and each step marks renewed appreciation by the world. That appreciation Mr. Turner's native state shares in, and does not hesitate to express.
383
FRANK E. BROWN.
T IE development of the railroad interests of New Hampshire has carried with it into prominence many sons of the state who have devoted themselves to this greatest of nineteenth century industries. Among them is Frank Eugene Brown, the son of Hon. Horace A. Brown and Sarah S. Booth, who was born at Claremont, July 15, 1850, and who was educated in the public schools of Concord, to which city his parents removed while he was yet a small child. Upon finishing his school course Mr. Brown, at the age of eighteen, in August, 1868, en- tered the employ of the Concord railroad, continuing with that corpora- tion and its successor, the Concord & Montreal railroad, until the present time, and passing in that time through the various branches of clerical work and superintendencies until he has reached his present position of general passenger agent of the road last mentioned. Such a record is Mr. Brown's proudest boast, betokening as it does the confidence and esteem of those who have known and watched him in his business life. This confidence and esteem have been given in large measure to Mr. Brown by all who have known him in any capacity, and have been communicated by his election to various positions in social and other organizations, and by his choice in 1882 to a seat in the New Hamp- shire house of representatives. Mr. Brown through all his life has amply deserved the success and honor that have come to him. His unflagging zeal, his rare discretion, his unmatched courtesy, have been to him the greatest sources of his success. Added to this is the ut- most integrity, joined to an infinite capacity and industry, making a remarkably symmetrical equipment for the work that he has so success- fully carried out. Mr. Brown is a man of highly refined tastes and a musician of more than ordinary ability. Combining, as he does, the courtliness of the old school with the energy and the sprightliness of the new, Mr. Brown is a most charming acquaintance, a most stead- fast and loyal friend, a zealous and honorable citizen.
384
DANIELS C. PRESCOTT.
D ANIELS CARPENTER PRESCOTT was born at Somerville, Mass., May 2, 1853. His parents were Samuel Dana and Mary Abigail (Carpenter) Prescott, and he was educated in the public schools of Malden, Somerville, and Foxboro, Mass. At the age of twenty he entered a railroad office and in a railroad office he has since been. When he began he was with the Boston, Clinton & Fitchburg road : now he is with the Concord & Montreal. For five years he remained with his first employers, and from 1878 to 1886 he was with the Old Colony railroad. He then became assistant general freight agent of the Boston & Lowell railroad, and became in 1887 general freight agent. In 1889 he went with the Boston & Maine as assistant general freight agent and in 1891 he came to the Concord & Montreal as general freight agent, Mr. Prescott, it will be seen, has pushed steadily upward in the work which he took up at twenty, and at forty his position in the rail- road world is marked by the great confidence reposed in his ability and fidelity. His has been a painstaking department of railroad administra- tion, requiring careful foresight, a lively knowledge of details, accuracy, and rapidity. Mr. Prescott's possession of these qualities is best attested by his record, a record of advancement that could not have been possible except under the complete possession and daily exercise of all these characteristics.
385
JOHN FRANCIS WEBSTER.
J JOHN FRANCIS WEBSTER was born in Dorchester, Mass., November 18, 1837, the son of Nathaniel F. Webster and Miriam
(Couch) Webster, both of whom were born in Salisbury. He was educated at Chatham academy, Savannah, Ga., and at Professor Barnes's academy at Concord, obtaining a commercial education with Rodney G. Cutting. In 1856 he was book-keeper for Moore, Cilley & Co., in Concord, and March 14, 1857, became local freight cashier for the Concord railroad. He was appointed cashier of the Concord railroad system May 1, 1865, and retained that position until October, 1889. He was appointed cashier of the Manchester & Lawrence railroad, August 1, 1867, and remained with that company until its absorption by the Boston & Maine railroad. Upon the formation of the Concord & Montreal railroad, in 1889, he was elected treasurer of the system, and now retains that position. In 1889 and 1890 Mr. Webster served in the legislature as a representative from Ward Four, being chairman of the finance committee. In addition to his services as treasurer of the Concord & Montreal railroad, Mr. Webster holds a similar position with relation to the Profile & Franconia Notch, the Lake Shore, the Manchester & North Weare, and New Boston railroads. He is also a director of the Mechanicks National bank. Mr. Webster is one of the most prominent members of the Masonic fraternity in New Hampshire, having taken the thirty-third degree, and having held almost every office in the gift of his jurisdiction. Mr. Webster is a courteous business man. A remarkable knowledge of detail, and a careful application of that knowledge, have enabled him to rise in the confidence and respect of the corporation with which he has been so long connected. A conscientious devotion to principle has won for him also the respect of his acquain- tances, and his genial qualities have added, moreover, the unfaltering friendship and affection of those who have come to know him inti- mately.
386
FRANK P. QUIMBY.
F RANK P. QUIMBY was born in Concord, September 22, 1856, and is the son of John and Lydia Quimby. He was educated in the public schools of his native city and at the Bryant & Stratton business college at Manchester. All his life, since his fifteenth year, has been devoted to railroading, having begun, in 1871, service with the Concord railroad as section-hand, passing through the various positions of switch- man, yard brakeman, fireman, and clerk in the treasurer's office, retain- ing his position with the road after the organization of the Concord & Montreal railroad, and occupying now the position of chief clerk and paymaster of the last named corporation. Mr. Quimby has made a steady advance in railroad life through faithful devotion to the interests of those with whom he has been associated and for whom he has labored. The measure of his service has never been too severely strained, for no additional duty has been too onerous for him to undertake. In all that he has undertaken Mr. Quimby has displayed a remarkable cheer- fulness of disposition, and has readily won friends who have advanced him in political life at the same time that he has been advancing in bus- iness circles. He was alderman from Ward Seven, Concord, for four years, and was elected in 1892 a member of the house of representatives from that same ward. In the house Mr. Quimby's service has been quiet but valuable, and he has been closely connected with some of the most important legislation of the session. In social life Mr. Quimby is deservedly popular ; an unaffected frankness of manner, a winning affa- bility, and a decided honesty of expression endearing him to many. Mr. Quimby is successful because of his incessant attention to whatever con- cern is immediately before him, and winning successive promotions by the minute and faithful care that he has devoted to the concerns always immediately at hand.
387
GEORGE A. WASON.
E VERY intelligent farmer in New Hampshire has often heard the name of George A. Wason; and nine cases out of ten it has been mentioned in connection with some progress or improvement in agricultural craft. George Austin Wason, born in New Boston, Sep- tember 13, 1831, was the youngest of the nine children of Robert and Nancy (Bachelder) Wason. He was educated in the regular town schools and in a select school at New Boston, and also at Francestown academy. Born and reared upon ancestral acres, he became their man- ager and proprietor at an early age, through the death of his father. For thirty years now he has cultivated his old homestead, constantly intro- ducing improvements, and fully determined to keep abreast of the times. His interest in agriculture has manifested itself, also, in other than per- sonal ways. For three years he was president of the Hillsborough County Agricultural society, and for the same period was at the head of the Piscataquog Valley Fair association. The members of the state grange united in honoring him with an election to the office of master for two terms, and he thus became a member of the National grange for four years. Four terms he has been appointed by different govern- ors and councils a trustee of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, and twice the same authority has made him a member of the state board of agriculture. An easy transition brings us to his distinguished political services. For six years he acted as county commissioner for Hillsborough county, and for four years represented the town of New Boston in the legislature. The success that attended his efforts in the house of representatives led to his elevation to the higher body, and in the state senate of 1883 and 1884 he represented the Amherst district, No. 16, very efficiently. In whatever sphere of action he is placed, Mr. Wason is faithful, capable, and persistent ; and his eminent devotion to agriculture has not hindered his usefulness in various other directions.
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