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 3
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2 1
WILLIAM ANDREW HEARD.
W ILLIAM ANDREW HEARD was born at Wayland, Mass .. August 25, 1827, the son of William and Susan ( Mann) Heard. A sturdy constitution and a vigorous mind were his only inheritance, and at the age of fifteen, after limited schooling, he began life for him- self as a clerk in the store of Timothy Varney, at Center Sandwich, and in 1849 embarked for himself in general trade, retiring from mer- cantile pursuits after nearly twenty-eight years of service, and after sev- eral profitable business ventures. In August, 1862. Mr. Heard enlisted in the Fourteenth New Hampshire Volunteers, and upon the organiza- tion of the regiment was commissioned quartermaster, becoming brig- ade quartermaster in November of the same year, and resigning in September, 1863, on account of ill health. During the long years of his residence in Sandwich, Mr. Heard has held many public trusts and offices. From 1859 to 1861 he was town clerk, in 1873 and 1874 he was representative in the legislature, from 1872 to 1887 he was treas- urer of the Sandwich Savings Bank, and from 1874 to 1887 he was clerk of the courts of Carroll county. His high reputation as an able financier, gained by his many years of successful business experience, led to his appointment as national bank examiner for Maine and New Hampshire in December, 1886, and he embarked upon the duties of that position to resign them in 1889, when, upon the reorganization of the bank commission, he was appointed a member of the board by Governor Goodell, and was reappointed in 1891. Mr. Heard has had a life of great activity, and has been followed by success. A kind, hearty, mild-mannered, genial gentleman, wise yet modest, his honors have come as a merited recognition of his ability; and the half century that he has spent in Sandwich, to say nothing of the years of his pub- lic service, have stamped him as a noble, trustworthy, upright man.
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ALPHEUS W. BAKER.
A MONG the influential men of New Hampshire, men who are trusted, men whose opinion is quoted, men whom the people find find pleasure in honoring, none is better known or more respected than Alpheus W. Baker, of Lebanon. He was born in that town May 22. 1834: but aside from the years of childhood, his residence was else- where until after the war. When fourteen years of age he was appointed a page in the New York assembly, which position he held during the session of 1848 and 1849. Two years later he was clerk in a commis- sion house in New York city, where he remained until 1856, when he emigrated to Wisconsin and settled there. In 1862 he enlisted in the 23d Wisconsin regiment as a private. By faithful and meritorious ser- vice he won a commission ; but impaired health compelled him to resign in 1864. After leaving the army, he returned to his native town, where the remainder of his active and busy life has been spent. He was elected to the legislature from Lebanon in 1873, and re-elected in 1874. He was made assistant clerk of the house two years later, which posi- tion he held for two sessions. He was then twice elected clerk of the house, and might have held that position indefinitely had he been dis- posed to accept continued re-elections. He was also assistant secretary of the constitutional convention of 1876. He was appointed postmaster of Lebanon by P'resident Hayes in 1881, reappointed by President Ar- thur in 1885. and served until the second year of President Cleveland's administration. In 1890 he was appointed a member of the board of bank commissioners, an office he now holds. In the various positions of honor and trust in which he has been placed, he has invariably acquitted himself with credit. It was, however, as clerk of the New Hampshire house of representatives that he was most widely known. What Charles P. Sanborn was to the speakership of that body. Alpheus W. Baker was to the clerk's position. Neither has been surpassed by any of their honorable and worthy successors.
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IRVING ALLISON WATSON.
I RVING ALLISON WATSON, of Concord, a son of Porter B.
and Luvia E. (Ladd) Watson, was born at Salisbury, September 6, 1849; received his preliminary education in the common schools of New Hampshire and at Newbury (Vt.) Seminary and Collegiate Institute ; commenced the study of medicine in 1868 with Dr. Cochrane, of Newbury, Vt., and continued with his uncle, Dr. H. L. Watson, and later with Dr. A. B. Crosby, of New York; at- tended medical lectures at Dartmouth college and at the Medical Department of the University of Vermont ; graduated from the latter in 1871. The same year he located and commenced the practice of medi- cine at Northumberland, N. H., remaining there ten years. During his residence in that town, he was several years superintendent of schools, and twice (in 1879 and 1881) was elected to the state legisla- ture. He was largely instrumental in securing the passage of the law creating the state board of health, and was appointed one of its mem- bers, and at its organization in September, 1881, was elected secretary and executive officer of the board. In October of that year he removed to Concord, where he has since remained, still holding the posi- tion of secretary and executive officer of the state board of health. In 1889 the state board of health was made also a state board of lunacy, and the executive work of the latter board has devolved upon him since its creation. He is also registrar of the vital statistics of the state and president of the state board of cattle commissioners. He has four times been elected secretary of the American Public Health association, hav- ing held the office continuously since 1883. He is a member of the American Medical association, American Public Health association, White Mountain Medical association, Centre District Medical society, New Hampshire Historical society, and several other societies and organizations.
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EDWARD NATHAN PEARSON.
N EW Hampshire has no fitter son in this generation than Edward Nathan Pearson, who was born in Webster, September 7, 1859, the son of John C. Pearson and Lizzie S. Colby. Mr. Pearson was educated in the Warner high school and at the Penacook academy, and graduated from Dartmouth college in the class of 1881. Immediately following his graduation he was employed as city editor of the Concord Evening Monitor, and has retained his connection with that paper ever since, with the exception of one year spent in the schools of Wash- ington, D. C., as principal of one of the grammar departments. Mr. Pearson in 1882, upon his return from Washington, became associate editor of the Monitor and Independent Statesman and in 1890 was made managing editor. In 1892 he assumed also the duties of business manager of the Republican Press association, and as such was the can- didate of his party for public printer in January, 1893, and was elected. He was married December 8, 1882, to Miss Addie M. Sargent. of Leb- anon, and has four children. Mr. Pearson's life has been one of modest yet incessant activity. In every position that he has been called upon to fill he has considered the best fruits of his power none too great to be yielded. His connection with the Monitor and Statesman has been marked by a versatile solidity of achievement. Vigorous, honest, out- spoken, graceful, he has contributed to every department with a lavish hand, and has impressed a worth of style and reliability upon their columns. No man ever had a better friend than he: untiring in his courtesy, gentle, impulsive, frank, true, the symmetry of a genuine gentlemanliness makes perfect the meed of his praise.
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NAHUM J. BACHELDER.
W HILE NAHUM J. BACHELDER retains his present rela- tions to New Hampshire agriculture, that industry will not lan- guish, for to him, as to no other, are the farmers of the state indebted. Mr. Bachelder was born and has always lived in East Andover. He was educated in the schools of that town, at Franklin academy, and at New Hampton institute, supplementing this course with such extensive pri- vate reading and study as to receive, in 1891, the degree of A. M. from Dartmouth college. Mr. Bachelder has always been a farmer, and has been for many years connected with grange interests in New Hamp- shire. In 1883 he was elected secretary of the state grange. The office of secretary of the state grange he held until 1891, in one of the years intervening declining an election as master, accepting the chair in the latter year, and still holding it. He was the first secretary of the Grange State Fair association, and to him is due the success that has attended the annual meetings of the association at Tilton. In 1887 he was chosen secretary of the state board of agriculture, and in that capacity has done valiant service for the farmers of the state. In 1889, as a just recognition of the man who first conceived the idea, Mr. Bachelder was appointed commissioner of immigration, and at once set at work to populate the abandoned farms of the state, working with such energy and so much to the purpose, that the first year of his service saw more than 300 farms reclaimed. By the legislature of 1891 this office was consolidated with that of secretary of the board of agri- culture, and Mr. Bachelder has carried on the work along both the old and new lines, yet always with success. In April, 1891, he was appointed a member of the newly created board of cattle commissioners, and by his activity has succeeded in nearly extirpating tuberculosis from among the herds of the state. Mr. Bachelder is a progressive thinker in a position requiring progressive thought.
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HON. ALBERT STILLMAN BATCHELLOR.
H ON. ALBERT STILLMAN BATCHELLOR was born at Beth- lehem, April 22, 1850. Immediately upon graduation from Dartmouth, in 1872, he entered the office of Hon. Harry Bingham, at Littleton, and was admitted to the bar in 1875. Ile soon became a member of the firm of Bingham, Mitchell & Batchellor, and the con- nection still continues. Twenty years' association with Mr. Bingham, as pupil and partner, is a voucher for a good lawyer and an honest one, and Mr. Batchellor has never discredited his credentials. The business of the firm has been varied and extensive, and Mr. Batchellor has had a professional experience that is accorded to few men of his years. In the realm of politics Mr. Batchellor has achieved an enviable reputa- tion, and ranks with the younger leaders of the Democratic party of New Hampshire. A liberal share of such honors as the party has had to bestow have been conferred upon him, and they have been modestly and worthily borne. As solicitor of Grafton county for two years, representative in the legislature for Littleton during three successive sessions, and as a member of the governor's council in 1887-88 he performed much valuable public service. Notwithstanding the great demands of his professional and public life, Mr. Batchellor has found time to devote to literary pursuits, becoming especially interested in the history of our state during the provincial period and the early years of statehood. It is safe to say that few men are so well versed in the history and traditions of those stirring times. That he was appointed by a Republican governor to the very responsible position of editor of the provincial papers is a worthy compliment to the learning and re- search of the one, and to the discernment and fairness of the other. As a trustee of the state library he has performed invaluable service to the state, while his influence has at the same time been felt in educa- tional matters as an active alumnus of Dartmouth college and in other directions.
27
HON. CHARLES ROBERT CORNING.
C HARLES ROBERT CORNING was born in Concord, Decem- ber 20, 1855, and was educated in the schools of that city, at Phil- lips Andover academy, and by private tutors. He read law with Anson S. Marshall and with William M. Chase and Jonathan E. Sar- gent and attended lectures in the Harvard law school, and was admitted to the bar in March, 1883. Mr. Corning's tastes, however, inclined rather to literary pursuits, and he has won more than passing fame as a student and author. He has three times visited Europe, and his journeys have provided material for interesting lectures in addi- tion to having furnished the inspiration for a most charming and viva- cious work of travel under the title of "Aalesund to Tetuan." He is also the author of valuable historical and biographical pamphlets and of numerous lectures and magazine articles upon historical subjects. In politics Mr. Corning is a Republican, and as such was a member of the house of representatives in 1878, declining re-election because of failing health. In 1883, however, he again sat in the house, and in 1889 was a member of the state senate. In 1891 he was appointed an assistant attorney in the department of justice at Washington. Mr. Corning also served for six years on the board of education of the city of Con- cord and is a trustee of the state library and of the Fowler Public Library. As a man of letters, Mr. Corning is among the most promi- nent in New England, his careful and acute knowledge giving weight to his work. Mr. Corning, before he was called to his present posi- tion, was for some years secretary of the New Hampshire Historical society, and was among the most efficient and valuable working mem- bers of that organization. Added to his rare mental characteristics, Mr. Corning possesses a charming conversational power, a fascinating grace of expression, and a warm geniality of manner.
28
HON. GEORGE CLINTON GILMORE.
G EORGE CLINTON GILMORE, a descendant on both sides T from the Scotch-Irish of old Londonderry, New Hampshire. is a typical son of the state, born in Bedford, September 25. 1826: son of William Gilmore and Matilda ( Eaton) Gilmore ; educated in the public and private schools : was connected with the manufacturing cor- porations of Manchester and Milford for 37 years, from bobbin boy to agent ; married, in 1853, Miss Lucy A. Livingston, born in Walden. Vermont, March 1, 1830 ; one child living, Waldo Eaton Gilmore. born April 28, 1854; member of both branches of the city council of Manchester, and of the house of representatives in the years 1856, '67. '72, '75. 76, '79, '80. '85, '86, and '93, and a member of the state senate in 1881-'82 : was chosen colonel of the Amoskeag Veterans for 1875-76 ; member of the constitutional conventions of 1876 and 1889: one of the trustees of the state library since 1888. As president of the New Hampshire Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, Colonel Gilmore has labored industriously for the revival of patriotism, and is proud of the history of New Hampshire and has contributed not a little to its pages. having compiled and published the " Manual of the New Hampshire Senate from 1784 to 1894." and the . Roll of New Hampshire Soldiers at the Battle of Bennington, August 16. 1777." and by his own life and labors has set an example for those who will follow him, an example luminous in its integrity and fidelity to the tra- ditions and history of the state, in the love of its past, and the hope of its future.
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ELLIOTT BRAINARD HODGE.
E LLIOTT BRAINARD HODGE, chairman of the board of fish and game commissioners of New Hampshire, was born in Eaton in the province of Quebec, November 14, 1839, the son of Berzillia Brainard Hodge and Sarah Elliott, and was educated at the Cookshire high school and at Colebrook academy. At the age of twenty-one Mr. Hodge began life as a professional photographer, following that calling in various localities until 1881. June, 1882, he was appointed superin- tendent of the state fish-hatching house at Plymouth, and entered upon what has proved to be the work of his life, for in 1883 he was appointed by Governor Bell a member of the fish and game commission, and was re-appointed in 1888, being at present chairman of the board. As fish and game commissioner, Mr. Hodge has been at the head of the move- ment for placing the New Hampshire commission abreast, if not in the lead, of similar organizations in other states. How successful that movement under his leadership has been, the testimony of the sports- men of New England will best prove. The restocking of the lakes and streams of New Hampshire with food-fish, the extinction of poaching in the game-producing forests of the state, and the creation of a senti- ment favorable to the sportsman and discrediting the pot-hunter, have been carefully fostered and developed by Commissioner Hodge. Not only has Mr. Hodge proved himself an organizer, but he has also shown himself to be a student. His reports have been models of excel- lence and compendiums of information. Thoroughly conversant with the needs of New Hampshire and delicately in touch with the pulse of improvement, Mr. Hodge is carrying out the great work which he began and will not suffer to lag. Mr. Hodge is prominent in Masonic circles, having held nearly all the minor offices, has been high priest of Pemigewasset Chapter, thrice illustrious master of Omega Council, and for two years was most illustrious grand master of the Grand Council of New Hampshire.
30
WILLARD HENRY GRIFFIN.
T HE New Hampshire fish and game commission numbers as one of its devoted members Willard Henry Griffin, of Henniker, who was born in Groveland, Mass., April 28, 1857, and is the son of Henry Dustin Griffin and Sabrina Knight Carr. Mr. Griffin attained his edu- cation in the common schools of Groveland, his native town, and at the high school in Georgetown, Mass. His present occupation is that of a manufacturer of shoes at Henniker, this industry ranking at the head in the industries of the town. Mr. Griffin has served upon the board of fish and game commissioners but few years, though in that time he has given evidence of his devotion to the interests committed to his charge. of his ability, and of his foresight. In the town of Henniker Mr. Griffin is justly one of the most popular men. A genial good-fellowship easily wins friends, but the solid qualities of his character more readily retain them. His friendships are cemented by the strongest possible ties. At the head of the leading industry in the community, he could not fail to be prominent, yet he would be prominent in any community were he wholly without business connections, for such a man as he could not fail to win and retain the esteem of all who admire integrity in business. in common friendly intercourse, and the fruits that can come only from such integrity when constantly and consistently displayed.
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NATHANIEL WENTWORTH.
N ATHANIEL WENTWORTH, member of the fish and game commission of New Hampshire, was born in Brighton, Mass., December 8, 1833, and is the son of Nathaniel Wentworth and Lydia Lord. Like most of the successful men of whom this book treats Mr. Wentworth secured his education in the common schools and began at an early age to solve for himself the problem of existence. How suc- cessfully that problem has been solved the record of his life will tell. The beginning of the war found Mr. Wentworth successfully engaged in the business he had chosen, a contractor for masonry, yet he aban- doned his business prospects and enlisted in the 11th Massachusetts battery and served through the war, being mustered out after the sur- render at Appomattox. Returning to his duties he took up the thread of his life where he had laid it down, and the success that has attended his efforts showed no signs of interruption because of his service for his country, perhaps indeed it may have been increased thereby, for Mr. Wentworth, in the years that have followed, has stood at the front in his line of work. In the town of Hudson, where he resides, Mr. Wentworth has naturally been prominent. His marked ability as a business man, his uprightness, his fidelity, have caused him to be called to various positions of confidence and honor. In 1887 he was a member of the legislature from his town, serving his constituents faith- fully and well. Mr. Wentworth is an enthusiastic sportsman in the true sense of the word. Realizing the necessity of the prevention of the indiscriminate destruction of the fish and game of the state, he has always been actively identified in the work of securing the enforcement of the game laws, hence it was but natural that, with the retirement of Mr. Riddle from the state board of fish and game commissioners, Mr. Wentworth should have been chosen to succeed him. In this position Mr. Wentworth is showing marked capabilities for his work.
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HON. CHARLES H. AMSDEN.
H ON. CHARLES H. AMSDEN, president of the New Hamp- shire World's Fair commission, is a native and life-long resident of Penacook. He was born July 8, 1848, and was educated in the public schools, and at Appleton academy, New Ipswich. He began his career in the office of his father, Henry H. Amsden, furniture manu- facturer, and was later with his brother, a member of the firm of H. II. Amsden & Sons, a name that is yet retained though both his father and brother are dead. Mr. Amsden's other business interests comprise the presidency of the Concord Axle Co., and a membership in the directory of the Mechanicks National Bank, Concord, the Portland & Ogdensburg railroad, and the Granite State Fire Insurance Co. But Mr. Amsden has another prominence in New Hampshire afforded by his political career. Beginning in 1874, he was an alderman of the city of Concord, and was reelected by a unanimous vote. In 1883 he was a member of the state senate, being chosen from among a Republican constituency by a majority of 376. In 1888 he was the Democratic candidate for governor, making a run that merited the renomination that was tendered him in 1890. That campaign was fought by Mr. Amsden with such a persistent brilliancy that the result was left so much in doubt that many people believed him to have been elected. The days intervening between the election and the assembling of the legislature that was to settle the mooted question were trying ones. But they brought out the true character of Mr. Amsden who comported himself with a quiet dignity that won for him the hearty esteem of his opponents and added to the affection of his supporters. The balance dipped against him and he calmly accepted the result-a result that brought no discredit to him, since he left the field without the prize, though supported by a larger vote than has ever been polled for any other Democratic candi- date for governor.
33
GEORGE F. PAGE.
G EORGE F. PAGE is thoroughly a "New Hampshire man." He was born in Pittsfield in 1844, but early in life moved to Frank- lin, passed through the public schools of that town, graduated from the Franklin academy, and supplemented this training by a course at the Eastman Business college at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. In 1860 he started in to learn the art of leather making, beginning work in Franklin and continuing his researches and experiments in Europe. As a result of this training he has given to the product of the Page Belting Co., of Concord, of which he is president, a national reputation for excel- lence, and caused that corporation successively to outgrow its plant at Franklin and Concord, and to cause the erection of the present hand- some and thoroughly equipped buildings that it now occupies. Mr. Page was a prime mover in the establishment of the Concord Commer- cial club, serving several years as its president. He was also one of the first to advocate the establishment of a state board of trade, and in 1891 he was elected its first president. In 1890 Mr. Page was elected to the house of representatives from Ward 4, Concord, and in that body distinguished himself by his championship of a bill, of which he was the author, providing for the Australian ballot, which he intro- duced and pressed to a final and successful issue with signal ability and force. In 1891, Mr. Page was appointed a member of the board of World's Fair commissioners and served in that position with fidelity and credit. The fertility of Mr. Page's mind led him early to a belief in the development of the water-power adjacent to Concord, and he organ- ized in 1892 the Concord Land & Water Power company for the pur- pose of putting in at Sewall's Falls a plant to utilize water-power in the production of electricity, this in turn to be distributed to centres of industry for light and power.
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HON. FRANK MARTIN ROLLINS.
1496984
H ON. FRANK MARTIN ROLLINS, treasurer of the New Hamp- shire World's Fair commission, was born in that part of Holder- ness, now Ashland, fifty-two years ago, and for more than twenty-five years resided in Lakeport. He was educated in the schools of his native town and at the academies in New Hampton and Sanbornton. In Laconia where he lived until 1876, when his home was annexed to the town of Gilford, Mr. Rollins was a prominent citizen and was selectman in 1871 and 1872. In Gilford he was equally prominent and served as overseer of the poor in 1878 and 1879. In 1882 and 1883 he was selectman of Gilford, and also served as member of the Lake Village school committee. In 1879 he was elected one of the county commissioners of Belknap county and was reelected two years later. In 1874 he represented Gilford in the legislature, and in 1887 was member of the state senate. In the legislature Mr. Rollins was a consistent member of his party, yet his action was characterized by no narrow spirit. For several years past he has been connected with the Manchester Union, being at the head of the counting-room in that establishment and as such being a constant and valuable factor in the paper's success. This position Mr. Rollins but recently resigned and he has acquired newspaper property in Denver, Col., to which city he will remove upon the completion of his duties as World's Fair com- missioner. In this latter capacity Mr. Rollins has added greatly to his reputation. Upon the organization of the board he was chosen its treasurer, and in that office has displayed much administrative force. Mr. Rollins has made his way in so many directions, and has made so many friends in the state, that his removal to another community will be marked by regret. Yet his love for the state of his birth will make her the sharer in all the honors and prosperity that may await him in the new field.
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