USA > New Hampshire > Sketches of successful New Hampshire men > Part 39
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Dr. Spalding married Sarah Livingston, daughter of Rev. Dr. John W. Olmstead, manager and editor of the Watchman and Reflector; her mother, Mary, was daughter of Richard Montgomery Livingston, a lawyer of Saratoga, N. Y. Their children are Mary Livingston, Martha Reed, Catherine Olm- stead (who died August 29, 1881, aged fourteen), Gertrude Parker, and George Brown.
JAMES F. BRIGGS. .
BY HENRY M. PUTNEY.
JOHN and Nancy (Franklin) Briggs were of that class of working English- men who had the courage to flee from hard surroundings which no strength could overcome, and seek in a new world, among strangers, a chance to improve their condition. They were factory operatives at Bury, Lancashire county, England, where their son JAMES F. was born, October 23, 1827. When he was fourteen months old they took passage on an emigrant ship for America, and after a rough voyage of more than seven weeks landed in Boston, March 4, 1829. Going direct to Andover, Mass., the father found employment in a woolen-factory there. From that place he removed to Saugus, where he worked a short time, and from thence.to Amesbury, which was the family home until 1836. In the fall of that year the father, in company with two brothers, bought a small woolen-fac- tory at Holderness, now Ashland, N. H., and, having established his home near by, commenced business on his own account, in manufacturing woolen cloths. But few operatives were needed to run this mill, and they were mainly the three proprietors and their children, among whom was the boy James, then a lad nine years old, who had begun to earn his living in a factory before the removal from Massachusetts, the family circumstances being such that all had to contribute to its support as soon as they were able. He was continuously employed in the mill for the next five years; but during this time he had learned enough of books to make him ambitious to know more; and, as the affairs of the family were fairly prosperous, at the age of fourteen he was sent to the academy at Newbury, Vt., and afterwards to the one at Tilton. Being an expert operative, able to take the wool from the fleece and convert it into cloth, by working in the factory a part of each year he earned the money to pay his expenses at these institu- tions one or more terms every year until 1848, when he arranged to commence the study of law with Hon. William C. Thompson, at Plymouth ; but in Feb- ruary of that year his father died leaving a family of eight children, six of whom were younger than James, in destitute circumstances. This affliction, which threw the care of the family largely upon the young man, compelled him to change somewhat his plans ; but he did not for a moment lose sight of the object he had in view, and, as he could not enter the law office at Plymouth, he borrowed books from it and pursued his studies during such time as he could get at home, for a year, when he entered the office of Hon. Joseph Burrows, then a practicing lawyer at Holderness.
In 1849 the family removed to Fisherville, in order that the younger children might obtain employment in the factory there, and he completed his studies in the office of Judge Butler, from which he was admitted to the bar in 1851. A few months later he commenced the practice of law at Hillsborough Bridge, whither he went a perfect stranger, without money or reputation. But he had ability and energy, was willing to work, knew how to live within a small income
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until he could make it larger, and little by little he gained clients and friends, who gave him a lucrative practice, accepted his counsel, followed his leadership, and established his reputation as the most popular and influential man of the town. In 1856, 1857, and 1858, he was sent by a nearly unanimous vote to represent Hillsborough in the legislature, where he was at once accorded a promi- nent position as a member of the judiciary committee, and the third year was honored by the nomination of his party for the speakership. At this time he acted with the Democratic party, and continued to do so until the war of the rebellion, when he felt that all loyal men should unite to save the Union and maintain the national authority, and, having been nominated by the Democracy of his district for councilor upon a platform which enunciated peace-at-any-price doctrines, to which he could not assent, he declined the nomination, and from that day has been an ardent, active, and enthusiastic Republican.
While the Eleventh Regiment was being recruited, he tendered his services to the governor of the state and was appointed quartermaster on the staff of Col. Harriman. In this capacity he served through the battles of Fredericksburg, the military operations in Kentucky, and the Mississippi-river expeditions which resulted in the capture of Vicksburg and Jackson, for about a year, when he was prostrated by the malaria of the southern swamps, and compelled to resign and return to his home in Hillsborough.
During his absence in the field, and the illness which succeeded his return,' his legal business had become somewhat demoralized, and on the recovery of his health he concluded to start anew in a wider field of action in Manchester, to which city he removed in 1871, forming a partnership with Hon. Henry H. Huse, which still exists. Manchester gave him a cordial welcome. Her mill operatives and other mechanics greeted him as an honored graduate of their school, who in his after triumphs had never forgotten the hard road by which he had journeyed to success ; her lawyers. and clients were already well acquainted with his pro- fessional abilities ; her soldiers recognized him as an old companion in arms, and her politicians as an earnest Republican who could and would be a tower of strength in every campaign. Under these circumstances he did not have to wait for business or political preferment. Soon after opening his office he was ap- pointed city solicitor, and in 1874 he was clected to the legislature from ward three. Two years later he was chosen senator from the Manchester district, and in the same year was sent to the constitutional convention.
In all these positions he won reputation and friends to such an extent that in 1877 he was nominated for congress without substantial opposition, and elected by a large majority. At the expiration of his first term he was unanimously renomi- nated, and after an exciting campaign was re-elected by a majority of eight hun- dred and forty-nine over the combined Democratic and Greenback vote. Two years afterwards it became a question whether he should be returned. The tra- ditions and prejudices of the district were strongly against a third term. Four other able and deserving men were ambitious to succeed him, and he declined to push for the nomination, but accepted a call to take the stump in Mainc, leaving it for his friends to determine whether his name should be used in the convention. To one of these, who wrote him that he ought to return from Maine and attend to his canvass, he replied : "I am assured that I can be of considerable service here, and, as it is of vastly more importance that the cause shall triumph in this state next Monday than that I shall be renominated, I must remain and trust to you and others to decide whether it is best to send me back to Washington. Whatever that decision may be, I shall be satisfied." The convention met just after the disastrous defeat of the party in Maine, and when it appeared that there was only a desperate chance for its nominec to be elected. It decided that if any
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man could succeed he could, and a few days after he took the stump. Manches- ter, which was counted a doubtful city when the convention assembled, gave him more than eight hundred majority, and the rest of the district swelled this to fourteen hundred and eighty.
In congress, Mr. Briggs has been from the first a faithful, hard-working member, always in his seat, tireless in serving his constituents, especially the vet- eran soldiers, and conscientiously devoted to the discharge of all his duties. In the forty-fifth congress he was a member of the committee on Patents ; in the forty-sixth, of the committee on Naval Affairs; and in the present, the forty- seventh, is chairman of the committee on Expenditures in the War Department, and a member of the Judiciary and Reform in the Civil Service. No member of the house commands a more perfect confidence in his associates, and few, if any, are able to accomplish so much. He succeeds at Washington as he did at home, by quiet, patient, persistent work, and is satisfied with results rather than with brilliant outbursts and noisy exhibitions of his rhetorical powers.
Mr. Briggs married Roxana Smith, the daughter of Obadiah and Eliza M. Smith, of New Hampton, and has had three children, all of whom are living. The oldest, a son, was educated at West Point, and served four years in the army, when he resigned, and is now engaged in the manufacturing business in Trenton, N. J. Two daughters reside with their parents in Manchester.
In concluding this brief sketch, written without the knowledge of its subject, the author feels that it will fail to satisfy those who have known Mr. Briggs intimately without some direct reference to the qualities which characterize him in all positions in life. Prominent among these are his perfect fidelity, industry, steady courage, and thoroughness. It is natural for him to be true, impossible for him to be false. He is ambitious, and few prize more highly the honors they win; but he is incapable of the duplicity, demagogy, and all the cheap artifices by which some men succeed. His faithfulness to his convictions does not count cost or query about consequences to himself. He is as stanch and true a friend as ever lived, and he never cheats those whom he dislikes or despises. His generosity and devotion to his family are far-reaching and untiring. He is a public-spirited citizen, a kind neighbor, and a pleasant companion. He is always approachable, patient, and considerate. In every cause in which he enlists he is a hard worker and a free giver. He knows how to wait, and how to look beyond temporary reverses to the complete triumph which he always believes will crown and estab- lish the right. He never frets, and never rests until the result is secure. His private life is without a stain, and the fierce light of the hottest campaign has disclosed no shadow of a blot upon his public record. His sympathies are with the people, and his head and hands are controlled by his heart. These qualities have made James F. Briggs what he is. They have supplied the place of early advantages, influential friends, and fortune. They have carried him from the woolen-mill, working for a few cents a day, to the national house of representa- tives, commissioned to speak and act for the largest and richest district in New Hampshire. They have made him strong at the bar, popular at the polls, and influential in congress.
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NATHANIEL WENTWORTH CUMNER.
BY J. W. FELLOWS.
THE ancestors of the Cumner family were of English origin. The name is first discovered in the period following the supremacy of the Norman rule, - the return from the dynasty of the Conqueror to the ascendency of the English- Saxon line. It was first spelled Comnor, and later Cumnor, meaning " hospi- tality to strangers, " or a " place of hospitality," and comes through the Saxon branch. To this period may be referred the formation of many English family names, - often derived from some unimportant circumstance, or suggested by personal characteristics. These became marks of distinction, new titles to man- hood, and were proudly bequeathed by father to son,- "inherited sur-names."
During the century following the loss of Normandy, the Anglo-Saxon, as a written language, having been banished from courts and superseded in all legal papers by the Latin, became dearer to the common people as a spoken language, preserving their cherished objects and transmitting leading sentiments. It in- creased its power and volume by building new terms and means of expression, and particularly by multiplying its patronymics. In a comparatively short space of time the language had become vernacular, and fairly entitled to be styled English, rich in the idioms and proper names of its own creation and out-growth.
" The history of words," says Trench, "is the history of ideas," and he might have said of people and nations. They are not only the " vehicle of thought," but they tell anew the story of their times and enrich the great body of history with countless incidents of value and importance. In studying their genealogy, the English-speaking people find the starting-point of many an illus- trious name in the peculiar circumstances of those medieval times, - the natural product of the mingling of different tongues, and the constant struggle between feudalism and servitude.
The famous old manor-house, Cumnor Castle, so celebrated in romance, once enjoyed the rent-fee and service of a large body of retainers, and carried for many a year, by reason of its feudal allotments, a numerous vassalage. Its walls have long since fallen into shapeless ruins, but the lands of its tenantry now embrace the beautiful village of Cumner. The families bearing this name have not been numerous in England, but have maintained their lineage with remark - able directness. The earliest trace of these people shows that they belonged to the industrial classes,- the guilds-people, who in the latter part of the seventeenth century had attained such prominence as to nearly control the business interests of the great metropolis, and to whom the Lord Mayor of London was pleased to say on a memorable occasion, " While our gracious nobility are the leaf and flower of the kingdom, ye are the sturdy trunk and branches."
The subject of this sketch belongs to the third generation in America. His grandfather Robert Francis Cumner came to this country when about fifteen years of age, under circumstances of a very interesting character. In June,
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NATHANIEL WENTWORTH CUMNER.
1774, while walking in the streets of London, he was seized by a " gang of press- men " from the ship Somerset, sent out to recruit his Majesty's marine. He was carried directly on board, forced to become one of the crew, and do the duty of a common sailor. He was not allowed the privilege of communicating with his friends, and no tidings from him or knowledge of his situation were received during the long cruise of the Somerset in distant waters, until she appeared in Boston harbor and took part in the battle of Bunker Hill. Her position and the service she rendered the British troops on that memorable day are well known in history. From her decks came the first fatal shot, and under the fire of her guns the broken and retreating ranks of royalists found protection.
The scenes of that bloody struggle made a deep impression upon the mind of young Cumner, and fixed his determination to take no part in the work of subjugation. Circumstances fortunately soon favored his settled purpose. The Somerset not long after the battle "got aground," probably somewhere in the lower part of Massachusetts bay. During their efforts to get afloat, some of the crew went ashore, among them the Cumner boy, who immediately availed himself of the opportunity to escape from his unwilling service. While following the highway into which he first came, near the shore where lay the stranded Somer- set he was overtaken by a Quaker on horseback, who, learning his situation and purpose to obtain his freedom from the " British yoke," invited our young hero to "get up behind," and, throwing his gray cloak over the lad, soon carried him beyond the king's power.
He settled in Wareham, Mass., learned the tailor's trade and began the per- manent business of his life. October 20, 1785, he married Miss Sylvia Sturte- vant, whose family connections were very worthy and highly respected. Her father was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and fell on the battle-field fighting for independence. The Sturtevant people have received honorable men- tion in the annals of history, and their name is written among those who deserve well of their country. Not long after his marriage he moved to Sandwich, Mass., from that place to Wayne, in the state of Maine, where he resided during the remainder of his life. He was successful in business and became a prominent and highly respected citizen. He was a man of modest and retiring habits and exemplary character, but of indomitable will and inflexible adherence to what he believed to be right. If his life were the subject of our sketch, we could fill it with incidents showing his remarkable tenacity of purpose. Robert Francis and Sylvia Cumner had two children, - John, born January 19, 1788, and Polly, a few years younger. He died February 5, 1825, and his wife, March 26, 1826, and their remains were interred in the Evergreen cemetery in Wayne.
John Cumner was but a few months old when the family moved from Sand- wich, Mass., to Wayne. He was of a sanguine active nature and early evinced the character of a sincere and zealous worker in religious matters. He obtained a fair education, and although to a certain extent compelled to work on the farm and devote himself to that kind of employment, his thoughts ran upon matters more congenial to his nature. When about eighteen years of age he was em- ployed by Gen. Landsell to take charge of his farm in Bridgewater, Mass., where he remained several summer seasons. During this time he became acquainted with Miss Hannah Thomas Bartlett, of Bridgewater, whom he married July 11, 1813. He settled in Wayne, upon the farm which became the homestead, and was so occupied by the family during his many years of labor and life in the ministry.
He was associated with the society of the Methodist Episcopal church, and interested in the affairs of that denomination, at the early age of nineteen years, and soon after appointed a class leader and licensed to preach. His labors were
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attended with marked success, and at the annual meeting of the general confer- ence for Maine, in 1833, he was admitted to membership and received his first appointment. He continued in the active ministry until 1852, when failing health obliged him to cease labor; but his love for the church and his zeal in the cause of its established creeds continued unabated during his remaining years. He died February 5, 1861, closing a life of industry and devotion, in which he had accom- plished more good than usually falls to the lot of man. His wife died December 5, 1852. She was very beautiful when young, and was much beloved and admired by her wide circle of friends. Possessed of an earnest and devotional nature, she entered with ardent sympathy into the plans and labors of her husband ; faith- fully bearing her share of life's varied duties,- firmly in the hour of trial, and with amiable companionship when prosperity filled the measure of their ambition. They had eleven children, two of whom died in infancy. Three others have deceased, - Maryetta in 1871, and Francis and James in 1881. The remaining members of the family are Cathamander, William B., John T., Nathaniel W., Charles W., and Benjamin G. Cumner.
NATHANIEL WENTWORTH, the youngest but two of the children of John and Hannah T. Cumner, was born at Wayne, November 28, 1829. His early life was devoted to obtaining an education in the vicinity of his home, passing from the district to the private school in the town of Wayne, and to other schools and seminaries in the circuit where his father's appointments were made. During some portion of the season, for a few years he assisted the older brothers in culti- vating the homestead farm, but at the age of sixteen he went to Wilton, Me., and engaged in learning the tailor's trade. He remained there about three years ; then went to Waltham, Mass., staying there about one year and a half; then to Lowell, Mass., where he remained until 1851, when he came to Manchester, N. H., and entered the employ of B. F. Manning, then doing business in the store occu- pied in later years by the firm of Cumner & Company.
In January, 1854, Mr. Cumner became a partner in the business of mer- chant tailors and clothiers, the firm name being Manning & Cumner. This ar- rangement continued until August, 1857. Mr. Cumner then withdrew and went to Washington, D. C., as a member of the firm of F. Tenney & Co., proprietors of the National Hotel. In August, 1859, he returned to Manchester and pur- chased the stock and "good will" of the Manning store, and entered at once into business, in which he continued as the sole proprietor until 1865, when his brother Benjamin G. Cumner became associated with him, forming the copartner- ship of Cumner & Company. At this time Mr. Cumner became also a member of the well known wholesale house of Sibley, Cumner, & Co., in Boston, having purchased an interest in the old house of Foster & Sibley, and devoted his atten- tion largely to the wholesale trade. In 1868, Lyman E. Sibley retired and Mr. Cumner became the senior member, the name of the firm remaining the same.
In the great fire of November 9, 1872, their establishment was among the first to be burned, and the firm suffered a total loss of their immense stock ; but their credit was so strong, and their energy and ability so widely recognized, that their business received no check, and the transactions of the house proceeded even upon a more extensive scale than before. In 1879 the firm became Cumner, Jones, & Co., which is the present style of the business. In 1881 he sold his interest in the business of Cumner & Co. in Manchester, which had en- joyed unvarying success and great prosperity from the beginning; and from that time devoted himself entirely to the Boston house. The business had so largely increased that it became necessary to give it his constant personal attention. The reputation of Cumner, Jones, & Co., in commercial circles, has become widely known, and its remarkable success an acknowledged fact.
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Mr. Cumner has been eminently successful as a business man. Possessing in a large degree self-reliance and confidence in his own judgment, he selected an honorable calling and devoted himself to its duties and demands. He believed that industry and perseverance, with well matured plans, were certain to produce the most desirable results. He knew the energy and fidelity of his own character, and trusted to the safety of sound principle ; and he has proved that his plans were wisely laid and his ways well chosen. At a comparatively early age he has acquired a competence, and in his position of senior member of one of the soundest and most prosperous, and at the same time conservative, wholesale houses in New England, his influence is always in favor of that healthy and reliable condition of trade which establishes public confidence and guarantees general prosperity.
And not only in connection with his partnership associations is Mr. Cumner known as a business man. In the circles where the leading merchants and im- porters of our New England metropolis are accustomed to meet and discuss the laws of trade and canvass the prospects of the future, his judgment is greatly respected, and the intelligence and foresight with which he is able to advise are highly regarded. He bears an unblemished reputation as a man of honor and fairness, in all ways commanding universal respect and esteem,- a gentleman in the true significance of the term. In the wide range of personal distinction, among all the marks of honor and renown which the world affords, the title of a true gentleman stands first, and he who bears it worthily need envy neither prince nor potentate.
As a citizen, Mr. Cumner has taken an earnest and unvarying interest in public affairs. Politically, his associations have been with the Democratic party ; but his views have been conservative, looking to the real purposes of the gov- ernment rather than the aims and desires of party politicians. While residing in Manchester he held important offices in the municipal government, was a faithful public servant, working zealously to promote the general interests and the com- mon good of his constituents, of whom he deserved well.
Mr. Cumner became a member of the celebrated military organization, the Amoskeag Veterans, in the days of its origin, and has continued to do active duty through the entire term of its existence. He held the office of captain in 1870, and commander of the battalion, with the rank of major, in 1879. and 1880. During his membership he has served in countless capacities incident to the general management of the organization, and while commander did very effective service in promoting harmony and unity of purpose, and increased in a great degree the interest and efficiency of the corps.
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