USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Some things about Coventry-Benton, New Hampshire (town history) > Part 7
USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Benton > Some things about Coventry-Benton, New Hampshire (town history) > Part 7
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to himself a wife when he found the right person. He built himself a good house, one of the best in town, fin- ished it completely, but occupied it alone for many years, cooking his simple meals himself. This was not because he was averse to society, for no man was fonder of it than he, and no one was more welcome in the social circles of young people than "Uncle Billy" with his violin. He was a fine bass singer, and for years was always to be found in the choir gallery on Sundays, where he used to sing, as he ex- pressed it, "with the spirit and the understanding also." He had a song reciting the old time campmeeting experi- ences which he was sometimes persuaded to sing to the great delight of his audiences, and there are many elderly people who recall the delight with which they listened to "Uncle Billy's" description of "the bumble bee with his tail cut off." His clapboard mill gave him a profitable business, and he would have become a comparatively wealthy man had he in- vested with care and prudence the profits of his business, but, himself the soul of honor, he found it difficult to believe that any of his fellow men were dishonest, and he became the easy prey of the designing and unscrupulous. His old age was one of poverty and hardship, ill deserved after his long life of simple, plain living and unremitting toil. He died Aug. 6, 1879, in his 86th year. Poor "Uncle Billy" !
Edwin Tyler, son of Kimball, and Jesse M. Brown, son of John, became voters in 1845, but soon left town, the former going to Massachusetts, and the latter seeking his fortunes in Michigan. Burton French also lived in town for two or three years, and his thousand and more large sugar maples to the east of Tunnel stream on the side of Moosi- lauke, were for many years one of the famous sugar camps of the section. He married Eliza, daughter of Jeremiah B.
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and Susan (Tyler) Davis, and lived later on a small farm near French pond in Haverhill. Other new comers were Ambrose Merrill, William Bacon, Samuel Randall, Jona- than Hunkings, Joseph Whiteman and Nicholas Whiteman. William Bacon, better known as "Bill" Bacon, was long remembered for a prayer he offered in a protracted meeting the night of his conversion. He and a chum of his, Ben Elliott, rough fellows of the ungodly sort, came to the meeting to scoff, but, as it turned out, remained to pray. "Bill" got under deep conviction, went to the mourner's bench, was converted and immediately became anxious con- cerning his friend Ben, and prayed for him thus : "O Lord, there is a great sinner here to-night, Ben Elliott ; if he dies before morning he'll surely go to hell, which favor we ask, Amen." Ben was converted that same night. Jonathan Hunkings came from the southern part of the state, and set- tled on the Tunnel stream to the south of the John C. Brown farm, where he erected a saw mill, cleared a farm and erected the house where the Parker House, a summer hotel, now stands. Mr. Hunkings was a man of good education, and was a valuable addition to the citizenship of the town. He was a Whig in politics, and afterwards a Republican, and though the town was overwhelmingly Democratic, he was frequently elected to town offices, serving as superintending school committee and selectman. Failing in health he sold his mill and farm about 1865 and removed to Haverhill, where he died Aug. 5, 1866, aged 67. Of his three sons' Harvey A. died in early manhood, Joseph resided in La- conia, and Thomas H. removed west. A daughter, Clara J., married and removed to California, and another daughter, Olive A., the widow of James Page, still resides in town on the James J. Page homestead in the west part of the town.
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In 1846 the new names on the voting list were : John G. Buswell, son of John Buswell, John L. Stevens, Sylvester Eastman, James Eastman, James A. Cox, son of James H. Cox, Daniel Burnham, Sewall Waterman, J. Dean Norris, Elijah Curtis and David Young, Jr. Sylvester Eastman was a grandson of Obadiah Eastman, a first settler. Ex- cept for a few years spent in northern New York he lived in Benton, first on a small farm on Howe hill, and later, until his death, Jan. 19, 1860, at the age of 45, in the house now owned and occupied by Orman L. Mann. He married Louisa, eldest daughter of William and Mary (Noyes) Whitcher, and of their three children, George E. resides at North Haverhill ; Ruth J. is the wife of Charles A. Veazey, of Benton, and William has always resided in town and has been active and prominent in town affairs, serving as town clerk, collector of taxes and selectman, and member of the Constitutional Convention of 1888.
Myron Bailey, who became a voter in 1847, resided with his mother on the farm now owned by George Bailey. He married a daughter of Samuel Peters, of Haverhill, lived on the Peters farm for several years and removed to Bethlehem. David Clough came to town from Bath and lived during the latter part of his life on the farm lying on the road run- ning south-east from the Stephen C. Sherman farm. He died Sept. 27, 1865, at the age of 62. One son, Chester C. Clough married Marium, daughter of Jonas G. and An- gelina (Whiteman) Brown, lived for several years on a farm adjoining that of his father-in-law, but after the death of his wife removed to Lisbon, where he still resides. Another son, Merrill Clough, resides on the Lime Kiln road in Ha- verhill. The names of Elisha Clement, Samuel Angier, Jonathan Clement, Darius K. Davis, James P. Tyler and
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Horace Ames also appear on the voting list in this year.
In 1848 Thomas F. Cox, son of James H. Cox, Silas M. Welch, son of Jonathan Welch, and Daniel Whitcher be- came voters for the first time, and new comers in town whose names appeared on the voting list were : John W. White- man, Walter Mulliken, Horace Bailey, Willis Chase, John Webber, Moses McConnell, Wilson Weed, Calvin Bailey, Samuel Morrill, Lyman Page and Cornelius Carr. Daniel Whitcher was the ninth son of William and Mary (Noyes) Whitcher, and was an active personality in the affairs of the town during his residence there, and continued his activity in the towns of his subsequent residence, Landaff and Bath. He was born Jan. 20, 1827, and died in Bath in March, 1894. On reaching his majority he associated himself with his father who then resided on the farm now owned by Birt Cox. They were also owners of a sawmill in Landaff on the Wild Ammonoosuc, where they afterwards lived, and where a hamlet grew up subsequently known as Whitcher- ville. A starch mill was built here, and Mr. Whitcher was for several years quite extensively engaged in the manufac- ture of potato starch, not only at this mill, but at several other mills, which he owned in part or wholly, in Bath and Haverhill. A tannery was also built which was in success- ful operation for several years, as was also a country store which he opened and conducted. He became the chief party in the litigation with the towns of Landaff and Bath over the petition for a highway down the Wild Ammonoosuc from the County road in Landaff to Swiftwater village in Bath, known as the "Bunga road" litigation, which ended successfully in the laying out and construction of the road in 1860. This was perhaps the most famous road case ever known in northern New Hampshire, and there is little doubt
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DANIEL WHITCHER.
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that the towns involved on the one hand, and the petitioners on the other, expended enough money in the fifteen years of litigation to have built the road two or three times over. The Bunga road controversy was a dominant factor in the politics of several towns for years, and much bitterness of feeling was engendered. Aside from this, however, Daniel Whitcher was a born litigant, and there was hardly a court docket for a period of a quarter of a century in which his name did not appear as plaintiff or defendant in one or more suits. He was always aggressive, resourceful, never a quit- ter, and usually a winner. Upon the decadence of the po- tato starch industry, and the abandonment of the tannery business he moved from Whitcherville to Bath, purchasing the large farm near "Rum Hill," and carried on an extensive lumber business until a short time before his death. He was interested in the affairs of the town, and was the prime mover in the establishment of the Unitarian church in Bath and in the erection of the house of worship. He was an ardent and devoted advocate of the Unitarian faith. In politics he was a Democrat. He represented Benton in the Legislature in 1858 and 1859, his election each time being the result of a heated "Bunga road" campaign in which he won out by a single vote over the late George W. Mann. Later he rep- resented Landaff in the same body, after spending the en- ergy of years and much money in fighting that town in the Bunga road case, and its successful efforts to secure a divis- ion of the town. His business ventures were generally successful and lucrative, but he never became a wealthy man. Litigation is a costly luxury. He married Nancy R. Knight, the daughter of Mrs. Catherine Knight, who had become the second wife of his father, William Whitcher. They were the parents of nine children, five of whom are living. Four
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of the daughters are living in Massachusetts, and one, the wife of William V. Ashley, resides in Woodsville.
Among the new voters in 1849 were Abel S. E. B. Davis, son of Nathan B. Davis ; Caleb Wells, son of Enos Wells ; Leonard J. Brown, son of Richard Brown; and Wil- liam T. Torsey, son of Winthrop G. Torsey. The former remained but a few years in town, and removed to Indian- apolis, Ind., where he still resides. Leonard J. Brown, while retaining a voting residence in town until his father, as previously mentioned, removed to Bath, spent the most of his time in Concord, employed at his trade of stone cutter. William T. Torsey married first Irene, daughter of Jonathan and Lydia (Batchelder) Davis, and resided first on a farm adjoining that of his father, and then, until his death, in March, 1894, at the age of 66, on the farm on the East road now owned by Solomon J. Hutchins. He married second Hannah, widow of Noah C. Hutchins. He served several years on the board of selectmen and filled various other town offices. Caleb Wells was a prominent figure in town affairs until his removal to Haverhill about 1869. He was edu- cated in the schools of the town, and at Newbury Seminary, and was active in church work, and in all other matters per- taining to the social and educational welfare of the town. He was for many years superintending school committee, tax collector, and served several years on the board of select- men. He represented the town in the Legislature in 1867 and 1868, and for a period of twenty years was one of the leading citizens of the town. Always interested in political matters he has taken prominent part in the affairs of his adopted town, serving on its board of selectmen, and is still one of the leaders of the Haverhill Democracy. He has the same untiring persistence which characterized his father in
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political matters, and his political opponents have learned that it is unsafe to leave him out of their reckoning in contests.
The names of Daniel Wilson, Amos Wilson, Hezekiah Morse, Charles Gifford, Francis Dwyer, David Chase, Na- than Chase and Raymond Page appear this same year for the first time. Charles Gifford was of Scotch ancestry, and had all the Scotch thrift. He settled on a small farm on the hill road leading from the No. 5 school house. He was a rigid Presbyterian, a quiet, God fearing man of the old puri- tanical school. His eldest daughter, Mary, was the wife of Francis Dwyer, who came to town with him, and who re- sided at first on the farm on the old road to North Haverhill, now owned by Lucetta Tyler, of Stoneham, and whose large family of children were all born in Benton, but are now widely scattered. Francis Dwyer was for many years the only Irishman in this town, peopled by those of English blood. He spent some years in California; and on his re- turn purchased the farm now owned by George Bailey. Another daughter of Charles Gifford, Laura, married John W. Gray, of Easton, and a son, John O. Gifford, married a daughter of Myron S. Woodward, of Bath, and now re- sides in Haverhill. Daniel Wilson came to town from Franconia with his son Amos, and several of his large family besides his son Amos, subsequently became residents of the town. Until his family left town, about 1877, they resided on the farm lying to the north of the meeting house near Landaff line and now owned by Jane Fackney. Amos Wilson married Sally, daughter of William and Mary (Noyes) Whitcher, who was born May 25, 1817, and who died in 1893. Of their four children William F. and George M. are deceased, while Susan M., the wife of
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James M. Spinney, and Alice S., wife of John Noyes, reside in Woodsville. Amos Wilson is a man of simple tastes, of strict integrity, and devout piety. He makes his home with his daughter, Mrs. Spinney.
In 1850 Charles B. Keyser, Moses W. Howe, David Whitcher and John Flanders, sons of early settlers, became voters. Charles B. Keyser married Mary, daughter of Jeremiah B. and Susan (Tyler) Davis, and settled on the farm at the base of Moosilauke formerly occupied by Wil- liam K. Bruce. He was a substantial citizen, and filled various town offices with credit and efficiency. David Whitcher, born June 17, 1828, is the youngest of the ten sons of William and Mary (Noyes) Whitcher, and the only one now living. On coming to his majority he entered into partnership with his brother Daniel. This, however, was of brief duration. He married Sally A. Noyes, daughter of Amos and Hulda Noyes, of Landaff, and purchasing a farm near North Haverhill village, devoted himself to farm- ing. He has been one of the most successful of North Country farmers. A few years since he purchased the Na- thaniel M. Swasey estate in North Haverhill, where he has since resided, and some six years since retired from active farming and now devotes himself to caring for his large in- vestments. He is a man of decided convictions, religious and political, which he never hesitates to avow. He has never been a candidate for public office, and has devoted himself during his long life to proving that farming in New Hampshire can be made to pay. Of his two children, the eldest, a son, died at the age of eleven, and his daughter, Mrs. Hattie Blanche Sanborn, resides with her three chil- dren near her parents in North Haverhill. He is a frequent visitor to his native town, in which he takes a deep interest,
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DAVID WHITCHER.
PRESCOTT PARKER.
EZRA B. MANN.
G. HENRY MANN.
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though strongly of the opinion that while it is a good town in which to be born, it is also a good town from which to emigrate.
James M. Harriman was the son of James and Ruth (Pike) Harriman, and he spent much of his life in town at High Street, though living for a few years at East Haverhill, where he followed the business of blacksmith. In his later residence in town he lived on the William C. Bixby farm, served on the board of selectmen, and died in Warren, July 19, 1898, at the age of 70. Jonathan B. and Ansel Stickney purchased what is known as the A. L. Warren farm on the Meadows at the foot of Owl's Head, and were prominent and useful citizens while remaining in town. They returned to Warren about the year 1860. William Carpenter came to North Benton from Bath with his son Emery B. Carpenter, and the Carpenter family formed quite an element in the population for several years. Emery B. Carpenter remained in town several years, clearing a farm which is now abandoned and covered with forest, about midway between the Hollow on Whitcher brook and the Stowe place. For several years there was a laid out highway between these locations, but it has long since been discontinued. Of the sons of Emery B. Carpenter, Moses B. resides in Haverhill ; Calvin J. in Landaff, and Chester has been for many years in the employ of the Boston & Maine railroad and lives at Fabyan. A daughter of William Carpenter, Adeline, married John P. Cox, and of their two children, Edward L., who became town clerk for two or three years, is deceased, and Roberto C., known as "Birt" Cox, resides in town on the farm formerly owned by David Marston and William Whitcher. Alonzo Carpenter mar- ried a daughter of Daniel Howe, and removed to Stoneham,
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Mass., and Charles Carpenter, Jr., after a few years' resi- dence in town, removed to Haverhill. Hiram King, a brother of Russell King, of Haverhill, lived on a farm in the Page district which subsequently passed into the possession of Ex-Governor John Page, of Haverhill. Randall Hill and Lafayette Hill were new comers on the Meadows in 1850.
The list of new names on the voting list of 1850 was quite a lengthy one : Nelson B. Carter, Amos G. Torsey, Jona Hale Marston, George Wells, Nathan C. and Nathaniel H. Stow (the Stow twins ), William P. Siddons, Darius Clough, Robert Dwyer, Aaron Hand, John P. Cox, Nathaniel French, Moses P. Buswell, Bartlett Welch, and Henry Kimball. Some of these have been already mentioned. Nelson B, Carter married a daughter of Richard Brown, and went west. Amos G. Torsey, a son of Capt. Winthrop. G. and Theodosia Torsey, married Elizabeth, daughter of Levi Brooks and settled on a small farm later owned for many years by Ephriam Cooley. He served for several years as superintending school committee, was engaged in teaching winters, but died of consumption in May 1857, at the age of 27. Jona. Hale Marston was the youngest son of Jona- than and Phebe Howe Marston. He married Lucy Thurs- ton, a stepdaughter of Amos Woodward, who came to Ben- ton from Northern New York in 1852 and settled on the homestead farm of his father. A few years later he sold his farm to James A. Cox and removed to New York and later to the far west. George Wells, born March 18, 1828, was the second son of Enos and Sally Wells. He married Car- oline, a daughter of Jacob Morse, of Haverhill, and settled on a farm on the South road near that of his father. He removed to Haverhill about 1865, where he is still living,
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a prosperous farmer. While in Benton he served as town clerk and selectman, and was one of the most useful citizens of the town. William P. Siddons, an Englishman, a tailor by trade, lived for several years on the South road, on the first farm to the south of that of Samuel C. Annis. His wife was a Clark, a sister of the wife of Capt. Enos Wells, who, after the death of Mr. Siddons, married John Hyde, who lived on the Meadows. There were several daughters in the Siddons family, one of whom, Jane, married George Tyler, the youngest son of Kimball Tyler, and another, Eliza, was the first wife of Charles S. Newell, of Haverhill. Darius Clough, a brother of David, came from Bath, and lived for a few years on a farm adjoining that of his brother. Robert Dwyer, a brother of Francis, lived on a farm lying to the south of the Bath road. The boys of that day who are now living have pleasant recollections of Robert Dwyer's orchard. It bore fine fruit, and Robert did not always har- vest the entire crop. Aaron Hand and his family lived for two or three years, a hand-to-mouth existence, on the Abra- ham Norris farm. Aaron was shiftless. He preferred going fishing to work. He promised work for his neighbors in ex- change for provisions, but was laggard in the fulfillment of promises. Mrs. Hand always insisted that Aaron would pay when time and health permitted, and her frequent assertion that "Aaron's word is God's truth," became a proverb. John P. Cox, who married Adaline Carpenter, was an hon- est, hard working man, but one who lacked the faculty of getting ahead. He lived in town, for the most of the time on the road from the "Hollow" to the Stow farm, until his death in March 1876, at the age of 64. His widow was twice remarried, and died in Woodsville, in August 1890, at the age of 70. Moses P. Buswell, son of John Buswell,
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spent much of his life in town engaged in farming, but in later years has lived in Haverhill. Henry Kimball lived in the High Street district, but remained in town only a short time.
The check list for 1852 shows quite a lengthy list of new comers and new voters. Of the latter there were Truman Gray, James Gannett, George Tyler, William H. Annis and Enos C. Wells. Other names were Samuel Pike, Wil- liam Sampson, John Dunlap, John Hyde, Moses Hyde, William Hyde, Sumner Hardy, Samuel A. Mann, Charles M. Howe, John Russell, Stephen C. Sherman and James C. Sherman. Truman Gray was a brother of the wife of
Emery B. Carpenter. He wished to marry Sarah, the eldest daughter of Samuel Howe, but was forced by the opposition of her parents to relinquish his hopes, and removed to Mass- achusetts with his brother John, who was also a resident of Benton for a brief period, where he has since resided. Sarah Howe married Parker Swasey, of Hardwick, Vt., who was killed in 1864 in the battle of the Wilderness. She remained a widow until some four years since, when she again met Truman Gray whose wife had died shortly be- fore, and they were married after a separation of nearly forty years, and now reside in Cambridge, Mass. William H. Annis, the son of Joseph and Betsey (Currier) Annis, went to Lynn, Mass., and later to Groton, Vt., where he died in 1897, at the age of 65. George Tyler was the youngest son of Kimball and Sally (Streeter) Tyler. After the death of his father he built a new house on the old home- stead, and resided there most of the time till about 1864, when, after the sudden death of his two children from ma- lignant diptheria, he disposed of his property and went to Massachusetts. Enos C. Wells, the youngest son of Capt.
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Enos Wells, purchased the Siddons place, and married Annette, the daughter of Jacob Morse, of Haverhill. They remained in town, however, but a few years, when they re- moved to Lynn, Mass. John Hyde with his sons, Moses and William, settled on the Meadows, but the sons remained but a short time. John Hyde was at one time a large land owner. He married for his second wife the widow of Wil- liam P. Siddons. He became a convert to the Second Ad- ventist faith, and became insane the year following the war, and after his release from the New Hampshire Asylum re- moved from town. The farm known as the Hyde farm is now owned by Peter Bolieau. Charles M. Howe settled on the hill near Haverhill line, and had quite a large family of daughters and one son, Charles H. Howe, who enlisted in the Eleventh regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers, and died of disease while in the service. Charles M. Howe was not a man of prepossessing appearance, but his loyalty and devotion to the Republican party was beyond question. During his twenty years residence in town his party was small in numbers, and in the factional Democratic contests over the selection of town officers, and representative to the General Court, the Republicans in close contests lined up with the Democratic factions, as friendship and other consid- erations dictated, all except "Uncle Charley." Deaf to the most potent appeals he would persist in the closest of con- tests, in voting for Charles M. Howe, on the ground that he was the only Republican whom he could trust. Stephen C. Sherman came to Benton from Lisbon with his son James C. Sherman, and purchased the farm on the East road to the west of that now occupied by Solomon Hutchins. Later, after his son James C. moved to Manchester, he sold this and purchased the Kimball Tyler homestead where George
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Tyler had lived. Mr. Sherman had seen service in the war of 1812, was fond of political discussion, in fact, any kind of discussion. He was never known to assent to the opin- ions of others, his standard remark being, "Well, I dunno, that is a question." He was a regular attendant at religious services, and greatly prized his position as teacher in Sunday school of a bible class of middle aged women. The mem- bers of his class used to say, "Mr. Sherman is a deep bible scholar", but it never appeared that he did anything except to talk platitudes and fire biblical conundrums at the simple minded, but good, women.
The next year, 1853, found William C. Bixby, Caleb Morse, George Brown, Amos Woodward, John W. Mulliken, Nathaniel Mulliken and Nelson F. Noyes in town, and Timothy E. Howe, son of Daniel Howe, became a voter. He soon afterward removed to Lisbon where he engaged in the boot and shoe business and became a successful busi- ness man. Caleb Morse was a brother of William F. Morse, and was engaged with him as a blacksmith until both left town a little later. George Brown established himself for a few years on the South road, and was the pioneer in distill- ing spruce oil, an industry that later became quite an im- portant one. He remained in town, however, but a few years. Amos Woodward came from the northern part of New York, built himself a log house and cleared a farm to the north of the Stow farm and engaged quite extensively in the burning of charcoal. After a few years residence in town he returned to New York, and none of his large family of children remained in town. Two of his sons, Hiram and George, enlisted in New Hampshire regiments and rendered valuable services during the war of the Rebellion. Nelson F. Noyes, the eldest son of Moses Noyes, of Haverhill, who
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