USA > New Hampshire > State builders; an illustrated historical and biographical record of the state of New Hampshire at the beginning of the twentieth century > Part 24
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33
He established the Suncook Valley Times, a weekly newspaper, to the columns of which he contributed topics of history and biography, and through this medium ren- dered no small assistance in securing the construction of the Suncook Valley Railroad, which proved of so much value to Pittsfield and neighboring towns.
Mr. French was a constant attendant and liberal sup- porter of the Franklin Street Congregational Church, was a thirty-second degree Mason and a Knight Tem- plar, and was Director in the Merchants' National bank. He married, in 1858, Annie M. Philbrick of Deerfield, who, with two daughters and one son, survive him.
343
REV. LORIN WEBSTER.
One of the most progressive of New Hampshire edu- cators is the Rev. Lorin Webster, rector of Holderness School, Plymouth. Mr. Webster was born in Clare- mont, July 29, 1857, and was fitted for college at St. Paul's School, Concord. He matriculated at Trinity Col- lege, Hartford, and was graduated in 1880 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, three years later receiving his Master's degree from the same institution. Deter- mining to enter the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church, he studied theology at the Berkeley Divinity School, Middletown, Conn., and was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Divinity in 1883. He imme-
diately entered the faculty of Holderness School as a master, where he remained for one year, resigning to assume the rectorship of the Episcopal Church at Ash- land. From this position he was recalled to Holderness to assume the rectorship of the school in 1892, and under his direction the institution has made great advance, both in equipment, endowment and numbers. The training at Holderness School is thorough and scholarly. Located upon the homestead of Chief Justice Samuel Livermore, one of that sturdy group who gave New Hampshire as an infant state its proud standing in the young republic, the school is adequately housed in substantial buildings, affording healthful and homelike accommodations for all the boys enrolled. The atmosphere of the school is that of the home, although discipline and study are by no
344
REV. LOREN WEBSTER
STATE BUILDERS
means lacking. The honor rolls of representative Ameri- can colleges testify to the good work done at Holderness School.
Under Mr. Webster the school has made its greatest strides. Possessing that ardent temperament which ap- peals irresistibly to the mind of youth, the rector has been enabled to impress his personality largely upon the masters and pupils of the school. Himself a scholar of no mean repute, endowed with many graces of character and person, and entering with zeal into all that affects the interests of those committed to his care, the rector of Holderness School occupies an unique position at the head of his large family of pupils, standing, it may be said without exaggeration, in loco parentis to the boys who come under his guardianship. Sound morals, sound bodies, sound scholarship, these are the cardinal princi- ples of the work done at Holderness School.
These are also the principles which will be inculcated at Camp Wachusett, a summer camp for boys, which Mr. Webster opened in 1903 on the shore of 'Squam Lake, justly famed for its picturesque beauty. The camp property contains about eight acres, and has a frontage on the shore of more than nine hundred feet.
Mr. Webster is a musician of note, and many of his compositions have enjoyed wide popularity. From 1898 to 1901, he was president of the New Hampshire Music Teachers' Association, and did much to place that organ- ization upon the sound footing which it now enjoys.
Mr. Webster was married in 1884, to Miss Jennie J. Adams, and has three children, Harold A., Bertha L., and Jerome P. In college Mr. Webster was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, and he is a Mason.
345
ALLEN N. CLAPP.
One of the men who helped make Manchester what she is, the Queen City of the Merrimack valley, was the late Allen N. Clapp, merchant, public official and man of affairs. He was a native of Marlborough, New Hampshire. having been born in that town on January 2. 1837. He received his early education in the schools of Nashua and at McGaw institute, Reed's ferry, one of the best of the old time academies.
At the age of eighteen years he went to Nashua and entered upon a business career distinguished for its up- rightness, enterprise and success. For many years he was one of the principal wholesale grocers in his section, and for a considerable period he represented the Standard Oil company in Manchester. Business men of his stamp add to the moral as well as the material wealth of a com- munity and deserve the honor which Mr. Clapp, cer- tainly, received.
In 1861-1862 he was elected by his fellow citizens to the board of aldermen; in 1874-1875 to the New Hamp- shire house of representatives, and in 1897-1899 to the up- per branch of the legislature, the New Hampshire state senate. To the discharge of these various public duties Mr. Clapp brought the same intelligence, industry and applica- tion which marked his private business life; and on every question that came before him for decision and action he played the part of a conscientious administrator and citizen.
346
ALLEN N. CLAPP
STATE BUILDERS
Passing away when but little beyond the prime of a happy and highly useful life, Mr. Clapp did not allow the memory of his good deeds to cease with his demise, but in his will generously remembered Elliott Hospital, the First Congregational church of Manchester, the Manchester Y. M. C. A. and other worthy institutions.
Mr. Clapp married, May 25, 1863, Josephine M. Mason of Keene, New Hampshire. Their one child is Mrs. Annie Mason Sheldon.
347
CHARLES E. TILTON.
Charles Elliott Tilton, son of Samuel Tilton, was born in that part of the town of Sanbornton subsequently set off and incorporated as the town of Tilton, September 14, 1827, and died there on September 28, 1901. At the time of his death he was one of New Hampshire's best known and most public spirited citizens.
He was educated under the instruction of the late Prof. Dyer H. Sanborn and at Norwich university, passing three years at the latter institution, then located at Nor- wich, Vt.
Starting out, while a young man, to seek his fortune, he first sailed to South America. Hearing of the gold discoveries in California, he became one of the world famous '49ers. Soon concluding that for him trade would be more profitable than gold digging, he went to Oregon in 1850 and formed a partnership with W. S. Ladd for general mercantile pursuits. This continued until 1859, when the banking house of Ladd & Tilton was established at Portland, Oregon, becoming an impor- tant factor in the financial life of the coast and so con- tinuing until 1880, when Mr. Tilton retired.
Meanwhile he had been engaged in various important business enterprises in all the states and territories of the Pacific Northwest. One of the most widely known was the Oregon Railway & Navigation company.
Mr. Tilton resided during the summer time in the town which bore his name and which he benefited
348
-
CHARLES E. TILTON
STATE BUILDERS
in almost countless ways. A fine farm there he gave to the state of New Hampshire as the site for its Soldiers' Home. The Memorial Arch, which every traveller through the town sees and admires; the Town Hall; the fair grounds; and many other adornments of the town were due to his generosity. There, too, he invested large sums of money in real estate and business enterprises. He was a director of the Concord & Montreal railroad and was actively instrumental in the construction of the Franklin and Tilton and Tilton and Belmont railroads.
Mr. Tilton was a Democrat in politics, but never would accept political preferment.
A widow, Genevieve E. Tilton, two sons, Alfred E. and Charles E., Jr., all of whom reside in Tilton, and Myra Ames Frost, a daughter, a resident of Fitchburg, Mass., survive Mr. Tilton.
349
WILLIAM JEWETT TUCKER.
Dartmouth College, founded in 1769 by Eleazer Wheelock, primarily as a training school for Indian use, has long since outgrown the intention of its founder, and though still proud to think of itself in the words of its greatest son as "a small college," it nevertheless now ranks in number of students and excellence of equipment with the largest institutions of learning in the country. Hav- ing passed the period of establishment and entered upon a definite policy of expansion, both in the external and in- ternal affairs of the college, Dartmouth in the past ten years has taken immense strides toward educational per- fection. This period marks the administration of Wil- liam Jewett Tucker, who was inducted into office in June, 1893. President Tucker is a native of Griswold, Con- necticut, where he was born July 13, 1839. His early education was obtained at the Academy in Plymouth, N. H., and Kimball Union Academy, Meriden. He- graduated from Dartmouth with high rank in the class of 1861, and for two years thereafter was engaged in teach- ing at Columbus, Ohio. He then entered upon the study of theology at Andover Seminary and was graduated in 1866. He began his ministry in the city of Manchester, where he was ordained and installed pastor of the Frank- lin Street Congregational Church in 1867. Remaining there until 1875, he was called to the Madison Square Presbyterian church of New York, where he continued until 1880, when he was chosen to the chair of homiletics
350
ONE VIEW OF THE "NEW" DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
1
STATE BUILDERS
in Andover Theological seminary. From this post he was called to the presidency of Dartmouth. During the years of his professorship at Dartmouth, Dr. Tucker be- came deeply interested in practical sociological work and founded the Andover House and social settlement in Bos- ton, now known as the South End house. He was one of the founders and editor of the Andover Review. In 1893, Dr. Tucker delivered the annual Phi Beta Kappa oration at Harvard University, and in 1894 was a lecturer in the Lowell Institute in Boston, delivering there a most remarkable series of addresses bearing upon modern re- ligious problems. In 1897 he delivered the Winkley lec- tures at Andover seminary, and in 1898 was the lecturer on the Lyman Beecher foundation at Yale Theological school. These lectures, subsequently published under the title, "The Making and Unmaking of a Preacher," rank high in suggestiveness and value.
35 I
FRANK W. GRAFTON, M. D.
One of the younger members of the medical fraternity in New Hampshire, but yet by promise and performance entitled to high rank among his professional brethren, is Dr. Frank W. Grafton, of Concord, who was born in Gil- ford, in 1869, and was educated at Gilmanton academy, and in the schools of the city of Concord. His medical studies were pursued at Dartmouth Medical school, where he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1895, and after a year's service in the hospitals, entered upon active practice at Concord. His success was immediate and his practice has in- creased yearly until it is now one of the most extensive and lucrative enjoyed by any physician in the city. Dr. Grafton in addition to the demands of his many patients is a member of the staff of the Margaret Pillsbury general hospital, giving no little time to the duties of that posi- tion. He maintains close touch with the progress of his profession through active membership with the New Hampshire Medical association, the Center District Medi- cal society and the American Medical association. His contributions to the programs of some of these organiza- tions bear evidence of sound medical learning, surgical skill and rare good judgment. He married in Dec. 1896 Miss Edith McDowell, and their home on State street in the centre of the most desirable residential section of Con- cord is the abode of culture and refinement, and the scene of much charming hospitality. Dr. Grafton is a member of the Wonolancet club, a Mason and Knights Templar, and a member of the Odd Fellows. He attends the Epis- copal church.
352
FRANK W. GRAFFTON, M.D.
THE COMMODORE GEORGE H. PERKINS MEMORIAL, CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE
(Inscription beneath statue)
GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS
COMMODORE UNITED STATES NAVY
BORN AT HOPKINTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE . OCTOBER 20, 1835 ;
DIED AT BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS OCTOBER 28, 1899
353 ENTERED THE NAVY AS MIDSHIPMAN, OCTOBER 1, 1851, AND SERVED HIS COUNTRY WITH HONOR FORTY-EIGHT YEARS. GENIAL AND LOVABLE AS A MAN-ABLE AND RESOURCEFUL AS AN OFFICER -GALLANT AND INSPIRING AS A LEADER - HIS INTREPID CONDUCT AT THE PASSAGE OF THE FORTS BELOW NEW ORLEANS-HIS HEROISM IN THE SURRENDER OF THAT CITY - HIS SKILL AND DARING ON NOTABLE OCCASIONS ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND IN THE GULF OF MEXICO - HIS ACHIEVEMENTS IN MOBILE BAY, WHEN AS COMMANDER OF THE CHICKASAW HE COMPELLED THE SURRENDER OF THE TENNESSEE WON FROM THE NAVY UNQUALIFIED ADMIRATION AND FROM FARRAGUT THESE WORDS : -
"THE BRAVEST MAN THAT EVER TROD THE DECK OF A SHIP."
(Inscription in front of statue)
FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP APRIL 24, 1862
CAPTURE OF THE "GOVERNOR MOORE" AND THREE SHIPS OF THE MONTGOMERY FLOTILLA BELOW NEW ORLEANS APRIL 25, 1862 CAPTURE OF THE CHALMETTE BATTERIES APRIL 25, 1862
SURRENDER OF NEW ORLEANS APRIL 25, 1862 SKIRMISHES ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER JULY, 1862
PORT HUDSON AND WHITEHALL'S POINT JULY, 1863
CAPTURE OF THE MARY SORLEY AUGUST 5, 1864
BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY AUGUST 5, 1864 CAPTURE OF THE TENNESSEE AUGUST 5, 1864 FORT POWELL AUGUST 5, 1864
FORT GAINES AUGUST 8, 1864
FORT MORGAN AUGUST 23, 1864
GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS.
George Hamilton Perkins, United States Navy, was born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, October 20, 1835, and died at his residence, 23 Commonwealth avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, on October 28, 1899.
He was a son of the late Judge Hamilton E. Perkins of the Merrimack County probate court and was reared and received his early education in the capital city, Con- cord.
Appointed to the Naval Academy at Annapolis, he be- came acting midshipman in 1851; lieutenant, February 2, 1861; lieutenant commander December 13, 1862; commander, January 19, 1871; captain March 10, 1882; and commodore in 1896 by special act of Congress, five years after his retirement as captain.
Commodore Perkins left a wife, who was a daugh- ter of the millionaire merchant of Boston, the late Will- iam F. Weld, and a daughter, Isabel, the wife of Lars Anderson. By them a splendid monument to his memory was erected in the Statehouse enclosure at Concord and presented to the state with appropriate exercises in 1902. Daniel C. French was the sculptor and President Tucker of Dartmouth was the orator of the occasion.
Commodore Perkins owned an extensive summer es- tablishment in the town of Webster where he spent much money for various improvements and where he enjoyed long and frequent visits. His attachment to his native State remained strong during life.
354
GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS, Commodore United States Navy
STATE BUILDERS
His service in the Navy during the War of the Rebel- lion was distinguished for bravery, brilliance and her- oism. He was executive officer of the "Cayuga" at the passage of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and the capture of New Orleans by Farragut in 1862, accompanying Captain Bailey when the latter was sent ashore to receive the surrender of the city amid the curses and threats of a fiendish mob.
He commanded the ironclad, "Chickasaw," in the bat- tle of Mobile Bay; was mainly instrumentalin the capture of the big rebel ram, "Tennessee"; subsequently bom- barded Fort Powell, which was evacuated and blown up, and later shelled Fort Gaines, compelling its surrender with the entire garrison. For his conspicuous gallantry here he was specially commended by Admiral Farragut, who said of him "No braver man ever trod the deck of a ship."
By this battle imperishable fame came to the subject of this sketch at the early age of 28 years; and the remain- der of his career measured up to the standard of his early achievements.
355
WILLIAM R. CLOUGH.
New Hampshire genius and enterprise are well rep- resented by William Rockwell Clough of Alton, who was born in that town November 8, 1844. His father was a well-established business man in the city of Man- chester who later purchased a farm in his native town of Alton, where his two sons were born, both of whom still live upon the paternal acres.
Rockwell, the subject of this sketch, attended the pub- lic schools of his native town, supplementing the advan- tages there enjoyed by courses at the Gilmanton schools and at Franklin Academy, Dover. Leaving the farm at the age of 17, he went to Massachusetts, where, in 1862, he enlisted in the 50th regiment of Massachu- setts volunteers and followed the flag faithfully until the return of the regiment. He participated in the siege and assault at Port Hudson, and has the distinction of having been under fire continuously for six weeks. After being inustered out he found employment as a book-keeper at Cambridgeport, having previously taken a course in com- mercial training at the Eastman College, Poughkeepsie, New York, and from there entered the employ of the United States Government as an expert accountant in the department of internal revenue at Boston. Here he re- mained for two years. Being of a mechanical turn of inind he became accidentally attracted to the methods in vogue for making corkscrews and other wire goods, and soon hit upon a device which
356
WILLIAM R. CLOUGH
STATE BUILDERS
materially improved all existing machinery for that purpose. In all he has taken out some thirty patents. He was not able at once to develop his inven- tion but the merit of his device made its way, though slowly at first, until now he has established in his native town one of the largest concerns of the kind in the world, thoroughly equipped with machinery of his own invention and of a nature so productive that one machine will do the work of twenty men. His machines have been widely introduced both in France and England, and he has travelled extensively in the old country in the interests of his patents. As an exhibitor at the various industrial expositions held both here and in the old world, he has been uniformly successful. At the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia he received two premiums. He was also a prize winner at the Paris Expositions of 1878, 1889 and 1900, and he has awards from the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, and from the Cotton States Exposition at Atlanta in 1895. At the Atlanta Exposition he was chosen president of the Exhibitors' association.
Mr. Clough has retained the sole ownership of his business, and its development and prosperity are due to him as well as its inception in the patenting of its fundamental device, being materially assisted by his employees, also Alton men.
Mr. Clough was a member of the New Hampshire legislature in 1897 and 1899, where he served as chair- man of the committee on national affairs for both terms, and where as a forceful and earnest speaker he made his mark as a member of influence and integrity.
357
EDWARD HAMLIN CLOUGH.
Edward Hamlin Clough was born in Meredith, May 2, 1860, the son of John K. and Ellen Libbey Clough. He is a descendant on the paternal side of Oliver Clough, a Scotchman and a soldier in the Revolutionary war in Col. Alexander Scammell's 3d New Hampshire regi- inent, and on the maternal side of John Libbey, an Eng- lishman who settled at what is known as Portland, Maine, in 1630.
He was educated in the schools of his native town and remained at home until August, 1880, when he went to Manchester and entered the employ of Clough & Towle, wholesale provision dealers, as book-keeper. Four years later he was admitted to partnership with George S. Clough, and the business was conducted under the firm name of Clough & company. In eight years the firm built up an extensive business, reaching all important points in northern New Hampshire. The firm was con- tinued until 1891, when Clough & company disposed of their business to Swift & company. Mr. Clough ac- cepted a position with Swift & company as salesman and continued with the corporation up to the time of his assuming the duties of postmaster.
Mr. Clough is the youngest of a family of seven boys, and the patriotism of the family was shown at the out- break of the Civil war, when three of his brothers vol- unteered and saw arduous and gallant service: Wil- liam O. Clough, Nashua, Editor of the Nashua Daily
358
EDWARD H. CLOUGH, Postmaster, Manchester, 1903
STATE BUILDERS
Press; John F. Clough, Manchester, Hillsboro County Commissioner; Henry B. Clough, Manchester; George S. and Charles B. Clough, soldiers in the 12th New Hampshire Regiment, with John F., deceased, and Frank E. Clough of Meredith.
In fraternal circles he is well and favorably known, being a member of the Lafayette lodge of A. F. and A. M .; Passaconaway Tribe of Red Men, and Queen City lodge, K. of P. He is also a member of the Amos- keag Veterans.
Postmaster Clough, who was recommended by the Hon. Henry F. Burnham, U. S. Senator, June 3, 1902, for postmaster of Manchester, was promptly named by President Roosevelt and confirmed by the Senate. He assumed the duties and position July 1, 1902, of the largest postoffice of the state, also four stations con- nected with this office, and has the direction of a force consisting of nineteen clerks (the assistant postmaster rating in the department as one), one substitute clerk, thirty-two carriers and ten substitute carriers, seven rural carriers and seven substitute rural carriers and the janitor force of three.
Mr. Clough married Miss Etta P. Prouty of Spencer, Mass., June 14, 1884, and the fruit of their union has been four children, two boys and two girls :- Frank E., Elsie M., William O. and Julia Marion Clough.
359
AUGUSTUS H. STARK.
All New Hampshire, and especially the city of Man- chester, honors and holds in perpetual remembrance the name of Gen. John Stark, the hero of Bunker Hill and the conqueror at Bennington, where by a consummate generalship he put to flight the royal forces under Baum and so crippled the main advance of Burgoyne's army as to seal the fate of the entire command then and there. The outcome of the conflicts on September 19, and Oc- tober 7, 1777, was made certain by the blow struck by Stark at Bennington and the grandest result of all was the practical assurance from that glorious day of the ultimate triumph of the cause of the colonies.
General Stark left a family representative of his day and times, and like the provident parent he was, gave each of his children a start in life by bequeathing to each a generous slice of the realty that he had accumulated in his active and well spent life of ninety-four years. From the day that General Stark made what is now Manchester his home that community has never been without its families of Starks, and throughout the generations they have been closely and most honorably associated with its growth and upbuilding.
In the fourth generation from General Stark was Au- gustus H. Stark, in whose personality there survived many characteristics of the General, and particularly so in his versatility and love of nature and those influences of the home.
360
AUGUSTUS H. STARK
STATE BUILDERS
The father of Augustus H. was John, grandson of the General and third to bear the name. He married Sarah Fletcher Pollard.
Augustus H. Stark was born in Manchester, Novem- ber 6, 1834, and died in his native city August 8, 1902. After completing the several grades of the common schools he entered upon an apprenticeship to the carriage painter's trade, and at this and as a dealer in carriages he continued until 1882, when he returned to his native city from Boston, which city and its adjacent communities had been his home for some years preceding.
His father having died he inherited a large tract of land originally owned and tilled by General Stark and lo- cated in what is the beautiful North End of Manchester, the finest residential portion of the city. To the care and improvement of this realty he devoted most of his time after his return to the city. Upon a site overlook- ing the immediate valley of the Merrimac River and commanding a view of incomparable loveliness, he built one of the most beautiful residences in Manchester. On the opposite side of the highway from the front of the residence was the land now included in Stark Park. Later he and a sister gave a portion of this tract to the city of Manchester, while another section was bought by the city and the whole set aside for a public ground. Within this enclosure was the Stark family burial ground, first set apart for that purpose by General Stark and where he was finally buried. To the beautifying of this cemetery Mr. Stark gave liberally of his means and time, and upon his own death it became the place of his sepulchre.
Mr. Stark was twice married. His first wife was Isabelle Buck of Randolph, Mass. His second wife was Edith Frances Furbish, daughter of Henry D. and Sarah P. (Littlefield) Furbish of Skowhegan, Maine, whom he
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.