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 29
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Mrs. Berry was born Mary F. Mitchell and her birth- place was Hooksett. Her parents were John H. and Mary G. (Jones) Mitchell. Her school-day life was passed in
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the common schools of her town and at Pembroke acad- emy. From her native Hooksett she went to Massa- chusetts, settling finally in Stoneham. A chief event in her life while there was the entering upon a mercantile career in association with a woman friend. The two associates embarked in their enterprise without capital but with a credit of three thousand dollars with the firm's word alone as security. The enterprise prospered and it ¿vas not long ere all financial obligations were liqui- dated.
It was while engaged in operating her store that Mrs. Berry first heard that the attention of the world was called to a new interpretation of the Bible, and that the promulgation of this new idea, destined to speedily be- come a tremendous power, was by a woman, and she also a daughter of the Granite State. Her naturally inquiring and searching mentality and her innate power to grasp and fathom ideas led her to take into consideration the declarations and conclusions of the new teacher, the dis- coverer of the fact that "all causation is mind"; the founder of the church, Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy, holding this tenet as a great fundamental. There was that in the new interpretation and reading of the Scriptures that appealed to the heart and mind of Mrs. Berry, but she did not accept and espouse the teaching of Mrs. Eddy without most careful and conclusive investigation and reflection.
Having become a believer in Christian Science mind- healing as formulated by Mrs. Eddy, she entered upon the work with all that zeal, love of purpose, and enthusiasm that have ever been characteristic of her. She became a pupil of Mrs. Eddy as early as 1882 and at the conclusion of the prescribed course of study she returned to her native New Hampshire with the determined pur- pose, and as the first pioneer, of planting the new religion in the land of her fathers. She settled in Manchester, and bravely, yet in a womanly manner, raised the banner of
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her faith and spiritual principles. This was in the fall of 1882, and from that year to the present her heart has never failed her nor her faith laxed an iota in its zeal and devotion. The religion she taught was one that in- cluded the healing of physical illness as well as the lifting up of the spiritual being. Success is the record of Mrs. Berry's twenty years' work in Manchester. The sole pioneer in the state at first, she soon gathered about her men and women of Manchester who accepted the new way of serving their Maker and mankind. Soon a read- ing-room was engaged only to be given up for a still larger one. Outside lecturers and teachers came at vary- ing periods to help the Manchester members and eventu- ally the decision to build a church was reached. In 1898, a lot for the proposed new church was bought for forty- five hundred dollars. In 1900 plans for the construction of the church edifice began to be considered, but it was not until 1901 that the actual work of construction be- gan. A charter for the first "Church of Christ, Sci- entist," in New Hampshire, had been obtained in 1894 with twenty-three charter members. The handsome edi- fice begun in 1901 was dedicated with appropriate ser- vices on Sunday, January 1I, 1903. The dedication was made possible from the fact that the cost of building had been met to the uttermost cent. This re- markable result was greatly aided by a generous bequest from a departed sister. The total expense was about fourteen thousand dollars. The edifice is so built as to make an enlargement easily practicable to a seating capacity of eight hundred.
At the dedicatory services Mrs. Berry read an inter- esting history of the work in Manchester, and she was . likewise one of the board of trustees that supervised the erection of the church.
Aside from her church affiliations Mrs. Berry is active and prominent in all that has to do with the advancement of the material interests of her home city.
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JOHN GAULT
JOHN GAULT.
The history of New Hampshire in all its extended and varied range presents no single aspect that exceeds in general interest, that more entertainingly and forcibly illustrates the enduring influence of a strong and well mannered human life, or that presents in a clearer man- ner the grandeur of an idea having for its sole foundation the uplifting of the individual man, than does that page which tells of the coming in the eighteenth century, for the purpose of permanent abode, of the Scotch and the Scotch-Irish. The very nature of their spiritual homage made them patriots and ardent advocates of constitu- tional liberty. The conditions prevailing in the growth of a natural physical being and the wisdom of their view of what made the whole duty of life begat in them an intellectual being that was at once their glory and power. No community in all New England, however small or remote, but what felt the influence for good that was ever spreading out from this people. They were a race of teachers in all that concerned the domestic, intellectual, and spiritual progress of all the colonies. They were a race of housekeepers and home builders, two essentials of infinitely vaster importance in the building of a nation than are all the forces of statecraft, finance, and politics.
New Hampshire is fortunate this day in that she still retains a strong and ever vitalizing infusion of this old- time Scotch blood that has come down through the gen-
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erations to make stronger and better the material life of the state. The old family names are of still frequent occurrence and borne by men and women who splendidly maintain the ancient traditions as a precious heritage and hallowed trust.
Conspicuous among these family names of early Scotch settlers in New Hampshire is that of Gault, the first of whom was Samuel, a native of Ayrshire, Scotland, the birthplace of Robert Burns and a host of others who gained honor and fame for work performed in life's varied fields of effort.
It was near what is to-day the centre of the town of Hooksett that Samuel Gault built his home and began the work of winning a farm from the primeval forest. The wife of Samuel Gault was Elsie Carleton, a Welsh woman, and the passing of time has shown that this union of Scotch and Welsh blood was a strong and virile combination. After their marriage they journeyed to Londonderry, in Ireland, where were so many of their faith and blood. Early in their married life the couple resolved to seek their home in America, and the frontier settlement, now Hooksett, was selected as the place of habitation. A son of the couple, born in their new home, was named Matthew, and when he had grown to man- hood he joined the forces that successfully contended for the independence of the colonies. He was one of Stark's men at Bennington, was with Washington at Morris- town, and later did garrison duty at West Point on the Hudson.
This soldier of the American Revolution, Matthew Gault, married a daughter of Captain Andrew Bunton of Chester, and they also had a son whom they named Matthew. This second Matthew Gault, growing to man- hood, identified himself with the material interests of Hooksett, and, maintaining the spirit and tradition of
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his ancestry, he kept all that came under his sway in a state of advancement and progress. He was a pioneer in brick manufacturing, so long since a leading industry in Hooksett, and participated in the affairs of his town, county and state.
A son of the second Matthew was named Norris C., who continued the brick-manufacturing interests so suc- cessfully established by his father. Norris C. Gault served his native Hooksett in the popular branch of the State Legislature as far back as 1867, and for a number of years was selectman of the town. He married Annie Mitchell, and a son born to them is the subject of this sketch, John Gault. He is the fifth of that line in America begun by Samuel Gault and his wife, Elsie Carleton, and, though still in his early manhood, he has proven that there is no deterioration of the original stock. The material life and interests of New Hampshire have been fostered and advanced by each successive generation of the family. Each generation has recognized that it had a work to do and it has displayed the ability to do it and do it well. Family ability and character rarely if ever degenerate under an acceptance of such conditions.
Thus far (1903) the chosen life work of John Gault has been teaching. His first situation in this profession was in the Haven school of Portsmouth, where he re- mained from September, 1895, until December, 1896, when he accepted the principalship of the Webster-street school in the city of Manchester, and in this position he is still serving.
The science of pedagogy is so comprehensive in its scope that one sees differing and varied definitions of its meaning. At its best it means that faculty which one may possess of imparting knowledge to others. A per- son may be ever so erudite, yet, lacking in this faculty, he or she will fail utterly to make the ideal instructor. Mr.
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Gault happily possesses this faculty of imparting knowl- edge to others to a marked degree, and to its possession is due much of his distinct success and popularity as a teacher.
He perceives the characteristics of each individual pupil and acts in the premises as suggested by this insight into character.
Mr. Gault's natal day was February 28, 1872, and he was of the fourth generation of the family to have been born in Hooksett. His preparatory education was in Pembroke academy, graduating therefrom in 1890. He entered Dartmouth College with the class of '95 and im- mediately upon graduation began teaching.
On August 27th, 1902, he married Sallie, daughter of William F. and Mary H. (Sargeant) Head of Hooksett. Mr. Gault is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in fraternal organization has membership in the Knights of Pythias and the Masons.
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DANIEL J. DALEY
DANIEL J. DALEY.
From the very beginning of its history as a distinct political division of what is now the United States, New Hampshire has been singularly peculiar in the number of her sons who have chosen the law as a life calling, and this tendency to the legal profession is as pronounced to-day as ever, and there is no question but what the standard of ability and erudition is as high as ever.
Included among the younger members of the New Hampshire bar is Daniel J. Daley of Manchester, who was admitted to practice in 1899. He was born in the town of Londonderry, August 1, 1873, the son of John and Julia Daley, who were residents of London- derry for upwards of forty years, owning and tilling one of the best farms in the town.
The boyhood life of young Daley was passed upon the parental farm and at the common schools of the town. At the age of sixteen he entered Pinkerton Academy, and the pecuniary means required for this course of study he earned by working at logging, chopping and general work upon the farm. While still in his teens and before the year of his majority gave him the right to vote, he participated in the political affairs of his town and neighborhood. At twenty-one his fellow townsmen conferred upon him the rare honor, for one of his age, of an election to the Londonderry Board of Selectmen, and this wholly without any self- seeking of the office.
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His first preparatory step for the bar was a course of study in the Nashua office of Charles J. Hamblett, United States District Attorney under Presidents Mckinley and Roosevelt. He subsequently entered the Boston University Law School, but did not complete its full course of study.
Returning to New Hampshire he eventually resumed his law studies in the office of James P. Tuttle of Manchester, former solicitor of Hillsborough County. It was early in 1899 that he passed his examinations for admission to the bar, and he at once located in Manchester, in which city he has since lived and practiced.
His success as a lawyer was instant and marked. From the first he has been a general practitioner, and in each department of legal practice he has given evidence that he is well grounded in general law.
He is thus early in his career retained by the Boston and Maine Railroad Corporation; the American Cotton Yarn Trust; the Manchester Traction, Light and Power Company; the Kimball Carriage Company, and Cavan- augh Brothers, all clients that any lawyer of even long experience might feel well proud of possessing.
Early in 1903 Mr. Daley became professionally asso- ciated with a case in criminal procedure, interest in which extended throughout New England. This was the case of Charles W. Sell, charged with assault with intent to kill. Sell shot and seriously wounded his former sweetheart, Miss Mabel French, and after firing two shots at her, both of which took effect, he next fired at her two companions, Clinton Bunker and Joseph Clough, slightly wounding both. The grand jury found two indictments against Sell, and conviction under these two indictments called for a maximum sentence of forty years.
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The finding of the indictments and the approaching trial awakened in the public an intense interest, which deepened and spread as the day of the trial approached. People indulged in all manner of speculation as to the probable outcome of the trial. Practically all agreed that there was no possible chance for Sell to escape from a sentence much short of ten years, and all anticipated a long-drawn-out.contest, as it was given out that the prisoner's plea would be one of self defence. On the morning of the day set for the trial Mr. Daley conferred with Mr. Wason, who as the solicitor of Hillsborough County appeared for the state, with the result that it was agreed that Sell should plead nolo contendere, which agreement the Court accepted and Sell escaped with an indeterminate sentence of not less than three nor more than five years.
Mr. Daley is popular and respected wherever known, for he has those qualities of heart and mind that people like to come into contact with. In fraternal organizations he is a member and past-master of Gen. Stark Grange Patrons of Husbandry, of Manchester Council Knights of Columbus and the New Hampshire Catholic Club, Manchester.
He married, in 1903, Miss Josephine C. Burke of Manchester, a graduate of Mt. St. Mary's Academy and widely known in Manchester's social and educational circles.
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WALLACE D. LOVELL.
Though of neither New Hampshire birth nor New Hampshire residence, Wallace D. Lovell is well entitled to rank with the state builders of this commonwealth by reason of the strenuous effect which he is putting forth to develop the wealth and resources of the community. Born at Weymouth, Mass., Feb. 3, 1854, and thoroughly trained as a business man in that state, Mr. Lovell clearly foresaw many years ago the great future of New Hamp- shire as a summer resort when once its latent energies were fully developed and exploited. Accordingly, in the fall of 1897, he began the work of building street rail- ways in southern New Hampshire, extending them across the state line into northern Massachusetts. His first ven- tures in New Hampshire were in the southeastern portion of the state, where he built and developed the Exeter street railway, the Portsmouth and Exeter street railway, the Exeter and Newmarket street railway, the Hampton and Amesbury street railway, the Seabrook and Hampton Beach street railway, the Amesbury and Hampton street railway, the Haverhill, Plaistow and Newton street rail- way, the Haverhill and Plaistow street railway, the Haverhill and Southern New Hampshire street railway. These various railroads, now united into a single com- prehensive system, thoroughly gridiron the southeastern tier of towns in Rockingham county, and afford easy and rapid intercommunication between the beautiful towns of that section and the entrancing line of seacoast which New Hampshire possesses.
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In connection with these enterprises Mr. Lovell has recently built and opened with due ceremony a bridge over Hampton River more than a mile in length, which practically connects New Hampshire and Massachusetts on the shore line and which by opening up a large feed- ing territory for his railroads in Massachusetts has added materially to the prosperity of eastern Rockingham coun- ty.
Turning his attention from this field where he has been so successful, Mr. Lovell has also constructed and put into operation the Hudson, Pelham and Salem street rail- way, the Lawrence and Methuen street railway, the Lowell and Pelham street railway, and the Derry and Pelham street railway, giving communication between the flourishing cities in the Merrimack valley in this state and in Massachusetts.
He has also built and now operates the Dover, Somers- worth and Rochester street railway, bringing those three active and hustling communities into close touch with each other, and he now has under contract the Concord, Dover and Rochester street railway which will be built during the coming season, and which will open up a sec- tion of territory in New Hampshire which is now abso- lutely without means of communication other than that afforded by the highways, but which in material pros- perity is amply able to support such a line as is contem- plated.
In connection with his railway enterprises in south- eastern New Hampshire Mr. Lovell has constructed at Portsmouth a magnificent electrical plant known as the Rockingham County light and power company. This plant supplies the electrical energy for the various lines of railway operated by Mr. Lovell and in addition is pre- pared to furnish light and power to cities or individuals, it being Mr. Lovell's firm belief that through the wide distribution of electrical power in small manufacturing
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establishments great prosperity to a community must necessarily ensue.
Mr. Lovell is not content with the great work he has already done but contemplates even larger and more ex- tended enterprises in the same line, so thoroughly is he imbued with the belief that the extension and develop- ment of trolley lines will be of inestimable benefit to the state of New Hampshire by attracting and distributing over new sections of country thousands of summer visi- tors who do not now come here.
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SHERMAN E. BURROUGHS
SHERMAN E. BURROUGHS.
It was but the following out of a well-sustained pre- dilection that Sherman E. Burroughs sought and entered the legal profession as the chosen field of his life work. To use an old-time, yet expressive phrase, he was a natural born lawyer; he loved the profession not for what he might wring from it, but rather for what it was and all that it represented. Through good judgment and wise decision he came to the bar well grounded in the law, not leaving, as is so frequently the case, a great mass of matter to be studied and learned after entering upon practice. His general education was likewise thorough and comprehensive, wholly free from that superficiality so regretfully common in the whole list of the trades and professions in present day American life. All this made the more effective his equipment for the bar and the general affairs of life, and that immedi- ate success which has been his in early manhood years was as but a natural result of a thorough preliminary preparation.
Mr. Burroughs is a thorough-going son of New Hampshire, for not only was he born in the state but his ancestry on both sides for several generations had their birth and rearing within the state. The little town of Dunbarton, that has for so many years been famed for its generous contributions of conspicuous men and women to the every field of state and national life, was his birthplace, with 1870 as his natal year.
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His parents were John H. and Helen M. (Baker) Burroughs, and when the son was fourteen years of age the family removed to the town of Bow, in which place the parents live to this year (1903). The educational life of young Burroughs began in the common schools of Dunbarton, was continued in those of Bow and the High school in the city of Concord, graduating from the latter in 1890, in which year he entered the freshman class of Dartmouth college and completing the college course graduated in 1894.
Immediately following the graduation he went to Washington to become private secretary to his kinsman, Henry M. Baker, then a congressman from New Hamp- shire. His work at the national capital served him, in effect, as it has many another young man destined for the bar and other professional fields, as a valued post graduate course. It was while in Washington also that he entered upon his legal studies as a student in Colum- bian University law school, from which he graduated in 1897, but his admission to the bar of the District of Columbia was in 1896 and prior to his graduation from the law school.
In the fall of 1897 he returned to New Hampshire, was admitted to the bar of the state, and at once opened a law office in the city of Manchester. From 1897 to 1901 he continued practice alone, but in July of the latter year he became one of the firm of Taggart, Tuttle and Burroughs, a firm that has attained an extensive practice in corporation procedure as well as general practice.
Until 1903 Mr. Burroughs retained his legal residence in the town of Bow, when he changed it to Manchester. In 1901 he was sent by his fellow townsmen in Bow to represent them in the popular branch of the state legis- lature, in which body he served on the judiciary and rules committee.
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In 1898 Mr. Burroughs married Helen S. Phillips, a member of a former New York state family. Three sons, Robert Phillips, John Hamilton, and Sherman Edward, Jr., are a thrice blessed result of the union.
In fraternal organizations Mr. Burroughs is a Mason, and in church affiliation he is an Episcopalian.
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J. HOMER EDGERLEY.
Among the many New Hampshire boys in their teens who rallied to the defence of the flag and country in the war from '61 to '65 was J. Homer Edgerley, and that his youth did not preclude him from a full realization of the magnitude and seriousness of that portentous conflict, is evidenced by the fact that he remained with his command till its final muster out at the close of the war.
Nor is this all; this youth, as he was at the time of his enlistment, performed the duties of the private in the ranks with such measure of valor and efficiency that he won promotion, first as first sergeant of his company, next as second lieutenant, then to a captaincy, and upon his muster out it was as brevet-major. This last promotion was from a recommendation in a general order of the commanding general, prompted by a personal act of splendid heroism.
After the war, Major Edgerley, accepting the example of many another New Hampshire man, went to Massa- chusetts, and from that time has made his home in Boston or its vicinity. During much of the time of his residence in Massachusetts, he has been in the civil service of the United States Government, and, in addition, has served his adopted state as a member of its legislature during the session of 1900. As a resident of the city of Charlestown prior to its annexation to Boston, he was a member of its common council. For several years he was master painter
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at the Charlestown Navy Yard. He is at present deputy serveyor of customs, port of Boston.
Major Edgerley is a native of Dover. His father was Calvin O. Edgerley, a long time resident and respected citizen of that city. He enlisted at Dover under Ira A. Moody, and this squad eventually became Company K, Third New Hampshire. Early in 1862 he was made orderly sergeant (from private), and satisfactorily filled the position till June, 1863, when he was commissioned a second lieutenant. He was at Pocotaligo, South Caro- lina, October 22, 1862, and with his regiment at the taking of Morris Island, July 10, 1863, in the attack of the following morning, and in the siege work of those weary months, during which it seemed to each man that it was surely his turn next to be either killed or wounded. During a portion of this time, Lieutenant Edgerley served with the Boat Infantry Picket, an extremely haz- ardous duty, wholly by night, and as important as it was dangerous. Lieutenant Edgerley took active part in all the actions of the regiment, Drury's Bluff, May 13-16, 1864; in the noted sortie of June 2, 1864; the recapture of the rifle-pits in front of the Bermuda Hundred lines; and in the Petersburg reconnoissance of June 9, 1864. June 16, 1864, when the enemy had vacated Butler's front, he was with the skirmishers, feeling the new ad- vance of the enemy, and behaved very gallantly. On the 16th of August, 1864, the 7th of October, 1864, and the various actions of those autumn months, Lieutenant Edgerley was a participant. In December, 1864, he had a leave of absence and he was about that time promoted to captain. In January, 1865, he was one of the six officers with the regiment in the successful assault of Fort Fisher, and with a mere handful of volunteer fol- lowers he ran to Mound Battery and hauled down and se- cured the flag, giving it to General Terry.
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