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 31
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FREDERICK E. POTTER, M.D.
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medical corps, at the time stationed at Cincinnati, Ohio. But this change of scene and duty failed to compass a restoration to health, and he was given a year's leave of absence, and this year he passed in his native New Hamp- shire. A regained health and strength found him again in active service, which sent him into Mexican waters at the time France was engaged in the attempt to place the ill-starred Maximilian on a throne in Mexico. For seven years Dr. Potter served with naval squadrons sailing from Mexico to distant South American ports. Finally he applied for an assignment nearer home, and he was ordered to the Portsmouth navy yard. At this post he served for four years, when, in 1876, he resigned his commission and began private practice of his profes- sion.
Dr. Potter was a son of Frederick F. Potter, M. D., of Conway, who was a descendant of that Major General Frye of Fryeburg, Maine, an ensign at the capture of Louisburg and later a distinguished officer in the Ameri- can Revolution and a close personal friend of Washing- ton. On his mother's side the younger Dr. Potter was descended from that gallant Sergeant Beverly who fought at Bunker Hill, and who later further distin- guished himself by swimming the St. Lawrence river in midwinter as the bearer of dispatches from Major Gen- eral Richard Montgomery, a duty he performed with signal success.
As a child of three years the future Dr. Potter removed with his family from Rumney to Suncook, in which town he lived until the age of eighteen, when he entered the medical school of the University of Vermont, gradu- ating in 1859. Going to New York city immediately after receiving his diploma he was appointed resident interne at the King's county hospital, where he was at the beginning of the war between the states.
Dr. Potter continued in active practice in Portsmouth
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for more than twenty-five years and always with marked success. As a man and citizen he won the highest re- gard of all who came to know him, for he was a man who lived in a way to merit trust and confidence. His was a commanding presence and winning personality. He was loyal to the duty of the hour and he possessed the ability to accept responsibility.
A Democrat in his political affiliations he received from his party in 1900 its nomination for governor, the honor coming to him wholly without personal solicitation or seeking.'
In fraternal organizations he was a Mason and mem- ber of the Massachusetts commandery, Loyal Legion. He attended the Unitarian church.
On October 2d, 1873, he married Harriett, daughter of Jeremiah H. and Mary (Thompson) Wilkins of Pem- broke.
Dr. Potter died in November, 1902.
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ANSON COLBY ALEXANDER, M.D.
ANSON COLBY ALEXANDER, M. D.
Anson Colby Alexander, a descendant from two branches of Revolutionary stock, was born in Littleton, October 10, 1855, and in that place acquired his early education. He later studied at the academies at New Hampton and New London, and began his professional studies under the instruction of Dr. Daniel Lee Jones and Dr. Charles W. Rowell, both of Lancaster. In 1879 he graduated from the Philadelphia school of anatomy and surgery, and in the following year from the Hahne- mann medical college in Philadelphia. He also gradu- ated from the Pennsylvania hospital. While at the Hahnemann college Dr. Alexander won a gold medal for superior scholarship in every department. In the spring of 1881 Dr. Alexander came to Penacook and established himself in a practice which soon covered not only that village, but much of the surrounding territory. In addition to faithful attention to the needs of his wide circle of patients Dr. Alexander has devoted himself to a study of medical specialties, and among the specifics which he has given to the world is one of proven value as an exhalant for catarrhal troubles, which is now marketed in large quantities by a corporation which is specially organized for that purpose. He gave close study to that dread disease, cancer, and attained wide professional fame by his discovery of a new treatment for that malady. In applying this treatment so many patients were brought to him from far and near that a
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permanent hospital was established in 1898 at Penacook, under the name of the Alexander Sanitarium, having accommodations for thirty-five patients. This proving inadequate for the suitable treatment of all the appli- cants, offices were established in Boston by the Alexan- der Corporation, which afforded means for caring for a large number of the afflicted. In addition, the remedy has been given to the medical profession at large and physicians in all quarters of the globe are now success- fully using it to cope with the dread affliction. June 22, 1882, Dr. Alexander married Miss Fannie Goodwin, a native of North Attleboro, Mass., and they have two children, the older of whom, a daughter, is developing unusual talent as a performer on the violin, in this re- spect strongly resembling her father, who is an excellent musician in many lines. Dr. Alexander is a Mason and Knights Templar. He is also a member of the Odd Fel- lows and the Knights of Pythias, and in all these fra- ternities has held high offices.
He is also a member of the Gynecological and Surgi- cal society of Boston. He is a Trustee of the New Hamp- shire Savings Bank, and has served his town as a member of the legislature. For several terms he was an active member of the local school board, and is a tower of strength to the church of his faith, the First Baptist of Penacook.
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CHARLES S. COLLINS
CHARLES S. COLLINS.
In these first years of the twentieth century New Hampshire finds herself strong in the possession of a class of young and middle-aged men that can, without the slightest misgiving, be relied upon to safeguard her every interest and to keep her in the front rank of Amer- ican commonwealths, that position she has ever held with so much credit and renown.
Splendidly representative of this class and most credi- tably conspicuous for abilities displayed and sustained under varied and complex conditions is Charles S. Collins of Nashua, who by birth and every inherent trait of char- acter and predilection is a product of the state. He is, moreover, a man of to-day rather than of yesterday, in that his is a fine and comprehensive grasp of forces as they exist in the present hour, and in his discernment and acceptance of methods and plans for the utilization of these forces, that they may result in the greatest good to the economic life of the state. No man is playing a more important part in the commercial, industrial and economic initiative of the state to-day than he, and in this work self-interest is so utterly subservient as to absolutely preclude the possibility of adverse criticism if such under any condition could be prompted.
He is withal a man of versatile talent and makeup. Specialization and contraction of energy have no place in his nature, but as a free lance, as it were, he responds to the call for a helper in various and widely divergent
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fields of human effort, that he may with his inborn en- thusiasm push further along the material interests of the state.
Naturally a life directed along such lines inspires confi- dence, quickens all life with which it comes in contact, dis- pels pessimism and enthrones optimism. His mission has for its purpose the advancement of all the interests of all New Hamphire, and his selection to fill the office of president of the New Hampshire state board of trade was a most judicious and appropiate one, for the primary business of that organization is to make New Hampshire a better place than ever in which to live either perman- ently or temporarily. To this end, Mr. Collins would have good roads just as quickly as they could be paid for without onerously increasing the rate of taxation, for a good road, he has urged again and again, has never yet failed to be its own justification even when looked upon in no other light than as a financial investment.
As president of the state board of trade he is ever alert to bring new industries into New Hampshire, and labors just as zealously for the interests of Coos as for Hills- borough County. His mental status, as a glance at his portrait shows, has exceptional calculative force, and de- cision of character and will power are indicated in his eye.
Educated for the medical profession, which he followed for some fifteen years with entire success, its pursuit was calculated to develop and strengthen all those in- tellectual tendencies which to-day constitute so much of the man. His predetermined identification with so many different interests was, in a way at least, characteristic of the medical profession, the members of which in all ages and climes have been known because of a tendency or in- clination to have an avocation as well as a vocation. To members of the medical profession is humanity indebted for so many of its triumphs in the fields of mechanical invention, in discovery among the sciences, but more
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particularly perhaps for all that they have wrought as amateur farmers, horticulturists and florists. Take from the list of popular American fruits of all species those that owe their origin and introduction to members of the medical profession in days of amateur pomology, and it would be sadly contracted. To a single physician who lived until recent years, does Northern New Eng- land owe millions of its wealth to his skill and labor in this line. The same is true in floriculture and, indeed, in all departments of America's rural economy. In short, they have done more than any other single class of men along these lines.
Dr. Collins belongs to this class of men having both a vocation and an avocation, or rather avocations, and so great are the requirements of the second named that he has relinquished the first. Rather, is he now "Farmer" Collins, instead of "Doctor" Collins, for he is the owner of an extensive farm located some four miles from Nashua city hall, upon which he lives the entire year, and the management of which he takes upon himself. As a practical farmer he is a success, as the possibilities of farming and its opportunities for the display of versatile action are fully comprehended by him. Public life as it presents itself in its truest aspects has always had a charm for Dr. Collins, as it should to every public spirited citizen. At the state election of 1888 he was elected as a member of the popular branch of the state legislature, serving in the session of 1889. At the succeeding state election he was chosen a member of the state senate, and his entire legislative career was simply a traditional success. In the state election of 1902 he was the candi- date for the Republican party again for membership in the lower branch of the state legislature, and his own party nomination received the endorsement of the Demo- cratic party, a compliment that must have been exceed- ingly gratifying to him. His sound judgment and
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beneficent spirit have ever prompted him to take the keenest interest in the public schools, and he has honor- able service as a member of the Nashua School Board. He is a member of the Nashua board of trade, and is ever ready to lend a hand for the advancement of every interest calculated for the good of the community.
In January, 1903, Dr. Collins became a member of Gov. Bachelder's military family, occupying the position of commissary-general.
Grafton, in Grafton County, was the birthplace of Gen. Collins, and he was born some fifty years ago, so that he is in the very prime of a vigorous manhood and ready for the hardest kind of work, if work is ever hard to such a nature and temperament as his. His parents were William and Harriet (Colby) Collins. The senior Collins was a physician of a long continued practice in central New Hampshire. Gen. Collins is a descendant of the Collins family of Quakers who long lived in Amesbury, Mass., and they who know him well need not be told that he typifies in his strong and aggressive personality those sterling Quaker virtues of ceaseless industry, tenacity of purpose, devotion to duty, and all around integrity and manhood sympathy.
In these mid-summer days of 1903 Gen. Collins, yield- ing to the entreaties of friends throughout the length and breadth of New Hampshire, has consented to permit the use of his name in the Republican state convention of 1904 for the gubernatorial nomination. Should they be successful in securing his nomination and election, it is the practically universal opinion that, in Gen. Collins, New Hampshire would have a governor that would reflect the utmost credit upon the sound judgment of her people.
472
JOHN N. MCCLINTOCK
JOHN N. MCCLINTOCK.
When in 1871 John N. McClintock married Miss Josephine Tilton of Concord and settled in that city, he was an official of high rank in the United States Coast Survey service, his name appearing on charts of the coast from Texas to Maine as the maker. He had graduated from Bowdoin college in the class of '67, had chosen as a profession that of civil engineering, later acting as an instructor at his alma mater.
In 1875 he resigned from the government service and at once became identified with important and extensive engineering projects in New Hampshire and throughout New England. As a citizen of the state he entered heartily into all that was designed for its social, educa- tional, and material well being and advancement, for his was a well-defined individuality and originality, and breadth of view in all matters that concerned New Hamp- shire as a distinct community was characteristic of the man. It was, therefore, as a natural result that he soon became a leading citizen of the state.
In 1879, in association with Henry H. Metcalf, he published the Granite Monthly, later assuming entire control. For twelve years he conducted the magazine, and in that time he brought together in its pages an in- valuable mine of historical, biographical and general mat- ter that constitutes one of the finest contributions to state history extant, and for which work Mr. McClintock is de- serving of the unstinted appreciation of New Hampshire people.
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In 1890 Mr. McClintock brought out his history of New Hampshire, the preparation of which received his utmost attention, and it remains to-day a most interesting narrative and valued authority.
In all these years that he was publisher and editor he never wholly relinquished the practice of his profession, but at last in 1891 the demands of his professional work attained proportions that led him to lay aside the pen and devote his undivided attention to engineering. The pub- lication of the Granite Monthly was given over to his early partner, Mr. Metcalf, and shortly after this Mr. McClintock opened an office in Boston. His practice fre- quently calls him to New Hampshire, and he sustains a deep interest in all that relates to the state.
Mr. McClintock is a member of the Maine and New Hampshire Historical Societies, of several Boston clubs, including the New Hampshire, and is still in active prac- tice, his work gradually drifting into that of a consulting engineer.
Mr. McClintock is the president and general manager of the American Sewage Disposal Company of Boston and also of the American Water Purification Company, to which corporations belong the basic patents covering the biological systems of water purification. For the past eight years he has made a specialty of these lines, and his reputation and practice now reaches throughout the United States and into many foreign countries as the representative of his companies.
As his name indicates he is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, his pioneer ancestor being William McClintock, who as a boy migrated from Scotland to Londonderry, Ireland, in season to take part in the memorable defense of that city in 1689. In 1730, at the age of sixty, he came with his family to New England. One of his sons, the Rev. Dr. Samuel McClintock, for many years pastor of the church at Greenland, is well known in New Hampshire history
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as chaplain of Gen. John Stark's regiment at Bunker Hill, as the minister who preached the first election sermon, and as having given four sons in the Revolution to the cause of liberty.
William McClintock, an older brother, settled near the ancient New England metropolis of Pemaquid; his son, William McClintock, the grandfather of John N. McClin- tock, was a ship-master, a trial justice, a farmer, a land surveyor, a member of the Massachusetts legislature, a member of the first Maine Constitutional Convention and a member of the Maine legislature; his son, John McClin- tock, the father of John N. McClintock, was a ship- master for about fifty years, a skilful navigator who took his ship into every ocean and almost every port. One of his feats was to cross the Pacific Ocean with a watch for a chronometer and an atlas as his only chart, sailing from Japan soon after Commodore Perry opened up the ports of that country to American commerce.
On his mother's side John N. McClintock descends from the Shaw family of Hampton, he thinks, and from the Reverend Baileys who are buried in the Granary Cemetery in Boston. His grandfather, William Stacy Shaw, was a ship-master and a ship-builder.
Mr. McClintock is specially interested in all that per- tains to early New England history and in the genealogy of New England families. His active practice forbids his devoting much time to these subjects now, but he anticipates much work in those lines in the future.
475
ALFRED RANDALL EVANS.
Not only do the people of the North Country find in Alfred R. Evans a man and citizen in whom they can place implicit confidence to successfully and creditably represent them in public and official position, but the people of all New Hampshire recognize that in him they have one who would do honor to the state in whatever duty he might be called upon to accept and perform.
Although much in public life, Mr. Evans has come to his various offices not through self-seeking but in response to the sincere and earnest requests of his fellow citizens, confident as they were that with him in this or that office it would not be belittled nor that he would ever be guilty of subserviency of manhod principle at the dictation of political expediency.
Mr. Evans's most recent elective political office was as a member of the New Hampshire state constitutional convention of 1902, from his home town of Gorham, and in that body of thoroughly representative men he played his part in a manner that still further established his reputation as a safe man to have in a legislative body; a good man to send on a political mission.
Mr. Evans is of the best, truest, and oldest New Eng- land and New Hampshire stock, and in his own person- ality he exemplifies the teachings, the purposes and results of that life, as the citizens of Gorham and Coos County, who have known him all his life, will bear willing testi - mony.
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ALFRED RANDALL EVANS
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He is a native of Shelburne in Coos County, and was born March 21, 1849. His parents were Otis and Martha D. (Pinkham) Evans, sturdy, respected and self-reliant residents of the White Mountain region. The great- grandfather of the subject of this sketch served in the war of the American Revolution, and his maternal grand- father was that Captain Daniel Pinkham who built the Pinkham Notch road in the White Mountains, an under- taking at the time of no ordinary magnitude.
The schoolboy life of young Evans was passed in the common schools of his native town, at Lancaster acad- emy, the Nichols Latin school connected with Bates col- lege, Lewiston, Maine; concluding his preparatory studies he entered Dartmouth college in his twentieth year and graduated with the class of 1872. Selecting the legal profession as his special field of effort he studied law, and on April 1, 1875, was admitted to the New Hamp- shire bar, and immediately began practice in the town of Gorham. In 1874, when only twenty-five, he was elected to the legislature from his native Shelburne and returned to the same in 1875 and yet again in 1878. His election' to the legislature for three different terms at so early an age significantly showed the estimate placed upon him at the time by his lifelong neighbors and townsmen.
Fertility of resource and talent were ever manifest in the man's makeup, and one of the forms of their display has been in the realm of banking and finance. On Feb- ruary 18, 1891, there was organized and set in operation in what is now the city of Berlin a national bank, and as such it was the first institution of its class in that part of New Hampshire through which flows the Androscoggin river, and of this bank Mr. Evans became its first presi- dent, an office he held for ten consecutive years. In addi- tion to his service as president of the Berlin National bank he now holds a like position in the Gorham Five Cents Savings bank.
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Mr. Evans since 1895 has been the judge of probate for Coos County, the dignity and honor of which position bespeak for him the peculiar regard in which he is held by the bar and public of his home and county.
His political affiliations are with the Republican party. He is a Mason of the thirty-second degree; and an hono- rary member of the New Hampshire Veterans associa- tion; and a member of the New Hampshire club, Boston. June 1, 1880, he married Dora J. Briggs. The church home of the family is the Congregational.
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JOHN J. DONAHUE
JOHN J. DONAHUE.
John J. Donahue, insurance, Manchester, was born in Keene, New Hampshire, August 7, 1859, and made that city his home until he became a resident of Manchester. His career as a business man has been one of unvarying success. Having received his education in the public schools of Keene, he began as a retail grocer in that place, after which he conducted a successful general store in Peterboro. In 1890 he retired from mercantile business and became associated with Cheney & Cheney of Man- chester as a representative of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, with an office at Keene. He soon established a very successful business and became known as one of the leading life insurance men in the state. His success led naturally to his appointment by Cheney & Cheney as superintendent of agencies for the Mutual Life in New Hampshire, and the consequent es- tablishment of his home in Manchester. Mr. Donahue remained with Cheney & Cheney as superintendent of agencies until he tendered his resignation in order to assume the duties of General Agent for New Hampshire of the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company of Boston, in January, 1903.
Mr. Donahue is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men and of the Degree of Pocahontas. In 1902, he was elevated to the stump of Great Sachem of the I. O. R. M., having been advanced through the various sta- tions to the highest office of the order in the state. He was one of the incorporators of the Great Council of New Hampshire, I. O. R. M., and was one of the special com- mittee which secured its charter.
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The Improved Order of Red Men occupies a promi- nent position among the fraternal societies of the United States and boasts a history long and honor- able. While the order has been known by its present name only since 1834, indisputable facts link it as a society to organizations which had their origin as early as 1765, the period when rebellious feelings against the oppression of England were taking the form of open hostility among the colonists. Secret consulta- tions among neighbors gradually became organized meetings, and these in turn resolved themselves into a secret society with purposes purely patriotic, under the name of the "Sons of Liberty," which existed at first among the northern and middle colonies. This society took a leading part in all patriotic movements from 1765 to the Declaration of Independence, its members being the heroes of the famous Boston Tea Party.
In the year 1771 the Sons of Liberty became the "Sons of St. Tamina," or the "St. Tamina Society," adopting as their patron saint an old Indian chief or king, named Tamina. The connecting link between these early patri- otic societies and the Improved Order of Red Men of the present day was the "Society of Red Men," organized in 1816. In 1834 the order as it exists to-day came into being in Baltimore, adding to the patriotic and social objects of the past, the fraternal spirit which now charac- terizes it. The growth of Redmanship has been rapid. From a membership of ten thousand in 1861, it has in- creased to over 300,000.
The I. O. R. M. was introduced into New Hampshire in 1875, when Paugus Tribe, No. I, was instituted at Salmon Falls. The Great Council of New Hampshire was formed in 1881 and was incorporated in 1899. The record for the past of this, the oldest order in the country which is of truly American origin, is satisfactory and its outlook for the future most promising.
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