USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Boscawen > The history of Boscawen and Webster [N.H.] from 1733 to 1878 > Part 28
USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Webster > The history of Boscawen and Webster [N.H.] from 1733 to 1878 > Part 28
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of the skirmish line, found himself confronted by a rebel. They were but a few rods apart. Both raised their guns and fired at the same instant. The rebel fell dead, with a bullet through his brain, while the ball from the rebel's gun passed through Bur- bank's cheek, making a fearful wound, and disfiguring that side of his face. He was taken to the hospital, and mustered out of service, June 21, 1864, having taken part in more than thirty engagements.
Without any disparagement to the valor or bravery of others, it may be said that he was one of the bravest of the brave. He served his country from motives of pure patriotism, and has left an imperishable record.
His death, which occurred in May, 1866, was very sad. It was from small-pox, in the hospital at Manchester. Strangers only could care for him in his last hours on earth.
He married Miss Louisa Nichols, who died before the war, leaving one child, a daughter, now living.
BURBANK, FRIEND L.
. Friend Little Burbank, eldest son of Capt. Abraham and Mary (Call) Burbank, was born in Boscawen, Jan. 29, 1806. He married Dorothy Jackman, daughter of Joshua Jackman, of Bos- cawen. He engaged with his father in the occupation of lumber- ing. Through life he has followed that calling, manufacturing many millions of feet in the mills that now bear his name.
His fellow-citizens have honored him by electing him repeat- edly to manage the affairs of the town, and to represent them in the legislature [see Town Affairs ].
BURBANK, DAVID E.
David Emery Burbank, son of Capt. Abraham and Polly (Jackman) Burbank, was born in Boscawen, May 16, 1822. He married Mary Elliot, of Canterbury, in 1845, and followed the oc- cupation of merchant at Sweatt's mills for several years. He was a prominent member of Boscawen Light Infantry, and was captain of the corps when the military system of the state was disbanded, in 1849-50.
Upon the organization of Webster he was elected town-clerk,
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and was serving in that capacity when he entered the military ser- vice in 1863.
Upon the organization of the 16th N. H. regiment, he was commissioned first lieutenant, Company H, a position which he filled with honor to himself and his fellow-citizens. His commis- sion was issued Nov. 4, 1862. The regiment was ordered to the Department of the Gulf under Gen. Banks, and, though not en- gaged in any great conflict, performed arduous duties on the Mississippi, at Port Hudson and other localities. Lieut. Bur- bank, in common with many of the regiment, was prostrated by siekness. The post physicians could hold out no hope for his recovery in that climate, and advised his return to the North as his only chance for recovery. The regiment had nearly filled its term of enlistment, and he accordingly resigned his commission, July 18, 1863.
He reached home, prostrated by disease. The fatigues, hard- ships, and malaria had so undermined a hardy constitution, that many months passed before he regained his health. He was appointed postmaster at West Boseawen before the war, and while absent Mrs. Burbank performed the duties of the office, and" conducted the business of the store.
He subsequently moved to Norwich, Vt., where he still lives, engaged in milling.
BURBANK, EZEKIEL W.
Ezekiel Webster Burbank, son of Capt. Abraham and Polly (Jackman) Burbank, was born in Boscawen, June 16, 1829. He married Martha Ann Pillsbury, daughter of Enoch Pillsbury, and resided with his brother on the homestead in Bashan.
Upon the organization of the 16th N. H. regiment he enlisted in Company H. of which his brother, David E., was second lieu- tenant. He served with honor, was faithful in all his military duties, as in everything else. He soon fell a victim to the mala- ria of the Mississippi, and died at Brashea City, May 27, 1863. His was a character that won respect and confidence. He was a true citizen and an earnest Christian.
CALL, OLOFF HANSON, REV.,
A native of Warner, became a resident of Boseawen in 1840. He went through the academical course at Tilton Conference Semi-
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nary, and the theological course at the Concord seminary, and became a member of the New Hampshire Conference in 1854. Under appointment from that body, he preached at Haverhill, Bath, Benton, Warren, Marlow, Seabrook, Salem, Londonderry, New- market, and at Amesbury, Mass. He moved to Kansas in 1875, where he is still engaged in the ministry.
CALL, NATHAN, M. D.,
Son of Silas Call, was born in Boscawen Sept. 25, 1827. He attend- ed the common school on North Water street, but, aside from a term or two at an academy, had no other literary course. He began the study of medicine with Dr. E. K. Webster on the Plain, Feb. 20, 1851, attended two courses of lectures at Hanover and one at Brunswick, graduating at Hanover in 1854. He attended one course of lectures at the New York Medical College, studied dis- section with Dr. E. H. Parker, then of Concord, and began prac- tice with Dr. Webster in March, 1855, when he was appointed assistant physician at the N. H. Asylum for the Insane, at Con- cord, under the superintendence of Dr. J. E. Tyler. His duties were acceptably discharged while in that official position. In 1859 he returned to Boscawen and resumed practice, where he remained till 1864, when he removed to Suncook. He was married in 1855 to Miss Charlotte M. Colby, of Contoocook, was elected secretary of the N. H. Medical Society in 1862, retaining the position till 1866. He died at Suncook, June, 1875, after a brief illness, greatly lamented. In early life he connected himself with the Christian Baptist church, and lived a life consistent with his profession. As a citizen he was highly esteemed, and as a physician occupied a high rank.
CALL, WILLIAM W.
William Walker Call, son of Lemuel Call, was born Jan. 13, 1822. He worked on his father's farm till arriving at majority, having no educational advantages except those of the district school. In the fall of 1848, while residing at Lawrence, Mass., he read in the Boston Journal the first report of the discovery of gold in California. During the winter, as the reports of the richness of the deposits were confirmed, he determined to seek his fortune in that land. In company with his brother Jonas and Mr. Bit-
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field Burbank, he started from Boscawen May 11. Reaching New York he found there was little prospect of going to Cali- fornia by the Isthmus of Panama. He could not think of the long ocean voyage around Cape Horn, and determined to push west across the plains. At three o'clock on the day after his arrival in New York he was on the train, with his companions, for Pitts- burgh. Reaching that city, he took passage on the steamer "Ben West," which left the next day for St. Louis. The "Ben West " was a new boat, making her first trip. At Cincinnati a fast steamer, also bound for St. Louis, came alongside, and attempted to pass the "Ben West." The result was a race the entire dis- tance, the captains, reckless of consequences, feeding the furnaces till the flames spouted from the tops of the chimneys. The new boat won the race by several hours. Mr. Call was quite will- ing to make so quick a passage, as it bore him so much the faster on his journey.
At St. Louis, he and his companions purchased a few articles of their outfit, and embarked by steamer up the Missouri. The boat was crowded with Mormons. The cholera broke out, and the boat stopped several times to bury the dead. Thirty-one passengers died in two and one half days between St. Louis and Independ- ence. The party from Boscawen had the wisdom to remain on the hurricane deck most of the time, and thus escaped the con- tagion.
At Independence they purchased a wagon and four mules, and loaded the wagon with provisions. In New England they. had been accustomed to using oxen and horses, and knew nothing of the nature of mules; but ere long they discovered that a mule has a nature of his own-a peculiar nature, a propensity to kick wagons into kindling-wood, to stop when he is so inclined, to set firmly back in the harness at times. The mules were unbrok- en. To control them, ropes were tied around the necks of the leaders, and two of the party walked by their side. They started May 22. At the descent of the first hill, the mules, in- stead of holding back, broke into a run. In vain the efforts of the men holding the ropes to stop them. Down the hill they went, making good time towards California, till one fell, and the others piled on top of him, and the wagon above them all. Then the heels flew. In a few seconds there were some kindling-wood and
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strips of harness lying around loose. With much labor the pile was disentangled, and the party was astonished to find no damage done to the mules, who shook themselves, and meekly gazed upon the scene as if nothing in particular had happened.
Knowing from experience that oxen were conservative in their nature, and would exercise a healthful influence upon such a team, one of the party returned to Independence, purchased a yoke of well-trained steers, hitched them to the team, and there were no more stampedes nor settings back in the harness.
The party joined a great train of fellow-travellers, experienced all the hardships of the long journey, lasting one hundred and two days, when they reached Pleasant valley in California on Sept. 2.
Mr. Call and his companions took up a claim near Weaverville, and worked till driven out by the fall rains, when they made their way to Sacramento. The yield of gold was about $20 a day. As no business offered at Sacramento, the party proceeded to San Francisco, and pitched their tent at the foot of Mission street, ob- tained a boat, boarded ships as they arrived, and purchased flour, potatoes, and other provisions, which they retailed at a good prof- it, returning to the mines in the spring.
After a year and a half of absence, Mr. Call visited Boscawen, and removed his family to San Francisco, where he still resides.
CALL, JONAS,
The third son of Lemuel Call, was born in Boscawen, April 24, 1826. He attended the district school, and by dint of hard labor was able to attend Blanchard academy, Pembroke, ten weeks.
Arriving at his majority, he began the battle of life-taught school in winter, and worked at various occupations in summer.
When the news was received of the discovery of gold in Cali- fornia, he was in Maine. Upon the receipt of a letter from his brother William, at Lawrence, requesting his opinion in regard to a trial of their fortunes in the land of gold, the younger brother, instead of replying by letter, answered in person, ready to start at once.
Some of the incidents of the journey are set forth in the bio- graphical notice of his brother William.
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Mr. Jonas Call, while in the mines, discovered that the profits of a boarding-house-especially one for miners, where the boarder settled his account promptly-were quite as great in the long run as rocking the mining-cradle ; and he turned his attention to that business. He was also successful in mining. He saw, also, that San Francisco was destined to be a great metropolis, and secured a plot of land in the suburbs, which has greatly in- creased in value.
He visited the East after an absence of several years, and mar- ried Miss Mary A. Stone, of Acton, Mass., and returned to Cali- fornia.
Mr. Call again visited the East, and took up his residence for one season on the old homestead, enjoying rest and relaxation after years of business activity.
He returned to California in 1873, and embarked in a new mining enterprise, which has yielded large returns.
During the reign of the vigilance committee in San Francisco, when the law-and-order-abiding citizens took possession of the city government, which had fallen into the hands of a set of thieves and murderers, Mr. Call was on the side of law. He shoul- dered his rifle, took his place in the ranks, and aided in purging the body politic.
CASS, JONATHAN.
One of the first houses built west of Blackwater river was erected by Jonathan Cass. father to Hon. Lewis Cass. He moved from Exeter to Boscawen, and settled near Long pond, on the farm now occupied by the venerable David Sweat. The cellar is near Mr. Sweat's house. Mr. Cass was a blacksmith, and did all the smithing for the entire region. He was an upright and hon- orable man, a good workman and citizen.
Hon. Lewis Cass was born in Exeter, and never lived in Bos- cawen. Mr. Cass's wife died in Exeter, and he having married a second time moved to Boseawen, where he had a son, Barnard, born to him, who moved to Muskingum, Ohio.
COFFIN, PETER, CAPT.
He was born in Newbury, May 21, 1722, son of John and Judith (Greenleaf) Coffin, and was a nephew of Col. Joseph Coffin,
Jonas Call
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clerk of the proprietors of Contoocook. He married Rebecca Haseltine, of Chester, moved to Concord in 1766, and to Boscawen in 1768-69. He settled on Water street, erecting the house oc- cupied through life by his son Thomas.
At that time there were but two, or, at the most, three, houses in what is now the town of Webster. His house became the con- venient stopping-place for all new settlers. Capt. Coffin soon had corn to sell; and no matter how scarce the grain, or how high the current price, he never made a man's necessity his own opportunity. He was known as the poor man's friend.
He had no desire for public office, and when chosen constable, when the town would not accept his declination, hired Benjamin Eastman to perform his duties.
He was an ardent patriot during the Revolution, and although there is no record of his election as delegate to the Provincial congress, held at Exeter, April 21, 1775, yet his name appears on the list as a member of that all-important body. He served in the campaign of 1777, upon the approach of Burgoyne.
He was ever ready to support the religious institutions of the day, was a liberal, large-hearted man, respected and beloved. He died suddenly, Dec. 15, 1789.
COFFIN, REBECCA H.
Rebecca Haseltine, wife of Capt. Peter Coffin, was born in Chester, N. H. She was married in the fall of 1768. Dur- ing the summer Capt. Coffin had erected the frame of a house now occupied by Mr. Colby, on Water street. The masons had constructed the chimney, the boards and shingles were on the sides and roof, and the south-west corner room had been parti- tioned off, when the young bride, seated on a pillion behind her husband, reached her future home. Their house was on the fron- tier of civilization. Possibly two individuals had gone beyond them, to Corser hill and Blackwater, but the only road was a cart- path over the rocks and hillocks, corduroyed upon the marshy places.
The newly married couple were beginning life. They had few household articles,-a bed, kettle, frying-pan, wooden or pewter plates, a knife and fork each, and a few other household articles,- all of which were packed upon a led horse; but they had strong
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hands, and were undaunted by the hardships and trials before them.
While the husband was making the woods bow before his sturdy strokes, the wife kept the wheel humming or the loom in action from morn till night. She was a thrifty woman, looking ever after the savings as well as the earnings. She was at the same time liberal and kind, relieving the wants of those who were having a hard time in life.
Dea. Enoch Little, who often when a boy ate a bowl of bread and milk in her house, was accustomed to say, that if it had not been for the kindness of Capt. and Mrs. Coffin, his father's family would have found it hard to get through their first year in Boseawen.
Mrs. Coffin was intensely patriotic, and when the stamp act im- posed a duty on tea, she resolutely put away the few ounces in her caddy, and would not have any of it used until the act was repealed.
In 1777, when the order came for Capt. Peter Kimball's com- pany to march to Bennington, there were two soldiers who had no shirts to wear. Mrs. Coffin had a web partially woven in the loom. Seizing her shears she cut ont what she had woven, sat up through the night, and made two shirts; and in the morning the soldiers, thus provided for, took their places in the ranks.
That was on the morning of July 4th. On the 15th of the same month she gave birth to her second son, Thomas. A month passed. On the 16th of August the victory of Bennington was won. Messengers brought the glad news, and Capt. Coffin, who had been out in a previous campaign, started once more, leaving his energetic wife with five children,-the oldest a boy of seven years, the youngest an infant of five weeks.
The wheat was dead ripe; the birds were devouring it; the winds were scattering the grains. It must be gathered ;- but who could gather it, when nearly every able-bodied citizen was hasten- ing to drive back the enemy ? She remembered that Enoch Little, who had moved to Little hill a few months before, had sev- eral sons, for she had supplied them with bread and milk the previous summer, while Mr. Little was rearing his cabin. Pos- sibly she might obtain one of the boys. She leaves the four old- est children at home, in the care of the eldest, Enoch, the boy of
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seven years, mounts the mare, takes her infant of five weeks in her arms, rides through the forest, along the blazed path, fording Beaver-dam brook, climbing Corser hill, fording the Blackwater, making her way to the log cabin of Mr. Little, to find that the three eldest sons are in the army,-that the only boy who can aid her is Enoch, fourteen years old.
" Enoch can go, but he has no clothes," is the answer of Mrs. Little to Mrs. Coffin's request.
The boy has no coat, vest, hat, stockings, or shoes. His only garments are a ragged pair of tow-and-linsey pants, and a rag- ged shirt.
" I can provide him with a coat," is the reply.
The boy leaps upon the pillion, and the mother, with the infant in her arms, rides baek through the forest to her home.
Enoch Little is no ordinary boy. He hears the birds in the woods,-but he has work to do, and plies the sickle, while Mrs. Coffin, in the house, is making him a coat. She has no cloth, but she has a meal-bag; and cutting a hole for his head, two holes for his arms, and, sewing on the legs of a pair of her own long stock- ings for sleeves, the garment is complete !
Then going into the field, she lays her infant beneath the shade of a tree, and binds the sheaves ! So she serves her coun- try ; so does what she can for human freedom.
She survived her husband many years. She was a woman of great energy of character, and trained her sons to prize character above everything else. All honor to her memory.
COFFIN, CHARLES CARLETON,
Was born in Boscawen July 26, 1823, son of Thomas and Hannah (Kilburn) Coffin. His education, beyond the advantages of the distriet school, was obtained at the academy on the Plain, and one term at Blanchard academy, Pembroke. During the winter of 1842, more for pastime than from any plan for the future, he studied land surveying and the rudiments of civil engineering. The time soon came when the slight knowledge thus obtained could be turned to account. He joined the engineers' corps in the preliminary surveys of the Northern Railroad in 1845, and was employed upon its construction in 1846, also upon the pre- 22
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liminary survey of the Concord & Portsmouth road, and later upon the Concord & Claremont.
He was married Feb. 18, 1846, to Miss Sallie Russell Farmer, daughter of Col. John Farmer, and sister of Prof. Moses G. Far- mer. He purchased a farm on Pleasant street, now owned by Mr. Tyler Sweatt, but health failing, decided to turn his attention to other pursuits. This determination was brought about by the favor with which some fugitive contributions to the newspapers of the day were received by the public. His first article was pub- lished in 1845, in the Congregational Journal, published in Con- cord. He contributed to the Granite Farmer, printed at Man- chester, and to the New Hampshire Statesman ; was one of the founders of the N. H. State Agricultural Society, and an active member.
In the fall of 1849, Mr. Coffin constructed a telegraph line con- necting the Astronomical Observatory of Harvard College in Cam- bridge with the telegraph lines in Boston, for the purpose of put- ting it in connection with other observatories; and in 1851 had charge of the construction of the telegraphic fire-aların for the city of Boston, under the care of Prof. M. G. Farmer, and gave the first alarm ever given by telegraph, April 29, 1852.
While performing these duties he found time to continue his contributions to the press. Some stories entitled "The Old Man's Meditations," contributed to the Boston Traveller, may be found in Littell's Living Age, 1852. Some lines,-" Death at Sunset," -contributed to the Knickerbocker, have become one of the selections of lyceum readers. Many of his contributions at this time were to the Boston Museum, a literary journal. He occa- sionally reported meetings and agricultural fairs for the daily press, and was employed as assistant editor of the Practical Far- mer, an agricultural journal conducted by Col. Wm. S. King.
From 1854 to 1860 Mr. Coffin was employed on several of the newspapers published in Boston,-the Journal, Atlas, Traveller, Bee, and Transcript,-and during the winter of 1860-61 was employed as night editor of the Boston Journal. The Southern states were then seceding, the peace congress was in session, and Mr. Coffin, during the long hours of the night, had time for reflection upon the events of the hour, and saw, what all men did not see, that a conflict of arms was approaching. He was then a
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resident of Malden, and, the morning after the surrender of Fort Sumter, took measures for the calling of a public meeting of the citizens of that town to sustain the President,-one of the first of the meetings held throughout the country.
Upon the breaking out of the war, Mr. Coffin became a corre- spondent of the Journal, writing over the signature of " Carleton," was present at the first battle of Bull Run, reached Washington during the night, and sent a full account of the action on the fol- lowing morning.
In the fall he joined the Army of the West, sent an account of the taking of Fort Henry, which was republished in the papers of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, before any other account was published. Comprehending the craving of the public for information, and the importance of having his correspondence appear before any other, he took the first train from Cairo, wrote his account in the cars, which when completed was placed in the hands of an express messenger, while the writer returned to his post of observation. By adopting this method, the Boston Jour- nal was placed ahead of all its contemporaries, and published the account two days before any other paper in the country heard from its correspondent.
Mr. Coffin was at the surrender of Fort Donelson, reported the movements of the Army of the West from Pittsburg Landing to Corinth, the operations at Island No. 10, New Madrid, Fort Pil- low, and the battle of the gunboats at Memphis, viewing it from the deck of one of Admiral Davis's vessels.
Returning to the Army of the Potomac, he witnessed the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. Knowing that a powerful fleet of monitors was on its way to attack Fort Sumter, he visited the Department of the South, and witnessed the attack and repulse, and also the failure at Fort McAllister.
During twelve days of the Gettysburg campaign, Mr. Coffin rode between 250 and 300 miles in the saddle, more than 900 in the cars, was on the battle-field three days and nights, and wrote a full and elaborate account, which was republished in many papers throughout the country, and was translated and copied by the press of Berlin and Paris.
When Gen. Sherman reached the sea-coast Mr. Coffin hastened South, and the information that the flag of the Union was once
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more floating over Sumter was first given to the world through the Journal, and was telegraphed over the country before any paper in New York had possession of the intelligence.
In the campaign of 1864, the Journal's correspondent was an eye-witness of every engagement from the Wilderness to Peters- burg, and of nearly all the battles around Petersburg and Rich- mond, which city he entered upon its occupation by the Union troops.
The correspondence of Mr. Coffin was accepted by the public as authentic, and gave the Boston Journal a wide circulation. The edition containing the account of the battle of Gettysburg ex- ceeded one hundred and twenty thousand copies, while the daily circulation not unfrequently reached eighty thousand. His letters were regularly read by more than a quarter of a million of people.
Upon the breaking out of the war between Austria, on the one side, and Prussia and Italy on the other, in 1866, Mr. Coffin, ac- companied by Mrs. Coffin, sailed for Europe ; but Austria, having been crippled by the single battle of Konnigratz, a truce was de- clared. Mr. Coffin remained abroad, however, writing a series of letters on current events. He visited Italy ; saw the occupation of Venice by the Italians ; reported the Paris exhibition of 1866; reported the scenes in the House of Parliament in England on the reform bill; was present at the coronation of the empe- ror of Austria as king of Hungary; made the acquaintance of many of the public men of Europe; visited Greece, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt; embarked at Suez for Bombay ; travelled across India, before the completion of the railroad ; vis- ited Malacca, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai ; sailed up the Yang-tse six hundred miles ; visited Japan ; crossed the Pa- cific to California ; and crossed the plains before the completion of the Pacific Railroad,-having been absent two years and five months. His correspondence during these years was widely read.
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