USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Dublin > The history of Dublin, N.H. : containing the address by Charles Mason, and the proceedings at the centennial celebration, June 17, 1852, with a register of families > Part 53
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At the present time, there is no winter hotel in Dublin. French's Inn is open in the summer.
BOARDING-HOUSES
After summer visitors began coming to Dublin, several ex- cellent boarding-houses were opened which gave great satis- faction to the patrons. Principal among these were the houses of Thaddeus Morse, F. F. Myrick, John Gleason (succeeded by his son-in-law, Rufus P. Pierce), John H. Mason, J. S. May, Mrs. C. May, George A. Gowing, Joseph Morse, Jack- son Greenwood, Walter J. Greenwood, Samuel Adams, Jr., J. L. Adams, Geo. W. Conant, Mrs. B. Estey, Mrs. P. F. Nice, Washington Proctor, Miss Anna Betts, A. R. Burton, Samuel F. Townsend, Mrs. Persis Rice, and others. At present, Mrs. Ada Preston, at the Unitarian parsonage, during the summer season, is the only one in the upper part of the village who takes that class of boarders.
At the lower end of the village, Mrs. Albert J. Moore took boarders, for several years, in the house now occupied by
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Samuel L. Straw. Mr. Frank B. Farley, who lives in the house formerly occupied by Samuel Adams, Jr., is also engaged in the same business. There are many families which have taken boarders and roomers temporarily, often as an accommoda- tion rather than a business.
STORES
There was a store for a long time in a part of the building which was used by the Leffingwells for a summer boarding-house and hotel. Those who conducted that line of business in this place appear to have been Joseph Abbot, Nathan Adams, James Adams, Eli Adams, Aaron Appleton, and Joseph Appleton.
Joseph Hayward kept a store at his house, which is the same building that is now Mrs. Monroe's residence, on the old road to Harrisville.
There was a store on the "Flat," near the residence of the late George T. Beal, in which the following men did business: Samuel Hamilton, William F. Pulsifer, Henry Whitcomb, and Cyrus Piper. Samuel Hamilton was a physician. Henry Whit- comb remained in town only a short time. He went to Han- cock and was, for many years, in business with his brother John Whitcomb. Their store was widely known throughout the country. Henry Whitcomb's death resulted from the kick of a horse. Cyrus Piper has a grandson who is a prominent resident of Keene. In those days, before the Washingtonian temperance reformation, a common article for sale in all stores similar to this was New England rum, made in Medford, Mass., and sometimes called Medford rum to distinguish it from the imported Santa Cruz rum, which came from the West Indies and was more expensive. In early times, the use of such a beverage was not deemed immoral, and its sale by merchants was regarded as a matter of course. Warren L. Fiske, Esq., in a valuable paper, which he has permitted us to use, states that rum was sold by the jug or by the glass. The price per glass was three cents with sugar and two cents with- out the sugar.
At a later period, Samuel Davison built a store, which is the building between the houses now occupied by Samuel L. Straw and Frank B. Farley. The successive firms and individuals who did business here were: Davison & Moore, James Coch- ran, Samuel L. Taggard, John M. & Samuel W. Hale, Oliver Whitcomb, Cyrus Piper, and Cyrus Piper, Jr.
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Gershom Twitchell had a store at his house, which once stood at the south end of lot thirteen, range nine, in the north- east corner of the four corners produced (formerly) by the old road from the lake to Harrisville and the east and west road which passes the house of the late Solon Willard.
The early merchants at Pottersville were Jonathan F. Southwick, who introduced the pottery industry there; Levi Willard, who also repaired clocks and watches, and was a brother of the venerable pastor of the Baptist Church; May & Davis; James Lewis; Robert Worsley; and Moses Wark. We cannot continue the line since Harrisville became a separate town. That line of business in that place is now conducted by Bemis Brothers, in a store near the Chesham railroad station.
Harrisville became an important part of the town after the introduction of the woollen industry on quite an extensive scale. The early stores in that place were kept by C. P. Per- kins, Upham & Clement, and D. Clement. We shall not trace the succession of merchants since Harrisville became a sepa- rate township. The latest (to 1916) have been William J. Hal- pin and W. B. McClellan, the latter of whom is still engaged in that kind of business.
About the middle of the last century, Ebenezer Greenwood established or undertook the management of what was known as Union Store, No. 292, near the Unitarian meetinghouse, practically on the site of Allison's store. Mr. Greenwood was the postmaster from 1849 to 1853 and the town-clerk from 1846 until the former part of the year 1858, when he resigned and James A. Mason was appointed in his place. Mr. Green- wood moved from town in the latter year. Daniel Fiske con- ducted the store for a time, with Charles W. Fiske as clerk. James A. Mason purchased this store in 1853 and conducted the business a few years. The latter's father, Dexter Mason, bought the building of his son, September 10, 1859. He rented it a few years to George W. Gleason. In 1869, Dexter Mason built the two-story store building now standing upon the site. It was opened for business on the 23d day of October in that year. He associated with him in business his son, Milton D. Mason, under the firm name of D. Mason & Son. This firm continued until April 1, 1871, when the business was pur- chased by the son, Milton D. Mason, who bought the build- ing, April 5, 1880. He conducted the store for thirty years and sold the business and good-will to his son-in-law, Henry
Milan D. Mason
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INDUSTRIES
D. Allison, who still (1916) conducts the same. The character of the retail store business in country towns has greatly changed in the past fifty years. Formerly all trucking was done by teams from Wilton or Keene. After completion of the Man- chester & Keene R.R., now a branch of the Boston & Maine R.R., goods were brought to Harrisville upon the cars, and forwarded to Dublin by teams, and more recently by motor trucks, which are also used in forwarding goods from Keene and elsewhere. Since the large department stores were es- tablished in the cities and larger towns, mercantile business has changed materially. In former times, the country stores were expected to keep everything wanted by country people, who depended on the home stores for their supplies. At the present time, many goods are purchased at these large depart- ment stores, which send an immense amount of advertising matter throughout the whole region. Milton D. Mason has been a justice of the peace since 1884, was postmaster during the four years from 1888 to 1892, was town-clerk for the twelve years from 1902 to 1913, both inclusive, and was again chosen to the same office in 1916, and has held various other town offices and been very prominent in town affairs. Mr. Allison, who took over the business in 1901, became postmaster in 1914. He has been a representative to the General Court, and was the candidate for Governor upon the Progressive ticket in 1914.
George W. Gleason first began business as a dealer in general merchandise in 1860, in a small hired building, on the north side of the street, which, as has been stated already, was the the old Union Store, formerly conducted by Ebenezer Green- wood. Mr. Gleason informs us that he began with a capital of five hundred dollars. No kerosene or coal oil had been dis- covered, and he sold whale oil and tallow candles for illuminat- ing purposes. Potatoes sold for twenty-five cents a bushel, eggs at ten cents a dozen, and beans at five cents a quart. It was before the days of canned or package goods. In 1868, he built the two-story store building upon the south side of the street, in which he has since been interested, to the present time (1916). He was appointed postmaster in 1861, and held the position nearly a third of a century. He was appointed telegraph operator for the Dublin office in 1864, and has held the business to the present time, which makes him the oldest continuous operator in New Hampshire, if not in the United States. Various forms of business have been conducted in this
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building. Under the same roof were the store, the post-office (for many years), the telegraph office, an express office, a public telephone station, and a news agency. Mr. Gleason also did a large business in real estate and insurance. He has not sought public office and has devoted himself very closely to his several branches of business. He has been in continuous business for considerably more than a half-century, having occupied his present store for about forty-eight years. For a short time, he placed the business in the hands of his son and another young man, under the firm name of Gleason and Ordway. Since then, he has been associated with his son, John A. Gleason, under the firm name of G. W. Gleason & Son.
Both of the merchants in town have done much real estate business for the summer residents, buying and selling for them, and renting and caring for their property. The large influx of summer visitors has given to both of the stores a large and prosperous business. On almost any day throughout the sum- mer, as well as in the late spring and early autumn, these places are lively centres of activity. As they are dealing with the finest class of people in the country, they intend to carry a stock of goods of the very best quality in all lines which now are salable in stores so situated.
MECHANICS
In the following paragraphs, as in many that have preceded, we wish to acknowledge the assistance that has been afforded by a carefully prepared paper by Warren L. Fiske, Esq., which he kindly loaned to us.
CARPENTERS. The former "History of Dublin" enumerated the following list of men who had made carpentry a business in Dublin: William Greenwood, Sr .; Moses Mason; Benjamin Mason; Joshua Greenwood; Samuel Jones, Sr .; Amos Bab- cock; John Crombie; Daniel Boutell; Ebenezer Richardson; Abel Wilder; Nehemiah Upton; Rufus Piper; Reuben Twitchell; John Wilder; Cyrus Frost; Ebenezer Burpee; Charles Perry; Augustine P. Snow; George Worsley; Reuben W. Twitchell; Drury Marshall; Leonard Snow; Henry Morse; Benjamin F. Morse; James G. Piper; Clark C. Cochran; Henry C. Piper. To this list, in later years, are to be added the names of Thomas Perry; Granville Bruce Gilchrest; Franklin Bond; Ivory Perry; Willard D. Learned; Alamander L. Ball; Willard H. Pierce;
Co. W. gleason
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H. A. Patterson; F. W. Stevens; T. W. Sanders; Walter B. Bailey; J. L. Brockway; Fremont E. Mason; and the latter's son, Clarence F. Mason; also Ned. M. Pierce, son of Willard H. Pierce; and Harry F. Mason, the latter's son-in-law.
BLACKSMITHS. Theformer "History of Dublin " gives the fol- lowing list of early blacksmiths: Moses Johnson; Nathan Bixby; John French, Jr .; William Maxwell; Jason Harris, whose shop was at Harrisville; Joshua Greenwood, 2d; Elisha Knowl- ton, who worked in a shop owned by Joseph Appleton, on a site opposite the present Willcox Inn; Ebenezer B. Walling- ford; Deering Farrar; Benjamin Wallingford; Benjamin Mar- shall, whose shop was at Bond's Corner; Richard Phillips, who lived south of the lake; David Richardson, whose shop was in district No. 5, a little east of Miss Houghton's summer resi- dence; Samuel Gilson; William Stanley; Simeon Stanley; Moses Perry; John Fife; Samuel Moore, whose shop was in the south part of the town, near the house of Frank C. Moore; Benjamin Darling; Abraham Shattuck; John Sanders, who moved to East Jaffrey and continued the business there many years, until his death; Joseph Thurston, whose shop was near where Clifford Gowing's house stands; Daniel H. Mason, whose shop was later used by Mr. Proctor, and who later carried on the business in Sullivan, many years, until his death; Luther Hemingway, whose shop was on the opposite side of the road from Mrs. Rice's house; T. Osgood Wilson; Abijah Wilson, at Harrisville; Maynard Wilson, at Harrisville; Elias Joslin, who married a daughter of Alexander Emes and became a pros- perous and influential man in Keene; Aaron Richardson; and Washington Proctor, who was in business nearly fifty years, on the "Flat," in a shop formerly occupied by Daniel H. Mason. Mr. Fiske states that many of these smiths, in addition to their ordinary work, made axes, hoes, chains, and the shoes for shoeing the oxen and horses, and even the nails for nailing them on. Many of these smiths also had a farm on which they raised produce for their families.
Mr. Fiske also speaks of a Mr. Thayer, who had a small shop where Fremont E. Mason's barn stands, where he made nails for blacksmiths to use in shoeing. He had a large dog which he had trained to run in an endless-chain-rig and blow the bellows for heating the nail rods. In this way, nails could be made quite fast.
Mr. Proctor did practically all the blacksmithing for many years. Since his death, that kind of business has been done in
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a shop to the rear of the residence of Wilfred M. Fiske. In this shop have wrought Wilfred M. Fiske, Albert P. Fiske, and J. A. Porter, the last-named having been, for several years, the only blacksmith in the village.
SHOEMAKERS. We have already spoken of the larger busi- ness of manufacturing shoes which was once carried on in Dublin. It remains to give the list of shoemakers or cobblers, who made and repaired boots and shoes for their neighbors and townsmen. In the former "History of Dublin," we find the following list: Marstin Holt; Gershom Twitchell; Samuel Taggard; Solomon Davis; Samuel Ames; Oliver Stone, who afterwards lived in Nelson and died there; Solomon Morse; Cyrus Piper; Joseph F. Hayes, whose shop was on the lot where Samuel Adams has recently lived; John Piper, whose shop still stands, on the so-called John Piper lot, where Harry F. Mason lived (1915); Jackson Greenwood, whose shop still stands in the yard of Mrs. Harriet Greenwood; Thomas Perry, 2d; Ebenezer Greenwood, whose shop was near the spot where M. D. Mason's hay-scales are located; Horatio Greenwood; James Bullard; James Grimes; Josiah Bemis; Levi Conant; Samuel Stone; Joseph Morse, whose shop still stands, nearly opposite the No. 1 schoolhouse; and Cyrus E. Hardy. We cannot add to this list. This kind of business has disappeared practically in all small places. Boots and shoes are now purchased ready-made. Very little repairing is done, and that mostly by cobblers connected with the large shoe- stores. In large places, a very few persons make a specialty of cobbling, but they are seldom seen in small towns. Some of the persons mentioned in the preceding list lived until a com- paratively recent period, and continued to do some work in that line nearly as long as they lived; but nobody has suc- ceeded to their business in Dublin.
We have spoken of the tanners and curriers in a previous paragraph.
WHEELWRIGHTS. The former history of the town men- tions the following wheelwrights: Richard Rowel; William Greenwood; Jeremiah Greenwood; Alline Newell; and Luke Belknap. There was a wheelwright-shop connected with the old Greenwood mill at Pottersville, after it was purchased by Cyrus W. Woodward.
MILLWRIGHTS. In former times, we find two millwrights in Dublin: Moses Marshall and Gilbert Tuel. Gilbert Tuel married Mrs. James Adams, who was the mother of the wife
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of Jonathan K. Smith. Moses Marshall lived in the house later known as the Craigin house, which was burned a few years ago.
PAINTERS. In the former history, we find a list of painters. They were Paul Nelson, Orlando Twitchell, and Jason Phelps. In later years, since the summer residents have caused many buildings to be constructed, there has been considerable paint- ing done in town. Among the number of painters, we find: James O. Josselyn; James G. Piper; Henry C. Piper; George W. Davis; Charles W. Leffingwell; L. A. & C. E. Fairbanks; Greenwood & Pellerin; Alfred F. Greenwood (Boisvert in French); and the latter's adopted son, William Greenwood. Several of these have employed many apprentices and work- men, whose names we cannot collect.
PLUMBING. The plumbing in town, much of which is of the best workmanship, has generally been done by Keene plumbers, or those who have come from other large places. Ernest A. Gay is the only plumber we find who has resided in Dublin.
MASONS. There were never many masons in Dublin. The former history mentions Jeremiah Barrett, Edward Wilson, Asa Fisk, and Jonathan Dodge. An honorable mention should be made of Asa Greenwood, a native of Dublin, who was one of the best stone masons in this part of the country. He built stone buildings in Marlborough, stone bridges in Keene and Peterborough, and the fine stone mill in Harrisville. For many years, we do not find a mention of masons in Dublin. In recent years, there have worked at this trade in town Francis A. Spaulding, John H. Mason, T. J. Eaves, and E. S. Wait. Other - persons, not legal residents of the town, have stopped here for a short time while engaged on contracts. Much of the work in that line is done by workmen who come from larger places for some particular job.
MACHINISTS were mostly to be found in Harrisville, which became a separate town in 1870. Formerly, Freeman F. My- rick, Frank Greenwood, and John Wait worked at that trade.
COOPERS. Charles Preston and William Farmer were coopers. We have also found that Samuel Smith, John Snow, and Benjamin Page Hardy did considerable business in that line.
STONE-CUTTERS. There formerly worked at this trade Bela Morse, Joshua Stanley, Thomas Perry, and Silas P.
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Frost. There are none now within the limits of the town who make a specialty of this business.
GRAVESTONE-MAKERS. Formerly, Francis Phelps, Joseph Phelps, and Levi Knowlton made such goods. At present, all such work is done in the neighboring towns of Peterborough and Keene, so far as required for the Dublin cemetery.
Amos Twitchell
CHAPTER XVI
PHYSICIANS, SICKNESS, AND MORTALITY
THE first physician who resided in Dublin was Nathan Bur- nap. He was in town as early as 1776, and lived on the twelfth lot of the sixth range. His house was on the site of the Dexter Mason house, where the Coolidge (or Norris) house now stands. Respecting the professional qualifications of Dr. Burnap or the extent of his practice, tradition is silent.
Dr. Young of Peterborough was much employed by the peo- ple in the east part of Dublin before, as well as after, the above date.
The name of Dr. Ward Eddy occurs in the clerk's records in 1781, that of Dr. Abel Maynard in 1787, and that of Dr. Benjamin Hills in 1794. Dr. Eddy only remained a year or a little more. He moved to Stoddard, in 1782 or 1783, and resided there the remainder of his life, although he practised a short time in Vermont. He died in Stoddard at an advanced age. Dr. Maynard lived in the little house that stood between the houses of Mrs. Rice and John A. Gleason, which was burned within a few years. Dr. Maynard died on Christmas Day in 1834. Dr. Hills lived in the most northerly part of the town, on lot fifteen, range ten, where Silas P. Frost lived for a time. The house has disappeared, and the road is abandoned which led past it. Dr. Hills removed from town in 1821.
Dr. Samuel Hamilton was clerk of the Dublin Social Library in 1794, and he appears to have been the principal physician in the town till his removal in 1815. He lived on the site of the Dr. Heald house, now French's Inn. He was a representative to the General Court, a selectman, a merchant, and, for many years, had much influence in managing the business of the town. He moved to Canandaigua, N. Y., and afterwards to Rochester, N. Y.
Dr. Moses Kidder succeeded to the home and the practice of Dr. Hamilton in 1815. He was born in Billerica, Mass., in 1789. After completing his medical studies, he went into the army as a surgeon. After leaving the army, he settled in Town- send, Mass., where he remained until 1815, when he came to
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Dublin and took the place of Dr. Hamilton who left Dublin in that year. He was considered a good physician and was highly esteemed by the Rev. Mr. Sprague. Dr. Kidder lived at Mr. Sprague's house a large part of the winter of 1815-16. According to the genealogical tables in the former history of the town, Dr. Kidder moved his family to Ashby, Mass., in the spring of 1816. He appears to have practised in the town a little longer, perhaps at certain seasons of the year. His final departure was in 1819.
Dr. Stephen H. Spaulding came to Dublin in 1819, from Lit- tleton, Mass., and purchased the house and land of Dr. Kidder. He remained in town until 1823, then moved to Natick, Mass.
Dr. David Carter, who had been a physician in Marlborough and Peterborough, settled in Dublin in 1824. He married a sister of Dr. Amos Twitchell. Dr. Carter lived for a time in the house that stood on the site of the Proctor house, where Mr. Upton lives, and, at another time, in the Corydon Jones house, where Mrs. C. R. Fisk lives. Dr. Carter died in Dublin in 1828, having been in practice here only four years. He had one child, Miss Eliza Carter, who survived him many years and died in Keene. She was a refined and cultivated lady, of estimable social qualities.
Dr. John H. Foster succeeded Dr. Carter. He came from Ashby, Mass., and moved in 1833 to Chicago, Ill., which he made his future residence.
Dr. Simeon S. Stickney, from Townsend, Mass., began prac- tice in Dublin in 1836, and removed to Milford, N. H., in 1837.
Dr. Albin Jones Eaton came to Dublin from Fitzwilliam, about 1837, to take the place of Dr. Stickney. He remained until the latter part of 1839. He was born in Ashburnham, Mass., June 19, 1809, but his father's family, after living a few years in Royalston, Mass., moved to Fitzwilliam, about 1825 or 1826, when Albin was a young man. After receiving his medi- cal education, he settled in Fitzwilliam, but soon moved to Dublin. He finally settled in Worcester, Mass. He married Miss Delight Stone. He had but one child that lived to ma- turity, Miss Maria Stone Eaton, who became a highly edu- cated lady and was a professor of chemistry and mineralogy in Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
Dr. Ransom N. Porter came to Dublin in 1848, from New Salem, Mass., and practised medicine in town until 1852. He went from here to Deerfield, Mass., where he spent the rest of his life. He died there many years ago. He was a justice of the
DR. JOHN G. PARKER
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PHYSICIANS, SICKNESS, AND MORTALITY
peace for a long time and was the moderator of the town- meetings in Deerfield for about ten years. He was a brother of Royal H. Porter of Keene, who, for over a half-century, was connected with the Cheshire Bank, in the various positions of clerk, cashier, and treasurer of that institution. Dr. Porter was on the school-board in Dublin. He was a man of versatile tal- ents and a genial person.
Dr. John Gideon Parker took the place of Dr. Porter. He was born in Peterborough, July 2, 1818; graduated at Norwich University, with the degree of A.B., in 1847; and took the de- gree of A.M. from the same institution. He graduated in the department of medicine from Dartmouth College in 1852. He practised medicine in Dublin from 1852 to 1865. He was here through the trying period of the Civil War. He went from Dublin to Warner, in this state, where he died, September 12, 1869.
Dr. Asa Heald came to Dublin in the twenties, and bought the house and land which Dr. Spaulding had owned. He built that large house on the "Flat" which has been used for a hotel by himself, and later by the Leffingwells, and last of all by Mr. French. The house was built in 1827. Dr. Heald was born in the neighboring town of Nelson, May 6, 1798, and took his degree in medicine at Bowdoin College, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his birth, May 6, 1823, coming at once to Dub- lin to begin practice. He died in Dublin, January 28, 1874, in the fifty-first year of his residence in town. He was the post- master for many years, the post-office being in the bar-room of his hotel.
Several persons, besides those above named, have, for short periods, practised medicine in Dublin. Among them were Dr. White, Dr. Peabody, Dr. Beede, Dr. Pettes, Dr. Hitchcock, and Dr. Edward Barton. The last named practised a short time in Sullivan. He married Miss Harriet Wilson of that town and settled in Orange, Mass., where he lived until his death. Dr. Stephen Jewett of Rindge settled, in 1804, on lot eleven, range one, and remained in town for a short time.
Physicians in the neighboring towns have had, at times, much practice in Dublin, especially in those parts of the town adja- cent to their own. Dr. Kidder, during his residence here, is said to have been the physician for nearly all the families in town. The whole business of the town would afford one physician a fair support, but, if it were to be divided and subdivided, as it has been in some former periods, it would not be so easy for a
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