USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Manchester > Willey's semi-centennial book of Manchester, 1846-1896, comprised within the limits of the old Tyng Township, Nutfield, Harrytown, Derryfield, and Manchester, from the earliest settlements to the present time > Part 38
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331
WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
A LLEN N. CLAPP, one of the leading busi- proprietor. The large brick block now owned ness men of Manchester, traees his ancestry and occupied by Mr. Clapp, located at the corner of Granite and Main streets, was completed in January, 1871. It is the largest bloek in West Manehester. In addition to dealing in groeeries, flour, grain, etc., Mr. Clapp is the New Hampshire agent for the Standard Oil Company, and his sales are extensive. Mr. Clapp was elected alderman in 1861 and 1862, and represented Ward 7 in the legislature in 1874 and 1875. At his first election an effort was made to unseat him, but with- out success. Politi- cally, he is a Republi- ean, and he attends the Hanover-Street Con- gregational church. Mr. Clapp is one of Manchester's most active and influential business men, and has done mueh to advance the interests of West Manchester. May 25, 1863, Mr. Clapp united in marriage with Josie M. Mason, a native of Sullivan, and their family has consisted of two ehil- dren, Annie M. and Freddie. The latter died in infaney. on the paternal side to Thomas Clapp, who was born in England in 1597, and came to this country in 1633. The line is as follows: Thomas, Thomas, Joshua, Joshua, Joshua, Asa, Allen, Allen N. His father, Allen Clapp, was born in Walpole, April 28, 1794, and died in Marlborough Feb. 9, 1838. He mar- ried, Feb. 10, 1819, Hannah Newcomb, and their family eon- sisted of seven chil- dren, Allen N. being the youngest. He is descended on the maternal side from Francis Neweomb, who was born in Eng- land about 1605, came to America in April, 1635, and settled in Boston. The line is as follows: Francis, Peter, Jonathan, Ben- jamin, John, Hannah, born Feb. 25, 1793, died May 16, 1846. Allen N. Clapp was born in Marlborough Jan. 2, 1837. His father having died soon after, his mother removed to Nashua, and here young Clapp received the rudi- ALLEN N. CLAPP. ments of his educa- tion. He also attended the high school, and sub- sequently passed one year at the MeGaw Institute, Merrimack. When about nineteen years of age he came to Manchester as clerk in the employ of Ira Barr, with whom he remained in that capacity until 1860. He then formed a co-partnership with Mr. Barr, under the firm name of Barr & Clapp, in the mercantile business. This business was continued under the same firm name until 1881, when Mr. Clapp purchased Mr. Barr's interest, and has since conducted the business as sole 33
H JORACE P. WATTS, who was for many years elosely identified with the business and religious interests of Manchester, was born on the old Whittemore farm, below Goffe's Falls, in 1820. He was the son of Daniel and Polly (Darrah) Watts, and his education was received in the common sehools and subsequently at Pinkerton Academy. The early part of his aetive life was devoted to farming, in which pursuit his father was also very successful. He settled first in London- derry, where he took an influential part in public
332
WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
affairs, representing the town in the legislature and serving as a member of the board of commis- sioners of Rockingham county. About the year 1865 he sold his Londonderry farm and came to Manchester to engage in the grain business with A. F. Hall, and later with W. F. Holmes, who became his son-in-law. The firm's mill was located on the Piseataquog water privilege, and here they built up a large and profitable business, which was condueted with great sueeess until the destruction of the mill by fire in 1875. Mr. Holmes then went West, and Mr. Watts beeame interested with him there in many prosperous financial enter- prises, ineluding the First National bank of Cassel- ton, Dak., and the Security Loan and Trust Company of the same place, of which latter institution Mr. Watts was president. He was one of the original directors of the Manches- ter National bank and was also a director in the Nashua & Lowell railroad. Judicious investments in Manchester real estate and in railroad securities enabled him to amass a large fortune. The only publie service which he rendered in Manchester was during his membership of the board of asses- sors for one year, but he was one of the original and most active members of the Board of Trade, and his eounsels were highly valued by his business associates and by the community at large. His name was synonymous with the highest honor and the strietest integrity, and he possessed the eon- fidenee of the people of Manchester to an extent enjoyed by few. One of his most conspicuous serviees to the community was his assistance in the erection of the First Congregational church on Hanover street. Mr. Watts was the first to suggest the building of a new house of worship, and it was he who contributed most liberally of his time and money to carry the project to success- ful completion (see page 88). He was a man of unostentatious piety, and religion was an actual, vital part of his daily life and business transactions. Mr. Watts was married in early life to Miss Maria Boyd, a descendant of one of the old families of Londonderry. His death oeeurred Aug. 14, 1890, and he was survived by a widow and two daughters : Mrs. Rosecrans W. Pillsbury of Londonderry and Miss Mary Alice Watts. Mrs. Watts died March 28, 1895.
ZACCHEUS COLBURN, youngest child of Zaccheus and Rachel (Hills) Colburn, was born in Nottingham West (now Hudson), Jan. 5, 1801. His preparatory education was received in the common schools and at Pinkerton, Atkinson, and Bradford academies. In the spring of 1824 he entered the freshman class of Brown Univer- sity and graduated in 1827. During his senior year he began the study of medi- eine, which he continued after graduation with Dr. John C. War- ren of Boston, where he also at- tended lectures at the Harvard Medieal Seliool. He pursued his medieal studies at Bowdoin College from which he received the de- gree of M. D. in May, 1829. Be- ZACCHEUS COLBURN. ginning practice with his brother, Dr. Elijah Colburn, at Nashua, he remained there until 1831, when he removed to Hudson, where he praetised his profession until 1838, and was the only regular physician in the town during that time. In the spring of 1838 he came to Manehester and later became eity physi- eian and a member of the board of health, holding also a commission as justice of the peace. Going to California in 1852, he worked at mining for a time and then opened an office for the practice of his profession in North San Juan, where he remained until his return to Manchester in 1859. His death occurred Nov. 21, 1864. Dr. Colburn was married June 1, 1831, to Mary Phelps, by whom he had seven children, one of whom, William Gardner, born Sept. 4, 1835, graduated at Harvard in 1860 with high honors, was subse- quently assistant attorney general, and died in Manchester in 1875. Mrs. Colburn died in March, 1849, at the age of forty-two, and Dr. Colburn later married Judith Maria Morse, who
H. T Watts
WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
335
still survives. By her he had three chil- dren, two of whom, Charles Henry, born in May, 1852, and Arthur Morse, born in May, 1860, are still living.
G I EORGE H. HARDY, son of War- ren and Edna (Aycr) Hardy, was born in Manchester June 12, 1860, and received his education at the public and at private schools. Beginning the study of medicine with Dr. Nash and continu- ing it with Dr. Parsons, he entered Dart- mouth Medical School with the class of ISSO. During one vacation he worked for J. W. C. Pickering, who is in the mill business at Lowell, but who owned a clothing store at No. 856 Elm street. Charles H. Cushman and Mr. Hardy conducted his Manchester business for him, and finally, in 1885, he sold out to them, and the Cushman & Hardy Com- pany was formed. Mr. Hardy had not relinquished his plan of studying medicine and
GEORGE H. HARDY.
CLOTHIERS
CUSHMAN & HARDY CO.
FURNISHERS,
STORE OF THE CUSHMAN & HARDY COMPANY.
intended to enter mercantile life only temporarily but the business of the firm expanded so rapidly that he decided not to abandon it. The growth of trade soon demanded larger quarters, and the firm removed to the stand now occupied by Temple & Farrington, and later to their present location, absorbing, in 1895, the store then occu- pied by A. M. Eastman. The Cushman & Hardy Company now has the largest clothing and fur- nishing goods store north of Boston, and with more square fect of space than any similar estab- lishment in northern New England. The firm, of which Mr. Hardy has been sole proprietor since Mr. Cushman's death, Dec. 1, 1895, does an extensive business and has, with the exception of a few Boston stores, the largest and most com- plete children's department in New England. The clerical force has numbered thirty-four in busy scasons, twenty-six being employed at the present time. Mr. Hardy is a prominent member of many fraternal and social organizations, includ- ing the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the American Mechanics, the Elks, the Red Men, and the Cygnet Boat Club, and he attends the First
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WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
Baptist church. Mr. Hardy married Florence A. Olivia, Nathan, Climena, and two infants. All Bradley of this city, and they have two children : are dead except Olivia. Oct. 25, 1856, he was Percival Ray, aged seven, and Nattile, aged four. married to Hannah C. Rollins of Manchester, and three children were born to them : Elia C., Hattie Louise, the wife of Carol C. Oldham, and Charles, dicd May 25, 1878, at the age of fifteen months.
JATHAN JOHNSON was born in London- A derry Sept. 23, 1806, the son of Nathan and Betsey (Robinson) Johnson. When he was fivc years of age his parents removed to Manchester,
NATHAN JOHNSON.
where he has since lived, and where his education was obtained. He has always followed the occu- pation of farming, and he owns valuable property ncar Lake' Massabesic. Mr. Johnson has never sought public office, but he has served acceptably as a member of the common council and as highway surveyor. He attends the First Metho- dist church at East Manchester, in which he has bcen a class leader and trustee for many ycars. Mr. Johnson has been twice married, his first wife being Climena Clogston of Goffstown, by whom hc had seven children: Betsey, James McKanc,
C' HARLES H. COLBURN, son of Dr. Zac- chcus and Judith (Morsc) Colburn, was born in Manchester May 22, 1852. After graduating from the city schools, he learned the trade of ear- penter and builder, and for twenty-five years has been a successful contractor and builder. During that time he has constructed some of the finest residences in this city, including the homes of Lyman Colby, O.D. Knox, Chas. Brown, Edward Plummer, Alon- zo Day, and Geo. Morrill, for the last two of which he drew the plans. Mr. Colburn has also built a num- ber of houses for himself and has bcgun the erec- tion of a fine resi- dence on Chest- nut street, which, when completed, will be onc of the best arranged CHARLES H. COLBURN. houses in the city. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of the American Mechanics, of the Knights of Pythias, of the Rcd Men, and of various other secret organizations. For eleven years he was an active member of the Manchester fire department. Mr. Colburn was married Jan. I, 1876, to Fannie H. Robie of Chester, and has one son · nincteen years of age. He has been very successful in business, and his financial ventures have had fortunate issue.
Henry E. Burnham
HON. HENRY E. BURNHAM.
H ON. HENRY E. BURNHAM has for many years been one of the most conspicuous figures at the New Hampshire bar, while his fame as a public speaker extends far beyond the con- fines of the state. Distinction has come to him unsought, but as the natural result of his versatile talents. The only child of Henry L. and Maria A. (Bailey) Burnham, he was born in Dunbarton Nov. 8, 1844, being a descendant in the eighth generation from John Burnham, who came from Norfolk county, England, in 1635, and settled in Essex, Mass. Here the family lived until 1770, when Samuel Burnham, the great-grandfather of Henry E., removed to Dunbarton, where his son Bradford and his grandson Henry L. were born. Oliver Bailey, who was Judge Burnham's maternal great-grandfather, and Josiah Bailey, his maternal grandfather, were also natives of Dunbarton, wherc his mother was born July 12, 1820. His father, who was born Nov. 25, 1814, was for thirty years a successful teacher and one of the public-spirited citizens of Dunbarton, representing the town in both branches of the legislature and serving as commissioner and as high sheriff of Merrimack county. On his father's side Judge Burnham is related to Nathan Dane, a member of the Conti- nental Congress of 1787 and the author of the "Ordinance of '87," for the government of the territory north and west of the Ohio river, and providing for the exclusion of slavery from all that vast region. With such blood in his veins, it is not difficult to understand Judge Burnham's character and the success he has achieved. His early life was spent on his father's farm and in attendance at the district school. He prepared for college at the Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, and entering Dartmouth in 1861, gradu- ated with high honors four years later, having taught school during the winter vacations. His selection as one of the disputants at commence- ment exercises, when he discussed the Monroe doctrine with Horace Russell, who has since become a judge in New York state, shows that hc had already developed the oratorical and logical
powers which have since distinguished his career. After studying law in the offices of Minot & Mugridge of Concord and E. S. Cutter and Judge Lewis W. Clark of Manchester, he was admitted to the bar in 1868 and at once opencd an office in this city, where he has since practised his profes- sion, at first alone and subsequently for several years with Judge David Cross as partner, and later with George I. McAllister. His present partners are Albert O. Brown and George H. Warren. Judge Burnham has persistently refused offers of political prcferment, so strong have been the charms of professional life. He was, however, a member of the legislature in 1873-74 ; treasurer of Hillsborough county and associate justice of the Manchester policc court; member of the con- stitutional convention of 1889; and for three years, 1876-79, judge of probate of Hillsborough county, whence his judicial title is derived. In the finan- cial world Judge Burnham's acumen and excellent judgment are widely recognized. He is president of the Mechanics' Savings bank, has been first vice-president of the Manchester Board of Trade and a director in many business corporations. Always deeply interested in the charities and edu- cational institutions of the city, Judge Burnham is a member of the advisory committee of the Chil- dren's Home and has performed most valuable service on the school board. He is prominent in Masonry and Odd Fellowship, having filled the highest office in the Grand Lodge of the state in the former body in 1885 and been active in the latter organization. His oration at the dedication of Masonic Hall in Manchester, in 1890, and his address as commander of the Amoskeag Veterans at Worcester on Bunker Hill day, 1892, were notable efforts ; while his poem, delivered at the centennial celebration of Dunbarton, gave evidence of what he might have accomplished if he had chosen to cultivate literature. Judge Burnham was married Oct. 22, 1874, to Elizabeth H., daugh- ter of John D. Patterson of Manchester; and threc daughters, Gertrudc E., Alice P., and Edith D., have been added to the family.
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WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
W.E DREW.
MAA
OF
CHE'S
CITY
STER
INCORPO
JUNE!
RPORATED MANCHESTER BOARD OF TRADE
FRANK L WAY.
O.D.KNOX.VICE PRES
HW EASTMAN SECY
CHAS.H BARTLETT.PRES
Per Day
360 Miles of Cloth
FRANK
ALBERT,
PRESTON.
Philvock
E.C WESCOTT
BOARD OF TRADE OFFICERS, 18. 6 .- (SEE PAGE 124.)
CMEDGERLY
N J.WHALEN
EUGENE QUIRIN
CHANDLER TREAS
W.G. AFRICA VICE PRES.
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WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD
E LDER CHARLES R. CROSSETT, JR., was born at Warehouse Point, Conn., Oct. 28, 1847, his parents being Charles R. and Mary (Colson) Crossett. He resided in Springfield, Mass., until 1880, when he removed to this city, and was pastor of the Arlington-Street Advent church for three years and a half. During the next three years, from 1883 to 1886, he was settled at Portsmouth. He then returned to Manchester, wherc he has since re- mained. Mr. Cros- ELDER CHAS. R. CROSSETT, JR. sett was married June 6, 1868, to
Fannie S., daughter of Henry and Sarah (Perkins Ashley) Hubbard, and they have three children.
REV. FRANCIS S. BACON, Pastor of People's Tabernacle, Manchester.
MONDS, WATCHES
AND JEWELR
CARL W ANDERSON & CO
W. ANDERSON & CO.
-
CARL W. ANDERSON'S JEWELRY STORE.
3.42
WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
M ICHAEL O'DOWD was born in Ireland faculties unimpaired, and may be seen in her place Dec. 22, 1844, and is the sixth son of James at St. Raphael's church every Sunday at divine and Mary (Moran) O'Dowd. His two eldest brothers, John and James, came to Manchester in the spring of 1857, and the family has had repre- service. Mr. O'Dowd is president of the local branch of the Irish National Federation, and is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Board of Trade, and the Granite State Club.
MICHAEL O'DOWD.
sentatives in this eity all the intervening years, although James enlisted in the Twentieth Massa- chusetts Volunteer Regiment and served honor- ably until the close of the War of the Rebellion. Michael followed his elder brothers to America in 1866, and has made Manchester his home ever sinee. He began the clothing business at his present location in 1879 and has built up a pros- perous trade. Nov. 28, 1878, he married Miss Margaret Davy, and their union has been blessed by an interesting family of six boys and one girl, five of whom survive, viz .: Mary H., aged 15 years ; Henry D., 11; Matthew, 9; Hugh D., 6; Thomas K., 3 years. Mr. O'Dowd's father died July 28, 1878, aged 78 years. His mother still lives at No. 69 Dover street, West Manchester, which has been the family homestead for thirty years. Although the venerable lady is in her ninetieth year, she is still possessed of all her
PA ATRICK HARRINGTON, son of Daniel and Helen Harrington, was born in Ireland Mareh 15, 1839, and eame with his parents to America in May, 1847. His education was received in the publie schools of Manchester, and shortly after leaving school he was employed by the Manchester Print Works for six years. He then beeame a groeer's elerk, and in 1865 started in that business for himself and followed it for thirty years, until 1895. In 1872 he received the Manchester ageney for the Eldredge Brewing Company, which he still retains. He was one of the organizers of the Portsmouth Brewing Com- pany, of which he has been a director for the last ten years. He was a charter member of the Man- ehester Board of Trade, and has been a prominent factor in the ma- terial development of the city, as is attested by the handsome and sub- stantial Harring- ton building on Lake avenue, and is one of Manehes- ter's heaviest tax- payers. In polities Mr. Harrington is a Demoerat, and he was a member PATRICK HARRINGTON. of the common couneil in 1874. He was married Nov. 29, 1865, to Miss Margaret, daughter of James and Ann Carey of Manchester. Their children are: James P., William F., Lawrenee J., Helen J., Annie F., and Mary C. In 1895 Mr. Harrington purchased the beautiful residenee known as the Waterman Smith place.
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WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
PATRICK HARRINGTON'S RESIDENCE, MANCHESTER.
HARRINGTON BUILDING, MANCHESTER.
31
EW
CITY HOTEL
FRED COTTON
PROPRIETOR
NEW CITY HOTEL
HOTEL OFFIČÉ
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WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
JOHN F. KERWIN, son of Dennis and Mary chester. He is a member of the Eiks and of the Kerwin, was born in Lowell, Mass., in 1850, Knights of Columbus. and when six years of age removed with his parents to Manchester. He was educated in the
t
JOHN F. KERWIN.
public schools of this city and at Boston College, and became an equal partner in his father's tallow rendering and wholesale grocery business. This relation continued until 1892, when the business was sold, and Mr. Kerwin entered the service of the Hill Spaulding Harness Company as a book- keeper, in which company he was a stockholder. After a year in this capacity, he purchased the retail harness business of the company, which hc still conducts at the old Hill Spaulding Company's stand on West Central street. Mr. Kerwin was married in 1870 to Miss Julia Kerwin of Man-
C ARL W. ANDERSON was born in Quincy, Mass., July 19, 1859. His father, Charles J. Anderson, who was a native of Sweden, came to this country when quite young. Coming to Man- chester with his parents in 1867, Mr. Anderson has lived here ever since. He was educated in the public schools, and then learned the jewelry business. In 1888 he bought the establishment of C. A. Moore, at 894 Elm street, which he has since conducted and developed, building up a fine trade in diamonds and jewelry. March 13, 1884, Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Minnie A., daughter of Capt. David Wadsworth (see p. 202). Their son, David W., was born Aug. 13, 1887.
CARL W. ANDERSON.
Mr. Anderson is active in fraternity and social organizations, being a member of the Red Men. the Masonic order, Knights Templar, and of the Derryfield and Calumet clubs.
BANKS AND BANKING.
THE evolution of the bank, from its primary use as a place of safe deposit for treasure, plate or jewels, to its present position as the medium of nearly all the business of the world, would be an interesting study. Promissory notes seem to be as aneient as history. However, as the elay tablets of the ancient world are not likely to be redeemed in our day, let us eome to more modern times. Bills for eirculation on the security of real and personal estate and on imperishable merehandise were issued in Massa- chusetts in 1686, and although the enterprise encountered the opposition of the governor and eouneil, it continucd for about fifty years, paper to the amount of {110,000 being issued. One hundred years later, in 1784, there were only three state banks in the country: the Bank of Massachusetts, the Bank of New York, and the Bank of North America at Philadelphia. In less than another eentury, in 1861, there were 1601 state banks, with an aggregate eapital of $429,000,000. The earliest attempt at paper money in New Hampshire appears to have been somewhere about or prior to 1733. This was a private enterprise and must not be mistaken for the state issue of bills of eredit, which began in 1709. The eirculation of this paper money was prohibited in Massachusetts. Money transactions of the province were few and far between, and trade was effeeted largely by barter. People of the territory known as Nutfield, in need of financial aid, resorted to Amherst, Nashua, or Portsmouth in the early part of the present eentury. The experience of the country with state banks was far from satisfactory. The great number above quoted issued more than ten thousand different kinds of bills, and there was
seldom a bank whose bills were received at par beyond the state boundary.
The first bank chartered in this immediate vieinity was the Hillsborough bank of Amherst, in 1806. It was authorized to issue bills to double the amount of its eapital, a privilege which its promoters did not fail to avail them- selves of. Three years later it went to the wall, eausing mueh distress in its wreck. The national banks of today, issuing bills to the amount of ninety per cent of their eapital, with government bonds as security for the redemp- tion of all their promises, are as nearly safe as any deviee of human wisdom ean be, and no one in Manchester or elsewhere has ever lost a dollar by the failure of any national bank to redeem its issue. The owners of bank stoek may gain or lose, aeeording as the busi- ness is conducted, and it is to the eredit of the banks of discount in Manchester that, with a single exception, they have been sourees of reasonably profitable investment. It should not be for- gotten, however, that the best system in the world eannot prevent the more or less regular recurrenee of failure and disaster attendant upon undue expansion of eredit. Thus, in 1809, 1837, 1857, 1873 and 1891 began periods of depression, each extending over several years and causing many failures.
The expansion of banking business in Man- chester has been gradual and safe. The sum returned in 1884 by the five banks under the head of loans and discounts at a given date was $1,247,178.64. Ten years later this was in- ereased by $728,038.68, and the inerease would have been still greater if taken at intermediate periods in the decade just past. The savings
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WILLEY'S BOOK OF NUTFIELD.
banks, beginning with small deposits, have in- Frederick C. Dow, Rosecrans W. Pillsbury, creased, as will be seen, to more than sixteen Charles T. Mcans, and W. Byron Stearns, directors. million dollars.
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