Yours truly J. M. WhiteYours trulyJ. M. White
Mr. White, in engaging in trade for himself in Nashua, was aware that a young man and a stranger must encounter severe difficulties in entering upon mercantile life. Many before him had succumbed to the obstacles which he was now to encounter. He did not hesitate. Laying out his plan of business, he examined into the most minute details of its management. He was never idle. No man was more thorough and painstaking in the discharge of obligations to his customers. His labors often extended far into the night. In fact, he lived in labor, and thought no plan complete till its execution was secured. With these habits added to sound business judgment and foresight and a rare knowledge of men, the record of the business life of Mr. White has been an uninterrupted success; and it is in this department of consistent and persistent effort that his example is worthy of imitation.
In many of the business enterprises of Nashua, Mr. White has taken an active, and in some of them a prominent, part. Engaging in the transportation and sale of coal on his arrival, he has always been the leading dealer in the trade. After the close of the war he originated the project of, and gave his attention to, the construction of the large block of stores on Main street, known as the "Merchants' Exchange," retaining for himself and son the corner store, which he still occupies. Early in 1875 he conceived the idea of establishing a new national bank, and in the April following obtained a charter. The people of Nashua and vicinity believing in his financial ability immediately subscribed for the stock and elected him president, a position he continues to hold to the satisfaction of the stockholders, and the advantage of the institution.
In addition to the presidency of the Second National Bank. Mr. White is now recognized by the public as a sagacious and influential railroad manager. Since 1876 he has been prominently connected with the affairs of the Nashua & Lowell Railroad as a director and large stockholder. For many years this road had been connected with and used by the Boston & Lowell Railroad corporation, and, as Mr. White clearly saw, on terms greatly disadvantageous to the stockholders of the Nashua & Lowell company. The stock had gradually declined much below par. To resist so great and powerful a corporation required pluck and energy. To be successful against such odds demanded a leader daring, prompt, aggressive. Mr. White was the man for the emergency. How well his measures succeeded is realized not only by every stockholder, but in all railroad circles throughout New England.
In the transaction of business, Mr. White is not only methodical but positive. He reaches his conclusions quickly and acts upon them with the utmost directness. Having decided upon a measure he engages in it with all his might, bending all his efforts to make sure of the desired end. Selecting his agents, he accomplishes the whole work while many would be halting to determine whether the project was feasible. A man of so pronounced opinions and prompt action naturally makes some enemies; but he has no opponents who do not accord to him the credit of an open and honorable warfare. In a word, he is essentially a business man in the full sense of that term. Not only in occupation, but in taste and aptitude, he is a representative of that class of American citizens who have won a world-wide reputation for practical sagacity, enterprise, and thrift.
Mr. White is in no sense of the word a party politician. Of Whig antecedents, his first vote was cast for Henry Clay, in 1844, for president. Before leaving his native town his liberal tendencies had been quickened by witnessing the unwarranted arrest, in the pulpit, of Rev. George Storrs, who was about to deliver the first anti-slavery lecture in Pittsfield. The event justly occasioned anunusual excitement, and was the beginning of that agitation which reached every town and hamlet in the Union.
Since the organization of the Republican party, Mr. White has supported it in all national issues; but is one of the independent thinkers who does not hesitate to exercise "the divine right of bolting" when unfit men are put in nomination.
In the winter of 1861, Mr. White and his family left on a southern trip, and reached Charleston, S. C., the last of February, not long after the United States troops under Maj. Anderson were shut up in Fort Sumter by the rebel forces. Mr. White had letters of introduction to several citizens of the city high in authority, who received him kindly, and, learning that he was a business man and not a politician, were anxious to learn from him the state of feeling among the business men and the middle class of citizens at the North. While the statements of Mr. White were far from gratifying, they continued their friendly relations. Previously he had written to his friend, Capt. John G. Foster, second in command at Fort Sumter, of his intended tarry at Charleston. He was now desirous of an interview with him. Applying to the Confederate authorities for a pass to Fort Sumter, it was granted him,—a privilege not allowed to any other civilian during the siege.
On the following day, March 5, he went on the steamer Clinch to Fort Johnson, to which point Maj. Anderson was allowed to send his boat under a flag of truce for the daily mail. Here a new obstacle was encountered, for the boat was forbidden by Maj. Anderson to bring any person to the fort. But, with the restriction that he should remain outside with the boat till Captain Foster could be notified, he was permitted to go. The interview was a great surprise as well as gratification.
Reaching Washington before the bombardment of Fort Sumter and the beginning of actual hostilities, Mr. White was taken to the war department and interviewed by Gen. Scott as to the determination and strength of the Confederate force at Charleston. Mr. White thought it would require a force of ten thousand men to relieve Fort Sumter, and said so. Gen. Scott laughed heartily, and told him that two thousand men would be ample for the purpose. In common with the most of the leading men at the capital, Gen. Scott underestimated the pluck and strength of the rebels. Soon after, when Jay Cooke was appointed government agent to negotiate the war loans, Mr. White received the appointment of agent for Nashua and vicinity.
In 1846, the year after coming to Nashua, Mr. White was united in marriage with Miss Caroline G. Merrill, oldest daughter of Caleb Merrill, Esq., of his native town. The marriage was a fortunate and happy one. The young wife was endowed with scholarly and refined attainments, qualifying her for the enjoyment of social and domestic life. Added to this, she possessed a sound and discriminating judgment on which her husband could safely rely. No transaction of any magnitude was entered upon without securing her approval. Many of his best and most sagacious moves in business were made at her suggestion. Of their two children, the eldest, Caroline Wilson, died in infancy. The son, James Wilson White, born June 10, 1849, fell a victim to the prevailing disease of this climate, and died in Florida, January 27, 1876. Mrs. White, having survived her children, died suddenly of apoplexy in 1880. Her memory is cherished by many who knew her worth.
In April, 1881, Mr. White was married the second time to Mrs. Ann M. Prichard, of Bradford, Vt., an educated and accomplished lady and the sister of his first wife. His residence, at the corner of Pearl and Cottage streets, combines the elements of modesty, taste, and comfort, and is the abode of a happy home circle.
E. A. RollinsE. A. Rollins
The early settlers of New Hampshire were of pure English origin. They possessed that "large, roundabout common sense" which John Locke ascribes to the English people. A few leading families planted the first colonies, founded the state, and ruled it for more than a century. The Rollins family held a prominent place among the settlers of southern New Hampshire. James Rollins, the ancestor of most of the men who have borne that name in the state, came to this country as early as 1632, and finally settled in Dover.
The name Rollins, or Rawlings, is very ancient and honorable in England. Its origin is variously explained by antiquarians, but it can very naturally be traced to Rollo, who conquered Normandy and made it a kingdom, A. D. 912. William the Conqueror was the seventh in descent from the brave hero of Scandinavia. The descendants of Rollo followed in the train of the Conqueror, and were afterwards found in all parts of the United Kingdom. All the different families had nearly the same coat of arms, each indicative of their martial origin. The escutcheon is a shield with three swords in the center, and above it a human arm holding a fourth. The history of the race reveals their heroism, energy, and perseverance. The name we have chosen to illustrate represents a genuine scion of the old tree which for nine hundred years has drawn its vitality from the Scandinavian stock. Having said enough to show that Rollins is composed of the Northman name "Rollo," and the Saxon "ing," meaning child or descendant, we will speak briefly of the early life of the subject of this sketch.
Edward Ashton Rollinswas born in Wakefield, December 8, 1828. At the age of seven, his father, Hon. Daniel G. Rollins, removed to Great Falls, a village of Somersworth, and during much of his life was in public office. He was repeatedly elected to the legislature of New Hampshire, was for many years judge of probate for Strafford county, till he reached the age of seventy years, which, by law, terminated that office; he was also, for many years, president of the Great Falls & Conway Railroad Company. In all his official relations he acquitted himself with unsullied integrity. His son, Edward Ashton, was, therefore, trained to know the relations and duties of a business man. His father's example was his pole star. With his eye fixed on that, and with the inherited virtues of industry, energy, and prudence, he could scarcely go astray. He studied both books and men. The common school promoted his native love of learning, and occupied his youthful days. For a higher class of studies, he attended the academies of Rochester and Gilmanton. In 1847, at the age of nineteen, he entered Dartmouth College. He immediately received the place for which he was fitted by nature and culture. His character for sobriety, earnestness, and devotion to duty was already formed, and, as the poet hath it, "character is destiny." The best men in the class sought him as a companion. His teachers saw and aided his love of learning. None made greater progress; none were more highly esteemed; none ranked above him. Those kindred virtues,industry, economy, integrity, and devotion, always attract watchful eyes and win loving hearts. The path of duty and honor often lies hid even to the wise and prudent. Cromwell said, in the height of his fame, "No man often advanceth higher than he who knoweth not whither he goeth." The threads that run through the web of our life are carried by shuttles driven by an invisible but unerring hand. A little incident in the college life of Mr. Rollins illustrates this assertion. Walking one day with some college friends, he was met by President Lord, who, beckoning him to him, desired him to call at his study at a particular hour. This was the good doctor's usual method in summoning delinquents for discipline. The companions of Mr. Rollins rallied him upon his approaching interview; but hear the result. With no little anxiety, he met the president at the hour named, who said to him: "I have received a request from a distinguished gentleman in Baltimore, desiring me to send to him a young gentleman of the first rank in scholarship and character to be the private tutor of his sons. I have concluded to offer the place to you." After consultation with father and mother, at home, he decided to go. He found a delightful home, and formed friendships which have lasted till this day, and essentially modified his whole public life and determined his occupations. In his friendships, he follows Shakespeare's advice:—
"The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel."
"The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel."
Classmates, teachers, preachers, and neighbors are remembered and reverenced according to their worth. They not only enjoy his hospitality, but, if overtaken by want or misfortune, share his purse. Old and faithful servants, too, are not forgotten.
Mr. Rollins enjoys society; and in every social circle he gives more than he takes. He is the life of company; conversation never flags when he is present. His humor plays like sunshine over the surface of society. If any one fails to make his contribution to the wants of the occasion, he is roused to duty by a merry sally of humor from Mr. Rollins; and he is more likely to make himself than his neighbors the subject of his wit or satire. Like Charles Lamb, he holds the wires while others draw the sparks, which always move but never shock their feelings. Nobody is wounded, but all are animated. He can deliver an appropriate speech at any meeting in church or state, after dinner or after a session. The young and the old seek his company. Some of his warmest friends have been very aged men. The venerable Horace Binney lived to be ninety-six years of age, and he corresponded with Mr. Rollins till the last days of his long and useful life. Some of his letters deserve to be written in letters of gold, to be read and enjoyed by all lovers of truth, virtue, and religion. Rev. Dr. Barnes, also, kept up a neighborly intercourse with Mr. Rollins, by calls and letters, as long as he lived. Mr. Rollins's religious life was nourished by the notes and discourses of Albert Barnes, whom he loved as a spiritual father. Every Christmas was sure to bring to the good doctor a reminder of this relation.
To perpetuate home affections and keep alive a love of New England institutions, in the winter of 1881, Mr. Rollins, with a few friends, formed a New England society in Philadelphia. Their first meeting was a distinguished success. The proceedings were published in pamphlet form and were widely read. The speeches were wise and witty; that of Mr. Rollins, the first president, was full of pertinent allusions and patriotic sentiments. It was received with enthusiastic applause. His remarks, in the introduction of other orators, were beautifully adapted to the men and the occasion.
The extent and variety of Mr. Rollins's business relations make it impossible to characterize them with brevity. Integrity and fair dealing have marked his whole career as lawyer, commissioner, banker, and railroad manager. His motto is, "Live and let live." The pecuniary interests of friend, neighbor, client, trader, relative, or stranger are never prejudiced by partisan opinions. An opponent and friend stand, in business relations, on the same foundations. His large experience in money matters creates the impression that he is a safe adviser in the purchase of stocks; he is, therefore, often importuned to decide for others questions of investment. Where men are known to be honest and faithful in handling money, even strangers ask no other security for their property.
Such is the law of association that binds together honest and honorable business men. Large pecuniary enterprises prosper in their hands, because they fear God and love justice and truth. Of every such man it is said, "Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." So God ordains.
This title, "in office," covers nearly the whole professional life of Mr. Rollins. After six years of successful practice of the law, he was elected to the legislature of New Hampshire from Somersworth. He held this relation for three years; during the last two, 1861 and 1862, he was chosen speaker of the house. It was a period of great excitement, the very outbreak of the civil war. Though young and inexperienced, he acquitted himself with the highest credit to himself and honor to the state. At the close of this responsible and difficult work, he was appointed, by President Lincoln, cashier of the bureau of internal revenue; and the next year, deputy commissioner of the same department. In 1865 he was made commissioner of internal revenue, one of the most responsible positions that any citizen of our country has ever been called to fill. The office was new, important, and burdensome. No finite mind could comprehend and control at once its multitudinous relations. Its net-work covered the whole territory of the United States. The property of the entire country was subject to its inspection and taxation. More than a million of dollars, every day, were received into the treasury from six thousand agents, for whose official integrity the head of the department was responsible. In new cases, the commissioner was often obliged to act as law-maker, judge, and executive. The cases admitted of no delay. The safety of the state required prompt decisions. These sprung up as intuitions. In his official report, made to congress in November, 1865, the commissioner says: "When it is recollected that the present generation only know by tradition or obsolete statutes that taxes have ever been imposed in this country on articles of their own manufacture, and the objects of internal traffic, or upon the various crafts and professions in which they were employed; and when, too, it is considered that the revenue collected for a single year ending June 30, 1865, amounts to a sum nearly or quite equal to all the receipts of this government, from whatever sources, from its organization to the year 1812; and when it is further considered that this amount was contributed at a time when the commercial marine of the country had been nearly destroyed and more than a million of men had been withdrawn from the productive pursuits of life,—we may not only be justly proud that the material strength of the country has been fully equal to the burden, but that it has been borne so quietly and so willingly." This office was administered wisely and well, by Mr. Rollins, till March 8, 1869, when President Grant assumed the reins of government. Failing health then admonished him to retire from the distracting cares of the office of commissioner. At the time of its resignation, as many of his subordinate officials as could come together adopted resolutions of respect and confidence in honor of their head. The first resolution expresses the opinions of the whole country, including cabinet officers and senators, as well as their own. It is thus written:—
"Resolved, that the integrity, fidelity, ability, and untiring devotion to the duties of his office which Mr. Rollins has exhibited, have inspired in us feelings of profound respect for his sterling qualities as a man and an officer; and that we especially admire the genial disposition which he has uniformly manifested toward us, amid all the cares and perplexities of a difficult and a burdensome office, held, much of the time, under peculiarly trying circumstances."
"Resolved, that the integrity, fidelity, ability, and untiring devotion to the duties of his office which Mr. Rollins has exhibited, have inspired in us feelings of profound respect for his sterling qualities as a man and an officer; and that we especially admire the genial disposition which he has uniformly manifested toward us, amid all the cares and perplexities of a difficult and a burdensome office, held, much of the time, under peculiarly trying circumstances."
The remaining resolutions are cumulative of these expressions of confidence and esteem. No testimony could be more honorable to a well spent official life.
The religious life of Mr. Rollins, from boyhood to age, has been as strongly marked as his official career. He believes in doing, not in seeming; in practice, not in profession. He can speak as well as work for the truth. When the pastor needs help, he addresses the people. When the poor of the church or congregation need aid, he heads and carries the subscription paper. He has never lived in a place where he has not taught a Bible class; and worthy young men who have learned in his classes have often received promotion in business through his influence. He is always present at the stated meetings of the church. "Punctuality," says the old maxim, "is the essence of virtue." Mr. Rollins believed in the importance of punctuality; therefore he was never missed from the place of duty. In college he was never absent or unprepared; in office, in the bank, in public assemblies, the hours of business are promptly observed. In church, too, the times and places of worship are conscientiously observed, and if a delinquent neighbor, who has failed to be present when church affairs, temporal or spiritual, were discussed, meets him on a subsequent day, he is carefully questioned with regard to his health!
The family is the unit of the state. Good families make good communities, good cities, and good nations. A single good family is a light shining in a dark place. The history of the world is the united histories of illustrious families. The history of the church is the history of holy men. The Scriptures record the deeds and words of the best men our earth has known. Eliminate from the Bible the actions and opinions of kings, prophets, and apostles, and the records of our race become unintelligible. When we find a faultless and worthy Christian household, we do well to present it to the public for contemplation and imitation. One such household we venture to describe. Mr. Rollins's house is beautiful of situation, at the corner of Spruce and Fortieth streets, in West Philadelphia. Its liberal grounds, numerous trees, shrubs, and flowers make it very attractive to the eye of the stranger. When once introduced to the interior, every guest who has any music in his soul would be delighted to sing "Home, sweet Home" from early morn to dewy eve. Every room invites you to repose; every picture that looks upon you from the walls bids you welcome. It is impossible for one who has enjoyed the hospitality of the house to describe it fully without encroaching upon the sacred privacy of domestic life. This house was long the home of the now sainted mother, who only a few months ago was bidden to go up higher, and left the husband and children desolate. The house seems like the shrine of a departed divinity. The furniture was of her selection, the walls and mantels were adorned by her handiwork; and when changes or additions are now made to the internal conveniences of the home, the first question asked is, "What would mother choose if she could speak to us?" Her spirit seems still to hover over them.
Sidney Smith said, "There can be no handsomer furniture than books." Every room, every nook and corner of the house, is furnished with new books. The room specially devoted to library uses has a selection of books in every department of reading, sufficient for the instruction and pleasure of any man ofrefined taste and culture. Amid the thousands of volumes gathered, the most precious of them all to the family and their friends are two volumes written by Mrs. Rollins not long before her decease, entitled "New England Bygones" and "Old-Time Child Life." To one born in New England seventy years ago, the pictures of New England scenes are inimitable; they stir the blood of age like a trumpet. These books are the creations of true genius, and will live when all the contemporaries of this gifted woman are dead.
Enough has been said to reveal the attractions of this delightful home. Every word has been dictated by a life-long friendship. The sterling qualities of the subject of this sketch constrained me to portray them, and the half has not been said. When the elders of the Jews were sent to Jesus by the Roman centurion to intercede for his sick servant, the highest commendation they could name was this: "For he loveth our nation, and hath built us a synagogue." He was patriotic and religious; he feared God and loved his neighbor. No higher test of moral worth can be named. Let all public men be judged by this standard; and among them our good friend whom we have sketched, we doubt not, will hold a high rank. And if at any time the President of the United States should be seeking for a man for financial secretary who is honest, capable, and experienced, a multitude of voters would cry out,—Edward Ashton Rollins is the man!
Virgil Chase Gilmanwas born in Unity, Sullivan county, New Hampshire, May 5, 1827, and was the third of a family of eight children born to Emerson and Delia (Way) Gilman.
Emerson Gilman was the oldest son and the first of twelve children born to Stephen and Dorothy (Clough) Gilman, who were married September 5, 1793. This was his second marriage, he having married Anna Huntoon, by whom he had nine children, some of whom died in infancy. Stephen Gilman was a native of Kingston, and served as a cavalry officer in the war of the Revolution. He was a descendant of Moses Gilman, who was one of three brothers,—Edward, John, and Moses,—who emigrated from Hingham, England, early in the sixteenth century.
In 1827, it was said:[4]"Edward Gilman's descendants are as numerous as the sands on the seashore. There is hardly a state in the Union where they may not be found. The family have been in civil office from the time our colony became a royal province to the present time. John Gilman was one of the first counselors named in President Cutts's commission, and died in 1708. Col. Peter Gilman was one of the royal counselors in 1772. Hon. Nicholas Gilman was counselor in 1777 and 1778. Hon. John Gilman, in 1787; while the present venerable John Taylor Gilman was fourteen years, eleven in succession, our highly respected chief magistrate. His brother, Nicholas Gilman, was a member of the house of representatives in congress eight years, and in the national senate nine years. Our ecclesiastical annals have, also, Rev. Nicholas Gilman, Harvard College, 1724; and Rev. Tristram Gilman, Harvard College, 1757, both respected clergymen and useful men."These words are quoted in substance from Mr. Lincoln's work. "If he had written forty years later" says the author of "The Gilman Family in England and America,"[5]"he would have found the family still more numerous and many additions would have been made to his list of prominent men bearing the Gilman name. The family of Gilmans is not one furnishing a few brilliant exceptions in a long list of commonplace names. Its members appear generally to have been remarkable for the quiet home virtues, and rather to have desired to be good citizens than men of great name. To an eminent degree they appear to have obtained the esteem and respect of those nearest to them, for sound judgment and sterling traits of character."
In 1827, it was said:[4]"Edward Gilman's descendants are as numerous as the sands on the seashore. There is hardly a state in the Union where they may not be found. The family have been in civil office from the time our colony became a royal province to the present time. John Gilman was one of the first counselors named in President Cutts's commission, and died in 1708. Col. Peter Gilman was one of the royal counselors in 1772. Hon. Nicholas Gilman was counselor in 1777 and 1778. Hon. John Gilman, in 1787; while the present venerable John Taylor Gilman was fourteen years, eleven in succession, our highly respected chief magistrate. His brother, Nicholas Gilman, was a member of the house of representatives in congress eight years, and in the national senate nine years. Our ecclesiastical annals have, also, Rev. Nicholas Gilman, Harvard College, 1724; and Rev. Tristram Gilman, Harvard College, 1757, both respected clergymen and useful men."
These words are quoted in substance from Mr. Lincoln's work. "If he had written forty years later" says the author of "The Gilman Family in England and America,"[5]"he would have found the family still more numerous and many additions would have been made to his list of prominent men bearing the Gilman name. The family of Gilmans is not one furnishing a few brilliant exceptions in a long list of commonplace names. Its members appear generally to have been remarkable for the quiet home virtues, and rather to have desired to be good citizens than men of great name. To an eminent degree they appear to have obtained the esteem and respect of those nearest to them, for sound judgment and sterling traits of character."
Emerson Gilman followed the trade of clothier until the introduction of machinery supplanted the hand process, when he, after pursuing the business of farmer for a few years, removed to Lowell, Mass., in 1837, relying, upon his strong and willing hands to find support for his large family and give his children the advantages of education which that city signally afforded.
Virgil C. GilmanVirgil C. Gilman
The subject of this sketch was then ten years old, and made fair progress through the several grades to the high school, with which his school-days ended. He removed to Nashua in 1843, but it was not until 1851 that he entered business on his own behalf, at which time he became associated with Messrs. Gage and Murray for the manufacture of printers' cards of all the various kinds, also fancy-colored, embossed, and marble papers, a new business in this country at that time, which business he followed successfully for twenty-one years, and until his close and unremitting application made it necessary for him to relinquish it for a more active out-door employment. Following a natural love for rural affairs, he was not long in possessing himself of a hundred-acres farm in the south part of the city, upon the Lowell road, which he greatly improved, and indulged to some extent in the usually expensive luxury of breeding Jersey cattle, trotting-horses, and Plymouth Rock fowls. He claims to have bred the finest and fastest gaited horse ever raised in New Hampshire. Meantime, having realized the object sought, greatly improved health, and the office of treasurer of the Nashua Savings Bank becoming vacant by the resignation of Dr. E. Spalding, in 1876, he was elected to fill the vacancy, and still continues in this responsible position, with nearly two and a half millions of deposits committed to his watchful care and secure investment.
Never coveting office, still he has rarely refused to perform his full share of duty in the various departments of labor and responsibility incident to city affairs, from ward clerk to the mayor's chair, serving also as assessor, member of the board of education, and is now trustee of the public library, also its secretary and treasurer. To him Dartmouth College is indebted for the Gilman scholarship; and the board of trustees of the Orphans' Home at Franklin finds in him an interested member. He is identified with the mechanical industries of the city, having a large interest in the Nashua Iron and Steel Company, and its local director; also an owner and director in the Underhill Edge Tool Company, and Amoskeag Axe Company; also a director in the Indian Head National Bank.
In military affairs actively he is unknown, his service having commenced and ended with the "Governor's Horse-Guards," enlisting as private in Co. B, and ending as major of the battalion. His interest, however, is kept alive by honorary membership of "City Guards" and "Foster Rifles," of his adopted city.
His strong love for agricultural affairs led him to take an interest in our New Hampshire Agricultural Society, of whose board of trustees he was formerly a member, also one of the trustees of the New England Agricultural Society.
He was a member of the legislature of 1879, serving as chairman of committee on banks and taking a deep interest in the work of that session, and especially zealous in opposition to the taxation of church property. At the present time he is the Republican senator of the Nashua district, and honored by the chairmanship of the leading committee of the senate, the judiciary, no member of the legal profession holding a seat in that body at this time. How well he discharged the duties of this responsible position those can testify who had business with the committee, or those who witnessed his unremitting application and conscientious decisions.
Denominationally he is a Congregationalist, and a communicant with the First church, that was organized in 1685. An interest in its prosperity has induced him to serve as director of the society connected therewith many years, and of which he is now president, and treasurer of the Sabbath-school connected. It will thus be seen that the subject of this sketch fills many positions of responsibility and usefulness which bring no pecuniary reward, without ostentation, and no foul breath tarnishes his fair record.
Our state has among its many honored sons few whose energy, integrity, and discretion have won success in so many directions, and none who command more universal respect among all classes. In business, politics, and social and religious circles he has been and is a leader, whose triumphs shed their blessings far and wide. Few have done so much for Nashua. No one deserves better of the state.
In 1850 he married Sarah Louisa, daughter of Gideon Newcomb, Esq., of Roxbury, by whom he had two children,—Harriet Louise, who married Charles W. Hoitt, an attorney-at-law in Nashua, and Alfred Emerson, who did not attain his second birthday.
W. AmoryW. Amory
William Amorywas born in Boston, Mass., June 15, 1804, and is the son of Thomas C. and Hannah R. (Linzee) Amory. He was one of a family of four sons and four daughters, of whom three only—two sons and one daughter—survive. His father, a merchant of Boston, died in 1812; and seven years later his son, then but fifteen years of age, entered Harvard University. He spent four years there, and soon after went to Europe to complete his education. He pursued in Germany the study of law and of general literature for a year and a half at the university in Gottingen, and for nine months at the university in Berlin. He occupied the subsequent two years and a half in travel, and returned to Boston in July, 1830, after an absence of five years. There he pursued his legal studies with Franklin Dexter and W. H. Gardiner, and in 1831 was admitted to the bar of Suffolk county, without, however, any intention of entering upon legal practice.
In that year he was chosen treasurer of the Jackson Manufacturing Company, at Nashua, N. H., and began business as a manufacturer. Without experience, and yet with a mind which study had disciplined and knowledge of the world had made keen, with remarkable energy and enterprise, he was eminently successful, and the Jackson company paid large and sure dividends for the eleven years he continued its treasurer. In 1837 he became the treasurer of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, an office which included at that time, when the plan of creating a city upon the Merrimack was just to be carried out, the responsibility and wisdom of a general manager of the company's interests, as well as the usual financial duties of a treasurer. He held that office from then till October, 1876; was treasurer of the Stark Mills, with the exception of four years and a half, from its organization, in 1839, to 1876; was a director of the Manchester Mills, and its successor, the Manchester Print-Works, from the start, in 1839, till 1871; and has been a director of the Langdon Mills from its beginning, in 1860, and its president from 1874 to 1876. When Mr. Amory tendered his resignation as treasurer of the Amoskeag company, the following complimentary resolutions were unanimously adopted by the stockholders:—
"Resolved, That the stockholders of this corporation have heard with regret of the resignation of their treasurer, William Amory, Esq."That a continuous service of thirty-nine years demands from them an expression of their appreciation of his eminent success, not only in building up an unequaled and remunerative manufacturing establishment, but in founding the largest and one of the finest cities in the state."For both these results they tender to him their hearty thanks, and desire to place this testimonial upon the records of the company."
"Resolved, That the stockholders of this corporation have heard with regret of the resignation of their treasurer, William Amory, Esq.
"That a continuous service of thirty-nine years demands from them an expression of their appreciation of his eminent success, not only in building up an unequaled and remunerative manufacturing establishment, but in founding the largest and one of the finest cities in the state.
"For both these results they tender to him their hearty thanks, and desire to place this testimonial upon the records of the company."
In seconding the motion to adopt the above resolutions, T. Jefferson Coolidge, Esq., spoke as follows:—
"The best witness to the services of Mr. Amory as treasurer is the splendid condition of the Amoskeag company. He took it in its infancy, when it was poor. There was then but one mill of about eight thousand spindles. He leaves it, after forty years of success, with one hundred and thirty-seven thousand spindles, and more than two millions of quick capital. You have received in dividends, for forty-two years, an average of eleven per cent a year; and, if to that is added the increase of the quick capital, the company has earned fifteen per cent per annum, without taking into consideration the money spent on the plant. To put it in another light: a stockholder of one share, costing one thousand dollars, if he allowed compound interest at the rate he received on his dividends, would find that his share had been worth to him eighty thousand dollars."The mills themselves are equal, if not superior, to any in New England, and contain more than twenty acres of machinery floor; and, although there are many mills in England and some here that are running more spindles, yet I believe the Amoskeag is the largest cotton-manufacturing establishment in either country producing its goods from the cotton in the bale, and turning them out actually finished for the market."I have said enough to show that no one can be more deserving of a vote of thanks than the retiring treasurer. Let us hope that he may be preserved for many years to aid in the counsels of the company, and to assist his successor in the arduous task that must fall to any man who takes a place which he has filled so long, so ably, and so successfully."
"The best witness to the services of Mr. Amory as treasurer is the splendid condition of the Amoskeag company. He took it in its infancy, when it was poor. There was then but one mill of about eight thousand spindles. He leaves it, after forty years of success, with one hundred and thirty-seven thousand spindles, and more than two millions of quick capital. You have received in dividends, for forty-two years, an average of eleven per cent a year; and, if to that is added the increase of the quick capital, the company has earned fifteen per cent per annum, without taking into consideration the money spent on the plant. To put it in another light: a stockholder of one share, costing one thousand dollars, if he allowed compound interest at the rate he received on his dividends, would find that his share had been worth to him eighty thousand dollars.
"The mills themselves are equal, if not superior, to any in New England, and contain more than twenty acres of machinery floor; and, although there are many mills in England and some here that are running more spindles, yet I believe the Amoskeag is the largest cotton-manufacturing establishment in either country producing its goods from the cotton in the bale, and turning them out actually finished for the market.
"I have said enough to show that no one can be more deserving of a vote of thanks than the retiring treasurer. Let us hope that he may be preserved for many years to aid in the counsels of the company, and to assist his successor in the arduous task that must fall to any man who takes a place which he has filled so long, so ably, and so successfully."
Mr. Amory married, in January, 1833, Miss Anna P. G. Sears, daughter of David Sears, an eminent merchant of Boston, by whom he has had six children, of whom four survive.
Mr. Amory is a man with whom, more than with almost any one else, Manchester is closely identified, and to whose accurate foresight and comprehensive views a very large proportion of its beauty and success is due. To him, as the manager of the company which gave it its first impulses in life and has ever since assisted its growth, it owes in large measure its wide streets, its pleasant squares, and its beautiful cemetery. He has pursued a liberal policy, and deserves the city's gratitude. As the treasurer of the company, he has met with eminent success. A man of perfect honor and integrity, cautious and prudent, he has looked upon the funds in his possession as his only in trust, to be managed with the utmost care. Herein is to be found the secret of his success. Few men stand better than he in the business world of his native city, or elsewhere. A gentleman of culture, of the utmost polish, with a very pleasing appearance, he enjoys the affection and respect of many personal friends.
John McDuffeeJohn McDuffee
To men of their own energetic stock, who, refusing all political preferment, have given comprehensive abilities, sterling integrity, and sagacious industry to the development of business, many New Hampshire towns owe an imperishable debt.John McDuffee'srecord is in the prosperity of Rochester.
The name itself suggests that strong Scotch-Irish blood which endured the siege of Londonderry, in which were Mr. McDuffee's ancestors, John McDuffee and his wife, Martha, honored in tradition. John and Martha McDuffee had four sons, viz., Mansfield, Archibald, John, and Daniel. Mansfield went to London, England; the other three came, with their parents, to America in the emigration which gave New Hampshire the powerful stock of Derry and Londonderry. John, the father of these sons, settled in Rochester in 1729, on land on the east side of the Cochecho river, adjoining Gonic lower falls,—the farm of eighty-five acres remaining without break in the family, and now owned by the subject of this article. The Rochester settler was, as just stated, the father of Daniel McDuffee, and also of Col. John McDuffee,—a gallant officer in the old French and Revolutionary wars, lieutenant-colonel in Col. Poor's regiment,—who, never marrying, adopted his brother Daniel's son John, and eventually made him his heir. John, the colonel's heir, was a farmer in good circumstances, married Abigail, daughter of Simon and Sarah (Ham) Torr, and was father of John McDuffee, the subject of this sketch, who was born on the farm once the colonel's, about a mile and a half from Rochester village, on the Dover road, December 6, 1803.
Of course, while working on the farm more or less, he had, for five or more years, the advantage of a good school, kept at the village by "Master" Henry H. Orne (D. C. 1812), of severe discipline and good scholarship, who supplemented the public school with a private one each autumn. Mr. Orne was a very successful teacher, and among the associates of John McDuffee in this school were Thomas C. Upham, Nathaniel G. Upham, John P. Hale, and Noah Tibbetts. In 1818, at the age of fifteen, the boy entered Franklin Academy in Dover, the first day of its existence, Thomas E. Sawyer and Richard Kimball being among his associates, and Rev. Mr. Thayer being its principal. Here he fitted to enter college as sophomore, but returned home, and, at the age of eighteen, he went into the store of his uncle, John Greenfield, at Rochester. It was a large country store, where everything was sold. After two years' experience, being only twenty years of age, he began the same business for himself on the same square; was successful, and, after two years, took into partnership his uncle, Jonathan H. Torr. During this period he was commissioned postmaster of Rochester, being not of age when appointed, and he held this office until removed on Jackson's accession to the presidency.
In the spring of the year 1831 he went to Dover, and began the same business on a broader scale, first in the Perkins block, and, in the autumn, as the first tenant of the northern store in the new Watson block, on the Landing, Ira Christie his next southern neighbor. This locality, now at an end for such purposes, was then the place of business and offices. Steady success continued to reward his energy and industry; but in February, 1833, selling to Andrew Pierce, Jr., he returned to Rochester to settle the large estate of his wife's father, Joseph Hanson, who, dying in December previous, had made him executor. Mr. Hanson, whose daughter Joanna (by his marriage with Charity Dame) Mr. McDuffee had married June 21, 1829, was one of the three old and wealthy merchants of Rochester, Nathaniel Upham and Jonas C. March being the other two. The settlement of this extended estate and business was completed, and the accounts settled, by Mr. McDuffee's energy, in seven months; and it caused his entire abandonment of trade, although he had been eminently successful.
There was no bank in Rochester. Old traders had some connection with the Strafford Bank in Dover, and the Rockingham Bank in Portsmouth. They loaned money, instead of getting discounts. Mr. Hanson's safe, where he kept all his securities, was a small brick building back of his store, with a sheet-iron door fastened by a padlock. He kept some deposits, however, in Strafford Bank, and was a stockholder in that and in the Rockingham Bank. The three principal traders used to go to Boston twice a year, on horseback, to buy goods. Mr. McDuffee saw that a bank was needed. He prepared the plans, secured signatures, obtained a charter from the legislature in 1834, and the Rochester Bank was organized with ninety stockholders and a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, later increased to one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, with one hundred and thirty stockholders. Of the original ninety, only two besides Mr. McDuffee now survive. On the organization he became cashier, his brother-in-law, Dr. James Farrington (member of the twenty-fifth congress), being president. This bank was the frontier bank, no other existing between Rochester and Canada, and it was the first bank which the counterfeits from Canada naturally but uselessly struck. It was a favorite of the people, and was so managed that its dividends were eight or nine per cent. It is well known that the business was really left to the probity and skill of its cashier. Cashier for twenty years, on the then renewal of its charter, Mr. McDuffee resigned the cashiership in favor of his son Franklin, and became president. The bank did not become a national bank until 1874, and in the six years previous he and his son formed the house of "John McDuffee & Co., private bankers," took up the old bank's business, and successfully carried it on. In 1874 they merged it in a national bank, the one being president and the other cashier, as before, and the two taking two-fifths of its stock. It is an interesting fact that no bill has ever been issued by either Rochester bank without the well known signature of John McDuffee, either as president or cashier; and he still actively administers the interests of the bank he originated in another form forty-eight years ago.
In addition to this Rochester interest, Mr. McDuffee was one of the original grantees of the Dover National Bank, and for a short time was a director; but his interest became more in the Strafford Bank, at Dover, of which (new charter) he was the second heaviest stockholder, Daniel M. Christie being the first. He became a director in the Strafford National Bank in 1870, and still actively holds that position. The stock of this bank (par, one hundred dollars) has this year sold at one hundred and sixty dollars.
The Norway Plains Savings Bank, at Rochester, was chartered in 1851, and Mr. McDuffee became its treasurer, being succeeded by his son Franklin in 1867, and himself becoming president,—an office in which he still remains. It isworth, recalling, that, although this bank was ordered, in the panic, to pay out only five-sixths of any deposit, it subsequently petitioned for leave to pay, and did credit to every person affected, the remaining sixth.
Mr. McDuffee early saw the advantages of manufacturing to a community. By his own means and a liberal allowance of banking facilities he has greatly aided their development, the first such enterprise in Rochester, the Mechanics' Manufacturing Company, being decided to locate there by the new banking facilities. Mr. McDuffee was a director. It was a manufacture of blankets, and its successor is the Norway Plains Manufacturing Company. The original company Mr. McDuffee carried safely through the crisis of 1837. The mill-property at the Gonic Mr. McDuffee bought in 1845, to lease to N. V. Whitehouse, that business might not be given up. He held his purchase for about ten years. The effort was successful, and the property was eventually taken by a joint stock company. Stephen Shorey, owning some facilities for manufacturing at East Rochester, came to Mr. McDuffee to see if the bank would advance means to build. Mr. McDuffee at once pledged the means, and the mills were built. A stock company afterwards purchased mills and machinery, and the thriving village of East Rochester owes its prosperity to Mr. McDuffee's liberal policy. Thus have been developed the three principal water-powers of Rochester.
Mr. McDuffee's personal interests in manufacturing were also in the Great Falls Manufacturing Company, in whose great business he was a director for four years; capital, one million five hundred thousand dollars. In 1862 he bought large interests in the Cocheco Manufacturing Company, and has there remained. Since 1874 he has been a director of that corporation. As such, he advocated the erection of the great mill, now No. 1, and the replacing of all the old buildings by new and magnificent mills, unsurpassed in the United States,—a work now rapidly progressing. The remarkable success of this company certifies alike to the sagacious boldness and the considerate policy of its directors.
The need of railroad facilities at Rochester was early apparent to Mr. McDuffee. In 1846 he entered into two enterprises,—the Cochecho road, from Dover to Alton Bay, and the Conway road, from Great Falls to Conway. Each was to and did pass through Rochester. In each road Mr. McDuffee was the largest individual stockholder, and of each was the first treasurer. When the Conway road reached Rochester, Mr. McDuffee resigned its treasurership. The other road, after various difficulties, became the Dover & Winnipesaukee, by the incorporation of the bondholders, and Mr. McDuffee continued to be a director. With "friend" William Hill, he visited Boston more than thirty times to treat for the lease of this road to the Boston & Maine. The effort was finally successful, and the road, by itself weak, became a fine piece of property. Rochester was thus doubly accommodated; but another avenue was needed, and Mr. McDuffee took part in the Portland & Rochester, which secured a route eastward, of which road he was a director; and he invested liberally in the Rochester & Nashua, which opened a line to the West. The result has been that Rochester is a "billing-point," and its various manufacturing interests have felt its impetus.
The beauty of "McDuffee block" in Rochester, built by him in 1868, exhibits the owner's public spirit. It is an elegant brick building of four stories, containing six stores, twelve offices in the second story, a public hall in the third, and a Masonic hall, one of the finest in the state, in the fourth. In the use of the public hall the liberality of its owner to benevolent objects is well known. As a Mason, he joined Humane Lodge on the very day he became "of lawful age."
Of other real estate, Mr. McDuffee has, besides various pieces in Rochester, including such as the Gonic farm, the New Durham "powder-mill" estate of nine hundred acres of land and eleven hundred acres of water; and in Barrington,two hundred acres on Isinglass river, held with a view to future manufacturing needs.
In religion, Mr. McDuffee was brought up under good old Parson Joseph Haven, and has remained a liberal supporter of the Congregational society. In politics, he was an earnest Whig. His first vote was for the electors who chose John Quincy Adams president, and his postmastership was ended by Andrew Jackson. He has always been a decided Republican.
Mr. McDuffee's great amount of labor has been possible only by the vigorous constitution which he inherited. The boy, who, before he left home, "carried the forward swath" in the hay-field, made the man who now accomplishes an amount of work which would surprise many younger men. Monday is always given to the Strafford Bank, at Dover; Tuesday, he presides at the Rochester Bank meeting; Wednesday, at the Savings Bank; and no day is idle.
Of Mr. McDuffee's happy domestic relations nothing need be said. Of his eight children,—naming them in the order of birth,—(1) Joseph, who followed the sea, died (single) on the ocean at the age of thirty-five. (2) Franklin, who graduated at Dartmouth College in 1853, died, after a successful financial career, November 11, 1880, greatly lamented; he married Mary Fannie, daughter of John Hayes, of Farmington, and left two sons, John Edgar (now in the Chandler Scientific Department of Dartmouth College), and Willis. (3) John Randolph, graduated at the Chandler Scientific Department in 1857; was a civil engineer in Rochester, and died single, aged twenty-five. (4) Anna M., is the wife of Frank S. Brown, of Hartford, Conn., of the firm of Brown, Thompson & Co. She has one son and two daughters. (5) Mary Abbie, is the wife of Charles K. Chase, a merchant in Rochester, and has two daughters. (6) Sarah died single. (7) George, the only surviving son, is engaged in extensive grain, mill, and lumber business in Rochester; he married, first, Lizzie Hanson, who died leaving a son; afterwards he married, second, Nellie, daughter of Dr. James Farrington, of Rochester, her father being nephew of Dr. James Farrington, M. C. (8) Oliver, died in infancy.
Judged by the success of his work as the banker, as developing by a liberal and wise help every worthy manufacturing enterprise, and as foremost in the building of the various railways centering in Rochester, it is clear that Mr. McDuffee nobly comes into the list of those spoken of in our first paragraph, whose record is in the prosperity of his native town, where ability, sagacity, integrity, and kindliness have united to make that record, as well as his own personal success.