Yours truly J. F. BriggsYours trulyJ. F. Briggs
In 1849 the family removed to Fisherville, in order that the younger children might obtain employment in the factory there, and he completed his studies in the office of Judge Butler, from which he was admitted to the bar in 1851. A few months later he commenced the practice of law at Hillsborough Bridge, whither he went a perfect stranger, without money or reputation. But he had ability and energy, was willing to work, knew how to live within a small income until he could make it larger, and little by little he gained clients and friends, who gave him a lucrative practice, accepted his counsel, followed his leadership, and established his reputation as the most popular and influential man of the town. In 1856, 1857, and 1858, he was sent by a nearly unanimous vote to represent Hillsborough in the legislature, where he was at once accorded a prominent position as a member of the judiciary committee, and the third year was honored by the nomination of his party for the speakership. At this time he acted with the Democratic party, and continued to do so until the war of the rebellion, when he felt that all loyal men should unite to save the Union and maintain the national authority, and, having been nominated by the Democracy of his district for councilor upon a platform which enunciated peace-at-any-price doctrines, to which he could not assent, he declined the nomination, and from that day has been an ardent, active, and enthusiastic Republican.
While the Eleventh Regiment was being recruited, he tendered his services to the governor of the state and was appointed quartermaster on the staff of Col. Harriman. In this capacity he served through the battles of Fredericksburg, the military operations in Kentucky, and the Mississippi-river expeditions which resulted in the capture of Vicksburg and Jackson, for about a year, when he was prostrated by the malaria of the southern swamps, and compelled to resign and return to his home in Hillsborough.
During his absence in the field, and the illness which succeeded his return, his legal business had become somewhat demoralized, and on the recovery of his health he concluded to start anew in a wider field of action in Manchester, to which city he removed in 1871, forming a partnership with Hon. Henry H. Huse, which still exists. Manchester gave him a cordial welcome. Her mill operatives and other mechanics greeted him as an honored graduate of their school, who in his after triumphs had never forgotten the hard road by which he had journeyed to success; her lawyers and clients were already well acquainted with his professional abilities; her soldiers recognized him as an old companion in arms, and her politicians as an earnest Republican who could and would be a tower of strength in every campaign. Under these circumstances he did not have to wait for business or political preferment. Soon after opening his office he was appointed city solicitor, and in 1874 he was elected to the legislature from ward three. Two years later he was chosen senator from the Manchester district, and in the same year was sent to the constitutional convention.
In all these positions he won reputation and friends to such an extent that in 1877 he was nominated for congress without substantial opposition, and elected by a large majority. At the expiration of his first term he was unanimously renominated, and after an exciting campaign was re-elected by a majority of eight hundred and forty-nine over the combined Democratic and Greenback vote. Two years afterwards it became a question whether he should be returned. The traditions and prejudices of the district were strongly against a third term. Four other able and deserving men were ambitious to succeed him, and he declined to push for the nomination, but accepted a call to take the stump in Maine, leaving it for his friends to determine whether his name should be used in the convention. To one of these, who wrote him that he ought to return from Maine and attend to his canvass, he replied: "I am assured that I can be of considerable service here, and, as it is of vastly more importance that the cause shall triumph in this state next Monday than that I shall be renominated, I must remain and trust to you and others to decide whether it is best to send me back to Washington. Whatever that decision may be, I shall be satisfied." The convention met just after the disastrous defeat of the party in Maine, and when it appeared that there was only a desperate chance for its nominee to be elected. It decided that if anyman could succeed he could, and a few days after he took the stump. Manchester, which was counted a doubtful city when the convention assembled, gave him more than eight hundred majority, and the rest of the district swelled this to fourteen hundred and eighty.
In congress, Mr. Briggs has been from the first a faithful, hard-working member, always in his seat, tireless in serving his constituents, especially the veteran soldiers, and conscientiously devoted to the discharge of all his duties. In the forty-fifth congress he was a member of the committee on Patents; in the forty-sixth, of the committee on Naval Affairs; and in the present, the forty-seventh, is chairman of the committee on Expenditures in the War Department, and a member of the Judiciary and Reform in the Civil Service. No member of the house commands a more perfect confidence in his associates, and few, if any, are able to accomplish so much. He succeeds at Washington as he did at home, by quiet, patient, persistent work, and is satisfied with results rather than with brilliant outbursts and noisy exhibitions of his rhetorical powers.
Mr. Briggs married Roxana Smith, the daughter of Obadiah and Eliza M. Smith, of New Hampton, and has had three children, all of whom are living. The oldest, a son, was educated at West Point, and served four years in the army, when he resigned, and is now engaged in the manufacturing business in Trenton, N. J. Two daughters reside with their parents in Manchester.
In concluding this brief sketch, written without the knowledge of its subject, the author feels that it will fail to satisfy those who have known Mr. Briggs intimately without some direct reference to the qualities which characterize him in all positions in life. Prominent among these are his perfect fidelity, industry, steady courage, and thoroughness. It is natural for him to be true, impossible for him to be false. He is ambitious, and few prize more highly the honors they win; but he is incapable of the duplicity, demagogy, and all the cheap artifices by which some men succeed. His faithfulness to his convictions does not count cost or query about consequences to himself. He is as stanch and true a friend as ever lived, and he never cheats those whom he dislikes or despises. His generosity and devotion to his family are far-reaching and untiring. He is a public-spirited citizen, a kind neighbor, and a pleasant companion. He is always approachable, patient, and considerate. In every cause in which he enlists he is a hard worker and a free giver. He knows how to wait, and how to look beyond temporary reverses to the complete triumph which he always believes will crown and establish the right. He never frets, and never rests until the result is secure. His private life is without a stain, and the fierce light of the hottest campaign has disclosed no shadow of a blot upon his public record. His sympathies are with the people, and his head and hands are controlled by his heart. These qualities have made James F. Briggs what he is. They have supplied the place of early advantages, influential friends, and fortune. They have carried him from the woolen-mill, working for a few cents a day, to the national house of representatives, commissioned to speak and act for the largest and richest district in New Hampshire. They have made him strong at the bar, popular at the polls, and influential in congress.
Nath. W. CumnerNath. W. Cumner
The ancestors of the Cumner family were of English origin. The name is first discovered in the period following the supremacy of the Norman rule,—the return from the dynasty of the Conqueror to the ascendency of the English-Saxon line. It was first spelled Comnor, and later Cumnor, meaning "hospitality to strangers," or a "place of hospitality," and comes through the Saxon branch. To this period may be referred the formation of many English family names,—often derived from some unimportant circumstance, or suggested by personal characteristics. These became marks of distinction, new titles to manhood, and were proudly bequeathed by father to son,—"inherited sur-names."
During the century following the loss of Normandy, the Anglo-Saxon, as a written language, having been banished from courts and superseded in all legal papers by the Latin, became dearer to the common people as a spoken language, preserving their cherished objects and transmitting leading sentiments. It increased its power and volume by building new terms and means of expression, and particularly by multiplying its patronymics. In a comparatively short space of time the language had become vernacular, and fairly entitled to be styled English, rich in the idioms and proper names of its own creation and outgrowth.
"The history of words," says Trench, "is the history of ideas," and he might have said of people and nations. They are not only the "vehicle of thought," but they tell anew the story of their times and enrich the great body of history with countless incidents of value and importance. In studying their genealogy, the English-speaking people find the starting-point of many an illustrious name in the peculiar circumstances of those mediæval times,—the natural product of the mingling of different tongues, and the constant struggle between feudalism and servitude.
The famous old manor-house, Cumnor Castle, so celebrated in romance, once enjoyed the rent-fee and service of a large body of retainers, and carried for many a year, by reason of its feudal allotments, a numerous vassalage. Its walls have long since fallen into shapeless ruins, but the lands of its tenantry now embrace the beautiful village of Cumnor. The families bearing this name have not been numerous in England, but have maintained their lineage with remarkable directness. The earliest trace of these people shows that they belonged to the industrial classes,—the guilds-people, who in the latter part of the seventeenth century had attained such prominence as to nearly control the business interests of the great metropolis, and to whom the Lord Mayor of London was pleased to say on a memorable occasion, "While our gracious nobility are the leaf and flower of the kingdom, ye are the sturdy trunk and branches."
The subject of this sketch belongs to the third generation in America. His grandfather Robert Francis Cumner came to this country when about fifteen years of age, under circumstances of a very interesting character. In June,1774, while walking in the streets of London, he was seized by a "gang of pressmen" from the ship Somerset, sent out to recruit his Majesty's marine. He was carried directly on board, forced to become one of the crew, and do the duty of a common sailor. He was not allowed the privilege of communicating with his friends, and no tidings from him or knowledge of his situation were received during the long cruise of the Somerset in distant waters, until she appeared in Boston harbor and took part in the battle of Bunker Hill. Her position and the service she rendered the British troops on that memorable day are well known in history. From her decks came the first fatal shot, and under the fire of her guns the broken and retreating ranks of royalists found protection.
The scenes of that bloody struggle made a deep impression upon the mind of young Cumner, and fixed his determination to take no part in the work of subjugation. Circumstances fortunately soon favored his settled purpose. The Somerset not long after the battle "got aground," probably somewhere in the lower part of Massachusetts bay. During their efforts to get afloat, some of the crew went ashore, among them the Cumner boy, who immediately availed himself of the opportunity to escape from his unwilling service. While following the highway into which he first came, near the shore where lay the stranded Somerset he was overtaken by a Quaker on horseback, who, learning his situation and purpose to obtain his freedom from the "British yoke," invited our young hero to "get up behind," and, throwing his gray cloak over the lad, soon carried him beyond the king's power.
He settled in Wareham, Mass., learned the tailor's trade and began the permanent business of his life. October 20, 1785, he married Miss Sylvia Sturtevant, whose family connections were very worthy and highly respected. Her father was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and fell on the battle-field fighting for independence. The Sturtevant people have received honorable mention in the annals of history, and their name is written among those who deserve well of their country. Not long after his marriage he moved to Sandwich, Mass., from that place to Wayne, in the state of Maine, where he resided during the remainder of his life. He was successful in business and became a prominent and highly respected citizen. He was a man of modest and retiring habits and exemplary character, but of indomitable will and inflexible adherence to what he believed to be right. If his life were the subject of our sketch, we could fill it with incidents showing his remarkable tenacity of purpose. Robert Francis and Sylvia Cumner had two children,—John, born January 19, 1788, and Polly, a few years younger. He died February 5, 1825, and his wife, March 26, 1826, and their remains were interred in the Evergreen cemetery in Wayne.
John Cumner was but a few months old when the family moved from Sandwich, Mass., to Wayne. He was of a sanguine active nature and early evinced the character of a sincere and zealous worker in religious matters. He obtained a fair education, and although to a certain extent compelled to work on the farm and devote himself to that kind of employment, his thoughts ran upon matters more congenial to his nature. When about eighteen years of age he was employed by Gen. Landsell to take charge of his farm in Bridgewater, Mass., where he remained several summer seasons. During this time he became acquainted with Miss Hannah Thomas Bartlett, of Bridgewater, whom he married July 11, 1813. He settled in Wayne, upon the farm which became the homestead, and was so occupied by the family during his many years of labor and life in the ministry.
He was associated with the society of the Methodist Episcopal church, and interested in the affairs of that denomination, at the early age of nineteen years, and soon after appointed a class leader and licensed to preach. His labors wereattended with marked success, and at the annual meeting of the general conference for Maine, in 1833, he was admitted to membership and received his first appointment. He continued in the active ministry until 1852, when failing health obliged him to cease labor; but his love for the church and his zeal in the cause of its established creeds continued unabated during his remaining years. He died February 5, 1861, closing a life of industry and devotion, in which he had accomplished more good than usually falls to the lot of man. His wife died December 5, 1852. She was very beautiful when young, and was much beloved and admired by her wide circle of friends. Possessed of an earnest and devotional nature, she entered with ardent sympathy into the plans and labors of her husband; faithfully bearing her share of life's varied duties,—firmly in the hour of trial, and with amiable companionship when prosperity filled the measure of their ambition. They had eleven children, two of whom died in infancy. Three others have deceased,—Maryetta in 1871, and Francis and James in 1881. The remaining members of the family are Cathamander, William B., John T., Nathaniel W., Charles W., and Benjamin G. Cumner.
Nathaniel Wentworth, the youngest but two of the children of John and Hannah T. Cumner, was born at Wayne, November 28, 1829. His early life was devoted to obtaining an education in the vicinity of his home, passing from the district to the private school in the town of Wayne, and to other schools and seminaries in the circuit where his father's appointments were made. During some portion of the season, for a few years he assisted the older brothers in cultivating the homestead farm, but at the age of sixteen he went to Wilton, Me., and engaged in learning the tailor's trade. He remained there about three years; then went to Waltham, Mass., staying there about one year and a half; then to Lowell, Mass., where he remained until 1851, when he came to Manchester, N. H., and entered the employ of B. F. Manning, then doing business in the store occupied in later years by the firm of Cumner & Company.
In January, 1854, Mr. Cumner became a partner in the business of merchant tailors and clothiers, the firm name being Manning & Cumner. This arrangement continued until August, 1857. Mr. Cumner then withdrew and went to Washington, D. C., as a member of the firm of F. Tenney & Co., proprietors of the National Hotel. In August, 1859, he returned to Manchester and purchased the stock and "good will" of the Manning store, and entered at once into business, in which he continued as the sole proprietor until 1865, when his brother Benjamin G. Cumner became associated with him, forming the copartnership of Cumner & Company. At this time Mr. Cumner became also a member of the well known wholesale house of Sibley, Cumner, & Co., in Boston, having purchased an interest in the old house of Foster & Sibley, and devoted his attention largely to the wholesale trade. In 1868, Lyman E. Sibley retired and Mr. Cumner became the senior member, the name of the firm remaining the same.
In the great fire of November 9, 1872, their establishment was among the first to be burned, and the firm suffered a total loss of their immense stock; but their credit was so strong, and their energy and ability so widely recognized, that their business received no check, and the transactions of the house proceeded even upon a more extensive scale than before. In 1879 the firm became Cumner, Jones, & Co., which is the present style of the business. In 1881 he sold his interest in the business of Cumner & Co. in Manchester, which had enjoyed unvarying success and great prosperity from the beginning; and from that time devoted himself entirely to the Boston house. The business had so largely increased that it became necessary to give it his constant personal attention. The reputation of Cumner, Jones, & Co., in commercial circles, has become widely known, and its remarkable success an acknowledged fact.
Mr. Cumner has been eminently successful as a business man. Possessing in a large degree self-reliance and confidence in his own judgment, he selected an honorable calling and devoted himself to its duties and demands. He believed that industry and perseverance, with well matured plans, were certain to produce the most desirable results. He knew the energy and fidelity of his own character, and trusted to the safety of sound principle; and he has proved that his plans were wisely laid and his ways well chosen. At a comparatively early age he has acquired a competence, and in his position of senior member of one of the soundest and most prosperous, and at the same time conservative, wholesale houses in New England, his influence is always in favor of that healthy and reliable condition of trade which establishes public confidence and guarantees general prosperity.
And not only in connection with his partnership associations is Mr. Cumner known as a business man. In the circles where the leading merchants and importers of our New England metropolis are accustomed to meet and discuss the laws of trade and canvass the prospects of the future, his judgment is greatly respected, and the intelligence and foresight with which he is able to advise are highly regarded. He bears an unblemished reputation as a man of honor and fairness, in all ways commanding universal respect and esteem,—a gentleman in the true significance of the term. In the wide range of personal distinction, among all the marks of honor and renown which the world affords, the title of a true gentleman stands first, and he who bears it worthily need envy neither prince nor potentate.
As a citizen, Mr. Cumner has taken an earnest and unvarying interest in public affairs. Politically, his associations have been with the Democratic party; but his views have been conservative, looking to the real purposes of the government rather than the aims and desires of party politicians. While residing in Manchester he held important offices in the municipal government, was a faithful public servant, working zealously to promote the general interests and the common good of his constituents, of whom he deserved well.
Mr. Cumner became a member of the celebrated military organization, the Amoskeag Veterans, in the days of its origin, and has continued to do active duty through the entire term of its existence. He held the office of captain in 1870, and commander of the battalion, with the rank of major, in 1879 and 1880. During his membership he has served in countless capacities incident to the general management of the organization, and while commander did very effective service in promoting harmony and unity of purpose, and increased in a great degree the interest and efficiency of the corps.
Mr. Cumner's connection with the Masonic fraternity has been a very prominent feature of his life. He became a Mason in Lafayette Lodge, Manchester. May, 1850, and was one of the petitioners and charter members of Washington Lodge in 1857. He held many subordinate offices, and was the Worshipful Master in 1862 and 1863, and has been treasurer nearly all the time since. His keen scrutiny of its business affairs and careful management of its accounts have done much to keep his lodge in sound financial condition. In 1856 he received the capitular degrees in Mt. Horeb Royal Arch Chapter, and, after serving at almost every post in that body, became its High Priest from 1862 to 1864. He took the cryptic degrees in Adoniram Council, in May, 1857, and soon after the orders of knighthood were conferred upon him in Trinity Commandry, Knights Templar. In all these subordinate bodies he sustained an ardent and zealous membership, contributing freely to their support and aiding materially in their prosperity. In 1802 he was admitted to the degree of High Priesthood, and in 1803 received the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Riteto the 32d, inclusive, in Boston, and in September, 1881, was elected to the 33rd and last grade in Masonry. In the Grand Masonic bodies of New Hampshire he has been equally prominent, and his earnest labors and sincere devotion to their interests have been recognized and appreciated. After holding several offices in the M. E. Grand Royal Arch Chapter of New Hampshire, he was elected Grand High Priest in 1867 and 1868, and gave eminent satisfaction by his management of affairs. In the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire he held nearly all the subordinate positions, and was elected Most Worshipful Grand Master in 1872, 1873, and 1874. As the presiding officer in these grand bodies, whose duties are mostly legislative, he commanded the respect of the fraternity for fairness and impartiality, and was highly esteemed for his graceful and courteous bearing. His addresses and official papers were regarded as sound and creditable documents by the fraternity in other jurisdictions.
If Mr. Cumner has been prosperous and successful in other departments of life, he has been remarkably happy and fortunate in his family and social relations. He married Miss Harriet Elizabeth Wadley, daughter of Moses D. Wadley, of Bradford, N. H., January 24, 1856. They have two sons,—Harry Wadley Cumner, born July 18, 1860, and Arthur Bartlett Cumner, born July 30, 1871. Harry Wadley graduated from the Manchester high school in 1879, with high standing in his class and the reputation of a faithful and efficient student. He entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Boston, in 1879, as a special student, remaining two years. In 1881 he engaged in mercantile life; and having integrity and the capacity to make the best use of his privileges and attainments, he has certainly the earnest of a prosperous and honorable life. Arthur Bartlett, a bright and beautiful boy of uncommon intelligence, has yet to climb the pathway of youth; but if aught can be predicted from such tender years he is not likely to disappoint the fond hopes of parents and friends.
In the common judgment of mankind, woman receives very little credit for the success of man in the struggles and achievements of this life. The intuitive judgment and unfaltering support with which the faithful and devoted wife aids her husband are unseen influences, the force and importance of which never have been and probably never will be understood or appreciated; and, although the remarkable success which the subject of this sketch has gained may be attributed to his ability and integrity, still the high social position to which the family have attained, and the important and very creditable purposes which they have accomplished, are equally due to the clear and well trained judgment, the watchful care and oversight of domestic affairs, and the amiable companionship of his estimable and accomplished wife. While in their relative spheres, either in the busy marts of trade or the domestic departments of life, "on change" or in the drawing-room, each to a certain extent must be judged independently, in all the economy of life her individuality and influence will be seen to have done their full share in molding the fortunes of the family.
Anxiously we strive to look behind the "cloud curtains" that veil the future and hide from view what lies in the untried ways beyond. Vainly through the shadows which the sorrows of real life cast far in advance, and into the misty lands "whence come the troops of good and evil forces," so strangely and mysteriously mingled, we gaze and endeavor to discern the hastening events upon which our happiness and success so largely depend. But if we may predict of the future by the past, if we can anticipate what is to come by what has been accomplished, then shall the members of this family be blessed with the enjoyment of their full share of all that is happiest and best.
Col.Chandler Eastman Potterwas a native of East Concord, N. H., born March 7, 1807, son of Joseph and Anna (Drake) Potter. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1831, taught high schools in Concord and Portsmouth several years, read law, and was admitted to the bar and practiced in Concord. In 1814 he moved to Manchester, where he owned and edited theManchester Democratuntil the fall of 1848, when he sold the paper. From 1852 to 1856 he was editor of theMonthly VisitorandGranite Farmer. In June, 1848, he was appointed justice of the Manchester police court, succeeding Hon. Samuel D. Bell, which office he filled seven years, with honor and credit to himself. He was an able and efficient member of the Historical Society in New Hampshire, and other societies, and author of a very elaborate and correct history of Manchester. His ennobling views of man and nature, and of sound, true principles were always heard with profound attention and delight. He had copiousness of ideas, and his writings were always filled with the thoughts of a comprehensive mind, instructing all who read what he wrote with a ready pen. He was interested in the study of the Indian language, and has written many sketches of Indian character, and was a contributor to Schoolcraft's Indian work. "Col. Potter was probably the best informed man and antiquarian in the state, on all topics that related to the early settlement of New Hampshire." He was genial and social, with a keen relish for humor and anecdote, friendly with all classes. The rich and the poor found in him a true friend in time of need. He was a devoted friend of the militia organizations of the state, and second commander of the Amoskeag Veterans, a company that adopted the uniform of the continentals. They visited Washington during the administration of President Pierce, commanded by Col. Potter, who entertained the Veterans at his home, the McNeil (N. H.) mansion and birthplace of Franklin Pierce, in 1865. A grand entertainment was given them in a large tent upon the grounds.
In Dr. Loring's address to the Veterans he remarks:—
"As a strong, active, and useful son of New Hampshire, he will long be remembered, and when all to whom his form and presence were so familiar shall have passed away,—his associates, his family, kindred, his daily companions to whom his anecdote and good sense rendered his company desirable,—the fruits of his labor as a careful historian and annalist will remain, a valuable contribution to the literature of New Hampshire, a tribute from one who loved every incident of her early and aboriginal and heroic age. To his friends he left an honorable reputation; to his company, a record which will not be forgotten until the history of New Hampshire shall be blotted out."
"As a strong, active, and useful son of New Hampshire, he will long be remembered, and when all to whom his form and presence were so familiar shall have passed away,—his associates, his family, kindred, his daily companions to whom his anecdote and good sense rendered his company desirable,—the fruits of his labor as a careful historian and annalist will remain, a valuable contribution to the literature of New Hampshire, a tribute from one who loved every incident of her early and aboriginal and heroic age. To his friends he left an honorable reputation; to his company, a record which will not be forgotten until the history of New Hampshire shall be blotted out."
Col. Potter's last able work, The Military History of New Hampshire, published in 1866, consists of two volumes, from the settlement in 1623 to the close of the war of 1812, with valuable biographical sketches.
C. E. PotterC. E. Potter
Judge Potter married, November 1, 1832, Clara A., daughter of John Underwood, of Portsmouth, by whom he had four children. She died March 19, 1854, and November 11, 1856, he married Frances Maria, daughter of Gen. John McNeil, of Hillsborough. After this marriage he resided at the Gov. Pierce homestead in Hillsborough during the remainder of his life.
Col. Potter loved the society of intelligent and worthy people, and welcomed all without distinction. His domestic relations gave a great charm to his existence. He died at Flint, Mich., whither he had gone with his wife on business, August 3, 1868. After the funeral ceremonies were performed at Manchester, the Veterans met at their armory and passed the following resolution:—
"Whereas, an inscrutable Providence has seen fit to remove from our midst our loved and chosen commander, and we have performed the last sad rites of sepulture over his remains; therefore, be it"Resolved, That in the decease of their colonel, Chandler E. Potter, the Amoskeag Veterans have sustained an irreparable loss,—that their foremost man from the beginning, who at all times, and under all circumstances, in sunshine and in storms, unselfishly sought to promote their highest welfare, is no more,—and for each one of us to resolve that in our day and generation we will endeavor to follow his example is the highest tribute we can pay his memory. We mourn not alone. Society has lost an ornament; the state a historian whose labors, yet incompleted, in compiling and preserving her military history, will long outlive our feeble efforts."
"Whereas, an inscrutable Providence has seen fit to remove from our midst our loved and chosen commander, and we have performed the last sad rites of sepulture over his remains; therefore, be it
"Resolved, That in the decease of their colonel, Chandler E. Potter, the Amoskeag Veterans have sustained an irreparable loss,—that their foremost man from the beginning, who at all times, and under all circumstances, in sunshine and in storms, unselfishly sought to promote their highest welfare, is no more,—and for each one of us to resolve that in our day and generation we will endeavor to follow his example is the highest tribute we can pay his memory. We mourn not alone. Society has lost an ornament; the state a historian whose labors, yet incompleted, in compiling and preserving her military history, will long outlive our feeble efforts."
1. John Barnard, was among the early settlers of Massachusetts. He came to this country in 1634, in the ship Elizabeth, from Ipswich, England, and settled in Watertown.
2. John Barnard, son of the pioneer, John Barnard, had two sons, Jonathan and Samuel.
3. Jonathan Barnard, son of John Barnard, was a resident of Amesbury, Mass. Owing to the manifold duties of a busy professional life,Daniel Barnardhas not had the time or opportunity to trace out the genealogy of his family fully, but there is much reason for believing that this Jonathan Barnard was his great-grandfather. His great-grandfather was Captain Jonathan Barnard, inn-holder in Amesbury, who kept "The Lion's Mouth" in provincial days, was a captain in the colonial militia, and was prominent in the affairs of the town in which he lived. He was one of the sixty original grantees, in 1735, of the township of New Amesbury, or "Number One," which was afterwards granted, in 1767, by the Masonian proprietors, as Warner. His name heads the list of the grantees.
4. Charles Barnard, son of Capt. Jonathan Barnard, was a soldier in the patriot army of the Revolution, and settled in Warner, on the northeast slope of Burnt Hill.
5. Thomas Barnard, son of Charles Barnard, was born in Warner in 1782; married, first, Ruth Eastman, of Hopkinton; married, second, Phebe, his first wife's sister. In the fall of 1826 he removed, with his young family, from Warner to Orange. He died January 29, 1859; his second wife died June 30, 1845.
6.Daniel Barnard, son of Thomas and Phebe (Eastman) Barnard, was born in Orange, January 23, 1827. When his father, Thomas Barnard, went there and planted his home on his lot of three hundred acres on the highlands dividing the waters which flow into the Pemigewasset from those which flow into the Connecticut, the whole territory was still covered by the primeval forest. But rugged, courageous hearts and hands in due time converted forest into field, and while a troupe of seven sons and a daughter was springing up in the rugged mountain home, a good farm was opened, which, with its abundant crops of grass, the stocks of cattle and very large flocks of sheep, allowed no place for idleness, summer or winter. The church and the district school stood together more than three miles off, and so continued till the subject of this notice, the fifth child of the family, was fourteen years old, no regular school being established nearer till he was eighteen years old. But the father being a man of sense and intelligence, and the mother an uncommonly bright, capable woman, they not only made the utmost exertion to give their children the full benefit of the meager chances of the district school, but also systematically supplemented these opportunities with regular study and teaching in the long winter evenings at home. The father, a good mathematician, managed the flock in arithmetic, and the mother handled them in other branches. From the age of seventeen, Daniel Barnard was granted the privilege of attending the Canaan Academy every season during the winter months, until he was twenty-one, being employed during the summer on his father's farm.
Daniel BarnardDaniel Barnard
When he arrived at man's estate he fearlessly took his stand with the Free-soil Democrats, and was four times elected to represent his native town in the state legislature.
During this time he was intent upon securing the advantages of a college education, and with this end in view he taught school, during the winter, in Orange, Grafton, Groton, Lyme, Enfield, and Amherst, and pursued his preparatory studies at Canaan and Boscawen academies, and under the tuition of Prof. William Russell at the Normal Institute at Reed's Ferry.
Mr. Barnard's legislative experience materially changed his plans in life; and he decided to enter at once upon his professional studies. He was well known in the house from his first appearance in that body; not merely because so youthful in appearance, but because, also, of the uncommon capacity, the sincerity and sagacity with which, in unassuming, almost diffident ways, he met all his duties; and in the latter sessions of the four years' service he became a leader of the Independent party in the house, and an influential member of that body. At home, during the same period, he was sleepless in his vigilance, contriving by sagacious management to hold the little band of Free-soil Democrats in a solid column, and annually to carry the town till he left it, in the autumn of 1851.
At the close of the legislative session of that year, with fixed professional aims, he went to Franklin, entered upon the study of the law in the office of Nesmith & Pike, and in 1854, on admission to the bar, became at once the junior partner with Mr. Pike, in the office where he had read his profession, Mr. Nesmith at that time retiring from the office and extensive business which he had so honorably founded and built into its large proportions. In 1863, Mr. Barnard withdrew from the firm and established himself alone in his profession in the same village, rapidly rising into the very large, wide, and lucrative business which for more than eighteen years has allowed him not so much as a week, or scarcely a day, of vacation in the year. During this period he has had as many students in his office constantly as the circumstances of his office would admit, and has nearly all the time had a partner in a temporary way. His partner now is his eldest son, William M. Barnard, who graduated at Dartmouth College with superior rank, in 1876, at the age of twenty years; studied his profession in his father's office and at the Boston Law School; and was admitted to the bar and into partnership with his father in 1879. In relation to the business of the office, it is perfectly safe to add that there has been no time within the last fifteen years in which there has not been a formidable amount of business piled up awaiting attention, notwithstanding the most sleepless and indefatigable industry which Mr. Barnard has brought to his duties. For the last ten years he has not only regularly attended all the courts in the counties of Merrimack, Belknap, and the Plymouth sessions of Grafton, but has constantly attended the United States circuit courts, practicing in bankrupt, patent, and revenue cases.
The esteem in which Mr. Barnard is held by the immediate community in which he lives may be casually mentioned. Though never seeking office, he has been often chosen to places of responsibility by his townsmen. In 1860 and 1862 he represented the town of Franklin in the legislature; and in all political contests in the town in which he has been candidate for the suffrages of his townsmen he has always run much ahead of the party ticket. In 1865 and 1866 he was a member of the state senate, presiding over that body in the latter-namedyear; in 1870 and 1871 he was a member of the governor's council; and in 1872 was a member of the Republican national convention at Philadelphia. He was solicitor of Merrimack county from 1867 till declining re-appointment in 1872, the position being again tendered to him and declined in 1877. He was a firm, earnest supporter of the homestead-exemption law of 1850, which was opposed by most of the profession through the state, and introduced the resolution in the house which first gave the members a daily paper. As a member of the senate in 1867, he took a profound interest in the amendment of the federal constitution prohibiting slavery, making an able and effective argument in its support in that body.
In the cause of education he has always been a foremost friend in Franklin and throughout the state. His own early struggles have doubtless contributed to make him peculiarly a friend of the common school, and his experience as a teacher in his early years gives him practical wisdom in the cause. While studying his profession in Franklin, he was from year to year employed in the Teachers' Institutes, which did a large work in awakening higher ideas of the mission of the common school in New Hampshire during that period, and in that business he was in nearly every county of the state. In 1867, the honorary degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon Mr. Barnard by Dartmouth College.
Mr. Barnard has been prominently identified with all the leading industries which have been established in Franklin, and which have so remarkably built up the town within the last twenty years; procured the charters and helped organize all the great corporations; has been a continuous trustee of the Franklin Library Association since its establishment, more than fifteen years since, and a trustee of the Franklin Savings Bank since its establishment, in 1865; legal counsel of the Franklin Falls Company from its organization, in 1864, and the last eight years its local agent; and is a director and vice-president of the Franklin National Bank, recently organized in that town.
As a lawyer, Mr. Barnard ranks very high in the profession, his advice being eagerly sought by the humblest client and the most influential corporations; but no person, however poor, with a meritorious cause, was ever turned away from his office to make room for a richer or more powerful client. His client's cause becomes his, and his whole energy is directed to winning for his employer what he believes he should have. His terse and logical arguments are especially powerful before a jury; and his eloquent voice has been often heard in legislative halls, leading and guiding the law-making assemblies, and in political meetings, sustaining the motives and policy of his party.
In the social, humane, and religious work of the community, he has always been active and efficient, generous almost to a fault in every good enterprise; and in these spheres of duty he has ever had the efficient co-operation of a cultivated, and, it is not too much to add, a model Christian wife,—Amelia, only child of Rev. William Morse, a Unitarian clergyman of Chelmsford, Mass., at the time of the marriage,—to whom he was married November 8, 1854. Mr. Morse, now deceased, was one of the pioneer clergymen of the Unitarian faith in this country, was many years pastor of the Callow-Hill-street church, Philadelphia, and an able and excellent minister. His wife was Sophronia, daughter of Abner Kneeland, of Boston, an able and upright man, whose trial on the technical charge of blasphemy, but really for the publication of heretical religious doctrines, was a most noted episode in New England forty years ago. Mrs. Morse was a noble woman. Mr. Morse and his wife resided during the last years of their pleasant lives in Franklin, near their daughter, who watched with singular tenderness over the closing years of the parents to whom she is indebted for superior training as well as superior ability. Their union has been blessed with seven children, six of whom, four sons and two daughters, are living.
Respectfully William P. RiddleRespectfullyWilliam P. Riddle
The lives men live and the character of communities lived in are retroactive. Written or unwritten, the good and ill of them swell the tide of human progress, which ebbs and flows by force of individual influences. Time and place are accidental to birth, but often determine conditions that shape fortune. In New England, in the last century, men achieved and wore the iron crown, and their descendants inherited traits of mental and moral character that make material for biography.
The subject of this sketch was of the third generation of his family in the town of Bedford, N. H., the place of his nativity. In origin the family Was of Anglo-Norman extraction. The name of Riddle appears in the English and Scotch genealogies, and is traceable back into the ninth century. Gaen Riddle, of Scotch descent, the head of his branch of the family in this country, came over and settled in Bedford, N. H., about the year 1737, and was one of the original settlers of that town.William P. Riddle, of whom is the present memoir, was the grandson of Gaen Riddle, and the son of Isaac,—a man of prominence in the affairs and events of his time and locality. William P. inherited in a marked degree his father's characteristics. Born on the 6th day of April, 1789, during the period of the formation of our constitutional government, he became early imbued with the ideas of nationality. His youth was passed at the district school, upon the farm, and about his father's business, in which he displayed aptness and activity. At the old Atkinson Academy, in New Hampshire, he ultimately acquired what education it was his privilege to obtain, and for a short time taught school in his native town.
In 1811, Mr. Riddle located in Piscataquog, a village in Bedford, situated on the Merrimack river, and now apart of the city of Manchester. There he took charge of his father's mercantile affairs. Business soon increased in importance, which led to the formation of the partnership of Isaac Riddle & Sons, in 1817. This firm eventually extended its business operations throughout central New England. They owned and carried on stores, warehouses, lumber-yards, saw and grain mills at Bedford and Piscataquog, and also operated cotton and nail factories, and lumber and grain mills, on the Souhegan at Merrimack. At the latter place they erected dwelling-houses, stores, and a hotel, whence it came to be known as Riddle's Village, and was an active and thriving place.
During this time the project of constructing the "Union Locks and Canals," on the Merrimack river, was inaugurated,—an enterprise which rendered that river navigable for boats and barges to the capital of the state of New Hampshire, and opened up water communication with Boston. With this achievement Mr. Riddle became identified, manifesting energy and foresight. Taking advantage of the facilities thus afforded for inland navigation, the firm of Isaac Riddle & Sons established a warehouse in Boston, together with a line of canal-boats, and in connection with their other extensive business entered actively into the carrying-trade. This water transportation was continued by Mr. Riddleafter the dissolution of his firm in 1830, and until the opening of the Nashua & Concord Railroad.
At the decease of his father, the old firm was dissolved, and Mr. Riddle assumed and carried on the business in his own name, both at Merrimack and Bedford. He supplied the region round about with merchandise, and furnished lumber largely for the cities of Nashua, Lowell, Newburyport, Boston, and Providence, supplying the navy-yard at Charlestown with spars and ship-timber, Boston, and Lowell, and other large cities with lumber for public buildings and bridges, and the railways of New England with ties and contract lumber, and shipped railroad sleepers to the West Indies. The old "yellow store" at Piscataquog Bridge was the scene of many of these transactions. It was a busy mart. Here were bought and bartered domestic products, wood, timber and lumber from all the outlying country, in exchange for groceries and merchandise, which in turn were transported down the Merrimack to the markets of Massachusetts.
During this latter period of his business activity, Mr. Riddle also dealt extensively in hops, buying them throughout New Hampshire, Vermont, and Canada, and shipping and marketing them in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, and in some instances exporting them. In 1846 he was appointed inspector-general of hops for New Hampshire, the culture of which having become of important concern to the farmers of the state. In this capacity he was favorably known and respected among hop-growers and merchants of New England. In 1848 the Piscataquog steam-mills were erected by him, and successfully operated for several years. Thus were continued and carried on mercantile pursuits and business enterprises until his retirement, about the year 1860, filling up a busy life of upwards of half a century.
Early in life Mr. Riddle evinced a taste for military affairs. At the age of twenty-five years he organized a company known as the Bedford Grenadiers, and was chosen its first captain. Five years afterwards he was promoted to the rank of major of the "Old Ninth Regiment." The next year he became lieutenant-colonel, and on June 15, 1824, was promoted to the colonelcy of the regiment, and was in command for seven years. The "Old Ninth" was then composed of ten full infantry companies, two rifle companies, one artillery company, and one cavalry company, and for discipline and efficiency ranked first in the state. In June, 1831, Col. Riddle was promoted brigadier-general; and on the 25th of June, 1833, was further promoted to the rank of major-general of the division, which military office he held till his resignation. Thus he had filled all the offices of military rank within the state.
Mr. Riddle married, in 1824, Miss Sarah Ferguson, daughter of Capt. John Ferguson, of Dunbarton,—a soldier of the Revolution who fought at Bunker's Hill. Of this union there were seven children. After his marriage he continued to reside in Piscataquog, living on the present homestead till his death.
In civil life, Gen. Riddle also held offices of trust. He was representative at the legislature, county road commissioner, justice of the peace and of the quorum, trustee of institutions, on committees of public matters, and frequently moderator at the town-meetings. In 1820 he was chairman of a committee chosen to build Piscataquog meeting-house, a matter of some church importance to the town of Bedford; and some twenty years later he was on the committee to remodel it into an academy, of which he was made and continued a trustee, and in which he exercised a lively interest. It was his pleasure to promote public education in every way. The common school, the academy, and the college received his patronage and fostering consideration. As the town's committee, he superintended the early construction of bridges across the Piscataquogand Merrimack rivers; in 1825, rebuilt the McGregor bridge, now the location of the new iron bridge on Bridge street, Manchester; and at a later period was the president of the Granite Bridge Company, which erected the lattice toll-bridge at Merrill's Falls.
In the "Masonic Fraternity," Mr. Riddle was prominent, becoming a member of the order in 1823. The following year he helped found the Lafayette Lodge in Piscataquog, being a charter member. He gave liberally to the support of this lodge, both in funds and effort, supplying it with a hall for meetings and work for twenty-five years. He was the last surviving member of its early projectors. The old Lafayette Lodge was among the very few in the state during the anti-Mason troubles that held its regular communications unbroken. He was also a member of the Mt. Horeb Chapter, and of Trinity Commandry of Knights Templar.
About agriculture he found time to exercise his taste. He owned several farms, and cultivated them with success, experimenting with crops, and giving results to the public. He was a patron of the state and county fairs, and sought in many ways to advance and encourage the best interests of husbandry. Hop-raising was a specialty with him, and through his methods and example the culture of hops within the state was extended and improved.
In 1854, after the incorporation of the city of Manchester, at a time when there seemed to be little interest manifested in military affairs in the state, Gen. Riddle undertook and assisted in the organization of the Amoskeag Veterans, now so well known and respected. In its origin the corps was a military association, composed of many of the most prominent and worthy citizens of the community. From such an association a battalion was formed, and Gen. Riddle chosen its first commander. The success of this movement gave an impetus to the military spirit of the day, and was the means of inaugurating a new militia system for the state. The Veterans, as is well known, uniformed in continental style, and to-day enjoy a wide reputation for their unique and quaint appearance on parade, their martial bearing, and soldierly mien, and for the character of the rank and file. In the fall of 1855, upon the invitation of President Pierce, the Amoskeag Veterans visited Washington and became guests at the White House, freely enjoying its hospitality, and receiving official honor. While there they made a notable pilgrimage to the tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon. On its return, the battalion attracted much public notice. At Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, it received special attention and entertainment. During the late war the Veterans showed patriotism, both in deed and sentiment, and otherwise promoted the national cause.
In politics, Mr. Riddle was a Whig, during the existence of the party; and subsequently became a Republican. Though not a politician, he took an earnest and active interest in the public affairs of the country. Respecting the constitutional rights of all sections, he most faithfully upheld the integrity of the nation. With him, liberty of thought, speech, and action was a fundamental and inherent idea. To him the history and traditions of the American people were a sacred heritage, and the constitution and union were solemn and paramount obligations, inseparable and indissoluble. In political faith, he believed the nation co-existed in perpetuity, and that the people were the source of all sovereignty; that parties and policies were expedients,—essential, but subordinate to principle and the fundamental concerns of the state. In the early discussions prior to the outbreak of the late rebellion, he took an earnest and serious interest. He regarded secession as treasonable heresy, and odious. During the war he was an ardent supporter of the government, and threw all his influence in its behalf. With deep faith in free institutions, and the power of the nation, he "neverdespaired of the Republic." Upon the close of hostilities, peace was welcomed by him as the harbinger of a redeemed country.
Though nurtured under Scotch Presbyterian influences, Mr. Riddle was ultimately a Unitarian in his religious faith. He was prominent among the founders of the Unitarian society at Manchester, and exercised much personal regard for its success. Liberal in his views, he was always actuated by principle, and aimed at consistency in Christianity. The Sermon on the Mount was to him an abiding force. Dogma was subordinated to faith; and faith enlightened by reason. A patient listener to religious teaching, he molded his own opinions. In his last days he was wont to say, that, upon a retrospection of his life, he "did not wish to change anything." Simplicity of character, charity, and hospitality were marked traits in life. Energy, efficiency, and integrity characterized his whole career. In private life he was much respected, and fully sustained the confidence of his fellow-men. In public life he was identified with every worthy achievement of his time. Few men of his generation and nativity have lived more active lives, and few will leave for a memorial a wider record of usefulness and enterprise.
In the full possession of his faculties, at the ripe age of eighty-six years, the subject of this sketch passed quietly away, on the 18th day of May, 1875. The church he helped to build and to sustain was the scene of his obsequies. In the cemetery at Bedford, by the place of his birth, within the old family tomb, he was interred, amid the kindly offices of friends, and the associations with which he had so long been identified.
Such is the brief portrayal of a life and character, which in some degree was the logical outcome of the rugged circumstances that beset the early settlements of New Hampshire.
The causes which led to the establishment of civil and religious liberty in New England equally wrought out the characteristics of the people. Bedford, Londonderry, Antrim, were primarily a part of the wilds, and the "rock-ribbed" hills, that were subdued and made habitable by the indomitable energy and frugal industry of those early pioneers. Their descendants, partaking somewhat of their own robust virtues, have in turn impressed the higher culture and the later institutions of the country. In those old towns may yet be traced the lineaments of the ancestry which so eminently struggled for "conscience' sake." Perhaps to no influence more than that of the New England mothers' is attributable the steady, underlying moral force which pervaded that elder civilization.
Well may it be said, that "New Hampshire was a good state to emigrate from,"—for those communities which have had the good fortune to be the recipients of such an emigration.