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SKETCHES OF SUCCESSFUL
NEW HAMPSHIRE MEN
Illustrated with Steel Portraits.
MANCHESTER:
JOHN B. CLARKE.
1882.
Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1882, by
JOHN B. CLARKE,
in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.
PUBLISHER'S PREFACE.
This volume contains portraits and biographical sketches of eighty-eight
New Hampshire men whose deserved success in their several callings has
made them conspicuous in the professional, business, and political
world. It should be the first of a series,--the beginning of a work so
extensive as to include similar presentations in regard to all the
prominent men of our state, when it would exceed in value and interest
to New Hampshire people all other publications of a biographical nature.
The glory of our state centers in and is reflected from her great men
and noble women, whose history should be familiar to all who by birth or
association are interested in her fame and welfare, and especially to
those in whose hands rests her future, and who may need the
strengthening influence of their example. To this end this volume will
contribute. Its preparation has occupied a long time, and involved much
labor and expense. My connection with it has been that of a publisher,
whose duties I have endeavored to discharge faithfully and acceptably.
All else is to be credited to others. The sketches are printed in the
order in which they were furnished.
JOHN B. CLARKE.
MANCHESTER, N. H., July, 1882.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
ADAMS, CHARLES, JR. 278
ADAMS, PHINEHAS 166
AMORY, WILLIAM 151
BALCH, CHARLES E. 113
BARNARD, DANIEL 304
BARTLETT, CHARLES H. 33
BARTON, LEVI WINTER 50
BLAIR, HENRY WILLIAM 285
BRACEWELL, JOHN 199
BRIGGS, JAMES F. 294
BRYANT, NAPOLEON B. 187
BUFFUM, DAVID HANSON 276
CARPENTER, JOSIAH 43
CHANDLER, GEORGE BYRON 185
CHANDLER, WILLIAM E. 255
CHENEY, GILMAN 215
CHENEY, PERSON C. 162
CLARK, JOSEPH BOND 179
CLARKE, JOHN B. 311
CLARKE, WILLIAM C. 261
COGSWELL, FRANCIS 177
COGSWELL, GEORGE 204
COGSWELL, THOMAS 160
COGSWELL, WILLIAM 137
COLBY, ANTHONY 251
CROSBY, ASA AND SONS 243
CUMNER, NATHANIEL WENTWORTH 297
CURRIER, MOODY 35
DANIELL, WARREN F. 237
DEARBORN, CORNELIUS VAN NESS 195
DUNLAP, ARCHIBALD HARRIS 264
EDGERLY, MARTIN V. B. 130
FRENCH, JOHN C. 157
GEORGE, JOHN HATCH 98
GILMAN, VIRGIL C. 148
GOODELL, DAVID H. 233
GOODWIN, ICHABOD 133
GRAVES, JOSIAH G. 235
GRIFFIN, SIMON G. 58
HALL, DANIEL 229
HARRIMAN, WALTER 74
HAYES, ALBERT H. 202
HEAD, NATT 223
JEWELL, DAVID LYMAN 63
KENT, HENRY O. 21
KIMBALL, JOHN 89
MARSH, CHARLES 184
MARTIN, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 269
MAXFIELD, RUFUS A. 289
MCDUFFEE, JOHN 153
MEANS, WILLIAM GORDON 103
MINER, ALONZO A. 16
MOULTON, JOHN CARROLL 114
MURPHY, CHARLES M. 67
NESMITH, GEORGE W. 180
NORCROSS, AMASA 37
PARKER, JOHN M. 31
PEABODY, CHARLES A. 209
PILLSBURY, GEORGE ALFRED 39
PILLSBURY, OLIVER 191
PIERCE, THOMAS P. 127
PIKE, CHESTER 123
POTTER, CHANDLER E. 302
PRESCOTT, BENJAMIN F. 281
RICHARDS, DEXTER 271
RIDDLE, WILLIAM P. 307
ROLLINS, EDWARD ASHTON 143
ROLLINS, EDWARD H. 217
SARGENT, JONATHAN EVERETT 93
SAWYER, CHARLES H. 249
SAWYER, JONATHAN 240
SHAW, ALBERT M. 267
SHERBURNE, HENRY C. 69
SMYTH, FREDERICK 106
SPALDING, EDWARD 81
SPALDING, GEORGE BURLEY 291
STARK, GEORGE 9
SULLOWAY, ALVAH W. 119
TILTON, CHARLES ELLIOTT 110
TUTTLE, HIRAM A. 14
WALLACE, RODNEY 56
WALLINGFORD, ZIMRI S. 70
WESTON, JAMES A. 85
WHEELER, SAMUEL METCALF 79
WHITE, JEREMIAH W. 140
WHITE, NATHANIEL 172
WILDER, MARSHALL P. 25
WILLIAMS, CHARLES 47
[Illustration: Geo. Stark]
GEN. GEORGE STARK.
BY H. W. HERRICK.
In the remarkable development of railroad traffic in this country within
the last fifty years, many prominent men of our state identified with
this interest have achieved an enviable success. A leading position
among these representative men will be accorded to General GEORGE STARK,
who, within the last forty years, has been associated with the
successful organization and management of several of the most wealthy
and influential of these corporations. Beginning at an early age with
some of the first of these enterprises in New England, he has been
identified with their history; and he has also had, within the last five
years, a controlling hand in the resuscitation and extension of the
great Northern Pacific line, that will soon span the continent from the
great lakes to the Pacific ocean. This successful business career has
been honorably distinguished, inasmuch as it has, in all its phases,
recognized the sound business principles that govern supply and demand
in the legitimate carrying-trade. As the leading medium between the
producer and consumer, the railroad interest thrives only with the
prosperity and good will of both; and in this, its legitimate sphere,
seeks neither to control production or traffic, except in those
reciprocal relations which contribute to the public good.
The influences attending the early life of Gen. Stark favored the
development of the qualities of character that have made his business
career marked and successful. His father, Frederick G. Stark, was the
son of John, the third of the children of Major-General John Stark, the
hero of Bennington, the latter being, therefore, the third in ancestral
order removed from the subject of this sketch. George Stark was born at
Manchester, N. H., April 9, 1823, a few months after the death of his
illustrious military ancestor. His father at this time occupied the old
manor-house formerly owned by Judge Blodget, originator of the famous
Blodget canal. This time-honored structure has been destroyed by the
demand of modern improvements, and its site, at the entrance of the
canal around Amoskeag Falls, is now only marked by the ruins of the
sheds connected with it. The locks and canals, in connection with like
works on the Merrimack river, were owned by the Union Locks and Canal
Company, and Frederick G. Stark occupied the position of general
superintendent and manager. He was also proprietor of a general-supply
store for river-men and the population adjacent, and was, moreover, land
surveyor for the neighboring country. He also held the position of
general magistrate, and was, withal, the most influential man of the
vicinity, leading in all commercial enterprise and traffic. He died in
1861.
The early days of young Stark were favored with the oversight and
directing influence of an excellent mother,--a lady of genial, kindly
character, rare mental qualities, and showing a benevolent and christian
solicitude both for her own family and general society in the
neighborhood. She died in 1856. Of the four children, Juliet (Mrs. Henry
C. Gillis) died in 1840; Emma (Mrs. J. G. Cilley) died in 1859;
William, the youngest, well remembered as possessing rare literary
abilities, and known as author and poet, died in 1873.
At the age of nine years George was taken from the schools of the
Amoskeag district, and for the succeeding four years studied in the
academies of Pembroke and Milford. His mental culture in these advanced
schools was chiefly in the line of mathematics, yet natural aptitude and
diligence supplied in after life many deficiencies in education. At the
close of his school-days in Pembroke and Milford George returned to
Manchester, in 1836, finding the scenes of his childhood transformed
from their previous quiet to a busy preparation, by engineers and
laborers, for the new city of Manchester. The young school-boy was
placed as assistant with the chief engineer and surveyor, Uriah A.
Boyden, and worked one season on the preliminary surveys for the canal,
factories, and streets of the embryo city. During this season, and a few
years succeeding, when not employed on surveys, he attended the
academies of Bedford, Sanbornton, and the high school at Lowell,
Mass.,--the last being then under the charge of Moody Currier, Esq. In
the autumn of 1836, at the early age of fourteen, he was employed with
the staff of engineers engaged in the locating surveys of the Nashua &
Lowell Railroad. This line, only fifteen miles in length, was two years
in process of building, giving an amusing contrast to the long routes
now located and built in one season. The years 1839 and 1840 were spent
in alternate seasons of field work with the engineers and study at the
academies.
Upon the completion of the Nashua & Lowell road, the enterprising
business men of Concord had ready for the engineers the work of further
locating the line from Nashua to Concord. This extension of thirty-six
miles was commenced in 1841, and our young surveyor, then only seventeen
years old, was complimented with the post of assistant engineer, and
given the charge of portions of the line, both in the surveys and laying
the track. At the close of this service he was employed for a time on
the preliminary surveys of the Northern Railroad.
In 1843, Stark was invited by the Land and Water Power Company of
Manchester to enter its service, make surveys, and superintend the
building of the lower canal. This work was finished in the same year in
which it was begun. The following season we find him engaged on surveys
for the Vermont Central, and subsequently on the Old Colony Railroad,
where he first served as assistant, and afterwards as resident engineer,
in which position he remained until the completion of the work in 1845.
From this period to the year 1847 he was in the service of his old
friend and employer, Mr. Boyden, engaged on surveys and drawings for
mill-work. At the close of his engagement with Mr. Boyden, Stark
returned to Manchester and spent a good part of the season in making
surveys and drawing a map of the compact part of the city, with
reference to drainage. He also made a survey, accompanied with a report,
upon the feasibility of supplying the city with water from Massabesic
lake.
The success of the new lines of railroad in New Hampshire stimulated
interest in this form of investment, and several new roads and
extensions were projected. The Nashua & Wilton and Stony Brook lines
were the first lateral roads built, as feeders to the trunk roads of the
Merrimack valley, and Stark was appointed chief engineer of both. On the
completion of these lines, the Boston, Concord, & Montreal road, which
had been built from Concord to Sanbornton, was extended northward, and
the post of chief engineer was offered to Stark. His health failing in
the summer of 1849, while engaged in this work, he left business cares
and spent several months in recuperation, accepting, in the autumn of
the same year, the situation of treasurer and assistant superintendent
of the Nashua & Lowell Railroad, then under the management of Judge
Charles F. Gove. This position was held until the early part of 1852,
when he received the high compliment of an appointment as superintendent
of the Hudson River Railroad. He had been in this position but little
more than a year when an urgent offer was made to him to take the office
vacated by the resignation of Judge Gove, the superintendent of the
Nashua & Lowell Railroad and its branches. This position, being more
congenial than that of the New York road, was accepted, and he entered
upon the duties of his new situation at once.
In 1857, four years after his appointment to the last mentioned office,
he was offered the post of managing agent of the Boston & Lowell road
and its branches, in connection with the Nashua & Lowell line. The
magnitude of the operations of these two roads, with their auxiliary
lines, was very great, and in their management required executive
ability of the first order. The responsibilities of the position were
onerous, and involved the appointment of superintendents, subordinate
officers, and foremen, determining a code of regulations for their
guidance, the adjustment of time-tables, tariff-rates, and fares, the
purchase of supplies, and many other cares incident to the working of a
complex and extended carrying-trade. The manner in which these duties
were discharged was attested by the smooth working of the organization
in its details, and the satisfactory results to the stockholders. In
this period of service, which included about eighteen years, the great
depot on Causeway street, Boston, was erected under the general
management and supervision of Gen. Stark. In its first inception, this
magnificent building, with its approaches, was intended to furnish
terminal facilities for two or more roads. A contract to that effect was
completed with the Massachusetts Central road. Negotiations were also
entered into with the Eastern Railroad Company for a joint occupancy of
the building, and a proposal was obtained from that company to pay fifty
thousand dollars annual rental, besides bearing a proportionate share of
the running expenses. Stark submitted this proposal to his associates,
recommending its acceptance; but it was declined, on the ground of
inadequate compensation, the president of the Boston & Lowell and Nashua
& Lowell roads saying, in his written reply to Stark:--
"While the income is certainly important to us, we have built
the station for our own accommodation, with our eyes open, and I
think our directors won't flinch from our position and divide
with them, unless they pay well for it."
The unsuccessful termination of this negotiation, and the want of accord
in other matters of general policy between Stark and some of the then
prominent directors of his roads, embarrassed him in his duties, and he
resigned the position of general manager in March, 1875, but retained
his seat in the board of directors until the following year. During his
business connection with the combined roads of the Merrimack lower
valley, the influence of Gen. Stark in developing great public business
interests is recognized by all familiar with the subject. The
far-reaching and comprehensive plans for a direct through line
connecting Boston with the West, realized in 1863 by connection of the
lines of the Merrimack valley, Vermont Central, Ogdensburg, and other
roads, were the direct result of Stark's labors and influence; and he
was manager, for several years, of the line from Boston to Ogdensburg.
Upon leaving his position as general manager of the Boston & Lowell and
connecting lines, Stark was chosen, in the spring of the same year
(1875), by the bondholders of the Northern Pacific Railroad, as one of a
committee of six to re-organize and resuscitate that enterprise, left in
its well remembered dilapidated condition by the financial panic of
1873. After carefully investigating the condition of affairs and the
actual and prospective resources of the road, a plan of re-organization
was submitted by the committee, accepted by the bondholders, and the
road taken out of the hands of the receiver. In September following, a
board of new officers was chosen, in which we find the name of Gen.
Stark as vice-president and director. To these positions he had an
annual re-election until by resignation he severed his connection with
the corporation in 1879. The magnitude of the Northern Pacific road and
its branches is well known to the public; to detail its operations and
resources would require too much space here, even if presented in the
most condensed form. Intended ultimately to connect the great northern
lakes with the Pacific coast, its entire length, when completed, will
exceed two thousand miles,--as long as the combined length of the Union
Pacific and Central Pacific roads. At the time of the election of Gen.
Stark to its management about five hundred and fifty miles of the track
were operated; at the present time nearly a thousand miles of track are
laid, including over a hundred miles on the Pacific coast. After
retiring from active service in the Northern Pacific road, Gen. Stark
established, in connection with his son, J. F. Stark, a banking-house in
New York city.
Though most of his business connections have been in the railroad
interest, Gen. Stark has found time for attention to duties in other
directions. In 1857 he was commissioned, by Gov. Haile of New Hampshire,
as brigadier-general of the third brigade of New Hampshire militia. In
1860 he accepted the post of colonel commanding of the Governor's
Horse-Guards, an organization comprising the _elite_ of the military men
of the State. In 1861, in the capacity of brigadier-general, he received
orders from Governor Goodwin to proceed to Portsmouth and take charge of
the organization of troops, at the opening of the rebellion. The
promptness and efficiency with which this service was performed is still
fresh in the memory of the public, and the state owes the management of
this recruiting station much of the credit attached to New Hampshire for
promptly responding to the call of the general government. At one time
fifteen hundred troops were at this station, waiting orders from the war
department.
Gen. Stark has not been prominent in political life, or identified with
the intrigues and contests of political partisanship. The political
affinities of his ancestors were with the Democratic party, and he has
been identified with it, yet promptly breaking the restraints of
strictly party lines at the call of patriotism, as at the opening of the
late civil war. In the four years succeeding 1856 he represented the
first ward of Nashua in the state legislature, and in 1860 and 1861 was
the candidate of the Democratic party for governor. While at this period
party spirit was embittered and active, and the Republicans largely in
the ascendant, the conservative and popular character of their leader
gave the Democrats a handsome gain in the popular vote.
The qualities of character that contribute to success in large fields of
commercial enterprise are sometimes difficult to define, while their
influence is apparent and is seen and felt by all. A prominent trait is
great deliberation in reaching decisions, yet firmness in maintaining
them. Sagacious insight of character in choosing agents and
subordinates, while holding them to a strict accountability, is also a
quality of executive merit. We see this last trait in a marked degree in
the small sums represented in the items, "damages" and "gratuities," in
all reports of the railroad management of Gen. Stark. Every employe,
from the highest to the lowest position, on roads under his
superintendence, had printed instructions of duties, to which he was
required to assent. Under no circumstances were men retained in
important posts who used intoxicating liquors, and no _cafe_ or
restaurant connected with the stations was allowed to keep alcoholic
drinks for sale.
In _personnel_ Gen. Stark is characterized by a quiet, deliberate, yet
courteous manner that is not disturbed by the varied conditions and
incidents of business life. This trait of an habitual mental equipoise
is a peculiarity that impresses itself prominently on an observer. He
has a natural, unrestrained manner in conversation, and social qualities
that are freely manifested in company with tested and worthy friends. As
a writer of business documents and reports he manifests power, method,
and perspicuity, and his manuscript shows a careful arrangement,
neatness and precision of chirography quite remarkable in one of his
extensive business experience. At the age of fifty-eight he is yet in
the full tide and vigor of business life. His family residence at
Nashua, though showing no taste for ostentation or display, is an
elegant structure in the villa style, furnished with every comfort and
convenience, and adorned with works of art.
Gen. Stark was married, in 1845, to Elizabeth A. Parker, daughter of
Daniel Parker, of Bedford, N. H. She died in 1846. In 1848 he was united
by marriage to Mary G. Bowers, daughter of Col. Joseph Bowers, of
Chelmsford, Mass. His two children are John F. and Emma G. Stark.
HON. HIRAM A. TUTTLE.
BY JOHN WHEELER, M. D.
Hon. HIRAM A. TUTTLE was born in Barnstead, October 16, 1837, being the
elder of a family of two sons. His father, George Tuttle, and his
grandfather, Col. John Tuttle, were also natives of the same town. His
great-grandfather, John Tuttle, settled in Barnstead in 1776, coming
there from that locality in Dover known as "Back River," where a part of
the Tuttle family had resided since the settlement there of their
emigrant ancestor, John Tuttle, who came from England before 1641.
His mother, Judith Mason Davis, is a descendant from Samuel Davis, a
soldier of the Revolution, and one of the primeval settlers of
Barnstead. Brave soldiers of the Davis family from four generations have
represented that town in the four great wars in which the country has
been engaged.
When Mr. Tuttle was nine years of age he moved, with his father's
family, to the adjoining town of Pittsfield, where he attended the
public schools and Pittsfield Academy, while the latter was under the
charge, successively, of I. F. Folsom, Lewis W. Clark, and Prof. Dyer H.
Sanborn.
After having been engaged in several vocations, in all of which he
showed industry and faithfulness, at the age of seventeen years he
became connected with the clothing establishment of Lincoln & Shaw, of
Concord, where he remained several years. The ability and zeal which he
exhibited while there won for him the confidence and respect of his
employers, who established him in the management of a branch store in
Pittsfield, of which he soon became the proprietor. His business
increased gradually at first, and then rapidly till his establishment
had gained an extensive patronage, and ranked among the largest
clothing-houses in the State. It is so favorably remembered by former
residents and patrons that orders are received for goods from distant
states and territories. Mr. Tuttle has also been interested in real
estate. He has built many dwelling-houses, including a fine residence
for himself, and the best business buildings in the village. In many
ways he has promoted the growth, social and business interests, and
general prosperity of his adopted town. He is a trustee of the savings
bank, a director of the national bank, and a trustee of the academy in
Pittsfield.
[Illustration: Hiram A. Tuttle]
When he had attained his majority, in 1859, he expressed his intention
of casting his first vote with the Republicans, although all his
relatives belonged to the Democratic party. The Democrats of Pittsfield
had been victorious and powerful since the days of Jackson, under such
distinguished leaders as Moses Norris, Jr., Charles H. Butters, and
Lewis W. Clark, all being able lawyers, impressive public speakers, and
having popular manners. Mr. Norris, a native of the town, represented it
repeatedly in the legislature, was speaker of the house twice, a
councilor, representative in congress four years, and was elected to the
United States senate for six years while residing here. The ability and
courteous manners of Mr. Clark (now Judge Lewis W. Clark) made him no
less popular than Mr. Norris, with all classes, during the shorter time
he was in business life in town. Seeing in young Tuttle qualities that
might make him troublesome if opposed to them, but useful if in accord
with their party, the Democrats used their most eminent persuasive
powers to induce him to cleave to the party of all his kindred and vote
with the hitherto victorious; but he obeyed his convictions and remained
true to the Republican party. In 1860 the Republicans, though so long
hopelessly beaten, made a sharp contest. When the day of election came,
Mr. Clark was elected moderator, having been a most acceptable presiding
officer for several years. The election of town clerk was made the test
of the strength of the two parties. After a very exciting ballot, Mr.
Tuttle was elected town clerk and the Democrats were beaten for the
first time in thirty-three years. Although Pittsfield has a Democratic
majority under normal circumstances, Mr. Tuttle has received the support
of a large majority of its votes at times when his name has been
presented for position. In 1873 and 1874 he was representative to the
legislature. In 1876 he received an appointment, with the rank of
colonel, on the staff of Governor Cheney, and with the governor and
staff visited the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia. He was elected
a member of the executive council from the second district in 1878, and
was re-elected in 1879, under the new constitution, for the term of two
years.
Mr. Tuttle has been very successful in all that he has undertaken; but
his thrift has never made him arrogant or indifferent. He has cheerfully
shared with others the results of the good fortune that Providence has
granted him. He is an agreeable and companionable gentleman in all the
honorable relations of life. As a citizen, neighbor, and friend, he is
held in the highest estimation. He has furnished employment for many,
and has been kind to the poor, very respectful to the aged, charitable
to the erring, and a sympathizing helper of the embarrassed and
unfortunate. Few men have more or firmer personal friends whose
friendship is founded on kindness and substantial favors received. He
gives with remarkable generosity to all charitable objects presented to
him, and is very hospitable in his pleasant home. Mr. Tuttle accepts the
Christian religion, and worships with the Congregational church. While
he contributes very liberally for the support of the denomination of his
choice, he does not withhold a helping hand from the other religious
sects in his town. In his domestic relations he has been very fortunate.
He married, in 1859, Miss Mary C. French, the only child of John L.
French, Esq., formerly cashier of the Pittsfield bank. Their only
child,--Hattie French Tuttle,--born January 17, 1861, is a member of the
junior class in Wellesley College.
REV. ALONZO A. MINER, D. D.
BY REV. GEORGE H. EMERSON, D. D.
The subject of this sketch owes his name to the grace of one of
England's greatest kings. In the wars between England and France, to
which belongs the renown of Cressy and Poictiers, the English sovereigns
accepted such assistance in munitions and men as their subjects could
proffer. Henry Bullman of Mendippe Hills, Somersetshire, was a miner. He
fitted out a company of one hundred, armed with battle-axes, many of
them laborers in his mines, and presented the same to Edward III. for
his use in Continental conquest. In his gratitude Edward conferred upon
him a coat of arms and gave him the name of "Miner." This honored
subject, and the first of the name of Miner, died in 1359. From him
descended Thomas Miner, who came to Boston with the elder Winthrop in
1630. Charles Miner, of the fifth generation from Thomas, was a
Revolutionary soldier. At the close of the war he removed from
Connecticut to New Hampshire.
A descendant of King Edward's friend, seventh in descent from Thomas,
the grandson of Charles, ALONZO AMES MINER was the son of Benajah Ames
and Amanda (Cary) Miner,--an only son and the second of five children.
He was born at Lempster, Sullivan county, N. H., Aug. 17, 1814.
Grace Miner, granddaughter of Thomas, above named, married Samuel Grant,
Jr., of Windsor, Conn., April 11, 1688. From that union descended
Ulysses S. Grant, ex-President of the United States.
The subject of this sketch inherited neither fortune nor even health.
Mental powers, a constitutional integrity, and a lack of the lower
ambitions came as his only birthright. All else is his by conquest. Till
the years of late boyhood he was an invalid. His opportunities for
education in the village school were very intermittent. His feeble
health and a grave uncertainty as to his ever reaching mature manhood
constantly broke in upon the systematic training of the school. He
filled out the school studies in the invalid's chair at home. None
predicted for him length of days. Even the cautious physician made
thirty years the utmost limit of life allotted him. He, however,
supplemented his broken studies with academic training at Hopkinton,
Lebanon, and Franklin, N. H., and at Cavendish, Vt. Beginning public
life as a school-teacher at the age of sixteen, he took charge of the
village school, alternating this labor with his studies at the
academies. His pupilage at Cavendish was soon followed by promotion. Mr.
John Garvin was the principal. He was a very zealous Calvinist. Young
Miner was a no less zealous Universalist. It was at a time when
sectarian lines were sharply drawn. It was then a custom with zealous
Calvinists to regard Universalists, not simply as unsound in doctrine,
but also as wicked in life and conduct! But Mr. Garvin saw something in
the young pupil that dispelled the prejudice. He took him into
partnership in the management of the school in 1834. In this position
young Miner served a year.
[Illustration: A. A. Miner]
In 1835, certain gentlemen of Unity, proposing to establish an academy
at that village, saw in Mr. Miner, now near his majority, their man. He
accepted their proposition. The school, named the "Scientific and
Military Academy," was for both sexes, with military training for boys.
Four years of his principalship were successful beyond expectation. In
some of the terms the number of scholars reached one hundred and fifty.
August 24, 1836, he was married to Maria S. Perley of Lempster, who
entered the school as preceptress. She has ever been his faithful and
devoted helpmeet.
Not a few of those who have strong sympathy with Dr. Miner's theological
belief are persuaded that there was something providential in his call
to the ministry of the Universalist church,--the service he has rendered
that body being so great, in several regards so exceptional. He does not
appear to have been converted to Universalism. He literally was a "born
Universalist." While anxious friends assigned but a narrow limit to so
frail a constitution, the invalid felt that his place was to be in the
ministry of the Universalist church. Of this he made no secret. It
became a matter of course that on reaching maturity he would become a
preacher of the faith he so deeply cherished.
The success of the Unity school might have fixed another in the
profession of teaching. It had no weight in diverting Mr. Miner from
what he deemed a higher call. Several of his patrons solicited him to
begin his ministry in Unity in connection with his school duties. He
complied. In February, 1838, he preached his first sermon in Chester,
Vt. In the following May he began a regular ministry, preaching half of
the time in Unity, and devoting the other half to a circuit which
included about twenty of the neighboring villages. After six months of
this twofold labor he resigned his principalship; but he was persuaded
to remain yet another year,--all the time filling his appointments on
Sunday. At the New Hampshire convention of Universalists, held at
Nashua, June, 1839, he was ordained to the sacred office. In the
November succeeding he was called to the pastorate of the Universalist
church at Methuen, Mass. Such was the success of his new labors that a
reputation for very exceptional gifts as an orator, logician, and
preacher, spread. It was seen that his call to a larger and more
exacting field of duty was but a question of early time.
In the city of Lowell, the Rev. Abel C. Thomas had met with
extraordinary success as pastor of the Second Universalist church. After
a pastorate of little less than three years he resigned to accept a call
to Brooklyn, N. Y. Certain of his parishioners said to him, in the
hearing of the writer of this sketch, that his withdrawal would be a
calamity to the Lowell parish. Grateful for this tribute he replied:
"Put into the pulpit the man I will name, and I pledge you that the
church shall go on prospering and to prosper." There was a pause and all
ears were both curious and anxious. Mr. Thomas added: "That man is A. A.
Miner." A unanimous call of the committee and of the congregation was
extended. On the first Sunday of July 1842, the Rev. A. A. Miner
preached his introductory sermon as pastor of the Lowell Second
Universalist parish. The prediction of Mr. Thomas proved true. In a
pastorate of six years Mr. Miner greatly strengthened, materially and
spiritually, the church to which he ministered. In cordial co-operation
with the pastor of the First Universalist church,--at first Rev. Thomas
B. Thayer, and afterwards Rev. E. G. Brooks,--he labored with eminent
success. The citizens soon discovered that the new minister was of
"many-sided talents." Then began that drain upon his strength, branching
off, according to his specialties, into as many channels, whereby he has
been, perhaps, as thoroughly and as variously "utilized" as any man of
this period. Then began trusts, official positions on school boards,
charity boards, and every other conceivable board, the faithful
performance of any one of which would have made an average
reputation,--all discharged by one person, and he never having a
thoroughly healthy day, presents simply a marvel.
During an early year of his Lowell ministry, a crisis came in the career
of the Universalist church; and Lowell happened to be its turning point.
There was a Universalist paper published at Lowell, the _Star of
Bethlehem_. It was edited by the Universalist pastors. A third parish
had been founded, and the Rev. H. G. Smith became its pastor. He was
associated with Messrs. Miner and Brooks in the management of the paper,
each contributing over his own signature. About the year 1842 the
Unitarian ministry was suddenly rent by one of its ministers, in
ability, magnetism, and rhetorical skill without a peer among his
brethren,--the Rev. Theodore Parker. He had adopted German rationalism
in regard to the Bible and Christianity, and by the boldness of his
utterances and the felicity of his manner was rapidly forming that
radical wing which to-day appears to dominate in the Unitarian body.
Such a leading was not likely to be restricted to any one sect. Was it
to enter and change the character of the Universalist movement? The Rev.
Mr. Smith showed that he was thoroughly imbued with the new doctrine;
and he was rapidly making converts among the younger members of his
ministerial fraternity. Rev. Messrs. Miner and Brooks, fully persuaded
that the new idea was a false one, thought that they foresaw that its
free acceptance by the Universalist ministry and people would at an
early day endanger the stability of their church. They met the issue
without reserve and with no regard to consequences personal to
themselves. In the pulpit and in the paper they vigorously protested
against the course of Mr. Smith. An anxious discussion followed, and it
spread. It was taken into the ecclesiastical body, the Boston
Association, where a resolution deprecating and protesting against the
"deistical innovation" was passed by a strong majority. This was in
1847. A few years later the writer of this inquired of the Rev. Thomas
Whittemore in regard to that rationalistic excitement. His answer was,
"Miner and Brooks took it in hand at Lowell and the Association killed
it." This episode apparently weakened the Universalist cause in Lowell.
The writer is one of the large number who have no doubt that the
promptness and thoroughness of the Lowell pastors averted a calamity.
May 1, 1848, Mr. Miner was called to the pastorate of the School-street
church, Boston. Having the entire confidence of his renowned senior, the
Rev. Hosea Ballou, he rapidly worked disaffection out of the parish,
thoroughly organized it, got the more than confidence of its leading
members; and he has carried it forward to the present day with a degree
of high success seldom paralleled in any denomination. In the early part
of the year 1851 his people decided to enlarge the edifice. The closing
of services while the reconstruction was in progress gave Mr. Miner an
opportunity to recruit his wasted strength by European travel. In June,
1852, Rev. Hosea Ballou died full of honors. Another call upon his
administrative ability as president of Tufts College led to the
settlement of associate pastors. But, apart from these interludes, Dr.
Miner has been the sole pastor since the death of Mr. Ballou.
In the movement to found Tufts College, of the very small number of
devoted friends, Dr. Miner has not occupied a second place. Subscribing
himself liberally, a few of his parishioners felt the contagion of
example and made generous pledges. The Rev. Otis A. Skinner, D. D., was
the first agent for collecting funds, and with heroic perseverance in
this pioneer work he raised the larger part of $100,000,--the minimum
upon which the work could begin. This, however, was but a beginning. The
assets to-day are not far from one million dollars. The influence of Dr.
Miner in reaching this result has been pre-eminent. The corner-stone was
laid in 1853. Mr. Miner giving the address. On the death of its first
president, Rev. Hosea Ballou, 2d, D. D., Mr. Miner was constrained to
accept the presidency. He was inaugurated, July 9, 1862. Previous to
this, the principal trust, he had served the college as trustee,
secretary, and treasurer. It was largely by his devices that the money
was raised to meet the current expenses during the infancy and the
poverty of the institution.
In 1863 Harvard College conferred upon him the honorary S. T. D. He had
received the honorary A. M. from Tufts in 1861; and that of LL. D. was
conferred by Tufts in 1875. His presidency continued till 1875, at which
date he acceded to the urgent call of his parish, and resigned the
presidency of the college and took the sole pastorate of his church,
which, in 1872, had dedicated the large and costly temple at the corner
of Columbus avenue and Clarendon street, in which it has worshiped from
that date to the present. Again his labor was effective. Out of the
pulpit as well as in it, giving his heart and energy to its interests,
the old parish entered upon a new era of prosperity. A pastor does well
who holds to himself one generation. Dr. Miner now has under his
influence a third generation, and the "spell" is not weakened. In the
period of his pastorates, he has conducted more than one thousand eight
hundred funeral services, and solemnized more than two thousand five
hundred weddings.
On removing to Boston, in 1848, Mr. Miner found himself in the center of
new calls upon his "many-sided" talents. He was seen to be financier,
organizer, popular leader, platform orator. Thence "missions" multiplied
and increased. The limits of this sketch permit but the baldest
statement of his labors, all of which he has rendered with singular
skill. Of course he was put upon the school board of the city. Then the
state made demands, and he is now serving a second term of eight years
on the state board of education. At a dinner given in his honor on
occasion of his departure for a short period to California, the then
Gov. Washburn bore testimony to the inventiveness and far-reaching
wisdom with which he was aiding to advance the educational interests of
the commonwealth. He has been six years chairman of the board of
visitors of the state normal art school. He has served as one of the
overseers of Harvard College. He is one of the "hundred orators," having
delivered the Fourth of July oration in Boston in 1855. Add to such
duties constant lecturing before lyceums, temperance meetings, and peace
societies, his frequent addresses at academic commencements, and
membership of various associations which we have not space to
mention,--how so many offices can be discharged, and all with
acknowledged fidelity, is a question that perplexes. In the way of duty
he has made enemies. But neither friends nor foes ever accused him of
seeking any of these high responsibilities. In every instance the
position sought the man. His pre-eminent gift has seemed to the writer
to consist in speaking to a point and with a view to a particular
effect. When he appeared before the legislative committee to plead for a
state grant to Tufts College, the committee unanimously reported in
favor,--one of the members adding that the eloquence with which the
claim had been urged had convinced the committee that it _was_ a claim.
The late Samuel Burbank of Lowell gave the writer this incident: Dr.
Miner had occasion to address a meeting of stockholders of an insurance
company whose affairs had got into a bad way. When he was through, the
late Samuel Lawrence, turning to Mr. Burbank, said: "That is the
Universalist minister,--well, if he will abandon his pulpit he may have
charge of any of our manufactories at any salary he may ask."
Like his faith, Dr. Miner's interest in the temperance reform is a "born
conviction." From his youth to his present hour, he has never wavered in
his belief that the drinking curse is the giant evil. In the pulpit, the
lyceum, the caucus, on the platform, he has labored to create and
enforce law to resist the ever threatening danger. In politics he makes
it the chief state issue, and in 1878 was the candidate of the
Prohibition party for governor of Massachusetts. In 1867 he led before
the legislative committee the protest against the repeal of the
prohibitory law, in opposition to the efforts of Gov. Andrew. His speech
on that occasion has become an arsenal of facts pertaining to the ethics
and the practicability of the statute. Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, D. D.,
said to the writer of this: "Your Dr. Miner has made a great speech,--a
very great one: it will never be answered." For ten years he has been
the president of the Temperance Alliance. In token of his great service
before the legislature, the Alliance presented him a costly Dore Bible.
He also had another "token" in the shape of threatened violence and the
defacement of his house. This was meant as dishonor. Dishonor? Could the
apostle articulate his thought, for what titles Jerusalem could have
conferred would he exchange the "forty stripes save one?"
But in all these varied toils, his church and faith have had the
uppermost place. By instinct and habit an extemporaneous speaker, the
one field he has least worked is that of literature with the pen. An
occasional article for the church periodicals and a Sunday-school manual
have at times occupied him. But most of his published works were spoken,
and taken down by reporters. He is one of some half-dozen Boston
preachers who are favorites with the reporters of the Boston dailies.
"Old Forts Taken," his latest publication, was the rhetoric of his "off
hand" speaking, save as the transcript of the reporter may have been
revised. But, whether laboring by speech or pen, he has never permitted
any duty or position to hold other than a second place beside his duties
to the church of his love.
In the movement which has transformed the once scattered societies of
his denomination into a compact, organized, and working church, no one
has rendered a more effective service. Of its first Home Mission he is
literally the pioneer. No one more faithfully represents the
controversial and aggressive spirit of the doctrines of his Church; but
no one has done more to make that church effective for practical
righteousness and Christian worship. He has now reached the decline, not
of his powers, nor of his zeal, nor of his work, but only of his years.
May the evening of his days be as serene and pleasant as his youth and
maturity have been industrious, faithful, and true.
[Illustration: Henry O. Kent]
COL. HENRY O. KENT.
BY H. H. METCALF.
Among the best known of the representative men of New Hampshire, Col.
HENRY O. KENT of Lancaster is conceded a prominent position. The Kent
family is of English origin, the first of the name in this country being
among the settlers of old Newbury, Mass., in 1635. John Kent, a scion of
this stock, died in 1780, at Cape Ann, Mass., aged eighty years. His
son, Jacob, born at Chebacco (now Essex), Mass., in 1726, settled in
Plaistow in this state. In 1760, a regiment commanded by Col. John Goffe
was raised in New Hampshire for the invasion of Canada, one company of
which was officered by John Hazen, captain; Jacob Kent (above named),
first lieutenant; and Timothy Beadle, second lieutenant. This regiment
marched to Number Four (Charlestown), cutting a road through the forest
to the Green Mountains, and thence to Crown Point on Lake Champlain,
where they took water transportation. After a successful campaign they
returned through the wilderness, _via_ the Newbury meadows or the "Cohos
country," with the fertility of which region Lieut.-Col. Jacob Bayley,
Capt. Hazen, and Lieutenants Kent and Beadle were so favorably impressed
that they determined to return and found a settlement. The project was
soon carried out, Bayley and Kent locating on the western, and Hazen and
Beadle on the eastern, side of the river, from which settlements sprang
the towns of Newbury and Haverhill. Jacob Kent died at Newbury, in 1812,
at the age of eighty-six years. He was a noted man in his section,
commander of the first company of militia in the towns of Newbury and
Haverhill "in our province of New Hampshire," as says his commission,
signed in 1764 by Benning Wentworth, which, with his sword, borne in two
wars, is now in Col. Kent's possession. During the Revolution, while
burdened with the cares of the infant settlement, he was an earnest
actor in the scenes which gave us our independence. He was colonel of
the forces in his vicinity, and on the advance of Burgoyne started with
his regiment for the field, and was present with it at the capitulation
at Saratoga. The original homestead is still in the family, Col. Jacob
Kent--a gentleman through a long life well known in the political,
military, and social circles of Vermont--being the present owner.
Jacob Kent, first named, left three sons,--Jacob, John, and Joseph. John
Kent, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, settled in the town of
Lyman, where he died in 1842, leaving four sons and one daughter. The
father of Col. Kent--Richard Peabody Kent--was one of these sons, his
mother, Tabitha Peabody, being a daughter of Lieutenant Richard Peabody
of the Revolutionary army. He is still in active business in Lancaster,
where he settled and engaged in mercantile pursuits in 1828. During this
long career his affairs have been transacted with scrupulous integrity,
exactitude, and honor. Though never in public life, he has always taken
a deep interest in the material and educational welfare of the
community. On the maternal side the ancestry of Col. Kent is traced to
Richard Mann, "a planter in the family of Elder Brewster," who was one
of the colony of the Mayflower. From him descended that John Mann, born
December 25, 1743, who was the first permanent settler of the town of
Orford, N. H., October, 1765. To him were born fifteen children, of whom
Solomon Mann was well known in the state. Emily, second daughter of
Solomon Mann, married Henry Oakes, an active and well known business man
at Waterford and Fairlee, Vt. To Henry and Emily (Mann) Oakes were born
three daughters and a son. One of the daughters, Emily Mann Oakes, was
married to Richard P. Kent at Littleton, June 5, 1832. To this union
there were born three children--sons--Henry Oakes, Edward Richard, and
Charles Nelson.