ancestry goes back in direct line to William Carpenter, who in the year
1638, at the age of sixty-two years, embarked with his son William, aged
thirty-three, and his wife, Abigail, and their four children, for
America, sailing in the ship "Bevis," from the port of Southampton,
England, and making their home at Weymouth, Mass. From Joseph, one of
the four children named, the line of descent runs through Benjamin, born
January 15, 1657, John, born March 25, 1691, and John, born January 4,
1728, to Josiah, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, and for
whom he was named. The senior Josiah Carpenter was born in Stafford,
Conn., October 6, 1762, being one of a family of five sons and two
daughters. Himself and three of his brothers served in the patriot army
in the war of the Revolution, one of the brothers being killed while on
sentinel duty at Roxbury Neck. He graduated with the highest honors from
Dartmouth College in the class of 1787, studied for the ministry, and,
November 2, 1791, was ordained and installed pastor of the First
Congregational church in Chichester, which pastorate he retained for a
period of nearly forty years, establishing and maintaining a reputation
for geniality, benevolence, and hospitality which gained for him the
affectionate regard and esteem of his people. Throughout his entire
career as a citizen and a minister of the gospel, he labored earnestly
and diligently to advance every undertaking which had for its object the
public good, or the advancement of the cause of religious truth, as he
understood it. He married, April 13, 1790, Hannah Morrill, of
Canterbury; and their children were Nancy, David Morrill, John Thurston,
Clarissa, Hannah, and Oliver, none of whom are now living.
The second child--David Morrill Carpenter--was born in Chichester,
November 16, 1793, and, after receiving a good academic education,
commenced active life in his native town in the capacity of a country
merchant, which business he followed with much success for many years;
but subsequently turned his attention to agriculture, becoming the
owner of an extensive farm, which he cultivated for several years in a
most successful manner. Notwithstanding the constant demands of his
private occupation, which, as his success demonstrated, were never
neglected, a great portion of his time during the period of his active
life was always claimed by the public duties imposed by his
fellow-citizens. Almost continually for twenty-five years he held one or
more town offices, being several years chosen as the representative of
his town in the state legislature, the duties of which position he
discharged with ability and fidelity. He served as a member of the board
of commissioners for Merrimack county, and was also, for more than
thirty years, one of the trustees of the Merrimack County Savings Bank
of Concord; he was also for a long time a director of the Mechanics Bank
of that city; and was almost invariably in attendance upon the weekly
meetings of the boards of the respective institutions. January 13, 1818,
he was united in marriage with Mary, daughter of Jonathan Chesley
Perkins, of Wells, Maine, who married Hannah Dennett, of Portsmouth,
December 6, 1787, and shortly removed with his young wife to the town of
Loudon in this state, adjoining Chichester, which was then almost a
wilderness, where he cleared up a large farm, became a prosperous and
influential citizen of the town, and reared a family of six children, of
whom Mary, above mentioned, was the fourth. The children of David M. and
Mary (Perkins) Carpenter were Charles H., Josiah, the subject of this
sketch, Clara A., Sarah L., and Frank P., besides two daughters, who
died in early life. In 1850, Mr. Carpenter removed to the town of Epsom,
where he purchased a large farm, in the management of which his son
Josiah was associated with him, upon which he remained until he retired
from active business, in 1858, in which year he removed to Concord,
where he resided until his death, December 9, 1873, seven years
subsequent to the death of his wife, who departed this life, November 4,
1866, at the age of sixty-eight years. A man of wide influence,
universally exerted for good, he lived beloved and died respected. He
had been a soldier in the war of 1812, enlisting at the outbreak of
hostilities, although but a boy at the time; yet, like his father, who
had served in the Revolution, he would never accept from the government
the pension to which he was legally entitled.
Charles H., the eldest son and child of David M. Carpenter, resides in
the town of Chichester, where he has always had his residence, and where
he has won a reputation, not only as one of the successful farmers, but
most prominent citizens, of the town and of the county. His farming
property embraces more than a thousand acres of land. He is also quite
extensively engaged as a dealer in real estate and lumber. Clara A., the
eldest surviving daughter, is the wife of Samuel C. Merrill, a
prosperous flour manufacturer and flour and grain dealer, of Paterson,
N. J., formerly a well known wholesale merchant of Manchester. Sarah L.
married Prof. James W. Webster, of Maiden, Mass., a teacher of
experience and ability, now and for many years past principal of the
Hancock school, Boston, formerly a successful teacher in Concord. Frank
P., the youngest son, is a member of the enterprising and well known
firm of Drake & Carpenter of Manchester, who are extensively engaged in
the wholesale flour and grain trade.
The subject of this sketch,--Josiah, the second son of David Morrill
Carpenter,--although engaged to some extent in boyhood in assisting his
father upon the farm, secured an academical education at Pembroke and
Pittsfield academies, and at the New Hampshire Conference Seminary at
Sanbornton Bridge (now Tilton). Very early in life he manifested an
aptitude for business, and engaged for some time in youth in the
purchase and sale of live stock, not only in this section but at the
Southwest. Returning home from Kentucky about the time his father
removed to Epsom, he engaged with him in extensive farming operations in
that town. He received, soon after, an appointment as deputy-sheriff for
the county of Merrimack, and also for the counties of Belknap and
Hillsborough, which position he held for several years, and in which he
transacted a large amount of business. For three or four years previous
to his father's removal to Concord, the entire management of the farm
was substantially in his hands, which, together with his official
business and individual enterprises in different directions, gave ample
scope for his energy and capacity.
In 1858 the farm in Epsom was sold, and, his father having removed to
Concord, Mr. Carpenter, in April of that year, established his residence
in the town of Pittsfield, having been tendered and accepted the
cashiership of the Pittsfield bank. He discharged the duties of that
position so satisfactorily that upon its conversion to a national bank,
in 1864, he was continued as cashier and also made a member of the board
of directors. He continued his residence in Pittsfield until the spring
of 1877, remaining all the while in management of the bank's affairs,
while at the same time engaging in various lines of business in his own
behalf. Nor did he fail to devote attention to public affairs. Never a
politician, but always a stanch Democrat, he took no little interest in
the success of his party, as well as the welfare of the town and
community. He was frequently intrusted with official responsibilities by
his fellow-citizens of Pittsfield, and represented them in the
legislature in 1862 and 1863.
In the fall of 1863, his health having become impaired from overwork, he
went South to spend the winter, upon the advice of his physicians, going
first to New Orleans, whence he made a trip up the river, where he had a
fine opportunity for viewing the operations of the army in that quarter,
the time being soon after Gen. Butler's occupancy of the city. Later in
the season he visited Cuba, where he remained some time, returning in
the spring greatly invigorated, and with improved general health. He was
elected treasurer of Merrimack county in 1872, and again the following
year, receiving at each election a support considerably in excess of his
party vote. Long prominent in the councils of his party in his section
of the state, he has served also, at different times, as a member of the
Democratic state committee.
In March, 1877, desiring a more extensive field of business operation,
Mr. Carpenter resigned his position as cashier of the Pittsfield
National Bank and removed to the city of Manchester, where, with
characteristic vigor and enterprise, he immediately set about the work
of procuring a charter for and organizing the Second National Bank of
Manchester, of which institution he has been a director and cashier
since its organization. The national bank being well established, he
assisted in securing a charter for and organizing the Mechanics Savings
Bank, of which he has been from the first a trustee and the treasurer.
Both these institutions, under his skillful supervision, have attained a
prosperous and flourishing condition. Aside from his general banking
operations, he has in Manchester, as elsewhere, dealt extensively in
notes, bonds, and real estate, and has been, for the past few years,
quite largely engaged in building. In company with ex-Gov. Smyth, he is
proprietor of Smyth and Carpenter's block, on Elm street, the northern
half of which has recently been completed. This block is four stories
high and basement; has a frontage, on Elm street, of two hundred feet, a
depth of one hundred feet; contains ten stores on the first floor, with
offices and tenements above; and is, beyond question, the largest brick
block in the state in the ownership of any single firm.
Mr. Carpenter has always manifested an interest in educational affairs,
and has been specially interested in the establishment and prosperity of
the Holderness School for Boys, located at Holderness in this state,
under the auspices of the Episcopalian denomination, with which he is
associated. He has been one of the trustees of this school from the
inception of the enterprise, and is also the treasurer. He devoted much
time and personal care to the work of remodeling the buildings at the
outset, and, since then, to their enlargement as the growth and success
of the school has demanded.
September 1, 1858, Mr. Carpenter was united in marriage with Georgianna
Butters Drake, born January 15, 1836, a lady of fine mental capacity and
attainments, endowed with the graces and virtues essential to true
womanhood, and at home alike in the social as well as the domestic
circle. She was the only daughter and eldest child of the late Col.
James Drake of Pittsfield, a prominent citizen of that town, well known
in public life, who filled various responsible offices, including that
of state senator, and who died April 7, 1870. He was a descendant of the
celebrated Sir Francis Drake, the English explorer and naval commander
who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe, and attained
the rank of vice-admiral of the British navy. The family were among the
earliest settlers of New England, and trace their ancestry more than six
hundred years. The elder brother of Mrs. Carpenter--Frank J. Drake--is
the partner of Mr. Carpenter's younger brother--Frank P.--in the firm of
Drake & Carpenter, heretofore mentioned, while her younger
brother--Nathaniel S.--is in business at Pittsfield.
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter,---a daughter,
Georgia Ella, born October 13, 1859, an accomplished young lady who
resides with her parents, and a son who died in infancy. Their residence
is a fine brick mansion, among the most substantial in the city, on
north Elm street, at the corner of Sagamore.
Mr. Carpenter is now in the prime of life, though his business career
has already been more extended and successful than that of most men of
similar vocation who have been engaged a lifetime therein. Filling
various positions of trust and responsibility, public and corporate,
with the greatest acceptability; of sound judgment, strong will, quick
perception and a practical, well balanced mind, and unquestioned
integrity of action; enjoying the general confidence of the public, and
in a special degree that of those persons obliged or accustomed to seek
advice or assistance from others, in matters of business,--his success
may indeed be regarded as far greater than that of those ordinarily
known as fortunate business men, while there yet remains, in the
ordinary course of life, ample time for farther successes and greater
achievements.
[Illustration: Chas. Williams]
HON. CHARLES WILLIAMS.
BY O. C. MOORE.
It has long seemed to the writer that the successful organizer of modern
industry deserved a high place in public estimation. The qualities
usually found in such a person constitute as rare a combination as can
be found in any department of human activity. Those qualities are
industry, probity, intelligence, judgment, and executive ability. These
virtues will always be found to lie at the foundation of a well ordered
and prosperous state. When to these are added enterprise and energy,
there is little wanting either to the successful individual or to the
growing community. It is to this class of men that New England owes much
of its pre-eminence to-day. What the pioneer settlers did to smooth the
path for their successors; what the forefathers of the Revolution
contributed to establish a new government and place it upon a
self-supporting basis,--the men who established the industrial
enterprises of New England have done for their posterity and the
perpetuity of republican institutions. If New England should be stripped
to-morrow of her mills, shops, and foundries, and the wealth and
institutions that they in turn have created, New England would be but
little more than an obscure and unenterprising hill country, with a
diminishing population and lessening influence. She would have a noble
and inspiring history, but her glory would be departed.
HON. CHARLES WILLIAMS, the subject of this sketch, belongs to the
untitled American nobility of organizers of industry. He comes of an old
industrial stock, and can trace his lineage back, through six
generations of workers, to a stalwart ancestor in old Wales. The
Williamses formed a large part of the population of Wales, "somewhat
like the O's of Ireland and the Mac's of Scotland." It is an interesting
fact that the ancestor of Oliver Cromwell, in the fourth remove, was a
Williams, known as Morgan ap Williams, of Glamorganshire, Wales, a
gentleman of property, who married a sister of Lord Thomas Cromwell,
afterwards Earl of Essex. Carlyle speaks of the Protector as "Cromwell
_alias_ Williams." The "Encyclopedia Americana" states positively that
the genealogy of Cromwell is traced to Richard Williams, who assumed the
name of Cromwell from his maternal uncle, Thomas Cromwell, secretary of
state to Henry VIII.
However this may be, Richard Williams, the sixth remove in a direct line
from the subject of this sketch, came to America from Glamorganshire,
Wales, in 1632, and settled in Taunton, Mass. Among his descendants were
Hon. John Mason Williams, a distinguished jurist of Massachusetts; Gen.
Seth Williams, of Augusta, Me., a graduate of West Point, and a
distinguished officer in the Mexican war; Hon. Ruel Williams, of
Augusta, Me.; and Hon. Lemuel Williams, a member of congress from
Massachusetts. It is a coincidence of note that the occupation of the
subject of this sketch, as well as that of his lineal descendants,
follows the distinctive characteristic of the Welch ancestry.
Glamorganshire is famous for its iron and coal mines, and its iron-works
are on the most extensive scale, it having sixty blast furnaces, some
of which give employment to six thousand men.
The direct descent from Richard Williams of Taunton is as follows:
Benjamin Williams, settled in Easton, Mass.; Josiah Williams, settled at
Bridgewater, Mass. Seth Williams, the great-grandfather of Mr. Williams,
was born at Bridgewater, May 21, 1722. At the age of eighteen he went to
Easton, Mass., and took up one thousand acres of government land. He
married Susannah Forbes, of Bridgewater, and built the homestead now
standing in Easton. Edward Williams, his son, married Sarah Lothrop, of
Bridgewater, in 1772, still retaining the "homestead," where Lieut. Seth
Williams, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born January 29,
1776. He was a tanner by trade, and took part in the war of 1812. He
married Sarah Mitchael, daughter of Colonel Mitchael, of Bridgewater,
Mass., an active man in the Revolutionary war, and for many years a
member of the legislature from Easton. They were married in 1800, and
lived near the "homestead." They had eight children, Charles, the
present subject, being the third son, born at Easton, August 1, 1816.
The first seventeen years of his life were spent on the farm, receiving
such rudimentary education as could be obtained at a district school. At
the age of eighteen he apprenticed himself to Gen. Shepherd Leach,
proprietor of the "Easton Iron-Works," for the term of four years, to
learn the foundry business, with a compensation of twenty-five dollars
for the first year, fifty dollars for the second, seventy-five dollars
for the third, and one hundred and twenty-five dollars for the fourth.
By the death of Gen. Leach the contract was surrendered; but young
Williams still continued in the employ of his successor, Mr. Lincoln
Drake, until the panic of 1837. In this stagnation of business at the
East, he determined to go West, and purchased several hundred acres of
land near Springfield, Ill. The now flourishing capital of the state was
then represented by a few dwelling-houses, one church, and a small
hotel. This "New West" could then boast of no railroads, and the
difficulty of getting produce to market, which was mainly by flat-boats
down the Mississippi, offered but little attraction to farming, and he
returned East. For two years he was employed in the foundry at North
Chelmsford, Mass., and the subsequent three years in the Amoskeag
foundry at Manchester, N. H.
Mr. Williams came to Nashua in 1845, at the age of twenty-nine, endowed
with good health, correct habits, and an honorable ambition. In company
with his elder brother, Seth, they established the foundry business,
under the firm name of S. & C. Williams, erecting a building eighty by
one hundred feet, and the business commenced. It was in the same year
that two other important and still flourishing industries were begun in
Nashua,--the manufacture of shuttles and bobbins by J. & E. Baldwin, and
the manufacture of mortise-locks and doorknobs by L. W. Noyes and David
Baldwin. This was the day of small beginnings, and only twenty-five
hands were employed in the foundry for several years. The business grew
steadily, however, and everything seemed propitious. On the second of
July, 1849, a fire broke out in the works, and, in spite of all
exertions, the entire property was consumed, including all the patterns.
The total loss was estimated at forty thousand dollars. It was a
staggering blow, as these young men had no insurance. Men of less
courage and energy would have succumbed to such a misfortune; but on the
very day of the fire the work of rebuilding was begun, and pushed with
rapidity, a brick structure taking the place of the wood one destroyed.
The partnership of S. & C. Williams was dissolved in 1859, and the
business has since been continued by Charles. His brother Seth has been
extensively employed in similar business. The business of the Williams
foundry in Nashua has steadily increased, and was never more extensive
than to-day. The pay-roll shows one hundred and twenty-five hands
employed.
Strict attention to business, unyielding integrity, and thorough mastery
of his calling have been Mr. Williams's secret of success. He was one of
five who organized the Second National Bank, and has since held the
position of vice-president of the bank. Mr. Williams was elected a
member of the common council soon after the organization of the city, in
1853, but from that time until 1876 he neither sought nor held any
political office. In this centennial year, however, his party turned
instinctively towards him as its most available candidate for mayor, and
at the nominating caucus he received an almost unanimous nomination. The
nomination was ratified, and Mr. Williams became the centennial mayor of
Nashua. His administration was characterized by the same prudence,
fidelity, and success that have crowned his business career. He was
nominated for re-election, and the nomination was ratified at the polls
by an increased vote and a largely increased majority. One of the social
events of Mr. Williams's term of service was the visit of President
Hayes and his cabinet to the city, and at the mayor's residence, which
was elaborately decorated for the occasion, Mrs. Hayes held a public
reception, which was attended by a great throng of people from the city
and the surrounding towns.
In his domestic relations Mr. Williams has been one of the most
fortunate and happiest of men. In 1846 he married Eliza A. Weston, a
cultivated christian woman, and a devoted wife and mother, daughter of
Capt. Sutheric Weston, of Antrim, N. H.; both are members of the First
Congregational church, Nashua, Rev. Frederick Alvord, pastor. Three
children have blessed the union. Seth Weston Williams, born April 15,
1849, a graduate of Yale College, class of 1873, and of Bellevue Medical
College, New York. After travel and study in Europe he returned to his
native land, and had just entered on the practice of his profession,
with the brightest prospects of usefulness and eminence, holding a
responsible appointment in Bellevue Hospital, when, on a visit to
Portland, he was attacked with congestion of the brain, which terminated
his promising career at the age of thirty. The other children are
Charles Alden Williams, born August 18, 1851, married October 26, 1881,
Kate N. Piper; he was graduated from the scientific department at
Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., under Dr. William Taylor, in 1870, and
further pursued the same course of study at the school of Technology in
Boston, Mass., and will succeed his father in business; and Mrs. Marian
Williams-Viets, born March 4, 1854, married, November 8, 1878, Herbert
Allen Viets, of Troy, New York.
Feeling in himself the want of an early education, Mr. Williams spared
no pains in bestowing superior advantages upon his children, all of whom
received a liberal education. In 1873 he planned a year's travel abroad
with his family, but the critical condition of business in the country
at that time prevented his leaving home. The plan was carried out,
however, under the care of Dr. Seth Williams, the trip covering the tour
of the Continent, and of the Orient as far east as Damascus.
HON. LEVI WINTER BARTON.
BY REV. J. W. ADAMS.
Ancestral excellence is an invaluable legacy. As a rule, "blood will
tell," and the marked physical, mental, and moral traits of a prominent
family are likely to re-appear in many successive generations. And,
added to this hereditary wealth, comes the inspiration of a noble
example, suggesting the possibility and the desirability of worthy,
helpful living. The subject of this sketch was fortunate in this regard.
In the garnered wealth of a vigorous, talented, and virtuous ancestry,
he has "a goodly heritage."
* * * * *
From an abundance of reliable data, we extract only so much from the
genealogical record as is necessary to the integrity of the direct lines
from a very distant past to the present.
LEVI W. BARTON'S parents were Bezaleel Barton, 2d, and Hannah (Powers)
Barton. Let us glance at the _maternal_ ancestry.
The family of Power (or Le Poer, as formerly written) was of Norman
extraction, and settled in England at the conquest of that kingdom by
the Normans, under William, duke of Normandy, in the person of Power, or
Le Poer, who is recorded in "Battle Abbey" as one of the commanders at
the battle of Hastings, in 1066. Soon after, Sir John Le Poer resided in
Poershayse, Devonshire, England.
In 1172, one of his descendants, Sir Roger Le Poer, went with Earl
Stougbon in his invasion and partial conquest of Ireland, where he
greatly distinguished himself, and received large grants of land. He was
the ancestor of a succession of distinguished men, among whom were Sir
Nicholas Le Poer, who had a summons to parliament, in 1375, as Baron Le
Poer, and Sir Richard, Sir Peter, Sir Eustace, and Sir Arnold Le Poer.
The barony, descending by writ to heirs, female as well as male, is now
held by the Marquis of Waterford. The Earl of Lynn, for a term of one
hundred years, and the Marquis of Waterford, were of that descent,
through Lady Catharine Poer. The family was also a distinguished one in
England, from the Norman conquest down. In 1187, Richard Poer of this
line, high sheriff of Gloucestershire, Eng., was killed defending the
"Lord's Day;" and Sir Henry Le Poer distinguished himself greatly as a
commander under the Duke of Wellington. This remarkable family has
outlived the dynasties of the Conqueror, the Plantaganets, the Tudors,
and the Stuarts, and flourishes yet. Since the time of Queen Elizabeth,
they have returned to their early orthography of Power; and finally, in
America, have added the "s," making it Powers.