was that of adjutant, inspector, and quartermaster general of the state,
which he received from Gov. Gilmore, March 26, 1864. He was called to
that office at a period when the republic was in one of the most serious
crises of the great civil war, and when the loyal people of New
Hampshire were putting forth every effort to enlist the men called for
under the President's proclamation of the preceding month. On entering
the office he found every department lamentably incomplete, but little
matter having been collated in relation to the equipping of the troops
or their achievements in the field, although the state had, up to that
time, furnished twenty-six thousand soldiers. In truth, not a full set
of muster-in rolls of any regiment was found in the office.
Notwithstanding these obstacles, and with no appropriation to draw
upon, Gen. Head promptly entered upon the duties of his position,
procuring the necessary outfit for the office, and upon his own
responsibility employing clerks. He did this trusting in the legislature
for re-imbursement, which it not only cheerfully made, but made all
additional appropriations that were called for. The faithful manner in
which all the clerical work was performed, the method and persistency
shown in hunting up and placing on file the records of our soldiers, and
the system exhibited in preserving and filing the valuable and extensive
correspondence,--were all worthy of the greatest praise. The reports
issued during Gen. Head's administration not only give the name and
history of every officer and soldier who went into the service from our
state, but they embrace biographical sketches of all the field officers
who fell in battle or who died of disease during the war, together with
a brief history of all the organizations, giving their principal
movements from their departure to their return home. These books also
include the military history of New Hampshire from 1623 to 1861, the
data for which were gathered with great perseverance and under many
discouragements from various sources in this and other states and from
the rolls in the war department at Washington, thus making the united
reports a work of inestimable value to the present and coming
generations, and, at the same time, constituting an invaluable
contribution to the martial history of the nation. He was the first
adjutant-general in our country who conceived the idea of having
handsomely engraved on steel, with attractive and appropriate symbols
and of a size adapted to framing, a memorial certificate to be presented
to all surviving officers and soldiers from our state, and to the widows
or nearest relatives of those who gave their lives in the great struggle
for the preservation of the republic. This testimonial was filled up
with the name and rank, and also the regiment and company with which the
men were connected, and the nature and length of their services. It will
not be invidious to say that no other state had during the war an abler
or more efficient and patriotic adjutant-general than New Hampshire, or
one who was more devoted to the men on their way to the field, while
there, or on their return after peace was declared. Many a veteran will
remember with gratitude his fatherly care of them after their discharge,
and his good counsel and assistance in saving them from the hands of
sharpers who were always in waiting to take advantage of the necessities
of soldiers. From his own private means Gen. Head extended aid to all
soldiers needing it; and to the credit of New Hampshire "boys in blue"
it should be recorded that he never lost a dollar by such confidence and
generosity. It seems almost unnecessary to add that his constant and
unwearied devotion to them secured for him not only their highest
respect and warmest esteem, but won for him the enduring title of "the
soldier's friend."
In 1875 the celebrated controversy occurred in the old second senatorial
district over the spelling of his name on the ballots, upon which
technicality his votes, he having a plurality, were thrown out. His
constituents, however, were determined that justice should be done him,
and they gave him a handsome election the succeeding year, and
re-elected him in 1877, when he was made president of the senate,
discharging its responsible duties with rare efficiency and
acceptability.
For some years Gen. Head had been mentioned in connection with the
Republican nomination for governor, receiving votes in successive
conventions. In that which nominated Gov. Benjamin F. Prescott, in 1877,
Gen. Head's vote was a flattering one, and ranked second only to that of
the successful nominee. At the convention in September, 1878, which was
the first to select candidates for a biennial term, Gen. Head was
nominated upon the first ballot by a decided majority. By reason of the
third-party or "Greenback" movement, it was not expected by his most
sanguine supporters that he would be elected on the popular vote, yet
the result was that he was chosen over all by a majority of four hundred
and eighty-eight. His election to the executive chair being for two
years, he was, according to the custom of the party regarding the tenure
of this office, not a candidate for renomination. In the brief review
which the limits of this sketch allow of his gubernatorial
administration, we find that it was throughout eminently successful;
creditable alike to his own ability and fidelity, and to the fair fame
of our state which he so honorably served.
During his term of office there arose many important measures and
questions whose consideration demanded practical good sense, wisdom, and
impartial judgment. The well known Buzzell murder case, which finally
became one of the most celebrated in the criminal records of the world,
had been twice tried when Gov. Head entered the executive chair. Buzzell
was then awaiting execution, and thousands had petitioned for a
commutation of his sentence. His Excellency and his official advisers
gave a long and patient hearing to counsel for the state and for the
defense, and to all others who desired to be heard, and then, after
mature deliberation, refused the prayer on the ground that no new
evidence had been presented that would warrant the changing of the
decision of the court. Buzzell suffered the extreme penalty of the law,
and the conclusion in his case was sustained by legal and public
opinion. The project of a new state-prison which had been successfully
inaugurated under his predecessor, was carried forward to its
completion. The commissioners selected to superintend the work consulted
with the governor at every step, and without even a whisper of
extravagance or jobbery the building was finished, dedicated, and opened
for use, and stands to-day, in thoroughness of structure and excellence
of arrangement, second to no other penitentiary in the country. There
came before Gov. Head many judicial and other appointments, all of which
were made with the single aim of serving the highest interest of the
state. During his term he made many official trips, and wherever he
traveled he received those assiduous attentions which he personally and
as chief executive of the state merited. He attended the inauguration of
President Garfield, the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary exercises
at Boston, the Newtown, N. Y., centennial celebration, and military
encampments in various states. It was also his pleasure to receive
Governors Talbot and Long, of Massachusetts, Governor Van Zandt, of
Rhode Island, and many other distinguished dignitaries. His
administration took its rank in history as one of the purest, wisest,
and best that New Hampshire has ever had.
In the financial world, Gov. Head has been chosen to many responsible
positions. He is a director of the Suncook Valley Railroad, in which
enterprise he was one of the most active workers; is a director of the
First National Bank of Manchester, and of the New Hampshire Fire
Insurance Company; president of the China Savings Bank at Suncook, and a
trustee of the Merrimack River Savings Bank, of Manchester.
In Masonic and kindred organizations he is one of the most conspicuous
and influential members in New Hampshire, and, in fact, in the country.
He is on the rolls of Jewell Lodge, of Suncook, of which he is a charter
member, and is a member of Mount Horeb Royal Arch Chapter, Adoniram
Council, and Trinity Commandry, of Manchester. He is a member of the
Supreme Council, having taken all the degrees of the Ancient and
Accepted Scottish Rite, including the thirty-third, and all in the Rite
of Memphis to the ninety-fourth; is an honorary member of the Boston
Consistory, the largest Masonic body in the world, and
ex-Illustrious-Grand-Chancellor of the Sublime Consistory of New
Hampshire. He was a charter member of Howard Lodge of Odd Fellows, and
also belongs to the Hildreth Encampment, both of Suncook, and is now a
charter member of Friendship Lodge, of Hooksett, and is a member of the
Oriental Lodge of the Knights of Pythias of Suncook. He has been for a
long time a member of the New Hampshire Historical Society, and is now
its vice-president.
Although his own opportunity for mental improvement was somewhat
limited, yet he has always been a stanch advocate of our public-school
and higher educational systems. He is not a member of any church, but
from youth he has been a regular attendant upon religious services, and
has always given freely of his time, and contributed generously from his
means, to the building up and advancement of Christian work.
Gov. Head was married, November 18, 1863, to Miss Abbie M. Sanford, of
Lowell, Mass. They have had three children, of whom Lewis Fisher and
Alice Perley are dead, while Annie Sanford, who is now at school in
Bradford, Mass., is nearly fifteen.
The old log cabin to which reference has been made gave way a long time
since to a framed structure, which, in turn, a few years ago was
supplanted by an elegant brick mansion with French roof and attractive
architecture, and whose interior has all modern appointments, with rich
furniture and works of art. The house is surmounted with a tower, from
which is obtained a delightful view of the Merrimack valley, and of
distant mountains. It was built under Gov. Head's personal supervision,
and in making so great an outlay he had in view the hope that after the
period of business activity he might be permitted to spend there in
happiness the closing years of his life.
Gov. Head is of commanding personal appearance, while in his bearing he
is exceedingly courteous and agreeable. In him English and Scotch blood
have united to form a character distinguished by strong and sound
practical sense, diligence, determination, perseverance, and, above all,
a high standard of honor and unswerving integrity. In the proud record
of the eminent public men of our state, the name of Gov. Head has high
and creditable rank.
[Illustration: Daniel Hall]
HON. DANIEL HALL.
BY REV. ALONZO HALL QUINT, D. D.
Of those towns in the state whose scenery is somewhat quiet, one of the
most beautiful is Barrington. A small tract on its western border is
level and not fertile, but most of its surface is gently rolling, two
decided heights, however, affording beautiful views. The map shows it to
be traversed by streams in every part, one important river being the
outflow of Bow lake; and the map shows no less than fourteen ponds, some
of them nearly two miles in length, and whose shores, often abrupt, are
full of beauty. Magnificent pine forests of the first growth have been
carefully preserved to the present generation, and fertile farms are
numerous.
DANIEL HALL was born in this town, February 28, 1832, and, with slight
exceptions, was the descendant of generations of farmers. His first
known American ancestor was John Hall, who appears to have come to
Dover, N. H., in the year 1649, with his brother Ralph, from
Charlestown, Mass. Of this blood was the mother of Gov. John Langdon,
Tobias Lear (Washington's private secretary), and others of like energy.
The emigrant, John Hall, was the first recorded deacon of the Dover
First church, was town clerk, commissioner to try small cases, and a
farmer, but mainly surveyor of lands. His spring of beautiful water is
still "Hall's spring," on Dover Neck. His son Ralph was of Dover, a
farmer; whose son Ralph, also a farmer, was one of the early settlers of
Barrington; whose son Solomon, also a farmer, was of the same town;
whose son Daniel, also a farmer, was father of Gilman Hall (his ninth
child), who, by his wife Eliza Tuttle, was father of nine children,
Daniel being the first born. The picturesque old house in which he was
born, built by one Hunking, is still standing near Winkley's pond, an
interesting and venerable landmark, but unoccupied and in a ruinous
condition. Gilman Hall was early a trader in Dover, but for twenty-five
subsequent years was farmer and trader in Barrington, his native town,
on the stage road known as the "Waldron's Hill" road. He was
representative, and for many years selectman. Daniel's mother was a
descendant of John Tuttle, who was judge of the superior court for many
years prior to the year 1700, residing in Dover.
Daniel Hall's life as a boy was on the farm. He went to the district
school a long distance, through snows and heats, and by and by helped in
the store. When older, from fourteen years onward, he drove a team to
Dover, with wood and lumber, and sold his loads, standing on Central
square. But he had a passion for books, and a burning desire for an
education. He learned all he could get in the district school, and when
about sixteen years of age he secured two terms, about six months in
all, in Strafford Academy,--one term under Ira F. Folsom (D. C. 1848),
and one under Rev. Porter S. Burbank. In 1849 he was one term at the New
Hampshire Conference Seminary, in Northfield, Rev. Richard S. Rust,
principal. Then, for satisfactory reasons, he gave up all academies,
returned home, set himself down alone to his Greek, Latin, and
mathematics, and with indomitable perseverance prepared for college. He
entered Dartmouth in 1850, probably the poorest fitted in his class; but
he had the fitting of a determined will, unconquerable industry, a keen
intellect, and the fiber of six generations of open-air ancestors, and
in 1854 he graduated at the very head of his class, and was
valedictorian. It is needless to say, perhaps, that the eldest of nine
children had to practice economy, and teach district schools five
winters in his native town; and that what small advances he had from his
father were repaid, to the last dollar, from his first earnings.
In the fall of 1854 he was appointed a clerk in the New York
custom-house, and held the place for some years. He had taken an early
interest in politics, being by education a Democrat. But he had always
been positively anti-slavery in sentiment. He was dissatisfied with the
Kansas-Nebraska bill; and alone of all the clerks in the custom-house,
and fearless of the probable result to himself, he openly denounced the
Lecompton-constitution policy of Buchanan, and supported Douglas. In
consequence he was removed from office in March, 1858.
Returning to Dover, he continued the study of law--which he had
commenced in New York--in the office of the eminent lawyer, Daniel M.
Christie, and on that gentleman's motion was admitted to the bar at the
May term, 1860. He afterwards well repaid Mr. Christie's kindness by a
eulogy, upon his decease, delivered before the court, and subsequently
printed. It was regarded as an eloquent and appreciative tribute to Mr.
Christie's remarkable qualities of manhood, and extraordinary powers as
a lawyer.
Mr. Hall, upon his admission to the bar, opened an office in Dover, and
commenced practice. In the spring of 1859, just before the state
election, in view of the great crisis coming upon the country, at an
immense meeting in Dover, he (as did also Judge Charles Doe) withdrew
from the Democratic party and cast in his allegiance with the
Republicans. With them, where his conscience and political principles
alike placed him, has his lot been cast ever since; and it is not
improbable that that one addition, in later and critical years, turned
the scale in New Hampshire's political destinies.
It was an episode in his life that in 1859 he was appointed, by the
governor and council, school commissioner for Strafford county, and
re-appointed in 1860. His early training in the country district school,
his work as master in the winters, and his hard-earned higher education
qualified him eminently for the practical duties of this office.
In the autumn of 1861, Mr. Hall was appointed secretary of the United
States senate committee to investigate the surrender of the Norfolk
navy-yard. This committee consisted of John P. Hale, Andrew Johnson, and
James W. Grimes. Soon after, he was appointed clerk of the senate
committee on Naval Affairs, at Washington, of which Mr. Hale was
chairman. He served in this capacity until March, 1862; but he wished
for more immediate participation in the great struggle then in progress.
The conflict, which had its symptoms in the Lecompton strife, had become
war, and the young man who had then sacrificed office for principle was
ready for a still greater sacrifice. In March, 1862, he was commissioned
aid-de-camp and captain in the regular army of the United States. He was
assigned to duty with Gen. John C. Fremont; but before he had time to
join that officer, Gen. Fremont had retired from command, and Capt. Hall
was transferred to the staff of Gen. A. W. Whipple, then in command at
Arlington Heights, of the troops and works in front of Washington, on
the south side of the Potomac. In September, 1862, a few days after the
battle of Antietam, Gen. Whipple joined the army of the Potomac, and
eventually marched with it to the front of Fredericksburg. On the 13th
of December, 1862, he was in the battle of Fredericksburg, crossing the
river with the third corps, and taking part in the sanguinary assault
upon the works which covered Marye's Heights.
At the battle of Chancellorsville he was in the column sent out to cut
Jackson's line as he moved in front of the army, and in the gallant
action of the third division of the third corps, under Gen. Whipple, of
whose staff he was a member, and was with that lamented officer when he
fell mortally wounded. Capt. Hall was then assigned to the staff of Gen.
Oliver O. Howard, commander of the eleventh corps, and with him went to
Gettysburg. His position in that action was important. When Gen.
Reynolds, commanding the first corps, had advanced through the town and
encountered the enemy, Gen. Howard, then moving up and about five miles
to the rear, hearing the heavy firing, ordered Capt. Hall to ride
forward as rapidly as possible, find Gen. Reynolds, ascertain the
condition of affairs, and obtain his orders. Capt. Hall's fleet horse
soon covered the distance, and he found Gen. Reynolds himself in an
advanced and exposed position from the enemy's fire. He did his errand;
Gen. Reynolds said he had met the enemy in force, and sent the order to
Gen. Howard to bring up his corps with all possible dispatch. Scarcely
had Capt. Hall got back through the town, when he was overtaken by the
intelligence that Gen. Reynolds was mortally wounded, and near the
cemetery he met Gen. Howard impatiently coming up in advance of his
corps. Passing Cemetery Ridge, Gen. Howard said, "That is the place to
fight this battle," and directed Capt. Hall to take a battery from the
leading division, and place it in position on the crest of the hill.
This was done, and that battery, the first planted on Cemetery Hill,
remained on that spot through the three days of the conflict. When Gen.
Howard took his own place there, Capt. Hall was of course with him, and
on the second day of the engagement was slightly wounded by a shell.
These details are given, simply to place on record, in this permanent
form, his testimony to the justice of the claim made by the friends of
Gen. Howard, that he was fully entitled to the thanks voted him by
congress for selecting Cemetery Hill and holding it as the battleground
of the great and glorious battle of Gettysburg.
In the latter part of 1863 his health suffered, and he was forced to
leave the service in December, 1863. But in June, 1864, he was appointed
provost-marshal of the first New Hampshire district, being stationed at
Portsmouth, and here he remained until the close of the war. The affairs
of the office were in some confusion, but his methodical habits soon
reduced it to order. During his term of service, he enlisted or drafted,
and forwarded, over four thousand men to the army. This service ceased
in October, 1865. "He was one of the men," said a substitute broker to
the writer of this sketch, "that no man dared approach with a crooked
proposition, no matter how much was in it."
Mr. Hall resumed the practice of law in Dover, but in 1866 was appointed
clerk of the supreme court for Strafford county, and in 1868, judge of
the police court of the city of Dover. The duties of these offices were
performed with his usual sense of justice, but in 1874, the Democratic
party, being in power, "addressed" him out of both offices. In the mean
time he had been judge-advocate, with the rank of major, in the military
of New Hampshire, under Gov. Smyth, and held a position on the staff of
Gov. Harriman, which gave him his usual title of Colonel.
Col. Hall had long taken a deep interest in political affairs. To him
they represented principles. In 1873 he was president of the Republican
state convention at Concord. He had been for some years a member of the
Republican state committee, when, in December, 1873, his abilities as a
leader and executive were recognized in his selection as chairman of
that committee. He so remained until 1877, and conducted the campaigns,
state and national, of 1874, 1875, and 1876. These were critical years
for the Republican party. The nearly even balance of parties in New
Hampshire, the vigor and intensity with which the battles are always
fought, and the skill necessary in every department, demand abilities
and energies of the highest order. The years mentioned surpassed
ordinary years in political danger to the Republicans. It is sufficient
to say that Col. Hall conducted the last three campaigns to a triumphant
issue. So decisive were the successive victories that the tide was
turned, and from that time the state has not swerved from Republican
allegiance.
In 1876, Col. Hall was chairman of the New Hampshire delegation to the
Republican national convention at Cincinnati, being chosen at large,
unpledged, and with scarce a dissenting vote. Seven delegates voted from
first to last for James G. Blaine; but Col. Hall, with ex-Gov. Straw and
Hon. Charles H. Burns, voted six times for Mr. Bristow, and on the
decisive ballot for Rutherford B. Hayes.
In 1876 and 1877, Mr. Hall was, by appointment of Gov. Cheney, reporter
of the decisions of the supreme court of New Hampshire, and in that
honorable position published vols. 56 and 57, New Hampshire Reports.
In 1877 he succeeded Gov. Harriman as naval officer at the port of
Boston. This office is co-ordinate with that of collector, upon which it
is a check. Mr. Hall's business habits, his keen insight, his perfect
accuracy, and the ruling principle of his life to do everything well and
thoroughly, there came into operation. He quietly mastered the details
as well as the general work of the department. Regularly at his post,
his office became a model in its management, and was commended in the
highest terms by the proper officers. When, therefore, his term expired,
he was re-appointed for another four years, by President Arthur, with no
serious opposition.
Mr. Hall married, January 25, 1877, Sophia, daughter of Jonathan T. and
Sarah (Hanson) Dodge, of Rochester, and has one son, Arthur Wellesley
Hall, born August 30, 1878. The beautiful house erected and occupied by
him in Dover, and adorned with cultivated taste, has not its least charm
in the steadily increasing library of carefully selected literature, to
whose study he devotes the hours not required by official duties.
He attends the First church of Dover, the Congregational church, where
his emigrant ancestor held office two centuries and a quarter ago. He is
a radical teetotaler, and deeply interested in the cause of temperance.
It is his personal request to have his great love for the horse, and,
indeed, for all animals, spoken of in this sketch.
Mr. Hall's gentle, courteous, and unassuming manners do not meet the
common idea of the bold and sagacious politician. His modest
conversation will suggest scholarly instincts, but requires time to show
the breadth of his culture. Public addresses have, as occasions
demanded, exhibited the thoughtful political student, a patriotic love
of country, and the ripeness of the accomplished scholar. Fidelity to
every engagement, good faith to every principle espoused, firmness in
determination, and usefulness in every work undertaken, have insured him
success. But in a life still so young, it is fair to assume that
recognitions of public respect will be greater than any trusts yet
given, or reputation achieved, in his profession, the field of long past
battles, or the offices of public honor.
[Illustration: D. H. Goodell]
HON. DAVID H. GOODELL.
Olive Atwood Wright was one of a large family of children. Her parents,
who lived in Sullivan, were very poor and found it difficult to provide
for the many who were dependent upon them, and when Olive was fifteen
years of age she left home and started for Boston in search of an
opportunity to earn her own living. On arriving in that city she had
just fifty cents, and finding no employment there she proceeded to
Waltham, where the first cotton-factory in the country had just
commenced operations. Here she found some old acquaintances; but they
refused to recognize her on account of her poverty. She, however,
obtained the privilege of working in the factory, and at the end of a
year visited her parents with eighty times as much money in her pocket
as she had when the stage left her in Boston. Eight years later she had
saved from her earnings five hundred dollars, and having married a young
farmer, Jesse R. Goodell, went to live with him upon the homestead which
had belonged to his ancestors, in Hillsborough. This couple were the
parents of DAVID H. GOODELL, who was an only child, and was born May 6,
1834. The family remained upon the Hillsborough farm until 1841, when it
was sold and they removed to another in the adjoining town of Antrim.
The parents, who had had but very limited school privileges, felt keenly
the importance of an education, and were desirous of having their son
obtain one. They accordingly, when he had mastered the studies of the
common school, sent him to Hancock Academy several terms, and then to
New Hampton, and he graduated at Francestown in the summer of 1852, and
in the fall entered Brown University. Here he took high rank as a
scholar, winning a prize in mathematics, and marking within one degree
of perfect in Latin; but his health failed him during the sophomore
year, and he was compelled to return to his home. The next year and a
half he spent upon his father's farm, and, having recovered his health,
resumed work as a teacher, in which he was engaged two terms at
Hubbardston, Mass., one at New London Literary and Scientific
Institution, and one at Leominster, Mass.