sisters still younger was too much for the very slender resources of the
widowed mother. The family was broken up, and the "child David" was
taken into the family of his father's brother. The next eleven years of
his childhood and boyhood were spent with this uncle. He was a country
merchant who "kept everything," as the old-time merchants of fifty years
ago all did. The boy was taught to work in the store, "to do the
chores," and was sent to the district school as opportunity
afforded,--which generally consisted of two terms of eight or ten weeks
each per year. The Quaker uncle was a kind but sturdy master, and habits
of temperance, thrift, untiring energy, steady perseverance, and a love
of buying and selling were ingrained into the very bones of the boy.
Leaving his uncle when seventeen years old, he made his home with his
step-father for two years, during which time he attended two terms at an
academy, and taught a country school "to pay his way." At nineteen years
of age, in the autumn of 1839, with few dollars and much courage, he
commenced as a clerk with two brothers in a general store at Great
Falls, in Strafford county, of which place he has since been a citizen.
His salary was eight dollars per month and board, for the first six
months. At twenty-one he bought out one of his employers, at
twenty-three he sold out to the other and erected a brick block which
contained three stores, one of which he occupied as a merchant in
general merchandise, always keeping abreast of the times, until called
to a new business.
The legislature of 1846 granted the charter of the Great Falls Bank, the
first in the town, and its originators had got together the one hundred
thousand dollars of capital stock by such efforts of labor and
persuasion as would astonish the railroad builders and bankers of these
days. The directors, December 5, 1846, selected Mr. Buffum as its
cashier, which position he held until April 20, 1863. On the 5th of
August, 1857, he was elected treasurer of the Somersworth Savings Bank,
which position he held for ten years. While he filled these positions,
both of which he resigned in order to give his exclusive attention to
manufacturing, he had become interested, by way of investments, in real
estate, shipping, and manufacturing.
[Illustration: D. H. Buffum.]
In 1857, Mr. Buffum, in company with John H. Burleigh, organized the
Newichawanick Woolen Company at South Berwick, Me., an enterprise at
first unprofitable, but which proved to be a financial success. In 1862
he organized the Great Falls Woolen Company with a capital of fifty
thousand dollars, which, from fortunate earnings in the next few years,
was increased to one hundred thousand dollars; and he has since been
treasurer and general manager of it excepting for a period of six years,
when he was compelled to withdraw from the active management by reason
of impaired health, occasioned by too close application to business,
three years of which time he spent in travel.
For twenty years Mr. Buffum has been engaged in the manufacture of
woolen fabrics, gradually extending his operations, until, at this
writing, he is owner of a felt-mill at Milton, N. H., a partner in the
wool-pulling establishment of L. R. Hersom & Co., in Berwick, Me.,
treasurer and manager of the Great Falls Woolen Company, and treasurer
and director of the Newichawanick Woolen Company at South Berwick, Me.;
he has also been a director of the Great Falls Manufacturing Company
since 1877. He has been connected with the Great Falls Bank, both state
and national, from its commencement, as cashier, director, and
president, which latter position he now holds; and, with the exception
of the first two years, has been connected with the Somersworth Savings
Bank as treasurer, trustee, and vice-president.
In local affairs, Mr. Buffum has taken an active and leading part. The
same nervous, physical energy which made him the first player in the
game of ball in his youth afforded just the qualities needed in the fire
department, in which he was always among the foremost, and for many
years at the head. He was chosen town clerk in 1843-44, moderator in
1848 and 1857, and selectman in 1846 and 1871-72.
In political affairs, Mr. Buffum has acted with the Whigs and
Republicans. In 1861-62 he was chosen representative to the legislature,
serving the first year as a member of the committee on banks, and the
second year as chairman of the committee on the reform school. In 1877
he was elected to the senate from district number five, and served as a
member of the committees on judiciary, finance, banks, and state
institutions. In 1878 he was re-elected to the senate, and chosen its
president. He was the last president of the senate of twelve members. Of
the sixty-two presidents of that body, he was the only one from district
number five, or from Strafford county as now constituted. In 1880 he was
elected as a delegate-at-large to the Republican national convention at
Chicago.
In his domestic relations, Mr. Buffum was happily connected, and his
home reflected the results of a successful business career. He was
married, January 26, 1853, to Charlotte E. Stickney, daughter of
Alexander H. Stickney, one of the old-time citizens of Great Falls. The
issue of this union was three sons and a daughter. The wife and mother
died March 8, 1868, and the daughter, May 23, 1877. Two of the sons,
Edgar Stickney and Harry Austin, are graduates, and the third, David
Hanson Jr., is now an undergraduate, of Yale College. Of the two little
sisters left fatherless with him, one is the widow of the late Hon. John
H. Burleigh, of South Berwick, Me., and the other is the wife of Isaac
P. Evans, an oil-manufacturer, of Richmond, Ind. The half-brother is
Timothy B. Hussey, plow-manufacturer, of North Berwick, Me., and the
half-sister has presided over his household since the death of his wife.
Mr. Buffum received his youthful impressions and early religious
training among the Society of Friends, whose tenets have exercised a
marked influence upon his career. At Great Falls he has been a regular
attendant at the Congregational church, to which he has been a liberal
contributor. The many trusts committed to his care fairly prove the
esteem and respect in which he has been held by his neighbors and
townsmen.
HON. CHARLES ADAMS, JR., A. M.
BY REV. W. R. COCHRANE.
It appears from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register,
Vol. VII., and also from Drake's History and Antiquities of Boston,
folio edition, 1854, that "Ap Adam (the Welsh for Adams) came out of the
Marches of Wales." Their descendants appear to have lived for many
generations in the English shires of Lancaster, Gloucester, and Devon.
From the latter, Henry Adams, the first of this family in America,
emigrated, and settled in that part of Braintree which is now Quincy,
Mass., about 1630. He died there in 1646. Twenty-four generations in the
male line are given below, the first seventeen of which are copied from
the authorities cited above.
1. Sir John Ap Adam, Knt., Lord Ap Adam, member of Parliament
from 1296 to 1307.
2. Sir John Ap Adam Kt.
3. Sir John Ap Adam.
4. William Ap Adam.
5. Sir John Ap Adam.
6. Thomas Ap Adam.
7. Sir John Ap Adam, Knt.
8. Sir John Ap Adam, _alias_ Adams.
9. Roger Adams.
10. Thomas Adams.
11. John Adams.
12. John Adams.
13. John Adams.
14. Richard Adams.
15. William Adams.
16. Henry Adams who settled in Braintree, (now Quincy), Mass.,
and died 1646.
17. Edward Adams, of Medfield, Mass.
18. John Adams, of Medway, Mass.
19. Abraham Adams, of Brookfield, Mass.
20. Jesse Adams, of Brookfield, Mass.
21. Dr. Charles Adams, of Antrim, N. H.
22. Hon. Charles Adams, Jr., A. M., North Brookfield, Mass.
23. Charles Woodburn Adams, North Brookfield, Mass.
24. Charles Joseph Adams, North Brookfield, Mass.
[Illustration: Chat. Adams Jr.]
From Henry Adams (16), who settled in Braintree, descended the
presidents. He had a large family besides the Edward named above, and
among them a son Joseph, born in 1626, who married Abigail Baxter. These
last had a son Joseph, born December 24, 1654. Of this second Joseph,
the second son was Dea. John Adams of Braintree. Dea. John married
Susanna Boylston, of Brookline, Mass., and their oldest son was John
Adams, born October 19, 1735, second President of the United States. His
oldest son was John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States,
and father of Hon. Charles Francis Adams.
Dr. Charles Adams, the twenty-first generation from Ap Adam of Wales,
was son of Jesse and Miriam (Richardson) Adams, of Brookfield, Mass.,
and was born in that place, February 13, 1782. His early years were
spent on the farm with his father. His education was chiefly acquired in
the district school and Leicester Academy. He then taught some two years
in Half Moon, N. Y. On his return, in 1803, he commenced the study of
medicine with Dr. Asa Walker, of Barre, Mass., with whom he remained in
practice one year after completing his studies. He came to Antrim, N.
H., and began practice in the early summer of 1807, coming to take the
place of Dr. Nathan W. Cleaves, whose early and much lamented death
occurred in April of that year. Dr. Adams married, February 13, 1809,
Sarah McAllister, of Antrim, daughter of James and Sarah (McClary)
McAllister. She was a woman of excellent tastes and superior mind, of
rare patience in toil and trial, and of a sweet and winning Christian
spirit,--all of which made her conspicuously worthy and attractive. She
was of pure Scotch descent and strict Presbyterian opinions. She was a
mother whose children might well "rise up and call her blessed." Dr.
Adams was a favorite in Antrim; was early in town office; was a
successful physician; was a great reader, full of information; and was
looked upon by contemporaries as an original and able man. He moved from
Antrim to Oakham, Mass., in 1816, where he died of old age, March 6,
1875.
Hon. CHARLES ADAMS, JR., A. M., the subject of this sketch, was born in
Antrim, January 31, 1810; in that part of the town then known as
"Woodbury Village," having only eight or ten houses all told, now the
large and flourishing village of South Antrim. Here he had his first
schooling, under charge of Fanny Baldwin and Daniel M. Christie,
afterwards Hon. Daniel M. of Dover. Of those early school-days he
retains a vivid remembrance; and he is the last of that group of
scholars, or nearly the last, now living. After removal from Antrim, he
continued and completed a common-school education at Oakham; was at a
select school six months under Rev. John Bisbee, of Brookfield, Mass.;
then he studied eight months with Rev. Josiah Clark, of Rutland, Mass.;
and this was the limit of his opportunity for education. Then, though
quite young, he was in a store about five years in Petersham, Mass.,
obtaining much practical knowledge in the course of his work. He is what
called a self-made man. Few men can be found better versed in literary
matters, or political economy, or the history of our land. He has been
familiar with distinguished men, and is one we count winsome in the
social hour, with a fund of information on most topics of conversation;
with apt quotation, or vigorous repartee ever ready on his tongue. Hence
he is one of the most agreeable, genial, and gentlemanly of men. He was
some years book-keeper, and afterwards partner, in the immense boot and
shoe-manufacturing establishment of North Brookfield (now employing from
twelve hundred to fifteen hundred hands), from which company he retired
just before the war.
With singular continuance, Mr. Adams has been kept in offices of trust
by the people of his adopted town and state. He was clerk of North
Brookfield (now of about forty-five hundred inhabitants) ten years;
representative in the Massachusetts house four years; on the executive
council of Massachusetts four years; treasurer of the state of
Massachusetts five years; and member of the senate of that state four
years. And in all these cases the office sought the man, not the man
the office. The writer of this knows that some of his friends were
almost angry with him because he would not consent to run for congress,
when the way was clear and an election sure. It is simply the truth to
say that he has been in public life more than a quarter of a century;
that he is a man of fixed principles and irreproachable character, a
vigorous hater of shams and corruption, and held in honor throughout his
adopted state.
During his administration as treasurer and receiver-general of the
commonwealth, it became necessary, in arranging its financial matters,
to negotiate, sign, and deliver in England, a large amount of its bonds,
and Mr. Adams was commissioned by the governor and council to go to
London for that purpose. After having successfully accomplished the
objects of his mission, he took the opportunity of traveling for a short
time on the continent of Europe, as well as in Great Britain, and
especially in Scotland. In the latter country he had an ardent and
loving interest, which was increased by travel there, and has lost
nothing in subsequent years. He is a Scotch antiquarian of much reading
and research.
Mr. Adams has always been greatly attached to his native town,
Antrim,--cherishing with undiminished love the rocks and the hills upon
which he looked in childhood. His visits are frequent to the old town;
he still retains his membership in the old Presbyterian church; clearly
remembers the old faces; loves the old ways; was a great helper in
preparing the recent History of Antrim, and was a willing contributor to
its embellishment. With all the rest, he has been something of a
musician, being a member of the church choir (North Brookfield, Mass.,)
more than forty years,--for many years its leader. And in these traits
his children follow him, as they are gifted with rare musical taste and
skill.
Mr. Adams married, May 8, 1834, Eliza, daughter of Hon. Joseph Cummings,
of Ware, Mass.; and they have three surviving children,--Charles
Woodburn and George Arthur, of North Brookfield, and John Quincy, of
Boston. An only daughter, Ellen Eliza, married Frank A. Smith, and died
at West Brookfield in 1866.
The degree of A. M. was conferred on Mr. Adams by Dartmouth College in
1878. And it may be added that such men as Mr. Adams are continually
reflecting honor upon our rocky New Hampshire, from which they went
forth. Their success goes to prove, that, with an eager mind, good ready
common sense, persevering application, and inflexible honesty, the boys
of the Granite State may win high places among men. We see by this
biography, that, if the _man be good enough_, the place will seek the
man. Truth and uprightness, backed by good abilities, are pretty sure to
be appreciated.
[Illustration: B. F. Prescott.]
GOV. BENJAMIN F. PRESCOTT.
BY COL. WILLIAM E. STEVENS.
The first person by the name of Prescott in the province of New
Hampshire, was James, who came from Dryby, in the county of Lincolnshire
in England, and settled in Hampton, in 1665. On his arrival he began
farming operations in what is now Hampton Falls, upon the farm now known
as the "Wells Healy place," and remained there until he moved to
Kingston, in 1725, when that town was granted to him, and others. In
1668 he married Mary, daughter of Nathaniel and Grace Boulter, who was
born in Exeter, May 15, 1648. From this couple sprang the Prescotts in
New Hampshire. James was the second cousin of John, who came to
Massachusetts and settled in Watertown in 1640, from whom sprang the
Prescotts mainly in that state, and among them Col. William, the hero of
Bunker Hill, and his grandson, William H. Prescott, the eminent scholar
and historian. James is represented to have been an influential man,
honest in his dealings, upright in character, sound in judgment. His
opinions were sought and respected. They had nine children, five sons
and four daughters. Their fourth child was Jonathan, who was born August
6, 1675. When he grew up, he settled in that part of Hampton, which,
since 1737, has been known as Kensington. In 1696 he was at Fort William
and Mary and remained there some time, and in 1710 served under Capt.
John Gilman in a scouting party. He had four sons and two daughters. His
first child was named Jonathan. He was married, April 3, 1721, to
Judith, daughter of Ebenezer and Judith (Sanborn) Gove. He was
appointed, by Gov. Benning Wentworth, captain in a company, in the
celebrated expedition against Louisburg, on the island of Cape Breton,
under Sir William Pepperell. While on this expedition he died of fever
on the 19th of January, 1746, leaving eleven children, four sons and
seven daughters. His eighth child was named Nathan Gove Prescott, and
was born March 13, 1735. He married, February 24, 1757, Patience Brown,
of Kensington. Near the time of his marriage he moved to Epping and
began work as a farmer and blacksmith. His brother Micah settled near
him, on the opposite side of the road, and was engaged in the same
occupation. They both signed the "Association Test," in 1776, with two
hundred and seven others in the town.
Nathan Gove Prescott had five children, three sons and two daughters,
born upon the farm where he settled. He died November 13, 1825, aged
nearly ninety-one years. Nathan was his first child, and was born June
25, 1759. He became a carpenter and went to Monmouth in the province of
Maine, but returned to New Hampshire and died at an advanced age. He
married Anna Wells and had nine children, four sons and five daughters.
His fourth son was Asa, who was born in Deerfield, May 2, 1787. He was a
farmer and blacksmith. He married Polly Clark, of Greenland, and by this
marriage had nine children, six sons and three daughters. He died in
Epsom, March 27, 1867, aged nearly eighty years. His oldest son was
named Nathan Gove Prescott, after his great-grandfather. He was born
upon the homestead, November 1, 1807. He became a farmer and was
successful in his work. He possessed excellent judgment on all matters
relating to his occupation, and was considered by all who knew him as an
excellent and thrifty farmer with the limited means at his command. He
was honest, frugal, and upright. His word was never questioned, his
judgment was relied upon, and his opinion respected and valued by his
townsmen. On the 9th day of May, 1832, he married Betsey Hills Richards,
daughter of Captain Benjamin and Mehitable (Hills) Richards, of
Nottingham, who was born December 21, 1811. She is a lady of fine
presence, vigorous constitution, and cultivated manners. She still
resides in Epping with her son. Her husband, Nathan Gove Prescott, died
July 7, 1866, aged nearly sixty years. They had only one child, BENJAMIN
FRANKLIN PRESCOTT, who was born on the family homestead, February 26,
1833. Thus the line of ancestry has been traced from 1665.
The families on both sides can point to a fair and honorable record. The
subject of this sketch inherited from his paternal and maternal line a
strong constitution and great power of endurance, which have aided him
much in his career. Like the rest of the boys in his neighborhood, he
attended the district school a few months in the summer and winter, and
worked upon the farm the remainder of the time. He made commendable
progress in his studies, and as soon as his age would allow, his
parents, feeling the want of a liberal education themselves, determined
to give their son the advantages of the higher seminaries of learning.
In the fall of 1847 he was sent to Blanchard Academy, in Pembroke, where
he remained a portion of the time till 1850, when he entered Phillips
Academy, in Exeter. He remained at this distinguished institution until
the summer of 1853, when he entered the sophomore class in Dartmouth
College, from which he graduated in 1856. While at Exeter he delivered
an oration before the "Golden Branch," a literary society, at its annual
anniversary, which at the time was well received. While in college, in
the winter of 1855, he taught school in Chester. At his graduation he
had an oration, and was for a time president of the United Fraternity, a
public society in the college. After his graduation, in the fall and
winter of 1856 he taught two district schools and one private school in
Epping, and in February, 1857, he entered as a student in the law firm
of Henry A. & Abel H. Bellows, in Concord, and after studying the
requisite time was admitted to the bar, in August, 1859. He began the
practice of his profession in Concord, and remained in it until May,
1861, when he became associate editor of the _Independent Democrat_,
during the absence of Hon. George G. Fogg, United States minister to
Switzerland, until the summer of 1866.
Mr. Prescott was, from his youth, strongly opposed to the institution of
slavery, and on reaching his majority allied himself with the Republican
party, and cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont. His
father was also a Whig and then Republican. About 1858 or 1859 he was
elected secretary of the Republican state committee, succeeding the Hon.
William E. Chandler, and filled that position for fifteen years, during
which time many of the important and successful political campaigns were
conducted.
While connected with the _Independent Democrat_, he was appointed a
special agent of the United States Treasury Department for New England,
his duty being, unless otherwise directed, to examine and report upon
the custom-houses and their business, light-houses, revenue-cutters,
sub-treasury and marine hospitals. He held this position less than three
years, and was removed early in the administration of Andrew Johnson
because he openly denounced the policy and course of the President. He
served as secretary of the colleges of electors for New Hampshire in
1860, 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876 and 1880; he was elected secretary of state
in June, 1872, 1873, 1875, and 1876. On the 10th of January, 1877, Mr.
Prescott received the nomination as the Republican candidate for
governor, and on the second Tuesday of March following was elected, by a
majority of thirty-six hundred and thirty-two over his competitor, Hon.
Daniel Marcy, of Portsmouth. On the 9th day of January, 1878, he was
unanimously renominated at the state convention in Concord, and on the
second Tuesday of March following was re-elected by a majority of nine
hundred and fifty-six over his regular competitor, Hon. Frank A. McKean,
of Nashua, and a plurality of fifteen hundred and twelve. On June 16,
1862, he was elected a resident member of the New Hampshire Historical
Society, and was for several years vice-president of the same. In 1876
he was elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain,
also president of the Bennington (Vt.) Battle Monument Association, also
president of the Provident Mutual Relief Association. On May 6, 1880, he
was elected a delegate-at-large to the Republican convention in Chicago,
and while there was chosen chairman of the New Hampshire delegation. On
the 8th of December, 1881, he was elected an honorary member of the
Marshfield Club in Boston. In 1874 he was appointed a trustee of the New
Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, and in 1878 he
was elected a trustee of Dartmouth College, both of which positions he
holds at the present time.
While governor, he was frequently called upon to address public and
private gatherings, and when it did not interfere with his official
duties he seldom failed to respond. His first address was at Epping, on
the occasion of a public reception given him by the citizens of the
town, without distinction of party, on the day after his inauguration.
The occasion was brilliant and highly complimentary. He also was present
at the inauguration of Rev. Samuel C. Bartlett, D. D., LL.D., as
president of Dartmouth College, and gave an address of welcome to this
eminent scholar. The governor visited, with a large detachment of the
state militia and distinguished citizens of the state, the centennial
celebration of the battle of Bennington, Vt., and spoke there for the
state at the banquet on that memorable occasion. He was also at state
and town fairs, and meetings of various kinds held within the limits,
and without the state, on all of which occasions he acquitted himself
creditably, both in matter and manner, his style of speech being
graceful and forcible.
Gov. Prescott was married, June 10, 1869, to Mary Little Noyes, daughter
of Jefferson and Nancy (Peart) Noyes, of Concord. Mrs. Prescott was born
in Atkinson, May 6, 1839. She is a lady of refined manners and a
favorite in society. They have had only one child, who takes his
father's name. He was born June 16, 1879, upon the family homestead.
Gov. Prescott is an excellent and successful farmer, and has a large
farm under a high state of cultivation. In 1876 he erected a spacious
dwelling-house and other buildings. He has a large and well selected
library.