Sketches of Successful New Hampshire Men Part 23

Returning now to Arthur, the third child of Dea. James the emigrant, we have to say that he was born April 3, 1721. He married Margaret Hopkins, and settled in the south part of Londonderry; but in later life he moved to the state of Maine. He had two sons in the Revolutionary army, one of whom, John, was a captain noted for valor and strength, but died near the close of the war from effects of excessive exposure and hardship. Of Jean and Mary, daughters of the first Dea. James, I know nothing. But John, the sixth child of the emigrant, married Elisabeth, sister of Gen.

George Reed of Londonderry, settled on the first Nesmith homestead with his father, and died there in 1815, aged eighty-seven. His children were: James of Antrim; Arthur of Antrim; John, Jr., who married, first, Susan Hildreth, and, second, Lydia Sargent, and died on the homestead in Londonderry in 1844; Ebenezer, who married Jane Trotter; Thomas; Elisabeth, who married Dea. James Pinkerton; Mary, who married John Miltimore, moving to Reading, Penn.; and Jane, who married Hugh Anderson. Of Elisabeth, the emigrant's seventh child, I have no data.

Thomas, the eighth child, was born March 26, 1732; married Annis Wilson, and settled in Londonderry (now the north part of Windham), and had three children: John, Elisabeth, and Thomas, Jr. Of Benjamin, the ninth child of the first Dea. James, I have no information of importance in the present undertaking.

JONATHAN NESMITH, second child of James and Mary (Dinsmore) Nesmith, and grandson of the proprietor Dea. James, was born in Londonderry, in August, 1759. He came here in May, 1774, and began to clear the farm that remained in possession of the family until 1865. He made successive clearings each year, and with vigorous hand put up his log cabin,--though only a boy of sixteen years when he began. He permanently moved here in 1778. He subsequently had to pay for the most of his land a second time. Was one of the leading spirits of the town. Was eleven years selectman, and was four times chosen representative of the town.

Was always on important committees, and was known and confided in by all. He was chosen one of the elders of the Presbyterian church at its formation in 1778, though only twenty-nine years of age. For fifty years he only failed of officiating at one communion. Dea. Nesmith was a man of great sociality,--up to jokes,--genial, jolly, and good-natured; was very hospitable and benevolent; anxious for the public welfare; stoutly in earnest to maintain the faith of his fathers; a man of strong ability, good judgment, and irreproachable character. He was an honor to the town he helped to establish. His death occurred Oct. 15, 1845, aged eighty-six. His first wife was Elenor d.i.c.key, whom he married in 1781.

She was the daughter of Adam and Jane (Strahan) d.i.c.key of Londonderry, and grand-daughter of John and Margaret d.i.c.key, of Londonderry, Ireland.

She was born Jan. 1, 1761, and died Sept. 17, 1818. He married, second, Mrs. Sarah (Wetherbee) Hamblin, of Concord, Ma.s.s. She was twelve years of age when she witnessed the battle of Lexington and Concord from her father's door. She saw those brave men fall, remembered everything, and was always fond of telling of those first blows for liberty. She died Jan. 16, 1852, aged eighty-nine. Dea. Nesmith's cabin was burned one day when the family were absent; and he used to remark, in after years, that he never felt so poor as then. Yet, undismayed, he went about building another, being generously aided by neighbors he had himself always been forward to help. After several years he put up a substantial framed house, which was burned March 4, 1841, from a spark catching on the roof. In his old age Dea. Nesmith resigned his office in the church; and it is spoken of as a remarkable scene, when he stood in the public a.s.sembly and offered his resignation, and then, with trembling voice and with uplifted and palsied hand, invoked G.o.d's blessing on his successors in coming time. His children were:--

1. JAMES, b. Oct. 5, 1783; m. Polly Taylor April 10, 1810; cleared and settled west of the pond and west of the Steele place, on land now George Brown's,--often called the Boyd place; went thence to Solon, N. Y., in 1822, with six children. There his wife d. in 1846. In 1852 he m. 2d, Mrs. Susan Clark; moved to Waukon, Io., and d. there in 1862. He had children:--

_Mary_, (b. in 1811; d. in infancy.)

_Mary E._, (b. in 1812; m. John Stillman of Cortlandville, N.

Y., in 1833; went to Waukon, Io., in 1857, where they now live.)

_Rev. John T. G._, (b. in 1814; studied at Cazenovia Seminary; m. Harriet N. Taylor; entered the Methodist ministry; was a faithful and able man; d. while pastor, at the age of 36.)

_Hannah E._, (b. in 1816; m. John Reed; moved to Waukon, Io., in 1857, and d. there in 1877.)

_Abigail S._, (b. in 1818; became second wife of Isaac Barker in 1847; went to Waukon, Io., in 1854.)

_Mark W._, (b. in 1820; d. unm., at Solon, N. Y., in 1848.)

_James A._, (b. in 1822; carried to Solon, N. Y., when an infant; went thence to Illinois in 1844; m. Laura Post.)

_George W._, (b. in Solon, N. Y., in 1825; m. Mary C. Farrar of Fairfield, Vt.; resides at Waukon, Io.)

_Dr. Milton W._, (b. in 1828; m. Margaret Donoughue in 1852; is now physician and druggist at Waukon, Io.)

_Woodbury T._, (by second wife; b. in 1852; remains at Solon, N. Y.)

2. JEAN, now called "Jane," or "Jenny;" b. May 14, 1787; m. John Dunlap, June 26, 1807, and d. March 29, 1835.

3. THOMAS D., b. March 22, 1789; m. Martha Weeks, March 30, 1813; succeeded his father on the homestead. His first wife d.

in 1828, aged 35, and he m. 2d, Nancy Gregg, Feb. 4, 1830. He d.

Sept. 10, 1841, aged 52. The second wife d. Feb. 9, 1856, aged 63. He was known in town as "Capt. Nesmith;" was captain of the "Antrim Grenadiers," and was often marshal of the day on special occasions. He was a useful man, and d. in his prime. His children were:--

_Robert W._, (b. May 3, 1814; m. Olive Dunlap of Bedford, June 1, 1839; settled in Jefferson, Tex., and d. at Sulphur Springs in that state, Nov. 28, 1866. He left two daughters: Oriette, now in the Metropolitan Railroad office, Boston; and Sally Y., who m. Com. Decatur Morris, and lives in Little Rock, Ark.)

_Jonathan_, (b. Jan. 24, 1816; m. Marietta F. Morrill of Franklin, Nov. 15, 1841; inherited the homestead of his father and grandfather, sold the same in 1865, and two or three years later moved to Hanc.o.c.k, where he now resides. He was the last of the name in town. At one time there were three Dea. Nesmiths in town, known as "Dea. James," "Dea. Arthur," and "Dea. Jonathan,"

and they each had nine children,--making, with sisters and friends, nearly forty by that name in this place. Jonathan's children are: Jennie M., who was b. Sept. 23, 1842,--an excellent teacher; Thomas S., who was b. May 12, 1846, and d. at the age of three years; Fannie H., who was b. Dec. 8, 1848, and m. Frank H. Baldwin, June 19, 1876, residing in Keene; Annie M.

T., who was b. Sept. 12, 1852; Abbie Isabel, who was b. Nov. 15, 1854, and d. 1856; Miles G., who was b. Sept. 26, 1857; Addie M., who was b. Jan. 27, 1860; and John S., who was b. May 5, 1863.)

_Sarah E._, (b. Dec. 24, 1818, m. John W. b.u.t.trick, and lives in Lawrence, Ma.s.s.)

_Miles_, (b. Feb. 2, 1821; went to California in 1849, and was driver for the California Stage Company; the horses became unmanageable, and the whole team was thrown down a fearful precipice near Virginia City, Nev., by which the driver, all the horses, and most of the pa.s.sengers were instantly killed. This sad event occurred in December, 1862.)

_Harriet F._, (b. Feb. 2, 1823, m. Walker Flanders, and lives in Lawrence, Ma.s.s.)

_Martha J._, (b. June 9, 1825; m. Isaac P. Cochran of Windham, Nov. 12, 1846.)

_Melvin_, (b. Dec. 20, 1830; d. in Sacramento, Cal., Dec. 31, 1853.)

_Hiram G._, (b. Feb. 18, 1833; d. in Jefferson, Tex., in 1857.)

_Nancy R._, (b. Jan. 24, 1836, m. Josiah Melville, and lives in Nelson.)

4. ADAM, b. March 5, 1792; m. Rebecca Dale; settled in Beverly, Ma.s.s., and d. Jan. 15, 1865.

5. MARY D., "Molly Dinsmore" on town record, b. April 11, 1794; called "Long Mary," being tall in form; a talented, respected, and Christian woman; d. unm. April 6, 1874.

6. MARGARET, b. May 4, 1796; d. unm. in 1827.

7. ISABEL, b. March 6, 1798; d. unm. March 8, 1862.

8. HON. GEORGE W., b. Oct. 23, 1800; was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1820; m. Mary M. Brooks; settled in the practice of law at Franklin; was long judge of the New Hampshire supreme court, remaining on the bench until relieved by the const.i.tutional limitation of years. Is now president of the N.

H. Orphans' Home, and trustee of Dartmouth College; is a man of n.o.ble principles and honored life, enjoying in his old age the highest confidence and esteem of men. The degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by Dartmouth College. He stands among the best and n.o.blest of the sons of New Hampshire, and is an honor to his native town.

CHARLES MARSH.

Yankee courage, integrity, and judgment have won no more substantial or more splendid triumphs in the business world than are reflected from the dry-goods palace of Jordan, Marsh, & Co., a house whose grand successes have made it famous throughout the mercantile world. The foundations of this magnificent establishment were laid in 1851 and 1852, by three young men, two of whom were natives of New Hampshire. The head of the firm, Eben D. Jordan, when fourteen years old had gone up to Boston from his home in Maine, and began his business career as an errand boy, and in a short time had been promoted to a clerkship, in which position he made himself master of the dry-goods business, and while doing it became acquainted with two other young men, Benjamin L. and CHARLES MARSH, who had left their father's house in Chesterfield, N. H., and sought in Boston an opening in which pluck, push, and perseverance, unaided by influential friends or unearned capital, could carry them on to success.

In 1852, Messrs. Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh established the firm of Jordan, Marsh, & Co., and the next year Charles Marsh, then a clerk in the store of Pearl, Smith, & Co., was admitted as a partner. The house began in a small way; it had behind it little but the splendid courage and the remarkable abilities of the three young partners; but these were sufficient to win a fair share of business, and a reputation which was better than money, and in a short time it was firmly established in the confidence of the mercantile world and the good will of the public. In eight years the business had grown to two million dollars per annum, and since that time it has steadily and rapidly increased, until the firm controls the dry-goods market of New England, and, in many lines, of the entire country.

The elder Marsh died in 1856, leaving his partners to carry on and complete the grand enterprises he had helped project and begin. His brother still remains to share with Mr. Jordan the triumphs of the firm.

In the early days of the business, Charles Marsh was an active salesman, and was accounted one of the best ever known in Boston. Afterwards, he took charge of the wholesale department, which has since been and still is under his personal supervision.

In commercial circles and in the store he has a clearly defined and high rank as a manager, with rare combination of talents. His coolness, his thorough knowledge of the business, his level-headed judgment, and organizing and executive capacity are abundantly attested in the great and rapid growth of the wholesale business. He is a balanced man; and how necessary this quality is to success in an enterprise of this magnitude, only those who have seen houses go to wreck for lack of it can tell. The elements of personal popularity in his character, and his extensive acquaintance throughout the country, help to explain his success. For nearly thirty years his steady hand has been felt at the helm, and yet he seems to-day only in the prime of his powers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Chas. Marsh.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: G. Byron Chandler]

HON. GEORGE BYRON CHANDLER.

The subject of this sketch is a member of a family that has long occupied a prominent and honorable place in New Hampshire history. His parents, Adam and Sally (McAllister) Chandler, were worthy representatives of the strong-minded, able-bodied, industrious, and successful citizens who in the early part of the century tilled the farms and shaped affairs in our farming towns. They resided upon a fertile farm in Bedford, which was the birthplace of their four children. Of these, the three sons--Henry, John M., and George Byron--are all citizens of Manchester, and are now engaged in the banking business. The only daughter is dead. The boys spent their boyhood upon the farm, doing their share of the work; but their parents were solicitous that they should be fitted for some more profitable calling, and gave them all the school privileges of the neighborhood, which were afterwards supplemented by academical instruction at several state academies.

His home work, his studies at Piscataquog, Gilmanton, Hopkinton, and Reed's Ferry academies, and his duties as a teacher at Amoskeag, Bedford, and Nashua, occupied the boyhood of GEORGE BYRON CHANDLER until the age of twenty-one, after which he spent one year as a civil engineer in the employ of the Boston, Concord, & Montreal Railroad.

In the spring of 1854 he decided to devote himself to a business instead of a professional career, and, coming to Manchester, entered the grocery house of Kidder & Duncklee as a book-keeper. The next year he was offered a similar position in the Amoskeag Bank, which he accepted, and filled so acceptably that eighteen months later he was promoted to the teller's counter, and remained there until the organization of the Amoskeag National Bank, in 1864, when he was elected its cashier and entered upon the discharge of the duties of this responsible position, which he still holds. That he has won in it the continuing confidence of its managers, who are among the most sagacious of financiers, and the hearty approval of its numerous owners and patrons, is the best testimony to his fidelity and efficiency. His success in this capacity led the trustees of People's Savings Bank, when it was organized, to select him as its treasurer, and the success of this inst.i.tution is another reflection of his patient and skillful work. These two banks, of which he is the chief executive, are among the strongest in the country; and it is much for him to be proud of that they have grown so great in resources and public confidence during his administration.