Category: Uncategorized

By Muriel Bristol | August 16, 2019

Continued from Milton’s Congregational Ministers of 1847-90

The sequence of Congregational ministers listed in Scales’ History of Strafford County concluded in 1890. This list has been constructed from other sources.

The Milton Congregational ministers of this 1891-1924 period were Robert T. Osgood, Myron P. Dickey, Joseph N. Walker, Clarence E. Pike, Simon F. Goodheart, Owen E. Hardy, and Newell W. Whitman.

Rev. Robert Treadwell Osgood – 1891-92

Robert T. Osgood was born in West Roxbury, MA, October 16, 1865, son of Edward T. and Hannah P. (Newell) Osgood.

Robert Treadwell Osgood. b. Jamaica Plain, Mass., Oct. 16, 1865; Harv. 1887; ord. June 16, 1891; p. Milton, N.H., 1891-92; res. lic. Yale Sem., 1893-94; p. Meredith, N.H., 1895-97; w.c. Biltmore, N.C.; Hadlyme, Ct., from 1903. Address Hadlyme, Ct. (Andover Theological Seminary, 1908).

Robert T. Osgood was ordained in Milton’s Congregational Church, June 16, 1891. His grandfather, Rev. Samuel Osgood, appears to have been in attendance.

HERE AND THERE. On Tuesday, June 16, Mr. Robert Osgood will be ordained and installed as pastor of the Congregational church at Milton Ponds [Three Ponds]. The Rev. Alexander McKenzie, D.D., of Cambridge, Mass., is expected to preach the sermon on this occasion, the distinguished divine having counted Mr. Osgood as one of his parishioners. The latter is a young gentleman of fine ability and training, his early life was spent in Europe, where his mother is at present directing the education of her younger children. He is the grandson of Dr. Osgood, who served as pastor to a church in Springfield, Mass., for a half century, and it is thought that the younger man is moved by the right spirit in coming to minister to the picturesque village across the hills. Messrs. Hall of Dover, Street of Exeter, Lewis of Salmon Falls, and Clark of Wolfboro and other neighboring pastors besides Lyman Whiting and Prof. Tucker, with the Senior Mr. Osgood, will be present at the ordination, on June 16, of Robert Osgood of Milton. The council will meet at 1 p.m. at the church, and Dr. McKenzie will preach at 2.30 (Farmington News, June 12, 1891).

Ministerial Personals. CONGREGATIONAL. R.T. Osgood was ordained and installed as pastor of the church in Milton, N.H., on June 16 (Christian Union, July 4, 1891).

Religious Intelligence. New Hampshire. Milton. Rev. R.T. Osgood is under treatment in New York for trouble with his eyes (Vermont Chronicle, November 18, 1892).

MILTON. Rev. Robert Osgood has been obliged to give up the pastorate of the Congregational church, on account of failing health (Farmington News, December 9, 1892).

Religious Intelligence. New Hampshire. Milton. The town and state loses an excellent minister through the resignation of Rev. R.T. Osgood on account of an obstinate and disabling disease of the eyes (Vermont Chronicle, December 16, 1892).

Rev. Robert T. Osgood went next to Yale University, for several years, and then to a pastorate in Meredith, NH.

WATERVILLE, N.H. Rev. Robert T. Osgood of Meredith is enjoying a few days at this resort (Boston Globe, August 16, 1896).

R.T. Osgood appeared in the Meredith, NH, business directory of 1897, as pastor of the Meredith Congregational church.

William Cheesborough, a farmer, aged forty-four years (b. SC), headed an Asheville, NC, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his siblings, John Cheesborough, a farmer, aged forty-six years (b. SC), and Elizabeth Cheesborough, aged forty years (b. SC), his servant, James Shorter, a farm laborer, aged thirteen years (b. SC), and his boarder, Robert Osgood, a preacher, aged thirty-five years (b. NY [SIC]).

SINGING LESSONS: Mr. Osgood will receive private pupils as beginners in singing. Especial attention to tone-production and reading.. Also lessons in French. Care in pronunciation, conversational method. Has studied in French schools. Apply post office box 16 or at Rose Villa (News-Herald (Morganton, NC), February 21, 1907).

John T. Pillsbury, a private school principal, aged sixty-three years (b. ME), headed a Newton, MA, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of thirty-one years), Sarah E. Pillsbury, a private school teacher, aged fifty-six years (b. ME), his son, W. Robinson Pillsbury, a wholesale leather salesman, aged twenty-two years (b. MA); his assistants, Robert T. Osgood, a private school teacher, aged forty-four years (b. MA), Carl Killam, a private school teacher, aged twenty-two years (b. MA), and Earl A. Roadman, a private school teacher, aged twenty-six years (b. IA); his janitor, Hewitt W. Proctor, a private school janitor, aged twenty years (b. NH), his cook, Anna Johnson, a private school cook, aged thirty-nine years (b. Sweden), his laundress, Hilda Syred, a private school laundress, aged twenty-two years (b. Sweden), his maids, Elizabeth Johnson, a private school servant, aged twenty-two years (b. US), and Lillian Chute, a private school servant, aged twenty-one years (b. US); and his boarders, Carl C. Enebuske, a building architect, aged twenty-one years (b. NY), Louis Simon, aged seventeen years (b. Cuba), Ernest Simon, aged fifteen years (b. Cuba), Fangen Sim, aged seventeen years (b. China), Tsu Chang Kwanan, aged thirteen years (b. China). and Myron Lord, aged ten years (b. MA). John H. Pillsbury owned their residence at 1690 Beacon Street, but with a mortgage. The Wolcott School occupied that space in 1910 (now the Angier School).

News from the Classes. Class of 1887. R.T. Osgood writes an interesting letter from Paris. From 1900 to 1917 he was principally engaged in teaching, especially in French. In the spring of 1917 he went to France as a volunteer hospital aid and since then has been engaged in war activities before and after the Armistice until the present time. He hopes to return to this country in the fall (Harvard Graduate’s Magazine Association, 1923).

He Was Here. Robert T. Osgood of Valenciennes, France, a Latin teacher at Pittsfield High in 1887 and 1888, is looking for proof of his American citizenship. In a letter to the mayor yesterday, Osgood asked him to please certify he was a resident here in 87 and 88, A check by Superintendent of School Russell verified Osgood’s claim, and a letter of certification is on the way to Valenciennes. During the war, Osgood explained in his letter, his documents were lost when the consulate at Lille was closed and later merged with another office. Citizenship proof is necessary to put his personal affairs in order, he noted. Mr. Osgood’s family lived in Hancock years ago before he moved to France (Berkshire Eagle, July 8, 1948).

Robert T. Osgood would then have been about eighty-four years of age. Nothing has come to hand to suggest that he returned to the United States. (He likely died in France).

Rev. Myron Parsons Dickey – 1893-1908

Myron P. Dickey was born in Derry, NH, February 19, 1852, son of David W. and Sarah A. (Campbell) Dickey.

He married (1st) in Palmer, MA, August 2, 1876, Louisa R. Shumway, he of New Hampshire, and she of Palmer. He was a teacher, aged twenty-four years (b. NH); she was aged thirty-two years (b. Palmer). She was born in Palmer, MA, February 1, 1845, daughter of Asa and Orinda (Hall) Shumway.

Sophia Amidon, a widow, aged forty years (b. MA), headed a Palmer, MA, household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. Her household included her son, Fayett Amidon, a laborer, aged eighteen years (b. MA), her boarder, Myron P. Dickey, a school teacher, aged twenty-eight years (b. NH), [her boarder’s] wife, Louise Dickey, no employment, aged thirty-six years (b. MA), and [her boarder’s] son, Maurice Dickey, aged two years (b. NH). They shared a two-family dwelling with the household of Eli Smith, a dry goods merchant, aged forty-eight years (b. MA).

In February 1883, a unanimous call was given to Rev. Myron P. Dickey to become the [Ludlow, MA] pastor at a salary of $700 and the parsonage. A council convened the 14th of June to install Mr. Dickey. In 1887 his salary was increased $100. June 23, 1889 was observed as the one hundredth anniversary of the organization of the Church. At this time Rev. Mr. Dickey delivered a historical sermon in the afternoon. Others who took part were: Rev. J.W. Tuck, a former pastor; Rev. Mr. Buckingham and Rev. Mr. Cone of Springfield; Rev. Mr. Howard of Wilbraham; Rev. Simeon Miller of Ludlow and Dea. Elisha T. Parsons. Mr. Dickey resigned in 1893 to accept the pastorate of a church in Milton, N.H. (Noon, 1912).

Myron P. Dickey appeared as the pastor of the Congregational church in the Milton directories of 1894, 1898, 1901, and 1904. He appeared as pastor of the Congregational church, 17 So. Main street, in the Milton directory of 1905-06.

LOCALS. The pastor of the First church exchanged desks on last Sunday with Rev. M.P. Dickey of Milton, who presented to his audience a thoughtful and forcible exposition of Isaiah xxxii, 2. Mr. Dickey, a scholarly and original thinker, has been for five years the pastor of the church in Milton, and it is hoped that his parish may be so happy as to continue, for a long time to come, the relation with him which has been so valued and enjoyed (Farmington News, October 6, 1899).

Myron P. Dickey, a clergyman, aged forty-eight years (b. NH), headed a Milton (“Milton Village”) household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of twenty-three years), Louise Dickey, aged fifty-six years (b. MA), and his children, Morris Dickey, a grocery store salesman, aged twenty-one years (b. NH), Orinda Dickey, at school, aged sixteen years (b. MA), and Mark Dickey, at school, aged fourteen years (b. MA). Louise Dickey was the mother of three children, of whom three were still living. They appeared in the enumeration between the households of Stephen E. Twombly, a retired janitor, aged sixty-five years (b. NH), and Estella Rowe, a home keeper, aged forty years (b. ME).

Church and Ministerial Record. Bequests and Other Gifts. MILTON, N.H. Rev. M.P. Dickey. From Ladies’ Society, individual communion set (Congregationalist and Christian World, May 20, 1905).

Daughter Orinda S. “Ora” Dickey married in Milton, NH, November 15, 1906, Arthur T. “Thad” Smith. Smith had been earlier the second principal of Nute High School. Rev. Myron P. Dickey performed the ceremony.

Mrs. Dickey Falls to Her Death. KENNEBUNK, Me, Oct. 14 – Mrs. Myron P. Dickey, wife of Rev. Mr. Dickey, pastor of the Congregational church, fell downstairs today and was killed. Her neck was broken. She was about 60 years old and leaves several children (Boston Globe, October 15, 1908).

LOCAL. The tragic death of Mrs. Louise Dickey, wife of Rev. M.P. Dickey formerly of Milton, is greatly regretted by the many friends of the family in the vicinity. Mrs. Dickey had been in her new home in Kennebunk, Me., only a week when she fell down stairs and broke her neck. The funeral was held late Saturday afternoon, Rev. A.C. Fulton of Somersworth officiating. Mrs. Dickey was born in Palmer, Mass., Feb. 1, 1845, and besides a husband leaves a daughter, Mrs. Arthur T. Smith of Boston, and two sons. one being Mark S. Dickey, the pianist. She was the daughter of Asa and Orinda Shumway of Palmer. Mr. Dickey was pastor of the Congregational church at Milton for a number of years and only recently accepted a call to Kennebunk (Farmington News, October 23, 1908).

Dartmouth. Class of 1874. Dickey, Myron Parsons, A.M.; Yale Div. Sch., 1883; φβκ [Phi Beta Kappa], b. 19 Feb. 1852, Derry, N.H. Minister, res. Kennebunk, Me. (Dartmouth University, 1910).

Myron P. Dickey married (2nd) in Milton, NH, January 12, 1910, Nellie M. Wentworth, he of Kennebunk, ME, and she of Milton. He was a clergyman, aged fifty-seven years; she was a teacher, aged thirty-five years. Rev. R.M. Peacock of Milton performed the ceremony. She was born in Milton, December 23, 1875, daughter of John A. and Hannah E. (Gray) Wentworth.

Myron P. Dickey, a Congregational clergyman, aged fifty-eight years (b. NH), headed a Kennebunk, ME, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of zero years), Nellie W. Dickey, aged thirty-five years (b. NH), and Mark S. Dickey, a musician and composer, aged twenty-five years (b. MA). They resided in a rented house on Main Street.

REV. MYRON P. DICKEY DEAD. Graduate of Dartmouth and Held Pastorates In Ludlow, Mass., Milton, N.H, and Kennebunk, Me. KENNEBUNK, Me, Aug 30 – Rev. Myron Parsons Dickey, pastor of the First Congregational Church, died at 3 o’clock this afternoon of complications following an operation for appendicitis. He was in his 63d year. He was brought home from the Maine General Hospital in Portland two weeks ago and seemed slightly improved for a time, but last Friday his condition grew serious and he failed steadily to the end. Mr. Dickey was born Feb 19, 1852, in Derry, N.H, the son of David Woodburn and Sarah (Campbell) Dickey. He attended Pinkerton Academy in Derry and was graduated from Dartmouth College in the class of 1874. For a time he was principal of the High School in Hampstead, N.H. Deciding to enter the ministry, he went to Yale Theological Seminary and after graduating he took up his first pastorate in 1883 over the First Congregational Church at Ludlow Center, Mass. He remained there 10 years, then accepting a call to Milton, N.H., where he stayed 15 years. In 1908 he went to Kennebunk. While teaching school in Palmer, Mass., Mr. Dickey met Miss Louise Shumway who became his wife. She died in 1908, soon after their removal to Kennebunk. He was married again to Miss Nellie Wentworth of Milton, who survives him. He also leaves three children, Maurice W. Dickey of West Roxbury, Mass., a news editor on the Boston Globe; Orinda S., wife of Arthur Thad Smith of Winchester, and Mark Shumway Dickey of Winchester; two brothers, Frank A. Dickey of Kansas City and George A. Dickey of Manchester, N.H.; and two sisters, Miss Nellie S. Dickey of Cambridge, Mass., and Miss Etta G. Dickey of Derry, N.H. The funeral services will be in the church at 2 o’clock Wednesday afternoon (Boston Globe, August 31, 1914).

Deaths. MRS NELLIE WENTWORTH DICKEY. At Milton, N.H., Dec. 4, 1918, after a very brief illness, Mrs. Nellie Wentworth Dickey, widow of Rev. M.P. Dickey, passed away. At the time of her death, Mrs. Dickey was living at her mother’s home and was acting as assistant in Nute High School, Milton, N.H. A graduate of this same institution and of the Framingham Normal School, she early proved herself a teacher of remarkable enthusiasm and value in Milton, Newington, Peterboro, and Rochester, N.H. A great company of pupils will look back to the awakening and inspiring touch of her personality as something never to be forgotten. While teaching at Rochester she became the wife of Rev. M.P. Dickey, who had been her pastor in Milton, and at that time was minister in Kennebunk, Me. In this new relation, no woman could be more useful and beloved than she proved herself to be, and during the illness and hospital experience of Mr. Dickey the beautiful devotion of Mrs. Dickey touched all our hearts. Then when she was left alone in her bereavement and went back with the same heroism and cheerfulness as of old to her work as a teacher, we could only marvel at her strength of soul. The survival value of such a personality as hers must bring to us all not only abiding comfort but abounding assurance of the immortal life. It must be that God has been pleased to call her to some other room in his immortal and eternal presence and service. C.H.P. (Pilgrim Press, 1919).

Rev. Joseph Newton “Joe” Walker – 1908-11

Joseph N. Walker was born in Moseley, Cheshire, England, August 10, 1851, son of William and Hannah (Newton) Walker.

He married in North Troy, VT, February 28, 1884, Mary Clayton. She was born in Manchester, England, in January 25, 1855, daughter of George and Mary Clayton.

Joseph N. Walker, a clergyman, aged forty-eight years (b. England), headed a Stewartstown, NH, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of sixteen years), Mary C. Walker, aged forty-four years (b. England), and his children, Charlotte C. Walker, at school, aged fourteen years (b. VT), Mary H. Walker, at school, aged thirteen years (b. VT), Samuel J. Walker, at school, aged eleven years (b. VT), Dorothea Walker, at school, aged nine years (b. VT), Paul W. Walker, at school, aged eight years (b. NH), and Ruth Walker, aged four years (b. VT). Mary C. Walker was the mother of six children, of whom six were still living. Joseph N. Walker was a naturalized citizen, who had immigrated in 1874; Mary C. Walker had immigrated in 1884. They resided in a rented house.

The Congregational church appeared in the Milton directory of 1909, as being at 17 So. Main street. Its pastor was not identified.

Joseph Walker, a Cong. church clergyman, aged fifty-eight (b. England), headed a Milton household at the time of the Thirteen (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of twenty-six years), Mary Walker, aged fifty-six years (b. England), and his children, Charlotte Walker, aged twenty-two years (b. VT), Dorothea Walker, aged eighteen years (b. NH), Paul Walker, aged seventeen years (b. NH), and Ruth Walker, aged fourteen years (b. NH). They resided in a rented house.

Ecclesiastical and Ministerial Register. CALLS. Walker, Joe K. Milton, N.H., to Mt. Desert, Me. Accepts (The Advance, June 1, 1911).

Mary (Clayton) Walker died in Mount Desert, ME, June 24, 1912, aged fifty-seven years.

Joseph Newton Walker married (2nd) in Portland, ME, October 18, 1918, Grace (Woodbury) Pilling, he of Windsor, MA, and she of Portland. He was a widowed clergyman, aged sixty-five years (b. Manchester, England); she was a divorced teacher, aged forty-six years (b. Island Pond, VT).  She was born in Brighton, VT, May 11, 1869, daughter of Louis A. “Augustus” and Lucy S. (Currier) Woodbury.

Windsor. Our local pastor, Rev. Joseph Newton Walker, has returned to the parsonage bringing with him a bride. Mr. Walker was married October 16 to Miss Grace Woodbury at Portland, Me. Previous to her marriage she conducted a girls’ private school at Portland. She will be a great help in the parish and community (Berkshire County Eagle, October 23, 1918).

Joseph N. Walker, a Congregational clergyman, aged sixty-seven years (b. England), headed a Windsor, MA, household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his housekeeper, Harriet E. Jones, a dressmaker, aged forty years (b. Canada (Nova Scotia)), and his boarder, Estelle A. Jones, a public school teacher, aged thirty-eight years (b. Canada (Nova Scotia)). Joseph N. Walker rented their house. He had immigrated in 1874 and become a naturalized citizen in 1884.

BAY STATE PASTOR FILES DIVORCE SUIT. Rev. J.N. Walker, Windsor, Alleges Desertion. Special Dispatch to the Globe. PORTLAND, Me., Sept. 7. Rev. Joseph N. Walker of Windsor, Mass., has filed a divorce libel against his wife, Grace W.P. Walker of this city, alleging desertion. He was exonerated recently from charges she filed, implicating a woman member of his congregation. They were married Oct 9., 1918, and he says she deserted him, April 7, 1919 (Boston Globe, September 8, 1922).

ALUMNI. [Class of] 1880. Joseph Newton Walker, (spec course), p. Lebanon Centre, Me., 1906-08; Milton, N.H., 1908-11; Mt. Desert, Me., 1911-14; Windsor, Mass., 1917-21. Address 10 Nutting Ave, Amherst, Mass (Andover Theological Seminary, 1927).

East Windsor. Rev. Joseph N. Walker, a former pastor here, and his son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Roberts of Amherst, called on friends Sunday afternoon (Berkshire County Eagle, [Wednesday,] May 7, 1930).

Robert J Knightly, plumbing (own business), headed an Amherst, MA, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Mary A. Knightly, aged sixty-three years, and his father-in-law, Joseph N. Walker, a retired minister, aged eighty-nine years (b. England). Robert J. Knightly owned their house at 14 Allen Street, which was valued at $4,000. They had all resided in the same house in 1935.

Rev. Clarence E. Pike – 1911-15

Clarence E. Pike was born in Waterford, ME, December 18, 1857, son of Ezra B. and Elizabeth A. (Mitchell) Pike.

Clarence Pike married in Hyde Park, MA, July 6, 1887, Caroline E. Thompson, he of Amesbury, MA, and she of Durham, NH. He was a clergyman, aged twenty-nine years, and she was a teacher, aged thirty-nine years. She was born in Durham, NH, May 16, 1848, daughter of Daniel F. and Mary F. Thompson.

Clarence Pike, a clergyman. aged forty-two years (b. ME), headed a Mansfield, CT, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of thirteen years), Caroline E. Pike, aged fifty-one years (b. NH), his daughter, Florence C. Pike, aged ten years (b. MA), and his housekeeper, Almyra Johnson, a housekeeper, aged forty-six years (b. CT). Clarence E. Pike rented their house. Caroline E. Pike was the mother of one child, of whom one was still living.

Clarence E. Pike, a Congregational church minister, aged fifty-two years (b. ME), headed an Ashland, MA, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of twenty-three years), Caroline E. Pike, aged fifty-two years (b. NH), and his child, Florence C. Pike, aged nineteen years (b. MA). Clarence E. Pike rented their house. Caroline E. Pike was the mother of one child, of whom one was still living.

ASHLAND. Rev. Clarence E. Pike, pastor of the Ashland Congregational church for the past five years, preached his farewell sermon yesterday. Mr. Pike goes to a Milton, N.H. pastorate (Boston Globe, May 22, 1911).

Ecclesiastical and Ministerial Register. CALLS. Pike, Clarence. Ashland, Mass., to Milton, N.H. Accepts (The Advance, June 1, 1911).

Clarence Pike appeared in the Milton directory of 1912, as pastor of the Congregational church, at 17 So. Main street.

Church and Ministerial Records. Calls. PIKE, CLARENCE. Milton, N.H., to First, Royalston, Mass. Accepts to begin July 4 (Pilgrim Press, June 24, 1915).

[Dartmouth] CLASS OF 1880. Secretary Dana M Dustan, 340 Main St., Worcester, Mass. Rev. Clarence Pike became July 4 pastor of the First Congregational church, Royalston, Mass., going thither from Milton, N.H. (Dartmouth Secretaries Association, 1916).

Caroline E. (Thompson) Pike died in Dorchester, MA, September 12, 1918.

MANSFIELD CENTER. Mansfield people were grieved to read in the last number of the Congregationalist of the death of Mrs. Caroline E. Pike, wife of Rev. Clarence E. Pike of Royalston, Mass., at the home of her sister, Mrs. George Bates, at Dorchester, Mass. Burial was at Brentwood, N.H. Mr. Pike was for twelve years pastor of the local church, leaving here in answer to a call about twelve years ago. Mrs. Pike endeared herself to all who knew her. Although frail in body, she will long be remembered for her kindly and efficient services in many lines in the parish. The husband and daughter have the love and sympathy of a host of friends here (Norwich Bulletin (Norwich, CT), October 5, 1918).

Herbert A. Smith, aged forty-eight years (b. RI), headed a Princeton, MA, household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Nellie M. Smith, aged fifty years (b. MA), his daughter, Natalie Smith, aged sixteen years (b. CT), and his boarder, Clarence Pike, a clergyman, aged sixty-two years (b. ME). Herbert A. Smith owned their house, free-and-clear.

Clarence E. Pike married (2nd) in Saugus, MA, November 10, 1922, Hattie M. (Holton) Hallowell, he of Royalston, MA, and she of Saugus. He was a minister, aged sixty-five years, and she was at home, aged sixty-five years. She was born circa 1858, daughter of John and Mary (Foye) Holton.

Clarence Pike, a Congregational minister, aged seventy-two years (b. ME), headed a Coventry, VT, household at the time of the Fifteenth (1930) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Hattie M. Pike, aged seventy-two years (b. ME). Clarence Pike rented their house, for $10 per month.

Hattie M. ((Holton) Hallowell) Pike died in Saugus, MA, in July 1936. Clarence E. Pike died in Saugus, MA, September 8, 1936, aged seventy-eight years.

DEATHS. PIKE. – In Saugus, Mass., Sept. 8, Reverend Clarence Pike, 78 years. Funeral services at the First Congregational Church, Cliftondale. Mass., Sunday, Sept. 13, at 3 p.m. Relatives and friends kindly attend (Boston Globe, September 10, 1936).

COVENTRY. Rev. Clarence Pike of Saugus, Mass., died at his home September 11. Funeral services were held Sunday, September 13. Mrs. Pike was buried in July. Her death was a severe shock to Mr. Pike from which he never recovered. Mr. Pike was a former pastor in this place, and he and his wife left many friends here, who are saddened by their deaths (Newport Daily Express (Newport, VT), September 24, 1936).

Rev. Simon Francis Goodheart – 1915-1918

Simon Francis Goodheart was born in Tilsit, East Prussia, in 1872, son of Herman G. and Freida (Walden) Goodheart. (His birthplace was also given as Rossein, Poland; Kovno, Russia; and Lithuania, in various other sources).

Alumni. 1898 Graduates. Simon Francis Goodheart. b. Rossein, Russian Poland, Sept. 28, 1872; Union Miss’y Training Inst., Brooklyn, NY, 1892-93; Ober, 1893-96; ord. Oct. 18, 1898; p. East Fairfield and Fairfield, Vt., 1898-99; De Smet, SD, 1899-1900; Redfield Coll., 1900 and instructor Hebrew and German 1899-1900; p. Lowell, Vt., 1901-04; Whiting from 1904. Address Whiting, Vt.

Simon F. Goodheart, a teacher, aged twenty-seven years (b. Germany), was one of twenty-six boarders, and one servant, residing in the Redfield, SD, household of Dolly A. Fountain, at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. Fountain was a college matron, aged sixty-one years (b. IN). Twenty-two boarders were students and four were teachers.

Simon F. Goodheart married (1st) in Lowell, VT, June 12, 1901, Josephine R. Hull, he of Lowell. He was a clergyman, aged twenty-eight years. She was born in Fairfield, VT, circa 1875, daughter of Joseph B. and Abbie (Sturtevant) Hull.

Record of the Week. Calls. GOODHEART, SIMON F., to remain a third year at Lowell, Vt. (Congregationalist, 1903).

Simon F. Goodheart, a country parish clergyman, aged thirty-seven years (b. Germany), headed a Whiting, VT, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of eight years), Josephine R. Goodheart, aged thirty-five years (b. VT), and his child, Ester J. Goodheart, aged one year (b. VT). Simon F. Goodheart rented their house. Josephine R. Goodheart was the mother of one child, of whom one was still living.

Josephine Robena (Hull) Goodheart died in St. Johnsbury, VT, April 27, 1914, aged thirty-nine years, one month, and fifteen days.

BETHEL. Intelligence came yesterday of the death Monday evening in Brightlook hospital, St. Johnsbury, of Mrs. Simon F. Goodheart of St. Johnsbury Center, wife of a recent pastor of the Bethel Congregational church. She underwent an operation Friday for several disorders and her heart failed to stand the strain of recovery. Much sympathy is felt here for the bereaved husband and daughter, Esther, aged five years. The funeral was held yesterday at St. Johnsbury Center, with interment at her old home, East Fairfield (Barre Daily Times (Barre, VT), April 30, 1914).

PUTNEY. Accepts Call to Milton, N.H. Rev. S.F. Goodheart has accepted a call to the First Congregational church of Milton, N.H., and will take up his duties Sunday, Oct. 24. He is packing what household things he has here and will go to St. Johnsbury Centre to prepare the rest of his goods for shipment Mr. Goodheart was acting pastor of the Congregational church here previous to his visit to San Francisco, and did good work in building up the Church. He is a deep student, with an unusually keen mind and a fluent speaker and leaves many firm friends in the parish, whose best wishes he has for his work in the new field (Brattleboro Reformer, October 14, 1915).

Bethel Local Intelligence. Bev. Simon F. Goodheart, a former pastor of the Bethel Cong’l church but lately located at Putney, Vt., assumed Oct. 24 the pastorate of the Cong’l church at Milton, N.H. (Bethel Courier (Bethel, VT), October 24, 1915).

UNION. Rev. Mr. Goodheart of Milton was in town recently, calling on Rev. E.P. Eastman and Rev. Harold Gould (Farmington News, June 2, 1916).

Simon F. Goodheart married (2nd) in Rochester, NH, August 24, 1916, Sarah A. Lester [(Jones)] Gane, both of Milton. He was a clergyman, aged forty-three years, and she was a housekeeper, aged forty-five years. She was born in Plumstead, Kent, England, circa 1871, daughter of Roger and Sarah E. (Poulter) Jones.

(It must have been something of a whirlwind courtship. An Englishwoman, Mrs. Sarah A.L. Gane, a teacher, aged forty-four, departed from Liverpool, England, February 2, 1916, bound for New York, NY, on the White Star liner Adriatic).

The Congregational church appeared in the Milton directory of 1917, as being at 17 So. Main street. Its pastor was not identified.

Simon Francis Goodheart registered for the WW I military draft in Milton, NH, September 12, 1918. He resided in Milton, NH, where he was employed as a clergyman by the Congregational Society. He was forty-five years of age (b. September 28, 1872). He was of a medium height, medium build, with brown eyes and brown hair. His nearest relation was his wife, Sarah Lester Goodheart, of Milton, NH.

SHIRLEY. Rev. Francis Goodheart, the new pastor of the congregational church, is expected to arrive here the last of this week from Milton, N.H., his pastoral work in Shirley beginning on Oct. 15. He is to occupy the parsonage on Front street as soon as repairs now being made are completed (Fitchburg Daily Sentinel, October 17, 1918).

Both the Milton, NH, that Rev. Goodheart had left and the Shirley, MA, to which he was going were suffering then under the so-called Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918-19. The same Sentinel column that announced his arrival in Shirley noted that the boys of the Shirley industrial school, i.e., reform school, as well as one of its warders, all of whom had been confined to its infirmary with influenza, had all recovered and been discharged from the infirmary.

Simon F. Goodheart, a country parish clergyman, aged forty-seven years (b. Kovno, Russia), headed a Shirley, MA, household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of eight years), Sarah L. Goodheart, aged forty-eight years (b. England), and his child, Ester J. Goodheart, aged ten years (b. VT). Simon F. Goodheart rented their house on 7 Front Street.

Simon F. Goodheart, a Congregational church clergyman, aged fifty-seven years (b. Lithuania), headed a Riverhead, NY, household at the time of the Fifteenth (1930) Federal Census. His household included his wife, and Sarah L. Goodheart, aged fifty-eight years (b. England). Simon F. Goodheart rented their house on Main Road, for $30 per month. They had a radio set.

SHIRLEY. Rev. Simon Goodheart, a former pastor in Shirley, has accepted a call to the Congregational church m Jamestown, N.Y. For the past few years he has had a parish at Eading River, L.I., and his new pastorate is not so very far from there. Before going to Long Island Mr. Goodheart was located in Harvard, where he went after leaving Shirley (Fitchburg Sentinel, February 15, 1932).

Simon F. Goodheart, aged sixty-seven years (b. Lithuania), headed a Stratford, CT, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Sarah Goodheart, aged sixty-eight years (b. England). Simon F. Goodheart rented their house at 16 Eleanor Street, for $35 per month. They had resided in James, Long Island, NY, in 1935.

Simon F. Goodheart died in Norwood, MA, April 26, 1951, aged seventy-eight years.

DEATHS. GOODHEART. – In Norwood, April 26, Goodheart, S.F., in his 79th year, beloved husband of Sarah L. Goodheart and father of Mrs. George H. Chitty. Services from the May Funeral Home, 85 Nichols St., Norwood. Saturday. April 28 at 2 p.m. Friends may call at the Funeral Home, Friday evening, 7 to 9. New York Times and Bridgeport, Conn., Post please copy (Boston Globe, April 26, 1951).

Sarah A.L. ((Jones) Gane) Goodheart returned to England. The widow Sarah Lester Goodheart, of 32 Leybourne road, Leytonstone, Essex, England, died August 10, 1956, leaving effects valued at £3,877 3s 9d. Probate was assigned to Lloyd’s Bank Ltd., September 12, 1956.

Rev. Owen E. Hardy – 1920-21

Owen Eaton Hardy was born in Wilton, ME, July 13, 1862, son of Eliphalet J. and Sabrina E. (Jennings) Hardy.

Owen E. Hardy, son of Eliphalet J. and Sabrina (Jennings) Hardy, was born July 13, 1862, at Wilton, Me. He was born on a farm, where he lived until attaining his majority, his lot the same as that of the average farmer’s boy, attending the district school as opportunity offered. He fitted for college at the May School, Strong, Me., graduating from there in June, 1887, entered Bowdoin College, and graduated in 1891. He says of himself that he obtained all of his education by his own efforts, working his way through college by teaching and in other ways. He entered Andover Theological Seminary in the autumn of 1891, and was graduated in 1894. He joined the church in 1881. This church was three miles from where he lived, and he says he “used to walk both ways most of the time.” He preached one summer at North Anson, Me., and the next summer at Alexandria, South Dakota (Donovan & Woodward, 1906).

Owen E. Hardy married in Alexandria, SD, June 28, 1894, Eva B. Bates. She was born in Van Buren, IA, September 24, 1868, daughter of Walter and Azulah M. Bates.

He served while in college on the “college jury,” the governing body of the students. He resigned his pastorate Feb. 5, 1899 and was dismissed March 6, 1899, serving about five years. He removed to West Peabody, Mass., becoming the pastor of the church there. While here [Lyndeborough, NH] Mr. Hardy labored earnestly for the upbuilding of the church in promoting lectures, courses, and in all ways striving for the best interests of the community (Donovan & Woodward, 1906).

Owen E Hardy, a clergyman, aged thirty-seven years (b. ME), headed a Peabody, MA, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of six years), Eva B. Hardy, aged thirty-one years (b. IA), and his child, Amy F. Hardy, aged five years (b. NH). Owen E. Hardy rented their house. Eva B. Hardy was the mother of one child, of whom one was still living.

Owen E Hardy, a farmer, aged forty-seven years (b. ME), headed a Townsend, MA, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of sixteen years), Eva B. Hardy, aged forty-one years (b. IA), his children, Amy F. Hardy, aged fifteen years (b. NH), and Eva C. Hardy, aged four years (b. VT), his servant, Alice B Chamberlain, a private family servant, aged twenty-eight years (b. NH), and his boarder, Timothy Murphy, aged sixty-five years (b.MA). Owen E. Hardy owned their farm, with a mortgage. Eva B. Hardy was the mother of two children, of whom two were still living.

Church and Ministerial Records. Calls. HARDY, O.E. Bardwells, Shelburne, Mass., to Milton, N.H. Accepts and is at work (The Congregationalist and Advance, March 4, 1920).

Owen E. Hardy, a Congregational Conference clergyman, aged fifty-seven years (b. ME), headed a Milton household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Eva B. Hardy, aged fifty-one years (b. IA), and his child, Eva C. Hardy, aged fourteen years (b. VT). Owen E. Hardy rented their house on Lower Main Street, Milton Village.

Church and Ministerial Records. Calls. HARDY, O.E. Milton, N.H., to Alstead and Langdon. Accepts (The Congregationalist and Advance, April 14, 1921).

Owen E. Hardy died in Walpole, NH, February 14, 1924, aged sixty-one years. Eva B. (Bates) Hardy died March 28, 1953, aged eighty-four years.

Rev. Hardy of Alstead Dies of Pneumonia. Pastor of Congregational Church Had Slight Operation on His Nose. (Special to The Herold.) Alstead, N.H., Feb. 14. Rev. Owen E. Hardy, pastor of the local Congregational church, died today at the home of Dr. B.T. Mouseley in Walpole, where he had been for the past week. He had a slight operation a week ago on his nose and pneumonia developed rapidly, causing his death. For the past three or four years he had been pastor at Alstead, East Alstead and Alstead Center. He came here from Milton, N.H. where he was located two years and before that a much longer time at Shelburne, Mass. He leaves a wife and two daughters, Mrs. Owen Barrow of Barre, Mass., and Mrs. Leslie Kelley of Alstead (Rutland Daily Herald, February 15, 1924).

Newell W. Whitman – 1921-24

Newell Wordsworth Whitman was born Sarkis Apov Aprahamian in Marash, Armenia, then a part of the Turkish Ottoman empire, February 3, 1869, son of Apou and Taniom (Bushgarian) Aprahamian.

Sarkis Apon Aprahamian appeared in the Bangor, ME, directories of 1892 and 1893 as a student at the Bangor Theological Seminary, boarding at the seminary.

GRADUATES AT BANGOR. Where the Theological Seminary Men Will Go. BANGOR, June 6. The anniversary exercises of the Bangor theological seminary, were continued today. The annual examinations closed at noon. The annual meeting of the alumni was held at 12.30 p m, and the annual dinner at the library came at 1.15. The graduating exercises of the senior class took place at 7.30 p m in the Hammond st. church. The graduates are: Sarkis Apov Aprahamian, Marash, Turkey; Clayton Deering Boothby, Portland; Charles Grant Fogg, Roxbury, Mass; Edward Melville Kennison, Temple; Wilford Ernest Mann, Manhurst, N.B.; Herbert Lindsay McCann, South Norridgewock; William Leander Muttart, Atherton, P.E.I. Aprahamian goes to Merroll’s Mills. Boothby is called to Thomaston. Fogg takes a special course at Bowdoin college, Kennison goes to Rockport, Mann goes to Dexter. McCann’s future course is not decided: Muttart goes to Greens Landing, Deer isle. Of the middle class men, W.F. Barker goes to Vanceboro, A.S. Bole to Olamonn. R.F. Chambers to North Belfast, I.B. Conley to Outer Long island, J.D. Dingwell to Deer Isle 2d and Sunset, F.K. Ellsworth to Blanchard, C.W. Fisher to Sandy Point, H.F. Graham to Carratunk and the Forks, Hugh McCallum to Freedom, S.E. McGeehon to East Bangor and Essex st, and P.E. Miller to Monroe and Swanville. Of the junior class, R.H. Abercrombie goes to Abbot Village, A.S. Freeze to Northfield, F.A. Fuller to Lincoln, D.M. James to Letter B, A.E. Lambert to Jackman. H.E. Lombard to Whiting, R.R. Morson to Veasie, and B.A. Willmot to Marshfield and Whitneyville. A course in English Bible study and literature has been added the past year to the usual courses, Prof G.W. Gilmore in charge. It is especially for students who have not previously had collegiate education. Its trial has been very successful, and at the trustees’ meeting Monday evening a decision regarding making it permanent will be reached. Bangor theological seminary has received during the past year the following gifts: From Hon B.B. Thatcher of Bangor $5000, and from Rev Henry S. Loring of Sidney $1000, which have been Invested as additions to the permanent fund, and from T.C. Kennedy of Newcastle $250. which has been applied to current expenses. The following order of exercises was carried out at the graduation this evening: “The Work of our Father,” Herbert Lindsay McCann; “The Advantages of Historical Study,” Clayton Deering Boothby; “The Tendency of American Congregational Polity,” Charles Grant Fogg; “Scientific Study of the Bible,” Edward Melville Kennison: “The Institutional Church,” Wilford Ernest Mann; “The Bequest of the Spanish Moors,” William Leander Muttart; “What Have We Gained from the World’s Parliament of Religions?” Sarkis Apov Aprahamian (Boston Globe, June 7, 1894).

AT THE TURKS’ HAND. A Maine Pastor Receives Dreadful Tidings from the Armenians Stating Husband of His Sister and Brother Massacred by Moslems. Deer Isle, Me., February 19. – Rev. S.A. Apraham, pastor of the Congregational church at Green’s Landing, receives letters confirming the report of the suffering of his near relatives in Armenia. Some weeks ago Mr. Apraham received a letter from a missionary saying that his sister, with her five children, were in utter destitution. Later, Mr. Apraham received a letter from his sister confirming the worst. The husband and his brother were shot down before the eyes of his wife and children, and when the grief-stricken wife cried out in suffering to her Savior, one of the murderers, with an oath, struck her, saying “Do you still call on Jesus?” Two younger sisters of Mr. Apraham were robbed of all their possessions by the Moslems who protect them. An uncle of Mr. Apraham writes, “We are sitting naked in our shop, our house plundered and reduced to ashes. Read the 79th Psalm if you would get a faint idea of our condition.” Mr. Apraham is a recent graduate of Bangor Theological Seminary, and the Green’s Landing church is his first charge. He has sent money to his relatives in Armenia, but hardly dare hope that it reaches them (Portland Press Herald, February 20, 1896).

Sarkis A. Apraham married in Deer Isle, ME, November 30, 1898, Edith I. Fifield, both of Stonington, ME. He was a clergyman, aged thirty-one years, and she was a teacher, aged twenty years. She was born in Deer Isle, ME, circa 1877, daughter of Joseph and Catherine (Horton) Fifield.

Sarkis A. Abraham, a preacher, aged thirty-three years (b. Turkey), headed a Litchfield, ME, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of one year), Edith I. Abraham, aged twenty-two years (b. ME), and his child, Paul A. Abraham, aged ten months (b. ME). They resided in the Congregational church parsonage. Edith I. Abraham was the mother of one child, of whom one was still living.

Sarkis A. Abraham, a clergyman, aged forty-two years (b. Asia (Armenia)), headed a Suffield, CT, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of eleven years), Edith I. Abraham, aged thirty-two years (b. ME), and his children, Paul A. Abraham, aged ten years (b. ME), Levon F. Abraham, aged eight years (b. ME), Chester C. Abraham, aged six years (b. ME), Ward Abraham, aged four years (b. ME), and Murell Abraham, aged two years (b. CT). Sarkis A. Abraham rented their house in West Suffield. Edith I. Abraham was the mother of five children, of whom five were still living.

Sarkis A. Apraham sought Superior Court permission in Hartford, CT, in late October 1919, to legally change his name to Newell Wordsworth Whitman. He would seem to have been an admirer of poets William Wordsworth (1770-1850) and Walt Whitman (1819-1892).

Sarkis A. Apraham of Suffield. a Congregational clergyman, a native of Turkey, who has [had] parishes in this state, Maine and Vermont, received authority to take the name of Newell Wordsworth Whitman. He has eight children and he told the judge the name militated against himself and against his children (Hartford Courant, November 1, 1919).

Personals. APRAHAM, S.A., Suffolk, Ct., has had his name legally changed to Newall W. Whitman (Pilgrim Press, 1919). [Sarkis Apon Aprahamian]

Newell Wordsworth Whitman, a Congregational church minister, aged forty-nine [fifty-two] years, headed a Suffield, VT, household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Edith F. Whitman, aged forty-two years (b. ME), his children, Levon Whitman, an auto factory welder, aged eighteen years (b. ME), Chester Whitman, a farm laborer (working out), aged sixteen years (b. ME), Ward Whitman, aged fourteen years (b. ME), Muriel Whitman, aged twelve years (b. CT), Catherine Mae Whitman, aged three years, eight months (b. VT), and Edith Irene Whitman, aged one year, eight months (b. CT), and his mother-in-law, Catherine Fifield, aged eighty-one years (b. Canada). Newell Wordsworth Whitman rented their farm on Hill Street in the NW district.

REV. N.W. WHITMAN WILL GO TO UXBRIDGE CHURCH. HARTFORD, Conn., Feb 16. Rev. Newel! W. Whitman, formerly pastor of the West Suffield Congregational Church and later with a church in Willington, Vt. has accepted a call to the Evangelical Congregational Church at Uxbridge (Boston Globe, February 19, 1920).

HINSDALE, N.H. Mr. and Mrs. G.A. Robertson are entertaining Mr. and Mrs. W.F. White of Trumbull, Conn,, and Rev. N.W. Whitman of Milton, N.H. They are enjoying the Northfield conference (Brattleboro Daily Reformer, August 7, 1922).

Newell W. Whitman oversaw the merger or federation of Milton’s Congregational and Free-Will Baptist churches into a combined Community Church of Milton.

The Community Church of Milton was organized on September 16, 1924, after World War I, when conversations regarding federation between Congregationalists and Free Baptists matured. It was decided that committees of five from each church would convene and form a Community Church. The Baptist Church was used for worship, while the former Congregational Church was adapted into the Parish House. The members of these two churches believed the same things, doctrinally, and so no great theological division separated the people from their congregational neighbors (CCM, 2020).

Rev. Newell W. Whitman received and accepted a call to a Congregational church in Ashby, MA, in 1924.

ASHBY. Rev. Newell Wordsworth Whitman, who was recently called to the pastorate of the Orthodox Congregational church in Ashby, has moved with his family into the parsonage. He came to Ashby from Milton, N.H., where during the three years as pastor of the Congregational church he has done constructive work building the church financially and numerically. His most notable achievement was the federation of the Baptist and the Congregational churches in town. Next Sunday Mr. Whitman will preach on “New birth: the greatest fact in a man’s life work. What it is; what it does; how to get it” (Fitchburg Sentinel, November 7, 1924).

TOWNSEND. Mr. and Mrs. Russell Walker and Lincoln and Stanley Walker of Peabody, and Rev. Newell W. Whitman of Ashby were visitors at the home of Arthur D. Barber, Turnpike road, Sunday. Rev. Mr. Whitman had preached in Peabody Sunday (Fitchburg Sentinel, November 9, 1926).

Newell Whitman, a church pastor, aged sixty-two years (b. Turkey (Armenian)), headed a Stonington, ME, household at the time of the Fifteenth (1930) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Edith Whitman, aged fifty-two years (b. ME), and his children, Katharine Whitman, aged thirteen years (b. VT), Irene Whitman, aged eleven years (b. ME). Newell Whitman owned their house on a Private Way (off the Sand Beach Road), which was valued at $2,500. They had a radio set.

Newell W. Whitman, a church clergyman, aged seventy-one years (b. Armenia), headed a Deer Isle, ME, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. He had resided in the same house in 1935.

Newell W. Whitman died in Stonington, ME, October 5, 1948, aged seventy-nine years. Edith I. (Fifield) Whitman died in Penobscot, ME, October 28, 1971, aged ninety-four years.

---

Previous in sequence: Milton’s Congregational Ministers of 1847-90; next in sequence: Milton’s Community Church Ministers of 1924-56

---

References:

Advance Company. (1911, June 1). The Advance. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=jHVMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA703

Andover Theological Seminary. (1908). General Catalogue of the Theological Seminary, Andover, Massachusetts. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=60gsAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA467

Andover Theological Seminary. (1908). General Catalogue of the Theological Seminary, Andover, Massachusetts. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=60gsAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA490

Andover Theological Seminary. (1927). General Catalogue of the Theological Seminary, Andover, Massachusetts. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=E1UAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA40

CCM. (2020). Our Journey So Far … Retrieved from www.communitychurchofmilton.org/page/our-history

Dartmouth Secretaries Association. (1916). Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=EJRIAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA140

Dartmouth University. (1910). General Catalogue of Dartmouth University and the Associated Schools, 1769-1910. Hanover, NH: Yale University

Donovan, Dennis, and Woodward, Jacob A. (1906). History of the Town of Lyndeborough, New Hampshire,1735-1905. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=7n9n5W-Uf2MC&pg=PA305

Find a Grave. (2013, December 2). Rev. Myron P. Dickey. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/121154484

Find a Grave. (2003, September 3). Rev. S. Francis Goodheart. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/7827403

Find a Grave. (2018, August 22). Rev. Owen Eaton Hardy. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/192465097/owen-eaton-hardy

Find a Grave. (2015, August 19). Rev. Newel W. Whitman. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/150971142

Harvard Graduates’ Magazine Association. (1923). The Harvard Graduates’ Magazine. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=py1YAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA125

Noon, Alfred. (1912). The History of Ludlow, Massachusetts. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=LygWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA159

Pilgrim Press. (1903, January 23). Congregationalist and Christian World. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=ebY_tysXL5MC&pg=PA135

Pilgrim Press. (1919, January 2). Congregationalist and Advance. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=cbvsmqOcR1wC&pg=PA29

Pilgrim Press. (1919, December 4). Congregationalist and Advance. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=cbvsmqOcR1wC&pg=RA1-PA808

Yale University. (1915). Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=ulodAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA932

By Muriel Bristol | August 2, 2020

Malcolm Allen Hayes Hart was born in Milton, December 28, 1861, son of Simon and Mary A. (Wentworth) Hart. His parents moved their family to South Berwick, ME, not long after.

Simon Hart, a carpenter, aged sixty-two years (b. NH), headed a South Berwick, ME, household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Mary A. Hart, keeping house, aged sixty years (b. NH), and his children, Hamlin G. Hart, a blacksmith, aged twenty-six years (b. ME), Justin Hart, a saloon keeper, aged twenty-four years (b. NH), Bertha S. Hart, a shoe stitcher, aged twenty years (b. NH), Malcome A. Hart, a shoe shop worker, aged eighteen years (b. NH), and Ernest L. Hart, at school, aged thirteen years (b. ME). Simon Hart suffered from “paralysis agitans,” i.e., Parkinson’s Disease.

Malcolm A.H. Hart, having completed his studies at the Berwick Academy in 1878, was for some time engaged in teaching school in Lebanon, South Berwick, and Kennebunk, Me., and then took a two years’ course in the medical department at Bowdoin College. Entering the University of New York City in 1887, he was graduated in 1888, and located for practice in Fall River, Mass., where he remained for eighteen months. After that he took a year’s post-graduate course in New York City, obtaining much valuable practical experience in the hospital connected with the school. He resumed the duties of his profession at Gilmanton Iron Works, residing there for a year, and in 1891 he settled in Milton where he has since remained. His professional success in his native town has been so marked as to gain for him a high reputation as a skillful and reliable physician, and a profitable practice is the result (B.R. Publishing Co., 1897).

Having graduated from New York University in 1888, Dr. Hart practiced first in Fall River, MA, for eighteen months.

Personal Mention. Dr. M.A.H. Hart who has been at home a few days, returned last night to New York, where he is pursuing his medical studies (Fall River Daily Herald (Fall River, MA), November 29, 1887).

Personal Mention. Dr. M.A.H. Hart has been elected a member of the Massachusetts Medical society (Fall River Daily Herald (Fall River, MA), July 20, 1888).

Personal Mention. Dr. M.A.H. Hart has returned from a visit to South Berwick, Me. (Fall River Daily Herald (Fall River, MA), December 28, 1888).

He returned to New York City in 1889 to pursue post-graduate studies both there and in Germany.

Personal Mention. Dr. M.A.H. Hart, formerly of this city, now of New York, will sail tonight for Germany, where he will complete a course of medical studies (Fall River Daily Herald (Fall River, MA), September 23, 1889).

Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Harlem, NY, formerly of Flint Village, i.e., Fall River, MA, was one of four doctors that testified in the personal injury lawsuit of Mary L. Fortin versus Chauncey H. Sears, March 27, 1890. Fortin had been struck in the head by a thirty-pound stone thrown from a construction blast (set off without a covering). She complained of having persistent head pains since the accident. Four doctors testified to the extent of her injuries.

Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Harlem, N.Y., formerly of Flint Village, and who attended her immediately after the accident, averred that her wound was a scalp wound merely, the bone not injured (Fall River Daily Herald (Fall River, MA), March 28, 1890).

The jury found in her favor and awarded her $469.71. (This amount would be equivalent to about $45,000 at current values).

Malcolm A. Hart married in Lansingburg, NY, April 17, 1890, Estelle L. Draper. She was born in Fair Haven, VT, July 6, 1863, daughter of Hiram H. and Elizabeth S. (Lewis) Draper.

Their elder son, Marion Wentworth Hart, was born in Gilmanton (Gilmanton Iron Works), NH, March 4, 1891. The Harts moved to Milton later in that same year.

M.A.H. Hart appeared in the Milton business directories of 1892, 1894, [and 1898], as a physician, resident in Milton.

MILTON. Dr. Hart is confined to his home with the grip. Dr. Jones is taking his place (Farmington News, January 1, 1892).

Dr. M.A.H. Hart sat on the platform in a Milton Republican Club meeting promoting incumbent President Benjamin Harrison and his running mate, Whitelaw Reid, in the election of November 1892. Harrison and Reid lost to former President Grover Cleveland and his running mate, Adlai Stevenson (an earlier one).

MILTON. A large and elegant Harrison & Reid flag was raised here last night by the republican club of Milton. The decorations and colored lights were well arranged and well timed, and three hearty cheers were given for the candidates. Hon. Henry W. Blair gave an earnest and intensely interesting address in A.O.U.W. hall, under the auspices of the club, holding the attention of an unusually large audience throughout, and receiving much enthusiastic applause. W.K. Norton, principal of the Nute high school, acted as president of the evening. On the platform were seated Hon. Charles H. Looney, Luther Hayes, Dr. J.H. Twombly, Charles A. Jones, Dr. M.A.H. Hart, R.M. Kimball, Henry Scates, W.C. Nash, S. Lyman Hayes, S.W. Wallingford, B.B. Plummer. The action of our young democratic friends in stoning the lanterns and breaking wires, as well as their unnecessary catcalls during the address, are appreciated at their full value, not only by republicans, but by respectable democrats (Farmington News, September 30, 1892).

Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Milton, NH, appeared in a medical paper by Dr. Ambrose L. Ranney, A.M., M.D., as having referred an eye patient to Ranney, October 28, 1892. The patient was a Mr. O, who was a minister of the gospel, single, aged twenty-eight years (Ranney, 1894).

HERE AND THERE. A pleasing quartette was sung [in Alton, NH], without accompaniment, by the Misses Brown, Roberts, Quint, and Gilman, and two selections were given by a remarkably good quartette of men from Milton, the first bass being Vivian Libby, second bass E.W. Webber, first tenor Dr. M.A.H. Hart, second tenor Charles P. Bruce, and accompanist Miss Carrie Brown. It is seldom that so fine voices are heard in the smaller towns (Farmington News, May 24, 1895).

HERE AND THERE. Dr. M.A. Hart of the same [Milton] town, and Mr. Ralph Kimball were in Farmington on Friday (Farmington News, November 15, 1895).

M.A.H. Hart served as preceptor for Bowdoin College medical student Frank Herbert Jordan, of Milton, NH, during the 1896-97, 1897-98, and 1898-99 academic years (Bowdoin College, 1899). “Preceptor” can be a somewhat expansive term, and may mean different things at different institutions. There is little reason to suppose that Dr. Hart was based at Bowdoin College’s Brunswick, ME, location, or even commuted there in any regular way. It is more likely that he helped and advised this Milton medical student in Milton. (Dr. Hart was himself a Bowdoin alumnus). Jordan was born in Milton, September 13, 1868, son of George I. and Elizabeth A. “Lizzie” (Downs) Jordan. He went on to practice in Fryeburg, ME, South Portland, ME, and New Bedford, MA.

HERE AND THERE. During the serious and prolonged illness of Mrs. Cecil Sloan she has the medical attention of Dr. Malcolm A. Hart of Milton, a graduate of the University of New York. Dr. Hart, on Wednesday of last week, had the assistance of Dr. Stephen Young of East Rochester, who has been his coadjutor on various occasions requiring the work of two physicians. A trained nurse also was in attendance on Mrs. Sloan during the past week (Farmington News, June 4, 1897).

Mrs. Adelaide C. “Cecile” (Waldron) Sloan recovered sufficiently from her illness to marry (2nd) in Rochester, NH, September 23, 1897, Ned F. Looney (1873-1918), a son of Collector Charles H. and Emily E. (Miller) Looney. (She would not die until 1925).

New Hampshire passed a medical licensing law, March 1, 1897, which required medical practitioners to be tested, licensed and registered as of September 1, 1897. (Charles William Gross, William Emerson Pillsbury, and Frank Sherman Weeks, of Milton Mills, and Malcolm A.H. Hart, Charles Dana Jones, and John Herbert Twombly, of Milton, were all rated “A”- they were already in practice prior to the passage of the law – i.e., they were “grandfathered in” and did not have to pass the new examination) (NH State Board of Education, 1906).

There were identity thieves, mountebanks and fraudsters also in the past. One Samuel Ringgold Harwood (1867-1949) took on the name of Dr. Hart, and his curriculum vitae too, and used them to fraudulently obtain an Illinois medical license in September 1897. Then he reverted to his true name, under which he practiced. It took over twenty years before his fraud was discovered.

Hearings of Physicians. Dr. Samuel Ringgold Harwood, East St. Louis, Illinois, License No. 14554, issued September 13, 1897, revoked by the Department of Registration and Education, August 19, 1918, for the following reason: That he was guilty of fraud and deceit at the time of securing license to practice medicine and surgery in that at that time he represented himself to be one Malcolm Allen Hayes Hart, a name other than his own, which name he subsequently had changed by legal process to Samuel Ringgold Harwood, his own real name (IL Department of Registration, 1918).

After being “struck off” the Illinois register, “Dr.” Ringgold practiced next in Missouri. His obituary mentioned his widow’s intent to continue to run his hospital in Sullivan, MO (Washington Citizen (Washington, MO), October 14, 1949).

Dr. Malcolm A. Hart testified in Dover, NH, in January 1898, regarding his attendance on William Jones, who had survived Milton’s Poisoning Murder of 1897. Dr. Hart was there also when Mrs. Sally W. (Ellis) Jones died (Boston Globe, January 5, 1898).

Malcolm A.H. Hart was one of seventeen incorporators of the Milton Water Works in July 1899.

Malcolm A.H. Hart, a physician, aged thirty-eight years (b. NH), headed a Milton (“Milton Village”) household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of ten years), Estelle Hart, aged thirty-six years (b. VT), and his children, Wentworth Hart, at school, aged nine years (b. NH), and Ezra Hart, aged four years (b. NH), and his boarder, Gertrude Richardson, a house servant, aged thirty-three years (b. NH). Malcolm A.H. Hart owned their farm, free-and-clear. Estelle Hart was the mother of three children, of whom two were still living. Gertrude Richardson had been married for fifteen years, and she was the mother of four children, of whom three were still living.

In his capacity as a member of Milton’s Board of Health, Dr. M.A.H. Hart corresponded in May 1900 with the NH State Board of Health regarding quarantine procedures during a Milton measles outbreak. (See Milton and the Measles, 1900).

LOCALS. The Rev. and Mrs. M.P. Dickey, Mrs. C.H. Looney, Mrs. M.A.H. Hart, Miss Clara Drew, and Deacon and Mrs. S.G. Chamberlain of Milton attended last week the conference held in the [Farmington] Main street church (Farmington News, June 1, 1900).

PERSONALS. Roscoe Shaw, first assistant in the laboratory at the state college in Durham, expects to leave New Hampshire at the end of the summer, having been appointed to a better position in the Wisconsin Agricultural College. He is a nephew of Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Milton, has studied abroad, and is well known to Farmington people (Farmington News, July 20, 1900).

Roscoe Hart Shaw was born in South Berwick, ME, June 10, 1875, son of Lyman and Alzade E. (Hart) Shaw. University of Wisconsin catalogs describe him as Roscoe H. Shaw, B.S., instructor in chemistry and acting chemist, experiment station, 1900-01; chemistry assistant, 1901-02.

PERSONAL. Dr. M.A.H. Hart, republican, and Hazen Plumer, democrat, both well known in Farmington, are Milton candidates for representative (Farmington News, October 12, 1900).

MILTON. The nomination for Dr. M.A.H. Hart for representative by the republican caucus is conceded to be a strong one in all quarters. The natural republican majority in Milton is large and there can be no doubt but what the genial doctor will poll the full strength of his party vote. He is young, honest and able, and his friends in both parties will watch his legislative career with interest. The democratic nominee, Hazen Plumer, is also an excellent candidate, a bright, hustling business man and one who would creditably represent the town if elected. Mr. Plumer and Dr. Hart are friendly personally and have worked shoulder to shoulder for the good of Milton (Farmington News, November 2, 1900).

Malcolm A.H. Hart prevailed over Hazen Plummer in the election by a vote of 267 (66.3%) to 136 (33.7%). He served during the 1901-02 biennium and was succeeded by John E. Townsend. Hart served on the house standing committee On [the] Normal School.

M.A.H. Hart appeared in the Milton business directories of 1901, 1904, 1905-06, and 1909, as a physician, resident in Milton. (His house was at 30 So. Main in 1905-06 and 1909).

PERSONAL. Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Milton, well known in Farmington, was one of the judges at the fourth annual masquerade of Merrimac colony, United Order of Pilgrim Fathers, given last week at the opera house in Concord (Farmington News, February 1, 1901).

Young Travelers. Master Wentworth Hart, son of Dr. M.A.H. Hart, started last Wednesday week for Fair Haven, Vt., to visit his grandparents. The distance is some over 300 miles but the young man, though but ten years of age, courageously took the journey untagged and unattended and reached his destination without trouble (Farmington News, August 2, 1901).

MILTON. Dr. and Mrs. M.A.H. Hart have just returned from the Pan-American exposition, also from a visit to Dr. Hart’s brother in northern New York (Farmington News, October 25, 1901).

MILTON. Peter Bonochie has moved into a house owned by Dr. Hart (Farmington News, November 22, 1901).

The offer of the gift of a town clock for Milton, by an out of town citizen, if the people will raise money for a bell, has stimulated an effort to this end, and an organization was effected at a meeting Saturday evening, Dr. M.A.H. Hart being president, Harry L. Avery secretary, and N.G. Pinkham treasurer. It is proposed to place this clock and bell in the tower of the Congregational church as the most conspicuous place in the village (Farmington News, November 29, 1901).

U.S. Collector of Customs in Portsmouth, NH, and prominent Milton resident, Charles H. Looney (1849-1902), collapsed in the Prospect Hill cemetery, in Lebanon, ME, during the funeral of Charles H. Downs (1844-1902).

… Immediately Dr. M.A.H Hart was called instantly to the side of his friend and neighbor, and superintended his removal to his home, while everything possible was done to restore him to consciousness. But nothing availed and he passed away at about half past twelve o’clock of the morning referred to, April 23 (Farmington News, April 25, 1902).

M.A.H. Hart, M.D., gave the cause of death as apoplexy, i.e., a stroke. Looney was buried in the same cemetery in which he had collapsed.

Estelle L. (Draper) Hart was president of Milton’s Woman’s Relief Corps (W.R.C.) in January 1903. The Woman’s Relief Corps was the women’s auxiliary of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), which was a Civil War veterans’ organization.

Carlton W.R.C. Officers of the Carlton corps are to be installed this Thursday evening by the department president, Miss Kate L. Perkins of Marlow, who is a guest of Mrs. J.E. Hayes during her visit in town. Mrs. Hayes, department patriotic instructor, and president of Carlton W.R.C., was in Milton over Monday on occasion of the patriotic prize-speaking contest by twelve children from grades I and II of the schools. A full house was present, and the children all did excellent work. So also, says Mrs. Hayes, did Mrs. M.A.H. Hart, president of the Milton corps, who was in charge of the exercises. The two teachers, Miss Berry and Miss Wilson, and Robert M. Looney, served as judges and awarded the prizes, a five dollar gold piece each, to Mary Jones and Robert Peacock. The presentation was made by the Rev. M.P. Dickey, Marc S. Dickey gave fine piano playing. After the awarding of the prizes an address was given by Mrs. Hayes, which was very much enjoyed and spoken of in a most complimentary manner by the audience. The exercises closed with the flag salute and the singing of America (Farmington News, January 2, 1903).

Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Milton was appointed to the Milton Board of Health, April 11, 1903. He was the Board’s Secretary. He was joined on the Board by Elbridge W. Fox of Milton Mills, April 12, 1904, and Harry D. Coles of Milton, April 18, 1905 (NH State Board of Health, 1907).

Dr. Hart found it necessary to amputate the left foot of Albert O. Mathes after it had been run over by train wheels at the Milton railroad station.

Things Talked Of. Hardly any resident of this county could receive more earnest sympathy than has Albert O. Mathes, treasurer of the Strafford Savings bank at Dover, on occasion of his having suffered the loss of his left foot in an accident at the Milton station last Thursday. He went as usual to the bank and then decided to call on his mother and sister in Milton, between trains, as he has often done. Having spoken with people as he left the train, he stopped a moment to observe a truckful of plants and flowers. Just then he fell between the platform and the cars, probably from sudden dizziness, and before he could be reached two sets of wheels had run over his foot. He was taken to the office of Dr. M.A.H Hart, who found it necessary to remove the crushed foot at once. Mr. Mathes was removed that afternoon to the home of his mother and sister, the latter Mrs. Amos Roberts. Mrs. Mathes came from Dover with a trained nurse by the first train. The many Farmington friends of Mr. Mathes will be glad to know that since the accident last week he is doing as well as can possibly be expected. He is much gratified by the sympathy and good will shown him at this time, in every way (Farmington News, May 8, 1903).

It is often the case with those holding fiduciary offices (such as that held by Mathes) that they are required to take their full vacations. Certain types of fraud and embezzlement require constant adjustment, which cannot happen when the perpetrator is absent for any length of time. While Mathes was laid up, it was discovered in June 1903 that he had embezzled money from the Strafford Savings Bank.

MILTON. Mrs. M.A.H. Hart was in South Berwick last week (Farmington News, February 5, 1904).

MILTON. Miss Hattie Shaw of South Berwick, Me., spent Easter at her uncle’s, Dr. M.A.H. Hart (Farmington News, April 8, 1904).

Dr. Hart found himself unable to attend the Eastern New Hampshire Pomona Grange meeting of Wednesday, May 4, 1904, where he had planned to perform.

MILTON. A vocal solo was expected from Dr. M.A.H. Hart, but, as he was prevented from being present, George H. Tilton of Rochester kindly consented to sing a selection from memory and was loudly encored (Farmington News, May 6, 1904).

Forrest L. Marsh of Milton Mills, and Dr. Malcolm A.H. Hart and Frank G. Horne, both of Milton, appeared in the NH Superintendent of Public Instruction’s annual report of September 1904, as being Milton’s School Board.

MILTON. Dr. Hart and family have been spending a few days at York Beach. … Miss Hattie Shaw of Boston is the guest of her uncle, Dr. M.A.H. Hart (Farmington News, September 2, 1904).

Forrest L. Marsh of Milton Mills, and Dr. Malcolm A.H. Hart and Frank G. Horne, both of Milton, appeared in the NH Superintendent of Public Instruction’s annual report of October 1906, as being Milton’s School Board.

Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Milton was reappointed to the Milton Board of Health, March 11, 1907. He was the Board’s Secretary. He was joined on the Board, May 4, 1908, by Elbridge Fox of Milton Mills, and Harry D. Coles of Milton (NH State Board of Health, 1908).

Dr. M.A.H. Hart attended upon the wounded victim of Milton’s Murderous Lover in June 1907.

[Class of] 1888. University Medical College. Malcolm A.H. Hart, b. Milton, N.H., Dec. 28, 1861; Berwick Acad., Me; mem. N.H. Med. Soc.; Milton, N.H. (NY University, 1908).

DOVER DOINGS. The annual meeting of the Strafford district medical association was held at the Kimball house on Thursday, about 20 physicians attending. Dr. Lewis W. Flanders of this city presided. Papers were read by President Flanders, Dr. M.A.H. Hart, Milton, Dr. John H. Bates of East Rochester and Dr. Forrest L. Keay, Rochester. These officers were elected, Dr. Thomas J. Dougherty of Somersworth, president; Dr. Malcolm A.H. Hart of Milton, vice president; Dr. Lewis W. Flanders, secretary; Dr. A. Noel Smith of Dover, treasurer; and Dr. Miah D. Sullivan of Dover auditor (Portsmouth Herald, October 29, 1909).

M.A.H. Hart, a general practice physician, aged forty-eight years (b. NH), headed a Milton (“Milton 3-Ponds”) household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of ten years), Estella M. Hart, aged forty-six years (b. VT), and his children, Wentworth Hart, at school, aged nineteen years (b. NH), and Ezrah D. Hart, aged thirteen years (b. NH). M.A.H. Hart owned their house, free-and-clear. Estelle Hart was the mother of two children, of whom two were still living.

The Strafford County and District Medical Society elected Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Milton as its President at their 103rd Annual Meeting, which was held at Kimball House in Dover, NH, October 27, 1910 (NH Medical Society, 1911).

The NH legislature granted incorporation of the Nute Charitable Association, April 5, 1911. Its initial trustees were Everett F. Fox, Charles A. Jones, M.A.H. Hart, Harry L. Avery, Bard B. Plummer, Joseph H. Avery, Walter E. Looney, Chas. D. Fox, Moses G. Chamberlain, and their successors. The association’s object was to pay out interest money for the benefit of Milton’s “deserving poor” from a principal amount left as a residuary legacy by Lewis W. Nute’s last will (NH Secretary of State, 1911).

Local. The marriage is announced of Marion Wentworth Hart, son of Dr. and Mrs. M.A. Hart of Milton, to Miss Elsie Nichols of Hartford, Conn. (Farmington News, September 25, 1914).

Dr. Hart was a member of the Strafford County Republican Committee in September 1911, and September 1914.

STRAFFORD COUNTY. J. Frank Seavey, Dwight Hall, Thomas H. Dearborn, Clarence I. Hurd, Dover; Jeremiah Langley, Durham; Alonzo I. Nute, Farmington; Malcolm A.H. Hart, Milton; Joel W. McCrillis, R. De Witt Burnham, John L. Meader, Alcide Bilodeau, Rochester; John Q.A. Wentworth, Rollinsford; Sidney B. Stevens, James H. Joyce, John N. Haines, Somersworth; William S. Davis, Barrington (NH General Court, 1915).

Malcolm A.H. Hart appeared in the Who’s Who in New England reference publication in its 1915 edition. He was president of the Nute High School and Library trustees, and a trustee of the Nute Charitable [Fund] Association. He was a member also of several professional medical associations, as well as the Knights of Pythias (K.P.) and the Improved Order of Red Men (I.O.R.M.) social organizations.

HART, Malcom A.H., M.D.; b. Milton, N.H., Dec. 28, 1861; s. Simon and Mary A. (Wentworth) Hart; ed. common schs. and Berwick Acad., South Berwick, Me.; M.D., Univ. Med. Coll. (N.Y.U.), 1888; m. Apr. 17, 1890, Estelle L. Draper of Fair Haven, Vt. Practiced in Fall River, Mass., 1888-90; since in Milton, N.H. Pres. Bd. of Trustees, Nute High Sch. and Library; trustee, Nute Fund Assn. Mem. N.H. and Strafford County med. socs. Republican. Baptist. Mem. K.P., I.O.R.M. Address, Milton, N.H. (Marquis, 1915).

Dr. Malcolm A.H. Hart lost the NH State Senate election of November 1916 to Dr. John H. Bates by a vote of 2,213 (49.5%) to 2,255 (50.5%). Dr. Hart was both the “r & p” candidate, i.e., both the Republican and Prohibition party candidate, while Dr. Bates was the “d” candidate, i.e., the Democrat candidate. (One might recall that Dr. Hart’s elder brother, Justin Hart, (1857-1944) had been a saloon-keeper in 1880).

Local. The election at Milton left that town still snugly within the republican column, while no-license triumphed by a 65 vote margin. Dr. M.A.H. Hart, a resident of that town and republican candidate for senator from the twentieth district, was defeated by the democratic aspirant, Dr. Bates of Rochester, by 40 votes (Farmington News, November 10, 1916).

M.A.H. Hart appeared in the Milton business directory of 1917, as a physician, with his house at 30 So. Main street.

Marion Wentworth Hart of 122 Farmington Ave., Bristol, CT, registered in Bristol for the WW I military draft, June 5, 1917. He was married, aged twenty-six years (b. Gilmanton Iron Works, NH, March 4, 1891). He was a clerk for the New Departure Mfg. Co. of Bristol, CT. He had a wife and child, but claimed no exemption. He was of medium height, with a medium build, grey eyes, and light hair. (New Departure made ball bearings and a hub coaster brake for bicycles (and motorcycles). It eventually became a part of General Motors).

WEST MILTON. Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Milton recently lost a valuable driving horse which was in the Hannah Thurston pasture with a lot of other stock. After having been missing for several days the animal was found dead and apparently had suffered an illness (Farmington News, August 17, 1917).

2nd Lt. Ezra D. Hart of Company B, First Army Headquarters Regiment, gave his father, Malcolm A.H. Hart, of Milton, NH, as his next-of-kin when sailing on the Antigone troop transport from Hoboken, NJ, to France, March 30, 1918. 1st Lt. Ezra D. Hart did the same when he sailed from Brest, France, for the U.S., June 26, 1919.

Dr. Hart was at the forefront of Milton’s encounter with the so-called Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918.

To Avoid Spanish Influenza. • This disease is spread only by persons who have the disease; one person taking it directly from others. • Avoid crowds. Influenza is a crowd disease. • These germs must come into contact with the mouth or nose for a person to become inoculated. • Keep in the fresh air as much as possible; germs will not live in the fresh air. • Get plenty of sleep and do not worry or get frightened. • Keep clean, always wash hands after handling patients and don’t carry fingers to nose or mouth. • Smother your cough and sneeze in a handkerchief and don’t let anyone cough or sneeze in your face or towards you. Germs and disease travel in that way. • All eating and drinking utensils should be absolutely clean. • Take every precaution. • Keep your feet dry and warm. • Keep your houses well ventilated. Keep windows open, especially at night. • If you have backache, cough, if you sneeze, and are feverish, go to bed and call a physician and obey his orders (Farmington News, October 18, 1918).

M.A.H. Hart, M.D., of Milton, attended upon and signed the death certificates of seven of Milton’s ten fatal Spanish flu cases. (Two Farmington doctors and one Wakefield (Union) doctor signed the other three death certificates).

Malcolm A.H. Hart, a physician, aged fifty-eight years (B. NH), headed a Milton household at the time of the Fourteenth (1920) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Estell L. Hart, aged fifty-six years (b. VT), his son, Ezra D. Hart, aged twenty-three years (b. NH), and his boarder, Clara M. Roberts, a widow, aged eighty years (b. NH). He owned his house on Lower Main Street, in Milton Village, free-and-clear. They appeared in the census enumeration between the households of Natt E. Young, a draftsman, aged forty-three years (b. ME), and Fred C. Downs, an ice company laborer, aged forty-two years (b. NH).

Dr. Hart’s Milton barn, home, and office burned down in the early hours of Tuesday, March 22, 1921.

PERSONAL. Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Milton was in [Farmington] town Wednesday (Farmington News, September 15, 1922).

WEST MILTON. Dr. and Mrs. Hart attended the wedding of their youngest son, Ezra Hart, in Methuen, Mass., last Saturday, returning home Sunday (Farmington News, June 20, 1924).

PERSONAL. Friends of Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Milton regret to learn that he is in a Boston hospital tor surgery (Farmington News, January 9, 1925).

Malcolm A.H. (Estelle) Hart appeared in the Milton directory of 1930, as a physician, resident in Milton.

Malcom A. Hart, a general practice physician, aged sixty-eight years (b. NH), headed a Milton household at the time of the Fifteenth (1930) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Estelle Hart, aged sixty-six years (b. VT), and his servant, Laura Bragdon, a private family housewife, aged sixty-five years (b. NH). Malcolm A. Hart owned their house on South Main Street, which was valued at $5,000. They had a radio set.

Dr. M.A.H. Hart played some role in the Nute High School Class of 1931 graduation ceremonies. The newspaper account is a bit unclear as to whether he gave out diplomas or led the singing of “Nute, Beloved, Hail to Thee” (Farmington News, June 19, 1931).

Malcom A. Hart, a general practice medical doctor, aged seventy-eight years (b. NH), headed a Milton household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Estelle L. Hart, aged seventy-six years (b. VT). Malcolm A. Hart owned their house on Main Street, in the Milton Community, which was valued at $2,500.

Estelle L. (Draper) Hart died at the NH State Hospital in Concord, NH, June 20, 1946, aged eighty-two years, eleven months, and fourteen days. (Her death certificate and the newspaper obituary below are at variance regarding the location of her death).

Deaths and Funerals. Mrs. Estelle L. Hart. BEDFORD, June 22. Funeral services for Mrs. Estelle L. (Draper) Hart, 82, wife of Dr. M.A.H. Hart of Milton, N.H., will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 in the Community Church at Milton. She died here Thursday. Mrs. Hart came to Bedford from Milton last November. She was a member of the Woman’s Relief Corps, Woman’s Club, Daughters of the American Revolution and Community Church in Milton. Besides her husband, she leaves two sons, M. Wentworth Hart of Bedford and Ezra D. Hart of Andover; a brother, George U. Draper of Fairhaven, Vt., and a sister, Mrs. Charles A. Bullock of Bristol, Conn. (Boston Globe, June 23, 1946).

Malcolm A.H. Hart died in Bedford, MA, January 25, 1949, aged eighty-seven years.

IN MEMORIAM. Dr. Malcolm Allen Hayes Hart. Many persons in this vicinity regret to learn of the death of Malcolm Allen Hayes Hart, M.D., aged 87 years, a former resident of Milton, which occurred Tuesday, January 25, at Bedford, Mass. Doctor Hart was born in Milton, December 28, 1861, and was a resident of that community for a great many years. Until his retirement he was a popular physician and practitioner in Milton and was known by many in this county. He was a member of Fraternal Lodge, No. 71, F.&A.M., of Farmington. He leaves two sons, Wentworth and Ezra Hart. Funeral services will be held this Thursday afternoon at two o’clock at the Milton Community church (Farmington News, January 28, 1949).

Rites Held for Milton, N.H., Doctor. Milton, N.H., Jan. 27. – Funeral services for Dr. Malcolm A.H. Hart, 87, who practiced here and at Lebanon, Me., for 57 years, were held this afternoon in the Community Church. Doctor Hart, who died at the home of his son, M. Wentworth Hart, in Bedford, Mass., was born in Milton, a son of Simon and Mary A. (Wentworth) Hart. He the oldest living member of the class of 1888 New York University College of medicine. He began the practice of his profession in Fall River, Mass., but after a period there returned to his native town where he made his home for 57 years. Four years ago he went to Bedford, Mass., to reside. Doctor Hart had served for many years as president of the Board of Trustees of Nute High School here. Interested in civic affairs, he represented the town of Milton in the state legislature In 1900 and 1901 [1901-02]. He was a member of the Fraternal Lodge of Masons in Farmington, the New Hampshire Consistory, New Hampshire Medical Association and the Community Church. He is survived by another son, Ezra D. Hart, Andover, Mass., three grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. Rev. Ralph V. Townsend, pastor of the church, officiated at the service, during which stores in the community closed. Among those attending were delegations from the various fraternal organizations with which he had been affiliated, some of the trustees and faculty of Nute High School. Burial was in the Prospect Hill Cemetery, Lebanon, Me. (Portland Press Herald, January 28, 1949).

---

References:

Bowdoin College. (1899) Catalog of Bowdoin College and the Medical School of Maine. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=VV9CAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA4-PA61

B.R. Publishing Co. (1897). Biographical Review: Containing Life Sketches of Leading Citizens of Stafford and Belknap Countries, New Hampshire. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=C2sjAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA216

Find a Grave. (2010, February 6). Samuel Ringgold Harwood. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/47700572

IL Department of Registration. (1919). A Report on the Administration of the Medical Practice Act from July 1, 1917, to December 31, 1918. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=02AXAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA29

Marquis, A.N. (1915). Who’s Who in New England. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=RmUTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA516

NH General Court. (1915). Manual for the General Court. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=CjhAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA128

NH Medical Society. (1911). Transactions of the NH Medical Society. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=-swyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA209

NH Secretary of State. (1911). Laws of the State of New Hampshire. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=sp1GAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA380

NH State Board of Education. (1906). Biennial Report of the New Hampshire State Board of Education. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=6wBJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA96

NH State Board of Health. (1907). Reports, 1905-06. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=Vo7unXlFPbgC&pg=PP353

NH State Board of Health. (1908). Twentieth Report of the State Board of Health of the State of New Hampshire, For the Fiscal Period Ending August 31, 1908. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=2cc_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA313

NY University. (1908). General Alumni Catalogue of New York University, 1833-1907: Medical Alumni. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=PTxMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA403

Ranney, Ambrose L. (1894). The Eye Treatment of Epileptics. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=kVo5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA109

Wikipedia. (2020, July 7). Bowdoin College. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowdoin_College

Wikipedia. (2020, June 13). Improved Order of Red Men. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improved_Order_of_Red_Men

Wikipedia. (2020, July 24). Knights of Pythias. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_Pythias

Wikipedia. (2020, July 15). New York University School of Medicine. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_University_School_of_Medicine

Wikipedia. (2020, May 17). Pan-American Exposition. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_Exposition

Wikipedia. (2020, June 30). Woman’s Relief Corps. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman%27s_Relief_Corps

By Muriel Bristol | July 26, 2020

The Miltonia Mills were built by Henry H. Townsend in 1872. Operations were begun in 1873, Mr. Townsend and his partner, Mr. S.H. Atkins, carrying on the manufacture of felt under the firm name of Townsend & Co. Felt was the output of the mill up to the year 1881, when it was replaced by blankets, and the plant called the Miltonia Mills. The mill with the new factory and additions make up the plant. Mr. Henry Townsend died June 25, 1904, and was succeeded by his son, Mr. John E. Townsend, the present owner. Sixty-five hands are employed, and the industry has grown to extensive proportions (Scales, 1914).

Henry Herbert Townsend – 1872-1904

Henry Herbert Townsend was born in Dorchester, MA, August 12, 1842, son of John and Jane M. (Townsend) Townsend.

Henry Herbert Townsend of Milton, NH, aged seventeen years, graduated from Philips Exeter Academy, in Exeter, NH, with its Class of 1858.

Henry H. Townsend of Milton Mills appeared in a list of First and Second year students at the New Hampton Literary & Biblical Institution, in New Hampton, NH, in 1858 and 1859. (Charles B. Brackett, also of Milton Mills, appeared in the same lists). He appeared also in a list of Middle and Junior year students at the New Hampton Theological School, in 1860. (Charles A. Cutts, also of Milton Mills, and William H. Coffin of West Lebanon, Me., appeared in the same list).

John Townsend, a woolen manufacturer, aged fifty-two years (b. NH), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills”) household at the time of the Eighth (1860) Federal Census. His household included Eliza A. Townsend, aged thirty-seven years (b. NH), Jane R. Townsend, aged twenty-four years (b. NH), Caroline F. Townsend, aged twenty years (b. NH), Henry H. Townsend, aged seventeen years (b. NH), Ermina [Emma] M. Townsend, aged fourteen years (b. NH), Willie B. Townsend, aged ten years (b. NH), and Frank A. Townsend, aged five years (b. NH). John Townsend had real estate valued at $2,000 and personal estate valued at $8,000. His neighbor was [his younger brother,] Joseph Townsend, a woolen manufacturer, aged thirty-seven years (b. England).

John Townsend, a merchant, aged fifty-five years (b. England), headed a Brookline, MA, household at the time of the Second (1865) Massachusetts State Census. His household included his wife, Eliza Townsend, aged forty-two years (b. Milton, ME), Jane R. Townsend, aged twenty-nine years (b. Dorchester), Caroline L. Townsend, aged twenty-five years (b. Dorchester), Henry H. Townsend, a clerk, aged twenty-two years (b. Dorchester), Emma M. Townsend, aged nineteen years (b. Milton, N.H.), William B. Townsend, aged fourteen years (b. Milton, N.H.), Frank A. Townsend, aged ten years (b. Milton, N.H.), and Flora G. Townsend, aged two years (b. Milton, N.H.), and [his servant,] Mary Welsh, aged twenty years (b. Ireland).

John Townsend was a principal owner and treasurer of the Littleton Woolen Company of Littleton, NH, between 1865 and 1869. Henry H. Townsend worked there first as a clerk and later as the superintendent.

John Townsend was treasurer, and Leland, Allen & Bates selling agents, while Henry H. Townsend, a son of the treasurer, became superintendent. In 1869 Jordan, Marsh & Co. purchased controlling interest and Capt. William H. Stevens became and agent (Jackson, 1905).

Henry H. Townsend married in Milton, June 7, 1870, Agnes J. Brierley, he of Boston and she of Milton, NH. She was born in Lowell, MA, May 17, 1844, daughter of Edward and Margaret M. (Thompson) Brierley. (See also Milton Mills’ Brierley Mill – c1864-18). He was a merchant, aged twenty-seven years; she was aged twenty-six years. Rev. N.D. Adams of Union, NH, performed the ceremony. (This record appeared also in Boston vital records).

H.H. Townsend appeared in the Milton directories of 1873, 1874, and 1875, as a manufacturer of table covers, or table and piano covers.

Henry H. Townsend, of Milton Mills, NH, filed for a U.S. Patent (#137,638), January 17, 1873, for his invention of “Presses for Printing Fabrics.” R.H. Eddy and S.N. Piper signed as his witnesses (U.S. Patent Office, January 1873). Robert H. Eddy was a Boston patent solicitor, the first in fact, and civil engineer. S.N. Piper, was a mechanical expert, who worked with him (American Publishing, 1889).

A soap salesman interviewed Henry Townsend in Milton Mills, in or around 1877, and “sold him,” i.e., convinced him to place an industrial soap order. Soap is used in the fulling process.

Townsend & Co. appeared in the Milton directories of 1876, 1877, 1880, 1881, and 1882, as manufacturers of table and piano covers. The “company” of Townsend & Co included now his brother-in-law, Sullivan H. Atkins, as his partner.

Sullivan Holman Atkins was born in Canaan, ME, February 14, 1837, son of Thomas and Lucinda (Fairbanks) Atkins. He married (1st) in Somersworth, NH, April 30, 1857, Frances Wilkins. She was born in Waterford, ME, June 18, 1838, daughter of William K. and Lorena (Lovejoy) Wilkins. She died in Berwick, ME, January 26, 1865, aged twenty-six years.

Atkins appeared in the Boston directory of 1867, as a partner in the woolen firm of Atkins, Remick & Brackett, with its offices at 47 Summer street, and his home at Somerville, MA.

Sullivan H. Atkins married (2nd) in Brookline, MA, December 25, 1865, Jane R. “Jennie” Townsend, he of Great Falls, i.e., Somersworth, NH, and she of Brookline, MA. He was a merchant, aged thirty years and she was aged twenty-nine years. She was born in Dorchester, MA, in 1836, daughter of John and Jane M. (Townsend) Townsend (and elder sister of Henry H. Townsend). She died of consumption, i.e., tuberculosis, in Holyoke, MA, June 23, 1869, aged thirty-two years.

Sullivan H. Atkins married (3rd) in Boston, MA, May 14, 1870, Sarah A. “Abby” Ricker, he of Boston and she of Great Falls, i.e., Somersworth, NH. He was a salesman, aged thirty-four years, and she was aged twenty-five years. She was born in Great Falls. NH, circa 1845, daughter of Stephen and Sarah Ricker.

Sullivan Atkins, a dry goods clerk, aged thirty-four years (b. ME), headed a Somerville, MA, household at the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. His household included his [third] wife, Abbie Atkins, keeps house, aged twenty-five years (b. NH), and his daughter, Winnie Atkins, at school, aged eight years (b. NH). Sullivan Atkins had personal estate valued at $2,000.

Sullivan H. Atkins, of Melrose, MA, filed for a U.S. Patent (#136,636), in April 1873, for his invention of “Water-Proof Furze Fabrics.” His invention was intended to line overshoes, boots, horse blankets, carriage robes, and various other purposes. The same Robert H. Eddy that served as patent solicitor for Henry H. Townsend signed as his witnesses, along with J.R. Snow (U.S. Patent Office, March 1873).

Sullivan H. Atkins and Luther Harris were elected as Milton’s state representatives in March 1876 (Boston Post, March 15, 1876).

Townsend & Company’s woolen felt factory suspended production for a time in early 1878.

TELEGRAPHIC NOTES. Townsend & Co., at Milton Mills, N.H., have suspended, throwing 30 hands out of employment (St. Albans Daily Messenger,  January 3, 1878).

Sullivan H. Atkins, a felt manufacturer, aged forty-five years (b. ME), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills Village”) household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. His household included his [third] wife, Sarah A. Atkins, keeping house, aged thirty-five years (b. NH), his children, Winnifred Atkins, at house, aged sixteen years (b. NH), Mary E. Atkins, at house, aged six years (b. NH), and George K. Atkins, at house, aged four years (b. NH), and his sister, Emma J. Atkins, at house, aged twenty-eight years (b. ME).

Henry H. Townsend bought out Sullivan H. Atkins’ share in Townsend & Company in 1880. (The partnership name continued to appear in Milton business directories for several years). Sullivan H. Atkins remained in the area for a time. He went on to become a Baptist minister (Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church in West Roxbury, MA, in 1905). He died in Melrose, MA, May 5, 1918, aged eighty-one years.

Alton. Mr. Sullivan Atkins, of Milton Mills, preached at the Baptist church Sunday forenoon and lectured on temperance in the evening. Mr. Atkins is a very forcible speaker and handled the great question without gloves. He believes in being radically right and has little confidence in lukewarm work. He dealt out some heavy blows to the tobacco users that made the chewing deacons and the smoking church members, as well as the sinner who indulges in the pernicious habit, squirm in their seats. Ich Dien (Farmington News, February 5, 1886).

(“Ich Dien” is German for “I Serve,” which has been the motto of the English royal heir since the Battle of Crecy (1346). Whether it relates somehow to the article or is a pseudonym for its author is not entirely clear).

Henry H. Townsend, a woolen manufacturer (felt), aged thirty-seven years (b. MA), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills Village”) household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Agnes J. Townsend, keeps house, aged thirty-five years (b. MA), and his children, John E. Townsend, at school, aged eight years (b. NH), and Grace M. Townsend, at house, aged six years (b. NH).

It would later be said that Henry H. Townsend “met with reverses” in this period, but overcame them honestly, paying in full his obligations. It was about this time also that he began to manufacture blankets, as well as his previous line of table and piano covers.

TRADE EMBARASSMENTS. NEW HAMPSHIRE. MILTON MILLS. Henry H. Townsend, flannel manufacturer, assigned. He claimed about $20,000 in mills, machinery, etc. (Bradstreet, 1884). 

H.H. Townsend appeared in the Milton directories of 1884, 1887, 1889, 1892 [John Townsend], 1894, 1898, 1901, and 1904, as a manufacturer of woolen goods.

Henry H. Townsend, who had 2 sets of cards in his Milton Mills factory, endorsed a circular letter or petition opposing removal or reduction of wool tariffs, in July 1885 (National Association of Wool Manufacturers, 1885). (The nearby Waumbeck Co., who had 10 sets of cards in its Milton Mills factory, also endorsed).

Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Townsend of Milton Mills, NH, were guests at the Bay View hotel in Wells, ME, in late July 1888 (Boston Globe, July 29, 1888).

Hy. H. Townsend was agent in 1888 for the East Lake Mills, a Milton Mills woolen blanket manufacturer, with 3 sets of cards and 16 looms. (“East Lake Mills” might be thought to have been the name of Townsend’s mill prior to its being named “Miltonia Mills”).

Milton Mills experienced a contentious shoe factory strike in 1889. (The strike took place against the Varney & Lane company, who had taken over the former Brierley Mill). Townsend’s brother-in-law, Edward J Brierley, who was then a dry goods merchant, spoke in favor of the strikers.

Henry H. Townsend represented Milton Mills on a citizens’ committee formed in 1890 to promote construction of a railroad branch line between Wakefield, NH’s Union station and Portland, ME. It would have been tremendously beneficial for his mill to have a railroad connection.

MILTON MILLS. There is a scheme now in progress to run a connecting branch line of railroad, tapping the Boston & Maine near Union, passing through Milton Mills, Horne’s Mills, this state, Acton, North Shapleigh, Newfield, Limerick and Cornish, Me., to the Portland and Ogdensburg. This will be about thirty-five miles long, through some of the best country in Maine and Eastern New Hampshire. Opening up thirteen fine water privileges and several large ponds with excellent facilities for ice cutting. A committee of five has been chosen, one from each town, to solicit subscriptions for the survey, $1,000 being required or $200 from each town benefited. The following well-known citizens comprise this committee: Milton Mills, H.H. Townsend; Acton, E.J. Brierly; Shapleigh, Edward Hargraves; Limerick, Luther Moore, and Newfield, George Hannaford. The spirit prompting this enterprise is of the right kind; New England men applying their energy and push to “booming” New England towns, instead of going “West,” as advised by the late Horace Greeley, cannot fail to reap a bright reward in the near future (Farmington News, March 21, 1890).

Despite the enterprising spirit, energy and push mentioned, construction of this proposed branch line never took place.

H.H. Townsend of Milton Mills, NH, was a guest at the American House hotel in Boston, MA, in early October 1891 (Boston Globe, October 9, 1891).

Agnes J. (Brierley) Townsend died December 26, 1891, aged forty-seven years.

MACHINERY WANTS. The East Lake mills, Milton Mills, N.H., are expected to put in new cards and machinery (Fibre & Fabric, January 16, 1892).

Henry H. Townsend, of Milton Mills, was a guest at the Kearsarge House hotel in North Conway, NH, in August 1894 (Boston Globe, August 5, 1894). Henry H. Townsend (and the estate of his late father, John Townsend,) appeared in the Boston directories of 1894 through 1906, as having an office at Room 223 in the John Hancock Mutual Insurance Company building, at 178 Devonshire street in Boston, MA, with his house at Milton, NH.

Henry H. Townsend, a woolen manufacturer, aged fifty-seven years (b. MA), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills Village”) household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. He was a widower, residing alone.

NEWS OF THE STATE. Charles Johnson of Hollis and Fred Googins of Sanford, Me., are in Milton Mills where they are building a brick wheel house and mixing room for H.H. Townsend. They will also build foundations for an engine and dynamo for the same party. In all they will lay about two hundred thousand bricks (Farmington News, July 19, 1901).

Wool Manfrs. NEW HAMPSHIRE. MILTON MILLS, Stafford, Co. (S.E.) Pop. 680. Stage. Union (4m), RR107. Townsend, H.H. Miltonia Mill, Blankets, 3 Sets Cards, 21 Broad Looms, 720 Sp., Dye and Finish. 1 Boiler, 2 W.W. Thos. Kelly & Co., N.Y., Boston and Chicago, S. Agts. (Davison, 1901).

Henry H. Townsend died in Milton Mills, June 25, 1904, aged sixty-one years, ten months, and thirteen days.

DEATHS. TOWNSEND – In Milton Mills, N.H., June 25. Henry H. Townsend, 62 yrs. Funeral at Milton Mills, N.H., Wednesday, June 29, at 2 p.m.. Relatives and friends invited to attend without further notice (Boston Globe, June 27, 1904).

HENRY H. TOWNSEND. Mr. Henry H. Townsend of Milton Mills, N.H., who died there recently was born at Dorchester, Mass., on August 12, 1842. He commenced his career in the business world as book-keeper for the Littleton, N.H., woolen mills and in 1871 he began manufacturing felt at Milton Mills, N.H. In 1882 he started to manufacture blankets in a small way, gradually increasing the capacity of the concern until it is now one of the best-equipped mills in New England, although not very large. It consists of three sets of cards, 24 Knowles fancy looms and an output or 225 to 250 pairs per day. Mr. Townsend met with reverses in his business earlier in life, but overcame them honestly, paying in full his obligations, and has been very successful in later years. He commenced to learn the woolen business in his father’s mill when not attending school, and, in fact, he was always around the mill from boyhood. Mr. Townsend was a very charitable man in his way, never seeking notoriety as to his bequests and never turning away those who were needy or worthy. He continued in active business until a few weeks prior to his decease (American Textile Reporter, 1904).

Deaths. Henry H. Townsend of Milton Mills, N.H., died recently. In the early seventies he formed á copartnership and commenced the manufacture felt goods for the rubber trade, etc. Later he built a new mill and began weaving blankets. This mill has since been enlarged and refitted with the most modern and up-to-date machinery and considered one of the best equipped mills in state. Mr. Townsend will be very much missed, not only by his only family, but by a very wide circle of friends and by his employees (Lord & Nagle, 1904).

Henry H. Townsend of Milton had signed his last will in Milton, September 26, 1895. Elbridge W. Fox, Everett F. Fox, and George S. Lovering signed as witnesses. The will was proved in Dover, NH, in late July 1904 (Strafford County Probate, 124:76). E.W. Fox appeared in the Milton Mills directory of 1894 as a conveyancer, i.e., someone who wrote up deeds, bills of sale, and, apparently, wills. His son, E.F. Fox kept a Milton Mills furniture store. George S. Lovering was a peddler and traveling salesman, who lived on Church street in Milton Mills.

John Edward Townsend – 1904-1914

John E. Townsend was born in Milton Mills, September 9, 1872, son of Henry H. and Agnes J. (Brierley) Townsend.

John E. Townsend was educated at Milton Mills and Lindsey University, Me. He afterward entered his father’s office and continued therein until the latter’s death. He then took charge and operated the mill until 1906, when he bought the plant of the estate and conducts the mill along the line of fine blanket manufacturing, affording constant employment to sixty-five men. As superintendents he has men well-known for their efficiency, including F.H. Simms, A.T. Loud, J.F. Archbold and E.A. Wentworth. This mill is classed as a 4-set mill and is equipped with electricity, the plant site covering two acres (Scales, 1914).

F.H. Simes of Milton Mills, NH, received a U.S. patent for a loom invention in late 1901 (Boston Globe, January 4, 1902). F.H. Simes, a woolen mill weaver, aged forty-two years (b. NH), headed an Acton, ME, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of twenty-three years), Mary A. [(Smith)] Simes, aged forty-one years (b. NH), and his boarder, Ethel Birch, a woolen mill weaver, aged twenty years (b. ME). F.H. Simes owned their house, free-and-clear. Mary A. Simes was the mother of one child, of whom one was still living. Frederick H. Simes (1868-1953) was mill superintendent in 1920 and 1930.

Archie T. Lowd, a woolen mill finisher, aged forty years (b. ME), headed an Acton, ME, household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of seventeen years), Clara M. [(Page)] Lowd, aged forty years (b. NH), his children, Albert P. Lowd, aged eight years (b. ME), and Marion P. Lowd, aged two years (b. ME), and his mother, Sarah E. [(Tasker)] Lowd, a widow, aged seventy-seven years (b. NH). Archie T. Lowd owned their farm, free-and-clear. Clara M. Lowd was the mother of two children, of whom two were still living. Archie Tasker Lowd (1870-1930) was boss finisher in 1920.

John Frank Archibald (1852-1924) appeared in the Milton directory of 1900, as boss carder at the woolen mill, with his house at 92 Main street, Milton Mills. John F. Archibald, a wool carder, aged forty-seven years (b. NH), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills Village”) household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of twenty-three years), Hannah [(Greenleaf)] Archibald, aged forty-five years (b. NH), and his daughter, Emma Archibald, a shoe closer-on, aged nineteen years (b. NH). John F. Archibald rented their house. Hannah Archibald was the mother of two children, of whom two were still living. He was a packer in 1910 and foreman in 1920.

Edgar A. Wentworth (1856-1932). Edgar A. Wentworth, a farmer, aged fifty-seven years (b. NH), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills”) household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his [second] wife (of nineteen years), Cora [(Lord)] Wentworth, aged fifty-four years (b. ME), and his daughter, Dora Wentworth, aged seventeen years (b. NH). Edgar A. Wentworth owned their farm, free-and-clear. Cora Lowd was the mother of one child, of whom one was still living.

Mr. Townsend married Miss Eda B. Loud, a daughter of Elbridge and Melissa Loud of Acton, Me., and they have two children: Henry A., attends the Brunswick School at Greenwich, Conn., and Agnes M., who is a student at Brookline, Mass. In politics a Republican Mr. Townsend was elected in 1903 a member of the New Hampshire legislature. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and belongs also to the Odd Fellows at Milton Mills. The handsome family residence is on the corner of Western avenue and Church street, Milton Mills (Scales, 1914).

John E. Townsend married in Milton, January 28, 1896, Eda B. Lowd, he of Milton, and she of Acton, ME. He was a clerk, aged twenty-four years, and she was a milliner, aged twenty-four years. Rev. R.L. Sheaff, of Wakefield, NH, performed the ceremony. She was born in Acton, ME, 1870, daughter of Elbridge and Melissa M. (Buck) Lowd.

In an 1897 Boston Globe article extolling the wonders of Great East Lake as a fishing destination, John Townsend’s steam-powered launch was mentioned.

There are two steam launches on the pond. One of these belongs to the Goodall camp. and the other is owned by John Townsend of Milton Mills (Boston Globe, August 29 1897).

John E. Townsend, a woolen mill superintendent, aged twenty-eight years (b. NH), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills”) household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of four years), Eda B. Townsend, aged thirty years (b. ME), and his children, Henry A. Townsend, aged two years (b. NH), and Agnes M. Townsend, aged zero years (b. NH, May). John E. Townsend owned their house, free-and-clear. Eda B. Townsend was the mother of two children, of whom two were still living.

John E. Townsend and Dr. Jeremiah S. Elkins advertised for someone knowledgeable in photography in 1902. They appear to have been amateur photographers seeking some professional advice. (Other interpretations are possible).

The Henry H. Townsend Estate appeared in the Milton directory of 1905-06 as a Milton Mills manufacturer of woolen goods. John E. Townsend appeared in the Milton directories of 1909 and 1912, as a Milton Mills manufacturer of woolen goods.

John E. Townsend was among the first to have an automobile in Milton Mills, and in the state. He had initially a 10-horsepower White Sewing Machine Company steam automobile, registered with license plate #204 (Blanchard, 1905). In the following year his registration / license plate was #1055, likely reflecting a change in vehicle. By 1909 he had a 45-horsepower Nordyke & Marmon company gasoline automobile, registered as #3100, as well as a 40-horsepower Overland gasoline automobile, registered as #4600. His cousin (and brother-in-law), John C. Townsend, was also a motorist. (See also Milton Automobiles in 1906-07 and Milton Automobiles in 1909-10).

MACHINERY WANTED AND FOR SALE. FOR SALE. 2 Davis & Furber Mules, 240 Spindles, 1¾-inch gauge. In good condition, may be seen at work. 3-11 Roll Cleveland Condensers, one nearly new. JOHN E. TOWNSEND, Milton Mills, N.H. (American Textile Reporter, 1908).

Milton Mills, N.H. The blanket mill closed recently for a few days for repairs to the boiler and to give the employes a day off to attend the Rochester fair (Fibre & Fabric, October 2, 1909).

Some later Miltonia Mills advertisements promoted Admiral Peary’s use of their blankets on his polar expeditions. (Peary claimed to have reached the North Pole in 1909).

MILTON MILLS, Stafford Co. (S.E.) Pop. 1,600. Stage, Union (4m), RR47. Townsend, John E. Miltonia Mill. Blankets. 3 Sets Cards. 28 broad Looms. 720 Sp. Dye and Finish. 1 Boiler. 2 W.W. Electric Power. Employ 65. Thos. Kelly & Co. N.Y. and Boston, S. Agts. (Davison, 1910).

John E. Townsend’s fur-lined coat was stolen from his stable office in Milton Mills in February 1910. He traveled to Fresno, CA, in March 1910. (It would have taken the better part of a week to get there by train).

PERSONAL MENTION. J.E. Townsend of Milton Mills, New Hampshire, is at the Sequoia [Hotel] (Fresno Morning Republican (Fresno, CA), April 8, 1910).

John E. Townsend, a woolen blankets manufacturer, aged thirty-nine years (b. NH), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills”) household at the time of the Thirteenth (1910) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of fourteen years), Eda B. Townsend, aged thirty-nine years (b. ME), and his children, Henry A. Townsend, aged twelve years (b. NH), and Agnes M. Townsend, aged ten years (b. NH). John E. Townsend owned their house, free-and-clear.

Richard Edward Brierley married in the First Methodist Church in Rochester, NH, October 26, 1910, Gertrude Alberta Ricker, he of Fitchburg, MA, and she of Rochester. John E. Townsend of Milton Mills, who was Brierley’s cousin, was an usher at the ceremony (Boston Globe, October 27, 1910).

HELP WANTED. WANTED. One or two families of weavers. One loom work. White warp and filling. Low rents. MILTONIA BLANKET MILLS, Milton Mills, N.H. (Fibre & Fabric, April 15, 1911).

Enlargements and Improvements. New Hampshire, Milton Mills. A new engine for the blanket mill of John E. Townsend has been received. As noted several weeks ago the mill has been running only part of the time on account of low water in the mill pond (McGraw-Hill, 1911).

TOWNSEND, JOHN E. (MILTONIA MILL.) Milton Mills, N.H. Production and Equipment: Blankets; 3 sets of cards; 28 wide looms; 720 mule spindles; 1 boiler, 2 water wheels; electric power. Dye and finish. Employ 65 (Bennett, 1912).

John E. Townsend died in Milton Mills, September 8, 1914, aged forty-two years, eleven months, and thirty days.

John E. Townsend Dead. MILTON MILL, N.H, Sept 9 – John E. Townsend, a prominent blanket manufacturer died yesterday after a long illness. He leaves a wife, son and daughter (Boston Globe, September 9, 1914).

DEATHS. TOWNSEND – In Milton Mills, N.H., Sept. 8, John E. Townsend, in his 43d year. Funeral Saturday, Sept. 12, at 2 P.M. (Boston Globe, September 10, 1914).

Eda B. (Lowd) Townsend died in Haverhill, MA, February 2, 1932.

To be continued.

---

See also Milton Mills Mfg. Co. & the Waumbeck Companies – 1837-98 and Milton Mills’ Brierley Mill – c1864-18.

---

References:

American Publishing & Engraving Co. (1889). Illustrated Boston: The Metropolis of New England. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=Vu4JAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA175

American Textile Reporter. (1904, July 21). American Textile Reporter. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=H2ZYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA763

American Textile Reporter. (1908, February 13). American Textile Reporter. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=8nJYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA335

Atlas Publishing Co. (1917). Waste Trade Journal. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=5adAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA274

Bennett, Frank P. & Co. (1922). American Wool and Cotton Reporter. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=D_ZYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA585

Blanchard, F.S. & Co. (1905). Red Book: Interstate Automobile Guide. New England. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=JjpKAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA352

Bradstreet Company. (1884). Bradstreet’s Weekly: A Business Digest. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=a_lDAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA141

Davison Publishing Co. (1901). The “Blue Book” Textile Directory of the United States and Canada. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=nyMqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA247

Davison Publishing Co. (1910). The “Blue Book” Textile Directory of the United States and Canada. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=R-EBfPEK7fIC&pg=PA255

Find a Grave. (2013, July 29). J. Frank Archibald. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/114596901/j-frank-archibald

Find a Grave. (2013, August 17). Fred H. Simes. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/115612396

Find a Grave. (2013, August 12). Henry H. Townsend. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/115352239

Find a Grave. (2013, August 12). John E. Townsend. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/115352496

Find a Grave. (2013, August 16). Edgar A. Wentworth. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/115565651/edgar-a-wentworth

Lord & Nagle. (1904, August). Textile World Record. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=zw_OAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA5-PA171

McGraw-Hill. (1911). Textile World. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=_5JAAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA150

National Association of Wool Manufacturers. (1885). Bulletin of the National Association of Wool Manufacturers. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=zoBAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA325

Palmer, J.E.. (1888). The “Blue Book” Pocket Directory of the Textile Manufacturers of the United States and Canada. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=szUqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA93

U.S. Patent Office. (1873, January). Specifications and Drawings of Patents Issued from the U.S. Patent Office. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=jMk6AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA328

U.S. Patent Office. (1873, March). Specifications and Drawings of Patents Issued from the U.S. Patent Office. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=ksg6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA267

Wikipedia. (2020, June 14). White Automobile Company. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Motor_Company

Youtube. (2015, July 12). Bemidji Woolen Mills Carding Machine. Retrieved from www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hVwpGxM5Aw

Youtube. (2016, June 7). Crompton & Knowles Power Loom Running. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IicxSu9rHro

Youtube. (2011, October 20). Spinning Mule. Retrieved from www.youtube.com/watch?v=RczuXg5nhMI

By Muriel Bristol | July 19, 2020

The Milton Mills Manufacturing Company (1837-1864) was incorporated in 1837, and established itself as a lathe and wood-turning mill (that replaced an original woolen mill).

Gilman Jewett, Nathaniel Jewett, Asa Jewett and a Mr. Wedgewood transformed the old woolen mill into a lathe and turning mill about sixty-five or seventy years [1838-43] ago, after which it was operated more or less irregularly up to the year 1847 [1845] (Mitchell-Cony, 1908).

English immigrant John Townsend took over their mill in or around 1845 and used it to manufacture woolen flannel. It continued in this line of business, through several owners, until it burned down in 1898. Its site is now the Waumbeck Park in Milton Mills.

Milton Mills Manufacturing Company – Gilman Jewett (1777-1856) – 1837-4?

Gilman Jewett was born in Milton, January 18, 1777, son of Paul and Elizabeth (Gilman) Jewett.

He married (1st) in Exeter, NH, September 10, 1798, Sally Mead, he of Rochester, NH, and she of Newmarket, NH. She was born in Newmarket, NH, September 16, 1775, daughter of Stephen and Lucy (Wright) Mead. She died circa 1817. Her children were Sarah D., Eliza, Paul, and Asa Jewett.

He married (2nd) in Milton, circa 1820, Ann S. Nutter. She was born in Newington, NH, in December 1790, daughter of Hatevil and Susanna (Shackford) Nutter. (Note her father’s male Puritan “virtue” name: “Hate-Evil.” It is of a kind with more familiar female ones, such as Constance, Faith, Hope, Charity, Chastity, Prudence, etc.).

Gilman Jewett was one of nine named incorporators of the Milton Social Library in June 1822.

The NH legislature granted Gilman Jewett and his associates incorporation as the Milton Mills Manufacturing Company in January 1837. They transformed an old woolen mill to a lathe and turning mill in 1837-38.

The Milton Mills Manufacturing Company was organized in 1837, and in that and the following year built their mill, and after running it a few years transferred the business to Durgin & Co. (Scales, 1914).

President Zachary Taylor’s administration appointed Gilman Jewett as Milton Mills postmaster, April 30, 1849. Such appointments were political sinecures in those days, from which one might infer that Jewett was a Whig, as was Taylor. Gilman Jewett succeeded James Berry in that position. Berry’s tenure coincided with the presidency of Democrat James K. Polk.

Gilman Jewett, a postmaster, aged seventy-three years (b. NH), headed a Milton household at the time of the Seventh (1850) Federal Census. His household included Ann S. Jewett, aged fifty-nine years (b. NH), Joseph Sharp, a manufacturer, aged forty years (b. England), Hannah Sharp, aged twenty-five years (b. England), Benjamin Sharp, a manufacturer, aged twenty-five years (b. England), Susan A. Hubbard, aged sixteen years (b. ME), Susan S. Nutter, aged forty-six years (b. NH), John McDonald, a tailor, aged thirty-five years (b. Scotland), and Joseph Robinson, a manufacturer, aged thirty-six years (b. England). Gilman Jewett had real estate valued at $2,000. Jewett’s household appeared next to that of John Townsend, agent for the Milton Mills Manufacturing Co., aged forty-three years (b. England).

Gilman Jewett died in Milton, May 24, 1856. Ann S. (Nutter) Jewett died in Milton, November 28, 1870.

Milton Mills Manufacturing Company – Durgin & Co. – 184?-45

Gilman Jewett and his associates sold Milton Mills Manufacturing Company to Durgin & Co., who remain as yet a bit elusive. They seem to have been in the wood business, rather than the wool business. Durgin & Co. sold to John Townsend.

Milton Mills Manufacturing Company – John Townsend (1807-1891) – 1845-64

In 1845-46 the whole property was bought by John Townsend and was run successfully by him for several [nineteen] years (Scales, 1914).

John Townsend was born in Wilton, Wiltshire, England, October 22, 1807, son of Joseph and Sarah “Sally” (Palmer) Townsend, and was baptized there January 8, 1808.

He married (1st) in Dorchester, MA, January 14, 1834, Jane Matilda “Matilda” Townsend, both of Dorchester. Rev. David Sandford performed the ceremony. She was born in Wilton, Wiltshire, England, September 18, 1815, daughter of Thomas B. and Jane (Randall) Townsend, She died in Dorchester, MA, December 24, 1843.

John Townsend “hired” a colored flannel factory in Gilsum, NH, in 1838, and produced flannel there until 1845. George Learoyd and Thomas Townsend bought it then and produced flannel there until 1847 (Hayward, 1881). George Learoyd (1805-1887) was the brother-in-law, and Charles T. “Thomas” Townsend (1810-1881) was the brother, of John Townsend.

John Townsend married (2nd) in Boston, MA, April 22, 1844, Eliza A. Townsend (sister of the first wife). She was born in Milton, MA, April 8, 1823, daughter of Thomas B. and Jane (Randall) Townsend. She died in Needham, MA, September 19, 1896.

John Townsend, the grandfather, was born in England and came to the United States in 1819, and to Milton Mills, N.H., about 1845. He purchased the plant of the Milton Manufacturing Company and continued it, carrying on woolen manufacturing under the name of John Townsend (Scales, 1914).

The Milton Mills company of Milton, NH, having John Townsend as its president, appeared in the New England Mercantile Union trade directory of 1849. It produced 235,000 yards of flannel annually, from 42 tons of material. It had 1,000 spindles, 18 looms, and employed fifteen male and sixteen female workers (Pratt, 1849).

Several of John Townsend’s brothers worked with him. An elder brother, William B. Townsend, died in Milton Mills village, November 23, 1847, aged forty-four years. A younger brother, Joseph Townsend, married in Milton, January 6, 1850, Ruth Paul Wentworth, he of Milton and she of Acton, ME.

John Townsend, agent for Milton Mills Manufacturing Co., aged forty-three years (b. England), headed a Milton household at the time of the Seventh (1850) Federal Census. His household included Eliza A. Townsend, aged twenty-nine years (b. MA), Jane R. Townsend, aged fourteen years (b. MA), Henry Townsend, aged eight years (b. MA), Emma Townsend, aged four years (b. NH), and William B. Townsend, aged one month (b. NH). They shared a two-family dwelling with the household of Michael Folley, a manufacturer, aged thirty years (b. Ireland). Folley’s household included Margaret Folley, aged twenty-eight years (b. Ireland), and Betsy Dore, aged fifty years (b. NH). Neither household had any real estate. Their neighbor was Gilman Jewett, postmaster, aged seventy-three years (b. NH); he had real estate valued at $2,000.

English immigrant Joseph Robinson (1812-1895) was Townsend’s mill superintendent and dyer in the early 1850s. (See Milton in the News – 1895). He resided with Gilman Jewett in 1850 (see Jewett above).

Milton Mills – John Townsend proprietor; capital, $50,000; manufacture flannels; have 18 looms and 1200 spindles. Amount manufactured per annum, $90,000; Do. stock used per annum, 120,000 pounds wool; Number of operatives, 35 (Charlton, 1857).

John Townsend, a woolen manufacturer, aged fifty-two years (b. NH), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills”) household at the time of the Eighth (1860) Federal Census. His household included Eliza A. Townsend, aged thirty-seven years (b. NH), Jane R. Townsend, aged twenty-four years (b. NH), Caroline F. Townsend, aged twenty years (b. NH), Henry H. Townsend, aged seventeen years (b. NH), Ermina M. Townsend, aged fourteen years (b. NH), Willie B. Townsend, aged ten years (b. NH), and Frank A. Townsend, aged five years (b. NH). John Townsend had real estate valued at $2,000 and personal estate valued at $8,000. His neighbor was [his younger brother,] Joseph Townsend, a woolen manufacturer, aged thirty-seven years (b. England).

Mr. Townsend was a wonderfully astute buyer, and manufacturer, and one who understood the art of selling the manufactured goods. As a result he was very successful (Mitchell-Cony, 1908).

John Townsend succeeded John L. Swinerton as Milton Mills postmaster, June 22, 1860. He received his appointment during the administration of Democrat President James Buchanan, which might suggest that he was a Democrat too. He was, in turn, replaced by Henry S. Swasey, April 12, 1861, during the administration of Republican President Abraham Lincoln.

Destruction of a Flannel Factory. Great Falls, N.H., Oct. 19. The flannel factory of John Townsend, at Milton Mills, N.H., was burnt this morning. The loss is estimated at $30,000, on which there is a partial insurance. The factory was running on a government contract for army flannels (Baltimore Sun, October 22, 1861).

Miscellaneous Items. The flannel factory belonging to John Townsend. at Milton Mills, N.H., was burnt Saturday morning, at about 2 o’clock. Loss about $30,000; partially insured. The mill was running on a government contract (New England Farmer, October 26, 1861).

John Townsend rebuilt in the same location a larger plant to replace that which had burned.

In June 1863, he opened a much larger factory which replaced the mill that had been burned, and after continuing the manufacture of flannels for some time, sold the mill to Mudge, Sawyer & Co., of Boston, Mass. (Mitchell-Cony, 1908).

John Townsend appeared in the Vulpes Letter of 1864, as having the best woolen mill in New England, which was then running “full blast.”

The Milton Mills Co., manufacturers, paid $10 for their Class B license in the US Excise Tax of May 1864. (A $10 gold eagle would have today the gold value (as opposed to numismatic value) of about $900 in Federal Reserve notes).

John Townsend sold the newly rebuilt mill to E.R. Mudge, Sawyer & Co., of Boston and New York, in or before May 1864.

ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. The new woolen mill at Milton Mills, belonging to John Townsend, Esq., has been sold to a Boston company (Portland Daily Press, May 12, 1864).

John Townsend, a merchant, aged fifty-five years (b. England), headed a Brookline, MA, household at the time of the Second (1865) Massachusetts State Census. His household included his wife, Eliza Townsend, aged forty-two years (b. Milton, ME), Jane R. Townsend, aged twenty-nine years (b. Dorchester), Caroline L. Townsend, aged twenty-five years (b. Dorchester), Henry H. Townsend, a clerk, aged twenty-two years (b. Dorchester), Emma M. Townsend, aged nineteen years (b. Milton, N.H.), William B. Townsend, aged fourteen years (b. Milton, N.H.), Frank A. Townsend, aged ten years (b. Milton, N.H.), and Flora G. Townsend, aged two years (b. Milton, N.H.), and [his servant,] Mary Welsh, aged twenty years (b. Ireland).

John Townsend was a principal owner and treasurer of the Littleton Woolen Company of Littleton, NH, between 1867 and 1869.

This year also marks the beginning of a change in the life of the town [of Littleton, NH]. The woollen mill and the scythe factory were for many years the only industries that did not have their origin in the soil. In 1867 E.J.M. Hale sold the woollen mill to a corporation that had been organized under the title of The Littleton Woollen Company with a capital of $200,000. In this company Mr. Hale, John Townsend, Jordan, Marsh & Co, and the firm of Leland, Allen & Bates, were the principals. All but the first named were of Boston, and Joseph L. Whittaker was the only resident of the town who held any of the stock. John Townsend was treasurer, and Leland, Allen & Bates selling agents, while Henry H. Townsend, a son of the treasurer, became superintendent. In 1869 Jordan, Marsh & Co. purchased controlling interest and Capt. William H. Stevens became and agent (Jackson, 1905).

A post-war recession in the woolen blanket market – the Federal army no longer buying blankets in tens of thousands at inflated wartime prices – occasioned a necessary and obvious return to Littleton’s peacetime wage structure, the only alternative being a suspension of production.

LITTLETON. The workmen and women in the Littleton woolen mills have refused to work for 15 per cent reduction of their wages, and the mills are stopped until spring (St. Johnsbury Caledonian, December 13, 1867).

The Littleton Woolen Company mill was damaged by a “freshet,” i.e., rapid flooding through sudden melting of snowpack, in Spring 1869. (This sometimes take the form of a sudden and destructive rush of water released through collapse of a natural ice dam). The mill was still coping with the damage in the Fall.

HANOVER. The damages by the freshet to the Littleton Woolen Mill are nearly repaired (Vermont Journal, November 20, 1869).

John Townsend, a wool merchant, aged sixty-two years (b. England), headed a Brookline, MA, household at the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. His household included Eliza A. Townsend, keeps house, aged forty-seven years (b. MA), Emma Townsend, at home, aged twenty-three years (b. NH), William B. Townsend, a dry goods store boy, aged twenty years (b. NH), Frank A. Townsend, at school, aged fourteen years (b. NH), and Flora A. Townsend, at school, aged six years (b. NH). John Townsend had real estate valued at $15,000 and personal estate valued at $100,000.

(John Townsend’s son, Henry H. Townsend, established his own woolen mill at Milton Mills, entirely separate from the prior one, in 1872).

John Townsend of Brookline, MA, donated the bell for the Milton Mills school-house (now the Milton Mills Free Public Library).

MILTON – M.V.B. Cook. During the past year an excellent wooden school-house has been erected in district No. 7 situated in the thriving village of Milton Mills. The main building is 40×40 ft., one and a half stories high, with French roof, and basement; also, tower in front, 10×12 ft. It contains two school-rooms, four ante-rooms, and a library, and is finished with western pine and black walnut. The furniture is of the latest improvements. The entire cost exceeds $6,000, besides some valuable presents, – among which was a bell, presented by Hon. John Townsend, of Brookline, Mass. The dedication consisted of music and an address by Rev. Geo. Michael (NH Board of Education, 1876).

John Townsend, a wool merchant, aged seventy-two years (b. England), headed a Brookline, MA, household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Eliza A. Townsend, keeping house, aged fifty-seven years (b. MA), his children, Frank A. Townsend, at home, aged twenty-four years (b. NH), and Flora F. Townsend, aged sixteen years (b. NH), and his servant, Jennie Farquhar, a servant, aged twenty-five years (b. Nova Scotia). Daughter Flora G. Townsend was sick with “consumption,” i.e., tuberculosis.

John Townsend and his wife, Eliza A. Townsend, of Brookline, MA, and their son, Frank A. Townsend, also of Brookline, MA, were among the guests at the Kearsarge House hotel in North Conway, NH, in July 1884.

NEAR THE ZENITH. The Summer Season at Hillside and Seashore. … There is much that is fascinating to the lover of nature along the banks of the Saco, and year in and year out the pleasure-seeker comes here to spend the summer months. The drives about North Conway, as well as its scenery, are attractive, and of them none is more delightful than the one to Conway, going and returning by different routes. In point of numbers, North Conway is not ahead in guests of previous years, but it is having at least an average season, so far as the present month is concerned. August is always the big month of the year, when Boston comes up to have a holiday season among the White hills. The new proprietors of the Kearsarge House are building for themselves a reputation. The house is much better kept than formerly, and in time the reward for well-doing will come. Among the present guests are the following: Mrs. C.B. Sawyer. Boston; P.G. Peabody and family, New York; John Townsend and wife, Brookline; F.A. Townsend, Brookline; Mrs. S.M. Eldridge, Boston; Mrs. S.A. Caldwell. Philadelphia; Mr. and Mrs. Albert Currier, Miss S.N. Hills, Newburyport; J.F. Harvey and wife, Chelsea; J.M. Kupler, Boston; Mrs. D.N. Stanton and family, New York; C.W. Abbott, Wolfboro; Horace Hunt and family, Boston; Miss Florence Wyman, Mrs. John C. Lee, Miss Harriet Lee, Miss H. Silsbee, Miss J.P. Phillips, Miss G. Phillips, Salem; J.J. Fitzgerald, Mrs. Ally Freeman, Boston; William R. Wood and family, Portland; Rev. Melville Boyd and family, Mrs. Thomas Waller, W.R. Deming, Miss Miller, Brooklyn; Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Coe. Mrs. J.B. Barr, New York; George T. Coolidge. Boston; Mrs. R.E. Radway and two Misses Radway, New York; Mr. and Mrs. H.L. Fearing, Newton; Charles B. Train and family, Esther R. Stratton, Boston: Dr. J.F. Frisbie and family, Newton; Judge Nathan Webb and family, Portland; Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Dodge, Boston; George E. Hughes and wife, Bath, Me. (Boston Globe, July 27, 1884).

John Townsend of Brookline, MA, woolen manufacturer, made out his last will and testament on November 1, 1890.

John Townsend died in Brookline, MA, May 21, 1891 aged eighty-three years, seven months. Eliza A. (Townsend) Townsend died in Needham, MA, September 19, 1896.

Six Bequests to Charity. DEDHAM, Jan. 27 – The will of Mrs. Eliza A. Townsend, late of Brookline, filed in the Norfolk registry this afternoon, contains the following public bequests: Free Will Baptist church of Acton, Me., $2000; the Consumptives home, Boston highlands, $1000: the home for Little Wanderers, Boston, $1000; the Old Ladies’ home in Boston, $1000, and the blind asylum in South Boston, $1000. The will was executed Aug 25, 1886, and the testatrix’s son, Frank A. Townsend, is named as its executor (Boston Globe, January 28, 1897).

Milton Mills Manufacturing Company – Mudge, Sawyer & Company – 1864-1870

It was soon after sold to Mudge, Sawyer & Co., and [later] to the Waumbeck Company, and has continued to do a very successful business (Scales, 1914).

E.R. Mudge and Joseph Sawyer formed their partnership in 1862. They were commission agents for a number of textile and yarn mills, including the Washington Mills, the Burlington Woolen Company, the Chicopee Manufacturing Company, the Ellerton New Mills, Milton Mills, and Victory Manufacturing Company. They first advertised their association with Milton Mills in April 1866.

Enoch Redington Mudge was born in Orrington, ME, March 22, 1812, son of Rev. Enoch R. and Jerusha H. (Hinckley) Mudge.

He married in Portland, ME, April 20, 1832, Caroline A. Patten. She was born in Kennebunkport, ME, August 6, 1811, daughter of John and Olive (Lassell) Patten.

Erastus [Enoch] R. Mudge, agent manager – company, aged fifty-eight years (b. ME), headed a Swampscott, MA, household at the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. His household included Caroline A. [(Patten)] Mudge, aged fifty-eight years (NH), Caroline E. Mudge, aged nineteen years (MA), Henry S. Mudge, aged seventeen years (b. ME), Sarah Townsend, a seamstress, aged thirty-nine years (b. New Brunswick), Agnes Goodwin, domestic service, aged thirty-seven years (b. CA), Tessie James, domestic service, aged thirty-two years (b. LA), and Daniel Buns, a coachman, aged thirty-one years (b. Ireland). Erastus R. Mudge had real estate valued at $250,000 and personal estate valued at $400,000. Caroline A. Mudge had real estate valued at $80,000.

E. Redington Mudge died in Lynn, MA, October 1, 1881. Caroline A. (Patten) Mudge died in Swampscott, MA, January 9, 1882.

Death of Hon. E.R. Mudge. Special Despatch to The Boston Globe. Swampscott, October 1. Hon. E. Redington Mudge of Swampscott died at his home, at 11.20 a.m., from congestion of the brain. He was about 70 years of age and leaves two adult children. The deceased was born in Lynn in 1812. His father was a prominent Methodist minister of that place. During the war be was proprietor of the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans. Subsequently he came to Boston and engaged in the dry goods trade at 15 Chauncy street, under the firm name of Mudge, Sawver & Co. He served two years in the State Senate, but aside from this was not much interested in politics. Some time ago he gave $200,000 to an Episcopal parish of Lynn for the erection of a memorial church in memory of his two deceased children, Mrs. Van Brunt and Lieutenant-Colonel C.R. Mudge, who was killed [at Gettysburg] in the war. He leaves a wife, an invalid, who some time ago had an apoplectic shock, from which she is still suffering. Mr. Mudge was a man of great wealth (Boston Globe, October 1, 1881).

Mudge’s partner was Joseph Sawyer. He was born in Boston, MA, September 22, 1823, son of William and Ellen (White) Sawyer.

He married in Boston, MA, June 10, 1847, Anne M. Dillaway, he of Chelsea, MA, and she of Boston. She was born in Boston, MA, April 3, 1823, daughter of William and Susan (Bassett) Dillaway.

In 1888, Joseph Sawyer paid $1,399 in property taxes in Boston, MA, at a rate of $13.40 per $1,000, i.e., he had property valued at $104,403. He was one of only 20,000 New Englanders that paid $100 or more (Luce, 1888).

Joseph Sawyer died in Boston, MA, May 27, 1901, aged seventy-seven years. Anne M. (Dillaway) Sawyer died in Brookline, MA, December 25, 1905.

DEATH OF JOSEPH SAWYER. One of Most Prominent Merchants of the Old School and Well-Known Philanthropist. In the death of Joseph Sawyer, Boston loses one of her most prominent merchants of the old school. philanthropy one of its most generous and deserving benefactors, and religion a most conscientious and ardent supporter. Mr. Sawyers giving was never of the obstrusive kind, and yet no worthy cause was presented to him in vain. The amount of his contributions was never heralded by himself, but those who knew him best estimate them at more than $500,000. His assistance to objects which commended themselves to his judgment was never niggardly, and he was accustomed to carefully weigh every claim presented. Particularly did he enter into the spirit of the Salvation Army work, and his voice, his presence and his purse were ever ready when needed, while the workers found a hearty welcome at his home from both Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer. In fact, no suppliant was too obscure, and no cause too humble to claim his attention and sympathy. Mr. Sawyer was a member of the Warren-av. Baptist church, a prominent supporter, and active participator in all its interests. He was also closely affiliated with various charitable organizations, and his advice was frequently sought and always welcome. In private, too, his counsel was often solicited and given, whether in business troubles, social relations or personal grievances, and in all these it was considered invaluable. Mr. Sawyer was the oldest of 11 children, and was born 77 years ago. His father was a mariner, plying his vocation between America and Liverpool, where he met and married his wife. He came of English stock, his ancestor, James Sawyer, having settled in Ipswich about 1630. Joseph received his education in the Eliot school, which he left at the age of 14 to enter the employ of Josiah Stetson on Hanover st., then the headquarters of the retail dry goods business. In 1849, Mr. Sawyer was admitted to partnership in the woolen and jobbing business of Wilkinson, Stetson & Co., from which he retired in 1862, when he became a member of the firm of E.R. Mudge, Sawyer Co., to carry on the sale of textile fabrics. This concern, with that of Wilkinson, Stetson & Co., purchased the Burlington woolen mills of Winooski. Vt., the largest in the state, and in 1869, Mr. Sawyer became treasurer, and in 1882 its president. The firm was dissolved on the death of Mr. Mudge, and Mr. Sawyer retired from active business, although he afterward assisted in the formation of the firm of Sawyer & Manning, for the purpose of placing his son, Joseph D. Sawyer, in the business in which his father had succeeded. Mr. Sawyer was married in this city in 1847 to Miss Anna Maria, daughter of William Dillaway, who survives him with three sons and two daughters. The family home was at 31 Commonwealth av. Mr. Sawyer’s health began to cause anxiety about three weeks ago, but last Friday he was able to take a walk to the Public Garden. He was confined to his room on Sunday and his health failed rapidly from that time, until death came yesterday afternoon. The funeral will be held on Thursday afternoon at 2 o’clock, at the Warren-av. Baptist church (Boston Globe, May 28, 1901).

Milton Manufacturing Company appeared in the Milton directories of 1867-68 and 1869-70. E.R. Mudge & Co. was its owner, and George H. Jones was its agent.

Mudge, Sawyer & Co.’s Boston facility was seriously damaged by an attic fire in April 1869. This circumstance might be compared with that suffered by Lewis W. Nute, and a large part of downtown Boston, in the Great Boston Fire of 1872. There too goods stored in the attics fed the fire.

DESTRUCTIVE FIRES. In this city, store No. 57 Summer Street, occupied by Mudge, Sawyer & Co., was damaged by fire in the attic some $4000 or $5000, and the goods to a larger amount (New England Farmer (Boston, MA), April 24, 1869).

George H. Jones, a farmer, aged forty-four years (b. NH), headed a Milton household at the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. His household included Lucy J. Jones, keeping house, aged forty-three years (b. NH), Addie V. Jones, aged twenty-two years (b. NH), Charles A. Jones, a farm laborer, aged eighteen years (b. NH), Ira W. Jones, a farm laborer, aged sixteen years (b. NH), and Nettie J. Jones, at school, aged seven years (b. NH). George H. Jones had real estate valued at $2,000 and personal estate valued at $455. (His son, Ira W. Jones, would become Milton’s famous hydraulic engineer).

Waumbeck Company – 1870-1898

Waumbeck is said to be an Abenaki word meaning “White Rock.” It is commonly used in New England where such geographic features appear.

[Mudge, Sawyer & Co.], after occupying it for about six years, disposed of it to the Waumbeck Company, a stock corporation, of which John D. Sturtevant of Boston was the managing agent. Geo. W. Olney was the first superintendent under the Waumbeck Company, and was succeeded by Benj. J. Adams. During the management of John A. Buguey, a different concern assumed control of the mill, the Waumbeck Woolen Co. The mill was burned in 1898 (Mitchell-Cony, 1908).

Waumbeck Company manager John D. Sturtevant was born in Center Harbor, NH, July 14, 1816, son of Perez and Dorothy (Kimball) Sturtevant. He married Dorcas A. “Adaline” Bradley. They had children Franny, who married Amasa Clarke, and Ellen, who married Edward Steese.

John D. Sturtevant, a woolen manufacturer, aged fifty-three years (b. NH), headed a Brookline, MA, household at the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. His household included Adeline Sturtevant, keeps house, aged fifty-one years (b. MA), Franny Sturtevant, at home, aged twenty-five years (b. MA), Edward Steese, a wool merchant, aged twenty-six years (b. OH), Ellen Steese, at home, aged twenty-three years (b. NH), Edwin S. Steese, at home, aged one year (b. OH), Mary Moran, a domestic servant, aged thirty-five years (b. Ireland), Michael Moran, a laborer, aged thirty-two years (b. Ireland), Patrick Welch, a coachman, aged twenty-four years (b. Ireland), Mary McSweeney, a domestic servant, aged twenty years (b. Ireland), and Lydia Archer, a nurse, aged thirty-three years (b. OH). John D. Sturtevant had real estate valued at $20,000 and personal estate valued at $200,000.

In 1888, J.D. Sturtevant paid $2,955 in property taxes in Brookline, MA, at a rate of $10.50 per $1,000, i.e., he had property valued at $281,429. He was one of only 20,000 New Englanders that paid $100 or more (Luce, 1888).

John D. Sturtevant died in Brookline, MA, July 5, 1889. Dorcas A. “Adeline” (Bradley) Sturtevant died December 20, 1892.

OBITUARY. JOHN D. STURTEVANT. Boston, July 5 (Special). – John D. Sturtevant, a well known woollen manufacturer, died at his home in Brookline to-day. He was born at Centre Harbor, N.H., on July 4, 1814 [SIC]. For forty years he was engaged in the manufacture of woollens. He owned mills at Rochester and Milton, N.H., and Winthrop, Me., and was interested in a mill at Norwich, Conn. (New York Tribune, July 6, 1889).

Superintendent George Wilson Olney was born in Louisville, KY, August 27, 1840, son of Wilson and Eliza (Butler) Olney.

He married in Oxford, MA, November 17, 1862, Waity M. Harwood. She was born in Oxford, MA, April 24, 1839, daughter of Elihu and Hannah (Beals) Harwood.

George W. Olney, agent for woolen mill, aged twenty-nine years (b. KY), headed a Milton household at the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. His household included Waity M. Olney, keeping house, aged thirty-one years (b. MA), Thomas W. Olney, at school, aged six years (b. MA), Robert S. Olney, aged one year (b. NH), Frederick A. Olney, clerk in woolen mill, aged twenty-two years (b. MA), and Ellen Conley, a domestic servant, aged fifteen years (b. NH). George W. Olney had personal estate valued at $700. The census enumerator recorded his household between those of Patrick English, weaving room superintendent, aged forty-nine years (b. Ireland), and John U. Simes, a retail grocer, aged thirty-four years (b. NH).

The Waumbeck Manufacturing Company appeared in the Milton directories of 1871, and 1873, as Milton Mills manufacturers of flannel. It cut wages in response to reduced sales during the financial and economic Panic of 1873.

INDUSTRIAL NOTES. The operatives employed by the Waumbeck Manufacturing Company at Milton Mills, N.H., have been notified that on and after Nov. 15th their wages will be reduced 15 per cent (Portland Daily Press, November 11, 1873).

Labor Notes. The Waumbeck Manufacturing Company, at Milton Mills, N.H., has reduced the wages of its operatives 15 per cent (New York Herald, November 28, 1873).

The newspapers were full of accounts of firms that laid off most of their staff or simply shut down altogether. The Waumbeck Company survived and had recovered to the extent that it was able to pay its shareholders their dividend in December 1874 (Boston Globe, December 29, 1874).

George W. Olney died in Leicester, MA, February 28, 1894. Waity M. (Harwood) Olney died in Providence, RI, July 1, 1916.

Death of George Olney. WORCESTER, Mass., March 1. George W. Olney, a brother of Attorney General Olney, a well-known woolen manufacturer, died at Cherry Valley last night of rheumatic fever. He was born at Louisville 53 years ago, but his parents moved to this state when he was two years old. He spent his business career in the woolen industry (Berkshire Eagle, March 1, 1894).

Olney’s successor, Benjamin G. Adams, was said to have been Waumbeck Manufacturing Co. superintendent for seventeen years. His tenure likely ran from about 1874 through 1890.

Benjamin G. Adams was born in Barnstead, NH, May 27, 1823, son of James and Elizabeth (Bellamy) Adams.

He married in Farmington, NH, April 4, 1846, Sophia Nutter. She was born in Farmington, NH, in May 1827, daughter of John H. and Hannah (Hall) Nutter.

The Waumbec Company bought a whole carload, i.e., a train carload, of industrial soap from a soap salesman in or around 1877.

The Waumbeck Manuf’g Company appeared in the Milton directories of 1874, 1875, 1876, and 1877, as Milton Mills manufacturers of flannel.

Another Trade Sale of Blankets and Robes. Special Despatch to The Boston Globe. New York, July 23. A great sale of 6000 cases blankets. carriage robes, lap robes and horse blankets took place today. The entire production belonged to the Clinton Mills Company, the Norwich Woollen Company, the Waumbeck Company, Winthrop Mills Company and Norway Plains Company, and included all sizes and qualities. At least 600 persons were present, representing some of the largest dry-goods houses throughout the country. The sale was peremptory, on a credit of four months (Boston Globe, July 23, 1878).

FIRE RECORD. Dover, N.H., Aug. 8. – The Waumbeck Company’s mills at Milton Mills, N.H., caught fire yesterday in the picker room, but through the prompt use of the hose connected with the mills the fire was confined to the picker house. The damage was slight by the fire, but considerable by the water (Boston Post, August 9, 1878).

The Waumbeck Manuf’g Company appeared in the Milton directories of 1880, 1881, 1882, 1884, 1887, [and 1889], as Milton Mills manufacturers of flannel.

Benjamin G. Adams, superintendent of the woolen mill, aged fifty-seven years (b. NH), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills Village”) household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Sophia Adams, keeping house, aged fifty-three years (b. NH), and his son, Frank H. Adams, works in woolen mill, aged twenty-seven years (b. NH).

NEW ADVERTISEMENTS. 10-4 white Waumbeck blankets, $2.75; 10-4 gray blankets, $2, at Wilcox Bros’ (The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL), November 10, 1883).

The Waumbeck Company appeared several times in the U.S. Census’ water power report of 1885.

Benjamin G. Adams died in Amesbury, MA, January 31, 1905. Sophia (Nutter) Adams died in Lawrence, MA, September 25, 1908.

Obituary. Amesbury, Mass. Benj. G. Adams, a retired woolen manufacturer, died Tuesday, Jan. 31, aged 82 years. Deceased was boss weaver in the Pemberton Mills, Lawrence, 45 years ago, when many employes were buried in the ruins. Mr. Adams was an expert designer. The last 20 years of his active life he was agent of the Waumbeck Woolen Co., Milton, N.H. (Fibre & Fabric, 1905).

Waumbeck Company manager John D. Sturtevant died in 1889 and was succeeded by his son-in-law, Amasa Clarke (1844-1907). The Waumbeck Company appeared in the Milton business directory of 1892, as a manufacturer of woolen goods. Amasa Clarke, was its agent.

John Andrew Buguey was mill superintendent after Benjamin G. Adams. He was born in Leicester, MA, August 29, 1844, son of James and Winifred Buguey.

Mr. George Kavanagh was in [Concord] town Sunday as the guest of John A. Buguey (Concord Enterprise (Concord, MA), March 22, 1889).

The Waumbeck Company joined 916 other corporate woolen concerns in petitioning the US Senate in April 1892. Their petition sought continuance of McKinley’s woolen duties, i.e., tariffs, on foreign wool imports. (They had been in place since 1878). The Waumbeck company (J.A. Bugney, Supt.) appeared in the list of petitioners as having 10 sets of cards, i.e., 10 carding machines.

The following advertisements for cloth workers appeared in the Boston Globe near the end of 1892 (and beginning of 1893).

MALE HELP WANTED. A RELIABLE MAN who thoroughly understands the business of piece dyeing to dye dress goods, flannels, etc. A man of this stamp may address JOHN A. BUGUEY, Milton Mills, N.H. (Boston Globe, November 27, 1892).

MALE HELP WANTED. WANTED. A good experienced man to run a Parks & Woolson six-quarter shear. Write at once or come to JOHN A. BUGUEY, Milton Mills, N.H. (Boston Globe, November 29, 1892). 

MALE HELP WANTED. WANTED. Boss weaver on Davis & Furber looms, must be a good manager of help, competent, steady and reliable. Man with family preferred. Address JOHN A. BUGNEY, supt., Milton Mills, N.H. (January 26, 1893).

The Waumbeck Company mill suspended production for six months during the Panic of 1893. (See also Milton in the News – 1893).

A Three Months’ Vacation. MILTON MILLS, N.H., July 21. – The agent of the Waumbeck company has issued orders for closing the mills here for three months as soon as the goods now in process of manufacture are finished. The reason assigned for this action is a lack of orders except at ruinous prices. This is the first time in the history of this company that work has been ordered to cease on account of the conditions of the market (Fall River Daily Evening News, July 21, 1893).

The Waumbeck Manuf’g Company appeared in the Milton directories of 1894, and 1898, as manufacturers of flannels.

Senator William E. Chandler (R-NH) presented to the US Senate a remonstrance from the Waumbeck Company employees in 1894. They opposed the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act. It “reformed” the tariff system by reducing tariffs, but also added the first peacetime national income tax. It passed, but the income tax was struck down as unconstitutional in 1895.

Mr. CHANDLER presented the memorial of John A. Buguey and 42 other employes of the Waumbek Co[mpan]y, [M]ilton Mills, New Hampshire, remonstrating against the passage of the so-called Wilson tariff bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finance (US Senate, 1894).

It took passage of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1911 to saddle us with a national income tax. New Hampshire opposed passage of that amendment. (See Milton and the Income Tax – 1911).

Mary E. (Keating) Buguey died in Milton Mills, NH, April 22, 1896. John A. Buguey appeared in the Concord directory of that year, as foreman of Damon’s mill, with his house on Main street, in Westvale. He and his children resided in Concord, MA, in 1900, where he was a weaving instructor at the Massachusetts State Prison there. He married (2nd) in Concord, MA, September 8, 1913, Elinor Cummiskey. John A. Buguey died in Acton, MA, June 11, 1921.

DEATHS. BUTNEY – In Acton, Mass., June 11, John A. Butney. Funeral from his late residence, Fletchers Corners, South Acton, Monday, June 13, at 7:45. Solemn high mass at St. Bridget’s Church. Maynard, Mass., at 8 p. m. (Boston Post, June 12, 1921).

Waumbeck Woolen Company – 1898-04

A newly-formed Waumbeck Woolen Company sought to revive the Waumbeck Manufacturing Company’s moribund mill operation in July 1898. Its agent was M.F.S. Whipple, who was also its treasurer. (He was a partner in Whipple & Pratt).

Merritt F.S. Whipple was born in Burrillville, RI, April 2, 1845, son of Sterry and Maria H. (Warner) Whipple.

He married in Pawtucket, RI, in 1867, Evaline J. Larkin. She was born in Cranston, RI, in December 1847, daughter of Samuel A. and Sarah W. (Collins) Larkin.

NEWS IN BRIEF. Owing to the depression in the woollen business the woollen mill operated at Greenville, R.I., by Merritt F. Whipple, will run out [of] stock and stop until business revives (Boston Post, March 15, 1876).

WOOLEN MILL BURNED. Loss $75,000. Providence, April 14 – The mill of the Greenville Woolen Co. in Smithfield was burned last night, with the boiler house and a five tenement block. A large boarding house was on fire and partially destroyed. Loss $75,000. The buildings and machinery were owned by the wife of M.F. Whipple. Insured for $46,250. The stock and supplies were owned by the Greenville Woolen Co. and were insured for $16,085 (Fall River Daily Evening News, April 14, 1882).

TESTIMONIALS. From a Well-known Woollen Manufacturer. Greenville, R.I., Aug. 10, 1883. Dear Sirs, I wish to inform my friends and the public that for many years I have been a great sufferer from sick headache, and have tried almost every remedy, but could find no relief until your “BlLIOUSINE” was recommended to me. After taking a few doses of your powder I was greatly relieved. I have now taken the medicine about a month, and pronounce myself cured. I cheerfully recommend every one who is troubled with sick headache to give it a fair trial. Yours respectfully, M.F. WHIPPLE (Boston Globe, March 1, 1884).

Biliousine was manufactured in Providence, RI. Similar “specific” medicines for these symptoms contained super-carbonate of soda [baking soda], charcoal, paregoric and water.

During the management of John A. Buguey, a different concern assumed control of the mill, the Waumbeck Woolen Co. The mill was burned in 1898 (Mitchell-Cony, 1908)

MARKET AND FINANCIAL NOTES. Milton Mills, N.H. The Waumbeck Woolen Co has been incorporated with capital of $60,000 (Fibre & Fabric, 1898).

JULY 1898. Waumbeck Mills, Milton Mills, N.H. Woolens; new company organized; capital, $60,000; M.F. Whipple treasurer and manager (National Association, 1898).

The Waumbeck Woolen Co. mill burned to the ground on Sunday morning September 11, 1898, before it could be reopened. (See also Milton in the News – 1898).

BAD FIRE AT MILTON MILLS. Waumbeck Woolen Mills Burned to the Ground Sunday Morning. The entire plant of the Waumbeck woolen mills at Milton Mills was completely destroyed by fire early Sunday morning with a loss of nearly $100,000. The mills have been idle since 1890, but arrangements were recently completed for resuming work, and they were to start up again Monday of this week, giving employment to 390 hands. While the origin of the fire is unknown, it is supposed to have been caused by spontaneous combustion in the picker room. Agent M.F.S. Whipple of the mills stated that the company had $70,000 insurance on the property. The fire could be seen from Farmington and caused a bright reflection on the sky for miles around. It is not thought that the mill will be rebuilt. The fire was discovered by the night watchman, Charles Williams, about 2:15 a.m. and he at once gave an alarm. He then attempted to return to the engine room and start the fire pump, but the heat had become so intense that he was unable to do so. The village fire department responded promptly and did everything in their power to save the structure, and by energetic effort did succeed in keeping the flames away from the office. The factory was a three-story structure with basement, 150 feet long and 50 feet wide. This was the chief industry of the town, and the loss is a disastrous blow (Farmington News, September 16, 1898).

Merritt F. Whipple, a woolen manufacturer, aged fifty-five years (b. RI), headed a Providence, RI, household at the time of the Twelfth (1900) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of thirty-three years), Evaline [J. (Larkin)] Whipple, aged fifty-two years (b. RI), and his children, Harry C. Whipple, aged twenty-six years (b. RI), and Bessie M. Whipple, at school, aged sixteen years (b. RI). Merritt F. Whipple rented their portion of a two-family household at 28 Oak Street. Evaline Whipple was the mother of four children, of whom four were still living.

Henry H. Townsend bought the Waumbeck mill land in 1900. The Waumbeck Company appeared in the U.S. Geological Survey’s water power report of 1901. The Waumbeck Company was dissolved officially on January 27, 1904.

Merritt F. Whipple died in Providence, RI, November 8, 1912, aged sixty-seven years. Evaline J. (Larkin) Whipple died July 1, 1924.

---

As a sort of epilogue, three former Milton residents, two of them sons of Waumbeck mill superintendents, ran for high office in Massachusetts in 1903. Two of them ran as the Socialist candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, and one as the Democrat candidate for lieutenant governor.

LOCAL. The Milton Mills correspondent for the Rochester Courier says: Among the candidates for the gubernatorial honors in Massachusetts this fall are several who in times past have been well known in our village. On the Socialist ticket, John Chase, candidate for governor, was well known as a barefoot little urchin when his mother resided here. John Q. Adams, candidate for lieutenant governor on the same ticket, is a son of Benj. F. Adams, for seventeen years agent of the Waumbeck Co. here, and Richard Olney, 2d, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, is a son of George Olney, who was agent of the Waumbeck mills before Mr. Adams. Though neither of these may reach the prize they are striving for, we are glad to know that out boys are ambitious (Farmington News, October 16, 1903).

At this point, the two young Socialists might be excused to some extent. The Bolshevik revolution lay still fourteen years in the future. Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises had not yet proved Socialism to be both logically and economically impossible, as he would in 1919. And, of course, Socialism’s hundreds of millions of deaths lay also in the future. For those that cling still to its blood-stained notions in the present day, ignorance may be an explanation but is not an excuse.

---

See also Milton Mills’ Brierley Mill – c1864-18 and Milton Mills’ Miltonia Mill – 1872-14

---

References:

Fibre & Fabric. (1898, June 18). Fibre & Fabric. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=6QwAAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA210

Fibre & Fabric. (1905, February 11). Fibre & Fabric. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=RBYAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA14

Find a Grave. (2013, February 25). Benjamin Gilman Adams. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/105828849

Find a Grave. (2016, February 21). John Andrew Buguey. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/158425960/john-andrew-buguey

Find a Grave. (2013, July 29). Gilman Jewett. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/114597023

Find a Grave. (2007, November 24). Enoch Redington Mudge. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/23074952/enoch-redington-mudge

Find a Grave. (2014, September 8). George Wilson Olney. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/135623720

Find a Grave. (2012, August 15). Joseph Sawyer. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/95382257/joseph-sawyer

Find a Grave. (2011, October 5). John D. Sturtevant. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/77706467/john-d-sturtevant

Find a Grave. (2013, August 12). Henry H. Townsend. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/115352239

Find a Grave. (2016, February 21). Merritt F. Whipple. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/32868252

Hayward, Silvanus. (1881). History of the Town of Gilsum, New Hampshire: From 1752 to 1879. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=VWgjAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA139

Jackson, James R. (1905). History of Littleton: Topical History. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=XlygsD5BizYC&pg=PR13

MA Supreme Judicial Court. (1893). Massachusetts Reports: Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=tRAQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA454

National Association of Wool Manufacturers. (1898). Bulletin of the National Association of Wool Manufacturers. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=uIZAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA419

NH State Board of Education. (1876). Biennial Report of the New Hampshire State Board of Education. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=4fxIAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA338

Wikipedia. (2018, August 17). Kearsarge House. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kearsarge_House

Wikipedia. (2020, May 3). Pemberton Mill. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemberton_Mill

Wikipedia. (2020, February 11). William E. Chandler. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_E._Chandler

Wikipedia. (2020, April 25). Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson%E2%80%93Gorman_Tariff_Act