Sketches of Successful New Hampshire Men Part 7

While engaged in teaching, Mr. Jewell pursued a course of study in engineering and surveying, and finally determined to follow engineering as a profession. He gave up school-teaching, left the "foreign sh.o.r.es of Jersey" and entered the office of R. Morris Copeland and C. W. Folsom, of Boston. His first work was the resurvey of Cambridgeport. He afterwards worked in Dorchester and on Narragansett bay. But this new occupation had just been engaged in when "the shot heard round the world" was fired on Sumter, and the tocsin of war sounded the alarm.

Surveying, like all other business, came to a stand-still; the compa.s.s was changed for a musket, distances measured by the steady tramp of the soldiery, and the weary flagman became the lonely sentinel.

About this time the owners of the Pembroke mill and property connected therewith, in Pembroke and Allenstown, N. H., decided to increase their business by building a new mill twice the capacity of the one then owned by them. Knowing Mr. Jewell to be a good draughtsman, having employed him during the construction of the Pembroke mill, they again engaged him for like duties. Consulting with their then resident agent, he prepared the required working plans and drawings for the Webster mill. The work on the building was soon under way and rapidly pushed to completion.

While thus engaged the agent at Newton died, and the immediate care of the mills was given to Mr. Jewell until (as the treasurer said) he could find the right man.

Finis.h.i.+ng his work at Suncook, and having conducted the affairs of the company at Newton in a very satisfactory manner, the treasurer tendered him the agency of the mills. In accepting the position, his career as agent began where, fifteen years before, he commenced the work that fitted him so thoroughly for the successful management of the same. The mills were in a bad condition, the machinery old, and "run down," and the owners impatient and anxious. Nothing daunted, however, Mr. Jewell entered heartily into the business, making such changes that at the time he tendered his resignation he had doubled the production, and greatly improved the quality of the goods manufactured. Looms built more than fifty years ago, and improved by Mr. Jewell, are still running and producing nearly as many yards per day, and of as good quality, as those made at the present time. These mills were run throughout the war, paying for cotton as high as one dollar a pound, and selling the cloth for thirty-five cents a yard. Mr. Jewell was very anxious to enlist during the exciting times of war, but was prevailed upon by the owners to continue in charge of their works, and by the entreaties of his wife, who was hopelessly ill, to remain at her side.

The treasurer and part owner of the mills at Newton Upper Falls was also treasurer and large owner of the mills at Suncook. In 1865 the Suncook company agitated the subject of enlarging their works by the addition of another mill, and in 1867 active operations were commenced upon the China mill, which was, when completed, the largest works of the kind contained under one roof in the state. Mr. Jewell again fulfilled the office of engineer and draughtsman. The company's agent at Suncook, wis.h.i.+ng to devote his time exclusively to the construction of the new mill, desired that Mr. Jewell come from Newton several days each week to look after the manufacturing in the two mills. Thus for more than two years he acted as agent at Newton, also as superintendent of the Webster and Pembroke mills.

In 1870, before the China mill had fairly commenced operations, the agent resigned his position. Mr. Jewell, having at Newton proved diligent, faithful, and capable, was appointed in his stead. Resigning his position at Newton he removed with his family to Suncook, and a.s.sumed the management of the triumvirate corporation, June 1, 1870.

Again he was obliged to go through nearly the same routine as at Newton.

The machinery, however, was more modern, but had been neglected, supplies scantily distributed, and the power was inadequate to the demand. With indomitable perseverance he has remedied the defects, by providing reservoirs, more thoroughly utilizing the water power, adding new and valuable improvements, putting in powerful steam apparatus capable of running during the most severe drought. He has increased the annual product from twelve million yards in 1874 to twenty-seven million yards in 1880, with substantially the same machinery, showing what tireless perseverance and devotion to duty can accomplish.

Mr. Jewell is one of the directors in the China Savings Bank, Suncook.

He is also a member of the New England Cotton Manufacturers'

a.s.sociation, and of the New Hamps.h.i.+re club. Mr. Jewell was honored by being appointed aide-de-camp, with the rank of colonel, on Governor Head's staff, and smilingly speaks of turning out _officially_ more times than any one of the other members. He is a member of the Governor Head Staff a.s.sociation, an active member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston, a member of the Amoskeag Veterans of Manchester, a member of the New Hamps.h.i.+re Veterans' a.s.sociation, and an honorary member of the old Twelfth New Hamps.h.i.+re regiment. He was elected captain of the Jewell Rifles, named in his honor, but graciously declined, and was made an honorary member. The Masonic fraternity also claims him, being an active member of the "Jewell" Lodge, Suncook, also named in his honor, and of the Trinity Royal Arch Chapter, Horace Chase Council R. and S. M., and Mount h.o.r.eb Commandry, Concord, N. H. He is a member of the Supreme Council, having taken all the Scottish rites up to the 33d degree, and is an active member of the Ma.s.sachusetts Consistory S.'. P.'. R.'. S.'. 32d degree, Boston, and a member of the Connecticut River Valley a.s.sociation.

Colonel Jewell is a public-spirited citizen. To him Suncook is largely indebted for its material advancement since his residence in this community. Three times have his presence of mind and mechanical skill been the means of saving the village from entire destruction by fire. To him is the place indebted for its very effective water-works to guard against fires in the future.

In happy combination with the great executive ability of the subject of our sketch, are a fine literary taste and decided artistic talent. The former has opportunity for gratification in a library rich in standard works, and the latter is attested by the exterior architectural decorations and interior embellishments that beautify his home. In private life, Col. Jewell is genial, affable and approachable. In religious thought he affiliates with the Congregationalists; but the Sabbath is to him a day of rest.

Mr. Jewell married, in August, 1860, Mary A. Grover, daughter of Ephraim Grover, of Newton, Ma.s.s. She died October 16, 1862. He was married the second time, May 31, 1865, to Ella Louise Sumner, daughter of Lewis Sumner, of Needham, Ma.s.s.

Mr. Jewell has kept aloof from politics, but is a good Republican; and, should he be the standard-bearer of the party in any future contest, he could probably lead his forces to victory.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Chas. M. Murphy]

HON. CHARLES M. MURPHY.

BY JOHN B. STEVENS, JR.

We live in days when the success of men apparently born to lives of grinding toil is a pregnant sign of the times. Such opportunities are now open to him who has a good order of ability, with high health and spirits, who has all his wits about him, and feels the circulation of his blood and the motions of his heart, that the lack of early advantages forms no barrier to success. A striking ill.u.s.tration of the truth of these statements is exhibited in the following sketch.

CHARLES M. MURPHY, son of John and Mary M. (Meader) Murphy, was born in Alton, Belknap county, N. H., November 3, 1835. In 1842 his parents moved to Barnstead, N. H., and settled upon the Tasker farm at the south end of the town. Here the child grew in stature, and filled out and braced his frame by hard manual labor.

Scanty record is left of these years of severe work and continuous struggle; but there is little doubt that the discipline developed an indomitable will and st.u.r.dy self-reliance--which alone enable poor men's children to grapple with the world--that under more favorable circ.u.mstances might never have shown their full capacity of force and tenacity.

Again, it is widely believed--and nowhere more strongly than in opulent cities and busy marts--that a boy is better bred on a farm, in close contact with the ground, than elsewhere. He is quite as likely to be generous, brave, humane, honest, and straightforward, as his city-born contemporary; while, as to self-dependence, strength, and stamina, he ordinarily has a great advantage over his rival.

He attended the district school, during the winter terms, until of an age suitable to leave the parental care, when he enjoyed for two terms the advantages of the academy at Norwich, Vt. At school it appears that he was diligent and ambitious, and, from his great physical strength and natural cheerfulness of temperament, very active in all athletic exercises. Then began the severe and practical duties of life; and, being the oldest of four boys, for some years he a.s.sisted his father in educating and advancing the interests of his brothers. John E. Murphy became a prominent dentist, practicing in Pittsfield, N. H., and Marblehead, Ma.s.s., and died at the early age of thirty-five. Frank Murphy, M. D., a graduate of Dartmouth College, practiced his profession in Strafford and Northwood; but died in the very flush and promise of life, at the age of twenty-nine. Albert Warren Murphy, D. D. S., a graduate of the Philadelphia Dental College, after one year's practice in Boston, removed, in 1872, to Paris, France, where his professional labors brought him both credit and profit. At the expiration of two years, an active interest in Spanish affairs and a desire to test the business advantages of the country led him to Spain. He soon settled in Madrid, and in 1879 was appointed dentist to the royal court.

Relieved from his generous labors at home, the subject of our sketch was married, at the age of twenty-two, to Sabrina T. Clark, daughter of Isaac Clark, Esq., of Barnstead, N. H., and for six months tried independent farming; but, though fully aware what a life full of joy and beauty and inspiration is that of the country, and not dest.i.tute of a natural taste for rural pursuits, at the expiration of the time named he surrendered his acres to his father, and with less than one hundred and fifty dollars moved to Dover and began the study of dentistry with Dr.

Jefferson Smith. To this business he brought the same will power and ability to prolong the hours of labor which marked his early life, and in two years was p.r.o.nounced competent to practice in his new calling.

Dr. Smith soon died, and the recently emanc.i.p.ated student not only succeeded very largely to his practice, but enlarged and built upon it till a reputation and an income were secured which made travel and study easy and profitable. For eighteen years this patient, hopeful man labored and experimented, adding each season to his knowledge and skill, losing hardly a day except while studying for his degree at the Boston Dental College. In 1878, as the result of long and careful study of the business interests of the country, he withdrew entirely from his profession and embarked his all in the precarious occupation of a broker. Here his coolness, sagacity, and equableness of temper found their proper field, and such a measure of success has followed as falls to the lot of few men not bred from youth amid the fluctuations of the stock market. In his new occupation he is indefatigable in procuring information, and alike keen in discerning new traits in men and shrewd in contrasting them with those which are more common and better known.

Very naturally the subject of our sketch took a lively interest in political affairs upon becoming of age. A strong and devoted Republican, in his adopted city his influence in local politics has been felt for years. He was a member of the state house of representatives in 1871 and 1873; attached to the staff of Gov. Straw; appointed and confirmed as consul to Moscow--honor declined; a member of the Chicago convention in 1880, where he stoutly supported Blaine so long as a ray of hope remained; president of the Dover Five Cent Savings Bank--from a state of torpor and weakness it has grown under his guiding hand into activity and strength; elected mayor of the city of Dover in 1880, and recently chosen for another term; recipient of the honorary degree of A. B. from Lewis College in 1881. Through all his mature life, Col. Murphy has been a busy man.

But the energetic and successful are not exempt from the sorrows common to humanity. Three children, who, if spared, might put off to a distant day the weariness that inevitably comes with advancing years, died while young; and finally the partner of all his vicissitudes bade him a final adieu. His second wife, Mrs. Eliza T. Hanson, widow of the late John T.

Hanson, of Dover, dispenses a gracious hospitality in the s.p.a.cious and richly furnished Cus.h.i.+ng-street mansion.

In closing we may add, Col. Murphy combines qualities which are generally found apart,--a love for work amounting to dedication, and a readiness to a.s.sist the unfortunate which seems ingrained. His abode is full of cheerfulness. No one comes there who does not receive a hearty welcome; no one departs without feeling as if leaving a home.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Hy. C. Sherburne]

HENRY C. SHERBURNE.

HENRY CLAY SHERBURNE, son of Reuben R. and Sally (Rackleyft Staples) Sherburne, was born in Charlestown, Ma.s.s., December 9, 1830. His father was a native of Pelham and his mother of Newmarket; so, although born outside the limits of the state, he is wholly of New Hamps.h.i.+re lineage.

His early education, obtained in the public schools of Boston, terminated when he was fifteen years of age, at which time he entered the employ of Holbrook & Tappan, hardware dealers, in whose store he remained three years.

At the age of eighteen years he gained his first experience in railroad business, serving as a clerk in the freight department of the Boston & Lowell Railroad, under his father, who was agent of the upper roads doing business with that corporation. Accepting a clerks.h.i.+p in the office of the Concord Railroad, he removed to Concord in 1851. After a year's service with the Concord Railroad, he entered the employ of the Concord & Claremont Railroad, where he remained until 1865, a period of thirteen years.

In July, 1865, after the adjournment of the legislature of that year, of which he was a member from ward five, Concord, he removed to Boston, entering into the business of railroad supplies in partners.h.i.+p with his brother, Charles W. Sherburne. He remained there until March, 1880, when he was elected president and a director of the Northern Railroad.

During his residence in Boston, in 1876, he was elected president of the New York & Boston Despatch Express Company, which position he still holds. In the summer of 1880 he was elected president and a director of the Concord & Claremont and Sullivan railroads, and subsequently a director of the Concord Railroad. In September, 1881, he was chosen general manager of the Boston, Lowell, and Concord railroads, under the business contracts between those roads. In 1878 he was sole trustee of the Hinkley Locomotive-Works, upon the failure of that company, and operated the works for about two years.

He is now a resident of ward four, Concord. He has a wife, and one son--Henry A. Sherburne, eleven years of age.

ZIMRI S. WALLINGFORD.

BY HON. JOSHUA G. HALL.

Famous as the small farming towns of New Hamps.h.i.+re have been in producing men eminent in the learned professions, they have not been less prolific in furnis.h.i.+ng young men who have achieved distinction and borne great sway in what are recognized as the more practical business pursuits. Inventors, constructors, skilled artisans, the men who have taken the lead in developing our manufacturing interests and bringing toward perfection intricate processes, those who have increased the volume of trade at home and abroad, and have become merchant princes, have come, as a rule, from the plain farm-houses and common schools of our thousand hillsides. The stern virtues, the rigid frugality, and the unflagging industry always insisted on in the home life, supplemented by the limited but intensely practical learning gained in the district school, have furnished successive generations of young men compact, firm, and robust in their whole make-up, strong of body, clear and vigorous of mind, the whole impress and mold of their moral natures in harmony with right doing. These men have been a permeating force for good through all cla.s.ses of our population, and towers of strength in our national life. The life of the subject of this sketch is a well rounded example of such young men.

ZIMRI SCATES WALLINGFORD, the son of Samuel and Sallie (Wooster) Wallingford, was born in Milton, in the county of Strafford, October 7, 1816.

Nicholas Wallington, who came, when a boy, in the s.h.i.+p "Confidence," of London, to Boston in the year 1638, settled in Newbury, Ma.s.s., where he married, August 30, 1654, Sarah, daughter of Henry and Bridget Travis, who was born in 1636. He was captured on a sea-voyage, and never returned; and his estate was settled in 1684. With his children (of whom he had eight), the surname became _Wallingford_.

John Wallingford, son of the emigrant Nicholas, born in 1659, married Mary, daughter of Judge John and Mary Tuttle, of Dover, N. H.; but he lived in that part of Rowley, Ma.s.s., now known as Bradford. He had seven children; one of these was Hon. Thomas Wallingford, of that part of ancient Dover afterwards Somersworth, and now known as Rollinsford, who was one of the wealthiest and most eminent men of the province, a.s.sociate justice of the supreme court from 1748 until his death, which took place at Portsmouth, August 4, 1771. The eldest son of John Wallingford, and grandson of the emigrant, was John Wallingford, born December 14, 1688, settled in Rochester, N. H., and became an extensive land-owner. His will, dated October 7, 1761, was proved January 17, 1762. His son, Peter Wallingford, who inherited the homestead and other land in Rochester (then including Milton), made his will April 18, 1771, which was proved August 24, 1773. His son, David Wallingford, settled upon the lands in Milton, then a wilderness. He died in 1815, being the father of Samuel Wallingford, who was father of Zimri S.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Z. S. Wallingford]

Upon his mother's side, Mr. Wallingford is descended from Rev. William Worcester, the first minister of the church in Salisbury, Ma.s.s., and ancestor of the eminent New England family of that name or its equivalent, _Wooster_. Lydia Wooster, great-aunt of Mr. Wallingford, was the wife of Gen. John Sullivan of Durham, major-general in the army of the Revolution, and the first governor of the state of New Hamps.h.i.+re; she was mother of Hon. George Sullivan of Exeter, who was attorney-general of this state for thirty years.

In 1825 the father of Mr. Wallingford died, leaving his widow with four children, of which this son, then nine years of age, was the eldest. At the age of twelve he commenced learning the trade of a country blacksmith. When he had wrought for his master as his boyish strength would allow for two years, he determined not to be content with being simply a blacksmith, and entered the machine-shop of the Great Falls Manufacturing Company at Great Falls, N. H., and served a full apprentices.h.i.+p at machine-building there, in Maryland, Virginia, and in the city of Philadelphia.

August 27, 1840, Mr. Wallingford married Alta L. G. Hilliard, daughter of Rev. Joseph Hilliard, pastor of the Congregational church in Berwick, Maine, from 1796 to 1827. Their children have been (1) John O.