Sketches of Successful New Hampshire Men
children are: Jennie M., who was b. Sept. 23, 1842,--an
excellent teacher; Thomas S., who was b. May 12, 1846, and d. at
the age of three years; Fannie H., who was b. Dec. 8, 1848, and
m. Frank H. Baldwin, June 19, 1876, residing in Keene; Annie M.
T., who was b. Sept. 12, 1852; Abbie Isabel, who was b. Nov. 15,
1854, and d. 1856; Miles G., who was b. Sept. 26, 1857; Addie
M., who was b. Jan. 27, 1860; and John S., who was b. May 5,
1863.)
_Sarah E._, (b. Dec. 24, 1818, m. John W. Buttrick, and lives in
Lawrence, Mass.)
_Miles_, (b. Feb. 2, 1821; went to California in 1849, and was
driver for the California Stage Company; the horses became
unmanageable, and the whole team was thrown down a fearful
precipice near Virginia City, Nev., by which the driver, all the
horses, and most of the passengers were instantly killed. This
sad event occurred in December, 1862.)
_Harriet F._, (b. Feb. 2, 1823, m. Walker Flanders, and lives in
Lawrence, Mass.)
_Martha J._, (b. June 9, 1825; m. Isaac P. Cochran of Windham,
Nov. 12, 1846.)
_Melvin_, (b. Dec. 20, 1830; d. in Sacramento, Cal., Dec. 31,
1853.)
_Hiram G._, (b. Feb. 18, 1833; d. in Jefferson, Tex., in 1857.)
_Nancy R._, (b. Jan. 24, 1836, m. Josiah Melville, and lives in
Nelson.)
4. ADAM, b. March 5, 1792; m. Rebecca Dale; settled in Beverly,
Mass., and d. Jan. 15, 1865.
5. MARY D., "Molly Dinsmore" on town record, b. April 11, 1794;
called "Long Mary," being tall in form; a talented, respected,
and Christian woman; d. unm. April 6, 1874.
6. MARGARET, b. May 4, 1796; d. unm. in 1827.
7. ISABEL, b. March 6, 1798; d. unm. March 8, 1862.
8. HON. GEORGE W., b. Oct. 23, 1800; was graduated at Dartmouth
College in 1820; m. Mary M. Brooks; settled in the practice of
law at Franklin; was long judge of the New Hampshire supreme
court, remaining on the bench until relieved by the
constitutional limitation of years. Is now president of the N.
H. Orphans' Home, and trustee of Dartmouth College; is a man of
noble principles and honored life, enjoying in his old age the
highest confidence and esteem of men. The degree of LL. D. was
conferred upon him by Dartmouth College. He stands among the
best and noblest of the sons of New Hampshire, and is an honor
to his native town.
CHARLES MARSH.
Yankee courage, integrity, and judgment have won no more substantial or
more splendid triumphs in the business world than are reflected from the
dry-goods palace of Jordan, Marsh, & Co., a house whose grand successes
have made it famous throughout the mercantile world. The foundations of
this magnificent establishment were laid in 1851 and 1852, by three
young men, two of whom were natives of New Hampshire. The head of the
firm, Eben D. Jordan, when fourteen years old had gone up to Boston from
his home in Maine, and began his business career as an errand boy, and
in a short time had been promoted to a clerkship, in which position he
made himself master of the dry-goods business, and while doing it became
acquainted with two other young men, Benjamin L. and CHARLES MARSH, who
had left their father's house in Chesterfield, N. H., and sought in
Boston an opening in which pluck, push, and perseverance, unaided by
influential friends or unearned capital, could carry them on to success.
In 1852, Messrs. Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh established the firm of
Jordan, Marsh, & Co., and the next year Charles Marsh, then a clerk in
the store of Pearl, Smith, & Co., was admitted as a partner. The house
began in a small way; it had behind it little but the splendid courage
and the remarkable abilities of the three young partners; but these were
sufficient to win a fair share of business, and a reputation which was
better than money, and in a short time it was firmly established in the
confidence of the mercantile world and the good will of the public. In
eight years the business had grown to two million dollars per annum, and
since that time it has steadily and rapidly increased, until the firm
controls the dry-goods market of New England, and, in many lines, of the
entire country.
The elder Marsh died in 1856, leaving his partners to carry on and
complete the grand enterprises he had helped project and begin. His
brother still remains to share with Mr. Jordan the triumphs of the firm.
In the early days of the business, Charles Marsh was an active salesman,
and was accounted one of the best ever known in Boston. Afterwards, he
took charge of the wholesale department, which has since been and still
is under his personal supervision.
In commercial circles and in the store he has a clearly defined and high
rank as a manager, with rare combination of talents. His coolness, his
thorough knowledge of the business, his level-headed judgment, and
organizing and executive capacity are abundantly attested in the great
and rapid growth of the wholesale business. He is a balanced man; and
how necessary this quality is to success in an enterprise of this
magnitude, only those who have seen houses go to wreck for lack of it
can tell. The elements of personal popularity in his character, and his
extensive acquaintance throughout the country, help to explain his
success. For nearly thirty years his steady hand has been felt at the
helm, and yet he seems to-day only in the prime of his powers.
HON. GEORGE BYRON CHANDLER.
The subject of this sketch is a member of a family that has long
occupied a prominent and honorable place in New Hampshire history. His
parents, Adam and Sally (McAllister) Chandler, were worthy
representatives of the strong-minded, able-bodied, industrious, and
successful citizens who in the early part of the century tilled the
farms and shaped affairs in our farming towns. They resided upon a
fertile farm in Bedford, which was the birthplace of their four
children. Of these, the three sons--Henry, John M., and George
Byron--are all citizens of Manchester, and are now engaged in the
banking business. The only daughter is dead. The boys spent their
boyhood upon the farm, doing their share of the work; but their parents
were solicitous that they should be fitted for some more profitable
calling, and gave them all the school privileges of the neighborhood,
which were afterwards supplemented by academical instruction at several
state academies.
His home work, his studies at Piscataquog, Gilmanton, Hopkinton, and
Reed's Ferry academies, and his duties as a teacher at Amoskeag,
Bedford, and Nashua, occupied the boyhood of GEORGE BYRON CHANDLER until
the age of twenty-one, after which he spent one year as a civil engineer
in the employ of the Boston, Concord, & Montreal Railroad.
In the spring of 1854 he decided to devote himself to a business instead
of a professional career, and, coming to Manchester, entered the grocery
house of Kidder & Duncklee as a book-keeper. The next year he was
offered a similar position in the Amoskeag Bank, which he accepted, and
filled so acceptably that eighteen months later he was promoted to the
teller's counter, and remained there until the organization of the
Amoskeag National Bank, in 1864, when he was elected its cashier and
entered upon the discharge of the duties of this responsible position,
which he still holds. That he has won in it the continuing confidence of
its managers, who are among the most sagacious of financiers, and the
hearty approval of its numerous owners and patrons, is the best
testimony to his fidelity and efficiency. His success in this capacity
led the trustees of People's Savings Bank, when it was organized, to
select him as its treasurer, and the success of this institution is
another reflection of his patient and skillful work. These two banks, of
which he is the chief executive, are among the strongest in the country;
and it is much for him to be proud of that they have grown so great in
resources and public confidence during his administration.
Mr. Chandler has also been prominently, honorably, and profitably
identified with many other financial enterprises which have been
conspicuous for their success. He has been the treasurer of the New
Hampshire Fire Insurance Company since its organization in 1870; he was
for five years a director of the Manchester & Lawrence Railroad, and has
been for several years its treasurer; he was a director of the Blodget
Edge Tool Company and of the Amoskeag Axe Company, during their
existence; and he has been for years constantly intrusted with numerous
private trusts involving the management of most extensive and important
interests.
Mr. Chandler has an ample fortune, and a large income which he scatters
with a free hand. He gives liberally and buys freely. The
representatives of a worthy object who appeal to him for aid seldom go
away empty. His residence and grounds, which occupy an entire square,
are among the most costly and attractive in the city, and are noted as
the home of good taste, elegance, and hearty hospitality. He is a leader
in social life and active in city affairs. For several years he has been
an officer of the Amoskeag Veterans, and is now president of the New
Hampshire Club, composed of the leading business men of New Hampshire,
which he was largely instrumental in organizing. He has read much, and
traveled extensively in this country, and has a wide acquaintance with
its distinguished men, and a valuable knowledge of the resources,
customs, and characteristics of its several sections, which he has often
been called upon to utilize for the benefit of others in lectures before
schools and also in addresses before public assemblies.
From his early days Mr. Chandler has been an active member of the
Unitarian Society in Manchester, and has served for years as one of its
directors and president. Like other organizations with which he has been
identified, this has been frequently indebted to him for liberal
donations in money and a zealous support in many ways.
In 1874, the Democratic party of the Manchester district elected him to
the state senate, where he served with credit to himself and the city.
He declined a renomination.
In 1862, Mr. Chandler married Miss Flora A., daughter of Hon. Darwin J.
Daniels, an ex-mayor of Manchester, who died in May, 1868, leaving an
infant daughter, who did not long survive her mother.
His second wife, who now presides over his mansion, is the only daughter
of Col. B. F. Martin, of Manchester, to whom he was married in 1870.
Three children--Benjamin Martin, Alexander Rice, and Byron--are the
fruit of this union. Of these, the oldest and youngest are living.
HON. NAPOLEON B. BRYANT.
BY HON. J. M. SHIRLEY.
The subject of this sketch was born at East Andover, N. H., on February
25, 1825. His mother was of Revolutionary stock, and from one of the
oldest families in town; and was one of those sunny-souled "Mothers in
Israel," who, half a century ago, were alike the glory and honor of our
New England homes. His father was a man of high character and fine
natural endowments; but was in straitened circumstances. As there was no
lawyer in that part of the town where he lived, nor within several
miles, he acted as a magistrate, trial and otherwise, for many years;
and his services were sought in making deeds, wills, and contracts,
formulating notices and the like, organizing voluntary corporations,
settling the estates of deceased persons, and in this class of business
usually intrusted to lawyers. His son grew up in this atmosphere, the
influence of which, with his father's strong desires, determined the