Sketches of Successful New Hampshire Men
of soldiers. From his own private means Gen. Head extended aid to all
soldiers needing it; and to the credit of New Hampshire "boys in blue"
it should be recorded that he never lost a dollar by such confidence and
generosity. It seems almost unnecessary to add that his constant and
unwearied devotion to them secured for him not only their highest
respect and warmest esteem, but won for him the enduring title of "the
soldier's friend."
In 1875 the celebrated controversy occurred in the old second senatorial
district over the spelling of his name on the ballots, upon which
technicality his votes, he having a plurality, were thrown out. His
constituents, however, were determined that justice should be done him,
and they gave him a handsome election the succeeding year, and
re-elected him in 1877, when he was made president of the senate,
discharging its responsible duties with rare efficiency and
acceptability.
For some years Gen. Head had been mentioned in connection with the
Republican nomination for governor, receiving votes in successive
conventions. In that which nominated Gov. Benjamin F. Prescott, in 1877,
Gen. Head's vote was a flattering one, and ranked second only to that of
the successful nominee. At the convention in September, 1878, which was
the first to select candidates for a biennial term, Gen. Head was
nominated upon the first ballot by a decided majority. By reason of the
third-party or "Greenback" movement, it was not expected by his most
sanguine supporters that he would be elected on the popular vote, yet
the result was that he was chosen over all by a majority of four hundred
and eighty-eight. His election to the executive chair being for two
years, he was, according to the custom of the party regarding the tenure
of this office, not a candidate for renomination. In the brief review
which the limits of this sketch allow of his gubernatorial
administration, we find that it was throughout eminently successful;
creditable alike to his own ability and fidelity, and to the fair fame
of our state which he so honorably served.
During his term of office there arose many important measures and
questions whose consideration demanded practical good sense, wisdom, and
impartial judgment. The well known Buzzell murder case, which finally
became one of the most celebrated in the criminal records of the world,
had been twice tried when Gov. Head entered the executive chair. Buzzell
was then awaiting execution, and thousands had petitioned for a
commutation of his sentence. His Excellency and his official advisers
gave a long and patient hearing to counsel for the state and for the
defense, and to all others who desired to be heard, and then, after
mature deliberation, refused the prayer on the ground that no new
evidence had been presented that would warrant the changing of the
decision of the court. Buzzell suffered the extreme penalty of the law,
and the conclusion in his case was sustained by legal and public
opinion. The project of a new state-prison which had been successfully
inaugurated under his predecessor, was carried forward to its
completion. The commissioners selected to superintend the work consulted
with the governor at every step, and without even a whisper of
extravagance or jobbery the building was finished, dedicated, and opened
for use, and stands to-day, in thoroughness of structure and excellence
of arrangement, second to no other penitentiary in the country. There
came before Gov. Head many judicial and other appointments, all of which
were made with the single aim of serving the highest interest of the
state. During his term he made many official trips, and wherever he
traveled he received those assiduous attentions which he personally and
as chief executive of the state merited. He attended the inauguration of
President Garfield, the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary exercises
at Boston, the Newtown, N. Y., centennial celebration, and military
encampments in various states. It was also his pleasure to receive
Governors Talbot and Long, of Massachusetts, Governor Van Zandt, of
Rhode Island, and many other distinguished dignitaries. His
administration took its rank in history as one of the purest, wisest,
and best that New Hampshire has ever had.
In the financial world, Gov. Head has been chosen to many responsible
positions. He is a director of the Suncook Valley Railroad, in which
enterprise he was one of the most active workers; is a director of the
First National Bank of Manchester, and of the New Hampshire Fire
Insurance Company; president of the China Savings Bank at Suncook, and a
trustee of the Merrimack River Savings Bank, of Manchester.
In Masonic and kindred organizations he is one of the most conspicuous
and influential members in New Hampshire, and, in fact, in the country.
He is on the rolls of Jewell Lodge, of Suncook, of which he is a charter
member, and is a member of Mount Horeb Royal Arch Chapter, Adoniram
Council, and Trinity Commandry, of Manchester. He is a member of the
Supreme Council, having taken all the degrees of the Ancient and
Accepted Scottish Rite, including the thirty-third, and all in the Rite
of Memphis to the ninety-fourth; is an honorary member of the Boston
Consistory, the largest Masonic body in the world, and
ex-Illustrious-Grand-Chancellor of the Sublime Consistory of New
Hampshire. He was a charter member of Howard Lodge of Odd Fellows, and
also belongs to the Hildreth Encampment, both of Suncook, and is now a
charter member of Friendship Lodge, of Hooksett, and is a member of the
Oriental Lodge of the Knights of Pythias of Suncook. He has been for a
long time a member of the New Hampshire Historical Society, and is now
its vice-president.
Although his own opportunity for mental improvement was somewhat
limited, yet he has always been a stanch advocate of our public-school
and higher educational systems. He is not a member of any church, but
from youth he has been a regular attendant upon religious services, and
has always given freely of his time, and contributed generously from his
means, to the building up and advancement of Christian work.
Gov. Head was married, November 18, 1863, to Miss Abbie M. Sanford, of
Lowell, Mass. They have had three children, of whom Lewis Fisher and
Alice Perley are dead, while Annie Sanford, who is now at school in
Bradford, Mass., is nearly fifteen.
The old log cabin to which reference has been made gave way a long time
since to a framed structure, which, in turn, a few years ago was
supplanted by an elegant brick mansion with French roof and attractive
architecture, and whose interior has all modern appointments, with rich
furniture and works of art. The house is surmounted with a tower, from
which is obtained a delightful view of the Merrimack valley, and of
distant mountains. It was built under Gov. Head's personal supervision,
and in making so great an outlay he had in view the hope that after the
period of business activity he might be permitted to spend there in
happiness the closing years of his life.
Gov. Head is of commanding personal appearance, while in his bearing he
is exceedingly courteous and agreeable. In him English and Scotch blood
have united to form a character distinguished by strong and sound
practical sense, diligence, determination, perseverance, and, above all,
a high standard of honor and unswerving integrity. In the proud record
of the eminent public men of our state, the name of Gov. Head has high
and creditable rank.
HON. DANIEL HALL.
BY REV. ALONZO HALL QUINT, D. D.
Of those towns in the state whose scenery is somewhat quiet, one of the
most beautiful is Barrington. A small tract on its western border is
level and not fertile, but most of its surface is gently rolling, two
decided heights, however, affording beautiful views. The map shows it to
be traversed by streams in every part, one important river being the
outflow of Bow lake; and the map shows no less than fourteen ponds, some
of them nearly two miles in length, and whose shores, often abrupt, are
full of beauty. Magnificent pine forests of the first growth have been
carefully preserved to the present generation, and fertile farms are
numerous.
DANIEL HALL was born in this town, February 28, 1832, and, with slight
exceptions, was the descendant of generations of farmers. His first
known American ancestor was John Hall, who appears to have come to
Dover, N. H., in the year 1649, with his brother Ralph, from
Charlestown, Mass. Of this blood was the mother of Gov. John Langdon,
Tobias Lear (Washington's private secretary), and others of like energy.
The emigrant, John Hall, was the first recorded deacon of the Dover
First church, was town clerk, commissioner to try small cases, and a
farmer, but mainly surveyor of lands. His spring of beautiful water is
still "Hall's spring," on Dover Neck. His son Ralph was of Dover, a
farmer; whose son Ralph, also a farmer, was one of the early settlers of
Barrington; whose son Solomon, also a farmer, was of the same town;
whose son Daniel, also a farmer, was father of Gilman Hall (his ninth
child), who, by his wife Eliza Tuttle, was father of nine children,
Daniel being the first born. The picturesque old house in which he was
born, built by one Hunking, is still standing near Winkley's pond, an
interesting and venerable landmark, but unoccupied and in a ruinous
condition. Gilman Hall was early a trader in Dover, but for twenty-five
subsequent years was farmer and trader in Barrington, his native town,
on the stage road known as the "Waldron's Hill" road. He was
representative, and for many years selectman. Daniel's mother was a
descendant of John Tuttle, who was judge of the superior court for many
years prior to the year 1700, residing in Dover.
Daniel Hall's life as a boy was on the farm. He went to the district
school a long distance, through snows and heats, and by and by helped in
the store. When older, from fourteen years onward, he drove a team to
Dover, with wood and lumber, and sold his loads, standing on Central
square. But he had a passion for books, and a burning desire for an
education. He learned all he could get in the district school, and when
about sixteen years of age he secured two terms, about six months in
all, in Strafford Academy,--one term under Ira F. Folsom (D. C. 1848),
and one under Rev. Porter S. Burbank. In 1849 he was one term at the New
Hampshire Conference Seminary, in Northfield, Rev. Richard S. Rust,
principal. Then, for satisfactory reasons, he gave up all academies,
returned home, set himself down alone to his Greek, Latin, and
mathematics, and with indomitable perseverance prepared for college. He
entered Dartmouth in 1850, probably the poorest fitted in his class; but
he had the fitting of a determined will, unconquerable industry, a keen
intellect, and the fiber of six generations of open-air ancestors, and
in 1854 he graduated at the very head of his class, and was
valedictorian. It is needless to say, perhaps, that the eldest of nine
children had to practice economy, and teach district schools five
winters in his native town; and that what small advances he had from his
father were repaid, to the last dollar, from his first earnings.
In the fall of 1854 he was appointed a clerk in the New York
custom-house, and held the place for some years. He had taken an early
interest in politics, being by education a Democrat. But he had always
been positively anti-slavery in sentiment. He was dissatisfied with the
Kansas-Nebraska bill; and alone of all the clerks in the custom-house,
and fearless of the probable result to himself, he openly denounced the
Lecompton-constitution policy of Buchanan, and supported Douglas. In