Ezra S Stearns.
Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation (Volume 4) online
Online Library → Ezra S Stearns → Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation (Volume 4) → online text (page 118 of 149)
shire to the defense of his country's integrity be-
tween t86i and 1864. They include brief accounts
of all the regiments and battalions, with their move-
ments, battles and other data, with biographical
notices of all officers who died in the service,
whether from wounds or disease contracted in the
line of duty. General Head had inherited from
-worthy martial sires a love of everything pertain-
ing to military matters, and he gave six of the best
years of his life chiefly to this preservation of
invaluable records. His interest and labors did not
end with his official term or with the completion
of the records, but he was ever ready and anxious
to do anything possible for the soldier or his widow
and family. He was much interested in the work of
the Grand Army of the Republic and never tired
of doing what he could for the honor and glory of
the man who served his country in the place -of
danger. He conceived the idea, in 1867, of issuing
the "soldier certificate" to the honorably discharged
soldiers of the state and to the families of those
who died in the service, and this was carried out
as he planned and wished. That his unselfish la-
bors were appreciated at the time is shown by the
following extract from an address of Governor
Smyth to the legislature: "In the difficult adjust-
ment of our military affairs, you will agree w-ith
me in a warm approval of the energy and efficiency
of the adjutant-general, whose work has been, in
all cases, well performed. When it has been my
grateful duty to extend a welcoming hand in behalf
of the people of this state to our brave returning
soldiers, he has forwarded my purpose with un-
flagging interest and zeal. You will not forget that
around his department all the memories of the
contest now cluster. The long roll of_ honor is
there. There are gathered the blood-stained battle
flags, and there will always be found those associa-
tions which should inspire us with love of country
and an appreciation of those who gave their lives
and shed their blood for the blessings wd-iich God
bestowed when he gave us the victory."
Governor Head was active in so many ways for
the general w-elfare of his state that he might be
said to have been always in the public service,
though not ever in official station. He gave much
effort to the advancement of agricultural interests,
and originated the plan of holding farmers' conven-
tions, the first of which was held at Manchester in
1868. He was a leading member and served as
president of the State Agricultural Society, and was
president of the New England Agricultural So-
ciety. He also served as master of Hooksett
Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. In Free Masonry
he attained the thirty-second degree, including all
those of the "Scottish rite" and the "rite of Mem-
phis." He was identified with the Knights of Pyth-
ias and Knights of Honor bodies of Manchester.
He passed through the encampment work in the
Independent Order of Odd Fellow^s, and was _ a
loved and honored member of all bodies. While
his high positions in the affairs of state commanded
due respect, yet he was held in still higher esteem
because of his warm heart and manly qualities. His
character is well summed up in the following ex-
tract from an obituary notice in the Manchester
Mirror: "Other men may have been greater and
stronger than he ; may have lived longer and ac-
complished more ; have died and been respectfully
buried. Their death has been counted a loss to the
state, to the professions in which they were leaders;
but it caused no deep grief among those who were
not bound to them by family ties. They_ are re-
membered as governors, senators, millionaires, not
as men, and when once their places are filled and
their estates distributed they have been well-nigh
forgotten. The held they had was upon the brain,
not upon the heart. It was not so with Natt Head.
People who knew him loved him while he lived and
mourn for him because he is dead." Another said
of him : "He never did anything by halves, and
that cause which attracted his support received the
benefit of his able and initiring efforts. As a public
officer, he could say with Othello, 'I have done the
State some service, and they know it.' No man in
New Hampshire knew so many people personally
and few, if any, had so strong a hold upon the
popular good will. His word needed no writing to
make it good." * * * "Wherever he went, among
all classes of people, without effort and seemingly
without purpose, he won the hearty and lasting
friendship of all with whom he came in contact.
He had a warm heart and a face always beaming
with good humor, and was ever courteous, genial
and generous."
Natt Head was married, November 19, 1863, to
Abbie M. Sanford, daughter of Stephen R. and
Maria (Fisher) Sanford, of Lowell, Massachusetts.
Maria Fisher was a descendant of John Webster.
fifth governor of Connecticut. Three children were
born to Governor and Mrs. Head, namely : Annie
Sanford, June 2^;, 1865; Lewis Fisher, February 18,
1868; and Alice Perley, December 20, 1870. The
second died at the age of four years, and the young-
. est near the close of her ninth year. Mrs. Head
and her surviving daughter have resided for sev-
eral years in Brookline, Massachusetts.
(VI) William Fernald. sixth child and youngest
son of John and Anna (Brown) Head, was born in
Hooksett, September 25, 1832. He completed his
education at the Pembroke Academy, and prior to
inaugurating his business career devoted his time
exclusively to agricultural pursuits at the home-
stead farm. In 1852 he became associated with his
brother Natt in the lumber business and also in the
manufacture of brick and for the succeeding thirty
years the Head Brothers conducted an extensive
business enterprise in Hooksett, producing large
quantities of building material which greatly facili-
tated the development of the industrial resources in
that localilv. Brotherly ties between them were un-
usually strong, their attachment to each other being
particularly emphasized by the implicit confidence
which characterized their business relations, and the
company possessions were regarded by them as
common property, thus doing away entirely with the
formality of individual expense accounts. William
F. Head also managed the homestead farm contain-
ing two hundred and fifty acres of fertile land
\yhich is devoted almost exclusively to the cultiva-
tion of hay, and the average production amounts to
two hundred and fifty tons annually. In 187 1 was
organized the Head & Dowst Company, contractors
and builders, of which Mr. William F. Head became
vice-president.
In politics Mr. Head was a Republican, and
while his activity in civic affairs was not at any time
during his active life as extensive as that of his
brother Natt, he nevertheless rendered valual)Ie
public services both to his town and state, having
served upon the board of selectmen for the years
1859-60. and in 1869-70 was a member of the New
Hampshire house of representatives. He was a
delegate to the constitutional convention of 1876.
Well versed in monetary affairs and a man of
marked ability, he was a director of the Suncook
Valley Railway Company, a trustee of the Merri-
mack River Savings Bank, and of the First Na-
tional Bank of Manchester, New Hampshire, and a
trustee of the New England Agricultural Society.
For many years he was prominent in the Masonic
fraternity, belonging to Eureka Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons, of Suncook, and a member of
Trinity Commandery, Knights Templar, of Man-
chester.
(IV) James (3). third son and fifth child of
Major James (2) and Sarah Head, was born Octo-
ber 16, 1759, in Pembroke, and resided on the pa-
ternal homestead in that town until 1805, when he
removed to Conwa}', New Hampshire. His wife's
christian name was Sally, but her family name iS'
not of record. Their children, born in Pembroke,
were: James, Benjamin, Asa, Nathaniel, Sally,.
Moses, Richard, Nancy. Robert and John.
(V) James (4), eldest child of James (3) and
Sally Head, was born January 27, 1779, in Pem-
broke, and removed with his father to the northern
part of the state. He was a farmer by occupation
and possessed one hundred acres of land. He was-
a member of the Free Will Baptist Church, was a
Democrat in politics and was much respected as a.
man and citizen. He married, Jemima Brown, of
Albany, New Hampshire, and had children : John,.
Asa. Sampson, Deering, Joseph, Lindy and King-
man Freeman. Of these Joseph was noted for his
great strength.
(VI) Kingman Freeman, son of James and
Jemima (Brown) Head, was born in Hooksett,,
New Hampshire, and was a small child when his-
father removed to Conway. He was educated in
the common schools of Madison, New Hampshire,.,
and on attaining man's estate took the management
of his father's farm, on which he continued to re-
side until old age compelled his retirement from
active labor. He died at the age of seventy-five
years in Lakeport. He was a member of the Free
Will Baptist Church, and like his father sustained
the Democratic party in political contests. He was
married, September 21, 1828, in Conway, by Rev.
B. S. Manson, to Almira Davis, daughter of Israel
Davis, who was born in [Madison, New Hampshire.
She lived to the age of eighty years. Their chil-
dren were : Eden, George, Charles, Elizabeth,.
Israel Davis and Thomas. All except one of these
died in infancy.
(VII) Israel Davis, only surviving child of
Kingman Freeman and Almira (Davis) Head, was
born December 29, 1843, in Madison, New Hamp-
shire, and grew up in that town, receiving his edu-
cation in its common schools. He was early ac-
customed to the industrious habits of farm life, and
on leaving school took employment for two years in
a hotel at Conway. Later he was employed as a
stage coach driver in summer, between Glenhouse
and Crawford Notch. He is now the oldest pro-
fessional stage driver living in the state. For eighth
years he operated a freight team in the winter be-
tween Jackson and Portland, a distance of sixty
miles. Having decided to settle down to farm life,
he purchased the present homestead of eighty acres,
lying in the town of Laconia, New Hampshire. He
subsequently purchased an adjoining farm which he
uses for a pasture for his herds. Mr. Head has
been industrious and prudent in the care of his
earnings and the proceeds of his farm, and is now
the owner of a valuable block in the city of La-
conia, besides other real estate in that place. He is
much interested in cattle raising and is an excel-
lent judge of the qualities of live stock. He keeps-
a herd of thirty-six cattle and is the operator of
one of the largest milk routes in the city. He is
a thinking man and is interested in many of the
movements for the uplifting of humanity. He is in-
dependent in his religious associations, and is a:
Democrat in political principle. He is a member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the
Patrons of Husbandry, and has filled all of the-
principal chairs in the local Grange. He was mar-
ried in 1872. to Sarah Jane Gray, who was born-
June. 1843, in Jackson, New Hampshire, daughter
of John and ^liranda (Gannct) Gray. She died at
Conway, 1899, leaving one child, Albert Watson
Head. He was bor^j, 1873, in Lakeport. He mar-
ried Abbie Young and they have no children.
The name of Foss appears to have been
FOSS of Dutch or German origin and was origi-
nally Vos, a word signifying fox. It is
probable that the first that took the name was so
nicknamed because of his shrewdness or cunning,
or because he used the fox as a sign at his place
of business. The name was early implanted in
New England and is still most numerously repre-
sented, especially in New Hampshire.
(I) John Foss, the ancestor of those bearing the
name, is said by tradition to have arrived at Bos-
ton on a British war vessel on which he was em-
ployed as a calker. While the vessel was lying in
Boston harbor, he deserted by jumping overboard
and swimming ashore. He soon settled in Dover,
New Hampshire, where he first appears of record
May 14, 1661, when he witnessed a deed. His first
wife was Mary Chadburn. His second wife, Eliza-
beth, presumably the widow of John Locke and
daughter of William and Jane Berry, was ap-
pointed administratrix of his estate January 8, 1699.
He received a deed of land in Rj-e in 1668. His
children were : John, Humphrej^, William, Han-
nah, Joshua, Hinckson, Mary, Benjamin, Thomas,
Jemima, Elizabeth and Samuel. (Joshua and de-
scendants receive extended mention in this ar-
ticle).
(H) John (2), son of John (i) Foss, probably
married Abigail, daughter of John Berry, as he re-
fers to Berry in a deed as his father-in-law. In
1710, being feeble, though not aged, he disposed of
most of his property, deeding land to his son John
in Greenland, to sons Joshua and Zachariah lands in
Rye. He was in Newcastle in 1696, was selectman
there in 1698, and paid a minister's rate there of
one pound and fourteen shillings in 1701. His chil-
dren, of whom six settled in Barrington, were :
Isaac, Zachariah, John, Samuel, Nathan, Hinkson,
Ichabod. Abigail, Joshua and Priscilla.
(III) John (3) Foss, third son of John (2)
Foss, was married March 11, 174S, to Tabitha Sar-
gent, daughter of Ensign Jacob and Judith (Har-
vey) ■ Sargent. He removed from Greenland to
Chester, and settled on lot 105 in the "Addition" on
Great Hill., where he died November 14, 1745. His
wife was granted letters of administration thirteen
days later. She became the second wife of Heze-
kiah Underbill, whom she survived, and died Au-
gust 24, 1803. The inventory of John (3) Foss' es-
tate was made June 6, 1746, and amounted to seven
hundred, eighty-nine pounds and nine shillings. He
left only one child.
(IV) David, only child of John (3) and Tabi-
tha (Sargent) Foss, was born October 12, 1744, in
Chester, and settled near his birthplace, on lot 107,
wdiere he died December 8, 1786. He was married
in 1767. to Anne Richardson, and their children
were : Elizabeth, Hannah, John, Anna, Tabitha,
Abigail, Jonathan, Joseph, Daniel and Lucretia.
(V) Joseph, third son and eighth child of David
and Anne (Richardson) Foss, was born October
30, 1782, in Chester, and resided for some years in
Stratham, New Hampshire. He remained there
until past middle life and then moved to Tufton-
boro. where he was an early settler. He married a
Clark, and they were the parents of five children :
Joseph, mentioned below ; Dolly, who married James
Doe ; Ann. who married Thomas French ; John and
Jerry. John had five children : Sarah, Jacob Clark,
Frank, Charles and Albert. Jacob Clark was the
only one who left children. He had one son Fred,
who married and has four children : Walter Clark,
aged thirty; Nora Marion, aged eighteen; Willard
Roy, aged eight, and Clyde Bernard, aged three
(VI) Joseph (2), eldest child of Joseph (i)
Foss, was born in Stratham, and when a young man
went to Tuftonboro, where he followed farming till
his death. He died in 1852, at the age of forty
years. He married Nancy Sargent, and they had
children : Thomas, Andrew, Isaac, Minnie, Nancy,
James, Alice and Joseph.
(VII) Isaac, thir(# child of Joseph (2) and
Nancy (, Sargent) Foss, was born in Tuftonboro, in
1839, and died there May 18, 1887. He was a far-
mer and carpenter. He married, in 1861, Amanda
D. Ham, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Tib-
betts) Ham. They had six children: Albert L.,-
John A., Eugene C. Annie M., Alice G., and Min-
nie. Albert L., born May 3, 1862, a real estate
broker in New York City; John A., March 19,
1864, a butcher in Stanford. Connecticut; Eugene
C, mentioned below ; Annie M., October i, 1869,
married Virgil P. Hersey; Alice G., January, 1871.
wife of Marvin L. Blaisdell ; Minnie, December 25,-
1874, died December 10, 1905.
(VIII) Eugene Clark, third son and child of
Isaac and Amanda D. (Ham) Foss, was born in
Tuftonboro, February 18, 1866. At twelve years of
age he went to work on his father's farm for him-
self, and at. nineteen he became a clerk for F. W.
Emery & Company, for whom he worked five years,,
and he worked twenty years in one other store for
Emery and J. B. Moon & Co. In July, 1905. he
established himself in the hardware Imsiness in
partnership with Henry Evans, the firm taking
the style name of Henry Evans & Com-
pany, and has since that time been successfully
engaged in that line. He is a member of Tribe No.
9, Improved Order of Red Men. He married, June
6, 1891, in Rochester, Laura Frances Clark, born
September 26, 1861, daughter of Jacob Clark, of
Rochester. They have had two children born to
them : Erving E., born March 20. 1895, died March
17, 1899, and Bernice E., born May 20, 1901.
(II) Joshua, fourth son and child of John (i)
Foss, settled in Barrington, where he died at the
age of ninety-nine years and six months. He mar-
ried Sarah Wallis and their children were:
Thomas, Nathaniel, John, Job, Wallis, Jane, Han-
nah, ]\Iark and George. (Mark and George and
descendants receive mention in this article).
(III) Job, fourth son and child of Joshua and
Sarah (Wallis) Foss, married, November i, 1750,
Sarah Lang. A tame Indian stayed at his house
one night, and the board to which he was tied
caught fire and came near burning a child and the
house. His children were: Sarah, Hannah, John,.
Doroth}^, Job, Joshua, Marv, Ebenezer and Com-
(IV) John, third child and eldest son of Job
and Sarah (Lang) Foss, was baptized June, 1757.
and died January i, 1819. He was a Revolutionary
soldier, and his name is found on the roll of Cap-
tain Joseph Parson's company, mustered in at Ports-
mouth, November 22, 1775, which proceeded to
Cambridge "and served until the evacuation of Bos-
ton." as an endorsement attests.
He married, March 6. 1783, Sarah Tucker. Their
children were : Job. Robinson, Betsey, Olive, Sarah^
Richard, Anna Partridge.
(V) Job (2). eldest child of John and Sarah
(Tucker) Foss, was born in 1785. He married^
March 22, 1809, Patty Berry, and they had six
children: Oily, Elizabeth W., Alexander, Sally,
Oliver and Jeremiah.
(VI) Elizabeth W., second child of Job and
i'atty r Berry) Foss. was born in May, 181 r, and
married Thomas Green. (See Green I, second
family).
(III) Mark, sixth son and eighth child of Joshua
and Sarah (Wallis) Foss, resided in the town of Rye,
where he was born and was married November 28,
1745, to Amy Thompson. He removed to Strafford,
and his last residence was on Strafford Ridge. His
children were: Nathaniel, Mark, Abigail, John,
George, Joshua and Timothy -(John and descendants
receive mention in this article).
(IV) Nathaniel, eldest child of Mark and Amy
(Thompson) Foss, was born 1747, in that part of
Barrington, which is now Strafford, New Hamp-
shire. He settled in the present town of Strafford,
on a road known as Pig Lane, which leads from
Strafford Ridge to Bow Pond Road. He pur-
chased a strip of land between the two roads, one
rod wide, for a way to his mill. He built the first
gristmill below Bow Pond, anld here he lived and
died and w^as buried. He was a Revolutionary sol-
dier, and served as an ensign in Captain Robert
Pike's company, Colonel Senter's regiment, enlist-
ing June 26, 1779, and served six months and twelve
days. He was also a sergeant in Captain Parson's
company from September 19, 1781, to October 3 of
the same year. His grave is annuallly decorated by
his patriotic descendants. He married Mary Jen-
ness, of Rye, who was born in 1750, a daughter of
Captain Nathaniel and Hannah (Dow) Jenness,
and their children were : Elisha, John, Richard,
Jonathan, Sarah and Nathaniel.
(V) Richard, third son and child of Nathaniel
and Mary (Jenness) Foss, was born April 4, 1783,
in Strafford, which was then a part of Barrington.
He cdntinued to reside in that town, and died Jan-
uary 13, 1824. He married Mary Tuttle, who was
born ISTovember 15, 1784, and survived him more
than thirty years, dying September 7, 1855. Their
children were: Richard, Nathaniel, Lydia, Mahala,
Daniel, Dennis, Eliza, Esther and Sarah.
(VI) Dennis, fourth son and sixth child of
Richard and Mary (Tuttle) Foss, was born Jan-
uary 5, 18:9, in Strafford, and removed to Dover in
1874. He resided for many years at Bow Pond,
in Strafford, and owned a sawmill and engaged in
the manufacture of lumber. He also operated a
gristmill and was a merchant. Removing to Dover,
as above noted, he engaged extensively in the manu-
facture of doors, sash and blinds and other similar
lumber products, and achieved notable success. He
died in Dover, Dcceml)cr 24, 1899, near the close of
his eighty-first year. He was married, December t6,
1845, to Hannah Peary, born August 21, 1832,
in Barrington, and died in Dover, April 28, 1904.
Their children were : Alonzo Melvin, Sarah Ellen
(who died in infancy) and Laura Emma. The lat-
ter married (first) Walter Lcighton Woodman,
and resided at Bow Pond, later at Dover. She is
now the wife of James S. Burton, of Manchester,
(VII) Alonzo Melvin, only son of Dennis and
Hannah (Peary) Foss, was born July 23, 1847, in
Strafford. He received his education in the public
schools of his native town, passing through the high
school. After leaving school he was employed two
years in a grocery store at Strafford by Hon. John
W. Jewell, after which he was partner in a general
store for seven years with his father, and removed
■with the latter to Dover in 1874, and aided in found-
ing the present manufacturing business. He was
early associated with his father in the management
of the manufacturing business and has succeeded to
its charge. He has been active in developing the
best interests of Dover, and is at present among the
leading citizens of that city. The manufacturing
business established by himself and father has
grown to large dimensions. It now occupies a
three-story mill, covering ground surface 100x85
feet, and is fitted with the most modern and im-
proved machinery for its purposes. Among the spe-
cialties of the plant is the production or large pack-
ing boxes for the cloth mills of Dover, and a gen-
eral line of similar goods for the trade. At first
they engaged solely in the manufacture of boxes,
together with a general grain business, and later
added the production of doors, sash and blinds.
Mr. Foss has taken an active part in the social
and political affairs of the city and served several
years as a member of its school committee. In 1893
he was electd mayor by a large majority and in the
two succeeding years was re-elected by increased
majorities. He is intimately acquainted with the
needs and resources of the citj-, and is qualified to
aid in every worthy movement for its development
and welfare. He is a man of progressive ideas and
of the most upright moral standard, and his busi-
ness success has been achieved through the best
methods, and his character is thoroughly estab-
lished. He has passed through the various degrees
of Free Masonry, being a past master of Strafford
Lodge of that order, past high priest of Belknap
Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, past deputy master
of Orphan Council, past eminent commander of St.
Paul's Commandery, Knights Templar, and mem-
ber of Bektash temple. Ancient Arabic Order No-
liles of the Mystic Shrine. In 1906 he was appointed
grand standard bearer of the grand co-mmandery of
the Knights Templar of the state. In 1905, Mr.
Foss received the thirtj^-third and highest degree
in Free Masonary in the Supreme Council Northern
Jurisdiction, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. He
is a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery
Company of Boston, and is also a past exalted ruler
of Dover Lodge, Benevolent Protective Order of
Elks. On January i, 1905, he was appointed a mem-
ber of Governor McLane's staff, with the rank of
colonel. His services and associations above men-
tioned indicate clearly his political affiliation wnth
the Republican party.
He was married. October 12, 1868, to Clara
Salome, daughter of Frank and Alice Jane Foss, of
Barrington, New Hampshire, whose ancestry fol-
lows hereinafter. The children of this union were
two in number, the second of whom Minna Nut-
ter, died in infancy. Ina G., the first, was born No-
vember 8, 1869, and was married November 8, 1891,
on her twentv-second birthday, to E. Frank Boomer,
of Dover. They have three children : Minna Ger-
trude, Marjory Ramsdell and Evelyn. Mrs. Foss
is a member of the Daughters of the American
Using the text of ebook Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation (Volume 4) by Ezra S Stearns active link like:
read the ebook Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation (Volume 4)