New London New Hampshire Genealogy

Ancestry of Moses Adams Packard of Brockton, Massachusetts

Moses Adams Packard, of Brockton, where he has been so long and so successfully engaged in the manufacture of shoes, is as well one of that city’s highly honored and respected citizens. Mr. Packard began life with little capital save boundless energy and a resolute purpose, and has pushed his way upward against almost every kind of obstacle until he now holds a foremost position among the leading manufacturers in this Commonwealth, vindicating the old saying, “Labor is king.” He was born Feb. 28, 1843, in New London, N. H., which was the home of his mother, while his father was a native of North Bridgewater, and a descendant of one of the old and historical families of Massachusetts.

Since its coming to this Bridgewater settlement, which was the first interior settlement of the Old Colony, as early as 1664, to the present time, for nearly two hundred and fifty years, the Packard family has been one prominent and influential in this community, and has become a most numerous family, many, too, of its members both at home and abroad having given a good account of themselves.

Biographical Sketch of John Arthur Jones

John Arthur Jones, a farmer of Hopkinton, was born in Contoocook, N.H., April 3, 1864, son of John F. and Maria (Barnard) Jones. His grandfather was a resident of Hopkinton for the greater part of his life. John F. Jones, who was born in Hopkinton, is now a resident of Concord, John Arthur Jones, the subject of this sketch, received his early education in the public schools of his native town and in the academy. Later he was a student at Colby Academy, New London, for a time. From New London he returned to Hopkinton, and went to his grandfather’s … Read more

Biography of Captain John P. Knowlton

Captain John P. Knowlton, a retired merchant of Sunapee, was born in that town, October 10, 1821, son of Samuel and Betsey (Pike) Knowlton. The grandfather, Robert Knowlton, was one of the pioneer settlers of New London, N.H., and a leading man in his time. He was a well-educated man and a successful school teacher. He also had time to attend to farming. His last years were spent in the State of Indiana, where he died at an advanced age. He married a lady named Smith, and she also lived to a good old age. Samuel Knowlton, born June 16, … Read more

Biography of J. F. Merrill, M.D.

J. F. Merrill, M.D., a well-known physician of Franklin Falls, Merrimack County, was born in Gilmanton, N.H., June 5, 1856, son of Jacob D. and Sarah (Sanborn) Merrill. His parents are farming people of Gilmanton. Their six children are all living, and are as follows: Ida, who is the wife of Alonzo Caverly, and resides in Lynn, Mass.; George and Frederick, who are engaged in shoe manufacturing in Lynn, Mass., under the firm name of Merrill Brothers; Charles, who still remains with his parents; Addie, who is the wife of George Blanchard, and a resident of Lynn; and J. F., … Read more

Biography of Ruel Whitcomb

Ruel Whitcomb, a resident of New London, Merrimack County, for nearly fifty years, was born December 20, 1822, in Newport, N.H., which was also the birthplace of his parents, Parmenas and Rua (Hurd) Whitcomb. His mother was a daughter of Samuel Hurd, a pioneer settler of Newport. His father’s father, Benjamin Whitcomb, removed from Henniker, this county, to Newport at an early period of its settlement. Parmenas Whitcomb was a farmer and lumberman, and helped build a saw mill in his native town, living in Newport until his death, at the age of eighty-five years. His first wife died at … Read more

Biography of David Arthur Brown

David Arthur Brown, Manager and Treasurer of the Concord Axle Company of Penacook, an ex-member of the New Hampshire legislature, and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in Attleboro, Mass., May 14, 1839, son of Henry H. and Mary Ann (Daggett) Brown. His parents were natives of Attleboro. On the father’s side he is descended from an Englishman who settled in Massachusetts in the year 1624. His great-grandfather was John Brown, and his grandfather was David Brown. On the mother’s side his genealogy is traced through her father, Otis Daggett, of the seventh generation, Joab of the sixth, … Read more

Descendants of Thomas Boyden of Bridgewater, MA

BOYDEN (Walpole-Bridgewater family). For a half century – for fifty and more years: – the name Boyden has stood in the town of Bridgewater, Mass., as a synonym for the highest type of useful, ennobling and elevating citizenship, as exemplified in the life of the now venerable principal emeritus of the Bridgewater State Normal School, Prof. Albert Gardner Boyden, who for the long period of fifty and more years has been identified as student, teacher and principal with the noted institution of learning alluded to, and has reared a son who has taken up the work so recently laid down … Read more